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PLANS to establish an expert group to examine how the Border with the rest of the UK will work for an independent Scotland will be put forward at the SNP conference.
A motion on the provisional agenda for the gathering, which is taking place in September, calls for the establishment of a “Borders Commission”.
It states the South of Scotland has “long been neglected and under-served” by the UK Government both economically and socially.
READ MORE: Brexit-fuelled food crisis deepens for Scots as shelves empty and price increases loom
But it says a “well-formulated and enacted” plan for the area could see it become a hub for wealth creation for the region and an independent Scotland as a whole.
The motion, being put forward by the Meadows Morningside and Hawick and District branches, states: “To aid this Conference supports a Regional Development Plan for the International Border Gateways between an Independent Scotland and England with the intention of maximising economic, social and demographic benefits to the Borders and an Independent Scotland.
“To this end Conference proposes that the SNP adopt as policy, the establishment of an expert Borders Commission to advise on how borders with the rest of the UK and the EU, EEA, or EFTA (or any other trade organisation we may wish to join), might most favourably benefit Scotland as it transitions to independence, in preparation for a renewed White Paper.”
One of the biggest issues in another referendum campaign will be how the Border between Scotland and the rest of the UK will operate, with Brexit changing the scenario which existed in 2014.
READ MORE: Ruth Wishart: ‘Team GB’ at Tokyo Olympics can’t disguise this abomination
In April, when asked about the consequences of a Border with England if Scotland rejoined the EU after independence, Nicola Sturgeon said: “I want us to be part of the world’s biggest single market. It’s seven times the size of the UK market.
“But of course I want to and will work with others to make sure we keep trade flowing easily across the Border between Scotland and England.”
Last month a claim by Tory minister Kevin Foster that a “great wall of Gretna” would be built after Scottish independence was criticised as a “mischievous exaggeration” by a leading expert on borders.
Katy Hayward, a professor of sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, also pointed out that such images were never used by UK ministers when talking about the relationship with the EU post-Brexit.
READ MORE: Andrew Tickell: This is what you need to know about 'Queen's consent'
The draft agenda for the SNP National Conference, which takes place from September 10-13, is focused on themes of independence, local government and climate change.
Conferences Committee convener Stewart Stevenson said with limited time it had only been possible to take forward a small proportion of the 130 motions submitted and the number is expected to reduce further on the final agenda.
Another motion put forward by the Castle Douglas and Glenkens branch calls for a strategic framework for Scots citizenship after independence to be developed immediately, ready to be introduced from “day one of independence”.
It says as well as those born in Scotland automatically qualifying, “New Scots” will be able to apply based on criteria such as length as residency, as well as spousal citizenship and citizenship by descent.
But it rules out the need for people wishing to apply for citizenship to pass a test similar to the current “Life in the UK” test and says it will not be based on financial criteria such as income levels or employment status.
The motion states: “Conference rejects and condemns the hostile environment of the UK Home Office and xenophobic attitudes of the Tory Westminster government.
“Their policies have caused hardship and worry for many New Scots. Immigration is not currently devolved, and despite Scotland welcoming New Scots, many have had to make the difficult decisions to leave their homes in Scotland.
“This is a loss to all of Scotland and felt deeply across our Nation.”
It goes on: “Conference further acknowledges that the current UK paths to UK Citizenship are based on unjust requirements, such as obtaining Settled Status, Indefinite Leave to Remain or a Permanent Residency Card.
“These requirements include passing the so-called ‘Life in the UK Test’, which does not reflect a fair approach, with many of the required answers being disputed and often not known by UK Citizens themselves.”
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Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. | https://www.thenational.scot/news/19483172.snp-conference-plan-talks-independent-scotlands-border-unveiled/ |
EBONYIDA FOUNDATION PROGRAM REPORT FOR 2021
The EbonyIda Foundation has worked towards creating opportunities for children, youth and women to have benefits in the realm of education and programs of economic empowerment through our program initiatives. A quality basic education gives children and youth the knowledge and skills they need to face daily life challenges, and take advantage of economic and lifelong learning opportunities. It is also a key driver for reducing poverty, fostering economic growth, achieving gender equality, and social development.
In pursuit of the above objectives we have delivered on the goals by implementing programs geared towards meeting the needs of less privileged kids with school supplies to one hundred and ninety-five (195) less privileged children. The EbonyIda foundation established a skill acquisition center for the youth in Edo state Nigeria. The school supplies which include Uniforms, Shoes and writing materials were provided to less privileged pupils who cannot afford them and a skill acquisition training center where selected youths can acquire fashion design skills.
BENEFICIARY
The School Supply program was for three Public Primary schools within Benin metropolis which were carefully selected from three local government areas (Egor, Ikpoba-Okha and Oredo) to benefit from this gesture.
The schools are:
Olua Primary School, Egor LGA
Ologbosere Primary School, Ikpoba-OkhaLGA
Owegie PrimarySchool, Oredo LGA
MODE OF BENEFICIARY SELECTION
Selection of beneficiaries was done by working with the head of schools (Headmistress/Headmaster) who are acquainted with every pupil and their pre-existing constraints to basic school supplies and confirmed by EbonyIda Foundation project manager. Once the names of the pupils are obtained, EbonyIda foundation’s staff interviewed the selected pupils to ascertain their poverty score and determine if they are best fit for the benefits. Visits were made to selected pupil’s parents in a bid to ascertain poverty level. Setup of the skill acquisition center was done and basic infrastructures needed such as industrial sewing machines were purchased to make it ready for skill acquisition programs to be held next year.
NUMBER OF BENEFICIARY
Sixty (60) pupils each from three (3) selected schools making a total of one hundred and eighty (180) male and female pupils were initially selected to benefit from this program. However due to the high number of less privileged pupils in Olua Primary school, the gesture was extended to one hundred and ninety-five (195) pupils from the three schools.
EVENT TIMELINE
The project started in January 2021 with preliminary preparation of the foundation office space arrangement/logistics and runs till the end of financial year 2021. Date for events and items presentation to selected pupils was largely affected by the approval letter obtained by public school heads/government bodies (State Universal Basic Education Board-SUBEB). The board approval was obtained in October 2021 and the school supplies program held in the school as follows;
SCHOOL NAMES & DATE OF EVENTS
BREAKDOWN OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES
There were a total of 75 pupils at OLUA PRIMARY SCHOOL that received help. 24 uniforms @ $30 were given at a total cost of $720. 31 pairs of shoes @ $25 were given at a total cost of $775 and 20 writing material at a total cost of $400.
A total of 60 pupils OLOGBOSERE PRIMARY at SCHOOL received 20 uniforms @ $30 given at a total cost of $600. 20 writing material were given at a total of $400. 20 shoes @ $25 were given at a total of $500.
OWEGIE PRIMARY SCHOOL receivied help for a total of 60 pupils. 20 uniforms @ $30 were given at a total cost of $600. 20 shoes @ $25 were given at a total cost of $500. 20 writing materials were given at a total cost of $400.
The total cost for each category with all three shools came to $1,920 in the uniforms. $1,775 in shoes and $1,200 in writing materiral. Grand total cost for all supplies came up to $4,895.
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating.
We'll only email you new reports and updates about this project. | https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/provide-50-kids-school-supplies-in-benin-city-ng/reports/?subid=182413 |
By Mark J. Edwards, Martin Goodman, Simon Price, Chris Rowland
This e-book is a entire survey of the discussion among pagans, Jews, and Christians within the Roman empire as much as the time while Constantine declared himself a Christian. every one bankruptcy is written through a distinct student and is dedicated to a unmarried textual content or crew of texts with the purpose of opting for the possible viewers, the literary milieu, and the situations that resulted in this way of writing.
Read or Download Apologetics in the Roman Empire: Pagans, Jews, and Christians PDF
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Sample text
63 For the comparison, see further D. R. Edwards, Religion and Power, and my ` ``In Journeyings Often'' '; also my `Narrative Maps'. 64 Maddox, Purpose of Luke±Acts, 66±7. 65 Even where the dramatic audience is Roman (as in the hearings before Felix and Festus), the accusers and the charges are essentially Jewish; and by bringing on Agrippa as an interested observer in the ®nal court scene (ch. 26), Luke eectively turns Paul's last and fullest apologetic speech into a restatement and defence of his whole theological standpoint before a ®gure who can be identi®ed as a symbolic spokesman for Diaspora Judaism.
55 It is against this background, I believe, that we should understand the rather puzzling vagueness which pervades the apologetic scenarios in Acts. Despite their careful dramatic construction and characterization, it is not always easy to tell what the precise charge is and how (if at all) it is rebutted. The apologetic speeches in Acts also exemplify other important features of early Christian apologetic in the New Testament period. The formal distinction between speech and narrative is largely deconstructed by Luke himself, in that the speeches he gives to his characters constantly refer back to narrative, repeat narrative, and reinforce and interpret narrative.
The Western text, clearly feeling something lacking in Luke's account, inserts a more robust declaration of innocence by the magistrates. Cf. Johnson, Acts, 302. 48 Cf. Judge, `Decrees of Caesar'. 36 Loveday Alexander two court appearances before Felix and Festus (chs. 21±6). This is the section of the narrative which most clearly depicts the apostle on trial before a Roman tribunal, culminating with the famous `appeal to Caesar' and the journey to Rome (chs. 27±8). This is the most obviously `apologetic' section of the book: ®ve of Acts' six occurrences of the verb apologeomai and both its occurrences of the noun apologia appear in these chapters. | http://latlas-art.org/kindle/apologetics-in-the-roman-empire-pagans-jews-and-christians |
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As a member of the Miltenyi Biotec Quality team, you will have the opportunity to develop, establish, implement and maintain the Site Microbial Contamination Control program for cell therapy products in a GMP environment. You will have the opportunity to provide QA oversight of the Environmental Monitoring program and Aseptic Processing Simulation activities, drive microbial contamination deviations and ensure that the proper CAPAs are effectively implemented. You will also have the opportunity to oversee cleaning and disinfectant qualification, cleaning validation program and drive risk management and change controls. You will work jointly with other units across the site to develop and maintain processes and procedures to ensure appropriate quality oversight while demonstrating compliance with cGMP for the Sunnyvale site's clinical and commercial pipelines. Additionally, you will be responsible for overseeing the validation program for QC Microbiology. The unique duties of this position will consist of coordinating release for final cell-based therapeutic products for clinical applications. Overall, your leadership ability and deep knowledge of quality will champion the continued development of Miltenyi Biotec products and growing success.
* Minimum of 5 years' progressive experience in Quality Assurance; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms, talk, and hear. The employee is required to stand; climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. Must have ability to handle more than one task at a time and must work at a rapid pace while maintaining attention to detail.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. This job is performed in a temperature controlled facility without exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures. Generally, this job is performed in a sanitized laboratory setting and routinely uses standard medical and research equipment such as centrifuges, biosafety cabinets, microscopes, incubators, pipettes and computers. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to blood, viruses, bacteria, body fluids and other tissues. Employees entering and leaving the laboratory must wear appropriate clothing and protective equipment. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
Miltenyi Biotec is a company that is transforming and progressing. Our culture is one of bold scientific innovation. Join a fresh and collaborative working environment that encourages contribution, innovation, and growth.
At Miltenyi Biotec Inc., we have developed state of the art manufacturing processes for innovative cellular therapies. We are scientists, engineers, physicians, support specialists, and more - all dedicated to improving scientific understanding and impacting human lives. At our Sunnyvale facility we strive to find solutions to both the technical and conceptual barriers to enable development of cell and gene therapy approaches for the treatment of human disease. | https://www.sunnyvalerecruiter.com/other-jobs/712023897/quality-assurance-senior-specialist-environmental-monitoring |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reported today that on Jan. 20, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) implemented a streamlined import document review process. The CFIA is removing the requirement for pre-clearance of the FSIS Form 9135-3, Certificate for Export of Meat and Poultry Products to Canada. This change will also apply to FSIS 9060-7 and FSIS 9060-18 issued for natural casings. As of Feb. 17, 2014, the implementation of this change will be complete and the CFIA will no longer process pre-clearance review requests of export certificates or documentation.
Details outlining the transition with implementation dates assigned to specific Canadian importers and brokers are available in the FSIS Export Library. The original completed and signed export certificate must be provided directly to the broker effective the date assigned to each Canadian importer and broker. Since the CFIA will no longer pre-clear export certificates for accuracy and completeness, exporters must ensure that all data requirements are entered accurately and completely onto FSIS Forms 9135-3, FSIS 9060-7, FSIS 9060-18 and FSIS letterhead certificates. Failure to provide accurate and complete information could result in delayed or refused entry of the U.S. products exported to Canada. A guideline for completing export certificates for Canada is available in the FSIS Export Library.
Canadian importers and brokers will enter the import data requirements available on the export certificate into the Canadian Border Services Agency’s Electronic Data Interchange system. The data requirements must be accurate and complete to ensure the import requirements are met to allow entry into Canada. Exporters are encouraged to work closely with their Canadian importers and brokers to prevent any potential disruption to shipments to Canada. | http://www.foodsafetymagazine.com/news/cfia-no-longer-requiring-fsis-form-pre-clearance-for-meat-exports/ |
The Oaks Nursery is a fast growing Early Years School located in Abuja. Our aim is to nurture children between the ages of 3 months to 5 years in a warm caring environment.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Front Desk / Social Media Executive
Location: Abuja (FCT)
Employment Type: Full-time
Role Description
- School receptionists are often the first people that students, families, and visitors see when they enter a school.
- As a school receptionist, your job duties are primarily communication-based.
- As such, you’ll need to be familiar with proper phone and email etiquette and possess strong interpersonal skills.
- Your daily tasks will include keeping records, scheduling meetings, and facilitating communication between teachers, staff, and families.
- You may also be required to provide secretarial support in addition to reception duties.
Main Responsibilities
Front Desk:
- Answers phone calls in a pleasant, informed manner for the purpose of providing information and creating a good image of the school
- Manages telephone message system (office hours, inclement weather and other recorded messages)
- Greets all incoming students, families and guests respectfully and professionally
- Assists in all aspects of maintaining a professional front office, including but not limited to, fielding and directing incoming phone calls to the appropriate staff member in a timely, professional manner, filing and copying and faxing of sensitive information.
- Understands, accepts, and abides by the School’s philosophy and mission statement in all his/her school activities.
- Develops a positive, welcoming and caring climate in the Front Office.
- Consistently exhibits high standards of professional conduct.
- Effectively perform all other duties as assigned by the Principal.
- Arrives punctually, be prepared for each school day, and maintains regular attendance.
- Provides for children’s personal needs such as attending to those who are sick or hurt; administering medications as prescribed by a physician in accordance with training and authorization
- Requires basic clerical skills and knowledge of office practices and procedures that involve the operation of standard office equipment such as personal computer, copier, fax, and associated equipment that can be learned on the job within several months.
- Assists students and others with routine problems and will refer non-routine items to a supervisor.
- Required to sit or stand for extended periods of time
- Lifts supplies and materials weigh up to 25 pounds.
- May be assigned to work in Guidance, Student Services, Curriculum, or the general office.
- Types routine correspondence, memoranda, reports, records, bulletins, orders and other office documents from sources such as rough drafts, notes, and oral instructions.
- Receives, counts, open, unpacks, dates, stamps, records, sorts and distributes incoming mail, documents, books, materials and supplies following established procedures.
- Sorts and stamps out-going correspondence, addresses envelopes and packages and prepares printed matter and other material for mailing.
- Receives and refers visitors, takes telephone calls and messages, and provides routine information upon request.
- Enters information or data to personal computer or computer terminal following established procedures.
- Able to honour confidential information.
- Gives a daily report of general observations to the school administrator.
- Carrying out other duties that may be assigned by Management.
Social Media:
- Manages all school social media accounts and campaigns
- Develops engaging, creative, innovative content for regularly scheduled posts, which enlighten audiences and promote brand-focused messages
- Coordinates social media messaging with advertising departments, brand managers, and quarterly or seasonal school goals
- Researches and analyses social media trends, including social media ad revenue and web visitor data, to improve social media presence and campaign efficacy.
- Works with various company departments to promote the overall brand through social media channels.
Requirements
- Interested candidates should possess a BSc Degree qualification
- 2 – 4 years of work experience.
Salary
- N50,000 – N60,000 Monthly.
Application Closing Date
15th December, 2021.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should send their CV to: [email protected] using the Job Title as the subject of the mail. | https://therelationshiptips.com/front-desk-social-media-executive-at-the-oaks-nursery/ |
This thesis is about the process of creating a design proposal of a letterbox for mounting on security doors. The project was developed in cooperation with a manufacturer of security doors made of steel. The purpose of this work has been to develop a concept for a mailbox with several new functions and an innovative aesthetic design, at the request of the company. This new design has to be in line with existing security demands and should also include a wide group of users.
According to French’s model, a method has been used where user studies, tests and focus groups provides essential information. The three design principles inclusive design, pleasure design and gamification has been the guiding star throughout the process.
A function diagram was used on a regular letterbox to find functions with potential for improvements. The focus of the concept development was based on the findings from this diagram.
The concept generation resulted in the letter box Droppen, containing innovative functions that have been developed from the existing ones. This letterbox is challenging by expanding old functionalities such as LED lamps as a mean of communication or using the magazine holder as a form of unloading zone. The distinguished and soft form of a drop is a design that appeals to many people and at the same time makes it easy to pick up the mail. The box is made from zinc alloyed steel, which makes it heavy but durable. The many options for individual design not only increase the customer value but also indirectly reduce the impact on the environment. | http://his.diva-portal.org/smash/resultList.jsf?af=%5B%5D&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22personId%22%3A%22j12johli%22%7D%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D&aq2=%5B%5B%5D%5D&language=en&query= |
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become even more important to cope with loss and grief in a healthy way. Here are four ways that may offer some guidance as you process the loss of a loved one:
1. Resist Scheduling Your Grief
After the death of someone close to you, it’s natural to want to reclaim control of your feelings. We’ve heard time and again that people will, in their words, allow themselves to grieve for a month or two—or maybe up to a year—and then try to move forward.
While an awareness of your current state of mind is important, we encourage you to resist putting limits on your bereavement period. There’s simply no way to follow a schedule when your emotions are involved. In actuality, there’s no right answer when it comes to how long your grief should last. The process is different for everyone who goes through it. Pay attention to your feelings, and let the grief journey be a natural, unforced experience.
2. Avoid Comparing Your Grief to Others’
Say one person is crying at a loved one’s funeral, and another seems to be keeping it together. There is no correct way to process grief, and comparing your grief to the grief of others can be harmful.
The truth is that everyone copes with loss in different ways. One person may experience an immediate flood of emotions, while another may feel numb for the first few months. Everyone’s life circumstances and emotional responses are unique, and while discussing your grief with others can be very helpful, comparing your response to other people’s is less so. When faced with the temptation to compare yourself to others, know that you can never assume to understand the inner workings of someone else’s life, just as they can never assume to understand yours.
3. Prioritize Your Health
Physical and emotional exhaustion are common symptoms of dealing with loss. It can be helpful to recognize that during the grieving process, you may need more rest than usual. Endeavor to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, and if possible, aim for at least eight hours’ rest each night. (Importantly, too much sleep can also lead to exhaustion, so it’s vital to find a healthy balance.)
To keep your mental health top of mind, you will also want to seek out friends and family when needed, practice mindfulness, and take stock of how you’re feeling throughout. Do your best to articulate your emotional experience. Be present with others. Eating well and getting enough exercise will help you stay physically healthy during this emotional period, but try not to judge yourself if you also feel the occasional pull to indulge.
4. Join a Supportive Community
Seeking support during the grieving process can bring a great deal of relief. Though you don’t need to feel obligated to discuss your loss all the time, you should certainly feel free to talk through what you’re experiencing with a group of trusted confidantes.
The theme here is to foster connections with others while you process and experience your emotions. Whether you decide to join a support group, sign up for a new activity, or engage in deep conversations with loved ones, you have many options when it comes to building a support network and community during this difficult period.
If you’ve found your community but sense you may need some extra support, a licensed counselor or therapist can help. Many of these professionals offer telehealth sessions, which can be facilitated remotely during COVID-19, allowing you to connect with and process your grief from the comfort of your home.
A Historic Los Angeles Cemetery, Funeral Home, and Events Center
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A funeral director is available to speak with you and answer your questions 24 hours a day. If a death has occurred or for funeral planning, please call us on (323) 469-1181 or toll-free: (877) 844-3837 or click here to view our plans and pricing. | https://hollywoodforever.com/articles/overcoming-grief-4-strategies-for-coping-with-loss/ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a curriculum framework?
In early learning and child care, curriculum is focused on the uniqueness of childhood, considering learning and care with broad holistic goals for children’s development and learning, highlighting the importance of play, relationships and family diversity. Flight is broadly focused on the process of our work and the decisions that we make every day, rather than determining the content of children’s learning, as traditional ideas of curriculum often suggest. The content of children’s learning will continue to be developed using children’s interests and daily experiences.
Flight is not:
- A checklist of pre-determined outcomes.
- A pre-set plan of activities.
- A list of ages and stages.
Flight will:
- Be based on the children, educators, families and community of the child care, family day home or ECS program.
- Create places of meaning making through dialogue with others and particularly, with families.
- Develop a common language for how we talk about and plan for what children are learning and how we work with families.
- Consider holistic play-based learning goals that are grounded in current theories of learning, values and principles about what is important for responsive care and early learning in Alberta.
Why is a curriculum framework important?
A curriculum framework, grounded in research and reflective of a shared set of professional values, will guide the decisions that educators make every day in providing care and learning experiences for children. A curriculum framework will help create a common language across programs; one that respects our diversity and uniqueness, but also makes clear the underlying values, principles and goals that guide responsive routines, learning experiences and interactions with children and families:
- Professional Values such as equity, play and respect are the foundation of the framework.
- Principles are statements that reflect what we consider to be current truths in our work with early learners and their families, such as: “Children’s life-long health, well-being, learning and behaviour is strongly connected to their early childhood experiences.”
- Curricular goals are grounded in research and express what we know to be important for responsive care and early learning experiences for young children such as: “Play & Playfulness - Children experience open and flexible environments where exploration and play are encouraged and purposefully planned. With the implementation of Flight we should feel a shift in our understanding of practice – from doing what we do because we’ve always done it that way, to practice that is intentional, grounded in research and that exemplifies, for ourselves and others, what responsive early learning and care for young children looks like.
Who developed the curriculum framework?
A team of faculty from Grant MacEwan University and Mount Royal University was invited by the Alberta Government to lead this project. We used a participatory approach to develop the curriculum framework. Front line child care educators from centre based programs and family day homes have been involved on the advisory committee and in developing support materials.
Will the curriculum framework be mandated by the Alberta government?
Currently the curriculum framework is not mandatory. It is available free of charge to any educator who wants to voluntarily engage with the ideas and concepts as a way to support their evolving practices, planning and provisions for young children’s learning. However, all Government of Alberta Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) sites offering $25/day programs are using Flight to guide their daily practice.
How do I use the curriculum framework to support my work with children?
The possibilities are endless! A curriculum framework will guide early learning and child care educators as they consider holistic goals for early learning and care in the development of nurturing daily routines, responsive play and learning experiences and environments, and thoughtful interactions with each child and family.
Learning always evolves out of what children are doing — their engagement with ideas, materials and others. It is in the doing that curriculum is lived. The curriculum meaning making process begins with observing children’s play and using the curriculum goals to consider it and describe it. The curriculum framework document provides a lens for reflecting on and interpreting what has taken place in children’s play and what to plan for next.
As outlined in section 3.1 Holistic Play-Based Goals, there are many ways to use the curriculum framework to support your daily work with young learners. For example:
- You may use the reflective questions to examine your current practices.
- Educators may use the curriculum framework holistic goals and dispositions to learn as a lens to interpret children’s experiences and then share their interpretation and documentation with other team members and children’s families.
- The curriculum framework may act as a guide to a way of being with children as a co- learner, co-researcher and co-imaginer of possibilities.
- It may help educators to engage in a co-inquiry process and curriculum meaning making to support their emergent curriculum planning.
- Teams engage in continued professional learning by discussing core concepts at staff meetings.
Can I make copies of the curriculum framework for my own use?
Flight (formerly Play, Participation and Possibilities) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You are free to share – You may copy and distribute this material in any medium or format under the following terms:
Attribution – You must give appropriate credit. You should:
- credit the creators
- provide the title of the work
- provide the URL where the work is hosted
The following is an example for an APA-style reference:
Makovichuk, L., Hewes, J., Lirette, P., & Thomas, N. (2014). Flight: Alberta’s early learning and care framework. Retrieved from flightframework.ca.
Non-Commercial – This material is not for commercial purposes. However, you can use the curriculum framework for your own personal and professional purposes. This means that you may use the curriculum framework to guide your professional development and practice. As well, you may share ideas and materials for educational purposes to support learners.
No Derivatives – If you remix, transform, or build upon the materials, you may not distribute the modified material. This means that if you use portions of the curriculum framework, reword phrases, or combine it with other materials you may not distribute that modified material as the curriculum framework.
To review the license, follow the active link Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License
The curriculum framework goals within this framework have been reprinted with permission from the New Brunswick Curriculum Framework for Early Learning and Care, English (2008). The copyright for these goals resides with the University of New Brunswick Early Childhood Centre and the Government of New Brunswick, Department of Social Development. They therefore reside outside of this Creative Commons license.
Why is the framework called Flight?
“Flight” is generally defined as the movement of flying through the air, conjures images of journey, is associated with words like soaring, gliding, circling, and fluttering, and symbolizes the innovative, playful, creative, and often unpredictable trajectories in our work with young children. The Great Horned Owl, the bird chosen as the Flight logo, was selected by children as Alberta’s provincial bird. As well, some Alberta communities hold the owl as a symbol of wisdom and strength. Children, as mighty learners and citizens, reflect the notion of greatness, wisdom, and strength as well. | https://flightframework.ca/faq.php |
Artwork can be provided in a number of ways but the most common is to supply a digital graphics file. Digital files are ideal because they allow for more control and flexibility and guarantee the best imprint quality possible. Flexibilty is very important because more often than not, your artwork will need to be adjusted in order to print properly on the large variety of products available.
Microsoft Word, Corel, and applications like Excel and Powerpoint are not graphic applications and cannot be used to generate artwork. Typically, a user will import a graphic into one of these applications. It is the imported graphic file that is usually required and should be listed in one of the above categories.
Web image formats like GIF, JPG, TIFF, BMP, and PNG are designed for computer screen use and not for print and are generally too low in resolution to be useable.
Generally speaking, providing a fax, photocopy, letterhead, business card or any other printed material will more that likely involve the recreation of your logo to meet industry, and more specifically, GatewayCDI graphic standards. | https://www.yourpromosolution.com/Artwork.htm |
I grew up in Chico, California. In the past, if I mentioned Chico to anyone, they would smile and bring up Sierra Nevada beer, our local claim to fame or mention a relative who went to Chico State. However, these days, mentioning Chico results in saddened faces and inquiries into the well-being of my family.
On November 8, the most destructive fire in America's history started a deadly rampage through Northern California. It completely destroyed the town of Paradise, right outside my hometown. Paradise is mainly a retirement community, and so many of its residents are elderly, living in assisted living communities nestled deep within forested neighborhoods. As of today, there are over 1,000 people unaccounted for. Each day reveals more names of those who perished, unable to outrun the flames. It is hard to imagine, here on the other side of the country, what has become of my beloved hometown and the sadness and devastation that has taken hold of my friends and neighbors. The stories of pain and loss are too heartbreaking to comprehend.
In the wake of September 11, people began sharing a famous quote from Mr. Rogers: “My mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.”
Today, I am overwhelmed by the humanity and heroism coming out of California. From the garbage collectors who pulled 90 year olds to safety, to the school bus driver who thought quickly and doused the 22 children on board with limited available water to prevent burns and smoke inhalation. Big acts like the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Paradise football team, and small generosities like grocery stores giving out free produce and turkeys. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised by GoFundMe campaigns, and the people of Chico have evacuees living in their homes.
These acts of kindness are overwhelming. They show the best of who we are and they show that, in spite of our differences, human beings are hard wired to help each other. In 2009, the New York Times published a study contradicting the existing notion that humans were naturally selfish and flawed. The study showed that the desire to help others starts very young and is not a learned behavior, but rather a natural instinct. The study talks about the idea of shared intentionality, understanding that humans share a desire to cooperate towards a greater goal. Ultimately, this concept is what separates us from our chimpanzee cousins, and shapes our humanity. In essence, it is exactly these acts of kindness, generosity, and altruism that make us human.
Other theories offer that empathy is what brings out our desire to help each other, and while some people are born with more empathetic tendencies, this soft skill can be learned, expanded, and strengthened. Empathy goes beyond compassion and involves the ability to place yourself in someone else's shoes and emotionally understand what that person is experiencing. I've worked with leaders on building their "empathy muscle" by incorporating daily practices like intentional eye contact, question-based interactions, and active listening.
Whether the desire to support others in times of need is encoded in our DNA, or strengthened by our understanding of other's pain, or a mix of both, there is no doubt that moments of great suffering bring out opportunities for great generosity. As I check in with my family and friends in Chico, their updates are often equal parts tragic stories and uplifting accounts. I find myself as overwhelmed and moved by the goodness of the community as I am heartbroken by the loss.
There will never be a lack of tragedy in our world. Suffering continues to exist. Let's not wait for the next big catastrophe to show our humanity. Check in with each other. Look each other in the eyes. Imagine the world from the position of someone else. You never know when you may need to rely on the kindness of others. | https://www.tamarlechter.com/single-post/2018/11/20/doing-good |
Ever since my first visit to Japan, I wanted to see the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. I visited it yesterday… there are so many impressive and unforgettable monuments… Among them, the one that impressed me the most was the Atomic Bomb Dome.
Inaugurated in 1915, the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition instantly became a landmark of Hiroshima. The building was designed by the Czech architect Jan Letzel and its purpose was to promote industrial production… Nobody would have imagined then the tragic destiny of this building and the peace symbol that it became.
Actually, it seems that the survival of the Dome was due to a targeting error… like the rest of the surrounding buildings, it would have been completely destroyed by the shock-wave if the bomb would have reached its target, the nearby Aioi Bridge. But the bomb exploded almost right above the Dome and a part of the walls and the metallic frame remained standing.
The people called it Genbaku Dōmu 「原爆ドーム」, the Atomic Bomb Dome, and in 1966 a decision has been made to preserve it as a memorial for the people who died then and as a symbol of hope that something like this will never happen again.
In 1996 the Hiroshima A-bomb Dome was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site:
EXIF Info:
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Yesterday’s Japan Photo: | https://muza-chan.net/japan/index.php/blog/hiroshima-atomic-bomb-dome |
The retention factor or Rf value of a compound in TLC is a measure of how far a sample has moved up the plate in relation to the solvent front. It is a ratio and can be calculated as:
A TLC experiment should aim to have an Rf value in the range of 0.3 - 0.7. Rf values are specific to a solvent system and the sample, therefore if the experiment was replicated a database of Rf values can be used to identify the different compounds on the plate, for specific compounds and solvent systems. The value is most often used to distinguish between spots in a Lab report.
NOTE: The Rf value is not to be confused with the retention factor k', also known as the capacity factor, used in HPLC. | https://theory.labster.com/rf-value/ |
An Unholy Alliance offers a dissenting view to the claim by a growing number of scholars that Sports are a new religion. The last few years have seen a spate of books that might be classified by a genre called "Sports Apologetics," that is, arguments defending or celebrating in one way or another the familiar and ongoing alliance in America between sports and religion. Recently, claims have been made by scholars that sports are an authentic religion in and of them-selves. They make this startling assertion not by showing connections with the teachings of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, or Moses, but by parallels between the rites of modern games and those of preliterate man that were "religious" in nature because they were designed to propitiate powers and to ward off evil for the tribes employing them.
In this evocative book, Higgs and Braswell suggest that while sports may often be good things, they are not inherently divine. They do not focus on wide-spread abuse in sports as evidence for their counterargument. Rather, they question the use of mythological parallels from prehistory as justification for viewing sports as a religion.
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What is solar insolation?
The amount of electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) incident on the surface of the earth. Basically that means how much sunlight is shining down on us.
Why is knowing the insolation level useful?
By knowing the insolation levels of a particular region we can determine the size of solar collector that is required. An area with poor insolation levels will need a larger collector than an area with high insolation levels. Once you know your region's insolation level you can more accurately calculate collector size and energy output.
What units are used to express Insolation levels?
The values are generally expressed in kWh/m2/day. This is the amount of solar energy that strikes a square metre of the earth's surface in a single day. Of course this value is averaged to account for differences in the days' length. There are several units that are used throughout the world.
The conversions based on surface area as follows:
1 kWh/m2/day = 317.1 btu/ft2/day = 3.6MJ/m2/day
The raw energy conversions are:
1kWh = 3412 Btu = 3.6MJ = 859.8kcal
Is my region's insolation level low, moderate or high?
The following scale is a basic guide for insolation levels. Although a value of 5 is not considered very high during the summer months, as an average annual value this is very high. You will see that in central Australia, which is a hot, sunny place, the annual average insolation is 5.89.
You may compare you location to the following two extreme locations.
Average annual insolation levels:
Central Australia = 5.89 kWh/m2/day - Very High
Helsinki, Finland = 2.41 kWh/m2/day - Very Low
The operation of the solar collector is as follows:
1. Solar Absorption: Solar thermal energy is absorbed within the evacuated tubes and is converted into usable concentrated heat.
2. Solar Thermal Transfer: Copper heat pipes transfer the thermal energy from within the solar tube into the copper header.
3. Solar Thermal Storage: A thermal transfer solution (water or glycol mixture) is pumped through the copper header. As the the solution circulates through the copper header the temperature is raised by 5-10 oC / 9-18 oF.
Evacuated Tubes: The most efficient thermal collector on the market, the glass tubes absorb solar thermal energy for use in water heating. The tubes have a double wall, the area between the inner and outer layers of the wall are evacuated ( a vacuum). This acts as a thermos to keep heat from escaping into the atmosphere.
Heat Pipe: Inside the glass tube is the copper heat pipe. It is a sealed hollow copper tube that contains a small amount of proprietary liquid, which under low pressure boils at a very low temperature. In fact the liquid contained in the heat pipe boils at only 86 oF (30 oC).
The header is enclosed in the manifold (above).
This heat pipe rapidly and efficiently transfers the captured thermal energy through the evacuated tube and delivers it to the manifold (header) as the liquid boils and rises. As the heat is removed from the heat pipe by the copper header, the liquid condenses and gravity returns it to the base of the heat pipe so that the process is continually repeated.
Because the evacuated tubes are round, they serve as a passive tracking solar collector maximizing their performance.
Here are a list of some terms you may encounter when reading through our web site.
We have tried to make explanations as easy to understand as possible, but if you are still un-clear please feel free to contact us.
Aperture: The part of the collector through which light enters. For evacuated tubes this refers to the cross-sectional surface area of the outer clear glass tube measured using the internal diameter, not the outside diameter.
(Eg. 0.0548m x 1.72m = 0.094m2). 1.72m is the exposed length of the evacuated tube.
Absorber: The part of the collector that actively absorbs the light rays. For solar tubes this is defined as the cross-sectional area of the inner tube (selective coated) measured using the outside diameter. (Eg. 0.047 x 1.72m = 0.08m2) This value is used when calculating efficiency values. For solar tube collectors with reflective panels, the entire circumferential surface area of the inner tube is often used when calculating absorber area, as the reflective panel is supposed to reflect light onto underside of the evacuated tube.
BTU - Stands for British Thermal Units. This is an imperial unit of measurement for heat widely used in the US and also in the UK. The conversion to the metric unit kWh is: 1 kWh = 3412Btu, and for surface area values, 1kWh/m2/day = 314Btu/ft2/day
Celsius - The metric unit for temperature measurement. Convert as follows:
Fahrenheit = (oC x 1.8) + 32
Celsius = (oF - 32)/1.8
For Delta-T measurements the relative temperature difference is needed.
Eg. Delta-T = 7oC turn pump on, Delta-T 2oC turn pump off. How much is that in oF?
The conversion from Fahrenheit to Celsius is simple:
Fahrenheit = oC x 1.8
Celsius = oF / 1.8
Delta-T Controller: Delta-T refers to the difference in two temperatures. This term is often use in relation to a solar controller. In such case the Delta-T is the difference between the solar collector temperature and the temperature of the water in the solar storage tank. A Delta-T controller can be configured to turn on the pump when the Delta-T difference exceeds a certain level (Eg.7oC / 12.7oF) and off again when the temperature difference drops below another setting (Eg. 2oC / 3.6oF). The controller turns on the pump when there is heat potential in the manifold. A Delta-T controller can also be used to provide freeze protection by circulating warm water from the tank through the manifold when the manifold temperature drops below 5oC.
Efficiency: Solar collector efficiency is usually expressed as a percentage value, or in a performance graph. When assessing a collector's performance make sure it is based on the correct surface area values. Eg. If performance values are based on gross area, then the gross area must be used when determining total heat output. IAM values have a significant influence on actual heat output throughout the day, and should be considered. Looking at just the percentage efficiency value will not give a true indication of daily heat output.
Efficiency testing is usually completed by testing bodies such as SPF, SRCC and other government approved testing bodies.
Tm* is the x axis value on performance graphs for solar collectors.
Tm* is calculated as:
(water temp - ambient temp)/Insolation
Eg. (44oC - 20oC)/800Watts = 0.03
Flow Rate: The volume of water flowing through plumbing in a given period of time. Usually measured in volume/minute or volume/hour. 1 Litre/min = 0.264 US Gallon/min
Gross Area: The total surface area of the collector including the frame, manifold and absorber. This area is often used when comparing collectors, but a better comparison to use is value for money. Roof size is not usually a limiting factor for domestic solar water heating installations, so the size of the collector is not really that important.
Insolation: Don't confuse this with insulation - the one letter change makes a big difference. Insolation refers to the amount of sunlight falling on the earth.
Insulation: The ability to protect against transfer of heat/cold. Erjin solar collectors use compressed glass wool to insulate the header from heat loss. Glass wool has excellent insulation properties, is very light and can withstand high temperatures, making it an ideal choice for a solar collector. It is made from a least 80% old glass bottles and can be recycled so is very environmentally friendly.
Irridance, Irridation: Basically the same as Insolation - explained above.
Incidence Angle Modifier (IAM): refers to the change in performance as the sun's angle in relation to the collector surface changes. Perpendicular to the collector (usually midday) is expressed as 0o, with negative and positive angles in the morning and afternoon respectively. Collectors with a flat absorber surface, which includes some types of evacuated tubes, only have 100% efficiency at midday (0o), whereas Erjinsolar tubes provide peak efficiency mid morning and mid afternoon, at around 40o from perpendicular. This results in good stable heat output for most of the day.
Pressure: Refers to the water pressure in the system. The conversions for the most commonly used units are: 1 bar = 1.02kg/cm2 = 14.5psi = 100kPa = 0.1Mpa = 10m water head.
Solar energy is the cleanest and most inexhaustible of all known energy sources. Solar radiation is the heat, light and other radiation that is emitted from the sun. Solar radiation contains huge amounts of energy and is responsible for almost all the natural processes on earth. The suns energy, although plentiful, has been hard to directly harness until recently.
Solar Energy can be classified into two categories, Thermal and Light. Photo-voltaic cells (PV) use semiconductor-based technology to convert light energy directly into an electric current that can either be used immediately, or stored in a battery, for later use. PV panels are now becoming widely used as they are very versatile, and can be easily mounted on buildings and other structures. They can provide a clean, renewable energy source which can supplement and thus minimize the use of mains electricity supply. In regions without main electricity supply such as remote communities, emergency phones etc, PV energy can provide a reliable supply of electricity. The disadvantage of PV panels is their high cost and relatively low energy conversion rate (only 13-15%). Thermal solar on the other hand has average efficiency levels 4-5 times that of PV, and is therefore much cheaper per unit of energy produced.
Thermal energy can be used to passively heat buildings through the use of certain building materials and architectural design, or used directly to heat water for household use. In many regions, solar water heaters are now a viable supplement or alternative to electric or gas hot water production.
Thermal energy obtained from the sun can be used for a number of applications including producing hot water, space heating and even cooling via use of absorption chilling technology.
Using solar and other forms of renewable energy reduces reliance on fossil fuels for energy production, thus directly reducing CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions contribute to global warming, an environmental issue which is now of great concern. The average household can reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 20% by installing an Erjinsolar collector.
Flat plate thermal solar collectors have been in use for several decades, but only in relatively small numbers, particularly in Western countries. Evacuated tubes have also been in use for more than 20 years, but have been much more expensive than flat plate, and therefore only chosen for high temperature applications or by those with money. | http://www.maycasolar.com/tech/ |
Q. Why is American Adoptions the right adoption agency choice for many birth mothers?
Q. What if I choose a family and am not comfortable with them and change my mind about them?
Q. What if I do not know who the father of the baby is or there is more than one possible father?
Q. What if the father of the baby does not agree with my adoption decision?
Q. The father of the baby is my boyfriend, fiancee, husband, etc. Is it unusual that we want to place our baby for adoption?
Q. Do I have to include the birth father in the adoption?
Q. How do I tell my family or friends about my adoption?
Q. Are people right when they say that this is selfish of me? How should I respond when they say something like that?
Q. Can my parents stop me from choosing adoption for my baby?
Q. How will my other children react to adoption? How can I tell my children about my decision?
Q. Will my child understand my decision?
Q. Will I always wonder how my child is doing now?
Q. Will I regret my decision?
Q. Will I be able to see my baby after the birth?
Q. Will I meet and/or talk to the adoptive family before the adoption?
Q. When I find the family that I like, how do I get in touch with them to let them know I have selected them?
Q. How much and what type of financial assistance can I receive?
Q. How involved can I be in the entire adoption process?
Q. How can I be sure that the families that American Adoptions works with are the best possible choices for my baby?
Q. How much information about me is shared with the adoptive family?
Q. How much information about the family will be shared with me?
Q. How much contact can I have with my baby and the adoptive family after the adoption?
Q. Once I sign the adoption papers, can I change my mind?
Q. How will the family tell my child about me and the adoption when my child is older?
Q. What can I expect to feel after I say goodbye?
Q. What is the next step, and how do I start the adoption process?
What if I choose a family and am not comfortable with them and change my mind about them?
Adoption is your choice, and we want you to be comfortable with the family that you have chosen. If you are uncomfortable, then we want to know so we can find the perfect family for you and your baby. If you have any concerns, talk with your Adoption Specialist as soon as possible, as he or she may have information to help you feel comfortable or can help you find another family.
What if I do not know who the father of the baby is or there is more than one possible father?
You are not alone. It isn't unusual for pregnant women to not know exactly who the father of their baby (or birth father) is or how to locate him - that is OK. We will explain how to handle an unknown birth father in your specific state. The most important thing is for you to be honest and open about the birth father or potential birth father(s).
What if the father of the baby does not agree with my adoption decision?
We work with many pregnant women with birth fathers who do not agree with the adoption plan. For me specific information related to your situation, please call an Adoption Specialist at 1-800-ADOPTION.
The father of the baby is my boyfriend, fiancee, husband, etc. Is it unusual that we want to place our baby for adoption?
Absolutely not. Many birth parents are married or still dating and choose adoption together. Each situation is unique, and in many cases, adoption is the best choice for the baby - even if the birth parents are still in a relationship - due to factors like age, financial instability, other children already in their care or other reasons. Involvement from your boyfriend or spouse can provide extra support and guidance for you during the adoption process. We support couples who choose adoption together.
Do I have to include the birth father in the adoption?
We encourage birth father participation in the adoption process if he is willing and supportive. Please speak with an Adoption Specialist at 1-800-ADOPTION for specific information related to your situation.
How do I tell my family or friends about my adoption?
There are many different ways to tell your family and friends about your pregnancy and adoption plans. If you do not feel comfortable telling in person, writing a letter can be a good option. When you write a letter, you can describe your reasons for choosing adoption and share other thoughts and information you have collected about adoption. Letters can be helpful for talking about adoption face-to-face too. Writing a letter allows you to share this information that you might otherwise forget in person, and you can read a letter directly to your family members and friends.
Finding the strength to tell can be very difficult, but explaining your reasoning for adoption to your loved ones is important to consider. If you do not feel comfortable telling your family and feel it is best to keep it confidential, that is OK too. Talk with your Adoption Specialist for helpful tips and information for your situation so she can advise you.
Are people right when they say that this is selfish of me? How should I respond when they say something like that?
Choosing adoption is a loving and unselfish decision, and adoption is positive for everyone involved. Your child will have all the opportunities and experiences that you want for him or her. You will be able to move ahead and accomplish personal goals. Due to your situation, it may be too difficult to raise a child at this point. Meanwhile, there are couples who are unable to have children who you can help to make parents. Performing this amazing act of love can give you a rewarding feeling.
It is important for you to surround yourself with people who are supportive of you and your adoption plan. Sharing why you chose adoption is one way to help others learn about adoption and how special it is for everyone involved. Adoption is your decision, and you alone can make that choice. It takes a very strong and unselfish person to recognize that adoption is the best option for a child.
Can my parents stop me from choosing adoption for my baby?
Adoption is your choice. This is your baby, and you are the only one who knows if you can raise him or her. In most states, your parents cannot legally stop you from creating an adoption plan with American Adoptions. However, helping your parents understand why you feel adoption is the best option and including them in the process can help them to understand your decision, even if they do not agree. Ultimately, you are the only one who can make this decision because it will directly affect you and your child for life. If you feel that it is best to not involve your family in the adoption, American Adoptions will support you. Your Adoption Specialist will counsel you to make sure that you have made the right choice and that you have support elsewhere.
How will my other children react to adoption? How can I tell my children about my decision?
You can teach your children about adoption in many ways. Reading books about adoption, telling bedtime stories that involve adoption, and even involving your children in the adoption process or contact after placement can be helpful in explaining your situation. Children can write letters or draw pictures for their new baby brother or sister. Often this makes them feel as if the child is still a part of their life even when he or she is not living with you. It also allows children to express their feelings and share information that they may not share verbally.
Children need to understand why adoption was a positive choice for you. On an age-appropriate level, explain that you want to "share" this baby with another family who cannot have babies of their own. Remind your children that this baby will always be a part of their lives but lives with another family now. Ask your Adoption Specialist for further ideas for sharing adoption with your other children.
American Adoptions provides several ways to share why you chose adoption for your child. You can speak with the adoptive family and ask them how they plan to tell your child about you and adoption. You can also complete our "Gift of Love" workbook and share hobbies, interests, pictures of you and your family, and any other details about your life that you want your child to know. We encourage you to write a letter for the adoptive family to give to your child someday so that you can explain why you chose adoption. It is normal for birth mothers to have fears about the future of their children. However, expressing your feelings through writing, drawing or other talents will show your child that you made this decision because you loved and wanted the best for him or her.
Will I always wonder how my child is doing now?
Receiving pictures and letters can help you stay informed and updated on your child. These things can reassure you that your child is happy and that you made the best decision for you and your child. You may feel some relief and comfort knowing that your child has what you wanted for them: a loving home full of opportunities.
There are many emotions in adoption. However, choosing a family that you are comfortable with and creating an adoption plan that meets your needs will help you feel confident and avoid regret about your adoption. Adoption is a very difficult decision, and it is normal to question your thoughts and feelings throughout the process. When you think about the reasons that you considered and chose adoption, you will likely find that it was the best decision for you and everyone involved. Knowing that you made a positive decision out of love, and in the best interest of your child, will help you cope with any feelings or thoughts of regret.
Will I be able to see my baby after the birth?
Your hospital experience should happen according to your wishes. If you’d like to see your baby after he or she is born, you can do that. You can choose to hold, feed your baby and change your baby as well. You may also choose to have the adoptive family share in these experiences, so they can begin bonding with the baby. Interacting with your baby at the hospital and forming memories to cherish may help you find closure. You may choose to not have any contact with the baby if that feels right for you. The baby can stay with the adoptive parents in the hospital or in the nursery if that is your preference as well. Each individual woman has to decide what she is comfortable with and what is best for her.
Will I meet and/or talk to the adoptive family before the adoption?
Initially, you will have an opportunity to talk with the adoptive family through a conference call. Your Adoption Specialist will start by introducing you to each other and will stay on the phone to help you feel comfortable and to answer questions. You may also meet the family before the baby is born through a pre-placement visit. If you have specific wishes, discuss them with your Adoption Specialist. If you would like the adoptive family to come to the hospital when you deliver, they will do their best to arrive quickly and spend time with you there. They may even be able to arrive prior to the baby's birth, depending on your delivery. However, if you do not want to meet the adoptive family, be sure to share this with your Adoption Specialist. She will do her best to make arrangements for the adoption according to your wishes.
