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Robust intelligent scenario planning for industrial systems
Moayer, Sorousha (2009) Robust intelligent scenario planning for industrial systems. PhD thesis, Murdoch University.
Uncertainty about the future significantly impacts on the planning capacities of organisations. Scenario planning provides such organisations with an opportunity to be aware of the consequences of their future plans. By developing plausible scenarios, scenario planning methodologies assist decision-makers to make systematic and effective decisions for the future. This research aims to review existing scenario planning methodologies and develop a new framework to overcome the shortcomings of previous methodologies. The new framework has two major phases: a „scenario generation phase‟ and an „intelligent robust optimisation phase‟. The scenario generation phase creates future scenarios by applying fuzzy logic and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) concepts. With these concepts, it is possible to deal with qualitative data and also learn from expert data. The intelligent robust optimisation phase identifies the best strategic option which is suitable for working with the most probable scenarios. This second phase includes fuzzy programming and robust optimisation methods to deal with uncertain and qualitative data which usually exists in generated scenarios. The case study for this thesis focuses on Western Australia‟s power capacity expansion needs and demonstrates the application of this new methodology in managing the uncertainties associated with future electricity demand. Scenarios which are generated based on different future population trends and industrial growth are used as the basis of determining the best strategic option for the expansion in WA‟s electricity industry. Furthermore, transition to renewable energy and technological constraints for WA‟s electricity industry are considered in the proposed framework. The result of this case study is an investment plan that satisfies WA‟s electricity demand growth and responds to technological and environmental constraints. The new intelligent robust scenario planning framework has the potential to deal with uncertainties in business environments and provides a strategic option that has the ability to work with plausible scenarios for the future.
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|Murdoch Affiliation:||School of Engineering and Energy|
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The poem The Tale of Melon City is a narrative poem about how a melon, following a custom, was chosen to become the king of a state. It narrates in an amusing tone the events leading to such a situation when no other but a melon was coroneted as the king.
The poem begins with the description of a just and peace loving king ruling an ancient state. Once the king planned to construct an arch, spanning the main thoroughfare. The purpose of the arch was to improve the onlookers morally and provide aesthetic joy to them. The plan of the king was executed immediately.
One day the king was passing by the side of the thoroughfare. The arch was constructed very low so that the king’s crown struck against it and fell off. Immediately the king responded negatively. He felt dishonored. He decided to hang the chief of builders holding him responsible. Necessary arrangements were made for the hanging.
The chief of builders in his defence shifted the responsibility to the laborers. On hearing so, the king adjourned the proceedings for a moment, and then decided to have all the laborers hanged. According to the laborers, it all happened due to faulty size of the bricks. So, the king summoned the masons. They, in their turn, put the blame on the architect. The king decreed to hang the architect. The architect reminded the king that he had made certain amendments to the plans when they were shown for his approval. In a way, the architect indirectly put the blame on the king. The argument of the architect left the king completely confused. Considering the matter to be intricate, the king sought the advice of a wise man. He ordered to bring to him the wisest man in the country.
The king’s men could find out the wisest man and, accordingly, he was brought to the court of the King. He was so old that he could neither walk nor see. According to the old man, the real culprit was the the arch. It was the arch that hit the crown violently and it fell off. So, the arch was to be hanged. The arch was led to the scaffold. At that time, a councilor said that it would be very shameful act to hang the arch that hit the king’s head.
The crowd was getting restless. In order to appease the mass, the king commented that someone must be hanged as it was the public demand. The noose was set up. It was somewhat high. Each man was measured turn by turn. Interestingly, there was one man who was tall enough to fit in the noose, and it was the King. So, his majesty was hanged.
The ministers heaved a sigh of relief that they were able to find someone, otherwise the crowd might have risen in revolt. Now the issue came up as to who would be the king of the state. The old custom was invoked. They sent out the heralds to proclaim that the next to pass the City Gate would choose the King. An idiot happened to pass the City Gate. The idiot was asked who was to be the king. The idiot uttered Melon. Actually that was his pet answer to all questions since he liked melons. The ministers coroneted a melon and placed the melon king reverently at the throne.
All these events took place long long ago. Now when someone asks the people how is it that their King appears to be a melon, they reply that if His majesty takes delight in being a melon, which is all right with them. They have no right to say what he should be as long as he leaves them in peace and liberty. It seems that the principles of non-interference are well established in that state.
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30x20x1.5cm acrylic ant's nest with a high-rise foraging box with lid. It is perfect for large colonies of big species such as Camponotus. 1.5 cm height allows the bigger species to move freely and comfortably through the galleries of the nest. It also has a layer of plaster to maintain higher humidity in the nest.
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More Minerals for Healthier Gardens
by Don Trotter
Hello fellow Earthlings and welcome back to our interminable discussion on minerals that your plants use in order to grow healthier and happier. The minerals of the day are Magnesium, Iron, and Zinc, so let's take a walk in the garden and take a look at our soils and our plants to check if our gardens need a boost.
Magnesium is taken up by plants in the form of the positively charged magnesium cation. Cell division cannot take place without magnesium being present and magnesium serves as an activator for several plant enzymes required in the growth process. Magnesium is highly mobile in plants and can be moved from older to younger tissue rapidly in times of deficiency.
Magnesium can be supplied to plants from mineral sources such as dolomite lime, Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), and Sul-Po-Mag (sulfate of potash magnesia). It is often applied to rose gardens to stimulate the growth of new canes. In western soils where rainfall is low, an abundance of magnesium can keep soils tight and impermeable to water penetration. The addition of calcium to soils high in magnesium will open them up to better water and air infiltration and improve percolation. The calcium magnesium dynamic in soils was studied and theorized by Professor William Allbrecht early in the twentieth century. He theorized that 5 to 7parts calcium to one part magnesium improved plant growth and soil tilth while enhancing plant uptake of other essential minerals present in soils.
Signs of a magnesium deficiency in plants often appears as:
- Interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) in older leaves.
- Upward curling of leaves along edges
- Yellowing of leaf edges with green "Christmas tree" along the middle of the leaf.
The sulfur mineral is taken up by plants as sulfur as negatively charged ions or anions (AN-eye-uns). Sulfur may also be taken up by plants from the air through the leaves in areas where industrial pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is enriched with sulfur compounds. Who says plants don't fight air pollution?
Certain amino acids essential for plant health, (cysteine, cystine, and methionine) contain sulfur and are necessary for the synthesis of proteins. Sulfur is present in certain plant oils, which accounts for the odor of onions and garlic. It is also essential for nodule formation in certain types of plants that take nitrogen out of the atmosphere and fix it in the soil within the nodules. This family of nitrogen fixing plants is known as "legumes", and will be discussed further in this book as we go along. Sulfur is often applied to these plants to stimulate better nodule formation in order for legumes to fix more valuable nitrogen into the soil.
Sulfur is also known to suppress the growth of certain plant diseases and is often combined with calcium carbonate (Lime) in commercial fungicides that natural gardeners find very useful.
Alkaline soils are often low in sulfur and sulfur is applied to these soils to lower pH values and brings the pH more toward neutral. Sulfur is applied to soils in the form of soil sulfur, Sul-Po-Mag, Iron sulfate, and other sulfate compounds. Signs of deficiency are:
- Young leaves are light green or yellowish in color. In some plants older tissue may also be affected
- Plants are small and spindly
- Interveinal chlorosis on plants on grasses
- Plant growth is retarded and maturity is delayed
Ample amounts of iron are required for plants to make chlorophyll which is the normally green pigment that is essential for photosynthesis. It also is an important activator of certain biochemical processes such as respiration and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Plants take up iron in the form of positively charged ferric or ferrous ions.
Iron availability is affected by soil pH and when soils are alkaline iron is blocked. This is one of the reasons that iron chlorosis (interveinal yellowing) of foliage is so common in soils with a high pH. Lawns use a lot of iron and are often yellow due to a deficiency of this mineral. Gardeners often mistake an iron deficiency for a lack of nitrogen in their lawns and feed their lawns with high nitrogen fertilizers that only green up their lawns temporarily. It is a good idea to identify when an iron deficiency is the cause of yellowing foliage. Checking the pH of your soil easily does this. If the pH is high and you fertilize regularly, chances are you can keep your lawn greener by adding an iron supplement to your soil instead of giving it another dose of nitrogen fertilizer. One thing to remember when applying iron to the garden is to keep it off of sidewalks, driveways, and paved areas. It makes rust, which is very difficult to remove.
Some common iron supplements are iron sulfate, iron phosphate (which is also a very good snail control material), and blood meal. Blood meal provides iron to your soil while it adds nitrogen. Some signs of iron deficiency are:
- Interveinal chlorosis of young foliage. Veins remain green while leaves yellow.
- Twig and dieback of young growth
- Tissue death in severe cases
Zinc is taken up by plants as the positively charged zinc cation. It is an important constituent of several enzyme systems and it controls the synthesis of certain essential plant growth hormones. Zinc is often the micronutrient most often needed in western soils and its' availability is affected by soil pH, much in the same way iron availability is.
Zinc is supplied to soils and directly to plants. It is available to gardeners and farmers in both liquid and granular forms. Zinc sulfate, which is also a source for sulfur is one of the most common types of zinc compounds produced for gardening and for farming use. Citrus fruits, grapes, tomatoes, and other tree fruits are known to use large quantities of zinc. Symptoms of zinc deficiency are:
- Reduced bud and fruit production
- Crinkling of new growth and a decrease in stem length
- Interveinal chlorosis (often misdiagnosed as a iron deficiency)
- Dieback on year-old growth
Next time we'll be looking at three more mineral nutrients that are used in very small amounts by plants and are commonly referred to as "micro-nutrients or trace elements" that are essential for your precious green friends. See you in the Garden!
Take the Next Step:
- For more tips on healthier soil and plants, visit The Dollar Stretcher library.
- Gardening on the cheap is simple. Just visit the TDS Frugal Gardening Guide and we'll show you the many ways frugal gardeners maintain beautiful, bountiful gardens for less.
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Our 2016 Analyst Assessments Survey Results Report
Earlier this year, The Skills Connection conducted a unique primary research project aimed at investigating people’s understanding of today’s analyst assessment processes and discovering what works, what effort and resources are required and what value can be derived from these assessments.
In this report, we present our survey findings and offer evidence-based advice for improving your Magic Quadrant and Wave submissions.
Please complete the form
“Excellent insight into the analyst world. Solid, no-nonsense advice”
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If you look up Do (Way) in Wikipedia you will see it described as a spiritual, martial, or aesthetic discipline that evolved in Japan.
“In Japanese, a Dō implies a body of knowledge and tradition with an ethic and an aesthetic, and having the characteristics of specialization (senmonsei), transmissivity (keishōsei), normativity (kihansei), universality (kihensei), and authoritativeness (ken'isei)”
If you surf to the article that contains a List of Dōs you will see it includes various martial arts such as my personal favorite Aikido, the Way of harmonious spirit, which is described as Compassionate hand-to-hand fighting.
In addition to the martial arts you will see many dōs that, like beekeeping, are not of a combative nature. These include:
- Chadō, or sadō, or chanoyu, the Way of tea
- Kadō or Ikebana, the Way of flowers
- Kōdō, the Way of incense/fragrance
Appreciation of incense
- Shodō, the Way of writing
Traditional Japanese brush calligraphy
- Tao or Dào (Chinese usage), the Way of the universe. The cosmic ordering principal of nature.
Inspired by the above list I suggest that it might be useful to consider developing and exploring a Way of Beekeeping.
If Aikido is the Way of harmonious spirit, then perhaps a portmanteau word could be duct-taped together, MacGyver-like, to create the term:
AiBeeDo : the Way of harmonious Beekeeping.
The westernized loanword akidoka, meaning “a person practicing the art, regardless of their degree of accomplishment” could be further modified for use in a beekeeping context to create the term: AiBeeDoKa: a person practicing the art of harmonious beekeeping.
Perhaps a shorter term, beedoka, might be easier to remember as a way of referring to a person practicing a harmonious Way of being with and keeping bees.
As an urban beekeeper, living in a dense residential neighborhood in a Big City, I think that developing a Way of keeping one or two beehives in a harmonious manor might be a Good Thing for myself, the neighbors, and the bees.
Discovering, navigating, and sharing that Path on a regular basis is my intention for the Beekeeper’s Dojo.
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Search Engine Optimized Content
When a customer performs a search for your company, product, service, or brand on a search engine, what do they find? If you answered anything other than “my company website,” you’re in trouble.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing the amount of visitors to a website by ranking high in the natural search results of a search engine. The higher you rank with search engines, the more likely visitors will be to click through to your page and interact with your website.
The Power of Optimized Content
Content is king when it comes to optimizing your website. As a department of Inklyo, CIK Marketing is focused on producing content that attracts links, engages readers, and is optimized for search engines using targeted keywords. This involves:
- Frequently adding and updating content
- Proper article formatting and coding
- Enhanced optimization of images, hyperlinks, and titles
- The development and maintenance of a search engine-friendly sitemap
- Creating informational hooks that act as link bait
Stay on Top of Search Results
Search engine optimization is constantly changing, but one thing remains constant – the need for great content. Whether you’re just starting out with a new website, or are looking to improve the content on your current site, CIK Marketing can help.
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The vibrant capital of La Republic Consortium, Montparnasse (from Mount Parnassus in Greek mythology, home to the nine Greek goddesses the Muses of the arts and sciences) is so named for its predominately hilly topography and that it became the first extra-terrestrial university in the Caeliverse. Originally settled in 1843, it was named La Nouvelle-France and in 1847 housed the first buildings of what would eventually become LÉcole des Beaux-Arts Universal where students from all over the Caeliverse would come to learn of art, architecture and the building sciences. The new name of Montparnesse was used colloquially but became official when the Republican government moved their capital here in 1854, just after the Anglicans did theirs. The world is considered a pinnacle of enlightenment and learning with grand displays of art and architecture wherever one goes. The worlds indigenous population, Les Gens Gris, are a tall, ash skinned race, fiercely tribal and who have split into two factions, one that have embraced the civility the Republicans have brought, and the latter who cling to their primitive dwellings far from cities and towns. Montparnasse has one solitary moon, Korrigan whose surface glows a smooth pale pink like rose quartz.
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Q: What is NSRTSM or Neurological Stress Reduction Therapy?
A: Neurological Stress Reduction Therapy incorporates Meridian and Energy Stress Assessment (MESA) Technology, Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT), nutritional and herbal supplementation as well as complex homeopathic medications to increase core level energy, promote healthy and natural detoxification and bring the body back to balance.
Q: What is MESA Technology?
MESA Technology uses skin level readings to help to assess which environmental, chemical and food substances cause stress on the body. The four key principles of NSRTSM are:
- Stress causes or exacerbates 80-85% of all human illness according to the AMA.
- A reduction in stress caused by environmental, chemical and food substances can alleviate many types of symptomatic expressions.
- The brain creates associations between environmental substances we ingest, breath and touch. Some of these associations are inappropriate and trigger symptoms you may be experiencing.
- These associations can be broken by introducing a positive stimulus in conjunction with the specific stress inducing substance causing a reduction or elimination of symptoms.
Q: What is the foundation for NSRTSM?
A: NSRTSM combines (3) core components of holistic medicine and modern computerized technology to create a revolutionary new therapy.
Acupuncture is a form of 5000 year old Chinese medicine that is based on the flow of energy along meridians in the body or what we refer to today as the body’s energetic system. The meridian energy flow or chi carries information about the body’s internal organs that can be utilized in assessment of organ function, system function, metabolism, general stasis and even the reactive nature of the body to specific environmental substances.
Q: How does NSRTSM utilize the principles of acupuncture?
A: NSRTSM utilizes a biofeedback based methodology to perform skin level meridian and energy stress assessment (MESA) much the same way an EKG would measure heart rate. Sensors are placed on the skin allowing the BAX System to detect increases in neurological stress as a result of environmental substance exposure. The assessment process used in NSRTSM is a fully automated, computerized and objective method of measuring the same types of organ and system function traditionally performed by acupuncturists. What makes this revolutionary is that the NSRTSM assessment process takes approximately less than 10 minutes, requires no needles, is safe for all ages and is completely non-invasive.
Homeopathy is a 300 year old medical discipline developed in Germany. Homeopathic medicine is based on the theory that “like cures like”. Homeopathic medicine suggests that a dilution of the substance allows the body to build up a tolerance or resistance and enables the body to heal itself. Homeopathy is often referred to as “Vibrational Medicine”.
Q: How does NSRTSM incorporate homeopathy into the therapeutic procedure?
A: During assessment, NSRTSM introduces vibrational or homeopathic types of frequencies for thousands of substances, measures the stress response and then records the neurological response to each.
NSRTSM then incorporates low level light therapy (LLLT) to induct vibrational frequencies that the brain can interpret in the same manner it would interpret the physical substance itself to neutralize the stress response.
- Applied Kinesiology
Applied Kinesiology (AK) is a form of alternative medicine that provides neurological evaluation using muscle tests to monitor the physiological response to physical, chemical or mental stimuli. The belief is that when a person experiences poor health, it is due to imbalance in the body’s physical, chemical or mental state. AK is a practice that has been in existence for over 50 years and is practiced by many chiropractors and physicians in the US, Canada and Europe. AK is limited because it is considered to be highly subjective in nature, extremely time consuming and dependent upon the training and acumen of the physician.
Examples of AK or Applied Kinesiology include:
• Brimhall Technique
• NAET (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique)
Q: How does NSRTSM incorporate Applied Kinesiology into the assessment procedure?
A: Applied Kinesiology and NSRTSM have an indirect relationship. AK is often used for “Nutrient Testing” to examine the patients muscle response to specific chemicals and substances. NSRTSM which incorporates Meridian and Energy Stress Assessment Technology (MESA) offers the same type of assessment by measuring a stress response based on conductivity of the skin. MESA however, does this without the subjectivity, time or muscle manipulation required with AK. MESA Technology is a fully automated, computerized and objective format for measuring the stress response to substances presented through more traditional and clinically accepted biofeedback. BAX Systems are able to determine:
• Which substances cause stress on the body
• The strength of the stress response in correlation to the specific substance
• Stress placed on organs and systems by the cumulative substance stressors
Q: How does NSRTSM and MESA Technology Measure Substance Stressors?
A: MESA is an assessment technique that measures electrical resistance and polarization at the acupuncture points and meridians. Through safe, skin-level measurements, it is possible to analyze the bio-energy and bio-information produced by all of the body’s internal organs and systems. MESA is a form of biofeedback.
NSRTSM incorporates your physician’s assessment of patient history, family history, presenting symptom and physical examination as well as information learned during the Meridian and Energy Stress Assessment to determine the appropriate course of patient care.
Q: Can these substance frequencies cause any type of physical reaction?
A: No. NSRTSM uses a proprietary low level light therapy process that is not capable of causing a physical reaction regardless of the pathology.
Q: Does the assessment or therapy hurt?
A: No. The vast majority of patients report no sensation or feeling whatsoever during the assessment or therapeutic process. A very small number of patients that tend to be highly sensitive have reported a mild tingling sensation or a general calming of the body. This is the standard result of light therapy.
Q: What can I expect during the substance stress assessment?
A: The assessment process is fast, painless, non-invasive and will take less than 10 minutes. During the assessment, The BAX System will introduce, measure and assess hundreds of individual substance frequencies helping your physician determine what environmental, food or chemical triggers may be impacting your overall health.
Q: How many substances can the BAX Systems assess?
A: The BAX Systems contain homeopathic frequencies for tens of thousands of individual substances including foods, chemicals, inhalants, pets, drugs and even synthetic products.
Q: Does the BAX System assess all of the frequencies at once?
A: No. The BAX Systems are designed to assess groups of substances based on protocols, patient history and patient reported symptoms.
Q: How many patient visits are required?
A: The number of patient visits directly corresponds to the care plan required for the patient. Protocols are in place that determine the number of visits based on what your body needs and your general state of health. The most common is referred to as the IDE (Immunity, Detoxification and Energy) Protocol and takes a total of 10 quick and easy visits.
Q: How long do the results of therapy last?
A: The therapeutic results of NSRTSM are indefinite. BAX systems have been used in practice since 2007 and both doctors and patients report no symptomatic recurrence for patients at both 1 year and 2 year checkups. The addition of patient supplementation has improved support during therapy as well as maintaining long term health and wellness.
Q: How long does each office visit take?
A: Each office visit should take a total of 10-15 minutes and can be completed over the course of about 3 weeks.
Q: Does NSRTSM have any side effects that I should be aware of?
A: No. NSRTSM does not have any side effects. During therapy, however, the body is going through a process of conditioning which can cause some mild expressions of detoxification. Patients report that following therapy they have draining of the sinuses, mild sinus congestion, mild headaches and/or itchy skin. These symptoms typically last only a few hours. Patient’s commonly report increased energy and longer periods of uninterrupted sleep immediately following therapy.
Q: Can the substance frequency cause any type of allergic reaction?
A: No. Exposure to the vibrational frequency cannot trigger any type of allergic reaction.
Q: Does this biofeedback based assessment test for allergies?
A: No. While many of the frequencies stored in the computer library are known allergens, many of the substances assessed are not allergens. NSRTSM assessment is looking for a stress response to a specific substance and is not an allergy test. Because allergens cause stress on the body however, the NSRT assessment will in many cases identify known allergens for patients.
Q: What conditions or symptoms does NSRTSM diagnose or treat?
A: None. NSRTSM does not diagnose or treat any specific symptoms or conditions. NSRTSM is not concerned with specific conditions or labels and focuses on providing holistic and complimentary alternative therapy. Homeopathy, however, does have stated benefits for allergies, asthma, skin conditions, migraine pain, digestive discomfort and arthritis and is one of the cornerstones for our technology. Through the process of detoxification, increasing core energy levels and bringing the body back to balance, patients report a general improvement in overall health and well being.
Q: Is this similar to NAETSM (Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique)?
A: Yes. NSRTSM in many ways is the evolution of NAET providing an exponentially faster, objective, more effective and automated advancement to the NAET process.
Q: When should I expect to see symptomatic improvement?
A: Doctors and patients report symptomatic improvement after only 1-2 visits. This will vary from patient to patient based on severity of health related issues, as well as the results of the stress assessment.
Q: Is NSRTSM safe for children?
A: Yes. NSRTSM ais safe for all ages. NSRTSM is non-invasive, does not use any chemicals, pills, shots or needles. Please speak to your doctor about appropriate dosing and products for your child as well as reading all labels prior to use.
Q: Does insurance cover assessment and therapy?
A: No. NSRTSM is not covered by traditional insurance, but that should not be a deterrent for you to get the care you need and deserve.
- First, the cost of the therapy is typically less than the cost of traditional medical care over time.
- Second, by taking proper care of yourself and alleviating the actual cause of your symptoms, you can prevent future health care expenses.
- Third, you may be able to use HSA (Health Savings Account) to cover care. This is up to the provider and varies from plan to plan and state to state.
- Fourth, most of our providers offer same as cash patient financing. This allows you to spread the payments for your care over 12 – 24 months relieving you of any financial burden while receiving the care you want and need.
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To determine which physiological properties contribute to temperature adaptation in the squid giant axon, action potentials were recorded from four species of squid whose habitats span a temperature range of 20°C. The environments of these species can be ranked from coldest to warmest as follows: Loligo opalescens>Loligo pealei>Loligo plei>Sepioteuthis sepioidea. Action potential conduction velocities and rise times,recorded at many temperatures, were equivalent for all Loligospecies, but significantly slower in S. sepioidea. By contrast, the action potential's fall time differed among species and correlated well with the thermal environment of the species (`warmer' species had slower decay times). The biophysical underpinnings of these differences were examined in voltage-clamped axons. Surprisingly, no differences were found between the activation kinetics or voltage-dependence of Na+ and K+currents. Conductance levels, however, did vary. Maximum Na+conductance (gNa) in S. sepiodea was significantly less than in the Loligo species. K+ conductance (gK) was highest in L. pealei, intermediate in L. plei and smallest in S. sepiodea. The time course and magnitude of gK and gNa were measured directly during membrane action potentials. These data reveal clear species-dependent differences in the amount of gK and gNa recruited during an action potential.
Hodgkin and Katz (1949)noted that `The squid axon ceases to conduct at a temperature which is optimal for mammalian nerve, while isolated mammalian or tropical frog's nerves fail when cooled to a temperature at which the response of the squid axon reaches its maximum'. Action potentials, like many neurophysiological processes, e.g. synaptic transmission (Weight and Erulkar,1976) but unlike ionic conduction, are highly temperature-sensitive. In spite of this, complex poikilotherms inhabit an extremely wide range of thermal environments, from -1.9°C in the Antarctic to above 50°C in certain hot springs(Macdonald, 1988). How do their nervous systems adapt? In response to this question, much attention has been focused at the level of the synapse(Prosser and Nelson, 1981). Relatively little effort has been directed at the action potential itself. This is particularly surprising given that almost 50 years ago, using the squid axon, Hodgkin and Huxley(1952) clearly identified those properties of the action potential that could be potential targets of temperature adaptation.
Those studies that have examined the temperature adaptation of the action potential have focused mainly on conduction velocity. For example, compared with temperate taxa at an equivalent recording temperature, Antarctic teleosts have relatively rapid conduction velocities(Macdonald, 1981; MacDonald et al., 1988). The same is true for certain leg nerves in Arctic seagulls(Chatfield et al., 1953). In a few cases, other parameters have been examined (e.g. action potential duration; Lagerspetz and Talo,1967). No reports, however, have identified the underlying physiological mechanisms for an adaptive change. For example, do species-dependent conduction velocities result from changes in the magnitude of gNa, in INa kinetics or in the fiber's cable properties? These questions are hindered by several factors. First, most axons are too small to permit the use of voltage-clamp methods to study ionic conductances. In many preparations, individual neurons cannot be easily identified. Finally, apparent adaptive differences between dissimilar organisms may be a consequence of evolutionary distance.
The squid giant axon, long used to examine basic mechanisms of excitability, is also an ideal model for temperature adaptation. Its dimensions permit the measurement of both action potentials and the underlying ionic conductances. Although giant neurons are present in other molluscs, most consist of large somata, not giant axons useful for studying impulse propagation. As a result of the isolation of mRNAs for a Na+channel and a delayed rectifier K+ channel, molecular reagents are available for the giant axon system(Rosenthal and Gilly, 1993; Rosenthal et al., 1996). The ionic conductances in this preparation have been investigated intensely for almost 50 years and are very well described. Finally, the giant axon can be easily identified in many squid taxa whose representatives inhabit a wide range of habitats. This study takes advantage of four species within the family Loliginidae whose collective temperature range spans 20°C. Our questions address how their propagated action potentials compare and whether differences correlate with a species' thermal environment. We also investigate the ionic basis for these differences.
Materials and methods
Squid collection and dissection
Four species of squid were used for these studies. Adult specimens of Loligo opalescens were collected from the Santa Monica Bay (near Los Angeles, California, USA) during January and February 1997 from waters at approximately 13°C. Animals were maintained in recirculating seawater tanks at 12°C for 1-3 days and used at UCLA. Specimens of Loligo pealei were collected adjacent to the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL),Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, in May and August 1997 and in May 1998. In May, animals were caught in the shallow waters of the Woods Hole Passage(approximately 12-13°C) and in August in somewhat deeper waters (10-20 m)of the Vineyard Sound, where data loggers placed next to the net opening measured water temperatures to be 18-20°C. Squid were kept in flow-through seawater tanks at ambient water temperatures (10-18°C) for 1-2 days. Specimens of both L. plei and Sepioteuthis sepioidea were collected near Mochima, Venezuela, during April 1998 and April and May 2000. S. sepioidea were caught over shallow reefs within Mochima Bay at 23.5-27.5°C, and L. plei were jigged in deeper waters(approximately 20 m, 19-20.5°C) near the bay's outer mouth. Both species were maintained in flow-through seawater tanks at 26-29°C, and experiments were conducted at the Marine Station (Fundaciencias Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificos, IVIC) in the village of Mochima, Sucre State,Venezuela.
Giant axons were isolated from adult specimens using standard methods. Squid were rapidly decapitated, and the hindmost stellar nerves were removed from the mantle and bathed in filtered sea water. Small nerve fibers and other connective tissue were manually removed from the giant fiber. In general,axons were used for experimentation immediately; however, in some cases, they were stored at 4°C for 4-5 h. All experiments used 10K artificial sea water (10K ASW; in mmol l-1: 430 NaCl, 10 KCl, 50 MgCl2,10 CaCl2, 10 Hepes, pH 7.5, 970-980 mosmol l-1).
Temperature control and measurements
For all experiments, temperature was controlled using Peltier units, placed immediately under the recording chamber, driven by a standard temperature-control circuit. Temperatures were measured directly adjacent to the axon with a hand-held thermocouple and varied by no more than±0.5°C. Field temperature measurements were made with a Thermochron IButton data logger (Dallas Semiconductor, Dallas, TX, USA). The reported accuracy of this device is ±0.5°C.
Propagated action potential measurements
The details of propagated action potential measurements have been described previously (Rosenthal and Bezanilla,2000b). In brief, 4-6 cm lengths of axon were mounted in a rectangular glass chamber. Action potentials were stimulated at one end of the axon by brief current pulses (2-20 μA for 200-400 μs) delivered through an intracellular micropipette (0.4-0.6 MΩ) connected to the ±10 V output of the on-line D/A converter. Recordings were made at two points along the axon with intracellular glass microelectrodes (1-3 MΩ) connected to capacity-compensated, high-impedance electrometers. The chamber was grounded through two Ag/AgCl coils embedded in 10K ASW containing 3% agarose and connected to the amplifier's virtual ground. Signals were digitized at rates between 200 kHz and 1 MHz (depending on the chamber temperature) using a PC44 signal processor board (Innovative Integration, Simi Valley, CA, USA) and a PC-compatible computer. Data were filtered at 1/10th the sampling rate and analyzed using software written in our laboratory. A calibrated eyepiece micrometer was used to measure each axon's diameter and the distance between electrodes. Only electrode impalements that displayed resting potentials more hyperpolarized than -55 mV were considered for analysis. In all experiments,axons were bathed in 10K ASW.
The voltage-clamp apparatus utilized in these studies has been described previously in greater detail (Bezanilla et al., 1982a, b; Rosenthal and Bezanilla,2000b). In general, transmembrane voltage was measured with two reference electrodes. The external reference, a wide-bore glass capillary, was positioned adjacent to the axon's mid-point. The internal reference, a capillary approximately 50-70 μm in diameter, containing a floating 25μm platinum wire threaded along its entire length, was inserted into the axon from one end and advanced until its tip reached the mid-point. Voltage was clamped by passing currents through a platinized platinum wire inserted down the axon's entire length. The diameter of this wire was normally 75μm, but for many small axons (<325 μm in diameter) a 50 μm wire was used. Data were collected as described in the previous section. As before,10K ASW was used as external solution and native axoplasm served as the internal solution.
For voltage-clamp experiments that did not involve instantaneous interruptions of the action potential, signals were leak-subtracted using a standard P/-4 procedure (Bezanilla and Armstrong, 1977). Holding potentials were either -65 or -70 mV. K+ currents were studied by applying tetrodotoxin (TTX) to the bath. Na+ currents were isolated by subtracting the K+current (IK) from total membrane currents. To block all inward current activated by a brief pulse to 0 mV, 200 nmol l-1 TTX was added. In our hands, TTX subtraction was adequate for studying time points prior to and including peak Na+ current (INa), a time range when very little IK was activated. This permitted the measurement of peak Na+ conductance (gNa) and its activation kinetics. At later time points, after substantial IK had been activated, this method became less reliable because of subtraction artifacts. Accordingly, the inactivation kinetics of INa was not studied.
Our experimental apparatus was modified slightly for action potential interruptions. To generate the action potential, the axial wire was connected to the output of the current generator and to the output of the control amplifier of the voltage-clamp through an electronic switch (FET switch with TTL input). To switch the voltage-clamp on suddenly, a TTL pulse activated this switch connecting the output of the control amplifier to the axial wire,while the same pulse opened another electronic switch removing an auxiliary feedback loop across the control amplifier. Membrane action potentials were triggered on-line in current-clamp mode by passing brief (approximately 200μs) current pulses through the axial wire using a battery-powered stimulator. At timed intervals, the current-clamp was changed rapidly to voltage-clamp by activating the switches with TTL pulses generated under computer control. The speed of this transition was assessed by monitoring the voltage signal, and voltages were clamped to their command values within approximately 10 μs. For INa experiments, action potentials were interrupted every 20-50 μs by clamping to the K+ equilibrium potential (EK). For IK experiments, action potentials were interrupted every 100 or every 200 μs by clamping to the Na+ equilibrium potential (ENa). Instantaneous current values were measured immediately after the clamp had settled. Axons were held at -60 mV.
For propagated action potentials, rise times and fall times were measured between 10 and 90% of the action potential's peak value. In experiments using two microelectrodes, conduction velocities were computed by dividing the distance separating the two electrodes by the time between the peak of the action potential passing each point. Measurements were then normalized by the square root of the axon's diameter(Hodgkin and Huxley, 1952; Taylor, 1963). For voltageclamped axons, the time taken for either IK or INa to reach half its maximal value after a voltage step was used as an index of activation kinetics. K+ conductance (gK)was computed by dividing the instantaneous current measured between the end of a voltage pulse (where IK was fully activated) and the return to rest by the magnitude of the voltage difference at the same points. For gNa, peak INa was measured and divided by the magnitude of the voltage step minus ENa. For action potential interruption experiments, both gK and gNa were measured using the second method. Leak subtraction for interruption experiments was performed manually. For IK interruptions, current was measured following an instantaneous voltage jump to ENa in the absence of a stimulated action potential. This current was then subtracted from experimental values. For INa interruptions, the same strategy was employed except that voltages were jumped to EK. For all experiments, gK and gNa were normalized to the axon's surface area. Surface areas were estimated by visually measuring the axon's average diameter and assuming the geometry to be that of a cylinder. This approach assumes that membrane infoldings, if present, were equivalent for the axons of each species.
The squid species for this study were captured from different sites. In all cases, environmental temperatures were recorded as accurately as possible; a more detailed treatment of each species' natural temperature range can be found in the Materials and methods and Discussion sections. The collective temperature range for the squid used in this study spans approximately 20°C.
Propagated action potential measurements
Like most physiological processes, propagated action potentials are temperature-sensitive. For example, in squid axons, conduction velocities have a Q10 of less than 2, and the temperature-sensitivities of the rise times and fall times are significantly steeper, i.e. Q10 values are greater than 2 (Chapman, 1967; Hodgkin and Katz, 1949; Rosenthal and Bezanilla,2000b). To investigate whether any of these properties correlate with the squid's thermal environment, recordings were made from axons of each of the four species identified above. Fig. 1A shows examples of these recordings taken at 15 °C. In each case, action potentials are characterized by rapid voltage changes of more than 100 mV, followed by a typical undershoot. A casual inspection of the recordings indicates that the action potential duration is variable, being greater in S. sepioidea than in L. opalescens. In Fig. 1B, the action potentials have been superimposed by aligning their peaks. Clearly, the duration of the falling phase differs among all four recordings and correlates with each species' thermal environment: warmer environments are associated with slower fall times. The rise time, in contrast, shows a different pattern: the rise times for all species of Loligo are equivalent and are faster than those for S. sepioidea.
