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Basic Microbiological Techniques
2 February 2017
Microbiological Techniques Submitted by Ozan Enver Ozdemir 20120707007 Submitted to Nurullah Aydogdu Merve Seven Submission Date and Section 10. 10. 2012-5 1. Aim Aim of this first experiment is producing individual E.
Colibakteria colonies with using streaking method . Aim of second experiment is planting with using spreading method and with serial dilution to observe the decreasing number of colonies. 2. Theory Some micro-organisms can be harmful to humans as they cause illness.For this reason, microbiological techniques have been developed to control the unwanted growth and spreading of micro-organisms. We try to learn about micro-organisms and understand that how do micro-organisms grow in human body using microbiological techniques. In this experiment we use some microbiological techniques.
Basic Microbiological Techniques Essay Example
First of all is Culturing : A sample (called the inoculum)(E. Colibakteria) is introduced into a culture medium that provides an controlled environment where the micro-organism can multiply.The observable growth that appears in the medium is known as a culturing. Microbiological media is a medium which inculudes all requirements for growth of microorganisms. there are organic and inorganic compounds. 2 types of medias use in laboratory. Nutrient Broth(liquid, contained in bottle or tubes.
) and other one is Nutrient Agar(solid, actually like jelly, contained in petri dishes. ) We use one of the culture as known Pure Calture ; is culture that contains a single known species or type of micro-organism.This type of culture is most constantly used for the study of micro-organisms in the laboratory. When studying the single type of a micro-organism(pure calture) other micro-organisms must not introduce our culture . Otherwise we will not take certain results(Contaminating). Contaminating micro-organisms may produce substances that can prevent the growth of the studied micro-organism. Streaking is one of the microbiological techniques is used for that increase the chance for producing individual colonies from individual microbial cells which seperated by dragging over the surface of agar.
This method is used for that isolate the cells from crowded colonies to reproduce them in controlled environment. There are several types of streaking method. types of streaking method Serial dilution is frequently used in laboratary to lessen number of microorganism per unit of sample before using spreading method . spreading method is useful for planting and isolating individual cells from crowded colonies to obvious observation. 3. Materials and Chemicals Experiment 1 NutrientAgar(solid) Loop Culture of BacteriaAlcohol Burner Parafilm PetriDishes Experiment 2 MicrocetrifugeTube(Eppendorf Tube) 1. 5ml Culture of Bacteria Micropipette Pipette Tips Alcohol Burner Nutrient Broth(liquid) Petri Dishes Parafilm Alcohol GlassRod 4.
Produce Experiment 1 The cap of tube contains culture of bacteria was opened . The loop was put into the tube. The cap was closed. The lid of the Petri dish to be streaked at nearly 45-degree angle was lifted. Four areas were determineted on the dish imaginery. The loop was placed into dish. The loop was touched the medium.
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Study Abroad
2 February 2017
Topic: Going overseas for university study is an exciting prospect for many people. But while it may offer some advantages, it is probably better to stay home because of the difficulties a student inevitably encounters living and studying in a different culture. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement? Give reasons for answer. Essay 1: Studying abroad is one of the events that significantly leaves a footprint in each person’s life. Nowadays, as the whole world is growing closer, a lot of students are motivated to study abroad.It goes without question that improvement of communication and transportation has made such an experience much easier than it used to be in the past.
Earlier, such an experience has been considered as an extraordinary skill that outlines an applicant for a job, whereas today it is a crucial and vital part of career progression or even getting a job in some sectors. The benefits of studying abroad are very clear. Learning new cultures and trying to get integrated in new societies gives the student a unique skill that cannot be reached without going abroad, Language skills will definitely improve in foreign countries.Through communication with native speakers a person gains more knowledge about the language and gets more confidence using it. Living far away from home without relying in parents, family and friends helps a student to improve his character and tackle new challenges. However, exactly this point is seen as the hardest barrier in taking such a decision. Living miles away from home can lead to a strong feeling of home sickness.
Study Abroad Essay Example
Despite new communication ways such as the internet, a person can sometimes fail to adapt to a new society without being surrounded by his family.It can lead to a negative impact on his entire life in the future. Trying to build a new network of family and friends can be difficult for a lot of people and they end up sometimes living very isolated. This may lead to bad academic results and psychological health problems such as depression. Furthermore, the financial aspect must also be taken into account, as living abroad normally costs more money. Nevertheless, I would always motivate each student to go ahead with such an experience, as the benefits will always overweight the disadvantages and will company them in their entire life.Essay 2: Pursuing higher studies abroad has become a popular choice for students from around the globe.
Each year, young people spend thousands of dollars to travel, live and study in universities, colleges and schools overseas. In my view, this life-changing decision is based on the premise that education is an investment in one’s future. My opinion is based on academic, professional and personal reasons. In my opinion, the primary reason for studying abroad is academic. Students wish to reap the benefits associated with attending a reputable educational institute.In addition, gaining admission to prestigious college or university is often regarded as an achievement in itself. The quality of the academic programs, the level of specialized instruction and the availability of professional resources are all high.
It is no wonder that students long to graduate from well-known institutes. From a professional viewpoint, graduating from foreign universities is often a gateway to a successful career. The connection is direct and provides strong motivation for young people to study abroad. The hope is that such graduates have an added advantage over their peers in a highly competitive job market.
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Meet the Middle Mile: How the Network Brings the Edge to You
It’s all about the edge. Edge compute, edge containers, micro data centers – these are the latest terms gripping the Internet industry and making the promise of a sweeter tomorrow, filled with more data and faster processing in the ethereal Internet of Things. The edge seeks to provide the IoT we’ve been promised by a simple mechanism: moving data processing closer to where it is collected, closer to the things. However, there’s a fundamental problem with the thesis of the edge revolution. The edge is just a computer tucked into a corner of some obscure location without solving the most difficult factor in the equation – the network.
In order to understand the problem, we have to take a step back and ask “Where is the edge, exactly? And where is it moving?” And for that matter, “What is edge compute, and why should anyone care about it?”
The New Edge Movement
Like many buzz words on the Internet, the edge is an evolving concept. The edge typically means the most common points of transition where content networks and user networks meet. The edge, if it were a tangible thing, currently resides in the large data centers where video, cat pictures, and memes get transferred, over varying degrees of direct interconnection, from content producers to content consumers. These locations are also becoming synonymous with where the cloud resides.
The new edge movement seeks to push data processing out of central data centers and closer to end user networks, by setting up many small locations that can gather, process, and serve content.
The small locations go by terms like “containers” and “micro data centers”. But ultimately, they are just smaller versions of their very large cousins, and are space and power where servers live. These servers become edge compute. The many edge locations allow data processing and content to exist in more places, so users receive information and services faster. Not only does data reach the requester more quickly when served physically closer, it also relieves the burden (both technical and economic) of moving large bits of data over long distances. Data from an MRI can be now be processed by AI a short network distance away from where the MRI was actually produced, as opposed to moving the data back to a central cloud location to await processing in a queue. By the same token, the latest cat meme can now be delivered to someone’s phone 20ms faster, and for one quarter of the cost.
Wait, Isn’t That Just a CDN?
Now that I have some of you nodding along with me, you might also be thinking, “Isn’t that a CDN?” You are correct! Moving content closer to the end users is part of what content distribution networks do, but they don’t solve for data processing. CDN philosophy won’t scale to meet future needs due to lack of custom applications for data processing, and because of another large and looming Internet buzz word – 5G.
5G mobile data transmission is currently touted as the best thing since sliced bread, trialed in select markets, and still under development. 5G specs speeds up to 20Gbps, but the transmission distance is currently measured in feet, and usually just hundreds of them.
Now that we have the different building blocks of what the edge is and why it’s important, we can start to put together a picture. A picture in which more connected things are both consuming and producing data. Like someone watching 200 simultaneous 8K videos on their phone and the solar panels on your house transmitting information about excess available power that could satisfy nearby demand.
Meet the Middle Mile
Existing CDNs and content provider networks would be stressed to satisfy end user demand, and the neighborhood processing power for novel applications in the IoT simply doesn’t exist. However, 5G only helps with a faster, more ubiquitous network for the last mile. In order for new content to be pushed out to the edge, or data to be pulled back into the cloud for further processing, storage, or collaboration, a critical network piece is missing. This is the middle mile piece, connecting the edge to the current centralization points of data center and cloud.
The middle mile piece is in the fiber in the ground. It’s controlled by telcos nearly as old as the power grids themselves, and approximately as flexible. Network services on top of this fiber take months to procure and months to provision. It doesn’t matter if the service is an MPLS circuit, a 1G ethernet, or a 100G wave, network connectivity is required to move data from the edge back to central connectivity points, aka data centers. Moving the network edge out for the purpose of serving users better, and processing data faster, requires network solutions on the back sides of that edge that are quick to provision and quick to scale.
Now we have come full circle. Deploying network and moving data is difficult. Movement to the edge has effectively created many more, smaller versions of the same problem that exists today. Unless a better solution for network connectivity helps move data between the edge and cloud, the edge will only make incremental progress toward the everything connected dream the Internet has long promised.
After all, without the network, all you have are some servers sitting in a shipping container in the middle of a field in Kansas.
Author's Bio
Anna Claiborne
SVP Software Engineering and Co-Founder at PacketFabric |
Comparing Features of 4 Popular Machine Learning Platforms Comparing Features of 4 Popular Machine Learning Platforms
Machine learning, the term and the technology, has been of paramount importance and relevance in the context of computational applications for... Comparing Features of 4 Popular Machine Learning Platforms
Machine learning, the term and the technology, has been of paramount importance and relevance in the context of computational applications for years. Arthur Samuel first came up with the word “machine learning” in 1957. Machine learning is basically a part of artificial intelligence that evolves through the fields of pattern recognition and computational learning, and focuses on construction and development of algorithms that can make predictions, learn from the input data, and comprehend the patterns in it.
In simple words, it is the part of an artificial intelligence program that helps the computer to learn and adapt without being programmed to learn each new change. The commercial reign exploits and makes use of machine learning and term it as “predictive analytics.” Predictive analytics helps and allows researchers, data scientists and engineers to produce reliable results learning through the history and pattern of data input.
Here is a comparison of four of the top machine learning platforms on the basis of the features they provide and their versatility.
TensorFlow is an open source library that can be used as a machine learning tool too. It was released in November 2015, and is being used at Google for research and production purposes. Features of Tensorflow include:
• Flexible operation, offering you modularity.
• It is one of the machine learning platforms that is easily trainable on CPU and GPU as well.
• It has a large community of engineers and developers at Google working continuously for its stability.
• Being an open source library, almost anyone can access it as long as they have an Internet connection.
Watson Machine Learning or IBM Watson studio is a collaborative environment and a service on IBM cloud for training, creating, and designing and deploying neural networks and machine learning models. Initially, it was a question answering computing system that was in corporate with technologies like machine learning, information retrieval, knowledge representation, and automated reasoning. Using Watson machine learning, you can build analytical models that can be trained with your own data and can be used in applications. A few of the features of IBM Watson machine learning are:
• It guides you through your model, step-by-step by Model builder that uses Spark ML algorithms
• Administrative tasks such as managing credentials and services can be performed.
• It provides a Deployment infrastructure to host your trained models.
• Another tool, Flow editor presents a graphical view of your model at the time of development.
Microsoft Azure machine learning is a collaborative platform that can be used to build, test, and release predictive solutions of your data. It is Microsoft’s cloud computing infrastructure, launched on February 1st, 2010 as Windows Azure and was later renamed Microsoft Azure on 25th March 2014.
• Azure makes machine learning easy and more accessible, that means it can be accessed by a much broader audience.
• For people who have little or no experience in using and working with machine learning platforms, Azure makes it easy to start mining data for predictions.
• Drag and drop gestures can be used to set up experiments. For a number of tasks, you do not even need to write a single code.
• Besides minimizing the coding requirement, it is also time efficient as it has Machine Learning Studio’s library of sample experiments.
CAFFE stands for Convolutional Architecture for Fast Feature Embedding. Developed at UC Berkeley, it is an open source, deep learning framework. Caffe is being used in academic research programs and projects. It is also being applied to help build startup prototypes, and even large-scale industrial applications in vision, speech, and multimedia. Yahoo created CaffeOnSpark.
• GPU- and CPU-based acceleration computational kernel libraries such as NVIDIA cuDNN and Intel MKL are supported by CAFFE.
• Many Image classification based deep learning infrastructure are also supported by CAFFE.
• CAFFE provides an expressive architecture that encourages application and innovation. Models can be defined without hard-coding and with configuration.
As the world is continuing to develop artificial intelligence and machine learning software, India is also keeping up with the growth. The government of India has also started to focus on developing their own plan for AI. Software development companies in India are now focusing on creating artificially intelligent computer programs that may be used to assist human intelligence in fields like healthcare, weather and climate, crowd management, space research, and education. App developers and many app development companies in India, agencies are now coming up with the application of machine learning and AI in their apps to gather public attention and to provide new and customized experiences and new services to their customers through their apps.
Manoj Rawat, a Growth Hacker, Ideator, Innovator and Experienced SEO, SMM and Marketing Consultant with over 8 years IT experience. He loves to share marketing tips & strategies among online marketers. He is an avid sports person, traveler, explorer & nature lover. You can find Manoj on Quora, LinkedIn, and Twitter. |
Biology Class 11 Chapter 2 Biological Molecules
Carbohydrates means? The ratio of carbohydrates is? Indicates the general formula of carbohydrates? The complex substance which on hydrolysis yields polyhydroxy aldehyde is called as? The building blocks of complex carbohydrates are? The word “monosaccharide” means? The isomeric compounds which have same structure but different arrangement of atoms in three dimension spaces is called as? Disaccharides can be hydrolyzed to obtain? The double bonded oxygen is linked to α-carbon within the chain in? |
Oral Hygiene
If you started your orthodontic treatment with braces today, please watch this video to help care for your teeth on your road to a beautiful smile!
Now that you have taken the time to invest in your smile, cooperation with orthodontic instruction and proper oral care are key to walking away with a beautiful, healthy smile.
We understand that caring for your teeth can be challenging when you have braces. This means focusing on oral hygiene is more important than ever before. Food and plaque can get trapped in the tiny spaces between braces and wires. This may cause decay, staining, or a reaction between food, bacteria and the metal in the braces, which may cause small light spots on your teeth. Patients with braces should brush their teeth at least four times each day. You should do so after each meal and before going to bed each night. We will show each patient proper flossing techniques with braces.
You should continue your routine checkups with your dentist while receiving orthodontic care. Your dentist will determine the intervals between cleaning appointments while you are in braces.
We strongly recommend wearing a mouth guard while participating in any sports.
You should avoid eating foods that may damage or become stuck in your braces such as hard, chewy or sticky candies, gum, popcorn and chips. Use caution with crunchy or chewy foods such as bagels, apples and carrots. It is best to cut these into smaller pieces. Avoid soda and sugary drinks. Do not chew on ice, pencils or your fingernails.
Peroxyl is a hydrogen peroxide antiseptic mouth rinse that will reduce inflammation to your gums and cheeks. Peroxyl helps to prevent infection and decrease irritation that may develop from your braces. Rinse your mouth with two teaspoons of Peroxyl (half a capful) for one minute and then spit it out. You may use Peroxyl up to four times a day following your tooth brushing. Just like using peroxide for a scrape on your skin, Peroxyl helps the inside of your mouth heal. You may use it for general irritation caused by your braces or for canker sores, cheek bites and other minor temporary injuries to the gums.
Phos-Flur is a sodium fluoride gel that helps prevent tooth decay while you are wearing braces by killing bacteria and replacing minerals in tooth enamel that have been exposed to harmful acids. The use of Phos-Flur does not replace daily brushing and flossing, but should be done following your daily bedtime tooth brushing. Place a small strip of Phos-Flur on a toothbrush and apply it to your teeth for one minute and spit it out. You may not eat or drink for 30 minutes after you use Phos-Flur. It is important for the active ingredient to stay on your teeth for 30 minutes. |
Sharing Resources: You’re Damned if You Do, You’re Damned if You Don’t
Teaching is defined by sharing knowledge.
It’s what we do.
It’s an instinct.
It’s natural.
It’s everything.
No matter what way you think this transfer of knowledge should happen, most would agree that it is the act of sharing that embodies what a teacher does. The advent of social media has made this transfer easier than ever. But there is a downside to the sharing. The more you share, and effectively teach others, and the better other teachers become as a result of your sharing, the harder you have to work to maintain your student success rates.
How can this be?
It’s all to do with the bell curve.
bell curve
Our system is norm-referenced, which means that grade boundaries are assigned only when a distribution of scores is ascertained, rendering certain percentages to achieve a grade 4 or above, and a certain percentage to not. This is due to the inability of a criterion-based system to eliminate errors in reliability. For example, it is difficult to set the same standard of test year after year. Some tests will not be as difficult (cohort’s scores rise), and some years the exam will be considered harder (cohort’s grades fall). The norm referencing moderates these errors, and in doing so attempts to validate the results. But the nasty by product is that a certain percentage has to fall below the average, and it is these students who are deemed to not have achieved the required grade. This can be regardless of them attaining a level of skill that in other years would have been deemed to be acceptable.
Consequences: So, as we become better teachers, via sharing and learning from others, we facilitate our students getting better scores, effectively pushing the curve over to the right. This means that instead of being rewarded for creating a better, smarter society, we are actually shackled with increased pressure to not only emulate but increase the achievement the next year. However, teachers are already pushed to extremes with workload and pressures are becoming unsustainable. There’s certainly no need for me to reference any evidence about that!
To emphasise the interminable nature of this scenario, take as an example, a 5-year government goal, to guarantee that every teacher teaching in every school in the land had been observed to be a good or outstanding teacher. You would think that achieving such a feat would satisfy all concerned. But it’s actually never going to happen, because it’s pretty hard to say a teacher is good or outstanding if their students haven’t passed. There’s little getting away from the fact that the label of good or outstanding is heavily tied to grades, and so it’s not statistically possible to achieve this goal.
That just doesn’t seem right.
Solutions? Can examination boards work harder to produce criterion-based examinations? Are there other ways of achieving credible, valid and reliable measures of our students’ knowledge? I know it’s a complex discussion, and the answers aren’t easy. Tom Sherrington discusses the issue with as much clarity as one could here. But when we look at the increasing cost to those on the front line, us, and to the statistically disadvantaged students, it certainly could be something that the education community as a collective could put more consideration into.
It is completely counter-intuitive to not want to share and teach others. But can we sustain it?
I’m Paul Moss.
Follow me if you like on Twitter: @edmerger
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Tax Rate for Self Employment
Everyone has to pay income tax, but when it comes to Social Security and Medicare taxes, employers split the cost with their employees. However, when you're self-employed, you're considered both the employee and the employer. That makes you responsible for the full Social Security and Medicare tax rates when self-employed – essentially double the rate of someone employed by a company they don't own.
Tax Rate for Self-Employment
According to the Internal Revenue Service, the tax rate for self-employment is currently 15.3 percent. Of this amount, 12.4 percent funds the Social Security program, while the other 2.9 percent funds Medicare. As of 2020, the IRS applies the 12.4 percent Social Security tax rate only to the first $137,700 earned through self-employment, but the 2.9 percent Medicare tax rate applies to your entire net income.
The IRS will also require you to pay an additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax if you earn more than the threshold amount associated with your filing status (i.e., $200,000 for single filers).
Only people who earned more than $400 in self-employed activities (or more than $108.28 in church employee earnings) need to pay the self-employment tax.
Self-Employment Tax Deductions
When calculating your adjusted gross income, you are allowed to deduct half of the self-employment tax fund. In essence, this turns the "employer" portion of the self-employment tax into a business expense and can ease some of the burden of your income taxes. However, it does not make you exempt from paying the full self-employment tax.
As a self-employed person, you are also allowed to deduct the cost of your health insurance to determine your adjusted gross income, which can also save you money on your income tax.
You may also qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is not a deduction per se but can provide some tax relief to self-employed individuals who meet the income and child requirements.
Tips for Setting Aside Tax Money
Remember that the self-employment tax occurs in addition to your income tax and that you, as your own employer, are responsible for withholding tax money from your own paychecks. One of the best ways you can ensure you have enough money to pay your taxes on time is to set up a separate savings account solely to store these funds. Get in the habit of immediately transferring the appropriate percentage of every transaction to this savings account. This will prevent you from spending money that's actually earmarked for the government.
To set aside the correct percentage, take some time to understand how income tax brackets work. For example, you'll owe only 10 percent (plus the 15.3 percent self-employment tax, for a total of 25.3 percent) on the first $9,875 you earn. But that increases to 12 percent (plus 15.3 percent self-employment tax, for a total of 27.3 percent) for the next $9,876 to $40,125. Earnings between $40,126 and $85,525 jump to a 22 percent income tax (plus 15.3 percent self-employment tax, for a total of 37.3 percent).
Don't make the mistake of withholding only 25.3 percent when you're earning a significant amount of money each year. You'll come up short when it's time to pay taxes.
Filing Your Self-Employment Taxes
Another tax difference for the self-employed is the need to estimate and pay taxes on a quarterly basis. You'll also need to file an annual tax return. If you overestimated your quarterly payments, you'll receive a check from the IRS. If you underestimated those quarterly payments, you'll need to submit payment when filing your annual return.
File Form 1040-ES to make estimated payments and file Form 1040 – and any applicable schedules as required by the instructions – for your annual tax returns. Visit to find each of these forms and additional information about filing self-employment taxes. |
Resurrecting the Wisdom of the Past
How archaeological research today helps humanity engineer a better future.
If you think archaeology is much like the popular depictions we often experience through the entertainment industry, you need to think again.
In a report published in the scientific journal, Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History relate how real archaeology, the archaeology practiced today by researchers and scholars throughout the world, is actually radically different than the classical archaeology performed by explorers a century or more ago, exemplified typically by scenes of people digging within controlled earthen square units, unearthing remarkably preserved, sensational artifacts—a stereotype often projected to the public by the media. But, as the researchers relate in the paper, much ‘archaeology’ as we know it today is actually more often conducted in the labs behind the scenes, where new techniques and technology is applied to analyze the finds brought from the field, employing a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding not only the artifacts themselves but the contextual landscapes of the finds, human settlement patterns and behavior, and how it all relates to other subject matter and disciplines. As noted in the subject Max Planck Institute press release by Nicole Boivin, lead author of the study and Director of the Institute’s Department of Archaeology: “Archaeology today is a dramatically different discipline to what it was a century ago. While the tomb raiding we see portrayed in movies is over the top, the archaeology of the past was probably closer to this than to present-day archaeology. Much archaeology today is in contrast highly scientific in orientation, and aimed at addressing modern-day issues.”*
“Addressing modern-day issues” is an operative phrase here. Key to understanding the evolution of the discipline today, say the study authors, is recognizing how archaeological research is now bing applied to studying and developing solutions to present-day issues. “It is clear that the past offers a vast repertoire of cultural knowledge that we cannot ignore,” states Professor Boivin in the Max Planck Institute press release.* Recognizing this, researchers are examining the way people in past societies enriched their agricultural land, mitigated or prevented devastating fires, moved and distributed water and made their settlements ‘greener’ without using fossil fuel energy sources.
The study authors emphasize that today’s advancements in the application of technological and social solutions to global present-day problems, such as climate change, must work in tandem with archaeology.
“It’s not about glorifying the past, or vilifying progress,” states Boivin in the press release. “Instead, it’s about bringing together the best of the past, present and future to steer a responsible and constructive course for humanity.”
Archaeological studies of low-density, agrarian-based cities such as ancient Angkor Wat in Cambodia are increasingly being used to inform the development of more sustainable urban centers in the future. Alison Crowther
*Article Source: A new archaeology for the Anthropocene era, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
If you liked this article, see Beyond Monuments: Ancient Maya Landscapes Revealed Through Technology for an example of modern archaeology at its best.
Become a Popular Archaeology premium subscriber. |
back to 5.1
The Persian Under the Rug
by Kimiya Shokri
On September 20, 2015, Viola Davis became the first African-American woman to win Best Actress in a drama at the Emmy Awards. It seems incredible that it took 66 years for a black woman to win this award, and yet it is not difficult to understand how this was possible. As Davis herself so powerfully stated, “the only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity” (Gold). In the majority of film and television, women of color are restricted by racist stereotypes or minor roles, and the lack of opportunities creates an industry dominated by one demographic. For decades, Hollywood has been influenced most by white men who have created a status quo for how other races are portrayed in the media. For instance, Communications scholars Ellen E. Moore and Catherine Coleman have noted that “throughout the twentieth century, African Americans were represented in limited roles that often reflected racial history more than they served as signs of social and political progress,” serving as images of ideas and realizations of stereotypes upheld by those in positions of power (953). Supposedly, profits drive Hollywood directors and producers to cast people of color in supporting roles in order to appease audiences, while continuing to cast white actors as the leads (Moore and Coleman 959). It is unsurprising then that there would be backlash against white men controlling the entertainment industry, and over the years there has been intense conflict between whites, blacks, men, and women over equal representation in the media.
Sometimes, however, we forget that the world is not just split into black and white, but a diverse blend of people of different races and genders. In this struggle for equality, there are many groups trying to be heard, but one group that has been swept under the rug is Middle Eastern women. Whether they are playing terrorist spies in Showtime’s Homeland, or making fools of themselves on tasteless reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, there are certain expectations for how Middle Eastern women should be represented in film and television. The few opportunities that are present leave little room for growth and prevent these women from rising up to their full potential. It is difficult for women of color to realize their worth in a society in which our media “has consistently constructed whiteness…as the norm by which all others fail by comparison”(Bernardi qtd. in Moore 955). Thus, our media’s focus on the trials and tribulations of white characters makes the struggles and triumphs of people of color seem of lesser value. As a young Persian woman who is also an actress, it saddens me to live during a time when people claim to be progressive enough to fight for equality, but where no one like me is ever really able to achieve her goals, because there is no chance to do so.
Popular culture in the U.S. places great emphasis on movie stars and T.V. icons, heavily commercializing award shows like the Emmys and Oscars, which celebrate talented men and women of the industry. Specifically in regards to the Oscars, the Academy itself is estimated to be 94% white and 77% male (Knickerbocker). The people who decide the winners really represent only one group of people, allowing their biases to unfairly decide who wins the awards and thereby, who finds fame. Such is the case with the two consecutive years of #OscarsSoWhite, beginning in 2015 and continuing in 2016 in which every single Oscar nominee was white. This was even more surprising considering that in 2014, 12 Years A Slave won three Oscars, giving Americans hope that “the need for diversity discussions would diminish” (Maltais). While the proportion of men and women of color who have won awards to white men and women is disappointing in the sense that the gap is so wide, the ratio of Middle Eastern winners is even more disturbing because that category is virtually non-existent.
According to the Academy Awards’ database, there has been only one Indian woman and one Iranian woman nominated for acting awards, and only one Israeli winner in 2011: Natalie Portman. Israeli born but American raised, Natalie Portman is internationally famous, nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for her role in Closer, and winning Best Actress for her acclaimed role in 2011’s Black Swan. The Indian woman who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress was Anglo-Indian Merle Oberon, and she received the nomination in 1935. However, this seemingly progressive nomination from the Academy was based on the manufactured truth Oberon had devised. She claimed that she was from Tasmania up until her death because her career would have been threatened if she had revealed that she was mixed race (Khan). Shohreh Aghdashloo, born and raised in Iran, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2003 for her role as an Iranian woman in House of Sand and Fog. Despite the culturally restrictive roles she has been confined to, Aghdashloo has been the primary face of successful Iranian women in film and television, and has been influential in representing Middle Eastern women on screen. Amongst the countless women who have been nominated for best actress and supporting actress, these three women stand alone in representing the Middle East. Natalie Portman is the one who has gained the most success and fame, and is rarely considered Middle Eastern. Women of color have just begun to get the recognition they deserve, some ethnicities more than others.
One of the larger problems is that people of color are typically cast in roles that confine them to certain stereotypes that can be derogatory and offensive. This limitation is even more apparent in terms of typecasting for Middle Eastern women. More roles for people of color are being created, but “much of that progress is superficial, hiding the quality of those representations” (Moore and Coleman 953). Moore and Coleman focus on the stereotypes confining African American actors and actresses, but the limitation is even more apparent in terms of typecasting for Middle Eastern women. There are so few roles for them that paint them in a positive light or any light at all, because their roles are so minor. There are shows like Tyrant and Homeland, set in present-day Middle Eastern countries plagued by terrorism, and there are movies set in the Middle East of old, in which a Middle Eastern princess is rescued by a white man, like in Hidalgo. These roles play to stereotypes and American curiosities and fears of a region of the world that is foreign and sometimes scary. The question is, why is it necessary for these women to only be cast in roles that specify that they be of a certain background? Imagine if Emmy Nominee Amy Poehler’s character in Parks and Recreation was a Lebanese woman, or if a Palestinian woman had replaced Academy Award Winner Patricia Arquette in Boyhood. It seems odd, because as a society we are so used to envisioning certain types of people in specific ways that we forget that all over the United States, people of all races and genders really do live in the same ways.
Born and raised in California in an Iranian household, I have gotten to live the best of both worlds. Iranian culture is rich and lively, centered on family and love. However, it is one that often condemns the arts, especially acting. This is typical of many Middle Eastern cultures, in which acting is taboo and not seen as a suitable profession, especially for women. Women are meant to be especially conservative, which conflicts with the hyper-sexualized portrayals of femininity in media (Dehchenari, Abdullah, and Eng). Rather than a method for representative storytelling, acting is seen as an abuse of self-respect and honor, an old-fashioned but lingering philosophy on the art.
I am fortunate in that living in America I was given opportunities to act in school and I became successful at it. Throughout high school, I was given opportunities to perform roles that allowed me to grow as an actress and I had the honor of winning awards at acting festivals alongside my classmates. As I entered my first year of college, I was thrust onto the stage as one of the leads in a show that forced me to rapidly learn and grow as an actress, working with three actors all my senior. Acting is my deepest passion, and I have dreamed for many years of becoming a professional actress because if others can do it, why can’t I? The answer to that question lies in the color of my skin, the curve of my nose, the name that is not easy enough for others to remember.
Growing up and continuing through the present, I idolized white actresses like Keira Knightley and Cate Blanchett, who were as beautiful as they were talented. As I have gotten older, I have seen more beautiful actresses of color like Lupita N’yongo and Viola Davis rise to fame for their incredible work. However, there has never been a Middle Eastern actress that I could equate to Jennifer Lawrence or Kerry Washington, who could give me hope that I could one day achieve my dreams. Role models stimulate personal growth and inspire us to believe that our goals are achievable. By seeing faces like our own, we feel more accepted and sure that we can just be as successful and admired. However, the lack of representation for Middle Eastern women has me convinced that we are seen as different, and that we simply do not belong in entertainment. It is a depressing notion that your race, not your talent, can determine how far you get in such a cutthroat industry. It is scary to feel alone in a situation in which voices like yours are not being heard, and you wonder every day whether you will be successful or not, and whether future generations of artists will have to shyly bow their heads because no one will listen to them. It is only if our voices are heard that we will be able to make change and create a more diverse entertainment industry in this country.
We live in a world that revolves around media, and are obsessed with celebrities and shows. The way people see the world is often shaped by what they see in film and television, and the way in which people are presented on these platforms has great effect on the viewers. By fighting against stereotypes in the media, we begin to weaken stereotypes in everyday life. Skin colors begin to fade, and talented people are allowed to shine no matter where their parents came from or the name they were born with. Creating roles for women of all races that portray them in an equal light will open the doors for new levels of diversity and multicultural representation. This can only happen though if women of color make their voices heard, especially Middle Eastern women who have had to remain silent. As a Persian actress, I want to live in a world where the faces I see on the big screen are of all colors, and where I can feel confident knowing that future generations will have the opportunities to make their dreams come true. It’s time to step out from under the rug and make it known that although there might not be huge numbers of Middle Eastern actresses, we exist. The more we make our voices heard, the more our media will be forced to hear us, and by working together, we make strides in reflecting the reality and beauty of diversity. As a result, we will be able to live in a more accepting society that is actively stripping away the stereotypes set so firmly in place. Then maybe one day, it will be a Persian actress standing on stage at the Academy Awards with a trophy in her hand, making history and giving a young girl watching hope for the future.
Works Cited
“Academy Awards Database.” Academy Awards Database – AMPAS. Accessed on 21 Oct. 2015.
Dehchenari, Maryam Abdali, Mardziah Hayati Abdullah, and Wong Bee Eng. “A Critical and Semiotic Analysis of the Shift in Women’s Erotic and Romantic Roles in Action Movies and Movie Posters across Three Eras of Hollywood.” International Journal for Innovation Education and Research, vol 2, no. 6, 30 June 2014, Accessed 17 Aug 2016.
Gold, Michael. “Viola Davis’s Emmy Speech.” New York Times, 20 Sept. 2015, Accessed 21 Oct. 2015.
“History of the Television Academy.” Television Academy. Accessed on 21 Oct. 2015.
Khan, Salma. “Merle Oberon: Hollywood’s First Indian Actress.” Sapna Magazine South Asian American Women, 1 Jan. 2009, Accessed on 25 Feb. 2016.
Knickerbocker, Brad. “Academy Awards: How Bad is Hollywood’s Diversity Problem?” The Christian Science Monitor, Feb 22, 2015, ABI/INFORM Collection; National Newspapers Premier, Accessed on 21 Oct. 2015.
Maltais, Michelle. “Will You Boycott #OscarsSoWhite?” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2016, Accessed on 15 Aug. 2016.
Moore, Ellen E., and Catherine Coleman. “Starving for Diversity: Ideological Implications of Race Representations in The Hunger Games.” The Journal of Popular Culture, vol 48, no. 5, 19 Oct. 2015, pp. 948-969.
Kimiya Shokri is currently a second-year student at Saint Mary’s College of California, double majoring in theatre and English. As a young Iranian-American woman in love with the arts, she has constantly been intrigued by art’s power to expose political issues, especially those regarding gender inequality and race. Writing has presented itself as the ideal platform for discussion regarding social change, and has allowed her to voice her concerns. In 2015, her first college English professor, Dr. Meghan Sweeney, empowered her to engage in open social discourse, inspiring her to feel the power and gravity of her own voice in the midst of many others.
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How Long Should You Grow Potatoes Before Harvesting
Knowing how long it takes to grow potatoes ensures you harvest the potatoes at the perfect time when the potatoes have fully grown and are most delicious. After all, potatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients, growing your own is a must!
Early varieties are generally ready for harvest after 90 days, but late varieties might take upwards of 110 days. Potatoes are root vegetables that are easy to plant, and they grow abundantly. There are over one hundred varieties of potatoes, with different shapes, sizes, colors, and also growth times.
Keep reading to know how long different kinds of potatoes take to grow and how to give your growing potatoes the best conditions.
How Long To Grow Potatoes Before Harvesting?
The average time to grow potatoes before harvesting is two to four months; this time period is based on a wide variety of potatoes. The specific growth period for your potatoes heavily depends on the type of potato you are growing.
When you are growing potatoes, the maturation time is an extremely important variable. Different potato varieties have their own Days To Maturity (DTM). It is recommended that you know what your specific potato type’s DTM is so you can be best prepared. The DTM begins from the day you plant the potatoes.
The varieties of potatoes can be placed into three categories: early varieties, mid-season varieties, and late varieties. See below for the average growth time range for each of the three varieties.
Early varietiesThese varieties of potatoes take less than 90 days to mature. These potatoes are a good fit for almost any garden.Irish Cobbler, Mountain Rose, Norland, Caribe, King Harry
Mid-season varietiesThese varieties of potatoes take around 100 days to mature.
Viking, Red Pontiac, Yukon Gold, Red LaSoda
Late varietiesThese varieties of potatoes take 110 or more days to mature. The potatoes in this category tend to grow heavy tubers, which store excellently.Elba, Kennebec, Butte
Moreover, the new potatoes are ready to be harvested in 60 days or ten weeks. “New potatoes” are the potatoes that are harvested earlier than usual to have smaller-sized and more tender potatoes.
If you’re having trouble finding the variety you want locally, Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a great online source for acquiring quality seed potatoes.
Other Factors That Affect Potato Growth Periods
Now we know that planted potatoes need the following to reach their best growth potential.
• Plenty of sunlight
• Loose, fertile soil
• An inch of water weekly
Other factors also play a role in how long it takes for you to grow your potatoes:
Where you are planting your potatoesPotatoes can be planted and grown in pots, containers, or even potato-specific “grow bags”; all of these need more attention and care and produce smaller yields. A raised bed in the garden is easier and more efficient for growing a large harvest of potatoes.
Where you buy your seed potatoesThe seed potatoes are cut-up pieces of whole potato tubers that have sprouted and potatoes that can sprout. You must buy your seed potatoes from a farm store or a catalog, as those can be planted and grown. The potatoes in grocery stores are usually treated to not grow sprouts. Ensure you have healthy seed potatoes to begin with.
What kind of tubers you choose to plantYou can work with tubers that have sprouted on them already. You can also pre-sprout the potato yourself by placing them on your kitchen counters and wait for them to sprout. The pre-sprouted potatoes take less time to harvest than non-sprouted potatoes.
Positioning of seed potatoes in the soilYou must plant the seed potatoes eight to nine inches deep under fertile soil. Each potato piece should be at least 12 inches apart from each other from all sides. These measurements are important as it affects how fast and efficient the potatoes are in taking in nutrients and growing in time.
FertilizerThe amount and quality of fertilizer you use can also affect the potatoes’ harvest time. Which fertilizer to use depends on your potato variety type.
How Late Can You Plant Potatoes?
Generally, you can plant potatoes early in the gardening season. You can plant them as early as you see that the frost is out of the soil. Frost’s action is where the soil water is frozen or thawed; either of these is not good for growing potatoes. If you don’t want any risk with the soil frost, however, you can plant your potatoes one or two weeks after the last spring frost.
You might want to plant potatoes later to avoid any soil frost, or maybe you want to plant potatoes later on for your own personal reasons. Whichever the reason, it is good to know how late you can plant your potatoes.
There is no “one rule” for how late you can plant your potatoes because it depends on multiple factors:
Ideal weather temperaturePotatoes grow best when the weather temperature is around 45°F (or 7 to 8 °C). Cooler weather is preferable for potatoes.
Ideal soil temperatureThe best soil temperature is 60°F to 70°F (or 16°C to 21°C). The minimum soil temperature to grow potatoes in is 50°F (or 10°C).
Ideal soil qualityYou want soil that is loose and crumbly, but not dried out. Soil that is too dry will not deliver water and nutrients properly to the planted potatoes. Soil that is too wet becomes sticky and is difficult to work with. Additionally, too much moisture will rot your planted potatoes.
Days to Maturity (DTM)You must know your potato type’s DTM. You can figure out how long the ideal weather and temperatures will last and compare that with the DTM. The lower the DTM is, the later you can plant your potatoes. The higher the DTM is, the earlier you must plant your potatoes.
WaterThe general rule of thumb for growing potatoes is giving them an inch of water weekly. Be aware of heavy rain seasons. You want to plant and harvest before too much water reaches your potatoes.
Overall, the soil’s condition, not necessarily the date and time, is in charge of the potato’s optimal growth and harvest time. You need to figure out how the season and the daily weather will affect the soil’s quality and determine how late you can plant your potatoes while keeping the DTM in mind.
Keep in mind that if the weather gets too hot, the potatoes will not be in the best condition when it is harvest time. This is why it is better to avoid planting too late; the potatoes will begin to grow nicely, but as the summer heat and humidity rises, the affected soil will ruin your potato harvest.
Here is a very general potato planting month schedule based on the area where you live:
Northern regionsPotatoes can usually be planted in early April and mid-April.
Center regionsPotatoes can usually be planted in winter, from September to February.
Southern regionsPotatoes can usually be planted in January and February.
Overall, it can take from less than 60 days to more than 100 days. Furthermore, loose and crumbly soil in a cooler temperature is what potatoes love to grow in.
Now you should know how long it takes to grow potatoes before their harvest time. There is no one size fits all answer. This is because there are plenty of different kinds of potatoes, each with its growth period. Furthermore, many other factors affect the growth and harvest period too.
Harold Thornbro
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Scattered throughout most lands, like a weed, are short stubby bushes that blend into any flora that is normally in the area. To call them chameleon plants may go too far but if it is in the plains, they don't grow larger than the biggest shrub and in the deep woods the can grow large and healthy. They also, more often than not, adapt to the colored surroundings as well to blend in.
Their distinctive leaves in the size and shape of a babies hand are the main way to identify them. They carry no berries, fruits or seeds. It is said that they evolved from a single plant that was somehow created and all the bushes branched off from there. In the time since then they have spread and died leaving some in isolated and others covering a huge area.
They live in harmony with their surroundings and don't kill off other plants. They are very subtle and difficult to notice for a layman. Their root system is what separates them from most normal plants. It is a set of tiny tendrils, almost like veins, that rarely delve deeper than a couple inches under the dirt. The snake and turn and spread at an incredible rate and distance. If you were to try and pull one up and maintain the roots you would be forced to destroy a very large area up to hundreds of meters in every direction. They would be so intertwined in the surrounding area it is impossible to just pull them up. Â
However, if you did actually try to pull one of the bushes up, you would simply rip the bush part and leave the extravagant, yet fragile, Â root system behind. Once you destroyed this single bush another one would simply regrow somewhere else along the system.
For those attuned with nature and who have an affinity for magic, the Tracker Bush is an incredible tool. Druids and Rangers with some magical ability find them to be of the greatest advantage for when the bush is touched and a magic is coursed through the plant the root system turns into a large pressure plate of sensory information. The roots are so fragile and so close to the surface that any pressure on the dirt above it is felt by the roots and transferred to the main bush.Â
The system is so intricate and spread so well that these sensory inputs can be interpreted by a trained Tracker.Â
Initially, the Tracker would be so inundated with sensory information that it may overwhelm him. Through time and practice the Tracker can learn how to isolate the input and direct his attention and, very slowly, learn how to interpret the information and relate it to the surrounding area. Once fully mastered, a Tracker may be able to magically 'see' the footprints of any being in that root's system scope. They will be able to interpret the steps of humans, deer, rabbits, etc., by their pressure on the root and pattern of their footfalls. One could quickly see the power of this information.
The bush is a fragile thing so overuse can damage the plants and roots. They are not made for the power of the magic flowing through their roots so they cannot be overused. After each 20 minutes of use it should usually be allowed to rest a day or two in order to ensure its safety. Once the roots are destroyed they won't grow back. The bushes don't overlap. As soon as the plant senses another it maintains a buffer zone between each other. Another plant can grow into a dead plant's zone.
Roots that are delicately extracted and that have been used as a Tracker will retain some of the magic pushed through them. These roots, if prepared correctly, could imbue some temporary, random sensory affects. They could give increased eyesight, hearing, taste etc. Leaves from the bush are a minor poison that will cause random, impaired sensory affects.
Notes and Game Usages
- Generally, the main use is for Druids and Rangers to be able to track those who go through their domain. By knowing where and how to use the Tracker bush they can review a great swatch of land in as few as five minutes. By a couple, quick checks the Tracker could find people and determine their direction of travel.
- It is said that there are some powerful mages that are so attuned with nature that they can go one step further and use the roots as an extension as themselves. By intricate and complex magical forms it is said that some could actually grow the roots and use them to ensnare people and animals. Some could cast spells through the roots as if they were there. These actions would kill the root system so there are few that would do it except in the most extreme circumstances.
- So far none have been able to come up with a way to create where a new bush will grow. It would be very valuable if a Tracker could develop a way to have all the bushes, of separate plants, all grow very close to each other. Then they would have a central area where, very quickly, they could scout an immense area vs. having to travel from bush to bush.
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The Digital Piranesi
Column of Trajan
With its low vantage point and subtle distinctions in shading, this image divides the ancient and modern city. As a triumphal monument, Trajan’s column embodies military power and imperial conquest, its narrative frieze representing scenes of the Dacian Wars that concluded with decisive Roman victory. Piranesi’s careful shading of the column’s surface in this image is expanded to a colossal scale in Trofeo o sia Magnifica Colonna (c. 1774), which includes meticulous studies and recreations of Trajan’s Column and the Column of Marcus Aurelius. To ensure the accuracy of his drawings, he had suggested that he be suspended in a basked from the top of the column, a plan that probably never materialized. In this image, stairs lead down from the contemporary street to Rome’s ancient ground level, where heavily-shadowed and overgrown rubble contrast with the smooth, sunlit cupola and the neighboring residences with lowered shades. Piranesi’s annotations follow the priorities of the image: the first, which appears twice to indicate the wall and stairs, erected under Sixtus V; the second points to Chiesa del nome di Maria (the Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary), completed just seven years before this print in 1751, and the mostly obscured Palazzo Bonelli (today Palazzo Valentini). Amplifying the attention devoted to the visual detail and immediate setting of the column, Piranesi places a number of grand tourists around its base. In many of Piranesi’s views of ancient ruins, the foreground is covered with architectural rubble that effectively limits a viewer’s entry into the central image (Verschaffel), and people engage in conversation, commerce, and repose but usually seem inattentive to the monuments around them. Well-dressed tourists, though, occasionally betray enraptured engagement through their posture and stance. In another engraving, one viewer examines the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina through a telescope. Here, while one tourist enjoys the panoramic view from the top of the column, a more vividly defined gentleman stands on the stairs and, with his head back and his arms up, suggests a relationship of spectatorship and awe between modern man and ancient architecture. His posture invites viewers to share this awe, after crossing the foreground’s boundary of architectural rubble. Constructed to commemorate Rome’s overpowering of ancient people from the North, Trajan’s Column is here presented as a monument that itself overpowers tourists from Northern Europe with its antiquity and magnificence. (JB)
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Note: If you’re likely to change your rear diff liquid yourself, (or you intend on starting the diff up for services) before you allow fluid out, make sure the fill port can be opened. Absolutely nothing worse than letting liquid out and then having no way to getting new fluid back in.