When I find the family that I like, how do I get in touch with them to let them know I have selected them?
Contact your Adoption Specialist, and he or she will contact the family for you. You can also write them a letter explaining why you would like them to be your child’s parents. With the help of your Adoption Specialist, you will create a personalized adoption plan so you can get to know the adoptive family.
How much and what type of financial assistance can I receive?
Each adoption situation is truly unique, and each state has specific laws regarding financial assistance. In most cases, your medical bills will be covered by the adoptive family. If you have insurance or Medicaid, the family will pay for anything that is not covered. In some states, funds can be provided for your pregnancy-related living expenses like housing, groceries or cell phone service. Since living expenses are regulated through the court system and laws, American Adoptions can provide you with just as much financial assistance during adoption as any other adoption professional. To find out what assistance can be provided in your state, contact us at 1-800-ADOPTION today.
How involved can I be in the entire adoption process?
This is your adoption plan! You call the shots. Your Adoption Specialist will discuss your options with you and provide guidance when needed, but the final decisions are yours. You get to decide how much contact you want to have with the adoptive family and whether or not you would like to see the baby in the hospital. You'll decide if you'd like to receive letters and pictures as the child grows up, and if you're unsure or unready, you can have American Adoptions hold those items until a later date.
How can I be sure that the families that American Adoptions works with are the best possible choices for my baby?
American Adoptions accepts only the best adoptive family candidates in the United States. We receive hundreds of adoptive family inquiries each month, but only a handful is accepted in to our adoption programs. American Adoptions conducts extensive evaluations and interviews in order to provide the best families.
Our list contains waiting families with a variety of careers, backgrounds and interests throughout the United States. With American Adoptions, you can choose from the widest selection of adoptive families available.
We’ll find a family to suit your preferences. For example, if religious beliefs are important to you, we will find families that fit your religious preferences. If you want the adoptive parents to be young and outgoing, we will find you families who are young and outgoing. American Adoptions can find the perfect family for you and your baby.
How much information about me is shared with the adoptive family?
You can share as much or as little personal information as you feel comfortable. The adoptive family will know your first name, your last name (after the placement), your medical history and the state that you live in. Your social history will also be provided to the family. Please be as thorough as you can so your child can learn about you and your family if he/she has questions someday. If you want minimal information shared with your child, let your Adoption Specialist know, and they can pass this along to the family.
How much information about the family will be shared with me?
You will receive print and video profiles of waiting adoptive families who fit your circumstances and wishes. Print profiles contain photos of the family and descriptions of their lifestyle and interests, their relationship with each other, their home and their extended family. Each profile will also include a letter to you, which tells you why they are adopting and what they would provide for your baby. Profiles show a family’s personality and voice, and you can start to learn about their values and dreams for their family and future. Video profiles show a family in action, and you’ll get to see how a couple interacts and know why they want to adopt. This information will help you choose which family you would like to raise your baby. You may have a couple favorites, and your Adoption Specialist can help to make sure you select the perfect match.
How much contact can I have with my baby and the adoptive family after the adoption?
Post-adoption contact is completely up to you and what makes you comfortable. If you desire, you can receive letters and pictures from the adoptive family after the adoption. You can also send pictures, letters and gifts to the adoptive family and baby through American Adoptions. We will work with you to determine how much or how little contact you desire and will accommodate you accordingly. Your Adoption Specialist will provide more details.
Once I sign the adoption papers, can I change my mind?
Laws vary state to state. In most states, once you sign adoption papers after the child is born, the adoption is irrevocable. However, your involvement in an adoption plan before you sign the adoption paperwork does not obligate you to go through with the adoption. Your Adoption Specialist will go over the laws and procedures in your particular state.
Many emotions accompany the birth of a child. Grief, loss, guilt, loneliness, sadness, relief, joy and happiness, sense of fatigue, confusion and doubt are a few of the most common. You may not experience all of these emotions, and you may experience others as well. Adoption is an overwhelming decision, and it may take time to sort through all of your feelings. These emotions are completely normal and should be expected. They are part of the healing process.
One woman may deal with her adoption decision very differently from another woman. Some women feel only happiness about their decision and consistently say that they have no regret. They know that they gave a family the greatest gift, a child. Some women go through grief and loss after their adoption. This may be confusing because although they feel sad and lost, they know in their heart they made the right decision and are happy about that. It is important for you to understand and verbalize all these emotions to your loved ones and your Adoption Specialist, so we can help you with counseling and other resources.
What is the next step, and how do I start the adoption process?
To learn more about the adoption process or receive an information packet, call us at 1-800-ADOPTION, fill out the Free Adoption Information form, or email us today at [email protected]. An Adoption Specialist will contact you to answer any questions you may have. | https://www.americanadoptions.com/frequently_asked_adoption_questions |
Lights, Camera, Africa!!!!
Partner: The Life House
Genre: Creative Arts and Film
About The Life House
The Life House is an arts, culture, wellbeing and lifestyle centre based in Lagos, Nigeria whose objective is to provide a nurturing environment for creative expression. The Life House acts as a catalyst for cultural expression and education through entertainment and exchange in Nigeria through the production of events and programmes.
Since December 2009, The Life House has been at the vanguard of promoting a cultural renaissance in Nigeria by curating art, film, mixed media, music and theatre exhibitions. We work with and support a diverse group of musicians, writers, performing artists, photographers and academics.
The Film programme at the Life House is anchored in the operations of its resident Reel Life Film Club which has curated the weekly screening of World, Classic and Independent Films (screened over 60 films weekly to a Lagos audience at no cost) from all across the African Continent and Global South since 2010 to a Lagos audience. These weekly screenings are often followed by discussions on the appreciation of the films and sometimes attended by filmmakers who are invited to share insights on their subjects, techniques and related issues. | https://firstarts.firstbanknigeria.com/lights-camera-africa/ |
Communal roosts used at night and during high-tide periods are essential resources for many shorebird species during the winter and migratory periods. Despite their conservation significance, no effort has been made to compile roost locations for regulatory agencies, land managers and other professionals to improve their protection and management. In early August, CCB launched an online Shorebird Roost Registry that will begin the process of removing this information barrier to roost protection. The registry is an ongoing program.
Shorebird populations are declining on a global scale. Of the 237 populations with trend data, 52% are believed to be declining and only 8% are thought to be increasing. Although the potential causes of these declines are many, the loss of critical resources such as prey populations, undisturbed foraging areas and communal roosts are prominent among them. Roosts give shorebirds places that are free from predators and human disturbance where they may rest, preen and interact. Characteristics of acceptable roosts are often rare on the landscape such that their loss may constrain the economic use of entire areas or regions. Providing for roosting requirements is an important management objective.
The value of an individual roost to the conservation of a species varies dramatically. Roosts vary in size from dozens of individuals to hundreds of thousands of individuals. Roosts may form opportunistically to take advantage of ephemeral prey and may be abandoned in short order or may be used consistently for centuries. Roosts with the highest conservation value are those that are used year after year and that support a large number of individuals, often of several species. Disruption of long-standing roosts may impact the ability of shorebirds to access important prey resources and shift distribution in unexpected ways.
The shorebird roost registry is incomplete. Roosts currently presented within the registry include those delineated from transmitter studies, gleaned from the literature and known to CCB within various field sites. However, thousands of other critical shorebird roosts are known to local bird watchers, researchers and conservation groups. Help us to compile this local information into an international resource that may become a tool for land managers. Visit the roost registry landing page and provide requested information so that your local roost may be available within the registry and become recognized by land managers.
Comments are closed. | https://ccbbirds.org/2020/09/03/ccb-launches-shorebird-roost-registry/ |
For a lot of us, this is the time of year when crummy weather starts forcing us inside. Many times, that means catching up with an old acquaintance — the treadmill.
Love ’em or hate ’em, sometimes treadmills are a fact of life. Regardless of how you feel about it, here are a few quick tips on getting the most out of your hamster-wheel workouts (and making sure you’re prepared when it’s time to return to the road).
- Keep your hands to yourself. Treadmills might have handles, but the road sure doesn’t. Don’t get into the habit of holding yourself up with the machine. It’s bad for your form, can tweak your body, and creates a crutch that you obviously won’t have when you’re running for real.
- Use the incline. Be sure to toss a few degrees of incline into your treadmill workouts from time to time. Chances are, your real running routes aren’t completely flat, so you don’t want to get used to hill-free running over a long winter inside. Besides, a little uphill work is just going to make you stronger anyway.
- Wach your form. Treadmills can foster some odd running habits, whether it’s dramatically shortening your stride or introducing a lot of up and down movement that wasn’t there before. Do your best to run on the treadmill in much the same way you run on the road. Don’t let yourself bound high into the air and let the “road” pass underneath you. You definitely won’t get away with that on race day.
- Track your progress. One very nice thing about the treadmill is that it gives you all sorts of data that you wouldn’t otherwise have. Keep an eye on the numbers and track your progress. Also, if you’ve been using the GPS feature in your Bluefin app, remember that you can manually enter your treadmill work to keep your Journal up to date regardless of where you run.
- Find a way to (really) run. Treadmills are great, but they definitely fall short of traditional running in certain ways. You lose some of the core-strength benefits that come with balancing yourself on real terrain and can sometimes overestimate your performance compared with real-world running. Even if it’s just a few sessions over the course of your treadmill work, try to make some actual running happen. That might mean bundling up and getting outside or getting access to an indoor track. Whatever you can manage, it’ll pay off when it’s time to get back outdoors.
How about you? Any tips for getting the most out of our January treadmill work? Let us know in the comments! | https://blog.bluefinapps.com/2012/01/04/treadmill-season-five-quick-tips/ |
Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe and highlight the characteristics of NS in order to compile a preliminary checklist for accurate diagnosis and intervention.
Method: An explorative, applied mixed method, multiple case study research design was followed. Purposive sampling was used to select four participants. A comprehensive assessment battery was compiled for data collection.
Results: The results revealed a distinct pattern of core stuttering behaviours in NS, although discrepancies existed regarding stuttering severity and frequency. It was also found that DS and NS can co-occur. The case history and the core stuttering pattern are important considerations during differential diagnosis, as these are the only consistent characteristics in people with NS.
Conclusion: It is unlikely that all the symptoms of NS are present in an individual. The researchers scrutinised the findings of this study and the findings of previous literature to compile a potentially workable checklist. | https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/64 |
The data provided here contains stellar mass estimates using fits to the photometry. It is well known that this is acceptable to get mass estimates, but they differ somewhat from the masses obtained using the Kauffman et al (2003) methodology which uses spectral features (D4000 & HdA in the case of K03 and a total of five indices in the case of Gallazzi et al 2005).
This page is therefore dedicated to a comparison of these different mass estimates - the bottom line is that they agree very well although there are some minor offsets. The largest is due to aperture corrections and changing M/L with radius in galaxies.
The fits are in both cases made to a large grid of models from BC03 spanning a large range in star formation histories. For each model a likelihood is calculated from χ2. The likelihood of all models is then marginalised onto the mass axis and a likelihood distribution for the mass is obtained. However they differ slightly in detail because they use different information.
These fits uses spectroscopic features. These are obviously measured from the spectrum and the M/L estimated from a fit to these features is therefore only truly representative for the region sampled by the fibre and a constant M/L must then be assumed to get a total mass.
These are very similar to the index fits but instead of spectral features the broad-band u,g,r,i,z photometry of the SDSS is used for the fits. These magnitudes are corrected for emission lines by assuming that the relative contribution of emission lines to the broad-band magnitudes is the same inside the fibre as outside. This is significantly less restrictive than other assumptions but is unlikely to be entirely correct. However the effect of emission lines on broad-band magnitudes is very minor (typically < 0.1 magnitude) so can usually be ignored.
These mass estimates are obtained both through fits to the SDSS fibre photometry and the total (ModelMag) photometry. Since the former refer to the region sampled by the fibre these should be directly comparable to the index fits. However these fits are not normalised to the total magnitudes so this must be adjusted afterwards. In contrast the fits to the total magnitudes directly give the total masses.
The first check is how the different mass estimates compare.
This figure shows a comparison for DR4 data. The x-axis shows the stellar mass from Guinevere's modelling (Kauffmann et al 2003, K03). The y-axis shows the median difference between the K03 mass estimates and those obtained from fitting to the total magnitudes (blue) and to the fibre magnitudes scaled to total (green-ish).
It is clear that the different mass estimates compare quite well throughout - the median offset is -0.01 for the blue line and 0.01 for the green line. The dotted blue line shows the 68% spread.
There is however a significant offset at low masses. This appears to be because for these nearby systems there is a tendency for the spectra to be placed on bright spots - typically H II regions and hence the fits based on the spectra will tend to have a lower M/L and hence (for a fixed total magnitude) a lower mass. This is exactly the trend seen at low mass. It is likely that the photometric fits are more accurate here but either is likely to be significantly uncertain.
Finally it is very reasonable to ask whether one method is better than the other. In general one would expect the fits to indices to perform slightly better because it isolates specific regions of the spectrum. However this is tempered by the fact that indices are more sensitive to emission line contamination.
The following figure shows the median uncertainty on the mass estimates as a function of stellar mass.
As can be seen here the formal error shows different trends with mass for the two methods. The fits to the photometry are somewhat more constrained at low mass - this is exactly because the emission line contribution makes the index fits less well-constrained. However at higher mass the increased power of the indices is clear and the PDF is almost twice as broad for fits to the photometry than those to indices. Of course systematic uncertainties are large so this might be somewhat immaterial. | https://wwwmpa.mpa-garching.mpg.de/SDSS/DR7/mass_comp.html |
Jack Steinberger Death – Dead, Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death, Passed Away: On December 16th, 2020, InsideEko Media learned about the death of Jack Steinberger through social media publications made on Twitter.
InsideEko is yet to confirm Jack Steinberger’s cause of death as no health issues, accident or other causes of death have been learned to be associated with the passing.
This death has caused a lot of friends and family of Steinberger so much hurt. It is in that mourning spirit that the concerned persons have taken to social media to share tributes to the deceased and condolences to the affected family.
Tributes To Jack Steinberger
Across social media users’ timelines are statements that show respect, admiration, and gratitude towards Steinberger as people mourn the passing.
Dear everyone, it’s now public news: my father Jack Steinberger passed away peacefully at home early Saturday morning. Article from his home town in German.https://t.co/kKnxVSN0cO pic.twitter.com/cjFhUnKO9q
— Prof Julia S 🌍🌹🌱 #ClimateAction #TrumpOut (@JKSteinberger) December 15, 2020
You may use the comment section below to leave a statement on the death of Steinberger. To inform other online friends and relatives about this passing, you may use any of the social media share buttons below to do that.
More information on the death of Steinberger will be updated as we receive it. Official obituary publication will be made by the family of the deceased.
This publication does not contain information on Jack Steinberger’s funeral plans and visitations. You may wait for the family to release a statement on that or reach out to them when it is convenient for them to speak.
Family privacy should be respected at this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the passing of Steinberger. | https://insideeko.com/jack-steinberger-death-obituary-dead-passed-away/ |
All rights reserved.
You are welcome to link to this page, but please do NOT place copies of its contents on other websites. If you find it posted on any site other than www.clarity-of-being.org, please report the fact to me. Many thanks.
Important!
In order to properly understand the contents of this and many other pages on this site it's necessary to carefully read Exit 'Spirituality' - Enter Clear-Mindedness, which provides essential background information.
Pride of place!
The Dalai Lama and recent Archbishop of Canterbury - public embodiments
of the twin scourges of modesty and self righteousness respectively, despite
their very best intentions as individuals...
N.B. The particular Archbishop of Canterbury pictured and being referred to is Rowan Williams, who was the incumbent in that role at the time of the original writing of this article - but the principles of course would apply with just about any Archbishop of Canterbury.
Modesty and humility too easily fall into inverted snobbery
Modesty and humility are upheld as virtues in the teachings of the vast majority of religions - including those of Buddhism. On the face of it, this looks like common sense, for seeking to impress others and feel that one has special status is clearly problematical. However, if you stop and think about it, a lot of this doesn't really add up. It comes down to 'morality speak', which is about following rules and judging on people and not living a life of love, empathy and fully aware and responsible free choice, which would all arise naturally from our deepest aspects if we allowed it to do so.
If we have special roles (such as being a teacher of self-actualization), or particular strengths, undoubtedly any ostentation in flaunting these publicly wouldn't be a positive or helpful thing for our self-actualization process. When I talk about ostentation here, I really mean, making people aware of your particular special role(s) or abilities without regard to whether it's actually helpful and positive in effect in that particular situation at that particular time for you to do so. On the other hand, the so-called modesty and humility taught and practised widely in religions is very negative in two important respects:
-
'Ego trip'
It actually 'feeds the people's egos' (i.e., it actually cultivates people's desire to try to be seen as 'superior'), because instead of accepting and acknowledging in a relaxed fashion their strengths and any special roles of theirs, people are then showing off to others around them with the implicit message, "Look what a virtuous practitioner / highly spiritual person I'm with all this modesty and humility and self denial!"
Yes, it's a sort of inverted snobbery or 'egotistical' showing off. It's also plain dishonest. For an apparently distinctly self-actualized teacher (not mentioning any names!) to say "I have little [or even no] realization" or, without qualification, "I'm just an ordinary monk / person" (a particularly strong custom rife among supposedly advanced practitioners in Tibetan Buddhism and publicly exemplified by the Dalai Lama) is simply telling lies - even though in one important sense it's perfectly true. Pretence and genuine self-actualization don't mix.
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Negative programming
It gives people a lot of negative programming, which actually stunts their self-actualization process and prevents them from manifesting their unique qualities and 'strong points' and true abundance and potential as enlightened people, making them instead fixated on their practices and following the path laid down to them by their guru, 'master' or religious cleric. Actually, to be able to stand our full height and in relaxed fashion to openly acknowledge our strengths where it's appropriate and constructive for us to do so is an essential part of letting go of the negative patterns and self beliefs that we carry.
Once we're clear of negative programming, our natural and most healthy and enlightened state is that of joyfully celebrating in and using our unique 'gifts'* - not bowing our heads in 'humility' and pretending that we have no such 'gifts' - a mockery of the beauty and splendour of our true nature. To me, the common slight stoop and slightly bowed head of so many Buddhist monks (as in the photo of the Dalai Lama on this page) is an abomination - a travesty of what a true self-realization path is about. It's also harmful for one's body and one's whole energy system to maintain such a distortion, so why on earth go doing such a crazy thing? All those monks would do well to take up the Alexander Technique!
* This is actually an extremely unfortunate and unhelpful use of that word, to indicate our strengths and 'plus points'. It's the garbage (aka 'dark force', forces of darkness) and nothing else, that has, either directly or indirectly (through various traditions) sought to get us believing that our points of strength / abundance are gifts (presumably from a supposed God or other 'higher' presence). They aren't gifts. They're simply aspects of us as we are at the present time. They're tips of the 'iceberg' of our true nature, which is in almost all cases to a great extent hidden. It's the general apparent absence of such strengths and plus points that is the true 'gifts' (of the worst possible kind!) that people have - which are 'given' to them by the garbage, which seeks through all manner of means to prevent our intrinsic qualities of clarity, freedom and abundance from manifesting.
It's a neat coincidence that 'Gift' in German means 'poison'!
Although I mention this here in relation to Buddhism, I must stress that the same thing in different forms is happening generally in religions and so-called spiritual paths. Whether any supposed higher beings that they defer to or worship be great buddhas, angels, archangels, Jesus, Muhammad, God, Jehovah, Allah, Shiva, Krishna, ascended masters, guides, or any other name or description, the garbage is involved, and the only effective and indeed safe way to open to 'the Ultimate' is through ceasing such deference and indeed ceasing even to recognise those supposed higher presences any more, and instead opening to one's deepest aspect (which is actually 'the Ultimate' as far as we can ever 'know' anything) and letting go of any notion of apparently external non-physical beings of any kind. To relate to a supposedly higher being in any way whatsoever is straightaway disempowering yourself, implicitly denying the true ultimateness and absoluteness and of your very own true nature and that of all living things, and thus demeaning yourself and empowering the garbage over you.
I'd go as far as saying that, far from being virtues, modesty and humility are actually scourges upon Humanity. Apart from the elimination of ostentation and showing-off (which can be achieved in other ways), there's no positive or worthwhile purpose served by those so-called virtues, and they simply program people into being untrue to the stature of their true selves and to live pathetically diminished travesties of the lives that they could be living and which would be enlightened manifestations of their true nature as manifestations of 'the Ultimate'. If you're living on the basis of love, empathy and aware and responsible free choice rather than attachments, desires and compulsions, then you have every worthwhile reason to manifest ALL your personal power* and splendour.
* I'm NOT referring here, however, to the willful use of 'special powers' (i.e.,'psychic' or 'paranormal' powers), because any tendency to do that gets us embroiled with the garbage again, and also immediately cultivates people's attachment to personal or social status. Indeed, as I explain in The True Nature of 'The Forces of Darkness' and its Interference and Attacks, it's very likely indeed that it was very early human-type beings (long before Earth was here) starting to use 'special powers', that resulted in the inadvertent creation of the garbage in the first place - i.e., ALL of the massive problem that, if pointers from my own inner inquiry on the subject are at all correct, so far has screwed up and eventually destroyed every human-type civilization, whether in this or any other universe.
So, what I mean here by personal power is the natural healing power of your love, positivity and clear thought, which would tend to catalyse the opening up of those qualities in other people around you and with whom you interrelate, and which would naturally be powerful in interrupting, dismantling and dissolving the effects of the garbage's interferences, and indeed to a certain extent in weakening and dissolving the garbage itself.
Let's be clear about pride
Okay, now I've got so far, let's bring in the dreaded 'P' word - Pride. A clear distinction needs to be made between what people might call egotistical pride on the one hand and, on the other hand the self esteem and rejoicing in oneself (and others) that's intrinsic to a balanced, enlightened and self-actualized person.
I've seen this latter use of the word in some teachings in the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition, and then it was called vajra pride. While I'm actually happy with the use of a different expression* for the positive meaning, in common usage the two meanings are hopelessly confused under use of the one word, and teachers (if they really must 'teach'!) would better make those two meanings clearly distinct and use different terms for them, so that full, unqualified self esteem is never confused with problematical tendencies. This is what needs to replace all the culturally based and dark-force instigated stuff about humility and modesty. Let's stand our full height and tune into such a self view as "I'm great, unique and beautiful - you're great, unique and beautiful too".
* but NOT 'vajra pride', because the vajra (sorry to say) is just one of the countless symbols and emblems of the garbage that permeate the religious and 'spiritual' traditions - notwithstanding the fact that in Tibetan Buddhism it's supposed to represent the most direct path to enlightenment. In reality, the moment you go using a symbol, emblem or device to represent that, you're already diverted by the garbage away from the most direct means to enlightenment - in just the same way that you're diverted from it by externalizing fundamental consciousness ('the Ultimate') and making it into a god, such as in Christianity, or into 'Spirit', as in various mystical and paganistic traditions.
Personally, I prefer generally not to use the word 'pride' at all, because using it tends to bear religion- (and thus garbage-) sourced connotations of disapproval, and, as noted above, it really covers various meanings and thus it tends to confuse issues. Therefore, I prefer to use more specific and objective terms for what I'm referring to - such as 'self esteem', 'status addiction' or 'self righteousness'...
What that photo shows us...
The Dalai Lama and Archbishop of Canterbury are both, as actual people, lovely individuals, full of good intentions. Their problem, as with people generally who have positions and titles within traditional hierarchies, and particularly in religious ones, is that they've been made into public embodiments of actually highly problematical tendencies, which their traditions are upholding as 'good' and 'positive' and what everyone supposedly needs to be cultivating in themselves.
In the case of the Dalai Lama, the public image of an affectation of humility is the issue, whereas in the case of the Archbishop of Canterbury, officially legitimized - indeed, cultivated - self righteousness is the issue. These different posturings can both be seen as particular flip sides of what both would recognise and deprecate as pride - that is, the problematical, 'egotistical' sort of pride.
I certainly don't intend any sort of personal assault on these two really nice individuals, for you can see exactly the same traits in others in their respective traditions. In Buddhism - or at least Tibetan Buddhism and modern derivations therefrom - it is absolutely normal for monks and lamas right up to the top of their hierarchy to show the same affectations of 'humility', with the same slightly bowed head (physically, mentally and emotionally extremely harmful) and self effacing body language.
Christians worldwide are much more diverse - at least in my experience. However, there is overall a strong tendency for a good proportion of Christians to exhibit some degree of self righteousness - which becomes really marked in the case of those in 'Holy Orders' - i.e., the clerics and priests, who exhibit a sort of 'Holy superiority' in their manner. The majority by far speak in affected ways that somebody outside the deceptions of their tradition would perceive as sounding plain silly, all the time carrying a subtext going something like "I'm in Holy Orders and thus have superior knowledge and belief, and everything that I say to you is Right and True and said in a simple manner for you because you're one of God's sheep and are an ignorant simpleton..."Note particularly the stiff uprightness of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rather than the "Look how humble and modest I am" posture and 'vibes' that the Dalai Lama presents, the Archbishop of Canterbury projects an 'aura' of a formal, righteous self importance - "I'm in Holy Orders and am an ambassador of God".
Actually, I feel a bit uncomfortable about applying the term 'self righteousness' to the Archbishop of Canterbury, because, unlike 'humility', it's widely used as a pejorative expression, and I have no wish to be pejorative towards him - but, unfortunately, technically 'self righteousness' is a particularly appropriate term to use here. So, I want to point out that I use that term in an objective way, and I don't mean to imply the normal pejorative aspect of its use. Self righteousness is NOT something bad about a person but simply a particular, addressable, problem that the person has.
There's quite a lot more that I could write about the issues that these two religious figureheads are presenting to us in the above photo, but I've come to the conclusion that it would be a distraction to say more, and to leave it to you to fill in the various gaps yourself if you're interested, particularly referring yourself to relevant sections in The True Nature of 'The Forces of Darkness' and its Interference and Attacks. | https://www.clarity-of-being.org/modesty-humility-pride.htm |
Climatic reconstruction using wood charcoal archaeological sites
February EC
URI:
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11892/53396
Abstract:
Assesses the feasibility of using wood charcoal from archaeological sites as a palaeoclimatic indicator. Three techniques are described: charcoal identification from Xylem Anatomy, Ecologically Diagnostic Xylem Analysis and stable carbon isotope analysis on wood charcoal. Charcoal identification shows that the most common woody species at Elands Bay today are also evident in the archaeological record over the last 4000 years, indicating a relatively stable plant community composition. This study demonstrates that the wood anatomy of Rhus is not simply related to climatic factors, necessitating the employment of a wide range of statistical analytical techniques to identify climatic signals. In contrast, the anatomy of Diospyros shows strong correlations with temperature. Factor analysis of anatomical parameters of charcoal from Elands Bay archaeological sites indicates that there have been temperature changes over the last 4000 years. Stable carbon isotope ratios of plants have been found to be a useful indicator of water use efficiency; plants in drier habitats exhibit more positive values than their more mesic relatives. The results of an isotopic analysis on modern wood charcoal show that 13C/12C ratios can be related to temperature and rainfall. Indications are that wood charcoal does carry a climatic signal. A larger sample from more areas may give more dependable results.
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The Lab offers a program of hands-on activities that introduce the concept of design and a series of theoretical refections regarding the observation and interpretation of the designer-object-user relationship. The aim of these lab group activities is to foster a constructive dialogue amongst students, stimulating involvement and curiosity, the very breeding ground for creativity, and pushing them to compare their work with that of others, so as to perfect their skills of expressive conciseness.
GRAPHIC DESIGN 1
CODE: ABPR 19 | CFA: 8 | HOURS: 100 | PROFESSOR: KO SLIGGERS
The main goal of this course is to have each student develop, on the one hand, a personal handwriting sensibility and on the other, a grammar and vocabulary that is visual, intuitive and mental, that can serve as a base for a definition of a project methodology. By doing so, the history, shape and rules of fonts are examined in depth, as are the rules for text composition and the techniques for graphic reproduction.
TECHNICAL AND DESIGN DRAWING 1
CODE: ABPR 16 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 75 | PROFESSOR: FABRIZIO FOTI
The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge of the techniques and tools of visual representation. The course will show the scientific approach to representation according to the principles of projective and descriptive geometry in order that students learn about, understand and are able to use object reproduction methods, which are in and of themselves a means for comprehension and interpretation of forms in space. Students learn through frontal lessons and by doing exercises, and topics are presented according to a timeline.
FOUNDATIONS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
CODE: ABTEC 39 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 150 | PROFESSORS: FABIO CONSOLI, MARCO FRANCUCCI
This course aims to provide students with the methods and tools necessary to create products and objects using CAD (Computer Aided Design), based on NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B- Splines), and to instill in students those computer skills that are applied to drawing and graphics, through the kowledge and use of the appropriate digital tools.
First semester courses
HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY ART
CODE: ABST 19 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 45 | PROFESSOR: LAURA BARRECA
This course is an introduction to developments in the art of the XX Century. Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to the relationship and interaction between art, design and architecture, by analyzing step by step, the positions, influences and oppositions of this encounter/clash, which more than anything else is part of contemporary artistic language. The topics covered revolve around complex thematic areas that will help students grasp concepts that are usually left unexamined.
SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURAL PROCESSES
CODE: ABST 56 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 45 | PROFESSOR: GIANNI DI MATTEO
The course seeks to subject the main sociological approaches to the study of culture. The central focus of the course will be the analysis of changes that are occuring in our societies, immersed in what Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman refers to as liquid Modernity. Students will acquire an awareness of the dynamics of current social phenomena in order to use them as an additional means of knowledge and representation of reality and contemporaneity.
ENGLISH 1
CODE: ABLIN 71 | CFA: 4 | HOURS: 30 | PROFESSOR: JUSTIN RIZZO
This course aims to give students a knowledge of the language that enables them to comprehend and interact during the course of their studies and to meet the demands of their different courses in general, as well as the specific topics dealt with in each subject. The language, structures, and grammar that are discussed during the course help them reach the level of B1 or B2.
Second semester courses
TYPOLOGY OF MATERIALS 1
CODE: ABPR 30 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 45 | PROFESSOR: CECILIA ALEMAGNA
The course provides students with an introduction to the main materials used in design, architecture and visual arts. The mechanical, physical, chemical and related processing, finishing, distribution and sales techniques of these materials, as well as the type of waste produced by their manufacturing and possible re-use, will be thoroughly analyzed. The course also offers insight into the history of design and major companies and/or research and dissemination centers that have encouraged their development.
MODELING
CODE: ABPR 21 | CFA: 6 | HOURS: 150 | PROFESSOR: IVAN AGNELLO
This course provides students with all they need to take advantage of some of the most widespread three-dimensional physical modeling techniques for project verification and representation, from conception to development, to validation of a functional and aesthetic nature, up to the final presentation. Students are expected to collaborate and communicate with the teaching staff in order to experiment with and create models for both the study and presentation of the designed object. | http://www.abadir.net/?page_id=5935&lang=en |
Whether you are in the government sector or are dealing with the government, you are vitally interested in the decisions the government makes. We have extensive experience working in and for the government and also for the private sector. We can advise on all legal aspects of decision-making and help our clients get the best outcome.
Decision-makers are required to make their decisions fairly. They are also required to make decisions reasonably, and in accordance with the law. Our experience in assisting both decision-makers and those challenging decisions, enables us to advise you on how those requirements apply.
Some statutes establish particular procedures that must be followed to reach a decision, such as consultation. We have advised on numerous consultation processes, and can assist you with consultations which involve complex issues. Whether you are the party seeking comments from stakeholders or the party being consulted, we will help you get the best out of the consultation process.
We are experts in designing robust decision-making and consultation processes. We can assist with the process and legal criteria for decision-making, designing a consultation process, reviewing consultation papers, and analysing submissions.
We can advise clients who may be affected by decisions regarding the process the decision-maker should follow, the legal criteria for the decision, and how to best represent your interests to the decision-maker.
Once a decision is made, we can advise on judicial review issues, whether you are the decision maker or the affected party. | https://www.buddlefindlay.com/expertise/administrative-law-consultation-and-judicial-review/ |
San Miguel will hold its sixth straight PBA Philippine Cup without superstar center June Mar Fajardo.
This is after 6-foot-10 Fajardo suffered a shin injury that occurred at the Beermen's team practice on Monday.
As a result, the five-time PBA MVP awardee needed a surgical procedure and long rehabilitation to regain his former form.
The surgery was successful in the Cebuano giant on Tuesday and underwent "post-operation rehabilitation to allow him to recover at the soonest possible time," said San Miguel.
San Miguel has not announced a time when the so-called 'The Kraken' will return to action.
"During this rehabilitation phase, the team regrets that he will not be able to play for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Cup," Beermen said in a statement yesterday.
Fajardo is disappointed in his failure to help San Miguel in the six-peat in the upcoming 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.
Fajardo posted averages of 18.7 points, 13 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks this past PBA season.
In the absence of Fajardo in the All-Filipino tournament, coach Leo Austria expects 6'8 Fil-Tongan Moala Tautuaa.
Beermen will be able to catch Magnolia Hotshots at the start of the tournament on March 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo will be featured in the opening night for the PBA Leo Awards where he will be nominated for the MVP trophy. | https://www.sportstalksocial.com/undefined/@baa.steemit/fajardo-is-out-of-the-philippines-cup |
The UK Supreme Court yesterday handed down its judgment in the assisted suicide (or “right to die”) case. The full judgment and summaries are available online.
The Church of England has issued this statement.
“We welcome the judgment of the Supreme Court and the emphasis it has placed on the need for the law to protect vulnerable individuals.
“We remain convinced that the current law and the DPP guidelines for its application provide a compassionate framework within which difficult cases can be assessed while continuing to ensure that many vulnerable individuals are given much needed protection from coercion or abuse.
The Church Times has a report on the judgement from its legal correspondent Shiranikha Herbert: Judges not persuaded by ‘right to die’ appellants.
Get out the bunting – I think I might actually agree with a CofE statement. I know many on TA will disagree with me but I still believe that, 20 years down the line, there would be doctoral theses to write on (a) why the level of assisted suicides was several times the national average in certain geographical areas of England (I could probably name two of them now) and (b) the direct correlation between the likelihood of a person dying by assisted suicide and the value of their estate.
Keeping people alive, against their will, in excruciating pain, is the most egregious example of religious beliefs being imposed on society at large. All the concerns about coercion apply equally to the current situation, where the alleged hordes of murderous doctors and relatives are free to do the dastardly deed in secret.
Along with drug prohibition, a ban on assisted suicide and euthanasia is the last remnant of Christendom. Soon may it fall.
As an Ignorant Yank, I’m not weighing in on the legality&justice of this decision.
Strange, I would think it would be rather the opposite.
Once suicide in England was decriminalized, it would seem logical that assisted suicide, within certain constraints, would be approved. It is silly that people desiring to end their lives should have to travel to Switzerland. I see this slowness as a vestige of the worst features of religion. | https://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk/6631-2/ |
Before the Vietnam War, most people in English-speaking countries knew little about Vietnam, except that it was an obscure part of “Indo-China.” Today, however, as a consequence of that terrible conflict, so many Vietnamese people are dispersed throughout the world, and they have blended into the countries that received them. One of the things that was apparent right from the start of this process is the deep faith of Vietnamese Christians. Indeed, there are many Vietnamese priests serving in Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world.
This vibrant faith was nurtured by persecution. French missionaries first preached the Gospel and planted the Church among the Vietnamese people from the early 17th century onward. Many people were converted to the Lord in the 18th century and up until 1819.
But at the order of Emperor Minh-Mang, who reigned from 1820 to 1841, a brutal persecution began. Indeed, Minh-Mang is often referred to as “Vietnam’s Emperor Nero.” On 6th January, 1833, he ordered all Christians to renounce their faith, and as a sign of that renunciation to tread a crucifix under foot. Churches and religious houses were destroyed. The death penalty was decreed for all priests. Many thousands died in the prolonged massacre, among them not only missionary clergy and religious, but also huge numbers of indigenous Christians, priests, religious and laity.
Although following the death of Minh-Mang there was a time of relative freedom, after a while new legislation came into being that resumed the war of hatred against Christians. Only in 1862 did the anti-Christian movement begin to abate, thanks to the imposition of religious liberty by the French. When by 1883 it became clear that this tolerance had not been fully implemented, the French government took over Vietnam as one of its protectorates. Vietnam remained a French protectorate until 1954. In the 1960s the country had a population of 31 million and a well-organized Catholic population of 2.25 million, governed by indigenous bishops, and cared for by a flourishing network of religious communities. Following the turmoil of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, there are now six and a half million Catholics out of a total population of 90 million. There are also flourishing evangelical protestant communities.
Few nations have had to pay so dearly for the Gospel and the Faith. As many as 100,000 had been martyred in Vietnam by 1800. In the 19th century the numbers increased, with between 100,000 and 300,000 executed. It would have been impossible to canonise all these martyrs one by one. So, groups of them, totaling 117, were beatified on four different occasions, including eight missionary bishops, several missionary priests, and a large number of indigineous victims: priests and religious, and lay people, some killed simply for sheltering priests. Among the “blessed” were one woman, Agnes Le thi Thanh and one boy, Joseph Tuc, aged nine.
Andrew was a diocesan priest. His name was originally Dung An Trân, and he was born around 1795 to a poor family in Bac-Ninh in North Vietnam. When he was twelve the family had to move to Hà-Nôi (Hanoi) where his parents could find work. There he met a catechist who gave him food and shelter. The catechist brought him to Jesus and for three years taught him the Christian Faith. Dung An Trân was baptized in Vinh-Tri with the Christian name Andrew.
After learning Chinese and Latin he, too, became a catechist. Then he was chosen to study theology, and on 15th March 1823 he was ordained to the priesthood. In his parish of Ke-Dâm Andrew he was tireless in his ministry. He fasted often and lived a simple life. He preached and lived the Gospel, and many became Christians through his witness.
In 1835 during Emperor Minh-Mang’s persecutions he was imprisoned, but his freedom was purchased by donations from his people. To avoid persecution he changed his name to Lac (Andrew Lac) and moved to another prefecture where he could continue his work. But on 10th November 1839 he was again arrested, this time with Peter Thi, another Vietnamese priest who had come to visit in order to make his confession.
Once again Andrew was set free, along with Peter Thi, in exchange for money. But their freedom was brief. They were soon re-arrested and taken to Hanoi, where both were tortured. Finally they were beheaded on 21st December 1839.
“In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone - Christ is with me. Our Master bears the whole weight of the cross, leaving me only the tiniest, last bit . . . | http://www.fministry.com/2015/11/st-andrew-dung-lac-and-his-companions.html |
The final installment of the immensely popular Hunger Games franchise has been released and we are having all of the moments because it looks OH-SO-GOOD. Katniss is as fed up of her life as ever as she becomes the face of a revolution and calls for the distracts to step up against the Capitol for one last time.
This is what the first three films, and particularly Mockingjay Part 1, has been waiting for. The final film sees Katniss, Gale (oh hey Gale) team up with District 13 to end the Capitol's regime, and President Snow. We even get to hear Peeta speak! He says: "Our lives were never ours. They belong to Snow and our deaths do too. But if you kill him Katniss. If you end all of this, all those deaths? They mean something."
We even manage to catch a GLIMPSE of romance between Katniss and Peeta. Hells yeah!
The movie, which will be out on November 19th, will be the end of an era. As President Snow says: "Make no mistake. The game is coming to it's end."
Are you planning to watch the film?! Tweet us @sofeminineUK!
You might like... | https://www.sofeminine.co.uk/news-celebrities/new-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-trailer-is-released-and-it-is-on-fire-s1493139.html |
Decision making is a difficult skill to master.
We often agonize over decisions, big and small, personal and professional.
We can spend hours debating pros and cons, only to feel no closer to a resolution.
And when we do make a decision, we can second-guess ourselves endlessly.
There are, however, ways to make decision making easier.
The first step is to educate yourself on the subject.
To that end, here are five of the best books on decision making
They’re all written by experts on the subject and offer different perspectives on how to approach the topic.
The 5 Best Books on Decision Making
1. Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip and Dan Heath
Chip and Dan Heath discuss how individuals can make better choices by understanding the factors that contribute to poor decision-making.
The Heath brothers identify four decision traps that lead to bad choices: sunk cost fallacy, confirmation bias, endowment effect, and overconfidence.
The sunk cost fallacy is the belief that we should continue investing in something as long as we have invested so much in it in the past, regardless of whether or not it is currently beneficial.
Confirmation bias is the tendency to look for information that confirms our preexisting beliefs, rather than considering all available evidence.
The endowment effect is the belief that we should value something more simply because we own it.
And overconfidence is the mistaken belief that we are better at making decisions than we actually are.
The Heath brothers offer a number of strategies for overcoming these decision traps.
- To avoid the sunk cost fallacy, for example, we should ask ourselves whether continuing to invest in something will actually bring us closer to our goals.
- To overcome confirmation bias, we should seek out dissenting opinions and consider all evidence objectively.
- To avoid the endowment effect, we should remember that what matters most is what we do with an object, not whether or not we own it.
- And to overcome overconfidence, we should solicit feedback from others and test our assumptions before making decisions.
The Heath brothers also emphasize the importance of taking time to reflect on our choices.
We should ask ourselves what went well and what went poorly in order to learn from our successes and failures.
We should also consider how our choices will affect others, both now and in the future.
2. How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
“How We Decide” by Jonah Lehrer is a book about the workings of the human brain, specifically how it makes decisions.
The book discusses different decision-making strategies and offers insights into how the brain processes information.
It also includes case studies of people who have made notable decisions, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
The first part of the book examines how the brain takes in information and decides what to focus on.
Lehrer argues that the brain is constantly filtering out irrelevant information in order to focus on what’s important.
He cites several studies demonstrating how the brain can quickly process large amounts of data.
For example, one study showed that people can accurately predict the outcome of a soccer game after seeing just five seconds of footage.
Lehrer also discusses how the brain deals with uncertainty.
He argues that the brain is constantly trying to calculate probabilities and make predictions.
This helps to reduce uncertainty and allows the brain to make better decisions.
The second part of the book looks at different decision-making strategies.
Lehrer discusses two main strategies: deliberative and intuitive.
The deliberative strategy is based on reason and analysis, while the intuitive strategy relies on instinct and gut feelings.
Lehrer argues that both strategies are necessary, and that neither one is inherently better than the other.
He also discusses the role of emotions in decision-making, suggesting that emotions play an important role in helping us make quick, instinctive decisions.
However, he notes that emotions can also lead to irrational decisions if they’re not tempered by reason.
The final part of the book looks at some famous cases of decision-making.
Lehrer discusses Steve Jobs’ decision to drop out of college, Bill Gates’ decision to start Microsoft, and General Stanley McChrystal’s decision to implement a counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.
Each case provides unique insights into how different factors (such as intuition, emotion, and reason) can affect decision-making.
3. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz
The Paradox of Choice discusses the negative effects that too much choice can have on people.
Schwartz argues that too many choices can lead to anxiety, paralysis, and dissatisfaction.
He provides a number of examples to illustrate his point, including the decision to go to college, the number of brands of toothpaste available in modern society, and the variety of products available at grocery stores.
Schwartz suggests that people are overwhelmed by the amount of choice they are faced with and that this can lead to them making poor decisions.
He also argues that having too many choices can make people unhappy because it increases the chances that they will not be able to find a product or service that meets their needs.
Schwartz recommends that people limit the number of choices they are faced with whenever possible in order to reduce the negative effects that too much choice can have on them.
4. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
In Algorithms to Live By, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths cover the topic of how computer science can be applied to human decision making.
The book is written in a way that is easy to understand for a general audience, and it provides many practical examples we can utilize.
One of the main topics covered in the book is the idea of bounded rationality, which is the idea that humans are not able to make perfect decisions due to limited time and resources.
This concept is often explored in computer science through algorithms, which are designed to help make the best possible decision given a set of constraints.
The book also explores the concept of probability and how it can be used to help with decision-making.
For example, probability can be used to calculate the chances of an event occurring, which can then be used to make better choices.
Overall, this book provides a useful alternative look at the subject and covers everything, from the choices we make about what food to eat, to figuring out how likely it is that a particular event will occur.
5. Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Nudge is a book about how people make decisions and how those decisions can be influenced.
The book explores the idea of libertarian paternalism, which is the idea that it is possible to help people make better decisions without taking away their freedom.
The authors argue that many people make poor decisions because they are not aware of the options available to them or because they do not have the information they need to make a good decision.
They claim that it is possible to help people make better decisions by providing them with information and by making it easier for them to choose the right option.
The book discusses a number of different ways that people can be nudged in the right direction.
One example is the use of default settings.
The authors argue that it is often easier for people to do nothing than to take action, so it is important to make it easy for them to do the right thing.
Another example is the use of simple messages.
The authors claim that simple messages are more likely to be effective than complex messages, and that people are more likely to act on a message if it is easy to understand.
The book also explores the idea of framing, which is the way in which information is presented.
The authors suggest that people are more likely to respond positively to information if it is framed in a positive way.
They also argue that people are more likely to take action if given a choice rather than told what to do.
Summary: Making the Right Choice
Decision making is a crucial skill to learn in order to be successful in life.
There are a plethora of different techniques one can use to make better decisions, whether it is for personal or professional purposes.
The five books mentioned in this article provide excellent introductions to the topic of decision making and how to improve one’s skills in this area. | https://bloomsoup.com/best-books-decision-making/ |
Hosted by the Graduate School of Urban Studies (URBANgrad) at the Technische Universität Darmstadt.
Register now!
Planning, as a young discipline, is trying to create a unity of intellectual frameworks to understand and enhance the creation of cities. This discussion is particularly important when planning inclusive spaces. Inclusion is a multifaceted concept with its various spatial, social, and economic factors. The aim of the conference is therefore to bring different perspectives to the discussion by critically examining the knowledge upon which what we call planning is formed. We invite researchers and practitioners dealing with public space and inclusivity, health-promoting designs, governance and resilient urban strategies. Attention is paid to how these processes are interdisciplinary conceptualized and in which ways planning responses are promote inclusivity. Understanding the ways by which inhabitants of the city—as critical participants—provide unprecedented and innovative urban paradigms is equally crucial to this notion of inclusive urban space. The intrinsic links, conflicts and power relations between all actors through social, professional, and political processes and their interplay within the physical dimensions of the city must be well understood and worked on.
We hope to offer the participants new insights by bridging the limitations of a single discipline; directing the debate towards an exploration of the countless opportunities but also challenges of inter- and transdisciplinary thinking.
The conference is a four-day event consisting of keynote talks parallel sessions for young academics to present their research, two parallel workshops and a field trip. In the parallel sessions participants will benefit from the insight of a track chair that is renowned in his/her field, and the feedback of a discussant.
The tracks are:
‘Public space’ and the dilemma of inclusion
Chair (Keynote): Prof. Dr. Astrid Ley
Co-chair: Dr.-Ing. Anshika Suri
Health promoting urban planning and design
Chair (Keynote): Prof. Dr. Adriana Allen
Co-chair: t.b.a.
Citizenship and governance in the production of space
Chair (Keynote): Prof. Dr. Roger Keil
Co-chair: Dr.-Ing. Nebojša Camprag
From sustainable to resilient urban strategies
Chair (Keynote): Prof. Dr. Benjamin Davy
Co-chair: Dr.-Ing. Simon Gehrmann
The conference is free of charge to members of the AESOP YA Network (registration for the network is free on the AESOP website http://www.aesop-youngacademics.net/). If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the conference organizers at [email protected]
For more information visit:
> https://www.urbangrad.tu-darmstadt.de/
About
The AESOP Young Academics Network is a loosely structured branch of AESOP, which encourages the active participation and exchange of academic work. From PhD students to Post-docs and those starting out in academic positions, the YA Network provides a platform through which the academic leaders of tomorrow can share ideas in an open and inclusive environment, challenging and supporting one another in the attainment of superior academic output. | https://www.architektur.tu-darmstadt.de/fachbereich_architektur/aktuelles_fachbereich/news_archiv/news_2019/news_2019_detail_94016.de.jsp |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an abnormality detection device for an extrusion molding machine.
BACKGROUND ART
A phenomenon is known in which strain energy accumulated so far is emitted as a sound wave (an AE wave) when a solid material is deformed. Conventionally, there is known a material monitoring device for an injection molding machine that detects an abnormality in the molten state of a material by detecting an AE wave with an AE sensor and analyzing the waveform of the AE wave.
For example, the material monitoring device for an injection molding machine described in Patent Literature 1 detects an AE wave generated when an unmelted resin raw material is deformed or sheared by analyzing an output of an AE sensor.