By averaging many experiments, each recorded over a large temperature range, we examined in detail the species-dependent features of the action potentials (Fig. 2). The three parameters investigated are depicted in Fig. 2A. The rise times for all species of Loligo are equivalent(Fig. 2B). Those for S. sepioidea, however, are on average 44% slower at each temperature. The fall times (Fig. 2C) are different for all species and can be ranked from fastest to slowest as follows: L. opalescens < L. pealei < L. plei< S. sepioidea. The relative differences tend to increase at lower temperatures and are particularly apparent below approximately 7.5°C. As with rise times, conduction velocities are equivalent for all Loligospecies but different from that of S. sepioidea. At temperatures below 10°C, Loligo conduction velocities are up to 100% faster,whereas above 10°C they are approximately 50% faster. The temperature-sensitivities (Q10) of these processes also vary(Table 1). For each species,the Q10 values of the fall times are large and those of the conduction velocities are relatively small. In general, Q10 values are highest over the lowest temperature range (0-10°C). This feature is particularly exaggerated for S. sepioidea, in which the Q10 for the fall time is 7.9 compared with approximately 4 for the two temperate species of Loligo. That for L. plei, at 5.25,is intermediate. Over higher temperature ranges, the Q10 values for these processes are more similar.
|Species .||Action potential parameter .||0-10 °C .||10-20 °C .||20-30 °C .|
|Loligo opalescens||Rise time||2.10||1.78||1.42*|
|L. pealei||Rise time||2.56||1.85||1.54*|
|L. plei||Rise time||2.66||1.85||1.63|
|Sepioteuthis sepioidea||Rise time||3.16||1.78||1.54|
|Species .||Action potential parameter .||0-10 °C .||10-20 °C .||20-30 °C .|
|Loligo opalescens||Rise time||2.10||1.78||1.42*|
|L. pealei||Rise time||2.56||1.85||1.54*|
|L. plei||Rise time||2.66||1.85||1.63|
|Sepioteuthis sepioidea||Rise time||3.16||1.78||1.54|
Based on measurements at 20 and 25 °C.
The temperature limits of the propagated action potential were also studied. No low-temperature block was encountered: all species were able to generate action potentials down to 0°C. However, action potential failure was readily apparent at high temperatures, and the temperature varied among species. For L. pealei and L. opalescens, action potentials failed at 29.5±0.8°C (N=9) and 29.0±0.2°C(N=3) respectively. For L. plei and S. sepioidea,failure temperatures were significantly higher: 37.8±1.3°C(N=4) and 34.9±0.6°C (N=6; means ± S.E.M.)respectively. In all experiments, action potentials could be recovered by lowering the temperature. Interestingly, the failure temperature is reflected in the ratio of the fall time to the rise time(Fig. 2E). Because of the relatively high Q10 of the fall time, this ratio decreases as the temperature increases. As this ratio reaches unity, it is increasingly likely that the action potential will fail. In the case of S. sepioidea,action potentials were measured in which fall times were slightly faster than rise times, but in axons of Loligo failure occurred prior to this point. As with the measurements of the absolute failure temperatures, the fall time:rise time ratio in S. sepioidea and L. plei axons is shifted to the right on the temperature axis.
The preceding analysis of propagated action potentials indicated that both rise times and conduction velocities were similar among Loligospecies, but slower in S. sepioidea. By contrast, all species exhibited different fall times. These results suggest that some specific property of the Na+ conductance may differ between S. sepioidea and the Loligo species, and that the K+conductance may differ among all species. However, the analysis cannot predict which physiological property of a particular conductance will vary. For example, changes in kinetics, voltage-dependence or absolute conductance level could bring about similar results.
To examine gK and gNa directly,voltage-clamp experiments were performed. Axons from all species except L. opalescens were compared under identical conditions. Specimens of L. opalescens were excluded because the axons of most specimens were too small for this technique. Fig. 3A shows a typical voltage-clamp current recording following a 3.5 ms pulse to 0 mV from an S. sepioidea axon. The general features of this current were shared by all species. In squid axons, a rapidly activating inward current is carried by Na+ (INa), and a delayed outward current is carried by K+ (IK)(Hodgkin and Huxley, 1952). IK can be isolated by adding TTX to the bath. In Fig. 3B, the same axon has been treated with TTX, and a family of classic `delayed rectifier' K+currents is shown. Their characteristic shape is derived from rapid activation following a pronounced delay. INa was more complicated to study. Fig. 3Ci shows two currents traces from an L. plei axon after a voltage step to -10 mV before and after the addition of TTX. The TTX-sensitive current, visualized by subtracting these two recordings, was considered to be INa(Fig. 3Cii). INa of squid axons activates very rapidly, with a much shorter delay than IK, and then inactivates with a quasi-exponential time course. It is noteworthy that, when INa is at its peak, virtually no IK has activated (Fig. 3Ci). This relationship held irrespective of the voltage,temperature or species (data not shown). At later times, increasingly larger proportions of IK had to be subtracted. In some axons, this process introduced artifacts in the time course of INa inactivation. For this reason, analysis focused on activation kinetics and maximal conductance. A family of subtracted Na+ currents, recorded at various voltages,is shown in Fig. 3Ciii. In this case, currents activate rapidly even after modest depolarizations, and their direction reverses between approximately +30 and +50 mV. The following analysis is based on IK and INa recorded from all three species in an analogous manner.
Steady-state and kinetic parameters of gNa and gK were analyzed for all species, and these results are presented in Fig. 4. Clearly,the most striking difference rests in the absolute levels of gNa and gK. For both species of Loligo, gNa reaches a maximum of approximately 75 mS cm-2 at voltages greater than +10 mV(Fig. 4A). In S. sepioidea axons, gNa reaches only 47 mS cm-2 (approximately 63% of the value for the Loligospecies). Maximal gK, however, is different for all three species: for L. pealei, L. plei and S. sepioidea, the corresponding values are 73 mS cm-2, 54 mS cm-2(approximately 74% of the value for L. pealei) and 38 mS cm-2 (approximately 52%), respectively. These differences are highly significant (see figure legend). In Fig. 4C,D, values of gNa and gK have been normalized to their maximum values and then plotted against voltage. In both cases, the conductances activate steeply between approximately -30 mV and +20 mV. The gNa/voltage relationship is particularly steep. In neither case, however, is there a significant inter-species difference in voltage-dependence. Activation kinetics for both currents were also equivalent among species. The half-time (t1/2) for activation versus voltage relationships for both INa and IK are shown in Fig. 4E,F. In general, INa activated approximately 10 times faster than IK. For both INa and IK,half-times for activation were not statistically different among species. All results in Fig. 4 were taken from axons at 10°C. Similar experiments conducted at 20°C yielded the same relative results (not shown).
Conductance measurements during the action potential
Data from voltage-clamped axons suggest that differences in absolute conductance levels are consistent with species-specific differences in the propagated action potential. Accordingly, slower action potential rise times for S. sepioidea are due to a smaller gNa;differences in fall times between all three species are due to different levels of gK. These hypotheses were tested directly by reconstructing the time course and magnitude of gNa and gK during membrance action potentials. The strategy was to stimulate action potentials in current-clamped axons and then to `interrupt'them at specific times by rapidly switching to voltage-clamp mode. If the voltage is clamped to the K+ equilibrium potential(EK), then the resulting instantaneous current jump is due to INa. Conversely, if the voltage is clamped to the Na+equilibrium potential (ENa), then the current is due to IK. Thus, by interrupting the action potential at many points, the time course of both gNa and gK can be measured. The method of action potential interruption, along with the underlying assumptions, has been described in greater detail previously(Bezanilla et al., 1970; Rojas et al., 1970).
It is assumed that, early during an action potential, the reversal potential (Erev) corresponds to ENa,and later to EK (when INa or IK is large, small leak conductances have a minimal contribution; see above references). Therefore, to determine ENa and EK, Erev was measured at different times during an action potential. Fig. 5 demonstrates an example of this type of experiment. Fig. 5A shows a typical membrane action potential, in this case recorded from a L. pealeiaxon at 15°C. In Fig. 5Bi,seven action potentials, from the same axon, have been superimposed. In each case, the voltage-clamp was activated after 700 μs and the membrane was clamped to a different potential (-70 mV to +50 mV in increments of 20 mV). Fig. 5Bii shows the resulting current traces. All the following results focus on the magnitude of the instantaneous current jump after the voltage-clamp has been activated and the voltage has settled to its new value. The relationship between this current and voltage (I/V) was used to determine Erev. In this case, Erev was -27 mV (due to activation of both gNa and gK). Fig. 5C shows a time series of Erev determinations plotted on top of an action potential. In this case, Erev begins at approximately +55 mV and, by the end of the action potential, reaches approximately -70 mV. The maximum and minimum values are taken to be ENa and EK, respectively. Similar experiments were repeated for each species, and no significant differences were found among species for either ENa or EK.
Values of ENa and EK were then used to examine the time course of gNa and gK during an action potential(Fig. 6). Fig. 6Ai shows an `interrupted'action potential from an L. pealei axon at 10°C. In this case,the action potential is clamped after 700 μs (arrow) to -70mV(EK). The resultant INa is shown in Fig. 6Aii. At the time the clamp is activated, the current jumps almost instantaneously from near 0 μA to approximately 375 μA, after which INa rapidly deactivates back to 0 μA. Thus, the instantaneous current jump is proportional to gNa at 700 μs. Here, gNa is 3.0 mS. A similar experiment, designed to measure gK, is illustrated in Fig. 6Bi. In this case, the action potential is interrupted after 2 ms and clamped to +55 mV (ENa). Upon clamping, the current(Fig. 6Bii) jumps from near zero to approximately 173 μA. Thus, gK at 2 ms is 1.4 mS.
These procedures, conducted at many time points, were extended to each species, and the complete time courses for both gNa and gK were determined(Fig. 6C-E). In each case, gNa activates rapidly and reaches its peak simultaneously with that of the action potential. gK activates less steeply and with a pronounced delay, reaching its peak after the action potential has almost fully repolarized. Several features, however, differ between the data presented in Fig. 6C-E. First, peak gK is greatest in L. pealei (approximately 29 mS cm-2), intermediate in L. plei (approximately 23 mS cm-2) and smallest in S. sepioidea (approximately 19 mS cm-2). Peak gNa, in contrast, is greatest in L. plei(approximately 65 mS cm-2), intermediate in L. pealei(approximately 50 mS cm-2) and smallest in S. sepioidea(approximately 44 mS cm-2). In addition, gKappears to turn on and off faster in L. pealei than in the other two species. gNa, in contrast, activates extremely rapidly in each case. It turns off, however, more rapidly in L. pealei than in the other two species. These findings are based on data from a single representative axon for each species. Because of variation among axons, these studies were extended to multiple axons from each species.
Fig. 7 shows mean gNa and gK for each species. Because the stimulus duration and action potential latency varied slightly among axons, all time points were normalized using the action potential's peak as time zero. Fig. 7A demonstrates that, contrary to the results presented in Fig. 6, absolute gNa is equivalent for both Loligo species,reaching approximately 55 mS cm-2 as the action potential peaks. In S. sepioidea, peak gNa is significantly smaller(approximately 37 mS cm-2; 67% of the value for the Loligospecies; P≤0.05). In Fig. 7B, gNa measurements have been normalized to their peak values to compare kinetics. Although gNaappears to peak slightly more slowly in S. sepioidea, there are no significant differences in activation. The time course of the falling phase does differ among species, being fastest in L. pealei, intermediate in L. plei and slowest in S. sepioidea. This is expected because, during the action potential, the turning off of gNa is driven mainly by the turning on of gK, which is fastest in L. pealei and slowest in S. sepiodea. Unlike gNa, maximum gK differs among species. It is greatest in L. pealei (approximately 36 mS cm-2), intermediate in L. plei (approximately 24 mS cm-2; 66% of the value for L. plei) and smallest in S. sepioidea (approximately 17 mS cm-2; 47%). The kinetics of gK(Fig. 7D) is indistinguishable between L. plei and S. sepioidea, but for L. pealeiboth the on and off rates are relatively fast. Thus, as with voltage-clamp experiments, absolute conductances show dramatic interspecies differences.
These investigations assume that the four test species inhabit different thermal environments. It is therefore appropriate to comment on the magnitude of this temperature range. At the outset, it should be stressed that the precise temperature range for these species is not known, a common problem for marine organisms. Geographically distinct subpopulations probably experience temperature variation as well. For the present purpose, we intend only to establish that each species' temperature range is different and that collectively they span approximately 20°C.
L. opalescens is commonly found off the Pacific coast of North America and is particularly abundant off California. In the winter,populations are found in southern California, whereas for the rest of the year they are found off northern and central California. In both cases, surface temperatures rarely exceed 13°C and are often several degrees lower. These squid have also been observed below the thermocline at temperatures as low as 6-7°C (Neumeister et al.,2000). Specimens of L. pealei are commonly encountered off the Atlantic coast of North America from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico. Their temperature range has been discussed in greater detail elsewhere(Boyle, 1983; Rosenthal and Bezanilla,2000b). In Woods Hole, this squid is most commonly encountered between approximately 10 and 20°C, although their abundance is greatest when water temperatures are at the low end of this range. They are reported actively to avoid temperatures below 8°C(Summers, 1969). Specimens of L. plei are commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea off northern South America. In Mochima, Venezuela, where the specimens for this study were collected, water temperatures at the capture site (and depth)were between 18 and 20.5°C. In the Gulf of Mexico, these squid are often encountered in the same areas as L. pealei; however, the abundance of each species is stratified with depth. L. plei prefer warmer surface waters (<50 m), whereas L. pealei prefer cooler, deeper waters(Hixon et al., 1980; Whitaker, 1978, 1980). S. sepioideaare normally found adjacent to shallow reefs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (Voss, 1956). In Mochima, where specimens were collected, data loggers indicated that daily temperatures fluctuated between 23.5 and 27°C in April and May. In July and August, temperatures were significantly higher (26-29°C). It should be noted that both L. plei and S. sepioidea were maintained at 29-30°C in flowing seawater tanks for several days before use with no obvious detrimental effects.
The data presented in this report identify three properties of the propagated action potential that vary. First, the duration of the action potential's falling phase differs among all species tested and correlates with the thermal environment of the species; when measured at equivalent temperatures, action potentials from species that inhabit colder environments are shorter. Second, the action potential's rising phase is relatively slow in S. sepioidea, but equivalent in all three species of Loligo. Third, the same relationship holds true for the conduction velocity.
The absolute levels of gK and gNa are consistent with all three changes in the propagated action potential. It should be stressed that species-dependent conductances were measured using two independent sets of experiments (voltage-clamped axons and action potential interruptions) and both yielded comparable results. Clearly, an increase in gK will decrease the duration of the action potential's falling phase, an assertion supported by the Hodgkin and Huxley model (data not shown). In fact, for a number of systems, the action potential's duration is regulated by changing the level of gK (Chen et al.,1996; Kaab et al.,1996; Thuringer et al.,1996; Zhang and McBain,1995). The relatively slow action potential rise time and conduction velocity in S. sepioidea axons are consistent with its low levels of gNa. On the basis of the Hodgkin and Huxley model axon, the level of gNa correlates well with conduction velocity and rise time(Adrian, 1975; Hodgkin, 1975; Huxley, 1959). However, more quantitative extrapolations of conduction velocity and rise time, using our measured conductance values, were not attempted. Years of scrutiny have indicated that several aspects of the Hodgkin and Huxley model require further refinement to predict properties of conduction with sufficient accuracy for the present purposes (Armstrong and Bezanilla, 1977; Armstrong et al., 1973; Armstrong and Hille,1998; Vandenberg and Bezanilla, 1991; Bezanilla,2000; Bezanilla and Armstrong,1977). For example, as seen in Fig. 6, at the action potential's peak, there is virtually no gK, a result not predicted by the Hodgkin and Huxley equations using the original parameters(Hodgkin and Huxley,1952).
There are many plausible mechanisms for regulating ionic conductances in the giant axon. The most straightforward would be to modify the surface expression of Na+ or K+ channels by transcriptional mechanisms, by translational mechanisms or by changing turnover rates. Conceivably, the unitary conductance of Na+ and K+channels could also be regulated. No evidence supports or refutes any of these possibilities. Species-dependent differences in slow inactivation could also influence the available levels of ionic conductances. However, at the holding potentials used for these studies (≤-65 mV), no significant slow inactivation was apparent for any species. For gK, regulation may also be at the level of subunit assembly. Recent evidence suggests that SqKv1.1A, a K+ channel mRNA that is thought to underlie some or all of delayed rectifier gK in the giant axon(Rosenthal et al., 1996),contains several anomalous amino acid residues in a channel domain (T1)responsible for subunit tetramerization(Liu et al., 2001). The amino acids at these positions, which are regulated by RNA editing(Rosenthal and Bezanilla,2000a), strongly influence the functional expression of heterologously expressed channels in Xenopus oocytes. Further evidence suggests that the pattern of RNA editing in the T1 domain of SqKv1.1A varies among different species of squid(Rosenthal and Bezanilla,1998).
The conductance level changes identified in this study are a plausible regulatory mechanism for the changes observed in the propagated action potentials. However, other possibilities exist. For example, inactivation and deactivation of gNa could contribute to the action potential's rate of decline. The axon's cable properties (e.g. resistance or capacitance) could also vary among species. Previous work has demonstrated that, within a species, seasonal changes in the giant axon's internal resistance can influence conduction velocity (Rosenthal and Bezanilla, 2000b).
Do these data describe temperature adaptations? To answer this question,several factors should first be considered. Does the giant axon system mediate an equivalent function in all the species tested? On the basis of similarities in anatomy and behavior, it is assumed that for each species the giant axon system regulates the jet-propelled escape response(Otis and Gilly, 1990; Young, 1938) and plays a role in feeding behavior (Preuss and Gilly,2000). Are these species sufficiently close on a phylogenetic level to permit a meaningful comparison? Although there are no established standards, all four species are members of the family Loliginidae. On the basis of recent phylogenetic studies using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the three Loligo species are more closely related to each other than to other members of the genus. The species S. sepioidea is the outlier(Anderson, 2000). Therefore,when considering our data, more weight should be given to physiological differences that varied within the genus Loligo (e.g. the level of gK). All three species of Loligo are active pelagic predators. Although S. sepioidea are more domercile, it is probable that the giant axon system mediates the same basic function for all the squid species tested.
It is also important to consider why a physiological difference would be adaptive. First, the action potential's duration will be considered in terms of simple rate compensation. Is it necessary for species that inhabit different thermal environments to maintain a similar action potential duration at their native temperatures? If so, modifications of the underlying ionic conductances are required. Data from this study only partially support this view. Action potentials from L. opalescens giant axons are relatively fast and those from S. sepioidea are slow. However, the rate compensation is not complete. On average, there is an approximately 5 °C shift in the fall times between L. opalescens and S. sepioidea and an overall shift of approximately 7.5 °C in the total action potential duration (fall time plus rise time). The temperature difference between these two species' environment is approximately double this. Clearly, there is not perfect rate compensation. When considering the purpose of the giant axon's action potential, to stimulate an escape jet, the necessity to compensate the duration in the first place is not immediately apparent. A single action potential in the giant axon produces an all-or-none contraction of the mantle musculature(Prosser and Young, 1937; Young, 1938). Does the duration of this action potential matter? A better understanding of the relationship between temperature, action potential duration and mantle contraction could help shed light on this issue.
An alternative hypothesis is that the action potential broadening, seen in the species from warmer habitats (L. plei and S. sepioidea),is merely a consequence of an adaptation to avoid action potential failure at high temperatures. As discussed in the Results section, action potentials in the two species from colder habitats fail at approximately 29 °C. The temperature range for both L. plei and S. sepioidea can approach this level. In fact, in our hands, both species survive in tanks maintained at this temperature. Using the Hodgkin and Huxley paradigm,decreases in gK lead to increases in the failure temperature because less gK competes with gNa following stimulation. Action potentials from both `warm' species exhibited a reduced gK and elevated failure temperature. Other factors, however, could also contribute to differences in failure temperature (e.g. differences in Na+ channel inactivation). Clearly, avoiding action potential failure would be an adaptational advantage.
The reported changes in normalized conduction velocity can also be viewed in terms of compensatory adaptations. The conduction velocity of the giant axon of S. sepioidea, at all temperatures, is slower than that of Loligo species. In fact, the shift of approximately 10 °C between the conduction velocity versus temperature relationships is in reasonable agreement with the temperature ranges for these two species. Thus,to make the escape response as fast as possible, Loligo species have more gNa in their axons to compensate for a relatively cold environment. It is important to note, however, that there is no apparent rate compensation within the genus Loligo, even though the species utilized in this study span a considerable range of habitat temperature. A previous study, using two Loligo species, hypothesized that a change in the slope of the conduction velocity versus temperature relationship was a temperature adaptation(Easton and Swenberg, 1975). In our study, at temperatures above 7 °C, there is no evidence for a change in the slope of the conduction velocity versus temperature realtionship. Members of the genus Loligo are not commonly found below this temperature.
At present, we consider the physiological properties identified in this study as reasonable candidates for temperature adaptations. Similar investigations utilizing more representatives within the family Loliginidae would help clarify the issue. These findings are interesting in light of the considerable attention that has been paid to the theory of homeoviscous adaptation (Macdonald, 1988; Sinensky, 1974). No comparative data exist for membrane lipid viscosity in the giant axon;however, homeoviscous adaptation would be expected to affect the rates of ion channel gating. These data suggest that absolute conductance levels are more likely to be targets of adaptation. However, Na+ channel inactivation and deactivation kinetics need to be measured. For these and other studies, the squid giant axon remains an excellent system in which to study temperature adaptation in nerve.
These investigations benefited from the kind efforts and aid of a great number of people. In Caracas, Venezuela, we wish to thank Drs R. DiPolo, C. Caputo and G. Whittembury, H. Rojas and the rest of the IVIC staff. In Mochima, Venezuela, we thank R. Penot, Jesus Fuentes and Antonio Cariaco,expert procurers of `chopos' and `chipirones', at the Fundaciencia Marine Laboratory. At the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, we thank Drs D. Gadsby, P. DeWeer, R. Rakowski, M. Holmgren and R. Hanlon. Finally, we thank John's Sportfishing in Marina Del Rey for kindly providing specimens of L. opalescens. This work was supported by GM20314 and GM30376 and a travel award from the UCLA Latin America Studies Program.
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Kinematic structure and evolution of the 9 March 2006 Mississippi/Alabama bow echo.KINEMATIC kin·e·mat·ics
n. (used with a sing. verb)
The branch of mechanics that studies the motion of a body or a system of bodies without consideration given to its mass or the forces acting on it. STRUCTURE AND EVOLUTION OF THE 9 MARCH 2006 MISSISSIPPI/ALABAMA BOW ECHO. Calvin M. Elkins, Atmospheric Science Department, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL 35899.
Bow echoes are a common meteorological me·te·or·ol·o·gy
The science that deals with the phenomena of the atmosphere, especially weather and weather conditions.
[French météorologie, from Greek phenomenon and are responsible for many severe weather warnings and weather related damage. This is especially the case in the Southeast US during the cold season. On 9 March 2006, a severe cold season squall line formed over Louisiana and intensified just east of Columbus, MS, near the Mississippi -Alabama border, where it assumed a bow echo configuration and produced a long swath of damaging winds from eastern Mississippi to northern Alabama. While the storm exhibited several familiar earmarks of cold-season bow echoes, questions still remain as to why the bow formed exactly where it did and why it evolved from bow to break so quickly. This study specifically investigates the characteristics of this bow echo system (mesoscale and synoptic syn·op·tic also syn·op·ti·cal
1. Of or constituting a synopsis; presenting a summary of the principal parts or a general view of the whole.
a. Taking the same point of view.
b. ) during its passage near Columbus, MS, with special attention given to the kinematic structure and evolution of the system.
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|Title Annotation:||Engineering and Computer Science Paper Abstracts|
|Publication:||Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science|
|Article Type:||Brief article|
|Date:||Apr 1, 2009|
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Help Keep Bears Wild
Get in the habit of being bear-responsible. It’s like recycling — at first it’s a little extra effort, but soon it becomes a better way to live. And you can be proud you’re helping to make Colorado a better place for people and bears.
- Don’t feed bears, and don’t put out food for other wildlife that attracts bears.
- Be responsible about trash and bird feeders.
- Burn food off barbeque grills and clean after each use.
- Keep all bear-accessible windows and doors closed and locked, including home, garage and vehicle doors.
- Don’t leave food, trash, coolers, air fresheners or anything that smells in your vehicle.?
- Pick fruit before it ripens, and clean up fallen fruit.
- Talk to your neighbors about doing their part to be bear-responsible.
- If You See a Bear ?
- If a bear comes near your home, do your best to chase it away. Yell, blow a whistle, clap your hands, and make other loud noises. But never approach or corner a bear.
More information at http://www.wildlifestate.co.us/bears
Use Vehicles Responsibly
Each area has rules that govern vehicle use. Learn and follow these rules for each area you visit. Stay on designated or existing routes and out of closed areas. Limit your driving in wet conditions to avoid road damage.
Leave No Trace
Remove all evidence of your visit so others will find these areas as beautiful as you do. Take care of public facilities. Leave wildflowers and other natural objects for others to enjoy. Do not deface or dismantle historic or archaeological sites.
Respect Other Visitors
You share these lands with many others; make sure your fun is not ruining the experience for others around you. Minimize noise, keep pets under control, and drive safely on narrow roads and trails.
Keep Wildlife Wild
Careless visitors can unknowingly disturb the many species of wildlife present on public lands. Do not feed the animals. Enjoy them from a distance. Move quietly through the woods, especially in stream-side areas.
Respect Private Property
It is your responsibility to know where you are. Be sure you have legal access to the places you want to enjoy.
Have a Safe Trip
Changing weather and difficult terrain can pose hazards to the unprepared visitor. Be sure someone knows where you are going and when you plan to return. Be ready for changing conditions and stay within your capabilities.
We enjoy over 300 days of sunshine every year and a cool, dry climate. Summer daytime highs are typically in the 70s or low 80s F. Lows in the summer are in the 40s or upper 30s F. A jacket and/or sweater is recommended for your visit during the summer. A typical winter day may have high temperatures in the upper teens to low 30s, with lows at night from 10 to 30 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.
- Conditions can change quickly in the mountains, so be prepared for anything.
- As a general rule, temperatures are much lower at higher elevations in the surrounding mountains.
Thunderstorms are typical daily occurrences during the summer, especially during July and August. Locally, we refer to this as the “monsoon” or rainy season. Stay off of ridges and away from open ground to avoid lightning strikes. Longer hikes are best started very early in the morning so that you can be down off the mountain when the lightning starts.
It is essential to wear eye protection, a hat, and sunscreen when outdoors. The sun is many times more intense here than at sea level. In the winter, when there is a reflective layer of snow on the ground, the sun can be devastating to your skin and eyes, resulting in blisters or sun blindness, which really hurts!
Less extreme cases of burning can occur when you wear your goggles or sunglasses but forget the sunscreen: you look like a red raccoon for days afterwards. Some of us know this firsthand. The red sunburn masks your embarrassment, but that's not much comfort.
Protect yourself, and don't forget to protect children and pets from the sun as well. Sometimes, we have seen children at the Lake City Ski Hill without sunglasses or goggles, while Mom or Dad is fully protected. Don't be a bad parent. Sunglasses and sunscreen for kids are a must. If your dog will be outside in the snow at this altitude a lot, there are sunglasses for dogs as well (one brand is called "Doggles," which you can find online).
What to Wear
In some ways, Lake City residents may be more concerned about their clothes than others, but not for vain reasons! Adjusting your wardrobe to the Lake City climate could be an issue of life or death, or 99% of the time, simply a matter of your comfort. Either way, you will want to dress appropriately for the conditions.
A good basic rule to remember: always plan for fast-changing conditions. Some very smart folks around here carry winter-worthy clothes with them on outings and in their cars year round. This is especially relevant when taking excursions to the wilderness and when traveling out of town during the off-seasons when there is sparse traffic on the highways. Remember the lucky college students who went off the road on top of Slumgullion Pass in February: they were wearing sandals and had no coats when the sheriff, by chance, drove by and saved them from getting frozen.
Several stores in Lake City sell quality winter clothing; try the Sportsman Outdoors and Fly Shop, or the General Store. These items are also available from many catalogs or web merchants if you can't find them here.
Some wardrobe guidelines:
- Dress in layers that can be added or removed as needed.
- Don't wear cotton if you're working or playing outside. Synthetic fleeces and wool hold body heat even when wet or damp. Wet cotton can quickly lead to hypothermia in the outdoors. The easy way to remember this: "cotton kills."
- Keep a down parka or jacket with you on outings. Check the warmth ratings on it before purchase. A good winter coat will have a 600 or 650 fill of down, or more.
- Keep good insulated shoes or winter boots with you on outings and/or in your car. Winter boots are often temperature-rated by the vendor; some are rated to -40 F or colder.
- In the winter, consider wearing a pair of traction add-ons that slip over shoes or boots if you will be walking around outside. Items such as Yak-trax, Kahtoulas, or other cleats slip over your shoes or boots and give better traction on ice and snow.
- Socks are your new friends. No cotton! Try merino wool blends. They cost $10 to $20 per pair, but they are one of the most important things to own, and they should last many seasons. Cold feet = a cold you, even if you are wearing a warm coat and hat.
- A winter hat protects your noodle from rapid heat loss. There are many types of winter hats, including ones that fit under your helmet, have wind-blocking fleece, open on top for ventilation, cover just your ears, cover your head and face, or do any number of fabulous things.
- A summer hat should have a wide brim that shades your face and neck, plus a drawstring for the inevitable windy day. How many hats have been claimed by the winds of Engineer Pass? The world may never know.
- Always wear sunglasses or goggles with full UV protection (see "sun protection" listing above).
- Wear sunscreen.
Gains in altitude can affect anyone, especially when traveling above 7000 feet. Sometimes, the effects can include: headaches, breathlessness, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, inability to sleep, and swelling of the hands, face, or feet. Some ways to reduce your symptoms: avoid strenuous activity for the first day or two of your visit, drink extra water, and avoid alcohol. Check with your doctor before going to high altitude if you have a heart or lung condition. If your symptoms worsen go to lower elevation and consult a doctor immediately.
Driving Slumgullion Pass
A common problem for drivers coming over Slumgullion Pass is overheating brakes. To avoid this problem, use a lower gear. After reaching the summit of Slumgullion Pass heading towards Lake City, start out going slow downhill. If the car starts gaining too much speed, simply shift into the next lowest gear, repeating this process as often as necessary. Contrary to popular belief, this practice will not hurt a transmission. For those with standard transmission cars, remember that the gear used going uphill is likely the same gear that will be used going downhill. A general tip for everyone is to not rush going over Slumgullion. Take it slow and enjoy the drive.
If you are heading out into the back country for snowshoeing, snowmobiling, or skiing, check the conditions at the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, where you'll find an interactive conditions map and detailed reports.
You and Your Car
As a general rule, don't leave your car if you break down or get stuck during a snow storm. The car is your only shelter, and it can save your life. Someone will find you eventually, so stay put. The Colorado Division of Emergency Management advises that you keep these items in your car at all times:
- a battery powered radio (with fresh batteries)
- flashlight and extra batteries
- blanket (better yet, a sleeping bag rated to 40 below zero F)
- jumper cables
- fire extinguisher (5 lb. A-B-C- type)
- first aid kit
- bottled water
- non-perishable high energy foods like granola bars, raisins and peanut butter. (Please note that you should not leave any food in your car except in the winter, because a bear could break into your car for the food and wreak havoc).
They also advise that if you get stuck during a blizzard, you do the following:
- Pull off the road, set hazard lights to flashing, and hang a distress flag (red bandana or shop towel) from the radio antenna or window.
- Remain in your vehicle; rescuers are most likely to find you there.
- Conserve fuel, but run the engine and heater about ten minutes each hour to keep warm, cracking a downwind window slightly to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Exercise to maintain body heat but don't over-exert. Huddle with other passengers and use your coat for a blanket (better yet, use that sleeping bag that you kept in your car).
- In extreme cold, use road maps, seat covers, floor mats, newspapers or extra clothing for covering-anything to provide additional insulation and warmth.
- Turn on the inside dome light so rescue teams can see you at night, but be careful not to run the battery down. In remote areas, spread a large cloth over the snow to attract the attention of rescue planes.
- Do not set out on foot unless you see a building close by where you know you can take shelter.
- Once the blizzard is over, you may need to leave the car and proceed on foot. Follow the road if possible. If you need to walk across open country, use distant points as landmarks to help maintain your sense of direction.
None of that sounds like much fun. It's a much better idea to stay at home near the fire until the storm passes and the roads are cleared. See next item:
For current road conditions, call the CDOT hotline at 877-315-7623 or visit www.cotrip.org. Even if a pass is open but has a chain requirement for commercial vehicles, you may want to wait. I was once driving on a pass which was simply listed as "packed snow, icy spots"--at least 6 vehicles had slid off the road, one over a cliff!
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HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS - Regulations
When used with respect to any public elementary school or secondary school special education teacher teaching in a State, highly qualified requires that:
- The teacher has obtained full State certification as a special education teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification), or passed the State special education teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in the State as a special education teacher, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, highly qualified means that the teacher meets the certification or licensing requirements, if any, set forth in the State's public charter school law;
- The teacher has not had special education certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis; and
- The teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree.
[34 CFR 300.18(b)(1)] [20 U.S.C. 1401(10)(B)]
Dialogue Starter - Cross-stakeholder
- In your view, how do the highly qualified provisions provide new opportunities to examine the relationship between special and general education?
- In your view, how do these provisions provide new opportunities to examine the preparation of special and general educators?
- In your experience, how likely is it that the highly qualified provisions will advance co-teaching across special and general education?
- Teacher preparation programs are approved by the state and are developed in accordance with state standards.
- Do you know what standards are directing the preparation of special and general educators in your state?
- Do you know how to find out?
Note: Do you know about model standards for all teachers of students with disabilities, both special and general education? Go to http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/SPEDStds.pdf to see the standards that have been proposed by the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).
- NCLB emphasizes serving all students well, including students with disabilities. In order for this to happen, what should preparation programs teachers look like:
- For special education teachers
- For general education teachers
- What are some of the ways institutions of higher education could create preparation programs that will help all teachers to serve all students well, including students with disabilities?
Note: For some ideas about how these changes might occur, see The Action Guide for Higher Education and Policymakers developed by the Center for Teacher Quality an investment by the Office of Special Education Programs at CCSSO: http://www.ccsso.org/projects/center_for_improving_teacher_quality/Resources_Links/
These questions were developed by the following
stakeholders working together:
Role: Service Provider
Role: Technical Assistance Provider
Role: State Education Agency
Role: Higher Education
Role: Higher Education
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Unime Moonstone and Aquamarine bracelet is made from natural grade A Moonstone and Aquamarine gemstone beads.
As ancient as the moon itself, Moonstone holds the power of mystery. Its secrets are locked beneath a pearly veil of a gemstone bead. Since earliest times, Moonstone has been a tangible connection to the magic of the moon - an amulet of protection for travelers, a gift of lovers for passion, a channel for prophecy and a path to wisdom. White Moonstone carries the energy of the new moon at the height of its power, stimulating psychic perception, vision and dreamwork. It can magnify your emotions, activating the kundalini energy in women and emotional balance in men, and is supportive in children to drive away nightmares or insomnia. It powerfully affects the female reproductive system, enhancing fertility and promoting ease in pregnancy and childbirth, alleviates menstrual problems and change-of-life, balances the hormonal system and eliminates fluid retention.
Aquamarine evokes the purity of crystaliline waters, and the relaxation of the sea. It is calming, soothing, and cleansing, and inspires truth, trust and letting go. Aquamarine was believed to be the treasure of mermaids, and was used by sailors as a talisman of good luck, fearlessness and protection. It was also considered a stone of eternal youth and happiness. Today it protects all who travel by, over or near water, and opens the channels of clear and heartfelt communication.
