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As an artist I try to present to viewers my interpretations of the beauty that I see around me. I find that by really allowing myself to see the beauty of the world, that I am able to find hope and peace. I try to invoke that hope and peace in those who view my artwork as well. This world is often filled with so much suffering and so many negative experiences and images, that I want to create art that takes both me and the viewer away from that negativity, not to pretend that it doesn't exist, but instead, to counteract it.
Working with pastel I have a multitude of techniques available to allow me to express the inherant beauty which exists in the world around us. Through the use of vibrant colors and the emphasis on both shadow and texture, I want to encourage viewers to step away from the "realities" of everyday life, to see through what may be construed as ordinary or mundane, and to see that beauty can be found everywhere if we look close enough.
It's easy sometimes to get caught up in the suffering and negativity of our lives and in the lives of those around us, but I believe that we have a choice regarding the affect that the negativity has on us. We can choose to hold onto suffering by refusing to see the way the light plays off of a surface, or the intricate detail of the shadows on a wall, or the facinating texture of tree bark, or we can take these wonders in and allow them to nourish us so that we can give back in ways that ultimately lessen suffering. | http://lesliefirestone.com/Statement.html |
Students graduating from St. Margaret's Day School kindergarten program will have a thorough understanding of the role we play in our environment. They will know how their actions impact the environment and how to change their behaviors to make a positive impact. They will learn to be advocates for positive environmental change within their homes and communities.
Our mission is to provide our students a stimulating child-directed environment that encourages creativity, environmental consciousness, self-expression and socialization. Our goal is to nurture a well-rounded and independent child who has enthusiasm for learning and a positive attitude towards themselves and the world around them. Since our Green School designation in 2015, we have integrated environmental education into all of our subjects and promote interaction with the natural world as part of our curriculum and daily operations.
We began by greening all aspects of our school’s operation with best management practices. We have highlighted our commitment to water conservation, pollution prevention, solid waste reduction, habitat restoration, structures for environmental learning, responsible transportation, and a healthy school environment. These practices are part of our environmentally-friendly everyday operations.
Our teachers integrate nature and green practices into all subjects of our curriculum and instruction. Our school has five classrooms, each equipped with a science/exploration center and at least one live animal. The children learn the responsibility of caring for our classroom pets and their environments. Our Outdoor classroom has evolved to include a Monarch Waystation, a certified wildlife habitat, bird watching area, bug exploration, a tree stump story circle, a growing mud kitchen and garden area. Students practice recycling, reusing, conserving water, composting and reducing food waste at school. Part of our school's mission is to provide parent education as well. These topics include what it means to be a Green School, how to compost, and our participation in the national Healthy Schools initiative. Our E-newsletters contain a section on Green Tips so that our parents can incorporate Green practices at home. In addition, our communication platform, Kaymbu, allows for teachers to share photos with parents of the children engaging in nature focused activities, connect about the daily nature lesson plans, and promote environmental advocacy.
We maintain our schoolyard gardens as part of our curriculum, educating the children on the importance of watering, mulching, composting, growing, and protecting plants. Students participated in creating the gardens in 2015 and have since added bird feeders, a compost bin, a rain barrel, and have continued to grow and maintain our vegetable and plant gardens each year.
Our preschool body is comprised of 127 students and their families, 15 teachers, 1 administrator, and 3 additional staff members. Our students are ages 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old. The children are the inspiration for St. Margaret's Day School to continue to teach about, conserve and connect to our natural world.
Top Five Accomplishments
We are proud of all of our green initiative accomplishments. Below are some of our highlights, which are discussed in greater detail in our objectives sections.
Begin here to explore our Green Achievements: | https://www.stmargaretsdayschool.org/green-school.html |
Ocean Notion, a non-profit organization created by residents of the East Coast, is on a mission to preserve the ocean through cooperating with corporations, cleaning up beaches and offering educational outreach in the community.
Peter Mitchell, co-founder and CEO of the non-profit organization, explained how Ocean Notion was formed this past February. He said that last year, Tristen Rodgers and himself had the idea to start it, and asked their friend Martin Naro if he wanted to help.
Mitchell said that he and Rodgers started doing their own beach cleanups and realized there was only so much that a couple of people could do to make a difference, so they started Ocean Notion. He wanted to start to give back and said that if he engaged with the community more, he would be able to utilize his surroundings and really make a difference.
Catherine Barr, the environmental journalist in Ocean Notion, said that the organization is working to become nationally recognized, but right now there is only an official Rhode Island branch. Mitchell explained that Ocean Notion is currently in the process of expanding to Connecticut, Oregon and Washington. To do this, he said they use college communities as an outlet to reach the community in that city or state. Additionally, Barr explained that Ocean Notion is working with a corporation to implement and enforce the recycling program. On a simpler scale, Barr said that the organization does a lot of beach clean-ups. So far, they have removed 2,200 pounds of trash.
Right now, Barr said the organization is acting upon educational outreach in the community. She explained that Ocean Notion is working with a local Rhode Island high school to get a program started with AP environmental science or other environmental specific classes. By doing this, the organization hopes to bring awareness to recycling plastic and paper, instead of just throwing everything out. She said that it’s really important to reuse these items, even if it’s not possible to reduce them.
Barr, who is a sophomore at the University of Rhode Island and double majoring in environmental science and elementary education, said that she joined the organization because she loves being close to the ocean. Being a Chicago native, Barr had only ever been around lakes before coming to Rhode Island.
She said that the organization’s mission statement talks about how important the ocean is to us and our daily life, including simple things, like just breathing.
In the future, Mitchell’s goal is to help more corporations in the country to transition to a more effective recycling program. He said that this would entail working with corporations and local departments of environmental management offices to essentially set up recycling routes. This will increase recycling among employees and overall emphasize recycling within their company.
So far, the organization has four members on the executive branch level, seven positions at the URI branch, and about 120 volunteers. Mitchell said the branch at the university is funded by the nonprofit itself, through their ocean conservation fund. Barr said that the executive branch has emphasized how important it is to make sure their mission statement and what they do is very manageable, stable and doable. She said that Ocean Notion wants to ensure that they have a strong foundation — strong enough to be founders. Through dependability and small steps to spread on the East Coast, they hope to continue on the West Coast as well.
To get involved with Ocean Notion, visit their website at ocean-notion.org and find the organization on social media. Meetings are held every Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences (CBLS) on the fourth floor, and all are welcome. | http://rhodycigar.com/2016/12/01/non-profit-organization-strives-to-conserve-ocean-spread-awareness/ |
Pei was lauded for giving “this century some of its most beautiful interior spaces and exterior forms”, said the jury of the Pritzker Prize, which he received in 1983, favouring stone, steel and glass in his creations that bore his hallmark geometry and reverence for light.
Born in Guangzhou, China, Pei was captivated as a child by the high-rise buildings of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
His big break was in 1964, when he was chosen over many prestigious architects, such as Louis Kahn and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, to design the John F Kennedy Memorial Library in Boston.
His iconic designs included the Louvre’s crystal pyramid as well his inverted wedge for Dallas and the 72-story Bank of China Tower, which anchored the Hong Kong skyline as the city’s tallest building when it was completed in 1989.
Pei’s works ranged from the trapezoidal addition to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, to the chiselled towers of the National Centre of Atmospheric Research that blend in with the reddish mountains in Boulder, Colorado.
In 1988, President Reagan honoured him with a National Medal of Arts.
He also won the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1983, and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1979.
President George H.W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.
Pei’s work spanned decades, starting in the late 1940s and continuing through the new millennium before officially retiring in 1990 but continued to work on projects. | https://www.propertyandbuild.com/remembering-m-pei-iconic-buildings/ |
Many softwares have been multilingualized recent years. Further, various researches on coping with the problems resulting from the multilingualization are also being conducted.
For example, information processing apparatuses are suggested as follows in order to deal with matters regarding control at the time when fonts are registered in a printer. The following information processing apparatuses intend to allow an optimum character registration to be achieved always without causing an increase of man-hours required for maintenance or a development cost in order to improve the printing performance of a two-byte font.
First of all, a locale ID (identifier) maintained in an OS (Operating System) is discerned on a corresponding information processing apparatus. Also, the corresponding information processing apparatus refers to the discerned locale ID to determine the number of characters to be registered in a fixed area as well as a variable area. Thereafter, the corresponding information processing apparatus registers fonts, which have a higher use frequency in the corresponding information processing apparatus, in the fixed area of the printer, and registers fonts, which have a lower use frequency in the corresponding information processing apparatus than the fonts registered in the fixed area, in the variable area.
Further, the number of multilingualized web pages is also increasing. Also, the following techniques for making it possible to reduce the time required for a process of generating a dynamic content by using JSP (Java (registered trademark) Server Pages) are also suggested.
In an apparatus for generating a program which prepares the dynamic content, it is assumed that texts are handled by being represented by a predetermined general character encoding. In the meantime, the following two modules are installed in the corresponding apparatus.
Module for generating a program which prepares the dynamic content based on a predetermined file containing a static text for constituting a static portion of the content.
Module for preparing information of character codes by the character encoding for contents regarding the static text in advance so that information of character codes may be used by the program.
In the meantime, the multilingualization does not have a relevancy only on the printer or the web page. Recently, the multilingualization for various applications including an enterprise system is being progressed.
Related techniques are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-044472 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-332146.
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Apply by this date to ensure full consideration by the committee.
Final date: Monday, Oct 31, 2022 at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)
Applications will continue to be accepted until this date, but those received after the review date will only be considered if the position has not yet been filled.
The Environmental Markets Lab (emLab) is an interdisciplinary team of scientists based at UC Santa Barbara that conducts cutting-edge, data-driven research on the power, limitations, and design of market-based approaches to tackle the world's most pressing environmental problems. In collaboration with implementing partners, emLab aims to better align environmental objectives and economic incentives in support of sustainable livelihoods and a resilient planet. We endeavor to foster an inclusive, collaborative work environment to bring interdisciplinary expertise to solve critical environmental problems. emLab is seeking a motivated Postdoctoral Researcher to lead analyses uncovering the environmental and social impacts of Indonesia’s palm oil and pulp supply chains and their governance. This research builds upon five years of collaboration between scientists at emLab, Global Canopy (GC), the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Auriga to build the Trase initiative’s models of global supply chains for Indonesian pulp and oil palm. As part of the Trase partnership, you will join a leading multinational, multidisciplinary, and multilingual team of experts. Trase and emLab value diversity, inclusivity and creativity at the core of what we do and we welcome applicants from diverse backgrounds. The overarching goal of the project is to improve transparency in pulp and oil palm supply chains, enabling more effective and transparent sustainability interventions by companies and governments. As a result of past research conducted by the team, the postdoc will have access to extensive data detailing land use change, policy adoption, market structure and trade flows associated with Indonesian palm oil and pulp production. We believe that these data provide a unique opportunity for a postdoc eager to explore diverse research questions, such as:
● What supply and demand-side policies and market conditions have contributed to the dramatic decline in deforestation in Indonesia over the past decade?’
● What impact have demand-side and supply-chain policies had on deforestation Indonesia?
● How can global commodity supply chains be managed to ensure both equitable economic opportunities and effective conservation of vital natural resources?
● How do public institutions and private businesses interact to shape land use change in Indonesia?
The Postdoctoral Researcher will lead research answering these or related research questions, and author publications targeting scientific, policy and public audiences. The researcher will also work closely with the wider Trase team and partners to update and improve the palm and pulp supply chain models and links to deforestation and other impacts, while also helping to identify new opportunities for impact. Working as part of the Trase initiative, which is widely recognized as a global reference in supply chain transparency, the researcher will have the opportunity to engage directly with key decision makers in both Indonesia and consumer markets on key trends and insights from the data. Prior publications completed as part of this collaboration range from articles published in the highest impact, interdisciplinary scientific journals (e.g. Zu Ermgassen et al , 2022; Pendrill et al., Forthcoming in Science; Heilmayr et al., 2020, papers in review at leading economic field journals (e.g. Kraus et al.), and influential policy briefs and technical reports. The Postdoctoral Researcher will work closely with the project’s principal investigator, Robert Heilmayr (UC Santa Barbara), as well as collaborate with scientists at UCSB, SEI, GC and Auriga.
The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through research, teaching and service.
Applicant must have a PhD degree (or equivalent) or be enrolled in a PhD in environmental science and management, environmental or natural resource economics, geography or a related field at the time of application.
Applicant must have a PhD degree at time of employment in environmental science and management, environmental or natural resource economics, geography or a related field.
● Experience using econometrics to conduct rigorous policy analysis;
● Experience analyzing spatial and/or remotely sensed data;
● Prior research experience exploring the determinants and impacts of land use change in Indonesia, and/or the environmental governance of global trade in agricultural commodities;
● Excellent quantitative analysis skills, including experience with bash, git, R and/or Python;
● Experience leading peer-reviewed publications and/or reports;
● Past success in translating scientific discoveries into applied impact;
● Ability to read, write and communicate in Bahasa Indonesia.
Please provide the contact of three references that will be contacted if considered as one of the top candidates.Apply link: https://recruit.ap.ucsb.edu/JPF02250
Help contact: [email protected]
The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
As a condition of employment, you will be required to comply with the University of California SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program Policy: https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/5000695/SARS-CoV-2_Covid-19. All Covered Individuals under the policy must provide proof of Full Vaccination or, if applicable, submit a request for Exception (based on Medical Exemption, Disability, and/or Religious Objection) or Deferral (based on pregnancy) no later than the applicable deadline. Please refer to Appendix F, Section II.C. of the policy for the deadlines applicable to new University of California employees. (Capitalized terms in this paragraph are defined in the policy.) Federal, state, or local public health directives may impose additional requirements. | https://professorpositions.com/postdoctoral-researcher-in-deforestation-and-supply-chain-transparency-in-indonesia,i30953.html |
Data from The Aluminum Association, Structural Design Manual, Note: All properties are in ksi. TS is tensile strength, YS is yield strength, and US is. DESIGN MANUAL. Nashville, tN / November , “Excellent course for anyone involved in aluminum design.” – Shane Davis, Status One. Aluminium Design Manual - The Aluminium Association - Ebook download as PDF File .pdf), Text File .txt) or read book online. The Specification for.
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The Aluminum Design Manual includes an aluminum structural design The Aluminum Design Manual is offered as a guideline only and The. If so, you can't be without the Aluminum Design Manual -- an indispensable guide for anyone designing load-bearing structures using aluminum. Aluminum Design Manual Contents. The Aluminum Design Manual (ADM) provides aluminum structural design tools. Part I – Specification for Aluminum.
The ordi- nate in this figure is a rearrangement of Equation H. For sheet and plate. The determi. Light Tubes loaded in torsion are not as sensitive to the effect of initial imperfections in the geometry as are tubes loaded in axial compression. Heating conditions within an enclosure.
US units The Specification for Aluminum Structures is the first unified allowable strength design and load and resistance factor design aluminum Specification. It provides rules for determining the strength of aluminum structural components and minimum strengths for wrought, cast, and welded aluminum alloys and aluminum fasteners; Commentary: US units addresses structural design issues not included in the Specification for Aluminum Structures, including diaphragms, adhesive bonded joints, aluminum composite material, extrusion design, corrosion prevention, fire protection, sustainability, and design references for aluminum structural components in automobiles, bridges, rail cars, ships, pressure vessels, pipe, and storage tanks; Material Properties: US and SI units includes alloy and temper designation systems for wrought and cast aluminum alloys; comparative characteristics of wrought alloys; foreign alloy designations correlated with US alloy designations; and typical mechanical and physical properties, including thermal expansion, electrical conductivity, and density ; Section Properties: US units lists dimensions and section properties for aluminum channels, I-beams, angles, tees, zees, square and rectangular tube, round tube, pipe, and roofing and siding, as well as sheet metal and wire gauges; Design Aids: US units provides buckling constants, allowable stress tables for various alloys, allowable load tables for channels and I-beams in bending, tread plate, roofing and siding; fastener strengths, minimum bend radii for aluminum sheet and plate, wire, and rod, design stresses for groove and fillet welds, and beam formulas; Illustrative Design Examples: US units includes structural design calculation examples based on the Specification for Aluminum Structures.
Includes editorial changes - November, The strengths This Specification addresses only aluminum screws. Standards and Data Table 6. Standards for Aluminum Sand and Perma. Inspection Level 2 requires A.
Strengths given in Table A. This Specification addresses only aluminum rivets. Kaufman Figure 5. An example of a strength limit the sum of J for the open parts and J for the closed parts.
Formulas for calculating section proper- For building-type structures. For example. Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs.
Resistance factors are less than or equal to 1. ASCE 7 Section 2. An example of a serviceability limit state is a deflection beyond which the c For shapes containing open parts and closed parts. The design strength fRn is the product of the resistance factor f and the nominal strength Rn.
The torsion constant J may be determined as follows: J is structure is unfit for service. Figure CB. The basis for load and resistance factor design is given by Ellingwood. The resistance of the struc- Figure CB. This is because safety or resistance factors account for the fact that actual dimen- sions may be less than nominal dimensions.
To do so. In Figure B. An out-of-straightness factor has not been applied LRFD. His The safety factor for column local buckling has been work is summarized in Tables CB. The stress-strain curve for arti- Solving for f ficially aged tempers those beginning with T5. This fore. Because a column out-of-straightness factor of 0.
The reli. This probability is a function of the difference between mean matches the AISC Specification for rupture and other value of the resistance and the mean value of the load effect member limit states. Parameters are: Table CB. Limit states are: Kim provided the method used in this Section for c Tapered thickness elements supported on both edges Fig- determining the slenderness ratio for members that have ure CB.
For The mid-thickness radius of curved elements is used to such elements. The tapered flanges of American Standard channels in heat-treatable alloys has a strength slightly less than the and American Standard I beams meet this criterion.
For this reason. The slenderness ratio can be approximated Figure CB. For B. The elastic buckling analysis by Sharp shows B. The provisions in this Section are based on Sharp Although some post-buckling strength may exist. Once the slenderness ratio has been determined. In columns buckling about a principal axis that is not an Stiffening bulbs and other complex shapes may provide axis of symmetry for example. The strength of elements with The denominator in each of Equations B.
Galambos Figure 4. The weld-affected zone for transverse welds that supported on both longitudinal edges Ra. Ra is greater than 6t. Simple support is assumed for all elements. Kim showed that Section B. Since elastic local buckling stresses January II The equivalent slenderness ratio Strengths determined using the provisions of this Sec.
The buckling strength of actual shells. Sections B. The zone. The resulting a more accurate assessment of element support conditions strength of the web is based on Bleich The effect of imperfections Section B. The coefficients in the formula for inelastic buckling When Section F. Tests indicate that this effect tends supported edge. Further study is required to and B.
This is the optimum location for Section B. When the neutral axis is at the the strength of a stiffened element need not be limited to the mid-height of the element.
Compression Edge Free B. The stiff- can be used to determine the compressive strength. The factor a accounts for the tion B. The equivalent slenderness ratio however. The coefficients in the formula for inelastic buckling strength are assumed to be the same as for solid rectangu- B. The elastic local buckling stress Fe for elements sup. Postbuckling strength is used in Sections B. This inter- of elastic local buckling stresses is provided in Chapter B.
When the stiffener B. Section C. Geometric imperfections could also be accounted for Bracing requirements given in Appendix 6 do not apply by applying equivalent notional loads to the structure to bracing that is included in the structural analysis per- that are a fraction of the gravity loads for nominally ver.
Since the Specifi. P-d effects must be cult to properly determine effective lengths. This can be addressed by using 0.
Most structural analysis programs that purport to the effective length method is appropriate. The 0. To determine if a program properly place of E in the analysis. The reason for factoring ASD loads by 1. This can be addressed by C. To produce the same overall result cation for Aluminum Structures does not establish erec. For ASD allowable stresses. The five factors listed in Section C. LRFD load level. To determine the eccentricities: Design- on the net section is not a limit state.
Yielding at a trans- verse weld is not a limit state. Hill and Brungraber showed c For angles connected only by one leg. Transverse the effect of the eccentricity is accounted for in the net effec- welds are welds with an axis perpendicular to the mem.
The of load. In Figure CD. This is accounted for by using the net effec- from yielding across the net section is small. For I beams connected only by gitudinally welded members is weld affected. The strength their flanges Figure CD. The eccentricity is the distance per- Figures CD. The eccentricity in member axis. A possible approach in this instance is to use tion and 1.
The eccentric- ity in the other direction is determined from a section D. If the entire cross section of the member is weld. The the weighted average thickness weighted by the length of the corresponding safety factors for bridge structures are 1. Usually only part of the cross section of lon. The net section area for the bar shown in Figure the fastener closest to the unconnected leg to the neutral CD.
This is because the net section stress distribution across the section at the connection for usually exists over only a short portion of the overall length angles. Figure CD. For sheet and plate. Chapuis and Galambos addressed the effective For point-symmetric sections such as cruciforms. For extrusions. The equivalent slender- E. Sharp are approximately the same. This is addressed in Section B. In the Specification. Since the flatness the buckling strength.
Such columns are sometimes Because column member buckling strength E. Sharp showed that has essentially the same strength as that for the perfectly the member buckling strength equations of Section E. Because the Specification includes the 0. Unlike member buckling. AISC addresses out-of-straightness in steel column member buck.
Sharp Figure 7. The effect of welding on element of a member is the sum of the local buckling strength of the strength is addressed in Section E. Transverse welds not at the ends of a column supported on both ends or in a cantilever column may appreciably decrease the member buckling strength.
Section E. Sharp showed that Section B. If a column has both longitudinal and transverse welds. Sharp devel- oped the strength equation given in Section E. Sharp showed E. These values can be quite conservative for test specimens ranged from 0.
The compressive strength of portions of a column at the intersection of elements for example. To account for the reduction in strength in Brungraber and Clark investigated the strength of the weld-affected zone. More research is needed to establish accurate design the reduced stiffness that accompanies local buckling may rules for circumferentially welded.
Compressive tests determine the strength in such cases. The flatness tolerance for the other shapes. Apparently the circumferential welds can elements may buckle elastically without causing failure of cause more severe geometric imperfections in the thin- the member. Inflection points are not brace points. For this reason rational analysis must be of the effect of bracing the tension flange.
Using must also be checked at the location where the smaller ry is very conservative for moderate and high slenderness flange is subjected to its maximum compression.
The formulas of Section F. A simple span beam restrained against movement lat- and F. For continuous beams there are no directly derived val- Winter showed a method for taking advantage ues of C1 and C2.
He derived the used in estimating the values of these coefficients for such elastic critical moment Me for pure bending for a singly applications.
The unconservative cases arise if the rate bending strengths for these cases. In the inelastic stress range the lateral-torsional buck- F.
This strength increase can be accounted for by erally and vertically at the supports. Cb should be taken calculations using rye shows that using rye is conservative. Cb is also to be taken as 1. If the moment varies over the Clark and Hill determined the lateral-torsional unbraced length. In equation CF. Because of this approximation. If the free end of a cantilever is torsionally braced. Tests have shown this curve to be conserva- between brace points. To compute more accu- Kitipornchai The when the unbraced length is factored by a ky less than 1.
It can be shown that for loading as shown in Figure CF. A Kirby and Nethercot If the distrib. Use the same equation between about the bending axis. Selection of the proper equation for rye is illustrated by Figure CF. The approximation may ally with the beam if it should buckle. At point B for both beams. Figure CF.
Use the same equation for point A if the distributed load is applied at the level of the neutral axis. The approach for checking the moment at ing axis. Sc and J as though both flanges were the same as tion F. Use Equa- ry. This approximation is quite conservative when the tom flange of the beam and the load is free to move later- smaller flange is in compression.
At brace points the Bending Axis of doubly symmetric beams use Equation F. Equation F. The magnitudes of yo. This expression considers non-symmetry of the section about the bending axis as well as the location of the laterally applied load with respect to the shear center.
The nominal strength expression was rearranged from the expression given in the Aluminum Design Manual but gives the same strength. The approximate formula for j given in Equation F. The orientation of the axes and the cross-sectional nota- tion are illustrated in Figure CF. If Cw is not small compared to 0. Venant torsion. Equivalent slenderness ratios from and 1. The determined shape factors for yielding of 1. In the intermediate slenderness ratio range.
Sharp Table 7. Cases 2. Clark and Rolf showed that the formula shown in Figure F. This is done to be consistent with Sec- Clark and Rolf showed that rectangular bars can tions F. Sharp variation in stress across the width of the angle leg. The F. The wall thickness need not be uniform. This Specification uses 1. The upper set of lines. Since The lower set of lines.
Formulas for determining bw are given in Part V. When is based on experimental work by Clark and Rolf The factor on yield was picked from curves of yield strengths at 0.
Yielding does not become apparent as soon as the calculated stress in the extreme fiber reaches the yield strength because the less highly stressed fibers near the center of the beam are still in the elastic range. For larger Angle Size in. This results from the non-linear distribution of stress in the inelastic range.
The constants 1. This is shown F. The shape factor on ultimate strength was deduced Figure CF. The higher Part V. See Section E. The distance c for a compres- Shape factors for aluminum are less than those for the rigid.
The distance c for The shape factors for flat elements in flexure are the same a tensile flange is the distance to its extreme fiber because as the shape factors for solid rectangular shapes in F. Kim improved the weighted average method accuracy for a variety of members. The effect of alloy on shape factor is not very large. For tubes with circumferential welds. Sharp tested beams with longitudinal and trans. These are given in Section B. Simi- sions of Section G.
This moment of inertia is multiplied by ture in the weld-affected area and the weighted average the ratio of the applied shear load to the shear load caus- shear strength of the welded and unwelded zones. The shear ing buckling to adjust the stiffener size for the actual load ultimate strength is divided by 1. These formulas were used in the specifications tor of 1. Shear yielding in comparison with the stiffener size theoretically derived by the weld-affected area is not considered to be a limit state, Cook and Rockey Hartmann and Clark and since the maximum shear stress would have to occur over Sharp and Clark provide further background.
Since torsion The buckling strength of unstiffened flat webs is for a is usually constant along the cylinder length but transverse web with partial restraint against rotation at the attachment shear usually varies along the length, the transverse shear to the flanges.
The corresponding value of the slenderness strength is taken as 1. This treat- Becker The buckling strength in the inelastic range ment is similar to AISC If the analysis is not performed in accordance with Chapter C, using the interaction equation given in Section H. Tubes loaded in torsion are not as sensitive to the effect of initial imperfections in the geometry as are tubes loaded in axial compression.
Battdorf, et. Fig- where ure CH. A coefficient of 2. A more accurate and less conservative value for long tubes is less than 2. The ordi- nate in this figure is a rearrangement of Equation H. The Since shear buckling cannot occur in a rod, Section H. Equations H. Examples of longitudinally loaded fillet welds that are not end-loaded include: Aluminum welded connection types include groove welds, Menzemer and Iasconne established the shear fillet welds, plug and slot welds, and stud welds.
Moore et al.
Nelson and Rolf and Sharp et al. They used the same test method to determine shear strength. Allowable stresses for fillet welds for various combina- J. The J. Groove welds are classified as either complete penetra- tion or partial penetration for the purpose of determining J.
The method of classifying a groove weld is Plug and slot welds are primarily used to transmit shear the same as that in AWS D1. Groove welds made with in the plane of the weld. An example is a cover plate attached permanent backing have less fatigue strength than groove to a flange with plug welds.
The definition of effective area welds without permanent backing. The base metal thickness provisions match those in AWS D1. Allowable stresses for groove welds for various com- binations of base metals are given in Part VI, Table , J.
The strength of a groove weld is usually governed by the The strengths for and lighting pole assem- strength of the base metal rather than the filler metal. Bolt dimen- End-loaded fillet welds are oriented parallel to the stress sions are given in Part VI, Table Examples include longitudinally welded T6, and T9 aluminum nuts. Nut dimensions lap joints at the ends of axially loaded members and welds are given in Part VI, Table Improper ings includes design rules for ASTM A, A, and installation may include over- or under-tightening, missing A steel bolts.
The Rockwell C35 hardness limit is nuts or washers, or presence of threads in the shear plane intended to avoid hydrogen-assisted stress corrosion when this was not the design condition. The root area term in equation J.
Menzemer et al. Sharp and the Department of Defense Edge distance requirements 2D for full bearing strength show that for ratios of edge distance to fastener diameter and a minimum of 1. So for a fastener diameter. Moisseiff et al.
The use of the root area for determining the tensile strength of aluminum fasteners rather than the slightly larger tensile J. The root area is based on the nominal minor diameter of external threads D - 1. Aluminum section In the US, use of high and T73 bolts and cap screws. The RCSC it is preferable for the connections to be stronger than the Specification addresses the use of these high strength steel members.
If connections have greater strength, it is more bolts to connect steel parts and so is modified here for likely that the structure will exhibit warning of an overload connections using aluminum parts. All parts of the RCSC e. Specification not modified by the provisions of Section J. Slip-critical and nuts galvanized by different processes may result in an connections are used when it is desirable to prevent move- unworkable assembly.
Such connections are useful for joints subjected to dynamic or J.
The design strength of slip- the sides of the hole. Bolt shear strengths are the same as in critical connections cannot be greater than the design the RCSC Specification. Bolt design shear strengths should strength of the same connection designed as a bearing con- be reduced appropriately in long connections since bolts nection.
The design strength of a slip-critical connection at the end of such connections bear a higher shear force is limited to the lesser of the design strength of the bolt in than bolts near the middle of the length of these connec- shear and bearing and the slip resistance of the joint. Since hot-dip galvanizing may embrittle A bolts and galvanizing is required to discourage galvanic corrosion J.
Slip coefficients are given for two contact surfaces: The RCSC Specification limits the bearing stress under roughened aluminum on roughened aluminum, and rough- the bolt head in steel to 64 ksi for steel with a yield strength ened aluminum on zinc-rich painted steel.
Kissell and Ferry less than 40 ksi by requiring such steel with A bolts to tested these surfaces in accordance with the test have washers. The Specification for Aluminum Structures method given in the RCSC Specification for both slip and requires the use of washers under bolt heads and nuts, and creep. Slip coefficients for other surfaces may be determined bearing stresses under the washer can reach approximately by testing in accordance with the RCSC Specification.
Therefore, aluminum Luttrell and Fortlin, et al. Thin parts, such as aluminum sheet and drawn tube, Tests of mill finish aluminum surfaces degreased and dried have generally achieved relatively low coefficients of friction.
A further requires Washers are required under all bolt heads and nuts. This that all components of a fastener assembly bolt, nut, and requirement is intended to minimize galling of the outer washer be coated by the same process, since mixing bolts ply of aluminum and creep relaxation of bolt tension. Table CJ. However, it is recommended that at least bolt, and a collar, which performs the function of a nut. The two screws should be used to connect individual elements. Lockbolts This provides redundancy against under torquing, over are available in carbon steel, stainless steel, and aluminum.
The safety factor Cold-Heading Wire and Rods, provides the strengths that are for screw bearing is consistent with the safety factor for used in Table A. Steel screws with a Rockwell hardness of C35 J. For this reason, steel screws with a Rockwell hard- J.
These effects are greater on tensile strength than shear J. Many can vary significantly. Installing blind rivets requires access to only one side J. Power tools with adjustable torque since the diameter of a hex washer head for a No. The equations for pull-out are derived from research Alternate pull-over strengths are given for screws in conducted by AAMA , including over pull-out tight-fitting holes based on tests conducted by LaBelle and tests.
These equations are based on three regions of behav- Dolby In these tests, screws had hex heads with ior: Screw nominal diameters were 0. For most cases they are less conservative than the the following nominal sizes: Drill Size parts thicker than 0. Pull-out strengths are a function of the type of thread: The average ratio of pre- machine thread screw types to develop Equation J.
The dicted strength using Specification equation J. Because both spaced threads and using 5 different flathead screw sizes, 6 sheet thick- machine thread pull-out strengths matched Equation J. Testing was limited to com- well, this Specification does not provide different strengths monly used screws with 82 degree nominal angle heads, for the different screw types.
Sharp provided the pull-over strength equation Caution should be used to avoid excessive oversizing of for non-countersunk screws. Screws may be placed through countersunk holes. Oversizing should be limited so that the the valley or the crown of corrugated roofing and siding. A coefficient of 0. The test strengths of such screwed con- VI Tables and Marsh also studied this issue. Screwed connections loaded in shear have limit states of screw shear, block shear rupture see Section J.
Therefore, testing is recommended to establish the bearing strength of screwed connections that are subjected to both J. Concentrated Forces. The shear force on the The crippling strength is a post-buckling strength. This Specification addresses bearing stiffener size by requiring that the stiffener be sized for the bearing load as a J.
If the stiffener is also being The shear strength of aluminum screws is given in Part used as a shear stiffener, it must also meet the requirements VI Tables and The resistance factor for shear yielding of connectors 1.
This is because shear yield- ing of connectors is unlikely to produce significant defor- J. In many cases, the primary, J. For exam. For structures exposed support glass or similar brittle materials.
The are not provided. See Section L. Wind on round tube members can cause motion of the members due to vortex shedding. Specific limits on parameters for example. If the compressive stress exceeds the elastic local buck. Sharp ple. The method used to account tube and sufficient damping is not provided. Some building to ambient temperature fluctuations. This may be achieved by measuring camber with a beam resting on a flat surface parallel to the camber L. Vibrations may be caused by cyclically Slip-critical connections are addressed in Section J.
This Specification only allows this if the ele. These radii are approximate and are a function cutoff lines are often scribed. The strength of tempered metal can be reduced by expo. Residual stresses from blasting or peening can curl thin M. Abrasion blasting can be used to clean material or fin- sure to elevated temperature processes such as factory paint ish the surface. The Aluminum Extrusions and Panels proper fillet radius varies depending on the part and its use.
Consideration should be given to the effect on hole diameter is to guard against break-out at the back side strength if the thickness is reduced by more than standard of the hole. Center punching and scrib- of the direction of the bend line with respect to the rolling ing should be avoided where such marks would remain on fabricated material if appearances are a concern. Since this Specification applies to is unsightly and difficult to remove. Section 4. Search form Search. The Aluminum Advantage.
Aluminum Advantage. Product Markets. Members Area. Buyer's Guide. The ADM includes: Provides rules for determining the strength of aluminum structural components, connections and structures using multiple methods. Commentary section includes additional background and research references.
Required for compliance with the International Building Code. | http://soundofheaven.info/education/aluminum-design-manual-pdf-15326.php |
2018 March Job Cut Report: 60,357 Cuts With Retail, Health Care Leading | Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers surged in March to 60,357, a 71 percent increase from the 35,369 cuts announced in February. Last month’s total is the highest monthly total since April 2016, when 64,141 job cuts were announced, according to a report released Thursday by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“We’ve experienced 22 months of relatively low planned layoff activity. With the current economic conditions, companies are in a position to grow and invest. We’ve seen companies invest back into their workforces in the last couple of months,” said John Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“However, last month’s plans may indicate that growth could be slowing down, especially as the market continues to tighten,” he added.
March’s total is 39 percent higher than the 43,310 announced job cuts during the same month last year.
Through the first quarter of this year, employers have announced 140,379 cuts, 11 percent more than the 126,201 job cut announcements in the first quarter of 2017 and 44 percent higher than the 97,292 cuts announced in the final quarter of last year. First quarter job cut plans are the highest since Q1 2016, when 180,920 cuts were announced.
“In 2016, cuts in retail and oil drove announcements in the first quarter. This year, we are likewise seeing cuts in retail, as that industry continues to pivot to meet consumer demand,” said Challenger.
Retail leads all sectors in job cuts in 2018, with 56,526. So far this year, Challenger has tracked 1,730 announced retail store closures. That is in addition to the 9,241 store closures that were announced in 2017.
Health Care/Products companies announced the second highest number of job cuts in 2018, with 12,491, while the Consumer Products sector announced 11,778. The Services sector announced 10,564 job cuts this year.
“The growth and job creation we’ve seen over the last few months may be coming to an end. As wages grow and the labor market tightens, companies are going to switch to a no-risk strategy and potentially begin contracting,” said Challenger.
In fact, the number of hiring announcements fell in March; companies announced plans to hire 14,525 last month, bringing the year-to-date total to 196,340. This is 32 percent lower than the 289,272 announced hiring plans in the first quarter of 2017. | http://www.challengergray.com/press/press-releases/2018-march-job-cut-report-60357-cuts-retail-health-care-leading |
We designed a web-based survey to assess the willingness and interest of European neurologists working with MS to implement precision medicine in their routine clinical practice. This study is a part of the EU-funded MULTIPLEMS grant.
Objectives
1) To assess how neurologists across European countries view the role of body-fluid biomarkers in clinical practice; 2) To survey clinical practices of diagnostic work up, therapy selection and monitoring, and frequency of data collection and clinical and paraclinical measurements.
Methods
The survey had three parts: a) demographics of respondents; b) opinion of the role of predictive, diagnostic, disease-activity biomarkers and treatment-response body-fluid biomarkers in clinical practice; c) survey of clinical practice and management of MS cases (including therapy choice and use of biomarkers) by evaluating 5 clinical cases with different characteristics (therapeutic management in drug naive patients and in patients displaying different forms of remaining disease activity, as well as stopping threapy in stable diasease since long).
Results
194 neurologists across 11 European countries responded to the survey, with a mean response rate of 45%. 57.7% were male and the mean age was 49.8 years. The importance of biomarkers in clinical practice was rated from 1 (low) to 7 (high), and it was generally high: 4.1 for predictive and disease-activity biomarkers, 5.2 for treatment-response and 5.7 for diagnostic biomarkers, with neurologists in Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Sweden and UK being the most positive. Determination of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) oligoclonal bands was considered the most established biomarker for diagnosis (98.5% of neurologists), prediction (56.7%) and disease activity (36.5%), trailed by anti-aquaporin 4 (90.7%) and anti-myelin oligodendrocyte antibodies (85.1%) for diagnosis. Anti-JC (93.8%) and varicella virus (61.9%) and anti-drug (natalizumab (74.7%) and interferon-beta (68.6%)) were considered useful in context of therapy selection and monitoring by most neurologists, while neurofilament levels in CSF and serum and vitamin D levels were less established. Therapeutic management in the five case examples varied widely, likely as a result of differences in local and national guidelines.
Conclusions
European MS neurologists express a positive opinion on the role of body-fluid biomarkers to manage MS in clinical practice, however, these seem still to have had a limited impact on therapeutic management and selection, which also varied markedly across countries. This underscores the need for further research in this area.
P0187 - A prospective randomized open-label blinded endpoint multicenter non-inferiority study of oral cladribine and rituximab in Multiple Sclerosis (NOR-MS) (ID 1194)
Abstract
Background
Both induction therapy, like oral cladribine, and B-cell depletion therapy, like rituximab, are highly effective disease modulatory treatments (DMTs) in relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). The high economic costs of the registered DMTs may limit availability of treatment and strain health budgets worldwide.
Oral cladribine is a recently approved DMT in Europe, while rituximab is used off-label, especially in Norway and Sweden. Large observational studies indicate good tolerance and treatment effects in MS and studies from other diseases indicate a good safety profile. However, to our knowledge, no phase three studies have compared rituximab with any established highly effective DMT. Formal safety data is also lacking for rituximab treatment in MS.
Objectives
To perform a prospective randomized open-label blinded endpoint multicenter non-inferiority study. The primary objective is to test whether rituximab is non-inferior to oral cladribine for treatment of relapsing MS.
Methods
In total 264 MS patients with relapsing MS will be recruited from 11 Norwegian centers and followed for 96 weeks. Inclusion criteria are having a relapsing MS diagnosis, age 18-65 years, at least one clinical relapse or one new T2 lesion on MRI within the last year and willingness to use contraception during the study period. Exclusion criteria are contraindications to either treatment, previous use of either or a similar treatment, or treatment with fingolimod or natalizumab (due to risk of rebound activity) within the last six months. The study participants will be treated with either cladribine or rituximab according to current guidelines.
Results
The primary endpoint is difference in number of new or enlarging T2 lesions between the two groups from rebaseline at 12 weeks to the end of the study at 96 weeks. Furthermore, we will study clinical course, blood samples and MRI biomarkers to provide tools for personalized MS treatment. Finally, the health economic consequences of these treatment options will be evaluated. At the time of abstract submission, 55 patients have been included across three study sites. The Covid19 outbreak unfortunately resulted in a temporary halt in inclusion from March to May 2020, but the study has now been reopened. End of study is estimated to fall 2023.
Conclusions
This study will guide clinicians and patients in future treatment choices for MS. The results will provide valuable knowledge concerning treatment strategies and can potentially have a huge impact on the costs of future MS treatments.
P0240 - Therapeutic Decisions in MS Care: An International Study comparing Clinical Judgement vs. Information from Artificial Intelligence-Based Models (ID 752)
Abstract
Background
The rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape of multiple sclerosis (MS) can make treatment decisions challenging. Novel tools using artificial intelligence (AI) can provide estimations of MS disease progression, which may aid MS therapeutic decisions. However, whether neurologists are willing to utilize information provided by AI-based models when making therapeutic decisions is unknown.
Objectives
To assess whether neurologists rely on clinical judgment (CJ) or quantitative/ qualitative estimations of disease progression provided by hypothetical AI-based models (assuming these models can reliably identify patients at high vs. low risk of disease progression) in simulated MS case scenarios.
Methods
Overall, 231 neurologists with expertise in MS from 20 countries were randomized to receive qualitative (high/low) or quantitative (85-90% vs. 15-20%) information regarding the likelihood of disease progression. Participants were presented with simulated MS case scenarios, and initially made 7 treatment decisions based on the clinical information using CJ. After randomization, participants made 10 treatment decisions using CJ and estimations of disease progression provided by AI models. We evaluated concordance and discordance of therapeutic decisions based on CJ and AI. The primary outcome was the proportion of “optimal” treatment decisions defined as treatment escalation when there was evidence of disease progression or continuing the same treatment when clinically stable. Mixed models were used to determine the effect of randomization group, case risk level, and CJ/AI. Clinicaltrials.gov #NCT04035720
Results
Of 300 neurologists invited to participate, 231 (77.0%) completed the study. Study participants had a mean age (SD) of 44 (±10) years. Of 2310 responses, 1702 (73.7%) were classified as optimal. Optimal decisions were more common for the high-risk vs. low-risk CJ group (84.5% vs 57.6%; p<0.001). There were no differences in the estimated odds of optimal responses between the quantitative vs. qualitative groups (OR 1.09; 95%CI 0.86, 1.39) after adjustment for pre-intervention responses. The estimated odds of optimal decisions for the high-risk vs low-risk CJ group was 2.96 (95%CI: 2.47, 3.56 ) after adjusting for group, pre-intervention responses, and AI-based estimations. For low-risk CJ cases, additional input by AI-based estimations was associated with a lower likelihood of optimal responses; being worse for high-risk vs. low-risk AI estimations (OR 0.235; 95%CI: 0.16, 0.340) adjusting for covariables.
Conclusions
Neurologists were more likely to make optimal treatment choices for high-risk simulated scenarios. The addition of hypothetical information provided by AI-based models- did not improve treatment decisions for low-risk cases. These results provide a framework for understanding therapeutic decision-making in MS neurologists, who are more reliant on their own CJ over AI-based tools.
P0460 - Factors Associated with Treatment Escalation in MS care: Results from an International Conjoint Study (ID 753)
Abstract
Background
Therapeutic inertia (TI) is a worldwide phenomenon affecting physicians who manage patients with chronic conditions. Previous studies in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) showed TI affects 60 to 90% of neurologists and up to 25% of daily treatment decisions.
Objectives
To determine the most important factors and levels of attributes associated with treatment escalation in an international sample of neurologists with expertise in the management of patients with MS.
Methods
We conducted an international study comprised of 300 neurologists with expertise in MS from 20 countries (Europe: 59.4%, Asia/Australia: 18.3%, America: 22.3%). Participants were presented with 12 pairs of simulated MS patient profiles reflective of case scenarios encountered in clinical practice. Patient profiles included information on age, sex, previous MS history of relapses, MRI findings, desire for pregnancy, and other relevant details. We used disaggregated discrete choice experiments (a conjoint analysis), which is a standard technique used in economic research to estimate the weight of factors and attributes (e.g. categories) affecting physicians’ decisions when considering treatment selection by asking respondents to choose between pairs of options. In our study, participants were asked to select the ideal candidate (Patient A, B or neither) for treatment escalation (from first-line to second-line therapies- eg. Fingolimod, Cladribine, Monoclonal antibodies).
Results
Of 300 neurologists invited to participate, 229 (76.3%) completed the study. The mean age (SD) of study participants was 44 (±10) years. The mean (SD) number of MS patients seen per week by each neurologist was 18 (±16).
The top 3 factors (relative importance) associated with treatment escalation were: previous relapses (20%), EDSS (18%), and MRI activity (13%). Patient demographics and desire for pregnancy had a modest influence (<3%) in treatment escalation.
Participants were 13% less likely to escalate treatment for patients with EDSS >7.0 (compared to EDSS <6.0), whereas symptom severity during most recent relapse and higher number of MRI lesions at 1 year were each associated with 6% higher likelihood of treatment escalation.
We observed differences in the weight of factors associated with treatment escalation between MS specialists and non-specialists and participants practicing in European vs. non-European countries.
Conclusions
This is the first study applying a conjoint design to assess factors associated with treatment escalation and therapeutic inertia in neurologists caring for people living with MS. Our results provide critical information on factors influencing neurologists’ treatment decisions and should be applied to continuing medical education strategies.
P0484 - Prevalence of fatigue in multiple sclerosis (ID 1003)
Abstract
Background
Fatigue is considered to be one of the main causes of impaired quality of life among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). It affects family life, social activities, and education. Fatigue is one of the main reasons why many patients with MS are unable to work. To our knowledge there have been no larger studies on the prevalence of fatigue in MS in almost 20 years. Previous studies have reported a prevalence ranging between 50-90 %. We assumed that the prevalence of fatigue has changed due to changes in diagnostic criteria and the great change in treatment possibilities over these years.
Objectives
Our objective was to determine the prevalence of fatigue in a contemporary MS population in Norway, and to assess the association between fatigue and sex, age, disease course, disease severity and duration.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study from a registry comprising MS patients in the counties Buskerud, Oslo and Telemark in Norway. Clinical, demographic and socio-economic data were obtained from the registry. Questionnaires were distributed by postal mail to all living subjects. Self-reported fatigue was assessed with the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions (FSMC), and anxiety and depression was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We used the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) to assess daytime sleepiness.
Results
The response rate was 62.3 % (1599/2566). The prevalence of fatigue was 81.3 %. There was a significantly higher prevalence of fatigue in women than in men (82.9 % vs 77.6 %, p = 0.017). The prevalence was higher in patients aged ≥ 50 years compared with those aged < 50 years (85.7 % vs 75.4 %, p < 0.001). There was also a higher prevalence of fatigue in the group with progressive MS (87.6 % vs 80.0 % in the RR-MS group). 30 % of the patients with fatigue had concomitant anxiety/depression, versus 2.6 % in the non-fatigue group (p<0.001). Daytime sleepiness was more prevalent in patients with fatigue than in patients without fatigue (35 % versus 8 %, p<0.001).
Conclusions
Fatigue is prevalent in contemporary patients with MS and is associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression and daytime sleepiness. Fatigue was more prevalent in women, and in patients older than 50 years of age. Anxiety/depression and daytime sleepiness occurred more often in patients with fatigue.
P0502 - The Natural Course of Multiple Sclerosis Rewritten: A Population Based Study on Disease Demographics and Progression (ID 758)
Abstract
Background
Over the past few decades there has been an improvement in the rate of disability progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, and most studies relate this evolvement to the introduction of disease modifying therapies. However, several other factors have changed over this period, including access to improved MRI and newer diagnostic criteria
Objectives
To investigate changes in the natural course of MS over time in a near-complete and geographically well-defined population from the south-east of Norway.
Methods
This is a registry-based study. We examined disease progression over two decades and assessed the effect of disease modifying therapies using linear mixed-effect models.
Results
In a cohort of 2097 patients we found a significant improvement in disability as measured by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) stratified by age, and the improvement remained significant after adjusting for time on disease modifying medications, gender and progressive MS at onset. The time from disease onset to EDSS 6 in the total cohort was 29.8 years (95% CI 28.5-31.1) and was significantly longer in patients diagnosed after 2006 compared to patients diagnosed before. In addition, we found significant differences between patient demographics, as well as time to EDSS 6 in the near-complete, geographically well-defined population compared to the rest of the cohort from Oslo and its affluent suburbs.
Conclusions
The natural course of MS is improving, but the improvement seen in disease progression in the modern MS patient may have multifaceted explanations. This is supported by our findings of changing population demographics with patients being diagnosed earlier in the disease course, but also at an older age and with less severe disease. Our study underlines the fact that historical cohorts are unsuitable for comparison with modern cohorts in MS studies. We also found significant differences in demographics and time to EDSS 6 between our geographically near-complete population and the rest of the database with the cohort from Oslo and its wealthy suburbs, which means that studies done on incomplete populations should be interpreted with caution. | https://cslide.ctimeetingtech.com/msdc2020/attendee/person/1753 |
Word of friction that has apparently severed the working relationship between director Alejandro González Iñárritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga at first sounds like disappointing news. But after watching “Babel,” their third feature film collaboration, it’s hard not to feel that both men will benefit from the separation. With this effort, their creative union appears to have reached its logical conclusion, and “Babel” is a good (at times superlative) note to go out on.
