text:
Field Borders for Agronomic, Economic and Wildlife Benefits
Editor's note
Web address and links in the resource list were updated on this page on 8/5/20 but have not been changed in the printed version or the PDF, so please check below.
Robert A. Pierce II
MU Extension fisheries and wildlife specialist
Bill White
Private land programs supervisor
Missouri Department of Conservation
D. Todd Jones-Farrand
Postdoctoral fellow
Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences
Thomas V. Dailey
Resource Science Division
Missouri Department of Conservation
Brent Carpenter
MU Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute
During the past few decades, dramatic changes have occurred across Missouri's agricultural landscape. Those changes include generally larger farms, increased field sizes, the promotion of monocultures and improvements in farm equipment. Although many of these changes have provided economic benefits, there have been trade-offs. For instance, traditional edge and fence row habitats and other types of early-successional vegetation (such as shrubs, grasses, annual weeds and forbs) that were once a common sight around many fields (Figure 1) have been eliminated or the quality significantly reduced on many farms (Figure 2).
This type of vegetation provides food and cover for many species of wildlife and is an important habitat component for the survival of bird species such as bobwhite quail. Many species of wildlife have adapted to "edge" habitats, which are created at the interface of two or more plant communities, such as the transitional zone between a woodland and crop field or pasture.
Figure 1
Field borders and fence row habitats were once a common sight around many crop fields.
Figure 2
Many farms have eliminated field borders and fence rows.
Field borders within the agriculture landscape
On many farms, field borders may be the only areas that provide important food and cover plants that wildlife need to survive. Establishing a field border or maintaining a fence row around a crop field or pasture is one way to improve habitats for wildlife in the agricultural landscape. Practices such as disking, burning, mowing, planting food strips and harvesting timber also create opportunities to enhance areas for wildlife. Field borders can provide increased plant diversity and transitional zones of habitat around crop fields. Studies in Illinois suggest that bobwhites tend to increase in areas that have a greater quantity of edge between woody and herbaceous cover (grasses, forbs and legumes). There is ample evidence that the abundance of bobwhites in an area increases with the quantity of suitable permanent cover, which can be increased on a farm through the establishment and management of edge habitats, such as field borders.
However, in many instances the habitat created is of poor quality and lacks essential food and cover plants (such as shrubs, grass and forbs) that are important for a variety of wildlife. Figure 3 provides an example of an edge habitat of poor quality. Note the narrow edge between the woodland and crop field. In many cases, mature woodlands lack herbaceous and shrubby cover and are located next to a field that offers unsuitable habitat for wildlife for much of the year. These narrow edges often provide poor habitat and thus can be ecological traps for wildlife. In other words, wildlife may be attracted to these areas where productivity is too low to replace the level of mortality. Often, predators such as raccoons and coyotes will concentrate their hunting activities near edges because of the abundance and variety of prey animals that are attracted to this special habitat.
Figures 4 and 5 provide examples of edge habitats that have been improved for wildlife. A transition zone composed of a variety of plants including grasses, forbs and shrubs provides important habitat components for wildlife. Note the wider boundary that gradually combines the characteristics of several plant communities. The habitat provided in these wider areas provides a better chance for wildlife to reproduce and survive.
Figure 3
Narrow, abrupt edges provide little plant diversity and poor-quality habitat for wildlife.
Figure 4
This wide vegetative zone between the crop field and shrubs provides higher quality habitat for wildlife.
Figure 5
A field border established next to a crop field provides one type of edge habitat beneficial to wildlife.
Cropland field borders
Typically, a field border consists of a strip of noncrop herbaceous or shrubby vegetation that runs adjacent to the field margin. These areas can be intentionally managed around crop fields to create edge and increase plant diversity and interspersion within the agricultural landscape (Figure 6).
Field borders composed of grasses, forbs, legumes and shrubs can provide valuable food and cover resources for wildlife such as bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, gray fox, indigo buntings and box turtles. Field borders located next to shrubby and woodland habitats can provide food and cover for wildlife associated with forested areas, such as white-tailed deer, wild turkey and brown thrashers (Figure 7).
Figure 6
The highlighted areas in this aerial photo depict locations to establish field borders on the farm.
Figure 7
A herbaceous field border next to a woodland. Narrow borders can benefit wildlife, but wider is better.
Agronomic and economic benefits
A key question for landowners interested in establishing and managing field borders is to determine whether net income will be greater than if the border areas were planted with crops. Another concern for crop producers is whether the potential increase of insects and weeds will result in decreased yields to the surrounding crop. Recent studies examined how herbaceous field borders around agricultural fields influence crop yields, insect abundance, farm-level economics and potential wildlife habitat.
Agronomic impacts
Crop yield
Information from precision-farming technology indicates that field edges located next to a mature woodland may suffer at least a 30 percent reduction in yield, making these areas unprofitable to plant, fertilize, treat with pesticides and harvest. This yield loss may be greater during drought years. Crop yield losses are greatest along the edges of fields that are surrounded by woody vegetation because of competition for nutrients and sunlight (Figures 8 and 9). Figure 10 shows an ear of corn grown along a Conservation Reserve Program CP-33 buffer that was 30 feet wide (on the top) compared to an ear of corn grown on the opposite side of the field that had a fence line composed of mature trees. Converting these field edges to a border of early-successional vegetation is an alternative to consider for agronomic, economic and wildlife benefits.
Several studies conducted at MU have investigated the influence of herbaceous field borders on corn and soybean yields and on insect abundance. One study evaluated three different plant mixtures in 30-foot-wide field borders, including:
- Tall fescue
- A cool-season mixture of orchardgrass timothy and red clover
- A warm-season mixture of little bluestem, sideoats grama and Korean lespedeza.
In control fields, the crop was planted in place of the experimental plant-mixture border.
The study then compared the crop yields of fields with and without experimental borders. There were no significant differences in either the soybean or corn yields among the various field border treatments. Producers are concerned that nearby weeds will reduce crop yields, and in this study, the experimental borders were very weedy. Despite the abundance of weeds in experimental borders, adjacent crop yield was not significantly reduced. And, as expected, crops in the control border sections were stunted and had lower yields, particularly when there was a hedgerow nearby. These findings suggest that it may be more economical for farmers to develop herbaceous field borders around crop fields (by enrolling in conservation programs designed to promote field borders) than to plant crops on the edges of fields.
Figure 8
Farmers may experience crop losses in fields planted adjacent to mature trees.
Figure 9
Shorter corn rows next to the tree line display effects of crop yield losses in a field planted next to mature trees.
Figure 10
A comparison of corn grown adjacent to a 30-foot-wide field border (top) and corn grown next to a tree line (bottom).
Insect pests
Managing insect pests is a very important consideration for corn and soybean producers. Crop production and protection programs rely on integrated pest management (IPM) approaches to prevent and solve problems. Concerns exist about the potential for pest insects to move into adjacent crops from field borders. However, studies have shown that grass and forb mixtures recommended for use in field borders do not negatively affect corn or soybean yields, which suggests that the potential for increased insect pests is not a concern. These borders had no affect on the abundance of bean leaf beetles (an important soybean insect pest), which helps alleviate farmers' concerns.
In fact, field borders planted to warm-season grass mixtures were found to potentially enhance the management of European corn borer (ECB) by reducing infestation of the corn stalks in the field by up to two to three times less when compared to field borders composed of cool-season grasses such as tall fescue. Warm-season grasses harbor large populations of predators and parasites of ECB, which may subsequently reduce the abundance of ECB in corn fields. Because these findings are contrary to previous work that suggested warm-season grass actually increases abundance of ECB, additional research is needed to study the relationship between warm-season grass and the European corn borer.
Economic incentives
Federal policy provides financial incentives for landowners to manage some cropland field borders for wildlife habitat. Landowners may be eligible for an annual rental payment, cost-share or other incentives in exchange for removing field borders from crop production. The economic question for landowners is: How much will conservation program payments offset the loss of future net revenue on the enrolled acres for the life of contract?
The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) at MU has conducted studies to estimate the net economic benefits of enrolling crop acres in the CP-33 conservation reserve program: Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds. FAPRI obtained information from groups of Missouri producers for real-world estimates of key variables, such as enrolled field border configurations, yields with and without field borders, program payments and costs of production. Specific types of farm businesses were then simulated for 10 years into the future under outlook scenarios. The FAPRI study did not attempt to estimate any benefits from improved wildlife habitat, such as recreational value.
While the net benefits were not positive for all scenarios, the simulations generally showed that, of the farm types studied (corn-soybean-wheat rotations), program payments would likely offset all of the foregone returns from crops, even with projections of historically high crop prices.
For example, a 500-acre farm with 10 acres of field border increased net cash income, on average, by $250 per year, or $25 per enrolled acre. This farm gave up gross market revenue of $266 per year per enrolled acre. By not cropping it also avoided $164 per enrolled acre in operating costs (seed, fertilizer, chemical, fuel, repairs, etc.). The program payment more than made up the deficit in net crop returns foregone.
Net benefits, either positive or negative, were relatively small. For example, the worst-case scenario tested a 1,400-acre farm with 20 acres of field border, which decreased net cash income by an average of $39 per year per enrolled acre, or $780 per year for the farm.
Enrolling acres is more likely to pay where inefficient crop production exists due to any combination of low yields or high costs relative to prices. Farms with high valued output relative to costs on field edges are less likely to benefit. Farmers indicate that corn and soybean yields suffer more than wheat yields, perhaps due to the dates of maturity. Thus, there is less financial incentive to place borders on the edges of wheat fields.
The complete FAPRI report as well as more updated information on market conditions can be accessed at fapri.missouri.edu. You can obtain additional information on conservation programs by contacting your USDA Farm Services Agency or Natural Resources Conservation Service office, or visit online at mo.nrcs.usda.gov.
Wildlife and conservation impacts
Numerous studies conducted in Missouri as well as in other states have documented the wildlife and conservation benefits that result from establishing and managing field borders around crop fields in areas of intensive agricultural production (Figure 11).
Studies in North Carolina and Mississippi demonstrated that field borders provide important winter habitat for migratory grassland sparrows and breeding habitat for numerous grassland and early-successional bird species. This research indicates that wider field borders support a greater density of birds, more species and higher nesting density than narrower field borders. However, even narrow borders provide greater habitat benefits than fields without any border.
A national monitoring effort (with sites located in Missouri) has been established to track bird use on approximately 1,160 fields enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) CP-33 Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds practice. This study is demonstrating that field borders planted with recommended grass/forb mixtures can increase the local abundance of bird species such as northern bobwhite, dickcissel, field sparrow and painted bunting by 50 to 100 percent, when compared to conventionally farmed fields. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that agricultural landscapes can support key species of regional conservation concern when select conservation practices are strategically used to create native plant communities on farmlands.
Results from these studies clearly demonstrate the value of field borders for many bird species that inhabit agricultural areas. Narrow (less than 15 feet) field borders can provide some benefits, although results from these studies suggest that field borders intended to provide nesting habitats should be greater than 30 feet in width. Wider field borders, such as those shown in Figures 11 and 12, provide more available and diverse sites for nesting and foraging, thus reducing the chance that predators will cause negative impacts.
Research has also shown that:
- A greater diversity of songbirds use field border habitats for cover, nesting and foraging activity during the spring and summer months.
- Farms with field borders harbor greater populations of grassland-dependent sparrows during the winter months compared with farms that have tilled field edges.
- An evaluation of field borders established as a CRP CP-33 practice shows that the numbers of bobwhite quail and selected species of songbirds (such as indigo buntings) increased on farms enrolled in this program.
- The abundance of a wide variety of wildlife species (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects) is higher in fields enrolled in the CRP CP-21 (filter strip) practice than in fields that are cropped to the edge.
- Bobwhite quail populations are greater on farms with field borders composed of grasses, forbs and shrubs when compared to farms that are tilled to the field edge.
- Properly managed herbaceous field borders provide vegetative structure necessary for quality bobwhite quail brood habitat (i.e., open, bare ground conditions with appropriate overhead cover).
- Field border systems create habitat that promotes increased insect diversity, which provides a food base for many species of birds, including bobwhite quail.
- Soybean and corn fields with surrounding field borders have more beneficial insects and fewer corn earworm caterpillars.
Figure 11
A field border composed of native forbs and warm-season grasses established next to a corn field.
Figure 12
A 30-foot-wide field border composed of native forbs and warm-season grasses next to a soybean field.
Establishment techniques
Location and width
Common questions often asked are, "Where should I establish a field border?" and "How wide should it be to provide habitat for quail?" The answer is the wider the better. Leaving as little as 15 feet can provide some benefits. However, field borders that are 30 feet wide or more provide much better habitat for nesting and brood rearing. One approach is to use the width of a disk harrow, or multiples of the width, to facilitate the management of the border strip. If possible, maintain field borders around the entire crop field to connect fallow corners and other adjacent habitats that might be present. Even a border established along one side of a field can provide significant benefits if there are adjacent habitats nearby.
Field borders can be planted either with a no-till drill or with conventional equipment. It is best to use the proper combinations of grasses, forbs (annual weeds and legumes) or mixtures of the two. The selection of what to plant should be based on the overall cover type needed — whether to supply supplemental foods or to provide nesting, brood rearing or escape cover. Reseeding annuals and forbs (such as annual lespedezas or partridge peas) mixed with perennial species of grasses (e.g., little bluestem, big bluestem, sideoats grama) are excellent selections. Cool-season grasses, such as tall fescue and smooth brome, are not recommended for use in a field border because of the potential invasive nature of the plant into adjacent habitats.
Two field border mixtures of plants that are beneficial to wildlife are as follows:
- In areas where concentrated flow erosion is not a concern
- Little bluestem - 2.7 lb. pure live seed per acre (PLS/ac)
- Sideoats grama - 1.4 lb. PLS/ac
- Approved native forbs - 3.0 lb PLS/ac
- In areas where concentrated flow is a concern
- Little bluestem - 2.7 lb. PLS/ac
- Sideoats grama - 1.4 lb. PLS/ac
- Alfalfa - 2.0 lb. PLS/ac
- Approved native forbs - 3.0 lb. PLS/ac
Natural field border
Field borders do not have to be planted with vegetation to provide benefits for wildlife. In fact, simply allowing native vegetation to grow along the border of a cultivated field (as in a fallow field) can create valuable habitats. It will be necessary to disk or apply a herbicide to establish native vegetation if the existing field border is in a dense sod, such as tall fescue. These natural borders can be allowed to grow to shrubby cover or can be maintained by disking or prescribed fire.
Management practices
Proper management of herbaceous field borders includes conducting some type of disturbance regime approximately every three years. See Figure 13 for a calendar of management practices. Recommended management practices include:
Figure 14
Strip disking can create and manage field borders.
Field borders can be managed as a long, narrow fallow field using combinations that involve strip disking and planting (Figure 14). One option is to disk one-third to one-half of the border each year in the fall and allowing it to remain fallow through the following summer. Fall and winter disking encourages the establishment of the "good weeds" (e.g., ragweeds, partridge pea, beggarweeds) that provide plenty of insects, seeds and the right type of overhead cover and bare-ground conditions that bobwhite quail will use the next year. As a general rule, field borders should not be disked during the spring/summer months, for this will potentially destroy nests, eliminate critical brood-rearing cover and often promote the germination of a different weed complex that do not provide fall or winter foods.
Prescribed burning
Burning removes heavy thatch, sets back grasses and encourages wildflowers, legumes and annual seed-producing plants. For best results, burn one-third to one-half of the field border in any given year to maintain some nesting cover. A late spring burn is best for setting back cool-season grasses. Late summer through early fall is the best time to burn thick stands of warm-season grass field borders to setback the dominant grass and encourage more wildflowers and legumes.
Mowing is not a recommended practice for managing field borders as it tends to decrease plant diversity and food availability while increasing the predominance of grasses in the stand. Mowing can be used during establishment of the grass planting to reduce competition from weeds. It may also be used to help control noxious weeds or invasive tree sprouts.
Selective herbicide applications can be used to retard the growth of grasses to allow other species to diversify the stand. Herbicides can be applied in strips or portions of fields. Apply herbicides to no more than one-third of each field. Herbicide applications should be made when grasses are actively growing. For the best results, spray cool-season grasses in late spring or early fall and warm-season grasses in June and July. Always read and follow herbicide label directions. Do not use a nonselective herbicide, such as glyphosate, if legumes or native wildflowers are part of the planting.
Edge feathering
Figure 15
Field borders can be created and widened by harvesting or cutting mature trees next to a crop field, a technique known as edge feathering.
Field borders can be widened and enhanced for wildlife by cutting woodland edges back to encourage low growing food and cover plant species. This technique is often referred to as "edge feathering." Larger, mature trees can be harvested or cut to allow annual plants and shrubs to grow (Figure 15).
Field borders can provide a number of conservation benefits, such as reducing soil erosion from wind and water, protecting soil and water quality and providing habitat for wildlife. These habitats, located at the edges of crop fields, can also serve to connect other buffer practices and habitats within the agricultural landscape.
These areas can be developed and managed to create valuable cover and food resources for wildlife that inhabit grassy and brushy habitats, such as bobwhite quail, cottontail rabbits, indigo buntings, brown thrashers and other songbirds. Properly managing the border can provide important wildlife habitat by:
Increasing plant diversity and the availability of food resources such as seeds and insect prey (important in the diet for many wildlife species, such as quail and turkey chicks);
Providing links between woodlands and fields around the farm and expanding the amount of permanent cover and usable wildlife habitat on the property; and
Providing critical winter and nesting cover for a variety of wildlife.
In addition, field borders have the potential to provide agronomic, economic and wildlife benefits. However, as research suggests, field borders are only one part of wildlife-friendly farm management. They are not a one-size-fits-all solution and should not be viewed as a "silver bullet" to increase breeding populations of most farmland songbirds.
The benefits of field borders vary from farm to farm and region to region, depending on the vegetative composition, the width of the borders and the characteristics of the surrounding landscape. Field borders that are part of a network of habitats that include woodlots, grasslands and a variety of crops are likely to be more attractive to birds and other wildlife. Research indicates that approximately 10 percent of the agricultural landscape should provide this plant diversity in the form of herbaceous field borders or other buffer types to have a positive impact on populations of bobwhite quail.
For more information
- Conservation buffers: wildlife benefits in southeastern agricultural system. Mississippi State University Forest and Wildlife Research Center: Research Advances Vol. 9, No. 2; WF220. January 2006
- Effect of herbaceous field borders on farmland birds in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. USDA NRCS Technical Note. July 2006. (URL updated 8/5/20)
- Herbaceous Field Borders Have Minor Impact on Corn Yield. Stamps, W. T., Dailey, T. V., Gruenhagen, N. M., and Linit, M. J. 2008. Online (1 July 2008). Crop Management doi:10.1094/CM-2008-0701-01-RS.
- Infestation of European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, in Midwestern USA fields with herbaceous borders. Stamps, W.T.; Dailey, T.V.; Gruenhagen, N.M. 2007. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 121: 430–434.
- Soybean Yield and Resource Conservation Field Borders. Stamps, W. T.; Dailey, T. V.; Gruenhagen, N. M.; and Linit, M. J. 2008. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 124:142-146.
- For additional information on CP-33 be sure to contact the USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service or the Missouri Department of Conservation. Visit these website links:
- Effect of herbaceous field borders on farmland birds in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. USDA NRCS Technical Note. July 2006. (URL updated 8/5/20)
- CP33 Pays, Missouri Conservationist Magazine (January 2006; revised November 2010) (URL updated 8/5/20)
- A Farm-level Economic Analysis of Wildlife Habitat Buffers in Missouri (for more information on the economic benefits of the CP-33 practice of establishing field borders around crop fields) (URL updated 8/5/20)
- Missouri Department of Conservation Private Lands Conservationists and/or wildlife biologists and wildlife consultants can assist in providing technical assistance for CP-33 as well as for establishing field borders around crop fields on your farm.


