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Arcos de Cobija
Iglesia de Santo Domingo
The recently renovated Iglesia de Santo Domingo contains an ornate portal, an unusual paneled ceiling and one of the eight original...
Victoria Tours
Budget agency running all of the tours previously mentioned. It's located at Hostal María Victoria.
Museo & Convento de Santa Teresa
The fascinating Santa Teresa Convent was founded in 1685 and is still home to a small community of Carmelite nuns. One of them is an...
La Casona Pub
The atmospheric La Casona Pub is tucked away in the historic 1775 home of the royal envoy sent to administer the mint. It's a memorable,...
El Fogón
This spacious, colorful and brightly lit central restaurant is popular for its range of international and Bolivian food, including llama...
Arcos de Cobija information
Potosí's elaborate colonial architecture merits a stroll around the narrow streets to take in the ornate doorways and façades, as well as the covered wooden balconies that overhang the streets. Architecturally notable are the Arcos de Cobija on the street of the same name.

subset: commoncrawl


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Home » Opinion » Editorials
Best wishes, Ray: The dean is on the mend
Treatments for a curable form of kidney cancer have required the 73-year-old executive councilor to take a break from his normal nonstop schedule and forced him to check into Woodsville's Cottage Hospital. He's home now, but Burton still faces another month or two of chemotherapy. That powerful medicine often leaves patients half his age exhausted, which means it is just about as tough as Burton's typical work week.
For decades, this editorial page has criticized Burton and questioned his outsized political clout. But we understand why his popularity has been so high for so long. It's not just about the dollars he brings back to District 1. While many politicians feign a love for their district, Ray Burton's commitment is real. After decades of phone calls, meetings, ribbon-cuttings, radio shows and civic events, many voters believe they have no better friend in Concord.
In last September's primary, a feisty GOP challenger did not hesitate to praise Burton's years of service. "I know Ray has an excellent record," the underdog said. "He's the best one in the state in the way he responds to his constituents." The incumbent promptly trounced him, winning 71 percent of the vote. In the general election, his opponent felt it necessary to salute him as "a legend." In the midst of the Democratic sweep, Burton easily won his 18th term.
There will be less wear and tear on New Hampshire's rural byways while Ray's car is parked and he is at home. Perhaps the state should shift some highway money to other districts. No, we're not serious. But if the councilor believes anyone might try, he's likely to recover even quicker than his doctors think possible, just to protect his beloved road projects.
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Gators quarterback Jeff Driskel takes center stage SEC Media Days
With the World Cup finished, the All-Star break in baseball upon us and Lebron James' decision made, the SEC found a sweet spot in the sports calendar to grab a lion's share of the spotlight this week.
The SEC Media Days kicks off on Monday with a new, four-day format.
Gators redshirt junior Jeff Driskel will be the only quarterback speaking on Day 1 following Auburn's decision to keep Nick Marshall home after he was cited last Friday for having a small amount of marijuana during a traffic stop.
Driskel enters his third season as Gators' starter with plenty of questions surrounding him and the team's offense after UF went 4-8 while Driskel missed nine games with a broken right leg.
Driskel sat down with the Sentinel late last month to discuss the upcoming season. (Click here in case you missed the story.)
Driskel also weighed in a number of other topics sure to come up on Monday.
What he has seen from a Gators' receiving corps with one touchdown catch by a returning wide receiver (Ahmad Fulwood):
"There's a lot of potential, which at the end of the day doesn't mean much. I think they've done a lot of hard work this offseason. I think they have a sense of urgency about them. They're in their playbooks, they're in the film room. They're asking me to throw. The potential is through the roof, but it comes down to how they perform."
Driskel's impressions of new tight end - and roommate - Jake McGee, a transfer from Virginia:
"He's proven. He's not a rookie. He's learning the plays. Wish he was here for the sping, but he's starting to get a concept of what we're trying to do on offense. He's in watching film, trying to figure things out. I think he has a chance to be a good player for us.
"He's shown he has great hands. He can catch the ball away from his body. Huge target. I went back and watched a little Virginia tape, as well. He's shown he can make big plays at big times."
What he expects from sophomore WR Demarcus Robinson a season after he caught five passes and served two suspensions:
"He is a physical specimen. We're just working on consistency. I got to know he's on the same page as me. I have to know he knows the routes. He's getting there. I've worked with him. He's worked really hard and I'm proud of him for that. But at the end of the day, it will come down to how he performs."
Quinton Dunbar's as Driskel's possible go-to receiver, a role Dunbar was expected to have a season ago:
"He's been a starter for three years now. He's proven he can play in the SEC and play well. I think when I went down last year that hurt him as well. I think we have a good connection, not just on the football field, but on a personal level. I think Quinton is a great person, and I always hope the best for him. I think he's going to prove he's an elite SEC receiver this year."
Driskel's work to raise his football IQ and improve his decision-making:
"I think that comes down to knowing defenses and knowing where people line up on what coverage, or what depths people line up in certain coverages, where their eyes are, just their body position. Once you know that, you can kind of predict where people are going and not have to see them. You kind of can look through a defense rather than look at one person. So I think knowing defenses helps you know where the holes are going to be, which helps you not track your receiver. You have a chance to see more without zoning in on one thing"
The biggest takeway from his injury:
"The saying that football isn't going to be there forever is real. You always got to have a back-up plan and you have take your academics seriously because you never know when your last play is going to be. A lot of things have worked out for me that might not have worked out for other people. That degree is really important."
The most important thing he has learned about being Gators' QB:
"If you care about your teammates, you're going to perform better. When you know them on a personal level, it's not going to make your try harder but it's going to make you feel more together, like you're on the same page. You just want your teammate to succeed that much more when you know a little more about him."
How often he worked with his receivers in June:
"Two, three times a week. Summer A is kind of a time that is not as intense as Summer B. We'll really amp it up even more during the second session of summer. But we were out there two or three times a week working on simple things, adjustments in routes, hitches for 15 minutes, slants for 10 minutes and call it a day. We've definitely tried to keep the momentum from spring into summer, kind of keep it rolling."
What people should expect from the Gators:
"I think you're going to see a team that comes out and plays with a lot of passion. We have a bunch of guys on this team that really love the game of football and want to play hard for each other. You're going to see guys that aren't going to quit. We're going to play hard and have fun. I think over the spring we had a lot of fun. At the end of the day, it's to be a game where you have to have fun to play well."
Whether fans will see more points:
"I hope so. I can't say yes or no. I don't like to throw out any guarantees or numbers. I think we do have a chance to put a lot more points on the board and better numbers.
"We're not going to win any games by me saying that. If it was worth points I would say we're going to score more."
What he likes about new offfensive coordinator Kurt Roper's offense:
"I really do like the no-huddle. It's something I've always felt comfortable with in two-minute drills in practice or in a game. Once you get in a groove as a quarterback, you can start to pick the defense apart. And moving fast they don't have the opportunity to get in some exotic blitzes or coverages. It's going to work to our advantage. We just got to get in shape."