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The hypothesis of evolution is unprovable (see Evolution Nexus) but it provides another proof that LGBTQs are mentally ill. This is because the hypothesis of evolution says that there are evolutionary forces that drive species to perpetuate themselves; that is, to have children. LGBTQs are just the opposite. They do not and, indeed, cannot have children; for example, to state the obvious, a man cannot have a child with a man. So, LGBTQs fly in the face of evolutionary thinking.
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The Future of Software Testing
It’s become standard practice for test engineers to test their code in a staging environment, fix all inconsistencies there, and then deploy to production. In this waterfall process, testers have no visibility into what’s happening in production. What do you do if your test results in staging don't match production? The future of software testing has no staging environments - only production. Testing in production is a proactive approach to testing as you ensure your features work in the environment that your features will live in, not a dummy environment. In this talk, learn about feature flagging, canary releases, setting up a proper CI/CD pipeline, and data cleanup. At the end of the day, we don't care if your features work in staging, we care if they work in production.
Talia Nassi is a Lead Developer Advocate at Akamai Technologies and international keynote speaker who delivers content on building in the cloud, the software development lifecycle, testing in production, and Linode. She enjoys helping developers understand how to build efficient applications in the cloud seamlessly and at scale. She speaks at conferences globally, while creating written and video content for developers building in the cloud. She was previously at Amazon Web Service, Split Software, Forbes, WeWork, and Visa.
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This document contains tips, tricks and strategies for using Trello, a free task management app/website that many people within Global Voices use to manage our work and collaborate on projects. Most GV staff and contributors aren't required to use Trello, but this document will serve as an overview for those who want to get involved in our Trello activities or are invited to participate in a Trello board.
Trello uses “boards” where you use “cards” in “lists” to keep track of things.
A big value of Trello is that at it's core, it is completely generic.
- Boards are the “projects” of Trello, empty spaces where you will lay things out however you want.
- Cards are the “posts” of Trello, these usually contain “tasks” like any task list app would have, but they can also be used for other things, like note cards or reference cards or just about anything else.
- Lists are how you organize your cards. Lists can be labeled however you want, but often creating lists like TODO, DOING and DONE is a good start.
So in a Trello board, with lists for TODO/DOING/DONE, you would create cards for each task that needs to be completed. You would start by creating the cards in the TODO “list” (which is also a “column”), then when you start working on that task, you move the card to DOING, and when you are finished the task, you'd move it to DONE.
This might sound simple, but using a tool like Trello to track tasks is very powerful. Not only does it make it easy to see your progress (by looking at your board and where all the cards are) but it allows other people to see your progress too, and help you with any tasks you might be struggling with.
What is Trello good for?
Simply stated, Trello is a great solution for any project with tasks and sub-tasks that you want to make sure get completed. At GV, we use it for things as varied as setting up a new Lingua sites, planning summits and even choosing new logos.
A big benefit of Trello is that it can be used in very simple ways (Jer uses it to plan vacations) or extremely complex ways (security procedures related to server deployment). Trello “scales” along with the user, offering simple workflows as well as powerful features for those who need them.
Here is an incomplete list of the things that make Trello our choice for task management:
- The website version works great, and versions exist for Android, iOS and even special desktop clients for Windows and macOS
- “Boards” and “lists” are versatile tools, open to be moulded into whatever shape you need.
- Allows collaboration among any number of users, just invite someone and they can participate in your project.
- Boards can be public or private, allowing both secure collaboration and community-wide involvement.
- Trello can integrate with Slack, so someone who wants to follow a Trello board through Slack can easily set up an integration to do so.
- “Cards” can be as simple as a title, making it easy to use Trello for tracking simple tasks.
- Cards can also be intricate, with checklists of sub-tasks and elaborate Markdown (like HTML) formatting in their description fields, so when you need more power, you don't have to switch to a different app just to document your work.
- Due Dates can be added to cards, so you can keep track of which tasks need to be done and which are falling behind.
- Cards can have “members” added to them, people who will be notified of changes or when the due date is getting close.
- By adding collaborators to a card and setting a Due Date, you can automatically “assign” tasks to them (though it's a good idea to check in with them about tasks via Slack or another platform just in case).
- Cards can be “copied” (cloned) to replicate tasks, which is especially useful if you create “procedure” template cards, which are cloned each time you repeat a task so you always complete all the sub-tasks in checklists.
- Whole boards can also be copied (cloned), allowing big projects to be defined with a template board, then copied into a fresh board each time a similar project starts.
- It's free! There are paid upgrades but everything you need comes with the free version. Similarly useful apps often require large monthly payments for every user.
Best-practices for using Trello
These tips apply to anything you do with Trello, whether alone or in a team.
- Make sure you are getting useful Notifications!
- You will only be notified about cards you are a Member of.
- Tasks need both Members and Due Dates to have useful Notifications, so always have both if timing is important, whether you are working alone or in a team.
- Name cards with notifications in mind, so that the notifications will make sense and be useful. Add all other information in the description or checklists.
- Use Notifications like you would on Facebook — review the list — don’t rely on emails.
- Use My Cards screen to view all your cards across all boards.
- To get to My Cards click your avatar in the top right corner and choose Cards from the list.
- Use the Sorting filter to control whether you see them by Board (default) or Due Date.
- Use My Cards sorted by Due Date as your Trello bookmark, so you can see all past-due and upcoming tasks.
- Keep your Due Dates up to date and useful!
- Use Due Date to describe the date for the next step in the card, updating it often so you get regular notifications.
- If a card is past due, keep updating the due date to a realistic goal, or re-assess the task’s viability.
- If there is a “Final due date” for a project, add it in the Description text, or create a separate card that aggregates sub-tasks, and give it the final due date.
- Use Markdown to format your descriptions and checklists to make them more readable
- Descriptions can be very elaborate documents, use them to keep track of all the info related to the task.
- Markdown is a simple formatting language used by Trello and many other services, here are some examples:
- **Bold text** → Bold Text
- *Italic text* → Italic text
- [Link text](http://URL.url/) → Link text
- `highlighted_code` →
- > Quoted text
- ## Huge Heading (h2)
- ### Large Heading (h3)
- Use Checklists inside cards for elaborate sub-tasks, so that you have less cards overall.
- Break up your task into smaller pieces so they are easier to complete and keep track of
- Use multiple checklists to organize subtasks.
- Use the “…” menu on a checklist item to Convert to card, which converts the item into it's own card, in case you need to set a different Member for that task, or if an item turns out to be a bigger job than you thought.
- Use Card Links all over.
- Anytime you paste the URL of a card it gets auto-converted into a link with the full card name.
- Card links work great in descriptions and checklists to refer to related tasks or completed tasks so they are easy to find.
- Set up dependency between cards by having the master card link to the subordinate card in a checklist, so you know that card needs to be completed first (once you finish the task linked in the checklist, you just check off that item).
- Use Copy Card and Copy Board tools to replicate repeating tasks
- If you have a task you've done before, and already set up a detailed task card, find it and use Copy Card to create a fresh copy with the same description and checklists.
- Even better, create a template card for regular tasks, with generic content and instructions for the task, then use Copy Card each time you repeat the task and fill in the custom information. This is a great way to stay organized and make sure you never forget anything. E.g. We use this for each new GV email address we create.
- This whole process also applies to whole Boards. You can set up a generic Template Board full of generic tasks that make up a project, then clone that board each time you do a new version of the project. E.g. We use this for each new Lingua site we create.
Tips for using Trello as part of a team
These tips are specifically about using Trello as a collaborative tool, all the tips above still apply of course!
- “Assign” a task to someone by adding a Due Date, then adding them as a Member. Theoretically, they should see the notifications and consider the task assigned to them.
- In practice, when “assigning” a card to someone, you should also mention it to them on Slack (or similar) to confirm they have seen it and agree to it's terms.
- When discussing a task in Slack or Email, always send the Trello URL for the task as a reference, and be sure to update the Trello card if you decide on changes. This way the Trello card always serves as an up-to-date reference in case someone forgets, and you don't have to search for the conversation later.
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Teachers can plan and adjust their practice in response to one or more of the HITS and monitor the impact on student engagement and learning outcomes. A teaching strategy is the method you use to convey information to your students. The list of teaching strategies below does not by any means include all of the good ideas for structuring assignments and activities for students! The learner is the basis of teaching and learning. Teaching Strategies Use our student-centered teaching strategies to strengthen your students’ literacy skills, nurture critical thinking, and create a respectful classroom climate. This section examines curriculum, assessment and teaching techniques for educators. When students become aware of the learning process, they gain control over their learning. An enormous amount has been written in the last two decades about research on how … Free resources for educators to support classroom learning at home. Before presenting a smorgasbord of teaching strategies, this section of the tutorial will explore briefly what is known about how people learn. Techniques for successfully teaching a concept to a group of students. 6 How did we undertake the evaluation? The Teaching Strategies ® Children’s Book Collection includes beloved classic tales, contemporary works by well-known authors, and original nonfiction books—one for the teacher to read and one version for students to explore on their own—that were created to complement the studies featured in the Teaching Guides. Jump to: Ready-made survey | Promoting engagement | Implementing discussions | Moving in-class activities online | Planning fixed (Zoom) classes | Enhancing student wellness | Implementing strategies | Remote experiential learning Interested in surveying your students for the Fall term? Teaching style and teaching method are entirely two different things. The Authority, or lecture style. Teaching strategies are the methods you use to allow learners to access the information you are teaching. Description. In addition to the many philosophical and pedagogical approaches to teaching, classroom educators today employ diverse and sometimes highly creative methods involving specific strategies, prompts and tools that require little explanation. Students are expected to take notes or absorb information. Also included is a list of recommended teaching strategies for … The Authority, or lecture style. The authority model is teacher-centered and frequently entails lengthy lecture sessions or one-way presentations. These teaching methodologies are time tested to help you capture your students attention and motivate them to learn. Free, live webinars that offer educators support on Teaching Strategies products. (July 2019) A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. For both in-classroom and distance learning, we offer the leading early childhood education program to ensure every child has a strong foundation for success in school and life. The definition of a teaching strategy is the principles and methods of teaching. The use of different teaching styles started in the beginning of the twentieth century. You can also use these simple strategies to make your selection process easy and effective. High Impact Teaching Strategies’ dimension of FISO and classroom practice. We suggest considering the following tips: Take it slow. Suddenly you are standing in what will be your classroom for the next … Teaching styles, also called teaching methods, are considered to be the general principles, educational, and management strategies for classroom instruction. teaching strategies A combination of instructional methods, learning activities, and materials that actively engage students and appropriately reflect both learning goals and students’ developmental needs. Finally, altering the teaching approach within a classroom to promote individual student performance can benefit all learners. definition (define) specify: determine the essential quality of A statement of the exact meaning of a word, esp. Our distance learning hub is a great place to start. In the secondary library, try searching Numeracy, Literacy or Lab Skills. If you do not see the reset email, please try checking your spam folder or select the Resend Reset Email button to send it again. What Teaching Strategies Didn’t Make the Top 10? Fact Check: What Power Does the President Really Have Over State Governors. teaching strategies: these are referred to as active learning, cognitive activation and teacher-directed instruction. It is crucial that you are clear about … Teaching Strategies. Additionally, incorporating teaching strategies for dyslexia, such as repeating directions, maintaining consistent daily routines, using step-by-step instructions, and combining verbal and visual information, help students better understand lessons. Or, try some of these strategies out when you’re low on ideas and looking for a fresh way to teach in the classroom! The authority model is teacher-centered and frequently entails lengthy lecture sessions or one-way presentations. Students learn cognitive, social, and physical skills during play … Teachers observe children in the context of their everyday experiences to determine what they know andcan do, and their strengths, needs and interests within 6 areas of See why Teaching Strategies is the #1 provider of early childhood solutions in the country. Strategies for Teaching Online: How to Find the Right EdTech Tools and Curricula Supports. November 17, 2020 Distance Learning, Dyslexia Friendly Learning Environment, Reading Comprehension, Teaching Strategies. Teaching Strategies (TS) Gold is an ongoing, observation-based assessment for preschool and kindergarten students. See why Teaching Strategies is the #1 provider of early childhood solutions in the country. Verbal learners favour using words and linguistic skills - in speech and in writing, … Teaching Strategies. Differentiated instruction is one of the most popular teaching strategies, which means that teachers adjust the curriculum for a lesson, unit or even entire term in a way that engages all learners in various ways, according to Chapter 2 of the book Instructional Process and … Lawton define teaching strategy is a generalized plan for a lesson (s) which include structure desired learner behavior in terms of goals of instructions and an outline of planned tactics necessary to implement the strategy. Better to teach a small number of strategies well over a long period of time than try to teach a large number less extensively. Teaching with research based methods increases student engagement and understanding of material. of federally funded Head Start programs partner with Teaching Strategies. They progress by passing tests for each unit and move at their own pace. TEACHING STRATEGIES Institutions of higher learning across the nation are responding to political, economic, social and technological pressures to be more responsive to students' needs and more concerned about how well students are prepared to assume future societal roles. The Teaching Strategies Gold model is a specific set of tools that adds developmental experiences into the children’s daily experiences to help them develop and integrate self-control and self-regulation, express emotions appropriately, and demonstrate their continuous progress in these experiences. teachers have implemented Provision of recognition and effort reinforcement is a strategy that enables students to understand … Active learning involves directing students to analyze course material. Inspire young learners with developmentally appropriate experiences that engage the whole child. Because the goal of inclusive teaching is adapting to learning styles, experimental learning is most often used for inclusive teaching. Verbal learners. Powerful Learning Experiences — Anytime, Anywhere. strong partnerships. What to Expect from Orton-Gillingham Tutoring . Definition of Teaching: In education, teaching is the concerted sharing of knowledge and experience, which is usually organized within a discipline and, more generally, the provision of stimulus to the psychological and intellectual growth of a person by another person or artifact. Is the Coronavirus Crisis Increasing America's Drug Overdoses? Plan activities that … These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. Discover and share best practices for improving your teaching craft -- delivering instruction, engaging students, reaching struggling students, and more. Strategies are indicated in bold text in the learning Teaching Strategies This section examines curriculum, assessment and teaching techniques for educators. assessment information is used to plan appropriate teaching and learning strategies, including to identify children and learners who are falling behind in their learning or who need additional support, enabling children and learners to make good progress and achieve well. You’ve donned the cap and gown, crossed the stage, smiled with your diploma and went home to fill out application after application. Teaching Strategies 1. Your choice of teaching method depends on what fits you — your educational philosophy, classroom demographic, subject area(s) and school mission statement. high-quality, live, professional development sessions have been delivered in-person or virtual, since 2018. These teaching styles highlight the five main strategies teachers use in the classroom, as well as the benefits and potential pitfalls of each. Glossary of Teaching Strategies Accelerated or individualized math: a system of having students work at different levels individually in one classroom. Save. The interactive teaching and learning strategies described in this section are used to engage students in the resilience and wellbeing, drug education and road safety content included in each focus areas of this resource. Strategies are indicated in bold text in the learning activities. Teaching Strategies . Free and Accessible ReadyRosie™ Modeled Moments COVID-19 Videos. Assessment of the learning capabilities of students provides a key pillar in development of a successful teaching strategy. Use this list of 107 instructional strategies to fill-in that lesson plan or teaching portfolio with some high quality teaching strategies. years of supporting early childhood educators. View moments from a typical day that illustrate how our comprehensive program works. Teach Strategies Not Just Content From assignments and studying, to characterisation, there are strategies underpinning the effective execution of many tasks that you ask students to perform in school. Research shows that a few of these teaching strategies have a significant positive impact on student results. These teaching styles highlight the five main strategies teachers use in the classroom, as well as the benefits and potential pitfalls of each. Teacher Article Reading aloud with children is the best way to inspire a love for reading and to promote language and literacy skills. Topics covered include how to plan classes so sessions are more effective and engaging; how to phrase questions to help achieve desired outcomes and how to determine whether or not students are learning and how effectively. Teaching strategies vary according to the grade level and subject being taught. Teaching strategies identify the different available learning methods to enable them to develop the right strategy to deal with the target group identified. 1. Teaching method is related to the need and demand of the curriculum in which the teacher is teaching. Because of this, it’s important to have lots of teaching strategies in your toolbox. teaching strategies A combination of instructional methods, learning activities, and materials that actively engage students and appropriately reflect both learning goals and students’ developmental needs. The term teaching method refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction. Acting out a story: Having the students act out a part of a story. Understand Each Child’s Needs Based on Developmentally Appropriate Milestones. strategies The teaching and learning strategies have been linked to learning experiences described in each unit of this resource. You’ve spoken, we’ve listened. Start by downloading the worksheet (Microsoft Word 22kB Jun16 05) that goes with this part, and use it as you work through the sections below. Metacognitive activities can include planning how to approach learning tasks, evaluating progress, and monitoring comprehension. Talking together, Te kōrerorero is a new resource with effective teaching practices to support oral language across children's learning pathways. An all-in-one personal app providing parents tracking and guidance in their child's development. Techniques for successfully teaching a concept to a group of students. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to … Exciting Back-to-School Formative Assessment News: Enhancements for GOLD®, Free At-home Resources during the Coronavirus pandemic. For both in-classroom and distance learning, we offer the leading early childhood education program to ensure every child has a strong foundation for success in school and … The definition of a teaching strategy is the principles and methods of teaching. You’ve completed your coursework. Teaching and learning strategies can include a ra nge of whole class, group and individual activities to accommodate different abilities, skills, learning You can find explicit teaching videos for school classrooms by searching for terms such as flipped lessons or featured channels. Direct instruction is the general term that refers to the traditional teaching strategy that relies on explicit teaching through lectures and teacher-led demonstrations. ), The Secret Science of Solving Crossword Puzzles, Racist Phrases to Remove From Your Mental Lexicon. Teaching approaches and strategies that work: Keeping children engaged and achieving in the upper primary school 5 Why did we undertake this evaluation? In this section you will find teaching strategies and resources to support young children’s learning. families use ReadyRosie® to support their child’s development and to partner with their local school. in… The most common teaching strategies are: direct instruction, indirect instruction, interactive instruction, independent study and experimental learning. Obviously, teaching strategies should be carefully matched to the teaching objectives of a particular lesson. Our teaching strategies resources are designed to help you and your students achieve fantastic learning outcomes. How to Strengthen Relationships With Older Students Online. Bring dull academic concepts to life with visual and practical learning experiences, helping your students to understand how their schooling applies in the real-world.Examples include using the interactive whiteboard to display photos, audio clips and videos, as well as encouraging your students to get out of their seats with classroom experiments and local field trips. On the other hand, inclusive teaching means instructors vary their teaching strategy according to the learning styles of their students to include all students in the learning process. Metacognition extends to self-regulation, or managing one's own motivation toward learning. Teaching Methods: A to Z. Teaching Methods and Strategies Prepared by: Jenevel I. Intero 2. Take advantage of strategies students have already developed. Prepare for Any Back-to-School Scenario: A Distance Learning Solution, Prepare Teachers for Back-to-school and Beyond: Introducing Our New Virtual and Online Professional Development Courses, We’ve sent you an email with instructions on how to download your free copy of Tranforming Professional Practice Through Intentional Instruction, The Creative Curriculum® for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, The Creative Curriculum® for Kindergarten, The Creative Curriculum® for Family Child Care, Professional Development for The Creative Curriculum®. We sent you an email with a link to reset your password. Note: the list of teaching strategies below have been chosen for their application in K-12 classrooms from a larger list of research-based pedagogies on the SERC site. Get them to imagine that what you're teaching is a new ecosystem that they can understand by finding patterns. Innovative Teaching Strategies That Improve Student Engagement When it comes to higher education, recent findings have proven that student engagement is the most effective means of learning – outperforming lectures – but is still the least applied teaching strategy. Differentiated instruction strategies allow teachers to … Simply put, a teaching strategy is the way an instructor chooses to convey information and facilitate learning. Teaching strategies is a methods that used to help students in learning the desired course contents and be able to develop achievable goals in the future. Using physical movement to demonstrate and improve comprehension of the story. Student Learning . Teaching Strategies. Strategies for teaching naturalist learners: Include experiments in your lessons. These include: Appointments with students; Art-based projects; Audio tutorials For example, giving a lecture, assigned readings, group discussions and class activities that involve problem solving are all active learning teaching strategies. And, just as with content, you need to tell students about these strategies, to show them how to use them and to give them guided practice before asking them to use them independently. Mackenzie defined the terms strategy and teaching separately. Teaching and learning strategies can include a range of whole class, group and individual activities to accommodate different abilities, skills, learning rates and styles that allow every student to participate and to achieve some degree of success. Students are expected to take notes or absorb information. Play based learning. Student teaching has ended. You can implement these strategies with any academic content. Teaching strategies, also known as instructional strategies, are methods that teachers use to deliver course material in ways that keep students engaged and practicing different skill sets. Teaching strategies and resources. It's important to note that your classroom is your domain, and it's up to you on how you want to apply the teaching strategies that suit your students learning style, as well as your teaching … The Creative Curriculum® in their classrooms since 2018. of the largest public-school districts are transforming early childhood classrooms with The Creative Curriculum® or GOLD®. Powerful Learning Experiences — Anytime, Anywhere. manage operations. Metacognitive strategies are techniques to help students develop an awareness of their thinking processes as they learn. definition (define) specify: determine the essential quality of A statement of the exact meaning of a word, esp. Useful search terms. These techniques help students focus with greater intention, reflect on their existing knowledge versus information they still need to learn, recognize errors in their thinking, and develop practices for effective learning.
How To Catch Birds At Home, Stihl Cf3 Pro Trimmer Line For Sale, Shure Se535 Vs Se215, Kirby And The Amazing Mirror Shard Locations, Songs In The Night, Cosrx Canada Toronto, Baking Cookies Convection Vs Conventional,
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From history to theory to technology: a comprehensive survey of furniture design.
Designing furniture is both an art and a science that draws upon a broad range of knowledge and disciplines. It is helpful for today's furniture designers to have a working knowledge of furniture history, technology, aesthetics, the human body, architectural production, interior design, industrial design, and art. Furniture Design is a comprehensive survey that guides the reader through the essential facets of design and more.
The book explores:
A highlight of the book includes case studies of twenty-one furniture designs presenting a broad selection of works, designers, design processes, and fabrication techniques in one chapter. The book also features a glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography. In short, here is a one-stop resource about furniture design that designers will turn to regularly for the advice, guidance, and information needed to perform their craft.
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The Wheaton College Office of Institutional Research aims to be a leader among liberal arts colleges in the use of big data to better support the recruitment, graduation, and academic success of students with clear, timely, and actionable information.
- Excellence in office operations
- Integrity in research and statistical analysis
- Collegiality in working relationships
- Accountability to quality improvement
- Confidentiality for appropriate faculty, student and staff information
- Accountability to safeguard institutional data
The Office of Institutional Research (IR) supports the realization of Wheaton College’s strategic vision through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information in support of assessment, enrollment management, planning and decision-making. In this capacity, IR assumes primary responsibility for analyzing and interpreting data about the quality, performance, and effectiveness of the College.
- Generating and disseminating data in a usable format while providing appropriate research and analytical support to assist college policymakers and planners in the college’s quest for continuous quality improvement.
- Creating linkages between strategic planning, college goals and institutional data.
- Providing internal consulting services to other departments of the college to elevate the standards and the utility of research initiatives undertaken elsewhere in the institution.
- Producing research reports, which support localized objectives in concert with college- wide initiatives.
- Reporting on the demographic and statistical profiles of the college, its faculty, students and staff.
- Supporting college departments and programs with research to meet their information needs.
- Responding to external requests from IPEDS, NCAA, and HEDS.
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Black holes are one of highest density objects in the universe. Because of this high density(m/v) more matter is highly compressed in a very small volume( i am guessing that molecules cant freely move in black hole thus forming a perfect crystals). my question is whether entropy($\bigtriangleup S$) of the black hole can be considered as zero or not? Then what is the free energy of the blackhole, whether it will like this $\bigtriangleup G=\bigtriangleup H$.
You have a misunderstanding about black holes: objects are not trapped and immobile at the center, they are smeared out nonlocally on the horizon, and the horizon jiggles in a random way which is thermal. Black hole entropy is proportional to the area, and the horizon surface area of a black hole with finite mass in our universe is never zero.
The argument that black holes have a high entropy (infinite in the classical limit) is given by Bekenstein--- if you throw an equal mass into a black hole, the final state does not care what mass you threw in. If you throw cold matter, you get the same final state as if you throw hot matter. So the final state must have a huge entropy, equal to the maximum entropy of what you can throw in. This was the source of the black hole advances of the last 30 years, that led to AdS/CFT.
In our 3+1 dimensioal universe with no long-range scalar fields and only electric charge, you can cool a black hole down to absolute zero (by spinning it or charging it up), but the result is a large entropy state, because the horizon area doesn't go to zero in this limit. But in higher dimensions, with a dilaton scalar field and p-form charge, the 3-brane of type IIB string theory has zero entropy in the extremal limit. This is why it is described by a gauge theory (a regular quantum field theory) whose zero temperature state has zero entropy too.
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Children learn through play and what they see, hear, touch and smell. Getting a message across to a child through coloring is an effective way to do so. When they color pictures that relate to God loving them, it resonates that love in their hearts. It will also help if the person who is teaching the child these messages points it all out while the child colors. Children retain information by being hands on. Coloring is a very effective way of getting special message about God across.
Country of Origin: India
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Garden Guru Stainless Steel Hand Rake
- A must-have hand tool for every gardener. This hand rake is a great soil tiller and is perfect for cultivating, turning, and loosening soil in preparation for planting flowers and vegetables. Includes durable stainless steel prongs and ergonomic handle.
- Premium quality stainless steel tines make smooth work of soil and mulch while cultivataor also has the manueverability to work around smaller stems and delicate plants. Will last longer and is less likely to fracture or warp than other cultivators.
- Ergonomic grip for comfort and control makes raking an cultivating hard ground a breeze. Grip is designed to alleviate pressure on the palm and fingers and reduce hand and wrist fatigue that is common when raking for extended periods of time.
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Teaching sustainable development through entrepreneurial experiences
Journal article, 2021
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to address the challenges of teaching sustainable development to computer engineering students. Part of the problem is that they perceive the topic as irrelevant for their future profession. Design/methodology/approach: To address this challenge, we introduced a project element into a course on sustainable development where the students developed applications for sustainable mobility together with the local public transport authority, an academic institution and a multinational telecom company. Findings: The findings conclude that the course changes improved the overall student satisfaction while succeeding in anchoring sustainable development in a context which the students can relate to. The collaboration was also perceived as fruitful by the external stakeholders who encouraged the students to stay in touch for their bachelor theses and internships. Research limitations/implications: The theoretical implication is a first attempt in integrating sustainable development education with entrepreneurial experiences, whereas the practical implication is a description of how the integration can be realized. Practical implications: The contribution is therefore of value for both educational researchers to open novel research opportunities and for teachers to describe new possibilities for sustainable development education. Originality/value: The contribution describes how entrepreneurial experiences can be used to motivate engineering students in mandatory courses on sustainable development and ethics. The approach is novel in that the approach has not been described earlier in this context.
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Re: [PrimeNumbers] (im)perfect numbers
- Sunday, December 05, 2004 11:19 PM [GMT+1=CET],
Michael Gian <work.gian@...> escribió:
> As I have read, for prime numbers, p, 2^p-1 are called Prime-The sum of the first n odd cubes is
> Exponent Mersenne numbers.
> These are sub-group of 2^k-1, k positive integers, which are called
> (just) Mersenne numbers.
> When 2^p-1 is prime, it is called a Mersenne prime.
> (2^(p-1)*(2^p-1)is a Perfect Number when 2^p-1 is a Mersenne prime.
> Does anyone know of a accepted term for a number of the form (2^(p-1)
> *(2^p-1) when 2^p-1 is not prime?
> The reason I ask is that all numbers of this form, including Perfect
> Numbers, are the sum of consecutive odd cubes. I am searching for a
> more concise way to talk about them.
S(n) = Sum((2k-1)^3, k, 1, n) = 2n^4 - n^2 = n^2(2n^2 - 1)
If n = 2^m, then
S(2^m) = 2^(2m)(2^(2m+1) - 1) = 2^(p-1)(2^p - 1) = M(p)
Then Mersenne number M(p) = 2^(p-1)(2^p - 1), with odd p, but no neccesary
prime, is the sum of the first 2^((p-1)/2) odd cubes.
Ignacio Larrosa Cañestro
A Coruña (España)
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The company’s prototype Nissan Signal Shield is a compartment built into the armrest of its Juke crossover vehicle. To stop incoming and outgoing cellular, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connections, the box uses the same principles as a Faraday cage, which features a conductive material, such as wire mesh, to shield contents from electromagnetic fields. It was invented by Michael Faraday way back in 1836.
Once the compartment lid is closed, distractions such as texts, calls, message notifications, and social media alerts won’t get through. While some may question why a driver doesn’t just turn off their phone before getting into a car, there are some advantages to using the box. Not only is it quicker and easier than powering a phone on and off, the compartment contains wired connections, meaning a handset can be linked to the car’s infotainment system via USB or auxiliary ports so drivers can listen to music stored on their device, even when it’s locked away.
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National Conversation #oursgconv
– Sakura Haruka: Bub & Me: Toa Payoh Dragon Playground
– clockwork skies: The Perils of the Siege Mentality in Singapore
– The Kent Ridge Common: Less Government, More Responsibility.
– The Heart Truths: Singapore: May Peace Be Upon You
Integrity · Service · Excellence
– Gintai: From fluorescent lightings to LED lightings in all HDB flats
– Dewdrop Notes 露语: Viral Violence
– Vicky’s Writings: THANK YOU, NEA!
Trade Union? What Trade Union
A Vote for Change
– Publichouse: Healthcare is not a commodity, SDP offers alternative
– Yawningbread: Two dioceses, two peoples
– Singapore Democratic Party: Civil society leaders, SDP call for political change
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Remember 'Sohcahtoa' -
Where 'adj' = the line adjacent to the angle, 'opp' = the line opposite the angle, and 'hyp' is the hypotenuse - the longest side.
I'm sure you can solve from there.
Edit:I assumed you meant that you wanted to find X. If it's the missing angle you need, then see below.
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(Managed by Prof. John Preston)
This Work Area will bring together the findings of the other five Work Areas to determine the extent to which the integration of improved procedures concerning railway foundations, ballast, noise and vibration and critical zones can enhance track system longevity, reduce costs, increase financial and social benefits, and improve environmental performance.
The key objective of this Work Area is to determine the comparative whole-life financial and energy (carbon) costs and benefits of the sub-base, ballast and track systems which have been developed elsewhere in the project.
Whole life cost modelling for railway track systems in the UK is currently carried out using the VTISM software tool. This allows the cost implications of changes in maintenance regimes and interventions and in track condition to be quantified, and makes use of a range of railway industry datasets as inputs. The VTISM modelling framework makes use of a ‘Local Track Section Factor’ (LTSF) to account for underlying differences between track behaviour at different sites, allowing the model to produce results which reflect real-life track performance. VTISM should therefore allow the impact of newly-developed ballast and sleeper interventions on whole-life costs to be modelled. However, because VTISM is concerned primarily with the performance of the track system itself, it cannot capture potential cost impacts which occur beyond the boundaries of this system, and there is therefore a need to include such impacts in any comprehensive appraisal of ballast and sleeper interventions.
Performance and cost models have traditionally focused on operational issues: more recently there have been concerns about the life cycle energy (carbon) costs of transport. Chester and Horvath estimate that total life cycle energy inputs and greenhouse gas emissions contribute an additional 63% for road transport, 155% for rail (urban heavy and light rail) and 31% for air over point of use emissions. Two recent studies have investigated aspects of the life cycle costs of rail in the UK. Booz Allen and Hamilton estimate that taking into account construction adds about 35% to the CO2 emissions associated with operation. Network Rail estimate that the greenhouse gas emissions for new lines (measured in CO2eq per seat-km) can in 2007 be attributed 80% to train operations, 18% to infrastructure and only 1% to train production (reflecting relatively long asset lives and intense utilisation). However, given the proposed rates of decarbonisation of electricity generation over the period 2025 to 2055 and the adoption of more energy efficient rolling stock, the carbon footprint of operations will reduce dramatically. In this situation, for new lines 70% of greenhouse gas emissions may be attributed to infrastructure, 28% to train operations and 2% to train production. An important challenge is therefore to reduce the carbon footprint of railway construction and materials, including for the sub-base. Work undertaken for Network Rail indicates that net embedded greenhouse gas emissions in ballastless track are higher (by about 14%) than track with a ballast bed. The same report also notes that there are no estimates of embedded energy use and greenhouse gas emissions from rail track maintenance – a gap in knowledge that this research aims to fill.
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- Prof. dr. Anna Rosanas-Urgell (ITM)
- Prof. dr. Luc Kestens (University of Antwerp)
- Dr. Sónia M. Enosse (Instituto Nacional de Saude, Mozambique)
Malaria in pregnancy (MiP) is an important public health problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is known to be the most common and preventable cause of harmful outcomes to both mothers and developing foetuses in malaria-endemic areas. In stable transmission areas, MiP typically does not cause clinical symptoms and is usually not detected. This thesis aimed to evaluate the community coverage of IPTp-SP and factors potentially related to low IPTp-SP among women with non-institutional and institutional deliveries; investigate the factors associated with malaria infection and adverse pregnancy outcomes among pregnant women at delivery; explore the perceptions, views, experiences and behaviors of pregnant women and health workers on accessing IPTp-SP for malaria prevention in pregnancy and assess the frequency of dhfr/dhps mutations in P. falciparum isolates collected from pregnant women, analyze the association between mutant haplotypes with parasitological and pregnancy outcomes and, investigate the effect of IPTp-SP on the carriage of asexual and sexual stages.
We found that less than a half of the women reported taking the recommended ≥ 3 doses of SP during their last pregnancy. This coverage remained well below the national’s target of 80% of pregnant women receiving ≥ 3 doses of IPTp-SP. This low IPTp-SP coverage was associated with non-institutional births, late first ANC visit, lower awareness about IPTp and the level of education attained by pregnant women. Pregnant women were not aware of the risks of MiP or the benefits of its prevention. Delays in accessing antenatal care, irregular attendance of visits, and insufficient time for proper antenatal care counselling by health workers may explain inadequate IPTp delivery.
We detected a prevalence of 16.8% of maternal malaria infections at delivery, 7.7%, 20.8% and 1.1% of low birth weight, preterm delivery and stillbirths, respectively. Maternal malaria infections were mainly asymptomatic and more likely to be acquired by young mothers living in rural areas. The prevalence of malaria infections did not differ significantly between women receiving < 3 and ≥ 3 SP doses. Low birth weight prevalence did not significantly differ between women receiving < 3 and those receiving ≥ 3 SP doses. However, babies born to women in their first pregnancy were at higher risk of being underweight at birth than those born from mothers with multiple pregnancies.
We report the persistence of quintuple mutated parasites in the study area, while we provided the first evidence of the occurrence of super-resistant P. falciparum parasites (carrying the sextuple mutant parasites), although not associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study further shows an important burden of submicroscopic gametocyte carriers infected with mutant parasites, indicating that pregnant women could constitute a non-negligible human reservoir of malaria transmission.
Overall, these findings indicate that, in addition of a suboptimal IPTp-SP coverage in the study area, the emergence of highly-resistant parasites is a threat to IPTp-SP effectiveness for malaria prevention during pregnancy. Therefore, although efforts to improve the coverage of IPTp are important, alternatives to SP for IPTp, such as dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine should continue to be tested (specifically in the study area) and new interventions against MiP (e.g. community delivery of IPTp or screening and treatment of pregnant women) should be explored in Mozambique.