CITATION LIST
Patent Literature
Patent Literature 1: JP 2012-111091 A
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Problem to be Solved by the Invention
Means for Solving Problem
Conventionally, there has been no technology for detecting an abnormality of an extrusion molding machine using an AE sensor.
The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide an abnormality detection device for an extrusion molding machine capable of reliably detecting an abnormality of the extrusion molding machine.
In order to solve the above problem and achieve the object, an abnormality detection device for an extrusion molding machine according to the present invention includes: an acquisition unit that acquires an output of an AE sensor installed on a surface of a housing of the extrusion molding machine that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material when the extrusion molding machine is in operation; and a determination unit that determines whether an abnormality occurs in the extrusion molding machine, based on a relationship between the output and a threshold.
Effect of the Invention
The abnormality detection device for an extrusion molding machine according to the present invention can reliably detect an abnormality of the extrusion molding machine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an explanatory diagram of acoustic emission;
FIG. 2
is a schematic structural diagram of an AE sensor;
FIG. 3
is a schematic structural diagram of a twin-screw extrusion molding machine;
FIG. 4
is a cross-sectional view of an output shaft;
FIG. 5
is an explanatory diagram of an AE output waveform;
FIG. 6
is a hardware configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a first embodiment;
FIG. 7
is a functional configuration diagram of the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 8
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment;
FIG. 9
is a hardware configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a second embodiment;
FIG. 10
is a functional configuration diagram of the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 11
is an explanatory diagram of a method of estimating an abnormality occurrence position performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 12
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 13
is an explanatory diagram of an AE output waveform at the time of continuous monitoring;
FIG. 14
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a third embodiment;
FIG. 15
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment;
FIG. 16
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a fourth embodiment;
FIG. 17
is a diagram illustrating an example of an AE output that is output from a twin-screw extrusion machine;
FIG. 18
FIG. 17
is a diagram illustrating an example of a power spectrum of each AE output illustrated in ;
FIG. 19
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 20
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 21
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a second modification of the fourth embodiment; and
FIG. 22
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second modification of the fourth embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
First Embodiment
Second Embodiment
Third Embodiment
Fourth Embodiment
First Modification of Fourth Embodiment
Second Modification of Fourth Embodiment
[Description of Acoustic Emission (AE)]
Before the description of embodiments, acoustic emission (hereinafter, referred to as “AE”) used for determining whether an abnormality occurs in an extrusion molding machine in operation will be described. AE is a phenomenon in which strain energy accumulated so far is emitted as a sound wave (an elastic wave, an AE wave) when a solid material is deformed. An abnormality of the solid material can be predicted by detecting the AE wave. The frequency band of the AE wave is said to be about several tens kHz to several MHz, and has a frequency band that cannot be detected by a general vibration sensor or acceleration sensor. Consequently, a dedicated AE sensor is used to detect the AE wave. The AE sensor will be described later in detail.
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
is an explanatory diagram of acoustic emission and an AE sensor. As illustrated in , when deformation, contact, friction, or the like occurs at a point P inside a solid material Q, AE waves W are generated. The AE wave W spreads radially from the point P and propagates inside the solid material Q at a speed based on the solid material Q.
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FIG. 1
The AE wave W propagating inside the solid material Q is detected by an AE sensor installed on the surface of the solid material Q. The AE sensor then outputs a detection signal D. Since the detection signal D is a signal representing vibration, the detection signal D is an AC signal with positive and negative values as illustrated in . However, in this state, it is difficult to use the detection signal D (the AE wave W) when performing various calculations, and thus, it is common to use a rectified waveform obtained by performing half-wave rectification on the negative portion of the detection signal D. Furthermore, when the AE wave W is analyzed, in general, a value obtained by averaging the square value of the rectified waveform over a predetermined time and taking its square root, that is, an effective value (a root mean square (RMS) value) is used.
The propagation speed of the AE wave W is different between a longitudinal wave and a lateral wave (the longitudinal wave is faster than the lateral wave). However, in consideration of the size (the propagation distance) of the solid material Q, the difference can be ignored. Consequently, in the present embodiment, the AE wave W detected within a predetermined time is analyzed as a measurement signal without any distinction between the longitudinal wave and the lateral wave.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
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a
is a schematic structural diagram of an AE sensor. As illustrated in , the AE sensor is installed at the distal end of a waveguide rod (a waveguide) installed in contact with the surface of a housing (barrel) of a twin-screw extrusion molding machine to be detected in a state of being enclosed in a shield case . The waveguide rod is made of ceramic or stainless steel, and transmits the AE wave W transmitted inside the housing to the AE sensor .
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The waveguide rod is used because a heater for melting a resin raw material is mounted on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and a high temperature of about 200° C. is obtained, and thus the AE sensor cannot be directly installed on the housing . Note that a magnet is installed at the distal end of the waveguide rod , and the waveguide rod is fixed on the surface of the housing of twin-screw extrusion molding machine by the magnet so as to avoid the position of the heater . Alternatively, the distal end of the waveguide rod may be fixed on the surface of the housing by screwing.
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f
FIG. 2
The other end side of the waveguide rod is connected to a wave receiving surface of the AE sensor . A vapor deposited film made of copper or the like is formed on the wave receiving surface . A piezoelectric element made of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) or the like is disposed on the vapor deposited film . The piezoelectric element receives the AE wave W transmitted inside the waveguide rod via the wave receiving surface , and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the AE wave W. The electrical signal output from the piezoelectric element is output as the detection signal D via a vapor deposited film and a connector . Note that since the detection signal D is weak, in order to suppress the influence of noise mixture, a preamplifier (not illustrated in ) may be installed inside the AE sensor , and the detection signal D may be amplified in advance and then output.
FIG. 1
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Since AE is also generated by fine scratches and friction, a sign of an abnormality in a device can be found early. In addition, as illustrated in , since the AE wave W radially spreads from the point P, it is possible to observe the AE wave W and acquire the detection signal D at any position of the housing by installing the AE sensor as long as the housing is made of metal. Note that a specific analysis method of the detection signal D will be described later. In addition, since the frequency band of a signal that can be detected varies depending on the type of the AE sensor , it is desirable to consider the material or the like of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine to be detected when selecting the AE sensor to be used.
Hereinafter, embodiments of an abnormality detection device for an extrusion molding machine according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. In addition, constituent elements in the following embodiments include those that can be replaced by those skilled in the art and can be easily conceived, or those that are substantially the same.
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A first embodiment of the present disclosure is an example of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine that detects and notifies the occurrence of an abnormality during operation. In particular, in the first embodiment, the occurrence of an abnormality in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is detected by one AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Note that the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is an example, and the present disclosure is applicable to all extrusion molding machines such as a single-screw extrusion molding machine or a multi-screw extrusion molding machine.
[Description of Schematic Structure of Twin-Screw Extrusion Molding Machine]
30
FIGS. 3 and 4
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
A schematic structure of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to . is a schematic structural diagram of a twin-screw extrusion molding machine. is a cross-sectional view of an output shaft.
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The twin-screw extrusion molding machine is driven according to the output of a gear box . That is, the gear box decelerates the rotational driving force of a motor to rotationally drive two output shafts included in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine in the same direction. A screw and a kneading disk , which will be described later, are installed on the outer periphery of the output shaft , and with the rotation of the output shaft , a resin raw material (resin pellets of polypropylene or the like) fed into the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is plasticized and melted for kneading and molding. In general, component molding using an extrusion molding machine is continuously performed, and for example, a long tubular component is molded. That is, it is necessary to continuously monitor the occurrence of an abnormality in a state where the extrusion molding machine is continuously operating for 24 hours, a week, a month, or the like. Note that the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is an example of an extrusion molding machine in the present disclosure.
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Note that the two output shafts are disposed in parallel with each other with a certain inter-shaft distance C in the cylindrical housing (barrel) of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
a
FIG. 4()
a
FIG. 4()
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is a cross-sectional view of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine taken along a line A-A. As illustrated in , the output shaft is inserted into a spline hole formed in the screw . The output shaft meshes with the spline hole to rotate the screw inside an insertion hole .
b
FIG. 4()
a
FIG. 4()
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is a cross-sectional view of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine taken along a line B-B. As illustrated in , the output shaft is inserted into the spline hole formed in the kneading disk . The output shaft meshes with the spline hole to rotate the kneading disk inside the insertion hole .
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The screw rotates, for example, at a speed of 300 revolutions per minute or the like to convey the resin raw material fed into the twin-screw extrusion molding machine downstream of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The kneading disk has a structure in which a plurality of elliptical disks is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the output shaft and the directions of disks adjacent to each other along the output shaft are shifted. Adjacent disks are arranged in a shifted manner to divide the flow of the resin raw material between the disks, thereby promoting kneading of the conveyed resin raw material. That is, the kneading disk applies shear energy to the resin raw material that is heated by the heater and conveyed by the screw to completely melt the resin raw material.
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The insertion hole into which each output shaft is inserted is formed inside the housing . The insertion hole is a hole formed along the longitudinal direction of the housing , and has a shape in which cylinders overlap partially. As a result, the screw and the kneading disk can be inserted into the insertion hole in a state of being meshed with each other.
FIG. 3
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Returning to again, on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the housing , a material supply port for feeding the pellet-like resin raw material and the material of a powdery filler, which are to be kneaded, into the insertion hole is provided. A discharge port that discharges the material kneaded while passing through the insertion hole is provided on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the housing . In addition, the heater that heats the housing to heat the resin raw material fed into the insertion hole is provided on the outer periphery of the housing .
FIG. 3
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Note that in the example of , the output shaft of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine includes the screw at two parts and the kneading disk at one part, but the numbers of the screws and the kneading disks are not limited thereto. For example, the kneading disk may be installed at a plurality of parts to knead the resin raw material.
[Description of Abnormality Detection Method]
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In the twin-screw extrusion molding machine in continuous operation, there is a high possibility that mainly two types of abnormalities occur. The first abnormality is the occurrence of so-called crushing in which the resin raw material reaches the kneading disk in a state of not being sufficiently melted, and the unmelted resin raw material is crushed in the kneading disk . If such crushing occurs, the mechanical load on the kneading disk increases, so that the life of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine may be shortened, and in the worst case, the twin-screw extrusion molding machine may be damaged. Consequently, in a case where the occurrence of crushing is detected, for example, it is necessary to increase the set temperature of the heater to promote melting of the resin raw material.
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The second anomaly is the occurrence of metal wear on the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk . When the unmelted resin raw material is crushed in the kneading disk , a reaction force is generated in the output shaft . At this time, there is a possibility that the output shaft is bent and the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk contacts the inner wall of the housing . In a case where such contact occurs, metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , so that metal powder generated by metal wear may be mixed into the resin material. The amount of bending of the output shaft is proportional to the amount of the unmelted resin raw material. Consequently, as soon as the occurrence of metal wear is detected, it is necessary to reduce the amount of the resin to be fed or increase the set temperature of the heater to promote melting of the resin raw material.
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a
FIG. 6
An abnormality detection device (see ) for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment detects two types of abnormalities, which have been described above, with one AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
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According to an evaluation experiment by the inventors, it has been found that the magnitude of an AE output M(t) at a time t, the AE output M(t) being generated by metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , is clearly larger than the magnitude of an AE output M(t) generated when the resin raw material is crushed. That is, it has been found that it is possible to identify metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , or the occurrence of crushing of the resin raw material by comparing the magnitudes of the AE outputs M(t).
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Note that the AE sensor may be installed at any position as long as the AE sensor is in contact with the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , but is preferably installed near the kneading disk . This is to keep the magnitude of a signal of the AE output M(t) due to the occurrence of crushing of the resin raw material, which is lower than the AE output M(t) due to metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , at an observable magnitude.
FIG. 5
a
FIG. 5()
b
FIG. 5()
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is an explanatory diagram of an AE output waveform. In particular, is an example of an AE output M(t) in a case where crushing occurs. Furthermore, is an example of an AE output M(t) in a case where metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk .
a
FIG. 5()
1
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1
a
As illustrated in , in a case where it is detected that the AE output M(t) exceeds a preset first threshold Th, the abnormality detection device determines that there is a possibility that crushing of a resin raw material occurs. Note that the first threshold Th is an example of a threshold.
b
FIG. 5()
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a
a
In addition, as illustrated in , in a case where it is detected that the AE output M(t) exceeds a second threshold Th larger than the first threshold Th, the abnormality detection device determines that wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk occurs. Note that the second threshold Th is an example of the threshold. Furthermore, the abnormality detection device can also detect the occurrence of metal wear of the housing (barrel) in addition to metal wear of the screw or the kneading disk .
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a
Note that the abnormality detection device may monitor the AE output M(t), for example, for a predetermined time ta (for example, a second), after detecting that the AE output M(t) exceeds the first threshold Th, and in a case where the AE output M(t) does not exceed the second threshold Th during the predetermined time ta, determine that crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs.
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Note that since the first threshold Th varies depending on the type of a resin raw material to be used, an evaluation experiment for actually observing the AE output M(t) is performed in advance, and the first threshold Th is set on the basis of the intensity of an AE wave W generated at the time of the occurrence of crushing. Similarly, the evaluation experiment is performed in advance, and the second threshold Th is set on the basis of the intensity of an AE wave W generated when metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk .
[Description of Hardware Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
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a
FIG. 6
FIG. 6
Next, a hardware configuration of the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to . is a hardware configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment.
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The abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is used in connection with the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and includes a control unit , a storage unit , and a peripheral device controller .
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The control unit includes a central processing unit (CPU) , a read only memory (ROM) , and a random access memory (RAM) . The CPU is connected to the ROM and the RAM via a bus line . The CPU reads a control program P stored in the storage unit and develops the control program P in the RAM . The CPU operates in accordance with the control program P developed in the RAM to control the operation of the control unit . That is, the control unit has a configuration of a general computer that operates on the basis of the control program P.
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The control unit is further connected to the storage unit and the peripheral device controller via the bus line .
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The storage unit is a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), or the like that retains stored information even when the power is turned off. The storage unit stores a program including the control program P and an AE output M(t) output from the AE sensor at the time t. The control program P is a program for implementing the function of the control unit . The AE output M(t) is a signal obtained by converting the effective value of the detection signal D output from the AE sensor into a digital signal by an A/D converter .
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Note that the control program P may be provided by being incorporated in the ROM in advance. Alternatively, it may be configured that the control program P is provided by being recorded in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, or a digital versatile disc (DVD) as a file in a format that can be installed or executed in the control unit . Furthermore, it may be configured that the control program P is stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by being downloaded via the network. Further, it may be configured that the control program P is provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.
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The peripheral device controller is connected to the A/D converter , a display device , and an operation device . The peripheral device controller controls the operation of various connected hardware on the basis of a command from the control unit .
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The A/D converter converts the detection signal D output from the AE sensor into a digital signal and outputs the AE output M(t). Note that the AE sensor detects the AE wave W transmitted through the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine via the waveguide rod as described above.
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The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display. The display device displays information related to the operation state of the abnormality detection device . Furthermore, the display device provides a notification when the abnormality detection device detects an abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
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The operation device is, for example, a touch panel superimposed on the display device . The operation device acquires operation information related to various operations of the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
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FIG. 2
Note that the AE sensor is installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine in the configuration described in . In addition, since the frequency band of a signal that can be detected varies depending on the type of the AE sensor , when the AE sensor to be used is selected, it is desirable to select the AE sensor that has high sensitivity with respect to the frequency of the AE wave W expected to be generated, in consideration of the material or the like of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine to be detected.
[Description of Functional Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
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FIG. 7
FIG. 7
FIG. 7
Next, a functional configuration of the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to . is a functional configuration diagram of the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment. The control unit of the abnormality detection device develops the control program P in the RAM and operates the control program P, thereby implementing a signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and a notification unit illustrated in as functional units.
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a
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When the twin-screw extrusion molding machine that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the detection signal D output from the AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The signal acquisition unit includes an amplifier and amplifies the detection signal D, and converts the effective value of the detection signal D as an analog signal into the AE output M(t) as a digital signal by the A/D converter .
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The determination unit determines whether an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine on the basis of the relationship between the AE output M(t) acquired by the signal acquisition unit and thresholds (the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th). That is, in a case where the AE output M(t) exceeds the second threshold Th, the determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk . In addition, in a case where the AE output M(t) is less than the second threshold Th for the predetermined time to after exceeding the first threshold Th, the determination unit determines that crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs.
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FIG. 6
FIG. 6
In a case where the determination unit determines that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , the notification unit provides a notification that an abnormality occurs. Specifically, the notification unit displays on the display device that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Note that the notification unit also displays the type of the detected abnormality (crushing of the resin raw material, or metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk). Furthermore, the notification method of the notification unit is not limited thereto, and the notification may be provided by turning on or blinking an indicator (not illustrated in ), or may be provided by outputting sound or voice from a speaker or a buzzer (not illustrated in ).
[Description of Flow of Process Performed by Abnormality Detection Device]
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a
FIG. 8
FIG. 8
Next, a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to . is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the first embodiment.
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The signal acquisition unit acquires the AE output M(t) from the storage unit (step S). Note that the signal acquisition unit may acquire an output of the AE sensor in real time, or may acquire the output by reading the AE output M(t) once stored in the storage unit .
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The determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present (step S: No), the process returns to step S, the time t is updated, and the process is continued for the acquired AE output M(t).
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present within the predetermined time to after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M(t)≥Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (step S). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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On the other hand, when it is determined as No in step S, the determination unit determines that crushing of the unmelted resin raw material occurs in the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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Subsequent to step S or step S, the notification unit provides a notification that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (step S). Note that it is desirable that the notification unit provides a notification according to the detected abnormality to distinguish whether metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk or whether crushing of the resin raw material occurs.
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FIG. 8
Thereafter, the abnormality detection device ends the process for the AE output M(t) acquired in step S. Note that, in practice, the twin-screw extrusion molding machine continuously operates, and thus the abnormality detection device returns to step S again, acquires a new AE output M(t), and continues the process of .
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As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the first embodiment, when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (extrusion molding machine) that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the AE output M(t) of the AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The determination unit then determines whether an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine on the basis of the relationship between the AE output M(t) and the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th. As a result, the occurrence of an abnormality of the AE output M(t) due to the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine during a continuous operation can be reliably detected.
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Furthermore, in the abnormality detection device of the first embodiment, the determination unit determines that crushing of the unmelted resin raw material occurs in the kneading disk in a case where the output of the AE sensor exceeds the first threshold Th and does not exceed the second threshold Th larger than the first threshold Th. Consequently, the molten state of the resin raw material can be reliably detected.
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Moreover, in the abnormality detection device of the first embodiment, the determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in the screw that conveys the resin raw material from upstream to downstream, the housing , or the kneading disk in a case where the output of the AE sensor exceeds the second threshold Th larger than the first threshold Th. Consequently, the occurrence of metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk can be reliably detected.
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Further, in the abnormality detection device of the first embodiment, in a case where the determination unit determines that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , the notification unit provides a notification that an abnormality occurs. Consequently, it is possible to promptly notify and respond to the occurrence of the abnormality.
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A second embodiment of the present disclosure is an example of the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine that detects and notifies the occurrence of an abnormality during operation. In particular, in the second embodiment, two AE sensors installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine estimate the part where an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Note that the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is an example, and the present disclosure is applicable to an extrusion molding machine such as a single-screw extrusion molding machine or a multi-screw extrusion molding machine.
[Description of Hardware Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
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FIG. 9
FIG. 9
A hardware configuration of an abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to . is a hardware configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment.
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The abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is used in connection with the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and includes the control unit , the storage unit , and the peripheral device controller . Since the basic structure of the abnormality detection device is the same as that of the abnormality detection device described in the first embodiment, the description of the same part is omitted.
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The abnormality detection device includes two AE sensors with the same specifications. Each of AE sensors and is installed in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine via the waveguide rod . An AE output M() of the AE sensor and an AE output M() of the AE sensor are each A/D-converted into digital signals by an A/D converter . At this time, the A/D converter samples (for example, 100 times per second or the like) the two AE outputs M() and M() at the same timing. That is, digitized AE outputs M() and M() can compare the occurrence time of the AE output with each other.
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Note that the AE sensors and are installed on the upstream side and the downstream side through which a resin raw material fed into the twin-screw extrusion molding machine flows. Preferably, the AE sensors and are installed at least at two parts upstream and downstream of the kneading disk that kneads the resin raw material.
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The entire operation of the abnormality detection device is managed by a control program P stored in the storage unit .
[Description of Functional Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
FIG. 10
FIG. 10
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is a functional configuration diagram of the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment. The control unit of the abnormality detection device develops the control program P in the RAM and operates the control program P, thereby implementing a signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and a notification unit illustrated in as functional units.
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The signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the detection signals D output from the AE sensors and installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine in operation. The signal acquisition unit includes an amplifier and amplifies the detection signals D, and converts the effective values of the detection signals D as analog signals into AE outputs M() and M() as digital signals by the A/D converter . Note that the AE output M() is an output of the AE sensor . Further, the AE output M() is an output of the AE sensor
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The determination unit estimates the part where the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine occurs on the basis of the difference between the time when the AE outputs M() and M() acquired by the signal acquisition unit exceed the first threshold Th or the difference between the time when the AE outputs M() and M() exceed the second threshold Th.
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The notification unit notifies the part where the abnormality occurs in a case where the determination unit estimates the part where the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine occurs.
[Description of Method of Estimating Part Where Abnormality Occurs]
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b
FIG. 11
FIG. 11
A method in which the abnormality detection device estimates the part where an abnormality occurs will be described with reference to . is an explanatory diagram of a method of estimating an abnormality occurrence position performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment.
a
FIG. 11()
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illustrates a state where two AE sensors and are installed in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Now, it is assumed that an abnormality occurs at the point P. At this time, the generated AE wave W is transmitted through the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and the waveguide rods , and detected by the AE sensors and . It is assumed that the waveguide rod connected to the AE sensor is fixed to the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine at a point R. Furthermore, it is assumed that the waveguide rod connected to the AE sensor is fixed to the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine at a point R. In addition, it is assumed that the length of the waveguide rod is L.
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At this time, a path from the point P to the AE sensor and a path from the point P to the AE sensor have a different distance. Consequently, the time required for the AE wave W generated at the point P to be transmitted to the AE sensor is different from the time required for the AE wave W to be transmitted to the AE sensor
b
FIG. 11()
b
FIG. 11()
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is a diagram in which the AE output M() output from the AE sensor and the AE output M() output from the AE sensor are displayed side by side with time axes aligned. As can be seen from , the AE wave W generated at the point P is first transmitted to the AE sensor and then to the AE sensor after some delay.
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Assuming that the time when the AE wave W generated at the point P is transmitted to the AE sensor is denoted by t and the time when the AE wave W generated at the point P is transmitted to the AE sensor is denoted by t, the point P is estimated to be at a position close to the AE sensor by the distance by which the AE wave W travels during a time difference (t−t).
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1
x
More specifically, it is assumed that the traveling speed of the AE wave W inside the housing is denoted by v, and the traveling speed of the AE wave W in the waveguide rod is denoted by v. In addition, assuming that the distance between the point P and the point R is denoted by d and the distance between the point P and the point R is denoted by d, the AE wave W generated at the point P is transmitted to the AE sensor at the time t, and thus Equation (1) is established.
d
v
L/v
t
1/1+2=1 (1)
20
2
y
Furthermore, since the AE wave W generated at the point P is transmitted to the AE sensor at the time t, Equation (2) is established.
d
v
L/v
t
2/1+2=2 (2)
1
When Equation (1) is transformed, the distance d can be calculated by Equation (3).
d
t
L/v
v
1=(1−2)*1 (3)
2
Further, when Equation (2) is transformed, the distance d can be calculated by Equation (4).
d
t
L/v
v
2=(2−2)*1 (4)
1
1
2
2
That is, the position of the point P can be estimated as a position of an intersection of an arc whose radius is the distance d around the point R and an arc whose radius is the distance d around the point R.
50
20
20
b
x
y
As described above, the abnormality detection device of the second embodiment estimates the position of the point P, which is the position where the AE wave W is generated, by observing one AE wave W by the AE sensors and installed at a plurality of different positions and detecting the time difference at which the occurrence of an abnormality is detected.
[Description of Flow of Process Performed by Abnormality Detection Device]
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b
FIG. 12
FIG. 12
A flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to . is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second embodiment.
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t
t
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A signal acquisition unit acquires the AE outputs M() and M() from the storage unit (step S). Note that the signal acquisition unit may acquire the AE outputs M() and M() stored in advance in the storage unit , or may acquire the outputs of the AE sensors and in real time.
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t
t
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t
t
The determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: No), the process returns to step S, the time t is updated, and the process is continued for the acquired AE outputs M() and M().
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b
t
t
t
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present within the predetermined time ta after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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b
t
t
t
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present within the predetermined time ta after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
23
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46
1
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27
b
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit estimates the position where metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk using the time difference between the time t and the time t (step S). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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b
t
t
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t
When it is determined as No in step S or step S, the determination unit determines whether the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present within the predetermined time ta after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying M()≥Th is present (step S: No), the process returns to step S, the time t is updated, and the process is continued for the acquired AE outputs M() and M().
25
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b
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the determination unit estimates the position where crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs using the time difference between the time t and the time t (step S). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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b
b
b
t
t
FIG. 12
FIG. 12
Subsequent to step S or step S, the notification unit provides a notification that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and a notification that indicates the position where the abnormality occurs (step S). Thereafter, the abnormality detection device ends the process of . Note that, in practice, the twin-screw extrusion molding machine continuously operates, and thus the abnormality detection device returns to step S again, acquires new AE outputs M() and M(), and continues the process of .
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x
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b
As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the second embodiment, the AE sensors and are installed at least at two parts on the upstream side and the downstream side through which the resin raw material fed into the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (extrusion molding machine) flows. The determination unit then estimates the part where the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine occurs on the basis of the difference between the time when the AE outputs M() and M() of the AE sensors and acquired by the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) exceed the first threshold Th or the second threshold Th. Consequently, since the position where an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine can be estimated, the adjustment operation of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine can be efficiently performed when an abnormality occurs.
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That is, when it is detected that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk can be efficiently replaced. In addition, when the occurrence of crushing is detected, the twin-screw extrusion molding machine can be efficiently adjusted to promote melting of the resin raw material, such as increasing the set temperature of the heater , changing the form of the kneading disk , or increasing the rotation speed of the output shaft .
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b
x
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Furthermore, in the abnormality detection device of the second embodiment, the AE sensors and are installed upstream and downstream of the kneading disk . Consequently, it is possible to detect the position where crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs more reliably in the kneading disk .
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x
y
In a third embodiment of the present disclosure, similarly to the second embodiment, two AE sensors and installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine estimate the part where an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Note that the third embodiment is different from the second embodiment in a signal processing method.
In general, component molding using an extrusion molding machine is continuously performed, and for example, a long tubular component is molded. That is, it is necessary to continuously monitor the occurrence of an abnormality even in a state where the extrusion molding machine is continuously operating for 24 hours, a week, a month, or the like. In order to continuously monitor the output of an AE sensor for a long period of time, it is necessary to perform monitoring in a state where a resin raw material is continuously fed, that is, in a state where the resin raw material in a molten state and the resin raw material in an unmolten state are mixed. In such a state, the output of the AE sensor constantly varies according to a change in the molten state of the resin raw material, a change in the operating state of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine, or the like. Consequently, in determining the magnitude of the AE output, it is desirable to be able to identify whether it is a simple output variation or an output variation due to an abnormality.
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t
t
FIG. 14
An abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment (see ) detects only the variation due to an abnormality even in a case where the variation due to the state change of the AE outputs M() and M() occurs.
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In general, the variation of the AE outputs M() and M() due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is gentle with respect to time, whereas the variation of the AE outputs M() and M() due to an abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is rapid with respect to time. The abnormality detection device uses such a difference in the variation state of the AE output to detect only the variation due to an abnormality. Whether or not the temporal change of an observation waveform is gentle is generally evaluated by performing frequency analysis, but in the present embodiment, in order to reduce the processing amount of the abnormality detection device , evaluation is performed using the difference value between the AE outputs M() and M() and the moving average value of the AE outputs M() and M(), that is, the variation amount of the AE outputs M() and M().
1
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t
t
t
t
t
t
t
The moving average value of the AE output M() is a waveform obtained by smoothing the AE output M(). Consequently, the difference value between the AE output M() and the moving average value of the AE output M() is a small value when the AE output M() varies gently. On the other hand, the difference value is a large value when the AE output M() changes rapidly. That is, the difference value is an output representing the variation amount of the AE output M(). By comparing this output (the difference value) with a threshold, it is possible to detect the time when an abnormality has possibly occurred.
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2
After the time when an abnormality has possibly occurred is detected, a threshold process is performed on the difference value after the time, thereby determining the type of the abnormality (whether crushing of the resin raw material or metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk ), as described in the first and second embodiments. Note that the thresholds (the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th) described in the first and second embodiments are used as the threshold at the time of performing the threshold process on the difference value, but a specific value of each threshold can be set according to the state of the output (the difference value), that is, the degree of smoothing of the original AE output M(t) by performing an evaluation experiment or the like in advance, unlike the values used in the first and second embodiments. Specifically, it is desirable to set the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th to smaller values as the degree of smoothing of the difference value is higher.
[Description of Abnormality Detection Method]
FIG. 13
1
2
30
1
2
30
30
Hereinafter, the abnormality detection method in the present embodiment will be described more specifically. is an explanatory diagram of an AE output waveform at the time of continuous monitoring. Generally, regions α and α in which the output varies gently are generated in the AE output M(t) obtained when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is continuously monitored. The regions a and a appear, for example, in a case where the state of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine changes, such as in a case where a new resin raw material is fed or in a case where the temperature of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine changes.
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3
30
FIG. 13
The AE wave W generated due to an abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is observed to be superimposed on the state change described above. That is, regions β, β, and β illustrated in are waveforms generated due to the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
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2
3
As described above, since the waveform generated due to the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine appears to be superimposed on the AE output M(t) due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , it is desirable to perform the threshold process using a variable threshold in order to detect the regions β, β, and β.
30
30
However, since the level of the AE output M(t) generated due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine cannot be predicted, in the present embodiment, the occurrence of an abnormality in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is detected by the following method.
30
30
In general, the variation of the AE output M(t) due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is gentler than the variation of the AE output M(t) due to the occurrence of an abnormality. For this reason, the tendency of the variation of the AE output M(t) can be grasped to identify the variation of the AE output M(t) due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and the variation of the AE output M(t) due to the occurrence of the abnormality.
There are various methods of analyzing the tendency of the change in a signal waveform, but in the present embodiment, identification is performed on the basis of the difference value between the AE output M(t) itself and the moving average value of the AE output M(t). The moving average is one of methods of smoothing series data.
It is assumed that the moving average value of the AE output M(t) at the time t is denoted by MA(M(t)). The moving average value MA(M(t)) is then calculated by Equation (5).
MA
M
t
M
t
n−
t
M
t
n
(())=((−(1)Δ)+ . . . +())/ (5)
Here, Δt is a sampling interval of the AE output M(t). Equation (5) represents that the average value of n (n=2, 3, . . . ) AE outputs M(t) including the time t is set as the moving average value at the time t.
1
1
1
1
1
In the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not a difference value E between the AE output M(t) and the moving average value MA(M(t)) is larger than or equal to the preset first threshold Th. The first threshold Th is a preset threshold, but a specific value of the first threshold Th is a value that is unique to the present embodiment and is different from the values used in the first and second embodiments. That is, the first threshold Th in the present embodiment can be set to a value that allows the difference value E generated when the resin raw material is crushed to be detected among the difference values E that are time-series data. Specifically, the first threshold Th in the present embodiment is desirably set according to the state of the difference value E, that is, the degree of smoothing of the AE output M(t).
1
30
1
30
In a case where the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th, it is determined that a large variation occurs in the AE output M(t) in a short time, that is, there is a high possibility that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine at the time t. On the other hand, in a case where the difference value E is smaller than the first threshold Th, it is determined that the AE output M(t) is stable at the time t, or the AE output M(t) gently varies due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
30
30
30
30
Note that the time range of calculating the moving average value MA(M(t)) can be determined by performing an evaluation experiment or the like in advance. In determining the time range of calculating the moving average value MA(M(t)), it is desirable to consider a frequency component of the AE output M(t) generated due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and a frequency component of the AE output M(t) generated due to an abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . As the time range of calculating the moving average value MA(M(t)) is set to be wider, a higher frequency component of the AE output M(t) is removed (the smoothing effect is higher). Consequently, it is desirable to set the time range of calculating the moving average value MA(M(t)) so that when the moving average value MA(M(t)) is calculated, the frequency component of the AE output M(t) due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine remains and the frequency component of the AE output M(t) due to the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is cut.
1
2
1
Then, in a case where the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th at the time t, it is further determined whether the difference value E after the time t is less than the second threshold Th larger than the first threshold Th.
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2
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2
In a case where the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th and does not exceed the second threshold Th, it is determined that crushing occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . Furthermore, in a case where the difference value E is equal to or larger than the second threshold Th, it is determined that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk . The second threshold Th is a preset threshold similarly to the second threshold Th described in the first and second embodiments. A specific value of the second threshold Th is a value unique to the present embodiment and is different from the values used in the first and second embodiments. That is, the second threshold Th in the present embodiment can be set to a value that allows the difference value E generated when metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk to be detected among the difference values E that are time-series data. Specifically, the second threshold Th in the present embodiment is desirably set according to the state of the difference value E, that is, the degree of smoothing of the AE output M(t).
Note that the abnormality detection method described above is an example, and the occurrence of an abnormality may be detected by other methods. For example, the occurrence of an abnormality may be directly detected from the value of the AE output M(t) itself, instead of using the moving average value.
That is, it may be determined whether or not an abnormality occurs by performing the threshold process using a predetermined threshold (for example, a predetermined value S) on the difference value M(t)−M(t−nΔt) between the AE output M(t) at the time t and the AE output M(t−nΔt) in the past by a predetermined time nΔt (n=1, 2, . . . ) in the same manner as described above.
In this case, if there is a variation exceeding the predetermined value S between the past AE output M(t−nΔt) and the current AE output M(t), that is, if there is a sharp variation of the AE output M(t), it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality occurs at the time t. On the other hand, if there is no variation exceeding the predetermined value S between the past AE output M(t−nΔt) and the current AE output M(t), that is, if there is no sharp variation of the AE output M(t), it is not determined that an abnormality occurs at the time t.
1
2
Then, in a case where the value of the AE output M(t) at the time t when it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality occurs exceeds the first threshold Th and does not exceed the second threshold Th, it is determined that crushing occurs at the time t.
2
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1
2
Furthermore, in a case where the value of the AE output M(t) at the time t when it is determined that there is a possibility that an abnormality occurs exceeds the second threshold Th, it is determined that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk . As described above, the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th are set to values suitable for carrying out the present embodiment.
30
In this way, by analyzing the value of the AE output M(t) itself, the occurrence of the abnormality of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine can be reliably detected even in a case where the AE output M(t) includes a level variation. Note that how old the AE output to be referred to is, that is, the value of n (n=2, 3, . . . ) in Equation (5) can be set so that an evaluation experiment or the like is performed in advance to detect the AE wave W generated due to the abnormality.
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Note that the inventors have confirmed that when metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk , the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk is brought into contact with the inner wall of the housing , and thus an audible sound is observed. That is, in a case where the frequency component of the AE output M(t) is analyzed and a large amount of an audible frequency component is contained, it may be determined that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk .
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t
t
The abnormality detection device performs the series of determinations described above on both the AE outputs M() and M(). By measuring the difference between the time when the abnormality occurs, the part where the abnormality occurs can be specified as described in the second embodiment.
[Description of Hardware Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
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c
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c
FIG. 9
Hereinafter, the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment will be described. Note that the hardware configuration of the abnormality detection device is the same as that of the abnormality detection device described in the second embodiment except that the storage unit (see ) of the abnormality detection device includes a control program P (not illustrated) that manages the entire operation of the abnormality detection device , and thus, description thereof is omitted.
[Description of Functional Configuration of Abnormality Detection Device]
FIG. 14
FIG. 14
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is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment. The control unit of the abnormality detection device develops the control program P in the RAM and operates the control program P, thereby implementing the signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and the notification unit illustrated in as functional units. The signal acquisition unit and the notification unit have the same functions as the respective unis of the abnormality detection device described in the second embodiment.
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a
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c.
The determination unit further includes a moving-average-value calculation unit , a threshold processing unit , and a position estimation unit
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The moving-average-value calculation unit calculates moving average values MA(M()) and MA(M()) for the AE outputs M() and M(), respectively. The specific calculation method is as described above.
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The threshold processing unit performs a threshold process of determining whether or not a difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) and a difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) are larger than or equal to threshold values (the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th). The specific content of the process is the same as the process performed by the determination unit in the first embodiment.
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c
b
The position estimation unit estimates the part where an abnormality has occurred in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine on the basis of the difference between the time when the difference values E and E first exceed the first threshold Th or the difference between the time when the difference values E and E first exceed the second threshold Th larger than the first threshold Th. The specific estimation method is the same as the process performed by the determination unit in the second embodiment.
[Description of Flow of Process Performed by Abnormality Detection Device]
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c
FIG. 15
FIG. 15
A flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to . is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the third embodiment.
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The signal acquisition unit acquires the AE outputs M() and M() from the storage unit (step S). It is assumed that the abnormality detection device processes the AE outputs M() and M() obtained in a predetermined time stored in the storage unit in advance. Note that the outputs of the AE sensors and may be acquired in real time.
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a
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The moving-average-value calculation unit calculates the moving average value MA(M()) of the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) of the AE output M() (step S).
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The threshold processing unit determines whether the time t when the difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present (step S). When it is determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present (step S: No), the process returns to step S, the time t is updated, and the process is continued for the acquired AE outputs M() and M().
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the threshold processing unit determines whether the time t when the difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present within a predetermined time after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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b
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the threshold processing unit determines whether the time t when the difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present within a predetermined time after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the second threshold Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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c
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the position estimation unit estimates the position where metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk using the time difference between the time t and the time t (step S). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as No in step S or in step S, the threshold processing unit determines whether the time t when the difference value E between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()) is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present within the predetermined time after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t when the difference value E is larger than or equal to the first threshold Th is present (step S: No), the process returns to step S, the time t is updated, and the process is continued for the acquired AE outputs M() and M().
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c
When it is determined as Yes in step S, the position estimation unit estimates the position where crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs using the time difference between the time t and the time t (step S). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S.
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FIG. 15
FIG. 15
Subsequent to step S or step S, the notification unit provides a notification that an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine and a notification that indicates the position where the abnormality occurs (step S). Thereafter, the abnormality detection device ends the process of . Note that, in practice, the twin-screw extrusion molding machine continuously operates, and thus the abnormality detection device returns to step S again, acquires new AE outputs M() and M(), and continues the process of .
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As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the third embodiment, when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (extrusion molding machine) that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the AE output M() of the AE sensor and the AE output M() of the AE sensor , the AE sensors and being installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The moving-average-value calculation unit then calculates the moving average values MA(M()) and MA(M()) of the AE outputs M() and M(). The threshold processing unit then determines whether an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine at the time t on the basis of the relationship between the difference value E (the variation amount of the AE output M()) between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()), and the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th. Furthermore, the threshold processing unit determines whether an abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine at the time t on the basis of the relationship between the difference value E (the variation amount of the AE output M()) between the AE output M() and the moving average value MA(M()), and the first threshold Th and the second threshold Th. In a case where it is determined that an abnormality occurs at the time t and the time t, the position estimation unit estimates the part where the abnormality occurs in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine on the basis of the time difference between the time t and the time t. As a result, the occurrence of the abnormality in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine during the continuous operation can be reliably detected, and the position where the abnormality occurs can be estimated. In particular, even in a case where the level variation due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine occurs, it is possible to reliably detect the occurrence of the abnormality in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and thus, it is possible to detect an abnormality in a state where the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is continuously operated for a long period of time.
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Furthermore, in the abnormality detection device of the third embodiment, the threshold processing unit (the determination unit ) may determine that an abnormality occurs at the time t in a case where the difference value (M(t)−M(t−nΔt)) between the AE output M(t) at the time t and the AE output M(t−nΔt) in the past by a predetermined time nΔt (n=1, 2, . . . ) is larger than the predetermined value S. Then, in a case where the AE output M(t) at the time t when it is determined that an abnormality occurs exceeds the first threshold Th and does not exceed the second threshold Th, the threshold processing unit may determine that crushing of the resin raw material occurs at the time t. Furthermore, in a case where the AE output M(t) at the time t when it is determined that an abnormality occurs exceeds the second threshold Th, the threshold processing unit may determine that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing (barrel), or the kneading disk . Consequently, even in a case where the level variation due to the state change of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine occurs, it is possible to reliably detect the occurrence of the abnormality in the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and thus, it is possible to detect an abnormality in a state where the twin-screw extrusion molding machine is continuously operated for a long period of time.
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In the first to third embodiments described above, in a case where crushing of an unmelted resin raw material and metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk occur at the same time, both cannot be identified and detected. That is, it is possible to detect metal wear of the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk with a large absolute value of the AE output M(t), but a signal indicating that the occurrence of crushing of the resin raw material with a small absolute value of the AE output M(t) is buried in the AE output M(t) obtained when the metal wear occurs.
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d
A fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is an example of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine capable of identifying and detecting crushing of an unmelted resin raw material and metal wear when the crushing and the metal wear occur at the same time.
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FIG. 6
Note that the hardware configuration of the abnormality detection device is the same as that of the abnormality detection device described in the first embodiment except that the storage unit (see ) of the abnormality detection device includes a control program P (not illustrated) that manages the entire operation of the abnormality detection device , and thus, description thereof is omitted.
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FIG. 16
FIG. 16
First, a functional configuration of the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to . is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the fourth embodiment.
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FIG. 16
The control unit of the abnormality detection device develops the control program P in the RAM and operates the control program P, thereby implementing the signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and the notification unit illustrated in as functional units. The signal acquisition unit and the notification unit have the same functions as the respective unis of the abnormality detection device described in the first embodiment.
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The determination unit further includes an FFT performing unit , a crushing occurrence determination unit , a BPF processing unit , an IFFT performing unit , and a wear occurrence determination unit
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The FFT performing unit performs a discrete Fourier transform on the AE output M(t) to calculate a power spectrum M(f). Specifically, the FFT performing unit first performs a discrete Fourier transform on a finite length waveform to apply a window function such as a Gaussian window or a Hamming window to the AE output M(t) in order to suppress generation of a frequency component that is not actually present at the position where waveforms are concatenated as much as possible. The FFT performing unit then performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the AE output M(t) having the window function applied thereto. Note that the FFT performing unit is an example of a calculation unit in the present disclosure.
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The crushing occurrence determination unit determines whether crushing of the resin raw material occurs on the basis of the power spectrum M(f). Specifically, in a case where the power in a predetermined frequency band in the power spectrum M (f) exceeds a third threshold Th, the crushing occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of the unmelted resin raw material occurs. Note that the crushing occurrence determination unit is an example of a first determination unit in the present disclosure. Note that the predetermined frequency band and the third threshold Th are set in accordance with, for example, the type of the resin raw material and the operating conditions of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
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The BPF processing unit applies a band pass filter that cuts only a predetermined frequency band to the power spectrum M(f). Note that the BPF processing unit is an example of a subtractor in the present disclosure.
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The IFFT performing unit performs an inverse discrete Fourier transform on a power spectrum N(f) obtained by subtracting the power in a predetermined frequency band from the power spectrum M(f) to calculate the AE output N(t) that is a time signal.
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The wear occurrence determination unit determines whether metal wear occurs with respect to the AE output N(t). Specifically, in a case where the AE output N(t) exceeds the second threshold Th, the wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in a screw that conveys the resin raw material from upstream to downstream, a housing (barrel), or a kneading disk that kneads the resin raw material. Note that the wear occurrence determination unit is an example of a second determination unit in the present disclosure.
[Description of Abnormality Detection Method]
30
FIGS. 17 and 18
FIG. 17
FIG. 18
FIG. 17
A specific example of the AE output M(t) output from the twin-screw extrusion molding machine will be described with reference to . is a diagram illustrating an example of an AE output that is output from a twin-screw extrusion molding machine. is a diagram illustrating an example of a power spectrum of each AE output illustrated in .
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FIG. 17
The inventor of the present disclosure obtained AE output waveforms W, W, and W illustrated in by observing an AE output M(t) that is actually output by the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The AE output waveform W is an example of the AE output obtained in a case where resin pellets are not fed and metal wear does not occur. The AE output waveform W is an example of the AE output obtained in a case where resin pellets are not fed and metal wear occurs. The AE output waveform W is an example of the AE output obtained in a case where resin pellets are fed and thus crushing occurs, and metal wear also occurs.
FIG. 17
Note that illustrates a result of measuring the AE output M(t) every 20 μsec at about 50,000 points (for about one sec).
FIG. 17
FIG. 18
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When each AE output waveform in is subjected to a discrete Fourier transform by FFT, power spectra X, X, and X illustrated in are obtained.
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FIG. 18
FIG. 18
FIG. 18
From the comparison between the power spectrum X and the power spectra X and X in , the inventor of the present disclosure has found that a power spectrum in a specific frequency band appears when crushing of the resin raw material occurs. Specifically, it has been found that the power spectrum X in has a smaller peak in a frequency band of 45 kHz±5 kHz (a frequency section G in ) as compared with the power spectra X and X.
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The crushing occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of the resin raw material occurs in a case where a power spectrum satisfying M(f)≥Th with respect to the third threshold Th is present in a predetermined frequency band of 45 kHz±5 kHz of the power spectrum X. Note that since the predetermined frequency band and the third threshold Th vary depending on the material of the resin raw material to be used, the operating conditions of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and the like as described above, the predetermined frequency band and the third threshold Th are set to appropriate values after confirming the characteristics of the signal waveform by an evaluation experiment or the like performed in advance.
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The BPF processing unit applies a band pass filter that cuts a power spectrum in a frequency band of 45 kHz±5 kHz to the power spectrum X. It is assumed that the power spectrum N(f) is obtained by the function of the BPF processing unit
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The IFFT performing unit performs an inverse discrete Fourier transform on the power spectrum N(f). As a result, the AE output N(t) as a time signal, from which an AE wave generated due to the occurrence of crushing of the resin raw material is removed, is obtained.
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As described in the first embodiment, the wear occurrence determination unit determines whether the AE output N(t) exceeds the second threshold Th. Then, in a case where the AE output N(t) exceeds the second threshold Th, the wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs.
[Description of Flow of Process Performed by Abnormality Detection Device]
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FIG. 19
FIG. 19
A flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to . is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the fourth embodiment.
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The signal acquisition unit acquires the AE output M(t) from the storage unit (step S). Note that the AE output M(t) acquired is a waveform corresponding to the number of sampling points that can be subjected to a discrete Fourier transform in step S.
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The FFT performing unit performs a discrete Fourier transform on the AE output M(t) to calculate a power spectrum M(f) (step S). Note that the discrete Fourier transform is performed by FFT.
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The crushing occurrence determination unit determines whether M(f)≥Th is satisfied at a predetermined frequency f (more precisely, a frequency satisfying M(f)≥Th is present in a predetermined frequency band f±Δf) (step S). When it is determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the crushing occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of the resin raw material occurs (step S).
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When it is determined as No in step S or subsequent to step S, the BPF processing unit applies a band-pass filter that removes a frequency band indicating the occurrence of crushing to the power spectrum M(f) to calculate the power spectrum N(f) (step S).
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Specifically, the BPF processing unit removes a frequency region of f±Δf where the center frequency indicating the occurrence of crushing is denoted by f.
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The IFFT performing unit performs a discrete Fourier transform on the power spectrum N(f) to calculate an AE output N(t) (step S).
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The wear occurrence determination unit determines whether a time t satisfying N(t)≥Th is present within a predetermined time to after the time t (step S). When it is determined that the time t satisfying N(t)≥Th is present (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that the time t satisfying N(t)≥Th is present (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing , or the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine (step S).
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When it is determined as No in step S or subsequent to step S, the notification unit notifies the occurrence of crushing or wear (step S). Note that since the notification unit provides a notification on the basis of the determinations made in step S and step S, the notification unit identifies and notifies the occurrence of crushing and the occurrence of metal wear. Furthermore, the notification unit notifies that both crushing and metal wear occur.
FIG. 19
FIG. 19
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Note that illustrates an example in which abnormality detection is performed on one AE output M(t) for simple description, but in practice, the abnormality detection device repeatedly performs the process of every time the AE output M(t) in the time section shifted by the predetermined time Δt is acquired while adding the predetermined time Δt to the time t at the head of the AE output.