Email Edgar Thompson at firstname.lastname@example.com. Read the Swamp Things blog at www.orlandosentinel.com/swampthings. Follow our UF coverage on Twitter @osgators.
Copyright © 2014, Orlando Sentinel


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They're quirky and adorable.
Reddit launches Redditmade, an online shop for users to buy and sell goods.
A startup will take a lot of work, energy, and patience, but you can come through to the other side.
Wear your vaginas on your sleeves, ladies. Or around your neck, or on your finger, or in your ears.
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This page contains Cheats for The House Of The Dead organized by sections for Saturn. The House Of The Dead is a Action Shooter Light Gun game, made by Tantalus Interactive, released on Mar 31, 1998 and published by Sega. If you can't find a hint or secret in our list, then please check this page periodically for the latest updates.
- Developer:
The House Of The Dead Saturn CheatsTantalus Interactive
- Publisher: Sega
- Genre: Action Shooter Light Gun
- Release Date: Mar 31, 1998
- ESRB: Mature
To pick the level you wish to start at, the number of lives, and even the color of blood, when you are on the main option screen where you can choose between Arcade mode, Saturn mode, etc. Press L, R, R, L, L, R buttons. You should hear a jingle, then hold the L & R buttons, choose a mode and pr...From: gaqitic
To display the score, hold L+R while playing then press X three times....From: RampEmova
While playing, hold L+R and press Y,Y,Y to eliminate the need to reload....From: sb909
To use Sophie and one of the female researchers, hold the L and R buttons at the character select screen in the Saturn Mode, and press UP, DOWN, X, Y, Z. You will know the code was entered right if you hear a sound....From: cheatlover
Stuck on this game? Set a specific, clearly defined question and let others answer your question or view answers to previously asked questions. If you think you are an The House Of The Dead expert then please try to help others with their questions.
Guardian Heroes - Opening, intro and gameplay
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King Of Fighters '97 - Gameplay Video 1
- Jun 27, 2014, Views: 39
- Football Heroes: Pro Edition - Gameplay Video, (iPhone-iPod)
- Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath - Gameplay Review Trailer, (iPhone-iPod)
- Bruce Lee: Enter The Game - Official Launch Trailer, (Android)
- Mr.Ninja!! Fever - Official Launch Trailer, (Android)
- Help Me Jack: Atomic Adventure - Official Launch Trailer, (Android)
- Tales From The Borderlands - Gameplay Review Trailer, (PS3)
- Pocket RPG - Gameplay Video, (PSVita)
- Aqua Kitty - Milk Mine Defender DX - Gameplay Review Trailer, (PSVita)
- Sega Saturn Choice Cuts, (Saturn)
- Rayman Playable Game Preview, (Saturn)
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- Bug! Playable Preview, (Saturn)
- Sega Screams Volume 1, (Saturn)
- Radiant Silvergun, (Saturn)
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- Episode: Choose Your Story - Gameplay, (iPhone-iPod)
- How To Train Your Dragon 2 - Ready To Fly Trailer, (Wii)
- The Settlers - Kingdoms Of Anteria - Announcement Trailer, (PC)
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- Blue Estate - Official Launch Trailer, (PS4)
- Goat Commando 3D Simulator - Gameplay, (iPhone-iPod)
- Munin - Official Launch Trailer, (iPad)


text:
A Marble Hill businessman was killed Sunday afternoon when his motorcycle was struck by a sport utility vehicle just west of Dawsonville.
Saturday was an average day for Dawson County High School junior Jeff Fedoruk.
Pete Taylor, chief of staff for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Mobile District, said last Tuesday night he was excited about federal stimulus funding for an updated water manual.
Friends and family are mourning the loss of a Dawsonville father of four who died early Saturday in an accident at a Texas hotel.
A group of teenagers sat among a cluster of cardboard boxes and metal drums serving as trash cans.
Celebrating its 11th season, the Dawson Community Chorale will present its spring concert at 7:30 p.m. May 9.
If outdoor plans include visiting Amicalola Falls you might need to bring an extra $2 for the parking fee.
A Dawson County High School senior was killed in a single-vehicle wreck Friday, a day after officials said he picked up his cap and gown for next month's graduation.
One teen was killed and another injured Friday afternoon in a single vehicle wreck on Hugh Stowers Road.
Dawsonville residents Glenn and Bonnie Adams now have an easy way to bring their granddaughters fishing.
Stormy weather struck Dawson County twice in a recent four-day span, though Monday's high winds and rain did not inflict nearly as much damage as Friday's storm front.
Carrying brightly colored baskets and many wearing their Sunday bests, thousands of eager, young treasure hunters covered the grounds at Veterans Memorial Park Saturday in search of golden Easter eggs.
Santa has come and gone, but the Easter Bunny will be here soon - on Saturday as a matter of fact.
Those first few steps across the wide front porch may clop a little louder under the weight of a heavy heart.
The economy has affected the lives of many in Dawson County, and according to Doris Cook a growing need in the community has been addressed: hunger.
A barbecue fundraiser Saturday supports United Way for Dawson County and its many local partners.
Fun and furry festivities are planned this weekend at the inaugural Pups in the Park Dog Show.
A steady hand, a lot of time and plenty of practice are what it takes to make a quilt from small scraps of cloth. And those traits are on display through Oct. 22 as the Bowen Center for the Arts presents its annual quilt show.
With the collaborative effort of several local organizations, the inaugural Pups in the Park Dog Show is stacking up to be a large-scale event for the county.
Massive amounts of Styrofoam, parts of an abandoned houseboat and two crumbling docks were among the debris collected in Dawson County on Saturday during the Lake Lanier Association's 26th annual Shore Sweep.
A 30-year racing career can produce quite a collection of cars and memorabilia.