text:
Treinen makes impression with strike-zone command
VIERA, Fla. -- Manager Matt Williams is impressed by how the ball comes out of Blake Treinen's hand during bullpen sessions, and the skipper believes the right-hander has the ability to command the strike zone.
Treinen, who was rated by MLB.com as the 17th best prospect in the Nationals' farm system in 2013, can throw a sinker as fast as 95 mph. He also developed a changeup late last season.
Treinen, who came from Oakland in the Michael Morse trade, is a non-roster invitee and is expected to start the season for Triple-A Syracuse. Last season, Treinen played for Class A Auburn and Double-A Harrisburg, and he posted a combined 6-7 record with a 3.47 ERA. He will likely start the season as a starter, but the Nationals haven't ruled out a bullpen role for him.
"We are really excited to have him," assistant general manager Doug Harris said. "He is very big physically, very athletic young man, very good aptitude. He is a power sinkerballer. It varies from day to day. It's still evolving."
Treinen is willing to be a starter or a reliever for the Nationals.
"My goal is just to go out and throw. Whatever they want to do with me is what they do with me. Whatever gives me the best opportunity to help the big league team," Treinen said.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
bvs23bkv33 (unregistered)
TheCPUWizard (unregistered)
Been there, done that --- On top of the "Strategic issues", that code [implementation is a nightmare.... Did someone forget the third leg of TDD????
Hermit (unregistered)
He could have written regular xml and replace <>s with ###s in the resulting xml string. No one would have noticed.
Derp (unregistered)
After the first rejection, the only appropriate response is "Okay, do you have a spec, or at the very least a document detailing the format you want the email to be in? No? Okay, I'm not writing anything until I have one."
Jaloopa (unregistered)
Yes, that's XML, if instead of tags you used ###some-field-start###value###some-field-end#### in place of traditional tags
Simple then. Generate XML using standard libraries and then do a string replace at the end
Robert Morson (google)
You would wait for the first rejection to say that?
Patrick (unregistered)
Herbie should be happy that atleast they changed their mind so quickly. Typically various drastic changes and additional requirements appear long after the code has been written, tested and put into production...
Sally Flynn (unregistered)
That's just what I was coming here to say :D
Quite (unregistered)
I wonder whether this is deep legacy code which invented a txfer format way before xml was the merest twinkle in its parents' eyes.
Paul (unregistered)
"You would wait for the first rejection to say that?" - Yes, because the first time it was asked they just wanted an order confirmation. While you can have some sort of "marketing and communication" department supplying the text for that, lots of (mostly smaller) companies don't.
Tom (unregistered)
PHP on one side, VB on the other... what could possibly go wrong?
Nutster (nodebb)
After I write the code to generate the human-readable format and get told that is was wrong, my reply would be, "Why did you not tell me that in the first place? I just did 3 hours of billable work for nothing. What is the file format we should generate then? If you don't know, put me in touch with the "Me" over there so we can work out all the details."
Derp (unregistered)
Yes, because if you let it go wrong first due to a bad request you can cite it as evidence that they're idiots and in the long term gain more authority to tell them no.
Derp (unregistered)
Also, sometimes the only way to get someone to tell you what is actually is that they want is to give them something they don't want first.
What? I'm not giving you my name. (unregistered)
Extra layer of security by obfuscating xml.
Jaloopa (unregistered)
PHP to the left of me, VB to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with MUMPS
AbaddonsJanitor (unregistered)
"You just KNOW they were parsing this with nothing but regexes"
You just made me throw up in mouth a little bit.
DCL (unregistered)
IIRC standards like EDI (and its siblings X12, ODETTE, EDİFACT etc) existed before XML came along
Bananafish (nodebb)
IIRC standards like EDI (and its siblings X12, ODETTE, EDİFACT etc) existed before XML came along
I think you're right about that. I seem to remember XML was the fix-all for those things. Still waiting for the "fix" part ;)
Pulverized (unregistered)
"It was bad enough to generate it, but Herbie was glad he wasn't responsible for parsing it."
So he never wrote any tests and has no idea if his code actually works?
anonymous (unregistered)
Normally they try to shove XML onto things that shouldn't have it, rather than refusing it where it should in fact be used.
anonymous (unregistered)
There's a slight chance that they were given some test cases. Otherwise you can usually check this sort of thing by hand quite easily.
anonymous (unregistered)
There's a slight chance that they were given some test cases. Otherwise you can usually check this sort of thing by hand quite easily.
Duke of New York (unregistered)
While tests of some kind are helpful, Herbie's not really in a position to write tests that will verify acceptance by a parser he has no access to, which processes a language that doesn't seem to be documented anywhere and was discovered by trial and error.
At the same time, Herbie's code exhibits the kind of brute-force string-banging that is the bane of my existence. Factor that noise.
Duke of New York (unregistered)
Honestly, this post makes Herbie sound like a noob. When the boss says "send a notification to our automatic system", it goes without saying that the notification has to be in the system's own input format, not some random made-up XML schema. There generally isn't a mirror-Herbie waiting around to write the translation code.
isthisunique (unregistered)
That is actually double ended python, not XML and it's actually easier to write a parser for that. It's also more human readable too. More human and machine readable than XML (lack of escaping aside). It isn't particular portable but I would parse anything over XML.
isthisunique (unregistered)
My bad, I thought it was adding a hash on nesting. Still better than XML though. Anything is better than XML.
siciac (unregistered)
Anything is better than XML.
Nope, SGML, MIME and ASN.1 are all worse. ASN.1 and all the DER, CER, CRT shit spawned from it are particularly horrific, those are the binary formats used in certs. Generally, the whole x.500 standard is a nightmare of biblical proportions.
MrAHoleDBA (unregistered)
In a case like this can you just say 'ok well we don't support this custom format so we'll send it to you via XML and you can modify it to fit your custom format's requirements. I'm sure a dev team that writes a good custom format also can import industry standard formats such as XML and JSON, correct'?
ThatGuy (unregistered)
The real WTF here is that "Herbie" wrote two iterations of the solution before bothering to find out what the requirements were. Frankly, the poor folks on the receiving end of his code have a better WTF to tell than "Herbie" does.
löchlein deluxe (unregistered)
What, you have a 188.8.131.52.47.11.0815 with ASN.1?
Simon (unregistered)
My attitude would be "here's the data you want, in XML format". If you don't want XML, write an adaptor to turn it into whatever format you need.
Yazeran (unregistered)
I'm quite sure that he tested his work, but I do not think he had any access to the acutal parser (and he likely didn't want access, in order to preserver sanity).
Who knows what quirks the parser has?
For all we know there may be a special case buried somewhere where only the 2 outermost # characters are used for delimiters and the inner most pair is included in the actual data:
###mangled_tag### Data ###mangled_tag### results in the value '# Data #' being used in the application.... (and as already noted, they are likely using regexes for parsing, neatly discarding the 'extra' # characters on the outside....
Uno (unregistered)
I completely understand the first misunderstanding, because the RTWF is using e-mail for app-to-app communication. Don't.
Steve_The_Cynic (nodebb)
The worst part of ASN.1 (leaving aside the question of BER versus PER) is that it also infected SNMP, ILMI (which is essentially SNMP over AAL5 ATM frames), H.323, and many other things.
But PER is the worst. BER is just a binary TLV format - all the information to at least be able to extract the data values is in the encoded stream, even if you don't know what that "7" there means. PER deletes as much of that extra information as it can, on the assumption that anyone trying to read a particular piece of encoded data will know which data definition schematic thing to use.
RLB (unregistered)
Yes, we have a spec. Here it is. Hands over sample CSV file.
Next month:
Here is our new data. Hands over CSV file in slightly different format.
Yes, this happened to me.
No, TPTB didn't allow me to tell them to bog off.
H. P. Spectre (unregistered)
No need for that. Find and substring works fine.
Duke of New York (unregistered)
See folks, this right here is your bad role model. The kind of punk who always assumes that his job is someone's job other than his.
MiserableOldGit (unregistered)
The real WTF here is that "Herbie" wrote two iterations of the solution before bothering to find out what the requirements were. Frankly, the poor folks on the receiving end of his code have a better WTF to tell than "Herbie" does.
Well it could be that, but I quite often find I've got a middle layer of (mis) management or three and semi-competent business analysts between me and the client/end-user. In my current humiliating whore-ing out of my skills, I don't even know who or what is consuming my data, so I'm reliant on being drip-fed the wrong requirements and "correcting" stuff when I'm told it didn't work (usually without any meaningful indication as to why).
They've usually written some misleading bullshit functional spec to get the thing signed off by the project board, so you get given that second, the first iteration being based on the misleading summary of it given by your line manager. Then you get some business analyst giving you their incorrect assessment of what's really needed. If you are lucky by the sixth or seventh iteration you get to talk to somebody at the other end of the chain who actually knows what they are doing and has some notion of what is needed.
Of course at the end of all this, you'll get something working which might or might not make enough people happy along this chain that they all reappear to claim the credit for "another one of my projects has successfully deployed ... who are you? so what was your input on this? Hmm, right, is that a plate of doughnuts over there?"
Anon (unregistered)
The only problem I can see here is not using stringbuilder.
Jim Tonic (unregistered)
Me too!Yes, this happened to me.
Anyway, I sure hope Bobby Tables' little brother "###contact-person-end######mass-end######order-end###" isn't a customer of theirs.
- Feature Articles
- CodeSOD
- Error'd
- Forums
Other Articles
- Random Article
- Other Series
- Alex's Soapbox
- Announcements
- Best of…
- Best of Email
- Best of the Sidebar
- Bring Your Own Code
- Coded Smorgasbord
- Mandatory Fun Day
- Off Topic
- Representative Line
- News Roundup
- Editor's Soapbox
- Software on the Rocks
- Souvenir Potpourri
- Sponsor Post
- Tales from the Interview
- The Daily WTF: Live
- Virtudyne


