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The Great Promise of Online Learning
March 19, 2013
Short on funds, universities are increasingly converting classes to an online learning format to save money and reduce the cost of college. Proponents claim that technology will increase productivity, reduce achievement gaps and improve access while offering new pathways to educational attainment. However, many educators and policymakers are skeptical about the quality of some online learning curriculum, say William G. Bowen and his coauthors in Education Next.
- There are many types of online learning -- from videotaping lectures and uploading course material and tests to highly sophisticated interactive learning systems with cognitive tutors and multiple feedback loops.
- Higher education students taking at least one online class has risen from less than 10 percent in 2002 to more than 30 percent in 2010.
- Unfortunately, relatively few studies address the quality of online learning and whether the outcomes are comparable with traditional teaching models.
Bowen and his coauthors designed a randomized experiment that drew 605 students at random from a pool of 3,046 students. These New York state college students were randomly assigned to either a hybrid section or a traditional section and asked to complete surveys about their experience.
- Hybrid-format students performed only marginally better than traditional-format students with a pass rate that was 3 percent higher and final exam scores that were 2 percentage points higher.
- Hybrid-format students also reported less enthusiasm for the course, felt they learned less and spent more time outside of class on the course.
The results suggest that student learning outcomes might not change when students attend hybrid-format classes, which means the same outcome can be achieved for less cost. Hybrid models have expensive start-up costs but save an estimated 36 percent to 57 percent of compensation costs over the traditional model.
- While millions of dollars are being invested into the development of online education courses, the evidence from this study shows that there is little evidence that online learning systems improve educational outcomes on a large scale.
- If costs are reduced and research and development continues, the potential for new technology to reduce compensation costs and customize learning is great.
Source: William Bowen et al., "Online Learning in Higher Education," Education Next, Spring 2013.
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Ghost Town (12A)
Four years after he established a beachhead with his Golden Globe for The Office, Ricky Gervais's invasion of America finally seems to be gathering some momentum, with his first Hollywood starring role: the lead in, of all things, a romantic comedy. As if that isn't surprising enough, he comes out of it pretty well.
Gervais plays Bertram Pincus, a successful but misanthropic New York dentist who likes his job because 90 per cent of the people he meets have their mouths shoved full of cotton wool. In hospital for a routine procedure, he dies briefly under anaesthetic; and when he returns, he finds that he can see ghosts: dozens, hundreds of ghosts, thronging the Manhattan streets and – once they realise he can see them – pestering him for attention.
Dead people, it turns out, are just as pushy and annoying as living people: even more annoying, because Bertram is their only means of contact with the material world, their only hope of straightening out whatever business it is that keeps them hanging around, and he can't shove cotton wool in their mouths. The unquiet souls include Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), a slimy businessman who used to live in the apartment underneath Pincus: he wants Bertram to break up his widow's impending marriage to a supposedly gold-digging lawyer; and, having met the widow, Gwen (Téa Leoni), Pincus is only too happy to take the job on. All that stands in the way is the fact that she already has him tabbed as a miserable, self-absorbed, self-loathing bastard. So he embarks on a journey to rediscover his humanity, blah blah blah.
What keeps it from being nauseating is, first, a script (by David Koepp and John Kamps) that turns out to be far more solid than most of the characters. The film's whole eschatology, the picture it presents of the afterlife, is pleasingly consistent and has some original touches: Bertram's complete inability to distinguish the dead from the living, unless somebody walks through them; and, when anybody does walk through a ghost, they sneeze.
More significant is Bertram's realisation of what keeps the dead here: not that they haven't finished with us, but that we haven't finished with them; a discovery that gives the often flippant script a dimension of seriousness.
Meanwhile, the shades of other films hover. The jealous ghost watching as his beloved falls in love with another man is a steal from Steven Spielberg's Always, itself a remake of A Guy Named Joe. The whole storyline – misanthrope jerked into a love of life by supernatural intervention – can be traced back through Groundhog Day to A Christmas Carol. Any sense that it's simply derivative is undercut by a hint of self-consciousness: trying to con Bertram into helping him, Frank says that he's Gwen's guardian angel and pays a sidelong tribute to It's a Wonderful Life: "What, you won't help me earn my wings?"
The scenario is embellished with a generous spattering of gags. Bertram's sociopathic tendencies supply the occasion for most of these: "You don't like crowds?" Gwen asks Bertram. "It's not so much the crowds," he explains, "as the individuals in the crowds."
The second thing that stops you hurling is the acting – particularly that of Gervais, sliding insults out with admirable understatement and anti-timing, his effectiveness heightened by contrast with Kinnear's much sharper, more overtly comic approach. The supporting cast are also good: Kristen Wiig is particularly engaging as the surgeon presiding over Bertram's operation, less interested in her patient than in the question of how dark she should go with the spray-tan. When he finds out, somewhat belatedly, about his flirtation with death, she attempts to mollify him with the reassurance that the anaesthetist doesn't work there any more: "You'll be happy to know that St Victor's operates a very strict three-strikes policy." And Aasif Mandvi is quietly excellent as Bertram's submissive colleague, finally provoked into offering him some spiritual council: "One day, you're going to have to confront the ultimate question: this being a prick – what is it getting you?"
Not everything works. While it's nice to see a romantic comedy leading man who doesn't fit the Hollywood mould, Gervais isn't entirely plausible – it's not so much the shortness or the round face that Bertram admits to, as the scary make-up job (is that hair dyed? Are those his real eyebrows? Who told him eye-liner suited him?). The film may work better on the small screen. And, while Gervais undercuts the occasional sentimental note, there are one or two points where he needs to be able to sound convincingly romantic, and I'm not at all sure he manages it.
There are some absurdities in the plotting, too (not least the idea that Americans would employ an English dentist; have you heard the cruel things they say about our teeth?), and at times you can feel the gags being shoehorned in: at one point, Gwen turns out to own a large, foul-smelling dog, which allows for some decent slapstick but raises the question of where this behemoth has been hidden the rest of the film. While the dog is tethered outside a bar, Bertram, irritated at Frank's continual ghostly presence during what should be a tête-à-tête, persuades Gwen to list all her late husband's faults: it's a funny scene, but hard to see why Gwen doesn't smell a rat, why she buys Bertram's idea that this is useful therapy.
And this ties into the principal problem, which is a lack of emotional coherence. Bertram's romance with Gwen proceeds with inexplicable haste, given his lack of obvious physical or social graces: she seems far too ready to be won over by his sense of humour, to overlook his overpowering weirdness (including the talking to invisible people from time to time), to forgive him for what looks like manipulativeness coupled with possible mental-health issues. His climactic realisation that selfishness has got him nowhere, that he must seek salvation by helping ghosts, seems unnecessarily abrupt, a device rather than a development.
But, with those caveats, it is a warm, clever and often very funny film. On this showing, Gervais's assault on Hollywood looks winnable.
Belfast Telegraph