Reception from 6 pm:
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For some children with asthma, their first asthmatic experience can be frightening---heavy wheezing, a tight chest, and shortness of breath can quickly catch their active, young bodies off-guard. For others, asthma can present subtly with exercise intolerance or a chronic cough. With recent advances in the management of asthma, this condition can be controlled for even the most energetic of youngsters.
If your child has asthma, he or she is not alone. In the United States, asthma affects 22 million people. It is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Today, 6 million children have asthma.
With the help of their medical care providers, routine monitoring, and proven treatments, they are still able to enjoy vibrant, healthy lives.
Typical changes in the airways include:
Recent research has shown that inflammation of the lining of the airways is the most common feature of asthma. When they are stimulated, certain cells lining the airways produce chemical substances (mediators), which lead to inflammation, and excessive mucus. This causes the airway lining to swell and narrow. The inflammation may last for weeks following an episode. Most people with asthma have some degree of inflammation all of the time. Some long-term control medications can help prevent and reduce inflammation.
Another characteristic of asthma is increased sensitivity of the airways. When inflammation occurs in the airways, the airways become more sensitive (or "twitchy"). When the airways are more sensitive, your child is more likely to have asthma symptoms when exposed to things that make asthma worse. When there is less inflammation, the airways are less sensitive and your child is less likely to have asthma symptoms when exposed to things that make asthma worse.
In addition to inflammation and thick mucus production, further airway obstruction can occur with asthma. This obstruction is caused by tightening of muscles that surround the airways, called bronchospasm. Bronchospasm causes further narrowing of the inflamed airways.
Inhaled quick-relief medications are generally very effective in reversing the bronchospasm.
More Pediatric Asthma Information
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Phthalates, galaxolide,1,4-dioxane, toluene, 2-butoxyethanol, methoxydiglycol (DEGBE), formaldehyde, benzene, chloroform, and ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride (DTDMAC) - what are all these crazy words? And no, they aren't the names of planets in an awesome Sci-Fi universe. These are just a few of the names out of the multitude of harmful chemicals that are used in our homes, offices and schools. These chemicals are lurking in our everyday household cleaners.
Why is this important? Because many of these chemicals are classified as carcinogens (cancer-causing), endocrine disruptors (negatively impacting sex hormones, thyroid hormones, etc.), neurotoxins (damaging to the brain and nervous system), and respiratory irritants (causing lung issues, asthma and allergies). Exposure to these chemicals can lead to serious health issues, especially when exposure occurs in growing and developing children. Let's review some facts:
Scary Chemical facts:
· 17,000 – number of petrochemicals available for home use, only 30% of which have been tested for exposure to human health and the environment
· 63 – number of synthetic chemical products found in the average American home – equivalent to 10 gallons of harmful chemicals
· 100 – the number of times higher indoor air pollution can be than outdoor air pollution levels, according to the EPA
· 275 – number of active ingredients in antimicrobials that the EPA classifies as pesticides because they are designed to kill microbes
· 5 billion – the number of pounds of chemicals that the institutional cleaning industry uses each year
· 23 – the average gallons of chemicals that a janitor uses each year, 25% of which are hazardous
· 7 – the percentage of household cleaners that ADEQUATELY disclose their contents
So how can we keep our homes and workplaces clean and NOT use all this scary stuff?
· Employ green cleaning products – non-toxic, biodegradable, made from renewable resources. Common brands you see in stores include: Method, Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers, Green Works, Dr. Bronner’s, Ecos, and Earth Friendly Products. Or you can make your own (see below)!
· Avoid poor indoor air quality – air inside can be more toxic than the air without; open windows as often as possible, especially when cleaning.
· Be careful about antibacterial cleaners – FDA studies have shown they don’t clean hands any better than soap/water, and they add to risk of creating “super germs” that are resistant to chemicals.
· Baking soda – not only does this remove smells from refrigerator, but also can be used in other areas of the home to remove odors
· Toss toxic cleaners appropriately – community recycling days
· Avoid conventional dry cleaners – dry cleaners often use the solvent Perchloroethylene (perc), which is toxic and creates smog; green dry cleaners exist and use far safer methods.
Recipes for making your own green cleaning products:
Porcelain and Tile/Kitchen
1. Baking soda and water – dust surfaces with baking soda then scrub with a moist towel or sponge. For tougher grime, sprinkle on some sea salt and scrub. For tough stains, make a paste of baking soda and water and let sit for a while before removing. This can also be used on kitchen counters, stainless steel sinks, cutting boards, refrigerators, etc.
2. Lemon juice or vinegar – stains, mildew, or grease streaks can be tackled by spraying one of these on, letting it sit for a few minutes, and scrub with a stiff brush.
1. Disinfectant – instead of bleach, make your own disinfectant by mixing 2 cups of water, 3 tablespoons of liquid soap, and 20-30 drops of tea tree oil. Because tea tree oil is a natural anti-microbial, this is great for kitchen counters and cutting boards, etc.
Windows and Mirrors
1. White vinegar, water, and newspaper – mix 2 tablespoons of white vinegar with a gallon of water and dispense with a spray bottle. Then wipe with newspaper, which doesn’t streak like paper towels do.
Odor Absorption/Air Fresheners
1. Baking soda - sprinkle on carpets and rugs and leave sit for several minutes, then vacuum up to naturally deodorize.
2. Boil cloves, lemon rinds, cinnamon sticks in water on the stove top to permeate your home with wonderful smells.
3. Essential oils - these oils have a multitude of health benefits, but used in a diffuser they can fill your home with amazing, and therapeutic, smells.
Not only is staying on top of keeping our homes clean a difficult (and not fun!) task at times, we are often unknowingly using hazardous and harmful chemicals to do so. Using more natural means, whether purchased or made from scratch, can help to keep our families safe and healthy!
Have questions or looking for more information? The Environmental Working Group has a wonderful website (www.ewg.org) that "grades" all kinds of household products, and has "best" and "worst" lists to make finding the right products easier.
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The Oxford English Thesaurus for Schools is an ideal language reference aimed at students aged 11-14, and contains over 85,000 definitions.
You can now access over 150 years of language experience at your fingertips with the new Oxford English Thesaurus for Schools app.
Oxford School Dictionaries and Thesauruses are trusted, accessible and up-to-date. All content is backed by a unique database of many millions words, and based on real language students use. All our unique dictionaries contain:
The Oxford English Thesaurus for Schools app is an ideal language reference tool for school and home, aimed at students aged 11-14. Containing 85,000 words, synonyms, antonyms, tips and example sentences, it supports secondary school students with their creative writing, extends vocabulary, improves spelling, punctuation and grammar, and inspires them to become confident writers.
Also includes advanced search and language tools that have become the staple of quality mobile language apps from MobiSystems with content from Oxford University Press.
SEARCH TOOLS – effortlessly find words using a clear, functional, and easy-to-use interface. The integrated search tools activate automatically the moment you start typing:
LEARNING TOOLS – engaging features that help you further enhance your vocabulary:
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If the infection is not treated, it can spread to other parts of the body, including the throat, joints, and eyes (potentially leading to blindness). Complications from gonorrhea infection include pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can affect fertility in women; inflammation of the testicles (epididymitis), which can lead to infertility in men; blindness in an infant infected during delivery; and widespread infection with a fever, rash, and joint pain.
Infection often starts with only mild symptoms of discomfort with urination. Later there may be frequent and painful urination or defecation; a thick, cloudy, or bloody discharge from the penis, vagina, or rectum; or pain with sexual intercourse. Throat infection may present a sore throat only.
Occasionally, the infection can spread throughout the body and presents with symptoms of fever, chills, swollen or painful joints, and small bumps that may be red or purple on the hands or feet. This is referred to as the arthritis-dermatitis syndrome.
Gonorrhea can be prevented by abstaining from casual sexual activity and using condoms correctly during any sexual contact. If you are in a long-term relationship, make sure that you know your partner's sexual history or ask that your partner is tested prior to engaging in sexual activity.
- There is a discharge from the vagina, penis, or rectum.
- There is burning or pain during urination or defecation.
- You are concerned or know that a sexual partner has similar symptoms or has been diagnosed with gonorrhea.
Antibiotics are prescribed for treatment. Because drug-resistant strains of bacteria are becoming common, it is extremely important that you finish all of the antibiotics and see the doctor again if your symptoms persist after treatment.
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Freedom Quote of the Day #31-January 12, 2017
A freedom that only asks what’s in it for me,
A freedom without commitment ot other,
A freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism,
Is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.
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Listen to the Interview
Product management is about change – the change that creating new products involves. Along the way, product managers need to learn about customers and their needs, consider problems from different perspectives, and collaborate with others. A person with deep experience in doing these things and helping groups and organizations identify and push through barriers of innovation is Chuck Appleby. He is a leadership and organization development consultant with over 30 years of management, consulting, and coaching experience in government, industry, and non-profits.
In the interview we discuss two valuable tools for product managers and organizations wishing to solve problems for themselves and customers:
- Action Learning, and
- Design Thinking.
Practices and Ideas for Product Managers and Innovators
Summary of questions discussed:
- Tell us about the work you were doing that created the need to study Design Thinking. For years and years I had been helping companies solve tough problems using Action Learning. This is a method developed at the Cavendish Physics Lab in Cambridge University by professor Reg Revans, who had gotten very concerned that the world was changing so fast that we would never achieve the kind of speed of innovation that was needed to keep up with change. Action Learning helps people think about problems from new perspectives that lead to better solutions. However, Action Learning is a bit analytical and didn’t have that creative spark that I was looking for. This led me to Design Thinking. Today I use a framework that leverages Action Learning and Design Thinking that is simply Discover, Design, Deploy, and Sustain.
- What are the steps to applying Action Learning? There are five steps, which are generally completed in one group session that is two to three hours long. The steps are:
- First: The problem-owner describes the challenge or problem in 3-5 minutes.
- Second: This is the framing step and is the most challenging of all the steps. The objective is to get people focused on the desired future state. Consider what is going on in today’s reality, what the external forces are, what underlying assumptions are being made, and what is the core challenge to address.
- Third: Next is solutioning, which is a problem-solving step. With the problem now clearly understood, solutioning usually comes naturally.
- Fourth: Then we commit to action based on the solution chosen.
- Fifth: The final step is reflection on the entire process and assessing how the group did and what could be done better next time.
- What is an example of applying Design Thinking? A recent example was with the Department of Human Services in Arlington and the Arlington County Public Library, specifically. The central challenge, which is seen in all businesses, was not engaging with certain groups of customers. In the case of the library, they were not seeing teenagers, 30-somethings, or recent immigrants using the library. To consider the situation, we created three teams to interview those three cohorts (see link to video below that explores this). The groups didn’t ask about the library. In fact, the questions they developed had nothing to do with the library, except it focused on the library’s mission, which is a love of reading, access to information, and building community. So those were the questions that were asked. The insight that came out was, “We like to meet new people doing fun things.” So the library came up with a couple of great ideas, one of which, designed to reach 30-somethings, was an annual ball to raise money for literacy. 30-somethings piled in and began to make a connection with the library.
- What do you need to have to make Design Thinking successful? You need a driver, which is the person who works with the design teams and the prototyping and testing activities. They also make sure that the group is not going back to their old ways. Prototypes must be used. They shouldn’t look perfect or complete. Prototypes help people see things in new ways and are a great tool for getting feedback on ideas. Another factor is you need to have a dream team. You need to spend time picking the right people for the team–people who want to be there–and developing some camaraderie.
- Design Thinking Source, Chuck’s organization for providing Design Thinking services (which I contribute to).
- Case study applying Design Thinking to Arlington County Library.
- Applying the 5 Steps of Design Thinking – with Entrepreneur and Vango Founder Ethan Appleby
“There are three core skills at the heart of successful innovation: powerful questions, deep listening, and the ability to empathize.” -Chuck Appleby
Thank you for being an Everyday Innovator and learning with me from the successes and failures of product innovators, managers, and developers. If you enjoyed the discussion, help out a fellow product manager by sharing it using the social media buttons you see below.
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ERIC Number: ED278230
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1983
Reference Count: 0
Regional Norms for English.
Kachru, Braj B.
The debate continues about regional norms for English usage around the world, although the discussion has become more realistic and less didactic. Educated non-native varieties are increasingly accepted, distinctions are being made between national and international language uses, and localized varieties are no longer considered as necessarily deficient. Several trends are influencing this process. First, the number of non-native English speakers is increasing faster than the number of native speakers. Second, planning for English usage is increasingly in the hands of non-native speakers, who have developed their own norms. Third, the development of non-native English literatures is helping to break norms. The complex functions of English across cultures suggest that discussion of international English presents only part of the picture. More serious cross-cultural research on English usage and regional norms is necessary for a real understanding of the issues and solutions. Sixty-eight references are included. (MSE)
Descriptors: Communicative Competence (Languages), Dialect Studies, English (Second Language), Foreign Countries, Language Attitudes, Language Patterns, Language Standardization, Language Usage, Language Variation, Nonstandard Dialects, North American English, Official Languages, Regional Characteristics, Regional Dialects, Second Language Instruction, Standard Spoken Usage
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Note: In: Savignon, Sandra J., Ed. and Berns, Margie S., Ed. Communicative Language Teaching: Where Are We Going? Urbana, Language Learning Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1983; see FL 016 358.
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This FAQ provides an overview of federal laws protecting pregnant, post-partum, and breastfeeding women. The applicability of these laws depends on the size of your workplace and nature of your work.
Q. What is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978?
A. The PDA made clear that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sex, also prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The law requires that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including job benefits, as other workers who are similar in their ability or inability to work.
Q. What does the PDA do?
A. The PDA applies to hiring, promotion, benefits, firing, and all other terms and conditions of employment. The PDA's pregnancy-related protections include:
- Freedom from discrimination or harassment on the basis of pregnancy or related condition (including conditions such as miscarriage, pregnancy termination, recovery from childbirth, and lactation);
- Freedom from discrimination motivated – even just in part – by your pregnancy condition, such as being fired for being pregnant and unmarried;
- Equal access to job modifications—like light duty—as other temporarily disabled employees;
- Freedom from being "pushed out" of the workplace or required to take early leave because of pregnancy, childbirth, or lactation;
- Health insurance coverage for pregnancy-related conditions, as long as the employer provides coverage for other medical conditions;
- The right to the same treatment as other employees, including temporarily disabled employees, who are similarly able (or unable) to perform their jobs for all purposes, including accrual and crediting of seniority, vacation calculation, pay increases, and temporary disability benefits.
Q. Whom does the PDA cover?
A. Title VII, and thus the PDA, covers employers with 15 or more employees—including federal, state, and local governments. Title VII also applies to employment agencies and labor organizations.
Q. What is the Nursing Mothers Provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?
A. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) modified the Fair Labor Standards Act (a law that establishes basic job protections like minimum wage and overtime pay) to require that covered employers provide eligible employees with the right to pump breast milk on the job.
Q. What does the FLSA do?
A. Under the Nursing Mothers Provision, covered employers must grant eligible employees:
1. Reasonable break time to express breast milk for a nursing child for one year after the child's birth; and
2. A place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used to express breast milk.
The law also protects workers from retaliation (like reassignment to a less desirable job, taking away job duties or benefits, or firing) for asserting their rights or filing a complaint about these issues, if they seek to assert these rights on the job.
Q. Whom does the FLSA cover?
A. This provision applies to employers who are involved in interstate commerce and whose gross revenue is at least $500,000/year. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may seek exemption from the break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship.1 Only non-exempt (generally hourly) employees are covered under the Nursing Mothers Provision.
Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer's business.
Q. What is the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?
A. The FMLA requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for certain family and medical reasons.
Q. What does the FMLA do?
A. The FMLA permits covered employees to take leave for the following pregnancy and parenting-related reasons (as well as other reasons not listed here):
- The birth of a child;
- The care of a newborn within one year of birth;
- The care of an adopted or foster care child within one year of placement;
- The care of a child with a serious health condition;
- A serious health condition (including pregnancy) that makes an employee unable to perform the essential function of his or her job.
The law requires continuation of health insurance coverage on the same terms as before the leave.
Covered employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees who take FMLA leave, and must treat FMLA leave the same as other comparable types of leave for purposes of accruing seniority and benefits.
After the leave is over, employees have the right to reinstatement to the same job they held prior to taking the leave, or one of similar pay and level.
Q. Whom does the FMLA cover?
A. The FMLA generally covers public and private employers with at least 50 employees in a 75-mile radius. To qualify for FMLA coverage, an employee must work for a covered employer at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles; have worked for the employer for at least 12 months (need not be consecutive); and have worked 1,250 hours during the 12 months before the start of leave.
However, the FMLA's self-care provision may not be enforced through a private lawsuit against a state employer.
Q. What is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
A. The ADA makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against or harass a qualified employee because of his or her disability. The ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities, unless those accommodations would constitute an undue hardship for the employer.
Q. What does the ADA do?
A. Although courts do not consider pregnancy alone to be a disability, the ADA provides protection for workers with pregnancy-related impairments3, such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia (a condition characterized by pregnancy-induced high blood pressure). Thus, an employer may have to provide a reasonable accommodation—such as leave or modifications that enable an employee to perform her job—for a disability related to pregnancy, absent undue hardship such as significant difficulty or expense.
The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 makes it easier to show that a medical condition is a covered disability. For example, temporary impairments, like most of those associated with pregnancy, are now covered. For more information about the ADA, click here. For information about the ADA Amendments Act, click here.
Q. Whom does the ADA cover?
A. The ADA's employment provisions apply to private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies, and labor unions. Employers with 15 or more employees are covered.
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Application of titanium nickel alloy wire in medical devices and surgical implants
As a new intelligent material, with the deepening of its research and the expansion of its application, the international industrial developed countries have formulated the material and test standards of memory alloy to standardize the material production and industrial application. Table 1 shows the influential American Standard ASTM f0263 (technical specification for Machinable TiNi shape memory alloy for medical devices and surgical implants) in the field of shape memory alloy materials. Since there is no standardized national technical standard for memory alloy materials in China, the national standard of "technical specification for NiTi shape memory alloy processing materials for medical devices and surgical implants" and industrial technical standards such as "terminology of medical memory alloy" and "technical specification for non vascular NiTi memory alloy interventional stent" have been drafted during the tenth five year plan, Other relevant standards will also be gradually incorporated into the preparation plan.
The anisotropy of TiNi binary shape memory alloy can be summarized as follows:
(1) Shape memory effect. The one-way memory effect of polycrystalline TiNi alloy can reach about 8%. In addition to the one-way memory effect, TiNi alloy can also produce two-way and whole process memory effects after certain heat treatment (or training), such as multiple heating cooling cycles, constrained heating and aging. The two-way shape memory effect has good stability, up to 6%. When the strain is less than 1%, The number of two-way memory cycles can reach millions of times.
(2) Hyperelasticity. From the stress-strain curve, hyperelasticity can be divided into linear hyperelasticity and nonlinear hyperelasticity. Nonlinear hyperelasticity is also called phase transformation pseudo elasticity. The hyperelasticity of TiNi alloy can reach up to 8%.
(3) Damping characteristics. Damping is a measure of vibration energy absorption by materials. Shape memory alloys have good damping characteristics because of the self cooperation of martensitic transformation and the anelastic migration of various interfaces (twin surface, phase interface and variant interface) formed in martensite.
(4) Corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. A large number of biochemical experiments at home and abroad on corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, cytotoxicity, carcinogenicity, hemolysis and sensitization show that TiNi alloy has better biocompatibility and corrosion resistance than stainless steel and cobalt chromium alloy, which is similar to pure Ti.
(5) Good mechanical properties. The yield strength of TiNi alloy at room temperature is about 200MPa, δ= 15%， α K = 38j / cm, breaking strength of 800 ~ 950MPa, and good plastic strain capacity. It can be processed into very fine wires and thin plates (diameter or thickness < 100) μ m)。
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Its name derives for the term
Mùrika, meaning bare rock, named by the Siculi, founders
of the first nucleus of habitation during the 14th Century
But the rocky spur on which the City rests, was already inhabited
since the Bronze age, as testified by the archaeological finds,
including that of a detached Bronze Deposit (16th Century)
which was recovered in the City and is now preserved in the
Prehistoric Museum of Rome.
The City first fell into Phoenician then Greek hands, then
became a hostile city against Rome during the Punic Wars (212BC).
Once it was annexed to the Republic, it became a Decuman City,
and later a stipendiarla (waged) one during Imperial times.
It was one of the initial cities of the peninsular to undergo
a process of Christianity through the arrival in Sicily of
the first apostles and preachers of the new doctrine. To testify
this fact, many catacombs were discovered dug out in the rocks
and the Grotto of the Saints, with images of 33 martyred saints
in Syracuse where Christians were persecuted.
After the fall of Rome and the changeover to the Vandali,
Modica became a Byzantine stronghold until the arrival of
the Arabs in ‘845, who renamed it Mudigah and gave it
a period of splendour and a flourishing commercial time.
Taken by the Normans, with Ruggero I of Sicily, it became
a royal governing City by his son Ruggero II d’Altavilla,
who then gave Modica to Gulatiero II° Mohac in thanks
for his military enterprises.
The City was next governed by the Angioini (13th Century),
whom the population disliked to such a point that it led to
the famous outbreak of the Vespri Siciliani (Sicilian Vespers)
(5th April 1282), which inflamed the island for many years.
Modica rebelled against the French led by Federico Mosca,
who was later bestowed the title of Count of Modica by the
Next followed the nobles of Chiaramonte (from 25th March 1296)
who were of Norman origins, the Cabrera, who helped Aragona
Martino the Young to conquer the crown of Sicily (1392), the
Henriquez-Cabrera in the ‘600s, by the Alvarez de Toledo
Gravely damaged in 1613 and 1693 by earthquakes, Modica was
reconstructed and took on its current modern day architectonic
and urban appearance.
There are numerous monuments and places of cultural interest
in the City, amongst which the following: the Cathedral of
San Giorgio, from the late Baroque era and protected today
by UNESCO, as is the Duomo of San Pietro, both having the
most ancient foundations and reconstructed after devastating
earthquakes of 1693.
The Castello dei Conti (Castle of the Counts) is also very
beautiful, even though many of its original parts are missing.
Modica is the birth city of Salvatore Quasimodo, a poet who
received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1959.
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So one of those things I‘ve been wondering about for 5 months now is the system of the date of expiry in China. Not that I would‘ve actually asked a Chinese person because 1)keep forgetting to ask when I‘m in a store, 2) not ready to invest at least 30 min talking about this topic till both sides understand what the other one means, yet and 3) can keep making crazy assumptions 😉
So the thing is that so far I‘ve bought only twice (!) milk here that hasn‘t already expired, only once it was actually supposed to last for three more days. All the other times it had already expired for a month or two. I‘m not sure how it works in other countries but at least in Germany it‘s illegal to sell expired stuff. I mean, sure, you can buy it, let it expire, and it‘s still gonna be drinkable but you wouldn‘t find those products in German supermarkets.
So I figured by now that this works differently in China, apparently. I suppose you‘re taking that risk upon yourself the moment you buy the milk because I‘ve also seen specific milk sellers who would offer you fresh milk – emphasis on fresh which usually means it expires that day or has only expired for a day or so. Weird concept since you‘d be getting a discount for products like that in Germany but in comparison to 2 months old milk a good deal, I suppose.
So if I‘m so sureabout everything, why writing about it? Well, even I noticed that Chinese supermarkets would be restocking either everyday or every week, depending on their size. So it still leaves me in awe to see that they‘re basically restocking their products ONLY with expired stuff – I checked the whole selection! Now while I do get that sometimes you‘re gonna have left-overs and it‘s actually a quite ecological concept to sell it anyways I do not get why they wouldn‘t give Chinese customers the opportunity to get fresh milk in the first place. Especially the milk in this picture you can‘t find in the fresh milk department so I‘m wondering by now if they‘re deliberately waiting for those products to expire and put them there. I‘d really like to hear that reasoning but TiC…
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Turfpro Your Landscape Managements Professionals
Open Area Weed Abatement >>
To provide optimal control of weeds year round in field areas, drainage ditches, firebreaks, field borders and gravel driveways:
- Post-emergent applications of herbicide are made anytime weeds are present and are recommended before they reach 6″.
- Pre-emergent herbicide is recommended twice a year, in the spring and fall.
Annual Color Program >>
Color in your yard can have more visual impact than any other element. Adding seasonal color to your landscape provides interest and change throughout the year. No matter what season, we can add color plantings that truly make your landscape stand out.
Garden beds are kept colorful with a cycle of flowering annuals, from a budgeted number of flats, to maintain a fresh appearance year round.
- Our experts select, install and maintain seasonal color.
- Fertilization, insect and disease control are included.
- Beds are weeded and dead flowers pinched off to keep plants and garden beds looking their best.
- Dead or unsightly plants will be replaced.
Aquatic Weed & Algae Control >>
Ponds and waterways should be a compliment to your landscaping. But as temperatures increase, problems can arise. Algae and aquatic weeds grow rapidly in warm temperatures.
- TurfPro proactively treats algae and unsightly plant growth by adding an algaecide and post-emergent aquatic weed control to the water.
- Establishing a preventive cycle of treatment minimizes the undesired plant growth.
- Timely treatments are vital to the process of reducing algae and aquatic weeds and maintaining an attractive water area.
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WRITER | JULIE FORD
Erosion, drainage issues, an ugly fence, unattractive utility areas – these are just a few of the eyesores homeowners may face when buying or maintaining a home. With a little know-how, there are natural ways to remedy annoying landscape concerns. Summer is the perfect time to turn “ugh” into “ahh.”
Knowing what type of erosion is occurring and why are the initial steps in figuring out a remedy. “Using rocks is often not going to help, turf could exacerbate the issue, and plants may not be enough to address the problem, at least right after planting,” says Bill Schneider, owner of wildtype™ in Mason.
Schneider suggests using a mix of native plants with varying root systems to “knit” the soil volume together. “Use species that are shallow-rooted, deep-rooted, fine-textured, and coarse-textured, and rely on plants that spread by stolons and rhizomes.”
Native plants, in particular, are valued for their low maintenance. They tolerate Michigan’s weather and increase natural habitat for native bee species and the declining monarch butterfly.
If you’re lucky enough to have an artesian well in your yard, take advantage of it and make a pond or create a fountain or water feature. The natural flow guarantees fresh, moving water on a steady basis. It can also be a great irrigation source for your gardens. As long as the water doesn’t collect around your foundation, it can be an interesting enhancement to your yard. If the artesian well is situated close to your home, you will want to make sure it is directed away from the foundation.
Stormwater, if not properly routed, can damage a home by forming cracks in the foundation or seeping into existing unsealed cracks and window wells. There are many interesting and attractive landscaping methods to route water away from the home and into the ground. Here are a few:
- Pervious/Porous Pavers Instead of pouring a traditional concrete or asphalt driveway, install pervious pavers that allow rain to soak into a layer of gravel between and below. This method works best for flat or slightly sloping areas.
- Swale This is a gently sloping channel to carry water from heavy downpours or deep snowmelt. The sloping area can be natural or manmade, but the goal is for water to filter into the ground through rocks, native plants, and fast-draining soil.
- French Drain The combination of geotextile fabric, perforated pipe, and gravel allows water to seep into the soil. Landscaping along its edges and adding artistic sculptural elements can turn this endeavor into an interesting focal point.
- Dry Well A small-diameter deep hole can be professionally dug and engineered to receive runoff. Swales and French drains can route to a dry well.
- Rain Garden A shallow basin dug to collect runoff from gutters and driveways can be an attractive way to allow water to filter into the ground. Trees, shrubs, grasses, and flowers – all native to the area and suited for soaking — can thrive in a rain garden.
- Berm If stormwater is deluging a flower bed, one fix is to build a berm around the area to divert the water.
A/C Units and Generators
The first step in disguising bulky air conditioning units and generators is to leave enough room for servicing the mechanicals. Native shrubs, small trees, and perennials timed to bloom throughout the growing season can help A/C units run more efficiently due to the shade they provide. Decorative fencing and screens — with or without accompanying potted plants of various heights – also work well to hide these common eyesores.
The utilitarian chain-link fence does its job by keeping the family dog in and wildlife out, but it’s not very attractive or private. Creative cover-ups include native shrubs, living walls, bamboo or reed fencing, and mesh screening.
Don’t hesitate to call a professional landscaper for a recommendation on how to best address your yard eyesore. Since many of these projects require digging, it may be best to leave the heavy work to professionals in order to navigate around underground utilities, wells, and septic systems.
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Get the details behind our redesign
any of about 10 species of birds of prey of the New World subfamily Polyborinae (or Daptriinae) of the family Falconidae. Caracaras feed largely on carrion, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. They are gregarious and aggressive. In spite of their smaller size, they dominate vultures when feeding. Caracaras are recognized by their long legs and by the reddish naked skin of the cheeks and throat. They range in size from 40 to 60 cm (16 to 24 inches) long.
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Assuming someone had the temperament, interest and work ethic to be a good investor. What would you prescribe as a curriculum?
Which books, articles, shareholder letters, blogs, websites, etc. If you were going to have an extensive class on value investing, what would the materials list look like?
Here is what I would make required reading:
· Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders (1977-Present)
· Warren Buffett’s Letter to Partners (1959-1969)
· The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
· Buffett: The Making of An American Capitalist
· Poor Charlie’s Almanack
· Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits (by Phil Fisher)
· The Interpretation of Financial Statements (by Ben Graham)
· The Intelligent Investor (1949 Edition)
· Security Analysis (1940 Edition)
· Benjamin Graham on Investing
· Benjamin Graham: The Memoirs of the Dean of Wall Street
· One Up on Wall Street (by Peter Lynch)
· Beating the Street (by Peter Lynch)
· You Can Be a Stock Market Genius (by Joel Greenblatt)
· The Little Book That Beats the Market (by Joel Greenblatt)
· There’s Always Something to Do (about Peter Cundill)
· The Money Masters
· Money Masters of Our Time
· Hidden Champions of the Twenty-First Century
· Jim Collins Books (Built to Last, Good to Great, How the Mighty Fall, and Great by Choice)
· Distant Force (about Henry Singleton)
· Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and The Essential Tension
Part of the class would require reading some material about extreme stock market conditions like:
· The Big Short
· Too Big to Fail
· This Time is Different
· When Genius Failed
· The Panic of 1907
This part of the class would revolve around contemporary sources. Students would read newspaper articles from the various crashes. They’d also read newspapers around the time of the various market bottoms. Historical case studies should be based on sources that were present and available to investors, CEOs, etc., at the time. So, if you’re studying an investment Ben Graham made in 1942 – you should be using The New York Times archives to find articles printed in 1942 and you should be getting your data from a Moody’s Manual from 1942.
This is critical.
And many people have never done it. Many investors have never gone back through old Moody’s Manuals, newspaper articles, etc. If you think you know enough about 1929 and yet you’ve never read something written in 1929 – you’re idea of knowing is too intellectual and external. Knowing is understanding what the paper looked like every morning to folks who were as blind to the future as you are now. You have to internalize what it feels like to be in the middle of all that.
Reading Kuhn’s books – The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and The Essential Tension – will help you understand why this is important. Why modern accounts of past investment beliefs are almost always wildly inaccurate attempts to act like people in the past shared the beliefs we have today. They didn’t. Beliefs change. In fact, the two cornerstone concepts of equity investing — that stocks are investments and that stocks tend to outperform other assets — were heretical beliefs when Ben Graham started his career. They are orthodoxy today.
The rest of the class would be limited to two other activities:
1. Historical examples of investments made by investors whose books, letters, etc., the class has read
2. Side-by-side comparisons of stocks with the names of the companies redacted
So, for example we would study:
· Warren Buffett’s investment in:
o Wells Fargo
o Washington Post
o American Express
o Sanborn Map
o Dempster Mills
o Commonwealth Trust
o Berkshire Hathaway
o Union Street Railway
· Ben Graham’s investment in:
o Northern Pipeline
o DuPont/GM (long/short)
o Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railroad (old common stock while company was in bankruptcy)
· Joel Greenblatt’s investments presented in: “You Can Be a Stock Market Genius”
· Peter Lynch’s investments presented in: “One Up on Wall Street” and “Beating the Street”
· Phil Fisher’s examples given in: “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits”
· Peter Cundill’s investments presented in: “There’s Always Something to Do”
At least half the class time would be devoted to side-by-side comparisons of stocks with the company names redacted. Ben Graham did this all the time. Students wouldn’t be told ahead of time which kind of comparison they were seeing. Comparisons of Company A, Company B, etc., would include comparisons like:
· Microsoft at several different points in its history
· Present day comparison of Wal-Mart and Costco
· Present day comparison of all the major North American railroads
· Present day comparison of a high-quality huge company (like Procter & Gamble) and a high-quality tiny company (like United-Guardian)
· Comparison of present-day hated company (like Bank of America) and a historical Warren Buffett investment (like GEICO)
And so on…
Every single class would feature comparisons between unnamed stocks. Sometimes they would be “actionable ideas” like Wal-Mart vs. Costco. Sometimes they would be meant as eye-openers (for example, there are micro caps with the same ROEs, margins, consistency, etc., as blue chips). Other times they might be trickier – for example, comparing two stocks Warren Buffett could have bought back in the 1970s, 1980s, etc., only one of which he actually did buy.
When teaching historical examples, I would always include a present-day example. So, for instance, you would never just teach the fact that Warren Buffett bought net-nets for his partnership. You’d bring some modern day net-nets with you to class that day.
Finally, it would be too difficult to assign books and other research materials about specific companies to the whole class. But this is critical work. So, each student would be required to research one long-lived company (like Disney, Gillette, etc.) and present its entire history to the class explaining how the company was founded, where it faltered, what were the key economic drivers for the company early on, how it changed as it grew, who the different CEOs were and how they each ran the company, etc.
Disney is a good example. Most of the information you need is in Neal Gabler’s biography of Walt. But there are actually plenty of companies where it’s quite easy to do this work just using widely available sources. Examples include: Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, etc.
I’d also let students choose a “tycoon” rather than a business. For example, a presentation on how Cornelius Vanderbilt made his fortune would be as interesting as any discussion of a company. By the way, there’s a great biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles. Other good research candidates include John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, etc.
Everyone would have to do a long-term solo research project. Value investing is mostly about doing original research alone.
And, of course, everyone would take a turn picking the present-day stock they like best and putting it up on the board as a blind stock valuation. The idea with a blind stock valuation is that you only answer questions you are asked. So, the students learn which questions are important to ask – and in what order – about a stock even when they don’t know the name. They learn to recognize unusual returns on equity, margins, asset turnover ratios, growth histories, etc., and get away from just accepting the conventional wisdom about a stock based on its name, industry, etc.
This is pattern recognition. And it’s the most important part of value investing aside from controlling your emotions.
So every class would start with someone putting their favorite actionable stock idea on the board along with its key characteristics. But no name. And then that student would have to answer any questions the class asked. (Except for questions where an honest answer would risk identifying the company). If for some reason the class wanted to know if the founder still controlled the company – they’d tell them. If the class wanted to know what year the company was founded – they’d tell them. If the class wanted to know the exact gross margin last quarter – and that wasn’t already on the board – they’d put it up there. And so on.
This way, everyone would get a chance of seeing what it takes to be totally knowledgeable and prepared about a single stock you picked yourself. And everyone would get many chances to experience what it’s like to investigate a potentially interesting investment starting from a point of total ignorance and moving towards understanding based on what questions you choose to ask.