Once again Arriaga’s screenplay, which jumps around the narrative timeline, focuses on a group of seemingly disparate characters whose individual stories eventually merge. González Iñárritu’s aggressively sophisticated visual style lends itself much better to this script than the writer and director’s previous joint effort, the overly stylized “21 Grams.” The director allows moments of spontaneous energy to emanate from the screen, releasing the vice grip that strangled every aspect of “21 Grams.” His directing can still be obtrusive, but it’s not overwhelming here.
The film begins in Morocco. Two young brothers, Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) and Ahmed (Said Tarchani), are given a newly obtained rifle from their father and instructed to clear the immediate area of jackals. The boys take turns firing the rifle, but when they skeptically test the weapon’s range on a tourist bus that climbs up a windy road, the results are devastating. Their “test” bullet hits an American tourist, Susan (Cate Blanchett), in the neck. Her husband, Richard, (Brad Pitt) desperately tries to save the woman, but medical help is not readily available. The incident becomes international news, viewed as a possible act of terrorism.
In San Diego, Richard and Susan’s two children are being cared for by their Mexican nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza). She is granted permission to take a day off to attend her son’s wedding in Tijuana, but this permission is rescinded on the morning of the event (for reasons that become clear later). Amelia decides she has no choice but to bring the children to the wedding. The decision turns out to have dire consequences.
In Japan, a deaf-mute teenage girl, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), longs for attention, mainly of the sexual variety, causing her to behave in increasingly misguided ways. She’s working through the trauma created by her mother’s suicide, which still brings an occasional visit from the police to question her father. The authorities’ most recent trip to the household has nothing to do with Chieko’s deceased mother, but instead involves the whereabouts of one of her father’s hunting rifles.
The screenplay balances the characters nicely with no one story dominating the film. The plight of Chieko is intriguing at first, but reaches an unsatisfying conclusion. While this segment of the script fits into the movie’s thematic scope, it gradually feels like an appendix that lacks the stakes of the rest of the material. The film wouldn’t be a González Iñárritu/Arriaga effort if the proceedings didn’t become tortured at some point, and “Babel” reaches that territory in its mildly disappointing final act.
González Iñárritu has the ability to elicit effectively focused performances from his actors, and it’s worth mentioning that Pitt, Blanchett and especially Gael Garcia Bernal blend in nearly seamlessly with the rest of the unknown (and in some cases, nonprofessional) cast. Rinko Kikuchi’s performance has already created buzz, but I’m more impressed with Adriana Barraza’s work in a less showy role.
Despite its 142 minute running time, “Babel” only feels a tiny bit long and one’s interest level will remain high throughout. But if you’ve seen “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams,” the film will also be predictable. I’m not suggesting you’ll be able to guess the exact story beats, but one will have an acute sense of the type of punishment that lies in store for the characters. Even if they’ve constructed a slightly different vehicle, the filmmakers are essentially repeating themselves.
When González Iñárritu and Arriaga first burst onto the scene with 2000’s “Amores Perros,” their approach felt vibrant and original. Now with three films under their collective belt, it’d be tough for even their most passionate supporters to deny that the approach has become a formula. And there’s nothing wrong with a formula when it works, but there are enough flaws (the same ones found in all their films) in “Babel” to make me believe the filmmakers rift (the root apparently lies in an inability to share equal authorship of their creations) is a blessing in disguise. After all, it’s usually never a bad idea to quit while you’re ahead. | https://einsiders.com/reviews/babel-2006-review/ |
Search engines such as Google are an important information platform for international society. By actively applying Search Engine Optimization (SEO), website operators can influence their positioning in search engines and thus increase the visibility of their website. This thesis deals with search engine optimization in the context of digital marketing. The result of this work is the structural development of a search engine optimization strategy for international websites. This strategy is not limited to specific markets or industries, but its validity is tested by applying it to the practice-oriented case study of the Spanish website of sevDesk. First of all, an overview of the search engine as a digital channel First of all, an overview is given and its functionality and significance for digital marketing is explained. The needs of search engine users are identified by analyzing the characteristics of search queries and search intentions and then classified according to the AIDA formula into different phases of the modelled purchasing process. In addition to the analysis of the search engine users, a closer look is taken at the specific ranking algorithm of the search engine Google, a second important component of search engine optimization. Various studies are compared in order to work out influencing factors of the ranking algorithm. These are explained in more detail in the context of the disciplines of search engine optimization. The next step is a closer look at the international context and technical and cultural peculiarities of the optimization of international websites. In the following, strategic process flows from the existing technical literature are considered and extended to the international market under appreciation and critical consideration of the literature search. The developed strategy will be implemented using the case study of a Spanish website. The data will be collected and first results will be presented and evaluated. | https://opus.hs-furtwangen.de/solrsearch/index/search/searchtype/all/rows/20/facetNumber_subject/all/start/0/subjectfq/Internetauftritt |
Halloween special: Top 5 scariest aviation close calls
Over the years, aviation has evolved into unseen comfort. Newest interior modifications, including lay-flat seats and interior lighting modifications, have allowed passengers to stay as calm as cucumbers during their journeys throughout the world. Yet sometimes, the calm journeys could have turned for worse.
But either by sheer luck or incredible airmanship demonstrated by the pilots, everyone on board could, later on, tell the horror tale of the flight.
5. A corny Ural Airlines Flight 178
On August 15, 2019, Ural Airlines Airbus A321, carrying 233 people on board (226 passengers and seven crew members) departed from Zhukovsky International Airport (ZIA) in Moscow, Russia towards Simferopol International Airport (SIP) in Ukraine, when shortly after take-off, the two CFM-made engines consumed birds simultaneously. After losing power on both engines and finding themselves at low altitude, the flight crew had no other option but to land ahead – fortunately, a cornfield, situated about 1.8 miles from Zhukovsky was flat enough for the crew to land safely without any power on their engines at all.
After the crash, 29 passengers were taken to the hospital, while more than 50 people received immediate attention at the site.
Picture: Fasttailwind
The aircraft was broken up on-site, as it was damaged beyond repair.
Picture: Dmitry Serebryakov
4. Miracle on the... Neva?
That sentence is correct! In 1963, much much earlier than the Miracle on the Hudson, a Tupolev Tu-124 landed in a river in the city of Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg.
The Tu-124, nicknamed “Squeezed Tu-104”, departed from Tallinn Airport (TLL) towards Vnukovo Airport in Moscow (VKO). Immediately after take-off, the flight crew encountered severe issues with the aircraft – its landing gear would not retract fully, stuck at the half-way point. While the pilots requested to divert back to Tallinn, permission was denied due to heavy fog that had descended upon the airport, so the crew chose to fly to St. Petersburg and land at Pulkovo Airport (LED).
Before attempting to land on one of the unpaved runways at the airport, the flight crew had to dump fuel to reduce the weight on board. Yet the unfortunate chain of events continued – the gauges on board were not working properly, thus the Aeroflot Tu-124 carried much less fuel than pilots and the flight engineer anticipated.
As the engines died out, the captain decided the only option was to attempt a landing in the Neva, a river running through St. Petersburg. The aircraft landed successfully and incredibly, with the help of a tugboat, made its way back to shore – reportedly, no passengers sustained any injuries in the Miracle on the Neva.
3. Miracle on the Hudson!
In very similar circumstances to the Ural Airlines Flight 178, a US Airways Airbus A320 departed from New York-LaGuardia Airport (LGA) towards Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) in North Carolina on January 15, 2009. What began as a fairly normal flight, turned out to become one of the flights to be ingrained in aviation history forever.
A few minutes after leaving LaGuardia (LGA), First Officer Jeffrey B. Skiles said “Birds”. Just seconds after, the aircraft’s two engines sucked in geese and immediately lost power. While Air Traffic Control suggested diverting back to LGA, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger told the controller that he was unable to do so. The last-ditch option was Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, this was not an option either – Captain Sully realized it, telling the controller that “we can’t do it”. As the controller responded, asking “which runway would like at Teterboro”, the answer he got was – “we’re gonna be in the Hudson”, as the Airbus A320 did not have enough altitude and speed to reach Teterboro.
Jeff intuitively knew he should help me judge the height above the river to begin the landing by calling out airspeed and altitude. While the impact was hard, I could tell the plane was intact and floating. Jeff and I said almost in unison – “That wasn’t as bad as I thought.” pic.twitter.com/RqWJDn4Nxe— Sully Sullenberger (@Captsully) January 15, 2019
To the surprise of many, the US Airways aircraft landed in the Hudson river during the freezing New York winter. Fortunately, none of the crew and passengers were injured. Multiple boats and ferries traveling through the river picked up the passengers from the wings of the A320.
2. PULL UP Air Canada Flight 759
A flight number that has not been used since the incident on July 7, 2017, Air Canada Flight 759 was a regularly scheduled service between Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), that took off from the Canadian city just before 10 PM local time, about 30 minutes later than it was supposed to.
Most of the flight, apart from an area of thunderstorms mid-way through the flight, was uneventful. However, at about a quarter to midnight in Toronto’s local time, the crew reported signs of fatigue, about two hours before landing in SFO.
Meanwhile, at San Francisco, Runway 28L was closed for repairs with its lights shut off – only a 20.5 foot wide X was flashing at the eastern runway threshold. The local San Francisco airport Air Traffic Control issued the clearance to land at Runway 28R to Air Canada Flight 759.
Due to fatigue, both pilots did not notice or did not pay enough attention to the issued Notice to airmen (NOTAM), which notified the pilots about the closure of Runway 28L. As stated in the NTSB report, both crewmen noted that the Taxiway C surface resembled a runway for them, thus they thought that Runway 28R was the closed Runway 28L and Taxiway C was Runway 28R, at which the local San Francisco ATC had cleared the Canadian crew to land in.
The aircraft lined up to land on Taxiway C and just 14 feet (4.3 meters) separated the Air Canada Airbus A320 and an Air Philippines Airbus A340’s tail, before the Air Canada (ADH2) jet pulled up and conducted a normal turn-around, landing at SFO normally.
1. Japan Airlines Boeing 747 and DC-10 near-collision mid-air
While the former NTSB chairman called the Air Canada (ADH2) near miss on San Francisco’s Taxiway C "the most significant near-miss we've had in this decade", two Japan Airlines aircraft nearly colliding mid-air in 2001 would have become the deadliest accident in aviation history.
A Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400 took off from Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND) en-route to Naha Airport (OKA) on the island of Okinawa, carrying 427 people – 411 passengers and 16 crew members were present on board. Flight 907 took off from HND at 3:36 PM local time.
Meanwhile, a Japan Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 was flying from South Korea’s Gimhae International Airport (PUS) in Busan to Tokyo-Narita International Airport (NRT) on Flight 958 – the DC-10 was descending just before landing at Narita.
The pilots of the two aircraft received a warning from their Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) that they are on a path of a mid-air collision. Following the warning, the captain of the DC-10 descended further. The flight plan indicated that the two jets were supposed to be separated by 2,000 feet of altitude.
A trainee air traffic controller, who overlooked traffic above Tokyo, mistakenly told the 747 to descend, while telling the DC-10 to take a turn towards the south-east. The message to turn south-east never got through to the pilots, even if they were told to do so twice, according to an Associated Press report. Thus, the two jets were on a course to collide mid-air.
A supervisor of the trainee took over in order to avoid the disaster. Mistakenly, she called out Flight 958 – which was not the DC-10’s code – to descend immediately, yet Flight 957 never responded, as the captain of the tri-jet thought that ATC was talking to a different aircraft.
The Queen Of The Skies’ Captain, Makoto Watanabe, made a sharp maneuver downwards in order to avoid the other Japan Airlines aircraft, and according to a report by BBC, the two aircraft missed each other by 35 feet (10.6 meters). 42 people on board the 747 were injured, two of whom seriously, according to a report by Associated Press from 2001. The Double-decker jet returned to its origin airport, Haneda (HND), safely.
To sum up, potentially, these could have been the most fatal air disasters:
- Ural Airlines Flight 178
- Aeroflot Neva ditch
- US Airways Flight 1549
- Air Canada Flight 759
- Japan Airlines Flight 907 and Japan Airlines Flight 957
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Job satisfaction can be defined as "the extent to which people like or dislike their jobs". This definition suggests job satisfaction is a general or global affective reaction that individuals hold about their job. Family Roles are patterns of behavior by which individuals fulfill family functions and needs. Family role changes may affect their daily activities including a person's work. Unlike traditional job satisfaction surveys, this study was trying to explore the correlation between employee's personal profile and their satisfaction in their job. The personal profile determinants which were compared with overall job satisfaction were - Age, Gender, Work experience, marital status, dependent children and parents. It revealed that majority of the determinants studied were having positive impact on the job satisfaction. It is interesting to note that comparatively young employees with dependents were more satisfied with their job. They were feeling satisfied and motivated to work as they were contributing to the family. | https://manipal.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/determinants-of-job-satisfaction-among-healthcare-workers-at-a-te/ |
INNOVATION POLICY: MORE COOPERATION REQUIRED
While the Government’s “inner revolutionary” approach shows positive signs to drive economic growth and productivity, cooperation across government, business and academic sectors will be critical, according to the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA).
“Our research tells us there is insufficient cooperative behaviour between Australian businesses, creating a barrier to the spread of existing innovations to a wider cross-section of firms; this represents a significant lost opportunity to the economy,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.
“Australia needs action to promote increased innovation across the Australian SME sector including more government support for research and development by small and medium-sized firms; and government support for firms to adopt existing technologies and innovation.
“We also believe there needs to be better linkages between cutting-edge research universities and industry.
“Firms should also be encouraged to adopt continuous improvement methodology to embed incremental innovation as this will generate large productivity improvements more quickly.
“To help facilitate this, the Government could provide tax breaks for companies acquiring new technologies not developed in-house, along with a tax allowance for companies investing in intellectual property protection in-house, and a tax allowance for companies that generate licensing income from in-house new technologies,” said Mr. Conway. | https://www.publicaccountants.org.au/news-advocacy/media-releases/innovation-policy-more-cooperation-required |
How to Practice Active Listening to Improve Your Communication?
1. Active listening to reassure your interlocutor
Respect the word
The first principle of active listening is to be there, present to the other person's words. You are not supposed to speak at first. Moments of silence are sometimes uncomfortable, precisely because you don't know what to say. In active listening, the idea is to use them to your advantage.
Let the other person speak without interrupting. Let them get to the end of their thoughts. When the speaker stops, you can use this time to reflect on what he or she is saying. The answer then comes only later. There is nothing more unpleasant than someone who cuts you off or who is already thinking about the answer they will give you. In the business world, it's even worse, especially if you're a manager or business owner. By acting like this, you risk disrupting communication and creating tension. The other person may think you are not listening. To be an active listener, you must let the other person finish before speaking.
Respect the framework
Pay attention to the way the other person is speaking. Ask yourself if you are in the frame of the problem. Listen for weak signals - the substance of what is being said, not just the message.
For example, if your employee is under a lot of stress, you can't ask them to complete a task as quickly as possible. You will only increase their stress. You can, however, ask them why they are stressed and why they were unable to complete the task. Is it a lack of resources, information or organization? By understanding the reasons for his anxiety, you can lower the tension and establish a dialogue. Without this step, nothing can be said or heard.
To listen actively, you must know when to intervene and when to wait. You may want to intervene while the other person is talking, but be respectful. You can use the words "I understand," "I see," "that's interesting," "continue," or any other comment that shows you are listening. You can also ask questions to clarify your understanding, require clarification, definition or explanation of an idea.
When you are not sure you understand what you have been told, it is important to state it. For example, "I'm not sure I understood what you said. Can you give me an example?
You can also ask to repeat or clarify certain information. This can be helpful if you did not understand or are unsure of the meaning of a suggestion or statement, to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.
Use your body
Your body communication also shows your curiosity and interest. In meetings, sweep your gaze over all participants, open your hands and arms. Stand on your feet if you are standing. Speak calmly and clearly. Your audience will then be in a calm, trusting atmosphere, in which everyone feels free to ask questions, to question the opinions of others.
On the other hand, if the speaker is aggressive, you may need to use your body in a different way, especially to show that you do not feel threatened by his or her language or actions. If he or she is angry, you can cross your hands or arms. Your gaze should be firm, but not hostile. You can adopt a wider, more open posture and move in a way that leaves an opening. Managing emotions is very difficult in the workplace. Especially when it comes to frustration, anger and disappointment. In this case, the objective of active listening is to lower the tension to allow the dialogue to resume.
2. Active listening to ask the right questions
Sometimes, certain situations are uncomfortable. Let's take the example of a networking event. Not easy, is it? You arrive at a party where you don't know anyone. You don't want to stand there with your drink in your hand. But how do you get to know someone? Active listening is your best ally in this type of exercise. Why is that? Simply because it is about asking questions and being interested in the person in front of you, without any ulterior motive. Ask questions, about them, about what they like. You will learn more in a very short time, with a smile, while leaving the impression that you have paid attention to what was said. You will feel more at ease. It will be a great evening! | https://www.infofreeworld.com/2022/08/how-to-practice-active-listening-to.html |
Gaming machines in pubs and clubs (i.e. outside a casino) represent 'Class 4' gambling, which the Gambling Act 2003 classifies as high-risk, high-turnover gambling. Class 4 gambling may only be conducted by a corporate society and only to raise money for an authorised (e.g. community and non-commercial) purpose.
The Gambling Act (Class 4) Game Rules govern the playing and participation in Class 4 gambling that utilises gaming machines outside of casinos and the systems, processes, information and documentation associated with particular games.
Gambling Act (Class 4) Game Rules 2004 (PDF, 200K)*.
The Gaming Machine Operations Manual (Blue Book) was replaced by the Class 4 Game Rules 2004.
These Support Guidelines are not mandatory. They were developed by class 4 sector representatives in collaboration with the Department to assist gaming machine operators with their operations. In particular, the Support Guidelines will help venue operators ensure their gaming machine float remains intact.
The Department assesses class 4 non club venues against three overall outcomes. Guidance for venue managers, the outcomes framework, the Department’s expectations of well performing venues, and the assessment guide for inspectors are available below.
The guide for inspectors was designed to assist with venue assessments. It is not a definitive template and inspectors may or may not ask each question listed within it. During a venue assessment inspectors will be asking sufficient questions to satisfy themselves that they have a good understanding of a venue’s practices including how they meet their harm minimisation obligations. This will allow them to decide how well a venue meets the Department’s expectations for each outcome. It is likely that inspectors will often ask other questions which are not included in this guide.
The following letter clarifies the Department's expectations in relation to actual, reasonable and necessary costs; minimising costs and maximising net proceeds; venue developments and enhancements; and a number of other issues following recent Gambling Commission appeals.
The Department has created the example Record Keeping for Gaming Operations (Monthly) Spreadsheet.
Please update the spreadsheet with data from the start of your financial year and follow it from now on. You can add more Authorised Purposes that correspond to the club's gaming licence. Total boxes and Authorised Purpose percentages will be calculated automatically if the formula stays the same.
The basic principle that underlies these guidelines is that costs must be minimised and funds for the community must be maximised.
Note: These Guidelines are currently under review in light of the Gambling Commission's comments in its decision in the appeal by The Trusts Charitable Foundation (TTCF) against the Secretary's suspension of its Class 4 operator's licence.
Societies should read the existing guidelines in light of the Gambling Commission's decision and should refer to the Key Messages from the Southern Trust (GC11/10) letter sent to societies on 5 July 2010.
Section 104(1) of the Gambling Act 2003 (the Act) requires a Class 4 venue manager to bank all gambling profits (GMP) directly into a dedicated account for gaming machine profits. On occasions an event such as a theft, robbery or a natural disaster may impact on the venue manager’s ability to bank GMP in accordance with the requirements under the Act.
Some or all of the outstanding GMP (where the GMP has not been insured but legitimate attempts were made to do so).
For the request to waive GMP to be considered the Department needs to be satisfied that there were processes in place at the venue to mitigate risk of GMP loss, and that the terms in the venue agreement were complied with. The guide below provides guidance on what the Department may consider in this situation.
Section 95 of the Gambling Act 2003 sets out a sequence of steps that must be taken by clubs that intend to merge under the section 95 procedure and wish to apply to the Minister for approval to operate up to 30 machines.
The Gambling Act allows for the growth of gambling to be controlled through territorial authorities.
Territorial authorities have introduced policies that can limit gaming machine numbers and they must agree to where gaming machines are placed in their districts. In this way the community can have input into gaming machine numbers and locations.
A corporate society must apply for territorial consent before it establishes new gaming machine venues and increases the number of machines that may be operated at existing venues.
The Gambling Act 2003 aims to control the growth of gambling. There are strict licensing criteria for organisations wanting to run gaming machines and for the venues at which those machines are operated. The licensing criteria aim to: Prevent and minimise harm caused by gambling, including problem gambling Facilitate responsible gambling Ensure the integrity and fairness of games Ensure that money from gaming machines benefits the community Ensure that gaming machines operate at suitable venues Limit the opportunity for crime and dishonesty associated with gaming machines Ensure that gaming machines are run by responsible, accountable societies.
The Department is currently reviewing its expectations in determining whether a Class 4 applicant's proposed gambling operation is "financially viable".
The following rules were in place prior to 7 March 2016 (use for historical reference only): Gambling Act (Class 4) Game Rules 2006 (PDF, 1.7M)* The following rules were in place prior to 29 June 2006 (use for historical reference only): Gambling Act (Class 4) Game Rules 2004 (PDF, 200K)*. The Gaming Machine Operations Manual (Blue Book) was replaced by the Class 4 Game Rules 2004.
All societies should consider these guidelines carefully before deciding whether to arrange a conference: Guidelines for Society Conference Expenses (PDF, 19K)* The basic principle that underlies these guidelines is that costs must be minimised and funds for the community must be maximised. Note: These Guidelines are currently under review in light of the Gambling Commission's comments in its decision in the appeal by The Trusts Charitable Foundation (TTCF) against the Secretary's suspension of its Class 4 operator's licence. Societies should read the existing guidelines in light of the Gambling Commission's decision and should refer to the Key Messages from the Southern Trust (GC11/10) letter sent to societies on 5 July 2010. | https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Casino-and-Non-Casino-Gaming-Gambling-in-Pubs-and-Clubs-(Class-4)?OpenDocument |
Eczema is the most common of skin diseases, with inflammation, redness, blisters, accompanied by itch or sores. The exact cause of atopic dermatitis is currently unknown and ranges from allergies to being genetically inherited. The symptoms ranges from red scabs on the head and cheek through childhood, to dry skin from adolescence to adulthood, becoming rough and itchy.
Eczema is a type of inflammation that occurs in the skin. There are different types of eczema, but in this page atopic dermatitis is covered. It is an overreaction to biological substances and allergens. Antigens such as mites and dust (allergens) stimulates the skin, and chemical mediators such as histamine is released from mast cells in the body. When histamine is released, skin reacts sensitively, and allergy symptoms such as itching and eczema is the result.
People prone to eczema may be hypersensitive to sweating and changes in temperature, and external stimuli. Symptoms will vary to some extent by age, but generally affecting the entire skin in general, especially the elbows, knees, and neck. Skin feels grainy, and it can be itchy with sores.
Appropriate care of skin is vital in order not to exacerbate the condition. Dry skin is particularly vulnerable, so moisturising and and cleaning are most important. In addition, symptoms will likely worsen with stress, etc., so it is also necessary to keep a stress-free lifestyle.
Gentle cleaning: Keeping the skin clean is important to get rid of dirt and sweat in particular. However, do rinse well so that the shampoo, conditioner or soap do not remain on skin. Ensure that vigorous scrubbing or rubbing is to be avoided.
Clean rooms: Dust mites and mold cause skin irritation and are everywhere. Clean rooms daily if possible, at the same time air the rooms. Rapid changes in temperature and humidity aggravates itching, so air conditioning may be required to regulate the temperature in a room.
Medication: With dry symptoms you can use topical steroids and cream with high moisture retention and ointment. When severe symptoms occur, oral medication such as antihistamines can prevent worsening of symptoms and relieve itching. | https://www.satopharm.com.sg/healthcare-tips/eczema |
We all are a part of some kind of team: at work, in our families, or in a committee or organization. I think it’s safe to say that on a daily basis, we are working with others in most areas of our life. If you’re an executive or manager, you are working with all departments of the company. If you’re married, you’re working with your spouse continually on schedules, finances, and daily responsibilities. And if you serve on a committee, you are responsible for giving input and pulling your weight. We all make up a part of a team. The most important thing of being a part of a team is knowing your particular responsibility in the group. If you swerve into someone else’s “lane” of work and start taking over a task, your team will get frustrated and be unproductive (and not to mention that the team member whose toes you stepped on will be offended). On the contrary, if you don’t participate at all in the group, it makes more work for someone else and thus, the team is, yet again, unproductive. Use each other’s strengths and weaknesses to determine who handles which task. After gaining a full understanding of your individual task, have the respect to stick to it. All members of the team must respect and trust each other. Good communication is vital to group synergy. Everyone should know their part, as well as the other members’ responsibilities. The entire group needs to fully understand the overall goal and how to get there. Teams are made up of a diverse group of people; being open to all ideas and suggestions shows cooperation and inclusivity. Make sure that there are consistent processes in the team and be sure to follow those closely. Understanding the roles and goals of the team will help to keep everyone on the same page. What I think is the key to a great team is: each participant committing to their responsibility and sticking to that role; all team members being competent and capable to contribute; everyone following through and completing tasks on-time; all members coming together to assess the current state of the team/project and plan for future progress. I love to be autonomous, but when you are included as part of a progressive, effective team, you can learn beyond yourself – and it’s more fun! Teamwork is not only a very common portion of our jobs, it’s also a way to improve. Expose yourself to diverse people and ideas. The world wouldn’t be any fun if we were all cookie-cutter versions! A great learning opportunity always lies within a group project or activity. The dictionary defines Synergy as “the creation of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts”. When we find ways to come together, and when the notion of teamwork really succeeds, a team can be more innovative, more impressive, and more useful. Let’s not be the whole. Let’s be a part. Brittany Baughman is the Community Relations Coordinator at Webster University in Greenville. She is responsible for the recruiting and public relations activities of the campus, as well as managing social media, planning all campus events, and implementing local marketing initiatives. She and her husband, Jonathan, live in Greenville and stay busy spoiling their 1-year-old Lab/Spaniel mix, Darla. Brittany serves on the 2014 PULSE Marketing Committee as the YP Perspective blogger and coordinates the blog posting for PULSE.
Comments
0 comments on "The Essentials of Teamwork: Being a Part and Not the Whole" | http://greenvillechamber.org/blog/2014/10/07/collaboration/the-essentials-of-teamwork-being-a-part-and-not-the-whole/?userid=Katie%2525252525252525252520Busbee |
In the last Skinny, we introduced GARCH models, which can be used to model the time-varying volatility and volatility clustering commonly found in financial signals.
Today we are going to test one application of GARCH models: implied volatility forecasting.
Join Tom, Tony and Julia as they discuss whether trading more selectively according to GARCH volatility forecasts can increase the average P/L per trade when trading SPY strangles. | https://tastytrade.com/tt/shows/the-skinny-on-quantitative-finance/episodes/testing-garch-models-10-23-2020 |
Interchange fees: A done deal?
The news that Visa Europe has offered to reduce interchange fees on debit cards has yet to convince the European Commission that it should end antitrust proceedings.
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News
BT Retail Week Technology Awards shortlist revealed
The 60-strong shortlist for this year’s BT Retail Week Technology Awards has been announced.
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Analysis
The green team
The UK’s biggest retailers are casting their nets ever wider when it comes to taking responsibility for sustainability initiatives. How exactly are they raising their green game
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Opinion
Out of sight, out of mind
The website crash suffered by Net-a-Porter spin-off The Outnet last week shows that even internet-savvy businesses can get things very wrong.
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Analysis
What’s the benefit of retailers’ TV exposure?
Can participation in a TV show be beneficial to a retailer’s image or is it a gamble that can do long-term damage?
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Analysis
Top guns: Is there still room for the maverick retail chief executive?
Today’s retail chief executive is more likely to be a former management consultant than market trader. But is there room for big personalities on today’s retail scene, asks Joanna Perry
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Opinion
Digital Economy Bill: Time for change
The debate in Parliament yesterday confirmed that the anti-piracy measures within the Digital Economy bill are certain to pass into law, and be retained regardless of which party takes power next month.
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Analysis
Retailers prepare to tap World Cup fever
Retailers were said to have coined in £1.25bn from the 2006 World Cup but will recession-hit shoppers have football fever this time?
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News
Comet to provide free IT training to 50,000 OAPs
Comet has committed to providing free IT training for 50,000 senior citizens as the first retailer to sign-up to work with the Race Online 2012 initiative led by Martha Lane Fox.
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Analysis
Lloydspharmacy: Just the medicine
Giving more responsibility to local managers is helping Lloydspharmacy as it focuses on delivering more healthcare services and helping develop its staff too
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Opinion
E-learning from the public sector
Retailers can learn much from how the push to deliver far more public services online plays out.
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Analysis
Online retail demographics: the law of averages
The average age of internet buyers in Europe is 40. Does this mean multichannel has become truly mass market, and are there still distinctions in the way different groups shop? Joanna Perry investigates
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Analysis
Retail iPhone apps: Mobile commerce on the move?
Can the upsurge in mobile phone apps from retailers turn the hype of mobile commerce into a reality, or are they just a passing fad?
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Analysis
Augmented Reality
Last week fashion group Benetton launched its global catalogue with ‘augmented reality’ technology to increase customer interaction. So what does that mean and who’s doing it?
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Analysis
Retailers must make their own luck in 2010
There won’t be a double-dip recession, Retail Week Conference delegates heard, but this year will be bumpy.
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Opinion
No red card for CNP fraud
After years of rising card-not-present fraud, which retailers have had to shoulder, is technology finally winning the battle?
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Analysis
The ideal store
Which areas of in-store operations do retailers fall down on - and how can they improve them? Joanna Perry finds out
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News
Poundland founder to launch mid-market variety chain
Dave Dodd unveils vision for 200-strong national chain Hub, with first stores to be open in three months
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Analysis
Cash flow: Balancing the books
Cash is king in these difficult times, so what are retailers doing to ensure they have the money to run their business day to day? Joanna Perry reports
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News
RWC2010: Chris Dawson expects more retail failures in 12 to 14 months
Colourful entrepreneur and owner of The Range, Chris Dawson, has predicted that he will be picking up stock from more failing retailers a year from now. | https://www.retail-week.com/joanna-perry/1192.contributor?page=6 |
Melanocortin 1 receptor variants and skin cancer risk.
Melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene variants are associated with red hair and fair skin color. We assessed the associations of common MC1R genotypes with the risks of 3 types of skin cancer simultaneously in a nested case-control study within the Nurses' Health Study (219 melanoma, 286 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and 300 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) cases, and 873 controls). We found that the 151Cys, 160Trp and 294His variants were significantly associated with red hair, fair skin color and childhood tanning tendency. The MC1R variants, especially the 151Cys variant, were associated with increased risks of the 3 types of skin cancer, after controlling for hair color, skin color and other skin cancer risk factors. Carriers of the 151Cys variant had an OR of 1.65 (95% CI, 1.04-2.59) for melanoma, 1.67 (1.12-2.49) for SCC and 1.56 (1.03-2.34) for BCC. Women with medium or olive skin color carrying 1 nonred hair color allele and 1 red hair color allele had the highest risk of melanoma. A similar interaction pattern was observed for red hair and carrying at least 1 red hair color allele on melanoma risk. We also observed that the 151Cys variant contributed additional melanoma risk among red-haired women. The information on MC1R status modestly improved the risk prediction; the increase was significant for melanoma and BCC (p, 0.004 and 0.05, respectively). These findings indicated that the effects of the MC1R variants on skin cancer risk were independent from self-reported phenotypic pigmentation.
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GMS Athletics Frequently Asked Questions
When does Athletics begin?
Athletics does not begin until the 7th grade school year by UIL guidelines. Practices begin the first or second day of school. There will not be any early start during the summer.
Is Athletics required?
No. Students in 7th grade are required to take a fitness course and may choose between Physical Education or Athletics. For 8th grade students, it is strictly an elective course.
What sports are there to participate in?
Volleyball is the only sport that is gender specific and limited to females. All other sports are open to both males and females. These sports are Football, Basketball, Cross Country and Track.
What about tennis and soccer?
Tennis and soccer is intramural-only sports. They are not part of Athletics and it is strictly after school. It is open to any and all 7th and 8th grade students.
When are the different seasons?
Football / Volleyball August – October
Cross Country November – December
Basketball November – February
Track / Tennis February – April
When are tryouts?
Tryouts for each sport happen at the very beginning of each season. For example, football and volleyball tryouts will begin the first week of school. Basketball tryouts will begin after the conclusion of the previous season.
How many people make each team?
This varies based upon each sport.
What happens if a student doesn’t make a team?
If the girls do not make the volleyball traveling team, they can participate in the Player Development League (PDL) and will work on volleyball skills. Or, they can choose to participate in the off-season conditioning workouts.
Students who are not on the basketball team will automatically take part in Cross Country. During Track season, all students will participate in the track workouts during the class period, but will not be required to stay after school for the field event practices.
Are there before/after school practices?
Yes. If the student makes a travel squad, they will be required to practice outside of the normal class times. 7th grade teams begin practices before school and may start as early as 6:30 and 8th grade teams begin practice during the last period and may stay as late as 5 pm.
Cross Country practices are held during the class period unless you are a basketball player that runs Cross Country. Those athletes are expected to come to 2 before or after school practices. For example, if you are a 7th grade girl that plays basketball, you will be expected to come to 2 after school cross country practices in order to be eligible to run in the CC meet.
What nights are the games?
Schedules vary by sport and are determined by the Athletic Directors of the three school districts in which we compete. We will not have these schedules until May or June. Please check the website after that time for more information.
How many sports must students participate to be in Athletics?
Every student must participate in a minimum of two sports (one fall and one spring), and will be given the opportunity to do so for credit.
Can students take one semester of Athletics?
No. Athletics is a two-semester course. Students may not drop out of Athletics at any time throughout the school year.
What if students are in band/choir/dance/cheer?
Other school related activities will not be affected by participation in Athletics nor should the student’s role in Athletics be affected. The coaches work closely with the sponsors of these other groups in order to make sure students can participate in all activities. The goal is to insure that they benefit from each activity.
Do athletes run every day?
Yes. Students will be expected to run every day. This may be in the form of distance runs or sport-specific sprints and conditioning.
Do students have to be a good athlete?
No. They simply must be willing to participate and work hard every day. As middle school coaches, we are here to teach the athletes the skills and sports to prepare them for high school and future athletic endeavors.
When do they get a physical?
Every student in Athletics must have a physical on file before being allowed to participate in any practice or tryout. They are good for up to one year from the date which the physical is given. We recommend students get their physical no earlier than May 15th.
There is a specific physical form that must be signed by he physician and may be found on the CTMS website under “Athletics”. These may be submitted before the end of this school year or students can bring them with to registration in August.
2016-2017 Physical Form
What do they need to wear?
Athletes are expected to be in proper workout attire every day. Girls are required to wear the gray shorts and gray shirts both with the red pony that are sold through the Athletic Department. The online store opens in May for three weeks, and then again the day of fall registration. (You can find the link to the online store on the girls athletic website.) There are usually a few items to sell at registration and during the school year, but there is no guarantee.
Proper shoes with support and laces are a must. Jewelry is not permitted during practices. Students can bring containers to keep in lockers for jewelry and other small items during practice time. For girls, hair is also expected to be pulled back during all practices. | https://gmsathleticboosterclub.org/faqs/ |
Feta & Tomato Tart
Ideal as an appetizer or to share at brunch, this dish is a balance of creamy and savory. Président Feta Crumbles provide a rich, salty note that pairs well with the acidity of tomatoes and peppers. Layers of flavors are packed into a flakey pastry crust for a delicious combination of taste and texture.
Prep Time20 min
Cook Time35 min
Servings6
Ingredients
- 9 in Pastry Shell uncooked
- 3 Tomato peeled
- 3/4 cup Mayonnaise
- 6 oz Président® Feta Plain Crumbled
- 1 cup Mushrooms sliced
- 1 tbsp Onion chopped
- 1 tbsp Green Pepper chopped
- 1/4 Basil chopped
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
- Arrange half of tomato slices in pastry shell.
- Combine mayonnaise, Feta, mushrooms, onion, green pepper and basil, stirring well.
- Spread half of mixture over tomato slices. Repeat layers with remaining tomatoes and mayonnaise mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
- Set aside and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. | https://presidentcheese.com/recipes/feta-cheese/feta-tomato-tart/ |
The City of Rocklin Public Services Department works to keep city streets clean and safe, landscape areas healthy and green, street lighting systems and traffic signals operating, and creeks and open space areas pollution free.
Public Services also operates and maintains the City’s fleet of vehicles, as well as coordinates Capital Improvement Projects.
Providing these services means both a commitment to residents and a respect for the community, which is why the Public Services Department encourages you to browse through these web pages and let us know what you think.
Publications & Forms
Publications, forms, and resources can be viewed and downloaded.
Current Projects
Capital improvement projects enhance public safety, improve quality of life, and expand economic development.
The initiation of these projects is based on growth and development in the City that has been identified in the City’s General Plan.
Capital improvement projects are roadway improvement projects that have been identified in the circulation element of the City’s General Plan. The initiation of these projects is based on growth and development in the City.
More information about future planned improvement projects can be found in the City of Rocklin budget documents.
Bid Opportunities
Geographic Information Systems
GIS Provides ready access to a wide array of geographic information in an easy-to-use format – a map.
Public Services Permits
Public Services administers Encroachment Permits, Overload Transportation Permits, and Street Closure Permits
Landscaping, Creeks & Open Space
The City of Rocklin maintains open space preserves and landscaping in parks and roadways throughout the city.
Traffic, Lights & Signs
The Traffic Division is responsible for a variety of functions that contribute to our community’s safe and efficient movement of people, goods, and services.
The City of Rocklin follows the California Vehicle Code and national guidelines for traffic control devices such as signal lights, traffic signs, and paint markings. Several factors are considered when deciding to place traffic control devices including traffic volumes, accident rates, pedestrian traffic, and travel delays.
Requests for traffic control devices can be submitted to the City by contacting Public Services at 916.625.5500 or online via Access Rocklin.
Recycling
In Rocklin, trash is sorted at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and everything that can be recycled is sorted and processed automatically without you having to sort anything. That’s why we only have One Big Bin for trash and recycling!
Stormwater Pollution Prevention
Our Environmental Services staff implement permit compliance tasks and track stormwater regulations on behalf of the City of Rocklin. We document information on illegal discharge detection and elimination, street and storm drain cleaning, creek maintenance, stormwater and creek protection controls for development projects, business inspections, and public outreach, education and participation.
- Creek Water Data
- Household Hazardous Waste
- Integrated Pest Management
- Pet Waste Management
- Pool Water Discharge
- Pressure Washing
- Residential Pollution Prevention
- Rocklin Tree Guide
- EPA Sollution to Pollution
- EPA Stormwater for Construction Industry
- Pollution Prevention for Kids
- Placer County Stormwater Pollution Prevention for Food Service Industry
- Construction/Business Tracking
- MVC Wetlands in Your Neighborhood
- Read more
Streets and Drains
Public Services is committed to maintaining Rocklin’s streets and stormdrains in order to keep our city safe.
Street Maintenance
In keeping with the high quality of living in Rocklin, Public Services strives to keep every street in good riding condition, drainage, and appearance.
Over time, the stress of weather and traffic creates cracks, potholes, and other weaknesses in the pavement. The City performs an inventory of the entire road network on a rotating basis to determine where maintenance is needed. | https://www.rocklin.ca.us/public-services |
The goal of the Linguistics minor is to provide students with a distinct structured way of obtaining a foundation in the field, hence making them competitive for graduate study in linguistics and for graduate study and/or employment in fields where linguistics is a valued area, such as computer science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and communications.
Courses are designed to provide students with a better understanding of the structure, history and use of language. Students graduating with a linguistic minor will be able to, among other things, explain the core concepts of the field, explain and apply the traditional methods of linguistic analysis in the core fields, identify features common to all human languages and identify social and political issues in which knowledge of linguistics is salient.
To learn more about the linguistics minor, please contact Professor Yousif Elhindi [email protected] or (423) 439-5996.
Note: Other electives may be substituted if approved by the minor advisor. | https://catalog.etsu.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=26&poid=9988&returnto=1306 |
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About this photo
This photograph is part of a series that I took at “Les Roques Encantades” that literally means The Enchanted Rocks; the forest it’s close to “El Santuari de la Salut” in the Girona province, and it is not far from “Rupit”, a medieval town worth visiting. I really enjoy taking this kind of photograph, the landscape in front of you gets a different dimension and it became something ethereal; it’s like getting into the dreamland.
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Keep track of our website updates, including stunning new images, and photography tutorials. | https://www.marcgcphotography.com/wallpapers/stones-and-trees-enchanted-rocks-catalonia.php |
"What Older Adults Need to Know About Hydration" - K. Aleisha Fetters
At any age, staying hydrated is important to stay healthy and feel your best, but it is increasingly crucial in the older years. Dehydration carries a significant risk of negative outcomes, including disability, morbidity and even mortality in older adults, who are among the most likely to be dehydrated, according to 2015 research published in the Journal of Gerontology Nursing. Between 20% and 30% of older adults are chronically dehydrated. Even mild dehydration can cause confusion, fatigue, loss of strength, reduced coordination and decreased cognitive function. "These effects are exacerbated in older adults because they are more likely to have underlying chronic conditions and a blunted response to adapt to the physiological stressors that occur with dehydration," said Audrey Chun, vice chair of geriatric and palliative medicine outpatient services in the Mount Sinai Health System and director of Coffey Geriatrics at The Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Hospital. | https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2019/what-older-adults-need-to-know-about-hydration-k-aleisha-fetters |
Sales professional who is a self-starter and very capable of effectively functioning with minimal supervision. Known for taking initiative and skilled at meeting challenges and deadlines. Excellent problem solving and negotiating skills. Areas of expertise include: Computer proficiency, Multitasking in handling over 300 clients, Flexible in that job changes every day, Account management, Organizing and prioritizing, Promoting growth, Effective listening skills, and Delivering sales presentations.
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You hit your limit of Direct Messages for the month. To send more direct messages this month, you will need to upgrade to the next level. | https://www.malakye.com/profile/612733/cindy-million |
Vocabulary is one of the most important aspects in teaching and learning a foreign language. In addition, vocabulary is the key of enriching the knowledge of a foreign/target language. Different perspectives of teaching vocabulary shed light on the complexity of helping learners achieve success in learning vocabulary appropriately. Thus, it is a process that needs the teacher's help. It is their responsibility to provide students with effective activities. Theoretically, teachers in order to be effective in their teaching, they should be provided an overview of the student's needs, characteristics, and their culture.
Sometimes, it can be quite challenging for teachers to know how to effectively teach vocabulary to students, because every student has his/her own style of learning new words. Even though the students have the same level of English language,such as beginner, intermediate or advanced, they do not use the same learning strategies in the classroom or outside it. Therefore, students need to enhance their vocabulary and they need to know how to use it in the classroom and in everyday situations. These eight techniques will help to promote the EFL learners' understanding and communication in English Language.
- Communicative approach is emphasized as an appropriate method in learning new vocabulary. Make sure that students are motivated and interested to get involved in communicative situations. The students will be given the opportunity to communicate with English native speakers. This is one of the good advantages for students to acquire new words in a practical and proficient way.
- Cooperative activities. Using different kinds of activities in presenting new vocabulary will help learners learn new words and enhance their communication in English language. Students of different English levels will get the chance to use different cooperative learning activities to improve their vocabulary in English language. That is, during activities the students will learn from each other. The importance is that teachers should create an environment where the students will enjoy the learning.
- Using learners as resources in introducing new words. This can be done by using different activities. One of the most used activities is role-play. For example, a small group of students do the activity about a situation and other students are observing. All the students enact a role-play but about different situations. By using this technique, students get the chance to use the vocabulary appropriately for those situations. This helps the students learn through observation.
- Brainstorming new words is a technique that encourages students to focus on a topic or situation, which gives them the opportunity to share their knowledge. Give students a specific topic that is in accordance to their level and interest, and allow them to discuss about it. Students by giving different opinions will make them debate with their classmates.
- Class games help students build on their experiences and allow them to improve their vocabulary. There are a lot of games that teachers can use in the classroom by taking into consideration the student's level of English. Sometimes students get bored by listening to the teacher all the time. Therefore, using games encourage learners learn the language and also enjoy at the same time.
- Another technique that teachers can use is to help students to use new words in context. Use this kind of method to help students find the meaning of words while reading a text. The important is that teachers should make sure that students are aware of how words fit into sentences and how to use them, and not just to know their meaning and pronunciation.
- Translation is an effective technique when translating students something that they do not understand, from English language to L1 or vice-versa. This is more appropriate for students who are beginners and is occasionally used for students of intermediate or advanced level of English. This technique helps teachers to emphasize new structures, specifically in terms of accuracy.
- Make the students write sentences using the new vocabulary learned. The students will practice the new words, but also they will get the possibility to improve better their writing. Let them choose the topic for what they will be more interested to write about. | http://eslarticle.com/pub/english-as-a-foreign-language-efl/74618-eight-effective-techniques-in-teaching-vocabulary-to-efl-students.html |
The Banff International Research Station will host the "Families of Automorphic Forms and the Trace Formula (HALF)" workshop from November 30th to December 5th, 2014.
One of the most fundamental goals in number theory is to understand automorphic representations of connected reductive groups over number fields and their most important invariants, namely their $L$-functions. The most primitive example is the Riemann zeta function. A great deal of information about prime numbers, Galois representations and automorphic forms is encoded in the mysterious and elusive analytic behavior of $L$-functions. The notion of families of automorphic representations is emerging as a central concept in the subject, despite the obstruction that there is a priori no way to organize (cuspidal) automorphic representations of a given reductive group (over number fields) into a family in the geometric sense. It is hoped that the consideration of families would enable one to understand the analytic behavior better and attack difficult problems, just as it does in geometry, where Deligne's proof of the Riemann hypothesis over finite fields is an example. Early achievements adopting this idea appear in many instances: subconvexity results, a complete solution of Hilbert's 11th problem, have been either obtained by using families or can be interpreted in terms of families. So it is of great interest to establish various properties of families of automorphic representations.
In this workshop we focus on the equidistribution of local invariants in the families of automorphic representations. There are numerous instances of such equidistribution including Weyl's law, limit multiplicity and Plancherel density with application to a Sato-Tate type equidistribution for families and confirmed the Katz-Sarnak heuristics explaining the connection between the statistics of low-lying zeros in a family of automorphic $L$-functions and random matrix models. By bringing together different groups of researchers with no past collaboration and distant locations, a synergetic effect is expected in generalizing previous results on equidistribution while building a unifying framework and finding more applications to automorphic $L$-functions.
The Banff International Research Station for Mathematical Innovation and Discovery (BIRS) is a collaborative Canada-US-Mexico venture that provides an environment for creative interaction as well as the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and methods within the Mathematical Sciences, with related disciplines and with industry. The research station is located at The Banff Centre in Alberta and is supported by Canada's Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), Alberta's Advanced Education and Technology, and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT). | https://stats.birs.ca/events/2014/5-day-workshops/14w5120 |
Many believe that the ability to understand the actions of others is made possible by mirror neurons and a network of brain areas known as the action-observation network (AON). Despite nearly two decades of research into mirror neurons and the AON, however, there is little evidence that they enable the inference of the intention of observed actions. Instead, theories of action selection during action execution indicate that a ventral pathway, linking middle temporal gyrus with the anterior inferior frontal gyrus, might encode these abstract features during action observation. Here I propose that action understanding requires more than merely the AON, and might be achieved through interactions between a ventral pathway and the dorsal AON.
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References
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GlossaryAbstract representation of an action
the levels at which the action can be described where there is no one-to-one mapping between the description and the actual action performed. These could be the goal and intention levels of an action. For example, the goal of picking up a cup can be achieved with many different actions.Concrete representation of an action
the unique description of one component of an action, where there is a one-to-one mapping between the description and the action. For example, the description of a particular type of grip.
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Published online: July 19, 2011
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© 2011 Elsevier Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/pdf/S1364-6613(11)00110-0.pdf |
Artist shaken after police call for street art project
An artist says she was treated like a criminal after police were called while she was creating a street mural as part of a municipal art project.
Nerys Ngaruhe was painting a mural near Annesbrook Roundabout in Nelson around midday on Friday when she was approached by four uniformed police responding to calls from the public.
Ngaruhe was painting the mural as part of the Waihanga Whakatū Create Nelson project, which aims to boost creativity in the area and help engage people who would not be reached through traditional Nelson City Council processes.
The project is managed by OD&Co, which supports Nelson City Council in its arts strategy.
READ MORE:
* Community input sought for Nelson’s new art strategy
* Artist brings color and te reo Māori to urban Nelson
* Chinese officials help cultivate a local graffiti scene
Ngaruhe, winner of the 2018 Te Waka Toi Ngā Manu Pīrere Award for Emerging Maori Artist, has painted dozens of graffiti murals in the Nelson Tasman area.
She finds spots targeted by taggers, taking their messages on board and creating luminous murals that combine taggers’ whakaaro (intentions) with Maori motifs and whakataukī (proverbs).
She was browsing one of these murals when the four police officers arrived in two patrol cars.
She said she tried to stay calm and told them she was cleared to work under the direction of the council.