subset: commoncrawl


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The Turner HouseLarge Print - 2016
From the critics
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Set in Detroit in 2008 as the Great Recession and housing crises looms and in the 1940s when the first Turner moves there from Arkansas as part of the Great Migration, we follow the hopes and dreams of the large Turner family and the house that grounds them to this city.
Wonderful evocation of a city in transition and the toll it takes on those who have invested years in an East Side neighborhood. Cha Cha, the eldest, and his ghost memories got a bit long winded, but the author was able to resolve it in the end. Wonderful character studies in this family of 13 children.
Having read Jeffrey Eugenides' "Middlesex" within the last year, my immediate impulse was to start comparing the two books. While there are similarities - they both deal with multiple generations of families; they both take place in Detroit and deal with the gradual deterioration of the city - there are definite differences. The most obvious surface difference is that the family in "Middlesex" is Greek, while the family in "The Turner House" is African American. Flournoy's book deals mostly with one generation of the Turner family - the children of Francis and Viola Turner. And, of course, the story of Cal in Eugenides' book is unlike just about any other story out there.
While there are thirteen children in the Turner family, the author focuses most of her attention on the oldest, Cha-Cha, and the youngest, Lelah. Most of the other brothers and sisters make appearances in the book, some more than others, but if the story is about the Turner family, I feel there should have been more attention paid to all the members of that family.
On the surface, the "Turner house" in the title refers to the house on Yarrow Street where all the kids grew up. But toward the end of the book, Flournoy makes a comment about what a "Turner house party" entails, and it made me realize that her definition of "Turner house" also encompasses any place where the Turner family are gathered. While the book doesn't completely resolve the issue of what to do with the Yarrow Street house, it's made clear that, wherever and whenever members of the Turner family gather (most likely in Cha-Cha's house), that place is also the "Turner House".
This book touches on a lot of interesting topics--large families (and all the drama that can ensue), the effects of white flight, and addiction are among the biggest topics touched on. It also is populated with interesting people--most notably the parents and oldest and youngest siblings of the Turner family.
I wanted to like the book more than I did. I found it fairly inconsistent in the strength of its delivery. It's one of those books where much of the journey is internal, so there isn't much in terms of action. Some chapters gripped me, and others had me looking ahead to see when the next chapter would be starting up.
I think Flournoy did a good job of capturing life within a big family and touching on the themes of the changes in our country during this last century that affected her characters' lives; the story just needed a little something more to draw me in as deeply as I normally like to go into a book.
"Middlesex" is still my favorite novel about Detroit, but this is now a close second. It features historic interest (particularly of the Great Migration) as well as relatable modern characters.
"The Turner House" is a wonderful family story set against the backdrop of the housing crisis in Detroit.
Cha-Cha, the eldest of 13 children, wrestles with a haint (a ghost) in the beginning of the story, and is told by his father, with utter seriousness, "There ain't no haints in Detroit." The story becomes legend in the family. Years later, the haint starts haunting him again.
Lelah, the youngest, has a gambling problem and gets evicted from her apartment. She tries to help her own daughter and grandson, but might do better if she focuses on herself.
Troy, another one of the younger siblings, thinks he can step up and solve a family dispute, though his solution is fairly sneaky, and probably not completely legal.
The other main focus of the novel is the house on Yarrow Street which has been in the Turner family for over 50 years. Now that Viola, the matriarch of the family, is unable to live there by herself, the 13 children and their families must decides what to do with the Turner House.
There is nothing remarkable about the Detroit family portrayed in this novel, except maybe its notable size (13 children, now all grown)
The old Turner House is the focal point of the story. Viola, the aging matriarch, has had to move in with her son, Cha Cha, and his wife, leaving the family home empty.
Eldest child Cha Cha discusses what to do with the house, and on some level, what to do with their declining mother, while, at the same time, youngest child Lelah is down on her luck, squatting in her mom's house, trying to get back on her feet.
Family history builds through Viola's early years with her husband, Francis, as well as the siblings' memories of childhood, culminating in Cha Cha's quest to face the haint who has been haunting him for decades, Lelah's mission to accept and define herself instead of defining herself through others, and the rest of the family to figure out what to do with the Turner House.
Readers who come from large families will most likely enjoy this story of a regular city family, following it from its beginning to its transition to the next generation.
A fascinating novel about the importance of family and "home" in people's lives, with a nice touch of magical realism.
The Turner family has owned their home on Detroit's East Side for more than 50 years, but their traditionally black, working-class neighbourhood has deteriorated and they now owe more on their mortgage than the building is worth. Focusing on three of the 13 Turner siblings, this engaging family saga traces both family and social history, incorporating flashbacks of their now-deceased father's early years in Detroit after the Great Migration. If you enjoyed the sweep of history found in Ayana Mathis' The Twelve Tribes of Hattie, you'll likely enjoy this engrossing, character-driven debut as well.
Here's a fun read about a big Detroit family with as many stories as individuals.
Well written and enjoyable novel about a large African-American family in Detroit. This is an excellent debut novel that was a fun read.
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text: > Good catch. The feature freeze was moved to Test3 and a Test4 was since > added. Strangely though, I can't seem to figure out how to edit the > page to make a seemingly simple correction. It might just be the oxygen > deprivation to my brain... Fixed. Bill


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This Li'l Ardra comic is based on combined childhood experiences of inkmaster Paul Niemiec and me. He wrote a paper and was accused of copying because his teacher couldn't believe someone so young could write such a paper. I wrote a paper on Teeth, did pretty well with it, actually.
Paul is still pretty angry at that teacher ("I remember the whole event though the haze of a raised middle finger." – Paul). And I still have teeth.


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The shopping days until Christmas are dwindling down and if you're looking for something special, Heston Farm Winery in Fairmont may have something for you.
In addition to wine, whiskey, and moonshine, Heston Farm has a laundry list of items that make great gifts.
"We have a whole line of Ramp products: Ramp vinaigrette, salsa, and mustard as well. We have a West Virginia product line with pilsner glasses and wine glasses. We have West Virginia jellies and jams, with concord grape and candy apple," explained Emily Heston, the tasting room and events manager at Heston Farm.
Heston said gift sets are very popular during the holidays.
"We do custom gift baskets. You can even bring your own products from home and we'll wrap it up in a basket. We have our whiskey crates with our signature pig bottles, the moonshine, we do single and double crates," Heston said.
Heston said those whiskey crates go out the door quickly.
"The pig crates are very, very popular. Sometimes people will come in and place an order for dozens for their employees," Heston explained.
When you think of a winery, you might not expect to find children's gifts but Heston said there's something for everyone.
"We've got a lot of antique, real homey, country-style gifts, and there are a lot of gifts. There's stuff for kids, we have cards, there's antiques," said Heston.
For more information on Heston Farm click here.
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After the "fun and games" of 2011's Ironman Switzerland adventure I had decided to sign up again one boring, cold winter night, with the idea that I could put right all the mistakes from last year, while training harder on my swim and bike skills, and take a massive chunk out of 12 hours 48 minutes and 13 seconds.
2012 hasn't really gone the way I wanted, illness in May, over worked, life getting in the way, so it wasn't a perfect lead up to the race in any way, but then again it never is for anyone, that's what happens when your trying to fit stupid amounts of training into an already packed schedule.
Getting back to that illness, which I think was caused by not using earplugs when swimming, which lead to an ear infection, which lead to a respiratory infection, so my fault, anyway, this resulted to a measly 15 hours of training in May, compared to 26 in 2011, and consider six and half of those were spent at the Cyclotour du Léman, a 180KM sportive around Lausanne lake, something I would have dropped out of if I hadn't already paid upfront from a starting place and Hotel room, you can see I'd done hardly any training at all in May. On the upside I'd managed to knock out 24 hours in June, up from 20 in 2011, although this had been all at an easy pace trying to regain some base fitness after being on my ass for weeks on end.
The week leading into the race I had two other problems, firstly on my last taper swim I couldn't make it to my normal pool so headed to the local 50 metre outdoor pool after work, I was expecting the water to be cold but with the sun out all day it was fairly warm and I started to knock out some easy laps, I felt rubbish from the start, not a big deal, what I wasn't expecting though was to suffer some of the worse cramps I'd ever experienced only 10 laps in, these were so bad I had to stop immediately as I nearly sunk. The remainder of the week my right leg was aching, by Sunday it had gone but it might just explain the issues on the bike later on…
To add to this I was gluten poisoned while testing some High5 energy bars I got especially for the race…
Wiggle labelled these as Gluten free…
But clearly there aren't, as per High5's website…
Two days leading into race day I spent most of the time, ahem, on the shitter……which was nice, unsettled guts going into an Ironman is not the best preparation.
So, a lot of things didn't go to plan, it was no way perfect, but when is it ever perfect? I really do not believe that I would have squeezed much more out of my 2012, no matter about the training I missed and the health issues. so these events are in no way excuses for what happened on the day.
I managed to get down to the race briefing this year, I have to say I liked the changes they had made, a big tent on the Landiwiese with lots more seating…
and plenty of seating outside for friends, family and bikes..
Conditions on Friday were perfect..
..but not so much on Saturday and by Sunday we were set for Rain, luckily on the morning of the race the sky was pretty much clear and the conditions were good. The plan was to go out fairly hard and try and get nearer 1 hour 20 minutes, it was going to be tough and it turned out that way, they say to cruise on the swim, I can't cruise I just float, I found myself pushing hard but getting surrounded by too many other swimmers going at a similar pace, when that happens and there are no extra gears to move through it's a case of being blocked, having to find another route or having to push and shove to get swimming space.
One decent thing about my swim was I was able to sight and find a straight swimming line on most of the swim, much better than in 2011.
The first 1.9KM were decent, a similar time to 70.3 Rapperswil and although it didn't feel like it on the second lap I must have paid heavily for it as the time was way down, looking back I can only think my arms tired, I remember the my hands started to feel cold in the water, temps around 20 degrees.
For all that pushing, huffing and puffing I managed to come out with a time of 1:27:47, a couple of minutes faster than last year.
The bike this year was a bit like the Tour of Switzerland, there were so many people drafting, like these jokers below…
I was hopeful, after putting in more bike work, that I could get my time down to around 6 hours this year, last year I'd run out of energy having not eaten enough throughout the ride, the good news is I got it right this year, eating little but often throughout, the bad news is that during the second lap of the bike I started to get sciatic nerve problems on the right hand side, similar to what happened at Rapperswil but ten times as painful. I was in enough pain to just want to quit there and then, I nearly stopped, turned around and went back to transition.
While the first loop of the bike had been spot on, around 3 hours, the second half was just slow and painful, and I was being passed constantly, not good for anyone's ego. I trailed in after 6 hours 26 minutes and 30 seconds, about 3 minutes 30 seconds better than last year.
Of course, the GoPro was hooked up to the bike and here's some footage of the day and the first loop of the bike course...
I settled into a nice 6 minute per KM pace and knocked out the first 18KM before I had to hit the portaloos again, this was the point when my run fell apart, after the comfort break I couldn't get back into a rhythm, I switched off and began to walk, 30 minutes later I was still walking , by that point it had stopped raining, I had a few jokes along the way with spectators, telling me to get moving, it was probably the best point of the whole race, then it started to rain again, with near enough a half marathon to go, and wind and thunder thrown into the mix, it was enough for me to speed up and get moving. Two hours and a bit later and I had finished, and despite of the crap that had happened I still managed to knock out a marathon time of 4 hours 32 minutes and 53 seconds and a new Ironman PB of 12:39:44.
I have to admit, one of the first things I said when asked how I felt after the race was to say "I never want to do another one of those again" whatever I had on the day I'd put everything I could into it. Since then I've mellowed a bit on those words, I'd like to go again, the real issue I have is putting in all those hours, looking forward to something all year, to see it all go wrong due to illness, it's pretty disappointing, when you throw in the cost involved it really adds that extra bit of ouch to proceedings.I will be going again, at some point in the future, it may even be next year, who knows, work is getting in the way of training, spending time with my boy is more important to me and the cost of these events is so high it gets to the point where you need five credit cards just to sign up, so lots to consider.
I think now is a good time to finish this blog up, thanks to everyone who has left comments and taken the time to read, hopefully anyone who happens to stumble across it might find the info I've included of some use.