Contents of this site are © Copyright 2014 Dawsonnews, Dawsonville, GA. All rights reserved. Privacy policy and Terms of service


text: IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 ISSN (Online): 1694-0784 ISSN (Print): 1694-0814 44 ICT in Universities of the Western Himalayan Region in India: Status, Performance- An Assessment Dhirendra Sharma1 and Vikram Singh2 1 University Institute of Information Technology, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh 171 005, India. 2 Department of Computer Science and Engg, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryna 125 055, India. Abstract The present paper describes a live project study carried out for the universities located in the western Himalayan region of India in the year 2009. The objective of this study is to undertake the task of assessment regarding initiative, utilization of ICT resources, its performance and impact in these higher educational institutions/universities. In order to answer these, initially basic four- tier framework was prepared. Followed by a questionnaire containing different ICT components 18 different groups like vision, planning, implementation, ICT infrastructure and related activities exhibiting performance. Primary data in the form of feedback on the five point scale, of the questionnaire, was gathered from six universities of the region. A simple statistical analysis was undertaken using weighted mean, to assess the ICT initiative, status and performance of various universities. In the process, a question related to Performance Indicator was identified from each group, whose Coefficient of Correlation was calculated. This study suggests that a progressive vision, planning and initiative regarding academic syllabi, ICT infrastructure, used in training the skilled human resource, is going to have a favourable impact through actual placement, research and play a dominant role at the National and International level. Keywords: Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Initiative, Status, Performance, Assessment, Impact, Performance Indicator. 1. Introduction During the past decade there has been a very rapid development in activities related to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), (Sadagopan 1998), in various Universities and Institutions of higher learning. Such a transformation was triggered by more and more awareness of microwaves and tele-communication. Its pervasiveness has affected almost all fields from micro- to astronomical level via class rooms. ICT in respective fields makes education extremely effective, efficient and engaging due to its power of problem solving and application. The impetus at the national level was set in motion by the Task Force 'Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council' (TIFAC), for Technology Vision 2020. One of the important pilot documents "India 2020, A Vision: for the New Millennium" (1998) prepared by Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), under the leadership of Dr. A.P.J.Kalam, provided a blue print of the `Technology Vision for India'. According to this document ICT can enhance critical thinking, information handling skills, level of perception, problem solving capability and adding value to research in educational institutions. It not only highlighted the importance of higher educational institutions/ universities to take prompt and appropriate initiatives in this direction, but has given further direction for planning ICT strategies in which the role of higher educational institutions in India is going to be very crucial. It emphasized that the Indian human resource has great learning capabilities with a core competence in technology along with the spirit of entrepreneurship and competitiveness. It strongly advocated the development of human resource cadre and the role of higher educational Institutions that will be the foundation of the technological advancement in the country. This prompted Government of India to take a major ICT initiative to lay down the ICT policy for whole of the country, which is reflected in the planning and implementation by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) at various levels particularly through higher educational institutions/ universities of the country. At the national level, it is being implemented IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 45 vigorously in the form of e-governance and is being coordinated by National Informatics Centers (NIC) throughout the country. University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education, Department of Science & Technology (DST), and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) are also encouraging higher education Institutions and Universities in this direction. Latest telecommunication policy (Tandon 2002) is quite consistent with the initiatives mentioned above. In Jan. 2009, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Government of India, gave its approval for a new scheme by the name of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) submitted by the MHRD, Govt. of India, for the 11th Five Year Plan. This mission has been envisaged to leverage the potential of ICT, in providing high quality personalized and interactive knowledge modules for all the learners in higher education institutions in 'any time any where mode'. Further, it has to ensure on-line access to all the ICT resources viz. e- contents, the connectivity and virtual laboratories, to 18,000 colleges and all the universities of the country and thus to bridge the digital divide. There has been another body, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), in the field of ICT, dealing with the ICT infrastructure, research & development and trade since 1988. According to recent report of NASSCOM (Strategic Review-2009), it has emphasized the availability of skilled and employable talent. In order to achieve this concentrated effort to enhance talent availability and quality are needed from all the concerned sections namely the government academia and the industry. The role of academia is supposed to be very critical in setting up research laboratories. Specific initiatives like faculty development program, upgrading the curriculum, launching internship program and academia- industry collaboration can help to bridge the gap towards the development of talent. NASSCOM is particularly interested in the ICT- business process outsourcing (ICT-BPO) industry in India, which has become a grown economy of the country. Further, this body is a partner with the government of India and various state governments of the country. It has also played a crucial role in the formulation of ICT policies which endeavors to narrow down the digital divide in the country and enables all citizens to enjoy the benefits of ICT. At the international level, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO (2007- 08) has also prepared a document for Asia– Pacific countries, for the implementation of ICT programs through the higher educational institutions. Various ICT strategies of driving the higher education towards excellence in ICT is described in the above document, in support of the core areas of higher education. i.e., learning, teaching, research and training programs. All these innovative ideas could propagate through the concept of diffusion and adoption. It seems that adoption of the latest information and communication technology is making all the difference particularly in the universities. During the last two decades there has been several attempts to understand information technology diffusion. At the empirical level, the concept of diffusion was reviewed by Fichman in 1992. He has dwelled upon innovation diffusion theory, in particular, how to improve technology assessment, adoption and implementation. A framework was discussed in terms of classical diffusion adopted mainly by individuals and organizations alongwith achieving critical mass beyond which the innovation is universally adopted. A lot of scientific work exists on the diffusion of innovation and its adoption given by Attewell (1992), Rogers (1995), Farquhar & Surry (1994), Anderson et al (1998) and Wilson et al (2000). Attewell (1992) put the work on diffusion in two categories a) Adoption studies and b) Macro diffusion studies. The former is primarily concerned with understanding of innovations and its assimilation during a time of adoption. The latter is concerned with characterizing the rate a pattern of adoption of technology. This type of work was understood in terms of mathematical models of the diffusion process by Mahajan & Peterson (1985) and Mahajan et al. (1990). Innovation diffusion has also been understood in terms of mathematical approaches given by Karmeshu and Pathria (1980), Lal et al (1988), Karmeshu et al (1992) and by Karmeshu and Jain (1995). In recent years, a very significant work on 'Global Diffusion of the Internet' by Wolcott and Goodman (2003) appeared in Indian context. Walcott and Goodman (2003), presented a vision of new India as a measure of IT power, fully integrated with a global economy. The key to this vision was obviously the internet for enabling the technology based changes. They provided an analytical framework which broadly consisted of dimensions and determinants. Dimensions contained six variables namely organizational infrastructure, geographic dispersion, connectivity infrastructure, pervasiveness, sectoral absorption and sophistication of use. These variables are supposed to capture