text:
Discover for free which first names would suit you or your baby !
Meaning of name Hilaire
Etymology : French form of HILARIUS
Saint :
Origin : French
Rate this first name :
Gender : boy
Country :
Numbers :
Meaning of those numbers?
Share this page :
Who is he?
Masculine and endowed with a certain magnetism, Hilaire emanates an air of strength. He is courageous and assertive, although he is also quite wary. This is undoubtedly related to his shyness and emotional fragility - a real Achilles´ heel which affects his mood and level of enthusiasm. This can occasionally result in outbursts of anger if he doesn´t feel that he has been fully understood. Fiery and passionate, he conceals a sweet gentleness behind a firm, even curt and abrupt demeanour. Nevertheless, Hilaire is a friendly, affectionate and likeable soul - once he has decided that he trusts somebody. An ambitious young man, he isn´t indifferent to material comfort. He is particularly efficient and capable of great diplomacy when he feels motivated, whereas in other circumstances he may prove to be lacking in tact. Hilaire is confident and self-assured; his energy, celerity and his realistic and practical approach are extremely valuable assets! He remains nonetheless quite an impatient and irritable character, and could also prove to be something of an opportunist - his desire to succeed is that strong. However, at the same time he is rather proud and conceited, loathes flattery and deceit and possesses an acute sense of justice... He could sometimes feel torn between his desires and his principles. Born to be in charge, he is capable of assuming responsibility, as much in the family sphere as in his professional life. As a child, this is a little boy who is very attached to his family who he is ever eager to please and who therefore have a considerable influence on him as. Furthermore, he is a sensible and responsible child from an early age and his parents know that he can be trusted. Conscientious and quite a perfectionist, he is of an above average intelligence which means that he is apt to continue his education as long as he chooses. However, his well-being and development remain heavily dependent on a harmonious affective environment and the karmic 6 could mean that he experiences upheaval in his family environment. In this case, Hilaire could react in one of two ways; either he will feel overly implicated and take care of the others, or he will flee his responsibilities completely.
What does he like?
Hilaire is anxious to please and seeks peace and harmony above all. A lover of perfection, he is sensitive to beauty, esthetics and comfort. He could occasionally be indecisive and excessively perfectionist because he has a real eye for detail. When it comes to love, he is passionate and possessive, and capable of ferocious jealousy. Loyal, frank and intense, he has difficulty forgiving disloyalty on the part of his partner.
Get your free Personality test card now !!
What does he do?
Several types of occupation are likely to attract his attention; the social and medical fields (doctor, magistrate, judge...), consulting, the financial or business domains (management, accounting...), gastronomy, cuisine, esthetics, art or real estate...
Discover others boys first names : Hiawatha Hibiki Hicham
*To note: :
It sometimes happens that two different first names have the same meaning. This has nothing surprising: both first names have the same figures of numerology. It is as in astrology: two persons belonging to the same sign present the same characteristic...
Names compatibility
Test the compatibility of your names to know if your love relation is lucky to succeed. Friendship, love or passion?
Discover fast what waits for you...
Verify now if your names are compatible!
The last comments about "Hilaire "
Post your comment
Your Name Horoscope !
Thanks to the numerology, we propose you daily a horoscope personalized for your first name. Love, money , Shape: discover what waits for you for today. In Bonus every day find your daily lucky figure .. Horoscope of the first names
Love :Couples: Harmony will once again reign between the two of you. Singles: Make the most of your own company, you are unlikely to meet "the one" today.
Money :Today is a perfect day to clarify your financial objectives.
Health:You're lacking in calcium and vitamin D Hilaire . Get enough sunshine and eat plenty of brocolli to keep your bones healthy!
Your Lucky number : 49