FWD last drives are very simple compared to RWD set-ups. Virtually all FWD engines are transverse mounted, which implies that rotational torque is established parallel to the path that the tires must rotate. You don’t have to alter/pivot the path of rotation in the ultimate drive. The ultimate drive pinion gear will sit on the end of the result shaft. (multiple result shafts and pinion gears are feasible) The pinion gear(s) will mesh with the ultimate drive ring gear. In almost all cases the pinion and ring gear could have helical cut the teeth just like the rest of the tranny/transaxle. The pinion gear will be smaller sized and have a lower tooth count compared to the ring equipment. This produces the ultimate drive ratio. The ring equipment will drive the differential. (Differential procedure will be explained in the differential portion of this content) Rotational torque is sent to the front tires through CV shafts. (CV shafts are generally known as axles)
An open differential is the most typical type of differential found in passenger cars and trucks today. It can be a simple (cheap) style that uses 4 gears (occasionally 6), that are known as spider gears, to operate a vehicle the axle shafts but also allow them to rotate at different speeds if required. “Spider gears” can be a slang term that is commonly used to describe all of the differential gears. There are two different types of spider gears, the differential pinion gears and the axle part gears. The differential case (not casing) receives rotational torque through the band gear and uses it to operate a vehicle the differential pin. The differential pinion gears trip upon this pin and so are driven because of it. Rotational torpue is certainly then used in the axle side gears and out through the CV shafts/axle shafts to the tires. If the vehicle is travelling in a straight line, there is no differential actions and the differential pinion gears only will drive the axle side gears. If the vehicle enters a change, the external wheel must rotate quicker than the inside wheel. The differential pinion gears will start to rotate as they drive the axle side gears, Final wheel drive allowing the external wheel to increase and the inside wheel to slow down. This design is effective provided that both of the powered wheels have traction. If one wheel doesn’t have enough traction, rotational torque will observe the road of least resistance and the wheel with small traction will spin as the wheel with traction won’t rotate at all. Because the wheel with traction is not rotating, the automobile cannot move.
Limited-slip differentials limit the quantity of differential action allowed. If one wheel starts spinning excessively faster than the other (way more than durring normal cornering), an LSD will limit the speed difference. That is an advantage over a regular open differential design. If one drive wheel looses traction, the LSD action allows the wheel with traction to obtain rotational torque and allow the vehicle to move. There are many different designs currently in use today. Some are better than others based on the application.
Clutch style LSDs derive from a open up differential design. They have a separate clutch pack on each of the axle aspect gears or axle shafts inside the final drive housing. Clutch discs sit down between the axle shafts’ splines and the differential case. Half of the discs are splined to the axle shaft and others are splined to the differential case. Friction materials is used to split up the clutch discs. Springs place strain on the axle side gears which put strain on the clutch. If an axle shaft really wants to spin quicker or slower compared to the differential case, it must get over the clutch to do so. If one axle shaft attempts to rotate faster than the differential case then your other will attempt to rotate slower. Both clutches will withstand this action. As the velocity difference increases, it becomes harder to overcome the clutches. When the vehicle is making a tight turn at low quickness (parking), the clutches provide little level of resistance. When one drive wheel looses traction and all of the torque would go to that wheel, the clutches resistance becomes much more apparent and the wheel with traction will rotate at (close to) the acceleration of the differential case. This kind of differential will likely require a special type of fluid or some form of additive. If the liquid is not changed at the proper intervals, the clutches can become less effective. Leading to little to no LSD action. Fluid change intervals vary between applications. There is certainly nothing wrong with this style, but remember that they are only as strong as an ordinary open differential.
Solid/spool differentials are mostly used in drag racing. Solid differentials, like the name implies, are completely solid and will not really allow any difference in drive wheel velocity. The drive wheels usually rotate at the same acceleration, even in a switch. This is not a concern on a drag race vehicle as drag automobiles are generating in a directly line 99% of that time period. This can also be an advantage for vehicles that are becoming set-up for drifting. A welded differential is a normal open differential that Planetary Wheel Drivehas had the spider gears welded to make a solid differential. Solid differentials certainly are a good modification for vehicles made for track use. For street use, a LSD option will be advisable over a solid differential. Every switch a vehicle takes may cause the axles to wind-up and tire slippage. That is most visible when driving through a sluggish turn (parking). The result is accelerated tire use as well as premature axle failure. One big benefit of the solid differential over the other styles is its power. Since torque is applied right to each axle, there is no spider gears, which are the weak spot of open differentials. |
I try to implement a simple C/C++ parser, which try to partially parsing C++ language. So I need to create a Lexer, a Preprocessor and a Parser class.
I'm considering what is the data type I need to pass information from those three layers. Normally, a Token class is need here, for right now, my Token class looks like below:
struct Token
TokenKind id;
std::string lexeme;
int fileIndex;
int line;
int column;
I think the most important part is the TokenKind(it could be IDENTIFIER or CLASS_KEYWORD or any other punctuation like LPAREN), and some times, the lexeme is also important, because it usually contains the type name or variable name information.
I looked at some implementations about how the Token is passed to Parsers.
1, I see the Clang has some functions in it's Preprocessor class like Preprocessor.cpp:739
void Preprocessor::Lex(Token &Result)
You see, a reference is passed as a the function argument, and the function fill the object with the result, see another reference here on a Clang's tutorial here:Clang-tutorial/CItutorial3.cpp at master · loarabia/Clang-tutorial, here the instance tok is reused in a loop.
Token tok;
do {
if( ci.getDiagnostics().hasErrorOccurred())
std::cerr << std::endl;
2, For some lexer generator, I see function yylex() just return an int type, which is actually a TokenKind, and the other information such as the actual lexeme string is stored in a global variables like yylval.
3, For a tiny language for GCC A tiny GCC front end – Part 3 | Think In Geek, I see the Lexer return a std::shared_ptr<Token>, that is:
static TokenPtr
make_identifier (location_t locus, const std::string& str)
return TokenPtr(new Token (IDENTIFIER, locus, str));
The Lexer return a TokenPtr which is a smart pointer of the Token object to the Parser, so the whole Token is returned to the Parser.
4, GCC's cpp library has some interface of the cpp_get_token() function like below:
const cpp_token *token = cpp_get_token (pfile);
Then token->type is just like the TokenKind field.
So, my question is: what are the advantages and disadvantages of those kinds of implementations. Some of the mentioned methods above do not even have a preprocess layer, for me, I do need three layers(the lexer, the preprocessor and the parser).
Note that my parser won't be big enough as clang or GCC's parser. My main idea is that my parser can only parse very limited part of C++ language, and I would like to make them all hand written.
EDIT A similar question is here What should be the datatype of the tokens a lexer returns to its parser?, I also post some comments there several days ago, but that question does not involve the three layers.
• Your struct token appears to me fine.For a simpler language I would have added a numeric field for scalars, but you can do that in the parser. However you've really got to lex again after preprocessing (assuming cpp is integrated) – Malcolm McLean Feb 4 '17 at 16:54
• @MalcolmMcLean Thanks, it looks like my question dose not get answered for nearly one month. My main question is that how the wholel token information is passed from the low layer(lexer) to the high layer(parser). Roger Ferrer gives me some comments in his blog here: A tiny GCC front end – Part 3 | Think In Geek. – ollydbg23 Feb 26 '17 at 6:08
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Equal Pay Day Hype Ignores The Facts And Women’s Feelings About The Workplace
You can't credibly examine wage gaps while ignoring the choices women make with open eyes and their own best interests at heart.
Mary Katharine Ham
For a movement meant to smash the patriarchy, Equal Pay Day shares one of its worst habits—the apparent inability to listen to actual women.
Equal Pay Day is a PR holiday established in 1996 by the National Committee on Pay Equity to highlight the “gender pay gap.” Today is Equal Pay Day, signifying “the date women must work full time up until to make the same amount that men made working full time the year prior.”
The calculation is not exact. The National Committee on Pay Equity, whose website design alone may set women back several decades no matter how much work they do, admits it picked a date in April to roughly symbolize how far into the new year women might have to work to make up the so-called gender pay gap (real wage statistics aren’t released until fall). In fact, if one calculates the number of days based on the most recently available data, Equal Pay Day should fall around mid-March, not in April.
This deliberate miscalculation is a good symbol for this whole endeavor. Despite the hype, Equal Pay Day is, at best, a simplistic understanding of the factors that create wage differences. At worst, it’s an intentional misrepresentation of a phenomenon that almost completely ignores the choices, wishes, and motivations of women in the workplace.
Equal Pay Day uses the Department of Labor’s “median earnings of all full-time working women and all full-time working men” to determine the pay gap. It is not a comparison of women and men doing equal work in various jobs. The campaign and its message, echoed enthusiastically by most media, implies the gap is a product of discrimination. Wage discrimination certainly exists (Hi, Hollywood!), but it is not the pervasive and punitive 20-percent figure equal-pay advocates suggest when other factors are accounted for.
Robert Samuelson wrote in 2016 about a Cornell University study by two married economists:
[I]f women were paid a fifth less for doing the same work as men, there would be pervasive discrimination. That’s how the pay gap is interpreted by many. They demand ‘equal pay for equal work.’ But that’s not what the pay gap shows. It’s simply the ratio of women’s average hourly pay to men’s average hourly pay. The jobs in the comparison are not the same, and when these differences are taken into account, the ratio of women’s pay to men’s rises to almost 92 percent from 79 percent.
They’re not the only economists to concede the pay gap isn’t as simple as Equal Pay Day suggests. Obama’s own head of his Council of Economic Advisors, Betsey Stevenson, conceded as much when pressed about Equal Pay Day statistics on Equal Pay Day in 2014.
‘If I said 77 cents was equal pay for equal work, then I completely misspoke,’ Stevenson said. ‘So let me just apologize and say that I certainly wouldn’t have meant to say that… ‘There are a lot of things that go into that 77-cents figure, there are a lot of things that contribute and no one’s trying to say that it’s all about discrimination, but I don’t think there’s a better figure.’
Obama’s White House Press Secretary Jay Carney had to concede the same when, according to the standard used by Equal Pay Day advocates, the Obama White House was found guilty of heinous wage discrimination:
If that’s your standard — which is a joke of a standard, but let’s leave that aside — the White House suffers from a deeply alarming pay gap. And a pay gap that hasn’t gotten better since Obama took office.
Spoiler alert: It’s the latter. I realize the news cycle is now anaphalactically allergic to nuance, but discussing this subject this way gets us no closer to making the workplace hospitable or less discriminatory for women.
That’s because making the workplace work for women requires listening to women about what they want in a workplace. Every time women are polled about this or their choices are taken into account, we find that they are more likely to make choices based on quality of life issues and flexibility, not pay. This tendency leads to women being paid less, according to the Department of Labor’s median calculation, because they are more represented in less dangerous, more flexible work with fewer hours, closer to home.
A 2016 Gallup survey found women are more exacting than men when choosing a job. They rank as their top three concerns “the ability to do what they do best, greater work-life balance and better personal well-being, and greater stability and job security.” The biggest sexes gap in the study was on work-life balance: 60 percent of women consider it “very important” versus 48 percent of men. Another standout was, wait for it, pay:
Across all the factors that go into deciding to take a new job, increased income is the only one that is more important to male employees than to female employees: 43% “very important” for men versus 39% “very important” for women.
These differing priorities understandably impact pay. Women are more likely to take a job that pays less to gain flexibility and work-life balance. I’ve done it myself many times.
Yet, as AEI’s Mark Perry points out, there is no widespread recognition of “Equal Occupational Fatality Day” to highlight men’s overrepresentation in very dangerous fields (coal mining, line work, and law enforcement among them), which often pay more to compensate for risk.
Based on the BLS data for 2016, the next ‘Equal Occupational Fatality Day’ will occur more than 10 years from now – on May 30, 2028. That date symbolizes how far into the future women will be able to continue working before they experience the same loss of life that men experienced in 2016 from work-related deaths. Because women tend to work in safer occupations than men on average, they have the advantage of being able to work for more than a decade longer than men before they experience the same number of male occupational fatalities in a single year.
There is no big “Equal Commute Day,” to acknowledge the gender commute gap:
[T]he 31% ‘gender commute time gap’ in the US that reflects the longer daily commute time on average for men (25.3 minutes) vs. women (17.4 minutes), see table above for 26 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries including the US.
Male college graduates, on average, also entertain employment options further afield from their universities than do women, thereby opening up more and possibly higher-paying opportunities. They also work several hours more per week on average than women.
For women, a combination of protecting family life, prioritizing young children, and dealing with rising child-care costs cause them to leave the work force entirely for years at a time. A recent Census Bureau study found that women’s childbearing years and career-building years coincide from 25-35, resulting in a drop in pay relative to their male counterparts for women who have children during those years.
Women are more likely to reduce their work hours, take time off, turn down a promotion or quit their jobs to care for family. Even in families in which both parents work full time, women spend almost double the time on housework and child care. And when women work fewer hours, they are paid disproportionately less and become less likely to get raises or promotions.
‘This shows that the birth of a child is really when the gender earnings gap really grows,’ said Danielle H. Sandler, a senior economist at the Census Bureau and an author of the paper.
When women leave the workforce, especially for moms, their experience is better than it is for men, and they aren’t willing to jump back in without concessions to their home life.
Still, many women also seem interested in working again — under the right conditions. And near the top of the list of those requirements is the flexibility to avoid upending their family life. Many fewer women than men said they would be willing to take a job with trade-offs that might significantly affect their lives: moving to a different city, commuting more than an hour each way, or working nontraditional hours. Notably, women with children at home account for many of the differences. Women without children often have attitudes about unemployment that are more similar to men’s, the poll shows.
Certainly, some of these differences could be caused by discrimination or social expectations. Perhaps women don’t work as many dangerous jobs because the jobs are male-dominated old boys’ clubs where women have had trouble breaking in. Maybe women opt for lower pay and more flexibility because societal expectations impose on them “almost double the time [spent] on housework and child care,” as the New York Times notes. Do women drop out of the workforce because the United States doesn’t offer generous taxpayer-funded child care or the mandates of Europe?
Sure, some of that is at play, but fundamentally, this is about trade-offs. Women are far more willing to give up higher pay for more comfortable work requirements. They often want to be around for their young children and are therefore more willing to give up career opportunities and time in the workforce to do so.
In countries where government subsidies attempt to even everything out, women’s choices and the trade-offs still rear their heads. In Europe, for instance: “The same policies that enable women to work in large numbers can also hold them back from reaching senior-level jobs. They become stuck in part-time work or fall behind during long leaves. Women are less likely to work in the United States, according to Ms. Blau’s research, but when they do, they tend to be more successful.”
In Denmark, where “new parents [get] an entire year of paid leave after the birth of a child” and “the government offers public nursery care for children under 3 at the equivalent of $737 a month,” the wage gap is the same as in the United States. As in the U.S. Census Bureau study, childbearing is where the salary trajectory changes for women, and the reasons are similar:
Much of Kleven’s paper is designed to untangle what exactly happens after women have children that leads to this wage gap. He finds that women start to gravitate toward different jobs after the birth of a child, ones with fewer hours and lower wages. Ten years after childbirth, women have a 10 percentage point higher probability of public sector employment than men. These are jobs that typically offer ‘flexible working hours, leave days when having sick children, and a favorable view on long parental leaves.
Men, however, see their careers go on largely unchanged, with dads and non-parents having roughly equal earnings over the next decades.’
Economics is the study of choice. You can’t credibly examine wage gaps without examining the choices of women, many of them designed to give up pay for other benefits, and made with open eyes and their own best interests at heart. Changes in hiring practices and attitudes about flexibility could change some of that in the future, but women’s choices will always matter and they should be respected, not ignored. Or, at least that’s what the feminists used to tell me.
Mary Katharine Ham is a CNN contributor.
Photo Library of Congress / public domain
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MCC Terms Bamboo Bats As “Illegal”, Says Requires Law Change For Usage | Cricket News
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has shot down the idea of bats made from bamboo, saying it would be “illegal” under the current set of rules governing the game. The guardians of the laws of cricket, however, said they will deliberate on the matter during their laws sub-committee meeting. According to a study by Darshil Shah and Ben Tinkler-Davies from the University of Cambridge, bats made from bamboo are economically sustainable and are also stronger than the ones made from willow, which is traditionally used. “Currently, law 5.3.2 states that the blade of the bat must consist solely of wood, so for bamboo (which is a grass) to be considered as a realistic alternative to willow would require a law change,” MCC said in a statement on Monday.
“Importantly, the law would need to be altered to allow bamboo specifically, as even if it were to be recognised as a wood, this would still be illegal under the current law, which bans lamination of the blade, except in junior bats.” the statement said.
The researchers found the bamboo bat to be “stiffer, harder and stronger than those made of willow, although more brittle” and also supposed to have a larger “sweet spot, closer to the toe of the bat.”
“The sweet spot on a bamboo bat makes it much easier to hit a four off a Yorker for starters, but it’s exciting for all kinds of strokes,” Shah had said in the report.
MCC, however, said it needs to tread carefully to ensure that the balance of bat and ball remains intact.
“MCC’s role as Guardian of the Laws includes maintaining the balance between bat and ball, and any potential amendments to the Law would need to carefully take this into consideration, particularly the concept of the bat producing greater power,” said in a statement.
The apex body said it will discuss the matter as finding alternatives to willow in a relevant issue. “Sustainability is a relevant topic for MCC and indeed cricket, and this angle of willow alternatives should also be considered,” MCC said.
“This could provide a pertinent angle for further research and the possibility of reducing the cost of producing bats in different areas of the world. The Club will discuss the topic at the next laws sub-committee meeting,” it added.
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Saturday, August 24, 2013
Beat Me, Whip Me, Make Me Obey the Rules
Choice came from deep needs, but where did the needs come from?
-- Dick Francis, Hot Money
I just finished reading Learning the Hard Way: Masculinity, Place, and the Gender Gap in Education (Rutgers, 2012) by the sociologist Edward W. Morris. It's a pretty good job of countering the always-fashionable view that there are innate and unchangeable differences between males and females in learning and thinking, and even better, Morris resists the temptation to see everything monolithically: he recognizes that the differences between boys and girls aren't absolute, and that the differences within each group are greater than the average differences between them. He also recognizes that the same actions may have wildly contradictory motives and outcomes.
Morris spent a year and a half doing fieldwork in a couple of high schools, one larger, urban, and predominantly black, the other smaller, rural, and predominantly white. He says that he began expecting to explore "intersections of class, gender, race, and place" but soon discovered "the gender gap and concentrated my analysis on that topic" (184). His observations brought back memories that sometimes shook me deeply. For example, the "clownin'" role some young men adopted, which gave status to youths who didn't excel at either academics or sports, recalled to me my own clowning in various contexts, including school. Unlike Morris's clowns, though, I got good grades. But certainly I was (and still am) gratified if I could make people laugh. "Book smarts," which are at best viewed ambivalently by most of Morris's male informants, were always important to me, because I had them. But they also defined a gap between me and most of my peers; making them laugh gave us something in common, however tenuous.
Getting good grades was acceptable for male students, Morris found, as long as they didn't exert any visible effort to get them. If they studied, they pretended they didn't; if they had trouble with a subject, they couldn't ask a teacher or anyone else for help. Studying was classified as girl stuff, asking for help even more so. If they were lucky, their parents could help them at home. As a result many of them were torn between the need to maintain face by not seeming to care about schoolwork, and the need to maintain the grades to keep themselves eligible for official school sports, and from there to seek athletic scholarships to college -- not so much for the stake of a degree, but as a stepping stone to the grail of professional sports.
This hit home for me, because though I did get good grades (and in fact, for what it's worth, graduated second in my class, in a school about the size of Morris's small rural high school), I almost never did homework. I did most of my assignments during study hall, and I always made sure I had at least one study hall period each day, so evidently I didn't worry about losing face by being seen doing schoolwork. I'd established from childhood that I wasn't interested in sports, nor in proving my manhood in other ways. It was only when I came up against geometry class in my sophomore year, as I recall, that I had to take assignments home because they took more time than I had in study hall. In my senior year I had a couple of long papers to write, which I also did outside school hours. Usually at home I read, wrote, watched TV, taught myself to play guitar, and daydreamed about making my own telescope. I didn't have much of a social life then, but learning guitar and listening to pop music changed that somewhat: it gave me another shared interest with some of my peers. But I now see that it was important to my own self-image not to do homework. If I hadn't had a head start in most areas -- math was the exception -- and an excellent memory, I'd have had to work harder, or my grades would probably have suffered too. I still perceive myself as lazy, because the intellectual tasks I assign myself don't feel like work; I read far more than most people do, for example, but if I didn't enjoy it I probably wouldn't do it as much, and I'm more conscious of the books I haven't read, but want to, than of the books I have read. I'm just not interested in driving myself that much: if something becomes too difficult, I usually simply drop it. So I found myself identifying with Morris's underachievers, and realizing how much I've relied on my intellectual gifts. It was a chastening recognition.
Another point of contact was conflict with rules. A recurring theme in Learning the Hard Way was that the young men spent a lot of time and energy just rebelling against all the petty rules and regulations that school imposes. In a section titled "Rules Are for Girls," Morris notes,
Although lack of attention to schoolwork directly impeded boys' academic progress and outcomes, other factors affected their academic careers more indirectly. One concerned their tendency to get into trouble and to demonstrated behavior that openly defied or cleverly manipulated school rules. As research has shown, taking risks and flouting conventions are often interpreted as constituting masculinity... In my study, boys generally expressed and exhibited disdain for strict rules. However, the schools were saturated with such rules, which tended to place boys at odds with school-sanctioned comportment and activities. For example, I asked Kevin if he ever thought about wrestling for Clayton's [that is, the small, mostly white rural school] school team since he enjoyed boxing and had told me in elaborate detail about how he wrestled with his friends and older family members. He replied, "No, I don't like that many rules. I'd rather be street fighting ... They'll let you go at it for a while before they break it up" [63].
Here too I realized that I wasn't as different from other boys as I'd always liked to think. I was clever enough to avoid disciplinary action, choosing to back down when an administrator delivered an ultimatum -- ordering me to cut my hair, for example. (This was in the late 60s, when "long hair" meant a Beatle cut that half-covered the ears; administrators today would probably drop to their knees and thank God for students who wore their hair that short.) But I still pushed at the boundaries. So sissies aren't necessarily more docile than "normal" boys; we just break different rules and conventions. (This one did, anyway.) And I wasn't so driven by the need to resist that I confused trivia of mainly symbolic import, like hair length, with more important issues -- which didn't come up in my high school career. My main concern was getting out of high school and going to college, where things would be different and better; so I expected, so they were.
What interested me about the rule-breaking of Moore's high school boys was that they often aspired to join the military or professional sports. Any kind of organized sport is hemmed in with Byzantine webs of rules, and the military even more so. The purpose of military basic training is precisely to break the will of a recruit, and the penalties for rule-breaking are far more severe than anything these guys encountered in high school. The rules are likewise even more dominated by chickenshit than high school discipline, though much school regulation is merely a milder form of obsessively trivial control of students' behavior and dress. It's a commonplace of the "war against boys" theme today that schools used to be more accepting of boys' innate messiness and stupidity, but the fact of the military (to say nothing of a glance at educational history) shows this is nonsense.
In early modern England, both in homes and schools, across the boundaries of social class, the birch rod - as administered by parents, servants, nurses, tutors, or teachers - became the conventional instrument of retribution. Both boys and girls were expected to be unremittingly deferential to their elders and were beaten routinely for a great range of offenses: disobedience, obstinacy, laziness, a missed stitch, a flubbed Latin conjugation. And the punishments varied enormously in severity, from a gentle hand slap to prolonged, violent whippings that sometimes resulted in the death of the child. For the determined castigator, the child’s hand, mouth, face, and buttocks (either naked or clothed) were fair game. In addition to the birch rod, a ferula - a wooden slat with a large rounded end and a hole in its middle - could be used to raise a large and painful blister. Lawrence Stone notes that in the grammar schools (which drew a far greater number of boys than they had during the late Middle Ages) the standard method of administering the rod required one active and two passive participants: a boy would be beaten “with a birch” by his master “on the naked buttocks while bent over and horsed on the back of another boy.” Even in universities, young men were regularly submitted to public whippings, floggings over a barrel, or detention in the stocks [David Savran, Taking It Like a Man: White Masculinity, Masochism, and Contemporary American Culture (Princeton, 1998), 17-18].
School has always been more about teaching submission to authority than it has been about cultivating the independently thinking person. What has changed is that in developed countries schooling is now universal, and everyone is expected to last through at least twelve years of it. Well into the twentieth century, schooling for most Americans ended with the eighth grade or earlier. Boys who chafed at the petty regulations could and did drop out, and there were other job options for them. (I was amazed when I read Harpo Marx's autobiography, in which he told of dropping out of school -- if I recall correctly -- in the second grade. But that was around 1900.) One of schooling's primary functions has been to sort the students who learned easily from those who couldn't; those who couldn't were simply jettisoned. Now that students aren't allowed that way out, schools need to adjust their methods, to teach rather than sort; but that's not likely to happen.
Why, then, do these young men, driven to "aggressive verbal or physical outbursts, often in defiance of school rules," follow their "self-made path to manhood" (Moore, 42) into new institutions that will repress them even further? In some cases they aren't aware of the constraints they'll face: like young women who marry to escape their mothers' control, thinking that marriage will give them freedom, but discover they exchanged a mistress for a new master, some young men may think that the military or professional sports will be freer than school. Others, perhaps, know that they'll be testing their wills against that of the hierarchy; others masochistically wish to be dominated. Others simply believed the TV recruiting commercials and the movies.
When it was still possible to earn a living and support a family without a high school diploma, let alone a college degree, young men could survive without submitting to a full course of schooling. But school was never "boy-friendly." Girls didn't outnumber boys as college undergraduates until recently because they were excluded from college, and when they could no longer be excluded, they were discouraged from achieving. Once the barriers came down, young women flooded into academia, and young men had to compete with them, for the first time. The self-imposed and enforced Boy Code hobbled them from competing very effectively. If the Boy Code really is innate and immutable, then males are in trouble -- or, since not all males conform to the Boy Code, those males who can't study, who must let themselves be intimidated from studying and learning by fag discourse, will face Darwinian selection.
That's one of the contradictions Moore discusses, though he doesn't put it in quite these terms: boys are allowed to be "smart," even "book smart," as long as they don't seem to work to achieve it. Hard work is only manly and valued if it's physical work. Men are supposed to be tough, independent, impervious -- but in fact they are vulnerable to, and dependent on, the recognition of their manhood by other males. Contrariwise, girls' achievement, achieved by studying, is depicted as less valuable, less real. As Moore puts it, their perceived weakness and docility left them free from the restraints that hobbled boys: they could study and do well in school without their femininity being called into question. But far from accepting the dependence on males that traditional femininity mandates, many of these girls were determined to go to college and support themselves. The one girl from either school who told Moore that men should be sole providers in families (she planned to marry a professional athlete) still studied and prepared to go to college, because as she acknowledged with bleak realism, a husband might dump her.
Not all boys are trapped in the self-defeating and self-destructive Masculine Mystique Moore describes. I believe that even those who are entangled in its coils can outgrow it, just as girls increasingly reject dependence on male providers. But they need to know just what they're trapped in, and encouragement from adults as well as peers to let them know that change is possible. |
Refugees and immigrants might sound like daily sounding words however, the people who fall under such categories struggle for basic amenities, forget about anything above food, clothing and shelter. Refugees can be found in any part of the world and the reason why they turned into refugees might also vary but though it is very hard to believe, there are people who think about the welfare of refugees as well. One of the names that can be taken in the list of the well-wisher is KhaledAl Badie. The international Swiss humanitarian organization, UniRef tried to move forward by making education available for all. They aimed for education that gets delivered irrespective of gender, nationality, religion or age. In order to make this successful the Al-Isra University, Jordan Red Crescent and the Al Badie group came together and made it happen. The UniRef mission implemented the plans with great ease just because of the Al Badie group and its eagerness and will to help the deserving and moved them towards a better future.
The plans and their realization with collaboration of NGO’s and charity organizations especially when they prioritize the general issues for the betterment of the future generations come into effect when taken seriously!
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New Terrain, Same Impact
As a golfer, you must always be prepared to face new and diverse terrains in every round you play. It is very unlikely that you will encounter perfect lies on completely flat ground. New York City, for example, might be built upon the grid system– but its golf courses are not! In fact, most courses have mounds, hills, sand, brooks, ponds, changes in altitude, and other assorted environmental features that make your game play both scenic and challenging.
When practicing drills, it is important to take real-life course conditions into consideration. Once you think you’ve established the correct hand and body positioning for executing a solid point of impact— and an appropriately located divot to match– it might be time to try out impact drills on other areas of the course (such as bunkers and uneven lies) to help acclimate yourself to game situations. Golf takes you far distances and many places– so be prepared for the ride!
Sand Drill
1. Draw a line in the sand as shown.
2. Begin with a three-quarter size swing.
3. The club should enter the sand at the front edge of the line, then continue down and forward.
4. You should notice a bend in your right (trailing) wrist. You should also notice that your left (leading) arm and the clubface form a straight line.
5. Check the divot and see where it starts in relation to the line.
Hill Drill
Todd demonstrating the hill drill
1. Set up on an uphill slope.
2. Tilt your shoulders in the direction of the slope.
3. Swing the club keeping your hands ahead of the ball at impact.
4. If the clubhead passes your hands, you will impact the ground before the ball.
Tune in next week to learn some new exercises with a weighted bar to incorporate into your training or workout sessions, exclusively found in Fit for Golf – Set for Life. Want more work-outs, recipes, and golf instruction from Todd? Follow him on Instagram, where he posts content like this pre-Thanksgiving exercise session almost everyday.
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Alkaline Water Benefits
Most supermarkets stack a large number of brands of canned water and sodas regrettably, each one of these goods are acidic and shift the pH balance in our body which makes it acidic that is frequently the main reason for several nagging health problems.
Alkaline water will the complete opposite by shifting the pH balance to the preferred level. Water could be alkalized by using an ionizer that utilizes high current electrodes to electrolyze water which makes it alkaline.
Here’s phone host of health advantages of alkaline water.
Better Hydration: Alkalizing water with an ionizer increase its hydration value by 6 occasions, water molecule clusters are reduced in dimensions and also the form of the molecules is altered these alterations promote the greater absorption water through the body tissue. Even the ion technology from the essential alkalizing minerals helps you to enhance their absorption and the entire body may use them more proficiently.
Since 80% from the brain consists of water, increasing the hydration will help increase mental performance. Also consuming ionized water gives e general sense of wellness since the cells in your body are very well hydrated and nourished.
Increases The Taste of Food: Ion technology helps you to hydrate food getting the taste and flavors, it may also help to lessen the acidic level in your body.
Helps you to regulate the pH balance from the body: Our unhealthy eating routine, pollution and stress take a toll on the body we mindlessly consume items that contain high positive ORP for example bottles water and drinks however, consuming pure and clean ionized water will help renew cellular energy by controlling the pH balance.
Alkaline water is really a natural and effective antioxidant: Each year people spend huge amount of money to buy beauty and health items that contain antioxidants for example Vit A, E and c These antioxidants assistance to carry oxygen towards the cells with the aid of the additional electron connected to the molecules alkaline water is another effective antioxidant.
The additional hydroxyl ion present in alkaline water neutralizes the harm caused because of toxins. This can be a essential property because several illnesses and aging process could be related to the harm brought on by free radicals.
Oxygen likewise helps to get rid of waste, destroy cancer cells, carry nutrients and boosts the body’s immunity fighting off microbial and viral attacks. A glass of ionized water is the simplest way to begin your entire day on the healthy note.
Helps you to remove impurities and toxins: Since alkaline water is absorbed to some greater extent through the cells, it facilitates removing impurities and toxins in the body. Regrettably, the buildup of poisons frequently involves light if this manifests into a disease nevertheless, you can remove these compounds by using alkaline water purifying the body and departing the body energized and refreshed.
Improves Kidney Health: Things that we eat leave back lots of acidic waster within our body that is absorbed through the cells therefore puts undue pressure around the kidneys, weakening them. Whenever you take away the toxins within your body and lower the acidity level by using alkaline water you assist in improving kidney health.
Improves digestive health: Alkaline water is known to enhance the food digestion and also the absorption of nutrients.
Works well for Stopping Chronic Ailments: Research has says the start of several chronic ailments can help to eliminate the concentration of its signs and symptoms. A few of the chronic illnesses that may be treated by using alkaline water include joint disease, high bloodstream pressure and brittle bones.
With increasing pollution all around, the one thing that you can be assured of is clean and fresh water. Triple Lifestyle is the leading company offering high quality water filtration systems for those looking to get alkaline water benefits Singapore.
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Zig Zag Indicator in trading analysis
Zig Zag Indicator in trading analysis
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What is the Zig Zag indicator?
The Zig Zag indicator is a psychological indicator (Sentiment) that is essentially a zig-zag line connecting the top and the bottom. Because using a proven formula to eliminate redundant fluctuations so the zig-zag line is very clear.
What is Zig Zag Sentiment
What is Zig Zag Sentiment
This indicator is not effective in trading when used individually. The Zig Zag indicator is often used to support other indicators, besides that, it is difficult to have a common standard. However, it is still widely used to better see market trends.
The effect of Zig Zag indicator
Identify Elliott, Fibonacci
They can help you discover the Elliott wave, Fibonacci, from which to make better decisions.
Elliott wave
Elliott wave
See trends clearly through Zig Zag
The Zig Zag indicator helps you see the overall picture of the trend. Note that, it is okay to catch trends in the far future, but trends in the near future are not very effective.
Zig Zag indicator shows you many types of wave, you should use your experience about waves to make a decision.
No clear signal, but very good support
Although it does not give you a good signal to trade such as momentum indicators or oscillator indicators. But once you are familiar with the forms of the Zig Zag indicator, which can only be learned through much practice. If you like trade surfing as Scalping or Harmonic Pattern then it will support very well.
Zig Zag lines can be drawn by your own market feel without any general standards. Therefore, the Zig Zag indicator is very intuitive.
However, online trading platforms have provided you with tools to calculate the Zig-Zag road according to the general formula that can be customized. It is very convenient, but personally I still want to draw my own Zig Zag line.
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Zig Zag Indicator Definition and Using Guide – Sentiment Indicator
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You've probably heard before that red wine can have an impact on heart health. But what exactly is it about this beloved beverage that can keep you living better, longer?
Studies on red wine began to emerge when scientists realized that the French, despite indulging in rich, buttery, and fatty foods, experience less obesity and live longer than people in many other countries, including the U.S. The French also drink a lot of red wine--280 glasses per year, as compared with the average American consumption of 68 glasses per year. Could there be a connection?
The answer is: probably. Although many studies have produced conflicting results, most seem to show that a moderate consumption of wine has health benefits. Certain components of red wine appear to keep the heart healthy. They are:
• Alcohol: Alcohol raises HDL cholesterol, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, often called the "good" cholesterol on the evening news. It helps keep blood clots from forming, and prevents artery damage. Alcohol may also improve heart health by helping you relax, lowering deadly stress.
• Flavonoids: Flavonoids are antioxidants found in many foods, including tea, onions, cocoa, and oranges. White wine and beer have them too, but the levels are much higher in red wine. These types of antioxidant, called polyphenols, help protect the lining of the blood vessels in your heart.
• Nonflavonoids: Another type of polyphenol, nonflavonoids have become the focus of recent studies. In mice, they have been shown to help prevent arteries from becoming clogged with fatty deposits--perhaps the reason the French way of accompanying frites (french fries) with red wine has worked out so well for them. The nonflavonoid that has received the most attention of late is resveratrol.
• Resveratrol: Resveratrol, found in the skins of wine grapes, might be a key ingredient in red wine's apparent ability to reduce damage to blood vessels, prevent blood clots, and reduce "bad" cholesterol. Red wine has about 10 times more resveratrol than white wine. Research in mice indicates that resveratrol protects from diabetes and obesity, and may reduce inflammation and blood clotting. All of these things are associated with heart disease.
Of course, all these studies also show that drinking too much wine is much worse for you than not drinking any at all. Most health professionals suggest one to two glasses a day, with meals. So be sure to drink in moderation. But the next time you're filling your glass, you might want to choose red wine. And make a toast to your heart. |
It’s Like the Cribbage Board
People are different from each other. This is both obvious and simple while at the same time complex and difficult. We process information and experiences differently based on a whole host of scientific and esoteric reasons. It’s good for the species, it gives us variety, adaptability, a human for every situation.
However, when two or more humans attempt to coexist on a day to day basis, adjustments and adaptations must be made.
Like the cribbage board.
Cribbage is a card game played by counting points in each hand and pegging those points on a tall, narrow board with 60 holes in it for each player. The holes are arranged in two rows of 30 each. As a child I was taught to go up the outside of the board and down the inside of the board as the game progressed, making the entire circuit twice per game for a total of 120 points to win.
I’ve taught lots of people the game over the years. I taught my friend, Diane, 35 years ago. When we travel together, I keep the board and cards handy in my purse. Waiting in an airport? We play a hand or two. Dinner taking longer than expected? Break out the board.
Now, I taught Diane and we’ve played for many years, so you would think I’d know everything there is to know about Di and cribbage, but recently she surprised me.
I set up the board, putting the black pegs on the side nearest her with the bottom of the board (where the pegs start their path) toward the outside edge or bottom of the table. This is how I do it. How I’ve always done it. For 50-some years, this is how I’ve always done it.
Diane looked at the board, frowned, and said, “The pegs need to switch.” I was dumbfounded. I couldn’t figure out what she meant. Sighing with exasperation, she switched the pegs to the other side of the board, turned the board upside down with the starting point toward the inside of the table, and then smiled, completely satisfied and at ease.
I was even more confused. This was just wrong. Wrong. What was she thinking? I went ahead and played the game but it felt unnatural to me. I thought perhaps it was an anomaly.
It wasn’t.
Photo of Diane Dunn playing cribbageThe next time we played, I set up the board the way I normally do, she said nothing and we played as we have all these years. But several days later, it happened again. With an air of frustration, she told me the board was wrong.
This time it pissed me off. How could it be right one day and wrong the next when I was doing it exactly—and I mean exactly—the same each time?
I asked her to explain it and she told me it needed to go right to left (or left to right, I still don’t quite understand) and the start position of the pegs needed to be nearest her right hand.
WTF? I’ve played the same game with the same person for 35 years and I didn’t know this? I explained about the bottom of the board being at the bottom of the table but that did not make sense to her. The discussion got a little heated, so we let it drop.
But it kept happening. One day I’d be right, the next day I’d get it wrong, she’d be exasperated and I’d get angry. Her explanation didn’t make sense to me; I couldn’t figure out what nearest her right hand actually meant. It began to feel like combat. Like I’d have to stop playing cribbage to avoid an argument.
Sometimes it’s a small thing that sheds light on a situation. We open all sorts of possibilities when we pay attention. In Nia (the holistic movement practice I teach) we talk about intimacy as paying attention. Even though I had been playing cribbage with Diane for 35 years, here was an opportunity for intimacy, to go deeper and pay attention.
I wish I could say I’m wise enough to have chosen to pay attention, but in this instance I have to say it was a moment of grace. At least I’m wise enough now to generally recognize grace when it presents itself.
I noticed that sometimes we played on the couch where Diane would sit to the right of me and sometimes we played at the dinner table where she would sit to my left. When we played at the table out on the deck, I sometimes sat on her right, sometimes to the left. This was the key to solving the issue. I realized if I always put her pegs on the left side of the board (as I see left), she could shift the board up or down (as I see up or down) so the start point is near her right hand. At least that’s how I can explain it.
You see, I still don’t quite get it. I sort of understand it intellectually, but I don’t process spatially the same way she does and it will always seem odd to me. As if my internal organization is up/down while hers is right/left. And I know that’s not how she would explain it. We found a solution because we wanted to but neither of us changed our spatial orientation to get there. We couldn’t, anymore than I could change my eyes from green to brown.
What we could do and did do was accept our differences and find a path to harmony despite them. Possible, doable, and done. I believe we both learned something about ourselves as well. There will be times we will not comprehend the other, not in that soul-mate, unspoken, everything flows in perfect harmony, we-are-one way.
Now, however, we have a way to enter into conversation when that happens. We start with, “It’s like the cribbage board…”
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1. Diane Dunn
Nice story – love the pix
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We're not lost, Sergeant, We're in … France
How to fail at seizing a weapons cache, 1775 edition, Part IV: General Gage
Certainly the most important person in any counter-insurgency operation is the commander. In 1775, General Thomas Gage commanded all British troops in the colonies as well as serving as the Governor of the Massachusetts colony, giving him both the military and civilian leadership roles. Was he suited to the task? Did his actions increase or decrease the likelihood of success?
Thomas Gage was the second son in a noble family and attended a “public school”, the Westminster School, in London, rubbing elbows with other future leaders. Being a younger son, he had to find his own way in the world, and such connections would serve him well.
Military Career
He joined the Army as an ensign, then purchased a Lieutenant’s commission. He rose in rank over the years, serving in the War of Austrian Succession and the Second Jacobite Rising. He spent at least some of his time on staff, and was popular among the officer corps despite neither drinking nor gambling. While he did make some good political connections, it wasn’t enough to win him a seat in Parliament and he came to the colonies as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 44th Regiment of Foot in 1755.
There’s a mixed bag in the evaluation of his performance in Braddock’s expedition to capture Fort Duquesne in the French and Indian War. Gage led a 300-man advance group that fell back on Braddock’s main column after reeling from meeting the enemy. This apparently disorganized the entire 1300-man force and, while Braddock rallied his troops several times before he fell mortally wounded, led to terrific losses. One source gives Gage credit for maneuvering the artillery into action,the aftermath did not go well for him. Gage not only failed to get permanent command of his regiment on the death of his Colonel, but one officer also charged him with poor field tactics and blamed Gage for the defeat. On the other hand, a colonist accompanying the expedition as a volunteer officer, George Washington, thought enough of Gage to request a recommendation letter from him in 1758.
Gage served in a few aborted campaigns and then set about recruiting a light infantry regiment. Regular officers realized that the tactics employed by the French, the Indians and the colonial Rangers had some merit, but they felt that the Rangers were too highly paid and too undisciplined. While this may have also been an effort to gain a Colonelcy, it does represent some flexibility of mind and willingness to innovate. On the other hand, it also points out his disdain for colonial troops, which would come back to haunt him.
When General Abercrombie led his 16,000 men north to seize Fort Carillon (now Fort Ticonderoga), Gage’s light regiment (the 80th Regiment of Light-Armed Foot) served as skirmishers along with the Rangers leading the doomed attack. The British were soundly defeated by about a quarter of their number that was firmly entrenched, due to the uncoordinated nature of the assault and the General’s poor tactical decision to make a frontal assault without artillery preparation.
The following year, mostly through his brother’s political maneuverings, he received a promotion to Brigadier General. Sent to Oswego to begin a campaign into Canada, Gage chose not to advance against uncertain odds. In 1760, rather than being given the honor of leading the vanguard, he commanded the rear guard of General Amherst’s army. Nonetheless, the likeable Gage was appointed Governor, serving ably despite distrusting the French colonists.
Advanced again to Major General, he also was appointed as Colonel of the 22nd Regiment of Foot through more help from his enterprising older brother. Interestingly, the 22nd wasn’t in the colonies again until 1775, which couldn’t have given him much ability to manage his regiment.
General Amherst left him in charge of British troops in the colonies while he returned to England on a leave of absence that became permanent, allowing Gage to be appointed to the position rather than just serving as a temporary replacement. Having proven himself in Quebec, his able administration in this position is not surprising. In 1771, he would be promoted to Lieutenant General.
During this time, he ordered the arrest a Major Robert Rogers, who commanded Rogers’ Rangers that he’d had such disdain for the indiscipline of back during Braddock’s expedition. The charges of treasonous connections with the French was backed by flimsy evidence and Rogers was acquitted.
So, we’ve seen him rise in rank despite participating in disastrous military expeditions by means of political maneuverings. He’s demonstrated ambition and some adaptability, but also shown his disdain for colonial troops and that he had a vindictive side.
Governance through punitive measures
That vindictive side and disdain for the colonists really shows through when we examine his actions as an administrator between the end of the French and Indian War and the beginning of the American Revolution.
During the French and Indian War, as Americans know it, or the Seven Years War as it is more commonly known, the British chose to take the offensive in North America, since they were outnumbered in Europe. Due to the costs of the war, the British needed to raise taxes. Since much of the cost was due to fighting in the colonies, the burden would also fall on the colonists. That wasn’t something Gage could control, but he certainly noticed the dissatisfaction and unrest it generated.
With combat action on the frontiers having died down with the end of the war and the unrest in response to the Stamp Act, Gage began pulling his troops back into the cities. He sent two regiments to Boston, including the 29th Regiment, which had a record of indiscipline and had come into conflict with civilians in Quebec. When coupled with the Quartering Act in 1765 (leading to the 3rd Amendment to our Constitution), the ingredients for an incident were all in place. In 1770, the tensions came to a head, resulting in the Boston Massacre. Thus began the road to violent rebellion.
While Gage was in England on leave, unrest continued to rise. He left in June and by December, Bostonians had had enough.
When resistance turned violent at the Boston Tea Party (1773), Gage was instrumental in shaping Parliament’s retaliatory Intolerable (Coercive) Acts (1774), by which the port of Boston was closed until the destroyed tea should be paid for. He was largely responsible for inclusion of the inflammatory provision for quartering of soldiers in private homes and of the Massachusetts Government Act, by which colonial democratic institutions were superseded by a British military government.
Since he worried about unrest, he brought troops into the cities. Whether by chance or conscious decision, a regiment that he knew was likely to tangle with civilians was placed where the unrest was the worst. The initial Quartering Act required the lodging of troops in inns, stables and barns, but the 1774 provisions extended that to private homes, further infuriating colonists. Further fanning the flames, Gage consolidated his troops from around North America into Boston. Thus, demand for housing for his troops spiked and unrest grew.
Suitability and Actions
So, Gage’s experience in combat was mostly in failed expeditions, with poor higher leadership and questions about his own tactical abilities. He was more than willing to use connections to gain advantage, so one has to wonder about whether he could have advanced in rank without them. As an administrator, he demonstrated good management, but also some vindictiveness. As such, one might have thought in the mid-1760s that he’d be a fine manager for the colonies, but that it was a good thing there was no longer a shooting war for him to carry out.
His actions when he encountered unrest indicate that such an evaluation wasn’t accurate. He mis-read the colonists, thinking a show of force would quench the flames. It did not. His actions fed the fire and pushed more colonists on the road to rebellion.
In summary, the man in charge of counter-insurgency in the colonies in 1775 was neither an understanding administrator who could smooth over grievances, nor was he a reputable warrior with a history of success. He was a political General with disdain for the locals and a tendency to make exactly the wrong choices. Is it any wonder that such leadership could generate the failure of an expedition to Concord?
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Nobel Scientist Urges HPV Vaccination for Boys
HPV Vaccine
HPV Vaccine
Humanpapillomavirus, or HPV, is a sexually-transmitted disease that most sexually-active people will contract during their lifetimes. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that there are 14 million new infections of HPV every year. For the majority of people who contract HPV, the disease doesn’t cause any symptoms or problems. However, for some, HPV manifests itself as genital warts.
Professor zur Hausen is a German virologist who won the Nobel prize for discovering the link between HPV and cervical cancer. If a woman gets cervical cancer, it was almost certainly caused by HPV. This discovery led to worldwide efforts to vaccinate girls against HPV before they became sexually active.