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International Coordination in the Design of Macroeconomic Policy Rules
The paper examines international issues that arise in the design and evaluation of macroeconomic policy rules. It begins with a theoretical investigation of the effects of fiscal and monetary policy in a two-country rational expectations model with staggered wage and price setting and with perfect capital mobility. The results indicate that with the appropriate choice of policies and with flexible exchange rates, demand shocks need not give rise to international externalities or coordination issues. Price shocks, however, do create an externality, and this is the focus of the empirical part of the paper. Using a simple 7 country model -- consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy,Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- optimal cooperative and non-cooperative (Nash) policy rules to minimize the variance of output and inflation in each country are calculated. The cooperative policies are computed using standard dynamic stochastic programming techniques and the non-cooperative policies are computed using an algorithm developed by Finn Kydland. The central result is that the cooperative policy rules for these countries are more accommodative to inflation than the non-cooperative policy rules.
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|Date of creation:
|Nov 1984
|Publication status:
|published as Taylor, John B. "International Coordination in the Design of Macroeconomic Policy Rules," European Economic Review, North Holland, Vol. 28, Nos. 1-2 ,(June-July 1985), pp. 53-81.
|Contact details of provider:
| Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC
References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Papell, David H., 1984.
"Activist monetary policy and exchange-rate overshooting: The Deutsche mark/dollar rate,"
Journal of International Money and Finance,
Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 293-310, December.
- David H. Papell, 1983. "Activist Monetary Policy and Exchange Rate Overshooting: The Deutsche Mark/Dollar Rate," NBER Working Papers 1195, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Shubik, Martin, 2000. "Game theory models and methods in political economy," Handbook of Mathematical Economics,in: K. J. Arrow & M.D. Intriligator (ed.), Handbook of Mathematical Economics, edition 4, volume 1, chapter 7, pages 285-330 Elsevier.
- Martin Shubik, 1977. "Game Theory Models and Methods in Political Economy," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 476, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
- Blanchard, Olivier Jean & Kahn, Charles M, 1980. "The Solution of Linear Difference Models under Rational Expectations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(5), pages 1305-1311, July. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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text:
Todorov's Feedback on 17-Day China Tour
|Client: Todorov
|Age: Unknown
|Nationality: Bulgaria
|Tour Date: September 8, 2012 - September 24, 2012
|FeedBack Date: October 10, 2012
Dear All, Dear Vanessa,
With this my letter I would like to expres my satisfaction from your China tour,provided for me!
Smart organisation, discipline execution,very good care and responsibility!
The Hotel accomodation was exelent.
The historic explonation of the guides was very good. Their english knowlege was good for me.
The transport people were very correct.
The food was good to me only in the Hotels-breakfast and the last day in Xian: the guide-lady found the correct, not sweet food for us.
The placeswe have seen-very, very interresting, with exeption of the House we have visited in Beijing(Otherwise the riksha travel was good). The top destinations were-Shanghai Bund and Forbidden city.
Special thanks to Lucy(Beijing),who has solved a problem with my Master Card in Grand Gongda Beijing Hotel,where the ATM machine failed to returned it back to me. In the next day the problem was over and I did not miss the important tour.
Special thanks to Vanessa, for the whole work and for the Macau tour fast support: Frederic guide failed to meet us at the Macau ferry terminal. My telephone call to Vanessa has solved the problem in 10 min.The guide laiter has put more efforts to compensate the St. Paul cathedral's missed visitation.
The Yangtze river cruise was very good. The service personel especially in the restaurant should learn more english.
The canoe boat trip and the water and the view there were exelent.
Despite that Lantau island tour was from Hong Kong,I would like to recomend the style of the GUIDE there,who was professianal.
At last- thank you to chinahighlights company for the professionalism and the good care!!!


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"…If I had known Forrest Lien back then, I would've sold everything we owned to get treatment for our son at IACD. I'm doing what I can now to help other families so they don't have to go through the pain we did."
– Carrie O'Toole, author of Relinquished: Love Means Letting Go
Our board has no shortage of impressive professional experience or scholarly accolades. But what really makes them a unique board is their true commitment to our mission. They're here because they're passionate about saving families and healing kids.
We're grateful to have such a passionate group of professionals who actively support us. Each person lends his or her own expertise to our organization. Together, the board is a culmination of vast knowledge and is the true definition of altruism.
We'd like to recognize and thank our retired board members Gay Beattie and Gene Morton for their long-term dedication to and support of the Institute for Attachment and Child Development.
Debra Salmans
"After a long search through several organizations, I finally found the Institute for help with my own child with attachment issues. With the direction of Forrest Lien and his trainings, the Institute makes such a difference in the lives of children, parents, and foster parents. I was so impressed with their work that i joined the board. My mission is to help the Institute expand so that they can touch more lives." -Debra
- Mother of a client who went through our program years ago
- In private practice at Imagine Choice- Living Life Consciously
- Works with The Butler Institute and The Kempe Center to support the social services department of the State of Colorado
- Works for LifeSpring, Inc., an interactive, educational training seminar company
- Licensed practitioner of Science of Mind, with United Centers for Spiritual Living and the Mile Hi Metaphysical Center
Jane E. Ryan
"I was invited to visit the Institute for Attachment and Child Development to share my film The Boarder in 2015. It was very exciting to find such a professional and caring organization with similar beliefs as my own. As the result of such a positive, hopeful experience, it's been an honor for me to serve on the IACD board to help them expand their practice and help children and families in despair." -Jane
- Mother of children, now grown, with reactive attachment disorder
- Author of The Boarder and executive producer/writer of the movie The Boarder, winner of several film festival awards across the United States, distributed worldwide, and shown regularly on the Lifetime television channel under the name The Troubled Child
- Author of Broken Spirits Lost Souls, a non-fiction book that offers a broad view of attachment and bonding difficulties taken from personal experiences and interviews with parents of disturbed children from across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom
- Traveled to Kenya and Uganda, Africa to share her experiences and expertise about attachment disturbances with African families and to film her first documentary, Ben Baai Mith Sudan (a homecoming for Sudan's son), completed in 2008
- Retired registered nurse and counselor
Gail Trenberth
"I have an adopted child with reactive attachment disorder. Today, my child is a healthy adult because we got the help we needed many years ago. I remember how it felt to feel so hopeless and helpless as a parent though. Now that my child is thriving, I've dedicated my life to helping other families and kids who struggle the way we once did. The Institute has a unique and effective treatment model. I want families to know that they don't have to live in chaos and pain."
- Mother of a client who went through our program years ago
- Founder of the Attachment Disorder Parents Network
- Retired registered nurse
- Board member of ATTACh for 12 years
Jim Davis
"As a former therapeutic treatment parent at the Institute for Attachment and Child Development, I have seen their work and lives changed in my very own home. Now that I'm retired, I wanted to continue to give back."
- Former therapeutic treatment parent for the Institute for Attachment and Child Development
Jodee M. VanKeuren
"My parents adopted me at 4-months-old and I felt loved but different growing up. I've always wanted to help make a difference in the lives of other adopted children, particularly those that didn't have a secure early start like I did."
- Has worked in sales/customer service industries for 20+ years
- Owned and operated successful painting company in Minnesota for 15+ years
- Currently in the process of launching SweetNefs, a women's skin care


text:
I love the soul revival that's sweeping through music right now.
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings are amazing. I bought that album, and I rarely buy albums these days.
Eric Lindell's (pictured) new CD is by far his best yet. My favorite track is "Tried and True."
And I've got "Another Day" by Jamie Lidell on repeat at work right now.
I mean, if you don't like soul, do you have a soul?
Probably not.