text:
The guidelines for colorectal cancer screening are a set of recommendations prepared by an expert group representing a broad spectrum of health care organizations, including the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy and the American Cancer Society.
The current guidelines offer different options for colorectal cancer detection and emphasizes the prevention of colorectal cancer through screening.
Virtual colonoscopy
The recommendations add two new screening methods to the other options available to the consumer. Fecal DNA testing and computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy, are the newly endorsed tests. Both are less invasive than other screening tests and should encourage patients to have tests that can find both polyps and most cancers.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in men and women in the U.S. It is also the second leading cause of death from cancer.
Studies show that 50 percent of Americans who should be getting screening for this largely preventable disease are not getting tested despite data showing that screening saves lives. Even though rates of colorectal cancer have been declining over the past few years, they could be even lower if all people who should be screened actually got screened.
About colon screening tests
A virtual colonoscopy uses a CT scan to search for abnormal masses. It does not require the insertion of the tube with a camera on the end into the rectum, which is what happens in traditional colonoscopy.
The fecal DNA test is used to check for specific changes in DNA that are typically found in colon cancer. All the patient needs to do is collect an entire bowel movement, then the sample is sent to a laboratory. In one clinical study, this test demonstrated better sensitivity for cancer and polyps with high-grade dysplasia when compared to fecal occult blood testing (an accepted colon cancer screening test). However, neither test performed very well for finding large polyps without high-grade dysplasia (earlier pre-malignant stage).
Since the fecal DNA test is fairly new, more research is needed to determine how often the test should be done to have the best possibility of finding cancer. Also, the test may be limited in finding every DNA change associated with cancer.
The bottom line is that all of these tests have their pros and cons and are good additions to options for colorectal cancer screening.
Colonoscopy: still the best option
In spite of the experts' recommendations for the use of newer technologies to screen for colorectal cancer, the groups continue to agree that colonoscopy is the preferred method of screening, as in the past. Colonoscopy has great sensitivity in both detecting polyps and removing them, making the procedure both diagnostic and therapeutic.
Colonoscopy is considered to be one of the most effective preventive tools in clinical medicine.
Follow up for suspicious findings
If there are any positive findings from fecal tests, barium enema exams or CT colonography, follow up will be required. For a positive result from a fecal test, a follow-up colonoscopy will also be required.
If physicians discover adenomas (benign growths which often appear on glands or in glandular tissue) during sigmoidoscopy, that procedure should be followed by colonoscopy. This is because research suggests that patients who have an adenoma of any size in the colon are at an increased risk for developing cancer cells higher up in the colon.
Following virtual colonoscopy, the new guidelines state that the risk for patients whose polyps are small (smaller than 5 millimeters, or about 0.2 inch) is low, but for larger polyps (over 5 mm) a follow-up colonoscopy is recommended.
Always consult your physician for more information.
For more information
The full report updating screening guidelines:
Screening and Surveillance for the Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer and Adenomatous Polyps, 2008: A Joint Guideline from the American Cancer Society, the US Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer, and the American College of Radiology


text:
The Cloud's Untapped Vein of Gold
Oct 11, 2013 5:00 AM PT
Although the cloud marketplace is growing rapidly, the current rate of growth will continue only if a broader set of strong channel companies emerge to extend the reach of today's cloud leaders into new industries and geographies.
I've been suggesting for years that building more channels to market for cloud vendors is essential to the growth of the industry. This issue came to the forefront again recently when I spoke to two groups of employees of the provincial government of British Columbia in Victoria and a group of entrepreneurs at an incubator in Vancouver.
I was asked by members of both audiences why they couldn't find local cloud providers that could deliver a new generation of services to meet their rapidly evolving needs.
Prism, Patriot Act Obstacles
Both the government employees and entrepreneurs were interested in taking advantage of cloud services, but they were hesitant to obtain cloud services from U.S.-based service providers south of the border because of privacy concerns exacerbated by the NSA Prism scandal, as well as stringent restrictions imposed by the U.S. Patriot Act.
The Canadians aren't alone in their reluctance to capitalize on cloud services due to these concerns. Various European countries are also refraining from using U.S.-based services because of Patriot Act fears.
While a growing number of Europe-based companies have emerged to fill the void, the same isn't true in Canada. As a result, growing interest in cloud alternatives within Canada is being ignored because cloud vendors have not been able to foster a set of channel partners within the country to offer indigenous services that can meet their unique needs.
This is a classic channel opportunity waiting to be addressed -- and it isn't the only opportunity to bring cloud services to a specific nation or geographic region. Nearly every international market lacks sufficient local cloud channel partners.
Global Shortage
Central and South America, Australia and New Zealand, and other parts of the PacRim, as well as the Middle East, Africa and Europe, are prime territories for cloud growth that need more local channel partners to plant the flag for the leading cloud vendors.
Of course, the cloud channel opportunity isn't just about extending the reach of today's cloud services into new geographies. There is also plenty of opportunity for channel companies to exert their industry expertise in specific vertical markets and show healthcare providers, financial institutions, retail companies, manufacturers and others how to employ cloud solutions to address their escalating challenges and meet their corporate objectives.
Hard Work, Plentiful Rewards
Building a successful channel company in the cloud marketplace isn't easy. It requires a more agile business model because of the dynamic nature of cloud services. The subscription pricing approach at the center of cloud services demands a leaner operating style because channel companies can't rely on upfront systems and software license revenues.
Cloud vendors and their channel partners also must devise new account coordination methodologies to ensure customer satisfaction and encourage upsell/cross-sale opportunities, which are critical to long-term profitability.
There are plenty of challenges associated with creating a successful channel business in the cloud marketplace, as my recent travels to Canada clearly illustrated, but there is also a growing number of exciting channel opportunities waiting to be attacked.