Now, Professor zur Hausen is urging that the same efforts be applied to vaccinate boys against HPV before they become sexually active. The virologist claims that HPV also causes anal cancer, penile cancer and throat cancer in men. His goal, however, is to eradicate the disease entirely by globally vaccinating all boys and girls against the disease, the method used to extinguish other diseases such as polio. Australia, Austria, Israel and parts of Canada currently have a boys’ vaccination program in place, but the United Kingdom, the United States and most other countries do not. In the United States, some states, such as Rhode Island, Virginia and Washington, D.C., have enacted laws requiring an HPV vaccination for boys and girls to attend public or private school by the seventh grade.
HPV affects the skin and the membranes that serve as our body lining, such as the anus, cervix, mouth and throat. There are more than 100 different types of HPV that are transmitted through sexual contact. About 40 of the HPV types affect the genital area. In some people, HPV causes warts to form on the lining. It can also cause changes to the cells of the linings that eventually develop into cancer.
Some experts fear that if we don’t vaccinate boys and girls against HPV, we will experience a sharp increase in cervical cancer and the male cancers caused by HPV. One of the reasons for this is that heterosexual couples are more often engaging in oral and anal sex than in the past, and these experts fear there is a time bomb of cancers caused by HPV that have yet to manifest themselves in patients.
There have been some reports of girls having bad reactions to the vaccine, and some allegations that the vaccine causes chronic fatigued syndrome. The World Health Organization reaffirmed the safety of the vaccine and claims that there is no evidence that supports the allegations of autoimmune diseases, such as CFS. The WHO says that about one in 10,000 girls who receive the vaccine might experience tightness of the chest and difficulty breathing that lasts for a couple of hours. About one in a million girls vaccinated might experience an allergic reaction called an anaphylactic reaction. The health care professionals who administer HPV vaccines are fully trained to recognize and treat these rare cases of severe reactions to the HPV vaccine.
Posted in Human Papillomavirus Tagged with: , , |
TR-1 Temp
Last updated
TR-1 Temp
SS-12 Scaleboard
9P120 Temp-s.jpg
9P120 launcher with 9M76 rocket of missile complex Temp-S
Type Theatre ballistic missile
Short-range ballistic missile
Place of originUSSR
Service history
In service1969 - 1989
Used by Soviet Armed Forces
Production history
Designer Nadiradze OKB
Manufacturer Votkinsk Machine Building Plant
Mass9,700 kg (21,400 lb)
Length12.4 m (41 ft)
Diameter1.01 m (3 ft 4 in)
WarheadSingle 500 kt warhead
EngineSingle-stage liquid propellant
800 km (500 mi) (SS-12)
Accuracy750 m (0.47 mi) CEP (SS-12)
Road-mobile TEL
TransportRoad-mobile TEL
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union
See also
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1. 1 2 3 TR-1 / SS-12 SCALEBOARD. Federation of American Scientists . |
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Is Your School Ready for OFSTED’s PE & Sport Premium Questions?
By July 31st 2019, primary schools are expected to have published reports on the application and impact of physical education provisions. It's a condition of receiving the PE and Sport Premium, a ringfenced grant from the government.
After receiving funding, schools are expected to document their progress. They must keep a record of purchases, observe their impact and detail plans for the continuous improvement of sports and physical activity. Click to download a PE and Sport Premium policy guide.
You'll know this if you've received PE and Sport Premium before. If you are eligible for funding, payments have started. So, you may have made some big investments already. But are you prepared to evidence?
In this blog, we'll talk you through the questions OFSTED wants your school to answer:
What specific outcomes does your school aim to achieve with PE and Sport Premium Funding?
The best place to start evidencing is with goals for the future. In some cases, desired outcomes aren't immediately obvious. You may need to investigate the efficacy of current PE provisions before deciding where to go next.
Where possible, start with what you aim to improve and work backwards. It might be increasing sports participation, providing more varied PE games, making physical education inclusive or improving pupils' motor skills and movement abilities.
By the time OFSTED turn up, you should know exactly what you're working to change with the PE and Sport Premium.
Has there been an impact on whole school improvement as a result of PE and Sport Premium Funding?
Schools are expected to spend carefully and base purchases on gaps in existing provisions or areas of potential improvement. So, OFSTED anticipates evidence of positive progress. However, schools aren't automatically penalised for decisions that don't have the intended results.
If this the case, you must demonstrate a proactive response to the situation. You need to record results, identify problems, apply or plan solutions and provide evidence of all these steps.
What you can't do is say: We spent it this way. It didn't work. End of story.
How has PE and Sport Premium Funding impacted on attainment in national curriculum physical education?
The PE national curriculum lists specific milestones primary pupils are expected to reach. Click to download the government's PE policy document for Key Stage 1 and 2. Don't forget, swimming milestones were added in October 2018.
Keep these milestones in mind during OFSTED inspections and when writing July spending reports. It's important to continually return to how and why the Sport Premium is helping pupils progress as the government requires.
How are you using PE and Sport Premium Funding to enhance existing provisions?
The requirements for funding include the improvement of existing sports and physical education provisions. Schools can use the cash to sustain what is already offered, but they MUST also expand on it.
OFSTED wants to see evidence of new activities, opportunities, equipment and even new teaching strategies.
Your school should, at its earliest chance, identify the areas it wants to expand or redevelop. The sooner you know, the sooner you can start monitoring the impact of investments and collecting evidence of their efficacy.
If external coaches or specialists are being used, are they working alongside teachers to improve their skills?
The government permits schools to spend money on specialist coaches and third party health providers like Amaven. However, they MUST NOT be employed as substitutes for internal teaching. You cannot fill gaps in staffing, knowledge or equipment with those of outside agencies.
Again, it's okay for schools to have weaknesses; the PE and Sport Premium is designed to address them. But there's a difference between using specialists to plug gaps in provisions and using them to upskill teachers. The latter is what OFSTED wants to see. |
I've never had to manage and budget money before. What are some tips for managing my money in college?
Managing Your Finances
College is a critical time for establishing and practicing smart financial management. How you manage (or mismanage) your money during this time can have long-term effects on your finances and credit. Smart money practices are key to a strong financial future.
Bank Accounts
For some students, college might be the first time they open a personal bank account. Banks offer several types of accounts to meet different customer needs. Many banks offer low- or no-minimum balance student accounts with little to no monthly fees. When opening your account, be sure to ask about a student account. Checking and savings accounts are the two most common types of bank accounts.
Checking Accounts: Checking accounts provide easy access to your money for everyday purchases with a debit card or checks. When you open your account, ask about a free student account and make sure you will not be charged a fee if you do not maintain a minimum balance in the account.
Savings Accounts: Savings accounts accumulate interest on funds that you have saved for the future.
If you will be attending school in a different state, be sure to find out if your bank has locations in both the Baltimore area and in the area where you will attend school. Some smaller banks have locations only in certain regions of the country. You want to be sure that you can access your money whether you are in school or at home during vacation.
• When you use a credit card, the bank or company that issued it lends you money to make a purchase and requires you to pay it back with interest.
• Many college students get into financial trouble by accumulating debt they cannot pay back. It is generally best to avoid getting a credit card until after you have graduated from college and are working full-time.
• If you must have a credit card during college, only charge what you can pay back in full each month. Once you carry a balance (by not paying what you owe in full each month), you will be charged interest, which will increase your debt significantly and quickly.
• High amounts of credit card debt will negatively impact your credit score, and can impact your ability to do things like purchase a car or rent an apartment.
Credit Cards
Once you are on-campus, you will probably receive some type of offer to sign up for a credit card. Credit cards often seem like a great idea to college students with low funds, but be sure to use credit cards with caution.
Want to Learn More About Managing Your Finances?
Smart About Money (SAM) is a FREE online resource offering finance courses on a wide range of topics, along with tips and information about managing your money in a smart way. You can find out money basics, decide what to do with graduation money or make a plan, for renting your first apartment.
Be sure to check it out! |
Monkeys perform arithmetic as well as college students
December 17, 2007
Adult humans possess mathematical abilities that are unmatched by any other member of the animal kingdom. Yet, there is increasing evidence that the ability to count sets of objects nonverbally is a capacity that humans share with other animal species. This week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology, Elizabeth Brannon and Jessica Cantlon set out to discover whether humans and nonhuman animals also share a capacity for nonverbal arithmetic. The researchers tested monkeys and college students on a nonverbal arithmetic task in which they had to add the numerical values of two sets of dots together and choose a stimulus from two options that reflected the arithmetic sum of the two sets. The results indicate that monkeys perform approximate mental addition in a manner that is remarkably similar to the performance of the college students. These findings support the argument that humans and nonhuman primates share a cognitive system for nonverbal arithmetic, which likely reflects an evolutionary link in their cognitive abilities.
Citation: Cantlon JF, Brannon EM (2007) Basic math in monkeys and college students. PLoS Biol 5(12): e328. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050328
Jessica F. Cantlon
Duke University
Durham, NC 27705
Bethesda, MD 20892
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Livermore researchers determine biosphere unaffected by geoengineering schemes
December 19, 2002
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Using models that simulate the interaction between global climate and land ecosystems, atmospheric scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have shown that compensating for the carbon dioxide "greenhouse effect" by decreasing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet (geoengineering) could create a more vigorous ecosystem while helping to curb global warming.
The study suggests that planetary-scale engineering projects to lessen the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth's surface will likely do little to prevent the effects of increased greenhouse gases on the terrestrial biosphere. In fact, plants could experience growth spurts.
In a paper entitled: "Impact of Geoengineering Schemes on the Terrestrial Biosphere," Livermore researchers Bala Govindasamy, Starley Thompson, Philip Duffy, Ken Caldeira and University of Wisconsin collaborator Christine Delire, modeled the impact on Earth's land biosphere due to various schemes that would reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the planet's surface. The research appears in the Nov. 26 online edition of Geophysical Research Letters.
"Our models show plant life getting a big boost from the carbon dioxide fertilization when atmospheric CO2 levels are doubled due to anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions," Govindasamy said. "We noticed that in a CO2-enriched world, the terrestrial biosphere was largely unaffected by decreases in surface solar radiation by a couple of percentage points through various geoengineering schemes."
In earlier research, scientists have maintained that greenhouse gases emitted from the burning of fossil fuels are one of the largest sources of global warming because they cause an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Methods to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide vary from storing it in the deep ocean to reducing the amount of sunlight reaching the planet (geoengineering) that could largely counteract the warming influence of more greenhouse gases.
"Critics suggested that 'turning down the sun' could harm terrestrial ecosystems that depend on light for photosynthesis, but this new work shows that a change in solar flux to stabilize climate would have little effect on the terrestrial biosphere," Caldeira said. "In fact, turning down the sun a bit reduces evaporation and therefore gives the plants more water for photosynthesis so that they may actually grow better in a geoengineered world than they do today."
The researchers, however, strongly caution against adopting any geoengineering scheme because "there are many reasons why geoengineering is not a preferred option for climate stabilization." Among these are the risks of system failure and unpredictable responses of Earth's climate system to large-scale human intervention ecosystems.
"First, geoengineering schemes impose a variety of technical, political and economic challenges. International consensus to develop and maintain the schemes would be difficult. Failure of a scheme could be catastrophic," said Govindasamy said. "CO2 fertilization could impact ecosystem goods and services not represented by our land biosphere model, such as plant species abundance and competition, habitat loss, biodiversity and other disturbances."
The LLNL-led group used a general circulation model coupled to a model of land vegetation to conclude that the change in solar flux needed to stabilize climate would have little effect on net primary productivity in land.
DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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Pathogens are constantly evolving to evade the human immune system and the public health interventions designed to combat them. Genomics has an important role to play in understanding this complex evolutionary arms race. Next generation DNA sequencing technologies allow scientists to assemble the whole genomes of pathogens—that’s their entire DNA sequence—quickly and at a relatively low cost. From this influx of raw genomic data, we can unearth complex insights into how pathogens bypass our defences.
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Which is better—a TFSA, or an RRSP? That’s kind of like asking, “Which is better—a t-shirt, or a sweater?”
Fundamentally, they do the same thing—t-shirts and sweaters both keep you covered, Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) both let you save money for the future. But the way they do it is different, and which one you choose depends on your needs.
That being said, sometimes it’s good to wear a t-shirt, and throw on a sweater if it gets chilly. In the same way, TFSAs and RRSPs can work together, depending on circumstances.
But choosing the right one can feel like a guessing game. Don’t worry—it isn’t. In this article, we’ll look at how TFSAs and RRSPs work, how they’re different, and how to pick the best investing account for your goals.
Which is better: RRSP or TFSA? The Journey of $1000
Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s look at an example. With so much debate online about which account is truly best for retirement savings, we decided to do some calculations of our own.
In the infographic below, we look at how $1000 could grow overtime when invested in a TFSA and an RRSP.
The TFSA vs. RRSP Guide infographic.
See how we got these numbers.¹
When it comes to long-term retirement savings, you can see how the RRSP comes out ahead. In this example, the money is invested when you’re 25, and withdrawn at 71. The income taxes you save upfront can grow into a big return over time when invested.
Keep in mind that with an RRSP, the funds are locked up until retirement and withdrawals are taxed as income, so the money in your account doesn’t all end up in your pocket. Meanwhile, with the TFSA, the full account balance is yours to spend as you wish, when you wish.
Now, let’s dive deeper into how each account works, and find out which account is more beneficial for any savings goals beyond retirement.
The differences between a TFSA and an RRSP
You can use either a TFSA or an RRSP to store assets—cash, as well as investments like stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial products.
But there are two major differences between them: how much you can contribute per year, and how your assets are taxed.
How a TFSA works
This year, the annual amount that you can contribute to your TFSA is $6,000. Unused contribution room rolls over, so if you haven’t maxed out your contribution room in previous years, chances are you’ll have additional space.
The money you put in a TFSA has already been taxed, so there’s no tax break at the time you contribute. But here’s where the “tax free” part comes in: when you withdraw your assets, none of the growth on your investments is taxed in any way.
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The fact that you pay tax now (before you contribute) and not later (when you withdraw) is important—it’s what makes a TFSA and an RRSP different, and affects the saving strategy for each.
How an RRSP works
We’ve got a great article diving into everything you might want to know about how an RRSP works, but here’s the summary:
You can contribute up to 18% of the earned income you reported on your 2019 tax filing, or $27,230, (whichever is less) to your RRSP, plus any amount that rolled over from previous years. Find out more on calculating the right amount here.
When you put assets in your RRSP, you don’t pay income tax on it. Typically, that means you’ll see a bigger tax return in the spring. Sounds good, right? Here’s the catch: you’ll pay taxes on those assets when you eventually withdraw the money in retirement.
RRSP becomes a RRIF
Because the government wants to ensure that you use the money you save for retirement income specifically, eventually, you’ll be forced convert your RRSP into a registered retirement income fund (RRIF). The main difference between the two account types is that while one is designed to help you save, the other forces you to make withdrawals.
Once you convert the account to a RRIF, you can no longer make contributions—just withdrawals. You are required to convert your RRSP to a RRIF the year you turn 71.
Keep in mind, you don’t have to convert your RRSP to a RRIF to start taking retirement income.
The fact that you get taxed later (when you withdraw) rather than now (before you contribute) is what sets an RRSP apart from a TFSA.
Is it better to invest in a TFSA or an RRSP?
T-shirts vs. sweaters—either can be best, depending on your situation. TFSAs and RRSPs are the same. They’re both excellent options for long-term investing, and both offer tax advantages, but determining the best one depends on what you’re investing for.
That said, if you’re a living, breathing human being, chances are you’ll need to spend money before retirement — and sometimes that will require shelling out a big chunk of change. A TFSA gives you the benefit of flexibility. The money is always available to you, and you don’t need to consider taxes when you make withdrawals.
Most people have multiple savings goals, and those goals can change overtime, so most people can likely benefit from contributing to both a TFSA and an RRSP.
Here are some goals you might be saving for, and the best investing account to choose for each:
Goal Account
“I want to start an emergency fund.” TFSA: Money in a TFSA is available to you any time. Best part? When invested, it can keep growing while you keep saving.
When you withdraw the money, it won’t be taxed—so the amount that appears in your account is the exact amount that ends up in your pocket.
“I’m making a big purchase next year.” TFSA: A TFSA is great for any and all short to medium savings.
“I’m saving for my first home.” RRSP or Both: Thanks to the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), as a first time home buyer, you can withdraw up to $35,000 from your RRSP without paying taxes on the funds. You’ll have 15 years to gradually pay that money back. If you have a partner, they can do the same, effectively doubling the amount. That’s a tax advantage worth taking!
But here’s the catch: if you live in one of Canada’s major cities, $35,000 or even $70,000 for a couple may not get you far towards a down payment.
Investing through a TFSA will allow you to make up the difference.
“I’m saving for a bigger home.” TFSA: You don’t qualify for the Home Buyers’ Plan, so you definitely don’t want to dip into your RRSP and face steep tax consequences.
No worries! Investing tax free through a TFSA is a great way to save towards your next home.
“I want a comfortable income in retirement.” RRSP: An RRSP is the best way to ensure you have an income in retirement that will cover the cost of living, and maybe even a little extra! Remember that the money will be taxed as annual income.
“I want to live larger in retirement.” TFSA: Your TFSA can be a great account for tax-free spending in retirement, which is particularly handy in years where you want to make a big purchase, or if you plan to spend more in retirement that you do today.
The TFSA vs. RRSP calculator
To get the most out of your investments, you’ll want to calculate where you’ll see the greatest tax benefit. That will depend on what you earn right now, what you’re saving for, and when you plan to use the money.
To help you see how your money could grow in either account, we’ve created a free, easy to use TFSA vs. RRSP calculator
Nobody can tell the future, but we can help you plan for yours. Sign up for CI Direct Investing now to talk to a financial advisor and start investing for any goal.
¹ The RRSP and TFSA comparison illustration depicts the growth of an initial investment at a 6% annual rate of return with withdrawals only in retirement. It assumes a 25% income tax rate for both pre- and post-retirement.
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Critical Essay Technique and Content in Babbitt
From a strictly technical point of view, Sinclair Lewis is deficient as a writer in a number of ways. During his lifetime, many critics particularly those who were unable to endorse his vision of America attacked him for his lack of artistry. Others, more sympathetic to Lewis' message, took the opposing position and refused to acknowledge any flaws in his technique. Needless to say, both groups of critics were wrong, although some of their specific evaluations were indeed correct. Now the furor surrounding Lewis is long gone, and it is possible to look at his writing technique and the content of his novels with more objectivity.
Most of Sinclair Lewis' faults as a writer are the result of a tendency toward immoderation and overstatement. Lewis is frequently carried away by his enthusiasm for his subject or for rhetorical devices, and he often forgets to restrain himself artistically. As a result, the same characteristics of his style may be praised or blamed, depending on the degree to which they are present in the examples selected for study.
For instance, Lewis often uses irony effectively and skillfully to emphasize his meaning and to help delineate character, as in the line, "Babbitt loved his mother, and sometimes he rather liked her. . ." On other occasions, however, as in the mechanical juxtapositioning of the dinner for the McKelveys with the dinner given by the Overbrooks, the comparison of events is significant, but the irony is oversimplified and artificial. Likewise, Lewis' pleasure with rhetoric now and then escapes the bounds of objectivity, and he ends up sounding like a neighborhood gossip. Lewis' descriptions are always humorous if one enjoys sarcasm.
For example, Lewis writes, "His shoes were black-laced boots, good boots, honest boots, standard boots, extraordinarily uninteresting boots." Lewis, of course, isn't really interested in the boots; he's characterizing Babbitt as good, honest, straight-laced, and "extraordinarily uninteresting." In contrast to this gossipy, sarcastic tone, Lewis can also swing to an opposite stylistic extreme — that of the syrupy, over-sentimental writer. For example, he describes Babbitt's adolescent-like dreams of the fairy girl as being "more romantic than scarlet pagodas by a silver sea."
Clearly, Lewis has a brilliant ear for the spoken language of the 1920s and a great talent for mimicry. Some of his vocal reproductions and exaggerations of colloquial speech patterns are among the novel's most memorable and amusing passages. Through his aping of native speech patterns, Lewis demonstrates the empty and unimaginative quality of middle-class American thought and, at the same time, he teases us with rich humor. The dullness and vapidity of the way that the characters in Babbitt communicate and express themselves emphasizes all of Lewis' intense feelings about their beliefs, backgrounds, and lack of sophistication.
It has been charged, and with some truth, that Lewis sometimes overused slang and was too extravagant in the length and volume of his imitations, and that as a result, the language of his characters sometimes seems stilted and unreal. That is a danger faced by every novelist who depends on colloquial language to give "life" and "local color" to his novel.
An additional factor in an evaluation of Babbitt is a consideration of the novel's unusual structure. Instead of being a traditional novel in which the adventures and personal evolution of an individual are shown in detail and traced over a period of time, Babbitt is a collection of nearly 30 separate episodes. Each of these vignettes deals with a different aspect of life in the early Prohibition era, and they are given a unity only by the constant presence of George F. Babbitt. All of these short pieces have their own structural integrity, but they are arranged in a haphazard fashion. Their order could be changed, and their number could be added to or subtracted from without affecting the development of the novel or changing its ultimate outcome.
Taken together, these vignettes give us a thorough picture of middle-class American life and culture in the period Lewis was writing about. The use of these topical pieces radically loosens the framework of the novel and weakens it as a balanced artistic construction. On the other hand, all of these episodes have a strong documentary flavor; each of them accurately depicts a particular segment of American life. The use of this device strengthens the impression that Babbitt is a truthful and dependable report on American mores and thus heightens its value as a social document.
It should also be mentioned that while many of the characters in Babbitt are caricatures and representative types, they are drawn in such a realistic and skillful manner that the reader rarely notices this flaw. Fortunately, a few characters in the novel, such as Paul Riesling, are sufficiently full-blooded to arouse real sympathy and interest.
Babbitt, the protagonist, sometimes seems slightly unreal, for he is such a stereotype and personification of the clichéd middle-class, Midwestern, polyester businessman. Babbitt is limited in the options open to him at any point since he usually acts as a representative of a certain class of man. At the same time, his loneliness and yearnings, as well as his vague sense of unhappy aimlessness are typical of modern man's dilemma; thus, many people can readily identify with Babbitt. As a result, despite his many personal defects and partly because of his stereotyped image, Babbitt has become in many ways an archetypal figure in the modern American mythos. Because Babbitt symbolizes the fear and pain of the individual made captive by a huge, commercial and industrial mass society, he has achieved a niche in our country's imagination and consciousness. Babbitt is the quintessential middle-class mediocre man; we see him trying to break the seams of mediocrity's straitjacket — and failing. Some people, of course, endorse mediocrity. Nebraska's former senator Roman Hruskra said that he supported a particular nominee to the Supreme Court because the mediocre people of this nation need a representative on the Supreme Court bench.
Clearly, Babbitt was written before the Vietnam War. It was written during an era when the United States had suddenly discovered that it was a major world political power and that its industrial, financial, and military might were unsurpassed. Following World War I, a wave of prosperity and self-confidence swept the nation. The vast majority of American people developed an egotistical belief in the superiority of themselves and their institutions. In the 1920s, America was chauvinistic, smug, intolerant, reactionary, and materialistic. It had contempt for anything foreign and, in its search for conformity, it distrusted and opposed anything unfamiliar or new. The strongest citadel of these narrow-minded beliefs was the Midwest, where Lewis grew up.
Lewis was a sensitive and perceptive observer of his fellow countrymen and their way of life. He proudly recognized his nation's legitimately great achievements, and he sensed the country's potential for even further greatness. However, he was also aware of America's rich democratic and spiritual heritage; he understood the value of respect and consideration for other peoples and other ways of life.
Throughout all his novels, Lewis attempts to expose the worst defects of America in the hope that he can warn his countrymen while there is still time. His satire is often brutal and bitter, and he made many enemies and offended people. He is sometimes guilty of injustice, exaggeration, disrespect, and lack of gratitude, but, nonetheless, for the first time, an American author tried to show his countrymen what they were really like under the surface of their lives. Through Lewis' efforts, and those writers and thinkers who were influenced by him, some of this country's worst failings were eventually rectified. While reading his novels, one notes that some of his criticisms are still relevant. This reaction is proof of how accurate and on-target Lewis' observations were.
Sinclair Lewis was one of the most profound and astute students of America in the twentieth century. He created an image of our national civilization to which Americans will always be obligated to compare themselves. He communicated his message with clarity, precision, and accuracy, and in a form that attracted a wide and varied audience. Few satirists have ever been able to do better.
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Causes of Cardiac Insufficiency
Reading time: 3 min
Heart failure can develop either because of conditions that damage and weaken the heart (this increases the size of its cavities and means it cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body) or because it loses elasticity and its cavities are unable to fill correctly.
Whatever the cause, the end result is the heart cannot meet the rest of the body’s demands for blood.
The main factors that can damage the heart and produce cardiac insufficiency are:
Heart with a blocked artery causing a heart attack
Coronary artery disease (ischaemic cardiomyopathy). This is the most common form of heart disease and the main cause of heart failure. The coronary arteries supply the heart with oxygenated blood, without which it could not function. Ageing, and the simultaneous appearance of one or more predisposing factors, progressively produces chronic inflammation of the arteries which become harder and accumulate cholesterol plaques (atheromatous plaques) on their walls; this process is known as arteriosclerosis. As the plaques grow, the internal diameter of the coronary arteries is reduced to such a degree that it eventually decreases the blood flow and prevents the heart from working properly. Occasionally, when a plaque ruptures, blood flow becomes completely obstructed and it causes an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Aneroid or manual sphygmomanometer with a warning signal
High blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force blood exerts against artery walls due to the heart’s pumping action. Without this pressure blood would not circulate. When arteries lose some of their elasticity it increases blood pressure. When blood pressure is higher than normal the heart must pump with more force to ensure blood circulates throughout the body. If this situation is sustained over time, then the heart increases in size and loses the elasticity it requires to generate enough force. A more rigid heart can eventually lose its capacity to store the volume of blood it must pump around the body in each heartbeat.
Inside view of the heart valves
Valvular heart disease. Heart valves ensure blood flows in the correct direction. Valve damage, whether due to insufficient blood flow (coronary ischaemia), an infection or an anatomical heart defect, forces the heart to work more intensely to keep blood flowing in the correct direction. This overstrain weakens the heart’s force of contraction.
Damaged heart muscle as seen under the microscope
Direct damage to the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). There are many factors that can cause direct damage to the heart itself, including infections, alcohol abuse, certain recreational drugs, e.g., cocaine, some medicines, and chemotherapy. Some cardiomyopathies are also associated with genetic factors.
Inflammation of the heart muscle or myocarditis
Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis). The majority of cases of myocarditis are caused by viruses and can lead to ventricular failure (it can affect either of the ventricles).
DNA molecule or helix
Congenital disorders. Congenital heart defects are a result of abnormal heart development while foetuses are still in the womb.
Electrocardiogram monitor
Heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias can be caused by an increased heart rhythm (tachycardia), reduced heart rhythm (bradycardia) or the appearance of extra beats during the normal rhythm (extrasystoles).
Glucometer and a hand with a finger in which the lancet has been inserted to measure diabetes levels.
Some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, haemochromatosis, amyloidosis or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
Substantiated information by:
Evelyn Santiago Vacas
Felix Pérez Villa
Josefina Casal Rodríguez
Published: 20 February 2018
Updated: 20 February 2018
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How To Make a Pop Up Card
How to make a Pop Up Card General Instructions
Giving a handmade pop up card to someone special is a great way to show that you care.
In general, to make a pop up card, follow these basic steps:
1. Find a card design you like or want to make. You can find a template for any occasion here: Pop Up Card Templates.
2. Choose the card stock you would like to make the popup card with. Most cards have an inside card and an outside card backing. 65lb card stock works best.
3. Print out the template or templates for the pop-up card.
4. Using the template, cut the pattern out of of the card stock. There are several ways to do this. Please read my post on using templates to cut out your card.
5. Score the lines that will be folded. Scoring makes it easier to fold the card.
6. Assemble the inside card, which consists of folding or gluing the card.
7. Attach the inside card to the outside card backing by gluing, assembling with slots, or sewing.
8. Decorate and add words.
To find detailed instructions and tutorials for how to make pop up cards for a specific occasion, please visit my tutorials and templates page.
Pop Up Card Tools
I'm often asked what tools are used for making pop up cards. Some pop up cards can be made with only a pair of scissors. Many years ago, I started making pop up cards with an X-acto knife, while using vinyl records as a cutting board. Mentioning that I grew up with records probably gives you an idea of how old I am. Luckily 8-tracks don't make good cutting boards. Today, plotter cutters (or cutting machines) have made making pop up cards much easier. Here are a list of common tools, devices or instruments used for making pop up cards:
• X-acto knife: Use name brand good quality blades. Cheap blades dull quickly or bend. Good quality blades will be made of a harder material, which tends to be more brittle. Therefore, the tip breaks easily . A cheap blade will have a lower yield strength, so the tip will tend to bend or curve when you apply pressure. So, use an X-acto brand blade. To prevent your good quality blade from breaking, you need to cut on a soft surface, which brings me to the next important item.
• Self healing cutting board: These are mats with soft cutting surfaces which “heal” when you cut into them. This is important because normal cutting boards will accumulate many cuts or tracks as you use them. Sometimes, your blade will follow a track instead of the intended direction. By the way, I broke blade tips constantly when I used the records as cutting mats.
• Tweezers: Tweezers are used for intricate assemblies. It also helps gluing small parts.
• Metal Ruler: A metal ruler is a must have to cut straight lines. It's much easier to cut a straight line with a ruler and an X-acto knife than a pair of scissors. A ruler is also useful for measuring things.
• Scissors: Scissors are useful to cut out pieces that will later be assembled into a card. I actually don't use scissors that often. My weapon of choice is still an X-acto knife.
• Glue: There are many kinds of glues to use. I predominantly use Elmer's glue and glue sticks. Elmer's No Wrinkle glue pens work well for preventing the paper from wrinkling. Sometimes I use spray adhesive and YES! paste. I'll elaborate on glues in the future.
• Cutting Machines: These machines have made making pop up cards much easier. There are several machine available: Klic-N-Kut (which is what I have), Craft Robo, Cricut, and a few others. Again, I'll have to elaborate on these machines in the future. These machines can cost anywhere from $100 to $500+. I ended up buying a Silhouette Cameo. You can buy a Silhouette Cameo from if you want to get additional scrapbooking supplies. Or buy your Silhouette Cameo from Amazon and get other items as well. In order to cut svg files, I also bought Sure Cuts A Lot, and Make the Cut, which are software packages that helps you cut using your cutting machine.
Please visit my Tools and Supplies page to find out more details on these products.
Pop Up Card Materials
There are a wide variety of materials used for making pop up cards. I usually use card stock that is at least 65lbs. If you want the card to be more rigid, you can use 100lbs card stock. Obviously, the thicker the card stock, the harder to cut. If you go to an art store, you can use Bristol or Watercolor paper. Watercolor paper will give your card some nice texture. You can also get some cheap card stock at office supply stores like Staples. After making a pop up card, you can use scrapbooking ideas to decorate the card to customize it. You can use many specialty papers to cover the outside of the card.
Getting Started
The best place to start making pop up cards is to visit my Template Store. There are free templates you can use to start making pop up cards. There are many other designs you can make to impress all your family and friends. |
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What Is a Melanistic Deer?
Posted by Jennifer Smith on 4th Jun 2019
It is estimated that 1 in 30,000 deer are considered to be true albino deer; and that is rare. What is even rarer is a black deer, or a melanistic deer. After a black deer was photographed in Michigan over the weekend, it got us wondering how much we know about black deer.
What is a melanistic deer?
Black deer lack variations in color such as white or brown. Most of these deer are black all across their bodies except for their tail which remains white. These deer are still considered to be white-tailed deer. The first black deer to be spotted was in 1929 and have since been spotted in Mississippi, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.
According to the QDMA, "Melanism is a random genetic anomaly. Changes in the coat color of mammals are believed to be mutations in the melanicortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R). The mutated gene that causes melanism is believed to be recessive, just like the gene responsible for some albinism and all piebaldism. Melanistic and normal whitetails do coexist in the same area."
Black deer are considered to be gems and do not stand out to predatory animals like natural white-tailed deer, and of course, true white deer. If sighted, snap photos; and enjoy the view of a rare and beautiful animal.
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Knowledge Center Articles
Hip Hip Hooray
Knowledge Center
Hip Hip Hooray
June 4, 2018
Older woman stretching alongside other older women.
You can protect yourself from hip fractures by eating a diet that includes calcium and Vitamin D, creating a safe home environment and regularly participating in a program of moderate exercise. Most hip fractures are caused by weak bone and the impact from a fall. Hip fractures are breaks in the thighbone (femur) just below the hip joint. They are serious injuries and can limit mobility and independence. Hip fractures generally require surgery, hospitalization, and extended rehabilitation. Osteoporosis, a bone-thinning disorder, puts people at greater risk for broken bones, particularly fractures of the hip, wrist, and spine. Risk factors include:
1. Nutrition: Low body weight and poor nutrition.
2. Lifestyle: Smoking, excessive alcohol use, and lack of exercise.
Whatever your age or health status, you need calcium to keep your bones healthy. Even if women have gone through menopause or already have osteoporosis, increasing your intake of calcium and Vitamin D can decrease the risk of fracture. Vitamin D assists your body to absorb calcium. Most hip fractures occur as a result of a fall and most falls occur in the home. Many falls can be prevented by simple home safety improvements, such as removing clutter, providing enough lighting or adding safety bars in bathrooms. Hips have less work to support body weight if quadriceps, gluteals, hamstrings, and abdominal muscles are strong. Moderate exercise can slow bone loss, maintain muscle strength, and improve balance and coordination. Good exercise options include climbing stairs, jogging, hiking, swimming, dancing, weight training, and tai chi. Incorporate these hip exercises in your weekly routine:
1. Hip thrust. Lie on the floor with knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift hips off the floor, pause and lower. 12 reps, 3 sets, 3 times per week.
2. Deadlift. Holding a 5 to 10-pound dumbbell in each hand, lean forward with arms extended toward the floor. Lift one leg so that your back and leg are parallel to the floor. 8 reps on each leg, 3 sets, 3 times per week.
3. Forward lunge. Take a long step forward with one foot. Drop into a lunge position. Return to a standing position. 15 reps on each leg, 3 times per week.
You can protect yourself from falls and fractured hips by changing your diet and making bone-healthy choices, reevaluating your home to add safety precautions, and adding your favorite hip cardio and strengthening exercises at least three times per week. Hip hip hooray!
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The Sciences
Why Did Neanderthals Disappear?
Was it disease, competition with modern humans or a combination of factors that led to the extinction of our near evolutionary cousins?
By Joshua Rapp LearnJun 11, 2021 11:51 AM
Neanderthal exhibit
(Credit: life_in_a_pixel/Shutterstock)
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The Neanderthals may be our closest evolutionary cousins. They walked on two legs similar to us, used tools and may have created art and music. The hominids used fire and likely lived and hunted in complex social groups similar to the way that Stone Age Homo sapiens did about the same time.
We’re not super clear on when the Neanderthals first began to separate themselves from their own primate ancestors, but the fossil record tells us that Neanderthals were definitely around by about 200,000 years ago. They disappeared roughly around 40,000 years ago as anatomically modern humans first began to move into Europe.
“I wouldn’t say Neanderthals died out — because you and I both have Neanderthal DNA in us,” says William Banks, an archaeologist with the French National Centre for Scientific Research. “They didn’t essentially disappear without leaving their mark.”
But, given the difficulty of interpreting the fossil record, scientists are divided on why these near cousins and quasi-ancestors of many modern humans no longer walk the Earth. Many believe that modern humans outcompeted Neanderthals, eventually leading to their demise. That competition may have favored today’s version of humans due to superior technology, better immunity to diseases or minor differences in the social habits of Neanderthals. H. sapiens may also have been better equipped to cope with a changing climate.
“In the end you’ve got one population that replaces the other,” Banks says.
The Tools to Succeed
Neanderthals, so-called because the first known fossils of the species were found in 1856 in Germany’s Neander Valley, lived widely across Eurasia. They were a few inches shorter than H. sapiens at the time, as well as a little wider.
Archaeologists have found Neanderthal fossils from the Altai Mountains in central Asia down to Southwest Asia, and widely across Europe. These archaic humans and their evolutionary predecessors are the only known hominids to have occupied Europe before modern humans. H. sapiens began to make major inroads in the continent about 42,000 years ago, though a few fossils have turned up from earlier periods.
Read more: In Russia's Far North, A Lone Group Of Neanderthals May Have Been The Last Of Their Kind
The period of overlap between modern humans and Neanderthals was relatively brief, lasting roughly 3,000 to 4,000 years or so, Banks says. The radiocarbon dating technique typically used to determine the age of fossils has a 500-year error margin, so it’s difficult to get precise dates on what was happening with many of the fossil remains archaeologists have unearthed from this period.
Many researchers believe advanced hunting weapons or other tools may have helped humans outcompete Neanderthals. Neanderthals are known to have made use of basic spearheads, axes and other tools that were often only chipped on one side of the blade, known as Mousterian. Meanwhile, humans had technology often focused on knife-like blades that may have allowed more precision in certain uses.
Banks isn’t sure these discrepancies made the difference. He says researchers have to be careful not to come at the question of Neanderthal disappearance with the automatic assumption that humans were somehow superior.
“We really need to pay attention to remove biases,” he says, adding that it’s difficult to determine whether some difference in intelligence played a factor in the demise of Neanderthals. For example, cave art discovered in Spain has been dated to a period before modern humans are known to have been present in the area. Archaeologists have also argued that our evolutionary cousins made music based on the discovery of what may be the remains of a flute found in a Neanderthal context. Banks adds that Neanderthals were making personal ornaments out of raptor talons and using ochre to produce pigments for possibly symbolic purposes. Some archaeologists don’t buy that Neanderthals were capable of doing this, and others believe it may be a case of them learning from modern humans, Banks says, though he doesn’t hold the latter view.
“From what I can see, Neanderthals are incredibly complex from a behavioral standpoint,” he says.
Pandemic Extinction
Noah Rosenberg, a professor of biology at Stanford University, believes that disease could have played a major role in the disappearance of the Neanderthals. In a recent study published in Nature Communications, Rosenberg and his coauthors built a math model on the disease dynamics that occur whenever two distinct populations come into contact.
When European colonialists first arrived in what is now the Americas, the diseases they brought wiped out an estimated 90 percent of Indigenous people across North, Central and South America. In that case, Europeans had contracted a larger number of diseases due to higher population densities and more domestic animals, and subsequently developed some resistance that Indigenous Americans hadn’t.
While humans hadn’t yet domesticated animals 42,000 years ago, Rosenberg speculates something similar may have happened when humans began to interact with Neanderthals. Both hominids exchanged packages of pathogens when they met, but one may have affected the other species more than the other. Over generations, deaths may have led to a shifting border between humans and Neanderthals.
Using known data from the fossil record, the models Rosenberg and his colleagues ran showed that shifting boundaries between the two species in the Levant (along the eastern Mediterranean) could be explained pretty well by gradual population loss of Neanderthals to disease. It’s not clear what diseases these might have been, and why humans had more resistance, but he speculated it might be due to a larger package of pathogens existing in the tropical regions where humans migrated from.
“I wouldn’t claim that it’s the only factor, or even that it’s the most likely factor,” Rosenberg says. “It’s just that in imagining transmission of infectious disease between Neanderthals and humans, you can explain something that hasn’t been explained.”
The Many Factors Theory
Banks believes that disease, competition in one form or another, different responses to changing climate and environment, and resource use may have all played important roles in Neanderthal disappearance. In fact, these factors each likely played a role in different areas and at different times over the millennia of coexistence.
There are likely a huge number of diverse types of interaction that occurred between the two hominid species, he says – just like there are between humans today. The advantage could even have come down to something as simple as a difference in the way Neanderthals responded to outside changes in the environment and climate.
In a region Banks has studied in France, Neanderthals continued to use the same territories despite large-scale changes in the climate and environment that occurred about 70,000 years ago. “They are kind of the original homebodies if you want to call it that,” he says.
In order to remain in the region, Banks says the Neanderthals created new stone technologies appropriate to the changing environment. “They’ve got this capacity just like modern humans to technologically innovate and adapt to their conditions,” he says.
This population may not represent the habits of Neanderthals as a whole. But Neanderthals may have been more likely than modern humans to stay put over generations with smaller social networks. These different patterns in movement may have made the difference, according to Banks’ work. Smaller networks also may have resulted in smaller gene pools – some research shows inbreeding was relatively common among Neanderthals in at least some areas.
“You’ve got these very sophisticated and intelligent populations, but there’s just some small difference in terms of how they organize themselves on the landscape that makes the difference,” Banks says.
We’ll continue to learn more about these factors as archaeological techniques improve, helping us revisit excavated sites and better analyze newly discovered remains. But Banks says this is likely to further complicate the question of why Neanderthals died out rather than give us a definitive answer.
“I really don’t think that we’ll ever find the answer by saying ‘It was this one factor, and that factor tipped the balance,’” Banks says.
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nguyen hao tran
I come from Vietnam, and am currently a third-year undergraduate at the University of Queensland, undertaking the courses of Environmental Science, with a major in Ecology and Conservation. As a part of the Southeast Asian populace, I find it concerning how little conservation efforts are recognised. Hunting endangered species has also become so repetitive on news sources, the population have grown desensitised, further exacerbated by traditions of exotic medicine and cuisine.
That is why when I came to Australia, another tropical haven of exotic species, EPBC and environmental acts that gave voice to conservation efforts were a pleasant surprise. As Lady Luck would have it, I met Matthew and his lab colleagues and students who share the same concern for various species in Southeast Asia. My research interests are the Greater hog badger and Sumatran hog badger, two similar species with hog-like snouts and statutory of a cat with big claws. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with amazing lab partners and on such interesting species that I never would have thought of back in Vietnam! |
Printing Press Applications
IRt/c infrared thermocouples are revolutionizing the printing industry because their small size allows them to be mounted in the tight spaces typical of both web and sheetfed presses, and their low cost allows economical installation and control on even the smallest of presses. Additionally, since many presses are already equipped with thermocouple controllers and PLC thermocouple inputs, the IRt/c is a simple installation.
Applications include not only printing onto paper, but also cloth, plastic, and any other printing web application.
On conventional presses (water/ink processes), the quality of the process is very dependent on the difference in surface tension between water and ink, and this surface tension is highly temperature-sensitive. When presses operate, heat is generated due to friction in the pressing area. Heat build-up can significantly alter the surface tension of the water/ink resulting in a deterioration in print quality.
Temperature is also important when there is a risk of the thin-wall cylindrical platen(s) becoming loose or sloppy due to thermal expansion (or contraction). On large diameter metal cylinders, a small temperature change can result in a significant change in the circumference of the roll, and thus affect the proper “fit.” By measuring the surface temperature of the roll, the proper fit of the plate can be maintained by either (1) cooling the area or (2) slowing down the press so friction heat decreases to a low enough level to maintain print quality.
“Waterless” ink technology involves the use of special inks to eliminate the need for the water/ ink combination. This technology has significant cost and performance advantages for the printer in the elimination of waste treatment and higher quality products. The waterless ink technology can be applied to virtually all types (web and sheetfed) and sizes of presses from large multi-color presses down to the small presses.
Conventional presses can be converted to use these inks by providing a method to control the surface temperature of the rolls where the ink is applied to the platens. This is typically done by using hollow rolls and supplying chilled water through the rolls to keep the surface at the desired temperature. The IRt/c is a key component of the package required to convert a press since waterless inks are very temperature-sensitive and must be applied with strict ink and surface temperature control.
The surface temperatures are easily monitored by an IRt/c. The output signal is sent to a discrete temperature controller, PLC, or custom computer control system to regulate the refrigerated circulators providing cooling water.
The IRt/c sensing system is precise enough to also allow manipulation of color characteristics for waterless printing. For example, running a particular waterless ink at different temperature extremes allows for choosing between brilliant or softer colors.
After the ink is applied to the paper (or cloth, plastic, etc.) in the printing area, the web (or sheet) typically travels through a drying/curing process. IRt/c sensors are used where they (1) “look” directly at the web or sheet while it is inside the dryer or (2) at the web just as it exits the dryer. Either method can be used to control drying temperature or UV curing
For web presses, a much more accurate way is also possible. By using multiple IRt/c sensors along with the web while in the dryer, the actual “Dry-Out” point can be located and controlled within the dryer.
For web offset printing, as the web leaves the dryer, it runs through a chill roller(s) to cool the web so that the paper (cloth, plastic, etc.) can be cut and stacked, or rolled, without the material sticking together.
By using IRt/c sensors to measure the surface temperature of the web at the point where it is being chilled, the IRt/c signal can control the amount of chilling. This control will eliminate “over chilling” (condensation problems due to high ambient humidity common in press rooms) and “under chilling” problems, automatically.
Location 4: BINDERY
Hot melt glue guns and applicators periodically “plug up” or run out of glue. Properly used IRt/c sensors or an Exergen AAM system can instantly alert machine operators prior to products being glued improperly. See Tech Note #18 and/or the section on the Exergen AAM Series (Applied Adhesive Monitors) in The IRt/c Book. |
Ways Your Commitment to Safety Can Improve Workplace Wellness
Ways Your Commitment to Safety Can Improve Workplace Wellness
Ways Your Commitment to Safety Can Improve Workplace Wellness
Workplace wellness can be defined as a series of policies and activities that aims for the employees of a company to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite a hectic work schedule. This can range from simply scheduling a time an employee can exercise, having healthy food options to eat, hiring a company doctor for check-ups and first aid, or even having medical screenings, weight loss programs, and physical examinations.
On the other hand, workplace safety is a practice that employers have to keep their employees safe from hazardous instances that could result in injury, poisoning, or even disease. This is important especially in workplaces which include physical labor such as construction sites, piers, and airports. Such a program includes mandatory wearing of safety gear such as helmets and welding masks, having first-aid kits, and having proper lighting to avoid accidents.
In case you are an employer, and you’re wondering; workplace safety and workplace wellness are somehow interrelated to each other. If you think that ignoring safety is okay, let us remind you that 104 million production days were lost in 2016 because of work-related injuries according to nsc.org.
Here are the reasons why your commitment to safety can improve workplace wellness and vice versa:
Having safety standards keep your employees healthier
Indeed, having proper safety procedures and guidelines lead to healthier employees. Making sure that they are following a proper standard and health codes benefit their well-being because dangers are being avoided. For example, wearing masks on laboratory-related jobs prevents toxic chemicals from being inhaled, wearing gloves prevent harmful substances from being touched, and safety harnesses prevent workers from falling at great heights.
Commitment to safety a day keeps the medicines away
Committing to safety also lessens the chances of employees having medication. In the U.S. alone, two of the top drugs that are overused are used by workers to either make the pain go away or make them awake. Furthermore, over 3.3 million Americans have abused the use of painkillers, and 1.7 million have overused stimulants.