text:
(AP) — Detroit Tigers starter Rick Porcello has struggled in the past against the Texas Rangers, with Josh Hamilton doing some of that damage this year.
Porcello's worst career regular-season ERA against an AL opponent is the work of the high-scoring Rangers heading into the opener of a three-game set Monday night in Arlington.
The right-hander is 1-2 with a 12.27 ERA in three outings against Texas (45-28), including his shortest effort over his last three seasons April 21. Porcello (4-5, 4.95 ERA) was tagged for nine runs over one-plus inning in a 10-4 defeat in the opener of a doubleheader.
Click HERE for the full game preview


text:
|6. nov 1990
|4. jan 1990
|24. jan 1989
|Ogsĺ publisert som
|Josef Beller
|Opprinnelig patentinnehaver
|Hewlett-Packard Company
|Eksporter sitat
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patentsiteringer (5), Referert av (25), Klassifiseringer (6), Juridisk aktivitet (6)
|Eksterne linker: USPTO, USPTO-tildeling, Espacenet
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing optical time domain reflectometry. Such a method can, for example, be used in optical fiber testing to determine faults and losses in a fiber under test.
A method and corresponding apparatus for performing optical time domain reflectometry is disclosed in EP-A-No. 0 269 448. According to the known optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR), sequences of light pulses are injected into an optical fiber and the backscattered light pulses are correlated with the injected sequences of light pulses to generate a representation of the amplitude of the backscattered signal as a function of the time elapsed since the injection of the sequence or as a function of the distance from the input end of the fiber. The pulse sequences injected into the fiber are, for example, complementary pseudorandom sequences such as sequences in accordance with Golay codes. A pair of complementary sequences A and B have the property that the autocorrelation product of A has sidelobes which are complementary to the sidelobes of the autocorrelation product of B; i.e., sidelobes which are located at the same point in the time spectrum and which have amplitudes of equal magnitudes, respectively, but of opposite sign. Consequently, if the correlation products corresponding to the complementary sequences are superposed, the sidelobes cancel, and there remains only signals indicative of actual reflections in the fiber. Ideally, the superposed correlation products of the injected complementary pulse sequences with the signals reflected from distinct discontinuities in the fiber, such as fractures, are a single sharp peak or delta function. The use of complementary pulse sequences provides a better signal-to-noise ratio than conventional reflectometry wherein only a single pulse is injected into the fiber and the reflection of this particular pulse is detected.
In practice, the sidelobe cancellation is not perfect because of the non-ideal characteristics of the signal processing circuitry. For example, saturation of electronic components, such as a receiver or analog-to-digital converter, due to strong power levels of the reflected signal can lead to non-linearities which destroy the complementary nature of the correlation products. As a consequence, correlation sidelobes may appear on the measured backscatter curve that are large enough to distort or even mask a large reflection peak.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method and corresponding apparatus for performing optical time domain reflectometry on a light transmitting medium which avoids the disadvantages caused by the above-mentioned non-linearities.
According to the invention, at least two different time sequences of light signals are injected into the light transmitting medium and afterwards correlated with the reflected signals from the medium. The different injected time sequences can be described as being derived from a common basic sequence by insertion of a predetermined number of light signals of zero power level after each light signal of the basic sequence.
In one embodiment of the invention, if the basic sequence is represented by a sequence of "+1" and "-1", the injected time sequences can be described as being derived from the basic sequence by insertion of a predetermined number of "0"s after each "+1" or "-1". The different injected time sequences differ from each other by the number of light signals inserted after each light signal of the basic sequence, i.e., by the number of "0"s inserted after each "+1" or "-1". Thus, a first injected sequence according to the invention is obtained by inserting a first number m of "0"s after each "+1" and "-1" of the basic sequence, and a second injected sequence is obtained by inserting a second number n of "0"s after each "+1" and "-1" of the basic sequence.
The insertion of a predetermined number of light signals of zero power level has the important effect that sidelobes in the correlation result of the backscattered signals with the injected sequences appear at well-defined, predictable positions. By selecting different numbers of inserted light signals for different sequences of injected light signals, the sidelobe positions in the backscatter spectrum can be varied. Thus, if a data value obtained during a first injection is obscured by a sidelobe, the true sample value, unaffected by sidelobes, can be obtained by injecting a second sequence with a different number of inserted light signals such that the resulting sidelobe is not at the position of the sample value. In this way, a backscatter spectrum can be composed which is substantially free of sidelobes.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the time sequences of light signals injected into the light transmitting medium are derived from complementary sequences, for example Golay complementary sequences, or generally from pseudorandom sequences. The sequences according to the invention can be understood as modified conventional sequences, whereby the modification relative to conventional Golay or pseudorandom sequences consists in that a predetermined number of light signals of zero power level is inserted after each light signal of the conventional sequence. In order to obtain a fiber response curve that permits the determination of faults and losses, the backscattered sequences of light signals are correlated with the injected sequences.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the overlapping of sidelobes for different injections is avoided by proper selection of the number of inserted "0"s. The number of inserted "0"s increased by one, subsequently called the "extension factor", for a first injection and the extension factor for a second injection are chosen to be prime relative to each other, i.e., non-divisible by each other. By this selection of extension factors, sidelobe overlap is not possible.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of apparatus for performing optical time domain reflectometry according to the invention.
FIG. 2 shows two complementary Golay code sequences A and B as they are used in the prior art.
FIG. 3 illustrates the incomplete cancellation of sidelobes due to non-linear behavior in the prior art.
FIG. 4 shows modified complementary Golay code sequences A and B according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5a shows the fiber response curve for injection of a single pulse.
FIG. 5b shows the fiber response curve for injection of modified sequences according to the invention.
FIG. 6 shows an example of a fiber response curve with peaks corresponding to strong reflections and associated sidelobes.
FIGS. 7a and 7b illustrate the substitution of data values at sidelobe positions if no peaks corresponding to a reflection are adjacent.
FIGS. 8a and 8b illustrate the substitution of data values at sidelobe positions if a peak corresponding to a reflection is adjacent.
FIG. 9 shows the fiber response curve after substitution of data values at sidelobe positions.
FIG. 1 schematically depicts an OTDR according to the invention and an optical fiber 11 under test coupled to the OTDR by an optical coupler 9. The OTDR comprises a timing control circuit 1 which provides timing signals to a word generator 2, to an A/D converter 3, to an averaging circuit 4, to a signal processor 5, and to a display circuit 6. In response to a signal from the timing control circuit 1, the word generator 2 provides a modified complementary code sequence to a pulse drive 7. Further details of the modified complementary code sequence are explained below with reference to FIG. 4.
The electrical pulses provided by the pulse driver 7 are supplied to a light source 8, for example, a laser, for controlling the light output of the light source in accordance with the sequence of electrical pulses. The sequence of light pulses emitted by the laser 8 is injected via a wavebridge 9 such as a 3 dB coupler to an input end 10 of the optical fiber 11 under test. Each launched sequence of light pulses produces a return signal in the optical fiber which is transmitted through the coupler 9 to a detector 12 which converts the impinging light signals into electrical signals. These electrical signals are amplified in a receiver 13 which also acts as an input buffer for a subsequent analog-to-digital converter 3.
The output signal of the receiver 13 is digitized by the A/D converter 3 and the digitized signals are then supplied to an averaging circuit 4. In the averaging circuit 4, the return signals from successive injections of sequences of light signals are added as digital data in order to average the return signals of these successive injections. In this way, the signal-to-noise ratio is improved.
The averaged results are provided to a signal processor 5 that extracts the fiber impulse response by correlating the return signals with the injected sequences. Further details of this procedure are explained below. The impulse response is then displayed on an output display device 6, for example a CRT.