“I’m like, ‘I’m at work, I’m timed, I’m getting paid to be here now, I gotta keep working, you guys do what you gotta do,'” she said.
She was shaking and trying to “hold on”. One of the officers told her that some of the graffiti was offensive, but she replied that it was clear it was artwork with an obvious message.
“Just the way they approached me, they surrounded me, four officers, two patrol cars stopped on either side of the road, a man and a woman got out, he approached me, he immediately said ‘what are you doing here?’
“It made me feel like a criminal. Like completely, 100%, like what I was doing was morally wrong, I should be locked up. Thinking about it, why should I feel like that. I’m doing this working to make my community safer and prettier.”
Eventually Johny O’Donnell, founder of OD&Co, was called in. Ngaruhe said he explained that she was allowed to do the job, and when he asked why the police didn’t believe his explanation, he was met with silence.
Ngaruhe has not returned to complete her work since Friday’s incident.
Police said in a statement they responded to calls from members of the public about someone painting graffiti on a wall.
“Officers present were able to establish that the artist and his work was part of the Waihanga Whakatu, Create Nelson art strategy. Police acknowledge that it took some time to confirm this.”
Inspector Vicki Walker, acting commander of the Nelson Bays area, has since spoken to O’Donnell and said the police are “fully supportive of the artist’s kaupapa and mahi (work)”.
“Both agencies are now working together to ensure this great work can continue and be celebrated with the community.”
Police did not respond to questions about the officers’ specific actions, which Ngaruhe described as “harassing” and antagonistic.
O’Donnell said Thing he could not comment on the actions of the police since he was not present, but also acknowledged his own part in the misunderstanding by not alerting the police to the project in advance.
“Looking at it now, we would have been better served to have kept police and other agencies informed about the work,” he said.
“It’s a courtesy to these agencies, but it’s also about keeping the artists safe – I never would have imagined this experience.”
He said he “wholeheartedly” trusts and supports Ngaruhe and his artistic kaupapa.
“We are a little disgusted with the experience as it is clearly not a pleasant outcome for anyone involved.”
He said the incident highlighted part of why the work was needed in the first place, as there were many people involved in the tagging or graffiti art who were not hired by traditional board outreach but had significant creative potential.
“Bringing people into the conversation who otherwise wouldn’t be heard means doing it a little differently,” O’Donnell said.
“With Nerys, it was really about acknowledging that there are young people in Nelson, who are ultimately the beating heart of the future of art in our city, and the conversations are happening in places that are theirs. inaccessible.”
People interested in contributing to the Create Nelson Waihanga Whakatū process can learn more about the i-Site, where there was a physical space dedicated to the project.
OD&Co will present its work to Nelson City Council in June to help shape the city’s new arts strategy.
The council’s managing director, Pat Dougherty, said the council had commissioned OD&Co to undertake the engagement and development of Nelson’s artistic and creative strategy.
“This involves seeking community feedback and how this is done is at the discretion of OD&Co, with the council trusting our partners to use appropriate methods to reach all audiences, recognizing that new methods or non-traditional may be necessary for hard-to-reach communities. .”
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF
Wellington’s iconic ramshackle Sealion boat has seen better days, but caretaker Moana Meyer loves living on board. | https://knz-clan.com/artist-shaken-after-police-call-for-street-art-project/ |
Texas A&M owns the first questionable enforcement of the new NCAA rule that ejects and suspends players for targeting opponents above the shoulders. We did it y'all! In today's 52-31 win against Rice, Deshazor Everett - who missed the first half after serving a 1/2 game suspension for some trouble early in the year - was ejected for tackling Klein Kubiak under the new targeting rule. Take a look at the hit below and decide for yourself, because it looks an awful lot like a hit on the shoulder pad to me:
Here is a different angle on it (credit The Big Lead):
Even Klein Kubiak said on twitter that it was nothing more than a good football play (very classy):
@DeUcE2NiNa9 solid physical football hit in my book. I'll even support #FreeDeshazor. Good luck rest of the year bro— Klein Kubiak (@Klein_Kubiak_84) September 1, 2013
The NCAA started enforcing the new rule during the last off-season, and it is similar to the penalty given to players for fighting, the same penalty that Daeshon Hall will be serving for his altercation earlier in the game. The new rule suspends players in addition to a 15-yard penalty, and the player will always serve at least a full 1/2 game suspension.
I won't get in to the fact that ESPN blamed Johnny Manziel for setting the example that led to these penalties, because I don't have enough middle finger gifs, so let's stick to the reviewing the rules:
The new rule in football means that discipline for those players flagged for violations will mirror the penalty for fighting. If the foul occurs in the first half of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game. If the foul occurs in the second half or overtime of a game, the player is ejected for the remainder of the game and the first half of the next contest.
I reviewed the NCAA rule book for the definition of targeting, which can be found in rules 9-1-3 and 9-1-4:
Rule 9-1-3: Targeting and initiating contact with the crown of the helmet. No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet. When in question, it is a foul.
Rule 9-1-4: Targeting and initiating contact to head or neck area of a defenseless player. No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, fist, elbow or shoulder. When in question, it is a foul.
Looking further in the rules, it would appear that there is no appeals process. In the rule book, the Coach is allowed to challenge the call on the field, but the hit is supposed to be automatically reviewed no matter what. According to ESPN SEC reporter Sam Khan Jr., Coach Sumlin said in the presser today that he did challenge the targeting call, and he lost. Sam also asked Coach Sumlin if he could appeal, and Coach Sumlin said he was unsure. Here is the full text of the rules:
Player Ejection
ARTICLE 1. When a player is disqualified from the game due to a flagrant personal foul, that team's conference shall automatically initiate a video review for possible additional sanctions before the next scheduled game.
Initiating Contact/Targeting an Opponent
ARTICLE 2. When there is a foul called for initiating contact/targeting an opponent (Rules 9-1-3 and 9-1-4) that does not result in a player dis-qualification, there shall automatically be a video review by the conference for possible additional sanctions before the next scheduled game.
Foul Not Called
ARTICLE 3. If subsequent review of a game by a conference reveals plays involving flagrant personal fouls that game officials did not call, the conference may impose sanctions prior to the next scheduled game.
This rule is very important. The game does need to be changed to protect players more, because no player should lose the ability to play, or lose years on their life, for the pursuit of a college degree through college athletics. I understand that this is football, and hard hits happen, but anything you can do to take this out of the game without unnecessarily affecting the outcome is a good thing. The problem is, if this hit was reviewed by the refs and they still upheld it then there is a fundamental problem in the process. This type of penalty will affect the outcome when a big time play maker is removed from competition. Sometimes you need to be lenient and let players play.
The other issue is that there does not appear to be an appeals process in place for these type of in-game ejections where a video review was consulted for a second opinion. In a 2010 game between Georgia and Auburn, an on-field fight occured that resulted in the ejection of Auburn players Michael Groggins and Mike Blanc. By rule, these players left the game and would miss one-half of the upcoming Iron Bowl game. Then coach Mike Chizik appealed the penalty with the SEC conference, but was quickly rejected citing the fact that there is no rule regarding appeals.
The lack of an appeals process is incredibly disturbing. I understand that referees make tough decisions quickly, and are open to mistakes. They are also taught in the offseason how to enforce a rule, and tend to err on the side of player safety. That's a good thing, but in this case the additional 1/2 game suspension should be reviewed by the conference and issued based on severity. Currently the referee and replay crews become the judge, jury and executioners for this type of penalty.
Updated: A commentator below offered a great observation. If a player is ejected in the first half, and is suspended through the 2nd half of the game, he would not have an opportunity to appeal like a player who was ejected in the second half would. That clearly explains why there is no appeal process. I still believe suspensions going into the next game are harsh. The ejection and suspension should only be in the current game unless the hit could have been easily prevented, and was overly harsh. This would be harder to regulate, but would allow for an appeals process. I can't see how a next game penalty is good for the game going forward as many teams will lose starters for events that were unavoidable in the course of making a football play.
For a reference, this hit would have been called an ejection last year, and I am sure there would have been quite an uproar: | https://www.goodbullhunting.com/2013/8/31/4680776/deshazor-everett-suspended-for-targeting |
An interesting story in light of all the speculation about water issues at the same time, roughly 1900 BCE, in the ancient Indus valley. There was possibly a trading relationship with ancient China. Water, too little or too much, must have been a factor in the rise and fall of Bronze Age civilizations.
331 posts, also carried on our Facebook page, about the ancient Indus Valley civilization, including important news, research and occasional visits to museums with ancient Indus artifacts.
Aug 6, 2016
Aug 6, 2016
A revealing story about Rakigarhi highlights how, like in the case of Mohenjo-daro, the challenges of preserving ancient Indus cities even after they are discovered, remain enormous.
Aug 5, 2016
Discarded ancient Indus sherds, after archaeologists have sifted through them and cleaned them. This pottery debris from excavations at Harappa covers hundreds - if not a thousand – years of habitation, far longer a period than say modern times.
Jul 29, 2016
A nice piece on students on replicating Harappan techniques in Wisconsin in 2016 with Mark Kenoyer shows how much we have to learn about the complexity of ancient manufacturing.
Jul 23, 2016
"Astronomy, including the use of a star calendar, played an important role in ancient Mesopotamia, and deeply influenced its religion: all the main gods were symbolized by particular stars or planets.
Jul 17, 2016
Lots if interesting stuff here, including "It had been widely assumed that these first farmers were from a single, genetically homogeneous population."
Jul 15, 2016
In connection with the recent post about Indus discoveries in Oman, we note that the archaeologist who discovered the first definitive evidence of Bronze Age trade between Balochistan and the Gulf, Beatrice de Cardi, just died at the age of 102. She worked with Sir Mortimer Wheeler who lent her "his foreman, Sadar Din, a minor official of the Pakistani Archaeological Department who, despite being illiterate, had an extraordinarily retentive memory for archaeological sites and taught her what to look for. Together they located some 47 archaeological sites . . .."
Jul 14, 2016
One of the least explored avenues in ancient Indus research, one which would so clearly reinforce the available evidence for the long, deep local roots of Indus civilization stretching back deep into the Stone Age (25,000-30,000 years back).
Jul 13, 2016
"Much valuable information about the various indoor games indulged in by the Harappans is available from the gamesmen, game-boards and dices found at the major Indus cities.
Jul 5, 2016
"Late III Phase. Average level: – 9.9 ft. – A few walls only remained of House I, and it will be noticed that Fore Lane had been closed in by continuing the east wall of House I right across it to the northern wall of Block I on the opposite side.
Jun 26, 2016
Exciting new discoveries through 2015 at Salut tower in Oman show how extensive Indus trade and relationships with this area were during the Bronze Age (2500-2000 BCE).
Jun 11, 2016
1. A conjectural view of Indus settlement at Surkotada. Painting by Lalit Jain, Archaeological Survey of India. 2. One of the most detailed reconstructions of an ancient Indus gateway, this one on Mound E at Harappa.
Jun 9, 2016
Recent claims suggest that Rakigarhi is older (ca. 7000 BCE) than Mohenjo-daro.
May 30, 2016
An article by Andrew Lawler discusses how archaeologist Arunima Kashyap and Steve Weber at the Washington State University determined that curries - using garlic, ginger and turmeric - were prevalent in the Indus civilization. This was done by analyzing finds from Farmana and Harappa, using starch grain analysis and other methods.
May 30, 2016
A new article published in Nature argues that Bhirrana is one of the earliest Harappan sites in India and dates back to the 7th millennium BCE based on radiocarbon dating. | https://www.harappa.com/blog?jissekicat=%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A5%E3%83%8D%E3%82%B9%E3%82%B0%E3%83%AD%E3%83%BC%E3%83%90%E3%83%AB&page=6 |
BMC Cancer. 2018 Apr 18;18(1):440. doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-4376-8.
Predictive values of upper gastrointestinal cancer alarm symptoms in the general population: a nationwide cohort study.
Rasmussen S1, Haastrup PF2, Balasubramaniam K1, Christensen RD1, Søndergaard J1, Jarbøl DE1.
Research Unit of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, J. B. Winsløws Vej 9A, 5000, Odense C, Denmark.
Research Unit of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, J. B. Winsløws Vej 9A, 5000, Odense C, Denmark. [email protected].
Survival rates for upper gastrointestinal (GI) cancer are poor since many are diagnosed at advanced stages. Fast track endoscopy has been introduced to prompt diagnosis for patients with alarm symptoms that could be indicative of upper GI cancer. However, these symptoms may represent benign conditions and little is known about the predictive values of alarm symptoms of upper GI cancer in the general population.
The study is a nationwide cohort study of 60,562 individuals aged 45 years or above randomly selected from the Danish general population. Participants were invited to complete a survey comprising of questions on several symptom experiences, including alarm symptoms for upper GI cancer within the past four weeks. The participants were asked about specific symptoms (repeated vomiting, difficulty swallowing, signs of upper GI bleeding or persistent and recent-onset abdominal pain) and non-specific symptoms (nausea, weight loss, loss of appetite, feeling unwell and tiredness). We obtained information on upper GI cancer diagnosed in a 12-month period after completing the questionnaire from the Danish Cancer Registry. We calculated positive predictive values and positive likelihood ratios for the association between alarm symptom and subsequent upper GI cancer.
A total of 33,040 individuals above 45 years completed the questionnaire, yielding a response rate of 54.6%. Respondents were fairly respresentative of the study sample. During the follow-up period, 18 people were diagnosed with upper GI cancer. The number of incident cancers was similar among eligible non-respondents. Two thirds of the respondents with an upper GI malignancy had experienced one or more alarm symptoms. The positive predictive value for being diagnosed with upper GI cancer after reporting a least one alarm symptom was 0.1% (95% CI:0.0-0.1%). The positive likelihood ratio was 4.4 for specific alarm symptoms and 1.1 for non-specific alarm symptoms.
We found that positive predictive values of alarm symptoms of upper GI cancer experienced in the general population are low. It is important knowledge that despite denoted alarm symptoms even patients with specific alarm symptoms of upper GI cancer have a low risk of being diagnosed with upper GI cancer. | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29669540 |
Team from Göttingen, Helsinki and New York gets new insights into the evolution of myxomycetes
Most people associate the idea of creatures trapped in amber with insects or spiders, which are preserved lifelike in fossil tree resin. An international research team of palaeontologists and biologists from the Universities of Göttingen and Helsinki, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York has now discovered the oldest slime mould identified to date. The fossil is about 100 million years old and is exquisitely preserved in amber from Myanmar. The results have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Slime moulds, also called myxomycetes, belong to a group known as “Amoebozoa.” These are microscopic organisms that live most of the time as single mobile cells hidden in the soil or in rotting wood, where they eat bacteria. However, they can join together to form complex, beautiful and delicate fruiting bodies, which serve to make and spread spores.
Since fossil slime moulds are extremely rare, studying their evolutionary history has been very difficult. So far, there have only been two confirmed reports of fossils of fruiting bodies and these are just 35 to 40 million years old. The discovery of fossil myxomycetes is very unlikely because their fruiting bodies are extremely short-lived. The researchers are therefore astounded by the chain of events that must have led to the preservation of this newly identified fossil.
“The fragile fruiting bodies were most likely torn from the tree bark by a lizard, which was also caught in the sticky tree resin, and finally embedded in it together with the reptile,” says Professor Jouko Rikkinen from the University of Helsinki. The lizard detached the fruiting bodies at a relatively early stage when the spores had not yet been released, which now reveals valuable information about the evolutionary history of these fascinating organisms.
The researchers were surprised by the discovery that the slime mould can easily be assigned to a genus still living today. “The fossil provides unique insights into the longevity of the ecological adaptations of myxomycetes,” explains palaeontologist Professor Alexander Schmidt from the University of Göttingen, lead author of the study.
“We interpret this as evidence of strong environmental selection. It seems that slime moulds that spread very small spores using the wind had an advantage,” says Rikkinen. The ability of slime moulds to develop long-lasting resting stages in their life cycle, which can last for years, probably also contributes to the remarkable similarity of the fossil to its closest present-day relatives.
Reference:
Jouko Rikkinen et al, Morphological stasis in the first myxomycete from the Mesozoic, and the likely role of cryptobiosis, Scientific Reports (2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55622-9
Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Göttingen.
| |
Researchers are reporting for the first time that cardiovascular disease affects the blood vessels in the bone marrow and leads to increased production of white blood cells that drive inflammation, according to a study conducted in human bone marrow and in mice. The discovery could lead to new ways to prevent or treat heart disease, researchers say.
Researchers have known for some time that heart disease is associated with an accumulation of white blood cells, which normally fight infection. Many of these cells are found in plaque—the buildup of fats, cholesterol, and other substances in the blood vessel—where they arrive after being born in the bone marrow and migrating through the blood stream. But what leads to their increased bone marrow output is unclear, researchers say.
In the current study, researchers showed that three different cardiovascular diseases – heart attack, atherosclerosis, and hypertension—affect the bone marrow in a way that boosts white blood cell production. Each of these diseases can cause changes in the number of blood vessels in the bone marrow. They can also change the structure and function of the bone marrow vessels and affect the release of factors that regulate white blood cell production and migration, the researchers found. As a result, more white blood cell accumulation propels inflammation, including in the arteries and the heart. That can restrict blood supply and potentially trigger a heart attack, the researchers say.
“This study provides strong evidence that cardiovascular disease affects the bone marrow vasculature and consequently blood stem cell activity,” said Michelle Olive, Ph.D., a program officer in the NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. “This work sheds new light on the important role played by the vascular bone marrow niche and how inflammation occurs. It could lead to new targets and treatments for heart disease, the leading cause of death.”
The study, partly funded by the NHLBI, appeared in Nature Cardiovascular Research. | https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/news/2021/researchers-uncover-new-link-between-bone-marrow-changes-and-heart-disease |
- PhysicsAstron. Comput.
- 2015
Crowdware: A Framework for GPU-Based Public-Resource Computing with Energy-Aware Incentive Mechanism
- Computer Science2015 IEEE 7th International Conference on Cloud Computing Technology and Science (CloudCom)
- 2015
Crowdware is presented, a framework for enabling sustainable GPU-based public-resource computing with a realistic financial incentive mechanism that designs an auction-based resource allocation algorithm and a profit- based resource participation algorithm, explicitly considering the electricity cost of participating resources.
Delivering SKA Science
- Environmental ScienceArXiv
- 2015
This chapter examines the data flow, storage and processing requirements of a number of key SKA survey science projects to be executed on the baseline SKA1 configuration and proposes that it is time for the SKA project and community to consider the effort and process needed to design and implement a distributed SKA science data system.
omniClassifier: a desktop grid computing system for big data prediction modeling
- Computer ScienceBCB
- 2014
OmniClassifier is a multi-purpose prediction modeling application that provides researchers with a tool for conducting machine learning research within the guidelines of recommended best-practices and is implemented as a desktop grid computing system using the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) middleware. | https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-BOINC1-based%2C-citizen-science-project-for-pixel-Vinsen-Thilker/7939dfd24dbfe0594a50574c3dac26ddf473c92a |
“The things you are passionate about are not random, they are your calling.” ― Fabienne Fredrickson
In the truest sense, a child running into your arms with an overpowering, exultant smile is the greatest simple joy, in any language, any place, any time.
Two of my greatest passions are communications and nonprofit work, especially service aimed at bettering the lives of impoverished children. I started going on mission trips at age 15, which sparked my desire to become more involved in helping and immersing in new cultures, and ultimately led me to Nicaragua for annual student-led mission trips in college. I became fascinated by the stories of individuals both locally and in El Trapichito village, which fueled an interest in pursuing stories of all kinds.
Exploring a variety of cultures and getting to know people from different walks of life has allowed me to observe the different ways people create a community of happiness. This interest in the psychology behind human thoughts and behaviors in various communities has garnered a similar curiosity in the realm of communications. It has created a lens of searching for “the why” in my own environment.
Visiting a foreign country in which I was challenged to interact with children who only speak a foreign language forced me to reconsider my own view of communication—the essence of my studies at the time and my subsequent career path. On my first trip, I was amazed at the different ways people learned to communicate with one another, and my amazement continued as I experienced relationships grow as we returned to the village each year. The ability to create such strong human connections, despite the language and cultural barriers, really speaks to the power of people.
My curiosity spanned to an interest in what brings joy and happiness to different individuals based on their cultural environment. In Trapichito, there was no plumbing, limited food, and no houses; at least not in the way we define houses. But there were homes, built not with brick and mortar, but instead by strong bonds and a sacred sense of community. The strength of the village was best communicated to me when I heard children who weren’t related calling each other “hermano” or “primo”. While an initial outside point of view might consider the village to be poor, my interpretation was a village of great wealth— a community rich in relationships. These are the cultural learnings that make life mean more.
As I came back to BrandJuice to work full-time a year after my internship, the idea of “making brands mean more” stuck out to me as a chance to create meaningful work by immersing in a variety of industries. To me, instilling my experiences outside of work, into my work, is how I try to incorporate making life mean more into “making brands mean more,” everyday. Though I may not be fundraising anymore—whether for children’s shoes in a third-world country, meals for impoverished elementary students on the weekends, or children’s presents on Christmas morning—I am able to take these experiences with me, as each one has shaped me in some way.
What these experiences have collectively taught me is not only how to tell a brand’s story, but how to tell it well by being deliberate and genuine in the way you present every detail to the target audience. When purposeful strategy aligns with visionary creative, a brand can win the hearts and minds of the audience.
“True cultural connection is the Holy Grail for brands if they want to create an enduring emotional relationship with people.”- Adam Chmielowski
Every individual has unique needs and drivers, and no matter the brand or the product, it has to resonate with the target audience in a way that fits into the story of their lives. At the end of the day, it’s people and their stories that matter most. As brand builders, how do we communicate the story of a brand in a way that resonates in the hearts and minds of consumers? Questions to ask as you shape the experience of a brand: | https://brandjuice.com/making-life-mean-making-brands-mean/ |
Classification of variants is the basis of a correct genetic diagnosis, being that it is crucial for the clinical experts when making decisions, having an impact on the treatment and the genetic assessment of the patients and their families.
Having up to date information from both our own and international genetic databases such as the medical-scientific bibliography is vital to be able to reach a reliable and accurate conclusion with regards to the possible pathogenicity of each genetic variant. Incorrect classification could lead to an incorrect diagnosis of a patient and even have serious consequences on the stratification risk for family members.
At Reference Laboratory we classify the variants based on the recommendations from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). It relates to a system of qualitative evaluation with 28 classification criteria, those of which are assigned major or minor pathogenicity or benignity (very solid/solid/moderate/supported). In order to have a certain degree of flexibility the possibility exists to increase or decrease the weight of the evidence following the criteria and experience of the professional.
Using this guide the variants can be classified into 5 classes:
Benign variant (Class 1)
Likely benign variant (Class 2)
Variant of uncertain significance (Class 3)
Likely pathogenic variant (Class 4)
Pathogenic variant (Class 5)
On our result reports, we only report on variants which, based on current information, are considered to be pathogenic, probably pathogenic, or of significant clinical uncertainty and that are related to the suspicion of clinical diagnosis. When required, the complete list of variants identified is available upon request.
As well as following the recommendations of ACMG, we evaluate the variants according to the evidence available on:
- RefLab Database®, our database of genetic variants.
- Database of population frequency: 1000 Genomes, dbSNP, ExAC and gnomAD.
- Clinical databases: OMIM, Genereviews, Orphanet, Human Gene Mutaon Daȁtabase (HGMD), ClinVar, LOVD and Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO).
- Databases specific to the illness.
- Algorithyms ‘in silico’ of functional prediction and of protein splicing: Mutation Taster, SIFT, PolyPhen-2, Human Splicing Finder, MaxEntScan, NNSplice.
- Relevant bibliography: PubMed and scientific literature.
Variant reclassification service
The field of clinical genetics is constantly growing and new genes, new variants and new evidence related to previously discovered variants are discovered every day. At Reference Laboratory, we are conscious of how fast these advances evolve and we believe that offering quality and up to date information is vital so that health professionals are able to make informed decisions. This is why we carry out proactive monitoring of the variants detected in our genetic studies. We are aware that the understanding of new evidence can help us to establish a better genotype-phenotype correlation, especially for non-conclusive variants (likely pathogenic, uncertain significance, or likely benign).
Our variant reclassification system is based on the checking of data available in new publications and updates on Reflab Database® and external databases (clinics, population frequency, or specific to an illness) As soon as new genetic evidence is available, we share it with the prescribing health professional.
Studies of family segregation or the identification in a new patient of a previously identified variant in another of our cases are also an important method for possible reclassification of a variant. | https://reflabgenetics.com/technology/variant-classificacation/ |
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application number 62/166,477, filed 26 May 2015, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to systems and methods for qualifying and disseminating information, and, more particularly, to a system and method for matching, qualifying and disseminating information pertaining to an ideal location to relocate to or lease or acquire a physical location asset.
No real estate website or mobile application exists today that helps a person plan a move, and match their unique and personal needs to the new town, county, or state they are moving to. Moving is very stressful for people and time extensive; and can lead to bad investments. Real estate agents waste time driving customers to multiple communities, reducing their effectiveness. Real estate agents are limited in what they can advise house buyers or apartment renters; leaving buyers and renters at risk to bad decisions as they do not have all the information about the community before they make a decision. No real estate app or website addresses the first step in the moving process which includes where to live. Rather, they only focus on the type of home or dwelling. Additionally, commercial real estate investors do not have a simple way to analyze the best area to either purchase or rent a building; adding risk to their investment.
Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, many acts are unlawful if based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or familial status, including refusing to rent or sell residential property, and are rightfully punishable. The unintended consequences of such laws, however, is self-censorship on the part of the real estate agent regarding questions relating to a neighborhood's composition. To wit, the Civil Rights and Fair Housing guidelines recommend that since “it's difficult to prove or deny discriminatory intent, an agent should avoid all statements regarding the racial or ethnic composition of a neighborhood.” Well, what if a prospective buyer is interested in a specific ethnic makeup of a neighborhood because they desire such a makeup? Additionally, with limited consumer-relevant market information, real estate agents are far less productive and have extended sales cycles, negatively impacting their business
As can be seen, there is a need for a system and method for qualifying and disseminating information pertaining to an ideal location to relocate to.
In one aspect of the present invention, a computer-implemented method for qualifying and disseminating consumer and commercial real estate information includes providing a relocation application to a user for installation on a remote user computer; prompting the user to select a general area of interest on a map display of the relocation application; prompting the user to enter search criteria comprising characteristics of a local community; and displaying a plurality of results on a map display responsive to the entered search criteria, wherein each result is a location on the map display within the general area of interest.
In another aspect of the present invention, the computer-implemented method for qualifying and disseminating real estate information further includes the user defining the general area of interest by a selected radii; prompting the user to provide a rank for each of the search criteria, wherein each of the plurality of results are identified by an associated sweet-spot pin, wherein each sweet-spot pin is color-coded in response to the ranking of each search criteria, and wherein the plurality of search criteria includes at least one of proximity to healthcare, proximity to schools, crime rates, commute time, household income, house values, demographic, entertainment and social facilities, restaurants, and makeup of an associated general area of interest, and further including exporting the plurality of results to a wireless device associated with a commercial or consumer real estate agent.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Broadly, the present invention includes a system for determining an ideal location to relocate to that embodies a computer-implemented method providing a relocation application to a user for installation on a remote user computer, wherein the relocation application prompts the user to select a general area of interest on a map display; prompting the user to enter user specific search criteria comprising characteristics of a local community; displaying a plurality of results on a map display responsive match to the entered search criteria, wherein each result is a location on the map display within the general area of interest, and wherein the plurality of results can be saved and exported to a wireless device associated with a real estate agent, data buyer, etc. as customer intent data; currently unavailable in the marketplace
FIGS. 1 through 3G
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Referring to , the present invention may include at least one computer with a user interface. The computer may include any computer including, but not limited to, a desktop, laptop, and smart device, such as, a tablet and smart phone. The computer includes a program product including a machine-readable program code for causing, when executed, the computer to perform steps. The program product may include software which may either be loaded onto the computer or accessed by the computer . The loaded software may include an application on a smart device. The software may be accessed by the computer using a web browser. The computer may access the software via the web browser using the internet, extranet, intranet, host server, internet cloud and the like.
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The present invention includes a mobile application that helps people moving match their most important personal criteria to their new community. The present invention includes an easy to use mobile application that includes information about hospitals, schools, commute time, household income, social economic, crime statistics, entertainment, restaurant and house values. Using the application, the user can easily, from a map display , select the quality values and radius of search of that information that is most important to them. The mobile application quickly performs a proprietary matching algorithm to identify the “Sweet-spot” within the area. Users of the mobile application can then receive a list of Sweet-spot on a map display that either match all of their criteria or a close match of their criteria with easily understood Green/Yellow/Red based on the community characteristics match to the user's criteria pin Users can then click on the Sweet-spot Pin on the map display to drill down for extensive information about the community. Users can save both their search results and search criteria that easily allow the user to better match their needs to their new community. After they have identified a few communities that best meet their needs, they can then go to any of the other real estate company and/ or application that exists today which provides specific building, warehouse, house or apartment information.
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The present invention is the only mobile application that allows users to select person specific criteria (hospital ratings, school ratings, crime rates, commute times, etc.) and how much they prioritize each criteria and rank the criteria. The present invention includes a proprietary matching algorithm which quickly performs analysis and provides easy to understand visual cues and extensive data about a community based on the user preferences. The present invention significantly helps reduce the risk of wasting time and money by the person moving. The present invention allows users to quickly identify characteristics of a community that directly match to the user's needs, and thereby greatly increases the user's chance of moving to the right community.
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FIG. 3B
FIG. 3C
FIG. 3D
The mobile application of the present invention allows for ease of download and registration. The user's may easily select where they are moving to a new location by either touching a point on a map display , or typing in a city and/or zip code. The present invention allows users to select a radius of 5-50 miles from their location point. Through a general criteria selection display , users can then select from multiple criteria: hospitals, schools, crime rates, commute time, household income, house values, and the like, as illustrated in . The user can adjust their personal settings and preferences by each criterion. Furthermore, each user may provide more detailed criteria and/or rank the importance of each criteria through a detailed criteria selection display , as illustrated in . The present invention then allows the user to hit submit and see a map display which includes pins or “sweet-spot”. Each sweet-spot or pin may be color coded, green/yellow or red and the color coding is based on the community match percentage to the user's unique needs. The user can then click on each pin . The pin opens up and displays each search criteria and the color coded match to the user preference based on the unique and proprietary matching algorithm. The user can then select one or all criteria and narrow down the search to receive extensive information about school ratings, crime rates to national average, hospital ratings, commute time variance to their preference, can view other information on the map display including restaurants, entertainment, museums, and the like. The map display may include zoom capabilities , as illustrated in . The user can then save both their search results and name as well as their search criteria, allowing users to select the same search criteria across different cities or points on a map display .
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FIGS. 3D and 3E
FIGS. 3E and 3G
FIG. 3F
The mobile software application works in concert across its multiple elements. The software captures data from the user, via easy to use selection features. Based on how the user selects each feature from the selection criteria and the rankings of each criterion, the proprietary algorithm presents the user with color coded pins which factor in the user choice and information in the applications database about the selected community. The algorithm's formula may decide which color the pin is coded. The user can then select the pin and the selected criteria to find a wealth of information about the location. In certain embodiments, the mobile application may enable the user to identify and save preferred pins , as illustrated in . The user can then save the search results to go back and review later, change the search criteria based on the results of the original search or can save the search criteria and use that against other locations on a map display to create a new saved search option. In certain embodiments, the mobile application may provide a location review display and saved results display of previously unsaved and saved search results, respectively, as illustrated in . In certain embodiments, the mobile application may provide a rankings detail display of the previous search result(s), as illustrated in .
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All transactions may be recorded for analytics and analysis to enhance the application in future releases, as well as analysis by real estate industry professionals. The mobile application may be shared with a real estate agent via exportation, or the like, via a wireless device associated with the real estate agent. Whereby the commercial or consumer real estate agent need not engage in impermissible composition of a neighborhood discussions, since they can use the exported results from their wireless device to ascertain the quality of the relevant customer intent information.
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A person would use the mobile application as the first step in the moving process. A person has various reasons why they need to move; retirement, divorce, new job, job transfer, etc. The user may access the application, and follow the very user friendly interface to get started, in step . Almost every American has a mobile app, and knows how to navigate apps that have map display as part of their solution, including logging on and authentication using social media, Facebook™, LinkedIn™, or the like, in step . The present invention provides simple user interface and once the user completes the first transaction, they will easily be able to repeat the process over and over again. The first transaction may by a query process wherein the user types in a city or presses a finger on the map display via a query process step in step . The user the present invention because it is the only mobile application that helps them find and match the right community based on their individual needs. The user gets to select their preferences via user preference steps and in step , and the algorithm does the work for the user. The results of their search are presented with pins on the map display that are color coded so users know which of their searches best meet their unique needs, in steps and . The user can then drill down on each pin and search criteria to get a lot of information they did not have which is very helpful for the user as they do not know much about the area they are moving to. Once the user finds search results they want to save, the present invention allows them to save the results, and name them for easy call up reference in the future, in step . The user can also save the search criteria they have used and apply that onto a different city or location on a map display . This is a user friendly feature to save the user time. Then the user may log out of the mobile application using a saving and logging out step in step .
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A workflow design may include a data customer authentication using the present invention's login interface, in step . In step , data customer may be presented with the daily weekly or monthly customer intent data based on contract agreement. Such data may include user profile data, searches performed, searches saved, searches shared, and the like. In step , data customer downloads the data from the present invention's database by selecting the download radio button. Then in step , the data customer logs out of the present invention customer access portal.
All the above features provide a unique in the marketplace application that would benefit individuals moving, investors prior to making a building purchase or leasing a building. Once they have identified the right sweet-spot based on their preference, the user can then go to a real estate agent with their specified neighborhood compositions of interest.
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The computer -based data processing system and method described above is for purposes of example only, and may be implemented in any type of computer system or programming or processing environment, or in a computer program, alone or in conjunction with hardware. The present invention may also be implemented in software stored on a computer -readable medium and executed as a computer program on a general purpose or special purpose computer . For clarity, only those aspects of the system germane to the invention are described, and product details well known in the art are omitted. For the same reason, the computer hardware is not described in further detail. It should thus be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific computer language, program, or computer . It is further contemplated that the present invention may be run on a stand-alone computer system, or may be run from a server computer system that can be accessed by a plurality of client computer systems interconnected over an intranet network, or that is accessible to clients over the Internet. In addition, many embodiments of the present invention have application to a wide range of industries. To the extent the present application discloses a system, the method implemented by that system, as well as software stored on a computer -readable medium and executed as a computer program to perform the method on a general purpose or special purpose computer , are within the scope of the present invention. Further, to the extent the present application discloses a method, a system of apparatuses configured to implement the method are within the scope of the present invention.
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3A
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3B
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3C
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3D
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3E
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3F
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 3G
is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. | |
Hyperfocal shooting is a subset of zone focusing. Both are very, very useful tools in the arsenal of a photojournalist or street photographer; especially so if you’re using a manual focus lens, or one with a meaningful depth of field scale engraved on it. It means that if you know what distance your subject has to be at to fill your frame correctly, you can set that and just shoot straight away when you bring the camera to your eye – a very fast way of working. It’s what I usually do when I have enough light and a wide lens on my Leica.
Let’s start with zone focusing. It’s simple if your lens has a depth of field scale:
1. Pick an aperture
2. Find the depth of field scale markings corresponding to that aperture. They’re on the bit of the lens that doesn’t rotate.
3. There are two of them. Everything between those two marks will be inn acceptable focus. Why the hesitation around ‘acceptable’? Because sharp-at-the-100%-pixel-level defines acceptable focus, and that will vary from camera to camera – the higher your pixel density, the narrower the acceptable focus margin will be. You’ll have to experiment for your camera and find out how much (if anything) to compensate by – for some cameras, you might find you have to as much as halve the width of the gap between the two markings.
Example: in the image below, the lens is focused just after 1.5m. This means the sharpest point will be at 1.5m, but if we set f2.8, objects from 1.2m to a bit over 2m will be in focus. Selecting f5.6 expands this further to 1m to 5m.
A good rule of thumb is 1/3-2/3: one third of your DOF will be in front of the focus distance, and 2/3rds behind.
Simple, right? There are a few more things to know.
1. It works best for wide-angle lenses, because they have more DOF for a given aperture. (You could zone focus with a telephoto, but you’d need a silly small aperture and probably run out of light).
2. It works best during daytime, because you’ll have enough light to stop down a bit (and thus increase your margin for error).
3. It works best if you have some practice estimating distances, because you can adjust on the fly without having to bring the camera to your eye.
4. It works best with smaller sensor cameras, because again there’s more DOF for a given angle of view (focal length equivalent) and aperture – for instance, the Ricoh GR-Digital III has a ‘snap’ mode that sets focus to certain distance; at f2.8 and 1.5m, almost everything will be in focus from 0.75cm onwards or so.
5. You can’t do it easily with modern AF lenses – those which do have DOF scales usually only give f11 and f22, which are heavily restricted by the amount of light you’ve got to work with; then the distance scale itself is short and probably not very precise, with few distances marked; lastly, there isn’t enough precision in the focusing ring. You could do it by using the AF system to focus on a distance, switch to MF, and set your aperture – but you’d have to memorize your DOF tables, which is never easy or fun.
6. Some compacts are better than others for this than others; the best kind have manual focus with a DOF indicator bar and scale – the Leica X1 and Ricoh GR-Digital series come to mind.
Let’s move on to hyper focal. The hyper focal distance is the setting beyond which everything is in focus to infinity at a given aperture. Even super-shallow DOF lenses like the Noctilux 0.95 have a hyper focal distance – but it’s probably 50m or something at f0.95. Once again, the wider the lens, the nearer the hyper focal distance will be for a given aperture. With lenses in the 28mm range, you can work at a reasonable aperture of f8 or so and have hyper focal distance at about 3m on a full frame sensor, which is great for capturing spontaneous moments in photojournalism or street photography. | https://blog.mingthein.com/2012/04/24/zone-focusing-and-shooting-hyperfocal/ |
Describe treatment approach used:
It varies based on the individuals child's strengths and needs in all areas, not just speech and language.
- Establish rapport
- Assess attention and regulation, find ways to approve if needed
- Make sure position/posture for speech is good.
- Use strengths, needs, developmental appropriateness and family/client priorities to select targets.
- Determine best way/activity to get most repetitions of target sounds/syllables/words/phrases.
- Plan less structured activity for carryover if appropriate.
- Use verbal/visual/tactile/gestural cues as needed, but try to fade out across sessions as success increases.
- Give feedback on productions but carryover to self monitoring when appropriate.
- Encourage parents to join session.
- Provide activities/strategies for home carryover.
- Work with parents to have the client attend the max recommended number of sessions per week.
- Assess AAC options if needed.
- Monitor language abilities throughout sessions if they're not being specifically targeted.
- Incorporate literacy/preliteracy activities when possible.
- Collaborate with other professionals as needed/co-treat with OT/PT if appropriate.
Describe parent/caregiver involvement:
- Review report and plan of care. Ask for parent questions and feedback.
- Discuss the goals and why they have been chosen.
- Encourage to join sessions if possible. If they cannot join the session, end treatment five minutes early to discuss the session with parents.
- Provide specific carryover strategies and targets to work on.
- Suggest games, routines, etc. that will help increase likelihood families will carryover practice at home.
Describe your past and current involvement in the Apraxia community? Treating clients with CAS and referring families who are interested to CASANA to get more information and connect with others.
This web site is a program of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association, the national organization representing the needs and interests of children affected by apraxia of speech.
Address: 416 Lincoln Avenue 2nd Fl., Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412) 343-7102
| |
Elliptical galaxies are smooth and featureless. They contain hundreds of millions to trillions of stars, and their shapes range from nearly spherical to very elongated in shape. Their overall yellowish colour is a telltale sign of their great age. Since elliptical galaxies contain few gas clouds they can no longer make new stars.
NGC 1132 is located approximately 320 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus, the River. This image of NGC 1132 was taken with the Hubble Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Data obtained in 2005 and 2006 through green and near-infrared filters were used to produce a colour composite. | http://hbo.bb/00013ihbo.htm |
The search found 320 results in 0.037 seconds.
Subsidized campus childcare was hard-won and remains very effective, while budget cuts and the privatization of childcare threaten centers across the country.
Since the 1980s, leading U.S. firms have announced massive downsizing plans in the name of maximizing shareholder value, but some observers are skeptical about how serious firms are in implementing these plans. Building on political theories of corporate governance, I examine how conflicts of interest and alignment among investors, workers, and top managers affect the implementation of announced downsizing plans.
Conventional research in organizational theory highlights the role of board interlocks in facilitating business collective action. In this article, I propose that business collective action affects the evolutionary path of interlock networks. In particular, large market players’ response after a collective action to the classic problem of the "exploitation" of the great by the small provides a mechanism for interlocks to evolve.
Community reactions against organizations can be driven by negative information spread through a diffusion process that is distinct from the diffusion of organizational practices. Bank panics offer a classic example of selective diffusion of negative information. Bank panics involve widespread bank runs, although a low proportion of banks experience a run. We develop theory on how organizational similarity, community similarity, and network proximity create selective diffusion paths for resistance against organizations.
Rebellious collective action is rare, but it can occur when subordinates are severely discontented and other circumstances are favorable. The possibility of rebellion is a check—sometimes the only check—on authoritarian rule. Although mutinies in which crews seized control of their vessels were rare events, they occurred throughout the Age of Sail. To explain the occurrence of this form of high-risk collective action, this article holds that shipboard grievances were the principal cause of mutiny. However, not all grievances are equal in this respect.
This study examines whether working with a broker increases or reduces the payment received for the last client among female sex workers. Building on research on the informal economy and sex work, we formulate a positive embeddedness hypothesis, expecting a positive association, and an exploitation hypothesis, expecting a negative association. We analyze a large survey combined with intensive interview data on female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India. These data uniquely distinguish between the amount the sex worker actually received and the amount the client paid.
Scholars have documented the emergence of apparently race-neutral discourses that serve to entrench racial stratification following the elimination of de jure segregation. These discourses deny the existence of both present-day racism and the contemporary effects of histories of racial oppression. Researchers posit that individuals are socialized into these views, but little empirical attention has been paid to the processes through which such socialization occurs.
Recent scholarship highlights the importance of public discourse for the mobilization and impact of social movements, but it neglects how cultural products may shift discourse and thereby influence mobilization and political outcomes. This study investigates how activism against hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") utilized cultural artifacts to influence public perceptions and effect change. A systematic analysis of Internet search data, social media postings, and newspaper articles allows us to identify how the documentary Gasland reshaped public discourse.
Adolescents from poor versus nonpoor neighborhoods are more likely to become obese during the transition to adulthood. It is unclear whether this pertains to all adolescents from poor neighborhoods or only those who remain in disadvantaged settings. Further, it is unknown how neighborhood poverty entries and exits are associated with obesity.
Recent decades have seen the influence of the professions decline. Lately, commentators have suggested a revived role for a "new" professionalism in ensuring and enhancing high-quality health care in systems dominated by market and managerial logics. The form this new professionalism might take, however, remains obscure. This article uses data from an ethnographic study of three English health care improvement projects to analyze the place, potential, and limitations of professionalism as a means of engaging clinicians in efforts to improve service quality. | https://www.asanet.org/search?f%5B0%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A119&f%5B1%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A96&f%5B2%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A188&f%5B3%5D=node%253Atype%3Ajournal_article&f%5B4%5D=node%253Afield_related_topics_term%3A161 |
In astronomy we rely upon telescopes and other optical devices, and that means we have to deal with the complexities of how light behaves. In many ways light can behave in fairly simple ways, but this simple behavior is not perfect. As a result, telescopes can have optical aberrations. Dealing with these aberrations can sometimes pose quite a challenge.
One type of difficulty is known as chromatic aberration. It is most commonly seen in simple telescopes. Lenses focus light by using the fact that light will bend when it enters a material such as glass. The amount of bending the light does depends on the index of refraction of the material. But the index of refraction varies slightly for different wavelengths. As a result, red light focuses at one point, but blue light focuses at a different point. This means a simple telescope can’t focus all colors in the same way. When a star or planet is in focus for blue, for example, the other colors appear slightly blurry.
One way to overcome chromatic aberration is to add an extra lens with a different refractive index. This can help bring the focal points of different colors closer together. This isn’t a perfect solution, however.
Of course not all telescopes use lenses. Many use mirrors, which don’t produce a chromatic aberration. There is however a different effect known as spherical aberration. Spherical aberration can also occur with lenses, but it is more common with mirror telescopes. It turns out that a mirror with a spherical focuses light almost to a point. This is a good thing, because producing spherical mirrors is much easier than producing non-spherical mirrors. However a spherical mirror doesn’t focus light to an exact point. Light reflected from the outer edges is focused slightly closer than light reflected near the center. For small mirrors this effect is small, and can usually be ignored, but for larger mirrors this effect matters.
You might remember when the Hubble telescope was launched, there was an issue with its mirror that prevented the telescope from focusing properly. This error was a result of spherical aberration. To overcome spherical aberration, a mirror must be ground with a parabolic shape. The Hubble mirror was ground to a more spherical shape, and as a result the outer edge was too shallow by about the width of a human hair. Of course once it was in space the telescope couldn’t be brought back to Earth, so a corrective lens needed to be put in place to correct for the error.
Modern telescopes are designed to minimize these effects, even small hobby telescopes. If you happen to have a small telescope at home, you can be proud to own a rather sophisticated optical instrument.
Thank you so much for the info I have a take home test and one of the question was “Why are mirrors preferred to simple lenses in spectroscopic intrumentation?” and this answer really helped me. | https://archive.briankoberlein.com/2014/02/18/aberration/ |
Analysis of Bank Austria Economics Department:
Growth downturn in China a very tangible problem for Austria, but manageable on the whole
- Sharper slump in Chinese growth would exert pressure on global economy
- Germany under greatest pressure in Europe – which is less affected on the whole – but Austria influenced more than most too
- Growth down by 1 percentage point in China means weaker economic output in Austria by up to 0.3 percentage points
- Stress scenario: Economic output in Austria down by 1.5 to 2.5 percent in 2020 due to trade ties and problems caused by financial markets
- Lower raw material prices will compensate somewhat for negative effect: so overall impact still acceptable for Austria, even in stress scenario
"Concerns about economic developments in China are justified. The slower growth in the most important emerging market is hindering the global economy, and Austria is unable to escape the negative consequences of this either. Nonetheless, the impacts on the domestic economy are manageable on the whole, even if Austria is more affected than most other European countries", said Bank Austria chief economist Stefan Bruckbauer, summarising the latest analysis1 of Bank Austria on the economic implications of low growth rates in China for the Austrian economy.
The Chinese economy has become a global player in recent decades. In the meantime the largest emerging market in the world accounts for more than 13 percent of global economic output and welcomes roughly 10 percent of global goods exports. "Posting growth rates of approximately 7 percent, China alone has contributed roughly one percentage point of the annual increase in global GDP in recent years amounting to around 3.5 percent", explained Bank Austria economist Walter Pudschedl.
China exerts substantial influence on global economy
Given the size of its economy and its substantial role in global trade, China now exerts a major influence on the global economy. "A slowdown in growth in China will have tangible consequences for the global economy. And it is now inevitable that growth rates will be lower in China over the coming years than has previously been customary", said Pudschedl, firmly convinced. The transition from an export and investment driven economic catch-up process to a more balanced and sustainable growth model requires structural changes that go hand in hand with flatter growth rates on a long-term basis. So the question is not whether growth will slow down in China, but by how much, depending on the economic policy measures put in place.
If suitable measures can facilitate a soft landing for the Chinese economy, and growth in China weakens as expected from the current 7 percent to around 6 percent over the coming years, the economists at Bank Austria believe the consequences for the global economy will be manageable. "Our calculations show that a decline in Chinese economic growth by one percentage point deprives the global economy of approximately 0.4 percentage points in growth. At 0.25 percentage points the impacts on Europe would be noticeably lower", revealed Bruckbauer, before adding: "This, however, means that the burden on Austria is disproportionately high by European comparison, at more than 0.3 percentage points."
Austria affected more than most within Europe
The estimated consequences of slower growth in China are primarily based on foreign trade as a transmission channel, and both direct as well as indirect trade are affected via third country second-round effects. This also explains why Austria is affected more than most within Europe since the Chinese economy exhibits a higher final demand for Austrian added value than a mere glance at direct exports from Austria would suggest, mainly because of the high level of supplies heading from Austria to Germany. The significance for Austria of exports to China almost doubles from 1 to 1.7 percent of GDP when these indirect exports are taken into account. This Bank Austria calculation of the global consequences of slower growth in China not only deals with foreign trade but also with the development of the financial markets – in the shape of stock market slides and higher risk premiums.
Even if there is no "soft landing" in China and the Chinese economy experiences a significant slowdown, the impacts on the global economy would be manageable, albeit noticeably unpleasant. In a stress scenario the Bank Austria economists assume Chinese economic growth will weaken from the current 7 percent to roughly 3 percent in the years to 2020.
Stress scenario tolerable for Austria too
In this case – which is currently unlikely to happen – economic output in China would be more than 8 percent lower in 2020, compared to the main scenario of a slowdown in economic output to roughly 6 percent. The implications of an unexpectedly sharp decline in GDP growth in China would translate to a setback of around 2 percent for Europe. The global economy is affected even more with a figure of almost 3.5 percent. The negative influence on the USA would only be slightly higher than for the eurozone, while Japan and other Asian countries would be affected particularly heavily given their strong economic ties and their geographical proximity.