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As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the fourth embodiment, when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the AE output M(t) output from the AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The FFT performing unit (calculation unit) then calculates the power spectrum M(f) for each frequency of the AE output M(t). Next, in a case where the power in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf in the power spectrum M(f) calculated by the FFT performing unit exceeds the third threshold, the crushing occurrence determination unit (first determination unit) determines that crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs. The BPF processing unit (subtractor) calculates the power spectrum N(f) obtained by subtracting the power spectrum in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf from the power spectrum M(f) for each frequency calculated by the FFT performing unit . The IFFT performing unit (conversion unit) converts the power spectrum N(f) calculated by the BPF processing unit into a time signal. In a case where the time signal calculated by the IFFT performing unit exceeds the second threshold Th, the wear occurrence determination unit (second determination unit) determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing (barrel), or the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
Consequently, even in a case where crushing of the resin material and metal wear occur at the same time, it is possible to identify and detect the occurrence of the crushing and the metal wear.
In the fourth embodiment, with respect to the power spectrum M(f) of the AE output M(t), the signal indicating that crushing of the unmelted resin raw material occurs is detected, the power spectrum N(f) from which the component of the signal is removed is converted into a time signal, and then whether information indicating that metal wear occurs is included in the converted time signal is determined. However, the order of the determination may be changed.
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That is, with respect to the power spectrum M(f) of the AE output M(t), the abnormality detection device may detect a signal indicating that metal wear occurs, convert the power spectrum N(f) from which the component of the signal is removed into a time signal, and then determine whether information indicating that crushing of the unmelted resin raw material occurs is included in the converted time signal.
FIG. 18
30
For example, in , the occurrence of metal wear can be determined by determining whether a signal in a predetermined frequency band in the power spectrum M(f), for example, a signal near a frequency of 10 kHz or near a frequency of 200 kHz exceeds a predetermined threshold. Note that since a specific frequency band and a specific predetermined threshold vary depending on the material of the resin raw material to be used, the operating conditions of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine , and the like, the frequency band and the predetermined threshold are set to appropriate values after confirming the characteristics of the signal waveform by an evaluation experiment or the like performed in advance.
FIG. 20
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to a first modification of the fourth embodiment.
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An abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine includes the signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and the notification unit . The functions of the signal acquisition unit and the notification unit are the same as those of the abnormality detection device
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The determination unit further includes the FFT performing unit , a wear occurrence determination unit , the BPF processing unit , the IFFT performing unit , and a crushing occurrence determination unit
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The wear occurrence determination unit determines whether metal wear occurs on the basis of the power spectrum M(f). Specifically, in a case where the power in a predetermined frequency band of f±Δf in the power spectrum M(f) exceeds a fourth threshold Th, the wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs. Note that the wear occurrence determination unit is an example of a third determination unit in the present disclosure.
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c.
The BPF processing unit applies a bandpass filter that cuts a power spectrum in the frequency band f±Δf from the power spectrum M(f). It is assumed that the power spectrum N(f) is obtained by the function of the BPF processing unit
56
d
The IFFT performing unit performs an inverse discrete Fourier transform on the power spectrum N(f). As a result, the AE output N(t) as a time signal, from which an AE wave generated due to the occurrence of metal wear is removed, is obtained.
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The crushing occurrence determination unit determines whether crushing of the resin raw material occurs with respect to the AE output N(t). Specifically, the crushing occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of the resin raw material occurs in a case where the AE output N(t) exceeds the first threshold Th. Note that the crushing occurrence determination unit is an example of a fourth determination unit in the present disclosure.
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FIG. 19
The flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device is substantially the same as the flow of the process performed by the abnormality detection device (see ). The difference is that it is determined whether metal wear occurs on the basis of the power spectrum M(f), and then it is determined whether crushing of the resin raw material occurs. Specifically, the power spectrum N(f) obtained by cutting a power spectrum in a frequency band corresponding to metal wear is calculated from the power spectrum M(f), and the method described in the first embodiment is applied to a waveform obtained by converting the power spectrum N(f) into a time signal to determine whether crushing of the resin raw material occurs.
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As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the first modification of the fourth embodiment, when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the AE output M(t) output from the AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The FFT performing unit (calculation unit) then calculates the power spectrum M(f) for each frequency of the AE output M(t). In a case where the power in a predetermined frequency band in the power spectrum M(f) calculated by the FFT performing unit exceeds the fourth threshold Th, the wear occurrence determination unit (third determination unit) then determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing (barrel), or the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The BPF processing unit (subtractor) calculates the power spectrum N(f) obtained by subtracting the power spectrum in the predetermined frequency band corresponding to metal wear from the power spectrum M(f) for each frequency calculated by the FFT performing unit . The IFFT performing unit (conversion unit) converts the power spectrum N(f) calculated by the BPF processing unit into a time signal. The crushing occurrence determination unit (fourth determination unit) determines that crushing of the resin raw material occurs in a case where the time signal calculated by the IFFT performing unit exceeds the first threshold Th.
Consequently, even in a case where crushing of the resin material and metal wear occur at the same time, it is possible to identify and detect the occurrence of the crushing and the metal wear.
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An abnormality detection device according to a second modification of the fourth embodiment determines whether or not crushing of a resin raw material occurs and whether or not metal wear occurs on the basis of only the power spectrum M(f).
FIG. 21
is a functional configuration diagram of an abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second modification of the fourth embodiment.
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The abnormality detection device for the twin-screw extrusion molding machine includes the signal acquisition unit , a determination unit , and the notification unit . The functions of the signal acquisition unit and the notification unit are the same as those of the abnormality detection device
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The determination unit further includes the FFT performing unit and a crushing/wear occurrence determination unit . Note that the function of the FFT performing unit is the same as that of the abnormality detection device
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The crushing/wear occurrence determination unit has a function of the crushing occurrence determination unit included in the abnormality detection device and a function of the wear occurrence determination unit included in the abnormality detection device . Note that the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit is an example of a fifth determination unit in the present disclosure.
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In the abnormality detection device , the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs in a case where the power in a predetermined frequency band out of the power for each frequency of the AE output M(t) calculated by the FFT performing unit exceeds the third threshold Th. In addition, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in a case where the power in a predetermined frequency band different from the predetermined frequency band out of the power for each frequency of the AE output M(t) exceeds the fourth threshold Th.
FIG. 22
is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of a process performed by the abnormality detection device for a twin-screw extrusion molding machine according to the second modification of the fourth embodiment.
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The signal acquisition unit acquires the AE output M(t) from the storage unit (step S). Note that the AE output M(t) acquired is a waveform corresponding to the number of sampling points that can be subjected to a discrete Fourier transform in step S.
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The FFT performing unit performs a discrete Fourier transform on the AE output M(t) to calculate the power spectrum M(f) (step S). Note that the discrete Fourier transform is performed by FFT.
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The crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines whether M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (more precisely, a frequency satisfying M(f)≥Th is present in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf) (step S). When it is determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines that crushing of a resin raw material occurs (step S).
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When it is determined as No in step S or subsequent to step S, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines whether M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (more precisely, a frequency satisfying M(f)≥Th is present in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf) (step S). Here, the predetermined frequency f is a frequency different from the predetermined frequency f in step S. When it is determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: Yes), the process proceeds to step S. On the other hand, when it is not determined that M(f)≥Th is satisfied at the predetermined frequency f (step S: No), the process proceeds to step S.
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When it is determined as Yes in step S, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs (step S).
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When it is determined as No in step S or subsequent to step S, the notification unit notifies the occurrence of crushing or metal wear (step S). Note that since the notification unit provides a notification on the basis of the determinations made in step S and step S, the notification unit identifies and notifies the occurrence of crushing and the occurrence of metal wear. Furthermore, the notification unit notifies that both crushing and metal wear occur.
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As described above, in the abnormality detection device of the second modification of the fourth embodiment, when the twin-screw extrusion molding machine that melts and kneads a fed resin raw material is in operation, the signal acquisition unit (acquisition unit) acquires the AE output M(t) output from the AE sensor installed on the surface of the housing of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine . The FFT performing unit (calculation unit) then calculates the power spectrum M(f) for each frequency of the AE output M(t). In a case where the power in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf in the power spectrum M(f) calculated by the FFT performing unit exceeds the third threshold, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit (fifth determination unit) determines that crushing of an unmelted resin raw material occurs. Furthermore, in a case where the power in the predetermined frequency band f±Δf in the power spectrum M(f) calculated by the FFT performing unit exceeds the fourth threshold Th, the crushing/wear occurrence determination unit determines that metal wear occurs in the screw , the housing (barrel), or the kneading disk of the twin-screw extrusion molding machine .
Consequently, even in a case where crushing of the resin material and metal wear occur at the same time, it is possible to identify and detect the occurrence of the crushing and the metal wear.
EXPLANATIONS OF LETTERS OR NUMERALS
20
20
20
x
y
, , AE SENSOR
30
TWIN-SCREW EXTRUSION MOLDING MACHINE (EXTRUSION MOLDING MACHINE)
32
HOUSING (BARREL)
42
OUTPUT SHAFT
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SCREW
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KNEADING DISK
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a
b
c
d
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f
, , , , , ABNORMALITY DETECTION DEVICE
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, SIGNAL ACQUISITION UNIT (ACQUISITION UNIT)
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, , , , , DETERMINATION UNIT
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, NOTIFICATION UNIT
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MOVING-AVERAGE-VALUE CALCULATION UNIT
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b
THRESHOLD PROCESSING UNIT
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c
POSITION ESTIMATION UNIT
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a
FFT PERFORMING UNIT (CALCULATION UNIT)
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b
CRUSHING OCCURRENCE DETERMINATION UNIT (FIRST DETERMINATION UNIT)
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c
BPF PROCESSING UNIT (SUBTRACTOR)
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d
IFFT PERFORMING UNIT (CONVERSION UNIT)
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e
WEAR OCCURRENCE DETERMINATION UNIT (SECOND DETERMINATION UNIT)
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f
WEAR OCCURRENCE DETERMINATION UNIT (THIRD DETERMINATION UNIT)
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g
CRUSHING OCCURRENCE DETERMINATION UNIT (FOURTH DETERMINATION UNIT)
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h
CRUSHING/WEAR OCCURRENCE DETERMINATION UNIT (FIFTH DETERMINATION UNIT)
G FREQUENCY SECTION
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2
t
t
M(t), M(), M(), N(t) AE OUTPUT
M(f), N(f) POWER SPECTRUM
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2
t, t, t TIME
ta PREDETERMINED TIME
1
Th FIRST THRESHOLD (THRESHOLD)
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Th SECOND THRESHOLD (THRESHOLD)
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Th THIRD THRESHOLD
4
Th FOURTH THRESHOLD
W AE WAVE
1
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3
W, W, W AE OUTPUT WAVEFORM
1
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3
X, X, X POWER SPECTRUM | |
LEGAL & PRIVACY
LEGAL
Disclaimer
While Cuso International makes every effort to ensure that information on this site in relation to Cuso International and its activities is accurate and up to date, it does not accept any legal responsibility for any omissions or errors on the site unless due to its negligence or the negligence of its employees or volunteers. Cuso International makes every effort to ensure that all information on the site is accurate and safe, but cannot accept liability for any resulting injury or damage unless due to its negligence or the negligence of its employees or volunteers.
While Cuso International makes every effort to review links to external sites, it does not endorse or accept responsibility over any external sites that may be linked to or from this site.
PRIVACY STATEMENT
We hope that this website provides helpful information about volunteering with Cuso International; about our programs and work worldwide; and about our ongoing campaigns to help reduce poverty, exclusion and inequality. We would like you to know that Cuso International is committed to safeguarding your privacy online.
The following questions explain how your personal information will be treated when you access a Cuso International website.
What data do you collect and how do you use this information?
Cuso International does not capture or store personally identifying information (such as your email address, name, title or postal address) when you visit our site without your knowledge. You are always able to choose to provide such information to us.
Cookies
We use cookies (text files that identify your computer to our server) and IP addresses (the domain from which you access the Internet) to indicate which pages have been accessed when. This information is collected automatically. It is not linked to any personal data, so browsing is anonymous.
Personally identifying information can only be collected on our website if you choose to provide it. This information may be in the form of, for example, online application forms, online subscriptions, membership and order forms, joining electronic mailing lists or sending us an email. Some of these may also include optional survey information.
The information you supply will be used for the purpose specifically designated (for example, responding to your request for information, processing your orders and applications, etc.) and in accordance with Cuso International’s data protection policy.
We may use your details to contact you with current and future information about our work, events, campaigns and activities, or any other features of Cuso International described on the website. However, you will always have the opportunity to opt out of receiving further information (see the ‘opt out’ section below).
Who is collecting your information?
When you are on the Cuso International website and are required to submit personal information, you are sharing that information with Cuso International alone, unless otherwise stated.
Who do you share my information with?
Unless the law requires it, Cuso International does not pass your personal data to outside organisations and/or individuals without your expressed consent. Our supporters are often happy to hear from like-minded organizations with which Cuso International occasionally shares or exchanges data. You will always have the chance to opt out of this process. Cuso International will ensure any data that is used in this way cannot be transferred without your consent.
Opt out or change your personally identifiable information
Cuso International’s website gives users the opportunity to opt out of receiving more communications from us at the point where we request information from you. This is usually done with a tick box.
You are entitled to know about the personal information Cuso International holds about you and you also have the right to have your data updated, corrected or deleted. Maintaining accurate and up-to-date information about our supporters is important to Cuso International.
Security
The security of your credit card details is of the utmost importance to Cuso International. We want you to have peace of mind when supplying this information to us.
External links
This website has links to other sites that may contain information that is useful and of interest to our readers. However, Cuso International is not responsible for the content, views or accuracy of information of these external websites.
DATA PROTECTION POLICY
Cuso International will strive to observe the law in all collection and processing of subject data and will meet any subject access request in compliance with the law. Cuso International will only use data in ways relevant to carrying out its legitimate purposes and functions as a charity in a way that is not prejudicial to the interests of individuals. Cuso International will take due care in the collection and storage of any sensitive data. Cuso International staff will do their utmost to keep all data accurate, timely and secure.
As a charity, Cuso International will share its data with staff and partners overseas, but will work to ensure that all staff understand they are required to observe data protection laws when handling data transferred overseas.
All Cuso International staff, whether permanent or temporary, and voluntary workers must be aware of the requirements of data collection laws when they collect or handle data about an individual. Cuso International staff must not disclose data except where there is subject consent or legal requirement. Data sent to outside agencies must always be protected by a written contract. All collection and processing must be done in good faith.
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Africa’s young people aged 15–24 are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. The impact of the epidemic on young people calls for close attention to the youth dimensions of the epidemic. To inform the development of more effective policies for targeting youth and meeting their needs, the Population Council and partners conducted a study of HIV risk-taking and health-seeking behaviors among young people in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. …
A large proportion of young people worldwide are sexually active, and this exposes them to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and to the risk of unintended pregnancies. In 2008, 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 gave birth and approximately 40% of these pregnancies were unintended. Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years account for more than one third of all new HIV infections, with some 3,000 young people becoming infected with HIV each day. …
Nearly half of the world's population, some 3 billion people, is under the age of 25. As the largest generation ever of young people, investments in their health and well-being are crucial so they can make a positive transition into adulthood and fully contribute to the economic and social development of their families, communities and nations. But in order to develop strategies and mobilize financial resources to support adolescent and youth development, decisionmakers need reliable, up-to-date demographic, health, education and socioeconomic data about young people. …
This annotated guide to technical resources is part of a package of materials produced by YouthNet to help provide global technical leadership on community involvement and youth RH/HIV prevention. Besides this compilation of resources, the package of materials includes: A guide to using participatory assessment techniques at the community level, focusing on youth involvement; A summary of issues that have emerged in the literature; and A report on a technical consultation meeting on the topic held in November 2005. …
This website toolkit has over 100 full-text policies on youth reproductive health (YRH) spanning the globe. In addition, it contains policymaking resources (definitions, guiding principles, fact sheets, case studies, expert interviews, key publications, tools) and helpful links. It provides varied information depending on the person accessing it (YRH advocate, young person, policymaker, donor, program manager). …
This report looks at young people across the MENA region and the challenges they face in their transition to adulthood, specifically their sexual and reproductive health - a culturally sensitive topic for societies in MENA. The report highlights the urgency of acknowledging and addressing the needs of young people for sexual and reproductive health information and services.
This paper reviews and describes research practices and program interventions addressing the sexual and reproductive health of very young adolescents (VYA) and identifies promising program components and research/evaluation practices. The paper is not exhaustive but serves as a tool for further discussion of what is needed in VYA programming and research
Reproductive Health of Arab Young People is a short article written by J. DeJong of the Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, and G- El-Khoury of Unicef Middle East and North Africa Region from Amman, Jordan, in 2006. It presents the current situation in the Arab region regarding sexual and reproductive services and information. It shows that cultural taboos are still limiting young people's access, especially for those unmarried, to integrated health services including contraception for sexually active adolescents and health education. …
Adolescent and Youth Reproductive Health in Morocco. Status, Issues, Policies, and Programs is a report written by J. Beamish and L.T. Abderrazik for the POLICY Project, on behalf of the Asia/Near East Bureau of USAID. It aims to highlight the reproductive health status of adolescents in Morocco, within the context of the adolescent boys and girls. …
Although HIV can strike anyone, it is not an equal opportunity virus. Gender inequality, poverty, lack of education and inadequate access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services continue to fuel the epidemic. This booklet will detail how and why prevention works. By applying the principles of prevention to diverse populations around the world, the global community can help slow, and possibly halt, what is proving to be one of the greatest health challenges of our time. …
This guide aims to bring together the latest available data on sexual and reproductive health for countries in the MENA region, to help journalists educate the public and make the case for policymakers that poor sexual and reproductive health contributes to social inequalities and hinders social and economic development.
The study provides information on key reproductive and sexual health indicators in young women and men age 15-24 in 38 developing countries. The data come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and AIDS Indicator Surveys (AIS) conducted between 2001 and 2005. Indicators are selected for the following key areas: background characteristics; adolescent pregnancy; contraception; sexual activity; and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Additional analysis examines the association of various individual and household characteristics with the key indicators. | https://hivhealthclearinghouse.unesco.org/library/search/_all_/keyword/youth/language/english/region/arab-states/theme/sexual-and-reproductive-health |
Can online forums be a substitute for family and friends?
Online forums can be a place where people talk about anything and everything with other members who they do not know outside of an online world, but can such places, and the people within them, become a substitute for a person’s own family and friends? Online forums can be a place of escapism and a place where people can say whatever they want to, potentially spending hours upon hours talking about whatever they want while the outside world waits until they have logged off. But is this a good substitution for the potentially rich social interactions that can be gained offline?
I have been a member of one online forum for twelve years, and I began to use it at a time when I was living away from home and didn’t have a good social life. For me, it was a way of escaping the reality of my world at the time and the negative situation I was in. I found that I loved watching soap operas and so the online forum I became a part of was primarily focused on them. I would spent a lot of my spare time talking about characters, their plot lines, what the actors were up to, and gave my opinions on what we were seeing on screen at that time. I wasn’t the only one – thousands of other members would log on throughout the days and weeks and give their comments and opinions as well. I felt part of something; part of an online community where everyone made a contribution and was heard. It felt good to interact with other people who had similar interests and opinions to me, even if we were only talking about fictional characters.
Looking back, I know that it was a much-needed outlet for me because I needed something to occupy my time. I still use the forum now, but not as much as I did all those years ago. I now use it to add something to my life, not to consume it.
There are many online forums out there to be a part of depending on what interests a person. Films, sport, television programmes – you name it, I am sure they will be some sort of online space to write down your thoughts on it and talk to other people about it. Much like social media, you can also get instant interactions from other people about what they think. There have been many times over the years where I have looked at the comments other users post as a live television show is being aired; reality television especially can be fruitful with opinions on contestants and how the show is looking – sometimes it is more entertaining than the show we are watching!
For me now though, the best experience of using online forums is for those rare occasions now where you can’t binge watch a whole series, but you have to wait for a week between episodes. Reading online threads about such a television show can help with the waiting; discussions of theories, favourite characters, talking about aspects other people may have missed all adds to the fun of watching, and the anticipation of what is going to happen next. And knowing I am not the only person consumed by such a programme is humbling.
Being in a situation where you want to discuss something but you don’t know anyone you can discuss it with brings about a dilemma that online forums can also help out with. Knowing there are people who are possibility in that same situation can make it seem less isolating. This can be for anything, even aspects where strong views may be held; for example, politics. This is where I think online forums can really help people; they can be an outlet for views which may be strong and unable to be channelled in everyday life. Going with the politics example, if someone has strong political views but doesn’t know anyone else with the same views, or strong opposing ones, a potential discussion ceases to exist. But in online forums, there would most likely be someone to chat to about it.
Is a sacrifice being made?
But is there a real world sacrifice being made if online forums are being used by someone instead of them displaying such thoughts to other people in everyday life? I think it only is if there is another outlet to do so, but it isn’t being used. Going back to my first use of them, I needed an outlet. I needed somewhere to feel like I could spend my time because the alternative was probably to be and feel alone. I now use online forums to discuss television shows, but I still talk about them with other people in my life as well, whether that be family members, friends, or work colleagues. The use of online forums is not a substitute necessarily, but is instead another way of how I discuss my thoughts, theories and opinions. I think social interactions are needed for people to thrive and to gain all they can from life, but where there are times when such interactions can’t exist, online forums are an outlet that can be used to gain different interactions, and to feel part of something. I think they are a much better alternative than having no outlet at all.
Online forums are often a vibrant and lively place where views can be shared with people who have common interests. Discussions on a no end of topics can allow people to share in such interactions they may not be able to have elsewhere. I believe, however, that care should be taken to ensure that they do not end up becoming a substitute for real life and the interactions that are still very much needed. We now live in a world where we could spend all of our time online if we really wanted to, but family, friends, and real life would not be engaged with, leading to a lot of other problems. Can online forums be a substitute for family and friends? Yes. Should they be a substitute for them? No. | https://www.e-therapy.uk/articles/can_online_forums_be_a_substitute_for_family_and_friends |
Thousands of companies from around the world are turning to robotic process automation (RPA) to make sure that their business operations are more productive, have fewer errors, and increase data security. Primarily, RPA is implemented for organizations to evolve strategically in order to fulfill company goals and visions.
Before you can set up and deploy RPA across the organization, you need to consider many important factors, such as the infrastructure, end goals, resources, and the progress of the program. A well-implemented RPA CoE setup can drive digital transformation and innovation.
According to a recent study by Horses for Source, only 18% of enterprises have set up a dedicated CoE model for RPA implementation. Almost 88% of these enterprises mentioned that having an automation CoE in place, is effective in delivering business value.
What is an RPA CoE?
RPA has proven to produce an improvement in efficiency along with other benefits in a fast-paced consumer-driven market. However, implementing a well-structured and well-functioning RPA Center of Excellence (CoE) requires critical understanding, planning, and effort.
A competent automation CoE enables organizations to deeply embed RPA and replace human workers with robots that make processes faster, more efficient, and have fewer errors.
An RPA CoE allows businesses to automate the mundane tasks that human workers are often burdened with. While a human workforce is still necessary to create strategies and govern the business, their necessity in performing repetitive daily tasks will be massively reduced.
What is the RPA CoE supposed to do?
An effective RPA CoE is ideally meant to provide critical services through a high-performing operation model. This model will include the following elements:
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Organization
A strong organizational core ensures that RPA is integrated throughout the company. It dictates the internal and external roles and responsibilities which support all the aspects of an RPA initiative. Simply put, this element defines the organizational structure of the CoE. Apart from the above, it is also responsible for acquiring and training new resources and seamless change management.
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Governance
This element establishes clear robotic process automation standards, procedures, and policies along with governing bodies, escalation paths, and segregation of duties. It also ensures that compliance regulations, information security requirements, and regulatory standards are met. This element will also decide task prioritization, the level of access provided to different teams or employees.
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Technology
A good RPA CoE setup will be able to choose the right automation tools for appropriate tasks and also take care of the maintenance and support aspects of these tools. Essentially, it acts as the architect of the robotic operating environment. It will also boost RPA integration into crucial areas such as the IT Service Management and the Configuration Management Database.
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Processes
Essentially, the home of RPA, this element executes, monitors, and alters the complete life cycle throughout the organization. It is in charge of evaluating automation opportunities, deploying RPA into suitable environments with a stable, scalable support structure. The assessment, development, testing, and deployment are all part of this element. Change processes and incident management also fall under this category.
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Operations
With the successful implementation of RPA, there are structural changes within the organization. This element analyzes the effects of the RPA on human roles, from changing job descriptions to overall operational change management. It also takes into account the changes in organizational structure, monitors the RPA, and provides support when needed.
Who is a part of RPA CoE?
Building an RPA CoE requires a lot more than a generic IT team. It requires an essential Operation Robotics Program that has several roles and functions that need to be fulfilled. A good RPA CoE setup requires you to hire the right people to fulfill the following critical tasks:
- RPA Sponsor – You will need to hire a robotic process automation sponsor, who will be in charge of ensuring that the CoE is established as a priority enterprise-wide. This sponsor is accountable for the overall robotics strategy.
- CoE Lead – This is a senior executive, that is accountable for the CoE activities, performance reporting, and operational leads.
- RPA Project Manager – Ensures that the robotics projects are delivered in accordance with the CoE strategy, thus enabling successful implementation, benefits to be reaped on time and within the designated budget.
- RPA Champions – These team members will drive the adoption process of automation throughout the organization.
- RPA and CoE Business Analysts – These analysts are subject matter experts that will create the process definitions and maps used for automation. CoE business analysts will also be in charge of identifying opportunities, providing a detailed analysis of the potential benefits and required resources.
- RPA Solution Architect – Oversee the infrastructure of the RPA from beginning to end. They assist in both the development and implementation stages of the CoE setup. They are in charge of the detailed design and licensing needs of the automation CoE.
- CoE Developers – These team members are responsible for the technical design, development, and testing of the CoE automation workflows. They also provide support during the organization-wide implementation of the CoE setup.
- Infrastructure Engineers – They provide support for teams involved in the deployment and future operations of the automation CoE. They mainly give infrastructure support for troubleshooting and server installations.
- Controller & Supervisor – The controller is in charge of monitoring, scheduling, and supporting the implementation of the CoE while making sure that business goes on as usual.
- Service and Support – This team is the first line of support in case of any queries or issues during CoE implementation.
What to consider before implementing an RPA CoE?
Before implementing an RPA CoE, it is crucial to understand the basics so that enterprise-wide adoption is smooth and effective. While identifying potential opportunities for RPA CoE setup, certain principles have to be kept in mind:
- If there is a step in the business process that is excess to requirements or does not add value, then it must be terminated or removed before automation.
- If a core system can be altered to implement automation cost-effectively, then executing this process is more of a priority for an effective RPA implementation.
- The client’s permission must be taken before automating any process that involves personally identifiable information and confidential data. RPA CoE setup should not be done at the cost of reduced data integrity or security. No sensitive information should be stored in the robotics database or work queues.
- If processes are currently outsourced to third-party providers, then the automation CoE must use the appropriate delivery methodology to provide robotics within the outsourced operation. In addition, the CoE must thoroughly evaluate the RPA vendors and, if suitable, enroll them as an implementation partner.
Now that the basic principles of RPA CoE have been noted, you need to decide on the scale, capabilities, and options for implementing the CoE. Your organization can deploy a CoE in various levels:
- Decentralized CoE or CoE as a support function – The decentralized model has its functionalities spread across an organization with different CoE capabilities being run by different business units. This model places fewer constraints on local business teams within the organization while simultaneously helping them gain momentum and expertise. It hands the demand for innovation over to the employees by empowering them to meet business goals by using RPA. This model is loosely-governed, and different lines of business establish their own CoE guidelines and structures. While this a great way to start an RPA initiative and could potentially cost less, it is difficult to scale and liaise with IT as there is no central control.
- Centralized or CoE as a Central RPA provider – In this model, all the capabilities required to meet business demands and facilitate RPA distribution throughout the organization will be handled by a centralized automation CoE setup. The CoE provides the collective resources and expertise required to deliver the RPA implementation successfully – this enables those in charge to view all initiatives in a centralized place and gives them stronger governance abilities over projects and priorities. A centralized CoE setup provides an end-to-end view of process changes, enabling more beneficial opportunity identification. A central model also provides a standard set of regulations for assessment, delivery, monitoring, and maintenance. All of the above features make scaling easier.
- Hybrid – Most organizations use a hybrid of the above two options. For example, a well-established CoE should be mature enough to handle decentralized business unit demands while still having centralized operations. In this scenario, the CoE delivery and operational support. At the same time, each business unit will have its own parameters for development, prioritization, and assessment of automation processes.
- As stated, a hybrid model is best suited for mature initiatives that can accommodate features of both centralized and decentralized models. It has the scalability of the centralized model so that business growth can be accommodated without any limitations.
Building the RPA CoE
Now that we have covered the fundamental aspects of an RPA CoE setup along with principles, roles, and different models, let us take a look at some of the crucial factors in the building process.
Planning
If you want your RPA CoE to be an actual driver of innovation and digital transformation, then adequate planning is critical. Implementing RPA throughout an organization could lead to profound structural changes. However, prosperous businesses must remember that these employees have valuable experience and expertise at their disposal. As such, there should be a plan to reassign employee tasks or departments rather than letting them go.
Planning for structural changes allows you to differentiate between the tasks that are to be performed by a human workforce and tasks that are to be completed by automation. It also includes a clear communication strategy to clear employees’ worries and fuel innovation. The plan must also include a full description of where the digital workforce will operate such that employees know how and when to use it.
Explore New Opportunities
While many businesses might want to implement an RPA CoE set up, they do not know where and how to start. Questions about various factors like infrastructure, vendors, processes, documentation, and other considerations will likely be floating around.
The solution to these questions is to use a guide, either a consultant or an external firm, to help you explore and understand an automation CoE. A guide will make it easier to understand how a CoE will work within an organization.
On-Site or On The Cloud
Another significant consideration is whether your business should host the digital workforce on local data servers or on the cloud. While large, well-established companies might have the resources to host the RPA CoE at local data centers while other companies would prefer to host it on the cloud.
Both options have their benefits and drawbacks, which is why many companies choose to use a hybrid model that is customized to suit their needs. The hybrid option could have some digital workers operating from local data centers while others operate in the cloud.
Analyzing Results
The digital workforce’s success can be measured through various metrics other than just merely settling for cost reduction. Determining success metrics early in the RPA program is crucial for successful companies.
Cost reduction, increased efficiency, and accuracy are some of the most apparent success metrics but, depending on what the automation CoE is being used for, several other factors will be involved. These could include innovation, customer satisfaction, scaling, and more.
Setting up the RPA CoE
Once the above considerations are made, we can start setting up the RPA CoE. This procedure involves a lot of complicated processes, so we have provided some pointers to keep in mind:
Big goals, small start
When setting up and implementing an automation CoE, it is crucial to have the big picture in mind, but take small steps. A small start will help you understand the technology so you can then decide the organizational changes needed, where automation can be used, costs, and necessary tweaks or adjustments.
Thinking big is still as important as businesses that view automation CoE as just another tool often fail to reap its real benefits. Looking at the big picture helps empower employees to innovate and makes them eager to work with their digital counterparts. It also helps in planning future scaling.
Driving innovation
Human workers and digital workers can both complete transactional workflow tasks, but only the first can use their creativity and intuition to grow the business. Setting up a CoE that encourages employees to create rather than stagnate is vital to a successful program.
A functional automation CoE setup frees up human time spent on routine tasks, allowing ground-level employees to innovate while subject matter experts can further use automation to help their creative endeavors.
Choosing the right resources
Since hiring trends have changed drastically in favor of the employee, selecting the right people and technology has become more significant. Setting up an automation CoE that can handle the important yet transactional tasks can allow organizations to then hire employees who bring a multitude of skills and ideas with them.
Customers first
An RPA CoE that does not allow you to better your service towards customers or clients is not fulfilling its potential. With the right automation CoE tools and implementation, a business can open up new opportunities to interact with customers, gain more potential leads and close more deals.
Investing in customer experience is essential, and a CoE must be used in a way that simplifies processes and makes them faster. Customer service related tasks, which used to take days to complete, can be fast-tracked while employees can also have more personal interactions with customers.
Scaling
Your business’ needs will change as it grows, and your CoE should be equipped to evolve with it. A complete RPA CoE setup can make scaling easier as you can initialize more machines or software to do the work in a shorter time compared to the long hours it takes to hire and train new employees.
Essentially, adding more digital “clones” to the workforce is a lot easier than integrating new people into it, but this only works if the CoE has the capabilities to handle the demand.
Final Thoughts
An RPA CoE has a wide range of benefits that can vastly improve a business capabilities but building an automation CoE that matches your goals perfectly is no easy task. Implementing the CoE throughout the organization also requires a significant effort.
At Maruti Techlabs, we are highly experienced in constructing RPA CoE setups that perfectly suit your business and deploying automation for a myriad of use cases across industries. Write to us at [email protected] or request a FREE 30 min consultation call with our RPA consultants and engineers. | https://marutitech.com/rpa-coe/ |
Environmental goals always look for ways to achieve sustainable growth and the least amount of environmental stress. Every industry is ensuring that each sector is optimized to assure minimum environmental pressure. With some small steps, everyone can create a healthy planet, which is a blessing for present and future generations.
Therefore, some environmental conferences will be high-level and cover different topics. Be part of these discussions, which will debate solutions, eco-friendly technology, and steps. So, keep reading to learn more about the benefits of attending environmental conferences.
What is the Purpose of Environmental Conferences?
These conferences have many purposes, but the subject environment has great significance. Moreover, these high-level discussions welcome notable personalities, scientists, professionals, and academicians worldwide.
To be part of such upcoming events, register for the conference calendar. This will help you book seats, get details on venues and schedules, and carry out other formalities.
Some of the purposes of these discussions are:
Creating Awareness
One of the most important purposes of any topic related to the environment is creating awareness. These meetings highlight trends and statistics and make the world and participants aware of the facts.
Also, they share the right information on new technologies, discoveries, and other things that create great awareness. After all, the right knowledge is the best step toward creating environmental awareness.
Bringing all the Nations Together
These discussions welcome national and international attendees, and it’s also covered through digital mediums. This helps to bring all the innovations, eco-friendly technology, ideas, and statistics to one place.
Moreover, this gives a fair idea of where each nation stands on a particular topic. Also, a single platform for all the professionals who discuss shortcomings, solutions, and plans is the best way to gain knowledge.
Ruling out Shortcomings
These platforms are an excellent stage for discussing the shortcomings. For example, the problems with waste management, reducing the carbon footprint of manufacturing small things, etc. It will help to bring all the common issues, and the concerned authorities will work on them.
Giving Creative Minds to Opportunity to Share Ideas
Another special purpose of these meetings is networking and exploring creative minds. Some academicians represent their research and unique ideas, which may help the environmental issues.
Why Environmental Conferences are Important?
The environment conferences are very important because at the pace the world is advancing, it must bring balance with nature. Therefore, the air, water, and land should experience minimal stress due to human activities. Whether it’s waste management, air quality, or water pollutants, everything puts pressure on the earth and human health.
So, progressively discussing all the issues, taking tiny steps, and creating mass awareness are the goals. Environmental problems are global, as our planet is one. So, helping the major polluting countries to adopt new eco-friendly technology and actions is the answer. So, working on the issues together is the goal.
As a result, these conferences have become of prime importance for academicians, researchers, scientists, and practitioners. Everyone needs new ideas, innovative technologies, and solutions that can be achieved when everyone stands on one platform.
As a result, conferences discuss the most trending topics and most talked about issues. This mass awareness, boosting young minds, and celebrating success have become important.
What Technologies are Used at Environmental Conferences
There are several technologies used at conferences. These events practice the most eco-friendly approaches. The video conferencing systems include projectors, large screens, whiteboards, etc. Also, there is a technology for participants to interact.
You may use devices like laptops to represent your ideas or take notes of the discussions. The visual, audio, and interactive technologies ensure that everyone gets the best out of the conference. Moreover, these events cover social media handles and other digital platforms.
Take Advantage of Networking Opportunities
Conferences are a great way to boost networking. You can explore it in many ways:
Exploring new Fields
You can explore the new field by actively participating in the discussions. The speakers and attendees always come up with new areas in the field; this will help you explore new opportunities.
Talking to Like-minded People
The chances are high that there will be people in a similar field to yours. Therefore, you can discuss your professional journey and create bonds that will help you in the future. Aso, exchanging thoughts and socializing at the events are great.
Representing Your Unique Ideas
Another amazing way of networking is through representing your creative mind; it can be through research, ideas, and thoughts. This will help you gain recognition on global platforms. In addition, it can help your research, give you confidence and boost your profile.
Wrapping Up
This was everything about environment conferences. These events will welcome professionals, high-level discussions, and opportunities to gain insight. In addition, it will boost your knowledge and networks and help you take small measures that are excellent for the environment. So, check out all the forthcoming discussions and have a great time. | https://internationalconferencealerts.com/blog/benefits-of-attending-environmental-conferences/ |
How to Change Your Personality, Using Each of the 8 Myers-Briggs Functions
I’ve studied the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator for years and have discussed this very question with a number of experts. It seems the general consensus is that personality traits tend to be fairly stable over time, though gradual change is possible, so long as we separate natural preferences and learned behaviors.
Personality traits tend to be fairly stable over time, though gradual change is possible, so long as we separate natural preferences and learned behaviors.
That's because it's unlikely for your natural preferences to change. The cognitive-function stack of your Myers-Briggs type, for instance, will always reflect what comes most easily to you because your dominant function starting developing during your childhood and only strengthened as you aged. For instance, dominant introverted intuitives will be quiet, thoughtful, and wise, while those who lead with extroverted sensing will pick up sports easily, have a lot of energy, and absorb the world in a hands-on way.
It’s hard to undo and retool that which is that is natural and deeply ingrained—and surely, you're already a great person with a great personality. That said, if you want to sharpen certain traits that aren't naturally dominant for you, it is theoretically possible. Using the Myers-Briggs functions as a framework, find a breakdown below of how to change your personality by developing certain learned behaviors.
How to change your personality, based on each of the 8 Myers-Briggs functions
1. Introversion to extroversion
Introverts who want to develop more extroverted tendencies should work on stepping outside of themselves to see the world from the eyes of others. They should try to listen before they draw judgments. Try socializing, even if you’re not sure you will enjoy it (you might be surprised). Try articulating and interacting first, and processing later. Embrace discomfort as growth.
2. Extroversion to introversion
Extroverts who want to develop more introverted tendencies should learn to look inward before they fill their time with external happenings. Focus on being alone with yourself, getting in touch with your own feelings, discovering what you like apart from the influence of others. Embrace solitude as something that is necessary.
3. Intuition to sensing
Intuitives who want to develop more sensing tendencies should aim to do more and (over)think less. Live in the moment and dive into decisions without immediately asking why. Enjoy a hobby for enjoyment’s sake rather than a bigger-picture, forward-thinking reason. Not everything is a means to an end, and sometimes you don’t know where an action or event will go until you try it.
4. Sensing to intuition
Sensors who want to develop more intuitive tendencies should look at their own patterns. For instance, do you keep getting into the same kind of trouble with friends? Taking jobs with the same results? If so, introspect to pinpoint why, and learn from that knowledge moving forward. Or, learn to honor instincts you may have about people and events, a positive or negative inner voice, even if you cannot say exactly why you feel a certain thing.
5. Thinking to feeling
Thinkers who want to tap into feelers’ strengths should aim to ask themselves how a decision or event affects others, rather than simply making the practical or reasonable “right” choice. They should start to look at outcomes as complex and frequently subjective. Work on finding middle-ground solutions, not all-or-nothing ones.
6. Feeling to thinking
Feelers who want to be a bit more like thinkers should ask themselves if what feels right today will still be the right choice tomorrow. Will taking an action or helping a person result in harm down the line? Does the outcome justify the cost to get there? Try stepping back from a situation, avoiding making in-the-moment decisions. Sleep on it. Think about all repercussions.
7. Perceiving to judging
Perceivers who want to tap into judgers’ strengths should work on making decisions before they have every last question answered. Instead, they should make reasonable choices based on the knowledge in front of them and accept mistakes as they come. It’s okay to be wrong, but not acting can lead to negative consequences in and of itself.
8. Judging to perceiving
Judging types who want to be a bit more adaptable, like perceivers, should realize they experience discomfort when they have loose ends in their lives. They make decisions quickly, sometimes before they allow others to give input or before they have enough information to be sure of a choice. This can be impulsive, and lead to unnecessary backpedaling. So slow down ad let things evolve.
It's worth noting that all of these personality preferences—extroversion and introversion, sensing and intuition, thinking and feeling, judging and perceiving—exist on a spectrum. Some people may feel more ease in traversing the lines if they naturally fall near the middle of a given preference, but we can all get a bit closer with practice and awareness. In fact, it’s great if you can both hang onto your natural strength and grow intentionally to see how things can be done differently.
This is part of why some people have trouble determining their Myers-Briggs type in the first place; behavior influences how we see ourselves, meaning introverts can behave like extroverts on the job and perceivers can learn to make decisions quicker if they work at it. Hile Rutledge, a Myers-Briggs master trainer and consultant, told me back in 2015 that while your inherent preferences probably don’t change, new skills and new behaviors can lead to new personality patterns. “So, if someone takes the test and says, ‘I took it before, and now the result is different,’ one of the types they got is probably the right one. The other is influenced by their behavior,” he said. “In the end, only you can determine your type preference.”
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Experienced forester working in the industry for over 10 years. Solid background in the management of private and public forests for recreational, conservation, and economic purposes. Committed to ensuring forest lands are used safely and purposefully. Dedicated to wildlife protection and ensuring environmental regulations are complied with. Team player who is able to effectively collaborate with coworkers to devise and implement creative solutions. Goal-driven professional who strives to maintain standards and exceed expectations.
- Monitor contract compliance and forestry activities taking place to ensure government regulations are properly adhered to.
- Develop short and long-term plans for effective management of forest resources and lands for conservation, economic, and recreational purposes.
- Plan and oversee forestry projects such as monitoring new seedling growth, managing tree nurseries, and determining where to plant different types of trees.
- Determined the methods that should be used for removing and cutting timber to ensure minimal environmental damage and waste.
- Analyzed the effects of conditions in the forest on tree species prevalence, tree growth rates, and seed production.
- Directed forest fire suppression efforts to ensure minimal damage.
- Developed and implemented project plans for the conservation of soil, water, and wildlife habitats.
- Participated in forest protection, maintenance, and research activities.
- Analyzed plant samples for a variety of purposes, including resource management, disease control, and wildlife research.
- Tracked wildlife movement and interpreted photographs of habitats.
I love spending time outdoors, and I spend down time exploring and hiking in the woods around my home and learning about the land. I also enjoy gardening, and I grow several plants, including fruit trees, flowers, and vegetables. My other hobbies include reading, playing golf, and spending time with my family.
Build Your CV
Forester CV Must-Haves
What Does a Forester Do?
Foresters have the important duty of managing forest lands while taking conservation, recreation, and economic aspects into consideration. Daily responsibilities for these professionals can include taking inventory of the location, type, and amount of timber in the forest, drawing up procurement contracts, figuring out how to best conserve wildlife habitats, ensuring environmental regulations are followed, monitoring tree growth, and developing plans for new tree planting. Foresters may also supervise the activities of the people working with or under them, direct fire suppression activities, analyze forest conditions, and direct forest surveys. These professionals must have extensive knowledge of forest lands and resources in order to make effective plans and decisions. They should also have good research, communication, and critical thinking skills. In the forester CV example shown, you will see just how these responsibilities and skills are incorporated into the document.
Tips for Creating a Great Forester CV
Below are some useful tips to think about while you write:
– Use positive and concise language on your CV. Liven up your Work Experience section with powerful action words that describe what you have accomplished. Good words to use include motivated, managed, developed, launched, and negotiated.
– Don’t include any negative information or anything that is too personal. There is no need to mention the reasons you left a job or what your political views are.
– Remember to use numbers for any accomplishments that are measurable, such as how many acres of forest you managed or how many new trees you planted.
– Don’t lie or exaggerate on your CV. Be honest about your skills and experience to avoid problems in the future.
– List relevant hobbies at the end of your CV to give potential employers an idea of who you are. | https://www.myperfectresume.com/how-to/cv-examples/forester-cv-example/ |
Date:
[Check against delivery]
I would like to begin by thanking Begum Shamsun Nahar, Secretary of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment from the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for agreeing to co-host today’s side event and, indeed, to the Government for hosting such a successful and important Summit. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation for their support to UN Women’s project work.
Ladies, gentlemen, representatives of government and civil society,
Thank you for attending today’s important side event. We are here to highlight and discuss the importance of a rights-based and gender-responsive approach to contemporary migration governance. Specifically, to discuss collaborative approaches that we can all take to promote the incorporation of a gender perspective into the development of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
This is crucial work—and I don’t need to tell you—it is a crucial time.
There are approximately 120 million women migrants worldwide. Women make up half of the people on the move. Yet, still many of the policies that govern migration and seek to protect migrants, fail to address the specific experiences and needs of women.
This needs to change. Gender influences the specific experiences of women and men at all stages of migration and policies need to reflect that. For example, women migrants are commonly recruited into specifically feminized sectors of work, including domestic work. The opportunities available to them are often dictated by the structural challenges they face in their countries of origin—including their education, financial literacy and family duties—which limit them to migrating irregularly and working in informal sectors.
Yet the experiences of migrant women can inform and change social, cultural, political and gender norms and can influence positive social change across households and communities in sending and destination countries. For instance, when a woman’s new earning capacity has the effect of elevating her status in her family and/or community, she may have more influence on how that money is spent, as well as on other significant decisions that she might previously have been excluded from influencing.
Migrant women are responsible for half of the world’s estimated USD 601 billion in global remittances. Yet remittances are not gender neutral either. Evidence shows that women migrant workers tend to send home a higher proportion of their wages on a more regular basis, and that their remittances are more likely to be spent on health, education, family and community development. Although not desirable, the reality is that these remittances are providing substitutes for poor social security in countries of origin.
Despite the contributions that migrant women make and the agency that they demonstrate, migrant women are commonly subject to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Such gender-based discrimination may limit migrant women’s decision-making and agency in the household and labour market, as well as their mobility within and outside their countries of origin.
Women migrants can be subject to restrictive gendered immigration and emigration policies, which can lead them to pursue migration through irregular, unregulated and un-protected channels. Lack of reliable information can leave women vulnerable to physical, emotional and sexual violence. Having an irregular status can result in detention, which can expose women to violence and separation from their families.
Women migrants also face gendered vulnerabilities that are specific to their sector of labour market insertion. In particular, women in care and domestic work are typically not protected by labour laws leaving women vulnerable to labour or human rights violations, including poor working conditions, with no limitations on working hours, limited freedom of movement and poor wages.
Ladies, gentlemen, distinguished guests,
The movement of women should not be a negative phenomenon. It should be a right and it should be an opportunity. Growing numbers of women globally are achieving economic independence through gainful employment and, in most cases, women on the move display strength, endurance and resourcefulness, and can offer positive contributions to countries of origin, destination and return.
However, the positive contributions of women migrant workers can only be fully harnessed if their labour and human rights are fully protected. Such protection must come from gender-responsive policies—at the national and international levels—that build on the provisions of the existing international framework; in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)—specifically General Recommendation 26—the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families and the ILO Convention 189 concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers.
UN Women is committed to working to ensure that a gender perspective is incorporated in global migration governance. In the context of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, UN Women is providing technical assistance to the development of a gender-responsive, human rights-based Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. To this end, UN Women together with experts from the Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee), the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), OHCHR, ILO, UNHCR, IOM and civil society, have drafted key elements for addressing women’s human rights in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
These key elements address the need to improve migrant women’s access to migration pathways that promote empowerment and protect their rights. They seek to address the human rights of women through all stages of migration. They address the importance of migrant women and girls’ access to human-rights based and gender-responsive services. And they address migrant women’s labour rights and access to decent work and social protection.
As a final, yet overriding point, I want to stress the importance of promoting women’s and girls’ leadership and their full and equal participation in the development, implementation and monitoring of migration governance. We should all live by the mantra, “Nothing about us, without us”.
Thank you again for your participation in today’s side event. I look forward to a dynamic and fruitful discussion with you all. | https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2016/12/speech-by-ded-puri-at-gfmd-side-event-in-bangladesh |
EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM DPSG-NA 2019
WASHINGTON – Pharmacologic treatment of gestational diabetes remains controversial, with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Diabetes Association firmly recommending insulin as the preferred first-line pharmacologic therapy, and the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine more accepting of metformin as a "reasonable and safe first-line" alternative to insulin and stating that there are no strong data supporting metformin over the sulfonylurea glyburide.