The correlation method for generating the impulse response is explained in more detail below. First, however, some general explanations regarding optical time domain reflectometry using complementary sequences are given.
The sequences injected into a fiber under test can be described as sequences of "1"s and "-1"s or as digital words having a predetermined number of bits. The number of bits will subsequently be denoted as L. In the following, two complementary Golay code sequences having a length of L bits, respectively, are designated as A (n) and B (n). The argument n indicates that the impulse response is measured at discrete points in time t=n·Ta, whereby n is any of the numbers 0, 1, 2, . . . , and Ta is the sampling period. Strictly speaking, the notation for a sequence should be A(n·TA), but in the following, the abbreviated notation A (n) will be used.
The term "complementary" means that the following relationship applies:
(A ○* A)+(B ○* B)=2L·δ(n) (1)
whereby ○* denotes correlation of two sequences, δ is the delta function, i.e., a sharp peak. The signal backscattered from a fiber in response to an injected signal is a convolution between the injected signal and the fiber impulse response h(n).
When two complementary sequences A(n) and B(n) are injected into a fiber, the backscattered signals SA (n) and SB (n) which are detected are a convolution (denoted by the symbol *) of the fiber impulse response h(n) and the injected sequences, respectively, i.e., the following equations apply:
S.sub.A (n)=h(n) * A(n) (2a)
S.sub.B (n)=h(n) * B(n) (2b)
Correlation of equation (2a) with A(n) and of equation (2b) with B(n) and addition of the two intermediate results yields: ##EQU1##
Due to the distributive and associative properties of convolution and correlation the parentheses can be regrouped so that equation (3) can be rewritten as ##EQU2##
Using the autocorrelation property according to equation (1), and the known result that the convolution of an impulse response and a delta function is equal to the impulse response, the final result is then
y(n)=h(n) * 2Lδ(n)=2L·h(n) (5)
As can be seen from equation (5) the reconstructed response is 2L times larger than the response to a digital impulse. From this it becomes clear that reflectometry using sequences of injected light signals with subsequent correlation of the backscattered signals leads to an improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio as compared with single pulse reflectometry without impairing the resolution.
The foregoing considerations regarding the sequences A(n) and B(n) use an abbreviated notation for these sequences. In practice, since there are no negative light power levels, i.e., a "-1" cannot be realized by light signals, the sequences are split up in two subsequences, respectively. The two subsequences for the A sequence are designated as A+ and A-, whereby A+ is obtained from A by replacing all the "-1"s in A by "0"s and leaving all "1"s unchanged. The subsequence A- is the logical complement of the subsequence A+, i.e., a "1" in the sequence A+ corresponds to a "0" in the subsequence A- and vice versa. Thus, A=A30 -A-. The sequence B is correspondingly split up into two subsequences B+ and B- such that B- is the logical complement of B+ and the equation applies: B=B+ -B-.
In a practical measurement situation, the sequences A+ and A- are successively injected into the fiber under test and the measured backscatter signals are h(n) * A+ (n) and h(n) * A- (n), respectively. These two expressions are then subtracted from each other to yield the backscatter signal SA (n) (see the above equation (2a)):
S.sub.A (n)=h(n) * A(n)=A.sup.+ (n) * h(n)-A.sup.- (n) * h(n).
Similarly, the sequences B+ and B- are successively injected into the fiber and for the backscatter signal SB (n) (see the above equation (2b)), the following applies:
S.sub.B (n)=h(n)*B(n)=B.sup.+ (n)*h(n)-B.sup.- (n)*h(n).
The splitting-up of the sequences A and B in subsequences A+, A-, and B+, B- is known in optical time reflectometry, for example from the above mentioned document EP-A-No. 0 269 448 (see in this document, for example, FIG. 8 with accompanying description). In the following, the abbreviated notations A(n) and B(n) for injected sequences will be used, but it is understood that these sequences can be split up in two subsequences, respectively, as described before.
The above considerations resulting in equations (5) are valid for ideal systems which have a linear behavior. In real measurement situations, however, the OTDR can be confronted with an extremely wide range of optical power levels due to strong reflections so that the receiver has difficulties in staying within its range of linear operation. Furthermore, all analog components, such as a laser driver, receiver, buffer-amplifier and analog-to-digital converter have slightly non-linear behavior.
In order to illustrate such non-linear behavior, reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 3 where two complementary Golay code sequences A and B and the resulting summed autocorrelation functions are shown. The complementary sequences A and B in FIG. 2 have a code length of L=8 bits. The sequences shown can thus be represented by the following codes:
Sequence A: 1, 1, 1, -1, 1, 1, -1, 1
Sequence B: 1, 1, 1, -1, -1, -1, 1, -1
The corresponding subsequences would thus be, according to the mentioned construction principle:
FIG. 3 illustrates the incomplete cancellation of sidelobes because of non-linearities. It can be seen that the peak at position 0 is surrounded by sidelobes at positions up to L-1 points apart to the left and to the right. As a consequence thereof, a measured signal will be distorted in the neighborhood of strong reflections. These distortions are substantially eliminated by the present invention.
The basic step to overcome the sidelobe problems is now explained with reference to FIG. 4. The basic idea according to the invention is to modify the conventional code sequences such as the sequences A and B in FIG. 2 by inserting a predetermined number of zero bits between each pair of bits in the sequences A and B. In the example shown in FIG. 4, three additional bits are inserted such that the modified code sequences A' and B' have the following form:
Sequence A': 1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,-1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1, 0,0,0,-1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0
Sequence B': 1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,-1,0,0,0,-1,0,0,0, -1,0,0,0,1,0,0,0,-1,0,0,0
In FIG. 4, some of the elements ("1", "-1", "-0") of the injected sequence A' are indicated. It can also be seen from FIG. 4 which depicts the time sequence of injected signals, that the duration of an inserted "0" signal corresponds to the duration of the "1" or "-1" signals. Since three "0" signals are inserted in the example shown, the time interval during which "0" signal is applied is three times as long as the time interval during which a single "1" or "-1" signal is applied.
In practice, the modified sequences are also split up in two subsequences, respectively, which are successively injected into the fiber under test as described above. The subsequences are formed from the modified sequences A' and B' according to the above construction principle (replacing "-1" by "0" to obtain A+, and forming the complement of A+ to obtain A-) with the understanding that the inserted "0"s remain unaffected by these two transformations. In other words, the subsequences for the modified sequences A' and B' are obtained by inserting the predetermined number of zero bits between each two bits of the subsequences A+, A-, B+, B- of the unmodified sequences A and B. To give a practical example, the subsequences for the modified sequences A' and B' in the above examples are as follows:
Generally, the number of zero bits inserted between each pair of bits in a conventional sequence is X-1, whereby X is an integer greater than 1 and is called the "extension factor". The modified code sequences A' and B' thus have lengths of L=XL. In the example shown in FIG. 4, L is 8 and X is 4.
The calculated sum of the autocorrelation functions A' ○* A' and B' ○* B' now has the important property that sidelobes can only appear at positions which are given by the relations:
SP=PP ±iX; with i=1,2,3, . . . , L-1 (6)
wherein SP means sidelobe position and PP means peak position. Stated in other words, equation (6) means that all sample values which are positioned a distance of ±D apart from the peak position can never be distorted by sidelobes, wherein D is given by the relationship: ##EQU3## This property of the modified sequences of the invention permits one to generate fiber response curves with sidelobes located at well-defined positions, and the variation of the extension factor X in successive measurements permits one to generate different response curves with sidelobes at different locations, respectively, while the peaks caused by reflections in the fiber remain fixed.
The property expressed in equation (7) can be proven by considering the autocorrelation zk =Xk ○* Xk of the modified sequences Xk with ##EQU4## The autocorrelation zk is defined as ##EQU5## The term zk can only be nonzero for k=±i·X, i=0,1, . . . , L-1. In order to reduce computation time it is sufficient to calculate only the terms of the autocorrelation zk which are not zero. Consequently, the index m in equation (9) could be incremented in steps of X.
According to the invention, modified code sequences are injected into an optical fiber, the return signal is measured and the sum of the individual autocorrelations is computed according to equations (3)-(5). Then, one or several post-processing procedures are employed to get a final result without disturbance either by sidelobes due to inherent non-linearities in analog circuitry nor by sidelobes due to saturation of any circuit component. Three post-processing procedures are described below.
