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"Black Lives Matter" is wrong on crime, wrong on Israel, and wrong on education.
… Our conversation, had left my mind racing with thoughts about the moral hypocrisy of Black Lives Matter. I thought about two transgressive and unpardonable sins of the Black Lives Matter movement. The first has to do with its outrageous position on Israel; the second pertains to its immoral demands regarding the education of black Americans.
The leaders of Black Lives Matter have written a profoundly anti-Israel (and anti-American) manifesto in which they accuse Israel of "genocide" and "apartheid." The manifesto endorses the "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" (BDS) movement and takes the view that the United States justifies and advances the global war on terror via its alliances with Israel. This, according to Black Lives Matter, makes the U.S. complicit in a supposedly genocidal massacre of the Palestinian people.
As a staunch defender of Israel on moral grounds, I categorically condemn the moral ineptitude of the Black Lives Matter movement on this point. If there is a victim in the Middle East, it is the beleaguered state of Israel.
The Jewish state is the only technologically advanced and democratic country in a region of illiberal, primitive, and human-rights-abusing nations that treat women worse than cattle and don't know the meaning of religious reciprocity.
Since its founding, Israel has fought marauders in the likes of the Jordanians, the Egyptians, and the Syrians. These parties have invaded Israel, threatened her right to exist, and tried to eliminate her and Jewry itself from the region.
Israel's enemies among the Palestinians have sought to do the same with the help of terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority. And the Palestinians have made an unprecedented demand in the history of warfare. Displaced by a war that their leaders started and lost, they claim a right to return to a territory they failed to conquer.
While Arab Israelis serve in the Knesset side by side with Israeli Jews, Palestinians have elected governments whose charters have called for the annihilation of Jews and whose leaders portray Jews as pigs, vermin, and an evil to be eradicated.
Israel is the only country I know of that grants citizenship and land rights to its avowed enemies. What's more, Israel offered a Palestinian state to both Yassir Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas and was not only repeatedly turned down but repaid with the second intifada and the indiscriminate murder of Israeli citizens. Palestinian intransigence is forged in the conviction that no deal will be made so long as Jews—any Jews—occupy the land of Israel.
In 2005, Israel unilaterally handed over its territory in Gaza to the terrorist government Hamas and was, and still is, rewarded by a daily showering of rockets into Israeli land.
With its accusations against Israeli Jews, Black Lives Matter suggests that in their support of Israel, such Jews are complicit in the unproven crimes of genocide and apartheid. We must remember that even amid the daily onslaughts of war and terror that Palestinians inflict on Jews, the Israelis, in a spirit of almost irrational altruism, take great pains to limit civilian casualties and to ensure that those caught in a war they did not personally initiate are spared as much harm as possible.
Black Lives Matter is not only being unjust toward Israel; its anti-Israel stance betrays Jews in America, to whom blacks in this country are enormously indebted. If there are any unsung heroes of the civil-rights movement, it is those Jews who played an enormous but largely unacknowledged role in the liberation of blacks from racial oppression.
American Jews undertook monumental efforts to found and fund some of the most important civil-rights organizations in the U.S. These include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1909, Henry Moscowitz joined W.E.B. Du Bois and other civil-rights leaders to create the NAACP. The vice chairman of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism), Kivie Kaplan, served as the national president of the NAACP from 1966 to 1975. Arnie Aronson worked with A. Philip Randolph and Roy Wilkins to found the Leadership Conference.
From 1910 to 1940, there were more than 2,000 primary and secondary schools and 20 black colleges (including Howard, Dillard, and Fisk Universities) established in whole or in part by contributions from Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald.
At the height of enrollment at the so-called Rosenwald schools, nearly 40 percent of Southern blacks were educated at one of these institutions.
During the civil-rights movement, Jewish activists represented a disproportionate number of whites involved in the struggle for black emancipation. Jews made up half of the young people who participated in the Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964. Leaders of the Jewish Reform Movement were arrested with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1964, after mounting a challenge to racial segregation in public accommodations.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were drafted in the conference room of the Religious Action Center (RAC) of Reform Judaism, under the aegis of the Leadership Conference, which for decades was in the RAC's building.
The hard, cold, and unsentimental fact of the matter is that without Jewish financial backing and moral contributions, there may never have been a civil-rights movement.
There is another morally irresponsible claim made by the Black Lives Matter movement—a claim that should offend any self-respecting black American citizen. I refer to the movement's demand that the United States provide free college education to blacks.
On what grounds is this organization making such a demand? Why free college education for blacks but not for poor whites or for Latino, Asian, or Native-American college students? What special sociopolitical conditions exist for blacks that do not hold for other ethnic or racial groups such that blacks deserve to be exempt from paying college tuition?
Could it be that the spokespersons for the movement are failing here to recognize another cultural pathology blacks face? I have in mind the problem of single-parent families—in which 70 percent of African-American children now live. This is a financially untenable situation for a massive swath of black America. And it is certainly an issue over which blacks have control.
…The cardinal sin of asking for anything for free in this life is that you abnegate your responsibility not just for maintaining your existence but, more important, for achieving your humanity.
The demand for a free education, along with the demand for race-based reparations by Black Lives Matter and others, is symptomatic of another problem in race relations. There are those on the left who see self-reliance, initiative, and a commitment to one's own life as, at best, hopelessly naive.
Such people see grit, honor, hard work, and self-reliance as "white" ideals that are being imposed on others. Those traits reinforce whiteness, in their minds, and there is a gnawing resentment of those blacks who wish to appropriate such virtues for themselves. They cease being black in the minds of some on the far left.
Such ideas assume a malevolence about the American polis that is untenable and empirically false. No doors are closed forever to anyone in this great country of ours. If your ethos and character disposition are set for achievement, if your will is wedded to a resilience and tenacity, and you rid yourself of the idea that you are entitled to the financial earnings of other people, you will find a way to make it here.
This essay is adapted from Jason D. Hill's forthcoming book We Have Overcome: An Immigrant's Letter to the American People, which will be published by Bombardier Books in July and is available for pre-publication sale on Amazon.
Previous Previous post: How Jews continue to send contributions to the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) is beyond understanding.
Next Next post: Jewish Secular and Religious Organizations too frightened to distinguish their friends from their enemies. So, what else is new? | {
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} |
CADILLAC IN AUTORACE: Traditional American luxury automaker Cadillac will compete in the grueling 24-hour Le Mans auto race in June 2000. Cadillac officials, who disclosed their plans at the Geneva International Motor Show, said they would use a 4.0-litre version of their technologically advanced Northstar V8 engine to power the Cadillac Northstar Le Mans Prototype. If the company wants to raise its profile as a global luxury automaker, Cadillac's presence is essential in motor sports, which is immensely popular in Europe, said John F. Smith, general manager of the division, a unit of General Motors Corp.
CEMENT FROM GARBAGE: Japan's principal cement manufacturer Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, in collaboration with Mitsui Ltd, is planning to produce the nation's first environment-friendly cement, made with the remains of incinerated garbage. The main constituent of the cement will be the ashes of garbage from Ichihara, Chiba province. The two companies are expected to set up a joint venture soon. Dioxins contained in the incinerated garbage decompose in the intense heat needed to produce the cement.
BUSINESS IN APICULTURE: Dabur Nepal Private Limited, a subsidiary of Dabur India Private Limited established in 1989, has further expanded its operation in Nepal. Dabur Nepal has established an Apiculture Research Centre at Jugedi in Chitawan district with a view of breeding better quality queen bees, developing bee colonies, educating bee-keepers in latest techniques and producing organic honey, including other honey bee products. It has also set a honey processing plant at Birgunj with a capacity of processing 200 metric tonnes of honey.
HEALTH PHONE: Tata Infotech Ltd, India, has developed HealthFone, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System for healthcare organisations. The system is built as a value addition to a healthcare organisation's existing information technology structure. The features provided by Healthphone include information on a patient's condition, name of his attending doctor and laboratory tests. The product and any crucial data existing in the healthcare information system can be made available on telephone.
UNIT COMMISSIONED: The Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration Unit of Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd (HOCL), commissioned in Kochi, Kerala, will produce Hydrogen Peroxide with a 50-70 per cent concentration. HOCL will now be able to meet the requirements of the food and pharmaceutical industry. A company spokesperson said that they decided to set up the concentration unit at a cost of Rs 10 crore to meet the market demand. An efficient peroxide plant has, among other things, the lowest possible operating expenditure.
INTERNET BY VOICE: US-based companies AT&T Corp, Lucent Technologies and Motorola Inc, said they formed a venture to develop a software language that allows users to access the Internet by voice. The companies are hoping that the language called VXML, which stands for voice extensive mark language, will become a standard for voice commands to the Internet. A VXML forum, open to other companies that may want to develop applications for the standard will also be created. The initial specification of VXML is expected to be available next month.
Food Process Industry
Drug Industry
Hindustan Organic Chemicals (HOCL)
Solan (D)
Maharashtra raises floor space index to "meet budget deficit"
Unfit to burn
If there's a weed there's a way at the beetle factory
The nectar poison we drink
Hush! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
How much for high-quality software to get your Scouts ready for the SAT and ACT?
C. An arm and a leg.
Got your answer? Pencils down; let's check your work.
If you picked E, give yourself a perfect score.
Yep, thanks to eKnowledge and the generous support of National Football League and Major League Baseball players, Scouts can snag SAT and ACT PowerPrep software — each worth $200 — for only the cost of shipping and handling ($13.84 per program).
I first blogged about this opportunity back in 2010, and the program is still in full swing. In all, nearly 175,000 copies of the program have been ordered, meaning a total donation of nearly $39 million.
The software "includes more than 20 hours of video instruction, 3,000 files of supplemental test prep material, thousands of interactive diagnostic tools, sample questions, practice tests, and graphic teaching illustrations." Plus, it's compatible with PCs and Macs.
Two SAT dates (May 5 and June 2) and one ACT date (June 9) remain in the 2011-2012 school year. If your Scouts aren't signed up for one of those, file this link away for test time next year!
Your Scouts — and your wallet — will thank you.
To order or get more information, visit the eKnowledge Web site. | {
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} |
15705 Preble Road Fort Worth TX 76177 | CENTURY 21 Sue Ann Denton, Inc.
Live and play at the Fairways of Champion Circle! Stunning former Gehan model home LOADED with designer upgrades! Gorgeous single-story exhibits the Laurel plan, offering 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, formal dining area, executive study, upstairs game room, and 2-car garage! Upgrades include rich hardwood flooring, designer paint tones, stylish accent walls, bright white cabinetry, granite countertops, and MORE! Adjacent to the Doral Golf course, this master-planned golf course community lies within the rapidly growing Alliance Corridor. Close to downtown Fort Worth, DFW Airport, shopping and entertainment, and easy access to I-35, 114, and 156. Adjacent to Texas Motor Speedway and Tanger Outlet! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Eeeeeeeeek! It happened. No, not that Nobel Prize thing. The Epic Baking Day that I've been eagerly anticipating ever since Bakerella got me popstruck and changed my life forever.
For months, friends have been asking me when I would make cake pops. Soon, I'd say slyly, soon. It was like that time in third grade when I told everyone that I was going to jump off the high dive at the pool and then when I got up there I looked down and thought, Hm, maybe I shouldn't have told quite so many people that I'd jump off quite so high a diving board, because I'm probably allergic to this kind of thing and I might have a heart attack.
I was nervous about the cake pops, but luckily my friend Danielle from Cozycakes Cottage agreed to help me out (and by help me out, I mean buy everything, bring the book, and make me drinks while telling me what to do). This was a happy day because though Danielle and I have been friends for years, I hadn't really seen her in a long time. Danielle is double-jointed just like me, so you should really check out her blog. Though I am trying to convince her to merge our blogs into All the Cozy Cottages are Taken.
If we look a little strained in that picture it's because we're squatting. There was no one around to take the picture so we had to use my cheap, short tripod. That's why I look like I'm in a huddle about to say "hut".
Danielle also bought a bunch of other stuff, since we had big plans to make tartes and popovers. We never got to those.
Before we knew it we only had a couple of hours left, so we got down to business. The objective: make baby chicks.
The night before, I made the cake balls. Following Bakerella's advice, I used Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix and canned cream cheese frosting (about 3/4 of a container). They looked like meat balls. They chilled in the fridge overnight.
We started by punching out little stars and shaping beaks out of fondant, which as far as I can tell lasts forever, since I haven't made it since this post. I used a handy punching tool that my friend Sandra sent me from Japan.
Doesn't she have nice hair? I got that apron for Christmas from my husband.
Aren't these sticks pretty too?
…and our first baby chick!
Typical firstborn — we took tons of pictures of him. Yes, that's dish washing liquid in the background.
Awwww, love you baby chick! We had to eat some of the really deformed ones in the back to put them out of their misery.
Maybe not such a flattering angle of him, that one.
Then I cried because Danielle had to go. The chicks were separated, and we hadn't made that many. Danielle left us lots of candy coating and other supplies.
Then, abruptly, we had to stop! We had friends coming over. We cleaned up. So we didn't get to the eating part yet…and actually we still have many more pops to make, so…more to come.
But for now, thank you Bakerella for making cake pops such an important part of my life. Instructions here for how to make the cake balls, and of course her site is full of amazing ideas for pops. Thank you Danielle for hand-holding me through it. And thank you friends for pushing me so far beyond my inability to make frosting. | {
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Calgary AB, January 20, 2016 – In late November of 2015, Harmony welcomed over 700 registered guests to the official "Sneak-a-Peek Country Winter Wonderland" launch event of its first collection of property offerings. Shortly thereafter, Harmony welcomed the first family to the development, the Farkas family, who purchased a Broadview home.
"The proximity to the mountains, the lake, golf course, village centre, and other planned amenities make it stand out above the rest of the communities in and around Calgary" said Sydney and Tyler Farkas in an interview with Harmony.
The Mickelson National Golf Club will feature dramatic elevations and course shaping to entice golfers of every level. Sustainable water practices are also being implemented, making it not only on the longest but one of the 'greenest" fairways in Alberta. | {
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Agriculture; plantations; other rural sectors
Joint ILO/UNESCO Committee of Experts on the Application of the Recommendations concerning Teaching Personnel (CEART)
CEART Reports
Hotels; catering; tourism
Shipping and inland waterways
Utilities (water, gas; electricity)
Utilities (water, gas, electricity) sector
Utilities (water, electricity and gas) are essential services that play a vital role in economic and social development. Quality utilities are a prerequisite for effective poverty eradication. Governments are ultimately responsible for ensuring reliable universal access of service under accountable regulatory frameworks. Increased competition in the utilities sectors in recent years has entailed changes in regulatory frameworks and ownership structures of enterprises, in addition to business diversification. These have impacted job security and working conditions in the sector. Adequate staffing levels and training in the use of new technologies are important for ensuring efficiency and safety in the workplace.
Social dialogue plays a significant role in developing joint strategies by the social partners to improve utility services, with the common goal of extending access to services to all communities, enhancing efficiency of delivery and reviewing tariffs and other sources of income collection. One of the key issues in the Utilities sector is the need to respect international conventions protecting freedom of association and collective bargaining and to avoid breakdowns in the provision of utilities where possible.
The average age of workers in the sector is increasing in a number of countries and there is a severe gender imbalance in some occupations, which presents challenges for human resource planning by employers. Making employment in the sector accessible and attractive to young men and women can be a means to address the recruiting challenges of replacing an ageing workforce. In addition, establishing national or sector specific training programmes, and investing in workers through apprenticeships and lifelong learning mechanisms can be instrumental in meeting the demands of changing skills needs of the industry.
Workshop on decent work for sanitation workers in South Asia
Virtual, 11-13 October 2021
SDG 6 - Water and Sanitation
World Water Day: Leaving no one behind
Jordan's female plumbers
A new ILO-Japan project to ensure water, jobs and peace in Mindanao, Philippines
Working Paper no. 314
Wastewater and jobs: The Decent Work approach to reducing untreated wastewater
Action Programme on Strengthening Social Dialogue in the Utilities Sector
WASH@Work: a Self-Training Handbook (revised version)
WASH@Work: a Self-Training Handbook
Strengthening the business case for water, sanitation and hygiene - how to measure value for your business
C87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948
C98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949
C151 Labour Relations (Public Service) Convention, 1978
C154 Collective Bargaining Convention, 1981
Occupational safety and health in the utilities (water, gas, electricity) sector
Bibliographies on the utilities sector (water, gas; electricity)
Publication (7) Event (6) Video (2) Briefing note (2) Document (2) Press release (1) Instructional material (1)
Global (9) Argentina (1) Malawi (1) Nigeria (1) Ethiopia (1) Tunisia (1)
Find out more from
Sectoral Policies Department
Sanitation Workers Knowledge and Learning Hub
External links related to the Utilities sector
Mr Carlos Carrión Crespo
Utilities sector specialist
International Labour Office
4, route des Morillons
CH-1211 Geneva 22
Tel : +41 22 799 7348
Email : [email protected] or [email protected] | {
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Q: Odoo 8 - Mass Edit and Field Domains I have a model in a custom plugin that I'm developing with a field that I want to restrict to a particular domain. My model looks something like:
from openerp.osv import fields, osv
class MyModel(osv.Model):
_name = 'mymodel'
_columns = {
'ui_code_version': fields.many2one(
comodel_name='robots.software.versions',
string='UI Code Version',
domain="[('project', '=', 'ui')]"
)
}
When directly editing an instance of my model, it seems like the domain is properly restricting my choices to ui project versions, which is great.
However, if I set up the Mass Editing module so that I can edit the ui versions of multiple instances of mymodel, the domain filter is not applied and I can erroneously select software versions from other projects.
Poking around in the database, it looks like the domain isn't even being stored there.
MyOdooDatabase> SELECT name, domain FROM ir_model_fields \
WHERE model = 'mymodel' AND name = 'ui_code_version'
+-----------------------+----------+
| name | domain |
|-----------------------+----------|
| ui_code_version | <null> |
+-----------------------+----------+
Similarly, the domain isn't in the Settings->Technical->Database Structure->Fields entry for this field:
Q: How can I get the Mass Editing module to obey my fields domain so that I can only select ui project versions? Does that domain need to be stored in the database? If so, how?
Edit: As requested by Bhavesh Odedra, below are the definitions for robots.software.versions and robots.software.projects:
class RobotsSoftwareVersions(osv.Model):
_name = 'robots.software.versions'
_description = 'Software Version'
_columns = {
'name': fields.char('Name'),
'project': fields.many2one('robots.software.projects', 'Project'),
'version': fields.char('Version', help='The git tag or hash (e.g. 3.2.1)')
}
class RobotsSoftwareProjects(osv.Model):
_name = 'robots.software.projects'
_columns = {
'name': fields.char('Name'),
'upstream': fields.char('Upstream'),
}
A: Domain should be
domain="[('project', '=', 'ui')]"
You may reference https://odedrabhavesh.blogspot.com/2015/09/domain-in-odoo.html for future development.
Updated
*
*Add project_name field in robots.software.versions object and make it related with project like
'project_name': fields.related('project', 'name', type='char', store=True)
*Now update your domain like
domain=[('project_name', '=', 'ui')]
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} |
Q: Sort an integer array, negative integers in the front and positive integers in the back I was given an array like this:
$input = array(-1,1,3,-2,2, 3,4,-4);
I neeed to sort it in such a way that negative integers are in the front and positive integers are at the back, and the relative position should not be changed. So the output should be:
$output = array(-1 ,-2,-4, 1,3,2,3,4);
I tried this using usort, but I could not retain the relative positions.
function cmp ($a, $b)
{
return $a - $b;
}
usort($input, "cmp");
echo '<pre>', print_r($input), '</pre>';
Array
(
[0] => -4
[1] => -2
[2] => -1
[3] => 1
[4] => 2
[5] => 3
[6] => 3
[7] => 4
)
A: Try this..
$arr = array(-1,1,3,-2,2, 3,4,-4);
$positive = array_filter($arr, function($x) { return $x > 0; });
$negative = array_filter($arr, function($x) { return $x < 0; });
sort($positive);
rsort($negative);
$sorted = array_merge($negative,$positive);
print_r($sorted);
Demo:https://eval.in/419320
Output:
Array
(
[0] => -1
[1] => -2
[2] => -4
[3] => 1
[4] => 2
[5] => 3
[6] => 3
[7] => 4
)
A: This is an ordering problem, but it's not a sort.
The problem can be broken down as follows:
*
*Separate the given array into two arrays; one of negative numbers, the other of positive numbers. (Should consider where you want 0.) The order of items in each of those arrays should be the same as they appear in the input array.
Do this by pushing values, for example.
*Concatenate the two arrays.
| {
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} |
The Graffomat is a giant plotter that automates graffiti art
Duco is a wall-climbing robot that paints circuit murals
OMNi is a modular, omnidirectional robot for museum duties
Arduino Team — October 5th, 2021
Museums allow people to explore topics in history, science, and much more through the use of exhibits that are often comprised of screens or some other interactive medium. Staff are given the role of visiting each one periodically and checking to see if they still work correctly as well as guide visitors around the area, thus taking them away from other tasks. To solve this problem, a pair from EDM Studio in Vancouver (Will Donaldson and Darran Edmundson) wanted to build an autonomous telepresence robotic platform, called "OMNi," which could do both on its own.
The system they came up with relies on a set of three omni wheels placed in a triangle formation around a circular base plate for creating precise movements. Positional feedback is gathered by measuring the motors' RPM with a closed-loop PID controller/Arduino Nano combination and sending that information via I2C to a central Raspberry Pi 4. There is also a small LIDAR module on the robot that gathers point-cloud data and constructs a digital map for autonomous navigation and positioning.
OMNi was designed with modularity and expandability in mind, which is why the top plate has an ample number of holes drilled into it for attaching certain accessories. One of these is a robotic gripper that utilizes servo motors to grab objects or touch a screen.
To read more about how OMNi was constructed and used in a museum setting, you can read the Donaldson and Edmundson's writeup here on Hackaday.io.
Boards:Nano
Categories:ArduinoRobots
You must be logged in with your Arduino account to post a comment. | {
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DevIgnition is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion preferences. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organizers.
If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the conference organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the conference with no refund. If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of conference staff immediately. Conference staff can be identified by their Staff t-shirts. You may also email us at info at nationconfs.com or contact us on twitter (DM us if we follow you). If the person who is harassing you is a member of conference staff, they will recuse themselves from being involved in handling the incident. In order to protect our team from abuse, we reserve the right to reject any complaint we feel was made in bad faith or made in an attempt to silence other attendees or intimidate presenters.
The DevIgnition staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide safety escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the conference.
If you have any questions or concerns about this code please contact the DevIgnition conference organizers by sending an email to info at nationconfs.com. | {
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Difference Between Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback
• Categorized under Science | Difference Between Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback
Regarding biological mechanisms, positive and negative feedback are known products of molecular and physiological processes. Both are control systems that are involved in the body's homeostasis or the propensity of organisms to maintain balance and regulate their internal environment. Without these feedbacks, an organism would lose its capacity to self-regulate. Basically, positive feedback amplifies the original stimulus while negative feedback slows it down. The following concepts expound on their differences.
What is Positive Feedback?
In positive feedback, there is a direct positive correlation between the concentration and the process rate. One good example is how the endocrine system regulates the release of its hormones. Particularly, oxytocin is a hormone released by the pituitary gland during child birth. It is crucial in labor and normal delivery. As the contractions increase, more oxytocin is being produced until the child is born. Also, this chemical has been associated with social bonding. For instance, hugging someone stimulates the release of oxytocin. Someone who gets (and gives) lots of hugs also experiences an enhanced production of the said hormone.
The following enumeration outlines the phases involved in a negative feedback:
A stimulus disturbs the originally controlled variables.
Receptors detect the change.
The information travels through the system's pathway towards the control center.
The control center determines the appropriate action and sends information to effector cells.
The initial deviation is intensified.
What is Negative Feedback?
Negative feedback controls the process rate to prevent substance accumulation. Contrary to positive feedback, it reflects a negative correlation between the concentration and process rate. Most homeostatic procedures involve negative feedback as most mechanisms achieve equilibrium by going back to their original states. When the brain detects an internal disruption, it sends messages via the nervous system that activate pertinent organs to return the values within normal range.
This mechanism is often likened to a heating system which gets turned up if the perceived temperature is too low and vice versa. For example, the pancreas releases two hormones with opposite functions. Insulin lowers down blood sugar levels while glucagon raises it up. When the body detects that it has too much sugar, the pancreas is prompted to release insulin and only stops when balance is achieved; hence, negative feedback. Likewise, the pancreas is prompted to release glucagon when it senses that the body has very low sugar and only stops when the body has returned to its usual state.
The original state is disturbed.
The control center determines the appropriate action.
Equilibrium is restored by counteracting the excessive production rate.
Difference between Positive and Negative Feedback
Frequency of Positive and Negative Feedback
As compared to positive feedback, negative feedback occurs more frequently among the body's homeostatic mechanisms as many diseases is caused by the disruption of the original systemic state. It is then more familiar while positive feedback is less observed as it is less intuitive.
Mechanism involved in Positive and Negative Feedback
The mechanism of positive feedback supports a higher rate of production or process as an action likewise increases. Thus, the result of a reaction is magnified. On the other hand, negative feedback inhibits the rate as a certain state is enhanced. Hence, the result of a reaction is inhibited.
Stability of Positive and Negative Feedback
As compared to positive feedback, negative feedback is more closely associated with stability as it lessens the effects of agitations. On the contrary, positive feedback supports exponential growth which may lean towards instability.
Change in Positive and Negative Feedback
Negative feedback generally resists changes as it makes adjustments to bring back the system to its original state. On the other hand, positive feedback usually supports change as a small effect is enhanced.
Range of Positive and Negative Feedback
As compared to negative feedback, positive feedback has a wider range as the process rate could get exponentially multiplied. Similarly, the range is reflected when positive feedback results to more products such as more hormones, platelets, and the like. On the contrary, negative feedback leads to less products.
Vicious Cycle in Positive and Negative Feedback
Since positive feedback amplifies the disturbance, it is related with vicious cycles which could even lead to death. For instance, a positive feedback loop occurs during fever which continually fires up metabolic changes. A vicious cycle is also observed when an inflammation leads to more damage which likewise causes inflammation. However, negative feedback is most often associated with maintaining good health by restoring homeostasis.
External Interruption in Positive and Negative Feedback
A positive feedback often requires an external interruption for its mechanism to stop whereas a negative feedback merely stops on its own when the original state is actualized. For example, numerous positive feedback mechanisms occur during a progressive circulatory shock. This is characterized by declining blood pressure that can lead to heart failure. In this case, medical intervention is needed for the positive feedback to stop.
Positive Feedback vs Negative Feedback: Comparison chart
Summary of Positive vs Negative Feedback
Positive and negative feedbacks are control systems that help regulate process rates and homeostasis in the body.
Both feedbacks are important for an organism to regulate its internal processes.
In positive feedback, there is a direct positive correlation between the concentration and the process rate.
Negative feedback controls the process rate to prevent substance accumulation.
As compared to negative feedback, positive feedback is less frequent, stable, and intuitive.
Negative feedback resists change but positive feedback enhances it.
Generally, positive feedback has a wider range than negative feedback.
Positive feedback may be associated with vicious cycles and illnesses while negative feedback is closely related with maintaining good health.
Unlike negative feedback, positive feedback may require external interruption.
gene Brown
Jean Brown is a Registered Psychologist, licensed professional teacher, and a freelance academic and creative writer. She has been teaching social science courses both in the undergrad and graduate levels. Jean has also been a research adviser and panel member in a number of psychology and special education paper presentations. Her certifications include TESOL (Tampa, Florida), Psychiatric Ward Practicum Certification, and Marker of Diploma Courses.
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Brown, g. (2018, May 8). Difference Between Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback. Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-positive-feedback-and-negative-feedback/.
Brown, gene. "Difference Between Positive Feedback and Negative Feedback." Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects, 8 May, 2018, http://www.differencebetween.net/science/difference-between-positive-feedback-and-negative-feedback/.
Manav
April 24, 2020 • 4:30 am
Written by : gene Brown. and updated on 2018, May 8
[0]Abdel-Sater, Khaled A. "Physiological Positive Feedback Mechanisms". American Journal of Bio medical Sciences. 3.2(2011): 145-155. NWPII. Web. 28 April 2018.
[1]Marieb, Elaine and Hoehn, Katja. Human Anatomy and Physiology. New York: Pearson, 2012. Print.
[2]Paradise, Christopher and Campbell, Malcolm. Original Homeostasis. New York: Momentum Press, 2016. Print.
[3]Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/105_Negative_Feedback_Loops.jpg
[4]Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/PositiveFeedbackVicious.png/549px-PositiveFeedbackVicious.png
See more about : Negative Feedback, Positive Feedback
More in 'Science' | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
This original sign comes from a Dodgem ride - double-sided with 'One Way' 'You Must Wear Seat Belts!' 'No Head On Bumping' on one side, and 'Buy Your Tokens at the Pay Box' on the other (see photos). Colours are still vibrant, amazing considering that it has been used on a ride for many years in all weathers. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
AAWD&M Membership is open to any of the following water-related entities: mutual water companies; public water districts; sewer/wastewater districts; investor owned utilities; public utility districts; special service districts; irrigation districts; drainage districts; canal & reservoir companies; reclamation districts; flood control districts; community services districts; conservation districts; natural resource districts; groundwater sustainability agencies; local area formation commissions; and municipal water departments.
Membership benefits include access to salient industry information, peer-to-peer networking, solutions ombudsman (telephone/email consultations), and contact with preferred subject matter experts. Access to the Thought Leadership Lab is similarly available to all AAWD&M members. Please contact us for membership information and dues structure. Waiver of dues is available to any public water system that requires financial assistance. AAWD&M membership is included to all members of the California Association of Mutual Water Companies Joint Powers Risk & Insurance Management Authority (JPRIMA) and insureds of the WaterPlus insurance program.
Find out more about what AAWD&M does.
View our extensive list of news resources.
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Latest developments in the water and risk management sector delivered to your inbox. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Q: Delay while loading Default.png I think that in my app loading of Default.png takes more time than usual. So is there constant time from launching to appearing of first view when Default.png displayed? Or maybe it depends on memory that app uses? Regards.
A: The time of the defaut.png loading is totally dependent on the load you have put up on the applicationDidFinishLaunching.. So try not to call much function from there. As soon as your above function is done... It will end up the display of default.png...
A: It depends upon the time taken by your view to load.
A: Reduce the load in the appDidFinishLAunching function in the application delegate.. IT will load fast..
hAPPY iCODING...
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} |
Product prices and availability are accurate as of 2019-04-12 12:09:13 EDT and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on http://www.amazon.com/ at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
LG PH300 HD MiniBeam Portable Projector offers exceptional mobility and viewing experience on top of a host of advanced technologies highlighted by a durable, long-life LED light source. Able to produce spectacularly large images and operate for up to two and half hours on a single charge, the LG HD MiniBeam lets users take the cinema with them wherever they go. The LG PH300 employs an RGB LED light source that delivers a brightness of 300 ANSI lumens and contrast ratio of 100,000:1 in HD resolution (1280 x 720). Built with durability in mind, the LED has an estimated lifespan of 30,000 hours, the equivalent of ten years watching eight hours a day. Additionally, LG's Auto Vertical Keystone (AVK) technology makes the HD MiniBeam far more convenient to operate than conventional projectors. AVK simplifies setup and removes the need for constant lens adjustment, automatically selecting the optimal projection angle and minimizing image distortion. The ultimate portable display solution, the LG PH300 provides several connectivity options that enable the viewing of content stored on other devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and USB drives. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog. As a writer I'm always revising my work. Each time trying to make it better. I'm posting a revised version of my poem 'Best Friend'. I hope you like it.
Accompanying my poem are beautiful illustrations by a very talented artist from Denmark Zindy Nielsen. I believe the art compliments my poem. I hope you do too.
The sun shone brightly on the day we met.
The radiance of your smile promised eternal sunshine.
When darkness loomed I dried the sorrows you wept.
Always by your side, I offered dawn when you suffered stress.
I was gravity, ever-present for each trivial affair of your life.
But when I needed you most, you couldn't care less.
As I neared my goals, and success was within my reach.
The luster of friendship began to dull in your eyes.
Why do you despise me? Tormented, in my mind I screeched.
you gathered information to judge me with.
Why the hatred, my friend? Why am I on trial?
When you betrayed me, the skies grew gray and dark.
My heart bled within me as the storm clouds gathered in your eyes.
You held up a broken mirror to show me my heart.
Sodden by the tempest of envy, unable to tolerate my radiant soul.
You set out to drain my spirit with distorted images you presented.
Until one day, in another's eyes, my heart's true reflection I stole.
Eerie, cold, and turbulent was the night our friendship ended.
I was too fetching, too clever, too creative for you to love me.
How am I to release my disappointment? Will my heart ever be mended?
Your spiteful squalls tore a hole in my heart, but my spirit you did miss.
Some friends crush you with a cold glare or a hurtful word.
A jealous friend betrays you with a cowardly kiss.
Do you have a friend that acts more like an enemy? Are you in or have you been in a situation where a friend was jealous or envious of your success, job, boyfriend . . . ? What did you do about it? | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Being a style blogger means keeping up with your instagram feed every 5 minutes. We need to make sure that we have the newest Starbucks mug, the greatest designer planner, and the most popular accessories AND that there is photo documentation of all of it! So, to help out that style blogger in your life, I'm here today with a gift guide that will give them everything they need for that perfect Instagram feed!
A fur vest. All of my favorite Instagrammers have one, I have one, therefore, it is absolutely necessary that all bloggers have one. End of story.
Paper Straws. They really serve no purpose. If you put them in your drink they WILL get soggy. But, how cute are they? Another absolute necessity.
Plaid Blanket Scarf. It all started with Zara…and it has yet to end. As a blogger you should have at least TWO colors of plaid blanket scarves. Duh.
Anything tartan. This is really just a fancy word for plaid. Plaid is everywhere. If you don't have it…well…you must not be a blogger.
Picmonkey Royale. How else will you get awesome fonts in your "pinnable" pictures? Shell out buco bucks on Photoshop? I don't think so!
A fancy agenda. You'll need this not only to schedule your posts a month out, but to use as a filler for all of your instagram photos. An agenda is perfect for a WIDN (What I'm doing now) post….What else would I be doing other than blog planning? Sheesh!
Netflix. What else if going to give us random ideas for tweets at 2AM? If we aren't up on the current Netflix shows we are going to have nothing to tweet about…ever.
And there you have it, everything a blogger could ever need! Now get a hurry on it, there's only a few days left 'til Christmas!
Today's craft is a giant paper snowflake. They are super easy to make which means that it's GREAT for the kiddos! I used my giant snowflake in this display at our Christmas party a few weeks ago. How awesome does that look?
Step One. Take a piece of card stock and make a square out of it by folding like you see in the first photo below. Cut the strip on the bottom off. You should now have a square.
Step Two. Fold the square back in to the triangle from before and then again into a smaller triangle.
Step Three. Cut 3 lines in the triangle like you see in the third photo. Try to get the cut pretty close to the end without cutting through the whole piece of paper.
Step Four. Open your paper back up and spread it out flat. Curl the two center pieces together and tape as you see below.
Step Five. Take the next two pieces and curl them the opposite direction, then tape. Continue out until the layers are all curled out, rotating between sides.
Step Six. Repeat steps 1-5 five more times.
Step Seven. Staple your snowflake arms together in the center and at the bottom like you see below. Ta da! There you have it, a giant paper snowflake!
I love, love, LOVE today's craft! They turned out so well and I am SO excited to give them to my family next week on Christmas. I made a cupcake liner Christmas tree with a foam cone last year, here, and I thought it would be cute to make a smaller version this year. These are so easy and I have shown two different types today with the instructions below! Enjoy!
First things first, start with as many different patterns of cupcake liners as you want. To make the smaller of the two trees, begin by folding your liners in half and then in half again. You will have that little pie slice you see below on the right!
As you move further up the tree, you fold a little bit extra underneath so that the pieces become just a little bit smaller each time. I used a glue stick to attach everything together. Then I glued the tree on to a piece of white card stock. For the star I used a piece of confetti that looks like the north star, and the trunk is just colored pencil. This should get you the below result!
For the larger of the Christmas trees, I folded all of the liners in half. As I went up the tree, I cut a small piece off of the end. Cut the piece a bit bigger each time so that the pieces become smaller. For the top of the tree fold your liner in half once more like you did in the first tree to create quarters. Finally, glue a star on the top and draw on your tree trunk! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
We hope that you find our prospectus informative and useful in giving you a picture of what we provide and what we expect from the children who attend Ashbury Primary School. If you require any further information, or would like to come and visit the school, please do give us a call and we shall be pleased to make suitable arrangements for you.
Our prospectus is currently under reconstruction. Please contact the school office if you have any enquiries. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Megan Cao
Review: "Gravity" - Hanna Söderberg
"Gravity" is a powerful pop anthem about forging your own path, nothing holding you back. Sometimes, it's all too easy to give up and succumb to the crowd, but Söderberg makes sure that we're living with no regrets. While sometimes the safe option seems to blend in with the crowd, Söderberg reminds us to make our own choices based on ourselves, rather than how we might be perceived. It's ok to make mistakes, because "you live and you learn".
The highlight of this song is the powerful chorus that Soderberg delivers; her soaring voice paired with a catchy chorus makes for quite an earworm. Throughout the song, Söderberg's voice rises and falls, accenting the emotion of suddenly breaking free and on your own. The music is bouncy and upbeat, carrying a general feeling of accomplishment and joy to the soundscapes. During the pre-chorus, the sound of claps creeps in as they serve as the backdrop of Söderberg's triumphant chorus.
Hanna Söderberg, a Swedish-born singer-songwriter born in Gothenberg, is a lyricist and vocal coach. Learning piano and voice at a young age, Söderberg began studying gospel and jazz music before obtaining her Masters of Education from Malmoe Academy of Music, profiling in rock and pop music. Writing and releasing music with a diverse cast of artists, from kpop to latin pop and Swedish house, Söderberg decided to pursue her solo artist career. She's got a lot to offer, and it's exciting to see how her sound evolves.
Written By Megan Cao
FOLLOW HANNA: | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
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Wright & Percy Insurance, a Division of BancorpSouth Insurance Services, Inc. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
CalAmp Corp. may have given investors a peek at its fiscal third-quarter 2016 results ahead of time, but the machine-to-machine communications specailist gave investors plenty of reason to celebrate when it revealed its formal report Tuesday after the bell.
The headline numbersQuarterly revenue climbed 18.2% year over year, to $74.7 million, including a 15% increase in sales from its core wireless datacom business, and an admittedly surprising 37.2% jump in satellite revenue, to $11.8 million.
Meanwhile, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization climbed 29% year over year, to $12.8 million, and adjusted net income per diluted share rose 24%, to $0.31. Cash from operations came in at $9.1 million for the quarter, bringing cash from operations and free cash flow for the first nine months of the fiscal year to $37.9 million and $34.4 million, respectively.
Broad-based strengthPerhaps most encouraging is that CalAmp's top and bottom lines each came in at the high-end of the company'srecently raised guidance, whichcalled for revenue of $74 million to $75 million, and adjusted EPS of $0.29 to $0.31. CalAmp CEO Michael Burdiek stated, "Broad-based customer demand drove excellent third-quarter results, with consolidated revenue, wireless datacom segment revenue, and adjusted EBITDA each at all-time record levels for a single quarter."
More specifically, Burdiek also elaborated that CalAmp saw strong growth in shipments to its "key customer in the heavy equipment industry" -- a not-so-subtle reference to its budding relationship providing telematics devices toCaterpillar -- solid demand for mobile resource management and wireless network products, and a better-than-expected showing from the satellite segment.
Regarding the latter, earlier this year, Burdiek described the satellite segment as a roughly "$40 million a year business -- but not quite that predictable. That $40 million a year is really broken down to $10 million a quarter, plus or minus $2 million." As it stands, satellite product sales this quarter happened to run at the high-end of its usual range, and continued to meaningfully contribute to the company's profitability and operating cash flow.
