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This guide will teach you how to buy ADA with confidence. Following the advice in this simple step-by-step guide will help you save money, get the best deal, and secure your new ADA coins.
Welcome to BuyAda.com! This complete guide will show you that buying ADA doesn’t have to be confusing or frustrating if you know which/what steps to take. By the end of this page you will have learnt a clear strategy enabling you to safely buy and secure ADA whilst saving money and avoiding common pitfalls along the way.
Want to know how to buy ADA or get ADAs? Let's show you how!
Don’t worry if this looks confusing, we're committed to making sure you understand every step of the process.
Currently, there is no way to buy ADA directly using national fiat currency. This is because the exchanges that trade in fiat don’t trade ADA, and exchanges that trade in ADA don’t trade fiat.
First trade your fiat money into a cryptocurrency that is paired against ADA. We will cover the most cost-effective way to do this. If you already own some cryptocurrency, you can skip forward to the Buying ADA chapter.
Let us draw up a real world example of this process showing you how to go from USD to ADA.
Choosing an Exchange: Which is the Best Cardano Exchange?
Here are the 7 key factors to consider when choosing which is the best exchange for you.
If you don’t own any cryptocurrency yet, remember that you will need two exchange accounts.
For more information why this is necessary review the Introduction to buying Cardano.
1. Privacy: Protecting Your Identity!
Your options are limited to buying crypto using cash or a cash deposit, then exclusively using exchanges which don’t require identity verification.
Hopefully in the future DEX decentralised exchanges will become should help create a more private future.
2. Limits: Buying Lots of ADA? Can they handle your volume?
If you are looking to buy a large amount of Cardano Coin, say anything over a months salary, major brokers and large exchanges are good options well suited for large buy orders. They can sometimes offer special business or high volume trading accounts.
Coinbase have high limits for buying crypto using credit/debit cards payment methods.
Cash exchanges and peer-to-peer exchanges such as LocalBitcoins.com rarely have a maximum buying limit, instead you are limited by the amount of cryptocurrency that is on offer by the sellers.
3. Speed: How Hard is your ADA FOMO?
If you need to convert your money into ADA urgently make sure to choose an exchange which accepts the fastest payment methods. Credit Card, Debit Card and Bank Transfer orders can be instant, whereas SEPA transfers take days.
A great way to instantly trade your regular money into crypto is to use a Cryptocurrency or Bitcoin ATM. Find one near you.
Whichever exchanges you decide to use, it is a good idea to register and verify with them ASAP. During bull runs, exchanges can become overwhelmed by a vast influx of new users registering. In these frenzied periods, the verification process has been known to take many weeks. Don’t be the person who misses out on a price rally because you're stuck waiting for account verification or a money deposit to come through!
Be prepared and register today.
Registered accounts with different crypto trading platforms and exchanges can be an extremely valuable asset in of itself. You will be ready to make moves at an instant's notice, selling the tops and buying the bottoms when the opportunity presents itself, all because you were prepared.
Buying your first Cardano Coins can feel time consuming, but remember that once everything is setup, your subsequent crypto purchases will be far faster!
To get the cheapest price when buying Cardano coins you should compare the current price of ADA across all reputable exchanges and identify which one will give you the best price.
You can view ADA’s current average price along with its exchange specific pricing. As you can see there can be a significant price difference between exchanges so try and use the exchange with the cheapest ADA price.
It is essential to do as much background research on your chosen exchange as possible. Researching will help you avoid scams and learn what reputation the exchange has with the online community.
How long has the exchange been around for? According to the crypto community is it trustworthy? Do they offer security best practices such as Two-Factor Authentication? For more tips read our Avoiding Crypto Scams chapter.
Find which exchanges we found to be trustworthy by visiting our ADA exchange reviews.
Exchanges charge fees for providing you with their service. There are three main types of fees you should be aware of: Deposit, Withdrawal and Trading Fees. Different payment methods often carry different fees. Some exchanges offer loyalty schemes which reduce fees once you have spend over a certain amount on fees.
Let me guess, you already know which payment method you would prefer to buy your ADA with right? This is one of the most important factors in buying your Cardano coins, which is why the whole next chapter is dedicated to Payment Methods!
I know there is a lot to take in but stick with us - you’ll be ready to buy ADA by the end of this chapter. We’ll have a quick recap on where you can buy ADA before diving in and working out which is the best payment method for you!
In order to buy ADA, you’ll be converting your local currency, such as Dollars or Pounds, into cryptocurrency. Luckily for you there is no shortage of payment methods available, each possessing its own strengths and weaknesses. Important factors which should be considered when making your decision include: speed of deposit, ease of use, degree of anonymity, security and commission fees.
Credit and Debit Cards are exceptionally well supported by most cryptocurrency exchanges and as people are already familiar using them, it makes for an ideal and popular payment method.
Why buy ADA using a Credit/Debit Card?
Instant Speed - Fastest of all payment methods, exchanges can instantly verify your credit card deposit allowing immediate release of cryptocurrency into your account. Perfect for catching flash price crashes/bottoms. This assumes your account has already been verified.
Convenience - Easiest payment method as almost everyone has a Credit or Debit Card and should already be familiar with using them for online purchases.
Widely Accepted - You will find almost all cryptocurrency exchanges accept Credit and Debit Card payments.
Why NOT to buy ADA using a credit/debit card?
High Fees - Highest fees second only to PayPal. Fees are usually percentage based not fixed, this means the larger the deposit the higher the fee making this a bad payment method for large deposits. If you are not in a rush to buy Cardano, we recommend using a Bank Transfer with far lower fees instead. Money saved on fees leaves you with more ADA in your wallet!
No Privacy - Anonymity is not possible as your identity is attached to the Credit/Debit Card details you submit to the exchange when making the deposit.
Some exchanges where you can buy Cardano using Credit / Debit Cards are great.
Bank Transfers charge very low fees and are widely accepted across all major exchanges making it an attractive payment method.
Why buy ADA using Bank Account/Transfer?
Low Fees - Very Low Fees when making direct Wire (US) or SEPA (Europe) Bank Transfers to your exchange. Will save you lots of money compared to using the high fee Credit/Debit Card payment method.
High Volume Purchases - The perfect choice when buying large amounts of crypto/Cardano from your reputable exchange. Exchanges have higher Bank Transfer deposit limits compared to other payment methods.
Widely Accepted - Almost all cryptocurrency exchanges accept Bank Transfers including Wire (US) or SEPA (Europe) transfers.
Why NOT to buy ADA using Bank Account/Transfer?
Slow Speed - Bank Transfers can take upto 5 working days before arriving so plan ahead. If you need to buy Cardano as quickly as possible this may not be the best option for you. If speed is a priority, consider using a Credit/Debit Card or PayPal account instead.
No Privacy - Anonymity is not possible as your identity is attached to the Bank details you submit to the exchange when making the deposit.
Cash is the only option which offers privacy. Being a direct payment method between money and cryptocurrency can make it extremely fast. The two types of Cash deposits are: using a Cryptocurrency ATM, or meeting an ADA seller in person and trading cash for their crypto.
Best Privacy - Only method where achieving anonymity is possible. Revealing personally identifiable information can be avoided in each stage of the transaction process if careful.
Fast Speed - Cash to crypto transaction are instantaneous. Organising who or where to make your trade is the time-consuming factor.
High Cost - Gaining privacy comes at a cost. Sellers and exchanges often charge a premium between 5-15% above the average market rate for accepting cash payments. High Risk - Meeting a stranger from the internet has serious risks associated with it as you don’t know the intentions of the seller. For all you know they may have malicious intentions to scam or even worse, physically rob you. Remember that the larger the value of the order the higher the incentive for criminals to try and scam you so think hard about using this option for large transactions and always stay alert and be careful.
Less Convenient: Travel Required - This method requires you to actually leave the comfort of your home and meet the seller in a physical location. No more buying ADA from your bed wearing your PJ’s I’m afraid!
The popularity of Bitcoin ATMs has exploded in recent years. There are now over 2750 ATMs in 67 countries. They are user-friendly and easy to use: Simply insert cash into the machine and crypto is sent to your designated wallet. The default cryptocurrency sold is Bitcoin but an increasing number of ATMs are now also selling a variety of alt coins. It is likely we will see Cardano’s ADA coin as an option in the near future. Until then you can use these ATMs to exchange your local currency into crypto before converting it into ADA.
Best Privacy - Only method where achieving anonymity is possible. Note that some ATMs require ID submission, so ensure you use one where this is not the case.
Fastest Speed - This is truly the fastest way to buy Crypto. Within minutes you will have successfully traded your cash into crypto in a secure manner. A great option if you are lucky enough to have one located nearby.
High Cost - Gaining privacy comes at a cost. ATMs often charge a premium between 5-15% above the average market rate for accepting cash payments.
Less Convenient: Travel Required - This method requires that you leave the comfort of your home and physically travel to your local Crypto ATM - shock horror, the effort, the effort of it all!
Not Every ATM Offers Privacy - Note that not all cryptocurrency ATMs offer anonymity. Some allow smaller purchases without an ID, but other ATMs can require that you submit valid ID for purchases of any size. Best to research this before making a wasted trip to the ATM if you value your right to privacy.
We strongly discourage the use of PayPal for buying crypto as it offers nothing but drawbacks in comparison to any of the other available payment methods. If your PayPal account is linked to your Credit Card or Bank Account why not use them instead and save a killing on fees. Some reasons to avoid PayPal are: high fees upto 20%, provides no privacy, is not accepted by any major exchanges, reports of PayPal accounts associated with crypto transactions being closed, private sellers have issues with fraud, disputes and chargebacks.
Why buy ADA with PayPal?
Familiarity - Many people find using PayPal to be user-friendly and convenient, this is its sole strength. Why NOT to buy ADA with PayPal?
Highest Fees - Fees range between 10-20% hitting larger purchases the hardest. To save money and avoid these hefty fees we recommend using Credit/Debit Card or Bank Transfers.
Not Widely Accepted - Not accepted by any major exchanges. Used by some private sellers, but fraud, disputes and chargebacks are commonplace.
No Privacy - Anonymity is not possible when your PayPal account has been verified or associated with your bank account.
Potential Violation of Terms (Account Closure) - PayPal’s T&C prohibit merchants from selling cryptocurrencies(See *1) leading to many reporting closure of their PayPal account.
*1 - Section 3, h) "You may not use the PayPal service for activities that: involve currency exchanges or check cashing businesses"
Long-Winded Workaround - As there is no direct exchange that offers Paypal to crypto trades, you must use a hacky drawn out process which is described fully in our guide. To summarize, you buy a digital token called ‘Second Life Lindens’ (SLL) using your local money, then sell the SLL for cryptocurrency.
If you are still feeling a little confused don’t worry, we are here to help you and this chapter aims to tie up any unanswered questions you may still have about how to buy Cardano.
When Should I Buy ADA?
Before making an investment into something as volatile as cryptocurrency it is natural to ask “When is the best time to buy Cardano?”. Anyone who answers this question with certainty should be ignored. No one can see into the future of this wildly unpredictable and newly formed cryptocurrency market. Instead you should aim to thoroughly research and educate yourself on the entire blockchain industry, its markets, competing projects, historic patterns etc. Possessing a knowledgeable foundation of the cryptocurrency industry will help you to make an informed, sensible decision on identifying a good time to buy ADA.
Using multiple exchanges is possible and even provides some great advantages. For example, if the daily/weekly/monthly buy limits on your primary exchange are too low to accommodate your desired buy order, you can simply open another account with a different exchange effectively increasing your overall buy limit capacity. Having multiple accounts really opens up your options, not only will you be able to compare prices finding the cheapest current ADA price, but in the case of an exchange experiencing downtime, you will be well positioned to simply trade on a different exchange.
We recommend registering and verifying with all the exchanges you expect to use in the future now. Be prepared and do this before you need to use them, or are experiencing an intense episode of FOMO as verification can take a while, you don’t want to miss out on a great opportunity. Be prepared and signup today.
Can You Sell ADA? How Do You Sell ADA?
Absolutely! Almost all exchanges which let you buy ADA will also let you sell it. Don’t forget they will charge a fee.
Can I Buy Cardano Stock?
Cardano’s ADA coin is not a stock despite it sharing similar traits with traditional stocks. You can buy Cardano’s ADA directly yourself with no need for a stock broker or trader and as it is a decentralised cryptocurrency, it provides you with greater control and security over your asset than holding a centralised traditional stock.
If Cardano’s ADA ever becomes ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) approved, it would be possible to trade it in the regulated market like a traditional stock.
Why Do I Need To Upload My ID To Some Exchanges?
This is because most exchanges are compliant with Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures which make them obligated to keep records of their clients/customers personal information.
Can I Buy Less Than One ADA? How Divisible Is An ADA?
As we can see the smallest denomination of ADA is called a ‘Lovelace’, this unit can be traded.
Note how ADA has six digits from the decimal point, whereas Bitcoin goes eight digits from the decimal.
We recommend joining this Cardano Staking Pool.
Does Cardano Unfairly Benefit Early Adopters?
If we look back over how the cryptocurrency financial markets have performed since the early days of Mt. Gox in 2010 there has been an unprecedented Return On Investment (ROI) for those who invested. One of the first Fiat to Bitcoin trades occurred on 12th October 2009 where Bitcoins were being bought for approximately $0.001 (one tenth of a US cent) each. When the price hit $10,000 per Bitcoin in November 2017 those investors/speculators saw a 999,999,900% ROI. Whether or not it is fair that anyone should be able to gain this level of profit and advantage is a philosophical issue open to debate.
With hindsight it is easy to only focus on the rewards early cryptocurrency adopters have received, but the difficult journey which led them to this wealth, along with their integral role in the technology’s widespread success must also be acknowledged. Of those who first learned about Bitcoin, only a few took the initiative to buy in. Early adopters of crypto take an enormous risk when investing their own resources to acquire part of what is an emerging technology. Losing 100% of their initial investment is a real possibility, as is the possibility of becoming exceedingly wealthy.
Buying Cardano as an investment right now would make you one of the pioneering ‘generations’ of Cardano’s ADA hodlers. But be warned that being part of the elite class of early adopters in any cryptocurrency comes with the enormous risk of losing your initial investment. On the other hand if you believe that the Cardano project will succeed as a global cryptocurrency that will be an integral part of the future global economy, it is likely you will never see a better investment opportunity. We are possibly experiencing the birth of a new asset class, this is no joke. Remember to never invest more than you can afford to loose.
Avoiding Crypto Scams/Hacks: Don't Lose Money!
As the value of the cryptocurrency market increases, so does the incentive for scammers and opportunists to rip you off. As they continue to develop increasingly elaborate schemes and trickery, often targeting the less experienced user, it is vital to keep your guard up, stay critical and vigilant. This chapter contains some basic rules to protect you against falling prey to cryptocurrency scams.
Doing thorough critical research empowers you to become your own authority and will help you determine whether or not to trust your intended exchange. Things to research: Are the identities of the owners of the exchange known publicly or are they anonymous? How long have they been operating for? What jurisdiction do they operate in? What experiences have people on social media such as reddit and twitter had using their service? Do they offer security best practices such as Two-Factor Authentication?
With so many fraudulent exchanges out there, we recommend sticking to those found in our extensive directory of trusted exchanges. Each exchange listed has been intensely scrutinised and vetted by our team before being deemed trustworthy, filtering out any scam crypto exchanges. That is not to say that you shouldn’t carry out your own research, but if an exchange you are considering is not listed with us, employ extra care, caution and research.
Remember to visit the detailed reviews we provide for each of our trusted Cardano exchanges.
Double-check the destination wallet address is correct before sending any ADA. Copying and pasting addresses whenever possible will reduce the chance of human error.
If using a hardware wallet ensure the wallet address appearing on the devices screen is identical to the intended destination wallet address. This thwarts hijacked web wallet attacks.
Always send a small amount of ADA as a test transaction first. If the transaction goes through as expected you can send the rest of the ADA with confidence.
You do not own the private key to your funds, the exchange does. This gives them the power and control over your funds.
Security experts believe it is a matter of ‘when’ any given crypto exchange will be compromised and not ‘if’.
The exchange has discretion over whether you or not you will receive airdrops.
ADA should remain in crypto exchanges for the minimum amount of time it takes to complete the intended trade. As soon as the trade is completed, the ADA should be withdrawn from the exchange and sent to a secure wallet. Learn about the three wallet types which allow you to own your private keys in our “Secure Your ADA” chapter.
Peer-to-peer exchanges such as LocalBitcoins allow you to view the sellers feedback rating before making a purchase. Checking sellers feedback will help you to find a seller who has a proven track record of successful cryptocurrency trades whilst avoiding any timewasters.
Old account age, short release times, high number of confirmed trades and trading partners, 100% feedback score, real name verification.
Newly created unverified account, high number of bans/blocks from other traders, low feedback score and small number of confirmed trades.
Always access the exchanges website directly - Bookmark the exchange’s official website, then use this bookmark for future visits to the exchange. Alternatively access the exchange directly by typing in the correct domain name in the URL address bar located at the top of the browser.
Never visit your exchange through a search engine such as Google - The top positions in Google’s search results are often adverts which scammers buy to trick people into thinking they are visiting the exchanges official site, when they have in fact clicked on a link directed to their fake spoof site which will harvests your login details or worse.
Before entering your username/password/2FA always double-check the domain name is correct in the URL address bar. Verify that the padlock icon is displayed which means the site is implementing the secure https encrypted protocol. You can even click on the padlock to inspect that the certificate is in order.
These types of scams attract users by promising them amazing returns on their investment often stating that the investment opportunity is “risk free” with profit or interest being “100% guaranteed”. Don’t waste your time and don’t lose your money, avoid these scams.
This type of scam is easily avoided by never using third-party ADA wallets. Keep your ADA safe by exclusively using the officially supported Daedalus Wallet. The Daedalus Wallet is Cardano’s own creation meaning it is secure having been built by cryptography experts and will be actively maintained by the project and community.
Fake Cardano Wallets are found on websites and mobile app stores such as Google Play. These scam wallets trick users into believing the wallet offers the safest way to store ADA, but as soon as a victim deposits ADA to their fake wallet, the funds are immediately forwarded on to the scammers.
In late 2017 $3.3 million was stolen from such a scam, when victims tried to claim their Bitcoin Gold using a fake wallet. Avoid falling victim to these scams by visiting our Secure Your Coins chapter to learn more about the Daedalus Wallet.
Ignore any social media posts offering crypto related: giveaways, reimbursements, investments or discounts. These scams are heavily pushed on Twitter/Reddit/Facebook/Telegram/Discord channels often seeming to have been posted by key figures such as Charles Hoskinson or Vitalik Buterin. Don’t send your crypto to these phonies.
Scammers are creating very convincing impersonations of valued and prominent members of the cryptocurrency community. By pretending to be these figureheads the scammers gain the undeserved respect, attention and trust of unsuspecting users who are at risk of sending cryptocurrency to the wallets controlled by the scammers with the belief they will receive a larger sum back. To inspire further validity to this type of scam, many sockpuppet accounts reply to the original post stating how happy they are to have received their crypto ‘rewards’. Don’t believe them - it’s all part of the act.
Public wifi hotspots are easily exploitable and should never be used for any important crypto related online activities. If you must use public wifi, at the very least use a VPN service which provides end-to-encryption. Also be aware of criminals stealing your login credentials by using hidden cameras or simply looking over your shoulder. A better approach to using public wifi would be to tether internet from your phone and then use a VPN to encrypt packets from wifi snoopers. Better yet, limit your crypto activities to your trusted home network using Ethernet.
Enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and using different passwords for each exchange you use will vastly improve the security of your accounts. Having 2FA stops hackers from logging into accounts by requiring a valid dynamically changing 2FA code in addition to the correct username and password. Password managers allow you to have strong unique passwords for all your online accounts whilst only having to memorise a single master password.
Your ADA is only secure when stored in a wallet that you control!
With over $1billion stolen from online cryptocurrency exchanges, keeping ADA on an exchange is an unnecessary gamble easily averted by using a wallet where you control the private keys. Two types of wallets offer this: Cold Storage and Hot Wallets, this chapter will focus on Hardware Wallets a form of Cold Storage.
You can visit the Cardano Wallets section for an in-depth look at all the different ADA wallets available to you.
Hardware Wallets are cryptographically secure devices specifically designed for storing cryptocurrency. Their ability to provide maximum security whilst remaining easy-to-use has made them the most popular type of cryptocurrency wallet especially for those holding large amounts of cryptocurrency.
Hardware Wallets work by storing the private key in a protected area of a microcontroller chip. This means that even if the device is plugged into a compromised computer connected to the internet and ridden with viruses and malware, the private key is never at risk of being exposed outside of the device itself. This is what makes them so secure and why they are referred to as Cold Storage or Offline Wallets.
The Ledger Nano S is currently the only officially supported Cardano Hardware wallet. In addition to providing all the expected benefits of a hardware wallet, when you store your ADA on a Ledger device you have the option to cold stake which will result in you earning passive ADA whilst having peace of mind knowing your ADA is securely stored in the device. | 2019-04-25T08:56:07Z | https://buyada.com/ |
The present invention provides a method, a device, and a system for inter-frequency cell measurement. The method includes: performing, by a terminal, when receiving a measurement command of a network side device, inter-frequency cell measurement, in different cases, based on the time specified in different measurement time parameters or based on measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about an inter-frequency band. As different measurement time parameters specify different time actually used for measurement, not only an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be measured, but also the time for measurement by the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
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"Efficient small cell detection background search", Nokia Siemens Networks, Nokia Corporation, 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #77bis, Mar. 26-30, 2012, 5 pages. cited by applicant .
"Considerations on measurement performance without measurement gaps", Renesas Mobile Europe Ltd., 3GPP TSG-RAN WG4 Meeting #61, Nov. 14-18, 2011, 4 pages, R4-115963. cited by applicant.
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/CN2012/085526, filed on Nov. 29, 2012, which claims priority to China Patent Application No. 201210018153.X, filed on Jan. 19, 2012, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
1. A method for inter-frequency cell measurement, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; performing, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; when the first period expires, suspending, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time; when the second period expires, returning to the step of performing, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; wherein: performing, within the first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: starting a first timer, and performing, based on the preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first timer is configured to provide the first period; when the first period expires, suspending, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: starting, when the first timer expires, a second timer, and suspending inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the second timer is configured to provide the second period; and when the second period expires, returning to the step of performing, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: when the second timer expires, returning to the step of starting a first timer, and continuing to perform, based on the preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first period and the second period are provided by the network side device.
3. The method according to claim 1, before performing, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, further comprising: determining whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, then performing the step of performing, within a first period, based on the preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
4. A method for inter-frequency cell measurement, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; performing, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; when the first period expires, suspending, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time; when the second period expires, returning to the step of performing, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; wherein: performing, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: starting a first timer and a third timer, respectively, and performing, based on the preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first timer provides the first period, and the third timer provides the first period and the second period; when the first period expires, suspending, within the second period, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: when the first timer expires, suspending inter-frequency cell measurement; and when the second period expires, returning to the step of performing, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement comprises: when the third timer expires, returning to the step of starting a first timer and a third timer, respectively, and continuing to perform, based on the preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
5. A device for inter-frequency cell measurement, the device comprising: a processor; memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device, perform, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, when the first period expires, suspend, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and when the second period expires, return to performing, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; a first timer and a second timer, wherein: the first timer is configured to provide the first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the second timer to start, and the suspension of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the second period; and the second timer is configured to provide the second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the first timer and the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the first period to start.
6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: determine whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, trigger the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the first period to start.
7. A device for inter-frequency cell measurement, the device comprising: a processor; memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device, perform, within a first period, based on preset measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, when the first period expires, suspend, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and when the second period expires, return to performing, based on preset mesurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; a first timer and a third timer, wherein: the first timer is configured to provide the first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the second timer to start, and the suspension of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the second period; and the third timer is configured to provide the first period and the second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the first timer, the third timer and the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the first period to start.
8. A method for inter-frequency cell measurement, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; performing, within a first period, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, comprising: starting a first timer, and performing, based on the preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first timer is configured to provide the first period; and performing, within a second period, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the preset first measurement time parameters are different from the preset second measurement time parameters, comprising: starting, when the first timer expires, a second timer, and performing, based on the preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the second timer is configured to provide the second period; and when the second timer expires, returning to the step of starting a first timer, and continuing to perform, based on the preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
9. A method for inter-frequency cell measurement, the method comprising: receiving, by a terminal, a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; performing, within a first period, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, comprising: starting a first timer and a third timer, respectively, and performing, based on the preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first timer provides the first period, and the third timer provides the first period and the second period; and performing, within a second period, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the preset first measurement time parameters are different from the preset second measurement time parameters, comprising: when the first timer expires, performing, based on the preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and when the third timer expires, returning to the step of starting a first timer and a third timer, respectively, and continuing to perform, based on the preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
10. A device for inter-frequency cell measurement, the device comprising: a processor; memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; perform, within a first period, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and perform, within a second period, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the preset first measurement time parameters are different from the preset second measurement time parameters; a first timer; and a second timer; wherein: the first timer is configured to provide the first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the second timer, and the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the second period to start; and the second timer is configured to provide the second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the first timer, and the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement within the first period to start.
11. A device for inter-frequency cell measurement, the device comprising: a processor; memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the device to: receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band from a network side device; perform, within a first period, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and perform, within a second period, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, wherein the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the preset first measurement time parameters are different from the preset second measurement time parameters; a first timer; and a third timer; wherein: the first timer is configured to provide the first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement to start; and the third timer is configured to provide the first period and the second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the performance of the inter-frequency cell measurement, the first timer, and the third timer, to start.
The present invention relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and in particular, to a method, a device, and a system for inter-frequency cell measurement.
With the rapid development of communications technologies, the future development trend of communications networks is that a variety of wireless communications networks coexist and develop, and therefore heterogeneous network deployment is gradually introduced in a wireless network.
In heterogeneous network deployment, network coverage is formed by cells of different sizes and types, such as macrocells, small cells, and microcells. A macrocell has a large and continuous coverage area, and seamless coverage is formed between macrocells. Within the coverage of a macrocell, several low-power nodes, such as a small base station, a home base station, a relay station and a wireless local area network access point, are usually deployed. Because these low-power nodes have small wireless coverage areas, they are referred to small cells; that is, the coverage of a macrocell includes the coverage of a plurality of small cells, and in heterogeneous network deployment, small cells are scattered in a macrocell. By means of the structure of heterogeneous network deployment, the network traffic volume is large; for example, the traffic is heavy, and, when a macrocell is under heavy network load, a network service can be distributed by switching a terminal to a corresponding small cell, thereby increasing the network capacity.
During heterogeneous network deployment, according to different demands of carriers, a macrocell and a small cell can be set to different frequencies, and the small cell is an inter-frequency cell for the macrocell. In such an inter-frequency deployment, a network side device of the macrocell, when needing to switch a terminal to an inter-frequency cell at a band, needs to trigger the terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement, and the terminal, when determining that a signal of the inter-frequency cell meets a specific measurement event, reports the inter-frequency cell to the network side device, making it easy for the network side device to perform cell handover.
When a terminal performs inter-frequency cell measurement, neither data nor signaling is transmitted between the terminal and a network side device, and a measurement process usually takes a long time. Therefore, to prevent influences on normal communications services, the terminal usually performs inter-frequency cell measurement in a discontinuous measurement manner, that is, a gap mode measurement manner, in which a cell signal is measured only within a measurement gap period and normal communications can be performed outside the gap period. Both the network side device and the terminal need to work based on the gap mode to ensure time synchronization.
In an existing method for inter-frequency cell measurement, a network side device determines relevant measurement time parameters of a gap mode, including a gap duration, a gap repetition cycle, a minimum available measurement time, and the like. The relevant measurement time parameters of the measurement gap mode are usually fixed numerical values. For example, the gap duration is 6 ms, the gap repetition cycle is 40 ms, and it is specified that the minimum available measurement time within a certain time is not lower than 60 ms, and the like. Next, the network side device requests that the terminal performs measurement for an inter-frequency cell at a band and sends the relevant measurement time parameters of the gap mode to the terminal. The terminal is then capable of performing, based on the time specifications of the relevant measurement time parameters of the gap mode, measurement on the cell only within the measurement gap period, so as to monitor whether a signal of the inter-frequency cell meets a measurement event, and reports the inter-frequency cell that meets the measurement event to the network side device.
However, it is a continuous process for a terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement, and the process stops when a measurement termination instruction from the network side device is received. During the implementation of the present invention, the inventor finds that the prior art at least has the following problem: in heterogeneous network deployment, because of the deployment position relationship of inter-frequency cells and the relationship of different bands where the cells are located, if measurement is performed based on general gap mode measurement time parameters, any inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event might fail to be measured, and a terminal might perform measurement continuously without receiving a measurement termination instruction, which causes a waste of measurement time and accordingly increases the power consumption of the terminal.
In view of this, the present invention provides a method, a device, and a system for inter-frequency cell measurement, which solve the technical problem of a waste in the power consumption of a terminal for performing inter-frequency cell measurement.
if no, performing, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
performing, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement or suspending inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the third measurement time parameters are different from the fourth measurement time parameters.
performing, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
performing, by the terminal, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
performing, by the terminal, after receiving the measurement command, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
a second measurement module, configured to perform, when the detection result of the detection module is no, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the second gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
a second measurement module, configured to perform, when the detection result of the second detection module is no, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
a fourth measurement module, configured to perform, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the third measurement time parameters are different from the fourth measurement time parameters.
a cell measurement module, configured to perforin, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
a cell measurement module, configured to perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
a terminal, configured to detect, after receiving the measurement command, whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position; if yes, perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; if no, perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
a terminal, configured to detect, after receiving the measurement command, whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, where the second preset value is carried in the measurement command or prestored in the terminal; if yes, perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; if no, perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
a terminal, configured to perform, after receiving the measurement command, within a first period, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; perform, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement or suspend inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the third measurement time parameters are different from the fourth measurement time parameters.
a terminal, configured to search for, after receiving the measurement command, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band; where the terminal performs, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
a terminal, configured to perform, after receiving the measurement command, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
As can be seen from the aforementioned technical solutions, compared with the prior art, the present invention provides a method, a device, and a system for inter-frequency cell measurement, in which a network side device sends to a terminal a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band, and the terminal performs, when receiving the measurement command of the network side device, inter-frequency cell measurement, in different cases, based on the time specified in different measurement time parameters or based on measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band. As different measurement time parameters specify different time used for measurement, not only an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be measured, but also the time for measurement by the terminal can be reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
FIG. 20 is a schematic structural view of a system for inter-frequency cell measurement according to an embodiment of the present invention.
One of the main ideas of the present invention may include that: A network side device sends to a terminal a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band, and the terminal may perform, when receiving the measurement command of the network side device, inter-frequency cell measurement, according to different application cases, based on different measurement time parameters or based on measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about an inter-frequency band. Therefore, not only an inter-frequency cell whose signal meets a measurement event can be measured, but also the electrical consumption for measurement of a terminal can be reduced, thereby enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 101. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
In this embodiment, a serving cell of a terminal may refer to a macrocell; small cells scattered within the coverage of the macrocell are inter-frequency cells having different carrier frequencies from that of the macrocell; and the network side device may refer to equipment that is capable of performing data and signaling transmission with a terminal, such as a base station, a relay station, a base station controller, and a wireless local area network access point, and controls a serving cell of the terminal.
Of course, a serving cell of a terminal in the present invention may refer to a small cell, the coverage of the small cell includes a microcell, that is, an inter-frequency cell whose carrier frequency is different from that of the small cell.
When a network side device monitors that the network traffic volume of a serving cell is large, or when the effect of an inter-frequency cell in increasing system capacity is to be enhanced, in order to select a suitable inter-frequency cell to distribute a network service, the network side device commands the terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement and sends a measurement command to the terminal.
The measurement command includes information about an inter-frequency band, for example, the frequency of a cell to be measured, so that the terminal is capable of easily determining, according to the information about the inter-frequency band, an inter-frequency cell that is located at the band and performing measurement.
Step 102. Detect whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position. If yes, the process turns to step 103; and if no, the process turns to step 104.
The current position refers to the current position of the terminal in the serving cell, the candidate cell may include an inter-frequency cell in a band that requires to be measured currently and is a candidate cell distinguished from the serving cell of the terminal.
Various manners may be adopted to detect whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position. For example, it may be determined whether a candidate cell is present by a satellite positioning system acquiring whether a network element device is present in a certain range of the position of the terminal, or may be determined whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of the terminal according to the quality or strength of the received signal. The specific implementation manners are introduced in detail in the following embodiments.
Step 103. Perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The measurement time parameters refer to relevant measurement time parameters of a gap mode, and a gap refers to a period that can be actually used for measurement when the terminal performs inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
The measurement time parameters may include a gap duration, that is, an available time in each time of measurement; a gap repetition cycle, that is, an interval time between gaps; and a minimum available measurement time, in which the sum of time for actual measurement within a certain time range should not be smaller than the minimum available measurement time, so as to limit the actual time that the terminal performs measurement within the certain time, so that the inter-frequency cell measurement is capable of meeting a certain demand. For example, the gap duration is 6 ms (milliseconds), the gap repetition cycle is 80 ms, and the minimum available time within 480 ms is 30 ms; that is to say, the terminal may perform signal measurement once every 80 ms, each time of measurement takes 6 ms, and the minimum available time specifies that the terminal at least performs measurement (30 ms/6 ms)=5 times within every 480 ms.
The terminal needs to perform inter-frequency cell measurement strictly based on the measurement time parameters, and at the same time the network side device also needs to work strictly based on the measurement time parameters, so as to guarantee that during the measurement in the gap, the terminal and the network side device do not exchange data and signaling.
As an inter-frequency cell requires to be measured, the terminal first needs to determine an inter-frequency cell. Specifically, the terminal adjusts the receiving frequency thereof to the inter-frequency band and then performs a search to find a cell at the inter-frequency band. Next, the terminal performs inter-frequency cell signal measurement respectively, and reports, when measuring that the signal of an inter-frequency cell meets a specific measurement event, the cell identifier of the inter-frequency cell to the network side device, in which the measurement event may specifically refer to a condition to be met by a signal of a cell that can be reported to the network side device. For example, the measurement event may refer to that the signal quality or strength is greater than a threshold value and keeps so for a certain time. According to different network demands, the measurement event may also be different. The specific measurement process is the same as that in the prior art, so no further details are provided here.
As for inter-frequency cell signal measurement based on the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed based on the first gap duration, the first gap repetition cycle, and the specification of the first minimum available measurement time.
Alternatively, when the terminal performs, based on the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, the terminal first needs to perform a search to determine which inter-frequency cells are present, and the search takes a certain time. Therefore, the terminal may monitor, when performing the cell search, whether a search time exceeds a preset time, and may switch, if the terminal fails to find any cell on the inter-frequency band within a preset time, the currently adopted measurement time parameters, and continue the measurement based on the time specifications of other measurement time parameters, for example, may perform the operation in step 104, so as to reduce the power consumption of the terminal.
Step 104. Perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
According to the instructions of the aforementioned measurement time parameters, when a gap duration is longer, or a gap repetition cycle is shorter, or a minimum available time is longer, the timer is longer for the terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement within a certain time range, and therefore the probability that the terminal determines a cell that meets a measurement event within a certain period is increased; however, the electrical consumption for measurement of a terminal may be increased at the same time. Oppositely, the time for the terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement is shorter within a certain time range, and the probability that terminal determines a cell that meets a measurement event is correspondingly reduced; however, the electrical consumption for measurement of a terminal may be reduced.
In this embodiment, the first gap duration in the first measurement time parameters is longer than the second gap duration in the second measurement time parameters, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time. That is to say, compared with the inter-frequency cell signal measurement based on the second measurement time parameters, the inter-frequency cell signal measurement based on the first measurement time parameters provides a longer actual time for inter-frequency cell measurement within a certain period, so that an inter-frequency cell that satisfies a measurement requirement can be selected more quickly.
When it is determined that a candidate cell is present within a certain range of the position of the terminal, it indicates that a cell at an inter-frequency band might be present in the periphery of the position of the terminal, so that the terminal starts, based on the time specifications of the first measurement time parameters, the process of inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event more quickly.
If it is determined that a candidate cell is not present within a certain range of the position of the terminal, in indicates that a cell at an inter-frequency band might be not present in the periphery of the position of the terminal, so that the terminal may start, based on the time specifications of the second measurement time parameters, the process of inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement of a terminal.
As the measurement time parameters specify a gap duration, a gap repetition cycle, and the like of measurement, within one measurement gap, due to the time limits, the terminal might be unable to complete all measurement operations including searching for all inter-frequency cells and measuring an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event, so that the terminal saves, when the measurement gap period ends, the current measurement relevant information, so as to continue measurement in a next measurement gap according to the measurement relevant information of the last time. Within each measurement gap period, the terminal needs to adjust a receiving frequency into the inter-frequency band and then adjusts, when the measurement gap period ends, the receiving frequency back to the carrier frequency of the serving cell.
In another embodiment, as discussed in step 103, the terminal needs to perform, during inter-frequency cell measurement based on first measurement time parameters, a cell search, and if a search time exceeds a preset time, it indicates that an inter-frequency cell is actually not present within a certain range of the terminal, and the terminal may continue to perform, based on the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement.
The first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may be carried in the measurement command. That is, the network side device sends configured first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters to the terminal to request the terminal to perform measurement on a cell at an inter-frequency band.
Alternatively, the terminal needs to feed back, when performing inter-frequency cell measurement based on measurement time parameters, to the network side device identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters. The identifiers of measurement time parameters are used for distinguishing different measurement time parameters, and are carried in the measurement time parameters. The network side device controls, after receiving the identifiers of the measurement time parameters and/or the application moment of the measurement time parameters to be adopted by the terminal, at the application moment of the measurement time parameters, based on the time specified in the corresponding measurement time parameters, sending of data and signaling.
Specifically, the network side device may determine, according to the application moment of the measurement time parameters fed back by the terminal, that is, a specific moment that the terminal performs measurement based on measurement time parameters or a specific moment of switching when measurement time parameters need to be switched, when to control the sending of data and signaling based on the time specified by the measurement time parameters.
Furthermore, the network side device determines, after receiving the identifiers of measurement time parameters, based on information about an appointment with the terminal, the application moment of the measurement time parameters corresponding to the identifiers of measurement time parameters.
The first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters may be further saved in the network side device and the terminal, so that the terminal may measure, after receiving a measurement command, based on the first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters, a cell at an inter-frequency band.
Alternatively, the terminal feeds back, when performing measurement based on measurement time parameters, to the network side device identifiers of the measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters.
Of course, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may be further configured and saved by the terminal, so that the terminal performs, after receiving a measurement command, based on the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. During the inter-frequency cell measurement, current measurement information further needs to be fed back to the network side device. The measurement information may include the currently adopted measurement time parameters, that is, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters, and may further include an application moment of the measurement time parameters. Therefore, the network side device may control, according to the current measurement time parameters, the operations of data and signaling transmission with the terminal.
When the first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters are prestored in the terminal, the terminal first determines, after receiving the measurement command, whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command. If yes, the terminal then performs the operations in step 102 to step 104; and if no, it performs measurement based on a conventional manner.
In this embodiment, a terminal first determines, after receiving a measurement command from a network side device, whether a candidate cell is present in the periphery of the position thereof, when present, performs, based on first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine more quickly an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event; when a candidate cell is not present in the periphery of the terminal, performs, based on second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to reduce the measurement time, and lower the power consumption of the terminal. As it is determined that a candidate cell is not present in the periphery of the position of the terminal, it indicates that the terminal is away from all inter-frequency cells by a long distance, so that the signal measurement is performed based on second measurement time parameters that are more power saving, so as to lower the power consumption for measurement of a terminal, thereby enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 201. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
This step is similar with that in Embodiment 1, so no further details are provided here.
Step 202. Adjust a receiving frequency into the inter-frequency band, and monitor the signal quality or strength of a common channel of the inter-frequency band.
After receiving a measurement command, the terminal may prepare to enter a discontinuous measurement stage. Before performing measurement based on the period specified in measurement time parameters, the terminal may first adjust the receiving frequency thereof into the inter-frequency band to monitor the signal quality or strength of the common channel of the inter-frequency band. The common channel refers to a downlink common signal transmission channel of all inter-frequency cells at the inter-frequency band, such as, a PSCH (Primary Synchronization Channel, primary synchronization channel) and/or an SSCH (Secondary Synchronization Channel, secondary synchronization channel). That is to say, a terminal may measure the signal strength or quality of one common channel, and may also measure the signal strength or quality of a plurality of common signals.
The terminal scans, after the adjustment to the inter-frequency band, a common channel; that is, it monitors a signal of a common channel.
Step 203. Determine whether the signal quality or strength of the common channel of the inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value. If yes, the process turns to step 204; and if no, the process turns to step 205.
The first preset value may be carried in the measurement command, or of course may also be preset and stored in the terminal.
In this embodiment, it is determined, according to whether the signal quality or strength of a common channel of an inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value, whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position of a terminal. When the signal quality or strength of the common channel is greater than the first preset value, it indicates that the signal transmitted on the common channel is stronger, and it may therefore be determined that a candidate cell is present within the certain range of the terminal. When the signal quality or strength of the common channel is lower than or equal to the first preset value, it indicates that the signal transmitted on the common channel is weaker, and it may therefore be determined that a candidate cell is not present within the certain range of the terminal.
The first preset value is set according to an actual situation; for example, it is set according to the signal quality or strength of the common channel when a preset number of cells are present within the certain range of the terminal.
In this embodiment, as it is determined whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a terminal through the monitored signal quality or strength of a common channel of an inter-frequency band, the candidate cell is an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
Step 204. Perform a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and perform, based on the time specifications of preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
After the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search needs to be performed to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band. The inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the preset first measurement time parameters is the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the time specifications of a measurement gap duration, a gap repetition cycle, and a minimum available measurement time.
Step 205. Perform a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and perform, based on the time specifications of preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
The first gap duration in the first measurement time parameters is longer than the second gap duration in the second measurement time parameters, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time. That is to say, compared with the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the second measurement time parameters, the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the first measurement time parameters provides a longer time for inter-frequency cell measurement, so that an inter-frequency cell that satisfies a measurement requirement can be selected more quickly.
Alternatively, the terminal needs to feed back, when performing inter-frequency cell measurement based on measurement time parameters, to the network side device identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters. The identifiers of measurement time parameters are used for distinguishing different measurement time parameters, and are carried in the measurement time parameters. The network side device may control, after receiving the identifiers of the measurement time parameters and/or the application moment of the measurement time parameters, at the application moment of the measurement time parameters, based on the time specified in the corresponding measurement time parameters, sending of data and signaling.
The first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may be further configured and saved by the terminal, so that the terminal performs, after receiving a measurement command, based on the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. During the inter-frequency cell measurement, current measurement information further needs to be fed back to the network side device. The measurement information may include the currently adopted measurement time parameters, that is, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters, and may further include an application moment of the measurement time parameters. Therefore, the network side device may control, according to the current measurement time parameters, the operations of data and signaling transmission with the terminal.
When the first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters are stored by the terminal, the terminal first determines, after receiving the measurement command, whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command. If yes, the terminal then performs the operations in step 202 to step 205; and if no, it performs, based on a conventional manner, inter-frequency cell measurement, and performs inter-frequency cell measurement by using general measurement time parameters.
The operations in step 204 and step 205 are operations triggered according to the determination result in step 203, in which different measurement time parameters are adopted. Therefore, by performing the operation in step 204, the actual measurement time may be increased, so that when it is determined that a candidate cell is present within a certain range of the position of the terminal, an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be determined more quickly. By performing the operation in step 205, the actual measurement time is reduced, so that when a candidate cell is not present within the certain range of the terminal, it may be regarded that the terminal currently might fail to measure any inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event. Therefore, by performing the operation in step 205, the electrical consumption of the terminal may be reduced, thereby lowering the power consumption of the terminal.
In this embodiment, a terminal measures whether the signal quality or strength of a common channel of an inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value to determine whether a cell is present within a certain range of the terminal, if yes, performs, based on the time specified in the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, and if no, performs, based on the time specified in the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to measure and determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event more quickly, and at the same time reduce the time for measurement by the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 301. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 302. Perform, after a receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 2 lies in that, the terminal may first perform, after the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to first determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band. Reference should be made between the embodiments for other points.
Step 303. Monitor the signal quality or strength of a common channel of the inter-frequency band.
Step 304. Determine whether the signal quality or strength of the common channel of the inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value. If yes, the process turns to step 305; and if no, the process turns to step 306.
Step 305. Perform, based on time specifications of preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
Step 306. Perform, based on time specifications of preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
In this embodiment, a terminal monitors whether the signal quality or strength of a common channel of an inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value to determine whether a cell is present within a certain range of the terminal, if yes, performs, based on the time specified in the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and if no, performs, based on the time specified in the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to guarantee that an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be measured and determined and at the same time the time for measurement by the terminal is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 401. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 402. Determine whether a candidate cell is present at a certain distance away from a current position through a satellite positioning system. If yes, the process turns to step 403; and if no, the process turns to step 405.
In this step, it is determined whether a candidate cell is present within a certain distance away from the current position of the terminal through a satellite positioning system; that is, it is determined whether a candidate cell is present in the periphery of the terminal through a satellite positioning system.
As for that it is determined whether a candidate cell is present at a certain distance away from a current position through a satellite positioning system, specifically, the terminal acquires the position information of a network element within a certain range of the terminal through a satellite positioning system, determines whether other network elements are present in the periphery of the terminal, and if present, determines that a candidate cell is present in the periphery of the terminal.
Step 403. Perform, after a receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and the process turns to step 404.
Step 404. Perform, based on time specifications of preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
Step 405. Perform, after a receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and the process turns to step 406.
Step 406. Perform, based on time specifications of preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
In this embodiment, it is determined whether a cell is present within a certain range of the terminal through a satellite positioning system, if yes, after an inter-frequency cell is determined, inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed based on the time specified in first measurement time parameters, and if no, after an inter-frequency cell is determined, inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed based on the time specified in second measurement time parameters, so as to guarantee that an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be measured and determined and at the same time the time for measurement by the terminal is reduced, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 501. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 502. Detect whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell of the terminal is lower than a second preset value. If yes, the process turns to step 503; and if no, the process turns to step 504.
The serving cell of the terminal may refer to, for example, a macrocell where the terminal is currently located, and the terminal may listen to the signal of the serving cell where the terminal is located and detect the signal quality or strength of the serving cell.
The second preset value may be carried in the measurement command, and may also be prestored in the terminal.
When the signal quality or strength of the serving cell of the terminal is lower than the second preset value, it indicates that the terminal needs to be switched to other cells as soon as possible to guarantee normal communications of the terminal. In this case, the terminal may be too far away from the serving cell to desirably receive the signal of the serving cell, so that the inter-frequency cell measurement needs to be performed as soon as possible, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event.
When the signal quality or strength of the serving cell of the terminal is greater than or equal to the second preset value, it indicates that the serving cell of the terminal may further continue to serve the terminal, and the terminal may receive the signal of the serving cell normally, so that the terminal does not have to be switched to an inter-frequency cell as soon as possible.
Of course, in another possible case, in heterogeneous network deployment, by taking an example in which a small cell is set in a macrocell, the small cell might be at the edge of the coverage of the macrocell. When a terminal monitors that the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, it is regarded that the terminal is at the edge of the serving cell, and therefore the distance from the small cell is shorter, and it may be determined that a small cell is present in the periphery of the terminal. When the signal quality or strength of the serving cell of the terminal is greater than or equal to the second preset value, it may be regarded that an inter-frequency cell is not present in the periphery of the terminal, and the distance from the small cell is larger.
The second preset value may be specifically set according to actual application cases, for example, may be set according to the signal value received by a terminal when the terminal is located at a serving cell thereof and is capable of normally performing communications.
Step 503. Perform, based on time specifications of preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
Specifically, after a receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search is performed to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and next, based on time specifications of the preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed.
When it is determined that the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, during a measurement gap period, an operation of determining an inter-frequency cell is performed, and inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed based on time specifications of the second measurement time parameters.
Step 504. Perform, based on time specifications of preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
Specifically, after a receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search is performed to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band, and next, based on time specifications of the preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed.
The operation in step 503 and the operation in step 504 are different steps triggered according to the determination result in step 502, in which different measurement time parameters are adopted. Therefore, by performing step 503, the actual measurement time may be increased, so that an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event can be determined more quickly. By performing the operation in step 504, the actual measurement time is reduced, so that when the serving cell may further continue to serve the terminal, inter-frequency cell measurement may be performed based on the second measurement time parameters. Therefore, the electrical consumption of the terminal may be reduced, thereby lowering the power consumption of the terminal.