According to this procedure, the fiber is successively probed with modified code sequences Ai and Bi with different extension factors Xi, i.e., the number of zero bits inserted is different for different injections. The individual correlation results are then summed up to generate a final result yf. The final result yf can be written as:
y.sub.f =Σy.sub.i (10)
where, using equation (4), the following relationship applies:
y.sub.i=(A'.sub.i (n) ○* A'.sub.i (n))*h(n)+(B'.sub.i (n) ○* B'.sub.i (n))*h(n).
As explained above, the expressions A'i and B'1, are abbreviated notions. In fact:
A.sub.i '.sub.i =A'.sub.i.sup.+ (n)-A'.sub.i.sup.- (n) and B'.sub.i =B'.sub.i.sup.+ (n)-B'.sub.i.sup.31 (n).
In this final result, the magnitudes of the sidelobes are reduced relative to magnitudes of the peaks caused by reflections in the fiber as compared to the individual correlated results since the peak positions remain the same for different injections while the sidelobe positions vary from injection to injection in accordance with the varying extension factors. In this way, the peak-to-sidelobe ratio is increased. It might happen that the sidelobe positions of successive measurements overlap, i.e., that a sidelobe of a measurement with a first extension factor occurs at the same location as another sidelobe of a measurement with a second extension factor. Such overlap of sidelobes can be avoided by proper selection of the extension factors Xi. A convenient way, for example, is to select the extension factors prime to each other, i.e., such that the numbers Xi cannot be divided by each other. In this way, excellent results can be achieved as demonstrated in FIGS. 5a and 5b.
FIG. 5a shows the fiber response to a single injected pulse, and FIG. 5b shows the response to a modified 64 bit sequence processed according to the just described procedure. The curves shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b were measured in equivalent measurement times. The improvement achieved by the invention can clearly be seen.
This procedure is preferably used as a first processing step at the beginning of each new measurement for rapidly increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the fiber response and for roughly determining the positions of reflections. Particularly when using very short pulse widths which, in the prior art would cause a noisy backscattering impulse response, procedure No. I provides the advantage that a quick representation of the fiber response can be obtained, allowing one to perceive general fiber characteristics.
This procedure is applied if the positions of reflections can be clearly determined and if a slight degradation of the spatial resolution is tolerable. As an example, FIG. 6 shows a typical fiber response with strong reflections causing sidelobes due to a non-linear behavior of transmitter and receiver circuits. The probing signal in this example is a modified Golay code pair of length L=8 and with an extension factor X=9.
First, all peak positions have to be determined. This can be done quickly (typically within a second) by a premeasurement step using conventional single-pulse reflectometry and subsequent computer evaluation of the measured backscatter data to determine the peak positions. From the peak positions, all possible sidelobe positions can be calculated according to equation (6). Then, according to the procedure, the sample values at the sidelobe positions are replaced by the mean value of the two adjacent sample values. If, however, at least one of the two adjacent data points represents a sidelobe or even a reflection, this point cannot be used for computation of the substitution value. Then, two cases have to be distinguished:
(1.) If two or more sidelobes are arranged adjacent to each other and no reflection borders on this group of sidelobes, each substitution value is calculated as lying on a straight line that connects the two outer non-distorted samples of the fiber response. FIG. 7a shows a detail of the fiber response curve of FIG. 6 and with sidelobes indicated by the sample values of data points 71, 72, and 73. FIG. 7b shows the resulting curve after performing the procedure just described. The sample values 71, 72, and 73 have been replaced by sample values indicated by *'s such that a straight line connecting the two outer non-distorted sample values 70 and 74 is formed.
(2.) If a reflection is located adjacent to a sidelobe, then the sample value at the sidelobe position is calculated by a straight line approximation as illustrated in FIG. 8. In FIG. 8a, the sidelobe position is at 81 and the peak position is at 82. The approximation is performed such that a straight line is extended from the left across the undisturbed sample point 80 as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 8a. The sample value on the other side of the reflection peak cannot be used since in most cases a reflection is followed by a splice or other discontinuity. The result of the approximation is shown in FIG. 8b. Generally, a dense concentration of sidelobes can be avoided by choosing an extension factor X which is great enough. FIG. 9 shows the result after application of procedure II to the data in FIG. 6.
After application of procedure I and/or II, procedure III serves for further sidelobe cancellation. The key step of this procedure is to substitute all disturbed sample values at sidelobe positions by "correct" values from earlier measurement results. For that purpose, the fiber is successively probed, as in procedure I, with modified code sequences with different extension factors.
In order to obtain a good noise reduction for all samples during the whole measurement process, multiple overlap of sidelobe positions in successive measurements has to be avoided. The only parameter that affects the sidelobe positions is the extension factor X. All chosen extension factors should be prime relative to each other, i.e., the extension factors should not be divisible by one another.
Each of the three described procedures or a combination of these procedures offers the possibility of improving the sidelobe to peak ratio or even to eliminate sidelobes that may appear in nonlinear systems.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a corresponding apparatus for performing optical time domain reflectometry comprises a memory of 4 k words allowing 2000 data points for representing the fiber impulse curve, and a code length of the modified Golay codes A' or B' of up to 1000 bits, respectively. Therefore, during each measurement the following condition should be met:
where L' is the number of bits of the modified sequence and L is the number of bits of the unmodified sequence. The extension factor varies in the range from three to ten times the number R of strong reflections in the fiber. Consequently, the maximum usable code length L is given by the relationship: ##EQU6##
For example, if 9 strong reflections have been detected in a measurement, i.e., if R=9, then X will be varied between 27 and 90. But only numbers which are prime relative to each other are used. In order to achieve the optimum signal-to-noise ratio, the code length is determined according to equation (12). In the present example, the maximum code length determined according to equation (12) would be a number between 11 and 37. Since L has to be a power of 2, the possible code lengths would thus be 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32, depending on the extension factor X. Preferably, the longer code lengths 8, 16, or 32 are used since they give better results than the shorter code lengths (2 or 4).
The above embodiment of the invention has been described in connection with complementary sequences such as Golay complementary sequences. It is understood, however, that the invention is not limited to such sequences. The invention can also be used in connection with non-complementary sequences, i.e., pseudorandom sequences which do not have the property of sidelobe cancellation (in the ideal case when non-linearities are not a problem). In such cases, the variation of the extension factors for different injections into the light transmitting medium also permits one to derive a fiber response curve in which unwanted sidelobes are substantially reduced or even completely missing. Thereby, sidelobes due to the non-complementary nature of the used sequences or due to non-linearities in the measuring system can be reduced or avoided. If, for example, a data value obtained during a first injection is obscured by a sidelobe, the true sample value which is unaffected by sidelobes can be obtained by injecting at least one other sequence with a different extension factor such that the sidelobe for this injection is at a different position.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described and other embodiments and modifications have been suggested, still other embodiments and modifications will occur to those of or ordinary skill in the art which will fall within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims.
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|Internasjonal klassifisering
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|7. feb 1990
Owner name: HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY, A CORP. OF CA, CALIFORNIA
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:HEWLETT-PACKARD GMBH.;REEL/FRAME:005238/0525
Effective date: 19891215
|3. mai 1994
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|5. jul 1994
|Certificate of correction
|2. jun 1998
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|8. nov 1998
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|19. jan 1999
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19981106