Looking at Europe, the consequences would be most severe for Germany, as expected. Indirectly this means a significant effect for Austria too, said Stefan Bruckbauer, concluding: "The impact of a severe slowdown in China from currently 7 percent to 3 percent by 2020 would mean a dip in economic output of between 1.5 to 2.5 percent in Austria, taking into account the transmission channels of foreign trade and the financial markets. With oil prices expected to fall this effect would be mitigated by around one percentage point though, which means although the Austrian economy would be affected more than most by European comparison, the dampening effect would still be manageable, even in this unlikely stress scenario."
Charts (PDF; 141KB)
1The analysis: "Wie lang ist der Arm Chinas? Auswirkungen einer Wachstumsabschwächung in China auf Österreich" is available in German only and can be downloaded for free here.
Enquiries: | https://www.bankaustria.at/en/about-us-press-press-archives-press-archive-2015_17934.jsp |
The Judgment handed down in the case of Re H-N and Others (children) (domestic abuse: finding of fact hearings) EWCA Civ 448 (hereafter Re H-N) by the Court of Appeal on 30 March 2021, was, in many respects a landmark decision which many of us in the legal profession may fairly describe as timely and long overdue.
Whilst it could be argued that, in theory, this Judgment did not introduce any new and radical changes to the law and the Court of Appeal was, in fact, exploring and clarifying legal principles that have been in existence for some considerable time, it could equally be argued that the practical effect of the Judgment was revolutionary, especially in the lower courts where fact finding hearings form a regular and crucial part of family proceedings.
Understandably, the Judgment of Re H-N gave rise to numerous questions: is this the start of a radical change with respect to how allegations of domestic abuse are now going to be litigated in practice within family proceedings? Are the days of advocates being told that – “allegations are limited to 6”, being told that, certain allegations will not be determined because they are “historic” or because they “predate the breakdown of contact or separation”, over? Will this prevent Courts from declining to determine allegations of controlling and coercive behaviour on the basis that they are not on the same level of ‘seriousness’ as the allegations of physical/sexual harm? Or, is it the case that, nearly 15 months from the date on which the Court of Appeal handed down the Judgment in Re H-N, the approach remains largely unchanged with only lip-service being paid to the significant legal principles set out by the Court of Appeal?
What exactly did the Court of Appeal in Re H-N say?
The Court of Appeal, in this case, highlighted a number of significant legal principles.
The Court clarified that it is indeed possible to be a victim of controlling or coercive behaviour or threatening behaviour without ever sustaining a physical injury and that specific incidents, rather than being seen as isolated incidents, may be part of a wider pattern of abusive and controlling behaviours [P27].
It would not be fair to highlight these important principles without noting that the groundwork for these principles was laid down by Mr Justice Hayden in his illuminating Judgment in F v M EWFC 4, just two months before the Judgment in Re H-N was handed down. The Court of Appeal in Re H-N, hailed the Judgment of F v M, which was described as being “essential reading for the Family Judiciary” by the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal quoted generously from Mr Justice Hayden’s Judgment, including his observation that the “key” to coercive and controlling behaviour is an “appreciation of a ‘pattern’ or ‘a series of acts’, the impact of which must be assessed cumulatively and rarely in isolation” . Mr Justice Hayden highlighted the insidious reach of this form of abuse and shared his impression that this is an area that requires greater awareness and more focused training. Therefore, for advocates “on the ground”, who may have been told in the past by a Judge or a bench of Magistrates that they will not be determining allegations of controlling/coercive behaviour because they are “not as serious” as other forms of abuse, this undoubtedly marked a welcome change in approach.
The Court of Appeal explained with reasons as to why a pattern of behaviour is as relevant to the child as it is to the adult victim and clarified that, although the principal focus of their Judgment was on controlling and coercive behaviour, the reference to a pattern of incidents apply “equally to all forms of abuse” [P31-33].
Another refreshing aspect of the Judgment was the Court’s cogent remarks on the restrictive nature of Scott Schedules. There were two primary concerns (concerns of principle and pragmatic concerns) raised in oral submissions in relation to Scott schedules. The concern of principle was that there was a need for the Court to look at the wider context of whether there has been a pattern of abuse as opposed to a list of factual incidents given that such behaviour is likely to have a “cumulative impact on its victim which would not be identified simply by separate and isolated consideration of individual incidents” . The second and pragmatic concern, related to the first, was that the process of reducing and/or adopting a selective approach produced a false image of the relationship being scrutinised by the Court. The concern was that, by reducing its field of focus, the Court risked depriving itself of a “vantage point” from which to view the quality of the alleged perpetrator’s behaviour as a whole and, importantly, removed the opportunity of considering whether or not there has been a pattern of abuse. This would, in turn, have an impact on the basis and extent of the risk assessment that follows.
The Court of Appeal acknowledged the force of both concerns raised and observed that there is a need to develop a different way of summarising and organising the allegations and that there needed to be a move away from Scott schedules. However, regrettably (and perhaps understandably), the Court of Appeal did not take it further than this, only observing that the Court is not the “appropriate vehicle” to do more than describe the options suggested by the parties and that it would be “for others, outside the crucible of an individual case or appeal, to develop these suggestions into new guidance or rule changes” .
The Court of Appeal also specifically clarified that the approach of dismissing allegations of abuse because they are “in the past” is to be considered as “old fashioned” and “no longer acceptable” .
Whilst it is entirely right that the above critical aspects of the Judgment should be welcomed, discussed and applied, it is also vital to be mindful of the wider framework, as set out by the Court of Appeal, within which the above principles operate. It is important to bear in mind that, whilst it is entirely right that the Court of Appeal cautioned against limiting the number and nature of allegations, against sticking to Scott schedules slavishly and emphasised the importance of looking at a pattern of abuse rather than isolated incidents, it did so against the backdrop and in the context of, the following legal principles:
It would therefore be a misconception to think that Re H-N has given parties and advocates a “free pass” to litigate an unlimited number of allegations over a number of days. The interplay of the above principles means that there will inevitably still be cases where the Court can and should legitimately reduce the number of allegations and restrict the scope of the hearing. However, it is felt that the difference will be that the process, reasoning and analysis adopted in doing so must now be “Re H-N compliant”. In other words, “the pre-Re-H-N approach” of dismissing allegations because they are “historical” or because they are “similar” or because coercive/controlling is not “as serious” is likely to be entirely at odds with the approach adopted in and endorsed by the Court in Re H-N and therefore vulnerable to being challenged. Therefore, any Judge approaching the task of determining whether or not there should be a fact-finding hearing and if so, which allegations should be determined will need to strike the right (and undoubtedly challenging) balance between ensuring that there are a sufficient number of alleged incidents in order for the Court to properly consider whether there has been a ‘pattern of abuse’ whilst also complying with the principles of proportionality, the overriding objective and allocating the right amount of court time and resources to the case.
The landscape post Re H-N
The landscape post Re H-N looks promising. There have been a number of reported cases where the principles of Re H-N have been carefully and meaningfully applied and upheld while taking into account the wider legal and procedural framework reiterated by the Court of Appeal.
In the case of Re K EWCA Civ 468, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, sitting in the Court of Appeal, endorsed the approach adopted in Re H-N. He noted that the decision to hold a fact-finding hearing is a major judicial determination and reiterated the importance of identifying the welfare issues, the nature of the facts alleged and their relevance to the welfare issues, wherever a fact finding is being considered. He was critical of the fact that, in this particular case, contrary to the principles as set out in PD12J and Re H-N, at the earlier stages of the proceedings, the issues concerning welfare were not identified or analysed and the relevance of the allegations to the issues of welfare were not properly considered prior to a fact-finding hearing being ordered. He went onto describe the decision to hold a finding of fact hearing as being “premature”. One of the key points emphasised by Sir Vos was that a “fact-finding is only needed if the alleged abuse is likely to be relevant to what the court is being asked to decide relating to the children’s welfare”. He was careful to add that this is not resiling from Re H-N. It would be fair to go further and say this approach was endorsed by the Court in Re H-N.
He summarised the following to be matters that should be considered when the Court is determining whether or not to order a fact-finding hearing: (a) the nature of the allegations and the extent to which those allegations are likely to be relevant to the making of the child arrangements order, (b) that the purpose of fact-finding is to allow assessment of the risk to the child and the impact of any abuse on the child, (c) whether fact-finding is necessary or whether other evidence suffices, and (d) whether fact-finding is proportionate. This is a succinct summary of the broader framework of the legal and procedural principles endorsed by the Court in Re H-N [at para.66]. He also reiterated the other crucial aspect of this framework that, whilst there is a requirement to consider an overarching issue of coercive or controlling behaviour, where to do so is necessary for the determination of a relevant welfare issues, this does not mean that there is a requirement for the court to determine every single subsidiary factual allegation that may also be raised.
In summary therefore, this case is a good reminder, post Re H-N, of the broader legal and procedural framework at play and a caution against ignoring the fundamental principles that underpin the more contextual and broader approach endorsed by the Court of Appeal in Re H-N with respect to allegations of domestic abuse.
In the case of Ms B v Mr P 2022 WL 00973865, HHJ Levey found that the District Judge who dealt with the fact-finding hearing had not complied with the principles of Re H-N and had erred by looking at allegations and making findings in isolation rather than standing back to consider the evidence as a whole and specifically whether there was evidence of a pattern of abusive behaviour. He went onto say that, had the Trial Judge done so, she would have surely seen that the respondent’s behaviour, in this particular case, could have been characterised as forming such a pattern.
In the case of Re S 3 WLUK 377, Mr Justice Morgan, allowed an appeal by the mother with respect to setting aside the Trial Judge’s decision at a fact-finding hearing. One of the grounds of appeal which was upheld was that that the Judge had erred by precluding the mother from relying on historic allegations of domestic abuse which had pre-dated a previous Child Arrangements Order. The Court found that, in doing so, the Trial Judge had failed to comply with the principles as set out in Re H-N and PD12J and that court had denied itself a full and informed understanding of the circumstances which would form the basis for assessments of risks and decisions with respect to the child.
The case of BY v BX EWHC 108 (Fam) is an important case that followed in the wake of Re H-N. This was a case that was remitted by the Court of Appeal to the High Court for hearing following the conjoined appeals which were reported as Re H-N. This case was then known as B-B. Mr Justice Cobb helpfully illustrates the form that the practical application of the principles as set out in Re H-N may take, in the following comments/observations he makes :
He reiterated the broader framework, including the guidance in “The Road Ahead” and the principle set out in Re H-N that, it is the responsibility of the individual Judge or bench of Magistrates to proportionately and robustly manage the case and maintain control of the court process where it has been determined that a fact-finding hearing is necessary.
This is also a case where Mr Justice Cobb made the overarching allegation of coercive and controlling behaviour the primary allegation and singled out other individual allegations for discrete determination taking into account the two categories set out by the Court of Appeal in Re H-N.
The case of GK v PR EWFC 106, an appeal before Mr Justice Peel, notably reiterated the concerns about the use of Scott schedules, noting that the risk of applying the Scott Schedules is that “the judge approaches the case in a formulaic, incident by incident way which detracts from the holistic overview necessary to determine fluid and nuanced patterns” . He also raised the concern that there is a risk that incidents which may appear trivial are overlooked and not relied upon. He did go onto observe that there may be some cases where a Scott Schedule may be appropriate and gave the example where the complainant alleges a small number of specific incidents without asserting a pattern of behaviour.
Conclusion
It would be fair to conclude that, as per the reported cases, at least, the legal principles, as articulated in Re H-N, appear to be applied in a rigorous and thorough manner by the higher courts. However, it is harder to gauge, at this relatively early stage, the extent and the consistency with which they are applied in the lower courts (particularly at the level of District Judges and Magistrates. My own experience and conversations with other barristers and Solicitors do indicate that the old rhetoric of “limiting Scott schedules to 6 allegations” and a reluctance to determine “historic” allegations, still linger within the lower courts, especially at the level of Magistrates. There also still remains uncertainty as to the best way of presenting the allegations, if not by way of Scott Schedules. Therefore, it is felt that there does remain more work to be done, at all levels, to ensure that the principles as set out in Re H-N and the spirit of that Judgment, are consistently applied and adhered to. Mr Justice Hayden, in his Judgment in F v M, noted the need for there to be greater awareness and more focused training for the relevant professionals with respect to coercive and controlling behaviour [see para 4]. In my opinion, it is worth considering whether this recommendation for training and awareness should be extended more generally to include the key principles set in Re H-N, particularly amongst Magistrates and Legal Advisers? It is also important that, as Barristers and Solicitors, we continue to assist the Judiciary by drawing attention, where needed, to the relevant principles as set out in the case law and crucially assist the Court in identifying, at an early stage in proceedings, the welfare issues and the allegations relevant for the determination of these issues including specifically whether a pattern of abuse, as opposed to a few isolated incidents, are being alleged. | https://st-philips.com/news-events/the-legal-landscape-post-re-h-n-where-are-we-now-an-article-by-sandamini-ethakada/ |
Australians need to be earning more than $42.50 an hour or $77,350 a year to be considered above average and most likely need a degree to be on a six-figure salary.
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Wednesday has revealed how much workers are typically making before tax.
Managers, professionals and men typically made more, by virtue of having higher hourly rates of pay and more rostered hours.
Australians need to be earning more than $42.50 an hour or $77,350 a year to be considered above average and most likely need a degree to be on a six-figure salary (pictured are shoppers at Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall)
Australia's pay scale
MANAGERS: $65.10 an hour or $118,482 a year
PROFESSIONALS: $57.90 an hour or $105,378 a year
TECHNICIANS: $39.50 an hour or $71,890 a year
MACHINERY: $37.40 an hour or $68,068 a year
CLERICAL: $36.90 an hour or $67,158 a year
COMMUNITY: $35.40 an hour or $64,428 a year
LABOURERS: $31 an hour or $56,420 a year
SALES: $30.50 an hour or $55,510 a year
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With the government classifying full-time work to be 35 hours or more a week, someone earning an average, hourly wage of $42.50 is typically earning $77,350 a year - or $1,487.50 a week.
Managers had the highest salaries, with their hourly wage of $65.10 translating into $2,278.50 a week or $118,482 a year.
Professionals earned $57.90 an hour, working out at $2,026.50 a week or $105,378 annually.
At the bottom of the pay scale, sales representatives on average hourly wages of $30.50, or $1,067.50 a week, had the lowest salaries of $55,510.
Labourers on $31 an hour, or $1,085 a week, earned slightly more at $56,420.
Men, with typical hourly wages of $44.50, earned $80,990 a year on average if they worked full time.
Women, on $40.20 an hour, earned $1,407 a week or $73,164 a year if they were also on a full-time roster.
Bjorn Jarvis, the ABS's head of labour statistics, said working hours explained the actual bigger disparity in pay between the two genders in the data taken from May 2021.
'Hourly earnings comparisons are useful in understanding gender pay differences, beyond weekly earnings measures, given men are more likely to work full-time than women,' he said.
Women, by virtue of having fewer working hours as they cared for their children, typically earned $1,394 a week, or $72,488 a year compared with $1,625 a week for men or $84,500 a year.
Female-dominated occupations also had lower pay when compared with semi-skilled sectors where men were more numerous.
Clerical and administrative workers on average earned $36.90 an hour, working out at $1,291.50 a week or $67,158 a year if they worked the minimum number of shifts to be classified as full-time.
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Community and personal care staff, another job mainly done by women, had average hourly pay of $35.40, working out at $1,239 a week and $64,428 on an annual basis.
By comparison, workers in the male-dominated machinery operators and drivers category typically made $37.40 an hour, or $1,309 a week and $68,068 a year.
Technician and trades workers on $39.50 an hour, or $1,382.50 a week, on average made $71,890.
Professionals earned $57.90 an hour, working out at $2,026.50 a week or $105,378 annually (pictured are commuters at Martin Place in Sydney)
Australia is still a workers' market with National Skills Commission data showing internet job ads in December, of 245,602 available positions, was 37.4 per cent stronger compared with the same month in 2020.
The ABS's national payrolls data for week ending on December 18 also showed a whopping 9 per cent surge in wages, as labour shortages make life harder for recruiters.
Since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, wages have risen by 14 per cent.
CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said fewer people were now applying for every job 'exacerbating labour shortages across some industries'.
At the bottom of the pay scale, sales representatives on average hourly wages of $30.50, or $1,067.50 a week, had the lowest salaries of $5,510 (pictured is a waitress at Sydney's Opera Bar). Women, by virtue of having fewer working hours as they cared for their children, typically earning $1,394 a week, or $72,488 a year compared with $1,625 a week for men or $84,500 a year
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data has revealed how much workers are typically making before tax
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What you need to earn an hour to be considered above-average and the jobs paying six-figure salaries
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what we do
I want there to be a place in the world where people can engage in one another’s differences in a way that is redemptive, full of hope and possibility.
—BELL HOOKS
In some way, everyone’s life is shaped by their gender. By engaging students in dialogue and analysis of gender issues and experiences, we hope to empower them to live in a fulfilling and authentic way—that is, to engage their whole selves in achieving their potential and living their values.
Our work is guided by principles and practice of intersectional feminism with specific focus on gender, race, sexuality, class, ability and national origin.
our impact
The Women*s Center strives to meet students where they are, emotionally, intellectually, and philosophically, through a broad range of programs, experiences, and opportunities for engagement around gender issues. To this end, we partnered with 28 student groups and 31 academic departments and administrative offices in 2015–2016.
See our resources page for more.
our programs
Our programs and activities focus on six areas:
Developing Leadership
Support a variety of student initiatives, advise student groups and provide workshops, talks, trainings and other resources for skills and identity development.
Promoting Holistic Health
Further students’ awareness of their physical, spiritual, emotional and intellectual needs through retreats and other programs that encourage reflection and self-care.
Building Community
Work to create a respectful and inclusive community by bringing together people of all genders, races, sexualities, classes, abilities and national origins for conversations, support groups and celebrations.
Mentoring and Empowering
Foster relationships between and among students, staff, faculty and alumni to create networks of inspiring and supportive people of all backgrounds.
Advocating for Students
Work within the institution to address students’ gender-related needs.
Educating and Training
Conduct trainings for student leaders, staff and faculty on identity development and gender-related issues.
See our get involved page for more. | http://women.princeton.edu/what-we-do/ |
Draw the Lewis Dot structure for N2 (on paper, not on Canvas) then answer the questions.
a. How many total valence electrons are in N2? Express your answer as a whole number.
b. How many single bonds are in N2? Express your answer as a whole number.
c. How many double bonds are in N2? Express your answer as a whole number.
d. How many triple bonds are in N2? Express your answer as a whole number.
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Our hotel was built in 2002 and the extension finished in August 2008 by adding another 11 rooms making a total number of 19 rooms. The decor welcoming you in the lobby and throughout is fashionable, vibrant and infused with the latest technology. Guests can choose to stay in rooms with bright colors or more subtly styled rooms.
The double bed rooms and suites are equipped with small kitchen facilities. We pride ourselves on taking excellent care of our guests and making them feel at home from the instant they step through our doors. We will do our best to accommodate your needs in any way possible. | http://www.informator.md/en/tourist-destinations/moldova/chisinau/cazari-hotel-mesogios_hotel-202-chisinau/ |
The goal of the Graybiel Laboratory is to gain an understanding of basal ganglia circuits sufficiently to provide clear potential avenues for therapeutic intervention in neurologic and neuropsychiatric disorders as well as fundamental insights into brain function. The main projects in the lab focus on discovering neural mechanisms underlying habit learning, motivation, motivationally based decision-making, and how these networks translate their signals to the action systems of the brain to build up our behaviors. These studies are paralleled by work on the related issue of how behaviors can be driven first consciously by particular goals and then be transformed into habitual behaviors hardly requiring conscious attention: in essence, how the brain decides which behaviors are successful enough to repeat and eventually make into habits.
These neural functions all deeply involve the striatum of the basal ganglia, a large region in the forebrain whose activity is disturbed in human disorders ranging from Parkinson’s disease to OCD, autism spectrum disorders, depression, stress-related disorders, and addictive behaviors. Dopamine, depleted in Parkinson’s disease, is normally strongly influential on these circuits. So are other neurotransmitters, including serotonin. The entire neocortex plays upon this huge striatal region, suggesting that it is critical to the process of taking cortical commands and reorganizing them and re-weighting them depending on reinforcement contingencies.
To work on these systems, lab members use many state-of-the art methods and engineer mice so that precise biological mechanisms can be addressed. The lab is focused on experiments on the brains of rodents and non-human-primates performing tasks involving reward-based learning, decision-making under conditions of motivational conflict (such as cost-benefit conflict), and other motivational contexts using electrophysiology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, calcium imaging, photometric methods, dopamine-monitoring, immunohistochemistry, along with molecular methods including mouse engineering to detect specific neural populations in neocortex and striatum. The lab is engaged in studying several models of human disease states, including Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and obsessive-compulsive disorder and related neuropsychiatric conditions. Finally, the lab works collaboratively with other scientists to match the lab’s tasks to tasks that can be performed by human subjects, including patients; to help engineering projects to improve tools for brain analysis and therapy; and is using anatomical methods based on the research findings to analyze the brains of individuals who suffered from brain disorders. The lab emphasizes data analysis and computational analytic methods to help in interpreting findings.
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We are always looking for new lab technicians, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and research scientists. Please contact us to get started! | http://www.graybiel-lab.com/research.html |
Brazil's right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, said Tuesday that he will create an "Amazon Council,quot; to protect and guarantee the "sustainable development,quot; of the world's largest rainforest, after intense criticism of its environmental policies.
The council will be led by the vice president of Brazil, General Hamilton Mourao, Bolsonaro said on Twitter, and will coordinate "various actions within each ministry focused on the protection, defense and sustainable development of the Amazon."
Plus:
Bolsonaro has previously said that his government is protecting the rainforest, but he wants economic development in the Amazon to improve the lives of its 30 million inhabitants, including its indigenous tribes. Environmentalists fear that it will accelerate deforestation.
Under Bolsonaro, the number of fires in the Amazon reached a maximum of 10 years last year, which led world leaders to denounce their environmental history.
– Determined the criação do Conselho da Amazônia, be coordinated hair Vice President @GeneralMourao, using its own structure, and whose objective is to coordinate as several years in each ministry turned to protection, defense and sustainable development of Amazonia.
Translation: I have ordered the creation of the Amazon Council, which will be coordinated with the Vice President General Mourao, using its own structure, coordinate various actions within each ministry focused on the protection, defense and sustainable development of the Amazon.
On January 15, MapBiomas, an environmental group that monitors the rate of forest destruction said dThe reforestation of the Amazon rainforest of Brazil threatens to accelerate and generate greater global concern since no new fire prevention measures have been taken in the period prior to the dry season this year, according to Tasso Azevedo, group coordinator called MapBiomas that monitors the rate of destruction of the forest
"It would be expected to be worse than last year unless something really big happens in the next two or three months to avoid the high deforestation season that begins in May." Tasso Azevedo told the news agency Reuters.
The number of fires in the Amazon rainforest increased by 30.5 percent in 2019 compared to the previous year, while deforestation increased by 85 percent, according to recent data published by the Brazilian space research agency, INPE.
The Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, is a bulwark against global warming due to the large amount of carbon dioxide that absorbs the heat it absorbs from the atmosphere. It also provides Brazil with hydroelectric power, and its abundant rainfall provides agriculture without irrigation.
The risks to the forest provoked a public protest in August when fires swept through the Amazon, causing strong international criticism.
Last week, Brazilian indigenous leaders called for concentration to protect the Amazon rainforest and its native tribes from what they called the "genocide, ethnocide and ecocide,quot; planned by Bolsonaro.
A manifesto signed Friday at the end of a four-day meeting in the Xingu reserve said Bolsonaro was threatening the survival of indigenous peoples with plans to allow commercial mining and livestock on their protected lands.
The invasions of reserves by loggers and illegal miners have increased since Bolsonaro took office last year, which led to violent clashes. At least eight indigenous leaders were killed last year in circumstances that have not yet been clarified. | |
Good afternoon! Each year I try and develop a theme to use for my knitting designs … it may be a style of knitting (all cables … colorwork … garter stitch) or a theme (all folk knits … knitting from a region … historical items) or it may be a mishmash of it all.
This year, I’ve decided to go back to the beginning … how I got started designing at the ripe old age of 12 … and review what I’ve learned over the decades and maybe come up with some amazing new designs.
And the beginning starts with the doyenne of knitting – Elizabeth Zimmermann. EZ, as she is affectionately known by her fans and critics alike, has been my knitting inspiration since I was 9 and mom gave me the then-just-published book – Knitting Without Tears: Basic Techniques and Easy-to Follow Directions for Garments to Fit All Ages.
This book is a knitterly classic!
Every knitter should read this at least once … twice … or every couple of years! Seriously.
I had the good fortune to receive this book as a young, impressionable, new knitter who was self-taught and was devouring every book in the library (and my mother’s home library) that had anything to do with knitting. I was 10. I loved EZ’s chattiness … her unabashed obsession with all things “knitterly” … her willingness to talk the reader thru each any every facet of knitting.
I was in love … and haven’t looked back since.
Not everyone shares my fascination … bordering on idolatry … of EZ’s writings. I think the subtitle of this book: “basic techniques and easy-to-follow directions for garments to fit all ages” is a major reason why many knitters have never experienced EZ like I have … dislike her chattiness … can’t follow her directions, could care less about her fishing excursions with “the old man” etc.
But many miss the point:
- This first of her knitting books is NOT a “basic book” … this is a philosophical treatise on the joys of knitting … and knitting well … and how your life is emboldened with creating from two sticks and a string.
- The designs in her book are not MEANT to be followed slavishly – the whole point is that EZ is giving us all carte-blanche to knit the way we want to knit … to go beyond a simple design and work it the way we want to work it.
EZ was telling me it was ok to hold the needles the most comfortable way for me … as long as I was making the stitches correctly. She was telling me that I could change things up and adapt for my style as long as I remembered to check gauge and do the necessary math. She was telling me that being obsessed with knitting was perfectly normal … and should be applauded!
This first book, originally published in 1971 when I was 10, is a treasure trove of knitting tid-bits and proven remedies for purl-phobia, knitting in the round, working that first sweater and other foundational building blocks to become the best knitter you can be.
My goal, as I knit and design thru this year, is to use some of EZ’s tricks … her suggestions … her fixes for knitting’s little “challenges” … and develop designs that celebrate this amazing woman who changed my life and hobby into a life-long love affair with the creating from two sticks and a string. Thus, I will be re-reading EZ’s works:
- Knitting Without Tears (1971) – re-read the entire book on New Year’s Day 2019; my current copy is the third or fourthcopy since Christmas of 1971!
- Knitter’s Almanac (orig 1974 … and I still have mine that I got when I was 13! … and reintroduced in 2012 as a commemorative); I have both but the benefit to the newer version is the items are in color so you can really see what she is talking about in the text (also, many of the items have been re-knit in more “current” wool shades
- Knitter’s Workshop (orig 1981 and reintroduced in 2013); I have the old, ‘type-written/b&w pictures’ version and the newer, “spiffier” version; the new version is paperback, uses lots of colored pictures and clarifications by EZ’s daughter Meg Swansen and is more to modern book-reading tastes. This lovely volume is based on a 13-part TV series that develops knitting prowess as you work each project.
- Knitting Around (1989); this amazing volume is based on a 12-part video series that Meg and EZ put together to cover all sorts of knitted garments (socks, sweaters, coats, mittens); filled with gorgeous items and great tips, this book is also packed with “digressions”, bits about EZ’s growing up and married life. NO EZ fan should miss this one!
The final two books in the “EZ Lexicon” are both posthumously published but based on EZ’s writings:
- The Opinionated Knitter – EZ’s Newsletters 1958-1968 (2005) – a facsimile reproduction of EZ’s $0.25 quarterly leaflet/newsletters (with clarification and back-notes from Meg Swansen); I do own some of her newsletters from the 1980s and 90s, which were then selling for $1.50 to $2.00 each.
- Knit One Knit All – EZ’s Garter Stitch Designs (2011) – the humble garter stitch gets popped up a notch or two with amazing designs from EZ’s personal notebooks. Who knew garter stitch could do so much! The book also has a smattering of EZ’s watercolor prints, light and delicate and just glorious!
I will be referring to all these books over the next 12 months … a salute to EZ, whose death in November 1999, left this knitter saddened for the loss of a mentor who I never met in person but who influenced my knitting work for the last 40+ years! | http://www.marygildersleeve.com/category/knitting-general/elizabeth-zimmermann/ |
Footprints on the Trail
I used to go into the woods and imagine that I was the first to walk on a piece of ground and my footprints were the first to leave their mark. I was drawn to the idea of pristine wilderness.
My imagination was romanced by the possibility that I was the first human to walk or paddle a place. I would see footprints from a past hiker and feel somehow disappointed or cheated and even less satisfied by my experience.
I now find a sense of comfort in old footprints on the trail and am captivated by the stories they contain.
There is certainly something unmistakably idealistic in the thought that we might be walking a piece of ground for the first time, the first to see a landscape from a particular perspective, experiencing it in a state not yet muddled by human interactions.
Rethinking Ideals
Many of us grow up longing for wilderness, our imaginations fueled by visions of what goes on in a truly wild place untouched by humans and the chance to experience that first hand.
The reality is that we live in a world of altered landscapes. There are few places on the planet unaffected by human beings. Those that are left are rapidly and irreversibly disappearing. Of course, this version of the world is somewhat less romantically ideal.
I think we miss something just as wonderful and perhaps even more powerful when we are singularly focused on finding some idealistic pristine wilderness. What we miss is an opportunity to connect with both people and landscapes.
In recent years I have found a sense of affection for other people’s footprints on a trail. Instead of feeling protective over my own experience in a place, I now find a sense of calm in the feeling of camaraderie with someone who has been in a place before me and the opportunity to walk in their footprints.
Concepts of Nature
Part of the reason for my shifting perspective about what it means to encounter evidence of other people on the landscape might have something to do with my own cultural concept of nature.
Ideas of nature vary across cultures. The idea of a pristine wilderness untouched by humans is rooted in a particular cultural understanding of the world. There is a lively debate and set of literature around the distinction between nature and culture.
There’s an important distinction to make here. Of course, this is not to deny the existence of wild things in nature. A pronghorn is a wild animal that has evolved over millions of years. The critical relationship between bears and salmon and their role in transferring nutrients throughout entire ecosystems is nothing short of ancient, natural, and wild.
Rather, focusing on the relationship between culture and nature examines how we understand the place and role of humans in these wild places. Are humans separate from nature, each existing as one end of a spectrum between wild and civilized?
Or, are humans a part of nature, inextricably intertwined in its processes, history, and evolution as one cultural-ecological system?
– Steven Rinella
“You can only hunt so long before you start getting curious about the ways of hunters before you.”
It is important to realize that cultures do not all share one uniform concept of nature. Cultures all over the world consider humans and nature as intimately connected. The proposition that humans can be separated from nature would seem incompatible with the worldview of many cultures. Yet, in North America, our modern conservation movement is built on precisely this nature-culture construct.
Pristine Nature
There are some deeply ingrained cultural reasons many of us find ourselves drawn to a search for untouched and wild nature.
The definition of wilderness embraced by the conservation movement that took root in the late 19th century saw nature as something to be protected from humans and their influence. This approach also became the foundation for the modern hunter-conservationist movement.
Humans, by definition, were a destructive force on nature. Therefore, conservation measures such as national parks, which began in North America with Yellowstone National Park in 1872, worked to mitigate the negative impact that humans could have on nature through an exclusionary approach.
An understanding of the world as an untouched wilderness is rooted in European colonialism and the era of exploration and expansion. Colonial thinking presented a certain aesthetic of nature that enabled Europeans to colonize both the lands and people in their paths. When Europeans arrived in new places, they saw them in what Darwin termed a “state of nature”.
Nature-Culture Dualism
Yrjö Haila, Professor of environmental policy, explains what is referred to as the nature-culture dualism. In this way of thinking, “‘Culture’ is often equated with all human artifact, and ‘nature’ with the external environment, that is, culture and nature are distinguished from each other as if they were two separate realms of reality”.
Presenting nature and people as distinct and oppositional allowed Europeans colonists and explorers to do two things. First, it allowed them to conceptually and physically separate people from their lands without considering the cultural connections people have to places. This belief would later go on to support an exclusionary approach to nature protection commonly referred to as the preservationist approach.
Second, by creating a view of nature as wild and humans as civilized, this allowed early European colonizers to see Indigenous cultures as another element of wild nature that needed to be taken under European control.
The idea that people and nature are separate is not an expression of nature shared by all cultures around the world. Thus, the nature-culture dualism had both ecological and cultural implications.
The End of Nature?
Modern environmentalism and conservation arose on a foundation that saw a need to defend nature from humans. Human actions and development were seen as directly and inherently harmful to wildlife and wilderness. Therefore, to protect nature, humans needed to be excluded and human actions mitigated through management and policy.
At this point, humans have had a direct or indirect impact on virtually every part of the globe. We have impacted the earth’s systems and functioning at every scale, altering natural systems from the flow of nutrients to the rate of extinction of species, which is not up to 1,000 times the natural rate.
Environmental scholars have discussed “the end of nature”, an idea that examines our changing concept of the meaning of nature. This line of thinking reconsiders the philosophical idealism of pristine wilderness and identifies it as a social construct.
The idea of nature as a social construct recognizes, as Paul Wapner, Professor of environmental politics, points out that “One cannot draw an empirical line between the human and nonhuman spheres with any sort of certainty”. Further, since the relationship between humans and nature is understood differently across cultures, the meaning of nature “changes across time and space. In this sense, one cannot consider (let alone defend) nature independent of human experience”.
The idea that nature is a social construct is not to reject the physical existence of wildlife, trees, rivers, mountains, or their fundamental wild interactions and process. Nor is it simply philosophical idealism. Rather, the way we think about nature and, most importantly, our relationship to it, has implications for our approach to conservation.
Stories in the Ground
We all want to make memories. We share our memories through stories about the trials and tribulations of past hunts and experiences with people we cherish. As humans, we are also often drawn to other people’s hunting stories.
And I think there is a reason that we find ourselves drawn to stories. We enrich our own experiences when we connect with the experiences of others. Humans are a social species, and when we find common experiences in others, it builds a sense of community.
These moments of connection have been absolutely vital to our species’ history and survival.
When we have a moving experience in a landscape, it can feel like we have simultaneously taken some intangible piece of that landscape with us and left a piece of ourselves there.
The footprints we leave behind are a symbol of the piece of ourselves that remains on the landscape. Those footprints become an expression of what our experience meant to us and our contribution to the story of that landscape. It is our chance to state quietly and unobtrusively that we were there.
When we come across someone else’s footprints, consider for a moment the unique nature of the experience. Two people, potentially living completely different lives, have intersected because of some like-minded motivation.
As different as you may be day-to-day, you have quite likely shared certain opinions and feelings if only for a short time. In an age defined by radical political divisiveness and fierce in-group mentalities, we can all benefit from feelings of connection with other people.
Conclusions
I often quote Steven Rinella, a favourite author of mine, and I find a place for some of his thoughts here too. Reflecting on signs of past hunters, he suggests that “We have in us as hunters a tendency to want to know what it was like to have walked in someone’s shoes from the past”.
Now, when I hike a new spot and happen on the footprints of another person or a worn footpath in the land, I’m drawn to imagining who was there before me. I find comfort in the thought that some other like-minded person enjoyed the landscape and hopefully took away their own stories from it, just as I do.
So the point is not to throw our hands into the air and despair that we will never find a patch of truly wild nature to discover for the first time. Nor is the point to seek farther and deeper in search of this idealism, bound to be disappointed when we don’t find it.
Rather, the point is to appreciate the nature and wildness that we have and to revel in the understanding that there are others out there who care about it as we do. Just like us, many others look for opportunities to experience the natural world. Instead of avoiding these people, connect with them. Instead of force-fitting a concept of nature onto our experiences, appreciate the connections between nature and culture that have always existed. It is these connections that will continue to convince people to care about the natural world and conservation. | https://landscapesandletters.com/2019/05/14/footprints-on-the-trail/ |
Several qualifications regarding the various roles of religion should be mentioned at the outset. First, we do not wish to suggest here that any one religious tradition has a privileged ecological perspective. Rather, multiple perspectives may be the most helpful in identifying the contributions of the world's religions to the flourishing of life for future generations.
Second, while we assume that religions are necessary partners in the current ecological movement, they are not sufficient without the indispensable contributions of science, economics, education, and policy to the varied challenges of current environmental problems. Therefore, this is an interdisciplinary effort in which religions can play a part.
Third, we acknowledge that there is frequently a disjunction between principles and practices: ecologically sensitive ideas in religions are not always evident in environmental practices in particular civilizations. Many civilizations have overused their environments, with or without religious sanction.
Finally, we are keenly aware that religions have all too frequently contributed to tensions and conflict among ethnic groups, both historically and at present. Dogmatic rigidity, inflexible claims of truth, and misuse of institutional and communal power by religions have led to tragic consequences in various parts of the globe.
Nonetheless, while religions have often preserved traditional ways, they have also provoked social change. They can be limiting but also liberating in their outlooks. In the 20th century, for example, religious leaders and theologians helped to give birth to progressive movements such as civil rights for minorities, social justice for the poor, and liberation for women. More recently, religious groups were instrumental in launching a movement called Jubilee 2000 for debt reduction for poor nations.1 Although the world's religions have been slow to respond to our current environmental crises, their moral authority and their institutional power may help effect a change in attitudes, practices, and public policies.The Challenge of the Environmental Crisis and the Role of Religions in Meeting ItThe environmental crisis has been well documented as a plural reality in its various interconnected aspects of resource depletion and species extinction, pollution growth and climate change, population explosion and overconsumption.2 Thus, while we are using the term "environmental crisis" in a singular form, we recognize the diverse nature of the interrelated problems. These problems have been subject to extensive analysis and scrutiny by the scientific and policy communities and, although comprehensive solutions remain elusive, there is an emerging consensus that the environmental crisis is both global in scope and local in impact. A major question we confront is: What are the appropriate boundaries for the protection and use of nature? The choices will not be easy as we begin to reassess our sense of rights and responsibilities to present and future generations, and to reevaluate appropriate needs and overextended greed regarding natural resources.
Many organizations and individuals have been calling for greater participation by various religious communities in meeting the growing environmental crisis by reorienting humans to show more respect, restraint, and responsibility toward the Earth community.3 Consider, for example, a statement by scientists, "Preserving and Cherishing the Earth: An Appeal for Joint Commitment in Science and Religion," issued at a Global Forum meeting in Moscow in January of 1990. It suggests that the human community is committing "crimes against creation" and notes that "problems of such magnitude, and solutions demanding so broad a perspective, must be recognized from the outset as having a religious as well as a scientific dimension. Mindful of our common responsibility, we scientists—many of us long engaged in combating the environmental crisis—urgently appeal to the world religious community to commit, in word and deed, and as boldly as is required, to preserve the environment of the Earth." It goes on to declare that "the environmental crisis requires radical changes not only in public policy, but in individual behavior. The historical record makes clear that religious teaching, example, and leadership are powerfully able to influence personal conduct and commitment. As scientists, many of us have had profound experiences of awe and reverence before the universe. We understand that what is regarded as sacred is more likely to be treated with care and respect. Our planetary home should be so regarded. Efforts to safeguard and cherish the environment need to be infused with a vision of the sacred."4
Although the responses of religions to the global environmental crisis were slow at first, they have been steadily growing over the last 25 years.5 Just as religions played an important role in creating sociopolitical changes in the 20th century (e.g., human and civil rights), so now religions are poised in the 21st century to contribute to the emergence of a broader environmental ethics based on diverse sensibilities regarding the sacred dimensions of the natural world.Religion and ecologyReligion is more than simply a belief in a transcendent deity or a means to an afterlife. It is, rather, an orientation to the cosmos and our role in it. We understand religion in its broadest sense as a means whereby humans, recognizing the limitations of phenomenal reality, undertake specific practices to effect self-transformation and community cohesion within a cosmological context. Religion thus refers to those cosmological stories, symbol systems, ritual practices, ethical norms, historical processes, and institutional structures that transmit a view of the human as embedded in a world of meaning and responsibility, transformation and celebration. Religion connects humans with a divine or numinous presence, with the human community, and with the broader Earth community. It links humans to the larger matrix of mystery in which life arises, unfolds, and flourishes.
In this light nature is a revelatory context for orienting humans to abiding religious questions regarding the cosmological origins of the universe, the meaning of the emergence of life, and the responsible role of humans in relation to life processes. Religion thus situates humans in relation to both the natural and human worlds with regard to meaning and responsibility. At the same time, religion becomes a means of experiencing a sustaining creative force in the natural and human worlds and beyond. For some traditions this is a creator deity; for others it is a numinous presence in nature; for others it is the source of flourishing life.
This experience of a creative force gives rise to a human desire to enter into processes of transformation and celebration that link self, society, and cosmos. The individual is connected to the larger human community and to the macrocosm of the universe itself. The transformative impulse seeks relationality, intimacy, and communion with this numinous power. Individual and communal transformations are expressed through rituals and ceremonies of celebration. More specifically, these transformations have the capacity to embrace the celebration of natural seasonal cycles as well as various cultural rites of passage. Religion thus links humanity to the rhythms of nature through the use of symbols and rituals that help to establish moral relationships and patterns for social exchange.
The issues discussed here are complex and involve various peoples, cultures, worldviews, and academic disciplines. Therefore, it is important to be clear about our terms. As it is used here, the term "ecology" locates the human within the horizon of emergent, interdependent life rather than viewing humanity as the vanguard of evolution, the exclusive fabricator of technology, or a species apart from nature. "Scientific ecology" is a term used to indicate the empirical and experimental study of the relations between living and nonliving organisms within their ecosystems. While drawing on the scientific understanding of interrelationships in nature, we are introducing the term "religious ecology" to point toward a cultural awareness of kinship with and dependence on nature for the continuity of all life. Thus, religious ecology provides a basis for exploring diverse cultural responses to the varied earth processes of transformation. In addition, the study of religious ecology can give us insight into how particular environments have influenced the development of cultures. Therefore, one can distinguish religious ecology from scientific ecology just as one can distinguish religious cosmology from scientific cosmology.
This awareness of the interdependence of life in religious ecology finds expression in the religious traditions as a sacred reality that is often recognized as a creative manifestation, a pervasive sustaining presence, a vital power in the natural world, or an emptiness (sunyata) leading to the realization of interbeing.6 For many religions, the natural world is understood as a source of teaching, guidance, visionary inspiration, revelation, or power. At the same time, nature is also a source of food, clothing, and shelter. Thus, religions have developed intricate systems of exchange and thanksgiving around human dependence on animals and plants, on forests and fields, on rivers and oceans. These encompass symbolic and ritual exchanges that frequently embody agricultural processes, ecological knowledge of ecosystems, or hunting practices.7Methodological Approaches to Study of Religion and EcologyThere is an inevitable disjunction between the examination of historical religious traditions in all of their diversity and complexity and the application of teachings or scriptures to contemporary situations. While religions have always been involved in meeting contemporary challenges over the centuries, it is clear that the global environmental crisis is larger and more complex than anything in recorded human history. Thus, a simple application of traditional ideas to contemporary problems is unlikely to be either possible or adequate. In order to address ecological problems properly, religious leaders and laypersons have to be in dialogue with environmentalists, scientists, economists, businesspeople, politicians, and educators. With these qualifications in mind we can then identify three methodological approaches that appear in the emerging study of religion and ecology: retrieval, reevaluation, and reconstruction. Interpretive retrieval involves the scholarly investigation of cosmological, scriptural, and legal sources in order to clarify traditional religious teachings regarding human-Earth relations. This requires that historical and textual studies uncover resources latent within the tradition. In addition, interpretive retrieval can identify ethical codes and ritual customs of the tradition in order to discover how these teachings were put into practice.
In interpretive reevaluation, traditional teachings are evaluated with regard to their relevance to contemporary circumstances. Can the ideas, teachings, or ethics present in these traditions be adopted by contemporary scholars or practitioners who wish to help shape more ecologically sensitive attitudes and sustainable practices? Reevaluation also questions ideas that may lead to inappropriate environmental practices. For example, are certain religious tendencies reflective of otherworldly or world-denying orientations that are not helpful in relation to pressing ecological issues? It asks as well whether the material world of nature has been devalued by a particular religion and whether a model of ethics focusing solely on human interaction is adequate to address environmental problems.
Finally, interpretive reconstruction suggests ways that religious traditions might adapt their teachings to current circumstances in new and creative ways. This may result in a new synthesis or in a creative modification of traditional ideas and practices to suit modern modes of expression. This is the most challenging aspect of the emerging field of religion and ecology and requires sensitivity to who is speaking about a tradition in the process of reevaluation and reconstruction. Postcolonial critics have appropriately highlighted the complex issues surrounding the problem of who is representing or interpreting a tradition. Nonetheless, practitioners and leaders of particular traditions may find grounds for creative dialogue with scholars of religious traditions in these various phases of interpretation.Diversity and Dialogue of Religions The diversity of the world's religions may seem self-evident to some, but it is worth stressing the differences within and between religious traditions. At the same time, it is possible to posit shared dimensions of religions in light of this diversity, without arguing that the world's religions have some single emergent goal. The world's religions are inherently distinctive in their expressions, and these differences are especially significant in regard to the study of religion and ecology. Several sets of religious diversity can be identified as being integrally related. First, there is historical and cultural diversity within and between religious traditions as expressed over time in varied social contexts. For example, we need to be sensitive to the variations in Judaism between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements, in Christianity between Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant varieties of the tradition, and in Islam between Sunni and Shiite positions.
Second, there is dialogical and syncretic diversity within and between religions traditions, which adds another level of complexity. Dialogue and interaction between traditions engenders the fusion of religious traditions into one another, often resulting in new forms of religious expression that can be described as syncretic. Such syncretism occurred when Christian missionaries evangelized indigenous peoples in the Americas. In East Asia there is an ongoing dialogue between and among Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism that results in various kinds of syncretism.8
Third, there is ecological and cosmological diversity within and between religions. Ecological diversity is evident in the varied environmental contexts and bioregions where religions have developed over time. For example, Jerusalem is the center of a sacred bioregion where three religious traditions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam-have both shaped and been shaped by the environment. These complex interactions illustrate that religions are not static in their impacts on ecology. Indeed, throughout history the relationships between religions and their natural settings have been fluid and manifold.
Religious traditions develop unique narratives, symbols, and rituals to express their relationships with the cosmos as well as with various local landscapes. For example, the body is a vital metaphor for understanding the Daoist relationship with the world: as an energetic network of breathings-in and breathings-out, the body, according to Daoism, expresses the basic pattern of the cosmos. Another example, from Buddhism, of a distinctive ecological understanding involves Doi Suthep, a sacred mountain in the Chiang Mai valley of northern Thailand: the ancient Thai reverence for the mountain is understood as analogous to respect for the Buddhist reliquary, or stupa.Converging Perspectives: Common Values for the Earth Community The project of exploring world religions and ecology may lead toward convergence on several overarching principles. The common values that most of the world's religions hold in relation to the natural world might be summarized as reverence, respect, restraint, redistribution, responsibility, and renewal. While there are clearly variations of interpretation within and between religions regarding these six principles, it may be said that religions are moving toward an expanded understanding of their cosmological orientations and ethical obligations. Although these principles have been previously understood primarily with regard to relations toward other humans, the challenge now is to extend them to the natural world.
As this shift occurs—and there are signs it is already happening—religions can advocate reverence for the earth and its profound cosmological processes, respect for the earth's myriad species, an extension of ethics to include all life forms, restraint in the use of natural resources combined with support for effective alternative technologies, equitable redistribution of wealth, the acknowledgement of human responsibility in regard to the continuity of life and the ecosystems that support life, renewal of the energies of hope for the transformative work to be done.
Just as religious values needed to be identified, so, too, the values embedded in science, education, economics, and public policy also need to be more carefully understood. Scientific analysis will be critical to understanding nature's economy; education will be indispensable to creating sustainable modes of life; economic incentives will be central to an equitable distribution of resources; public-policy recommendations will be invaluable in shaping national and international priorities.
But the ethical values that inform modern science and public policy must not be uncritically applied. Instead, by carefully evaluating the intellectual resources both of the world's religions and of modern science and public policy, our long-term ecological prospects may emerge. We need to examine the tensions between efficiency and equity, between profit and preservation, and between the private and public good. We need to make distinctions between human need and greed, between the use and abuse of nature, and between the intrinsic value and instrumental value of nature. We need to move from destructive to constructive modes of production, and from the accumulation of goods to an appreciation for the common good of the Earth community.
There has been much progress in the arena of religion and ecology. Indeed, a new academic field of study has emerged with implications for public policy. This is in large measure due to a three-year conference series at Harvard's Center for the Study of World Religions from 1996-1998, which resulted in ten edited volumes, a large website, the journal Worldviews: Global Religions, Culture, and Ecology, and the formation of the Forum on Religion and Ecology based at Yale University. Other milestones include the Encyclopedia of Religion, published in 2005. Thousands of people around the globe are now participating in this work, both in the classroom and in engaged projects for a sustainable future.