the state of internet within a country at a given point of time. Each of these variables was judged at five different levels. Determinants represent various factors, to understand the observation of the "state". While discussing the IT action plan, they further elaborated on distinctive features of the internet in India, IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 46 for a continued dynamic growth, in three steps (a) The government policy (b) The nature of relationship between the government, the state owned telecommunications service providers and private sectors as a critical variable. (c) The policy makers try to strike a balance between the interest of the society and those of individuals. Later, this framework has been applied to understand the initiative, status and performance in Ghana by Foster, et al (2004) in Togo by Bernstien and Goodman (2005) and in Kenya by Ochara et al (2008). Such a comprehensive analysis was carried out in a broader context at the national level for different countries. In view of the above initiatives from different quarters, most of the universities and higher educational institutions have started adopting the latest technology, focusing on the development of the skilled human resource, as part of its responsibility, in the field of ICT, encompassing all the disciplines, particularly in technical fields, productively and constructively. Most of the universities are undertaking the job of training the technical personnel's in the respective specializations or in the area of its excellence. These programs have been going on for the last almost one decade. Almost after a decade, one may wonder how efficient the system, particularly the university/higher educational institutions has become. Initiatives to have an assessment of ICT infrastructure, its utilization and overall performance and efficiency, of any higher educational institution, are quite essential, in identifying, planning and achieving the ICT strategies at the respective levels. Essentially, this has formed the basis of motivation to undertake the study of the ICT initiatives, status and its academic performance in various universities in the western Himalayan region of the country and then to analyze, using simple statistical methods, the ICT based academic/ technological status and performance of different universities, and assess in a comparative manner, their vision, planning, initiative, status activities and impact. The University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, took steps to establish an autonomous institution, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), for comprehensive assessment of various universities and to place them according to certain ranking. NAAC (2007) has developed a framework for higher education based on the promotion and sustenance of quality of teachinglearning, research and training programs. Their most significant core value is quest for excellence/ innovations using the latest technological trends and fostering global competence among students. They have devised seven assessment criteria namely, curricular, teaching- learning, research & application, innovative, infrastructure, student support and leadership/governance, aspects, to capture the micro- level quality indicators by using differential weightages. Some other national agencies TOI group 2007, also tried to assess, independently, various agriculture, horticulture and technical institutions. These recommendations and respective gradations are available at the national level. This information may be utilized for comparison with the findings of this paper in the context of ICT. Recently Mokhtar et al (2007), presented the state of academic computing in Malaysian colleges in which they tired to answer the central questions regarding indicators of assessments and performance of academic computing. They adopted the value chain concept originally proposed by Porter (1985), in connection with some business idea, to describe the relationship between academic ICT activities. This framework consisted of two groups namely primary activities and support activities. Primary activities included use of ICT in learning, teaching, research and training as the core service area and then for enhancing the value in each. It further included remote access to data, faster and more precise data processing, simulation of complex systems, collaboration between research groups. The support activities were linked with primary activities to improve the effectiveness/ efficiency and contain ICT vision, policies and standards, ICT infrastructure, ICT services. Backer and Mohamed (2008) elaborated on the benefits of ICT in teaching. These studies have certain limitation keeping same immediate objectives in mind, in that country. However, the analysis presented by Mokhtar et al and Bakar & Mohamed was academic in nature, carried out for colleges only and not for universities and higher educational institutions of training and research. We plan to undertake this work for universities of western Himalayan region in India. This region is typically a difficult terrain in which people have to really struggle for livelihood, health and education. It is in this context the government of India is paying special attention to alleviate the level of education using the full potential of ICT, in this region. In view of this, a little different framework for the universities of this region is required. A framework will be developed for assessing the initiative, status and performance of different universities. Initiative will imply vision and planning of the ICT programs in the universities. ICT status would mean complete ICT infrastructure including local area network facility, internet network security, mobile computing access, system application software, website and information system, teaching display technologies, ICT technical staff, ICT budget allocation, e- library, e- placement/ alumni portal. ICT performance will be related with various IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 47 activities based on ICT infrastructure. It would include teaching; learning and ICT based research at the conventional level and at the advanced level in the form of ICT training programs. This performance is going to have an impact of the ICT programs, functional in the universities, in the form of actual placements of the outgoing students, research publications and actual problem solving. This outline of the framework will be discussed explicitly in the next section. The objective of this study is to undertake the task of assessment regarding initiative, utilization of ICT resources, its performance and impact in these higher educational institutions/ universities. In order to achieve this, an overall status report is prepared using the framework of this paper. A questionnaire was prepared accordingly, related to various ingredients of ICT, initiative, status and performance. Then a survey was conducted in different universities located in the western Himalayan region, as per the questionnaire. The analysis and comparison of the initiative, status and performance through performance indicators in respective universities has been carried out. The corresponding benchmarking is expected to identify the future ICT strategies in order to improve their status as well as the product in the form of professionally skilled human resource in the field of ICT. The reference period of the study has been the year 2009. The paper is organized in six sections. After the introduction in section 1, the basic framework will be presented in section 2. The methodology, preparation of questionnaire, a survey and analytic procedure will be given in section 3. Section 4 will deal with the results obtained from the analysis of the primary data. Summary and conclusions are given in Section 5. Future strategies are discussed in the final Section. technological performance and the related activities. With these it should be possible to assess and judge the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of an institution in terms of ICT performance to have the possible projection to finally decide about the future strategies. In deciding the basic framework, the question is what are the ICT ingredients/ components and Performance Indicators for assessing the ICT initiative, status and their performance at different levels. The basic ingredients of ICT are clearly classified among four tiers, containing 117 questions divided in 18 groups, A-R. These groups, in their respective tier, depict different academic components of ICT and the related activities. Schematic representation of four tier framework is given in Fig. 1. Fig. 1: Four Tier framework. Each box contains the main ICT component along with the number of questions in it 2. Basic Framework Before discussing the methodology it seems proper to have a framework on the basis of which the study of ICT initiative, status, performance and impact in the field of ICT in different universities and higher technical institution, is carried out. The important building blocks are supposed to be Performance Indicators (PI). One group of authors (Riley and Nuttall 1994) suggests that Performance Indicators must be something quantitative, whereas the other group takes a wider view in favour of qualitative and descriptive statement for PI. The latter view is adopted by International Standards Organisation (1998). Both these measures, quantitative as well as qualitative, will be used here that will allow us to have a complete view of richness and diversity of the ICT based academic/ The basis of formulating this framework has been the recommendations contained in the documents available at the national and international level, as mentioned in the introduction. This framework is supposed to be most suited to the university and higher educational institutions which are mainly the centre of research where knowledge is created. In each group one of the questions, the last one, is related to the performance. All these performance related questions, are placed in another group, S. These groups, alongwith the Performance Indicator in each, are presented in Table I: Table I: Various Groups of ICT Components in an Institution. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 48 Simple standard statistical tools were used to analyse the data groupwise to find the Weighted Mean, Standard Deviation and Coefficient of Variation (CV) keeping in mind the weight of respective levels. The CV indicates the variation around its weighted mean in the series, the lesser is the CV, more consistent and stable is the series. However, the weighted mean was found to be a better measure as compared to CV, to understand the trend in a particular group. The use of median was another alternative but in view of the fact that the data was not having extreme variation and due to the limitation of the median method, weighted mean was logically preferred. Another statistical quantity 'Coefficient of Correlation' among various groups was also calculated which has also been used to ascertain the proper groupings in the questionnaire. A simple tabular analysis was carried out to find out the results. In view of the fact that queries were replied on five point scale with the respective weight from one to five, firstly weighted mean of each group was calculated followed by overall mean in the respective tier. The weighted mean was found by picking up the proper value of the response in a particular level on the five point scale (say L1 to L5). Then dividing it by the total value of the levels, i.e. sum of 1 to 5, multiplied by the number of questions in the group. This is repeated for all the groups for six universities of the region. These are presented in Table II. The Pearson's Coefficient of Correlation of each group with the Performance Indicator group is given in the last column of the Table II. 3. Methodology The universities located in the western Himalayan region imply those spreading over the state of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. There are mainly 7 universities located in the western Himalayan region of India, out of which 6 universities have been selected purposely. Five universities belong to the state or the central government, and one is a private university but deemed university approved by the University Grants Commission under the aegis of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. These are Himachal Pradesh University (Shimla), Y.S. Parmar Horticulture University (Solan), C.S.K. Agriculture University (Palampur), National Institute of Technology (Hamirpur), Jammu University (Jammu) belonging to the government and J.P. University (Solan) as deemed university. In order to have the information regarding ICT initiative, status and performance in the universities of this region, the questionnaire was given to the concerned head of the department of ICT/ IT/ Computer Science in the institution/ universities personally. The concerned head was requested to provide information/ feed back as per the questionnaire. Thus the information was gathered personally by the authors. In the structured questionnaire, the feedback to various queries were on five point scale arranged in a particular order that revealed the natural flow from the lowest level to the highest level, in increasing order of sophistication. That is why it was thought reasonable to give a weightage of 1 to 5 respectively to each level in increasing order. Table II: Weighted Mean and Pearson's Correlation Coefficients of various groups with Group R IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 49 4. Results and Discussions: The weighted mean for Tier I, vision, initiative and planning, for different universities has been presented in Fig.2, which depicts a comparative view among the universities. Status of ICT Vision, Initiative and Planning among different Universities(TIER I) 0.35 0.30 Weighted Mean 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Status of Universties 0.19 0.31 0.24 0.23 JPU, Solan N.I.T, Hamirpur C.S.K.U, Palampur JU, Jammu Y.S.P.U, Nauni H.P.U, Shimla 0.29 0.30 Fig.2 Tier I. This diagram shows that there is not much difference corresponding to the vision and planning, particularly in the first three universities i.e. JP University, NIT and H.P.University. At the level of vision, initiative and planning all the universities thought big with a minor difference. Standard deviation and the coefficient of variation were also calculated. A range of coefficient of variation (%) was found to be 14.54%, 15.13%, 18.04%, 24.05, 32.66% and 39.44% respectively for H.P.University, J.P.University, NIT, Hamirpur, Nauni University, Jammu University and Palampur University. It reveals that first three universities are having more consistency in ICT vision, initiative and planning than the later three universities. Because for the same vision, the ICT initiatives and planning were at different levels. Further, the level of vision also differed from one university to another. The overall weighted mean of all the different groups related to Tier II which mainly deals with overall ICT infrastructure among different universities in the region, has been presented in Fig. 3. Status ICT Infrastructure among different Universities (TIER II) 0.35 0.30 Weighted Mean 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Status of Universties 0.10 0.24 0.20 0.17 0.18 From this diagram, it may be seen that NIT Hamirpur is having the largest ICT infrastructure followed by J.P. University, Jammu University, H.P.University, Nauni University and Palampur University. This difference may be mainly attributed to advanced ICT facilities available in NIT, Hamirpur like better Local Area Network (LAN) with internet facilities, video-conferencing facility available with each faculty, Mobile (Wi-Fi) computing facility, IP telephony and assured access to all the digital tools/ resources on the campus. These facilities are also available in the hostels and faculty accommodation as well, along with an effective web site and information system. In this respect NIT Hamirpur has an edge over other universities. Other contributing factors are the effectiveness of ICT training progammes, organized for the faculty, students and professionals as the drive for human resource development programs. Finally, the placement of professionals in reputed establishments adds much more weightage in this direction. This figure further shows that the difference between Jammu University and Himachal Pradesh University is very little. It is particularly because of the fact that Jammu University is having higher internet bandwidth, better mobile computing facilities alongwith e-library as compared to those available in Himachal Pradesh University. Tier III, is concerned with the main ICT activities which can be further divided into primary activities of teaching and learning and advanced activities like sophisticated training & research using ICT for developing professional skills. These are displayed in fig 4. Status of ICT based Teaching/Learning/Reseach/Training among differnt universities (TIER III) 0.30 0.25 0.25 Weighted Mean 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Status of Universties 0.14 0.22 0.17 0.13 0.15 JPU, Solan N.I.T, Hamirpur C.S.K.U, Palampur JU, Jammu Y.S.P.U, Nauni H.P.U, Shimla 0.30 JPU, Solan N.I.T, Hamirpur C.S.K.U, Palampur JU, Jammu Y.S.P.U, Nauni H.P.U, Shimla Fig.4 Tier III. Fig. 3. Tier II This category deals with various academic activities. Teaching and learning using ICT based tools is one of the effective approaches of procuring knowledge. Researches using e-journals and the material available on the internet have become the lifeline of any good research activity. These ICT tools have provided the academic community a more versatile powered instrument. Further, awareness and training programs at the advanced level to produce professionally skilled technological human resource have IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 50 become more and more effective using these ICT tools. In this respect, NIT Hamirpur has established superiority over others in this category also, followed by J.P.University, Jammu University and H.P.University etc. ICT Impact Status(Placement/Research) 0.35 0.30 Weighted Mean 0.25 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Universities 0.17 0.23 0.15 0.22 0.30 0.32 JPU, Solan N.I.T, Hamirpur C.S.K.U, Palampur JU, Jammu Y.S.P.U, Nauni H.P.U, Shimla Fig. 6. Correlation with performance Indicators. Fig. 5. Tier IV Tier IV of the framework exhibits the impact of universities at the local (societal) level, at the national and international level as well. The impact is reflected mainly through two components. One is outstanding research supported with patents for the fruitful activities and for the benefit of mankind. Another is the placement of outgoing students trained in professional courses, to reputed universities, institutes, industries and other organizations. The impact factor has been given in Fig.5, which reveals that NIT Hamirpur is again having an edge over other universities in the western Himalayan region of India, followed by J.P.University, Jammu University and Himachal Pradesh University. The main reason for this variation is the value addition through research, particularly supported by the advanced ICT infrastructure. Further, large number of good research publications per year, along with successful collaborative research work also becomes an important factor for the superiority of one university over the other. In addition, actual placement contributes the most to Tier IV in the form of linkages of the professionals with industries. Towards the end, it was thought reasonable to have Pearson's Coefficient of Correlation (CC) of different groups with the group S depicting the Performance Indicators. These Correlation Coefficients have been given in Table II and displayed in Fig. 6. 