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Students Earn Community Service Hours!
Youths fulfilling community service for school requirements are encouraged to participate in Weed Warrior projects and give their service time to the local community.
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I have installed mxnet via pip3 but I'm unable to use the package in test code and throwing core dump while import the mxnet package.
Secondly I have tried installing MXNet from Source. Successfully installed all dependency for mxnet .
Clone or fork the MXNet project.
To enable C++ package, just add USE_CPP_PACKAGE=1 when you run make or cmake (see examples).
But while excuting ninja -v command its throwing below.
Which flavor of mxnet did you install with pip3 ? mxnet-mkl ? Does your machine have a intel CPU ? If not, then it could be an error due to Intel MKLDNN.
Can you try installing on python 2 and let me know if you face the same issue?
For your build error, it seems to come from your opencv install. How did you install it?
I have installed mxnet-mkl with pip3.6 (python 3.6.7) .
Build OpenCV. The following commands build OpenCV with 10 threads. We disabled GPU support, which might significantly slow down an MXNet program running on a GPU processor. It also disables 1394 which might generate a warning. Then install it on /usr/local .
Added the lib path to your configuration such as ~/.bashrc .
pip uninstall mxnet-mkl -y && pip install mxnet ?
I tried to install mxnet-mkl on a aws m4.2xl, CPU is E5-2686, with RHEL 7.4, and I had no issues.
still we are facing same issue.
I have created RHEL instance in GCP and able to run mxnet without problem.
[stanley1feb@mxnet ~] cat /etc/redhat-release Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 7.6 (Maipo) [stanley1feb@mxnet ~] pythonPython 3.6.7 (default, Apr 10 2019, 16:47:33) [GCC 4.8.5 20150623 (Red Hat 4.8.5-36)] on linuxType "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information. |
better to know...?, energy and fields
Energy Access Outlook 2017
by International Energy Agency, June 22, 2018 in IEA
Energy access is the "golden thread" that weaves together economic growth, human development and environmental sustainability. The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, and the adoption of SDG 7.1 specifically – the goal to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy for all by 2030 – established a new level of political recognition for energy's central role in development.
Improvements in technologies are offering new opportunities for making significant progress on the SDG goal on electricity access. The combination of declining costs for solar and decentralised solutions, cheaper and more efficient lighting and appliances, and new business models making use of digital, mobile-enabled platforms has increased the number of available solutions to cater to those currently without electricity access. But many challenges remain, particularly for clean cooking.
better to know...?
New World Atlas of Desertification shows unprecedented pressure on planet's resources
by European Commission Joint Research Centre, June 21, 2018 in ScienceDaily
The main findings show that population growth and changes in our consumption patterns put unprecedented pressure on the planet's natural resources:
Over 75% of the Earth's land area is already degraded, and over 90% could become degraded by 2050.
Globally, a total area half of the size of the European Union (4.18 million km²) is degraded annually, with Africa and Asia being the most affected.
The economic cost of soil degradation for the EU is estimated to be in the order of tens of billions of euros annually.
Land degradation and climate change are estimated to lead to a reduction of global crop yields by about 10% by 2050. Most of this will occur in India, China and sub-Saharan Africa, where land degradation could halve crop production.
As a consequence of accelerated deforestation it will become more difficult to mitigate the effects of climate change
By 2050, up to 700 million people are estimated to have been displaced due to issues linked to scarce land resources. The figure could reach up to 10 billion by the end of this century. |
The Wachovia Middle sits in the middle of a Raichandaniconstructions.in whole lot of action, as very well as in a metropolis that is the fourth most populated city in the complete planet, and the largest city in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is also where the Declaration of Independence was signed. There is a lot of heritage and hustle and bustle in this substantial American town, which is no shock thinking about it has the sixth optimum population in the nation. Philadelphia and The Wachovia Heart need to the two be a great suit for Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler.
Enjoy the Caribbean delicacies as effectively. Taste some of the freshest fruit in the planet, sample dishes that are unique and but easy, and test a cocktail that you would not discover anywhere else. The meals on most Caribbean islands is clean, regional, and delightful. Numerous of the resorts offer you all-inclusive deals to honeymooners which suggests you can eat to your coronary heart's material without worrying about the damage you might do to your finances. There is no need to worry about additional calories, possibly. You can perform these off with the swimming, bike driving, and any other activity you might want to take part in.
The opening act was performed by the Pussycat Dolls who "were a best suit, shimmying about . to their dance-pop radio hits." He promises they nearly "stole the present" and "that's unhappy".
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Listen to the music- There are a lot of events from free of charge outdoor concert events, to stay exhibits to audio and artwork exhibitions. For a live performance calendar in the Orange County area, click on listed here. The Orange County fair, also has several, a lot of excellent musical functions, for the selling price www.Thesowetobulletin.co.za of an entrance ticket. There are also numerous bars and restaurants that have free of charge Live Music on numerous times. For the cost of a meal, you can also appreciate good musical enjoyment- at no further expense. Most evenings, Sol Grill cafe in Newport Beach front presents wonderful acoustical new music. You can get pleasure from their popular sangria and eclectic art on the partitions (also for sale) as you delight in fantastic established lists of special tunes.
But on the other hand, pupil plastics can trigger a great quantity of financial debt that could adhere to students even immediately after their graduation from college or university.
Let your reward show how much you care. A poetry reward body or even just a basic but meaningfully worded card can convey how important the retiree is in your daily life. |
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Cross Hatching, is a style that has been used in art making for many years by most civilisations. Its most common application in art making is in drawing where the artist wishes to 'fill' or shade a part of the artwork. Hatching is generally made by close parallel lines executed in drawing materials such as ink, pencil, charcoal, crayon, paint and the like, whereas Cross Hatching is what it sounds like; another hatching pattern crossing the first one.
In Australian Aboriginal Art, the fine technique of Cross Hatching (known as 'Rarrk') has taken on a more structured and stylised appearance, and can have significant meaning when it is used in an artwork. It is used largely by the artists of the Northern Territory, and particularly in Arnhem Land in their bark or other fine work paintings, some of which are very old.
One can marvel at how such fine and perfect line work can be achieved with somewhat basic tools, but the usual way Aboriginal artists achieve this finesse is to pull a few strands of long human hair, hold them together at one end, dip them deep in the paint and then use the length of paint coated hair as a brush. The hair length is carefully pulled in a straight line across the surface of the artwork. The hairs, already straight with the weight of the paint, take the least line of resistance and straighten out perfectly, producing a fine, straight line. The process is repeated at regular intervals and then when this is dry, the same is done in the other direction. Any overlap of paint from the area to be cross hatched can just be wiped off while it is wet as the work is in progress..
The Aboriginal artists believe that these overlaid patterns of colour and line contain the power associated with that particular painting or story subject, and this is easy to imagine given the awesome images this technique creates. |
A 5 mile 2 lap course for Veteran athletes only (35+ yrs). Next race takes place at 1pm on Sunday 30 December 2018.
Incorporating the WMAA 5 mile championships.
Closest Finish: December 2007: 1. Peter Coles (Pontypridd) 26:21; 2. Neil Hardee (Newport) 26:24; 3. Andrew Hussey (Cheltenham) 26:25; 4. Paul Griffiths (Neath) 26:28; 5. Lee Aherne (Club 69) 26:35. |
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Wing Luke Museum holds Lunar New Year fair to provide healing after mass shootings
Washington Park Arboretum's Ramp to Nowhere could become a monument
The Ramp to Nowhere may stay somewhere. That's if the Seattle City Council gets its way.
<p>Washington Park Arboretum's Ramp to Nowhere </p>
Author: Chris Daniels
Published: 10/17/2016 7:19:17 PM
Updated: 10:06 PM PDT October 17, 2016
SEATTLE – The Ramp to Nowhere may stay somewhere. That's if the Seattle City Council gets its way.
On Monday, the Council unanimously passed a resolution to ask the State Department of Transportation to preserve a pier and three pillars of the old freeway ramp in the Arboretum. The Council says it would like to study the feasibility of preservation, and potentially take ownership of the small span.
It has stood since the 1960s, when the ramps were built for the R.H. Thomsen Expressway, which was a freeway that was planned to go through the Arboretum and down what is now Martin Luther King Junior Way. Seattle residents objected and blocked construction crews. In 1972, voters killed the project, but the ramps remained.
The State is planning to tear them down to make room for the west approach of the new State Route 520 bridge.
Protesters blocked the R.H. Thomsen Expressway project in 1972. Photo: Courtesy.
Former councilmember Jean Godden, who was part the group which led the blockade back in the day, testified that the pillars and pier could stand as a "memorial for the people who fought so hard."
WSDOT's Steve Peer said nothing has been finalized, and "we need to get down in writing right now, probably by the end of this year, which way we're going to go."
He said there are issues with safety, and the fact that the ramp is "right in the middle of our construction zone, so we have to work around it, which we can do, but we need to know so we can write it into our next contract."
The council could finance the study in the current budget cycle. |
'Three-Nine Line' Is Suspenseful Thriller
Associated Press | By BRUCE DeSILVA
"The Three-Nine Line" (Permanent Press), by David Freed
David Freed's first three Cordell Logan thrillers chronicled the former combat pilot and government assassin's struggle to adjust to civilian life. But in "The Three-Nine Line," Logan returns to his comfort zone when he's recruited for a top-secret overseas assignment.
The White House had hoped that a goodwill visit to Hanoi by several former American prisoners of war would help cement a critical trade deal with Vietnam, but when an aging prison guard who had once tortured the Americans is stabbed to death, the visitors are arrested for the murder.
Logan's task: find a way to spirit the heavily guarded Americans away to safety, discover who actually committed the murder and do it all without compromising the delicate trade negotiations.
Freed, an experienced pilot and a military affairs expert with an active security clearance, is also in his comfort zone, giving the novel an air of authenticity. The book's title refers to the combat pilot's need to keep enemy aircraft in front of him — in the "three-nine line" between the tips of the wings of his airplane.
The novel is a suspenseful, well-written thriller with enough plot twists to keep both Logan and readers wondering what will happen next. Along the way, the story explores raw feelings that still exist among veterans on both sides of the Vietnam War and touches on a host of contemporary issues from spy satellites to human trafficking.
But what makes each Cordell Logan novel especially enjoyable is spending time with the protagonist, whom Freed allows to narrate his own story. Logan is affable, funny and introspective. Through four books now, he's still trying, and often failing, to apply the principles of Buddhism to a life that's in constant conflict with them. And, unlike many of today's action heroes, he is uncomfortable with the violence he is so capable of and does his best to avoid it.
Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, is the author of four crime novels including "A Scourge of Vipers."
http://david-freed.com/
http://brucedesilva.com/
This article was written by BRUCE DeSILVA from The Associated Press and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
© Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Ex-Army Ranger Nicholas Irving on Becoming 'The Reaper'
His new book is full of action, but it's has other stuff soldiers experience in combat, like embarrassment, confusion, and fe...
If you are veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange you may be eligible for free medical care and disability from the VA
US Immigration Policy Thwarted an Anne Frank Family Escape to America
Anne's father Otto tried twice to get his family the needed papers to go to the United States.
World War I: Top 10 Books
It was the Big One. The Great War. The War to End All Wars. Here's Military.com's picks for the top 10 books written about Wo...
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In 'Reaching for the Moon,' a NASA 'Computer,' Recounts Her Career
"You are no better than anyone else, and nobody else is better than you."
Military Historian John H. Morrow Wins $100,000 Pritzker Award
The Pritzker Military Museum & Library Literature Award for lifetime achievement is an honor previously bestowed to Rick Atki...
Air Force Pilot-Turned-Historian Chronicles Heroism of Medal of Honor Recipient |
"MEDUSA"
In Greek mythology, Medusa also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those who gazed into her eyes would turn to stone. Most sources describe her as the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, although the author Hyginus makes her the daughter of Gorgon and Ceto. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion. |
Gwyneth Paltrow, this year's "World's Most Beautiful Woman," hit the red carpet at the L.A. premiere of Iron Man 3 in a gown from Antonio Berardi's fall 2013 collection that will make you do a double take.
The gown featured hip-to-floor sheer panels running down the sides, causing just about everyone and their moms to wonder...WTF?
How does one even pull this one? What do you think of Gwyneth's latest getup? Are you into it, or do you think she's trying way too hard? Hit the comments and dish! |
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Simplex messages are transmitted via the Globalstar low-earth orbit satellite network, using an uplink-only connection (one-way data transmission).
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Globalstar Quick Locate Service can be accessed through the Internet using one of the two following Globalstar products. Both are battery-operated, wireless data devices that integrate the Globalstar Simplex Transmitter Unit. These units are ready-to-go out of the box and easy to install. Both have batteries with a 2 year life that can be easily replaced in the field. Power consumption estimates based 6 messages per day. Results may vary.
For full product features and advantages, download the Quick Locate Service brochure.
The above Globalstar Quick Locate Service only applies to the GMC and Axonn Simplex Transmitters. This service is not available for the satellite phone units. |
Ron Johnson Gets the Last Word When Biden Nominee Calls GOP Senator a 'White Supremacist' - Video
By Elizabeth Stauffer, The Western Journal February 10, 2022
Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's exchange at a Feb. 8 Senate confirmation hearing with Biden nominee Deborah Lipstadt was pure gold.
Lipstadt, a historian who has authored several books about the Holocaust, has been tapped to lead the State Department's Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. The Washington Post describes her as an "authority on antisemitism."
If confirmed, Lipstadt, 75, will serve in a diplomatic role, which is slightly ironic given the ease with which she insulted the senator from Wisconsin in a March 2021 tweet.
Speaking with radio host Joe Pagliarulo the previous day, Johnson said he had not been worried during the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion, but he would have been had the rioters been members of Black Lives Matter or antifa, according to Haaretz.
He told Pagliarulo: "I knew those were people who love this country, that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break the law, so I wasn't concerned."
"Now, had the tables been turned, and Joe — this is going to get me in trouble — had the tables been turned and President Trump won the election and tens of thousands of Black Lives Matter and antifa, I might have been a little concerned," the senator added.
Johnson came under vicious attack by the left following those remarks.
Attaching the Haaretz article, Lipstadt took to Twitter and wrote the following:
This is white supremacy/nationalism. Pure and simple. GOP Senator Johnson slammed as 'white nationalist sympathizer' after race remarks https://t.co/9vaBQsqK7J
— Deborah E. Lipstadt (@deborahlipstadt) March 14, 2021
Johnson began his exchange with Lipstadt by citing Biden's inaugural promise to "heal" the divisions in America and asked her if she thought he had been successful. She replied, "I think not. I think there are deep divisions."
He agreed. Next he told her about a hands-on program he had initiated with a Wisconsin pastor that has already transformed the lives of hundreds of people, the majority of them black.
"A way not to heal, I think, is what's happening on social media," Johnson said calmly. "It was interesting to hear [Senate Majority Leader] Sen. [Chuck] Schumer talk about the malicious poison … And it comes from across the political spectrum. We need to all condemn it.
"Let me ask you a question. If somebody came up to you privately, quietly and said, 'You're a racist. You're a white supremacist. You're a white nationalist.' By the way, I do not believe you are. I would never assume that because certainly growing up, when I was being taught the Commandment that says, 'Do not bear false witness,' my Lutheran catechism says, 'always put the best construction on things.' In other words, always assume the best about people."
"How would you feel if somebody just privately called you a racist?" he asked.
"First of all, I would say they're wrong. Second of all, I would disagree with them," Lipstadt responded. "And, as I said earlier, but I want to reiterate, that even in my critiques of people, I'm very careful never to ascribe to the person — ."
Johnson abruptly cuts her off and says, "I heard that. I thought that was interesting."
Do you think Lipstadt should be confirmed by the Senate?
No: 100% (25 Votes)
Then he goes for the jugular: "So you never criticize the person, but that's not true. What you just testified there is false. Because not only did you go on … First of all, you don't know me. You don't know a lot of the people that you have accused online in front of millions of people. You have engaged in the malicious poison. You've accused people you don't know of very vile things. Wouldn't you agree that probably calling somebody racist is just under murderer and rapist, calling somebody a racist? Isn't that about as serious and vile an accusation as you can hurl against somebody. Somebody you don't even know. You've never talked to me. You've never met me. You don't know what's in my heart, do you?"
She tells him she has no idea what's in his heart.
"So why would you go on social media and make those charges?" Johnson asks. "This position is supposed to be for a non-partisan. It seems like how you engage in malicious poison is purely partisan. You're hurling these charges against people that are generally of one political persuasion."
"Why did you go on social media and level these vile and horrible charges against people, including me, that you don't even know?
Lipstadt was clearly rattled and tried to deny it, but Johnson held up a copy of the tweet which shows precisely what she'd said.
He asked her if she felt bad about that.
"As I said earlier, it was not nuanced. I would not do diplomacy by tweet … I certainly did not mean it, and I'm sorry if it was taken — and I'm sorry if I made it in a way that it could be assumed to be a political — at the person personally."
"Listen, I appreciate your apology, and I'll accept your apology," the senator said. "But I think somebody that has had a 30-year professional career ought to know better, and when you're being nominated and considered for confirmation to a position of diplomacy representing these United States, I certainly cannot support your nomination. I hope my other colleagues won't either."
Johnson concluded, "You're just simply not qualified for it. I wish you the best in life, and I do accept your apology."
Talk about a TKO!
What a superb takedown of a liberal.
We're tired of hearing from Democrats that all Trump supporters are racists, white supremacists and domestic terrorists.
The left claims to be so enlightened, while they declare the right to be so vile and contemptible.
Democrats have played the race card so casually in today's world that it's begun to lose its power.
Americans, in large numbers, have begun to understand what's behind the liberals' incessant use of the race card. At its very essence, it's simply a tactic used for political gain. Denigrating Republicans as racists has increased their power.
But the tactic is becoming worn from overuse.
Leftists like Lipstadt put out their woke nonsense from behind the safety of their keyboards. The separation provided by social media has made the left very brazen. It's easy to cavalierly toss out labels on Twitter, but when pressed, face to face, and asked to explain their baseless accusations, liberals lose their boldness and begin stumbling and bumbling — as Lipstadt did when Johnson confronted her.
It's rare that someone gets the chance to respond in person to an individual who has baselessly attacked them online.
Sen. Johnson was lucky. When offered the opportunity to face his accuser, he pounced.
He proved that this woman didn't have the gall to say the same thing to him directly; he also proved she wasn't willing to stand behind her comments.
It's a shame more Twitter trolls aren't held to account like this.
At least this time, Johnson was the one who got the last word.
American left, biden-administration, liberal racism, race card, Racism, Twitter, white-supremacy
Elizabeth Stauffer, The Western Journal |
Withdraw FDA scientific pubs distribution guide: Public Citizen
Public Citizen tells FDA it should withdraw draft guidance that it believes will allow drugmakers to tell physicians marketed drugs are less risky than their labels indicate.
James G. Dickinson
Sidney Wolfe
Public Citizen has told HHS secretary Sylvia Burwell that FDA should withdraw its recent draft guidance on Distributing Scientific and Medical Publications on Risk Information for Approved Prescription Drugs and Biological Products — Recommended Practices because it would allow pharmaceutical companies to tell physicians that marketed drugs could be less risky than FDA-approved labels say they are.
In an October 22 letter to Burwell, the group's founder and senior advisor, Sidney M. Wolfe wrote that the guidance would allow pharmaceutical salespeople to "inform physicians of the purportedly lower risks by distributing peer-reviewed articles assessing a drug's risks and discussing with doctors the information about the 'lower' risks, without the FDA reviewing the articles, analyzing the data, or approving distribution of that information."
Wolfe said FDA had acknowledged its awareness of this danger in response to two petitions from the drug and medical device industry that sought, in Wolfe's words, "authority to engage in the distribution and communication" of off-label use information.
FDA's response, Wolfe wrote Burwell, stated that "Information that emphasizes the drugs' claimed benefits, while minimizing the drugs' limitations and adverse effects, may inappropriately influence a physician's prescribing decisions in a manner that is not in the patient's best interest."
His letter also complained about FDA's decision to withhold over 1,700 public comments on the draft guidance, suggesting that it is trying to cover-up criticism of the proposal.
"Of the 1,781 comments submitted on the proposal, only one comment has been posted on the government agency's Web site in the 58 days since the comment period closed," Wolfe wrote, adding that on 10/15 it requested under the Freedom of Information Act the release of the comments.
In a recent JAMA article, Wolfe wrote that the draft guidance "strikes the balance more toward the industry's view of its First Amendment right to commercial speech than toward the agency's mandate for patient protection."
He said that when evidence supports a reduction in the risk associated with use of a prescription drug or biological product, the manufacturer should send the evidence to FDA, state the basis for the reduction in risk, and request a labeling change. If the agency is convinced, he says, the label can be changed. But, "off-label risk reduction is a misguided approach."
Close more info about Withdraw FDA scientific pubs distribution guide: Public Citizen |
Keonjhar: After obscene photos of a young woman poll candidate allegedly went viral on social media, the Keonjhar police arrested two persons in this connection.
The arrested duo has been identified as Jayadev Giri, a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Keonjhar district unit and his associate Bisnudutta Barik. While Giri was arrested when he was campaigning for a party candidate yesterday, the cops arrested his associate this morning.
The two were arrested after the uncle of the victim lodged a complaint with the police.
As per reports, a few intimate photographs of the woman candidate is going viral on social media for the last two days. |
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Frome is a historic market town located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills. It is built on an uneven high ground that centres on the beautiful River Frome, and offers a wide-ranging list of incredible destinations to check out, which make it an ideal base for your holiday. This town presents a great range of facilities, sights and local attractions to experience with its quirky charm and explore. From its alluring quaint streets filled fascinating architectures to its neighbouring tourist destinations, there are plenty of things to discover in this wonderful destination.
Shop for amazing and unique treasures from the famous Catherine Hill boutiques. Catherine Hill is a quaint street which is Frome's main shopping area. It houses a wealth of interesting shops, fancy boutiques, independent retail outlets and various shopping facilities housed in beautiful old buildings and provides visitors with an excellent shopping experience.
Along the old-fashioned streets of Frome is a good variety of places to eat, including traditional local pubs serving the good old fish 'n' chips, a few fine restaurants offering authentic home cooked dishes and various eateries serving good food and delightful refreshments.
Frome is a lovely town that has a wealth of breath-taking heritage sites and first-class attractions to visit and explore. Other than shopping and strolling along its quaint streets, visitors can also check out the Nunney Castle or The Walled Garden at Mells. These are the town's top attractions and are the perfect spots to get a taste of Frome rich history and heritage. The Frome Museum also offers a diverse collection of artefacts that highlighting its rich tradition and long history. For visitors looking to have a fun-filled afternoon, the Frome Leisure Centre is an ideal place to go to, featuring an excellent range of facilities, it is a great place to spend a boring afternoon. |
CHICAGO, IL (April 16, 2019) North Park University's Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management has grown in prominence since it was established 20 years ago because it has focused on teaching practical applications of research on best practices, says executive director Pier Rogers.
It's strong reputation for providing that kind of training is why 500 people are expected to attend its Annual Conference on May 2 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Rogers says, adding it is the largest conference of its kind in the Midwest.
"I think practitioners in the field are looking for knowledge that is immediately applicable, and I think we do a really good job at providing that," Rogers says.
Few of those lessons were being taught around the country when the center was founded in 1999 as part of the university's School of Business and Nonprofit Management, Rogers says. There were only about 20 nonprofit education programs around the country at the time.
At this year's conference, the center will honor 20 nonprofit leaders in the Chicago area who have contributed to ongoing innovation. They were nominated by peers and guide diverse organizations that include the Adler Planetarium, the Black Ensemble Theater, anti-domestic abuse organization Between Friends, and the Chicago Literary Alliance.
In addition to the conference, the center offers programs that include workshops, custom trainings, and BootCamp for New Nonprofit CEOs, a three-day intensive program. "One of the things we strongly believe is we want to encourage the smaller newer emerging organizations get on the right track early on," Rogers says.
One of the church's mission is to give voice to the marginalized, but convincing leaders to get business training remains a difficult uphill battle, Rogers says.
The School for Business and Nonprofit Management partners with North Park Theological Seminary to offer dual degrees, but churches and other faith-based organizations are still only beginning to understand the importance of training in nonprofit management, Rogers says.
ECC News Contact: Stan Friedman, News and Online Editor, The Evangelical Covenant Church, [email protected]. |
An easy and fun way to influence your life and the world around you. This handy e-book reveals the exciting possibilities of PK, just a few of which include preventing or reversing illness, promoting health and well-being, achieving your personal goals, and even slowing the aging process.... Admit it. You�ve always wanted to move objects with your mind just like Luke Skywalker, but without all the swamp training. More and more, we continue to study the intricacies of the human mind and technology advances faster than many people can keep up with.
Mind Reading? Moving Objects with Your Thoughts?
Admit it. You�ve always wanted to move objects with your mind just like Luke Skywalker, but without all the swamp training. More and more, we continue to study the intricacies of the human mind and technology advances faster than many people can keep up with. |
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Q: What to do with a build "dist" folder So I finished a very small angular2 project, and build it trough angular-cli with the command "ng build --prod".
I get a "dist" folder out of this. But what should I do with this dist folder in order to make it run ? Publish it to a server ?
Regards.
A: Yes! Upload the contents of the dist folder to your webserver to host it live. This step where you take your finished, built project and send it to the server is often called "deployment".
Depending on where you host your site you may have command line tools available to make deploying your app just as easy as building it (for example, upload to an Amazon S3 bucket with AWS command line tools, firebase deploy with firebase-tools, and even the Angular CLI can deploy to Github's gh-pages with ng github-pages:deploy)
|
What Gay Marriage did to Massachusetts.
100 Muslims run for office this election.
MAGA baby born in Chick Fil A bathroom, gets nuggets for life.
Sodomite mafia in Boston sabotages St. Patrick's day parade.
Logis: the Constitutional Crisis of rejecting election losses.
Krumholz: At Helsinki, Trump undermined our power-abusing intelligence agencies, not America.
Mansur: For Democrats, history is bunk.
Moran: Will impeachment be the next Democrat litmus test?
Vivian: Hell hath no fury like a progressive scorned.
Chalk: 5 tips for starting a romance that will last you longer than summer.
Hosko: The Unpredictable Chicago Madness: In data collected by The Washington Post for 2016, of 963 people killed by police that year, only 51 were unarmed; only 19 were unarmed blacks. If you consider that police have an estimated 40,000,000 face-to-face encounters with citizens each year, your chances of being killed by police while simply "going about your business" is miniscule.
NY Slimes: Michael Cohen taped talks with Trump.
More Americans are drinking themselves to death: Study finds.
Blue State Blues: Why America hates CNN.
Disney Director Gunn exposed: Disgusting and vile fantasies and 'jokes'.
Watch: Antifa tries to attack activist Lauren Southern, gets clobbered by security instead.
Here's how Trump's 2020 Democrat challengers stack up.
McConnell pulls Trump's 9th Circuit nominee after Tim Scott gets a bad attack of identity politics.
Whoopi gets into ugly screaming match with Judge Jeannine on The View, after being presented with evidence of her Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Whoopi confirms her Trump Derangement Syndrome diagnosis by throwing guest Jeannine Pirro off her show.
Shirley: Amy Chua dissects what happens when tribalism comes to America.
Root: 'Russian Collusion' by Saul Alinsky.
Federer: Bet you never heard what happened on First Trip to the Moon?
Hang Trump T-Shirts peddled on FB.
Limbaugh: You heard him, President Obama is responsible.
Snap! Dems get 'pee-proof' underwear to oppose Trump pick.
Harsanyi: Get a grip, Democrats.
Buchanan: What explains elites 'Helsinki Hysteria'?
Nunes: FBI 'Stonewalling' to help Dems win White House.
Dems weaponize FB against Trump.
Americans believe intel community has own agenda.
DiGenova: It's Brennan who is the traitor.
Farah: The New Democrats-Book Burners!
Mercer: Doubting the intelligence of the 'Intelligence Community'.
Hollis: What are Dems running on besides fake hysteria?
Keyes: How the House should be draining the Swamp.
Lame Duck Flake flakes on GOP, joins Dem lynch mob demanding interpreter's notes.
Barone: Time to junk racial quotas in education.
Showalter: In SF, any reasonable brakes on sanctuary for illegals are voted down.
Watch: Maxine Waters supporters chant 'Black Power', burn American Flag.
Trump posts video of Hillary advocating for strong and prosperous Russia.
Obama surprised by his riches.
Hawkins: The five worst things about being a genius.
Aston Martin reveals flying car that can fly 200 MPH.
Marcus: Trump outfoxed them again.
Joondeph: Democrat ladies of the lie.
Marcus: Peter Srzok, Lisa Page and the Prisoner's Dilemma.
Dreyfus: Voter Fraud? Don't worry your pretty little head.
Straker: Lib Racists salivate over 'brown skinned' UC Merced, ignore 37% graduation rate. |
Maybe you've always wanted to be a Half-Elf Paladin? D&D gives you the chance (though not in the Red Box rules).
TM and © Wizards of the LLC. Images used with permission.
Fighter – a human of above-average strength who is skilled in combat. Fighters are typically responsible for taking on threats to protect the rest of the group.
Cleric – a cross between a fighter and a wizard. These humans are usually high in strength, dexterity and wisdom, so they can both fight and cast spells. Their spells come through meditation (accounting for the need for a high wisdom ability score).
Magic-user – a human with a high intelligence score. The magic-user is high in dexterity, for throwing balls of lighting accurately, and in intelligence, which is required for learning new spells from books.
Thief – a dexterous human who can pick locked doors and detect traps, making them invaluable. They tend to hang back during combat, not having much strength.
Dwarf – a 4-foot-tall nonhuman with a beard (both males and females alike), whose abilities are based on strength, constitution and their special ability to deflect magic. Dwarves are good fighters.
Halfling – a tiny, 3-foot, 60-pound demihuman character who is high in both dexterity and constitution. These abilities make halflings difficult to hit in combat, which makes them excellent fighters. They are also, like dwarves, capable of sustaining magic attacks better than human characters.
Elf – another smallish demihuman character, elves are kind of a cross between fighters and magic users, so they require high levels of both strength and intelligence. Elves also have infravision and can see 60 feet in the dark and can detect things like hidden doors.
Lawful – Law is the equivalent of good. In any given situation, a character with a lawful alignment will predictably put the safety and goals of the group first, ahead of his or her desires or safety.
Chaotic – Chaos is the opposite of law and is the equivalent of evil. A chaotically-aligned character will make choices based on furthering his or her own goals, without any regard for the group's wishes or wellbeing.
Neutral – This alignment is the most animalistic of the three; where law and chaos require higher-order considerations like self-sacrifice or manipulation, neutral alignments are based on the survival of the organism. Neither really "good" or "bad," the neutral character will fight with the group if that will help him survive or take off in retreat if need be.
Interestingly, only some playable characters are adept at speaking languages, but using Red Box rules, everyone can speak at least their alignment tongue. This allows characters of the same alignment to speak to each other without characters of other alignments understanding what is being said.
In other editions, you'll flesh all this out with a set of additional skills as well. Regardless of edition, it may help you to write out a backstory that gives your character some more personality and depth. This could even be something your DM asks you to do ahead of time, to help guide your game play and influence the overall story.
Next, we'll look at what happens once you're in that story – and what dice have to do with it. |
SINGAPORE - A higher re-employment age and a more progressive wage ladder are among ways to improve Singapore's workforce, labour chief Lim Swee Say said on Saturday in his National Day message to unionists.
"In Singapore, (the) unemployment rate is low, employment rates for women and mature workers are going up and wages are rising faster than inflation," said Mr Lim, describing what he shared with international union leaders at a conference in June.
"I hope the next time when we share our Singapore Story with tripartite leaders of other countries, it will be an even better story.
"Not just low unemployment and higher wages but also higher re-employment age for mature workers, a more progressive wage ladder for lower wage workers, a more capable and productive workforce, and a more inclusive and gracious society that accepts, appreciates and respects one another."
Currently, bosses must offer healthy workers who have performed satisfactorily re-employment from the age of 62 to 65, or a one-off payment, but calls have been made to raise the ceiling to 67.
Mr Lim, who is secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, said he believes only a minority of countries will succeed in creating enough jobs, both in number and quality, and he wants Singapore to be one of them. |
function Set-PowerShellWindowTitle {
<#
.SYNOPSIS
Function to set the title of the PowerShell Window
.DESCRIPTION
Function to set the title of the PowerShell Window
.PARAMETER Title
Specifies the Title of the PowerShell Window
.EXAMPLE
PS C:\> Set-PowerShellWindowTitle -Title LazyWinAdmin.com
.NOTES
Francois-Xavier Cat
lazywinadmin.com
@lazywinadmin
#>
[CmdletBinding()]
PARAM($Title)
try {
$Host.UI.RawUI.WindowTitle = $Title
}
catch {
$PSCmdlet.ThrowTerminatingError($_)
}
}
|
P T. 2016;41(6): 357-360
Drug Forecast
Dulaglutide (Trulicity): The Third Once-Weekly GLP-1 Agonist
Lillian L. Smith PharmD, CPh, MBA
Juan F. Mosley PharmD, CPh, AAHIVP
Crystal Parke PharmD
Jamal Brown PharmD
Lillian S. Barris PharmD
Linh D. Phan PharmD
Diabetes is a rapidly growing, nondiscriminatory disease that affects people of all ages and ethnicities. It is estimated that 9.3% of the United States population has diabetes.1 This equates to 29.1 million Americans who have the condition, of which 8.1 million are undiagnosed.1
Pharmacological treatment of type-2 diabetes has changed dramatically over the past five years, with new classes and drugs becoming available. Many of the medications used in the treatment of type-2 diabetes can be used in combination with various other oral therapies to achieve better glycemic control. Some can be given once weekly, an option that provides an avenue to limit polypharmacy and noncompliance, which otherwise may not have been achieved with daily monotherapy. Agents used in diabetic therapy include the following classes: selective sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors, biguanides, meglitinide derivatives, sulfonylureas, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, thiazolidinediones, insulins, amylinomimetics, bile acid sequestrants, and dopamine agonists.2
Nonpharmacological interventions, including lifestyle changes such as diet modifications, are still considered the mainstay of adjunctive treatment for diabetes. Patients newly diagnosed with diabetes who actively incorporate diet and exercise into their disease-state management usually have more control of their glycemic levels than those who are insulinopenic.
Type-2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, and patients commonly rely on both oral and injectable agents to control it.2 With respect to the injectable agents, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists are growing in popularity. GLP-1 agonists, also known as "incretin mimetics," increase insulin secretion, decrease glucagon secretion, slow gastric emptying, improve satiety, and may result in weight loss.3
Type-2 diabetics often lack or have reduced incretin effect. Therefore, utilization of the incretin system is an ideal approach to the treatment of type-2 diabetes. Recent research endeavors show that targeting the incretin system not only improves glycemic control, but also has the ability to decrease systolic blood pressure and body weight.4 The GLP-1 class currently consists of exenatide (Byetta, AstraZeneca; Food and Drug Administration [FDA]-approved in April 2005); liraglutide (Victoza, Novo Nordisk; FDA-approved in January 2010); exenatide extended-release (Bydureon, Astra-Zeneca; FDA-approved in January 2012); albiglutide (Tanzeum, GlaxoSmithKline; FDA-approved in April 2014); and the newest addition, dulaglutide (Trulicity, Eli Lilly and Company; FDA-approved in September 2014). Exenatide extended-release, albiglutide, and dulaglutide are administered via once-weekly injections.2 This review will discuss the background and efficacy of dulaglutide while distinguishing key differences in the various alternative treatment options.
INDICATION AND USAGE
Dulaglutide is indicated to improve glycemic control in adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus as an adjunct to diet and exercise.5
The primary mechanism of action of dulaglutide, as an incretin mimetic hormone or an analogue of human glucagon-like peptide-1, is to increase insulin secretion when glucose levels are elevated, decrease glucagon secretion, and delay gastric emptying in an effort to lower postprandial glucose level.6 Dulaglutide also activates the membrane-bound cell-surface receptor in pancreatic beta cells known as the GLP-1 receptor.5
PHARMACODYNAMICS
After a single dose, dulaglutide has the ability to decrease fasting glucose levels and reduce postprandial glucose concentrations in type-2 diabetes patients. 5
Fasting and Postprandial Glucose
In a study of adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus, treatment with once-weekly dulaglutide resulted in a reduction of fasting and two-hour postprandial glucose concentrations, and postprandial serum glucose incremental area under the curve (AUC), when compared to placebo (−25.6 mg/dL, −59.5 mg/dL, and −197 mg/h/dL, respectively); these effects were sustained after six weeks of the 1.5-mg dose.5
First- and Second-Phase Insulin Secretion
In type-2 diabetic patients who were treated with dulaglutide, both first- and second-phase insulin secretions increased when compared with placebo.5
Insulin and Glucagon Secretion
Dulaglutide reduces glucagon secretion and prompts glucose-dependent insulin secretion. When patients were treated with dulaglutide 0.75 mg and 1.5 mg once weekly, their fasting insulin increased from baseline at week 26 by 35.38 and 17.50 pmol/L, respectively, and C-peptide concentration by 0.09 and 0.07 nmol/L, respectively, in a phase 3 monotherapy study.7 In the aforementioned study, fasting glucagon concentrations were also reduced by 1.71 and 2.05 pmol/L from baseline.5
Gastric Motility
Dulaglutide delays gastric emptying, with the largest delay occurring after the first dose and then lessening with succeeding doses.5
Cardiac Electrophysiology (QTc)
In a QTc study utilized to determine the effect of dulaglutide on cardiac repolarization, dulaglutide did not produce QTc prolongation.5
The pharmacokinetics of dulaglutide can be seen following subcutaneous administration. The time to maximum concentration at steady state ranges from 24 to 72 hours, with a median of 48 hours. Steady-state concentrations were achieved between two and four weeks after once-weekly administration. After multiple-dose administration of 1.5 mg to steady state, the mean peak plasma concentration and total systemic exposure (AUC) of dulaglutide were 114 ng/mL and 14,000 ng•h/mL. The accumulation ratio was approximately 1.56.5 There was no statistically significant effect based on exposure sites.5
Absorption and Distribution
The mean absolute bioavailability of single 0.75-mg and 1.5-mg doses of dulaglutide was 65% and 47%, respectively.5 The mean volumes of distribution were approximately 19.2 L and 17.4 L, respectively.5
Metabolism and Elimination
It is assumed that dulaglutide is degraded into its component amino acids upon administration.5 However, at steady state, the mean apparent clearance is approximately 0.111 L per hour for the 0.75-mg dose and 0.107 L per hour for the 1.5-mg dose. The elimination half-life of dulaglutide for both doses is approximately five days.5 As with most medications in the class, dulaglutide should be used with caution, and both renal and hepatic function should be monitored. Nevertheless, dulaglutide does not require dose adjustments.