NOTES
1 The movement, which began in Britain, has had demonstrable influence on the decisions of the World Bank and other lending organizations to reduce or forgive debts in more than twenty countries. See http://www.jubilee2000uk.org/ 2 See, for example, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, 2007 3 See http://www.thomasberry.org 4 "Preserving and Cherishing the Earth: An Appeal for Joint Commitment in Science and Religion," 1990. 5 For two examples of this, see: Stewardship or Sacrifice? Conference, October 2009, Rock Ethics Institute and Public Campaign on Climate Change, World Council of Churches 6 The term "interbeing" is used in the writings of the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. 7 See Eugene N. Anderson, Ecologies of the Heart: Emotion, Belief, and the Environment (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996) and John A. Grim, ed., Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community (Cambridge, Mass.: Center for the Study of World Religions, Harvard Divinity School, 2001). 8 See Judith A. Berling, The Syncretic Religion of Lin Chao-en (New York: Columbia University Press, 1980). | https://www.carnegiecouncil.org/media/series/ethics-online/the-emerging-alliance-of-world-religions-and-ecology |
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Wealth management plays a major role in the preservation of financial assets. It may be a successful and fulfilling profession for those who are interested in finance and have strong interpersonal skills. If you're contemplating a career as a wealth manager, you may first be aware of their responsibilities, educational qualifications and job outlook. In this article, we discuss what a wealth manager does, how to be a wealth manager, what requirements exist to become one and how to advance yourself in this profession.
What does a wealth manager do?
A wealth manager is someone who handles the financial assets of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs). HNWIs are those with a net worth of more than $1 million in investable assets. UHNWIs are individuals or families with possession of more than $30 million. Instead of bearing the difficult burden of managing their assets independently, wealthy individuals frequently delegate the management of their financial assets to trustworthy and dependable wealth managers.
Wealth managers are responsible for two major duties: financial planning, which entails developing a strategy to achieve particular financial goals as well as portfolio management, which entails purchasing and selling investment assets and monitoring the portfolio. Legal and estate preparation and counselling are also part of the job. To create their clients' wealth management plans, wealth managers frequently collaborate with other specialists such as bankers, attorneys, investment advisers and auditors. When a customer already has many advisers, wealth managers engage and communicate with them to better understand their client's financial condition. The additional responsibilities of wealth managers include the following:
Strategic investment
Tax preparation
Real estate planning
Corporate social planning
Risk management and mitigation
Asset protection
Legal guidance and advice
Insurance assessment and selection
Banking services (cash and loans management)
Retirement planning
Business planning
Related: Q&A: Why Pursue a Career in Wealth Management? (Plus Salary)
How to be a wealth manager
There's no fixed pathway to kickstart your career as a wealth manager. But typically, you can complete your relevant education and get many professional experiences to advance as a wealth manager. Outlined below are the steps on how to be a wealth manager:
1. Pursue your degree and education
A bachelor's or master's degree in finance, business management or economics is common among wealth managers. Because certain businesses prefer to recruit graduates, post-graduate degrees might provide you with a competitive advantage. While pursuing your studies, go out to your university's alumni network event to talk with financial specialists. These financial professionals can provide you with information and insights on several areas of specialisation. Moreover, this opportunity can refine your networking skills, which are crucial for a wealth manager.
2. Gather experience
Obtaining experience in the legal or financial field may help you advance your career as a wealth manager. Internships and paid jobs can help you develop a variety of useful skills. You can learn many valuable skills through internships and entry jobs. Listed below are examples of entry- and mid-level jobs that can help you pave your way in the wealth management industry:
Junior private banker
Account relationship manager
Financial planner
Financial adviser
Tax adviser
Junior product specialist
Junior investment generalist
Related: What Is Asset Management? (Plus Types and Benefits)
3. Obtain certification
Many wealth and asset management certificates can equip you with qualifications to help you become a wealth manager. Although certification isn't required, it might help you win the trust of hiring managers and clients. Certification serves as an objective validation of your skills and competence.
Related: 8 Wealth Management Specialist Certification Options to Explore
4. Expand your professional network
Strive to develop a network of clients and colleagues of financial experts as a working professional. While networking might lead to enhanced career possibilities, it can also boost your confidence, credibility, reputation and general knowledge. You may use resources such as podcasts, books, journals and websites to learn how to build and manage a professional network in the finance industry.
Read more: A Complete Guide on How to Build a Network (Plus Benefits)
What education do you need to become a wealth manager?
Pursuing your career as a wealth manager involves an extensive understanding of the stock market, local and international tax regulations and how the banking industry operates in general. A considerable number of wealth managers possess a background in accounting, financial planning or investment advisory. A bachelor's or master's degree in business management or finance is an excellent means to get the education you need for this role.
If you choose to pursue a post-graduate degree, a Master of Trust and Wealth Management may teach you about personal financial planning, risk compliance, insurance management, estate planning and risk mitigation. There are other MBA programmes that provide specific degrees for asset and wealth specialities. If you already work in finance and wish to pursue wealth management, you may enrol in highly specialised wealth management courses available at various business schools or certification institutes.
What skills do you need to become a wealth manager?
Outlined below are a combination of hard and soft skills to succeed as a wealth manager:
People skills: A wealth manager works with people to develop a network and establish relationships with HNWIs and UHNWIs.
Sales skills: Sales skills are particularly advantageous since they can help you establish yourself as a competent professional who can provide assistance to your clients.
Strong communication skills: Working as a wealth manager necessitates self-assurance and the ability to have meaningful conversations with clients.
Trustworthiness: Discretion and trustworthiness are essential traits as wealth managers use to handle and manage sensitive information pertaining to the assets of their clients.
Analytical skills: Wealth managers benefit from robust analytical skills when understanding and interpreting market patterns and trends as well as complicated financial data.
Interpersonal skills: Strong interpersonal and listening skills assist wealth managers in understanding their clients' requirements and providing recommendations, as well as establishing connections with them.
Research skills: Quality research and a thorough grasp of the market are essential for the success of wealth managers. To advise your customer on their next step, you can extensively study the facts related to the relevant financial assets.
Dependability: As a wealth manager, your clients heavily rely on you for their financial assets. Work on being dependable to provide your clients with a sense of assurance and peace of mind.
Adaptability and flexibility: Because market conditions and client demands might change rapidly, the ability to adjust is an important skill for a wealth manager.
Proactivity: A wealth manager can propose tangible and effective solutions to clients. This requires the ability to approach any situation proactively in order to devise effective plans.
Robust customer service: The skill to prioritise your clients' requirements and respond to their queries helps to build excellent client relationships and enhances your personal reputation.
Product knowledge: You are to keep yourself updated on the latest financial instruments available to provide the best recommendations for your clients.
Related: Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: Definitions and Examples
Salary and job outlook for wealth managers
When you work as a wealth manager for a firm, your salary is typically a combination of base pay and commission pay. As a wealth manager, your base pay is highly dependent on your level of education, experience and expertise. For the other part of your salary, you can charge clients a one- to two-percent commission fee on their net assets under your management. The national average salary for a wealth manager is $68,517 annually.
How do you advance in your career as a wealth manager?
The following are tips to advance in your profession as a wealth manager:
1. Select your employer wisely
When starting out as a wealth manager, you have the option of working for yourself or for an established firm. The various firms that require wealth management services encompass banks, investment consultants, brokerage companies, trust firms, insurance firms, multi-family offices and money management companies. Choosing the right employer that fits your passion and interests from the start of your career can play a major role in your advancement opportunities.
2. Progress in your career
Wealth managers generally advance through three stages in their careers:
Junior private banker
Wealth manager or private banker
Senior wealth manager
You can often begin as a junior private banker, assisting more experienced private bankers with particular customer requests. You can also offer financial product recommendations. Once you've obtained enough experience, you can level up to become a wealth manager or private banker. Consequently, after a couple of years of experience as an expert wealth manager, you can advance to become a senior wealth manager. After wealth managers have gained sufficient expertise, they usually establish or join family offices, which are private firms that provide services to affluent families. These firms usually provide property administration and management, wealth management and bookkeeping services.
Related: 43 Banking Interview Questions (With Sample Responses)
3. Cultivate new skills
Outlined below are some pointers to continuously grow your wealth manager career:
Enhance your technical skills: Knowledge of information technology can assist you in using various financial asset applications and accounting software.
Learn a foreign language: Learning foreign languages, such as German, Japanese, Italian, Russian and Korean, can aid you in communicating with clients from other countries and increase your bargaining power with employers.
Find a mentor: A mentor can provide you guidance when you start out as a junior wealth manager. They can offer insights and model examples of the type of mentality and mindset so as to persist in the field.
Salary figures reflect data listed on Indeed Salaries at the time of writing. Salaries may vary depending on the hiring organisation and a candidate's experience, academic background and location.
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- What Does a Brand Ambassador Do and How Do You Become One? | https://sg.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/how-to-be-a-wealth-manager |
Find the latest information on COVID-19, including changes to Council services.
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On this page you will find useful information and resources to help support business through the COVID-19 crisis.
Stay up to date with the latest health information about COVID-19, how it applies to your business and steps you should be taking.
If you are unable to find the information you need online, please contact DHHS on 1300 650 172. For business enquiries select option 2. For construction and building enquiries select option 5.
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Further Assistance
You can also contact Council's Business Support Hotline on (03) 5772 0333, or reach out to your local business and tourism association(PDF, 175KB) or other business colleagues. We're all here to support each other.
Businesses that are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can access information about the financial support available to them through the following links:
If your business is facing financial hardship and you would like to access additional help in meeting your financial obligations please see the below websites:
For free, independent and confidential financial counselling advice:
There are a number of opportunities for businesses to access support in managing the impacts of COVID-19, implementing changes, planning for the future and sharing of experiences and ideas.
Council encourages businesses to seek advice and support for their existing networks. This may include accountants, bookkeepers, business advisors and local business and tourism associations.
The national JobKeeper and JobSeeker Programs have been extended. Find out more information for employers and employees and sole traders and other entities. Here are some resources to provide advice and support to your business:
There are a range of resources available to help support your business operations during COVID-19.
Helpful COVID-19 Guidelines:
Cleaning:
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Industry peak bodies COVID-19 Information
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Business Tips and Tricks to help with stress
Here are some webinars about mental health during COVID-19 that you may also find helpful:
There are also business advisory services available to provide business advice and support:
Don't forget, you can also contact Council's Business Support Hotline on (03) 5772 0333, or reach out to your local business and tourism association or other business colleagues. We're all here to support each other.
You can also find a comprehensive list of mental health options on Council's Mental Health Support web page.
Business Continuity:
Business Planning:
There are a host of free webinars taking place each week designed to support businesses at this time. Each week we'll update the below list to highlight upcoming webinars that could be useful to your business.
Please register in advance for all webinars.
Melbourne Innovation Centre
Webinar: Mastering Zoom
We are all learning to do business in new and different ways. This workshop is the perfect way to master the art of the zoom!
Here is a quick taste of some of the topics we’ll discuss:
Date: Friday 7 August 2020
Time 9.30am - 11.30am
Book Here
Business.gov.auWebinar: Employer Guidance during COVD-19
Workplace laws have been temporarily changed to help businesses better manage flexibility in the workplace during this pandemic. This E-learning Virtual session takes you through a number of temporary industrial instrument changes and provides you with some practical tips to help you manage your workforce effectively during this challenging time.
Date: Thursday 13 August 2020
Time 10.00 - 11.30 am
Date: Tuesday 25 August 2020
Time 10.00 - 11.30 am
Score.org.au
Webinar: How to run great virtual events
Running virtual events can be challenging, however with a little preparation, tips, and knowing what to expect, you can rock your next virtual event. Presented by Jenna Schaffer.
Date: Tuesday 25 August 2020
Time 1.00 pm
Other weekly webinar series you may be interested in:
Tourism Australia Coronavirus Webinar Series
Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC) Insight Series
Melbourne Innovation Centre is holding free online workshops to support businesses. There are 2 online workshops delivered each week and topics include:
Business Victoria offers practical help with free online courses, live and on-demand events and a range of business resources to help you prepare for a strong recovery through Business Victoria. Click here to find out more.
On 10 August, Council held an online Business Forum to share updates from State, Federal and Local Government and to present and discuss the Draft Murrindindi Shire COVID-19 Business Recovery Plan.
The workshop attracted almost 100 registrations from business owners across our Shire. Business owners who participated from the safety of their own homes represented the accommodation, retail, agriculture, leisure and recreation services, professional services, real estate and construction industries.
During the Forum we shared what support was available to businesses at this time from all levels of government and provided an overview of the strategic response actions outlined in the Recovery Plan. We then undertook a workshop session on some of the key strategies to gain further insight from businesses on how best to support the various industry sectors across Murrindindi Shire through and beyond the Pandemic.
If you missed the online meeting, you can view a recording of the meeting below and also download a copy of the results from the interactive workshop session here(PDF, 3MB).
If you would like to view or provide feedback on the Draft Business Recovery Plan you can do so here.
Council has engaged Urban Enterprise to help us develop a COVID-19 Business Recovery Plan for Murrindindi Shire. The Plan has been developed with support from Council's Business Advisory Committee, made up of representatives from Local Business and Tourism Associations across the Shire, as well as independent business representatives. Input gathered from Council's Business Owners Workshop on 21 May has also been used in the development of the Plan.
The Plan outlines the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy and includes a three phase approach to support businesses during the pandemic, through the recovery and into the future.
We are now seeking business feedback on the Plan to ensure it's actions will effectively support businesses and their recovery. Click here(PDF, 1MB) to download the draft Plan and if you wish to provide feedback, please complete the form below. Feedback closes on Sunday 16 August.
Click here to view form.
Click here to find out more about Dindi Directory and Dindi Store. | https://www.murrindindi.vic.gov.au/Coronavirus-Disease-COVID-19/Business-Resources-and-Support |
In a more intense regulatory environment, the GC role has taken center stage.
While succession planning has become de rigueur for CEOs, increasingly, leading companies are planning succession in broader, deeper terms for key management positions they cannot risk having unoccupied, even for brief periods. Given the increased and more central responsibilities of the general counsel (GC), that role is now on a short list of senior positions for which there must, at all times, be a capable successor.
Succession planning for GCs may entail anything from a planned succession, such as retirement, over the course of a couple of years, to an emergency succession, where the general counsel is unable to meet his or her responsibilities because of a quick, unplanned departure.
Changing times, changing roleIn less challenging economic times, the GC managed the company’s legal department, was a key resource to the CEO and the board, and managed outside counsel. Now, with companies more budget-conscious than ever before, there is often not the luxury of relying on outside counsel. Doing more with less means requiring much more of the GC and his or her staff, and their legal skills must be at least on a par with anyone the company would previously have retained on the outside.
In a more intense regulatory environment, the GC role has taken center stage, making it ever more critical to identify the most suitable person for this sensitive leadership function which will have a significant impact on the value of the company. GCs are no longer viewed primarily in terms of their legal or policing abilities, but are now prized as strategic thought partners. GCs are often now brought in at the very inception of a deal...while it is still only a gleam in the CEO’s eye...rather than jumping in during the due diligence phase.
Given these new, higher-stakes challenges, many companies are ratcheting up the profile and specs for the person required for the GC role. As a key partner to the senior management team... consulted on everything from potential acquisitions to taking the lead in resolving regulatory concerns... GCs must have far more than topnotch legal credentials. Add to the list of must-haves for the role strategist and counselor, someone who understands the bigger picture... in terms of the company, the industry, and the global economy... as well as all the legal implications. He or she must be viewed by the CEO and others around the boardroom table as a peer with vital specialized knowledge and skills that they can rely on.
Greater succession planning urgencyAs we observe many companies raising the bar for what is required in the GC role, there is no question that the top candidates are in great demand, which in turn is raising the bar on compensation. With competition for the best, and offers from other companies sometimes too good to refuse, there is also greater mobility among those in these roles, and it is increasingly common for talent to be wooed away.
Retirement is also a factor in greater turnover, and will continue to be for some time, as a large number of baby boomers exit from these roles that may have been stable for many years. And some GCs decide to move from their legal specialty over to the business side.
Combine these factors creating the need for successors in the GC role with the elevated prominence and central importance of the role itself, and it is easy to understand why companies are less comfortable leaving succession to chance or making any assumptions about how long incumbents will remain in the role.
Taking control of the reins and proactively planning for succession is especially critical in large public companies, where share price can be highly sensitive to unpleasant surprises, such as losing a key member of the executive team. This can be particularly true in the case of the GC, where specialized knowledge often makes it difficult, perhaps even impossible, for a successor to immediately jump in. This is clearly a case where implementing best practices provides more than an ounce of prevention and security.
7 steps to GC succession successWe recommend that companies implement a systematic, reliable succession process so that when a GC successor is needed, there is little time wasted on scrambling and trying to decide what to do and in what order. The following steps comprise a thorough process, when it is time to consider a successor for the GC, or any other key management role:
Create a long “runway”Think you’ve got plenty of time? Think again. Done right the succession process can take a year or more from start to finish. Increasingly, we find the best companies think of succession for a specific role in terms of a broader management development process, which has no end. The strategy determines the skills and competencies required in the senior team, so they are always looking ahead at what is shifting and what is needed.
Ensure broad-based input & supportTap key stakeholders for their views on the GC role to get a well-rounded picture of what will be required in a spec. In addition to gathering data, engaging senior players so that they are part of the process is critical to a successful outcome. The CEO can provide insights on the strategic direction of the company, which will help to inform the sort of candidate who will be a good match, while those on the board will provide a different perspective on the value of the new GC to the long-term direction of the organization. The executive team can provide an historical view of the contribution of the role, as well as what additional competencies would be helpful. Depending on the circumstances... voluntary or forced departure... the input of the outgoing GC on the responsibilities, skills, and competencies required in the role is also important in this initial phase.
Spell out the who, when, & how of processWho will comprise the selection committee? Typically that includes the CEO, SVP of HR, other key executives, and perhaps a board member. Will there be a subcommittee empowered to make a final decision? Clearly defining the “when,” the timeline will not only keep everything on track, it will also enable you to attract top performers who will need to make their own plans for any transition. How the candidate interview process will be structured is also an important decision. Formats can range from individual, serial interviews to panel interviews, each more or less structured, and there are pluses and minuses to consider for different approaches. Keep in mind that the process selected, and communications to stakeholders, will help to determine the incoming GC’s perceptions of what are viewed as his or her priorities.
Clearly define the role, including key criteriaInput from the stakeholder engagement process will be used to create a formal position description, including key selection criteria, which will be used as a blueprint to guide the search for a GC. Limiting key criteria will help you to zero in on the most capable candidates. If the resulting pool is too small, or if you shift priorities, you can always add, subtract, or alter your criteria. In addition to the obvious required skills and experience, consider other desirable variables, such as diversity and international experience, a must for a GC in a global company for both cultural and business reasons. Resist the temptation to seek a clone of the current GC, but allow the corporate strategy and competitive environment to determine the skills, experience & personality that will be required for success in the role going forward.
Don’t overlook internal talentIdeally, a search to fill the GC role shouldn’t be limited to looking at outsiders. Insiders who may fit the spec... either immediately or with proper development assignments designed to fill any gaps... have a leg up on outsiders for a couple of reasons. They are known quantities who presumably are a good fit with the corporate culture, and far more likely to experience a smooth transition. Even when the decision is to go with an inside candidate, however, identifying the best outsiders is still a crucial step and a best practice for all-important benchmarking purposes. How good a choice is your insider? Likely, you cannot answer that with any degree of precision and accuracy until you are able to compare him or her with best-in-class GCs. Benchmarking is also critical to define compensation parameters, so that you can be sure you are paying talent appropriately.
Develop a rigorous candidate assessment processOnce you whittle down your list to a short list of the most promising candidates, they must be evaluated and vetted with a rigorous assessment process. Make sure you have a mix of measures... including data from personal interviews, professional references, regulators, and search firms, if used... that will result in a multi-dimensional, accurate picture of each candidate. Because the wrong choice can have serious, negative effects, companies increasingly use third-party executive assessment firms to provide additional, detailed data for decisionmaking. During the process, pay particular attention to the retention of any valued internal candidates who are not selected, as well as a respectful communication process with all who were formally considered but not chosen for the position.
Plan properly for a smooth transitionWith the goal as little disruption to the business as possible, carefully plan for the integration for the new GC into the organization. While business responsibilities are paramount, don’t neglect integration into the executive team, with the board, and with regulators. And don’t neglect paving the way for a smooth cultural transition as well to ensure a comfortable fit. Cultural integration may be less of a factor if an internal candidate is selected, but easing the way into the GC role may in this case be more of a concern if the position is new to the insider.
With companies increasingly in the spotlight and with so much at stake, especially in the crucial GC position, companies should plan appropriately so that they are never left in the lurch with this position uncovered, even for a brief period. While many companies still do not plan for successors until they must, it is wise to implement a state-of-the-art management development process so that they are continually planning to develop replacements for key positions.
Even with the best management development process, however, companies still need to keep a close watch on comparable outside talent, whether because an internal candidate is not yet ready... or alternatively because there is no capable internal candidate... or for benchmarking purposes if an internal candidate is being considered.
The best way for companies to ensure a quick, effective response to replacing a GC is for them to be aware and aligned on the steps required for a successful succession process before it is actually needed. That way, they can spring into action, when required, minimizing any negative repercussions on either the business or the reputation of the company.
Bob Barker is the managing partner of BarkerGilmore LLC, a leading executive search firm specializing in general counsel, chief compliance officer, and board member recruiting. | https://www.barkergilmore.com/blog/7-steps-to-gc-succession-success |
On August 22, 2017, a federal judge ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) must reconsider its regulations governing employee wellness programs under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the EEOC’s final wellness regulations are arbitrary and capricious and sent them back to the EEOC for reconsideration.
Last year, the EEOC issued regulations governing wellness programs under the ADA and GINA, which prohibit inquiries about employees’ and their family’s medical histories. Specifically, the ADA prohibits employers from requiring medical examinations or inquiring whether an individual has a disability unless the inquiry is both job-related and “consistent with business necessity.” Similarly, GINA prohibits employers from requesting, requiring, or purchasing “genetic information” from employees or their family members. However, both the ADA and GINA contain an exception that permits employers to collect this information as part of a wellness program, so long as it is voluntary. The 2016 EEOC regulations permit employers to offer employees an incentive of up to 30 percent of the cost of self-only coverage if they participate in a wellness program and still be deemed voluntary.
In this case, AARP argued that the EEOC wellness program regulations permit companies to penalize employees who opt-out of participation in wellness programs because they do not wish to disclose medical information. AARP argued that the incentives allowed were inconsistent with the meaning of “voluntary” and the EEOC failed to adequately explain its reasons for adopting the 30 percent incentive limit. AARP stated that the incentive is too high to give employees a meaningful choice regarding whether or not to participate in the wellness program.
The EEOC however argued that it adopted the 30 percent incentive to harmonize its regulations with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) regulations governing wellness programs and to induce more individuals to participate in wellness programs. The EEOC stated that the 30 percent incentive limit is a reasonable interpretation of “voluntary” based on “current insurance rates” and based on a comment letter submitted by the American Health Association which endorsed the 30 percent level.
Ultimately, the court sided with AARP and held that the EEOC failed to offer a reasoned explanation for how it reached the 30 percent incentive limit. The court found that the EEOC wellness regulations define the 30 percent incentive limit differently from the HIPAA definition of the 30 percent inventive limit. The EEOC regulations extend the 30 percent incentive limit to participatory wellness programs, which the HIPAA limit does not apply to. Additionally, “neither the final rules nor the administrative record contain any concrete data, studies, or analysis to support any particular incentive level as the threshold past which an incentive becomes involuntary in violation of the ADA and GINA.”
The court did not immediately vacate the final rules, but rather sent them back to the EEOC for reconsideration to avoid “potential widespread disruption and confusion” of numerous existing wellness programs. So for now, the ruling has little practical effect on current wellness programs. The EEOC can still enforce the final regulations so employers sponsoring wellness programs should continue to comply. OneDigital will be closely monitoring any further developments as the EEOC reviews and responds to the court’s decision and provide additional guidance as it becomes available.
For more information on Wellness Programs, see our recent article on Wellness & Value-Add Benefits: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished? or watch our recent webinar Wellness and Value-Add Benefits. | https://www.onedigital.com/blog/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-under-reconsideration/ |
A k-ε code is customized in FLUENT 6.3 to simulate neutral and unstable atmospheric boundary layers (ABL) derived from Monin-Obukhov (MO) similarity theory. The code is tuned until velocity, temperature, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and turbulent dissipation rate (TDR) results maintain the initial theoretical values at upstream and downstream positions in a 2D and 3D domain. After verifying that the code is performing consistently, neutral and unstable initial profiles are constructed from averaged observations of the ABL at Horns Rev and are implemented into the k-ε code. The simulation results display that the Horns Rev velocity profiles are slightly under approximated in the neutral simulation and moderately over approximated in the unstable simulations. Moreover, the simulated TKE profile shows divergence from the initial MO TKE profile as the thermal stability becomes more unstable. A study of the developing 3D dynamics of a turbulent ABL illustrating structures such as vortices and streaks is not reported on, and the results display strictly steady parallel flow. | https://uh-ir.tdl.org/handle/10657/855 |
“Dynamic Scheduling and Division of Labor in Social Insects”, Adaptive Behavior, 2001.
Download (PDF) Market-based algorithms have been introduced several years ago as a new paradigm for controlling complex, unpredictable systems. In a market-based algorithm, resources or tasks are allocated efficiently through a market-clearing mechanism. Agents bid for resources and the agent with the highest bid gets the resource. The market-clearing mechanism ensures that all tasks or resources have been allocated. Agents adjust their bids according to prior successes or failures in getting the resource. Social insects -ants, bees, termites and wasps-provide us with another metaphor for controlling complex systems. A social insect colony is a complex system often characterized by division of labor: workers tend to be specialized in certain tasks. But this specialization is flexible. The flexibility of task allocation exhibited at the colony level is connected to the elasticity of individual workers. | http://www.icosystem.com/dynamic-scheduling-and-division-of-labor-in-social-insects/ |
The 47th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals was held May 15–17, 2011, in Champaign, Illinois. The meeting, hosted by the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS), was attended by more than 70 geologists, mineral resource specialists, and consultants from federal and state geological surveys and private industries. Thirty-four technical papers and posters were presented, and the abstracts were published in ISGS Open File Series 2011-2. The published Proceedings of the 47th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals includes 16 papers focusing on the geology of construction aggregates (crushed stone and sand and gravel), strategic rare earth elements (REE), geologic mapping, high-calcium limestone resources for desulfurization, and Mississippi Valley-Type lead-zinc deposits, among others. Noteworthy topics include the REE potential of the southern Illinois-western Kentucky Fluorite District, innovative methods for measuring and describing archeological specimens and inaccessible geological formations, a biogeochemical method of niobium-tantalum exploration, the utilization of a flue gas desulfurization and swine manure mixture as a potential fertilizer additive, a method for detecting contaminated drywall used after Hurricane Katrina, a review of warping marble in New Orleans cemeteries, a UK perspective on underground mining of crushed stone, a tool for calculating the transportation cost of construction aggregate, and an overview of the $1.5 billion industrial minerals industry in Illinois. | http://isgs.illinois.edu/research/industrial-minerals/forum |
Hydroxychloroquine is an antimalarial drug which is relatively safe and well-tolerated agent for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
What rheumatoid arthritis medication has the least side effects?
Celecoxib (Celebrex®), one COX-2 inhibitor, is available and used in the United States. The COX- 2 inhibitors were designed to have fewer bleeding side effects on the stomach. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
What is the latest treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?
Official Answer. The newest drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis are the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors, which are FDA approved under the brand names Rinvoq, Olumiant, and Xeljanz.
What is the best medication to treat rheumatoid arthritis?
Most people with RA are advised to take a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug to decrease pain and inflammation. NSAIDs are sold over-the-counter, under such names as Advil and Aleve, as well as by prescription, under names such as Mobic and Celebrex.
What is the safest pain reliever for rheumatoid arthritis?
This risk is lowest when using naproxen, so naproxen is the most suitable NSAID for people who have both rheumatoid arthritis and a cardiovascular disease.
What are the 5 worst foods to eat if you have arthritis?
Foods to be avoided in arthritis are:
- Red meat.
- Dairy products.
- Corn, sunflower, safflower, peanut, and soy oils.
- Salt.
- Sugars including sucrose and fructose.
- Fried or grilled foods.
- Alcohol.
- Refined carbohydrates such as biscuits, white bread, and pasta.
How can I prevent my rheumatoid arthritis from getting worse?
Take these steps to improve your odds of avoiding long-term trouble.
- Get treated early. Much of the damage that eventually becomes serious starts soon after you learn you have RA. …
- See your doctor often. …
- Exercise. …
- Rest when you need to. …
- Use a cane in the hand opposite a painful hip or knee. …
- If you smoke, quit.
How do you permanently treat rheumatoid arthritis?
There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis. But clinical studies indicate that remission of symptoms is more likely when treatment begins early with medications known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
How can I reverse rheumatoid arthritis naturally?
Receiving massage regularly will help you send your arthritis into remission.
- Exercises and physical therapy. One of the main proven treatments to reverse rheumatoid arthritis is exercises and physical therapy. …
- Probiotics to Reverse Rheumatoid Arthritis. …
- Other Supplements and Magnesium Oil.
How do you stop rheumatoid arthritis pain?
Keep reading to find out more about these and other ways to relieve your RA pain.
- Sleep. Getting enough sleep is important for everyone, but it’s especially important for those with RA. …
- Exercise. …
- Yoga. …
- Tai chi. …
- Acupuncture. …
- Massage. …
- Mindfulness. …
- Support groups.
How do you treat rheumatoid arthritis without medication?
Natural remedies
- Stretching. Share on Pinterest A physical therapist can help you find stretches that are suitable for RA and may help ease symptoms. …
- Exercise. In addition to performing targeted stretches, some dynamic, low-stress forms of exercise can benefit people with RA. …
- Heat and cold. …
- Balanced rest. …
- Lifestyle changes.
Are eggs bad for arthritis?
Consuming eggs regularly can lead to an increased amount of swelling and joint pain. The yolks contain arachidonic acid, which helps trigger inflammation in the body. Eggs also contain saturated fat which can also induce joint pain.
Does ibuprofen help rheumatoid arthritis pain?
In doses of 1,200 mg/day or more, ibuprofen is as effective as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The tolerability and safety of ibuprofen are superior to those of aspirin and compare favorably with those of other NSAIDs.
Does gabapentin help with arthritis pain?
Gabapentin works in the brain to prevent seizures and relieve pain for certain conditions in the nervous system. It is not used for routine pain caused by minor injuries or arthritis. Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant. | https://createoandp.com/denture-orthopedy/your-question-what-is-the-safest-drug-to-take-for-rheumatoid-arthritis.html |
Transition metal-catalyzed reactions of alkenes are among the most powerful approaches to synthesize functionalized organic compounds for biomedical research. Recent experimental advancements have enabled promising catalytic methods for hydro- and difunctionalization of alkenes, which add a hydrogen and a functional group or two different functional groups across a carbon-carbon double bond in an atom- and step-economical fashion. These approaches can serve as an important new platform for the synthesis of biologically active organic molecules because they can be utilized to construct structurally diverse target molecules using a broad scope of coupling partners. However, it remains a significant challenge to effectively control regio- and stereoselectivity in the reactions with readily available, unactivated alkenes. The current state-of-the-art approach relies on experimental trial-and-error to screen ancillary ligands, additives, and directing groups. Rational catalyst design remains challenging, due to the lack of theoretical understanding about the mechanisms of these multistep catalytic processes and the complex nature of the catalyst-substrate interactions. The overall goal of this proposal is to develop and apply computational tools to address these challenges in the development of transition-metal-catalyzed functionalizations of alkenes. We will perform high-level computational studies to reveal the reaction mechanisms and develop generally applicable models for reactivity and selectivity. These theoretical models aim to provide quantitative and straightforward prediction of the effects of ligands and directing groups. Therefore, they can be effectively applied to various experimental systems to guide future development of new catalytic reactions. During the first three years of my independent career, my group has published 24 manuscripts that focused on three general experimental strategies for alkene functionalization: (1) catalyst-controlled hydrofunctionalization of unactivated alkenes; (2) hydro- and difunctionalization of alkenes utilizing directing groups; and (3) radical-mediated reactions with alkenes. In the next five years, we plan to expand our computational studies to a broader scope of reactions. We will further optimize and validate our theoretical models to enable more robust prediction of reactivity and selectivity. We also intend to establish more collaborations with experimental groups to streamline the use of theoretical insights to guide experimental discovery. The proposed research program is significant and innovative because it aims to address general challenges and provide predictions to a broad range of catalytic reactions, rather than to simply explain existing results for specific experimental systems. Our research is highly unique in collaborating with many prominent experimental groups. These fruitful collaborations allowed us to progress in not only the understanding of many specific examples of alkene functionalization reactions, but also the development of general rules of regio- and stereoselectivity in these processes.
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Q:
What is meant by a muscle fiber being glycerinated?
I was popped this questions today, "what is a glycerinated muscle fiber, and what is required for its contraction," and had little idea. I'm assuming the question is "what's required for its contraction as compared to normal muscle tissue?"
There's a limited amount of information out there about this. It appears that it is a type of in vitro system requiring special preparation of typical muscle tissue. I was wondering if anyone here had a little more information. Is this something that's just used in teaching lab exercises?
A:
From: http://www.acad.carleton.edu/curricular/BIOL/classes/bio126/Documents/Lab_5.pdf
Glycerination disrupts the membranes of the muscle cells, ruptures mitochondria, and leaches out soluble constituents such as ATP and inorganic ions. However, glycerinated muscle retains the organized structural array of myosin thick filaments and actin thin filaments, actin-associated proteins like troponin and tropomyosin which regulate contraction, and the functional capacity for contraction.
I would expect that because the sample has lost ATP and inorganic ions, you would need to supply ATP (the source of energy), $Mg^{2+}$ (which is necessary for ATP hydrolysis) and $Ca^{2+}$ (to induce the contraction).
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MDRC is implementing and evaluating a range of projects that use various models of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to reduce recidivism, promote employment, and foster trauma recovery in adults and children. This two-page issue focus offers background on CBT and brief summaries of the projects.
Early Implementation of the Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP) for Veterans Demonstration
This policy brief describes an innovative program designed to target the psychological and social behaviors that contribute to pain, disability, and inactivity among veterans with disabilities. The goal is to help these veterans resume daily activities and get on a path to work.
A Bayesian Reanalysis of Results from the Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ Demonstration and Evaluation Project
Using an alternative to classical statistics, this paper reanalyzes results from three published studies of interventions to increase employment and reduce welfare dependency. The analysis formally incorporates prior beliefs about the interventions, characterizing the results in terms of the distribution of possible effects, and generally confirms the earlier published findings. | https://mdrc.org/publications?f%5B0%5D=field_intervention%3A760&f%5B1%5D=field_focus_population%3A7028&f%5B2%5D=field_intervention%3A791&f%5B3%5D=field_focus_population%3A7030 |
An overview of the Brookfield P.E. curriculum.
Physical Education Intent Statement
- Our main aim is that children leave Brookfield Community Primary School with a wide range of physical skills which will prepare them for the next stage of their educational journey.
- We hope that pupils will meet both the KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum expectations in Physical Education, which will be taught by highly-qualified, enthusiastic staff who will support children to develop mastery of the subject.
- All children will study Physical Education for at least 1 hour per week.
- Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom. This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, a residential visit to an outdoor education centre where they will experience activities such climbbing, orienteering and watersports and develop skills such as teamwork, resilience and problem-solving.
- Children will develop a deep understanding of the subjects they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to solve problems.
- In Physical Education, children will develop the following skills- Thinking (evaluating and improving, leadership and decision making) Physical (fitness and performance) and Feeling (fairplay and mindset).
- Children will develop a real understanding and appreciation of the world learning from the best that has been developed and said. For example: local, national and international athletes, sports coaches and sports therapists.
- All children will be able to swim 25 metres by the end of KS2.
Implementation
- The curriculum hours in Physical Education are non-negotiable and will be followed by all staff in the school. Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and will be monitored.
- The subject leader for Physical Education will meet the PE specialists and the senior leadership team on a regular basis to evaluate provision, in order to ensure that teaching and learning in Physical Education is of a high standard.
- Staff will receive professional development, based around their needs, in Physical Education by specialist providers.
- A carefully designed, bespoke scheme of learning is implemented in Physical Education to ensure consistency and progress of all learners.
- High quality teaching responds to the needs of children. Formative and summative assessment is continuous and informs subsequent teaching with teachers actively providing feedback in lessons in order to identify misconceptions early and to promote the highest level of physical fitness.
- High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably.
- Swimming lessons will be provided by qualified coaches.
- All children have the opportunities to take part in a range of competitive sports, including interschool competitions.
- Children will have access to a variety of after-school clubs which are based around Physical Education, some of these will be funded through the Sports Premium.
- Sporting achievements of both current and past pupils, parents, carers and school staff will be actively celebrated on our Physical Education Achievement Board; providing both encouragement and role-models.
Impact
- Children are happy learners within Physical Education. They experience a wide range of learning challenges within PE and know appropriate responses to them.
- Through Physical Education, children deepen their appreciation of their own health and well-being, as well as their own unique talents.
- Visits within Physical Education have enriched the lives of the children and they are able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.
- Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in Physical Education, which is reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in Physical Education and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
- Clear outcomes focus and guide all Physical Education development plans and drive improvement.
- Fundamental British Values are evident in Physical Education and children understand how it can celebrate difference.
- Children are physically active for sustained periods of time and recognise the importance of this, when being encouraged to lead healthy, active lives.
- By the end of KS2, children will be able to swim competently and confidently over a range of at least 25 metres. | https://www.brookfield.lancs.sch.uk/physical-education/ |
The Fashion Design Intern will have the opportunity to develop his or her technique and design skills, work with a variety of materials, and learn about the Israeli fashion industry.
The intern will assist the design and construction of garments. Specifically, s/he will be responsible for:
-Cutting pieces of lace
-Sewing trims and lace onto garments
-Adding crystals, stones and pearls
-Steaming dresses for pickup
Qualifications:
-Degree in fashion design
-Experience in evening wear design
-Hard worker
Victor Bellaish is an Israeli bridal and evening gown designer.
Apply Now
Want to keep exploring?
- Explore other internships in: Arts, Graphic Design, Fashion, Tel Aviv, WUJS Israel
- Check out all of our newest featured internships
Recommend or share an internship with a friend: | https://postcollege.masaisrael.org/blog/2015/06/25/fashion-design-intern-victor-bellaish/ |
SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE WITH DR. DEAN A. BANKS, D.D.
"SCRIPTING YOUR LIFE"
Sunday, January 15, 2017
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Much of what occurs to us every day is a result of automatic emotional responses known as fight or flight. New thoughts are compared with past experience in microseconds and our bodies react from emotional signals that move us towards or away from stimuli. We are programmed with internal scripts that command our actions. But where do these scripts come from? Are they just accepted reactions that we prefer or do we have the power to reprogram these responses? Much debate has ensued over whether we have control over our emotions or not.
The basic plan for a play is the script. It is a series of directions and dialogue for actors, stage hands, musicians and the lighting crew to use to coordinate the observed action onstage. Without a script there would be many miscues, or the worst, chaos. The playwright decides what action and dialogue takes place at the appropriate time. It is a coordinated effort between the implementers of the play to follow the directions of the playwright. When all actions and dialogue are executed on cue, the play’s performance is seamless. The audience gets involved in the action and doesn’t even realize that they are witnessing a play. It is automatic. Our emotional responses are so scripted that we follow their cues automatically without challenge in crisis situations. By employing scientific analysis of emotional scripts and employing conscious relaxation techniques, we can reprogram our automatic emotional responses to be more effective in actualizing our goals and desires.
In order to understand our emotional responses, we must dig down deep into the core of the basic emotions. Many theorists have identified what they deem as basic emotions. These basic (primary) emotions are combined, or layered to produce secondary emotions. In order to identify the root emotion, we must peel off the layers through the process of conscious relaxation. What is conscious relaxation? It is a state where we are completely conscious of our breath and bodily functions while releasing our conscious control of our thoughts; or what is commonly referred to as meditation. It is a state where we do not generate commands, but listen to the echoes in our minds and bodies. It is the time where we make ourselves a priority in order to relax our system enough to release any built up stress that is caused by our thoughts and emotional reactions to these thoughts. Recognizing and observing facts concerning our lives can only be accurate in a less stressful state. Stress masks our ability to discern between fact and opinion.
After meditation our minds are clearer. It is the time when we can reflect on our behaviors and jot them down. Making a list throughout the day of our emotional reactions is the beginning of changing the automatic script of our behaviors. List all of the emotions and emotional reactions that you experience during the course of your day. Don’t analyze them; just list them. Analysis will take place later. Build this list over the course of weeks and months until you have a good sample of your behaviors. Make sure that you take note to similar behaviors in different situations. This data will help you get a clearer picture of your root emotions. Why is this important? Because an understanding of what motivates you will help you get a clearer picture of your deepest desires. What YOU feel you were created to accomplish in life.
A good scientific analysis of your listed behaviors requires that you identify key questions to be answered by your data. If you are going to solve the problem of reprogramming your emotional reactions, the questions you ask yourself must yield the correct answers from the data you have collected. Be thorough in your observations and leave no stone unturned. Your ego is quite clever in protecting your sore spots. Don’t let it fool you into believing that certain observations of your behaviors are not relevant. Every reaction you display is relevant. It will help you pinpoint what emotions trigger these reactions.
Research what others have done in identifying their emotional reactions. See what methods they have employed to identify and isolate deep seated emotions. Ask yourself what is it you really need to know about yourself. Make sure that you use reliable sources that employ scientific methods that observe the facts and don’t espouse opinions. Determine the sources of the data that others have used in obtaining their conclusions. Ask how the data was obtained, was the experiment conducted scientifically and it has been duplicated by others with the same results. Ask yourself if you would have obtained the same conclusions if you had conducted the experiment. In order for you to feel comfortable or even confident with others’ data and conclusions you must believe it to be accurate. If there are any trepidations concerning their accuracy, then discard them immediately. It will not serve your ultimate purpose of obtaining accurate conclusions about your behaviors.
Correct scientific analysis requires that we identify the questions that reveal the answers we are seeking, as well as pinpointing the problems we are seeking to solve. Gathering and organizing information about our behaviors requires effective research and focused evaluation of the data that we gather. By utilizing methods that replicate the way our brains function, we can map out the processes that take place in our minds. Illustrating and interpreting these processes through mapping, tabling and modeling can reveal the source emotions that trigger our emotional reactions. The next article will discuss these various techniques for the reader to use in determining their emotional scripts. By rewriting your life script you can change the daily outcome of your life to proceed toward the actualization of your individual potential.
Excerpted from the book "Spiritual Growth: Articles Of Expectation." Please click here to order the book: https://www.createspace.com/3691279
©2017 Dean A. Banks, D.D. All Rights Reserved.
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CONSULTANT: GENDER AUDIT LEAD CONSULTANT
The main objective of the audit is to promote and facilitate organizational learning at the individual, office and project level as to how LEAD can effectively mainstream gender in its procedures, grant making and project activities, as well as its management arrangements.
Scope of work:
Expected Output
It is expected that findings and recommendations of the Gender Audit will help the LEAD PMU to produce a practical and concrete action plan that stipulates how gender mainstreaming will be taken up and accomplished in the LEAD project. The action plan will be developed in a participatory manner, involving various stakeholders including LEAD’s grantees, and will outline future gender mainstreaming initiatives and activities—i.e. gender-capacity development plan and trainings for LEAD staff and LEAD grantees.
Expected Outcome
The audit is expected to strengthen LEAD’s ability to develop and implement a gender mainstreaming strategy which will ensure that gender concerns are taken into account and addressed in all project activities. Positive changes and lessons learned out of this process are also expected to inspire other projects in UNDP Indonesia to take similar steps forward for gender mainstreaming.
Methodology
The gender audit team is composed of a Lead Consultant with strong experience of conducting gender audit and a Consultant with strong expertise in gender issues, and ideally in gender audits.
The Lead Consultant takes responsibility for:
- Designing the overall approach for gender audit and the methodology to be used.
- Leading the interviews, presentation of findings and drafting of action plan and gender audit report.
- Facilitating the workshop.
The auditors, in collaboration with the LEAD PMU, will design a participatory audit methodology that best suits the LEAD project and can effectively meet the audit objectives. As a guide, however, the audit team will use the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Participatory Gender Audit model as the central framework of analysis.
The following steps will be undertaken by the auditors:
- Conduct literature review of pertinent documents (see below)
- Design tools for data collection (i.e. a survey of the LEAD PMU staff, LEAD provincial offices and all current grantees)
- Make an introductory presentation to the LEAD PMU
- Undertake and analyze the survey of the LEAD PMU staff
- Interview key informants (Bappenas, selected grantees and PMU staff)
- Present key findings and recommendations to the LEAD PMU
- Draft and integrate inputs from LEAD Project Manager and Sector Coordinator for Justice and Gender to develop the Action Plan for gender capacity building and gender mainstreaming for LEAD
- raft the audit report
- * Hold and facilitate a debriefing session
- * Finalize the audit report and Action Plan based on the feedback from the LEAD Projects
Services and Outputs to be delivered
Ouputs:
a. A draft report with practical recommendations and survey findings.
The Survey aims to:
* Ascertain the level of knowledge of and commitment to gender equality
* Gather stakeholder’s perceptions about the level of LEAD’s commitment to gender concerns
b. A draft Action Plan which stipulates how to implement the recommendations
c. Debriefing presentation for the LEAD PMU, presenting key findings and the proposed Action Plan
d. Final Action Plan and Report
Audit Report
A final audit report should be in English and should be 15 to 20 pages (excluding annexes) in length. In addition, the report should have an executive summary (2 to 4 pages), containing the main findings, conclusions, lesson learned, recommendations and an action plan.
An introductory section of the report should explain the main objectives of the audit, intended audience of the report, key questions asked, methodology used, as well as limitations of the audit.
Every section of the report should consist of findings (describing the data, methodology and analysis which led to these findings), and recommendations.
Specifically, the report should explain:
- what the audit intended to accomplish;
- what exactly was audited;
- how the audit was designed and conducted;
- what evidence was used;
- what conclusions were drawn;
- what recommendations were made;
- what lessons were identified.
The report should contain the following sections:
- Title Page
- Table of contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of acronyms and abbreviations
- Executive Summary
- Introduction: background and context of the programme
- Purpose of the audit
- Key questions, scope, and limitations of the audit Approaches and methodology
- Findings
- Summary and explanation of findings and interpretations
- Conclusions
- Lessons learned
- Recommendations
- Annexes
The report should also include the following documents in the annexes (the list not exhaustive):
1. Terms of Reference for the audit
2. Audit Framework
3. Action Plan
4. List of reference documents
5. List of people interviewed and their affiliation (if deemed appropriate by the auditors)_
6. Survey Questionnaire
7. Overview of survey results
Action Plan
The Action Plan should be written in a tabular format with a maximum of 6 pages in length, clearly outlining the practical and realistic measures for LEAD to take after the audit. It should spell out, for instance, what should be done, by whom, where, with what resources, and so on. The action plan should be categorized by issues such as human resources, budgeting/planning, grant making facility. It should also set priorities for each issue category for effective implementation.
Schedule of Deliverables: Gender Audit Consultancy, October 2009
Deliverables; Support from LEAD; Indicative Timetable; Working days consultant
- 1. Interview Schedule & Questions , List of Reciewed Document; Office space, available supporting documents & Arranging meeting; October 12; 1 working day.
- Interviews, Workshops, Skeleton Report Structure, Grantees Email Surveys; Office Space, Comments and inputs; Arranging workshop; October 13 – 16; 4 working days.
- Workshop Notes, Survey Results , Document Reviewed; Office Space, Comments and inputs October19; 1 working day.
- Meeting with Partners, Draft executive summary for audit report; Office Space, Comments and inputs; Arranging Meeting October 20; 1 working day.
- Draft Report Main Points & Action Plan; Comments & inputs; October 21; 1 working day.
- Findings, Recommendations & Draft Action Plan; Comments & inputs; October 22; 1 working day.
- Final Report & Action Plan; Arranging meeting, Comments & inputs, Approval & processing payment; October 23
- 27; 3 working days.
- Total number of working days: 12
Payment Schedule:
Payment will be made based on individual auditor’s previous salary history and work experience. Schedule of Payment:
- 20% of professional fee upon sbumission of work plan.
- 40% of professional fee after the submission of the draft Report and draft Action Plan.
- 40% of professional fee after the submission of the final Report and the final Action Plan.
Review/approval time required to review/approve the outputs prior to authorizing payments:
1 (one) week after submission of documentation.
Competencies
- Native speaker in Bahasa Indonesia and English with excellent written skills.
- Ability to write reports, make presentation, provide training, etc.
Required Skills and Experience
- Bachelor degree, preferably Masters in gender, human rights or social sciences.
- Minimum 7 years of relevant experience at the national level related to gender issues.
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. | https://www.asiajobs.us/gender-audit-lead-consultant-undp/ |
The Social Research Centre has been contracted to conduct the New South Wales Population Health Survey. You may have received a phone call from 02 5776 1201 regarding this study.
Over 15,000 interviews will be undertaken across New South Wales households in the coming months.
(Please click on the headings below to reveal further information)
The New South Wales Population Health Survey is being conducted for the NSW Ministry of Health. The Social Research Centre to conduct the telephone interviews required for this survey.