Having a safe workplace reduces the number of accidents and injuries which means that employees are less likely to consume these substances. With proper wellness programs, overdosage from prescription drugs can be prevented. However, this does not only involve prescription drugs but even over the counter ones. Being committed to safety can also prevent employees from having influenza in the workplace.
Having paramedical staff nearby reduces health risks
Hiring a medical doctor, even the part-time ones that come only twice a week, or even having a medical institution nearby is a great help to practice health and safety. A medical practitioner can detect if there is something wrong with the health of the employees of the company.
Monthly check-ups can ensure that early signs and symptoms of various diseases and health problems can be prevented early. Or if not, can be prescribed with necessary medication. Doctors and nurses can also be there at the time when someone had an injury, concussion, or heart attack.
Having a safe environment also benefits employees’ mental health
Taking breaks and leisure time should not just be part of the wellness program of a company, it should also be for safety. Taking breaks can make sure that employees are not overworked and over fatigued during work hours. This can make them safe from potential health risks in the future.
Make sure that your employees eat in time and rest as well. On a mental aspect, this also saves them from mental health problems such as clinical depression. According to a study, construction-related jobs have the highest number of suicides among men and arts, and design careers are the most rampant among women.
Having a safe workplace can somehow decrease this because as an employer, you assure that someone is there for your employees and you care for them. Having a corporate psychologist is also an effective way to make your employees feel that you prioritize their mental health just as their physical well-being.
Having a safe workplace leads to productivity. Survey results from the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), a nonprofit organization, shows that 90 percent of business leaders believe that workplace wellness can affect employee productivity and performance.Committing to the safety and wellness of your employees does not only benefit them by being safe, but it also benefits the company as having such programs makes work more productive and efficient.
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Life = Growth & Development
The discovery of supercircles and superellipses allow us to look beyond circle and lines. To quote Piet Hein: “The superellipse has the same beautiful unity as circle and square, but is less obvious and less plane. The superellipse frees us from the straightjacket of simpler curves such as lines and planes.”
Supercircles are defined by an equation in which only one parameter, the exponent, is sufficient to identify circles, squares or any intermediate shape. As a consequence, the slightest deviations of circle and square can be understood simply as slight changes of the exponents in the equations.
This is also important during growth and development. The circle is considered as the perfect shape, but in reality it is not important if a shape is not precisely a circle; a supercircle is just a good. Many cells, organs or plant stems, develop according to their own supercircle.While many square shapes are found in nature, one finds triangles, pentagons and hexagons much more often than squares. A prime example is a starfish. These shapes cannot be described as supercircles that are limited to squares or rectangles. |
"Sunset over the preserve, Big Cypress National Preserve, 2015." by U.S. National Park Service , public domain
Big Cypress
brochure Big Cypress - Orchids
Big Cypress National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Big Cypress National Preserve Orchids Orchids invoke a sense of wonder in many people due to their distinctive beauty, great diversity and rarity. With around 30,000 known species, orchids constitute the largest family of flowering plants on earth. Not only are they extremely diverse, but they are widespread and can be found around the world in environments ranging from rainforests to desert oases to tundra above the Arctic Circle. Here in Big Cypress National Preserve, 36 species of orchids can be found. Some of these are epiphytic, meaning they live on trees or other plants but are not parasitic. While others are terrestrial growing from the ground. D uring the dry season visitors frequently pass by rare and beautiful orchids without a second glance. For much of the year when the plants are not flowering they are nondescript, resembling a small cluster of palm or grass leaves. But one way to tell them apart from other plants is by their leaves. With parallel veins, the leaves of the orchid are quite variable in size and shape, some being small and round while others are slender and elongated. The flowers have three sepals, and three petals, one of which is modified into a lip that serves as a landing platform for pollinating insects or birds. It guides the insect towards the nectar, which is strategically located to ensure that the pollinator brushes against the pollen as it feeds. Orchids adapted for wind, rain, insect, bee, wasp, hummingbird, and many other types of pollination exist. Therefore, the diversity in floral forms in the orchid is outstanding. Orchid flowers range from being green and tiny (less than three millimeters across) to multi-colored and large. —Clamshell orchid —Dingy-flowered star orchid (left) —Leafy vanilla orchid —Florida dollar orchid —Florida butterfly orchid (center) —Lace-lip ladies orchid —Habeneria —Snowy orchid —Florida malaxis orchid —Grass pink orchid (right) Cowhorn Orchids The endangered cowhorn orchid (Cyrtopodium punctatum) can be found in the hardwood hammocks and open cypress swamps of Big Cypress (pictured top of page on left). In the spring, the plant produces an impressive cluster of flowers spattered with shades of red Photos courtesy of PJ Stevko Common Orchids of Big Cypress Epiphytic or Terrestrial The two main growth patterns for orchids are epiphytic, growing in trees or other hosts, and terrestrial, growing from the ground. Epiphytic organisms were once confused with parasitic organisms, in the sense that both types of organisms require a host to survive. The main difference is that epiphytes do not take anything away from its host; it uses the host soley for stability rooting to it like an anchor. Most epiphytic orchids have stems which are swollen at the base and store water in this bulbous region. Terrestrial orchids utilize their roots in the same fashion as other plants, drawing water from the surrounding soil. and yellow. In order to attract bees that are its pollinator, the flowers have evolved to resemble a swarm of bees. The actual bee flies into the flowers either to fight with what it believes to be a rival swarm of bees, or to mate with what appears to be bees of its own kind. In doing this, the bee becomes covered in pollen, therefore pollinating the next orchid when it starts the process over again. The cowhorn orchid requires cross-pollination to produce seeds and fruit meaning that a cowhorn orchid must receive pollen from another cowhorn orchid in order to reproduce. The problem is that the cowhorn orchid has become so rare in Big Cypress that cross pollination is not reliable. Dr. Jim Burch, the preserve’s botanist, has begun to manually pollinate many of the known cowhorn orchids using small forceps in an effort to conserve the species. Ghost Orchids One of the most unusual orchids found anywhere in the world, the ghost orchid (Polyrrhiza lindenii) has become a symbol of the South Florida landscape. Its haunting white color and long curling spikes that seem to float in midair are like a ghost of bygone eras. The ghost orchid is a night moth pollinated specimen that blooms both during the day and at night. The long whispy petals attract the moths in the dead of night and provide nectar to the hovering pollinator. The moth will then seek out another ghost orchid and tranfer the pollen from one to another, thereby aiding in reproduction. The most conspicuous feature of this orchid is the system of roots, which radiate from a central hub and creep tightly both up and down the host tree’s bark. These orchids grow as easily on the smooth bark of a Royal Palm as the rough bark of the cypress trees of the swamps. The ghost orchid is an indicator for the overall health of the Big Cypress swamp due to its need of a specialized habitat. It requires a vast pool of genetic diversity, and high humidity to thrive. Habitat destruction, as well as changing hydrologic cycles have affected the ability of the ghost orchid to bloom in high numbers. Due to its specific growth requirements the ghost orchid is one of the most endangered flowers in the United States. The best time to view the ghost orchid blooming is in June/July when the flower and mosquitoes are at their peak. Clamshell Orchids The small purple lip of a blooming clamshell (Encyclia cochleata) is a beautiful sight to witness (pictured top of page one on right). The clamshell is part of a larger family of orchids known as the cochleata family. Elsewhere in the world, the clamshell orchid has one central stamen, or reproductive organ, surrounded by two pairs of pollen sacs. Here in Big Cypress the clamshell has developed a pair of stamen, and four pairs of pollen sacs. Thus, the Florida clamshell orchid is another highly endangered flower which is found in the wilds of the Big Cypress Swamp. Unlike many other types of orchids found throughout the world, the clamshell can be found blooming on portions of the Turner River year-round. A Dying Breed Unfortunately, many of our orchid species are threatened or endangered due to overcollecting and changing environmental conditions. Canals built many decades ago cause water to drain from the swamps of Big Cypress into the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Now, efforts are being made to stop this flow of water in the canals and restore natural hydrologic functions in the Preserve. This is important to the survival of orchids as they are sensitive to climatic conditions. Many orchids in the Preserve rely on the water in the swampland to moderate air temperatures and provide humidity. Because most of the orchids that grow here are of tropical origin, they do not tolerate freezing conditions, and need the warm, moist conditions to survive that the swamp provides. Did You Know? Orchids rely heavily on other species for survival. In order to help conserve specific types of orchids certain insects and birds must also be protected to ensure their survival. A ghost orchid flowering (center) and in a dormant state (left). A ranger photographs a blooming ghost orchid (right). Only take a photo, never collect orchids or other plants. Center photo courtesy of JR Bertels, NPS/ VIP Left and right photos: NPS/Christine Clark EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA Orchids_FINAL.indd on HQ shareall, interp publications: 4,000 printed 10/2010, stored at Oasis & WC
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Update on Coronavirus in India
Bhagat Singh
Quick Facts
Name: Bhagat Singh
Country: India
Born: September 1907
Place of Birth: Banga Village in Punjab (now in Pakistan)
Death: Executed on 23rd March 1931
Parents: Kishan Singh and Vidyavati
Associated with: Naujawan Bharat Sabha, Kirti Kisan Party and Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.
Bhagat Singh was an Indian revolutionary and a great freedom fighter who fought against British during the Indian Independence Movement. Many leaders like Mangal Pandey, Siraj ud-Daulah, Mahatma Gandhi, Lal, Bal, Pal and thousands of Indians sacrificed their life to gain Independence from British. Bhagat Singh at a very young age involved himself in various organisations before he died at a very young age of 23years. Following his execution on 31st March 1931, his followers called him as Shaheed (martyr).
Early Life and Childhood
Bhagat Singh was born in September 1907 at a small village known as Banga in Punjab (now in Pakistan). His parents were Kishan Singh and Vidyavati. They belonged to Sikh family. Bhagat family including his parents, and also uncles fought against British. During the birth of Bhagat Singh, his father Kishan Singh and his uncles Ajit Singh and Swaran Singh were in Jail for fighting against the Colonization Bill implemented in 1906.
Bhagat Singh
His father and uncle were members of Indian revolutionary organisation known as Ghadar party which was led by Kartar Singh Sarabha and Har Dayal. Since the whole family of Bhagat Singh were against British , his grandfather did not allow Bhagat Singh to join any school which was loyal to British government. Bhagat Singh was enrolled in an Arya Samaj institution by name Dayanand Anglo Vedic High School.
At a very young age when Bhagat Singh was just 12 years old he visited Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in which thousands of people were killed by British. Bhagat Singh was a follower of Gandhi’s philosophy of non violence. After the Chauri Chaura incident Mahatma Gandhi who was very hurt from the incident called off the non cooperation movement.
Bhagat Singh was not happy of Gandhiji;s decision to call off the non cooperation movement hence he joined the Young Revolutionary Movement. By 1923 he joined the National College in Lahore and got himself completely involved in various college activities.
During his college days Bhagat Singh founded Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1926 and also became a member of Hindustan Republic Association other members of the group included Chandrasekhar Azad, Ram Prasad Bismil and Shahid Ashfaqallah Khan. By 1926, Bhagat Singh started to write and edit for Urdu and Punjabi newspaper and also wrote for Kirti which was a journal published by Kirti Kisan Party. He also wrote for Veer Arjun under pseudonyms.
Revolutionary activity and Indian Independence Movement
During his early period of revolutionary, Bhagat Singh influenced youth and other Indians with his writings against the British and also on its policies. This influenced lot of youth and the Indians to oppose British in all its activities which led to huge disruption. Considering his influence on the youth Bhagat Singh was also arrested and was later released after five long days with a bond of 60,000 rs.
Fight against the British was in the blood of Bhagat Singh. British government introduced Simon Commission in the year 1928. There was a nation wide strike against the Simon Commission and Sir Simon was welcomed to India with black flag. There was a massive protest against the Simon Commission by shouting slogans like Go back Simon. On 30th October 1928 Lala Lajpat Rai led the protest against the Simon Commission. Thousands of people had gathered to protest against the Simon Commission which resulted in violent act.
To disperse the crowd and to take control of the situation, Superintendent of Police James A Scott ordered the police officers to do lathi charge on the crowd. During the Lathi charge Lala Lajpat Rai was severely injured and died on November 17th 1928. Bhagat Singh had great respect to Lala Lajpat Rai hence owed to take revenge on British for his death.
Escape and Trial of Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh after shaving his beard
Bhagat Singh along with few other revolutionaries like Shivram Rajguru, Chandrasekhar Azad and Sukhdev Tapar plotted a plan to assassinate James A Scott. In their agitated mind to kill James A Scott, they mistook J. P Saunders as James A Scott and killed him on December 17th 1928. J. P. Saunders was assistant Superintendent of Police. On knowing his mistake fearing of arrest Bhagat Singh left Lahore.
With the help of Durgawati Devi who was the wife of HSRA member Bhagwati Charan Vohra left Lahore and went to Howrah. To hide his identity Bhagat Singh shaved his beard and cut his hair and wore a hat even though it was against the principles of Sikhism. Along with Rajguru and Devi, Bhagat Singh with the baby and Devi left to Howrah and Rajguru left to Banaras. Most of them returned to Lahore after few months except Bhagat Singh.
To protest against the Public safety Bill and Trade Dispute Act, Bhagat Singh and few other members thought to explode bomb inside the Central Legislative Assembly. Their intention was not to hurt or kill anyone from the bombing. On 8th April 1929, Bhagat Singh along with Bakutheswar Dutt threw three bombs on the corridors of the assembly by shouting Inquilab zindabad and threw leaflets. Even though there intention was not to hurt anyone still few members in the assembly got injured. The smoke filled the assembly but still Bhagat Singh and Bakutheswar did not escape from the scene. Both of them were arrested.
Trail proceedings commenced in the month of June against both the accused and were given a chance to defend themselves. Bakutheswar was defended by Afsar Ali while Bhagat Singh defended himself. Trial began and both of them were held guilty and were awarded Life imprisonment punishment. Immediately after the arrest of Bhagat Singh there organisation HSRA bomb factories were raided and the British arrested prominent revolutionaries like Hans Raj Vohra, Jai Gopal and Phanindra Nath Ghosh.
Execution of Bhagat Singh
Execution of Bhagat Singh
Trial proceedings started against all the 28 accused and arrested. Finally the court ordered for the execution of Bhagat Singh, Rajguriu in Sukhdev in Lahore conspiracy case. On 23rd march 1931 Bhagat Singh was hanged to death. He was hanged to death in Lahore jail along with his other inmates Rajguru and Sukhdev. The execution was supervised by the honorary Judge who also signed the three death warrants. It is believed that even while going to the gallows all the three were cheerfully singing inquilab zindabad. Later the dead bodies of the three were secretly cremated near Ganda Singh Wala village.
There was severe criticism in the way the trial and execution of Singh happened. The Supreme Court described it as “contrary to the fundamental doctrine of criminal jurisprudence.” The accused was not given an opportunity to defend his case and also the judgement was passed exparte.
Bhagat Singh Popularity and Legacy
Bhagat Singh was a follower of Kartar Singh Sarabha who was the founder of Ghadar Party. Singh was attracted towards anarchism and communism. Even though Bhagat Singh believed in Marxist ideas he never joined any communist’s party. When Gandhiji called off the non cooperation there was huge riots between Hindus and Muslims. Seeing this and understanding how people are fighting for religion instead against British, Bhagat Singh started to disbelieve all the religious beliefs and started to read books of Lenin and Trotsky.
Bhagat Singh became an inspiration to thousands of youth who came forward to fight against the British for Mother India. Subhas Chandra Bose said that “Bhagat Singh had become the symbol of new awakening among the youths”. Jawarhar Lal Nehru also said that “He was a clean and honest fighter who faced the enemy in the open field with lot of courage. He was like a spark that became a flame in a short time and spread from one end of the country to the other dispelling the prevailing darkness everywhere”
To show respect to the great leader India has taken various steps. On 15th August 2008, an 18foot bronze statue was installed in the Parliament of India.
Bhagat Singh was cremated at Hussainiwala on the banks of River Sutlej. After India and Pakistan partition happened in 1947 the village went into the Pakistan borders. In the year 1961 India got the village back by exchanging it with 12 other villages to Pakistan. In 1968 a Martyrs memorial was built at the cremation spot. It also has memorials of Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. During the India Pakistan war in the year 1971 the memorial was damaged by the Pakistani army. It was again rebuilt in the year 1973.
The Bhagat Singh memorial was built in Khatar Kalan in the year 2009.
Quotes of Bhagat Singh
The bomb was necessary to awaken England from her dreams.
Inquilab Zindabad
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Packet MMAP
This file documents the mmap() facility available with the PACKET socket interface. This type of sockets is used for
1. capture network traffic with utilities like tcpdump,
2. transmit network traffic, or any other that needs raw access to network interface.
Howto can be found at:
Please send your comments to
Non PACKET_MMAP capture process (plain AF_PACKET) is very inefficient. It uses very limited buffers and requires one system call to capture each packet, it requires two if you want to get packet’s timestamp (like libpcap always does).
On the other hand PACKET_MMAP is very efficient. PACKET_MMAP provides a size configurable circular buffer mapped in user space that can be used to either send or receive packets. This way reading packets just needs to wait for them, most of the time there is no need to issue a single system call. Concerning transmission, multiple packets can be sent through one system call to get the highest bandwidth. By using a shared buffer between the kernel and the user also has the benefit of minimizing packet copies.
It’s fine to use PACKET_MMAP to improve the performance of the capture and transmission process, but it isn’t everything. At least, if you are capturing at high speeds (this is relative to the cpu speed), you should check if the device driver of your network interface card supports some sort of interrupt load mitigation or (even better) if it supports NAPI, also make sure it is enabled. For transmission, check the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) used and supported by devices of your network. CPU IRQ pinning of your network interface card can also be an advantage.
How to use mmap() to improve capture process
From the user standpoint, you should use the higher level libpcap library, which is a de facto standard, portable across nearly all operating systems including Win32.
Packet MMAP support was integrated into libpcap around the time of version 1.3.0; TPACKET_V3 support was added in version 1.5.0
How to use mmap() directly to improve capture process
From the system calls stand point, the use of PACKET_MMAP involves the following process:
[setup] socket() -------> creation of the capture socket
setsockopt() ---> allocation of the circular buffer (ring)
option: PACKET_RX_RING
mmap() ---------> mapping of the allocated buffer to the
user process
[capture] poll() ---------> to wait for incoming packets
[shutdown] close() --------> destruction of the capture socket and
deallocation of all associated
socket creation and destruction is straight forward, and is done the same way with or without PACKET_MMAP:
int fd = socket(PF_PACKET, mode, htons(ETH_P_ALL));
where mode is SOCK_RAW for the raw interface were link level information can be captured or SOCK_DGRAM for the cooked interface where link level information capture is not supported and a link level pseudo-header is provided by the kernel.
The destruction of the socket and all associated resources is done by a simple call to close(fd).
Similarly as without PACKET_MMAP, it is possible to use one socket for capture and transmission. This can be done by mapping the allocated RX and TX buffer ring with a single mmap() call. See “Mapping and use of the circular buffer (ring)”.
Next I will describe PACKET_MMAP settings and its constraints, also the mapping of the circular buffer in the user process and the use of this buffer.
How to use mmap() directly to improve transmission process
Transmission process is similar to capture as shown below:
[setup] socket() -------> creation of the transmission socket
option: PACKET_TX_RING
bind() ---------> bind transmission socket with a network interface
user process
[transmission] poll() ---------> wait for free packets (optional)
send() ---------> send all packets that are set as ready in
the ring
The flag MSG_DONTWAIT can be used to return
before end of transfer.
[shutdown] close() --------> destruction of the transmission socket and
deallocation of all associated resources.
Socket creation and destruction is also straight forward, and is done the same way as in capturing described in the previous paragraph:
int fd = socket(PF_PACKET, mode, 0);
The protocol can optionally be 0 in case we only want to transmit via this socket, which avoids an expensive call to packet_rcv(). In this case, you also need to bind(2) the TX_RING with sll_protocol = 0 set. Otherwise, htons(ETH_P_ALL) or any other protocol, for example.
Binding the socket to your network interface is mandatory (with zero copy) to know the header size of frames used in the circular buffer.
As capture, each frame contains two parts:
| struct tpacket_hdr | Header. It contains the status of
| | of this frame
| data buffer |
. . Data that will be sent over the network interface.
. .
bind() associates the socket to your network interface thanks to
sll_ifindex parameter of struct sockaddr_ll.
Initialization example::
struct sockaddr_ll my_addr;
struct ifreq s_ifr;
strscpy_pad (s_ifr.ifr_name, "eth0", sizeof(s_ifr.ifr_name));
/* get interface index of eth0 */
ioctl(this->socket, SIOCGIFINDEX, &s_ifr);
/* fill sockaddr_ll struct to prepare binding */
my_addr.sll_family = AF_PACKET;
my_addr.sll_protocol = htons(ETH_P_ALL);
my_addr.sll_ifindex = s_ifr.ifr_ifindex;
/* bind socket to eth0 */
bind(this->socket, (struct sockaddr *)&my_addr, sizeof(struct sockaddr_ll));
A complete tutorial is available at:
By default, the user should put data at:
frame base + TPACKET_HDRLEN - sizeof(struct sockaddr_ll)
So, whatever you choose for the socket mode (SOCK_DGRAM or SOCK_RAW), the beginning of the user data will be at:
frame base + TPACKET_ALIGN(sizeof(struct tpacket_hdr))
If you wish to put user data at a custom offset from the beginning of the frame (for payload alignment with SOCK_RAW mode for instance) you can set tp_net (with SOCK_DGRAM) or tp_mac (with SOCK_RAW). In order to make this work it must be enabled previously with setsockopt() and the PACKET_TX_HAS_OFF option.
PACKET_MMAP settings
To setup PACKET_MMAP from user level code is done with a call like
• Capture process:
• Transmission process:
The most significant argument in the previous call is the req parameter, this parameter must to have the following structure:
struct tpacket_req
unsigned int tp_block_nr; /* Number of blocks */
unsigned int tp_frame_size; /* Size of frame */
unsigned int tp_frame_nr; /* Total number of frames */
This structure is defined in /usr/include/linux/if_packet.h and establishes a circular buffer (ring) of unswappable memory. Being mapped in the capture process allows reading the captured frames and related meta-information like timestamps without requiring a system call.
Frames are grouped in blocks. Each block is a physically contiguous region of memory and holds tp_block_size/tp_frame_size frames. The total number of blocks is tp_block_nr. Note that tp_frame_nr is a redundant parameter because:
frames_per_block = tp_block_size/tp_frame_size
indeed, packet_set_ring checks that the following condition is true:
frames_per_block * tp_block_nr == tp_frame_nr
Lets see an example, with the following values:
tp_block_size= 4096
tp_frame_size= 2048
tp_block_nr = 4
tp_frame_nr = 8
we will get the following buffer structure:
block #1 block #2
| frame 1 | frame 2 | | frame 3 | frame 4 |
block #3 block #4
| frame 5 | frame 6 | | frame 7 | frame 8 |
A frame can be of any size with the only condition it can fit in a block. A block can only hold an integer number of frames, or in other words, a frame cannot be spawned across two blocks, so there are some details you have to take into account when choosing the frame_size. See “Mapping and use of the circular buffer (ring)”.
PACKET_MMAP setting constraints
In kernel versions prior to 2.4.26 (for the 2.4 branch) and 2.6.5 (2.6 branch), the PACKET_MMAP buffer could hold only 32768 frames in a 32 bit architecture or 16384 in a 64 bit architecture.
Block size limit
As stated earlier, each block is a contiguous physical region of memory. These memory regions are allocated with calls to the __get_free_pages() function. As the name indicates, this function allocates pages of memory, and the second argument is “order” or a power of two number of pages, that is (for PAGE_SIZE == 4096) order=0 ==> 4096 bytes, order=1 ==> 8192 bytes, order=2 ==> 16384 bytes, etc. The maximum size of a region allocated by __get_free_pages is determined by the MAX_ORDER macro. More precisely the limit can be calculated as:
In a i386 architecture PAGE_SIZE is 4096 bytes
In a 2.4/i386 kernel MAX_ORDER is 10
In a 2.6/i386 kernel MAX_ORDER is 11
So get_free_pages can allocate as much as 4MB or 8MB in a 2.4/2.6 kernel respectively, with an i386 architecture.
User space programs can include /usr/include/sys/user.h and /usr/include/linux/mmzone.h to get PAGE_SIZE MAX_ORDER declarations.
The pagesize can also be determined dynamically with the getpagesize (2) system call.
Block number limit
To understand the constraints of PACKET_MMAP, we have to see the structure used to hold the pointers to each block.
Currently, this structure is a dynamically allocated vector with kmalloc called pg_vec, its size limits the number of blocks that can be allocated:
| x | x | x | x |
| | | |
| | | v
| | v block #4
| v block #3
v block #2
block #1
kmalloc allocates any number of bytes of physically contiguous memory from a pool of pre-determined sizes. This pool of memory is maintained by the slab allocator which is at the end the responsible for doing the allocation and hence which imposes the maximum memory that kmalloc can allocate.
In a 2.4/2.6 kernel and the i386 architecture, the limit is 131072 bytes. The predetermined sizes that kmalloc uses can be checked in the “size-<bytes>” entries of /proc/slabinfo
In a 32 bit architecture, pointers are 4 bytes long, so the total number of pointers to blocks is:
131072/4 = 32768 blocks
PACKET_MMAP buffer size calculator
is the maximum size of allocable with kmalloc (see /proc/slabinfo)
<pointer size>
depends on the architecture – sizeof(void *)
<page size>
depends on the architecture – PAGE_SIZE or getpagesize (2)
is the value defined with MAX_ORDER
<frame size>
it’s an upper bound of frame’s capture size (more on this later)
from these definitions we will derive:
<block number> = <size-max>/<pointer size>
<block size> = <pagesize> << <max-order>
so, the max buffer size is:
<block number> * <block size>
and, the number of frames be:
<block number> * <block size> / <frame size>
Suppose the following parameters, which apply for 2.6 kernel and an i386 architecture:
<size-max> = 131072 bytes
<pointer size> = 4 bytes
<pagesize> = 4096 bytes
<max-order> = 11
and a value for <frame size> of 2048 bytes. These parameters will yield:
<block number> = 131072/4 = 32768 blocks
<block size> = 4096 << 11 = 8 MiB.
and hence the buffer will have a 262144 MiB size. So it can hold 262144 MiB / 2048 bytes = 134217728 frames
Actually, this buffer size is not possible with an i386 architecture. Remember that the memory is allocated in kernel space, in the case of an i386 kernel’s memory size is limited to 1GiB.
All memory allocations are not freed until the socket is closed. The memory allocations are done with GFP_KERNEL priority, this basically means that the allocation can wait and swap other process’ memory in order to allocate the necessary memory, so normally limits can be reached.
Other constraints
If you check the source code you will see that what I draw here as a frame is not only the link level frame. At the beginning of each frame there is a header called struct tpacket_hdr used in PACKET_MMAP to hold link level’s frame meta information like timestamp. So what we draw here a frame it’s really the following (from include/linux/if_packet.h):
Frame structure:
- Start. Frame must be aligned to TPACKET_ALIGNMENT=16
- struct tpacket_hdr
- struct sockaddr_ll
- Gap, chosen so that packet data (Start+tp_net) aligns to
- Start+tp_mac: [ Optional MAC header ]
- Start+tp_net: Packet data, aligned to TPACKET_ALIGNMENT=16.
- Pad to align to TPACKET_ALIGNMENT=16
The following are conditions that are checked in packet_set_ring
• tp_block_size must be a multiple of PAGE_SIZE (1)
• tp_frame_size must be greater than TPACKET_HDRLEN (obvious)
• tp_frame_size must be a multiple of TPACKET_ALIGNMENT
• tp_frame_nr must be exactly frames_per_block*tp_block_nr
Note that tp_block_size should be chosen to be a power of two or there will be a waste of memory.
Mapping and use of the circular buffer (ring)
The mapping of the buffer in the user process is done with the conventional mmap function. Even the circular buffer is compound of several physically discontiguous blocks of memory, they are contiguous to the user space, hence just one call to mmap is needed:
mmap(0, size, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0);
If tp_frame_size is a divisor of tp_block_size frames will be contiguously spaced by tp_frame_size bytes. If not, each tp_block_size/tp_frame_size frames there will be a gap between the frames. This is because a frame cannot be spawn across two blocks.
To use one socket for capture and transmission, the mapping of both the RX and TX buffer ring has to be done with one call to mmap:
setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_RX_RING, &foo, sizeof(foo));
setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_TX_RING, &bar, sizeof(bar));
rx_ring = mmap(0, size * 2, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0);
tx_ring = rx_ring + size;
RX must be the first as the kernel maps the TX ring memory right after the RX one.
At the beginning of each frame there is an status field (see struct tpacket_hdr). If this field is 0 means that the frame is ready to be used for the kernel, If not, there is a frame the user can read and the following flags apply:
Capture process
From include/linux/if_packet.h:
#define TP_STATUS_COPY (1 << 1)
#define TP_STATUS_LOSING (1 << 2)
#define TP_STATUS_CSUMNOTREADY (1 << 3)
#define TP_STATUS_CSUM_VALID (1 << 7)
This flag indicates that the frame (and associated meta information) has been truncated because it’s larger than tp_frame_size. This packet can be read entirely with recvfrom().
In order to make this work it must to be enabled previously with setsockopt() and the PACKET_COPY_THRESH option.
The number of frames that can be buffered to be read with recvfrom is limited like a normal socket. See the SO_RCVBUF option in the socket (7) man page.
indicates there were packet drops from last time statistics where checked with getsockopt() and the PACKET_STATISTICS option.
currently it’s used for outgoing IP packets which its checksum will be done in hardware. So while reading the packet we should not try to check the checksum.
This flag indicates that at least the transport header checksum of the packet has been already validated on the kernel side. If the flag is not set then we are free to check the checksum by ourselves provided that TP_STATUS_CSUMNOTREADY is also not set.
for convenience there are also the following defines:
#define TP_STATUS_KERNEL 0
#define TP_STATUS_USER 1
The kernel initializes all frames to TP_STATUS_KERNEL, when the kernel receives a packet it puts in the buffer and updates the status with at least the TP_STATUS_USER flag. Then the user can read the packet, once the packet is read the user must zero the status field, so the kernel can use again that frame buffer.
The user can use poll (any other variant should apply too) to check if new packets are in the ring:
struct pollfd pfd;
pfd.fd = fd;
if (status == TP_STATUS_KERNEL)
retval = poll(&pfd, 1, timeout);
It doesn’t incur in a race condition to first check the status value and then poll for frames.
Transmission process
Those defines are also used for transmission:
#define TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE 0 // Frame is available
#define TP_STATUS_SEND_REQUEST 1 // Frame will be sent on next send()
#define TP_STATUS_SENDING 2 // Frame is currently in transmission
#define TP_STATUS_WRONG_FORMAT 4 // Frame format is not correct
First, the kernel initializes all frames to TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE. To send a packet, the user fills a data buffer of an available frame, sets tp_len to current data buffer size and sets its status field to TP_STATUS_SEND_REQUEST. This can be done on multiple frames. Once the user is ready to transmit, it calls send(). Then all buffers with status equal to TP_STATUS_SEND_REQUEST are forwarded to the network device. The kernel updates each status of sent frames with TP_STATUS_SENDING until the end of transfer.
At the end of each transfer, buffer status returns to TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE.
header->tp_len = in_i_size;
header->tp_status = TP_STATUS_SEND_REQUEST;
retval = send(this->socket, NULL, 0, 0);
The user can also use poll() to check if a buffer is available:
struct pollfd pfd;
pfd.fd = fd;
pfd.revents = 0; = POLLOUT;
retval = poll(&pfd, 1, timeout);
What TPACKET versions are available and when to use them?
int val = tpacket_version;
setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_VERSION, &val, sizeof(val));
getsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_VERSION, &val, sizeof(val));
where ‘tpacket_version’ can be TPACKET_V1 (default), TPACKET_V2, TPACKET_V3.
• Default if not otherwise specified by setsockopt(2)
• RX_RING, TX_RING available
• Made 64 bit clean due to unsigned long usage in TPACKET_V1 structures, thus this also works on 64 bit kernel with 32 bit userspace and the like
• Timestamp resolution in nanoseconds instead of microseconds
• RX_RING, TX_RING available
• VLAN metadata information available for packets (TP_STATUS_VLAN_VALID, TP_STATUS_VLAN_TPID_VALID), in the tpacket2_hdr structure:
• TP_STATUS_VLAN_VALID bit being set into the tp_status field indicates that the tp_vlan_tci field has valid VLAN TCI value
• TP_STATUS_VLAN_TPID_VALID bit being set into the tp_status field indicates that the tp_vlan_tpid field has valid VLAN TPID value
• How to switch to TPACKET_V2:
1. Replace struct tpacket_hdr by struct tpacket2_hdr
2. Query header len and save
3. Set protocol version to 2, set up ring as usual
4. For getting the sockaddr_ll, use (void *)hdr + TPACKET_ALIGN(hdrlen) instead of (void *)hdr + TPACKET_ALIGN(sizeof(struct tpacket_hdr))
• Flexible buffer implementation for RX_RING:
1. Blocks can be configured with non-static frame-size
2. Read/poll is at a block-level (as opposed to packet-level)
3. Added poll timeout to avoid indefinite user-space wait on idle links
4. Added user-configurable knobs:
4.1 block::timeout 4.2 tpkt_hdr::sk_rxhash
• RX Hash data available in user space
• TX_RING semantics are conceptually similar to TPACKET_V2; use tpacket3_hdr instead of tpacket2_hdr, and TPACKET3_HDRLEN instead of TPACKET2_HDRLEN. In the current implementation, the tp_next_offset field in the tpacket3_hdr MUST be set to zero, indicating that the ring does not hold variable sized frames. Packets with non-zero values of tp_next_offset will be dropped.
AF_PACKET fanout mode
In the AF_PACKET fanout mode, packet reception can be load balanced among processes. This also works in combination with mmap(2) on packet sockets.
Currently implemented fanout policies are:
• PACKET_FANOUT_HASH: schedule to socket by skb’s packet hash
• PACKET_FANOUT_LB: schedule to socket by round-robin
• PACKET_FANOUT_CPU: schedule to socket by CPU packet arrives on
• PACKET_FANOUT_RND: schedule to socket by random selection
• PACKET_FANOUT_ROLLOVER: if one socket is full, rollover to another
• PACKET_FANOUT_QM: schedule to socket by skbs recorded queue_mapping
Minimal example code by David S. Miller (try things like “./test eth0 hash”, “./test eth0 lb”, etc.):
#include <stddef.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <linux/if_ether.h>
#include <linux/if_packet.h>
#include <net/if.h>
static const char *device_name;
static int fanout_type;
static int fanout_id;
# define PACKET_FANOUT 18
# define PACKET_FANOUT_HASH 0
# define PACKET_FANOUT_LB 1
static int setup_socket(void)
int err, fd = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_RAW, htons(ETH_P_IP));
struct sockaddr_ll ll;
struct ifreq ifr;
int fanout_arg;
if (fd < 0) {
return EXIT_FAILURE;
strcpy(ifr.ifr_name, device_name);
err = ioctl(fd, SIOCGIFINDEX, &ifr);
if (err < 0) {
return EXIT_FAILURE;
memset(&ll, 0, sizeof(ll));
ll.sll_family = AF_PACKET;
ll.sll_ifindex = ifr.ifr_ifindex;
err = bind(fd, (struct sockaddr *) &ll, sizeof(ll));
if (err < 0) {
return EXIT_FAILURE;
fanout_arg = (fanout_id | (fanout_type << 16));
err = setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_FANOUT,
&fanout_arg, sizeof(fanout_arg));
if (err) {
return EXIT_FAILURE;
return fd;
static void fanout_thread(void)
int fd = setup_socket();
int limit = 10000;
if (fd < 0)
while (limit-- > 0) {
char buf[1600];
int err;
err = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf));
if (err < 0) {
if ((limit % 10) == 0)
fprintf(stdout, "(%d) \n", getpid());
fprintf(stdout, "%d: Received 10000 packets\n", getpid());
int main(int argc, char **argp)
int fd, err;
int i;
if (argc != 3) {
fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s INTERFACE {hash|lb}\n", argp[0]);
return EXIT_FAILURE;
if (!strcmp(argp[2], "hash"))
fanout_type = PACKET_FANOUT_HASH;
else if (!strcmp(argp[2], "lb"))
fanout_type = PACKET_FANOUT_LB;
else {
fprintf(stderr, "Unknown fanout type [%s]\n", argp[2]);
device_name = argp[1];
fanout_id = getpid() & 0xffff;
pid_t pid = fork();
switch (pid) {
case 0:
case -1:
int status;
return 0;
AF_PACKET’s TPACKET_V3 ring buffer can be configured to use non-static frame sizes by doing it’s own memory management. It is based on blocks where polling works on a per block basis instead of per ring as in TPACKET_V2 and predecessor.
It is said that TPACKET_V3 brings the following benefits:
• ~15% - 20% reduction in CPU-usage
• ~20% increase in packet capture rate
• ~2x increase in packet density
• Port aggregation analysis
• Non static frame size to capture entire packet payload
So it seems to be a good candidate to be used with packet fanout.
Minimal example code by Daniel Borkmann based on Chetan Loke’s lolpcap (compile it with gcc -Wall -O2 blob.c, and try things like “./a.out eth0”, etc.):
/* Written from scratch, but kernel-to-user space API usage
* dissected from lolpcap:
* Copyright 2011, Chetan Loke <>
* License: GPL, version 2.0
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdint.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <net/if.h>
#include <arpa/inet.h>
#include <netdb.h>
#include <poll.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <signal.h>
#include <inttypes.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <sys/mman.h>
#include <linux/if_packet.h>
#include <linux/if_ether.h>
#include <linux/ip.h>
#ifndef likely
#ifndef unlikely
struct block_desc {
uint32_t version;
uint32_t offset_to_priv;
struct tpacket_hdr_v1 h1;
struct ring {
struct iovec *rd;
uint8_t *map;
struct tpacket_req3 req;
static unsigned long packets_total = 0, bytes_total = 0;
static sig_atomic_t sigint = 0;
static void sighandler(int num)
sigint = 1;
static int setup_socket(struct ring *ring, char *netdev)
int err, i, fd, v = TPACKET_V3;
struct sockaddr_ll ll;
unsigned int blocksiz = 1 << 22, framesiz = 1 << 11;
unsigned int blocknum = 64;
fd = socket(AF_PACKET, SOCK_RAW, htons(ETH_P_ALL));
if (fd < 0) {
err = setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_VERSION, &v, sizeof(v));
if (err < 0) {
memset(&ring->req, 0, sizeof(ring->req));
ring->req.tp_block_size = blocksiz;
ring->req.tp_frame_size = framesiz;
ring->req.tp_block_nr = blocknum;
ring->req.tp_frame_nr = (blocksiz * blocknum) / framesiz;
ring->req.tp_retire_blk_tov = 60;
ring->req.tp_feature_req_word = TP_FT_REQ_FILL_RXHASH;
err = setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_RX_RING, &ring->req,
if (err < 0) {
ring->map = mmap(NULL, ring->req.tp_block_size * ring->req.tp_block_nr,
PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED | MAP_LOCKED, fd, 0);
if (ring->map == MAP_FAILED) {
ring->rd = malloc(ring->req.tp_block_nr * sizeof(*ring->rd));
for (i = 0; i < ring->req.tp_block_nr; ++i) {
ring->rd[i].iov_base = ring->map + (i * ring->req.tp_block_size);
ring->rd[i].iov_len = ring->req.tp_block_size;
ll.sll_family = PF_PACKET;
ll.sll_protocol = htons(ETH_P_ALL);
ll.sll_ifindex = if_nametoindex(netdev);
ll.sll_hatype = 0;
ll.sll_pkttype = 0;
ll.sll_halen = 0;
if (err < 0) {
return fd;
static void display(struct tpacket3_hdr *ppd)
struct ethhdr *eth = (struct ethhdr *) ((uint8_t *) ppd + ppd->tp_mac);
struct iphdr *ip = (struct iphdr *) ((uint8_t *) eth + ETH_HLEN);
if (eth->h_proto == htons(ETH_P_IP)) {
struct sockaddr_in ss, sd;
char sbuff[NI_MAXHOST], dbuff[NI_MAXHOST];
memset(&ss, 0, sizeof(ss));
ss.sin_family = PF_INET;
ss.sin_addr.s_addr = ip->saddr;
getnameinfo((struct sockaddr *) &ss, sizeof(ss),
sbuff, sizeof(sbuff), NULL, 0, NI_NUMERICHOST);
memset(&sd, 0, sizeof(sd));
sd.sin_family = PF_INET;
sd.sin_addr.s_addr = ip->daddr;
getnameinfo((struct sockaddr *) &sd, sizeof(sd),
dbuff, sizeof(dbuff), NULL, 0, NI_NUMERICHOST);
printf("%s -> %s, ", sbuff, dbuff);
printf("rxhash: 0x%x\n", ppd->hv1.tp_rxhash);
static void walk_block(struct block_desc *pbd, const int block_num)
int num_pkts = pbd->h1.num_pkts, i;
unsigned long bytes = 0;
struct tpacket3_hdr *ppd;
ppd = (struct tpacket3_hdr *) ((uint8_t *) pbd +
for (i = 0; i < num_pkts; ++i) {
bytes += ppd->tp_snaplen;
ppd = (struct tpacket3_hdr *) ((uint8_t *) ppd +
packets_total += num_pkts;
bytes_total += bytes;
static void flush_block(struct block_desc *pbd)
pbd->h1.block_status = TP_STATUS_KERNEL;
static void teardown_socket(struct ring *ring, int fd)
munmap(ring->map, ring->req.tp_block_size * ring->req.tp_block_nr);
int main(int argc, char **argp)
int fd, err;
socklen_t len;
struct ring ring;
struct pollfd pfd;
unsigned int block_num = 0, blocks = 64;
struct block_desc *pbd;
struct tpacket_stats_v3 stats;
if (argc != 2) {
fprintf(stderr, "Usage: %s INTERFACE\n", argp[0]);
return EXIT_FAILURE;
signal(SIGINT, sighandler);
memset(&ring, 0, sizeof(ring));
fd = setup_socket(&ring, argp[argc - 1]);
assert(fd > 0);
pfd.fd = fd; = POLLIN | POLLERR;
pfd.revents = 0;
while (likely(!sigint)) {
pbd = (struct block_desc *) ring.rd[block_num].iov_base;
if ((pbd->h1.block_status & TP_STATUS_USER) == 0) {
poll(&pfd, 1, -1);
walk_block(pbd, block_num);
block_num = (block_num + 1) % blocks;
len = sizeof(stats);
err = getsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_STATISTICS, &stats, &len);
if (err < 0) {
printf("\nReceived %u packets, %lu bytes, %u dropped, freeze_q_cnt: %u\n",
stats.tp_packets, bytes_total, stats.tp_drops,
teardown_socket(&ring, fd);
return 0;
If there is a requirement to load the network with many packets in a similar fashion as pktgen does, you might set the following option after socket creation:
int one = 1;
setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS, &one, sizeof(one));
This has the side-effect, that packets sent through PF_PACKET will bypass the kernel’s qdisc layer and are forcedly pushed to the driver directly. Meaning, packet are not buffered, tc disciplines are ignored, increased loss can occur and such packets are also not visible to other PF_PACKET sockets anymore. So, you have been warned; generally, this can be useful for stress testing various components of a system.
On default, PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS is disabled and needs to be explicitly enabled on PF_PACKET sockets.
The PACKET_TIMESTAMP setting determines the source of the timestamp in the packet meta information for mmap(2)ed RX_RING and TX_RINGs. If your NIC is capable of timestamping packets in hardware, you can request those hardware timestamps to be used. Note: you may need to enable the generation of hardware timestamps with SIOCSHWTSTAMP (see related information from Timestamping).
PACKET_TIMESTAMP accepts the same integer bit field as SO_TIMESTAMPING:
setsockopt(fd, SOL_PACKET, PACKET_TIMESTAMP, (void *) &req, sizeof(req))
For the mmap(2)ed ring buffers, such timestamps are stored in the tpacket{,2,3}_hdr structure’s tp_sec and tp_{n,u}sec members. To determine what kind of timestamp has been reported, the tp_status field is binary or’ed with the following possible bits …
… that are equivalent to its SOF_TIMESTAMPING_* counterparts. For the RX_RING, if neither is set (i.e. PACKET_TIMESTAMP is not set), then a software fallback was invoked within PF_PACKET’s processing code (less precise).
Getting timestamps for the TX_RING works as follows: i) fill the ring frames, ii) call sendto() e.g. in blocking mode, iii) wait for status of relevant frames to be updated resp. the frame handed over to the application, iv) walk through the frames to pick up the individual hw/sw timestamps.
Only (!) if transmit timestamping is enabled, then these bits are combined with binary | with TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE, so you must check for that in your application (e.g. !(tp_status & (TP_STATUS_SEND_REQUEST | TP_STATUS_SENDING)) in a first step to see if the frame belongs to the application, and then one can extract the type of timestamp in a second step from tp_status)!
If you don’t care about them, thus having it disabled, checking for TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE resp. TP_STATUS_WRONG_FORMAT is sufficient. If in the TX_RING part only TP_STATUS_AVAILABLE is set, then the tp_sec and tp_{n,u}sec members do not contain a valid value. For TX_RINGs, by default no timestamp is generated!
See include/linux/net_tstamp.h and Timestamping for more information on hardware timestamps.
Miscellaneous bits
Jesse Brandeburg, for fixing my grammathical/spelling errors |
How to Prevent Programs From Stealing Focus in Windows
It's easy to stop programs from popping up in front of other ones
Ever been annoyed by a program that pops up in front of what you're doing, without you selecting anything? In other words...without your permission?
It's called stealing focus, and it's a lot like being photobombed, right on your computer screen!
Sometimes focus stealing is due to malicious programming by the software developer that's doing it. Most of the time, however, it's just buggy software or operating system behavior that you'll need to pin down and try to fix or avoid.
In early versions of Windows, most notably in Windows XP, there was actually a setting that either allowed or prevented programs from stealing focus. See More on Stealing Focus in Windows XP below the troubleshooting steps.
Focus stealing was certainly more of a problem in older versions of Windows like Windows XP but it can and does happen in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista as well.
How to Prevent Programs From Stealing Focus in Windows
It's not possible for Windows to block all programs from stealing focus and still work properly—it's just not built with the brains to understand that.
Ideally, no other program but the one you're working in would accept mouse and keyboard input, and the window would stay on top of all the other ones you're not currently using.
The goal here is to identify the program that shouldn't be doing this and then figure out what to do about it.