1.00 0.90 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 0.93 0.70 0.60 0.70 0.93 0.92 0.77 0.79 0.71 0.63 0.38 0.95 0.91 0.80 0.64 0.60 0.49 On its perusal, the CCs are found to vary between 0.38 and 0.95. Its value, >90, was found for five groups. These groups are E (LAN), I (Website and Information System), K (ICT Staff), P (ICT based Research) and Q (ICT training programs). It speaks for the obvious that the advanced internet facility used in research and training programs has a better correlation with the performance of an institution. This is found quite consistent with the analysis presented above. The next five groups having CCs between 0.70- 0.89, are found to be due to D (ICT Infrastructure), J (Teaching Display Technologies), L (ICT Budget Allocation), M (e-Library) and N (Alumni portal and placement). There is another set of five groups having CCs between 0.6-0.69, which is found just acceptable. These are related with ICT vision, initiative, internet & network security, mobile computing facility and impact of ICT. The remaining three groups having correlations below 0.60 are not acceptable due to inadequate planning in ICT based teaching programs. 5. Summary and Conclusion In this study we have presented an assessment from the primary data gathered as feedback to a questionnaire divided into 18 different relevant groups in respect of ICT activities starting from vision, initiative, planning, implementation, ICT infrastructure, to the performance/ success of various ICT initiatives in six universities in the western Himalayan region. Performance Indicator of each of the groups was identified that was utilized to gauge the success of ICT initiatives at different stages of the framework. The vision and planning covered in Tier I are not enough if these are not supported with the proper initiative by a visionary at the highest level in the university system with full support from the government along with a small but dynamic team involved with it. It may be emphasized that a good academic curriculum at the teaching level and better faculty are the key factors which are most essential to impart the latest in the field of ICT. It further requires equally good infrastructure (Tier II) hardware, software and fast access to the internet in the ICT laboratory. After all the universities are meant (Tier III) to create knowledge and the professionally skilled dedicated manpower trained not at the local level but at the international level. Professional spirit with dedication of a person is further gauged with a scale on how much busy Coeff of Correlation 0.48 Group's Fig.6 Perf ormance Indicator Group A group G Group M Group B group H Group N Group C Group I Group O group D group J Group P group E Group K Group Q Group F group L Group R IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 51 his academic schedule remains for understanding and for problem solving. The better performance always results in sound impact (Tier IV) at the national and international level in terms of outstanding research publications and actual placements. It may be concluded from the analysis of all the components of the four- tier framework that NIT Hamirpur has a clear- cut superiority over the other universities in this region, due to the sound vision, excellent ICT infrastructure and efficient ICT based activities and fast adoption of innovation in the field of ICT, whose impact became known at the national and international level. The other Universities should follow the live example of NIT Hamirpur. Finally, it is the performance in each of the groups that really matters. The correlation of Performance Indicators (group S) with all the other eighteen groups echoes the same. These correlation coefficients further provided the strength to the conceptualization of groups presented in the questionnaire used in this work. Our findings about the overall ICT status is on the basis of performance and impact do match with the reported ranking given to universities by NAAC and other agencies. This finding is quite interesting which proclaims that overall progress shown by any of the universities is mainly due to the respective progress through initiative, planning, infrastructure and performance in the field of ICT. One could not think of scoring better ranking at the national or international level without the proper development in ICT which has become synonym with the progress of the university. They must plan with determination, of removing the sufferings of humanity using the earned knowledge to fulfill the objectives of `Transforming the Society' as envisaged in the Kothari Commission report of 1966 and the Technology Vision 2020 document prepared by TIFAC for India Different courses in the form of e-content inclusive of video, in Indian universities are made available as freeware similar to those of MIT open courseware, as envisioned by NMEICT. It will have an effective long term sustainable impact on society by way of advance ICT enabled education and empowerment of people in the western Himalayan region of the country. Acknowledgments Authors express their sincere thanks to Dr. S.P. Saraswat, Agro-Economic centre, H.P.University, Shimla, for very fruitful discussion during data analysis. References [1] A. R. Bakar & Shamsiah Mohamed. "Teaching using Information and Communication Technology: Do Trainee Teachers have the Confidence?" International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, Vol 4, No.1, (2008), 374 [2] T. Anderson, S. Vernhagen. et al., "Faculty Adoption of Teaching and Learning Technologies : Contrasting Earlier Adopters and Mainstream Faculty." The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 28 (1998), pp. 71-98. [3] P, Attewell, "Technology Diffusion and Organisation Learning: The Case of Business Computing." Organisation Science, 3, (1992), pp 1-19. [4] A. Berstein, and A.E. Goodman, " Global Diffusion of the Internet VI, The Internet in Togo" Communication of the Association for Information Systems, 15, 2005,pp 371-392). [5] J.D. Farquhar, & D.W Surry., Adoption Analysis: An Additional Tool for Instruction Developers. Educational and Training Technology 31, pp. 19-25(1994). [6] G.R. Fichman, Information Technology Diffusion: A Review of Empirical Research, Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS), December, Dallas, 195-206 (1992). [7] R.G. Fichman, "The Diffusion and Assimilation of Information Technology Innovations in Framing the Domains of IT Management: Projecting the Future Through the Past", Robert Z., editor, Pinnaflex Publishing (2000) [8] W. Foster, S.E Goodman, E Osiakwan, and A.Bernstein, "Global Diffusion of the Internet IV: The Internet in Ghana", Communication of the association for Information Systems, 2004, Vol 13, 654-681. [9] International Standards Organisation. ISO 11620: Information and Documentation- Library Performance indicator. (International Standards Organisation, Geneva), 1998 6. Future Strategies The pattern revealed in this paper in respect of initiative, status and performance of different universities in the targeted area of the country points towards future strategies as follows: Although ICT initiatives in different universities are quite encouraging, its extension must be envisaged in all higher educational institutions of the country. It must include the advanced training programs to prepare professionally skilled manpower using ICT for enhancing the core competence of scientists in the field of ICT and making these programs more meaningful. These skilled professionals should function as nucleus to further extend such programs to create more skilled human resource. IJCSI International Journal of Computer Science Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2, 2009 52 [10] A.P.J Kalam,.& V .Rajan, India 2020– A Vision for the New Millennium (Penguin Books India ), 1998. [11]Karmeshu & R.K. Pathria, , Stochastic Evolution of a Nonlinear Model of Diffusion of Information, Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 7, pp-59-71. 1980 [12]Karmeshu, C.L. Sharma, and V.P. Jain, Nonlinear Stochastic Models of Innovation Diffusion with Multiple Adoption Levels, 51, 1992, pp 229-241 [13] L.S Kothari, Kothari Commission Report (Government of India), 1966 [14] Kulik & Kulik Effectiveness of Computer-based Instruction: An Updated Analysis, Computer in Human Behavior, 7, 7594. 1991 [15] V.B. Lal, Karmeshu & S. Kaicker, Modeling Innovations, Diffusions with Distributed Time-lag, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier Science, 34, 1988, pp.34-113. [16] V. Mahajan, & R. Peterson, Models for Innovation Diffusion, Braverly Hills, C.A Sage Publications. 