I would focus on practical examples. I wouldn’t teach specific valuation techniques, ratios, accounting, etc. except insofar as they appear in the reading material and someone was confused by it. Once something technical like that became relevant to a specific stock example, we’d discuss it. But not before then.
It’s important not to detach theory from practice. That’s why I’d focus on reading books by investors who talk about their actual investments. And that’s why all the reading would be done at home and the class time would be focused on putting specific stocks up on the board.
The majority of class time would be spent on concrete examples.
I can’t stress that enough. New value investors love reading books on theory and technique. They spend too little time studying specific stocks. Out in the wild, you never encounter a P/E ratio in isolation. It’s always attached to a living, breathing stock.
The focus needs to be on actual examples that put things like P/E ratios in their place – as just one aspect of the whole.
Ask Geoff a Question about Teaching Value Investing
Check out the Ben Graham Net-Net Newsletter
Check out the Buffett/Munger Bargains Newsletter
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Regulated bench power supply is one of the important tool in electronics. But it is very expensive. so today iam going to show you to make cheap variable work bench power supply. You can use it to power your prototype modeIs. And i designed it to supply from 18 volt to 3.3volt of DC and maxmium current of 1.5 Amps. You also Change as per your requirement.
Step 1: PLAY VIDEO
Step 2: COMPONENTS REQUIRED
* Transformer (step down from 230 v to 24 v Ac)
* Capacitors (1000uf, 10uf)
* Resistors (check circuit for values)
* Buck Sticks( male & female)
* Resistors (see circuit for values)
* Voltage regulators (7805, 7809, 7812, 7818)
* Battery clips
* Heat Sink Tube
* PCB Board
* AMS 1117 3.3V (This is 3.3 volt regulator i extracted it from old Arduino Board)
Step 3: TOOLS REQUIRED
* Soldering Iron
* Soldering Lead
* Soldering Paste
* Write Cutter
Step 4: CIRCUIT
Here the Circuit for our project. Check The Values of Components to get the accurate Output.
( Check that 3.3 volt regulator is connected from 5 Volt Regulator Don't connect it Directly to the rectifier).
Step 5: Electronics and Soldering
Before Starting The Project You Need Some Basic Electronics Skill and Soldering Skill. Or you will struggle a lot.
Step 6: Theory
We aren't going to get into the heavy detail of the electromagnetic theory behind transformers except to say that the voltage stepped down using the step down transformer for current check the transformer rating. Then the voltage is converted into DC using the full wave bridge rectifier. But the rectified output have some Voltage Ripples. It can be overcomed by using the filters. The filters in the circuit smooth voltage. Then the voltage is regulated by using the voltage regulator.
Step 7: DC Voltages
You get the stepped voltages of 18 v, 12 v, 09 v, 05 v, 3.3 v. I used shunt connector to change the voltages simply by swapping it. you can also use switch to change the voltages. Finally this is useful for powering and checking the prototype models. But the drawback of this converter is it used for only low power devices. For high power you need Buck-Boost converter.
Participated in the
Green Electronics Contest 2016
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Written by Renee Lindstrom, Nov 19, 2014 – Note from author: I believe school warehousing of students was for simplifying group management to maximize numbers and group learning. This author has noticed the two other styles of learning mentioned in this article are being blended back into some educational systems. Consider that the original intention of school was the bright idea of one person who thought it was the best way to go.
The Western Linear learning style schools have adopted for warehousing students has dropped other learning style choices. Two of these other learning styles are: following natural cycles (turning of the seasons) and learning by listening and exploring the experience of those who have gone before us (elders). By only experiencing a linear style education there is a great need for trust and safety in exploring these other two choices.
In Inside’s movement awareness programs, learning is experienced by listening to talking points for references on where to focus and explore those movement patterns. The safety and trust then transfers from the speaker to the those experiencing the changes in themselves as they follow the patterns they hear. (cannot be compared to yoga where you are shown and put into a pose, or therapy where you are fixed – something is happening to you)
In communication there is a blend of all three learning styles. Linear (for concepts), practice (experiencing the concepts), experience (storytelling).
In movement, the trust in the facilitator is generally readily available, while in communication there is skepticism and doubt until there is a connection to something personal and meaningful. This can happen much easier through experiencing the natural cycle of dialogue (conversations), yet appears to be the most challenging for many. This article has been written one day after leading both movement and communication workshops by the author whereby this was observed.
It was observed that it was easier for participants to explore new movements than it is for them to practice new ways of talking. In movement there was acceptance and ease in going for it. In communication for many there was resistance and shyness. Yet, while watching others practice there was awe in the outcome of trying to speak with intention and consciousness.
Participants are challenged in the InTouch communication workshops by reduction of the linear learning style and increase in personal practice to encourage sharing for talking experiences and storytelling!
What this author believes from these two experiences of embodying personal change have integrated as follows:
The participants have demonstrated a higher level of challenge in speaking responsibly and mindfully than those in mindful movement. This is interpreted that this due to the fact that relationships have had a tremendous impact and has the largest focus of a person’s attention, while movement is new territory for most. It reflects the cycle of learning here in the west. Up until school age, children learn through the turning of the seasons and from elders. Going to school the freedom of movement is limited and has a linear learning style, even in sports!
Message to workshop participants: so different, so courageous, so appreciative!
Renee Lindstrom, GCFP,
Feldenkrais® Practitioner since 2007, Communication, Empathy, Values Coach since 2004, Art of Placement since 2000, Labyrinths of Victoria since 2012, #yyj Peace Week Grassroots Calendar Founder, Vice-Chair of World Children’s Summit on Peace & Nature in 2015
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GAAP vs IFRS
GAAP vs IFRS GAAP and IFRS are two of the accounting rules and guidelines that regulate the financial reporting standard. All over the world, different procedures for computing financial results of companies are being observed which are known as their versions of GAAP or local GAAP. This is nothing but generally accepted accounting principles that are followed in various parts of the world. The US GAAP is the one followed by the Accountants for the financial reporting of the companies in US. As there are different versions of GAAP in different countries, The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has been advocating a system of accounting that is same across the globe. This system of accounting is known as International Finance Regulation Standards or IFRS.
As described above, GAAP is the framework within which accountants in any country record and summarize transactions, and present them in financial statements. These are the sum total of accounting standards that are used in any country reflecting conventions, rules and guidelines regarding preparing financial statements of any organization. GAAP is not a single, but a framework of rules that are followed by chartered accountants and accounting firms to prepare and present incomes, expenses, taxes and liabilities of individuals and companies.
Presence of GAAP ensures that financial reports of different companies can be compared and analyzed without any ambiguity and this is a major advantage to Banks, financial experts and tax officials and even to share holders and potential investors who can compare the results and decide upon better performing companies.
As the economy has become global and with emergence of multinationals, it often becomes confusing for the parent company to assess the performance of its subsidiary operating in another country as accounting principles are different in both the countries. This difference in accounting leads to many grouses especially pertaining to taxation. Thus International Accounting Standards board has taken upon itself to develop guidelines for accounting that are applicable in every part of the globe. IFRS is a set of guidelines for accounting that is being encouraged by IASB and the objective is to ensure that gradually all countries progress towards IFRS. Much has been done in the last few decades but a lot still needs to be done.
Difference between GAAP and IFRS
Like all other countries, the US is trying to change and switch over the guidelines set under IFRS for accounting from its present accounting principles known as GAAP. Though there are many similarities between the two, there are glaring dissimilarities that need to be bridged so that accounting is finally same in all parts of the world. Let us have a look at some of the major differences between the two.
(1) When it comes to inventory measurement, GAAP assumes that its value is to be ascertained on the basis of FIFO, LIFO and weighted average method but IFRS does not permit using LIFO for the value of inventory.
(2) Where services are provided, GAAP only takes money as revenue and does not take into account any pending service. But if IFRS is being used for accounting, even part services can be converted into revenue. If it is not possible to calculate revenue, IFRS makes use of zero profit method.
(3) In construction business, GAAP allows for recognition of contract if it is not completed and it can be shown in the financial results. But in IFRS, though it recognises the % of completion method, gross profit approach of % completion is not allowed.
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ENGAGE CRM can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty in the sales, marketing, and customer service fields.
This solution can deliver ROI through marketing automation, customer service, and medication profiles.
The customer profiles can improve:
- Consumer health and wellness management
- Compliance programs increasing prescription drug revenues
- Targeted market entry tactic (prescription and complementary medicines)
- Substitution and cross selling opportunities
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hurtful is an adjective and means causing distress or injury to someone’s feelings; causing pain or suffering, especially of a psychological nature; it can also mean harmful to living things.
“she’s such a nasty cow, she only opens her gob to make a hurtful remark!”
acronym for knock that b-tch down yeah mandy you ktbd. dont let her tell you what to do.
- scrub b*tt
a nurse’s hot -ss in her hospital scrubs. nurses rock the tight scrub to show off that round -ss. did you see that hot scrub b-tt amy was showing today at the doctor’s office? she got -ss!
- lightning c*ck
an extremely large p-n-s with powers similar to the thunder c-ck. it will strike a girl at any time!!! bob’s lightning c-ck struck me last night.
- disco case
the capitalization of every other letter, aka studly case. but that’s lame. disco case makes it seem like you are at a party, with lots of blow and x. therefore, not lame. hey broskeetski, studly case is stoopid. disco case is way less gay.
a female name popular in kazakhstan. originally derived from arabic word “halua” which stands for “sweet” hey, hi what is your name? hi, i’m alua. i’m from kazakhstan. a loving unicorn admirer 1.charlie the unicorn is not an alua. another word for a kid who got swag, and from hawaii. guy 1: she is so […]
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An authorization letter is written for taking consent and conceding sanction to access required documents and facts within defined responsibilities and parameters of legal restriction. Authorization letters are written in case of medical, legal, traveling and other issues. To write an effective authorization letter, refer to the following points mentioned below:
Required and necessary contact details of the individual who has authority to recognize your authorization letter must be mentioned.
An appropriate salutation must be added before the person to whom letter is written.
Clarify all points to be mentioned in an authorization letter. When you begin the letter, the opening paragraph should contain all details about the person who is to be authorized with all compulsory details.
Mention the precise reason behind your authorization letter along with the validity of authorization. Avoid written mistakes and confusions to make authorization letter, understandable. Write it simple and check it after completing it.
Mentions all facts and details clearly and accurately. It is wise to define authorization duties after getting approval according to legal clauses.
End letter with both name and address of the sender along with signatures of sender and person who is to be authorized.
Thus these tips can help one draft an effective authorization letter.
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Lesson 1 (from Blasted, Scene 1)
Blasted, Scene 1
Sarah Kane: Complete Plays contains the five plays and one screenplay which constitute Kane's total canon. The works are characterized by themes of degradation, violence, suicide, and gallows humor. Sarah Kane (1971 - 1999) was an English playwright whose inspiration drew from expressionist theatre and Jacobean tragedy. In this lesson, students are introduced to the anthology and will research and discuss its author, Sarah Kane.
1) Research Activity: Allow students time in the beginning of class to conduct independent research on the life and works of playwright Sarah Kane. When and how did Sarah Kane die?
2) Group Activity: Following the research activity, students are to gather into small groups of 3-4 each to discuss their findings and collaborate in developing a presentation which illustrates the life and career of the author. How many plays of Kane's were produced during her lifetime?
3) Class Discussion: Ask students to...
This section contains 8,173 words
(approx. 28 pages at 300 words per page)
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In 1938 Dupont first synthesised Teflon® PTFE (Poly Tetra Flouro Ethylene), which has very low friction characteristics and outstanding chemical resistance. The advent of PTFE paved the way for the development of other fluoropolymer products including ETFE (Ethylene Tetra Flouro Ethylene). In the early 1970s Dupont and Hoechst introduced the first commercially extruded ETFE foils under the brand names of Tefzel® and Hostaflon® respectively.
ETFE’s high tensile strength, resistance to tearing, excellent light transparency, and low flammability, meant that it was ideally suited for architectural applications. However, the high service temperature also meant that it was difficult to process. In 1981, Dr Stefan Lehnert of Vector Foiltec, invented a drop bar welding technique that was capable of welding large sheets ETFE, this breakthrough made possible the development of ETFE in modern roofing & cladding systems.
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Results for Tag: sources
The annual amount of water used in Syria is about 15BCM. This comes from the Euphrates (50 per cent) and the Asi River basins (20 per cent). Of the water usage from the Asi River, 2,230MCM are used for irrigation, 320MCM for domestic purposes and 270MCM for industrial purposes. The total amount of water withdrawn from the Asi River is 2,730MCM
In all three riparian countries, the river is used mainly for irrigation, domestic water supply and hydropower. The Asi River is diverted to the Homs-Hama water channels and Ghab-Roudji irrigation systems to meet the needs of Lebanon and Syria. The water is also stored in the Zeita Dam for domestic and irrigation purposes and energy production.
Dams have always played an important role in harnessing precious Iranian water reserves, and the long-term objective of Iran’s water resources development plan is based on the control and regulation of water through dams. In 2015, a total of 647 dams were in operation, of which 352 are considered significant reservoirs, with a total capacity of 48.39BCM.
Iran is facing unprecedented challenges in securing water and food for its growing population, which is projected to reach 92 million by 2050. These challenges are due not only to Iran’s semi-arid climate and declining precipitation over the past decade, but also to mismanagement of water resources.
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Understanding the chemical nature of haze particles in the atmospheres of Titan and Saturn and materials on the surface of the Saturn system bodies is one of the goals of the Cassini-Huygens mission. Complex organic materials may exist as haze layers in the atmospheres of Titan and Saturn and as dark coloring agents on icy satellite surfaces. Laboratory measurements of optical constants of laboratory haze/condensate analogs at broad spectral wavelengths are crucial for the effort of interpreting the spectral observations by the Cassini-Huygens mission. However, there is a general lack of studies in vacuum ultraviolet, near-IR, and far-IR spectral regions, which is necessary for the Cassini’s UVIS, VIMS, and CIRS instruments. We propose to determine the optical constants of laboratory-generated complex organic matter in the wavelength region between 0.030 μm and 500 μm (20 cm-1), which covers spectral region crucial for the Cassini spectroscopic instruments (the UVIS, ISS, VIMS, and CIRS) and the DISR on the Huygens Probe. Our initial effort would be focused on the plausible organic hazes in Titan and Saturn by investigating complex organic materials 1) with/without nitrogen inclusion and 2) various degree of saturation [(H-N)/C]. Comlex organics consisting of C/H/O elements will also be investigated as potential organic matter on the surface of icy bodies and Saturn’s ring particles. Reliable optical constants from this proposed work would help the effort in interpretation of broad spectral observations by the Cassini mission to constrain the chemical and physical nature of those organic haze materials.
Experimental simulations of Titan's atmospheric and surface chemistries in order to understand the formation of complex organic molecules as well as the abiotic formation of prebiotic molecules, providing important clues to the origin of life on the early Earth.
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How it works
The EMA Tool will take you through a simple series of questions about your current energy management practices to help identify priority actions for improvement.
- The assessment consists of a series of binary questions related to 12 different components of energy management
- The assessment typically takes about 60 minutes to complete with a facilitator
- The assessment provides a framework for continuous improvement, helping you achieve long-term energy performance through effective management.
When you are done, you will receive a recommended action plan report which will outline energy management strategies and provide links to resources to help you start improving your SEM practices today.
The EMA Tool is built to enable SEM coaches and energy management consultants to facilitate assessments for their customers. Click here to learn more and access the Facilitator Guide.Learn More
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TNRC Guide - Translating political economy insights into conservation practice: A six-step guide to using PEAs to design and test theories of change for interventions to protect and defend nature
Translating political economy insights into conservation practice: A six-step guide to using PEAs to design and test theories of change for interventions to protect and defend nature
This TNRC Guide shares practical knowledge for program designers and implementers to reduce corruption’s impact on conservation.
This guide suggests six steps for bringing political economy analysis (PEA) findings into a theory of change (ToC) for a project or program. It aims to provide a practical means for conservationists to navigate political economy (PE) in contexts where they work. While a ToC explains the logic of a project, a PEA, which looks at the influence of power, helps get to the heart of what needs to change for a project to work. But practitioners often find it challenging to use PEA in practice. The suggested steps are:
|Select a PEA approach that will best fit where you are in your projects, the resources available and the time available, the complexity of the context, and how much evidence exists.
|Define or adapt a realistic impact statement using PEA to figure out what ultimately needs to change and the key opportunities and constraints to that change.
|Use PEA to unpack what drives that change - use PEA to unpack what drives the change needed to realize the desired impact. This can help define project outcomes and the assumptions that must be tested and monitored.
|Develop hypotheses for how to enable those changes to occur. A PEA can provide signposts to viable entry points and aid in checking whether activities are on the path to achieving desired goals or not.
|Bring this together into a robust ToC based on an understanding of the evidence, drawn at least in part from the PEA. Alongside other sources, PEA helps to illuminate where assumptions have been made and the resulting risks that need to be monitored.
|Set up to iterate - Updating a PEA throughout a project creates opportunities to check in and assess whether the theory and its assumptions are holding up, and if not, why. Then course corrections can be made if needed.
PEA can be useful for designing a new or testing existing ToCs by:
- ✓ Clarifying the desired impact of the activity
- ✓ Checking that the anticipated impact is realistic
- ✓ Figuring out what conditions need to change to achieve this impact
- ✓ Articulating and revisiting hypotheses about how that change will happen
- ✓ Identifying other things that need to happen for those hypotheses to hold true
- ✓ Spotting why things are not happening as anticipated
- ✓ Finding weak assumptions and evidence gaps that need ongoing testing and monitoring
- ✓ Identifying risks that have not been sufficiently considered
- ✓ Testing assumptions, risks, evidence, and hypotheses over time to enable adaptation
- ✓ Supporting evaluation for better learning
What is a theory of change?
A ToC does not have one common definition (see Annex B for a range of options). For our purposes, a ToC is most useful when it a) articulates a logical explanation for how a desired set of changes is expected to occur, b) reflects understanding of the assumptions upon which the theory is predicated, and c) serves as the basis for testing whether the theory is on track or needs adapting, and in what way(s) (Vogel 2012).
What does this have to do with PEA?
PEA can be thought of as an analysis of power: for any desired change, PEA explores who holds power, how they use it, and for what purposes. As such, PEA is a tool for identifying basic hypotheses and/or teasing out assumptions that lie behind those hypotheses, and in so doing, it helps signal when assumptions may be invalid or may pose a risk to the objectives that otherwise might not have been identified.
What does this cumulatively mean? The aim of conservation is to safeguard people and nature. ToCs articulate what needs to change to deliver on that aim and contribute to impacts, along with the kinds of things that need to happen to get to that change – what needs to be different. A ToC and a related results framework also detail the activities that will be pursued to make those differences. Understanding more about who has power – to make change, to impede change – and how they get and use that power helps to clarify the conditions that need to change in order to achieve results. A ToC helps users explain the options for how change might occur, determine the level of change that is likely to be achievable, and identify pitfalls to look out for along the way.
Frequently used terms
Theory of change: While there are various definitions, we can think of such theories as “how a given intervention, or set of interventions, is expected to lead to specific development change, drawing on a causal analysis based on available evidence” (UNDAF 2017). Combining various definitions, ToCs provide ideas for how change will occur and a process of identifying the assumptions that underpin that presumed change process.
Political economy analysis: “An approach to understanding why change does or does not happen” which “unpacks … who has power, what determines levels of power and how power is exercised” (Alexander and Williams 2020, pp. 5).
Output: Sometimes termed intermediate results, these are “The tangible and intangible products that result from project activities (Parsons, Gokey and Thornton 2013, pp. 6).”
Outcome: At times called objectives or strategic objectives, these are “the benefits that a project or intervention is designed to deliver” (Ibid) – the “likely or achieved short-term and medium-term change and effects of intervention outputs” (OECD 2023).
Impact: Sometimes called goals, … the “higher-level strategic goal” of a project or activity (Parsons, Gokey and Thornton 2013, pp. 6) – those “Positive and negative, primary and secondary, long-term effects produced by … interventions” (OECD 2023).
Results framework: “An articulation of the different levels, or chains, of results expected from a particular intervention” (Roberts and Khattri 2012, pp. 7).
Step 1: Determining the right PEA approach
There is a wealth of information available on PEAs. The amount of guidance can be overwhelming, but approaches can be clustered into three “types.” The first type consists of tools that do elements of PEAs - often at least getting to root causes. The second includes “light touch” but holistic PEAs, which can be done quickly but still offer ways to identify obstacles to and opportunities for change. Those in the third category - in-depth exercises – do this with greater rigor. An overview of some of the first two types, and links to suggested tools for the third, can be found in Annex A. The table below offers suggestions for which PEA “type” might be suited to different circumstances.
Shorter, partial PEA exercise
Light touch but holistic PEAs
Regardless of the tool used, an important risk to watch for is using PEAs to validate work already decided upon. To guard against this, approaches can:
- Bring in external observers or challenge views, including through participatory engagement e.g., with communities;
- Underpin the work with a literature review; and/or
- Do further testing, including through primary qualitative data collection, where evidence gaps exist.
The steps that follow examine ways to bring findings from PEAs into ToCs. Suggestions often are focused on the project level. There is other guidance to explore if there is demand for scale or to mainstream thinking about power across sectors or teams (moving towards a Thinking and Working Politically approach).
Step 1 Exercise
Minimum time required: 15 minutes
To prepare: Select a project you are designing or you are currently implementing. Review light-touch approaches provided in Annex A. Scan the table in Step 1 above.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the PEA options in Annex A to your project?
Which PEA approach do you think might best work to begin with, and why?
Step 2: Working to a clear, realistic impact
An impact statement is based on two dimensions: what is the core problem, and how much realistically can change in the time available. PEAs provide insights for both.
Defining a clear problem or required change
A ToC sets out the combination of things that need to happen to start solving a problem, so it is important to be clear about the problem itself. PEA tools that break down why something is happening help define this foundational problem. This enables checking that the ToC does not conflate a solution or a symptom with a problem and its cause (see scenario below).
Setting realistic ambitions
Most project ToCs are time-bound and so need to identify the progress that is likely within this period. If a ToC isn’t realistic in this regard, it is unlikely to be very useful. Some of the more holistic PEA tools - including rapid ones - can tease out barriers and opportunities, offering insights on how much progress is realistic in a project’s time period.
With a clear problem in mind and a view of what is realistic, it’s possible to produce an informed impact statement. In the scenario provided above (“What is the impact?”), a simple PEA tool enables the team to shift activities toward the impact.
Step 2 Exercise
Minimum time required: 30 minutes
To prepare: Select a project - this can be from Step 1 or a different one. Look specifically at the project’s impact - the big picture issue you believe it seeks to achieve. With this in mind, conduct a “five whys” exercise (refer to Annex A).
What does the analysis suggest should be the core change(s) to address?
Is this different from what the current impact statement describes?
What do you think realistic progress will look like in your project period?
Step 3: Identifying drivers of change
The next step is to develop some ideas about the range of drivers of change - those factors that support or impede impacts. Practically, in a ToC, a project’s outcomes – the areas that the interventions will address - are derived at least in part by articulating expected progress toward realizing or addressing some of these drivers. Identifying drivers also helps identify assumptions – those things that must also occur or hold true for the theory to hold. Assumptions can be evidence-based - derived from research and analysis - but often may include implicit beliefs and expectations about how things normally work.
Before differentiating outcomes from assumptions, it is helpful to use elements of a PEA to take stock of the full picture of drivers. Once a clear idea of these drivers emerges, working through findings from the PEA against the following questions can help clarify what the project should focus on achieving, versus what it needs to assume (and monitor for whether those assumptions are correct):
- How important is this driver for the impact statement?
- Is this something the project has a comparative advantage in addressing?
- What are the risks associated with focusing on this driver?
- What, realistically, would it look like for this driver to contribute towards the impact statement?
- What will happen if the project does not directly work on this driver?
- What assumptions are necessary?
- Where the project cannot work to address a driver, is there a more indirect route to shape this dimension?
Step 3 Exercise
Minimum time required: 30 minutes
To prepare: Using the problem identified in the step 2 exercise, or a clear problem from another project, work through a “fishbone diagram”. A free template for this model can be found here, or you can find a blank template in Annex A. Try to come up with all the things you think are driving your core problem. Now group similar or related issues together.
What do you think are the drivers of your desired change?
With this in mind, what outcomes (that is, what progress toward realizing or addressing these drivers) need to happen for this impact to occur?
Using the list of questions above under Step 3, which of these drivers are you going to focus on?
What do you need to assume about the other drivers you’ve found in your PEA?
Step 4: How change happens: Hypotheses for intervention
Why build a hypothesis?
A common risk in ToC development is that it is too often “set and forget”: desired impact and outcomes are identified, but at the close of the project it may become clear that although activities and outputs were delivered, they had little bearing on outcomes or impact. This can often be the result of (a) selecting and committing to specific outputs without building a logic for how they will deliver conditions for change, and/or (b) making assumptions about the existence of other necessary conditions that don’t end up being true. When this happens, it can be hard to effectively monitor progress or know what isn’t working and what needs to change. For these reasons, it’s important to explain the logic of change that is often implicit in projects but doesn’t always get spelled out and critically examined.
How to use a PEA to build hypotheses of change
The onset of a project, strategy, or planning process is an ideal opportunity to use PEA to develop hypotheses for a ToC. Your PEA will have helped you find drivers of change, but will also offer insights into which stakeholders and processes offer entry-points for change, and which create constraints. These can be used to articulate how and under what circumstances (assumptions), planned interventions will lead to change, as well as identify the main risks to this theory holding true.
Though PEA may be most useful when initiating a project, strategy or plan, it can still be helpful to use and deploy PEA to inform on-going work. Often, using a PEA to transpose hypotheses and assumptions onto an existing ToC can help when progress is not going as planned, and it’s not clear why (see Step 6).
Step 4 Exercise
Minimum time required: 30 minutes
To prepare: Look at the drivers you have selected to focus on in Exercise 3, or alternatively, look at an outcome from a different ToC.
Which stakeholders (see Annex C for a list of common ones) have influence on or power in achieving the outcome(s)?
What institutions and/or “rules of the game” give them that influence and/or power? (Rules of the game are the formal and informal way things get done).
What might motivate or cause them to use influence positively? Rate your confidence in each suggestion.
Within this, what can you comfortably work on?
What gaps remain after those activities are identified?
Step 5: Mapping PEA findings onto a theory of change
The process outlined in the steps above can generate the main elements needed to bring PEA into a ToC. There is no set model for doing so. Some options can be narrative, for example “if–then” statements. Other ToCs may include a diagram that illustrates causal pathways (see Annex D for a sample). The main components to map are:
- A clarified, realistic impact statement.
- Which drivers of this impact the project is contributing to – outcome(s).
- A description or visual of the hypothesis about how to achieve those outcomes (outputs or interventions). Be sure to explain or show how, not just what.
- What assumptions underlie the hypothesis.
- At each level, the strength of the evidence. For complex problems and contexts, it may be useful for the PEA to dig deeper on areas where gaps in evidence exist.
- Particularly where there are evidence gaps, identify the risks to the ToC. These need to be regularly assessed against updated PEA, particularly in fluid political environments.
All these components together are necessary for a clear articulation of what will make change and what this depends upon, and to be absolutely explicit about where there are uncertainties.
Step 5 Exercise
Minimum time required: 1 hour
To prepare: In the previous exercises you’ll have developed a clear, realistic impact statement. You will have generated outcomes, and assumptions underlying those outcomes, by unpacking drivers of change and how to progress them (outcomes). You will have developed hypotheses for how to address those drivers, creating from these your outputs. Make sure you’ve got these available, using the exercises above, or use another ToC that includes these elements. Review the PEA work you have done so far and make note of areas where you were uncertain.
What would a visual diagram tying this together look like? Refer to Annex D for an example.
How strong is your evidence? Go through your diagram and flag where there are gaps.
What risks should you be aware of? Make sure these are highlighted in your diagram.
Step 6: Iteration and adaptation
Conservation and natural resource management are complex issues, and conservationists work in challenging operating environments, all of which are shaped by power dynamics. As a result, ToCs may be based on limited evidence, requiring decisions about activities and objectives in the absence of certainty that these approaches will work. So it is key to build in time to regularly pause, refresh analysis, and consider whether new evidence suggests a different direction.
Often, adaptive projects – projects that have the flexibility to shift approaches in response to ongoing assessments – will build tests of this kind into regular project monitoring. This has operational implications for managing resources, contracting and procurement, and monitoring. Some practitioners have developed concrete guidance for such adaptive management. Moving away from output-oriented results frameworks toward problem-driven models – like the “SearchFrame” – also can encourage iteration and offer check-in points to modify work based on a review of assumptions and reflections on performance.
Doing PEA and other situational analysis on a rolling basis is a key to knowing what has changed, where new opportunities to effect change materialize, and where old ones are no longer viable. PEAs may also be used for evaluative purposes particularly when appraising complex challenges. For instance, these tools can be particularly helpful for approaches like outcome harvesting, which looks at what changes have occurred – good or bad – and retroactively aims to identify how interventions contributed to those changes.
Step 6 Exercise
Minimum time required: 1 hour
To prepare: If the exercises above have been done on an existing or old project, use the ToC you’ve developed through this guidance. If not, take a ToC from a project that you’ve completed or is currently being implemented. Check that your impact statement is clear and realistic (refer to Step 1 Exercise if needed). The questions below have been adapted from the Everyday Political Analysis approach (see Annex A).
Which actors or groups currently are involved in the issue you are trying to change?
What motivates these actors?
How do they wield influence, what power do they have?
Do your hypotheses reflect these actors and their motivations?
To what extent have the assumptions in your ToC held up?
What practically can you do to make changes?
PEA and similar forms of situational analysis are helpful tools for developing, testing, and adapting sound ToCs. They are not a magic bullet; they have limitations and require complements as well as a willingness to challenge pre-existing ideas, question assumptions, and at times make difficult choices. They do offer, however, a useful framework for figuring out what we are trying to achieve, assessing what is preventing that from occurring, describing how we think change can occur, and identifying the assumptions that underpin the interventions we take on.
Annex A. PEA approaches
This guidance is not a “how-to” for doing PEA per se. Still, a few tools in particular are highlighted below to offer options for quicker assessments on facets of political economy. These can be deployed where a lighter touch is needed or where there is an interest in initially exploring political economy dynamics before considering a more in-depth approach. For more in-depth approaches to using PEA in conservation, there is guidance available on situational analysis and a framework on PEA for conservation impact (the “PEACI” Framework). More information is provided below.
Shorter, partial PEA exercises
- One simple but useful tool is the “five whys” exercise. Used beyond PEA in other fields trying to understand adverse outcomes, this begins by articulating a problem. It then asks why that is happening, and then why again, five times over. As participants get closer to the root cause, the problem begins to broaden. A hypothesis may also emerge before five steps are completed.
- A helpful complement to deepen the five whys can be a fishbone diagram. While the five whys may suggest a hierarchy of causes, the fishbone provides a more open space to identify multiple drivers, group them, and unpack their causes (ODI 2023). This tool also begins with a problem. Teams are then asked to identify the various drivers of that problem, to group them, and then to think about the myriad things that underpin those drivers.
Fishbone diagram template
Light touch, holistic PEAs
- For those short on time, the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Research Programme developed options for doing a one-hour PEA with options for expanding that into a full-day or longer-term exercise. This framework suggests setting aside a short amount of time as a team to workshop through a series of simple questions. While options are available for country-level, problem-level, or sector-based analysis, the problem-driven (project) level questions may prove most useful as a starting point:
- Finally, Everyday Political Analysis (EPA) (Hudson, Marquette and Waldock 2016) is a condensed framework that guides users through a series of questions to help articulate the interests at play and opportunities for change in a given situation. Other organizations have applied this tool to their sector. Annex C offers an aggregated list of the types of typical stakeholders in the forests, wildlife, and fisheries sectors. Considering these stakeholders, EPA can help to answer some basic questions:
- “Has this type of intervention been tried before?
- Is there demand for the interventions? From whom?
- Can we work with those actors opposed to or lukewarm about change?
- Are there any structural or institutional constraints for change?
- What would be a reasonable expectation for this intervention?”
Yanguas, Pablo 2015, pp.7)
- Which of these actors is involved in the issue you’re trying to change? This may be proximate actors, or more “hidden” actors that influence those you interface with.
- Is there demand for the interventions? From whom?
- What motivates them?
- What influence do they have?
- What might get them to change?
For more in-depth processes of deriving PEAs in conservation, the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption project has developed guidance on situational analysis and the WWF International Governance Practice has developed a useful framework on PEA for conservation impact (the “PEACI” Framework). The building blocks of the PEACI Framework are provided below. Even with these models, there is a range in how rigorous the approach can be.
Alexander and Williams 2020.
Annex B. Some definitions of theory of change
"How we *theorize* change will happen under a program"
"...articulating [these] many underlying assumptions about how change will happen in a programme"
"A comprehensive description and illustration of how and why a desired change is expected to happen in a particular context."
"The description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome"
"...how you think...strategy will help you achieve both intermediate results and longer-term conservation and human well-being goals."
"The casual pathways from the planned intervention to the intended outcomes"
Annex C. Common stakeholders
Below is a non-exhaustive list of the types of stakeholders that we may want to consider when we look at political economy dynamics. When we do so, here are some simple questions to consider:
- Which of these, or others, are the main actors we visibly know are engaged on the issue, landscape we are concerned with?
- Look beyond the immediate actors we know and work with - which stakeholders, to the extent we are aware, influence those we interface with?
- Where these stakeholders are contributing to the problem we are seeking to address, why? What is driving their activity or behavior?
- What scope is there to change based on that understanding?
Government / public officials
Wildlife service officials
Formal and informal officials at checkpoints
Officials in inspection and granting permits
Officials that provide hunting licenses
Officials that license of captive breeding
Zoning, concessions, permitting officials
Officials that provide fishing licenses
Fisheries management compliance regulators
Forest management officials and committees
Health and safety officials
Asset management offices
Black market sellers
Finance and private sector
Banks and financial institutions
Domestic and international corporations
Local groups and actors
Law enforcement / rule of law
Law enforcement overseeing stockpiles
Judges and magistrates
Court registrars and clearks
Prison and rehabilitation staff
Movement of goods
Buyers and dealers
Transport and shipping companies
Captains and crew
Annex D. TOC example
Below is a hypothetical example derived to illustrate some elements of a ToC aiming to deliver more equitable, sustainable use of community forests. It highlights where each of the six steps in this guidance might be used.
The authors of this guide extend their heartfelt gratitude to the following colleagues for their contributions to the creation of this publication:
Iaroslav Teleshun, WWF Ukraine
Simon Rafanomezantsoa, WWF Madagascar
Ekraj Sigdel, WWF Nepal
Renata Cao, WWF Mexico
Raul Valle, WWF Brazil
Jose Alvarez, WWF Peru
Elizabeth Hart, WWF US
Elaine Geyer-Allély, WWF International
ToCs when done robustly and consultatively can create shared understanding of a core challenge, set a common direction and measures for success, identify interventions with the highest likelihood of working, generate local ownership, and improve project design (Salib 2022, pp 2-3).
In reality, these ‘camps’ exist more on a spectrum between light touch and rigorous and between partial and holistic.
A very frequent practice is to conflate a solution with a problem. This is exemplified in “Scenario: What is the impact?” where the problem was originally defined as the lack of the selected solution - in that case the lack of citizen engagement. Often, ToCs like this are symptomatic of projects that have pre-selected activities / solutions and so have not fully articulated the problem being addressed. Why is this an issue? As illustrated, this practice binds projects to pre-identified solutions and constrains teams from identifying the real things that may need to change. This brief video on Selling Solutions vs Solving Problems from Harvard Kennedy School Building State Capability program offers a simple way to test if this error has occurred: if three plausible solutions to a problem can not be identified, then a solution and a problem have probably been conflated.