The hopeful purchaseBurdiek also offered a brief update on CalAmp's outstanding offer to acquire vehicle-recovery specialistLoJack Corporation for $5.50 per share in cash, or roughly $113 million.
Earlier this month, CalAmp went out on a limb by making its offer public in an apparent effort to urge LoJack shareholders to consider the deal. At the time, Burdiek noted CalAmp has pursued "friendly discussions" with LoJack for almost two yearsto no avail, including two prior all-cash offers at a lower price. LoJack has since responded by launching its own "review of strategic alternatives," but offered no guarantees that the review will result in an acquisition.
Looking forwardFor the current quarter, CalAmp anticipates revenue of $73 million to $78 million, or a year-over-year increase of 9.1% at the midpoint, including a slight sequential decline in satellite sales and "solid" year-over-year and sequential increases in wireless datacom revenue. Fiscal fourth-quarter 2016 adjusted net income per share should be in the range of $0.28 to $0.32, compared to $0.32 per share in the same year-ago period.
That guidance may seem underwhelming given CalAmp's relative outperformance in fiscal Q3. But during the subsequent conference call, management also indicated that continued operational execution and investments in key initiatives should help CalAmp drive profitable growth "into fiscal 2017 and beyond."
Given CalAmp's propensity for under promising and over delivering of late, it's no surprise the company is receiving a pass on what seems likely a conservative look forward.
The article CalAmp Corp. Delivers an (Even) Better-Than-Expected Quarter originally appeared on Fool.com. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
package community
import (
"fmt"
"strings"
"github.com/zmap/zcrypto/x509"
"github.com/zmap/zlint/v3/lint"
"github.com/zmap/zlint/v3/util"
)
type pubSuffix struct{}
func init() {
lint.RegisterLint(&lint.Lint{
Name: "n_san_iana_pub_suffix_empty",
Description: "The domain SHOULD NOT have a bare public suffix",
Citation: "awslabs certlint",
Source: lint.Community,
EffectiveDate: util.ZeroDate,
Lint: NewPubSuffix,
})
}
func NewPubSuffix() lint.LintInterface {
return &pubSuffix{}
}
func (l *pubSuffix) CheckApplies(c *x509.Certificate) bool {
return util.IsExtInCert(c, util.SubjectAlternateNameOID)
}
func (l *pubSuffix) Execute(c *x509.Certificate) *lint.LintResult {
var badNames []string
for _, parsedName := range c.GetParsedDNSNames(false) {
if parseErr := parsedName.ParseError; parseErr == nil {
continue
} else if strings.HasSuffix(parseErr.Error(), "is a suffix") {
badNames = append(badNames, parsedName.DomainString)
}
}
if badNamesCount := len(badNames); badNamesCount > 0 {
return &lint.LintResult{
Status: lint.Notice,
Details: fmt.Sprintf(
"%d DNS name(s) are bare public suffixes: %s",
badNamesCount, strings.Join(badNames, ", ")),
}
}
return &lint.LintResult{Status: lint.Pass}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} |
Mass Effect: Andromeda Trailer Explores the Galaxy | Nerd Much?
The newest Mass Effect: Andromeda trailer was released today and it focuses on exploration and it looks unlike any of the games in the series. With elements from survival games like temperature that actually affects your health, the trailer shows how the player must be prepared and to play it safe out in the deserts of the Krogan planet.
Your ship, the Tempest, not only has windows, but what you see outside of them are places you can actually go and are surprisingly detailed from a space point of view. And once you get down to the surface of those planets, the Nomad will take you places Mako never could. It can show you a whole new world, like the shining and shimmering heat waves of a desert, or the splendidly cool rain of a tropical planet. Over sideways and under on a magical rover ride.
The space opera will coming out on March 21st for North America, and the 23rd in Europe. What do you think of this trailer? Does it look quite different from the other Mass Effect games? Let us know in the comments below! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Increasing the utilisation of plant proteins is needed to support the production of protein-rich foods that could replace animal proteins in the human diet so as to reduce the strain that intensive animal husbandry poses to the environment. Lupins, quinoa and hempseed are significant sources of energy, high quality proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals. In addition, they contain compounds such as polyphenols and bioactive peptides that can increase the nutritional value of these plants. From the nutritional standpoint, the right combination of plant proteins can supply sufficient amounts of essential amino acids for human requirements. This review aims at providing an overview of the current knowledge of the nutritional properties, beneficial and non-nutritive compounds, storage proteins, and potential health benefits of lupins, quinoa and hempseed. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Q: Update the value of a specific key in ruby I am a fresher in ruby language. Help me to this
I have a map, containing 4 keys. Initial state the value of all keys are zero like below
data_source_map = = Hash.new
data_source_map.store("ab",0)
data_source_map.store("cde",0)
data_source_map.store("fgh",0)
data_source_map.store("jik",0)
I have a while loop, iterating a files from a specific location
while (file = queue.deq)
begin
cat = 'cat'
if file.split('.').last=='gz' || file.split('.').last=='zip'
cat = 'zcat'
end
user_ids.each do |user|
res = run_command4("aws s3 cp #{file} - | #{cat} | grep #{user} | wc -l",true,'s3cmd stream failed')
output = "#{user},#{file.split('/')[-1]},#{file.split('/')[-2]},#{res[:output][0]}"
if "ab".eql?(file.split('/')[-2])
data_source ="ab"
elsif "cde".eql?(file.split('/')[-2])
data_source ="cde"
elsif "fgh".eql?(file.split('/')[-2])
data_source ="fgh"
elsif "jik".eql?(file.split('/')[-2])
data_source ="jik"
else
data_source ="NA"
end
end
end
end
{res[:output][0] is a number with respect to the keys.Each file having these keys and an integer number.
Each iteration i need to update the integer value of a given key. how to do this in ruby.
am trying to create consolidated report like below
|ab |200
|cde |4000
|fgh |0
A: I suggest using a Hash with a default value so you don't need to initialize all possible keys before you start, but that is not required.
data_source_map = Hash.new(0)
To update a value in a hash, you just need to set the new updated value to the hash, it will overwrite the old value.
data_source_map[data_source] = data_source_map[data_source] + 1
This takes the current value from the hash and adds 1 to it, then stores it back into the Hash. Though this is a very common operation, so there is a shorthand for it as well.
data_source_map[data_source] += 1
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaStackExchange"
} |
Home Reviews 2.5/5 Review Space Station Sprint Review
2.5/5 Review
Space Station Sprint Review
Hal Curry
Space Station Sprint had me intrigued. The concept is great: blast your way through a number of space stations, killing enemies and completing objectives as you go. Unfortunately, the execution is somewhat lacking.
Upon booting up Space Station Sprint I encountered a bug: pressing down on the directional pad does not work. What's worse, if I've used the analog sticks to traverse the menus, pressing down will go up. A small bug, granted, but one that is so obvious to the player and brings the quality shooting back down to Earth. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the game.
You won't find any sort of campaign here. Instead, the player is moved through a series of levels which sees them infiltrating an enemy space station in order to complete some kind of objective. Once this is done, you get back to your ship and it's onto the next one. That's not to say that this is bad of course, it's not. It's a good way of getting players moving through the game, but there's no lore here, if that's your thing.
Speaking of objectives, let's take a look at the missions themselves. You start in a room and a countdown will appear on-screen. This counts down from 3 and once it hits 0, you are free to blitz your way through the station in order to find the objective. You are timed on these missions, roughly around 60 seconds for each one, but there is a little bit of variety here depending on which mission you are doing.
Objectives aren't very inspired and work the same way. You need to find the objective item – this is a purple screen of sorts, attached to a wall or a desk or some other location and you simply need to find it and recover it. Once you've recovered it, you need to get back to the starting room – finding the objective itself isn't enough. Found the item but only have 2 seconds to spare? Bad luck I'm afraid.
There are ways you can expand the time available. Shooting enemy communication towers will add a number of seconds onto your current time, for example +5 seconds, which can make all the difference. You can find a number of these scattered throughout missions, so it's always worth keeping an eye out.
As mentioned, these work in exactly the same way no matter which mission you are doing. One mission may have you 'stealing the launch codes' and on another you may have to 'find the plans' but this is simply the text that appears on your HUD. The item itself remains unchanged.
One thing to consider is that there are no colour blind settings within the options, so if you have difficulty making out one colour from the next, you may have a hard time finding the level's objective in the first place.
The HUD is simple. You've essentially got your health in the bottom corner, your objective in the top corner and your weapon front-and-centre. Your weapon is where you will also see your ammo count, as well as your ability cooldown – something we'll dive into next. There's no minimap or compass to be seen so expect no help when it comes to finding objectives.
Moving onto abilities. You get two that you can use to help as you sprint through each level. You get a bomb, usable by pressing LB. This ability, as you may have guessed, will allow you to throw a bomb down, blasting enemies. It can be a lifesaver if you are cornered or outnumbered. The second ability is Shockwave, activated by RB and this allows you to send out a sonic wave, pushing enemies back and dealing damage.
Each ability has a cooldown of a few seconds, both of which can be found on your gun, under your ammo count. It's a nice way to gather and show immediate information to the player. It's a bit of a shame that abilities can't be upgraded but it's nice to have them available anyway.
The space stations themselves are filled with a number of different enemies and challenges that you need to overcome. In the corner of the enemies, you'll encounter a number of different aliens. You've got your base alien that will chase and shoot at you, a more powerful powered-up version and a melee variant that will deal some serious damage. As you progress through Space Station Sprint, you'll encounter more and more of these aliens. When it comes to challenges, there's drones, turrets and lazers to avoid.
The game also features a number of upgrades and collectables to find during each level. Collectables don't really do anything, they're just fun things to find. They give players a reason to explore every nook and cranny (as long as you have enough time) of a particular level. Upgrades, however, can have a huge impact on your success rate as you progress through the game.
Upgrades come in many shapes and sizes. There's an upgrade for your firing speed, one for your max capacity and another one for your sprint speed. These are just a few examples, of course, there are loads and loads of upgrades to collect. Upgrades are permanent and will stick with you for the rest of Space Station Sprint. However, finding an upgrade isn't enough. Just like the main objective, you need to get back to the starting level and complete the mission for the upgrade to be counted. If you fail the mission, you'll lose the upgrade and will have to collect it again.
There's also another aspect of the game: slow motion. You are able to slow down time, which can give you the opportunity of getting more headshots, taking down a row of enemies or having the opportunity to get out of the way of danger. It's worth noting though that slow motion only impacts the entities within Space Station Sprint itself (the player, enemies etc), it won't slow down the mission timer, so you need to weigh up the pros and cons of triggering it.
The levels themselves feel somewhat uninspired. A series of corridors and rooms can start to feel repetitive after a while and the graphics themselves aren't amazing. Basic environment pieces have been used here and there's no exciting art style. There is variety in the sense that one mission sees you running through a flight deck and another on the outside of a space station, but it just feels bland.
Apart from the strange bug with the directional pad, I also encountered a number of other issues. Settings aren't saved between sessions so you'll have to readjust your aim sensitivity etc. every time you boot up the game.
I also encountered weird audio overlapping issues where pressing reload would spam the reload sound bite or entering into a large room of enemies would be an attack on the senses as SFX overlapped and just seemed to muddle with each other.
You'd also imagine that booting up the game would continue from where you left off. If I made it to level 4 for example, I would expect to start from there. However, when I loaded up the game for another session I was immediately put into the tutorial and it wasn't until I quit and went back to the main menu that I was able to select level 4. Very bizarre.
All in all, Space Station Sprint is lacking polish and feels like something in early access. There's a number of bugs here and the simple gameplay can leave you feeling bored after an hour or two of playing. With missions being essentially the same throughout, there's no real sense of accomplishment. It'll tide you over for a bit, but don't go in expecting anything more than that.
Take in a Space Station Sprint by hitting up the Xbox Store
Space Station Sprint had me intrigued. The concept is great: blast your way through a number of space stations, killing enemies and completing objectives as you go. Unfortunately, the execution is somewhat lacking. Upon booting up Space Station Sprint I encountered a bug: pressing down on the directional pad does not work. What's worse, if I've used the analog sticks to traverse the menus, pressing down will go up. A small bug, granted, but one that is so obvious to the player and brings the quality shooting back down to Earth. This doesn't bode well for the rest of the…
Controls are smooth
Lots of upgrades and secrets to find and collect
Repetitive missions
Lack of any real variety in enemy types
Massive thanks for the free copy of the game go to - Snowday Software
Formats - Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Version reviewed - Xbox One on Xbox Series X
Release date - 27th Aug 2021
Launch price from - £8.39
Space Station Sprint
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I've been an Xbox gamer for as long as I can remember, and that is my platform of choice. I can be found diving into the latest RPGs, shredding some tread in the Forza Horizon games, taking on some tricky situations in puzzle games and blasting hordes of enemies in FPS titles. You won't see me playing simulator, sports or horror games though! Gamertag is HalScape, feel free to add me :)
Monster Energy Supercross 2 Review
Cursed to Golf Review
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Review | {
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} |
Why Does Your Business Need Virtualization? | Innovative Integration, Inc. Why Does Your Business Need Virtualization? | Innovative Integration, Inc.
Many businesses struggle to maximize usage of available resources and keep their business going. Server virtualization can offer tremendous benefits to businesses by centralizing technical resources. This method can also help to harness available resources for maximum benefits. Here are 5 reasons why you should opt for server utilization to drive your businesses forward.
The biggest advantage of server virtualization is fitting multiple virtual machines into a single machine. This allows businesses to cut down on costs for cooling, electricity and replacing ageing machines.
Today, with increasing business competition, companies are vulnerable to disasters, which may wipe their online business forever. Companies are spending huge amounts on disaster recovery solutions, whereas virtualization allows them to speed up this process. With virtualized infrastructure, it is extremely easy to create copies of the VM files than hardware servers would.
In the face of an IT disaster, retrieving the data from old hardware equipments or replacing them becomes difficult and expensive. It takes fractional costs to host an entire virtualized infrastructure and they can easily put your business on track with minimum efforts.
Server virtualization empowers businesses to increase their up-time and improve their business growth. Today, server virtualization infrastructures are equipped with advanced features such as fault tolerance, live migration, distributed resource scheduling, high availability and storage migration. These advanced features help virtual machines to recover from disaster and contribute to the to the growth of the business. The biggest benefit is ability to transfer a virtual machine hosted on one server to the other in a short period of time. It also helps businesses to attempt long-distance migrations such as moving a virtual machine from one data center to the other.
Businesses might still retain legacy applications in their work environment. By opting for server virtualization, they can easily extend the lifetime of legacy applications. By virtualizing such machines, businesses can improve its up-time.
Virtualized servers allow businesses to minimize their data center footprint by reducing the overall number of physical servers. It also minimizes the requirement of network gears and racks. This helps to reduce the occupancy on the data center floor. Businesses can further their savings by using a collocation facility.
If you are thinking about server virtualization, approach a reliable IT partner such as Innovative Integration – a full service IT company, helping businesses to migrate and secure virtualized infrastructure with minimum efforts and lower investment. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Toodiegirl says: Generally speaking the Christmas period on TV is very ordinary to say the least. This year I found that even though that did a lot of repeats of older movies I thought that they did a better selection this year. We however, watched a bit of Apple TV over this period cause we had a better choice but we did watch some Free to Air which the kids loved the Xmas movies as we did. | {
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} |
package nl.mineleni.cbsviewer.servlet.wms.cache;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;
/**
* Test case voor {@link CacheImage }.
*/
public class CacheImageTest {
/** test subject. */
private CacheImage cImage;
/** expire by. */
private final long expireBy = System.currentTimeMillis() + 1000 * 1000l;
/** naam. */
private final String name = "NAAM";
/** to cache object. */
private final BufferedImage rgbImage = new BufferedImage(100, 100,
BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
/**
* Sets up.
*
* @throws Exception
* the exception
*/
@Before
public void setUp() throws Exception {
this.cImage = new CacheImage(this.rgbImage, this.name, this.expireBy);
}
/**
* Test methode voor {@link CacheImage#getImage() }.
*/
@Test
public final void testGetImage() {
assertEquals(this.rgbImage, this.cImage.getImage());
}
/**
* Test methode voor {@link CacheImage#getName() }.
*/
@Test
public final void testGetName() {
assertEquals(this.name, this.cImage.getName());
}
/**
* Test methode voor {@link CacheImage#isValid() }.
*/
@Test
public final void testIsValid() {
assertTrue(this.cImage.isValid());
final CacheImage invalid = new CacheImage(this.rgbImage, null,
this.expireBy);
assertFalse(invalid.isValid());
final CacheImage invalid2 = new CacheImage(null, null, this.expireBy);
assertFalse(invalid2.isValid());
final CacheImage invalid3 = new CacheImage(null, this.name,
this.expireBy);
assertFalse(invalid3.isValid());
final CacheImage invalid4 = new CacheImage(null, this.name,
this.expireBy - 1000l);
assertFalse(invalid4.isValid());
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} |
When I give a Keynote Speech I often engage the audience with the following exercise: I ask them to close their eyes, hold out their hand, and point North. When they then open their eyes they see almost everyone is pointing in a different direction (including a percentage of the audience that is pointing down!). I use this as an example to highlight a problem that so many businesses face: people are all too often not aligned to a common purpose or a common direction of travel.Yet every organisation I have worked with has made their purpose clear to their people, so why are people not aligned?
The purpose of this article is to highlight how the right Keynote Speech can impact your people and organisation profoundly by saying what you have always said.
If people are not aligned to a common purpose it results in a colossal amount of wasted energy. Great organisations understand this, so they work hard to create a resilient culture that revolves around a common purpose and then moves everyone in a common direction.
Business author Jim Collins calls this 'persevering the core'. He goes on to highlight that once the 'core', or common purpose, is preserved the organisation then works to 'simulate progress' as a common direction of travel.
While many organisations have stated their purpose and direction of travel clearly, they often do not state it enough. Repetition, repetition, repetition is the key.
A CEO friend of mine often says that it is only when the people in the organisation start making jokes about how often he reminds them of their common purpose that he is successful.
Every organisation needs to repeatedly remind their teams of what they are doing, why it is important, and how this impacts others.
A Keynote Speech can simply say what you have always said: your common purpose and direction of travel. However, the impact of a Keynote Speech comes from two things: It is an external perspective, and it says what you have always said only in a different way.
A Keynote Speech has a great impact because it looks from the outside in. We listen to an external perspective in a different way than we do to an internal perspective. And an external Speaker can say what you have always said in a different way because they can see new opportunities, improve weakness, and troubleshoot potential risks.
A Keynote Speech impacts your organisation by showing people what they have always seen in a new light.
A Keynote Speech is an outside voice that stimulates an inside vision. It helps people see what they have always seen in a new light; these new perspectives are the seeds of growth.
This article highlights how the right Keynote Speech impacts your people and organisation profoundly by saying what you have always said, in a different way and from an external perspective.
For more information on how to chose the perfect Keynote Speaker & Speech for your internal management (corporate) event download The Keynote Speaker BEST PRICE Expert Guide below. | {
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Another thing public transit saves is the stress of being stuck in traffic, lines of cars fighting for a parking spot at the mall parking lot (that is moving slow as molasses and even thicker to navigate through).
The trend of increasing ridership is stable and growing. As US public transportation improves, it is outpacing urban vehicle miles traveled (VMT) at times. Record ridership has increased on the expanded and new lines opened in the past five years, proving that the investments are paying off. With better options, people will choose public transportation.
The top 20 cities with the highest public transit ridership are ranked in order of their transit savings based on the purchase of a monthly public transit pass. The savings also factor in local gas prices for November 24, 2014 and the local monthly unreserved parking rate.
Transit Savings Report continually shows that living with one less car in a two-person household can save you a ton of money, rewarding you for being practical and wise financially. At the same time, this choice mitigates air pollution and global warming. There are even more savings if both commuted by transit and let go of the automobile, of course. Car-sharing services are also available in many cities now, giving the ability to cut car ownership without losing mobility. Along with regular use of public transit, one can supplement an automobile with programs such as DriveNow, Zipcar, Car2Go, Autolib for short periods.
The Inspired Economist's feature on smart cities and TEDCity2.0, entitled "Why buses represent democracy in action," makes this issue even more relevant, discussing our need to change the transportation dynamic to build better cities.
As in Columbia, so it is in Europe, where even the wealthy take the metro. Check out Zurich, Switzerland, a beautiful city that invites you to come and enjoy the world in person, rather than trying to navigate an unknown place in a plastic, metal, and glass bubble. | {
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Asha is a 15-year old girl with the soul of a demon. She plans to wage war against heaven and hell using humanity as her main weapon. Asha begins the epic tale of the revenge of the dark goddess of demons.
Asha is a young adult urban fantasy short story featuring demons, witches, magic, and high school mayhem!
I'm not generally a fan of short fiction, but I quite liked Asha.
I almost wish the book was longer so I could see more of our world through Asha's eyes. In some spots her character came fully to life, especially during the scenes where she flexes her power. In other parts she tends to fall flat. I understand that on one hand she probably isn't supposed to have emotions, or show emotions like a normal person would, but I feel with some tweeking that would come across a lot better.
It would be interesting to see Asha when she's older, to see if her point of view changes at all. As much as she doesn't care about our world, she cares for her earth-mother (for some reason I love that she called her this). It would be interesting to see if as she got older more people would have this kind of an impact on people. If she'd fall in love or not.
All in all, this was a great short read. I certainly would recommend it to anyone who has a couple of minutes to spare and who enjoys a cold plate of revenge every now and then (you know who you are). | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Social media buttons are blamed for their poor performance and privacy offending nature. We've tested 10 popular solutions to find out the truth.
Social media buttons are a natural choice for most of us when building a website with content we want to be shared. Despite what we might of heard about how badly they affect performance or break visitors privacy, they seem like a necessary choice.
Are they? Certainly not for some people. But what if you think that social media buttons can be useful to certain degree or you are limited by project requirements? What options do we have?
Because our new brand and website redesign is just around the corner (yes, we are aware XHTML is not cool anymore), we would like to make an informed decision when it comes to replacing those 'old school' sharing buttons on this blog.
* If you just want static social sharing buttons or links you can use social share URLs. The requirement for the custom buttons solution in this test was that the buttons needed to show the number of shares.
To simulate a real world scenario, we set up a test WordPress site running on the Twenty Fifteen theme on our preview server. We then created a sample blog post with no buttons. This blog post served as a reference point that we could compare all of the other solutions to.
We installed the social media sharing solutions using their respective WordPress plugins and made a copy of the sample blog post for each solution. For each solution, we set up 5 basic buttons for each post – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Reddit.
Before running our test for any particular solution we made sure to deactivate all other plugins so they wouldn't interfere.
We used Webpagetest.org for testing performance. We ran 2 tests for each blog post, one from San Francisco with DSL connection and another one from Frankfurt with 3G connection. Each of the tests were run 3 times and the results were compared to our control post which had no buttons.
Evaluating performance of social media buttons is tricky.
Authors of social media buttons claim that by loading them asynchronously they can minimize their performance impact. This means that often there are only a few requests and KBs on the document complete event, but many more requests and KBs appear on the fully loaded page.
This doesn't mean those additional requests and KBs only count when you pay for the transferred bytes. In an ideal situation they shouldn't prevent a user from interacting with the website. However, especially on mobile devices, additional network activity can slow down your browser or cause the page to act weird when the buttons start rendering.
This also affects perceived performance. Speed Index is a good indicator of perceived performance, however it cannot catch some issues mentioned above.
To make the results more objective we compared all solutions to the No buttons results and calculated differences in Speed Index, Time, Number of Requests and Size both for the Document Loaded and Fully Loaded events. For each of these criterias (7 in total) we have determined the solution rank among the others. Finally we made a sum of all ranks to determine the final performance rank.
Check the spreadsheet with all results and links to the WebPagetest tests.
Our main criteria for how each solution respects visitors privacy was how many first-party and third-party cookies were set. Realistically you don't need any cookie for the share functionality to work on your site.
Some buttons proved this to be true with zero cookies set, while others were clearly more of a tracking platform than just sharing buttons.
Sometimes additional cookies were set when a user clicks on a certain share button, as the social platform comes into play. This is also a matter of how sharing is done internally within the plugin, because no cookies are really needed for sharing functionality to be initiated on your page.
However, we didn't take these additional cookies into account as we assumed that when a user decides to click on a sharing button they might be aware of the privacy consequences. Thus our main criteria for privacy remains whether the solution sets any cookies at all, which may be important for those visitors who have no interest in interacting with social sharing buttons on our site.
If it can hide zeroes – because the zeroes on sharing buttons don't look good.
If it displays consistently – the buttons should provide consistent look and feel.
If buttons work without signup – why you should sign up somewhere for having social media sharing available on your site?
For each of these criteria we assigned points and calculated the overall scores.
Almost every button set offered some version of premium features if you were willing to pay for them. For simplicity we only compared what was available in the free versions.
Before we get to the top 3 winners, let's take a look at the results starting from the 4th place right down to the worst solution in our test.
Simple Share Buttons shown here with an underline coming from Twenty Fifteen theme which would have to be fixed by custom CSS.
When it comes to performance, Simple Share Buttons is quite specific in our test. It has very few requests and only adds an additional 45KB on the fully loaded page. However, it suffered from a long delay to load the first byte and had the worst Speed Index result of the entire group.
Simple Share Buttons suffers from the very long time to the first byte.
Even with 9 different image sets the buttons counters look a bit old-fashioned. The link underline comes from the Twenty Fifteen theme and would have to be removed by custom CSS. This shows that the buttons are not fully immune to your own styles.
Another small issue was that after our own test share, the counter initially hadn't updated and was only updated when we checked the page the next day.
On a positive note, this plugin doesn't set any cookies and the WP admin interface is very easy to use.
Despite the initial critique, this plugin can be one of the best solutions out there especially if you pay for the additional features in the Plus version (10 USD per site). The plus version might solve most of the issues we had with the plugin – it can hide zeroes and should load faster with the cached share counts (this may improve time to the first byte but we haven't tested it).
Flare cannot handle placement of the bottom buttons very well but this might be a specific issue with the Twenty Fifteen theme.
Flare by Filament isn't a classic WordPress plugin which adds social media buttons to your posts. Rather it's a sharing bar application which requires you to register for an account. The WordPress plugin simply redirects you to your Filament account where you can change buttons' settings.
This is understandable but the process of setting up or updating the buttons is not very user friendly. When you do any change to your buttons you have to drag and position them on the page again.
Flare is also the only solution which literally doesn't work on mobile – it doesn't break, it simply doesn't display at all. That's because mobile support is only included in the Pro version ($89 / year).
Flare's performance is decent and it doesn't set any cookie but limited features and cumbersome setup prevented it from scoring better in our test.
AddThis only shows aggregated count and also seem to count incorrectly. This post was only shared once for test purposes.
AddThis performed 2nd best in our test, however like other competitors it wasn't amazing performance either (consider it's still just 6.8 out of 10).
One of the problems with AddThis is that it doesn't show individual shares – only the aggregated count. Also, the shares count increases immediately after you click the button not when you actually share the content, which raises some questions of how the shares are counted. In our case, the blog post was shared just once, yet the counter shows 3 shares, probably because we clicked the Twitter button 3 times.
Like most other solutions, AddThis doesn't allow you to have both Facebook Like & Share buttons in one set.
AddThis is a marketing platform so naturally it tries to go beyond simple sharing which sometimes may result in questionable practices like the canvas fingerprinting 'scandal'.
Indeed it sets many 3rd party cookies and also content breakdown by domain looks a bit disturbing. So if the visitors privacy is your main concern, you should probably avoid AddThis.
On the other hand the WP plugin is easy to use and setup.
For some reason AddToAny can only display standard Google buttons.
One of the problems of AddToAny buttons was its performance. Apparently the buttons are not loaded asynchronously and made 16 requests and loaded around 400KB before the document complete event.
The buttons cannot hide zeroes (in this case really big ones) and for some reason, only standard Google buttons are displayed which don't make them look consistent.
AddToAny itself sets only 1 cookie (2 others come from Google) and the WP Admin is a standard one with clear options.
Maybe with some tweaking you could get more out this solution, but average performance and inconsistent graphics doesn't make it the first choice for us.
Shareaholic made the most requests out of all solutions on fully loaded page – 53, and shortly we will see why. Obviously, with so many requests, your performance will always be just average / poor.
The buttons look nice and display consistently. The WP admin isn't difficult to navigate but you are required to set up an account at Shareaholic.
The biggest issue comes with privacy. Shareaholic sets cookies like a drunk person having one free drop after another at a party.
Some of the domain names for which 3rd party cookies are set are w55c.net, openx.net, nexac.com, ih.adscale.de, yahoo.com, bidswitch.net, casalemedia.com. The content breakdown by domain is intimidating and makes clear what's the main purpose of this platform – tracking users and monetizing it.
If you know what you are doing (eg. looking for a "Content Amplification Platform") you can give Shareaholic a try, but otherwise better stay away from it so you don't wake up with a hangover the next day.
Achieving consistent look and feel with official buttons would be difficult.
What can we say about the official buttons except that you should never use them if you care about performance.
Performance is the 2nd worst in the test with the biggest total file size both for the document complete and fully loaded events. This is no surprise as the buttons are provided by different vendors and cannot benefit from combining resources.
Privacy surprisingly isn't a big issue, with only 1 cookie set by Google and 1 by Reddit. If you believe in the goodwill of large corporations, you have nothing to worry about (at least you know that you will be tracked by someone who is already tracking you).
Of course, there is no common WP plugin for the official buttons which makes the setup and updates difficult and inflexible. No one would really like to deal with it if there are better options for WordPress.
Thus official buttons rather serves as a comparison purpose in this test.
ShareThis performed the worst in our test. It made the most requests (36) and had the 2nd biggest files size (469KB) on the document complete event. Whatever it had to do (or thinks it has to do), this isn't the best starting point – it's like starting your triathlon wearing one of these.
WordPress admin interface is not very convenient with options spread to 6 steps you have to go over and over if you want to change something.
Similar to AddThis and Shareaholic, ShareThis is also one of those 'platforms' which sets a lot of cookies and makes big number of requests to the 3rd party domains. Whether this is intentional or unhandled technical challenge, together with other issues it makes ShareThis the worst solution in our test.
Share by SumoMe is similar to Flare by Filament. Even in the way it 'incorrectly' attaches to the bottom of the blog post in the Twenty Fifteen theme.
Share by SumoMe is like a sibling of Flare by Filament. Again, it's a collection of tools you have to sign up to. Once you install its WP plugin you can load your SumoMe account. Contrary to Flare the admin interface is displayed as an overlay inside the WP and updating your buttons is much easier.
SumoMe beats Flare in terms of free features too – it works on mobile by default and allows to have Facebook Share and Like displayed at once as 2 different buttons.
On the other hand, it didn't avoid setting at least one cookie (although, it's a first-party cookie) and its performance score is slightly worse than Flare. However, the 3rd place shows that a good user experience and well balanced features play an important role in the rating of any software.
SumoMe also offers a handful of other applications to grow your website traffic so it's probably best used in combination with those. In such case don't forget to test how adding additional applications affects overall performance of your website.
Jetpack offers 2 basic buttons styling, displayed here are icons with text (icons without text are rounded minimalist icons).
Jetpack is another specific solution in our test. It's a plugin which brings various advanced functionality of WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress sites. In total there are about 35 different features and one of them is sharing buttons functionality. One disatvantage of Jetpack is that it forces you to connect your site to a WordPress.com account.
The sharing buttons available are currently limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, Google+, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Pinterest and Pocket but you can add a new sharing service through WP admin dialog. Shares are counted correctly.
Be aware that even if you want to a simple sharing functionality, Jetpack might activate other features after installing the plugin. So review and turn off those which you don't need for better performance. Jetpack developers could do some performance optimization too, for example the sharing JS library isn't fully minified.
Jetpack (at least its sharing functionality alone) doesn't set any cookies. Its WP admin is easy to use and obviously is very similar to the WP admin itself.
Jetpack showed a good mix of decent performance, features and privacy, which brought it to the 2nd place in our test.
Custom buttons using Genericons icons from the Twenty Fifteen theme.
And the winner is …. not that surprising. Custom buttons offer the best performance and with a little bit of effort also the best flexibility out of all solutions. In addition to excellent performance, one of the biggest advantages is that you can easily make the buttons match your website design and tailor them to your overall UX.
We have implemented custom buttons using Genericons icons available in the Twenty Fifteen theme and by Barebones Share Buttons library which also counts the number of shares. By default Facebook and Twitter counts are available but it shouldn't be difficult to add counters for other providers too.
By default zeroes are displayed but again this is something which can be handled with a simple update to the library.
Adding counts for other providers might slightly affect performance with additional requests. If top performance is your main concern you should use a service like SharedCount and query its API for number of shares for each service at once. Free service offers 1000 requests a day (or 10,000 if you later log in with Facebook account).
In such case the solution would really be just using social share URLs in your share links or buttons, and finding out shares counts using the SharedCount API.
We realize that some our evaluation criteria can be subjective. That's why we have made the spreadsheet with results available here. It includes detailed performance results, links to the Webpagetest tests and our rating of the features. You can make a copy of it and play with the criteria and their weight. For example if you increase the Privacy weight, the results might be different.
Our recommendation based on the test results is clear – if you need them, and if you can, build custom social media sharing buttons. That's by far the best performance solution and can help you avoid any potential privacy issues.
It requires some effort and might not be as fancy as some other solutions in the test, but you will have the buttons code fully under control and can customize them to match your brand and UX needs. As you can see, the counters (one of the things which differentiate social media buttons from the plain social share URLs) are also doable with the custom buttons.
If you require or can benefit from additional features then your second choice can be solutions like Jetpack, Share by SumoMe or Simple Share buttons. Use our test to help you decide if potential trade-offs in performance and privacy are worth it.
If you have some remarks on the test, its methodology or tested solutions, please share them in the comments below. Thank you.
Brilliant article. I really enjoyed it!
Awesome article! I'musing this as a guide. Thank you!
Thanks, the post is really impressive.
Hi there, I noticed that you are linking to Sharedcount.com on your article https://www.xfive.co/blog/social-media-buttons-test-performance-privacy-features/ . As that service is being discontinued, perhaps it could be useful to replace the link for Sharescount.com, a new working alternative. Keep up the great work!
Hey Lubos, thanks for the great effort.
After reading your article, I disabled SumoMe plugin in my WordPress websites and went on with simple JetPack sharing buttons.
Thanks for the great comparison, but what about MashShare which is actually one of the most rated in the WP repository?
Im really curious for a test and scores.
I was wanting to gain links for my site from Add This. It turns out it doesn't create true links that can boost a website ranking. I was really p*ss*d off to say they least. I dumped them and did 1,000 pages of art one link at a time.
Thanks, Simone. I've installed MashShare and it looks pretty good - only 2 requests (CSS and JS) and around 30kB (minified, gzipped). It doesn't set any cookies. However, I only tested it with FB and Twitter buttons as you need to buy an add-on for others. Anyway, it would probably get to one of the top places in our test.
or are you talking about "Custom Share Buttons with Floating Sidebar" | {
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Summer Ferguson, aka SUMMY, 18, born Oct 22, 1999. She started her career performing covers, her rendition of Adele's "When We Were Young" had over 2 million views on SoundCloud. SUMMY debuts with her new hit single "SUS". | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
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On the Way to a Smile to be released in French (http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/2371020028/)!
― Release date: April 3.
Will this book be available in Canada?
You can always import it. So far, the full version of this book is only available in Japanese, German and French. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Civil War Wiki
Battle of Columbia
Battle of Salem Church
Battle of Albuquerque
John Ericsson
Samuel Gibbs French
Union Army officers
Felix Salm-Salm
Andre Cailloux
Stephen Atkins Swails
John B. Weber
George Luther Stearns
Union Army generals
Henry Larcom Abbot
United States Military Academy alumni
Dennis Hart Mahan
Robert Parker Parrott
Lloyd J. Beall
Benjamin Stoddert Ewell
William Gilham
Caleb Huse
James Madison Leach
in: Orphaned articles from November 2009, Articles with invalid date parameter in template, All orphaned articles,
Michigan Civil War regiments
American Civil War unit and formation stubs
14th Michigan Volunteer Mounted Infantry Regiment
50x40px
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions are available. (November 2009)
14th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Mounted Infantry
Michigan state flag
September 8, 1863 to July 18, 1865
Mounted Infantry
Spencer Carbines
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Battle of Jonesboro
March to the Sea
Battle of Bentonville
The 14th Regiment Michigan Volunteer Mounted Infantry was a mounted infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
1 Service
2 Total strength and casualties
3 Commanders
Service[]
The 14th Michigan Mounted Infantry was converted from the 14th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment on September 8, 1863, being both mounted and re-armed with Spencer Carbines at that time.
The regiment was mustered out of service on July 18, 1865.
Total strength and casualties[]
The regiment suffered 1 officer and 58 enlisted men who were killed in action or mortally wounded and 3 officers and 184 enlisted men who died of disease, for a total of 246 fatalities.[1]
Commanders[]
List of Michigan Civil War Units
↑ http://www.civilwararchive.com/Unreghst/unmiinf2.htm#14th The Civil War Archive website after Dyer, Frederick Henry. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. 3 vols. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.
The Civil War Archive
This article about a specific military unit of the American Civil War is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Orphaned articles from November 2009
All orphaned articles
Civil War Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Harassment on the platform can be uniquely cruel, and for many it feels like there's no escape.
Teenagers have always been cruel to one another. But Instagram provides a uniquely powerful set of tools to do so. The velocity and size of the distribution mechanism allow rude comments or harassing images to go viral within hours. Like Twitter, Instagram makes it easy to set up new, anonymous profiles, which can be used specifically for trolling. Most importantly, many interactions on the app are hidden from the watchful eyes of parents and teachers, many of whom don't understand the platform's intricacies.
"There is no place for bullying on Instagram, and we are committed to fostering a kind and supportive community. Any form of online abuse on Instagram runs completely counter to the culture we're invested in —a platform where everyone should feel safe and comfortable sharing their lives through photos and videos," an Instagram spokesperson told The Atlantic in September. This week, the company also announced a set of new features aimed at combatting bullying, including comment filters on live videos, machine-learning technology to detect bullying in photos, and a "kindness camera effect to spread positivity" endorsed by the former Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler.
Still, Instagram is many teens' entire social infrastructure; at its most destructive, bullying someone on there is the digital equivalent of taping mean flyers all over someone's school, and her home, and her friends' homes.
i hate bullying. one of my classmates whom i considered as my friend made a hate page for my REAL friend on instagram. please advise me. :((( god i hate seeing people suffer. the fact that she actually plays the victim is disgusting. i can't believe i actually was friends w her.
On Instagram, it's easy to see what people are up to and whom they're hanging out with. For teenagers who are acutely aware of social status, even a seemingly innocent group photo can set a bully off. Teens say that tagging the wrong friend in a photo can unleash a bully's wrath. Every location tag, comment, Story post, and even whom you follow or unfollow on your finsta (a secondary Instagram account where teens post more personal stuff) is scrutinized.
Many high schools have anonymously run "confessions"-style Instagram accounts where users submit gossip about other students at school. For instance, an account like Greenville High School Confessions will pop up with a bio asking followers to "send the tea," i.e., gossip. Students will follow the locked account and submit texts of people saying bad things about one another or gossip they've heard about people at school. The account admin or admins will select the juiciest rumors and blast them out on Stories or on the main feed, sometimes even tagging the student's handle.
But Rory said that the no-picture rule hasn't really curbed bullying. Not long ago, someone posted an entire diss track saying awful things about a 15-year-old girl to SoundCloud, which students promptly set as the link in their Instagram bio.
In Rory's case, Instagram has been both the catalyst and the medium for bullying. When she was 13, she was featured on the official Instagram account of Brandy Melville, a popular teen clothing brand.