1985 [17] V. Mahajan, E. Muller, and F.M. Bass, New Product Diffusion Models in Marketing: A Review and Directions for Research, Journals of Marketing, 54, 1990, pp.1-26 [18] S.A. Mokhtar, R.A Alias, and A.A Rahman,., "Academic Computing at Malaysian Colleges", J. Education and Development Using ICT 3, 2007, 312 [19]MIT open courseware http://ocw.mit.edu/ OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm (Accessed on 12/08/2009) [20]National Assessment & Accreditation Council, New Methodology of Assessment & Accreditation. 2007 [21] NASSCOM Strategic Review, 2009. [22] N.M. Ochara, J.P.V. Belle, and I. Brown, Global Diffusion of the Internet XIII: Internet Diffusion in Kenya and its Determinants- A Longitudinal Analysis. 23, 2008,pp.123150. [23] M.E Porter, Competitive Advantage (Free Press, New York), 1985 [24] K.A Riley, and D.L. Nutall., Edited. Measuring Quality: Education Indicators- United Kingdom and International Perspectives. (The Falmers Press, London) pp.17-40. 1994 [25]P. Resta,. (Ed.), Information and Communication Technologies in Teacher Education, A Planning Guide.(UNESCO, Paris), 2002 [26] E. Roger, Diffusion of Innovations, New York, The Free Press, 1995 [27] L.,Roy, & D. Raitt,., The Impact of IT on Indigenous Peoples, The Electronic Library, 21, 411-13, 2003 [28] S. Sadagopan, "Historical Perspective in IT In India- A status report, April 24,1998. http://www.allindia.com/infotechtechdesk/art1a.htm, 1998 [29]SEUSISS PROJECT., "Survey of European Universities Skills in ICT of Students and staff - Final Report".(Accessed on 08/05/09, from http:// www.intermedia.uib.no/seusiss/) 2003 [30]Tadon.S, ICT Country Status Report: India, 2002. ww.tc.apii.net/~apt2003/India/ Mystatus.htm (Accessed on 02nd November 2009) [31]UNESCO, ICT Policies of Asia Pacific, 2007-08. [32] W. Foster, S.E. Goodman, , E. Osiakwan, and A. Bernstein, "Global Diffusion of the Internet VI, The Internet in Togo", Communication of the Association for Information Systems, 15, 2005, pp 371-392. [33] B.L. Wilson, L.Sherry et al, "Adoption of Learning Technologies in Schools and Universities" Handbook on information technologies for education and training. H.H.Adelsberger, B.Collis and J.M.Pawlowski. New York, Springer- verlag. 2000 [34] P.Wolcott, and S,E. Goodman, , "Global Diffusion of the Internet-I: India: Is the Elephant Learning to Dance?", Communications of Association for the Information Systems 113, 2003, pp 560-646 Dhirendra Sharma is pursuing his Ph.D from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India. He has obtained his MBA from Maastricht School of Management, Maasticht, Netherlands, M.S from BITS, Palani, India and Masters in Physics from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, India. His areas of interest are ICT in Educational Institutes, computer networking (wired and wireless), Sensor Networks, and Open source web content management. He played a very important role in the Design and Implementation of Campus Wide Optical Fibre Network backbone of Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. He is having more than 10 years of teaching experience in addition to his 5 years in IT Industry. Dr. Vikram Singh is Ph.D in Computer Science from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India. Presently he is working as Professor and Head in the Department of Computer Science & Engg and Dean Faulty of Engineering, Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa – 125055.Haryana, (India), since 2004 onwards. Before this he was working with Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. His areas of research are Computer Networks, E-Governance, Simulation tools, etc. He is having more than 17 years of teaching/research experience and has written two books and having more than 30 publications in international and national journals/conference proceedings.


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When preparing to launch any new business, owners have a million things to do in preparation for the big day. Of course, if constructing a new building or even renovating an old one, the actual facility is likely to remain top of mind even up until opening.
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[Here's part three of Dan's essay on the ills facing American newspapers; you can catch up on the first two parts here. His conclusion runs tomorrow. —Josh]
If we believe our newsrooms have value, then the greatest prizes are the reporters who know and care about their beats. In 2004, not long after I stepped down as editor of washingtonpost.com, I wrote two essays in the Online Journalism Review about my hopes for online newspapers, my frustration at the pace of change and my belief that beat reporters could be our secret weapon online. I argued then — and I still believe now — that if we can better exploit and market the deep, full-bodied understanding that beat reporters have of their areas of expertise, we hugely increase our value proposition to our readers. So we should celebrate our beat reporters, and take advantage of online opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge.
Knowledgeable beat reporters aren't just stenographers, they are translators, educators, referees and analysts. If we've got people in our newsroom who really understand how a certain city or county works, or who are experts in certain policy areas, they should be sharing and showcasing their expertise in live discussions and blogs; should be answering reader questions and composing FAQs, should be on Facebook and Twitter, should be publishing and allowing readers to contribute to their beat notes, and should be writing and updating primers on key players and key issues. And much of the material they create for online should end up in the paper as well — quite possibly instead of the dry incremental news stories they currently produce. They should essentially become the anchor for a community of people who share an interest in that beat. And by making it clear that our beat reporters are not faceless drones, but knowledgeable and accessible figures, we can reconnect with readers who may otherwise decide they may as well go somewhere else for their news.
A renewed emphasis on beat reporting would be good for our newsgathering efforts overall, as well. It would remind us of the value of keeping experienced, knowledgeable, well-sourced journalists covering the same communities or topics over time; and it might encourage us to revisit our beat structures for the new era, as well as create mini-beats for urgent topics that we otherwise only cover reactively.
Tomorrow: Dan's five-point plan for reconnecting with readers.
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Home » News » Public Safety
Applicants for gun licenses must fill out form, await background check
Assistant Safety Commissioner Earl Sweeney said police typically issue the pistol licenses, but some towns designate others to issue them.
"Each town keeps their own records, and neither the Department of Safety or any other state agency as far as I know has any idea who does or does not have a license or how many are issued in a particular town or city or statewide," Sweeney said in an email.
The names of people issued licenses are exempt from the state's right-to-know law "because the Legislature has decided that it is not good public policy for the criminal element to possibly know who might own a gun," Sweeney said.
In New Hampshire, people are not required to have a license to carry a concealed pistol or revolver in their home or place of business, "so one is not necessary if you simply want to protect yourself against a potential home invasion," Sweeney said.
A license also isn't required to carry a concealed but unloaded firearm in public or in a vehicle, or to carry a loaded pistol or revolver on the street or in a public building if the weapon is visible and is not covered by an outer garment, except in a courthouse or on the property of a school, or in any private business that has banned firearms on their property.
The state law governing the licenses states the applicant must be "a suitable person," which Sweeney said means "a lot is left to the discretion of the local official as when a person would not be a 'suitable person' and there is no specific test written into the law to help them determine this."
He said convicted felons aren't allowed to possess deadly weapons, so they can't receive a license.
"Other typical reasons for denial would be that the applicant has a criminal record of convictions for violent offenses, has been involuntarily committed to a mental institution for treatment of a diagnosable mental illness that involved dangerousness, is under indictment and awaiting trial for a felony, is known to be mentally ill or incompetent, has made statements threatening people in the community, is under a domestic violence protective order or a bail order from a judge not to possess firearms, or has carelessly and inappropriately brandished or mishandled a firearm in a way that would demonstrate that they would pose a danger to themselves or others," Sweeney said in an email.
"None of these reasons are specifically mentioned in the law, but they are typical of instances where police chiefs have concluded that someone was not a 'suitable person.' The police in a specific city or town should not issue a license to someone who is not a resident of their community," Sweeney said.