You may know what program keeps stealing focus, but if not, that's the first thing you need to determine. If you're having trouble figuring it out, a free tool called Window Focus Logger can help.
Once you know what program is to blame for the focus stealing, work through the troubleshooting below to make it stop happening for good:
1. Uninstall the offending program. Frankly, the easiest way to solve a problem with a program that's stealing focus is to remove it.
You can remove programs in Windows from Control Panel with the Programs & Features applet, but free uninstaller tools work as well.
If the focus stealing program is a background process, you can disable the process in Services, located in Administrative Tools in all versions of Windows. Free programs like CCleaner also provide easy ways to disable programs that start automatically with Windows.
2. Reinstall the software program that's to blame. Assuming you need the program that's stealing focus, and it isn't doing so maliciously, simply reinstalling it may fix the problem.
If there's a newer version of the program available, download that version to reinstall. Software developers regularly issue patches for their programs, one of which may have been to stop the program from stealing focus.
3. Check the program's options for settings that may be causing the focus stealing, and disable them. A software maker may see a full screen switch to his or her program as an "alert" feature that you want, but you see it as an unwelcome interruption.
4. Contact the software maker and let them know that their program is stealing focus. Give as much information as you can about the situation(s) where this occurs and ask if they have a fix.
Read through our How to Talk to Tech Support for help properly communicating the problem.
5. Last, but not least, you can always try a third-party, anti-focus-stealing tool, of which there are a few:
• DeskPins is completely free and lets you "pin" any window, keeping it on top of all others, no matter what. Pinned windows are marked with a red pin and can be "auto-pinned" based on the window's title.
• Window On Top is another free program that works in much the same way. Drag the mouse pointer from Window On Top and drop it on a window to make it stay on top. Or, hit the Ctrl+F8 hotkey.
6. Windows should now stop stealing focus while you're not using them.
More on Stealing Focus in Windows XP
As mentioned at the start of this piece, Windows XP actually allowed for focus stealing if one specific value in the Windows Registry was set in a specific way.
Following the short tutorial below, you can manually change that value to the one that prevents programs from stealing focus in Windows XP.
Changes to the Windows Registry are made in these steps. Take great care in making only the changes described below. It's recommended that you back up the registry keys you're modifying in these steps as an extra precaution.
1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Locate the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive under My Computer and select the (+) sign next the folder name to expand the folder.
3. Continue to expand folders until you reach the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel registry key.
4. Select the Desktop key under Control Panel.
5. On the right-hand side of the Registry Editor tool, locate and double-click the ForegroundLockTimeout DWORD.
ForegroundLockTimeout DWORD in the Windows XP registry
Those are zeros in that value, not 'o' letters. Hexadecimal doesn't include the letter o and so they wouldn't be accepted, but it should be mentioned nonetheless.
7. Select OK and then close Registry Editor.
8. Restart your computer so the changes you made can take effect.
From this point forward, programs you run in Windows XP should no longer steal the focus from the window that you're currently working in.
If you're not comfortable making manual changes to the Windows Registry yourself, a program from Microsoft called Tweak UI can do it for you. Once installed, head to Focus under the General area and check the box to Prevent applications from stealing focus.
Honestly, though, if you're careful, the registry-based process explained above is perfectly safe and effective. You can always use the backup you made to restore the registry if things don't work out.
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Dental Bridges
Dental Bridges in Carlisle, Cumbria
A dental bridge is a method of restoring a space due to missing teeth within the mouth. A bridge is attached to one or two teeth either side of the space. There are two main types of bridge. The first is classed as a conventional bridge. The tooth or teeth that hold the conventional bridge are “prepared”, with some of the tooth being ground away. The bridge is made to fit over the abutment tooth or teeth and is then cemented into place using a strong adhesive. As with crown preparation, this preparation does damage the abutment tooth/teeth and so there is a small risk of future complications.
The second type of bridge is termed an acid-etch bridge (Maryland bridge) and very minimal preparation of the abutment tooth is performed. A wing of metal or ceramic is bonded to the abutment tooth. Acid etch bridges are not always the ideal choice, suitability depending on how your top and bottom teeth come together, how many teeth you have and if the abutment tooth is restored. As with all treatments risks and benefits must be considered.
Lismore House Dental in Carlisle
Lismore House,
Lismore Street, Carlisle, CA1 2AH
T: 01228 528022
Mark Fortune B.D.S. 113720
Rebecca Fortune B.D.S. 113722
Lismore Care Ltd. 10292404
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OSHA explicitly states that eye and body wash is needed when the risk of exposure to dangerous liquids and particles is present. Eyesaline eyewash bottles are meant for use as a supplemental eyewash. Haws eyewash stations are intended to meet the OSHA standard and provide the adequate flush time of 15 minutes. |
How Hackers are Using Heartbleed to Trick You into Infecting Your Computer
By on Jun 02, 2014
Heartbleed, a vulnerability affecting nearly 70% of websites on the Internet, was discovered two months ago. It was big. It still is big. Heartbleed affects nearly every person using the Internet (especially if you haven’t changed your passwords since the bug was discovered) because the vulnerability deals with how servers interpret information, such as usernames and passwords, that is sent online. That means users cannot protect themselves from the vulnerability until the bug is fixed on the server’s side—meaning a company’s IT administrator has to fix it.
But it appears some hackers are trying to convince potential victims that Heartbleed can be “uninstalled” from their computers. They’re doing this by sending out emails loaded with a “Heartbleed remover” tool attachment, which is really just a cleverly disguised package of malicious software. This form of attack—where a hacker or a group of hackers try to trick victims into compromising their devices—is called a phishing attack. And phishing attacks, even this one, usually have a few telltale signs.
1. A link or attachment.
This phishing attack is as dangerous as it is clever. It tries to trick you into downloading a “cleaner” for the Heartbleed bug, as if it was something that could be fixed on the user-side (once again, it’s not). In reality, what you are downloading is a keylogger. Keyloggers are programs that record your keystrokes and send them back to the controlling hacker. With information from the keylogger, the hacker in question can login to your accounts and get access to your personal and financial information.
A strong rule of thumb to live by online is to never open an attachment or click on a link that you weren’t expecting, or one that comes from an unknown source.
2. A sense of urgency.
In this case, the phishing email contained a subject line pertaining to investments in Syria. The body of the phishing attack, however, was a warning telling the victim that they needed to run a program to make sure the Heartbleed “virus” was removed from their computer. The email contained a plausible threat to those who aren’t informed about Heartbleed, as well as a strong sense of urgency.
3. Signs of mischief.
But a closer look at the email gives us the evidence we need to dismiss it as a phishing attack. Take the subject line “Looking for Investment Opportunities from Syria” for example. The subject line had nothing to do with the body of the email. So there are two indicators right off of the bat: a peculiar subject line (sometimes referred to as the “Nigerian Prince” subject line—a reference to another phishing attack which promises the victim riches for a small fee) and an email body unrelated to the subject line. Other signs of mischief can include typos, English syntax errors, and the sender’s email addresses containing odd characters.
4. Dead giveaways.
There’s a line in the email that ought to give the scam away to anybody: “If you get a warning from windows or your Anti-Virus that this file might harm your computer, please ignore this warning … as it will be an attempt by the virus program to stop you from running the tool.” It’s a sentence explicitly telling you to ignore your own security programs. It’s a subtle order, but it’s one that’s necessary for the attack to work. The same goes for other phishing attacks: a line telling you to click on this link; a single sentence saying you need to reset your password even though you never requested to reset your password; an invitation for you to donate money to a foreign beneficiary.
All of these attacks follow similar patterns, but those patterns are getting harder to detect as hacking tools become both more common and more complex. So what can you do to defend yourself from such an attack? There’re a few options available:
• Read carefully. If you suspect you just opened a malicious email, don’t fret. Read the email carefully and look for signs of mischief. Bad grammar is one sign—a conflicting or mismatched subject line relative to the body of an email is another. If something looks wrong, delete the email.
• Ignore attachments. If an unsolicited email contains an unsolicited attachment, then it is, in all likelihood, a phishing attack trying to trick you. Don’t let your curiosity get the better of you. Just delete the email and the attachment along with it.
• Always use comprehensive security (and never disable it). Whenever an email says you need to disable your anti-virus program in order to work, don’t do it. Disabling your security solution is a guaranteed way of compromising not only your computer, but also anything remotely linked to it—like your bank account, for example. Using a comprehensive security solution, like McAfee LiveSafe™ service can help protect your computer from malicious attachments and dangerous websites. Don’t surf the Internet without a security solution in place.
Gary Davis
About the Author
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Vonnegut Invented Google
Taking a dip back into Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos, which I haven’t looked at in the internet era. It’s the tale of a stranded voyage to the Galapagos islands during a global financial crisis and a pandemic that sterilizes the rest of humanity. In isolation, the people on the trip spark an evolution of mankind towards better swimming, fish eating and smaller brains. It’s a million-year long return to Eden journey and a deconstruction of the idea that evolution blessed mankind with larger brains, as Vonnegut envisions a human race better off without so much emotional and intellectual volatility.
Along the way, Vonnegut introduces us to the Mandarax, a supercomputer invented by a genius that contains the sum of human skills and knowledge, accessible in a device that resembles a contemporary smart phone. Galapagos was published in 1985 and set in 1986. Funny that the name “Manadarax” was even taken up by a piece of Java code in 2000.
Artist and prophet, who’d be annoyed at being called a prophet.
The ubiquity of smart phones with easy and constant access to Google’s search engine has wildly changed the way we communicate (tall tales told in bar can be fact-checked in real time) and has somewhat devalued an individual’s memory as you only need to know enough know what to look up, from mathematical formula to recipes to quotations from movies.
Summarizes one of Vonnegut’s castaways: “That wonderful Mandarax you’re scratching your ear with now: what is that but an excuse for a mean ego-maniac never to pay or even thank any human being with a knowledge of languages or mathematics or history or medicine or ikebana or anything?”
A lot of writers exporing the future caught on to the growth of computing power combined with miniaturization, but Vonnegut seems to have most presciently grasped its social significance, including the trivialization of an individual’s knowledge.
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How to calculate your monthly net income in Japan
How to calculate your monthly net income in Japan
Japanese salary system is quite different compared to the salary systems in other countries, and as foreigners, it is difficult for us to understand the system properly. The amount of salary in your contract is your monthly gross income, and the amount of salary transferred to your account is your monthly net income, and it is usually much lower than the amount stated in the contract, so you might be surprised when you find out the amount of your net salary when checking your bank account.
Today we will explain in details about the salary system in Japan, and also method to calculate your monthly net income.
The Japanese salary system
The amount of monthly salary stated in your contract is your gross monthly salary, which is called as gakumen (額面) in Japanese. The amount of money that is actually transferred to your bank account is called as net monthly salary, after-tax income, or take home pay (tedori, 手取り). This is the total salary paid by the company after several deductions (menjogaku, 免除額), including social insurance premiums and taxes.
Your gross monthly salary (face value), or gakumen, includes the things below:
- Basic salary (kihonkyu, 基本給), which is the basic amount of your salary.
- Overtime allowance (minashi zangyodai, みなし残業代), is your paid overtime, which is an allowance that exceeds the business hours determined by each company, and you will not get any extra overtime allowance unless you exceed the hours determined by your employer.
- Late overtime allowance (shinya zangyodai, 深夜残業代), is the allowance paid when working overtime after 22:00 (over 25% from the hourly wage), or when working on holidays (over 35% from the hourly wage).
- Commuting allowance (tsukin koutsuhi, 通勤交通費), is the allowance for transportation expenses for those who commute using public transportation. This allowance is not taxable.
Deduction, or menjogaku, is the total amount deducted from salary, and includes the things below:
- Health insurance (kenko hokenryo, 健康保険料), is a national medical insurance policy that allows you to visit a medical institution when you’re sick or injured. The premium rate will vary depending on your salary amount and the health insurance association you are registered to. Your employer will pay half of the premium.
- Employment insurance (koyo hokenryo, 雇用保険料), will give you unemployment benefits in the event of unemployment, and the premium rate will vary depending on the company’s business.
- Nursing insurance (kaigo hokenryo, 介護保険料), will provide you welfare services at 10-20% when you need nursing care. You have to be over 40 years old to be eligible for this insurance.
- Employee’s pension (kosei nenkin, 厚生年金), this is a premium you need to pay to receive pension payments in the future. Your employer will pay half of the premium.
- Income tax (shotokuzei, 所得税), is the amount of tax income you need to pay on monthly basis. The tax rate varies depending on your monthly income.
- Resident tax (juminzei, 住民税), is the tax paid to the prefecture or municipality where the worker resides. The amount is determined by the annual income of the previous year.
So, how many percent will be deducted from the salary’s face value?
The amount of your net salary is usually around 75% to 85% of the face value, so basically you will get around 15% to 25% deduction every month. However, the percentage of deduction varies depending on your salary amount and your marriage status. If you have dependents, you can receive a “dependence deduction”, that is preferentially paid by income tax or resident tax. If your salary exceeds 600,000 yen a month, the percentage of deduction can go up to 25% every month.
How to calculate your net income accurately
You can easily calculate your net income if you know the salary’s face value and the breakdown of deductions.
The calculation formula is: [basic salary + fixed allowance + variable allowance (other than bonuses)] - [social insurance premiums (health insurance, employment insurance, nursing insurance if you’re applicable, and employee’s pension)]-[taxes (income tax and resident tax)]
Keep in mind that the salary in the job offers is not the net income
Most annual salaries listed in job listings and job sites are face value, so the annual net income you will receive as a salary will be less than the amount listed there. If you want to work with a better salary than the previous job, you can compare the face value or multiply the salary listed in the job offer by 0.8 to calculate the approximate net income. |
HyperDocs in High School Health
04/25/2021 9:16 PM | MSET Webmaster (Administrator)
Source: “Here we go, again!” is often my thought at the beginning of the semester when preparing to teach Health to high school students. I feel excited and positive about a fresh new start with a fresh group of students! I love teaching, I love the content area, and (for the most part) I love my students. But recently, each time I dive into a unit, teaching it the same way I have for years, driving the class and feeding them the content, I wonder: Could it be better? Is “here we go, again” really the way I want to think about my experience in the classroom? Are my students saying the same thing, only with an eye roll instead of enthusiasm? And don’t they deserve the best I can offer?
Things usually go well, and students seem engaged and able to demonstrate understanding of a variety of health topics. So, I don’t often feel like anything is missing. But there are moments, like when I break them up into teams to research a topic and create a product, when I see a much higher level of engagement, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The entire atmosphere of the classroom shifts in these moments, and I feel a different, higher level of productivity and learning happening. It is because of these moments that I have decided to create a shift in my curriculum so that these moments become the norm. I decide to re-design each lesson through the use of HyperDocs.
According to, an online resource for teachers, HyperDocs are “digital lesson plans that are designed by teachers and given to students. They provide access for students to all content and learning in one organized digital space” (Get Started | HyperDocs, 2021). In searching for a tool to use to upend my health curriculum and put it in the hands of the students, I found that HyperDocs provide the answer. These shared documents, full of activities and ideas, have given me the way.
So now, instead of directing students to open their devices to take notes as I proceed to give them all of the content I think they should know, they are exposed to the entire unit at once. They explore the content themselves, reading articles, watching videos, engaging individually through thoughtful responses and reflections, and working as a group through problem-solving and projects. Have we used all of the technology tools I include in the HyperDoc before? Sure. But to offer the tools as possibilities, choices, and ways to deeply experience the content redefines the way that students learn in my classroom.
So, what exactly is in each HyperDoc? It depends on the topic, but here are some examples of activities I’ve included for a few different health topics we study:
• Mental Health - Make a Flipgrid of yourself demonstrating a stress management technique. Use any strategy that works for you. Watch the rest of the class and learn some new strategies.
• Relationships - Create a Fictional Family in Imagine Forest. Tell me about their relationships with each other, and then give them a conflict. How does this conflict impact their relationships?
• Wellness - Working in a group, use the information you have found to create a Public Service Announcement in WeVideo for your peers, encouraging healthy choices.
One of my favorite things about using HyperDocs in my Health curriculum is the built-in opportunity for extending learning. It felt scary, at first, to put my students in control of their own pacing. Would they take forever? Finish too quickly? One way that I prevent my “high flyers” from sitting around waiting for everyone else to finish is through enrichment. Finding and offering extra explorations, activities, and extension experiences to each HyperDoc has actually benefited my own personal knowledge within each topic as well as giving my fast-moving students something meaningful.
I have started to really feel that “shift” I mentioned previously, and I am reminded of the “4 Shifts Protocol” developed by Scott McLeod and Julie Graber as explained in their book, “Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning” (2019). The four shifts include Deeper Thinking and Learning, Authentic Work, Student Agency and Personalization, and Technology Infusion. Although I was just looking to shake things up in my teaching and give students more of a voice in their learning, I realized that using HyperDocs for Health actually addresses all of those areas. The activities I include in each HyperDoc give my students opportunities for using technology to think critically, participate in real world work, research, and decide how they want to demonstrate their knowledge. McLeod and Graber (2019) developed this protocol as a “down-in-the-weeds (re)design resource” (p. 12), and this innovative tool is the means by which I can use that resource.
I can hear you asking, “How do I start using this amazing tool?!” I highly suggest doing what any good teacher does - borrow! There are so many pages of HyperDoc templates shared by amazing and generous educators available for use. I picked through sites full of content specific and grade specific templates, found the ones that made sense to me, and adapted them for my classes. It’s so easy to switch out images, links, and activities once you have a basic structure. My students no longer sit down, pull out their devices and stare blankly at me, waiting to absorb my knowledge. Instead, they actively jump into each unit, ready to engage in the content in a fun and meaningful way.
To learn more about HyperDocs, check out the following sites.
Angela Romeo is the Performing Arts Department Chair, Dance Director, and PE/Health Teacher at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, MD.
HyperDocs Academy | HyperDocs. (2021).
HyperDoc Templates. (2021). HyperDoc Templates.
Mcleod, S., & Graber, J. (2019). Harnessing technology for deeper learning. Bloomington, In Solution Tree Press.
The HyperDocs Toolbox: 20 engaging example activities - Ditch That Textbook. (2020, September 17). Ditch That Textbook.
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Fulufjället National Park
Fulufjället is made up of sandstone with components of partially weathered and fertile diabase. The sandstone formed when the area lay at the bottom of a warm sea south of the equator 1,200 million years ago. Here and there you can see marks made by waves that have been preserved on the boulders.
For millions of years sun, wind, water, cold and glaciers have weathered and sculpted Fulufjället into its current shape. The fields of boulders have been caused by frost erosion; the rock precipices and ravines were formed by brooks and rivers from the melting ice sheet. The sculpting is still going on, especially by Njupeskär, where the canyon is becoming deeper and deeper.
Where brooks and rivers have weathered the bedrock, you can find stones made of greenish Särnatin guanite, a type of rock found only in north-western Dalarna. |
Ta Prohm, Angkor, Cambodia
Ta Prohm is a temple on the site of Angkor in Cambodia, built in the style of Bayon at the end of the twelfth century. Its name means ” grandfather Brahma ” .
Located one kilometer east of Angkor Thom, on the southern edge of East Baray , it was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university under the name Mahāyāna Rajavihara ( Monastery of the King ) .
Jayavarman VII is the only Khmer king to have built two large temples. The first two , Ta Prohm was consecrated in 1186 and dedicated to the king’s family : the principal idol ( Prajnaparamita , the personification of wisdom) was modeled on her mother, while the two satellite temples in the third enclosure were one devoted to his guru (north) and the other to his older brother (south).
Then he will build Preah Khan in honor of his father, identified Lokeśvara . Great builder , it also equips Angkor many smaller buildings including Banteay Kdei and built throughout the Khmer empire of the time.Ta-Prohm-temple-Cambodia ta-prohm-ruins-062109-xl 9-ta-pohn1 |
Equine Carbohydrate Disorders, Part 1: Definitions and Relationship to Equine Diseases
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Written By Dr. Kris Hiney
Equine disorders related to carbohydrate consumption have received much attention by owners and researchers alike, as of late. This has resulted in almost a mistrust or fear of feeding horses carbohydrates. But in reality, almost all of the horse’s calories come from carbohydrates – there is no way to avoid them in the horse’s diet. What one must do is understand all of the forms in which CHO (carbohydrates) are found, identify horses at risk for CHO disorders and select the appropriate feeds to keep them healthy.
To begin, carbodydrates are simply molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen and water. Monosaccharides are single units of sugars which vary slightly in their structure. Common monosccahrides in the horse’s diet consist of glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, arbinose and xylose. While these monosaccharides are not normally found in their single form in plants, they are joined together to make longer polysaccharides. However, monosaccharides are produced through enzymatic digestion by the horse. Disaccahrides, then, are just two sugar units linked together. Common disaccharides include lactose (found in mare’s milk and is formed by glucose and galactose linked together) and maltose (two glucose units linked together).
Figure 1. Glucose and galactose. The two structures only differ by the location of the hydroxyl group on the left side of the structure.
Oligosaccharides are longer chains of a variety of monosaccharides linked together, typically between three and ten sugar units. The primary oligosaccharides in the horse’s diet are stachyose, raffinose and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). FOS have received attention in animal nutrition as a way to supply pre-biotics to the animal. Pre-biotics are often oligosaccharides which are resistant to digestion in the foregut of the horse but are digested by bacteria in the hindgut. These supply a source of nutrition which supports the growth of beneficial bacteria and perhaps reduces the population of disease causing – or “pathogenic” – bacteria. In fact they are looked at as an alternative to feeding antibiotics in livestock. FOS are believed to alter the pH of the colon to a more favorable environment for the most productive bacteria. Mannose specific oligosaccharides are also thought to reduce the adherence of pathogenic bacteria to the epithelium of the gut wall. In yearling horses, feeding FOS reduced fecal pH and increased the production of volatile fatty acids from the hind gut. FOS supplementation also decreased the incidence of diarrhea when fed to foals. It has also been shown to have a protective effect on the development of foal diarrhea when fed to their dams. However, it is not known if that was an indirect effect passed through the milk, or if the foals simply ingested some of their dams’ feed containing the supplement. While feeding oligosaccharides does not appear to have an immune boosting effect that has been suggested in other species, it does appear to have beneficial effects on gut health in the equine. Horses receiving FOS and challenged with a large barley meal had less lactobacilli in their colon compared to controls. Thus FOS may help prevent GI disturbances due to diet changes or CHO overload.
Fructooligosaccharides also belong to the category of carbohydrates labeled as fructans. Fructans are polysaccharides which have multiple fructose units. Inulin is also classified as a fructan. Many horse owners have heard of fructans as a risk factor for pasture associated laminitis. A sudden increase in fructans in the diet can alter the microbial population in the hindgut which may then subsequently lead to the development of laminitis. Fructan concentrations in grasses vary with both season and time of day. Fructans and other starch concentrations are highest in the spring, lowest in the summer and intermediate in the fall. During the day, the process of photosynthesis results in the highest concentrations of fructans in the afternoon with sometimes half or less in the morning or evening hours.
Other CHO include longer chains of sugar units and are known as polysaccharides. Most commonly we think of starches and fibers as the common polysaccharides in the equine diet. Starch occurs in either linear form known as amylose or branched form, amylopectin. It is composed of only glucose linked by bonds that can be enzymatically digested by the horse. In contrast, cellulose is also a straight chain of glucose but is linked by a different type of bond , a beta bond, which must be broken by microbes. Fermentation of this fiber fraction results in formation of volatile fatty acids which are metabolized by the horse to produce energy. Pectin and hemicelluloses are also common polysaccharides found in the equine diet.
Figure 2. Amylose is a chain of glucose units linked by alpha bond.
Figure 3. Cellulose is a similar chain of glucose units, but linked by beta bonds instead, making it indigestible by mammals.
Those CHO linked with alpha bonds can be digested in the foregut, allowing the monosaccharides to be absorbed intact. In contrast, cellulose, hemicelluloses, pectin, raffinose and stachyose, which contain beta bonds, will all need to undergo microbial fermentation to provide energy to the horse. Hemicellulose, compared to cellulose, is a mixture of arabinose, xylose, glucose , mannose and galactose. Pectin is made up of beta linked galacturonic acid, arabinose and galactose. Pectin and hemi-cellolose are more rapidly fermented than cellulose and increase the digestibility of the feed if present in a greater proportion.
Now that we know what different types of carbohydrates exist in the horse’s diet, let’s look more closely at some differences that occur in forages. Typically, forages should always make up the bulk of the horse’s diet. They are made up of structural CHO which make up the cell wall as well as some indigestible lignin. The plant cell wall is made of cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin. Forages also have non-structural CHO or NSC in the cell content, though certainly not as much as concentrates. The NSC is a mixture of monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, etc.) and disaccharides as well as starch and fructans.
If we compare common forages, cool season grasses are made up of primarily cellulose, then hemi-celluose and the fairly small amounts of pectin. Cool season grasses include Kentucky Bluegrass, orchard grass, fescues and ryegrass. Legumes, which are typically high in digestible energy are relatively higher in pectin. Legumes would include alfalfa, clover, lespedeza and peanuts. Warm season grasses grow and mature more rapidly and have much more cell wall/kg DM and thus much more fiber. Warm season grasses include Bermuda grass, switchgrasses, and bluestem. Therefore warm season grasses at a later stage of maturity may be ideal for horses with carbohydrate sensitivities. In general, there is a higher proportion of cell content in a younger, or more immature plant. This makes grasses or hays harvested at an earlier stage more digestible.
Interestingly, the storage form of CHO in legumes and warm season grasses is primarily starch, while cool season grasses prefer to store energy in the form of fructans with much less starch. There is also a limit to how much starch the chloroplasts of warm season grasses and legumes can contain, yet there is no limit to fructan accumulation. Fructan also accumulates more to the base of the plant and more so in the stem than in the leaf. Cool temperatures and droughts (which typically don’t go together) may also increase the fructan production by the plant. Anything that promotes photosynthesis but retards growth ends up increasing NSC (lots of light with cool temperatures). Therefore, be especially careful to observe growing conditions, especially if the horses are consuming cool season grasses and have carbohydrate sensitivities.
Minimizing the Stress of Weaning
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It Pays to Read When Teaching Math: 5 Reasons Why
Make the most of teaching math whether you’re a math teacher or an elementary teacher. Here are 5 reasons why you should incorporate reading into your math lessons or math class from a math teacher.You’ll see the benefits make the time to scope out books totally worth it.You can easily get started with ready to go free lesson resources that weave in math stories like Math Curse, Lion’s Share and Sir Cumference.Source: mathgeekmama.comTeaching Math With ReadingIf you can narrow down the list to just the most important reasons to integrate reading into your math lessons, this list of 5 reasons why fits the bill.You’ll find out how adding both read alouds and access to math literature means more engagement and less barriers to teaching. Making math real and relevant can often be a challenge for some math concepts.Bringing in books that beautifully illustrate those concepts in ways that connect with students can help overcome that challenge…CONTINUE READING ON THE BLOG| Submit Your Tip |Have You Seen?
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Role of Data Analytics for success
The analytics is a scientific tool, which enough to prove, the upcoming happenings. By using the data, an analyst can do scientifically predict the future.
The analytics is purely scientific and has been used in various organizations to know about the future market. Although nothing is 100 percent accurate and when we are considering the future there are certain limitations. Ceteris paribus (with other conditions remaining the same), these tools help to predict the actual upcoming happenings. From the study, 70 percent of the business executives are believed in analytics. As per the analytic, the organization can take decisions wisely. The timing and the decision, both are important. The analytics help to take appropriate decisions at the right time.
Now a day, analytic tools are used in different sectors such as political elections, marketing campaigns, sales, manufacturing to predict future outcomes. The prediction tools help to know the future and likewise the strategy can be developed. By using this analytic tool, easy to make the decision, and which it also leads to success.
The previous data are used for analytics and it may differ depending upon the situation. So it is important to adopt strategies as per the situation. In general, analytics have a wider role in the success of an organization. The analytics also deals with the assumption. There are certain possibilities that may or may not happen, that possibilities are foreseeing is also the process of analytics. Depending upon the sector and goal there are certain analytical tools required.
The reliability of the data is one of the factors, which directly influence the analytic result. So the genuine data increases, the analytical perdition became accurate. The data shortage is another problem faced in analytics, which can overcome by using secondary data sources. The right and enough data should be a necessity to complete the analytics successfully. The process of analytics may differ depending upon the situation and the sector. The goals may vary depending upon the sector, so various analytical tools may be used to succeed. If the analytics as per the procedure, then upsides with a better result. The structure and actual procedure lead to a better outcome.
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Why Pax Et Lumen Gives Double Sessions in Sciences and Mathematics
At the outset, Pax Et Lumen decided to make the sciences and mathematics the core of its curriculum. It follows the curriculum based on that prescribed by the Philippines’ Department of Education, but adds an additional 200 minutes per week class sessions in both the sciences and mathematics. This translates into 130 hours more for each science and math subject for the whole school year.
This may not mean much to an individual who may think that these extra hours do not really mean much especially if one is just interested in getting the minimum requirement to get a basic education certificate.
But this is just the way Pax Et Lumen is trying to level up its students so that even if the Philippine school calendar is shorter in the number of school days than a country like Japan has, its students get at least the same amount of contact hours and skill formation in the crucial subjects of science and mathematics. Moreover, as former Secretary of Science and Technology and now President of the National Academy of Science and Technology, Dr. William Padolina said: The amount of knowledge and information generated these days is greater in terms of “velocity, variety, and volume”
Pax Et Lumen also follows the spiraling method of sequencing its science topics. This means that a science topic or area is covered almost every year but this topic is enlarged and deepened as the child goes up in the academic years. And once the Pax Et Lumen student reaches Grade 7, the student gets exposed to special science topics so that the student will gain a wider knowledge and a deeper appreciation of the wonders of the creation. Pax Et Lumen’s spiritual philosophy follows the belief that God speaks to us through the wonders of nature and of the universe as a whole. And so the students get to see the wonderful works of the Creator through their studies in the sciences and mathematics. And in the process, the school hopes that the seeds of spirituality and awareness are planted in the students’ hearts and minds.
For parents’ reference, the school hereby presents the scope and sequence of the science subjects (including the special science courses) and of mathematics:
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Written February 15, 2019
The Chinese Edible Dog
Dogs labeled as "The Chinese Edible Dog" were actually exhibited at dog shows in the U.K. and the U.S.
Eating dog meat is in the news for dog fanciers because of the controversy over the World Dog Show being located in China this year.
I first encountered mention of the Chinese Edible Dog while reading an 1879 New York Times newspaper article about a Curly Coated Retriever being exhibited at the New York dog show. Though not curly related, I wanted to write some of what I found out.
For some people in China, particularly the poorer folks, eating dog meat has been part of their culture for hundreds of centuries. The Chinese Edible Dog was a dietary mainstay in some areas of China since 500 BC, according to some sources.
Travel memoirs and guidebooks of the 1800s frequently mention dining on dog meat as an option. One travel journal mentions menus posted outside of restaurants in some areas would specifically list, as a special, the meat of the black edible dog. Meat from the black dog was purportedly more tender and tasty.
The first pair of Chinese Edible Dogs are believed to have been exported from Canton to the United Kingdom sometime in the 1780s. In his 1789 book, "Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne", the UK naturalist Gilbert White gives a description of the pair of edible dogs belonging to a neighbor. He describes them as about the size of a moderate spaniel, hair coarse and bristling, upright ears, and quite straight in the stifle. Tail is curled over the back when they move, and they have small, jet black eyes.
The Chinese Edible Dogs in China were commonly kept in
sties (like a pigsty) and fed with rice meal and other starchy foods in raising them for meat.
The London Zoo, which used to display various breeds of dogs, had a pair of Chinese Edible Dogs on display in the 1840s.
BLACK Chinese Edible Dog, Illustrated London News, 1882
Some folks believe Chinese Crested dogs were also used as table fare in China. It is probable there were many types of dogs used for dietary purposes. Many of the illustrations of the Chinese Edible dogs I have been able to find all point toward the dogs being early examples of the Chow breed but other Chinese Edible Dogs appear to have been Chinese Cresteds (read the description of the Chinese Edible exhibited at the 1878 Westminster Kennel Club below.)
If the Chow was indeed the original Chinese Edible Dog, that leads us to the question: are the name of the Chow breed and the word "chow", used to indicate food or a meal, related? Some say yes, some say no.
Some linguists believe chow is an American slang term for a Chinese dish, a sort of pickled relish. Dictionary.com describes chow as meaning "food."
The word chow is from about "1856, American English (originally in California), from Chinese pidgin English chow-chow (1795) "food," reduplication of Chinese cha or tsa "mixed." The dog breed of the same name is from 1886, of unknown origin, but some suggest a link to the Chinese tendency to see dogs as edible", according to the Dictionary.com website.
The Chow-chow dog breed may have obtained the name Chow in 1886 but the British and American fanciers who imported the dogs originally called them Chinese Edible Dogs. Here is a brief note from the 1832 American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine in a column about imported dogs: "To the Editor of the Turf Register from the Pacific by Mr. Slacum of the Navy--a pair of 'Chinese Edible Dogs'. The article indicated the pair of edible dogs would not be eaten until the breed had been established in the U.S. "
though Purser Slacum, after feasting on them often, a
ssures us they are very fine."
Red Chinese Edible Dog
RED Chinese Edible Dog, London Illustrated News, 1882
Chinese Puzzle Edible dog
The Chinese Edible Dog "Chinese Puzzle",
owned by Mr. W.K. Taunton.
Chinese Edible Dogs at the Dog Shows
By the late 1800s, Chinese Edible Dogs were exhibited at dog shows in England and the United States. A bitch imported from China, named Chinese Puzzle, was exhibited in the Foreign Dogs class at London's Crystal Palace dog show in 1880. Another Chinese Edible Dog was exhibited at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1878.
The dog exhibited at the Westminster show was described in the New York Times as weighing "about eight pounds, is built somewhat like an Italian greyhound but stouter, has no hair on its body except on top of its head between the ears, where is growing a large, stiff topknot of white hair."
Sounds like a Chinese Crested to me.
By 1882, there were several Chinese Edible Dogs being exhibited in UK dog shows. The breed name had been changed to "Chinese Chow-chow."
The following passage about the Chinese Chow-chow exhibits is from the Illustrated London News.
At the Crystal Palace Dog Show of the Kennel Club, which was noticed last week, there was a class of "Chinese Chow-chow," in which four male dogs and five females were entered. Two of the females, Papoose and Peridot, owned by Lady M. Gore, were offered at 500 pounds each. The two males represented in our illustrations are a black and a red animal, named respectively Chow III and Chow IV.; the former, owned by Mr. C. F. M. Cleverly, is two-and-a-half years old; the latter was born in 1877 and belongs to Mrs. F. Porter. These won the first and second prize in their class. We have no precise information regarding the rule by which Chinese gastronomy is directed in selecting human food certain varieties of dog, and rejecting others; but it is supposed that many of the lower class of people in China will readily eat any flesh of that kind. The name of "chow-chow" seems fearfully significant, but it really has a different meaning. Stews and broths are the chief culinary preparations for which any savoury flesh may be used, with plenty of rice. The gelatinous parts of fish, such as the fins of sharks and the maws of other species of fish, are in much request to thicken and flavour the Chinaman's soup; but a still greater dainty is the beche-de-mer, procured from Terres Strait, and the most highly esteemed of all is the nest of the sea swallow, which is composed of a mucilagenous sea-weed found on the coasts of Java and the Malay archipelego. The Chinese epicure has a refined though peculiar taste; and some of his dishes, though none of dog-flesh, can now be tasted at the International Health Exhibition.
Editor's Note: Because this is a quoted passage from a publication, I have used the exact spelling and punctuation as used in the publication.
Chow chow dog Ch Patoo photo
Enlargement of a photo of the Chow-chow, Ch. Patoo, registered with the AKC
Chow chow Ch. Patoo description |
Neanderthals Built Mystery Cave Rings 175,000 Years Ago
Surprise! Neanderthals weren't just more sophisticated than you thought. They also built structures deep inside caves.
Stalactite, Formation, Geology, Speleothem, Tints and shades, Stalagmite, Cave, Soda straw, Caving, Erosion,
Etienne FABRE - SSAC
They painted magnificent cave paintings. They mastered fire and used tools. And now we know they constructed complex buildings deep within subterranean caves, and they did it more than 175,000 years ago. No, we're not talking about early humans. Neanderthals did all this.
A team of archaeologists led by Jacques Jaubert at the University of Bordeaux in France has just completed an archaeological examination of a mysterious find: the rubble of two ancient Neanderthal-made buildings meticulously crafted from stalagmites. The site is located 1,000 feet into a dark, twisting cave 30 miles outside what is now Toulouse in southwestern France. The discovery is the first of its kind and, the researchers say, radically alters the understanding of Neanderthal culture. Jaubert's team outlines their exploration today in a paper in the journal Nature.
"Because Neanderthals were the only [human-related primate] group present in western Europe at that time, the discovery provides the first directly dated evidence for Neanderthals' construction abilities. It also shows that Neanderthals explored underground," writes Marie Soressi, archaeologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands (not involved in Jaubert's archaeological examination), in an essay accompanying the study.
3D reconstruction of the structures in the Bruniquel Cave.
Xavier MUTH - Get in Situ, Archéotransfert, Archéovision -SHS-3D, base photographique Pascal Mora
The scientists found more than 400 stalagmites of similar size meticulously stacked to form the walls of two mysterious circular structures. (Refresher: Stalagmites are the mineral spears that rise up from the ground; stalactites are the hanging ones.) Although Bruniquel Cave was discovered in 1992 and clearly had primitive paintings near the cavern's mouth, only now have scientists like Jaubert been able to delve and explore into the cave's depths. The structures discovered today were found in the dark reaches 1,102 feet from the cave's entrance.
One of the ring structures is about 7 feet in diameter. The other is a bit more egg-shaped and varies between 22 and 15 feet in diameter. The rings have been blackened, cracked, and reddened—evidence that they were heated by fire. Jaubert's team confirmed the chemical fingerprints of fire during an analysis of the rings, and also uncovered what appear to be heated bones found inside.
Just what the Neanderthals were building deep within this French cave is not altogether clear. The rings could have been manically crafted during a single, accidental underground visit. They could have been frequently visited and played a more important function, as a refuge or spiritual destination, in Neanderthal activities. For now, this is just guesswork.
Drilling into the stalagmitic floor inside one of the structures in the Bruniquel Cave.
Regardless what exactly the rings were used for, Jaubert argues their mere construction is a wonder—a feat far more complex than many anthropologists might believe Neanderthals are capable of.
"This certainly was a collective work, and required at least a minimum of social organization," Jaubert told Popular Mechanics. "This task really was a project, which was likely discussed between several [Neanderthals]. Then it took organized work and the assignment of tasks. Some had to carry torches, some had to move and transport materials, some had place them in this specific configuration, and so on." The discovery paints a picture of Neanderthals as far more socially complex than the classic (although now discredited) Far Side image of a crude, dim-witted species.
"Between 175,000 and 50,000 years ago we know of at least two humanities: one in Africa (Homo sapiens), and one in Eurasia (Homo neanderthalensis)," Jaubert says. "We now know they were both at similar stages in technical development, with regard to tools, knowledge, spirituality, equipment for hunting and fishing." And because today's discovery pre-dates any known human cave exploration, he says, "it is curious to note that it was not Humans (Homo sapiens) who were the first to explore far into caves, or to draw animals."
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Import data from any REST API to Kafka incrementally using JDBC
Importing data from REST APIs into Kafka topics generally involves writing a custom Kafka producer to read the data from the REST API and writing it in to topics. If you are dealing with multiple REST endpoints, responses, and authentications this can get complex quickly. In this article, we’ll look at how you can accelerate your data integration from REST APIs using Kafka.
Kafka offers several different types of connectors out of the box - including the very popular JDBC connector. By themselves, we know that JDBC connectors can't connect to REST APIs, but with Progress DataDirect Autonomous REST Connector, you can connect to and query any REST API using SQL, without writing single line of code.
In this tutorial, we will show you how you can use Autonomous REST Connector to import data from a stock market research API called Alpha Vantage. The data from the API is in a time series format and gets updated every 60 seconds. We will use Autonomous REST Connector to import the data from this API every 60 seconds for Progress (PRGS) stock into Kafka topics. Feel free, however, to use any stock symbol you’d prefer.
1. Download the Confluent community edition of Kafka.
2. Extract the package to your desired location using the below command.
tar -xvf confluent-community-5.1.1-2.11.tar.gz
3. Add the location /<Path-To>/Confluent-5.1.1/bin to environment variable PATH.
Download and Install Autonomous REST Connector
1. Download Autonomous REST Connector for JDBC from our website.
2. Install the connector by running the setup executable file on your machine and following the instructions on the installer.
3. After you have finished installation, you should find the Autonomous REST Connector at the below default path, unless you have chosen to install it at a different location.
4. Copy the autorest.jar from above location to:
Configure Autonomous REST Connector
1. To connect to the Alpha Vantage API using Autonomous REST Connector, point it at the endpoint using the default values.
2. For the purpose of the tutorial, we will connect to Stock Time Series endpoints offered by Alpha Vantage. To get all the time series intraday values for a stock with an interval of 1 minute, use the following request:<apikey>
3. To configure the driver to connect to the above endpoint, use the following JDBC URL:
4. When you connect to a REST API using Autonomous REST Connector, it will automatically sample the API and create a configuration, which you can access by querying the _CONFIGURATION table. You can get this configuration by using the JDBC Autonomous REST Connector in any SQL querying tool like Dbeaver, Squirrel SQL etc.
5. For the tutorial, we are providing the configuration below. You can save this file as
"Meta Data":{
"1. Information":"VarChar(84)",
"2. Symbol":"VarChar(64),#key",
"3. Last Refreshed":"Timestamp(0)",
"4. Interval":"VarChar(64)",
"5. Output Size":"VarChar(64)",
"6. Time Zone":"VarChar(64)"
"Time Series (1min){Timestamp(0)}":{
"1. open":"Double",
"2. high":"Double",
"3. low":"Double",
"4. close":"Double",
"5. volume":"Integer"
6. Looking at this configuration, you'll notice that Autonomous REST Connector has detected all the objects and their data types.
Note: Please use your api key in the #default property under apikey json object.
7. You can run the following queries in the SQL editor:
8. To learn more about Autonomous REST Connector and how you can configure it for your needs - and how to connect to multiple endpoints - we recommend you go through these tutorials after you have finished this one.
1. Getting Started
2. Connecting to Multiple Endpoints
3. Editing Auto generated Schema
9. Copy the file to:
Create Kafka JDBC Source configuration
1. Create a new file called source_autorest.json in this location:
2. This file will have the configuration on how Kafka connects and queries the REST API via DataDirect Autonomous REST Connector:
"name": "source_autorest",
"config": {
"connector.class": "io.confluent.connect.jdbc.JdbcSourceConnector",
"connection.url": "jdbc:datadirect:autorest:config=/home/progress/confluent-5.1.1/",
"query": "SELECT * FROM TIMESERIES1MIN",
"mode": "timestamp",
"": "KEY",
"topic.prefix": "PRGS1MIN"
3. We set the mode to timestamp and to KEY. Kafka uses this column to keep track of the data coming in from the REST API. By default, the poll interval is set to 5 seconds, but you can set it to 1 second if you prefer using the configuration option.
4. In the above configuration, change the config file path for to its location on your machine in the connection.url.
5. Save the file.
Import the data into Kafka topic
1. Start Kafka using the following command:
confluent start
2. Load the JDBC source configuration you have created in the previous step. You should see the response as shown below after you have run the command:
confluent load source_autorest -d source_autorest.json
load connector
3. Check the status of the connector by running the following command. You should see a response as shown below if it is running properly.
confluent status connectors
List status connectors
4. Next, check the list of topics. You should find a new topic named PRGS1MIN.
kafka-topics --list --zookeeper localhost:2181
5. You can check the data in the topic by running the following command:
kafka-avro-console-consumer --bootstrap-server localhost:9092 --topic PRGS1MIN --from-beginning --property schema.registry.url=http://localhost:8081
data in topic
6. Kafka runs the JDBC source connectors and continues polling the REST API via DataDirect Autonomous REST Connector every 5 seconds to fetch the new data to the Kafka Topic.
With Progress DataDirect Autonomous REST Connector, you don’t need to worry about interfacing with different REST endpoints. All you have to do is point the endpoint to Autonomous REST Connector and it provides you the interfacing using JDBC. You can now use this connectivity not only with Kafka but with any application that has ODBC/JDBC support. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the Progress DataDirect Autonomous REST Connector.
Import data from any REST API to Kafka incrementally using JDBC
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The European Union wants to reach “climate neutrality” in 2050 and this objective can only come through a process of electrification of the economy. In this way, the use of electricity produced from renewable sources should be promoted to achieve the goal of zero emissions in 2050.
As for the benefits that smart electrification will bring from clean energy sources, first, reduce the importation of fossil fuels.
Electrification will also lead to significant energy savings, since heat pumps and electric vehicles, for example, are more efficient than their fossil fuel combustion counterparts.
In this sense, RANK Heat Pump and Organic Cycle Rankine technology involves solutions focused on the industrial sector, in order to improve the energy efficiency of the systems, but also reduces the use of fossil fuels. |
Rawabi Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
Rawabi proudly invested to have one of the top-notch technologies in the field of wastewater treatment to offer its residents and surrounding environment an Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), using innovative AGAR® technology (Attached Growth Airlift Reactor). Occupying only two donums of land (about half an acre) and located more than 1.5 kilometers away from residential units and nearby villages. The WWTP consists of pre-treatment (PT), secondary (biological) treatment (ST), tertiary treatment (TT), and sludge treatment, and is designed to remove organic, nutrients and solids loads from the municipal wastewater. This advanced technology is used worldwide in the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater, while consuming less energy, utilizing a smaller footprint, and reducing environmental pollutants overall.
How does it work?
When anyone in Rawabi uses a sink, toilet, or shower, this water is dispersed through extensive, interconnected sewer lines under the city. Gravity carries the wastewater flows downhill into the treatment plant, where it undergoes sequential treatment processes to rid the wastewater of harmful contaminants and pathogens. The plant outputs treated wastewater meeting the highest local as well as international standards for multiple reuse applications such as irrigation for bed plants and trees. The treated wastewater is pumped back to the city through well-established non-potable water network that reaches irrigation water storage tank which feeds irrigation water network throughout the city.
What are the benefits of treating wastewater at our facility?
• Reduced public health risks from contaminated water sources by raw sewage
• Reliability and cost-effectiveness for residents through the use of a robust and easily maintained facility
• Environmental sustainability through reduced pollution, energy consumption, and the inclusion of aesthetically pleasing green spaces
• Improved water management by creating a renewable resource of water (treated wastewater) suitable for use in irrigation, preserving freshwater for domestic purposes. |
What Attracts Wasps?