PIVOTAL CLINICAL TRIALS
The FDA's approval of dulaglutide was based on a combination of studies. The trials evaluated the use of dulaglutide 0.75 mg and 1.5 mg.7 Uptitration of dulaglutide was not performed in any of the trials; patients were initiated and maintained on either 0.75 mg or 1.5 mg for their duration.5 In patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus, dulaglutide produced reductions from baseline in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) compared to placebo. No overall differences in glycemic effectiveness were observed across demographic subgroups (age, gender, race/ethnicity, or duration of diabetes).5
Monotherapy Trials
Wysham et al
Wysham and colleagues conducted a 52-week, multicenter, parallel-arm study that randomized patients to dulaglutide 0.75 mg, dulaglutide 1.5 mg, exenatide 10 mcg, or placebo. This study included both men and women who were at least 18 years of age with a body mass index between 23 and 45 kg/m2 and an HbA1c between 7% and 11%. Patients also had to be on an oral antihyperglycemic medication (OAM) as monotherapy.8
Eligible patients were treated with metformin (1,500–3,000 mg) and pioglitazone (30–45 mg).8 Over a period of 12 weeks prior to the study, previous OAMs other than metformin and pioglitazone were discontinued. Patients were then titrated on a dual-OAM regimen of maximum tolerated metformin and pioglitazone.8 After patients were stabilized prior to randomization, their HbA1c had to be greater than 6.5% to maintain eligibility. All eligible patients were then randomized to one of four arms.8
The mean age of patients was 56 years with a mean duration of type-2 diabetes of three years. Forty-four percent were male. Patients were 74% white, 7% black, and 8% Asian, and 29% of the study population was in the U.S.5
Exenatide patients received 5 mcg twice a day for the first four weeks and 10 mcg twice a day for the remainder of the study. At 26 weeks, placebo-treated patients were then switched in a blinded fashion to either dulaglutide 1.5 mg or dulaglutide 0.75 mg.5
Treatment with dulaglutide 0.75 mg and 1.5 mg once weekly resulted in a reduction in HbA1c (1.3% and 1.5%) compared to placebo (0.5%) and compared to exenatide (1.0%) at 26 weeks. During the 52-week study, 8.9% of patients required glycemic rescue in the dulaglutide 0.75 mg plus metformin and pioglitazone treatment group, 3.2% in the dulaglutide 1.5 mg once weekly plus metformin and pioglitazone treatment group, and 8.7% in the exenatide twice a day plus metformin and pioglitazone treatment group.5
Umpierrez et al
Umpierrez and colleagues conducted a 52-week double-blind study to compare the efficacy and safety of monotherapy with dulaglutide to metformin-treated patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus. Patients were randomized to receive dulaglutide 0.75 mg, dulaglutide 1.5 mg, or metformin 1,500–2,000 mg per day.9 Patients were included in the study if their HbA1c was lower than 9.1% but higher than 6.5% with lifestyle modification or low-dose OAM monotherapy.9
Reductions in HbA1c were noted at 26 weeks. Dulaglutide 0.75 mg showed a reduction of 0.71% ± 0.06%, dulaglutide 1.5 mg showed a reduction of 0.78% ± 0.06%, and metformin showed a reduction of 0.56% ± 0.06%, demonstrating that both dulaglutide 0.75 mg and dulaglutide 1.5 mg were superior to metformin.9 No severe hyperglycemia was reported during the study, and weight loss was similar to that of metformin in both dulaglutide groups. The most common adverse effects seen over the 52-week period were nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.9 Overall, dulaglutide improved the glycemic control of patients and demonstrated the ability to be well tolerated as monotherapy in patients with early-stage type-2 diabetes.
Combination Therapy Trial
Nauck et al.
In this 104-week, multicenter, double-blind, parallel-arm study, Nauck and colleagues compared the efficacy and safety of two doses of once-weekly dulaglutide to sitagliptin in uncontrolled, metformin-treated patients with type-2 diabetes. This study included 1,098 randomized patients with an average age of 54 years; an average HbA1c of 8.1%; an average weight of 86.4 kg; and diabetes for an average of seven years.9 Patients received either dulaglutide 0.75 mg once weekly, dulaglutide 1.5 mg once weekly, sitagliptin 100 mg per day, or placebo.10
The average HbA1c reductions were −1.10 ± 0.06%, −0.87 ± 0.06%, and −0.39 ± 0.06% for dulaglutide 1.5 mg, dulaglutide 0.75 mg, and sitagliptin.10 Both dulaglutide doses were superior to sitagliptin. During the study, the most common adverse events were nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting with both doses of dulaglutide.10
In conclusion, treatment with dulaglutide 0.75 mg and 1.5 mg once weekly resulted in a statistically significant reduction in HbA1c compared to placebo at 26 weeks and compared to sitagliptin at both 26 and 52 weeks, all of which were in combination with metformin.
At baseline, 2.5% of the population reported retinopathy, and baseline estimated renal function was normal or mildly impaired (estimated glomerular filtration rate 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 or higher) in 96% of the pooled study populations.5 Adverse reactions were not present at baseline, occurred more commonly on dulaglutide than on placebo, and occurred in at least 5% of patients treated with dulaglutide.5 The most common adverse reactions to dulaglutide reported in 5% or more of patients included nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, decreased appetite, dyspepsia, and fatigue. Other adverse reactions include hypoglycemia, tachycardia, immunogenicity, hypersensitivity, injection-site reactions, PR interval prolongation and first-degree atrioventricular block, and amylase and lipase increase.5
Monitoring and caution should be employed when oral medications are concomitantly administered with dulaglutide because it slows gastric emptying and thus has the potential to reduce the rate of absorption of concomitantly administered oral medications.5 Drug levels of oral medications with a narrow therapeutic index should be adequately monitored when concomitantly administered.5
Dulaglutide has an absolute contraindication in patients with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2.5 Dulaglutide should also not be used if there is a history of serious hypersensitivity to dulaglutide or any product components.5
Dulaglutide carries a boxed warning of thyroid C-cell tumors and may result in an increased risk for medullary thyroid carcinoma and pancreatitis. If a patient suspects the development of pancreatitis, dulaglutide should be discontinued.5 Dulaglutide is not recommended in patients with severe gastrointestinal (GI) disease (i.e., colitis, Crohn's disease, GI obstruction, GI perforation, gastroparesis, ileus, inflammatory bowel syndrome, pseudomembranous colitis, ulcerative colitis, and/or undiagnosed GI bleeding).5
As with any antidiabetic treatment, hypoglycemia may occur. If dulaglutide is used with an insulin secretagogue (i.e., sulfonylurea, meglitinide) or insulin, consider lowering the dose of the secretagogue or the insulin to reduce the risk of hypoglycemia.5 Renal function should be monitored in patients with renal impairment reporting severe adverse gastrointestinal reactions.
Dulaglutide should be administered once weekly at any time of the day. It is to be injected subcutaneously in the abdomen, thigh, or upper arm. The starting dose is 0.75 mg subcutaneously once weekly.5 The dose can be increased to 1.5 mg once weekly for additional glycemic control. If a dose is missed, administer it within three days (72 hours) of the missed dose.5
The average wholesale price for a 28-day pack with four injection pens (0.75 mg or 1.5 mg) is approximately $690.11
P&T COMMITTEE CONSIDERATIONS
For the type-2 diabetes patient, 11 drug classes are currently available; however, in the hospital setting it can sometimes be unclear which of these agents should be added to the hospital's formulary. Among the 11 classes of drugs, incretin-based therapies (GLP-1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors) have become fundamental treatment options in treatment guidelines. They both target the therapeutic usefulness of the incretin system in distinct ways, but their ultimate goal is to increase insulin release from the pancreatic beta cells and decrease glucagon secretion from the pancreatic alpha cells, which results in decreased hepatic glucose production, slow gastric emptying, improved satiety, and weight loss. However, this mechanism is more often seen in the GLP-1 receptor agonists. GLP-1 receptor agonists mimic the action of incretin, while DPP-4 inhibitors inhibit the DPP-4 enzyme that inactivates incretin, promoting higher levels of incretin during the postprandial phase.
Since the approval of exenatide and sitagliptin, the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors has been widely incorporated into outpatient settings through treatment guidelines and clinical practice. However, it is important to understand that while these new classes of medications could be safe to use in the inpatient population, the long-term safety profile of their use has yet to be determined.12
Many diabetes associations support the use of insulin as the preferred agent in the hospital setting regardless of a history of diabetes because of the short half-life of circulating insulin and the luxury of intravenous administration. This route allows for rapid dosing adjustments upon assessing a patient's status.13
When examining the classes side by side, there are currently only a handful of studies investigating the use of GLP-1 agonists in the inpatient setting, while there are many studies that support the use of insulin in hospitalized patients. To date, no major benefits have been demonstrated with the use of GLP-1s in the inpatient setting; and in many GLP-1–treated patients, rescue therapy with insulin was required to achieve and maintain the desired glycemic targets. GLP-1s also have an added risk for gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and constipation.
When compared to other therapies, insulin has also proven to be safe and effective for glycemic management and to reduce hospital complications.8 While there are indeed many advances in diabetes pharmacotherapy, insulin may remain the preferred blood glucose-lowering agent of choice for inpatient hyperglycemia management simply because of its tolerability, cost, and proven long-term results. It is also important to note that patients typically seen in the hospital setting are often in distress, which requires an immediate action or dose of medication. Noninsulin therapies often take more time to reach their full effectiveness, and OAMs are not able to adjust to the infrequent changes in glucose levels sufficiently. Therefore, any recommendation against the use of noninsulin therapies due to efficacy concerns is warranted.
The GLP-1 class of medications has shown its ability to improve glycemic control while reducing body weight and systolic blood pressure in patients with type-2 diabetes. Dulaglutide is the newest edition to the GLP-1 receptor agonist family for the treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus in conjunction with adequate diet and exercise. Recent studies have demonstrated that dulaglutide is more effective than other antidiabetic agents by reducing the HbA1c by close to or greater than 1%.8 It is also the only GLP-1 agonist that has had a successful head-to-head trial showing noninferiority to liraglutide.13
Similar to other agents in the class, dulaglutide has demonstrated weight loss of approximately 6 pounds, which has been sustained over at least 26 weeks. However, one of the substantial benefits dulaglutide provides, and one that patients may place quite a bit of value on, is the convenience of once-weekly dosing compared with other agents' once-daily dosing.14 While dulaglutide use is not without risks and the adverse effects and contraindications must be considered, it is important to take into careful consideration its long-term safety profile by staying abreast of the current research taking place in regard to major cardiovascular events and the risk of pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer.15 Therefore, while dulaglutide has both risks and advantages, it is currently proven to be an adequate choice of treatment for patients with type-2 diabetes in the outpatient setting.
Drs. Smith, Mosley, Parke, and Brown are Assistant Professors of Pharmacy Practice at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, in Tallahassee, Florida. At the time of writing, both Lillian Barris and Linh Phan were PharmD candidates at this institution.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Diabetes Statistics Report: Estimates of Diabetes and Its Burden in the United States, 2014 Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2014;
Khardori R. Type 2 diabetes mellitus medication. Medscape October 82015;Available at: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/117853-medication. Accessed May 18, 2016.
Dungan K, Buse J. Glucagon-like peptide 1-based therapies for type 2 diabetes: a focus on exenatide. Clin Diabetes 2005;23;(2):56–62.Available at: http://clinical.diabetesjournals.org/content/23/2/56.full. Accessed February 10, 2015.
Garber A. Long-acting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists: a review of their efficacy and tolerability. 2011;34;(suppl 2):S279–S284.10.2337/dc11-s231
Trulicity (dulaglutide) prescribing information Indianapolis, Indiana: Eli Lilly and Company. 2014;
Grunberger G, Chang A, Soria GG, et al. Monotherapy with the once-weekly GLP-1 analogue dulaglutide for 12 weeks in patients with type 2 diabetes: dose-dependent effects on glycaemic control in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Diabet Med 2012;29;(10):1260–1267.10.1111/j.1464-5491.2012.03745.x
RxList. Trulicity clinical pharmacology. November 102014;Available at: www.rxlist.com/trulicity-drug/clinical-pharmacology.htm. Accessed February 9, 2015.
Wysham C, Blevins T, Arakaki R, et al. Efficacy and safety of dulaglutide added onto pioglitazone and metformin versus exenatide in type 2 diabetes in a randomized controlled trial (AWARD-1). Diabetes Care 2014;37;(8):2159–2167.10.2337/dc13-2760
Umpierrez G, Tofé Povedano S, Pérez Manghi F, et al. Efficacy and safety of dulaglutide monotherapy versus metformin in type 2 diabetes in a randomized controlled trial (AWARD-3). Diabetes Care 2014;37;(8):2168–2176.10.2337/dc13-2759
Nauck M, Weinstock RS, Umpierrez GE, et al. Efficacy and safety of dulaglutide versus sitagliptin after 52 weeks in type 2 diabetes in a randomized controlled trial (AWARD-5). Diabetes Care 2014;37;(8):2149–2158.10.2337/dc13-2761
Red Book Online Ann Arbor, Michigan: Truven Health Analytics. Accessed May 17, 2016.
Schwartz S, DeFronzo R. Is incretin-based therapy ready for the care of hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes? The time has come for GLP-1 receptor agonists!. Diabetes Care 2013;36;(7):2107–2111.10.2337/dc12-2060
Farrokhi F, Smiley D, Umpierrez G. Glycemic control in non-diabetic critically ill patients. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab 2011;25;(5):813–824.
DiaTribe. Lilly's GLP-1 agonist Trulicity shows promising results in trials. July 202014;Available at: https://diatribe.org/drugdevice-name/dulaglutide. Accessed February 9, 2015.
Edwards KL, Minze MG. Dulaglutide: an evidence-based review of its potential in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Core Evid 2015;10:11–21.10.2147/CE.S55944 |
Q: What is the problem of my h1 tag on iphone? I have my mobile only website. I am testing on my Iphone 6. The problem is with my title h1 tag no showing when you load. It reappears after you resize the screen and scroll past it. Can anyone help? Please and Thanks. Code:
https://github.com/SEGACD32XMODEL1/Websiteland/blob/master/mobile.html
Site:
https://segacd32xmodel1.github.io/Websiteland/mobile.html
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Showing results by author "Victoria Lamb"
If she sink, she be no witch and shall be drowned. If she float, she be a witch and must be hanged. Meg Lytton has always known she is different - that she bears a dark and powerful gift. But in 1554 England, in service at Woodstock Palace to the banished Tudor princess Elizabeth, it has never been more dangerous to practice witchcraft. Meg knows she must guard her secret carefully from the many suspicious eyes watching over the princess and her companions. One wrong move could mean her life, and the life of Elizabeth, rightful heir to the English throne.
London, 1583. When young, aspiring playwright William Shakespeare encounters Lucy Morgan, one of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies-in-waiting, the two fall passionately in love. He declares Lucy the inspiration for his work, but what secret is Will hiding from his muse? Meanwhile, Lucy has her own secret - and one that could destroy her world if exposed. No longer the chaste maid so valued by the Virgin Queen, she also bore witness to the clandestine wedding of Lettice Knollys and Robert Dudley, a match forbidden by the monarch. |
Neil deGrasse Tyson sees big business running with government space tech the way it did with GPS
Published Mon, Dec 16 20199:49 AM EST Updated Mon, Dec 16 201912:06 PM EST
The space industry is long overdue in its shift toward commercialization, says astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.
"This should have happened decades ago," he says.
Tyson points to the military's development of GPS and the industries that popped up in the private sector as a blueprint for business opportunities in space.
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on the future of investing in space
The space industry is long overdue in its shift toward commercialization, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson told CNBC on Monday.
"This should have happened decades ago," Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at New York's American Museum of Natural History, said on "Squawk Box."
"When we think of space, we think of NASA," but the government agency is "only a small fraction" of what's going on in space, said Tyson, who likes to comment on all things science on social media and television.
Among the top commercial space enterprises are Virgin Galactic, the space tourism arm of Richard Branson's empire that went public this year, as well as privately held rocket companies SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, and Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos.
Morgan Stanley forecast $800 billion in annual sales by 2040 for hypersonic travel, which means traveling in aircraft at more than five times the speed of sound.
Virgin Galactic is in the early stages of exploring how the technologies it developed for space tourism might apply, with Boeing venture arm HorizonX recently investing $20 million in Branson's firm, specifically to explore hypersonics.
However, the idea of companies forming around what was once the government's domain is not new.
Tyson, a bestselling author and host of TV shows, pointed to the history of Global Positioning System technology. "Now entire industries exist" because of the GPS development that started out as a military project, he explained.
"That's the future" blueprint for the advancement of space travel and exploration by companies, he predicted. But there needs to be an increase in regulation in space, he said, adding it's been "a little bit of a wild West" thus far, he added.
Tyson reiterated his support for a "space force" to protect U.S. interests in space.
Funding for the creation of that type of arm of the military, a priority for President Donald Trump, is contained in the $738 billion defense policy bill that passed the House last week.
— CNBC's Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.
Aerospace and defense industry
Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp |
Ask your friends about Argosy University-Atlanta!
Click Here for a map view of Argosy University-Atlanta & see nearby schools, housing availability, location restaurants, and more...!
Local newspaper: Atlanta Journal-Constitution . |
2017 ended on a somber note for Patrick Khoza (58) and his cousin George Matukane (70) – familiar faces to anyone who's entered Kruger National Park through Phabeni Gate on an early morning. The enterprising duo had been running a coffee stall for a few years, serving instant cappuccinos, coffee, tea and hot chocolate to the queues of cars waiting to enter the Park, and it was always a welcoming sight for visitors to see their friendly faces first thing in the morning.
Patrick started his coffee business to put food on the table for his family, and he's inspired many who drive past to stop and support his entrepreneurial spirit by enjoying a hot beverage (served with a smile) in the comfort of their car. He started small and worked hard to make a success of his small business, and this inspired Lize. She promised Patrick she would help him to get back on his feet again.
Lize took to Facebook to share Patrick's story and started a PayPal account for people to contribute towards building materials to rebuild the house that Patrick and George had shared and resurrect their coffee station. Soon enough, the donations were trickling in, from a water tank, to coffee cups and lids, tea, coffee, sugar, teaspoons, and even clothing.
Bronley-Robyn Gover was one of the first people to answer Lize's call for help. Her company, The Silver Flair, sponsored a new coffee station on wheels for Patrick and George, custom manufactured for them, which can be rolled up and down the line of cars queuing at Phabeni Gate. Patrick and George were overwhelmed with excitement thanks to their brand new mobile coffee station, complete with a bright blue umbrella and beautiful wooden containers for their tea, coffee and sugar.
If you're inspired by Patrick's life's work, and want to make a difference, email Lize Bester on [email protected] or make a donation on PayPal using the same email. And remember, if you're travelling to Kruger National Park, be sure to stop and buy a coffee at Phabeni Gate. Patrick and George's positivity and service with a smile is bound to brighten your day.
© Thank you to Lize Bester for the photos! |
Joe Niehaus
Joe joined Housatonic Partners in 2001 and has been involved in numerous investments in a variety of industries since then. Joe was a Managing Director at Hellman & Friedman before joining Housatonic. During his twelve-year career at Hellman & Friedman, he was involved in several of the firm's recurring services, media and communications investments. Earlier in his career, Joe was employed in the Merchant Banking and Mergers and Acquisitions departments at Morgan Stanley & Co.
Joe is a Director of Accurate Monitoring, Calo Programs, D2C Media, Efficient Forms, EOI Service Company, FIMC, MaxiTransfers, ResponseLink, School Family Media, Working Solutions, and ZircoDATA.
Joe holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Managing Partner, Housatonic
© 2023 Palm Ridge Capital, LLC.
[email protected]
Palm Ridge Capital, LLC
360 N. Pacific Coast Hwy, Suite 2000 |
If you are looking for free Bible software for your computer the SWORD Project has programs for multiple platforms such as MacSword for the Mac. The latest program to be released is PocketSword for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It is a free app and additional Bibles and commentaries can be download. After downloading the program can be used to read the Bible without an internet connection. |
I looked at the image of Perry from Webcam C a while ago, and was moved by it more than I would have expected – the light from one side and sea of darkness on the other were a bit much. It's sad to see the collapse of the magnificent inflorescence that produced fascination and joy for so many people. On the other hand, the progressive collapse is the natural course – soon our Titan Arum will produce a beautiful new leaf, light will again be absorbed, and Perry will flower again.
Thanks, Cindy. The megaphyll is incipient! |
There are quite a few Cincinnati patio home communities, but there are some that we just keep coming back to!
And foremost among those communities is Cincinnati's ONLY 55+ community, Heritage at Miami Bluffs. Heritage at Miami Bluffs offers a unique community and offers far and away the best overall social activities of any patio home community in Cincinnati.
A community center of over 9,000 square feet offers a full time social director, a gym, a pool, a large ballroom/dining area, a library, a theater and bocce courts.
So when patio home buyers are searching for that just right combination of patio home and social scene, Heritiage At Miami Bluffs will consistently lead our list of recommended communities to consider.
While we're NOT the #1 team for selling homes in Heritage At Miami Bluffs, we're a solid #2 in completed sales since 2013. We're not a megateam like spot #1, we're not the agents you can namedrop on the golf course and have your friends know our name, but we're confident in our ability to help our clients meet their real estate goals.
Below is a map of (to date) homes in Heritage At Miami Bluffs that we've helped buyers or sellers. We're heavy on the buyer side (7 buyers and 1 seller). There's a mix of resale (5) and new construction (3).
Interested in having us help you sell your patio home in Heritage at Miami Bluffs? Just give us a call at 513-520-5305.
Interested in finding THE best patio home community for your needs? We can help with that too!
I don't know all that much about this community specifically, but I'm all for finding joy in simple living and feeling well off about the whole thing. Do you know what I mean? |
Why is profanity (cuss/swear/curse words) bad?
Rod Raineyposted 10 years ago
Boulismposted 10 years ago
You got me? I love a good curse from time to time!
Rod Raineyposted 9 years agoin reply to this
JThomp42posted 10 years ago
Because they are unnecessary. There are too many words in a vast language for one to have to use curse words. Honestly, it just makes one seem unintelligent.
visionandfocusposted 10 years ago
I was taught that it's a sign of a limited vocabulary. Now I think that while that's undoubtedly true, it also reflects a negative attitude derived from negative thinking patterns. When thinking patterns do not serve us, it's best to change them. We are more in control of our thinking (and therefore our lives) that we are led to believe.
chef-de-jourposted 10 years ago
I think the idea of certain words being 'bad' has evolved over time. It's a curious thing to have happened because aren't words just different sounds? Different sounds, different meanings. So how come some are deemed 'filthy' whilst others are clean? Two points:
1. There is no doubt a religious angle here. Profanity - it means not sacred (out of the temple) is that which is obscene or blasphemous. It ran parallel with cleanliness is next to godliness. Having a filthy tongue meant you were likely to be an unholy person, or a little crazed. So swearing was looked down on.
2. The cultural issue. Bad language belonged to the lower classes, was associated with poverty, drunkenness and lewd behaviour. The higher classes therefore didn't want anything to do with street language and condemned it.
Nowadays things are a bit different. I recall a court case some years back in London. A woman complained of offensive language being used by a market stall owner on one of London's oldest markets, in the East End. He was taken to court for use of four letter words! However the market man said his expletives were part of the market language, had been for centuries, and that he wasn't going to change a lifetime's habit, and didn't mean anyone any harm! The judge agreed and let him go scot free!
Also, how many movies do you watch these days that are full of slang and swearing? Doesn't make it 'good' but it does acclimatise us gradually to the cursing world. Many well heeled people these days (specially the young) curse like mad! And you see the written form in supposedly classy newspapers.
I really don't like too much swearing. It's cheap and nasty, debasing. As an ex coalminer I heard plenty, more than enough, but the words were used correctly and with proper emotion, not like in some movies, where they're spat out purely for show and bravado!
windygreenposted 10 years ago
Is It? OH ^#%@%$# !!! I guess I 'll have to remain silent then, @$@#%@!!!
~WG
rutleyposted 10 years ago
It just sounds disrespectful even in the company of a bunch of trash mouth people. I did get a kick out of windygreen's answer though....hahahhahahahahah
peachpurpleposted 10 years ago
If i dropped something or made a mistaken and said" SHIT!" Is it a swear / curse word? I don't say the "F" word because there are kids in my family. You may not know that they might listen and learn. Kids are good at imitating adults. Swearing the bad words often is bad. Should avoid to keep a good image in front of others and the kids too.
Rod Raineyposted 9 years ago
I tried to comment on your answer visionandfocus, but my comment was too long. (GRR blasted parameters!) Anyway, I deleted it and was going to write another, but I guess I can't. So here was what I was trying to say.
I don't get it, I mean less words, more limited, right? I think profanity is great to use in writing stories, poetry and (with moderation) things you are passionate about. I guess I can see why some would think profanity "reflects a negative attitude", but why do you think that is? As a child, I was told not to use such words, but I was never told why; I mean "because they're bad" is pretty vague. I would like my kids to know the meaning and origin of the words they hear in the world and if there is stigma attached to some words that would be part of it. I would like to know why too. I think if we dig deep enough, the basis for words being blacklisted would be trivial. If we are not aware of why we hold different beliefs, are we really in control of our own thinking?
I posted this question because there are so many things about our world and our ways that we just don't question. I tried to post another question after this one, but for some reason it did not show up (strange). Was my question inappropriate? I am fairly certain that you can post more than one question a day, but I am new to this. I will try again later.
Anyway, thank you all for participating in my first question here.
jlparkposted 9 years ago
If used in the appropriate context, around the appropriate people, it can work in your favour.
I mean, when you stub your toe really hard - "By golly gee whizz, did that smart!?!" doesn't make you feel any better. Even a muttered "%^%^$$$" or as I have done in this situations a 'breathe out" curse word - said quietly whilst exhaling....works better than anything else I've tried......I seem to stub my toes a lot, cause I've gotten this one down pat. Though, of late...I can't speak at all....I'm surprised I've not broken any!
There is one word I will not use....or type.
Why is swearing bad? Cause in the wrong situation, or at places of work, worship or in polite company is sounds crass, and nasty. In similar company, relaxing at home...one or two is okay. It's bad because we've put so much negative meaning into the words. LIke the one I won't say - cause it's demeaning to women.
Brandi Cooperposted 9 years ago
What is and isn't profanity has changed drastically over the years. Originally, profanity only extended to blasphemy (you had to speak ill of something holy or sacred, or you had to speak flippantly about religious figures or religion itself). Which means unless you were directly insulting or disrespecting a temple, religion, religious figure, etc. then you weren't using profanity. Hence taking the Lord's name in vain as one of the 10 Commandments - you were being flippant about God, which was considered profane, because He was to be respected, etc.
As far as English is concerned, most of our "profane" words are of Germanic/other descent, whereas the more appropriate terms come from Latin. This isn't by coincidence or mistake. This was a direct result of, first Romans, and then the Church's power over people. Romans would hold Latin in a higher esteem than the "vulgar" languages (which really just means the languages spoken by those who didn't hold a wealthy/politically sound position in society). Later on, the Church held Latin as the language in which all services and translations of the Bible were in. So therefore, Latin and words derived from Latin were better than words derived from other languages, because Latin was the language of the Church and others could be considered pagan or too secular to be used by higher society.
However, there have been dozens of linguistic studies and research into the use of swearing and the act exists in all human forms of communication (and even chimpanzees have their own version of profanity). It helps further communication with others and it even helps lower stress levels, increase tolerance for pain, etc.
So basically, there's nothing wrong with swearing (unless you're a Christian and you're taking the Lord's name in vain). It's a social construct to reinforced dominance and class striations by the Church and carried through by habit.
And there's absolutely no merit to the whole "sign of limited vocab/intelligence". Profane words are still words and still belong in your vocabulary, so you could literally know billions of words and still choose to use something others consider "profane". After all, sometimes, "ass" just suits what you're trying to say better than anything else.
Yeah, sometimes "Consume excrement and expire" just doesn't cut it. Love it! So much great stuff to go on here. You have yourself a new follower. Thank you!
wingedcentaurposted 8 years ago
This essay is a little meditation on swearing, in response to a question posed by a hubber, sixteen months ago. read more
How many curse words are you willing to encounter in any given rated R film?
by Kaniel Loughran 8 years ago
Why Some People Like to Speak Dirty?
by Mahaveer Sanglikar 10 years ago
Why some people like to speak dirty? Is it a psychological problem?
what do you think about people who always use curse words ?
by Dr Brendell Thomas Francis 13 years ago
Is profanity just a lazy way of talking?
by Judy Specht 9 years ago
Is profanity just a lazy way of talking?How much thought do you put into saying Sh.t, and F..k you.
Legitimate arguments for or against using curse words
by Brittany Mayfield 4 years ago
I would like to hear people's opinions on using curse words. Obviously, people get offended by them because of social norms, but is there any actually difference between saying poop and sh!t? The only argument I can think of is that curse words have been found to relieve anger and express to...
Do you think it is EVER appropriate for a woman to use profanity?
by Rhonda Darlene Lawson 10 years ago
Do you think it is EVER appropriate for a woman to use profanity?I am hearing the f - - - word in even casual everyday conversation among adults. I think it degrades a woman, but many don't seem to be bothered by it. |
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Atlantic Diving Supply Is a Proud Sponsor of USO Patriot Park & EOD Warrior…
Atlantic Diving Supply is proud to be a Corporate Sponsor of USO Patriot Park and the EOD Warrior Foundation's EOD Dedication Cycling Series Ride—all taking place this week!
Through the Mission Give Back Foundation, Atlantic Diving Supply is proud to partner with the USO, an incredible organization dedicated to supporting military service members and their families, in support of USO Warrior Week.
USO Patriot Park Presented by Atlantic Diving Supply
Atlantic Diving Supply is a proud sponsor of the USO Patriot Park located at the 17th Street Park.
Date: Saturday, June 1 – Sunday, June 2
Time: 12 – 5 pm
Location: 17th Street park, Virginia Beach. VA
Music on 17th Street Stage provided by: DJ TMMPO
The USO Show Troupe
Saturday, June 1, 2019: 12:00 PM
Sunday, June 2, 2019: 12:00 PM
School of Rock Band
Saturday, June 1, 2019: 2:00 PM
Sunday, June 2, 2019: 2:00 PM
EOD Dedication Cycling Series Ride
Atlantic Diving Supply, through the Mission Give Back Foundation, proudly supports the EOD Warrior Foundation's mission to honor fallen EOD warriors and provide assistance to wounded EOD warriors and the families of wounded and fallen EOD personnel.
What better way to close out USO Warrior Week than with a 50-mile bike ride that honors the 341 EOD Technicians that made the ultimate sacrifice? This 50-mile, Virginia Beach Police Department escorted ride will start and finish at the USO Patriot Park at 17th Street on the Virginia Beach boardwalk at 8:00 A.M., with a rest stop at the ADS, Inc. parking lot.
Atlantic Diving Supply's very own Ryan Self, Aerospace Business Development Manager, will be sporting an ADS cycling jersey and GoPro throughout the ride.
Date: Sunday, June 2
The purpose of the Atlantic Diving Supply Mission Give Back Foundation (MGBF) is to give back to those who serve and their families. We'll carry out this mission in two ways: First, we will be awarding scholarships to children of service members and first responders. Such children who are rising seniors and committed to a university are eligible for MBGF scholarships awarded annually. Secondly, MGBF remains committed to supporting other non-profit organizations that share our passion for serving our service members, first responders, and their families. |
Val Verde Civic Association elects new Board of Directors
Crystal Duan
A hike in Val Verde. Photo courtesy of Erica Larsen
New board members for the Val Verde Civic Association were announced after an election Thursday night, said Erica Larsen, former president of the VVCA.
The new board members will be Larsen, Tanya Hauser, Martha Lomelli, Mickey Newbauer and Kevan Smalley, Larsen said.
Positions within the board, such as president and clerk, for the new and returning members, have not been determined yet, she added.
The former Board of Directors consisted of Larsen as president; Smalley as programs and development director; Chris Morris as projects director; Newbauer as public relations director; Lauren Taylor as secretary; and Hauser as treasurer.
Morris and Taylor will not be returning for a second term, and one of their vacancies will be filled by Lomelli.
The association also held their meeting last night and gave updates from the Castaic Area Town Council members Bonnie Nikolai and Jeremiah Dockray and Community Benefits Funding Committee member Vince Cantella.
Crystal Duan is the Signal's political reporter, covering City Council, the county and other happenings around the city. She graduated from the University of Missouri's journalism school and has worked at the Indianapolis Star and Minneapolis Star Tribune. She has been with the Signal since March 2018. |
As I mentioned last week our first attempt at family photos was thwarted when our photographer had her camera stolen. Luckily my sister works with a lot of photographers since she's an event and wedding planner and we were able to schedule another session. We couldn't get everyone we had together for my Grandma's party but we were able to get photos taken with my sister and her husband by the crazy talented Tine Hoffman of TM Photography.
It was a gorgeous day up in Eden Park and despite Blondie Boy not always being the most cooperative subject we got some amazing photos.
I wore a purple vest I got at the Gap outlet and a Mossimo flannel shirt from Target. Blondie Boy's sweater is from Target and his pirate t-shirt from the J. Crew outlet. I freaking love American outlets and Target. We have outlets in the UK but they really don't even come close to comparing to the ones back home.
I'm so grateful we were able to get some photos for my Grandma and for ourselves. I love that photo of my sister and her husband and the ones of Blondie Boy in playing in the water fountain with NBH are just such fun! I'm really grateful we were able to get them done--how often do you get family photos done?
Love your photos! They are just gorgeous. So glad you were able to have your pictures done.
I love your photos! They came out gorgeous!!!
you guys look fantastic, what great photos!
Oh wow, those are beautiful family photos!! I'm glad you were able to get some pics, too.
I have yet to book a photo session. I wanted to back in the UK and now I just might do a maternity session with my boys :) Happy you got your Target fix!
Looks like you got some great photos!
Loving the photos - we have booked in for a family shoot in Jan, am very excited!
Have just linked up my first ever WWIW - how exciting!
He went crazy in that water fountain!
It is great to have proper family photos; I think it is much more affordable/mainstream in the US than the UK.
Great pictures. I need to get family photos done more often. One of those things I keep putting off and regretting.
I love love love that picture of BB with the water fountain.
Happy to have joined the link-up!
those family photos are so cute, the lighting is perfect and love the pic of your son running!
It was a beautiful day for photos; he was running right by this duck pond and I swear to all that is good I thought he was going to run INTO the pond but the photographer kept having him do it over and over!
Great family pictures! Thanks for the link up! |
His body, which is the church.
The Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, February 2nd, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. in Moose Jaw Funeral Home with Reverend Rebecca Friesen officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be designated for missions through either City Oasis, 1291 Gordon Rd, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 3E3 or The Bridge, 5130 4th Ave, Regina, SK S4T 0J7. Arrangements are entrusted to Moose Jaw Funeral Home, 268 Mulberry Lane. James Murdock, Funeral Director 306-693-4550.
We are so saddened with the news of Pastor Johanne passing. She was such a formidable and lovely woman. We are so blessed to have known her. Our family sends our sincerest condolences to the Spencer family. May God bless the family with healing.
Gregg – Sorry seems so inadequate but Barry and I wanted to send you our sincere sympathies for the loss of Johanne to you, the children and the grandchildren. God cover you with His peace.
I was shocked when I saw this. I am so sorry for your loss. Well, Johanne is not lost, but sorry for the absence from the ones dear to her heart. May God comfort you at this time and each as they have need. God be with you.
You and Johanne have been very close to our hearts since the day we first met. Johanne's prophetic gifts gave constant evidence that the Lord is always near and ready to speak into our lives as we listen. We heard her voice, but His words came through to change our hearts & lives. We love you both and we always will.
My condolences to Gregg, his children and Grandchildren.
I rejoice with Johanne that she is dancing with her Lord!
Greg and family, my sincere sympathy on the passing of Joanne.
My sincere sympathy to you GREG and to all of Johanne's family, friends and followers.
There will be a seat of honour awaiting Johanne upon her arrive in heaven. Her ability to gather, lead and heal others will not be forgotten.
Gregg and Family From Savanna, Ken, Leanne we are so saddened for the Loss But Now Pastor Johanne Is in a better Place Singing and Dancing and being with Jesus. Savanna Remembers How she Gave her the first pick for her guitar. God Bless the family. Love and Hugs.
Pastor Gregg and family — I send my sincerest sympathies for the loss of a fabulous, amazing, unique woman, Pastor Johanne. May you be comforted in this season. This is not only a tremendous loss to your family, your churches, your community but to the world at large. She had global and kingdom impact on so many levels. I count it a privilege to have known Johanne, she had the spirit of a pioneer, she was courageous and bold (in a humble way). I truly do and will miss her magnetic spirit, her beautiful smile and her loving heart. Blessings and love to each of you.
It is with our deepest sympathy to hear the sad news of the passing of Johanne. Our condolences are with you Greg and with your family and the extended family of Johanne. We spent so much time with you both awhile back and it's hard to believe now that she has left. I can only imagine the Lord saying "Welcome, good and faithful servant, please enter." We are sure Johanne is dancing and singing with the Lord and the angels around the throne room. May the Lord be close to you at this time and give you His Peace that passes all understanding.
So saddened by the news of Johanne's passing, yet rejoicing for her that she is now with Jesus. Blessings, love and prayers to you Greg and the whole family.
I am sorry that I didn't get to know Johanne better. We all needed and wanted more time with her. Condolences to Greg, the family, and the church family, from our home in Ottawa.
We were shocked and very saddened by the news of Johanne's passing. Our deepest condolences to Greg, Kate, Ob, Shauna, Jared & Scott. Johanna was a lovely lady and her smiling face will be missed by many. Hugs and prayers to you all.
Please know that my heart goes out to each of you at this time of great loss.
Pastor Johanne touched each one she met with the tender love of God. She lived and died for Him and left a wonderful legacy for each and every one who knew her….a shining example of how to live a life well lived in His service.
I had the honour of singing with her on our worship team. Many times her voice would bring me to tears, it was so beautiful. I know she is singing now in His presence and blessing all who hear her.
She will be greatly missed. I pray God will cover each of you in His comfort, peace and strength.
Was very surprised and shocked to learn that Johanne passed away. My deepest condolences to Greg and all of Johanne's family. I didn't' see Johanne that often however when we got together she was a wonderful friend. We had some great times especially at our national meetings when we did team building together. Johanne was full of fun. She was always a great encouragement and she didn't have to say much to be that way. She was an extremely loving women who's joy for life was contagious. I saw her briefly when I managed to get out to one night at our national convention this past year. Can't believe that was the last time I saw her in this life. I was really glad to see pictures of Johanne in Germany doing a short term missions trip there. She will be greatly missed. There are so many wonderful memories.
Johanne I will miss you. From the moment we met I felt a kindred spirit connection in my heart with you. Our conversations were always packed with things we wanted to share with each other. I was looking forward to spending more family time with you as we both entered retirement. Alas, the best of Spirit times are always shorter then what we want. I'll dance on earth as you dance in Heaven knowing that our Spirits will meet again!
Greg, there will always be room in my heart and home to embrace you as brother-in-law and your family as my family. Your strength in your faith is amazing and it will carry you through your loss. No man walks alone and we all need each other as family.
Words cant explain. I love you so much Pastor Johanne and Greg. No one will ever compare to her in my life. I will continue to follow Jesus as you taught me. Till we meet again.
Shirley and I offer our condolences.
Pastor Johanne, a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, served Her Lord and Master and led His sheep with humility and grace.
We will miss and remember her.
She has entered into the presence of the King of Kings to receive her reward.
Johanne was a force to be reckoned with. She had a heart as big as her smile and everyone that had the privilege of knowing her will never be the same for having her in our lives. She was a constant in the storm and a voice of wisdom in the darkness. She will be missed beyond measure.
My thoughts and prayers are with Greg and the family as you walk through the next steps without her. She loved her family fiercely and I believe that she will still love and fight for you and on your behalf from the throne room.
Praying for comfort in these next steps on the journey.