If there's one main take-away, Mark B. Landon, MD, said at the biennial meeting of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of North America, it was that "the primary concern" about the use of oral agents for treating gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is that there is limited long-term follow-up of exposed offspring.
"The claim that long-term safety data are not available for any oral agent is probably the most valid warning [of any of the concerns voiced by professional organizations]," said Dr. Landon, Richard L. Meiling professor and chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus.
Otherwise, he said, there are not enough data to firmly prioritize the drugs most commonly used for GDM, and "the superiority of insulin over oral agents simply remains questionable."
ACOG's 2017 level A recommendation for insulin as the first-line option when pharmacologic treatment is needed for treating GDM (Obstet Gynecol. 2017;130:e17-37) was followed in 2018 by another updated practice bulletin on GDM (Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131:e49-64) that considered several meta-analyses published in 2017 and reiterated a preference for insulin.
Those recent meta-analyses of pharmacologic treatment of GDM show that the available literature is generally of "poor trial quality," and that studies are small and not designed to assess equivalence or noninferiority, Mark Turrentine, MD, chair of ACOG's committee on practice bulletins, said in an interview. "Taking that into account and [considering] that oral antidiabetic medications are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration [for the treatment of GDM], that they cross the placenta, and that we currently lack long-term neonatal safety data ... we felt that insulin is the preferred treatment."
In its 2017 and 2018 bulletins, ACOG said that metformin is a "reasonable alternative choice" for women who decline insulin therapy or who may be unable to safely administer it (a level B recommendation). The 2018 practice bulletin mentions one additional factor: affordability. "Insurance companies aren't always covering [insulin]," said Dr. Turrentine, of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. "It's a challenge – no question."
ACOG says glyburide should not be recommended as a first-line pharmacologic treatment, "because, in most studies, it does not yield outcomes equivalent to insulin or metformin," Dr. Turrentine emphasized.
Glyburide's role
Dr. Landon took issue with ACOG's stance on the sulfonylurea. "Frankly, I think this [conclusion] is debatable," he said. The trend in the United States – "at least after the 2017 ACOG document came out" – has been toward use of metformin over glyburide when an oral agent is [used], but "I think glyburide has been unfairly trashed. It probably still has a place."
As Dr. Landon sees it, research published in 2015 put a damper on the use of glyburide, which "had become the number one agent" after an earlier, seminal trial, led by Oded Langer, MD, had shown equivalent glycemic control in about 400 women with GDM who were randomized to receive either insulin or glyburide (N Engl J Med. 2000;343;1134-8). The trial was not powered to evaluate other outcomes, but there were no significant differences in neonatal complications, Dr. Landon said.
One of the 2015 studies – a large, retrospective, population-based study of more than 9,000 women with GDM treated with glyburide or insulin – showed a higher risk of admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (relative risk, 1.41), hypoglycemia in the newborn (RR, 1.40), and large-for-gestational age (RR, 1.43) with glyburide, compared with insulin (JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169:452-8).
A meta-analysis of glyburide, metformin, and insulin showed significant differences between glyburide and insulin in birth weight, macrosomia (RR, 2.62), and neonatal hypoglycemia (RR, 2.04; BMJ. 2015;350;h102). However, "this was basically a conglomeration of studies with about 50 [individuals] in each arm, and in which entry criteria for the diagnosis of GDM were rather heterogeneous," said Dr. Landon. "There are real problems with this and other meta-analyses."
That increase, Dr. Landon said, was "not an absolute 10%, but 10% of the complication rate, which probably translates to about 2%." The only component of a composite outcome (including macrosomia, hypoglycemia, and hyperbilirubinemia) that was significantly different, he noted, was hypoglycemia, which affected 12.2% of neonates in the glyburide group and 7.2% in the insulin group.
Glyburide's role may well be substantiated in the future, Dr. Landon said during a discussion period at the meeting, through research underway at the University of Pittsburgh aimed at tailoring treatment to the underlying pathophysiology of a patient's GDM.
The MATCh-GDM study (Metabolic Analysis for Treatment Choice in GDM) is randomizing women to receive usual, unmatched treatment or treatment matched to GDM mechanism – metformin for predominant insulin resistance, glyburide or insulin for predominant insulin secretion defects, and one of the three for combined mechanisms. The study's principal investigator, Maisa Feghali, MD, of the department of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, stressed in a presentation on the study that GDM is a heterogeneous condition and that research is needed to understand the impact of GDM subtypes on treatment response.
Metformin outcomes
Concerns about the impact of metformin on short-term perinatal outcomes focus on preterm birth, Dr. Landon said. The only study to date that has shown an increased rate of prematurity, however, is the "seminal" Metformin in Gestational Diabetes (MiG) trial led by Janet A. Rowan, MBChB, that randomized 751 women with GDM in Australia and New Zealand to treatment with metformin or insulin. The researchers found no significant differences between a composite of neonatal complications but did establish that severe hypoglycemia was less common in the metformin group and preterm birth was more common (N Engl J Med. 2008;358:2003-15).
A 2016 systematic review and meta-analysis of short- and long-term outcomes of metformin, compared with insulin, found that metformin did not increase preterm delivery (Diabet Med. 2017;34:27-36). And while the 2015 BMJ meta-analysis found that metformin was associated with higher rates of preterm birth (RR, 1.50), the increased risk "was all driven by the Rowan study," Dr. Landon said. The 2015 meta-analysis also found that metformin was associated with less maternal weight gain and fewer infants who were large for gestational age.
Metformin is also tainted by high rates of failure in GDM. In the 2008 Rowan study, 46% of patients on metformin failed to achieve glycemic control. "But this is a classic half-full, half-empty [phenomena]," Dr. Landon said. "Some people say this isn't good, but on the other hand, 54% avoided insulin."
Indeed, the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), in its 2018 statement on the pharmacologic treatment of GDM, said that oral hypoglycemic agents that are used as monotherapy work in "more than half" of GDM pregnancies. The need for adjunctive insulin to achieve glycemic control ranges between 26% and 46% for women using metformin, and 4% and 16% for women using glyburide, it says.
In the society's view, recent meta-analyses and systemic reviews "support the efficacy and safety of oral agents," and "although concerns have been raised for more frequent adverse neonatal outcomes with glyburide, including macrosomia and hypoglycemia, the evidence of benefit of one oral agent over the other remains limited."
The society says that the difference between its statement and the ACOG recommendations is "based on the values placed by different experts and providers on the available evidence," and it adds that more long-term data are needed.
But as Dr. Landon said, the SMFM is "a little more forgiving" in its interpretation of a limited body of literature. And clinicians, in the meantime, have to navigate the controversy. "The professional organizations don't make it easy for [us]," he said. At this point, "insulin does not cross the placenta, and the oral agents do cross it. Informed consent is absolutely necessary when choosing oral agents for treating GDM."
Offspring well-being
Of greater concern than neonatal outcomes are the potential long-term issues for offspring, Dr. Landon said. On the one hand, it is theorized that metformin may protect beta-cell function in offspring and thereby reduce the cross-generational effects of obesity and type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, it is theorized that the drug may cause a decrease in cell-cycle proliferation, which could have "unknown fetal programming effects," and it may inhibit the mTOR signaling pathway, thus restricting the transport of glucose and amino acids across the placenta, he said. (Findings from in vitro research have suggested that glyburide treatment in GDM might be associated with enhanced transport across the placenta, he noted.)
Long-term follow-up studies of offspring are "clearly needed," Dr. Landon said. At this point, in regard to long-term safety, he and other experts are concerned primarily about the potential for obesity and metabolic dysfunction in offspring who are exposed to metformin in utero. They are watching follow-up from Dr. Rowan's MiG trial, as well as elsewhere in the literature, on metformin-exposed offspring from mothers with polycystic ovary syndrome.
A follow-up analysis of offspring from the MiG trial found that children of women with GDM who were exposed to metformin had larger measures of subcutaneous fat at age 2 years, compared with children of mothers treated with insulin alone, but that overall body fat was the same, Dr. Landon noted. The investigators postulated that these children may have less visceral fat and a more favorable pattern of fat distribution (Diab Care. 2011;34:2279-84).
A recently published follow-up analysis of two randomized, controlled trials of women with polycystic ovary syndrome is cause for more concern, he said. That analysis showed that offspring exposed to metformin in utero had a higher body mass index and an increased prevalence of obesity or overweight at age 4 years, compared with placebo groups (J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2018;103:1612-21).
That analysis of metformin-exposed offspring in the context of polycystic ovary syndrome was published after the SMFM statement, as was another follow-up analysis of MiG trial offspring – this one, at ages 7-9 years – that showed an increase in weight, size, and fat mass in one of two subsets analyzed, despite no difference in large-for-gestational age rates between the metformin- and insulin-exposed offspring (BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2018;6: e000456).
In 2018, a group of 17 prominent diabetes and maternal-fetal medicine researchers cited these findings in a response to the SMFM statement and cautioned against the widespread adoption of metformin use during pregnancy, writing that, based on "both pharmacologic and randomized trial evidence that metformin may create an atypical intrauterine environment ... we believe it is premature to embrace metformin as equivalent to insulin or as superior to glyburide, and that patients should be counseled on the limited long-term safety data and potential for adverse childhood metabolic effects" (Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;219:367.e1-7).
This article first appeared on MDEdge.com.
Medscape Medical News © 2020 WebMD, LLC
Send comments and news tips to [email protected].
Cite this: Gestational Diabetes: The Treatment Controversy Rages On - Medscape - Jan 31, 2020. | https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/924612 |
Chromatography products and literature.
December 01, 2001
GC Connections
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The November 2001 installment addressed requirements and potential problems associated with the acquisition of fast chromatography peaks at detectors and data-recording systems. Hinshaw continues the topic in this month's column and treats issues that involve qualitative data reduction after a chromatogram has been acquired.
December 01, 2001
Index
19
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2001 author–subject index.
December 01, 2001
Column Watch
19
12
The guest authors discuss the use of monolithic silica columns in high-throughput HPLC, including developments and applications in combinatorial chemistry. They also explain performance characteristics for these columns and provide caveats about their effective usage.
December 01, 2001
LC Troubleshooting
19
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Dolan answers readers' questions about a variety of topics, including life-spans of cyano columns, successfully transferring and running a method, why chromatographers water-saturate solvents such as chloroform or methylene chloride, and suggested buffers for high-pH analyses. | https://www.chromatographyonline.com/journals/lcgc-north-america/lcgc-north-america-12-01-2001 |
What is hydrops fetalis?
Hydrops fetalis — or hydrops — is a condition in which large amounts of fluid build up in a baby’s tissues and organs, causing extensive swelling (edema). Hydrops fetalis is sometimes used as a synonym for homozygous alpha thalassemia, a lethal or life-threatening disease of mid- and late fetal development caused by the inability to make red blood cells. The condition, which can be diagnosed before or after birth, is relatively rare in the United States due to advances in the prevention of hemolytic diseases of the unborn. It can, however, be life threatening. Nearly half of the babies born with hydrops do not survive.
There are two types of hydrops:
- Immune hydrops fetalis, which occurs when the mother’s immune system causes a baby’s red blood cells to break down; this is the most dangerous complication of hemolytic disease of the newborn.
- Non-immune hydrops fetalis, which occurs when disease or other complications interfere with a baby’s ability to manage fluid; this is the most common type of hydrops. Alpha thalassemia major (four gene alpha thalassemia, or homozygous alpha thalassemia) interferes with the fetus’ ability to make red blood cells.
What are the symptoms of hydrops fetalis?
Symptoms of hydrops fetalis can occur during pregnancy or after the baby is born. During pregnancy, symptoms of hydrops fetalis may include:
- large amounts of amniotic fluid
- thickened placenta
- enlarged liver, spleen, or heart in the baby
- fluid buildup in the baby’s abdomen
After birth, symptoms may include:
- pale coloring
- severe swelling overall, especially in the baby's abdomen
- enlarged liver and spleen
- difficulty breathing
What causes hydrops fetalis?
Many different diseases and other medical complications can cause hydrops fetalis, such as:
- hemolytic disease of the newborn
- severe anemia
- infections present at birth
- heart or lung defects
- chromosomal abnormalities and birth defects
- liver disease
How is hydrops fetalis diagnosed?
Hydrops fetalis can be diagnosed during pregnancy or after the baby is born through one of the following tests:
- ultrasound
- fetal blood sampling
- amniocentesis
How is hydrops fetalis treated?
Treatment of hydrops fetalis depends on its cause. During pregnancy, hydrops fetalis is treatable only in certain situations. After birth, treatment may include:
- help for difficulty breathing using extra oxygen or a mechanical breathing machine
- removal of excessive fluid from spaces around the lungs and abdomen using a needle
- medications to help the kidneys remove excess fluid
What is the long-term outlook for hydrops fetalis?
The severe swelling that occurs with hydrops can overtake a baby’s organ systems. About half of unborn babies with hydrops do not survive. For babies born with hydrops, survival often depends on the cause of the disease and its treatment.
How we care for hydrops fetalis
Our Thalassemia Program cares for children with hydrops fetalis. We are one of only six programs designated as centers of excellence in thalassemia by the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation and one of only seven centers sponsored by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the prevention of thalassemia complications. | https://experiencejournal.childrenshospital.org/conditions-and-treatments/conditions/h/hydrops-fetalis |
Why We Should Fear the Disease, Not the Vaccine
Deadly diseases that should be seen only in history books are showing up in our emergency rooms.
By Brett P. Giroir, Robert R. Redfield and Jerome M. Adams
Admiral Giroir is the assistant secretary for Health and Human Services. Dr. Redfield is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vice Admiral Adams is the surgeon general.
March 6, 2019
Image
CreditCreditImage Source/Getty Images
Vaccinations save lives, protect our children and are one of our greatest public health achievements. As public health officials, our role is to advance the health of the American people. This must include championing vaccinations.
Diseases like polio, measles, diphtheria and rubella were once common in the United States, afflicting hundreds of thousands of infants, children and adults, and killing thousands each year. Some older Americans may remember the fear associated with polio outbreaks and the era of iron lungs and leg braces — a time when swimming pools and movie theaters closed over concerns about the spread of the crippling disease. Others may recall the heartbreaking wave of rubella in the 1960s that resulted in thousands of newborn deaths, with thousands more born blind, deaf or with other lifelong disabilities.
We cannot let America be faced with these fears again. For those of us who have treated critically ill children with vaccine-preventable diseases, we know firsthand the devastation to the child — and to the family and community — of a death, limb amputation or severe brain damage that could have been avoided by a simple vaccination.
Modern vaccines are highly effective and safe, with most serious side effects being exceptionally rare — and much less serious than contracting the actual disease. But misinformation about vaccines is still widely reported, so we feel it is crucial to state clearly and unambiguously: Vaccines do not cause autism and they do not contain toxic chemicals. That fact was demonstrated again this week in a new study on MMR vaccination by Danish researchers.
In part because vaccines have been so successful, clinicians practicing in the United States today may have never seen a patient with polio, or treated a child with measles or bacterial meningitis, and parents may not realize how severe and potentially life-threatening these diseases can be.
Consider measles. The World Health Organization estimates that measles vaccination prevented more than 21 million deaths worldwide since 2000. Although routine childhood vaccination for measles remains high in the United States (greater than 91 percent for preschool children), localized dips in vaccination coverage have resulted in a recent resurgence of measles in parts of the country. A total of 17 measles outbreaks affecting more than 370 individuals have been confirmed in 2018 alone, and 10 states are already reporting cases this year. Unfortunately, many more communities are at risk for outbreaks because of areas with low vaccine coverage.
Influenza continues to severely affect our families. In the last flu season of 2017-18, about 80,000 Americans died from the disease. Scores of them were children who had not been vaccinated. Yet, early season vaccination rates remain below 50 percent for both adults and children. The flu vaccine is the best way to avoid getting the disease, and those who do fall ill are less likely to develop severe flu symptoms that lead to hospitalization or death.
The list goes on. In 2017, only 49 percent of American adolescents received all of the recommended doses of the HPV vaccine, which is the best way to protect both males and females from developing certain cancers — including cervical, anal, mouth and throat cancers. One in five teenagers — approximately 4.5 million people — have not received the vaccination for the contagious form of bacterial meningitis, even though the swift-moving disease can leave an otherwise healthy child facing amputation, organ failure or death within 24 hours of onset.
And the nation is experiencing a multistate outbreak of hepatitis A, especially among people who use drugs or experience homelessness. Yet the disease — which can lead to liver failure and death — can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine.
We cannot be complacent. The recent measles outbreaks are a reminder that diseases that we might have thought had become rare in the United States are still infecting unvaccinated people, sometimes with dire consequences: Children with measles can develop fatal complications. These diseases should be seen only in history books — not in our emergency rooms.
We are committed to countering the misinformation that fuels anti-vaccine sentiment among parents and legislators who are earnestly trying to protect their children and the public. Science that sits on the shelf has no value. We must take advantage of the lifesaving tools we have to protect our nation’s most vulnerable.
Our children, and our children’s children, have the opportunity to grow up in a world that is free from polio, measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. We must work together to make this a reality.
Adm. Brett P. Giroir is the assistant secretary for Health and Human Services and the senior adviser for opioid policy. Robert R. Redfield is the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams is the surgeon general. | |
Tactical Theory: Breaking opposition lines
When advancing possession, it’s important that the team does not pass the ball without a clear purpose. The popularity of ‘tiki-taka’ in recent years has given many people the impression that having high possession and passing statistics automatically denotes a top team, when this is often not the case. Possession is pointless unless it is used for a purpose. Pep Guardiola, the coach who inadvertently popularised the term ‘tiki-taka’ has publicly made his resentment for the term known, as it encourages pointless passing, when Guardiola is an advocate of the opposite.
In this tactical analysis tactical theory, I’ll take a look at breaking opposition lines, one of the most progressive tactics of advancing possession.
What are lines?
Lines can be quite an abstract concept to those who don’t watch football. To put it simply, they are imaginary lines connecting players horizontally. In the example below, we can see how a typical 4-4-2 creates three lines.
To break a line is to advance the ball between two opposing players, through the line created between them. As shown in the example below, the blue team has broken a line as player A passes the ball through the opponent’s line to player B.
Opposition compactness
There are two types of compactness that I’ll discuss in this analysis – vertical compactness and horizontal compactness. Horizontal compactness is the space between players in each line, while vertical compactness is the space between the lines themselves. In the image below, we can see an example of horizontal compactness (black) and vertical compactness (white).
Horizontal compactness is relevant as the more horizontally compact an opposition line is, the harder it is to play through it. Vertical compactness is relevant as it affects how much space is between the lines – the more vertically compact the opposition are, the harder it is to find space between lines.
Another factor that affects vertical compactness is the number of lines there are in an opposition block. The more lines there are, the more vertically compact the team is. In the image below we see an example of the vertical and horizontal compactness of a 4-diamond-2 formation.
The shape above is both vertically and horizontally compact with additional players in midfield. However, the more lines there are in a defensive shape, the narrower the shape becomes, leading me to the next section.
Undoing compactness
To increase the efficiency of playing through lines, we can attempt to undo compactness with the movement of players. In the below example, Blue players A and B are narrow, letting Red players C and D maintain horizontal compactness and leaving the space to play through the line very narrow while decreasing the chance of successfully playing through.
To undo horizontal compactness, we can utilise width to stretch the opponent’s lines to create bigger gaps through which to play through. In the example below, Blue players A and B are positioned wider, forcing the Red B and C to decrease their horizontal compactness in order to more easily play through.
The way we can manipulate opposition vertical compactness is by utilising depth. In the next example we can see how Blue players A and B are positioned with limited depth, allowing the Red team to maintain vertical compactness, decreasing the space between their lines.
Using depth to undo vertical compactness is particularly effective against teams who employ an aggressive man-marking system, as it is easy to manipulate their positioning with movements.
In the next example, the Blue team have utilised depth to decrease opponent vertical compactness. Player B is much deeper, dragging the opposition players with him, creating more space in between the lines.
Important technical points
Although this is a tactical theory piece, the technical aspects of breaking the lines are extremely important. The technical points I’ll take a look at are the weight of the pass and quality of the touch. The weight of the pass is important as a pass which is too slow is likely to be intercepted while a pass with too much pace is hard for the receiving player to control. The importance of control when receiving a pass in between the lines cannot be overstated.
When a pass is received by a player between opposition lines, he has inadvertently been placed in a pressing trap with opposition players surrounding him on all sides. If a bad touch is taken the player will immediately be swamped by multiple opponents looking to dispossess him. Not only is the quality of the touch of high importance, but the direction of the touch is critical in successfully breaking opposition lines. There is no point in passing between opposition lines if the player is forced to immediately play the ball backwards again.
The whole point of breaking lines is to advance possession in a progressive manner. This is the reason why the direction of the receiving player’s first touch, and therefore body position, as the pass is played is so imperative. In the below image we can see an example of a player who is facing the ball straight on, forcing him to play backwards, defeating the point of breaking lines.
Below, we can see an example of good body positioning by Blue player B, who, this time, faces the pass at a slight angle, allowing him to receive on his further foot and face towards the opposition goal.
Coaching
As there are multiple facets of breaking lines effectively, it’s important that players are taught properly about the importance of positioning and are coached accordingly. When coaching aspects that have multiple dimensions it can be beneficial to incorporate unopposed, semi-opposed, and opposed drills to slowly integrate concepts.
The first drill is an unopposed drill where players simply have to receive between lines created by cones and turn and pass to another player, and the drill repeats. The below semi-opposed drill is an example of a small-sided game where players are encouraged to position themselves between lines and make small movements to make themselves available.
The Blue players on one side are tasked with playing through the line to players on the other side of the line. The Red team score by intercepting passes and cannot leave their area marked it white. The Blue team score by scoring in the small goals and coaches can limit the players to two touches to encourage taking touches towards the goals.
The third drill is fully opposed and allows the defensive players to press. This allows the attacking team to undo compactness by using width and depth.
Conclusion
Breaking opposition lines is an extremely important part of advancing possession in the modern game, which was shown by this tactical theory. It has multiple tactical and technical points that can be coached to the players in order to efficiently utilise this technique. | https://totalfootballanalysis.com/tactical-theory/tactical-theory-breaking-opposition-lines-tactical-analysis-tactics |
Q:
How to implement linear interpolation?
Say I am given data as follows:
x = [1, 2.5, 3.4, 5.8, 6]
y = [2, 4, 5.8, 4.3, 4]
I want to design a function that will interpolate linearly between 1 and 2.5, 2.5 to 3.4, and so on using Python.
I have tried looking through this Python tutorial, but I am still unable to get my head around it.
A:
import scipy.interpolate
y_interp = scipy.interpolate.interp1d(x, y)
print y_interp(5.0)
scipy.interpolate.interp1d does linear interpolation by and can be customized to handle error conditions.
A:
As I understand your question, you want to write some function y = interpolate(x_values, y_values, x), which will give you the y value at some x? The basic idea then follows these steps:
Find the indices of the values in x_values which define an interval containing x. For instance, for x=3 with your example lists, the containing interval would be [x1,x2]=[2.5,3.4], and the indices would be i1=1, i2=2
Calculate the slope on this interval by (y_values[i2]-y_values[i1])/(x_values[i2]-x_values[i1]) (ie dy/dx).
The value at x is now the value at x1 plus the slope multiplied by the distance from x1.
You will additionally need to decide what happens if x is outside the interval of x_values, either it's an error, or you could interpolate "backwards", assuming the slope is the same as the first/last interval.
Did this help, or did you need more specific advice?
A:
I thought up a rather elegant solution (IMHO), so I can't resist posting it:
from bisect import bisect_left
class Interpolate(object):
def __init__(self, x_list, y_list):
if any(y - x <= 0 for x, y in zip(x_list, x_list[1:])):
raise ValueError("x_list must be in strictly ascending order!")
x_list = self.x_list = map(float, x_list)
y_list = self.y_list = map(float, y_list)
intervals = zip(x_list, x_list[1:], y_list, y_list[1:])
self.slopes = [(y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1) for x1, x2, y1, y2 in intervals]
def __getitem__(self, x):
i = bisect_left(self.x_list, x) - 1
return self.y_list[i] + self.slopes[i] * (x - self.x_list[i])
I map to float so that integer division (python <= 2.7) won't kick in and ruin things if x1, x2, y1 and y2 are all integers for some iterval.
In __getitem__ I'm taking advantage of the fact that self.x_list is sorted in ascending order by using bisect_left to (very) quickly find the index of the largest element smaller than x in self.x_list.
Use the class like this:
i = Interpolate([1, 2.5, 3.4, 5.8, 6], [2, 4, 5.8, 4.3, 4])
# Get the interpolated value at x = 4:
y = i[4]
I've not dealt with the border conditions at all here, for simplicity. As it is, i[x] for x < 1 will work as if the line from (2.5, 4) to (1, 2) had been extended to minus infinity, while i[x] for x == 1 or x > 6 will raise an IndexError. Better would be to raise an IndexError in all cases, but this is left as an exercise for the reader. :)
| |
Decoupled Aquaponics – The Future of Food Growing?
There is lots of discussion going on on the internet and within academic worlds, whether decoupled aquaponics has a general advantage over conventional recirculating aquaponic systems. Figuring this out was our objective in the last years and led to the publication “Navigating towards Decoupled Aquaponic Systems: A System Dynamics Design Approach“. Following the KISS principle, I will briefly outline the main points of the publication and discuss them a bit in non-academic jargon (excluding the paper’s abstract).
Abstract
The classical working principle of aquaponics is to provide nutrient-rich aquacultural water to a hydroponic plant culture unit, which in turn depurates the water that is returned to the aquaculture tanks. A known drawback is that a compromise away from optimal growing conditions for plants and fish must be achieved to produce both crops and fish in the same environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to develop a theoretical concept of a decoupled aquaponic system (DAPS), and predict water, nutrient (N and P), fish, sludge, and plant levels.
This has been approached by developing a dynamic aquaponic system model, using inputs from data found in literature covering the fields of aquaculture, hydroponics, and sludge treatment. The outputs from the model showed the dependency of aquacultural water quality on the hydroponic evapotranspiration rate. This result can be explained by the fact that DAPS is based on one-way flows. These one-way flows results in accumulations of remineralized nutrients in the hydroponic component ensuring optimal conditions for the plants. The study also suggests to size the cultivation area based on P availability in the hydroponic component as P is an exhaustible resource and has been identified one of the main limiting factors for plant growth.
Decoupled Aquaponics
Although many aquaponics systems are constructed and operated as a recirculating loop, commercial growers and researchers carry on expanding this initial aquaponics system design towards an independent control over each system unit (i.e. RAS, hydroponics, and nutrient recovery via sludge remineralization). Systems where fish, plants and, if applicable, remineralization are integrated as separate functional units comprising individual water cycles that can be controlled independently, are called decoupled aquaponic systems (DAPS). The difference between the concepts of one-loop and multi-loop (i.e. decoupled) aquaponic systems can be seen in Figures 1 and 2. In the context of recycling all nutrients that go into the system, decoupled aquaponics can be seen as a preferred option since they avoid additional discharge. Also they provide better growth conditions for both fish and plants.
Figure 3 shows a process flow drawing of a basic DAPS layout. Please note – this is only an example and can be adjusted modularly. The blue tags in the figure comprise the RAS component, the green tags the hydroponic component, and the red tags the remineralization components. The level of each component is illustrated numerically in the tags and refers to the vertical direction the flow needs to travel to. This means high numbers refer to high positioning and low numbers to low positioning.
Whereas RAS and hydroponics have been subjects of research for decades, the remineralization of fish sludge are still in their infancy. In the paper, we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of aerobic pre- and post-treatment of anaerobic digestion, however, we are currently looking into pure anaerobic digestion performances. We will keep you posted about our findings on this website.
Unfortunately, we have to disappoint everybody who got enthusiastic about building a decoupled aquaponics system in their backyard. Decoupled aquaponics systems require plenty of control equipment and only make sense, if one is willing to achieve high nutrient solutions in the hydroponic unit. Also, sizing the system is much more complex compared to sizing conventional one-loop systems. Determining the required evapotranspiration rate of the hydroponic plants that is required to avoid accumulation of nitrogen forms in the RAS additionally increases the complexity. Consequently, these kind of systems are most suitable for large scale commercial systems, especially because its ability to compete with commercial hydroponic systems.
Growth Advantages
The sweet spot of aquaponics for most people is its sustainable approach as well as the symbiotic effect the RAS water has on the plants and vice versa. From a commercial viewpoint, one cannot convince farmers with these arguments, even though they might be totally valid. In recent experiments, we could observe growth advantages of decoupled aquaponics systems. We observed an increased plant growth of 39% compared to a pure hydroponic control nutrient solution when supplementing the hydroponic component with additional fertilizer. Moreover, we were able to show that anaerobic digestates also increased plant growth. For now, it seems that both the RAS water and the digestates contain plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) that could promote plant growth. We are currently planning more experiments on this issue and will also try to identify and isolate some of these PGPR.
Sensitive Fish Species
In the paper, we have explained why decoupled aquaponics is suitable for sensitive fish species. We found out that the use of artificial greenhouse lights leads to less fluctuation in RAS nutrient concentrations, as the plants’ evapotranspiration is more constant. To what degree artificial lighting pays out needs to be explored in a crop and fish dependent economic assessment.
Hybrid Backyard Approach
The hybrid decoupled system is a combination of the one-loop and the decoupled approach (Fig. 4). Home and backyard growers who still want to get one’s foot into decoupled aquaponics, might want to try this approach. Resizing an existing system would be obsolete, as the remineralized sludge would serve as a nutrient source for the additional growbeds.
Conclusion
We believe that decoupled aquaponic systems have the potential to achieve performances similar, or even higher than hydroponic production. We know it is a bold statement, but current observation support these assumptions. Yet, one still has to determine whether these growth advantages of DAPS compared with hydroponics are still observed under perfect growth conditions (i.e. optimal climate control, light intensity, and CO2 supplementation). The key advantage, however, is the sustainable approach which strives at recycling everything that enters the system. This aspect alone is a full justification for decoupled aquaponics.
With respect to the remineralization component, further research is needed with respect to its remineralization performance depending on different hydraulic retention time (HRT) and sludge retention time (SRT). In conclusion, it can be said that while technical research in this area is important, additional geographically dependent follow-up studies are needed, dealing with the economically viable size of DAPS as well as the comparison with equivalent hydroponic systems. | http://www.developonics.com/2016/07/decoupled-aquaponics/ |
Who builds a rainforest in their home? Steven Schussler does and that’s just a small part of how the popular restaurant, Rainforest Café, came into existence. As the Founder & CEO of Schussler Creative Inc, Steven is a branding expert that creates full experiences for customers at the themed restaurants he created, such as Rainforest Café, T-Rex Café and Boathouse at Disney Springs, and Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, to name a few.
Steven uses creativity to provide a full experience for anyone who visits his restaurants – using all 5 senses. This deliberate approach to customer service and branding has created a long ‘history of firsts’ that he can expand on during the discussion.
Tune in and listen to this Digital Discussion, held on Wednesday, February 2 at 2PM ET, as he will address: | https://c-suitenetwork.com/webinars/digital-discussion-how-the-rainforest-cafe-was-made/ |
The electric dipole moment of the neutron is a hot topic in the Swiss physics landscape right now. There is growing excitement about the n2EDM experiment (link), for example, which will start next year with ultra-precise measurements of the electric dipole moment of the neutron, which could tell us a lot about why we exist. In addition, another experiment on the electric dipole moment of the neutron is also making headlines: "Beam EDM".
The international research team of the experiment developed at the University of Bern has honed in on the mysterious dark matter a little closer. Dark matter, which should make up a large part of the matter in the universe according to cosmological observations, in all probability consists of particles that we have not yet discovered. There are various experiments that either search for these particle candidates directly or try to narrow down the search area more and more in order to track down the particles that are predicted by many different theories. One of the predicted dark matter particles is the so-called axion, which is very light and does not interact with other particles. "If these elusive axions do exist, they should leave a characteristic signature in our sensitive measurement apparatus," Florian Piegsa, professor of low-energy and precision physics at the Albert Einstein Center for Fundamental Physics (AEC) at the University of Bern, explains.
"Our experiment allows us to determine the rotational frequency of neutron spins moving through a superposition of electric and magnetic fields," says Ivo Schulthess, PhD student at the AEC and first author of the study now published in Physical Review Letters. Similar to n2EDM, the spin of each individual neutron acts as a kind of compass needle, which rotates like the second hand of a wristwatch due to the magnetic field - but almost 400,000 times faster. "We permanently took precise measurements of this rotational frequency and looked for tiny periodic fluctuations that would be caused by the interaction with the axions", explains Piegsa. The results of the experiment were unambiguous: "The rotational frequency of the neutrons remained unchanged, which means that there is no evidence of axions in our measurement," says Piegsa.
The experiment was carried out at the European Research Neutron Source of the Institut Laue-Langevin in France and, with the new data, provides an important contribution in the search for still unknown particles of matter. The researchers were able to experimentally exclude a previously completely unexplored parameter range for axions. Meanwhile, Beam EDM continues its search for the electric dipole moment of the neutron. | https://chipp.ch/fr/uuid/i/7ab97d93-6d42-5795-9a5e-0034d491179c-No_axion_action |
Archived PageThis page has been archived and is provided for historical reference purposes only. The content and links are no longer maintained and may now be outdated.
Congressional Task Force on Health Records and
Genetic Privacy Preventing Genetic Discrimination
in Health Insurance
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
Statement of
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Human Genome Research Institute
July 22, 1997
Congressman Stearns, Congressman Green and Members of the Subcommittee:
I thank you for holding this meeting on this important topic today and for your interest in moving forward legislation to address the issues relating to genetic discrimination. I am pleased to discuss recent advances in genetic research, the applications to clinical practice they may present, and the public policy challenges they pose. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is looking ahead to the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) (on time and under budget) and playing a leading role in 21st-century health science based on understanding the instructions encoded in our DNA. Genetic analysis is important to biomedical research because nearly every disease has a genetic component, and understanding disease at the genetic level in many instances gives us the best hope for preventing, treating or curing it.
Technology development in genetic analysis has received a tremendous boost from the HGP, the international research program launched about seven years ago to develop technologies that make finding genes easier, faster and cheaper. NHGRI, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) carry out the HGP in the United States. One of the goals of the HGP is to produce new technologies for the characterization of the 3 billion nucleotide bases that make up the human genome. Analysis of the genomes of several important model organisms are also included in the project's goals.
Briefly, the products of the HGP include genetic maps with closely spaced molecular markers throughout the human genome, physical maps consisting of sets of contiguous, cloned DNA spanning the entirety of each human chromosome, computer methods for easy data storage, retrieval and manipulation, and ultimately, the complete nucleotide sequence of the human genome. Its first goal, creating a detailed genetic map for the human genome, has already been accomplished. The second goal, a comprehensive physical map of the human genome, is over 98 percent completed -- well ahead of the 1998 anticipated date of completion. The project thus far has been successful in meeting or exceeding the goals outlined in its original plan.
These accomplishments have set the stage for the project's ultimate goal, sequencing all the DNA in the human genome by 2005. To accomplish this goal, the NHGRI has increased its investment in the development of new technology for DNA sequencing, concentrating on improving speed and lowering cost. Progress in these projects has been remarkable and last year, the NHGRI expanded its investment in DNA sequencing research by initiating pilot projects to address and resolve issues that will be confronted in large-scale sequencing of human DNA. These pilot projects have already generated about 50 million base pairs of human DNA sequence, and are developing and testing the methods that will be used in the determination of the complete human DNA sequence.
With the prospect of completing the human DNA sequence early in the next century, we are eager to begin the translation and interpretation of this information. The HGP is producing detailed information about the chemical structure and organization of human DNA -- the order (sequence) of its three billion bases and the location of the approximately 80,000 genes it contains. However, the structural information that will result from the Project is only the beginning of biological interpretation. We will still face the challenge of understanding what the "instructions" encoded in human DNA mean; in other words, how the genes actually function.
The impact on the future of biology of knowing the order of all 3 billion human DNA bases has been compared to Mendeleev's establishment of the Periodic Table of the Elements in the 19th century and the advances in chemistry that followed. The complete set of human genes -- the biologic periodic table -- will make it possible to begin to understand how they function and interact. Rapidly evolving technologies, comparable to those used in the semi-conductor industry, will allow scientists to build detectors that trace hundreds or thousands of these gene signatures in a single experiment. Scientists will use the powerful new tools to reveal the secrets of disease susceptibility, create broad new opportunities for preventive medicine, and provide unprecedented information about the origin and migration of human populations.
Already as a result of the HGP technologies, new genes that are associated with diseases are discovered almost weekly. A recent example is the precise identification, by scientists at the NHGRI, of a gene abnormality that causes some cases of Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease, a common progressive neurological disorder that results from loss of nerve cells in a region of the brain that controls movement, afflicts about 500,000 people in the United States alone, with about 50,000 new cases reported every year. The gene, identified by NHGRI researchers, spells out instructions for a protein called alpha synuclein. Because the normal gene plays a role in the function of nerve cells, the finding gives researchers a powerful new tool for understanding cellular abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and demonstrates a connection between Parkinson's disease research and research into other neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Until this discovery, most experts believed that Parkinson's disease was probably due to unknown factors present in the environment. The identity of this gene may ultimately help us prevent or delay the cell death that is responsible for some forms of degenerative brain disease.
Once a disease gene, such as Parkinson's disease gene, is identified it is often only a matter of months before a diagnostic test can be made available. Genetic tests can identify DNA alterations in people who have already developed a disease, in healthy persons who may be at risk of developing a genetic disorder later in life, or in people who are at risk of having a child with an inherited disorder. In some instances the development of accurate diagnostic technologies can be potentially life-saving. Genetic tests for glaucoma, colon cancer, inherited kidney cancer, and other disorders are already helping to identify high-risk individuals before they become ill, allowing potential life-saving interventions. Today, genetic tests are available primarily in academic medical centers for some 450 disorders, most of which are rare. But over the next decade, genetic testing will become ever more commonplace throughout the health care system, and will be applied to increasingly common disorders.
As our technology grows in genetic testing, more information will be made available to concerned individuals about their potential for developing certain conditions. While potentially providing enormous benefit by allowing individualized programs of preventive medicine, the increased availability of genetic information raises concerns about who will have access to this potentially powerful information. Each of us has an estimated five to 30 serious misspellings or alterations in our DNA; thus, we could all be targets for discrimination based on our genes. Of particular concern is the fear of losing jobs or health insurance because of a genetic predisposition to a particular disease. For example, a woman who carries a genetic alteration associated with breast cancer, and who has close relatives with the disease, has an increased risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Knowledge of this genetic status can enable women in high-risk families, together with their health care providers, to better tailor surveillance and prevention strategies. However, because of a concern that she or her children may not be able to obtain or change health insurance coverage in the future, a woman currently in this situation may avoid or delay genetic testing.
These are real concerns for too many Americans. In a recent survey of people in families with genetic disorders, 22 percent indicated they, or a member of their family, had been refused health insurance on the basis of their genetic information. The overwhelming majority of those surveyed felt that health insurers should not have access to genetic information. A 1995 Harris poll of the general public found a similar level of concern. Over 85 percent of those surveyed indicated they were very concerned or somewhat concerned that insurers or employers might have access to and use genetic information.
Discrimination in health insurance, and the fear of potential discrimination, threaten both society's ability to use new genetic technologies to improve human health and the ability to conduct the very research we need to understand, treat and prevent genetic disease.
To unravel the basis of complex disorders, scientists must analyze the DNA of many hundreds of people for each disease they study. Thus valid research on complex disorders will require the participation of large numbers of volunteers. But a pall of mistrust hangs over research programs because study volunteers are concerned that their genetic information will be used by insurers to discriminate against them. For example, in genetic testing studies at the NIH, nearly one third of eligible people offered a test for breast cancer risk decline to take it. The overwhelming majority of those who refuse cite concerns about health insurance discrimination and loss of privacy as the reason.
NHGRI has established productive partnerships among consumers, scientists and policy makers to help reduce the possibility that genetic information will be used to harm an individual or family members. As an integral part of the HGP, the NHGRI and the DOE have each set aside a portion of their funding to anticipate, analyze and address the ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) of the project's new advances in human genetics. The current goals of the ELSI program are to improve the understanding of these issues through research and education, to stimulate informed public discussion, and to develop policy options intended to ensure that genetic information is used for the benefit of individuals and society.
In 1995, the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer (NAPBC, coordinated by the US Public Health Service Office on Women's Health) and the NIH-DOE Working Group on Ethical, Legal and Social Implications of Human Genome Research (ELSI Working Group) tackled the issue of genetic discrimination and health insurance. This effort built on the ELSI Working Group's long standing interest in the privacy and fair use of genetic information and the NAPBC's mandate to address priority issues related to breast cancer.
Today, 19 states have enacted laws to restrict the use of genetic information in health insurance. Since January of this year, at least 31 states have introduced legislation to prohibit genetic discrimination in insurance, which is a positive indication of the level of concern about this important issue. Despite the initiatives of various states to pass legislation aimed at protecting individuals from being denied health insurance based on their genetic status, we have at best a patchwork of privacy and anti-discrimination proposals. In addition, state laws do not provide protection for the approximately 125 million Americans who obtain their health insurance coverage through private sector, employer sponsored, self-funded plans, because the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) exempts the administration of these plans from state oversight. Therefore, the state legislative approach does not provide a comprehensive solution to genetic discrimination in health insurance.
In 1996, Congress enacted a law, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which took a significant step toward expanding access to health insurance. But HIPAA doesn't go far enough. Americans are still largely unprotected by federal law against insurance rate hikes based on genetic information and against unauthorized people or institutions having access to the genetic information contained in their medical records. HIPAA includes genetic information among the factors that may not be used to deny or limit insurance coverage for members of a group plan. Further, HIPAA explicitly excludes genetic information from being considered a preexisting condition in the absence of a diagnosis of the condition related to such information. The law specifically uses the broad, inclusive definition of genetic information recommended by the NAPBC-ELSI Working Group. Finally, HIPAA prohibits insurers from charging one individual a higher premium than any other "similarly situated" individual in the group.
These steps towards preventing discrimination based on genetics are significant, but HIPAA left several serious gaps that can now be closed by Administration-supported legislation. First, the protections in HIPAA do not extend to the individual health insurance market. Thus, individuals seeking coverage outside of the group market may still be denied access to coverage and may be charged exorbitant premiums based on genetic information. While only approximately 5 percent of Americans obtain health insurance outside the group market today, many of us will, at some point in our lifetime, purchase individual health insurance coverage. Because genetic information persists for a lifetime and may be transmitted through generations, people who are now in group plans are concerned about whether information about their genes may, at some point later in their life, disallow them from being able to purchase health insurance outside of the group market.
Second, while HIPAA prohibits insurers from treating individuals within a group differently from one another, it leaves open the possibility that all individuals within a group could be charged a higher premium based on the genetic information of one or more members of the group.
Finally, HIPAA does nothing to limit an insurer's access to or release of genetic information. No federal law prohibits an insurer from demanding access to genetic information contained in medical records or family history or requiring that an individual submit to a genetic test. In fact, an insurer can demand that an individual undergo genetic testing as a condition of coverage. Further, there are no restrictions on an insurers' release of genetic information to others. For example, at present, an insurer may release genetic information, and other health-related information, to the Medical Information Bureau which makes information available to other insurers who can then use it to discriminate. Because genetic information is personal, powerful and potentially predictive, it can be used to stigmatize and discriminate against people. Genetic information must be private.
On July 14, 1997, the President embraced the importance of improving federal protections against genetic discrimination and supported legislation that "will ban all health plans, group and individual, from denying coverage or from raising premiums on the basis of genetic tests." The Administration recommends that this law build on the effort begun under HIPAA and encompass the NAPBC-ELSI Working Group's recommendations that seek to prevent health insurers from having access to genetic information, from being able to misuse this information, and from disclosing genetic information to others. The specific recommendations underlying the legislation are included in the HHS Report: Health Insurance in the Age of Genetics.
The legislation will extend protections in three important ways. One, ensure that Americans in the individual market are not denied access to or lose health care coverage, in the absence of a diagnosis, because of genetic information. Two, ensure that health plans do not use genetic information per se to determine premiums. And three, impose restrictions on the disclosure of genetic information to other insurers, plan sponsors and other entities regulated by state insurance laws such as life, disability and long-term care insurers.
I find it rewarding and am astounded by the strides human genome research has made and the unprecedented opportunities it offers biomedical science to improve the lives of people in this country and around the world. In order to assure that the Nation benefits from the fruits of genetic research, safeguards must be in place to protect individual privacy and prevent insurance discrimination. We have the unique opportunity to ensure that our social policy keeps pace with the scientific advances made possible through biomedical research. The American people, the President, and the Congress support protections against genetic discrimination in health insurance. Supporting the recommendations in the Report could ensure that increasing knowledge about ourselves and our genetic heritage is used to benefit Americans, to improve their health and well-being, and not to stigmatize or discriminate against them. The public will benefit from genetic research advances only if personal genetic information is secure from misuse by insurance companies and other social institutions.
I would like to thank you for bringing this issue the attention it needs and deserves today. I am pleased that so many members, both Republican and Democrat, have expressed interest in moving forward legislation on this important issue. Representative Slaughter and Senator Snowe have introduced legislation that has been endorsed by over one hundred members of Congress. The Administration would like to build on the principles of this legislation. Also, I am pleased that last week Senator Jeffords and Senator Frist expressed their interest in moving bipartisan legislation that addresses the issues in the HHS Report. I want to thank you for your longstanding efforts and look forward to working with you to pass bipartisan legislation on this issue this year.
This concludes my remarks. I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. | https://www.genome.gov/10002352/july-1997-congressional-task-force-health-records-and-genetic-privacy |
Compensation and Benefits policies must be planned strategically, as it helps the company attract, motivate and retain best talent and equally important helps it remain competitive and cost effective in the log-term competition.
Design a comprehensive and competitive framework for Compensation & Benefits for employees which not only includes salary but also direct and indirect rewards and benefits to be given to the employee for his/her contribution to the organization. Starting from conducting Job Evaluation, to writing Job Descriptions, and based on which develop the Pay & Incentive Structures, the process will be based on internal analysis and external bench-marking.
Link Compensation growth with organizational growth and keep track of the employee cost trends and build compensation structures to match the growth strategy of the organization and at the same time motivate employees to add value and contribute effectively. | http://www.saffronconsulting.in/portfolio/compensation-benefits/?id=3598 |
NASA and the search for life in the universe.
- Physics, GeologyEndeavour
- 2006
Biosignatures and the Search for Life on Earth
- Geology, Physics
- 2010
Earth is the only life-hosting planet in the Universe that we currently know of; however, it is just a matter of time until other Earth-like planets are detected. At that time, by analysing their…
Galactic punctuated equilibrium: how to undermine Carter's anthropic argument in astrobiology.
- PhysicsAstrobiology
- 2009
It is concluded that drawing far-reaching conclusions about the scarcity of extraterrestrial intelligence and the prospects of the efforts to detect it on the basis of Carter's argument is unwarranted.
Habitability of super-Earth planets around other suns: models including Red Giant Branch evolution.
- Geology, PhysicsAstrobiology
- 2009
A thermal evolution model for a 10 Earth-mass planet orbiting a star like the Sun, based on the integrated system approach, that identifies a so-called photosynthesis-sustaining habitable zone (pHZ), as determined by the limits of biological productivity on the planetary surface.
Bayesian analysis of the astrobiological implications of life’s early emergence on Earth
- GeologyProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 2011
Although terrestrial life's early emergence provides evidence that life might be abundant in the universe if early-Earth-like conditions are common, the evidence is inconclusive and indeed is consistent with an arbitrarily low intrinsic probability of abiogenesis for plausible uninformative priors.
Archaeology and direct imaging of exoplanets
- Physics, GeologyProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
- 2005
The search for extraterrestrial technology effectively began 45 years ago with Frank Drake's Project Ozma and a radioastronomy start to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Eventually…
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Land surveying can be defined as a scientific or legally sufficient method to determine the location of points on the surface of the earth, the angles formed by such points, the distance between them. According to historical records, land surveying was practiced by the ancient Egyptians even prior to the construction of the Great Pyramids. Surveyors in ancient Egypt and other people interested in civil law recognized the importance of surveying in civilized society and began keeping a registry of land surveys as early as 3000 BC.