But even in the midst of the worst bullying, teens say they're wary of logging off. Rory is still active on the platform, though she only uses one account. | {
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Why Escobar Materiality Rule Applies To California FCA
California Law360, Government Contracts Law360, Real Estate Law360, Transportation Law360
By Liam E. O'Connor
The federal False Claims Act – and its similar state law counterpart, the California False Claims Act – both provide for the possible recovery of treble damages, civil penalties and costs from any party who knowingly presents a false claim for payment to the government. The FCA and CFCA are potentially powerful anti-fraud enforcement statutes that could expose government contractors to expansive liability. But in order to succeed on an FCA or CFCA claim, the relator (sometimes called a "qui tam plaintiff") or the government must prove several demanding elements: (1) that the defendant presented a false claim for payment; (2) that the defendant did so knowingly, with deliberate ignorance, or in reckless disregard of the claim's falsity; and (3) that the falsity was material to the government's payment decision.1
Although neither the FCA nor the CFCA contains an express materiality requirement, federal and California courts have found this requirement to be implicit in the respective statutes because it would not effectuate the intent of the acts to impose sweeping liability for a falsehood that was too insignificant to have influenced the government's decision to pay the claim.2 Two years ago, in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court articulated a standard of materiality that has caused a notable shift in FCA litigation.3
Federal courts – including California district courts in several recent significant decisions – have regularly applied Escobar's "rigorous" and "demanding" materiality requirement to FCA claims, granting defendants' dispositive motions on materiality grounds in instances where the government continued to pay claims after becoming aware of allegations that such claims are fraudulent.4 This summer, for example, a California federal court in the Central District of California granted FCA defendants' motion to dismiss – relying heavily on Escobar – where it was clear from the complaint that the government continued paying after learning of the alleged noncompliance.5
When it comes to the materiality requirement under the CFCA, however, the impact of Escobar has been more sluggish. Still, federal courts that have addressed the issue appear to assume that Escobar's materiality standard applies to the CFCA. And while California state courts have yet to directly address the issue, it is likely that Escobar will – and indeed should – guide the materiality analysis under the CFCA as well.
Escobar's New Standard of Materiality Under the FCA
Prior to Escobar, many federal courts addressing FCA claims – and California state courts interpreting the CFCA – applied the Fourth Circuit's test for materiality: "whether the false statement [had] a natural tendency to influence agency action or [was] capable of influencing agency action."6 But in 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court articulated the standard for FCA materiality in Escobar.7 In Escobar, the Supreme Court made clear that the materiality requirement is "rigorous"8 and "demanding,"9 and that it should be strictly enforced to address "concerns about fair notice and open-ended liability" because "billing parties are often subject to thousands of complex statutory and regulatory provisions."10 Furthermore, the court explained that materiality cannot be found where a falsity is "minor or insubstantial" because the FCA is not "a means of imposing treble damages and other penalties for insignificant regulatory or contractual violations."11 To this end, the court stressed that the FCA is not "an all-purpose antifraud statute" nor "a vehicle for punishing garden-variety breaches of contract or regulatory violation."12
Then, the Escobar court held that the materiality determination "look[s] to the effect on the likely or actual behavior of the recipient of the alleged misrepresentation."13 Here, the court made clear that the government's payment of a claim despite its actual knowledge that the defendant was in violation of certain requirements constitutes "very strong evidence" that those requirements were not material.14 Similarly, if the government regularly pays claims with the knowledge that contractors are in violation of specified requirements, that is "strong evidence" that such requirements were immaterial.15 Finally, the Escobar court recognized an additional requirement within the materiality analysis: the defendant must know its falsehood was material to the government's payment decision at the time it submitted its claim.16
Federal Courts Have Readily Applied Escobar's Rigorous Materiality Requirement
Escobar has caused a significant shift in FCA litigation. To begin, Escobar explicitly rejected the notion that materiality is "too fact intensive" to be decided before trial.17 Subsequently, federal courts have regularly dismissed FCA complaints and granted judgment as a matter of law to FCA defendants on materiality grounds.18 Second, federal courts have increasingly looked to the government's actual reaction to fraud allegations and expressed skepticism that an alleged or actual falsehood was material where the government has continued to pay the defendant's claims.19
In particular, federal circuit courts have given weight to factors such as whether the government has renewed its contract with the defendant; whether it has disallowed reimbursement costs charged by the defendant; what action if took after conducting an investigation into or an audit of the defendant's claims; whether it has intervened in an FCA action brought by a relator; and whether it has taken any other action favorable to or against the defendant.20 Lastly, some federal courts – including one recent decision out of the Southern District of California – have enforced the additional "knowledge of materiality" requirement articulated in Escobar, and have granted dispositive motions for defendants where the relator or the government has failed to allege or offer evidence that the defendant knew its falsity was material to the government's payment decision when it submitted its claim.21
Recently, in Ling v. City of Los Angeles – a lawsuit where the United States notably intervened in claims brought against a government defendant, the City of Los Angeles – U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez granted the FCA defendants' motion to dismiss on materiality grounds in a detailed, 55-page opinion.22 Ling involved a question regarding the materiality of the city of Los Angeles' representations that it would create accessible housing in exchange for receiving federal housing funds.23 The court concluded that Escobar's assertion that continued government payment after learning of the defendants' noncompliance was "very strong evidence" of immateriality was ultimately dispositive in this case.24
Specifically, "the complaint's allegations leave no doubt that the Government knew of Defendants' alleged misconduct in at least 2011 or 2012, and continued to provide the Entitlement Funds regardless," distinguishing it from other cases where allegations continued payment was not dispositive.25 Still, Judge Gutierrez gave the government another opportunity to replead, allowing leave to amend in order to allege additional facts in its complaint that would "satisfy the standards of both Rule 9(b) and Escobar."26 But the court warned the United States that various arguments and allegations that are currently not included in the complaint – e.g., that the government essentially had no choice but to continue paying the claims "given the importance of the services that the funding facilitates and the unavailability of an alternative recipient of funds" – "might ... be sufficient to counter Defendants' evidence. However, those lines of reasoning would need to be included in the complaint, and more fully developed, in order to serve this purpose."27
Materiality Under the California False Claims Act: Contreras or Escobar?
Given the sweeping impact of Escobar on FCA litigation, a key question in CFCA context is: Does Escobar also define the CFCA's materiality standard?
The CFCA's materiality standard was first defined by City of Pomona v. Superior Court.28 In that case, California's Second Appellate District stated, "[g]iven the lack of California authority and the very close similarity of [the CFCA] to the [FCA], it is appropriate to turn to federal cases for guidance in interpreting the [CFCA]."29 Then, the court proceeded to adopt the federal Fourth Circuit's test for materiality under the FCA: "whether the false statement [had] a natural tendency to influence agency action or [was] capable of influencing agency action."30
Roughly a decade later, California's First Appellate District applied the "natural tendency" test in San Francisco Unified School District ex. rel Contreras v. First Student Inc.31 In Contreras, qui tam plaintiffs alleged that the defendant bus company had billed the school district for student transportation services while it was in breach of contractual provisions that required its buses to be adequately maintained and to comply with specified federal and state safety and emissions standards.32 The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant on the ground that no reasonable juror could find that the defendant's compliance with the contractual terms at issue was material to the government's payment decision, because the district had continued to make payments to the bus company and even extended the contract after it had become aware of the allegations of fraud.33
On appeal, the Contreras court reversed, holding that the CFCA's materiality test "focuses on the potential effect of the false statement when it is made, not on the actual effect of the false statement when it is discovered" and, consequently, that the government's actual reaction cannot be dispositive on the issue of materiality.34 Under this test, the court concluded that a reasonable juror could find that the bus company's compliance with the specified contractual provisions was material, due to the provisions' important purpose in protecting students' health and safety, the contractual language, and the district's demand that noncompliant buses be removed from service.35
Since Escobar, both federal district courts that have considered the CFCA's materiality requirement have cited Escobar as the standard governing materiality for the purposes of both the FCA and the CFCA.36 But in California state court cases, the attorney general of California has twice submitted amicus briefs taking the position that Contreras is controlling under the CFCA.37 According to the attorney general, while it had been proper for the Contreras court to turn to FCA case law when there was no CFCA precedent, now it would be inappropriate for California courts to look to the new FCA case law because there is a CFCA case on point: Contreras.38 In response, the only California court of appeal to consider the matter appeared to reject the attorney general's argument in an unpublished opinion in Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority v. Parsons-Dillingham.39 Although unpublished opinions have no precedential effect and may not be cited to California courts as persuasive authority,40 the case may nonetheless provide a preview of how California courts should rule on this issue in the future.
Indeed, Escobar should now guide the materiality analysis under the CFCA. As noted above, Contreras relies on federal case law that has been abrogated by the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Escobar and by subsequent lower federal court decisions.41 And – as seen in Pomona and Contreras – California courts have repeatedly looked to FCA decisions when construing the CFCA.42 Escobar has importantly cemented a rigorous and demanding FCA materiality standard. Because Contreras is founded on now-abrogated federal case law, Escobar is now the best articulation of the CFCA's materiality standard. All three courts to consider this issue – two federal district courts and one California appellate court in an unpublished opinion – have reached this same conclusion. Although these decisions are not binding on California courts, it is only a matter of time before a California court makes clear that Escobar applies to CFCA materiality as well.
See 31 U.S.C. § 3279(a); Cal. Gov. Code § 12651(a); see also Universal Health Servs. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar (Escobar), 136 S. Ct. 1989, 1996 (2016); City of Pomona v. Super. Ct. (Pomona), 89 Cal. App. 4th 793, 802 (Cal. Ct. App. 2001).
See S.F. Unified Sch. Dist. ex rel. Contreras v. Laidlaw Transit, Inc. (Laidlaw), 182 Cal. App. 4th 438, 454 (Cal. Ct. App. 2010) (looking to federal cases interpreting the FCA). Congress amended the FCA in 2009 to define "material" as "having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property." 31 U.S.C. § 3729(b)(4). The following year, the California legislature amended the CFCA to adopt a nearly-verbatim definition. Cal. Gov. Code § 12650(b)(4) ("'Material' means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money, property, or services.").
136 S. Ct. 1989.
Id. at 1996, 2002–03, 2004 n. 6. See cases cited infra notes 20–22.
United States of Am. ex rel. Mei Ling et al. v. City of Los Angeles et al. (Ling), No. CV 11-974 PSG (JCX), 2018 WL 3814498, (C.D. Cal. July 25, 2018).
U.S. ex rel. Berge v. Trs. of Univ. of Ala., 104 F.3d 1453, 1459 (4th Cir. 1997); San Francisco Unified School District ex. rel Contreras v. First Student, Inc., 224 Cal.App.4th 627, 638 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).
Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989. Though Escobar discussed materiality in the context of an implied certification case, its materiality requirements have since been extended to all types of FCA cases. See, e.g., Bishop v. Wells Fargo & Co., 870 F.3d 104, 106 (2d Cir. 2017) (applying the Escobar materiality standard to an express false certification case); United States ex rel. Forcier v. Computer Sciences Corp., 12 Civ. 1750 (DAB), 2017 WL 3616665 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 10, 2017) ("{w}hether asserted on a theory of factual falsity or legal falsity, a false claim must have influenced the government's decision to pay); United States v. Strock, No. 15-CV-0887-FPG, 2018 WL 647471, at *11 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 31, 2018) (concluding "that Escobar's materiality standard applies to all of Plaintiff's claims brought under § 3729(a)(1)(A) regardless of whether those claims were brought under a theory of implied false certification, express false certification, or fraudulent inducement.").
Id. at 1996, 2002, 2004 n. 6.
Id. at 2003.
Id. at 2002–03.
Id.; see also State v. Altus Fin., S.A. (Altus Finance), 116 P.3d 1175, 1186 (Cal. 2005) ("{S}pecific remedies under the CFCA are available not for any fraud against the government but rather one which leads to potential or actual injury to the public treasury and the taxpayer.").
Id. at 2002 (quoting 26. R. Lord, Williston on Contracts (4th ed. 2003) § 69:12, p. 549).
Id. at 1996 ("What matters is not the label that the Government attaches to a requirement, but whether the defendant knowingly violated a requirement that the defendant knows is material to the Government's payment decision.").
Id. at 2004 n. 6.
See cases cited in infra note 20.
See, e.g., U.S. ex rel. Berg v. Honeywell Int'l, Inc., No. 17–35083, 2018 WL 3237518 (9th Cir. July 3, 2018) (affirming summary judgement for defendant partially on materiality grounds where government continued to pay claims up to five years after it became aware of fraud allegations and up to four years after it conducted its own audit); U.S. ex rel. Spay v. CVS Caremark Corp., 875 F.3d 746 (3d Cir. 2017) (affirming summary judgement for defendants on materiality grounds where the government had regularly paid similar claims despite its knowledge that the some information in those claims was inaccurate); U.S. ex rel. Petratos v. Genentech Inc., 855 F.3d 481 (3d Cir. 2017) (affirming dismissal of complaint on materiality grounds where the government did not withdrawal approval of a drug, approved three more indications of the drug, declined to intervene in the FCA action, and took no other action against the defendant after becoming aware of fraud allegations); U.S. ex rel. Harman v. Trinity Indus. Inc., 872 F.3d 645 (5th Cir. 2017) (reversing jury verdict for relator and granting judgment as a matter of law to defendant on materiality grounds where the government continued to pay claims after becoming aware of and investigating fraud allegations, refused to intervene in the FCA action, and took no other regulatory action against the defendant, and where eight of nine states refused to intervene in parallel actions under state false claims acts); Abbott v. BP Expl. & Prod., Inc., 851 F.3d 384 (5th Cir. 2017) (affirming summary judgement for defendant on materiality grounds where the government had not taken any action against the defendant after Congress had conducted hearings and a federal agency had conducted an investigation and issued a report finding the defendant to be in compliance with the regulations at issue); U.S. ex rel. Kelly v. Serco, Inc., 846 F.3d 325 (9th Cir. 2017) (affirming summary judgement for defendant partially on materiality grounds where the government continued to pay claims, despite its knowledge that the defendant was in violation of certain requirements); U.S. ex rel. McBride v. Halliburton Co., 848 F.3d 1027 (D.C. Cir. 2017) (affirming summary judgment for defendants on materiality grounds where the government continued to pay claims and did not disallow any charged costs after becoming aware of and investigating fraud allegations); U.S. ex. rel. D'Agostino v. ev3, Inc., 845 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2016) (affirming dismissal of complaint partially on materiality grounds where the government continued to pay clams after becoming aware of fraud allegations); U.S. v. Sanford-Brown, Ltd., 840 F.3d 445, 447 (7th Cir. 2016) (affirming summary judgment for defendant partially on materiality grounds where the government had "already examined" the alleged misconduct "multiple times over and concluded that neither administrative penalties nor termination was warranted"). Cf. United States ex rel. Rose v. Stephens, No. 17-15111, 2018 WL 4038194 (9th Cir. Aug. 24, 2018) (concluding that a reasonable trier of fact could find that noncompliance was material when considering evidence that compliance was not only an express condition of payment, but also the magnitude of the alleged violation and the fact that the agency had imposed fines in other instances of noncompliance); U.S. ex rel. Badr v. Triple Canopy, Inc., 857 F.3d 174 (4th Cir. 2017) (reversing dismissal and reinstating complaint where the government did not renew its contract with the defendant and immediately intervened in the FCA litigation after becoming aware of fraud allegations); U.S. v. Luce, 873 F.3d 999 (7th Cir. 2017) (reversing summary judgment for the government, and affirming finding of materiality where the government continued to issue loans to the defendant but also immediately brought successful debarment proceedings against defendant after it became aware of fraud allegations). But see U.S. ex rel. Campie v. Gilead Scis., Inc., 862 F.3d 890 (9th Cir. 2017) (reversing dismissal and reinstating complaint where the government continued to pay claims and did not withdrawal drug approval after becoming aware of fraud allegations), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Jan. 3, 2018) (No. 17–936).
U.S. ex. rel. Durkin v. Cty. of San Diego (Durkin), No.: 15cv2674-MMA (WVG), 2018 WL 3361148, at *5 (S.D.C.A. July 10, 2018) ("The Supreme Court construed the scienter requirement together with the materiality requirement to mean that a claimant must not only know about a violation of a particular statutory or regulatory provision, but that the claimant must also know that compliance with that provision is material to the government's payment decision."); U.S. v. Salus Rehab. LLC (Salus), 304 F.Supp.3d 1258, 1262 (M.D.F.L. 2018) ("In other words, the False Claims Act requires the relator to prove both that the non-compliance was material to the government's payment decision and that the defendant knew at the moment the defendant sought payment that the non-compliance was material to the government's payment decision.").
No. CV 11-974, 2018 WL 3814498, at *22 (C.D. Cal. July 25, 2018).
Id. at *2.
Id. at *18.
Id. at *21-22.
89 Cal. App. 4th 793.
Id. (quoting U.S. ex rel. Berge v. Trs. of Univ. of Ala., 104 F.3d 1453, 1459 (4th Cir. 1997)).
224 Cal. App. 4th 627, 638 (Cal. Ct. App. 2014).
Id. at 630–31.
Id. at 642 (citing federal cases).
Id. at 644–45. The Court did note, however, "{A} showing in a motion for summary judgement or at the trial that the alleged breach would not have affected the payment decision will defeat a CFCA claim." Id. at 645 (citing Laidlaw, 182 Cal. App. at 456).
U.S. v. Gatan, Inc. (Gatan), No. 2:12–cv–00106–MCE–CKD, at *4–5 (E.D.C.A. Nov. 27, 2017), appeal docketed sub nom., Bailey, et al. v. Gatan, Inc., No. 17-17530 (9th Cir. Dec. 22, 2017); U.S. v. Somnia, Inc., No. 1:15–cv–00433–DAD–EPG, at *1–2, 8–9 (E.D.C.A. Feb. 2, 2018). In a third case, United States v. Boston Sci. Corp., No. 11-CV-2453 (JNE/SER), 2017 WL 3732099, at *5 n.2 (D. Minn. Aug. 29, 2017), the court applied an identical materiality standard under the CFCA and FCA, but noted that "{t}he parties agree that analysis of Higgins' second claim, which alleges violation of the California False Claims Act, should be consistent with an analysis of the federal claim."
E.g., Amicus Brief of the Cal. Attorney Gen. at *4, L.A. Cty. Metro. Transp. Auth. v. Parsons-Dillingham Metro Rail Constr. Manager Joint Venture, No. B255450, 2018 WL 1044591 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. Feb. 26, 2018) {hereinafter MTA Amicus Brief}; Amicus Brief of the Cal. Attorney Gen. at *5–8, Overaa v. Super. Ct. of Cal. for the Cty. of Alameda, No. A152801, 2017 WL 6371761 (Cal. App. 1 Dist. Dec. 5, 2017) {hereinafter Overaa Amicus Brief}.
MTA Amicus Brief at *9–10; Overaa Amicus Brief at *10.
L.A. Cty. Metro. Transp. Auth. v. Parsons-Dillingham Metro Rail Constr. Manager Joint Venture (MTA), No. B255450, 2018 WL 1044591, at *6 n. 11 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. Feb. 26, 2018) ("In its answer to the amicus brief {the defendant} explains that {Escobar} was decided after the federal circuit opinions upon which the Contreras court relied and points out, as discussed, that Escobar made clear the actual effect of an alleged false statement is 'very strong evidence' of whether that statement was material." (citation omitted)). Although the MTA Court affirmed the judgment for the defendant on falsity grounds, it stated that it alternatively could have rested its decision on materiality grounds. MTA, No. B255450, at *9 n. 16 (citing Escobar, 136 S. Ct. at 2002–03).
Cal. R. 8.1115(a).
See cases cited supra note 20.
See Altus Finance, 116 P.3d at 1184 ("{T}he CFCA 'is patterned on similar federal legislation' and it is appropriate to look to precedent construing the equivalent federal act." (citations omitted)); Pomona, 89 Cal. App. 4th at 802 ("Given the lack of California authority and the very close similarity of {the CFCA} to the {FCA}, it is appropriate to turn to federal cases for guidance in interpreting the {CFCA}.").
False Claims Act Investigations & Defense
Government Contracts False Claims Act Defense
Liam E. O'Connor
Deskbook on Internal Investigations, Corporate Compliance, and White Collar Issues (2nd ed.)
Practising Law Institute | {
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New Zealand gets a boom in tourism all thanks to the variously activities and tourism plans offered by various tourism companies in the Country.
Tourism is considered to be a backbone of any country's economy. With the increasing trend of travel and tourism, New Zealand has noticed an increased amount of attention from the tourists.
In this digital age, most of the trends are defined by the social media. With travel and tourism recently glamorized over the social media, where people are constantly sharing pictures of people travelling, many countries have noticed an increased in the tourism. People willing to travel to the different parts of the country include both the locals, as well as the tourists from the other countries. Amidst this boom in tourism, it is not surprising for New Zealand to have increased tourism as well.
Tourists prefer New Zealand for various reasons. Mostly, people from the urban and modern areas, cities and countries prefer travelling to the mountains in the country. Since the mountains in New Zealand offer a perfect balance between all the natural animals, it is among the top preferences of the people.
The importance of Kaimanawa mountain ranges cannot be denied for bringing in the tourists to the area. With the animal wildlife, beautiful and serene mountain ranges, and flowing rivers, all the elements of nature combine together at one place.
In winters, tourists enjoy different snow sports and activities such as skiing. The snow capped mountains have a lot of offer to the eyes. Whereas in winters, tourists enjoy a number of different activities such as trekking in the mountains and being help captive by the beautiful landscape. Fly fishing NZ is another popular activity for the tourists during the summer.
With natural beauty, wildlife, and nutritious food in one place, the Poronui Fly Fishing NZ offers a complete tourism package. The number of tourists only appears to be increasing with time.
Poronui is a true back country property set in the foothills of the Kaimanawa Mountain Ranges aimed at providing the best tourism experience to the people. At Poronui, guests can experience a slice of New Zealand's wilderness. This unique property provides a taste of so much that is special about New Zealand. | {
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Among the operators, there is a discussion about how to design networks in the future. The discussion stems from the fact that the rollout of new services is too sluggish and expensive. This is problematic at a time when the fight for customers is becoming increasingly sharp. There is a consensus among operators that network and service orchestration is necessary in order to reduce OPEX. However, there is some disagreement about the best way to get there. Automating bit by bit, how far and all at once or maybe "wait and see" until we have more knowledge?
The wait and see policy among many operators is not so difficult to understand. First and foremost a standardization work is progressing in ETSI. Secondly, operators are often busy trying to keep up with the manual work required in the networks today.
The standardization work of ETSI describes a logical future and implicate that much of the intelligence is transferred from distributed hardware to data centers. The new generation of hardware has limited functionality and will become highly standardized. This offers evident advantages as the cost of hardware is significantly reduced. At the same time, the concept provides increasing flexibility in capacity utilization. Operators can for example rapidly strengthen the capacity temporarily for mobile communication at a packed stadium without a need to have this capacity available all the time. However, to reach the goals that this future is describing will take time.
ETSI's "rosy standardization image" implicate that telecommunications networks are virtualized in a similar manner as data centers are today. Simple hardware utilized by software that is more sophisticated. New features and services can therefore quickly be implemented via software.
The gap between today and the new future that ETSI is working on is wide and will take time to realize. Nevertheless, it will happen and the good news is – operators do not have to wait for this new future to materialize. It is possible to begin the network automation journey now without being locked in on a path that could later turn out to prevent the work ETSI is undertaking.
IT vendors are interested in supporting this new development, so the future is bright around NFV. The pragmatic way to proceed is to choose a solution (such as BECS by PacketFront Software) that structure and automates networks based on the conditions that apply today. It provides operators both full control of the network and a hardware-independent environment enabling many of the SDN and NFV benefits already now.
Whatever conclusions ETSI later draws, the solution is future-proof as it already follows the ETSI standardization structure and is flexible to cope with the required fine-tuning as the standardization matures.
However, friends of order might object and think, "Hey, wait a minute. Doesn't that mean that you would be dependent on a software vendor instead of a hardware vendor"?
This is the question we will look at in the next post.
Telecom networks are complex structures. So complex that any interference in the current "status quo" is often met with an unwarranted resignation among telecom operators. Energy and focus is being invested in maintaining the networks and running them manually instead of taking steps towards automation leading to lower operating costs and increased robustness of the network.
But every other industry today would not have survived had it not taken steps towards automation of routine tasks in order to gain in profitability and time savings. In the telecoms industry, however, automation of network management is at best rare, at worst non-existent. It forces the operators to put a lot of energy and resources into just keeping the networks up and running. Too much resources. This is reflected in the general low number of new services and innovation level in the telecommunications industry today.
"Changing our network would involve excessive risks".
"The transformation of our network will take a very long time and cost significantly more than it tastes. We simply do not have the time to look over our network right now".
There is an understanding in the telecoms industry that automation is the way to go in order to make time available for developing new services. It should not take 18-24 months for each new service to be implemented, but it usually does that because operators all energy is occupied in maintaining the daily delivery, while they at the same time experience declining margins in the existing business.
The abstraction layer isolates the overlaying OSS and BSS systems from the network structure. By doing this, the introduction of services is considerably faster as the systems in the OSS/BSS layer do not need to consider how new or changed services are realized in the network.
The automation makes network changes in minutes instead of weeks or even months. This is especially valuable in large and complex networks using many network technologies and topologies.
And this does not require that the whole current network structure needs to be abandoned in one swift "big bang" solution.
One can understand that the belief of a need for a "big bang" approach creates a kind of paralysis, and a "wait-and-see" attitude easily wins. You know what you have, but not what you will get. The technicians, who are often busy keeping the networks up and running, raise their concerns and stall the process. This is usually done as a self-protective measure, but not seldom because they want to maintain their position as "the Masters of the Network". Consequently the whole process easily comes to a halt.
However, we believe that the risk does not lie in the automation of the networks. The greatest risk is to continue to maintain time-consuming manual processes and allow competitors to get ahead with greatly improved profitability and innovation power as a result.
The key is to take into account the concerns that major changes raise and take small steps in the right direction instead of thinking massive overhaul projects. It is both possible and so much better to start "somewhere" than "nowhere". But where to start then?
Or perhaps a combination of several of these tasks: e.g. Automation of the access switch configuration for end-users in a particular city.
Conclusion. We believe that the technical staff should minimize the time they spend on routine tasks. They should instead use their valuable skills to defining the standardized components, which the sales organization can use to build their offerings upon. On top of that an automated network provides an opportunity to test new services ad-hoc to see which ones are appreciated by the end-customers.
As we have seen in two previous blog posts it IS a prerequisite to automate the networks in order to enable innovative new offerings, business and services. Operators do have this insight, but as it often involves complex structures, all dependent on each other in various ways, the thought "should we do this? Can we do a total overhaul and go all-in in the process", easily arises.
It is understandable that this creates a kind of paralysis, and a "wait-and-see" attitude easily wins. You know what you have, but not what you will get. The technicians, who are often busy keeping the networks up and running, raise their concerns and stall the process. Usually as a self-protective measure, but not seldom because they want to maintain their position as "the Masters of the Network". Consequently the whole process easily comes to a halt.
However, we believe that the risk does not lie in the automation of the networks. The greatest risk is instead to continue to maintain time-consuming manual processes and allow competitors to get ahead with greatly improved profitability and innovation power as a result.
The key is to take into account the concerns that major changes raises and take small steps in the right direction instead of thinking massive overhaul projects. It is both possible and so much better to start "somewhere" than "nowhere". But where to start then?
By working in a small scale initially and assisted by a solution that supports this approach, one can achieve a process where the steps with the greatest benefits and lowest complexity are automated first.
An incremental automation enables a network built on modularity, where the implementation of new services can be achieved much faster and more efficient. This facilitates for the marketing and sales department to come up with ideas for new services, which can quickly be realized by the technicians.
We believe that the technicians should minimize the time they spend on routine tasks. They should instead use their technical skills to defining the standardized components, which the sales organization can use to build their offerings upon. On top of that an automated network provides an opportunity to test new services ad-hoc to see which ones are appreciated by the end-customers.
Furthermore, the technicians can use their time to develop the network for the future – including quality, capacity, robustness needs, i.e. aspects that have an actual effect on the perceived quality by the end customers. And thus directly impact customer satisfaction and the ability to earn money on the networks.
Cutting costs and increasing productivity in the telecommunications industry are all about the same things as in other industries, namely automation. The road to more cost effective and innovative company starts with small steps. Take time for the conversion if needed, but the important message is to start now. And to think modular.
PacketFront Software speaks about A Pragmatic Approach to SDN & NFV at VNF Management&Orchestration in Barcelona April 28-29 . We will also demonstrate how our product BECS is a powerful tool for anyone who believes that legacy systems will exist a long time, while still wanting to reap the benefits of SDN and NFV immediately.
Come and listen to our Head of Product Management, Henrik Johansson, covering a topic we know are top of mind for many operators: while SDN & NFV will solve many problems, they will not solve all of them . As an operator you will not rip and replace your entire network. You will not redo your entire OSS/BSS stack. So how can SDN & NFV help you today?
Henrik will talk about some low hanging fruit on your road towards NFV nirvana. And even if you don't get there in a long time, you can still have major gains with very little investment. At the end of the day, this is all about making money, so what can be done to shorten e.g. lead-times for new service offerings?
Henrik will demonstrate technology available already today and usable in your existing network and he will look at and discuss a few different practical use-cases and he will propose a pragmatic, step-wise approach for the transformation of your network.
Welcome to meet with us and our booth for in-depth discussions!
The headline could be a quote from one of our many meetings with potential customers. Somewhere there is an understanding that automation is the way to go in order to make time available for developing new services. However, the perception that one is stuck in existing structures is deeply ingrained, as well as the culture that "we have always done like this". Among those responsible a certain resignation is present, based on the fact that on the one hand they want to be able to introduce new services quickly and smoothly. On the other, the knowledge that they have tens or even hundreds of different IT systems which need to be updated in various ways when new services are introduced. Much of the energy and resources are also spent on updating the switches and routers manually to keep the networks running. All this takes time. Not seldom does it take between 18-24 months for each new service to be implemented.
Operators all energy is occupied to maintain the daily delivery and at the same time they experience declining margins in the existing business. Operators see themselves reduced to a mere "Internet pipes", where the only means of competition is who can carry X Mbit / s cheapest as revenues from the old services, such as telephony and television are falling steadily. To protect themselves they desperately try to block services such as Skype for their customers. In reality, this means that the power of innovation does not exist within these companies.
The end result is that operators existing structures are maintained and that the new innovations tend to come instead from third parties, such as Google or Netflix. These companies thus "owns" the relationship with the end customer and in the end also earn major part of the money.
In our next blogpost we will look at another myth that abound – the risks of reforming the network. In our experience, as we shall see, the risks are part of the deep-rooted mythology as there are ways to transform the network, without having to end up in the "big bang" situation.
Welcome to Packetfront Software's new blog. Here we will publish regular posts about issues surrounding the telecommunications industry and the business of operators in particular. Our intention is to highlight the many challenges our customers and potential customers face today.
All too often we notice an unwarranted resignation among them to many of the problems facing the industry. One such recurring problem or theme is the energy and focus they are forced to devote to keep their networks up and running manually.
The instant parallel you get is how the auto industry looked like 40 years ago, then with a high degree of manual processes and high dependency on individual skills to handle many routine operations in the production. Today the auto industry has evolved and is now highly automated and will become even more so in the future. The same thing has happened in most other industries, including agriculture.
But in the telecom industry the degree of automation of routine activities are at best rare, at worst non-existent. It forces the operators to put a lot of energy and resources into just keeping their networks up and running. Too much resources. This is reflected in the low number of new services and innovation level in the telecommunications industry. And the new services that are being developed are not coming from the operators themselves, but driven by the over-the-top content (OTT) providers, such as Google and Netflix. Consequently, it is the OTT which in many cases "owns" the customer and thus earn the money.
But this scenario can be changed we believe. In a series of blog posts, we aim to provide you with our views and thoughts on this situation. What problems do we see and how can the power of innovation be returned to the operators again. For without the innovation of new services that can be realized at the rate customers are demanding, the telecommunications industry will end up in a cul-de-sac. A large scale elimination of operators will take place as many of them end up being only bit pipes, constantly struggling with price pressure and increasingly dependent on volumes in order to make a profit.
All these myths are, as we will discover, practical (and mental) barriers to innovation. In our next post, we will develop the context around the myth of network complexity. | {
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I come asking a simple question.
know if I should try to go for 1144 or if I should stick with 1441.
and refine ALL of my gear with MA (at least... what I can).
in a polite manner. Thank you!
As a person who's made a plvl sheep before, what i recommend is a 1441 sheep. Chances are that you will most likely become a Wind/Earth/Light Witch, and if you do you won't need the extra survival stats that 1144 provides. However, if you go Soul Master you will need to comp some of your items with HP and that should be sufficient survivability, even if you go 1441. Imo I've never used a 1144 build because it's just so much easier to comp HP for survivability than to comp MA.
I don't think that this is even possible XD you need to have 4 in magic since you are a magic type. Maybe change to 1414 ?
Anyway, here is my view on this.
I think that going 1441 is the best for a light wind/earth sheep. This is because you are blessed with high survivability in the form of Shield of Heaven and Light Shield.
Focusing entirely on MA will actually makes you bulkier while at the same time increasing damage output. You will need MA whenever possible since wind element damage is low compared to other element. This helps you reach the MA required for OHKO easier.
Good luck with your sheepie !
In my opinion, it could be a very good build for power level purposes, basically since we have access to web tempering, and you can get high LK base values from most of magic gears. Don't need to comp anything with LK (probably your staff or shield, but i assume u gonna get attribute for ohko mobs with wind/earth skills).
For mobs, you don't really need tons of LK. Id say, if u want to plvl at kerbs, with 150 LK you basically will be hitting 100% of the times without missing, which is very easy to get at level 140~160, for example. And if you are high leveled (200+), for higher floors at Chaos Tower, with 200~250 LK you will be safe too.
And about charm stats, u could be more safe since the 4 in charm, which provides u good DP/HP to survive, adding the DP boost from Light Shield + a decent shield or hat refined with DP, u probably won't need SoH .
1441 all the way! Honestly I don't have anything to add to what heartfull and Neal said.
DA and WT are useless in combat.
1414 Pure LK or 3LK:1Anything would give you all the combat-useful stats at more or less the same ratio.
You can get more of whatever you want from your equips, mostly MA and attribute in order to OHKO with Wind Blade (since you wouldn't really be lacking defense or LK).
EDIT: One more thing, would you be so kind as to tell me good eq sets for Kerbs?
Yay! Was hoping you'd ask me I am going to assume the equipments you would like would be for around level 150 so those are the ones I will recommend, also unsure if you are going hybrid Light witch or SM so i will just recommend for SM(basically the same but if you go Light then I recommend much more MA compounding in place of HP).
Weapon The best weapon, especially for the added wind attribute, is the Altiverse Twist Staff. Most people try and get a staff with a base of at least 30 MA and with at least 3 slots, so that you can comp enough wind attribute for it to noticeably increase your wind skill damage.
Shield I am unsure of your budget so I will first recommend any shield with a decent amount of DP, at least 3 slots, and you can just comp HP on it. The ultimate shield for lvl 140 is not a bad choice, especially if you are looking for something cheap. If you have about 200k myshop available then I recommend a CBS compounded with Air Attribute, from CBS you will not get the added HP of other shields but you will get a wind attribute attack boost and also pretty good defense.
Accessories/Helmet/Cape For these three items I recommend you get them from the Magician Dragon Box 150.
You should comp both the helmet and accessory with MA and the cape with either MA or HP (depends on whichever you feel you need more). Another good accessory is the Opal Bracelet 130, which you also compound MA on.
Sprint For the sprint I recommend a level 140 Kitty earring. You can compound it with HP and also get that extremely useful speed boost, I'm not sure if there is any other sprint that you could also go for, but yea hehe.
how is 1144 sheep possible!?
though if you meant 4magic 4sense, its highly doable.
charm is overrated by rTO standard, the stats you'd get from putting 4 in charm is negligible compared to how OP you'd get from comps.
on the other hand, 4sense gives you the much needed weight and LK, while it lets you concentrate on MA comps some more.
and one thing to note about LK stat, its where you'd get your much needed survivability, LK will give you probability to block both magic and physical attacks.
on the note of light sheep, shield of heaven and light shield lets you become incredibly tanky even with only 1charm.
on that note, a Plvler benefits better with huge WT, 4sense is preferable in this case.
the reason as to why its because it lets you carry more potions and would require you to repot less often.
and if you plan on plvling in kerbs, you'd get better survivability by getting the right amount of DP from equips.
compounding DP on koala/red crab vest, and comfy sheep hat will let you get enough DP to literally shut off kerbs damage to 1.
soulmaster is actually much better in PVM because of domains and blessings.
using blessings is risky, its based purely on AC and LK stat, while its also affected by attribute.
both domain and blessings are affected by attribute, though i'm not aware of the specific amount.
It depends really where you want to plvl and if you are a witch or a soul master.
I don't think getting 4 in charm is overrated at all, it helps you achieve the balance that you want in your build easier and more efficient. Say for example you are aiming for a 100k HP while maintaining 1.5k MA dark lord, it is much easier to pump the points into HP than to MA. Getting that extra 20k from base HP really helps a lot as usually 20k can be achieved by using at least 4-5 slot. Whereas if you compound for MA instead, you can get around 120-150 MA (thats assuming you get 30 per compound), and it will scale quite high with buff.
But since she is going to be a light mage, I agree that charm is a bit pointless XD but it helps her to survive until she get SoH, I think thats the only selling point of putting charm in a light mage.
Also adding to Heartful Equipment suggestion, Dragon Vest 140 seems like a good option if you are looking for a vest, got everything you need, MA, LK and HP and can also be compounded with MA, LK and HP !
its a plvling build though, its better to put the stat where its harder to get.
WT in particular is very hard to get without sacrificing an equipment or two, sprint is much more desirable for PVM wind sheep.
on a side note, plvling on ice bear via wind-blade requires 618MA before mist and 1000% air attr, this excludes elemental boost and domain.
or if 1000% air attr isn't possible, 770MA before mist and 600% air attr should do the trick.
and to make this incredibly hilarious, make blessings ohko icebear.
from what i know about attr you'd need roughly 1000% attr and 1300LK without domain nor elemental boost.
for some people here, 1300LK is easily achievable before lvl250, this makes ice bear plvling via blessing quite possible.
you guys are actually giving me weird ideas now, ice bears have a tight spawn zone, wind blade and whirlwind can pretty much cover it.
sadly whirlwind only ticks once every 2seconds, otherwise it would've been the most nastiest PVM zoning spell.
I forgot to add this in, but here goes. When i first made a wind/earth/light witch I was so annoyed with it. I loved the survivability but spamming that shield over and over and over made me so mad X'D, hated every second of it. So i went for a Wind/Earth SM and compounded some items with HP and it was so much better for me. Without the need of SoH everything just becomes so much better, for me at least. | {
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Q: Get the top most searched terms from search-records, ignoring any duplicate entry for a search-term by any user within a given timeframe(Hrs) We are currently pulling the top 5 searches from the below entity ordered by search count for searches conducted in last N days(refer effectiveSearchDate in below query).
SELECT *, count(t.searchterms)
FROM searchRecords t
WHERE t.SearchDate >= effectiveSearchDate
GROUP BY t.searchTerms
ORDER BY count(t.searchTerms) DESC
LIMIT 5;
Where, effectiveSearchDate is the date from which you want top-search results till date, say '2019-04-01 00:00:00' for top search results since last 5 days.
Refer Image below.
Now, in order to avoid search spamming (any user continuously searching a particular term multiple times just to bring it up in top searches), we introduced a userId column to this existing entity and want to update the query which will ignore any such spams searches by a user for a particular searchterm within a designated period(say 2Hrs).