The NSW Population Health Survey is a source of detailed information on health risk factors, service use and behaviours of adults and children. Results enable the estimation of a variety of health indicators, such as adult overweight and obesity, smoking and risky alcohol consumption, at the NSW Local Health District level.
The Survey provide ongoing information on health behaviours, health status and other factors that influence the health of the people of NSW to support planning, implementation and evaluation of health services and programs in NSW.
It is vital that our sample represents all sectors of the NSW population to gather an accurate picture of the attitudes, behaviours and health needs of your community. Feedback on these issues helps the NSW Ministry of Health put measures in place to plan for health system improvements. Your assistance will help the NSW Ministry of Health plan better health services in your community.
The survey will take approximately 20-25 minutes to complete. Arrangements can be made for you to participate at any time that is convenient for you.
The survey is entirely voluntary, but your participation is important if the Ministry is to get accurate feedback on health status of the NSW community.
In order to ensure a representative sample as possible, we need to randomly select a person aged 16 years or over in each household.
As this is a very important study for the NSW Ministry of Health we felt residents of NSW would be more receptive to receiving a call from a 02 number.
Your telephone number has been chosen at random from all possible telephone numbers in your area. We find that this is the best way to obtain a representative sample of all NSW residents for our survey. Households with silent numbers are not in the White Pages but it is important that these people are included in the survey.
Your mobile number was randomly generated by computer. We’re calling on mobile phones as well as landlines so we can get a representative sample of people across NSW.
To confirm the bona fides of the NSW Population Health Survey or to receive an answer to general queries, New South Wales residents can call the SRC hotline on 1800 023 040.
If you would like to speak to a member of the research team, you can call the Ministry of Health hotline on 1800 620 277. The hours of operation are 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday to Friday to speak to somebody. At other times, leave a message and someone will call back.
For general information on the NSW Population Health Survey or to view previous studies, go to the Ministry’s website at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/surveys. | https://srcentre.com.au/our-research/new-south-wales-population-health-survey |
What is P.E.T. P.A.L.S.?
“P.E.T. P.A.L.S.” is a combination of two acronyms:
Pets in Education and Therapy
People and Animals in Life Sharing
P.E.T. P.A.L.S. was organized in June 1983 in cooperation with the Cedar Bend Humane Society (formerly the Black Hawk Humane Society). P.E.T. P.A.L.S. is an all-volunteer Animal-Assisted Therapy and activities program. Trained volunteers log 10,000+ hours annually, visiting with the residents of public and private care facilities, hospitals, adult day care centers, group homes, schools, day cares and individuals within the Black Hawk County area. The animal partners in P.E.T. P.A.L.S. are personal pets of the volunteers. The pets are screened for health, temperament, and suitability as a “therapy” dog, cat, or other domestic species.
P.E.T. P.A.L.S. volunteers are assigned to either a “team” which visits a facility on a regular basis or an individual. The “teams” are guided by the social worker or activity director within the facility they are visiting. Other volunteers work individually on a case by case basis.
P.E.T. P.A.L.S. has provided a model for other animal-assisted therapy programs and continues to serve as a state-wide resource center. It offers guidelines and current information concerning issues about animal-assisted therapy, the human-companion animal bond, specific programs, and provides guest speakers on these topics. | https://petpalscedarvalley.org/about-us |
Zero-tolerance policies can set up a pathway that leads a child’s future to be defined by their misbehavior, no matter the other situations happening in the child’s life. If you break the student codes, if you are struggling, if you have an emotional blow-up while at school, if you mess up, does that mean you don’t matter?
This was the topic on an episode of the Source on Texas Public Radio last month. The episode started with the host, David Martin Davies, stating that in Texas thousands of school children are victimized by school zero-tolerance systems that land them in the school-to-prison pipeline.
The episode included data from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) and its newest report on restorative justice, which sheds light on how disciplinary policies can lead a child toward the justice system.
Its findings show that students of color and students with disabilities are the most at a loss in a zero-tolerance school system.
Students in hundreds of school districts nationally are susceptible to zero-tolerance policies and denied education for often minor misbehaviors, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition website. Its findings show that African American students in Texas comprised 13 percent of the student population from 2017-2018, and they represented 33 percent of all out-of-school suspensions and 25 percent of all in-school suspensions.
Students with disabilities make up 10 percent of the student population in Texas, but they make up 20 percent of all students who receive school suspensions. Another eye-opener, 63,874 children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade received out-of-school suspensions.
When it comes to the ways schools can prevent a student’s worst day from defining him as a lawbreaker, mental health access and legislation can help.
Studies have shown that “noncompliance” is typically a developmentally appropriate behavior for school-aged children, said Alycia Welch, MPAff, MSSW and program administrator at the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin. She co-authored a report advising the then-independent ombudsman of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department on changing the ways it responds to youth in state secure facilities to reduce violence.
“The majority of these occurrences result in suspension where alternative forms of discipline could have been implemented that have been shown to yield positive outcomes for the students, teachers, and staff,” Welch wrote in an email to Reform Austin.
Restorative Justice Practices
Restorative justice is a disciplinary practice that seeks to repair harm, according to the report from the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Reversing the school-to-prison pipeline involves a complete culture change.
Restorative efforts such as peer mediation, justice panels and peer councils, if provided within positive school culture, can have helpful outcomes, Welch said.
“These practices are largely conversation- and relationship-based and create the space and opportunity for youth and adults to work together to resolve community issues and harms,” she said.
These options are reparative and help students consider the consequences of their actions and encourage empathy, Welch said.
“By building strong community relationships, students are provided with the support needed to redirect unwanted behaviors and develop healthy, prosocial relationships while simultaneously building an inclusive environment that helps students feel accountable and supported when they make mistakes. When students feel that they are part of a community, they are more likely to feel invested in being accountable to their peers, teachers, and other community members.”
It’s not a soft approach to discipline. This method is based on proactive and reactive actions and building a restorative culture that affects the misbehaving student and the community around them in a positive way. It sounds like instructing a mindset of compassion-meeting-problematic behavior with some philosophy added.
Possible Actions
State Representative James Talarico (D-Round Rock), filed a restorative justice bill, HB 1467, last year to create a ratio of mental health professionals to law enforcement officials in Texas public schools. The bill and his advocacy for restorative methods stems from his time as a middle school teacher, before he was a politician.
On the Source episode, he explained it was the students who fell through the cracks, the students he feels he failed, who led him to tackle policies to help the similar students in schools today, that have similar stories to those he wasn’t able to reach as a teacher.
Schools have found success with restorative justice methods, said Alycia Castillo, Youth Justice Policy Analyst for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition and co-author of the report “Reversing the Pipeline to Prison in Texas: How to Ensure Safe Schools AND Safe Students.”
“We were really encouraged by the results of the TEA’s 2015 measures to support restorative justice pilots in Texas, and students have benefited tremendously from those efforts,” she wrote in an email to Reform Austin. “In particular, Ed White Middle School in San Antonio saw dramatic improvements in suspension and expulsion rates in just a year, and were able to maintain that progress going forward.”
“We spoke directly with those students, their teachers, and the school administrators, and overwhelmingly their response was that the results were so positive because they represented a mental health-focused solution to mental health needs for children, rather than a one-size-fits-all punitive approach that’s been failing students for years.”
Talarico said when we make public policy, we need to follow evidence and research to keep kids safe and healthy.
TCJC recommends school districts prioritize budgetary allocations toward trauma-informed training, bias training and professional development, especially for vulnerable and high-need students. They said schools should stop investing in school policing, which drives students toward the justice system.
Also, TCJC recommends the Texas Legislature allocate funding for restorative justice measures in Texas in 2021, and specifically for the addition of multi-year restorative justice coordinators in schools.
Backing Away From Zero-Tolerance
To understand methods for disciplining students for better outcomes, it is important to begin with a clear understanding of what is meant when talking about discipline, wrote Welch from the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin.
She shares, “Too often, ‘discipline’ is confused with punishment or the sanctions, such as suspension or expulsion, that schools apply when students break the rules. While the goal of a system of sanctions is deterring similar behavior in the future and of deterring other students from behaving in similar ways, research shows that punitive approaches only increase unwanted behaviors, in large part, because these approaches do little to address the unmet needs that drive behavior. Punishment is simply a punitive response to unwanted behavior; it alone does nothing to ensure that the misbehavior will not reoccur.”
Senate Bill 2432 was passed by the Legislature in 2019 after a lobbying group for Texas teachers argued for educator safety and protection in their classrooms. While the bill provides safety measures to help teachers manage a student’s aggressive or violent behavior, it raised questions about how Texas should define harassment so that the most disadvantaged kids won’t be disciplined, thrown out of school and then ultimately drop out.
Rather than hardening measures addressing the harm caused directly and then to come up with methods to repair that harm, is an effective approach.
Rep. Talarico stated the first step toward moving our public education system to restorative justice practices is creating a council statewide that would collect and distribute better practices, to allow our educators across the state to learn this new approach for classroom management and student relationships.
So if a child steps out of line, or has a school yard scuffle, the first act won’t be to get handcuffed.
Rep. Talarico believes “we have to move away from tough on crime to smart on crime. Starting in elementary school, to rehabilitate our students who are facing trauma or struggling in other ways. When we view children as criminals we start down a dangerous path.”
Mental health challenges can alter the way children learn, behave, and develop, and when those challenges are not identified and appropriately addressed through a range of supports and services, they may display disruptive behaviors that can be challenging for teachers and school staff to respond to while simultaneously maintaining a positive classroom environment for all students, wrote Welch. | https://www.reformaustin.org/education/can-texas-school-to-prison-pipeline-problem-be-solved/ |
At Lowind we have four key commitments: to society, our workers and our clients. Besides developing and maintaining renewable energy projects, our social function is to improve the quality of life for people by valuing:
Our clients
Guaranteeing quality service and complete satisfaction by providing services according to the client’s wants, needs, specifications, expectations, and established requirements, besides meeting all legal requirements to which we subscribe voluntarily.
Our employees
We are constantly improving quality management systems as well as environmental, and workplace safety and health management through the creation of attainable objectives and improvement plans. We support our team’s training and professional development, keeping in mind their motivation and ability to achieve high levels of dedication, responsibility and efficiency in all of our projects.
LOWIND supports equality between women and men and seeks a more balanced distribution of staff (18% of the workforce are women), as well as improving working conditions by promoting measures to reconcile work and family life, nurture corporate culture oriented towards equality and the prevention of any discriminatory behaviour.
The environment
We uphold environment issues as key to integrated business development, prevention and conservation through the rational use of resources and through our promise to prevent and reduce pollution.
Sociedad
Lowind has an ethical code that totally rejects all forced labour and child exploitation, physical, sexual, psychological, moral or abuse of authority. It has measures against bribery and corruption. It respects human rights and freedoms, legality and non-discrimination.
Lowind collaborates with the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Fight against Corruption. Each year Lowind develops an annual Communication on Progress, in which we describe our actions to continuously improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations.
The executive team at Lowind has pledged to always provide the technical and human resources needed to follow through with our commitments. | https://www.lowind.es/en/our-promiseour-promise/ |
IAFNS’s Core Values:
Scientific integrity is a core value of IAFNS — centered around transparency.
We bring scientific experts and leaders together to catalyze science for confident decision making by all sectors. IAFNS believes researchers from the public and private sectors can and should work together on science and public health issues. Public-private collaboration - where all interests and conflicts are declared and all funding is acknowledged - can advance public health for public benefit.
Integrity in Science - It's Who We Are
Scientific integrity is essential to advancing credible science for the purpose of improving society. IAFNS is a recognized leader in addressing issues of scientific integrity, research public-private partnerships and conflict of interest through our work with federal agencies and scientific professional societies. We are proud of our extensive programs on scientific integrity, and we integrate scientific integrity into every step of our research programs.
Assembly on Scientific Integrity
The Assembly on Scientific Integrity includes the IAFNS Board of Trustees, IAFNS Scientific Leadership Council, and all IAFNS members from government, industry, and academia. With representation from all three sectors of our membership, the Assembly is active in ensuring IAFNS achieves and promotes the highest standards of scientific integrity.
View the Assembly’s current and recent projects and efforts.
Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines
The Center for Open Science's Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines provide actionable steps for institutions to practice and promote transparent, reproducible, and rigorous research. IAFNS is a TOP Guidelines signatory. As a signatory, IAFNS supports the principles expressed in the guidelines and supports the implementation of these principles by our funded researchers. All new projects moving forward will work to adhere to the TOP Guidelines.
Our commitment to transparency is confirmed by our establishment a Collection page on the Open Science Framework. The IAFNS Collection aggregates all IAFNS-supported research projects that are registered on the Open Science Framework in one place. It provides greater visibility of the breadth and rigor of research that has been undertaken by the investigators we support, and allows the scientific community to more easily discover our work.
IAFNS's Leadership in Scientific Integrity:
Publications
Past Events
Science Is Self-Correcting- but the Record Is Not. Opportunities for Improvement for Journals and Scientists
November 13, 2020
Washington DC, USA
Read more about Science Is Self-Correcting- but the Record Is Not. Opportunities for Improvement for Journals and Scientists
6th World Conference on Research Integrity
June 2, 2019 – June 5, 2019
Hong Kong, China
The 6th World Conference on Research Integrity will explore the application of new research findings to develop new and better solutions to address New Challenges for Research Integrity.
AAAS 2019 Annual Meeting
February 14, 2019 – February 17, 2019
Washington, DC, USA
In this session, speakers will summarize the principles and best practices for scientific integrity, give context to their development and the recommended actions and next steps that will help implement them, and provide intriguing case studies that are relevant to attendees.
Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting
December 2, 2018 – December 6, 2018
New Orleans, LA, USA
The Society for Risk Analysis 2018 Annual Meeting is the premier opportunity to discuss all avenues of risk analysis with other risk enthusiasts from around the globe.
American Pubic Health Association 2018 Annual Meeting
November 10, 2018 – November 14, 2018
San Diego, CA, USA
APHA’s Annual Meeting and Expo is the largest and most influential annual gathering of public health professionals. | https://iafns.org/scientific-integrity/?v1=publications-type-monograph |
This position statement sets out ICMM members’ approach to engaging with Indigenous Peoples and to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). ICMM’s vision is for constructive relationships between mining and metals companies and indigenous peoples that are based on mutual respect, meaningful engagement, trust and mutual benefit. Indigenous communities are losing out in the development of northern Australia September 1, 2015 4.10pm EDT ... mining effort has increased, ... it makes many Indigenous people in the region anxious.
Addressing these issues requires special attention to the interests and rights of indigenous groups across all stages of the mining project life cycle. Legislation in some countries requires mining companies to engage with indigenous peoples and, in some cases, to seek their consent before starting a mining operation on their land. Good Practice GuideIndigenous Peoples and Mining ii The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) is pleased to present our Good Practice Guide: Indigenous Peoples and Mining(the Guide). ICMM is an organization representing 19 of the world's leading mining and metals companies, as well as 30 other regional, national and commodity ... Home / Publications / Indigenous Peoples and Mining Download Publication This Guide was developed by the ICMM to help its members and other mining companies navigate through the complexities associated with mining near indigenous communities.
“In non-remote areas, there was an even more marked difference, with 55 per cent of Indigenous people in employment (compared with 48 per cent in non-mining areas), and the full-time employment ... Indigenous Peoples and Mining guide . In 2010, the ICMM (International Council on Mining & Metals) created the Indigenous Peoples and Mining guide with the aim to provide mining companies with positive, practical and comprehensive approaches to develop successful relationships with indigenous peoples.
Indigenous Peoples and Mining. The relationship between indigenous peoples and mining is defined by struggles over access to land. The interests of resource industries, of course, lie in securing unfettered (as far as possible) access to land and guaranteeing that access over the longer term. ... Indeed the generalization that indigenous people ... Indigenous People Are Already Working “Green Jobs” — but They’re Unrecognized and Unpaid. Nick Estes. Nick Estes. September 23 2019, 11:46 a.m. ... and mining industries. The number of Indigenous people working on major mining projects in Western Australia has skyrocketed over the past five years. In the resource-rich Pilbara region, big companies like Rio Tinto ...
Indigenous collective land rights and the il/legality of land acquisitions for the Marlin mining project in San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa 1 The historical development of indigenous territoriality in highland Guatemala 84 2 The remeasurement of colonial indigenous land titles in the department of San Marcos 88 Indigenous definition, originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native (often followed by to): the plants indigenous to Canada; the indigenous peoples of southern Africa. See more.
The number of Indigenous people working on major mining projects in Western Australia has skyrocketed over the past five years. In the resource-rich Pilbara region, big companies like Rio Tinto ... Indigenous Peoples’ life expectancy is up to 20 years lower than the life expectancy of non-indigenous people worldwide. While Indigenous Peoples own, occupy, or use a quarter of the world’s surface area, they safeguard 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity.
Why is there such a big gap between what's important to indigenous people and how mining companies are addressing their priorities? As a follow-up to the piece I wrote last week (see: Why the ... Mining jobs grow for women, Indigenous people . Gender-neutral job openings, female-focused scholarships and diversity outreach are changing the industry’s image. Jennifer Lewington. The UN warns there are 40 indigenous groups are at risk of disappearing in the country. ... the problem is that native communities affected mining projects are ... More than 120 people illegally ...
The uranium mining debate covers the political and environmental controversies of the mining of uranium for use in either nuclear power or nuclear weapons ... Uranium mining and indigenous people ... spokesperson for Native Americans and First Nations has written extensively on the impact of uranium mining on indigenous communities. IMMS connects Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with outstanding job opportunities in mining, construction and marine throughout the Pilbara and Australia.
Indigenous elders from the Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) people have put mining company Adani - and Australia's governments - on notice to quit the Carmichael mine project over native title claims. MAXINE NEWLANDS reports Mining by Aborigines – Australia's first miners Mineral Resources While 1997 was the bicentenary of mining in Australia by people of European descent, the history of mining in this country stretches back much further. For more than 40 000 years before the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour, Australian
Indigenous Peoples and Mining Encounters: Strategies and Tactics 5 “Land is life and that land is sacred. It is the duty of every indigenous person to defend and protect the land.” The late Dulag Machi-ling Said before he lost his life defending his land in the Philippines. 1 Empowerment or impoverishment The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian peoples of North, Central and South America and their descendants.. Although some indigenous peoples of the Americas were traditionally hunter-gatherers—and many, especially in the Amazon basin, still are—many groups practiced aquaculture and agriculture.The impact of their agricultural endowment to the world is a testament to ...
We respect the importance of Indigenous Australian culture and value its diversity. NRW has successfully employed and supported Indigenous people within our operations since opening link to history in 1994. Increasing Indigenous mining jobs and careers on our mining and civil projects is an integral part of NRW’s philosophy. June 7, 2017. How does Australia's mining industry ensure local Aboriginal people get a good share of job opportunities created? The mining industry is the largest private sector employer of Indigenous Australians and generates employment opportunities for Indigenous people not just in mining itself but also in a range of associated industries.. More than 60 per cent of mining operations have ...
Indigenous people aren’t going anywhere either and our population is also getting bigger. Minerals extraction means engaging with Indigenous people. Indigenous Australians have ownership or other rights over 20% of the continent, including most areas where mining occurs. Clearly, attention must be paid to this developing issue for the maintenance of cultural diversity, the health and well-being of indigenous people in the Amazon, and the health of the Amazon as a functioning ecosystem. Written by Dr. Dave Lutz for the Amazon Aid Foundation
Mining and Indigenous Cultural Survival. Mining activity often poses a tough and divisive dilemma for indigenous people and their communities. On the one hand, mining activity and its associated social and environmental impacts pose a threat to indigenous ways of life and livelihoods and to important cultural and spiritual sites. and indigenous people for land access at the exploration and/or mining stages. • Of the mine sites near indigenous commu-nities, 40 per cent spent more than $50 000 on the development of local indigenous com-munities in 2001-02, with 16 per cent spending over $250 000. ABARE study on indigenous people in mining One theme at last week’s Roundup was the role resource industries like mining can play in reconciliation with Indigenous people. ... “The relationship between the mining industry and the First ...
Indigenous peoples and mining good practice guide. Share; View as an online flipbook. This guide is primarily aimed at providing guidance to companies on good practice where mining-related activities occur on or near traditional indigenous land and territory. It was like any other day for Mariano Waclin, a 60-year old small-scale miner in Barangay Ucab in Itogon, Benguet in the Cordillera region. He got up in the cold morning, sipped his hot Barako coffee, and then started working inside a small tunnel where he spends most of his day, hoping to get as much gold from the ores he would collect. Philippines: Mining impacts on Subanon indigenous peoples’ rights. A family home after mining starts; Photo credit: Philippines Fact Finding Mission report In 2005 a coalition of researchers began a human rights impact assessment of TVI Resources’ Canatuan mine on the Mindanao island of the Philippines.
Historically, the mining industry employed very few Indigenous workers. Figures show that in the early 1990s the number was measured “in the hundreds”, but by 2011 — with many Indigenous Land Use Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous communities now in place — this had increased to more than 7,000. i Foreword Prof. Philip Oxhorn, Director Institute for the Study of International Development The publication of Mining, Economic Development and Indigenous Peoples: Getting the Governance Equation Right marks the public launching of the new flagship Program in Global Governance of McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development (ISID). Indigenous communities in British Columbia also share in the benefits of mining through innovative Impact Benefit Agreements that our member companies enter into to help achieve lasting, self-defined community objectives. Mining is the largest private sector employer of Indigenous people in Canada.
Mining + Indigenous peoples . ... of potential huge effects on Indigenous people and the environment ... unrestricted oil drilling and mining on indigenous lands and action on violence against ... From finding innovative ways to work with Indigenous communities – to enhancing opportunities for challenge, growth and success in a variety of career paths, attracting and retaining more Indigenous people in the mining industry will require a combination of solutions. Indigenous Mining jobs now available. Mining Engineer, All Trades | Bowen Basin Mine Shutdowns, Miner and more on Indeed.com
Indigenous communities will be able to better understand the mineral resources in their traditional lands and make informed decisions about whether to develop them.” Rio Tinto is one of the world’s largest mining companies. Headquartered in London, England, it has operations in 35 countries across six continents and employs 47,000 people. A new report on minorities and indigenous people warns that the global 'intensification' in the exploitation of natural resources is leading to mounting conflicts for the world's 370 million ...
Even in a slump, mining’s contribution to Canada is enormous. Despite some job losses at some operations, mining and mineral processing are directly employing more than 375,000 Canadians, including well over 10,000 Indigenous Canadians, paying the highest average industrial wage in the country. View 690 Indigenous Mining Positions jobs at Jora, create free email alerts and never miss another career opportunity again. Uranium mines harm Indigenous people – so why have we approved a new one? ... For decades, Australia’s desert regions have experienced uranium prospecting, mining, waste dumping and nuclear ...
Mining companies that adopt good practice and are responsive to Indigenous Peoples’ are more likely to successfully contribute to sustainable and equitable outcomes, gain community support, build a positive reputation and be considered as ‘responsible companies’, which in turn, has reputational benefits. Langton also used the speech to argue the mining industry had played a positive role in training and employing Indigenous people, but she said automation in the sector would lead to significant ...
An Overview. By Luis Vittor. Latin America’s governments and its indigenous peoples are clashing over the issue of mining. Governments, motivated by economic growth, have established legal frameworks to attract foreign investments to extract mining resources. The major expansion of mining in Australia since the turn of the century has seen substantial increases in Indigenous employment in the mining industry, particularly in remote areas. Existing research on the economic impact of mining on Indigenous people living in mining areas has only been undertaken for specific communities as case studies. | http://anncristinshookers.com/article1561.php |
Skea, Claire (2019) Student Satisfaction in Higher Education: Philosophical Perspectives on Voice, Settlement, and Customer Relations. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
Abstract
This thesis is concerned with the notion of student satisfaction and its effects on the Higher Education (HE) sector. It takes issue with two key features of the current literature on this topic: that ‘student satisfaction’ is taken as a given, and; that ensuring students are satisfied is typically accepted as a good thing. This thesis explores philosophically what it means to be ‘satisfied’ with one’s education, considering what this implies about the value of HE, and the potential impact of this on universities, academics, and students alike. In offering a new and original stance on the issue of student satisfaction in Higher Education, this thesis draws on the philosophical works of Stanley Cavell, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Martin Heidegger, and Martin Buber to inform its argument. Part I of the thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the concept of ‘student satisfaction’, its introduction into the HE sector, and how this is linked to other marketised discourses such as ‘value for money’ and ‘service quality’. It argues that what is currently missing from the empirical literature on student satisfaction is a philosophical consideration of student voice, a questioning of the value of student satisfaction, and reflections on how the dominance of satisfaction measures impacts on relationships in the contemporary university. Part I includes an overview of the current, mostly empirical, literature on this topic and then discusses the philosophical ‘method’ employed here. The thesis then turns to its central themes – an attention to language, voice, perfectionism, and ethical relationships – to demonstrate that the exploration of key concepts is central to the ‘method’ pursued here. Part II of the thesis discusses three issues in HE that are inextricably tied to the student satisfaction agenda: the collection of student voice; the recent drive to offer a kind of settlement in teaching and learning, and; the shift from academic-student relationships to mere customer relations. The issues investigated here are discussed in light of three key distinctions: between ‘feedback’ and ‘voice’; between forms of ‘un-educative settlement’ and ‘educative unsettling’, and; between relationships of ‘exchange’ and those of ‘encounter’. In drawing on the philosophical works mentioned above, Part II not only problematises certain discourses and marketised practices in HE, but it also considers the practical implications of these ideas for universities, academics and their students. Part III of the thesis returns to the central distinctions made in Part II, such as that between ‘feedback’ and ‘voice’, to argue that what is most problematic about student satisfaction and its associated discourses is the encouragement of the former distinctions (for example, feedback) to the exclusion of the latter (such as voice). While acknowledging that student satisfaction cannot simply be removed or eradicated from the HE sector, the thesis offers a productive way forward in light of the issues raised by drawing an original and significant distinction between two different forms of ‘satisfaction’: the ‘now-’ and the ‘not-yet-’. The thesis concludes by laying out several philosophically-informed principles for resisting current iterations of student satisfaction, and for embracing a richer conception of ‘voice’, encouraging educative unsettling in the classroom, and fostering relationships premised upon encounter.
Metadata
|Awarding institution:||University of Leeds|
|Academic Units:||The University of Leeds > Leeds Trinity University|
|Identification Number/EthosID (e.g. uk.bl.ethos.123456):||uk.bl.ethos.778689|
|Depositing User:||Dr. Claire Skea|
|Date Deposited:||24 Jun 2019 10:51|
|Last Modified:||18 Feb 2020 12:50|
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Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism. This article takes you through the history of education and its development as an industry.
Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, research, or simply through autodidacticism.
Presumably every generation, since the beginning of human existence, somehow passed on its stock of values, traditions, methods, and skills to the next generation. Education has been practiced since time immemorial to instill social and cultural values. In ancient times, the education system was verbal, carried out generally by the elders of the family.
In pre-literate societies, education was achieved through demonstration and copying as the young learned from their elders. Rural communities had few resources to expend on education, and there was a lack of commercially available products for schools. At later stages, they received instruction of a more structured and formal nature, imparted by people not necessarily related, in the context of initiation, religion or ritual. Some forms of traditional knowledge were expressed through stories, legends, folklore, rituals, and songs, without the need for a writing system. Tools to aid this process include poetic devices such as rhyme and alliteration. The stories thus preserved are also referred to as part of an oral tradition. In ancient India, the Vedas were learned by the repetition of various forms of recitation. By means of memorization, they were passed down through many generations.
Oral traditions were central in societies without written texts. With the gradual rise of more complex civilizations in the river valleys of Egypt and Babylonia, knowledge became too complicated to transmit directly from person to person and from generation to generation. To be able to function in complex societies, man needed some way of accumulating, recording, and preserving his cultural heritage. So with the rise of trade, government, and formal religion came the invention of writing. The writing system developed around 3500 BC, enabling the recording and sharing of information. With the advent of the writing system - people were able to record and share information. This became the foundation of formal education.
Various materials were used for early writing including wax-covered writing boards, sheets or strips of bark from trees, the thick palm-like leaves of a particular tree, the leaves then punctured with a hole and stacked together like the pages of a book, parchment, made of goatskin that had been soaked and scraped to remove hair, vellum, made from calfskin, and wax tablets which could be wiped clean to provide a fresh surface.
The education industry was initially associated with law, trade and commerce, religion, and civil administration. Formal education was available to only a small fraction of the population. The first large established university is thought to be Nalanda established in 427 A.D in India. The first university establishments in the western world are thought to be the University of Bologna (founded in 1088) and later Oxford University (founded around 1096).
The system developed in most countries after 1850 CE. Providing literacy to most children has been a development of the last 150 or 200 years or even the last 50 years in some Third World countries.
Since the 19th century, education has developed substantially into the modern system for standardized education. The modern education industry is based on structured training that's developed by experts, who use organized instruction to create a systematic curriculum. In other words, someone develops a curriculum and then an instructor uses the material to educate a group of students – typically in a classroom. Nowadays some kind of education is compulsory for all people in most countries. Due to population growth and the proliferation of compulsory education, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far. The modern education industry consists of training by professionals and organized instructions with respect to systematic curricula and pedagogy.
One of the most substantial uses in education is the use of technology. Also, technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. As computers have become more and more commonplace, people are able to learn from their own homes. From online courses to the vast amount of information available on the Internet, people have access to a wider range of learning opportunities than ever before. Advances in technology have forced the education industry to change as well. Companies have had to adapt their products to reflect the new technology-driven learning environment. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging.
Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments.
Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions. Even businesses have adapted, and the way they train employees has evolved. Many companies use technology platforms to provide education to their employees – whether it's in the form of self-directed online learning or classroom learning with a laptop and projector.
All of these changes have caused illiteracy rates to decrease significantly. In most industrialized countries, illiteracy is practically nonexistent. Illiteracy rates are expected to decline even further in other countries too in the coming decades as more and more people gain access to formal education. | http://monalisatv.com/history-of-education-its-growth-as-an-industry-2.html |
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“As an undergraduate student in psychology, I was taught that multiple personalities were a very rare and bizarre disorder. That is all that I was taught on ... It soon became apparent that what I had been taught was simply not true. Not only was I meeting people with multiplicity; these individuals entering my life were normal human beings with much to offer. They were simply people who had endured more than their share of pain in this life and were struggling to make sense of it.”
― Deborah Bray Haddock, The Dissociative Identity Disorder Sourcebook
Boon, S. & Draijer, N. (1993). The differentiation of patients with MPD or DDNOS from patients with a cluster B personality disorder. Dissociation, 6(2/3), 126-135. doi:10.1300/J229v07n02_06
Abstract: Because of similarities in presentation, multiple personality disorder (MPD) and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS) can be misdiagnosed as borderline personality disorder (BPD) or another cluster B personality disorder. In order to find distinguishing symptoms, four groups of patients are compared: DDNOS patients (N=24); MPD patients (N=49); patients with BPD or histrionic personality disorder, referred for evaluation of dissociative pathology (N=21); control patients with a cluster B personality disorder (N=19). All patients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) and the Structured Trauma Interview (STI).
Although there are many areas of overlap in the phenomenology of patients with MPD or DDNOS and patients with a "cluster B" personality disorder, we clearly found that these groups can be differentiated by the severity and cluster of dissociative symptoms, the prevalence of some Schneiderian symptoms, and the severity of childhood trauma.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/1630/Diss_6_2%263_7_OCR_rev.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y
Dell, P. F. (2006). The multidimensional inventory of dissociation (MID): A comprehensive measure of pathological dissociation. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 7(2), 77-106. doi:10.1300/J229v07n02_06
Abstract: This article describes the development and validation of the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation (MID). The MID is a 218-item, self-administered, multiscale instrument that comprehensively assesses the phenomenological domain of pathological dissociation and diagnoses the dissociative disorders. The MID measures 14 major facets of pathological dissociation; it has 23 dissociation diagnostic scales that simultaneously operationalize (1) the subjective/ phenomenological domain of pathological dissociation and (2) the hypothesized dissociative symptoms of dissociative identity disorder (Dell, 2001a). The MID was designed for clinical research and for diagnostic assessment of patients who present with a mixture of dissociative, posttraumatic, and borderline symptoms. The MID demonstrated internal reliability, temporal stability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and construct validity. The MID also exhibited incremental validity over the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) by predicting an additional 18% of the variance in weighted abuse scores on the Traumatic Experiences Questionnaire (TEQ). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) did not support a one-factor model of the MID's clinical scales (i.e., the 14 facets and the 23 diagnostic symptoms). In contrast, however, CFA of the MID's factor scales (Dell & Lawson, 2005) has strongly supported a one-factor model. It was concluded that both the MID's 168 dissociation items and the construct of pathological dissociation have a second-order, unifactorial structure.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7013252_The_Multidimensional_Inventory_of_Dissociation_MID_A_Comprehensive_Measure_of_Pathological_Dissociation
Franklin, J. (1988). Diagnosis of covert and subtle forms of multiple personality disorder through dissociative signs. Dissociation, 1(2), 27-33.
Abstract: There are different forms of multiple personality disorder (MPD) that vary on a dissociative continuum from subtle forms in which the alters are not very distinct or elaborated and often influence each other without assuming full control, to patients with fully developed MPD, whose alters are distinct, elaborated, assume full control, and emerge overtly. Most MPD patients present covertly, and some patients with covert presentations will later show overt classic symptoms, while those with subtle forms will often remain mild and subdued. Most MPD patients hide or disguise their condition, while their alters express their thoughts and feelings through subtle dissociative signs that occur when the alters influence each other, partly emerge, or subtly shift. These signs consist of frequent, sometimes sudden, fluctuations in affects, thoughts and behaviors, transferences, developmental levels, and psychiatric symptoms, and marked discrepancies in memories, viewpoint, and attitudes, which may indicate the possible presence of alters and of MPD or Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise specified: variants of MPD. The case of a subtle form of MPD is presented which illustrates some of the subtle signs of dissociation and other dissociative symptoms often seen in these patients.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/1342/Diss_1_2_5_OCR_rev.pdf?sequence=4
Hall, P., & Steinberg, M. (1994). Systematic assessment of dissociative symptoms and disorders using the SCID-D in a clinical outpatient setting: Three cases. Dissociation, 7(2), 112-116.
Abstract: This paper presents three case studies illustrating the range and scope of the clinical applications of the SCID-D, a semi-structured interview for the assessment and diagnosis of dissociative symptoms and disorders according to DSM-IV criteria. The studies indicate the effectiveness of the SCID-D in differential diagnosis between medical and psychiatric conditions, in symptom documentation for forensic cases, and in treatment planning for patients previously diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), formerly multiple personality disorder (MPD), who are experiencing impasses in therapy. Although the SCID-D is not a trauma questionnaire, its ability to elicit spontaneous descriptions of trauma from patients without the use of leading or intrusive questions makes it a valuable instrument for diagnosis and assessment as well as treatment planning and implementation. Early diagnosis of dissociative disorders with the SCID-D can lead to timely and effective treatment for those suffering from DID and the dissociative disorders.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/1552/Diss_7_2_7_OCR_rev.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y
Ijzendoorn, M. H., & Schuengel, C. (1996). The measurement of dissociation in normal and clinical populations: Meta-analytic validation of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Clinical Psychology Review, 16(5), 365-382. doi:10.1016/0272-7358(96)00006-2
Abstract: The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) has now been used in over 100 studies on dissociation. This article reports on a series of meta-analyses to test some of the theoretical assumptions underlying the DES and to examine the instrument's reliability and validity. Studies wilh the DES were identified through Psychlit, Medline, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Current Contents. Across studies in similar domains (e.g., studies on multiple personality disorders) combined effect sizes were computed using the Rosenthal-Mullen approach. The DES showed excellent convergent validity with other dissociative experiences questionnaires and interview schedules (combined effect size: d = 1.82; N = 5,916). The DES also showed impressive predictive validity, in particular concerning dissociative disorders (Multiple Personality Disorder: combined effect size d = 1.05; N = l, 705) and traumatic experiences (post-traumatic stress disorder: combined effect size d = 0.75; N = 1,099; and abuse: combined effect size d = 0.52; N = 2,108). However, the discriminant validity was less well established. The DES is sensitive to response and experimenter biases. It is recommended to average DES-scores over more points in time and over more judges. The DES seems to measure the current view on past dissociative experiences. The model of dissociation as a form of autohypnosis failed to receive support from the data. A developmental model to interpret dissociation is proposed.
https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/1496/168_166.pdf?sequence=1
Ross, C. A., Heber, S., Norton, R. G., Anderson, D., Anderson, G., & Barchet, P. (1989). The dissociative disorders interview schedule: A structured interview. Dissociation, 2(3), 169-189.
Abstract: The Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS), a structured interview, has been developed to make DSM-III diagnoses of the dissociative disorders, somatization disorder, major depressive episode, and borderline personality disorder. Additional items provide information about substance abuse, childhood physical and sexual abuse, and secondary features of multiple personality disorder. These items provide information useful in the differential diagnosis of dissociative disorders. The DDIS has an overall inter-rater reliability of 0.68. For the diagnosis of multiple personality disorder it has a specifity of 100% and a sensitivity of 90%.
https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/1505/Diss_2_3_9_OCR_rev.pdf?sequence=5
Steinberg, M., Hall, P., Lareau, C., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Recognizing the validity of dissociative symptoms and disorders using the SCID-D-R: Guidelines for clinical and forensic evaluations. Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal, 10(2), 225-242.
Abstract: This Article presents guidelines for the systematic evaluation of dissociative symptoms in clinical and forensic cases using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders––Revised (SCID-D-R). Since dissociation is a posttraumatic defense which serves as protection from overwhelming trauma, evaluation of dissociative symptoms is particularly relevant to the assessment of the dissociative disorders as well as posttraumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”). The authors review specific SCID-D-R interview criteria that support the accuracy of dissociative diagnosis based on extensive scientific investigations by providing standardized methods that can assist in distinguishing valid versus simulated dissociation. The application of the SCID-D-R in a forensic case is presented to illustrate the utility of this diagnostic tool in the courtroom.
http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~idjlaw/PDF/10-2/10-2%20Steinberg+Hall+Lareau+Cicchetti.pdf
* Welburn, K. R., Fraser, G. A., Jordan, S. A., Cameron, C., Webb, L. M., & Raine, D. (2003). Discriminating dissociative identity disorder from schizophrenia and feigned dissociation on psychological tests and structured Interview. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 4(2), 109-130. doi:10.1300/j229v04n02_07
Abstract: Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative efficacy of a number of psychological tests and interviews in discriminating dissociative identity disorder (DID) from feigned dissociation and schizophrenia.
Method: Three measures of dissociation (SCID-D, DES, SDQ-5) two personality measures (MMPI-2, Millon-III) and a brief measure of hypnotic susceptibility (Spiegel & Spiegel's Eye-Roll Sign) were assessed for their ability to differentiate these diagnostic groups.
Results: Results indicate that the SCID-D was clearly the most efficacious instrument in discriminating DID from schizophrenia and from feigned dissociation. The DES-Taxon and the SDQ-5 were adequate in screening pathological dissociation from schizophrenia but were less discriminative of feigned dissociation. The commonly used personality inventories were unable to detect feigned dissociation and the DID group tended to have higher elevations on scales measuring psychotic symptoms than did the schizophrenic group. The Eye-Roll Sign discriminated feigned dissociation from those with dissociative disorders.
Conclusions: Structured interviews such as the SCID-D, although resource consuming, are essential in comprehensive assessment of dissociative disorders. Comprehensive assessment of psychotic disorders should include some measure of dissociation.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233032953_Discriminating_Dissociative_Identity_Disorder_from_Schizophrenia_and_Feigned_Dissociation_on_Psychological_Tests_and_Structured_Interview
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The present paper describes the early experiments carried in the University of Bari, Italy, on solar distillation of sea and saline waters and on solar and unconventional sources of energy and water, in the years 1953-1970. The work on solar desalination has been carried having in mind the production of drinking water for the arid and poor areas, and the solar stills have been designed to be built with simple and local materials in such areas. The paper describes the problems encountered with material corrosion, maintenance of the stills, cleaning of the trays, improving the taste and palatability of the distilled water, and disposal of residual salts. Other solar work has been carried on the use of biomass as a source of energy, expecially on the use of ethanol as a fuel.
1. FRESH WATER FROM SALINE WATER WITH
SOLAR ENERGY.
In the University of Bari – where the author has taught Natural Resources in the Faculty of Economics from 1952 to 1995 – a research program has been carried for the study of solar distillation and of solar energy. In the years from 1953 to 1970 ten different models of solar stills have been built, in about 105 units, using different designs and materials. The operation of solar stills has been tested in Bologna, in Bari and in the Mediterranean islands Tremiti and Pantelleria (latitude 45 to 35°N). The results have been presented at various international conferences, are described in many papers (a detailed list is contained in <www.gses.it/bib-nebbia>) and in two books 1G. Righini and G. Nebbia, “L’energia solare e le sue applicazioni”, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1966 2G. Nebbia, “Il problema dell’acqua”, Bari, Cacucci, 1965; 2nd edition, 1967. Most of the experimental work has been carried in Bari (latitude 41°N), an harbor in South-Eastern Italy, with clear skies for many months of the year and an intensity of solar radiation that in the summer days reaches 24 MJ/(m2)(day), with an average of 4.000 MJ/(m2)(year) The research and development program carried in the years 1953-1970 was devoted at the following main fields:
— solar distillation,
— condensation of fresh water from the atmosphere,
— use of volcanic steam as a source of fresh water,
— history of solar desalination and solar energy.
Other researches dealt with the economics of solar collectors and of sea water desalination, the physical properties of seawater and salt solutions, the membrane properties and their use in desalination. The work on solar distillation was stimulated by the papers appeared in the early 50’s of the past century in the literature 3M. Telkes, “Solar distillers for life rafts”, U.S. National Defense Research Committee of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, OSRD Report No. 5225, 19 June 1945 4 M. Telkes, “Fresh water from sea water by solar distillation”, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 45, 1108-1114 (1953) 5G. O. G. Löf, “Demineralization of saline water with solar energy”, U.S. Department of the Interior, Saline Water Conversion Program, Research and Development Progress Report No. 4, August 1954, and was devoted at the building and testing of solar stills in order to identify the construction materials, design and systems for the control of scale and corrosion, best suited for the manufacture of simpe and durable solar stills, to provide fresh water to isolated houses and small villages in the arid areas, in particular in arid islands of Southern Italy, along the seashore or in locations in which the only water source is underground brackish water. The first solar still was built in 1953; it was a small still, 0,18 m2 tray area, with a plexiglas tray and plexiglas cover; in this model is was experienced the inconvenience of the drop condensation of distillad water on the inner surface of the plastic cover, a fact that suggested of preferring glass plates for the cover of the stills. Another model, presented at the Trade Fair of Bari, in september 1953, had a plexiglas tray, 0,25 m2, and glass cover. The next solar still had a wood tray, 2 m2, and a glass cover, with cork insulation at the bottom of the tray; the operation experienced water losses because of bad insulation and the results helped to build a better model. In 1954 three solar stills were built and tested; they had iron plate trays, 1,5 and 3 m2 area, and glass covers, all with cork insulation of the tray bottom. A water production of 3 liters/(m2)(day) was obtained in the summer months. In 1955 a solar stills having a 10 m2 concrete tray and glass cover in an iron frame, was built on the roof of a University building. The tray was placed on perforated bricks that offered some sort of thermal insulation. The test gave indications on how a still can be integrated in a building, expecially in the southern areas where buildings have flat roofs. The glass cover may be utilized as a collector of rain water, so increasing the yearly water production of the roof unit 6G. Nebbia, “The demineralization of saline water with solar energy”, in: “Science and Technique pour le Regions peu développées”, Roma, National Research Council, 1963, p. 145-149.. The interest for solar desalination was increasing in the world as a consequence of the spreading of the results of the 1954 Phoenix and Tucson conferences on solar energy organized by the Association for Applied Solar Energy (later Solar Energy Society, and now International Solar Energy Society), and of the creation, within the U.S. Department of the Interior, of a special Saline Water Conversion Program. The Research and Development Progress Reports No. 4, authored by G.O.G. Löf (5), and No. 13, authored by Maria Telkes 7 M. Telkes, “Research on methods for solar distillation”, U.S. Department of the Interior, Saline Water Conversion Program, Research and Development Progress Report No. 13, December 1956, were dedicated at the solar desalination, with extensive reviews of the previous work. Always within the Bari research work, in 1957 a plexiglas tubular still was built. The tray, (0,33 m2), was made of anodized aluminum suspended in the middle of a romboidal tube of plexiglas. The upper surface transmitted the solar energy and the bottom acted as condensing surface. So suspended between air warmed by solar energy and bottom air cooled by surrounding external air, the tray did not require any insulation 8G. Nebbia, “An experiment with a plastic tubular solar still”, U.S. National Academy of Science National Research Council Publication No. 568, 175-176 (1958). This was a stationary extension of the floating still devised by Telkes for rafts (3). In 1958 a vertical solar still was designed and built for operation in temperate zones. This still had a vertical structure with four trays, placed one above the other, in a glass greenhouse; the total area of the trays was 1 m2 and the ground area occupied by the still was 0,3 m2. The trays did not need thermal insulation being surrounded by still air. During the test it was possible to obtain appreciable amounts of distilled water also in the months in which the elevation of the Sun was low. The results were presented in 1958 at the Teheran Conference on arid zones 9G. Nebbia, “An experiment with a vertical solar still”, in: “Salinity problems in the arid zones. Proceedings of the Teheran Symposium”, Paris, Unesco, 1961, p. 383- 385. A review of the above work was presented at the United Nations Conference on New Sources of Energy held in Rome in 1961 10G. Nebbia, “Present status and future of the solar stills at the University of Bari”, United Nations Conference on New Sources of Energy, E/Conf. 35/S/113, Rome, 1961 and in the following Conference on solar and aeolian energies held in Sounion (Greece), in the same summer 11G. Nebbia, “The experimental work on the solar stills at the University of Bari”, in: “Solar and Aeolian Energy”, New York, Plenum Press, 1964, p. 19-24. In 1962 a new model of solar still was designed and tested; this was a stepped inclined still, in which the trays were obtained dividing the sheet of blackened anodized aluminum by baffles to retain the saline water; the glass cover had an inclination of about 20° and the bottom of the sheet contaning the saline water was insulated with 5 cm of expanded polystyrene plastics. The tray area of the tested units varied between 1,5 and 3 m2. The model was very simple and efficient and high water production per unit area was obtained. The saline water was charged in the night, in the first upper tray and trickled down in the lower trays until they were all filled. The excess saline water was discharged from the lower tray, through the same tube used to discharge the distilled fresh water during the day. The glass cover could be easily removed for the cleaning of the trays (1)(2). Many dozens of these stills were built and tested in arid islands such as Pantelleria (in the Mediterranean Sea, midway between Sicily and Tunisia), and Tremiti (Apulia), and in other coastal locations. In 1964 another unit of a vertical solar stills, placed in a greenhouse, was built with five water trays of anodized aluminum, one above the other, each having 2 m2 area, with a total tray area of 10 m2. The area of the transmitting and condensing glass walls was 12 m2. The distilled water condensed on the vertical glass panes and was collected at the bottom of the greenhouse. A water production of 20 liters/day was observed during the summer months.
2. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The results of the twenty years of experimental work on solar stills in Bari may be summarized as follows 12G.Nebbia,”Solar energy research at University of Bari”, Sun at Work (Phoenix), 9, (1), 5-7 (1964).
—- The solar stills that gave the most satisfactory results were of the tilted tray design; they gave the highest yields of fresh water per unit area and per unit solar radiation intensity, and were of the easiest maintenance; solar stills with a vertical disposition of salt water trays have given also rather good results, since they utilize the solar radiation in areas and seasons in which the Sun has a low inclination.
—- In the best stills the water production in the summer days, with a solar radiation intensity of 20 MJ/(m2)(day), reached 4-5 liters/(m2)(day), with an annual average of about 700-1.000 liters/m2, according the design.
—- The distillation of water begins when the intensity of the solar radiation exceeds the value of the thermal capacity of the still; such value was about 3 to 4 MJ/m2, in all the various models of tested stills; the distillation continues for some time after sunset, until exists a difference of temperature between the saline water and the external air.
—- In order to avoid corrosion, the tray containing the saline water should be made of metals (anodized black aluminum revealed itself satisfactory), or plastics. The wood revealed itself not satisfactory since it requires treatments to avoid rotting.
—- The high absorption of solar radiation by part of the saline water requires a black collecting body; a blackening of the tray is best obtained by surface anodic treatment of the tray metal; the blackening with paints causes the release of bad odors to the distilled water and should be avoided; to increase the “blackening” of the saline water body, such water may be added with special green organic dyes, a solution sometimes adopted in solar salt pans to increase the solar radiation absoprtion.
—- The basin of the still should be watertight and the entire still should be airtight, except for the saline water inlets and the distilled water outlets.
—- The fresh water, condensed on the inner surface of the transparent cover, should be collected in a trough in the lower part of the still; the troughs should be inclined, about 1 %, to assure the flow of fresh water to distilled water outlets and external collectors.
—- The taste of distilled water may be bad and, for drinking purpose, the distilled water should be filtered through a small layer of marble or limestone pieces (that release some calcium salts to the water) and of active carbon powder to eliminate organic taste and odors.