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Up for auction is a vintage 1970's "FAB" tray created by Hardy Glenwood Products, Barrie, Ontario. They are processed with designer fabrics embedded in clear polyester resin. When the oil crisis in the 70"s drove the cost of resin up, the company stopped making these trays and they quickly became collectibles. This great scalloped edge tray with bright vibrant red/pink assorted flowers has a diam. of app. 17". It is in good clean condition with a few minor utensil marks if closely inspected, the previous owner's name is written on the back label. I would be pleased to answer any questions you might have. Buyer to pay by Paypal, cashiers check or int'l money order.This is an auction and all sales are final. More than just a pretty picture. Try Vendio Image Hosting. Increase sales, maximize profits Get Vendio Research. Try Risk FREE. FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Over 100,000,000 served. Get FREE counters from Vendio today!
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It looks like the host of Bizarre Foods is in Mtl this week, not sure if he's filming an episode for his show. So far he has been to Joe Beef, DNA, Au pied de cochon, Schwartz, cabane a sucre APDC, 5e peche and tonight at Salle a Manger. If you follow him on twitter you'll get a bunch of pictures and comments. He has also written that Salle a Manger might be the best restaurant in Canada and this is only after having a few appetizers.
Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre-Dame W, Montreal, QC H3J1N6, CA


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Joomla calendar eventlist jobs
I need a professionally designed training calendar to be sent to our prospective client. The skeleton of what are the details that must go in are included in the attachment. Logo and picture used are attached. Format : Microsoft Office either Word/Excel/Powerpoint so that we can edit the word contents easily. Size : A4.
Hello, I need some prgramming adjustments to a calendar plugin (EVENTON) I have bought. I can provide documentation as well.
We´re creating a calendar homemade. So, we´re looking for a models that want to participate. Please send us a inbox and we´re going to contact you before to select a candidat. *For women only. We don't accept companies. Thank you.
I would like built an Android and iPhone app. *** If you are not sure, Don't bid to t... It's only a time wasting and I will ignore all bid if you are not sure. *** Requirement. 1. Create event to invite a specific person. 2. Sync my Calendar event to google calendar. 3. Get all event list (mine and shared from others). That all.
...(Jan - Dec)for the year calendar size 8x14. Will have gallery of 20 art images to choose from. Calendar PNG file Line drawing for each month with text Jan- Dec 2018. They select the art for the month (8 x 14) drop select PNG file on bottom of art and save as PDF file and print or take to selected printing service. The calendar uploaded is from 2015.
Hello Freelancers, Budget:$75 My website [url removed, login to view] is running on an older version. I am having trouble updating it without the ...update this website without it loosing its nice professional look. After the update the website should look and function as it did before. I would also like a facebook feed and calendar added than i can manage.
We are working on a big project for a tourism brand that involves and advent calendar. We have 24 danish doors that we need to edit and make "Christmassy". - Optimise 24 doors in Photoshop, give them a christmas feeling with making the colors of the doors and surrounding vibrant. (Curves, Levels, etc.) - Add a green wreath needs to look realistic
Need to get 13 photos tweaked to go into a calendar
...io/dazulu/pen/ByoWee/ 1. I want images to show behind the doors, not text. 2. The images/doors should be bigger and closer together. Similar to the size of the doors on this advent calendar (see bottom of the page): [url removed, login to view] 3. The user must always click the door for it to open (doors should not be left open automatically if date has passed)
. Private-issue calendar for 2018. Need some photos tweaked before printing
5 minutes response needed to address a concern of whether I will or won't have to pay tax. Details: LLC has calendar year cash method of taxes for IRS If the LLC signs a partnership R&D agreement Dec 1st and a) gets 10k cash signing bonus b) gets 60k cash R&D expense payment for the next 12 months of expenses (5k paid monthly by us to 3rd parties
please refer to the uploaded file
Want to create a calendar from an excel list (Mainsheet attached) in the format of the calendar sheet attached. Need to be able to have multiple values per day - and display the persons name and course code per day on calendar. The calendar needs to be able to choose month and year to be viewed. This will all be on one sheet, not 2 as present
I need a logo designed.
...machine and share the how and why. I am looking for someone who knows not just the IMAP method, but has got experience about the drawbacks like mail files over 5 GB, slow calendar sync, archiving, ... . I have been using Ubuntu in the last 4 years and never administered Outlook or Exchange. I wouldn't like to learn the ins and outs of outlook to
We are working on a big project for a tourism brand that involves and advent calendar. We have 24 danish doors that we need to edit and make "Christmassy". - Edit 24 doors in Photoshop, give them a christmas feeling with making the colors of the doors and surrounding vibrant. - Add a green holiday wreth (photo will be supplied) - Add number onto
create simple cover art for a poster
- We are an Australian accounting firm. - We need som...Australian accounting firm. - We need someone to help us design a 2018 calendar magnet. Please see the attached image for an example. - Along with the calendar, we prefer to have a list of key lodgment and payment dates related to Australian tax/ accounting for 2018 on the calendar magnet.
Create a calendar in a pdf. for a brochure.


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Financial Globalisation and Sustainable Finance Conference
- Institution Maastricht University
- Event Type Call for Paper
- Date May 29, 2013 - May 31, 2013
- Venue University of Stellenbosch Business School, Cape Town, South Africa
- Location Tongersestraat 53 Maastricht 6225DG The Netherlands
- Details
The Financial Globalisation and Sustainable Finance Conference will be held in Cape Town on May 29-31, 2013. The conference is being co-sponsored by the European Centre for Corporate Engagement (ECCE) at the Maastricht University and the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) and will take place on the Cape Town campus of USB. Bill Megginson (University of Oklahoma) and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria) have agreed to participate as keynote speakers. A special issue of the Journal of Banking and Finance on the conference theme will be published under the guest editorship of the conference co-chairs and authors whose papers are accepted for presentation at the conference are encouraged to submit their papers for the JBF special issue.
We are soliciting manuscript submissions on a broad array of subjects. The intention is to investigate (the links between) financial stability and sustainable finance from various perspectives, with research based in macro-, micro- and institutional economics as well as corporate finance and financial markets. Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome. We also welcome proposals for complete sessions. Topics of interest include but are not limited to financial policy and regulation, macro-economic policies in the global economy, the role of finance in economic growth and development, international capital flows and foreign direct investment, the role of development finance institutions and instrument, the role of engagement, and corporate governance and the role of institutional investors.
- Submission Deadline01-15-2013
- Website http://www.ecce-usb-conference2013.org
- Email firstname.lastname@example.com
- Share Event


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Quantum Dots, Self-Assembled: Calculation of Electronic Structures and Optical Properties
Publication Date4/13/04
Read full article onlineFull Article
As evidenced by many of the articles in this encyclopedia, the past decade has witnessed a series of significant advances in the growth of semiconductor nanostructures. These nanostructures range in size from a few atoms up to several million atoms and have been produced by myriad synthesis techniques. In this article, we describe calculations of the electronic and optical properties of self-assembled (so-called Stranski–Krastanow) quantum dots produced by molecular beam epitaxy. Even more dramatic than the advances in the growth of these structures has been the development of extremely sophisticated techniques for measuring the optical, electronic, magnetic, and transport properties of these quantum dot systems. The availability of such high-quality measurements for a wide range of properties presents theorists with the formidable challenge of constructing models that can explain the origins of these experimental observations in terms of the underlying energy states of the quantum dots.
Calculating such energy states in self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots is rendered particularly challenging by a number of factors:


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Anti-apartheid activist and former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela has died at 95 leaving behind a legacy that spans from the small villages of the Eastern Cape of South Africa to right here in Philadelphia, Pa.
Mandela's death comes after a string of hospitalizations that began in Feb. 2011 with a respiratory infection, and later, a lung infection that worsened in early June of this year. For several days this summer, the Nobel Peace Prize winner was reported to have been in critical condition spurring numerous premature announcements of his death.
But Mandela eventually recovered from his illness, went on to celebrate his 95th birthday in July, and was released from the hospital in September.
South African President Jacob Zuma announced Mandela's death at a press conference Thursday.
Among a long list of accomplishments, Mandela is best known for his self-sacrificing efforts to overthrow the National Party's apartheid policies as a member of the African National Congress in South Africa in the 1940s. Mandela was arrested in 1962 and eventually spent 27 years as a political prisoner.
Former Pennsylvania Congressman William Gray, who died in July of this year, helped author an anti-Apartheid bill that many believe lead the way for the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 and ultimately resulted in Mandela being released from prison on Feb. 11, 1990.
Gray credited Mandela for being a "spiritual giant."
"I think when history is written of the twentieth century, beside Ghandi and Martin Luther King, I think the next giant is going to be Nelson Mandela," Gray said. "He was an unusual man who had been in jail for almost 30 years because of his beliefs in equality and the dignity of the human spirit. But yet he did not hate; he came out and became a force for reconciliation and healing."
Less than three years after his release from prison, in July 1993, Mandela's life's work led him to the steps of Independence Hall in Philadelphia where he and then South Africa president F. W. de Klerk were presented with the Philadelphia Liberty Medal by then U.S. President Bill Clinton.
In his acceptance speech, Mandela spoke of the many obstacles that had yet to be overcome and sought Americans' continued support of his efforts to bring equality to his country.
"In the struggle for real change and a just peace, we will have to overcome the terrible heritage of the insult to human dignity, the inequalities, the conflicts and antagonisms that are the true expression of the apartheid system. To overcome them, we will have to succeed to build one nation in which all South Africans will be to one another sister and brother, sharing a common destiny and shorn of the terrible curse of having to define themselves in racial and ethnic terms," Mandela said.
In a last minute addition to his trip to Philadelphia, Mandela obliged an invitation to visit Bright Hope Baptist Church in North Philadelphia where Gray then served as the church's reverend. There, Mandela appealed for supporters to raise money for a voter-education campaign in anticipation of elections in his country the following year.
Gray cited the visit as one of the proudest moments of his career.
"The most important thing to me, for those people who know me, was my ministry. I'm a Baptist minister first. And so to have him come to North Philadelphia, stand in the pulpit of the Bright Hope Baptist Church, and speak to that congregation was the most emotional moment, really, I think of my whole legislative career. Not passing 4 trillion dollar plus budgets, but that moment when he stood at Bright Hope Baptist Church up at 12th and Cecil B. Moore and spoke to an overflowed crowd that was all over 12th street, all over Cecil B. Moore Avenue; that was just unbelievable," Gray said.
One year later, on May 9, 1994, Mandela was elected by Parliament as the first president of a democratic South Africa.
Though now deceased, he left a lasting impact on many of Pennsylvania's leaders, including former Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode.
Goode met Mandela during his visit to Philadelphia and participated in fundraising efforts for his presidential run in South Africa.
"Anyone who is found in his presence is said to be inspired by the magnitude of what he went through, and what he accomplished, and the boldness of his character, and the stick-to-it-ness, and his determination to bring equality and freedom to South Africa," Goode said.
"I think I was inspired by the essence of the man who spent 27 years in prison because of what he believed and was able to come out of prison and become president, and lead a nation to a new level. That is inspiration for anyone, anywhere, in any country."
Gray said his life would have been different had he not known Mandela.
"I think what would have changed, is not my work in ministry, not my work in the Congress so much, but me as a person. In 1991, I did something that defied the world and that was I left Congress as the highest ranking African-American, the majority whip, and went back to education to raise money to send low income African-American kids to college. And I think I would not have done that had it not been for the influence of a Nelson Mandela who said, "Stand up for what you believe in. And no matter what the rest of the world says or does, go do it."