For eg: let's analyze further on the most searched term above -'voting day':
SELECT * FROM SearchRecords
where SearchTerms like "voting day";
Here, If you notice its only these 3 users who have searched this keyword multiple times. Hence, we would like to discard multiple searches done by a user within a designated period of n-Hrs(say- 2hrs), i.e. count all searches by a user for any particular term within a span of 2hrs as one(1).Thus, the final count of this search word - "voting day" should be 3 instead of 12 and similarly for all the search counts.
A: Let's write the logical approch first -
add a new column 'valid_search_flag' using ROW_NUMBER() and logic should be
Partition By -
*
*userid
*searchterm
*Date part of searchdate ('yyyy-MM-dd')
*Hour part of searchdate('HH') devided by 3 (3 is defining here time frame 3 hours)
Order By -
*
*searchdate
Logic to generate valid_search_flag would be:
ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY userid,searchterm, FORMAT(searchdate,
'yyyy-MM-dd'), FORMAT(searchdate, 'hh')/3 ORDER BY searchdate) AS
valid_search_flag
Now using filter "valid_search_flag = 1" all the duplicate search can be filtered:
WITH CTE AS (SELECT *,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER(PARTITION BY userid,searchterm, FORMAT(searchdate, 'yyyy-MM-dd'), FORMAT(searchdate, 'hh')/3 ORDER BY searchdate) AS valid_search_flag
FROM test.test
)
SELECT *
FROM CTE
WHERE valid_search_flag=1
Now on top of this you can run you aggregation query.
I have tested this successfully on SQL Server, Pls make below changes to execute this in mySQL -
(a) FORMAT(searchdate, 'yyyy-MM-dd') --> GET_FORMAT(searchdate, 'yyyy-MM-dd')
(b) FORMAT(searchdate, 'hh')/3 --> HOUR(searchdate)/3
| {
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Upon his departure from Swarthmore this summer, President Alfred H. Bloom will have served the College just one year less than any president in its history. (Frank Aydelotte and Joseph Swain each served 19 years.) Future historians of Swarthmore College will surely see his 18-year tenure as a time of institutional transformation—when the College's core values were challenged and recalibrated. Given the length of his association with the College—which included 12 years on the faculty and a stint as associate provost before moving to Pitzer College in 1986 as vice president for academic affairs—it's not surprising that a multitude of changes have occurred. The more interesting question is: What is it about Al Bloom and his presidency that allowed it to thrive for almost two decades?
The Chester Children's Chorus began in 1994 as the Chester Boys' Choir, with seven boys. Having sung in the Newark (N.J.) Boys Chorus as a youth, Alston wanted to create a similar experience for boys in Chester, so he went to the Columbus Elementary School looking for boys who liked to sing. On Saturday mornings, he drove a borrowed College van to Chester to pick them up at their homes and bring them to campus.
"Skyscrapers and emptiness," says Polish theater director Michal Zadara '99, as he sits across the table from me, smoking a slim cigarette and gesturing pointedly at the Warsaw skyline outside the cafe window. I think I understand what he means. There is a disconcerting sense of unoccupied space at the heart of the city, amidst all the bombastic Stalinist architecture and modern glass hotels strewn awkwardly around the train station.
Becky Botsford seems to live the average life of a 10-year-old girl. She has moderately clueless parents, an annoying younger brother, a pet monkey, and a secret. When trouble arises, Becky becomes WordGirl, a superhero with super strength, super speed, and a super vocabulary.
Last year, the Philadelphia City Council passed a bill requiring the licensing of tour guides in the historic area of the city. The legislation created a requirement for guides to be periodically tested on their historical knowledge.
I'll never forget the Saturday in December 2000 when the Board of Managers decided to end Swarthmore's football program. A colleague called from campus and said, "You'd better get up here." That evening, I covered a protest on the steps of Parrish Hall and saw Coach Pete Alvanos weeping as he stood at the microphone.
A couple of hours after Barack Obama had been sworn into office seemed to be a more-than-appropriate time to be interviewing George Lakey, a lifelong activist for peace and conflict resolution and civil rights through nonviolent means.
There's a saying that "sailboat racing is hours of incredible boredom, interrupted by moments of stark terror." Despite this assessment of the sport, Arlene Dannenberg Bowes '72 is undeterred. | {
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Last year, I did a series of articles, looking at various home ports for the Disney Cruise Line ships, focusing on places as diverse as Venice, Italy; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Barcelona, Spain; and Vancouver, Canada.
At that stage, although Dover, England had once been used as a home port, back in 2010 for Disney's first Baltic cruises, I had no idea that it would soon be returning to use as a home port for Disney in the 2015 cruise season.
Looking up at the White Cliffs above Dover.
The Disney Magic heads first from Copenhagen, Denmark to Dover, via the Norwegian fjords and Iceland, arriving in England on July 10, 2015. If you haven't already booked this cruise, you're already out of luck, as it's no longer available on the Disney Cruise Line website, having already sold out. The Magic then makes Dover its home port for its next two cruises, both 12-nights long, following the Baltic route. The only difference between the two is that the second itinerary gives you two nights in Copenhagen, removing Warnemunde in Germany to make way for that. When the Magic returns from those trips, it then heads south to Barcelona on a repositioning cruise.
Dover is an interesting home port, mainly because the biggest draw for visitors to the area isn't actually the town itself. Let's be honest, if you're crossing the pond, most people want to see London, and rightly so, as it's got an impressive history and is packed with things to see and do. It's one of the most visited cities in the world, and one I absolutely love, so thoroughly recommend. If you do want to see London, you'll need at least a couple of full days there, although it's very much like Disney, in terms of there's so much to see, you could return a number of times and still not do everything.
The chances are if you're heading to or from Dover from outside the UK, you'll be flying into London, either Gatwick or Heathrow. Of the two, we much prefer Gatwick, as it';s a much smaller airport. Rail links from both into London are very convenient, making it easy to add it on as a destination to your trip.
However, for this article, I'm going to focus on Dover itself, and places closer to it, as the area boasts plenty of attractions. The biggest one by far, and one you can't miss, is Dover Castle, which looms over the town below. Work started on this fortress in the 1160s, and like many British castles, it hosted Royalty for many years, but this castle is very different to many others, as it played a unique role during World War Two.
It became home to secret wartime tunnels, and it was from there that the dramatic rescue of thousands of troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 was masterminded. Today, it's brought back to life, with the sounds of what you might have heard back then, and it's a sobering reminder of the vital role this place played, and also an eye opener of the conditions people had to work under.
With so much history to explore, you can easily spend the day at Dover Castle, which we have done in the past. There are superb, sweeping views across the town, and if the weather is cooperating, you may even be able to see France 30 or so miles away across the Channel. For us, the castle is the one thing you really have to see during any visit to Dover.
Another fascinating aspect of Dover's history can be found at the Dover Museum and the Bronze Age Boat Gallery in the center of the town. As you'll gather from the name, one of the star attractions here is a Bronze Age boat that was found in 1992, when work was underway on a new road out of the town. It's believed to be around 3,000 years old and may be the world's oldest known seagoing boat. Some of the boat had to be left underground, but they managed to salvage about 10 meters of it, and at the museum, you can see ideas of how the whole thing might have looked.
Touring the Secret Wartime Tunnels at Dover Castle, used to mastermind the Dunkirk evacuation during the Second World War.
Just a short walk along the road is the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, which dates from 1100, and the building you see today still has elements of that original structure remaining. Turn a corner and you find yourself in New Street, with a building that doesn't look much, but it's home to the Roman Painted House, one of the finest Roman houses on show in Britain, which dates from around 200 AD. It's thought that it formed part of a large mansion or official hotel for travellers who crossed the channel. You see, even back then, Dover was making money from visitors.
Today that trend continues, and although it's not particularly picturesque, you can't ignore Dover Docks. The cruise terminal is located away from it, but the docks are home to Europe's biggest port, and it takes up a huge amount of ground at the edge of Dover.
One of the most famous sights in Dover is something you'll see as you sail into and/or out of the town. That is of course the White Cliffs, which have greeted people for centuries. I have to be honest, I never tire of seeing them whenever we take the ferry from Dover. It's one of the few advantages it has for me over taking the channel tunnel, which is a lot quicker and poses no risk of seasickness. If you want to get closer to the White Cliffs on land, there is a coastal path you can walk along, and there's a visitor center that explains the history of the cliffs.
If shopping's your thing, then a visit to the De Bradelei Wharf is well worth it, as it offers discount shopping on various designer products. It's close to the town center, and about a mile's walk from the cruise terminal, a walk which takes you past the marina and seafront.
Outside of the town, those with more time to spare can head to Canterbury to see the famous cathedral that has attracted pilgrims for almost 1,000 years. It's an easy train ride over there, while tour companies will offer you the chance to visit Leeds Castle, about 40 miles away, known as the loveliest castle in the world, and with good reason. It's right on our home doorstep, and love being able to visit it regularly. You can also drive there, if you're brave enough to drive on the other side of the road, that is!
There's certainly plenty to explore before or after any cruise from Dover, and it's definitely worth adding some extra time to your trip to ensure you can do this part of the world justice. Your only problem may well be deciding how to fit everything in, there's so much to choose from! | {
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Q: When refresh/reload a table, can't concatenate some lines in a td In a web page I refresh/reload a div, every minute, with content which is in a text file. This part of the code is working.
The problem is that in the table, when I have severals lines with in the first column have the same content, I need to concatenate it.
Example that I want:
Example that I have after the table data reload:
Here the code in order to reload my table/div every minute:
$(document).ready(function() {
$.ajaxSetup({ cache: false });
setInterval(function() {
$('#datatable-1_wrapper').load('bodytest.txt');
//part of code that worked when i load the entire page, but not work in this setInterval method
var names = {}, td, cname, p;
$('#t1').find('tr').each(function(){
if((td = $(this).find('td').get(0)) && (cname = td.className)){
var cnames = cname.split(' ');
names[cnames[0]] = names[cnames[0]]? names[cnames[0]] + 1 : 1;
}
});
for (p in names){
if(names[p] > 1){
$('.' + p + ':gt(0)').remove();
$('.' + p).attr('rowspan', names[p]);
}
}
}, 10000);
});
Can you explain me why the part of the code which concatenate the lines in one td is working when i load the page but not in the refresh method?
Thanks
A: Just guessing here, but it looks like your code runs too soon; consider this instead:
$('#datatable-1_wrapper').load('bodytest.txt', function() {
// loaded, now do the rest of your code
});
The inner function will get called once the wrapper has been loaded.
| {
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Senator Hubert Humphrey (D-Minn), who will be Huntington's guest this evening, will be accompanied here from Washington by Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WVa) and Representative Ken Hechler of the fourth West Virginia district if Byrd and Hechler are able to leave the nation's capitol.
William A. Beckett, president of the West Virginia Young Democratic Clubs, said he was advised this morning by Robert W. Barrie, executive secretary of the Humphrey for President office in Washington, that Senator Byrd and Representative Hechler will accompany Senator Humphrey if congressional business permits.
Barrie also will be in the Humphrey party. The Minnesota lawmaker and his party will leave National Airport in Washington at 4 p. m. in a Beechcraft private plane. Ordinarily the flight to Huntington from Washington takes an hour and a halft [sic].
The Huntington reception committee, headed by Beckett and by Robert H. Burford, chairman of the Cabell County Democratic Executive Committee, plans to be at Tri-State Airport to greet the Humphrey group at 5:30 p. m.
Burford said a press, radio and TV conference will be held at the hotel Frederick before the dinner hour tonight if time permits. Otherwise, a conference will be held tomorrow morning. The senator plans to remain overnight in Huntington and will depart at 10:30 a. m. tomorrow for Pittsburgh.
While here, Senator Humphrey will be the guest of the Cabell Democratic Committee, the Cabell-Wayne Citizens for Humphrey, the Humphrey for President committee and the hutington Forum.
The Minnesota senator will speak at a Forum din[n]er at the Hotel Frederick to be served at 6:30 p. m.
At 8 p. m., Senator Humphrey will be honored at a reception at the hotel, staged by the various committees aiding his candidacy. There, the senator will speak again in the main ballroom of the hotel.
The public is invited to the reception and the 8 p. m. meeting. The Huntington Forum's dinner is invitational. | {
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HomeTechnology NewsCampaigners denounce the recent UK decision to delay the reform of Casino...
Campaigners denounce the recent UK decision to delay the reform of Casino laws
By Shamik
Campaigners denounce the recent UK decision to delay the reform of Casino laws.
The Guardian is aware of the UK government's plans to reform gambling and casino laws until springtime and has prompted activists to warn that this delay could cause more misery and suicide. Gambling firms feed off the addiction and suffering. So how can MPs help them? Matt Zarb-CousinRead more.
What is a Casino, and Is it Legal in the UK?
Casinos are massive complexes that offer a seemingly endless array of places to gamble and drink. Also, it provides plenty of food options. Many different and one of the Best casino bonuses UK offer everything from roulette tables to slot machines.
However, the Conservative party has announced a review of gambling laws in the 2019 general election manifesto as a reaction to increased anxiety in politicians' and campaigners' minds.
The white paper was initially anticipated before the end of the year but was moved to 2021.
Many sources said to The Guardian that a further delay is almost inevitable. That means the government is likely not to release its plans until it has decided.
It is scheduled for February 2022, regarding who will get the following 10-year license to manage the National Lottery.
Liz Ritchie co-founded the charity Gambling With Lives with her husband Charles after their son Jack committed suicide after becoming addicted to casinos during school. She highlighted research that suggests that gambling has a solid link to suicide.
"Every day, at least one person commits suicide due to betting on gambling," the woman said when the group announced an initiative to demand an investigation by the regulator be conducted into each suicide case in which gambling was a factor.
"Every delay will see more families being broken," said Ritchie. "When do we expect the government to act?"
Labour Member of Parliament Carolyn Harris, who chairs the cross-party committee that examines gambling-related harm, said that the review process was "gone on for far too long."
"The government has made a promise to change our gambling laws by the year 2019. Two years later, they are still deliberating. The online gambling industry isn't adequately controlled, making huge profits and suffering from being hurt."
The delay can be traced back to a ministerial change that included John Whittingdale, who was generally thought of as welcoming to the gambling industry, which led to the appointment of Chris Philp.
At an event last week, Philp stated that the white paper would be released "in the next few months."
He said the government was contemplating a brutal crackdown with strict affordability checks to avoid addicts and vulnerable individuals from getting into financial trouble.
Philp is believed to have come to terms with his new job quickly. However, the change in the staff inside the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is one of the main reasons for the delays.
The most crucial factor is the continuing contest to win an eight-year license to run the National Lottery, with Camelot having to contend with the fierce competition that could cost it the monopoly. It was held since the lottery's creation back in 1994.
The Gambling Commission, which oversees the lottery and the overall gambling industry, runs the lottery license contest. It is scheduled to decide by February after the procedure has been extended for six months.
An individual who was who is familiar with the situation stated there was a possibility that it was likely that the National Lottery decision is expected to first be made public, thereby clearing an opening for the white paper following that.
Shamik
A Blogger, Author, and a speaker! Shamik Halder is recognized as a journalist in a newspaper and Admin of NewsGater.com. He loves to write about Today news, Breaking news, Entertainment, etc.
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Six cool WhatsApp features launched in 2021 | {
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Here are the first ten programs from the third Nielsen Television Index (NTI) for the 1966-1967 television season, covering the fifth and sixth weeks of the season, from Monday, October 10th, 1966 through Sunday, October 23rd, 1966. They were published in the November 14th, 1966 edition of Broadcasting. Note that the Nielsen ratings are the average of both week's programming except in the case of special programming.
There were two specials in the top ten during these two weeks. The highest rated program was "Friends & Nabors," an hour-long variety show starring Jim Nabors, Shirley Jones, Andy Griffith and others. It was broadcast by CBS from 9-10PM on Wednesday, October 12th and averaged a whopping 33.0 Nielsen rating. The other special in the top ten was a Bob Hope comedy special (Nielsen considered it an episode of The Bob Hope Show) titled "Murder at N.B.C." It was shown on Wednesday, October 19th from 9-10PM on NBC.
The rest of the top ten was filled with regular weekly programs, including Bonanza, The Lucy Show and Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color. Installments of The CBS Friday Movie were Bye Bye Birdy on October 14th and One-Eyed Jacks on October 21st while on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color viewers watched "The 101 Problems of Hercules" on Sunday, October 16th and "Gallagher Goes West (Part One)" on Sunday, October 23rd.
"The Nielsens." Broadcasting. 14 Nov. 1966: 72.
"FRIENDS & NABORS", telecast in the same time period usually occupied by "GREEN ACRES" and "GOMER PYLE, U.S.M.C." (and certainly sustained by General Foods, who was the primary sponsor of both shows), was virtually the genesis of the show that succeeded "GOMER PYLE" in the fall of 1969, "THE JIM NABORS HOUR", which proved once and for all that Jim was more than just a "hick actor".
"MURDER AT NBC" was one of Bob Hope's weirdest "book specials". He played an "evil genius", 'Von Smirtch', whose dastardly plan is to "shrink" the U.S. small enough so that he can virtually tow it away for himself! Lots of cheesy video effects and guest appearances (mostly NBC stars and Bob's good friends) by Don Adams, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Durante, Milton Berle, Red Buttons, Wally Cox, Bill Dana, Rowan & Martin, Bill Cosby, et. al. | {
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Here is the latest study, from European Journal of Human Genetics. What interests me are the mitochondrial lines of founder Gypsy women H7, J1b3, J1c1, M18, M35b, M5a1, U3, and X2d. Does anyone have these haplogroups in their family in tandem with Gypsy heritage?
How do I find out my mtdna haplogroup?
You can see a sample of the test before ordering. Please call us at 888-806-2588 10AM-6PM Mountain time if you have questions.
In 18 Ethnic Panel,I have South Asia Marker,I have Romani in Megapopulation listed as 1 on the top 10 and I have Romani listed as 1 in Special Euro Update.And I have Sinti Gene.
One possible explanation is that you got Romani from your mother's father or your father's mother. The haplogoup tests don't cross gender boundaries.
Recently tested and have world population rank: 1. Macedonian Romani (Gypsy), 4. Romani-Presov, Slovak Republic, 10. Hungarian-Romany-Baryanya/Debrecan regions. Romani ranks first in Megapopulations and sixteenth in European populations. My mtDNA haplogroup group is H. I have not tested for full haplogroup. My father's mother is: H1ag1b. Did not know of any Romani heritage. | {
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Established in 1935, Heidelberg Lodges has every amenity you could want for a weekend getaway or family retreat all on a private area of the Comal River. We are located just minutes from many of New Braunfels' attractions, so it's easy to load up and head out for some fun anytime. We hope to have you visit Heidelberg Lodges soon and enjoy some Tranquil Relaxation on the Comal River.
Heidelberg Lodges does not allow pets on property.
leave without refund of deposit or room stay.
We have a feeling you may never want to leave (click on a picture for a larger view).
For more information please see Our Policies.
70 of our 100 member family stayed here for our reunion. The ages were from 4 months to 83yrs. We served breakfasts and dinners which we brought and cooked on the covered patio...The large swimming pool and game room provided lots of hours of fun plus fishing in the Comal river. Arrangements were made for a day of tubing down the Comal and a day at Schlitterbahn. The younger kids loved experiencing McKenna Children's Museum.
Wedding Party, Family Reunion or Business Retreat? Stay Here.
Please give us your email address. | {
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Lt. Gail Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber," greets children of isolated West Berlin sometime during 1948-49 after dropping candy bars from the air on tiny parachutes. USAF photo.
Petition Aims to Win Berlin 'Candy Bomber' the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nov. 18, 2020 | By Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory
A petition on WhiteHouse.gov is looking to get retired Air Force Col. Gail S. "Hal" Halvorsen—a 100-year-old veteran who flew the C-47 and C-54 aircraft in Germany during the Berlin Airlift—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Halvorsen is often referred to as the "Candy Bomber," because he used to attach candy to parachutes constructed from handkerchiefs and string and drop them from his C-54 to try to bring cheer to the children below.
Retired Col. Gail S. "Hal" Halvorsen, known commonly as the Berlin "Candy Bomber," stands in front of a C-54 Skymaster like the one he flew at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Arizona. Photo: Bennie J. Davis III/USAF
"The Presidential Medal of Freedom is typically awarded for especially meritorious contribution to either 'security or national interests of the United States,' 'world peace,' or 'cultural or other significant public or private endeavors;' Col. Halvorsen's accomplishments throughout his life encompasses all of these areas," the petition web page states. "With this petition, we are requesting the White House consider Col. Halvorsen for the Presidential Medal of Freedom as soon as possible to honor this extraordinary man."
As of press time, the petition had garnered 5,794 of the 100,000 signatures needed by Nov. 22 to merit a White House response.
"Anyone who believes in freedom and the power of good to triumph over tyranny will join me in making the case for Gail Halvorsen, an incredible Airman and an inspiration for us all," Air Force Association President and retired USAF Lt. Gen. Bruce "Orville" Wright said.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Gail S. "Hal" Halvorsen, also known as the candy bomber, waits in excitement before dropping over 300 candy parachutes to children in Hailey, Idaho, on May 26, 2011. Halvorsen was a command pilot during the Berlin Airlift. Photo: Staff Sgt. Gina Chiaverotti-Paige
"The U.S. had quickly recognized the publicity value of what came to be called Operation Little Vittles," Air Force Magazine previously reported. "Commanders charged Halvorsen with organizing a larger airdrop. Eventually dozens of pilots were involved."
German children in West Berlin wave to a U.S. Air Force transport aircraft as it comes in to land at Templehof Airport during "Operation Vittles," better known as the Berlin Airlift in 1948. Photo: USAF
U.S. pilots dropped more than 20 tons of sweets from a quarter of a million parachutes by the time the Airlift concluded in mid-1949, according to a USAF release.
Halvorsen's post-Airlift career included a stint at the Wright Air Development Center in Dayton, Ohio, a transition into the Air Force's space program, and eventually leading "a satellite-tracking facility at Vandenberg" Air Force Base in California.
Editor's Note: This story was updated on Nov. 19 at 8:51 a.m. EST to correct the total number of signatures needed to merit a White House reply to the petition.
Joint Chiefs' Milley and Berger Test Positive for COVID-19
Coronavirus struck senior Pentagon leaders over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend, with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley and Marine Corps Commandant David H. Berger testing positive. Milley is vaccinated and has had a booster shot, a spokesperson said. Vaccinations remain a requirement,…
Secretary Austin Back to the Pentagon After Negative COVID Test
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has tested negative after experiencing mild symptoms during a bout with the COVID-19 virus. Austin returned to the Pentagon on Jan. 10 after completing an at-home quarantine during which he continued to work remotely. Austin last met with his staff at the Pentagon on… | {
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Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development
BHEARD scholarship opportunities for South Sudan
The scholarships will support master's study at regional universities in Africa. Training programs will cover up to two years of courses and research.
Under its Feed the Future initiative, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has instituted the Borlaug Higher Education Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) program. Implemented by Michigan State University (MSU), BHEARD honors the legacy of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug. The program will support long-term training of agricultural and food security researchers and policy advisors at the master's and doctoral levels. This is a major effort to increase the number of agricultural scientists and policy advisors and strengthen scientific institutions in developing countries.
South Sudan has been selected as one of eleven countries for scholarship support under the BHEARD program. The scholarships will support master's study at regional universities in Africa, beginning in August 2017 or 2018. Training programs will cover up to two years of courses and research for master's students. Studies will be undertaken at a regional university, such as in Kenya or South Africa.
Applications are invited from South Sudanese students who meet the requirements below. Preference will be given to employees whose work involves agriculture with organizations such as:
private sector institutions
private university academic staff
Applicants may study any field of agriculture that relates to food security in South Sudan. These fields may include crops, soils, agricultural economics, food science and nutrition, post-harvest technology, and agricultural extension.
The Trainee Selection Committee will review applications and select candidates based on the following criteria:
South Sudanese national residing in South Sudan.
Strong academic performance at the Bachelor's level (first or upper second class pass). Relevant educational background and professional experience.
Strong written and spoken English language skills.
Evidence of commitment to a future career in developing agriculture in South Sudan.
Under 32 years of age for master's applicants. An exception may be made for female candidates up to 38 years of age.
**Qualified female candidates are especially encouraged to apply.**
Apply online through our application portal.
https://msu-bheard.terradotta.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10008
The application deadline is Aug. 1, 2017.
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4-H State Award - How to use Life Skills in your application
4-H State Awards - How to create a Resume | {
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The International Trade Commission (ITC) today again confirmed the seriousness of the injury to American steel producers caused by the flood of low-priced foreign imports in recent years. The overwhelming majority of the Commissioners recognized that substantial tariffs of 20% to 40% must be imposed to address the critical steel import problem. The domestic industry urges the President to adopt the recommendations of the majority of the Republican members of the Commissioners who recommended 40% tariff levels. Imposition of a fully effective remedy is essential to the President's Steel Program announced earlier this year.
Today's vote by the ITC concludes the second phase of its investigation under Section 201 of the U.S. trade laws. The ITC completed the first phase of review in October when, after weeks of testimony and extensive and rigorous review of technical and economic data, the independent, bipartisan panel unanimously found that American flat-rolled steel producers are being seriously injured by low-priced foreign imports.
"The industry welcomes the ITC's recognition that tariff-based remedies are necessary at this time," said Thomas J. Usher, Chairman and CEO of USX Corporation. "However, in these market conditions, 20% tariffs are inadequate to redress the serious injury caused by foreign imports. We urge the President to act quickly to adopt 40% tariffs on all flat-rolled imports, including slabs. That is the only remedy that will give America's steel industry the chance to restructure and recover from years of excessive low- priced imports."
The ITC will forward its recommendations with explanations to the President by Dec. 19. The President will then have up to 60 days to review the ITC's report and determine what course of action to take.
"President Bush correctly recognized that bold steps are necessary to address the crisis gripping America's steel industry," said Robert S. Miller, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. "The ITC's decision in October and again today support the President's position and underscore the urgency with which the government must now move forward to correct the situation. We urge the President to act promptly and forcefully."
The Commission's failure to recommend a meaningful remedy with respect to slab products undermines relief for the steel industry and the President's steel program. Slab production is the first step for all flat-rolled steel production and it is where most of the capital investment and innovation occurs. To be effective, relief must cover all the major steel product lines. Granting relief on some products but not others will simply encourage the shifting of foreign capacity to the products exempted from import relief, without significantly reducing the excess capacity that is the cause of the current crisis. Partial relief will therefore not address the structural problems of the global steel market.
The implementation of the strongest possible trade remedies by the President will further the remaining components of the Administration's Steel Program. In June, the President laid out a comprehensive three-part strategy to address the cumulative effect of 50 years of foreign subsidization and unfair trade practices. The ITC investigation is one element of his steel plan. The other two pieces are multilateral negotiations to address foreign overcapacity and continued aggressive pursuit of foreign anti-competitive practices, such as subsidization and closed markets.
Strong tariff-based remedies under Section 201, coupled with government assistance to address the massive legacy costs that are preventing the domestic industry from restructuring, will help create an industry in a position to compete over the long run with anyone in the world. | {
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Vice President Pence's top aide tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 06: White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short (L) and Vice President Mike Pence arrive for a signing ceremony for the Veterans Affairs Mission Act in the Rose Garden at the White House on June 6, 2018 in Washington, DC
WASHINGTON - A spokesman says Vice President Mike Pence will continue with his aggressive campaign schedule after his chief of staff, Marc Short, tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday.
Pence spokesman Devin O'Malley says Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, both tested negative for the virus on Saturday and remain in good health.
Short is Pence's closest aide and the vice president is considered a "close contact" under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. O'Malley says that "in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the Vice President will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel."
Those guidelines mandate that essential workers exposed to someone with the coronavirus closely monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and wear a mask whenever around other people.
After a day of campaigning Saturday, Pence was seen wearing a mask as he returned to Washington aboard Air Force Two once the news of Short's diagnosis was made public.
Brianna Kupfer murder: Alleged suspect Shawn Laval Smith arrested in Pasadena | {
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The Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey conducted training sessions in Monmouth and Middlesex counties yesterday for Jewish and interfaith community leaders to learn next-level approaches to active shooter/attacker scenarios. Subject matter expert, Jin Kim, who retired in 2018 after 23 years with the FBI, presented ways to build beyond the Run–Hide–Fight approach to further empower individuals and institutions – ways that have saved lives in recent violent attacks.
Make a personal commitment to do everything in your power, including learning how to survive – understanding how highly stressful conditions affect your mind and body, and creating a personal action loop comprised of strategies you can do rather than hope you can rise to accomplish.
Using the tools he laid out, visualize how you will act in the event of an attack; rehearse in your mind so you won't be completely unprepared if an attack occurs.
Just as important is to discuss possible emergencies and responses with your loved ones. These conversations may be difficult or uncomfortable, but in today's reality they are increasingly necessary.
Remember the first resource to manage is the incident time – by disrupting the attacker's timeline and primary plan. The longer you deny the attacker opportunity, the more likely it is that the intruder will run out of time and be neutralized either by suicide, apprehension, or deadly force.
The next step is to then manage your response. This is about being resilient and adjusting to the situation and circumstances, not just being reactive with defaults.
The key question is What's Important Now? (WIN) Given what you know or don't know about the situation…what is the best course of action based on the environment, conditions, population, threat proximity and severity?
The critical point is to think through what your strategic adaptations could be BEFORE an emergency happens. What are your paths or options in your office, or in another facility? How can you visualize and "train" for such an emergency in your head or in advance?
Don't 'set it and forget it' with security systems and technology; invest in the integrity of those systems with proper levels of human resources when considering implementation of new technology or services; be guided also by how it can fail and the consequence impact rather than just focusing on the benefits.
Invest in the resiliency of your people with awareness, knowledge, and training. Training is critical and should include parameters that result in some failures rather than a repetitive sequence designed for an unrealistic 100% success. We don't learn from success. We learn from failure.
Make it a priority. Find a way to put it in the budget. Stop thinking of the challenge as beyond your capabilities to address. Every step can make a difference. Do it now.
The Federation conducted two sessions with Mr. Kim on Nov. 29: a morning session at Highland Park Conservative Temple – Congregation Anshe Emeth and an evening session at iPlay America, Freehold. More than 115 people attended in total.
To learn more about the Jewish Federation's initiatives to stem anti-Semitism and step-up security, go to jewishheartnj.org/crisis.
The Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey strengthens the entire Jewish community – making it more caring, connected, and committed to addressing the issues it faces today and for the future, as well as responding when crisis occurs. The Federation grants more than $4 million annually to partners and programs meeting critical needs from hunger and mental health to education and safety throughout Monmouth and Greater Middlesex counties, as well as Jewish communities around the world.
Jin Kim is widely recognized as a subject matter expert and material practitioner in active shooter and targeted violence attacks. Mr. Kim retired from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2018 and is a twenty-three-year veteran of the FBI'S New York Division. He served as the Active Shooter Coordinator on the Crisis Management Unit and was the leading authority directing active shooter & workplace violence preparedness, resiliency, and training, for the FBI and its corporate and private sector partnerships. Mr. Kim is the Founder & Principal of the PerSec Academy, LLC, specializing in Active Shooter and Workplace Risk Management and is the creator and founder of the T.A.S.K. Process – Threat Adaptation Strategies & Know-How. | {
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We've already mentioned this month how creepy North Korea's Hotel of Doom is, so in continuing down that tyrannical path, why not go as our ex-boyfriend, Kim Jong-Un for Halloween?
What you'll need: A Choson-ot suit (think a bit Doctor Evil), and a Mickey Mouse ear cap.
What you should do: Nothing. We mean, come on. What does a dictator really do anyway?
Pair this costume up with: either a full Mickey or Minnie Mouse costume. Extra points for wearing the North Korean versions of those costumes, you know the ones that are slightly off. | {
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The effectiveness of current laser-propulsion techniques is limited by the instability of supersonic gas flow, caused by shock waves that "choke" the inlet of the nozzle, reducing thrust. Those effects can be reduced with the help of laser ablation, redirecting the plasma plume so that it flows close to the interior walls of a supersonic nozzle and significantly improving the overall thrust. Courtesy of Y.Rezunkov/IOIE
Scientists and science fiction writers alike have dreamed of aircraft and spacecraft that are propelled by beams of light rather than conventional fuels. Now, a new method for improving the thrust generated by such laser-propulsion systems may bring them one step closer to practical use.
Currently, the maximum speed of a spacecraft is limited by the amount of solid or liquid fuel that it can carry. Achieving higher speeds means that more fuel must be burned — fuel that, inconveniently, has to be carried by the craft and hefted into space. These burdensome loads can be reduced, however, if a laser — one located at a remote location, and not actually on the spacecraft — were used to provide additional propulsive force.
A number of systems have been proposed that can produce such laser propulsion. One of the most promising involves a process called laser ablation, in which a pulsed laser beam strikes a surface, heats it up, and burns off material to create what is known as a plasma plume. The outflowing of that plasma plume — essentially, exhaust — generates additional thrust to propel the craft.
More - Link >>> http://www.scientificcomputing.com/news/2014/10/supersonic-laser-propelled-rockets-may-enable-aircraft-exceed-mach-10?et_cid=4240734&et_rid=544605860&location=top
Sources: The Optical Society, ScientificComputing.com .
md ashraful alam July 28, 2017 at 2:25 PM
dentist reading | {
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2MATCH URL: https://assets.rappler.com/8F6DD4E7EFC74F799D2CD0A1919A3D1C/img/601CBCB01A0F44FA9E595AA4047F44C8/afp-20170917-hamas-palestine-gaza.jpg
Hamas agrees to steps toward Palestinian unity
The Palestinian Islamist movement agrees to dissolve a so-called 'administrative committee' and says it is prepared for elections
Published 11:45 PM, September 17, 2017
Updated 11:45 PM, September 17, 2017
HAMAS-FATAH TALKS. A Palestinian man and his daughter walk past graffiti reading in Arabic ''Division'' in Gaza City, on September 17, 2017, after Hamas announced it had agreed to steps toward resolving a decade-long split with the Fatah movement. Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories – Hamas said Sunday, September 17, it had agreed to steps toward resolving a decade-long split with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas' Fatah, announcing it would dissolve a body seen as a rival government and was ready to hold elections.
The statement comes after Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian officials last week, and with the Gaza Strip run by the Palestinian Islamist movement facing a mounting humanitarian crisis.
Hamas said it had agreed to key demands made by Fatah: dissolving the so-called "administrative committee" created in March, while saying it was ready for elections and negotiations toward a unity government.
It called on the Palestinian Authority government based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank "to come to Gaza to exercise its functions and carry out its duties immediately."
Hamas chief Ismail Haniya agreed to take such steps in talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo last week, a Hamas official has told Agence France-Presse.
It was unclear, however, whether the steps would result in further concrete action toward ending the deep division with Fatah.
Hamas for now continues to run a de facto separate administration in the Gaza Strip and is in charge of the security forces there.
Previous attempts to resolve the split have repeatedly failed.
Abbas' Fatah welcomed the announcement, saying it followed "extensive meetings" between its own representatives and Egyptian intelligence officials.
'Tangible practical steps'
Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad said a bilateral meeting with Hamas would be organized to begin working out a way forward.
"There will be tangible practical steps in the next few days, starting with the Palestinian national unity government resuming its work according to law in Gaza as it does in the West Bank, in order to continue its efforts to relieve the suffering of our people in the strip and work towards lifting the unjust blockade," Ahmad told official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade for around a decade, while its border with Egypt has also remained largely closed in recent years.
Abbas is currently in New York for the UN General Assembly meeting, where he is set to speak on Wednesday, September 20.
A Palestinian government spokesman, Yousef al-Mahmoud, said it was ready to return to Gaza and "assume all responsibilities," while adding it also needed "clarifications" and further details on Hamas's announcement.
UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov also welcomed Hamas's steps.
"It is critical that the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, most notably the crippling electricity crisis, be addressed as a priority," he said.
In Sunday's statement, Hamas spoke of the "dissolution" of the administrative committee, which was seen as a rival government to Abbas' administration.
Hamas formed the committee in March, and since then Abbas has sought to put further pressure on the Islamist movement, reducing electricity payments for the Gaza Strip among other measures.
Hamas has run Gaza since 2007, having seized it in a near civil war from Fatah following a dispute over parliamentary elections won by the Islamist movement the previous year.
No elections since 2006
The West Bank and Gaza have not participated in an election together since 2006.
Abbas, whose term was meant to end in 2009, has remained in office with no election held.
The Gaza Strip has meanwhile faced deteriorating humanitarian conditions, including a severe electricity crisis and a lack of clean water.
The coastal enclave of some two million people also has one of the world's highest unemployment rates.
Facing those conditions, Hamas has turned to Egypt for assistance, particularly for fuel to produce power – and has faced pressure to take steps toward Palestinian reconciliation in return.
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, including Hamas, have fought 3 wars since 2008.
The Jewish state says its blockade is necessary to stop Hamas from obtaining weapons or materials that could be used to make them.
During a visit to the strip in August, UN chief Antonio Guterres called for the blockade to be lifted, saying Gaza was enduring "one of the most dramatic humanitarian crises" he had seen.
Hamas has sought to soften its image recently, though last month its Gaza head, Yahya al-Sinwar, said the movement had increased its military capabilities thanks to newly improved relations with Iran, Israel's archenemy. – Rappler.com
Filed under:Fatah•Gaza City•Gaza Strip•Ismail Haniya•Mahmud Abbas•Nickolay Mladenov•Palestine•Palestinian Authority•West Bank•Hamas | {
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【人権理事会声明】「イラクにおける国際人権・人道法に対する重...
【人権理事会声明】「イラクにおける国際人権・人道法に対する重大な違反に関する声明」を提出しました。
子ども・少女の権利
テロと人権
国連での活動(世界の人権問題)
国連での活動(日本の人権問題)
難民の人権
難民・避難民
国連での活動
国際人権NGOヒューマンライツ・ナウは2016年2月29日からジュネーブで開催される第31会期人権理事会に向けて「イラクにおける国際人権・人道法に対する重大な違反に関する声明」を提出しました。
※原文掲載(英語)となっております。
31st Human Rights Council Written Statement (Iraq) [PDF]
本声明については、口頭声明も引き続き提出し、
ジュネーブでの本セッションにて発表を予定しております。
Gross Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Iraq
It has been about 13 years since the outbreak of the Iraq War in March 2003. However, the country is still in chaos, and public security remains unstable even now.