Often projects assume “transformative impact”: “positive change in the system over time”. But as a PEA will likely show, that is often not aligned with the context of the problem. Sometimes the aim may simply be to prevent things from getting worse – a preventative impact. Further guidance is available on different types of impact (Reudy 2018).
Homing in on evidence gaps might entail a more complete PEA exercise that includes a literature review, conducting primary research, and considering participatory approaches to the PEA.
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“What is it that you are trying to offer me, yellow one?” The leader looks at Toyu with a very sharp gaze.
“I think it is very unlikely for you to mobilize this big number of your followers just for us, right? Maybe there is something we could do to help you.” Toyu answers in response.
“You are very sharp, yellow one.” Hearing his proposition, the leader of the unicorn starts seeing him in a new light. “Very well. I will let one of my followers tell you about our dire situation.”
As the leader finished his talk, one of the silver-horned unicorn steps forward.
“For a while now, Unicorn Land has been having a problem. We are looking for 2 white unicorns that hide in this forest. Then, we got a report about some suspicious figures. Those figures are you guys.” The silver-horned unicorn that stood right beside the unicorns’ leader speaks with indifference.
“What did those 2 unicorns do?” Ryu, innocently asks.
“… Huh? Did you really have to ask?” The silver-horned unicorn put one of its hooves on its forehead and shakes its head.
“No worries. Explain it to them.” The leader adds to their conversation.
“As you wish, my liege.” The other unicorn lowers its head and sighs. “It is because they ARE white.”
Hearing the answer from the unicorn, the entire group was left speechless, especially Jun and Ryu. It is clear that the answer disturbed the two so much that their face is now painted with a frown instead of a smile.
“I am sorry, but… WHAT?” Ryu suddenly shouts in response to the answer. “I DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT UNICORN, BUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING WHITE?!”
“Heyyy watch your tong—”
“It is okay. Let me answer that.” Their leader chimes in. “While our original color skin is white, we used natural dyes to color our furs and mane. It symbolizes our freedom, along with these broken chains on our neck.”
“Then, what is wrong with keeping your original fur color???” Instead of calming down, the answer fires up Ryu even more. She keeps shouting and this time a small ember of fire could be seen on the gap between her mouths.
“It is a crime.”
“HOW IS IT A CRIME???” The ember of flame inside Ryu’s mouth is getting bigger.
“Because I said so.”
Hearing the final answer, Ryu finally shoots her flame upward in a fit of rage.
“How is it fair for them??? What if they liked their original fur color???”
During this fit of rage, some of the silver-horned unicorns lower their head because they actually understand what Ryu was talking about, yet they are not brave enough to stand against their leader; they fear for their own safety.
“You guys were supposed to represent freedom, are you not??? Then, why do you forbid those who made their own choice??”
Hearing Ryu’s response, the color of the leader’s face grows sour.
“Tell me, which part of forcing others to dye their fur is freedom??? You guys are betraying what you represent, you know?!”
Shouldn’t everyone be free to choose their own way of life?! Shouldn’t freedom be their power?!”
Once Ryu finishes her fit of rage, silence creeps in between them. The unicorn leader gazes deep into Ryu’s eyes, full of anger because an outsider criticized the way it reigns the land.
“HEIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” The leader of the unicorn neighs in a very high pitch and raises both of his front legs into the air.
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The COMBAT Tent is another example of Eureka! innovation, engineering and design. This two-man, three-season, free-standing, double wall tent is a Eureka! original. It incorporates a vapor permeable tent body with a waterproof floor and fly, which also provides 20 square feet of additional gear storage. Each COMBAT tent is extremely tough and durable. Tested at Aberdeen and in the field, there are over 100,000 COMBAT tents fielded to date and no returns! The COMBAT Tent has two doors (entrance/exit openings), and using shockcorded poles, requires no special tools for erection and striking. Additionally, the rain fly is adaptable for use independent of the tent body, utilizing the poles and stakes provided.
- Freestanding, 3-pole dome tent with bathtub floor
- 2-door, two-person tent design
- 2 vestibules for 20 sq. ft. of additional storage space
- Reversible, flame retardant, full coverage blackout fly for superior environmental protections
- The reversible rain fly is adaptable for use independent of the tent body, utilizing the poles and stakes provided
- Able to withstand 40 mph steady winds and 55 mph wind gusts
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fputc - put a byte on a stream
#include <stdio.h> int fputc(int c, FILE *stream);
The fputc() function writes the byte specified by c (converted to an unsigned char) to the output stream pointed to by stream, at the position indicated by the associated file-position indicator for the stream (if defined), and advances the indicator appropriately. If the file cannot support positioning requests, or if the stream was opened with append mode, the byte is appended to the output stream.
The st_ctime and st_mtime fields of the file will be marked for update between the successful execution of fputc() and the next successful completion of a call to fflush() or fclose() on the same stream or a call to exit() or abort().
Upon successful completion, fputc() returns the value it has written. Otherwise, it returns EOF, the error indicator for the stream is set, and errno is set to indicate the error.
The fputc() function will fail if either the stream is unbuffered or the stream's buffer needs to be flushed, and:
- The O_NONBLOCK flag is set for the file descriptor underlying stream and the process would be delayed in the write operation.
- The file descriptor underlying stream is not a valid file descriptor open for writing.
- An attempt was made to write to a file that exceeds the maximum file size or the process' file size limit.
- The file is a regular file and an attempt was made to write at or beyond the offset maximum.
- The write operation was terminated due to the receipt of a signal, and no data was transferred.
- A physical I/O error has occurred, or the process is a member of a background process group attempting to write to its controlling terminal, TOSTOP is set, the process is neither ignoring nor blocking SIGTTOU and the process group of the process is orphaned. This error may also be returned under implementation-dependent conditions.
- There was no free space remaining on the device containing the file.
- An attempt is made to write to a pipe or FIFO that is not open for reading by any process. A SIGPIPE signal will also be sent to the thread.
The fputc() function may fail if:
- Insufficient storage space is available.
- A request was made of a non-existent device, or the request was outside the capabilities of the device.
ferror(), fopen(), getrlimit(), putc(), puts(), setbuf(), ulimit(), <stdio.h>.
Derived from Issue 1 of the SVID.
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I am so fascinated by why emotions have such a low value in our culture. People are simply not aware of the power their emotions exert over their behavior. They do not investigate them. They are not curious about emotion. And Brené Brown’s research has shown that people who do investigate their emotions have learned to do so in one of three ways. How I wish they were as curious as this little boy staring at his fish!
Three Ways They Got Curious
- They have parents or other important people in their lives that have acknowledged and taught them the importance of getting curious about their feelings.
- Parents or other important people in their lives have modeled curiosity about emotion.
- They worked with a counselor, therapist or other helping professional that taught them about the value of getting curious, of asking themselves why their feelings were occurring.
So how does it play out when we don’t get curious about our feelings? One huge outcome is the loss of the opportunity to deepen our most important relationships. I heard a story recently about a long-married couple where the husband expressed anger over a flirty comment made by his wife at a friend’s home. The male in the couple they were visiting with was described as a bit of a curmudgeon who did not express his emotions well, nor was he very huggie or touchy-feely. So the wife threw out a sort of flirty, teasing comment to him in her initial greeting, which her husband received as a form of betrayal, albeit low in the scheme of things. She had merely intended to draw out their friend with good humor.
Here’s the thing. She did not know about her husband’s hurt until he revealed his anger two days later. Meanwhile his hurt festered. He stewed and ruminated, and then blurted it out in anger. Of course his anger was just the mask for his hurt. But why didn’t he mention it to her earlier, say on the drive home from their evening out?
So the answer to this involves questioning our feelings and emotions. If this husband had gotten curious earlier, he might have understood that he was feeling a bit jealous, and a little insecure. But that would have required him to be vulnerable, and being vulnerable requires courage. Because we might get laughed at, or belittled, or made to feel less than. Men in particular are taught by our society that discussing emotions is frivolous and a waste of time. Or worse, that it just invites trouble. And maybe it does in the short term, but the payoff is big if you allow it. When you refuse to go through the hurt, instead of ignoring it, or you push it to the back of the closet, you will end up with a big pile of doody. It will be hard to avoid, or your avoidance will become so big you will begin to live parallel lives—the death knell of a relationship.
If you cannot figure out the path forward due to a too-big pile, shoot me an email or go to my contact page. I am here and in your neighborhood, ready to help.
Resource: Rising Strong by Brené Brown, 2015, Brown’s TED Talk on Vulnerability
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2 Answers | Add Yours
Jackson's "The Lottery" is filled with ambiguity. The reader doesn't necessarily learn details that reveal character motivation (why characters do what they do) and background, for example. Some details are left to a reader's interpretaion, or may have been intentionally omitted because they are not directly relevant to the central idea of the work.
If we stick to exactly what's revealed to us as readers, on the one hand we have a group of people who commit horrible atrocities year after year for no reason other than because they are supposed to, because it's tradition. We have common people willing to go along with the status quo and stone people to death.
On the other hand, the reader does receive indication that the lottery victim is a sacrifice:
Listening to the young folks, nothing's good enough for them. Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about 'Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.'
Besides using faulty logic, here, Old Man Warner indicates that one villager must suffer in order for all to prosper. Many commentators see this as evidence that the story is a scapegoat story. A depiction of the human capacity to blame a minority in favor of the majority.
However you interpret the story, though, the reader still ends up with a depiction of ordinary people matter-of-factly committing a horrible atrocity. What does that suggest about humans?
To most of the villagers, the lottery is something that is just a tradition. It is something that has always happened in their village and in just about every other place they know of. Because of that, it is something that they cannot imagine doing away with.
Part of the point of this story is that people will do horrible things if they think that is just how things are supposed to be. The villagers are willing to go along with killing a random member of their number each year simply because that is what is done. None of them can really remember why lotteries happen, but they still do them every year without anyone forcing them to do so.
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Section Il. Inspections
Inspection is performed primarily to determine the following:
(2) The nature of serviceability.
(3) The work, repair parts, and supplies required to return the materiel to serviceability.
(4) That the work in process is being performed properly.
(5) That completed work complies fully with serviceability standards.
b. The M118A2/M118A3 elbow telescope is considered serviceable when:
(1) It is complete and property performs its intended function.
(2) All modification work orders (MWO's) have been applied.
(3) All defects disclosed by the inspection have been corrected.
DA Form 2408-5 and DA Form 2409 list applicable MWO's.
3-5 CATEGORIES OF INSPECTION
Categories of inspection define responsibilities:
An initial inspection (ref. para 3-6) is performed immediately on receipt of the M118A2/M118A3 elbow telescope
for maintenance. This inspection will determine the amount and type of work to be performed or whether the
M118A2/M118A3 elbow telescope should be sent to depot maintenance.
b. A final inspection (ref. para 3-29) of the M118A2/M118A3 elbow telescope is performed after repairs have been
completed at General Support Maintenance to ensure the item meets serviceability standards.
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is the web's first gaming experience in the prehistoric world. Start out as a regular caveman who minds his own business picking berries and hunting for food. Become a legend throughout time as you battle other neanderthals, wrangle dinosaurs, and build up your cave. BC Wars has been designed from the ground up to be simplistic, allowing you to rapidly grasp the game, while at the same time allowing vast options to go deeper into strategy to satisfy the casual and hardcore gamer.
- Realistic virtual economy that allows for exciting and challenging gameplay.
- Extensive community aspect built throughout game.
- Real-time Player vs. Player and dinosaur battles.
- No resets means you never lose your hard earned stats.
- You can play as little or as much as you like, it won't hurt you either way.
- Engaging artwork makes the browser game come to life.
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Synonyms for salmon
- 1. salmon, salmonid, food fish
- usage: any of various large food and game fishes of northern waters; usually migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn
- 2. Salmon, Salmon River
- usage: a tributary of the Snake River in Idaho
- 3. salmon, fish
- usage: flesh of any of various marine or freshwater fish of the family Salmonidae
- 4. salmon, chromatic color, chromatic colour, spectral color, spectral colour
- usage: a pale pinkish orange color
WordNet 3.0 Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University.
All rights reserved.
- 1. pink-orange, pinkish-orange, salmon, chromatic (vs. achromatic)
- usage: of orange tinged with pink
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- Enable developer mode on your device
- Connect your device to your computer via USB
- Select "SDK mode" when asked for the USB connection type
- Use the SDK connection utility, and select USB connection
- Note the password displayed in the "Connectivity Details" screen
- On your computer, use "ssh -D 9898 [email protected]"
- Accept the host key question, and enter the password from step 5
- You should be greeted by a Busybox prompt "/home/developer $" - leave that open in the terminal window in the background
- At this point, a SOCKS proxy server is running on port 9898, and you can use it in any applications supporting a SOCKS proxy (there are even utilities like socksify(1) (Debian package: dante-client) that make generic network applications work through a SOCKS proxy)
- To use it in Firefox, go to Edit - Preferences - Advanced - Network - Settings..., then choose "Manual proxy configuration" and set "SOCKS Host:" to localhost and port to 9898 (be sure to disable the proxy again when you want to browse via a normal Wi-Fi/Ethernet connection)
After that, a "ssh n9proxy" (possibly followed by the developer password) is all you need to set up the proxy. This method is arguably easier (and definitely safer) than using the Wi-Fi hotspot, and instead of using up battery on your N9, it gets charged via the USB port while you are using it.
By the way: You will have to manually connect your N9 to your mobile internet connection, this won't happen automatically.
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White Paper: Reliable Vehicle Weighing
Download our white paper to learn how new scale technologies help eliminate costly unplanned downtime.
Benefits addressed include:
- How self-monitoring load cell networks help to make sure in-plant gains are not made in vain
- Hermetically sealed load cells, junction-box elimination, and lightning strike protection
- Hints on how to increase vehicle scale reliability and lower overall maintenance costs
Have you been giving away product? Watch our 10 minute webinar to learn how your profits may be at risk even when you are meeting legal-for-trade regulations.
Learn how the latest in load cell technology can help you avoid unplanned downtime.
See how METTLER TOLEDO does lifecycle testing to prove the longevity performance of weighbridges.
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Only 1 left in stock
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Catherine de’ Medici (Italian: Caterina de’ Medici pronounced [kateˈriːna de ˈmɛːditʃi]; French: Catherine de Médicis pronounced: [katʁin də medisis], 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589), daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici and of Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II. As the mother of three sons who became kings of France during her lifetime, she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France. For a time, she ruled France as its regent.
In 1533, at the age of fourteen, Caterina married Henry, second son of King Francis I and Queen Claude of France. Under the gallicised version of her name, Catherine de Médicis, she was Queen consort of France as the wife of King Henry II of France from 1547 to 1559. Throughout his reign, Henry excluded Catherine from participating in state affairs and instead showered favours on his chief mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who wielded much influence over him. Henry’s death thrust Catherine into the political arena as mother of the frail fifteen-year-old King Francis II. When he died in 1560, she became regent on behalf of her ten-year-old son King Charles IX and was granted sweeping powers. After Charles died in 1574, Catherine played a key role in the reign of her third son, Henry III. He dispensed with her advice only in the last months of her life.
Catherine’s three sons reigned in an age of almost constant civil and religious war in France. The problems facing the monarchy were complex and daunting but Catherine was able to keep the monarchy and the state institutions functioning even at a minimum level. At first, Catherine compromised and made concessions to the rebelling Protestants, or Huguenots, as they became known. She failed, however, to grasp the theological issues that drove their movement. Later she resorted, in frustration and anger, to hard-line policies against them. In return, she came to be blamed for the excessive persecutions carried out under her sons’ rule, in particular for the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572, in which thousands of Huguenots were killed in Paris and throughout France.
Some historians have excused Catherine from blame for the worst decisions of the crown, though evidence for her ruthlessness can be found in her letters. In practice, her authority was always limited by the effects of the civil wars. Her policies, therefore, may be seen as desperate measures to keep the Valois monarchy on the throne at all costs, and her patronage of the arts as an attempt to glorify a monarchy whose prestige was in steep decline. Without Catherine, it is unlikely that her sons would have remained in power. The years in which they reigned have been called “the age of Catherine de’ Medici”. According to Mark Strage, one of her biographers, Catherine was the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe. (Source Wikipedia)
The reverse bears a portrait of Catherine de Medici wearing typical clothes from the period.
The Château de Chenonceau is shown on the reverse.
This stunning limited edition coin is presented in a classic Monnaie de Paris box with a uniquely numbered Certificate of Authenticity and outer shipper. A perfect gift for lovers of history.
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One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
An engine brake for truck diesel engines that cuts off fuel flow and interrupts the transfer of mechanical energy to the drive mechanism.
- ‘In short, the jake brake turns a power-producing engine into a power-absorbing air compressor, thus slowing the truck.’
- ‘Engine retarders, otherwise known as ‘jake brakes,’ shut down engine cylinders to use engine resistance to slow a truck.’
- ‘It shall be unlawful for any vehicle equipped with a compression braking device (jake brakes) to use this device to contain the engine's compression, thus rapidly slowing the engine's revolutions per minute and the vehicle's speed, except in cases of extreme emergency.’
- ‘I got a call from a guy a while back asking me to look at when it's legal to for semi-trucks to use compression brakes (commonly called the Jake Brake).’
- ‘Usually seen in trucks, the jake brake shuts off the exhaust valves so that in the exhaust stroke, the burned gasses cannot escape through the exhaust valves. Instead they press against the head of the piston and causes the piston to slow down.’
1980s: from the Jacobs Company, who invented the most common implementation of the technology that the brake is based on.
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.
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3rd-Party login is now mandatory
If you log into an account with an unretired NCBI password,
you will be redirected to our Password Retirement Wizard.
- The wizard will guide you through the steps of linking a
3rd-party account if needed and retiring your password.
- For more information, read our
and Transition Tips.
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In SketchUp, groups help you organize your model because
- Groups hold other entities. In a 3D model of a house, for example, you can put all the house geometry into a group.
- You can nest groups within groups. For your house model, this means that the first floor, second floor, and roof can each be a group within the house group. In each of your floor groups, you can nest furniture, which may be groups or components.
- Grouped entities don’t stick to entities outside their own group. This means you can edit each group independently of other groups, even if the groups are stacked on top of each other. For example, if you need to change footprint of a house, you can change the floor first and then edit the roof to match. Without these groups, the walls in the house would stick to the roof, and all the geometry can quickly become distorted.
To create and work with groups in a 3D model, here’s what you need to know:
- To select a group, click it with the Select tool. The group's bounding box becomes highlighted, as shown in Callout 1.
- To open a group’s context so that you can edit the entities within the group, double-click the group with the Select tool. The dotted box indicates the group’s context is open and you can edit the entities. (See Callout 2.) To leave the group’s context, click an empty part of the drawing area, or choose Edit > Close Group/Component.
- To create a group, select all the geometry you want to include in the group. (Selecting Geometry offers lots of tips for making selections.) Then, from the menu bar, choose Edit > Make Group. Alternatively, context-click the selection and choose Make Group.
- To break up the group, click to select it and choose Edit > Group > Explode.
- To lock a group so it can’t be edited, context-click it and select Lock. After you lock a group, the menu item changes to Unlock, so you can reverse the change. Lock a group to prevent it from being edited accidentally as you work on nearby parts of a model.
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|Spain Table of Contents
Spanish territory comprises nearly five-sixths of the Iberian Peninsula, which the nation shares with Portugal, the micro-state of Andorra, and the British possession of Gibraltar. Spanish territory also includes two sets of islands--the Balearic Islands (Spanish, Islas Baleares) in the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands (Spanish, Canarias) in the Atlantic Ocean--and two city enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. Peninsular Spain, covering an area of 492,503 square kilometers, consists of a central plateau known as the Meseta Central, which is enclosed by high mountains on its north, south, east, and part of its western sides. The area that is predominantly plateau also encompasses several mountain systems that are lower than the peripheral mountains. Although Spain thus has physical characteristics that make it, to some extent, a natural geographic unit, there are also internal geographic features that tend to compartmentalize the country.
The topographical characteristics also generate a variety of climatic regimes throughout the country. By far the greatest part of the country, however, experiences a continental climate of hot, dry summers and rather harsh, cold winters. Where these conditions prevail, the soils have eroded, vegetation is sparse, and agriculture is difficult. Irrigation is practiced where possible, but it is difficult because the flow in most streams is seasonally irregular, and the stream beds of larger rivers are frequently much lower than the adjacent terrain.
Source: U.S. Library of Congress
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Her experience represents the ill-kept secret about public school biology classrooms nationwide -- that evolution often isn't taught robustly, if at all. Faith-based belief in creationism and intelligent design continues to be discussed and even openly taught in public school classrooms, despite state curriculum standards.This is not new per se. This particular issue has been fought in Louisiana, Tennessee, and, of course, in Pennsylvania. But this represents an additional facet of the problem. Even though quite a few teachers are following the mandate to not teach creationism, that does not cover how they teach evolution:
But Mr. Berkman said their most alarming finding was that teachers need not introduce creationism in class to undercut interest and belief in evolution."You just have to throw doubt and downplay evolution," he said. "The idea that teachers are doing a really weak job -- many a really weak job -- of introducing evolution, we think, is because of reactions they get and maybe because of the lack of confidence in what they are teaching. That especially is the case with evolution, where many students have been primed by parents and youth groups to raise difficult and challenging questions."This produces students who have little to no knowledge of evolution when they reach college. If they skip through college with minimal biology (engineering majors, let's say) and then end up in school boards later in life, they won't have the knowledge to make educated decisions about how evolution should be taught. Thus, the cycle simply continues.
Another issue at work is that high school teachers differ from college professors in how they are trained. High school teachers go through a curriculum that is heavily geared toward the facets of pedagogy and less, if at all, towards the particular subject they will be teaching. Basically, they are taught to be teachers, not biologists, or chemists, or what-have-you. We ask how, of those polled, 19% of science teachers can believe in young-earth creationism? That's how.
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The Day We Landed
This could be the day; this heave of foliage,
pale and towering in the pearly light,
the same sky, emptying itself of cloud,
life, like arrowheads in the air above.
We first set foot on such a day as this.
Remember, we sometimes say, we old ones,
at a graveside, or sick bed, or wary
of the darting children whose home this is,
how lost we voyagers felt that first day
and reluctant to let go; remember
all debate ending when my wife beckoned
to the daughter who would never grow old,
their footprints fresh in the sunrise grass,
as if a promise had been made, or broken,
while the scent of a new world drowned us all.
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How to Boost Potentiality of Your Child While Doing Assignments?
Parents play a vital role, when it comes to the education of their children. Just admitting your child to a good educational institute is not enough, you should help them with studies as well. You need to be as involved with their education as possible. A great way to do that is helping your children with their assignments. Not only is it an excellent way to interact with your child, it also gives you an opportunity to increase the potentiality of your child.
Online assignment helps are always helpful for children but that doesn’t mean that they won’t require any help from their parents. While it would be a good idea to get online help for your child, you still have to be there for him or her whenever required.
How are assignments helpful for both children and parents?
The value of assignments extends beyond school. It is a known fact that if assignments are completed properly and within time, children tend to develop good habits and attitudes. Assignments are helpful for parents only because they help them know more about the education of their children, but also give them a chance communicate with their children. By helping with assignments, parents can encourage children to learn and prosper.
Whether children complete their assignments at home, do it in after school programs or work on it during school hours, assignments are extremely useful for:
- Giving the parents an idea of what their child is learning
- Providing an opportunity for both parents and children to talk about what is happening at school.
- Giving teachers a chance to hear from parents about the education of children.
Increasing the potential of your child
Assignments and homework are more critical than you would ever imagine. It is a chance for children to be potentially better at everything in their life, not just education. With the research required to complete assignments, a child becomes more innovative and sharp.
Of course, they also get to learn about different subjects. Completing assignments on time gives them a sense of punctuality.
Therefore, by helping your child with their assignments, you can help them achieve a better potential. For instance, you can encourage them to spend their leisure time more on reading than watching televisions. By talking with your child, you can communicate positive values, behaviors and character traits as well. You can encourage them to achieve more in life.
Tips to boost your child’s potential
Even if you are a supportive and involved parent, you can always use some tips to increase the potentiality of your child. Here are few tips you might find useful:
- Encourage your child to read:
While assignments usually do involve a lot of writing, you should always encourage your child to read more. You can even read to them if required. Even teachers would agree that reading is the key to child’s success. If your child needs some help from a book, it would be really helpful if you read the content to them.
This way, you can interact with children as well. When you’re reading make sure that you ask questions and discuss everything as well.
- Use assignments as a teaching opportunity:
Assignments can serve as great learning opportunities for children. You should not be looking to help your children complete their assignment; you should work through the assignment with them. For instance, if it is an assignment on Mathematics, you can help your child learn how to solve the problems quickly. You can refer to “How can you motivate your child to do problem-solving in mathematics quickly?” for that.
- Know what is happening at the school:
While looking at their assignment book, ask your child what has been happening at school. Take interest in what is being discussed at school and you can even talk to the teachers if necessary. This is a great way to know about the current academic situation of your child.
- Don’t expect A’s all the time:
Remember, you need to encourage learning; getting good grades shouldn’t be a priority. You should expect your child to complete assignments to the best of their potential. If encouraged properly, they will certainly do better in future. You just need to be patient.
- Teach your child to value the basics:
While doing an assignment, you should ask your child to always cover the basics first and give priority to it. This way, they would know how to get their basics right all the time.
- Communicate with the children:
Parents teacher conferences are extremely important. You should make sure that you talk to your child’s teacher on a regular basis. Not only can you talk with them about assignments and homework, you can also ask them about your child’s performance in school.
- Teach the importance of completing assignment on time:
Always focus completing the given assignments on time. You should teach your child the importance of being punctual. To make sure that they don’t end up being in a hurry just before the final date of submission, you should ask them to start working on assignments beforehand. Make sure they complete the given assignment at least a day or two before the final date.
- Encourage and Praise:
It is not always about guiding your child; you should also praise their work time and again. Children will like it if their good work is being recognized and it also motivates them to do better in future. With their parent’s praise, they start believing in themselves and become more confident in what they do.
If you wish to be involved in your child’s education, you need to take care of what he or she is leaning and how they are learning. You can certainly help your child during exams and studies, but participating in their assignment activities shows that you care about their education. Not all children have the same potential of performing well.
However, if you try, you can certainly contribute to improving their potentiality. After all, who wouldn’t want to see their child prosper?
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In one of his darkly observant essays on the fall of the Soviet Union and its lessons for present-day America, Dmitri Orlov advises against being a successful middle-aged man :
When their career is suddenly over, their savings gone and their property worthless, much of their sense of self-worth goes as well. They tend to drink themselves to death and commit suicide in disproportionate numbers. Since they tend to be the most experienced and capable people, this is a staggering loss to society.Reinventing Collapse, p.122-3
The spike in mortality that accompanied the fall of the Soviet Union has few parallels in history. Between 1987 and 1994, life expectancy dropped from 70 to 64, and the group whose likelihood of dying increased most sharply was, indeed, working age men. In other words, despite the material hardships of the period, it was not the weakest and most vulnerable who died in greater numbers, but the physically strong: what was most deadly about the collapse was not the disappearance of the means of staying alive, but the lack of ends for which to stay alive.
Europe is not going through a Soviet-style collapse. (Or not yet: a report from UBS Investment Research in September 2011 estimated the costs of a break-up of the Eurozone at 40-50% of weaker countries’ GDP in the first year and 20-25% of the GDP of countries like Germany. For comparison, the total fall in GDP during the break-up of the USSR is estimated at 45%, spread over the years from 1989 to 1998.) The point I want to draw from Orlov, however, is that there is a powerful and complex interrelation between how we make a living and how we make sense of our lives. The consequences of an economic crisis can both lead to and be made worse by the crisis of meaning experienced by those whose lives it has derailed. If this is the case, however, perhaps it is also possible that action on the level of meaning might stem and even reverse the consequences, personal and social, of failing economic systems?
The figure of the ‘graduate with no future’, identified by Paul Mason, has the advantage of youth, yet in other ways she resembles Orlov’s successful middle-aged man. People are capable of enduring great hardship, so long as they can find meaning in their situation, but it is hard to find meaning in the hundredth rejection letter. The feeling of having done everything right and still got nowhere leads to a particular desperation. Against this background, the actions of those who might identify with Mason’s description – whether as indignados in the squares of Spain, or as Edgeryders entering the corridors of Strasbourg and Brussels – are not least a search for meaning, for new frameworks in which to make sense of our lives when the promises that framed the labour market for our parents no longer ring true.
Four years ago, in ‘The Future of Unemployment’, I suggested that it might be helpful to distinguish three types of need which, broadly speaking, we have looked to employment to provide. I want to return to this model as a way of structuring a search for examples of effective action on the level of meaning. Departing slightly from the original terms, I would summarise these types of need as follows:
- Economic/Practical: How do I pay the rent?
- Social/Psychological: Who am I in the eyes of others?
- Directional: What do I get out of bed for in the morning? And where do I see myself in the future?
Those who find it difficult to access the labour market are also likely to find answering these questions more difficult. The stories shared on the Edgeryders platform during 2011-12 illustrate the variety of ways in which young people find their access the labour market limited: not only through unemployment, but underemployment, casualisation and the prevalence of short-term contracts, the increasing cost of education in certain countries, the role of unpaid internships as a path to accessing certain industries. Where skills and qualifications have been acquired through formal education, many find themselves unable to secure work that makes use of these; where skills are acquired informally, the challenge is to represent these effectively to potential employers. Above all, the situation is defined by the interaction between two major processes: a long-term change in the structure of European labour markets, offering new entrants a poorer deal than had been the case for their parents’ generation, has been exacerbated by the effects of the economic crisis that began in 2008.
If the situation of those struggling to access the labour market can be expressed in terms of the three types of need set out above, we might note that the last two belong primarily to the domain of meaning: our ability to answer them is closely related to our ability to make sense of our lives. Based on this, I suggest that we look for two stages in projects that might constitute effective action on the level of meaning: first, the ability to substitute for employment in providing social identity and a sense of direction; and, second, the potential for this to lead to new means of meeting practical needs.
With this structure in mind, I want to consider briefly a few examples which I think offer clues to what this may look like in practice.
Centers for New Work: During the collapse in employment in the US auto industry in the early 1980s, the philosopher Frithjof Bergmann worked with employers, unions and community organisations in Flint, Michigan to create the Center for New Work. ‘We are in the beginning of a great scarcity of jobs,’ Bergmann argued, ‘but not of work.’ Instead of making redundancies, he proposed that employers share out the remaining jobs on a rotating work schedule. Workers would alternate between extended periods in traditional industrial work and similar periods pursuing ‘New Work’. The latter included local production to meet practical needs, but also the right of everyone to spend a significant amount of their time pursuing a personally meaningful project.
Access Space: In Sheffield, England – another post-industrial city, similarly hit by unemployment in the early 1980s – the artist James Wallbank and friends set up what has become the UK’s longest-running free internet learning centre. As described by NESTA, ‘The centre brings together old computers and new open source software to create a radical, sustainable response to industrial decline and social dislocation.’ In conversation, Wallbank has emphasised to me the importance of the social and directional role of participation at Access Space: for those who have been long-term unemployed, the change in the shape of their lives on becoming a regular participant is often huge; by comparison, the change from being a regular participant to entering employment is relatively small. From my own observation, another key aspect of the Access Space model is the power of its insistence on self-referral: this means that participants are drawn from a range of social and economic backgrounds, rather than exclusively from a target group identified by its deprivation. This means that participation at the centre provides an alternative to – rather than a reinforcement of – a negative social identification.
West Norwood Feast: In 2010-11, the agency I founded led a project to co-create a community-owned and -run street market in south London. This experience reaffirmed my sense of the power of what people can do when they come together to work on something that matters to them. In particular, talking to those involved, I was struck by how positively many of them experienced using their skills as part of the Feast, when compared to their experience in regular employment. Might it be that work that takes place outside of employment is more likely to be experienced as meaningful? And, if so, why? Several possible answers exist. The psychologist Edward Deci famously demonstrated that being paid for a task tends to decrease our intrinsic motivation, a phenomenon he explains in terms of the shift of the ‘locus of motivation’. Meanwhile, as I argued in ‘The Future We Deserve’, the logic of maximising productivity has made industrial-era employment an unprecedentedly anti-social form of work. More practically, though, are there ways we can build a better relationship between meaningful work and our ability to pay the rent?
House concerts: The music industry has been through huge disruption since the 1990s, not least as a result of the rise of filesharing. The solo bass player Steve Lawson is an example of an independent musician who has spent his career developing new models for making a living and documenting the realities of this on his blog. He sells downloads of his albums on a pay-what-you-want basis and makes ‘house concert’ tours on which he plays in the front rooms of fans, many of whom have first met him online. Reading his accounts of this, two things are clear: first, that these models, drawing on the strengths of networked technologies, allow for a far more meaningful relationship with his audience than was possible in the music industry of the pre-Napster era; and, second, that house concerts also make touring economically viable for independent musicians in a way that was harder when playing traditional venues. Are there other areas in which socially-embedded grassroots economies can thrive where high-overhead conventional economies struggle? (For another take on the potential of low-overhead economic models, see Kevin Carson’s The Homebrew Industrial Revolution.)
The Unmonastery: One of the projects to emerge from the first phase of Edgeryders was a proposal for something called an Unmonastery: ‘a creative refuge bound to host problem solvers and change makers, who together work to solve (g)local problems, in exchange for board and lodging.’ At present, this proposal is being developed by a group that met through the Living on the Edge events in 2012. The initial response suggests that young people are willing to take a step down in their material expectations, if this is balanced by sufficient security and autonomy to pursue work which they believe matters. The challenge will be to develop a vehicle for this willingness which is capable of ‘interfacing’ with existing institutions and accessing resources, which can achieve a reasonable degree of stability, and which does not devolve into a mechanism for exploitation. Daunting as this sounds, it is likely that we will see more experiments along these lines in Europe in the years ahead. (Edventure: Frome, which launched in October 2012, has parallels to the Unmonastery model, although framed in educational terms.)
Five years into the current crisis, the default future for much of Europe is a world of longer hours and lower wages. Economic regeneration as we have known it could hardly keep up with the social costs of industrial decline, even during periods of sustained growth. That economic collapse can lead into and become entrenched by a collapse of meaning is not just a post-Soviet story, but one that can be traced in many of Europe’s former industrial regions, not least the areas of South Yorkshire where I once worked as a journalist.
The scale and harshness of those realities makes me hesitate: I do not want to overstate the case for the examples I have discussed here. Yet I would suggest that they may offer clues, at least, towards another kind of regeneration: what might be called a ‘regeneration of meaning’. There is no guarantee that this will happen, nor that, if it does, it will take the kind of form we would wish to see. However, for those who consider the possibility worth exploring, I have a few questions:
- What would it take for this to coalesce into something serious?
- How far along is it already? (Is it further than we/others assume, due to its illegibility?)
- Where are the other examples that would build the case?
- What are the dangers? (For example, could the Unmonastery inadvertently become the workhouse of the 21st century?)
First published in Baltic Edge (Global Utmaning).
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In 19th century romantic music, a piano ballad is a piece for solo piano written in a balletic narrative style, often with lyrical elements interspersed. This type of work made its first appearance with Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, op. 23 of 1836, closely followed by the ballad included in Clara Schumann's Soirées musicales Op.6 published in the same year.