text:
Today, the USEA boasts nearly 12,000 members and about 250 USEA recognized events take place across the nation each year. We also offer many educational programs, clinics, and seminars for our members. Various categories and price ranges of memberships are available, which offer something for everyone depending on level of interest. To learn more about the USEA, visit the About Us page.
Having problems logging into your account? Contact the USEA at 703-779-0440(2)
USEA Membership and Horse Registration are mandatory to compete in all USEA recognized competitions at the Beginner Novice Level and above. No exceptions! Make sure your USEA Membership is active and that your horse is properly registered to compete at the appropriate level. Points and placings are not retroactive. Competitors who repeatedly enter events at the Beginner Novice level and above without the benefit of membership will be included on a list provided to organizers and their entries will not be accepted. The USEA Membership year runs from December 1st through November 30th.
USEA Member Benefits
Full Member - $95
Full Member ($25 Junior Age Discount) - $70
Collegiate Program Membership ($25 Discount) - $70
Life Member - $1,500
Supporting Member - $50
Additional Benefits of USEA Membership:
USEA Recognition Programs
Click here to check out the USEA Member Rewards Program!
USEA's sponsors are an integral part of the eventing community. For that reason, the USEA may send out emails on behalf of their sponsors. The USEA does not share or sell member email addresses or telephone numbers.


text:
DON PESCI: Gun Regulations - Malloy's position via Lawlor
Michael Lawlor, Governor Dannel Malloy's Undersecretary of Criminal Justice for Connecticut and the architect of the state's troubled early release Earned Risk Reduction Credits program, has given us a peek into Mr. Malloy's views on pending legislation affecting gun control.
According to Mr. Lawlor, a number of areas need to be addressed by the legislature. They include:
1) Requiring some or all "long guns," such as rifles and shotguns, to have the same regulations on sales and transfers as handguns. Under existing state law, the assault rifle used in the Newtown massacre can be sold from one neighbor to another with no questions asked, Lawlor said.
This is a measure that had been adopted voluntarily, without benefit of legislation, by Hoffman's Gun Center - "Guns for the Good Guys" - prior to its recommendation by Mr. Lawlor.
2) Better defining an assault weapon so manufacturers can't slightly modify a weapon to render it outside the definition.
Good luck with the definition. Connecticut law already prohibits the sale and transfer of assault weapons, which are described in prohibitive statutes as "firearms capable of fully automatic, semiautomatic or burst fire at the option of the user."
Here is a listing of assault weapons banned in Connecticut:
Algimec Agmi; Armalite AR-180; Australian Automatic Arms SAP Pistol; Auto-Ordnance Thompson type; Avtomat Kalashnikov AK-47 type; Barrett Light-Fifty model 82A1; Beretta AR-70; Bushmaster Auto Rifle and Auto Pistol; Calico models M-900, M-950 and 100-P; Chartered Industries of Singapore SR-88; Colt AR-15 and Sporter; Daewoo K-1, K-2, Max-1 and Max-2; Encom MK-IV, MP-9 and MP-45; Fabrique Nationale FN/FAL, FN/LAR, or FN/FNC; FAMAS MAS 223; Feather AT-9 and Mini-AT; Federal XC-900 and XC-450; Franchi SPAS-12 and LAW-12; Galil AR and ARM; Goncz High-Tech Carbine and High-Tech Long Pistol; Heckler & Koch HK-91, HK-93, HK-94 and SP-89; Holmes MP-83; MAC-10, MAC-11 Carbien type; Intratec TEC-9 and Scorpion; Iver Johnson Enforcer model 3000; Ruger Mini-14/5F folding stock model only; Scarab Skorpion; SIG 57 AMT and 500 Series; Spectre Auto Carbine and Auto Pistol; Springfield Armory BM59, SAR-48 and G-3; Sterling MK-6 and MK-7; Steyr AUG; Street Sweeper and Striker 12 revolving cylinder shotguns; USAS-12; USI Carbine, Mini-Carbine and Pistol; Weaver Arms Nighthawk; Wilkinson "Linda" Pistol.
Adding yet another long gun to the list would be like dropping holy water into Hell; it would affect criminal gun violence not at all. Chicago has the most restrictive gun laws in the nation -- and the most violent assaults with weapons.
3) Focusing on behavior instead of a diagnosis from a mental health professional in determining who is disqualified from having a permit to own a gun. "Gov. Malloy is very concerned about unnecessary stigmatization about people with mental illness. There are plenty of people who are dangerous who are not mentally ill," Lawlor said.
Some consider it a pity and a lapse of judgment that neither the governor nor Mr. Lawlor are willing to apply the same test to lawful gun owners.
4) Whether a gun owner has to notify authorities if he or she lives with someone who exhibits troubling behavior.
"Troubling behavior" is a term of art. Would membership in the Goth Club of the local high school qualify as "troubling behavior?" What about non-members of the NRA who, in concert with the U.S. Supreme Court, assert that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides an individual right of self-protection? Would such claims qualify as "troubling" or aberrant behavior?
5) Modifying a gun seizure law in Connecticut that allows police to seize weapons from a person at imminent risk to himself or others. Lawlor said the judicial branch has said the guns can be withheld for a year and he suggested the seizure could be permanent.
The gun seizure law should be permanently applied only if the imminent risk to oneself or others is permanent.
6) Restricting the purchase of ammunition to people with gun permits, which Lisa Labella, co-executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence and a speaker at the forum, said would make illegally-owned guns "useless."
It may just as easily create a black market in illegal ammunition sales that would make it less possible to trace a bullet used in a crime to a purchaser.
7) Restricting gun permits to people who have been convicted of more than just felonies and major misdemeanors. He noted drunken driving was not on the list.
Would the restriction have prevented Frankie "The Razor" Resto from acquiring the weapon he used to murder Ibraham Ghazal,the owner of an EZMart in Meriden, after Mr. Resto had been released early under a program designed by Mr. Lawlor? Doubtful.
Don Pesci is a writer who lives in Vernon. E-mail: email@example.com.


text:
Playing this video requires the latest flash player from Adobe.
Download link (right click and 'save-as') for playing in VLC or other compatible player.
"International researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), in Geneva, Switzerland, will soon embark on one of science's greatest adventures. With its very high energy, previously seen only in cosmic rays, the particle collider will probe the inner structure of matter at distances ten times smaller than any previous experiments. The LHC will address many of the mysteries surrounding the smallest particles of matter. It may also pierce secrets that the Universe has hidden since the early stages of the Big Bang, such as the nature of dark matter and the origin of matter itself. This will be the largest scientific experiment ever attempted and the complex international efforts to bring the 27km-long machine to life, including Canada's involvement, will also be explained."
About John EllisBorn in London on July 1st, 1946, Ellis grew up in Potters Bar, a suburb that some Londoners used to regard as the northern boundary of civilization. It was there, at around the age of 12, he decided to become a physicist – largely due to the interesting science books he read at the local library. Ellis obtained his BA and PHD from Cambridge University where he studied mathematics and theoretical physics. Following a year at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center and an additional year at the California Institute of Technology as a research associate, Ellis joined CERN in 1973 and became leader of the Theory Division for six years. Currently, he is a senior staff member. Ellis is also an advisor on CERN's relations with non-Member States.
Ellis has published over 700 scientific articles in particle physics and related areas of cosmology and astrophysics. His research interests include the possible experimental consequences and tests of new theoretical ideas such as gauge theories of strong and electroweak interactions, grand unified theories, supersymmetry, and string theory. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1985, and was awarded the Dirac Medal of the Institute of Physics in 2005. Ellis is also responsible for popularizing the term "Theory of Everything" in an article published in the journal Nature in 1986.
About Robert S. OrrProfessor Orr was born in Iran, and grew up in Scotland and South Wales. His father and uncles were all engineers in the ship building industry. His interest in physics was sparked early in his childhood by trying to make sense of his father's textbooks. "Ever since I was a child, I took things apart to see how they worked" says Orr. "Doing that with matter is the ultimate challenge."
At present he is a Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Toronto. He was NSERC Principal Investigator for ATLAS Canada from 1994 to 2007. ATLAS is a detector within the LHC at CERN. Orr earned his B.Sc. and Ph.D. at Imperial College, University of London, UK, and was a Post Doctoral Researcher at Rutherford Laboratory, also in the UK, as well as at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. From 1974 to 1981 he was a CERN Fellow and Staff Physicist. He came to Canada in 1981 as an Institute of Particle Physics Research Scientist, and became a member of the faculty at the University of Toronto in 1989. Orr has worked at many of the world's particle physics labs in the USA, Germany and Japan. He has a particular interest in the application of large scale computing clusters in this field, and in the development of new finds of detection devices.


text:
Your Search Results
401(K) Matching, Fitness Subsidies, Onsite Gym, Sabbatical, Tuition Reimbursement, SQLite, Paid Volunteer Time, Volunteer in local community, Open door policy, Pair programming, 1 - 10 employees, 20M-50M amount
0 Companies
Ah shucks, we have no results for your search.
Try using less filters. Here's some helpful links to help too.