Alternatively, the terminal needs to feed back, when performing inter-frequency cell measurement based on measurement time parameters, to the network side device identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters, which are carried in the measurement time parameters. The identifiers of measurement time parameters are used for distinguishing different measurement time parameters. The network side device may control, after receiving the identifiers of the measurement time parameters and/or the application moment of the measurement time parameters, at the application moment of the measurement time parameters, based on the time specified in the corresponding measurement time parameters, the sending of data and signaling.
Alternatively, the terminal feeds back, when performing measurement based on the measurement time parameters, to the network side device the identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted, and may further feed back an application moment of the measurement time parameters.
When the first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters are prestored in the terminal, the terminal first determines, after receiving the measurement command, whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command. If yes, the terminal then performs the operations in step 502 to step 504; and if no, it performs measurement based on a conventional manner.
In this embodiment, the terminal monitors whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, if yes, performs, based on the time specified in the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, and if no, performs, based on the time specified in the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event as soon as possible and at the same time reduce the time for measurement of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal and enhancing the performance of the terminal.
Step 601. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
For details about this step, reference may be specifically made to step 101 in the method embodiment.
Step 602. Perform, within a first period, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
Step 603. Perform, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The specific process of performing inter-frequency cell measurement is that a terminal first needs to adjust a receiving frequency into the inter-frequency band, performs a search to determine an inter-frequency cell, and next performs, based on the time specifications of the measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell whose signal meets a measurement event.
The first period and second period may be provided by the network side device. That is, the network side device starts, after sending a measurement command to the terminal, to count the first period, sends, when the first period ends, first adjustment trigger information to the terminal, and at the same time starts to count a second period, and sends, when the second period ends, second adjustment trigger information to the terminal, and at the same time restarts to count the first period. Therefore, the terminal specifically performs, after receiving the measurement command or second adjustment trigger information, based on first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. After receiving the first adjustment trigger information, that is, inter-frequency cell measurement is performed based on second measurement time parameters.
Of course, the first period and second period may be controlled by the terminal, the specific duration of the period may be allocated by the terminal in advance, and may also be carried in the measurement command of the network side device.
When the first period and second period are controlled by the terminal, the terminal may first determine, after receiving the measurement command, whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier; if yes, the terminal then performs the operations in steps 602 and 603; and if no, it performs measurement based on a conventional manner.
In this embodiment, the first period and second period alternately form a continuous time; that is to say, the terminal performs, within a first period, based on time specifications of preset third measurement time parameters which include a measurement gap duration, a gap repetition cycle, and the like, inter-frequency cell measurement, enters, when the first period ends, a second period and performs, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and enters, when the second period ends, the first period again. That is, the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, through the alternating first period and second period, the terminal is capable of performing, based on the time specified in different measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The third measurement time parameters and the fourth measurement time parameters are different. That is to say, when inter-frequency cell measurement is performed based on the time specifications of the third measurement time parameters and the fourth measurement time parameters, respectively, the electrical consumption for measurement of the terminal is different, causing different power consumption for the terminal. Through the alternating first period and second period, the terminal does not always perform measurement based on one type of measurement time parameters, also the probability that the terminal measures an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event is guaranteed, and at the same time the power consumption of the terminal may be lowered.
The third gap duration in the third measurement time parameters may be smaller than the fourth gap duration in the fourth measurement time parameters, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is greater than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is smaller than the fourth minimum available measurement time. Alternatively, the third gap duration is greater than the fourth gap duration, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is smaller than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is greater than the fourth minimum available measurement time.
The time length of the first period and the second period may be different or may be the same, and may be specifically set according to different actual cases. For example, it is assumed that the terminal performs, based on the time specifications of the third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, compared with the inter-frequency cell measurement based on the time specifications of the fourth measurement time parameters, the electrical consumption can be saved. Therefore, when the first period is longer, the terminal is more power saving, and when the second period is longer, the probability is higher that the terminal determines an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event, so that the length of the period may be specifically set according to different demands.
It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the objective of inter-frequency cell measurement is achieved in a manner of setting two periods, and of course, a plurality of periods, for example, three, may be set, and correspondingly a plurality of measurement time parameters is correspondingly set, and technical solutions extended by persons skilled in the art on the basis of the present invention shall also fall within the protection scope of the present invention.
In this embodiment, a terminal performs, based on the time specifications of different measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement within different periods, and different measurement time parameters specify different actual measurement time, so that the terminal does not always perform inter-frequency cell measurement based on one type of measurement time parameters, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement of the terminal, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal, and at the same time the terminal does not always perform inter-frequency cell measurement on based on one type of measurement time parameters, so as to guarantee the probability that the terminal determines an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement within a certain time.
Step 701. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 702. Perform, within a first period, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
Step 703. Suspend, within a second period, inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and second period alternately form a continuous time.
The difference between this embodiment and method Embodiment 6 lies in that, within a second period, a terminal may suspend inter-frequency cell measurement. That is to say, the terminal performs, within a first period, based on the time specifications of preset third measurement time parameters which include a measurement gap duration, a gap repetition cycle, and the like, inter-frequency cell measurement, the terminal enters, when the first period ends, a second period, and suspends inter-frequency cell measurement, and the terminal enters, when the second period ends, the first period again to continue to perform, based on the time specifications of the preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. That is, the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and through the alternating first period and second period, the terminal may perform no measurement within a period, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement of the terminal and lower the power consumption of the terminal, and guarantee the probability that the terminal determines an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement within a certain time.
The first period and the second period may be specifically set according to actual cases, for example, the specific requirements for the terminal or the requirements for the measured inter-frequency cell.
Step 801. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 802. Start a first timer, and perform, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
The first timer is configured to provide the first period. Specifically, by setting a duration of the first timer, the first period may be from when the first timer starts to when the first timer stops as the duration ends. The terminal may first perform, after receiving a measurement command, based on the time specified in preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and at the same time start the first timer.
Step 803. When the first timer expires, start a second timer, and perform, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend the measurement.
Step 804. Return, after it is determined that the second timer expires, to step 802.
The second timer provides a second period. Specifically, by setting a duration of the second timer, the second period may be from when the second timer starts to when the second timer stops as the duration ends.
The duration parameters set for the first timer and the second timer may be carried in the measurement command, and may also be preconfigured by the terminal.
The terminal may first determine, after receiving the measurement command, whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command, and if yes, perform the operations in step 802 to step 804.
In this embodiment, alternatively, the third gap duration in the third measurement time parameters is greater than the fourth gap duration in the fourth measurement time parameters, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is smaller than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is greater than the fourth minimum available measurement time. The terminal may first perform, based on the third measurement time parameters that enable an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event to be determined more quickly, inter-frequency cell measurement, set the time length that the terminal performs, based on the third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and perform, when the first period ends, based on the preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend the measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption of the terminal to a certain degree, and lower the power consumption of the terminal.
Step 901. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 902. Start a first timer and a third timer at the same time, and perform, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
Step 903. When the first timer expires, perform, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, or suspend the measurement.
Step 904. Determine that the third timer expires, and return to step 902.
In this embodiment, the first period and the second period are provided by two timers.
The duration of the first timer is smaller than the duration of the third timer. That is, the first period is from when the first timer starts to when the first timer stops as the duration ends. The second period is from when the first timer stops to when the third timer stops as the set duration ends.
The terminal may first determine, after receiving the measurement command, whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command, and if yes, perform the operations in step 902 to step 904.
In this embodiment, alternatively, the third gap duration in the third measurement time parameters is greater than the fourth gap duration in the fourth measurement time parameters, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is smaller than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is greater than the fourth minimum available measurement time. The terminal may first perform, based on the third measurement time parameters that enable an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event to be determined more quickly, inter-frequency cell measurement, set the time length that the terminal performs, based on the third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and perform, when the first period ends, based on the preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend the measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption of the terminal to a certain degree and lower the power consumption of the terminal.
It should be noted that, in the foregoing method embodiments, reference may be made between the operations of the same or similar steps, and therefore the corresponding descriptions in several embodiments are relatively simple.
Step 1001. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
Step 1002. Search for, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band.
The measurement command sent from the network side may further carry a measurement identifier, so that the terminal may first determine, after receiving the measurement command, whether the measurement command carries the measurement identifier, if yes, perform the operation of step 1002, and if no, directly perform, based on general measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
As a terminal might perform measurement on cells at a plurality of different inter-frequency bands, and in this embodiment, each piece of information about an inter-frequency band might correspond to different measurement time parameters. That is to say, in this embodiment, the terminal may perform, based on different measurement time parameters, parallel measurement on cells at different inter-frequency bands. Therefore, the terminal may first send a capability identifier to the network side device, and the network side device may determine, after receiving the capability identifier, that the terminal has the capability of measuring in parallel cells at different inter-frequency bands based on different measurement time parameters, and then send to the terminal the measurement command carrying the measurement identifier.
Step 1003. Perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
In performing the inter-frequency cell measurement, a search is performed first to determine a cell at an inter-frequency band, and next inter-frequency cell signal measurement is performed to determine whether the signal of the inter-frequency cell meets a measurement event. In practical applications, for inter-frequency cells at different bands, as the measurement demands are different, the time required to find inter-frequency cells at some bands or to determine that signals of some bands meet a measurement event is short, whereas the time required to find inter-frequency cells of some bands or to determine that signals of some bands meet a measurement event is long. General measurement time parameters are adopted in the prior art, resulting in that, during the inter-frequency cell measurement, an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event cannot be measured quickly, or the electrical consumption for measurement is wasted.
Therefore, in the present invention, measurement time parameters are set in advance according to different information about an inter-frequency band, and a mapping between information about an inter-frequency band and different identifiers of measurement time parameters are saved. For some inter-frequency bands, if a cell at an inter-frequency band needs to be measured more quickly, the gap duration in the measurement time parameters may be suitably prolonged, the gap repetition cycle is shortened, and the minimum available measurement time is increased, so as to measure an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event more quickly.
For some information about an inter-frequency band, if an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event does not need to be measured more quickly, the gap duration in the measurement time parameters may be shortened, the gap repetition cycle is prolonged, and the minimum available measurement time is decreased, so as to achieve the objective of saving the power consumption of the terminal.
performing, based on the time specifications of the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
In this embodiment, a terminal first searches for, after receiving a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band, and performs, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. According to different information about an inter-frequency band, based on different measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement is performed to determine a cell that meets a measurement event more quickly, and at the same time further save the power consumption of the terminal and enhance the performance of the terminal.
Step 1101. A terminal receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band and corresponding target measurement time parameters thereof sent by a network side device, where the measurement command is sent after the network side device finds, according to a presaved mapping between different measurement time parameters and different information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band.
Step 1102. Perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The terminal may perform, after receiving the measurement command, based on target measurement time parameters carried in the measurement command, inter-frequency cell measurement.
Before step 1101 is performed, the terminal may further send a capability identifier to the network side device, and the network side device may determine, after receiving the capability identifier, that the terminal is capable of measuring in parallel cells at different inter-frequency bands based on different measurement time parameters. Therefore, the network side device first searches for, when sending a measurement command, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band, and then sends the measurement command, and the terminal may then perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, so as to determine a cell that meets a measurement event more quickly, and at the same time further save the power consumption of the terminal and enhance the performance of the terminal.
A receiving module 1201 is configured to receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
The device in this embodiment may be specifically applied in a terminal, the measurement command includes the information about an inter-frequency band, for example, the frequency of a cell to be measured, and the terminal may determine, according to the information about the inter-frequency band, an inter-frequency cell located at the band and perform measurement.
A first detection module 1202 is configured to detect whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position.
The current position may refer to the position of the device or a terminal containing the device in the serving cell, and the candidate cell may include an inter-frequency cell at a band that currently needs to be measured, which is a candidate cell distinguished from the serving cell of the terminal.
A first measurement module 1203 is configured to perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
A second measurement module 1204 is configured to perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
The first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the second gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is greater than the second minimum available measurement time. That is to say, compared with the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the second measurement time parameters, the actual time for inter-frequency cell measurement within a certain period is longer in the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the first measurement time parameters, so that an inter-frequency cell that satisfies a measurement requirement can be selected more quickly.
In an embodiment, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may be carried in the measurement command. Therefore, the device may further include a first feedback module, configured to feed back to the network side device identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters.
In another embodiment, the device may further include a saving module, configured to save the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters. Therefore, the first measurement time parameters and/or the second measurement time parameters may be further saved in network side device and in the saving module of the device, respectively, so that the device may further include a first feedback module, configured to feed back to the network side device the identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or the application moment of the measurement time parameters.
In still another embodiment, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may further be saved in the saving module of the device only. Therefore, alternatively, the device may further include a second feedback module, configured to feed back to the network side device current measurement information, and the measurement information includes the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters.
In addition, the device may further include a second determination module, configured to determine whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command, and if yes, trigger the first detection module to start.
In this embodiment, the receiving module performs, after receiving the measurement command of the network side device, when the first detection module detects that a candidate cell is present in the periphery of the position thereof, based on the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine more quickly an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event; when a candidate cell is not present in the periphery of the terminal, performs, based on second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to reduce the time for measurement and lower the power consumption of the device. As it is determined that a candidate cell is not present in the periphery of the current position, it indicates that the terminal is away from all inter-frequency cells by a long distance, so that the signal measurement is performed based on second measurement time parameters that are more power saving, and the power consumption for measurement is lowered, thereby enhancing the performance of the device.
FIG. 13 is a schematic structural view of a device for inter-frequency cell measurement according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The device may include a receiving module 1201, a first detection module 1202, a first measurement module 1203 and a second measurement module 1204. For the specific functions of the modules, reference may be made to device Embodiment 1.
An adjustment module 1212 adjusts a receiving frequency into the inter-frequency band.
A signal measurement module 1222 is configured to measure the signal quality or strength of a common channel of the inter-frequency band.
A first determination module 1223 is configured to determine whether the signal quality or strength of the common channel of the inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value, if yes, trigger the first measurement module 1203, and if no, trigger the second measurement module 1204.
The first preset value may be carried in the measurement command, and of course may also be preset and stored in the saving module of the device, and the first determination module first determines the first preset value from the measurement command or the saving module and then performs determination.
A first search module 1213 is configured to perform, after the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
A first measurement submodule 1223 is configured to perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
A second search module 1214 is configured to perform, after the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
The second measurement submodule 1224 is configured to perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
The first gap duration in the first measurement time parameters is longer than the second gap duration in the second measurement time parameters, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time. That is to say, compared with the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the second measurement time parameters, the inter-frequency cell signal measurement on the first measurement time parameters provides a longer time for inter-frequency cell measurement, so as to select more quickly an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event requirement.
A first feedback module is configured to feed back to the network side device the currently adopted identifiers of measurement time parameters and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters.
A second determination module is configured to determine whether a measurement identifier is carried in the measurement command, and if yes, trigger the first detection module to start.
A second feedback module is configured to feed back to the network side device current measurement information, where the measurement information includes the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters.
In addition, when the first search module 1213 performs a search to determine an inter-frequency cell, a certain search time is needed. Therefore, the first search module 1213 may be further configured to switch, when monitoring that the search time exceeds a preset time, and if the first search module 1213 fails to find any cell on the inter-frequency band within a preset time, the currently adopted measurement time parameters, and trigger the second measurement module to start, so that the device continues measurement based on the time specifications of the second measurement time parameters.
In this embodiment, when the first detection module determines whether a cell is present within a certain range of the terminal by measuring whether the signal quality or strength of the common channel of the inter-frequency band is higher than a first preset value, if yes, triggers the first measurement module to perform, based on the time specified in the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, and if no, triggers the second measurement module to perform, based on the time specified in the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to measure and determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event more quickly, further reduce the time for measurement of the device, thereby reducing the power consumption of the device and enhancing the performance of the device.
Additionally, in another embodiment, the first detection module 1203 may be specifically configured to determine whether a candidate cell is present at a certain distance away from a current position through a satellite positioning system, if yes, trigger the first measurement module to start, and if no, trigger the second measurement module to start.
A receiving module 1401 is configured to receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
A second detection module 1402 is configured to detect whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value.
The serving cell may refer to, for example, a macrocell where the terminal is currently located, and the terminal may listen to the signal of the serving cell and detect the signal quality or strength of the serving cell.
The second preset value may be carried in the measurement command, and of course may also be preset and stored in the saving module of the device, and the second detection module first determines the first preset value from the measurement command or the saving module and then performs determination.
When the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than the second preset value, it indicates that the terminal needs to be switched to other cells as soon as possible to guarantee normal communications of the terminal. In this case, the terminal may be too far away from the serving cell to desirably receive the signal of the serving cell, so that the inter-frequency cell measurement needs to be performed as soon as possible, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event.
When the signal quality or strength of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the second preset value, it indicates that the serving cell may further continue to serve the terminal, and the terminal may receive the signal of the serving cell normally, so that the terminal does not have to be switched to an inter-frequency cell as soon as possible.
Of course, in another possible case, in heterogeneous network deployment, by taking an example in which a small cell is set in a macrocell, the small cell might be at the edge of the coverage of the macrocell. When it is monitored that the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, it is regarded that the terminal is at the edge of the serving cell, and therefore the distance from the small cell is shorter, and it may be determined that a small cell is present in the periphery of the terminal. When the signal quality or strength of the serving cell of the terminal is greater than or equal to the second preset value, it may be regarded that an inter-frequency cell is not present in the periphery of the terminal, and the distance from the small cell is larger.
A first measurement module 1403 is configured to perform, when the detection result of the second detection module is yes, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
A first search module 1413 is configured to perform, after the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, search, determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
A first measurement submodule 1423 is configured to perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
A second measurement module 1404 is configured to perform, when the detection result of the second detection module is no, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the second gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
A second search module 1414 is configured to perform, after the receiving frequency is adjusted into the inter-frequency band, a search to determine an inter-frequency cell located at the inter-frequency band.
A second measurement submodule 1424 is configured to perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement.
In another embodiment, the device may further include a saving module, configured to save the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters. Therefore, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters are further saved in the network side device and in the saving module of the device, respectively, so that the device may further include a first feedback module, configured to feed back to the network side device identifiers of measurement time parameters to be adopted and/or an application moment of the measurement time parameters.
In still another embodiment, the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters may further be saved in the saving module of the device only. Therefore, alternatively, the device may further include a second feedback module, configured to feed back to the network side device current measurement information, where the measurement information includes the first measurement time parameters and/or second measurement time parameters.
In this embodiment, the first detection module detects whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, if yes, trigger the first measurement module to perform, based on the time specified in the first measurement time parameters, a inter-frequency cell signal measurement, and if no, trigger the second measurement module to perform, based on the time specified in the second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell signal measurement, so as to determine an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event as soon as possible, so as to reduce the time for measurement of the device, thereby reducing the power consumption of the device and enhancing the performance of the device.
A receiving module 1501 is configured to receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
A third measurement module 1502 is configured to perform, within a first period, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
A fourth measurement module 1503 is configured to perform, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and second period alternately form a continuous time, and the third measurement time parameters are different from the fourth measurement time parameters.
The first period and second period may be provided by the network side device. That is, the network side device may start, after sending the measurement command, to count the first period, and send, when the first period ends, first adjustment trigger information, and at the same time start to count the second period, and send, when the second period ends, second adjustment trigger information, and at the same time restart to count the first period. Therefore, the third measurement module may specifically perform, after receiving the measurement command or second adjustment trigger information, based on the first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. The fourth measurement module may specifically perform, after receiving the first adjustment trigger information, based on second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The first period and second period alternately form a continuous time, and through the alternating first period and second period, inter-frequency cell measurement may be performed based on the time specified in different measurement time parameters.
The third measurement time parameters and the fourth measurement time parameters are different. Based on different time specifications of the measurement time parameters, when inter-frequency cell measurement is performed, the electrical consumption for measurement is different, so that the power consumption is also different.
The device may further include an identifier determination module, configured to determine whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, trigger the third measurement module or fourth measurement module to start.
In this embodiment, the third measurement module and the fourth measurement module perform, within different periods, based on time specifications of different measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and different measurement time parameters specify different actual measurement time, so that inter-frequency cell measurement is not always performed based on one type of measurement time parameters. Therefore, the electrical consumption for measurement of the device may be reduced, thereby lowering the power consumption of the device, enhancing the performance of the device, and guaranteeing the probability that an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event is determined within a certain time, and the device is capable of enhancing, when being applied in the terminal, enhancing the performance of the terminal.
FIG. 16 is a schematic structural view of a device for inter-frequency cell measurement according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention. The device may include a receiving module 1501, a third measurement module 1502 and a fourth measurement module 1503. For the functions of the modules, reference may be made to device Embodiment 4. The difference from device Embodiment 4 lies in that, the device in this embodiment further includes a first timing module 1504 and a second timing module 1505.
The first timing module 1504 is configured to provide a first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the fourth measurement module 1503 and the second timing module 1505 to start.
The second timing module 1505 is configured to provide a second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the third measurement module 1502 and the first timing module 1504 to start.
In practical applications, the first timing module and the second timing module may be specifically timers. The duration parameters set for the timers may be carried in the measurement command, and may also be preconfigured by the device.
The first timing module and the second timing module alternately start to implement the alternate first period and second period and form a continuous time.
The device may further include an identifier determination module, configured to determine whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, trigger the third measurement module and the first timing module to start. The first timing module starts counting, and the third measurement module performs, within the counting period of the first timing module, based on third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
In this embodiment, alternatively, the third gap duration in the third measurement time parameters is greater than the fourth gap duration in the fourth measurement time parameters, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is smaller than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is greater than the fourth minimum available measurement time. That is, the terminal may first perform, based on the third measurement time parameters that enable an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event to be determined more quickly, inter-frequency cell measurement, set the time length that the terminal performs, based on the third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and perform, when the first period ends, based on the preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement to a certain degree and lower the power consumption.
FIG. 17 is a schematic structural view of a device for inter-frequency cell measurement according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. The device may include a receiving module 1501, a third measurement module 1502 and a fourth measurement module 1503. For the functions of the modules, reference may be made to device Embodiment 4. The difference from device Embodiment 4 lies in that, the device in this embodiment further includes a first timing module 1504 and a third timing module 1506.
The first timing module 1504 is configured to provide a first period, and trigger, when the first period ends, the fourth measurement module 1503 to start.
The third timing module 1506 is configured to provide the first period and a second period, and trigger, when the second period ends, the third measurement module 1502, the first timing module 1504, and the third timing module to start.
In practical applications the first timing module and the third timing module may be specifically timers, and the duration parameters set for the timers may be carried in the measurement command, and may also be preconfigured by the device.
The first timing module and the third timing module may start at the same time. The first timing module and the third timing module may start after receiving a trigger instruction of the first receiving module, and may also start after it is determined that the first receiving module has received the measurement command sent by the network side device, so as to provide the alternate first period and second period and form a continuous time.
The device may further include an identifier determination module, configured to determine whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, trigger the third measurement module, the first timing module, and the second timing module to start.
In this embodiment, alternatively, the third gap duration in the third measurement time parameters is greater than the fourth gap duration in the fourth measurement time parameters, and/or the third gap repetition cycle is smaller than the fourth gap repetition cycle, and/or the third minimum available measurement time is greater than the fourth minimum available measurement time. That is, the third measurement module may first perform, based on the third measurement time parameters that enable an inter-frequency cell that meets a measurement event to be determined more quickly, inter-frequency cell measurement, set the time length that the terminal performs, based on the third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, and trigger, when the first period ends, the fourth measurement module to perform, based on the preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement, or suspend measurement, so as to reduce the electrical consumption for measurement to a certain degree and lower the power consumption of the device.
A receiving module 1801 is configured to receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device.
A search module 1802 is configured to search for, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band.
A cell measurement module 1803 is configured to perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
A third determination module 1804 is configured to determine whether the measurement command carries a measurement identifier, and if yes, trigger the search module 1802 to start.
The device may further include a sending module, configured to send a capability identifier to the network side device, and the network side device may determine, after receiving the capability identifier, that terminal has the capability of measuring in parallel cells at different inter-frequency bands based on different measurement time parameters, and then send to the terminal the measurement command carrying the measurement identifier.
In this embodiment, after the receiving module receives a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band sent by a network side device, the search module first searches for target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, and triggers the cell measurement module to perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement. Inter-frequency cell measurement is performed according to different information about an inter-frequency band based on different measurement time parameters, so as to determine more quickly a cell that meets a measurement event, and at the same time save the power consumption and enhance the performance of the device.
A receiving module 1901 is configured to receive a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band and corresponding target measurement time parameters thereof sent by a network side device, where the measurement command is sent after the network side device finds the target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band.
A cell measurement module 1902 is configured to perform, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
A sending module 1903 is configured to send a capability identifier to the network side device, where the measurement command is specifically sent after the network side device receives the capability identifier and finds the target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band.
It should be noted that, in the foregoing embodiments, reference may be made between the functions of same or similar modules, and therefore the descriptions in some embodiments are relatively simple.
The device for inter-frequency cell measurement of the present invention may be specifically integrated to a terminal, and therefore the present invention further provides a terminal, which includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement.
A network side device 2001 is configured to send to a terminal a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band.
In practical applications, the network side device may be specifically equipment such as a small base station, a home base station, a relay station and a wireless local area network access point.
A terminal 2002 is configured to detect, after receiving the measurement command, whether a candidate cell is present within a certain range of a current position; if yes, perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and if no, perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The first measurement time parameters include a first gap duration, a first gap repetition cycle, and a first minimum available measurement time, the second measurement time parameters include a second gap duration, a second gap repetition cycle, and a second minimum available measurement time, and the first gap duration is longer than the second gap duration, and/or the first gap repetition cycle is shorter than the second gap repetition cycle, and/or the first minimum available measurement time is longer than the second minimum available measurement time.
The terminal is currently located in the serving cell 2003, and inter-frequency cells 2004 whose carrier frequencies are different from that of the serving cell 2003 are scattered in the serving cell 2003. When the network side device monitors that the network traffic volume of the serving cell of the terminal is high, or to enhance the effect of the inter-frequency cell in increasing the system capacity, in order to select a suitable inter-frequency cell to distribute the network service, the network side device commands the terminal to perform inter-frequency cell measurement and sends a measurement command to the terminal.
For the operations specifically performed by the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, so no further details are provided here. For the schematic structural views of the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to FIG. 20. The difference thereof from the foregoing embodiments only lies in that the specific functions implemented by the terminal and the network side device are different.
The terminal may specifically be a terminal that includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement of Embodiment 1 or Embodiment 2.
Through the system for inter-frequency cell measurement in this embodiment, the inter-frequency cell measurement may be implemented, and at the same time the power consumption for measurement of the terminal is further saved, thereby enhancing the performance of the terminal.
A network side device is configured to send to a terminal a measurement command carrying information about an inter-frequency band.
The terminal is configured to detect, after receiving the measurement command, whether the signal quality or strength of a serving cell is lower than a second preset value, where the second preset value is carried in the measurement command or prestored in the terminal; if yes, perform, based on preset first measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and if no, perform, based on preset second measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The terminal may be specifically a terminal that includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement in Embodiment 3. For the operations specifically performed by the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, so no further details are provided here. For the schematic structural views of the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to FIG. 20. The difference thereof from the foregoing embodiments only lies in that the specific functions implemented by the terminal and the network side device are different.
Through the system for inter-frequency cell measurement in this embodiment, inter-frequency cell measurement may be implemented, and at the same time the power consumption for measurement of the terminal is further saved, thereby enhancing the performance of the terminal.
The terminal is configured to perform, after receiving the measurement command, within a first period, based on preset third measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement; and perform, within a second period, based on preset fourth measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement or suspend inter-frequency cell measurement, where the first period and the second period alternately form a continuous time, and the third measurement time parameters are different from the fourth measurement time parameters.
The terminal may be specifically terminal that includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement in Embodiment 4, Embodiment 5 or Embodiment 6. For the operations specifically performed by the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, so no further details are provided here. For the schematic structural views of the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to FIG. 20. The difference thereof from the foregoing embodiments only lies in that the specific functions implemented by the terminal and the network side device are different.
The terminal is configured to search for, after receiving the measurement command, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to the information about the inter-frequency band; where the terminal performs, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The terminal may be specifically a terminal that includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement in Embodiment 7. For the operations specifically performed by the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to the foregoing embodiments, so no further details are provided here. For the schematic structural views of the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to FIG. 20. The difference thereof from the foregoing embodiments only lies in that the specific functions implemented by the terminal and the network side device are different.
A network side device is configured to search for, according to a presaved mapping between measurement time parameters and information about an inter-frequency band, target measurement time parameters corresponding to information about an inter-frequency band; and send to a terminal a measurement command carrying the information about the inter-frequency band and the corresponding target measurement time parameters thereof.
The terminal is configured to perform, after receiving the measurement command, based on the target measurement time parameters, inter-frequency cell measurement.
The terminal may be specifically a terminal that includes the device for inter-frequency cell measurement in Embodiment 8. The operations specifically performed by the terminal and the network side device may be referred to the foregoing embodiments, so no further details are provided here. For the schematic structural views of the terminal and the network side device, reference may be made to FIG. 20. The difference thereof from the foregoing embodiments only lies in that the specific functions implemented by the terminal and the network side device are different.
All embodiments describe the present invention by using the progressive method. Each embodiment describes only the difference from other embodiments. For the similar parts among all embodiments, reference may be made to the relevant parts. The apparatus disclosed in the embodiment is related to the method disclosed in the embodiments, and is therefore outlined. For the associated part, reference may be made to the description in the method embodiments.
It should be noted that the relational terms herein such as first and second are used only to differentiate an entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not require or imply any actual relationship or sequence between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise", and any variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive "inclusion". Therefore, in the context of a process, method, object, or device that includes a series of elements, the process, method, object, or device not only includes such elements, but also includes other elements not specified expressly, or may include inherent elements of the process, method, object, or device. If no more limitations are made, an element limited by "include a/an . . . " does not exclude other same elements existing in the process, the method, the article, or the device which includes the element.
Based on the description of the disclosed embodiments, persons of the ordinary skill in the art can implement or apply the present invention. Various modifications of the embodiments are apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art, and general principles defined in the specification can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments in the specification, but intends to cover the most extensive scope consistent with the principle and the novel features disclosed in the specification. | 2019-04-21T12:12:07Z | http://patents.com/us-10039024.html |
Life hasn’t slowed down for the holidays in 2010! Earlier this week I accepted a job with a new employer. I greatly enjoyed my time with Genworth Financial, and I’ll miss working with my team and the larger IT department there. It was a wonderful 6+ years with Genworth, and nearly a decade within the General Electric organization.
I expect that my new position will keep me very busy. For this reason, I have bowed out of teaching CCDE courses for CCBOOTCAMP. I want to thank Dawn & Dawn, as well as Brad, for their guidance and support in 2010. I grew quite a bit as both an engineer and communicator through my experiences with CCBOOTCAMP, and if my schedule ever allows it, I would be happy to teach again in the future.
So as not to leave CCDE candidates ‘high and dry’, I will continue to offer my CCDE Practical practice exams on a regular schedule. Details about the January offering can be found at http://www.jeremyfilliben.com/2010/12/january-ccde-practice-exams.html. The response has been very positive, and I am looking forward to working with the candidates in a few weeks.
Twitter – I’m on twitter @jfilliben. I use this primarily for networking industry purposes. I view twitter as a river of information, sort of like CNN Headline News or ESPN News. I don’t have time to watch it all day, but when I have a moment, I like to see what’s going on in the networking world. I’m fairly good at keeping track of DMs and replies, but I miss a lot of the daily chatter.
LinkedIn – I’m on LinkedIn under the username jfilliben. I have been a fan of LinkedIn for a long time. In my early career I moved from job to job fairly frequently, as did many others. LinkedIn became a way to keep in contact with my former co-workers and to keep an eye out for new opportunities. I am open to linking with anyone who has an interest or need to contact me. I do not see a significant downside to linking with people who I don’t know terribly well. I suppose this can serve as a warning to anyone in my LinkedIn network.. Just because I’m linked to someone doesn’t mean I would vouch for them.
Facebook – I only joined Facebook because my wife told me to. She handles the family social circle, so I don’t see a great need for me to be on it. It was fun reconnecting with a few former classmates, but I still don’t see the point to it all. I pretty much keep my work life and personal life separate, so I don’t normally “friend” professional associates on Facebook. Occasionally I’ll “like” something work-related, like the Facebook LISP group.
Blogs – I write a professional one, but you already knew that. Prior to creating this blog I used this URL in an unsuccessful campaign for a local political office, so occasionally you’ll see a reference to that in search engines. I also started a blog for my surname, but I abandoned it awhile ago and never got around to deleting it. It hosts a single picture of the family from 2008.
I also read a few dozen non-technical blogs, mostly in the areas of sports, finance, economics and politics. In fact, I get most of my daily news from blogs and websites. I haven’t subscribed to a paper newspaper (ever!) and I don’t care for local TV news.
As for how I read all this content… It’s about a 50/50 split between my Blackberry and my laptop. I own a Kindle, but I only use it to read traditional books. I’m sure I would love an iPad, but I already spend enough time looking at digital screens. I don’t want another temptation. The Blackberry is less-than-ideal for reading, and I will almost never ‘click-thru’ on it because of the poor web browser, but it meets my needs most of the time.
What Else? – I think that’s about it. I don’t understand the interest in location-based apps like Foursquare. Why would I care where other people are at the moment? I’m busy enough on my own; I don’t want to force myself into even more interactions when I’m at the supermarket, etc. I’ve seen it used to good effect during professional conferences like Cisco Live, but that’s about it.
I also don’t bother with the ‘next best’ versions of the above apps. So no Google Buzz or Plaxo for me, thanks. I have enough to read as it is, so I have not used Digg or its equivalents. I did not get very involved in web chatting apps either, although I have accounts on Yahoo Messenger, AIM and Google Chat (is that what they call it?).
Last month I presented my first CCDE practice exams to the public. The offering was a success, and two of the participants went on the take the November CCDE Practical Exam. Both indicated that the offering was a great help for their preparation.
Registration is now open for these practice exams in January 2011. The Enterprise exam will be delivered to participants on Wednesday, January 5th. The review session is scheduled for Saturday, January 8th @ 9am EST. The Service Provider exam will be delivered to participants on Wednesday, January 12th and the review will take place on Saturday, January 15th @ 9am EST. One item of feedback I received from the initial offering was that it would be nice to have more time between the practice exams and the real exam. This schedule gives candidates four weeks to digest the information and reach out to me for follow-up guidance before taking the exam on February 15th. I was also asked to move the review sessions to the weekend to accommodate busy work schedules. If you are interested in the offering, but the dates listed above do not work for you, let me know. We can work to find an alternate date/time to complete the review session.
Please email me with any questions you may have ([email protected]). As before, the first hour of the review session will include my presentation and an open discussion on the CCDE Practice Exam (format, testing experience, future developments). The CCDE program is constantly being updated, and I do my best to keep this information up to date. Former CCDE Practice Exam participants are invited to join this session to receive updated information.
I regret to announce that I will not be teaching the upcoming live CCDE Practical Bootcamp offered by CCBootcamp. After reviewing my work/life balance for 2010, and my already full professional calendar for 2011, I cannot find the time to participate in this program. I wish CCBootcamp the best of luck with their CCDE training. I am confident that they will find a wonderful instructor to take my place.
Here is the script. Again, any comments would be appreciated. If there is a more efficient way to accomplish portions of this program, I’d love to hear of them. And if you spot any errors, please let me know. As a disclaimer, there is no guarantee that the results of this script are accurate. I don’t use this for profit in any way, it was purely a thought exercise for me.
Run it with no options (or “——help”) to get a brief description of the options.
if v == 0: string += "2"
elif v == 1: string += "3"
elif v == 2: string += "4"
elif v == 3: string += "5"
elif v == 4: string += "6"
elif v == 5: string += "7"
elif v == 6: string += "8"
elif v == 7: string += "9"
elif v == 8: string += "T"
elif v == 9: string += "J"
elif v == 10: string += "Q"
elif v == 11: string += "K"
elif v == 12: string += "A"
elif v == -1: string += "X"
if v == 0: string += "c"
elif v == 1: string += "d"
elif v == 2: string += "h"
elif v == 3: string += "s"
# if equal, we could have Ace low straight, so compare first card.
+ "% Ties: " + str(round(((100*totals)/((totals+totals+totals)+0.0)), 2)) + "%"
A commenter on my previous post directed me to the module CiscoConfParse which would have likely made this a much easier exercise. Even so, this was a great exercise for me to go through, as it allowed me to learn a new programming language.
I’ll still post my solution to this problem, along with the supporting files. The first file below is the Python script. Running it with a –h option will show you the proper format for the parameters. The supporting file “verification.txt” is also listed below. It describes the format to use for the verification seed file.
If you happen to see anything wrong with this script, or room for improvement, please share your thoughts via comment or email. I am always looking to learn, and I know there is room for improvement in my Python programming!
"""getconfig loads a router config and returns an array with individual lines"""
"""gethostname retrieves the device hostname from configuration file"""
from the config and sends it to verify"""
and verifies that each is present"""
b = " " + a[2:] + " "
# Comments begin with "#"
# Commands that must not be in the switchport configuration should begin with " !"
My college years went a long way toward suppressing any interest I had in programming computers. The rote, repetitive routine of programming compilers, operating systems, database engines, etc, drove me directly into a career of infrastructure work. I have no professional regrets, but I do sort of miss the thrill of writing working code. There is a great sense of satisfaction derived from formulating an idea and seeing it through from a blank Notepad++ document to a working, debugged applicati0n.
A couple of months ago I was faced with a project that resurrected my interest in programming. My team and I have been working steadily toward standardizing our network deployments. Standardization is a key requirement to effectively managing a large network with a small number of engineers. Prior to this effort, such things as VLAN numbering and port-level configurations varied between our locations, even when two offices were roughly similar in size. One of the causes of this was the melding of several different IT organizations when my employer was created. We also acquired several smaller companies since our genesis in 2004.
The text after the semi-colon is free-form, and can be defined on a site-by-site basis to be whatever is relevant to the local support team.
PBX ports require a different set of configuration statements than USR ports. For one example, we need a “DSCP trust” statement on the PBX port, while we remark USR traffic with a specific QoS policy using the “service-policy input USR-POLICY” command.
Our standardization effort is now largely complete. Our latest challenge is making sure our configurations stay standardized. VLAN identifiers are easy, since it is quite painful to change them. Switchport configurations are a very different story. It is quite easy for a switchport to be configured incorrectly but still work in a suboptimal fashion. For example, if the wrong QoS marking policy is installed, basic testing will work (ping, etc), but under load there will likely be performance issues. Even if the proper template is used to activate a port, it can be difficult to prevent that port from being reused for another purpose.
My solution to this issue was to implement an audit process that would take a baseline configuration and compare it to our production switch configurations. I first reached out to our primary network tools provider, Solarwinds. Their current feature provides some of the features I need, such as verifying that specific lines exist in the configuration. But they cannot yet do context-sensitive configuration checking. Other vendors (such as Netcordia) could perform this task, but I had recently championed a network tools consolidation project, so it would be a bit hypocritical of me to request funding for a new tool. I decided to learn a scripting language to try and tackle this need. A friend suggested that Python or Perl would fit the need nicely, so I chose Python (for no particularly good reason) and began learning.
I was quite surprised as how easily I learned the language and was able to solve my problem. I spent a total of eight hours from the time I settled on Python until I had a working prototype. The small investment of time is primarily due to the ease of use of the Python language, and not my programming acumen.
The entire script is a few hundred lines, including comments, and it meets all of my needs. I wouldn’t say it is terribly user friendly, and I have a laundry list of additional features and ‘opportunities for improvement’, but I am happy with the result. If I can find the time (and there is interest), I’ll clean it up and publish it in separate blog post. It is generic enough that other organizations can probably use it without a lot of rewriting.
I am breaking from my normal technology writing to unveil a new CCDE Practical practice exam opportunity.
This CCDE practice exam offering is intended to replicate the style and difficulty of an individual scenario presented during the CCDE Practical Exam (352-011). Each scenario begins with a multi-page overview document, followed by up to 25 technical questions and additional documents. The questions are in the style of actual CCDE Practical exam questions, similar to those found in the CCDE Practical Demo on Cisco Learning Network. I am limiting this offering to a small number of candidates for this initial attempt.
This is not an actual graded exam. It did not come from Cisco, and was not used during a real CCDE exam. This exam was also not built using the Adobe Flash engine. It is delivered via PDF. The question styles and the technical difficulty of the questions closely follows the actual exam, but none of these questions will be found on an actual exam. In other words, no NDAs were violated during the construction of these exams.
Two days before the scheduled Webex session you will receive an email with two attachments. The first is an overview of the CCDE Practical Exam. It describes the exam environment, the structure of the exam and the types of questions you will receive during the exam. You will also receive guidance on how to complete the practice exam. For example, this exam is intended to be closed book.
The second attachment is the practice exam scenario, in PDF format. At the current time, there are four different practice exams available, each consisting of approximately twenty questions. Two of the exams are Enterprise-based, and two are focused on a Service Provider network. All CCDE candidates registering for a specific practice exam session will receive the same exam. The exam is intended to take 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
The last item you will receive is a login id/password for the three hour exam review session. The date and time of the session is clearly listed on the Eventbrite registration page. Due to my schedule, I will be unable to offer multiple review sessions for the same exam. Please be certain to clear your schedule for the duration of the review session. If an illness or unforeseen emergency prevents an individual from attending the review session we will make an effort to schedule a second session, but I cannot guarantee my availability. During the review session we will work our way through the exam and I will show you where to find the information to correctly answer each question. This review session is intended to be highly interactive. Candidate questions are encouraged and expected… I want you to challenge my answers and assumptions.
A single practice exam is priced at $695 (US Currency). A pair of practice exams is priced at $995. Due to limited timing before the next CCDE Practical offering (scheduled for Friday, November 12th), I will only be able to offer two practice exams at this time. To appeal to the widest audience, I have chosen one Enterprise exam and one Service Provider-based exam for this offering. The Enterprise exam will be distributed to registered candidates on Tuesday, November 2nd and reviewed on Thursday, November 4th from 9am to noon (Eastern US Time Zone). The Service Provider exam will be distributed to registered candidates on Friday, November 5th and reviewed on Tuesday, November 9th from 9am to noon (Eastern US Time Zone).
I have taught several week-long CCDE Practical courses for a well-known Cisco Learning Solutions Partner. They have been very rewarding experiences for me, and based on the feedback, for the students too. While I fully intend to continue teaching that course, I also want to offer a resource for candidates who cannot take a week-long break from their normal lives to prepare for this certification program. If you have recently taken the full week training offering, you are already familiar with the two exams included in this specific offering. They have been updated based on the students’ feedback and comments.
I am limiting these events to a small number of participants. It isn’t clear to me how many candidates I can include in a single WebEx session while maintaining the interactive nature of the event. I may increase the enrollment for future offerings, depending on how well this initial attempt goes.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please email me at [email protected], or post a comment to this post.
As I mentioned in the last post, I attended the Net Tech Field Day event hosted by Gestalt IT in September. My focus in attending was on Data Center switching technologies. Of particular interest to me was the methods by which each vendor is attempting to eliminate spanning-tree from the data center. While I have been keeping my eye on TRILL and 802.1aq, I am more interested in how vendors are solving this issue today.
All of the current solutions can be described as Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation (MLAG) methods. Cisco has three solutions available for this purpose. The 3750 and 2975 switches perform chassis aggregation via proprietary stacking cables. This stacking feature allows a network engineer to create a single switch out of multiple physical devices. All devices in a stack are managed via a single control plane. Cisco’s 6500 series switches have a similar feature, called Virtual Switching System or VSS, which uses standard 10gb interfaces to achieve the same result. At the current time, VSS is limited to aggregating two chassis, but Cisco’s goal is to extend this to more devices. On the Nexus 7k and 5k platforms, the virtual Port-Channel (vPC) feature allows two physical devices to be logically paired together to present a common switching platform to connected devices. The important difference between vPC and the Stacking/VSS methods is that the control planes of the vPC devices are separate.
Juniper and HP both described their visions of a single control plane for the data center. Juniper went into great detail about their stacking technology (called Virtual Chassis) for fixed-configuration switches, as well as their standard Ethernet-based method for interconnecting modular switches. HP was less technical in their presentation. By my best guess, they have a VSS-style Ethernet interconnection method.
Force10’s VirtualScale technology combines the control planes of two or more switches to offer MLAG. The connections between the switches are standard 1 or 10gb links.
Single-Attached Servers – If a server owner chooses to take this risk, I am not responsible for the impact of a switch or cable failure.
Port-Channel Diversity – I work to ensure that single-device to single-device port-channels are built using separate modules on chassis-based switches. I also attempt to diversify the cable paths. For example, I’ll run one cable of a port-channel up the left side of a rack, and the diverse cable up the right side. If the opportunity presents itself, I’ll utilize a mix of copper and fiber in a single port-channel for an extra level of comfort, although I’ll admit that this is excessive in typical Data Centers.
Power Diversity for Paired Switches – When two switches are configured as a pair (for example, when individual servers are connected to both switches), I ensure that they are powered by different PDUs, or are at least on different UPSs. if separate UPSs are unavailable, it is preferable not to have the second switch on a UPS at all. To look at it another way, I’d rather have a single switch up for 30 minutes, versus a pair of switches up for 15 minutes. While I haven’t implemented this idea in my data centers, I am intrigued by it as a method for reducing the load on our Data Center UPSs. (The same goes for servers performing duplicate functions, if sysadmins are still reading this).
Control-Plane Diversity – If a single reload command can take down my entire data center (even momentarily), I don’t quite have diversity. I’ve heard the “Operator error is the cause of most IT downtime” mantra often enough for it to have sunk in, at least a bit. If the reload command doesn’t concern you, think about how a simple configuration error would no longer be isolated to a single switch.
I’ll stop the list here, but there are probably many others I haven’t listed. Feel free to mention your favorites in the comments and I’ll add them here with appropriate credit.
Thank you all for your company and your contributions to the many technical and non-technical discussions. And a special thank you to Stephen Foskett and Claire Chaplais for organizing this event. It was an amazing feat of logistics and vendor management. I am in awe of how smoothly the event went. I often run into more trouble during my daily commute, and I work from home!
During the planning of this event, Stephen Foskett asked the attendees what they were most interested in hearing about. The plurality of the responses, including my own, mentioned Data Center technologies. The vendors did not disappoint, as no fewer than five of the seven participants focused on this area. We received briefings on data center switching technologies from Hewlett-Packard, Force10, Juniper and Arista Networks.
In short, they all have them. Arista sort of “ups the ante” in terms of advertised performance with their 7148SX switch. It is advertised as a low-latency device suitable for High Performance Computing (HPC) and High Frequency Trading (HFT) needs. Force10 also competes in this space with their S2410 device, which is promoted as a component of the New York Stock Exchange’s network. Our Arista contact made the point of saying that their switch is not eligible to be deployed at the NYSE because their company is not listed on that exchange. Abner Germanow (@abnerg) of Juniper mentioned that their devices were used in stock exchanges as well. Most of the supplied documentation mentions Juniper's M-Series routing platforms. At least one link (http://bloga.tw/a648bU) mentions the use of Juniper's EX-series LAN switches. I also noticed the Juniper routers included in the 60 Minutes feature on HFT. Cisco and HP do not appear to be competitive in the HPC/HFT arena, although I may have missed something in my research.
Another important item to note is that each of the presenting switch vendors at Net Tech Field Day has a 10gb, fixed configuration Layer-3 switch in their portfolio. Cisco (who did not present at the event) does not yet have this available. In a meeting with Jim Capobianco of Cisco last week, I learned that the upcoming Nexus 5548 & 5596 switches will eventually have this capability. It will require the installation of a Layer-3 Forwarding Engine, and will not be available until Q1 CY011. I am surprised they’re taking so long to deliver this, as it must be the cause of lost sales opportunities. The 4900M has something to offer in this space, but it is clearly not an integrated part of the new Nexus DC approach.
I was struck by the similarities of all the switching vendors. Perhaps it was the tight timing constraints of the Net Tech Field Day sessions (most were 2 – 4 hours, with hard stops at the end), but with the exception of Arista Network’s offering (which I’ll discuss below), all of the vendors had very similar stories. This has been noted by several of my fellow attendees (Most notably Ivan). I don’t mean to pile on the criticism, as I’m sure developing these products is very difficult in itself, but I would love to see a significant differentiator from each vendor.
I was clued into Arista Networks about a year ago, when I read that Jayshree Ullal (and later Doug Gourlay) jumped ship from Cisco to join the 10gb switching startup. An industry friend of mine also highlighted their offering to me a few months later. At some point, I got added to a sales list for the company, and for the last few months I’ve received occasional marketing materials via email (thanks Alicia!). For me, the buildup to Arista Network’s presentation was quite extensive. I did not want this influence my fellow attendees’ perceptions, so I kept my thoughts to myself during the event.