In the spring and early summer, wasps are attracted to protein contained in pet food, garbage scraps and exposed compost piles. During the cooler late summer and fall months, wasps seek out sweet foods, such as rotten tree fruits, open soda cans and fruit juices. |
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Self-representation in online learning environments
Learning scientists Online learning literature has documented how students self-represent their identities as they interact with each other and studied the relationship of identities to learning. However, our understanding may be incomplete since the online learning literature tends to oversimplify the dynamic relationship between identity and learning. Employing simplified cultural markers to explain humans, much online education research disregards how different identity traits come into play and affect learning practices. To more comprehensively address the relationship between identity and learning, we explore how individuals self-represent their identities and how they make sense of the subject-matter. The results show that identities do manifest themselves and play an important role in individuals’ online learning practices. |
Visits to Krakowa and Oświęcim, Poland
Schindler Factory in Krakow
Click here to watch a 1-minute video taken
in the hall depicting the invasion attack.
Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Oświęcim
The bus ride west to Oświęcim (Ohzh-vyah-chim) from Krakow took about an hour and a half. The Auschwitz Concentration Camp Memorial is located on the outskirts of this small city. Originally a Polish army base, the Auschwitz camp has become a notorious and lasting testament to the depths of organized depravity that humanity is capable of reaching, as well as the heights of courage and resistance.
No report could accurately express the feelings we experienced, walking in the dark through the muddy streets past rows of brick barracks in this former death camp. More than half of the barracks building are themselves small museums with exhibits representing either the activities that took place in that building or in other parts of the camp throughout its operation, or about the fates of specific ethnic or national groups. Reporting on our visits to both sites will greatly strengthen our position in Richmond in arguing for the memorial park.
Formally and practically we went to show our respect for those who suffered and resisted there and to see how the Polish government has dealt with memorializing this sacred site. But REALLY, we went because we had to - it was our simple and fundamental responsibility - as social justice workers and as living people.
Phil and I each had our triggers - "things" that hit us hard within the first few minutes of walking through that gate. The words on that gate which read then with horrible multiple meanings for captor and captive alike, still reads: ARBEIT MACHT FREI (WORK WILL MAKE YOU FREE). We passed through that gate. I thought it would have been bigger than it turned out to be: a gate for tank parades and throngs of confused and frightened people. But it was sort of medium sized, wide enough for pairs of functionaries and small groups of guards, an officer's car or a couple carts of supplies to pass through. The gate was, again, a simple, adaptive reuse of an available materials.
For me that was it: the materials. The brick and concrete, iron, creosote, and wood. So beautiful in their own right, so useful, developed over millennium to serve our practical and aesthetic needs. But here every aspect of the look and feel of these materials took on horrific and banal qualities.
The gallows pictured below are near the roll call station, and were constructed specifically to hang 12 men accused and convicted of somehow being involved in the escape attempt of 3 others. It was an apparatus built to end their lives and display them as a punishing example.
You see no elaborate wooden platforms with steps, railings and trap door - this was a simple, efficient, adaptive reuse of available materials. Three 10"x10" posts perhaps 8' tall with two sections of iron I-beam laid end-to-end on top and bolted together. That's all. You could have hung laundry from it - or engine blocks. Yet, from that device 12 slender ropes strangled the life out of 12 men at once over several minutes.
For Phil it was the posts, "pfahlbinden". Again, simple implements made of simple materials. Wooden posts that lean slightly forward, each fixed with a sturdy iron hook. To this the victim's wrists which were bound behind their backs, were attached so the body was suspended at a height so his/her feet could not quite touch the ground, twisting the shoulders until they dislocated, eventually tearing the ligaments. They would be left that way for hours or days. The injuries sustained would often render the man or woman "unfit for work" and therefore condemned to the gas chambers.
It's very depressing.
Everyone must see it.
It will alter you.
Boy in the striped pajamas.
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This shrimplike creature makes aluminum armor to survive the deep sea’s crushing pressure
Amphipods—small, shrimplike crustaceans in most aquatic ecosystems—start to fall apart once they hit depths of 4500 meters. There, a combination of crushing pressures, low temperature, and higher acidity causes the calcium carbonate in their exoskeletons to dissolve, making them vulnerable to pressure and predators. Now, scientists have discovered how one species, Hirondellea gigas, can survive in the deepest part of the ocean: with aluminum suits of armor.
Researchers first analyzed H. gigas specimens found at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, more than 10,000 meters below the surface of the ocean. They found that this extreme amphipod constructs a personal suit of armor—a layer of aluminum hydroxide gel covering the surface of its exoskeleton. But aluminum isn’t abundant in ocean water, making it hard to source as a building material. It is, however, abundant in ocean sediment.
To figure out how H. gigas accesses its aluminum, the team exposed sediment from the Challenger Deep—which the crustacean likely swallows when eating—to chemicals in its gut. Within that acidic environment, a byproduct of the plants in its typical diet reacts with the metal-rich sediment to free up aluminum ions. When these aluminum ions are released into alkaline seawater, they transform into protective aluminum hydroxide gel, the researchers report this month in PLOS ONE.
The aluminum armor appears to both relieve stress from deep-sea pressures and prevent the amphipod exoskeletons from leaching calcium carbonate and disintegrating. Thanks to these findings, scientists are one step closer to understanding how it is possible to survive in one of the world’s harshest environments. |
From an engineering standpoint, bones are riddled with structural flaws, from openings for blood vessels to microscopic canals for cells. As a result, bone requires a mechanism to radiate big local stresses over a large area to avoid massive breaks. Previous research revealed various sources of bone strength, such as sacrificial bonds between fibers that break and re-form to dissipate stress, but researchers had yet to discover exactly how they all worked.
So material scientist Peter Fratzl of the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam, Germany, and his colleagues subjected bone from a deceased 52-year-old woman to a three-pronged stress test. (Prior to the test, a machine cut the bone into fragments of identical shape and size.) Two prongs pushed up from the end of the fragment, while one pushed down in the middle. Without a notch to start the breaking process, these bone fragments snapped naturally.
The researchers found that it took only 375 Joules of energy to crack the bone when they applied the force within five degrees of the orientation of the collagen fibers. But the necessary force increased exponentially when they applied it at anything over 50 degrees away from that orientation, up to a whopping 9,920 Joules when they applied a nearly perpendicular force. In addition, the cracks formed by parallel force appeared relatively smooth and straight--like those that characterize broken pottery--whereas the perpendicular cracks created heavy distortion and ragged gaps in the break, as the bone sought to resist snapping.
The finding, detailed in a report published online yesterday by Nature Materials, explains how bones avoid most fractures by stopping the propagation of perpendicular forces: the collagen fibers line up against the hard edge of a table you run into and spread its blunt force out. It also suggests why sometimes simply putting the wrong foot forward can lead to a nasty break. |
Top Culinary Herbs for Vegans to Grow (Plus 20 recipes)
One thing you will learn about going vegan is that you will be cooking a lot more. You’ll also need herbs to make your dishes taste even better. Store-bought herbs are great, but they’re expensive. And dried herbs don’t pack as much flavour as fresh herbs.
Growing my own culinary herbs is one of my favourite hobbies. It’s low-maintenance, it’s super easy, and your food will taste even better. Also, there’s a certain sense of satisfaction that comes from growing your own food.
I really love never having to purchase herbs commercially. They’re so easy to grow, it’s silly to buy them.
How to Grow Herbs Indoors
There are a lot of ways you can grow culinary herbs, but by far my favourite method is hydroponics.
Bringing soil into your house can be a hazard depending on where you live. I live in an old Victorian farmhouse, and there are cracks in the floorboards. Pests found their way through the floorboards into my culinary plants.
I went hydroponic, and I have had no issues since.
You could build your own hydroponic’s system, which is something my husband enjoys doing, or you could take the easy way, which is something I enjoy doing.
The easy way is with the AeroGarden.
What’s an AeroGarden?
AeroGarden is a company that makes a number of contained hydroponic systems to make growing produce indoors even easier than you ever thought possible.
You simply add the water, add the pods, add a splash of nutrients. Then plug it in, and let it go. It seriously took me all of 10 minutes to set it up, and half that time was trying to decide where to put it.
With an AeroGarden you can grow lettuces, tomatoes, and a number of culinary herbs.
It only needs a power source; you add the water when the water level gets low (usually once a week). So this means you could put the AeroGarden anywhere you have access to a power outlet and a shelf. It could be in the kitchen, dining room, or even laundry room.
The AeroGarden is by no means the only way to grow a robust assortment of herbs and produce, and it’s certainly not the cheapest. It’s just been the simplest way that I found. If you have the money for an AeroGarden, I strongly suggest you check it out.
If you don’t, you can start growing lettuces and herbs hydroponically using the Kratky Method, though you will need buckets, seeds, and net pots. Kratky works best for leafy plants, and it doesn’t work very well for peppers, tomatoes, or cucumbers.
• Essential Herbs for Vegans to Grow •
A pot of flat leaf parsley, a culinary herb, sitting on a table. | Top culinary herbs for vegans to grow
The first herb you can grow indoors and use for your vegan dishes is parsley.
Parsley is an herb that is relatively easy to grow, so even someone without a lot of experience gardening can grow parsley. In fact, if you’re not careful, you’ll grow way too much of it. (But at least you can dehydrate it.)
Parsley is really good when you want to make dishes with rich flavors, similar to Italian and Mediterranean dishes. You will find both flat-leaved and curly-leaved parsley varieties available.
Flat-leaf parsley has a stronger flavour than curly parsley. It’s bold and aromatic, and when you think of the flavour of parsley, you’re probably thinking of flat-leaf. Flat-leaf is also the variety that is dried.
Curly-leaf parsley is lighter and milder than flat-leaf parsley. It doesn’t hold up as well to cooking or dehydrating, but it makes a delightful addition to leafy salads and it’s a fantastic garnish.
If you’re going to grow flat-leaf parsley indoors, make sure you keep it away from your cilantro. They look a lot alike, and until you’re used to working with the plants themselves, you might have a hard time keeping them straight.
Recipes Using Parsley
1. Habanero Parsley Tofu Casserole
2. Lemon Parsley Sauce
3. Fettuccini with Parsley Almond Pesto
4. Chickpea Parsley Bowl
5. Hungarian Goulash with Tofu and Parsley
A close up photo of cilantro, a culinary herb. | Top culinary herbs for vegans to grow
There are two types of people in this world: those who love cilantro (me), and those who think it tastes like soap (my mother).
But cilantro is great for vegan dishes, especially because it’s significantly easier to go vegan if you’re cooking Asian or Latin American cuisine.
Cilantro can be grown from the seed or by getting a cilantro plant, since it is a good herb for beginners. If you are going to make salsa or guacamole, you definitely want access to some fresh cilantro at home (unless you’re like my mother).
Cilantro can be grown outside and started in the spring, even if it is still a little cold where you live. This is a very tolerant herb and can survive in many different climates. I again prefer to grow cilantro indoors, and it works out quite well. (Sometimes as I walk by my cilantro plant I just pull off a few leaves and eat them.)
Recipes Using Cilantro:
1. Cilantro Quinoa Burrito Bowl
2. Guacamole
3. Avocado Cilantro Dressing
4. Cilantro Pesto (omit the parm to make it vegan)
5. Cilantro Lime Tofu
Photo of dill, a culinary herb, growing outdoors. | Top culinary herbs for vegans to grow
There are so many things you can do with dill, so if you have room in your herb garden, definitely consider adding it.
Not only can you use it for dishes like cucumber salad, but it is also good with other vegetable dishes and tastes great with fish and seafood. If you want dill in the spring and summer, you should plant it a few weeks before spring begins as long as you don’t have a bad frost. It does best with full sunlight, so it isn’t the best for indoor herb gardening unless you have an AeroGarden.
In fact, when I grew dill in my AeroGarden it quickly took over because I didn’t keep an eye on it.
Though if it is going indoors, just make sure you keep it by a south or west-facing window, or augment the light with grow lights.
Recipes Using Dill:
1. Vegan Tzatziki
2. Zucchini Dill Fritters
3. Cauliflower Dill Steaks
4. Carrot Dill Tart
5. Dill Dip
Photo of basil, a great culinary herb. | Top culinary herbs for vegans to grow
Who doesn’t love cooking with basil? Basil is another herb that goes well in basically everything.
Plus, a little basil goes a long way, especially when you are picking it fresh from your own herb garden. This can grow well indoors in an Aerogarden, or in a container near a sunny window. Jut make sure it gets a lot of light.
You can get a basil plant at most grocery stores, and stick it in a pot. Take care to trim your basil when it starts to flower. Cut off all the flowers or the plant will go woody.
You could also grow Thai basil, which is my personal favourite. It tastes more like anise, and it has a beautiful aroma. Thai basil in vegan pho is seriously one of my favourite things ever.
Whether you prefer Italian basil, or Thai basil, these herbs are a must-have.
Recipes Using Basil:
1. Tomato Basil + Tofu Salad
2. Thai Basil Fried Rice
3. Tomato Basil + Chickpea Salad
4. Pumpkin Chili Stirfry with Thai Basil
5. Tomato Basil + Balsamic Salad
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Nervy Repair Job
Douglas Smith mechanically stretches living nerves to grow resilient transplants.
In a lab at the University of Pennsylvania, a plastic dish holds two rows of tiny black dots, pairs of them connected by dozens of thin, hairlike filaments. Each dot is a cluster of thousands of neurons, explains Douglas Smith, who is a professor of neurosurgery and the director of Penn’s Center for Brain Injury and Repair. The fibers that stretch between them actually comprise thousands of axons, long, slender projections that conduct electrical impulses away from each neuron’s central body. These bundles–each one a lab-engineered nerve–represent physical bridges that Smith hopes will help researchers like him mend previously irreparable injuries.
At the University of Pennsylvania Center for Brain Injury and Repair, professor of neurosurgery Douglas Smith uses mechanical tension to speed the growth of implants that he hopes will repair nerve damage.
When sections of nerves in the body are severed or crushed, they die. Although the nerves can regenerate, they do it at the glacial pace of about one millimeter a day. And there’s another catch: as new axons grow, they need the original nerve sheath–a protective membrane made up of several different kinds of cells–to guide them to the area that has lost function. That sheath begins to disintegrate after about three months without a living nerve in it. “It’s a race against time,” says Smith. A nerve severed in, say, the wrist can span the short distance to the hand and heal in time to restore function. If the same nerve were cut near the shoulder, however, the person would almost certainly lose full use of that hand, since the new growth would not reach the hand before the sheath died.
Not even the most advanced experimental techniques have been able to restore nerve function to sites far from an injury. Smith thought he might facilitate fast nerve regeneration by using lab-grown nerves as a kind of scaffold that doctors could place where a patient’s nerve has died. Though the implanted nerve would not transmit signals itself, the presence of the living tissue could guide the body’s regenerating nerve back to the injury site while keeping the detached nerve sheath intact.
To get the engineered nerves to grow long enough to span the injured area by the time they were transplanted, he applied slight, gradually increasing physical tension; this process, he found, encouraged nerves to grow almost 100 times as fast as scientists had believed possible. And the nerves grew not just longer but also thicker, apparently because additional proteins form in response to the tension. Smith and his team introduced these engineered nerves into rats that had part of their leg nerves cut out. Within four months, as the natural nerves began to regenerate in the rats’ bodies, the transplants had helped guide those nerves across the chasms, successfully restoring function to the rats’ legs.
Stretching It
To make the long nerve transplants, Smith and his team first collect sensory neurons–cells that transmit information to the brain–from the spinal cords of fetal rats. Research technician Kevin Browne then pipettes a gelatinous pink protein called collagen onto two adjacent films in a specially built chamber. About the size of a shoebox, it houses a stretching apparatus made up of a vertical block attached to metal rods. One of the small, clear films, called the towing membrane, is suspended at one end by the block and curves down almost to the base of the chamber, where it overlaps the second membrane. Browne places one set of neurons in the collagen on the towing membrane and another on the bottom membrane. At this point, the two groups are less than 100 micrometers–two hairs’ width–apart. He puts the whole setup into a humming incubator that runs at 37 °C, mimicking the internal temperature of a rat.
The next day, Browne drips a solution of enzymes and other proteins onto the membranes using a pipette; the solution encourages the neurons to sprout axons. Slowly, an axon from a single neuron reaches out and forms a synaptic connection with a neuron across the way. After about five days, the axons have securely connected to their neighboring neurons, and Browne attaches the chamber’s rods to a computer-controlled motor. The motor pulls the towing membrane away from the bottom membrane at a varying rate that has been determined by trial and error.
After about three to five days of gradually increasing the tension, the team can begin stretching the axons as fast as one centimeter per day (roughly 100 times the speed at which regenerating nerves grow in the body), though shorter transplants can be stretched more slowly.
Repair Work
After about a week of slow stretching, Browne takes the elongation box out of the incubator. He uses a pipette to add more collagen, which acts like a soft glue, on top of the cells. Then he rolls the nerve fibers and the attached neurons off the films. With microscopic forceps, Browne drops the new nerve, now about a centimeter long, into a strawlike tube that has been split lengthwise. The tube, made of a biodegradable material that dissolves inside the body, serves as a synthetic nerve sheath. Browne sutures or glues it securely shut with the nerve inside.
In initial experiments designed to test the transplant’s ability to repair nerve injuries, Smith removes about a centimeter of a rat’s sciatic nerve, which runs through the buttocks and down the back of each leg to the ankle and foot, carrying messages from the spinal cord to the various leg muscles. He then places the tube into the space where the nerve was. Using forceps, he gently pushes a stump of the rat’s sciatic nerve sheath into each end of the tube and seals it with fibrin glue. Without the implant in place, the part of the nerve sheath below the cut would degenerate, and the rat would lose movement in that leg. The lab-grown nerves provide a living pathway for regeneration, encouraging the rat’s own motor neurons to grow in the right direction and keeping the sheath alive.
Smith says that in tests performed on more than 40 rats, his group has had almost 100 percent success at restoring the animals’ ability to walk. When the researchers dissected those rats, they found that new axons had grown from their spinal cords and intertwined with the transplanted nerves. The neurons inside the tubes had also given rise to new axons that extended out of the tube in both directions and further mingled with the rats’ own regenerating axons.
Smith and his team think that longer nerve implants could help repair more extensive injuries; so far, the longest nerve they have grown is approximately 10 centimeters. They have also shown that the stretching process works on human neurons from organ donors. Smith hopes to start testing the human-derived implants in patients with nerve injuries in the next two years. |
Speed and Distance Traveled in the NBA
Dale Zanine – USA Today
A lot of movement occurs over the course of a professional basketball game. The ten players on the floor have to run back and forth as they switch between trying to score on one basket and trying to prevent the other team from scoring on the other basket. Some players (and teams) cover more ground than others. Stephen Curry, for instance, is known for his relentless movement on offense, while James Harden has picked up a reputation as a rather lethargic perimeter defender.
But that’s just anecdotal evidence. Among the data available to the public on stats.nba.com is the average speed and total distance traveled of NBA players and teams since the 2013-14 season. Let’s use these facts to answer some relevant questions.
I’ll start simple: which players have covered the most ground on offense over the past seven regular seasons?
The dashed line running diagonally through the graph represents the expected offensive distance traveled for a player based on how many minutes they played. I plotted some notable points above or below this line, and none of the results are particularly surprising.
Most of the points above the line are guards, whether it’s high-energy point guards like Damian Lillard and Kemba Walker, or shooting guards who primarily operate off-ball like JJ Redick. I included Stephen Curry’s point because he’s one of the first names that come to mind when you think of players who cover a lot of ground offensively, but he’s actually not as far above the line of best fit as I expected.
Unsurprisingly, big men tend to travel less distance offensively than expected based on their minutes played. They’re not running around the perimeter like guards, so nobody would expect players like Marc Gasol, DeMarcus Cousins, and DeAndre Jordan to accumulate a bunch of miles traveled relative to their smaller, more agile peers.
The two players who clearly don’t fit into either category here are LeBron James and James Harden. They’re clearly not below the line of best fit because they’re big men. It’s easy to explain Harden’s placement on the graph — he operates in isolation more than any player in the history of the game, and these plays frequently feature him dancing behind the arc and stepping back for a contested 3-pointer. He’s not exactly running around the entire court like JJ Redick. LeBron, meanwhile, is not known for his activity off-ball. He works best with a player like Kyrie Irving who can also handle the ball. During those plays, LeBron typically isn’t moving around as much as he normally would. I also imagine these numbers are higher for him during his first stint in Cleveland when he was in his athletic prime.
Despite those two discrepancies, the trend still seems clear. I went ahead and used the position designations on stats.nba.com to see if this apparent relationship between position and average offensive speed still holds up. We also haven’t talked about defense yet, so I’ll throw in average defensive speed as well.
The result of an ANOVA test on this data allows us to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the variance in average offensive speed between positions is unlikely to have occurred due to chance.
There’s also a positional trend for average defensive speed, although it’s not quite as significant as the offensive side of the ball. Versatile wing players listed as both guard and forward (including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Andre Roberson, etc) tend to be the most active on defense. I imagine that their versatility entails more active defensive assignments that force them to move around more than they otherwise would. Andre Roberson, for instance, was1 one of the league’s best perimeter defenders and his average defensive speed was a whopping 4.36 miles per hour, the second-highest in the league among guard-forward hybrids.
Offensive speed also tends to be higher on average than defensive speed. That makes sense, because the defense is tasked with just defending their basket, while the offense must move around more to evade and infiltrate the defense.
Anyway, it’s not enough to simply adjust for position, though. Let’s go back to offensive speed: there are other variables that will obviously have an impact on our numbers. JJ Redick and James Harden are both classified as guards, but they play very differently. Harden is one of the more ball-dominant players in the league, while Redick primarily creates his shots without the ball in his hands. This is part of the reason Redick’s average offensive speed is 5.01 miles per hour while Harden’s is a measly 3.99 mph. So, let’s take a look at the relationship between average offensive speed and the percentage of minutes in which a player does not have the ball in their hands (aka their off-ball percentage).
The vertical dashed line represents the league average off-ball percentage (91.6%), while the horizontal dashed line represents the league average offensive speed (4.55). Using this visualization, I’ve mentally separated the ‘outlier’ players into four categories: high-energy on-ball guards, high-energy off-ball guards, less active ball-dominant players, and less active big men. There are obviously many players in that pile of dots on the right side of the graph who don’t fit into any of these categories, but I won’t focus on them.
The players on the top left often have the ball in their hands and have a very high average offensive speed. There are ten players who play off-ball less than 90% of the time and still maintain an average offensive speed of at least five miles per hour. Three of them play/played for the San Antonio Spurs (Murray, Mills, Parker), seven of them, including Mills, are bench guards who are therefore able to conserve more energy, and the last player is just Steph Curry. He’s special, of course. Ish Smith and TJ McConnell both epitomize the scrappy and active backup point guard — their placement on the graph is not at all surprising. I’m not sure if some part of Spurs’ offensive system explains why three of their point guards are also around that same spot, but it’s possible. And Curry is just … Curry. The most energetic superstar I’ve ever seen.
The bottom left is less dense and consists of the star players who are less active but still ball-dominant. This is mostly just LeBron James and James Harden, which we’ve already discussed. I threw in a label for the late Kobe Bryant, although his data is pretty useless because it only contains the final two seasons of his illustrious career. At that point, he was coming off of an Achilles tendon tear and was nowhere near the same player he once was. I would guess that a prime Kobe would be a faster Harden on this graph. This is also a good place to point out that average offensive speed has little to do with a player’s actual speed. Before his injuries, John Wall was widely considered the fastest player in the entire league. His relatively slow average offensive speed is indicative of his play style, not his top speed.
The top right contains premier shooters who work to create separation off of the ball. JJ Redick, Landry Shamet, Klay Thompson are all in the lump below Davis Bertan, who is hitting 42.4% of his 8.7 three-point attempts per game this season. Buddy Hield also certainly fits the description of an elite perimeter shooter and therefore covers plenty of ground without the ball in his hands.
Finally, the bottom right basically exclusively consists of inactive big men. DeMarcus Cousins, Marc Gasol, and Hassan Whiteside headline the group of players who don’t have the ball in their hands as often as the guards and forwards of the world, and certainly don’t move around as much as them.
Also, slightly off-topic: it’s not at all surprising to see Terrance Ferguson with the highest off-ball percentage in the league over the past seven seasons. You could even argue that his off-ball percentage should be higher. The following play demonstrates his lack of offensive value:
Down by four with under 40 seconds to go, Chris Paul pokes the ball loose from Tatum to initiate a 3-on-2 fastbreak. He kicks it to a wide open Ferguson on the wing who, for some unknown reason, immediately dumps it off to a tightly guarded Dennis Schröder in the corner. By the time Schröder has the ball, the entire fastbreak advantage is lost. The Thunder proceeded to lose by one point. One could describe Ferguson as a worse Andre Roberson, who has the second-highest off-ball percentage in the league over the past seven seasons. The Thunder sure like their lockdown defensive wings who provide little value offensively.
But I digress. There’s plenty of more that can be done with this data, but I think this is a good stopping point. In the future, I might revisit this idea but focus more on the defensive side of things. The ten players who cover the most ground per game on defense are Jimmy Butler, Bradley Beal, Paul George, Klay Thompson, Stephen Curry, Ben Simmons, Andrew Wiggins, Trevor Ariza, Jrue Holiday, and Lonzo Ball. Almost all of those players are pretty damn good defenders.2 Could the data be used to quantify defensive value to some extent? Or is it just indicative of role? Probably the latter, but it might be interesting to look deeper into.
1. Does he even exist anymore?
2. Beal, Curry, and Wiggins are the only three that might not fit this description, according to my highly subjective eye-test.
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Promoting integrity in the classroom
By Arlene M. Hibschweiler, J.D.; Kathleen Nesper, CPA; and Martha Salzman, J.D.
Editor: Annette Nellen, Esq., CPA, CGMA
Academic integrity is the cornerstone on which a college's or university's reputation and the value of its degrees rest. With coordination and effort, faculty and the schools at which they work can take steps to successfully promote academic integrity and prevent or reduce the number and severity of cheating incidents. Arguably, in no program is this more important than in departments that teach accounting or tax, where students will graduate to join a profession in which integrity is paramount.
A college or university can meet integrity goals, which are often reflected in accreditation standards, by implementing a comprehensive academic integrity program including communicating the organization's policies, encouraging faculty to take steps to prevent or reduce the opportunity for cheating, and handling incidents in a judicious and transparent manner. Taking steps to prevent or reduce the opportunity for cheating and creating this culture of academic integrity also serves to mitigate or eliminate potential legal liability if an academic integrity incident occurs.
This column briefly addresses the accreditation standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and the AICPA's Model Tax Curriculum before turning to a discussion of some principles that can be derived from a reading of legal cases involving academic integrity situations. The column concludes with a series of recommendations or best practices for promoting an ethical learning environment and suggestions for how tax professionals can support instructors in their efforts to promote academic integrity. Practitioners who teach part time and might not be aware of university policies on academic integrity can use these tips to avoid academic integrity problems and as a starting point for delving into campus rules and policies on this subject.
Accreditation and curriculum standards
Academic integrity policies, including their implementation and enforcement, are an important component of the accreditation process and recommended curricula. In its eligibility procedures and accreditation standards for both accounting and business accreditation, the AACSB lists encouraging and supporting ethical behavior by students, as well as faculty, administrators, and professional staff, as the first criterion representing the AACSB's core values and guiding principles (see AACSB, 2018 Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Accounting Accreditation, p. 7, available at; and 2013 Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Accreditation, p. 6, available at
Both of these AACSB procedures and standards provide that the school or accounting academic unit "must have appropriate systems, policies, and procedures that reflect the school's (or unit's) support for and importance of ethical behavior for administrators, faculty, professional staff, and students in their professional and personal actions." Moreover, those systems, policies, and procedures "must provide appropriate mechanisms for addressing breaches of ethical behavior." Documentation supporting this criterion includes published academic integrity policies and procedures, descriptions of "programs to educate participants about ethics policies and procedures," and "systems for detecting and addressing breaches of ethical behaviors, such as honor codes, codes of conduct, and disciplinary systems to address inappropriate behavior."
The AICPA's Model Tax Curriculum (MTC) emphasizes the importance of ethics and includes understanding ethical responsibilities in its learning outcomes and sample syllabuses. For example, a learning outcome of the MTC is to "understand tax-related statutory, regulatory, and professional ethics obligations and identify tax-based community service opportunities." After identifying both Treasury Department Circular 230, Regulations Governing Practice Before the Internal Revenue Service (31 C.F.R. Part 10), and the AICPA's Statements of Standards for Tax Services (SSTS), as well as statutory obligations, the MTC notes, "[t]ax students should understand the relevance of these requirements and guidelines for tax practice and the potential penalties of violating these statutory, regulatory, and professional ethics standards" (MTC at p. 6, available at
The task force that revised the MTC in 2014 stressed the importance of this learning objective but noted that schools might approach it in different ways in their curricula. For example, one program may have a stand-alone professional ethics course that includes a discussion of tax ethics, and another program may cover tax ethics in a tax course (Purcell, Nichols, Rhoades-Catanach, Rubin, Sawyers, and Spilker, "The Model Tax Curriculum: 2014 Revisions Provide a Valuable Tool for Accounting Programs," 45 The Tax Adviser 588 (August 2014)). In part, the approach to ethics should be influenced by a thoughtful examination of program and course content. It may be difficult to add a meaningful ethics discussion to an already-full tax course but also challenging to carve out units for a separate class. The MTC includes two sample syllabuses, reflecting either option. One has a separate unit on professional responsibilities in tax practice, and the other incorporates that topic in a unit on tax compliance, the IRS and tax authorities, and an introduction to tax research (MTC at pp. 9-12).
Academic integrity policies differ from professional ethical standards, such as Circular 230 and the SSTSs noted in the MTC and serve a different purpose. However, they do share a common denominator: not to cheat or aid others in cheating, which is an important credo in both the academic context and for the practicing accountant. A chart that accompanies the online version of this column shows how a few sample parts of Circular 230 and the SSTSs can be related to academic integrity concerns (see Appendix A). Educating students in academic ethical standards through appropriate policies, training, and enforcement may help them better understand professional ethical standards and their importance. Moreover, by stressing ethics in their own classrooms, professors model a commitment to integrity for their students and help their schools maintain a strong reputation for academic responsibility.
Possible legal issues
Academic integrity issues usually arise without warning and, in the case of cheating on an exam, may require quick action to preserve evidence. That raises the question of whether a misstep in handling a possible cheating incident can lead to legal liability. Professors have been sued by students under both federal and state law, as shown in Appendix B. An analysis of these cases leads to some basic principles for instructors to follow to avoid litigation.
First, when cheating is suspected, it is important to be extremely careful about what information is disclosed and to whom. Professors have been sued for defamation where allegedly false information was revealed to others, and for invasion of privacy if the information shared was true. Second, a professor must carefully follow institutional guidelines concerning procedural protections that may be required under a college's or university's student handbook or other applicable documentation. Not following the applicable guidelines can lead to lawsuits based on breach of implied contract or other theories. Underlying many of the cases on liability in cheating situations is the theme that instructors must act professionally, dispassionately, promptly, and carefully. Failure to do so may give the student grounds to appeal and will almost certainly lead to much time spent in meetings with administrators and lawyers.
What professors can do
Given the accreditation standards and the desire to avoid potential legal liability, colleges and universities must adopt academic integrity policies, and professors must implement them in a meaningful way in the classroom. This can be done through various measures. Professors need to be extremely careful to follow institutional rules, at the department, school, and college or university level, when embedding integrity procedures into their courses. If rules the institution provides are insufficient, or if latitude exists, a professor could consider adding his or her own best practices. However, this should be well documented in the syllabus and with the chair's approval.
There are additional considerations in designing ethics measures, including course enrollment and cultural or similar issues. Academic integrity policies are not one-size-fits-all. Measures appropriate in a program with small classes may be wholly inadequate in a larger setting. Similarly, steps dictated by larger enrollments may be cumbersome and unnecessary in a small program or class. In devising integrity measures, institutions and professors need to consider the population served. Additional training or discussion may be required where many of the students may be unfamiliar with integrity expectations because of culture or other reasons. An example would be where a student comes from a society that considers plagiarism to be nothing more than cooperative learning.
Honor codes
Establishing an honor code is the single clearest statement that a college or university is serious in its commitment to academic integrity (Whitley and Keith-Spiegel, Academic Dishonesty: An Educator's Guide, p. 339 (2001)). The honor code should explicitly define and state the college's or university's policy governing the academic conduct of the stakeholders, including students, faculty, administrators, and professional staff. Designed properly, honor codes place responsibilities and obligations on students, not just on faculty, to promote a culture of academic integrity. The policy should be reflective of a broad strategy. Therefore, to be successful the college or university should use a multipronged approach to instill academic integrity into the system through clear syllabus language and the adoption of test procedures and mechanisms to discourage plagiarism and cheating (see McCabe, Butterfield, and Trevino, Cheating in College: Why Students Do It and What Educators Can Do About It, p. 195 (2012)).
Syllabus language
Colleges and universities should encourage faculty to establish clear policies in the course syllabus and communicate specific expectations at the start of each semester. Policies should include standards of conduct and specific principles and expectations regarding the use of electronic devices, cheating during an exam, plagiarism on assignments, and examination and makeup policies. The syllabus should include references to any college or university policies that may apply, such as the honor code and proper classroom behavior. Course syllabuses should describe (or cross-reference the policy that describes) the consequences of cheating, listing the range of sanctions that may apply, and make it clear that unethical behavior can jeopardize a student's career plans in much the same way that unethical actions by a CPA can result in professional discipline, including loss of license. The sample syllabus language in Appendix C can help supplement any university or college required text.
Test procedures
Faculty should adopt sensible test procedures that make it difficult for students to cheat. Before the test, the instructor should provide complete and equal information about exam coverage, format, grading, and the weight of the exam relative to the entire course grade. If prior tests are available to anyone (e.g., a former student or a student club repository), the instructor should consider making an example available to everyone. Secure access to the new exam should always be maintained, and alternate versions should be written, particularly if the faculty member teaches multiple sections. If the course has multiple sections, the instructor should consider holding the test at a combined session outside of normal class time. The faculty member should post exam procedures in advance of the test and remind students to review them. Exam procedures should cover various topics, including what students can bring into the test room, and prohibit them from resuming work on the exam if they leave the room.
On the day of the exam, the instructor should arrive at the test site early to clear the room of stray objects and arrange the seats if necessary. A seating chart should be established and posted so that students sit randomly and, if possible, in every other row or seat to leave empty chairs between them. Students should be required to keep items, other than those necessary to take the exam, securely in backpacks stored ideally at the front or back of the classroom, including cellphones, earphones, smart watches, and all other devices with an on/off switch. If there are no clocks in the room, the instructor can keep track of time on the board or set a timer on the computer if the exam is in a technology-equipped room.
The instructor should make it clear to the students that if they are found to be in possession of any unauthorized material during the exam, they are in violation of procedure and will be construed as cheating. If scratch paper is required, the instructor should make it available with the test. A student should not bring paper to the exam. Calculators should be allowed only when required; any calculator permitted should include only the functions necessary to complete the questions. Departments should consider purchasing low-cost calculators that can be handed out for exams to ensure students only have devices offering basic math functions and nothing else.
The instructor should proctor the exams adequately and carefully, continually circulating throughout the room in a random fashion observing students and their behavior. Students who look around the room to see the location of the professor or other proctors may be identifying themselves as cheaters and should be given discreet but special attention. Students should not be allowed to leave the room for breaks once the exam has begun until their exam is complete and has been collected. Upon submission of the exam, the proctors should check individual student photo identification cards. Instructors are advised to include an acknowledgment of the test procedures posted before the exam signed by each student as part of the test submission. An example of such a form is shown in Appendix D.
Prevent plagiarism
To prevent plagiarism, faculty should design writing assignments to analyze topics rather than to present facts. To increase interest, consider student input into the choice of topics or assignments. The professor should clearly state how students are to cite sources to avoid any confusion. The syllabus should alert students to the use of anti-plagiarism software such as or Google to check their work. Instructors must guard against "contract cheating," which occurs when a student purchases an assignment from an online platform or obtains assistance to complete an assignment using a chatroom or a social media site, and should frequently reiterate the expectation of adhering to academic integrity principles when completing assignments. When confronting a student suspected of plagiarism, the instructor should gather the evidence and facts and be respectful. If the student denies it, one option is to test the student for mastery of the topic.
Discourage cheating
In addition to test preparation and preventing plagiarism, faculty can take several steps to reduce the pressure on students and to discourage cheating. A good policy is to establish clear, consistent grading criteria and use grading rubrics. An instructor can ensure the course expectations and assignment load are reasonable and should base final grades on a variety of multiple assessments that are fair and reflect the course content taught. The syllabus should announce the resources that students may use to complete assignments, such as teacher assistants, peer tutors, and writing centers available to English-as-a-second-language students. Finally, the class should be designed to ensure that students are given a reasonable time to complete assignments.
Handling and documenting academic integrity incidents
Although a professor may take all the right cautionary steps to prevent an academic integrity incident, one nonetheless may arise. In that case, the actions that the professor takes may come under scrutiny. To avoid liability, as noted previously, and for reasons of sound pedagogy, it is important to follow the college's or university's policies and procedures for handling and documenting the incident.
First, the professor must preserve any evidence. In the case of cheating on an exam, that may include unauthorized materials such as crib notes, the exam on which cheating is suspected, calculators containing unauthorized formulas, a picture of the screen of a cellphone connected to the internet or course website during the exam, and other sources. In the case of plagiarism of a paper or homework submission, it could be an internet source, textbook answer key, another student's work submission, or other sources.
When notifying the student of an allegation, the advice, again, is for the instructor to follow college or university procedures. A sample letter informing a student of an academic integrity incident is shown in Appendix E (although the university might have a suggested form or template). The student should be allowed to respond in person if possible or in another manner if a discussion in person is not possible (e.g., phone call or email). For any in-person meeting or phone call, the instructor should have another person present to take notes or record the meeting (in either case, with the student's knowledge and consent). The instructor should share his or her concerns, allow the student a limited time to respond, and be prepared to disclose the evidence gathered. Per college or university guidelines, the student might be entitled to have a representative at the meeting. The instructor does not have to reach a decision at this meeting.
After the meeting, the instructor should consult the department chair, academic program director, or Office of the Dean of Students regarding the interaction with the student and the final decision and possible sanctions. Following university or college guidelines, the student should be notified of the decision, any sanctions imposed, and his or her right to appeal the decision.
What practitioners can do
By virtue of their position as professionals and practitioners, CPAs have an important role to play in supporting a tax program's efforts to ensure academic integrity. Early in the academic year a firm could help an accounting department organize a technical or other presentation addressing what is expected of students in a tax or accounting program, including the importance of academic and professional integrity. This should also be stressed in all the firm's recruiting efforts.
Practitioners can also help instructors in staffing an exam with proctors. Since exam schedules typically are set before the semester begins, firms or retired tax professionals may be able to build proctoring into their schedules, especially in large classes with multiple sections, where exams may be given at night or on weekends. In addition, accounting and tax professors could coordinate to have one or two days, early in the semester, when a CPA appears in multiple classes to discuss the importance of integrity for students and professionals. These remarks should describe ethics as a continuum, linking classroom integrity policies to what will be expected of the students when they are practitioners who must follow rules such as those found in Circular 230 and the SSTSs.
Firms should reinforce their concern with academic integrity whenever possible in contacts with students, including when supporting the school in other roles, such as a CPA who conducts mock interviews. The underlying message that practitioners should aim to deliver is that in addition to following all relevant guidelines for professional responsibility, tax professionals, and students who hope to join their ranks, must be guided by uncompromising integrity.
Setting the tone for professional conduct
Given the trusted role CPAs occupy in providing services to both businesses and individuals, ensuring the integrity of practitioners is critical. This begins at the college or university level and requires more than training students in professional responsibility rules; it also involves an active commitment to academic integrity. Institutions must adopt appropriate policies and procedures, educate students about them, and put them into practice. This effort must obviously involve professors and also must include other campus personnel including administrators, academic counselors, and, ideally, practitioners. The benefits of well-designed and carefully implemented integrity programs may relate directly to accreditation and avoiding liability, but most importantly they set an ethical tone in the academic context that may translate to ethical CPAs in the professional one.
Arlene M. Hibschweiler, J.D., is a clinical associate professor, Kathleen Nesper, CPA, is a clinical assistant professor, and Martha Salzman, J.D., is a clinical assistant professor, all in the Accounting and Law Department at the School of Management, University at Buffalo. Annette Nellen, Esq., CPA, CGMA, is a professor in the Department of Accounting and Finance at San José State University in San José, Calif., and is the immediate past chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee. For more information about this column, please contact
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Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
Queen Victoria, 1861
John Jabez Edwin Mayall/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years and was honored by two great public commemorations of her longevity as ruler of the British Empire.
Her Golden Jubilee, to mark the 50th anniversary of her reign, was observed in June 1887. European heads of state, as well as delegations of officials from throughout the empire, attended lavish events in Britain.
The Golden Jubilee festivities were widely seen not only as a celebration of Queen Victoria but as an affirmation of Britain's place as a global power. Soldiers from throughout the British Empire marched in processions in London. And in the distant outposts of the empire celebrations were also held.
Not everyone was inclined to celebrate the longevity of Queen Victoria or the supremacy of Britain. In Ireland, there were public expressions of protest against British rule. And Irish Americans held their own public gatherings to denounce British oppression in their homeland.
Ten years later, Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations were held to mark Victoria's 60th anniversary on the throne. The 1897 events were distinctive as they seemed to mark the end of an era, as they were the last great assemblage of European royalty.
Preparations for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee
As the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's reign approached, the British government felt that a monumental celebration was in order. She had become queen in 1837, at the age of 18, when the monarchy itself had seemed to be coming to an end.
She had successfully restored the monarchy to where it occupied a preeminent place in British society. And by any accounting, her reign had been successful. Britain, by the 1880s, stood astride much of the world.
And despite small-scale conflicts in Afghanistan and Africa, Britain had essentially been at peace since the Crimean War three decades earlier.
There was also a feeling that Victoria deserved a great celebration as she had never celebrated her 25th anniversary on the throne. Her husband, Prince Albert, had died young, in December 1861. And the celebrations which likely would have occurred in 1862, which would have been her Silver Jubilee, were simply out of the question.
Indeed, Victoria became fairly reclusive after Albert's death, and when she did appear in public, she would be dressed in widow's black.
In early 1887 the British government began making preparations for the Golden Jubilee.
Many Events Preceded Jubilee Day in 1887
The date of large public events was to be June 21, 1887, which would be the first day of the 51st year of her reign. But a number of associated events began in early May. Delegates from British colonies, including Canada and Australia, gathered and met with Queen Victoria on May 5, 1887, at Windsor Castle.
For the next six weeks, the queen participated in a number of public events, including helping to lay the cornerstone for a new hospital. At one point in early May, she expressed curiosity about an American show then touring England, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She attended a performance, enjoyed it, and later met cast members.
The queen traveled to one of her favorite residences, Balmoral Castle in Scotland, to celebrate her birthday on May 24, but planned to return for London for the major events which would take place close to the anniversary of her accession, June 20.
The Golden Jubilee Celebrations
The actual anniversary of Victoria's accession to the throne, June 20, 1887, began with a private commemoration. Queen Victoria, with her family, had breakfast at Frogmore, near the mausoleum of Prince Albert.
She returned to Buckingham Palace, where an enormous banquet was held. Members of various European royal families attended, as did diplomatic representatives.
The following day, June 21, 1887, was marked with lavish public spectacle. The queen traveled by a procession through the streets of London to Westminster Abbey.
According to a book published the following year, the queen's carriage was accompanied by "a bodyguard of seventeen princes in military uniform, superbly mounted and wearing their jewels and orders." The princes were from Russia, Britain, Prussia, and other European nations.
The role of India in the British Empire was emphasized by having a troop of Indian cavalry in the procession close to the queen's carriage.
Ancient Westminster Abbey had been prepared, as galleries of seats had been built to accommodate 10,000 invited guests. The service of thanksgiving was marked by prayers and music performed by the abbey's choir.
That night, "illuminations" lit the skies of England. According to one account, "On rugged cliffs and beacon hills, on mountain peaks and lofty heaths and commons, great bonfires blazed."
The next day a celebration for 27,000 children was held in London's Hyde Park. Queen Victoria paid a visit to the "Children's Jubilee." All the children attending were given a "Jubilee Mug" designed by the Doulton company.
Some Protested the Celebrations of Queen Victoria's Reign
Not everyone was favorably impressed by the lavish celebrations honoring Queen Victoria. The New York Times reported that a large gathering of Irish men and women in Boston had protested the plan to hold a celebration of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee at Faneuil Hall.
The celebration at Faneuil Hall in Boston was held on June 21, 1887, despite pleas to the city government to block it. And celebrations were also held in New York City and other American cities and towns.
In New York, the Irish community held its own large meeting at Cooper Institute on June 21, 1887. A detailed account in The New York Times was headlined: "Ireland's Sad Jubilee: Celebrating in Mourning and Bitter Memories."
The New York Times story described how the capacity crowd of 2,500, in a hall decorated with black crepe, listened attentively to speeches denouncing British rule in Ireland and the actions of the British government during the Great Famine of the 1840s. Queen Victoria was criticized by one speaker as "Ireland's tyrant."
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McNamara, Robert. "Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee." ThoughtCo, Nov. 19, 2020, thoughtco.com/queen-victorias-golden-jubilee-celebrations-1774008. McNamara, Robert. (2020, November 19). Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-victorias-golden-jubilee-celebrations-1774008 McNamara, Robert. "Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/queen-victorias-golden-jubilee-celebrations-1774008 (accessed August 5, 2021). |
Astronomy Days Celebrated With Jelsa's Clear Night Sky
Astronomy Days Celebrated With Jelsa's Clear Night Sky
Mario Romulić
June 16, 2021 - The first Croatian town to join the International Dark Sky Community continues to prove that its clear, star-filled sky continues to rank it as one of the top astrotourism destinations, with Jelsa celebrating its Astronomy Days from June 10th to 14th.
In cooperation with the Croatian Astronomical Association, the Jelsa Tourist Board, and the Leo Brenner Astronomical Society, the Astronomy Days were organized in Jelsa between June 10th and 14th, which is another step of Jelsa towards the development of astrotourism, reports Turističke priče. As part of the program, primary school children learned how to observe the sun with telescopes, but also everything about the stars and light pollution. The workshops introduced the children to the most important constellations and the brightest stars currently seen in the sky, as well as the problem of light pollution, like the reason why we are missing stars.