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Congresswoman claims a Filner groping (years ago)
Former San Diego mayor allegedly went in for a kiss
Don Bauder 5:30 p.m., Nov. 20
Locked in an expensive congressional primary race with Democratic former state senator Denise Moreno Ducheny, current Democratic state senator Juan Vargas has turned to the insurance lobby in Washington, D.C. to help raise campaign cash.
Two key influence peddlers with ties to the property casualty insurance business, Andy Lewin and Tom Litjen, are listed as sponsoring a March 21 fundraiser held for Vargas at the Hotel George in Washington, according to an invitation posted online by the Sunlight Foundation's PoliticalPartyTime.org.
Lewin is a principal in the Podesta Group, run by Tony Podesta, one of Washington's ultimate Democratic insiders.
Among other high profile clients the firm has handled public and political relations for is BP, during and after the giant multinational oil company's well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Whether the goal is to make some noise and raise an organization's visibility or to affect policy change, we employ inventive strategies that set us apart and help change outcomes," says the Podesta Group's website.
According to the Washington Post, "Podesta is known for his ability to bring in large 'bundled' donations, contributing $394,000 total in the 2008 campaign cycle.
"He personally donated $84,750 to Democratic campaigns and committees in 2010, with $50,000 going to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Commitee. Podesta also bundled $78,400 for Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and $41,000 for Patty Murray (D-Wash.)."
Litjen is vice president for Federal Government Relations at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a Podesta Group client, according to the Sunlight Foundation's InfluenceExplorer.com.
As we've reported here in the past, Vargas is a longstanding friend of the insurance industry.
The invitation listed "Contribution Levels" to last week's event as $1,500 for "Host," $1,000 to "Sponsor," and $500 for "Guest."


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Here are a couple of quick pics of Dad and the MusicMan wallhanging.
The Viking Helmet and Helga Hair was a gag gift from my brother presented to him at the dinner...
Here is also a pic of the pair of us...He is so pleased with it - it was a great weekend. Mine was the only non-gag gift - My sister gave him an O.B.E. medal (over bloomin' Eighty!) - so my wallhanging will have lasting significance.
Thank you all for your support.
The presentation
Both of us


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Michelle Balleck: Crab-cracking, comedy, canines & causes
October 20, 2010
Submit your event
Submit your event's details for consideration by e-mailing me at mballeck@craigdai… or calling 875-1790.
If you like to eat, laugh and/or shop, this weekend's got something for you. Lucky me, those are three of my favorite things.
• It's time again for a Craig classic.
The Craig Chamber of Commerce's annual Crabfest starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club of Craig, 1324 E. U.S. Hwy. 40.
Pig out on king crab legs, red potatoes, corn on the cob, herb and cheese biscuits and desserts. Then brace yourself for laughter as the Moffat County High School acting class performs a skit followed by the comedic stylings of Sam Adams of Comedy Works.
There will also be a cash bar and live and silent auctions.
Recommended Stories For You
It's a happy excuse to stuff your face, laugh your head off and drop some cash. Sure, it's $50 a person, but it's worth it.
Call the Chamber at 824-5689 or stop by 360 E. Victory Way to get your tickets.
• Fashion and felines are the headliners at Saturday's second annual Rescues and Runways fundraiser.
The fashion show, hosted by Maurice's and benefiting the Humane Society of Moffat County and the Craig Animal Shelter, is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Mall, 1111 W. Victory Way.
To find out more about the event, which will also include a silent auction, adoptable animals and coupons for Maurice's, call the store at 824-7393.
• Come one, come all.
That's the call of organizers of the second annual Community Family Festival, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the Boys & Girls Club of Craig, 1324 E. U.S. Hwy. 40.
The carnival will feature games, prizes, face painting, balloon animals, food and drinks.
The carnival is sponsored by Communities Overcoming Meth Abuse, the Colorado Meth Project, Craig Daily Press and the Boys & Girls Club.
Everyone's invited, and the event includes a family door prize of box seats to a Denver Nuggets game. Sweet.
• There's still time to design your own undergarments for a fun benefit for the Moffat County Cancer Society.
The Flower Mine/Gift Shop is hosting Boxers & Bras for a Cause, which calls entrants to decorate a bra and/or pair of boxers in the contest to be voted on by the public.
The deadline to enter bras and boxers on a hanger is 1:30 p.m. Saturday at The Flower Mine, 410 W. Victory Way.
Then voting will commence with votes costing $2 or more. A silent auction in November will sell the pieces to lucky bidders.
So hurry and get your thinking cap on for fun and flirty undergarment design ideas.
• Focus your attention on the first Baggs Photography Show this weekend.
The Snake River Shutterbugs Photography Club hosts the show, which features 12 exhibitors, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Little Snake River Valley School, 333 N. Main St., Baggs, Wyo.
Check out the artwork, participate in a photo raffle and pre-order the first Snake River Valley Photo Book.
• And buy some books at the Craig Middle School scholastic book fair.
The fair kicks off today and Friday and is open from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. at the CMS library, 915 Yampa Ave.
The fair, which also continues next week, is also open from 4:15 to 7:15 p.m. today.
Local author RaeAnne Hadley will be there today from 4:15 to 5:30 p.m., and local author Daphne Stroh will be there from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. today.
Check it out to benefit new book purchases for the library, and call 826-6332 if you want to learn more.
• The family of Russell Walsh invites the community to join in a balloon vigil for the late 16-year-old vehicle crash victim.
The vigil begins at 6 p.m. tonight on the Moffat County High School football field, 900 Finley Lane.
If you knew this young man, or even if you didn't, join the family in remembering him.
• Get your safety on.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife sponsors an Internet completion Hunter Education Course on Friday.
The class runs from 7 to 11:30 a.m. at the Maybell Community Center.
Call 272-3238 to get the skinny.
• West Theatre is getting in "My Soul to Take," to continue the scary movie genre, and one that's a bit lighter, "The Social Network."
I'm too much of a chicken to watch scary movies but have been looking forward to "The Social Network," since part of my job involves Facebook and I enjoy it so much personally.
Redbox got "Robin Hood," "Night of the Demons," "The House of the Devil," and "How to Train Your Dragon" this week. You can also rent the original "Friday the 13th" and Stephen King's "Pet Sematary," for some classic Halloween horror.


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Leader behaviour and the natural resource curse
We discuss political economy mechanisms which can explain the resource curse, in which an increase in the size of resource rents causes a decrease in the economy's; total value added. We identify a number of channels through which resource rents will alter the incentives of a political leader. Some of these induce greater investment by the leader in assets that favour growth (infrastructure, rule of law, etc.), others lead to a potentially catastrophic drop in such activities. As a result, the effect of resource abundance can be highly non-monotonic. We argue that it is critical to understand how resources affect the leader's 'survival function', i.e. the reduced-form probability of retaining power. We also briefly survey decentralized mechanisms, in which rents induce a reallocation of labour by private agents, crowding out productive activity more than proportionately. We argue that these mechanisms cannot be fully understood without simultaneously studying leader behaviour. Copyright 2009 Oxford University Press 2009 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.
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Volume (Year): 61 (2009)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 628-650
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AJ's SD Grill
Sulphur, OK 73086
Watch the chefs perform impressive culinary feats as they grill the perfect, mouthwatering burger before your eyes at...Learn More
Watch the chefs perform impressive culinary feats as they grill the perfect, mouthwatering burger before your eyes at...Learn More
Bedre Cafe is a 1950s style inspired deli, soda fountain, cafe and gift shop located in the Artesian Hotel, Casino &...Learn More
Try this place once, and wild horses couldn't drag you away. Barbecue at this Sallisaw institution is a family...Learn More
Cheesy pizza, Italian hoagies, pastas, calzones and more await you at Mazzio's Italian Eatery in Sallisaw. From savory...Learn More
An Oklahoma staple since the 1950s, Sonic Drive-In offers breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week. From hamburgers...Learn More
Maria's features authentic Mexican food. ...Learn More
Close to Northeastern State University, the Iguana Cafée offers a great place to grab a bite, drink some joe and...Learn More
This is truly a place where the best pizza comes home to roost. Chicken isn't the menu's main feature; the name...Learn More
Fig Tree features a buffet which includes steak, chicken, and more. ...Learn More
Aroma's is a coffee shop that serves cappuccinos, lattes, mochas, soups, salads, sandwiches, and daily lunch specials....Learn More


text: Sher-Dor Madrasah, Samarkand, Uzbekistan Built in the 17th century when Samarkand was a vital stop along the Old Silk Road, turquoise domes and exquisite mosaics decorate the madrasah (religious college). Send us your photos of Sher-Dor Madrasah. Once we have enough pictures (it takes about 300) we'll create a Photosynth.


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EXTENSION REQUEST: Durham County Council is being asked to grant planning permission for a single-storey extension to be built at the front of a house in Holyrood, Great Lumley.
PUB GIG: Singer Peter Allan is playing at the Red Lion, Milbanke Close, Ouston, tomorrow (Saturday, February 23) at 9pm. Entry is free.
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