Doug Gourlay of Arista scored a lot of points with the audience when he quickly explained that Arista Networks builds Data Center switches, and nothing else. It is clear that Arista is not attempting to be all things to all people. Their switches’ TCAM has room for 16K routes, 16K MAC addresses and 16K ARP entries. They are not going to be able to hold the Internet routing table, nor is Arista attempting to sell products that could do that. Doug was quite blunt when he said that “Arista is selling to companies where IT makes money.” Such businesses include Wall Street firms, HPC opportunities (Bio-Tech and other sciences) and social media websites.
So what’s new? For one thing, the switch runs a nearly-standard version of Linux, Fedora Core 12, kernel 2.6.31 (thank you to Doug for the correction) . According to the company, only about 750 lines were changed in the kernel to support the movement of device interrupts from system space to user space. This facilitates the starting and restarting of device drivers, and protects those processes from affecting the stability of the overall system. End users can build FreeBSD-compatible programs and run them in user space within the OS. EOS, Arista’s switch operating system, normally only requires 10% of one CPU core. On their dual-core switches, this leaves 95% of the processor power to custom-written applications. We were assured that EOS receives priority, so it is unlikely that a user application would affect the stability of the switching function. This capability is a standard feature of the Arista platform, unlike the additional cost of Cisco’s NM-based machine.
A second compelling EOS feature is VM Tracer. This allows a network admin to determine what device is attached to a particular port. If it is an ESX/ESXi server, it can query the server using VMWare’s API to determine which VMs are running on it. If a VM is VMotion’d to another ESX host, the switch can detect this and move the port-profile to the new location. It would be interesting to see exactly how this feature stacks up against Cisco’s NX-OS capabilities.
There are plenty of options available for 10gb data center network builds. Cisco is likely the safe option, although I do not see that they have any compelling features that would preclude me from choosing another vendor. Long ago I learned that one of the best negotiation tactics is to find two (or more) solutions you would be happy to deploy, then let both vendors know it. This will often get you the lowest price for your project. For the last few years, this has been difficult to do, since Cisco has done a relatively good job of innovating in the data center space. My recent Net Field Tech Day experience has shown me that there are other options that meet or exceed Cisco’s performance specs, so maybe it is time to search for competitive bids.
The Arista Networks presentation also demonstrates that other vendors are not standing still. Arista appears to be in a unique position to be able to price their devices at a premium. As a market strategy, Cisco and the other switch vendors need to begin innovating to put themselves in a similar position. (Hint… FCOE is not the answer). For Cisco, UCS is a potential driver of network equipment sales, but what about the other vendors?
The Ascendency of Hewlett Packard?
On Thursday I sat through several hours of Hewlett Packard presentations as part of the Net Tech Field Day program. Is there finally a viable competitor to Cisco across multiple product lines?
Next-generation, large core/data center switching platforms with innovative Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) technology. 18- and 6-slot switches with up to 6.6 Tbps performance and up to 128 (1:1) or 512 (4:1) 10GbE ports, and 864 GbE ports. Non-blocking, zero service interruption design, and architecture support for 40 GbE and 100 GbE. Wire speed L2/IPv4/IPv6/MPLS.
Except for the mentioning of IRF and the slot count, it sounds like the Nexus 7K to me. (Reference http://h10144.www1.hp.com/products/switches/index.aspx#A12500).
Unfortunately HP didn’t provide any tangible information about how this switch looks and feels in a predominantly Cisco network. The Tech Field Day participants pleaded for some white papers and/or deployment guides, but none are available at this time. In a somewhat ominous sign, the A-Series presenter mentioned that a design guide had been written, but HP has not yet determined if it would be treated as proprietary information for HP’s services organization.
1) Cisco may have a viable competitor across their networking product line.
What also must be said is that HP is taking a huge risk here. My organization is building a greenfield data center soon. Historically we’ve gone with HP for the majority of our compute power (C-class blade chassis) and Cisco for most of the network components. If HP wants an opportunity to bid for the network side of this project, we’ll also need to open the compute side up to Cisco. All’s fair, right? The issue with this is that the network opportunity is approximately one-third the size of the compute opportunity. HP is effectively risking X for a shot at X * 1.33, while Cisco is risking Y for a shot at 4 * Y.
2) HP’s large services organization could significantly hinder their ability to gain traction in the marketplace.
There are basically two types of resellers in the network marketplace. There are those that compete on price and attempt to shave a few percentage points of margin off every sale, and there are those who make their margins based on consulting or management services that are sold along with networking equipment. My organization generally prefers the former, as we are comfortable with our ability deploy complex networking solutions. Price is usually our deciding factor for equipment purchases, although we have made exceptions for new technology, such as WAN acceleration and Cisco’s ACNS video platform. The problem with utilizing the cheapest provider is that the purchaser and networking equipment vendor has to take responsibility for the network architecture, product selection and installation.
For organizations that have less network know-how, purchasing from resellers that can deliver the installation and management services required is a more attractive option. They can provide network designs and product selection advice. If the reseller has agreements with multiple equipment vendors, they can help determine which vendors' equipment best fits the customer’s needs. As a network engineer, these are the resellers I want to see in the marketplace, because they offer interesting jobs.
So what does this have to do with HP? As mentioned above, HP isn’t sure whether their deployment guides will be released to the general public, or for that matter, even to their resellers. This is ridiculous. If HP wants the world to adopt their product line, they need to do everything possible to educate the engineers responsible for deployments. If HP’s plan is to have their own services organization take the bulk of HP network deployments, they’ll lose all the value-added resellers. Those are the resellers they need the most, since they are the ‘trusted advisors’ for businesses. Without their support, HP will be forced to identify and win every networking deal on their own.
My recent post concerning my Migration from Catalyst to Nexus received a number of interesting and helpful comments. One comment from routerworld caused me to do a bit of research into the “vpc peer-gateway” command. This blog post is a summation of that research.
Hot Standby Routing Protocol is a well-known feature of Cisco IOS. The goal of HSRP is to provide a resilient default-gateway to hosts on a LAN. This is accomplished by configuring two or more routers to share the same IP address and MAC address. Hosts on the LAN are configured with a single default-gateway (either statically or via DHCP).
Upon sending its first packet to another subnet, the host ARPs for the MAC address of the default gateway. It receives an ARP reply with the virtual MAC of the HSRP group. The IP packet is encapsulated in an Ethernet frame with a destination MAC address of the default gateway. If the primary router fails, HSRP keepalives are lost, and the standby HSRP router takes over the virtual IP address and MAC address. The host does not need to know that anything has changed.
In the diagram above, the user (10.1.1.100) is configured with a default-gateway of 10.1.1.1. When the user sends its first packet to 10.5.5.5, it ARPs for 10.1.1.1. In my example, Router A is the HSRP primary router, so it sends an ARP reply with the virtual MAC address of 0000.0c07.AC05. The User PC then encapsulates the IP packet (destination IP=10.5.5.5) in an Ethernet frame with a destination MAC address of 0000.0c07.AC05. Router A accepts the frame and routes the packet.
The above paragraphs tell the story of packets coming from the HSRP-enabled LAN. But what happens to reply packets coming from 10.5.5.5 to 10.1.1.100? The answer is simple, and intuitive if you follow step-by-step. First, the Server creates an IP packet with a destination of 10.1.1.100. It encapsulates it in an Ethernet frame and forwards it to its default gateway (for this example, let’s say it is Router A). Router A strips the Ethernet framing and determines the next hop is on the local subnet 10.1.1.0/24. It encapsulates the packet in an Ethernet frame with a MAC address of 0021.6a98.1952. The source MAC address is the physical MAC address of Router A (0024.F71E.3343). Router A does not use the virtual MAC address for packets it routes onto the local subnet.
Now that we’ve covered HSRP, let’s talk about Virtual Port Channeling (vPC). vPC allows two NX-OS devices to share a port-channel. Attached devices believe that they are connected to a single device via an etherchannel bundle. This is great because it eliminates spanning-tree blocking along parallel paths.
To allow this to work, the paired NX-OS devices use two vpc-specific communication channels. The first is a vpc peer-keepalive message. This heartbeat lets one switch detect when the other has gone off-line, to prevent traffic from being dropped during a failure. These are lightweight hello packets.
The second communication channel is the vpc peer-link. This is a high-speed connection between the two NX-OS switches that is used to stitch together the two sides of the port-channel. If a frame arrives on switch A, but is destined for a host on switch B, it is forwarded across the peer-link for delivery. All things being equal, it is undesirable to forward frames across a vpc peer-link. It is much better for the frame to be sent to the correct switch in the first place. Of course, there’s no way for the attached device to know which path is more appropriate.
In the above example, the User PC is sending an Ethernet frame to the Server. It creates a frame with a destination MAC address of 0033.9328.12A1 and sends it to the L2 Switch. The L2 switch has an entry in his forwarding table indicating that the destination MAC is accessible via the Port-Channel 100 interface. It uses its etherchannel load balancing hash algorithm to determine which physical interface to forward the frame onto. It is equally likely that it will choose the link to Nexus B, even though the more efficient path is to Nexus A (someday TRILL will help us, but for now there is no solution). If the frame is sent to Nexus B, it will forward the frame over the vPC peer-link to Nexus A.
Cisco’s current recommendation is to build the vPC peer-link with multiple dedicated 10GE connections for performance reasons. Cisco also recommends that all devices in a vPC-enabled VLAN be connected to both Nexus switches. In the diagram above, the Server is considered to be a vpc orphan port. This is undesirable, since it requires usage of the vpc peer-link. It also has implications with multicast traffic forwarding.
Now we’ve arrived at the point where we can pull all this information together. In the following diagram, the User PC has been moved to a new VLAN. The user is again trying to communicate with the server.
The User PC ARPs for his default gateway. Nexus A (the HSRP primary) replies with the virtual MAC address of 000.0C07.AC05. The user creates an Ethernet frame with a destination address of the virtual MAC. It then forwards the frame to the L2 Switch. The L2 Switch uses its etherchannel load balancing algorithm to determine the physical link to use. The difference is now that it doesn’t matter which link it uses. The NX-OS switch on the other end will accept and route the packet. In effect, both Nexus switches are HSRP active at the same time. This is eliminates the need to forward Ethernet frames across the vPC peer-link for packets that are destined for other subnets.
What Does “vpc peer-gateway” Do?
If we left everything alone, the story would be complete. Unfortunately, storage vendors thought it would be a good idea to optimize their handling of Ethernet frames. Some NetApp and EMC equipment ignores the ARP reply given by the HSRP primary and instead forwards Ethernet frames to whichever MAC address it receives frames from. This is nonstandard behavior.
Using the diagram above, let’s assume say that the User PC is now a EMC Celera storage device. The Server sends its packets (IP destination 10.1.1.100) to Nexus B, which routes them to the Ethernet LAN. All IP packets with source IP 10.5.5.5 will be encapsulated in Ethernet frames with a source MAC address of 0022.5579.F643. The EMC Celera will cache the source MAC address of these frames, and when it has IP packets to send to 10.5.5.5, it will encapsulate them in Ethernet frames with a destination MAC of 0022.5579.F643. It is choosing to ignore its default gateway for these outbound packets.
I suppose the theory behind this feature was to eliminate the extra hop within the LAN. When HSRP is enabled, it is necessary to disable ICMP redirects. This means that the routers will not inform hosts on the LAN that a better default-gateway is available for a particular destination IP address. This storage feature saves a LAN hop.
Unfortunately, this optimization does not work well with vPC. vPC relies on virtual MAC address sharing to reduce utilization across the vPC peer-link. If hosts insist on addressing their frames to a specific router, suboptimal packet forwarding can occur. According to Cisco, “Packets reaching a vPC device for the non-local router MAC address are sent across the peer-link and could be dropped by the built in vPC loop avoidance mechanism if the final destination is behind another vPC.” At the application level we saw very poor performance due to these dropped packets. Enough of the packets got through to allow access to the storage device, but file load times were measured in the tens of seconds, rather than milliseconds.
The “vpc peer-gateway” allows HSRP routers to accept frames destined for their vPC peers. This feature extends the virtual MAC address functionality to the paired router’s MAC address. By enabling this feature, NX-OS effectively disables the storage vendors’ optimization.
Packets arriving at the peer-gateway vPC device will have their TTL decremented, so packets carrying TTL = 1 may be dropped in transit due to TTL expire. This needs to be taken into account when the peer-gateway feature is enabled and particular network protocols sourcing packets with TTL = 1 operate on a vPC VLAN.
I have yet to face this issue, so my recommendation is to add this to your vpc configuration as a default. | 2019-04-24T04:37:49Z | https://www.jeremyfilliben.com/2010/ |
ABSTRACT - A rationale for a difference in the framing of monetary and nonmonetary sales promotions is presented. Price promotions are most likely to be framed as reduced losses. They will be integrated with the purchase price and affect reference price. Nonmonetary promotions are likely to be framed as gains segregated from the purchase price and will not affect reference price. Experimental results supported this hypothesis.
William D. Diamond and Leland Campbell (1989) ,"The Framing of Sales Promotions: Effects on Reference Price Change", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 16, eds. Thomas K. Srull, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 241-247.
A rationale for a difference in the framing of monetary and nonmonetary sales promotions is presented. Price promotions are most likely to be framed as reduced losses. They will be integrated with the purchase price and affect reference price. Nonmonetary promotions are likely to be framed as gains segregated from the purchase price and will not affect reference price. Experimental results supported this hypothesis.
Assimilation-contrast theory is more consistent with the experimental data than the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. Subjects either heavily weighted discounted prices or ignored them to form reference prices.
Reference price is one of the central constructs in psychological discussions of pricing. Generally, reference prices are the amounts consumers expect to pay or are willing to pay for a product or brand. Recent research has shown that sale prices often decrease the reference price of a product (Liefeld and Heslop, 1985). Moreover, reference price is related to perceived product quality (Monroe and Chapman, 1987). Several writers have hypothesized that sales promotions decrease the positive feelings toward the brand, known as brand equity and consumer brand franchise (Prentice, 1975; Sawyer and Dickson, 1984; Strang, 1976). One of the ways that promotions may decrease these positive feelings is the erosion of reference price.
We hypothesize that some types of promotions affect reference price more than others. By choosing the proper promotions, one might provide short term purchase incentives without destroying the positive feelings toward the brand over the long term.
This paper will first present three theories used to describe the effects of promotions on reference price. These theories make different predictions about how consumers integrate promotions with other pricing information. Secondly, we will review several recent papers presenting definitions of reference price, and recent work relating framing and reference price. The paper's third task is to present a classification of sales promotions derived from a theory of the framing of sales promotions. Once the classification is elaborated, it is straightforward to hypothesize which sales promotions will most affect reference price. Finally, the paper presents and discusses an experiment testing the hypothesized effects of different sales promotions on reference price.
The most widely used theory of reference price change is Helson's (1964) adaptation-level theory. In the pricing literature, a person's adaptation-level is referred to as his reference price (Klein and Oglethorpe, 1987). The theory posits that the consumer forms an adaptation-level by integrating all previous presentations of prices of the brand, prices of its competitors, and comparison stimuli such as suggested retail price. A specific price is evaluated by comparison with the reference price.
Helson presented formulas for predicting adaptation-level from the previously presented information. The constants in these formulas may vary depending on the specifics of the experimental situation. The theory is not invalidated if the equations predicting adaptation-level in two similar situations have different weights (Helson 1964, p. 187). However, it is reasonable to look for reasons why the weights are different.
Assimilation-contrast theory (Sherif and Hovland, 1961) is best known for its application to the domain of persuasive communication. This theory has also been applied to the integration of pricing information by Sherif (1963) and Monroe (Monroe and Venkatesan, 1969; .Monroe 1971, 1977; Monroe and Petroshius, 1981). Consumers are said to form a latitude of acceptance around a reference price. A low price within the consumer's latitude of acceptance should be assimilated, and thus integrated with Other pricing information to revise the reference price downward. The greatest change to reference price should be made when a very low price, at the edge of the latitude of acceptance, is assimilated. If a price is too low, it will be outside the latitude of acceptance, and should neither lower the reference price nor be acceptable to the consumer.
The anchoring and adjustment heuristic (Tversky and Kahneman, 1974) provides a third theoretical approach to the modification of reference price. The heuristic is applied by using a prominent piece of information or early data in a series to make a first estimate of a mathematical result, and adjusting this estimate in the direction of other information. This heuristic may lead to biased processing because the adjustment is often insufficient compared to the adjustment made if all of the data were given equal weight. Nonpromotional prices may be the anchor which is adjusted in the direction of promotional prices to form a reference price.
These three general theories, adaptation-level theory, assimilation-contrast theory and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic can be used to make different predictions about the modification of reference price by low promotional prices. Adaptation-level theory predicts that all equally salient prices will be weighted equally. If promotional prices are more salient than other prices, adaptation-level theory predicts that they will be given extra weight in the integration process. (Promotional prices probably will not be less salient than other prices.) Assimilation-contrast theory predicts that if low promotional prices are within a subject's latitude of acceptance, they will be given great weight in the modification of reference price. If they are not in the latitude of acceptance, they will receive zero weight. The anchoring and adjustment heuristic predicts that if consumers use promotional prices to adjust the anchor provided by unpromoted pricing information, the promotional prices should receive less than equal weight in the estimation of the new reference price.
Several recent papers on reference price focus on two issues. First, these papers advance specific definitions of reference price. The second issue is the relationship between the framing of purchasing information and the formation of reference prices.
Monroe and Petroshius (1981) work from adaptation-level theory to propose that reference price is what consumers are accustomed to paying. Other related definitions they suggest are "the range of prices last paid" or the current market price.
Jacoby and Olson (1977) examine how individuals psychologically encode O-prices (objective pricing information) into P-prices (psychological prices). They assert that adaptation-level or reference price is an important standard for the evaluation of whether a particular O-price is high or low. Jacoby and Olson note the disagreement among researchers about the meaning of adaptation-level for price. Some of the contrasting definitions they present are "fair price", "price most recently charged", "price last paid" and "price normally paid".
Klein and Oglethorpe (1987) propose that there are 3 types of reference prices: aspiration prices, market prices, and historical prices. The operationalizations of these alternative definitions probably produce highly similar results. Yet it is clear that this need not be the case. For instance, aspiration prices, such as "the most you are willing to pay", may be based on other information besides market and historical prices. Thaler (1985) presented the best known example of non-price information affecting the amount customers are willing to pay. If beer is to bc purchased at a luxury hotel (but consumed on the beach), potential customers are willing to pay more than they will pay for the same beer at a dilapidated convenience store.
We might condense all of the definitions of reference price into two broad categories: those definitions which depend only on previous pricing information (such as average price paid and price last paid), and those definitions which incorporate other information (such as fair price, and the most you would pay for a product).
The second central idea in several recent articles on reference price is the concept of framing. Framing constitutes part of prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1979). Recent prospect theory research (Kahneman and Tversky, 1984; Thaler, 1985; Puto, 1987) clearly shows that alternatives presented as gains (outcomes above a person's reference point) affect choice, judgment, and risk taking differently than the same alternatives presented as losses (outcomes below the reference point).
Thaler (1985) and Klein and Oglethorpe (1957) use prospect theory's value function to predict that promotions which are perceived as decreased losses will be less preferable than equivalent promotions perceived as separate (segregated) gains. Thaler presents automobile rebates as a case where a promotion presented as physically separate from the purchase price (in the form of a rebate check) is perceived as a separate (segregated) gain rather than a mere reduction of the loss of money due to purchasing the product. An equivalent saving resulting from a sale offer should be seen as a reduced loss rather than a gain. The discount should therefore be less desirable than he rebate.
Klein and Oglethorpe point out that different product attributes have different metrics and reference points, and that it is difficult to integrate the gains and losses when one evaluates multiattribute stimuli. For instance, it is difficult to know whether the gains provided by a package of automotive options compensate for a somewhat higher purchase price.
There are several ways of predicting whether a particular promotion will be framed as a gain or as a reduced loss. Thaler and Johnson (1986) hypothesized that gains would be either segregated from or integrated with losses depending on which form. would produce the most happiness. Because a promotion is generally a small gain presented in the context of a larger loss (the purchase price), the most happiness would be produced by segregating the gain from the purchase price. This approach predicts that all sales promotions will be seen as gains rather than as reduced losses. Unfortunately, this principle does not distinguish different sales promotions.
A second approach to predicting framing utilizes a "cost,/benefit principle" (Beach and Mitchell, 1978; Payne, 1982). Beach and Mitchell posit that decision makers are motivated to choose the strategy which requires the least investment to achieve a satisfactory solution. The "cost/benefit" approach to predicting framing stems from the different amount of effort necessary to integrate gains with losses in different situations.
Payne presents evidence that decision manners tend to use simpler decision strategies for more complex tasks. It is clear that tasks are more complex when different pieces of information about an alternative are in different units which may not be commensurable (Abelson and Levi, 1985). Klein and Oglethorpe (1987) suggest that it should be more difficult to integrate multiple attributes of purchases if these attributes are in different metrics.
Adapting this to the domain of sales promotions, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that when promotions are in the same units as the reference price, they will be more easily integrated with the reference price. The promotion is likely to bc seen as a reduced price, and framed as a reduced loss. Conversely, when promotions are in other units than money, they will be more difficult to integrate with the reference price. In an everyday shopping situation, the consumer should not expend the effort to integrate these noncommensurable attributes. Thus the promotion should be more often considered as a separate gain and not influence reference price.
It is therefore clear that a dichotomy used by Sawyer and Dickson (1984) has theoretical grounds for influencing framing. Price-off promotions (including rebates) are in the same units as the reference price. These promotions are more likely to be framed as reduced losses. "Value added" (nonmonetary) promotions, which include extra amounts of the purchased product as well as premiums, are in different units than price. These promotions should be framed as gains. Diamond (1988) presents evidence that promotions incorporating extra amounts of product or a premium product are more likely to be framed as gains than price promotions.
If promotions incorporating premiums or extra amounts of product are most likely to be framed as gains, these promotions are less likely [o be considered in conjunction with other pricing information. Therefore, regardless of the definition of reference price, monetary promotions are hypothesized to affect the reference price of the product more than "value added" (nonmonetary) promotions.
The subjects were 103 students in marketing classes at a college in the northeast. The product chosen for the study was laundry detergent. This product is heavily promoted and prices vary substantially. Most students do buy this product.
Subjects were given a pricing information packet containing 20 "weeks" of pricing information about one brand of laundry detergent. Each "week" was presented on a separate page of the experimental forms, and subjects were instructed not to return to earlier pages once they had turned to later pages of the form. In this way, reference prices would have to be made by integrating each piece of new information with information stored in memory. Each "week" of pricing information was presented as a drawing of the product with the pricing information as well as any promotional information clearly marked on the label.
The objective prices (O-prices), in the unpromoted control condition, were generated to be normally distributed. The mean price was $3.46. The range of these prices was from $3.30 to $3.62.
The study was designed as a one by four between subjects experimental design. The manipulated factor was the type of promotion presented every third "week" to the subject. The four experimental conditions were: discount, extra amounts of product, premium product, and control. Pictures of the stimuli in the third week are presented in Figure 1.
Every third "week", in the discount condition, the picture of the stimulus product had a large notice on the label which stated "$l.00 off Retail Price". In this condition, the price marked on the label was S1.00 less than that of the control condition.
The corresponding pictures in the extra product condition had a large notice which read "28% more free, $1.00 value". The bottle of detergent was drawn larger than usual, and read "82 fl. oz" instead of the regular 64 ounces. The price of the product was the same as that of the control condition.
Every third "week", the picture of the product in the premium condition had a large notice which read "Free Fabric Softener, Value $1.00". Attached to the bottle was a box labelled "Fabric Softener Sheets". The price of the product was the same as that of the control condition.
"If you were to purchase a bottle of Brand A next week, how much would you expect to pay?"
"What is the average price of Brand A over the twenty weeks?"
"What is the most frequent price charged for Brand A"
"What is the most you would pay for Brand .4"
"What is a 'fair' price for a 64 ounce bottle of liquid detergent"?
Subjects also rated the relative expensiveness and perceived quality of Brand A on 7 point scales.
The mean values of each of the measures of reference prices, by experimental condition, are presented in Table 1. Three planned orthogonal contrasts were used to evaluate differences in the means. The major hypothesis of the study was that reference prices would be lowered by discounts, but not by "value added" (nonmonetary) forms of promotions. The first two contrasts were used to test this hypothesis. First, each mean reference price in the discount condition was contrasted with the average of the reference prices in the other three conditions. Secondly, the means of the two "value added" promotions were compared with the mean of the control condition. A third contrast tested differences in the means of reference prices in the two "value added" conditions. To provide the most support for the hypothesis, the first contrast would have to show significant differences, and the others would have to show no effects.
The multivariate effect for the first contrast was significant (F(5,94)=24.6, p<.001). All of the univariate tests of this contrast also showed significant differences except for the "fair price" measure of reference price. Here, after the bonferroni adjustment of significance levels, the difference between the discount condition and the other conditions approached statistical significance (F(1,95) = 4.87, adjusted p<.10). These results indicate that discounts yield a lower reference price than other forms of promotion.
Looking at Table 1, one can see that the means on the reference price measures are nearly identical for the two value added promotions and for the control group. Neither the second contrast nor the third contrast yielded significant differences on multivariate or univariate contrasts.
The means of the two additional dependent measures are also presented in Table 1. The differences in these means were tested with the same contrasts discussed above. These differences are not significant, either on the preplanned contrasts nor using a regular one way ANOVA.
where the Xi's are the individual prices shown to the subjects and AL is the adaptation-level (the reported reference price). Taking a specific definition of reference price, we can solve for y for each subject.
If we do this, we find that for each measurement of reference price, the constant y is different in the discount condition than it is in the other conditions. For instance, using "What is the most you would pay for Brand A", as a measure of reference price, we find that the first contrast (discount vs all other conditions) is statistically significant (t(999=2.54. bonferroni adjusted p<.05). The other contrasts show no significant effects.
What is the meaning of different constants in the adaptation-level equation? To answer this, it helps to know that if the equation in the discount condition had the same constants as in the other conditions, the adaptation-level (reference price) would have been substantially lower than it actually was. For the "most you would pay' question, the observed reference price in the discount condition was $3.32. If the constant "y' in the adaptation-level equation had been the same as in the other conditions, we would expect the value to be $3.19.
Why is the average reference price in the discount condition higher than expected? This suggests that discounts are treated differently from other prices in the formation of adaptation levels or reference prices. Perhaps some subjects assimilate the discount offers to form very low reference prices while other subjects ignore the discounts to form reference prices. Or subjects may use the promotional prices to adjust the reference price downward. The 53.32 reference price does seem to be a case of insufficient downward adjustment of an anchor.
This question may be answered to some degree by looking at the distribution of the "most you would pay" reference prices in the discount and other conditions. This is presented in Figure 2.
Figure 2 presents information which is more compatible with an assimilation-contrast explanation than an anchoring and adjustment explanation of the lowering of reference price . Except for a few subjects who indicate they will not buy the product unless it is substantially discounted, the reference prices of discount subjects are distributed similarly to subjects in the other conditions. This indicates that most subjects either assimilable the discount, and use it almost exclusively to form the reference price, or disregard the discount almost totally.
This paper has presented three theories of the modification of reference price: adaptation-level theory, assimilation-contrast theory and the anchoring and adjustment heuristic. We have also presented a theory which differentiates sales promotions: '-value added (nonmonetary) promotions are more likely to be framed as gains, whereas promotions presented in monetary units are more likely to be framed as reduced losses. This theory was used to generate the hypothesis that only price promotions would affect reference price, regardless of how reference price is measured.
The data generated in a simulation support this hypothesis. This result is not startling for the definitions of reference price which depend only on previously presented pricing information. However. price promotions still had a unique effect when reference price was defined as the most you would pay for the brand or the fair price of the product category. For these definitions, the effect is interesting and not obvious.
An assimilation-contrast explanation seems more appropriate than an anchoring and adjustment explanation of the effect of discounts on reference price. Subjects apparently weigh the discounted prices very heavily, or ignore them in forming their reference prices.
The simulation presented here should be considered as pilot work. This was not a true purchasing situation, and the prices of competing brands were not included in the information presented o subjects. Yet the patterns which emerge from the data suggest that it will be worthwhile to maintain the distinction between price promotions and "value added" promotions. Moreover, the results suggest that we should continue to research the differential effects of promotions on reference price and related constructs.
Abelson, Robert P. and Ariel Levi (1985), "Decision Making and Decision Theory," Handbook of Social Psychology, 3rd edition, Gardner Lindzey and Eliot Aronson, eds., New York: Random House, 231310.
Diamond, William D. (1988), The Framing of Different Sales Promotions", unpublished working paper.
Helson, Harry (1964) Adaptation-Level Theory, New York: Harper Row.
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Kahneman, Daniel and Amos Tversky (1984), "Choices, Values and Frames", American Psychologist, 39 (April), 341-350.
Klein, Noreen M. and Janet E. Oglethorpe (1987), 'Cognitive Reference Points in Consumer Decision Making," Advances in Consumer Research, Vol 14, Melanie Wallendorf and Paul Anderson, eds., Provo Utah: Association for Consumer Research, 183187.
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Tversky, Amos and Daniel Kahneman (1974), "Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases," Science, 185 (27 Sept), 1124-1131. | 2019-04-22T20:45:49Z | http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/6862/volumes/v16/NA-16 |
MR. MCCURRY: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our White House for today's daily briefing. I start today with two travel-related announcements. The first: No coincidence that this is April Fool's Day. The President of the United States, on April 1, will journey to Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, to deliver -- what shall we call it, a fast pitch?
Q How about another pitch?
MR. MCCURRY: He'll hum one in there and throw out the first pitch as the nation begins its national pastime. I don't even know -- who are the Orioles playing? Anybody know?
Q Kansas City, I think.
MR. MCCURRY: Kansas City? I think that's right.
So he'll do that on Monday. And then on Friday, April 5th, certainly a more somber occasion, the President will go to Oklahoma City for the day. He will be out of the country on the first anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing and did want to have an opportunity to visit with that community as it continues the spiritual healing that is taking place there as it rebuilds from the aftermath of the terrible bombing. The community itself has made enormous progress in reconciling itself in the aftermath of that terrible tragedy, and the President would like to go share a moment with the victims, the families and the community itself.
Q Do you think, Mike, the sort of crisis atmosphere with China and Taiwan is now over in the aftermath of the election?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't know that there was a crisis atmosphere to begin with. There were some tensions related to the Taiwan Straits, related to military exercises underway, that there will remain differences between the United States and the People's Republic as we work through a very difficult, important agenda in what is, arguably, one of the most important relations we have in the world.
We still have significant differences with the People's Republic, and we know that. The important thing is how effectively can we manage them and manage them peacefully so that the large importance of this relationship is not lost. And we'll continue that type of dialogue ourselves with the People's Republic. I believe the State Department will announce today that, very graciously, Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister Qian Qichen has agreed to a one- or two-day adjustment in his scheduled meeting with Secretary Christopher in the Hague, accommodating the Secretary's need to be in Moscow with the President when he has a bilateral summit with President Yeltsin.
But that, I think, reflects the fact that we want to work at this relationship. It's desperately important that we work at it and we try to get it right, despite the differences that do exist.
Q What about the trade differences, the commercial issues? Isn't there something on the agenda now -- Ex-Im Bank?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, we have a series of trade and economic issues in which there are some differences. There is a specific question involving the Ex-Im Bank and consideration of new applications there that are affected by our review, under our own arms export law and non-proliferation law, as to the nature of a transaction that we're trying to learn more about in direct dialogue with the Chinese.
We also have, of course, human rights concerns. We have a host of new concerns that are normally on the agenda of any two great countries, as they deliberate matters of importance to each of them. And we will have to just continue to work through these issues and maintain a very disciplined approach to how we nurture a relationship that in its broad sense and in the long-term will be enormously important to the people of the United States and, indeed, to the people of the People's Republic.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, this is a regime with which we have differences because its form of government is not that of a democratic capitalist state. But that's why we work through the differences that do exist, recognizing the importance of the transformation the Chinese economy is making, as it reaches for market economics in the structure of its own political economy. That is a very important transformation that is taking place, and it is encouraging to us that they continue on that path of economic reform. We hope that the other issues in which there are differences, that relate more to the nature of their political system, can also be addressed and addressed effectively.
Q Mike, China has said that it will disband the legislative body in Hong Kong after it takes over Hong Kong in 1997 and replace it with an appointed body.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, we're concerned by the Chinese government's decision to disband the elected legislature in Hong Kong and establish an appointed body. We believe that stable governing structures are going to be critical to Hong Kong's long-term future and the transition that Hong Kong will make, and we hope that the Chinese government will seek ways to demonstrate its commitment to Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy as we approach the date of July 1st, 1997, which is critical to the nature of the transition that will take place in Hong Kong.
Q Are you going to raise this issue with China?
MR. MCCURRY: Hong Kong has been on our bilateral relationship in the past. We confer very often with the government of the United Kingdom of that subject, and we do continue our contact with the parties as we watch that transformation.
Q Where precisely does the Ex-Im Bank matter stand right now? Also, there was a report over the weekend that China has sort of rebuffed our efforts to get them to make some more pledges -- or no more transfers to Pakistan. Is that true?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, I'll take the second question first, because it relates to the answer to the first half of the question. Deputy Assistant Secretary Robert Einhorn's delegation has returned from its consultations in the People's Republic related to proliferation concern that we have. That delegation will report back to senior policy makers in our government in the course of the coming week, and we will continue to assess the nature of the transaction that has been of concern to us.
As you recall, the Secretary of State had made a request of the Ex-Im Bank that they independently judge the merits of accepting new applications related to China during the period of our review. Our understanding is that the Ex-Im Bank does not have any plans in the immediate future to consider new applications which, of course, we consider appropriate as we continue our review.
Q What is the President doing today, Mike?
MR. MCCURRY: The President has met with, I believe. 40 of the nation's attorneys general to discuss a range of issues, specifically the efforts by state governments to implement the so-called Synar regulations date back to a measure that was offered and adopted by Congress in 1992 by the late Congressman Michael Synar. Individual states -- this is, in a sense, a federal incentive for states to enforce their own state laws that prohibit or restrict the sale of tobacco products to minors, a subject that's very much been on the President's mind.
They discussed that, the antiterrorism bill, a range of other issues that are on the minds of the attorneys general, many of whom I believe you talked to after the meeting.
Q Does the President have a position on the states suing to recover -- suing tobacco companies to recover Medicaid costs since it does involve federal money?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, the state -- the United States is now a party in those suits, to my knowledge. The President understands, as a former state official himself, the desire of many states to recoup some of the costs that they bear for the payment of funds that are related to illnesses and diseases that are -- may or may not be tobacco-related, as established by litigation.
Q Do you support such lawsuits?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't believe the federal government is a party in those state suits, so I don't think we should comment beyond that.
Mary, welcome to the White House.
Q Thank you. What about the ban on assault weapons? Does the President believe -- well, everybody knows it's not going anywhere, but does he think it should just be allowed to die, or would he like to see it taken to the Senate floor and Mr. Dole required to vote yes or no on it?
MR. MCCURRY: Well, the President, as you know, at the beginning of his meeting with the attorneys general today expressed himself on that subject and how dreadful it would be at this point to take a measure that has reduced crime and reduced the commission of crimes involving the weapons that are made illegal, particularly when they're used against law enforcement officers. And he addressed the need to keep that ban in place.
Now, the Senate schedule will be up to Senator Dole and others to decide, but we'd make a helpful suggestion: Why don't they affirm the importance of the existing ban rather than consider a repeal measure which is very much unwarranted. Perhaps a majority of the Senate would like to go record saying that this ban has been useful; it has curbed the commission of crimes with these types of deadly weapons; and in the interest of America's people and especially our law enforcement officers, it ought properly to remain in place.
Q Well, of course, the Majority Leader does decide the calendar and everything, but on this bill it's possible for any member to bring it up as an amendment to any bill. And I wondered if the President would encourage some of his fellow Democrats to do that.
MR. MCCURRY: Well, we try not to enter into their -- the deliberative process of the world's greatest deliberative body unnecessarily, but it might, as I suggest, be useful for them to affirm the value of the existing assault weapons ban. I think that is a course that we would prefer to consideration of a repeal measure, which is, as you suggested, not likely to go anywhere and in any event is not a good idea.
Q But, Mike, wouldn't that take up a lot of precious time?
Q And the President this morning is suggesting that the Senate should devote its energies to more productive issues.
MR. MCCURRY: We are concerned with that. But if properly structured, a limited debate affirming the importance of the assault weapons ban might not be a bad idea. But you're right. The President believes first and foremost there are a number of issues that have to be resolved this week that need attention: the debt ceiling, the issue of the continuing resolution, how we're going to pay for that part of government that hasn't been funded yet, and there are other items on the congressional calendar. But given that this has been voted upon in the House now, perhaps it would be useful if the Senate just said, look, we're 180 degrees in the other direction; we think this ban is useful and it should stay in place -- and get it over and done with quickly.
MR. MCCURRY: I didn't address the political merits whatsoever.
Q Mike, speaking of those issues, can you your report any program on the 1996 budget talks?
MR. MCCURRY: There have been some discussions late Friday between Mr. Panetta and others on the Hill. Those will continue this week. We hope that they will continue to address some of the priorities the President has put forward on these funding measures. There's a lot of work left to do, and we hope during the course of this week, as they wrestle these measures down, they can make some add-backs in that recognize some of what the President has been talking about in terms of the importance of investments in technologies in education and environment protection. There are still way too many measures attached to some of the proposed drafts of these bills that just don't cut it with the President, and we hope they will consider dropping those measures -- specifically ones related to some environment issues.
Q Is it still the White House's position that there shouldn't be any more continuing resolutions passed if the one that runs out -- it looks like -- some people are suggesting it's going to go on until next week, even the normal course of negotiations.
MR. MCCURRY: I mean, it's our view that this maintenance of government by weekly continuing resolutions is a lousy way to do business. And since the funding level is at 75 percent, what you are in effect doing for these parts of the government that have these continuings is engaging in a de facto slow-motion shutdown. And the President feels that's not a good way to do business. We need to have regular appropriations bills where we can get them for these departments and Cabinet agencies that are affected, and get on with business. And we would much prefer to see resolution of these issues so we can put in place something that structures the financing of the remainder of the federal government for the balance of this fiscal year.
Q Mike, The New York Times had a major story on Guatemala this weekend. When is the Intelligence Oversight Committee issuing a final report?
MR. MCCURRY: They have -- as you know, the Intelligence Oversight Board has made two interim reports to the President. They expect to complete their review in the first half of this year. I don't think it's possible to predict now how soon that will be, but they are very much in their final stages. The work of the board is substantially completed at this point; there are only a few discreet matters that remain outstanding. There are some efforts underway to get some remaining facts on particular cases and we do expect the Intelligence Oversight Board to meet that target of completing its report by the first half of this year.
Q Mike, Imus this morning called his critics "morons," "gutless," and "weasels." Do you have a response to that?
MR. MCCURRY: We would prefer that that otherwise memorable performance become as forgettable as quickly as possible.
Q I think that Senator Dole's visit to San Quentin was aimed at the President in some way. How did you interpret it? What message did you get out of it?
MR. MCCURRY: I don't try to discern the wisdom or the merits behind his travel schedule. I do sense that the Republican majority in Congress is conscious of the fact that this President has established an exemplary record when it comes to protecting America's law enforcement officials who overwhelmingly support the ban on assault weapons. And I think they know, and perhaps Senator Dole himself knows, how much heat they are taking at this moment because of their effort to repeal that ban. So perhaps they're looking for ways to try to demonstrate some concern about crime. They are running right up against the President who's demonstrated his concern in the measures that he has fought for. And, perhaps, that suggests itself a motive behind some of their scheduling.
Q I have a question about the White House art collection, if I might. Legal Times reported today that the White House has quietly added a new painting to its collection, and it's not just any art work, it's the first art work by an African American artist to ever have been entered into the White House's permanent collection. So it's taken 200 years to break the color line. The President, the First Lady deserve credit. The artist's name, Henry Ossawa Tanner, is essentially the Jackie Robinson of the White House. The question is why have you been so silent about it? Is it a secret? How much did it cost? And why didn't you announce it during Black History Month in February?
MR. MCCURRY: The answer is because I didn't know a thing about it. If I had known about it, I probably would have been happy to announce it here because it does sound like it is an important recognition of the achievements that African American artists have made in our culture.
Did you have one last one?
Q Yes. Senator Muskie is in critical condition.
MR. MCCURRY: He's very concerned about that. Secretary Christopher, I think, may have told him about it earlier today. The President was very concerned to hear about former Senator Muskie's condition, and our thoughts and prayers will be with him and with his family.
Q Do you have a date for the corporate responsibility conference?
MR. MCCURRY: We don't have a date at this point, but as you can imagine, we will address that with great fanfare and hooplah as we get closer to the date, perhaps even providing a little glimpse at what this conference might do. But it is scheduled tentatively for some time in the coming months.
Q Is it going to be in Washington?
MR. MCCURRY: I haven't -- did you all get that question over the weekend? It hasn't been decided, but my understanding was they were thinking of doing it here in Washington.
Q So it could be here? Or it could be somewhere else?
MR. MCCURRY: Enjoy the rest of this beautiful spring afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, because I don't see any more news around this place.
Q Is the President going to golfing?
MR. MCCURRY: I wouldn't be surprised, it's so nice out. | 2019-04-24T01:58:58Z | https://clintonwhitehouse6.archives.gov/1996/03/1996-03-25-press-briefing-by-mike-mccurry.html |
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At the risk of being run out of town by an angry, pizza-peel-wielding mob, we have to concede that the No. 1 pizza in New York is no longer Italian-American, but straight out of Naples. So much for 100 years of local tradition. Not only that, the top pie is made by a former cheese salesman from Italy named Roberto Caporuscio, who in his spare time serves as the American-chapter president of the Associazone Pizzaiouli Napoletana (an organization dedicated to teaching any pizza maker with ten days’ time and $4,000 to spare the error of his ways). Also, Caporuscio is on record as saying that “it’s not that New York pizza is bad, it’s just that it isn’t Neapolitan.” And did we mention that the name of his four-month-old pizzeria is Kesté? Translation from the native dialect: “This is it.” If all that sounds like a bit much, it’s not without merit. Tucking into Kesté’s “Regina Margherita” can seem like eating pizza for the first time. A few bites in, and you’re struck by the sensation that life, such as it is, may have nothing more to offer. Chalk it up to a superb Neapolitan crust—soft and tender, charred and chewy—with a mountainous cornicione (crust edge) full of the moist and wildly articulated pockets of air that aficionados associate with long fermentation and advanced dough-stretching techniques. (Despite the fact that he looks like he could bench-press a brick oven, Caporuscio is to the delicate art of stretching dough as Tiger Woods is to sinking putts. He has the touch.) More than that, credit this pizza’s remarkable balance of flavor. Never in this town have oozy blobs of melted buffalo mozzarella and brightly flavored San Marzano tomatoes frolicked in such ecstatic harmony.
No one is as passionate about pizza as Anthony Mangieri. No one in New York, and no one in Naples. He has his code, and he sticks to it—like glue. He won’t put anything on a pizza he doesn’t believe belongs on a pizza, and what he believes belongs on a pizza you can practically count on one hand. His ingredients are unsurpassed, and so are his prices ($21 a pie). His dough-making procedure takes 36 hours to complete, and since refrigeration would compromise his and its integrity, he makes only a limited amount each day. When he runs out, that’s it, shop closed. Naturally, this annoys people who have a more relaxed attitude about pizza. Mangieri ignores those people. He figures they’d be better off at Chuck E. Cheese. His is the only opinion that matters, and the proof, he knows, is in the pie. And what a pie it is—tender and juicy, the crust deeply flavored by its marathon fermentation. The cornicione has the right amount of soft chew, the outer surface a fleeting, paper-thin crackle. The cheese, tomato, and basil acquit themselves nicely, and the wood-fired char is so delicate it melts in your mouth the way Japanese bonito flakes do.
Franny’s might be New York’s most polarizing pizzeria. Either you’re for its Pollan-endorsed ecosustainable ingredient-fetishizing party line, or you’re eye-rollingly against it. Of course, for nonpartisan palates, pizza speaks louder than politics. A true hybrid, the Franny’s pie takes its inspiration from two sources: Campania, where self-trained pizzaiolo Andrew Feinberg procures not only his D.O.C. buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes, but the conviction to serve his pies unsliced; and California, wellspring of the local-and-seasonal spirit that imbues the menu. Interestingly, Feinberg had never stepped foot in Naples before opening Franny’s, which may be why he seems unbound by convention, happily swapping King Arthur flour from Vermont for the Neapolitan standard Caputo “00” and aspiring to a lighter, thinner crust than the Neapolitan norm, singed and bubbly with a notable chew. There are some who’d say the defining characteristic of a Franny’s pie is the quality of its impeccably sourced toppings, like the flowering broccoli that made a springtime cameo, or the miraculously unrubbery littlenecks that grace the white clam pie, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong—eye-rolling notwithstanding.
Ever since Sullivan Street Bakery bread master Jim Lahey flung open its doors last January, there have been nasty comments about the name (pretentious), the room (stark), the service (snotty), even the salads (underdressed and wimpy). Of course, no one is going to Co. for the room or the service, or the leafy greens. They’re going for the round, rustic-looking pizzas that the voluble Lahey has gone to great lengths to dissociate from the Neapolitan ideal. How, precisely? By speaking out against the tyranny of the Italian tomato, a non-native New World export, and the “mozzarella cliché”; and, most brazenly, by using a gas-fired Earthstone oven (instead of a wood-burning one crafted painstakingly by ruddy Neapolitan peasants). But Lahey’s dough—the product of his signature “no-knead” technique—is delightfully different: salty, full of tiny nooks and crannies, with a nice airy chew and an almost uniform thickness from tip to rim. It’s supple and a bit bready, in a good way, and sturdy enough for inspired combos like the Ham and Cheese (a caraway-seeded mélange of Pecorino, Gruyère, and buffalo mozzarella draped with prosciutto), or our current favorite, the Stracciatella, a hot and cold, sweet and salty, raw and cooked union of chunky tomato, creamy cheese, and peppery Greenmarket arugula.
Most folks hereabouts swear the best pizza in the world hails from the 212 and 718 area codes. For Roberto Paciullo, it’s all about the 089—the area code of his Campanian hometown, Salerno. That city provided not only the name of his skylit Arthur Avenue trattoria, but the inspiration for its theatrical trompe l’oeil décor, its substantial menu, and, most important, the succession of young, moody pizzaioli taking turns at the gorgeous tile-fronted oven. Currently, Giuseppe Paciullo is manning the station, like Riccardo before him, with equal measures of apparent boredom and technical acumen. These guys have an innate feel for the dough and a knack with the peel, culminating in a textbook Neapolitan crust—soft and springy with an appealing char, topped with quality ingredients procured in neighborhood shops like the venerable Casa della Mozzarella around the corner. Speaking of cheese, the mozzarella on the Margherita is nice and fresh, a great foil for the bright, acidic sauce, while the La Riccardo pie winningly pairs smoked mozzarella with a squash cream, its potential sweetness countered by chile flakes and nubbins of pancetta.
Luzzo’s serves what its menu calls pizza Napoletana, but it’s not what you might think. In fact, style-wise, it’s pretty much in its own category. That’s because owner-pizzaiolo Michele Iuliano, while Naples born and bred, is unafraid to flout the rules. Sure, he flies in the buff mozz from Caserta like a good Italian pizzaiolo. And yes, he’s down with the San Marzano tomatoes. But he brazenly cooks in the coal-and-wood-fired oven (instead of the regulation wood-only) he inherited from Zito’s East, and he even disses the fetishized Neapolitan brand of flour called Caputo. “Caputo? I’m sorry, I no like,” he says. And that’s not all: He puts sugar in his dough, which among puritans is something like the equivalent of Alice Waters crop-dusting the Edible Schoolyard. Shocking, apocalyptic stuff. The result of all this roguish behavior is a crust that’s somewhere between the Neapolitan and Roman ideals. Like the Roman, it’s uniformly thin and crisp with only a modest cornicione, yet it has the silky, tender, inviting mouthfeel of the Neapolitan minus that style’s puffy, sometimes heavy chew.
Not only has Sicilian-style pizza taken a decided backseat to its Neapolitan counterpart in the current pizza craze, but it turns out that it doesn’t even exist in Sicily—or so Sara Jenkins learned when seeking inspiration there for this new East Village joint. No matter: Sicilian is big in New York. Sometimes too big—doughy and undercooked, with no redeeming features other than sheer heft. Into this breach steps Jenkins, who is Italian by childhood residence and culinary inclination (see Porchetta, 50 Carmine, etc.) if not by blood, and her equally passionate partner, wine-and-atmosphere honcho Frederick Twomey. Their contribution to the new pizza landscape is a sophisticated stunner of a twelve-inch pan pie, distinguished by a shallow crust that’s at once springily tender and crisp (an unusual touch of potato in the dough sees to that). Toppings are of uniformly high quality, and generously applied, especially the hen-of-the-woods and oyster-mushroom combo on the funghi, and the pungent but harmonious marriage of anchovy, onion, tomato, bread crumbs, and caciocavallo in the Palermo specialty sfincione.