Human Rights Now (HRN) expresses its grave concern over the present human rights situation in Iraq. According to the latest OHCHR/ UNAMI report on 5 January 2016, civilian losses are becoming serious, with 18,802 people killed, 36,245 injured, and 3.2 million displaced.[1]
In January 2016 alone, 490 people were reported to have been killed and 1157 wounded.[2] Most of these casualties are caused by grave violations of human rights which may constitute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Human Rights Violations in Iraq
(1) Civilian persecution by ISIL
ISIL, which controls an area from central Iraq to northern Syria, forces obedience among the population it controls and commits grave human rights violations. In March 2015, an OHCHR report concluded that members of ISIL may have committed genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against ethnic and religious minorities.[3]
According to the latest OHCHR/UNAMI report,[4] ISIL has executed ISF, former ISF, police officers, journalists, and even homosexuals. The methods of execution are cruel as well, including shooting, decapitation, running over by car, burning, pushing off a building, etc. The report also records many kidnappings by ISIL, including of children, many of which are made into fighters. It further reports ambushes, attacks, and killings of citizens fleeing persecution.[5] The report also found about 3,500 citizens are currently treated as slaves in ISIL controlled areas.[6]
(2) Persecution against minorities such as Yezidis
ISIL continuously targets specific ethnic or religious minorities including Yezidis, Christians, Turkmens, and Shiites, and subjects them to physical, sexual and other forms of brutal violence. Among these groups, Yezidis, in particular, have been systematically targeted by ISIL. ISIL members label Yezidism as "Satanism," either executing them or forcing believers to convert to Islam, as well as commit widespread sexual violence against Yezidi women and girls.[7]
Based on interviews with Yezidis women and girls from 12 to 30 years old, HRN found that Yezidi women and girls are raped through forced marriage, allotted as 'gifts', and sold repeatedly by ISIL fighters, thereby subjecting them to repeated sexual assault and rape.[8]
In November 2015, the bodies of about 120 Yezidis were found outside of Sinjar District, which Kurdish Peshmerga had regained from ISIL.[9] The latest OHCHR/UNAMI report notes that although about 2,200 of 5,800 kidnapped Yezidis have been released or escaped from ISIL control, many Yezidis are still kept as slaves.[10]
(3) Violations Committed by the Iraq Government, Iraq Security Forces (ISF), and Shiite Militias
Discrimination and persecution against Sunnis committed by the government and its forces have continued for decades until the present. Immediately after the 2003 Iraq war, the Iraq government, ISF, and Shiite militias began persecuting Sunni Muslims. The persecutions have been systematic and widespread, and the forms include extra-judicial killings, torture, other forms of violence, arbitrary arrests, and detentions.[11] A 2006 UNAMI report detailed such violations and analyzed the main aspects of human rights violations, such as that "[m]ilitias, at times linked to political parties which are also part of the Government, continue to operate outside the law; death squads and sectarian and religious extremists are equally prone to commit human rights violations."[12]
These decade-long violations have de facto contributed the emergence of ISIL; however, further escalations of ethnic violence against Sunni Muslims have been reported. According to the latest OHCHR/UNAMI report, government-backed armed groups are killing and kidnapping civilians and destroying infrastructure.[13] Shiite militias reportedly committed numerous massacres in various Sunni communities in Iraq.[14]
Further, the Iraqi government and ISF attack civilians in the name of the "fight against terrorism," causing civilian deaths. In August 2015, a government warplane dropped three barrel bombs on Fallujah city's maternity hospital and destroyed the hospital. At least 31 people including 23 women and children were reportedly killed, and many others were severely wounded.[15]
The government recently announced it will build security fence in Bagdad to protect the city from "criminal acts of the terrorists groups,"[16] however such an apartheid-like policy may further facilitate hatred and confrontation among the population. The government has a responsibility to protect the right to life of the people in Iraq. Violations of the rights of civilians by government-supported groups cannot be justified.
(4) Acts by the Kurdish government and Peshmerga
Many human rights violations have been reported in regions liberated from ISIL occupation. According to Amnesty International, the Kurdish Peshmerga destroyed thousands of houses and forcibly displaced Arab communities at 13 cities in Ninewa, Kirkuk, and central Diyala in northern Iraq, which the Peshmerga recaptured from ISIL from September 2014 to March 2015.[17] These acts are alleged to be war crimes.
OHCHR/UNAMI reported that Iraqi security forces, Kurdish security forces, and their respective affiliated militias have been responsible for looting and destruction of property belonging to the Sunni Arab communities, forced evictions, abductions, illegal detention, and, in some cases, extra-judicial killings.[18]
(5) Strikes by the US-Led Coalition
There are many civilian deaths caused by air strikes by the US- Led Coalition. On 29 January 2016, US forces officially admitted that they likely hit civilians in air strikes against ISIL in Iraq and Syria from July 2014 to October 2015. The number of officially acknowledged victims killed by the US-led coalition strikes in Iraq and Syria since August 2014 has reached to 21.[19]
In Iraq, ISIL, the Iraq Government and Security Forces, the Kurdistan Regional Government and Peshmerga, the US-led coalition, and other actors have intensified their hostility and committed grave violations of human rights which may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prevailing impunity over grave human rights violations since the US-led invasion until now has allowed continuous human rights violations targeting significant numbers of the civilian population. The international community must spare no effort to cease all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and protect non-combatant citizens, especially ethnic and religious minorities, children, women, and IDPs.
The Iraq government as well as the international community must address the root causes of Iraq's conflict. It is essential to end sectarian conflict and promote national reconciliation and pluralism. It is also important to restore rule of law, justice, and accountability throughout the country.
HRN calls on:
(1) The Iraq Government to
(a) Immediately cease all attacks, violence, persecution, and all forms of human rights violations against minorities, in particular Sunnis Muslims, conducted by any elements of the government as well as related militias;
(b) Strictly adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law and protect civilians in conflict and liberated areas from human rights violations;
(c) Investigate all allegations of human rights violations committed by the ISF and militias and bring perpetrators to justice;
(d) Establish an effective mechanism to redress human rights violations and ensure effective remedies for victims;
(e) Make all effort to restore rule of law, justice, and accountability for grave violations of human rights;
(f) Ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to prevent the recurrence of grave human rights violations;
(g) Make all effort to end sectarian conflict, and promote pluralism and national reconciliation;
(2) The US-led coalition to
(a) Carry out a transparent investigation of all alleged war crimes since the beginning of the 2003 Iraq war and occupation, and prosecute those most responsible for identified crimes;
(b) Cease all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law;
(3) UN Human Rights Council and international community to
(a) Assist Iraq to establish rule of law and effective mechanisms to prevent further human rights violations;
(b) Support the Iraq government to end sectarian conflict and promote pluralism as well as national reconciliation.
[1] HUMAN RIGHTS Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights /UNAMI, "Report on the Protection of Civilians in the Armed Conflict in Iraq:1 May-31 October 2015," 2016.1.5,
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/IQ/UNAMIReport1May31October2015.pdf.
[2] "UN Casualty Figures for the Month of January 2016," 2016.2.1,
http://www.uniraq.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=5147:un-casualty-figures-for-the-month-of-january-2016&Itemid=633&lang=en.
[3] "ISIL may have committed genocide, war crimes in Iraq, says UN human rights report," 2015.3.19,
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50369#.VrGt16Nf3cs.
[4] OHCHR/UNAMI, supra n.1.
[5] "Violent attacks reported against civilians fleeing ISIL-controlled areas of Iraq–UN human rights office," 2015.7.28, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51517#.VrGvoqNf3cs
[6] OHCHR/UNAMI Report, supra n.1.
[7] Amnesty International, Iraq: Yezidi women and girls face harrowing sexual violence, 2014.12.23,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2014/12/iraq-yezidi-women-and-girls-face-harrowing-sexual-violence/
[8] Human Rights Now, "ISIL's Sexual Violence against Yezidi and Other Women and Girls Must be Ceased Immediately," Aug 2015, http://hrn.or.jp/wpHN/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/30th-HRC-ISILs-Sexual-Violence-against-Yezidi-and-Other-Women-and-Girls.pdf Violence-against-Yezidi-and-Other-Women-and-Girls.pdf
[9] Al Jazeera, "Mass grave of Yazidis killed by ISIL discovered in Iraq," 2015.11.28,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/mass-grave-yazidis-killed-isil-discovered-iraq-151128155706194.html
[10] OHCHR/UNAMI Report, supra n.1.
[11] http://hrn.or.jp/eng/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Iraq-CERD-final.pdf
[12] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/July_August06_en.pdf
[14] Erin Cunningham, "Feared Shiite militias back in spotlight after three Americans vanish in Iraq," 2016.1.21, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/feared-shiite-militias-back-in-spotlight-after-three-americans-vanish-in-iraq/2016/01/21/f62c51ee-beec-11e5-98c8-7fab78677d51_story.html; http://time.com/4187322/iraq-baghdad-kidnap-shiite-militia/
[15] http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/News/2015/8/13/Iraqi-war-planes-bomb-Fallujah-maternity-hospital; http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/14/iraqi-officials-airstrikes-destroy-hospital-near-is-held-fallujah-killing-22.html; The hospital was constructed as one of the projects of Japanese oversees development assistance (ODA).
[16] http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/baghdad-fence-security-measure-barrier-160210063440720.html.
[17] Northern Iraq: Satellite images back up evidence of deliberate mass destruction in Peshmerga-controlled Arab villages, 2016.1.20, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/01/northern-iraq-satellite -images-back-up-evidence-of- deliberate-mass-destruction-in-peshmerga-controlled-arab-villages/.
[18] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52730#.VsAJQ-Rf3m4; http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/12/iraq-sunnis-suffer-abuse-areas-isil-151204113537273.html.
[19] "U.S.-led strikes likely killed five civilians in Iraq, Syria: statement,"
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-usa-casualties-idUSKCN0V726U. | {
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Orbiter Spots 'Dry Ice' Snowflakes Falling on Mars
By the Editor on September 18, 2012 in Around_the_Web
A spacecraft orbiting Mars has detected carbon dioxide snow falling on the Red Planet, making Mars the only body in the solar system known to host this weird weather phenomenon. The snow on Mars fell from clouds around the planet's south pole during the Martian winter spanning 2006 and 2007, with scientists discovering it only after sifting through observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The Martian south pole hosts a frozen carbon dioxide — or "dry ice" — cap year-round, and the new discovery may help explain how it formed and persists, researchers said.
"These are the first definitive detections of carbon-dioxide snow clouds," lead author Paul Hayne, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., said in a statement. "We firmly establish the clouds are composed of carbon dioxide — flakes of Martian air — and they are thick enough to result in snowfall accumulation at the surface." The find means Mars hosts two different kinds of snowfall. In 2008, NASA's Phoenix lander observed water-ice snow — the stuff we're familiar with here on Earth — falling near the Red Planet's north pole,
Tags:BIG History, BIG Questions, Cosmology, Earth, Stages, Universe | {
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Truerisk Releases Market Simulator Module Based On Infinity Toolkit
Risk staff
TRUERISK, the Toronto-based financial systems developer, has released a high-end market risk management application dubbed Market Simulator.
Market Simulator is designed to help risk managers perform uniform and consistent market risk measurement for large, organization-wide portfolios.
It uses transaction aggregation and efficient sampling routines in concert with parallel processing technology to provide fast and accurate simulation-based market risk analytics.
Infinity libraries
Built using Infinity Financial Technology's data model and class libraries, Market Simulator is being targeted at bank treasuries, securities broker/dealers and major money management houses.
Only larger institutions will be able to afford the new system: purchasing and configuring Market Simulator will typically cost six-figure dollar sums, according to Truerisk officials.
The new product is currently being tested at Bankgesellschaft Berlin. Bankgesellschaft officials couldn't be reached for comment by RMO's press time.
Earlier this year, Bankgesellschaft contracted with Mountain View, California-based Infinity to use the vendor's platform to build a bank-wide trade data repository and risk management analytics platform (RMO, April 22).
The Truerisk product is available both as an application and as a class library that can be used for in-house systems development.
It is available on several Unix platforms, including Sun Microsystems' Solaris and SunOS operating systems. Truerisk expects to release a Microsoft Windows NT version of the product in the fourth quarter.
Truerisk developers invested nearly two years of effort into designing and building the application, according to Dan Rissin, one of the vendor's founding partners and its lead product developer.
"Interest in the area of firm-wide risk management has been growing steadily over the past two years," he says. "We believe that as the risk management arena continues to evolve, there will be an increasing demand for software tools providing fast, accurate simulation."
Market Simulator's framework comprises three separate components for scenario generation, risk valuation and risk analysis.
A typical scenario would use Infinity's data model to store yield curve and volatility curve shifts and changes to foreign exchange rates for all relevant rates and currencies in the portfolio, according to Truerisk's marketing literature.
Market Simulator's Infinity-based valuation engine uses the transaction and curve data saved in the data model to value the portfolio under each of the scenarios, then stores the results.
The analysis module then uses these portfolio values to calculate VAR, profit/loss distributions and profit/loss sensitivities.
Four alternatives
Market Simulator supplies risk management staff with four alternative methods of analyzing the market risks of their books.
Historical simulation uses historical market data to show how a portfolio would have performed over any given past time period.
Structured Monte Carlo simulation uses volatility and correlation data, which may be obtained from JP Morgan's Riskmetrics data set, together with random sampling to produce scenarios.
The resulting prices and rates are normally distributed with the required volatilities and correlations.
Stratified sampling also uses volatility and correlation data to produce VAR figures for portfolios. But an improved multivariate stratified sampling technique is used instead of random sampling.
Truerisk officials claim this method produces stable VAR results faster than structured Monte Carlo simulation.
Such stratified sampling methods have been the subject of much recent academic research. Theorists believe they offer a faster alternative to notoriously compute-intensive Monte Carlo methods (Derivatives Engineering & Technology, October 2, 1995).
Finally, end-users can use Market Simulator's stress-testing capabilities to analyze the market risk of portfolios under unusual or extreme market conditions of their own design.
Although each of the above risk methods employs a lognormal or Gaussian distribution in producing its output, Truerisk is currently working to enable Market Simulator to similarly evaluate non-normal price and rate distributions.
Three tricks
Rissin says developers need to get three things right in designing market risk management application systems that provide timely, flexible and accurate decision support across a global network of trading centres.
Such systems need to distribute and process prices and other market-related data across multiple workstations and servers; they need to have a mechanism to aggregate cashflows for more efficient processing; and they need to use "smart math" to reduce the number of simulations required in producing accurate output.
In designing Market Simulator, Truerisk developers first considered the global trading environment of its target customers. "We started by trying to figure out how best to perform simulations on large global portfolios," says Rissin.
The vendor worked with test portfolios of 50,000 to 100,000 transactions, primarily interest rate derivatives.
"Our initial target was to process these portfolios in four to five hours at most on an overnight basis," says Rissin.
Producing all the cashflows and sensitivities for these portfolios is a difficult task, he adds, even for linear instruments such as interest rate swaps.
Truerisk therefore built a transaction aggregation mechanism into Market Simulator. Simulations are performed only on the total cashflows rather than on individual transactions, leading to faster results without sacrificing accuracy.
Generating cashflows and sensitivities within Market Simulator as opposed to obtaining them from source trading systems provides users with greater flexibility in analyzing data from varying perspectives, says Rissin.
Adopting the latter approach forces developers to selectively choose which risk factors are obtainable from their source systems. Typically this means that some risk factors are omitted, he adds.
By employing multivariate stratified sampling rather than random sampling methods in generating alternative risk scenarios, Market Simulator further reduces processing time by reducing the number of simulations required to generate accurate VAR figures.
"Users typically incorporate anywhere from two to seven years-worth of data in constructing up to 1,500 scenarios to estimate and analyze historic volatility," says Rissin.
Fast work
"Stratified sampling produces equally robust and accurate results using less than 1,000 scenarios," he claims. This can translate into an eight-fold boost in performance, he adds.
By parallelizing Market Simulator's code, Truerisk developers enable risk routines to be run simultaneously across multiple processors or networked workstations.
In addition to significantly reducing processing time, this also makes Market Simulator extremely scaleable, says Rissin.
The combination of reduced scenarios and distributed processing can provide performance increases of 100 times or more, say Truerisk officials. Accurate simulation of large portfolios of complex derivatives is not practical without such methods, they add.
In addition to selling Market Simulator to existing Infinity clients, Truerisk also expects the software to be attract any large financial organization looking to build a robust and flexible market risk management platform.
Rissin says that by combining Market Simulator with Infinity's data model and recently released Riskview Mapper data translation and transport engine (RMO, July 1), customers will have all the tools they'll need to implement such a system.
Infinity has recently been striking deals with application developers that are interested in using the vendor's platform to build end-user applications. These third-party developed systems are then jointly marketed to global financial institutions.
Observers note that Infinity has in the past received some criticism regarding the length of time and cost required to build working applications using its platform and toolkits.
The vendor views such application development partnerships as one means of addressing this issue. To this end, it has revamped its strategic business plans emphasize such vendor partnerships (DE&T, June 26, 1995).
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The race to digital resiliency – Building a robust data management framework | {
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Heralded today as one of the greatest orchestras in the world, the BSO presented its first concert season in 1881 at the old Boston Music Hall, under the baton of German conductor Georg Henschel. The brainchild of entrepreneur (and wannabe musician) Henry Lee Higginson, the BSO was an immediate artistic success, eventually moving to its home in the specially built Symphony Hall in October, 1900. A number of different German and French conductors led the BSO for short periods, until Russian-born Serge Koussevitzky began his 25-year run in 1924. Under his helm the orchestra expanded into radio and summered at the Tanglewood Music Center. Koussevitzky was succeeded in turn by Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf, and William Steinberg. Seiji Ozawa was music director for 29 years, before James Levine – the first American-born conductor of the BSO – began his reign in 2004. The orchestra launched its own BSO Classics record label in 2009.
(by Ed Symkus)
BSO Music Director 1949-62
Boston Symphony Orchestra @ The New York Times
Boston Symphony Orchestra: An Historical Sketch @ Google Books
Boston Symphony Orchestra @ New England Conservatory | {
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Futbol Klub 13 (), or simply FK 13 Sofia is a Bulgarian football club based in Sofia. In his history the club won two Bulgarian Cups in 1938 and 1940. Football Club 13 is a football club in Sofia that existed independently between 1909 and 1944, and again from 2018 to the present.
History
The beginning of FC-13 was laid in the spring of 1909. Bulgarian students, studying at the Galatasaray Lyceum in Constantinople, formed a football team. His name is Sava in honor of Sava Kirov - one of the pioneers of sport in Sofia, and also the founder of the club. After the end of the school year students return to Sofia.
The club was officially founded in October 1913. It is wrong to think that the number 13 is due to the year of the club's official establishment. This figure is due to the 13 students who founded the team in 1909.
FC-13 together with Varna Sportist are the founders of club football in Bulgaria. They're called "veterans." In the early years, Sava Kirov was the captain of the team, the assailant, the secretary and the treasurer. The chairman is until 1920. There were 12 children's clubs with football teams to the club. The area of the club covers the neighborhood between Evlogi Georgiev Boulevard, the streets of Graf Ignatiev, Parensov, Yuriy Venelin and Lyuben Karavelov or the so-called Aligina Mahala in Sofia. The club playground was located on the site of the old Russian cemetery, next to the current "Vasil Levski" stadium. The course is done on a voluntary basis. There was a two-story wooden rostrum, and on the upper floor there was a room for office and household. In the summer of 1928, the municipal authorities took away the pitch and joined it to the neighboring plot of the Yunak company. This team, apart from being the first winner of the royal cup in 1938, gives Bulgaria and 16 nationals. The most famous is Todor Mistelov, a Balkan champion. Goalkeeper Nikola Savov was named number 1 on the peninsula, under 20, in 1935. Lozan Kotsev became champion of Switzerland with Lozansport in the following year and started his career in FC-13. His picture is also Friedrich Klid, the first foreigner to play with the team of Bulgaria. The club combines mostly intelligent and educated people - current or future lawyers, doctors, diplomats, bank officials, graduates of His Majesty's Military School. The FC-13 later developed volleyball, basketball, ice hockey. The club existed independently until October 3, 1944.
In 2018, Bulgarian football coach Kristian Rangelov together with another 6 managerial board regrouped the company. The club is currently developing kids and teen football for boys and girls, and is starting men's team for 2018-19 season in Bulgarian fourth division.
Honours
Bulgarian Cup:
Winners (2): 1938, 1940
Ulpia Serdica Cup:
Runners-up (4): 1930, 1931, 1935, 1937
Sofia First Division:
Champions (1): 1941
National Division:
4th place (1): 1938
State Championship:
5th place (1): 1941
References
https://fc-13.com/
https://www.facebook.com/footballclub13/
Association football clubs established in 1909
Association football clubs disestablished in 1944
Football clubs in Sofia
FC 13 Sofia
FC 13 Sofia | {
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LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry
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Find sources: "LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The LSU–Texas A&M football rivalry[1] is an American college football rivalry between the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies.[2][3]
Texas A&M 52, LSU 0
Latest meeting
#22 Texas A&M 74, #7 LSU 72
Meetings total
LSU leads, 33–21–3
Largest victory
Texas A&M, 63–9 (1914)
Longest win streak
LSU, 7 (2011–2017)
Texas A&M, 1 (2018)
The majority of the pre-2012 games were non-conference; there was a five-game stretch from 1906 to 1914 when they were opponents in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA).[4][5][6]
LSU is 25–10–1 in Baton Rouge; A&M is 8–4–1 in College Station. LSU is 4–3–1 at neutral sites, including wins in the two bowl games where they were opponents: the 1944 Orange Bowl in Miami and 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington. From 1945 to 1973, LSU went 17–3–1 against A&M. LSU has won 7 of the last 8 games.
Pre-SIAA/SIAA
The teams first played at College Station in 1899. A&M won 52–0. It was the only game before they joined the SIAA.
They did not meet again until 1906 in Baton Rouge, the first of five games between 1906 and 1914 in which they were opponents in the SIAA. They played two more times in 1913 and 1914. A&M went 3–1–1. After 1914, A&M left to join the newly formed Southwest Conference (LSU participated in initial meetings to form it, but chose not to join.)
SEC vs. SWC
They played two neutral-site games in 1916 and 1917 before four straight games from 1920 to 1923. Between 1916 and 1923, A&M went 3–2–1. The series resumed from 1942 to 1949 in the regular season. In addition to the regular season game in 1943, they met in the first bowl game of the rivalry. LSU won the January 1, 1944 Orange Bowl 19–14. LSU went 7–2, winning the last five.
They met again in 1955 and 1956, with A&M taking both games. They were led by John David Crow, their first Heisman Trophy winner. They played annually from 1960 to 1975. This was the longest consecutive games played between the two teams in the series history. LSU went 12–3–1. After 1961, LSU took the lead in the series; LSU still leads the series today. A&M's 1970 win had a 79-yard touchdown pass with 13 seconds left to upset LSU (who would win the SEC title). A&M did not win another game that year and finished 2-9.
The series resumed from 1986 to 1995, A&M went 6–4, winning the last five. Four were over LSU head coach Curley Hallman, a former Aggie. R. C. Slocum, a native Louisianian, was A&M's head coach for the last seven.
SEC vs. Big 12
They did not meet again until January 7, 2011, in the Cotton Bowl Classic. It was the only meeting during the Aggies' tenure in the Big 12 Conference, and the second time in a bowl game. In 2011, the Cotton Bowl celebrated its 75th Anniversary and this was the first Cotton Bowl Classic to be played in prime time in the highly anticipated matchup. LSU beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl 41–24 at Arlington, Texas.
The series resumed in 2012, and for the first time since the SIAA days they would be conference opponents, when A&M joined the SEC and was placed in the West Division with LSU.
In 2012, A&M's Johnny Manziel won the Heisman. LSU's defense caused him to have his worst performance of the year, which included 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. #6 LSU won 24–19 at College Station in the first SEC game. In 2013, #22 LSU won 34–10, A&M's first SEC road loss.
In 2014, they played on Thanksgiving night for the first time in the series history.[7][8] The last time LSU played on Thanksgiving was 1973. LSU won 23–17 in College Station. The two teams played again on Thanksgiving, two years later (in College Station); LSU won 54–39.
In 2018, Texas A&M beat LSU 74–72 for their first win over the Tigers since 1995.[9][1][10] This set an NCAA FBS record for most points scored in a single game and tied an NCAA record for playing in 7 overtime periods.[11]
LSU victories Texas A&M victories Tie games
1 December 2, 1899 College Station, TX Texas A&M 52–0
2 November 19, 1906 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 22–12
3 October 21, 1907 College Station, TX Texas A&M 11–5
4 October 17, 1908 New Orleans, LA LSU 26–0
5 November 27, 1913 Houston, TX Tie 7–7
6 October 31, 1914 Dallas, TX Texas A&M 63–9
7 October 14, 1916 Galveston, TX LSU 13–0
8 October 27, 1917 San Antonio, TX Texas A&M 27–0
9 October 16, 1920 College Station, TX Tie 0–0
10 October 15, 1921 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 6–0
11 October 20, 1922 College Station, TX Texas A&M 46–0
12 October 20, 1923 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 28–0
13 September 26, 1942 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 16–7
14 October 9, 1943 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 28–13
15 January 1, 1944A Miami, FL LSU 19–14
16 October 14, 1944 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 7–0
17 October 13, 1945 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 31–12
18 October 12, 1946 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 33–9
20 October 9, 1948 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 14–13
21 October 8, 1949 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 34–0
22 September 24, 1955 Dallas, TX Texas A&M 28–0
23 September 29, 1956 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 9–6
24 September 27, 1960 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 9–0
30 October 8, 1966 Baton Rouge, LA Tie 7–7
32 September 21, 1968 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 13–12
34 September 19, 1970 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 20–18
39 September 20, 1975 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 39–8
41 September 5, 1987 College Station, TX LSU 17–3
42 September 3, 1988 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 27–0
43 September 2, 1989 College Station, TX Texas A&M 28–16
45 September 14, 1991 College Station, TX Texas A&M 45–7
46 September 5, 1992 Baton Rouge, LA Texas A&M 31–22
47 September 4, 1993 College Station, TX Texas A&M 24–0
50 January 7, 2011B Arlington, TX #11 LSU 41–24
51 October 20, 2012 College Station, TX #6 LSU 24–19
52 November 23, 2013 Baton Rouge, LA #22 LSU 34–10
53 November 27, 2014 College Station, TX LSU 23–17
54 November 28, 2015 Baton Rouge, LA LSU 19–7
55 November 24, 2016 College Station, TX #25 LSU 54–39
57 November 24, 2018C College Station, TX Texas A&M 74–727OT
Series: LSU leads 33–21–3
Source[12]
A1944 Orange Bowl
B2011 Cotton Bowl Classic
C Highest scoring game in FBS history.
^ a b Brent Zwerneman (November 27, 2018). "Seven-OT game ignites A&M-LSU rivalry again". houstonchronicle.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018. n reality, the rivalry has its roots in a non-conference series that dates to 1899 (a 52-0 A&M victory), with the teams playing 50 times prior to becoming SEC West mates six years ago.
^ "SEC Football: Ranking the Conference's Best Rivalries". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
^ Sam Khan. "SEC helps A&M, LSU rekindle rivalry". espn.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018. The major shifts that shook up college football because of conference realignment have broken up many rivalries, but in this particular case, it rekindled an old one, with the Aggies and Tigers becoming conference mates in the SEC West Division." "Former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum, who coached in seven of those battles, called it a "great rivalry.
^ "Louisiana State Historical Data". www.cfbdatawarehouse.com. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
^ "Football: LSU, Texas A&M renew dormant rivalry". The Daily Reveille. May 13, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
^ "Texas A&M, LSU renewing rivalry in SEC". The Eagle. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
^ Glenn Guilbeau (November 26, 2014). "LSU-Texas A&M - new Thanksgiving rivalry?". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
^ "Texas A&M vs. LSU takes center stage on Thanksgiving weekend". kxxv.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018. The Texas A&M vs. LSU border-state rivalry football game will be played on Thanksgiving Day in 2014 as part of the traditional "rivalry weekend," the Southeastern Conference announced on Wednesday.
^ Kristian Garic (November 27, 2018). "LSU wanted a true rivalry - they got it, Texas A&M". wwl.radio.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018. After Saturday night's record setting game, I'd say the Texas A&M Aggies are now the LSU biggest rival. The rivalry was born after a 74-72 win for A&M, who had previously lost six straight to LSU.
^ Scooter Hobbs (November 28, 2018). "LSU-A&M rivalry just got real". americanpress.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018. But Orgeron did confirm that the Tigers might have found their new most bitter rival in the Aggies.
^ Chelsea Howard (November 25, 2018). "Six crazy facts as Texas A&M, LSU make history with highest-scoring FBS game". sportingnews.com. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
^ "LSU against Texas A&M". mcubed.net. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LSU–Texas_A%26M_football_rivalry&oldid=901429448" | {
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The Astor Street Opry Company (ASOC) was created in 1983 as a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization from a grassroots effort to enrich the cultural opportunities for patrons and performers in the greater Astoria area.
The vision of ASOC was to bring a unique theater experience to Astoria, celebrate local culture, engage the audience with the actors, and provide opportunities for people of different generations to interact and collaborate, and be uniquely Astorian.
The first performance was the Broadway-Style musical melodrama Shanghaied in Astoria. This locally written play is part-vaudeville, part-soap opera, and part 1950s style Hollywood musical all combined into a fun and entertaining look at traditional Astoria cultural folklore.
What originated as a celebration of traditions in Astoria has now become a tradition itself. Next summer will celebrate the 24th year that the award winning Shanghaied has been performed in Astoria.
The ASOC have been a very important part of the performing arts community for over twenty-four years, earning many awards including the Oregon Arts Commissions Recognition of Excellence for our outstanding programming for youth and young adults. In addition SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA has been honored by the Oregon Governors Office and Astoria City Council as a Regional Treasure worthy of preserving .
The 25th Season of SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA Opens July 9th! | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Published on 30.11.2020 in Vol 4, No 11 (2020): November
Preprints (earlier versions) of this paper are available at https://preprints.jmir.org/preprint/22507, first published July 14, 2020 .
Development of a Web-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention to Support Lifestyle Behavior Change and Well-Being in Health Care Staff: Participatory Design Study
Authors of this article:
Menna Brown1, BSc, MSc ; Nic Hooper2, BSc, PhD ; Parisa Eslambolchilar3, BSc, PhD ; Ann John1, MBBS, PhD, MD
Article Authors Cited by Tweetations Metrics
Menna Brown1, BSc, MSc ;
Nic Hooper2, BSc, PhD ;
Parisa Eslambolchilar3, BSc, PhD ;
Ann John1, MBBS, PhD, MD
1Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
2Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol, United Kingdom
3School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Menna Brown, BSc, MSc
Data Science Building, Floor 3
Swansea, SA2 8PP
Phone: 44 1792 606312
Fax:44 1792 606312
Email: [email protected]
Background: Positive emotional well-being is associated with healthier lifestyle choices and overall health function, whereas poor mental health is associated with significant economic and psychological costs. Thus, the development of effective interventions that improve emotional well-being is crucial to address the worldwide burden of disease.
Objective: This study aims to develop a web-based emotional well-being intervention for use by health care staff using participatory design to consider adherence and engagement from a user perspective.
Methods: A 3-staged iterative participatory design process was followed, including multiple stakeholders: researchers, computer scientists, mental health experts, and health care staff. Stage 1 used document analyses, direct observation, and welcome interviews; stage 2 used focus group discussions, rapid prototyping, and usability tasks; and stage 3 evaluated a high-fidelity prototype.
Results: Different health care staff (N=38) participated during a sustained period. A structured, sequential, automated, 12-week, web-based emotional well-being intervention based on acceptance and commitment therapy was developed. Freely navigated psychoeducational resources were also included.
Conclusions: The iterative and collaborative participatory design process successfully met its objectives. It generated an in-depth understanding of well-being within the workplace and identified barriers to access. The 3-staged process ensured that participants had the opportunity to explore and articulate criteria relevant to their roles over time and reflect on decisions made at each stage.
JMIR Form Res 2020;4(11):e22507
doi:10.2196/22507
participatory design; eMental health; engagement; acceptance and commitment therapy
The role and importance of mental health on physical health outcomes, lifestyle behavior, and overall health status has received global recognition [1]. Poor mental health is associated with increased mortality, increased prevalence of physical health conditions, and poorer lifestyle behaviors [2], whereas positive emotional well-being is associated with healthier lifestyle choices and overall better health function [3]. In the United Kingdom, the related economic burden is reported to cost employers between £34.9 (US $45.5) and £45 (US $58.7) billion per year [4,5]. Economic analysis has therefore suggested that investment in staff well-being will lessen this financial impact through reduced absenteeism and staff turnover [5]. Workplaces offer a vital opportunity for health promotion and early intervention to improve poor health-related lifestyle behaviors and are appropriate places to provide well-being resources and support. Equally, public sector staff has higher sickness and absenteeism rates than private sector staff [6]. Thus, the development of effective interventions that improve mental health and emotional well-being is crucial in addressing the disease burden in this population.
Web-Based Approach
Web-delivered interventions, which are understood to be effective and cost-effective, may be helpful in this regard [7-12]. However, poor adherence and engagement remain a critical concern that limits treatment outcomes [13]. This is particularly the case for open access programs in which adherence has been as low as 3% [14]. Many avenues have been explored to address this issue, including interactive design features [15,16], persuasive technology [17], social interaction [18], rideshare services [19], and gamification [14].
Participatory Design
This study seeks to describe the development of a web-based emotional well-being intervention using participatory design (PD). We adopted this approach to improve adherence and engagement. PD is a collaborative process that includes anticipated end users in the development of new products, uses diverse research methods such as qualitative inquiry, and has the potential to offer critical insight and understanding of users' motivation and engagement in such interventions [20]. Informed by action research, PD has seen rapid growth in popularity and application across diverse fields, including commercial product design, industrial design, architectural design, and government space programs [21]. PD has also been incorporated in several health care contexts [22-25], including youth mental health [26,27] and dementia care, or mental health care for older adults in general [28,29].
Findings from this diverse literature have highlighted that end-user input can be incredibly useful. Specifically, the involvement of anticipated end users, not unlike the expert patient role in the psychological literature, can highlight, early on, key information regarding user needs, understanding, knowledge, and values that can support the development of effective resources [23]. In addition, active user involvement across health care research has been widely promoted in patient settings and continues to be of critical importance. For example, the Patient and Public Participation policy 2017 [30] set out the National Health Service (NHS) England's commitment to strengthening user involvement in service design and delivery, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [31] has published similar sentiments.
Although PD has been used to investigate well-being in other contexts and has reported positive findings, [32,33], we are unaware of any study that has used PD in the development of a web-based emotional well-being intervention for staff use within a health care setting, with the underlying purpose of addressing adherence and engagement.
We aim to develop a web-based emotional well-being intervention for use by health care staff using PD, with specific objectives of exploring the following:
The workplace context, access and availability of existing resources, and workflows;
Understanding of well-being in a workplace context;
Therapeutic approach;
Website design (style, logo, and layout);
Interactive and access features (structure, gamification, and audio or visual components);
The aforementioned concerning adherence and engagement;
Identification of criteria relevant to participants.
Ethical approval was provided by the Swansea University Human and Health Research ethics committee (July 2015). Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMU HB) granted approval for service development.
Participants were staff from a Welsh health board (HB) in the United Kingdom. There are 7 HBs in Wales that serve a total population of 3.2 million people; each HB includes hospitals, outpatient clinics, and general practices. Staff was invited via intranet, email, and presentation. Digital and physical notice boards displayed the study flyer.
The inclusion criteria were being a member of staff at the selected HB and age ≥18 years.
The PD process followed 3 distinct stages (Figure 1) specifically combined to elicit a progressive design process [34] in line with the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 134407 (1999) [35] standards of human-computer design.
Figure 1. Study diagram.
View this figure
Stage 1–Initial Exploration
We conducted the identification and exploration of organizational work environments (Table 1). Workers' routines, day-to-day functions, traditions, and practices alongside the availability of existing (workplace) health and well-being resources informed the understanding of how and when staff might access the intervention [36].
Table 1. Data sources.
Sources of evidence Description Data collected
Document analysis
ABMU HBa public website
\
Published publicly available reports from ABMU HB
Publications from phases I and II of Champions for Healthb
Public Health Wales evaluation documents of Champions for Health
Well-being through work service
Major and local hospital sites in ABMU HB
Staff roles within the health board
Champions for Health development
Evaluation of past campaign results (phase I): engagement, retention, and adherence
Profile of typical staff member who took part
Health improvement rate
Identification of current well-being resources available via the service
Direct observation
Visit to main hospital sites
Observations of physical space, organization, and use
12 open-ended welcome interviews
Staff from a variety of roles within ABMU HB
Description of the design process
Discussion of the role in the design process
Clarify understanding and requirements of participation
Explore motivation for participation
Explore previous experiences of PDc
Explore initial thoughts on well-being
Administer a questionnaire to explore access to internet-capable devices and the current work environment
Description of benefits and difficulties of participation
Clarify the ability to attend focus groups
aABMU HB: Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board.
bChampions for Health was a health promotion platform developed by Public Health Wales, which consisted of 5 lifestyle behavior change modules (quit smoking, alcohol reduction, weight optimization, regular exercise, and eat healthily) for use by health care staff in Wales, United Kingdom.
cPD: participatory design.
Stage 2–Discovery Process
In line with accepted traditions [37], this stage focused on study objectives 2 to 7 via clarification of participants' values and tacit knowledge through continuous and cooperative interaction with multiple stakeholders [37], focus group discussion, and rapid prototyping [38,39].
The initial focus group (FG1) included the principal researcher (MB) and anticipated end users. The group explored participants' goals and values, with the purpose of generating a shared project plan, which specified well-being needs that could or should be met by the intended resource. Participants' understanding of well-being in the context of their workplace was explored in-depth. Thereafter, a discussion was held, which focused on evaluating existing websites (eg, MOODGYM and Color Your Life). This generated initial design ideas and identified likes, dislikes, key website features, intervention content [36], and therapeutic approach. Ideas from the welcome interviews were presented in the form of a word cloud to generate further discussion.
New members (anticipated end users) were included in subsequent focus groups, in line with accepted recommendations [34], as were 2 computer scientists. Their insight supported discussion on interactive features and design guidelines and ensured that a variety of perspectives were incorporated [36]. To promote and strengthen the relationship between researchers and participants, focus groups were held at a variety of hospital locations [37]. Focus group 2 (FG2) recapped the project plan, undertook a data validation exercise based on FG1 outcomes, and explored options for the therapeutic approach. Focus group three (FG3) explored content requirements, including structure, gamification elements, and audio or visual features. Gamification elements included health points and trophies as a reward for website engagement and feedback graphs to show progress. This stage was also informed by 2 systematic literature reviews [14,40].
Regular multidisciplinary group discussions were held to discuss and interpret the data. Low-fidelity prototypes (Multimedia Appendix 1) were produced to attend to cost and time considerations, stimulate early design discussions [37], and identify design errors early, in line with the 5 essential processes of human-centered design principles [35]. Rapid prototyping was undertaken after each focus group in an iterative cycle, and feedback informed subsequent designs.
Hallway Testing
Individuals in an office setting were randomly approached and asked to participate. The office setting was selected because of its environmental similarity to the anticipated end-user context. Context is considered a key factor in the development of web and mobile apps [41,42]. Participants were briefed and debriefed. Layout ideas were explored using paper prototypes.
Design Task
Visual aesthetic appeal is of critical importance in web design [43-46]. For example, empirical findings suggest that individuals reach a decision regarding the visual appeal within 50 milliseconds [46]. The design task was conducted in a group setting, in a large room with a large whiteboard at the front, with a clear view. Participants were briefed and administered a printed questionnaire. A researcher displayed designs on the whiteboard for 7 seconds. Participants rated each design using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1=very unappealing to 5=very appealing; 2 sets of logo designs were also shown, and preference was indicated (Figure 2). Once completed, the designs were discussed, and written feedback was provided.
Figure 2. Home page designs version 1 and 2 used in stage two.
The cognitive walkthrough was selected for its ability to generate data regarding typical user responses to designs and navigation. Testing the initial designs in this way ensured that development remained focused on user experience, interaction, and responses [44]. However, exploration and evaluation were limited to the use of simple designs and were not assumed to be indicative of response times.
Participants' verbal responses and interactions with the system were video recorded. A video camera was set up on a tripod behind the participant to capture hand movements while navigating the prototype. Initial website designs were prepared beforehand for the task, and designs were printed out in full color. Participants were asked to "imagine themselves in their usual work environment, with some time available to explore on-line, their interest in their own health and well-being." One researcher asked a series of realistic questions, and another acted as the system, responding according to user behavior. For example, the home page was presented, and participants were asked to select a well-being resource they would like to explore. They showed their selection by pretending to click on the website buttons available. Depending on their selection, the system then presented the next screen (ie, if they selected improve your well-being, this led to the yoga girl page. Alternatively, if they selected module description, a drop-down menu appeared). A third researcher took field notes.
Card Sort Task
An audio-recorded, open card-sorting task informed the organization of content and created category labels. Participants worked collaboratively. The group approach was selected because of staff time constraints. Participants were briefed and debriefed and provided with a set of 25 cards with the following categories: acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness, acceptance, cognitive fusion, being present, self as context, committed action, values, relaxation exercises, benefits of relaxation, sleep hygiene, sleep and well-being, sleep diary, photo gallery, map, restorative effects of nature, symptoms of stress, symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, what is stress, what is anxiety, what is depression, ACT exercises, whom to contact, and homework. Participants were asked to categorize the cards as they saw fit. No limit was placed on the number of categories available. Once all the cards were sorted into categories, participants were asked to discuss among themselves the possible labels for each of the categories identified. Options were written down on blank cards and discussed to reach consensus.