As a scientific method of inquiry and research, land surveys incorporate elements of geometry, physics, math, engineering, and law into their determination. Land surveys satisfy important needs in many fields. For example, topographic surveys are used by geologists and cartographers in order to create elevation maps. Archaeologists refer to current and historic surveys prior to conducting excavations.
Engineers and builders will not risk beginning a new construction project without reliable surveys onsite. Real estate and mortgage professionals require knowledge of land surveyer boundaries and precisely where a building structure is located prior to closing a transaction. Title insurers, attorneys, and judges depend on the accuracy of legal descriptions provided by a land survey in order to resolve property litigation issues.
The basic legal purpose of land surveying is to determine boundaries. This can be accomplished by establishing where the metes and bounds of land begin and end. Civilized society has depended on the accuracy of land boundaries to respect the borders of sovereign states, jurisdictions, municipalities, land use planning, and private property. To this extent, different types of land surveys are used these days to recognize and respect boundaries.
American Land Title Association (ALTA) survey
In the United States, the real estate and mortgage lending industries rely on whether the title to a property can be insured or if it is ¨marketable¨. This means whether an insurance company would consider taking the risk of issuing a policy insuring ownership, or if the land and structures attached to it can be readily transferred without fear of outside claims. The American Land Title Institute, along with the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and the National Society of Professional Surveyors, have adopted and developed a set of minimum standard detail requirements for land surveys to be used in any legal matters pertaining to the transfer and conveyance of real estate. The ALTA survey is essentially a boundary survey that meets and exceeds the standards set in different states.
Cadastral survey
All countries in the world posses some type of land surveyers records system that identifies boundaries. In the United States, for example, the Public Land Survey System keeps plats, diagrams, sketches, maps, and other documents that establish the boundaries of all public and governmental use lands in the country. This is known as a cadastral system. Local governments have an interest in land surveying for the purpose of taxation. A cadastral survey is a search conducted from records kept in a public land record registry. Comprehensive land surveys such as the ALTA include cadastral surveying.
Boundary survey
Government offices that issue building permits will often require a minimum of a boundary survey or sketch prior to granting commencement of construction work. The property lines must be clearly defined in these surveys in order to spot possible issues such as easements and encroachments.
Site planning survey
In addition to identifying boundaries and obtaining the required building permits, architects and engineers will need a topographic survey that identifies elevation features in order to create a site plan. Construction of tall structures often requires the review of site planning surveys prior to breaking ground. | http://currenteventsarticles.org/1301823/types-land-surveys/ |
I’ve always wanted to write a concerto, but it is a massive undertaking and it wasn’t until discussions with MSO’s Director of Artistic Planning Ronald Vermeulen that the prospect started to become a reality. I have always wanted to take the oud further than the traditional Arabic music platform and for the last 20 years I have done my best to push it into ‘unorthodox’ musical areas through cross cultural collaboration, understanding of cultures and the composition of new works that challenge the instrument.
With this concerto, I wanted to do something big, showcasing the oud in a new light and for it to be a technical benchmark for future players. It was very important for me that the music was true in intention, not just a bombardment of technical ability, but emotionally engaging, beautiful and full of energy. I wanted the music to be modern but also pay homage to the beauty of the old and be a bridge between Western classical music and Eastern music, with a traditional classical concerto as its framework.
The concerto is primarily in the Arabic Mode Nawa Athar, which is like a C Harmonic Minor scale but with a raised 4th (F#). This has quite a Middle Eastern sound, but the scale gives some flexibility to modulate on related modes also from the tonic of C. It is in three movements, following a traditional fast-slow-fast structure, but within each movement there are considerable changes in tempo and meter. The three movements are all in the key of C Major, which is quite intentional as I wanted the concerto to possess an element of the Wasla.
In Arabic music (particularly traditional Egyptian Music), there is a structure called a Wasla – basically a set of different pieces, usually lasting half an hour to an hour, grouped together due to them being in the same mode and key. For example, you could have an instrumental introduction in C Major, then a song in C Major, followed by an instrumental interlude in C Major, then an improvisation in C Major and so forth – a type of Middle Eastern concerto if you will. I have tried to consolidate both these forms within my piece, and there is a degree of improvisation that is very much indicative of the Wasla form.
Something also to note, is that this is the first concerto written for a seven course oud. The most popular modern day ouds are six courses (grouped into five double strings and one single string). The seven course instrument (grouped into five double strings and two single strings) give the instrument more of a range. The bass strings are very rarely played on in a melodic sense and mostly used for certain ornaments and colour. In this concerto, the whole range and fingerboard of the oud is utilised and the oud’s first entry in the opening movement features a melody played on the lowest bass string that is quite challenging in terms of fingering, especially at a brisk pace. This could not be performed on a six course instrument.
The concerto has elements of many different styles of music while maintaining an integrity of sound, something I’ve always strived for in my composition. Seamless changes of emotion, texture and energy prove that the oud can not only hold its own in any musical context, but have something significant to say.
Joseph Tawardros will premiere his new Oud Concerto at Melbourne Recital Centre as part of the Metropolis New Music Festival 2017. | https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/features/joseph-tawadross-celebration-in-c-major/ |
focuses on the new environment of logistics development in China. From the factor analysis and cost analysis,
this paper respectively expounds the factors influencing the carbon cost of
distribution and the influence of different low carbon policy of distribution
costs, to further prove that joint distribution can effectively optimize the
logistics cost. This paper presents a breakthrough in the traditional
organizational barriers to make up for traditional contract deficiencies and
improve joint distribution safeguard measures of regulations system, in order
to provide reference for improving corporate and social logistics cost.
Keywords
Low Carbon Policy, Logistics Cost, Joint Distribution, Super Organization Management
Share and Cite:
Received 14 July 2016; accepted 21 August 2016; published 25 August 2016
1. Introduction
The Chinese government in 2009 put forward that the production of carbon dioxide emissions of gross domestic units would decrease by 40% - 50% in 2020 compared to that in 2005 , and the corresponding low carbon policies were also introduced. Compared with the developed countries, the problems of low efficiency of Chinese logistics and logistics costs have been serious, especially the green logistics cost is much higher. Along with the advancement of global low carbon measures, the logistics industry in China as a large energy consumption industry should practice strict energy conservation and emissions reduction is the trend of the Times.
The past decade, Chinese transportation industry is one of the fastest growing energy consumptions of the industry, which consumes more than 50% consumption of energy, resulting in nearly 70% of the carbon emissions . Practical experience shows that in developed countries, joint distribution is a way to improve vehicle rate and reduce the load rate, thereby reducing the traffic distribution mode, the use of energy and the carbon emissions compared with traditional distribution model. The advantage is obvious. Therefore under the guidance of low carbon policy, the development of joint distribution has a great potential.
2. The Analysis of Factors Affecting the Cost of Carbon Emission Distribution
For businesses, the carbon cost is decided by the amount of carbon emissions to reduce costs, it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions. And factors affecting the distribution activities in carbon emissions are mainly delivery mileage and delivery shipments; in general, delivery miles farther load more and more carbon emissions. The joint distribution through the integration of resources distribution and the consolidation of distribution mileage reduces the cost of carbon emissions. Concrete evidence is as follows:
The regression analysis based on data gathered can get distribution of carbon emissions and distribution of binary linear distance and load function, that is
(1)
where d is driving distance, Q is vehicle weight, x is cargo traffic, a, b, c are constants.
Assuming that the maximum load for vehicles is Q*, and the full carbon emission for unit distance is:
(2)
The no-live load unit distance of carbon emissions is
(3)
Combining (2) and (3)
(4)
A distribution of cargo is bound, and x is fixed at a certain value, and the formula (1) can be
(5)
Among
(6)
In the distribution process, the carbon emissions generated by the transport cost is
(7)
Among them, the emission factor e, g for carbon emission factor, G for the distribution of carbon emissions costs, and d* for the length of distribution lines, it can be considered d* = d.
By equation (7), distribution of cost and distribution are directly related to carbon emissions. When the shipping lines established, vehicle fuel consumption will increase as delivery volume increased slightly, but have not increased much, sometimes ignored this increase . Therefore, it can be argued that for determining the route for the distribution of, and increase the vehicle’s weight does not bring about increases in the cost of carbon emissions.
In an ideal situation, assuming 𝑛 enterprises have distribution business on the same route, the amount of each distribution is p1, p2, ・・・, pn, and the distribution line length is d. From the foregoing analysis, if the enterprise uses individual distribution, the cost of carbon emissions is nG. Joint distribution of total amount of distribution is equal to the dispersion of a separate distribution, and taken together matching the number of vehicles in use is far less than the former, vehicle’s total length of distribution lines is far less than the former, the resulting carbon emissions costs would have fallen sharply.
3. Significance of Different Low-Carbon Policies of Joint Distribution Cost Reduction
3.1. Under the Mandatory Emissions Limits, Increase Turnover and Reduce Unit Costs
Mandatory emission policies show that the government sets stringent emission limits, if over the limits, the enterprises need to pay a fine, or even need to stop its distribution business. This is a very serious policy and a strong binding.
Under this policy, the carbon emission allowance of is enterprises dispersed, which limits the expansion of turnover, so it is also very difficult to make full use of quotas spare cargo. Taking joint distribution can obtain greater carbon emission quota and can reduce the limit of turnover by limiting quota. At the same time, higher emission quota also helps the arrangement of each distribution business, optimizes the integration of turnover and achieves fully utilized emission limits.
3.2. Rationally Utilize Tax Planning, Improve Effective Delivery Mileage, Reduce Total Costs
Carbon tax policy is according to the emissions and in accordance with a certain tax to charge emissions tax. The policy does not strictly limit to maximum amount of emissions of the enterprises, but charges tax according to its all emissions.
At present the country doesn’t have a clear way of carbon taxes, but scholars believe that steps should be taken tax . With the increase of the tax rate, the proportion of the cost of carbon emissions accounted for total distribution costs gradually increases. Reducing the distribution mileage and carbon emissions to ensure the profitability has become the main target of distribution. A common distribution, improves effective delivery mileage, reduces carbon emissions, thereby further reducing logistics costs.
3.3. Flexibly Use Trade Policy, and Share Logistics Resources to Achieve Value-Added Logistics
Carbon trading policy, that is treat carbon dioxide emissions as a commodity, companies were assigned to certain emission allowances, if enterprise emissions exceed a fixed degree will need to purchase a certain amount of emissions, and vice versa can sell out the carbon emissions credits. Based on the foregoing analysis, the joint distribution by increasing turnover and effective delivery mileage can make the carbon emission targets be possible and reasonable overflow.
Under the policy, the cost of carbon emissions may also be converted into new profit point. We need to adopt a joint distribution and optimize business operations in order to get more reasonable overflow and finally achieve a reasonable distribution of carbon emissions resources on the supply chain.
4. To Discuss Joint Distribution Mode, the Effective Operation of the Safeguard Measures
The concept of distribution and joint distribution in the late 80’s has been introduced into China, but compared to the sound development of foreign joint distribution, progress in our joint distribution developed slowly in past 20 years and had less successful experience. And the current low carbon policy is carried out based on the context of globalization, when the external environment is more complex, synergy level is higher, therefore, it needs the government and enterprises to take corresponding measures to promote the construction of joint distribution system and effective operation.
4.1. Breakthrough the Traditional Organizational Barriers and Promote the Realization of the Function of the Third Party Logistics Enterprise
Super organization is a group enterprise, which has vertical correlation, but legally separates, and shares common interests in separate decisions . Super group can effectively break down barriers between organizations, fully integrate enterprises’ resources, and improve operational efficiency.
Low-carbon policies, common factors affecting the distribution of increased business risk has increased and the traditional organizational forms are difficult to adapt to the complex internal and external environment, need more advanced forms of joint distribution organization to ensure sound operation. Jointly invest in independent third-party joint distribution companies, namely third-party joint distribution organization, broke away from the traditional joint distribution mode of interaction to achieve multiple management system of checks and balances, the full realization of the enterprise’s hyper-function, shareholder accountability better able to bear the risk. From a long-term perspective, and jointly invest in the establishment of an independent third-party development of joint distribution company is the joint distribution of the mainstream.
4.2. Make up for the Lack of Traditional Contracts, Build up a Good Common Delivery Framework for Effective Implementation of Contracts
Traditional logistics enterprise contract is “one to one” contract, under this contract, and not only be a waste of social resources, and supply chain resources integration cannot be achieved, raising the cost of logistics. Joint distribution is the basic starting point of distribution between enterprise resources integration, achieving further increases in efficiency, smooth running of joint distribution on the premise that resource sharing, you must break through the traditional contractual restrictions.
Third-party logistics and distribution contracts were on a higher level of resource integration contract, break the barriers to sharing of resources, make full use of social resources, to achieve “one to many” service for common distribution services to further enhance the ability of. For the new contract, assessment criteria focused not only on the cost evaluation of single, need to fully consider the service contract level, as the increased realization of joint distribution of the contract service.
At present, the joint distribution of third party logistics contract main difficulty lies in the establishment of inter-organizational accounting system across the enterprise, which is reluctant to face, but unable to avoid problems. And under the low carbon policy, cross-organizational carbon cost is the most difficult problem to solve. Based on the noted above, under the third-party joint distribution organization, how to play a super organization, breaking down organizational barriers are the key.
4.3. Improve the Regulatory System to Provide Good Environment for the Operation of the Organization and Management
Good operation environment of joint distribution needs perfect system of laws and regulations as a guarantee. There is no doubt that the contract law and property law as the main logistics policy system for guidance and protection in the joint distribution operations played a huge role. However, at present on the joint distribution of the relevant policies and regulations there are still some problems and deficiencies. First, default penalties is light, and low cost of default affects the reliability of the contract; second, the comprehensive information security regulations are lack and customer information leakage as well as the operational information and other problems occurs during the joint distribution; third, some important systems need to be identified and specifically regulated by laws and policies, such as third party liability system and punishment system.
To improve the default provisions regulation in the Contract Law and Property Law, the penalties for default should be increased; for the third-party joint distribution, relying on the existing Personal Information Protection Guide in Public and Commercial Service Information Systems of Information Security Technology, related policies to protect customer information should be published to further specify the system and regulations of third- party joint distribution, clear the third party liability, and implement the penalties system. At present, China’s carbon emissions legal system is not perfect, and there is no targeted regulatory to disputes which generate in carbon emissions joint distribution , so the introduction of relevant policies and regulations under the context of low- carbon policies is imminent.
5. Conclusions
In the background of low carbon development and to reduce logistics cost, the joint distribution as the experience of operation mode has certain development, because it can effectively reduce carbon emissions, optimize the logistics cost, and coruscate new vitality. For enterprises and even the whole society logistics, to develop joint distribution largely has an underestimated significance.
Lower logistics cost is an eternal topic, and has constantly arisen new problems. Under the new policy, we need to review, and constantly perfect the relevant analysis and elements of process reengineering and cost. Therefore, related research is necessary to continue.
NOTES
*Corresponding author.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
References
Copyright © 2023 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://scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=70065 |
Quality Assurance (QA) Analyst Summary:
Signature Consultants is seeking a QA Analyst for an opportunity in Hennepin County, MN. Our client is in need of someone with someone of a blended background (BA/QA) to support a large ERP migration effort. This person will have experience in testing and have an analytical background. We are looking for someone to be able to plan as well as execute (work hand in hand with the BAs, taking a business case and turning it into a test case, and combing through user stories to determine what needs to be tested and so forth). This person will also have to have a strong background working within an agile environment.
Essential Functions:
- Interface with day to day operations of the Project Management Organization (PMO) and Development teams.
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- Analyze Functional Requirements Documents to create detailed suite of test plans, test cases, and test scripts for ConvergeOne's business applications ensuring test cases tie back to individual requirements
- Lead QA effort during deployments for assigned applications including coordination of cross functional resources as necessary
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- Identify, record, document, and tracks code bugs as they arise and perform thorough regression testing when the have been resolved
- Independently investigate and identify any defect patterns and escalate to project team
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Required Qualifications:
- College diploma or university degree in software engineering, computer science, or business administration or equivalent work experience
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- Knowledge with analytical tools, root cause analysis, or corrective/preventative action preferred.
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- Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office application tools: Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
About Signature Consultants, LLC
Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Signature Consultants was established in 1997 with a singular focus: to provide clients and consultants with superior staffing solutions. For the ninth consecutive year, Signature was voted as one of the 'Best Staffing Firms to Work For' and is now the 14th largest IT staffing firm in the United States (source: Staffing Industry Analysts). With 28 locations throughout North America, Signature annually deploys thousands of consultants to support, run, and manage their clients' technology needs. Signature offers IT staffing, consulting, managed solutions, and direct placement services. For more information on the company, please visit www.sigconsult.com. Signature Consultants is the parent company to Hunter Hollis and Madison Gunn. | https://www.sologig.com/jobs/Quality-Assurance--QA--Analyst/J3M33Y6SNP7R3DKX7NT |
Looking at today’s financial markets, “risk-free rate” is one of the easiest, most observable aspects to watch above the waterline.
According to the 1950-era modern portfolio theory, volatility is the most appropriate measure for portfolio risk. It draws down to utilizing the statistical concept of standard deviation; but while this makes the metric mathematically simple and easy to estimate, it also carries some disadvantages.
The reality is, unexpected events will happen; however, preparing for them as much as possible ahead of time is where true financial confidence lies.
The “Margin of Safety” concept can be dated all the way back to the 1930s, first mentioned by American economist and author, Benjamin Graham. In the case of investing, it means you should always leave room for error, or the possibility that your potential outcome may not be precisely right.
When it comes to volatility and finding a desired risk level within your portfolio, here is a handy acronym we at Howard Bailey even use with the families we meet with: C.A.N. you take the risk? (C-Capacity, A-Attitude and N-Need).
How do you factor the unknown into your retirement calculations? Note the key variables highlighted in this article that can greatly fluctuate your retirement projections.
If you had a crystal ball, retirement planning would be much less complicated. Unfortunately, no such thing exists, but there is one thing you can do, which is stress test your portfolio.
Risk tolerance questionnaires can be a great starting point in determining how conservative your retirement investment strategies should be; however, they’re not the main solution. | https://retirewithpurpose.com/news/category/risk-tolerance |
Contrasting genetic responses to population fragmentation in a coevolving fig and fig wasp across a mainland-island archipelago.
Interacting species of pollinator-host systems, especially the obligate ones, are sensitive to habitat fragmentation, due to the nature of mutual dependence. Comparative studies of genetic structure can provide insights into how habitat fragmentation contributes to patterns of genetic divergence among populations of the interacting species. In this study, we used microsatellites to analyse genetic variation in Chinese populations of a typical mutualistic system - Ficus pumila and its obligate pollinator Wiebesia sp. 1 - in a naturally fragmented landscape. The plants and wasps showed discordant patterns of genetic variation and geographical divergence. There was no significant positive relationship in genetic diversity between the two species. Significant isolation-by-distance (IBD) patterns occurred across the populations of F. pumila and Wiebesia sp. 1 as whole, and IBD also occurred among island populations of the wasps, but not the plants. However, there was no significant positive relationship in genetic differentiation between them. The pollinator populations had significantly lower genetic variation in small habitat patches than in larger patches, and three island pollinator populations showed evidence of a recent bottleneck event. No effects of patch size or genetic bottlenecks were evident in the plant populations. Collectively, the results indicate that, in more fragmented habitats, the pollinators, but not the plants, have experienced reduced genetic variation. The contrasting patterns have multiple potential causes, including differences in longevity and hence number of generations experiencing fragmentation; different dispersal patterns, with the host's genes dispersed as seeds as well as a result of pollen dispersal via the pollinator; asymmetrical responses to fluctuations in partner populations; and co-existence of a rare second pollinating wasp on some islands. These results indicate that strongly interdependent species may respond in markedly different ways to habitat fragmentation.
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The morning workshop program is open for registration. Workshop size is limited based on room capacity, and space is reserved on a first come, first serve basis. Join the email list to receive updates.
Monday-Wednesday
Preparing for an Academic Career
Conveners: Catherine Riihimaki, Princeton University,Lisa Gilbert, Williams College, Sue Ebanks, Savannah State University, Lynsey LeMay, Thomas Nelson Community College, and Gary Weissmann, University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17 | 8:30am-11:30am | TSU - Humphries: 222
This workshop is designed specifically for graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and others who are interested in pursuing academic careers in the geosciences. Workshop leaders from a variety of institution types and career paths will provide guidance and information that will help participants to be stronger candidates for academic positions and to succeed in academic jobs. Each participant will develop or revise a plan for their next career stage and will take home ideas that they can implement immediately. Informal discussions and one-on-one mentoring are available during lunch and afternoons. Participants will re-join the group for peer review of application materials on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Additional professional development is available through the afternoon workshops, panels, and plenary sessions that are part of the Earth Educators' Rendezvous.
Designing Effective Lessons for your First Geoscience Course
Conveners: Karen Kortz, Community College of Rhode Island, Reginald Archer, Tennessee State University, and Brendan Hanger, Oklahoma State University
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 221
Participants will begin with the big picture of establishing course goals for introductory science courses and then narrow the focus to determine learning outcomes for select individual lessons aligned with those goals. Participants will learn different active-learning strategies that can be used to help students achieve the learning outcomes and have time to explore the rich set of resources offered through Teach the Earth and similar collections. They will then design lessons using these strategies, giving and receiving feedback from other participants and the leaders. Throughout the workshop, the leaders will model different active learning strategies, such as think-pair-share, conceptest questions, minute papers, gallery walks, and jigsaws. Participants will work closely with each other and leave with several lessons completed and plans to complete other lessons.
Integrated Environmental Systems at TSU Farm
Conveners: William Sutton and Tom Byl, Tennessee State University; Steven Goodbred, Vanderbilt University
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Farm: 31
This workshop presents educators at all levels with activities and lessons to help incorporate nature into their classes. The TSU campus farm and wetlands provide important ecosystem services and avail magnificent resources to explore the natural world. The workshop will be helpful for educators to include active learning opportunities for students to explore how geology interacts with environments (ecological niches) resulting in different biological responses.
Each set of activities will commence with a group discussion of objectives & goals. We will use fieldwork and active learning activities to explore various approaches to teaching and learning about integrated environmental systems while in the field. Each day will close with some questions to explore and curriculum development discussions.
Heads and Chairs: Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education
Conveners: Sharon Mosher, The University of Texas at Austin and Jeff Ryan, University of South Florida
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 13
This workshop is intended to help department heads, chairs, and undergraduate program directors with addressing challenges in their curricula and/or degree programs aimed at better preparing their students for future geoscience careers and/or graduate school. The NSF sponsored initiative on the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education engaged a diverse spectrum of the geoscience academic and employer community and developed a wide consensus on the skills, competencies, and conceptual understandings undergraduates need to be successful in graduate school and the future workforce and effective methods of producing these learning outcomes in undergraduate geoscience programs. We will focus specifically on best practices for implementing such changes in departments.
Teaching Introductory Geoscience with Data and Math in a Societal Context Using GETSI Modules
Conveners: Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College, Jessica Smay, San Jose City College, and Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico
Monday, July 15 - Wednesday, July 17 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 327
Integrating cutting edge data and quantitative skills into introductory courses can be challenging. The GEodesy Tools for Societal Issues (GETSI) project has developed a suite of undergraduate teaching modules to make this easier and more engaging. The workshop will feature three of the modules in greater depth, as well as overview additional resources, provide coaching on teaching with data and math more generally, and give participants time to work on implementation planning. Participants who complete the full workshop will receive a $200 stipend. Anticipated featured modules are Measuring the Earth with GPS, Ice Mass and Sea Level Change, and Monitoring Volcanoes & Communicating Risk.
Thursday-Friday
Adapting Active Learning Strategies in Your Courses
Conveners: Rachel Teasdale, California State University-Chico and David McConnell, North Carolina State University
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 327
Research in STEM disciplines has revealed that empirically validated instructional practices that can contribute to improvements in student learning and a reduction in attrition. We will provide examples of several "active learning" instructional methods and assessments and work with participants to strategize how they can readily be adapted into a variety of post secondary science courses. We will outline a series of consistent steps for (re)designing lessons to incorporate different degrees of active learning suitable for instructors' situational factors (e.g., class size, instructional experience, course content). The target audience for this workshop is any instructor seeking to design or redesign lessons for a science course, applicable to introductory or more advanced courses. Participants will leave with new strategies incorporated into an existing lesson and knowledge of which active learning practices best match with their student learning goals. The workshop is designed to accommodate instructors with a mix of experiences; from those with no history with active learning to instructors seeking to incorporate new strategies to their courses.
Creating and Integrating Meaningful Virtual & Augmented Reality Content for Geoscience Classes
Conveners: Ryan Hollister, Turlock High School
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 222
Learn the tips and tricks needed to create an engaging, story-driven Immersive Virtual Field Experience (IVFE) that can be utilized by all students on nearly any device. Participants will briefly explore the characteristics of an engaging IVFE before spending the majority of the workshop collaboratively planning and creating an IVFE scene using local phenomenon and a variety of free or free-to-try software. Participants should be comfortable using a computer.
Connect with Students by Leveraging Phenomena and Incorporating Modeling into the K-12 Earth Science Classroom
Convener: Kim Kotowski, Wilson County Schools
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 320
For ALL Earth Science teachers! Participants will learn to leverage scientific phenomena and align them to appropriate standards (NGSS with connections to TN science standards and others) They will use these "anchoring events" to frame a unit or a lesson segment that requires students to generate models or explanations. We will loosely follow the Ambitious Science Teaching framework; AST helps guide teachers in planning for engagement to elicit students' ideas.
Marine Geology Using GEODE
Convener: Kristen St. John, James Madison University and Callan Bentley, Northern Virginia Community College
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am | TSU - Farrell-Westbrook (Barn): 114
Marine sediments and the geology of the ocean basins are important content topics in all oceanography courses. However these can be "dry" topics to teach, and may be difficult for students to appreciate. This workshop will introduce three resources that use Google Earth and can be used to help instructors and students explore these topics in highly visual and constructive ways. These resources were developed as part of the NSF-funded GEODE project and include a curriculum unit (with instructor guide) on marine sediments, a virtual marine sediment core kit, and a virtual guided tour of the ocean basins. Participants will be introduced to the resources and will also have the opportunity during the workshop to co-develop short exercises to accompany these resources for in-class or lab use. The workshop will be held in a computer lab.
This workshop is by application only, with a limit of 30 participants. To apply to attend this workshop, please complete this application form by March 15, 2019.
Broadening Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in Geoscience
Conveners: Jessica Oster, Vanderbilt University, De'Etra Young, Tennessee State University, and Lily Claiborne, Vanderbilt University
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 221
Broadening participation of underrepresented minorities remains a persistent difficulty in geosciences. A great deal of work is currently being done to address this issue, and EER 2019, hosted for the first time at an HBU, provides an excellent opportunity to delve into this work. This workshop aims to bring together people who are involved or interested in in efforts to improve participation of URM in geosciences, including through NSF's Geopaths program, efforts by the HBCU working group, and other formal and informal efforts. Participants will share the work in which they are involved, to share models and ideas across the community. The group will discuss what is working well in their programs and efforts, including a description of the evidence of this success where possible, followed by a discussion of persistent challenges they face. We will end the workshop looking forward to outline what are the important next steps we as a community need to take to address the challenges and move forward with greater success.
Measuring and Increasing the Level of Inquiry in Science Laboratory Activities
Conveners: Katherine Ryker, University of South Carolina-Columbia and Jason Jones, North Carolina State University
Thursday, July 18 - Friday, July 19 | 8:30am-11:30am TSU - Humphries: 13
Commercially available lab manuals for introductory geology courses are often devoid of authentic inquiry opportunities for learners. Inquiry-based activities have been empirically-shown to improve student learning and affect in lab settings (e.g., Chaterjee et al., 2009; Ryker & McConnell, 2014, 2017), but many instructors may either not know about the benefits of bringing inquiry into the lab or not know where to begin the process of adopting it into their lab design/teaching. This workshop will a) inform participants about the methods for measuring the level of inquiry in lab activities; b) have participants share/measure their own examples of existing lab activities, and; c) help participants collaborate to design new inquiry-based lab activities for future use by demonstrating effective "before and after" models of redesigned activities. | https://serc.carleton.edu/earth_rendezvous/2019/program/morning_workshops/index.html |
"In discussing tense, labels such as present tense, past tense, and future tense are misleading, since the relationship between tense and time is often not one-to-one. Present and past tenses can be used in some circumstances to refer to future time (e.g.... Tense of a sentence gives you an idea of the time when the incident mentioned in a statement takes place. At the same time, it is that critical factor that can most commonly leads people to mistakes while framing a sentence or while identifying the time of events.
In the previous chapter, we began our observation of verbs as a class. In this chapter we will be examining how English verbs function to express the time of an event (tense) and information regarding the duration or completion of an event (aspect).... Tense, Aspect and Mood. Tenses interact with the grammatical concept of aspect. Aspect defines how the flow of time is viewed in the sentence. Sounds too abstract?
Guiding questions time tense and aspect Grammaring December 29th, 2018 - How many tenses are there in English How many aspects are there in English Can a present tense refer to past or future eats shoots and leaves kids book pdf Time Tense Aspect - Download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online.
Time vs Tense As Time and Tense are two words that have to be used differently, one should first understand the difference between time and tense. | http://momscorner4kids.com/new-brunswick/time-tense-and-aspect-pdf.php |
The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the working models of various industries, especially the healthcare sector. In this decade, the internet has certainly played a vital role in bringing both the technological as well as the industrial revolution, not just in our country but worldwide. During the pandemic, we not only witnessed the rise of health-tech companies, but also saw the advancements in healthcare services such as telemedicine.
But have you ever wondered, how all of this was even possible? The health tech industries are data-driven and solely rely on the data of the mass. It becomes an obligation of these health techs to safeguard such personal data of their users. Unfortunately, India is not only considered to be negligent with the concept of data protection & privacy, but was also ranked no.2 for the most affected country due to cyber attacks in the year 2019, and this was the global ranking of India prior to COVID-19.
The right to privacy was declared as a fundamental right in the year 2017 in a landmark judgement passed by the apex court of this country, in the matter of Justice K.S Puttaswamy v. Union of India. Even after the establishment of the Justice BN Srikrishna committee in the year 2018 for drafting a legislation on data protection and later on the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) taking in-charge of the same, till today India struggles to formalise a legislation on data protection.
In this blog, we will not just discuss the privacy challenges prevailing in our nation due to lack of data protection law, but this blog will largely discuss the current privacy standards and regulations governing the health tech industries.
Current Privacy Regulations
It is essential to note here that doctors are required to adhere to their professional code of conduct, as the information given to them by their patients are required to be kept confidential. The doctor-patient relationship enjoys a special kind of status, and the information of their patients are protected and enjoy a certain privilege. If the doctor is found guilty of not adhering to this obligation, the Medical council of India can revoke the doctor’s licence if he/she breaches the confidentiality obligation.
The patient’s personal information or in this case his/her health data enjoys this special status because of the following provisions of law-
- The patient enjoys the right to privacy that is guaranteed to them by the Indian Constitution, 1950 under Article 21.
- The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquettes, and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, also specifically mentions that no medical professional is allowed to reveal or disclose their patient’s personal information or in this case their health data which they have learnt while treating/consulting them.
If we dig deeper to find specific Indian laws pertaining to the data privacy in this domain, since in India we still are in the phase of drafting the law on data protection and privacy, so the major laws that protect the privacy in the heath tech domain are-
- IT Act, 2000;
- The Electronic Health Record Standards, 2016;
- IT Rules, 2021 (Intermediary guidelines, and Digital Media Ethics Code);
- IT Rules, 2011 (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information);
- Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018;
- Telemedicine practice guidelines, 2020;
- Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act;
- Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 or The Data Protection Bill, 2021;
From the above, mainly the IT Act and its rules are the most common and prevailing laws on digital privacy, whereas the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and Digital Information Security in Healthcare are still yet to be passed by the Parliament.
Let’s discuss each of these regulations briefly-
- IT Act, 2000, IT Rules, 2011 & IT Rules, 2021
- The primary law that every tech company including health techs need to comply with, is the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its related Rules. Since, the IT Act & IT Rules are the only piece of legislation till date in India that talks about privacy and protection of personal data, but it still isn’t an alternative to a privacy law as it fails to cover many other essential aspects that are usually found in privacy laws. Although the data protection & privacy aspect is wholly missing from this law, it still has provisions wherein, individuals whose data get breached/compromised can seek relief.
- From the aspect of companies, in this case health techs, the IT Act describes these service providers as “Intermediaries.” As per section 2(w) of the IT Act, 2000, intermediary is defined as- “with respect to any particular electronic records, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or provides any service with respect to that record and includes telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online-auction sites, online-marketplaces and cyber cafes.”
- It is essential to note here that these intermediaries as per the IT Act enjoy a certain level of protection, also known as the ‘safe-harbour’ protection as mentioned under section 79, under this, these intermediaries are protected from legal liabilities arising out of their users’ content. As technically, intermediaries are just a platform, wherein users are free to post their content, and hence the liability shifts to from the intermediary to the user whose content is in question. This exemption or protection is only granted to these intermediaries if they successfully complete the due diligence requirements.
- Now coming to the latest IT Rules, 2021 also known as the Intermediary Rules, provides for a list of due diligence requirements that ought to be taken by these intermediaries, in the present scenario- heath techs. These requirements are as follows-
- Establishing a grievance redressal mechanism and appointing a grievance officer, the details of the same must be available on the intermediary’s website.
- Ensuring that false or misleading information is not available or uploaded on their website.Taking all the reasonable security measures to ensure the protection of the users’ data.
2.Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 2020
The said guidelines govern medical practitioners who provide teleconsultations, the guidelines clearly state that only registered medical practitioners are eligible to consult patients, and no technology driven company based on machine learning or AI can consult, counsel and/or prescribe medications to patients. It further states that it is the responsibility of the State Medical Council to conduct due diligence and check whether the medical practitioner is registered or not before listing them on their online portal. Lastly, setting up of a grievance redressal mechanism is also mandated by the said guidelines.
3.Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act
Unfortunately, this bill has not been passed yet, but the bill if passed will govern/regulate the health data or as the bill defines it as- electronic record of health related information. The bill prohibits the commercialisation of health data, and further states that the purpose of use of such data should only be for- patient-centred medical care, in guiding medical decisions, improving public health responses, and research. Further, the bill provides that the autonomy of the individual should be maintained and on the consent of such an individual their data can be withdrawn. If this bill is passed, then it will be applicable to all the heath techs.
4. Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018
This regulation prohibits telemedicine platforms from sending unsolicited commercial messages or calls to the general public.
5.The Electronic Health Record Standards, 2016
These guidelines are applicable to all the electronic health records, and states that clinical establishments such as health techs, hospitals, nursing homes, ought to adopt a security standard in order to ensure privacy and protection of the health data from potential threats such as cyber-attacks. These standards were issued under section 52 of the Clinical Establishment Act, 2010 read with Rule 9 (iv) of the Clinical Establishment Rules, 2012.
6.Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
The PDP bill, 2019 or the Data Protection Bill, 2021 as mentioned in the December 2021, Joint Parliamentary Committee’s recommendation. The said Bill has been in talks for more than 3 years now. If the said Bill gets passed, then it will not only govern/regulate the personal data but will also cover the non-personal data as mentioned in the December 2021 JPC’s recommendation. Every health techs will have to mandatorily comply with the provisions of this legislation, right from safeguarding the health data to awaring and ensuring the rights of the data principals, moreover, these health techs will become more accountable to the general public with respect to their personal data & non-personal data. Health techs will be obliged to report data breaches, conduct data protection impact assessment and will also have to establish a mechanism for grievance redressal.
Conclusion
From the above-discussion, we can understand that the future of health techs in India won’t go unregulated, and the government is currently drafting and preparing necessary laws for safeguarding this area, with the aim of protecting individuals and their digital privacy from any kind of interference or infringement. Unfortunately, there are laws that are still in the initial stage, which makes the current scenario in India with respect to digital privacy unrealistic and at high threat. Since, only the IT Act, and its Rules are the major laws governing this domain, these laws still lack some major provisions and need further improvement, and grossly fail to act as an alternative to privacy laws. | https://tsaaro.com/blogs/privacy-regulations-in-the-health-tech-industry/ |
Peter McKnight is a former Templeton-Cambridge fellow in science and religion at the University of Cambridge.
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Imagine visiting your doctor for help with some ailment, only to be told "may the Force be with you." You'd likely hightail it out there, and not to the nearest Star Wars convention.
Think that's funny? Well it isn't, since there are "doctors" who believe in the force, even if it's not the one from the movies. They're called naturopaths, naturopathic "physicians" who are now under intense scrutiny thanks to the death of 19-month-old Ezekiel Stephan from bacterial meningitis.
In late April, an Alberta court found Ezekiel's parents guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life – they received advice from Tracey Tannis, a naturopath, instead of seeking proper medical treatment. That led 43 medical doctors to demand the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta examine Ms. Tannis's actions, and an investigation has now begun.
But why stop there? Why investigate just one naturopath? Why not all of them? Or better yet, why not investigate naturopathy itself?
Indeed, a close look at naturopathy reveals a metaphysical, even magical belief system, although it is often expressed in the language of modern science. And central to this belief system is the force.
According to the website of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, "The naturopathic philosophy is to stimulate the healing power of the body," an idea typically traced to the Hippocratic doctrine, rendered in Latin, of vis medicatrix naturae – "the healing power of nature."
Hippocrates stressed this notion to disabuse the Greeks of the notion that their health depended on the pantheon – the gods. Yet ironically, his effort inspired vitalism, the discredited, pseudo-religious idea that living matter differs from non-living matter in that it possesses – or more accurately, is possessed by – a mysterious, metaphysical, non-mechanistic life force.
This phenomenon has gone by many names in the West – the vital force, vital energy, elan vital – and is given expression in the chi and prana of Eastern philosophy. And since in past centuries, illness was seen as the product of an imbalance of vital forces, it was the job of healers to balance things out, which is why Western medicine once relied on bleeding people to re-establish harmony and balance.
Modern biology abandoned vitalism nearly a century ago, partly because it's unnecessary – it is possible, for example, to synthesize an organic (living) compound from inorganic components without adding a magical dose of vital energy – and partly because scientific method rejects any appeal to non-material forces. Such forces, be they called elan vital, chi, karma or even God for that matter, are the province of metaphysics and religion, which means any appeal to them cannot, by definition, be scientific.
Now let us return to naturopathy. According to the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors' website, there exists a "range of modalities [that] allows naturopathic doctors to develop treatment plans." Among other things, we are told that naturopaths use homeopathy and traditional Chinese medicine in the service of regulating the vital force and thereby restoring balance.
Consequently, the association informs us that homeopathy is a "powerful system of medicine [that] is more than 200 years old," and that when homeopathic remedies are "carefully matched to the patient, they are able to affect the body's 'vital force' and to stimulate the body's innate healing forces …"
Not to be outdone, the association's discussion of traditional Chinese medicine tells us: "The key principle that defines and connects all of Chinese medicine is that of chi, or vital energy. The chi of all organs must be in balance, neither too active nor too dormant, for a person to be healthy … A naturopathic doctor will use Eastern herbs and acupuncture to assist the body in regulating the chi and achieving balance." Western herbs just won't do the trick, apparently.
Snark aside, one can see that naturopathy doesn't merely endorse the Hippocratic tradition – it embraces a pseudo-scientific, pseudo-religious philosophy dependent on a mysterious, metaphysical force. This, in fact, is the reason for its appeal: In a mechanistic and depersonalized world, many people prefer a little spirituality with their science, a good dose of magic with their medicine.
But magic isn't medicine. And neither is naturopathy. | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/message-to-naturopaths-magic-isnt-medicine/article29929971/ |
Earth-sized planet Proxima b not habitable: NASA
NASA scientists have said that the recently discovered Earth-sized planet Proxima b is unlikely to support life.
By India Today Web Desk: Exposure to frequent stellar eruptions has rendered the newly discovered Earth-sized planet Proxima b unlikely to support life, despite being in the habitable zone of its host star, scientists at NASA have found.
Which are the places likely to support life beyond Earth?
The search starts in habitable zones, the regions around stars where conditions could potentially allow liquid water to pool on a planet's surface.
The study suggests that some of these zones might not actually be able to support life due to frequent stellar eruptions -- which discharge huge amounts of stellar material and radiation out into space -- from young red dwarf stars.
How to determine a star's habitable zone?
The scientists have traditionally considered how much heat and light a star emits.
Stars that are more gigantic than our sun produce more heat and light; hence, the habitable zone must be farther away. Smaller, cooler stars have closer habitable zones.
However, apart from emitting heat and visible light, stars also release X-ray and ultraviolet radiation, and produce stellar eruptions such as flares and coronal mass ejections, which are collectively called space weather.
This radiation may lead to atmospheric erosion, in which high-energy particles drag atmospheric molecules -- such as hydrogen and oxygen, the two ingredients for water -- out into space.
The new model for habitable zones now takes this effect into account.
The research has implication for the recently discovered planet orbiting the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, which is our nearest stellar neighbour.
Why is Proxima b not habitable?
Keeping in mind the host star's age and the planet's proximity to its host star, scientists expect that Proxima b is bombarded with torrents of X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation from super flares that occur roughly every two hours.
The scientists estimated that at this rate the oxygen would escape Proxima b's atmosphere in 10 million years.
Also intense magnetic activity and stellar wind the continuous flow of charged particles from a star -worsen the harsh space weather conditions.
The scientists concluded that it is quite unlikely Proxima b is habitable.
This research was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
(With inputs from PTI)
Interested in General Knowledge and Current Affairs? Click here to stay informed and know what is happening around the world with our G.K. and Current Affairs section. | https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/proxima-b-nasa-960078-2017-02-10 |
Don’t abuse powers, Police told
THE Human Rights Commission has warned police not to abuse powers given to them under the Preservation of Public Security Act.
Commission chairman, Mudford Mwandenga, yesterday said law enforcement officers must not abuse human rights of suspects during the declared threatened state of emergency period but adhere to the provisions of the Preservation of the Public Security Act and the regulations made thereunder.
He said the HRC would be monitoring the situation because there were fears that police might start abusing their powers.
Recently, President Edgar Lungu invoked Article 31 of the constitution to give police and other defence and security agencies more powers to stop a spate of attacks designed to sabotage economic infrastructure in the country.
During this period, law enforcers would stop and search vehicles without a warrant, withdraw travel documents and detain suspects for more than 48 hours with authority of a magistrate.
Mr Mwandenga however, called on the officers to operate within their powers under the Preservation of Public Security Act.
“Law Enforcement Officers should refrain from over-detention of suspects in their efforts to maintain law and order but ensure that detained suspects are taken to court within seven days as provided by the Statutory Preservation of Public Security Act Regulations of 2017,
“They should not to exceed their powers under the Preservation of Public Security Act. Any detention of suspects without a court hearing beyond the prescribed period of seven days under the Act is illegal, an abuse of power and violation of human rights of the suspects,” Mr Mwandenga said.
He added that the HRC appreciates the symbiotic relationship between maintaining public security, order and peace and the need to promote and protect human rights.
Mr Mwandenga said therefore there is need, for State actors particularly the law enforcement officers to strike a balance between meeting the two obligations of maintaining public security and respecting human rights.
“It is the primary responsibility and mandate of the Government to maintain public security, order and peace in order to promote an environment in which the majority of individuals will continue to enjoy their rights and freedoms.
“Therefore, the invocation of Article 31 by the Government to protect the rights of individuals and properties is within its constitutional and human rights obligations.
“However, the Commission wishes to advise that as measures are being taken to maintain public security, caution should be exercised by law enforcement officers to refrain from acts that may be perceived as state-sanctioned violation of human rights through abuse of the Preservation of Public Security powers,” he said.
He indicated that the HRC would closely monitor and report on the observance of the effect of invoking Article 31 of the Constitution on human rights and freedoms during the period the proclamation would remain in force.
Mr Mwandenga appealed to Government to widely circulate the regulations relating to the implementation of the invocation of Article 31 to enable the members of the public and the law enforcement officers to operate within the provisions of the law. | |
2018-11-17 · The largest grouping of minerals by far are the silies; most rocks are composed of greater than 95% silie minerals, and over 90% of the Earth''s crust is composed of these minerals. The two main constituents of silies are silicon and oxygen, which are the two most abundant elements in the Earth''s crust.
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Relative Ages of Rocks - Earth Science in Maine
2018-11-8 · Law of Superposition. Superposition refers to the position of rock layers and their relative ages. Relative age means age in comparison with other rocks, either younger or older. The relative ages of rocks are important for understanding Earth’s history.
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List of minerals - Wikipedia
2018-11-18 · This is a list of minerals for which there are articles on Wikipedia. Minerals are distinguished by various chemical and physical properties. Differences in chemical composition and crystal structure distinguish the various species.
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Soil - Wikipedia
2018-11-16 · Soil is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Earth''s body of soil is the pedosphere, which has four important functions: it is a medium for plant growth; it is a means of water storage, supply and purifiion; it is a modifier of Earth''s atmosphere; it is a habitat for organisms; all of which, in turn, modify the soil.
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Types of Plants (With Pictures) | Owlion
2016-6-8 · Types of Plants (With Pictures) Updated on June 8, 2016. Will Apse. so rocks and trees can be covered in moss. Mosses are the first plant group which show ''apical'' growth. This means individual stems grow from the tip or special points along the stem, just as flowering plants do. They are the kinds of exotic-looking plants you see in
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DRAWING ROCKS - tutorial by Diane Wright
2016-12-19 · Rocks While I haven’t had the opportunity to draw many rocks in my landscapes (yet), they can certainly add interest to any landscape. I consider them just one more opportunity to add a different texture to the scene.
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OneGeology - eXtra - OneGeology Kids - Rocks and
Rocks are made up of different types of minerals — a bit like the ingredients in a cake! There are three main groups of rocks — these are sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. You can see how each of them is formed in the rock cycle diagram:
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Rocks Information and Facts | National Geographic
2018-11-9 · Rocks are so common that most of us take them for granted—cursing when we hit them with the garden hoe or taking advantage of them to drive in tent pegs on summer camping trips.
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Silie Structures, Neso- Cyclo-, and Soro- Silies
2012-6-1 · Zircon is a common accessory mineral in nearly all kinds of rocks, particularly the more siliceous igneous rocks, like granites, granodiorites, and syenites. Still, it is not often found in thin section because it is so hard that it gets plucked out during the grinding of the section.
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The Gallery of Minerals With Pictures and Descriptions.
Quartz is one of the most common of all minerals that make up the continental crust. It is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. It is associated with many valuable ore deposits as well. Amethyst is a variety of quartz and owes its purple color to the presence of iron. It is composed of silicone dioxide SiO 2.: Agate is the name given to a group of silies that are made up
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Rocks and the Rock Cycle - Paradise Valley
It changes rocks by changing the structure of minerals and by changing the orientation of mineral grains, particularly platy minerals like mica or clay. 3) Fluids Fluids which metamorphose rock are not pore fluids remaining from when sedimentary rocks were deposited.
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Types of Crystals: Shapes and Structures - ThoughtCo
2018-9-8 · Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, eduor, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
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Comparing rocks lesson - Understanding Science
2015-6-15 · Author: Sh Janulaw. Overview: Learners will observe and sort samples of rocks and minerals to compare and contrast their physical properties.They will record their observations in Science Notebooks. Lesson concepts:. Earth materials are solid rocks
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Chapter 4 Rocks and Minerals - Oregon State University
2018-11-5 · Chapter 4 Rocks and Minerals. Chapter 4 focuses on Rocks and Minerals, looking at types of rocks. spearheads, and cutting tools of all kinds. Today obsidian is used as a scalpel by doctors in very sensitive eye operations. What are the three types of rocks? 6. Draw a diagram and explain what happens in the rock cycle.
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List of rock types - Wikipedia
2018-11-20 · The following is a list of rock types recognized by petrologists.There is no agreed nuer of specific types of rocks. Any unique coination of chemical composition, mineralogy, grain size, texture, or other distinguishing characteristics can describe rock types.
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how widely is limestone used. Line is an important stone for masonry and architecture, vying with only granite and sandstone to be the most commonly used architectural stone.
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Identifying Rocks and Minerals/Types of Rocks -
2018-10-29 · Dark-colored rocks are more basic and have a higher percentage of ferro-magnesian minerals. Igneous rocks are broken up into three main groups: acid, intermediate, and basic. Acid rocks have over 65% silica, intermediate rocks have 55-65% silica, and basic rocks have 45-55% silica. | https://bluresort.it/how_to_draw_diffrent_kinds_of_rocks_and_minerals+36652.html |
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist best known for his Maslow's hierarchy of needs to explain human motivation. According to Maslow people have a number of basic needs including the physiological needs, safety and security needs, love and belonging needs that must be met before people move up the hierarchy to pursue more social, emotional, and self-actualizing needs.