—- The bottom of the trays contaning the saline water should be insulated to avoid thermal losses since the saline water, heated by the Sun, may reach temperatures as high as 70°-80°C; cork insulation resulted not satisfactory; better results have been obtained with layers of expanded plastics, a material that is generally available almost anywhere.
—- For small stills an expanded plastics box, such as those used for fish, food and goods packaging and transportation, may be adapted as a solar stills, with a glass or plastic cover and a small inclination; the box itself is the container of the saline water; care should be taken to create a trough for the collection of distilled water; a fresh water production of about 1 liter/day may be obtained with a box having an area of about 0,3-0,5 m2.
—- The transparent cover (glass or plastics) assures the inlet of solar radiation within the stills, its internal surface acts as condenser for the distilled water; it should be inclined of about 20° and should be airtight; silicone sealants revealed themselves satisfactory; the cover should however be easily removable for periodical tray cleanings.
—- Saline water should be charged in the still tray, if horizontal, or in the upper tray in a stepped inclined still; saline water should flow into the still from a container at a level higher than that of the still; in general saline water should be elevated to such container by hand or with pumps.
—- During evaporation the salt concentration of the saline water increases; when the salt concentration is twice the original value, begins the deposition of whitish salts (mainly calcium sulphate and carbonate) in the trays and this causes a decrease of the solar radiation absorption by the saline water; new saline water should therefore be charged in the trays before the evaporation of half of the original water content.
—- The draining of brine from the trays and the recharge of saline water is a delicate optimization problem of design; in fact an higher water yield is obtained when the saline water content of the trays is small and the water level is low; in the same time, the water evaporation leaves a brine that must be diluted before salt deposition takes place in the trays.
—- The success of the solar stills depends on a good maintenance, care in the charging of saline water and draining of the brine before appreciable salt deposition; this sometimes is difficult by part of the populations that most need fresh water; in the same time the design and the choose of materials should be done giving priority to the materials and structure available where live populations that most need fresh water.
3. OTHER SOLAR WORK
Always in the field of solar energy, an analysis has been carried on the competition between high temperature and low temperature collection system; the Sun’s energy collected at higher temperatures has, obviously, an higher exergy value but requires concentration systems that are more technically complicated, more costly and utilize only the direct radiation; the low temperature systems offer energy with a lower exergy value but utilize both the direct and diffuse radiation, i.e. a larger fraction of the total solar energy, and are more simple, require less maintenance and are less costly. The thermoeconomic analysis indicates that the most economic solar collection requires devices without concentration, with which it is possible to obtain heat at 80- 100 °C 13G. Nebbia, “Considérations économiques sur l’énergie solaire”, Comples Bulletin, No. 13, 57-60 (Decembre 1967). After the year 1970 the work on solar energy in the University of Bari has been devoted at theproblems related at the use of ethanol, obtained from “solar” biomass products and byproducts, as a substitute of gasoline 14G. Nebbia, “Gasoline blends”, Chemical and Engineering News, 56, (49), 40, 51 (4 December 1978).
4. OTHER RESEARCHES ON UNCONVENTIONAL
WATER SUPPLY
Although not directly related at the solar energy, other researches have been carried in the University of Bari on the production of fresh water for arid zones.15G. Nebbia, “Unconventional water supply systens”, in: “Proceedings, International Conference on Water for Peace, Washington D.C., May 1967, Vol. 3, 468-478 In 1960 a series of experiments was made to obtain fresh water from air humidity condensation obtained with a mechanical dehumifier operated with eletric power; the amount of condensed water was measured in relation at the energy consumption in various humidity conditions. The experiments indicated that it is possible to obtain 2 liters/day of condensed water using a 100 watt dehumifier and that the electricity consumpion may be as low as 3 MJ(el) per liter of condensed water when the air humidity is high. One mechanical dehumifier has been tested in Pantelleria where high air humidity values are generally recorded 16G. Nebbia, “Methods for obtaining water from the atmosphere in arid lands”, in: “Science et technique pour le regions peu développées”, Roma, National Research Council, 1963, p. 135-138 17G. Nebbia, “The problem of obtaining water from the air”, in: “Solar and Aeolian Energy”, New York, Plenum Press, 1964, p. 33-43.
Furthermore, in 1962, during the survey of the water needs of the island of Pantelleria and of the availability of geothermal energy to be used as a heat source for desalination processes, volcanic steam (called fumarole, vulcarole, favare) was located in an internal valley of the Montagna Grande; to condense the steam a net of air cooled cement pipes was built with a final receiver of the fresh water 18G.Nebbia, “The work on desalination in the University of Bari”, in: “Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Water Desalination, Washington, D.C., October 3-9, 1965”, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington D.C., 1967, p. 597-60219G. Nebbia, “Acqua dolce dalle favare di Pantelleria”, Geotermica, 4, (9), 3-5 (agosto 2004).
The condensation of just a part of the available steam gave, continously, all the year round, 1 m3/day of fresh water. It was estimated that the condensation of all the available steam might give between 3.000 and 5.000 m3 of fresh water per year, an amount enough to supply drinking water to a fraction of the inhabitants and tourists. Volcanic steam is available in other Italian islands and volcanic areas which lack of fresh water, and may be considered as a source of drinking water after condensation with relatively simple devices.
At integration of the experimental work, various papers have been published on the history of solar energy and of sea water desalination 20G. Nebbia and G. Menozzi Nebbia, “A short history of water desalination”, in: “Acqua dolce dal mare”, Milano, FAST, 1967, p. 129-17221G. Nebbia and G. Menozzi Nebbia, “Early experiments on water desalination by freezing”, Desalination, 5, 49- 54 (1968). In a short paper 22G. Nebbia, “Desalination techniques”, New Scientist, 42, (648), 311-312 (8 May 1969) the author has suggested a method to recover fresh water exploiting the high pressure of the sea water at dephts greater than 300 m, where the pressures are greater than the osmotic pressure of sea water, 25 bar (2,5 megapascal) (2). Immersing a pipe, with the lower extremity closed by a semipermeable membrane, or by a bundle of semipermeable hollow fibers, at such depths, fresh water flows inside the pipe and may be pumped to the sea surface, with an energy cost little greater than the minimum theoretical energy requirement for the separation of fresh water from an infinite amount of sea water (2,5 MJ/m3). As a matter of fact the high saline concentration of sea water has been generated by the Sun!
After the 70’s of the past century the author’s interests have mainlybeen dedicated at the environment and natural resources and his activities in solar energy have been limited at teaching and lecturing, to stress the importance of renewable energies — direct use of solar energy, and derived energies such as wind and wave power, solar ponds, vegetal biomass, hydro power — expecially at the service of human development.
5. A SOLAR ARCHIVE
When the author retired (as an emeritus professor) from his teaching in the University of Bari in 1995, all his private archive, that includes papers, manuscripts, research notebooks, photographs, books, and designs, has been donated at the Fondazione Luigi Micheletti — Library and Archive for the Study of Technics, Industry and Contemporary Society, Via Cairoli 9, 25122 Brescia, Italy — – as a “Giorgio and Gabriella Nebbia” fund. The solar section extends for about 25 meters and contains, among others, the Proceedings of the Tucson and Phoenix Conferences of 1954, the Proceedings of the Rome Conference on New Sources of Energy (1961) and of the Sounion Conference on solar and eolian energy (1961), a large collection of early solar energy journals (Solar Energy from the first issue, Sun at Work, Comples Bulletin, Rassegna Italiana di Eliotecnica, and others), covering mainly the years 1950-1980’s. It contains also about 700 Research and Development Progress Reports of the Saline Water Conversion program of the U.S. Department of the Interior, published from 1954 to 1979.
Furthermore in the author’s archive are collected copies of articles and reports of early pioneers of solar energy such as the Italians Giovan Battista Della Porta (1535-1615), Antonio Pacinotti (1841-1912) and Giacomo Ciamician (1857-1922), and correspondence with, and papers of, Farrington Daniels (1889-1972), Harry Tabor, Maria Telkes (1900-1995), Marcel Perrot, Vittorio Storelli, the Somor Company of Lecco (Italy), Giovanni Francia (1911-1980), Gino Bozza (1899-1967), John Yellott (1908-1986), Everett D. Howe (1903-1989), Valentine Baum, Anthony Delyannis, Carl Hodges, and many others. The archive includes also documents on the early history of AFASE, Association for Applied Solar Energy, then Solar Energy Society (now ISES), in which the author served as a member of the board of Directors from 1967 to 1970; and on the history of the Cooperation Méditerranéenne pour l’Energie Solaire (Comples), that the author cofounded with Marcel Perrot and three others in 1961. An inventory of the archive section on solar energy and the photographs of historical interest, will be published shortly in the Internet site: <www.fondazionemicheletti.it>. The whole archive, that contains many documents rare and not generally available, is being opened to the public at the end of 2005. | https://altronovecento.fondazionemicheletti.eu/early-work-on-solar-distillation-in-italy-1953-1970/ |
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The 1950s and 1960s were highly turbulent times in France: despite a dynamic economy ("les trente glorieuses" or "30 Glorious Years"), the country was torn by their colonial heritage (Vietnam and Indochina, Algeria), by their collective sense of guilt from the Vichy Regime, by their desire for renewed national prestige (Gaullism), and by conservative social tendencies in education and industry.
Contents
The novel
Nouveau roman
The French novel from the 1950s on went though a similar experimentation in the group of writers published by "Les Éditions de Minuit", a French publisher; this "Nouveau roman" ("new novel"), associated with Alain Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras, Robert Pinget, Michel Butor, Samuel Beckett, Nathalie Sarraute, Claude Simon, also abandoned traditional plot, voice, characters and psychology. To a certain degree, these developments closely paralleled changes in cinema in the same period (the Nouvelle Vague).
Oulipo
The writers Georges Perec, Raymond Queneau, Jacques Roubaud are associated with the creative movement Oulipo (founded in 1960) which uses elaborate mathematical strategies and constraints (such as lipograms and palindromes) as a means of triggering ideas and inspiration.
Poetry
Poetry in the post-war period followed a number of interlinked paths, most notably deriving from surrealism (such as with the early work of René Char), or from philosophical and phenomenological concerns stemming from Heidegger, Friedrich Hölderlin, existentialism, the relationship between poetry and the visual arts, and Stéphane Mallarmé's notions of the limits of language. Another important influence was the German poet Paul Celan. Poets concerned with these philosophical/language concerns -- especially concentrated around the review "L'Ephémère" -- include Yves Bonnefoy, André du Bouchet, Jacques Dupin, Roger Giroux and Philippe Jaccottet. Many of these ideas were also key to the works of Maurice Blanchot. The unique poetry of Francis Ponge exerted a strong influence on a variety of writers (both phenomenologists and those from the group "Tel Quel"). The later poets Claude Royet-Journoud, Anne-Marie Albiach, Emmanuel Hocquard, and to a degree Jean Daive, describe a shift from Heidegger to Ludwig Wittgenstein and a reevalution of Mallarmé's notion of fiction and theatricality; these poets were also influenced by certain English-language modern poets (such as Ezra Pound, Louis Zukofsky, William Carlos Williams, and George Oppen) along with certain American postmodern and avant garde poets loosely grouped around the language poetry movement (such as Michael Palmer, Keith Waldrop and Susan Howe; with her husband Keith Waldrop, Rosmarie Waldrop has a profound association with these poets, due in no small measure to her translations of Edmond Jabès and the prose of Paul Celan into English).
May 1968
The events of May 1968 marked a watershed in the development of a radical ideology of revolutionary change in education, class, family and literature. In theater, the conception of "création collective" developed by Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil refused division into writers, actors and producers: the goal was for total collaboration, for multiple points of view, for an elimination of separation between actors and the public, and for the audience to seek out their own truth.
Magazines
The most important review of the post-1968 period -- "Tel Quel" -- is associated with the writers Philippe Sollers, Julia Kristeva, Georges Bataille, the poets Marcelin Pleynet and Denis Roche, the critics Roland Barthes, Gérard Genette and the philosophers Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan.
Ecriture Féminine
Another post-1968 change was the birth of "Ecriture Féminine" promoted by the feminist Editions des Femmes, with new women writers as Chantal Chawaf, Hélène Cixous, Luce Irigaray...
Colonial literature
From the 1960s on, many of the most daring experiments in French literature have come from writers born in French overseas departments or former colonies. This Francophone literature includes the prize winning novels of Tahar ben Jelloun (Morroco), Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique), Amin Maalouf (Lebanon) and Assia Djebar (Algeria).
Theater
Inspired by the theatrical experiments in the early half of the century and by the horrors of the war, the so-called avant-garde Parisian theater, "New Theater" or "Theatre of the Absurd" around the writers Eugène Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Arthur Adamov, Fernando Arrabal refused simple explanations and abandoned traditional characters, plots and staging. Other experiments in theatre involved decentralisation, regional theater, "popular theater" (designed to bring working classes to the theater), and theater heavily influenced by Bertold Brecht (largely unknown in France before 1954), and the productions of Arthur Adamov and Roger Planchon. The Avignon festival was started in 1947 by Jean Vilar who was also important in the creation of the T.N.P. or "Théâtre national populaire". | http://www.artandpopularculture.com/French_literature_after_World_War_II |
APHLIS provides evidence-based data on postharvest loss at a large scale that would be prohibitively expensive to obtain by direct observation. It does this by combining loss data from academic research with contextual observations from local experts. In doing so APHLIS provides researchers, practitioners and policy makers a valuable overview of the current cost of postharvest loss across sub-Saharan African and within countries, allowing them to focus on crops and areas where interventions will have the most impact. Historically, APHLIS has focused on eight cereal crops – maize, sorghum, millet, wheat, barley, rice, teff and fonio – in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. Plans are underway to expand the range of crops over the next few years under the APHLIS+ project.
APHLIS estimates postharvest losses using two types of information - postharvest loss profiles derived from peer-reviewed literature, and contextual factors provided by local experts.
Postharvest loss profiles (PHL profiles) quantify the expected loss – as a percentage – at each point along the postharvest chain: from harvesting to storage and market. This loss data is gleaned from scientific literature and broken down by crop, type of farm and climate type (based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification). These profiles provide percentage loss figures for the various crops throughout the value chain under varying conditions and are updated as new research becomes available.
Contextual factors relate to local conditions and practices that may affect losses on a seasonal or annual basis, such as weather, pest incidence, grain drying conditions and the length of on-farm storage. APHLIS network members collect this data from official sources (e.g. ministries of agriculture and statistics offices) or by interviewing farmers or extension workers. This data enables APHLIS to apply the relevant loss figures from the PHL profiles depending on seasonal circumstances, and convert percentage losses into absolute losses (in tonnes) using the production figures.
Based on the postharvest loss profiles and contextual factors, APHLIS estimates postharvest losses at the provincial, national and regional levels.
The APHLIS website provides open access to all loss estimates created by APHLIS, as well as their underlying references and methodologies
APHLIS loss estimates are openly available on our website as datatables or maps. Bibiliographical references and an indication of the reliability of the PHL profiles used are provided alongside the loss estimates.
The PHL calculator, a downloadable version of the algorithm APHLIS uses to calculate loss , allows users to substitute their own relevant values for the APHLIS defaults (e.g. percentage of storage loss) and to make loss estimates at whatever geographical level best suits their needs. The calculator can also be used with hypothetical data in order to model ‘what if’ scenarios.
While APHLIS loss estimates are exclusively based on robust scientific research, the limited existing body of research on postharvest loss means that sometimes data are missing or incomplete. In these cases, studies providing data on similar crops or contexts are used to fill these gaps. APHLIS is fully transparent with regards to the methodology used to create its estimates, and the academic research underlying its model - references of studies used to calculate loss are provided alongside the data itself.
To deal with similar gaps in the contextual data, our algorithm uses data from other years, or default ‘logic’ to approximate contextual data. This has been clearly marked throughout the database, where our loss estimates are marked as being based on, ‘complete’, ‘incomplete’ or ‘minimal’ contextual data. Information is provided on which contextual data was collected, and which contextual data is approximated. The contextual data itself can be viewed on its own tab in our data tables, allowing you to understand the data or approximations underlying the loss estimates.
In order to allow users to further localise and specify loss estimates, APHLIS provides a downloadable version of its algorithm - the PHL calculator - in which PHL profiles and contextual data can be modified to create customised estimates. | https://www.aphlis.net/en/page/4/how-aphlis-estimates-loss |
For more than two millennia, ironworking has shaped African cultures in the most fundamental ways. Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths reveals the history of invention and technical sophistication that led African blacksmiths to transform one of Earth’s most basic natural resources into objects of life-changing utility, empowerment, prestige, spiritual potency, and astonishing artistry. Striking Iron is an international travelling exhibition organized by the Fowler Museum at UCLA that combines scholarship with objects of great aesthetic beauty to create the most comprehensive treatment of the blacksmith’s art in Africa to date. The exhibition includes over 225 artworks from across the African continent focusing on the region south of the Sahara and covering a time period spanning early archaeological evidence to the present day. Striking Iron features artworks from the Fowler collection as well as American and European public and private collections.
The Snite Museum of Art African art collection will reopen this fall within a larger, more prestigious space on the main floor of the Museum. The reinstallation will explore themes of power. In the past, African art was often tied into the way African leaders promoted their agendas. Royalty and rulers used art to project their authority; religious groups promoted their faiths; while the wealthy desired to display their riches. Ordinary Africans also used art to enable them to wield their own forms of power. Since supernatural forces were thought to play a large role in determining events, it was important to own objects that could withstand or shape events that lay beyond ordinary control. Fifty-nine outstanding works from the Snite Museum collection will illustrate these ideas through themes of economic, political, social, and spiritual power in Africa. Most of these works have never been on public view before. Nearly a third belong to the Owen D. Mort Jr. Collection, with art primarily from Democratic Republic of Congo, where Mort worked for many years. As he said, “My hope is to educate people on Africa. It’s been a great love of mine… Ideally Notre Dame would use the collection for education, to get interest going in Africa.”
Journey along the Sahara Desert’s trade routes during a time when West African gold directly impacted and connected peoples and cultures, arts and beliefs across continents. Experience the first major exhibition to reveal the shared history of West Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe from the 8th to 16th centuries and see more than 250 artworks, many shown in North America for the first time.
Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa is the first major exhibition addressing the scope of Saharan trade and the shared history of West Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe from the eighth to sixteenth centuries. Weaving stories about interconnected histories, the exhibition showcases the objects and ideas that connected at the crossroads of the medieval Sahara and celebrates West Africa’s historic and under-recognised global significance. Presenting more than 250 artworks spanning five centuries and a vast geographic expanse, the exhibition features unprecedented loans from partner institutions in Mali, Morocco, and Nigeria, many of which will be seen in North America for the first time.
This exhibition highlights artistic innovation and creativity in Africa as seen primarily through the traditions of ceramic arts from across the continent and over its long history. Countering the assumption that African arts and societies are largely unchanging and bound to traditions and customs, the remarkable diversity of objects and styles on display here tells a different story. A selection of more than 50 works on loan from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University, including those by newly discovered Nigerian artist Alice Osayewe, are shown alongside works from the Harvard Art Museums permanent collections, such as a recently acquired contemporary photograph by Afro-futurist artist Alexis Peskine. | https://www.imodara.com/events/page/4/ |
Any historian endeavouring to research an area of history must investigate its historiography (the scholarship of previous historians); not only using their evidence and arguments but analysing, revising, and, where appropriate, challenging them. For historians, this process can be fraught with tension and doubt: which texts do I need to read? Who has already been debunked? What are the prevailing arguments and when and how did they develop? And – crucial for PhD students – who CAN I challenge?
As a new PhD student, my biggest research challenge so far has been undertaking a far more in-depth engagement with my field than I had before. Previously, though I had been obliged to produce academically rigorous and innovative research, I was aware that it would neither be published nor be the determining factor in my hopes for an academic career.
The body of historiography can be vast, with trends that evolve over time as new sources are recovered and as contemporary socio-political situations (and thus the approach of historians) change. In the 1970s, for example, the rise of feminist scholarship launched investigations not only into women’s history but into the female experience in well-studied areas. A famous example is Joan Kelly’s 1977 article ‘Did Women Have a Renaissance?’. (Her answer: no). Similarly, the post-colonial period saw the emergence of a new branch of study, with radically different approaches and interests to the previously understood history of empire.
In some historical fields, the regular conflicts and tensions that run through historiography are amplified when a special significance (be it political, national, or personal) is attached to the topic being studied. Such is the case for my current area of study, the Hanseatic League. In Hanseatic scholarship, I soon learned that the League’s historical depiction as a defining element in German history meant that it would be impossible for me to leave out any of the number of significant works on the topic in order to be taken seriously academically.
The Hanseatic League, originally (from around the mid-thirteenth century) a loose partnership of merchants from a wide array of northern German and Baltic towns, and from the mid-fourteenth century a more united coalition, was created to promote commercial benefit and security. The League has been portrayed by German historians throughout the modern period as fundamental to the history of their country.
In the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the prosperity and international power of a German coalition began to attract attention as the idea of German ‘national history’ developed. Relatively understudied areas were suddenly politicised and came to the forefront of German scholarship as they were woven into a unifying German historical myth by contemporary authors. Northern German burghers were portrayed as the ancestors of the successes and values of the nineteenth-century German middle-class. The Hanseatic League, previously seen as backward and unimportant compared to the flourishing towns of southern Germany, was transformed into the leading German player in European economic development. As nationalism increased and a single German state was forged in 1871, the Hanse’s domination of the Baltic was increasingly emphasized as German historians sought to justify the German claim to Schleswig-Holstein and to promote the country’s maritime expansion.
The next significant change was the work of Fritz Rörig, who in his ‘Die Europäische Stadt‘ (1932) and Mittelalterliche Weltwirtschaft (1933), refigured the Hanse into a leading player in the economic and social development of Europe. Rörig’s approach illuminates the importance of contemporary socio-political contexts in understanding historical approaches. In his ‘Recent Trends in Research on Hanseatic History’ (1956), the eminent Hanseatic scholar A. von Brandt summarized Rörig’s argument without addressing the contemporary movements that birthed Rörig’s arguments, namely Lebensraum and Nazi ideas of the superiority of the German race. During the Cold War, opposing bodies of national thought emerged in East and West Germany. East Germany, which contained most the Wendish towns and shared USSR overlordship with the towns in Hanseatic Prussia and Livonia, produced largely Marxist scholarship. Attention was paid to the perceived class struggle of an uprising in Lübeck in 1408, when the patrician council was forced to appoint a committee promoting guild representation that was later thrown out by the New Council. This was ousted in turn by pressure from the Holy Roman Emperor.
Without the understanding of contemporary theoretical and socio-political frameworks around which historians construct their arguments, current historians overlook a major factor in the progression of historical scholarship. The co-option of areas of history by variously politically-minded scholars means that for PhD students, studying politically charged topics becomes an analysis of the socio-political contexts, agendas, and anxieties of the historians as much as it is an investigation of the historical context in which they sought to find an example par excellence of their contemporary views.
Further Reading
von Brandt, A., ‘Recent Trends in Research on Hanseatic History’. History 41/141-143 (1956), pp. 35-37
Rörig, Fritz, The Medieval Town (Batsford, 1967)
Wubs-Mrozewicz, Justyna, and Stuart Jenks, The Hanse in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Leiden, 2012)
Image
‘Bildnis eines jungen Kaufmannes’/‘Portrait of a Young Businessman’, Hans Holbein the Younger, (1541). Image courtesy of the Kunsthistoriches Museum Wien Bilddatenbank. | https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2016/11/15/phd-challenges-the-tangled-web-of-historiography/ |
The XI European Mountain Convention will be organized on 25-27 September 2018 in Vatra Dornei, Romania, by Euromontana in collaboration with the Agency for Mountain Areas (AZM, Romania).
It will focus on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage in mountain areas and on how this strategic resource, inherited from the past, can be a key asset for developing sustainable and attractive mountain areas in the future.
It will enhance the role of European mountain areas, their communities and their cultural heritage in addressing the challenges of the future, disclosing larger perspectives and creating new opportunities.
During this European Mountain Convention, mountain actors, being, researchers, policy-makers, officers of development agencies, farmers, tourism actors, practitioners will:
v Have an overview of strategies to better valorize cultural heritage in mountain areas particularly in the context of the 2018 European Year of Cultural Heritage;
v Explore responses/actions of mountain actors to enhance cultural heritage in mountain areas and benefit from opportunities, and facilitate exchange of ideas between mountain stakeholders so that they can compare, improve and transfer good practices at regional and local levels;
v Develop a cultural heritage strategy for Euromontana with a lobbying strategy and an action plan to implement in the coming years at EU, national, regional and local levels.
Declaration
You can find the final declaration of the participants here.
The proceedings of the event are available at the end of this page.
Programme
The Final agenda is available in English here – in French and in Romanian
Practical information about the venue
The XI European Mountain Convention took place at the Cultural House Platon Pardău in Vatra Dornei, Suceava County, Romania. Located in the northern part of Călimani Mountain, Vatra Dornei is a health resort of national interest, known for its natural mineral water resources and rich evergreen and deciduous forests.
Euromontana General Assembly was held at the Center of Mountain Economy (Centrul de Economie Montană) in Vatra Dornei.
For all practical information regarding how to reach Vatra Dornei, where to sleep, the bus shuttle time schedule, have a look at our practical information guide available here !
website of the tourism information center.
Study visits
Four study visits were organised on Tuesday 25 September 2018 from 08.00 to 18.00
For more information about the study visits, have a look at this document
Presentations
– “Cultural heritage and rural development in the Romanian Carpathians”, Dumitru Daniel Botănoiu – State Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
– “Towards a better valorisation of cultural heritage in the Carpathians mountain range”, Harald Egerer, Head of the UN Environment Vienna Office, Secretariat of Carpathian Convention
– “Contribution of EU rural areas to the European Year of Cultural Heritage”, Tom Jones, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee
– “Cultural and natural heritage, an opportunity for development. Case studies from
UNESCO designated areas”, Andrea Porta, Researcher, Santagata Foundation (CSS-EBLA
-“How can Social and Community Theatre help to rediscover natural and cultural heritage? TERRACT project”, Alberto Pagliarino, Actor, Social and Community Theatre Centre, COREP
-“How can digital technologies help to engage with cultural heritage and how can they create innovate interactions with cultural audiences? The examples of the RICHES and REACH projects”, Prof Neil Forbes, Researcher, Coventry University
-“MEMOLA Project: How can social innovation and ICT tools be used to promote cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems”, José Mª Martín Civantos, Researcher, University of Granada
“The Life of an English Mountain Shepherd”, James Rebanks, Shepherd and Author of ‘A Shepherd’s Life: a Tale of the Lake District’
Workshops:
Land Management and cultural landscapes
– Salt production system of Añana in the Basque Country, Andoni Erkiaga, Director of the Fundacion Valle Salado
– Adopt an olive tree with your mobile in Oliete and revitalise agricultural land, Alberto Alfonso Pordomingo, Cofunder of the Association for the recuperation of abandoned Olive Trees of Oliete
Rural and urban areas: strengthening the links
– NIREA: Promoting the reconnection between urban and rural societies, Jone Fernández, Foresight and European Relations Officer, HAZI
–Mosh Pupaza Summer School: A model for sharing the cultural creativity of Northern Romania, Maria and Petrica Codrea
Welcome Culture
– PlurAlps: Enhancing capacities for a pluralistic Alpine Space, Miriam Weiss, Researcher, EURAC
– MigrACTION: Generations on the move, Anna Bertola, Officer of the Municipality of Vinadio and coordinator of MigrACTION
Authenticity and quality: promoting the value chains
– AlpFoodway: Preservation and valorisation of Alpine food, Cassiano Luminati, Coordinator of the Alpine Space project AlpFoodway, Polo Poschiavo
– Pyréenes Création: restoring the nobility of wool, Nadine Portail, External Relations Manager and Anne Thoby, Textile Designer, Pyrénées Création
Intergenerational dialogue: transmission of cultural heritage for future opportunities
– YOUrALPS: Educating youth for the Alps: (re)connecting Youth and Mountain heritage for an inspiring future in the Alps, Matej Ogrin, President of CIPRA Slovenia, University of Ljubljana
– Baba Residence: Sharing cultural heritage to revalorize depopulated Bulgarian villages, Florence Tornincasa, Communication Officer, Euromontana
Tourism: unlocking synergies between tourism operators and cultural heritage
– Mimisbrunnr climate park in Norway, Dag Inge Bakke, Nature Interpreter, Norwegian Mountain Centre
–SHAPE: Sustainable Heritage Areas: Partnerships for Ecotourism, Ros Bryce, Researcher, University of Highlands and Islands
Press release and pictures & video of the event
The press release of the event is available here
The good practices are available here.
Find all the pictures of the conference and the study visits at the following links: | https://www.euromontana.org/en/events/2018-xi-european-mountain-convention-vatra-dornei/ |
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There are many different symbols representing bi pride and bisexual visibility that you may encounter at LGBT+ Pride events.
The Unicorn Tapestries Order
The Unicorn Tapestries are a set of seven historical art pieces that tell a story of a mythical beast. The collection is housed at The Cloisters museum in New York City, but a reproduction is hanging at the Stirling Castle in Scotland.
Geometric Mouse X Sculpture by Claes Oldenburg in Houston, Texas
Geometric Mouse X Sculpture by Claes Oldenburg is a public art sculpture located in downtown Houston.
Five Incredible Artists of the Lowbrow Art Movement
Read on to learn about the incredible art of Johantan Saiz, China Haul, Todd Schorr, Natalia Fabia, Casper Kang, and Mike Davis. All of these artists were part of the lowbrow art movement. Here's what you need to know about this significant movement!
Military Aircraft Artwork
Artwork on military aircraft has been around since the beginning of military aviation. Artwork for fun has on occasion become heraldry and in at least one case took on a practical purpose. As with all art forms sometimes it was censored. | https://owlcation.com/humanities/visual-arts/ |
The Hawthorne Effect describes an actual mistake discovered by some researchers. The original study was attempting to discover the relationship between worker productivity and working environment. The first variable introduced was lighting. The question was: would better lighting mean higher worker output, and then would poorer levels of lighting reduce worker output?
At first the data was all over the board, there was higher productivity with less light and then more with more light and then even more with normal lighting. It began to seem like lighting made no difference, yet the worker productivity was up and then down based on something else, or was it nothing at all? This sort of information is not uncommon in research settings because researchers have not controlled for all of the elements in the environment.
At some point one of the junior assistant researchers noticed that the productivity levels of the workers went up when the researchers were observing them. It didn’t matter what the level of lighting was, it was the attention of the researcher — even the mere presence of the researcher — that was affecting the productivity of the workers. Hence, we have the Hawthorne Effect, which is defined as changes in behavior3 by test participants related to the attention they are receiving from the researchers. | https://www.apsworld.org/productivity-blog/the-hawthorne-effect |
A mature vascular plant (any plant other than mosses and liverworts), contains several types of differentiated cells. These are grouped together in tissues. Some tissues contain only one type of cell. Some consist of several.
Meristematic
The main function of meristematic tissue is mitosis. The cells are small, thin-walled, with no central vacuole and no specialized features.
Meristematic tissue is located in
- the apical meristems at the growing points of roots and stems.
- the secondary meristems (lateral buds) at the nodes of stems (where branching occurs) [View], and in some plants,
- meristematic tissue, called the cambium, that is found within mature stems and roots.
The cells produced in the meristems soon become differentiated into one or another of several types.
Protective
Protective tissue covers the surface of leaves and the living cells of roots and stems. Its cells are flattened with their top and bottom surfaces parallel. The upper and lower epidermis of the leaf are examples of protective tissue [View].
Parenchyma
The cells of parenchyma are large, thin-walled, and usually have a large central vacuole. They are often partially separated from each other and are usually stuffed with plastids.
In areas not exposed to light, colorless plastids predominate and food storage is the main function. The cells of the white potato are parenchyma cells. [View]
Where light is present, e.g., in leaves, chloroplasts predominate and photosynthesis is the main function. [View]
Sclerenchyma
The walls of these cells are very thick and built up in a uniform layer around the entire margin of the cell. Often, the cell dies after its cell wall is fully formed. Sclerenchyma cells are usually found associated with other cells types and give them mechanical support.
Sclerenchyma is found in stems and also in leaf veins. [View] Sclerenchyma also makes up the hard outer covering of seeds and nuts.
Collenchyma
Collenchyma cells have thick walls that are especially thick at their corners. These cells provide mechanical support for the plant. They are most often found in areas that are growing rapidly and need to be strengthened. The petiole ("stalk") of leaves is usually reinforced with collenchyma [View].
Xylem
Xylem conducts water and dissolved minerals from the roots to all the other parts of the plant.
|Link to discussion of water and mineral transport in the xylem.|
In angiosperms, most of the water travels in the xylem vessels. These are thick-walled tubes that can extend vertically through several feet of xylem tissue. Their diameter may be as large as 0.7 mm. Their walls are thickened with secondary deposits of cellulose and are usually further strengthened by impregnation with lignin. The secondary walls of the xylem vessels are deposited in spirals and rings and are usually perforated by pits. [View]
Xylem vessels arise from individual cylindrical cells oriented end to end. At maturity the end walls of these cells dissolve away, and the cytoplasmic contents die. The result is the xylem vessel, a continuous nonliving duct.
Xylem also contains tracheids. These are individual cells tapered at each end so the tapered end of one cell overlaps that of the adjacent cell. Like xylem vessels, they have thick, lignified walls and, at maturity, no cytoplasm. Their walls are perforated so that water can flow from one tracheid to the next. The xylem of ferns and conifers contains only tracheids.
In woody plants, the older xylem ceases to participate in water transport and simply serves to give strength to the trunk. Wood is xylem. When counting the annual rings of a tree, one is counting rings of xylem [View].
Phloem
The main components of phloem are
- sieve elements and
- companion cells.
Sieve elements are so-named because their end walls are perforated. This allows cytoplasmic connections between vertically-stacked cells. The result is a sieve tube that conducts the products of photosynthesis — sugars and amino acids — from the place where they are manufactured (a "source"), e.g., leaves, to the places ("sinks") where they are consumed or stored; such as
- roots
- growing tips of stems and leaves
- flowers
- fruits, tubers, corms, etc.
Sieve elements have no nucleus and only a sparse collection of other organelles. They depend on the adjacent companion cells for many functions.
Companion cells move sugars, amino acids and a variety of macromolecules into and out of the sieve elements. In "source" tissue, such as a leaf, the companion cells use transmembrane proteins to take up — by active transport — sugars and other organic molecules from the cells manufacturing them. Water follows by osmosis. These materials then move into adjacent sieve elements through plasmodesmata. The pressure created by osmosis drives the flow of materials through the sieve tubes.
In "sink" tissue, the sugars and other organic molecules leave the sieve elements through plasmodesmata connecting the sieve elements to their companion cells and then pass on to the cells of their destination. Again, water follows by osmosis where it may
- leave the plant by transpiration or
- increase the volume of the cells or
- move into the xylem for recycling through the plant. | https://biology.andover.edu/Joomla/index.php/andover-biology-department-textbooks/biol-58x-sequence-advanced-biology-textbook/plant-anatomy/382-plant-tissues |
Crystallography is the method of choice for determining protein structures. It is the corner stone of structure-based drug design (SBDD), an essential tool of modern drug discovery. Below is an overview of the technique.
Crystallization
Obtaining single crystals that diffract to high resolution remains the primary bottleneck of protein crystallography. The most widely used crystallization method is the hanging-drop method of vapor diffusion, in which a drop (1 mL) of protein is mixed with an equal volume of a precipitant on a glass cover slip and is sealed over a well containing the same precipitant added to the protein. Many factors are known to be important in protein crystallization. These factors include, but are not limited to:
- Protein purity (preferably greater than 95% pure) and concentration (typically 10 mg/mL)
- The nature and concentration of precipitant (e.g. polyethylene-glycol or various salts)
- The nature, concentration and pH of the buffer
- The presence or absence of additives (e.g. metal ions, reducing agents, protease inhibitors, metal chelators, detergents) and effectors (e.g. ligands, cofactors, substrates, inhibitors)
- The rate of equilibrium between the protein and the precipitant
- Crystallization temperature
Since there are no general rule to correlate all these factors to the eventual success in obtaining crystals, protein crystallization remains a trial-and-error process and a significant bottleneck in protein crystallography. Many methods and techniques have been employed to enhance ones ability to obtain protein crystals. Molecular biology and biochemical methods have been utilized to generate domains of large proteins that may be less flexible and thus more amenable to crystallization. Biophysical tools such as dynamic light scattering and ultracentifugation have been used to study protein aggregation in solution. Molecular biology has been employed to generate mutants that do not aggregate or that are more soluble. Crystallization trials using incomplete factorial designs allow the screening of a much wider range of conditions with a modest number of experiments, and thus less protein. Miniaturization and automation using advanced crystallization robots also have had a great impact on the success of protein crystallization.
X-ray Diffraction Data Acquisition
Once single crystals are obtained, data are usually measured using an area detector such as a phosphorous image plate or a charge-coupled device (CCD). Through several steps of computational analysis, the position and amplitude or intensity of each diffraction spot can be obtained. Through several steps of computational analysis, the position and amplitude or intensity of the each diffraction spot can be obtained. Because diffraction intensities are proportional to the volume of the crystal and generally decrease at higher resolution, protein crystals have to be reasonably large to give strong enough diffraction signals at high resolution. While a cube of at least 0.2 mm in each dimension is still preferred by most crystallographers, the availability of powerful synchrotron radiation sources has made the analysis of much smaller crystals feasible. Crystals also have to be stable enough in the X-ray beam to allow the measurement of a complete diffraction data set from a single crystal. In this regard, flash-freezing of protein crystals under proper conditions at cryogenic temperatures has virtually eliminated radiation decay problems.
Phasing
The ultimate goal of an X-ray diffraction experiment is to produce an electron density map that is then used to build an atomic model of the molecule being studied. The determination of the three-dimensional structure of molecules using single crystal X-ray diffraction techniques requires the measurement of amplitudes and the calculation of phases for each diffraction spot. Although amplitudes can be directly measured from diffracting crystals, phases are indirectly determined. The inability to directly measure phases is known as the "phase problem". In practice, there are several ways to get around the phase problem. If the protein of interest is small (~100 amino acids) and high resolution data (1.2 Å or better) are available, phases can be obtained computationally using a technique called "direct method". This is basically the same technique used to determine crystal structures of small organic molecules. If the protein being studied has a fold similar to that of a protein with a known three-dimensional structure, a method known as molecular replacement (MR) is utilized, in which the known structure is used as a model to generate approximate phases that are then refined against the experimental data obtained from crystals of the protein under study. Until recently, multiple isomorphous replacement (MIR) was the most widely used method for ab initio phase determination. This technique requires the introduction of atoms of high atomic number (heavy atoms) such as mercury, platinum, uranium, and so forth, into the protein under study without disrupting its three-dimensional structure or packing in the crystal. This is achieved by soaking crystals in a solution containing the desired heavy atom. The binding of one or more heavy atoms to the protein alters the diffraction of the crystals from that of the underivatized (native) crystals. If the introduction of heavy atoms is truly isomorphous, the differences between the diffraction of the derivative and native will represent only contributions from the heavy atom(s). Thus, the problem of structure determination is reduced to locating the position of one or a few heavy atoms. Once the positions of heavy atoms are accurately determined, they are used to calculate phases for all diffraction intensities. In theory, one needs only two isomorphous derivatives, but in practice more are needed owing to errors that get introduced in data measurement as well as the lack of isomorphism. A more recent technique for ab initio phase determination called MAD (multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion) phasing has gained popularity in the last 15 years, and is now the predominant method used in de novo structure determination. In that technique, cells that over-express the protein can be grown in a media containing seleno-methionine instead of methionine, producing proteins that have Se-Met at all the Met positions. Because of the unique Se absorption quality of Se, diffraction data can be measured using a Se-Met substituted crystal at three or four different wavelengths around the Se absorption edge. These data can be analyzed using computational methods to generate phase information, allowing an electron density map to be calculated. Such an experiment can only be carried out using modern synchrotron facilities.
Model Building and Refinement
Once an electron density map becomes available, atoms may be fitted into the map using computer graphics to give an initial structural model of the protein. The quality of the electron density map and structural model may be improved through iterative structural refinement, but will ultimately be limited by the resolution of the diffraction data. At low resolution, electron density maps have very little detailed features and tracing the protein chain can be rather difficult without some knowledge of the protein structure. At better than 3.0 Å resolution, amino acid side chains can be recognized with the help of protein sequence information, while at better than 2.5 Å resolution solvent molecules can be observed and added to the structural model with some confidence. As the resolution improves to better than 2.0 Å resolution, fitting of individual atoms may be possible and most of the amino acid side chains can be readily assigned even in the absence of sequence information.
Understanding Structural Coordinates
Once a crystal structure is determined, the information is communicated in the form of an atomic coordinates file. In addition to a list of the atomic positions, the coordinates file contains other information that deserves an explanation. Below is a brief explanation of some of the terms included in an atomic coordinates file.
The unit cell is the basic microscopic building block of the crystal. A crystal can be viewed as a three-dimensional stack of identical unit cells, each defined by three cell edges (a, b, c in Å), and three angles (α, β, γ, in degrees) between each pair of edges. Each unit cell may contain one or more protein molecules related by crystal symmetry. The unique portion of the unit cell, i.e., the portion that is not related to other portions by crystal symmetry is called the asymmetric unit. There are only 230 different combinations of symmetry elements in crystals; each of these is called a space group. However, since biological molecules are enantiomorphic, and thus a protein crystal cannot contain mirror planes the number of space groups of relevance to protein crystallography is reduced to 65. It is possible to have more than one copy of the same protein in an asymmetric unit. However, these will be related by "non-crystallographic" symmetry. Therefore, all atoms of an asymmetric unit, along with the unit cell dimensions and the space group, must be given in the coordinates file for subsequent analysis and for re-generating the structure in any portion of the unit cell or the crystal, which may be important for studying inter-molecular "crystal packing" interactions.
The R-factor is probably the single most important number that provides a sense of the overall quality of the structure. It is a measurement of the agreement between the structural model and the observed diffraction data; the lower the number the better it is. For a refined crystal structure, the R-factor is often approximately ten times its resolution, i.e., 20% for a 2.0 Å resolution structure. Along with the traditional R-factor, structures also report an Rfree value, which is obtained from the part of the diffraction data (5-10%) that were set aside and not used during structural refinement. Rfree is generally 5-10% higher than R; larger discrepancies between the two may indicate that there is a problem in the structure model or diffraction data, or the structure is over-refined against the data. Reducing R to below 20% used to be the goal for structural refinement; but obtaining a sensible Rfree is now considered to be more important. Therefore, before analyzing a crystal structure on computer graphics, one should check the R-factor and Rfree values to get a sense of the overall quality of the structure. It is important to note that these values can be reported as % (20%) or as a fraction (0.20).
The atomic temperature factor, or B-factor, measures the dynamic disorder caused by the temperature-dependent vibration of the atom, as well as the static disorder resulting from subtle structural differences in different unit cells throughout the crystal. For a B-factor of 15 Å2, displacement of an atom from its equilibrium position is approximately 0.44 Å, and it is as much as 0.87 Å for a B-factor of 60 Å2. It is very important to inspect the B-factors during any structural analysis: a B-factor of less than 30 Å2 for a particular atom usually indicates confidence in its atomic position, but a B-factor of higher than 60 Å2 likely indicates that the atom is disordered.
For a particular crystal, the number of diffraction data increases as the resolution increases, which means more experimental data will be available for structural refinement. There are four parameters to be refined for each atom: x, y, z (atomic position), and B (temperature factor). If the crystal has normal solvent content, i.e. about 50%, the number of experimental data and refinement parameters will be about the same at 2.8 Å resolution. This suggests that B-factors for individual atoms should only be refined when data is better than 2.8 Å resolution. Refinement of atomic B-factors at lower resolution will have no physical meaning, although will result in a lower but meaningless R-factor. Identification and refinement of solvent molecules (e.g. waters) become reliable only when the structure is at least 2.5 Å resolution. Even then, before a water molecule is used in mechanistic or computational analysis, it is always wise to check its B-factor and to see if there exists at least one hydrogen bond to hold the water to the protein. At times, spurious water molecules are added (such additions will result in a meaningless lower R-factor). Unless the structure has been determined at a reasonably high resolution, electron density and refinement often do not discriminate between the oxygen and nitrogen atoms of asparagines and glutamines, or the alternative conformations of histidine side chains. In a detailed structural analysis, it may be necessary to check alternative conformations of Asn, Gln or His side chains and decide which one makes more sense chemically.
In summary, it is hoped that the above information will provide the reader with insights to evaluate the quality of the structure, distinguish between its well-defined and flexible regions and make sensible decisions in structural analysis. | http://proxychem.com/macromolecular_crystallography.html |
All of our lives we have been told that selfishness and greed are the fundamental driving forces of human nature. According to this story, all of history has been the same greedy struggle, with the only differences being the names of the rulers and the types of weapons used.
We are told from the time we start school that we can never change human nature or society. The only options open for finding happiness, according to this story, is to cheat other people to get rich, or else “rise above the material world” through religion or mysticism.
But neither getting rich (an almost impossible task anyway) or learning to love your poverty are ways to solve the problems of society.
Marxists understand that society has not always been driven by individual self-interest and greed, that greed is not a part of human nature, and that society can be changed for the better. All of this can be demonstrated by using dialectical materialism, a scientific method of thinking to evaluate the world in which humans live.
What does dialectical materialism mean?
Let’s begin with dialectics. Dialectics has shown that all things are in a constant state of change; nothing is eternal; everything comes into existence, develops and changes or dies.
The family, the “Great American Way of Life,” your health, and even the shapes of the continents don’t stay the same; they are going through continual changes as a result of interaction and conflict with the things around them. These changes don’t happen smoothly. Many small hidden changes add up until the thing in question is no longer what it was before; has become something different. This is called the change from quantity to quality.
For example, if you don’t take care of your health for a period of time, you may not notice anything different until one day you wake up sick. Another example is when heat is applied to water it absorbs the heat, remaining water until at a certain point — 100° C / 212° F — it can’t contain the heat in its present form and the water begins to boil and starts to turn to steam.
Although each process has its own laws and characteristics, all changes generally follow this pattern of quantity turning into quality. Dialectics is the science of social evolution, of change and development.
Materialism means that all thoughts are reflections of the real, material world. This is in direct contradiction to the idealists’ notion that the outside world is only the reflection of peoples’ thoughts. You see a flower because the flower exists. The flower doesn’t exist just because you see it, as the idealists would have us believe.
Materialism is confused in many people’s minds with concern for only one’s own individual well-being. That isn’t materialism, that’s greed.
Historical materialism extends the principles of dialectical materialism to the study of society and its history. Historical materialism recognizes that history and society develop based on material, economic conditions. Therefore all development, that of ideas and that of institutions, is based on conflicts and interactions in the material world.
This understanding of development and change refutes the argument that class society is based on natural human greed. The development of class society came from the material interactions and conflicts that humans have faced over history.
By bringing together dialectics and materialism, Marxists have been able to show how and why societies change; dialectical materialism shows that people’s characters, ideas, and actions are shaped by the conditions in the world around them. And most important, it shows that capitalism, like everything else has a birth, development, and an end.
This newly republished work was Marx’s first attempt, with the aid of his materialist conception, to explain a section of contemporary history from the given economic situation. In The Communist Manifesto, the theory was applied in broad outline to the whole of modern history, while in the articles by Marx and myself in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, it was constantly used to interpret political events of the day. Here, on the other hand, the question was to demonstrate the inner causal connection in the course of a development which extended over some years, a development as critical, for the whole of Europe, as it was typical; that is, in accordance with the conception of the author, to trace political events back to the effects of what are, in the last resort, economic causes.
On economic determinism – Some claim that Marxism says that only economic factors determine non-economic spheres of life such as politics, religion, and ideology. Engels responded: Anyone who accuses us of economic determinism doesn’t understand dialectics; all Marx and I ever said was that the mode of production determines social consciousness. For more, see Engels’ 1890 letter to J. Bloch. | https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/dialectical-and-historical-materialism/ |
WAAS and WUC conducted a webinar on March 9, 2016 in preparation for the upcoming course on Mind, Thinking and Creativity at IUC Dubrovnik on April 12-15.
Mind is humanity’s highest developed instrument for seeking knowledge. It is an instrument with remarkable capabilities and characteristic limitations. What we commonly call knowledge consists of word symbols and concepts based on implicit social and psychological constructions and values. As photographs and movies are images of reality rather than reality itself, mind perceives sense impressions, formulates thoughts and utilizes images and symbols to represent a reality it cannot directly grasp. Individuals perceive, interpret and comprehend their experiences as reality at both the personal and societal level. In planning and proposing recipes and blueprints for governance and managing change, decision makers and experts often take little notice of the extent to which prevailing concepts are influenced by the particular way in which individuals, communities, societies and cultures construe what they call reality. Social reality rarely conforms to or even approximates the neat categories, distinctions, differences, oppositions and contradictions by which mind characterizes it in social theory.
The insufficiency in our conceptual knowledge of social reality is itself an expression and result of more fundamental limitations in the ways we understand and utilize the human mind and the mental processes on which that knowledge is based. The course on Mind, Thinking and Creativity will explore the characteristics of mental knowledge and thought processes, types of thinking, the character of rational thought, the mental and social construction of knowledge, deep thinking, creativity and genius.