text:
This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Community patent
Community patent
Community patent
This summary has been archived and will not be updated, because the summarised document is no longer in force or does not reflect the current situation.
Community patent
The aim of creating a Community patent is to give inventors the option of obtaining a single patent which is legally valid throughout the European Union. The creation of such a patent could enable a substantial reduction in patenting costs (in particular those relating to translation and filing), simplified protection of inventions throughout the European territory as the result of one single procedure, and the establishment of a single centralised system of litigation.
Proposal, of 1 August 2000 for a Council Regulation on the Community patent.
In the European Union (EU), patent protection is currently provided by two systems, neither of which is based on a Community legal instrument: the national patent systems and the European patent system.
The national patent has undergone de facto harmonisation with the signing of several international conventions, including the Convention on the Grant of European Patents (the Munich Convention) in 1973 to which all EU Member States have acceded.
The Munich Convention lays down a single procedure for the granting of European patents. The Convention established the European Patent Office ("the Office") to grant patents which then become national patents subject to national rules. At present, 31 countries are members of the European Patent Organisation.
Although the Munich Convention creates a single system for granting patents, there is still no Community patent belonging to the Community legal order. A single patent for the whole Community could help Europe transform research results and new technological and scientific know-how into industrial and commercial success stories. The aim is also to help Europe catch up on the United States and Japan in terms of private R&D investment.
The proposal for a Regulation is the outcome of the discussions held in drawing up the Green Paper of June 1997 on the Community patent and the European Patent System, the main points of which were presented in the Communication from the Commission of 5 February 1999 entitled "The follow-up to the Green Paper on the Community patent and the patent system in Europe".
General functioning of the new Community system
The purpose of the proposed system is not to replace the existing national and European systems but to stand alongside them. Inventors will remain free to choose the type of patent protection best suited to their needs.
The main thrust of this proposal is the creation of a "symbiosis" between two systems: the Regulation on the Community patent and the Munich Convention.
The Regulation will supplement the Munich Convention. The Community patent will be issued by the Office as a European patent, specifying the territory of the Community instead of individual Member States. Implementation of this Regulation will require the Community to accede to the Munich Convention, and a revision of that Convention to enable the Office to grant a Community patent.
Once this Regulation has been adopted, the external jurisdiction for the Community patent will come under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Community.
Main features of the Community patent
The Community patent is unitary and autonomous, i.e. it has equal effect throughout the Community. It may only be granted, transferred or declared invalid for the whole of the Community.
Conditions for granting the patent
The conditions for granting the patent, for example the conditions of patentability, are set out by the Munich Convention.
Right to the patent
The right to the Community patent belongs to the inventor or his successor in title. If the inventor is an employee, the right to the patent is determined in accordance with the law of the State in which the employee is mainly employed or, if that State cannot be determined, with that of the State in which the employer has his place of business.
Provisions also exist for obtaining a patent with joint proprietorship and for the change of proprietorship of the Community patent.
Application for a Community patent
The application is made under the provisions of the Munich Convention. The Office examines the application and publishes it and the patent, if granted, in the Register of Community Patents and/or the Community Patents Bulletin.
Effects of the Community patent
The Community patent confers on its proprietor the right to prohibit, without his consent:
Limitations of the effects of the Community patent
The rights conferred by the Community patent do not extend to a number of areas detailed in the proposal for a Regulation, such as acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes.
Moreover, these rights do not extend to acts concerning the product covered by the patent carried out within the territories of the Member States, after that product has been put on the market in the Community by the proprietor of the patent or with his consent, unless there are legitimate grounds for doing so.
The rights of the patent do not apply to the prior use of the invention. Therefore, if a person, in good faith and for business purposes, uses the invention or makes effective and serious preparations before the filing date, this person has the right to continue such use or to use the invention as planned during the preparations.
Contractual licensing
The Community patent may be licensed in whole or in part for all or part of the Community.
These licences may be exclusive or non-exclusive. The rights conferred by the Community patent may be invoked against a licensee who breaches any restriction in the licensing contract.
Licences of right
The proprietor of a Community patent may authorise any person to use the invention, as a licensee, in return for appropriate compensation as fixed by the Commission.
This authorisation is given, and can also be withdrawn, by written communication to the Office and this entails a reduction of annual fees for renewing the patent.
The Member States are not empowered to grant licences of right in respect of a Community patent.
Compulsory licences
The Commission may grant a compulsory licence for lack or insufficiency of exploitation of a Community patent or in the case of dependent patents. It can also authorise the use of a Community patent in some specific situations: in times of crisis, in other situations of extreme urgency, or in a situation where it is necessary to remedy a practice deemed after a judicial or administrative process to be anti-competitive.
Renewal of the Community patent
Annual fees must be paid to the Office to renew Community patents. The amount of these fees will be fixed by means of an implementing regulation on fees, which will be adopted by a regulations committee.
Surrender of the Community patent
The Community patent may be surrendered only in its entirety. Surrender must be declared in writing to the Office by the proprietor of the patent, and only takes effect once entered in the Register of Community Patents.
Lapse of the Community patent
The Community patent is valid for twenty years, calculated from the date of filing of the application. The patent will lapse if the renewal fee or any additional fee has not been paid on time.
Invalidity of the Community patent
The grounds for invalidity include the following:
The patent is invalidated retroactively, except in decisions on infringement which have acquired the authority of res judicata and been enforced prior to the invalidity decision; nor does the retroactive effect of the invalidity affect contracts concluded and performed prior to the invalidity decision. However, in certain circumstances, it is possible to claim back sums paid under the relevant contract.
Any person may initiate invalidity proceedings, except in the case where the right of the proprietor of the patent to obtain the patent would be contested. In this case, the initiator of the application must be the person entitled to be entered in the Register of Community Patents as the sole proprietor of the patent or by all the persons entitled to be entered as joint proprietors.
Invalidity proceedings may be brought even if the Community patent has lapsed.
The patent may be invalidated either in whole or in part.
Legal framework
The proposal provides for the creation of a centralised Community Intellectual Property Court to guarantee unity of law and consistent case law.
This court will comprise chambers of first instance and appeal.
Jurisdiction of the Community Intellectual Property Court
The centralised court will have exclusive jurisdiction for some actions, including disputes relating to the infringement and the validity of the Community patent. The court will deal in particular with disputes between private parties and will be empowered to impose sanctions and award claims for damages.
Infringement action
An action for infringement must be based on a presumed infringement of the rights conferred by the patent. This action may be brought by the proprietor of the patent or, in some cases, by the beneficiary of a licence.
Request for limitation
At the request of the proprietor, a Community patent may be limited in the form of an amendment to the claims, the description or the drawings. The request is only admissible with the agreement of a person who has a right in rem or a licence recorded in the Register of Community Patents.
The Commission's capacity to act before the Community court
The Commission has the power to act if the Community's interest is at stake.
It may refer an action for invalidity of a patent to the court and intervene in any proceedings brought before the court.
Sanctions and claims for damages
The Community court may impose various sanctions. If a Community patent has been infringed, the court may issue the following orders:
Jurisdiction of the national courts
The national courts will have jurisdiction which does not come within the exclusive jurisdiction of either the Court of Justice or the Community Intellectual Property Court. The national courts will therefore deal, for example, with:
The national arbitration rules of the Member States will remain in force.
A Community patent may not be declared invalid in arbitration proceedings.
Language arrangements
A patent must be granted, in accordance with the Munich Convention, in a language of the proceedings before the Office (English, German or French) and must be published in that language with a translation of the claims into the other two languages (Italian and Spanish).
A translation of the Community patent into all the Community languages is not necessary, although the proprietor of the patent has the option of producing and depositing translations of the patent in other official languages of the Member States. These translations will then be made available to the public. This measure is taken to avoid high costs which might dissuade from using the Community patent.
At present, it seems difficult to reach a final agreement on the dossier. The main stumbling block is the issue of the translation of the claims in the patent. The text does in fact stipulate that the claims in the patent - this being the shortest but most important section as it defines the limits of the protection - should be translated into all official EU languages. As things stand at present, the European ministers are unable to agree on a compromise regarding the issue of knowing who will decide on the legal validity of the translation and how to deal with the effects of a mistranslation.
A second bone of contention relates to determining the length of the period for filing translations. This is a key issue as, under the arrangements proposed, the Community patent shall be deemed not to have taken effect if the translations are not filed within the deadlines set.
References and procedure
Official Journal
COM(2000) 412 final
Consultation CNS/2000/0177
Enhanced cooperation
Council Decision 2011/167/EU of 10 March 2011 authorising enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection [OJ L 76 of 22.3.2011].
This Decision presents the current situation regarding the desire of the 25 Member States to institute enhanced cooperation between them in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection. The aim of this cooperation is to create unitary patent protection in the territories of the participating Member States. The arrangements for translating the patent still need to be finalised.
Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Regulation implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection [COM (2011) 215 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
This Proposal aims to implement enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection such as was authorised in Decision 2011/67/EU. It defines the parameters of European patents so that they can have unitary effect within the participating Member States.
Proposal for a Council Regulation implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection with regard to the applicable translation arrangements [COM(2011) 216 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
This Proposal aims to introduce simplified procedures regarding the translation arrangements for a European unitary patent. It is published in one of the three official languages of the European Patents Office (EPO) and may be translated into the two other languages. The patent may be translated into another language of the EU in the case of dispute or where the applicant has submitted an application for a European patent in a language other than those of the EPO.
Community Patent Court
Proposal of 23 December 2003 for a Council Decision conferring jurisdiction on the Court of Justice in disputes relating to the Community patent [COM(2003) 827 final - not published in the Official Journal].
Proposal of 2 December 2003 for a Council Decision establishing the Community Patent Court and concerning appeals before the Court of First Instance [COM(2003) 828 final - not published in the Official Journal].
In line with creating the Community patent, the establishment of a Community Patent Court, placed under the aegis of the European Court of Justice, aims to complete the system of patent protection in the Union. Establishing this court will have the advantage of centralising litigation and thereby more effectively resolve disputes concerning infringement and the validity of Community patents.
Last updated: 22.03.2011


text:
GDG Philippines is organizing a Women Techmakers: Manila event on March 8. The goal of the event is to empower women to pursue their dreams and build tools that will change the world. There will be talks from women speakers, and two Code Labs in the afternoon (Dart and Android). Details of the agenda is available at http://womentechmakers.gdgph.org.
To signup for this event and/or to check details, visit the events website at http://womentechmakers.gdgph.org.