Self-actualization is a higher need in which an individual reaches his or her full potential. According to Maslow theory, if these needs are not met, an individual either becomes deeply discouraged or develops maladjusted methods for coping with feelings of inferiority and worthlessness.
Many of Maslow's quotes focus on helping people reflect on their own life. That’s why we’ve compiled some of his best quotes here for you.
Top 10 Abraham Maslow Quotes on motivation
A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself.
What a man can be, he must be. This need we call self-actualization.
Behavior in the human being is sometimes a defense, a way of concealing motives and thoughts, as language can be a way of hiding your thoughts and preventing communication.
What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.
Good psychology should include all the methodological techniques, without having loyalty to one method, one idea, or one person.
The fact is that people are good, Give people affection and security, and they will give affection and be secure in their feelings and their behavior.
Seeing is better than being blind, even when seeing hurts.
The most stable, and therefore, the most healthy self-esteem is based on deserved respect from others rather than on external fame or celebrity and unwarranted adulation.
The great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one's daily life, in one's neighbors, friends, and family, in one's backyard.
We fear to know the fearsome and unsavory aspects of ourselves, but we fear even more to know the godlike in ourselves.
Hope these quotes inspire you. Out of all these quotes, which quote will you try to implement in your life? | https://www.manochikitsa.com/abraham-maslow-quotes-on-motivation/ |
What is the VIN?
The car’s Vehicle Identification Number(VIN) is the identifying code for a SPECIFIC automobile. The Manufacturers VIN serves as the car’s fingerprint, as no two vehicles in operation will have the same VIN. A VIN is composed of characters (digits and capital letters) that act as a unique identifier for the vehicle. Most Manufacturers use a digit in this VIN to indicate the intended Model year of the vehicle. Others will require manufacturer production booklets to determine the model year.
What is the Model Year?
The Model year in the automotive industry is absolutely defined only by the manufacturer, and not by any local vehicle registration practices or marketing opinions. Typically, complete vehicle redesigns of long-standing product models occur in cycles of at least five years, with one or two “facelifts” during the model cycle, and manufacturers introduce such redesigns at various times throughout a calendar year. Introductions of new models are often phased in around the world, meaning that a “2015 model” of a particular vehicle may actually refer to two entirely different vehicles in different countries. Therefore, the more common practice for enthusiasts and motoring writers in other countries is to identify major revisions using the manufacturer’s identifier for each revision, which is the Model Number.
What is the Model Number?
The Model Number is a manufacturer’s identifier code used by most vehicle manufacturers to indicate a specific automobile model. It is composed of characters (digits, capital letters), symbols (dashes), and may include empty spaces. This indicates the body design and in most cases fitted features such as the type of engine, transmission, suspension, trim level, accessories. Determination of these are important, as they are the basic factors used in calculating a Market Value.
What is the Market Value?
The Market Value is the highest estimated price that a buyer would pay and a seller would accept for an item in an open and competitive market. Market value is a concept distinct from market price, which is “the price at which one can transact”, while market value is “the true underlying value” according to theoretical standards. The Market Value concept is most commonly invoked in inefficient markets or disequilibrium situations where prevailing market prices are not reflective of true underlying market value. For market price to equal market value, the market must be well informed and rational expectations must prevail.
Why does a Valuation report take longer to complete for “High-End” or “Non-Standard” Vehicles?
More Intensive research has to be performed on these vehicles to determine the cost of features fitted. Various options such as Full or Partial Leather seats may be individually added or included as part of a package offered by the Manufacturer.
For Example..The 2016 European-Market BMW X5 had 13 model-variants, ranging from the X5 sDrive 25d SE (£44,575.00), to the X5 xDrive50i M Sport (£65,510.00). If chosen as an option, 20″ Factory Alloy Rims would increase the cost by £1,575.00. If a special Leather Option is fitted, the cost may increase by £1,895.00. If a special Wood-Trim option is fitted, the cost may increase by £560.00. Some of these items may have already be included as part of an “Option Package” such as the “Pure Experience Exterior Design Package” which may include either 19″(£125.00) or 20″(£1,250.00) alloy rims along with either Matt Aluminum or High Gloss roof rails. This option alone could increase the vehicle cost as much as £3,010.00.
Due to these many variations in the vehicle configuration, information usually is required from the local dealer to ensure that the value placed reflects the features fitted to the vehicle.
What is the Forced Sale Value?
The Forced Sale Value is the amount that may reasonably be received from the sale of property within a period that is too short to ensure proper marketing. This value is usually used as the basis for the quick-disposal sale of re-possessed property and as such is usually the figure that Financial Institutions rely on in providing loans.
What is a Fascia Change?
A Fascia Change or Facelift in auto terms refers to a refresh of the current model design. Typically a car company may keep a certain model unchanged for several years, about half way through the cycle they do a Fascia Change. This may consist of a new grille, bumpers, wheel options and possibly the tail lamp area. Sometimes these changes are subtle and may only be noticeable when both models are parked side by side.
What is a Pre-Purchase Inspection?
A Pre-Purchase inspection (PPI) is a detailed assessment by a qualified individual to determine the cosmetic, mechanical, and safety condition of a vehicle before completing the purchase. Most pre-purchase inspections are done by a certified mechanic or automotive technician who is knowledgeable in the make and model of the vehicle being inspected. The intent of the PPI is to uncover existing conditions or to reveal maintenance shortcomings that may become potential safety or financial issues for the buyer in the future. A basic inspection will be mostly visual, which includes putting the car on a hydraulic lift and checking for leaks or broken components. A more involved inspection will include a detailed road test where components such as steering and brakes can be assessed. A thorough inspection will include checking engine compression by performing a Leak-Down test, and computer engine analysis using On-board diagnostic equipment.
What is a Japanese Domestic Model?
The term “Japanese domestic model” (JDM), also “Japanese domestic market” refers to Japan’s home market for Japanese vehicles and components. For the importer, these terms refer to Japanese-brand automobiles and parts designed to conform to Japanese regulations and to suit Japanese buyers. Japanese domestic market vehicles may differ greatly from the cars that Japanese manufacturers build for export and vehicles derived from the same platforms built in other countries. Some of these Domestic vehicles may be Pre-Production models that are manufactured for testing on the Domestic Market and may never attain major production.
What is a “Local Dealer” model.
What is referred to as a “Local Dealer” Model is a vehicle imported and sold by an established Local Car Dealer with parts, components, and features to suit our market. The suspension of a model designed for use in the Jamaican Market may be built with stronger components that are designed for operation on Third-World road conditions. The fascia on a model destined for the Jamaican Market may differ from the same the model designated for the Japanese Domestic Market. | https://mscmckay.com/faq/ |
Kuznicki Law PLLC notifies investors that a class action has commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of shareholders of Sundial Growers Inc. who purchased shares pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement issued in connection with Sundial’s August 1, 2019 initial public stock offering.
The filed complaint alleges that defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Sundial failed to supply saleable cannabis in line with contractual obligations to Zenabis Global Inc.; (2) due to material quality issues, Zenabis had to return or reject a total of 554 kg of cannabis to Sundial, valued at approximately U.S. $1.9 million (C$2.5 million); and (3) as a result, defendants’ statements about Sundial’s business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
If you wish to choose counsel to represent you and the class, you must apply to be appointed lead plaintiff and be selected by the Court. The lead plaintiff will direct the litigation and participate in important decisions including whether to accept a settlement for the class in the action. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the respective securities during the class periods. Members of the class will be represented by the lead plaintiff and counsel chosen by the lead plaintiff. No class has yet been certified in the above action. Appointment as Lead Plaintiff is not required to partake in any recovery.
Shareholders have until November 25, 2019 to request that the court appoint them lead plaintiff. | http://kclasslaw.com/cases/securities/sundial-growers-inc-loss-submission-form/ |
Q:
Do any spacecraft orbit Mars on a polar orbit?
Polar orbit is quite common for observation satellites. It seems logic to put probes whose goal is to observe Mars (pictures, cartography) on a polar orbit around Mars. But traveling from Earth to any Mars orbit is difficult enough to avoid targeting any orbit whose inclination is far away from the ecliptic.
Have we sent any observation satellites or any other kind of probe designed to orbit over Mars on a polar orbit?
A:
Targeting an inclination for a satellite is much easier than targeting a landing spot, and both are routinely done. The trick is to know exactly what you are aiming for, and take frequent small corrective steps to ensure it will happen. Here's a list of the objects I know orbit Mars in polar (Which I define as between 80-100 inclination) orbits:
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Mars Odyssey
Mars Global Surveyor (Inactive)
Mars Express
In addition, MAVEN is in a near polar inclination (75), although not quite what I consider polar.
From NASA's May 2015 story Traffic Around Mars Gets Busy, here's a graphic depicting the relative shapes and distances from Mars for five active orbiter missions plus the planet's two natural satellites (Mars Global Surveyor is inactive and likely in safe mode since 2006):
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Open pit mines often experience problems related to groundwater inflows. To perform mineral extraction in safe conditions with high productivity, it is essential to have dry working conditions. For this reason, the groundwater table is often lowered below the elevation of the floors of the pits by using various dewatering schemes. Numerical groundwater models are powerful tools that can be used to simulate the behaviour of aquifers during dewatering operations. However, these models typically require a lot of geohydrological data which are often expensive and time-consuming to collect. When geohydrological input data are limited, artificial neural networks (ANNs) provide an alternative way of predicting the behaviour of the groundwater system under dewatering conditions. ANNs can simulate complex systems, and have been used to provide simple and accurate solutions to problems encountered in many disciplines of the earth sciences.This study investigated the possibility of predicting the impacts of pit dewatering on the aquifer system in the vicinity of open pit mines where geohydrological inputs are limited, using ANNs. First, the performance of the ANNs in predicting hydraulic head responses was evaluated by using synthetic datasets generated by a numerical groundwater model developed for a fictional mine. The synthetic datasets were then used to both train and evaluate the performance of the ANNs. The ANN found to give the best predictions of the hydraulic heads had an architecture of 2-6-1 (input-hidden-output layers) and was based on the hyperbolic tangent transfer function. This network was selected for application to real open pit mines. The selected ANN was next used to predict hydraulic heads at a number of piezometers installed at two open pit mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The only input to the ANN was the recorded hydraulics heads and the time of recording. A portion of the real dataset was used to train the ANN, while the remaining portion was used to evaluate the performance of the ANN in predicting the hydraulic heads. The results of the performance analyses indicated that the ANN successfully predicted the general behaviour of the aquifer system under dewatering conditions, using only limited input data. The results of this investigation illustrate the great potential of using ANNs to predict aquifer responses during dewatering operations in the absence of comprehensive geohydrological datasets. Since these networks recognise patterns in the training datasets without considering the underlying physical principles that govern the processes, the responses of complex systems that are dependent on numerous parameters may be predicted. | https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/xmlui/handle/11660/8068 |
We moved!
Not really.
We’re still in the same house, but we did shift things around quite a bit.
We’ve redone some rooms, shifted some other rooms, and my husband and I moved our room to our basement. This means that my basement homeschool room has become my upstairs homeschool room.
Why is this exciting?
Because I got to put together a brand new homeschool room in a different part of the house.
And the very best part?
I get a library!! It also doubles as a play room. But it is a LIBRARY!
It doesn’t have fancy ladders and is not Instagram-worthy, but I love it just the same.
And because I enjoy nothing more than peeking at other homeschool spaces, I’m going to give you a tour of each room. And don’t forget to watch the videos at the bottom of the post. They’ll give you a video tour of both the homeschool room and the library.
The Homeschool Room
In our homeschool room, we still have our wonderfully large IKEA table. It’s just two table tops bolted together sitting on four banks of drawers. We love our giant workspace where we can spread out and have lots of room to work.
Four of my kids have dedicated drawers in this school desk. Their drawers hold their curriculum, books, pencils, and papers. My oldest child has her own desk in another room.
I have a whiteboard where I can write outlines and sentences for copywork. And it’s magnetic so I can hang up chore charts and schedules and to do lists.
Our school room has my comfy chair where we curl up and read together. We have discovered that the chair can hold a maximum of four kids plus one mom. It might be a bit crowded, but we don’t care as we snuggle together and enjoy wonderful books. Next to the chair is an old nightstand that holds flashcards and other supplies for our morning time.
The closet holds a large book shelf with notebooks, art supplies, manipulatives, and science books. There are also some magnetic shelves that hold extra pencils, papers, rulers, scissors, and markers. I love that I can close the door and not see the clutter of the crowded shelves.
Our walls are filled with maps and places to hang art work. I think our room is cheerful and fun and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
The Library
Right across the hall from our new homeschool room is our library which also doubles as the playroom.
In the built-in bookcases are all of my kids’ “fun reading.” They each have several shelves for their personal books.
In the shelves to the left are our literature books for each grade level. The shelf closet to the window also holds some history books.
The shelf on the right houses all the history books by time period, starting with ancient history and progressing to modern day. And at the bottom are some of our favorite series like the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew.
The closet has another bookshelf that holds curriculum that we are not currently using this school year.
And of course, there are Legos, a play kitchen, and toys for the baby. Often during our school day, the kids take turns playing with the two youngest girls in this room. They are nearby but not in the same room where we are trying to do school. It gives us a bit of quiet, yet I can still keep an eye on them because they are close.
There you have it! That is our new homeschool space that we put together during our spring break. So, we’re getting to finish out our year while tweaking our space, and I can’t wait to start our next year with these new rooms.
Video Tours! | http://lextineclectic.com/2019/04/homeschool-room-tour-2019.html |
Phase II: Structural of the Chicago Sports Institute Off-Season program addresses these imbalances and pulls the body into proper alignment allowing you to move efficiently and reducing stress on ligaments, tendons and joints. Structural balance not only minimizes your risk of injury, but is an essential component of your training regimen as you will see significant gains in the primary muscles directly related to your sport.
To give you an idea of the benefits that are possible, I recently worked with javelin thrower who had developed imbalances between the Internal Rotators and External Rotators of the shoulder and had been experiencing significant shoulder pain for years. After her structural phase, she not only added 4.57 meters to her javelin throw but her chronic shoulder pain was resolved in just 4 weeks.
Whether you’re a javelin thrower or baseball player, or play contact sports such as football or hockey, structural balance is the first step toward optimizing your on-field performance and maintaining health all season long. | https://chicagosportsinstitute.com/articles/structural-balance/ |
There is so much more than beaches on Gran Canaria and you should save at least one day of your holidays to see the interior of the island with its picturesque villages to learn more about it's history and traditions.
Did you know that the original inhabitants were aborigines called Guanches and according to the legends they had light hair and blue eyes? There is evidence they were on the island already in the VIIth century. The island was then called Tamaran and the Guanche people were very brave and proud; during the Spanish conquest in 15th century they preferred to jump off the biggest cliff rather than be defeated by the Spanish.
If you want to learn more about Guanche history and see some archeological curiosities from the early days of Gran Canaria, visit the cave museum "Cueva pintada" in the north of the island (in Galdar). It used to be a center for rituals of the aborigenes and today apart from the museum showing us the history and origins of the island, it is also a centre for archeological studies to clear the unknown facts from the early days of the island.
Now let's learn something from Guanche language: "Tamaragua Tamaran!" Welcome to Gran Canaria!
The basic part of modern Canarian traditions and folklore are the typical Fiestas in each village. Each village has a specific dates to honour and worship their Saints and use this opportunity to organise celebrations for all the inhabitants. It takes several days or even up to several weeks, but the most important day is usually the day of the pilgrimage when everybody offers to their Patron or Patroness the best of the harvest (you can see a lot of flowers, local fruit and vegetable and of course almost always the star fruit of the archipielago - Canarian banana).
All the people wear the typical Canarian costume and dance the traditional Canarian dances to the sound of guitars and "timples" which are the typical Canarian instruments. Also on 30th of May you will see everybody dressed in the traditional Canarian costumes. It is a big day for the whole arghipelago - "Canarian Day" which commemorates the first session of the Canarian Parliament on 30/05/1983 when according to the new laws Canary Islands got the status of one of the autonomous communities of Spain.
Office:
Avenida Tomas Roca Bosch4
35130
Puerto Rico
Telephone:
0034 928 9439500034 928 943950
Email: | https://www.grancanaria-alacarta.com/history-and-traditions/ |
by Eric W. Banks and Jeffrey H. Greenwald, P.E., CAE
Structure fires have dropped significantly over the past 40 years, and one major contributor to this decline in fires and fire deaths has been the development of comprehensive fire safety measures. These include performance testing requirements of model building codes.
Building codes in the United States regulate the use of plastics, foam plastic insulation, and other combustible materials used in the building envelope through a robust combination of reference standards, material fire tests and complete assembly fire performance requirements. Combined with other building and fire code requirements—such as compartmentation, active fire suppression sprinklers, egress provisions, and height and area limitations based on building type and occupancy—these provisions for the building assembly produce cooperative layers of fire safety. It is these multiple layers of fire safety, not a single requirement, which result in safe construction.
Modern wall assemblies have become increasingly complex as critical elements of the building enclosure. Advancements in our understanding of building science, coupled with the need to improve energy efficiency and resilience of buildings, have led to innovative solutions in both building products and construction methods. Many of the innovative products available today are subject to compliance with prescriptive fire testing and performance requirements as regulated under the International Building Code (IBC). One of the critical prescribed fire tests within the IBC for exterior wall assemblies is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 285, Standard Fire Test Method for Evaluation of Fire Propagation Characteristics of Exterior Wall Assemblies Containing Combustible Components. This article discusses code aspects regarding fire safe construction and engineering judgments, and their use as a practical tool that can assist designers and building officials with assessing the compliance of exterior wall assemblies with the acceptance criteria of NFPA 285 (Figure 1).
The International Building Code
The IBC is recognized as the model building code for commercial construction, which is then adopted by state and local jurisdictions. Increasing use of energy efficient continuous insulation (ci) and innovative wall assemblies places a greater emphasis on fire performance of exterior walls; this is regulated under the IBC through NFPA 285.
Generally, NFPA 285 testing is required for combustible exterior wall assemblies containing combustible cladding, foam plastic insulation, or combustible water resistive barriers (WRB) installed on Types I, II, III, IV buildings of certain heights. Type V construction does not require NFPA 285 testing. The 2021 IBC regulates the fire safety of exterior walls containing combustible claddings, WRBs and foam plastic insulation in Chapter 14, “Exterior Walls” and Chapter 26, “Plastic.”
Chapter 14 of the IBC regulates the minimum requirements for exterior walls; exterior wall coverings; openings in the exterior wall; exterior windows and doors; and architectural trim. The provisions of Chapter 14 detail performance requirements regarding weather protection, structural performance, moisture control, reaction to fire, and flood resistance. IBC Chapter 26 contains provisions for the use of foam plastic insulation in exterior walls.
The IBC also establishes minimum requirements for building systems using prescriptive and performance-related provisions. Section 104.11, “Alternative materials, design and methods of construction and equipment,” allows the use of alternate methods, etc. with strict guidance. Approval is granted on the basis of the building official’s finding that the alternative, “…is satisfactory and complies with the intent of the provisions of this code, and that the material, method or work offered is, for the purpose intended, not less than the equivalent of that prescribed in this code in quality, strength, effectiveness, fire resistance, durability and safety.”
The model codes recognize principles of fire science and fire protection engineering allow for the reasonable extension of test results to modifications of tested assemblies using comparative analysis of pertinent fire test data. For example, IBC Chapter 7, “Fire and Smoke Protection Features” contains provisions in IBC Section 703.2 and 716.1.1 that permit the use of engineering analysis to determine fire resistance.
For those situations where the code does not provide prescriptive provisions, Section 104.11 provides building officials with duties and powers to consider supporting information such as test data and engineering analysis in their review and approval of alternative materials, designs, and methods of construction as meeting the intent of the code. Both Sections 703.2 and 716.1.1 include reference to Section 104.11 as a compliance method. Engineering analyses that extend NFPA 285 results to modifications of tested assemblies are within the scope and intent of IBC 104.11. | https://www.constructionspecifier.com/nfpa-285-engineering-judgments/ |
You can access a downloadable Word format version of this post by clicking here .
Introduction: This is the first in a series of blog posts that aim to provide a brief, "state of the art" review of where 25 years of research on therapeutic writing has got us to so far. These posts primarily focus on providing advice on evidence-based ways that individuals can use writing to reduce stress, improve physical health, and increase wellbeing. The bulk of relevant research has flowered from Jamie Pennebaker's pioneering work on the benefits of expressive writing for emotional processing of difficulties and traumas (Smyth and Pennebaker 2008 - all research studies mentioned have abstracts listed further down this post). However a series of other research groups have, more recently, developed writing applications that emerge from different understandings of what might also strengthen resilience and nourish wellbeing. Examples I introduce - in addition to writing about traumas - include personal growth, dissonance theory, affirmation theory, self-transcendence, attachment applications, and positive psychology. Usually these forms of therapeutic writing are done "privately" but, for some applications, sharing the writing - for example on the internet - can give additional benefits (Chretien, Goldman et al. 2008).
Speaking & writing: It is also worth pointing out that, in the relatively few research studies comparing writing with talking, it's been shown that these two forms of "outer" expression can be similarly helpful (Esterling, Antoni et al. 1994;; Murray and Segal 1994) - in contrast to the typical unhelpfulness of "inner" rumination and worry. If you're feeling creative this suggests fascinating ways in which conversations can be made highly beneficial - in therapy (Kelley, Lumley et al. 1997; Greenberg & Malcolm 2002), in couple relationships (Ditzen, Hoppmann et al. 2008; Suls, Green et al. 1997), in families, and between friends (Finkenauer and Rimé 1998). This writing to speaking "translation" has become easier now we know more about the benefits achieved through focus on diverse topics (see later posts) like "best possible selves", "intense peak experiences", valued areas of our lives, and so on. No doubt these effects of deeper conversations partly explain why close relationships are so important for health and wellbeing (Dickens, McGowan et al. 2004; Reis, Sheldon et al. 2000). If you're feeling really creative, it's even possible to adapt some of these ideas into internal exercises as forms of imagery, prayer and meditation.
For more on therapeutic writing, see next week's "Writing (& speaking) for resilience & wellbeing 2: traumas & difficulties" and subsequent posts.
INTRODUCTION: The hidden (informal) curriculum is blamed for its negative effects on students' humanism and professional development. To combat this, educational initiatives employing mentored reflective practice, faculty role-modeling, and feedback have been advocated. AIM: Promote reflection on professional development using collaborative, web-based technology. SETTING: Four-week basic medicine clerkship rotation at an academic institution over a one-year period. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Students were asked to contribute two reflective postings to a class web log (blog) during their rotation. They were able to read each other's postings and leave feedback in a comment section. An instructor provided feedback on entries, aimed to stimulate further reflection. Students could choose anonymous names if desired. PROGRAM EVALUATION: Ninety-one students wrote 177 posts. One-third of students left feedback comments. The majority of students enjoyed the activity and found the instructor's feedback helpful. Assessment of the posts revealed reflections on experience, heavily concerned with behavior and affect. A minority were not reflective. In some cases, the instructor's feedback stimulated additional reflection. Certain posts provided insight to the hidden curriculum. DISCUSSION: We have discovered that blogs can promote reflection, uncover elements of the hidden curriculum, and provide opportunities to promote professional development.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of depression and lack of social support before myocardial infarction (MI) in determining outcome in a large representative sample of patients admitted after MI in the UK. DESIGN: Prospective cohort design. PATIENTS: 1034 consecutive patients were screened 3-4 days after MI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality and further cardiac events over one year after an MI. RESULTS: At 12 months' follow up mortality and further cardiac events were assessed in 583 of 654 eligible patients (90% response); 140 of 589 for whom baseline data were collected (23.8%) were depressed before their MI. Patients who were depressed before their MI were not more likely to die (mortality 5.2% v 5.0% of non-depressed patients) or suffer further cardiac events (cardiac events rate 20.7% v 20.3% of non-depressed patients). After controlling for demographic factors and severity of MI, the absence of a close confidant predicted further cardiac events (hazard ratio 0.57, p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: Lack of a close confidant but not depression before MI was associated with adverse outcome after MI in this sample. This association may be mediated by unhealthy behaviours and lack of compliance with medical recommendations, but it is also compatible with difficulties in early life leading to heart disease.
Objective: To determine whether intimacy might be associated with reduced daily salivary cortisol levels in couples, thereby adding to the epidemiologic literature on reduced health burden in happy couples. Methods: A total of 51 dual-earner couples reported time spent on intimacy, stated their current affect quality, and provided saliva samples for cortisol estimation approximately every 3 hours in a 1-week time-sampling assessment. In addition, participants provided data on chronic problems of work organization. Results: Multilevel analyses revealed that intimacy was significantly associated with reduced daily salivary cortisol levels. There was an interaction effect of intimacy with chronic problems of work organization in terms of their relationship with cortisol levels, suggesting a buffering effect of intimacy on work-related elevated cortisol levels. Above this, the association between intimacy and cortisol was mediated by positive affect. Intimacy and affect together explained 7% of daily salivary cortisol variance. Conclusions: Our results are in line with previous studies on the effect of intimacy on cortisol stress responses in the laboratory as well as with epidemiologic data on health beneficial effects of happy marital relationships.
Healthy Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) seropositive undergraduates (N = 57) completed a personality inventory, provided blood samples, and were randomly assigned to write or talk about stressful events, or to write about trivial events, during three weekly 20-min sessions, after which they provided a final blood sample. Individuals assigned to the verbal/stressful condition had significantly lower EBV antibody titers (suggesting better cellular immune control over the latent virus) after the intervention than those in the written/stressful group, who had significantly lower values than those in the written/trivial control group. Subjects assigned to the written/stressful condition expressed more negative emotional words than the verbal/stressful and control groups and more positive emotional words than the verbal/stressful group at each time point. The verbal/stressful group expressed more negative emotional words compared with the control group at baseline. Content analysis indicated that the verbal/stressful group achieved the greatest improvements in cognitive change, self-esteem, and adaptive coping strategies.
This study related the process of the resolution of unfinished business with a significant other to therapeutic outcome in a population of 26 clients who suffered from various forms of interpersonal problems and childhood maltreatment. Clients were treated in emotion-focused, experiential therapy with gestalt empty-chair dialogues. Those clients who expressed previously unmet interpersonal needs to the significant other, and manifested a shift in their view of the other, had significantly better treatment outcomes. The presence of the specific process of resolution in the clients' empty-chair dialogues was also found to be a better predictor of outcome than the working alliance. Degree of emotional arousal was found to discriminate between resolvers and nonresolvers.
This study examined the effects of emotional disclosure of stressful events on the pain, physical and affective dysfunction, and joint condition of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients were randomly assigned to talk privately about stressful events (disclosure group, n = 36) or about trivial topics (control group, n = 36) for 4 consecutive days. Disclosure resulted in immediate increases in negative mood. At 2 weeks the 2 groups did not differ on any health measure, but at 3 months disclosure patients had less affective disturbance and better physical functioning in daily activities. There was no main effect of disclosure on pain or joint condition, but among the disclosure patients, those who experienced larger increases in negative mood after talking demonstrated improvements in the condition of their joints. This study concludes that, among RA patients, verbal disclosure and emotional processing of stressful life events induces an immediate negative mood followed by improved psychological functioning.
The purpose of this study was to compare vocal and written expression of feeling about interpersonal traumatic and trivial events in 20-min sessions over a 4-day period. Similar emotional processing was produced by vocal and written expression of feeling about traumatic events. The painfulness of the topic decreased steadily over the 4 days. At the end, both groups felt better about their topics and themselves and also reported positive cognitive changes. A content analysis of the sessions suggested greater overt expression of emotion and related changes in the vocal condition. Finally, there was an upsurge in negative emotion after each session of either vocal or written expression. These results suggest that previous findings that psychotherapy ameliorated this negative mood upsurge could not be attributed to the vocal character of psychotherapy.
Emotional well-being is most typically studied in trait or trait-like terms, yet a growing literature indicates that daily (within-person) fluctuations in emotional well-being may be equally important. The present research explored the hypothesis that daily variations may be understood in terms of the degree to which three basic needs - autonomy, competence, and relatedness - are satisfied in daily activity. Hierarchical linear models were used to examine this hypothesis across 2 weeks of daily activity and well-being reports controlling for trait-level individual differences. Results strongly supported the hypothesis. The authors also examined the social activities that contribute to satisfaction of relatedness needs. The best predictors were meaningful talk and feeling understood and appreciated by interaction partners. Finally, the authors found systematic day-of-the-week variations in emotional well-being and need satisfaction. These results are discussed in terms of the importance of daily activities and the need to consider both trait and day-level determinants of well-being.
This is a great introduction to the journals special section on "Boundary conditions of expressive writing" and its 19 associated articles. What once appeared to be a straightforward intervention is turning out to be much more complex than initially thought.
The relationship between protective buffering, a style of coping in which the individual hides his/her concerns from spouse, and level of distress was studied among post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients and their spouses. Forty-three male married MI survivors and their wives completed measures of psychological distress and protective buffering at 4 weeks and 6 months post-hospital discharge. At both time periods, a greater propensity for protective buffering by the patient was related to higher levels of patient distress. Protective buffering by wife was also associated with higher levels of wife distress. In addition, patient buffering at 4 weeks predicted increased patient distress at 6 months. The results suggest that male MI patients who conceal their worries from their spouses adjust more poorly over time. | http://goodmedicine.org.uk/stressedtozest/2010/01/writing-speaking-resilience-wellbeing-1-introduction |
October 13, 2021 – The Singapore Tourism Board has announced that vaccinated U.S. and Canadian tourists can now visit the island destination once again. With Singapore’s high vaccination rate, the destination is moving to the next step of the safe reopening of the tourism sector by implementing local measures to keep travelers and residents safe, abiding by the requirements on COVID-19 prevention and Singapore public health regulations.
With visitor’s safety being a top priority, Singapore has implemented “Safe Travel Lanes” to facilitate travel, providing details on testing protocols, vaccination requirements, and other distancing and social regulations. To raise hygiene standards and transform the cleanliness levels of public spaces, the SG Clean campaign was launched in February 2020, which requires tourism establishments to adhere to stringent levels of the “SG Clean Quality” mark.
As part of Singapore’s efforts to reopen borders safely, fully vaccinated U.S. and Canadian travelers looking to make future travel plans can safely enter and depart Singapore via the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL).
For travelers vaccinated in the U.S. or Canada, Singapore is currently accepting vaccination certificates issued in the SMART Health Card (SHC) format, by issuers in Canada or the U.S. on the Common Trust Network. Vaccinated travelers will be required to undergo two COVID-19 PCR tests, including a pre-departure PCR test within 48 hours of their scheduled departure and obtain a negative test result. They will also need to take on-arrival test at Changi Airport and remain self-isolated until their test result is confirmed to be negative.
Travelers visiting Singapore under the VTL must travel into Singapore on designated VTL flights. Short-term visitors must purchase travel insurance for the entire duration of their stay in Singapore, with a minimum coverage of S$30,000 (about $22,102) for COVID-19-related medical treatment and hospitalization costs, prior to travel to Singapore.
Visitors who wish to travel under the VTL will need to apply for a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP) seven to 30 days prior to the intended date of entry into Singapore. Applications for the VTP will open on October 12, 2021 for entry into Singapore on or after October 19, 2021. More details on the VTL requirements into Singapore can be found at https://safetravel.ica.gov.sg/
For the latest travel updates on Singapore, visit www.visitsingapore.com
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Canada has announced that visitors from the United States will once again be able to enter the country from August 9, 2021 — if they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Foreign nationals have been prohibited from entering the country for non-essential reasons for around 16 months, as part of Canada’s coronavirus travel restrictions. Now,
Visa Requirements for Cuban Citizens
Visa requirements for citizens of Cuba are administrative entry restrictions placed on Cuban passport holders by the authorities of countries and territories around the globe and dictate whether it is necessary to obtain a visa or travel authorization to travel to a destination.
As of 2021, the Henley Passport Index ranks the Cuban passport 79th in terms of travel freedom among the passports of the world, tied with the Moroccan passport. This is because nationals of Cuba are granted access visa-free or with a visa on arrival to around 50 countries worldwide.
At present, there are roughly 25 visa-free countries for Cuban citizens. Most of these destinations permit travelers from Cuba a short-term visa-exempt stay of between 21 days up to 3 months, although Cuban passport holders are permitted an unlimited stay in Kazakhstan without a visa.
Approximately 35 countries have implemented an Electronic Travel Visa Authorization program for citizens of Cuba, which allows Cuban travelers to easily obtain an eVisa or visa waiver for their destination through a simple online application and eliminate the need to wait in long immigration queues to apply for a visa on arrival at border checkpoints.
Electronic travel authorizations and eVisas for Cuban passport holders are most often granted for visits for tourism purposes, business or trade activities, or transit. They permit a stay of between 15 and 120 days depending on the country of issue.
To visit these countries for long-term stays and purposes such as to undertake employment or study, it is necessary to apply for an embassy visa for Cuban citizens from a diplomatic government office of the destination in advance.
Additionally, an approved visa from an embassy is a necessary requirement to visit up to 160 countries regardless of the duration of stay or purpose of the travel.
Find a more detailed breakdown of the different entry types for nationals of Cuba below. | https://www.onlinevisa.com/visa-requirements/cuban/ |
A Spanish court has ordered that the remains of Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí be exhumed to carry out a paternity test. According to the BBC, a Madrid judge ruled that because there are no other known biological remains that could be used to carry out the test, his body would have to be exhumed.
“The DNA study of the painter’s corpse is necessary due to the lack of other biological or personal remains with which to perform the comparative study,” the decision read, according to the Guardian.
Maria Pilar Abel Martínez, a tarot card reader who was born in 1956, first publicly claimed to be Dalí’s daughter in 2015. She says her mother had been a maid for a family in Cadaqués in 1955, where the artist was living at the time with his wife Gala Dalí (the Dalís never had children). Martínez says her mother met Dalí and that they “had a friendship that developed into clandestine love,” according to court documents she filed in 2015. Martínez claims her mother repeatedly told her that Dalí was her father.
Though Martínez attempted to conduct two paternity tests in 2007 using hair and skin samples taken from a death mask of the artist, the results were inconclusive. Now, the court’s ruling has set the stage for the artist’s body to be exhumed from its crypt at the Dalí Theater and Museum in Figueres, possibly as early as next month. However, the Dalí Foundation — which runs the museum — plans to appeal the court’s decision.
According to the BBC, if the body is exhumed and the result of the paternity test is positive, Martínez would be entitled to not only use the Dalí name, but could also claim part of the artist’s estate, which he left to the Spanish state.
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Adrian Ghenie and the Soup of Fame
Ghenie’s paintings of Marilyn Monroe are a relentless representation of a howling, turbulent tragedy, a face broken into crude sideways slewings and gougings and gorgings of paint. | https://hyperallergic.com/387410/in-surreal-twist-court-orders-dalis-body-exhumed-for-paternity-test/ |
Katie Ann McGuigan's SS18 collection was made up from secondary colours and bold geometric prints. The exploration of volume and contrast used layers, textures, ruffles, laser cutting, leather and organza to make for an eye-catching show. Researching different artists, photographers, and authors, McGuigan was particularly inspired by the ones that captured the attention of young people. This youthfulness could be seen in the dewy, fresh-faced models, with their slicked back hair.
It was a high end, feminine collection that saw complimentary colours such as yellow, purple, blue and orange was used to create striking patterns. Geometric print continued throughout the collection, offering a sense of uniformity. A coherent styling technique noted in the particular layering of the garments and material, added texture to the pieces. Lightweight fabrics, such as tulle and chiffon moved beautifully with the models every step, while heavier leather and knot pieces, holding their architectural structure. | http://fashionscout.co.uk/news-home/katie-ann-mcguigan-ss18-show-insight |
Illustrator provides the option to join two or more open paths. To join one or more open paths, use the Selection tool to select the open paths and click Object > Path > Join. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Windows) or Cmd+J (Mac).
Why can’t I join lines in Illustrator?
“To join, you must select two open endpoints. If they are not on the same path, they cannot be on text paths nor inside graphs, and if both of them are grouped, they must be in the same group.”
How do I merge intersecting lines in Illustrator?
click to the end point from first line then select end point from the second line, press cmd + j (join), now your edges from both line will be merge/join. Another way, you can convert the lines into shape, and union using pathfinder.
How do I select two overlapping paths in Illustrator?
Select your text, then hold down shift and select the shape behind it. 2. Hold down alt, then click the intersect button. Voila! | https://bobbingwidewebdesign.com/photoshop-tutorial/your-question-how-do-you-join-two-lines-in-illustrator.html |
The Department of Labor’s workplace safety watchdog has quietly crafted a legal interpretation of a longstanding rule that will allow labors representatives into non-union shops.
The department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a February guidance letter made public in April saying that labor union officials could participate in safety inspections at the request of an employee even if the employer is non-union.
“A person affiliated with a union without a collective bargaining agreement or with a community representative can act on behalf of employees as a walkaround representative so long as the individual has been authorized by the employees to serve as their representative,” wrote OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Richard E. Fairfax.
OSHA conducts thousands of inspections on workplaces across the country every year, focusing particularly on the manufacturing sector. Employees are entitled to select an observer to accompany OSHA investigators on the inspections.
While union shops often select stewards to represent them, non-union workers select an employee to join the “walkaround.” The new OSHA interpretation would allow outside parties, such as union representatives, to enter the workplace for the first time.
Some labor watchdogs say that the interpretation is a Trojan horse, intended to help union officials gain entry into a workplace they would normally be excluded from without majority support from workers.
Fairfax issued the interpretation in response to a clarification request from a representative with the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union.
The regulation allows for third party experts, such as industrial hygienist or safety engineers to visit the site, but no mention is made of labor groups. Fairfax couched his interpretation in vague terms and extended the third-party language to unions.
Fairfax has since retired, according to an OSHA official. He could not be reached for comment.
OSHA spokesman Jesse Lawder denied that the interpretation departed from previous understanding of labor regulations because the field operations manual allows for third party inspections.
Principe and other labor attorneys disagreed, pointing out that such language has referred to union shops, rather than non-union workplaces.
Principe said that the new interpretation’s vagueness could “cause lengthy delays” on inspections, especially the hundreds of surprise visits OSHA makes every year.
The letter does not make clear how many employees are required to request a union representative before one must be called. The OSHA investigator would then have to make a spot decision about how to proceed or call regional or national attorneys to decipher the rule.
“Presumably under this interpretation, any employee could say ‘well I want a union rep to accompany OSHA,’ even if it’s just on behalf of himself,” he said.
Employers who want to avoid union proselytizing through safety inspections would be left with little recourse other than rejecting a safety inspection and asking OSHA investigators to obtain a warrant before entering the premises with union officials, according to Principe.
OSHA does not have to post its response to letters on the website, according to Principe, and when it does, “it’s making a point.” The department hammered that point home when it edited a 2003 OSHA advisory that presented a contradictory, but traditional, interpretation of walkarounds.
“This is an OSHA Archive Document, and may no longer represent OSHA Policy. It is presented here as historical content, for research and review purposes only,” the site now says.
Principe’s Constangy, Brooks, & Smith colleague, labor relations expert David Phippen, said the issue extends beyond the practical implications on an inspection site. The interpretation could allow union officials onto a site without having the approval of a company’s workers.
A federal court on Tuesday blocked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from issuing a rule that would require employers to post notices explaining workers’ collective bargaining rights.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered that an emergency injunction on the rule be granted, pending appeal. The poster rule was set to go into effect on April 30, but will now be delayed until the appeal is decided.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace asked for the injunction after U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed their legal challenge last month.
“The facts in this case and the law have always been on the side of manufacturers, and we believe that granting an injunction is the appropriate course of action for the court. The ‘posting requirement’ is an unprecedented attempt by the board to assert power and authority it does not possess,” said Jay Timmons, NAM’s president and CEO, in a statement.
Timmons said the manufacturers’ group will “aggressively pursue” the appeal to overturn the rule.
Other business groups celebrated the injunction.
ABC is a member of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace.
The injunction comes after U.S. District Judge David Norton ruled Friday that the labor board went beyond its legal authority when issuing the rule. That lawsuit was brought last year by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
The NLRB said its regional offices will not implement the rule until the appeal is decided. Further, the labor board will appeal a part of Berman Jackson’s ruling that raised questions about the rule’s enforcement mechanisms, as well as Norton’s ruling that said the agency did not have the legal authority to issue the rule. | http://www.cruzandassociates.com/index.php?/posts/2013/05/ |
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IMPROVING FAIRNESS, EFFICIENCY, AND STABILITY IN HTTP-BASED ADAPTIVE VIDEO STREAMING WITH FESTIVE
ABSTRACT:
Many commercial video players rely on bitrate adaptation logic to adapt the bitrate in response to changing network conditions. Past measurement studies have identified issues with today’s commercial players with respect to three key metrics—efficiency, fairness, and stability—when multiple bitrate-adaptive players share a bottleneck link. Unfortunately, our current understanding of why these effects occur and how they can be mitigated is quite limited.
In this paper, we present a principled understanding of bitrate adaptation and analyze several commercial players through the lens of an abstract player model. Through this framework, we identify the root causes of several undesirable interactions that arise as a consequence of overlaying the video bitrate adaptation over HTTP. Building on these insights, we develop a suite of techniques that can systematically guide the tradeoffs between stability, fairness and efficiency and thus lead to a general framework for robust video adaptation. We pick one concrete instance from this design space and show that it significantly outperforms today’s commercial players on all three key metrics across a range of experimental scenarios.
EXISTING SYSTEM:
Video traffic is becoming the dominant share of Internet traffic today. This growth in video is accompanied, and in large part driven, by a key technology trend: the shift from customized connection-oriented video transport protocols (e.g., RTMP) to HTTP-based adaptive streaming protocols. With an HTTP-based adaptive streaming protocol, a video player can dynamically (at the granularity of seconds) adjust the video bitrate based on the available network bandwidth. As video traffic is expected to dominate Internet traffic , the design of robust adaptive HTTP streaming algorithms is important not only for the performance of video applications, but also the performance of the Internet as a whole. Drawing an analogy to the early days of the Internet, a robust TCP was critical to prevent “congestion collapse”; we are potentially at a similar juncture today with respect to HTTP streaming protocols. Building on this high-level analogy, it is evident that the design of a robust adaptive video algorithm must look beyond single player view to account for the interactions across multiple adaptive streaming players that compete at bottleneck links.
DISADVANTAGES OF EXISTING SYSTEM:
- A robust TCP was critical to prevent “congestion collapse”.
- It fails to achieve one or more of efficiency, fairness, and stability properties when two players compete at a bottleneck link.
- It worsens as the number of competing players increases.
PROPOSED SYSTEM:
We systematically study these problems through the lens of an abstract video player that needs to implement three key components (1) scheduling a specific video “chunk” to be downloaded, (2) selecting the bitrate for each chunk, and (3) estimating the bandwidth. At a high-level, the aforementioned problems arise as a result of overlaying the adaptation logic on top of several layers that may hide the true network state. Consequently, the feedback signal that the player receives from the network is not a true reflection of the network state. Furthermore, this feedback can also be biased by the decisions the player makes as well. Specifically, we observe that periodic chunk scheduling used in conjunction with stateless bitrate selection used by players today can lead to undesirable feedback
loops with bandwidth estimation and cause unnecessary bitrate switches and unfairness in the choice of bitrates. We leverage measurement-driven insights to design robust mechanisms for the three player components to overcome these biases. Our specific recommendations are (Section 3): (1) randomized chunk scheduling to avoid synchronization biases in sampling the network state, (2) a stateful bitrate selection that compensates for the biased interaction between bitrate and estimated bandwidth, (3) a delayed update approach to tradeoff stability and efficiency, and (4) a bandwidth estimator that uses the harmonic mean of download speed over recent chunks to be robust to outliers. Taken together, these approaches define a family of adaptation algorithms that vary in the tradeoff across fairness, efficiency, and stability. For example, we can consider player designs that choose the randomized scheduling with the stateful bitrate selection, without implementing the delayed update or the new bandwidth estimator.
ADVANTAGES OF PROPOSED SYSTEM:
- It has robust mechanisms for chunk scheduling, bandwidth estimation, and bitrate selection.
- It explores the design space of adaptive video algorithms with the goals of fairness, stability, and efficiency.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATION:-
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:-
üProcessor - Pentium –IV
üSpeed - 1.1 Ghz
üRAM - 512 MB(min)
üHard Disk - 40 GB
üKey Board - Standard Windows Keyboard
üMouse - Two or Three Button Mouse
üMonitor - LCD/LED
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS:
- Operating system: Windows XP
- Coding Language: Java
- Data Base : MySQL
- Tool : Net Beans IDE
REFERENCE:
Junchen Jiang,Vyas Sekar, Hui Zhang,“Improving Fairness, Efficiency, and Stability in HTTP-based Adaptive Video Streaming with FESTIVE”IEEE/ACM TRANSACTIONS ON NETWORKING, VOL. 22, NO. 1, Feb. 2014. | http://lansainformatics.com/improving-fairness-efficiency-and-stability-in-http-based-adaptive-video-streaming-with-festive/ |
Sector: Ports | Module 3: Tools and Resources
The PPP process outlined in this toolkit includes four Readiness Checks (RCs); one in each Phase of the Process. The Readiness Checks happen at key milestones in project development. As the name suggests, the purpose of the Readiness Checks is to help make sure that the PPP project is ready for the next stage and to highlight areas where the quality of preparation can be improved.
A tool – the Readiness Filter – has been developed to be used at each of the four Readiness Checks. There is one Readiness Filter for each Readiness Check.
Each Readiness Check is intended to assist the Project Officer at key stages of the process by providing an informal assessment of:
The specific purpose and timing of each Readiness Check is:
The Readiness Check is not intended to replace the external clearance and approval requirements built into the process. Decisions on whether to submit the proposed PPP project for subsequent formal clearance and approval will be taken by the Project Officer and are not dependent on the conclusions of the Readiness Check. The review and approval process may reach different conclusions to those of the Readiness Check. However, the Readiness Check will help the Project Officer in deciding whether to submit the project or to further improve its readiness prior to submission. | https://www.pppinindia.gov.in/toolkit/ports/module3-r-filter-utrf-potrf.php?links=tools6&links1=tools6a&links2=tools6a1&token= |
Little is known about how the leaf bacterial community is affected by the seed microbiota at different stages of plant development. The bacterial populations of spinach seed and leaves after germination were compared using DGGE, to assess bacterial community richness, and real-time PCR to compare the abundance of select phyla (total bacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, α-Proteobacteria and β- Proteobacteria). To determine the effect of environment, the plants were grown in the field and growth chambers. Vertical transmission of bacterial community members was evident; the developmental stage of the plant affected the richness and abundance of select bacterial phyla. The bacterial richness of plants grown in the two environments was not affected. However, overall numbers of bacteria increased in field grown samples in comparison to those produced in growth chambers during development. A statistically significant interaction was seen between growth stage and environment with each of the selected phyla. Populations on cotyledons were smaller than mature leaves, but were not significantly different than the 3-4 leaf stage plants. The culturable populations of bacteria on seeds (~5 log CFU/g) were significantly smaller than determined using real time PCR (~7 log copies). Of these bacteria cultured from spinach seeds, isolates belonging to the genera Pantoea were found to inhibit growth of E. coli O157:H7 in vitro. This study highlights the importance of vertical transmission on the bacterial community of plants and suggests the importance of developing strategies to influence these communities on seed to control human and plant pathogens on the leaf surface.
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Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
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Soil microbial function in a time of global change: effect of dairy antibiotics on soil microbial communities and ecosystem function Wepking, Carl (Virginia Tech, 2018-09-24)Antibiotic resistance is ubiquitous due to high usage of antibiotics and the capability of bacteria to transfer genes both horizontally and vertically. While this has dire implications for human health, the potential to ...
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Impact of Microbial Inhibitors on the Nutritive Value of and Microbial Growth in Alfalfa Hay Containerized for Exported from the Humid Eastern U.S. Quick, Kyle Kennedy (Virginia Tech, 2017-07-18)The arid conditions found in the west allow for the production of high quality hay for export. However, hay production in this region is highly dependent upon irrigation. There is significant interest in developing a hay ...
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Local and regional influences over soil microbial metacommunities in the Transantarctic Mountains Sokol, E. R.; Herbold, C. W.; Lee, C. K.; Cary, S. C.; Barrett, J. E. (Ecological Society of America, 2013-11)The metacommunity concept provides a useful framework to assess the influence of local and regional controls over diversity patterns. Culture-independent studies of soil microbial communities in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of ... | https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/34211 |
Theoretical development and practical realization of ideas decisions and arrangements, connected with the sport humanization, are the most difficult and up-to-date task of sport science and social discourse on problems of sports.