Gregg, we are so shocked and saddened of this news of Johanne….a bright light in my earlier days. With that glint in her eye and that warm smile…I will never forget her words when life was full of challenges.
3 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. 4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. 5 Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
She loved my babes, every time we came into the store she snuggled and teased them. The world lost a beautiful spirit…but the joy in heaven must be spectacular.
Dear Pastor Greg, we are terribly sorry to hear about the passing of your wife. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. May God rest her soul in peace, and may our condolences bring you peace during this painful time. |
The OSCE Needs a Change
Ján Čarnogurský
© RIA Novosti
The West disregards the Eastern argument that the OSCE no longer serves its purpose, because it believes that the OSCE should serve the interests of the West.
I remember reading about the 1975 Helsinki Conference in the Czechoslovak media. It was convened to replace the post-war peace conference and to give us the hope that the Cold War will end, despite the prevailing skepticism. Ultimately, the Helsinki Conference helped end the Cold War, but the eastern block of countries failed to formulate a different set of values and rules that would win broad public support in the East and West alike.
In 1993-1995, I held the elected post of vice-president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. By that time, the Soviet Union collapsed and the annual assembly meetings were attended by delegations from the former Soviet republics that had become sovereign states. Russian was the official language of the Assembly, with speeches in Russian simultaneously translated into its other official languages. It was funny to see delegates from the former Soviet republics, in particular Ukraine and the Baltics, deliver their statements in broken English or French, although they could speak fluent Russian. I later wrote in a newspaper that the Russian delegation looked lonely.
Pressure put on Russia continued to grow. European countries were becoming increasingly more loyal vassals of the United States, and voting at the OSCE agencies turned into mindless lobbying for US interests. The OSCE's inability to constructively contribute to the settlement of international issues became public knowledge through TV reporting of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the investigation of the crash of Malaysia Airlines' plane over Ukraine. OSCE officials did go to very dangerous areas in the conflict zone and to sites that were vital for determining the cause of the crash, but afterwards they mostly provided neutral comments. In this situation, even outsiders could see that the OSCE badly needed a change.
The OSCE was established in the 1970s when the East and the West were balanced politically and militarily. The OSCE's mission was to implement this balance in the sphere of military and economic relations and by monitoring elections and protecting human rights. But conditions have changed since then. Russia and the West are now balanced only in the sphere of strategic weapons, and the West feels that it prevails in all other spheres. Unfortunately, the West has been trying to use the OSCE as a tool for attaining superiority. It doesn't care that by doing this it is robbing Europe of an additional instrument for strengthening or preserving peace. The OSCE has abandoned its initial mission and instead of helping us overcome the vestiges of the past Cold War it is paving the way to a new cold war. The West disregards the Eastern argument that the OSCE no longer serves its purpose, because it believes that the OSCE should serve the interests of the West.
Developments can proceed in two ways.
Under the first scenario, the OSCE mission should be revised. We need to provide a scientific and political explanation for the difference between the current international situation and that of the 1970s. How should the new conditions have influenced the OSCE's structure and operation? How can the system of security and cooperation in Europe be restructured? If the sides reach an agreement on this score, should they formalize these changes, for example, in a Final Act II?
The second scenario is tragic. The West only started cooperating with Russia in the fight against Islamic terrorists after the terrorist attacks in Paris. Must we wait for more tragedies? Europe is more vulnerable to them than Russia. Besides, Europe lacks Russia's inner resolve to stand up against terrorism. NATO will not protect Europe from Islamists. Never since WWII have Russia and Europe needed so much to pool their efforts against a common enemy as they do now. Will we see the leaders like Churchill and Stalin who will help us overcome our differences and bring us together against this common enemy? The OSCE reform will ensue from this, much more important battle.
I recommend you this article on the Valdai Club website: https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/the-osce-needs-a-change/
What Does Putin's Conservatism Seek to Conserve? Follow the link
Values and Norms in World Politics Follow the link
LIVE: A Three-Move Game: Will It Be Possible to Avoid Zugzwang? An Expert Discussion Follow the link |
Summary Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in certain applications using Apache Tomcat 4.0.0 through 4.0.6 and 4.1.0 through 4.1.34 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via crafted "Accept-Language headers that do not conform to RFC 2616".
description According to its self-reported version number, the instance of Apache Tomcat 4.x listening on the remote host is prior to 4.1.36. It is, therefore, affected by the following vulnerabilities : - Requests containing multiple 'content-length' headers are not rejected as invalid. This error can allow web-cache poisoning, cross-site scripting attacks and information disclosure. (CVE-2005-2090) - An input sanitization error exists that can allow disclosure of sensitive information via directory traversal. This vulnerability is exposed when the server is configured to use the 'Proxy' module. (CVE-2007-0450) - 'Accept-Language' headers are not validated properly, which can allow cross-site scripting attacks. (CVE-2007-1358) Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
description Apache Project reports : The Apache Tomcat team is proud to announce the immediate availability of Tomcat 4.1.36 stable. This build contains numerous library updates, A small number of bug fixes and two important security fixes.
description According to its self-reported version number, the instance of Apache Tomcat 5.x listening on the remote host is prior to 5.5.21. It is, therefore, affected by the following vulnerabilities : - The remote Apache Tomcat install is vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack. The client supplied Accept-Language headers are not validated which allows an attacker to use a specially crafted URL to inject arbitrary HTML and script code into the user's browser. (CVE-2007-1358) - If the remote Apache Tomcat install is configured to use the SingleSignOn Valve, the JSESSIONIDSSO cookie does not have the 'secure' attribute set if authentication takes place over HTTPS. This allows the JSESSIONIDSSO cookie to be sent to the same server when HTTP content is requested. (CVE-2008-0128) - The remote Apache Tomcat install is affected by an information disclosure vulnerability. The doRead method fails to return the proper error code for certain error conditions, which can cause POST content to be sent to different, and improper, requests. (CVE-2008-4308) Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
description According to its self-reported version number, the Apache Tomcat instance listening on the remote host is prior to 6.0.6. It is, therefore, affected by the following vulnerability : - A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists due to improper validation of user-supplied input before returning it to users. An unauthenticated, remote attacker can exploit this, by convincing a user to click a specially crafted URL, to execute arbitrary script code in a user's browser session. Note that Nessus has not tested for these issues but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
description From Red Hat Security Advisory 2007:0327 : Updated tomcat packages that fix multiple security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. Tomcat is a servlet container for Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies. Tomcat was found to accept multiple content-length headers in a request. This could allow attackers to poison a web-cache, bypass web application firewall protection, or conduct cross-site scripting attacks. (CVE-2005-2090) Tomcat permitted various characters as path delimiters. If Tomcat was used behind certain proxies and configured to only proxy some contexts, an attacker could construct an HTTP request to work around the context restriction and potentially access non-proxied content. (CVE-2007-0450) The implict-objects.jsp file distributed in the examples webapp displayed a number of unfiltered header values. If the JSP examples were accessible, this flaw could allow a remote attacker to perform cross-site scripting attacks. (CVE-2006-7195) Users should upgrade to these erratum packages which contain an update to Tomcat that resolves these issues. Updated jakarta-commons-modeler packages are also included which correct a bug when used with Tomcat 5.5.23.
description Updated tomcat packages that fix multiple security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This update has been rated as having important security impact by the Red Hat Security Response Team. Tomcat is a servlet container for Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies. Tomcat was found to accept multiple content-length headers in a request. This could allow attackers to poison a web-cache, bypass web application firewall protection, or conduct cross-site scripting attacks. (CVE-2005-2090) Tomcat permitted various characters as path delimiters. If Tomcat was used behind certain proxies and configured to only proxy some contexts, an attacker could construct an HTTP request to work around the context restriction and potentially access non-proxied content. (CVE-2007-0450) The implict-objects.jsp file distributed in the examples webapp displayed a number of unfiltered header values. If the JSP examples were accessible, this flaw could allow a remote attacker to perform cross-site scripting attacks. (CVE-2006-7195) Users should upgrade to these erratum packages which contain an update to Tomcat that resolves these issues. Updated jakarta-commons-modeler packages are also included which correct a bug when used with Tomcat 5.5.23.
description Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in certain applications using Apache Tomcat 4.0.0 through 4.0.6 and 4.1.0 through 4.1.34 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via crafted "Accept-Language headers that do not conform to RFC 2616".
title Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in certain applications using Apache Tomcat 4.0.0 through 4.0.6 and 4.1.0 through 4.1.34 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via crafted "Accept-Language headers that do not conform to RFC 2616". |
italy population 2100
Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. By 2100 over 80s will outnumber under 5s around the world by two to one. We have provided a few examples below that you can copy and paste to your site: Your data export is now complete. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. A new study published in The Lancet claims that declining birthrates around the world will result in the net loss of nearly 1 billions citizens from its mid-century population peak to 2100. United Nations - World Population Prospects, The current population of Italy in 2020 is. Italy - 2000. Population: 39,992,910. As fertility falls and life expectancy increases worldwide, the number of children under 5 years old is forecasted to decline by 41% from 681 million in 2017 to 401 million in 2100, whilst the number of individuals older than 80 years is projected to increase six fold, from 141 million to 866 million. Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Please check your download folder. Chart and table of Italy population from 1950 to 2020. For instance, although sub-Saharan Africa's population is projected to soar, its fertility rates are forecast to decline from 4.6 births per woman in 2017 to 1.7 by 2100. To enable Verizon Media and our partners to process your personal data select 'I agree', or select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055 2060 2065 2070 2075 2080 2085 2090 2095 2100 39,992,910 Population. Italy's Population Will Halve by 2100 Without Immigration By . World's Biggest Free-Trade Deal Set to Be Signed This Weekend, Covid Superspreader Risk Is Linked to Restaurants, Gyms, Hotels, Stocks Slump on Lockdown Angst Amid Stimulus Limbo: Markets Wrap, Target Is Reopening Its Looted Store With Black Shoppers in Mind, Labs See Test Delay Risk; U.S. Governors on Edge: Virus Update. United Nations … You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. United Nations … We have provided a few examples below that you can copy and paste to your site: Your image export is now complete. Fertility Rate. That's primarily due to Italy, which will see a drop of 16 million thanks to an aging population and low birth rates. Population: 56,692,177. If you use our datasets on your site or blog, we ask that you provide attribution via a link back to this page. Chart and table of Italy population from 1950 to 2020. Yahoo is part of Verizon Media. If there's no influx from abroad for the rest of the century due to zero-immigration policies, Italy's population is forecast to decline to 30 million, half the current level. Chart and table of Italy population from 1950 to 2020. 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055 2060 2065 2070 2075 2080 2085 2090 2095 2100 56,692,178 Population. If you use our chart images on your site or blog, we ask that you provide attribution via a link back to this page. Italy's population is predicted to halve to 30 million by 2100, according to a new study. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Backlinks from other websites and blogs are the lifeblood of our site and are our primary source of new traffic. PopulationPyramid.net. The population of the euro area will shrink by 20 million people by the end of the century, according to Eurostat forecasts. Giovanni Salzano, July 11, 2019, 12:00 AM EDT ... Italy's population is forecast to decline to 30 million, half the current level. Please check your download folder. Italy - 2100. Fertility Rate.
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italy population 2100 2020 |
Notopygus minkii är en stekelart som beskrevs av Vollenhoven 1878. Notopygus minkii ingår i släktet Notopygus och familjen brokparasitsteklar. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.
Källor
Brokparasitsteklar
minkii |
song name No Answer
releases Unreleased, Dial-A-Song
When asked in 2014 via TMBG's Tumblr if the band would ever release a studio version of the song, John Flansburgh replied, "We've looked and it seems the studio version is totally MIA. We work too fast."[1]
There is a Beatles song called "No Reply"; however, it is doubtful that it inspired this song, as there are no other similarities between the two. Though equally unlikely, it may also be possible that this was inspired by the title of the Electric Light Orchestra's first album, released in the UK as Electric Light Orchestra but released in the United States as No Answer due to a misunderstood phone transcript.
Animals, Artificial Body Parts, Death, Money, No, Personification, Questions, Real Estate, Religion, Supernatural, Size, Transportation, Weather, Windows
No Answer is currently ranked #114 out of 908. (78 wikians have given it an average rating of 8.86)
Retrieved from "http://tmbw.net/wiki/index.php?title=No_Answer&oldid=297060"
Unreleased Songs
Songs In C Major |
The item The hate u give, Angie Thomas represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in East Baton Rouge Parish Library.
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry, 2017.
Indies' Choice Book Awards, Young Adult, 2018.
Thumbs Up! Award (Michigan), 2018.
William C. Morris YA Debut Award, 2018.
Inky Awards (Australia): Silver Inky, 2018. |
This charming, historic building has seen it all- it's been host to a speak easy, a bank, foreign consulates, radio stations, and was most recently featured in Batman Begins' Gotham City. This property offers convenience in both location and amenities. Enjoy views of Lakeshore East, River North and The Loop from the rooftop terrace, the convenience of Pressbox dry cleaning and onsite laundry, as well as the 24-hour fitness center. |
In the first part of this two-part blog, I introduced you to a life-design process that you can use to increase your overall happiness. Here's how you can take it a step further.
Now we've drilled down more deeply into one area of your life. Each of the items on the list above have the potential to represent a key piece of your vision for happiness related to family.
How can you clarify your vision in the areas that matter most to you?
What do you really want in the areas that are most important to you?
How can you close the gap between where you currently are and what you really want?
How will you build support from other family members to create forward movement towards your vision?
If you take the time to create a vision and design bold steps to move towards your vision, you will discover wonderful new perspectives not only on family life, but in all other areas of your life as well because all the areas are your areas and are connected. Going deeply into one area impacts your whole life.
Bold and decisive action is necessary to move you to greater happiness. It won't just magically happen. Don't wait for happiness to come to you. It's already under your nose. Take it!
Jim is the founder and director of Coaching to Connect. He has three decades of experience in organizational and relationship work including coaching, consulting, non-profit CEO, program director, project manager, teacher, author and more. Jim holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Duquesne University with an emphasis in Adult Spiritual Formation.
Coaching to Connect provides coaching, training and consulting services for leaders, couples, and individuals. For more information, browse the site or contact Jim Merhaut, 330-261-1630 or [email protected]. |
Success in every field requires planning and that includes the writing industry. There are people who have succeeded in becoming good writers while others have not. To writing services such as thesis help select writers based on certain criteria that differentiate the best writers from the rest. So what makes one a good writer and more successful than others in the same field? Well. Here are some of the best practices implemented by writers in order to achieve greater success than the others.
Good writers are also good readers. Anyone seeking to learn how to write must take time to read a lot of books and other literature material, especially in the area of their interest. Writing from this background gives a writer the confidence and skill needed to deliver a masterpiece in what they are writing. A paper writer will not struggle with an assignment if they have been reading all their life. Having a wide knowledge and experience from reading other sources helps you understand the skill and style of writing.
They say that failing to plan is planning to fail and that indeed is true. If you are looking for success as a writer, you must learn how to plan your assignment. Plan for the time given for you to complete a certain assignment. Otherwise, you may end up not deliver in good time. In writing, time is of the essence. Know when to collect writing information and for how long you will be doing that. It is also important to know when you will be writing the work and also allocate some time for editing.
After the planning is done and there is enough information to cover a given assignment, the best writers prepare an outline of what they are going to write. This is simply a list of items that will be covered in the writing. It helps to have an outline in place to help in organizing thoughts and points in the course of writing. That way, it is unlikely that important items and sections of the writing will be left out.
Excellence in writing is a combination of many factors and that includes grammar and understanding different writing styles. The use of good grammar is the key in determining writing excellence. Therefore, perfecting your grammar will be a lot helpful. Keep doing more and more grammar tests if you want to become a much better writer from time to time.
Again, understand that there are different styles of writing and that a lot of creativity is needed to deliver in different kinds of writings. These two aspects put together will get you amazing writing results in your career as a writer. Keep learning because things are changing from time to time.
It is not enough to complete a given write-up. Good writers take time to read through and edit any mistakes that could have occurred during the writing process. If not, they hire professionals doing editing jobs to help them proofread and edit the work. It is good practice because it is not easy to see your own mistakes at times.
The secret to being a good writer is to stay in the learning mode. Keep following through other writers and read more and more each day. The best writers in AceMyPaper services succeed because they have mastered the art of writing by reading different literature materials. They put together important tips and information helpful in making them better writers tomorrow by studying and taking tests to enhance their grammar. |
Tag: NASA Marshall
New NASA Challenge Offers Prizes for Sprouting Astronaut Food Systems
January 13, 2021 January 12, 2021 News 0
NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have coordinated to open the Deep Space Food Challenge, targeted at developing novel food system technologies for long-duration deep space missions. (Credits: NASA)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — Astronauts need hearty nutrients to maintain a healthy diet in space, but like any of us, they want their food to taste good, too! As NASA develops concepts for longer crewed missions to Mars and beyond, the agency will need innovative and sustainable food systems that check all the boxes.
NASA Selects 4 Concepts for Small Missions to Study Universe's Secrets
January 9, 2021 January 8, 2021 News 0
As neutron stars collide, some of the debris blasts away in particle jets moving at nearly the speed of light, producing a brief burst of gamma rays. (Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has chosen four small-scale astrophysics missions for further concept development in a new program called Pioneers. Through small satellites and scientific balloons, these selections enable new platforms for exploring cosmic phenomena such as galaxy evolution, exoplanets, high-energy neutrinos, and neutron star mergers.
Tiny NASA Cameras to Watch Commercial Lander form Craters on Moon
January 8, 2021 News 0
HAMPTON, Va. (NASA PR) — This little black camera looks like something out of a spy movie — the kind of device one might use to snap discrete photos of confidential documents.
It's about half the size of a computer mouse.
But the only spying this camera — four of them, actually — will do is for NASA researchers wondering what happens under a spacecraft as it lands on the Moon.
NASA Space Launch System Rocket Proceeding with Green Run Hot Fire
Fully loading the propellant and detecting no leaks is a major milestone for the Green Run test series. A total of 114 tanker trucks delivered propellant to six propellant barges next to the B-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The barges deliver more than 733,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the core stage for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket as part of the seventh test in the Green Run test series. The wet dress rehearsal test marks the first time propellant is loaded and drained from the propellant tanks of the stage that will help power Artemis I. Six propellant barges send fuel through a special feed system and lines in the test stand to the rocket stage. (Credits: NASA)
BAY St. Louis, Miss. (NASA PR) — NASA is targeting the final test in the Green Run series, the hot fire, for as early as Jan.17. The hot fire is the culmination of the Green Run test series, an eight-part test campaign that gradually brings the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) — the deep space rocket that will power the agency's next-generation human Moon missions — to life for the first time.
Dynetics Achieves Critical NASA Milestone, Delivers Key Data on Lunar Lander Program
Credit: Dynetics
The company and its subcontractors complete a major step in the Human Landing System (HLS) competition while continuing to perform significant hardware and software development activities
HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Jan. 6, 2021 – Dynetics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, has submitted its proposal for Option A of the Human Landing System (HLS) for NASA's Artemis Program. The Dynetics team has also completed the HLS Continuation Review, a critical milestone during the 10-month base period, which NASA will use to assess progress on HLS hardware development and program plans.
NASA Completes Design Review of the SLS Exploration Upper Stage
December 27, 2020 December 26, 2020 News 0
This illustration shows the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for the evolved configuration of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. (Credits: NASA/Terry White)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) for future flights of NASA's Space Launch System rocket has passed its Critical Design Review, or CDR.
A panel of experts evaluated the EUS in the latest review to determine that the stage's design meets requirements for future missions. This most recent assessment certifies the EUS meets critical design requirements to withstand deep space environments and when completed will ensure astronaut safety.
The review board also evaluated testing processes, the ability of the industrial base to supply parts and tooling, and production plans. Boeing, the prime contractor for the EUS as well as the core stage, will manufacture and assemble the upper stage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A structural test article of the stage will undergo testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the SLS Program is managed. The flight article will undergo Green Run testing at the agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, before its first flight, similar to the SLS core stage Green Run testing currently in progress, including a hot firing of the engines.
NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. SLS and Orion, along with the human landing system and theGateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA's backbone for deep space exploration.
For more on NASA's SLS, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/sls
3 Things We've Learned From NASA's Mars
Credit: NASA
InSight scientists are finding new mysteries since the geophysics mission landed two years ago.
PASADENA, Calif. (NASA PR) — NASA's InSight spacecraft touched down Nov. 26, 2018, on Mars to study the planet's deep interior. A little more than one Martian year later, the stationary lander has detected more than 480 quakes and collected the most comprehensive weather data of any surface mission sent to Mars. InSight's probe, which has struggled to dig underground to take the planet's temperature, has made progress, too.
3D Printed Rocket Engine Parts Survive 23 Hot-Fire Tests
Hot-fire testing of an additively manufactured copper alloy combustion chamber and a nozzle made of a high-strength hydrogen resistant alloy. (Credits: NASA)
By Hillary Smith
NASA's Game Changing Development Program
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Future lunar landers might come equipped with 3D printed rocket engine parts that help bring down overall manufacturing costs and reduce production time. NASA is investing in advanced manufacturing – one of five industries of the future – to make it possible.
NASA Defines Science Priorities for First Crewed Artemis Landing on Moon
December 8, 2020 December 7, 2020 News 0
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has identified the agency's science priorities for the Artemis III mission, which will launch the first woman and next man to the Moon in 2024. The priorities and a candidate set of activities are included in a new report.
NASA Selects Solar Sail, Earth Atmosphere Study SmallSat Missions
Solar Cruiser spacecraft (Credit: NASA)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA has selected two SmallSat missions – a study of Earth's outer most atmosphere and a solar sail spaceflight test mission – to share a ride to space in 2025 with the agency's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP).
The missions – the Global Lyman-alpha Imagers of the Dynamic Exosphere (GLIDE) and Solar Cruiser – were selected as Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) Missions of Opportunity. GLIDE will help researchers understand the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere – the exosphere – where it touches space. Solar Cruiser demonstrate the use of solar photons for propulsion in space.
Dig In: NASA Challenge Seeks Innovations to Excavate Moon Resources
December 1, 2020 November 30, 2020 News 0
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — From garage inventors to university students and entrepreneurs, NASA is looking for ideas on how to excavate the Moon's icy regolith, or dirt, and deliver it to a hypothetical processing plant at the lunar South Pole. The NASA Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, now open for registration, is designed to develop new technologies that could support a sustained human presence on the Moon by the end of the decade.
Artemis I Launch Preparations Are Stacking Up
November 28, 2020 November 27, 2020 News 0
The aft segments of the Space Launch System solid rocket boosters for the Artemis I mission prepare to move from high bay 4 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher inside high bay 3 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Credits: NASA/Cory Huston)
By Madison Tuttle
NASA's Kennedy Space Center
NASA has stacked the first piece of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on the mobile launcher in preparation for the Artemis I launch next year. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineers lowered the first of 10 segments into place Nov. 21 for the twin solid rocket boosters that will power the first flight of the agency's new deep space rocket. Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight to test the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon with the Artemis program.
Keeping Spacecraft on Course with Propellant Management Technologies
Carthage students Taylor Peterson (left) and Celestine Ananda are shown here observing the gauging of unsettled liquids during a period of microgravity on a flight with ZERO-G in November 2018. (Credits: Carthage College)
by Nicole Quenelle
NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center
Rocket off course? It could be a slosh problem.
Propellant slosh, to be exact. The motion of propellant inside a rocket-based launch vehicle or spacecraft tank is an ever-present, vexing problem for spaceflight. Not only can it make gauging the amount of available propellant difficult, but the volatile waves of liquid can literally throw a rocket off its trajectory.
Marshall Team Enables Increased Science Return from International Space Station Astronauts
The Payload Operations Integration Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. (Credit: NASA/Emmett Given)
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/releases/2020/marshall-team-enables-increased-science-return-from-international-space-station-astronauts.html
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — Flying silently through the void of space around a globe of blue and green is the most advanced science laboratory ever developed: the International Space Station. Inside humanity's orbiting outpost is a buzz of activity as explorers, pilots, doctors, and scientists from around the world conduct experiments, maintain the facility, and develop new technologies.
Nuclear Tech in Space: What's on the Horizon?
November 5, 2020 November 4, 2020 News 0
Illustration of a Mars transit habitat and nuclear propulsion system that could one day take astronauts to Mars. (Credits: NASA)
La Grange Park, Ill. (American Nuclear Society PR) — NASA aims to develop nuclear technologies for two space applications: propulsion and surface power. Both can make planned NASA missions to the moon more agile and more ambitious, and both are being developed with future crewed missions to Mars in mind. Like advanced reactors here on Earth, space nuclear technologies have an accelerated timeline for deployment in this decade. |
February 7, 2019 leonard4
A Look at BA's 2009 Top Prospect List
I think 10 years is enough, don't you? Like we did with Baseball America's 2008 top prospect list back in October, it's time to see how BA did with the next year's list.
As always, remember that hindsight is 20/20, and prospect lists are pretty hard to do. (I learned this myself after the 2018 Valley League season.) Also keep in mind that it's altogether possible that some of the "misses" did not reach BA's minimum at-bats or innings pitched threshold.
Haymarket won the only title in franchise history in 2009 after a 22-22 regular season. The Senators defeated the Covington Lumberjacks in the finals, 3 games to 1.
BA's List
1. Daniel Bowman, of, Luray (So., Coastal Carolina)
2. Johnny Dishon, of, Staunton (So., Louisiana State)
3. Drew Rucinski, rhp, Luray (Jr., Ohio State)
4. Michael Lang, of, Haymarket (Jr., Rutgers)
5. Stephen McQuail, 3b, Front Royal (Jr., Canisius)
6. Todd Brazeal, 1b, Staunton (So., South Florida)
7. Greg Hopkins, 3b, Haymarket (Jr., St. John's)
8. Pablo Bermudez, of, Luray (So., Florida International)
9. Bobby Rauh, of, Winchester (SIGNED: Braves)
10. Chris Sorce, rhp, Harrisonburg (SIGNED: Mariners)
Hits (8 of the 10 played organized ball)
Bowman was not drafted, but after two seasons of crushing the Independent Frontier League, he was signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in 69 games at three different levels in 2014 before being released.
Dishon was drafted in the 42nd round by the Brewers in 2010. He played 4 seasons in the minors, slashing 240/338/357 in 948 plate appearances, topping out in the Florida State League.
Rucinski was a big hit. Oddly, he pitched 3 seasons in the Valley, but only made BA's list this one time. He was undrafted, like Bowman, and went to pitch in the Indy Leagues. He was signed by Cleveland, released after one season, went back to the Frontier League, and was picked up by the Angels. Drew eventually made the majors with the Angels in 2014, and has pitched in 41 major league games, going 4-4, 5.33, with a 1.59 WHIP. He spent 2018 with the Miami Marlins.
Lang, like Bowman and Rucinski, was undrafted and got started in Independent ball; in Lang's case, for Sioux City of the American Association. He was signed by the Diamondbacks, and spent 2012 and 2013 in the minor leagues, hitting 261/323/417 in 142 games. After his release, he returned to Sioux City, and has spent the rest of his career there- and is still active! He's hit 304/373/432 in 473 games there. He owns some franchise records; he must be a fan favorite in Iowa!
McQuail, the VBL HR Derby champ in 2009, was picked in the 30th round of the 2010 draft by the Blue Jays. After two seasons in the minors, he played in the Indy Frontier League for 2012 and 2013, before, as what has seemingly happened to all these guys, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed him. He played 2014 and 2015 in the 'Backs' system, reaching Triple-A, before heading back to the Indy Leagues for the end of 2015. He hit 238/309/432 in 223 minor league games.
Hopkins, the Valley League MVP in 2009, was picked in the 24th round in the 2010 draft by the Brewers. In his five seasons in the minor leagues, Greg hit 245/296/354. He played in almost 100 games at the end of his career for Somerset in the Atlantic League as well.
Bobby Rauh was signed before this list even came out; he played 95 minor league games in his career, hitting 227/311/305. Bobby stole 37 bases in the VBL in 2009, which was the most since 2004 until Jay Charleston stole 39 in 2017. He was an assistant coach for Winchester in 2012, and head coach for Charles Town in 2013. He's now a salesman for medical equipment.
Chris Sorce was also signed before the end of the summer; he subsequently spent four seasons in the Seattle Mariner's system, going 19-17, 4.97, with a 1.493 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, and 6.7 K/9 in 302 2/3 innings pitched.
Misses (From the list)
Todd Brazeal played all four years at South Florida, hitting 282/397/412 in 742 at-bats. He was a 2nd team College Freshman All-American in 2009, but went undrafted after his college eligibility expired.
Pablo Bermudez played for four years at Florida International, winning the Player of the Year award in the Sunbelt League in his junior year after hitting 373/488/524. He went undrafted, and played one year in the Frontier League in 2013.
Notable Players Missed (Not on the list)
Sherman Johnson, 2B, Covington (Florida State): Johnson made his major league debut this past September, and has 11 plate appearances at the game's highest level.
Guido Knudson, RHP, Woodstock (Cal, San Diego): Knudson pitched in four games in the majors in 2015 with the Detroit Tigers. He pitched in 187 minor leagues games.
Jack Leathersich, LHP, Haymarket (UMass-Lowell): Leathersich has always had an electric arm, and has pitched 16 2/3 major league innings, striking out 21 batters, while walking 13.
Tommy La Stella, 2B, Haymarket (Coastal Carolina): An 8th round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2011, Tommy has been mostly in the majors the last five seasons, hitting 264/345/366 in 396 games and 818 at-bats. He's mostly a pinch hitter for the Cubs, and has been recently traded to the Angels.
Re-Do!
1. Tommy La Stella, 2B, Haymarket (Coastal Carolina)
3. Jack Leathersich, LHP, Haymarket (UMass-Lowell)
4. Sherman Johnson, 2B, Covington (Florida State)
5. Guido Knudson, RHP, Woodstock (Cal-San Diego)
6. Corey Williams, LHP, Winchester (Vanderbilt)
7. Greg Hopkins, 3b, Haymarket (St. John's)
8. Jared Simon, OF, Front Royal (Tampa)
9. Jacob Wilson, 2B, Luray (Memphis)
10. Johnny Dishon, OF, Staunton (Louisiana State)
The top five have all played in the major leagues, while the bottom five were all pretty high draft picks. You could make the case for Riley Cooper, too, who played in the NFL for six seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (and Haymarket in 2009). He was a better football prospect than baseball one, I believe.
Nine players from the 2008 VBL season played in the majors, with only five from 2009, and only two of those with any lasting impact.
What do you think, Brilliant Reader? Would you like to see the 2010 list?
Rucinski
Leathersich
Bobby Rauh
Chris Sorce
Corey Williams
Covington Lumberjacks
Daniel Bowman
Drew Rucinski
Front Royal Cardinals
Greg Hopkins
Guido Knudson
Harrisonburg Turks
Haymarket Senators
Jack Leathersich
Jacob Wilson
Jared Simon
Johnny Dishon
Pablo Bermudez
Sherman Johnson
Staunton Braves
Stephen McQuail
Todd Brazeal
Tommy La Stella
Winchester Royals
Woodstock River Bandits
Previous Major League Record Book: Strikeouts in a Season
Next Major League Record Book: ERA in a Season |
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On TV: Men Behaving Badly
The existential hell that is CBS's Monday night lineup
TV review, March 30, 2007
It goes without saying that the average sitcom is never going to make you laugh. The only question is what form of humorlessness a particular show will take. Will it be bold and cheerful and stupid, the way classic sitcoms like My Three Sons or Bewitched used to be -- like loud uncles at family reunions who tell you their wheeziest knee-slappers as they elbow you in the ribs? Or will it be soothingly mirthless like The Cosby Show or Family Ties, where every joke seemed to have been designed by teams of scientists and educators as a synthetic humor substitute?
With the flourishing crop of sitcoms on CBS Monday nights, we seem to be moving into a newer and more menacing way of not being funny. How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement -- they're like a row of drunk men at a bar telling sour jokes about their wives and girlfriends while laying down the law about life. The longer you listen, the more you feel like you're staring into the abyss. You don't laugh with them, and you can't quite bear to laugh at them -- only because you're just not capable of being that dark.
Two and a Half Men is the most brutal of the bunch. It's about two brothers whose contrasting sufferings reveal the fundamental hell of American masculinity. One brother, Charlie (Charlie Sheen), is a "typical guy" -- which is to say he's a raging horndog who spends every waking moment pursuing, bedding, and discarding a succession of gorgeous women. The other brother, Alan (Jon Cryer), is Charlie's opposite -- he's a failed horndog, basically a doofus, who spends every waking moment longing for, and striking out with, gorgeous women. He has to settle for bedding female doofuses and is perpetually hoping that they're secretly slutty. Only they keep turning out to be, in Charlie's courteous words, "crazy bitches."
That's it; that's all that ever happens: a weekly dance of horndogs, doofuses, sluts, and crazy bitches. One week Alan is drawn to a female doofus (Allison Janney from The West Wing), but she proves to be a crazy bitch who leaves him tied to the bed and dressed in drag. End of episode. In another, somewhat more contemplative one, Charlie undergoes a spiritual crisis when he realizes he's becoming middle-aged and can't keep up with his current, achingly nubile girlfriend. His solution is to go to a bar where senior citizens hang out and find a hot older woman (special guest star Morgan Fairchild). She restores his confidence by promising that if he takes her to bed she'll have multiple orgasms. Problem solved.
If this horndoggy triumphalism is too much for you, stick around for Rules of Engagement immediately afterward. It's the same show, only more morose -- essentially a meditation on marriage as a form of spiritual death. Lead character Jeff (Patrick Warburton) is a horndog emeritus -- he's married, which means that he's watching the last flickering traces of his joie de vivre fade in the embers. His wife, Audrey (Megyn Price), is a curdled version of the classic sitcom wife -- consumed with bitterness, contemptuous of her husband, and retaining only a somber satisfaction in her ability to torture him by withholding sex. But, as Jeff explains, that's only to be expected: they've been together for several years, which means of course "the sex part of our marriage is pretty much over."
Meanwhile, Jeff's younger friend Adam (Oliver Hudson) is terrified by the thought of his impending marriage to Jennifer (Bianca Kajilich), who's a sort of Audrey in training. Jennifer has Adam in total thrall while flashing all kinds of warnings that she's going to make his married existence a hell on earth. In one episode, Adam coaxes her into revealing her fantasy of the perfect birthday. She confesses that it involves taking a nap while he cleans the apartment. "No crazy sex?" he asks, his voice tremulous with dawning horror. There'd be no point to fantasizing that, she tells him: "Sexwise, I figure I can get anything from you any day of the year. I mean, I'm a girl and you're a guy, after all." He nods glumly, fully grasping at last the misery ahead; it's as though he's hearing the clods of dirt fall on his coffin.
But the most sinister show of them all is How I Met Your Mother -- if only because it's the one most determined to come off as upbeat and kicky and light. The premise is that sometime in the future our hero Ted (Josh Radnor) is filling his children in on the absurdly complicated chain of events that led to their procreation. Every episode is simply another piece in the grand design of destiny: Ted was frantic to get to the airport to catch a plane for a job interview but was sidetracked by goofy complications involving jumping subway turnstiles and making a court date and running the New York marathon, and thus didn't get the job and stayed in New York, and thus met . . . and so on.
It might be almost charming if the story lines weren't such slack, stupid exercises in post-Seinfeld absurdism -- the producers have forgotten, or aren't capable of following, the Seinfeld rule that this kind of surrealist plotting must look as rigorously logical as a Restoration farce. (If you knew you were due in court, why would you agree to a job interview in another city on the same day?) But the deeper problem is that underneath the cheeriness is an unarticulated horror: the show is really about the psychopathology of the nice guy. Ted might seem harmless and goofy, but deep down he's a doofus version of Raging Bull.
The episode that exposes his soul is about a fight he has with his girlfriend, Robin (Cobie Smulders). She wants him to clear his apartment of mementos of former lovers. He agrees, but only if she'll do the same with hers. She tells him there's a problem: the only gifts she's kept are her beloved pet dogs. You might think that a chivalrous man would at this point drop the whole issue, but not our nice guy Ted. He's now consumed by fantasies about the dogs; when he looks at them he sees Robin's ex-lovers. He pictures her leading these men around on leashes -- a scene heavy with suggestions of both bestiality and S-M, and way kinkier than anything I've ever seen on Cinemax. He demands that she get rid of the dogs, and to save their relationship she sends them off to an aunt upstate.
But, wait, we're not done! Robin then finds out that Ted lied; he never got rid of his mementos. What are living creatures like dogs worth, after all, compared to his prize collection of inanimate objects? Ted and Robin have a ferocious argument -- mercifully presented as a high-speed montage -- and then at the close of the episode, in a resolution that tops any J-horror extravaganza for bloodcurdling doom, they decide . . . to move in together.
Not scary enough for you? Then consider the kicker -- which, as in all true horror classics, is never stated directly but left for you to work out for yourself. Faithful viewers will have already picked up clues in previous episodes that Robin is not going to turn out to be the mother of Ted's children. This means that even after Robin gives up her dogs, her self-worth, and her sanity in order to live with this transcendent jerk, he's going to move on to somebody else.
Then again, a revelation like that might actually be worth a laugh. Because if the show isn't pure nightmare fantasy and somewhere in the world there really are guys like this finding women to reproduce with, then the joke's on all of us. |
Q: Using case when in Spark Scala I am new with Apache Spark, I am using Scala to work with it.
I have some doubts and one of them is how to use case when for my example.
I have to work with distributed systems and what I have to do is classify some instances. To do this I have a DataFrame as you can see here:
+--------------------+------------+
| group | info |
+--------------------+------------+
|gr=nat, dfn | x1betdfn |
|gr=pjc, ntp | x2b1trkn |
|gr=ntp, ntt | x3b2td3n |
+--------------------+------------+
So through the column called group I have to filter or do a regex to get just the three letters after gr= (would be nat, pjc or ntp) and then write it in a new column.
What is the most efficient way to do this?
This is what I am doing:
val df2 =
df.withColumn("tgroup", when(col("group").match === "nat", "nat_1_nm")
.when(col("group").match === "pjc", "pjc_determined")
.when(col("group").match === "ntp", "ntp_dway")
.otherwise("Unknown"))
But is not working. I am trying to get this:
+--------------------+------------+----------------+
| group | info | |
+--------------------+------------+----------------+
|gr=nat, dfn | x1betdfn | nat_1_nm |
|gr=pjc, ntp | x2b1trkn | pjc_determined |
|gr=e2p, ntt | x3b2td3n | Unknown |
|gr=ntp, ntt | x3b2td3n | ntp_dway |
+--------------------+------------+----------------+
What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance.