Manchester police conduct a criminal background check and a local history check on each applicant, placing that information in a packet for a detective to review. An applicant, for instance, can be disqualified for such things as a person's mental health history, police Capt. Nick Willard said.
Applicants fill out a questionnaire and pay a $10 fee. The licensing authority has 14 days to grant the license or state in writing why the application was rejected.
In 2012, 35 of 1,466 applicants were denied a license. Among those rejected were three people charged with a criminal offense for falsifying their application or misrepresenting information.
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Your Rating:
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16 total votes
#12 lowest rated 2600 miscellaneous game (#138 on 2600, #6870 overall)
66.67% of 9 total votes
#15 easiest 2600 miscellaneous game (#97 on 2600, #3940 overall)
2 total votes
39% of 23 total votes
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"great premise"
Haunting book that stays with me even now. Great idea for a plot!
"A genuine Bargain"
In simple terms this is a reincarnation tale of one part the Time Travelers wife and one part Groundhog's Day but still manages to go it's own way. It extends the fantasy of IF "I knew then what I know now" AND had the opportunity to relive your life several times.
A very satisfying book. The narrator is good with the lead character if a little weak with some of the female voices but not enough to get in the way of the tale.
I'd picked this one up in an earlier sale and it is still priced pretty reasonably. A real bargain. Enjoy, I suspect I will listen to this one again.
"I'll replay this one!"
This story about a man who keeps repeating 25 years of his life between college and his death from a heart attack at age 43 is a well-considered reflection on what that experience would be like. It engaged me from the beginning and moved me to tears several times before the end. For some time afterward I found myself from time to time reflecting on some of the ideas in the story and even considering how I might apply them in my own life.
The book isn't perfect. I found some, perhaps most, of the sex scenes gratuitous, and the writing at times seemed repetitive. The narrator wasn't as convincing on the female voices as I would have liked. Relatively minor quibbles though, because overall this is one story I look forward to replaying.
"Interesting 3.5 read"
How would you live your life if you could start it over again?
Replay certainly makes you think about the choices we all make, and the events that form hinges in our lives. If we had our time again, would things be better, would we make smarter choices, or would things just be different, would we just value and cherish what we have with more love and care? Did the author of Time Travellers wife read this - I think so.........Its an interesting read, and should certainly keep you engaged for a long journey.
"Good Story Poor Voice"
This is a very good story. That suffers from poor narration. It's better told or read by someone with more voice talent. Overtime that distracted from the book.
"Not as much fun as I thought it would be"
Replay starts with an interesting concept, but the execution is just okay. The book needed an editor--not for the writing, which was good enough to keep me relatively entertained, but for the narration: some of the pronunciation of words was completely wrong. Someone wears a "ma-DRAS" skirt, another woman is a "SO-see-a-lite," and I had to completely hoot when I hear Poughkeepsie pronounced "POOH-KEEP-see." Errors like made the whole thing seem less professional. I liked the narrator's voice well enough--earnest and young--but why didn't someone help him with this sort of thing? I also thought the sex scenes intrusive, but that's a personal preference.
"Time Travel done well"
I rarely listen to anything twice, but I might this one.
There were many moments. It's like Groundhog's day, but for 25 years.
The re-meeting of his wife...
I like how the reflection of events and how the character's learn what's truly was meaningful in each of their lives.
If you like time travel books, this is worth your time. Moves along well, good narration and makes you think. Well done.
"Much better than I had expected!"
I read all the reviews before I downloaded this one, and I expected a good listen, but it turned out much better than I had expected. I was initially delighed when I heard that familiar voice that I associated with "Old Man's War." After a kind of slow start, the story grabbed me and I fell in love with the characters. The story really tugs at your heart and the love and loss and sadness was profound. I'd recommend this to anyone! Of course some of the younger listeners might not relate to some of the events, since the periods covered are from 1963 to 1988, but even if you were born after 1988, I think you would still enjoy the book. The humanity of it is classic. I suspect that the guy who wrote that one bad review complaining about placing bets and making money with knowledge of the future never got past the first couple of chapters. There is so much more to this book than that.
"Awesome story, but difficult to listen to"
The premise and ultimate theme of this novel are profound. I found myself making excuses to get in the car and listen to more.
My only gripe is the narration. The narrator is outstanding in other contexts. But in this one, I felt like he was barely suppressing a laugh the entire time, like the book was a comedy. I found this to be distracting in light of the profound sadness and sense of loss that the author was trying to convey.
"Will never think of time the same way again"
First, I want to thank Stephen King. Had he not written such a brilliant book ("11-22-63"), I would not have sought out other time-themed books and found this one.
Up until "Replay" I believed that Stephen King's book was the best treatment of time "travel" I had red/listened to and one of the best audio books I had enjoyed overall. Now, Ken Grimwod's "Replay" is right up there with Mr. King.
At first, the book seems almost like the pattern King might have used for his book. I won't offer any spoilers here, but if you have read "11-22-63" you will know what I mean within the first couple of hours of "Replay." However, Grimwood's take on living in the past is so novel and, in the end, so different, that any resemblance to the King book is quickly forgotten. (Note that "11-22-63" was released 20+ years after "Replay").
Some books are so formulaic that you can see what's coming. Grimwood fools you into thinking that you know what's coming, but then takes you in a completely different direction. After being fooled the first time, just stop guessing and enjoy the ride.
This book is gripping, but not just tension-filled. It's focus isn't always on "what would you do if you could live part of your life over and over" but on what happens to the characters when they do things differently.
It's hard to say more without giving the plot away. What I can say is that it's a great book that I highly recommend.
William Dufris does a very good job as well. His voices don't vary significantly, but he does a fine job of capturing emotions.


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Mount Snow-Haystack
Mountain stats
Lift count : 15 x Chairlifts 1 x Drag-lifts 3 Magic Carpets
Ride area 771acres/37miles
Mount Snow and Haystack are located in the Green Mountain National Forest, and like many of the east coast resorts within easy reach of major towns and cities, the area sees plenty of weekend ski-dwellers. Mount Snow and Haystack are, in fact, two separate resorts that are not, unfortunately, linked by lifts or snow trails. However, they are only a few minutes apart via the regular shuttle bus operating between the two areas. Collectively, the two areas have some 145 trails that are sold as one when you buy a lift pass.
In the main, the whole place forms a cruisy mountain, best suited to intermediates and novices, with some decent-sized runs and interesting terrain features with hits, rollers, flats and trees. Be warned that at weekends and holiday periods, long lift queues do appear.
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Men's Rome Shank Snowboard - 145cm
Length: 145cm; Width: 25.3cm; NoHangUps Rocker: Flat under the bindings for stability. Concave nose & tail for playfulness & jibbing; HotRods:Carbon Single Barrel: Rod of energy in the nose & in the tail. Snap more power through your turns & hits; Skatecore Profiling: Feels like a pair of trucks whe
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