The necessity arises not only to understand the whole range of questions, connected with development of non-humanistic tendencies in sport but also to work out practical tendencies. The greatest difficulty is that the best intensions and theory bring together with that sport humanization is opposed to intention of sport activity, connected with the aspiration of its object for distinguishing the limits of human abilities in sport.
The problem, connected with the tendencies of going out of the saturation point, arise on certain value and normative ground. The roots are in the development of technical tendencies, in the cult of power and activism, in assimilation of social and natural processes, in pre-eminence of thingish connections and in person transformation into a week link because of the complexes, created by the society. That´s why the solution of the problem of sport humanization is connected with understanding of dangerous perspectives of realization of adhocracy thinking and form of practice. The sport humanization is connected with treatment of a person as integrity whose corporal and spiritual manifestations represent indissoluble unity.
Now measurements are being taken against activity directed towards the artificial improvement of results (use of dope). New methods of training and competition process are being developed. There is an interesting conception, which is based on the creation of such conditions of training and competitions when the sportsman´s organism reaction to the training load will not go out of the saturation point. [1. P.52]
The problem is that the majority of illnesses connected with the sport activity are caused by the disparity of used training loads. Because of that overstrain and overexertion occurs, they are followed by worsening of immunity and body resistance. Russian science promotes interesting ideas about the necessity of such training organization when the result will be registered only when the sportsman perform his action within the limits of optimum work of organism. [1. P.52]
Such way of training and competition process organization demands great efforts and technical supply. However, the main obstacle is in the stereotypes of sport thinking according to which the sportsman is supposed to win in spite of the signals about inadequate effort load sent by the organism. [6. P.44]
However, even now there is a project directed to the correction and overcoming the stereotypes of this kind. The question is that there is an opposition between the principal of adhocracy according to witch the sportsman is supposed to win even if he has to overcome the saturation point of his efforts and the principal of fair play when the sportsman can not use intolerable methods to gain the victory. This principal is the basis of the sport practice developing on the ground of the Olympic ideas. It implies respect for the adversary and for yourself. Without fair play, the competition becomes rude and humiliating and it is manifested in the behavior of the sportsman. [3. p.10] The fair play characterizes the manner of action following from self-respect and including honesty, conscientiousness worthy behavior in the situations when others do not play fair; positive and cooperative respect for the partner, adversary and referee; ability to be modest after the victory and suffer a defeat in a calm way. [3. p.18] That is why the strengthening of the principal of fair play demands constant opposition to the principal of victory which is based in the idea of new sport result, record, victory over the adversary and success.
This evidence concerns that there are certain difficulties in achieving the principal of fair play. First, sport can not be absolutely bound to this principal because of its nature and the peculiarities of the competition process, which demand comparison of results and making new records. Moreover, there will always be people who will decide to make these records at any price.
The realization of the principal of fait play is the main task for the Olympic sport and sport of high results.
Today the programs directed toward the realization of this principal include:
- changing the slogan of the Olympic movement which should be connected with the humanistic values (from the point of view of sculptor Taite McKenzy the slogan should be as follows: "Speed, lightness, courage and fair play"; the president of international schools of physical education consider that it should be as follows: "better, more beautiful and more humane"; there are also other propositions.
- Broadening the practice of choosing sportsmen at the Olympic Games, who have realized the Olympic ideals and at the end of the competition award with the medal with the following inscription: "Humanism thanks to sport".
- Stirring and propagandizing the activity of international committees Play Fair and other similar organization
- Improving the judicial or referee´s regulations changing points concerning more precise classification of the breaching the code of the competitions
- Developing new competition and games directed towards humanism. A lot of propositions are promoted to solve the problem of competition process in which the change in rules would be possible ( by appointment of all the participants), they would become more democratic, humanistic, available for all the people irrespective of the age, level of preparation, state of health (disability and so on). And this approach is supposed to preserve such orientations as competition, superiority, maximum results, measuring and comparing the results. [4. p.9]
It is possible to make the point clear as a lot of specialists and sport representatives claim that professional preparing of athlete in a big-time sport achieves such a high level that there is no point to speak about amateur sport. That is why creation of legal rules of a big-time sport is the essential part of the process of humanization.
The aim result of sport activity should not come to gaining the record but assist in physical and personal development, improve person´s vital capacity and health.
Further studying of sport inevitably should be connected with more profound studying the problem of humanization and with determining the methods of it salvation. It is necessary to single out the problem of discovering and actualization of such strategies as development of sport practice in which the humanistic nature of sport would be manifested in a better way.
References:
- Grayevskaya N.D. Sport and health // Theory and practice of physical culture. 1996. N4. P. 52.
- Gostev R.G., Guskov S.I. Transformation of Olympism ideals // Sport for all. 2001. N3, 4. P. 5.
- Sport proclamation. M.: Soviet sport, 1971. P. 10-31.
- Matveyev L.P. What does «Sport for all» mean? // Sport for all. 2000. N3. P. 9.
- Pankov V.A. Physical culture and sport in healthy life style // Theory and practice of physical culture. 2000. N6. P. 20.
- Cherkesov Yu.T. How to render sport safe. Theory and practice of physical culture. 1996. N3. P. 44. Stolyarov V.I., Barinova I.V., Kurilo S.I. Youth and Olympic idea "Fair Play". // Theory and practice of physical culture. 1994. N8. P.3-7.
- Stolyarov V.I., Barinova I.V., Kurilo S.I. Youth and Olympic idea "Fair Play". // Theory and practice of physical culture. 1994. N8. P. 6. | http://world-science.ru/en/article/view?id=20729 |
In vivo toxicity study of N-1-sulfonylcytosine derivatives and their mechanisms of action in cervical carcinoma cell line.
New N-1-sulfonylpyrimidines showed potent growth inhibitory activity against human and mouse tumour cells of different origin. 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)cytosine (TsC) and 1-(p-toluenesulfonyl)cytosine hydrochloride (TsC × HCl) inhibited the growth of human cervical carcinoma cells (HeLa), and had no significant cytotoxic effects on normal human foreskin fibroblasts (BJ). TsC and TsC × HCl interfered with the HeLa cell cycle progression bringing about the accumulation of G1 phase cells and the induction of apoptosis. Antiproliferative effects of TsC and TsC × HCl were additionally confirmed by investigating de novo synthesis of RNA, DNA and proteins in HeLa cells. Monitoring gene expression using DNA Chip Analysis and quantitative PCR showed that TsC × HCl affects the expression of several cell-cycle regulating genes implying that cell cycle arrest and DNA damage-induced apoptosis might account for the observed cellular effects. In vivo experiments revealed low toxicity of TsC × HCl, as demonstrated by unaltered haematological and metabolic blood parameters. In conclusion, potent antitumour efficacy and low toxicity of new compounds in comparison with the common chemotherapy drug 5-FU make them promising anticancer agents. Additional pre-clinical and clinical studies are warranted to illuminate the mode of action of these newly synthesized compounds in vivo, which would lay the groundwork for their further optimization.
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Are you still using the OLD and OUTDATED CV format?
CV Format UPDATES for the year 2022 REVEALED
Find details here
procurement jobs, cost analysis jobs,
Procurement Officer
FP Kenya Country Strategic Plan is based on the National Zero Hunger Strategic Review, as well as the United Nations Development Assistance Framework. It contributes to Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17, as well as WFP Strategic Results 1, 4, 5 and 8, through four specific outcomes:
- Refugees and asylum seekers living in camps/settlements and populations affected by natural and man-made disasters have access to adequate food to meet their food and nutrition needs.
- Targeted smallholder producers, food-insecure and vulnerable populations benefit from sustainable, inclusive food systems and increased resilience to climate shocks to meet food and nutrition needs by 2023.
- National and county institutions in Kenya have strengthened capacity and systems to assist food-insecure and nutritionally vulnerable populations by 2023.
- Government, humanitarian and development partners in Kenya have access to and benefit from effective and cost-efficient logistics services, including air transport, common coordination platforms, and improved commodity supply chains.
WFP Kenya works in some of the remotest parts of the country, working with local communities to deliver on our promise to enhance food securiy, eliminate mulnutrition and strengthen food systems. We work with the national and country governments as well as national and international actors, including other UN bodies, the private sector and individuals of goodwill.
(NOTE: Get a 6 Figure Salary Even Without a Degree or Masters working with NGOs and the UN. Get More Details Here.)
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
This is a leadership role that heads a small team of procurement staff and reports to the Senior Deputy Country Director. The holder of the position is expected to operate with a high degree of independence, and guide more junior staff to ensure effective procurement services.
JOB PURPOSE
This position will head the Procurement Unit and the primary responsibility is to oversee collection, analysis and reporting on information to maximize efficiency of procurement operations and activities.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)
- Contribute towards the development of procurement plans and processes ensuring compliance with wider procurement policies and WFP standards.
- Support or manage procurement programs and operational activities, (e.g. issue tenders, evaluate offers and negotiate/award contracts), following standard processes to contributing to successful procurement of food and non-food commodities or services.
- Track and analyse data to provide recommendations for process improvement.
- Collate data and contribute to preparation of accurate and timely reports of procurement activities, to contribute to a WFP wide view that enables informed decision making and consistency of information presented to stakeholders, leading to performance optimization.
- Collate information and draft appropriate responses to recommendations to support auditing of procurement activities and ensure conformity with compliance rules.
- Work in close collaboration with internal counterparts and external partners including suppliers, superintendents, companies, etc to align procurement activities with wider programmes and ensure a coherent approach to meeting food assistance needs.
- Support training of WFP staff to take a strategic and proactive approach to the procurement of food and non-food commodities and services, for example designing and reviewing training materials.
- Guide and supervise more junior staff, acting as a point of referral and supporting them with more complex analysis and queries.
- Follow standard emergency preparedness practices to ensure WFP is able to quickly respond and deploy food and needed goods and services to affected areas at the onset of the crisis.
- Act in an assigned emergency response capacity as required to meet emergency food assistance needs.
- Other responsibilities as required.
STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Advanced University degree in Economics, Commerce, Business Administration, Engineering, Legal or Accounting or other relevant field. Applicants with a first University degree in Procurement related field with two (2) additional years of related work experience or trainings/courses will be considered.
Work Experience: Five years or more postgraduate progressive professional (managerial) experience in procurement or related field with a minimum of 2 years in a leadership role.
Language: Fluency (level C) in English language and the duty station’s language.
DESIRED EXPERIENCES FOR ENTRY INTO THE ROLE
- Experience with procurement activities (Vendor Management, Commodity/Product/Service Intelligence, Systems & Reporting, Tendering and Contracting and Ethics and Compliance etc.).
- Experience conducting cost analysis.
- Experience working with vendors or other partners.
4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES
Purpose:
Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Understands WFP’s Strategic Objectives and the link to own work objectives.
Be a force for positive change: Flexibly adapts individual contributions to accommodate changes in direction from supervisors and internal/external changes (such as evolving needs of beneficiaries, new requirements of partners).
Make the mission inspiring to our team: Recognizes and shares with team members the ways in which individual contributions relate to WFP’s mission.
Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Sets own goals in alignment with WFP’s overall operations, and is able to communicate this link to others.
People:
Look for ways to strengthen people’s skills: Assesses own strengths and weaknesses to increase self-awareness, and includes these in conversations on own developmental needs.
Create an inclusive culture: Participates in open dialogue, and values the diverse opinion of others, regardless of background, culture, experience, or country assignment.
Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Proactively seeks feedback and coaching to build confidence, and develop and improve individual skills.
Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Participates in accomplishing team activities and goals in the face of challenging circumstances.
Performance:
Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Shows willingness to explore and experiment with new ideas and approaches in own work.
Focus on getting results: Consistently delivers results within individual scope of work on time, on budget and without errors.
Make commitments and make good on commitments: Commits to upholding individual accountabilities and responsibilities in the face of ever-changing country or functional priorities.
Be Decisive: Makes rational decisions about individual activities when faced with uncertain circumstances, including in times of ambiguity regarding information or manager direction.
Partnership:
Connect and share across WFP units: Seeks to understand and adapt to internal or cross-unit teams’ priorities and preferred working styles.
Build strong external partnerships: Demonstrates ability to understand and appropriately respond to and/or escalate needs of external partners.
Be politically agile & adaptable: Portrays an informed and professional demeanor toward internal and external partners and stakeholders.
Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Provides operational support on analyses and assessments that quantifies and demonstrates WFP’s unique value as a partner. | https://www.careerpoint-solutions.com/latest-job-opening-at-world-food-programme-wfp/ |
"Vivid narrative in a tough topic"
Nighthawk
The books subject matter is both heart-rending and agonizing but the author deftly constructs a vivid narrative, which you want to read. The characters are believable and you’re pulled into their experiences, feeling their highs and lows. The tale will make you think about what’s happening in the world today in those places you may not otherwise read or know about. This is a very well written book and although dealing with a tough topic you’ll be pleased you read it. Therefore, I sincerely recommend you read this book.
D.E. Howard
After a shared loss Tyler and John decide to get away for a while and go to Haiti to help the construction of an orphanage. What they didn't expect while they were there was for a small child to be abducted, they certainly didn't expect for no one, not even the authorities, to have any intention of doing anything about it.
Unable to accept the situation Tyler and John decide to do all they can to track the girl down and bring her home. They had no idea what they were getting into as they came face to face with violence, danger and threats of death.
This is a great read with plenty of twists as we discover the world of human trafficking, from the view of Tyler and John, those who have been taken, and also a glimpse into the darkness of the mind of the traffickers.
A well written and enjoyable read, I would recommend it.
"I Recommend This Story" (click here for Amazon)
S.J, Main (Click here for Review Tales, by Jeyran Main)
"Vanished is a story about two people John and Tyler, trying to retrieve a little girl who has been stolen and sold by human traffickers. The couple goes through many obstacles in order to find the girl. The race is on when the time is precious and the life a little girl is involved which makes this story very interesting to read.
The literature was easy to understand, and the pace was fast. I found the subject matter to be susceptible for a reader that may not necessarily have the heart to read such things. There is a risk of death, layers of pain, crisis, and dealing with the unthinkable as they navigate through the journey of finding this girl.
I particularly liked the cover of the book. The storyline may have not been novel, but the way it was written made you feel for the characters and unwillingly show emotion and keep hope for the little girl being found. I believe that displays good writing.
The concept of the storyline was appealing. The one thing that could improve the work was its character introduction. There were times where new characters were brought into the storyline but did not possess much backstory. This did not, however, affect the story itself and would have mattered if the book had a sequel.
I recommend this story to people that enjoy reading fiction stories that offer some light on sensitive topics."
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"A riveting, insightful, and moving reading experience."
Soooz Burke
"Many authors shy away from the dark side of human behaviour. Author Mark Bierman tackles it head-on. The breadth and depth of Vanished is astounding. The author's characterizations of the central protagonist bring them to life on the page. We as readers can see them, hear them, and through the words of this writer we are granted insight into bothe their dreams and their pain. Human trafficking will never be eradicated if we continue to close our eyes to its existence. I salute Mark Bierman for his ability to shine a spotlight on it, while also allowing us to see into the hearts and minds of those that rail against it, and take action to save a child caught up in the horror.
The pace is fast, kept me turning pages, eager to discover the ultimate outcome. The author has drawn widely on his experiences as a private investigator to bring us a book that shines and is resoundingly believable throughout.
If you enjoy a moving, provocative, and emotionally charged reading experience, then this is a must-read."
Brenda Lortie
Great book by this new writer! It does not read like a first novel. Well composed and engaging. The material covered in this book is not light. However, the writer introduces it to us in a manner that is palatable, yet provoking. Thank you for enlightening us on a topic that many of us are unaware or in denial of. Along with clearly researched facts, the author has created a very strong plot line with deep character profiles, to keep his readers engrossed. Even the ending was unique, and something that other authors may not dare to entertain. It evoked a variety of emotions in me, whic I assume was the intent! Can't wait to read more from Mark Bierman!
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"A thriller through and through!" (click here for Amazon)
Joshua Grant (click here for his book Review site, Diabolical Shrimp)
"Mark Bierman does a fantastic job holding your attention all throughout his thrilling novel, Vanished. Set in real events,
Vanished begins with a prison break during the 2010 Haitian earthquake and never lets up from there. Bierman's characters are realistic and likeable and the plot always has an interesting twist to bear. A wonderful thrill ride, especially for any world travellers out there!
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Entertains while being thought-provoking.
D.L. Finn
"I knew the topic while going into this fictional book: human trafficking. Mr Bierman shows the reader the process. including how children are kidnapped from their families - or the worst, when families sell them into slavery. The poverty and greed that uses children . . . I have a hard time absorbing that and worried that this would be a hard read for me, but it wasn't. The storyline centers on two American men doing missionary work in Haiti. A young girl is kidnapped, and they start on a journey to find her. The story is told through different characters, which held my interest, as they became interwoven. The action is non-stop and I had a hard time putting it down. I was fully invested in the characters and had a range of emotions, from joy to sadness. This is a book that can make you think about an unpleasant subject, while being a good fictional story that entertains. I can easily recommend 'Vanished', especially if you love action and the depth of a thought-provoking subject put together."
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An action-packed adventure that will keep you on your toes from start to finish! (click for amazon)
Erik McManus, BreakEven Books (click for BreakEven Books)
"This book was very interesting. Every scene moved quickly but it kept the plot moving along and it made it so that the storyline never really had a dull pause. It’s funny because one of the main characters is named John Webster and I actually know a John Webster
The book brings light to a huge issue. Human Trafficking. It is such a big problem in 3rd world countries and it’s brutal because a lot of the human trafficking is children that are stolen or kidnapped off the street and thrown into slavery. In this book, the main characters are trying to save a young girl who has been kidnapped and put into slavery. So many people would turn a blind eye to it and say that there is no hope and she is gone but not John and Tyler. They go through a lot to find this girl and see unimaginable things that are genuinely upsetting but very real. There are a lot of cool characters introduced along the way and the story is told from all different perspectives that intertwine by the end.
The only thing I didn’t really like about the book was that there are some characters that are introduced and it seems like there will be more to them but then they are just dropped and out of the story, never to be heard of again. It only happened with one or two characters but I would have liked to hear more about their part in the whole thing.
Overall, it was an action-packed adventure that will have you on your toes from start to finish."
"This is a very good book and I liked how fast paced it was. I never knew this type of thing happened and even in our own backyard, Haiti. I hope this writer has more books in the future."
Liliyana Shadowlyn “really liked it”
“A harrowing tale of love, loss, and redemption. Walk with Mark as he takes you on a twisting ride deep into the depths of humanity's depravity. This is not a light read, nor is it meant for those who wish to stay ignorant of the way things truly are in this world. A beacon of hope in all too often tragic world, 'Vanished' isn't afraid to tackle what many in more privileged countries consider taboo, even today”.
I got this book free from Goodreads giveaway. It is not the type of book I normally read, but I love how it captures your attention as soon as you open the book and you are transported to another part of the world. This is a hard to put down page-turner, so get ready for an emotional journey!
I very much enjoyed reading this very well written book. The author has a unique ability to describe events with imaginative yet concise terminology that makes a scene come alive. The story is an exciting and fast moving one, which very much holds the reader in suspense.
“This was an excellent book. The book held my attention throughout. At some points in the book I felt as if I was there. I would highly recommend this book if you like suspense. Well done Mark!!!!”
Scott Howse “thought provoking”
“I found the author not only was a great story teller, but the entire book was thought provoking. The part of the book I loved the most, was the author's ability to develop his characters. I genuinely loathed the antagonist of this book, and that was dues to the author's ability to portray the character so well!! This book is not only a book that makes you think about society, but its action packed and kept me up past my bedtime because I literally couldn't put it down!!”
“I was pleasantly surprised with Vanished. It is not normally the type of book I read but I am very glad I decided to give it a try. It piqued my interest from the minute I started it and my interest only intensified with the start of each new chapter. As with any good book I couldn't wait to see how it ended but then was left reeling from the emotions that it invoked. Well done Mr. Bierman!”
Jamin Melanson “You will not be disappointed”
“Mark does a great job with the plot and characters in Vanished. The terrors of Human Trafficking is a real threat in this world, and he does a great job portraying this evil in the book. As well, he implements a solid story through the eyes of Tyler and John. There were times I felt like I was one of them as they worked to rescue the kids from the clutches of the slavery. If you enjoy modern fiction, pick up this book. You will not be disappointed.”
IKaren Ingalls "recommended reading"
I"The subject of human trafficking is a painful subject to read about, but it is something that we all need to be aware of in hopes of bringing an end to this horrible part of most societies. Mr. Bierman does an excellent job bringing the subject to the forefront through a fictional story. The actions of two Americans in a foreign country to bring one little girl safely back home is the storyline.
I had to give it 4 stars because there was too much detailed description of their hunt through the forest and the mine. All in all this is a book I would recommend to anyone. I had to give it 4 stars because there was too much detailed description of their hunt through the forest and the mine. All in all this is a book I would recommend to anyone."
Gail M. "Great book by new author"
"Really great book about the hidden world of human trafficking. A friend referred me to this brand new author and I'm glad he did. The story is based in Haiti and is not only a good read but is also thought provoking and well written. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to seeing what other books this author will create. Great job, thanks!"
Michael de Ruiter "This is an excellent read for a great cause!"
"Vanished had me interested in the characters and their journey from the onset. This book is well written keeping reader's in suspense and on the edge of their seat. In addition Mark brings attention to the unfortunate reality of human trafficking in our world. This is an excellent read for a great cause!"
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Eileen M. Thornton "highly recommended"
"When John and Tyler go to Haiti to help out in a missionary, they have know idea how their lives will be turned around by what they find. Human trafficking is rife in the area. However, it is only when a little girl they have come to know personally is snatched away to be sold as a slave do they realise the severity of the problem. They decide that they must go to find the girl and take her back to her mother. But the trip turns out to be more hazardous than they first thought. There are several occasions when each man fears for his life.
Author Mark Bierman paints a strong picture of something which goes on as the norm in another part of the world. At times the story is harrowing. Yet, though it is fiction, it it is something we should all read to make us aware of what is happening around us. I found this to be a nail-biting read I couldn't put down. I highly recommend this novel."
Dustin Crozier "Great characters and plot developments converging into a high-paced finish!"
"Great characters and plot developments converging into a high paced finish. Also, casting a great light on the blight of human trafficking. I felt like I was in Haiti."
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Greta Boven "one of the most suspenseful books"
"This is one of the most suspenseful books I have read it keeps you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next there is a lot of danger which everyone goes thru but thankfully the ending is good."
Satisfied Amazon Customer "good book"
"Although I did not read this in one sitting, I did enjoy the novel finding the characters interesting and human."
S Wilshire "Face-paced and Dramatic!"
Fast paced, dramatic, detailed and entertaining fiction, but ultimately a sadly depressing depiction of real life human trafficking in Haiti. A large cast of characters, driven along with energetic prose, a complex plot and good use of dialogue, it reads in part like an old-fashioned adventure story and sometimes a modern thriller. Half the proceeds from sales of this book are donated to organisations that combat human trafficking.
JJailerpot "I really enjoyed this . . . great read!
I really enjoyed this novel. Mark did a great job of setting the scene and introducing us to great characters. I can hardly wait for Marks next novel.
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JanS "The Raw Truth - Human Trafficking"
This is a very well written book that, even though it is fiction, gives a bird's eye view into the horrors of human trafficking and child slavery. The story is set in Haiti and Dominican. Two American men, Tyler and John, take an opportunity to go on a mission trip to Haiti. Each are looking for an escape from their fresh and raw grief. Tyler, having lost his wife, Joy, to cancer, and John, who was Joy's father, need to find some closure to their loss. What better way than to help with a mission in an impoverished country? But, what they encounter is beyond anything they could have ever imagined. Their mission changes from one of helping bring Christianity to lost souls, to one of trying to save a small child from a life of abuse and horror. The characters throughout this book, help deliver the story in such a way that the reader is drawn into their lives, into their fight for survival, and into their hope for escape. This is not a book for the squeamish or faint of heart. It exposes the raw evil, greed and inhumane acts that do occur on a daily basis, even in today's advanced societal state. My hat is off to this author for having the courage to tackle such a hard subject and for the way he wove the story in and around the different characters. If you like heart-stopping drama about real happenings, you will enjoy this book from indie author, Mark Bierman!
Over The Rainbow "Good, but not an easy read."
With all the thousands of children who go missing every year, what would it take to find and rescue a single, specific child? That's a question that the novel Vanished attempts to explore, at times in a heart-wrenching fashion while simultaneously keeping readers entertained with fast-paced action and intrigue. This isn't an easy story to read, but it is fascinating and touches on something that our society really should be paying more attention to. Overall, it's a plot-driven book, with the character development lacking at times, but definitely worth reading. Four stars.
R. J. Krzak, Author "Thought-Provoking"
This is a thought-provoking story which is very relevant given the global push to end modern-day slavery. It's easy to become immersed in the helpless situation of those finding themselves alone and subjected to all kinds of brutality. Mark's characters, John and Tyler, head to Haiti to assist with the construction of an orphanage but before long, find themselves involved in the hunt for a missing child, Chantale.
Mark has done an excellent job in creating realistic characters and an intense plot. Readers will find themselves cheering on Tyler and John in the hopes they can rescue Chantale before it's too late. This is the first novel I've read written by Mark and it won't be the last! | https://www.markbierman.com/reviews |
Optimizing the Use of Video for Online Teacher Education
Video has a variety of features that make it a promising tool to mediate teacher learning in online environments:
- It captures the authenticity of classroom practice, bringing to life the work of teaching for careful study;
- It enables teacher educators to slow down and zoom in the work of teaching, thereby helping novices see the concrete ways that teachers enact particular teaching moves and the consequences for student’ opportunities to learn;
- It affords novices the opportunity to see the detailed ways that classroom life unfolds, what is often difficult to see in actual classroom settings;
- It can capture images of possibilities in teaching. It is well documented that field placements do not typically represent the image of teaching advocated by recent policy and reform initiatives. With video, teacher educators can provide novices with representations of ambitious instructional practice.
- It captures and represents the work of teaching in different grain sizes - small group interactions, whole class discussions, an entire lesson, or a collection of lessons over the course of a year with each of these representations providing teachers opportunities to see the multiple layers of the work of teaching.
Building on existing research evidence and our own research and teaching experiences, we offer the following guidelines to optimize the use of video in online teacher education. We also share a list of available video resources and a few concrete examples of activities that you can utilize in your online teaching.
As you plan for using video, it is important to consider four aspects:
Additional Resources
References
Kang, H., & van Es, E. A. (2019). Articulating design principles for productive use of video in preservice education. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(3), 237-250. https://escholarship.org/content/qt68z7z76c/qt68z7z76c.pdf
Santagata, R. (2014). Video and Teacher Learning: Key Questions, Tools, and Assessments Guiding Research and Practice. Beitraege zur Lehrerbildung, 32 (2), 196-209. | https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/teacherresearchcenter/video-and-teacher-education/ |
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND ART OF THE INVENTION
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS
EFFECT ACCORDING TO THE INVENTION
BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS
EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS
THE BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air conditioner with a refrigeration cycle having a compressor for refrigerant, and more specifically, to an air conditioner suitable for controlling a refrigeration cycle having a fixed displacement compression mechanism and a variable displacement compression mechanism independent from each other.
In conventional air conditioners, for example, in air conditioners for work vehicles, there is a structure in which a compressor of a refrigeration cycle is operated by an engine to form an air conditioner. Further, in a case where a room space of a work vehicle (for example, a space in a cabin) is large, or in a case where a thermal load varies greatly, there is a case where a plurality of compressors are used for a single refrigeration cycle and drive force transmission systems are provided for respective compressors. Furthermore, there is an air conditioner wherein, in a refrigeration cycle having two compressors, one is a fixed displacement-type compressor and the other is a variable displacement-type compressor (for example, Patent document 1).
In a case where two compressors are used, however, there is a fear that a remarkable change of cooling performance occurs and variations of blown air temperature, room temperature, etc. may occur by switching the operation by both compressors to the operation by a single compressor in accordance with variation of thermal load and the like. Further, when the temperature of an evaporator for refrigerant is controlled, although it is tried to achieve an evaporator temperature target value by controlling the variable displacement-type compressor at a condition of operating the fixed displacement-type compressor and consequently controlling the total discharge displacement of the two compressors, because only one evaporator temperature target value is provided, it is difficult to control the cooling performance finely, and also there is a fear that a change of the cooling performance, and variations of blown air temperature, room temperature, etc. accompanying therewith may occur. Such an undesirable variation of cooling performance may cause a condition of too much cooling ability, and loss of consumption power, etc. may become great.
Patent document 1: JP-A-2003-19908
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a control system capable of achieving required cooling performance as equal as in the conventional systems and capable of suppressing variations of blown air temperature, room temperature, etc. by controlling the cooling performance finely, for an air conditioner having two compression mechanisms wherein one is a fixed displacement-type compression mechanism and the other is a variable displacement-type compression mechanism capable of being changed in displacement.
To achieve the above object, an air conditioner according to the present invention has, in a refrigeration cycle, a fixed displacement-type first compression mechanism and a variable displacement-type second compression mechanism independent from each other, and has second compression mechanism displacement control means for controlling a displacement of the second compression mechanism, compression mechanism operation switching control means for switching to an operation by both compression mechanisms or an operation by any one compression mechanism, an evaporator for refrigerant for cooling air for air conditioning, a condenser for refrigerant, a blower for sending air to the evaporator, evaporator temperature detection means for detecting a temperature of the evaporator or a temperature of air at an exit of the evaporator, and evaporator target temperature calculation means for calculating a target temperature of the evaporator temperature or the evaporator exit air temperature. In the air conditioner, the evaporator target temperature calculation means has first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means for calculating a target temperature for the first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means for calculating a target temperature for the second compression mechanism, and when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by both compression mechanisms of the first compression mechanism and the second compression mechanism, a displacement of the second compression mechanism is controlled by the second compression mechanism displacement control means by referring to an evaporator temperature or an evaporator exit air temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detection means and a second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculated by the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means.
In such an air conditioner, it is preferred that, when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by both compression mechanisms of the first compression mechanism and the second compression mechanism, a first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculated by the first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means is controlled at a temperature lower than a first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature at the time of a sole operation of the first compression mechanism, and/or, at a temperature lower than a second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculated by the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means.
Further, when the displacement of the second compression mechanism becomes minimum, or when the second compression mechanism is stopped, the evaporator target temperature may be used as a target value at the time of a sole operation of the first compression mechanism.
Further, when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by both compression mechanisms of the first compression mechanism and the second compression mechanism and when the displacement of the second compression mechanism becomes a predetermined value A or less, it may be employed that the displacement of the second compression mechanism is controlled minimum, or the second compression mechanism is stopped.
Further, it is preferred that, when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by both compression mechanisms of the first compression mechanism and the second compression mechanism, the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculated by the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means is controlled at a first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculated by the first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature calculation means or more, and when the evaporator temperature or the evaporator exit air temperature detected by the evaporator temperature detection means becomes lower than a predetermined value B, immediately the displacement of the second compression mechanism is controlled minimum, or the second compression mechanism is stopped.
As the second compression mechanism, a variable displacement compression mechanism controlled by a displacement control signal, or a variable displacement compression mechanism controlled by control of rotational speed may be employed.
In the air conditioner according to the present invention, in the system in that the refrigeration cycle is operated by two compression mechanisms, when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by both compression mechanisms of the first compression mechanism and the second compression mechanism, a required cooling performance may be sufficiently exhibited as well as the cooling ability may be finely adjusted because controlled based on the evaporator target temperature for the variable displacement-type second compression mechanism, and further, in particular, variations of blown air temperature and room temperature ascribed to change of the operation condition of the refrigeration cycle (change at the time of switching between the operation by one compression mechanism and the operation by two compression mechanisms) may be suppressed extremely small. Further, by adjusting the cooling ability finely, it becomes possible to save the consumption power.
FIG. 1
is a schematic equipment disposition diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2
FIG. 1
is a diagram showing an example of calculation of second compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value in the air conditioner depicted in .
FIG. 3
FIG. 1
is a diagram showing an example of calculation of first compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value in the air conditioner depicted in .
FIG. 4
FIG. 1
is a time chart showing an example of control of the air conditioner depicted in .
FIG. 5
FIG. 1
is a time chart showing another example of control of the air conditioner depicted in .
1
: air conditioner
2
: air duct
3
: introduction port for outside air or/and inside air
4
: blower
5
: evaporator
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: refrigeration cycle
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: main controller
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: drive control signal
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: first compression mechanism
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: discharge displacement signal
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: displacement control signal
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: second compression mechanism
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: condenser
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: liquid receiver
15
: expansion valve
16
: evaporator exit air temperature sensor
17
: vehicle interior temperature sensor
18
: outside air temperature sensor
19
: sunshine sensor
Hereinafter, desirable embodiments of the present invention will be explained referring to figures.
FIG. 1
FIG. 1
1
4
3
2
5
4
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5
shows a schematic equipment disposition diagram of an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention, for example, an air conditioner for work vehicles. In air conditioner depicted in , a blower for sending air sucked through an introduction port for outside air or/and inside air is provided at an upstream position in an air duct opening toward a room interior (for example, the interior of a cabin). An evaporator is provided at a position downstream blower as a cooler for cooling air sent. Although not shown in the figure, as needed, a heater core as a heater may be provided downstream evaporator . The air having passed through evaporator and having been cooled is blown into the room interior.
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A refrigeration cycle with evaporator is provided in the above-described air conditioner . Refrigeration cycle is constructed as a refrigerant circuit in which respective equipment are connected via refrigerant tubes, and in this refrigeration cycle , provided are a fixed displacement-type first compression mechanism whose drive source is a prime mover (for example, an engine), etc. and whose drive is controlled by a drive control signal sent from a main controller , and a variable displacement-type second compression mechanism whose discharge displacement signal is sent to main controller and whose displacement is controlled by a displacement control signal sent from main controller . In this embodiment, second compression mechanism is driven by an electric motor. In refrigeration cycle , a condenser for condensing high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed by first compression mechanism and/or second compression mechanism , a liquid receiver for separating the condensed refrigerant into gas and liquid phases, an expansion valve for reducing in pressure and expanding the refrigerant sent from liquid receiver , and evaporator for evaporating the refrigerant sent from expansion valve and cooling the air sent in air duct by heat exchange between the refrigerant and the air, are disposed in this order, and the refrigerant from evaporator is sucked into the above-described compression mechanism and compressed again. The temperature control of evaporator is carried out, for example, by the control of a clutch provided on a drive force transmitting route from the prime mover to the first compression mechanism and a control signal for the electric motor for driving the second compression mechanism .
7
16
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7
In this embodiment, to main controller , sent is a signal of an evaporator exit air temperature (Teva) detected by an evaporator exit air temperature sensor provided as evaporator temperature detection means for detecting a temperature of an evaporator or a temperature of air at an exit of the evaporator (Teva). Further, signals from vehicle interior temperature sensor , outside air temperature sensor and sunshine sensor are also sent to main controller , respectively.
2
5
In this embodiment, the control is carried out as shown in FIGS. to .
9
12
6
9
12
When operated by any one of first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism , the control of the evaporator temperature is carried out by a target temperature of the evaporator exit air temperature calculated by the evaporator target temperature calculation means. When refrigeration cycle is operated by first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism , the evaporator temperature target value control is carried out so as to provide respective independent evaporator temperature target values for the controls of the evaporator temperatures of the first and second compression mechanisms. This control method is shown hereunder.
6
9
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FIG. 2
The second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature at a condition where refrigeration cycle is operated by first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism is calculated, for example, as a second compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value, and for example, as shown in , in a certain temperature region, it is provided as a variable value corresponding to an evaporator exit air temperature detected by evaporator exit air temperature sensor . In this variable region, a hysteresis can be given between the temperature elevating and lowering sides, and it is provided as a predetermined constant value in a region except the variable region.
6
9
12
12
12
FIG. 3
Further, the first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature at a condition where refrigeration cycle is operated by first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism is provided, for example, as a first compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value, and it is controlled referring to the discharge displacement of the second compression mechanism, for example, as shown in . Namely, if the discharge displacement of second compression mechanism is greater than a predetermined value A, the first compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value is controlled at a predetermined temperature B. If the discharge displacement of second compression mechanism is the predetermined value A or less, the first compression mechanism evaporator exit air temperature target value is controlled at a predetermined temperature C. Where, the predetermined temperature C is higher than the predetermined temperature B.
6
9
12
FIG. 4
Then, the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature at a condition where refrigeration cycle is operated by first compression mechanism and second compression mechanism is controlled, for example, as shown in .
FIG. 4
FIG. 4
FIG. 3
12
12
12
In , the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature is calculated by referring to the evaporator exit air temperature Teva, and referring to the evaporator temperature target value, the discharge displacement of second compression mechanism is controlled. Further, when the discharge displacement of second compression mechanism becomes the predetermined value A or less, the displacement of second compression mechanism is controlled at a minimum value, or it is stopped (in , shown as an embodiment for stopping). Where, the second compression mechanism evaporator target temperature is higher than the first compression mechanism evaporator target temperature C shown in .
16
12
9
9
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
FIG. 5
Further, when the evaporator exit air temperature Teva detected by evaporator exit air temperature sensor becomes lower than the predetermined value B (for example, 0° C.), as shown in , immediately the discharge displacement of second compression mechanism is controlled at a minimum value, or it is stopped (in , shown as an embodiment for stopping). Further, at that time, as shown in , first compression mechanism may be also stopped, and after a predetermined time passes (namely, at a stage where the temperature is elevated by the stopping), the first compression mechanism may be operated again.
When the refrigeration cycle is operated by the first and second compression mechanisms, the evaporator temperature control is carried out by performing the target value controls of these both compression mechanisms simultaneously.
By the above-described control, when the refrigeration cycle is being operated by the first and second compression mechanisms, a required cooling performance can be exhibited as well as the cooling ability can be adjusted finely, and variations of blown air temperature and room temperature ascribed to change of the operation condition of the refrigeration cycle (change between the operation by one compression mechanism and the operation by two compression mechanisms) can be suppressed. Further, by adjusting the cooling ability finely, it becomes possible to save the consumption power.
The air conditioner according to the present invention can be suitably applied to any refrigeration cycle having a fixed displacement compression mechanism and a variable displacement compression mechanism independent from each other, and in particular, it is suitable as an air conditioner for a cabin of a work vehicle violent in variation of thermal load. | |
Progressive discipline policy template, At the administration of company, among the most essential jobs is to formulate policy; the work of planning and the determination of business objectives become successful when expressed in coverage form. A coverage is a direct to the action or decisions of individuals. Policies are directives, issued by a higher authority, and provide a continuous framework for the conduct of people in a company – they’re in effect a type of planning. Policies are expressions using a company’s official attitude towards types of behavior in which it will allow, or desire, employees to behave. They say the means by which the provider’s agreed objectives must be achieved and typically take the form of statements, telling members how they should behave in specific conditions. Policies reflect management thinking on basic matters and notify those interested in the activities of the business about the provider’s intentions regarding them.
Policy must have a very clear purpose and outcome if it is to be of some value to the organization. It is essential that staff recognize the problem that’s being addressed via the policy implementation. It is extremely tough to implement policy in a situation where people do not perceive there is a need for the particular policy unit to be manufactured or execute. When coverage has been implemented to encourage a company in its own growth and develop it’s imperative that policy outcomes are clearly stated in order that everybody and understands exactly why the policy has been implemented in just what the policy expectations will be.
Component of the policy statement must clearly state why the policy was written and what is expected to be achieved by its own implementation. Part of this consultative process before the implementation of policy has to be a testing of the procedure and ideas regarding the policy needs to be applied. One of the usual problems included organizations is that individuals among degree of the business believed policy next year it meant to solve the specific issue may not necessarily exist across the entire organization. The assumptions that were made about why policy needs to be implemented have to be tested within the organizational context. Is a perceived difficulty in one department a rule issue that needs to be addressed from an organizational perspective or is a specific issue about this division and had specific staff inside the Department.
Policy makers have to make sure that policies linked to the general leadership and targets the business. The general framework of the business will offer some strategic leadership, and is important in analyzing the management of their organizational policies. Policy authors must make certain that the policy supports existing policies and procedures within the organization. One of the tests of excellent policy is the fact that it encourages the business in achieving its goals and objectives. Often time coverage through its execution can in fact hinder staff in accomplishing the organizational goals. Policy should be considered columns supporting the arrangement of an organization. Policy should be composed in such a manner that they clear obstacles to staff and empower them to achieve their entire potential.
Time control is necessary in the present competitive world and the capacity to respond immediately to new chance or unanticipated circumstance is more readily accomplished with powerful and examined policies set up. Without the guidance that policies supply, a business might easily flounder, misspend monies, repeat less than effective strategies and perhaps even accidentally overstepping into practices that are unlawful, leaving the business in some rather hot and deep water. | https://theearthe.com/progressive-discipline-policy-template/ |
An extraordinary scientific and human adventure, the LENGGURU 2014 exploration is an opportunity to educate the general public, and young people in particular, about the role of research in the production of knowledge and the preservation of biodiversity.
Through the many educational opportunities that will be held in France, Indonesia, and Papua, the IRD will offer many young people the opportunity to preview an unknown world.
Educational opportunities for young people
■ France
Two projects have been initiated in the Languedoc-Roussillon region:
• The first, intended for primary school students in the city of Montpellier and carried out in partnership with the City’s Directorate for Landscape and Biodiversity, offers several activities: a comparison of karsts in Languedoc-Roussillon and Papua New Guinea; the creation of a travel diary; field trips with local specialists in limestone areas; following the exploration on the exploration’s blog; and sessions presenting the exploration.
• The second will invites secondary school students to conduct their own research projects, to follow the exploration through its website, meet with researchers, and present their projects at various events scheduled at local institutions in 2014-2015.
Additionally, students from Université Montpellier 2 will be in charge of the English translation of the online expedition logbook. Exchanges with Indonesian students will also be organized through social networks, and a video-conference will be held with the expedition scientists at the end of the expedition, early December.
■Indonesia
• French secondary school de Jakarta
Secondary school students will be invited to conferences/debates with the researchers before and after the exploration. One class plans to create an interactive exhibit on LENGGURU 2014 and follow the exploration through the online logbook.
• Institut français d’Indonésie
Three cultural centres in the Institut français d’Indonésie’s network will present conferences/films on the exploration to the general public and in particular to students: Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Surabaya.
.• Secondary schools in Papua
After conversations with the researchers at a conference before the exploration, two secondary schools from the city of Sorong will follow the exploration through its website.
More information on the Educational project in the french version of the website.
Events and audio-visual productions for the general public
Trilingual large-format photography exhibit
The IRD and the City of Montpellier’s Directorate for Landscape and Biodiversity will make a public presentation and exhibit of large format photographs taken during the expedition. In three languages (French, English, and Indonesian), this exhibit will present the exceptional biodiversity of the Lengguru region as well as the fieldwork conducted by the scientists. Presented in Montpellier and Indonesia as from 2015, it will then be available for loan in France and internationally.
Programmes at the Mare Nostrum Aquarium of Montpellier Agglomeration.
The IRD and the Mare Nostrum Aquarium will join together to allow the public to follow the progress of the expedition. The programme includes: school tours of the aquarium, near-live connections with the scientists during the expedition, public conferences, etc.
“LENGGURU, the Last Eden of Biodiversity”: A film event and a television series
Mona Lisa Production will follow Laurent Pouyaud and all the scientists involved in the exploration to produce a program event: “LENGGURU, the Last Eden of Biodiversity”. Primarily an adventure film, it will attempt to show six weeks of exploration by a team of “adventurer” scientists: the most exciting and dangerous moments, discoveries, etc. A blockbuster film, it will show the public the exceptional sites and misunderstood fauna of Lengguru through cinematic means (underwater and aerial images, animal cinematography, etc.). Produced at the heart of the scientific epic, this 90-minute program will be broadcast in prime time on ARTE in 2015.
Additionally, Mona Lisa is preparing a true scientific television series, of 4 X 52-minute episodes, with the goal of showing the researchers’ discoveries, some of which have a global impact. Each episode will be devoted to a biotope and will show both “natural history” images filmed during the exploration and the process of analysing the samples collected and the species inventoried, filmed in the laboratories in Jakarta, Paris, and Milan.
The techniques used will be exceptional, including, for example, electron microscopy (ESEM, under patent by Mona Lisa). | http://www.lengguru.org/?page_id=850 |
AbstractWe investigate the dependence of stellar properties on the mean thermal Jeans mass in molecular clouds. We compare the results from the two largest hydrodynamical simulations of star formation to resolve the fragmentation process down to the opacity limit, the first of which was reported by Bate, Bonnell & Bromm. The initial conditions of the two calculations are identical except for the radii of the clouds, which are chosen so that the mean densities and mean thermal Jeans masses of the clouds differ by factors of nine and three, respectively.
We find that the denser cloud, with the lower mean thermal Jeans mass, produces a higher proportion of brown dwarfs and has a lower characteristic (median) mass of the stars and brown dwarfs. This dependence of the initial mass function (IMF) on the density of the cloud may explain the observation that the Taurus star-forming region appears to be deficient in brown dwarfs when compared with the Orion Trapezium cluster. The new calculation also produces wide binaries (separations >20 AU), one of which is a wide binary brown dwarf system.
Based on the hydrodynamical calculations, we develop a simple accretion/ejection model for the origin of the IMF. In the model, all stars and brown dwarfs begin with the same mass (set by the opacity limit for fragmentation) and grow in mass until their accretion is terminated stochastically by their ejection from the cloud through dynamically interactions. The model predicts that the main variation of the IMF in different star-forming environments should be in the location of the peak (due to variations in the mean thermal Jeans mass of the cloud) and in the substellar regime. However, the slope of the IMF at high-masses may depend on the dispersion in the accretion rates of protostars.
Animations accompany this paper.
PreprintClick here for a gzipped postscript (4680k) preprint of the paper. | http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/mbate/Preprints/ukaff2/cluster.html |
Are webbed paws a sign of specific breeds or any dog can have them?
It's usually only sport/hunting dogs that have them. My Golden and my Lab have webbed paws, but my old Collie mutt didn't.
Thanks for responding. I have another question.
boyquail It's usually only sport/hunting dogs that have them.
To allow them to prowl and hunt more quietly? But why is it necessary in sport dogs?
Haha, no, it's for swimming! Like duck hunting. | https://mysmelly.com/Archive/WhatBreedsWebbedFeet/clzdd/post.htm |
Three major Liverpool routes could become so-called “red routes” - where it would be illegal for vehicles to stop.
Liverpool City Council is looking at introducing the idea of red routes - first brought in in London in 1991 - as a way of speeding up traffic flow along key roads.
If approved, the red routes will mean that vehicles will not be permitted to stop anywhere along a designated road - including loading or unloading.
The routes that the council is currently looking at turning into red routes are:
- Kensington/Prescot Road
- Smithdown Road
- A59 County Road/Walton Road
If the plan goes ahead, the routes would be operational between 7am and 7pm Monday to Saturday, although round the clock restrictions usually apply near traffic lights and at bus stops.
Blue Badge holders and licensed taxis can still pick up and drop off.
A report to the city council on Friday, December 15 is asking for permission to begin a feasibility study into their introduction on the above routes.
The roads have been chosen because they are known to have congestion caused by inconsiderate and illegal parking, which creates pinch points leading to snarl ups.
Deputy Mayor, Cllr Ann O’Byrne, said: “Every driver gets frustrated by other road users who show no consideration for others by stopping on major routes or parking half on the pavement, causing inconvenience for pedestrians as well. It leads to inconvenience, congestion, delays and increases pollution because cars are stationary when they should be moving.
“At a time when we are investing £250 million upgrading major routes across the city, it is vital we complement this work by ensuring we have a free flowing traffic network able to operate at maximum capacity.
“As we continue to rebuild our city for the 21st century, attracting more investment, jobs and people, we have to make sure road users can get across the city as quickly and easily as possible. Delays to journeys cost businesses and commuters both time and money.
“We believe that the introduction of Red Routes could help ensure a smoother journey – but we want to hear all views during the consultation period. This is just something are looking in to at this stage. I promise we will listen carefully to feedback and look to put into place measures which mitigate any impact on local businesses if we decide to push ahead with one or all of the routes.”
If Red Routes are introduced, they would replace all existing yellow line and clearway restrictions and be enforced using the existing traffic cameras, which were previously used for the bus lanes that were withdrawn in 2014.
The council could also look at the potential of towing vehicles away, which it does not do at the moment.
If approved by the Cabinet, a consultation will get underway which will include community events, an online survey and letters to people whose properties front the affected routes. | https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/three-major-liverpool-roads-set-14009119 |
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