Participants were able to take a photo of the moon with their own smartphones (Credit: Mario Romulić)
The stars will be the brightest tourist product of Jelsa, which should acquire the status of the International Dark-Sky Community by the end of the year and become the first municipality/city in Croatia to proudly bear that title. This title confirms Jelsa as a destination that has an exceptional quality of the night sky and respects high environmental standards in terms of light pollution, which together make a big step towards creating an astro-tourist offer in the area of Jelsa.
In addition to workshops for children in Jelsa, public observations with telescopes for citizens and tourists were organized as part of Astronomy Days. The astronomical evening in Zavala and the Moon from Zastražišće attracted visitors, and on both observations, apart from looking through the telescope, it was possible to photograph the moon with your own smartphone through the telescope, so many took with them a fond memory.
Participants of the Astronomy Days in Jelsa (Credit: Jelsa Tourist Board)
Jelsa was the first to develop astrotourism
Secretary-General of the Croatian Astronomical Union Dorian Božičević in Jelsa serviced the cameras of the Croatian Meteor Network located in the Eco-ethno village Humac and continued with measurements of light pollution in the Municipality of Jelsa, which is soon preparing to submit an application to the International Night Sky Association (IDA) for obtaining the status of the International Dark Sky Community, reported from the Croatian Astronomical Union, announcing that they expect to receive the status by the end of the year.
The town of Jelsa at night (Credit: Mario Romulić)
In addition to the sun and the sea, Jelsa will also offer tourists a starry sky, and the stars in modern times are disappearing precisely because of light pollution, and observing the starry sky is becoming a tourist attraction that you cannot often see.
What is the International Dark Sky Community?
Unlike the park, the dark sky community is a village, town, municipality, and other legally recognized communities that have shown exceptional commitment to preserving the dark sky through the implementation of quality outdoor lighting and raising awareness of light pollution. Namely, in 2001, the International Organization of the Dark Sky launched the "International Dark Sky Locations" program. The program recognizes and aims to protect areas around the world with preserved and natural dark skies, ie without or with a minimum amount of light pollution.
Jelsa is a slice of safe, authentic lifestyle heaven on Croatia’s premier island, with wine and beach treasures galore. Everything you need to know about Jelsa, you'll find it in our Total Croatia's Jelsa on a Page HERE.
For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. |
Albania, unspoilt mountainous areas, vibrant cities and Unesco heritages.
Albania is located in the Balkans in South East Europe. The capital Tirana has over 425,000 inhabitants of the total 3.6 million inhabitants in the country. Albania was a part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1912 the country became independent.
Tourism in Albania is still in its infancy due to the strict communist policy of recent decades.
You will find unspoilt mountainous areas in the north and south-east in Albania, and the vibrant cities such as Tirana. You will also discover many UNESCO-protected heritages such as Butrinti, Gjirokastra and Berati.
The Republic of Albania is located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula and it shares borders with Montenegro and Kosovo to the north and northeast, with FYR of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south . In the western part the Albanian shores are soaked by Adriatic and Ionian seas. The country has an area of 28.748 km. sq. with a population of nearly 3,3 million inhabitants. The capital TIRANA is situated in the central part of the country on the foot of Dajti mountain from one side and only 39 km far from the Adriatic coast.
It is the country of natural beauty, which varies from the sandy and rocky coast to the fertile plains and the high peaks. Full with big and small lakes, natural monuments, eco – systems , remote and untouched areas , Albania is an unforgettable experience for every one.
The landscape of Albania is mainly to be divided into two parts: the low coast country and the mountainous inland country. The average altitude lies on 708 meters above the sea level and approximately 70% of the Albanian landscape are mountainous. The coast landscape has a number of coast plains, which are separated to maximum 60 km country-inward; where they reach steep, rocky coasts until the sea. The coast plains are low which have been moreover drained for a large part and have been irrigated; the showers in the winter and the high water of the rivers during spring frequently cause floods. More towards the east an undulating area lies which does not suffer from floods.
The east of Albania is savagely and with difficult access. In the north the Alban Alps lie. The highest mount top is the Korab, 2784 meters high, and these are themselves in the Korabit mountain on the three country point with Macedonia and the Serbian province Kosovo. Other than that the mount country exists from elongated backs, strongly small heights and small beckons .
The largest river, the Drin, starts in the Ohrid lake (this part is called the black Drin) and in the mountains of Kosovo (white Drin). The lakes lie all in border areas: in the north the Shkodërlake (460-510 km2; this is the largest lake of the Balkan peninsula); in the south west Dessaretische the group on the border with Macedonia and Greece: More of Ohrid (270, km2), prespalake (288, km2) and the small Malik lake, which all lie partly outside Albania himself.
In the west the country borders to Adriatic and the Ionian sea; the length of the total coast line amounts to 362 km. The distance to the coast of Italy is at the street of Otranto but 80 km. Entirely in the south the Greek island Corfu lies for the coast.
The country of ancient civilizations inhabited since Palaeolithic period and with significant dates of Illyrian civilization, the ancestors of present Albanians, followed by Greek, Roman and Turkish occupations, the territory of the country is full of ruins and other treasures of those old civilizations. Albania has a long history of predominance and oppression. From the beginning of the 16th century until 1912 the Ottoman dominated Albania. Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, but was conquered by Italy in 1939.
Communist partisans took over the country in 1944. Albania allied itself first with the USSR (until 1960), and then with China (to 1978). In the early 1990s, Albania ended 46 years of xenophobic communist rule and established a multiparty democracy. The transition has proven challenging as successive governments have tried to deal with high unemployment, widespread corruption, dilapidated infrastructure, powerful organized crime networks, and combative political opponents. Albania has made progress in its democratic development since first holding multiparty elections in 1991, but deficiencies remain. International observers judged elections to be largely free and fair since the restoration of political stability following the collapse of pyramid schemes in 1997; however, each of Albania’s post-communist elections have been marred by claims of electoral fraud. The 2009 general elections resulted in a coalition government, the first such in the country’s history. Albania joined NATO in April 2009 and is a potential candidate for EU accession. Although Albania’s economy continues to grow, the country is still one of the poorest in Europe, hampered by a large informal economy and an inadequate energy and transportation infrastructure.
More Albanians live outside of Albania than within. If you are traveling through the Balkans, you will see Albanian flags log before you arrive in Albania. Estimates of Albanians residing abroad are anywhere from 7-10 million, mostly in other Balkan countries (Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece), but there are also a significant amount in Turkey, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the United States. The number of Albanians actually living inside Albania is about 3 million.
More information:
• Lonely Planet – Albania – Comprehensive facts and advice for traveling along with background material on the culture and history of the country.
• World Travel Guide – Albania – Tourist and business travel information with facts on climate, visa, health, passport, currency and customs requirements.
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Remember the last time you went to a movie and you heard the actors on the right side of the screen–and their
voices came from the same side? Or you saw a monster stomp from one side of the screen to the other, and the
sound of the footsteps moved through the theater?
That’s stereo sound. And though it’s not even available at most movie theaters, you can do it with a
camcorder, provided you own the right equipment.
Webster’s defines stereophonic as an adjective meaning "to render the illusion of true auditory perspective
through the use of two or more mikes for recording." In more basic terms, it means breaking the audio signal into
two parts–right and left–which, on playback, gives a more realistic sound.
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Needless to say, any decent mike, whether it’s built into your camcorder, attached as an external mike or
connected to your VCR or audio recorder, should create a reasonable reproduction of the sound you’re recording.
But on playback, a mono (single-channel) recording loses the rich, spread-out sounds of a live classical orchestra, or
the auditory positioning of the actors on a stage. When you think about it, a single source of audio is pretty limiting
when things are happening all over your video screen.
The addition of stereo sound to your videos will provide the same illusion of perspective to the audio you hear
that the video image does to what you see. But there’s more to it than just sticking a stereo mike in the scene and
hoping for the best.
In this article, we’ll look at the various types of equipment involved in recording stereo audio. We’ll consider the
proper use and arrangement of different types of mikes to get the best stereo sound possible. We’ll also note some of
the problems in recording stereo that you might encounter along the way.
Equipment Needs
If your camcorder or VCR is limited to a single audio track, you cannot record true stereo. You could use any
number of mikes connected to an audio mixer and this might give you a better representation of all the elements in
the sound you record. But the final mix would have to be a mono signal to be compatible with your camcorder or
VCR’s single audio track. Even if you found a stereo audio tape recorder to record your stereo sound, it would be of
little use if the video recorder you wanted to transfer it to had only a single audio track. The stereo effect would be
lost at your camcorder or VCR as you shot or edited your tape.
For the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that your camcorder or VCR has VHS hi-fi if you’re using
equipment in the VHS family, or AFM stereo if you’re using 8mm gear. Both VHS hi-fi and 8mm AFM stereo
provide both tracks necessary for good stereo recording.
Some industrial-level S-VHS decks offer dual linear audio tracks along with the VHS hi-fi. This gives you two
ways to record stereo on one deck. Usually, the sound quality of these linear audio tracks is inferior to the hi-fi
tracks, though considerably better than the single linear track on consumer VHS VCRs.
A few high-level Hi8 decks also offer PCM stereo audio along with the AFM stereo. PCM stereo offers near-CD
quality sound–much better than the quality of AFM stereo. For a full explanation of these audio tracks, see
"Camcorder Sounds" in the January 1995 issue of Videomaker.
Camcorders that have stereo audio generally come with a built-in stereo mike. This may seem a great advantage
until it’s realized that while shooting, the best placement for the camcorder and the best placement for the mike are
seldom the same. Say, for example, that you’re shooting a stage play. If you’re shooting with a single camera, you’ll
want to be back in the audience where your lens can capture the whole stage. Here, your built-in stereo mike is as
far from the talent as you are. Most theater halls deliberately have hard, bouncy acoustics to assist the talent in
projecting their voices. That, combined with the distance to your mike, can muddle the sound by the time it reaches
you and severely limit the stereo effect.
Fortunately for our purposes, most stereo camcorders have external stereo mike inputs. You can send signals
from an external stereo mike, or several mike signals from a portable audio mixer, to your camcorder’s external
stereo mike input. These mikes can be placed anywhere you wish, regardless of the placement of your camcorder or
If your camcorder does not have an external stereo mike input, or has only a single audio channel, you can still
get by if you have a stereo audio mixer and a VCR with stereo audio. You can run audio signals from the audio
mixer to the VCR inputs while you run the video output of your camcorder to the video input on the VCR. The
audio mixer is required because the audio inputs on your VCR require a much stronger signal (called a line-level
signal) than a mike alone can provide.
If you use this method, you’ll have to do the actual recording on your VCR instead of your camcorder. This
requires carrying around a VCR to your shoots, and making sure A/C power is available. However, it offers you a
chance to record stereo audio if your camcorder is not capable of recording or accepting external stereo mike
Connections and Mixers
The stereo mike input on most camcorders accepts a 1/8-inch mini stereo phone plug. A standard mono phone
plug is made up of a tip and a sleeve (insulated from each other) to conduct the signal from a single mike into your
camcorder, while a stereo phone plug has a tip, a ring and then the sleeve. On the stereo phone plug, the tip and ring
conduct the separate stereo signals, while the sleeve acts as a common connection for both signals (see figure
The cable used with stereo mikes has two center conductors and a shield. At the camcorder end, the center
conductors go to the tip and ring while the shield goes to the sleeve. At the mike end, the center conductors go to
two separate mike elements while the shield goes to both mike elements and acts as a common ground. It’s possible
to divide this cable from your stereo mini jack into two mono cables should you wish to use two separate mikes
rather than one stereo mike (see figure 1b).
This will also allow you to connect your camcorder to the outputs of a stereo or multi-channel mixer. Many good
battery-powered portable mixers are available. It’s always advisable to use a mixer if you’re using two or more
individual mikes to record stereo. When using a mixer, you have individual control of the level of each mike,
allowing you to fine tune the balance of your stereo signal.
One major advantage here is that, unlike camcorders, most mixers provide a level meter for setting your separate
audio levels. If you plan to connect a mixer directly to your camcorder’s external stereo mike input, make sure the
mixer offers mike-level outputs. Line-level outputs (with much stronger signals) will badly distort your audio if
connected to your camcorder’s external mike input. You use line-level signals only when you wish to connect a
mixer’s outputs directly to your VCR. Several good quality portable mixers offer both line- and mike-level
External Stereo Mikes
Several popular mike manufacturers make high-quality stereo mikes which you connect to your camcorder’s
external stereo mike jack. These will almost always give you better performance than your built-in mike.
Stereo mikes come in as many different designs as other mikes, but most are condenser types. They will provide
very high quality sound and give you the great advantage of positioning your camcorder and mike at separate
A stereo mike is nothing more than two separate cardioid mike elements built into a single case. Cardioid means
that the elements are most sensitive to sound coming from a specific direction, rather than equally from all
directions. The pickup pattern is in the shape of a heart, with the bottom of the heart shape pointed out–hence the
term cardioid.
Cheaper stereo mikes have their elements fixed into position and are not adjustable, but better versions have one
element capable of up to 270 degrees of rotation mounted over a second fixed element. This allows you to choose
from several different coincident miking patterns.
Coincident miking means that one element of the mike sits directly above the other and the two pickup patterns
are aimed to roughly cover the left and right sides of a sound source. Note that coincident miking refers not only to
one-piece stereo mikes, but to separate mikes as well, when their elements are placed as described above.
Quality stereo mikes, when used properly, are capable of reproducing excellent stereo sound, but their major
drawback is their high cost.
Spaced Pair Miking
Spaced pair miking is probably the simplest form of stereo miking using more than one mike. As the name
implies, two mikes, usually omni types (which pick up sounds from all directions equally) are set to the left and
right sides of the sound source. Spacing can range from only a few feet apart to the whole width of the room.
This is generally the first way a beginner tries to record stereo because it makes sense–a mike for the left side
and a mike for the right. Unfortunately, this can cause problems should the need arise to sum the signal to
Summing to mono means mixing your stereo signals into a single mono signal. You do this to retain
compatibility with mono VCRs, to transmit mono audio over the airwaves or to dub to a mono film track, among
other possibilities.
With this setup, if the two mikes are placed too far apart, they can record sounds that are out of phase on the two
audio tracks. This means that if one mike is closer to a sound source than the other, the sound waves that enter one
mike may be out of phase with the other. Although they might sound fine when played back in stereo, when mixed
together as a mono track, these out-of-phase sounds will cancel each other out, making the audio thin, empty and
lacking in harmonics. The best way to avoid this is to keep your mikes close together, as in crossed X-Y
Crossed and Spaced X-Y Miking
You can use two mikes in a coincident pattern to get results as good as, if not better than, a stereo mike. This is
called crossed X-Y miking.
In crossed X-Y miking, two cardioid mikes are placed one across the other (and one slightly above the other)
with their elements as close together as possible (see figure 2a). To achieve this, they are often mounted on separate
stands with short booms so that the stands do not interfere with each other. The mikes should be of the same brand
and model for equal sound quality and pickup pattern. The advantage of crossed X-Y miking is a more pronounced
stereo separation than available from a stereo mike.
The angles you set between the two mikes depends a lot on their placement in relation to the entire sound source.
Sometimes, you can’t control where you’re able to place your mikes. While certain degrees of mike element rotation
are often suggested by manufacturers, it’s generally best to experiment when possible to find out what sounds best.
This is true of spaced X-Y miking as well.
Spaced X-Y miking (often simply called spaced stereo miking) separates the mike elements by about 7 to 12
inches and aims them at the right and left areas of the sound source (see figure 2b). Using this method, the stereo
separation is even more pronounced by adding greater space–and therefore time delay–between the mike elements
and the incoming sound.
There are some disadvantages to spaced X-Y miking that you should be aware of. First, the farther away the
mikes are spaced, the more reinforced the recordings are to the left and right sides. As a result, there can be a loss of
sound from the middle area. Separation will be too good and the overall sound will have a rather hollow quality on
Second is the problem of acoustic cancellation. Described above under spaced pair miking, this occurs when the
distance from a sound source is so much further from one mike than from the other that the mikes receive the sound
waves out of phase, which can reduce or even cancel out the sound during recording. Fortunately, when spaced X-Y
mikes are properly placed, both of these problems are rare.
M/S Miking Technique
M/S, or middle/side miking, uses one cardioid mike facing directly forward at the middle of the sound source,
and one bi-directional mike just above or below it to pick up side and indirect sound (see figure 2c). A bi-directional
mike picks up sound most strongly from two sides, but unlike a stereo mike, a bi-directional mike outputs only a
single signal. The outputs of both the cardioid and the bi-directional mikes are sent to a special matrixing electronic
circuit (basically a transformer and supporting circuit) which derives the left and right stereo signals.
Several manufacturers sell M/S miking systems which include the matrixing box. It’s usually not necessary to
use an audio mixer with M/S miking systems, since the electronics act as their own mixer, unless you wish to
include other sound sources in your audio tracks.
Among all these systems we’ve discussed, M/S miking can produce the best possible stereo sound when properly
used. M/S miking systems generally incorporate adjustments between the center and side signals, allowing
flexibility in the amount of separation you desire. Most stereo zoom mikes (which zoom in on sound much the same
way your lens zooms in on pictures) use this adjustment for their effect. In fact, most built-in stereo camcorder
mikes use the M/S miking system in either a fixed or zoom configuration.
To Sum Up
By now, you should have a good basic idea of how to record quality stereo audio. You should know if your equipment
can record stereo, or what you’ll need if you plan to buy new gear. You should understand the connections you’ll need to
make, and see the advantages of using a mixer when recording. You should understand the advantages and
disadvantages of recording stereo using the external stereo mike, the different X-Y miking placements and M/S
All of these techniques will provide you with the basic tools you need to record much better sound tracks than simple
mono setups will allow, and to excite your audiences with the full-bodied quality of stereo sound. So let’s dust off those
mikes and go make some stereophonic sound.
Did you find this article helpful?
|
Often asked: Where Are Air Force Pararescue Stationed?
Do Air Force PJs see combat?
The STS side is more similar to other special operations units like Rangers and SEALs. Most PJs focus on one or the other, but will rotate through both throughout the course of a career. The goal of RQS missions is to avoid combat if possible, whereas an STS is more likely to go looking for trouble.
Where does Air Force pararescue train?
Is pararescue harder than Navy SEALs?
Do Pararescue have the same capabilities as Navy SEALs or Delta guys? No. They are considerably different skill sets. While all receive some parachute, small boat, swim, helocast, rappelling, etc training for insertion and extraction purposes, the missions are not similar.
How many active duty PJs are there?
Do PJs deploy with SEALs?
Are Air Force PJs respected?
USAF Pararescue is extremely well respected by the US armed services. Although PJ’s are trained to recover downed air force pilots, they have not actually performed that mission since the Vietnam war. Rather they have acted more as heliborne EMTs over the past 30 years or so.
You might be interested: Question: Where Is Vandenberg Air Force Base In California?
How many PJs have died?
How often do PJs deploy?
How often are you deployed? It’s about once a year for four months.
Are PJs SOF?
Ryan Callaghan/DVIDS. Kimber noted that unlike most other Special Operations Forces ( SOF ) personnel, PJs are attached to other SOF units while deployed, such as the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, Special Forces, and Navy SEALs.
What is the age limit for pararescue?
Subject to the requirements outlined below, all US Air Force enlisted personnel are eligible to attend the Pararescue training programme. General Requirements for all candidates: Be a US citizen: Must be between the ages 17 and 39.
How much do PJs make?
PJ Salary
Annual Salary Monthly Pay
Top Earners $45,500 $3,791
75th Percentile $37,500 $3,125
Average $32,422 $2,701
25th Percentile $25,500 $2,125
Are there any female pararescue?
Two more women are attempting to enter the U.S. Air Force’s combat controller and pararescue ( PJ ) battlefield airman career fields. The women, who were not identified for privacy reasons, are the first to enter the official training pipelines of those career fields, according to 1st Lt.
How hard is it to be a pararescue?
You might be interested: FAQ: What Does An Air Force Rigger Do?
How dangerous is being a PJ?
Pararescue is a dangerous job because you are ordered to put your life on the line to save someone else’s. Pararescue specialists may be required to rescue airmen in water, mountain, desert terrain or Arctic conditions. Training for pararescue is rigorous and many who apply do not finish the training program.
What weapons do PJs use?
|
Chain of Title
| Mar 11, 2021 | Real Estate |
The Weaver Law Firm assists title companies and represents landowners when dealing with chain of title disputes. What is a chain of title? Chain of title comprises of complete ownership history of the property and should reflect continuous ownership to ensure that the property will be free to transfer to another landowner. A chain of title search aims to ensure that the seller of the real property has good title.
Although there are additional documents that may demonstrate ownership, such as a deed or title, the chain of title becomes crucial when a dispute over ownership occurs. In real estate, the chain of title is a set of rights for a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal or equitable interest.
Where do you find your chain of title? When you purchase property, a title company prepares a title search, during which the chain of title is researched. The search usually starts in the county office where the property records are located, using various documents linked to the property to verify the chain of title. These searches are performed electronically and often times manually, search through the physical paper or microfilm files of county records.
This process aids in verifying ownership and identifying liens to ensure a smooth transition of ownership. The title search performed by title companies can also locate judgments and tax liens that need to be resolved. Knowing about the existence of liens and legal claims pertaining to the real property are crucial for a closing. Chain of title issues are important to mortgage lenders and potential buyers when interested in lending or purchasing real property.
The title company should determine the foreclosure history associated with the property. After completing the search, the title company typically issues a preliminary title report in which all recordings corresponding with the property are listed.
How do you know if your chain of title is clean? Ideally, your title company would establish the suitability of the title before closing on a property. However, claim disputes against your property could occur at any given moment, so you want to prevent potential loss as a result of missed claims by consulting an expert. In addition, acquiring title insurance may be able to prevent you from additional court fees resulting from the claim.
If you are a landowner seeking counsel regarding a chain of title dispute, the Weaver Law Firm may provide assistance through experienced real estate attorneys. If you are a title company, our professionals are here to help clear title issues so that you can close. We invite you to call us at 713-572-4900 if you would like personalized legal services.
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Yes, make is a Scrabble word!
Make is a valid Scrabble word.
Table of Contents
Dictionary definitions of the word 'make'
The meaning of make
51 definitions of the word 'make'.
1. Engage in
2. Give certain properties to something
3. Make or cause to be or to become
4. Cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner
6. Create or manufacture a man-made product
7. Make, formulate, or derive in the mind
8. Compel or make somebody or something to act in a certain way
9. Create by artistic means
10. Earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages
11. Create or design, often in a certain way
12. To compose or represent:"This wall forms the background of the stage setting"
13. Reach a goal, e.g., "make the first team"
14. Be or be capable of being changed or made into
15. Make by shaping or bringing together constituents
16. Perform or carry out
17. Make by combining materials and parts
18. Change from one form into another
19. Act in a certain way so as to acquire
20. Charge with a function; charge to be
21. Achieve a point or goal
22. Reach a destination, either real or abstract
23. Institute, enact, or establish
24. Carry out or commit
25. Form by assembling individuals or constituents
26. Organize or be responsible for
27. Put in order or neaten
28. Head into a specified direction
29. Have a bowel movement
30. Undergo fabrication or creation
31. Be suitable for
32. Add up to
33. Amount to
34. Constitute the essence of
35. Appear to begin an activity
36. Proceed along a path
37. Reach in time
38. Gather and light the materials for
39. Prepare for eating by applying heat
40. Induce to have sex
41. Assure the success of
42. Represent fictitiously, as in a play, or pretend to be or act like
43. Consider as being
44. Calculate as being
45. Cause to be enjoyable or pleasurable
46. Favor the development of
47. Develop into
48. Behave in a certain way
49. Eliminate urine
1. A recognizable kind
2. The act of mixing cards haphazardly
What Scrabble words can I make with the letters in make?
4 Letter Words
3 Letter Words
2 Letter Words
1 Anagram of Make
Anagrams are sometimes called a Word Unscramble
Words that can be created with an extra letter added to make:
Unscramble the letters in make
There are 2 words that can be made by adding another letter to 'make'.
More words that can be made using the letters in make |
ECU diagnosis often when the program to brush out the ECU, the general non-developers are using the diagnostic brush program. Some can use the ECU vendor to provide a small software brush program. Because the application environment is different, maintenance personnel brush procedures need to consider more permissions and stability requirements, then talk about the use of diagnostic brush program, the diagnostic apparatus which services are called. This is the default using UDS diagnostic protocol. The Flash process here is common to all ECUs.
Flash process
1. Change the ECU status to the extended state; call Session Control = Extended Session
2. Read the ECU ID information, check the hardware information and the old software version number; call Read Data by Identify
3. Check whether the conditions of the brush ECU are ready, such as whether the engine is off; call the written Routine
4. Close the DTC service; call Control DTC Setting = off
5. Turn off CAN communication; call Comunication Control
6. Change the ECU status to start programming; call Session Control = Start Programm
7. Diagnostic instrument authorization; call Security Assess
8. Update the history, record the time and success of each brush program; call Write Data by ID-Write Fingerprint
9. Download the first part of the driver to remove the software; call Request Download
10. Delete the old software; call Routine
11. Download the second part of the driver for downloading new software; call Request Download
12. Download the new software; call Request Download
13. Verify that the software is authorized; call Routine
14. Check the software is complete; call Routine
15. Set the parameter variable, usually according to the old software parameters; call Write Data by Identify
16. Restart the ECU; call ECU Reset
17. Reboot CAN communication; call Communication Control
18. Restart the DTC service; call Control DTC
19. End of diagnosis, change the ECU as the default state; call Session Control = default Session
Above for the entire brush ECU process, hoping to let everyone understand the UDS service specifically what is the meaning and how the application in the diagnostic process. |
What causes a False Positive Pregnancy Test?
So, you got that positive result but your period started last week. But, how is that possible? Home pregnancy tests are 100% accurate, right? Now you’re starting to doubt the original result and are sad that it gave the completely wrong answer and has misled you.
This probably won’t make you feel better right now but pregnancy tests done at home are between 97% and 99% accurate. Technically, there was probably nothing wrong with your result and for the test it was positive. But, bear in mind that the test assumes that you will follow the directions perfectly. The tests will check for the level of human chorionic gonadotropin (hGC; the pregnancy hormone) that is in your urine. This is secreted by the placenta once the embryo is implanted and the amount increases considerably over the next week. The tests are able to detect when the level is high enough for you to be pregnant; all women have a small level of the hormone in their body naturally. Positive results show that you have enough of the hormone to be pregnant. So, why have you now started your pregnancy? This is commonly referred to as a false positive or false pregnancy test and there are a number of reasons for this to happen.
A Chemical Pregnancy
These are miscarriages that happen early on. According to experts in fertility, around 70% of pregnancies end with a miscarriage and many women suffer from chemical pregnancies without ever realizing they were pregnancy. The menstrual period happens around the usual time.
However, those who are trying to get pregnant will usually notice that there has been something going on. Many home pregnancy tests can now work just a couple of days after you have ovulated. It is important to remember that while an early positive is exciting, there is the reality of chemical pregnancies.
hCG Shots
When people are receiving help to conceive, they will usually have shots of the pregnancy hormone to stimulate the process of ovulation. It helps with the rupturing of the follicle with the egg and can take up to two weeks to completely leave the system. The level may be enough for the pregnancy test to pick up on to give you that false positive. Before taking a test, make sure you give enough time for the hormone from the shot to disappear: 10,000 IU injections require 14 days, 5,000 IU injections require 10 days and 2,500 IU injections require 7 days.
A Recent Pregnancy, Miscarriage, or Termination May Cause a Positive Result
Sometimes, after a recent pregnancy, miscarriage or termination, you may get a false positive pregnancy test. This is because hCG may still be present in your body. Levels of the hormone will start to reduce slowly but a pregnancy test might pick up the presence of the hormone and give you a positive result, even though you are not pregnant. In this case your body will eventually come back to normal but you should consult your GP if you continue to get a positive result and are concerned.
Evaporation Lines
An evaporation line is a very faint line that appears on a negative pregnancy test after it has dried. All pregnancy tests need to be read within a short time frame after they have been carried out. This is normally about 5 minutes and you should always stick to this time frame.
Pregnancy tests are normally still damp at the time they are read. After a few minutes the urine on the test will start to dry and this drying urine can sometimes cause residue ink in the device to rise to the surface of the test and become darker.
Many women mistake this reading as a positive test. As the urine dries, the line can stay on the strip and reading outside the time frame will give that positive reading falsely.
This is why a vital and rule for obtaining a true positive pregnancy test is: do not read the results after the specified time! The results are only correct in the time frame specified in the instruction leaflet.
Are Some Brands of Pregnancy Test Worse Than Others?
This is a tricky one as generally most pregnancy tests are very reliable, even cheap pregnancy tests. Certainly, some supermarket pregnancy tests do seem to have their fair share of negative reviews from consumers. Sainsbury’s Pregnancy Tests and Asda Pregnancy Tests have both had their fair share of poor reviews. However, it is not clear if this is because of the fact that the quality of the tests is not great. It could be down to the fact that testers have not followed the instructions properly.
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akamike (2007-2010)
Young Tech Warriors
I first started programming when I was 11, Visual Basic in school, playing with BYOND DM code at home and a little bit of HTML here and there. Matt, my eldest, younger brother is 12 and has not long been messing with BYOND himself. While I am happy to help him out and get him on the right track, I have already looked into getting him a decent PC so he can start "proper" programming, I've been told his school work has dropped in progress.
My school work had a dip back then as well, but not just due to my thoughts drifting to making myself a game or when the next visual basic class would be, and it got me wondering if it was right for me to help him with programming or if I should get him to focus on his school work instead. I understand that programming isn't the most important thing in the world, but I do want him to get ahead to give him a head start on his planned career (games developer).
In an interesting turn of events, his teacher asked him to do a presentation about his BYOND game making in front of the class, tying the two worlds together. I've been helping him with this presentation and it struck me how he can't be too technical in it (not that he is in person). It got me thinking, is he too young to be learning this stuff? In this day and age, where most kids have a computer, internet connection, mobile phone, mp3 player, games console and own TV, do they know much about the technology they are using? There has been kids in the news who show a good grasp of technology, but how is this affecting their basic education?
Anyhoo, my questions to you are:
1. How old were you when you started getting heavily involved in technology?
2. How do you think it affected your life (education/social/???)?
3. What do you think is a good age for a child to get into technology (not just programming)?
1 Comment
Sinan Ata
Hey mike nice site. give more line height at elements. take a look at my site for example |
Anatomy of a Translation: Morocco's Failing Universities
As I've done in the past, I wanted to spend some time discussing the challenges I faced in a recent translation.
My latest translation of Mohammad Al-Khemlichi's op-ed about Morocco's failing universities raised some problems typical of Arabic/English translation.
Word Repetition
Word repetition is a common stylistic feature of Arabic writing. Unlike English, it is not poor form for an Arab writer to repeat the same words in the sentence or paragraph.
This is exacerbated by Arabic's root system. We'll address this in more detail in the future, but for our purposes today it's important to know that in Arabic words are based on three or four letter roots.
These roots are modified by additional letters to create different forms and meanings, such as passive and active participles. As a result, different forms of the same root are often repeated. Though they perform different functions (i.e. one is an adjective the other a verb), they often carry nearly identical meaning.
Here is an excerpt from Mr. Khemlichi's third paragraph that illustrates these word repetition issues:
مجال [البحث] العلمي يحتاج إلى سياسة حكومية جريئة، كأن تبادر (مؤسسات) تابعة للدولة بإبرام {عقود} [بحث] مع (المؤسسات) الجامعية و تشجيع، ربما إلزام، (المؤسسات) شبة العمومية الكبرى ..{ بالتعاقد} مع الجامعات المغربية لإنجاز دراسات و [أبحاث] ...
In this 37 word excerpt we have three uses of the word بحث , in [brackets], which means "research." There are also three uses of the word مؤسسات , in (parentheses), which means "institutions."
We can also see the problem of root relationships. The phrase إبرام عقود , in {braces}, means "to conclude contracts." Later, we meet the term التعاقد , also in {braces}, which means "to make a contract." In fact, التعاقد comes from the same root as عقود , which means "contract." The former's form implies a sense of reciprocity and mutuality, and necessitates more than one 'actor.' So, even though the author employs different Arabic terminology, the meanings in English are essentially the same.
Sometimes, this word repetition is acceptable, such as with إبرام عقود and التعاقد which I preserved in my translation. Others, like the use of مؤسسات three times within 26 words, have to be corrected by the translator.
Synonyms can pose a similar challenge. Sometimes an Arabic text includes many different terms that, in a particular context, have similar or identical meanings in English. This leads to the same challenges posed by general word repetition.
Synonym use often touches on issues of tone. One of the responsibilities of a translator is to convey the identical or similar tone in the translation as expressed in the source text. As an op-ed, Mr. Khemlichi's article possessed an formal, academic-esque tone. In Arabic, there are several terms used to convey 'education', but not many tone appropriate terms in English. Though words like 'schooling' and 'enlightenment' convey 'education', is it appropriate to use them in such a piece?
Translators also encounter synonym use issues in a particular Arabic rhetorical device, which we can see in the following title:
وزارة التربية و التعليم
This is an example of synonym repetition particular to Arabic. The word وزارة means 'ministry' in the political sense. The words التعليم and التربية are nearly identical in their contemporary meaning, though التعليم refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, or علم , and التربية refers to the growth and development of an individual, usually a young person. التربية is a newer term that refers more directly to what we could call 'modern', K-12 education.
Synonym repetition can have several effects. The redundancy can intensify the meaning of the clause, such as saying a war which brings 'death and destruction.' The redundancy also expands the clause's meaning, such as in the above example. Using التعليم and التربية in this case signifies that the ministry is responsible for all levels of education, not just higher education or primary and secondary education.
However, in this case we eliminate the repetition and say 'Ministry of Education.' We do this because as English speaker we understand, generally, that a 'Ministry of Education' would be responsible for all levels of education in a country. |
Age Dieting: Choose The Best Diet For Your Age Range
You probably know that it is much harder to lose weight when you are 30 than when you are 20. And if you are over 40, it is even more difficult. Every year your metabolism slows down. That is why the older you are, the more attention you should pay to healthy dieting and maintaining a healthy life style.
You are 20 – 30 years old.
It is not common to have a serious problem with weight in this age range. You can lose 3-5 pounds without trying too hard. The best way to lose extra pounds is a fruit diet. Fruits are rich in vitamin C, which will help you to stay physically active. Pectin, fruit acids and potassium burn calories and improve your metabolism and digestion.
Here is an example of an apple diet:
Breakfast: grate 1 apple; add 1 low fat yogurt and 1 table spoon of oatmeal. Brunch: 1 apple.
Lunch: slice 2 apples and add spinach. For sauce mix 1 low fat yogurt, 1 tea spoon of olive oil, 1 tea spoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 tea spoon of water. Snack: 1 apple and 3 walnuts.
Dinner: slice 1 apple, squeeze lemon juice on it and eat it with 5 oz of cheese.
You are 30-40 years old.
When you turn 30 years old, your metabolism slows down. You should lower calories in your dieting even if you are physically active. Do not try to lose weight fast. It will make you look a few years older because your skin will become loose and wrinkled. The older you become, the slower you should lose weight. Your goal at this age is to lose no more than 4-5 pounds a month.
An ideal diet for you consists of vegetables because you will not have ‘hunger attacks’ and swaying in your weight. Also, you should add regular exercise, massage and skin care that improves skin elasticity. Do not plan exercises on your dieting day.
Here is an example of a vegetable diet:
Breakfast: mix oatmeal and corn flakes; add low fat milk and 1 grated carrot.
Brunch: 1 cucumber.
Lunch: 2 boiled potatoes (with the skin still on them) with a lot of vegetable salad (you can use any vegetables) Snack: 1 red sweet paprika. Dinner: vegetable salad and 1 piece of rye bread.
You are 40-50 years old.
Almost every woman over 40 has weight problems. Your muscular mass decreases and fat increases because of hormonal changes. You should eat most of your food in the first half of the day and have very light and early dinners. You should get no more fat than 30% of your daily ration. Choose vegetable oils. Eat fish and sea food regularly. In this age range your body starts retaining fluid.
An ideal diet for you is a rice diet because it will help you to maintain a healthy fluid level in your body.
Here is an example of a rice diet:
Boil 8 oz of rice and divide it into 3 portions. 2 of them will be combined with additional protein components.
Breakfast: boiled rice with 1 low fat yogurt and 1 tea spoon of honey. Lunch: boiled rice and 5 oz of fish or chicken.
Dinner: rice with steamed vegetables and 1 tea spoon of vegetable oil.
Do not add salt because it will lead to retaining fluid in your body. You can add soy because it will help with ‘hunger attacks’.
For snack you can eat a fruit or 3 oz of low fat cottage cheese.
You are 50-60 years old.
If you are over 50, you need less energy (about 30%) than somebody who is 20 years old. Eat 4-5 small portions a day. Do not over eat because it is harmful to your health. Limit your daily ration of salt to ¼ tea spoon a day. Sometimes you can fast, but do not do it often because in this age range your body loses its strength to fight illnesses. The most effective substances ‘killing’ fat are enzymes. Pineapple and papaya are very rich in enzymes and vitamin C.
Here is an example of a diet for you:
Eat during the day about 4 -5 pounds of pineapple and papaya (or choose just one), including the pulp and juice. Divide these 4-5 pounds into 3 portions: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do not eat anything else this day.
If this diet is too strict for you, try this one:
Breakfast: 1 slice of pineapple and 3 oz of low fat cottage cheese.
Lunch: a half of pineapple and 3 oz of boiled chicken or fish or low fat meat.
Dinner: 1 slice of pineapple and 1 piece of rye bread with 1 piece of low fat cheese.
Also, powerful ‘fat-killers’ are kiwis, apple cider vinegar and artichokes (and the water left from boiling artichokes)
You are over 60 years old.
Your muscular mass in this age range is about 15% of your body. That is why if you want to lose weight, you should do it very slowly because fast diets decrease the amount of protein in your muscular mass. The main rule is to eat no more than 40 g of fat a day.
Here are some examples:
Breakfast: 1 slice of bread with 1 tea spoon of low fat yogurt.
Lunch: instead of 1.5 oz of ground meat choose 1.5 oz of red beans. You will get an optical illusion of meat, but 7g less fat. If you can’t live without meat, eat low fat beef instead of pork chop. You will get 13 g less fat.
Snack: instead of cake, choose a piece of fruit pie (minus 13 g of fat). Dinner: instead of salami choose a piece of ham (minus 10 g of fat). With a piece of 30% fat cheese you get 10 g less fat compare to 60% fat cheese. Drink no less than 2 L of water. It will support your digestion and metabolism.
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Merle colored dog breeds
5 Dog Breeds That Can Have a Merle Coat
July 31, 2016 – 10:56 am
Blue Merle Breeds Pictures to Pin on Pinterest - PinsDaddy
The merle coat is characterized by a patchwork of colors such as tan, white, and black. The gene that cause merle coats in dogs can also affect eye color, such as causing ice blue eyes, and can also effect skin pigment. The dog most associated with the merle gene is the Australian Shepherd however many other dog breeds can carry the merle gene and have the beautiful merle coat. In this article I will share the breeds that can carry the merle coat accompanied by beautiful pictures of these merle coated dogs.
1. Australian Shepherds
Australian shepherds top the list because Australian Shepherds are the dog breed that is most associated with the Merle gene. Australian Shepherds with the Merle gene will often have icy blue eyes. Australian Shepherds come in two Merle variations: Red and Blue.
Due to the heavy demand on breeders for Merle Australian Shepherds some breeders practice irresponsible practices such as breeding two Merle coated parents together to achieve more Merle puppies in the litter therefore increasing their profits. Breeding two Merle coated parents together can result in a puppy being born with two Merle genes which can resulting in the puppy developing blindness or deafness, this will happen to 1 in 4 of the puppies in the litter, statistically.
2. Corgies
The Corgi is a beautiful breed famous for being the favorite breed of the English Royal Family. Typically the Corgi has a tan and white coat however Corgis can carry the Merle gene resulting in a Merle Coat.
Merle Corgis are in very high demand resulting in Merle Corgi puppies being sold by breeders for a premium, sometimes reaching up to $1500 for a single puppy.
3. Border Collies
Border Collies, classically working dogs, known for their high intelligence can come in a Merle coat pattern. Typically though of coming with a white and black coat, Merle Border Collies are the least common color pattern found naturally in Border Collies. As with Australian Shepherds, because of the high demand for Merle coated Border Collies some breeders do practice unsafe breeding practices which can cause health problems within the litter.
4. Dachshunds
Dachshunds can come in a Red or Blue Merle color pattern. Although the Merle color is not common for Dachshunds it is an acceptable color according to breed registries. Merle Dachshunds can come as either short or long hair. Because the Merle gene is dominant over other color genes breeding a Merle parent with a non Merle parent will statically guarantee at least one puppy in a little of four or more will be born with a Merle patterned coat.
5. Great Danes
Merle Great Danes are extremely beautiful and can result in breeding Great Danes with standard coat colors. Although the Merle color pattern is considered to be a marked pattern by official registries this rare color pattern is still sought out by many people who are looking to adopt a Great Dane.
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The Turkestani military
An overview
'Battle Flag' flown by the armed forces
The military of Turkestan is a professional, all-volunteer body composed of three separate armed services: the Army, the Guards and the Air Force. Turkestani tactical doctrine and battle planning typically calls for close coordination between the three services, and this, together with the unified ranking system shared by all three services, leads some analysts to categorise the Turkestani military as a unitary armed service with three major divisions.
The Army is the senior armed service, and according to standard Turkestani military doctrine, it is a highly mobile, mechanised force. Its ethos and modus operandi descend from the style of warfare practised by the ancient steppe nomads.
The Guards are the second military service, and in their ethos and mandate they are almost exactly opposite to the Army. The Guards are optimised for defensive operations; they are a more generally static service specialising in point defence, area defence and border patrols.
The Air Force is the third of the Turkestani armed services. Their role is mostly to support Army and Guards operations, whether through strategic or tactical air transport, close support, reconnaissance or air superiority. |
All About
Working in Germany offers a good work-life balance, although unless you are from the EU/EEA or Switzerland you'll need a German work visa and permit.
Work in Germany averages about 1,371 hours per year, or an estimated 26.3 hours per week, the lowest in the world according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). However, Germany also consistently ranks in the world's top 10 productive countries. Added to this is a minimum requirement of 20 paid vacation days per year (though the average is 30) and up to 13 public holidays, meaning Germany is a work hard, play hard culture.
Getting a work visa in Germany isn't always easy, less so for non-EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, who typically need a residence permit with work authorisation. The right to work in Germany – and to what extent you can work -– will be detailed on your residence permit.
If you're joining a relative who has permission to work in Germany, you will also be allowed to work. However, in most other cases, citizens from countries outside of the EU/EEA/Switzerland can only work in Germany if the position cannot be filled by an EU worker, or if they are highly skilled or highly qualified.
As Germany is keen to attract professionals into the country long-term, such as natural scientists (biologists, physicists and chemists), engineers, IT specialists, other senior personnel and academics, these people are granted preferential approval for a German work visa or permit.
Before checking how to apply for a work permit in Germany, it's important to understand the different German work visas available for foreign nationals.
Permits for general employment:
If you are coming to work in Germany in general employment (ie. a job that does not require you to be highly skilled or highly educated), you will need to apply for a German residence permit for the purpose of general employment (essentially a German work visa and German work permit), and you will only be eligible if the position cannot be filled by a worker from the EU/EEA or Switzerland.
Before applying for a German work permit, you will need to have a vocational qualification and a firm offer of a job in Germany; you will need to show both evidence of your qualification and an employment contract or letter of intent in your application. Find information on German recognition for foreign vocational qualifications here.
The permit is usually granted for one year and is extendable as long as your situation remains the same. After five years of working in Germany, you can apply for a settlement permit or EU right of residence in order to stay in the country indefinitely.
Permits for university graduates (JOB SEEKER VISA):
Do you have a university degree? If you're a foreign graduate coming from abroad, hold a recognised university degree and have sufficient funds to support you during your stay, you can come to Germany on a six-month residence permit to look for work, known as the jobseeker's visa. You are not permitted, however, to undertake any work in Germany while looking.
Foreign graduates from German universities who want to stay and look for work can apply to extend their existing residence permits for up to 18 months (and work unrestricted), as long as they have evidence of their degree, have health insurance and can support themselves financially.
Once you have found employment you can apply for a German work permit. As from August 1, 2012, if you have a recognised university degree comparable to a German degree, and a firm job offer with annual gross earnings of least EUR 50,800 (or in the case of highly qualified people in mathematics, natural sciences or technology, or medical doctors, a salary of EUR 39,624), you can apply for an EC Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU). If you don't meet the income requirement, then you will have to apply for a residence permit (as above).
This is usually granted for four years (or the duration of your contract) and gives you certain benefits, such as the ability to apply for a settlement permit after 33 months instead of five years (or 21 months if you can prove a B1 level of German proficiency) and immediate access to work in Germany for spouses.
Permits for highly skilled workers:
Those who fit this category (plus earning more than EUR 84,600) can apply for a settlement permit, entitling you ¬– and your family members – to live and work in Germany indefinitely (if you were to come to Germany on a regular residence permit, you would have to be resident for five years before applying for a settlement permit). You will need to have a specific job offer and the permission of the Federal Employment Agency.
Permits for students:
Do you want to undertake a professional or vocational training course?
You can be granted a residence permit to come to Germany for professional or industrial training (which must also have been advertised to German nationals or privileged foreign nationals) with the approval of the Federal Employment Agency. If you're a graduate of a German college abroad you may be granted the same permit without the approval of the Agency.
You can work up to 10 hours a week on this permit, which lasts for two years (or the duration of the training, if less than two years). You can extend your residence permit for another year while you seek work. For more information see our guide to German student visas.
Permits for self-employed/freelancers:
If you want to come to Germany to set up a business, you can apply for a residence permit for self-employed business purposes. It is valid for three years and can be extended if the business is successful. Read more about how to start a business or freelance in Germany.
You need to prove that the business will fulfil a need in Germany, benefit the country economically and be fully financed by a bank loan or your own capital. You'll need to have a viable business plan, relevant experience, and show how your business will contribute to innovation and research in Germany.
When you apply, you will have to provide evidence of all of these things, plus proof of pension provision if you're over 45, guaranteeing a monthly amount of around EUR 1,110 after the age of 67; citizens from Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Turkey and the United States of America do not need to provide proof of pension.
Freelance workers in Germany can also apply for a residence permit for self-employment. Freelancers include those with traditional liberal professions called 'catalogue professions' (Katalogberufe), including self-employed people working in science and engineering, the arts, professional writing or teaching, or who offer a professional service, such as a doctor, dentist or lawyer.
You will need to provide evidence:
that there's a need for your services in Germany;
of your qualifications; and
that you can finance yourself.
Partners and relatives – who can work in Germany?