When Neapolitan pizzaioli engage in mine-is-bigger-than-yours trash talk, chances are they’re comparing cornicioni. On that front, Mathieu Palombino has nothing to be ashamed of. His crusts are so tall and puffy they should be tethered to ropes and paraded down Broadway like Bullwinkle on Thanksgiving Day. And that’s not the only thing the Belgian chef, who’s worked the fine-dining circuit from Bouley to BLT, has mastered: His tomatoes are bright, his buffalo mozzarella sweet, and his Margherita DOC a thing of beauty. The crust exhibits a range of appealing textures, from crisp and chewy to light and airy. Of the various other pies on offer, including seasonal specials like ramps and sweet peas, we like the spicy Pugliese with sausage, burrata, and broccolini. Nearly surpassing it, though, is a football-shaped behemoth called Rocky’s Grandfather’s calzone, a sometime special stuffed with spicy sausage from Emily’s Pork Store nearby. It’s meaty reassurance for the old-timers in the Italian-American neighborhood who believe that things like sweet peas and ramps have no place on a pizza.
A dozen years ago, when New York pizza-making was a frenzy of willy-nilly twirling and outré toppings, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana gave its official blessing to this pioneering Gramercy ristorante, declaring it the city’s only bona fide purveyor of true Neapolitan pizza. (Since then, the number of AVPN-certified pizzerias here has doubled; midtown’s Naples 45 now passes muster, too.) Say what you will about the pizza police and their motivations—a power trip, xenophobia, membership dues—the organization knows its stuff, and so does the Ecuadoran pizzaiolo here. Even when distracted by the soap opera unfolding on a concealed iPod or chatting on his cell, he’s got the ritual down: the stretching of the dough, the ladling of the sweetly acidic San Marzano tomatoes, the careful application of the mozzarella di bufala. When the pizza Margherita emerges from the wood-burning oven after the allotted two minutes, its cornicione is airy and moderately high, and its crust chewy, pliant, and soft enough to double-fold without cracking—the mark of a vera pizza napoletana, according to AVPN propaganda cards displayed on every table.
The place is a dump, the ordering system fraught with peril, and the wait for a slice, let alone a pie, a heroic journey into the unknown. Which isn’t to say a visit to Di Fara in the far reaches of Brooklyn isn’t worth the trip. On the contrary, no serious student of New York pizza has not been to Di Fara. True, both the round New York–Neapolitan hybrid and the Sicilian pies would be better if the crusts weren’t so stiff. But that’s a flaw that’s easily forgiven in light of what might be the most invigorating tomato sauce in town, combined with a knockout three-cheese combo. It’s pizza that’s big and bold, rough around the edges, and more than a little messy; it’s what New York–style pizza is all about. And yet the real star of the show here is not the pie but the pie man—septuagenarian Domenico DeMarco, a remarkable one-man pizza machine who produces every pie himself. This, despite the fact that he’s been on the job for 50 years, and that his movements behind the counter resemble those of a turtle with a hangover. Although DeMarco works his magic for most of his fourteen-hour day with his back turned to his audience, like some kind of pizzaiolo Miles Davis in comfortable, flour-caked shoes, he has his own humble way of playing to the crowd. “Whose pizza is this?” he mutters shyly as he cuts through the thing with an old pizza cutter. “That’s mine,” comes a rejuvenated voice from the weary mob. “Okay,” says Dom, lifting his usual downward gaze for the split second it takes to make a maestro-disciple connection, the bubbling pie its own delicious benediction.
Although Nick’s Pizza of Forest Hills, Queens, served its first pie in 1993, many recall eating there long before that. “When I say the store is only fifteen years old, they say, ‘Nah, I’ve been going there forever,’” says owner Nick Angelis, and it’s easy to see why: The tin-ceilinged, arch-windowed restaurant has plenty of old-world charm. The oven, as seen through the open kitchen, looks old too, but not in a smolderingly romantic sort of way. Unlike today’s more fashionable pizza-cooking appliances, this one’s made of rough, unadorned metal, rests on caster wheels, and runs on Con Ed. It looks like something a not particularly talented 12-year-old might enter into the Soap Box Derby. Out of this bucket of bolts, however, comes some mighty fine pie. The style is Old School New York Neapolitan, with discrete puddles of sweet fresh mozzarella amid a simple swirl of good tomato sauce. The crust is crisp but flexible and somehow achieves a smoky essence. The overall effect is reminiscent of the pizza once served by the great coal-oven giants, most of whose pies Nick’s now surpasses—one more reason nostalgists think the place has been around since early man harnessed fire.
The best seats in the house, from a pizza-lover’s perspective, are the four stools at the counter facing the wood-burning oven at this bustling Nolita newcomer. Not only are they safely removed from the cacophonous fray, but they offer an unobstructed view of the Sicilian pizzaiolo, Giuseppe Cangialosi, plying his trade. To fit the restaurant’s theme, Cangialosi makes Roman-style pies: thin and crisp rounds designed to whet the appetite, not defeat it. Crunchy where Neapolitan pies are tender and without a discernible rim, Emporio’s pizzas are still fairly pliant and well-conceived—especially the guanciale-and-kale variety that’s painted with béchamel and garnished with slivers of salty Pecorino. “No one orders this, because they don’t understand it,” says Cangialosi, mournfully. “But whenever I take it out of the oven the smell is just amazing.” The flavor, too: smoky, rich, and earthy. The basic tomato-and-cheese pie, of course, requires no explanation, even if its cooked-in visage does: The buffalo mozzarella is drained, so it doesn’t soak the crust, and applied in such a manner that it virtually dissolves into the tangy tomato sauce, making it impossible to determine where one sublime ingredient ends and the other begins.
Just so you know, Fresco isn’t a pizzeria. It’s a (rather pricey) midtown restaurant run by the Scotto clan. It also happens to be the place that introduced grilled pizza to New York, via its founding chef, the late Vincent Scotto (no relation, oddly), and the place that still executes that provincial genre best. Scotto trained at Al Forno in Providence, the birthplace of grilled pizza as we know it—or at least, of the particular recipe that traveled from Rhode Island to Fresco. What does it entail? A distinctive dough blended from white and whole-wheat flours, sweetened with a touch of molasses, then soaked in enough olive oil to make the thing taste almost fried once it’s lifted, striped with char, off the grill. The notably crunchy pie ($20, good to share at the bar) is thin as a communion wafer, its free-form surface decorated with dollops of tangy tomato sauce and the telltale grilled-pizza combination of Pecorino Romano and bel paese. In this case, mozzarella is irrelevant, and so is the oven.
In this pizza town, there are good round-pie men and there are good square-pie men. Rare is the switch-hitting pizzaiolo who does well by both. Dom DeMarco of Di Fara Pizza is, of course, a member in good standing of this elite, ambidextrous club. But the Mickey Mantle of the squad is the prolific Nick Angelis (see also Nick’s Pizza), who branched out into the square-pie business late in his career with this four-year-old spot, and ever since, the only complaint anyone’s had about this surprise move is that Nick hadn’t made it sooner. This is thin-crust pan pizza called “old-fashioned” on the menu. Long Islanders will recognize it as Grandma style, a native permutation, and, if they can bring themselves to admit it, declare the delicately crunchy stuff superior to anything they can get in Nassau County. Besides a good crust, what elevates it above the norm is fastidious ingredient sourcing, including top-notch mozzarella that gets deliciously browned on top as Grandma pies often do. A special-request sausage-and-broccoli-rabe pie is rich and juicy, a minor masterpiece. The fact that you can eat it outside the restaurant on a beautiful cobblestone street closed to traffic is another rare treat.
This weeks-old Bed-Stuy spot gives the lie to the idea that making great pizza requires a lifetime of practice and a Neapolitan ancestry. Not that those things hurt. But judging by the Saraghina model, all that may be required, it seems, is commitment, passion, and a friend with a good dough recipe. Saraghina’s owners, Edoardo Mantelli and Massimiliano Nanni, have all that. “I’ve been obsessed with pizza all my life,” says Mantelli, the pizzaiolo of the pair, who also co-owns the clothing brand Tocca. After years of stubbornly refusing to follow his bliss, he finally apprenticed himself to his pizza hero, Michele Iuliano of Luzzo’s, and, while it’s too soon to say that the student has surpassed the master, he’s already come pretty close. It’s certainly helped that Iuliano was willing to give up his top-secret flour-mixture formula and adapt it to Saraghina’s wood-burning oven. Now, Mantelli’s pies are more classically Neapolitan in style than Luzzo’s, with a puffier cornicione, good hole structure, and a moist crumb. The tomato sauce is sweet and vibrant, the buffalo mozzarella is first-rate, and the joy that the city’s newest pie guys take in their fledgling profession is palpable.
It’s highly unlikely, but possible, that anyone who lives in Soho has eaten at Salvatore of Soho. That’s because the restaurant is located on Staten Island. Although the Salvatore in question (Sal, for short; last name Ganci) now resides in that hinterland, he grew up in Sheepshead Bay and got his start in the pizza business at Famous Ben’s of Soho (actually in Soho). “Since I’m 15, I spent most of my time in Manhattan,” he says. “When I’d go home to Brooklyn, they’d call me Soho Sal.” Later, Sal manned the oven at Lombardi’s, which did nothing toward relieving him of his nickname, but put him on what he calls the gourmet-pizza fast track. Now, he’s making the best pie in a borough that prides itself on the stuff. It’s Old School New York Neapolitan hybrid pizza served in a snug, nostalgia-heavy shop. Thanks to an infernal coal-and-gas oven with a revolving floor (Sal’s own design), the crust gets so crisp and blackened the menu comes with a disclaimer: “served charred and well done.” S.O.S. makes a decent clam pie, but our favorite is the plain old cheese-and-tomato with house-made mozzarella. Sal’s favorite is the fried calamari and hot cherry peppers—a creation he whipped up one day as an impromptu staff meal (for himself) at Famous Ben’s, and something that might cause flames to shoot from the eyes of the average pizza-eating Neapolitan.
It’s possible to forget that bread ever existed in New York before Jim Lahey came along, with his pane Pugliese and ciabatta. But pizza has always been part of his repertoire, too—not the magnificent round, Neapolitan-esque pies he’s just begun baking at Co., but his chewy, salty pizza bianca and the thin Roman-inspired squares that manage to retain their taste and texture even when served room temperature, as they are at his Hell’s Kitchen shop and at Grandaisy, the proliferating bakery chainlet born of an amicable settlement with Lahey’s former business partner. Baked in oil-slicked pans until the edges crisp up a little, the pies are topped with inventive, often seasonal ingredients: shaved celery root and nutmeg in the fall; julienned zucchini, Gruyère, and a smattering of bread crumbs; or, on our favorite, the simple but unfathomably satisfying Pomodoro, a sweetly intense slick of tomato, olive oil, and salt.
This is not dainty stuff, or pizza for the faint of tummy. The banter-happy pie guys here do not practice the art of minimal restraint. The word artisanal has never been spoken on these premises. Which is not to say the technique isn’t good. It is. Nor that the ingredients aren’t of a high quality. They are. And while the too-hard crust of both the Sicilian and the round Margherita pies could use some work, this robust style of pizza-making doesn’t exactly lend itself to delicate dough handling. What that style is is the kind of pizza old-timers claim you used to be able to find on practically every corner. Great New York slice-joint pizza. Nothing else like it in the world, and rare enough these days that, unless you’re a cop or an EMS worker with line-cutting privileges, you should be prepared to wait for it—even, as we discovered recently, in the rain at three o’clock in the morning on a Monday night.
A bit of an aesthetic oddity in its hospital-hub neck of the woods, Coals is a neighborhood pub with an inscrutable sea-shanty vibe and a happy hour that seems to attract off-duty interns. On top of that, it specializes in grilled pizza, the seldom-seen variant perfected and popularized by Providence’s Al Forno. Coals blends corn flour into its distinctive dough and, like other practitioners of its obscure art, cooks the thin planks over a grill to attain the characteristic char marks and delicately crunchy texture. The loosely oval pies come in two sizes and eight permutations. Of these, we recommend the Pure Bliss, which manages to support the weight not only of carefully distributed splotches of creamy ricotta, tangy tomato sauce, and pungent pesto, but also of grated Pecorino and melted fontinella, a domestic fontina-like product they’re very fond of here.
This is where you’ll find the city’s only coal-oven pizza sold by the slice ($1.75), and for pizza scholars, that alone is reason enough to leg it up to the original Patsy’s in East Harlem. To make the most of the experience, the thing to do is to consider this genre-defining slab, with its cooked-in aged-mozz-and-tomato topping, as a sort of amuse-bouche. Enjoy it in the dimly lit takeout storefront by the ancient oven before repairing to the red-sauce dining room next door. (Like Ralph Lauren has acquired a sizable chunk of Madison Avenue, Patsy’s has, over the years, gobbled up a series of adjacent storefronts, bringing the Patsy’s lifestyle brand to a wider audience.) Here, under the incongruous gaze of a leaping marlin, you can tuck into an even better whole pie made with fresh mozzarella. It’s a well-cooked, exceptionally thin-crusted pizza, perfumed with the heady scent of 75 years of bituminous-coal-oven cookery. And with the original Totonno’s temporarily sidelined after a fire, it represents the best of the once-dominant pizza dynasties. | 2019-04-25T22:23:59Z | http://nymag.com/restaurants/cheapeats/2009/57893/ |
The last day always seems to come so quickly. There never seems a great deal of time to chat with fellow genealogists so getting to bed late and up early does keep some of us non-morning people dragging a bit! But the excitement of the day is as good as a cup of coffee!
Sunday morning was our usual International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG) meeting. Alice Fairhurst spoke on the ISOGG Y-DNA tree which started in 2006. There are now over 2,000 SNPs on the tree. The first few years there were 25-30 updates per year; last year over 100. There are already 73 updates this year so far and that number is that low only because the team clustered some of the updates. Many people in many countries are involved in helping, but they could use more. They need help in Q and some other areas. Due to Geno 2.0 ISOGG tree is going to a stronger database, but will remain the same through December 2012. The next tree may not be ready in January, however. Although there is a conversion chart, the new tree will only use terminal SNPs. Some R1b sub-clades are over 20 letters and numbers, and with Geno they will be much too long. This ISOGG tree is used by geneticists around the world.
Brian Swann from England gave great information and encouragement in his presentation suggesting that people with British genealogy learn how British records work and use them to find probable testers and reconstitute the families. He stressed checking the 1881 census, the 2055-2006 Birth, Marriage, and Death records now online, and checking for your surname through the Guild of One Name Studies. There are online databases for the UK from 1837-1841 could be a good resource, as well. Debbie Kennett’s new book Origins of British Surnames can be helpful. Facebook can also be a good source for current contacts. Join the local family history societies in areas of interest in Britain. Dr. Swann urged that as half the people in Britain who have children do not marry, now is the time to start the reconstruction as it will be more difficult in the future.
Dr. Doron Behar spoke on the mtCommunity, referring to his paper: A Copernican Reassessment of the Human mtDNA Tree from its Roots. He states that about 16,000 mtDNA sequences on NCBI’s (National Center for Biotechnology Information) GenBank are from Family Tree DNA customers. He explained that Chimps are not our ancestor, but when through 6,000 years of evolution and are our contemporaries. Neanderthals were extinct only 30,000 years ago. Some of our species interacted with the Neanderthals, we did not evolve from them. Mankind did not evolve as you see in many online posters. Dr. Behar’s paper clearly shows that using the rCRS (Revised Cambridge Reference System) gives a skewed vision as more western Europeans have fewer mutations than those of other world areas. With his paper reconstructing the mtDNA comparison starting with the root and adding such populations as the Neanderthal, we see that there are now fewer mutations for those populations closer to the root and more mutations for those farther from the root which is much more logical. This new method is termed RSRS (Reconstructed Sapiens Reference Sequence). With the RSRS, all contemporary mtDNA shows approximately the same number mutations from the root…again, more logical. This change has no effect on the mtDNA tree topology or haplogroup labels. It will only add or subtract to the number of mutational differences when compared to the root mtDNA.
See the mtDNACommunity website which has over 13,700 full mtDNA sequences so far and is a centralized database allowing sequences to be posted for scientists. You can add yours. It is free to all testers from all communities, but only uses complete mtDNA sequences; the full mitochondrial tests. Each sequence not from FTDNA will be verified for accuracy before uploading. You will be asked if you want to upload to NCBI so check the option if you do, and FTDNA will upload for you. If you have already uploaded to NCBI do not do it a second time so you are not duplicated. You can send your CBI to FTDNA to check. Once you upload your NCBI submission number will be on your profile page.
Dr. Michael Hammer of the University of Arizona presented the most exciting news of the conference! Dr. Hammer’s presentation was entitled A highly Divergent Y Chromosome Lineage; Implications for Human Evolution and the Y Chromosome Tree. Bonnie Schrack, citizen scientist, gave us the back story and suggested that haplotypes that do not fit into the main groups can be gold, and that rare haplotypes can identify new clades. She found three people in her Y-DNA Haplogroup A project who did not have any designated haplogroup. After consulting some papers by Cruciani (2011) and Batini (2011), the decision was made to do a Walk The Y (WTY) for one of the members living in Georgia. More than 40 new SNPs were found with this test, setting a new record. It also included 32 SNPs discovered by Cruciani in is A1b sample. A second WTY was done with another member of her project in Maryland. For this tester about 24 new SNPs were found, but he shared 18 of Cruciani’s SNPs and 19 of the SNPs found in the tester from Georgia, and 22 new SNPs for his branch. A third WTY, a candidate from South Carolina, tested negative for all the SNPs previously tested in the other two testers.
At this point, Dr. Michael Hammer was brought into the picture. Over 50 SNPs were derived from this South Carolina sample and about 30 which are ancestral and derived from all other human Y lineages. Dr. Hammer had seven SNPs matching the WTY testers and these were found in a small section of Western Cameroon. These new results put the Chimp and Gorilla very distant to modern humans. Hammer stated that the South Carolina tester who now has a haplogroup of A00 (currently the oldest haplogroup) is 500 years from his Cameroonian A00 cousin, and that the Atlantic slave trade brought his ancestor to the US. This discovery predates the origin of modern human fossils, and this tester’s line could be an archaic population. Two fossils found at Iwo Eleru (in nearby Nigeria) dated ~13,000 years ago showed archaic features.
Dr. Thomas Krahn shared the story of the discovery as he worked with his wife Astrid to see if each newly found SNP had been previously discovered. After working all day and night, at 4 a.m. they realized they had new haplogroups. By 6 a.m. they were done checking all the new SNPs. As a result we no longer have just Haplogroup A, thought to be 60,000 years ago, but we have two haplgroups which came before A, namely A0 and A00. The A00 haplogroup lived ~338,000 years ago, but could range anywhere between 246,000- 563,000 years ago. Regardless, this is an astounding find and to know that one of our FTDNA administrators, Bonnie Schrack, was instrumental in calling this to the attention of the geneticists is an outstanding example of the value of citizen scientists. Several people throughout the world contributed to the cost of WTY tests and were thanked by Bonnie. This find is truly an important moment in history!
Yesterday’s Breakout Groups were repeated today to allow people to attend at least two. I attended Elise Friedman’s group entitled Advanced Group Administration Techniques as a review and to see if there was information new to me. Without seeing the pages here it would be difficult to describe various aspects. I suggest that everyone take the Interactive Tour, read the FAQs, click on the FTQL (Family Tree Query Language for compound searches) and the Help icon found on all pages.
1. Go to MY ACCOUNT and click on SETTINGS. Check the boxes you want shown on the left. DISPLAY SETTINGS on the right control what you see. The bottom of MY SETTINGS has settings for different report pages.
2. You can create a different email address for each project if you have more than one. Just add your email address on the CONTACT PAGE and select one for default.
3. Important: Go to PROJECT ADMINISTRATION and then click on MANAGING PROJECT. Fill in the blanks, but click on SHOW SURNAME even if your project isn’t a surname project. This way it is shown in the list of projects.
5. You can also click on the results page and move members from one subgroup to another, but only in the regular results; not in classic or color.
5. On the results page you can highlight one line. I asked for 2-3 to be highlighted and maybe in different colors. This, in my opinion will help with comparing.
6. ACTIVITY LOG is new and shows changes in your projects.
7. It is very important to read the Project Administrators Guidelines and adhere to them.
Rory Van Tuyl’s presentation entitled A Tale of Two Families – Findings from the FTDNA Surname Project Van Tuyl showed how he used Monte Carol simulation and the Walsh Infinite Alleles Theory to show that there was no constant mutation rate. He suggests that using similarities rather than differences is a powerful analytical technique and not to try to estimate TMRCA from Y-STR data.
Elliott Greenspan’s presentation entitled IT Road Map covered the accomplishments of this last year and the goals for the coming year. In 2010 FTDNA processed 250 terabytes and in 2011 they processed 2.33 Petabytes of matching data. The latter translates into 16.8 million segments. This is 50 times more data than last year. FTDNA has run over 5 million individual tests of all types over the years. The General Fund Invoice Payment was added along with SNP Maps and 23andMe uploads. As previously mentioned in this blog, FTDNA will allow uploads of Ancestry’s data as soon as it is available. The “about me” section of the Personal Profile was added and is view-able by your matches when they click on your profile. Advanced Matches was added in order to compare two different tests at the same time.
1. FTDNA will go to Build 37 which is GRAND!
2. Microalleles will be coming on GAP charts.
3. Palindromic matches will be added in DYS 459,464 and CDY which will appear as one mutation as they are one event.
4. New mtDNA haplogroups will see some changes when Geno 2.0 begins getting results.
5. As the home page causes confusion for new members, the pages will be updated probably in December with items people have not done such as uploading a Gedcom being highlighted.
6. More badges like Niall of the Nine Hostages will be available.
7. Uploaded Gedcoms will be searchable and allow for direct input of data.
8. FTDNA will upgrade Population Finder by adding more populations more often and will have chromosome painting.
9. FTDNA will have X chromosome matching and browser, but will be different than that of Family Finder as it is inherited differently.
10. You will be able to select five matches and push to your chromosome browser page.
11. There will be more filter options so you can filter by blocks in Chromosome Browser to see all matches on that block. Blocks must be at least 4cM and start and end in the same block.
12. Restrictions on “In Common With” will be removed.
13. Many of us have asked for phasing over the last couple of years and is it coming! YEAH!!! There will be two types of phasing depending upon the availability of testing parents.
14. Various apps for androids, iPhones, etc. will be added.
15. FTDNA developers plan to work with a group of customers with tech skills…a developer sandbox.
16. FTDNA will remove the five person limit for Family Finder downloads so all can be downloaded at one time into CVS or Excel files. EVERYONE clapped!
What a wonderful list for the coming year!
FTDNA cautioned against using Gedmatch as it shows your matches names. FTDNA cannot control customers who do this, but feel it could come back to bite you and can cause outside regulation. They suggested we do not take cM blocks seriously without other supporting information. They were firm about data mining not being available because of security and people who “connect the dots.” FTDNA is not planning to drop the 12 and 25 marker test so that those who need to start small can do so.
AND…at the end of the conference FTDNA announced its Holiday Sale earlier than expected. See my previous post for the sale items and prices. The sale ends 31 December 2012 and is a great opportunity to upgrade, to add new tests, or to become a first-time tester with the largest genetic genealogy company!
On Monday, FTDNA offered three tours of their “state of the art” lab in Houston. The equipment automation is amazing, and seeing the process to get our DNA results is fascinating. The weekly cost of some of the disposable items is astounding! It is clear why the time and cost we incur is what it is.
No doubt I omitted some information from this lengthy blog. For that reason, I suggest you also read Roberta J. Estes’ blog DNAeXplained.
Can anyone doubt that history isn't being made on the monumental level?
Although we make history daily, only at monumental times do we realize it. This year at the Family Tree DNA Conference, every one realized the history being made.
As usual on Friday, FTDNA provided a large room with a no-host bar where everyone rekindled old friendships and met new attendees. We could register during this time or Saturday morning. Our registration packet included a nice FTDNA carry bag, a conference logo T-shirt, pen, and Richard Hill’s new book Finding Family My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA. I reviewed this book earlier on this blog. It is an excellent book for genetic genealogists, adoptees, and for the general public. A must read!
In Bennett Greenspan’s welcome gave us a bit of the company’s history. They were the first to offer DNA testing for genealogy in 2000 after Bennett dogged Dr. Michael Hammer into doing a 12 marker test on him and Dr. Hammer suggested that someone needed to start a company as people kept asking him about testing for genealogy. Bennett also informed us that his corporation had been reorganized a bit and is now is called Gene by Gene which has under it several companies: Family Tree DNA for Ancestry, DNA Traits for Health, DNADTC for Research, and DNAFindings for Paternity. I spoke of monumental times in history...here’s one: The DNADTC division is the first commercial company to offer a full genome sequence test! The price is $5495, but we know that will be lower in a few years. For the Exome, your 20,000 genes, the cost is $695. This is remarkable as it is a genetic genealogy company making this available to the public first and the entire genome was only sequenced in 2003 at the cost of 3 billion dollars. We have come a long way and are moving quickly! Congratulations to FTDNA for another first!
Other statistics for Family Tree DNA is that have purchased 1.5 million vials for testing since conception; they are processing 500 samples a day and sometimes through the weekend; is involved in Next-Generation Sequencing; will have easier to open vials; and have new automated machines to remove tedious tasks for workers.
Dr. Spencer Wells who heads the National Genographic Project talk with the group via Skype from Florence Italy where he was introducing the Geno 2.0 test which has sections on “Your Story”, “Our Story”, and “The Human Story”. He mentioned that “Genetic genealogy is changing hyper-exponentially”. His presentation gave an overview of the AIMs chip and how it was vetted as well as a view of the website which is still evolving. The goals include determining more population details for those who are labeled 100% of a certain population, especially including Native American and differentiating between Native American and Asian. See my review of Geno 2.0 on this blog. Watch for a paper on Genographic about repopulating the Middle East.
One of the most exciting features of Geno 2.0 is that citizen scientists can conduct a “community led events”. If you have a group, such as the Mennonites or other particular cultural group, you could apply to Genographic for conducting a study under the community led event. Dr. Wells would not indicate how many kits have been sold so far as this is still the initial release (soft launch), but mentioned that significantly more than 10k kits have been sold and significantly less than 100k.
Next was Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist, is a genealogist with a law degree. Her topic was Regulating Genetic Genealogy - Does It Make Sense? Of all the presenters we have had in the past to speak to ethical questions and problems in this field, Judy delivered the most clear and most reasonable argument for regulating ourselves, for placing disclaimers on our project sites, for not misrepresenting our field, and she encouraged us to do all this so we would not be regulated by any government arm. Judy tells us that the FDA is not interested in genetic genealogy, but in disease risk. The Federal Trade Commission is concerned for “truth in advertising”…is what is promised being delivered? She states that we need to rein in the charlatans as those are the ones who will cause regulation. She clarified that AncestryDNA can give your DNA to anyone they contract or companies who buy them out; no warranties. Of 23andMe she states that the company will still use your surveys and genetic info even if you drop them and they do not need your consent on using it for publication. Russell says that signing over your DNA for any company to use can come under FDA interest. She says FTDNA does not have these issues at all. You must sign a release form for sharing your name and email with your matches. Check the contracts before you test.
Judy Russell recommends we check the disclosure on the Melungeon Core project at FTDNA as it is a good example of disclosure and have something similar for all of our projects.
GINA (Genetic Information and Non-discrimination Act of 2008) is very limited and broad in protecting us with regard to DNA testing. It only covers employment and health care. It does not apply to life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care.
Some DNA companies (ex: Connect DNA) uses CODIS values and even suggests you put your results on Facebook! Some states arrest for misdemeanors which put your DNA in CODIS and some states now use familiar DNA such as in the Grim Sleeper case. The UK uses familial DNA.
Other tips she shared: Do NOT sign release forms for others; don’t test someone without their consent. If caught, this will cause regulation by the government. Remember that any piece of legislation can be repealed or modified. Testing your whole genome and disclosing it discloses information for your relatives who have not given consent. In summary: Make ethical decisions, respect privacy of others; do informed consent; and educate the public regarding DNA testing. The bottom line is: If we don’t make better decisions, others will do it for us.
I had the opportunity of speaking with her at the ISOGG gathering Saturday night and she is a commonsense and knowledgeable person. Such a delight!
Three break-out groups were available covering information on the Advanced Group Administrators Techniques by Elise Friedman of Relative Roots (more on Elise's presentation tomorrow), on Family Finder by CeCe Moore, and Walk the Y Update by Dr. Thomas Krahn of Family Tree DNA. All were very informative, of course.
CeCe Moore covered the basics of autosomal testing starting with cell structure and walked through several of the pages showing how to download data from the Chromosome Browser. She mentioned to calculate the shared percentage of your genome divide the total cMs by 68. See FTDNA’s FAQ on Family Finder for great information as well as taking the tutorial on your personal website. The most exciting part of the presentation was from Rob Warthen who has a tool to download all your Family Finder matches at once, something many of us have strived to have FTDNA do (and they did decide to do so!). CeCe covered what many of us are now doing on testing various family members and mapping our chromosomes to determine what segments come from what ancestor as was presented by Dr. Tim Janzen.
Dr. Krahn mentioned that no one from haplogroups B, D, M, and S have done Walk The Y and they would really like to get someone from each. There have been 494 WTY participants and only 198 did not find a new SNP. Some of these presentations will be available at FTDNA, perhaps all.
Dr. Tyrone Bowes of Irish Origenes spoke on Pinpointing a Geographical Location. His company has detailed maps on Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. He suggests that you can use low-level matches (12 and 25 markers) to see where those names lived in one of these countries and narrow the locations to what is most likely. Check all spellings and locations from castles to clan mapping as place names may reflect early inhabitants and areas where people were when they picked surnames. Once a chief of a clan is gone, people could take a new surname. Townlands lead to surnames. Know the history. He does consulting on this in his business.
1. Drugs, alcohol, radiation, etc. are more likely to cause a null (no marker results) than a different allele. Blood transfusions would require you to wait weeks to test UNLESS you are VERY careful in scraping to not get any blood on the swab. It’s really safer to wait.
2. If you have few or no matches it is probably a coincidence so wait until the database grows. The database does have gaps as you can’t get DNA out of some countries, such as China. DNA has been sent surreptitiously from Russia so that is another area of concern.
3. When Geno 2.0 is eventually offered through FTDNA for existing samples to be used, there needs to be an unopened vial.
4. Geno 2.0 is the closest thing to the full genome (for now), but does not have as high resolution ad would not show private mutations.
6. FTDNA is going to Build 37 in the next two months or so which adds 3-4,000 new SNPs in the Family Finder chip and the X-chromosome browser is coming.
7. FTDNA has 500,000 vials in storage currently, and transfers from other companies are going great.
8. FTDNA anticipates uploading Ancestry raw autosomal data when Ancestry allows customers to download their raw data.
9. In the next version, Palendromic matches will be counted as one mutation event as it actually happens as one event.
As I just returned from the 8th Family Tree DNA International Conference in Houston, I am probably one of the last to post the Holiday Sale. At the end of the last day the following was announced and Monday morning every tester received an email. However, as may of these tests are for new testers, it is up to all of us to spread the news! And wonderful news it is. These are some very nice savings!
You can order a test by clicking on the FTDNA icon in the lower right of this blog. If you are ordering an upgrade just login with your kit number and password. If you are new to testing with Family Tree DNA, you can search for your surname on the home page or you can join one of my projects that accepts any tester (male and female) by entering GFO in the search engine on the home page. Even though you are in one of my projects and you can then receive help from me, you can join other projects once you get results.
Watch this blog later this week for news of the conference.
Don't miss this great sale!
Don't Tally; Just Rally. And that's just what we did!
Many people hold family reunions over the summer months. Few, if any, hold such a gathering for their Y-DNA projects. I did for the Talley-Tally Y-DNA Project.
The idea of a Talley-Tally-Tolley Gathering began over a year ago in conjunction with the establishment of a new sources website and the death of one of our researchers.
I operate an e-mail list for anyone interested in researching or who has tested for the surname, any spelling. This is a one-way email from me to the group which notifies list members when a new candidate has tested, when test results have appeared, when there are sales on testing, and other information related to DNA testing. On this e-mail list we share lineages for the testers with the details of birth, death, marriage and spouses. We do not share current information or maiden names of mothers whose children are living as that can be used for financial records. Creating such a list builds provides multiple contacts for research and builds a bond within the group.
When one of our Talley researchers died and left piles of papers for us to sort, three local members of our e-mail list gathered to divide the work. One of our sorters, Lorraine, suggested putting Talley-Tally information on site accessible to group members. I had been considering such a plan, but this was the first time I discussed having a site where the testers’ lineages and the sources for each generation could be displayed and where additional, hard-to-find records could be stored. I was greatly encouraged to establish this site and the work began.
I found the perfect volunteer, Gene Talley of Texas, who helped me research every one of our testers and without whom this sources site would not have existed. He created some wonderful flow charts which show connections to a common ancestor where known. This work took countless hours and over a year and a half to complete, but we were able to justify some lineages as they were sent to me, add up to three generations to some, and reduce a few generations that were not solidly proven or were wrong. For the latter we wrote a page or two providing circumstantial evidence of parenthood. The goal was to find good sources for the father-son relationship in the lineage along with the birth, marriage, and death for the direct Talley-Tally-Tolley line. Of course, like all projects, there were a few people who did not share their lineage or who have died without sharing. Overall, the vast majority of our testers’ lines are proven with good sources and now on the new website.
During all this, I began planning for a Talley DNA “Reunion”. Anyone who had tested, who researches the surname, or anyone our members could drag off the street with a connection to the surname were welcomed.
One of our members, Bill Talley III, suggested we meet at the local country club in Petersburg, Virginia as the room was free to us and as this area is one of the major locations where our Talley and Tallys first lived. It was decided that we would meet for two days and for the third everyone could explore the area or visit various family locations or research libraries.
Our gathering included all the elements of a DNA conference and a reunion. I created several presentations to explain the various DNA tests, our new sources website, triangulation, quality research, and others. Attendees brought posters to show-case their family as well as gifts for a raffle. George M. Talley showcased his amazing, hand-made miniature furniture which has moving parts including drawers that open. Our wonderful activities chair, Karen Talley, and I acquired additional raffle items from various vendors valuing up to $150 for the top item. The money earned from the raffle was split between those groups in attendance to further test their lines. Each person also received a "goody bag" with several flyers on local sites, discount coupons on Talley Vineyard wines and DNA tests, copies of Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy, a mouse pad designed specifically for our gathering, and pens and pencils with Talley-Tally-Tolley Gathering printed on them.
Time was given in the agenda to recognize those testers who had died, and Karen compiled very nice poster which included each person's DNA Group number, dates of birth and death, a photo, and their oldest Talley-Tally ancestor.
Larry McMahan, volunteer at the Jefferson Library and husband of Sue Talley McMahan and Karen's uncle, was our guest speaker for dinner Wednesday night. His wonderful presentation entitled Thomas Jefferson’s World and his video gave much insight into Mr. Jefferson’s life at Monticello.
As the new sources website with the testers' lineages was complete (more sources records will be added in the future), I provided room in the agenda to hold a couple of workshops so the members of each DNA group could work together to further the lineage and the DNA testing. Each person shared their contact information as well as their online and local resources. The groups were asked to view the lineages on the new sources website and determine what information is missing and where further testing is needed. Of course, not everyone in the group knows their proven common ancestor, but these workshops started a dialogue to help with that goal. Each group chose a leader who will report progress to me so any updates can be added to the sources site. For those who could not attend, they have been given the same opportunity to share their resources and help with the research.
The gathering was held October 3-4 at the Petersburg Country Club in Virginia. The two largest DNA groups had representatives which lead me to believe that the economic times and health situations prevented some of the smaller groups from coming. I do know these issues were the causes for some absences. Those who came decided that since DNA Groups 1 and 2 of the project are very probably related in the mid-1600's they would work within their group as well as help the other group.
It was wonderful to meet so many cousins, and I’m sure they felt the same meeting each other. It was grand to put faces on those names and e-mail addresses over these many years. I had known a few people through correspondence since the mid 1990’s, but had only met one before this gathering. The humor and wit of many of the family members, the practicality of their decisions, and just being in the same room with so many cousins was a joy for me. Hopefully, they took away from that time something new in the way of DNA and researching as well as fond memories of their distant cousins.
AND...someone even asked when the next gathering would be….
Thanks to everyone who made this possible and for all of those who attended!
Genetic Genealogy has become a very popular pursuit among genealogists, and many are now blogging to help others understand DNA testing and to keep the public updated on this fast-paced field.
Recently Terry Barton suggested that each of us should post this list of the top blogs. I'm very honored to be included and to be among such distinguished bloggers in this field.
As each of us has a different audience and a different focus, those interested, as well as the general public, would be wise to follow at least several, if not all, of these blogs. Although some appear to be focused on a particular surname, each has great information on genetic genealogy in general.
These bloggers are well known in the field and most attend the Family Tree DNA Conference in Houston each year while a few attend the Who Do You Think You Are? Conference in London yearly. This gives all of us the opportunity of knowing each other and highly recommending their work.
Thank you Terry for this wonderful idea and for inspiring the rest of us to make the list available to our followers! | 2019-04-20T18:31:00Z | http://genealem-geneticgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/ |
Дана характеристика бензгідразіду як ліганду в координаційних сполуках. Вказані потенційні області застосування бензгідразіду та його комплексів. Наведено загальну характеристику його здатності до комплексоутворення: донорні центри, таутомерні форми, теоретично можливі способи координації до металу. Розглянуто склад і будову бензгідразідних комплексів d-металів з різними аніонами. Для різних комплексоутворювачів охарактеризовані комплекси галогенідів, сульфатів, нітратів, тіоціанатів, перхлоратів, нітритів, ацетатів. Наведені приклади комплексів з кетонною та фенольною формами бензгідразіду. Розглянуто комплекси з сольватними молекулами води та метанолу. Для деяких сполук наведені загальні характеристики структур за даними РСА. Зазначено на особливості взаємодії з бензгідразідом солей міді(II) з різними аніонами. Наведено дані по комплексах ванадію, що включає бензгідразід з різними ступенями депротонування. Показано зміну способу зв’язування бензгідразіду зі ртуттю залежно від аніону. Наведені приклади біметалевих та змішанолігандних комплексів. Описано структуру комплексів [Co(НL)(Mal)(H2O)2]H2O (H2Mal – малонова кислота) і [Co(НL)3](OH)Cl(Н3Ssal)⋅H2O (Н3Ssal – 5-сульфосаліцилова кислота). Розглянуто аспекти біологічної активності деяких комплексів: бактерицидна, фунгіцидна, цитотоксична.
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Narang K.K., Pandey J.P., Singh K.P., Rai P.K. Synthesis, Characterization, IR and Electronic Spectra, Magnetic Moments and Biological Activity of Trinuclear Nickel(II) Tetrathiocyanato Bis Argentate(I) Complexes with Hydrazides and Hydrazones. Synth. React. Inorg. Metal-Org. Chem., 1990, vol. 20, no 10, pp. 1301-1316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00945719008048635.
Narang K.K., Pandey J.P. Synthesis, Characterization, Solid State Conductance and Thermal Studies of Trinuclear Cobalt(II) Tetrathiocyanatodiargentate(I) Complexes with Hydrazides and Hydrazones. Synth. React. Inorg. Metal-Org. Chem., 1992, vol. 22, no 1, pp. 65-81. http://dx.doi.10.1080/15533179208020640.
Narang K.K., Pandey J.P. Synthesis, Characterization, Solid State Conductance and Thermal Studies of Some Bivalent Transition Metal Tetrathiocyanato Biscuprate(I) Complexes with Hydrazides and Hydrazones. Synth. React. Inorg. Metal-Org. Chem., 1994, vol. 24, no 4, pp. 589-611. http://dx.doi.10.1080/00945719408000136.
Antsyshkina A.S., Koksharova T.V., Sadikov G.G., Sergienko V.S., Mandzii T.V. Malonatobenzhydrazidediaqu acobalt(II) hydrate: Synthesis, crystal and molecular structures. Russ. J. Inorg. Chem., 2016, vol. 61, no 4, pp. 434–441. http://dx.doi.10.1134/S0036023616040045.
Tabakova S., Dodoff N. Effect of Platinum(II) Complexes of Benzoic and 3-Methoxybenzoic Acid Hydrazides on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Z. Naturforsch., 1995, vol. 50c, pp. 732-734.
1. Болдашевский А.В., Нухулы А., Фазылов С.Д., Мулдахметов З.М. Изучение реакции синтеза гидразидов бензойной кислоты при микроволновой активации // Изв. НАН Респ. Казахстан. Сер. хим. – 2010. – Т. 6 (384). – С. 11-13.
2. Dodoff N., Grancharov K., Gugova R., Spassovska N. Platinum (II) Complexes of Benzoic– and 3-Methoxybenzoic Acid Hydrazides. Synthesis, Characterization, and Cytotoxic Effect // J. Inorg. Biochem. – 1994. – Vol. 54, N 3. – P. 221-233. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0162-0134(94)80015-4.
3. Odunola O.A., Adeoye I.O., Woods J.A.O. Synthesis and structural features of copper(II) complexes of benzoic acid and methyl substituted benzoic acid hydrazides and X–ray structure of Cu[C6H5CONHNH2]2(NO3)2 // Synthesis and Reactivity in Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry. – 2002. – Vol. 32, N 4. – P. 801-817. http://dx.doi.10.1081/SIM-120004447.
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28. Martinez J., Martinez A., Cuenca M. L., Doadrio López A. Synthesis, Thermal and Spectral Study of Oxovanadium(IV) Complexes with Benzoic Acid Hydrazine and p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid Hydrazide //Synth. and React. Inorg. and Metal-Org. Chem. – 1988. – Vol. 18, N 9. – P. 881-901. http://dx.doi.10.1080/00945718808060829.
29. Sundheim A., Theers C., Mattes R. Derivate des Hydrazins als Liganden in Vanadium(III)-, -(IV)– und-(V)-Komplexen. Darstellung und Charakterisierung von [V(dipic)(NH2NHCOPh)(H2O)2][VO(dipic) (NHNCOPh)].2H2O, [VO(dipic)(NHNHCO2Me)], [VO (dipic) (NH2NHCO2Me)], [VO(dipic)(NHNHCSPh)] und [VO(‘ONO’)(NHNHCOPh)].2H2O. Substituted Hydrazines as Ligands in Vanadium(III), -(IV) and -(V) Complexes. Synthesis and Characterization of [V(dipic)(NH2NHCOPh)(H2O)2][VO(dipic)(NHNCOPh)]•2H2O, [VO(dipic)(NHNHCO2Me)], [VO(dipic)(NH2NHCO2Me)], [VO(dipic)(NHNHCSPh)] and [VO(‘ONO’) (NHNHCOPh)].2H2O // Z. Naturforsch. – 1994. – Vol. 49b, N 2. – P. 176-185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/znb-1994-0204.
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38. Tabakova S., Dodoff N. Effect of Platinum(II) Complexes of Benzoic and 3-Methoxybenzoic Acid Hydrazides on Saccharomyces cerevisiae // Z. Naturforsch. – 1995. – Vol. 50c. – P. 732-734. | 2019-04-22T10:40:12Z | http://heraldchem.onu.edu.ua/article/view/94714 |
6. And Jesses begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.
9. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, Ahaz begot Hezekiah.
10. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, Amon begot Josiah.
12. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Sheatiel begot Zerubbabel.
15. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, Matthan begot Jacob.
17. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
19. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
20. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
7. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
9. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11. And when they had come into the house, they saw the star, young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise man, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were on Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise man.
21. Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
4. Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
5. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him.
6. And were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
9. And do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.
10. “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11. “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
13. Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
15. But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.
1. Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wildness to be tempted by the devil.
2. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
8. Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
11. Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
12. Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison. He departed to Galilee.
15. “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
18. And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fisherman.
20. They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
24. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
25. Great multitudes followed Him – from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, and beyond the Jordan.
1. And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
4. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophet who were before you.
13. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. “Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
17. Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18. “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one title will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19. “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20. “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
22. “But I say to that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
24. “leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25. “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
26. “Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
28. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
29. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
30. “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
32. “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
35. “nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36. “Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.
37. “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
39. “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
40. “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
41. “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42. “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
45. “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46. “For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47. “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48. “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
1. “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2. “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
4. “that your charitable deed may be in secret; your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
5. “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
7. “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
10. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
13. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Your is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15. “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
16. Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
18. “so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
19. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.
20. “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22. “The lamp of the body is the eye, If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.
23. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
30. “Now if God so cloths the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
34. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
1. “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3. “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4. “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank in your own eye?
5. “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6. “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
7. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
9. “Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will you give him a stone?
10. “Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?
11. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12. “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophet.
13. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
14. “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
16. “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?
17. “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruits.
18. A good tree that does cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19. “”Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20. “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
21. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
25. “and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
3. Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
8. The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.
10. When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such faith, not even in Israel!
11. “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
13. Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
14. Now when Jesus had come into Peter’s house, He saw his wife’s mother lying sick with a fever.
15. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. And she arose and served them.
18. And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.
23. Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.
24. And suddenly a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep.
26. But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
28. When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesene, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.
30. Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding.
32. And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.
33. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
34. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.
1. So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.
4. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5. “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?
7. And he arose and departed to his house.
8. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
10. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.
12. When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
15. And He said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
16. “No one puts a piece of un-shrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
19. So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.
20. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.
22. But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
24. He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him.
25. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
26. And the report of this went out into all that land.
31. But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country.
32. But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
33. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
1. And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
4. Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5. These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6. “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
8. “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely give.
10. “nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
11. “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
12. “And when you go into a household, greet it.
13. “If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14. “And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
16. “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
17. “But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.
18. “You will be brought before government and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
19. “But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak.
20. “for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21. “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
22. “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
23. “When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
24. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant his master.
25. “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!
26. “Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
27. “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.
28. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30. “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31. “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32. “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
33. “But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
34. “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.
37. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38. “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39. “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
41. “He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
5. “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
7. As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness? A reed shaken by the wind?
8. “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in king’s houses.
9. “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
11. “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
13. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
14. “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.
15. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
21. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22. “But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
23. “And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
25. At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
26. “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
27. “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
4. “how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?
5. “Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?
6. “Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.
7. “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
10. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal in the Sabbath?” – that they might accuse Him.
11. Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?
13. Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.
25. But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26. “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27. “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28. “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29. “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30. “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
31. “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.
32. “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
33. “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
34. “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
35. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
36. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
Can Jesus Perform a Sign?
39. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
41. “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
42. “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon is here.
43. “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
44. “Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
49. And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
2. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitudes stood on the shore.
3. Then He spoke many things to them in parable, saying; “Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4. “And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5. “Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6. “But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7. “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8. “But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
11. He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12. “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13. “Therefore I speak to them in parable, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
15. For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
17. “for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
19. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
21. “yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22. “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
25. ‘but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.
26. “But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.
37. He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38. “The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.
39. “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
40. “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.
42. “and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
44. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
46. “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
48. “which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.
53. Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.
54. When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
55. “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brother James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
58. Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
1. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus.
3. For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.
5. And although he wanted to put him to death. He feared the multitude. Because they counted him as a prophet.
6. But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before tem and him as a prophet.
9. And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who say with him, he commanded it to be given to her.
21. Now these who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
24. But the boat was now in the middles of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus want to them, walking on the sea.
26. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubles, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
29. So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
3. He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
6. ‘then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
13. But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
16. So Jesus said, “Are you also still without understanding?
17. “Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
18. “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
19. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
28. Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
30. Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ feet, and He healed them.
39. And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and come to the region of Magdala.
3. “and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.
4. “A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.
5. Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
8. But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?
9. “Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?
10. “Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?
12. Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
17. Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
18. “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
20. Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
21. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
24. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
27. “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
11. Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.
15. :Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.
20. So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
23. “and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.
26. Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
3. And said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and becomes as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.
6. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
7. “Woe to the world because of offences! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
8. “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.
9. “And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
10. “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.
11. “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
12. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them foes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?
13. “And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
14. “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15. “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
17. “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18. “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
22. Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
23. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24. “And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25. “But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
27. “Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
30. “And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
32. “Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgive you all that debt because you begged me.
34. “And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
5. “and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?
8. He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
13. Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them..
23. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
28. So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
30. “But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
1. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2. “Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3. “And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4. “and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went.
5. “Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
9. “And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.
10. “But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.
13. “But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?
14. ‘Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
20. Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
24. And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.
25. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.
26. “Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
29. Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.
34. So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.
2. saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me.