text:
Search This Blog
Welcome to my blog of creative pastimes. I write stories, I podcast, and I sometimes animate and video edit. I also like to talk about the inspiration I find in the world around me. Since setting up this blog in 2006, I've mainly hoped to share my experiences about creative successes (and failures) for other aspiring authors and creatives. So whether you're a fellow scribbler or a curious reader, feel free to drop in from time to time to follow my continuing creative adventures - Chris G. Allan
Showing posts from March, 2012
NB All writing herein ©C.G.Allan 2006 to 2020. All ideas remain the Intellectual Property of C.G.Allan.
"12 months to make it all work..." (the 2012 writing preview!)
- Get link
- Other Apps


text:
Buttermilk Scones with Currants + Lemon Curd
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
I'm preparing for Thanksgiving and for my sole visitor, my father, who loves a proper English scone. Unfortunately, these currant scones, I am fairly certain are not proper by any British standards, and I'm fairly certain that serving them with lemon cream is not proper either. What I am certain about, however, is that after one bite, my father will tell me that what I have created is not in fact a proper British scon. And then he'll proceed to devour two or three, slathering each with lemon cream, uttering mumbles of approval all along the way. I can't wait.
I'm sorry to bore you with a recipe I've posted about before, but when I find a recipe I like, I tend to stick with it. Tartine's buttermilk scone recipe is the one I use year-round, studded with berries in the summer and currants in the winter. The recipe yields a huge batch, too, which is nice when planning for visitors, so I froze eight unbaked scones for Thanksgiving morning.
With scone dough stashed away, I thought it would be fun to have some of Tartine's lemon cream on hand, too, a recipe I overlooked in the cookbook but have had bookmarked since seeing it on Food52 a few months ago. The cream is as luscious as promised, and I cannot wait to serve it, though I suspect my father is going to ask if I've got any clotted cream around. Also, just a note: these scones certainly don't need anything as spectacular as homemade lemon cream — they honestly don't even need a dab of butter — but if you're feeling the gilding-the-lily spirit that is the holiday season, then go for it.
Incidentally, I have been watching Call the Midwife — amazing! — and have been craving proper English scons since hearing the midwives giggle about them in the last episode. I might have to give a proper recipe a try — these look promising. British Readers, thank you for alerting my attention to CTM. It is as wonderful as you said. Just when I thought I couldn't love a character more than DCS Foyle, Chummy walked into my life.
Lemon cream ingredients:
Buttermilk Scones with Currants
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 scones
Source: Tartine
- 3/4 cup (3.5oz/100g) Zante currants
- 4 3/4 cups (24oz/680g) of flour
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon (3.75ml) baking soda
- 1/2 cup (3.5oz/100g) sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon (6.25ml) salt (I use table salt)
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) grated lemon zest
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (9oz/255g) cold, unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups (12oz/375ml) buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons (45ml) melted butter
- sugar for sprinkling
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter a baking sheet (or line it with parchment paper). Combine the currants with warm water to cover in a small bowl and set aside for about 10 minutes until the currants are plumped. Drain well. (I drain them and then wrap them in paper towels to soak up excess moisture.)
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add sugar, salt and lemon zest and stir to combine. Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and scatter the cubes over the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender or the back of a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. When you are finished, the butter should be dispersed throughout the flour in pea-sized lumps (or bigger… mine always are).
- Add the buttermilk all at once along with the currants and mix gently with a wooden spoon until the dough holds together. If the mixture seems dry, add a little bit more buttermilk. (I added 6 more tablespoons of buttermilk.)
- Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Divide the dough into two even portions. Using your hands, pat each portion into a circular disk about 1 1/2 inches thick. (Or, if you want to follow Tartine's instructions, pat the dough into a rectangle about 18 inches long, 5 inches wide, and 1 1/2 inches thick). Brush the top with melted butter. Sprinkle with sugar. Using a biscuit cutter or any round cutter, cut each disk into 8 circles, gathering the scraps together to shape the final circle. (I forgot to butter and sprinkle with sugar until after I cut up the disks. Also, obviously, you can cut the disk into triangles, which is easier. I just love the circular shape.)
- Transfer the triangles to baking sheet. Bake until the tops of the scones are lightly browned, about 25 to 35 minutes. (Mine were done at 20 minutes.) Remove from the oven, let cool briefly, then serve with butter, lemon cream, clotted cream, jam or nothing at all.
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: scone, buttermilk, currant, butter, lemon, curd
Tartine's Lemon Curd
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 2.5 cups
Source: Tartine
UPDATE: Made this with one stick of butter — tasted great to me. Also, the lemon cream can be used as a filling for tarts and trifles and mixed with whipped cream to spread over layer cakes. I'm still unsure of what I'm going to do with the bulk of mine.
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (5oz/155ml) lemon juice
- 3 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3/4 cup (6oz/170g) sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) unsalted butter, cool (Note: you can use half of the amount of butter — I've been making this with 1/2 cup of butter, and it is delicious.)
- Pour water to a depth of about 2 inches into a saucepan, place over medium heat, and bring to a simmer.
- Combine the lemon juice, whole eggs, yolk, sugar, and salt in a stainless steel bowl that will rest securely in the rim of a saucepan over, not touching, the water. (Never let the egg yolks and sugar sit together for more than a moment without stirring; the sugar will cook the yolks and turn them granular.) Place the bowl over the saucepan and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes very thick and registers 180° F on a thermometer. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. (Note: I do not have a trusty thermometer, but found that the mixture started to thicken up after about 6 minutes, and I continued to whisk for a total of about 9 minutes.)
- Remove the bowl from over the water and let cool to 140° F, stirring from time to time to release the heat. (Again, I do not have a thermometer, but just used my judgement — I let it cool for about 15 minutes.)
- Meanwhile, cut butter into 1-tablespoon (15-ml) pieces. When the cream is ready, leave it in the bowl if using an immersion blender (I tried this…not so easy…so I switched to the blender), or pour it into a countertop blender. With the blender running, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition until incorporated before adding the next piece. The cream will be pale yellow and opaque and quite thick.
- You can use the cream immediately, or pour it into a storage container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days. To use after refrigeration, if necessary, gently heat in a stainless steel bowl set over simmering water until it has softened, whisking constantly.
I don't see why the butter couldn't be at room temperature? It's just a thought that I might act on next time around. I used to make a recipe very similar to this one, and it called for whisking in room temperature butter after the thickened egg yolk-lemon-sugar mixture had cooled briefly. It worked beautifully.
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemon, curd, homemade, diy
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.