The form of the ballad varied because of its independence from the formal compositional structures existing at the time.[clarification needed] Ballads have often been characterized as "narrative" in style, "[musical] parts [that] succeed one another in a determined order... their succession is governed by the relationships of causing and resulting by necessity or probability."
The ballad of this time varied. In Chopin, for example, the common element throughout his ballads was the meter, commonly 6/8 time, and was based on thematic metamorphosis more than formal structures present then.[clarification needed] Brahms's ballad, on the other hand, was clearer in form, and often relied on a three-part song form.
Ballads sometimes alluded to their literary predecessors. Some had obvious or supposed literary associations. For example, the ballads of Chopin could be evidence of such association: the four works[clarification needed] of Chopin were supposedly inspired by the poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, a friend. However, no such evidence directly from the composer exists. There was, in fact, no concrete association to literature until Brahms debuted his four ballads (op. 10), which bear the title "After the Scottish ballad 'Edward' ".
Piano ballads have been written since the 19th century; several have been composed in the 20th century (see below).
Collaborative piano ballads
The piano has also been used in works featuring other instruments, as well as voice. For example, Robert Schumann, a romantic composer and husband of Clara Schumann, wrote a set of two songs, Balladen, Op. 122 (1852–53) which were written for piano and voice. Claude Debussy, a later composer, also wrote for piano and voice with his Trois Ballades de François Villon ( , 1910).
Works for piano and orchestra also bearing the title "ballad" have been written. These include Fauré's Ballade, op. 19, which was written in 1881, and Charles Koechlin's Ballade for piano and orchestra, op. 50, written between 1911–1919. This work also exists as a solo work for piano.
- Frédéric Chopin
- Clara Schumann, one of the 6 Soirées musicale, Ballade in d minor, written in 1836 Listen here
- César Franck, Ballade, op. 9, written in 1844
- Franz Liszt, Ballade in D-flat major, written in 1845–48, and Ballade in B minor, written in 1853
- Johannes Brahms, Ballades, op. 10, written in 1854, consists of four ballads Watch No. 1 here, Watch No. 3 here, Watch No. 4 here
- Edvard Grieg Ballad in the Form of Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song, op. 24, written in 1875–76
- John Ireland – Ballad (AKA Ballade) (1929)
- John Ireland – Ballade of London Nights (1930)
- Humphrey Searle Ballade for piano, op. 10, written in 1947
- Alan Rawsthorne Ballade, written in 1967
- Samuel Barber Ballade for Piano, op. 46, written in 1977, See it played here
- Norman Demuth, Ballade triste
- George Perle Ballade, written in 1981 for Richard Goode, scroll down and listen here
- William Bolcom Ballade, written for Ursula Oppens, premiered January 21, 2008
- Berger, Karol, "The Form of Chopin's Ballade, Op. 23". 19th-Century Music, Vol. 20, No. 1 (1996). p. 46
- Brown, Maurice J.E. "Ballade (ii)", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd Ed. 2001.
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June 8th – September 1st, 2013
Body Carnival: The Science and Fun of Being You uses carnival-themed components to explore the connections between perception and the laws of physics within the human body. Visitors can learn about themselves while investigating force, light, color, and more. Eighteen components invite visitors to:
- Crawl through a giant artery to see (and hear) the effects of plaque build-up on blood flow;
- Test their balance as they walk through the 10-foot long Dizzy Tunnel, which simulates a rotating star field;
- Put on a pair of vision-distorting goggles and discover how sight affects the ability to walk straight;
- Experiment in the House of Color with different sources of light’
- “Hear” through their bones and muscles while learning how these transmit sound, and more.
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This has been a wonderful week! So many amazing entries, so many wonderful places! I’m very happy to add them all to the treasury of Show Your World blog event :) Have a look at the photos below and visit the blogs to see more:
1. Goodbye, winter!, by The Light Inside of Us:
2. Frederiksberg Have in Copenhagen, by Maria Holm:
3. A City Oasis, by Nomad Hacks
4. In the Mirror of Time, by Atelier Azure:
5. Cappadocia, Turkey, by ladyleemanila:
6. Singapore: My Kind of City, by SecretsOfTrailingSpouse:
7. Autumn in Connecticut, by Amanda Afield:
8. The Sculpture Trail, by The Expat Partner’s Survival Guide:
9. Nazca, Peru, by LittleTravelBugs.org:
10. Lost Heritage, by Sucheta the Scribbler:
11. Cherry Kristine Jennifer, by Silver Lining Mama:
And, finally, here’s my entry – Krak de Chevaliers, Syria:
I loved looking through all these posts and will be now sharing them on my social media. If you’d like me to tag you on Twitter and Instagram, please, let me know your names there.
If you would like to participate in Show Your World event, just link your post, describing the place you like, to my post this coming Saturday and I will feature it in the next round up. More about the rules here.
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The appearance of wood can be modified with the application of an architectural coating. Architectural coatings are surface coverings such as paint and stain applied to a building or exterior structures such as a deck. Coatings are multi-functional, not only being decorative, reducing the effort needed to clean buildings and structures, but also providing protection against moisture uptake and assisting in extending the life of wood. However, coatings cannot be considered as substitutes for preservative treatment. On this page, we explain the basics of different types of exterior wood coatings, and what they can and can’t do for wood.
Types of Coatings – Opacity
Architectural coatings available for wood generally include paints, stains, varnishes and water repellents. There are a number of ways to classify coatings, and it can be confusing to understand the differences between types of products. One common method is to differentiate based on appearance: coatings are often identified as 1) Opaque; 2) semi-transparent or 3) transparent. These terms indicate how much of the natural wood features will still show through the finish. Opaque coatings include paints and solid colour stains.
An opaque coating doesn’t allow any of the wood’s natural colour to show through and may also hide much of its texture. It thoroughly protects the wood from damage caused by sunlight. It can also help keep moisture out of the wood. These coatings tend to last the longest.
A transparent or semi-transparent finish such as a stain or water repellent may change the colour of the wood, but because it exposes the grain and texture, the wood still looks “natural.” These finishes help keep moisture out of the wood but there is considerable variation between stains in their ability to restrict moisture ingress. They also help protect the wood from sunlight damage to varying degrees depending on their content of organic UV absorbers or inorganic pigments. The difference between transparent and semi-transparent coatings is also sometimes unclear. Transparent coatings allow more grain and texture to show through. Transparent exterior coatings labeled as “clear” may still contain some pigment to enhance wood’s natural colour and assist in revealing the wet edge during application. However, please note that clear products intended for interior use only are not appropriate for exterior use, as they will quickly fail in sunlight.
There are many transparent products marketed as providing water protection for wood (water repellents) – these might technically be considered wood “treatments” rather than wood coatings as they mainly provide water protection and help reduce checking (splitting), and have very limited, if any, UV protection. This means they have shorter lives than pigmented finishes, but they do help slow down the weathering process by restricting water ingress. Please note that water repellents are often solvent-borne and contain wax which affects the adhesion of subsequent coatings, which means most of these products should not be used as a pre-treatment beneath paint. However, transparent water repellents have the unique benefit of being the most aesthetically-forgiving treatment when there is lack of maintenance. In other words, these products don’t change the colour of the wood, so bare patches of wood aren’t evident as the product wears away.
Types of Coatings – Carriers
Another popular way to categorize coatings is by the type of carrier (the base) – products are water-borne or solvent-borne. When low VOCs (volatile organic compounds, which are implicated in lowering air quality) and easy clean-up are important, a water-borne product is usually the choice. Water-borne coatings now dominate the market due to increasing environmental regulatory requirements and customer demand. Compared to solvent-borne finishes, water-borne finishes usually have less odour and can be cleaned up with water instead of mineral spirits. Water-borne coatings are generally more flexible (less prone to crack as wood shrinks and swells from moisture changes) and more vapour permeable. Water-borne coatings, particularly acrylics, generally fade and chalk much less than alkyds. The technology for water-borne finishes is now mature, and they can match or exceed the properties of solvent-borne products.
Water-borne paints are often called latex. Solvent-borne paints are commonly known as oil paints. Also, paints labeled as alkyds are typically solvent-borne (but not always). Although it is popular to refer to paints as either latex or oil/alkyd, it is more useful to think of them as water-borne versus solvent-borne.
Types of Coatings – Film Thickness
Sometimes wood coatings are classified by the thickness of film they form on the surface of the wood. Paints, solid colour stains, and varnishes are often called film-formers, as these create a layer of material sitting on top of the wood. Semi-transparent stains, transparent stains, water repellents and natural oils are often thought of as penetrating the wood rather than leaving a thick film on top of the wood. Hence, they are often called penetrating finishes. However, all coatings leave a film on the surface – thick for some, thin for others – and the “penetrating” products only penetrate a very small distance into the wood. Nonetheless, it’s helpful to know if a product leaves a thick film, as this type of product can be more difficult to remove if allowed to degrade prior to refinishing. This is because their failure modes are different – a thick coherent coating like paint fails by cracking and peeling, whereas a thin-film “penetrating” product such as a stain fails by erosion.
Can Coatings Protect Wood?
Coatings protect wood, but coatings do not actively protect against decay. Their purpose is primarily aesthetic. But they slow down the damaging effects of weathering, and do provide some moisture protection, which is a decay factor. Coatings also help preserve the natural durability of species like western red cedar, by helping to prevent the natural protective agents in this wood from washing out. The protective benefits of all coatings are, of course, dependent on proper maintenance of the coating. No coating will last indefinitely, and all need to be periodically reapplied.
Weathering is the slow surface degradation that occurs when wood is exposed to the weather. Note that weathering should not be confused with decay (rot) caused by decay fungi, which can penetrate deeply into wood and significantly reduce wood strength in a relatively short period. In contrast, weathering of wood is caused by UV, water, oxygen, visible light, heat, windblown particulate matter, atmospheric pollutants, sometimes together with some specialized micro-organisms. Under these factors, wood exposed outdoors above-ground with no coating will quickly change appearance. The colour will change due to the photodegradation, chemical leaching and other chemical reactions; light woods will typically darken slightly and dark woods will lighten, but all woods eventually end up a silvery-grey colour. The surface will also roughen, check and erode, due to repeated ultraviolet radiation, wetting and drying, and mechanical abrasion from wind-blown particles. Hence the weathered wood will have a “rustic” look. Some microorganisms and lichens may colonize wood, but the wood’s surface condition does not usually favor decay. Note that weathering only occurs on the surface of wood, usually at a depth of 0.05 to 0.5 mm. As long as decay doesn’t start, weathered wood will still be completely serviceable for years. In order to reduce weathering and improve the aesthetic appearance of wood, wood exposed outdoors above-ground can be protected with coatings.
Link to articles on weathering at the website of USDA FPL:
Weathering and Protection of Wood:
Weathering of Wood:
The material was reviewed by Dr. Sam Williams of the US Forest Products Laboratory, Dr. Philip Evans of the University of British Columbia, and Mr. Greg Monaghan, a Specialty Coatings Group Leader at Rohm and Haas, but the final content does not necessarily reflect their views on all points.
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|View single post by Unionblue|
|Posted: Thu Dec 10th, 2009 06:17 am||
Saw a part of an article I had copied long ago and thought it would fit nicely on this particular thread.
"In analyzing the "revolution" of 1861, therefore, we must have reference to the question of slavery. WHY did the Confederacy fire on Fort Sumter? WHY did they break the supreme law of the land by declaring themselves no longer part of the union? The answer is, in order to preserve their slave property from interference by the federal government. Or, more accurately, in reaction against the election of a President who had pledged himself to halt the spread of slavery into the western territories (which he did have the constitutional authority to do). Although the Confederates phrased their arguments in terms of "freedom," it was the "freedom to enslave" that they were defending. This made the Confederacy an illegitimate government, rather like the communist coups taking place on an hourly basis in South America. When the Confederacy initiated force by firing on Fort Sumter, therefore, it became the responsibility of the President to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed," including the supreme law of the land, by putting down the rebellion by force if necessary.
This is the answer to our second question: the secession of 1861 was not a legitimate revolution. Its "cournerstone" rested on "the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery--subordination to the superior race--is his natural and normal condition." The Constitution of the Confederacy protected slavery from any government interference. The Confederacy seceded, not in response to the initiation of force, but in response to the election of Abraham Lincoln--no radical abolitionist, as other anti-Lincoln writers have emphasized--and fired upon Fort Sumter, which was federal property.
It was illegal for the American Patriots to fire on the Redcoats in 1776, but they did so because the British had violated the natural rights of Americans, and declared the right to "bind them in all cases whatsoever." The American Revolution was based explicitly on the principles of equality and the right of individuals to own themselves. The Confederacy's attack on Fort Sumter, on the other hand, was engaged explicitly in the name of defending the "right" to enslave without the interference of federal authorities, and in defense of a Constitution explicitly protecting "right of property in negro slaves."
Source document: Why Joseph Sobran Is Wrong About The Civil War, by Timothy Sandefur.
Belief does not make truth. Evidence makes truth. And belief does not make evidence.
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Platform Linux ARM: Linux ARM is a Unix-like and mostly POSIX-compliant computer operating system (OS) assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and distribution. Using host OS (Mac OS X, Linux ARM) you can build native application for Linux ARM platform.
[env:raspberrypi_1b] platform = linux_arm board = raspberrypi_1b
You can override default Raspberry Pi 1 Model B settings per build environment using
board_*** option, where
*** is a JSON object path from
board manifest raspberrypi_1b.json. For example,
[env:raspberrypi_1b] platform = linux_arm board = raspberrypi_1b ; change microcontroller board_build.mcu = bcm2835 ; change MCU frequency board_build.f_cpu = 700000000L
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Terrestrial Carbon Observation
The Rio de Janeiro recommendations for terrestrial and atmospheric measurements
The Integrated Global Observing Strategy Partnership (IGOS-P) is using specific policy-relevant themes as an approach to implementing systematic global observations, in November 1999, IGOS-P requested the Global Terrestrial Observing System, with FAO support, to lead the Terrestrial Carbon Cycle theme. In response to the request, the Terrestrial Carbon Theme Team was established to prepare this set of systematic, long-term terrestrial and atmospheric observations needed to implement an effective terrestrial carbon observation programme, highlights a number of challenges that need to be addressed, and outlines an approach to implementing an initial observing system. Terrestrial carbon refers to carbon contained in terrestrial vegetation or soil stocks and the fluxes from or to the atmosphere through which it participates in the global carbon cycle.
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8 steps to understanding depression and finding where the problem lies
Do you ever wonder why you feel down, depressed, basically unhappy? We can all be a mystery to ourselves: why do I act like this, why do I feel like this?
When we don't understand something, it can feel frightening, infinitely complicated, and overwhelming. In this article, I'm going to describe why people get depressed, explain why you may feel down at the moment, and give you some pointers to help you help yourself.
Firstly, forget the idea of depression as a 'biological disease'. There is little to no evidence that the vast majority of depression people suffer is caused by genetics or biological imbalance (although as we'll see, depression does cause changes in the body). Knowing both how depression works and why you may be feeling a bit depressed at the moment can help you begin to combat it more effectively.
The first question I want you to ask yourself is: What is my life lacking at the moment, causing me to feel depressed?
Step 1: Are you aware of your needs?
We become depressed when we worry and ruminate about what emotional and physical needs remain unfulfilled in our lives. We all have basic emotional needs for:
- Having a sense of security in life - safe territory and an environment that allows us to develop fully.
- Attention (to give and receive it) - a form of nutrition.
- A sense of autonomy and control - having freedom to make responsible choices.
- Emotional intimacy - to know that at least one other person accepts us totally for who we are, 'warts and all'.
- Feeling part of a wider community.
- Privacy - opportunity to reflect and consolidate experience to avoid 'overwhelm'.
- A sense of status within social groupings; clear roles in life.
- A sense of competence and achievement.
- Meaning and purpose - which come from being stretched in what we do and think.
Now, look at this list and consider what need may not be that well met in your life as you are living it at the moment. Don't use this as an excuse to feel down about what might be lacking in your life, but rather as an opportunity. So many people live their lives not knowing what they might need, just blindly using alcohol or drugs to try to 'fill the gap' of an unfulfilled genuine need. Think about how you can begin to take steps to increase the likelihood that any unfulfilled needs will be met in future.
It's difficult not to start feeling depressed if you are too socially isolated, are too under-challenged (or too challenged) by life, or feel you have too little influence over your life. But the great thing is that when you start consciously meeting one need, then the other needs will often start to get met as a 'ripple effect' by-product.
Step 2: Is your past depressing you?
Depressed people often exhibit 'learned helplessness'. This happens when they learn they are helpless or relatively powerless in one situation in the past, then make a faulty link to a new situation (or even spread this sense of helplessness to all situations) and continue to act as if they are helpless, even though things have changed and they no longer are. An analogy is a bird locked in a cage for years whose cage door is left open one day, but because of its past conditioning doesn't fly free, even though it could.
People also do this. Perhaps past traumatic experience taught them that 'all men are sadistic' or 'all women are manipulative' or 'everything always goes wrong in the end!' These over-generalizations are damaging, so challenge them.
If you have been traumatized by past events and you suspect the intense learning from these events has caused you to experience learned helplessness and emotionally over-generalize, then I suggest you get psychological help from someone trained in the rewind technique, which will help lift the traumatic feelings from memories. But even realizing that viewing the world through the 'lens' of your past experience is causing you to respond inappropriately to the present is going to help you greatly. (See: 'Let Go of the Past'.)
Step 3: Do you understand the 'cycle of depression'?
People always dream more when they are depressed, compared to when they are happier (1). It seems we are only really meant to spend about a third of our sleep time in the REM dream state, but we can spend up to 75% of sleep in the less restful state of REM when we're depressed (less restful as compared to the deeper 'slow wave sleep' that replenishes and restores energy). No wonder depressed people report having 'restless sleep', waking up feeling exhausted, and that sleeping more just makes them even more tired.
It seems that the more we worry, the more we dream, as our dreaming brain tries to complete the pattern of arousal by 'dreaming it out'. But if the dreaming mechanism in your brain is working overtime to deal with all the unfulfilled arousals brought about by too much worry, then the result is exhaustion and the 'flat battery' of depression.
Have you been worrying a lot recently without:
- 'Switching off' the worry by endeavouring to reassure yourself?
- 'Switching off' the arousal from the worry by actively and practically problem solving?
Worrying (and any negative introspective thought) causes over-dreaming, which eventually causes loss of motivation, energy, and hope. Ask yourself, "What am I most worried about at the moment? And how can I go about feeling better about it or actively problem solving it?"
Step 4: Is a situation depressing you?
The word 'worry' comes from the Old English word originally meaning to 'strangle' - and certainly worrying can feel pretty suffocating. We often worry about situations that seem impossible to solve. We worry about other people when only they can help themselves, we worry about an unchangeable past, or about other situations that we can't seem to change. To decrease worry (and therefore decrease exhausting time spent in REM sleep), we need to either deal with the situation or stop worrying about it so much.
One young man felt 'damned if he did, damned if he didn't' because he felt his parents mocked him for not finding work, but told him he'd never be able to do the work when he did find a job. This is otherwise known as a 'double bind'. The only way to stop this from causing him too much stress was to gradually help him feel less concerned with what his parents thought. They sensed he was changing and caring less about their criticisms and they too started to change for the better.
Is there a situation in your life that prevents you meeting one of your basic emotional needs, yet doesn't seem to have a 'way out of it'? There is always some room for movement.
One woman cared for her sick husband and felt guilty if she spent even an afternoon away from him, but was exhausted due to never having a break from her caring duties. She had put herself in a double bind! I suggested that she would be better able to care for her husband if she took regular breaks and let another family member step into the caring role once in a while. By connecting 'better caring' to being a consequence of regular breaks, we were able to undo the tightly knotted self-created double bind.
Is there a double bind in your life?
Step 5: Is somebody depressing you?
Moods, attitudes, and emotions spread from person to person (2), and low morale can spread like wildfire. Is there a person or are there people that you suspect transmit negativity, pessimism, defeatism, and other classic depressive thinking styles your way? If possible, limit your exposure to such people and make a point of sometimes mixing with more emotionally resilient, hopeful, and - dare I say - fun people.
I once discussed this with a woman who had started feeling depressed and she suddenly realized she always felt a lot worse after speaking to a friend on the phone. She decided to limit phone calls with the person to once a week and also to take active steps after the call to improve her own mood.
Step 6: Is your physical lifestyle depressing you?
You have physical needs as well as emotional ones (and of course the two influence each other). Too little sleep and exercise will increase stress in your body and therefore your mind, leading to exhaustion and a greater likelihood of depressive thinking styles. Too many carbohydrates and 'neat' sugars will send your moods on a roller coaster of dips, brief highs, and shattering lows. (See: 'In Praise of the Primal Lifestyle'.)
Make a point of 'emptying out stress' by regularly doing stuff that relaxes you. Sort your physical needs out as part (possibly a very big part) of the process of lifting depression.
Step 7: Are your meds making you depressed?
If you have felt more depressed since being on medication, ask your doctor about the side effects of your meds. Sometimes symptoms of depression can lift dramatically with a revised dosage or a move to another medication. Some (so-called) antidepressants even have depression-symptom side effects (3) and certainly withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants can cause depressive symptoms - which is often why people are then put back on the meds.
Step 8: Are your learned thinking styles causing and maintaining depression?
As Shakespeare wrote: "There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."
The famous father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman (4), found that depressed people tend to think in predictable ways. Firstly, they tend to think in absolute, all-or-nothing, black-or-white styles. This might manifest as perfectionism ("If it's not absolutely perfect, then it's a complete failure!") or 'catastrophization' ("The outcome will be a complete disaster!").
A depressed person is less likely to see life's shades of relative grey and will think in terms of complete failure vs. complete success or complete happiness vs. complete misery and so forth. This all-or-nothing thinking corresponds to the elevated stress levels that a depressed person experiences and in turn worsens the stress. After all, the 'fight or flight' stress response is pretty all-or-nothing; and the closer we are to it, the more our thinking tends to manifest as all-or-nothing, too.
In what other ways do depressed people tend to think?
Seligman termed how people explain reality to themselves as their 'explanatory styles'. More resilient, less depression-prone people tend to see setbacks as:
- Specific (a one-off bad thing) and therefore not 'infecting' the rest of their lives.
- Time-limited, rather than permanent.
- Arising from outside of the self (at least in part).
More depression-prone folk have learned to see setbacks as:
- Global - that is, affecting everything: "My relationship ended - my whole life is ruined! Nothing in my life works out!"
- Permanent: "I'll never meet anyone again! I always screw everything up." The badness is seen in terms of 'always' and the good things in terms of 'never' likely to occur.
- Often internal to their core identity: "I always ruin relationships! Why is it that nothing good ever happens to me?" The self is seen as the cause of badness, almost in a superstitious sense sometimes.
Depressive thinkers will tend to minimize (or even completely fail to recognize) positives when they do occur. If something good happens, they see it as:
- An exception, rather than spreading it to cover all aspects of their life as they might do with the negative occurrence.
- Fragile and impermanent: "Yes, it's good; but it's just too good to last!".
- Originating outside of themselves: "People were just trying to be kind when they said they liked my painting!".
Do you recognize any of these ways of thinking?
Seligman found that children tend to learn their explanatory styles from their mothers (or their primary caregiver). In this way, we can learn depressive attitudes. But once you know about these ways of thinking, you can very quickly check yourself and help improve motivation, hope, and morale.
In conclusion, it could be one or a combination of the above that's been making you feel depressed. Beating depression is partly about understanding:
- What you need to feel okay and thrive in life.
- How to make efforts to meet your emotional and physical needs in healthy ways.
- How too much negative introspection and worry lead to increased dreaming, which in turn leads to next day exhaustion: the 'flatness' so often associated with depression. And how to make steps to either practically problem solve worries or reframe the worry so the thought no longer causes a stress reaction.
- What other lifestyle factors may have been contributing to feelings of depression, such as medication side effects, bad diet, or too little relaxation or exercise.
- Your own thinking styles and how to catch yourself using unhelpful depressive styles and stop it.
When considering depression, I am reminded of the little boy who decided to confront the terrorizing giant who appeared on the horizon every day. As he walked toward it, a strange thing happened. The closer he got, the smaller the giant became. Eventually, he was able to hold the 'giant' in his hand.
"What is your name, O creature that shrinks as I approach you?" asked the boy.
The now tiny former giant replied: "My name is fear!"
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A monthly round-up of industry news stories, useful publications, and notable cases of which you should be aware from the preceding month
Welcome to “Because You Need to Know,” XDD’s monthly news round-up. In these posts, we gather together interesting articles, noteworthy cases, new publications, and XDD materials from the preceding month. This post gathers items of interest from May 2018.
Industry News Stories
Interesting topics in the news from May include a new source of guidance on digital forensics, criminal defendants and obtaining social media materials under the SCA, and immediate court challenges to Facebook and Google under the now-effective GDPR:
- New Digital Forensics Guidance Source
- Criminal Defendants, Social Media, and the SCA
- Immediate GDPR Challenges to Facebook and Google
New eDiscovery cases discussed in May include:
New industry publications released in May include:
XDD published five new blog articles, one new white paper, and one new educational webinar in May:
- Blog Articles
- Collection Fundamentals Series (ongoing):
- Industry News and Recent Cases:
- White Paper
- Everything in Moderation: Proportionality in eDiscovery – In December 2015, amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure brought the existing-but-overlooked concept of proportionality front and center in an attempt to combat the runaway cost and scale of discovery in the digital era. In this free White Paper, XDD Director of Education Matthew Verga, JD, surveys cases from 2016 and 2017 to see how courts are now applying proportionality in discovery.
- Educational Webinar
- Mobile Device Forensics: From Texts to Context – As mobile devices have evolved, mobile device forensics has become about a lot more than just text messages. Modern smartphones have become primary access points for a range of social networking, communication, and work functions making them potentially complex and data-rich sources for eDiscovery and forensic investigation. XDD Regional Vice President, Forensic Services, Scott Polus, leads this free one-hour webinar discussing today’s mobile device forensics challenges.
As always, we welcome your input regarding future topics for our webinars, articles, and white papers. Share your interests with us here.
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Imam Al-Sajjad’s (‘a) life is divided into two distinctive phases:
1. Before Imamah (leadership);
2. Imamah (leadership) era until martyrdom.
Imam Al-Sajjad (‘a) lived for about twenty-five years with his grandfather, Imam ‘Ali (‘a), his uncle, i.e. Imam Hasan (‘a) and his father Imam Husayn (‘a). He lived for about four years with his grandfather, Imam ‘Ali (‘a). According to other reports, he spent only two years with his grandfather. Ten years he lived alongside his uncle Imam Hasan (‘a) who was martyred in the year fifty of Hijrah. He also lived for ten years with his noble father, i.e. between 50 until 60 years (AH).
Imam Al-Sajjad (‘a), during the first phase, spent 25 years while his grandfather, his uncle, and his father were still alive (however these were severe years of their lives. Whilst training in preparation to be the Imam (leader), they were martyred.) His father, along with his best companions was also martyred on the day of ‘Ashura’. Historians hold Mu‛awiyah responsible for this event, as he had established it while Yazid Ibn Mu‛awiyah was the direct perpetrator.
During the second phase, which lasted for around 35 years, he lived during the reign of Yazid Ibn Mu‛awiyah, Mu‛awiyah Ibn Yazid, Marwan Ibn Al-hakam and ‘Abd ul- Malik Ibn Marwan. He was then assassinated due to the direct order from the Caliph Walid Ibn ‘Abd ul- Malik, martyred around 25 Muharram at 94 or 95 AH. He was either 57 years old,1 or less, when martyred.
Thus we will divide this second phase, weighted with struggles and evil occurrences, into two distinctive phases:
1. His struggles after the tragedy of Karbala, before settling down in Madinah
2. His struggles after settling in Madinah.
We can, therefore, summarize his life stages into three main phases:
1.) His life before his father was martyred.
2.) His life after his father’s martyrdom, before settling in Madinah.
3.) His life after he settled in Madinah.
- 1. Ibn Shahrashub, Al-Manaqib 3/310; Al-Majlisi, Bihar Al-Anwar 46/8-15. 15.
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Facipulation and elite formation: Community resource management in Southwestern Ghana
Despite their stated commitment to democratic processes, the Government of Ghana and international authorities presume the accountability and ability of NGOs to represent local interests in forest resource management. This article scrutinises elite formation and elite capture through the case of a Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) in western Ghana. NGOs and the forestry department promotes commercial tree planting on farmlands at this CREMA site. This article shows how institutional mandates, technical and managerial priorities are used by higher-level authorities to rationalise the omission of accountability and representation in CREMA activities. Disregard for democratic processes thus centralise decision making and render political processes apolitical at the cost of effective local participation and control over forest resources. Also, the legal and administrative framework of the CREMA tended to empower the traditional elites. In addition, the recognition of a local NGO by state authorities to oversee natural resource management infringed upon the CREMA's mandate and encouraged the formation of new elites. Further, the higher-level authorities' promotion of tree-tenure privatisation reduced public engagement by enclosing and thus discounting the public forest domain. The combination of these factors compromise the accountability and equitable sharing of benefits in CREMAs. Nevertheless, the CREMAs have been endorsed by the government as an innovative institutional structure for implementing REDD+ projects in Ghana.
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Whitman-Walker Health has COVID-19 vaccine available and is contacting Whitman-Walker patients and community members to schedule vaccination appointments.
The CDC now recommends booster shots for certain recipients of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Booster Shot Eligibility:
You can find information on COVID-19 vaccine walk-up locations and eligibility at vaccinate.dc.gov, or by calling 1-855-363-0333. Track the speed of COVID-19 vaccination lines by visiting coronavirus.dc.gov/dontwait.
If you are a Maryland resident, learn more about the Maryland vaccine distribution process and schedule a vaccination appointment at COVIDlink.maryland.gov, or by calling 855-634-6829. If you live in Prince George’s County, visit their vaccination registration portal here. If you live in Montgomery County, visit their vaccination registration portal here, or call 240-777-0311 to schedule an appointment.
If you are a Virginia resident, learn more about the Virginia vaccine distribution process and schedule a vaccination appointment at vaccinate.virginia.gov, or by calling 877-829-4682.
Scheduling your vaccine appointments:
Please note, if you get your first COVID-19 vaccine dose or full series at a location other than Whitman-Walker, you can schedule your 2nd dose, 3rd dose or booster shot through Whitman-Walker. Please visit your state’s local health department website for more information about eligibility and scheduling for vaccination appointments.
Learn facts about the coronavirus and COVID-19 vaccines and get more information on general prevention for the coronavirus from DC Health at coronavirus.dc.gov and from the CDC at cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.
Talk to Your Provider: If you are currently getting chemotherapy for cancer, are a transplant patient, are currently pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of severe allergies, we encourage you to speak to your provider before getting vaccinated. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners. If you get pregnant after receiving your first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine that requires two doses (Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine), you should get your second shot to get as much protection as possible.
Questions We Have Heard from Community:
1. Is the COVID-19 vaccine safe?
There is strong evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective. The Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in the United States because the data have shown that the vaccine is safe and effective.
There were more than 40,000 patients enrolled in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine study, approximately 40,000 patients enrolled in the Pfizer vaccine study, and approximately 30,000 patients enrolled in the Moderna vaccine study. The FDA will be reviewing other COVID-19 vaccines for approval, and all vaccines will go through the same rigorous FDA approval process. The FDA approval process is considered to be the most rigorous in the world.
2. Who was included in the clinical trials?
People of all races, ethnicities, and genders were included in the studies.
People aged 5 and older were included in the Pfizer vaccine study. People aged 18 and over were included in the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccine studies.
3. I am Black. Will the vaccine be harmful to me?
The data have shown the vaccine is safe and effective for all races and ethnicities, including Black and African American people. Black and African American people took part in the COVID-19 vaccine trials. The results indicate that the vaccine causes only mild side effects in the majority of participants, regardless of race. The results also indicate that the vaccine is equally effective in all participants, regardless of race.
4. I am a person of color. How can I trust that the vaccine is safe?
The data have shown the vaccine is safe and effective for all races and ethnicities. These COVID-19 vaccine trials included a group of more than 110,000 participants, from different backgrounds and ethnicities, including people who identify as Black and African American. We understand that generations of experimentation on Black people and persons of color globally, has left many people untrusting of the medical field and wary of taking a vaccine. Science and ethics have continued to evolve together. Today, research is conducted with community advisory boards to ensure a quality, thoughtful and ethical study. Check out our Instagram Live video series on medical mistrust and the evolution of science here!
5. Is an emergency use authorization the same as a standard authorization?
No, it is not the same. But it is still a very high standard. There is strong evidence that the vaccine is both safe and effective.
6. Were the studies rushed in order to get the vaccines distributed quickly? How did this vaccine get approved so quickly compared to other vaccines?
Efforts to develop the COVID-19 vaccines have not skipped steps. Neither scientific standards nor safety standards were lessened, or decreased, in any way.
One of the reasons that the trials were completed quickly is because of the high rates of COVID-19 infection in the US and around the world. This means that study participants were quickly and frequently exposed to people who were infected over the course of their everyday lives. This is not usually the situation when vaccines for other illnesses are tested—so it takes more time for those studies to determine effectiveness.
What is still being studied is how long the immunity will last. This is something that would normally be determined through a standard authorization process where the patients were followed over an extended period of time. That part of the trial is still going on. The emergency authorization process was created in order to quickly distribute vaccines once their safety and effectiveness have been established. It is not uncommon for vaccines to require booster doses in order to shore up, or support, the immune response. As they follow the study patients over a longer period, they may discover that patients need booster doses or they may not.
7. Can patients with HIV get the vaccine?
Yes. Patients with HIV have been approved to receive the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine.
8. What will the COVID-19 vaccine cost?
The vaccine will be free.
9. I’ve had COVID-19 before. Will I still be able to get vaccinated?
Yes. The CDC is recommending that people with prior COVID-19 infection do get vaccinated. Health officials say that the vaccine may provide a more “robust” immune response than getting the illness itself. Also, immunity to COVID-19 can wane. So, even if someone did test positive for COVID-19 in the past, a vaccine is still important. But if you are actively sick, you should wait to get the vaccine.
10. How long does the COVID-19 vaccine last once administered?
According to the CDC, it’s not yet known how long COVID-19 vaccine protection lasts. Recent studies show that protection against the virus may decrease over time. This reduction in protection has led the CDC to recommend certain groups get a booster shot at least 6 months after completing their initial vaccination series. Learn more about how the CDC monitors for vaccine effectiveness here.
11. Can my minor child get the vaccine?
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for use for ages 5 years and older. The Moderna vaccine is for ages 18 and older. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is for ages 18 and older.
12. Are there any side effects to the COVID-19 vaccine?
While there is no evidence of long-term side effects, notable short-term side effects include fatigue, headache and possible low-grade fever. Most people say these symptoms last about a day. These symptoms are a sign that your body is building an immune response—in other words, that the vaccine is working.
13. Does the vaccine work/is it effective?
Primary efficacy analysis of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed them to be 95 and 94 percent effective, respectively. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has 72 percent efficacy. That is good efficacy. (For reference, the seasonal flu vaccine has an efficacy rate of 50 percent among some populations.) But that doesn’t mean you should throw away your masks or plan a large gathering just yet. COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death. COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of people spreading COVID-19.
14. Do I still have to wear a mask and follow the current COVID-19 preventative guidelines if I get the COVID-19 vaccine?
Once you are fully vaccinated (either 2 weeks after your 2-dose or 1-dose shot), the CDC has shared guidance on when fully vaccinated people should wear mask and when they don’t have to wear a mask. See more information here. If you are not fully vaccinated, the CDC recommends that during the pandemic people wear a mask and practice physical distancing when in contact with others, including others from your household, when in healthcare settings, and when receiving any vaccine, including a COVID-19 vaccine.