Intervention Development
The iterative development process among researchers, computer scientists, and participants was mirrored with an iterative intervention development process. The primary researcher compiled a draft informed by data from stages 1 and 2. This was discussed and reviewed by a mental health expert and an expert ACT practitioner who provided detailed feedback. This ensured that the content was developed in line with therapeutic principles, incorporated appropriate scenarios and examples, outlined key concepts clearly, and supported positive well-being.
Stage 3–High-Fidelity Prototype
A high-fidelity prototype website, informed by data from stage 2, was developed (Multimedia Appendix 2), and therapeutic content was added. Participants accessed a private WordPress website for 6 weeks. Participants provided consent by actively visiting the website and requesting access. A blog update was posted to the website once a week, which served as a reminder to access the website. Structured feedback was requested on completion of each week via anonymous embedded surveys. Alternative feedback routes were available: website blog and direct email. At the end of week 6, a debrief message was posted, and the website was closed. All users were invited to participate in an interview to discuss their experiences. Users completed 2 validated self-report measures before accessing the website, the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) [47] and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire version II (AAQ-II) [48], an assessment of psychological flexibility.
Interview and Focus Group Data
Interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Inductive thematic analyses were performed, informed by the work of Braun and Clark [49], where a staged process of data analysis was followed: familiarization with the data, reading and rereading of transcripts, and immersion in the data set, which was achieved through an active process of memoing keywords, trends, and recurring patterns observed in the data. Initial codes were then generated using a line-by-line approach, summarizing the data to capture the essence of participants' thoughts and views. This was followed by reporting the codes in a formal coding structure document. Stage 3 involved searching for themes across the data set using the coding structure and thematic mapping of codes and emergent concepts. A full review of themes and codes was undertaken in stage 4, followed by refinement and development of theme names. Throughout the process, emergent themes were discussed with a second researcher. Participant quotes and extracts were highlighted, and theme development memoing was undertaken using a constant comparative method to ensure all data were included for analysis and interpretation.
Prototype and Usability Data
Hallway Task
A multidisciplinary group discussed feedback. Design questionnaire data frequencies were reported, and free-text comments were qualitatively analyzed.
Data were analyzed in a structured manner [44]. First, the video-recorded data were watched, and question responses transcribed verbatim to capture verbal and physical responses. Second, the data were scrutinized for error frequency and type [44]. A correct response was indicated by a score of 0 and an incorrect response by a score of 1 and a full description. This was undertaken for each task question. A response was considered correct if it met the expected user action for that question. For example, when asked, "What would you do if you were interested in finding out about emotional well-being?" the expected responses would include "click on the well-being icon" or "navigate to the drop-down menu, explore modules and click on emotional well-being option." All potential navigation routes were identified. An incorrect response would be any other answer, for example, "click on the five a day icon or option in the drop-down menu." Finally, incorrect responses were assessed and assigned a risk score. A summary document was produced, which categorized all incorrect responses and risk assignment and highlighted critical incidents.
Card-Sorting Task
Categories and subcategories labeled by the group were reported.
High-Fidelity Prototype
Engagement was measured by weekly survey completion.
Results are presented per PD stage; in stage 1, document review data are presented only on HB.
At the time of the study, ABMU HB employed 16,000 staff and served a population of approximately 6000,000 with an annual budget of £1.3 billion (US $ 1.70 billion; ABMU annual report 2010-2011). The HB consisted of 4 acute hospitals, 10 community hospitals, and 77 general practices. Within the NHS Wales and ABMU HB, anxiety, stress, depression, and other unspecified psychiatric illnesses affected 7945 staff members (ABMU HB report) in 2015 and 2016 and accounted for 23% of sickness absences in 2015, second only to musculoskeletal conditions (25%). Employee well-being (occupational health) consisted of clinically led well-being through work service. Later (2016), a voluntary staff Well-being Champions scheme and an annual staff well-being week (2017) were introduced alongside a range of informal local initiatives (eg, running club and book club).
Welcome Interviews
A total of 12 welcome interviews were conducted between August 8, 2015, and September 23, 2015, across a variety of locations. Interview duration ranged between 30 and 60 min, and 83% (10/12) of the participants were women aged 31 to 60+ years (Table 2). Staff was from a range of occupations: consultant, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, administration, education, and managerial staff.
Interview data identified that all participants had access to an internet-enabled computer device during their working day, and 10 also had Wi-Fi access. However, access restrictions varied, and some were limited to 30 to 45 min of personal use during break time. Initial resource ideas were identified and presented as a word cloud to generate discussion in FG1 (Multimedia Appendix 3). A key issue that emerged was related to how individuals managed the constant changes at the organizational level, which affected health and well-being. This theme was then explored further in FG1.
Table 2. Participant data.
Stage and task Date Location Duration (min) Number of participants Number of women, n (%) Age range (number)
Welcome interviews August 11 to September 23, 2015 Multiple locationsa 30-60 12 10 (83) 31-40 (4), 41-50 (4), 51-60 (3), and 60+ (1)
Focus group 1 September 28, 2015 Princess of Wales Hospital 120 7 5 (71) 31-40 (1), 41-50 (3), 51-60 (2), and 60+ (1)
Focus group 2 December 8, 2015 Princess of Wales Hospital 60 4 1 (25) 21-30 (1), 31-40 (2), and 60+ (1)
Focus group 3 March 21, 2016 Neath Port Talbot Hospital 60 7 4 (57) 31-40(1), 41-50 (3), 51-60 (2), and 60+ (1)
Hallway task October 5, 2015 Swansea University singleton park campus —b 4 — —
Design task October 12, 2015 Singleton Hospital — 11 — —
Cognitive walkthrough February 26, 2016 Singleton Hospital — 7 — —
December 8, 2015 Princess of Wales Hospital — — — —
Card sort March 21, 2016 Neath Port Talbot Hospital — 7 — —
High-fidelity website October 1, 2018 N/Ac 6 weeks 9 — —
Follow-up interview December 3, 2018- January 9, 2019 Neath Port Talbot Hospital, Princess of Wales Hospital, Morriston Hospital, and Singleton hospital 12-30 4 3 (75) 31-40 (4)
aA variety of locations across ABMU HB and Swansea University singleton campus.
bNot collected.
cN/A: not applicable.
A total of 38 different staff members participated; some took part in multiple tasks.
Following the welcome interviews, 5 female participants decided not to take part in the subsequent stages of the project. One was unable to travel to attend a focus group, another changed roles, and 3 others had limited availability to participate; 9 additional participants were recruited (2 participants from FG1 also attended FG2).
A total of 3 focus groups were conducted (n=18) at 2 hospital locations between September 28, 2015, and March 21, 2016; 56% (10/18) were women, and the duration of discussion ranged from 60 to 120 mins. Participants were aged between 21 and 60+ years (Table 2) and from a variety of professions: education, speech therapy, physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy, and management.
A shared project plan was created based on discussions of participants' goals and values (Multimedia Appendix 4). Discussion of participants' views and understanding of well-being led to the emergence of 5 themes (FG2 and FG3 data validation process did not identify any new themes) that directly shaped the emergent intervention: meaning, causes of poor well-being, well-being as taboo, well-being needs and barriers, and resource suggestions (Multimedia Appendix 5: Themes). For example, well-being was broadly described as a sense of life balance and positive living across different life domains: work or career, family, personal and social life, and took into account aspects of enjoyment, responsibility, and choice and ability to pursue activities in a domain without feeling restricted by responsibilities in other domains. As such, the intervention resources needed to reflect this perspective. Equally, attention was paid to causes of poor well-being at the individual level, and as such, the intervention needed to focus on encouraging a growth mindset to address perceived poor self-awareness and enable users to self-manage their own well-being through the provision of interactive ideas and information. Well-being was considered a taboo workplace topic, and it was felt that the resources needed to reach across the organization to ensure all staff was included. As a result, individual profiles (for different staff groups) were not included to give a sense of cohesion or commonality.
Participants openly discussed their experiences with different therapeutic approaches, some from the educator's role, others from a more personal perspective. There was a collective sense that something new was needed, a divergence from existing knowledge, and the need to not duplicate existing resources available within the HB. During discussions, a range of approaches was presented; participants identified that cognitive-behavioral therapy was already available and widely used and that an alternative approach would be beneficial. ACT emerged as an appropriate choice; several participants had experience of ACT and believed it was not too out of step with staff experiences despite being less well known. The key focus was on creating a resource that would promote positive well-being on a day-to-day basis and could be relied upon in times of emotional difficulty.
Stress management was a central focus and a range of resources and interactive content were identified for inclusion, for example guided mindful meditations, Tai Chi and breathing exercises, and experiential exercises (a key feature of the ACT model) supplemented with tailored scenarios to (nonspecific) health care staff needs and downloadable activities. Likewise, personal shared stories and the need for clear signposting were identified as important to help staff understand their personal experiences and identify onward sources of support. This resulted in the inclusion of 5 well-being films (Multimedia Appendix 6) and a list of outward organizations.
Equally, alongside content options, intervention features and organization were discussed. Participants were happy with a sequential format because of its ease of use and familiarity, but they wanted different progress routes to recognize the different professional groups working across the HB, for example, the stress and strains experienced by professions and the different access and time options available. Therefore, additional psychoeducational materials were included. This would also attend to the needs of those looking for a quick fix on the understanding that not all users would need or want a long-term approach. Audio and visual communication was preferred over long text sections. A mobile responsive website was also a key requirement. Blogs and chat rooms were discussed, and their relative merits were considered with regard to the feasibility of programming and privacy issues informed by computer scientists.
We undertook 4 prototyping and usability tasks (n=33) at 4 locations between October 5, 2015, and March 21, 2016. Demographic data were not collected.
Hallway Testing and Cognitive Walkthrough
The hallway testing data were combined with low- (paper designs used) and high-fidelity cognitive walkthrough data. We identified 3 key issues: first, user difficulty navigating away from the pop-up pages (nature, sleep, and relaxation pages); second, user uncertainty regarding the use of the resource; and third, confusion over expectations of the nature page. As such, an additional close button was added to each pop-up, instructions for use were incorporated into the registration page (to guide users), and the pop-up was renamed Green space.
Design data informed the color scheme, module logos, well-being design (Figure 3), and home page layout (design 2 was selected).
Figure 3. Initial well-being design.
The Card Sort
We identified 8 categories, labels or headings, and subcategories. Key outcomes were category labels, the requirement for additional information on stress, depression, anxiety, and integration of resources throughout the module.
In this stage, 2 new participants were included. A total of 9 participants piloted the high-fidelity intervention for a period of 6 weeks (October 2018). No demographic data were collected. Four participants completed a follow-up interview, conducted between December 3, 2018, and January 9, 2019, at 4 hospital sites. Most of them were women (3/4, 75%), aged 31 to 40 years, and from the following professions: therapy, pharmacy, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy. The interview duration was between 12 and 30 mins.
A total of 7 participants completed the WHO-5 questionnaire, and 8 completed the AAQ-II before accessing the website. Engagement with the intervention content varied; 1 participant remained engaged until week 5, although the interview data indicated that the content across all 6 weeks was viewed. The survey responses indicated that overall, the content was considered useful and contained adequate information. Moreover, the responses indicated that most interactive content (ie, experiential exercises, YouTube clips, and try now activities) was explored and that the lesson summary was helpful.
3 feedback routes were utilized: blog post (n=2), email (n=2), and handwritten feedback (n=1; Table 3). Written feedback and interview data highlighted additional suggestions, including alternative ways to display content, the need to expand descriptions and embed YouTube clips, the use of audio files as an alternative to text, and inclusion of time to complete estimates for each experimental exercise and interactive element. Barriers to use were a lack of time (during the working day) to access the website, lack of internet access via workplace computers, no headphones for audio components, perceived lack of managerial support, and volume of text content. Interview participants discussed the length of time they felt they had spent each week and how this might be reduced or broken down into shorter, more manageable segments to encourage engagement.
Table 3. Summary of key survey results and free-text feedback.
Week Number of respondents, n (%) Overall usefulness of week, 5-point Likert scale (number of responses) Participants who completed interactive content, n (%) Free-text comments (feedback route)
1 6 (67)
Somewhat useful (1)
No response (2)
\ 4 (44)
"ACT model may need more of an intro/explanation or something like 'the model will be revisited throughout the programme' or 'the 6 techniques will be expanded upon throughout...'" [Blog]
"The watch links need some text to contextualize why we are now moving to deep breathing etc as they feel a bit random at the mo." [Blog]
"An explanation at this point [Psychological flexibility questionnaire] on what the scores mean would also be helpful." [Email]
"good - week two seems a lot easier to read through and doesn\'t feel as intense" [Survey]
"I liked the really clear language and the great use of examples. The metaphors were well chosen. I wonder about the tiger metaphor though... I did not download PDFs but I used them at the time" [Survey]
Very useful (1)
"I think there were too many exercises this week" [Survey]
"In the ending you mention thoughts and feelings as barriers, but not necessarily behaviors. Wondering if it was worth putting that in as all three impact each other." [Survey]
4 3 (33) Useful (3) 3 (33)
"Maybe somewhere it could advise on the amount of time needed" [Survey]
"The unwanted party guest YouTube example was excellent and in my opinion the most engaging." [Survey]
"It was quite a short week compared to the others, but I would not have wanted anymore on the particular topic, there was more than enough detail on it." [Survey]
6 0 No responses 0
"I like the way it's got the same layout every week it makes it easy to follow" [Interview]
"I think people could use it for their CPD time." [Interview]
"I've seen things like they tell you how many mins it might take, so this is going to be a 5 mins exercise." [Interview]
"I haven't been able to access them [YouTube clips] not because of your website but because of our, we are only allowed on certain websites." [Interview]
The Intervention
A 12-week, emotional well-being intervention based on ACT was developed in line with participant discussions and systematic review [14,40] outcomes. This was added to the new study website alongside the existing Champions for Health 5 lifestyle modules. ACT [50] is a third-wave therapy that encourages the development of psychological flexibility. Specifically, it aims to equip people with the ability to more skillfully relate to their unwanted thoughts and feelings such that they are still able to move toward personally chosen values. Contrary to other approaches, ACT asks people to be willing to experience negative private events, rather than seeking to change them, and a central theme of the approach is to support people in returning their attention to the present moment through mindful practice.
The intervention incorporated 6 core processes of ACT (Figure 4). Each resource was compiled as a week and designed to stand-alone to encourage repeated use and skill consolidation and avoid overwhelming those new to ACT. Users-identified features that reduced or encouraged engagement were added (Textbox 1).
Figure 4. Intervention sequence.
Participant-led suggestions to enhance engagement:
Short interactive segments
Time to complete information (ie, estimated amount of time the exercise will need)
Lesson summary or take-home message
Management and organizational-level support for workplace use of resources and specified well-being time
Completion certificate to integrate with organizational-level professional development reviews in recognition of time spent and skills acquired
Textbox 1. Engagement.
Principal Findings
This study aimed to develop a web-based emotional well-being intervention for use by health care staff in the workplace, following a staged PD process. Specific objectives were to explore workplace context, access and availability of existing workplace well-being resources, and anticipate end-user opinion on well-being workplace needs, therapeutic approach, website design, and interactive features while exploring these in reference to promoting user engagement. The process also aimed to identify and explore additional criteria relevant to participants.
A structured, sequential, automated, 12-week, web-based emotional well-being intervention based on ACT was developed as a result of an iterative, 3-staged PD process. A wide range of staff engaged in many activities at different time points during a sustained period. Workforce groups with high- and low-rate absenteeism were represented. Absence due to sickness among ambulance staff, health care assistants, and support staff was 6.3% and 6.2%, respectively, whereas absence among nurses, midwives, health visitors was lower (1.05%), as well as medical and dental staff (1.21%) [51].
The collaborative approach supplemented by recommended mental health design guidelines [41] incorporated qualitative methods of inquiry, facilitating open discussion, and generating a collective codeveloped understanding of well-being in the workplace. Open discussions between researchers and participants created a supportive group environment, evidenced by staff discussions of personal mental health experiences and well-being needs. This enabled topics to be revisited over time, and as new members joined. Design for outcomes [41] advocated concise goals and focus on intended outcomes, adhering to this enabled effective management of expectations at each stage and resulted in an immediate array of design suggestions, resources, and the participant-led selection of ACT.
The inclusion of multidisciplinary experts and participants from different workplace environments outlined in "design in collaboration with mental health professionals" [41] provided critical insights from a range of perspectives and allowed issues relating to access, organizational support, and stigma to be considered.
Frequent meetings with computer scientists and rapid prototyping not only stimulated discussions on website style, look, and color scheme but also generated specific design requirements. The design questionnaire, cognitive walkthrough, and card sort enabled quick and accurate identification of frequent user error, unsuitable features, and areas that required further clarification. Participants engaged easily with these tasks, which were selected for ease of use. Similarly, the importance of identifying user needs and being sensitive to mental health state when considering delivery and reminder options to participants [22] was central to the intervention created. Equally, the iterative intervention content development process was informed directly by participants at all stages, while remaining under careful inspection of clinical experts.
Adherence and engagement remain a critical concern in web-delivered mental health interventions. PD was selected specifically to address this issue. Participation in the design and development process is thought to increase the likelihood of user ownership and alignment with the end product [52] while simultaneously affording the opportunity to explore anticipated end-user views on methods to promote sustained engagement and adherence. The continued interest of different participants over a sustained period indicated that this was successfully achieved, despite lower engagement in stage 3. Participants were also asked to suggest ways in which to address poor use in relation to their workplace. Barriers to access (to well-being resources) identified in the qualitative discussions led to a series of communications and a meeting with the executive director of public health at the HB and the establishment of a sustained working relationship with the employee's well-being team at the HB. Support at the organizational level, including managerial support, remains an integral component of the project.
Comparison With Previous Work
Our findings are in line with those of Wadley et al [26], who reported successful use of PD processes to develop a web-based social therapy intervention for adolescents with psychosis. Similar to our approach, they followed a PD process where initial design ideas were presented to patients to stimulate discussions surrounding web-based delivery of therapy and personalized preferences, followed by separate discussions with clinicians.
Kelders et al [16] developed an intervention to prevent depression. They used participant interviews, rapid prototyping, and requirement sessions and concluded that their methods provided valuable insight beyond comments on color and layout and extended to include contextual considerations. Similar to this study, staff considered their workplace context and well-being needs throughout the development process, and this added valuable insight into how and when the program might eventually be accessed and included in daily work schedules. Barriers to use were identified, which facilitated the development of quickfire experiential exercises that specified the expected completion time (ie, 5-min duration). This ensured that the exercise was suitable for workplace use, that is, could be used on a short lunch break or during well-being time, which was supported by management. Management support and permission to use the resource were highlighted as critical elements to enable engagement with workplace interventions.
Previous work has noted that PD approaches have been difficult to sustain within complex health care contexts where anticipated end users and stakeholders are busy and cannot commit adequate time to the iterative process of designing [53,54]. Although a range of participants from diverse professional streams worked well together and participated with active and ongoing interest, some were unable to attend successive stages because of busy work schedules, organizational commitments, and varying geographical locations. Therefore, some tasks had small numbers, which limited data analysis. Focus groups were also limited to a maximum of 2 hours. Although this was adequate, longer sessions might have facilitated further insight and design developments, which should be considered thoroughly in future projects of this kind. Future work may consider web-based focus groups and workshops to mitigate this [55].
Stage 3 was limited by a small sample and poor survey response rate; however, interactive elements were used. The final focus group was altered to one-on-one interviews because of conflicting work schedules. This limited exploration of the user experience. Further incorporation and discussion of how participants might use and practice experiential exercises and interactive intervention features could have been introduced into the design process, for example, through future workshops, which asks participants to envisage and discuss the future use of the technology [56]. However, mental health experts, who are arguably better placed to review content, conducted a full review of the resources, and contributed to the iterative design process.
Due to time constraints, an assessment of cognitive workload was not undertaken. This is desirable because web-based delivery methods often rely on text to convey complex messages. However, the readability of the main website was assessed and considered to be a grade level 9, meaning it should be easily understood by those aged from 13 to 15 years [57].
This study brings together strands of public health, psychology, and medicine with computer science to develop an emotional well-being intervention via PD methods.
This study makes two key contributions. First, it offers insights for future practice by presenting empirical data reported from a range of stakeholders. The focus on features to enhance and promote engagement in a workplace well-being resource is of particular interest. Second, it contributes to the developing body of knowledge regarding the utility of the PD approach within the context of health and well-being.
We conclude that the study objectives were met. The PD process successfully facilitated exploration of the anticipated end user's workplace context, access and availability of existing resources, and existing workflows, and it generated an in-depth understanding of workplace well-being, specifically, barriers to access. Participants selected the therapeutic approach through collaborative discussion and consideration of shared knowledge, understanding, and need. Rapid prototyping led to an iterative participant-led design cycle that identified style, logo and layout requirements, interactive intervention features, and structure. The 3-staged process also ensured that participants had the opportunity to explore and articulate criteria relevant to their roles over time and reflect on decisions made at each stage.
The authors would like to thank all ABMU HB staff who contributed their time freely to the development of the well-being intervention and PocketMedic for use of their 5 well-being films. This work was supported by the Health and Care Research Wales [SCS-14-11]. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation.
None declared.
Multimedia Appendix 1
Low-fidelity prototype designs.
PPTX File , 585 KB
High-fidelity prototype designs.
PPTX File , 2002 KB
User generated word cloud used in stage two.
PNG File , 178 KB
Project plan.
Qualitative themes.
PPTX File , 55 KB
PocketMedic well-being films.
PDF File (Adobe PDF File), 232 KB
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AAQ-II: Acceptance and Action Questionnaire version II
ABMU HB: Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board
ACT: acceptance and commitment therapy
FG1: initial focus group
FG2: focus group 2
HB: health board
NHS: National Health Service
PD: participatory design
WHO-5: World Health Organization Well-Being Index
Edited by J Torous; submitted 14.07.20; peer-reviewed by J Vermeir, A Galpin; comments to author 23.08.20; revised version received 28.08.20; accepted 09.09.20; published 30.11.20
©Menna Brown, Nic Hooper, Parisa Eslambolchilar, Ann John. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (http://formative.jmir.org), 30.11.2020.
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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions (330) Behavior Change (186) | {
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Following a decade of continuous increase in the number of facilities, the indoor soccer market has recently started to get stable in Countries like France, Italy and UK, and it is very rare to see new centers open in such an ultra competitive landscape. As a consequence, many French, Italian and British business creators – aware of the potential of the concept – are trying to export the indoor soccer market in USA, where soccer is expected to become more and more followed (Forbes writes in a recent article).
What are the reasons behind this decision? Is it justified? What is the key to succeed?
The indoor soccer market is reasonably the same everywhere, with a few adaptations to the local market. This implies that the manager of a center in London can easily reconvert as a manager of one in New York.
Rent a site, find one or two partners, install the fields, wait for customers, then cash the money… In the imagination of several clients that we meet, the management of a center is limited to that.
It is not surprising, therefore, that those who wish to emigrate to the USA, when choosing their future activity, choose to invest in a 5 a side facility without fully understanding their implications.
Soccer is becoming globalized and the social dynamics that are taking place are the same everywhere. As the charts show, Americans who play soccer increased by 30/40% in the last 5 years. However, this increase did not reflect in the increase of the official practice neither outdoor nor indoor …This implies that there is a huge space for privately owned quality leisure centers in order to intercept this new audience. And as it is not practical to go and play regular 11 a side soccer for 30-year-old executives who wish to de-stress after work, indoor soccer will get the biggest piece of the pie. This is a huge opportunity for the French, English or Italian who have missed the indoor soccer boom in the last 10 years and do not want to make the same mistake again. | {
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This class is focused on sparring sessions only for students who are 30+ years old. We want to see our masters (30+) more united in helping each other to achieve great things on and off the mats.
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Learn how to use Auto-Correction, predictive text, and text replacement, so you can type with fewer taps.
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Pedro José Ovalles est l'une des huit paroisses civiles de la municipalité de Girardot, dans l'État d'Aragua au Venezuela. En 2007, la population estimée s'élève à habitants. Sa capitale est Maracay, chef-lieu de la municipalité et capitale de l'État d'Aragua.
Géographie
Démographie
Pedro José Ovalles constitue l'une des paroisses urbaines de la ville de Maracay, capitale de l'État, dont elle abrite les quartiers du sud-est du centre, au bord du lac de Valencia Elle comporte notamment les quartiers suivants :
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Q: Realization of Voevodsky Motives over a perfect field in mixed categories. Let $k$ be a finite field and $l$ be different from characteristic of $k$. Is there a realization functor from the Voevodsky's category with $\mathbb Q$ coefficients to the constructible mixed étale category of sheaves over $k$ such that $M_{gm}(X)\mapsto \mathcal Rp_*p^*1_k$ for any scheme $X$ (of finite type, seperated over $k$)?
(This is true for $X$ smooth by work of Florian Ivorra -- "Realisation l-Adique
des Motifs Triangules Geometriques, I." and using deJong's resolutions and Galois descent, I suspect this should be true for all $X$. However, there is a issue related to "functoriality" of the cone which seems to be an obstacle for deducing this directly in the triangulated categories and I am stuck).
A: In principle, the answer is yes.
The question is what do you mean by $M_{gm}(X)$ if $X$ is not smooth. For smooth $X$, $M_{gm}(X)$ can be defined as $f_\sharp f^* 1$. Here $f: X \to k$ is the structural map and $1$ is the unit (=motive of $k$). This expression is isomorphic to $f_! f^! 1$ by relative purity, provided that $f$ is smooth. If you define the motive with the latter formula in general, then the question becomes whether the realization functor converts $f_!$ to $(R)f_* $ and $f^!$ to $f^* $. Such statements are proven by Ayoub in his paper on etale realizations. (I don't remember exactly, it is possible that Ayoub requires the map to be quasi-projective. Also note that his paper mostly studies a covariant realization functor, in which case $f^*$ commutes with the realization functor. The change to $f^!$ comes when you switch to the more classical language of contravariant realization functors.)
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Processor vendors are constantly developing faster and faster processors, yet the utilization of PCs on an enterprise scale hardly reaches the capacity of current processors. As of November 2006 Intel1 has introduced quad core processors, yet most of the commercial office applications are optimized for single-threaded execution. Considering that most of the PCs are used for office applications - like text editing and web browsing -, processors have significant, but unused reserves of computing power, not to mention the multi-core processors of the near future.
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Think you have it takes to have a career in medicine? If you have an aptitude for natural sciences and math, you may thrive in this field. Whether you become a generalist, a specialist, teach, or conduct research, the world of medicine offers unlimited opportunities and a fulfilling career. Before you enter medical school, you'll need to earn an undergraduate degree and take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). After being admitted, you'll study subjects like genetics, advanced anatomy, psysiology, biochemistry, cell biology, immunology, and neuroscience, among many others. After learning the basics, you'll have to decide on a specialty and determine where you'll complete your residency. This will give you expert-level knowledge in your specialty and allow you to get more familiar working with patients. Upon completion of your studies, you'll need to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. You must have this license to practice medicine.
The University of California in Los Angeles, better known as UCLA, is one of 10 campuses in the UC system. With 109 academic departments and more than 125 majors offered, as well as an average of one billion dollars funded for research every year and...
The amount of knowledge you will gain during your first year at UCLA will be more valuable than any previous experiences. First, there is the academic aspect. Essentially, the material being taught in college is the same for any school, so self...
" – Joanna from Carson City, NV
Harvard College is an undergraduate liberal arts school located in Cambridge, MA, within Harvard University. Founded in 1636, this private, very selective, Ivy League college is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and was...
With its liberal arts focus, Harvard provides the type of education that helps you to become a better thinker. You probably won't gain as much concrete knowledge here as you would at a non-liberal arts college, but I think this has more to do with...
" – Cindy
Stanford University is a research institution located in the California town of the same name. The more than 8,000-acre campus features seven schools, the largest of which is the School of Humanities and Sciences, and 80 residential facilities. With...
After attending their Admit Weekend, I was exposed to a variety of options to choose for. Stanford advocates that students obtain knowledge in as many areas as possible. They have doctors who are lawyers and poets who have economics majors.
" – Lloyd from Oxnard, CA
One of the few land-, space-, and sea-grant institutions in the US, the University of Florida is a public research university founded in 1853. It is the eighth largest single-campus university in the United States. U.S. News & World Report have...
I came to college with 33 credits from high school. I have taken a full semester here and absolutely love it! While the classea re challenging, the professors care for your future and are always open to helping students with material.
" – Stacy from Gainesville, FL
Yale University is a large research institution chartered in 1701, making it the third-oldest institution of higher education in the US. On top of the numerous academic undergrad degrees at Yale College, students also have access to Multidisciplinary...
It is hard to limit yourself to only 4 or 5 courses with all that Yale has to offer. It isn't unheard of for very ambitious students to pile on 6 or even 7 at a time! Many classes will push you hard to master the material, but there are always a...
" – Yale '12
Founded in 1890, The University of Chicago is a private urban research institution. U of Chicago is home to an undergraduate college noteworthy for establishing the fields of Ecology and Sociology. In addition to classroom facilities, the U of...
The classes are very educational and require a lot of focus. The best part is the university understands this, and so there are a lot of opportunities to get help from free tutors and TA's almost every day throughout the quarter.
" – Faisal from Los Angeles, CA
Founded in 1754, Columbia University is a private research university located in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The urban Ivy League campus houses 17 libraries and 20 schools, which offer upwards of 350 majors, as well as the Cathedral of St. John...
It can be the best four years of your life and make all your dreams come true. However, there are MANY obstacles that will try and stop you from achieving this. In this end, it all depends on how forward-thinking, mature, in-the-moment you are and...
" – ESTEBAN from Fullerton, CA
Founded in 1817, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is the state's oldest university. U of M has very high research activity and is a often referred to as a Public Ivy. The university at Ann Arbor offers upwards of 260 degrees for undergraduates...
The classes here are pretty intense. I'm a student in the college of Engineering, where group work is an important part of most classes. Most of the core classes like calculus, physics, and chemistry are very large classes, but they all have smaller...
" – Elizabeth from Rochester Hills, MI
Duke University is a selective, private research university that calls Durham, NC, home. Founded originally as Trinity College in 1838, it was renamed by tobacco tycoon James Buchanan Duke in 1924 and became the "Gothic Wonderland" campus it is today...
In high school, I found that I could ace any class with a study cram the night before any test. By doing this, I never truly learned anything. Sure, I remembered enough for the tests and exams, but if someone were to quiz me a week later, I would...
" – Sophomore from Florida
Texas A & M University-College Station
Opening its doors on October 4, 1876, Texas A&M University's College Station campus was the first institution of higher education in Texas. A&M is home to 16 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 125 academic programs. This...
I'm a chemical engineering major, which in my opinion is the hardest major at school not only because of the homework but because it challenges you to think in a completely new way. While other schools might emphasize by-the-book engineering, you're...
" – Bryn from Dallas, TX
Featuring the largest single-campus enrollment in the United States, the University of Central Florida is a public university in Orlando. UCF is home to 13 colleges granting degrees in over 200 academic majors. Additionally, UCF is a space-grant...
Since I have been at the University of Central Florida I have learned more than I could imagine. The professors truly know what they are teaching and are more than welcomed to give you any additional help if needed. There is no excuse that they...
" – Rebecca from Kissimmee, FL
A Public Ivy and space-grant institution, the University of Texas at Austin is one of nine academic universities in the UT system, and also the first. Founded in 1883 and home to 18 schools and colleges, it is one of the largest schools in the US but...
The University of Texas at Austin has some of the best lectures in the world! It's surrounded by the wonderful Austin culture, and beautiful scenery. It's a tough and rigorous school, with loving teachers and friendly students.
" – Michael from San Antonio, TX
Boston University is a private, non-profit university with a heavy emphasis on research. BU's main location is right in its name—Boston, MA—but the university has flagship locations around the world, including in London, Sydney, and Washington, DC...
very prestigious, well ranked university. beautiful campus and great location. all the resources you could ever need!
" – elizabeth from northern virginia
New York University, more commonly referred to as NYU, is a private university with campuses and academic centers all over the world, including Abu Dhabi, Shanghai, Africa, and Europe. As one of the largest private universities in the US, it's...
NYU is a professional, inclusive, top level university and community. Academically it has blown me away with all the available resources, classes, and quality of professors and equipment. Socially I have found the NYU community to be very inclusive...
" – Teodoro from New York City, NY
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an institution in the UNC system and the first public university to confer degrees. A member of the Association of American Universities, UNC Chapel Hill is considered a Public Ivy and houses a...
Although some of the classes are large, students have the opportunity for some one on one time with professors and teaching assistants through office hours and smaller versions of lectures called recitations. So no matter the class size, you are...
" – Alexia from Apex, NC
Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona is a 4-year public institution in Tucson and the first university established in the Arizona territory. Arizona features 21 colleges and schools offering undergraduate degrees. In addition to classroom...
Not only do you learn academically, you learn in many other areas. Greek life, dorm life, and sports all have a great impact on learning and growing. You grow academically and intellectually here.
" – Tory from Albuquerque, NM
The University of Southern California is a high-research institution located in Los Angeles, California, where it's been educating students since 1880. The university is comprised of two campuses, the main University Park and the Health Sciences...
best decision i've ever made. usc provides the quintessential college experience for those who want it, while also offering more alternative and "less-traveled" paths for those who aren't as conventional in their college search/career.
" – chelsea
Brown University is a private Ivy League research university that was founded in 1764. The university offers more than 40 academic departments. The campus is home to program housing for students who share similar interests, plus substance-free...
Brown University really emphasizes the learning experience for undergraduate students. With no core curriculum, students have the opportunity to explore courses in fields they would not have the opportunity to at other colleges. As a result, a...
" – Nicole from Providence, RI
University of Washington-Seattle Campus
The University of Washington is a selective institution located in Seattle, WA, with two satellite campuses in Bothell and Tacoma. At this Public Ivy, sustainability is a major focus and the school has made The Princeton Review Green College Honor...
I took a drama class because I needed a VLPA and I thought it would be a breeze. It wasn't exactly as easy as I predicted: I performed monologues and scenes in front of my quiz section as well as in front of my lecture. It was nerve-wracking; I was...
" – Shelby from Everett, WA
Founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League institution in Philadelphia. UPenn hosts 12 schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 90 academic fields of study. Additionally, UPenn's Gothic-style...
I think it's the perfect school for me.
" – Katherine from Murrieta, CA
Founded in 1855, Michigan State University is a large public research institution in East Lansing, Michigan, and a multicultural student population representing more than 140 countries. MSU is home to more than 200 areas of study through 17 degree...
Michigan State is a great university to attend! The professors really care about you and how well you're doing. Don't be afraid to go visit them during their open hours; they love to talk and get to know their students! The professors don't drone on...
" – Titi from Canton, MI
Northwestern University is a 4-year private research institution in the Chicagoland area. Northwestern is home to 12 colleges and schools and is renowned for its Medill School of Journalism, Kellogg School of Management, and Bienen School of Music...
the campus is absolutely gorgeous, and all of the professors, secretaries, and students i had met on the trip were wonderful, driven people. hearing about the opportunity that this school gives to it's students allows me to feel a sense of how much...
" – jeremy from naperville, il
Ohio State University-Main Campus
Originally founded as a land-grant university in 1870, Ohio State University is a public institution in Columbus and the third-largest campus in the nation. OSU confers bachelor's degrees in over 200 academic fields of study. In addition to classroom...
Faculty and staff here are really knowledgeable about whichever subject they are teaching. Though some classes are rather large, there are still ways to get help. A larger class size made me more independent and reliant on my note-taking abilities...
" – Randi from Ashland, OH
Founded in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution in central Illinois and the flagship campus of the U of I system. UIUC is home to 15 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 150 areas of...
I've learned things so far in every course I've taken and have met really great professors and instructors. You learn a lot from the people as well. They're from all over the world.
" – Kristen from Chicago, IL
The University of California in Davis is a public institution in northern California and one of the largest universities by enrollment in the UC System. UC Davis is home to four colleges conferring undergraduate degrees and six professional schools...
The University of California school system has a reputation of being one of the best in our nation. For 100 years, UC Davis has proved itself to be a school that values excellence in all the roads education has to offer. One in every three...
" – Michelle from San Jose, CA
Florida State University is the oldest institution of Higher Education in Florida. Located on 1,633 acres of land in Tallahassee, FSU is a space- and sea-grant research university offering more than 300 degree programs. The campus is home to the only...
Everyday whether from the teachers or other students there is always knowledge to be gained.
" – Kevina from Orlando, FL
Founded in 1925, the University of Miami is a private research institution in south Florida. The U encompasses 11 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 180 fields of study. Away from the classroom, the Miami campus is home to...
The Cool thing about UM is the diversity of the school and the city of Miami. I've met people from every corner of the country and the world and that's the best part about college, of course learning in class but also learning from those who are not...
" – Jude from Miami, FL
Georgetown University, founded in 1789, is the oldest Catholic university in the US. Rated as having a "most selective" admissions process, this school ranks #20 in National Universities according to U.S. News & World Report. International Relations...
This really depends on the individual and what kind of learning you feel is most valuable.
Academically speaking, obviously if you choose to slack off and focus on socializing, you might not do so hot even if your classes are awesome. For the most...
" – CZ from VA
The University of California in Irvine was founded in 1965 in the town and state of the same name, and is the youngest member of the Association of American Universities. This high-research institution offers 92 majors and 86 minors and the campus is...
Being that I have only been at UCI for one year so far, I feel that I am really learning a lot from my professors and from the students that I have surrounded myself with. No matter where you are at, it is the people you are around that you can...
" – Emi from Temecula, CA
Howard University is an HBCU comprised of 13 schools and colleges located two miles from the US Capitol. Nationally-ranked programs at HU include social work, business, and communication sciences and disorders. Howard has three honors programs for...
The perfect place for stars looking to shine. Our stars do not only show up at night. They shine during the good times of our country, contributing to society in a positive way. They also shine during the bad times of our country, standing up for...
" – Khiana from Newark, NJ
Founded in 1890, Washington State University is the state's first land-grant university. Washington State University offers more than 200 fields of study, including 96 undergraduate majors, 86 minors, and more than 140 graduate and professional...
The Professors at WSU are thorough in their teaching but sometimes lack the patience for slower students. The curriculum while tough is also very educational and I have found it to be rather enjoyable.
" – John from Clarkston, WA
Originally founded as a teachers college, Central Michigan University has grown to become a 4-year public research institution. CMU encompasses eight colleges offering bachelor's degrees in over 200 academic programs. In addition, CMU is home to...
Central has a large variety of majors and offers a variety of classes taught by great professors. All of the classes I have taken so far have been completely worth while, interesting, and well taught. Two that stand out in my mind are Musics of the...
" – Lauren from Chelsea, MI
University of South Florida-Main Campus
The University of South Florida is a public research university located in Tampa, FL, offering more than 180 majors and concentrations. Ranked on multiple lists for its research efforts, USF Tampa's Office of Undergraduate Research allows all citizen...
Besides your core classes that apply directly to your major, students must meet "Gordon Rule" requirements in order to graduate. These classes have broadened my horizon tremendously. I never would have taken Anthropology, World Regional Geography, or...
" – Julie from Deland, FL
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Founded in 1787 as the Pittsburgh academy, the University of Pittsburgh is a 4-year state-related research institution. Pitt is composed of 16 colleges and universities granting undergraduate degrees in numerous academic majors and minors. The Pitt...
University of Pittsburgh was built in a city of tradition and Culture. I am from Pittsburgh and often feel challenged by the constant mix of people who are all so interesting and the work that I have to complete.I would recommend this school to...
" – Joseph from Pittsburgh, PA
Vanderbilt University was founded in 1873 as a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Academically, the university focuses on an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to take courses from any of the 143 areas of study. The...