12. Then Jesus went into the temple of God drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those sold doves.
19. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.
21. So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.
27. So they answered Jesus and said, “We do not know.” And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
29. “He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went.
30. “Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go.
31. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
32. “For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.
33. “Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
34. “Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit.
36. “Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them.
39. “So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
43. “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.
Who Enters into the Kingdom?
3. “and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.
5. “But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.
6. “And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.
7. “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
8. “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
10. “So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
12. “So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
16. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.
18. But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?
19. “Show Me the tax money.” So they brought Him a denarius.
24. saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
25. “Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.
26. “Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.
27. “Last of all the woman died also.
29. Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.
30. “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.
38. “This is the first and great commandment.
2. saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3. “Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4. “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulder; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5. “But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.
8. “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.
9. “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.
10. “And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
11. “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12. “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13. “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
14. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ house, and for a pretense make ling prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
17. “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
19. “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20. “Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.
21. “He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.
22. “And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
24. “Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.
26. “Blind Pharisees, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
28. “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
31. “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32. “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt.
33. “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
35. “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36. “Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
1. Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the building of the temple.
4. And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.
5. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8. “All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10. “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11. “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12. “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13. “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
16. “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17. “Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18. “And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
20. “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
21. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22. “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
24. “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25. “See, I have told you beforehand.
26. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27. “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashed to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28. “For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.
29. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven will be shaken.
30. “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31. “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32. “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch had already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
33. “So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near – at the doors!
34. “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.
35. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
36. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
37. “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
39. “and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
40. “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41. “Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42. “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43. “But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44. “Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
45. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?
46. “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.
47. “Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.
51. “and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
1. “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2. “Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
4. “but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5. “But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
7. “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
10. “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
13. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
14. “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
15. “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
16. “Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
17. “And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.
18. “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.
19. “After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
24. “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
26. “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27. ‘So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
28. ‘Therefore take the talent from him, and five it to him who had ten talents.
29. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
31. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32. “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33. “And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
37. “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38. ‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39. ‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?
7. a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He say at the table.
8. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?
10. But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
11. “For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
12. “For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.
13. “Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.
15. and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
23. He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.
27. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
34. Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.
35. Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.
40. Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
49. Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greeting, Rabbi!” and kissed Him.
50. But Jesus said to him, “Friend, why have you come?” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.
51. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his eat.
52. But Jesus said to him, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
53. “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?
55. In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.
56. “But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.
58. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.
65. Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!
74. Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed.
75. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.
7. And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.
8. Therefore that field had been called the Field of Blood to this day.
15. Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished.
18. For he knew that they had handled Him over because of envy.
42. “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
51. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split.
53. and coming out of the graves after His resurrection , they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
56. among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
4. And the guards shook for fear of him, and his became like dead men.
5. But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6. “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
9. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.
18. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
20. “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. | 2019-04-20T18:19:24Z | http://orthodoxincheon.or.kr/st%20matthew%20in%20english%20antonios.htm |
Tesco, Britain’s biggest retail supermarket, and Disney are merging to launch and increase production of a range of co-branded food products.
The two are set to start with the production of fresh fruits and later expand to include a variety of products ranging from yogurt to breakfast cereals, milk and bakery goods.
”Production of the first items, the fruits and fruit products, is set to go on sale early next month,” said Tesco’s director of chilled foods, Kari Daniels. He added that Tesco is determined to help its customers make healthier choices for their family and that the company’s relationship with Disney will offer parents an easy way to make healthier eating fun.
”The merger between Tesco and Disney has marked an important milestone for Disney’s growing UK food business, and Disney consumer products is committed to giving parents food choices they can approve of while at the same time exciting their kids,” said Dan Dossa, director of Disney consumer products, food, health and beauty UK.
The use of the word "merger" must be a British usage because this is clearly not a merger in the legal sense. The announcement sounds like a program similar to what Disney has with Kroger in the U.S., an independent Disney tie-in that pre-exists the Imagination Farms project.
All of this is interesting because Dunnhumby, a consumer data consultancy, majority owned by Tesco, works with both Tesco — where it was instrumental in the development of the Tesco’s Clubcard, a loyalty card that many perceive as instrumental in Tesco’s success in the United Kingdom — and with Kroger.
One suspects that someone at Dunnhumby is partial to a certain mouse named Mickey or, more accurately, the research says that a lot of consumers like the mouse.
Wal-Mart announced a slight reduction in capital expenditure plans for the U.S. while increasing capital expenditures overseas. Earlier it had announced an intention to purchase all the shares of Japanese chain Seiyu Ltd. that it does not already own.
Scaling back on growth in the U.S. may be a good idea — if — and it is a big if — the slowdown is sufficient to allow the chain to focus on execution at store level.
When we returned from PMA, we wrote our piece, High Lettuce Prices Strain Supplier Relations With Wal-Mart, which followed up on our piece, Wal-Mart’s ‘Opportunity Buy’ Policy Reveals Much About The Company, from a few months ago.
Several vendors, though, called to say that the real problem right now at Wal-Mart, at least as far as produce goes, is that they are focused on what is easy to control, rather than what is important.
Apparently Wal-Mart is really emphasizing good quality and freshness, having tightened up on its specs for many items.
The problem with this, of course, is that Wal-Mart has never bought bad stuff. Bruce Peterson’s original design for the department relied heavily on the borrowed equity of well known produce brands, so it always bought decent quality. We would even say that its early reliance on RPCs led it to get quality above what it was entitled to, as nobody wanted a rejection in a container others weren’t using.
Wal-Mart has quality issues but the quality issues have to do with inconsistent store level execution, not with the quality being purchased.
We don’t know who is driving this, but it smacks of a corporate initiative to raise quality. The produce executives in Bentonville have total control over procurement and almost no control over store level hiring, staffing levels and training. So if top executives lean on produce to get better quality, they wind up pushing the procurement button, but it’s the store level execution button that needs a work-out.
Maureen Torrey Marshall of Torrey Farms in Elba, New York, is, along with Mark Miller of Fresh From Texas/Energy Sprouts in San Antonio, Texas, the immediate past Chairman of United Fresh.
The industry needs your help.
We need massive letters to go to Congress in the next 2 weeks. This affects everyone in the business.
A federal judge in San Francisco has put a crimp in the Bush Administration’s plans to solve the country’s illegal immigration problem on the backs of small business. The White House should rejoice at this defeat, and move on to Plan B.
So in August, DHS promulgated a rule requiring employers to fire workers whose names don’t match their Social Security numbers. But the government’s Social Security database, by its own reckoning, is riddled with mismatch errors unrelated to immigration status. The move succeeded mainly in causing dogs and cats to live together — specifically, the Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO to join in a lawsuit.
Because Judge Breyer didn’t find the rule illegal per se, it’s possible DHS could address the implementation concerns and win on appeal. But the better decision would be to use the defeat as an excuse to stop the enforcement overkill. Until the feds fix their own databases, it makes no sense to punish businesses for hiring workers they believe to be legal. Meanwhile, such enforcement will only make it harder for businesses already short of labor in many parts of the country to find and retain good employees.
As for the politics, major immigration reform is dead at least until 2009 and no amount of business pressure on Congress will revive it. What is possible and is also popular with business, however, are smaller reforms that would expand current visa programs.
Congress has been far too stingy with H-1B work visas for skilled foreign nationals, many of whom are educated in the U.S. only to be sent away after graduation to work for our overseas competitors. The H-1B visa cap has been set at 65,000 since 2004, when it took 10 months to exhaust it. This year the cap was reached on the first day applications were accepted. Lawmakers should eliminate the cap, or at least let market forces influence its size.
American agriculture also faces an acute labor shortage, which is driving many growers to Latin America. An AgJobs proposal on Capitol Hill would help keep food production in the U.S. by allowing illegal alien farm workers who pass a background check to remain here and eventually earn legal status. It also would streamline the process for admitting future agriculture workers.
Amid the housing recession, the last thing the U.S. economy needs is immigration enforcement that drives away labor and causes employers to stop expanding payrolls. If the Bush Administration wants an immigration success, it should work on expanding the supply of legal visas.
It is a strong argument, and the new website makes it easy to express support. The coalition has built a substantial support base, but it will still be quite a battle to move Congress to act on agricultural related immigration issues alone.
You can join that battle here.
Many thanks to Maureen for both her note and for fighting the good fight.
As we mentioned in our announcement of the winners, the award was inspired by the well-known quote from Lao-Tzu: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The award recognizes the efforts the winners have made in beginning the trade’s effort to recover from the spinach crisis of 2006 and, more broadly, to establish a new, higher level of food safety for the produce industry.
Q: Your tenacity in engineering and driving the buyer-led food safety initiative has been commended throughout the industry. Food safety has been a cornerstone of your own business and you have been vigilant and relentless in your efforts to evolve these protocols and ensure they are adopted industry wide. Since you have been at the core of the action, tell us the most important recent news.
A: The Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement has been approved. There’s also been some progress on a reciprocal agreement with Arizona, based on the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement. In any case inspectors should be working in Arizona this winter. This is so very positive for California and Arizona shippers to be coming together under the same program protocol verified through state inspectors.
That’s the leafy greens piece. The California tomato farmers group is working in conjunction with the Florida tomato committee. This summer, the legislature of Florida voted on requiring GAP programs and it is now a matter of law.
Tomato growers in California, where almost 95 percent of tomato volume is generated, have voluntarily agreed to food safety standards that will be audited. And California and Florida are working together to align their standards. These are two very positive developments in the leafy greens and tomatoes categories, major commodities identified in food safety crises.
Q: What further actions have you been taking personally?
A: Directly on food safety, what we as a company are doing currently is really thinking through what kind of testing methodology is appropriate and inappropriate for testing.
The PCR test is not a very good means of identifying food safety problems within a produce system, yet it is used very widely. It wasn’t originally developed for use in produce. It comes up with multiple false positives sending shock through the industry. It has to be a test-and-hold program. We are trying to assess appropriate testing methodology and pushing for standardization on how suppliers handle it and apply it.
What makes sense to us is to do raw product testing in the field as part of a food safety program. We believe that with the science available today, finished product testing requires enrichment tests, which can take four or five days of shelf life off the product. This creates additional challenges.
Q: Looking back through this past year, what were the watershed moments?
A: The number one watershed moment for the industry was responding so quickly through WGA. They said regulations are something we want to do and took steps to make it happen within six weeks of the spinach crisis. It is remarkable to get that kind of consensus in that time period. Buyers had to make a push, and growers lobbied other growers, who united around it. This was a turning point for the industry. As a result of that, Florida tomato growers asked for regulations, and California tomato growers voluntarily agreed to abide by standards.
Q: How influential was the buyer-led initiative?
A: I have to think that Western Growers heard the hoof beats of buyers saying you must do something. I won’t go as far as taking credit for saying that the Marketing Agreement was a direct result of buyers. Buyers needed to recognize the scope of the food safety problem and be proactive in driving solutions. We saw leafy greens as the obvious category to focus on.
Many were looking around asking, “What should we do?” We were a sailboat getting pushed in the wind or a sail boat without a rudder, and we were getting battered by a storm we didn’t have anything to do with. We needed a buyer coalition to create standardized solutions and speak with one voice.
Q: How did the coalition actually get formed?
A: This is a relationship business. Dave (Corsi) and I began talking about what we should be doing to move in that direction. We reached out. Mike O’Brien was a big part of the process. He helped recruit people we didn’t know. Between us and those that signed on, we had $300 billion in retail sales.
Q: You amassed an impressive number and mix of prominent signatories, although not all joined the bandwagon. Most noticeably, the largest retailer refrained. Bruce Peterson, then Senior VP for Perishables at Wal-Mart, explained Wal-Mart’s decision for not signing on to the buyer-led initiative that food safety regulations needed to come down from the government.
A: There were many buyers who for many reasons didn’t sign on. Some worked behind the scenes to help us or give valuable advice. In any case, the coalition provided a big influence. That was the upshot of what happened.
Q: The government’s, and in particular, FDA’s initial reaction to the spinach outbreak spewed much controversy in the industry. Prominent industry executives were quite vocal in condemning FDA’s recommendation to ban all fresh spinach consumption nationwide as incongruent and unnecessary, pummeling the category and spawning devastating repercussions across the fresh produce industry.
A: I stood up at that first town hall meeting and challenged speakers on some of their statements related to this issue. It concerned me that phrases like, ‘this is just one incident’, would diminish the urgency to act on the underlying problems. Yes, it was an overreaction on FDA’s part, but this was one of 22 incidents in Salinas Valley, one of multiple problems. This wasn’t an isolated incident.
Along these lines, the industry follows food safety practices, but we had no means of measuring. Growers care about food safety in principle, but whether all the necessary GAPs were being followed by everyone was questionable. To insure comprehensive compliance begged the need for standardized procedures and audits. Some of the statements in that town hall meeting alarmed me. And that very day retailers were meeting to put out a proposal. It helped us coalesce around our response.
We would have liked more buyers but we approach things differently. Merely the fact buyers came together in the fashion they did was remarkable, in the same way that growers formed an alliance. That moment in time things came together.
Mike (O’Brien) knew some of those smaller retailers, and was instrumental in helping us win the loyalty of the regional chains. Wegmans is recognized as a preeminent retailer. Dave’s leadership within Wegmans and PMA and the way the industry views him was very important to get people on board.
It’s still a people-business. I brought a food safety perspective. Markon has established a strong reputation for food safety within the industry. Markon did not have any products implicated in that spinach crisis, but none the less was affected, as all companies are when a recall or foodborne outbreak hits.
We suppose that a man whose last name begins with a Y has grown used to being listed last. Yet, most assuredly, the position is no reflection on the man, his contributions to food safety or his achievements in life.
In some ways his contribution is the most remarkable. Of our seven honorees, after all, three represent large fresh-cut processors with specific business interests in solving this problem; one held an institutional position at the heart of the crisis, two are retailers that may have never been mentioned had Tim not driven the creation of the Buyer-led Food Safety Initiative and thus created a venue for them to exert influence.
Besides which, Tim had already done his ‘bit’. Tim had been chairman of the board of the Produce Marketing Association, he was at a place in the industry where he was just supposed to be available for consultations. He was to be Yoda, not Luke Skywalker.
Yet there was something about this problem… maybe it was his being in Salinas — but not being a grower — that filled Tim with a fury. And he roused himself to fight once again. He may not have had a lightsaber, but his weapon was more powerful still: An idea whose time had come.
Congratulations to Tim and thank you for taking the “single step” to helping the industry get started on the road to a bright future that includes the safest fresh produce possible.
May the force be with you… and the industry… always.
Our continuing series on the PMA convention in Houston kicked off with a piece that asked a question: PMA Analysis — Does Houston Merit A Permanent Place In The PMA Rotation?
We then looked at attendance and pointed out that in Houston, PMA’s Attendance Just Shy Of 16,000. Peter Dessak, Vice President of Six L’s Packing Company, wrote us explaining that his experience out in the Galleria area — or “the boondocks” as he put it — was that it added significantly to the cost of the show and restricted the time available for other activities. We called that piece, Pundit’s Mailbag — PMA Needs To Factor Bus Time And Taxi Costs Into Convention City Choice.
In the course of these articles we’ve mentioned that there is a normal fluctuation of around 2,000 attendees when the PMA convention moves in and out of California. Some readers took umbrage at our characterization of those “swing” attendees.
Jack Vessey, Vice President/Marketing Director, Vessey & Company, has often served as a kind of defender of the growing base, including in a letter we published under the title, Pundit’s Mailbag — Trapping Stations And Food Safety Costs, where Jack decried the practice of burdening the growers with additional costs in the service of food safety.
Do you think that it would be good to raise the sophistication level of the sales/marketing on growing/agriculture subjects?
How about sales/marketing gaining exposure to growing?
We have marketers engaging in year round contracts at red ink, because they have no clue as to what are costs are on a year to year basis.
I guess the industry doesn’t need to learn from those with mud on their boots, or dirt on their hands.
Who needs unsophisticated day-tripping California farmers, when we can just get it all offshore!
Three swipes with a wet noodle for the Pundit in not pointing out that learning happens on all sides and, of course, having more production-side attendees opens up the possibility of learning for everyone else.
This being said, however, PMA is in a particular situation, which is that it has to provide value for exhibitors who, primarily, are looking to sell things to retail produce buyers.
To Jack’s point, this means those booths are principally staffed with sales and marketing people, and the nature of their jobs and the format of the show is such that whatever doubtless very valuable information growers could impart, the floor of the PMA convention is not a likely venue for this to happen.
We should mention that this issue goes beyond growers and is likely to become even more pronounced as PMA becomes a more international organization.
We publicized the launch of the Australia/New Zealand PMA Country Council here. It has been a stupendous success: There were more people from the Australian and New Zealand produce industry in Houston than gather for any annual meeting in Australia or New Zealand!
Yes, there is a produce trade between Australia/New Zealand and the U.S. The U.S. imports kiwi and apples from New Zealand (see our interview with Dawn Gray of Enza here), and Australian navels are a significant item.
There is a little export business from the United States to Australia and New Zealand. We highlighted the sale of USA pears in New Zealand here.
Still, the vast majority of Australian and New Zealand attendees are not at PMA to buy or sell produce. They are there to learn.
That is true of many international attendees.
We’re hearing word of this kind of disconnect more and more frequently, particularly as the non-North American attendance rises.
Some of it could be solved by PMA doing more education about how attendees should approach exhibitors about non-purchasing inquiries.
In this example, the visiting processor should have offered a card, asked who would be in charge and suggested a get-together outside of exhibit hall hours or a phone conversation after the show.
The very fact that this processor was completely non-competitive opened the door to an exchange of information, sort of a long distance share group, and approached in this way, our exhibiting processor would have almost certainly been amenable.
But it is not uncommon for exhibiting companies to spend in the six figures for one convention — and they are under pressure to show tangible returns from that investment. They need to prioritize their time on the trade show floor.
So education about how to approach these things can help. But there is also a disconnect between the staffing and the attendees at many trade shows.
As buying becomes more of an executive function with issues of food safety, sustainability and corporate social responsibility being of increasing concern to buying organizations, the staffing at booths, which very frequently is a bunch of hired models to give out samples combined with salespeople and merchandisers, is increasingly unable to provide truly valuable information. PMA is so important that it manages to keep a fair number of top executives in their booths for at least two days — but it is an exception in the trade show world.
One reason various efforts, dating back to FMI’s old Produce Pavilion, have had difficulty in their efforts to turn a produce trade show into an information source for supermarket CEOs is that produce trade booths are typically not staffed with people able to usefully help a supermarket CEO.
It is hard to imagine someone like Wal-Mart’s CEO Lee Scott or Tesco’s CEO Sir Terry Leahy deciding that the way they want to learn about produce is to attend our industry trade shows. After all, they have produce executives who, presumably, they would turn to if they suddenly got interested in the area.
But if they did come, it is hard to know what the typical booth worker at a produce show would have to say to them that would be helpful.
We may never have to look for Mr. Scott or Sir Terry at our trade shows, but as corporate-level concerns start to have greater influence on procurement, exhibitors may need to think hard about the make-up of their booth staff.
Rarely do buyers need to see the product any more. Half the time, the “product” at these shows isn’t even the real McCoy. We’ve seen plenty of counter-seasonal shippers and marketing boards removing labels so they can have grapes or melons or stone fruit to display.
But if we are not showing the product, what are we exhibiting? And are we staffing to really demonstrate the capabilities we offer?
Many thanks to Jack for helping us think about the role of growers and the broader issue of trade shows in the 21st century. | 2019-04-25T05:57:27Z | http://perishablepundit.com/index.php?date=10/24/07&pundit=2 |
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Terra Trevor’s guest post last week and the follow-on comments from readers really got me thinking about what I wear at home and how I feel about it. I’ve written quite a bit about how our wardrobes should suit our actual lifestyles instead of imagined or wished for lives. However, for some reason, when I’ve thought about my own wardrobe and lifestyle, I really only took my “out and about” activities into consideration. I mostly left my at-home life out of the equation and have rarely addressed this topic on the blog thus far.
What do you wear when you’re at home?
Such an omission might make sense for someone who is rarely at home and spends the majority of her time at an office and engaging in after hours and weekend socializing. This type of woman may not really need to give much attention to what she wears at home. A few pairs of pajamas or nightgowns may be all she really needs. But that is not my life at all.
There are no rights or wrongs in regards to at-home wear. Some people like to wear business clothes in their home offices, while others find they can be just as productive working in their pajamas. We all need to determine what works best for us in terms of our comfort, aesthetic preferences, and activities. These are the same considerations we should keep in mind for all areas of our wardrobes.
This post addresses my unique at-home situation, as well as my recent musings on what is and isn’t working for me. It’s my hope that my insights will be interesting and meaningful to you as you consider what you do or don’t want to wear at home.
For the most part, I haven’t worked in an office since 2000. Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked from home as an employee, independent contractor, or entrepreneur. At times I’ve worked full-time, at times I’ve worked part-time, and sometimes I haven’t worked much at all. My jobs have varied substantially, but the common denominator is that I’ve spent a large proportion of my time at home for many, many years now. In fact, it’s safe to say that for most of those years, I’ve spent over two-thirds of my life at home – and lately it’s been even more.
Until recently, when I’ve been at home, I’ve almost exclusively worn what I’ve considered “lounge wear.” Some people have asked what that term means and there is no absolute definition that I can provide. “Lounge wear” can encapsulate anything from pajamas to workout wear to clothing that is specifically marketed for that purpose (as one example, here’s what Nordstrom includes in their lounge category). To make things even more confusing, some people basically downgrade worn out “regular” clothes to lounge wear, including things like jeans and other casual wear.
Examples of the “lounge wear” items I wore for many years.
In contrast to the rest of my wardrobe, the cost-per-wear for my lounge wear items has generally been very low. I never spent much money on these pieces because I didn’t place strong importance on them. I didn’t really try to have my at-home clothing “spark joy” in my heart. I considered my lounge / workout items to be “serviceable” instead of fashionable. I didn’t want to “waste” too much money on these items because I wanted to spend the bulk of my clothing budget on my “regular” clothes, those garments I wore out and about and around other people.
It’s not that I looked like a total slob at home. I always showered, put on make-up, and made sure I looked reasonably presentable. I was never embarrassed to open the door to the UPS delivery man or any other rare visitors who happened to drop by. I didn’t think I looked terrible, yet I didn’t think I looked good, either. My at-home wardrobe has always been fairly utilitarian – functional but not at all exciting.
When I posted about my “wardrobe benchwarmers” last year, several readers suggested that I start wearing those pieces at home. Surprisingly, I had never considered doing that before! I let the majority of my wardrobe gather dust in my closet while I wore the same rather blah lounge wear day after day. If I did venture away from home, it was usually only for a few hours at a time, at which point I painstakingly selected the pieces for my outfits. Those were the clothes I cared about, the ones that I’d shopped for in order to present a positive image to the world.
I’m sure many of you can see the irony in the “tried and true” wardrobe approach I used for many years. I spent the bulk of my budget on things that rarely got worn and almost no money on the garments that I put on each and every day. I can see the pure folly in it now, yet I gave it virtually no thought for well over a decade!
After the readers’ comments last year, I made some changes. I started wearing more of my “regular” tops at home, especially during the cooler months. Many of my casual knit tops started to see a lot more wear with this new approach. While I continued to wear the same pants and slippers as I had previously, I was happy to be bringing more of my clothes into regular rotation. I also felt more attractive and well put together and better about how I looked overall. That one small change made a big difference.
Yet I still didn’t give much thought to my at-home wardrobe. It wasn’t until I exchanged email with Terra that I realized I was still doing things all wrong. Terra and I have very similar lifestyles. We both live in casual Southern California beach communities and we both spend most of our time at home. When Terra revealed that her largest wardrobe capsule is for at-home wear, a lightbulb lit up inside my head.
In her post last week, Terra expressed her deep happiness and satisfaction about what she wears at home. She also mentioned that she can easily make a few quick changes to be ready to walk out the door for pretty much all of her “out and about” activities. Unlike me, she doesn’t have to change her entire outfit and agonize over what to put on when she leaves the house. I found myself wanting what Terra has, and it’s really time!
I know it won’t happen overnight, but I want my wardrobe to better reflect my current lifestyle. Although there is a part of me that wants my lifestyle to change, the truth is that I’m not sure when that will happen. I continue to struggle with a lot of health challenges that limit what I’m able to do and I need to accept that. I do the best I can, but the reality is that I am at home most of the time. Since that’s the case, why not devote more time, attention, and money to the clothes I wear at home?
Now that I’ve seen the light about my at-home wardrobe, I’m more willing to buy higher quality “lounge wear” and wear a greater percentage of what used to be my “out and about” clothing when I’m at home. I love bright colors, stripes, and prints, so those are the types of things I want to wear at home. I also love comfortable, cozy fabrics and clothes that stay in place, rather than fussy, flimsy pieces that have to be adjusted over and over and don’t wash or wear well. I now want the clothes I wear at home to “spark joy” just as much as the garments in the rest of my wardrobe.
I’ve also discovered that the ritual of self-care, and dressing in a manner that uplifts us, even when we are alone, especially when we are alone, makes it far easier to get dressed and look our best when we are preparing ourselves to go to work, or a social event. If we feel good about our appearance most of the time while we are at home, it provides a smoother transition when we get “dressed” to go out in public.
I no longer want to hold an ugly duckling point of view or place undue pressure on myself to be a beautiful swan every time I step outside the door. What I long for is a sense of balance, and I feel I’m well on my way thanks to Terra!
I need to give this all some more thought and analysis (you know I love my numbers…), so I’m sure I will write more about this topic moving forward. For now, I just wanted to share my recent insights and open up more discussion on this important subject. Stay tuned for more insights and conclusions as time goes by!
I know that many of you chimed on with your thoughts on at-home wear in response to Terra’s post. But I welcome any additional feedback here, either about what I have written or about your own at-home wear.
As one commenter recently wrote to Terra, this topic is rarely discussed by bloggers and fashion experts. But it’s very important that we consider it and determine what works best for us. If you’ve settled upon an at-home wear formula that works for you, please share it with us. And if you are still working it through and have questions, feel free to post them. I love the discussions we have here and I find your thoughts and insights very helpful. In fact, many of my future posts are inspired by reader comments, so keep them coming!
I was recently interviewed for an article in Artefact Magazine called, “The Hidden Life of a Shopaholic.” Click here to read it. By the way, the photo in the article is not recent. My closet is not nearly as packed anymore (but I still love stripes).
If any of you have read my most recent book, “End Closet Chaos,” and found it helpful, I could really use some additional reviews on Amazon. Books with more reviews have increased visibility and are more readily purchased. Just a few sentences can really make a difference! Click here if you want to leave a review (I also welcome reviews for my first book, “UnShopping”). Thanks so much!
This entry was posted in Behavior & Psychology, Personal Style, Wardrobe Management. Bookmark the permalink.
Debbie, like you, I have primarily worked at home for a very long time, for me its been almost 20 years. I always felt I was a pioneer of the work-at-home movement! I have been self-employed in some capacity since 1987, when I first went on my own as a freelance illustrator.
My visual communications business is now part time to my “real” job as marketing manager for a wireless communications business. I am now essentially a mobile worker, in that while I spend some time in the office, most of my time is spent working from my home office and telecommuting with my coworkers.
What does that mean for how I dress?Even though I work at home, the environment is like an office during business hours because I have a constant flow of employees in and out of my house. My disabled mother has a home health care aide, often employees from our office will stop by my house to discuss things, or I have people coming to work on the properties. Its a very active place during the day.
So I dress at home like I was going to work. I’ve been doing this for so long, its second nature. I have to remind myself I don’t have to do this on the weekends–that I can be totally casual if I so choose! My style has evolved so that my work look easily morphs into a more leisurely look. I’m one of those people who gets dressed in the morning and then doesn’t think about my clothes unless they are bothering me for some reason. I don’t give much thought to what I look like for the rest of the day once I’ve gotten myself ready. One of the requirements for my clothes is that they have to fit well and be comfortable enough not to interfere with my thought processes once I get to work in the morning. For me work and home are so blended–I’m like your typical “live above the store” personality.
I guess we were both pioneers in working from home, Deby! I first did it when I moved from Colorado to Lake Tahoe and started working remotely. The technology was really sketchy back then (late 2000), but I managed to make it work. From the beginning, I always wore lounge / workout type clothes in my home office, though. What’s always been different for me is that I never met with anyone in my home office or had anyone drop by. All of my contacts were always via phone or email and all of my meetings happened in other locations. I think I just got into the habit of not having my home wear matter, but it was a bad habit. What I’m trying to do now is have more crossover in terms of what I wear at home and what I wear out. I’m also trying to shift my overall style into more comfortable and less fussy clothes, like what you described in response to Terra’s post. I think I didn’t consider comfort enough when I was out and about and considered it too much at home, so I’m striving for balance now. I’d also like to get dressed in the morning and not think about my clothes unless they are bothering me. And if they are bothering me, then they probably need to be passed on!
I think the types of separates you choose is similar in many ways to what I wear daily, speaking in terms of pants, tops, jackets and cardigans. Not so much with the skirts, unless its spring/summer here–otherwise its too cold for skirts. You prefer a fuller leg pant to my preference for a skinny leg style, and I seem to have a wider range of colors than you in my pants. You and I share a common theme in our styles of cardigans. I will layer a top under a cardigan as you do, and the silhouettes of your tops are similar to mine, unless I’m wearing a tunic top. Since I wear skinny pants, I usually wear a tunic top or a long cardigan.
What I’m trying to get to here is that you already have the essential elements of a business casual work at home wardrobe from what I have seen. You should just wear your clothes during your business hours and then change them when its time to wind down, even if you don’t leave the house. Dressing for work everyday even though I may not work outside the house puts me in a different headspace where I feel professional. I don’t get that feeling if I’m sitting around in pjs or workout clothes. Its just not the same, even though its all in your head.
I strongly agree, and often do this as well. Yet as a writer, when I am deep into writing, and meeting deadlines, or simply deep into the process of working on a manuscript it becomes all about the structure of my day and being comfortable as possible for very long hours at my computer, and has less to do with what I am wearing.
Terra, a lot of my job involves writing and I find I can get in the groove better if I’ve taken the time to get myself together first.
Good points, Deby. You’re right that I don’t have a lot of variety in my pants colors. They’re so difficult for me to find! But I am moving more toward slimmer pants, at least part of the time. I just find it hard to sit all day in most of the pants I have, so I need to find some more comfortable options. I’ve been wearing my “regular” tops and cardigans at home more and feeling more put together and attractive as a result. I never sit around in pajamas and don’t wear true workout clothes anymore, either. I feel pretty good in what I’m wearing more of the time now, but still would like to make some improvements.
Your at-home clothes sound like they fit your life well, Mary. I can’t hang out in nightwear, either. I never put pajamas on until after 9 pm and I take them off after I eat breakfast in the morning. I’m working to be more realistic about what clothes suit my lifestyle and I’m striving to have less of a dividing line between what I wear at home and what I wear outside the home. It’s taking me some time to figure it all out, but I’m on my way.
A fantastic post Debbie and one that has fascinated me for a while whenever I read the term ‘lounge wear’. It’s not a term that’s really in use in Australia, although our at-home clothes certainly fall into this category.
For many years, I wore older clothes I didn’t necessarily like around the house and it never occurred to me it was worth dressing up when it was only me or family who were going to see me. Then I had an epiphany: dressing well for myself and my family was MORE important than dressing up for people outside my home!
Since then, I’ve developed a comfortable, stylish collection of clothes, most of which can be worn ANYWHERE. With minor changes, I can wear my clothes at home, to work (dressy casual office code) or to a party. I do keep small capsules of clothes suitable for cleaning the house in, or for fancy events, etc, so these occasions are catered for as well.
I recently wrote a post about how I consider my entire wardrobe as a set of different capsules. And I’m happy to say, the bulk of my clothes can be worn most days, no matter what I’m doing.
I live in Australia and was also fascinated by the lounge wear concept. I share the same ideas as you just keeping a dressier capsule for the more formal events I occasionally attend. When I buy a piece of clothing I have to think of three different ways to wear it including a more dressed up variation. Clothes must be comfortable and not have to be adjusted during the day which does make them able to be ” lounged” in. It is interesting to read everybody’s point of view. Love reading your blog Debbie.
I love what you had to say, Kim, and I also really enjoyed your post on multiple capsule wardrobes (I see you’re another fan of Marie Kondo!). This one line that you wrote above is SO right on and hit home for me: “Dressing well for myself and my family was MORE important than dressing up for people outside my home!” This is so true and I think a lot of people don’t consider this. I know I didn’t for such a long time. I am aiming to get to where you are now, with a comfortable and stylish collection of clothes that can be worn anywhere. I was already closer than I thought, but I had to shift my mindset a bit in terms of types of clothes. This is something I’m going to continue to work on and I’m sure I will write about it again. Thanks for sharing your insights.
Di, it’s interesting that “lounge wear” isn’t really a thing in Australia. I like what you wrote about wearing things 3 ways and having all clothes be comfortable enough to lounge in. Very good points!
I agree that it’s worth it to spend some time getting ready, Cornelia, even when we’re going to be at home all day. I know I feel better about myself when I take the time (which is every day unless I’m really sick). I have also noticed that it takes more effort as I’ve been getting older, but the self-discipline is important here, as in all areas of life. I’m glad you’re still enjoying my blog, as you’ve been around since close to the beginning!
I too usually get dressed in the morning based on my plans for that day and then wear that outfit all day long. I may adjust it in the evening if I am going out or change shoes or lose/gain a layer.
I have a few special items I wear when exercising, heavy housework/painting or colouring my hair, but I change into ‘real’ clothes once I am done.
I got a chuckle out of your bra comment, Mary! Your getting dressed philosophy sounds very practical and easy. I think it’s a good idea to wear the clothes we love as much as possible. For those of us who don’t get out as much, that means wearing them at home. I don’t know why I never thought of that before!
Since you are a numbers girl you might consider how much time you spend in each activity and locale and divide that into a wardrobe percentage that you can apply to your closet. I bet the 80/20 is inverted as you suspect. We work so hard to dress well when we first have an interest in the men in our lives, and them we deteriorate our look after that. We say that family and friends are the most important in our live and yet we dress the worst in their presence. I have recently begun to consider what I wear in the lounge category for this reason and adjusting my at home capsule.
Very good comment, Kathy. I think the 80/20 rule was definitely at play for me until I started wearing more of my “regular” clothes at home. The percentages are probably much better now, but I haven’t done the math yet (but maybe I should). I agree that we shouldn’t dress like slobs around our families. I don’t think I ever looked sloppy, but some of my at-home clothes were not all that great. I’m doing better now, but there is still room for improvement. But the fact that we’re considering these things is a very important first step!
I can identify with this– I love to dress up, or at least nicely with some style, even at home, and none of the rest of my family really cares about style. I have to laugh because they are always like, why are you wearing that? Why are you wearing jewelry? Are you going somewhere? Um maybe I just take pride in my appearance! Such a difference in perspective. I don’t understand how my sister shows up for Christmas in track pants and a shapeless t-shirt…. sigh.
The way your sister dresses is how many people dress around here, Sarah. I’m constantly viewed as “dressed up” here, but I like to feel more put together. I’m not a jeans, t-shirt, and flip-flops kind of person and I never will be. We all need to be true to ourselves. I think that those who dress like slobs sometimes feel uncomfortable around those of us who take care with our appearance. So they make comments and try to get us to tone the way we dress or fix ourselves up down. That’s their issue. I think we should continue to do what makes us feel good, which is individual to all of us.
Tara, I’m sorry your husband doesn’t make the same effort to look good for you. Sadly, I think that happens a lot. But I’m glad you’re still doing what feels right and good for you!
Hello! I’ve been thinking on this topic long and hard since reading the guest post, and I have to agree- it’s a damn shame I’ve neglected this side of things as much as I have. The moment I get home, I change into my ‘lounge’ wear- most of which I wouldn’t want to be caught dead in by anyone other than my immediate family. It’s so hard to imagine that I would not care about what I wear at home, where I am a role-model for my daughter and a wife to a wonderful husband who deserves to see me in a better light than the haggard, stained mom that I look like after taking my wonderful business clothing off! I’m going to make an effort starting now, and make updating my at-home wardrobe a priority. I ordered a few things thanks to a great sale at WHBM- many items are $19.99 and were combine-able with a coupon. I still have a hard time SPENDING money on that section of my wardrobe, but it amuses me immensely to think I can wear a $90 sweater at home for lounging in at a fraction of the cost. I also don’t plan to add many things- maybe I’ll do the 5-piece wardrobe (20 total) for my lounge wear as well to keep my shopping in check.
I failed to mention that I will most likely always have separate capsules, unlike many of you folk. I have a toddler and cook nearly every night, and I always manage to get pretty dirty. I have clothing in such small amounts (for me!) that staining something I love is just not an option :). I can see in the future having some crossover from my casual capsule and my at-home wear, but never or almost never into the business clothes.
When my kids were little I used to wear jeans, shoes or sandals, and a nice v-neck t shirt. I kept an apron on all day over it so I would not get dirty or stained, and if I had to run out on an errand, I could just take it off and I looked ok. I never wore white. These days it is not much different.
Sounds like a great strategy, Lana. Maybe aprons need to come back into vogue. I remember my mom wearing one when I was a kid, but I never wear one myself. But why not? I serves a great purpose and some aprons are actually pretty cute, too.
I think it’s great that you’re already in action on this, Meli. I loved reading your most recent post on this topic. I can see how there will always be some separation between your work and at-home wardrobes. In your situation, it really makes good sense. I think your plan to upgrade the clothes you wear at home is the best way to go. In my life, there should be much more crossover and I’ve gradually been moving in that direction. It all starts with an attitude adjustment. I look forward to seeing how this project goes for you. You’ve made such excellent progress in other areas that I’m sure you’ll do great here as well!
I wanted to add that I still struggle to spend money on my at-home wear, too, but I’m gradually coming around to it. In my case, I really should since I’m at home so much. It takes time for us to adjust our attitudes, though. I think the approach you’re taking makes good sense. I hope the items you ordered work out well for you!
Debbie, in addition to my designated “at-home wear” I also wear clothing from my “sports wear” and “nice wear” capsules at home, depending upon what I will be doing. My home/work lifestyle near the beach in a canyon area includes much dirty work. But if I lived/worked in an apartment or condo I would wear my nicest clothing at home on a more regular basis. Based on my current life I think of my at-home wear as my “regular clothes.” The big different between my at-home wear and my smart casual/nice clothing is that my at-home wear is machine washable. Whereas my smart casual/nice wear is either hand washed in cold water, or on the delicate cycle in cold water, and hung to dry, or dry-cleaned. But the bottom line for me, no matter where I am or who I’m with, is to include clothing that makes my heart sing and brings joy.
Oh, I guess sports wear is not the right word, I don’t wear exercise-wear at home. I meant my sporty nice casual clothing. Casual Eileen Fisher type of wear.
That’s why I wish E.F. wasn’t so expensive. Many pieces in her line can be worn for very casual, smart casual, or dressed up. It covers all the bases. Alas. I’m lucky enough to have a few pieces. And fortunately I’m into being minimal because at those prices, even on sale, a few is all I can have!
I think that thinking of home wear as your “regular” clothes makes perfect sense for you, Terra. It would be a great attitude adjustment for me to think that, too! I think I’m going to shift how I do my accountability and LIWI updates and closet inventories with that in mind. One thing I have done is designated workout clothes and have stopped wearing them for non-workout activities. Some of “lounge” pants could be worn for workout, too, but it’s helping me to separate the two categories as I shift my attitude and practices for dressing at home. My next goal is to get more sporty nice casual clothing, but that will be a gradual process. Thanks again for getting me thinking in a new way about this important topic!
I wanted to add one thing here. I have gotten into the practice of wearing my nicer tops at home on cooler days, but not so much when it gets hot. We don’t have air conditioning and I get hot easily on warmer days. I think that as the hot weather approaches (hopefully it won’t be as crazy as last year!), I need to add some appropriate things to wear at home during that time. I like the idea of cotton sundresses for summer home wear. That is what I’m going to aim for, I think.
We also do not have AC and it can get hot depending on whether we have an on shore or off shore breeze. I also prefer cotton sundresses to wear at home but they are hard to find, especially in a 2 petite. Let me know if you find a good source for affordable sundresses in a fabric that breathes.
I have AC but am too cheap to turn it on unless the outside temp hits 90˚. I have ceiling fans in every room. To augment them, I have several floor fans with rotary grilles that swoop the air around the room and cool it down quite satisfactorily. If you have not heard of these types of fans, you should look into them. They are efficient.
I haven’t heard of those types of fans, but they sound great. I will definitely check into them, especially if we have another summer like last summer!
I will, Terra. I know that small petites can be hard to find, just like talls. Perhaps someone else will chime in here as well. But if I see anything that looks good, I will definitely let you know.
Now that I am often working from home I am really cautious about getting into a loungewear rut. Summer is easy because I really like cotton sundresses and usually wear them any time office clothes aren’t needed. I haven’t been able to find a winter equivalent yet; I’ve stuck to mostly jeans and sweaters, or jeans with a tee and cardigan, but I don’t like it quite as much because jeans almost daily gets quite boring.
I also try not to buy workout gear that would double for slightly-better-than-sweats clothes. So, no yoga pants (I don’t do yoga) or comfortable cotton tees for me. Instead I stick with performance-focused clothing that would be ever so slightly uncomfortable to wear around the house for a full day. That works to dissuade me from grabbing them when I’m not planning on going to the gym.
Sounds like you have a really good strategy in place, Sara. I’m trying to separate my workout clothes more from what I wear at home, too, although most of my workout clothes are still pretty comfortable. I love the idea of wearing cotton sundresses at home during the summer, so I’m going to keep my eyes open for such things. I was looking for dresses at the mall recently and they all looked so dressy or corporate. Maybe as more summer stock comes into the stores, there will be better casual options to choose from. I don’t like to wear jeans at home all day long. Maybe I would if they were more comfortable, so perhaps I just have the wrong types of jeans. My situation is tricky, though, due to nerve problems I have in my legs. I’m fine with wearing knit pants at home, as long as they are better quality and things I’d also be open to wearing out of the house.
I am lucky because my office is casual, most people wear jeans and tees everyday. I tend to dress more put together than everyone else though. And so my at home wear is usually the same as one of my work outfits, with the exception of having a few pieces I think are too “revealing” for at work, and I reserve those for my days off. I have never been one to go around the house in stained or holey items, all my pjs are in great condition and again, even on days off I get dressed for the day and only put on pjs after I have showered for the evening. I think a lot after reading your articles and I realized last week that the area I have neglected is my bras and underwear. I guess because no one else sees them I didn’t want to spend money on those instead of tops, pants, shoes or jewelry. And it wasn’t only ones that were worn out but so many were uncomfortable but I felt guilty throwing them away. Weird, I know. I have decided to dress for myself more than for other people, which is what the at home wear article is all about. From now on everything including underwear must be comfortable or its going! I have really been going thru my undies and have thrown away so many. And I have also replaced all my old bras with new, comfortable ones. Instead of buying “pretty” items that are scratchy and pokes me I will now value comfort first. I wonder if that would be a good post topic or am I the only one who used to only buy new underthings like every two years?
I’ve been one to neglect bras and underwear, too, Laura. I have gotten better in this regard, especially with bras, but there is still room for improvement. I’m making a point of immediately removing uncomfortable underwear and throwing them in the garbage (when I’m at home, of course). I used to just “settle,” but I’ve realized that it’s hard to love an outfit when my undergarments are sub-par. It can really skew our view of the whole picture. I think this could be a good post topic, as I’m sure you and I are not alone. I have mentioned undergarments in my posts here and there, but perhaps a full post on the subject is in order. I think it’s important for EVERYTHING we wear to be at least an “8” or higher and that includes underwear, bras, pajamas, and workout wear as well as our “regular” clothes!
Here here! I renew my supply of bras and underwear regularly and spend money on good quality, attractive items that hold up well. If your underclothes are uncomfortable or not fitting properly, you won’t look or feel your best. It really is worth it.
When I’m at home I wear yoga pants/leggings and sweatshirts in the winter and shorts and t-shirts in the summer. Everything needs to be machine wash and tumble dry. I tend to spend my time doing things like yard work, cooking, painting, and cleaning so I don’t want to mess with hand wash only. I don’t wear makeup at home (It only takes me about 2 minutes to put it on if I need to go out) and I let my hair dry naturally to give it a break from styling tools.
I know I don’t feel good if I stay in my pajamas all day or if I skip a shower and throw my uncombed hair into a clip. Everything I have is stain and hole free. What I have seems appropriate for what I’m doing and it’s comfortable. I don’t feel bad about it, so I think I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.
I think the types of activities we do at home should govern what we wear, Tonya. In your case, if it doesn’t feel broken, then why fix it?! If everything you wear is in good shape and you’re happy with it, more power to you. I don’t think I will ever wear “business clothes” at home and there will probably always be SOME separation between what I wear at home and what I wear for out and about activities. But I am mostly sitting in front of a computer all day, so I can wear some nicer clothes. I will probably always hesitate to wear hand wash or dry clean garments at home, but then again, I’m hesitating to even buy such things these days. I want my wardrobe to be easy to care for and comfortable to wear. Comfortable is sometimes looked at as a bad word by stylists and style aficionados, but that’s probably because to lots of people it means wearing very sloppy clothing. It’s definitely possible to look stylish and attractive AND be comfortable physically and that’s what I’m aiming for at this point. As an aside, I really need to adopt your make-up and hair routine. I’m FAR too high-maintenance!
Hello! I especially liked this post because of the self-awareness you generously shared with us. It’s very inspiring to see you grow right here in front of us. Very courageous of you too. I would have difficulty putting myself out there in a blog before I felt I had fully ‘mastered’ my topic. But probably by then, I would no longer be interested in maintaining a blog about it! Anyhow, kudos to you.
What you said about loungewear helped me fully realize what it is about my recent forays in closet editing that I found most satisfying. For the very first time in my life, I feel that I have finally arrived at a something like a functional, comfortable, ‘my style’ and cohesive wardrobe made up of just enough pieces to allow for fun without overwhelming me.
It all began with a 30$ gift card I received this last Christmas from my sister-in-law. The gift card was for Simons, a well-known upmarket small chain here in Quebec, Canada. I went to the store in January to spend the card, but after the holidays, I did not want to spend more money. Simons is like a modern Selfridges : it has every type of clothes and accessories that you can imagine : office, casual, teen, lingerie, pajamas, coats, bags, scarves, you name it. Within each category, the choice is abundant. Its stores are as large as department stores, but actually nice, with clever staging and lavish architecture. The one near my house even has a couture section featuring runway clothes. Nevertheless, I was resolved to go in there and spend only the 30$ from the gift card — you can imagine the challenge and the temptations.
My plan was to stick to the loungewear, pyjamas, socks and lingerie departments seeing as these sport the less expensive items and would incur less temptation. I said to myself : just have some fun, it’ll be loungewear so it doesnt have to fit in with the rest of your wardrobe. So I did, and I came home with some very nice loungewear and the cutest bra I had ever seen, all for 35$ (it was sale season). It was the first time in my life that I bought such ”unimportant” or ”low-status” things during sale season. I usually go for, and use my money on, flashy and expensive tops or bottoms that are marked down quite a lot.
Over the following couple of weeks I noticed I was wearing my new pieces all the time. Only then did I make the important realization : for the first time in my life I had bought dedicated loungewear. Also, for the first time in my life, I had bought a bra because I really liked it, and not because it was ”a bra that I need to wear under this type of top’. And lo and behold, I was feeling uplifted while going about my house chores. I spend most of my time at home, so it was a noticeable improvement in my life. But this was just the start : it triggered a cascade for wardrobe uplifts.
Before what I call my ‘loungewear evolution’, I had downgraded to loungewear some clothes that I did not like enough to put in my regular going-out-of-the-house wardrobe. As a result I often ended up spending my day in pyjamas because I was not thrilled by my house clothes and I had this silly, unconscious notion that wearing my nicer clothes around the house was impractical. I would often change into clothes just before my partner was due to come back from work. I was embarrassed by this even though nobody knew. I realize now that the stress of being ‘caught’ in pajamas was sapping my energy, concentration and general well-being.
Since then, I started wearing my more comfortable nice tops at home, and almost all of the clothes I bought for spring were bought with the revolutionary idea that they will be both nice as outing clothes and yet comfy and practical enough that I will want to put them on at home.
Bottom line : from this I learned that while we’re all trying to downsize and declutter our closets, sometimes adding a new piece that sparks joy *before* removing other stuff provides a benchmark against which to compare our old clothes and makes the whole process of eliminating clothes more obvious, less painful and way faster.