A: Try to do something like this, using rlike. Just build your own regexp:
val df2 =
df.withColumn("tgroup",when(col("group").rlike("(?i)^*nat,\\s[a-zA-Z]*$"), "nat_1_nm").
otherwise(when(col("group").rlike("(?i)^*pjc,\\s[a-zA-Z]*$"), "pjc_determined").
otherwise(when(col("group").rlike("(?i)^*ntp,\\s[a-zA-Z]*$"), "ntp_dway").otherwise("Unknown"))))
I tried it with an example and I am getting your expected output:
import spark.implicits._
val df = Seq(
("gr=nat, dfn"),
("gr=pjc, ntp"),
("gr=e2p, ntt"),
("gr=ntp, ntt")
).toDF("group")
A: If the values of group column always of the form gr=XXX, using startsWith method should be enough in your case :
val df2 = df.withColumn(
"tgroup",
when(col("group").startsWith("gr=nat"), "nat_1_nm")
.when(col("group").startsWith("gr=pjc"), "pjc_determined")
.when(col("group").startsWith("gr=ntp"), "ntp_dway")
.otherwise("Unknown")
)
df2.show
//+-----------+--------+--------------+
//| group| info| tgroup|
//+-----------+--------+--------------+
//|gr=nat, dfn|x1betdfn| nat_1_nm|
//|gr=pjc, ntp|x2b1trkn|pjc_determined|
//|gr=e2p, ntt|x3b2td3n| Unknown|
//|gr=ntp, ntt|x3b2td3n| ntp_dway|
//+-----------+--------+--------------+
You may also want to extract the value XXX after gr= using regexp_extract function:
val df2 = df.withColumn(
"tgroup",
regexp_extract(col("group"), "^gr=(.{3}),.*", 1)
).withColumn(
"tgroup",
when(col("tgroup") === "nat", "nat_1_nm")
.when(col("tgroup") === "pjc", "pjc_determined")
.when(col("tgroup") === "ntp", "ntp_dway")
.otherwise("Unknown")
)
|
Welcome to Adoption Network's Irving, Texas resources page. Here you will find information relevant to anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy, hoping to adopt a baby, or trying to find the perfect family for their baby around Irving. This guide provides home study resources, adoption agencies, foster care resources, legal information, and hospitals in Irving, Texas.
Additional information can be found on our Texas State page.
For adoptive parents, a home study is required. This process helps ensure that every baby placed for adoption finds the right home.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent in Irving, contact any of the following regional agencies.
Adoptive parents and expectant mothers must create a hospital plan to ensure that the desires and rights of all parties are respected. You will work with your adoption professional and your delivery hospital to ensure that everything goes smoothly. Here are some hospitals near you to contact and get started with.
Read up on adoption laws and regulations within both the United States and Texas. Visit the Adoption Network Resource Center to learn more and connect with legal professionals. You may also visit Texas Adoption Laws for more information.
Contact your local courthouse below for additional help.
Spending time in Irving? Be sure to check out these fun spots! |
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The 'MV Lord of the Glens' is a vessel with the elegant appeal of a luxury yacht with all-round teak-clad viewing and promenade decks and rich mahogany interiors. There are 27 luxury state-cabins accommodating 54 passengers, a bar, lounge and a restaurant which can accommodate up to 60 diners in one sitting.
Medical: Since the vessel is never more than one hour from port and moors overnight - no medical facilities are available on board but can be obtained on-shore within minutes.
Power Points: The voltage throughout the vessel is 220 with British three pinned plugs. Universal adapters are available from the reception.
Dress: Dress is smart casual but a jacket is preferred for the formal receptions. Otherwise layered clothing is recommended since passengers have been surprised at the warmth of the vessel and the amount of sunshine encountered at these latitudes.
No Smoking: There are designated external areas reserved for smoking. For safety and comfort reasons a 'non-smoking' regime exists throughout the vessel.
There are 27 luxury state-cabins accommodating 54 passengers each tastefully furnished in mahogany finishes, with dressing table and stool, hairdryer, satellite TV, individually controlled air-conditioning/heating, safe deposit box, music system, internal telephone and en suite facilities (shower, toilet, washbasin). In addition to the storage for suitcases under the beds there is a full size wardrobe. All cabins are outside facing with 23 having a large picture window (with tinted glass for extra privacy) and two with two large portholes each. |
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Connecting with International Business Leaders is Elementary: Start with the Periodic Table of LinkedIn Influencers.
Cueto Law Group, P.L.
One of the great things about my job is connecting with international business leaders from all over the world.
Whether it's resolving a dispute between parties in Zurich and Saudi Arabia or closing a deal between joint partners in Singapore and London, it's the relationship-building that is the most fulfilling.
While working on international matters is an ideal way to connect, I've found that LinkedIn's Influencer platform is also a great way to build relationships with international business leaders all over the world.
How to Connect with International Business Leaders on LinkedIn
LinkedIn Influencers are people who LinkedIn recognizes as industry leaders. There are now over 300 Influencers including Richard Branson, Mark Cuban, Deepak Chopra, Jack Welch, and many others.
By "following" Influencers, you can read, like, comment directly, and share Influencer content with your network.
But with so many incredible Influencers to choose from, identifying which industry leader to follow can be overwhelming.
That's why I developed the Periodic Tables of LinkedIn Influencers.
The Periodic Table of LinkedIn Influencers
It's a quick and easy way to identify the Top 120 Influencers to follow. The table also includes a 7-step guide to engage and connect with key Influencers.
To get you on your way towards Influencer stardom, take a few minutes to glance over the Periodic Table of LinkedIn Influencers and select several of them to follow —just click to magnify:
After you've selected several Influencers to follow, head over to the influencer's LinkedIn Profile and website.
By doing so, you'll get a good idea of the things they're most passionate about. It could be anything from international business, foreign affairs or non-profit work.
This will lay the groundwork for you to engage and connect with international business leaders from all around the world.
Follow these steps, and soon you'll be an international business leader too.
The post Connecting with International Business Leaders is Elementary: Start with the Periodic Table of LinkedIn Influencers. appeared first on International Business Law Advisor.
Source: International Business Law Advisor
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One of the first cars to use a Rotary engine.
The NSU Ro 80 was a technologically advanced large sedan-type automobile produced by the German firm of NSU from 1967 until 1977. largely unknown for building cars outside Europe, the Ro 80 was a unique car with a 115 bhp (86 kW), 995 cc twin-rotor Wankel engine driving the front wheels through a clutchless semi-automatic transmission. It was voted Car of the Year for 1968 by European motoring writers.
Unfortunately for NSU, the car developed an early reputation for unreliability it could never escape. The Wankel engine in particular suffered from heavy wear on the rotor tip seals, among many other problems, and some early cars required a completely rebuilt engine before 30,000 miles (50,000 km). Poor understanding of the Wankel engine by dealers and mechanics did not help this situation. By the 1970 model year, most of these problems were resolved, but the damages to the car's reputation and NSU's financial situation were irreparable. NSU even planned to develop a 3 rotor motor but this plan was scrapped largely due to lack of funds.
Other technological features of the Ro 80 aside from the powertrain were the four wheel disk brakes, still a rarity among cars of its class at the time. The front brakes were mounted inboard, reducing the unsprung weight. The suspension was independent on all four wheels, with MacPherson struts at the front and semi-trailing arm suspension at the rear, both of which are space-saving designs commonly used today. Power assisted rack and pinion steering was used, again foreshadowing modern designs.
The styling, by Claude Luthe, was considered very modern at the time and still holds up well; the Ro 80 has been part of many gallery exhibits of modern industrial design. The large glass area foreshadowed 1970s designs such as Citroën's. The shape was also slippery, with a drag coefficient of 0.355 (practically unequalled for the era, although average for modern cars).
Series production started in October 1967: the last examples came off the production line in April 1977.
NSU were developing a smaller version of the RO-80, to be called the NSU K-70, planned to use a more conventional engine in a move to improve on the bad image they received with the RO-80s reliability. Unfortunately with dwindling funds NSU merged with the Volkswagen and Audi group in 1969. the K70 was released as a Volkswagen in 1971 and NSU continued on with only the RO80 until 1977 when NSU ceased to exist. Only 37,400 vehicles were produced during a ten year production run.
Звездный час NSU пробил в 1967 году, когда компания выставила на всеобщее обозрение революционную модель Ro-80.
Это был незаурядный автомобиль с клиновидным кузовом, который не только стал первым в мире седаном с роторно-поршневым двигателем, но и характеризовался прекрасной обтекаемостью и современным, даже на сегодняшний день, переднеприводным шасси. Автомобиль отличался модным для того времени дизайном. Но все эти незаурядные показатели бледнели перед непревзойденной полуавтоматической трансмиссией. Автомобиль буквально состоял из ноу-хау: его алюминиевый кузов отличался низкой линией капота, что стало возможным благодаря скромным размерам РПД. Так был получен выигрыш не только во внешнем виде, но и в аэродинамике. Двухсекционный роторный двигатель ККМ12 мощностью 115 л.с. приводил передние колеса через механическую КПП с автоматическим сцеплением, обеспечивая разгон до 100 км/ч за 12.8 секунды и "максималку" в 180 км/ч. В те времена такую динамику называли захватывающей!
Неудивительно, что осенью NSU Ro-80 выиграл престижный конкурс "Автомобиль Года". Кстати, первым из немецких автомобилей.
Модель NSU Ro-80 получила самую высокую оценку знатоков автомобилей и запомнилась как машина со сверхмягким двигателем. Но именно в ее новаторском двигателе и заключалась главная проблема: он оказался крайне недолговечным. |
None Dare Call It 'Appeasement'
admin-
Let me get this straight. It's perfectly fair for Barack Obama and his cohorts to repeatedly disparage President Bush's foreign policy as "cowboy diplomacy" but unspeakably horrific for Bush to analogize the Democrats' approach to foreign policy to appeasing Hitler?
When Obama compared Hillary Clinton's threats against Iran to President Bush's threatening "bluster" and "cowboy diplomacy," no one batted an eye.
But when Mr. Bush, in addressing Israel's Knesset, compared those who want to negotiate with today's terrorists and tyrants to an American senator in 1939 who lamented that Hitler's march into Poland might have been avoided "if only I could have talked to Hitler," Obama, other Democrats and the mainstream media went ballistic.
What's wrong with the president assuring our major Middle East ally that, under his watch at least, America will stand by it against our common enemies, such as the Holocaust-denying Iranian regime?
Well, plenty, if you listen to Democrats and the MSM. If President Bush is articulating a position with which they don't agree, he is politicizing foreign policy — an unforgivable sin.
Never mind that Democrats not only have been politicizing foreign policy for the past seven years but also undermining our official policies in the process. Jimmy Carter's intermeddling with Hamas, Nancy Pelosi's junket to Syria, and trips to Iraq by other Democratic members of Congress to sabotage U.S. policy are but several egregious examples.
CNN immediately went into overdrive to protest President Bush's "smearing" of Obama. They also likened it to John McCain's alleged smear of Obama in accurately reporting that Obama was Hamas' choice for president.
Democrats including Tom Daschle, Joe Biden, John Kerry and Dick Durbin were outraged that Bush inserted himself into the presidential campaign. There go these projecting Democrats again — always accusing Republicans of committing sins they invented. While Bush is free to politic all he wants to, I don't believe that's primarily what he was up to here.
Unhappily for Democrats, Bush is still president, and it remains his job to quarterback American foreign policy. In making a foreign policy speech in Israel, it is wholly appropriate, indeed necessary, for him to make his strongest case in support of his policies.
In making his case to stand tough against terrorists — a case he has been making without interruption since 9/11, during and in between election cycles — it is perfectly logical and essential for him to mention — and refute — the opposition party's criticisms of his policy. It's part of how you sell your position.
Democrats can choose to interpret everything through their partisan prism, but Bush was wearing his presidential cap in Israel and was stumping not for John McCain, but for the United States of America. It's too bad, but understandable, that Democrats so often find themselves on the wrong side of our national interests. President Bush was acting abundantly presidential and in furtherance of our national interests when assuring Israel and warning Iran that we will stand by our closest Middle Eastern ally.
Not only is it fair for President Bush to make this point but also it is late in coming. Democrats have been enjoying a free ride on this issue for years, and it's time they were confronted on it — aggressively. These are the people who can say whatever they want about President Bush, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan but cry foul when anyone even hints at holding them accountable for their recklessness.
They are rarely taken to task for their irresponsible "plans" to withdraw our troops from Iraq — no matter what our generals say and absolutely irrespective of the deathly consequences that inevitably would follow.
Though Obama's pacifist armies object to characterizing him as an appeaser, he proved it again this week in his remarks to Democrats in my hometown of Cape Girardeau, Mo., in saying NATO hasn't provided enough troops to help us in Afghanistan because "they are still angry about us going into Iraq." Implicit in his statement was his opinion that NATO is justified not only in being angry at us but also in not helping us in Afghanistan.
Shouldn't we expect our American leaders not to defend NATO in this situation, regardless of its misplaced "anger" about Iraq? Shouldn't NATO's decision to help in Afghanistan be governed solely by whether it's the right thing to do? Shouldn't Obama be condemning, instead of providing cover for, NATO's dereliction of duty here?
The answer is an unqualified yes, but Obama's instinct — in line with that of the entire Democratic leadership — is to blame America first. That's not just a bumper sticker; it is the sad reality, proved time and time again.
If I were President Bush and Democrats accused me of labeling them as appeasers, I'd say: "Guilty as charged. And I'm just getting warmed up. And I fully expect John McCain to follow my lead. Let's have this debate out in the open. Nothing is more important to America's future."
The Clintonizer Battery (Audio)
The Danger in Appeasing Gay Rights Activists
Written By admin- |
Camp Rating: Had a great week of riding, the place is run by two great people, they make you feel welcome. The place is kept in tip top shape. Great place to go and ride either by your self or with their schedule rides. The food is great. The riding is great, just a darn right great place. See you next year.
Camp Rating: Just got back from another awesome week at Panther Creek. My daughter, sister and I started a mommie vacation last year here and had a great time this was just as good. We conquered Harms Way this year with no problem. The campgrounds are great and kept very clean. Dave and Teresa are just the greatest folks. We are already planning our trip for next year. Can't wait. Hope to see you there.
Camp Rating: Another wonderful experience at PCTR. Love this place! Dave and Treasa so such great hosts....Each day was a different Season with the weather but the riding was awesome! Food was very tasty and filling.
Camp Rating: Great Place, first time there and had a super time. Made next year's reservations already, cause we had such a great time. Trails are great. Over a hundred miles of trails, you can either ride in the open or in the wooded trails. Rocky terrain, have shoes on your horse. The views are breath taking. The long horn cows are beautiful. The place is well kept and the stalls are in good condition. Electric and water at all sites. Dave and Theresa are very nice and make your stay enjoyable. Good luck with the place and see you next year.
Camp Rating: First time I have been to Panther Creek I have not ridden in about two years. Had a great time trails are great. Trails for all levels of riders. Campgrounds and stalls are nice and clean. Thank you again Dave and Theresa for the great time. See you next year.
Camp Rating: Trails were nice, even after rain, soil was suitable for riding without muddy conditions. Food was good and plentiful. No picnic tables, but overall campground met our needs. We will be going back. Nice, quiet atmosphere and not a party campground.
Camp Rating: THe new owners are super nice and are working hard to keep Panther Creek the same as when the Patterson's ran it. The place looks very nice and clean and they doing their best to please everyone. This is still one of my favorite places to ride. Tresa does a great job on the food!! The terrain is good too... I look forward to a return trip soon.
Camp Rating: good food hall. great trails riding thru the large longhorn herd. stalls could be better. lots of ticks. hey its the ozarks.
Camp Rating: Wife and I have enjoyed the Patterson family's campground for 7 years now. The trails are great with variety for all. Campground is very nice, Judy is meticulous about everything. |
Platycheirus flavipes är en tvåvingeart som först beskrevs av Szilady 1940. Platycheirus flavipes ingår i släktet fotblomflugor, och familjen blomflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.
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Fotblomflugor
flavipes |
Home / Civil Law / Supreme Court Re-Examines Vicarious Liability
Supreme Court Re-Examines Vicarious Liability
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Vicarious Liability Definition
Holding a person or entity responsible for the harm/damages caused by someone else. In an employment sense, vicarious liability is the liability assigned to an employer or other principle for their employee's acts performed during employment.
What sort of relationship has to exist between an individual and a Defendant before the Defendant can be made vicariously liable for the conduct of that individual? And what is the connection between that relationship and the wrongdoer's act or default (such as to make it just that the Defendant should be held legally responsible to the claimant for the consequences of the wrongdoer's conduct)?
A relationship other than employment is in principle capable of giving rise to vicarious liability provided that certain conditions are met and there is nothing wrong with the traditional close connection test if properly employed, held the supreme court in (1) Cox v Ministry of Justice and (2) Mohamud v WM Morrison Supermarkets plc.
Cox v Ministry of Justice
Mrs Cox was working as a catering manager at Swansea Prison, when a prisoner working in the kitchen accidentally dropped a bag of rice on her, causing injury. She brought proceedings against the Ministry of Justice on the basis that the prison service, one of its many executive agencies, was vicarious liable. The prisoner was not an employee but was required to work in the prison; he had been specifically selected to work in the kitchen and his work was carried out under the direction of the prison staff. Therefore his work formed part of the operation of the prison providing meals for his fellow prisoners.
Mohamud v VM Morrison Supermarkets plc
In 2008, Mr Mohamud stopped at a petrol station; he was on his way to London and wanted to print some documents on a USB stick. He enquired at a kiosk to see if they could help. The petrol station was part of the Morrisons Supermarkets and their employee, Mr Kahn was behind the counter. Mr Khan was rude to Mr Mohamud and ordered him off the premises with a torrent of threatening and racist abuse. Mr Mohamud returned to his car and Mr Kahn followed him. Mr Khan opened the passenger door and punched Mr Mohamud on the head, and when Mr Mohamud went out to close the door, Mr Kahn continued to assault him.
In Cox, the Court held that a relationship other than employment is in principle capable of giving rise to vicarious liability provided that certain conditions are met. First, harm must be wrongfully done by a person who carries on activities as an integral part of the business or operation carried on by the Defendant for its benefit and second, the risk of a wrongful act being committed must be caused by the Defendant assigning activities to the person in question.
In Mohamud, the Court traced the history of the development of the law of vicarious liability and concluded that there is nothing wrong with the close connection test properly applied. In a case such as this, the Court is to ask itself two questions:
1. What field of activities was entrusted by the employee or was the nature of the job;
2. Was there sufficient connection between the field of activities carried out by the employee for it to be just for the employer to be responsibility.
In this case, the violence was a re-enforcement of Mr Kahn's order to leave the premises which was sufficiently connected to the job assigned to him that the employer should be held responsible for.
The implications of this go beyond prisons as the Supreme Court has now accepted that vicarious liability can arise where there is no contract of employment but where activities are undertaken that are integral to the business. This approach may be relevant in the context of many modern work places where workers may be part of the work force but without having a contract of employment with it. |
Why did you want to go through the AMAZING 12 program at TNBFITNESS?
Megan: I wanted to participate in the Amazing 12 program because as a coach and an athlete, I had always trained for sport or performance. It was very different to train for a transformation. I looked at the program as a challenge, just like any competition I'd done, but I was able to compete against myself and make myself better along the way.
Kat: I wanted a guided program that got results in an environment that was based on positivity and empowerment.
What goals did you accomplish during the 12 weeks?
Megan: During the Amazing 12 I lost 10 pounds but my body changed dramatically. I increased all of my major lifts and am especially proud of increasing my deadlift from 110 to 155, a body weight deadlift for me!
Kat: I went in to the program with a clear and open mind. I hit strength gains in these 12 weeks that had taken me a year or more to accomplish in previous training programs.
How do you feel now compared to when you started the AMAZING 12 program?
Megan: I feel so much more confident and healthy compared to when I started the A12. I'm proud of myself for sticking with the program and making such a dramatic change. Not only do I feel better physically, but I am more confident in my skills as a coach because of what I've done.
Kat: I feel more self-confident. Not only do I feel more knowledgeable technically, I feel like I have a better understanding of what my body can handle. I have a new felt appreciation and respect for what I'm capable of and what can be accomplished. I feel proud.
What advice would you give to a person looking to start the AMAZING 12 program?
Megan: I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to see a significant change in the way they look. It's a lot of work but it's absolutely worth it in the end.
Kat: You can google and search and download all the apps you want. Reach out. Get the conversation started. Make your mind up and when you are ready, just wake up every day for the next 12 weeks and show up to the gym. That's 90% of the battle...just show up.
Megan: The Amazing 12 PROGRAM is an incredible journey with an awesome destination!
Kat: The Amazing 12 PROGRAM is one of the best decisions and commitments I have ever made.
Kat: I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's hard, but it is worth every amount of effort you put in to it. Everyone at this gym wants to see you succeed. All you have to do is show up, be coachable and I promise you'll end up being more proud and confident in yourself than you've ever been. At least I was. Eat. Lift. Live. Repeat. |
Set boundaries for the area you want to play in and make sure everyone knows the boundaries.
Each scout puts one end of the string into a back belt loop. The tail should be long enough that at least 4 inches of it touches the ground.
When play starts, everyone tries to stomp on other players' tails. You can not use your hands. If a scout happens to fall, that scout has ten seconds to get up before other players can stomp their tail. Once your tail is out, you are out.
The last player with a tail is the winner. |
Harvey Weinstein Pleads Not Guilty to Multiple Rape, Sexual Assault Charges in L.A. Court
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disgraced movie producer and one-time Democratic Party mega-donor Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday to four counts of rape and seven other sexual assault counts.
Sheriff's deputies brought the 69-year-old convicted rapist into court in a wheelchair. He was wearing a brown jail jumpsuit and face mask. Attorney Mark Werksman entered the plea for the disgraced movie mogul a day after Weinstein was extradited to California from New York, where he was serving a 23-year prison term.
Weinstein spoke only to say "thank you" to Judge Sergio Tapia, who wished him good luck as the hearing ended.
He now awaits a second trial on a second coast, and the possibility of another lengthy sentence.
Weinstein's charges involve five women and span from 2004 to 2013. Most are said to have taken place in the hotels in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles that the New York-based Weinstein would make his headquarters for Hollywood business. Some took place during Oscars week, when his films were perennial contenders before the #MeToo movement brought him down.
Harvey Weinstein (L) arrives with his lawyer Benjamin Brafman to plead not guilty to three felony counts in State Supreme Court on June 5, 2018 in New York City. The former movie producer faces charges in connection with accusations made by aspiring actress Lucia Evans, who has said Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in his Manhattan office in 2004. Weinstein, 66, has been accused by dozens of other women of forcing them into sexual acts using both pressure and threats. Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sexual activity and is currently free after posting $1 million cash bail. (Steven Hirsch-Pool/Getty Images)
He pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape, four counts of forcible oral copulation, two counts of sexual battery by restraint and one count of sexual penetration by use of force, charges that together could bring a sentence of 140 years.
The women were not named in the charging documents.
A New York jury found Weinstein guilty of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel room and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 at his Manhattan apartment.
He is appealing that conviction, seeking a new trial. Weinstein maintains his innocence and contends that any sexual activity was consensual.
Los Angeles prosecutors first charged Weinstein in January 2020, just as jury selection was getting underway in the New York City case.
More charges were added later in the year, and in March, he was indicted by an LA County grand jury.
The pandemic and procedural delays meant that Weinstein's extradition took well over a year. His attorneys cited his declining health as they sought to keep him at a state prison near Buffalo, New York, until jury selection began in the Los Angeles trial.
Weinstein's time in custody in California will count toward his New York sentence, officials said.
Once a major power in Hollywood along with his brother Bob and their movie companies Miramax and The Weinstein Co., Harvey Weinstein would be marked as the archvillain of the #MeToo movement starting late in 2017, when women's accounts were published in the New York Times and the New Yorker. He would be arrested in New York seven months later.
Rumors about Weinstein's behavior swirled in film industry circles for decades, but he silenced many accusers with payoffs, nondisclosure agreements and the fear that he could crush their careers.
The Los Angeles charges came from a task force established to tackle sexual misconduct in Hollywood as #MeToo gained momentum.
Weinstein and porn performer Ron Jeremy are among the few charged by the team, which declined to prosecute more than 20 famous men because the allegations against them were too old or could not be corroborated.
CrimeEntertainmentHarvey Weinstein |
SK kicks off 2021 with $1.5b investment into US hydrogen company Plug Power
By Kim Byung-wook
Published : Jan 7, 2021 - 16:30 Updated : Jan 7, 2021 - 16:30
Hydrogen is pumped into Plug Power's hydrogen charger (SK Group)
South Korea's No.3 conglomerate SK Group said Thursday it would acquire a 9.9 percent stake worth $1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in the US hydrogen fuel cell maker Plug Power to jointly take the initiative in Asian hydrogen markets.
The group's holding firm SK Holdings and a natural gas subsidiary SK E&S will invest 800 billion won each into Plug Power, which will make SK Group the largest stakeholder in the New York-based hydrogen company.
SK Group is expected to finalize the deal in the first quarter this year.
Through the partnership, SK Group and Plug Power plans to set up a joint venture in Korea next year to provide hydrogen fuel cell systems, hydrogen fueling stations and electrolyzers to the Korean and broader Asian markets.
"In Korea, SK Group will utilize Plug Power's hydrogen technology to accelerate the hydrogen ecosystem it envisions. Also, with its network in China and Vietnam, SK Group will seize new business opportunities in those countries," an SK Group official said.
As to why it chose Plug Power as its partner, SK Group offered two reasons -- growth potential and price competitiveness.
According to SK Group, Plug Power is the exclusive supplier of hydrogen forklifts to global retailers including Amazon and Walmart and dominates the US hydrogen forklift market. Plug Power has seen an annual growth of about 50 percent and its market capitalization stood at 16 trillion won as of end of last year.
In the second half of this year, Plug Power will complete and begin the operation of its 1.5-gigawatt hydrogen fuel cell manufacturing plant, the biggest in the world. Through economies of scale, Plug Power will be able to bring down the price of key products including hydrogen fuel cells and electrolyzers.
Fuel cells can generate electricity without any direct carbon emissions, with their only byproduct being water. Electrolyzers are devices that use electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen.
SK Group's aggressive investment is expected to support the Korean government's ambitious hydrogen goals. By 2040, the government aims to produce 6.2 million hydrogen vehicles, establish 1,200 hydrogen charging stations and roll out 80,000 hydrogen taxis, 40,000 hydrogen buses and 30,000 hydrogen trucks.
To power those vehicles, the government will increase the annual production capacity of hydrogen to 5.2 million metric tons by 2040 from 130,000 tons as of 2018.
For power generation, the government will produce fuel cells worth 15 gigawatts -- 8 gigawatts for domestic use and 7 gigawatts for export -- by 2040.
"SK Group will establish an annual hydrogen production capacity worth 280,000 tons by 2025 and operate a complete value chain of hydrogen from production to retail to supply," the official said.
By Kim Byung-wook ([email protected]) |
Thursday, April 18 is Special Friends Day at Edgerton, from 2:15-3:30 P.M. An adult relative, neighbor or parent can join the fun at school. Students and their special friend will tour the building, visit the Edgerton Expo and Book Fair, and have refreshments.
The Edgerton Expo - S.T.E.A.M. Explosion! is coming up on Thursday, April 18 from 4:30 - 7:00 P.M. This is a non-competitive event that encourages students to develop a project based on a subject they are curious or passionate about. Students can choose a project from one of 6 categories. To participate, download a Project Entry Form, fill it out and return it to school.
Hello Edgerton families. We are reminding you that every year we spend some time in March and April giving our students a standardized test, the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment. We give the test primarily because it helps us to see trends and patterns across all our students and helps us to see strengths and weaknesses in our instructional program. Here is a little information regarding testing at Edgerton.
Our Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled for Monday, February 11 from 4:30-8:10 pm and Wednesday, February 13 from 4:30-8:10 pm. Learn more about your conference time and schedule.
Edgerton is joining in on the largest learning event in history: The Hour of Code, during Computer Science Education Week (Dec. 3-7). Last year, 15 million students tried computer science in one week. This year, we're joining students worldwide to reach 100 million students!
Main Edgerton Entrance to close December 3 for construction. All staff, students, and families will be asked to use the north entrance of the school for entry.
Information on the exciting construction that will be starting at Edgerton soon!
Show your Edgerton school spirit by dressing up for Spirit Week -- November 12 - 16! |
Stacking name rings for Mom make a great Mother's Day Gift! These personalized stacking name rings can be customized with any name or word. This set of 5 includes two personalized rings and three beaded bands. Stack them high or wear just one, this set gives you lots of choices!
We do not use prefabricated manufactured rings. Instead, we hand forge the metal ourselves from a flat piece of metal and weld/solder the seam in our studio. TMB rings are made by hand from start to finish. Due to the handmade nature, the seam might be somewhat visible. Although we aim for perfection, we rather not polish away the gold and instead opt to embrace the handmade character of our rings- we hope you do, too! |
Can last year's Wood Awards winner be bettered?
Niall McLaughlin's Bishop Edward King chapel in Oxford seemed such a perfect winner of the top prize at last year's Wood Awards, that you might think that this year's results would be an anticlimax. But you would be wrong.
The judges' final meeting was yesterday, and we were pretty upbeat. Although we came to agreements fairly sharpish, there was some angst – and this was thanks to the sheer quality of the entries. Between us we had voted for some 88 projects for potential short-listing – ie at least one judge thought the project worthy of a visit. And the shortlist that we ended up with was really impressive.
Some projects that we saw were even better than the photos and descriptions suggested; others were a disappointment. That is the purpose of visiting projects and all the projects were seen by some of the judges with one exception – a temporary project that was no longer in place, dRMM and Arup's Endless Stair. In that case there were detailed presentations from the design team.
Not every judge saw every project. That would not have been feasible, and as it was the judging visits added up to well over 100 judge days. It is worth remembering that good awards don't happen without a large amount of voluntary effort. But in the end an award scheme is only as good as the entries. Look at the shortlist and you will get a sense of the quality. And when the winners are revealed in their glory in November, you should be delighted. Perhaps you will disagree with some of the choices, but if you do it will probably be becaause you thought something else was better, not because the winner was undeserving.
A decade ago, any building that used wood in a well-considered way was likely to pick up a prize. Now it will get little moe than an approving nod. There were certainly buildings in the shortlist where one could see that the clients were, rightly, delighted, but where there was not the level of innovation in either thinking or technology or craftmanship that would justify an award. With growing appreciation of the aesthetic and environmental properties of wood, the bar has been raised. Were last year's awards the best? Or this year's? I would say the best is still to come. And that is certainly a subject for celebration. |
DEMI LOVATO'S "DEMI" IN STORES 5/14/13
Already onto her fourth Disc, Actress/Television Personality/Singer/Songwriter Demi Lovato is proving that she has the makings of a Pop Star with a lasting Career. The Album titled Demi, is due in stores on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 via Universal Music Canada and Lovato had a hand in co-writing almost every song. She of course gets the help of some talented Producers and appearing on the Collection include: TheSUSPEX (Mitch Allan & Jason Evigan), Priscilla Renea, Ryan Tedder, Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Savan Kotecha, Ali Tamposi, The Monsters & Strangerz, Jonas Jeberg, Anne Preven and Matt Rad.
To promote the release, the returning Judge on the upcoming season of The X Factor will be appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live (4/1); Dancing with the Stars (4/2); Good Morning America (4/10); Live! with Kelly & Michael (4/11) and The Ellen DeGeneres Show (5/13).
Demi is available for pre-order on Sunday, April 14, 2013. Will an appearace at the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards be forthcoming? We'll soon see…
Official Album Art below:
(Photo credit: Universal Music)
demi lovato MMVAs the x factor
#SPOTTED: BEBE REXHA, ANNE-MARIE, PRINCE JACKSON, ALEXANDRA SHIPP, ASHLEE SIMPSON, GUS KENWORTHY + MORE IN TORONTO FOR 2018 iHEARTRADIO MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
#NEWMUSIC: CLEAN BANDIT FT. DEMI LOVATO – "SOLO"
#SPOTTED: DJ KHALED IN TORONTO FOR DEMI LOVATO'S "TELL ME YOU LOVE ME TOUR"
#SPOTTED: STARS IN TORONTO FOR 2017 IHEARTRADIO MUCHMUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
#SPOTTED: MIGUEL IN TORONTO FOR ALICIA KEYS' "SET THE WORLD ON FIRE TOUR"
#TORONTOBOUND: HONDA CIVIC TOUR WITH MAROON 5 & KELLY CLARKSON TO HIT TORONTO |
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San Miguel de Salilnas
Datos de reciclaje
The municipality of Algorfa has its origin in the privilege granted in 1328 by Alfonso IV to the natives of the kingdom of Valencia, by which it granted the minor jurisdiction, also called alfonsina, to all those owners of rustic estates by the fact to constitute in them At least fifteen houses and settle to an equal number of families. This privilege was in force until the abolition of the fueros of the Kingdom of Valencia by the Decree of New Plant, dictated after War of Succession in 1714 with the proclamation of Felipe V like king of Spain.
On August 16, 1761, the owner of the lordship of Benejúzar, Juan Rosell and Roda, in his testament instituted mayorazgo on the hacienda called "de Algorfa" and other goods in favor of his nephew Francisco Ruiz-Dávalos y Rosell and within his Direct descendants, in their children Antonio and Josefa. The latter, with her husband Ignacio Perez de Sarrió, lord of Formentera, would obtain the Alfonsina jurisdiction for the estate of Algorfa, for which and fulfilling the requirement established in the privilege of 1328, ordered to build 16 houses in said property.
The year after the mayorazgo was created, he obtained the title of marquis of Algorfa, with the previous viscondado of Arneva, by Real Despacho of 3 of March of 1762.
By Real Provision given in the city of Valencia the 26 of June of 1790, Carlos IV, granted the spouses Ignacio Perez de Sarrió and Isabel Ruiz Dávalos, marquises of Algorfa, the Alfonsino privilege on the neighbors of the place recently founded in the inheritance of Algorfa, property of the expressed marquise.
As stated in the written documents relating to the town of Algorfa and its history, in the year 2015 is celebrated the 225th anniversary of its constitution as a neighborhood unit with administrative and political entity. In other words, it became, in 1790, what we now understand as a municipality.
Cayetano Aledo, Pedro Box, Ramón Gil, Mariano Espinosa, José Box, Francisco Mingues, Agustín Menogil, José Menogil, Pedro Quesada, Blas García, Andrés Soto, Andrés García, Francisco Ferrer, Antonio Giménez, José Martínez and Antonio Martínez. 16 first settlers of Algorfa and with his presence the following could be requested, before Carlos IV:
"… I beg to assert that, once these documents have been presented and exhived, it will be useful to declare that the said mixed jurisdiction, called Alfonsina, has been relinquished in my Party, and consequently to have the corresponding Excutorial Dispatch dispatched, so that it may exercise the aforementioned jurisdiction in The mode and form prescribed by the Laws in the new place of Algorfa. "
It was June 26, 1790 and Algorfa was born under a Royal Provision granted by Charles IV to the Marquis of the same name.
It is true that thanks to the great work of Father Furgús, archaeologist and Jesuit, it has been established that Algorfa had its first settlers in ancient times, the Neolithic in particular, III Milenio AC, but the first modern reference of this population we place in that Year of century XVIII.
This was the birth of this new population whose beginnings were not easy, as the neighboring towns of Almoradí and Rojales put many obstacles to the municipal independence of the newly created place of Algorfa, which was the subject of a long struggle between the Marquises de Algorfa and the bordering municipalities.
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NEWS: MASSIVE WAGONS – New Album 'House Of Noise' Smashes UK Charts
The unstoppable Lancaster anthemic rock band did it a gain!!! Massive Wagons' highly anticipated brand new album House Of Noise was resleased on Friday 17th July, via Earache and today debuts at #9 in the UK national chart, #1 in both rock and indie charts and #3 in the vinyl chart!
Massive Wagons celebrated their success alongside the rock community with an innovative and heartwarming initiative in aid of mental health charity Mind. On Thursday the band ran a 26miles marathon and called on all their fans to support their endeavour and help sustain Mind. The result was increadible and the band was able to raise over 400% of their initial target!
House Of Noise is the follow up to the chart-busting Full Nelson, a UK Top 20 hit in 2018. This is the band's fifth studio album and easily their most accomplished work to date. House Of Noise brings together all of the infectious elements that have endeared Massive Wagons to fans of maximum force rock n' roll – a raucous rabble-rousing sense of community, straightforward from-the-heart lyrics, and an irresistible combination of pop melody and street-smart hooks.
The album contains 12 tracks that vary from the high octane opener In It Together, to the anthemic title track and the frankly ludicrous, but hilarious, The Curry Song, via the brooding menace of Hero and bittersweet lament of Sad, Sad Song. The entire experience overflows with personality and passion, and sounds like nothing else. Massive Wagons have definitely found their groove. House Of Noise is a prime example of the band's commitment to bring mental health in the forefront of the conversation. House Of Noise is Massive Wagons most accomplished record, and as such, each track presents many layers, telling a different story. The title track explores different sides of how we experience mental health; Sad, Sad Song describes the struggles with anxiety and panic attacks.
Photo Credit: John McMurtrie
Find MASSIVE WAGONS on Facebook.
Tagged Duff Press, EarAche Records, House Of Noise, Massive Wagons, UK Charts
Previous Post NEWS: EVERY HOUR KILLS – Reveal First Single 'Veiled Aurora' Off Upcoming EP 'Re:Awaken'
Next Post NEWS: RED CAIN – Release New 'Kindred' Saga Single 'Demons' |
{
matrix_id: '2830',
name: 'ifiss_mat',
group: 'Embree',
description: 'Fluid stability problem, illustrates need for iter. refinement',
author: 'M. Embree',
editor: 'T. Davis',
date: '2015',
kind: 'computational fluid dynamics',
problem_2D_or_3D: '1',
num_rows: '96307',
num_cols: '96307',
nonzeros: '3599932',
num_explicit_zeros: '0',
num_strongly_connected_components: '1',
num_dmperm_blocks: '1',
structural_full_rank: 'true',
structural_rank: '96307',
pattern_symmetry: '1.000',
numeric_symmetry: '0.285',
rb_type: 'real',
structure: 'unsymmetric',
cholesky_candidate: 'no',
positive_definite: 'no',
notes: 'Fluid stability problem from IFISS package, Mark Embree, Virginia Tech
The matrix comes from a shift-invert eigenvalue computation that arises
during linear stability analysis of a 2D backward facing step. The
discretizations were created with IFISS, which we also use to compute the
steady-state flow whose stability we are assessing.
Created by the IFISS package, by David Silvester (School of Mathematics,
Univ. of Manchester), Howard Elman (Computer Science, Univ. of Maryland),
and Alison Ramage (Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics, Univ. of
Strathclyde). http://www.maths.manchester.ac.uk/~djs/ifiss/
This matrix requires one step of iterative refinement after LU
factorization. x=A\b in MATLAB (using UMFPACK) does iterative refinement
by default but with just lu, no iterative refinement is done:
In MATLAB R2014a:
x = randn(96307,1);
b = A*x;
x1 = A\b;
norm(x-x1) is 1.1045984e-12
norm(b-A*x1) is 9.3538018e-15
[L,U,P,Q,R] = lu(A);
x2 = Q*(U\(L\(P*(R\b))));
norm(x-x2) is 4.9150874e-05
norm(b-A*x2) is 4.0055911e-07
The matrix is well conditioned, with singular values ranging from
1.003 to 2e-5. The singluar values themselves are in
Problem.aux.singular_values. The need for iterative refinement
comes from the threshold partial pivoting in UMFPACK, which tries
to balance reduction in fill with finding good numerical pivots.
Thus UMFPACK uses iterative refinement with sparse backward error using
the method described in Arioli, Demmel, and Duff, "Sovling sparse linear
systems with sparse backward error", SIAM J. Matrix Analysis & Applic,
vol 10, no 2, pp 165-190, Apr 1989).