Our guest speaker of the webinar was William Byers, author of Deep Thinking, The Blind Spot and How Mathematicians Think. Byers is a Canadian mathematician who has made important original contributions to our understanding of how the mind thinks, creativity, the process of formulating new conceptual paradigms, limits to rationality, the intrinsic uncertainty of all knowledge, the relative roles of ambiguity, logic and paradox in thinking, and artificial intelligence.
In Deep Thinking, Byers explains that there is more than one way to think. Most people are familiar with the systematic, rule-based thinking that one finds in a mathematical proof or a computer program. But such thinking does not produce breakthroughs in mathematics and science nor is it the kind of thinking that results in significant learning. Deep thinking is a different and more basic way of using the mind. It results in the discontinuous “aha!” experience, which is the essence of creativity. It is at the heart of every paradigm shift or reframing of a problematic situation.
The identification of deep thinking as the default state of the mind has the potential to reframe our current approach to technological change, education, and the nature of mathematics and science. Deep thinking is the essential ingredient in every significant learning experience, which leads to a new way to think about education. It is also essential to the construction of conceptual systems that are at the heart of mathematics and science, and of the technologies that shape the modern world. Deep thinking can be found whenever one conceptual system morphs into another.
“Deep thinking is the result of ambiguity. An ambiguity causing a distress that results in creativity to relieve us and lifts us to a next level of consciousness. It is the essence of a baby learning to speak as well as the essence of evolution over millions or years. It is Byers' conviction that progress and creativity is the result of conflicting situations, ambiguity, and uncertainty, not only in mathematics, but for science in general and it is even the essence of being, the motor of evolution in general.”
-- Adhemar Bultheel, European Mathematical Society
“Byers says, scientists need to recognize "uncertainty, incompleteness, and ambiguity, the ungraspable, the blind spot, or the limits to reason." These blind spots are embedded in the scientific method, because the world itself is ambiguous and cannot be seen clearly. Scientists ignore this at their peril. Ancient Greek mathematics, for instance, suffered from a refusal to accept the ambiguous concept of the square root of 2.”
--Publishers Weekly
"Is the idea that anything can be determined with absolute certainty an illusion? . . . Byers incorporates many brilliant thinkers and seminal scientific breakthroughs into his discussion, offering the cogent, invigorating argument that only by embracing uncertainty can we truly progress."
--Kirkus Reviews
"The myth of absolute predictability has polluted our society and led to a lack of flexibility and imagination. Byers takes on the difficult challenge of formulating a better worldview, in effect a new kind of philosophy of science and mathematics that emphasizes creativity and wonder. He sees more deeply than others into the profoundly and richly ambiguous nature of mathematical and scientific concepts."
--Gregory J. Chaitin, author of Thinking about Gödel and Turing
"This is an extremely ambitious book. In addition to science and mathematics, Byers brings to bear insights from literature, philosophy, religion, history, anthropology, medicine, and psychology. The Blind Spot breaks new ground, and represents a major step forward in the philosophy of science. The book is also a page-turner, which is rare for this topic."
--Joseph Auslander, professor emeritus, University of Maryland
"Science deals in certainties, right? Wrong, says Montreal-based mathematician William Byers. . . . He contends that this view is wide of the mark and dangerous, influenced by the human need for everything to be 'certain'."
--Alison Flood, Wired
Deep Thinking: What Mathematics Can Teach Us About the Mind
- Any simulation, no matter how brilliant in conception, is qualitatively different from what it simulates. 65
- Deep thinking is not analytic. It is not only involved in the creation of the conceptual system but also in the student’s re-creation of it. 76
- “Deep thinking” is a way to talk in concrete terms about the gap between machine and human intelligence. 77
- A paradigm of deep thinking is the conceptual reframing that occurs when a child moves from the world of counting numbers to the world of fractions. 79
- Machine intelligence is not human intelligence, machine learning is not human learning. 83
- Our culture’s capacity to sustain innovation and people’s ability to adjust successfully to a world in which change is not only continuous but also accelerating, depends on society’s ability to conceptualize the difference between machine and human intelligence. 91
- An algorithm cannot generate creativity. In fact the reverse is true—creativity is what produces algorithms. 98
- Deep thinking is involved in moving from one conceptual system to another. The two systems are incompatible from one point of view yet, in other, they have a hierarchical relationship, which integrates them with one another. 123
- The ability to hold two contradictory ideas in the mind without flinching is the essential element in creative activity. This “Deep learning” is the kind of learning that arises from deep thinking. It is to be found in the learning of concepts and conceptual systems but especially in the development of new conceptual systems. 144
- All scientific and mathematical theories are constrained by the fact that we describe the world by means of a conceptual system. 157
- Rational thinking consists of a sequence of propositions arranged in a logical order that is organized so that each step follows from the preceding one by means of the rules of logical inference…There are other ways of using the mind, which are neither rational nor sequential. “Deep thinking” is the name that I am giving to a kind of non-sequential thinking. 176 Non-rational thinking would appear to be amorphous and vague precisely because we are used to identifying thought with rationality. 178
- Deep thinking includes a discontinuous leap that gets you very excited because it gives you a vision of an entirely new world. 344
- The change from one conceptual system to its successor is radical because the new way and the old way of seeing the world are incompatible with one and this incompatibility is the reason why conceptual change is discontinuous—it is very difficult to hold both views at the same time. It is the need to resolve the incompatibility that powers deep thinking whether it comes in the guise of development, conceptual learning, or major breakthroughs in the progress of science. 414
- Deep thinking is always generated by something that is problematic. This problem may manifest itself as an ambiguity, an incompatibility, or even a contradiction. 452
- Deep thinking always involves an element of discontinuity— either get it or you don’t. It involves an insight, a leap to a new point of view. 459
- Certainty, on the other hand, is only to be found within an established conceptual system… Moving from one conceptual system to another inevitably necessitates stepping into the realm of the uncertain. 462
- All systems of thought are incomplete, as Gödel taught us, and this incompleteness can be thought of as an inevitable residue of uncertainty. 466
- Deep thinking involves reframing, that is, coming to look at a given situation in an entirely new way. 469
- The intriguing thing about conceptual systems is that they possess both a subjective and an objective dimension. 531
- Concepts have their meaning conferred upon them by the system of which they form a part. It is the conceptual system that is crucial and thus I have made it my point of entry. 534
- Most people believe that what they see is independent of the fact that they see it; they imagine that it is possible to separate the content of what they see from the window through which they see it. This is the same as believing that one’s knowledge is distinct from one’s “knowing,” the cognitive mechanisms through which that knowledge is known. This belief informs the requirement that a scientific result must be “objective”—independent of the observer. If the scientific conclusion depends on the operative scientific paradigm—the lens through which it is viewed—then the very nature of “objectivity” must be reconsidered. 553
- Knowing and knowledge are intertwined so tightly that they can only be pried apart in an artificial manner and at a cost of distorting the system that is being studied. 559
- The word “objective” can be used in two different ways. The first is “not dependent on personal opinion or prejudice,” while the second is “independent of mind.” The system of concepts is objective in the first sense but not the second. 582
- The objectivity that we claim for mathematical and scientific results is relative objectivity. 589
- Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry are not only different mathematical systems but are also different conceptual systems. 592
- Data means nothing on its own and cannot be understood. 605
- The painting only makes sense when the observer of the painting, whose eye makes the painting come alive, is considered along with the two-dimensional canvas painting; it is only implied. In an analogous way learning does not only involve some body of objective material but also the point of view that an individual brings to the material. Just as every observer brings their history and entire being to their viewing of the picture so we bring all of our cultural and conceptual baggage to every situation of learning. 612
- A scientific experiment is not just something that can be held at arm’s length and examined at a distance. Every situation is not real unless it is viewed. Another way to say this is that the complete description of a scientific experiment (or anything else) must include a point of view, a way of looking at the phenomenon, which is what a conceptual system provides. 621
- To change conceptual systems, the old system, the old world, must lose its compelling power to define reality and be replaced by an entirely new way of seeing the world. 649
- Actually there are (at least) two distinct modes of “doing” mathematics and science. The first involves working within a fixed paradigm and the second involves replacing one paradigm by another. The dominant mode of thinking in the former situation consists of continuous, analytic thought. 759
- There remain intrinsic limitations to our ability to “objective” situation, which is an abstraction that does not really exist. The real world is intimately tied to, and ultimately is inseparable from, the lens through which it is viewed. 766
- Conceptual systems by their very nature are subject to change and development. 768
- Neither mathematics nor science deals in permanent and unchanging truth.
- Technology is always attempting to replicate aspects of intelligence and deep thinking. Of course this could be said of any conceptual system. And this attempt is always doomed to fail in an absolute sense even though some of the attempts are extraordinary. 815
- Closed systems can never capture the fundamental openness of deep thinking for the simple reason that once it is reified it is constrained. 818
- Paradigm change necessarily involves a discontinuous jump. Reality is singular and each paradigm evokes its own reality. 837
- A scientist never really gives up the paradigm within which she has been trained. What happens is that a new generation grows up within a new paradigm and the old generation retires or dies off. For the most part the researcher spends her time making continuous computations within an unchanging conceptual system. 839
- Geo-centered, helio-centered, or without a physical center represent three profoundly different ways of living in the world. The loss of an external center, which comes about with the dominance of the scientific worldview, may well have contributed to the alienation, anxiety, and general angst that are so common in the modern world. 897
- The student is not wrong or stupid; she is living in a different mathematical world. 1024
- Discontinuities and incompatibilities are an irreducible part of the world. The world cannot be described by a single, rational conceptual system, scientific or otherwise, because you must deal with the problems that inevitably develop within any system and give rise to new systems. 1036
- Actually no system of thought is really concrete; they are all abstract. It is more useful to think about going from one conceptual system to another. 1118
- Modern mathematics, pure and applied, still has not reconciled the differences between the discrete and the continuous. 1170
- The process of mathematical and scientific discovery consists of an alternation between insight and logical derivation. The latter seemingly has the last word. Thus many people have concluded that formal logic is the only way of using the mind that matters in mathematics whereas, in practice, what matters is getting the idea, the productive way of looking at the problem. 1197
- Mathematics is not (merely) logical; its essence is deep thinking! 1199
- Deep thinking involves freeing the mind from its constraints—seeing beyond the current paradigm and reframing the situation. 1202
- Deep thinking has no single location where it begins and it certainly does not have a definitive end. It is pure process— 1206
- Establishing the relationship between deep thinking and formal thought we are addressing the intrinsic limits of computation. 1210
- In deep thinking the mind is used in a manner that is fundamentally different from the way it is used in the everyday thought of adults but also from the way the mind is used in the analytic thought of scientific and mathematical theory and discourse. 1213
- Conceptual change is the most significant and radical instance of deep thinking. Its nature is completely different than that of deductive reasoning. 1250
- People tend to think that a proposition in mathematics is either right or wrong because they see the whole thing happening within a fixed conceptual system. 1257
- Continuous thought follows the rules of formal or informal logic. Thus we believe that a question cannot have two contradictory answers, that is, an answer is either right or wrong. 1282
- To move on, our fixation with our present views must be broken down. 1314
- All scientific theories are incomplete and approximate. They may function well at the centre of the domain that they describe but tend to break down at the boundaries. 1325
- The new system does not eradicate the old. On the one hand the new and the old are incompatible with one another. On the other the two systems can be integrated. 1336
- Obviously deep thinking involves one’s conscious self but it is also evident that there are elements of it that are not conscious. 1370
- Jacques Hadamardi in his treatise on creativity in mathematics and explains why insight, when it comes, often seems like it is discovered serendipitously and feels like it comes from sources that are outside of the self. 1371
- Deep thinking and creativity are, I would argue, the essence of mind. 1381
- Learning, “the way the world changes our mind,” and creativity, the way “our minds … change the world,” involve the same basic mechanism, namely, deep thinking. 1394
- Consciousness evolves—both historically and developmentally. However it is important to remember that the earlier and more basic forms of consciousness do not disappear. 1401
- Most people can be trained to be creative and this training will necessarily include accessing forms of consciousness that are characteristic of childhood. 1404
- The whole is greater than the sum of its parts and its properties cannot be anticipated from the properties of the parts. 1481
- There is a tendency for the analytic to deny the existence of the synthetic. 1516
- Understanding is the creative core of learning—what real education is all about. “Understanding” is a creative process that is discontinuous. There is no algorithmic way of attaining understanding. Understanding and coming up with an idea are both creative processes that involve both the synthetic and the analytic. 1557
- The vital step in the creative process involves holding two contradictory ideas in the mind simultaneously. Thus creativity depends on duality and conflict. 1645
- If we attempt to reduce learning or creativity to an exclusively left-hemispheric activity we will inevitably miss its essence. 1736
- New conceptual learning can only occur after the individual has escaped from his operative mindset. 1773
- Real science is “deep science”; real mathematics is “deep mathematics.” They both involve both hemispheres, both analytic and synthetic thought but the life of the subject—creating and learning—resides in the right hemisphere and in synthetic thought. 1812
- Creativity is learning in its most profound sense. 1928
- The setting for creative experience is allowing oneself to accept, without resistance, the entire situation complete with its non-logical elements. 2118
- Idea is “that which reveals relations within phenomena.” 2144
- There is No Formula for Creativity. There can be no technique for creativity because any activity generated by a technique or formula is not creative. 2167
- It is impossible to decide to let go. The injunction “let go,” like the injunction “be spontaneous,” is paradoxical in a way that reminds me of the “liar’s paradox”— “this sentence is false.” 2240 If you let go because of a decision to let go then you would not be letting go at all. The opposite of letting go is following some rule or formula, which is what you would be doing if you could decide to let go. 2242
- If creativity cannot be produced by formula or technique then it must be a free creation of the mind—truly original with no direct line that connects it to what came before. 2277
- The evolution of life and the evolution of the cosmos consist of episodes of marvelous creativity that could not have been predicted a priori. 2279
- What is it that gives data significance? What transforms it into knowledge? Can data be understood or, rather, what is the relationship between information and understanding? 2349
- Information is not knowledge, much less understanding. 2358
- Understanding, for example, is a relationship between the person and the subject. It is neither totally objective nor is it totally subjective. 2362
- Human beings are not machines and the mind is not a computer—the computer arose out of a series of acts of creativity and not vice-versa. 2369
- Invention of reason is a creative breakthrough on the highest level but maintaining that logical inference is creative is a profound error. 2382
- Belief that learning is primarily about the acquisition of facts is fundamentally flawed. 2416
- Knowledge must involve patterns or relationships between individual facts. 2425
- Machines live in a universe of data; but the existence of knowledge necessitates a human presence. 2438
- There is a tendency in the modern world to reduce all knowledge to data and this is done by completely suppressing the “knower.” 2450
- Knowledge only comes alive when it is understood. 2468
- Many persist in thinking that education involves acquiring objective and timeless knowledge. 2490
- I think of the acquisition of data and skills, not as real education but as the mere beginning of real education. Real education involves the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, which both include an important element of creativity. 2581
- Education involves replacing one conceptual system by another. This last step is the key, and most difficult, aspect of education. 2597
- Learning is not just about acquiring knowledge, skill, concepts, or even conceptual systems. It is also about moving from one way of thinking about a situation to another, more complex, way of thinking. 2598
- When we come to see learning as a spectrum we will also see creativity in the same way. When all learning is seen to contain elements of creativity then it cannot help but transform our view of what education should be. 2614
- Learning is not an industrial process and the industrial metaphor is a bad one. Learning how to learn, and the joy of learning, comes from accessing the domain of knowing. 2625
- The existence of obstacles is an essential feature of education, which is often ignored. 2673
- Learning inevitably begins by admitting your own ignorance, you have to “not understand” before you can hope to understand. 2716
- Learning is natural and inevitable. There is really no stasis, no time when we are in a state of permanent equilibrium. Either we are growing and learning, or we are in a state of decline and decay. 2828
- No one can learn for someone else. You cannot magically impart understanding to another. Learning, as I have repeatedly stressed, is intrinsically difficult. 2864
- To appreciate the value of having a human being teaching a class we must look on the teacher as a facilitator of “deep learning.” 2907
- I laugh when I hear people placing their hopes for the future of education on educational apps for the smart phone or tablet computer. I, too, find myself captivated by technological innovation but let us not allow the novelty of the latest technological gadget to blind us to what is essential. You can have great teaching without gadgets and poor teaching with the best equipment in the world. In fact technology is often as much a distraction as it is an aid. 3127
- Our vital need as a society is for “deep learning” and to get there we need “deep teaching.” 3131
- Real mathematics is alive and it is the mind that gives it life! 3591
- If transcendence is to be found anywhere it is within change and not by replacing change with a theoretical framework that will never change. In mathematics as in science and in life, evolution will ultimately have the final word. 3642
- We tend to think that Ramanujan was so creative despite his lack of formal training but maybe it was precisely that lack of training (and also the particular form of his religious beliefs) that made him such an original mind. 3709
The Blind Spot: Science and the Crisis of Uncertainty
- A better way to think about the present situation is that what looks like a series of disparate crises is really one crisis that manifests itself in various ways—one all-encompassing crisis that arises from inner contradictions that are inherent in modern culture. 7
- The Blind Spot refers to an intrinsic and inevitable limitation to scientific theories and even to scientific concepts. 81
- All of the crises mentioned here can be traced back, in one way or another, to the point of view of the science of certainty. 82
- The two approaches to science that I discuss in this book divide up neatly in this regard; the first attempts to deny or eliminate uncertainty, the second takes uncertainty as an inevitable fact of life, as an opportunity, and considers how best to work with it. 84
- we must learn to “think outside the box.” A certain ideology of science and technology constitutes the proverbial “box” in this instance, and we must get outside of it if we hope to deal with the present situation. 88
- And yet science is a human activity, an activity pursued by human beings. This is an obvious statement but it bears repeating since part of the mythology of science is precisely that it is independent of human beings, independent of mind and intelligence. 98
- Most often we think of scientific thinking as rational thinking characterized by clarity and logic. Are these the only characteristics of scientific thinking? Are they even the most important ways in which scientists think? 102
- This blind spot arises out of human consciousness itself, and is rooted in the biology of the brain.
- Ambiguity is seen to be unexpectedly present in much of mathematics and science. 126
- Science is motivated by a desire to unify our experience of the world and to unify ourselves with the world. 136 Einstein talked about his feeling that “behind anything that can be experienced there is something that the mind cannot grasp and whose beauty and sublimity reaches us only indirectly and as a feeble reflection.”2 The “blind spot” is my name for those things that are real but which the mind cannot grasp and thus cannot capture through words, symbols, or equations. 152
- A drunken man has lost his house keys and is searching for them under a streetlight. A policeman approaches and asks what he is doing. “Looking for my keys,” he says. “I lost them over there.” And he points down the street. “So why are you looking for them here?” “Because the light here is so much better,” the man replies. 159
- Our brain provides us with the illusion that there is no visual blind spot, so our rational intelligence—through its insistence on consistency and completeness—hides the blind spot from our consciousness. 178
- There exists an intrinsic limitation to what can be known through science. The existence of that which is real but cannot be understood poses a major challenge to our usual way of thinking about the world and to our thinking about the relationship between human beings and the natural world. 202
- Some things cannot be put into words because doing so is only an approximation to the real situation. The verbal or symbolic formulation captures some aspects of the situation but is not identical to it. There is a question regarding the relationship between the definition and the thing being defined. 223
- To insist on a one-to-one correspondence between words and reality protects us from the self-referential spiral that is inherent in human self-consciousness, the ambiguity that lies at the heart of the human condition. 229
- Trying to understand something often means trying to give it a definition, yet (as in the case of infinity or randomness) another definition is always possible. Each definition structures a certain field of mathematical or scientific thought. Certainly one definition may be better than another but even an excellent definition does not capture the informal domain out of which it emerges. It structures the informal situation. 294
- “Understanding” demands placing something in a context. 299
- Each subject we explore should be thought of more as a “field” (like an energy field in physics) than a fixed and definite object. A field does not have a fixed objective meaning. It is much much larger than that. 311
- The entire world of science is grounded in human consciousness and rationality. 318
- The existence of the “ungraspable” implies that there are intrinsic limitations to the cultural project of reducing reality to rationality. 319
- The ungraspable refers to a quality of intrinsic incompleteness that is inevitably associated with the conceptual. 370
- Many people will be surprised by the assertion that some things cannot be understood. 371
- That which is real but inexpressible is not something vague or mystical; it is something that is immediate and simple. It is the ground out of which the concept arises. 397
- Science derives from a source that is not accessible to science. 401
- Sources of creativity are by definition unknown, inevitably outside of the present conceptual universe. 410
- The unknown is the matrix out of which creativity is born. 411
- Creativity has its origins neither in the natural world nor in the world of concepts—it involves much more than the mere shuffling of well-defined conceptual categories as a computer would do. 413
- Concepts are the results of acts of creativity and not the other way around. 415
- Science is not identical to reality; science is a description of reality. 416
- The first thing that is necessary is to break the mistaken identification of science with reality. 418
- It is necessary to differentiate between science and the mythology of science. 420
- Just as the brain renders invisible the physiological blind spot and gives the illusion that the visual field is continuous and complete, so the mythology of science has the function of hiding from view the holes in the fields of consciousness and rationality. 422
- The “blind spot” I am talking about is an inevitable consequence of our rational consciousness. 425
- What is the assumption of rationality, the assumption of logical consistency if not the mind’s way of “filling in” the holes in our rational universe. 429
- When we look for this blind spot intellectually, it seems to disappear and so we must infer its existence in an indirect manner. 431
- Yet rationality is itself the result of an act of creativity and so cannot be used to explain the origins of the extraordinary creativity of science. 439
- The uncertainty of the unknowable is deeply unsettling to the analytic intelligence. 481
- I am not saying that there is anything wrong with logic, analytic thinking, or the intellect, but they do have a tendency to take over, to insist on being the sole arbiter of reality. 491
- To use words to point beyond words; to use well-formulated sentences to point out that there exist aspects of reality that are not captured by well-formulated sentences is a form of mental judo. 498
- If we were talking about music, everyone would recognize the difference between the music itself and a description of the music. So it is with science and the natural world that science describes. 500
- It is as though one part of us knows but cannot speak, while the other speaks very well but inevitably misses that unmediated connection with things that is the content of the deepest form of knowing. 517
- What is missing from most scientific discussions is the role of the scientist as a subjective participant in the scientific enterprise. 519
- Reason is grounded in one modality of human consciousness and thus is inevitably blind to other ways of knowing. 522
- The major scientific breakthroughs in the last century that all point in one way or another to limits on what we can know. 533
- Modern science contains a new way of looking at reality, and what is distinctive about the new view is the emergence of these limits—limits to reason, to deductive systems, to certainty, and to objectivity. 535
- The discovery of uncertainty is like a canary in a coal mine. 541
- It is through mathematics that we can best study the strengths and weaknesses of this mode of thinking. 549
- Mathematics is the traditional bastion of reason and absolute certainty. 551
- Morris Kline, in the introduction to Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty, says, “It is now apparent that the concept of a universally accepted, infallible body of reasoning—the majestic mathematics of the 1800s and the pride of man—is a grand illusion. 552
- Uncertainty and doubt concerning the future of mathematics have replaced the certainties and complacency of the past.” 554
- Uncertainty has entered mathematics in many different guises. An early shock was the creation of non-Euclidean geometries. For millennia, people had looked to Euclidean geometry as the quintessence of certain knowledge and it was the way that the mind was used in geometry—deductive logical reasoning—that seemingly brought elusive certainty within the grasp of humankind. 557
- Not only were the results of Euclidean geometry thought to be certain, they also seemed to reflect the very structure of physical reality. The deductive axiomatic method that Euclid introduced was the method for arriving at certainty both about the results themselves and about the properties of the natural world.
- The real numbers settled certain questions of the deepest mathematical and scientific importance, but these very successes opened the door to a whole series of seemingly paradoxical situations that threatened to destabilize mathematics. All of this contributed to a loss of faith in the objective and absolute certainty of mathematics. 667
- The gap between certainty and truth had now been revealed for all to see. 687
- Certainty is not to be confused with truth. 710
- Many explicit mathematical questions can be shown to be undecidable. 721
- Incompleteness and the undecidable are different ways in which the blind spot finds its way into science. They indicate that there are limits to what can be achieved through a certain kind of thinking. Such limits are today firmly established as part of the intellectual landscape. However, their implications are still far from having been assimilated into the general culture. 745
- The classical ideal of complete, objective, and absolutely certain knowledge has been lost. The ability of reason to “capture” the world has been put in doubt. 781
- Many of the great theories of modern science testify to the fact that uncertainty is an irreducible feature of the world. 789
- A classical, deterministic science is a science of stasis. It misses the essence of life, namely dynamic change. It would seem that it is precisely the life sciences in which the need for a new perspective is most compelling. 793
- Every crisis has within it the seeds of rebirth, and this particular crisis carries the potential for a revolutionary new way to imagine the world, the role of human beings, and the nature of the mind. 804
- The loss of certainty can be seen as the end of the world, or—as I have repeatedly said—it can be seen as an opening to a new way of thinking about science. 804
- One of the factors that characterize this moment in history is our civilization’s current confrontation with problems of such complexity and urgency that we find ourselves paralyzed. These include economic problems, vast population growth, scarcity of food and clean water, depletion of energy sources coupled with the insatiable desire of people in developing countries like China and India to share in the promised land of middle class life and the consumer economy. The problems are so vast, and the proposed solutions so stopgap, that even thinking about the problem becomes painful and seemingly futile. 807
- The present world crisis, for that is what it is, will not be resolved by “business as usual,” by applying techniques and strategies that have brought on the situation we are in.
- We must find a way to approach our cultural blind spots, to face uncertainty with courage, to confront our own powerlessness in the face of what I have been calling the ungraspable without becoming paralyzed. 813
- Our situation contains elements of the paradoxical—it is the successes of the scientific method that have brought us face to face with its limitations, just as it is the complexity of the global financial community that has brought on the present economic meltdown. 815
- Facing the situation authentically will evoke the creative intelligence that we desperately need at the present time. 819
- What are the implications for science and society of the existence of a blind spot that cannot be captured by systematic thought? 824
- Uncertainty and incompleteness are the price we pay for creativity—in fact, for being alive. 826
- These two points of view lead to two different orientations toward the entire scientific enterprise. One I shall call the “science of certainty,” and the other the “science of wonder.” They differ in many ways, but one crucial difference involves their attitude toward the uncertainty and incompleteness. 829
- The demand for absolute certainty is more characteristic of a mythology of science, a view that one finds more often in technology than in pure science. It is a distortion of pure science, a distortion that, as we shall see, has the potential to create a lot of damage. 832
- “Romanticism as a cultural force is generally regarded as intensely hostile to science, its ideal of subjectivity eternally opposed to that of scientific objectivity. But I do not believe this was always the case, or that the terms are mutually exclusive. The notion of wonder seems to be something that once united them, and can still do so.” 846
- Wonder has never been absent from science, but it disappears when we turn science into something mechanical, or use it as a way of achieving total control over nature or society. 848
- Einstein’s most enigmatic and delightful statements, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and science.” 854
- A discussion of science should properly be based on the centrality of wonder, mystery, and creativity. 858
- The misconception that the “science of certainty” is identical to science has contributed to many of society’s current problems. 863
- The science of wonder has room for both certainty and uncertainty. 867
- Creativity is connected to, even based upon, illumination. Where does illumination come from? What are its sources? 879
- Science has been called the religion of our time. Religion once provided what science provides today—a vast mythological structure that contains an explanation of the cosmos and the particular role of human beings in that cosmos. 900
- Science provides the sense that the universe is a coherent, connected, and meaningful entity—a sense of the unity of things. This sense of coherence is powerful and important even if most people believe it is merely a subjective sensation and therefore a derivative feeling of secondary importance. 902
- Coherence is important precisely because it has both subjective and objective dimensions; because it is related to and accompanies the acts of creativity. The sense of wonder often accompanies the sudden appearance of a sense of coherence. 905
- Coherence results from acts of creativity, but coherence is itself a sense that unifies the natural world with the human mind as it grapples with, and attempts to make sense of, that world. Thus, coherence, and therefore creativity, is something that transcends classical objectivity and subjectivity. 911
- The problem here is that the argument is mistakenly about the content of science versus the content of religion. Einstein’s “cosmic religious feeling” is meant to bridge that particular gap—to show that the highest form of religious feeling is to be found in science as well as religion.
- “Cosmic religious feeling” is the unifying context from which both science and religion emerge and is intrinsically connected to creativity. 931
- Cosmic religious feeling is both an inspiration for, and a result of, creative activity in science. 935
- In Einstein’s view, science and religion both arise out of this common ground—the same cosmic religious feeling. 948
- Normally in any description of science, we proceed by assuming that the objective theory can stand independently of any “subjective” component—this is considered to be the very defining characteristic of science. 971
- Viewing science as a field of creative endeavor will allow us to think of science in a radically new light, 974
- There would be no science without human creativity and that creativity should be part and parcel of what we are referring to when be we talk about science. 988
- Perhaps Einstein should be taken more seriously when he senses that there is an intelligence that is revealed in the workings of the universe. It is not that human intelligence creates an order in what is essentially a chaotic domain but that some intelligence or “mind” is an intrinsic aspect of reality. What a radical challenge to our usual way of seeing things! The scientist reveals that universal mind to us, but that mind is there independent, in some sense, of the individual. 993
- This intelligence appeared to be independent of the individual personality, independent of anything that is personal. What is exciting and so mysterious is that this “mind …in the world” is reflected in the human mind. This larger external intelligence is accessible to human intelligence. This is the true mystery of science. Creativity is not the imposition of arbitrary patterns on the world.
All superscripts denote the text location in the Kindle e-book edition
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William Byers
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Garry Jacobs
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Carlos Blanco
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Bohdan Hawrylyshyn
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Winston Nagan
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Zbigniew Bochniarz
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Stefan Brunnhuber
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Rodolfo Fiorini
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Mario Hytten
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Zdravko Radman
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Herwig Schopper
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Alberto Zucconi
1. What is pushing individuals to become deep thinkers, to discover a new conceptual system, and to overcome contradicting and differing issues in encountering them? Some individuals can do, and others cannot. What is an element/factor that enables some individuals to become more creative?
WB: First of all creativity is not so much something that you decide to do consciously in order to become rich or famous or get promoted. On the contrary it is something that the individual is compelled to do pushed along by a motivation that the person may not even be conscious of. I would say that being creative is an expression of our deepest nature. So I would turn the question around and ask why it is that not everyone is creative. This may be because most of us are too comfortable with who we are, what we have, and what we believe uncritically to be the case. We live in a bubble within which we are quite at home. Disturbing that comfortable world takes courage because you must be prepared to live with unpleasant tension and cognitive dissonance. It is disorienting and a kind of suffering.
2. You mentioned that a new conceptual system is emerging among the digital natives along with technological innovation. How would you describe this new conceptual system? Are new technologies enabling young people to be more creative?
WB: No, I said that each major technological change brings about a new (technological) conceptual system. Does it help young people to be more creative? Remember that I associated creativity with changing CSs. Having a new CS surely means that you look at things in a way that is different than previous generations do but that does not necessarily make you creative. In fact people today tend to be the slaves of their technologies and so may not have the time for the concentrated immersion in a problem that is a prerequisite for creativity.
3. Deep thinking – in contrast to analytical thinking, is it more like an experiential and embodied knowledge? Anthropologists conduct fieldwork to understand culture and human behaviors of the topic of interest from informants’ point of view. In design field, researchers observe and interview people to find insights into a product/service that they are developing. In both instances, researchers are trying to obtain the perspectives of the insiders to gain a deeper understanding of the topic/object of research.
WB: DT often is generated by an ambiguous situation in which there are two different points of view (c.f. Koestler on Creativity) that conflict with one another. In the situations you have described there are clearly these two different viewpoints—insiders and researchers— so the problem is not only understanding the other point of view but developing a point of view that includes the culture of the insiders but is expressible in the language and culture of the researcher. To bridge that gap requires a creative response.
4. IT industry is looking into human’s biological and physiological data using sensors to investigate human conditions and their interactions with the environment. All the data will be converted into numbers, and sent to a digital and analytical system. In that sense, these data may not be able to enhance deep thinking and creativity. To make these inventions (Virtual Reality, auto-driving cars, AI, etc. ) more creative, what is necessary in addition to algorithm, a conceptual system based on rationality?
WB: I think of the inventions you mention as extensions of our society's present conceptual system. A self-driving car is interesting and new but it is not a very creative idea. You wouldn't say, "Wow! I've never thought of it that way." It's easy to imagine a self-driving car. The problems are technical and complicated but not radical. We know we can do it and will do it sooner or later.
As I said I think that the title AI is a misnomer. I don't see how an AI program can be creative when it is necessarily embedded in an analytic paradigm and creativity, real creativity, requires one to step outside of the analytic mind.
Nevertheless there can be creativity within a CS. Writing a paper in mathematics or science should involve creativity within these Ss. But even here the research must be based on an original idea. Where does that idea come from? Often from finding a new way to look at the situation, i.e. reframing. Getting a new idea does not come from a logical analysis or by crunching data alone. It comes from absorbing yourself in the problem for a long period of time and then stepping back from the problem, going for a walk, or taking a nap. Then the promising idea pops into your head sometimes crystallized by a random event that has no obvious connection to your problem. This is thinking outside the box. You can't force it to happen but it does often happen when the mind is ripe and open. | http://wunicon.org/webinar/mind-thinking-creativity |
The ubiquity of data coupled with the resultant proliferation of data mining-driven knowledge creation initiatives are reshaping the longstanding conception of what it means to learn. One of the core manifestations of the otherwise imperceptible shift is an explicit differentiation of reason-based and technology-based learning modalities. The former, which manifests itself as either direct observation-based experiential inquiry, or as scientific investigation-rooted theoretical investigation, encapsulates the familiar, intuitively obvious human-centric framing of learning. The latter, on the other hand, can be seen as a product of info-technological advances; as such, it can take the form of either computational, which entails algorithmic analyses of available data commonly characterized as ‘machine learning’, or the still developing simulational learning, where data and computing technologies are used to render physically inaccessible depictions of reality.
Implied in the so-broadened conception of learning is that learners should not be assumed to be human. That is because as artificial systems’ abilities to generate and ‘consume’, in the sense of taking learning-driven actions, information is quickly approaching – and in some contexts even surpassing – human sensemaking. Banks, insurance companies, retailers and a growing array of other volume-based business organizations now commonly rely on artificial learning systems to make eligibility determinations and identify potential fraud, and not only process but also to initiate transactions (the latter perhaps best illustrated by the now ubiqutuous automated trading). Interestingly, much of the knowledge generated by auto-processing systems is entirely contained in those systems, hence it is important to think of those systems as progressively more autonomous learning entities that are increasingly more capable of drawing inferences from data that go beyond the basic trend identification and extrapolation. And while the numerous and profound technological and moral implications continue to stir vigorous scientific and ethical debates, one aspect of the learning related impact of the currently underway info-technological transformation that received comparatively little attention is its impact on another longstanding notion: our conception of creativity.
Although learning and creativity have been traditionally seen as notionally distinct and different, the wave of rapid techno-informational transformations that sweep across an ever-wider array of commercial activities is strongly suggestive of the need for a reassessment of that perspective. To that end, the longstanding conception of creativity frames that somewhat vague idea in the context of imagination, commonly described as forming of new ideas, not already present to or in the senses. Moreover, the current conception of creativity also effectively limits it to the uniquely human, conjured-by-the-mind processes. Such characterization of creativity begs two fundamental questions: Firstly, should imagination-framed creativity be characterized as conjuring up of something completely otherworldly, in the sense of not having been experienced, or is it more appropriate to see it as forming something new – be it an abstract idea or a work of art – by combining ‘old’ elements into a new whole? And secondly, should creativity continue to be seen as a uniquely human, conjured-by-the-mind process, or should its definitional scope be expanded to encompass the more broadly framed capability of generating novel rearrangements of known elements?
While such definitional questions rarely lend themselves to a conclusive determination, evidence from the field of child psychology, which focuses on cognitive and behavioral human development, suggests that human creativity is closely linked to tacit and experiential learning. And if creativity is to no longer be limited to just ideas conjured by human mind, it seems reasonable to assert that artificial learning systems, which first identify patterns in data and then generalize beyond those patterns, should also be deemed capable of ‘imagining’. Those learning-capable computing systems – commonly grouped under the general label of ‘machine learning’ – can render not-yet-experienced (by human learners) ‘reality’, immersion in which could spark ideas – in human mind – that go beyond those that could be conjured by mind alone. In short, data, or more specifically data-enabled automation, should be seen not only as a source of numerous operational efficiencies, but also as a driver of creativity.
Mind-Machine Collaboration
Thinking about the prospect of computer simulation-enabled creative problem solving it is easy to get excited about the possibility of using those powerful capabilities to shed light on some of the most existential questions of mankind, but should business and other non-scientific organizations be as excited, given the comparatively mundane nature of their informational needs? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’!
Commercial organizations that seek to grow and prosper, and social organizations that aim to further different social and societal goals, pursue their goals in competitive environments, thus their ability to advance their agendas is tied directly to the efficacy of their functioning, which includes the use of already in hand or potentially available informational resources. Business companies can win more customers, and nonprofit organizations can secure the necessary resources by thoughtfully structuring organizational tasks in a way that combines the core advantages of informational automation – speed, scalability, and consistency – with core human competencies, most notably adaptively creative problem-solving. As illustrated by examples ranging from relatively simple tasks such as automated customer loyalty classification to much more complex ones, perhaps best embodies by self-driving cars, modern data analytics-driven systems can augment, or even replace direct human effort, which has the obvious benefit of freeing human time to be redirected toward addressing other problems. But all that is old news – modern, well-functioning organizations are already well acquainted with those ideas, as decision automation is now commonplace in high frequency of interaction contexts, such as consumer lending or insurance claim processing. That said, there is a yet another, often overlooked dimension of human-computer interaction (HCI), one where humans and computers are engaged in in a two-way interaction, termed here human-computer collaboration (HCC).
HCI sees the manner in which humans interact with machines as one-way phenomenon, primarily concerned with making computers and other devices as easily usable as possible. Clearly, that is a critical consideration when designing human-facing interfaces of computing systems, but it tacitly dismisses the idea of collaboration-like, two-way human-computer interactions. To put it in terms of organizational ecosystems, HCI frames computers as ‘suppliers’ of specific informational inputs, rather than ‘partners’ in the knowledge creation process. And while that framing is reasonable when computers serve as de facto high-end electronic calculators (which, to be sure, is still the core and tremendously valuable functionality of computing systems), it is too restrictive in situations in which advanced computing systems are capable of self-controlled intelligent behavior. Of course, as noted earlier, not being conscious, artificial computing systems are not (yet?) capable of truly independent ‘thought’, meaning that their informational output is ultimately constrained by the combination of their programming and data from which they learn. Still, those systems can process vast quantities of data tirelessly, accurately, and at a dizzying speed, all of which raises a tantalizing possibility: What if human informational workers and artificial computing systems could engage in teamwork-like collaborations? Could the current conception of ‘machine learning’ be expanded to also encompass adaptation of ANN (artificial neural networks) and other machine learning algorithms to the nuances of individual analysts’ areas of analytic focus? In other words, could machine learning entail not just algorithms extracting meaningful patterns out of data, but also learning about the informational needs of their human partners? All considered, what if the current conception of data scientists’ and business analysts’ skillset was to be expanded to not only include the traditional computing competencies, but also HCC-framed teamwork? Would that offer organizations the long sought-after ability to monetize their data assets?
The idea of monetizing organizational data is compelling to all, but to-date only a handful of organizations found effective ways of doing so, and most of those organizations, such as Google or Facebook, are themselves products of the Information Age. Most companies’ business models are not built atop of data flows, which means those organizations are not innately positioned to extract direct economic benefits out of their data holdings. For those organizations, the path to extracting economic value out of their data assets is through broad organizational embrace of the idea of data-enabled creativity. Operationally, that means going beyond the tried-and-true modes of data utilization, which nowadays encompass anything from outcome tracking and reporting mechanisms to predictive analytic capabilities. In the past, brilliant breakthroughs were often painted as random flashes of light in the dark of night, but going forward, breakthroughs could become far more predictable outcomes of systematic pursuit of discontinuous innovation, rooted in meaningful human-computer collaborations. There is nothing outlandish about such an assertion as it has long been known that innovation-supportive organizational practices and culture produce steady flows of cutting-edge innovation (perhaps best illustrated by the 3M Company’s 55,000+ products); HCC is merely the next step in that evolutionary development.
The New Frontier of Imagination
The preceding reasoning is rooted in an implicit assumption that once realized, a breakthrough idea will be recognize as such, but there are ample reasons to be skeptical. Why, for instance, are some works of art celebrated while others are looked at with disinterest, or barely noticed? Or why are the same works go unnoticed at first, only to become artistic superstars later? As is well-known, Vincent Van Gogh, the famed post-impressionist painter, created some of the most expensive paintings to have ever sold, he even has a major museum devoted entirely to his works (the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam), yet he did not enjoy any of that success during his lifetime, in spite of completing more than 800 paintings (more than 2,100 individual artworks in total) in a span of just a decade. What makes his Starry Night or his Irises so ‘creative’? Along similar lines of reasoning though in far less artistic sense, the category of modern sport utility vehicles, or SUVs, is commonly believed to have been sparked into existence by the introduction of 1990 Ford Explorer, a norm-setting design. Yet the 1984 Jeep Cherokee was a remarkably similar (both were 4-door, comparably sized and shaped vehicles with essentially the same or comparable attributes); why then does the Explorer get the creative glory?
Is some form of success required to earn the ‘creative’ badge? It is a bit like the familiar sounding ‘if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound’ quandary. Questions like that do not lend themselves to straightforward, objective answers but there is value in considering them, and that value is the development of a meaningful perspective on which the idea of data-enabled creativity can be operationally developed.
Whether or not some form or success or wider acceptance are deemed necessary, creativity tends to be assessed through the prism of ‘stuff’, such as the above Van Gogh’s paintings or category-defining automobiles. In an organizational setting, that translates into output, be it in the form discrete products or services, or decision choices. That perspective, however, overlooks an increasingly important, latent aspect of creativity: situational sensemaking. The current highly volatile, hypercompetitive socio-politico-economic environment rewards organizations, seen here as human collectives working together in pursuit of shared commercial or societal goals, that exhibit superior abilities to problem-solve and to adapt to the ever-changing environmental realities. If volatility and change are ongoing and largely unpredictable, organizational ability to respond is ultimately contingent on individual organizational constituents’ situational sensemaking, or considered more broadly, creative problem-solving capabilities. In that particular context, creativity is construed to be the ability to identify emerging opportunities and threats, and adaptively respond to observed or perceived changes in one’s environment. While that framing certainly does not preclude innovative product or service ideation, it is nonetheless primarily focused on widening and deepening of individual-level cognitive thinking and emotive feeling capabilities, seen here as founding enablements of situational sensemaking. And lastly, it is a crucial element of the earlier discussed human-computer collaboration.
The above reasoning is rooted in the belief that, at its core, human creativity entails finding new and meaningful arrangements of already-known elements (rather than conjuring up otherworldly ideas); in a sense, it could be likened to finding new patterns in old data. An essential enabler of being able to do that is imagination, generally understood to be a process of forming new ideas or representations not present to the senses. While the difference between creativity and imagination is not always clear, the former is generally seen as a purposeful process, which means it tends to be confined by some pragmatic bounds, while the latter is usually neither purposeful nor confined by any type of bounds. Hence it is that unbounded nature of imagination that grants it the freedom to conjure up new concepts, perspectives or associations that are unlikely to be produced without it, and imagination is also the aspect of creative problem-solving that can be stimulated by means of computer-rendered simulations.
It is important to note that what is described here represents a fundamentally different conception of computer simulation-based learning than the one used to train pilots, nurses, or business managers, all of which are based on the idea of artificial rendering of accurately depicted physical reality, with the goal of emulating the conditions those professionals are expected to encounter on-the-job. The stated goal of data-enabled simulations discussed here is to do the opposite – to create scenarios, associations, or conditions that may not have yet been encountered, with the goal of stimulating imagination, and ultimately, creative problem-solving. Operationalizing of that idea, however, is contingent on closer alignment of human and machine learning processes, which in turn touches on the idea of ‘semantic triangle’, first suggested by Ogden and Richards nearly a century ago. It offers an abstract representation of how linguistic symbols are related to the objects they represent, and when framed in the contemporary context of human and machine learning, its core premise is graphically illustrated by Figure 1.
Figure 1
Semantic Triangle
As graphically depicted above, the primary sensemaking mechanism in human learning relies on associating symbols, such as words, with typically contextual meaning; on the other hand, the primary machine learning avenue relies on grouping of specific examples, or points of reference, into larger categories, which is seen as the ability to generalize. Stated differently, being self-aware, humans develop conscious understanding, while self-awareness-lacking artificial learning systems are not capable of developing of human-like understanding, framed here as cognitive sensemaking. Simply put, the association between, for instance, ‘task involvement’ and ‘result quality’ can be expected to evoke a particular meaning in a human, which can be seen as a product of an intuitively obvious, implied abstract relationship, easily grasped by most. To a machine, however, the same association is not ‘understood’ in terms of such elusive, transcendental qualities – instead, it merely belongs to a particular class of associations, which means that artificial intelligence manifests itself in the ability to create semantically and practically meaningful groupings, rather than human-like cognitive understanding. With that in mind, the idea of simulation-based learning is predicated upon the assumption that given the many potential classes of associations that machine learning systems can produce, at least some can be expected to fall completely outside of the evoked or consideration set of human meanings. In other words, by creating new but algorithmically plausible (i.e., consistent with embedded computational logic) classes, machine learning modality can suggest potential new ideas that reach beyond what a given human learner could be expected to conjure up on his or her own. In that sense, artificial systems-based simulations can help humans ‘imagine’ the otherwise unimaginable.
To summarize the preceding discussion, the expanded, data-enabled conception of creativity is captured in Figure 2. | https://www.eruditeanalytics.com/post/transcendental-data-enabled-creativity |
Letter from the Chancellor: How UAA is charting a positive course for the future
Last year, the University of Alaska System, or UA, faced catastrophic and crippling budget cuts. While the governor and Board of Regents ratcheted back the worst of what was proposed with the compact agreement, Alaska’s universities must still face the startling reality of losing $70 million over three years while maintaining the quality of education that Alaskans deserve.
To implement these cuts, the Board of Regents directed the three university chancellors to undertake expedited reviews of our academic programs and administrative structures to identify areas where we can create savings and efficiencies. As chancellor, I always first look to administrative cuts, but the budget cuts imposed on UAA and its sister institutions are substantial and more than administrative reductions could cover. Therefore, the regents specifically directed the chancellors to consider academic programs as part of these reductions. This means that in order to ensure the university’s long-term viability and still provide top-quality academic offerings, UAA will offer fewer academic majors while continuing to reduce administration.
At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we have not entered into this process lightly. We see value in each of our academic programs and realize that the people of the state rely on UAA and our sister institutions to provide the talent and training to power our economy. Therefore, we are leaning heavily on qualitative and quantitative data about all of our academic programs and are looking at each program’s centrality to the mission of the university while measuring overall productivity, efficiency and demand in terms of workforce needs and interests. In the end, none of these decisions are easy, but we are making them in as fair and equitable a way as possible to maintain the heart of the UAA academic experience.
I want to reassure our community that the majority of certificates and degrees offered by UAA will continue to be available and that we will uphold the academic rigor and quality that Alaskans know and trust. We will have comprehensive advising available for all students in an affected program as well as degree completion options, where necessary.
The initial steps of the expedited review process are complete and those interested in more detail can visit our regularly-updated expedited program review website. Preliminary recommendations for programs to discontinue are complete, and feedback sessions with faculty, staff, students and external stakeholders will include formal listening sessions in mid-March. After considering all factors, I will deliver UAA’s final recommendations to President Johnsen and the Board of Regents at the end of March. The board will have until June to make the final call on the recommendations from each university.
These have been challenging months for the University of Alaska system and for UAA. Our unrelenting focus on the higher education needs of our students, our state and on the fulfillment of our mission have driven our decision making. This will not change, even as we face difficult decisions ahead. | |
The weather pattern for April 2014 is set out below – the various readings are taken daily between 07.00 and 08.00 at 5 Greenwood Close, Ashwellthorpe. The temperature and humidity readings are, therefore, not necessarily the warmest/coldest, most/least humid in any 24-hour period. Owing to absence, readings were taken on only 24 days of the 30 days of April.
Rainfall – The total rainfall for the 24 days of April 2014 recorded, amounted to 18 mm, with the most rainfall in any 24-hour period of 5.5 mm being recorded on Saturday 26 April. There was no measurable rainfall on 19 of the 24 days.
Temperature – The average temperature for the 24 recorded days of April 2014 was 8.3 C with the highest temperature of 13C being recorded on Sunday 6 April. The coldest temperature was 4C on Wednesday 16 April.
Humidity – The lowest humidity in these 24 recorded days of April 2014 was 47% on Saturday 19 April and the highest of 59% on Sunday 6, Monday 21 and Friday 25 April.
Comparisons with April weather patterns for 2013, 2012 and 2011 can be made by scrolling down the page. | https://ashwellthorpepc.norfolkparishes.gov.uk/2014/05/29/ashwellthorpe-weather-data-april-2014/ |
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