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful success story with us, Zoe! It brought a smile to my face to read about your evolution in terms of lounge wear and your wardrobe at large. You’ve made great strides as a result of that $30 gift card! I can tell that you are feeling much happier at home these days and I can relate. It’s amazing how small changes can really make a big difference. What you wrote at the end was a very good point. Sometimes we do have more strength to downsize our wardrobes after we bring in a piece of two that “sparks joy.” This is in line with my philosophy of wearing my favorite clothes when I shop. I aim to only buy things that I like at least as much as what I have on. I’ve saved myself quite a few mistakes since I started that practice. I think I might share your tip in a future post, as it might really be a breakthrough for some people. One can also take their favorite EXISTING wardrobe pieces and contrast them against the lesser items that they’re hanging on to. It’s like Bridgette Raes’ excellent question: “Under what circumstances would you wear that item over something else that you like much better in your closet?” (paraphrasing, but that’s the gist of it) In some cases for myself, I realized that I would ALWAYS wear my preferred piece, so why hang on to the sub-standard items?
I’ve been looking into options that are “sneaky” – like pants that look fancy but are stretchy, stuff like that. An ad keeps popping up on my Facebook feed for dress yoga pants – I think they are essentially ponte pants cut in a trouser cut. Kind of pricey though!
I also found a rayon layering weight t-shirt at a consignment shop that I’ve been wearing to death, it’s casual enough to wear with jeans but fancy enough to put under a blazer for work. I LOVE double-tasking clothes like this! I’m definitely going to try to go in that direction more in the future. But I’ve been having a hard time parting with some of my worn out exercise clothes. I couldn’t tell you why!
And my third recent favorite is the cotton-silk button up from Gap. It’s MACHINE WASHABLE and probably the most comfortable fabric I’ve ever worn in my life. I was joking about trying to sleep in it the other day. I’d love to hear if anyone knows of other brands that have this type of fabric. It straddles that perfect line between practical and luxe, I think.
Several brands are carrying very comfortable “real” fabric mixes these days–both Everlane and LLBean do cotton/cashmere blends light enough to wear through spring and wonderful to layer. . .
Cheers, Sarah E & Amy! I use this kind of strategy too. Don’t laugh (you can laugh) but I like to think my maternity jeans are pretty “sneaky” – medium wash basic bootcuts – with a comfy fabric-covered elastic waist. They’ve been especially great for cold-weather layering.
The “sneaky” clothes you mentioned sound great, Sarah! I love when I find things like that, too. I think I’ve seen the ad you referenced. Yes, quite expensive, but might be worth it. I am tired of sacrificing comfort for style. I want everything I wear to be comfortable these days, and I believe that it’s definitely possible to be stylish and comfortable at the same time.
Amy, thanks for sharing the brand recommendations. And Claire, thanks for chiming in about he maternity jeans. I actually think that’s actually a good idea and may work well for some people. I have trouble finding pants/jeans, too, but they’re usually tight in the hips and thighs and too big in the waist/tummy area. Stretch in pants helps a lot with the comfort, so I can see how the maternity pants would be easy to wear. And you can’t beat the cost-per-wear you’ve gotten from them!
I am a fuddy-duddy that doesn’t understand the attraction of “leisure-wear” or “lounge-wear” as a category of clothing but then my idea of casual clothes are jeans (I own 1 pair) or casual pants that can go on a hike or to the market. My sister, who has worked from her home office since 1980, gets up and gets fully dressed (make-up, jewelry, shoes) to walk down the hall to her office. (She’s been doing this long before the advent of video conferencing, which she does frequently.) I also work from home and wear pants, sweaters, blouses, etc. (I am a slightly less formal person than my sister.) I have kept some of my old “office” clothes for meetings with clients and so on. Fortunately, elements of these clothes are interchangeable (color, style, etc.).
However, that said, I agree that if you spend most of your life in lounge wear, then the amount of $$ and energy spent shopping should go here, with a MUCH smaller wardrobe component for the rest of your clothes. Why spend $$ and a lot of tops, pants, jeans, and skirts that won’t get worn — or worn enough to justify the purchase?
I might mention something here about the volume of clothing and the cost (actual and psychic) of maintaining a large wardrobe. I have a very convenient laundry room and I do laundry frequently because I have such a dinky wardrobe. I am very careful about clothing maintenance because I expect my clothing to last years if not decades. My clothing is very nearly in constant rotation; very little sits in my wardrobe unworn.
To me, “lounge wear” is staying in my jammies past 10:00 a.m.!!!
I am the same way, pjs for nighttime and then I get dressed for the day in regular clothes that I could go out in. I don’t own any “loungewear” since most of my wardrobe is comfortable jeans, skirts and tops which I can mix and match and don’t require drycleaning. And wardrobe size is important to me too, I have been accumulating but not getting rid of anything for a while and in the past couple of months have been working hard to turn that around. Like you I want to know that all of what I have is being worn regularly.
I have just done a very rough count and seem to spend about 10-12 days a month ‘at home’, either working or relaxing, other days generally include a work or social event of some sort.
I always wear trousers, and at home swap them for rather scruffy track suits, mainly because most of my trousers develop creases if I sit around in them – something which I find really annoying. I recently bought some NYDJ black bootcut jeans, which cost a lot more that I normally spend (3x as much!) , but are amazing, they never crease or stretch out of shape, but are very comfortable. Definitely gives me a pointer as to where I should invest money; in good basics that can work, as Kim put it, ANYWHERE. I kind of knew that, but always balked at paying a lot for an ‘everyday’ item – it won’t happen again.
PS I should have explained that the jeans have a % of lycra or similar.
Congrats on finding some amazing jeans, Alice! I know a lot of people swear by NYDJ. They don’t work for me very well, but I am very hard to fit in jeans. I agree that it’s totally worth it to pay more for basics we’re going to wear all the time. We often get things backwards and spend the most on special occasion wear we will rarely wear. I hope you enjoy your new jeans and will benefit greatly from the lesson you have learned!
I also have a loungewear category for my at home wear. Mine is closer to pj’s than sportswear for sure. And often I will wear my pj setsthemselves to lounge in. Say I get home from work and remove my uniform at 8:30pm. Changing into interim lounge for 3 or 4 hours before donning sleepwear seems a bit overkill. I also sense just a hint of some putting undue pressure on themselves to be fabulous all the time. We need to also cut ourselves some slack.
There are ‘transitional’ pieces that straddle lounge, layer, or workout for me that get a lot of wear, too. Like a tank that maybe I slept in under my flannel pj set, but then goes to the mailbox under a hoodie with jeans. That kind of thing.
I agree with you about cutting ourselves some slack, Mo! I’m sure you look adorable in your PJ sets, but of course you’re adorable all the time anyway… There is a happy medium between looking sloppy at home and being “all decked out.” That happy medium will vary by the person and I continue to maintain that there are no rights and wrong. We just need to feel good ourselves in what we are wearing. I don’t think anyone really feels good in ratty or worn out clothing or when they wear things they’d be embarrassed to be seen in. I know I feel much better since I’ve stopped doing that. We are all worthy of feeling good about how we look all the time, but that doesn’t necessarily entail wearing “business clothes” in front of our home computers. But if that’s what feels great to someone, I would never say they shouldn’t do it. It’s just not for me. But then again, I don’t wear business clothes anytime anymore. “Smart casual” or sportswear maybe, but I can’t remember when I last wore a suit (and I’m quite happy about that).
Your lounge wear sounds very appropriate for your lifestyle, Mo. As someone who used to live in Tahoe, I know the vibe and the lifestyle there. Good for you for tossing the demoted tees. I have done the same thing recently and feel a lot better wearing colors and styles that are more to my liking at home. Some things just shouldn’t be in our wardrobes at all! | 2019-04-23T08:55:30Z | https://recoveringshopaholic.com/2015/03/17/more-thoughts-on-at-home-wear/ |
The wiki mainly uses special standardized views of relevant game element in the form of images which can be found on the right-hand side of the page. These standardized views are axonometric representations with an approximately isometric viewing angle, as is also used for the inventory form of blocks in the game. These views are not simple screenshots, but special renders. In most cases, the game element is imported into a 3D graphics software or reproduced there, in order to then be able to create a shot from a special angle. Only PNG image format is used to maintain transparency.
The creation of standardized views directly in-game is not possible. The special viewing angle can be achieved by the parameters for rotation and head tilting with the command /teleport @s ~ ~ ~ 135 30, but the perspective distortion caused by the field of view prevents an ideal standardized view. Even at the minimum value, the field of view still causes a small distortion. Standardized views can be created using a vanilla client by changing the fov value in options.txt to -1.7 or lower and moving far away from the subject, but when the subject is a block or entity it may go out of the render distance. In the Indev phase of the game, it was possible to create isometric screenshots from the game world. This function has been removed.
This article contains instructions for creating the standard views used in the wiki. The instructions describe only one way to create the desired view. Individual authors may work differently. Any downloadable software is available free of charge, and the handling of paid alternatives may be easier and more convenient.
Only an approximately isometric angle is used for the views. The isometric axonometry is standardized and the exact viewing angle is 45° and arctan √2 ≈ 54,7356°. However, for the views in the Wiki, a viewing angle of 45° and 60° is used.
For a list of block and entity images which do not use a standardized view but ideally should, see Category:Objects requiring isometric renders.
Block views are created with a 3D graphics software. The software can of course be freely chosen; very popular is the free program Blender, which can be downloaded on the right side of the page. When dealing with a model, it is always necessary to make as little work as possible. Therefore, you only create the sides of an object, which are actually visible from the viewing angle, from which the recording is finally made. The actual models therefore always look very strange, but on the end product, the representation for the wiki, nothing is noticeable.
Note: Blocks can also be rendered using Mineshot, as discussed below.
The templates in this section are only to be used for the actual views in the plug-ins, although the inventory form of the blocks can also be generated theoretically, but uses a different lighting than is preset in the templates. In order to display the inventory form of blocks it is therefore best to simply create a screenshot of an inventory with the respective block with the GUI size of Normal, as it has a size of 32×32px as the standard in the wiki, and must be cropped.
The templates for Blender provided in this entire section are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license.
Since block views can not be viewed directly in-game, it is particularly important to make them as detailed as possible, so there is no difference compared in-game. In addition, all renders in the whole wiki should be uniform, so that, as they are put in a page, there will be no serious differences in the way the rendering is made. Therefore, there are some special requirements that must be observed when creating block views. All templates provided in this section follow these guidelines, which do not require any further configuration.
With a screenshot generated by a mod, these presets would not be achievable reliably, which is why a 3D graphics software is used.
Most blocks have a single texture that is displayed on all six pages. With the corresponding template it is therefore very easy to create a block itself. The required template for creating blocks of dice blocks with Blender can be downloaded at the right side of the page under the name of single300px.blend.
In addition to the dice-shaped blocks, which work with a single basic texture, there are also dice-shaped blocks, which also use different textures on different sides. The template to be used in this case is multi300px.blend which can also be found in the download box on the right side of the page.
After opening, you should note the block appears magenta, because no textures are assigned yet. Everything else is already fully configured, so you don't have to change any settings. To select the texture, an overview of all components of the project can be found in the upper right-hand part of the user interface. Simply select one of the block sides (top, left and right)(1), and then scroll down with the chessboard icon(2) in the "Image" section. Then, click on the folder icon(3), which opens a menu for selecting the concrete texture.
In this menu it is now necessary to select the original text of the block. This should, of course, have already been extracted from the standard resources. In an extended field at the top of the menu, the location(1) must first be selected, then the individual texture can be clicked in the underlying large field(2). Press "Accept"(3) to confirm the selection. If you work with single300px.blend, the texture is automatically applied to all three blocks. However, in the template multi300px.blend, all steps must be repeated for all of the sides of the block.
Since everything is already set, and the necessary textures are stored, the image only needs to be rendered. To do this, click on "Render"(1) in the top left of the menu bar and select "Render Image"(2). Alternatively, you can simply press F12.
Now, the "UV/Image Editor" has opened, where the finished render of the image can be seen. It just has to be saved. To do this, click on "Save As Image"(2) in the lower left corner under "Image"(1). Alternatively, you can simply press F3.
In the following menu, the location(1) and the filename(2) have to be filled up, and the process is confirmed with "Save As Image"(3), then the block render will be saved. The result of the example can be seen at the right edge of the screen. The block render can now be uploaded to the wiki.
In addition to the normal blocks with a cube shape, there are also some blocks in the game, which are irregular. However, the templates used so far are only designed for the cubic blocks. For irregular blocks, depending on the shape, different templates are required, all of which have to be specially designed and configured. The table in this section provides various templates for different types of such blocks.
The use is the same as described in the above instructions. Block should use several textures, if necessary, for which page the individual textures can be assigned. If the block is based on only one texture, any page can be selected. Pages of the model which use the same basic texture automatically take over them if they have already been assigned to one of the pages.
Assigning the texture for the bottom (door_xxx_lower.png) is done with "left"
Assigning the texture for the top (door_xxx_upper.png) is done with "left.001"
Assigning the texture for the flower pot body (flower_pot.png) is done with "top"
Assigning the texture for the soil in the pot (dirt.png) is done with "top.001"
Assigning the texture for the cactus (cactus_side.png) is done with "top.001"
Assigning the texture for the bottom (glass_xxx.png) is done with "left"
Assigning the texture for the top (glass_pane_top_xxx.png) is done with "right"
It may happen that after the rendering in the final image, which is shown in the "UV/Image Editor", missing textures or minor errors such as a wrongly turned texture are noticeable. These two errors are discussed in this section.
In some cases, if textures that are used by multiple blocks at the same time, Blender can not update them all the time, the texture for a page should be changed. This is merely a charging fault, which occurs irregularly. It can easily be fixed by selecting the corresponding block page at the top right of the element selection(1), and the text-specific settings tab with the chessboard icon(2) will move to the section "Image". Just click on the reload icon(3) and the texture is loaded correctly.
By re-rendering the block via the corresponding menu or by pressing F12, the corresponding side is also displayed in the image with the correct texture. If other sides are affected, the process must also be carried out for them.
When using the template multi300px.blend, the final image should always be checked for its accuracy. Since blocks with several textures in the game, use entirely their own block models, so the textures in their rotation and reflection sometimes behave differently than in normal blocks. The used template for Blender can not cover each of these individual cases, but is only designed for the standard model. Individual deviations must be optimized manually.
In the example, the finished image shows that an error has occurred on the top of the block: the texture is mirrored, the brighter edge of the arrow should be on the right and not on the left side. As the finished render and block in the game are not to be distinguished at all, it is important to fix even a small error. To do this, the top of the block must first be selected(1), and the mirroring must then be made in the texture settings(2). In the "Mapping" section, this is the simplest way to change the sign of the X, Y, and Z values under "Size". In the example, a mirroring on the X axis is necessary, so the sign of the Y value is changed(3).
By re-rendering the block via the corresponding menu or by pressing F12, the error is fixed as seen in the picture. This can now be saved as usual.
Although standard renders of entities can also be created using a 3D graphics software, it is not recommended to use one. It is extremely difficult to reproduce the correct model, as each entity has different sizes and models. However, other entities, such as shulkers, are cube-shaped, so Blender can be used to render one. In addition to the workload, lighting is the real problem. Light behaves in Minecraft very differently, and the exact behavior in the environment of a 3D graphics software is extremely difficult and in most cases not exactly possible to reproduce.
In this case, instead of a 3D graphics software, mods are instead used. Mineshot, created by a former editor of the wiki, BarracudaATA, is the best mod which can be used to render entities.
After Mineshot has been installed, it can be started. Before recording, a suitable environment must first be created. Since the presentation in its final version should contain a transparent background, it is best to work with a monochrome background. Green screens or blue screens made of concrete blocks or specially textured blocks which are already very helpful, but since the lighting of Minecraft also colors different blocks with the same texture, an even simpler background should be chosen: the sky. It is recommended to create a superflat world with the preset "The Void". The sky is divided into two halves colored in a different blue tone, but these can also be standardized with the additional mod called OptiFine.
Since a background is now selected, basically only the entity has to be spawned then the recording can be done. It is important to summon an entity with the data tag of NoAI:1 so that it does not rotate or move. By the way, barrier blocks are best suited as the floor, since they are invisible.
To start recording, a special camera mode is switched on in Mineshot. This is done by pressing the default key NUMPAD5, which can be zoomed in and out by pressing ADD and SUBTRACT respectively, both of which can be found at the number keypad. Do not change the angle of the camera. The default values (45° and 60°) correspond exactly to the values required for the standard view.
The camera is centered on the player's position, but is only rendered by the game when it is not in the first person view. If the field of view is properly adjusted, a normal screenshot can be created. The actual picture object does not have to be exactly in the middle, because the recording is still post-processed anyway.
When recording multiple variants of an entity, it is important not to leave the camera mode during each shot, nor change the zoom. If you make the slightest change, the previous setting can not be restored. The result is that the individual recordings do not exactly fit one on top of the other, but this is used in many plug-in letters and makes the recordings useless. Entities can be easily changed with commands, such as /data merge entity, without having to change anything on the camera between individual shots.
Since the recording has now been successfully done, it can be improved in an image processing program. The software used does not matter, but a download for a free program GIMP can be found at the top right of this section. First, the sky is removed, for which the color selection tool (magic wand) is best suited. In doing so, care must be taken that all places where the sky is visible are removed. Entities such as skeletons have many holes in their model, where there will still be individual pieces of sky.
After the background is gone, cropping is done. The width of the image should be minimal, for example, the two edges directly adjacent to the last pixel of the image object. The height should have enough scope, and this must not be cut so radically, otherwise the picture object "stick" at the upper edge. If there is nothing else to edit in the rendering, and it can be exported, and uploaded in the wiki.
During image processing, it is important not to scale. As a result, only very little quality is lost and the file size increases dramatically, instead of falling. A smaller recording should be created directly with Mineshot and a smaller zoom level. In the wiki itself, the image size can also be changed very easily as a parameter during the integration.
A challenge when creating renders is to create entities whose model has a permanent animation. For example, in the case of silverfish, the body of which is continually moving, and also in guardians, whose spines are moving, and which constantly causes a swimming movement with its tail. A start to creating a representation of these creatures would be, of course, just to press the trigger at the right moment, but that is too unreliable and the absolutely right moment to catch is almost impossible.
At this point, it might be advisable to switch to a 3D graphics software, but as already described, certain difficulties occur. The solution approach is therefore to prevent animation of the entity. It is unfortunately not possible, even with commands or the data tag NoAI, now one has to really make the model. The models of entities can unfortunately not be controlled by resource packages, which makes this project a bit more difficult. Mods such as OptiFine or ENIM have this function, but the effort to create a complete model without the animation is just too big.
Instead, the model can be modified in the program code. This of course requires knowledge of the programming language of Minecraft called "Java" and a certain experience with the program code of the game. A work with the Mod Coder Pack, where the code could be changed directly, is still unfortunately not possible, since the required mod Mineshot can not be loaded since this requires Minecraft Forge. It must be in a programming environment with Minecraft Forge. The code and the model can not be edited directly, but Forge offers enough possibilities to easily overwrite an existing model. This works best through renderingRegistry using registerEntityRenderingHandler.
The actual recording is still in-game, and the steps are already described in the previous section.
The recording of a scene differs only slightly from the recording of an entity, and only a few more things are to be considered. A 3D graphics software is again not recommended, since in this case too, the process is complex. Again the mod Mineshot of BarracudaATA is best suited, but it can be done in vanilla by setting the fov value in options.txt to -1.75 and moving far away from the subject.
In the case of structure, the main thing is to move all the related blocks to a suitable location. For example, the recording can only take place in the Overworld, since there is lack of sunlight and lighting in the Nether and end. If a shot of a Nether Fortress or another Nether structure is to be made, it must be transferred to the Overworld. Creating the structure block by block would be difficult, so structure blocks or an external editing software like MCEdit makes it easier to do the task, in which the download link can be found at the right side of the page.
If the structure is already in the Overworld, changes are still to be made in most cases. A suitable environment must be created. Structures such as abandoned mineshafts or dungeons should not be left underground but shifted to the sky so that they can be illuminated by the sunlight. The command /clone is extremely useful for this, which means that an external software is no longer needed in this case. But even structures directly on the ground should be shifted to the sky. As described in the previous section, the sky is an excellent background because of its low color spectrum, since the later transparency can be put without any problems. If the structure was moved high enough, the ground is not visible, which simplifies post-processing.
You must also pay attention to the orientation of the scene. As already described, the view direction for the wiki always points to the northwest. The scene should be aligned accordingly. If this is not the case, it is possible for small block structures to rotate them with the help of a structure block. For larger structures, it would be easier to use an external editing software like MCEdit.
If the entire structure is now in the desired location, it must be prepared for recording. This is especially important for enclosed spaces whose contents should be visible. For example, the ceiling and two walls are removed, namely the two walls that are closest to the viewer. It is absolutely not necessary to remove all the components of the respective wall, for example, an entrance in one of the walls, it is advisable to preserve it, including the border of blocks. A concrete example of opening such a space can be found on the right side.
Since the structure is prepared, only the position of the player needs to be prepared. It is important to remember that the Mineshot camera is centered on the player, but it will not be visible. If the player is visible in the scene, you should switch to first person view. While the actual position of the player within the scene is not important, it is only important that the entire scene is depicted, but certain blocks such as chests and heads are only displayed as long as the player is within a radius of 64 blocks. Also, particles are only visible at a maximum distance from the player of 32 blocks.
Since the recording has now been successfully done, it can be improved in an image processing program. The software used does not matter, but a download for a free program GIMP can be found at the top right of this section. First, the sky is removed, for which the color selection tool (magic wand) is best suited. In doing so, care must be taken that all places where the sky is visible are removed. Structures with iron bars have many holes, where there will still be individual pieces of sky.
Since the images always contain many transparent areas and a small color spectrum, it is worth compressing the files. In addition to the obvious effect of saving space, the smaller size also helps in viewing the image in the browser because it is loaded with less data from the wiki server.
Subsequent scaling of a representation is not a good solution for reducing the file size, and it produces a contrary effect. This is because, in almost all scaling modes, an interpolation is used with edge smoothing. This greatly expands the color spectrum and the file size increases correspondingly. In addition, the quality of the Minecraft textures, which are already low-resolution, is often lost.
Instead, it is recommended to use lossless compression. The PNGOUT application, which is compatible for Windows, macOS, and Linux, is available for this purpose. Depending on the image, only 80% to 20% of the original file size remain after the compression without the visible changes being visible on the image. It can be downloaded on the right side of the page for the respective operating system.
On Windows, PNGOUT can be used as a graphical user interface. PNG files needed to be compressed are to be selected and the program will compress them. Under macOS and Linux, PNGOUT can only be used via the Terminal. It is recommended to use a script as well as under Windows to process several images automatically. On Windows, PNGOUT can also be accessed using the command prompt and automated with a script.
This page was last edited on 16 April 2019, at 12:14. | 2019-04-19T14:46:28Z | https://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Help:Standardized_Views |
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After two years of struggle and effort, we finally graduated. In the past two years, there are laughter and also tears. Soon we will have to go our own way.
I am honoured and happy to have this award. To get this award, it not only by my own efforts, and also motivation from people who support me. The most I want to thank is my parents. Without their teaching, encouragement, support and help, I may not study at Pintar College, or may not be particularly outstanding, not even to have this glory. So this glory, it does not only belong to me alone but it is also belong to those who support me.
In addition, I would also like to thank the President Founder of Pintar College, Mr Jimmy and teachers for their careful cultivation and help. Besides, their spirit of never give up at any student’s which is very worth for our respect. Therefore, I am also proud to being part of Pintar College.
As a conclusion, I believe that this is only a part of our life; I hope that all of us will have a better future. As long as you always remember this: ‘effort isn’t make us success necessarily, but without hard work we will not succeed’ and the spirit of never give up! I love Pintar College, thanks Pintar College.
I am very grateful and proud to finish my LCCI course so successfully and it is an honor to receive the award. I’m appreciate all the efforts that the lecturers have made for us. No words can express how thankful I am to you. I will always remember Ms. Pui Lim, Mr. Alvin, Mr. Han Hui and also Mr. Jimmy, the Presidents Founder of Pintar College who always encourage his students. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
This is a really special time for my friends and I, we have worked hard for a long time to get here and we finally did it. It was very nice meeting you guys and may our friendship be everlasting.
And I am truly blessed to have a family which I have. No matter what, I know all of you will always be there to guide and help me. Thank you for your support and love you all a lot.
Last but at least, I would like to send my best wishes to juniors. Hope your exam goes well. Good Luck!
How time flies! Congratulations to all the graduates including me. I don’t know how to express my feeling now. I feel sad that we’ll be apart. From now we’ll never study together, never laugh together, never worrying together about lunch. I feel happy that we have successful completed a course at Pintar College. From among, we learn a lot of knowledge from Pintar College.
I am very surprised asked ‘why me’ when I received the calls from the college that I got the Best Improvement Award. I told to myself. ‘It is true?’ I feel so happy, accomplished and honored to obtain this award. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Pintar College for the recognition and encouragement to me. Thank you very much!
Right here, I want to say thank you to all of the lecturers in Pintar College, because they teach us a lot. Our lecturers always try to make their lessons lively and interesting. I will never forget their careful cultivations. I also want to thank all my friends for giving my great memories. We always learn from each other, help each others, support each other and etc. Remember! Ours friendship is forever even though we’re apart.
Especially, I want to thank my parent and the whole family for their continuous support and encouragement. I will do my best in the future, live up to yours expectation. It has been a wonderful two years for me! Good memories stay in our mind forever! I love you, guys!
Finally, graduation is not only an end to a period, also a commencement of a new period and I hope that future years will bring all of you continued happiness. I know all of you can achieve that! Thank you again! Pintar College!
Finally, I am graduated and I am proud that Pintar College had awarded me the Best Improvement Award 2017. Right here, I would like to thank all the lecturer’s guidance, patience and sacrificed their holiday to give us extra revision class without any complaints. Besides that, I would like to thank my parents and my love one who always give me support and encouragement. Last but not least, I would like to thanks my best friend because I may not study at Pintar College without her. Although it is very tough for a working adult to study part time, but I feel it’s really worthwhile, especially I have completed the LCCI course with flying colors results.
I am really thankful to Pintar College for award me the Best Performance Award 2016. As a working adult, it is not easy for me to work and study at the same time. The main problem I always faced is the allocation of time. Luckily, Pintar College’s teachers explained well and contributed a lot of effort on teaching. It is the best choice for me to complete my LCCI in Pintar College. I am glad for it.
First, I want to congratulate everyone, including me. We have ended our LCCI course in one and half years.
I felt honored when I received the news from the college that I got the Best Performance Award. It made me felt surprised, because what results now I get is over what I expected. With my diligence, and the support of my family, I come to this way at this moment. At this moment, I want to say thank you for all of the people who even helped me.
Right here, I want to thank for my parents for their tolerance and patience on my studying. I also want to say thank you to all of the lecturers in Pintar College. They always teach us with patience as we study. In Pintar College, we are just as a family, and everyone can get along with each other in harmony.
I still remember at the beginning, I was always being alone in the class. When time goes by, we are grouped together by fate from individuals, as the longer the time we get along. We learn together, play together, having our memory for this period of time we study. Especially when the exam is around the corner, we always group together to study and revise in the college.
In my heart, there is Pintar College as our second home amongst us.
After we graduate, I believe that each of us has their own development in their journey. Therefore, I hope everyone could still remember what we used to be together, and I will be somewhere to wish everyone for moving to a new stage in their journey of life.
Thanks for everyone. Right here, I would like to thank for the lecturers of Pintar College to give me the Best Improvement Award. Thanks a lot.
When I knew that I got the Best Improvement Awards in the 9 minutes telephone conversation, I have been smiling for a while. Is it some kind of trick of April Fools? Are you kidding me? These thoughts have been surrounding my mind until Carmun told me to calm down.
In the past, I used to forget my friends' name in our class. When we met, we just smiled to each other. After one and half years we spent, now we become to a friend of each other.
We used to be spending all days and nights in the college to attend full time course and part time course. Sometimes, we went to night market to buy dinner and eat in the pantry. Honestly, I am so happy to meet with you in this period of one and half years. It was so hard to separate with you all. So, let's fight for each other and remember the spirit of Pintar College.
I was a pure science student. Hence, I never thought of studying accounting. I even told my friend that it is impossible for me to study accounting. After graduated from secondary school, I got married and had a adorable baby. So, it was quite difficult for me to further my studies in subject that I like. However, I am still enthusiastic to learn.
Fortunately, I found Pintar College, which is only a stone's thrown from my house and provides course that matches my needs. So I decided to try. With Mr. Jimmy's guidance and interesting teaching, my curiosity about and interest in Accounting grew gradually.
Working, studying and taking care of my family at the same time is difficult, but I never give up my studies.
I would like to thank my lecturers: Mr. Jimmy, Mr. Ong, Mr. Kok Siang and Ms. Ling Si for being so patient. Under their guidance, I am able to get great result. Also, I would like to thank my family for being so supportive and tolerant. This award means a lot to me and I feel that it is my reward for the persistent efforts.
About 9 years ago, I studied LCCI course in another college. Unfortunately, I’ve failed in the exam. So, I was very upset and had no confidence to retake the exam. So I just ignored it and let it passed. After that, about 2 years ago, I saw the advertisement of Pintar College and it encouraged me to go to Pintar College and ask for more information. When I was in college again, made up my mind and said to myself: “I will get up from where I feel.” So, I decided to start all over again without any hesitation. For one and a half year, I was working and studying hard at the same time. This is to alert myself not to fail again. Finally, and also with the teaching of Mr Jimmy and other teachers, I am able to get good results. First, I would like to thank Mr Jimmy. Because of him, I am able to regain my confidence, and also because of him I am able to attain a Diploma. In addition, I would also like to thank Pintar College for awarding me the Best Improvement Award. I love all the teachers in Pintar College. With “Pintar”, I’ m able to achieve all my dreams. Thank you!
Thank you to Pintar College for awarding me the Best Performance Award. In fact, I think that this award belongs to everyone. I sincerely thank the teacher for guiding and teaching us with patience and I also appreciate their unselfish dedication. I also want to thank all my friends who lend a helping hand when I run into problems. Besides that, I would also like to thank parents who have provided me good learning environment. As a result, I am able to fulfil my responsibilities as a student like paying full attention in class and doing revision consistently. Thank you everyone.
I still remembered that night I was trying to finish my housework when my son said that Pintar College called me. I knew immediately it was about my result but I didn’t think about anything else other than hoping to pass all subjects.
I really like Mr Jimmy’s teaching method, he arranges the time very well and always explain the point clearly. I always felt the time passed very quickly.
During my one year study in Pintar College, the major problem that I faced was racing against the time. Traffic congestion was a problem and when I reached home after school, I had to finish the housework and continued to do my homework until midnight. It made me tired, but I knew that if would never be the reason for me to give up. I would try my best to manage my true well.
I never procrastinate as I know it does not bring any favourable circumstances. If I delayed in completing my work, I would find it very difficult to understand anything else in the next class.
I know it is hard to change yourself, but don’t give up easily. You must be persistence to confident to change, success is based on your hard work. I always tell myself that I don’t need to be sad if I fail because I already did my best.
The comment I gave above is not to ingratiate any teacher in the college, I was just writing based on my experience.
Thanks to all my teachers and friends. Thank you.
As an ordinary student, I feel very proud and happy to get this award.
First, I would like to thank Pintar College and all of my friends who have always supported and encouraged me. Through the teacher’s teaching and the help from my friend, I am able to grow and the screen of my life is coated with shimmering colours. I sincerely thank everyone.
I was surprised when I got to know that I attained excellent result, it was completely unexpected.
First, I would like to thank all the teachers in Pintar. Mr Jimmy is so humorous and Mr. Han Hui, he always advices and teaches us with patience, also thanks to all my friends who studied hard with me. Most importantly, I would like to thank Mr Jimmy for establishing Pintar College and constantly helping the students to get great results.
I think Pintar is a really good college because the teachers here use 2 languages to teach us. So, I am able to understand the subject content.
Thank you everyone in Pintar.
In " The Lamplighter", a poem written by Robert Louis Stevenson, there is someone called Leerie. He is a lamplighter in this poem. Every time during the sunset, he will light up the street with lanterns. The light which lightened up the street will put all the adults and children in good mood.
I'm very lucky in my life there is someone like Leerie. He is like the teachers and friends in Pintar College. In here, I would like to say thank you to all of you.
Thanks for the great teaching of all teachers which enable me complete the LCCI course smoothly. Also, thanks for accepting me regardless of me being a weak student who always asked strange questions. Nevertheless, I am thankful that you all always explained to me with patience.
I would also like to thank all my friends in my class. Thanks for you accompany and encouragement. Every time when I faced problem, you all would always by my side and solve it together with me. When I felt tired and wanted to give up, you all would encourage and support me. Thanks. One more person I would like to thank is our dear teacher, Mr Jimmy. The dull text book will become interesting because of Mr Jimmy lively teaching. He would always ask us some difficult questions to stimulate our thinking. He is the one who let me know that study is very interesting. He is also the one who give me guidance. Thank you.
All of you are the 'Leerie' in my heart. All of you lightened up the light in my heart which helps me grow and be more confident.
I felt very happy when I got this award. I remembered before stepping into the college, I didn’t understand anything about Accounting even the basic like debit and credit. So, every time in the class I felt like sitting on pins and needles. That was because I couldn’t understand anything in the class.
However, every time when I faced problem, I would not be afraid to ask for help. I would discuss my homework with my friends and this made me understand the subject better.
Of course, I would like to thank all the teachers of Pintar College and I also like to thank all my friends. It is because of all of you, I become who I am now.
Hello everyone, I’m Chong Kok Siang. I remembered about 2 years ago, I just graduated from secondary school and I was unsure about my future. However, I was lucky to get to know about Pintar College and decided to take up LCCI course.
When the class started, the first teacher I got to meet was Mr. Jimmy. He is a humorous teacher. Due to his lively class, I was able to absorb the subject material easily. Moreover, during my study there, I also got to visit the orphanage and nursing home. Through those visits organised by Pintar College, I realised that, there were many people in need of care and love.
Of course, in Pintar College, I have met a lot of friends. We were once strangers to each other and now we are best friends. We learnt, played, and took exams together. Even though in future we will go our own way, I believe our friendship will not end here.
Once again, I would like to thank Pintar College. It is because of Pintar College I am able to grow and get to know my friends. I am glad to study at Pintar College. Studying here has enriched my life. How about all of you?
I was always a student who has poor grades in my exam results, because of this I never expect to obtained a Diploma in Accounting let alone, the award that I was awarded. When I enrolled into Pintar College, I was fortunate enough to meet Pintar lecturers, who motivate, encourage and guide me in my studies. Whenever I was facing some difficulties, they were there to lend a helping hand to which to which I felt gratifying Pintar College is my second home with warmth feelings and personality.
First of all, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude towards all Pintar lecturers for their teaching and guidance which leads to my award achievement. From them, I have gained a lot of knowledge during the tenure of the course. Pintar College has allowed me to enjoyed a great study experience and the participation of a variety of activities enhances my social experience. During these participation, I have met many mutual and friendly classmates and we gave great respects amongst our fellow classmates.
I have an advice to all my fellow students, “After Every Storm, there is a rainbow lining”. A motto that has been embedded deeply in my mind. I was a secondary school science student, but I was interested in Accounting and I didn’t have any knowledge in this subject. For my initial tertiary program, I have chosen LCCI Accounting Diploma and decided to join Pintar College where I met my lecturer Mr. Jimmy Lim who conducts accounting and costing subjects. His magical teaching has turn a boring and mundane subject into an interesting and practical cases as an example because of this tireless effort, I was awarded LCCI 2010 World and Country Gold Medallion in Accounting Level 3 subject.
Ever since secondary school, I have had poor results for most of the exams, but in year 2004, I met Mr. Jimmy Lim, who was my tuition teacher at that time, he guided me until final years of my secondary school and I have achieved a respectable results from the exam. He is the most respected mentor. After my graduation, I further my studies in LCCI Diploma Course at Pintar College. During these times, Mr. Jimmy Lim, his tireless efforts has put me and my fellow students to be where we are today. Finally, I wish to extend my appreciation and thanks to Mr. Jimmy Lim and the staff of Pintar College for their efforts.
The environment at Pintar College gave us a motivation to study hard and strive for a better future. The harmony between the lecturers and the students, make us feel like studying within a big family. Their unique method of teaching is different compared to other colleges; they used practical cases as a teaching material whereby we as a student are able to understand with ease and comfortable with the syllabus. After graduating from LCCI, I took up ACCA professional course with Pintar College again on a part time basis.
After completing my secondary school, I continued my From 6 studies, unfortunately, my school does not offer “Prinsip Perakaunan” or Accounting Principle and my school was located at Kuala Selangor. I managed to find Pintar College which offers the course that I wish to pursue. Although the distance from my house the college is far but I was determine to pursue that I have chosen without hesitation. After completing From 6 studies, I continued my LCCI Intensive Course at Pintar College and happy to say, through the teaching and guidance, I scored 3 distinctions in my LCCI’s exam and 4 A’s in my STPM exam. For this achievement I extend my sincere thanks to all lecturers and staffs of Pintar College.
Graduation is a glorious occasion to be remembered for a lifetime: a milestone achievement in the lives of students.
Overnight, young men and women becomes responsible for their future. The world of opportunity has open before them as they has only dreamed or imagined.
However, having being blessed with various opportunities will likely to bring forth some of the greatest challenges in graduates’ lives. Many important decisions to make in a short period of time in relation to their future such as, where they will live, what school they will attend or which job they will apply for, and so on.
Being a graduate can be exciting, it can also be overwhelming for some students who have always lived close to home or have had some friends most of their lives and now must leave their home and friends.
Graduation can also seem frightening for graduates who are ready to embrace the work force only to learn that much competition awaits them in seeking jobs.
Back to dedicated professional lecturers, we are proud to displays pictures as a testimonial proof of achievement by our students.
After graduation, graduates may feel a little frighten who are ready to embrace the reality of the working world and only to learn that intense competition awaits them in seeking jobs. | 2019-04-21T09:12:00Z | https://www.pintarcollege.edu.my/media/testimonial/ |
The Home of the Brave? Not My House.
A few weeks ago, a fellow book-clubber asked me how my friend search was going. I told her I’d been busier than ever, meeting every potential BFF that would have me. Then she said something that totally caught me by surprise.
I think my actual reaction was to laugh out loud. Me? Brave? No. What I am, really, is the type of person who will spend Friday night on the couch lamenting my lack of local best friends while doing nothing about it. The type of person who will continue along that road, complaining about something while taking few steps to fix it, until I make a promise to The Internets that I am going to make a change. Because once it’s out there in cyberspace, there’s no taking it back (at least in theory).
I say something more like “Um, hey, would you, um, maybe want to grab a bite sometime? Or a drink? I can work around your schedule, but, yeah, it’s totally cool if you’re too busy.” I’ll show you courage.
Still, I know there are people who think some of the things I do—going to dinner with total strangers, asking a novelist out, not attacking Joan Rivers in a fit of Oscar hysteria—show some level of bravery. Because putting myself out there means I could be rejected. People might—and sometimes do—think I’m crazy. I’ve gotten enough emails from readers that start with “I can’t believe I’m writing you, this is really weird,” to know that for many of us, blindly reaching out to a potential new friend is scarier than asking out a potential mate.
What is it about reaching out to potential friends that scares us? Why are kids so good at it, but adults sometimes so awkward or uncomfortable? And do you think the cookie pickup line would work?
I’ve been reading your blog for a while, and it has actually inspired me to do some reaching out (admittedly to people I already know) of my own. So thank you for the inspiration!!
I think that part of it is that when you are telling other people about what you’re doing (whether it is writing it on your blog or face to face), generally they tend to get an idealised impression of what your life/you are really like. They don’t know what is going on inside your head every time you get the courage to ask someone to get drinks or whatever.
I also think that thinking that someone else is brave gives you an excuse for not doing it yourself – she is doing this, but she’s a really brave person, so it must come naturally to her. I’m a coward, so I could never do it! I do it a LOT myself.
The way that you write in this blog, though, seems to make it clear that this isn’t easy for you, and as it has inspired me to try to make the most of friendships that I already have, I’m sure it is inspiring other people! Thank you!
I think that’s a great point… calling someone brave makes it easier to not do something ourselves, as you say. “Oh, she can do because she’s brave.” Fascinating..
I’ve always been somewhat appalled at how closed a lot of people are to including people they don’t know. I’ve always operated under the onus, the more the merrier. And yet, my friends (of whom I’ve introduced to one another) rarely return the favor. My friends become friends with one another. And yet, I’m friendly with almost none of their friends. I don’t know if it’s a form of fierce protectionism (fear of losing one’s friends) or just a lack of thought (it just never occurs to them to bring together their friends who otherwise don’t know one another) or pure laziness (let’s face it, it’s hard to organize groups versus just one-on-ones). Whatever the cause, the disease runs rampant … and it’s a shame.
I think it’s because you are your most vulnerable when you step up and say ‘I need you’ to someone else. When we admit we can’t do or fulfill all our needs on our own, we lose a little bit of our control. I think it’s very brave because you show the side of yourself that women of our generation are not usually taught to show – the fact that despite our independence we still need other people. Then we have to show our true selves, warts and all, and hope someone else wants to need us back.
Ugh. I know. I am trying to get up the courage to go to meetup.com events, like book clubs. Just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt. Why?
I went to one, as you know. It’s scary, but worth doing for sure. Worst case scenario all the people are loony.. then you have a great story!
Hopefully, you’ll check back since this reply is 2+ months late, but, here goes.
I’ve been the Meetup ‘fraidy cat—still kinda am. Instead of going to an event with an established group, I formed my own. I felt less freaked when I knew no one had pre-existing relationships and I set the group (a book club aimed at chick lit) to be what I wanted. Sure, some attendees clearly didn’t fit, but some became really good friends. Give it a whirl!
I think there is this whole perception that at a certain age, you should have an established group of friends – so looking for friends has this weird vibe that doesn’t exist when you are 8 years old. Which is pretty ridiculous because people change & lives changes & people move, so we should really continue to make friends throughout life.
I still think it’s brave of you, though. My friends would tell me I am brave to give my business card or phone number to a potential date. They’d say I am brave to walk up to a guy at a bar and start a conversation. So it’s accurate to say that you are also brave when you do this in an effort to meet a new friend.
We are creatures of habit. I’ve felt stuck in a group of people, all volunteers in a political organization. I have tried to reach out, build bridges to younger people, to help the group grow. My attempts have been met with scorn, misunderstanding, and worse.
I am breaking free. It is scary, though. Each organization has its own dynamics, which may be startlingly similar to what I’ve encountered before. In this old group, my talents, my desire to help, my unique skills (web design, etc) have been met with the same scorn. When you open yourself up and are hurt, it can be tricky to do it again.
I think these comments are spot-on. There IS something stomach-turningly nerve-wracking about being the first to make a move.
It’s scarier as adults because friendship actually means something, whereas when you’re seven and making friends on a playground, all you want is someone to go down the slide with you.
Okay, maybe that’s all we want as adults, too.
Well put. That’s exactly what we all want – someone to go down the slide with us. When we are 8 it’s easy to ask because as kids we haven’t yet learned all the rules and social norms about what is and isn’t acceptable as a “grown up”. By the time we are grown up and trying to make new friends outside our pre-determined boxes, we are afraid of our own shadows.
Maybe it’s because by the time we have grown up, we are so much more aware of our shortcomings. And when you have tried and tried and don’t know what on earth you are doing wrong, it just gets scarier all the time. I know I’ve wondered what is wrong with me that I find it so difficult to make friends – even though people tell me I’m a warm, outgoing, ‘nice’ person.
Maybe that’s what the being brave is about – continuing to reach out despite being scared of failure and rejection. And then suddenly you find that hey, how amazing, someone you like being around actually seems to like being around you, as well!
I definitely need to make more friends. If nothing else for practicality. My husband and I are currently preparing our Living Wills and other paperwork. Although it’s optional (you can either have things notarized or have 2 or 3 witnesses), I can’t think of many people I know who are younger than me, that I’m not related to, who could be our witnesses for paperwork. How sad is that?
Not sad. Honest! and real.
I agree that it is always hard to reach out yet so important. A while back I heard someone compare forming friendships to dating- you meet for coffee, then you can meet for lunch and then follow up with phone calls/e-mails and then it could turn into a friendship. Just like dating there is always a fear of rejection. So it is a brave thing to reach out and not expect anything in return.
Does anybody ever think about why it is so easy to connect online but meeting face to face is becoming harder for everyone?
I think kids are less self-conscious, and at least up to a certain age, you assume that everyone will return your gestures of friendship. As adults, we’re caught up in our own neuroses, and so the whole what-if-they-don’t-like-me game becomes a whole lot more real and scary.
You are brave, though, Rachel. And I admire this whole effort of yours, and am so glad we are blog friends.
I think it’s awkward and uncomfortable to admit you are looking for new friends because of the idea that, by now, we’re all supposed to have our circle of friends set already. So if we don’t, then there must be something wrong with us, all our friends must have run screaming from us at some point, etc.
Plus, when we were little, we didn’t need too much from our friends — it was enough if you had some vague common interest like Barbies, and your mom made good cookies. It’s not that simple in adulthood, what with all the pressures and life stuff we are all dealing with — but maybe it should be!
I think you are really brave, not only for putting yourself out there, but also for raising some of these issues in public.
I fully believe the old saying that courage does not mean you are not afraid, but that you are afraid and do it anyways. So yes, you are brave for putting yourself out there and making the first move even if, ESPECIALLY if, the whole thing makes your stomach hurt.
On another note, I find it interesting that everyone equates easy friendships to childhood…my experience was different. I was painfully absurdly shy as a child & had a very very hard time making friends, even though I desperately wanted them. when I started high school, I made a real concerted effort to even TALK to people outside of my small group of long-time friends. It was so painful at first, but it was the best thing I ever did, because after a few months of MAKING myself join groups & clubs outside of my comfort zone & talk to classmates(even if I hyperventilated & nearly threw up afterwards), it became easier. I am still considered “quiet” and “shy”, but it is much much better!
Thanks Ana. I kind of love that definition. Kind of makes me feel like the scarecrow!
Kids have no fear (aka social awareness?). My son will frequently “accost” random strangers in Wal-Mart, the airport, post office, etc to “show off” his tummy, shoes, anything he’s particularly proud of at that moment.
I just found this blog and umm, where have you been all my life? I think I love you. You have my dream career. Here’s a big high five. You rock the casbah.
On a related note: I am a new mom on the hunt for new mom friends and I can relate. I go to playdates and it’s like speed dating. We should all just get wasted and play Taboo or something. That’s what I’m sayin’.
Aw, thanks! And, yes please to Taboo. It’s my fave. Or catchphrase.
I love to read what you write. You are so talented with words. And yes, the cookie line would work for me. EVERY TIME.
i love all of the comments and think they are so very true. fear of rejection. vulnerability. putting yourself out there. i have struggled with having friends that get where i am at in life and can support that while at the same time not losing me in the endless complaints of laundry, cooking, and playdates (umm, of course we all need to bring those things up now and then. don’t get me wrong!). it’s not easy. and then just when you think you have one or two good friendships rolling along, someone moves.
Kids are so courageous. Kids, they’re so honest and real. I remember being afraid of rejection on the playground, but I asked people to be my friends, anyway. I used to teach preK/kindergarten, and it touches my heart to see these little girls put themselves on the line to secure that one other person to always have to play with, too. How proud they are when they’re able– “Miss Lynda, this is my best-friend”… “Not hers…” Haha. Kids are so good with just throwing themselves out there, because, well, they “live in the moment”. They realize the possibility of being rejected, but they’re so quick to forget and forgive, they’ll give it another go (with the same people) the next day. And, more often, that rejection wasn’t personal (unlike with adults, where they can be), but just a “cranky everyone needed a nap day”. They live in the moment. When they meet someone fun, they don’t think about their past, how they were hurt, the future, or what they should give or shouldn’t. They don’t worry, they don’t weigh all the pros and cons of this individual’s PBFF qualities (to see if things would make sense). They know they won’t hurt each other, and they’ll share their cookies; somehow that’s enough. It doesn’t matter what religion, job, social network, or car the other person has.
What scares us (or me at least) about reaching out has never been that initial rejection. I’ll be frank that I’m scared of getting hurt, again. And, hurt again, years later, when I’m already invested at that. I’m scared of giving my time and heart to the BFF, and being let down, or perhaps letting someone else down. I think with age, we need each other even more; but with age we carry with us a lot hurt, that hinders us from opening up and trusting each other. It’s courageous to put yourself out there, because a lot of people simply close up and become super jaded. It’s courageous to be optimistic about human connections (outside of romantic linkings), and to have an appreciation for intimate/life-long friendships. As much as we give and get, as amazing the love and rewards, whenever we allow ourselves to get close to people, we risk getting hurt, too.
You have no BFF, you say? Me neither. I live in Stepford.
Kind of sad when your kid has more cojones than you do.
Um…what she said? That one up there above me? TKW aka Miss Awesome? Yeah. Her.
omg it goes on and on and then I stop. And I reread it. And all I can think is that I’m the biggest loser mom in my town. Which, while I know is far from true, makes me sad. I love friends. Having friends. Having fun. And I AM FUN, DAMMIT. I swear.