text:
Do you know how frustrating it can be to endlessly wait for a patient CD to open?
Does your viewer require the installation of additional components before the images can actually be viewed?
Try the RadiAnt DICOM Viewer CD/DVD autorun package! It is extremely fast, runs from CD/DVD media without installation on Windows XP SP3, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 systems and does not have any additional software or programming requirements (e.g. .NET, Java).
If the user's operating system permits, the 64-bit version is opened for better efficiency. On older machines the 32-bit version is used. Approximately just 6MB of overhead data is added to the media.
The logo image displayed after opening the application is fully customizable and can be used to show your company information to your clients.
RadiAnt DICOM Viewer provides the following basic tools for the manipulation and measurement of images:
RadiAnt DICOM Viewer was designed to use resources as efficiently as possible. It can make use of a multiprocessor and multicore system with large amounts of gigabytes of RAM, but will also run on an old single-core machine with only 512MB RAM.
A 64-bit version is provided for modern systems to keep all opened images in more than 4GB of memory, if necessary. Asynchronous reading lets you browse and process images while they are still being opened.
All of this is available in one very compact application that has an installer size of just over 7MB.
The PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) client feature lets RadiAnt DICOM Viewer query and retrieve studies from other PACS hosts.
Supported service class users/providers are: C-ECHO SCU, C-ECHO SCP, C-FIND SCU, C-MOVE-SCU, C-STORE-SCP (Only transfers initiated from the RadiAnt DICOM Viewer are accepted. If you try to send studies from other PACS nodes without searching them first and starting the download in RadiAnt, they will be ignored).
Received DICOM files are stored in a temporary folder and are deleted when RadiAnt closes.
The software has the capability to open and display studies obtained from different imaging modalities:
Multiple series of one study or several studies can be concurrently opened in the same or different windows for comparison purposes.
Series consisting of images that have been acquired in the same plane (e.g. Computed Tomography series before and after administration of the contrast medium) are automatically synchronized by default.
Cross-reference lines are displayed for better correlation of the anatomy when browsing series with different image planes (e.g. Magnetic Resonance study).
Create visually stunning presentations and professional publications - RadiAnt DICOM Viewer can export DICOM files to JPEG (compressed) or BMP (uncompressed bitmap) images and WMV (Windows Media Video) movies.
One image, an entire series or all opened images can be exported simultaneously.
Displayed images can be quickly copied to the Windows clipboard using the CTRL+C shortcut and can be quickly and easily pasted into Word or PowerPoint documents.
The MPR tool provided within RadiAnt DICOM Viewer can be used to reconstruct images in orthogonal planes (coronal, sagittal, axial or oblique, depending on what the base image plane is). This can help to create a new perception of the anatomy that was not possible to visualize using the base images alone.
The reconstruction process is extremely fast: a coronal series can be created from more than 2000 axial CT slices in approximately three seconds (on a modern Intel Core i7 system).
The 3D VR (volume rendering) tool lets you visualize large volumes of data generated by modern CT/MR scanners in three dimensional space.
The different aspects of the data set can be interactively explored in the 3D VR window.
This tool lets you rotate the volume, change zoom level and position, adjust color and opacity, measure length and show hidden structures by cutting off the unwanted parts of the volume with the scalpel tool. The image is rendered progressively to maintain fluid operations even on slower machines.
Overlay a color-mapped PET image onto a CT scan to obtain anatomical references for regions with increased FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) uptake values.
Use the ellipse tool to measure maximum, minimum and average values of SUVbw (Standardized Uptake Value calculated using body weight) in a specified area.
Image fusion can also be applied to other imaging modalities, such as Magnetic Resonance, e.g. DWI images can be fused with T1 or T2-weighted scans.
RadiAnt DICOM Viewer lets you visualize the lesions' enhancement behavior (e.g. in Breast MRI) by plotting time-intensity curves (TICs).
Different types of curves can be obtained: Ia - straight (the signal intensity continues to increase over the entire dynamic period) / Ib - curved (the time-signal intensity curve is flattened in the late postcontrast period), II - plateau (the signal intensity plateaus in the intermediate and late postcontrast periods) or III - washout (the signal intensity decreases (washes out) in the intermediate postcontrast period).
If you have a Windows 8 or Windows 10 touch-enabled device, you might find that gestures (motions that you make with one, two or more fingers) are easier to use than a mouse or keyboard. RadiAnt DICOM Viewer enables users to make use of the array of multi-touch gestures:
Thanks to our community, RadiAnt DICOM Viewer interface has been translated into over 20 languages so far:


text:
Wimmer masters details to redefine the big picture of conflict
Sociologist Andreas Wimmer connects the dots.
After amassing and analyzing a database of all 464 major wars fought around the world from 1816 to 2001, Wimmer identified the formation and development of nation-states as an overlooked common thread in conflicts.
Wimmer, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, and his collaborators also built a database of more than 730 ethnic groups in every country from 1946 to 2005 and calculated the extent to which political marginalization increases the likelihood of conflict.
In the classroom, Wimmer dives into data second-year graduate students study to help them identify promising approaches for their work, on topics from water sanitation to the cost of funerals. One of his common queries: "Why is this important?"
And in his office, Wimmer encourages graduate students to tackle big questions. A discussion with sociology graduate student Yossi Harpaz focused on ways Harpaz could structure his research on dual citizenship policies so that it addresses the phenomenon around the world. Teacher and student filled a white board with possible approaches. "He asks questions that really push students to think," Harpaz said.
Wimmer's ability to connect the dots in research and teaching complements his skill in bridging methods, approaches and academic traditions, said Miguel Centeno, the Musgrave Professor of Sociology and a professor of sociology and international affairs.
"I think one of the most outstanding things about Andreas is that he combines two intellectual or scholarly worlds," said Centeno, who is also chair of the Department of Sociology. "He has all the erudition, the language training, the historical training, the philosophical training of an old-fashioned sociological historian. He also has technical capacity and a modeling expertise of a very, very new type of scholar.
"Here is someone who can work in and create massive data sets in very sophisticated ways but can also write very insightful pieces about the philosophical nature of nationalism," he said.
A new approach to studying conflict
Wimmer joined the sociology department in 2012 from the University of California-Los Angeles. He earned his master's, Ph.D. and habilitation (a postdoctoral qualification) in social anthropology at the University of Zurich. He was on the faculty there, the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland and the University of Bonn in Germany before going to UCLA in 2003.
Wimmer said he was drawn to Princeton's sociology department by its academic reputation and its outstanding faculty, as well as its collegial culture.
"All of these expectations have been borne out since I joined Princeton and the department, and I am very humbled and grateful for the warm reception that I received by my colleagues and friends in the department," Wimmer said.
Wimmer's move to UCLA coincided with the beginning of his decade-long effort to explore the common factors in conflicts around the world. His research culminated this year in the publication of his book "Waves of War: Nationalism, State Formation and Ethnic Exclusion in the Modern World," published by Cambridge University Press.
Wimmer said he was dissatisfied with arguments that pegged the causes of conflicts to a range of specific reasons — such as disputes over resources, the central government's inability to repress rebellion or sheer self-enrichment. Based on his firsthand observations of ethnic conflicts in Mexico and Iraq, Wimmer wanted to explore the idea that conflicts could be explained by a broader phenomenon: the formation and development of nation-states.
During his early work as a social anthropologist, Wimmer spent a year in a remote village in Mexico, where he watched as an indigenous political movement emerged, leading to the rise of the Zapatista group in the 1990s. And while doing work in Iraq in the 1990s, he witnessed tensions between the central government and Kurdish groups in the nation's north.
"A lot of the movements that were fighting the central states were motivated by desires for ethnic autonomy or were claiming the government had unjustly excluded them from government power," Wimmer said.
He points to other examples, too, such as the current fighting in Syria, along with the conflict that led to the creation of South Sudan and fighting in Kosovo.
His upbringing in Switzerland also played a role in developing his perspective, Wimmer said.
"Switzerland has three languages, or ethno-linguistic groups, but politics has never been divided along these lines, with a few brief exceptions during the First World War," Wimmer said. But in other countries, ethnic differences frequently lead to conflict, he said, and the contrast fueled his interest in the topic.
But Wimmer faced a problem. The data he needed to test his theory didn't exist. So, with the help of a team of graduate students, he created data sets on conflict and the formation of nation-states that cover the globe over long periods. Teaming up with political scientists from Switzerland, he also assembled a data set on ethnic politics of all countries since 1945.
Using that information, he found that the shift from empire to nation-state is the period when the likelihood of war peaks — with conflicts to establish nations and then fights for power within the nations. For example, he found that a 30 percent increase in the size of a country's population excluded from the political process raised the chances of civil war by 25 percent. In addition, almost 40 percent of independent countries have experienced at least one ethnopolitical rebellion since World War II, Wimmer found.
"I think the great thing about it is he's teaching us how to see the evolution of wars and the evolution of ethnic groups and nation-states almost in an archaeological fashion," Centeno said.
Wimmer is also known for asking insightful questions that get to the heart of research, Centeno said. "You can always tell the good questions are going to come when Andreas raises his hand," Centeno said. "He's done it to me."
Edward Telles, a professor of sociology, said Wimmer provides the sociology department with a strong link with European approaches to the discipline.
"He's not bashful about challenging Americans and the way they think," said Telles, who also served on the faculty at UCLA with Wimmer. "The Europeans and the Americans have both developed important ideas, and he's an important bridge."
Delving into data in the classroom
Wimmer's wide range of skills and broad knowledge make him a natural to teach "Seminar in Empirical Investigation," the course that helps second-year graduate students structure their research efforts, Centeno said. "He's been magnificent at it."
Seniors writing their theses also get valuable guidance from Wimmer. Kathleen Sharkey, a member of the Class of 2013, said Wimmer helped her develop her topic and design of study for "Obesity and Socioeconomic Status: The College Effect."
"Professor Wimmer was extremely supportive throughout the entire yearlong thesis project," said Sharkey, who majored in sociology and is now training full time with the U.S. national field hockey team. "His helpful advice, continual feedback and positive encouragement were very valuable to me."
Wimmer has written or edited a dozen books in German and English. His second book published this year, "Ethnic Boundary Making: Institutions, Power, Networks," from Oxford University Press, offers a comparative approach and analytical tools to explore the way ethnicity and race are viewed differently and play different roles in countries around the world.
"It's been very difficult to have cross-cultural, cross-national conversations without this work," Telles said. "Andreas is giving us a common set of concepts and notions and languages about race, ethnicity and nation that is sorely needed."
Wimmer is beginning to think about his next project, which he said may focus on how cultural and political phenomena spread around the world, from opera and hip-hop to the death penalty. He has his eyes on another massive set of data for that project — a database of content from major newspapers of all countries beginning in the early 1970s. "We'll see what happens," he said.
In July, Wimmer will take on a new responsibility and serve as director of the Fung Global Fellows Program. Administered by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies, the program brings six exceptional early-career international faculty members from the social sciences and the humanities to Princeton for a year of research, writing and collaboration on a common theme. The theme for 2014-15 is "Global Diffusion."
"Wimmer's innovative work on the global spread of the nation-state as political form positions him well to provide new insights into diffusion processes across state boundaries," said Mark Beissinger, director of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies and the Henry W. Putnam Professor of Politics.


text:
PC Slide Doomed a Blackstone-Dell Tie
It really was that bad.
That was the conclusion Blackstone Group LP reached about Dell Inc. after it set a small army off to decide whether the private-equity firm should bid for the computer maker.
Blackstone on Thursday told a special Dell board committee negotiating a sale of the company that, after weeks of review, it wouldn't be moving ahead with a bid. It cited an "unprecedented" decline in PC sales and Dell's "rapidly eroding financial profile."