The matrix itself is described in this paper:
https://arxiv.org/abs/1601.00044
Pseudospectra of Matrix Pencils for Transient Analysis of
Differential-Algebraic Equations
Mark Embree, Blake Keeler
(Submitted on 1 Jan 2016 (v1),
last revised 27 Jun 2017 (this version, v3))
To understand the solution of a linear, time-invariant
differential-algebraic equation, one must analyze a matrix pencil (A,E)
with singular E. Even when this pencil is stable (all its finite
eigenvalues fall in the left-half plane), the solution can exhibit
transient growth before its inevitable decay. When the equation results
from the linearization of a nonlinear system, this transient growth gives
a mechanism that can promote nonlinear instability. One might hope to
enrich the conventional large-scale eigenvalue calculation used for
linear stability analysis to signal the potential for such transient
growth. Toward this end, we introduce a new definition of the
pseudospectrum of a matrix pencil, use it to bound transient growth,
explain how to incorporate a physically-relevant norm, and derive
approximate pseudospectra using the invariant subspace computed in
conventional linear stability analysis. We apply these tools to several
canonical test problems in fluid mechanics, an important source of
differential-algebraic equations.
',
aux_fields: 'singular_values: full 96307-by-1
', image_files: 'ifiss_mat.png,',
}
|
Consumerinfo.com Settles FTC Charges
FTC Alleges Ads For "Free" Credit Report Violate Federal Court Order
Consumerinfo.com, doing business as Experian Consumer Direct, will pay $300,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that ads for its "free credit report" offer failed to disclose adequately that consumers who signed up would be automatically enrolled in a credit- monitoring program and charged $79.95. The FTC alleged that the failure to clearly disclose the enrollment and charges violated a previous settlement.
In August 2005, Consumerinfo.com, paid $950,000 to settle FTC charges that it deceptively marketed "free credit reports." According to the FTC, Consumerinfo offered consumers a free copy of their credit report and added that they would provide "30 FREE days of Credit Check Monitoring." The FTC alleged that Consumerinfo's advertising and Web sites failed to explain adequately that after the free trial period for the credit-monitoring service expired, consumers automatically would be charged a $79.95 annual membership, unless they notified the defendant within 30 days to cancel the service. Consumerinfo billed the credit cards that it had told consumers were "required only to establish your account" and, in some cases, automatically renewed memberships by re-billing consumers without notice. In addition to the $950,000 payment, the settlement required Consumerinfo to pay redress to deceived consumers, barred deceptive and misleading claims about "free" offers, and required clear and conspicuous disclosure of terms and conditions of any "free"offer.
The FTC alleges that Consumerinfo.com ran ads after the settlement that violated the disclosure requirement. The settlement requires Consumerinfo to give up $300,000 in ill-gotten gains, and bars it from misrepresenting any affiliation with the annual credit report available to consumers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The stipulated judgment and order named Consumerinfo.com, Inc., doing business as Experian Consumer Direct, Qspace, Inc., and Iplace, Inc.
The Commission vote to accept the supplemental stipulated judgment and order was 5-0. It was filed in United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.
NOTE: Stipulated judgments and orders for permanent injunction and monetary relief are for settlement purposes only and do not constitute an admission by the defendant of a law violation. Stipulated judgments have the force of law when signed by the judge.
Copies of the legal documents associated with this case are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,600 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
Claudia Bourne Farrell,
Malini Mithal,
(FTC File No. X05 0065)
(Civil Action No. CV SACV05-801 AHS (MGx))
Consumerinfo.com., Inc., d/b/a Experian Consumer Direct, Qspace, Inc., and Iplace Inc. |
Q: jsonschemavalidator.net is failing to match dateTime pattern I am trying to validate JSON file against this schema including dateTime regex pattern:
{
"$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
"$id": "http://example.com/product.schema.json",
"title": "title",
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"entries": {
"description": "date time entries",
"type": "array",
"contains": {
"type": "object"
},
"items": {
"type": "object",
"properties": {
"dateTime": {
"description": "UTC timestamp in format \"YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssTZD\" according to ISO 8601",
"type": "string",
"pattern": "^(-?(?:[1-9][0-9]*)?[0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])(.[0-9]{3})?(?:Z|[+-][01][0-9]:[0-5][0-9])?$"
}
}
}
}
}
}
When I try to validate this JSON file:
{
"description": "date time entries",
"entries": [
{
"dateTime": "2020-10-09T08:48:41.348+02:00"
},
{
"dateTime": "2020-10-09T08:48:52.240+02:00"
}
]
}
I get the following error regarding second entry in the array:
String '2020-10-09T06:48:52.24+00:00' does not match regex pattern '^(-?(?:[1-9][0-9]*)?[0-9]{4})-(1[0-2]|0[1-9])-(3[01]|0[1-9]|[12][0-9])T(2[0-3]|[01][0-9]):([0-5][0-9]):([0-5][0-9])(.[0-9]{3})?(?:Z|[+-][01][0-9]:[0-5][0-9])?$'.
Please note, that the validator correctly validated 1st entry: "2020-10-09T08:48:41.348+02:00".
What I noticed is that the problem is with entries containing milliseconds with "0" at the end, like: ".240"
|
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<meta name="Keywords" content="Computational Biology, Bioinformatics, CB2,
Emidio Capriotti, Malay Basu
Computational, Molecular, Biology, CMB,
University, Alabama, Birmingham">
<meta name="Author" content="Aysegul Bulut">
<title>CB2-101</title>
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<p class="lead section-lead"><b>CB2-101</b></p>
<h1 class="section-heading">Introduction to Scientific Computing</h1>
<p class="section-paragraph"><strong>"CB2-101: Introduction to Scientific Computing"</strong> offered under the
umbrella of the CB2 initiative at UAB (http://www.uab.edu/cb2). <br>
The course is a hands-on, rigorous, and fast-paced introduction to computer
skills, modeled after the<strong> NSF "immersive learning"</strong> proposal
(http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08204/index.jsp).</p>
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<ul class="list-unstyled">
<li><a href="./docs/cb2-101_Fall2014_linux_intro-1.2.pdf">Introduction to Linux</a>
November 6-7, 2014
</li>
<li><a href="./docs/cb2-101-2.pdf">Computers and Programming Languages</a> November 10, 2014
</li>
<li><a href="./docs/cb2-101-3.pdf">Introduction to Python</a> November 11, 2014
</li>
<li><a href="./docs/cb2-101-4.pdf">Data structure in Python</a> November 12-13, 2014
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<li><a href="./docs/cb2-101-5.pdf">Advanced functions and Modules</a> November 14, 2014
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Why a draw bridge if there is stone on both sides? How do you get under it with a boat?
I see pasture and possibly barns in the distance, so if I had to guess, I'd say it's to keep the animals from going across? |
The Kent KS20 is ideal for styling shorter or layered hair whilst blow drying.
The heat reflecting core ensures maximum drying whilst the small barrel is suited to use with fringes, short or layered hair.
Kent have been supplying stores such as John Lewis, Selfridges, Harrods, Fortnum and Mason along with leading chemists in the UK for over 200 years.
A narrow, satin wood, pure soft white bristle brush. A flat faced dual timber brush made from satin wood and beech. The beech face is filled with soft white bristle whilst the back is capped in satin wood. A terrific grooming brush for people with fine or thinning hair. The bristle helps clean the hair whilst promoting shine and stimulation to the scalp. |
Social determinants of health, such as poverty, play a major role in patients' health outcomes. The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Centre for Effective Practice have joined forces to expand and disseminate an Ontario poverty tool to raise awareness among family physicians and other health professionals of how poverty affects their patients. Poverty: A Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers offers specific resources to help health care providers screen for and respond to poverty concerns in patient encounters, particularly when caring for underserved, vulnerable, and marginalized populations.
Download the Poverty: Clinical Tool for Primary Care Providers.
To learn more about the Poverty tool, please visit https://thewellhealth.ca/poverty or contact the CFPC's Practice Support department at [email protected]. |
View on Strong Women
November 1, 2016 Trevor
Strong Women of Moapa Valley – Joan Rainey Day
Joan is a local artist and has lived the last 16 years in Moapa Valley, Overton, Nevada. Her colorful murals, with natural landscapes and wildlife, grace southern Nevada, Hawaii, and California businesses and homes. You can view public murals in Mesquite (Golden West Restaurant & Casino), Overton, and Moapa (Sugar's Home Plate, Muddy River Bar & Grill, Roos 'N More Zoo).
She has published two state park trail guides, one covering the Valley of Fire and the second containing trail guides of eight eastern Nevada state parks. She has also published an off-road trail guide for southeast Nevada and a plant guide featuring plants and flowers of the Lake Mead and Valley of Fire region. These guides can be found at the Valley of Fire visitors center, the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce, and some local businesses.
Joan's path in life has been varied and interesting. She's an amazing artist using many mediums, an author, avid horsewoman, and ATV enthusiast. Art is her center, and she has pursued her love of nature and the outdoors by visiting unique, sometimes exotic, places, and becoming one with her surroundings. She has kayaked the San Juan Islands, Tierra del Fuego, and the Amazon River. She's explored Machu Picchu in Peru, the Galapagos Islands off of South America, and the wonders of Australia and New Zealand.
She's traveled the United States promoting her wildlife jewelry business. Her jewelry can be found in state parks, natural history museums and retail resort outlets across the country. Years past, Joan worked as an instructor and guide in back country excursions in Mammoth, California. She has worked the past four summers as a trail guide and ranch hand in Utah.
This year, Joan accepted a position as a Site Monitor for Partners in Conservation (PIC) in Logandale Trails, providing assistance, monitoring the trails, and educating the public. She has created designs for promotional and marketing materials for PIC and a current project is creating a coloring book containing plants and wildlife of the area. This job was made for Joan as she loves the outdoors and sharing her knowledge with people.
She has volunteered many hours to non-profit organizations: Nevada Rock Art Foundation, mapping rock art for preservation and research; as a Water Safety volunteer on Lake Mead for the National Park Service, providing visitor assistance and search and rescue. Others include the Lost City Museum, Roos 'N More Zoo, Moapa Valley Revitalization Project, and as a Site Steward, monitoring archaeological sites and reporting back to designated agencies.
Joan also works as a substitute Teacher's Assistant with Clark County School District, working with many special needs students. She has reached children through art, breaking barriers in learning, and making emotional connections that have a positive lifetime impact.
Joan Rainey Day attended Mills College where she majored in zoology with a minor in botany. She also attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she studied biology and worked as a biological illustrator and wildlife artist, and has a wealth of knowledge about biology, plants, and animals. That understanding has been reinterpreted in her artwork.
Joan's dedication to art, love of nature, and drive to preserve our natural resources, culture, and history for future generations make her the perfect choice to feature as a "Strong Woman of Moapa Valley." Like us, you would be proud to call her your friend.
View On, View On Strong Women Strong, View, Women permalink
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\section{Introduction}
\let\thefootnote\relax\footnote{
F.d.P.C. sponsored by the Department of Defense under Air
Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations,
recommendations, and conclusions are those of the authors and are
not necessarily endorsed by the United States Government. Specifically,
this work was supported by Information Systems of ASD(R\&E). M.M.
and K.D. were supported in part by a Netapp faculty fellowship.}
The security of systems is often predicated on a user or application
selecting an object, a password or key, from a large list. If an
inquisitor who wishes to identify the object in order to gain access
to a system can only query each possibility, one at a time, then
the number of guesses they must make in order to identify the
selected object is likely to be large. If the object is selected
uniformly at random using, for example, a cryptographically secure
pseudo-random number generator, then the analysis of the distribution
of the number of guesses that the inquisitor must make is trivial.
Since the earliest days of code-breaking, deviations from perfect
uniformity have been exploited. For example, it has long since been
known that human-user selected passwords are highly non-uniformly
selected, e.g. \cite{malone12}, and this forms the basis of dictionary
attacks. In information theoretic security, uniformity of the string
source is typically assumed on the basis that the source has been
compressed. Recent work has cast some doubt on the appropriateness
of that assumption by establishing that fewer queries are required
to identify strings chosen from a typical set than one would
expect by a na\"ive application of the asymptotic equipartition
property. This arises by exploitation of the mild non-uniformity
of the distribution of strings conditioned to be in the typical set
\cite{Christiansen13a}.
If the string has not been selected perfectly uniformly, but with
a distribution that is known to the inquisitor, then the quantification
of security is relatively involved. Assume that a string, $W_1$,
is selected stochastically from a finite list, $ {\mathbb{A} } = \{0,\ldots,m-1\}$.
An inquisitor who knows the selection probabilities, ${P}(W_1=w)$
for all $w\in {\mathbb{A} }$, is equipped with a method to test one string
at a time and develops a strategy,
$G: {\mathbb{A} }\mapsto\{1,\ldots,m\}$,
that defines the order in which strings are guessed. As the string
is stochastically selected, the number of queries,
$G(W_1)$,
that must be made before it is identified correctly is also
a random variable, dubbed guesswork. Analysis of the distribution
of guesswork serves as a natural a measure of computational security
in brute force determination.
In a brief paper in 1994, Massey \cite{Massey94} established that
if the inquisitor orders his guesses from most likely to least
likely, then the Shannon entropy of the random variable $W_1$ bears
little relation to
the expected guesswork
$E(G(W_1))= \sum_{w\in {\mathbb{A} }} G(w) P(W_1=w)$,
the average number of guesses required to identify
$W_1$.
Arikan \cite{Arikan96} established
that if a string, $W_k$, is chosen from $ {\mathbb{A} }^k$ with i.i.d. characters,
again guessing strings from most likely to least likely, then the
moments of the guesswork distribution grow exponentially in $k$
with a rate identified in terms of the R\'enyi entropy of the
characters,
\begin{align*}
\lim_{k\to\infty} \frac 1k \log E(G(W_k)^\alpha)
&= (1+\alpha) \log \sum_{w\in {\mathbb{A} }} P(W_1=w)^{1/(1+\alpha)}\\
&= \alpha R\left(\frac{1}{1+\alpha}\right)
\text{ for } \alpha>0,
\end{align*}
where $R((1+\alpha)^{-1})$ is the R\'enyi entropy of $W_1$ with
parameter $(1+\alpha)^{-1}$.
In particular, the average guesswork grows as the R\'enyi entropy
with parameter $1/2$, a value that is
lower bounded by Shannon entropy.
Arikan's result was subsequently extended significantly beyond
i.i.d. sources \cite{Malone042,Pfister04,Hanawal11}, establishing
its robustness. In the generalized setting, specific R\'enyi entropy,
the R\'enyi entropy per character, plays the r\^ole of R\'enyi
entropy. In turn, these results have been leveraged to prove that
the guesswork process $\{k^{-1}\log G(W_k)\}$
satisfies a Large Deviation Principle (LDP),
e.g. \cite{Lewis95,Dembo98},
in broad
generality \cite{Christiansen13}.
That is, there exists a lower semi-continuous function
$I:[0,\log(m)]\mapsto[0,\infty]$ such that for all
Borel sets $B$ contained in $[0,\log(m)]$
\begin{align}
-\inf_{x\in B^\circ} I(x) &\leq
\liminf_{n\to\infty} \frac 1k \log
P\left(\frac 1k \log G(W_k) \in B\right) \nonumber\\
&\leq
\limsup_{n\to\infty} \frac 1k \log
P\left(\frac 1k \log G(W_k) \in B\right) \nonumber\\
&\leq -\inf_{x\in \bar{B}} I(x),
\label{eq:LDP}
\end{align}
where $B^\circ$ denotes the interior of $B$ and $\bar{B}$ denotes
its closure. Roughly speaking, this implies $dP(k^{-1} \log G(W_k)
\approx x)\approx \exp(-k I(x)) dx$ for large $k$. In \cite{Christiansen13}
this LDP, in turn, was used to provide direct estimates on the
guesswork probability mass function, $P(G(W_k)=n)$ for
$n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$. These deductions, along with others described
in Section \ref{sec:brief}, have developed a quantitative framework
for the process of brute force guessing a single string.
In the present work we address a natural extension in this investigation
of brute force searching: the quantification for multi-user systems.
We are motivated by both classical systems, such as the brute force
entry to a multi-user computer where the inquisitor need only
compromise a single account, as well as modern distributed storage
services where coded data is kept at distinct sites in a way where,
owing to coding redundancy, several, but not all, servers need to be
compromised to access the content \cite{oliveira12,Calmon12}.
\section{Summary of contribution}
Assume that $V$ users select strings independently from $ {\mathbb{A} }^k$. An
inquisitor knows the probabilities with which each user selects
their string, is able to query the correctness of
each
(user, string)
pair, and wishes to identify any
subset of size
$U$ of the $V$ strings. The first
question that must be addressed is what is the optimal strategy, the
ordering in which (user, string) pairs are guessed, for
the inquisitor. For the single user system, since the earliest
investigations \cite{Massey94,Arikan96,Merhav99,Pliam00} it has
been clear that the strategy of ordering guesses from
the
most to least likely string, breaking ties arbitrarily, is optimal
in any reasonable sense. Here we shall give optimality a specific
meaning: that the distribution of the number of guesses required
to identify the unknown object is stochastically dominated by all
other strategies. Amongst other results, for the multi-user guesswork
problem we establish the following:
\begin{itemize}
\item If $U<V$, the existence of optimal guessing strategies,
those that are stochastically dominated by all other strategies, is
no longer assured.
\item By construction, there exist asymptotically optimal strategies
as the strings become long.
\item For asymptotically optimal strategies, we prove a large
deviation principle for their guesswork. The resulting large deviations
rate function is, in general, not convex and so this result could
not have been established by determining how the moment generating
function of the multi-user guesswork distribution scales in
string-length.
\item
The non-convexity of the rate function shows that, if users' string
statistics are distinct, there may be no fixed ordering of weakness
amongst users. That is, depending on how many guesses are made
before the $U$ users' strings are identified, the collection of
users whose strings have been identified are likely to be
distinct.
\item If all $V$ strings are chosen with the same statistics, then
the rate function is convex and the exponential growth rate of the
average guesswork as string-length increases is the specific R\'enyi
entropy of the string source with parameter
\begin{align*}
\frac{V-U+1}{V-U+2}
\in\left\{\frac 12,\frac 23,\frac 34,\frac4 5,\frac 56,\ldots\right\}.
\end{align*}
\item For homogeneous users, from an inquisitor's point of view,
there is a law of diminishing returns for the expected guesswork
growth rate in excess number of users ($V-U$).
\item For homogeneous users, from a designer's point of view, coming full
circle to Massey's original observation that Shannon entropy has
little quantitative relationship to how hard it is to guess a single
string, the specific Shannon entropy of the source is a lower bound
on the average guesswork growth rate for all $V$ and $U$.
\end{itemize}
These results generalize both the original guesswork studies, where
$U=V=1$, as well as some of the results in \cite{Merhav99,Hanawal11a}
where, as a wiretap model, the case $U=1$ and $V=2$ with one of the
strings selected uniformly, is considered and scaling properties
of the guesswork moments are established. Interestingly, we shall
show that that setting is one where the LDP rate function is typically
non-convex, so while results regarding the asymptotic behavior of
the guesswork moments can be deduced from the LDP, the reverse is
not true. To circumvent the lack of convexity, we prove the main
result using the contraction principle, Theorem 4.2.1 \cite{Dembo98},
and the LDP established in \cite{Christiansen13}, which itself
relies on earlier results of work referenced above.
\begin{figure}
\includegraphics[scale=0.46]{u_of_v_ex0}
\includegraphics[scale=0.46]{u_of_v_ex1}
\caption{Strings created from i.i.d. letters are selected from a
binary alphabet with probability $p$ for one character. Given an
inquisitor wishes to identify $U$ of $V$ strings, the left panel
shows the average exponential guesswork growth rate as a function
of $V-U$, the excess number of guessable strings; the right panel
shows the theoretically predicted approximate average guesswork for
$168$ bit strings, as used in triple DES, as a function of $V-U$,
the excess number of guessable strings.
}
\label{fig:bernoulli_guess}
\end{figure}
\section{
The impact of the number of users on expected guesswork growth rate,
an example
}
\label{sec:firstexample}
As an exemplar that illustrates the reduction in security that comes
from having multiple users, the left panel in Figure
\ref{fig:bernoulli_guess} the average guesswork growth rate for an
asymptotically optimal strategy is plotted for the simplest case,
a binary alphabet with $V$ i.i.d. Bernoulli string sources. In
order to be satisfied, the inquisitor wishes to identify $U\leq V$
of the strings. The x-axis shows the excess number of guessable
strings, $V-U$, and the y-axis is the $\log_2$ growth rate of the
expected guesswork in string length. If the source is perfectly
uniform (i.e. characters are chosen with a Bernoulli $1/2$ process),
then the average guesswork growth rate is maximal and unchanging
in $V-U$. If the source is not perfectly uniform, then the growth
rate decreases as the number of excess guessable strings $V-U$
increases, with a lower bound of the source's Shannon entropy.
For a string of length $168$ bits, as used in the triple DES cipher,
and a Bernoulli $(0.25)$ source, the right panel in Figure
\ref{fig:bernoulli_guess} displays the impact that the change in
this exponent has, approximately, on the average number of guesses
required to determine $U$ strings. More refined results for a
broader class of processes can be found in later sections, including
an estimate on the guesswork distribution.
The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In Section
\ref{sec:brief}, we begin with a brief overview of results on
guesswork that we have not touched on so far. Questions of optimal
strategy are considered in Section \ref{sec:strategy}. Asymptotically
optimal strategies are established to exist in Section \ref{sec:asymptote}
and results for these strategies appear in Section \ref{sec:results}.
In Section \ref{sec:mismatch} we present examples where strings
sources have distinct statistics. In Section \ref{sec:ident} we
return to the setting where string sources have identical statistics.
Concluding remarks appear in Section \ref{sec:conc}.
\section{A brief overview of guesswork}
\label{sec:brief}
Since Arikan's introduction of the long string length asymptotic,
several generalizations of its fundamental assumptions have been
explored. Arikan and Boztas \cite{Arikan02} investigate the setting
where the truthfulness in response to a query is not certain. Arikan
and Merhav \cite{Arikan98} loosen the assumption that inquisitor
needs to determine the string exactly, assuming instead that they
only need to identify it within a given distance. That the inquisitor
knows the distribution of words exactly is relaxed by Sundaresan
\cite{Sundaresan07b}, \cite{Sundaresan06}
and by the authors of \cite{Beirami15}.
Motivated by a wiretap application, the problem of multiple users
was first investigated by Merhav and Arikan \cite{Merhav99} in the
$V=2$ and $U=1$ setting, assuming one of the users selects
their string uniformly on a reduced alphabet. In \cite{Hayashi06}
Hayashi and Yamamoto extend the results in \cite{Merhav99} to the
case if there is an additional i.i.d. source correlated to the
first, used for coding purposes, while Harountunian and Ghazaryan
\cite{Haroutunian00} extend the results in \cite{Merhav99} to the
setting of \cite{Arikan98}. Harountunian and Margaryan
\cite{Haroutunian12} expand on \cite{Merhav99} by adding noise to
the original string, altering the distribution of letters. Hanawal
and Sundaresan \cite{Hanawal11a} extend the bounds in \cite{Merhav99}
to a pre-limit and to more general sources, showing that they are
tight for Markovian and unifilar sources.
Sundaresan \cite{Sundaresan07a} uses length functions to identify
the link between guesswork and compression. This result is extended
by Hanawal and Sundaresan \cite{Hanawal11b} to relate guesswork to
the compression of a source over a countably infinite alphabet. In
\cite{Christiansen13a} the authors prove that, if the string is
conditioned on being an element of a typical set the expected
guesswork, is growing
more slowly
than a simple uniform approximation
would suggest. In \cite{Christiansen13b} the authors consider the
impact of guessing over a noisy erasure channel showing that the
mean noise on the channel is not the significant moment in determining
the expected guesswork, but instead one determined by its R\'enyi
entropy with parameter $1/2$.
Finally, we mention that recent work by Bunte and Lapidoth
\cite{Bunte14} identifies a distinct operational meaning for R\'enyi
entropy in defining a rate region for a scheduling problem.
\section{Optimal strategies}
\label{sec:strategy}
In order to introduce the key concepts used to determine the optimal
multi-user guesswork strategy, we first reconsider the optimal guesswork
strategy in the single user case, i.e.
$U=V=1$.
Recall that $ {\mathbb{A} }=\{0,\ldots,m-1\}$ is a finite set.
\begin{definition}
A single user strategy, $S: {\mathbb{A} }^k\mapsto\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$, is a
one-to-one map that determines the order in which guesses are made.
That is, for a given strategy $S$ and a given string $w\in {\mathbb{A} }^k$,
$S(w)$ is the number of guesses made until $w$ is queried.
\end{definition}
Let $W_k$ be a random variable taking values in $ {\mathbb{A} }^k$. Assume that
its probability mass function, $P(W_k=w)$ for all $w\in {\mathbb{A} }^k$, is
known. Since the first results on the topic it has been clear that
the best strategy, which we denote $G$, is to guess from most likely
to least likely, breaking ties arbitrarily. In particular, $G$ is
defined by $G(w)<G(w')$ if $P(W_k=w)>P(W_k=w')$. We
begin by assigning optimality a precise meaning in terms of stochastic
dominance \cite{Lehmann55,denuit06}.
\begin{definition}
A strategy $S$ is optimal for $W_k$ if the random variable $S(W_k)$
is stochastically dominated by $S'(W_k)$, for all strategies $S'$.
That is, if $P(S(W_k)\leq n) \geq P(S'(W_k)\leq n)$ for all strategies
$S'$ and all $n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$.
\end{definition}
This definition captures the stochastic aspect of guessing by stating
than an optimal strategy is one where the identification stopping
time is probabilistically smallest. One consequence of this definition
that explains its appropriateness is that for any monotone function
$\phi:\{1,\ldots,m^k\}\to {\mathbb{R} }$, it is the case that $E(\phi(S(W_k)))\leq
E(\phi(S'(W_k)))$ for an optimal $S$ and any other $S'$ (e.g.
Proposition 3.3.17, \cite{denuit06}). Thus $S(W_k)$ has the least
moments over all guessing strategies.
That guessing from most- to least-likely in the single user case is
optimal is readily established.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem:1opt}
If $V=U=1$, the optimal strategies are those that guess from most
likely to least likely, breaking ties arbitrarily.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Consider the strategy $G$ defined above and any other strategy $S$.
By construction, for any $n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$
\begin{align*}
P(G(W_k)\leq n) &= \sum_{i=1}^n P(G(W_k)=i) \\
& = \max_{w_1,\ldots,w_n} \left(\sum_{i=1}^n P(W_k=w_i)\right)\\
&\geq \sum_{i=1}^n P(S(W_k)=i) = P(S(W_k)\leq n).
\end{align*}
\end{proof}
In the multi-user case, where (user, string) pairs are queried, a
strategy is defined by the following.
\begin{definition}
A multi-user strategy is a one-to-one map
$S:\{1,\ldots,V\}\times {\mathbb{A} }^k\mapsto\{1,\ldots,Vm^k\}$ that orders
the guesses of (user, string) pairs.
\end{definition}
The expression for the number of guesses required to identify $U$
strings is a little involved as we must take into account that we
stop making queries about a user once
their string has been identified.
For a given strategy $S$, let
$ {N_S} :\{1,\ldots,V\}\times\{1,\ldots,Vm^k\}\mapsto\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$ be
defined by
\begin{align*}
{N_S} (v,n) = |\{w\in {\mathbb{A} }^k:S(v,w)\leq n\}|,
\end{align*}
which computes the number of queries in the strategy up to $n$
that correspond to user $v$.
The number of queries that need to be made if $U$ strings are
to be identified is
\begin{align*}
{ T(U,V,\vw)} = {\text{U-min} } \left(S(1,w^{(1)}),\ldots,S(V,w^{(V)})\right),
\end{align*}
where $ {\text{U-min} } : {\mathbb{R} }^V\to {\mathbb{R} }$ and $ {\text{U-min} } ( {\vec{x}} )$ gives the $U^{\rm th}$
smallest component of $ {\vec{x}} $.
The
number of guesses required to identify $U$ components of $ {\vec{w}}
=(w^{(1)},\ldots,w^{(V)})$ is then
\begin{align}
\label{eq:GS}
{G_S} (U,V, {\vec{w}} )=
\sum_{v=1}^V {N_S} \left(v,
\min\left(S(v,w^{(v)}),{ T(U,V,\vw)} \right) \right).
\end{align}
This apparently unwieldy object counts the number of queries made
to each user, curtailed either when
their
string is identified or
when $U$ strings of other users are identified.
If $U=V$, equation \eqref{eq:GS} simplifies significantly, as
$S(v,w^{(v)})\leq{ T(U,V,\vw)} $ for all
$v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$, becoming
\begin{align}
\label{eq:U=V}
{G_S} (V,V, {\vec{w}} )=
\sum_{v=1}^V {N_S} \left(v, S(v,w^{(v)}) \right),
\end{align}
the sum of the number of queries required to identify each individual
word. In this case, we have the analogous result to Lemma \ref{lem:1opt},
which is again readily established.
\begin{lemma}
\label{lem:UVopt}
If $V=U$, the optimal strategies are those that employ individual
optimal strategies, but with users selected in any order.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
For any multi-user strategy $S$, equation \eqref{eq:U=V} holds.
Consider an element in the sum on the right hand side,
$ {N_S} \left(v, S(v,w^{(v)}) \right)$.
It can be recognized to be the number of queries made to user $v$
until their string is identified. By Lemma \ref{lem:1opt}, for each
user $v$, for any $S$ this stochastically dominates the equivalent
single user optimal strategy. Thus the multi-user optimal strategies
in this case are the sum of individual user optimal strategies,
with users queried in any arbitrary order.
\end{proof}
The formula \eqref{eq:GS} will be largely side-stepped when we
consider asymptotically optimal strategies, but is needed to establish
that there is, in general, no stochastically dominant strategy if
$V>U$. With $ {\vec{W}} _k=(W_k^{(1)},\ldots,W_k^{(V)})$ being a random vector
taking values in $ {\mathbb{A} }^{kV}$ with independent, not necessarily identically
distributed, components, we are not guaranteed the existence of an
$S$ such that $P( {G_S} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\leq n) \geq ( {G_{S'}} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\leq n)$
for all alternate strategies $S'$.
\begin{lemma}
If $V>U$, a stochastically dominant strategy does not necessarily exist.
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
A counter-example suffices and so let $k=1$, $V=2$, $U=1$ and
$ {\mathbb{A} }=\{0,1,2\}$. Let the distributions of $W_1^{(1)}$ and $W_1^{(2)}$
be
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c|c|}
\hline
User 1 & User 2\\
\hline
$P(W_1^{(1)}=0)=0.6$ & $P(W_1^{(2)}=0)=0.5$ \\
$P(W_1^{(1)}=1)=0.25$ & $P(W_1^{(2)}=1)=0.4$ \\
$P(W_1^{(1)}=2)=0.15$ & $P(W_1^{(2)}=2)=0.1$\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
If a stochastically dominant strategy exists, its first guess must
be user $1$, string $0$, i.e. $S(1,0)=1$, so that $P( {G_S} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)=1) =
0.6$. Given this first guess, to maximize $P( {G_S} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)\leq2)$, the
second guess must be user $1$, string $1$, $S(1,1)=2$, so that
$P( {G_S} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)\leq 2) = 0.85$.
An alternate strategy with $S(2,0)=1$ and $S(2,1)=2$, however,
gives $P( {G_{S'}} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)=1)=0.5$ and $P( {G_{S'}} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)\leq 2)=0.9$.
While $P( {G_S} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)=1)>P( {G_{S'}} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)=1)$,
$P( {G_S} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)\leq2)<P( {G_{S'}} (1, {\vec{W}} _1)\leq2)$ and so there is
no strategy stochastically dominated by all others in this case.
\end{proof}
Despite this lack of universal optimal strategy, we shall show that
there is a sequence of random variables that are stochastically
dominated by the guesswork of all strategies and, moreover, there
exists a strategy with identical performance in Arikan's long string
length asymptotic.
\begin{definition}
A strategy $S$ is asymptotically optimal if $\{k^{-1}\log
{G_S} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\}$ satisfies a LDP
with the same rate function as a sequence
$\{k^{-1}\log \Upsilon(U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\}$ where $\Upsilon(U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)$
is stochastically dominated by $ {G_{S'}} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)$ for all
strategies $S'$.
\end{definition}
Note that $\Upsilon(U,V,\cdot)$ need not correspond to the guesswork
of a strategy.
\section{An asymptotically optimal strategy}
\label{sec:asymptote}
Let $\{ {\vec{W}} _k\}$ be a sequence of random strings, with $ {\vec{W}} _k$ taking values in
$ {\mathbb{A} }^{kV}$, with independent components, $W_k^{(v)}$, corresponding
to strings selected by users $1$ through $V$, although each user's
string
may
not be constructed from i.i.d. letters.
For each individual
user, $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$, let $ {G^{(v)}} $ denote its single-user optimal
guessing strategy; that is, guessing from most likely to least likely.
We shall
show that the following random variable, constructed
using the $ {G^{(v)}} $, is stochastically
dominated by the guesswork distribution of all strategies:
\begin{align}
{G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k) =
{\text{U-min} } \left(G^{(1)}(W^{(1)}_k),\ldots,G^{(V)}(W^{(V)}_k)\right).
\label{eq:LB}
\end{align}
This can be thought of as allowing the inquisitor to query, for
each $n$ in turn, the $n^{\rm th}$ most likely string for all users
while only accounting for a single guess and so it does not
correspond to an allowable strategy.
\begin{lemma}
For any strategy $S$ and any $U\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$,
$ {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)$ is stochastically dominated by $ {G_S} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)$.
That is, for any any $U\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$
and any
$n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$
\begin{align*}
P( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\leq n) \geq P( {G_S} (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\leq n).
\end{align*}
\end{lemma}
\begin{proof}
Using equation \eqref{eq:GS} and the positivity of its
summands, for any strategy $S$
\begin{align*}
&G_S(U, V, {\vec{w}} )\\
&\ge {\text{U-min} } ( {N_S} (1, S(1, w^{(1)})),\ldots, {N_S} (V, S(V, w^{(V)}))).
\end{align*}
As for each $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$, $G^{(v)}(W_k^{(v)})$ is stochastically
dominated by all other strategies,
\begin{align*}
P(G^{(v)}(W_k^{(v)})\le n)\ge P( {N_S} (v, S(1, W_k^{(v)}))\le n).
\end{align*}
Using equation \eqref{eq:LB}, this implies that
\begin{align*}
&P( {G_{\text{opt}} } ( {\vec{W}} _k)\le n)\\
&\ge P( {\text{U-min} } ( {N_S} (1, S(1, W_k^{(1)})),\ldots, {N_S} (V, S(V, W_k^{(V)})))\le n)\\
&\ge P(G_S(U, V, {\vec{W}} _k)\le n),
\end{align*}
as required.
\end{proof}
The strategy that we construct that will asymptotically meet the
performance of the lower bound is to round-robin the single user
optimal strategies. That is, to query the most likely string of one
user followed by the most likely string of a second user and so
forth, for each user in a round-robin fashion, before moving to the
second most likely string of each user. An upper bound on this
strategy's performance is to consider only stopping at the end of
a round of such queries, even if they reveal more than $U$ strings,
which gives
\begin{align}
V {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k),
\label{eq:UB}
\end{align}
where $ {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)$ is defined in \eqref{eq:LB}.
In large deviations parlance the stochastic processes
$\{k^{-1}\log {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\}$ and $\{k^{-1}\log(V {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k))\}$
arising from equations \eqref{eq:LB} and \eqref{eq:UB} are exponentially
equivalent, e.g. Section 4.2.2 \cite{Dembo98}, as $\lim_{k\to\infty}
k^{-1}\log V=0$. As a result, if one process satisfies the LDP
with a rate function that has compact level sets, then the other
does \cite{Dembo98}[Theorem 4.2.3]. Thus if
$\{k^{-1}\log {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\}$ can be shown to satisfy a LDP,
then the round-robin strategy is proved to be asymptotically optimal.
\section{Asymptotic performance of optimal strategies}
\label{sec:results}
We first recall what is known for the single-user setting.
For each individual user $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$, the
specific R\'enyi entropy of the sequence $\{ W^{(v)} _k\}$,
should it exist, is defined by
\begin{align*}
{R^{(v)}} (\beta):=
\lim_{k\to\infty} \frac 1k \frac{1}{1-\beta}
\log \sum_{w_k\in {\mathbb{A} }^k} P( W^{(v)} _k=w_k)^\beta
\end{align*}
for $\beta\in(0,1)\cup(1,\infty)$, and for $\beta=1$,
\begin{align*}
{R^{(v)}} (1)&:=\lim_{\beta\uparrow1} {R^{(v)}} (\beta)\\
&= -\lim_{k\to\infty} \frac1k \sum_{w_k\in {\mathbb{A} }^k} P( W^{(v)} _k=w_k)\log P( W^{(v)} _k=w_k),
\end{align*}
the specific Shannon entropy. Should $ {R^{(v)}} (\beta)$ exist
for $\beta\in(0,\infty)$, then the specific min-entropy
is defined
\begin{align*}
{R^{(v)}} (\infty)&=\lim_{\beta\to\infty} {R^{(v)}} (\beta) \\
&= -\lim_{k\to\infty}\frac1k \max_{w_k\in {\mathbb{A} }^k} \log P( W^{(v)} _k=w_k),
\end{align*}
where the limit necessarily exists.
The existence of $ {R^{(v)}} (\beta)$ for all $\beta>0$ and its relationship
to the scaled Cumulant Generating Function
(sCGF)
\begin{align}
{\Lambda_G^{(v)}} (\alpha)
&= \lim_{k\to\infty} \frac 1k \log E(\exp(\alpha\log {G^{(v)}} ( W^{(v)} _k))) \nonumber\\
&=
\begin{cases}
\displaystyle
\alpha {R^{(v)}} \left(\frac{1}{1+\alpha}\right) & \text{ if } \alpha>-1\\
- {R^{(v)}} (\infty) & \text{ if } \alpha\leq-1
\end{cases}
\label{eq:sCGF}
\end{align}
has been established for the single user case for a broad class of
character sources that encompasses i.i.d., Markovian and general
sofic shifts that admit an entropy condition
\cite{Arikan96,Malone042,Pfister04,Hanawal11,Christiansen13}.
If, in addition, $ {R^{(v)}} (\beta)$ is differentiable
with respect to $\beta$
and has a continuous
derivative, it is established in \cite{Christiansen13} that the
process $\{k^{-1}\log {G^{(v)}} ( W^{(v)} _k)\}$ satisfies a LDP,
i.e. equation \eqref{eq:LDP},
with a convex rate function
\begin{align}
\label{eq:rf}
{\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*(x) = \sup_{\alpha\in {\mathbb{R} }}\left(x\alpha- {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} (\alpha)\right).
\end{align}
In \cite{Christiansen13}, this LDP is used to deduce an
approximation to the guesswork distribution,
\begin{align}
\label{eq:approx1}
P( {G^{(v)}} ( W^{(v)} _k)=n) \approx
\frac 1n \exp\left(-k {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*\left(\frac 1k\log n\right)\right)
\end{align}
for large $k$ and $n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$.
The following theorem establishes the fundamental analogues of these
results for an asymptotically optimal strategy, where
user strings may have distinct statistical properties.
\begin{theorem}
\label{thm:main}
Assume that the components of $\{ {\vec{W}} _k\}$ are independent and
that for each $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$ $ {R^{(v)}} (\beta)$ exists for
all $\beta>0$, is differentiable and has a continuous derivative,
and that equation \eqref{eq:sCGF} holds. Then the process
$\{k^{-1}\log {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\}$, and thus any asymptotically optimal
strategy, satisfies a Large Deviation Principle.