Ever considered moving to CT? Maybe we could go on a friend-date. How do you like your coffee?
“I live in Stepford.” Gosh, Kitch, you make me laugh.
Don’t discount yourself, Rachel. It totally takes courage to meet new people! First off, you’re gambling that this new potential-friend isn’t an ax murderer. And you’re opening yourself up to judgment, to uncomfortable interactions. It IS brave!
making new friends is totally brave. it was so much easier on the playground. and come over my mom makes good cookies would so work on me.
I like what you said – “blindly reaching out to a potential new friend is scarier than asking out a potential mate.” I completely agree. I found it no problem to flirt with complete strangers (before I was married, of course). I wouldn’t think twice about chatting with a guy. If he didn’t reciprocate, it didn’t seem to matter so much – he obviously wasn’t “the one” and I’d move on.
Talking to females, on the other hand, makes me incredibly nervous. I think that if I was rejected from a potential friendship, my feelings would be more hurt. I mean, the reasons a man would not want to date you number in the dozens – he has a girlfriend, he’s not looking for a romantic relationship, he’s gay – but for someone to not want to even be your friend? Ouch. Now that’s scary!
Rejection by a guy is so much easier to take because a guy might reject you for totally superficial reasons-but a girl won’t. If a girl rejects you, she’s probably given it more thought, and weighed your qualities as a person and a friend. So there is more at stake with a potential girlfriend, in my opinion.
I have so much trouble making new friends, but I’ve honestly never been good at it. I have this public-speaking fear that stretches even in to friendly conversation. About the only time I can open up and not start blushing and stuttering like a fool is if I’ve had a couple of drinks–and then it’s probably just because I don’t notice. You’re definitely being brave putting yourself out there like this. Bravo to you!
I am not too scared of introducing myself. I think that becoming a mother has actually made this part easier.
Yeah, I’m waving to you from here too. Hi! No BFF local for me either and it’s not for lack of trying. I just guess I’m too picky? Expect too much? Am too judgemental? I just can’t find anyone here that I really LIKE and feel like spending my precious time “dating”. But boy could I use a bud that i could call over for a cup of coffee or glass of wine. Or call and cry to and know she would come right over. I know it’s out there… and I do have the courage to find her. I just haven’t.
EXCELLENT post. So so so glad I found you here!
First, just wanted to say this: OMG – ME TOO! (To everything really).
I would love to have a local BFF (all of mine are scattered all over the place) and have not been very successful in my 10 years here (sad, I know). My 18-month-old has playdates and I just “tag along” – you know to shuttle her to places but with the other parents, it’s always just polite talk. Sometimes I think we’re relieved when our kids become a handful because that way we can just avoid the talking altogether.
I live in Chicago – so if you are ever in need of a pedicure partner (I’m in dire need of one, unless you judge your friends by their toes, then I’d say they’re in great shape!) – please feel free to reach out. But only if you have cookies. I heard it’s a must these days to get on the BFF fast-track.
I think that people prefer to do what’s safe – and what’s safe is what they already know, even if it’s lonely. I’ve always been someone who tries to reach out and it’s so funny, because sometimes people just don’t know how to respond or have invisible lines drawn in their lives that you can only see after trying to tip toe in a little.
I think you are brave, because you’ve been making the effort to meet new people and make new friends.
When I tried online dating, I was scared at first just to send out a “wink” to someone, let alone an e-mail, because I actually felt embarrassed about letting someone know I was interested in him. But even though I didn’t find Mr. Right through online dating, at the same time I don’t regret doing it because I met several guys I wouldn’t have met otherwise. So I know what you mean about being nervous about making the first move, whether it’s to someone you want to date or be friends with.
It’s too bad they don’t have more websites for online “friending” (or do they?); I have seen some of those personal ads on Craigslist for friends but I’ve never responded to any of them or placed an ad of my own.
I’ve done a lot of moving in the last few years (across the country to college, to NZ, back to Canada, and now to Australia) so really the only “best” friends I have are my middle-school friends whom are all still in Canada.
I’ve been really trying to put myself out there and connect with people here in Melbourne and it’s HARD. I have friends. I have both my boyfriends friends, and my own girl friends. But I don’t have a bff, or close circle whom I can call any day or night. The girl who lived around the corner just moved away. There’s another potential, but I’m not sure how much to push from my end? It’s TOUGH. And full of self-doubt and insecurities etc.
But I love that you’re writing this blog because I can SO relate.
When my now eight year old daughter was about three years old and we would go a playground she would say to me,”Look mom, new friends!” and then proceed to make them. Friendship is easy if we let it be. Friends are easy to make if we accept the risk of rejection. And three years are the most courageous people I know. Can’t wait to read more about your search!
I think kids make friends easily because they don’t have a filter in their brain that says, “Maybe you shouldn’t do this.” They know that if someone does not want to be their friend, another person will, so it won’t be the end of the world if they don’t like each other. Kid friendships are also a little simpler, built on riding bikes, sleeping over, what kind of cereal you like, and who would win in a fight between superheros. I wish these things were important things between adults, too.
Gosh if this is a challenge I so need to accept it. I am woefully short of local friends and really would love a neary bestie but I find it really hard as an adult to make good friends. There are so many reasons ranging from they already have a giant full group to they are not nice (not everyone is) to our schedules totally conflict and oh – something always happens. This post is great. I have taken the first step too and have started to make an effort. Now I have to follow through and go past the introduction to an invite!
I am from five for ten and I am so glad I found your blog. I am subscribing!
I haven’t read through the comments, so please forgive me if this is a repeat. I think kids have no problem because they have so much less on the line (or rather, we think we have so much more on the line). They also don’t “know” they should be scared. But this isn’t to say that all kids are like that. I was a quiet kid and was always afraid of rejection (at least as far back as I can remember). My guess is that it has something to do with how we are bought up and how we are taught to think about ourselves. If, like me, you are bought up to think you aren’t ‘enough’, you’re afraid no one thinks you are ‘enough’. It’s a hard mindset for me to get over and I usually have to use my logical brain to deal with it, as if I let my emotions rule, I run away from new potential friends scared.
I’ve been called “brave” before and also thought “Well, I had to do it…” However. Putting your BFF search life online fpr all to see and comment on is, in my estimation, pretty brave.
I think you are brave too, based on what I’ve read of your blog so far. It’s hard to make new friends and go outside your comfort zone. It even feels a little awkward telling your friends that you want to meet some new people, and when you ask them to bring one of their friends that you don’t know. I asked one of my friends yesterday if she wanted to go out to lunch, and to invite her friend that she’d talked about before but I’d never met. She asked me why I wanted him to come and wouldn’t that be awkward, but I said that I would like to meet him and it wouldn’t be awkward. Maybe it sounds a little weird to others that you are looking to make friends when you’re 18 in high school and should have your own friends. I do, but I don’t see the harm in actively trying to make more.
I don’t know about making new friends, but I know it scared the &*$% out of me to tell a good friend-finally-that I really value her friendship. And after I did it successfully, I felt like it was an act worthy of a purple heart. So many people get freaked out and think you are crazy when you show your feelings that it is sometimes a heroic thing to do it. | 2019-04-23T11:12:40Z | https://mwfseekingbff.com/2010/05/11/the-home-of-the-brave-not-my-house/ |
As a master regulator involved in flower development, LEAFY-like gene has been demonstrated to play a key role in the flowering process regulation of angiosperms. Expression analysis of EjLFY-1, a LEAFY (LFY) homolog of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.), indicated its participation in the regulation of flowering in loquat. To verify its function and potential value in the genetic engineering to shorten the juvenile phase, ectopic expression of EjLFY-1 in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) was achieved using Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer of a plant expression vector with the loquat EjLFY-1 gene driven by the CaMV 35S promoter. Totally 59 plantlets were verified to be the transformants. The presence, expression and integration of EjLFY-1 in the transformants were assessed by PCR, quantitative real-time PCR and Southern blot, respectively. Constitutive expression of EjLFY-1 in strawberry accelerated the flowering process in strawberry with the shorten necessary period for flowering induction, development of flower and fruit set. While vegetative growth habits of the transformants in the first cropping season were consistent with the WT ones. Meanwhile, both the flowers and fruits of the transformants were also as same as those of the WT ones. Furthermore, the early-flowering habit was maintained in their asexual progeny, the runner plants. While with continuous asexual propagation, the clones showed a more strengthen early-flowering phenotype, such as the reduced vegetative growth and the abnormal floral organs in individual plantlets. These results demonstrated the function of this gene and at the same time provided us new insights into the utilization potential of such genes in the genetic engineering of perennial fruits.
Flowering is one of the most important events in the life cycle of plants. Flowering process of plant is affected by both endogenous factors, such as hereditary characters or plant hormones levels, and environmental conditions, such as temperature or day length. Flowering at right time accommodating to the seasonal and endogenous signals is vital for the reproductive success of all plants. The flowering time determination in plants is controlled by complicated gene networks.
In the past decades, a great deal of progress has been accomplished in understanding the molecular basis of the regulatory mechanisms underlying flowering time in plants, especially studies in the molecular regulatory networks of Arabidopsis provides us a better understanding about it. Numerous genes involved in the flowering regulation were demonstrated. In Arabidopsis, for example, it has been reported that at least 180 genes are implicated in flowering-time control (Fornara et al., 2010), regardless of these unknown or undetected genes. One possible explanation for so many genes are involved in flowering regulation is that this process is affected by various factors. Normally, there are several genetically defined pathways which affect the flowering: the vernalization pathway, the photoperiod pathway, the gibberellin pathway, the autonomous pathway and the ambient temperature pathway (Fornara et al., 2010; Srikanth and Schmid, 2011). Such signaling pathways responding to endogenous and environmental signals converge on key regulators, such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), which then activate other floral homeotic genes. For plant, although the organ where developmental decision leading to flowering occurs is shoot apex, leaf is the organ which sensing environmental signals. In Arabidopsis, the mobile signal FT has been demonstrated to be the long-distance signal moved from leaf to shoot apex and then induce the flowering (Corbesier et al., 2007). Expression of FT is affected by such pathway signals and its protein can promote flowering together with the meristem-specific bZIP transcriptional factor FD (Abe et al., 2005; Wigge et al., 2005). At SAM (shoot apical meristem), the FT-FD complex promotes the expression of the floral meristem identity genes such as LEAFY (LFY).
LEAFY and its homologs in other plants encode a kind of unique transcription factors that assign the floral fate of meristems, being thought as a meristem identity gene which determines floral identity (Moyroud et al., 2010). In the lfy mutants of Arabidopsis, homeotic transformations with leaf-like structures replacing the floral organs took place (Weigel et al., 1992). Expression of LFY is also regulated by many pathway signals. For example, GA (Eriksson et al., 2006) and auxin (Li et al., 2013) regulate the LFY expression in Arabidopsis and thereby affect the flowering habits. The master role of LFY as a meristem identity gene is reflected partly in activating its downstream flowering regulation factors, such as the directly activating of the expression of AP1, whose upregulation stands for the initiation of flower formation (Mandel and Yanofsky, 1995; Wagner et al., 1999; William et al., 2004; Liu et al., 2007). Coincided with its master role in flowering progress, over-expression of LFY or its homologs usually leads to an early-flowering phenotype not only in herbaceous plants such as Arabidopsis (Weigel and Nilsson, 1995) and rice (He et al., 2000), but also in woody plants such as hybrid aspen (Rottmann et al., 2000).
Interestingly, such precocious flowering phenotypes also could be found in the fruit trees such as citrus over-expressing AtLFY (Peña et al., 2001). Fruit trees are perennials with a juvenile phase lasting for years in which they are not competent to flower, despite whether in inductive environmental conditions or not. The existing of juvenile phase in fruit trees has been suggested to be a restricting factor for their genetic improvement or breeding process: most economic phenotypes associated with fruits of the hybrids cannot be detected in this phase. Such work mentioned above make it possible to break the juvenile stage of fruit trees with the gene modify technique. Actually, there have been several reports associated with the over-expression of flowering-related genes in fruit trees so as to shorten their juvenile phase. Duan et al. (2010) showed the expression of AtAP1 induced precocious flowering in transgenic kumquat. The juvenile period in apple has also been reduced with the silencing of the MdTFL1 gene (Kotoda et al., 2006) or over-expressing of FT or FT homologous gene (Trankner et al., 2010; Bergonzi and Albani, 2011).
Nevertheless, in perennial fruit species, new questions arouse regarding the stability of integration and expression of foreign genes, there are few reports reporting the stability of transgene integration and expression in plants growing in the field over years (Peña and Séguin, 2001; Rai and Shekhawat, 2014).
Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is an evergreen fruit tree native to China and cultivated mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. Fruits of loquat can be consumed fresh or processed for jam, juice, wine, syrup, or as candied fruits (Lin et al., 1999). As a kind of woody fruit, loquat also has a long juvenile phase, which impedes both productivity and breeding efficiency. Esumi et al. (2005) first reported the existence of EjLFY-1, a LFY homolog from loquat, but its expression and function were not clarified until now for the insufficient transgenic system in loquat.
Most gene function analysis in fruits were carried out with ectopic expression in model plants, such as Arabidopsis or tobacco, for their easier transformation and shorter life cycles. But one significant defect is that the characters related to fruits cannot be found in the transformants originated from such model plants. Strawberry has been considered as a good candidate for the function analysis of such genes. Strawberry owns short reproductive cycle and produces fruits. More importantly, strawberry shares similar gene sequence and genomic microcolinearity with other members of the Rosaceae family, including a large amount of the fruit trees such as apple, peach, pear, plum, apricot, cherry, and other species (Slovin et al., 2009). In addition to sexual reproduction, marked by flower and seed formation, strawberry can also reproduce asexually. It sends out stolon (also called runners), which makes new plants by producing roots and forming leaf clusters at some of the nodes where they touch the ground (Figure 1).
FIGURE 1. Vegetative reproduction of strawberry by its stolon. Arrows (from left to right) show the mother plant, stolon (runner) and the newly formed asexual plant.
Without the gene’s recombination and segregation, propagation with stolon buds in strawberry makes it feasible to sufficiently investigate the transgenic effects of the exogenous genes in their asexual progeny, which is especially important for fruit trees. In production, fruit species must be propagated in asexual ways, such as grafting or layering, to maintain their characters stable. The stability of the transgenic effect in the asexual propagated progeny is crucial for the application of genetic engineering in fruit trees.
The main objective of the this study was to evaluate the function of EjLFY-1 by investigating the ectopic expression effects of this gene on the flowering process in strawberry, and at the same time to investigate the stability of the effects of such transgene in the successive asexual propagated generations of the transformants.
Gene-specific forward and reverse primers, EjLFYfwd and EjLFYrev (Table 1), were designed based on the reported EjLFY-1 sequence (GenBank accession no. AB162033). Restriction enzyme sites were added additionally at the 5′-end and 3′-end of the primers for the subsequent vector construction. Flower bud and leaf of loquat cv. ‘Zaozhong No.6’ were used for the extraction of RNA and DNA, respectively. Full-length cDNA and DNA sequence of EjLFY-1 were obtained by PCR. PCR products were cloned into pGEM-T easy vector (Promega, Madison, WI, USA) and then sequenced.
To determine the involvement of EjLFY-1 in floral development of loquat, we detected its expression levels in different floral differentiation stages, which were generally grouped into four groups: vegetative buds, inflorescence buds, flower buds forming and blooming. Totally 12 samples (buds or flowers) were collected with 10-day intervals. 10 μg RNA from each sample was electrophoresed in 1.2% agarose gel and transferred to Hybond N+ nylon membranes (Roche, Swiss). A gene-specific fragment (498 bp) amplified by a pair of primers (DIGUP and DIGDW, Table 1) at the conserved region of its 3′ end was used as the probe for hybridization. The specific methods of probe labeling and hybridization are as described in the instruction offered by Roche DIG High Prime DNA labeling and Detection Starter Kit I (Roche, Swiss).
Full-length cDNA sequence of EjLFY-1 was subcloned into Xba I-Sac I sites of the binary vector pBI121 plasmid so that EjLFY-1 was under the control of CaMV 35S promoter (Figure 2). Recombinant plasmid pBI121-35S::EjLFY-1 was then introduced into the Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain EHA105.
FIGURE 2. Vector construction. EjLFY-1 was inserted in sense orientation between the Xba I and Sac I sites of the binary vector pBI121. RB Right border, P35S cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter, Nos, nos terminator; LB, left border.
Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) cv. Tudla was used for Agrotransfection. A. tumefaciens-mediated transformation was performed with the leaf-disk procedure (Nehra et al., 1990). Leaf segments were excised from in vitro plantlets grown on MS basal medium (Murashige and Skoog, 1962). The leaf segments were then cocultivated with A. tumefaciens harboring the plasmid pBI121-35S::EjLFY-1, followed by regeneration under the selection medium (MS+1.5 mg L-1 TDZ+0.4 mg L-1 IBA) containing kanamycin (30 mg L-1). Regenerated buds were excised and transferred to 1/2MS medium containing kanamycin (50 mg L-1) for rooting. Resistant plants from separate leaf explants were defined as independent transgenic events.
Genomic DNA were extracted from young leaves of kanamycin-resistant plants and the WT plants following a modified CTAB method (Ma et al., 2008), and then PCR analysis was carried out for detection of the insertion. Individual plants were tested for the presence of both EjLFY-1 and NPT II genes separately. To avoid the potential pollution caused by Agrobacterium may exist in the regenerated resistant plants, the existing of ChvA gene (Chromosomal virulence gene A) which specially belongs to Agrobacterium was also checked and excluded by PCR. Primers (AGRIF and AGRIR) and amplification methods are listed in Table 1.
For further verification of the integration of EjLFY-1, Southern blotting was performed using a randomly selected plantlet which had been confirmed by PCR. About 20 μg of genomic DNA was digested with EcoR I and then electrophoresed on a 0.8% (W/V) agarose gel. The digested DNA in the gel was then transferred to an Immobilon-Ny+ membrane (Millipore, USA). A fragment of NPT II gene obtained by PCR (primers: KANF and KANR, Table 1) was labeled as the probe using the DIG DNA Labeling and Detection Kit II (Roche, Diagnostics, USA). Hybridization was carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Non-transgenic strawberry (WT) was used as the control, except that the Agrobacterium strain containing recombined plasmid was used as a control for detection of the existence of ChvA gene.
Expression of EjLFY-1 in the first generation transgenic plantlet was detected by RT-PCR. Plantlets grown in greenhouse were used to extract the total RNA using an improved CTAB method as described by Chang et al. (2007). Before precipitation, the RNA was treated with RNase-free DNase I (Takara Biotechnology Co., Dalian, China) at 37°C for 4 h to eliminate the eventual genomic contamination. RNA integrity was assessed on a 1.0% agarose gel, and concentration was estimated using a DU800 spectrophotometer (Beckman Coulter, Fullerton, CA, USA). The first-stand cDNA synthesis was performed with 1 μg total RNA and Oligo d(T)18 primer using Superscript II reverse transcriptase (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), according to the protocols provided by the manufacturers. Primers EjLFYfwd and EjLFYrev were used for the RT-PCR confirmation and 2 μl of the cDNA product was used as the template.
Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect the expression of EjLFY-1 in the third-generation propagated clones originated from stolon buds of the transformants. Leaf was used as the material for the detection of EjLFY-1, shoot apex meristem was used to examine the expression level of FaAP1, a homolog of APETALA1 (AP1) in strawberry. Expression level of FaTFL1, homolog of the main floral repressor TERMINAL FLOWER 1 (TFL1) in strawberry, was also detected. Gene-specific primers used in qRT-PCR were also listed in Table 1. RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis were carried out following the method mentioned above. The qRT-PCR was performed using SYBR Green qPCR Kit (Takara Biotechnology Co., Dalian, China) following the manufacturer’s instructions. qPCR was repeated with three biological replicates, and each sample was assayed in triplicate by PCR. The 26S rRNA gene of strawberry was used as a internal control.
Independent transgenic lines and WT plants were rooted, transferred into pots and grown in a solar greenhouse in Shenyang Agricultural University (123°E, 41°N, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China) at December of 2009. The agamic propagated plants from stolon buds of the transgenic plantlets were rooted and planted into new nutritional pots, and then separated from the donor plants.
At the end of each cropping seasons, old leaves and roots of the plantlets were partially removed and the plantlets were then transferred into a new nutritional pots separately.
The plantlets were successively flowering after growing in the greenhouse for 3–4 months and their horticultural traits were recorded individually. Flower timing of each sample was measured as the time period from transferring into pots to formation of the first flower. Plant height, flower numbers were also recorded.
The amino acid sequences were aligned and a phylogenetic tree was generated using the Clustal W method (Higgins et al., 1994). Boot strap values were derived from 1,000 replicate runs. The phylogenetic tree was constructed by MEGA 5.0 software (Tamura et al., 2011). Introns distribution diagram were drew with DNAMAN 6.0 software (Lynnon Biosoft, USA). The horticultural traits data were analyzed with EXCEL. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way ANOVA test, followed by Bonferroni’s test with SPSS software.
With a pair of gene-specific primers, a segment of 1,227 bp was isolated and sequenced. Sequence alignment showed that it is similar with the EjLFY-1 sequence which reported by Esumi et al. (2005). There are only three nucleotide acids and one amino acid diverse between the isolated sequence and the reported one, which may be used as molecular tool for cultivar differentiation. Alignment of the amino acids sequences encoded by EjLFY-1 and other LFY-like genes showed that they share the conserved domains with each other in the N-terminal and C-terminal, especially in the C-terminal conserve motif (Figure 3).
FIGURE 3. Sequence alignment of EjLFY-1 and other LEAFY-like proteins. Dashes indicate gaps to maximize the alignment. DBD motif at the C-terminal and shoot apical meristem (SAM) motif at the N-terminal are shown by lines on bottom of the alignment.
A phylogenetic tree was constructed by using the deduced protein of EjLFY-1 and the other reported LFY-like proteins with Neighbor-Joining Method (Supplementary Figure S1). EjLFY-1 falls in a small group constructed by other homologs of Rosaceae fruit trees, including the PpLFY of pear and the AFL1 and AFL2 of apple. These data are consistent with the traditional taxonomy, indicating their closely relationship during evolution process.
Full-length DNA sequence of EjLFY-1 was also obtained. Sequencing result showed that gEjLFY-1 (GenBank accession no. AY551183) was 2,602 bp in length, indicating the existing of intron(s). Alignment of gEjLFY-1 with its cDNA sequence showed the existing of two introns. The first intron is 464 bp and the second one is 911 bp in length. The amount of introns in gEjLFY-1 is also same as those reported LFY-like genes of other Rosaseae plants such as strawberry, dog rose and apple (Supplementary Figure S2).
Northern blotting data suggested that the transcription of EjLFY-1 initiated in the buds that still in morphologic vegetative stages (Figure 4, lanes 2–3), except in the earliest detected vegetative bud (Figure 4, lane 1). Transcription level of EjLFY-1 was increased gradually during the swelling period of the buds when the inflorescence meristems were initiated (Figure 4, lanes 4–6). Then the transcription level reached the topmost point when the inflorescence meristems started to generate flower meristems (Figure 4, lane 7). Once the flowers came into being, expression of EjLFY-1 decreased (Figure 4, lanes 8–9). No transcripts were detected in little flowers or blooming flowers (Figure 4, lanes 10–12).
FIGURE 4. Expression of EjLFY-1 during the flowering process of loquat. Materials were collected following the flowering development of loquat. For each lane, 10 μg of total RNA was loaded, blotted, and hybridized with an EjLFY-1 probe. rRNA stained with ethidium bromide showing the equivalence of RNA loading between the samples.
An over-expression construct with EjLFY-1 CDS under the control of CaMV 35S promoter was introduced into strawberry cv. Tudla. Totally 59 resistant plantlets belonging to three independent lines (L1, L2, and L3) were got and rooted on MS medium containing kanamycin. The resistant plantlets and the WT ones were then transferred into pots and grown in greenhouse (Supplementary Figure S3).
To verify the genomic integration of the target gene, presence of EjLFY-1 and NPT II were confirmed by PCR separately. The expected specific fragments of both genes were detected in the randomly selected transformants (Figure 5A). While for the detection of ChvA gene, target fragment couldn’t be detected in any tested transformants (Figure 5A), indicating the detected fragments of EjLFY-1 or NPT II were caused by transformation event, excluded the possibility of Agrobacterium continuation.
FIGURE 5. Verification of the transformants. (A) PCR detection for EjLFY-1, NPT II and Chv A genes, Marker: DL2000. (B) Southern blot analysis of L2-2. (C) Expression detection of EjLFY-1 in random selected plantlets of three transgenic lines.
L2-2, a random selected PCR-positive transgenic plantlet, was further tested by using Southern blotting detection for the integration of NPT II gene. Southern hybridization with the NPT II probe showed that two bands were visible in L2-2 while none was observed in the WT control (Figure 5B). This result provides a further evidence of the EjLFY-1 insertion in strawberry genotypes.
Expression level of EjLFY-1 in independent transgenic line was detected by RT-PCR (primers: EjLFYfwd and EjLFYrev, Table 1). Results showed that transcripts of EjLFY-1 could be detected in the tested transgenic lines (Figure 5C), but not in WT ones.
To evaluate the effect of over-expression of EjLFY-1 on the regulation of flowering process in strawberry, transgenic plantlets belonging to three independent lines (L1, L2, and L3) and the WT lines grown in small pots filled with nutrient soil were transferred into experimental greenhouse at December of 2009. It was found that plantlets belonging to L1 and L2 lines developed their inflorescences early and continuously at March of 2010, while the WT plants were still in vegetative growth at the meantime (Figures 6A–C). The early flowering habit of the transformants was very remarkable. Even at the April of 2010, when more than half plantlets of the L1 and L2 came into bloom, the WT ones didn’t develop inflorescences yet. Over-expression of EjLFY-1 promoted flowering process of the plants belongs to L1 and L2, their average flowering time were 23 and 41 days shorter than that of the WT, respectively (Figure 7). While for plants of line L3, the change of flowering formation period was negligible in compare with WT.
FIGURE 6. Phenotypes of transformants and WT plants. (A) WT (right) and transgenic (left) plants. (C) Close-up of the inflorescence formed in transformants, which was not seen in the WT ones (B). (D) Morphology of the flowers and fruits of the transformants: Top left, flower of WT; top right, flower of one transgenic plantlet with doubled sepals; bottom, normal flower and fruit of transformants.
FIGURE 7. Transgenic strawberry plants overexpressing EjLFY-1 showed early-flowering habits. (A) Average days needed for WT and transformants to flowering. Asterisks show significant difference comparing to WT (ANOVA, ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01). (B) Average flower numbers of the transformants and the WT ones. (C) Average plant height of the transformants and the WT ones.
Other horticultural traits of the transformants were also tested at 2010. Over-expression of EjLFY-1 affected not only the flowering time of strawberry but also the flower quantities. Compared with WT plants, the transformants produced more flowers including the line L3 ones in which flowering time showed no significantly changes (Figure 7B). Even though, most flowers or fruits of the transformants showed no obviously changes compared with the WT ones, except that individual transgenic plantlets showing doubled sepals (Figure 6D).
Although over-expression of EjLFY-1 promoted the flowering process of the transgenic lines, it didn’t reduce the vegetative growth habit of those transformants at the first growing season. For example, three transgenic lines even showed a little higher average height phenotype than the WT ones at each investigated point except the beginning (Figure 7C).
Almost all the fruit species in commercial production must be propagated by asexual ways so as to keep their stable traits. Normally the nursery stock of strawberry is runner plant which comes from stolon bud of the donor plant.
Early-flowering habit was also maintained in the runner plants originated from L1 and L2. And with the continuous asexual propagation, the clones showed a more strong early-flowering phenotype: the third-generation runner clones came into flowering at a very young stage (Figure 8A). And unlike the almost unchanged vegetative growth habits of the transformants in the first cropping season, runner clones showed an obviously reduction in vegetative growth. For example, plant showed a dwarf phenotype and their leaf were also extremely smaller than those of the WT ones (Figure 9).
FIGURE 8. More strengthen phenotypes of the progeny propagated from stolon buds of the transgenic strawberry. (A) An very early flowering plant. (B) Abnormal flower in one plantlet with multiplied sepals formed at the incorrect position. (C) Flowering and fruiting of a runner plantlet (left) and the WT one which was in vegetative growth at June of 2014. Arrows showed the flower and fruit of the runner plantlet, and the stolon of the WT one.
FIGURE 9. Runner transgenic plants were dwarf (A) with smaller leaves (B) than the normal ones.
Flowering of the runner clones were not only early but also continuously. Some runner plantlets of the transformants even could develop into flower in the hot summer, when the WT ones were still in their vegetative growth phase and only produced stolons (Figure 8C). In addition, variation of flower organs was also found in individual plantlets of the progeny, such as the multiplicated sepals (Figure 8B) in one runner plantlet originated from L1.
To investigate whether the effect of ectopic expression of the transgene could be maintained in their asexual propagule, expression of EjLFY-1 was also detected in the runner plants originated from the transformants.
qRT-PCR detection showed that expression of EjLFY-1 also existed in the third-generation runner plants originated from the transformants, although the expression levels varies (Figure 10). As the downstream target gene of LFY homologs, expression of FaAP1, the AP1 homolog in strawberry, was also detected. Results showed that although the EjLFY-1 expression were higher in all the transgenic runner plants than that of the WT ones (in which were zero), expression of FaAP1 in those plants differed: its expression in OXRP-1 (Over-expression runner plant 1) was higher than not only the WT ones but also the OXRP-2 and OXRP-3 (Figure 10). The varied expression levels were also detected in FaTFL1, the main repressor in flowering process (Figure 10). Generally, the FaTFL1 expression in WT was lower than those in all the three tested transgenic runner plants.
FIGURE 10. Expression detection of EjLFY-1, FaAP1, and FaTFL1 in third-generation runner plants originated from transgenic strawberry.
Although the crop improvement of loquat is being carried out both by breeding programs and selection accessions from germplasm resources, the varieties grown mostly come from selections (Badenes et al., 2009). One reason for the slow breeding program in loquat is the existing of its long juvenile phase that last for several years. Genetic engineering technique provides a possible faster breeding method, but it is unavailable for loquat until now for its unclear molecular regulation mechanism of flowering and infeasible transformation system. Compared with other popular fruits, such as apple or citrus, whose genome had been sequenced, molecular mechanism of flowering in loquat is poorly understood and few flowering-related genes have been isolated and characterized.
LEAFY-like gene exists not only in angiosperms but also in plant species which don’t produce flowers (Moyroud et al., 2010). As a kind of meristem identity genes related to flowering in seed plants, LFY and its homologs have been demonstrated to not only distribute widely in plants but also function in distantly related species (Peña and Séguin, 2001; Moyroud et al., 2010). One possible reason is that LFY and its homologs are highly evolutionally conserved throughout the plant kingdom and show no apparent similarity to other proteins (Maizel et al., 2005). Two conserved domains of LFY protein were distinguished and, respectively, named as the DBD domain (DNA Binding Domain), which located in the N-terminal and leads it bind to the semi-palindromic 19-bp DNA cis-elements of the genes regulated by itself (Sayou et al., 2014), and the SAM domain (Sterile Alpha Motif), which located in the C-terminal and determines the genomic binding landscape (Sayou et al., 2016). Such characteristic motifs were also found in EjLFY-1 (Figure 3), suggesting its possible flowering regulator role in the flowering process of loquat.
Expression analysis revealed that EjLFY-1 started to increase its expression level in the buds following the transition from vegetative bud to inflorescence bud, decreased its expression level before the forming of flowers and eventually vanished after flowering (Figure 4). Comparing with expression of EjAP1, the AP1 homolog of loquat, EjLFY-1 started and ended its expression earlier (Liu et al., 2013), suggesting its possible key role in the regulation of flowering process of loquat.
To verify the function of EjLFY-1, a chimeric 35S::EjLFY-1 construct was introduced into strawberry. Most of the transgenic plantlets from lines 1 and 2 showed an early flowering phenotype in comparison with the wild-type ones (Figures 6, 7). Unlike the reduced vegetative development phenotype in the other reported transgenic plant species over-expressing LFY-like genes, strawberry over-expressing EjLFY-1 didn’t show obvious changes in the vegetative development habit at the first cropping season. Meanwhile the flowers and fruits of the transformants were almost as same as the wild ones (Figure 6D). Such results suggest the potential value of EjLFY-1 in genetic engineering for the fast breeding of loquat. For plantlets belonging to line 3, although the integration and expression were also verified by PCR, they didn’t show the similar early-flowering phenotype as the other two transformants lines. One possible reason for that is the insertion site effect of the transgene. However, it requires further examination.
The long juvenile phase of fruit trees limits their genetic improvement and prevents full domestication of them (Peña and Séguin, 2001). One of the major goals of fruits breeding programs is to reduce their juvenile phase and accelerate floral production. During the last decades, genetic engineering methods based on the use of transgenes have been successfully adopted to reduce the juvenile phase and accelerate the flowering process of some fruit species (Rai and Shekhawat, 2014). However, few reports mentioned the effectiveness and stabilization of the transgene over long periods or its asexual progeny, which was crucial for fruit trees because most of which are perennial and whose propagation in production are usually carried out through asexual reproduction ways in order to ensure reliability.
In this study, the observation results about the transgenic asexual clones lasting for three cropping seasons showed that the early-flowering habit induced by over-expression of EjLFY-1 could be maintained. Interestingly, with the continuous asexual propagation, the transgenic clones showed even a more consolidated early-flowering trait compared with their ancestor transformants of the first cropping season, such as the reduced vegetative growth habit and even abnormal floral organs (Figure 8). Reduction of the vegetative growth traits in those clones maybe caused by the continuous shorten of the vegetative growth, such as the earlier break of dormancy caused by accelerated flowering process. Such finding provides us new insights into the utilization potential of genetic engineering in the breeding of fruits.
The existing of abnormal floral organs in their clones suggests that continuously over-expression of EjLFY-1 may result in an excessive expression of the downstream floral organ related genes in strawberry, such as the AP1 homolog which may also control the outer two whorls of floral organs in strawberry just like what AP1 does in Arabidopsis (Bowman et al., 1993). Actually, the expression detection of EjLFY-1, FaAP1, and FaTFL1 (Figure 10) suggested that the ectopic expression of EjLFY-1 still exists in those runner clones, following a varied FaAP1 expression changes compared with the WT ones. TFL1 is a floral repressor which also binds to FD and suppresses the expression of floral promoters LEAFY and AP1 (Hanano and Goto, 2011). With the continuous expression of EjLFY-1 in strawberry and thereby the high expression level of FaAP1, expression of FaTFL1 was also activated in over-expression runner plants (OXRP) 1 and 2 (Figure 10), except the plant OXRP-3 in which the FaAP1 expression was not at a high level although the EjLFY-1 was also detected.
Although LFY has been demonstrated to function in distantly related species (Peña and Séguin, 2001; Moyroud et al., 2010), this is not the case for all the reported ones. It was shown that over-expression of AFL1 or AFL2, the LFY homologs in apple, can induce the early-flowering in Arabidopsis (Wada et al., 2002). In other reports, over-expression of AtLFY in apple didn’t show the same results instead of a columnar phenotype with shorten internodes (Flachowsky et al., 2010). Similar results were also reported in poplar (Rottmann et al., 2000). Perhaps it was caused by the divergent sequences of the LFY-like genes and their interacting factors among different species. In this study, we confirmed that the early-flowering habit existed in strawberry over-expressing EjLFY-1 and such habit could be maintained in their clones. For the closely evolutional relationship between strawberry and loquat, both belongs to Rosaceae family, it is promising that over-expression of EjLFY-1 in loquat could also accelerate its flowering process and break its juvenile stage.
ZZ and SL conceived and designed research. YL, QZ, NM, HS, and CL conducted experiments. GH and JW contributed plant materials. YL and QZ analyzed data. YL wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
This work was supported by the Education Administration Research Program of Liaoning Province (2008629 and L2013258) and the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province (2014027015).
We gratefully acknowledge help from Dr. Junhui Zhou, University of Maryland, College Park, with English editing.
Bowman, J. L., Alvarez, J., Weigel, D., Meyerowizt, E. M., and Smyth, D. R. (1993). Control of flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana by APETALA1 and interacting genes. Development 119, 721–743.
Kotoda, N., Iwanami, H., Takahashi, S., and Abe, K. (2006). Antisense expression of MdTFL1, a TFL1-like gene, reduces the juvenile phase in apple. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci. 131, 74–81.
Lin, S. Q., Sharpe, R. H., and Janick, J. (1999). Loquat: botany and horticulture. Hortic. Rev, 23, 233–276.
Copyright © 2017 Liu, Zhao, Meng, Song, Li, Hu, Wu, Lin and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. | 2019-04-25T13:58:49Z | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2017.00496/full |
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Design of analytical platforms and integration of infrastructures to yield enhanced services. Study and definition of best practices/policies for the harmonization of federated resources available. Realization of technological tools able to manage algorithms and the data types originated from several different application fields.
Assistive technologies are hardware and software tools that allow people with disabilities to interact with common technologies in order to access the information, culture and services in general. Assistive technologies can work effectively if the user interfaces are designed and developed in an accessible way. Accessibility is the design principle aimed at assuring that products and services can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities. Thus accessibility guidelines should be usually considered by developers.
Automatic Text Classification focuses on the automatic analysis of the content of a piece of text, and its classification with respect to a set of categories in a taxonomy of interest. It is a core functionality with respect to a large number of information processing tasks, e.g., spam detection, sentiment/opinion analysis, user profiling, document filtering/routing. ATC leverages on many computer science disciplines, such as Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, and Information Retrieval.
Advanced methods to analyze and comprehend Big Data emerging from digital crumbs of human activities within ICT technologies to the pourpose of understanding social phenomena and to build novel form of constructing indicators for understanding, monitoring and measuring our society.
This research topic addresses the problem of retrieving multimedia data, based on their content, on a very large scale, even when no textual descriptions are available. To this aim, we investigate techniques of similarity searching, multimedia content understanding, and image recognition, in scenarios where the number of objects to be searched and analyzed, and the number of queries to be processed is very large. Recently we also addressed the problem of mobile devices visual interaction, where users interact with mobile applications simply by pointing the camera of their mobile devices (smartphone, smartglass, smartwhatc, etc.) to a painting, a picture, an object, a building, a monument, etc.
Methods and techniques for enabling user interfaces (UIs) to react to contextual events for automatically adapting to the context of use. Adaptivity is driven by variations of relevant contextual parameters, aiming to update the UI for better suiting the current situation. The goal is to improve efficiency and effectiveness of user interaction, and thus the overall user experience. Technologies employed range from sensor-based solutions for detecting the actual contextual parameters to high level tools for defining UIs adaptive behaviors on a rule-based manner.
Models, methods, tools and systems for data integration and processing suitable for eScience scenarios. eScience scenarios deal with data coming in different scales and shapes, practitioners coming from diverse domains, evolving requirements for computing capacity. Special emphasis is posed on solutions and technologies that are scalable, flexible, re-usable and dynamically evolvable. Data analytics environments enabling the execution of scientists' algorithms in a distributed computing platform.
Tools and methods for the analysis of large and heterogeneous data sources, aimed to extract knowledge hidden in the data, in the form of frequent patterns (from simple item sets to sequences and graphs), cluster structures, classification and statistical models.
Deep learning (DL) is a branch of machine learning that focuses on representation-learning methods composed of multiple levels of non-linear modules. Starting from a low level representation of an object (e.g., characters, pixels) each level outputs a representation at a higher, slightly more abstract level, until a complex output is produced (e.g., text classification, scene description).
Models, methods and systems for the access, long-term preservation and interoperability of large collections of multimedia digital objects, endowed with formal descriptions drawn from formal ontologies. Special emphasis is given to the languages and the tools of the Semantic Web, including Linked Open Data.
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Study and design of methods and tools for assessing and and enforcing "by design" the individual privacy and the discrimination protection in data mining and data analytics.
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Data analysis tools, methods and applications for the extraction of human mobility information from various location data sources, such as GPS traces of vehicles, mobile phone call detail records and geo-referenced posts on social media.
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We design and develop methods, languages, tools, applications that exploit multimodal user interfaces, which are able to interact with a system by exploiting multiple human senses, in order to improve the user experience. We consider them both in stationary and mobile scenarios. One main goal is to obtain dynamic combinations of modalities depending on the actual context of use in order to better support end users. For this purpose we consider various modalities (exploiting different physiological parameters) such as graphics, voice, gesture, vibro-tactile feedback, gaze, brain activity, ..., which can be combined in different ways (complementary, redundant, assignment, equivalence) depending on the desired effect.
Natural Language Processing is a broad discipline focused on the automatic elaboration of human language by computer. Some of the typical NLP tasks are automatic summarization, machine translation, named entity recognition, optical character recognition, parsing, question answering, speech processing. Text mining focuses on methods for the automatic extraction from text of information that is relevant with respect to a information need. The relevant information is latent in the text or it appears in an unstructured form. The extraction process makes it explicit and gives structure to it, enabling the application of traditional data mining methods, which require structured information.
Cloud-based architectures endowed with basic information processing services for connecting a variety of independently developed systems, embedded in the physical world, in order to offer advanced (smart) services. Special emphasis is given to the models and the languages developed in the context of the Internet of Things.
Models, methods, tools and systems for building and efficiently operating ICT Infrastructures enabling the creation of Virtual Research Environments. Mediator services enabling the integration and federation of existing services, data and infrastructures to effectively realise a system of systems. Scalable approaches and methods dealing with data that are large in volume, variety and/or velocity.
Models, methods, tools and systems for innovative scholarly communication practices compliant with Science 2.0. Rich and extensible data models capable to capture any research object, its links with other objects, and to make it reusable, reliable, repeatable, referenceable, in contexts other than the originating one. Social networking methods for collaboration and cooperation.
The management of huge volumes of scientific data requires an intensive research activity as the traditional database technology is not adequate. Research topics include: scientific data modeling, metadata modeling, query processing, and adaptive indexing structures.
The activity focusses on (i) Semantic Web Languages and scalable reasoning methods, (ii) Semantic Web Language extensions to deal uncertainty and fuzziness, and (iii) Machine Learning Algorithms to automatically induce structured knowledge from Semantic Web data.
Tools and methods for the analysis of large and complex network data, with the objective of highlight structural and topological patterns, such as community discovery, evolutionary patterns, information diffusion, link prediction.
Integrated framework to collect, integrate and harmonize crowdsourced data about human activities. Tools and methods to enrich raw data with behaviorally rich semantics about human activities, both at individual and collective level.
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VA provides a computer-support system to understand complex and big data by means of a visual representation, in order to facilitate interpretation and comprehension of analytical tasks. Visualization is strictly coupled with advanded analytical methods to reduce, aggregate and summarize large data.
The ongoing shift of services and applications toward Cloud platforms brings users to entrust their whole service stack, from data storage to company workflows, to external providers. Besides the development of new Cloud platforms and standards, key research challenges are federating services and resources from different public/private Clouds, providing scalable interoperability, wisely matching services and needs, protecting the privacy and security of users' data.
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The focus is addressing interesting, often yet unsolved problems, related to the design, implementation and deployment of information systems that scale far larger than most other systems and can effectively and efficiently provide in near real-time answers to complex queries by possibly using a limited amount of computational resources.
Structured and semi-structured data available on the Web is constantly increasing. The Web of Data is no longer limited to a few specialists, but it attracts companies, governments and individuals. The focus is on investigating precise and efficient methods for linking objects to additional semantic information provided by external knowledge bases. Objects to be enriched can range from short snippets of text to more complex data such as spatio-temporal records.
Recent years have seen the exponential growth of scale and complexity of heterogeneous digital content coming from various sources such as the Web, social media/networks, as well as databases and usage logs recording most of human activities. Scalable paradigms to manage, analyse, and search those large, real-world data are becoming increasingly important.
The widespread use of social networks and multimedia sharing platforms opens unprecedented possibilities for extracting fresh information about large communities of people, events and opinions. Understanding which are the more relevant topics in this information flow and how they spread across the network is a challenging task impacting also the area of Social Sciences. Our focus is on designing novel machine learning tools aimed at enhancing Information Retrieval and filtering applications, such as news recommendation and trend detection.
We have consolidated experience on the use of 3D printing technologies, adopted in several projects (mostly, but not only, focusing on Cultural Heritage applications). We have research projects concerning the extension or development of new software approaches for 3D printing (i.e. illustrative fabrication, extending working volume of 3D printing devices, production of deformable replicas).
Use of cutting-edge Computer Graphics for the support of Cultural Heritage or Digital Humanities applications, including museums and artwork exposition, study of artworks, restoration, archaeological documentation, etc. We have solid expertise on 3D models/2D images visualization (on desktop, web or mobile platforms), archival, analysis and presentation by means of multimedia installations.
Algorithms and applications for real-time rendering and visualization. Photorealistic rendering, rendering of massive datasets, techniques for inspection of 3D and 2D data. We developed several algorithms specialized for many scenarios where large amount of data are involved such as rendering of terrains, urban environments, indoor environments, human artifacts.
We have a very consolidated experience on the reconstruction from sampled points; we designed and implemented several innovative software solutions. Most of these works have been later on ported to MeshLab, the open source system designed and mantained by CNR-ISTI, now a major reference for the 3D scanning community (http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/).
We have solid experience on technologies for data management and visualization issues reconstruction from volumetric data,iso-surface extraction, direct volume rendering, visual analysis). More recently, we consolidated experience on the development of visualization systems on the web or the mobile platforms.
Efficient solutions for interactive visualization of 3D/2D media for the Web and on mobile devices. This topic is not limited to porting existing desktop technologies on mobile devices but it deals with novel interaction paradigms and sensors use that are proper of these devices.
Development of mathematical models, numerical methods and software for modelling the thermomechanical behaviour of solid continua with a view toward engineering applications.
Development of mechanical models and software for the structural analysis of ancient masonry constructions. In particular, the NOSA-ITACA code (available at http://www.nosaitaca.it/en/) allows for modelling the nonlinear behaviour of masonry constructions under static and dynamic loads, by taking into account the material's inability to withstand tensile stresses. | 2019-04-21T18:07:30Z | https://www.isti.cnr.it/research/rdtopics.php |
Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) have become one of the most important tools for many businesses. Even the small, 20-person office needs to realize the benefits of using HRIS to be more efficient. Many firms do not realize how much time and money they are wasting on manual human resource management (HRM) tasks until they sit down and inventory their time. HRIS is advancing to become its own information technology (IT) field. It allows companies to cut costs and offer more information to employees in a faster and more efficient way. Especially in difficult economic times, it is critical for companies to become more efficient in every sector of their business; human resources (HR) is no exception.
HRIS refers to software packages that address HR needs with respect to planning, employee information access, and employer regulatory compliance. The following text begins with a discussion of human resource planning, followed by human resource management systems.
American companies must now operate in a rapidly changing business environment. These changes have important implications for HRM practices. To ensure that management practices support business needs, organizations must continually monitor changing environmental conditions and devise HRM strategies for dealing with them. The procedure used to tie human resource issues to the organization's business needs is called human resource planning. Also known as HR planning, this procedure is defined as the "process of identifying and responding to [organizational needs] … and charting new policies, systems, and programs that will assure effective human resource management under changing conditions."
The purposes of HR planning are to enable organizations to anticipate their future HRM needs and to identify practices that will help them to meet those needs. HR planning may be done on a short- or long-term (three or more years) basis. Its aim is to ensure that people will be available with the appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organization needs them. The use of HR planning enables companies to gain control of their future by preparing for likely events. That is, they can anticipate change and devise appropriate courses of action. When companies learn how to capitalize on future events, their own future improves.
As valuable as HR planning is, many companies ignore this opportunity. Some see it as too difficult and frustrating, while others simply do not see the need for it. However, when failing to properly plan for their human resources, employers are forced to respond to events after they occur, rather than before; they become reactive, rather than proactive. When this outcome occurs, an organization may be unable to correctly anticipate an increase in its future demand for personnel. At best, such a company would be forced to recruit personnel at the last minute and may fail to find the best candidates. At worst, the company may become seriously understaffed.
Number of employees 240 200 165 215 ?
consequences. For instance, the understaffing could cause existing employees to experience a great deal of stress as they attempt to meet additional demand without adequate resources and assistance. If required work is not getting done, the firm ultimately may experience an increase in back orders, which could cause a decrease in customer goodwill, an increase in competition, and a loss of market share.
When engaged in human resource planning, a company derives its human resource needs by first forecasting its demand for human resources (i.e., the number and types of people needed to carry out the work of the organization at some future point in time), and then its supply (i.e., the positions that are expected to be already filled). The difference between the two forecasts signifies the firm's HR needs. For example, if a firm estimates that it will demand 12 accountants during the next fiscal year and expects to retain its supply of nine who are already on staff, its HR need would be to hire three additional accountants. Following is a closer look at how a company can determine its HR needs and devise plans to meet them.