15. There are several vaccines on the market. Are they all equally effective? Can I choose which one I want?
They are all effective, though some may be considered to be slightly more effective than others. We don’t believe the differences in effectiveness is something to worry about. What is most important is decreasing your chances of getting sick with COVID-19 and all the vaccines that we offer at Whitman-Walker will do this.
16. How does the vaccine work?
All of the vaccine platforms work essentially the same way. Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines make use of something called mRNA technology. It works by injecting people with a tiny fat bubble, or lipid, containing a part of the “blueprint” material for the virus.
That blueprint gets into the muscle and eventually white blood cells. Then, the cells make a harmless piece of “spike protein,” which is the part on the outer surface of the COVID-19 virus that binds to and infects your cells.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is a recombinant vector vaccine that uses a harmless adenovirus to make copies of the COVID-19 spike protein.
Your body then recognizes that the protein doesn’t belong there and builds an immune response, which is why you may feel some tenderness, headache or experience a low-grade fever after getting the vaccine.
The other vaccines in development stages work essentially the same way, though they’ll use different methods than the mRNA technology to show your body that harmless spike protein and prompt it to build an immune response to COVID-19.
17. I am due for other vaccines as well. Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine too?
Yes. At this time, CDC says that the COVID-19 vaccine may be administered with other vaccines without regard to timing.
18. Does the vaccine work as post-exposure prophylaxis?
The CDC does not recommend using the COVID-19 vaccine as post-exposure prophylaxis. Individuals with an exposure to COVID-19 should wait until their quarantine period has ended before being vaccinated.
19. Does substance use affect the COVID-19 vaccine?
If a person participates in ongoing or irregular substance use (such as use of meth, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, etc.), they should still consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine. There are no contraindications, or reasons to not be vaccinated, due to use of substances.
20. What happens when I am fully vaccinated?
The CDC shared recommendations on how to safely gather for folks who have been fully vaccinated. Learn more here.
21. Can I get a booster dose that differs from my original vaccine? Can I mix and match my booster vaccine with my first vaccine?
Yes. According to the CDC, you may choose which COVID-19 vaccine you receive as a booster shot. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type that they originally received, and others may prefer to get a different booster. The CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots.
22. What is the difference between a booster dose and an additional dose of an mRNA vaccine?
There are two distinct potential uses for an “extra dose” of COVID-19 vaccine: a booster dose and an additional dose. A booster dose is a third dose of the vaccine after the initial good immune response has started to decrease in effectiveness, while an additional dose is given as part of the initial vaccine series to those individuals who are unlikely to mount a good immune response to the initial vaccine series because they are moderately to severely immunocompromised.
23. Does this change the definition of “fully vaccinated” for those eligible for booster shots?
No. People are still considered fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose in a 2-shot series, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This definition applies to all people, including those who receive an additional dose as recommended for moderate to severely immunocompromised people and those who receive a booster shot.
24. Who is most at risk of hospitalization and death from COVID?
Nearly all the cases of severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 continue to occur among the unvaccinated. The CDC emphasizes that the populations most vulnerable to COVID-19 are those who are unvaccinated, and the nation’s priority should remain getting everyone fully vaccinated.
With news and best practices for COVID-19 prevention changing rapidly each day, we continue to update our services to reflect prevention recommendations. Please check here for the most up-to-date information.
Whitman-Walker Health has the COVID-19 vaccine available and is contacting Whitman-Walker patients to schedule vaccination appointments. Interested in scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine appointment at Whitman-Walker Health? Call us at 202.207.2480.
Please visit your state’s local health department website for more information about eligibility and scheduling for vaccination appointments.
Have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? We encourage our patients and the community, including those living with HIV, to learn more about the vaccine at CDC.gov/coronavirus.
People living with HIV were included in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine clinical trials when researching the effectiveness of the vaccines. See our COVID-19 vaccine frequently asked questions and answers here. Can’t find an answer to your question? Email [email protected].
Talk to Your Provider:
If you are currently getting chemotherapy for cancer, are a transplant patient, are currently pregnant or breastfeeding, or have a history of severe allergies, we encourage you to speak to your provider before getting vaccinated. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners. If you get pregnant after receiving your first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine that requires two doses (Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine), you should get your second shot to get as much protection as possible.
After You Get Your Vaccine, Use V-Safe!
After you get your vaccine, be sure to sign up for V-Safe to receive post-vaccination check-ins and surveys so you can report any symptoms or side effects. Learn more about V-Safe, and how to access it here.
Even after getting vaccinated, it is extremely important that you continue to practice prevention efforts like keeping a 6-ft distance from others, wearing a mask that covers both your nose and mouth, and cleaning your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
You Can Get Tested for COVID-19 at Whitman-Walker if you:
To reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19, please do NOT arrive more than 15 minutes early for your appointment.
The Whitman-Walker pharmacy lobbies at 1525 14th Street, NW, and 2303 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE, are open, have social distancing and required mask use for the public. Please call our pharmacy team directly at 866.724.1805 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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Due to COVID-19, walk-ins are not allowed. All visits are by Appointment-Only. Call 202.745.7000 or email [email protected] to schedule an appointment. Call 202.797.4439 to schedule an HIV/STI testing or sexual health appointment.
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October 17, 2021
News 4 Your Sunday: Whitman-Walker Walk & 5K to End HIV
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Strange Attraction: The Mystery of Magnetism
Some time about the beginning of the period which the archaeologists have called the Barra (1850-1650 B.C.), the people of coastal Soconusco appear to have developed a hierarchical society of sorts, for the construction of large, relatively elaborate houses on elevated, packed earth mounds, apparently intended for the use of chieftains, was already being carried on (Clark, 1991, 13). The rise of an elite which could command the labor and no doubt the tribute of the working masses, even before a large-scale dependence on farming had evolved, suggests that the food supply was relatively secure, that an exchangeable surplus was available -- at least for the favored few -- and that a specialization of labor was under way. Population densities were high enough to imply that village life was commonplace and that a political superstructure, based certainly on genealogy but perhaps increasingly on wealth as well, was in the process of formation. Indeed, the peoples of Barra-phase Soconusco appear to have created the first ranked societies in all of North America.
There is some question as to when the first pottery appeared in Mesoamerica. Ceramic shards found at Puerto Marquez on the west coast of Mexico near Acapulco and dated to 2400 B.C. have recently been challenged by Clark and Gosser (1994, 1). They argue that the sophisticated Barra pottery found in coastal Soconusco represents some of the oldest dependably dated ceramic ware in Mesoamerica, but that two other pottery traditions were also in evidence within the region by 1600 B.C. One of these was in the central highlands of Mexico where Purrón pottery appeared, and the third center was in northern Veracruz where the so-called Chajil pottery has been unearthed. Although it is unclear whether these Mesoamerican complexes developed spontaneously and independently or whether they were influenced by ceramic complexes that are known to have existed in northern South America from one to four millennia earlier, it seems quite apparent that they owed little or no inspiration to each other. For example, whereas Purrón pottery was relatively austere and utilitarian, Barra was elaborately decorated and functionally specialized -- the first typical of everyday housewares, the second of sophisticated luxury goods. Thus, if any conclusion can be drawn regarding the societies which produced these differing types of ceramics it must be that the Purrón, with its rather pedestrian plates, dishes, and cooking bowls, was far less affluent than the Barra, with its ornately slipped and highly burnished drinking goblets. Only with the passage of time did the two styles tend to converge, with the Purrón becoming more "fashionable" and the Barra more utilitarian (Clark and Gosser, 1994, 1-11).
Concurrent with the beginnings of their hierarchical social structure, the people of Soconusco also appear to have begun commemorating the likenesses of their chiefs in monumental sculptures. Not surprisingly, there is considerable difference of opinion among archaeologists regarding the relative age of the sculptures in question. Some contend that they date back to the Early Preclassic (ca. 2000 B.C.), while others assign them to the Late Preclassic (ca. 300 B.C.). Piña Chan, for example, saw them as "pre-Olmec" and dated them to 1200-800 B.C. (1981, 108), whereas Parsons confesses to being "slightly conservative" when assigning them a date about 500 B.C. (1989, 281). Because they can only be dated stratigraphically, it is not always easy to decide with which horizon they should be associated, especially when it is likely -- as some authorities point out -- that the sculptures themselves may have been moved and re-erected in new locations. (The reader is referred to the arguments on this matter presented by John Graham and A. Demarest .) However, due to the abrupt change in geology along the present Mexico-Guatemala boundary, virtually all such sculptures are found on the Guatemalan side of the line where the local bedrock is basaltic lava, in contrast to the Mexican side where it is granite. Thus, the very nature of the raw materials at hand was responsible for the geographic distribution of this art form, for the granite proved a more challenging and less rewarding material to work with than did the softer and more easily fashioned basalt. Consequently, large rounded boulders, often 1.5 m (5 ft) or more in diameter, were selected as the medium upon which either the rudimentary features of a head or a body were etched out in bas-relief. Only a minimal amount of carving was done, so in all cases the faces have a decidedly bloated appearance and the bodies are corpulent. Indeed, although no aspects of gender are depicted on these statues, archaeologists have called them the "Fat Boys" because of their apparent obesity.
Whether their rotundity is a reflection of the fact that the individuals being depicted were actually fat or whether it was simply a matter of laziness on the part of the sculptor in not carving away more material to make the representation more realistic, we can only speculate. What we do know is that day figurines of obese chieftains were a stock-in-trade among somewhat later artisans farther north in Soconusco (i.e., the Mexican area), so, as in many early cultures, plumpness may well have been considered a sign of beauty and/or affluence (Clark, 1991, 21).
The heads that were depicted tended to have a fairly similar, generic appearance. If they were intended to highlight any individual differences, their sculptors appear to have been singularly unsuccessful, although a few of the heads do have some strikingly unique characteristics. One of them, for example, which is now in front of the little museum at La Democracia, Guatemala, bears a strong likeness to F.D.R., lorgnette eyeglasses and all. The bodies, on the other hand, almost invariably have the arms wrapped around them so the fingers of the hands nearly come together over the fullness of their abdomens, and the legs and feet often do a similar encircling act near the base of the sculpture.
One of the so-called "Fat Boy" sculptures located in the town plaza of La Democracia, Guatemala. Originally unearthed at nearby Monte Alto, it was labeled Monument 5 and is believed by Parsons to date to about 500 B.C. The magnetic properties of these sculptures were first discovered in 1979 by my student assistant, Paul Dunn of the Dartmouth class of 1981.
Despite their crudity as works of "art," the "Fat Boys" have one characteristic which lends them a true air of mystery: Many of them are magnetic! This discovery, made by my field assistant Paul Dunn and myself in 1979, took everyone, including the archaeological community, by complete surprise. If the sculpture depicts a head, it is often magnetic in the right temple. If it depicts a body, its magnetic pole is usually near the navel. However, no plugs of magnetic material have been inserted into the boulders at these points. Rather, at these places the sculptures appear to contain enough of a concentration of magnetite, or magnetic iron ore (Fe304) to attract a compass needle. Moreover, these localized zones of magnetism usually have an opposite pole of attraction situated scarcely more than 10 cm (4 in.) away. Thus, where the magnetic lines of force enter a head above the right ear, they usually leave it below the ear. And if the magnetic lines of force enter a body to the left of the navel, they tend to exit it to the right of the navel. Each sculpture, therefore, usually has two oppositely charged poles situated so closely together as to suggest a kind of U-shaped magnetic field.
Today, eleven of these statues are found in La Democracia, Guatemala, arrayed along two sides of the town's plaza, while the twelfth stands near the entrance to the museum. They reportedly were assembled from the newly cleared sugarcane fields surrounding the village sometime after 1950. Five of the statues depict human bodies, six depict human heads, and one is fashioned in the shape of a large bowl or receptacle. Of the humanoid figures, four of the five bodies have magnetic properties, as do four of the six heads. If we begin on the northwest corner of the plaza, we find the following patterns occurring in a counterclockwise direction:
West side of plaza:
(1) Body; north pole to the left of navel; south pole to the right of navel
(2) Head; north pole in the right temple; south pole below the right ear
(3) Head; no magnetic property discernible
(4) Body; no magnetic property discernible
(5) Head; no magnetic property discernible
(6) Head; north pole in lower right ear
East side of plaza:
(7) Basin or receptacle; no magnetic property discernible
(8) Body; north pole to the left of navel; south pole to the right of navel
(9) Head; strikingly Olmec characteristics; no magnetic property discernible
(10) Body; north pole on upper right side of body near waist; south pole on lower right side of body
(11) Body; north pole in back of head; south pole on back of right side of head
On the front, or east side, of museum:
(12) Head; a line of north polarity occurs along the middle of the nose, mouth, and chin; south pole at the bottom of the right ear
Of course, the enigma posed by the "Fat Boys" is really a double barreled one. First, we must ask if their sculptors were actually aware of their magnetic property, and, if so, how they might have initially recognized it, especially in the presumed absence of iron. Or, on the other hand, might not the localization of magnetic poles within these sculptures have been simply a matter of chance? And second, if the magnetic property of each of these stones was indeed known, what prompted their sculptors to associate this mystical force with such localized parts of the body as the right temple and the navel?
Even if it does not take one magnet to detect another, at least it requires a sensitized piece of iron, such as the needle of a compass, to do so. Greek sources credit Thales of Miletus with having discovered the property of magnetism about 600 B.C., and the Chinese author Fu Chin mentions "a stone which can give a needle its direction" in a manuscript dating from 121 B.C. Yet, the Mesoamerican cultures, to the best of our knowledge, remained innocent of the use of metals until at least as late as the ninth or tenth century of the Christian era. Even then their acquaintance appears to have been limited to such metals as copper, silver, and gold, all of which have a lustrous appearance. Thus, how a Stone Age people familiar with chipping their primary tools and weapons out of materials like flint and obsidian stumbled onto the presence of magnetic iron ore in basalt boulders remains a mystery.
The most likely explanation which suggests itself is that the stone carver or sculptor may have noticed the attraction and/or adhesion of fine dust particles to the surface of the monument as he was cutting and polishing it. Naturally his curiosity would have been aroused as he observed that small fragments of the material he was working on were being drawn back to the stone from which he was trying to remove them. A less likely scenario for the discovery of magnetism might have been the chance placement of two small iron-rich boulders close to one another, causing them either to attract or repel one another depending on their polarity.
Whichever of these hypothetical reconstructions we favor, central to both of them is the notion of a stone carver working with a basalt boulder that is endowed with significant local concentrations of magnetite. Let us assume for the moment that, however the property of magnetism was first discovered in Mesoamerica, it is now known. The question which confronts us next is how and why it ever became associated with the right temple of the head or with the navel. What imaginative belief or line of reasoning impelled a stone carver to shape a carving of a head in such fashion that the magnetic lines of force came to a focus both above and below the figure's right ear? Or, when carving a massively rotund body, to make sure to position his subject in such a way that the magnetic lines of force entered and exited on either side of the figure's navel? Surely the sculptors' conscious repetition of this orientation in statue after statue cannot have been any more a matter of chance than if all the sculptures had been hit by lightning in precisely these same places. Clearly, something in the early Soconuscan culture seems to have dictated a linkage between the right temple and magnetism and between the navel and magnetism. What was it?
Naturally, one might conjecture that the connection being implied between magnetism and the head was the symbolization of a mental or spiritual link -- perhaps the commemoration of creative thought. The fact that the right temple was selected rather than the left may simply have been a reflection of the overwhelming propensity of humankind for right-handedness; surely the ancient Soconuscan stone carver would not have been aware that control over the right side of the body is actually centered in the left hemisphere of the brain. Similarly, the association between magnetism and the navel may well have been a commemoration of the physical side of life -- the continuity of the life-force from mother to child, despite the cutting of the umbilical cord at birth.
Had the "Fat Boys" been the only magnetic sculptures discovered in Soconusco, these speculations may have borne some semblance to the true nature of the thought processes which went through the minds of the ancient stone carvers. But, as luck would have it, the first magnetic sculpture found in the region (by the author at Izapa in southernmost Mexico in 1975) was not a depiction of a human head or body at all, but most likely the representation of the head of a turtle. (At least it was so identified by me and my student assistants, although we later learned that the personnel of the New World Archaeological Foundation who had initially excavated the sculpture had termed it a "frog.") Located some 30 m (100 ft) to the southeast of the ramped pyramid of Group F (on the northwest side of Highway 200), the turtle-head has a strong north polarity in its snout and an equally strong south polarity in the extreme back of its head. In addition, there is a weaker pole of south polarity located on the right side of its mouth directly under its right eye. Overall its magnetic attraction is such that it easily deflects a compass needle from 15 cm (6 in.) away, and the resultant field represents a good approximation of that demonstrated in a classic science-class iron filings experiment. In short, the turtle's head acts as a giant bar magnet.
The earliest magnetic sculpture discovered in Mesoamerica was this carved turtle-head located about 30 m (100 ft) off the main pyramid of Group F at Izapa, identified by the author in 1975. In the inventory of monuments compiled at the site, this was catalogued as A 54.
Once the sculpture's magnetic properties had been identified and measured, I had my students undertake a survey of all the other exposed rock at the site to determine whether this was a unique or commonplace occurrence. When the survey revealed that this was the only magnetic sculpture which could be identified, I felt confident in concluding that its carver must have purposefully reserved this magnetite-rich boulder for his representation of a turtle. But then the question arose -- what could have prompted him to associate magnetism with a turtle?
When I reported this discovery to the scientific community in the journal Nature in February 1976, the editor permitted me one sentence of speculation -- to wit, might the carver have somehow come to associate the uncanny homing instinct of turtles with magnetism? At the time the article was published, such speculation had little supporting evidence to back it up. Indeed, one of the world's most eminent specialists on turtles, Archie Carr of the University of Florida, had only recently completed an intensive investigation of the navigational abilities of this reptile for the Office of Naval Research but was forced to conclude, after testing every conceivable hypothesis, that he still didn't know how they did it; when it came to magnetism, all he could say was that he could not rule it out (Carr, 1967, 171). Of possible relevance to the question at hand, however, was a reference which Carr made to a deep-carapaced black turtle that migrated from the Galápagos Islands to lay its eggs on a limited stretch of black-sand beach in Soconusco. Not only were other species of turtles well known within the region because of the periodic migrations of loggerheads and leathernecks north and south along the shore, but since time immemorial the turtle had served as one of the preferred sources of meat. Although Carr was of necessity cautious and noncommital, recent research in zoology increasingly suggests that not only turtles but also birds and even some worms may orient themselves by using the earth's magnetic lines of force, so what may have been a questionable speculation in 1976 has now become an area for serious inquiry (Seachrist, 1994, 661).
The "Fat Boys" assembled in La Democracia and the turtle-head found at Izapa do not exhaust the examples of magnetic sculptures found in Soconusco, however. Among the assortment of stone carvings brought together in the open-air "museum" at the El Baúl sugar plantation in Guatemala are not only the third-oldest known Long Count inscription (of which more presently) but also at least two statues possessing magnetic properties. One of these (discovered in 1979) depicts two men sitting cross-legged on a bench with their arms crossed on their chests. Both men have north magnetic poles where their arms cross, while under the bench upon which they sit are two south magnetic poles -- the pole below the man on the left, as one faces them, being more pronounced than that beneath the man on the right. Nearby, a well-fashioned likeness of a rampant jaguar was found to have north magnetic poles in both of its paws, but no discernible south poles. (This discovery came to light when another student assistant and I revisited the site in 1993.) Finally, a small humanoid sculpture situated in the plaza of the village of TuxtIa Chica near Izapa was found in 1983 to be magnetic in the right side of its head.
Thus, the mystery of magnetism in Soconusco remains just that: Because the 'Fat Boys" appear to have been the earliest of this collection of carvings, it seems that magnetism, however it was discovered, was first associated with human beings -- at least in the cluster of statues found in the Guatemalan piedmont. Later, and in a different part of Soconusco -- this time just over the present-day border in southern Mexico -- another sculptor fashioned a carving of a turtle's head having a magnetic field focused on its snout. Does this mean that the local appreciation of magnetism had changed, or were the discoveries and associations of magnetism -- first with people and later with the turtle -- independent and unique? One can only continue to speculate. But what does seem certain, however, is that the property of magnetism had been identified in Soconusco, perhaps as early as 2000 B.C., but in any case well before the birth of Christ, and that it had been incorporated into the local statuary.
THE GEOGRAPHIC EXTENT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF MAGNETISM
Inasmuch as the property of magnetism came to be associated with statuary in Mesoamerica, it appears that the idea of its being useful or practical in any way seems not to have occurred to the native Americans. This may have been because it was never identified in any rock which was portable. Or perhaps it was never appreciated as being more or other than some kind of supernatural or magical force. Clearly, no understanding of its direction-finding properties -- i.e., the principle of a compass -- seems to have resulted from their discovery. However, some investigators have suggested -- not too convincingly, it should be pointed out -- that the alignment and layout of certain pre-Columbian ceremonial centers may have been carried out with such a device (Fuson, 1969, 504). Unfortunately, our knowledge of what the magnetic field was like at any given place on the earth's surface three thousand years ago is so sketchy that it would be hazardous to push such a hypothesis very far, especially in the absence of any kind of compasslike artifacts.
Due to Soconusco's location almost in line with the historic movement of the north magnetic pole, compasses used in the region would have continued to experience a magnetic declination of virtually the same magnitude throughout the last 500-600 years, unlike those used at such a place as London, England. Whether the movement of the pole during prehistoric times followed a similar path is unknown.
In this connection, however, it is interesting to note that the known shift of the north magnetic pole has been from just north of the Russian islands of Novaya Zemlya sometime about the year 1000 to between Spitsbergen and Greenland about 1500 and into the Queen Elizabeth Islands of the Canadian Arctic by about 1900. While this shift represented a major change in declination for residents of the Old World -- from about 15-20º east of north to the same relative distance west of north over roughly a thousand years -- had this movement been viewed from the longitude of Soconusco (i.e., 90º W), it would have been hardly noticeable. In other words, a compass needle would have pointed almost due north throughout that entire time.
Finally, it should be noted that in Michael Coe's excavations at San Lorenzo in the late 1960's, a piece of magnetite measuring about 2.5 cm. (1 in.) in length and a little less than a 0.5 cm (0.25 in.) in cross-section was uncovered, prompting him to envision it as a part of a compass. Testing its direction-finding properties by floating it on a cork mat, Coe noted that it consistently oriented itself to the same point slightly west of magnetic north. More-exhaustive tests (involving the suspension of the magnetite bar on a thread) were later carried out by John Carlson, who reported that the object's orientational ability did not come closer than about 35º to the north magnetic pole (Carlson, 1975, 753). Thus, it could conceivably have been used as a direction-finder, but with scarcely more "preference" for north than for either east or west.
All of the roughly dozen magnetic sculptures which are known from Mesoamerica. are found within the volcanic bedrock zone of piedmont Soconusco. Several other areas of volcanic bedrock exist in Mesoamerica, such as in the Tuxtla Mountains and along the Transverse Volcanic Axis which runs across the center of Mexico from Citlaltépetl (Orizaba) in the east to Volcán Colima in the west; however, in none of them did the local inhabitants recognize the presence of magnetic iron ore as they apparently did in Soconusco. Because magnetism appears always to have been associated with relatively massive stone carvings which could not be easily moved, the knowledge of this force seems never to have diffused beyond the region.
It appears, therefore, that the knowledge of magnetism never really diffused farther than Soconusco, and then only so far as the local bedrock remained basalt. With the possible exception of some localized use having been made of the magnetite bar found by Coe at San Lorenzo, it likewise appears that the potential use of geomagnetism for direction finding was never fully appreciated by the early Mesoamericans. The author's discovery of the magnetic properties of, first the turtle's head at Izapa, and later, the "Fat Boys" of Guatemala, have served little but to add a dimension of "background static" to the whole equation of Mesoamerican intellectual development. This is because, apart from appreciating their awareness of the force, we know neither how they discovered it nor to what use they may have put it. My imaginative speculation that it may somehow have been associated with the homing instinct in the turtle leads me to insert one final footnote in passing: The Chinese, who are generally credited with having been the first culture to appreciate the direction-finding capacity of geomagnetism, use the term "black-turtle rock" as their description for basalt. Moreover, when they began fashioning compasses with which to navigate, many of their earliest models were made in the form of turtles. One hesitates to raise the question of independent invention versus diffusion -- especially over such a vast expanse as the Pacific -- but in any case the similarity or coincidence in thought patterns is rather striking. Thus, with no real answers at hand, we must conclude that, for the Mesoamericans, magnetism probably remained nothing more than an awe-inspiring marvel of nature.
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National University of Singapore
Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) are made up of many streaming multiprocessors, each consisting of processing cores that interleave the execution of a large number of threads. Groups of threads - called warps and wavefronts, respectively, in nVidia and AMD literature - are selected by the hardware scheduler and executed in lockstep on the available cores. If threads in such a group access the slow off-chip global memory, the entire group has to be stalled, and another group is scheduled instead. The utilization of a given multiprocessor will remain high if there is a sufficient number of alternative thread groups to select from.
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Part of speech: verb
Origin: Late Middle English
To wail harshly and loudly
To utter a shrill shriek, like that of a cat
Examples of Caterwaul in a sentence
"I awoke to the violent caterwauling of an angry tomcat outside."
"When she heard the horrible news, she caterwauled so loudly she could be heard from outside."
Popularity Over Time
Cats are capable of a remarkable range of sounds. They can caterwaul and gently purr. But the loudest purr of a cat ever recorded was by a cat named Merlin, who was able to purr at 67 dbA — loud enough to be heard over a television with the volume blasting.
Did you Know?
Caterwaul comes directly from the wailing sound that angry (or amorous) cats can make. Cāter is a dutch word meaning tomcat. The -waul aspect of the word probably comes from the sound itself.
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Team Building and Leadership Expertise is a challenge to define and understand. It seems that everyone is a thought leader and that all the noise and ideas are equal and useful.
I am guilty of pushing lots of noise out into the organization, team and leadership development field.
While I try to ensure that what I share is evidence based, current, and does as little harm as possible to the people who listen, the accountability and authority of a consultant, advisor, or expert are necessary for those that are on the receiving end of the advice to know.
Consulting executives on the areas of my expertise (organization design and team development) we spend time up front discussing with the executive team and those that I support what their, my, and our shared authority and accountability is.
Often I use the cross-functional-role work of Elliott Jaques to begin the discussion:
In the advisory relationship, the person giving the advice (the advisor or expert) has the accountability and authority to:
- take the initiative in approaching the advisee and presenting ideas or information that may be useful
- take the time to explain to the advisee where and why the ideas may be useful
- be kept informed about the activities and problems of the advisee
There are clear limitations to an advisor’s accountability and authority as follows:
- If the advisee does not accept the expert’s advice, then the matter must rest there as far as the advisor is concerned. The expert will proceed no further.
- The advisor must not report the advisee’s reaction to his/her advice to any other person. It is for the advisees’ managers to judge how effectively subordinates are using advisory resources.
I just read ‘The Death of Expertise’ by Tom Nichols, and Nichols does an excellent job of explaining misconceptions about experts within any domain. The bold areas are Nichols work the italics below are my thoughts.
Experts are not puppeteers. They cannot control when leaders take their advice.
- The leader that that expert is advising has the authority and accountability to take what is needed and act on their own. The expert is not the decider. All the expert can do is offer their expertise and observe how the other person takes and uses that to make a decision.
Experts cannot control how leaders implement their advice.
- Experts are self-aware of their knowledge and how they see and interpret what is shared. The person who is benefitting from the expert’s advice will filter and understand the information in their way. The expert cannot ensure that the information is understood and used in the detail that was intended. That is part of the problem with expertise that much of what is known and understood cannot be explained. When a person acts on an experts advice, they are doing so in their frame of reference.
No single expert guides a policy from conception through execution.
- While the expert and the executive team may agree upon a course of action. When the implementation happens, it happens through people, many time the implementors are delegated pieces and were not part of the initial discussions. This means that the original intention and what the end state looks like and how it is implemented is rather different.
Experts cannot control how much of their advice leaders will take.
- Experts offer advice and leaders decide what to listen to. Often only pieces that confirm a bias are heard, and the parts that are uncomfortable or ambiguous are ignored. People listen to what they want to hear and when the incomplete use of the leader’s advice yield poor results, the expert is often blamed.
Experts can only offer alternatives. They cannot make choices about values. They can describe problems, but they cannot tell people what they should do about these problems, even when there is agreement on the nature of those challenges.
- Experts provide expertise based upon their area of knowledge, and they are to leave it at that. Deciding a value based decision is the accountability and authority of the person making the decision.
Understanding what boundaries of the expert’s input and what you have to listen too will help. Many disagreements within organizations and teams stem from unclear roles, the role of the expert is to offer advice and to let you decide how best to act upon that information. Ultimately, the person who has to make the decision and be held to account for that decision has more pressure and will need to take the experts advice and use their knowledge, and cognition to decide.
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SERC Dock Monitoring Data
1970 - 1978
In April 1970, Robert Cory from the U.S. Geological Survey began a program of continuously monitoring water quality in the Rhode River. His monitors recorded water temperature, salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and tide stage. The daily maximums and minimums for each of these variables are available for download.
1980 - 1990
Starting in 1980, the USGS monitor recorded hourly observations of conductivity (micromhos), dissolved oxygen (mg/liter), pH, and temperature (degrees C). The hourly data along with daily maximums, minimums, and averages for each variable are available.
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Computer simulation and animation are used to build upon traditional methodologies for the evaluation of rollover accidents. The use of computer simulation allows for a more complete and detailed reconstruction than is possible with traditional methods. The use of computer animation allows a superior presentation of the reconstruction with detailed analytical results and real time visualization employing 3-D computer graphics.
The accident scene and vehicle damage data are used together with results from rollover tests and computer simulation and computer graphics to reconstruct the vehicle path and vehicle dynamics in three dimensions. The significant previous papers, which provide the scientific basis for rollover accident reconstruction, are discussed with regard as to how this knowledge can be applied using HVE
The methodology is illustrated with examples utilizing three dimensional terrain and actual accident data to show how the simulation and graphics are utilized in the analysis and in the presentation of the vehicle’s motion including tire forces and suspension dynamics in realtime. The understanding and visualization of these important characteristics is more easily achieved than by using traditional methods.
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Able Radio is a popular hit radio channel based in UK. Able Radio plays various types of music genres like news, pop and very conscious about listeners demand and choice. Getting audience good feedback this radio channel is developing playlists continuously. This radio station uses native language officially. Able Radio is also operates various informative programs that includes listeners participation.
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Successful leaders in the future will have to become architects of enduring organizations by designing systems that create sustainable results for multiple stakeholders (Latham, 2012).
Leading the journey to sustainable excellence requires the flexible combination of leadership activities, behaviors, and individual characteristics that work together to use the forces and facilitators to transform the organizational systems and culture. The leadership framework is based on research and 25+ years experience working with leaders to help them transform their organizations to achieve and sustain excellence. The leading transformation framework is composed of five not so easy pieces organized into two groups – Leadership and Organization.
The leadership triad consists of a leadership system (activities), leadership style (behaviors), and the individual leader characteristics (the invisible dimension). These three dimensions of leadership work together to change the organizational systems, culture, and individuals to achieve sustainable excellence.
Nine systematic leadership activities form the core of the leadership system. These could be considered the “science” of leading transformation. Focus of the transformation is to increase the value created for multiple stakeholders including the workforce, customers, investors, suppliers and partners, the community and the environment. The focus on stakeholder needs and relationships helps provide a common alignment point for strategy, execution, and learning.
There are nine leader behaviors in the framework that support the system for leading transformation. These could be considered the “art” of leading transformation. There is an old saying in the military, “a leader is always on parade.” Leader as a role model is probably in every leadership book and course on the planet. And, for good reason. However, in this case, it takes on a slightly different connotation.
The third component is a look below the surface at the individual leader characteristics. Leaders of transformation have five characteristics that increase the odds of achieving and sustaining high performance including purpose and meaning, humble but confident, integrity, systems perspective, and motivational and attitudinal patterns. The leaders of high performance have a deep personal meaning and sense of purpose. They communicate the compelling directive to help provide meaning for the entire workforce.
The organization components of the leadership framework include the internal and external forces for change (tension and resistance), facilitators of change (alignment, sustainable excellence model, and subject matter experts) and the culture of the organization.
Forces and Facilitators
There are several forces and facilitators of organizational change that are common to successful transformations. While the motivation for change varies widely, there must be enough tension to overcome the inertia of status quo. The first step in managing the forces of change is to create tension in the organization to overcome the current inertia.
Culture – The Habit
Ultimately, sustaining excellence requires that the new systems, processes and practices become habits and embedded in the culture. Culture is composed of values, norms, traditions, symbols and rituals. In the end, individuals are the essence of any sustainable change. Sustainable change requires that the individuals change and grow, which is often the hardest part of the change process.
Want to learn more about the leading transformation and the framework? Check out the resources page for papers, presentations, videos, and online articles that address the framework and components. Explore the Leading Transformation Resources.
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Is your campus technically ready to sponsor a CIT conference? Test your readiness by answering the following questions:
- What is your network configuration? How strong is your wireless?
- Will both presenters and attendees be able to log on to the network?
- Can your network support hands-on workshops and sessions requiring Internet access with a reasonable response time?
- Are your lab machines “remote boot”? With hard drives? Without hard drives?
- Can your lab machines be configured to support CIT workshops?
- Is it possible to add software to lab machines? How much lead time is needed?
- What peripherals (speakers, printers, document cameras, interactive white boards, etc.) are available in the teaching labs?
- Do you have Smart classrooms (projectors, DVD players, document cameras, video/audio capability, multi-screen display, writeable walls.)?
- Do classrooms have teaching stations with dedicated PC’s or are they BYOD (bring your own device)?
- Do the teaching stations have capability for presenters to plug in their own laptops or tablets/iPads? Does it accept HDMI? Are dongles available for Mac’s?
- Do you have Distance Learning classrooms for live, interactive learning?
- What technologies and protocols (H.320, PictureTel, ISDN, etc.) do your Distance Learning classrooms use?
- What video production facilities are available?
- What kind of A/V support and inventory are available? Are you able to video tape sessions?
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Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping Project. XI. Disk-wind characteristics and contributions to the very broad emission lines of NGC 5548
2020-07-03T16:54:58Z (GMT) by
In 2014 the NGC 5548 Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping campaign discovered a two-month anomaly when variations in the absorption and emission lines decorrelated from continuum variations. During this time the soft X-ray part of the intrinsic spectrum had been strongly absorbed by a line-of-sight (LOS) obscurer, which was interpreted as the upper part of a disk wind. Our first paper showed that changes in the LOS obscurer produce the decorrelation between the absorption lines and the continuum. A second study showed that the base of the wind shields the BLR, leading to the emission-line decorrelation. In that study, we proposed the wind is normally transparent with no effect on the spectrum. Changes in the wind properties alter its shielding and affect the SED striking the BLR, producing the observed decorrelations. In this work, we investigate the impact of a translucent wind on the emission lines. We simulate the obscuration using XMM-Newton, NuSTAR, and HST observations to determine the physical characteristics of the wind. We find that a translucent wind can contribute a part of the He II and Fe K? emission. It has a modest optical depth to electron scattering, which explains the fainter far-side emission in the observed velocity delay maps. The wind produces the very broad base seen in the UV emission lines and may also be present in the Fe K? line. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for the effects of such winds in the analysis of the physics of the central engine.
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