Vanderbilt is often confused with one of them Ivy League schools up in Connecticut or wherever, but with good reason. If you choose to attend the prestigious Vanderbilt University then you will receive a very fine education from professors who want...
" – K from Atlanta, GA
Temple University is a 4-year public research institution in Philadelphia. With its main campus set against the Philly skyline, Temple is home to 17 colleges and schools conferring degrees in over 400 academic programs. In addition, Temple features...
Whether it is a boring topic or not the faculty at Temple University makes sure that you learn the information in a fun or interesting manner.
" – Brooke from Philadelphia, PA
University of Virginia-Main Campus
Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, the University of Virginia is a public institution in Charlottesville. UVA encompasses 12 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 70 fields of study. For artistically-inclined students, UVA...
The great thing about UVA is that it is a public research university - meaning its resources attract the big names in most fields of study. This is great for you, the student, because you get to learn under such academics as Rita Dove and Larry...
" – Jessica from Chester, VA
University of South Carolina-Columbia
The University of South Carolina is a 4-year public research institution in the state capital of Columbia. South Carolina encompasses 12 colleges conferring undergraduate degrees. Additionally, U of SC is home to the first freestanding academic...
At the University of South Carolina in Columbia, there are a multitude of classes to choose from. From the Psychology of Sex to the Philosophy of Contemporary Moral Issues, this University has many classes that will tickle your fancy. Being the...
" – Emily from Ladson, SC
Emory University is a liberal arts institution located in Atlanta, Georgia, with a second campus in Oxford. The 600-acre campus in the Druid Hills neighborhood is home to four undergraduate and seven graduate colleges, as well as over a dozen...
At Emory university every class is a challenge that you can handle if you apply yourself properly. You can not assume that whatever you did in high school will work here as well, but if you are accepted you should feel confident that you can handle...
" – Sophia from PA
Founded in 1847, the University of Iowa is a 4-year public research institution in Iowa City, often considered one of the nation's top college towns. Iowa grants undergraduate degrees in over 200 academic majors, minors, and certificate programs. The...
From tailgating, downtown Iowa City, and a beautiful campus... The University of Iowa is the PERFECT college town. The professors care about you, even in a class of 300. There's so many opportunities, you WILL find the place you fit in.
" – Melanie
University of California-San Diego
Founded in 1960, the University of California of San Diego is a research institution located in La Jolla, CA. The 1,200 coastal woodland campus along the Pacific Ocean is home to six undergraduate colleges, five academic divisions, 5 graduate and...
Many of the classes are challenging and I was able to learn alot from chemistry to ethnic studies (which I took this year). Some teachers can seem impersonal, but there is a program called dine with a prof to meet them outside class. Most lectures...
" – Ronald from San Diego, CA
The University of Kentucky is a land-grant university that was founded in 1865 in Lexington, Kentucky. U.S. News & World Report ranks UK as #63 in Top Public Schools. The most popular fields of study at this "selective" university are Education...
Even though UK is a pretty big school, they make it more like a small school by keeping many classes with a low student to teacher ratio, so you receive more one on one time with your instructor, which makes it easier to grasp the bigger concepts and...
" – Kristen from Pickerington, OH
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Rutgers University is a public research university, one of the first nine original colonial colleges, and a land grant institution, as well. The largest university in New Jersey, Rutgers maintains 29 schools and colleges between its three campuses...
Rutgers University is an excellent school because it offers various majors and minors to accommodate every student. Their Pharmacy, Engineering, as well as Business schools are widely acclaimed and their challenging programs drastically prepare you...
" – Lawrenceville, NJ
George Washington University is a private university maintains three campuses, with the main campus located in Washington, D.C., just four blocks from the White House. George Washington University offers 75 undergraduate majors and 69% of students...
This is my first semester and I'm taking six classes and I've definitely learned a lot. First thing I learned is not to take six classes, especially not your first semester. It's a big load, but I'm handling it well and I love my classes. I'm in...
" – Arianna from Brookline, MA
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Founded in 1919, the University of Cincinnati is a 4-year public research institution and the second largest university in the state of Ohio. UC is home to 14 colleges and schools conferring degrees and is renowned as the first school to offer a co...
I highly enjoy my classes here at the University of Cincinnati. Not only are the classes academically challenging, but they are interesting. For my Introduction to Criminal Justice class we had multiple speakers come in and give us a real life...
" – Heather from Lima, OH
The University of Kansas is a public research institution. The main campus is located in Lawrence, Kansas, and is one of five in the University of Kansas system. KU offers more than 200 undergraduate majors in one of the largest college towns in the...
As with other colleges, freshman year generally means class sizes in the hundreds. However, the professors and teaching assistants do a relatively good job on relaying information to classes of these sizes. Most of my classes used PowerPoint slides...
" – Nik from Kansas City
Named for a prominent 19th century philanthropist, Drexel University is a 4-year private research university in Philadelphia. Drexel offers bachelor's degrees in over 80 academic majors with an emphasis on experiential learning. Additionally, the...
In the classes I took at Drexel, I never learned more in such a short amount of time. The classes are very interactive and make you feel very comfortable. I loved the atmosphere.
" – Nida from SICKLERVILLE, NJ
The University of Rochester is private, research university highly ranked in the National Universities list by U.S. News & World Report. It operates under the mission "Learn, Discover, Heal, Create—and Make the World Ever Better" and students can...
I really am receiving an excellent education here at U of R. I love the professors, and they love to teach the subjects they love. They want students to comprehend the subject, and excel in the future.
" – Zeley from Brooklyn, NY
West Virginia University is a public, land-grant institution that operates 10 experimental farms and four forests across the state. Sociology, Journalism, and the Arts and Humanities are popular fields of study at this research-intensive university...
As a freshman student at WVU I quickly learned how to advocate for myself. Academic advisors were seemingly invisible during my first few weeks making the transition from high school to college scheduling very stressful and even tearful. With that...
" – Kayla from Clarksburg, WV
Originally founded as a school for math and science teachers, Stony Brook University is a 4-year public university on Long Island and part of the State University of New York system. Stony Brook is home to 12 schools and colleges conferring degrees...
Stony Brook offers a great, quality education for a state school price, however, getting a quality education depends primarily on the student. Many of the science and math based classes are quite large and are often held in huge lecture halls. Due...
" – Amamah from Huntington, NY
Florida International University is the only public research university in Miami. FIU offers bachelor's degrees in over 190 academic fields of study. In addition to classroom facilities, the FIU campus houses the International Hurricane Research...
College is not only about excelling in your classes in order to be rewarded with a degree but, it is also about life. At FIU you learn key concepts about working with your peers, time management and how to act in a professional manner. The university...
" – Stephanie from Hialeah, FL
With campus a short distance from the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Atlantic University is a 4-year public university in southeast Florida. FAU houses 10 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 170 fields of study. In addition to...
Throughout high school your teachers always tell you that the give you so much work and try to grade hardly, because college you are all on your own and your professors will not care about you. At Florida Atlantic University I have found the...
" – Tiffany from Tampa, FL
A top-ranked medical program and business school crown Dartmouth College's liberal arts education. This Ivy League school, the second youngest but also the smallest, is located in Hanover, NH, where it's easily the main attraction in town.
I am continually impressed by the quality of the teaching at Dartmouth. Since it is a college, faculty members really do focus on undergraduates as opposed to solely pursuing their research. However, that is not to say that there are no research...
" – Jessica
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis is the result of a merger between Indiana University and Purdue University and offers degrees from both institutions. IUPUI hosts 17 schools granting degrees in over 350 areas of study. Additionally...
I am learning so much from being at IUPUI. Learning new things from my major as well as new ways do do things from subjects I have already taken in high school. Aside from the classroom learning, I have learned so much about others background since...
" – Ian from Gary, IN
Tulane University of Louisiana
Tulane University is private nstitution located in New Orleans, Louisiana. As one of only 62 members in the Association of American Universities, TU is considered a top research university. The campus features five undergraduate schools that provide...
The professors here are generally awesome. Of my 5 semesters here I've only had one professor I didn't care for. They generally know what they are talking about because most of them have had field experience. They are also excited to learn from the...
" – Amber from Holland, MI
The University of Utah is a public research instititution situated in Salt Lake City that offers more than 100 undergraduate majors. The U is home to three professional arts organizations to complement the College of Fine Arts, and even features a 3...
I'm very impressed with the way the professors are so willing to help students. I have had several instances in classes where I have not understood the material given, and I'm pleased to say that I have felt totally comfortable in going to my...
" – Katie from Sandy, UT
Originally founded as an extension of New York University, Hofstra University is a 4-year research institution and the largest private university on Long Island. Hofstra is home to 12 colleges and schools offering undergraduate degrees in over 160...
I currently entered as an undecided major, so I wasn't sure what classes I should take at first. However, my advisor helped me decide on some general distribution classes that I could take to take of of my basic requirements as a first-year student...
" – Naomi from Warminster, PA
The University of California-Riverside is a public institution on 1,200 acres of land in Southern California's Inland Empire. A part of the UC system, UCR is home to colleges of Humanities, Engineering, and Natural Sciences conferring undergraduate...
Academics at UCR is fast paced because it is on the quarter system, but that doesn't make it easier. Students are expected to learn the material and learn it fast. There are several ways to get help and to further understanding in a subject...
" – Kimberley from Tracy, CA
Tufts University is a 4-year private institution with three campuses in the Boston area. Tufts is home to 12 colleges and schools conferring bachelor's degrees in over 90 academic majors and minors. The school is known for their popular a capella...
Tufts is often called a baby-ivy meaning that the quality of education here is at par with or better than what students receive at Ivy League schools. The only difference is that it isn't quite as famous as schools like Harvard or Yale. Classes are...
" – Caitlyn from Plainville, MA
From its main campus located atop a hilltop in Wisconsin's state capital, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a 4-year public institution and the flagship campus of the UW system. Founded in 1848 at the same time that Wisconsin achieved statehood...
The best thing about a large research university like Wisconsin is the extraordinary wealth of academic and extracurricular choices. I've never been bored-there is always something I can learn or somewhere I can go. It really feels like home.
" – Hannah
The University of Connecticut is a public research university that houses 14 schools and colleges, and more than 100 undergraduate majors. Centered around Horsebarn Hill, the university features a floriculture greenhouse, animal barns, and Dairy Bar...
The classes are very in depth. With the size of the classes, there isn't much one one one time with the professor, if any, so how much you learn depends completely on you. You can choose to stay on top of things on your own or you can utilize the...
" – Lilia from Willington, CT
Founded in 1839, the University of Missouri is a 4-year public school in central Missouri and the first university established west of the Mississippi River. MU is home to 13 colleges and schools conferring degrees in 97 academic majors including the...
It's an exciting place. It's always something to do on campus and a lot of involvement opportunities. I would definitely recommend Mizzou!
" – Ashley from Saint Louis, MO
East Carolina University is located in Greenville, NC, and is comprised of 13 colleges. This public research university offers 84 bachelor's and 71 master's degrees, and claims a spot as the state leader in distance educated by providing 90 online...
east carolina university is a great university with great professors as well. everyone here is committed to receiving and giving the best education possible. everyone here at ecu is more than proud to be a pirate!!
" – Stephanie from Asheboro, NC
The University at Buffalo is a 4-year research institution offering more than 125 undergraduate degree programs. UB is the largest university in the State University of New York system by enrollment, but maintains a student-faculty ratio of 14:1...
This school has great programs for several different disciplines: Pharmacy, Architecture, Dentistry, Law, Nursing, Anthropology, etc. Spend some time really considering which one you would most like to pursue and then really immerse yourself in it.
" – Matthew from Stockbridge, GA
Mercer University
Founded by Baptists in 1833, Mercer University is a private non-denominational institution in central Georgia. Mercer houses both the largest pharmacy school and the oldest college of nursing in Georgia as well as one of only four medical schools in...
Mercer provides students' a comprehensive liberal arts education comprised of engaging discussions, service learning and professors who care about your overall well-being. Classes are primarily discussion based and allow for student input and one-on...
" – Molly from Garnet Valley, PA
Established in 1837 and named for former Chief Justice John Marshall, Marshall University is a 4-year public research institution in southwestern West Virginia. Marshall is home to seven undergraduate colleges conferring bachelor's degrees in 57...
marshall university's campus is small enough to engage with your professors, yet large enough to meet all standards of diversity. its quaint charm also matches its southern hospitality. from the classroom to sporting events roaring with thundering...
" – Bria from Beckley, WV
Founded in 1834, Wake Forest University is a 4-year private university with a liberal arts curriculum located in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest confers undergraduate degrees in over 40 academic majors and 60 minors and it does not require students to...
The professors challenge students because they know only the brightest get accepted. In each of the classes I have taken, I have learned a lot that is applicable in real life, as opposed to high school classes, where it seemed like we learned facts...
" – Jennifer from Lake Bluff, IL
Founded in 1853 and named for George Washington, Washington University in St. Louis is a 4-year private research university. WashU encompasses seven colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees in over 90 areas of study. For artistically...
The classes I have taken have been interesting and challenging. It's a good idea to do some research on the professor, but generally you can expect a good experience. Class size really varies. I've had classes with 12 students, but also classes with...
" – Catlyne from Wheaton, IL
Founded in 1870, Loyola University Chicago is a Catholic, Jesuit university located in the city of Chicago. Loyola has four campuses in the Chicago area–the main Lake Shore Campus along Lake Michigan, Water Tower Campus in the heart of downtown, the...
Loyola University Chicago prides itself in its ability to prepare people to lead extraordinary lives. I believe LUC does just that. LUC's professors are excellent, in fact, most have doctorates in their fields and are very knowledgeable. What makes...
" – Marisa
The University of Louisville is a member of the Kentucky State University system and the first city-owned public university in the US. Louisville features three campuses hosting 12 colleges and schools and the university's Health Sciences Center is...
UofL is a great school. They're big on diversity and is a really big sports school. There's always free food and something to do. The school even go as far as sending out monthly emails letting you know where the free food will be.
" – Ashlyn from Louisville, KY
Founded by the merger of Western Reserve University and Case School of Applied Science, Case Western Reserve University is a 4-year private research institution in Cleveland. Case Western features nine schools conferring bachelor's degrees in 95...
Case Western is a fantastic science and engineering school. It's location in Cleveland seems unappealing, but the campus has a way of setting itself apart from its surroundings. Case gives its students great opportunities for success.
Michigan's third largest institution of higher learning, Wayne State University is a public university in Detroit. Wayne State is home to 13 colleges offering over 300 undergraduate and graduate degrees. In addition to classroom facilities, Wayne...
Most of my instructors are really good, and the ESP (Emerging Scholars Program) for math is phenomenal. It's a lot of work, but the extra hands on help and feedback really help you understand the math
" – Audrey from Ferndale, MI
The University of Hawai'i at Manoa is a 4-year public university on the island of O'ahu and the flagship campus of the UH System. The largest and oldest of the Hawai'i campuses, UH Manoa confers bachelor's degrees in 100 academic majors. Additionally...
Although I've only been here for one semester, so far my experience has been a positive one. I have had good teachers, most of whom teach with a sense humor, which comes natural in Hawaii, considering the weather. Personally I think that how much you...
" – Max from Haiku, HI
Opened in 1791, the University of Vermont is a public university in Burlington and one of the oldest universities in the US. One of the schools designated a "Public Ivy" university, UVM is home to 12 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate...
I am a French major and I find myself excited about my course load. I learn something new every day. I leave my french classes exhilarated and often enjoy study for my classes. I can't express enough how much I love the french department at UVM!
" – Brandy
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is a 4-year public school in northwest Idaho and the oldest public institution in the state. The U of I hosts 10 colleges granting undergraduate and graduate degrees in over 300 fields of study. In addition to...
The professors are approachable and friendly, and with small class sizes it isn't hard to get in touch with the teacher for help. Also, with campus wide WiFi internet and the library combined, there is easy access to whatever course data you will...
" – Nate from Payette, ID
Founded in 1856, Seton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university and a member of the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium located in South Orange, New Jersey. The suburban, 58-acre campus features 10 schools and colleges that offer upwards of...
Seton Hall is a mainstream college meaning it is a college that specializes in every single major that is possible and that there is no specific major that they cater to. It is more for those who want a traditional college experience since this is...
" – Luis from Union City, NJ
Founded in 1872, the University of Toledo is a public research institution in northwest Ohio and a member of the state university system of Ohio. Toledo is home to 13 colleges and schools conferring over 300 undergrad and graduate degrees. For...
The University of Toledo is an excellent school. In the classes that I am taking right now, I am learning a lot. I feel like by the time I graduate, I will have received an excellent education.
" – Sarah from Sagamore Hills, OH
A private university, Quinnipiac University is comprised of three regional campuses in Connecticut that feature the College of Arts and Sciences and eight professional schools. Quinnipiac puts extra emphasis on professions and career-readiness...
Classes at Quinnipiac are unlike any I have ever seen. The professors are excited about what they teach, they are actively seeking out the newest information in their field, and they are readily available for anything you need and know you by a name...
" – Lyndsey from Enfield, NH
The University of South Alabama is a public research university on Alabama's Gulf Coast. South hosts eight colleges and schools offering bachelor's degrees in over 50 academic programs. Additionally, USA is home to research centers such as the Stokes...
I learned a lot in my first year of school. The teachers help you in any way they can, rather that is working with you after class or referring you to a tutor. I am looking forward to beginning my second year of college there.
" – Aerion from Valley, AL
Oakland University is a 4-year public school in the Detroit metro area that was originally established as a satellite campus of Michigan State. Oakland is now home to seven colleges and schools offering bachelor's degrees in 143 academic programs. In...
Oakland is a very diverse community which I am proud to be a part of. There are it's upsides and downsides, but the friends and connections I have made so far are nothing short of outstanding! I truly feel like I am at home.
" – Emily from Clyde, MI
University of Plymouth is located in Plymouth, England, with affiliated campuses located throughout South West England. The Royal Statistical Society selected Plymouth as the home for the Centre for Statistical Education and has been awarded the...
The University of British Columbia is a public institution with campuses located in the city of Vancouver and the city of Kelowna. The college is deeply rooted in academic research and maintains a number of research facilities, such as the Bamfield...
1. Although UBC is huge, it is easy to feel a little bit lost at times but it but because of its big size, it's also easy to find your nietzsche.
2. UBC has one of the most gorgeous campuses in the world, hands down.
3. UBC has a great...
" – Anonymous
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
The University of Colorado Denver operates the health sciences-related schools of the Anschutz Medical Campus and is the largest academic health center in the Rocky Mountains. The Anschutz Medical Campus is comprised of a school for medicine...
For the price i'm paying they really shouldn't be giving the education i'm receiving. The professors here know what hey are talking about. I mean i've probably learned more in the past semester than i ever did in a year in high school. Not only is...
" – Jesse from Littleton, CO
Founded in 1878 by the Society of Jesus, Creighton University is a Jesuit Catholic university in Omaha. Creighton hosts nine colleges and schools offering degrees in over 140 areas of study. As a Catholic institution, Creighton holds daily mass and...
Creighton is by far the best fit for me and any other prospective students looking for a high quality education respected by many. The small class size enables students to get to know their professors and have that personal relationship with them...
" – Garrett from Colorado Springs, CO
Founded in 1869, Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is a public flagship university and the oldest university in the SIU system. SIU is home to ten colleges and schools conferring undergraduate degrees as well as an Honors Program. For...
All of my teachers at SIUC overall have been fantastic. I especially recommend Dr. Hahn for Philosophy 104 and Dr. Martin for Sociology 108. Dr. Hahn is a wonderful teacher and does a good job keeping lectures very interesting. He does not put up...
" – Lauryn from Illinois
Formed by the merger of the Medical College of Virginia and the Richmond Professional Institute, Virginia Commonwealth University is a 4-year public institution in Richmond. VCU is home to 20 colleges and is the state's only university to offer...
I currently a student at VCU returning for my sophomore year and I must say that I am excited to get back to Richmond, VA this fall. As an engineering student I can tell that the education that I am receiving from VCU presents me as well as others...
" – Jerrod from Centreville, VA
University, MS
The University of Mississippi is a 4-year public institution in northwest Mississippi and the state's largest university by enrollment. Ole Miss encompasses 15 schools and colleges as well as the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson...
if you want it, in some way, ole miss offers it. there's nothing ole miss cant teach you
" – Mary from Shreveport, LA
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Located near old Route 66 in Albuquerque, the University of New Mexico is New Mexico's flagship public university. UNM is home to 12 colleges conferring bachelor's degrees in 94 academic programs and its Health Sciences Center is New Mexico's largest...
The University of New Mexico is a great university; it is very diverse. I guarantee that you will find yourself immersed in different cultures. The people here are amazing, I'm currently doing work-study here at the university and I love it. The...
" – Lizzet from Albuquerque, NM
Founded by Jesuits in 1818, Saint Louis University is a private research institution and one of the oldest Catholic universities in the United States. SLU is home to 11 colleges and schools conferring undergraduate and graduate degrees. For students...
Saint Louis University is a great school with a beautiful green campus. This school offers a variety of classes and community service opportunities to get involved in. It also has small class sizes and a great school philosophy of caring and...
" – Melinda from Ellisville, MO
Established in 1969 after a merger between the Medical College of Alabama and the Birmingham Extension Center of The University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham is a 4-year public institution. UAB is home to 12 colleges and schools...
The University of Alabama at Birmingham has many tools to help students succeed in their classes. Many of the science and courses have sessions every week to discuss the lectures. Students are able to ask questions and get answers from students who...
" – Mae Lin from Birmingham, AL
Wright State University-Main Campus
Named after Wilbur & Orville Wright, Wright State University is a 4-year public school in Dayton. Wright State features eight colleges and three schools granting degrees in 295 academic programs. In addition to classroom space, Wright State hosts the...
I am working on a degree in Computer Engineering.
I have already learned SO much in my first year there.
One of the latest projects was to program a video game.
" – Mik? from Ravenna, OH
Founded six years before North Dakota achieved statehood, the University of North Dakota is a 4-year public university in eastern North Dakota and the state's largest institution of higher learning. UND offers undergraduate degrees in over 225...
The Univerisity of North Dakota has a great team of staff, especially in the Biological Sciences department. The biology teachers here take a lot of pride in their lecture teachings asa well as their research studies. If you have questions or have...
" – Andrew from Moorpark, CA
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
With campuses three miles apart, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is the flagship campus with locations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota confers bachelor's degrees in more than 150 academic majors and minors. In addition, the U of M is...
The University of Minnesota offers an exceptional staff of great and well educated teachers who try to teach the students as much as they can in new and different ways. As a university known for its research the students learn a lot about different...
" – Bianca from Chicago, IL
University of Nevada-Reno
Founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno is a 4-year public institution and the first university founded in the state. UNR encompasses 11 colleges offering bachelor's and graduate degrees in more than 460 fields of study. Additionally, the...
My college experience thus far has taught me to work hard, how to prioritize my time better, and how to enjoy a full college experience. Classes here are lots of work, in order to succeed I had to learn great study habits, become friends with my...
" – Jessica from Reno, NV
The Baylor College of Medicine is a health sciences institution in Houston. Baylor is home to schools of Medicine, Health Professions, Biomedical Sciences, and Tropical Medicine. For a hands-on learning experience, the Baylor campus is located within...
From what I've read about this schools medical program its outstanding. It even has a 7 year program if my sources are correct. I am hoping to get into this school.
" – Vishruth from Frisco, TX
University of Minnesota-Duluth
The University of Minnesota Duluth is a research institution located in Minnesota's fourth largest city. Founded in 1895 as the Duluth Normal School, this medium-sized campus for a large university has grown since its humble beginnings as a teacher's...
umd is a fantastic but underrated school. not many people know about it outside of minnesota and wisconsin, and even fewer consider it during their college search, but it is a wonderful school nonetheless. it has miles of trails, a great city down...
" – Jill from Grayslake, IL | {
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For family friendly fun, you can't go past Anaheim's Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground. It's within walking distance to Disneyland Park, which is every child's dream, but you don't even have to leave resort grounds for the little ones to have the time of their lives.
Don't just take our word for it, though. Check out its awards! In 2014 the plaza featured in TripAdvisor's list of Travelers' Choice Top 10 Best for Families in USA, and in 2013 it was even awarded Hotel of the Year.
If you still need more convincing. Perhaps the seven acres of private gardens and landscaped walkways for you to explore will do the trick. If not, how about its vicinity to the main gates of Disneyland? It's so close, you can even watch the evening fireworks that go off at the amusement park right from your hotel.
When it comes to facilities, Howard Johnson has it all. Castaway Cove is a themed water park that is free and exclusive to guests, keeping kids (and adults!) entertained for hours. For a more sedate swimming experience, try The Garden Pool. Surrounded by gardens and trees, this is the perfect spot to rest your weary head on a sun lounger after a hectic day at the theme parks. Let the kids play while you get some much-needed rest!
For a bite to eat without straying far, head to Mimi's Cafe. The decor is warm and cosy, and the staff are incredibly friendly. It's like home, only better - you don't have to cook! It's right next door to the hotel and serves classic American dishes that are bound to get your mouth watering. Pastas, burgers, sandwiches, soups and fresh homemade meals are all on the menu here, with a kids' menu featuring smaller portions to keep those little ones satisfied. For those concerned about their diet on holiday, check out the lifestyle menu. It's packed full of delicious meals specifically designed for health conscious diners.
The Mimi's Café dining experience is more than just good food. It's friendly, helpful people and the warm, comfortable atmosphere of home!
Located right next door to the hotel, Mimi's serves you heaping helpings of American dishes in a colorful, French New Orleans - inspired atmosphere.
Open for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Mimi's also has a kids' menu with smaller portions of all their favorites!
• LA & Hollywood Experience - A great day tour that takes you into Santa Monica, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Olvera Street (Mexican market place), Sunset Strip and The Grove to shop.
• Shopping - The Block at Orange, Mainplace at Anaheim, Downtown Disney, SouthCoast Plaza and check out the Anaheim GardenWalk for great shopping and entertainment for the whole family.
• Fast Pass - Allows you to 'hold your place in line' at one ride at Disneyland Resort, while you actually go on another. Come back to the original ride and skip most of the queue!
• ART - Anaheim Resort Transit System allows you to get around and explore the Anaheim Resort area without having to hire a car - it will get you to Disneyland Resort, Amtrak and the Block at Orange Mall.
• Dining - A thunder and lightning show, monkeys, lions and birds - for a unique dining experience check out the Rainforest Café in Downtown Disney District.
• Angel Stadium - Grab a hot dog and jumbo popcorn and join the locals to watch a baseball game.
• Knotts Berry Farm - Make sure you go to Knotts first, before you hit Disneyland, to fully appreciate what Knotts has to offer. Start small end big!
Visit Walt Disney's original Theme Park and celebrate the worlds of yesterday, fantasy and tomorrow with timeless attractions, dazzling entertainment and magical moments that last a lifetime. There's even more magic to be discovered right next door to Disneyland Park. At Disney California Adventure Park, Disney stories come to life in new and exciting ways - from incredible shows to amazing attractions. Plus, you'll find favorite Disney Characters and a larger-than-life nighttime entertainment spectacular. The adventure never ends as your imagination runs free at this one-of-a-kind Disneyland Resort Theme Park!
Family fun never stops when you visit America's original theme park, Knott's Berry Farm. Experience world famous thrill rides & live shows. Make sure you don't miss Camp Snoopy, home of the PEANUTS gang.
Prices shown are a guide only, based on low season availability & some conditions. Please contact one of our specialist consultants for an exact quote on the dates you wish to travel & any conditions that may apply. | {
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Estero football coach Jeff Hanlon mismanaged finances, ignored concussion protocol, report says
Adam Regan
Estero High football coach Jeff Hanlon was fired from his coaching position and restricted from coaching within Lee County following the results of an investigation into misconduct by the Lee County School District that included mismanaged finances associated with the football and booster programs and the failure to follow appropriate concussion protocol.
Hanlon was in his third season with the Wildcats when he was reassigned to the district office in October pending a standards inquiry.
The former Lehigh and Naples assistant coach along with his wife, Marjorie Hanlon, a teacher leader and the boys track and field coach at Estero, were reassigned to new schools and are prohibited from handling money on behalf of the district after the investigation found just cause for disciplinary action.
Hanlons reimbursed thousands of dollars in fundraising money to the school as part of an agreement in which the district wouldn't turn the matter over to law enforcement.
The investigation found Jeff Hanlon, who served a three-day suspension in December, maintained no records of substantial cash transactions generated from locker room concession sales, using the undocumented cash from the sales to purchase alcohol for resale at a golf fundraiser and funneling credit card transactions totaling a little more than $2,000 from the same fundraiser to an account held by their daughter, a report from the Department of Education Office of Professional Practices Services states.
The investigation sparked by a September reported theft of locker room concession money cites bank records that show money from the Estero Wildcat Football Golf Tournament Fundraiser in August was spent almost immediately after the deposit at Sam's Club, Publix, Mel's Diner, Marshall's, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch and Jet's Pizza in the Naples area.
The Hanlons only reimbursed the credit card proceeds from the golf tournament when questioned about the whereabouts of the money in a meeting with district personnel on Oct. 24, the report said.
Estero Principal Clayton Simmons said he first identified gaps in the football coach's record keeping when Jeff Hanlon, who didn't return messages for comment, reported around $60 was taken from his Gatorade and snack locker room snack sales. When Vice Principal Michael Amabile and staff tracked down the culprit, a student, he grew concerned when he realized the coach was unaware of how much was actually stolen from the concession sales.
More:Estero High football coach Jeff Hanlon under investigation, removed from sideline
The school's bookkeeper, Donna Vigorito, said there were no records of deposits for the current year and former booster club president Terry Rohrman and athletic director Don Payne, who didn't return messages for comment, reported only one deposit was made during the current school year. That deposit was related to the golf fundraiser.
Jeff Hanlon admitted in interviews with district personnel he didn't document proceeds from locker room concessions because "no one ever told me I had to do that." He added he used the cash from the locker room sales to purchase $856 worth of merchandise from Sam's Club, including alcohol to be resold at the golf tournament.
Simmons reported he was not notified of the alcohol sales that occurred nor was he aware Hanlon used concession proceeds to purchase it.
The report states Jeff Hanlon and his wife acknowledged collecting $2,298 in credit card receipts from the event via a Square credit card reader attached to Marjorie Hanlon's phone and routing the funds to their daughter's account. Jeff Hanlon's reasoning for not depositing the money for nearly three months into the booster club account was current booster club president Coleen Thompson "hasn't collected it yet."
When interviewed, Thompson said Marjorie Hanlon informed her "she would give her a check for the credit receipts as soon as the fees (associated with the Square device) cleared." Bank records showed the fees cleared Aug. 13, the day after the tournament.
During the Oct. 24 meeting with district personnel, the Hanlons agreed to reimburse thousands of dollars in fundraising money in lieu of the district turning the matter over to law enforcement.
The Hanlons reimbursed the school for the credit card charges from the golf tournament and shared information about the origin and whereabouts of significant booster and football program money, including outstanding checks he collected from player payments for Pride Packs, which are team apparel, and attendance at the Grind It Out team camp in Babson Park over the summer.
There was an unexplained $660 surplus between the money deposited into the booster club account, money paid to the account for 48 players to attend Grind It Out and the money paid from the school's internal fund for the camp.
Regarding the Pride Packs, which cost $60, only $2,455 in checks and cash was deposited where there should have been $6,540 collected if all 109 players paid or were going to pay. The report also states the existence of an $8,214 outstanding invoice for the Pride Packs.
Jeff Hanlon couldn't account for any of the differences in the amounts during the Oct. 24 meeting. On Nov. 6, he admitted he did not collect money from 60 players, handed out Pride Packs to players well before everyone paid, and reported he ordered "extra units."
The report also included witness statements about an incident that occurred during a Sept. 18 practice where Jeff Hanlon is alleged to have downplayed a player's concussion-like symptoms.
More:FHSAA investigating recruiting complaint against Fort Myers High girls basketball
The junior stated in the report he suffered two helmet-to-helmet hits during the practice and began experiencing a headache, forgetfulness, sensitivity to light and confusion. He reported it to assistant coach Jason Krupp, who faces possible discipline and a report to the Office of Professional Practices and Services due to possible interference and providing a false statement.
Krupp escorted the player to Jeff Hanlon and Hanlon directed the player to sit out the remainder of practice but did not check back with the player at the end, the player said.
The player told his mother about the incident prompting a text message from the mother to Jeff Hanlon later that night, expressing concern her son was waking up frequently.
"Recent studies show that it is better to let the player (with a head injury) sleep and rest," Jeff Hanlon replied per the report.
The player didn't practice the next three days despite Jeff Hanlon asking if he could and offering him Advil. The junior told the coach he could play in Estero's Sept. 22 game at Gulf Coast, but the player informed assistant coach Derrick Morse he was involved in an incident at practice days earlier.
Morse immediately took the player to see trainer Payton DiLallo, who was at practice all week and stated she didn't hear about the player's symptoms until Sept. 22.
DiLallo told district personnel she ruled the player out for the Gulf Coast game to Hanlon's dismay. She said Hanlon threw coolers on the ground and stated, "I don't want to hear it."
The trainer spoke with the player's mother, recommending he see a doctor. When he did, the doctor confirmed he had a concussion, the report said.
DiLallo said another teacher informed her of Jeff Hanlon's frustrations with her "because all she does is pull (players) from games."
The Wildcats finished the season 4-4 with interim coach Brad Vojcak running the team in Hanlon's absence. | {
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using System.Globalization;
namespace Microsoft.Recognizers.Text.NumberWithUnit.English
{
public class LengthParserConfiguration : EnglishNumberWithUnitParserConfiguration
{
public LengthParserConfiguration() : this(new CultureInfo(Culture.English)) { }
public LengthParserConfiguration(CultureInfo ci) : base(ci)
{
this.BindDictionary(LengthExtractorConfiguration.LenghtSuffixList);
}
}
}
| {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaGithub"
} |
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EEAS > 台湾 > From the beach to the pub, a week packed with climate action in Iceland!
From the beach to the pub, a week packed with climate action in Iceland!
The EU Delegation in Reykjavik organised an intensive programme of events to mark Climate Diplomacy Weeks in Iceland, starting with a beach clean in the margins of the #EUBeachCleanUp and closing with a quiz at the pub!
The week began on Saturday, 21st September, with the Delegation joining a beach clean-up on World Clean-Up Day, organised by Blai herinn (the Blue Army), a group of volunteers set up by former diver Tommi Knutsson, which has been clearing plastic litter and fishing nets off Icelandic beaches for more than 20 years. This was the Delegation's third participation in a beach clean-up this year, and followed its first link-up with Blai herinn in 2018.
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Bad weather forced the group to abandon the original plan to clean two islands just off the coast of Reykjavik, but they nonetheless set to and spent three hours cleaning an area near the harbour.
On Tuesday, September 24th, the Delegation – ably assisted by the French Embassy and a group of Erasmus students - planted 500 trees in a new forest being established near the site of the ancient Viking parliament, at Thingvellir.
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Last year, the Delegation asked Kolvidur, the Icelandic Carbon Fund, to measure its carbon footprint. It signed a contract with the organisation to plant trees every year not only to offset its office carbon emissions, but to go further still, in order to help Iceland with its major reforestation programme. Iceland was heavily tree-covered when the first settlers arrived around the year 1000. But it did not take long before the early Icelanders had cut down much of the forests for building and heating. Just 2% of Iceland is now wooded. With the onset of climate change, and a government led by the Left Green Movement, Iceland has now embarked on a large-scale tree-planting programme.
The reclamation of wetlands which have been drained for agriculture is also increasing as part of Iceland's Climate Change Action Plan, and the EU Delegation also contributes to the wetland reclamation fund.
On Wednesday, September 25th, the Delegation organised a seminar together with the University of Iceland, which brought together young environmental activists, student leaders, young researchers and representatives of the Icelandic business community.
Following an opening speech from EU Ambassador Michael Mann on the EU's leading role in climate action, the participants looked at the role of young people in fighting climate change and looked at how the business community can do more to contribute to what is arguably the greatest challenge currently facing the world.
Finally, on a light-hearted note, the EU Delegation team showed its talents by winning the pub quiz organised to publicize the Reykjavik Climathon, featuring questions with a climate theme.
As in previous years, the Delegation is sponsoring the Reykjavik Climathon on 25-26 October, when young people come together for 24 hours to discuss the issues and take part in a competition to develop the best climate change-themed project.
Climate Diplomacy Weeks 2019
#EUBeachCleanup
欧洲国家和中亚
Climate, Environment & Energy
环境与气候变化
The European Union supports the counter-narcotics policy of Turkmenistan
#EUGreenDeal – for our future, for the future of our planet
The European Union marks its longstanding partnership and shared goals with the UN
其他相關連結
Youth in climate action as world marks peace dayA blue sky above the Belgian coast, blue EU and UN flags flying, and none other than the blue Smurfs in their homeland, a perfect setting for a gathering of around 2000 students on a mission to save the blue planet. This was just one of the first actions taking place in the margins of the
Launching of the Climate Diplomacy Week The EU Office in Kosovo/EUSR in cooperation with international and local organisations in Kosovo will organise the Climate Diplomacy Week (CDW) to examine Kosovo's main climate change challenges. In the 3 rd edition of the CDW in Kosovo a series of events: panel discussions, workshops, photo
EU to boost business climate in KazakhstanNUR-SULTAN, 25 September 2019 – In the framework of the EU funded Programme Central Asia Invest- Policy Component- implemented by the OECD, the first workshop on "Enhancing the Legal Environment for Business in Central Asia – focus on Kazakhstan" took place today in Nur-Sultan. The event was
When climate disasters strike, the EU is there to helpNatural and man-made disasters are intensifying worldwide due to climate change, which not only affects average temperatures, but also extreme ones. As a result, the number of weather-related natural disasters, such as cyclones, floods, droughts, and fires is now increasing.
台北市基隆路一段333號16樓1603室
快速網路訪問
A-Z 索引
法律注意事項
透明度和資料保護 | {
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Jordi Bosch i Garcia (El Masnou, 1972) és un enginyer de telecomunicacions per la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).
Executiu de General Electric fins al 2003, va formar part dels governs tripartits de la Generalitat de Catalunya primer com a director-gerent del Centre de Telecomunicacions i Tecnologies de la Informació, i després com a secretari de Telecomunicacions i Societat de la Informació. Actualment és responsable de l'àrea digital de l'empresa Mediapro. També ha emprès amb altres socis dos projectes empresarials a l'entorn de la internacionalització i dels continguts. A Jordi Bosch li va tocar viure de prop el reconeixement del domini .cat des del Govern. En el seu pas pel sector públic va influir i transformar la manera com l'administració catalana adquiria el serveis tecnològics.
Els governs tripartits van prioritzar que Internet, la TDT i la telefonia mòbil arribessin a la gran majoria de nuclis de població de Catalunya. "També vam fer arribar banda ampla als 1.700 polígons industrials de Catalunya que el 2006 en una majoria encara no disposaven d'aquest servei. El projecte estrella, però, va ser la iniciativa de Xarxa Oberta, que pretenia trencar la verticalització del sector de les telecomunicacions —segregant la infraestructura dels operadors de serveis— per tal de ser més eficients en les inversions per fer arribar la fibra òptica arreu del país i potenciant la competència. Una visió moderna, independent i de país, que amb el canvi polític es va veure en risc de desaparèixer tot i que finalment se n'ha salvat alguna cosa", afirma Bosch.
Referències
Masnovins
Enginyers de telecomunicacions catalans
Alumnes de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
Enginyers catalans | {
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AMSTERDAM — The owner and instructor of Tribe Fitness, Erin Jennings, is helpful in more ways than one.
Since Jennings opened the Tribe Fitness studio in August 2016, she has been a fitness instructor, has held fundraisers and ran in 5Ks for various causes.
"At least once a month I try to do a fundraiser or try to take part in a local race," Jennings said.
Members of Tribe Fitness also participate in these fundraisers and run in the 5K benefits.