Defining
\begin{align*}
& {\delta^{(v)}} (x)=\begin{cases}
{\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*(x) & \text{ if }x\le {R^{(v)}} (1)\\
0 & \text{ otherwise}
\end{cases}\\
&\text{ and } {\gamma^{(v)}} (x)=\begin{cases}
{\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*(x) &\text{ if }x\ge {R^{(v)}} (1)\\
0 & \text{ otherwise}
\end{cases},
\end{align*}
the rate function is
\begin{align}
&\IGopt(U,V,x)=\nonumber\\
&\max_{v_1,\ldots, v_V}
\left( {\Lambda_G^{(v_1)}} ^*(x)+\sum_{i=2}^U \delta^{(v_i)}(x)
+\sum_{i=U+1}^V {\gamma^{(v_i)}} (x)\right),
\label{eq:Iopt}
\end{align}
which is lower semi-continuous and has compact level sets, but
may not be convex. The sCGF capturing how the moments scale is
\begin{align}
\LambdaGopt(U,V,\alpha)
&= \lim_{k\to\infty} \frac 1k \log E(\exp(\alpha\log {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)))\nonumber\\
&= \sup_{x\in[0,\log(m)]}\left(\alpha x -\IGopt(U,V,x)\right).
\label{eq:scgf}
\end{align}
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
Under the assumptions of the theorem,
for each $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$, $\{k^{-1}
\log {G^{(v)}} ( W^{(v)} _k) \}$ satisfies the LDP with the rate function
given in equation \eqref{eq:rf}. As users' strings are selected
independently, the sequence of vectors
\begin{align*}
\left\{\left(\frac 1k \log G^{(1)}(W_k^{(1)}), \ldots,
\frac 1k \log G^{(V)}(W_k^{(V)}) \right)\right\}
\end{align*}
satisfies the LDP in $ {\mathbb{R} }^V$ with rate function $I(y^{(1)},\ldots,y^{(V)})
= \sum_{v=1}^V {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*(y^{(v)})$, the sum of the rate functions
given in equation \eqref{eq:rf}.
Within our setting, the contraction principle, e.g. Theorem 4.2.1
\cite{Dembo98}, states that if a sequence of random variables
$\{X_n\}$ taking values in a compact subset of $ {\mathbb{R} }^V$ satisfies a
LDP with rate function $I: {\mathbb{R} }^V\mapsto[0,\infty]$ and $f: {\mathbb{R} }^V\mapsto {\mathbb{R} }$
is a continuous function, then the sequence $\{f(X_n)\}$ satisfies
the LDP with rate function $\inf_{ {\vec{y}} }\{I( {\vec{y}} ):f( {\vec{y}} )=x\}$.
Assume, without loss of generality, that $ {\vec{x}} \in {\mathbb{R} }^V$ is such that
$x^{(1)}<x^{(2)}<\cdots<x^{(V)}$, so that $ {\text{U-min} } ( {\vec{x}} ) = x^{(U)}$,
and let
$ {\vec{x}} _n=(x^{(1)}_n,\ldots,x^{(V)}_n)\to {\vec{x}} $. Let
$\epsilon < \inf\{x^{(v)}-x^{(v-1)}:v\in\{2,\ldots,V\}\}$. There
exists $N_\epsilon$ such that $\max_{v=1,\ldots,V}
|x^{(v)}_n-x^{(v)}|<\epsilon$ for all $n>N_\epsilon$. Thus
for all $v\in\{2,\ldots,V\}$ and all $n>N_\epsilon$
$x^{(v)}_n-x^{(v-1)}_n > x^{(v)}-x^{(v-1)}-\epsilon>0$
and so
$| {\text{U-min} } ( {\vec{x}} _n)- {\text{U-min} } ( {\vec{x}} )|=|x_n^{(U)}-x^{(U)}|<\epsilon$.
Hence $ {\text{U-min} } : {\mathbb{R} }^V\to {\mathbb{R} }$ is a continuous function
and that a LDP
holds follows from an application of the contraction principle,
giving the rate function
\begin{align*}
\IGopt(U,V,x) = \inf\left\{
\sum_{v=1}^V {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} ^*(y_v): {\text{U-min} } (y_1,\ldots,y_V)=x
\right\}.
\end{align*}
This expression simplifies to that in equation \eqref{eq:Iopt} by
elementary arguments.
The sCGF result follows from an
application of Varahadan's Lemma, e.g \cite[Theorem 4.3.1]{Dembo98}.
\end{proof}
The expression for the rate function in equation \eqref{eq:Iopt}
lends itself to a useful interpretation. In the long string-length
asymptotic, the likelihood that an inquisitor has identified $U$
of the $V$ users' strings after approximately $\exp(kx)$ queries
is contributed to by three distinct groups of identifiable users.
For given $x$, the argument in the first term $(v_1)$ identifies
the last of the $U$ users whose string is identified. The second
summed term is contributed to by the collection of users, $(v_2)$
to $(v_U)$, whose strings have already been identified prior to
$\exp(kx)$ queries, while the final summed term corresponds to those
users, $(v_{U+1})$ to $(v_V)$, whose strings have not been identified.
The reason for using the notation $\IGopt(U,V,\cdot)$ in lieu of
$\LambdaGopt^*(U,V,\cdot)$ for the rate function in Theorem
\ref{thm:main} is that $\IGopt(U,V,\cdot)$ is not convex in general,
which we shall
demonstrate by example, and so is not always the
Legendre-Fenchel transform of the sCGF $\LambdaGopt(U,V,\cdot)$.
Instead
\begin{align*}
\LambdaGopt^*(U,V,x) =
\sup_\alpha\left(\alpha x -\LambdaGopt(U,V,\alpha)\right)
\end{align*}
forms the convex hull of $\IGopt(U,V,\cdot)$. In particular, this
means that we could not have proved Theorem \ref{thm:main} by
establishing properties of $\LambdaGopt(U,V,\cdot)$ alone, which
was the successful route taken for the $U=V=1$ setting, and instead
needed to rely on the LDP proved in \cite{Christiansen13}.
Indeed, in the setting considered in \cite{Merhav99, Hanawal11a}
with $U=1$, $V=2$, with one of the strings chosen uniformly, while
the authors directly identify $\LambdaGopt(1,2,\alpha)$ for $\alpha>0$,
one cannot establish a full LDP from this approach as the resulting
rate function is not convex.
Convexity
of the rate function defined in equation \eqref{eq:Iopt}
is ensured, however, if all
users select
strings
using the same stochastic properties, whereupon the
results in Theorem \ref{thm:main} simplify greatly.
\begin{corollary}
\label{cor:same}
If, in addition to the assumptions of Theorem \ref{thm:main},
$ {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} (\cdot)= {\Lambda_G} (\cdot)$ for all $v\in\{1,\ldots,V\}$ with
corresponding R\'enyi entropy $R(\cdot)$, then the rate function
in equation \eqref{eq:rf} simplifies to the convex function
\begin{align}
\LambdaGopt^*(U,V,x) &=
\begin{cases}
\displaystyle
U {\Lambda_G} ^*(x) & \text{ if } x\leq R(1)\\
\displaystyle
(V-U+1) {\Lambda_G} ^*(x) & \text{ if } x\geq R(1)
\end{cases}
\label{eq:rf2}
\end{align}
where $R(1)$ is the specific Shannon entropy, and the sCGF in equation
\eqref{eq:scgf} simplifies to
\begin{align}
\label{eq:scgf2}
\LambdaGopt(U,V,\alpha) &=
\begin{cases}
\displaystyle
U {\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{\alpha}{U}\right) & \text{ if } \alpha\leq0\\
\displaystyle
(V-U+1) {\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{\alpha}{V-U+1}\right) & \text{ if } \alpha\geq0.
\end{cases}
\end{align}
In particular, with $\alpha=1$ we have
\begin{align}
&\lim_{k\to\infty} \frac 1k \log E\left( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)\right)\nonumber\\
&= \LambdaGopt(1)\nonumber\\
&= (V-U+1) {\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{1}{V-U+1}\right)\nonumber\\
&= R\left(\frac{V-U+1}{V-U+2}\right),
\label{eq:average}
\end{align}
where $R((n+1)/(n+2))-R((n+2)/(n+3))$ is a decreasing
function of $n\in {\mathbb{N} }$.
\end{corollary}
\begin{proof}
The simplification in equation \eqref{eq:rf2} follows readily from
equation \eqref{eq:Iopt}. To establish that
$R((n+1)/(n+2))-R((n+2)/(n+3))$ is a decreasing function of $n\in {\mathbb{N} }$,
it suffices to establish that $R((x+1)/(x+2))$ is a convex, decreasing
function for $x\in {\mathbb{R} }_+$.
That $R(x)\downarrow R(1)$ as $x\uparrow1$ is a general property
of specific R\'enyi entropy. For convexity, using equation
\eqref{eq:average} it suffices to
show that $x {\Lambda_G} (1/x)$ is convex for $x>0$. This can be seen
by noting that for any $a\in(0,1)$ and $x_1,x_2>0$,
\begin{align*}
&(a x_1+(1-a)x_2)
{\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{1}{a x_1+(1-a)x_2}\right)\\
&= (a x_1+(1-a)x_2)
{\Lambda_G} \left(\eta \frac{1}{x_1}+(1-\eta)\frac{1}{x_2}\right)\\
&\leq a x_1 {\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{1}{x_1}\right)
+(1-a)x_2 {\Lambda_G} \left(\frac{1}{x_2}\right),
\end{align*}
where $\eta = a x_1/(a x_1+(1-a)x_2)\in(0,1)$ and we have used the
convexity of $ {\Lambda_G} $.
\end{proof}
As the growth rate, $R((n+1)/(n+2))-R((n+2)/(n+3))$, is decreasing
there is a law of diminishing returns for the inquisitor where the
greatest decrease in the average guesswork growth rate is through
the provision of one additional user.
From the system designer's point of view, the specific Shannon
entropy of the source is a universal lower bound on the exponential
growth rate of the expected guesswork that, while we cannot take
the limit to infinity, is tight for large $V-U$.
Regardless
of whether the rate function $\IGopt(U,V,\cdot)$ is
convex, Theorem \ref{lem:approx}, which follows, justifies the approximation
\begin{align*}
P( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)=n) \approx
\frac 1n \exp\left(-k\IGopt\left(U,V,\frac 1k\log n\right)\right)
\end{align*}
for large $k$ and $n\in\{1,\ldots,m^k\}$. It is analogous to that
in equation \eqref{eq:approx1}, first developed in \cite{Christiansen13},
but there are additional difficulties that must be overcome to
establish it. In particular, if $U=V=1$, the likelihood that the
string is identified at each query is a decreasing function of guess
number, but this is not true in the more general case.
As a simple example, consider $U=V=2$, $ {\mathbb{A} }=\{0,1\}$, strings of
length $1$ and strings chosen uniformly. Here the probability of
guessing both strings in one guess is $1/4$, but at the second guess
it is $3/4$. Despite this lack of monotonicity, the approximation
still holds in the following sense.
\begin{theorem}
\label{lem:approx}
Under the assumptions of Theorem \ref{thm:main}, for any $x \in [0,
\log m)$ we have
\begin{align*}
&\lim_{\epsilon \downarrow 0}\liminf_{k\rightarrow \infty}
\frac 1k \log \inf_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}P( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)=n)\\
&=\lim_{\epsilon \downarrow 0}\limsup_{k\rightarrow \infty}
\frac 1k \log \sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}P( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)=n)\\
&=-I_{ {G_{\text{opt}} } }(U, V, x)-x,
\end{align*}
where
\begin{align*}
K_k(x, \epsilon)=\{n:n \in (\exp(k(x-\epsilon)), \exp((k(x+\epsilon)))\}
\end{align*}
is the collection of guesses made in a log-neighborhood of $x$.
\end{theorem}
\begin{proof}
The proof follows the ideas in \cite{Christiansen13} Corollary 4,
but with the added difficulties resolved by isolating the last word
that is likely to be guessed and leveraging the monotonicity it its
individual likelihood of being identified.
Noting the definition of $K_k(x, \epsilon)$ in the statement
of the theorem, consider for $x\in(0,\log(m))$
\begin{align*}
&\sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}P( {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V, {\vec{W}} _k)=n)\nonumber\\
=& \sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}\sum_{(v_1, \ldots, v_V)}
P( {G^{(v_1)}} (W_k^{(v_1)})=n)\\
&\prod_{i=2}^{U}P( {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\le n)
\prod_{i=U+1}^{V}P( {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\ge n)\\
\le& \sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}
\max_{(v_1, \ldots, v_V)}(V!)P( {G^{(v_1)}} (W_k^{(v_1)})=n)\\
&\prod_{i=2}^{U}P( {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\le n)
\prod_{i=U+1}^{V}P( {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\ge n)\\
\le& \sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}
\max_{(v_1, \ldots, v_V)}(V!)P( {G^{(v_1)}} (W_k^{(v_1)})=n)\\
&\prod_{i=2}^{U}
P\left(\frac 1k \log {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\le x-\epsilon\right)\\
&\prod_{i=
U+1
}^{V}P\left(\frac 1k \log {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\ge x+\epsilon\right)\nonumber\\
&\le \inf_{n \in K_k(x-2\epsilon, \epsilon)}\max_{(v_1, \ldots, v_V)}(V!)
P\left(\frac1k \log {G^{(v_1)}} (W_k^{(v_1)})=n\right)\\
&\prod_{i=2}^{U}
P\left(\frac 1k \log {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\le x+\epsilon\right)\\
&\prod_{i=U+1}^{V}P\left(\frac 1k \log {G^{(v_i)}} (W_k^{(v_i)})\ge x-\epsilon\right).\nonumber
\end{align*}
The first equality holds by definition of $ {G_{\text{opt}} } (U,V,\cdot)$. The
first inequality follows from the union bound over all possible
permutations of $\{1, \ldots, V\}$. The second inequality utilizes
$k^{-1}\log n \in (x-\epsilon, x+\epsilon)$ if $n\in K_k(x, \epsilon)$,
while the third inequality uses the monotonic decreasing probabilities
in guessing a single user's string.
Taking $\lim_{\epsilon \downarrow 0}\limsup_{k\rightarrow
\infty}k^{-1}\log$ on both sides of the inequality, interchanging
the order of the max and the supremum, using the continuity
of $ {\Lambda_G^{(v)}} (\cdot)$ for each $v\in\{1,\cdots,V\}$, and the
representation of the rate function $\IGopt(U,V,\cdot)$ in equation
\eqref{eq:Iopt}, gives the upper bound
\begin{align*}
&\lim_{\epsilon \downarrow 0}\limsup_{k\rightarrow \infty}\frac 1k \log \sup_{n \in K_k(x, \epsilon)}
P( {G_{\text{opt}} } ( {\vec{W}} _k)=n) \\
&\leq-\IGopt(U, V, x)-x.
\end{align*}
Considering the least likely guesswork in the ball leads to a
matching lower bound. The other case, $x=0$, follows similar logic,
leading to the result.
\end{proof}
We next provide some illustrative examples of what these results
imply, returning to using $\log_2$ in figures.
\section{Mismatched Statistics Example}
\label{sec:mismatch}
The potential lack of convexity in the rate function of Theorem
\ref{thm:main}, equation \eqref{eq:Iopt}, only arises if users'
string statistics are asymptotically distinct. The significance of
this lack of convexity on the phenomenology of guesswork can be
understood in terms of the asymptotically optimal round-robin
strategy: if the rate function is not convex, there is no single
set of users whose strings are most vulnerable.
That is, if $U$ strings are recovered after a small number of
guesses, they will be from one set of users, but after a number of
guesses corresponding to a transition from the initial convexity
they will be from another set of users.
This is made explicit in the following corollary to Theorem
\ref{thm:main}.
\begin{corollary}
If $\IGopt(U,V,x)$ is not convex in $x$, then there is there is no
single set of users whose strings will be identified in the long
string length asymptotic.
\end{corollary}
\begin{proof}
We prove the result by establishing the contraposition: if a single set
of users is always most vulnerable, then $\IGopt(U,V,x)$ is convex.
Recall the expression for $\IGopt(U,V,x)$ given in equation
\eqref{eq:Iopt}
\begin{align*}
&\IGopt(U,V,x)=\\
&\max_{v_1,\ldots, v_V}
\left( {\Lambda_G^{(v_1)}} ^*(x)+\sum_{i=2}^U \delta^{(v_i)}(x)
+\sum_{i=U+1}^V {\gamma^{(v_i)}} (x)\right),
\end{align*}
As explained after Theorem \ref{thm:main}, for given $x$ the set
of users $\{(v_1),\ldots,(v_U)\}$ corresponds to those users whose
strings, on the scale of large deviations, will be identified by
the inquisitor after approximately $\exp(kx)$ queries. If this set
is unchanging in
$x$, i.e. the same set of users is identified
irrespective of $x$, then both of the functions
\begin{align*}
\left( {\Lambda_G^{(v_1)}} ^*(x)+\sum_{i=2}^U \delta^{(v_i)}(x)\right)
\text{ and }
\sum_{i=U+1}^V {\gamma^{(v_i)}} (x)
\end{align*}
are sums of functions that are convex in $x$, and so are convex
themselves. Thus the sum of them, $\IGopt(U,V,x)$, is convex.
\end{proof}
This is most readily
illustrated by an example that falls within the two-user setting
of \cite{Merhav99}, where one string is constructed from uniformly
from i.i.d. bits and the other string from non-uniformly selected
i.i.d. bytes.
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[scale=0.46]{nonconvex.pdf}
\end{center}
\caption{User 1 picks a uniform bit string. User 2 picks a non-uniform
i.i.d. byte string. The straight line starting at $(0,1)$ displays
${ {\Lambda_G} ^{(1)}}^*(x)$, the large deviations rate function for
guessing the uniform bit string. The convex function starting
below it is ${ {\Lambda_G} ^{(2)}}^*(x)$, the rate function for guessing
the non-uniform byte string. The highlighted line, which is the
minimum of the two rate functions until $x=1$ and then $+\infty$
afterwards, displays $I_{ {G_{\text{opt}} } }(1, 2, x)$, as determined by
\eqref{eq:Iopt}, the rate function for an inquisitor to guess one
of the two strings. Its non-convexity demonstrates that initially
it is the bytes that are most likely to be revealed by brute force
searching, but eventually it is the uniform bits that are more
likely to be identified. The Legendre-Fenchel transform of the
scaled cumulant generating function of the guesswork distributions
would form the convex hull of the highlighted line and so this
could not be deduced by analysis of the asymptotic moments.
}
\label{fig:nonconvex}
\end{figure}
Let $ {\mathbb{A} }=\{0,\ldots,7\}$, $U=1$ and $V=2$. Let one character source
correspond to the output of a cryptographically secure pseudo-random
number generator. That is, despite having a byte alphabet, the source
produces perfectly uniform i.i.d. bits,
\begin{align*}
P(W^{(1)}_1=i) &=
\begin{cases}
1/2 & \text{ if } i\in\{0,1\}\\
0 & \text{ otherwise}.
\end{cases}
\end{align*}
The other source can be thought of as i.i.d. bytes generated by a
non-uniform source,
\begin{align*}
P(W^{(2)}_1=i) &=
\begin{cases}
0.55 & \text{ if } i=0\\
0.1 & \text{ if } i\in\{1,2\}\\
0.05 & \text{ if } i\in\{3,\ldots,7\}.
\end{cases}
\end{align*}
This models the situation of a piece of data, a string from the
second source, being encrypted with a shorter, perfectly uniform
key. The inquisitor can reveal the hidden string by guessing either
the key or the string. One might suspect that either the key or
the string is necessarily more susceptible to being guessed, but
the result is more subtle.
Figure \ref{fig:nonconvex} plots the rate functions for guessing
each of the user's strings individually as well as the rate function
for guessing one out of two, determined by equation \eqref{eq:Iopt},
which in this case is the minimum of the two rate function where
they are finite. The y-axis is the exponential decay-rate in string
length $k$ of the likelihood of identification given approximately
$\exp(k x)$ guesses, where $x$ is on the x-axis, have been made.
The rate function reveals that if the inquisitor identifies one of
the strings quickly, it will be the non-uniform byte string, but
after a certain number of guesses it is the key, the uniform bit
string, that is identified.
Attempting to obtain this result by taking the Legendre Fenchel
transform of the sCGF identified in \cite{Merhav99} results in the
convex hull of this non-convex function, which has no real meaning.
This explains the necessity for the distinct proof approach taken
here if one wishes to develop estimates on the guesswork distribution
rather than its moments.
\section{Identical Statistics Examples}
\label{sec:ident}
When the string statistics of users are asymptotically the same,
the resulting multi-user guesswork rate functions are convex by
Corollary \ref{cor:same}, and the r\^ole of specific Shannon entropy
in analyzing expected multi-user guesswork appears. This is the
setting that leads to the results in Section \ref{sec:firstexample}
where it is assumed that character statistics are i.i.d., but not
necessarily uniform.
An alternate means of departure from string-selection uniformity
is that the appearance of characters within the string may be
correlated. The simplest model of this is where string symbols are
governed by a Markov chain with arbitrary starting distribution and
transition matrix
\begin{align*}
\left(
\begin{array}{cc}
1-a & a \\
b & 1-b
\end{array}
\right),
\end{align*}
where $a,b\in(0,1)$. The specific R\'enyi entropy of this character
source can be evaluated, e.g. \cite{Malone042}, for $\beta\neq1$ to be
\begin{align*}
R(\beta) =& \frac{1}{1-\beta}\log
\left(
(1-a)^\beta+(1-b)^\beta \right. \\
& \left.+
\sqrt{((1-a)^\beta-(1-b)^\beta)^2 + 4(ab)^\beta }
\right)
-\frac{1}{1-\beta}
\end{align*}
and $R(1)$ is the Shannon entropy
\begin{align*}
R(1) &=
\frac{b}{a+b}H(a)+\frac{a}{a+b}H(b),
\end{align*}
where $H(a) = -a\log(a)-(1-a)\log(1-a)$.
Figure \ref{fig:gap_mark} shows $R(1/2)-R(1)$ the difference between
the average guesswork growth rate for a single user system versus
one for an arbitrarily large number of users as $a$ and $b$ are
varied. Heavily correlated sources or those with unlikely characters
give the greatest discrepancy in security.
\begin{figure}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[scale=0.46]{sec_gap_markov}
\end{center}
\caption{Markovian string source over a binary alphabet $ {\mathbb{A} }=\{0,1\}$
with $a$ being the probability of a 1 after a 0 and $b$ being the
probability of a 0 after a 1. The plots shows the difference in
average guesswork exponent for a single user system and a system
with an arbitrarily large number of users, a measure of computational
security reduction.
}
\label{fig:gap_mark}
\end{figure}
If $a=b$, then the stationary likelihood a symbol is a $0$ or $1$
is equal, but symbol occurrence is correlated. In that setting, the
string source's specific R\'enyi entropy gives for $\beta\neq1$
\begin{align*}
R(\beta) =& \frac{1}{1-\beta}\log
\left(
(1-a)^\beta + a^\beta
\right),
\end{align*}
which is the same as a Bernoulli source with probability $a$ of one
character. Thus the results in Section \ref{sec:firstexample} can
be re-read with the Bernoulli string source with parameter $p=a$
substituted for a Markovian string source whose stationary distribution
gives equal weight to both alphabet letters, but for which character
appearance is correlated.
\section{Discussion}
\label{sec:conc}
Since Massey \cite{Massey94} posed the original guesswork problem
and Arikan \cite{Arikan96} introduced its long string asymptotic,
generalizations have been used to quantify the computational security
of several systems, including being related to questions of loss-less
compression. Here we have considered what appears to be one of the
most natural extensions of that theory, that of multi-user computational
security. As a consequence of the inherent non-convex nature of
the guesswork rate function unless string source statistics are
equal for all users, this development wasn't possible prior to the
Large Deviation Principle proved in \cite{Christiansen13}. The
results therein themselves relied on the earlier work that determined
the scaled cumulant generating function for the guesswork for a
broad class of process \cite{Arikan96,Malone042,Pfister04,Hanawal11}.
The fact that rate functions can be non-convex encapsulates that
distinct subsets of users are likely to be identified depending on
how many unsuccessful guesses have been made. As a result, a simple
ordering of string guessing difficulty is inappropriate in multi-user
systems and suggests that quantification of multi-user computational
security is inevitably nuanced.
The original analysis of the asymptotic behavior of single user
guesswork identified an operational meaning to specific R\'enyi
entropy. In particular, the average guesswork grows exponentially
in string length with an exponent that is the specific R\'enyi
entropy of the character source with parameter $1/2$. When users'
string statistics are the same, the generalization to multi-user
guesswork identifies a surprising operational r\^ole for specific
R\'enyi entropy with parameter $n/(n+1)$ for each $n\in {\mathbb{N} }$ when
$n$ is the excess number of strings that can be guessed. Moreover,
while the specific Shannon entropy of the string source was found
in the single user problem to have an unnatural meaning as the
growth rate of the expected logarithm of the guesswork, in the
multi-user system it arises as the universal lower bound on the
average guesswork growth rate.
For the asymptote at hand, the key message is that there is a law
of diminishing returns for an inquisitor as the number of users
increases. For a multi-user system
designer,
in contrast to the single character, single user system
introduced in \cite{Massey94},
Shannon entropy is the appropriate measure of
expected guesswork for systems with many users.
Future work might consider the case where the $V$ strings are not
selected independently, as was assumed here, but are instead linear
functions of $U$ independent strings. A potential application of
such a case, suggested by Erdal Arikan (Bilkent University) in a
personal communication, envisages the use of multi-user guesswork
to characterize the behavior of parallel concatenated decoders
operating on blocks of convolutionally encoded symbols passed though
a preliminary algebraic block Maximum Distance Separable (MDS) code,
e.g. \cite{shu2004}. The connection between guessing and convolutional
codes was first established by Arikan \cite{Arikan96}.
Decoding over a channel may, in general, be viewed as guessing a
codeword that has been chosen from a list of possible channel input
sequences, given the observation of an output sequence formed by
corrupting the input sequence according to some probability law
used to characterize the channel, e.g \cite{Christiansen13b}.
Considering sequential decoding of convolutional codes, first
proposed by Wozencraft \cite{Wozencraft57}, that guessing may
constitute an exploration along a decision tree of the possible
input sequences that could have led to the observed output sequence,
as modeled by Fano \cite{Fano63}. If the transmitted rate, given
by the logarithm of the cardinality of possible codewords, falls
below the cut-off rate, then results in \cite{Arikan96} prove that
the guesswork remains in expectation less than exponential in the
length of the code. Beyond the cut-off rate, it becomes exponentially
large. One may view such a result as justifying the frequent use
of cut-off rate as as a practical, engineering characterization of
the limitations of block and convolutional codes.
Consider now the following construction of a type of concatenated
code \cite{shu2004}, which is a slight variant of that proposed by
Falconer \cite{Falconer67}. The original data, a stream of i.i.d.
symbols, is first encoded using an algebraic block MDS code. For a
block MDS code, such as a Reed-Solomon code \cite{shu2004}, over a
codeword constituted by a sequence of $V$ symbols, correct reception
at the output of any $U$ symbols from the $V$ allows for correct
decoding, where the feasibility of a pair of $V$ and $U$ depends
on the family of codes. For every $U$ input symbols in the data
stream, $V$ symbols are generated by the algebraic block MDS code.
Note that these symbols may be selected over a set of large
cardinality, for instance by taking each symbol to be a string of
bits. As successive input blocks of length $U$ are processed by the
block MDS code, these symbols form $V$ separate streams of symbols.
Each of these $V$ streams emanating from the algebraic block MDS
code is coded using a separate but identical convolutional encoder.
The $V$ convolutional codewords thus obtained are dependent, even
though any $U$ of them are mutually independent. This dependence
is imputed by the fact that the $V$ convolutional codewords are
created by $U$ original streams that form the input of the block
MDS encoder. The $V$ convolutional codewords constitute then the
inputs to $V$ mutually independent, Discrete Memoryless Channels
(DMCs), all governed by the same probability law. In Falconer's
construct, such parallel DMCs are embodied by time-sharing equally
a single DMC. While Falconer envisages independent DMCs governed
by a single probability law, as is suitable in the setting of
interleaving over a single DMC, we may readily extend the scheme
to the case where the parallel DMCs have different behaviors. Such
a model is natural in wireless settings where several channels are
used in parallel, say over different frequencies. While the behavior
of such channels is often well modeled as being mutually independent,
and the channels individually are well approximated as being DMCs,
the characteristics of the channels, which may vary slowly in time,
generally differ considerably from each other at any time.
Decoding
uses the outputs of the $V$ DMCs as follows. For each DMC,
the output is initially individually decoded using sequential
decoding so that, in the words of Falconer, "controlled by the Fano
algorithm, all $[V]$ sequential decoders simultaneously and
independently attempt to proceed along the correct path in their
own trees". The dependence among the streams produced by the original
application of the block MDS code entails that, when $U$ sequential
decoders each correctly guesses a symbol, the correct guesses
determine a block of $U$ original data symbols. The latter are
communicated to all remaining $V-U$ sequential decoders, eliminating
the need for them to continue producing guesses regarding that block
of $U$ original data symbols. The sequential decoders then proceed
to continue attempting to decode the next block of $U$ original
data symbols. This scheme allows the $U$ most fortunate guesses out
of $V$ to dominate the performance of the overall decoder. A
sequential decoder that was a laggard for one block of the original
$U$ symbols may prove to be a leader for another block of $U$
symbols.
\section*{Acknowledgments:}
The authors thank Erdal Arikan (Bilkent University) for informative
feedback and for pointing out the relationship between multi-user
guesswork and sequential decoding.
They also thank the anonymous reviewers for their feedback
on the paper.
|
More than helping people and making other, less fortunate lives better, the underlying theme at last night's New York Basketball Classic for Wheelchair Charities was that NBA basketball is a business, first and foremost.
Some players feel the focus of the game has been lost.
That same mentality, according to the ex-Knicks in attendance, such as Anthony Mason and John Starks, is also what lies beneath the daily Patrick Ewing trade rumors that die and come back to life faster than a rejected autograph request from the Big Fella on game day.
"Patrick is the greatest New York Knick ever," said Jackson, who is a major force behind organizing this charity game. "He's a guy that lays it on the line, night in and night out.
Mason, the newest addition to a Heat team that is the pre-season favorite to win the Eastern Conference, said that he is surprised at the way Ewing has been tossed out to the curb as trade bait.
Asked if Ewing would have a tough time returning into a locker room that Knick management is trying to box him out of, his former teammates said that Ewing will just show up and do his job.
Starks, recently signed by the Jazz, said Ewing gave "no indication that he wanted to leave New York," when they last spoke on the phone. |
Down and dirty: Scarbrough, Simontacc Brisson capture off-road titles at XTERRA Hawaii Island
By J.R. De Groote West Hawaii Today [email protected] | Monday, August 26, 2019, 12:05 a.m.
Tailiko Scarbrough (right) won the second annual XTERRA Hawaii Island in 1:39:58 on Sunday. (J.R. De Groote/West Hawaii Today)
Bree Brown at the the second annual XTERRA Hawaii Island in 1:39:58 on Sunday. (J.R. De Groote/West Hawaii Today)
Tailiko Scarbrough won the second annual XTERRA Hawaii Island in 1:39:58 on Sunday. (J.R. De Groote/West Hawaii Today)
KOHALA COAST — As the classic Mike Tyson quote goes, "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth — or get a kiawe spike in their bike tire or slip on a loose trail rock."
XTERRA Hawaii Island is as much about how athletes can handle the challenges that arise and the mental hurdles as it is about endurance — albeit the grueling .5-mile swim, 10-mile mountain bike and 3.1-mile trail run is a trek few have the guts or skill to take on.
Tai Scarbrough, a Hawaii County fireman, was the quickest on the course on Sunday during the second edition of the event, stopping the clock in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 58 seconds. On the women's side, Karen Simontacc Brisson crossed first in a time of 2:01:10 to take the crown.
"Brutal," Scarbrough said when asked to describe the race. "It's really challenging. The objective is just to push, push, push. It's hard to have plan for something like this. Luckily we had some calm water for the swim this morning. The run you're pretty much winded the whole time. The bike has some fast sections, but it's real technical. There's also that kiawe factor and I was just hoping my tires hold up."
Scarbrough finished second last year, getting caught by veteran Big Island triathlete Jose Graca on the trail run portion of the race. Graca didn't participate this year but Scarbrough couldn't rest on his laurels. Benjamin Kieffer finished less than a minute behind and Sergio Florian rounded out the overall male podium.
"[Graca] really pushed me to my limit last year on the run," Scarbrough said. "But these guys gave me a run for my money too."
Amanda Frost (2:05:58) and Amy Young (2:07:31) finished second and third among the women, respectively.
The event offered 25 slots to the XTERRA World Championship on Maui, which is more than double the length of the Big Island event. The championship includes a 1-mile swim, 20-mile mountain bike that traverses 3,500 feet of elevation on the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains and a 6.5-mile trail run that spans the forest trails and beach sand on the Valley Isle. Scarbrough said he took on the test last year and was stunned by the challenge. He plans to do it again this year.
"It was so challenging. It was just a mud course. I had to hike the bike for half of it," Scarbrough said. "I bonked and had to sit down and rub cramps out. It was super humbling."
This year's World Championship is scheduled for Oct. 27.
1 Tailiko Scarbrough #33 40 – 44 :14:14 :58:18 :27:26 1:39:58
2 Benjamin Kieffer #29 35 – 39 :15:00 1:02:50 :22:48 1:40:38
3 Sergio Florian #31 40 – 44 :14:36 1:02:28 :25:06 1:42:10
4 Daniel Hartong #24 30 – 34 :16:00 1:01:45 :28:30 1:46:15
5 Jonah Kirkham #20 15 – 19 :13:39 1:05:46 :27:16 1:46:41
6 Daniel Hill #41 45 – 49 :22:11 1:07:15 :28:11 1:57:37
7 James Twigg-Smith #26 30 – 34 :16:24 1:07:53 :33:32 1:57:49
8 William Mcmahon #68 60 – 64 :16:35 1:10:08 :31:44 1:58:27
9 Patrick Leatherman #28 35 – 39 :16:10 1:14:04 :29:54 2:00:08
10 Karen Simontacc Brisson 50 – 54 1 :15:15 1:11:09 :34:46 2:01:10
11 Jacob Head #40 45 – 49 :19:34 1:06:34 :36:07 2:02:15
12 Joe Barcia #42 45 – 49 :14:43 1:21:27 :26:58 2:03:08
13 Kiley Momohara #23 30 – 34 :16:27 1:15:41 :31:39 2:03:47
14 Don Baldassari #70 60 – 64 :14:39 1:19:16 :31:47 2:05:42
15 Amanda Frost #6 40 – 44 2 :15:40 1:13:22 :36:56 2:05:58
16 Nick Muragin #46 50 – 54 :20:35 1:14:26 :32:25 2:07:26
17 Amy Young #3 35 – 39 3 :16:55 1:24:18 :26:18 2:07:31
18 Junior Fischer #22 25 – 29 :14:49 1:19:27 :36:46 2:11:02
19 Matthias kusch #52 50 – 54 :17:19 1:15:06 :41:22 2:13:47
20 Adam Busek #60 55 – 59 :17:28 1:21:05 :36:18 2:14:51
21 Mike Fairchild #64 55 – 59 :15:42 1:19:26 :43:15 2:18:23
22 Joan Campbell #15 50 – 54 4 :16:01 1:25:24 :38:05 2:19:30
23 Aaron Bowens #25 30 – 34 :19:03 1:27:28 :36:05 2:22:36
24 Staci Lovell #1 15 – 19 5 :16:21 1:28:50 :39:34 2:24:45
25 Chris Seymour #59 55 – 59 :22:16 1:13:15 :51:25 2:26:56
26 Obediah (Obie) Levine #3 40 – 44 :19:02 1:29:08 :39:22 2:27:32
27 Christian Engelhardt #58 50 – 54 :24:05 1:18:02 :45:36 2:27:43
28 Mark Van Heukelem #54 50 – 54 :15:10 1:26:43 :46:05 2:27:58
29 Randy Campbell #67 60 – 64 :19:13 1:29:03 :42:12 2:30:28
30 Robert Gibbens #47 50 – 54 :22:31 1:21:41 :48:31 2:32:43
31 Kate Ligler #4 35 – 39 6 :17:52 1:33:49 :41:53 2:33:34
32 Tamara Hynd #10 45 – 49 7 :20:15 1:38:38 :34:52 2:33:45
33 David Fediuk #34 40 – 44 :16:33 1:36:10 :41:25 2:34:08
34 Dina Strittmatter #9 45 – 49 8 :20:02 1:36:38 :38:28 2:35:08
35 Vince Schaper #55 50 – 54 :17:19 1:38:56 :42:33 2:38:48
36 Kevin Rooney #51 50 – 54 :19:42 1:36:22 :45:02 2:41:06
37 Tim Robinson #50 50 – 54 :19:01 1:31:13 :51:05 2:41:19
38 Jess Griffiths #48 50 – 54 :21:20 1:38:33 :45:13 2:45:06
39 Billy Rickards #39 45 – 49 :16:20 1:42:30 :47:08 2:45:58
40 Fred Wawner #38 45 – 49 :20:46 1:46:19 :40:16 2:47:21
41 Robert Murray #71 60 – 64 :15:43 1:52:41 :40:18 2:48:42
42 Timothy Wiley #65 55 – 59 :22:20 1:38:07 :49:26 2:49:53
43 Jeff Fischer #57 50 – 54 :21:18 1:36:24 :52:17 2:49:59
44 David Bozarth #30 40 – 44 :21:25 1:44:14 :44:49 2:50:28
45 Mark Lewis #35 40 – 44 :17:54 1:37:22 :56:25 2:51:41
46 Jim Lovell #63 55 – 59 :15:53 1:41:16 :54:45 2:51:54
47 Ian Hersey #62 55 – 59 :19:29 1:53:40 :45:07 2:58:16
48 Griffith Yamaguchi #72 60 – 64 :17:21 1:45:41 1:00:39 3:03:41
49 Steven Simontacchi #61 55 – 59 :22:41 1:55:55 :55:10 3:13:46
50 Kailey Fediuk #2 15 – 19 9 :16:09 2:25:22 :52:14 3:33:45
51 Rachel Sheehan #17 50 – 54 10 :28:50 2:10:09 :56:21 3:35:20
52 Kathleen Pelkan #19 55 – 59 11 :28:54 2:10:06 :56:20 3:35:20
53 Charles Cholet #73 65 – 69 :19:20 2:16:16 1:04:14 3:39:50
54 Dave Mandelkern #66 60 – 64 :25:56 3:07:31 1:10:19 4:43:46
UH quarterback McDonald lives by creed of family, faith, friendship
BIIF girls basketball: Alika Smith at Waiakea is a fit to watch
Letters to the editor: 01-18-20 |
She seems like a normal third grader who loves Legos, talking on the phone, texting her friends and even math in school. But Sami Bray of Cordova is most at home on the stage.
This year, there were more than 200 submissions for the U.S. Open Anthem Auditions. Bray was one of 60 children selected for the in-person callback held in New York City.
After originally sending in an audition tape, the family made the 32-hour round trip drive from Memphis to New York City for the callback. Her mother, Dana Bray, was surprised to hear that her 8-year-old daughter was chosen.
The Grahamwood Elementary School student is no stranger to the local stage and has been doing theater with her older sister ever since. Sami has been in many local productions, including "Charlotte's Web" with the Germantown Community Theatre, "Annie Jr." with Stage Door Productions, and "The Little Mermaid" with New Day Children's Theatre, where she played Flounder.