If you have come to Germany to join a family member or partner, you will also be able to work if your relative/partner has been authorised for employment, has a permit for research or an EU Blue Card, or is a highly skilled worker with a settlement permit. |
Production process of Tenk M-84
Yugoslav tank M 84
Exactly 35 years after the May Day parade in 1950, proudly presented the first domestic Yugoslav tank Type-A, or a copy of the Russian T-34, on May 9, 1985, a Victory parade was held in Belgrade, featuring a new domestic tank M-84.
Croatian Tanks M-84 in Zagreb On August 4, 2015, the squad were undergoing a repair work in Slavonski Brod
Everything started much earlier, even in the mid-seventies when the military leadership of the JNA became aware that the issue of the purchase of a new tank cannot be postponed indefinitely. The military leadership of the JNA decided to purchase new tanks cannot hold off. Given that 35 percent of the tank fleet accounted for the old T-34 models. The only newer models were T-55 tanks that were already about 20 years old. The tanks model, which was interested in military experts of the JNA, was the T-72 produced by the Soviet Union (USSR). But Moscow has explicitly announced that negotiations for the sale of licenses for the production of this model do not come into consideration.
Improved engine M-84 tank in the Overhaul Institute in Cacak
Only after intervention at the highest level, the Soviet Union received a group of experts from Yugoslavia which was screened T-72. The Tank demonstration was conducted at the military academy Vistrel, 30 kilometers from Moscow. After the demonstration, the experts' impressions were uneven, but the final conclusion was that this is the best tank and that it can be produced in Yugoslavia based on the license. Based on reports from the expert group and the opinion of the Military Council and the Military Military Technical Council, a decision was made to purchase a tank T-72 license. Finally, the license was sold for $ 39 million, with a duration of 10 years or 1,000 produced tanks.
Look at the completely empty body of the tank. Factory Djuro Djakovic Slavonski Brod
The next step was the agreement on which plants will produce a tank. Each Yugoslav republic wanting to acquire as much percentage as possible in the production process. It was uncertain and who will be the finalist for production, and in the competition were the factory Đura Đaković from Slavonski Brod, Goša from Smederevska Palanka and Mechanical Institute in Nis. - Let's be what the experts say. As far as the finisher of the production of the tank is concerned, as experts claim that all three companies have approximately the same production conditions, and as Croatia has the lowest percentage of engagement in military programs, let the finalist of the tank be in Croatia, and to finish it. - Tito decided
M84 Tank in factory
Prior to the start of production was to get many machines and equipment. For the technological process should be available press force pushing 30,000 tons, with additional presses of 5,000 and 10,000 tons. In the competition of several companies, this technology was given to the Aluminum Combine from Podgorica.
Main gun tank M84
In the middle of 1979, she began to get the license documentation, which was soon found not to be complete. All received documentation had to be arranged, translated and assigned to the foreseen companies, which was a huge job. Because only construction documentation for the trial series consisted of approximately 120,000 pages of A4 format, and 200,000 pages were delivered to the engaging companies. Arrived license document are together weighed about 20.000kg.
The Ammunition Transporter Scheme (shown from the T-72 tank, it is exactly the same with the M-84 tank)
Processing and translation of the license documentation cost $ 7 million, the creation of special tools $ 121 million, and the total investment in the economy cost about $ 2.9 billion. Ultimately, the cost of training to start production of tanks cost $ 3,08 billion, and the production process was attended by 240 factories, and indirectly another 1,000 work organizations.
The arrival of the tank in the factory halls of Đure Đaković. Refund in ideal conditions lasts for at least two months
In the production of tank M-84, the economy from the entire former SFRY took part, 240 work organizations directly and around 1000 indirectly. Some of these factories were:
"Djuro Djakovic" - Slavonski Brod * production finalist
"Famos" - Pale * engine
"Iskra" * laser and electronics
"Zrak" - Sarajevo * optics
"Slovenske Zelezarne" - Straight armor * steel / armor
"First Partisan" - Uzice * part of the ammunition
"Pretis" - Vogosca * most of the ammunition
"Prva petoletka" - Trstenik * hydraulics
"May 21" - Rakovica * system for manual turret launch
"Bratstvo" - Travnik * gun
"Metal Institutes of Tito" - Skopje * multiplier
"11 October" - Prilep
"Ruen" - Kocani
"Rudi Cajevec" - Banja Luka * electronics
"Sever" - Subotica * cannon filling machine
"Jugoturbina" - Karlovac
"Radoje Dakic" - Podgorica
"Bearing Industry Kotor" – Kotor
Djuro Djakovic Slavonski Brod
The production of the test model was finally started and the first prototype called the M-84 was completed in April 1983. In the coming years, Tank improved, and the public was acquainted with the existence of this tank on May 9 at a military parade in Belgrade, when the ceremonial echelon of M-84 tanks passed through the streets. Production of a tank has cost 700,000 US dollars, and after the parade in 1985 and began mass production.
In the next three years, 370 M-84 tanks were produced in four series. During this period, 150 M-84AB samples were made for Kuwaiti armed forces. In the Yugoslav factory, a total of about 650 pieces were produced in all versions.
The Yugoslav model of the tank differed in terms of the Soviet T-72 in an improved engine version, a new fire extinguishing system, greater firepower, more precise firing in the distance moved, and a number of other improvements.
Production dynamics 1984-1988. year
1984 - 5 pieces. 5 test pieces
1985 - 24 pcs. 10 pcs. zero series
14 pcs. I series (21061 - 21108)
1986 - 101 pcs. 41 pcs. I series (21061 - 21108)
60 pcs. II series
1987 - 120 pcs. 20 pcs. II series
40 pcs (foreseen for Libya)
60 pcs
1988 - 120 pieces 20 pieces of the III series
100 pcs. IV series
World War II Weapons: The Italian Carcano rifle
The Underground Airbase Slatina |
building confidence
We can help our children to build confidence to deal with bullying and it will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
Confidence is one of those character traits that is built differently in every child. It grows with the child as they make mistakes and learn from them. A child who is experiencing being a bully or being bullied can really benefit from building there confidence.
Confidence is about feeling certain.
Like when a surgeon starts an operation. He has studied, he has practiced and learned from mistakes and he feels certain/confidant that he will be able to perform the surgery succesfully.
The Dr did not start out feeling confident. He had to build up his certainty about his skills and his certainty about the skills of those helping him with the surgery.
two sides to confidence
Confidence has two sides. There is self confidence and there is confidence in others.
Self-confidence means your child knows who they are. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They understand you can make mistakes and learn from them. This allows them to take on new challenges and situations while limiting fear and self doubt.
The other side of confidence is confidence in others and trusting they will do what they say they will do. This is where Mom and Dad come in letting your child know you have their back, you love them (no matter what) and you will be there to help if needed.
We need to help our child understand in life all things work together for the best. I know with bullying it may not seem to be for the good, at least not in this moment, but if bullying provides the opportunity for them to learn confidence which will not only stop the bullying but also provide them with a valuable life skill...then they can appreciate all is for the best.
Confidence allows them to feel certain that they will be ok when others try to bully them. No matter what the bully can say, text or do they understand this is just a blip in time and they have more important things to do than be slowed down by a bully.
Confidence for the bully allows them to feel certain they will be ok without resorting to bullying. Feeling confident in themselves to meet their needs in an appropriate way.
Action steps to build confidence
As Parents we can help our children build confidence to assist the bullied child and encourage the bully to behave differently. Interesting enough the action steps are the same for both children.
1) Understand that whether they win or lose, succeed or fail they are worthwhile. Parents can help by building self esteem. A bully cannot take away their worthiness unless they let them. A bully who understands his worth will not be so willing to try and take away someone elses.
2) Support your child and encourage them to embrace opportunities for new experiences and challenges by keeping an open mind and being willing to learn. They need to understand that success may not be immediate but they can make little changes and do better next time.
3) Encourage your child to think positively and if fears come like in the case of bullying they can feel them but not let them control what they do. It is ok to be afraid but you must not let it stop you.
4) Get them to pay attention to what they are doing with out judging. They do not need to accept the bullies taunts. Instead they identify ways to build on their strengths and weaknesses and find a better way making small improvements as they grow.
5) Help them avoid criticizing themselves harshly for making a mistake. Encourage them to keep trying and build on their success instead of accepting failure. Encourage them to take responsibility for the mistake, make amends and correct what they can and move forward.They do not have to accept the bullies criticism it is just their opinion which only counts if they let it.
"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." Marilyn vos Savant.
Confidence is built by the child as he experiences life. We as parents can only help guide and support them to be able to build their own confidence.
You will know your child has confidence when they are able to try new things, make mistakes, learn from them and try again without giving up or getting frustrated.
I know that bullying can take its toll. I understand it is not easy. However, a confident child is less likely to be targeted and more able to cope if they do get bullied.
The same goes for the bully who is less likely to target others realizing everyone makes mistakes, everyone has weaknesses and everyone has worth.
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Constantly Connected: The Impact of Social Media and the Advancement in Technology on the Study Abroad Experience
By Sarah Wooley
Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in Communications
2013, Vol. 4 No. 2 | pg. 2/4 |
Applying Social Networking Sites to Abroad Experience
Decades ago, face-to-face communication was essential in maintaining most personal relationships. However, according to Adler, Rosenfeld, and Proctor (2012), proximity isn't a requirement anymore. Personal relationships can now be maintained through the Internet and social media on any mobile device. Social media collectively describes all the channels that make online personal communications possible. From sending a text message to posting on Facebook, there are endless uses of digital media (Adler et al., 2012). According to Zemmels (2012), since 1997 social networking has established itself as a common method of communication because of its ability to constantly generate new information. More and more individuals have developed an active presence on social networking sites, creating a valuable and universal platform for communication. Social networking sites (SNS) are web-based services that allow individuals to create a profile and create a community through shared connections. These platforms create a culture for sharing creations. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. have allowed users to build and maintain social connections through creation and distribution of information.
Today, a conversation over social media can be compared to going over to a friend's house, or meeting a friend for coffee. This accessibility was not available prior to the Internet-based forms of communication (Zemmels, 2012). At the beginning of 2010, almost 75% of Americans under the age of 20 used social networking sites (Adler et al., 2012). New media technologies have made online communication platforms and immediate international communication possible (Zemmels, 2012).
"Life takes place on screen," wrote Mirzoeff (as cited in Zemmels, 2012, p. 13 ). Social media gives its users a sense of identity and community. Users are able to become active agents in new media environments and produce their own content (Zemmels, 2012). SNSs allow users to maintain connections with friends. "Social voyeurism" is a term used to describe social media users browsing through SNSs and interacting with other users in order to catch up on the goings-on in society (Buckingham, 2008, p. 122).
Through uploading information immediately, the mobile device becomes the key tool for capturing moments, storing information and documenting experiences to relay back home. Access to social media on mobile smartphones represents a "lifeline to self-perception, a means of documenting a social life, expressing preferences, creating networks and sharing experiences" (Buckingham, 2008, p. 158).
Lin, Peng, Kim M., Kim, S., & LaRose (2012) believe that SNSs continue to receive attention for their effects on social capital and psychological well-being. Social capital describes the resources and benefits received from relationships with other people. With the advancement in technology, the ability to gain social capital has transitioned to social media. Used to maintain pre-existing relationships as well as create new ones, social networks have revolutionized the way friends and families connect. Social networks take the place of face-to-face communication. SNSs provide the information and support that sustain relationships during transitions to a new environment. When individuals enter a new environment, such as studying abroad in a new country, they must adopt different social and cultural patterns. Establishing a social network in a new environment is important for adjustment (Lin et al., 2012). According to Hendrickson, Rosen, & Aune (2011), students who study abroad may experience homesickness or discontent, which is why they remain constantly connected to their social networks.
Sojourners are on the move, constantly processing, absorbing and exchanging information. Smartphones make it possible for these students to access and share information independent of physical location. "The mobile is a ubiquitous, pervasive communication device which young people find difficult to be without, whether they like it or hate it, or feel something in between" (Buckingham, 2008, p.146).
Chen (2012) states that this high interaction of online social activity challenges the way reality and personal identity are perceived. According to Buckingham (2008), when talking on the phone or having a text message conversation, the outside world is shut out. Buckingham uses a term, absent presence, to relate the distance created when using technology in a distracting manor. Absent presence is being physically present in one space, but mentally present in another. "Our use or refusal to use social media, says something about us as individuals" (Buckingham, 2008, p. 145).
Based on the literature review, the following three research questions were asked and two hypotheses were established.
• RQ1: Why do study abroad students use social networking?
• RQ2: How often do study abroad students utilize social networking?
• RQ3: If "Life takes place on screen," how does the constant connection to social communities affect the study abroad experience?
• H1: The constant connection to social media platforms while abroad benefits students' relationships in home country.
• H2: The constant connection to social media platforms while abroad creates distance from the culture of the students' surroundings.
III. Methods
This study examined how new technology and access to social media abroad have impacted the student study abroad experience. The researcher investigated the topic through an online survey and a focus group, which provided well-rounded explanations to research questions.
In April 2013, 100 people participated in an online survey through SurveyMonkey (surveymonkey. com). The researcher invited all of her Facebook "friends" to complete the survey. Users were able to complete the survey by clicking a link. The survey was directed towards university students that have previously studied abroad. The researcher chose a survey because it enabled the researcher to collect data from a high number of representatives.
The survey included a variety of questions regarding how participants communicated with their friends/family at home, how often participants used social media while abroad and what kind of impact new technologies had on their overall study abroad experience (Refer to Appendix I for survey questions). The participants also had an opportunity to express their opinion on whether or not the advancement in technology and the convenience of social media positively or negatively impacted their abroad experience. These questions will further identify the benefits and setbacks of the use of social media by today's sojourners.
The focus group was conducted in April 2013 with eight Elon University students who have previously studied abroad. The focus group lasted 30 minutes. In order to provide a greater, more in-depth perspective on the use of technology and social media while abroad, the focus group participants were selected from different groups in terms of their study abroad location and year.
In the focus group, questions were asked about the use of cellphones abroad, Internet access, how the participants utilized social media and the positive/negative impact this had on their study abroad experience (Refer to Appendix II for focus group questions). The researcher chose to do focus a group in order to receive personal opinions, stories and experiences from previous study abroad students. The focus group also gave participants an opportunity to answer open-ended questions about important/unimportant aspects of new technology and social media during the study abroad experience.
Suggested Reading from Inquiries Journal
University websites across the country showcase the important underlying values of study abroad: experiencing a "local" culture, creating interactive conversations, and empowering students through personal and academic development. This research examined how universities communicate the benefits and values. Through a rhetorical... MORE»
Since its introduction by German-born Political Scientist Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann in 1974, the Spiral of Silence theory has become one of the most-researched communication theories that explains public opinion formation in a media environment (McDonald, Glynn, Kim, & Ostman, 2001, p. 139). The Spiral of Silence attempts to... MORE»
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States for Paternity
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According to the law, the legal definition of paternity is the acknowledgement of the relationship of a man with his child depending on a number of factors. Paternity falls under the category of common law where it is assumed that a child born as the result of a marriage is the child of the woman giving birth and the man she is married to. However, the case can be otherwise if there is sufficient evidence that the born child does not carry the DNA of the husband the woman is married to. Paternity rights of a child are always with the biological father of the child.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:Can you tell me about the statutes that provide the legal basis for Paternity testing?
A:Paternity testing falls into the category of paternity law and family law. It points out the legal rights of fathers in cases of paternity disputes. Paternity testing can be applied for under the following legal statutes: Family reform law act section 20,21, and 23; births and deaths registration act 1953; human tissue act 2004; and family law act 1986. The may under these acts allow paternity tests to be carried out. In simple words, a court can direct interested parents to undergo a paternity test. It is also important that a paternity test be only carried if it holds immense weightage in the case filed.
Q:Can you give me some basic information about paternity law?
A:Paternity law area covers the legal rights of fathers to be. Like mothers, now fathers have the right to apply for a leave if he is expecting a baby at home. However there are certain conditions that have been defined in paternity law that allow the possibility of paternity leaves. You must be an employee or employer at a company, you must have biological/legal right of the baby, if you have worked at the same firm from the time of conception to time of the birth only then you are eligible for paid leave and extra benefits. Paternity leave is very useful for knowing your rights; it has gained a lot of importance as parental roles have shifted in our society.
Q:While searching for paternity lawyers, I came across the term "paternity fraud", what is this?
A:Paternity fraud occurs when a woman states a man to be the biological father of a child to which he is not. It is termed as a fraud when the woman or mother of the child knows that the stated man is not the biological father. In such a case there are a number of victims to this fraud, the biological father, the presumed father, and the child. The biological father is deprived of the relationship of being a father to the child. He can file for a law suit in the states paternity court for paternity fraud.
Q:What are the basic job responsibilities of paternity lawyers?
A:Paternity lawyers are qualified individuals who practice in the area of paternity law. They offer a range of legal services to clients; a few have been mentioned here: interpret laws on paternity, apply laws to specific situations, draft new laws, research precedents, conduct paternity lawsuits, guide and advise clients in cases, assess cases, file brief with court clerk, represent client in court, handle trial preparation details, interview clients and gather needed information, and the more. paternity lawyers are expected to work for client interests and manage all legal issues.
Q:What is Paternity leave Law?
A:Paternity leave law is basically a legal framework that describes the right of employees when it comes to taking a leave for raising children. Every constitution has set rules and guidelines that determine under what circumstances one can take a maternal leave. Female employees who are about to become mothers, and even men who are expecting a baby at home can apply for a leave at their work. The duration and funding of the leave depends upon the company. There are many government schemes that work towards helping employees in need of maternal leaves. This area of law has gained much importance over the years as many employers refused to take back employees after maternity leaves. So you can make sure your job is safe and that your leave is paid for by getting a better understanding of maternity leave rights.
Firms for Paternity
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Preventing Model Train Derailments Effectively
Regardless of how well you have constructed your LGB model train layouts, there are boundaries to what model trains can do. For instance, curved track sections of model train enthusiasts tend to be tighter than their real world counterparts. Blend that with long trains traveling at a considerable high velocity and chances are a derailment will occur. While we cannot totally eliminate the causes of train derailments we can be successful of at least keeping it low.
Operator Mistakes
The most common cause of model train derailments there is nothing that can substitute for control and experience. If you notice that your train often derails it would be advisable to make gradual changes to speeds, controlling top speed levels and coming to a full stop prior to changing directions. Moreover, do check the routing of your switches before crossing them in order to minimize derailment episodes.
Mechanical Problems
Even when careful consideration has been brought forward to ensure correct speed and stops are followed, derailments still occur due to problems within the train or the track itself. A good rule of thumb to follow is if more than onegarden railroad stock car car derails at the exact same spot, check the track. If one car derails in two or more spots then check the car for problems.
Train Track Issues
If the track is to blame the most common cause include misaligned rail joints, switches that do not completely close or fail to open, rough transitions at the top or bottom of the grade and debris in the track itself. Clean your track regularly and get rid of any remaining debris especially after a storm (for outdoor setups). Check the switches for issues and inspect and align rail joints regularly. Look for any bumps in the track, which cause frequent uncoupling of cars. Make sure that the couplers are of the correct height.
Train Issues
If you notice that the train or car derails regularly when there is nothing wrong with the track, then some adjustments may need to be done first to the wheels, couplers and even the weight of the car itself. |
How Do You Choose a Commercial Electrical Contractor?
Commercial electrical contractor are not all the same as residential ones. Not every electrical contractor becomes an electrical contractor, although most commercial and residential electricians do. This allows them to take on smaller projects as part of a group or independently. Just as promised, here are the top five differences between commercial and residential electrical contractors. This information should help you choose which electrical contractor is right for you.
commercial electrical contractor
There are many differences in the amount of experience that commercial electrical contractors have. The majority of commercial electrical contractors started out as apprentice electricians, meaning they were able to work under someone else while still learning their trade. Because of this, they are probably the more knowledgeable in the field and have more potential for bigger jobs later. On the other hand, most residential electrical remodeling work takes place through one company. This means that the commercial electricians have no personal relationships with any of the homeowners and therefore, no direct contact with customers.
Another major difference is in the level of safety that you are going to experience with a commercial electrical contractor. Most residential electricians have only been employed to change out old wiring or perform small repairs for home owners. They will usually use ladders and basic tools for any small home improvement projects. When it comes to commercial electrical systems, however, you will find that commercial electrical contractors are the experts when it comes to wiring, installing new wiring and other electrical maintenance tasks. They often need to use specialized electrical equipment like cable testers, wire strippers, and so on.
Finally, you should know the difference between commercial electrical contractors and commercial construction contractors. While both types of contractors usually hire from a pool of candidates, the qualifications of each type of contractor may vary. A commercial electrical contractor will be licensed and have met all of the state’s required prerequisites. Commercial construction contractors usually just need a permit to begin building. On top of that, commercial electrical contractors are not as heavily regulated by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration).
How can you tell if a commercial electrical contractor is right for you? One way is to contact us today and schedule a free consultation. In addition to our free no obligation quotes, we will also work with you throughout the entire construction process to ensure that your project is completed in a timely manner. We will also work with you until the job is finished to ensure that it meets all necessary code requirements. We will even provide you with a safety inspection report once the project is completed.
There are several reasons why you might need an electrician, including faulty wiring, a malfunctioning electric panel, or other electrical maintenance issues. Either way, you can contact us today to discuss your commercial electrical contractor options. You can trust us to give you the best estimate for your commercial construction project.
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Can’t Sleep?
If you can’t sleep, you may be wondering if you have insomnia. Insomnia is a complicated condition. What is the definition of insomnia? According to guidelines from a physician group, insomnia is difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, even when a person has the chance to do so. People with insomnia can feel dissatisfied with their sleep and usually experience one or more of the following symptoms: fatigue, low energy, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, and decreased performance in work or at school.
How long does insomnia last? Insomnia may be characterized based on its duration. Acute insomnia is brief and often happens because of life circumstances (for example, when you can’t fall asleep the night before an exam or after receiving stressful or bad news). Many people may have experienced this type of passing sleep disruption, and it tends to resolve without any treatment.
Chronic insomnia is disrupted sleep that occurs at least three nights per week and lasts at least three months. Chronic insomnia disorders can have many causes. Changes in the environment, unhealthy sleep habits, shift work, other clinical disorders, and certain medications could lead to a long-term pattern of insufficient sleep. People with chronic insomnia may benefit from some form of treatment to help them get back to healthy sleep patterns. Chronic insomnia can be co morbid, meaning it is linked to another medical or psychiatric issue, although sometimes it’s difficult to understand this cause and effect relationship.
People with insomnia tend to have difficulty falling asleep (onset), staying asleep (maintenance), and/or they wake up too early in the morning. Treatment for insomnia can include behavioral, psychological, medical components or some combination thereof. You and your doctor will need to talk about your particular situation and history of insomnia, as well as its causes, to decide on the best treatment plan.
What are some facts about insomnia? Insomnia is a common sleep problem for adults. The National Institutes of Health estimates that roughly 30 percent of the general population complains of sleep disruption.
Insomnia is a common problem encountered in family medicine that causes significant morbidity for patients. A survey of Canadian adults found that 40.2% met at least one symptom of insomnia, 13.4% met all criteria and 13% had consulted a healthcare provider for sleep difficulties at least once in their lifetime. Patients with insomnia have daytime fatigue, increased physical discomfort and increased psychological distress.
Patients with Chronic Insomnia have an increased risk of major depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. Chronic insomnia often has a bi-directional relationship with co morbid chronic disease including chronic pain and mental illness. Treating insomnia can provide relief to the direct symptoms of insomnia but also improve the suffering from co morbid disease.
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Why Sleep Apnea is Dangerous.
Why Obstructive Sleep apnea is dangerous.
There are seven health problems linked to Obstructive Sleep Apnea:
High blood pressure:
Heart disease:
Stroke and atrial fibrillation:
Type 2 diabetes:
Weight gain:
Adult asthma:
Car accidents:
|
Climate Change
This week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the UN, has published its report, with quite bad news.
The summary is simple: Things are going very bad, and much more rapidly than previously thought. Human action is the first cause. The consequences of this are already being felt in many parts of the world and can be catastrophic in the near future. And the consciousness of citizens and states, translated into action on a small scale (each person) and/or undertakings important compromises (governments and businesses), is very low and does not improve much over time .
It bothers me to find people of all types who still questions the "Climate Change". As if now the most important thing here was to decide in a complicated verdict both the exact causes, as the facts and the consequences of our impact on the planet. Everything to justify the fact that the reality is that what happens outside of my little garden is not really of my concern, as I live well, and I do not have to deprive of anything, not having short-term consequences.
No matter if you call it or not climate change! You have to be stupid for not understanding that we are pushing the planet earth to a brutal stress, and since the early 20th century we have wiped out much of the natural capital that had been created over millions of years. And at current rates of consumption of resources and environmental abuse, we have planet for a short time. Don’t try to understand the technical details of the phenomenon of global warming, and note the evidences that are impossible to ignore: Deforestation of tropical forests, acidification of the oceans, accelerated desertification, shrinking mountain glaciers and ice sheets in the polar zones, pollution of air and water, the annihilation of animal species, etc, etc, etc…. And all the consequences that are already behaving at the inhabitants of this world, or the predicted ones at short and long term for all human and other species inhabitants of this planet.
Therefore, the question is not whether this is true or not the climate change. Let everyone think what he wants (although it’s not too hard to understand). Even the question is not how this can affect humanity in general, because it seems that a large majority of people only love others from the words and not from the facts; and in the background, despite always expressing themselves as "human beings" they don’t really care about humanity, and what may happen to those directly affected by the serious deterioration of the natural environment while they go not dotted. The question is whether we are aware of the environmental problems we are causing, and the problems that will affect to each of us directly, and the disaster situation that we will leave to our children and grandchildren?
There is certainly an optimistic current which believes that we will be able to develop powerful enough technologies to resolve all this climate and environmental disaster. I am also optimistic and I agree with this confidence, but it doesn’t mean that we do not have to give up with this attitude extremely short-sighted and selfish, without taking responsibility for our current actions already affecting millions of people worldwide, and also, and not least, many other species or natural habitats, which also deserve our respect and protection.
This is like one being diagnosed with a disease that behave quite short-term physical problems, but eventually would be very complicated to severe illness in the future, with the aggravating circumstance that the degree of evolution would not stop in our person, but we would leave a legacy to our children, and they will continue to develop the disease from the point of gravity that we have left them, and so on with their children. We could do as if it was not important, just solving the moment pain with some pills, and wait for some scientist to invent a magic medicine that heal us and future generations. But this would be a "bastard optimism" because we would be delegating the full responsibility for the problems of our body (where we are living), and the problems of the next generations bodies, to an uncertain and unknown technological advancement, while we would not do anything to stop the disease and to be able to feel proud to have done everything in our hand to fight this lethal virus.
Today there is no natural ignorance. If we ignore is because we choose it. Therefore we are all responsible for what we do to improve the dismal prognosis of health of our wonderful and delicate planet where we live. If you do not it for the environment, for the other species or other human beings, at least, do it for your children.
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Better Health
Starts at Home
We specialize in the latest health technology, the prevention
and treatment of over 200 different illnesses and ailments.
“We spend the first half of our life-damaging our health and then we spend the second half trying to repair our health”
With Aqua Ozone, prevention is better than cure.
We specialize in the latest health technology, the prevention and treatment of over 200 different illnesses and ailments. Anything from Cancer, Heart-related diseases, common colds and flu, Diabetes, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol, Poor blood circulation, breathing problems, Emphysema, diabetes, etc.
What is Ozone?
Very simply put, trees and plants produce oxygen (O2). The oxygen molecule is lighter than the surrounding air, so it rises into the atmosphere towards the sun. Once these oxygen molecules have reached between 20-30km into the atmosphere, the sun’s ultraviolet rays convert the oxygen into ozone (O3), a form of “Super Oxygen”.
Since the ozone molecule with its extra oxygen atom is now heavier than the surrounding air, it begins to descend towards earth again. On its journey down towards the earth, the ozone molecules purify the air by destroying toxic elements and pollutants, also neutralising pathogens such as bacteria and viruses.
Have you ever smelt that fresh smell after a thunderstorm?
That is how ozone is generated; by the lightning striking through the air during a thunderstorm splitting the oxygen molecule to form ozone molecules.
Did you know that ozone is nature’s most powerful disinfectant & purifier and it kills bacteria 3000 times faster than chlorine?
For over 100 years, ozone has been known as the fastest, strongest, and most natural disinfectant and provides treatment for over 5000 cities, 95% of bottled water, and countless industries. Ozone is 3000 times faster and 300 times stronger than chlorine, breaks down to oxygen, preserves healthy water minerals, and has no consumables. From bacteria, metals, sulphur, tannin and even contaminants like medications are no match for the power of ozone.
Read more about ozone as a sterilizer
Want to know more?
Arrange for a no-obligation demonstration today and get a free treatment at your home.
The History of Ozone
According to the Spanish Association Of Medical Professionals In Ozone Therapy.
Ozone was discovered in 1785 by Dutch physicist Martinus Van Marum (1750-1837) by perceiving a peculiar odour that generated near the electrostatic machines, but it was not until May 1840 that the German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein (1799-1868) synthesizes it.
In 1857
Werner von Siemens built the first superior induction tube, with which Kleinmann made the first attempts to destroy microorganisms and the first gas insufflations in animals and humans.
In 1870, the German doctor Lender made the first publication on practical biological effects, relating to water disinfection.
The discovery of the antimicrobial properties of ozone revolutionized medicine of the time, 70 years still remaining for the emergence of penicillin. The first report on ozone as a purifier of the blood appears.
In 1873
Fox discovered the ability of this chemical agent for eliminating microorganisms.
There is evidence of its use as a disinfectant since 1881, according to that mentioned by Dr. Kellogg in his book on diphtheria.
The discovery crossed the ocean to North America and in 1885, the Florida Medical Association published the first textbook on medical applications of ozone, written by Dr. Kenworth.
In the old European continent in 1893, the first facility in Ousbaden (Netherlands) for the disinfection and purification of water for human consumption and waste is created.
Till this date, there are more than 3000 water treatment plants with ozone in this country. Zurich, Florence and other cities had been acquiring these systems to disinfect water.
Nikola Tesla (1856-1943) of Croatian origin and latter on US citizen, patented his first ozone generator in 1896; and in 1900 founded Nikola Tesla “Tesla Ozone Co., manufacturer of generators for medical use. Tesla was the first to ozonate olive oil.
According to Life Magazine’s special issue of September 1997, Tesla is among the 100 most famous people of the last 1,000 years. Tesla was an enigmatic, eccentric and owner of a magnificent imagination when applied to the field of science, led him to develop ideas that came into dispute with the conventional knowledge of the time. An example of this is the Alternating Current, which at the time, crashed head-on with Thomas Alva Edison’s Direct Current.
In 1911
Dr Noble Eberhart, head of the Department of Physiology of Loyola Chicago University, in the “Manual of High-Frequency Operation”, states that he used ozone to treat tuberculosis, anaemia, chlorosis, tinnitus, whooping cough, asthma, bronchitis, hay fever, insomnia, pneumonia, diabetes, gout and syphilis.
He creates the first university teaching centre dedicated among other things to ozone therapy.
The emergence of plastics resistant to ozone leads in 1957, German physician Dr. Hänsler to manufacture the first modern ozone generator, which modern-day generators base themselves of.
In 1961 Dr. Hans Wolff introduced in his practice the major and minor autohemotherapy. In the early ’70s, the German Society of Ozone Therapy is created which contributes to the momentum of ozone therapy and that it should be applied in different diseases.
The human body has less oxygen in our cells now than in the past. Why is that?
Medical research has proven that (about 50 years ago) the oxygen on a cellular level in our bodies was as high as 45%. Approximately 90% of the body’s biochemical processes involve the use of oxygen.
Dr Otto Warburg, a world-renowned oncologist and twice Nobel Prize winner for medicine, proved that one is more susceptible to cancer if the oxygen on a cellular level drops below 40%. The oxygen on a cellular level currently ranges between 12% and 17% Due to the fact that we only breathe in 20.89% of oxygen.
Why are higher levels of oxygen so important?
Dr Warburg, of the Kaiser Institute in Berlin, proved that cancer cells cannot proliferate in a high-oxygen environment. His research revealed that when a cell is denied 60% of its normal oxygen requirement it enters an anaerobic state and higher-level functions of the cell are shut down, making the cells more susceptible to cancers and viruses. In addition, the research demonstrated that cancer tumours reduced in size in high-oxygen environments.
DR. Linda Martin
The oxygen in your cells is crucial to good health and optimal levels of healing
Dr Linda Martin is an American researcher that proved that a human’s entire immune system is based on oxygen.
Firstly, if you are sick and you want to get healthy or if you are healthy and want to stay healthy, you need to have enough oxygen in your blood cells. How it works is, you have red blood cells and white blood cells. Your red blood cells are your oxygen carriers and your white blood cells are your soldiers or fighters. If you have enough oxygen on the cellular level then they are in balance with each other and your immune system functions optimal. The moment that you do not have enough oxygen on cellular level the red blood cells start to die and the white blood cell attacks the red blood cells. This means that your immune system starts to break itself down. To fix this you need to have enough oxygen on a cellular level, your red and white blood cells come into balance again and your immune system can function optimally again.
The second thing that she is saying is that if you have enough oxygen on the cellular level you will heal faster.
• For example, on an accident scene, what is the first thing the paramedic will give to you to save your life?
• Yes: Oxygen!!!
• But not the oxygen we breathe in!!
• Why? Because the oxygen that we breath in is not enough, the body needs more oxygen and a higher form of oxygen in the form of pure oxygen.
• That is why a paramedic will give you a purer or higher form of oxygen because once your body receives more oxygen, your body recovers much faster.
• The same goes for if you would get a
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Or serious injuries and end up in ICU
• The first thing Doctors will give you is?
• Oxygen!!
• There is nothing better, stronger or that works faster than a pure form of oxygen.
• Also proven that most illnesses people are suffering from today are because of a lack of oxygen on a cellular level.
• She also proved that we need 40% oxygen on a cellular level for your immune system to function optimally.
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Industry Insights
Everything You Need To Know About Industrial And Collaborative Robot Programming
Published 30 Jul 2020
In today’s age of automation, Oxford Economics, a UK-based research firm, estimates that 20 million jobs will be wiped out by robots globally by 2030. While this may be bad news for some, it also means that more jobs would be created in the robotics and automation industry.
Roles such as robotics technician or robotics programmer — the next big job in tech!
If you are a robotics enthusiast, an aspiring robotics programmer, or simply just curious about how robots are programmed, this is the right place for you!
Here are some common questions for those interested in learning robotic programming:
What is the difference between industrial robots and collaborative robots?
The two main types of robots are traditional industrial robots and collaborative robots.
Industrial robots are heavy-duty robots that do work in place of humans. They are usually used in manufacturing factories to automate repetitive work that is dangerous or dirty with a high degree of precision. These robots have a longer return on investment (ROI) as they are complex to install and are more expensive.
On the other hand, collaborative robots (cobots) assist humans with their work. As co-workers, they help to automate processes alongside human workers safely. Cobots are usually cheaper and have a faster ROI. As such, they are usually a go-to option for SMEs looking to integrate robotics into their business.
Both types of robots help to increase productivity and quality of production, freeing up humans to focus on more elaborate tasks that require human thinking.
Purpose of programming robots — what do you want them to help you with?
Before you start programming, you need to know what is the task that you want your robot to perform in order to train it effectively.
The complexity of automating a process depends on the type of task chosen.
A suitable task would be one that is repetitive, easy and has a high production volume. Common basic operations include picking, packing and palletizing.
More complex or specialised operations usually involve the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
For example Singrow, a developer of innovative agritechnology solutions, uses an AI model that is integrated with a robotic arm to pick out ripe strawberries. Leveraging the use of cobot helps them to automate their entire agricultural system from breeding to harvesting.
What are the parts to programming a robot?
Programming Languages
There are many different types of programming languages in robotics. The more commonly used ones are C/C++ and Python.
So between C/C++ and Python, which language should you learn?
It actually depends on the task complexity that the robot is going to perform.
Python has many libraries which makes it easy to implement basic functionalities. Hence, for simpler robot programs, or as a beginner to the world of coding, learning python is a good choice to start. Moreover, python has an easier syntax than C++, which makes it easier to learn.
However, C++ is usually best suited for fast and complex computations, which is a must for most standard robot programs.
Programming Methods
There are two main types of programming methods, online programming and offline programming.
1. Online Programming
Online programming means programming the robot while the robot is online, in a production environment. It consists of two main methods — Lead-through and Teach-in.
Lead-through programmingLead-through programming includes continuous path control, where the programmer leads the robot manually within the desired path. The action is then recorded into the computer system, which can then be played back, allowing the robot to complete the task by itself.
This method is often used for robots specialising in spray painting or contour welding.
Teach-in programming
A teach pendant is a handheld interface device used to program a robot. In teach mode, a programmer can control a robot’s movements at each step until the desired position is achieved. The coordinates of each point is recorded by the teach pendant and stored in a program.
2. Offline Programming
Offline programming means programming the robot without being present next to it, outside of a production environment. It is easier for non-programmers to code via offline programming.The program is first created on a computer, where a programmer simulates the robot’s movements within a virtual environment. During stimulation, all collisions can be easily recognized. This helps the programmer to write programs to tackle these possible collisions and stimulate test runs. The final program is then loaded into the robot.
You can get started by checking out some free online robotics courses, online tutorials, and local courses from local institutions using Skillsfuture.
The New Way: Unified and Codeless Robot Programming
If you are someone who finds traditional programming too challenging or time-consuming to learn, or simply dislike writing code, then codeless programming is an ultimate life-saviour for you.
Instead of writing lines of codes, simply draw robot paths over components using a graphical interface to program the robot’s movements.
With codeless programming, operators can focus less on the technical aspects of robotics, and instead focus more on the design considerations of robots.
One example of codeless programming is Augmentus’ unified and code-free robotic automation platform, which combines the advantages of offline programming with the ease of use feature of lead-through programming. Augmentus allows non-programmers to code out a full-fledged robotic program easily with high accuracy.
Robot programming is not easy. It is important to first understand the different types of programming methods and choose the best method that aligns with the robot’s application.
While it depends on personal preferences, the quickest and easiest way to program a robot is still to make use of existing codeless programming software in the market like Augmentus.
About Augmentus
Augmentus offers the leading full-stack code-free robotic automation platform that enables anyone, even those with no robotic experience, to develop robotic systems. We have partnerships with the world’s leading robot manufacturers and automation providers to empower manufacturers to recoup ROI faster by lowering time, cost and skill barriers in robotic automation.
Augmentus ushers in a new era of human-machine interface, enabling 10X faster system deployments and saving thousands of automation costs within weeks of integration.
Visit our website for more information or book a demo to experience it.
Join our facebook group to stay updated on recent advancements in robotic automation!
How are Industrial Robots Taught to Perform Tasks
Cobots vs. industrial robots: what are the differences?
What Is the Best Way to Program a Robot?,while%20the%20robot%20is%20online.
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xiv) Emails
Assuming technology (eg Email, telecommunications such as video conferences, computer systems, etc) and technical skills are more important than human contact in communications and relationships between people. Change is about people! Remember: high-tech needs to be combined with high-touch! Personal contact is about relationship building and increasing trust with personal contact. On the other hand, remember:
"...people have been blaming communications technology for ruining their lives ever since the mid-19th century, when the telegram was introduced......blaming technologies for the social consequence is shooting the messenger..."
Jim Balsillie as quoted by Emma Connors, 2006
Email is an impersonal, cold, plastic means of communications. It is difficult to resolve personal confrontations via Email. Angry tones, abrupt manners and even humour can be incorrectly perceived by readers of Email and frequent use of the medium results in the loss of personal, one-to-one contact which is important for effective communications and learning. In fact, Email is a
"...perfect medium to breed conflict escalation. It encourages aggressive tactics, locks in dislike, and weakens inhibitions against aggression..."
Raymond Friedman et al, 2003
Furthermore, you lose the nuances of body language and facial expressions that are important for good communications, especially when doing anything creative like brainstorming or exploring new ideas or innovative strategies.
Technology, like e-mails, is speeding up the pace of doing business and interacting with other people. On the other hand, staff spend around 2 hours per day trying to keep their inbox in control (Fiona Smith, 2009ab). They may get around 150 e-mails daily and view e-mails up to 30 to 40 times per day. It has been estimated that it takes around 64 seconds to recover your train of thought after being interrupted by an e-mail. This means that people viewing their inboxes every 5 minutes waste 8.5 hours weekly. Furthermore, these interruptions are distractions; if people are distracted in the middle of a task, they are more likely to commit errors. In addition to e-mails, there are instant messaging, phone calls, voicemail, SMS, Face book, Twitter, annoying ring tones, etc to handle
Be warned:
"...when groups work mostly through e-mail or conference calls rather than face-to-face, they tend to fight more and trust each other less. Apparently, this happens because people don't get the complete picture that comes from being there, as e-mails and phone calls provided little information about the demands that people face and the physical settings they work in, and cannot convey things such as facial expressions, verbal intonations, posture and group mood. So group members develop incomplete opinions of one another. If you are in a group that works mostly via the Web and the phone, and a group seems like a bunch of assholes, technology may be fuelling the problem..."
Robert Sutton, 2007
Additional disadvantages of emails are that
- commercially sensitive or embarrassing information is more traceable than telephones
- it is easier to prevents courts and others from accessing confidential communications between a lawyer and their client.
According to Rachel Nickless (2007), to handle the disadvantages of e-mails, one organisation that has more than 50 staff, only allows 6 staff to have individual connections to the Internet. The organisation has a central e-mail connection that is checked every 20 minutes and messages are distributed to the appropriate staff. The benefits of this are that sales are up and error rates are down. Furthermore, debtors are paying more promptly as it is easier to ignore an e-mail than a phone call.
On the other hand, Email is a form of communications; use it to create real communities. When sending emails remember
i) by sending an email to more than1 person, you are creating a community
ii) people make mistakes ‐ give them the benefit of the doubt
iii) people mis-read content
iv) think before you respond
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i) Introduction to delegation (including 3 levels of delegation)
This involves concepts like
- holding others accountable
- leading from behind
- empowering others
- shifting from 'hero on the field' to 'coach on the sidelines'
- letting more people lead
- allowing other people to shine and to take credit for their performance
- attracting and growing talent (includes knowing their strengths and weaknesses, so that allocated tasks according to their strengths. This will increase the chance of success)
- developing succession planning
- encouraging self-determination in decision-making by staff
- encouraging ideas from anywhere for improvement
- understanding the need to move away from being captive to your past to one of cherishing and incorporating your past in your evolving mindset
- good listening skills, ie you have 2 ears, 2 eyes and 1 mouth, use them in that ratio!!!!
- allowing yourself to be vulnerable, eg acknowledging your weaknesses
- continually seeking feedback and reviewing performance
- understanding and accepting other people's work styles
- developing trust
- demonstrating that you care about others
- consistency between what you say and do, ie walk the talk
- know how to prioritise
- more about thinking and planning rather than doing
It involves the question
"...Who is best to do this piece of the work and what do they need from me..."
Robert Kegan et al, 2009
A good delegator focuses on his own development and contributes to his staff's development
People who don't delegate will have the following type of behaviours
- let new opportunities distract them
- accept more tasks and sacrifice non-work-related things like sleep, family, hobbies, etc
- poor time management
- poor ranking of tasks, ie need to prioritise like what is both urgent and important
- don't know how to ask for help
- ego dominates, ie they perceive that they can do the task better than anybody else, fear of not being valuable, etc
- loss of self-respect by getting other people to do your work
- inadequately preparing people, ie preparing them for failure rather than success; thus setting the stage for heroic intervention
- want to be a star, ie want to take all the credit
- want to be a 'one-man band'
- fear of the delegatee doing a better job than the delegator
- selecting/hiring people with limited potential, so that delegator looks good
- a desire to be able to do everything others can do
- not delegating to a delegatee's strengths
- poor communications, ie not communicating in a way that fits the delegatee's approach
- poor listening skills
- not realising that every delegatee is unique and different
- don't give ownership of the tasks, outputs, etc to the delegatees
- fear being dependent on others,
- prefer action, doing things, rather than thinking
- the work is his/her, not theirs
- don't set the boundaries and direction with clarity, especially around expectations
- don't allocate the right amount of resources, etc
In summary
"...delegating would always seem to him an act of getting others to do his own work - and ethically indefensible (even shameful) act, raising the unavoidable spectre of selfishness, laziness, being useless......violating a deeply felt kinship with his fellow labourers......delegating could be an exercise in class betrayal, letting oneself be lured into the heresy that moving away from the direct means of production is desirable......he had to be able to do things himself or he would lose his self-respect, his connection to his roots and sense of being valuable..."
Robert Kegan et al, 2009
Linked with delegation can the idea of self-identity (including self-image and self-esteem). For example, if you are a blue-collar worker/tradesman, etc, you associate valuable work with doing things. Thus when you become a white-collar worker, like a manager, the situation changes and it is more about thinking, delegating, etc than doing. However, your self-identity is more linked to the role of a blue-collar worker, ie a doer, and this can be hard to let go once you become a white-collar worker, who can be perceived as more an overhead rather than core activity.
In other words, the mental framework for understanding who one is, ie values, beliefs, likes and dislikes, etc is inconsistent with being a delegator. Traditionally, this problem can be solved ie giving up the wish to delegate and/or loyalty to the blue-collar workers. However, another solution is to enlarge your self-identity to include delegation, ie making delegation consistent with self-definition plus focusing on strategy (direction), people and resources, ie
"...in the original story that 'authored him', his understanding of 'leader' equated with 'white-collar', 'overhead', 'useless', 'not doing' and 'blowing hot air'. 'Blue-collar' automatically connected with all good things, including his family of origin, being a 'doer', and being important and valuable......these ideas 'held on to him'......remakes his mindset by moving the blue-collar family ethos from something that holds them, ie he is subject to it, to something he can hold, ie he doesn't lose it, but he moves it to another 'object' of his attention, putting him in a position to work out a new relationship to it. The world of leader and doer moved from 'either-or' to 'and-also' in his mind......his biggest learning might be that he changed his relationship to rezone labour without violating his love of, and loyalty to, hard-working family members and heroes who inevitably serve as models for what it meant to do a good day's work......what is actually accomplished goes far beyond 'improvement goal' that...... initially tempts him out on the fortress of his established habit of mind..."
Robert Kegan et al, 2009
See how this is put in to a tabulated form (Technique 1.89 Overturning Immunity)
Three levels of delegation
1. Delegation of what is done and how to do it, while leaving the employee some degree of freedom on
. The rate of work
. Quality control
2. Delegation of what is to be done, while leaving the employee free to decide
. How to do it
. At what rate
. Within what quality range
3. Delegation of what is to be achieved, while leaving the employee free to decide
. What to do to get there
. How to do it
. At what rate
. Within what quality range
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