Jennings said she really wants to get the fundraising out there to more than just members of the gym.
"I really want to get the community to come to the fundraisers, even if they aren't a member of the gym," Jennings said.
Some of the fundraisers and 5K runs Jennings and Tribe Fitness members have hosted or participated in include raising money for a family in Amsterdam who lost their home in a fire, collected toys and clothing for Holiday Families, a Thanks4giving 5K to benefit Dr. Tom Catena's work in Africa and the NYS Children's Foundation 5K. Catena is a Catholic missionary from Amsterdam who has been the only doctor permanently based in Sudan's Nuba Mountains, which has a population of more than half a million people.
Jennings and friends have also run the Silks and Satin 5K in Saratoga to benefit Special Olympics and Amsterdam's Cops and Joggers 5K.
Jennings has done a couple ovarian cancer events as well. She held an ovarian cancer fundraiser, raising more than $1,000 and ran in the 16th annual Teal Ribbon Run to benefit ovarian cancer research.
Kelly Quist-Demars, a member of the Tribe Fitness Studio, is an ovarian cancer survivor. She's participted in many of the ovarian cancer fundraisers and 5K runs to raise awareness of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. She said ovarian cancer symptoms are similar to symptoms of a women's menstral cycle or stomach problems, so a lot of women go undiagnosed.
"To bring ovarian cancer awareness to the forefront is really important to me," Quist-Demars said.
Jennings just hosted a Zumbathon with fitness instructor Sandy Torres Rodriguez on Saturday to collect supplies to send to Puerto Rico.
Jennings said they asked for cash donations, or participants could donate items like batteries, flashlights, mosquito repellent, baby wipes, hand sanitizer and other items.
There will also be a garage sale on Friday and Saturday at Tribe Fitness from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to benefit breast cancer research and awareness.
Jennings and members will be selling clothing, sneakers, baby stuff and more. All proceeds will go to local breast cancer research and awareness.
Next month, there will be a Glow Party Workout on Nov. 17 to collect for Toys for Tots.
To enter, participants must bring one unwrapped toy to donate.
Jennings said she would like to fill as many boxes of toys as she can.
Jennings offers a large variety of classes at the Tribe Fitness studio.
"She makes fitness fun, not a chore," said Laura Szczepanik, a Tribe Fitness member.
Members of the Tribe Fitness studio had only positive words to say about the gym and Jennings. | {
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Posted on March 9, 2005 in computing (tagged: badc, blogging).
Previous Post: «Meteorological RSS Feeds» .
Next Post «Your website really does need to be current» .
and gives ten reasons why blogging is a good idea.
Whilst the Defamation Act 1996 appeared to significantly limit the liability of universities and colleges acting as ISPs for the publication of potentially libellous statements by staff and students on their websites, a recent court case makes it clear that such institutions are obliged to take some steps to monitor information content in order to get that liability protection for such acts, and that, once they are apprised of third party defamatory content on their servers, they must take all reasonable steps to remove or deny access to it. Failure to do so will, under the current law, open them to liability.
All this means that before we roll out blogging as a service for NCAS (which we are considering), we'll need some sort of clear guidance (i.e. a policy), and some mechanism of ensuring that we can shut down anything defamatory. While shutting down wont be a problem, monitoring it in a meaningful manner might be. | {
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Lound has a number of natural attractions in and around its immediate area.
This spectacular wetland site covers an area of 450 hectares following the River Idle northwards. The size of 600 football pitches, it is one of the largest sites for nature conservation in the East Midlands.The acquisition of the site is supported by a grant from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. | {
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Volkswagen has premiered its future mobile quick charging station which can be set up independently of a power supply, wherever it is needed in a city.
The automaker will roll-out a pilot project in the German city of Wolfsburg where its headquarters are located as early as the first half of 2019. As of 2020, the charging station will also be implemented in other cities and communities.
Volkswagen explains that the mobile charging station works according to the principle of a power bank – which is familiar to many people with smartphones – but for electric vehicles instead. The charging capacity of up to 360 kWh enables up to 15 e-vehicles, including members of Volkswagen's new ID. Family, to be charged in stand-alone operation.
It claims the technology means the charging process only takes 17 minutes on average. If the energy content of the integrated battery set is less than 20 per cent, the depleted charging station is simply exchanged for a charged one. If, however, it is permanently attached to the power supply with up to 30 kW via alternating current, the battery pack perpetually recharges itself.
"The mobile charging stations are a decisive step toward an efficient network of charging points," said Thomas Schmall, chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen Group Components. "They can be set up anywhere as required – with or without connection to the power supply. This flexibility enables a completely new approach for the rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure.
"This flexibility enables a completely new approach for the rapid expansion of the charging infrastructure"
The mobile charging stations can be set up at defined points, for example, spread out across a city. The flexible locations can be easily found via the Internet or apps. Each charging station enables DC quick charging with up to 100 kW. In addition to electric cars, e-bikes can also be charged.
There is also the possibility of connecting to the power supply directly, allowing the station to be charged with up to 30 kW via alternating current by means of a permanent standard grid connection.
Mark Möller, head of technical development at Volkswagen Group Components, pointed out that the stations offer a further crucial advantage. "It is only when an electric car is charged with sustainably generated power that it can claim CO2-neutral mobility. Our charging station is the first to offer the possibility of temporarily storing sustainably generated power," he said.
For example, the charging station can be charged specifically with solar or wind energy, which is then transmitted to the electric vehicles during charging. | {
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* Above airfares are subject to availability and may change.
From India to the world, from world to India or even from one place to another in India - there are many routes, many roads to be traveled. One of the busiest routes is the Mumbai to Bangkok. The easiest way to get to Bangkok to Mumbai or Mumbai to Bangkok is via flights Free. There are many airlines did offers cheap international flight booking between Mumbai and Bangkok. The schedule of flights Free operating on the route between Mumbai and Bangkok helps you in booking the best possibleness date for your journey. Booking cheap flight tickets between Mumbai and Bangkok has never been Easier than it is now with great offers from MakeMyTrip.
The commercial and entertainment capital of India, Mumbai, a cosmopolitan metropolis, formerly known as Bombay, is the capital city of Maharashtra. It is one of the most Populated city in India and the fourth most populous city in the world. It lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbor. Seven islands Constitute and Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. The city is symbolized with the presence of Bollywood, the center of Film and TV Industries Which has its viewers all around the globe. So it is a place for India's largest slum population. The city has been Considered as a true melting pot of culture Because of the immigrants from the rest of the India. The city is quite liberal in comparison with the rest of the country. It is the financial and commercial capital of the country and serves as on economic hub of India. Most of the large Businesses have corporate offices in this city. Public transportation includes suburban railways in Mumbai, BEST buses, yellow-black taxis, auto rickshaws and ferries. There are a lot of places to visit in Mumbai: such as the famous Marine Drive and the area is a home to many big organizational. The famous Taj Mahal hotel is located opposite to the Gateway of India. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya formerly known as Prince of Wales Museum and the National Gallery of Modern Art are some of the most famous museums and art galleries in India located in this cosmopolitan city. Chowpathy Girgaon in South Mumbai, Juhu beach in the western suburbs, and Aksa beach in Malad are some of the most popular beaches in the world and people from different parts come to visit and enjoy in this place. Mumbai is a place for shoppers Because of its wide street markets, the hustle of vendors and the madness of crowds. Chor bazaar, Fashion Street, Colaba Causeway, Zaveri Bazar are some of the markets very popular among shoppers. Haji Ali Dargah, Siddhivinayak temple, Iskcon temple are some of the religious places are visited did. The dining experience is more or less the same as anywhere else in the world. Since Mumbai is the most liberal city in the Entire India, you will find pubs and restaurants at every corner of the city. Easily you can visit this place by booking of flight tickets or train of through MakeMyTrip.com. The website offers you a host of facilities: such as hotel deals, flight deals and holiday packages. Thus the website offers you the best of hotels to make your travel trouble-free.
Look at this, our guys are going already...where's the clean water going to come from if not our battleships...90,000 gallons per day...you don't re-hab a country overnight...this has been what two weeks?
US soldiers make a chain to load relief go...hat still overshadows the aid effort here, our correspondent says.
On Friday, Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla said his government wanted a lasting truce with rebels in Aceh. Both sides had already undertaken to observe a ceasefire following the Asian tsunami, but Mr Kalla said he wanted it made permanent.
Rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (Gam) have not responded to the offer. | {
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Zoku's double-wall suspended Glass Core Bottle is the perfect balance of health, style, and durability. Fill them with your favorite hot or cold beverages and enjoy the flavors in their crispest form—fresh from this pure borosilicate glass bottle. Glass, thread-free mouthpiece will not hold flavors—freeing you to switch between beverages. The strong, triangular tessellation found on the silicone pads protects the bottle from bumps and drops. Take your bottle everywhere without the worry of spilling it! 1/4-turn locking cap system is leak-proof and worry free!
Protect the flavor of your beverage in a pure borosilicate glass bottle without the worry of shattering it.
The strong, triangular tessellation found on the silicone pads protect the bottle from bumps and drops.
Glass, thread-free mouthpiece will not hold flavors—freeing you to switch between beverages.
Take your bottle everywhere without the worry of spilling it! 1/4-turn locking cap system is leak-proof and worry free.
Textured fitness cord is easy to remove from the cap to clean and is comfortable to carry.
Available in the Active and the Everyday Range and in either 355mls & 475mls. | {
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This is a placeholder page for Troy Arnor, which means this person is not currently on this site. We do suggest using the tools below to find Troy Arnor.
You are visiting the placeholder page for Troy Arnor. This page is here because someone used our placeholder utility to look for Troy Arnor. We created this page automatically in hopes Troy Arnor would find it. If you are not Troy Arnor, but are an alumni of Norman Thomas High School, register on this site for free now. | {
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A blackberry phone can go bad for many reasons, either because of the software, panel issue etc.. But the worst of it is when you have a panel problem which means that it will require an expertise to check it.
So in this tutorial i will guide you on a very simple way you can revive your blackberry.
How will i know if my blackberry is dead?
Well i am using "dead" in this case because it means your blackberry is totally out of use. so when your blackberry phone doesn't boot, when your blackberry gets stucked at the blackberry loading page, or when the phone only blink the red led and stop then that's a sign that its dead.
So how can i get my blackberry to work again?
Chill, that the essence of this article.
Note: When fixing a dead blackberry phone, you cant make a backup of your data because the phone can not be accessed, so after reviving it, all your stuffs will be lost and the phone will come out clean like its new.
Step #1: First of all, what you need is your computer, This time make sure your blackberry is NOT connected to your computer.
Step #3: Locate and Open the App Loader application. You need to locate this manually after installation. Open your file browser, go to your C Drive (operating system drive) and navigate your way through the folders to Program Files > Common Files >Research In Motion > AppLoader.
Once you are in the AppLoader directory, double click on the Loader application shortcut. Once Loader opens, you can click Next and then proceed to Step #4.
Step #4: Now you need to connect the BlackBerry to the Computer via USB cable.
Step #5: So here comes with a little trick. Unlike if you are working with a working phone which you just want to upgrade or reload the OS, the connection box, like we have above will show the com port, Like COM1, but because we are using a blackberry phone that is dead you will get USB-PIN:UNKNOWN like you have it below.
So once you see this, click Next immediately. Doing this will enable us get hold of the blackberry and stop it from rebooting, then you will be able to reload the Operating System.
Note: The USB-PIN:UNKNOWN option will display for a few seconds so you have to be fast.
If you love this article… please do share with your friends on your favorite social networks. | {
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How This Dermatologist Mastered the Art of Subtle Anti-Aging
By Angelique Serrano
Jun 12, 2017 @ 9:00 am
Jon Gurinsky
"Botox came out during my first year as a doctor, and everyone was terrified of it," says David Colbert, who did what any ambitious young dermatologist would do: He injected it into his own face. Through practice, he developed methods that delivered a natural look.
Today the Iowa-born physician still operates with equal amounts of curiosity and restraint. He's now famed for his amazing facials and has fans like Naomi Watts and Robin Wright.
Getty (4)
To create his latest high-tech facial, Dr. Colbert combined multiple technologies. "I thought if I do microdermabrasion first, it'll make the lasers penetrate better. And then I can do a peel and a dose of LED." The resulting Runway Facial can immediately produce a smoother, tighter, more lifted look for the face—and beyond. Débuting it before the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, he popped cheekbones, toned muscles, and got models glowing. "Lily Aldridge just loved it."
Courtesy David Colbert
Dr. Colbert may never have pursued the skin sciences if an injury hadn't sidelined his dance dreams. "I'd ended up in New York because I was studying with the Joffrey Ballet School," he says. One broken foot later, he applied to med school and got into dermatology. The less-is-more approach has helped his New York Dermatology Group (he's celebrating 20 years on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and plans to expand with a wellness center this year) earn a cult following. "When we opened, most doctors were doing the same thing, so everybody looked the same. I was saying, 'Wait! You don't need that much Botox. You don't have to look like you have a tire in your mouth.' " Rather, Dr. Colbert uses "little drops of Botox" to help preserve not only the youth but also the individuality of his patients.
And while SPF and "a great face oil with antioxidants" are daily defenders, Dr. Colbert embraces the benefits of needles and lasers as well. "Botox instantly removes about five to seven years," he says. "And one thing everyone can benefit from is laser toning, like Fraxel, to improve skin quality." Also, a little eye cream never hurts. | {
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Oh my. What a beautiful shower was had this past weekend for little Anderson. He is one loved little boy and I am so thankful for the generous and lovely friends that were there and those who threw this party.
I keep thinking about the food, which I'm sure they'd be happy to hear. The petit fours were incredible. I'd chose one of those over a cupcake any day. Also the cookie favors not only looked adorable but were super tasty as well. Kara made my favorite brownies and MaryZ made awesome lemon bars.
All the little touches were so cute and he got some adorable outfits both new and old. Benjamin's Mom brought a box of baby clothes that were his, including his coming home outfit. Too precious. I have now decided we'll be needing a cute hanger to showcase his clothes which are too cute to put away in drawers.
He also got lots of airplane themed things, one outfit which was purchased by a friend before we even knew if it was a boy or girl. She said she knew, and with 4 kids under her belt I pretty much believed her.
One of the most comical parts of the shower was opening my Mom's gift. She decided with Benjamin's Mom there is would be a good time to talk about who was going to be a better grandma. The jokes were flying and Mamma T had wrapped all of Anderson's presents so adorably. Then came my Mom's present- wrapped in black floral wrapping paper. Too funny. She says since the present was for me she didn't have to wrap it in baby paper. The present was for me- a nice new blue robe and such that'll come in handy for the hospital!
Thank you so much to all who were there, all who planned it, and those praying for our baby Anderson!
What a great idea to tell people the name of your baby before he's born - I love how that made the shower so much more personalized! Congratulations to you! | {
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Fairfield High School introduces World Canteen!
24/03/2019 · by bristolmum · in education, Fairfield High School. ·
Fairfield High School (FHS) is proud of its canteen; so much so that it has recently invested much time and effort into renaming/rebranding the space – to 'World Canteen' – to reflect the different cultures and ethnicities which represent 'Team Fairfield'; this is also reflected in the variety of food on offer, created as healthily as possible.
Magic Breakfasts
FHS doesn't just focus on breaks and lunches; it is delighted to announce that it has joined the government's National School Breakfast Programme (NSBP), which is being delivered by the charities Family Action and Magic Breakfast.
This enables Fairfield to offer hundreds of staff and students a FREE healthy school breakfast (bagels and cereals), so that students are settled and ready to learn at the start of the school day.
It doesn't stop there! FHS is mindful of the environment and strives to minimalise plastic in its canteen, along with its drive to use locally sourced food. Fairfield is proud of these efforts and will continue to seek ways in which to source products to reduce environmental impact. Here are some of the school's efforts:
Its salad, fruit and cheese pots are all made from Vegware – plant based disposables made from renewable, lower carbon or recycled materials, and all can be composted with food waste where accepted.
Where possible FHS tries to support farmers using locally sourced food
Its eggs are free range and RSPCA Assured
All its fish is MSC Certified
Its milk is from Welsh cows, produced and bottled in Wales
Hygiene Rating
Finally, following an unannounced food inspection, Fairfield is delighted to announce it received a rating of 5, the highest possible.
Nick Lewis, Principal at FHS explains:
"This re-branding exercise has come just at the right time, with so many fantastic things happening in our Canteen. The students were astonished to come in on a dreary Monday morning to find new branding, new wood-effect panelling and new tables/benches. It's certainly turned their dining experience around! The next student-led design project is an outside pod to serve sandwiches, snacks and salads, so we look forward to revealing this creativity soon."
For those that haven't visited yet, they're very welcome. There are plenty of opportunities at forthcoming events, including our School Production & Summer Gala… please visit www.fairfield.bristol.sch.uk regularly for updates.
← The Outdoors Project Easter Holiday Club in St Andrews Park
St Bonaventure's Early Years Pre-School, Bishopston: A Parent's Review → | {
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Discover the hidden stories of All Saints Church on a FREE guided tour!
All Saints has been at the heart of Kingston history for over 1000 years. Learn about the Saxon coronations, the medieval church, Kingston life in the Victorian period and more. | {
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AskMen Selects: Peloton Tread
© Peloton
We Took the Peloton Tread for a Test Run - Here's What We Found
Mackenzie Shand
Often referred to as the "Netflix of fitness," Peloton has taken the home exercise world by storm over the past few years with its top-rated home exercise bike. While boasting a lofty price tag, the Peloton bike quickly became a beloved piece of home gym equipment for fitness enthusiasts and casual exercisers alike, thanks to its wide array of integrative features and class offerings. Now, with the release of the Peloton Tread, the company aims to captivate the hearts of runners, too – literally and figuratively.
RELATED: 10 Ways Running Improves Your Life
Like its predecessor, the Tread goes above and beyond the standard piece of exercise equipment, with thousands of motivational live workout videos and on-demand classes featured within its HD Touch Display. And like its predecessor, it doesn't come cheap.
So to ensure you invest wisely in this premium treadmill, we decided to take it for a test run – see what we did there? Here's what we found.
Peloton Tread
From $4295 at onepeloton.com
First things first: The Peloton Tread is not a compact piece of equipment. The frame measures 6' x 3' x 6' (HWD) and it weighs in at about 455 pounds. The Peloton team is helpful when it comes to set-up, sticking around to cover any additional questions you may have but you'll need to make sure your home has a decent amount of space before ordering the Tread – and keep proximity to your WiFi router in mind, too.
Apart from its grand structure, the Tread looks quite similar to a standard treadmill. The upper design is sleek and user-friendly, with the right handlebar featuring speed controls, the left featuring incline and the middle featuring power, stop and sleep buttons. Where the Tread truly stands out – appearance wise – is in its dynamic screen. The 32-inch touch display is vibrant and bright and features a built-in camera so you can connect with friends participating in the same workouts. In terms of sound offerings, the Tread has a high capacity soundbar in addition to a headphone jack and USB port.
When it comes to setting up the Tread, the process is easy and intuitive. After pressing the power button and tapping your profile you will see a number of tabs:
1. Featured: Most popular classes
2. Classes: On-demand classes based on workout types (ie. cycling, running, yoga etc)
3. Schedule: Upcoming live classes
4. Programs: Peloton specific programs such as total body strength or run to 5K
5. Challenges: Join challenges with other Peloton users and compare progress
6. More: Account info, subscription preferences, and more details about Peloton merchandise and instructors
You can search for classes based on a number of things including music, instructor, difficulty and time. There are at least eight live workout classes per day but you can select an on-demand class at any time.
While running, you can choose to see your metrics or not. The standard metrics include average pace, calorie burn count, speed, incline, distance and energy output, in addition to the time elapsed. And, for extra motivation, you can choose to see a leaderboard during classes, where participants rankings show up on the screen in real time.
The Peloton subscription includes access to all classes, but the runs without class input are just as enjoyable. Thanks to the advanced technology and vibrant screen you can immerse yourself on a beach or a Swiss mountainside at the push of the screen.
The Peloton Tread is a lot quieter than the typical treadmill and it feels great under the feet while walking or running. It is designed to be shock absorbent so users can have a low impact training experience.
RELATED: Best Workout Shoes
There are a few pricing options for the Tread, all include a $300 delivery and setup fee, and a come with a one-year warranty. 24-month financing is also available.
Basics Package: $4,295 (or $179 per month) the Tread alone
Essentials Package: $4,524 ($189 per month) one set of resistance bands, two pairs of free weights and an exercise mat
Works Package: $4,644 ($194 per month) includes a pair of custom JBL wireless earbuds and a glass water bottle in addition to the Essentials accessories
Family Package: $4,844 ($202 per month) one set of resistance bands, three pairs of free weights, an exercise mat, two pairs of wireless earbuds, two glass water bottles, and a chest strap heart rate monitor.
No matter what package you select, you will need to pay $39 per month for Peloton's subscription service to use the Tread (if you pay upfront, the first month is included in the cost). With that, you will get unlimited access to live and on-demand classes and the Peloton app.
You can also subscribe to the app for $19.49 per month and access on-demand classes on a regular treadmill.
What Stood Out: The Variety of Workouts and Music Integration
The class offerings and entertainment-like features of the Tread are what takes it above and beyond the standard treadmill. While I love to run outside, I personally get pretty bored running on a typical treadmill – as I'm sure many others do, too. But the Tread's dynamic set-up provides an entirely different experience. The way instructors integrate music into the classes to alter the difficulty and pace keeps you on your toes and helps you avoid checking the clock.
While you might think the Tread is strictly reserved for running/walking, Peloton offers a wide range of strength training classes, too. Yoga and strength training classes are available to follow on the screen from a mat or on the Tread at times, too.
The Verdict: Great Product at a High Price
The biggest drawback of the Peloton is, of course, its price. However, if you have the budget and the space, this piece is sure to help motivate you to keep up your workout routine. The variety of classes, settings and music options makes for an invigorating workout experience and the fact that you can do it at home without worrying about getting to the gym makes it even better.
For a more in-depth review of the Peloton — including a full list of pros, cons and specs — head over to PCMag.
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This ProForm Treadmill is Now More Than 50% Off (Plus Free Assembly)
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Bring the Gym to You with 68% off Home Workout Essentials | {
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Regional District hears strong opposition to proposed crematorium west of Smithers
Potential neighbours of the facility recognize need for crematory services, but don't like location
Deb Meissner
Proposed crematorium buildings on Henry Road as viewed from Highway 16. (Concept photo submitted)
Public opposition to a proposed crematorium to be located west of Smithers at Hwy 16 and Henry Road, was strong and voiced by numerous residents at a public hearing to rezone the land on which it is to be located.
More than 50 people attended the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) hearing held via Zoom Dec. 7, with approximately 20 people speaking, including Lane Perry, a lawyer for several of the immediate neighbours, who presented petitions, letters of opposition, that expressed concerns over the location.
Health issues, aesthetic concerns, and property value considerations were also cited as other reasons for the opposition.
In general, residents agreed there is a need for crematorium services in the Smithers area, the conflict is over the location.
Laurel Menzel, the proponent of the crematorium and would-be operator, and West-End Ventures Inc, (the owners of the property) have asked the RDBN for a text amendment to the M1A zoning, to include crematoria as a permitted use on the properties at 3844 Henry Road and 8150 Highway 16.
READ MORE: Crematorium proposed for Hwy 16 west of Smithers
The crematorium, if allowed, would be located at the 3844 Henry Road location, although the zoning would apply to both properties.
The largest concern expressed by the surrounding property owners was over emissions, possible smell, and noise during operation.
The fact that air quality is a concern in the Bulkley Valley, with frequent inversions that are often accompanied by health advisories, was highest on the list of concerns expressed at the hearing, and residents remain unconvinced that air emissions and smoke from the facility will not occur.
Mezel presented data on the Pyrox X1000 and Pet-400 she would be operating for human and pet cremations, along with information on Crematory Technical Checklist and a letter from Vancouver Coastal Health regarding air emissions and crematoria, in the Gibsons, B.C. areato counter the emissions argument.
She also presented, at the end of the meeting, (although not part of the written submitted package for residents to consider), letters of support for her proposal and the need for crematory services in the Bulkley Valley.
Currently, families have to access cremation services for their loved ones in either Terrace or Vanderhoof, which is costly and can be dangerous travelling in the winter months.
Crematoriums in B.C. are regulated by the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority and are subject to the regulations in the Cremation, Interment, and Funeral Services Regulation.
These regulations ensure local government approval of the land use and require the operation of the cremation equipment according to manufacturers' specifications, and other technical requirements.
There is a general requirement under the Environmental Management Act (Section 6(4)), that applies to crematoriums, that a person must not introduce waste into the environment in such a manner or quantity as to cause pollution. However, emissions from crematoriums are not monitored by any provincial government agency and there are no specific emissions standards for crematoriums.
The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority says that local governments can set their own emissions standards, however, it is unclear under what authority this could be achieved by the RDBN.
In comments made by the RDBN Planning Department in a report to the board, it states:
"Staff's research has indicated that a properly operated crematorium may have little impact on the surrounding community. However, should the incineration equipment not operate properly, there could be times where emissions are visible. In this case, staff cannot ensure the Board that there would be any meaningful action the RDBN could take to ensure the facility operated properly. Enforcement would be up to the Provincial Government."
Menzel previously went through the process with the Town of Smithers to find a suitable location to rezone for a crematorium and ultimately withdrew her application after many months that were fraught with procedural problems, clerical errors, and resistance on Councils' behalf to change zoning overall when a parcel of land had not been purchased.
READ MORE: Procedural problems and clerical errors lead to crematorium application withdrawal
"It is an unusual situation," Mayor Gladys Atrill said at the time.
"Normally an applicant would purchase property and then come to council looking to rezone that parcel of land, in this case, the applicant is asking the council to rezone properties and then purchase one. It is a bit uncomfortable procedurally, but we were trying to work with the applicant, as council recognizes the need for a service of this kind in our area."
The RDBN will make a decision on the application at the Dec. 16 full board meeting.
[email protected]
Six more deaths Wednesday, 379 cases of COVID-19 in B.C.
Driver cuffed during Safe Driving Week in Prince Rupert | {
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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
Notes from the Field: Large Measles Outbreak in Orthodox Jewish Communities — Jerusalem District, Israel, 2018–2019
Weekly / May 8, 2020 / 69(18);562–563
Chen Stein-Zamir, MD, PhD1,2; Nitza Abramson, MD1; Hanna Shoob, MPH1 (View author affiliations)
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During March 2018–May 2019, an outbreak of 4,115 measles cases occurred in Israel, following international importations, mainly from Ukraine. Approximately one half of the cases (2,202) occurred in residents of Jerusalem District, primarily in unvaccinated children in orthodox Jewish communities. The district's population (1.25 million, approximately 14% of the national population) is 70% Jewish, approximately one third of whom are orthodox Jews. Children in those orthodox communities have lower rates of routine vaccination coverage; for measles vaccine, first dose coverge is 78.4%, compared with 90.1% among children in all other communities. Measles outbreak control in communities with long-standing inadequate vaccination coverage is challenging (1). Urgent response measures led to containment of this outbreak; however, sustaining vaccination coverage will require targeted interventions and resources.
The measles outbreak emerged in March 2018 in Israel's Central and Northern districts. The first two cases in Jerusalem were in a student aged 20 years at a religious boarding school and a child aged 2 years. Both were unvaccinated and came to Jerusalem in August 2018 from measles-affected communities in the Northern district. Contacts included 300 of the student's school contacts and 40 of the child's relatives and neighbors. The outbreak quickly spread through the densely populated, low-income orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem District, where families have an average of seven children, and households might include 12–15 persons. Transmission intensified during the September–October Jewish high-holiday season, with 1,029 cases reported by October 31, 2018.
Overall, 2,202 cases were reported in Jerusalem District during August 2018–May 2019 (reported incidence = 176 per 100,000 population). Cases were confirmed by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction testing or detection of measles-specific immunoglobulin M in 708 (32%) patients and by epidemiologic linkage in 1,494 (68%). Approximately 8% of patients (176) were hospitalized (2). Two deaths occurred, one in an unvaccinated child aged 18 months, and the second in an immunocompromised adult, aged 82 years. Most cases (1,660, 75%) occurred in children aged <15 years. The highest reported incidence (1,174 per 100,000 population) occurred in infants aged <1 year, who accounted for 412 (19%) cases. Israel's immunization schedule includes 2 measles-containing vaccine* doses at age 12 months and 6 years. Among 1,248 children with measles aged 1–14 years, 1,104 (88.4%) were unvaccinated; 128 (10.3%) and 16 (1.3%) had received 1 and 2 doses, respectively (Figure).
Jerusalem District Health Office teams conducted case finding and confirmation and contact tracing and distributed updates to health care providers. Measles patients and their parents were instructed to self-isolate; however, epidemiologic investigations revealed inadequate adherence. Infectious patients participated in crowded social events, attended child-care facilities, and used public transportation. Because of the large number of close contacts, tracing proved challenging. Outbreak response measures involved providing postexposure prophylaxis† and conducting measles mass vaccination campaigns in the affected neighborhoods, targeting children and adolescents aged 1–14 years. The vaccination campaigns took place during September–December 2018 in outbreak neighborhoods in maternal-child preventive health services clinics (operated in 12-hour working shifts, in all clinics daily, exclusively for vaccinations), school health services, and a mobile vaccination unit. Culturally adapted approaches included dissemination of messages and outreach activities using telephone calls, community visits, and wall posters, and conveying information and guidance through word of mouth.
The emergence of a large number of measles cases and the very high incidence among young children in the orthodox communities engendered parental and societal anxiety and concern. Rabbinic leaders supported the vaccination campaign by issuing positive written statements, resulting in high levels of acceptance and compliance with control activities at the peak of the epidemic. Following the campaign, first-dose measles vaccination coverage in all maternal-child health clinics in orthodox neighborhoods increased from 76.3% in June 2018 to 96.1% in November. Since December 2018, the number of cases has decreased considerably. During October–December 2018, Jerusalem District accounted for 66% (1,652 of 2,486) of all measles cases in Israel; that percentage declined to 25% (248 of 969) during January–April 2019. As measles outbreaks continue to spread globally (3), achieving high, sustainable 2-dose coverage with measles-containing vaccine among age-eligible persons is essential to protect vulnerable groups, including infants too young for vaccination.
Corresponding author: Chen Stein-Zamir; [email protected], [email protected]; +972-2-5314800/2.
1Jerusalem District Health Office, Ministry of Health, Israel; 2Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah Braun School of Public and Community Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel.
All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
* The vaccines used are measles-mumps-rubella-varicella for children aged 12 months–12 years and measles-mumps-rubella vaccine for all other age groups.
† Postexposure prophylaxis with measles vaccine was recommended for infants aged 6–8 months if it could be administered within 72 hours of exposure; otherwise, these infants were recommended to receive immune globulin until 6 days postexposure. Exposed persons aged ≥9 months were offered measles vaccine until 6 days following exposure. Immune globulin (within 6 days of exposure) was recommended for persons at high risk for measles complications, including infants aged <6 months, persons who were immunocompromised, and pregnant women.
Stein-Zamir C, Israeli A. Timeliness and completeness of routine childhood vaccinations in young children residing in a district with recurrent vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, Jerusalem, Israel. Euro Surveill 2019;24. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
Ben-Chetrit E, Oster Y, Jarjou'i A, et al. Measles-related hospitalizations and associated complications in Jerusalem, 2018–2019. Clin Microbiol Infect 2019. Epub September 6, 2019. CrossRefexternal icon PubMedexternal icon
World Health Organization. New measles surveillance data from WHO. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2019. https://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/new-measles-data-august-2019/en/external icon
FIGURE. Age distribution of measles cases in persons aged <15 years (N = 1,660), by number of doses of measles vaccine received and age-specific measles incidence* — Jerusalem District, Israel, August 2018–May 5, 2019
* Cases per 100,000 population.
Suggested citation for this article: Stein-Zamir C, Abramson N, Shoob H. Notes from the Field: Large Measles Outbreak in Orthodox Jewish Communities — Jerusalem District, Israel, 2018–2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:562–563. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6918a3external icon.
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Meager Sierra snowpack is way below average
Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources, left, walks over bare ground on the way to measuring the snowpack near Echo Summit in the Sierra Nevada. Statewide, the snowpack is just 20% of average for this time of year.
(Steve Yeater / Associated Press)
By Bettina Boxall
Jan. 3, 2014 4:51 PM PT
The signs aren't good when the chief of California's snow survey has to walk over bare ground to take a snowpack measurement in the Sierra Nevada, as Frank Gehrke did Friday near Echo Summit.
Manual and electronic readings up and down the range placed the statewide snowpack at 20% of normal for this date, adding to worries that 2014 could be a bad drought year.
The meager snowpack was not a surprise. Last year was California's driest in 119 years of records, according to the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno.
Los Angeles and other cities around the state recorded their lowest precipitation amounts for a calendar year. The levels of key reservoirs have been dropping when they should be rising with winter rains.
Gov. Jerry Brown has yet to declare a drought emergency. But last month the state Department of Water Resources formed a drought management team.
"While we hope conditions improve, we are fully mobilized to streamline water transfers and take every action possible to ease the effects of dry weather on farms, homes and businesses as we face a possible third consecutive dry year," department director Mark Cowin said in a statement. "Every Californian can help by making water conservation a daily habit."
Storage in Lake Shasta and Lake Oroville, the two largest reservoirs in the state, is 57% of average for the date. Several other major reservoirs are in better shape, largely due to supplies left over from December 2012, when storms drenched many parts of California.
Thanks to that month, statewide precipitation in the 2013 water year, which ended Sept. 30, was 73% of average -- the 29th driest on record, according to the regional climate center.
If this winter stays dry, the hardest-hit will likely be farmers in some parts of the San Joaquin Valley and rural communities that depend on wells.
In Southern California, regional water managers say they have enough supplies in reserve to maintain deliveries for the next two years and do not expect to ration sales.
Storage in Pyramid and Castaic lakes, the two state reservoirs that the Southland draws directly from, is slightly above average for the date.
Diamond Valley Lake in Riverside County, where the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California stores imported supplies, is nearly three-quarters full.
The snowpack, which is a measurement of the snow's water content, not its depth, was the lowest in the northern mountains, at 11% of average for the date. It was the highest in the southern Sierra, at 30% of the norm.
The statewide snowpack figure of 20% tied with 2012 as the driest early January reading in 25 years of records.
Twitter: @boxall
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Bettina Boxall
Bettina Boxall covered water and the environment for the Los Angeles Times before retiring in 2021 after 34 years at the paper. She shared the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting with colleague Julie Cart for their five-part series on the causes and effects of escalating wildfire in the West.
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Omicron causing less severe illness in Southern California patients, study suggests | {
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Trace: • genecar
en:aplicaciones:genecar
Genecar
Cobra Soft
White plastic case
Mallard Basic
Character Generator
The PCW was not a computer designed for graphics because of the unwarranted shortcomings of its Basic. The French software company COBRA SOFT released, before anyone else, a program to redefine characters as you wish and use them in your own programs.
Genecar, is a character generator that can assign a maximum of 255 characters. Remember that the Amstrad has a standard character set from power up and these can be changed.
In general, it is more comfortable to use a redefinition program than to enter a series of numbers corresponding to the Gothic alphabet, the creation of which will take several weeks of hard work! This type of program should be clear and easy to use.
Genecar starts with a menu along with a full table of 255 available characters. The first option, load a character, invites you to choose the symbol you want to work on. After pressing COPY, you are presented with an enlarged 8 by 8 matrix. The cursor arrows are used to scroll through the matrix, while the COPY key "turns" a point "on" or "off". It is even possible to move the contents of the entire array in any of the four directions. Once your character is created, you can save it and move on.
When you are satisfied with the result, save your work as a .CAR file. This file can be used in any BASIC program.
Genecar ships with three character sets, GRAS.CAR, FIN.CAR and STAMDARD.CAR, the latter being the standard PCW set.
GENECAR was used to create the graphics for COBRA SOFT PCW games in particular AMSTRA-DAMES, CHALLENGER and MISSION DETECTOR.
Original discs supplied with Genecar.
Custom labels to print. Over the years due to their use, the labels are damaged and lose their color and quality. Now we try to adapt the most similar to the extent of our possibilities, the labels so that they can be printed and replaced or for those of you who work with a copy of the program and preserve the original disc. Measurement in 3" height: 7.00 cm - width: 7.10 cm. The first image corresponds to the original game label, the second is the same modified label to replace the broken one.
The disk images, obtained from the original version of Genecar, have been recorded and verified.
Genecar (Compressed .DSK file in ZIP format)
Below you can download the Genecar program manual or view it online. The Genecar manual comes on side A: of the disc in "DOC" format and on side B: likewise. To better facilitate the consultation of the manual, we have converted it to pdf.
Genecar Manual in French (PDF File)
Genecar Manual in Spanish, translated by PCWWiki (PDF File)
en/aplicaciones/genecar.txt · Last modified: 2022/06/21 09:33 by jevicac | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
xCrisalida replied to Whichs are your 5 favourite transmogs so far?
xCrisalida started a topic Whichs are your 5 favourite transmogs so far?
Whichs are your 5 favourite transmogs so far?
Ok, I'm not gonna lie you guys, this post is made just by pure curiosity feel free to ignore if you want to.
Last edited by xCrisalida; 04-16-2019, 10:11 AM. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
Hi! I'm new here. My name is Flamzeron. I'm a big Fate/Stay night fan. I started watching it during middle school when I was getting into anime more seriously (as in, not Toonami.) I've recently gotten into visual novels, thanks to Fate/Stay Night. The first one I played happen to be mirror moon's Fate/Stay Night translation. Since then, I've moved onto the Sono Hanabira series, but I hope to play more in the future.
My favorite video game series of all time is the Tales series. My favorite is Tales of Eternia. I've been collecting the games and any merchandise I can find for a good several years now. I have almost all of them.
For anime, my favorite is DragonBall, but Saint Seiya is a close second. I've watched all of DB (including DBZ, GT, and Kai.) I'm looking forward to Battle of Gods. I've only seen 60 of the original Saint Seiya but I've played two of the games and I have seen Lost Canvas and I'm currently up to date on Omega. I'm really enjoying it.
As you can probably guess, I'm into collecting. I like to collect DVDs, games, comics, and action figures.
On the side, I voice act. I've been doing it for probably or 9 years I think. I'm not a professional, but I hope to do some in the future. Most of the time, people want me to voice act for their Sims machinima. Probably not the best line of work, but meh.
My passion is writing. I'm currently going into my 3rd year of college and I'm majoring in Creative Writing. I haven't published much, though I did upload a parody of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck on Google Drive so my friends could read it.
I've been helping with a translation of a game called Clock Tower: The First Fear on PS1. I would love to help out with any future projects if needed.
That's pretty much it. I looking forward to posting more and I hope we can all be friends. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
A Jamón and Sherry restaurant by Michelin-starred Chef Jason Atherton – tapas, aged Spanish hams and sherries and a hidden Back Bar with great cocktails.
The "Back Bar" at Ham & Sherry is something to discover with entry through a hidden door in the adjacent side alley. OPEN MONDAY-SATURDAY 6 PM TILL LATE! Moody and intimate, this bar serves great cocktails crafted by award-winning Bar Manager Ryan Nightingale, a menu of light bites is also available for nibbling over drinks…it's the perfect spot for pre or post dinner drinks. If you're dining at Ham & Sherry or waiting for a table at 22 Ships, just across the road.
It is designed by award-winning Neri&Hu and will blend into its hip Ship Street location in Wanchai with a contrast of the traditional Spanish Bodega and the urban modern bar.
Ham & Sherry is the creation of entrepreneur Yenn Wong, founder of the JIA group (which in Hong Kong includes the much-lauded 22 Ships, Aberdeen Street Social, Duddell's, 208 Duecento Otto, Chachawan, Mak Mak, Meen & Rice, Fish School and Rhoda), in collaboration with Michelin-starred British Chef Jason Atherton. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
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