Sami is also playing Cindy Lou Who for the second year in a row in "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical" in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry House. It's a role she really enjoys, and she has the size and the voice for it.
Sami, who said tap dancing is her favorite kind of dance, is looking to put all of these skills to work when she grows up. |
Dr. Paul Offenkrantz a graduate of Oberlin College, attended the Yale School of Music and earned a Master of Sacred Music from Hebrew Union College, where he was also ordained as a cantor. In his distinguished career, he has served communities in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and West Palm Beach. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Hebrew Union College and received rabbinic ordination from The Jewish Spiritual Leaders Institute. He began singing professionally on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera at the age of nine and appeared in over 30 different operas at the MET over the course of five seasons. He has worked with Leonard Bernstein, Richard Tucker, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jerome Robbins, George Balanchine and many other important artists. He concertizes and lectures extensively throughout South Florida and is also an adjunct professor of Music History at the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University.
Program(s) presented by Paul Offenkrantz during current session(s). |
October 21 - 25 marked the first Palestine Awareness Week on the University of Florida campus. Coordinated by Islam on Campus and the recently-formed Palestinian rights group Nakba '48, it included four days of daytime events and evening programs. All served to make more visible and real the intolerable conditions under which the Palestinian people are living because of the Israeli occupation of their land, and the need for real changes by Israel in addressing the apartheid-like conditions being imposed on the residents of Palestine. As on many other campuses around the country, Palestinian Awareness Week caused controversy on the UF campus, with a group called Gators for Israel opposing the events.
On the opening day, Nakba '48 set up a table with information about the week's activities. Massing in the center of the plaza 50 feet away were around 150 blue-shirted Gators for Israel, singing songs and chanting pro-Israel chants. The odd feeling was that it was a protest against awareness itself, with the irony being that the protest actually drew attention to the existence of Palestinian Awareness Week, albeit soaking up a lot of coverage of the events. This was especially true of the opening night speech by Dr. Hussein Ibish, who was heard by around 80 people that evening but received no media coverage. It's also worth noting that very few of the Gators for Israel sympathizers attended his talk.
Dr. Ibish is the Communications Director for the American Arab Anti-discrimination Committee and a contributing writer for the Los Angeles Times. He laid out the situation in stark terms, eliminating the historical and religious trappings that he said serve only to confuse and mystify the discussion. Ibish said that the Israel-Palestine problem is a political conflict and must be seen as such, as opposed to a religious conflict, because religious conflicts are "intractable and irrational" by their nature. In short-an untenable, unsustainable situation of oppression exists with the occupation of Palestinian land and repression of the 3.6 million Palestinians. The huge amount of military aid and weaponry from the US perpetuates the occupation and complicates any move toward a solution, despite recent US rhetoric favoring a two-state solution.
Ibish said that in this situation the occupation must be seen as the key. There are 3.6 million people living stateless, in deprived conditions, crowded into small areas, existing under oppression and with little opportunity to change the situation. This is the hopeless situation that gives rise to the terrorism-one group dominating and repressing another to the degree the Palestinians have endured.
As to resolution of the conflict, Ibish said there are only 3 possibilities. The first two are prospects for peace, the third is a prospect for catastrophe. The first is the two-state solution, which is already written out in the UN resolution 242. This would require Israel to pull out from the occupied territories. Yet the current Israeli government opposes this, and it seems unlikely. The second option is the single state, which is supported by the Palestinians, but there is very little support for this in Israel. So it really comes down to Israel, because the third option would be the horror of ethnic cleansing, whereby the "problem" of the Palestinians woud be reduced or removed by Israel under one circumstance or other. Unbelievable as it sounds, this notion does have support of a small but significant minority in Israel-15% according to Ibish.
On October 23, Adam Shapiro, a member of the International Solidarity Movement (www.palsolidarity.org) described his experiences as an American doing support work in the occupied territories. His work included helping provide food and medical supplies, monitoring checkpoints, and most recently, assisting with the olive harvest-trying to keep Israeli military and settlers from firing on and harassing Palestinian farmers whose agricultural efforts are severely restricted both by water restrictions and land confiscation.
One strong point Shapiro made to the more than 300 people in attendance was that the vast majority on both sides of the conflict want peace and security, but a small minority, representing people from both Israel and Palestine--and largely for their own self-interest--want the conflict to continue. These are the two sides to this issue: the "bloody handshake and dance of violence" between Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Sharon and the conservatives of Israel working "together" to continually destroy negotiations, against the majority of Israelis and Palestinians who want peace and security, and who, if given the chance, could work things out.
That the Israelis (and their enabling sponsor, the USA) control the solution is maybe why there was so much controversy over Palestinian Awareness Week. That first day, when 150 "Gators for Israel" protested the information table set up by Nakba '48, spoke volumes-the protest seemed to be speaking against awareness itself, even though Americans need to know more about the situation. Though the protest overshadowed some of the issues and events, it also increased awareness of the week's activities.
Tapes of both Adam Shapiro and Hussein Ibish talks are available for checkout at the Civic Media Center. |
Nos résistances est un film français réalisé par Romain Cogitore, sorti le dans les salles.
Synopsis
En France en 1944, un secouriste de dix-neuf ans est plus intéressé par son amoureuse que par la guerre. Il monte au maquis pour impressionner la jeune fille, mais se retrouve rattrapé par les évènements. Au milieu d'un groupe de jeunes maquisards, il passe de l'adolescence à l'âge adulte, découvrant de plein fouet l'amour et la survie.
Fiche technique
Titre original : Nos Résistances
Titre anglais : 15 Lads
Réalisation : Romain Cogitore
Scénario et dialogues : Romain Cogitore
Images : Thomas Ozoux
Son : Olivier Dandré, Manu Vidal, Benjamin Viau
Montage : Nathalie Langlade
Musique : Mathieu Lamboley, Booster
Direction artistique, décors, costumes : David Faivre
Scripte : Karinne Lecocq
Production exécutive : Sophie Erbs
Producteur : Tom Dercourt
Assistant régisseur : Eric Poupounot
Sociétés de production : Cinéma De Facto, avec le soutien de la Région Alsace, de la Région Lorraine, de la Communauté urbaine de Strasbourg, en partenariat avec le CNC, avec le soutien de la Procirep, de l'Angoa et de l'Agence culturelle d'Alsace, en association avec Cofinova 6, et avec la participation de Orange cinéma série et de CinéCinéma
Sociétés de distribution : Shellac (France), Film Distribution (étranger)
Budget : 1 M€
Pays d'origine :
Tournage :
Langue : français
Période prises de vues : août 2009 à octobre 2009
Extérieurs : Vosges du Nord
Format : couleur HD — 35 mm — 1.85:1 (Red-One Caméra) — son stéréophonique Dolby Digital SRD
Genre : drame
Durée : 86 minutes
Projection en avant-première : au cinéma Star Saint-Exupéry de Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin)
Date de sortie : sortie nationale
Récompense
César 2012 : Pré-nomination au César du meilleur espoir masculin pour François Civil.
Distribution
François Civil : Racine
Grégoire Colin : Le Bourreau
Grégory Gatignol : Zozo
Jules Sitruk : Peigne
Michel Vuillermoz : Lieutenant Lebel
Jeanne Mettauer : Jeanne
Juliette Lamboley : Véronique
Jules Sadoughi : Ficelle
Ralph Amoussou : L'Ours
Olivier Guéritée : Poux
Augustin Legrand : Tonio
Hélène Foubert : La mère de Racine
Bruno Paviot : L'adjudant
Maxime Lefrançois : Le brigadier
Stéphanie Crayencour : La sœur de Jeanne
Anne Benoît : La mère de Véronique
Christopher Buchholz : Le soldat allemand
Rémi Forfert : Hulotte
Jonathan Cipolla : Casanova
Jean-Noël Grognard : Jeannot Lapin
Quentin Binder : Binouze
David Stoehr : Molière
Notes et références
Liens externes
Film français sorti en 2011
Film dramatique français
Film sur la résistance intérieure française
Film se déroulant en France
Film se déroulant dans les années 1940
Film en français
Film tourné en 2009
Film français inspiré de faits réels
Film sur l'Occupation allemande en France
Film sur la résistance dans l'Europe occupée par les nazis
Résistance française
Film réalisé par Romain Cogitore
Film distribué par Shellac |
Gnathoncus — род жуков-карапузиков из подсемейства Saprininae.
Описание
Верх в явственной пунктировке. Передние голени с зубцами по наружному краю и с желобком для вкладывания лапки.
Виды
Некоторые виды рода:
Примечания
Карапузики
Роды жесткокрылых |
New Home Floorplans available in Atlanta from home builder Fischer Homes.
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Assessing English reading comprehension by Chinese EFL learners in computerized dynamic assessment
Yanfeng Yang ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0349-40481 &
David D. Qian2
Language Testing in Asia volume 7, Article number: 11 (2017) Cite this article
Predicated on Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (ZPD), dynamic assessment (DA) integrates teaching with assessment in a single activity by providing mediation to help learners perform beyond their independent functioning and simultaneously promote learner development. It advantages over traditional psychometric tests in that DA can not only reveal the learners' actual level of development from their independent performance as what the traditional tests did but also their potential level of development from the mediations the learners need during the mediator-learner interactions. However, the number of learners a DA assessor can help is limited due to the time demand of mediator-learner interactions. To overcome this weakness, researchers are turning to computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA).
The study aimed to find out the learners' difficulties in reading comprehension, the effects of C-DA and the learners' reflections on the C-DA program. Multiple choice questions in the reading comprehension section were adapted from CET4 (College English Test, Band 4). Two groups of students participated in the present study. In the pilot study, a group of students were asked to write down their thinking process after they finished a reading test, from which the students' difficulties in reading comprehension test were identified and mediations were worked out afterwards. The mediation levels and the scoring scale were also determined and put into the C-DA program devised for the main study. Another group of students were asked to do a reading test using C-DA. After the test, a learner profile capturing the students' performances in the test was generated from the program. Finally, a questionnaire was distributed to collect data for the students' reflections on C-DA.
It was found that the learners mainly encountered three difficulties in their reading comprehension test: (1) new words were the biggest barrier; (2) learners felt hard to locate on the relevant sentences in the original passage from the information provided in the question; (3) their inferential abilities are weak. The analysis of the data generated by the C-DA program indicated that C-DA far exceeded the traditional static assessment for its stronger diagnostic capacities and the deeper insights it provided for subsequent teaching. The results of the questionnaire showed that C-DA was greatly welcomed by the students and believed to be particularly helpful in building up confidence for those low achievers as identified in traditional static assessment.
The major contribution of the present study was to implement DA principles to larger scale study with the use of computer technology and gain valuable insights for future studies. However, limitations remained and future studies should try to address the issues discussed in the present study.
Predicated on Vygotsky's social-cultural theory (SCT) of mind, especially his proposition of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), dynamic assessment (DA) integrates teaching with assessment in a single activity by providing mediation to help learners perform beyond their independent functioning and simultaneously promote learner development. DA goes against traditional psychometric tests which hold a dualistic view of teaching and assessment. It advantages over traditional psychometric tests in that DA can reveal not only the learners' actual level of development from their independent performance as what the traditional tests did but also their potential level of development from the mediations the learners need during the mediator-learner interactions. Since what the learners need from the mediator during DA indicate how far the learners are from their independent functioning, the potential level of development is more significant for the subsequent instruction and learner development than the actual level of development. However, the number of learners a DA assessor can help is limited due to the time demand of mediator-learner interactions. To overcome this weakness, researchers are turning to computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA), i.e., using computer as the mediator, to administer a large-scale study (e.g., Poehner and Lantolf 2013; Tzuriel and Shamir 2002; Pishghadam et al. 2011). Despite valuable insights gained from the few C-DA studies, the effectiveness of C-DA sessions is still not very clear. Using Chinese EFL learners as the participants, the present study made a preliminary attempt to design a computer program to assess their reading comprehension. The main purpose of the study is to find out the effect of C-DA on L2 reading, i.e., whether it is more revealing of learners' reading abilities as compared to traditional testing. In addition, the study also considers the learners' difficulties in reading comprehension and their reflections on the C-DA procedure.
Theoretical background
According to Vygotsky and his colleagues, all forms of higher functioning are mediated during the interactions with the environment (Leont'ev 1981; Poehner 2008). At the initial stage, individuals rely on mediations to complete tasks. Later, these kinds of interactions are internalized and give rise to new cognitive development. In other words, it is the mediated interactions that enable individuals to complete the tasks independently which were once only possible through the help of others. Given this view of cognitive development, Vygotsky (1998) proposed that the assessment of individual's abilities should not only include those functions that have been fully developed through independent problem solving but also incorporate those that are in the process of developing. To better illustrate this notion, he put forward a famous proposition—ZPD. ZPD is "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers" (Vygotsky 1978, p. 86). Mediations therefore provide remarkable insights in revealing an individual's potential development. The major task of DA, then, is to observe an individual's actual level of development as well as gain insights into his/her potential development sensitive to ZPD.
Empirical studies on L2 C-DA
There are two major approaches of DA, interventionist and interactionist DA (Lantolf and Poehner 2004). They differ from each other in the form of mediation. In interventionist DA, the mediation prompts are pre-scripted and arranged hierarchically from implicit to explicit with a numerical value representing their position in the sequence (Davin 2013; Poehner and Lantolf 2013). In interactionist DA, the mediation is flexible and negotiated in mediator-learner dialogue (Poehner and Lantolf 2013). For C-DA, interventionist approach is appropriate since computers serve as the mediators instead of humans. However, sometimes researchers also implemented the interactionist approach as a complementary method in C-DA so as to better diagnose learners' abilities (e.g., Tzuriel and Shamir 2002). Since the focus of the present study is on C-DA, the following review mainly focus on those studies using the computer as the mediator, especially in the field of second language assessment or second language research.
Although Kozulin and Garb (2002) did not use computers in their experiment, their study influenced C-DA studies. They employed an interventionist sandwich format, in which mediation was conducted between the pre-test and the post-test, with a group of 23 adult EFL learners at risk who were immigrants to Israel and failed the high school English test. The purpose of the study was to test the feasibility of DA in curriculum-based areas such as EFL. The pre-test was a standard EFL placement test adapted by eliminating the items on vocabulary recognition, and producing for the completion of those items rely largely on prior knowledge. In this way, the aim of the test was to assess the cognitive strategies in the EFL reading rather than rote memory. Following the pre-test, a detailed guideline was designed and the learners were asked to correct their pre-tests on their own. The material used in the mediation phase was the pre-test, and two phases were involved. The first one was the manipulation of the items in the pre-test on lexical, grammatical, and structural knowledge, after which an "information page" providing information needed for the learners to complete this part was distributed to the learners for take-home study. The second phase involved four texts of increasing difficulty and the reading comprehension questions devised to test the learner's ability in using the text structure, cohesion devices, and background knowledge to extract meaning. After that, a post-test comparable to the pre-test was administered, and the changes between the scores of the two tests revealed the effects of DA conducted in the mediation phase. Results show that the students' performance increased considerably in the post-test, indicating that they indeed benefited from the mediation. As noted by the authors, the pre-test scores could only reveal "the learners' actual performance but not their learning potential" (p. 120).
Kozulin and Garb's study is limited in that it did not provide a detailed illustration of the mediation phase such as specific examples and protocols (Poehner 2005). However, the study is significant particularly in its devising of the learning potential score (LPS) to capture the learner's potential level of development. The following is the formula devised.
$$ \mathrm{L}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{S} = \left(\mathrm{S}\ \mathrm{post}\ \hbox{--}\ \mathrm{S}\ \mathrm{pre}\right)/\mathrm{Max}\ \mathrm{S} + \mathrm{S}\ \mathrm{post}/\mathrm{Max}\ \mathrm{S} = \left(2\ \mathrm{S}\ \mathrm{post}\ \hbox{--}\ \mathrm{S}\ \mathrm{pre}\right)/\mathrm{Max}\ \mathrm{S} $$
(Kozulin and Garb 2002, p. 121)
S pre and S post were the scores of the pre-test and post-test, respectively, while Max S referred to the maximum score, i.e., the full score of the test. LPS took into account not only the pre- and post-test scores but also the maximum score. The range of the LPS in Kozulin and Garb's (ibid) study was from .47 to 1.21, based on which the authors divided the students into three groups: high learning potential group (LPS ≥ 1), low learning potential group (LPS < .71), and intermediate learning potential group (.79 ≥ LPS ≤ .88). In terms of the validity of the LPS, no further studies can be found by Kozulin and Garb. However, the formula is interesting, and Poehner and Lantolf (2013) employed it in computerized dynamic assessment to further test its feasibility in predicting learning potential.
Tzuriel and Shamir's (2002) study is crucial in C-DA although it belongs to the domain of cognitive psychology. The study examined the effects of C-DA on young children's seriational thinking abilities as compared to DA with an examiner. For the C-DA group, the interventionist approach was adopted and the hints were provided from implicit to explicit by a multimedia program if the children's responses were not correct. In one sub-group of C-DA, teachers were present and provided help tailored to the children's needs when the computer program was not effective during the administration, which was similar to interactionist DA. Results showed that intervention through C-DA supplemented with a teacher's help was the most effective in bringing about cognitive changes, followed by mediation provided exclusively by the computer, and mediation with only an examiner turned out to be the least effective.
Enlightened by Tzuriel and Shamir (ibid), Poehner and Lantolf (2013) took an initial step to capture L2 development using the interventionist DA in a computerized setting. The participants were second language learners of Chinese and French. The tests consisted of L2 reading and listening comprehension items in multiple choice format. Each test incorporated non-transfer and transfer items, the difference of which was that the latter were more difficult than the former. Transfer items were provided after non-transfer ones and aimed to find out to what extent the learners could integrate the knowledge they gained from the previous non-transfer tests when the context changed, i.e., in the more challenging transfer test. Before C-DA, the items were adapted by adding one distractor to the original four in order to provide more chances for the learners to learn in the C-DA process. To establish the appropriate levels of mediation, a pilot study was conducted for each item in a one-on-one interaction between a mediator and several individual learners. The mediations that proved to be effective in the pilot were then written into the C-DA program.
The scoring system was different from the traditional test for which either full score or 0 score could be gained. In C-DA, the student's score decreased as his/her attempts increased for the item. If the student's first attempt was correct, s/he would gain a score of 4 for the item. If a second response was correct, a score of 3 would be earned and so on until the correct answer was provided by the program at which time no points would be awarded.
What the C-DA program generated were the learner profiles that consisted of a series of numbers recording the learner responses in their attempts for each item. Three scores were generated for the non-transfer items: actual score, mediated score, and LPS. The actual score was the score the student gained in their first attempt for each item, and as such, it was either 4 (correct response) or 0 (incorrect response). It represented the students' actual level of development, i.e., their independent performance without mediation. The mediated score was the summed score gained in the initial attempts and those for the meditated responses. LPS was calculated using Kozulin and Garb's (2002) formula. Another score not generated by the program but mentioned by Poehner and Lantolf (2013) was the gain score. It was calculated by subtracting the actual score from the mediated score, which indicated the extent to which the student had benefited from the mediation.
Statistical analysis of the actual and mediated scores showed that learner performance improved significantly under mediation, which indicated that the mediations provided during C-DA were helpful for the learners. To uncover evidence of learning, Poehner and Lantolf (ibid) compared several individuals' actual score, mediated score, and LPS they earned for the non-transfer items with those for the transfer ones and came to a conclusion that they "caution against assuming a direct mapping across all scoring categories" (ibid: 335), which may cast doubt on the reliability of the LPS formula proposed by Kozulin and Garb (2002). Significance was also found in the correlation coefficients between LPS and the actual score of the transfer items for both the Chinese reading and listening tests but not for the French reading test. Poehner and Lantolf (2013) concluded that "LPS has promise as a predictor of learning" (p. 336).
In a follow-up report of the same project, Poehner et al. (2014) provided a more fine-grained analysis on what was generated for the non-transfer items in the Chinese reading and listening tests. The procedures for the quantitative analysis in this report were similar to those in Poehner and Lantolf (2013), but the authors expanded the discussion on the results found, especially in explaining and illustrating the factors affecting LPS. As noticed by Poehner et al. (ibid), LPS is determined by the actual score, the mediated score, and the maximum score concurrently. In order to have a more complete picture of the learner abilities, one should analyze the actual, mediated scores and LPS collectively rather than focus on one single score. Another significant part of the report not found in the previous publication is that the authors demonstrated what could be gained from the learner profiles generated by the C-DA program and the implications it could provide for future teaching and learning. Through grouping the learners by mediation levels and by language constructs, the authors demonstrated a more fine-grained diagnosis of the learner difficulties, which formed the basis of the suggestions provided for subsequent teaching and learning.
Another study assessing L2 reading in C-DA is Pishghadam et al. (2011). Using the interventionist approach, Pishghadam et al. (2011) investigated the effect of C-DA procedure on EFL reading comprehension by Iranian students at an intermediate level of English proficiency. The comparison between the non-dynamic scores and the dynamic scores reveals that the C-DA procedure was effective in differentiating learners' reading abilities. Moreover, low achievers benefited more than high achievers as categorized according to their non-dynamic scores. Different from Poehner and Lantolf (2013), the format adopted by Pishghadam et al. (2011) were open-ended items.
Whereas the studies mentioned above carried out the C-DA procedure in one single session to assess reading comprehension, Teo (2012) used C-DA as a teaching method to promote Taiwanese college EFL students' inferential reading skills. The study took a "sandwich" format of interventionist DA, i.e., the mediation phase through C-DA was sandwiched between traditional pre-test and post-test. The whole study lasted for 10 weeks and the mediation phase 8 weeks. For each mediation session, three passages followed by one inferential question for each were provided and mediations were offered from implicit to explicit if the responses were not correct. Similar to most of the C-DA studies, the items were in multiple choice format. Results indicated that students made significant progress through the intervention of C-DA as their scores in the post-test outperformed those in the pre-test. In addition, qualitative analysis of students' written reflections in their working portfolio showed that C-DA procedure also promoted students' metacognitive reading strategies in making inferences. However, as noted by the author, the main limitation of this research was its within-group design, i.e., one targeted group throughout the study, which made it less confident to determine whether the improvement was caused by the frequent practices or the C-DA intervention. Therefore, future studies should take a between-group design in order to find convincing evidence to support the effects of C-DA on promoting reading comprehension abilities.
From the above scant literature on C-DA and second language assessment or second language research, more studies are needed in this line. As noted by Poehner and Lantolf (2013), "we are in the beginning stages of what promises to be a lengthy and challenging process" (p. 337). Inspired by the previous studies, the present study attempts to apply C-DA to Chinese EFL learners. The main purpose is to find out the advantages of C-DA over non-dynamic assessment and the students' feedbacks on the procedure. Since reading comprehension is the subject matter, the students' difficulties in English reading comprehension test will also be revealed.
The present study was conducted to answer the following research questions.
What difficulties do the students encounter in their English reading comprehension test?
Is the C-DA procedure more revealing in diagnosing learners' abilities in L2 reading comprehension than the non-dynamic assessment?
What is the students' feedback on the C-DA procedure?
Two studies were involved: the pilot study with one group of participants (Group 1) and the main study with another group of participants (Group 2) comparable to Group 1. The pilot study was used to identify the difficulties the students encountered in their English reading comprehension test, which would help the researchers to work out the mediations for the students. Since the two groups of students were comparable, the results of the pilot study were applicable to the students in the main study. In the pilot study, the students were asked to write down their thinking processes for each item, which were then analyzed to determine whether they had a full understanding of each item. The criteria included the understanding of the item question, the correct location in the key portion of the original passage, a full understanding of the located sentence(s), understanding of the options, and correct choice of the answer. If the students failed to meet any one of the criteria, difficulties were identified for the item. The results of the pilot study were used to answer the first research question.
Based on the students' difficulties found in the pilot study, the mediational prompts were written for the main study and the mediational levels for the prompts were arranged from implicit to explicit down the range. That was, with the increasing demand of the mediations, the prompts became more and more explicit until providing the answer and the explanation in the last prompt. The scoring system followed Poehner and Lantolf (2013). After the test, a learner profile was generated by the program, including the actual score for the students' independent performance, the mediated score showing how much help they needed in the test, LPS calculated using Kozulin and Garb's (2002) formula, the gain score which indicated the extent to which the student had benefited from the mediation and was calculated by subtracting the actual score from the mediated score following Poehner and Lantolf (2013), and the record of the students' choice(s) during their attempts for each item. MS Excel and SPSS were used for statistical analysis, the results of which were used to answer the second research question.
After C-DA, questionnaire was used to collect data about the students' feedbacks. Three questions were asked: (1) students' beliefs of the helpfulness of C-DA and the reasons, (2) whether students like or dislike C-DA and the reasons, and (3) students' suggestions on improving C-DA (see Additional file 1: Appendix C). The results of the questionnaire were used to answer the third research question. The following sections were a detailed description for the research design.
Two parallel classes participated in the study. Based on their English scores in the Entrance Exam to College, the students' overall English proficiency levels were similar. One class consisting of 52 students (Group 1) participated in the pilot study and another class consisting of 50 (Group 2) in the main study. Since four students logged on to the website twice in the main study, they were excluded from the study. Finally, 46 students (26 male and 20 female) were left for further analysis. They were 20 years old in average and had learned English for about 10 years.Footnote 1 All the students were freshmen majoring in industrial design in Lingnan Normal University in mainland China. They came to the university in September, 2013. During the study in the university, they had 2-h English classes every week in regular classrooms without computers for the students and another 2-h English classes once every 2 weeks in the language lab where computers were available for everyone. According to the normal practice of the university, students were encouraged to take CET4 (College English Test, Band 4), a widely recognized national English test for college/university students in mainland China, at the fourth semester,Footnote 2 and around 80% of the students passed the exam according to the statistics calculated based on the students' performance in CET4 in the past 3 years. Since the students were in their second semester, CET4 should be a challenge to most of the participants.
Instruments and procedures
Reading comprehension items in multiple choice format were selected as the focus of the present study because it was the most common format in reading comprehension tests and accounted for the largest proportion in the reading section of CET4. In DA, what is most important is to work out an appropriate test sensitive to the learners' ZPD. That is, the test should be neither too easy nor too difficult. The difficulty level of CET4 is around the participants' ZPD because they are supposed to pass the exam in the near future.
According to Vygotsky, to provide mediations sensitive to learners' ZPD is crucial in DA. In the present study, ZPD should be the group's ZPD rather than the individual's because the latter is difficult to access in large-scale studies. As noted by Poehner (2007), mediating the group "not only moves the group's ZPD forward but also promotes the development of individuals" (p. 338). In order to better diagnose the group's ZPD and identify appropriate meditational prompts, a pilot study was administered (see Additional file 1: Appendix A). It was a paper-and-pencil test consisting of one reading passage followed by five multiple choice questions taken from CET4 administered in June, 2012. Apart from writing down the correct choices, the students were asked to write down their thinking processes in completing the task. From the students' thinking processes, their difficulties in reading comprehension were identified. Since the students could not express themselves freely in English, they could use Chinese to complete the task.
Main study
Several steps were involved in the main study, including the selection and adaptation of the test, preparation of the mediations and setting the scoring scales, preparation of the C-DA program, design of the questionnaire, and administration of the test. Two reading passages consisting of 10 questions (five for each passage) were selected from the past official CET4 administered in December, 2012. Since the C-DA procedure was time-consuming, only three questions out of five were chosen for each reading passage in order to insure that all the students could finish the two reading comprehension texts and the follow-up questionnaire in the language lab. Only the first, the third, and the fifth questions for each passage were chosen considering that the revealing of the answer and the explanation to one question in C-DA might influence the students' selection of the answer to the question immediately following it since the relevant portions of the texts concerned to answering the two questions were close. Finally, the questions numbered 57, 59, 61, 62, 64, and 66 in the original test were selected. Following Poehner and Lantolf (2013), one distracter was added to the traditional four-option MCQs in order to maximize the prompts. The adding distracters were written by the present researchers and checked by a teacher majoring in curriculum and assessment. What should be noted was that the adding of the distracter aimed to provide more chances for the learners to learn in C-DA because the ultimate purpose of C-DA was to promote learner development by integrating teaching and assessment.
In preparation of the mediations, the present researchers made full use of what the students had provided in the pilot study and referred to the detailed explanations of the answer to each question in CET4 published by Enbo Education Publishing Company if necessary. The meditational hints were strategy-based for different types of questions and arranged hierarchically from implicit to explicit according to the principles of DA.
The scoring scale follows that of Poehner and Lantolf (2013), i.e., the student's score would decrease as his/her attempts increase for the item (also see the "Empirical studies on L2 C-DA" section). The students were allowed to make four attempts at responding to each question. If the student's first attempt was correct, s/he would gain a score of 4 for the item. If a second response was correct, a score of 3 would be earned and so on until the correct answer was provided by the program and no points would be awarded. The following information would be generated from the program: actual score, mediated score, LPS, gain score, and the record of the students' selections through the process. The actual score was the score the student gained in their first attempt for each item (either 4 or 0), representing their independent performance without mediation. The mediated score was calculated by adding the actual score for the independent performance (either 4 or 0 for each item) and the score gained with the help of mediations (3, 2, 1, or 0 for each item). The gain score is calculated by subtracting the actual score from the mediated score, which indicates the extent to which the student has benefited from the mediation (Poehner and Lantolf 2013). LPS was calculated using Kozulin and Garb's (2002) formula.
The C-DA program was written by one of the research team members, a computer programmer. Following a detailed description of the functions intended to be achieved in the C-DA program written by the present researchers, he wrote the coding and tested the program several times before its real use.
To answer the third research question, another questionnaire including three questions was designed (see Additional file 1: Appendix C). The first question asks about the students' belief on the helpfulness of the C-DA in improving their reading abilities, while the second question concerns the students' preference for this kind of testing format. The third question encourages the students to provide their suggestions to improve the C-DA procedure. For the first two questions, the students were asked to write down their choices as well as the reasons for the choices. The students were encouraged to complete the task in Chinese.
The main study was administered in the language lab by another research collaborator on April 14, 2014, 1 month after the pilot study. She was the English teacher of the participants. During the administration of the test, she followed the procedures the first researcher wrote for her and discussed with her prior to the test. Because this form of test was new to the students, a short training to familiarize them with the process was necessary. The English teacher spent around 10 min in describing and presenting a demo of the test to the students (Additional file 1: Appendix B). After that, the students began the test by logging on to the website provided by the teacher with their names and student IDs. The procedures went on smoothly. Most of the students finished the test in 25 min or so. Once the students finished the C-DA tests, the teacher distributed the questionnaires to them. The whole test took about 45 min. After that, the teacher collected all the questionnaires and mailed them to the first researcher for data analysis. The data generated by C-DA were packed by the technician of the language lab and emailed to the first researcher.
After data collection, MS excel and SPSS were used to process the data for statistical analysis. For the data collected from the questionnaire, they were inputted into excel file and categorized for the qualitative analysis. The following reports the results of the present study.
Diagnosing learner difficulties in reading comprehension
The results of the pilot study served to answer the first research question. The numbers of the students' first attempts were found to be basically normally distributed (mean = 2.62, SD = 1.248, maximum = 5, minimum = 0). After careful reading and classification of the students' thinking processes, the following difficulties were identified as the main obstacles in reading comprehension. Firstly, new vocabularies in the reading text constituted the biggest barrier for most of the students. A few students even could not understand the meaning of the question (7/52). Secondly, some students could not locate the relevant part of the original text from the key information embedded in the question. Thirdly, some students could locate the relevant information in the original text, but they still made an incorrect response because of wrong inference. A few students made inference based on their own common knowledge rather than on the original passage.
Considering the above difficulties and the principles of DA, the following framework was developed for the meditational prompts, including the main contents and their arrangement in the hierarchy. In order to ensure that all the students understand the prompts, they were written in Chinese (see Additional file 1: Appendix B for an exampleFootnote 3).
Prompt 1: It was the same for all questions if the initial response was incorrect. The content was "Sorry, the answer is wrong. Please try it again."
Prompt 2: It would be provided if the second response was not correct. The main purpose of this prompt was to guide the students to locate the relevant paragraph(s) of the text from the key words in the questions.
Prompt 3: It would be provided if the third response was incorrect. This prompt would explain what the question meant and narrowed the search space down to one or several sentences.
Prompt 4: If the fourth try was not correct, the correct answer and the explanations would be offered.
Advantages of C-DA
To answer the second research question, the data generated by C-DA were analyzed. Table 1 is a general description of the actual, mediated, and gain scores of the test.
Table 1 A general description of actual, mediated, and gain scores
As Table 1 shows, the mean mediated score is higher than the mean actual score and the standard deviation decreased from the actual to the mediated score. Paired sample t test revealed significant difference between the two scores (t = 12.315, df = 45, p = .000, Cohen's d = 1.22), indicating that the students' performance improved considerably under the mediation. As noted by Poehner et al. (2014), the aim of C-DA is not to increase the students' scores but to capture the learner's ZPD, i.e., to attempt to diagnose the learner's actual and potential level of development. Since the actual score only tells about the learner independent performance, leaving his/her potentials for future instructions unknown. According to Vygotsky, the learner's responsiveness to mediation can reveal his/her ZPD which is more informative for subsequent instruction. In this way, the mediated scores generated by the C-DA can be used to signal the learners' potentials for future learning. This is one of the advantages of C-DA over the traditional static assessments.
Indeed, what is important in the C-DA is the interpretation of the scores gained from the program and its relevance to the concept of ZPD. In terms of the relationship between actual, mediated, and gain scores, correlational analyses revealed that the mediated score experienced a strongly positive correlation with the actual score (r = .849, p = .000), indicating that the learners generally benefited from the mediation, whereas the actual and the gain scores were negatively correlated (r = −.771, p = .000). As noted by Poehner et al. (2014), as the learners performed well in their independent problem solving, less room was left for improvement in completing the same task, i.e., the ceiling effect. That is why the higher the actual score, the lower the gain score is. The above findings are consistent with those found in the previous L2 C-DA studies (e.g., Poehner and Lantolf 2013; Poehner et al. 2014; Teo 2012).
Another advantage of C-DA is the information provided by the learner profile, i.e., a set of scores generated from the program for each learner. For illustration, some learners' scores were compared and analyzed (Table 2).
Table 2 Some learners' scores in the learner profile
As Table 2 illustrates, students who got identical actual scores did not necessarily map onto the same mediated scores. For example, Learners 1 and 2 did not get any answer correct in their initial responses, i.e., in their independent performance, for which the two learners would be identified as at the same level of development by traditional static assessment. However, through mediation, the two learners performed quite differently. Learner 1 got 6 points and the LPS is .50, falling into the low range of LPS according to Kozulin and Garb's (2002) category, whereas Learner 2 earned 10 points, raising his LPS to .83, towards the upper end of the mid range of LPS (.79 ≤ LPS ≤ .88). In other words, the two learners, who were grouped into the same group as indicated in the static assessment, were found considerably different according to their mediated performance. In that way, dynamic assessment is more revealing than the traditional static assessment.
Another point worth mentioning is the interpretation of LPS. Kozulin and Garb's (2002) intention in devising the formula was to use it to indicate how much support the learner requires to move his/her abilities forward. However, the stakeholders should not depend on one single score to interpret the outcome of C-DA but consider all the scores collectively (Poehner et al., 2014). Generally, the LPS increases with the gain score. However, it is not always the case. For example, Learners 1 and 7 both gained 7 points under mediation, but the LPS for the former is only .5 while the latter amounts to 1.0. The reason is that the actual score, the mediated score, and the maximum score collectively influence the LPS according to the formula by Kozulin and Garb. Similarly, Learners 4 and 9 gained 2 points in the C-DA procedure, respectively, but the latter's LPS is higher than the former's (1.0 > .67) because Learner 9 got a higher actual score than Learner 4. In terms of the predictive validity of LPS, further studies are needed. One way is to incorporate transfer items after the DA procedure, for which Poehner and Lantolf (2013) have attempted in their study, but the result is not very clear as discussed in the previous chapter. Another way is to conduct research investigating the teaching effect on the different groups of learners categorized by their LPS. If the learners of high LPS outperform those of lower LPS, LPS is valid in predicting learning potential; otherwise, its validity is questioned.
Participants' feedbacks
Participants are the test takers. To know about their reflections of the test is important in evaluating and improving the test, especially when the test format is new to the test takers such as C-DA. Table 3 is a general description of the students' choices in the first two questions.
Table 3 Crosstabs of students' choices in the questionnaire
The first question asks about the students' belief on the helpfulness of the C-DA in improving their reading abilities. Forty-two participants out of 46 (i.e., 91%) thought that the testing format was beneficial in improving their reading abilities, while 4 students held a negative view. The reason why the four students thought the procedure was not helpful is mainly because they could not read the questions first in the procedure, which they thought hindered their pace in completing the task. One student wrote that "To read more is the most important in improving reading abilities [regardless of what kind of format it is]."Footnote 4 For those who were positive towards the C-DA format, the reasons can be classified into five categories—increase of reading pace and better concentration, usefulness of mediations, vocabulary learning, convenience for reading, and others. The first two categories dominate students' reflections, accounting for 93% of all the reasons. Forty-eight percent (20/42) of the students reported that the C-DA format, especially the time reminder showing how much time left for each item, can help them better concentrate on the test and increase their reading pace. Forty-five percent (19/42) of the students thought that the mediations are useful facilitators, which, as they further explained, guided them to locate the key information in the original passage where the correct answer can be found, helped them find out the reasons why they made mistakes, motivated them to think actively during the process, and gave them chances to try again. One student wrote that "When I was prompted that I was wrong, I did it again and found some details I missed in the first try. I got it right then. This kind of experience gave me a happy feeling of gains." Another student explained that "The mediations and the explanations of the correct answer can assist me to clarify my misunderstandings of the text immediately and guide me to think on the right track, through which I think I won't make the same mistakes next time." For the other reasons, students indicated that this kind of format was interesting, convenient for reading, and useful for vocabulary learning.
The second question concerns about the students' preference of the test format. As Table 3 shows, a majority of the participants (35/46, 76%) favored the C-DA procedure. Similar to the results found in question 1, students liked the test format mainly because they could get immediate assistance from the prompts when mistakes were made and the reminder of how much time left helped them be more attentive in the test. One student shared that "The mediations arranged from implicit to explicit are helpful for those students of low English proficiency like me." Another student wrote that "It is encouraging because I can get points easily, not like the previous reading comprehension tests in which responses result in either full score or zero." From the students' reflections, it seems that the C-DA procedure is of great benefits to low achievers as categorized by their non-dynamic scores because it can help them establish confidence in learning. Some students viewed this format from another angle. They reported that the way of using computers to test reading comprehension instead of printed hardcopies was easy to operate and helped protect the environment. They thought this kind of format can trigger their interest in learning English and improve their reading abilities. Interestingly, two students who did not think the procedure was helpful in response to the first question showed their preference for the format because it was environment-friendly and interesting. However, eight students who held a positive attitude towards the first question did not like the procedure simply because they could not read the questions before the passage nor could they mark on the reading text. Two students indicated that they were not used to doing the test through computer.
The third question encourages the students to put forward their suggestions to improve the C-DA procedure. What the students were concerned about mainly fell into five categories: the outlook of the procedure, quantity and arrangement of the mediations, the number of passages, time limit, and the co-occurrence of the passage and the questions. Some students suggested making the window of the C-DA procedure more attractive and reader-friendly, for example, setting a background and augmenting the font of the words. Some advised that the choices for each item should be narrowed down to four instead of five and specific mediations should be provided other than ask the test taker to try again when the first response was not correct. In terms of the number of passages, a few students thought that more passages and other types of questions should be included. Several students suggested that the time limit should be adapted in accordance with the difficulty level of the reading texts. Corresponding to the reasons why some students did not like the format in question 2, they hoped that the procedure could provide a marker for them to underline the key information during reading.
To sum up, qualitative analysis of the questionnaire shows that a majority of the students favored the C-DA procedure and were positive towards its usefulness in improving their reading abilities. More importantly, the procedure promoted the students' learning interest, especially those low achievers who lack confidence. However, the program needs improvement by making the window more reader-friendly, adding the marking function, and presenting the passage and the questions concurrently.
The present study tried to apply C-DA into L2 English reading comprehension test by Chinese EFL learners. It was found that the learners mainly encountered three difficulties in their reading comprehension test: (1) new vocabularies were the biggest barrier, (2) learners felt it hard to locate the relevant sentences in the original passage from the information provided in the question, and (3) their inferential abilities were weak. The analysis of the data generated by the C-DA program indicated that C-DA far exceeded the traditional static assessment for its stronger diagnostic capacities and the deeper insights it provided for subsequent teaching. The results of the questionnaire showed that C-DA was welcomed by the students and believed to be particularly helpful in building up confidence for those low achievers as identified in traditional static assessment. A majority of the students believed that C-DA should be helpful in promoting their reading comprehension abilities.
The major contribution of the present study is to implement DA principles to a larger scale study. However, limitations remain and future studies should try to address the issues. Firstly, the reading passages and questions are relatively few. Future studies can incorporate more passages and questions in the study. Secondly, transfer items are not included in the present study. According to Vygotsky, transcendence or transfer is an important feature of DA, which unfolds whether or not learners can control a more complex and difficult task that builds upon the tasks in the original assessment (Poehner and Lantolf 2013). Future study should incorporate transfer items to reveal learners' abilities of transcendence in conducting the tasks. Thirdly, the questions in the present study are in multiple choice format. Future study should try to implement the C-DA procedure to the other formats such as open-ended questions. Fourthly, the C-DA procedure is only implemented in one single session in the present study. Future studies can expand the scope to a longer span of time in several sessions and test the effects of C-DA on promoting learner development, which may be of great significance to uncover the evidence of transfer since the learners need time to internalize what they have learned during the process. Finally, between-group design is also needed to test the effect of C-DA in promoting learner development compared with that of the traditional teaching/assessment.
Three students did not provide the information of how long they have learned English.
There are altogether eight semesters during students' 4 years' studies in the university.
The materials in Additional file 1: Appendix B are for demo, not for the real test.
All the quotations in this section were translated from Chinese to English by the first researcher.
Davin, K. J. (2013). Integration of dynamic assessment and instructional conversations to promote development and improve assessment in the language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 17, 303–322.
Kozulin, A., & Garb, E. (2002). Dynamic assessment of EFL text comprehension of at-risk students. School Psychology International, 23, 112–127.
Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2004). Dynamic assessment: bringing the past into the future. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1, 49–74.
Leont'ev, A. N. (1981). Problems of the development of the mind. Moscow: Progress.
Pishghadam, R., Barabadi, E., & Kamrood, A. M. (2011). The differing effect of computerized dynamic assessment of L2 reading comprehension on high and low achievers. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(6), 1353–1358.
Poehner, M. E. (2005). Dynamic assessment among advanced L2 learners of French. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
Poehner, M. E. (2007). Beyond the test: L2 dynamic assessment and the transcendence of mediated learning. The Modern Language Journal, 91, 323–340.
Poehner, M. E. (2008). Dynamic assessment: a Vygotskian approach to understanding and promoting second language development. Berlin: Springer Publishing.
Poehner, M. E., & Lantolf, J. P. (2013). Bringing the ZPD into the equation: capturing L2 development during computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA). Language Teaching Research, 17, 323–342.
Poehner, M. E., Zhang, J., & Lu, X. (2014). Computerized dynamic assessment (C-DA): diagnosing L2 development according to learner responsiveness to mediation. Language Testing, Special Issue, 1-21. doi:10.1177/0265532214560390.
Teo, A. (2012). Promoting EFL students' inferential reading skills through computerized dynamic assessment. Language Learning & Technology, 16(3), 10–20.
Tzuriel, D., & Shamir, A. (2002). The effects of mediation in computer assisted dynamic assessment. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18, 21–32.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1998). The problem of age. In R. W. Rieber (Ed.), The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky: child psychology (pp. 187–206). New York: Plenum.
The article was supported by the Youth Research Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Sponsored by the Ministry of Education in China (Project No.: 15YJC740118) and the research project sponsored by Lingnan Normal University (Project No.: YW1503).
YY (first author) made substantial contribution to the study and the writing. DDQ (second author) reviewed the manuscript, revised, and made adjustments if necessary. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.
School of Foreign Studies, Lingnan Normal University, No. 29 Cunjin Road, Chikan District, Zhanjiang City, 524048, Gudangdong Province, China
Yanfeng Yang
English Department, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
David D. Qian
Search for Yanfeng Yang in:
Search for David D. Qian in:
Correspondence to Yanfeng Yang.
Appendix A: Pilot study. Appendix B: Demo of the C-DA procedure. Appendix C: Questionnaire. (DOCX 17 kb)
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Yang, Y., Qian, D.D. Assessing English reading comprehension by Chinese EFL learners in computerized dynamic assessment. Lang Test Asia 7, 11 (2017) doi:10.1186/s40468-017-0042-3
Socio-cultural theory
Zone of proximal development
Dynamic assessment
Computerized dynamic assessment |
module Zip
class DOSTime < Time #:nodoc:all
# MS-DOS File Date and Time format as used in Interrupt 21H Function 57H:
# Register CX, the Time:
# Bits 0-4 2 second increments (0-29)
# Bits 5-10 minutes (0-59)
# bits 11-15 hours (0-24)
# Register DX, the Date:
# Bits 0-4 day (1-31)
# bits 5-8 month (1-12)
# bits 9-15 year (four digit year minus 1980)
def to_binary_dos_time
(sec / 2) +
(min << 5) +
(hour << 11)
end
def to_binary_dos_date
day +
(month << 5) +
((year - 1980) << 9)
end
# Dos time is only stored with two seconds accuracy
def dos_equals(other)
to_i / 2 == other.to_i / 2
end
# Create a DOSTime instance from a vanilla Time instance.
def self.from_time(time)
local(time.year, time.month, time.day, time.hour, time.min, time.sec)
end
def self.parse_binary_dos_format(binaryDosDate, binaryDosTime)
second = 2 * (0b11111 & binaryDosTime)
minute = (0b11111100000 & binaryDosTime) >> 5
hour = (0b1111100000000000 & binaryDosTime) >> 11
day = (0b11111 & binaryDosDate)
month = (0b111100000 & binaryDosDate) >> 5
year = ((0b1111111000000000 & binaryDosDate) >> 9) + 1980
begin
local(year, month, day, hour, minute, second)
end
end
end
end
# Copyright (C) 2002, 2003 Thomas Sondergaard
# rubyzip is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
# modify it under the terms of the ruby license.
|
The tanker with gas from Yamal moored in the port near Boston
Категории: News in English
On the 28th of January the French tanker Gaselys with liquefied natural gas, including from the project "Yamal LNG", moored to the LNG terminal in Everett near Boston.
A representative of the office of the coast guard in Boston informed TASS that a couple of days the tanker was standing at the roadstead, at a distance from the shore, and then tugboats brought it to the port. The ship dropped the anchor, the coast guard officers came aboard to conduct a standard safety inspection, during which nothing alarming was revealed.
As it was confirmed earlier this year in the headquarters of the French energy company Engie, which owns the ship, and in its American subdivision, Gaselys would go to the port of Everett near Boston. The ship brought a consignment of liquefied natural gas produced also in the plant "Yamal LNG". First, the Russian liquefied natural gas delivered to the terminal Isle of Grain in the British County of Kent was unloaded into storages and later was re-pumped into the tanker. Experts note that, likely, this fuel was mixed with other similar raw materials, which were stored in the terminal Isle of Grain. From there the tanker Gaselys went to Boston two weeks ago. |
GirlyGirlBookReviews
Romance Book Reviews!!
October 21, 2014 by girlygirlbookreviews
Blog Tour & Giveaway ~ Franco's Fortune by Cara Marsi
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Title: Franco's Fortune
Series: Redemption #2
Author: Cara Marsi
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Formats: E-book
Publisher: Cara Marsi
Cover by: Harris Channing
Editor: Laura Kelly
ASIN: B00BNA3JQI
Date Published: Feb. 2013
"When a female bodyguard is hired to protect a rich playboy, she finds saving his life is easier than protecting her heart."
When the past and present collide…
Somebody wants rich playboy Franco Callahan dead. When security expert Josephine Fortune arrives on his doorstep thanks to his sister Doriana, Franco finds it hard to refuse. He's had a secret attraction for the diminutive bodyguard since they met at Doriana's wedding five years before.
But attraction is all it is. Combat boot-clad Jo is not the kind of woman Franco usually loves and leaves. Which makes the ruse that Jo is his new live-in girlfriend just that until Jo gets a makeover. Suddenly seduction is on his mind and Franco has all the time in the world to pursue it—and Jo.
Martial artist Jo can take down men twice her size without blinking, but Franco's appeal outmaneuvers her emotional defenses. Jo's tough exterior hides a dark past, and Franco seems determined to learn her every secret. But he has secrets of his own.
The more Franco gets to know Jo, the more he realizes he needs her in his life, and not as his bodyguard. But as the threats to Franco escalate, Jo must use every one of her combat skills to protect him.
Can Jo keep both Franco and her heart safe, or will they pay the ultimate price for love?
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Franco Callahan slammed the door to his Delancey Street townhouse and hurried into the April morning, glancing at his watch as he ran down the steps. He was late. He'd wanted to get to work early. He had a busy day ahead. His mind on the Connecticut casino bid and the pile of work waiting on his desk, he strode along the uneven pavement to his black Mercedes parked at the other end of the narrow street.
He answered his ringing phone as he hurried toward his car, and heard a deep male voice rasp, "You didn't get our message the first time, Callahan. You've forced us to play dirty. Give us the money and we might let you live."
The menace in the stranger's voice chilled Franco, tightening his gut. "Who is this?"
"Maybe you'll listen to our new message." The call disconnected.
Franco stared down at his phone.
An ear-splitting boom rent the air, vibrating the ground beneath his feet. The blast sent Franco on his rear, the breath knocked out of him. Ears ringing, struggling to sit, he saw a ball of fire at the end of the street. Flames licked at what was left of his car.
<><><>
"Heard you need a bodyguard, Callahan."
The sultry female voice jerked Franco's attention from his computer. He swiveled his chair and glanced toward his office doorway. A thrill shot through him at the sight of the petite redhead, arms folded across her chest, leaning impudently against the doorjamb. He tamped down the excitement she always aroused in him and narrowed his eyes.
"Well, if it isn't Josephine Fortune. What are you doing here?"
She stepped into the room and deposited her duffel bag on the floor. "I'm real glad to see you too, Callahan. And the name is Jo."
The tough little spitfire rarely wore anything other than camouflage fatigues, T-shirts, and combat boots. He couldn't help noticing the way her khaki-colored T-shirt stretched over her firm breasts and the way her full, pink lips—kissable lips—parted. She wasn't his type he reminded himself, not for the first time in their five-year association. His type was tall, blonde, leggy, and a tigress in bed—not a fireball more comfortable on the shooting range than between satin sheets. He shot her an insolent smile, retreating into the playboy persona he showed the world.
Her green eyes, translucent and light as a spring leaf, studied him. "Logan and Doriana sent me to protect your sorry ass."
His eyes never leaving hers, he stood. "I told them I don't need protection. I'm sorry you had to come all this way. Go back to Tucson."
Tension in every line of her toned body, she moved closer. "I don't like this any more than you do, Callahan. Think I want to spend my time babysitting some spoiled playboy? As far as I'm concerned, if one of your bimbos has it in for you, that's your problem."
"Then leave."
"No can do. Logan's my boss. He sent me to keep someone from killing you and that's what I'm going to do."
The fear that was his constant companion these days pressed against his chest. Masking his feeling of vulnerability, he flattened his palms on his desk. "Tell Logan and Doriana thanks, but the Philadelphia police are handling the case. I don't need a bodyguard."
She moved even closer and leaned over the desk until their faces were inches apart. The woman had guts. He had to hand that to her. He wondered if anything scared her. A familiar scent surrounded her, teasing his nostrils. Grapefruit? On her the fruity aroma smelled tantalizing and seductive. Jo Fortune, seductive? He moved back from temptation.
She straightened and stepped away from his desk. "Sure, I'd rather be in sunny Arizona than rainy Philadelphia. But Doriana's not too keen on her brother getting killed. So you're stuck with me until the cops get whoever's after you."
He studied her and something stirred in him, the same feeling he'd had minutes ago; the feeling he'd gotten the first time he'd met her at Logan and Doriana's wedding five years before, and every time after that. As an honorary member of the Callahan-Tanner clan, Jo was present at family holidays and functions. For all her smart mouth and bluster, he recognized the hurt that shadowed her eyes and softened her generous mouth. A part of him wanted to find out who put that hurt there and to take it away if he could. Jo brought out a protectiveness in him that scared him nearly as much as the thought of someone killing him.
Josephine has learned to keep her guard up and trained as a bodyguard through military. She has had to learn to become though and lived through experiences nobody should by those that she should have trusted most. Through this she doesn't trust easily and keeps away from men for a relationship. When she is employed to become a bodyguard to playboy Franco (whom they have met previously through a wedding), all bets are off the table. Franco is arrogant, rich, and definitely your playboy. I had a love hate relationship with him going at the beginning! However, he sees Josephine again after all this time he believes he can make her come out of her tough girl shell. I loved these two characters because their outer shell is more complex than who they truly are. Will these two learn that there is something more especially when Josephine has to morph into the women that Franco would date in order to protect him from those that would murder him? The author did an amazing job with this next installment in the series. Each novel can be read as a standalone, but trust me Logan's story is just as good. The author brings a perfect blend of romance and suspense and her twists in this story to keep you wanting more. She knows how to keep her readers entertained. I will have to say that this author has become one of my favorite because of these novels! I highly recommend you reading Franco and Josephine's story!
More about The Redemption Series
Title: B0040JI3PG
Date Published: Jan 2014
Doriana Callahan's life is unraveling. Someone is stalking her and sabotaging her father's company; her teenage son is rebelling; and Logan Tanner is back in town. For sixteen years she's kept an explosive secret from Logan, a secret he soon discovers.
Logan never belonged in Doriana's world, but a long time ago he allowed himself to dream of a future with her, until the awful night he was forced to run. Now he's back and he needs her forgiveness, but first he must forgive himself.
Despite the fact that Doriana kept the existence of his son from him, Logan vows to protect her. He races against time to stop the culprit threatening Doriana and works to forge a bond with his son.
Can the love and passion that still burn between Doriana and Logan overcome old lies and new dangers? The clock is ticking on a second chance at love.
"Logan's Redemption has all the elements that keep the pages turning: romance, passion, thrills and suspense." Linda at Fallen Angel Reviews.
"LOGAN'S REDEMPTION by Cara Marsi is a great read, plain and simple. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I definitely give it a Top Pick!" Julie at Romance Reader at Heart Reviews.
"Logan's Redemption should definitely be added to your must-read list." My Romance Story Reviews.
"Logan 's Redemption is riveting." Lisa at My Romance Junkies Reviews.
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Title: Luke's Temptation
ASIN: B00MYC97LU
Coming: Sep 30, 2014
Anita Santisi is an independent, successful businesswoman with a wounded heart. And some very bad people after her. Break-ins, home invasions, and attempted abductions have turned her comfortable life dangerous. Can she trust her mysterious, sexy new neighbor, Luke Corrado, or is he behind the criminal acts?
Special Agent Luke Corrado carries his guilt like a loaded Glock. A woman he loved was murdered because of him. Now, on a new undercover assignment to protect Anita Santisi, he's determined to redeem himself. What he doesn't expect is that Anita will tempt him to let down the barriers around his heart.
As Anita and Luke find themselves in ever-increasing danger, they must fight to stay alive. Will they open their hearts to each other before it's too late?
Cara Marsi, an award-winning author and self-proclaimed TV junkie, is a former corporate drone and cubicle dweller. Freed from her fabric-covered cage, she can now indulge her love of all things romance. She craves books with happy endings and loves to write about independent heroines and the strong heroes who love them. And she loves to put her characters in dangerous situations or situations merely dangerous to their hearts and watch them fight for the happy endings they deserve.
An eclectic author, Cara is published in romantic suspense, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance. She's also published numerous short romance stories in national women's magazines and online. When not traveling or dreaming of traveling, Cara and her husband live on the East Coast in a house ruled by their fat black diva of a cat named Killer.
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Blog Tour ~ Love in the City Series by Steph Nuss
Book One – Wanted By You
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18812128-wanted-by-you
Carter was captivated by Ellyson Evans the moment he laid eyes on her,
but she was the one girl who didn't beg for his attention.
He wanted her.
Ellyson vowed to never fall in love, because love can destroy you,
but then she met Carter Jennings.
She wanted him.
Unwilling to risk their comfortable friendship, neither confessed their desires.
Losing touch after college, a chance meeting reconnects them.
They want each other.
But love in the city is never quite that easy.
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Book Two – Fantasized By You
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Celebrity fashion designer, Harper Jennings is only months away from turning thirty, and her dream of living a happily ever after has yet to come true.
She's given up on her fantasy.
Personal trainer and gym owner, Maverick Jones isn't thrilled about having a designer mentoring in his new clinic, but after meeting the brunette beauty face-to-face, he dreams of having his way with her.
He's ready to turn his fantasy into reality.
But when their fantasies collide, love in the city becomes more complicated than they ever imagined.
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Book Three – Pleasured By You
Expected Release Date: January 20th, 2015
The Love in the City series continues with Bayler and Fletcher's story.
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Wanted By You (Love in the City, #1) (Currently Free)
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Steph Nuss was born and raised in rural Kansas, where she currently resides with her black Labrador son named Gunner. She grew up with a passion for reading and writing. When she's not immersed into the land of fiction, she enjoys listening to music that came before her time, watching movies and reruns of her favorite shows, and hanging out with her family and friends. She also has a bachelor's degree in psychology that she'll never use…unless she's profiling her characters of course.
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***HAPPY RELEASE BLITZ*** THE WEDDING SURPRISE BY ELLA JADE
The Weekend Surprise
by Ella Jade
Released: October 20th 2014 by Beachwalk Press, Inc.
A chance meeting or a calculated encounter? Someone is in for a surprise.
Brooklyn Conservatory student Sammy Falcone lives a quiet and modest life. She's busy studying classical music, playing her cello, and trying to make ends meet. After she learns of her deceased mother's secret that may involve the Cannon family, she heads to a wedding to catch a glimpse of the privileged clan, never expecting to come face-to-face with them. Tyler Cannon must abandon his wild, partying ways and step up to help his brother Spencer run the family advertising business. When he meets Sammy at his brother's wedding he's immediately taken by the reserved beauty. Her innocence and simple lifestyle intrigue him enough to become a one-woman man. Sammy is drawn to Tyler's charm and the attention he shows her. Once she gets to know him, the secrets of her mother's past are no longer important. The problem is Spencer has been suspicious of her from the beginning. Will Spencer's overprotectiveness of his family ruin her chances with Tyler? And if the truth comes out, will Sammy be able to convince Tyler that she never meant his family any harm? Content Warning: contains mature language and graphic sexual content
Beachwalk Press / Amazon / B&N
Ella Jade has been writing for as long as she can remember. As a child, she often had a notebook and pen with her, and now as an adult, the laptop is never far. The plots and dialogue have always played out in her head, but she never knew what to do with them. That all changed when she discovered the eBook industry. She started penning novels at a rapid pace and now she can't be stopped.
Ella resides in New Jersey with her husband and two boys. When she's not chasing after her kids, she's busy creating sexy, domineering men and the strong women who know how to challenge them in and out of the bedroom. She hopes you'll get lost in her words.
She loves connecting with readers. You can find her here…
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***HAPPY RELEASE BLITZ & GIVEAWAY *** MACALISTER'S HOPE BY LAURIN WITTIG
TITLE MACALISTER'S HOPE
SERIES A KILMARTIN GLEN NOVELLA
AUTHOR LAURIN WITTIG
GENRE SCOTTISH HISTORICAL ROMANCE
PUBLICATION DATE OCTOBER 21, 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) 29K
PUBLISHER INDIE
COVER ARTIST T. A. Straley
Kieron MacAlister has always loved Fia MacLachlan, a wee fey lass he met years ago who, with her sweet smile and surprising insight, changed his life. When he comes face-to-face with the beautiful woman she's grown into, can he convince her to change her life, too?
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Fia can go with you, Elena said.
Fia's breath hitched. Nay, I am needed here, at least until after the bairn is born and you are recovered.
Elena took her hand and gave it a squeeze. I shall be fine. The midwife can look after me.
Fia wanted to shake her head, but she nodded instead, swallowing all of her arguments for why she should stay. 'Twas her duty to do as the chief and the lady required. I will go.
Do you share the Lamont gift? Tavish snapped, jerking Fia's attention back to the two men who stood closest to her and spoke for their clan.
Nay, Fia answered with a lift of her chin, but I am well trained as a healer.
Fia is expert with herbs, far more than I am, Elena said. She has a canny way of knowing which will best serve those she treats, such as I have never seen before. Elena reached out and pulled Fia close, wrapping her arm over Fia's shoulder in a gesture that had always made Fia feel safe, while at the same time Elena skewered first Tavish, then the other man, with that same motherly glare that made even grown men cower. She is more than capable of tending your chief in his illness.
Elena's words of praise eased some of Fia's concern over leaving her foster mother when the bairn could come at any time.
Aye, I will do all that I can for your chief, but I have one condition.
Elena tightened her grip and Symon turned to face her, irritation and concern filling his eyes. Fia wiggled free of Elena's grip and took her hand again. She smiled at Symon, knowing he could not glower at her when she did that, and indeed his gaze softened.
I will need to return to Kilmartin within a ten day. If you cannot promise me that, then I will not go with you. She took a deep breath, unused to going against Symon or Elena's wishes, but she hoped this was enough of a compromise to keep everyone happy. Fia could feel the knots in her shoulders loosening now that she had set her own requirements on the deal.
But she does not have your gift. The words came out as a growl from between Tavish's gritted teeth.
Fia could see the man next to him tense, as if ready to do battle, though he had not so much as gestured toward his dirk or his sword. That was when she noticed that he held something in his hand, rolling it in his palm as if he calmed himself with it. She looked up at his face carefully for the first time and realized he was familiar to her, though she could not remember from where she might know him. There was something about his eyesnay, she could not place him.
Elena tilted her head and smiled, glancing at Fia and drawing Fia's attention back to the conversation.
Nay, she does not have the Lamont gift, Elena agreed, but she is very talented in her own way, and you do not have a choice. Fia can go with you to tend your chiefyour father she added pointedly, and be returned here within a ten day, or you can leave here with a tincture that may or may not be what your father requires.
Tavish started to respond, when the other man simultaneously reached out and gripped his shoulder, as if to stop him from speaking, and dropped the thing in his hand. Fia watched as a perfectly round, milky stone rolled to rest near Elena's feet. Fia scooped it up, for Elena could not even bend over these days. She dusted the pretty stone off on her skirt, then held it out for the man but he did not take it from her.
Do you think you can heal him, Fia? he asked, saying her name as if he, too, remembered her, though she still could not remember why she knew him.
She looked at Tavish, holding the stone out for him to take as his companion did not seem interested in it anymore. I do not ken, she said, needing to be truthful with him and herself, but I will do my best. The palest pink whispered along the milky white ribbons within the stone, surprising her even as she heard the other man let out his breath. But you must promise to have me back here before Elena's time, she said, though her eyes were still on the stone that was once again milky white, whether your father is better or not.
Elena plucked the stone from Fia's hand and held it up to the pale sunlight, gazing into it with a bemused look upon her face.
I believe she can heal him, Elena said, still gazing into the stone, while pink once more whispered through it. Fia gasped. Elena looked at her for a moment and quirked an eyebrow as if asking if Fia had seen what Elena had. Elena lowered her hand and held the stone out to its owner with a mysterious sort of smile playing over her lips. 'Tis a beautiful stone. It reminds me of a tale I once heard about the Cailleach Bheur, the mother of winter, and a frozen tear that held the truth of her heartache. You should not be so uncareful with it.
Aye, my lady, he said quietly. I have heard that story, too. He swallowed and smiled. I am afraid I have a bad habit of fiddling with it and dropping it betimes, he added, tucking the stone into a pouch at his belt. Fia's skills will be most appreciated.
Tavish sucked in a loud breath.
She will do as she says, the other man said to him, I am sure of it.
Tavish said nothing for a long moment, then nodded. Very well. If we cannot have the skill of Lady Elena, we will take Fia with us to tend my da.
Fia and the other man winced at Tavish's less than grateful tone.
And return me in a ten day. Fia narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She had no intention of budging from Elena's side without this assurance.
We promise, the other man said when Tavish did not.
Laurin Wittig writes Kindle Top 10 bestselling and award-winning Scottish medieval romances. She has been obsessed with her Scottish heritage since her first visit to Scotland when she was eleven years old, and was thrilled, years later, to discover Scottish romances. Since then she has had the good fortune to bring her own Highland stories to readers around the world.
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Search Engine Optimization To Rank#1 Brings You A Bad ROI. See How.
The marketing dream which every marketer has is to get the top ranking. It is understood that ranking #1 is the success for you.
Anyway, who does not want the top rank? Thousands of thousands visitors every month is what everyone wants. But the ultimate end which looks like as if nothing is beyond it could bring the unexpected sourness in terms of return on investment (ROI).
And now that you are confronting to the fact that whole of your time, investment, and your resources that you have invested to gain the top ranking is in vain! This is not fair though, but we will see how #1 ranking could destroy your ROI and what else to look for!
Securing the top rank on the Google is a pipeline dream and it takes way too much more than just good content and user-experience.
And for your pipeline dream you need to understand what it takes to reach top.
It can be said that you need links and content are the basic of the things to climb up the rankings. The reasons are apparent. You have to deliver the content which users are seeking and along with that the links will demonstrate how authoritative your site is. And it is clear that the more you will blog the more traffic will fall on your website and more blogging will bring more leads on your website.
And you will gain rankings as well.
But writing posts in bulk every day is a far cry when you have clients that are keeping their close eyes on you.
In terms of rankings, the data have revealed that you need to have thousands of links on your website and which are supposed to be unique. Moreover, the work will be accomplished when the links would be from high quality sites with high domain authority.
In short terms you would need thousands of external backlinks which are supposed to be from high-quality websites with high domain authority and from hundred of several different sources.
The chances are slim though.
One of the most attractive attributes of any website is its loading time. It is one significant attribute which does not need any research from user, if your website did not load in the least time the user is likely to return.
The stats do not lie. It has been seen that if any website takes time more than 1 second in loading, it is elusive of almost 40% of the traffic. And more if any website is taking more than 3 seconds, that website is losing the traffic by almost 80% which is least likely to return.
To gain top ranking you would have to lose all the things that are making it slower and do not forget that you need links as well!
Google is updating the algorithms over 500 times every year. And it has everything to do with the ranking. The algorithms are changing the ranking scheme every now and then.
Now, do you have any point in investing hundreds of dollars for everything which could contribute to the ranking and then by the time you see things start materializing for, the way of ranking has just changed! This is a wrong approach and the one thing with which you will find very tough to keep up. However, this is not the worst that could happen! The link after some time could be obsolete, nothing you can do about it!
Everything that you have invested on it is in vain!
But this is not the end as there are things that you can do!
Alter your focus and start to pay attention to the leads, conversions, and sales. That is what you should strive for.Your customers drive your business not the top ranking. You should focus on how you can convert the traffic in terms of deals and that is where you would gain the profit.
Consider a situation when you drove 10000 visits, traffic must look good, but what if they were from Reddit? Whole of that traffic goes in vain. And your conversion rate was zero and that traffic worth nothing!
You will find driving sales easier with the existing customers.
To get more leads you should opt for Facebook ads, they are often cheap. Facebook is a social network which has a wide range of users and the probability of getting a lead from Facebook is much more higher than being first ranked on the search engine result page.
The very first thing you need to understand is that the SERP (Search Engine Result Page) has way too many things rather than just organic results. You will PPC (Pay Per Click) and then trending new and what is in the news. After all these things organic results will be followed which would take a little late to grab the eye of the user.
So instead of going on for top ranks you should focus on how you can spread your business and reach the wider audience.
Achieving the top rank on the Google could be your dream but there are many things to do instead of pushing the resources that you have.
If you have invested in a TV advertisement then getting excited when you watch it over TV is useless, you did not pay for the advertisement to watch it, you paid for it to drive your sale and get the leads.
The same case is with top rank. You may invest too much in them but what is the point if you would not get the eventual results. So instead of going against all the odds which could drain out your money and time, focus on improving the website and focus on the business and how you can develop the leads and drive the sales! |
Showing http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17877 captured on Sep 23, 2008
Ky. students embrace Confederate mascot, flag despite controversy
EASTERN, Ky. — The welcome sign at Allen Central High School is home to a grinning Confederate soldier, proudly waving a banner bearing the St. Andrew's cross of the Confederate battle flag. The courtyard nearby is composed of blue brick that forms the cross and a mural in the lobby pays homage to another rebel soldier, this one carrying the flag on horseback.
More rebel soldiers and Confederate flags cover the same walls that hold posters touting academic achievement, fundraising drives and notable attendance of the all-white student body.
The students know all about the controversy surrounding the Confederate flag, about the many schools that have banned its presence on campus. They know that many associate it with slavery and racism.
Yet, they defend their displays with firm conviction.
"To us it's not about the hatred," said Tiffany Owens, an 18-year-old cheerleader at Allen Central High. "I have colored friends around here and they never say anything."
Indeed, the students at this rural school in Kentucky are willing to risk their image to keep the Confederate emblems they say symbolize nothing more than strength, independence and pride.
Most recently, they successfully took on a local school board member who questioned whether the students should associate themselves with Confederate symbols.
"It's our tradition," said Charles Randolph, 18. "If I was black, it probably would bother me. But if they can understand it wasn't put toward them in hatred, it wouldn't be an issue."
The black students who have encountered Allen Central's school spirit don't accept such views, though they do little to fight back.
"It really makes me mad," said Ted Honaker, one of two dozen black students at Pikeville High School, about 25 miles away.
The 17-year-old plays basketball against Allen Central and says he's sick of looking at Confederate flags in the stands when the two teams face off. The only thing that bothers him more is the assumption that the black students don't care about the displays.
"It brings back slavery and what happened to my ancestors," said Honaker.
Despite his feelings, Honaker and his twin brother, Tim, don't lash out.
"I mean, what good would it really do?" Tim Honaker said.
In eastern Kentucky, some schools districts are nearly 99% white.
The Honakers' black schoolmates make up just under 3% of Pikeville High's 559 students. Black students make up only half a percent of the county's 10,945 students.
In Floyd County, home of Allen Central, there are 33 black students out of 6,348 students in the county, making up less than 1%.
Even Mickey McGuire, the school board member who criticized Allen Central's school flag and mascot, felt outnumbered. No one else on the five-member board, which has no black members, has spoken up.
"I really don't think those people intended it in a racial way, but these are children who don't realize how racially sensitive that flag is," McGuire said. "They have no sensitivity toward what black people feel about that flag."
Lorena Hall, principal at Allen Central, says that every few years, someone like McGuire will "stir the pot" about the Confederate symbols. But her school won't budge.
"It has nothing to do with racism," said Hall. "It's a part of us."
The school should be applauded for standing by its flag and mascot, especially when so many schools are steering away from Confederate symbols, said T.Y. Hiter, division commander for the Eastern Kentucky Brigade of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
"It has nothing to do with race except in the minds of those who think it does," Hiter said.
"This is an atypical situation," he added. "We usually deal with situations where schools are trying to restrict the rights of students who want to display the flag. Here, the school is taking the lead of displaying their heritage."
Therein lies the danger, others say.
"I'm just troubled by the sort of historical amnesia they're exhibiting," said Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of education and history at New York University. "When these kids say, 'This doesn't represent race to me,' they're saying they have forgotten history."
To continue to display the Confederate flag at a school these days — more than 140 years after the end of the Civil War — is irresponsible, said Steven Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky.
"You don't have to buy that the Confederate flag means anything bad to recognize that it hurts people's feelings and should be done away with," Voss said. "Continuing to embrace the Confederate flag symbol, knowing what it means nationwide, is not responsible for a government-funded organization to do."
However, neither suggested taking away Allen Central's symbols by force. Doing so would be unfair to the students who just want to exhibit school pride, said Voss.
He suggested school officials and community members work together to come up with symbols that celebrate heritage without hurting anyone.
Meanwhile, the longtime debate over the issue has pushed several other public schools this year to distance themselves from Confederate symbols:
A student at Farmington High School in Missouri is suing his school district after being suspended for wearing a cap and T-Shirt bearing the Confederate flag.
Officials at Harrison High School in Indiana banned any flag, except for the American flag, from being brought to school after two students brought a Mexican flag and Confederate flag to a pep rally.
The Midland school district in Texas this year considered renaming the Robert E. Lee Freshman High School's yearbook to something other than "The Confederate," after a parent complained.
The Kentucky Department of Education has left the issue up to local school districts.
McGuire, whose term is over in January, doesn't anticipate any changes at Allen Central in the near future.
"But eventually the school system has to take responsibility for that," he said.
Allen Central adopted its school flag and mascot in 1972, when it was established to consolidate four other schools and their teams: the Maytown Wasps, the Garrett Black Devils, the Wayland Wasps and the Martin Purple Flash.
Students from each school formed a committee to decide a mascot. They came up with the Rebels.
"We took the rebel soldier as being independent, ready to stand up for ourselves," said Hall, who was an Allen Central teacher at the time. "The flag just came along with it."
Nearly 35 years later, the students proudly attend school competitions and events locally and statewide, sporting their rebel T-shirts, jackets, hats and, of course, the school flag.
The students interviewed say they've experienced a lot of stares and whispers at events, but no major confrontations.
"We just tell them we don't mean it that way," Owens said.
Ky. high school, ex-student settle suit over Confederate-flag dress
Administrators had barred Jacqueline Duty from 2004 prom, saying dress was too controversial. 03.01.06
Student sues S.C. school over Confederate clothing
Candice Hardwick says she's honoring her heritage; school district says Rebel symbols racially charged, disruptive. 04.02.06
Mo. teen wants to show his 'Rebel Pride' at school
14-year-old hires First Amendment attorney, saying he won't return to school unless he can wear Confederate battle flag. 10.20.06
Rocker's Rebel attire stirs criticism, but not from Texas governor
Spokesman says Rick Perry wouldn't sport the Confederate flag, but that governor told Ted Nugent he has the right to wear whatever he wants. 01.25.07
Texas teens challenge school's Confederate-flag ban
Lawsuit claims Burleson High School officials violated two girls' free-speech rights by sending them home for carrying purses that bore Rebel flag. 02.12.07
Tennessee votes to protect American Indian mascots
State agencies are barred from regulating symbols, names at schools, colleges. 06.14.07
Md. high school racial tension promps Confederate-flag ban
Principal says some white students were using rebel flag to intimidate, harass black students. 03.14.08
Clothing, dress codes & uniforms
News summary page
View the latest news stories throughout the First Amendment Center Online. |
Q: Protection Cells in Google Sheets That's my first pot here as I have some Idea about creating some Sheet paper on Google Sheets.
To be hones with all of you - Im not a programer and just creating something by using your knowladge on Stack and using Macros ( then changing scripts)
I have issue with authorization for blocked Cells.
The Idea :
When our person that will be Confirming the Checkbox to TRUE Value, then I have a timestamp to be set with a note that is Stamped. After this process I want to have the cells locked by Script for that user that is editing sheet values(ChcekBox), but the main issue is that when Im on the Account I can't by script LockMyself from the Editing.
SO my question is : Is there any chance to call for Admin Account to lock that ?
Code:
if (driverconfirm == "true")
{
spreadsheet.getRange(celladdress).setValue(new Date()).setNumberFormat("MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm")
stampedDriver.setValue('stamped')
// - Lock Range
var protection = spreadsheet.getRange('G57:J57').protect();
protection.removeEditors([dem]); // here is the issue as im on my account, and can't get rid off myself - DEM is the email address as Var
};
|
Couples who have concerns about important topics like money, may have strong feelings about their problem and may find it difficult for them to work together in their partnership or marriage.
Our set of videos here show a fictional scenario like this. In the first video the different views about finances creates a viscous cycle of arguing where couples say things that hurt each other that they don't mean.
Couple therapists are trained to enhance open and even communication and create a better environment for couples to deal with major challenges such as this. In the second video we show how the pair may approach with things in a different way.
If you find it is hard for you to talk with each other about your problems, seek couple or individual therapy at Tavistock Relationships. You can book an appointment to see us in London.
Alternatively if you can't access our central London offices, our Online therapy is available here. |
Otters Team • Register • View Cart •
Welcome to the Otters Swim Team!
Our recreational swim team is designed to provide children with a positive team environment for learning good sportsmanship through competitive swimming. All four competitive strokes will be developed as well as starts and turns. The team is intended for swimmers to improve their swimming skills, build self confidence, and make new friends. Our team is part of the Metro Swim League and will participate in TBA virtual meets for the 2020-2021 season.
All swimmers are requested to register for at least two practice times per week.
* Swimmers must attend practice that they are registered for. There will be no make-ups on different days.
* Swimmers under the age of 14 must have a parent/guardian present in the building or in their car while they are in the program.
Changes due to COVID-19:
The Metro League will not host in-person meets this year, but will be participating in TBA virtual meets.
10 & under swimmers will only have 3 swimmers per lane and 11 & up swimmers will only have 4 swimmers per lane. All participants will stay socially distant from each other and wear a mask when not in the water.
Aquatics Programs Policies
8 & Under Otters
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8 & Under Winter Otters (T)
6 - 8 N/A Tu 01/05/2021 - 03/16/2021
Beede Swim and Fitness Center Lap Pool - Lap Pool Lane 5 $150.00 Res, $150.00 Non-Res
0 seat(s) available
8 & Under Winter Otters (Th)
6 - 8 N/A Th 01/07/2021 - 03/18/2021
8 & Under Winter Otters (Su)
6 - 8 N/A Su 01/10/2021 - 03/21/2021
9&10 year old Otters
9&10 Winter Otters (M)
9 - 10 N/A M 01/04/2021 - 03/15/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (W)
9 - 10 N/A W 01/06/2021 - 03/17/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (F)
9 - 10 N/A F 01/08/2021 - 03/19/2021
9&10 Winter Otters (Su)
9 - 10 N/A Su 01/10/2021 - 03/21/2021
11&up Otters
11 & up Winter Otters (M)
11 - 18 N/A M 01/04/2021 - 03/15/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (T)
11 - 18 N/A Tu 01/05/2021 - 03/16/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (W)
11 - 18 N/A W 01/06/2021 - 03/17/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (Th)
11 - 18 N/A Th 01/07/2021 - 03/18/2021
11 & up Winter Otters (F)
11 - 18 N/A F 01/08/2021 - 03/19/2021 |
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