Demand forecasting involves predicting the number and types of people the organization will need at some future point in time. There are two general approaches to demand forecasting: statistical and judgmental. Using a statistical approach, an organization predicts its needed workforce size on the basis of certain business factors. A business factor is an attribute of the business, such as sales volume or market share, which closely relates to the size of the needed workforce. For example, a hospital could use the business factor of projected patient load to predict the number of nurses it would need at some point in time.
A statistical approach to demand forecasting typically is used when an organization operates in a stable environment, where an appropriate business factor can be predicted with some degree of certainty. For example, a statistical approach may be appropriate for a hospital located in an area with little population growth. Organizations operating in less stable environments (e.g., a hospital in an area experiencing explosive growth and change) are more likely to rely on a judgmental approach.
The most commonly used statistical methods of demand forecasting are trend, ratio, and regression analysis. In trend analysis, the future demand for human resources is projected on the basis of past business trends regarding a business factor. An example of a trend analysis is illustrated in Exhibit 1, which depicts the relationship between a business factor (namely, sales volume) and workforce size. As one can see from the exhibit, if the company expects its 2010 sales to be $10 million, it will need to increase its workforce to a size of nearly 240, which is the number of employees it had in 2006 when sales were $10.2 million.
Ratio analysis is the process of determining future HR demand by computing an exact ratio between the specific business factor and the number of employees needed. It thus provides a more precise estimate than trend analysis. For instance, the demand for professors at a university could be forecast on the basis of the student-faculty ratio. Suppose that a university has 10,000 students and 500 professors; the student-faculty ratio is thus 10,000:500 or 20:1. This ratio means that for every 20 students, the university needs 1 professor. If the university anticipates a student enrollment increase of 1,000 for next year, it would need to hire 50 (1000/20) new professors. This is in addition to any hiring needed to fill vacancies from existing faculty who might leave in the meantime.
Regression analysis is similar to both trend and ratio analyses in that forecasts are based on the relationship between a business factor and workforce size. However, this method is more statistically sophisticated. Using statistical software, the analyst first creates a scatter diagram depicting the relationship between the business factor and workforce size. The software can then calculate a regression line, which cuts right through the center of the points on the scatter diagram. (The regression line is mathematically determined using a formula found in most statistical texts.) By inspecting values along the regression line, one can see how many employees are needed at each value of the business factor. Both ratio analysis and regression analysis are aspects of human resource management systems (HRMS) packages, and therefore provide the business with the capabilities to calculate more accurate and timely forecasts.
An example of how regression analysis can be used to project HR demand is shown in Exhibit 2. In this example, the figures used in the trend analysis (Exhibit 1) are now depicted in the form of a scatter diagram. The line running through the center of the points plotted on the scatter diagram is the regression line. To determine the number of employees needed when the sales volume is $10 million, one would follow the path indicated by the dashed line. One would start at the point on the X axis reading "10,000," and then move up vertically until reaching the regression line. The value on the Y axis corresponding to that point (i.e., 230) reflects the needed workforce size.
Statistical methods of demand forecasting assume that the relationship between workforce size and the business factor remains constant over time. If this relationship were to change unexpectedly, the forecast would become inaccurate. For example, the forecast of needed professors based on the student-faculty ratio would be inaccurate if the university decided to change its teaching approach and institute distance learning classes. This approach to teaching involves the use of video equipment, which can beam the professor's lectures to many different locations, thus allowing many more students to enroll in the class. Consequently, the 20:1 ratio would no longer apply; the university would now be able to function with fewer professors (or at least more students per professor).
Judgmental approaches to demand forecasting involve the use of human judgment, rather than a manipulation of numbers. Two of the most commonly used judgmental techniques are group brainstorming and sales force estimates. The group brainstorming technique of demand forecasting uses a panel of experts (i.e., people within the organization who collectively understand the market, the industry, and the technological developments bearing on HRM needs). These experts are asked to generate a forecast through the process of brainstorming. A variety of brainstorming techniques exist. Most involve a face-to-face discussion among group members, who are asked to reach a consensus.
The accuracy of the forecasts depends on the correctness of these assumptions. Of course, the future is very difficult to predict because it is subject to many uncertainties. Therefore, the organization must continually monitor its demand forecasts in light of any unexpected changes. HRMS packages facilitate the calculation and monitoring of demand forecasts.
The use of sales force estimates represents another judgmental approach for forecasting HR demand. This approach is most appropriately used when the need for additional employees arises from the introduction of new products. When a new product is launched, sales personnel are asked to estimate the demand for the product (i.e., expected sales volume) based on their knowledge of customer needs and interests. The organization then uses this information to estimate how many employees will be needed to meet this demand. One drawback of this approach is the possibility of bias. Some sales personnel may purposely underestimate product demands so they will look good when their own sales exceed the forecasts. Others may overestimate demand because they are overly optimistic about their sales potential.
Once a demand forecast has been made, an organization has a relatively good idea of the number and nature of positions it will need to carry out its work at a particular point in time. It then estimates which of these positions will be filled at that time by individuals who already are employed by the company. The process used to make this estimation is called supply forecasting.
Supply forecasting is a two-step process. HRMS packages provide the employer with the means to automate much of these two steps. In the first step, the organization groups its positions by title, function, and responsibility level. These groupings should reflect levels of positions across which employees may be expected to advance. For instance, the HRM group might include the job titles of HR assistant, HR manager, and HR director. The secretarial group might include secretarial clerk, principal secretary, senior secretary, and administrative assistant.
The second step of supply forecasting is to estimate, within each job group, how many current employees will remain in their positions during the planning period, how many will move to another position (e.g., through transfer, promotion, or demotion), and how many will leave the organization. These predictions are partially based on past mobility trends (e.g., turnover and promotion rates). The organization also should consider any plans for mergers, acquisitions, unit or division divestitures, layoffs, retrenchments and downsizing, and even hostile takeovers. When making its supply forecast, the organization also should look at specific individuals. Some may have already announced, for instance, that they are retiring at the end of the year, returning to school in the fall, or getting married and planning on moving to a different part of the country.
Computerized statistical packages are available to help estimate the flow of employees through an organization. The estimates generated by these packages can be fairly accurate in stable environments. When the environment is unstable, of course, these estimates are suspect. For instance, an organization may base its estimates on past turnover rates, which have been about 10 percent during each of the past five years. If the turnover rate were to change drastically because of factors such as job dissatisfaction or down-sizing, the organization would severely underestimate its future staffing needs.
Combining the results of the supply and demand forecasts within each job group derives specific staffing needs. For example, consider a firm that currently employs twenty-five secretaries. As the result of its supply forecast, the firm predicts that five of these secretarial positions will become vacant by the end of the planning period because of retirements, promotions, and so forth. Its demand forecast predicts that three new secretarial positions will be needed during the coming period because of an increased demand for the company's product. By combining these two estimates, the firm now realizes that it must hire eight new secretaries (five to replace those expected to vacate their positions, plus three to fill the newly created positions).
When the HR planning process is completed, a firm must establish and implement HRM practices in order to meet its human resource needs. Following is a brief overview of how HRM practices can help organizations to deal with anticipated oversupplies and undersupplies of personnel.
The trend toward organizational restructuring usually results in a smaller workforce. Therefore, when an organization's strategic plan calls for restructuring, the HRM response usually is one of downsizing. Downsizing usually results in layoffs. Because of the negative outcomes that are often associated with layoffs, employers are encouraged to seek alternatives, such as hiring freezes, early retirements, restricted overtime, job sharing, and pay reductions.
When the results of demand and supply forecasting project an undersupply of personnel at some future point in time, the organization must decide how to resolve this problem. The solution may involve hiring additional staff, but there are other options. When HR plans indicate an undersupply of employees, firms can recruit personnel to staff jobs with anticipated vacancies. HRMS packages provide employers with capabilities to carry out recruitment in all of its steps. The first step is to conduct a job analysis to determine the qualifications needed for each vacant job.
The next step is to determine where and how to recruit the needed individuals. For instance, a company must decide whether to fill its vacancies externally (i.e., from the external labor market) or internally (i.e., from its own current workforce). When recruiting externally, an organization should first assess its attractiveness in the eyes of potential applicants; unattractive employers may have trouble generating a sufficiently large applicant pool. Such employers should attempt to increase the number of people who are attracted to the organization and thus interested in applying for a job there. This may be accomplished by increasing starting pay levels and/or improving benefit packages. Another option is to target certain protected groups whose members may be underemployed in the local labor market, such as older, disabled, or foreign-born individuals.
Internal recruitment efforts can be improved through the use of career development programs. When designing such a program, the organization should collect work history and skill level information on each of its employees. Such information would include age, education level, training, special skills (e.g., foreign language spoken), and promotion record, and should be stored on a computer. This employee information allows the organization to identify current employees who are qualified to assume jobs with greater responsibility levels. For instance, in departments where skilled managers are in short supply, a management replacement chart can be prepared that lists present managers, proposes likely replacements, and gives an estimate of when the replacement candidate will be trained and available to fill an open position.
Instead of hiring new workers to meet increasing demands, an organization may decide to improve the productivity of the existing workforce through additional training. Other options include the use of overtime, additional shifts, job reassignments, and temporary workers. Another option is to improve retention rates. When this aim is met, firms will have fewer job vacancies to fill.
Retention rates can be improved at the outset of the employer/employee relationship, when applicants are first recruited. Retention rates are likely to improve when applicants are given a realistic preview of what their jobs would actually be like (warts and all), rather than an overly glowing one.
Workers want to feel valued and needed by their organization. In a climate characterized by mergers, acquisitions, and layoffs, many workers feel very insecure about their jobs. Employees with such feelings often begin shopping around for other jobs. These fears can be eased by implementing HR plans for training and cross-training. Such plans allow workers to perform a variety of functions, thus ensuring that they have the necessary skills to continue making contributions to the firm. Management training also is crucial in this regard. Organizations must train managers to be good supervisors. Poor "people management" is a primary cause of voluntary turnover. Managers at all levels should know what is expected of them, in terms of managing people instead of just managing budgets.
Companies also can improve retention rates by creating a work environment that encourages employees to participate actively in the company's total welfare. Workers want recognition for their contributions to organizational progress, but this recognition must be tailored to the workers' individual needs. While some workers may be motivated by monetary rewards, others seek recognition by peers and managers, feelings of accomplishment, or job satisfaction.
Workers now demand more flexible schedules to best fit their lifestyles. Organizations can improve retention rates by implementing programs to accommodate these needs, such as job sharing, shortened workweeks, and telecommuting via computer and modem.
Finally, companies also can improve retention rates by offering attractive benefit packages, such as generous retirement plans, stock ownership, health and dental insurance, and employee discount programs. Many firms are now offering "cafeteria plan" benefit packages, which are tailored to the specific needs of each of their employees.
The opportunities to add more services are endless and continue to improve.
For most companies, the hardware and software needed to run these programs are fairly standard. Hardware and software is dependent on the complexity of the HRMS package; more complex HRMS packages require more hardware (e.g., server space and speed).
HRMS technology costs vary considerably, depending on the size of the company and its HR needs. Costs for deploying a comprehensive HRMS package include license fees, implementation, technology, training, and maintenance. Costs typically range from $300 to $700 per employee as an initial investment for companies with more than 1,000 employees. Smaller companies may decide it is better to rent the application than buy it. Research has found that most companies can recoup HRMS costs within three years of system launch, based on process efficiencies alone.
The value of HRMS results from a reduction in HR support costs, based on efficiency improvements. "Hackett's benchmark for the average annual cost of HR services per employee is approximately $1,900, with a best practice goal of less than $1,200" (Hamerman). By eliminating paper and process inefficiencies, companies can expect additional cost reductions while improving service and becoming more efficient. There are many other benefits of HRMS. Giga Information Group believes that HR departments can reduce time spent on administrative work by 40 percent to 50 percent, resulting in either the elimination of headcount or the redeployment of effort to higher value tasks, such as decision support and employee development.
Another benefit of HRMS includes allowing HR to transition from an administrative department to a strategic management department. The strategic value aspect of the HRMS investment focuses on managing human capital by supporting functions such as recruitment, performance/competency management, employee development, and employee customer service. By executing well in these areas, companies can reduce employee turnover, reduce hiring costs, and improve individual performance.
ADP offers a comprehensive suite of software that can run on almost all modern operating systems. A major player in the HRMS business is PeopleSoft. Acquired by Oracle Corp. in January 2005, PeopleSoft puts it focus on one complete HRM product line. This suite not only works in the HRM arena, it also allows employers to buy modules for CRM, SCM, and many other areas. There are three versions of the company's Enterprise suite: Enterprise, EnterpriseOne, and PeopleSoft World.
Plan the workforce needed to carry out an organization's business objectives, attract the right people, and provide them with the tools they need to be productive.
Assess workforce skills and design learning and performance programs that develop people in alignment with their career paths and corporate objectives.
Optimize a global workforce by putting the right people in the right jobs at the right time. This includes tracking the workforce and monitoring performance.
Plan compensation and reward structures that align the workforce with corporate objectives. This includes linking the right employees with the right types of compensation, and rewarding them with a total package that maximizes efficiency, reduces costs, and increases overall performance.
Maintain a database of employee skill sets and competencies, as well as information about outside applicants.
Track approved positions and headcount by company and department.
Track recruitment data, such as where a company is finding employees, how long they stay, qualifications, and recruitment costs.
Simplifying the employee evaluation process through automated workflow, which automatically alerts employees and managers about scheduled performance reviews.
Helping managers to understand discrepancies between employees' expected and actual performance through built-in competency gap analysis tools.
Providing true exception reporting with flexible reporting tools that summarize data, embed workflow messaging, and populate spreadsheets.
Flexible and affordable pricing. Pre-integrated applications optimized on an IBM iSeries means lower implementation costs and ongoing IT needs. At the same time, users get a flexible architecture that enables them to tailor menus, security, and reporting to the specific needs of their business without costly modifications.
Self-service capabilities: Web browser-based access to applications enables employees, customers, and suppliers to access relevant information quickly and easily, with less training.
Full, robust solution: PeopleSoft World is a comprehensive, but low-maintenance solution for small businesses. It offers the same functionality available to larger enterprises, not a stripped-down version of a larger solution. It supports multicurrency, multi-language, and multi-company requirements and provides integration with other key PeopleSoft technologies.
All PeopleSoft Software is built on a Web-based platform, enabling "portal" technology. For both Enterprise and EnterpriseOne, portals are available to connect with employees over the Web. Technology continues to evolve, and HR is no exception. One of the fastest growing trends in HRMS is Web-based training/e-learning. E-learning tends to be far more affordable than classroom learning, and a higher degree of focus results in time savings. Not all e-learning is the same: some courses are self-paced with tutors available, some are instructor-led in real time, and some allow for student interaction.
Another HRMS trend is the use of online surveys. This allows companies to get fast information on their employees, policies, procedures, competition, and anything else they decide to survey. This also gives employees a sense of belonging and contributing to their company. Online employee surveys usually have an 80 percent return ratio, which is much higher than paper surveys.
Employees are becoming more self sufficient in the workplace because of HRMS and the growth of technology. They are able to answer questions, down-load forms, enroll in benefits, change payroll options, and complete training on their own. This saves both time and money. An employee does not have to make several phone calls in order to speak with the one person who knows the answer to their questions. Answers are readily available, usually on the company intranet. This also frees up HR to focus on more profitable activities for the company, such as recruiting and employee development.
Another growing trend includes improved methods for monitoring and managing employees' use of the Internet. This helps management to improve productivity, reduce legal liabilities, and control IT costs. Companies are blocking e-mail that may be offensive in order to reduce legal liabilities. They also are blocking Web sites that are inappropriate for workplace viewing. This has improved productivity by reducing non-productive activities.
HRMS providers have products for companies of all sizes. These providers profit by maximizing the services they offer. Therefore, they are going to target large companies that need more support. However, providers are still interested in small companies, and those that will need more support as they grow.
As the need for corporate cost-cutting, efficiency, and productivity becomes more important, the HRMS industry is going to continue to have strong growth potential. Not only can HRMS help with employee administration from recruiting to benefits, it can save companies thousands of dollars by lowering workforce and employee turnover levels. By 2005, the corporate world had only seen the beginning potential of HRMS.
Gueutal, Hal G., and Dianna L. Stone, eds. The Brave New World of eHR: Human Resources Management in the Digital Age. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2005.
Hamerman, Paul. "HR and Administrative B2E: Maturing and Expanding." Business.com, 2005. Available from < http://www.business.com/directory/human_resources/outsourcing/hrms_hris >.
——. "Justifying IT Investments: Human Resources Management Systems." Giga Information Group. Available from < http://www.majoraccounts.adp.com/news/art_hrms.htm >.
"Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) Outsourcing." Business.com. Available from < http://www.business.com/directory/human_resources/outsourcing/hrms_hris >.
Losey, Mike, Sue Meisinger, and Dave Ulrich, eds. The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Thought Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
Oracle Corp. "Products and Industries." Available from < http://www.peoplesoft.com/corp/en/products >. | 2019-04-20T03:26:40Z | https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Gr-Int/Human-Resource-Information-Systems.html |
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem worldwide with increasing incidence rates. As HCC traditionally occurs in chronically inflamed livers, this inflammation aids to drive oncogenesis and often renders these lesions to be immunogenic and therefore potential targets for immunotherapy. As patients with HCC generally have underlying liver dysfunction, we sought to determine if immune checkpoint inhibitors were safe to use in patients with HCC as compared to melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in terms of the gastrointestinal side effects of elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and diarrhea as well as patients who drop out of the study due to drug toxicity and death secondary to drug toxicity.
A literature review was performed for clinical trials that have been completed with single agent immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with HCC, melanoma, and NSCLC. Gastrointestinal related adverse events including elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and diarrhea were analyzed as well as those patients who were taken off therapy secondary to drug related toxicity and patients who died as a result of therapy.
We found that although patients with HCC treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors have a substantial increase in AST/ALT as compared to patients with melanoma and NSCLC, this does not cause the patients to come off therapy or cause death secondary to drug toxicity.
We propose immune checkpoint inhibitors are safe to pursue in the treatment of HCC.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem worldwide. Globally, HCC is the second leading cause of cancer related death . As per the annual report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, deaths from liver cancer increased at the highest rate of all cancer sites, and liver cancer incidence rates increased sharply . For patients with advanced diseased, sorafenib is the standard of care showing a survival advantage from 7.9 to 10.7 months as compared to placebo . Recently, the RESORCE trial demonstrated an additional survival advantage of approximately 3 months in patients treated with regorafenib following progression on sorafenib, which led to approval for regorafenib in HCC by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) . Thus, there is a high need for new treatment options to improve patient survival.
Immunotherapy is a fast-moving field that has shown promise in other malignancies, notably melanoma, but is quickly evolving as a treatment for HCC [5–8]. Immunotherapy appears to be a suitable treatment option for HCC as HCC traditionally occurs in chronically inflamed livers, such as those infected with hepatitis B or C and patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This inflammation aids to drive oncogenesis and often renders these lesions to be immunogenic [9–11]. As a result, the tumors often express tumor-associated antigens and neo-antigens that arise from specific gene mutations which make attractive targets for the immune system . However, due to a variety of stromal cells and immunoinhibitory molecules, these antitumor immune responses are often blunted with immune inhibitory checkpoints having been recognized as having an increasing role in tumor escape [8, 12].
Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as the anti-CTLA-4 antibody Ipilimumab or the anti-PD-1 antibody Nivolumab or Pembrolizumab have been FDA-approved for treatment of melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, several clinical trials showed promising results for the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in HCC [13–15]. Unlike traditional chemotherapy, immunotherapy acts indirectly through modulating the immune system in an attempt to promote immune recognition for a lasting antitumor response . However, like traditional chemotherapy, immunotherapy including checkpoint inhibitors are not without adverse events. A unique gamut of adverse events from checkpoint inhibitors may occur due to activation of the immune system and induction of autoimmunity [16–18]. Such adverse events involve the gastrointestinal system including hepatitis, transaminitis, diarrhea and colitis. Other organ systems are also affected as well including but not limited to pneumonitis, hypophysitis, as well as endocrine dysfunction and skin reactions such as pruritus and rash [16, 19]. Immune-related adverse events after checkpoint blockade in general have been reviewed elsewhere [20, 21]. Here we would like to focus on HCC patients, considering their impaired liver function due to underlying liver disease and tumor burden.
The first immune checkpoint inhibitor to enter clinic trials was ipilimumab, an CTLA-4 blocking antibody, whose approval by the FDA was based on the results from trials in patients with advanced melanoma with an acceptable adverse event profile [19, 22–25]. However compared to melanoma patients, patients with HCC are more likely to have liver dysfunction as a result of chronic viral hepatitis and fibrosis as well as tumor burden in the liver. The first clinical trial in HCC with immune checkpoint inhibitors was by Sangro et al. looking at tumor response in patients with HCC and chronic hepatitis C. When designing the trial, the authors expressed their concern for the risk of inducing immune-mediated fulminant hepatitis because of the checkpoint blockade . Historically, patients with viral hepatitis have been excluded from prior clinical trials with checkpoint blockade. Duffy et al. administered Tremelimumab to HCC patients and combined their treatment with radiologic ablation therapies . Recently, El-Khoueiry et al. reported results of a phase I/II study of nivolumab in HCC which consisted of dose escalation and expansion phases and is the first reported trial treating HCC with a checkpoint inhibitor targeting PD-1 . The above mentioned trials had acceptable safety profiles and showed potential for future treatment of HCC.
In this study, we performed a literature review and summary of data from clinical trials with checkpoint inhibitors in HCC, melanoma, and NSCLC. Although patients with hepatocellular carcinoma generally have preexisting underlying liver dysfunction as the result of hepatitis or cirrhosis, we found patients with HCC treated with checkpoint inhibitors have a higher incidence of transaminitis but there is no difference in the percentage of patients taken off the immune checkpoint inhibitor secondary to drug toxicity or death secondary to drug toxicity.
We performed a literature review of clinical trials that have been performed with single agent immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients with HCC, melanoma, and NSCLC on PubMed. Immune checkpoint inhibitors included in this study targeted CTLA-4 and PD-1 which comprised of tremelimumab, nivolumab, ipilimumab and pembrolizumab. Agents targeting PD-L1 were excluded as only very limited information in abstract form is available about studies testing anti-PD-L1 in HCC. We analyzed study arms with treatment only consisting of single agent immune checkpoint inhibitors. Study arms containing combination therapy with chemotherapy or other immunotherapy agents were excluded.
We analyzed gastrointestinal related adverse events including elevation of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and diarrhea based upon grading criteria (ie National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events) categorized as grade 1–5 toxicities as reported per clinical trial. We included episodes of colitis in the diarrhea group as some studies did not distinguish between the two adverse events. Additionally, although trials in melanoma and NSCLC report drug induced hepatitis as an adverse event, this was excluded from our analysis as most patients in the HCC studies had underlying chronic hepatitis at baseline as compared to patients with melanoma and NSCLC and was not reported as an adverse event in those trials. Other indicators of hepatic dysfunction, such as elevation of total bilirubin, low albumin and international normalized ratio (INR), were not utilized as they were generally not reported in the clinical trial adverse events. We also analyzed those patients who were taken off therapy secondary to drug related toxicity as well as those patients who died as a result of therapy.
For each of the studies, the percentage of patients with each type of adverse event was determined by dividing the total number of patients with that event by the number of patients in the study. The percentages were then compared among all three groups (HCC, NSCLC, and melanoma) using an exact form of a Kruskal-Wallis test. Then, the percentages were individually compared between the studies reporting on HCC and each of the other two diagnoses using an exact form of a Wilcoxon rank sum test. The p-values are two-tailed and presented without formal adjustment for multiple comparisons. However, in view of the number of types of adverse events evaluated, for the three-group comparison, p < 0.01 would indicate a significant overall difference among disease categories, while 0.01 < p < 0.05 would indicate a trend. For the comparison of HCC with NSCLC, there are only three trials vs. 5–6 being compared, and with this number of studies, the smallest theoretical p-value that can be obtained by an exact Wilcoxon rank sum test is 0.036; thus, this indicates a difference for these groups, but limited ability to consider truly the comparisons as being statistically significant. For comparison of HCC with melanoma, p < 0.01 would indicate a significant difference, while 0.01 < p < 0.05 would indicate a trend.
Data from three studies reporting on adverse events in HCC, six studies reporting adverse events in NSCLC and 16 studies reporting adverse events in patients with melanoma were analyzed after literature review excluding studies that did not contain a study arm containing single agent immune checkpoint inhibitors or reported adverse events secondary to drug toxicity (Table 1). Clinical trials in HCC with immune checkpoint inhibitors include one trial using tremelimumab alone, one trial combining tremelimumab with tumor ablative therapies and one trial with nivolumab in a dose expansion phase for a total of 314 patients. For NSCLC, we identified six trials, three with pembrolizumab and three with nivolumab for a total of 1866 patients. For clinical trials with immune checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma we identified 16 trials, five with ipilimumab, three with tremelimumab, three with pembrolizumab, and five with nivolumab for a total of 4118 patients (Table 2).
For overall comparison of the three groups of trials, elevation of AST or ALT of any grade differed significantly among patients with the three types of disease (p = 0.0051 and p = 0.0083 respectively), as did grade 3–4 AST or ALT toxicity (p = 0.0096 and p = 0.0067 respectively; Table 3, Fig. 1a, b, c, and d). Diarrhea of any grade also differed significantly among patients in the three disease groups (p = 0.00079) but there was no statistical difference in grade 3–4 diarrhea (p = 0.12) among the groups (Table 3, Fig. 1e and f). There was no difference among the three groups with respect to patients discontinuing therapy secondary to drug toxicity (p = 0.48) or deaths secondary to drug toxicity (p = 0.12; Table 3, Fig. 1g and h).
In subgroup analyses comparing studies of patients with HCC and NSCLC, there were greater proportions of HCC patients exhibiting elevations in AST and ALT of any grade (both p = 0.036) as well as grade 3–4 AST or ALT elevation (both p = 0.036). There was no difference in the rate of diarrhea between groups of patients for any grade toxicity (p = 0.71) and grade 3–4 toxicity (p = 0.96). Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in the proportions of patients with dose limiting toxicity causing those patients to come off the study (p = 0.39) as well as death secondary to toxicity (p = 0.11, Table 3, Fig. 1).
Comparing HCC and melanoma studies, there was a trend toward significantly greater proportions of HCC patients with any-grade toxicity with respect to AST and ALT elevation (p = 0.011 and p = 0.022 respectively). Significantly higher proportions of HCC patients also exhibited grade 3–4 elevation of AST and ALT (p = 0.0028 and p = 0.0055 respectively). There was no statistical difference between patients with HCC or melanoma with respect to diarrhea of any grade (p = 0.11) or with grade 3–4 toxicity (p = 0.25). Again, there was no statistical significance in drug limiting toxicity causing patients to come off the study (p = 0.96) as well as death secondary to toxicity (p = 0.34 Table 3, Fig. 1).
Sorafenib is the current standard of care in advanced and end-stage HCC with the SHARP trial showing a meager survival advantage of 3 months compared to placebo . A recent trial with regorafenib following progression of sorafenib showed an additional survival benefit of approximately 3 months . It has been considered no small feat to have a positive phase III clinical trial as progress toward successful therapies has been slow . HCC is an immunogenic tumor where better overall survival and time to recurrence has been predicted by the presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes . However, as compared to other patient populations such as those patients with melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer, patients with HCC generally have chronic underlying liver disease caused by viral hepatitis or more recently non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. It has been shown that immune checkpoint inhibitors can lead to liver dysfunction with hepatitis and elevation of AST and ALT . Immune checkpoint inhibitors have been utilized in recent HCC clinical trials with promising results. Similarly, checkpoint inhibitors can lead to pneumonitis and patients with non-small cell lung cancer have favorable results without terrible toxicity. Therefore, it is reasonable to ask whether it is safe to use immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with likely baseline hepatic dysfunction even though these drugs can cause GI side effects of elevation of AST and ALT as well as diarrhea and colitis.
As patients with viral hepatitis have been excluded from clinical trials of checkpoint inhibitors in other disease states, the effect on patients infected with hepatitis B or C was largely unknown. Additionally, pre-clinical data in mouse models is largely missing in this cohort of patients as the hepatitis viruses cannot infect mice. Therefore, as mouse models do exist to mimic viral hepatitis, it was unknown whether administration of a checkpoint inhibitor may cause hepatocyte destruction due to an overwhelming immune response against infected hepatocytes .
Sangro et al. published the first study of using immune checkpoint inhibitors in HCC using tremelimumab in patients with concurrent chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Twenty patients were enrolled all of whom had inoperable HCC along with chronic HCV infection and received prior treatment with sorafenib, systemic chemotherapy, or participated in another clinical trial. All patients were required to have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1 as well as adequate tests of organ function such as AST/ALT less than 5 times the upper limit or normal and Child-Pugh A or B. The investigators found an acceptable toxicity profile as well as a mean time to progression of 6.48 months and median overall survival of 8.2 months. In addition, treatment with tremelimumab induced a decrease in HCV viral load .
Similarly, Duffy et al. combined tremelimumab with tumor ablation with the hypothesis that tumor ablation would release antigens making the tumor a better immunologic target. Tumor ablation in the form of radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation was performed 36 days after initiation of tremelimumab. Thirty-two patients were enrolled, 19 patients with HCV and five patients with hepatitis B (HBV). Again, they found an acceptable safety profile with median time to tumor progression of 7.4 months and median overall survival of 12.3 months. Twelve of 14 patients with a measurable HCV viral load experienced reduction in their viral load. In the patients with HBV, no viral reactivation was encountered and hepatitis B surface antigen was found to decrease .
El-Khoueiry et al. recently published results of the first trial in HCC with nivolumab . In the dose escalation phase, the overall objective response rate was 15% with three complete responses and four partial responses with a median overall survival of 15 months. Of the 48 patients in the dose escalation phase, one patient discontinued treatment due to treatment related increase in AST and ALT but did not have change in liver function. Nivolumab 3 mg/kg was chosen in the dose expansion phase of the study with a reported objective response rate of 20% with three complete responses and 39 partial responses. The median time to progression was 4.1 months. Although the study was not powered to compare patients who were infected with HCV or HBV and those uninfected, subgroup analysis of the dose expansion phase observed responses regardless of infection status. Unlike the previous two studies with tremelimumab, nivolumab exhibited limited antiviral activity. As with the studies described above, there was an acceptable safety profile among patients treated with the checkpoint inhibitors with nine of 262 patients discontinuing treatment due to treatment related drug toxicity. Of note, in the three studies discussed the most common reason for treatment discontinuation was disease progression.
One of the main limitations of this analysis revolves around patient selection in the study of HCC. In general, patients selected for clinical trials in HCC have an acceptable performance status and relatively well-preserved liver function. As was discussed in the evaluation of the SHARP trial and more recently the RESORCE trial, patients selected had well-preserved liver function and performance status and therefore the results and safety profiles must come into question with the real-world application to patients who do not fit these characteristics [3, 4, 26]. The definitive etiology of transaminitis is difficult to define in a HCC study population as the elevation in AST or ALT may be related to a number of factors including tumor progression or drug related toxicity. Additionally, as part of the analysis we could not divide data into transaminitis before and after treatment. For example, the studies of immune checkpoint inhibitors in HCC allow patients to enroll in the study if AST/ALT is less than five times the upper limit of normal. However, based on this analysis, these patients may be categorized into grade 1 or 2 elevation before they receive therapy. Another limitation of this study is the limited number of trials performed in HCC, and thus patients enrolled with immune checkpoint inhibitors in HCC are low compared to melanoma.
Immunotherapy is gaining increasing interest in treating a wide variety of cancers as well as other diseases such as infectious processes . Currently there are 11 open clinical trials registered at ClinicalTrials.gov involving hepatocellular carcinoma and pembrolizumab, two involving tremelimumab and ten with nivolumab including a phase 3 study of nivolumab vs sorafenib as first line treatment . In addition, durvalumab, a monoclonal antibody blocking PD-L1, is currently being tested in HCC as a single agent or in combination with tremelimumab [31, 32]. This study demonstrates immune checkpoint inhibitors are safe to use in the treatment of HCC. Among patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a significantly greater proportion of patients with HCC develop an increase in AST and ALT as compared to patients with melanoma and NSCLC. However, the patients with HCC generally have underlying liver dysfunction before treatment is initiated and this elevation in AST and ALT, indicating possible underlying liver dysfunction, is not sufficiently problematic to cause patients to drop out of the clinical trial and stop therapy. Therefore, it is reasonable to continue to pursue treatment of HCC with immune checkpoint inhibitors and potentially use combination therapy of these medications keeping in mind hepatotoxicity of combination therapy has yet to be evaluated in HCC and will require vigilant monitoring in clinical trials.
ZB gathered data, performed analysis and wrote manuscript. BH performed analysis and wrote manuscript. SS gathered date, performed analysis and wrote manuscript, SY performed analysis and wrote manuscript. TG performed analysis and wrote manuscript. All authors approved the manuscript for submission.
Not applicable, no patient consent or ethical approval was required as this analysis was performed with preexisting published data and no patients or animals were subject to harm. | 2019-04-24T00:33:55Z | https://jitc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40425-017-0298-2 |
As a child I was always captivated by stories. Words can convey a deep magic that transports us to fascinating places and settings in time. So naturally once I was old enough to figure out the complex task of using a pen, along with all the accompanying aspects of writing such as spelling, grammar and of course handwriting, I began to compose my own stories. Time passed on and I found my passion for writing constantly growing. And now as a 19-year-old student I find myself in a multimedia course with little to show for my passion for writing but a few online published film reviews, a neglected blog and a personal writing journal filled with incomplete stories and compositions. And so I’ve decided to start this new blog. Hopefully this will make up for my recent literary drought.
My name is Keelan Foley and I am a multimedia student at the Institute of Technology Tralee. I have vast experience in the areas of music and film. I am a film maker who has produced short films. I also have experienced music production projects through my studies. I have a keen interest in the area artistic criticism surrounding film and music and so I have decided to share my knowledge and passion for these subjects. Please feel free to get involved, only through discussion and debate can something be truly analysed.
Hi Dorothy, thank you for your kind comment and visiting my blog.
I apreciated you liking my post, as I am a media student like yourself, but I’m looking into the more creative side of the media industry. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for visiting and liking my post.
Thanks for checking things out over here in New England. Your WP blog – and your energy – shows you will soon be nipping at my heels. And that’s a good thing, too.
Hey Larry, thanks for your comment. Hopefully one day my blog will be as established as yours.
No problem, it was very well written.
Hello Keelan, thanks for liking my blog. It’s nice to have encouragement. Your blog looks really interesting. Good luck with it!
hey mate … just discovered your blog. very cool. i like your writing style.
don’t worry about losing touch with your writing goals as you explore other fields. i got seduced by graphic design for a long time, but now i make a living writing. it always comes back to you!
Thanks for your comment Stephen. That is very reassuring to hear.
Thank you for checking out my blog and thanks for positive comment 🙂 I’m glad you liked the coldplay piece , I have tried submitting it it for some local publications but no good, so my humble blog will have to do. Thanks again for dropping by.
Keep plugging away, you’re on the right track. ANd write for at least one hour every day. Gook Luck.
Thank you for reading my blog. I do try to write at more regular intervals. But I often find that there is either a lack time or lack of drive to write daily.
Always great to make the acquaintance of a fellow writer. I’m much the same in that I began writing as soon as I could figure it all out too and I’m 19 with not a lot to show for it. However, I aim to change that and am currently working on trying to get published.
Hey thanks for visiting my blog. Its always good to hear from other people in the same boat. Best of luck with getting your work published, I look forward to seeing how you get on. For me I’ll be happy if my future revolves around writing, in one way or another. But as all know, that’s not going to happen by itself.
Interesting blog – great variety of topics and I like your style. Will be back.
Thanks for reading, I am glad that you like my blog.
Your blog is an inspiration to teens such as myself!
Hello Keelan. Welcome to blogging and thanks for stopping by. One of the nice things about writing a blog and acquiring some viewers is not wanting to disappoint them. Knowing others are watching and reading provides a little push to keep writing and keep striving to do your best. Even though I write to satisfy me—no one will ever be a stronger critic about my work than me—it’s gratifying to have others with similar interests stop by and leave a thumbs up now and again. Never stop following your dream.
Thanks for your comment Jake. Glad you like my blog.
Thank you so much for liking my post Tiny bird. I really appreciate your wonderful open and honest “about” I especially like – Words can convey a deep magic that transports us to fascinating places and settings in time.
Thanks for visiting my blog James. That line was actually taken form a college essay I wrote last year.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Do you mind me asking which post I said mouths instead of months? I usually just rush through my posts relying on wordpress to do my proofreading via the spell check button 🙂 You picked a good month to visit Kerry, August is festival month.
Thank you for your comment(s) and for visiting my blog 🙂 Don’t worry about the repeat post, word press can be a bit finicky from time to time.
Thanks for having a look at Raving Wild. Don’t suppose you dabble in lyrics at all do you by any chance?
Hmm..never really gave lyrics much consideration. But that’s mainly down to my overall lack of musical ability. I suppose composing song lyrics cannot be too much different than composing poetry?
Well I don’t know, someone said great poetry doesn’t always make for great lyrics but maybe you’d like to write something? I’m making tracks all the time, you want to give it a go?
It sounds like a very interesting project. Maybe if ye had some music in need of lyrics I could give it a go. Oh and your music is very impressive by the way, just visited your music page there.
Ah, thank you very much 🙂 But yes, I believe it could be an inventive project. Of course all credit would be given and don’t worry about the musical aspect of it, I’ll incorporate it. Mind if I take your email? Maybe I could send something over and you could give it a bit of dwelling over?
Cheers Keelan, as soon as I get something recorded I’ll run it past you.
Keelen, Thanks for Liking the Kesey quote I posted on my baby blog. Live it up dude.
I’m an idiot, sorry Keelan.
Wow, Keelan. You have a brillant future in front of you. I am interested in what you have to say regarding artistic criticism of music and film. I will be checking back for more.
First Keelan, thanks for visiting ifeck.com…it’s just a bit of fun. As for the rest, I won’t tell you to stick with the writing, or with any form of expression. From reading your “about” it sounds like you’ll never have the choice to stop…and there will always be dry spells…it doesn’t mean those periods don’t have value… and you’re right just to write about anything when such times come.
I’ve been a writer all my life, though I’ve had lots of different job titles. At the heart of all of them has been an ability with words and a steady voice. But it’s always been through the exploration of the concrete world, and not myself, that my voice has developed and the means by which I’ve come to understand who I am, and how I can best speak about the world, how I can best be in it. It’s a peculiar contradiction that so much of what we do is from and about our being with others, and yet so frequently when we create we do it alone. So don’t be afraid of the dark places. Just don’t choose to live there.
Hey David thank you for your comment. That’s a very interesting point you raised there especially about writing alone. I guess inspiration can be taken form any experience really.
Great meeting you via the web, Keelan. I appreciate your visiting my blog. It’s only been up about two weeks, so I’m still feeling my way around it. I have been writing since the typewriter days, so that sort of tells you how old I am (I’m 57-years-young). Most everything I’ve had published are articles. It took me a long time before I found publication on a consistent basis. But stick with it, keep studying and practicing your craft, and above and beyond everything else — don’t quit. I have discovered that persistence is the single most important trait writers need if they want success, and I define success as getting published, The size of the publication and the pay isn’t what’s important at first. What writers need first are bylines. The bigger bylines and money will then eventually come. Stay with it!
Thanks for the like. When time allows check out more of Eric’s ambient and solo bass works (he has a youtube channel, search “Eric Czar”).
I just checked out his YouTube channel there. His music is very impressive. I have never heard, nor seen anyone play such a bass guitar before. I would be very interested in teaming up with Eric in the future. Thanks for the comment.
Hi thanks for liking my post “Math Project idea #1 MATH RHYTHM.I really appreciate it!
Hi Keelan, thanks for visiting my blog and liking my recent post. I really like your blogs bright colors and clean layout as well as the variety of topics you write about.
Hi and thanks for liking my “Musical Memories: Funky Worm” post. I appreciate it. I also have begun reading your 30 day music challenge posts. Might be something I pick up on for my blog.
Defiantly man. The 30 day challenge is good work out for anyone’s musical mind.
You spelt institute wrong! Errors jump out of the page at me, I must be getting good at editing. I did the Society of Editors test yesterday and didn’t score very well! I did do a transcript of a 2,500 word audio recording n 2 hours, though. I was grateful when I got to the end of that.
You should look around locally for work writing. Some people can’t write a decent email or letter. I have done everything letters, blogs, business plans, CV’s, job applications. A mail shot and follow up to a few local businesses can work.
Check out http://www.linkedIn.com too, we have lots of groups for writers. One of my latest connections is a writer in China who is still learning English.
Nicely spotted spelling mistake. It caught both me and the wordpress spell checker off guard.Yeah I definitely have some mail and CV drops planned for the summer. As you said, it just might work. Thanks for your comment.
Yeah you have an interesting blog, will definitely be checking in again in the future.
Keelan ~ newbies unite! I’ve only been blogging for a few months too. A friend suggested it might help me get motivated to complete some of my other work. Not sure how that is working out for me yet though, lol. I’ve quite enjoyed wandering around your blog – love a good sense of humour. Looking forward to your next post.
Yeah blogging can have a habit of taken over your life alright.
Its good to hear that you liked my blog, thank you for reading.
Hi Keelan, thanks stopping by and taking the time to like my post! You definitely shouldn’t feel like you have little to show – you’ve found and are actually using the passion for writing waaaaay sooner than a lot of other people did (myself included).
Thanks for your comment, I am still fairly new to blogging but hopefully I can develop it to something more serious by this time next year.
thank you for visiting Brandpowder. Your blog is interesting and full of thought provoking material, good for inspiration. keep going!
Glad to hear that you found inspiration from my blog.
Best of luck with your project. Don’t be afraid to ask if you think there is anything I can help you with.
Good to hear that you are having fun and enjoying blogging. I think thats really the core of it. I will definitely check that out later, I’m always looking for a good laugh 🙂 Wow you seem to be heavily involved in music. If your band ever gets serious and records some songs let me know. I am starting a new feature on my blog, thinking of calling it the radar, where I promote and review new bands and musicians. I love music but my talent doesn’t extend far beyond listening to it. So I have to be content to write about it. Although I may be getting involved in a songwriting project with an Indie band from the UK, buts thats a story for another day. Thanks for stopping by, and I love that quote at the, never heard it before.
Hey, thanks for stopping by Of Vice and Virtue. I hope you enjoyed it! Your blog looks really cool, and I think it’s great what you have going on here. Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Keelan, for dropping by allaroundbacolod. I am glad you liked my post about the drum competition at the Panaad Festival. I wish you all the best in your future projects and I am sure you will be very successful in life.
Hi Keelan, thanks for liking my most recent post about my latest story acceptance to Prick of the Spindle.
Now that I’ve got 20 stories either published or accepted for publication, I invite you to read some of them on my Published Stories page. I hope you enjoy them.
All the best and good luck in your blogging journey!
Hi Keelan thanks for liking my post “fragrance of the beloved ” ..I really love the music section of your blog and I am definitely going to follow you !
Thank you for “Liking” my new post. It seems like you make short films…that’s great!
Hey Keelan, thank you for liking my post on Michael Kiwanuka. I’ll keep checking up on your blog, especially on “The Radar” section!
Hi Keelan, Thank you for visiting my blog site and good luck to you in your writing career. You are very talented.
Cheers for the old thumbs up there Keelan. I’ll be swinging by to have a look at radar and I’ll be robbing you blind for new music. Hope all is well.
Sounds fascinating. Would love to know more. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Thanks for checking out my blog – http://newportplaygoers.wordpress.com/ – like what you’re doing with yours.All the best with your writing.
Thanks for checking out my site! It is very nice to meet you!!
Thank you very much for visiting and liking my post.
I like the concept of your blog, it’s very interesting and captivating. I’m a lover of films (and writing of course lol).
Thanks for stopping by thefirstgates and liking the post on Phil Ochs. You’re off to a great start in renewing your own blogging energies!
Hey, thanks for liking my post. I appreciate it. Your site looks interesting and I’ll be sure to keep checking up on it.
Hi Keelan, thanks for liking my recent post. I like that I get to read so many great posts on WP. Looking forward to checking out your blog. Cheers!
Hi Keelan! Thanks for stopping by Fotosympathetique! Glad you enjoyed the post.
Nice to see you are writing – wonderful!
Thanks for stopping by. I see you are a music lover, that means an instant follow from, always looking for the new.
Thank You For Visiting My Blog & Liking My posts.
Hi Keelan, thanks very much for liking Oido Del Mundo! Loving your blog man. I’ve submitted an e.p I made this year under the name McMurphy. Hope you like it!
Hey Kevin, just received your submission. You have an interesting sound and I have added you to the submission list. Thanks for getting in touch.
Keelan: Love your name. Thanks for visiting my blog. I look forward to reading your stories.
Thanks for stopping in and liking my Grounds for Sculpture post!
at Weal Food. I too am using my blog to make writing a regular occurence.
Thanks Keelan for your comments on my blog post “It’s Beginning to Taste alot Like…” at Weal Food. I too am using my blog to get me in the habit of writing regularly.
Hi Keelan, thanks for liking my post. You have a lot of good comment her. Like the music reviews.
thanks for liking my Van Halen review. Damn, the second post of my life and someone likes it. Thank you!
Good to see how the blog’s going, the The Radar feature is great!
Hey man, thanks for visiting. Stay tuned for food news every week. The thing about writing is to just keep at it, even if it seems like junk. Having a trusted person edit your work will help. I’ve been published elsewhere but I really like blogs because you don’t have to be “correct”.
Hi Keelan, thanks for liking my Atlanta Braves post!
Thank you for liking my “mushroom” post on arnnarn.com . I hope you come back soon.
I’ve been reading your blog and enjoying it very much. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for visiting my blog “arnnarn.com” and liking the “Mushroom” post. I hope you come back soon.
Hello, Keelan. Thanks for visiting my party tape piece. There’s quite a lot more on music of various sorts, earlier on. I’ll look forward to reading your stuff.
Thanks for the like on my Olympic Torch Event blog post. Yours looks a great blog, I will be back for some reading goodness.
hello keelan, thanks for visiting my blog, really appreciate. though i communicate more in drawing than words, maybe 1 day, will make a proper animation.
Thanks for visiting my blog and liking the last post. Much appreciated, new to all this so nice to see people like what I am writing. Your site sounds interesting and looking forward to reading more from you. Best of luck with the writing.
your drive for writing moved me, I wish I had your drive at your age.
Glad you like my story! Thanks for reading.
Great blog you have going.
Hi Maya: I am a professional pianist here in Seattle and have 18 songs on my album where the songs are being played world wide on the international radio network…I receive checks in the snail mail from BMI for radio station air play.
I love your name by the way. Thank you for stopping by and looking at my two posts which were original song compositions. I have a lot of fun playing music. Perhaps you have some lyrics you may have been meaning to put to music? I would love another ‘project’ – lol.
Thank you for visiting my blog about the Scottish Festival and Highland Games in Blairsville. If you are interested in writing a column for an online newspaper, use this link to apply and my name, Barbara Stanley, http://exm.nr/tYiCDV. You can write a column about what’s new in your field of study or anything that interests you. You will be asked to leave a sample of your writing. Best of luck.
Hi Barbara, Thank you for your comment. I would love to get involved with examiner.com but the website says that you have to be a U.S. or Canadian resident and I am Irish.
Thank you for liking my post. From your writing, I can just tell you have an enormous amount of talent.
Wow, I can hardly believe you’re under 25. You have a grace with words that usually comes with a higher year count 😉 Does your age make the music and club scene harder to navigate?
Thanks for the comment Alena. How do you mean by my age making the music and club scene harder to navigate?
You mentioned that you do music reviews. I remember being 19 and 20 and having trouble booking gigs because they couldn’t have minors in the facility. Do you find it difficult or do you deal more with all age venues?
Oh no, thankfully everything in Ireland is over 18 so I never had any problems.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Wow – you are very versatile! Good luck with all your projects!
I think it is so cool that besides all that you are doing you take the time to look at other peoples’ blogs. For testimony to that you can see all of the comments above. Anyways I wanted to thank you for looking at my blog and in return I am here checking out yours! Anyways, thanks!
Thought I would drop by and say hi and thanks for visiting my blog!
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’m actually interested in your writings. Hope you’ll pace to celebrity worldwide.
Thanks for checking out my blog. Good luck to you with all your projects!
Hey Keelan, thank you for liking my blog. I have just finished reading yours and it seems really interesting. I like reading about people on a similar journey to myself. Good luck with everything and who knows, I may pass by your way on my travels some day 😀 Take care!
Thank you for visiting my blog. Yours is very interesting. A different perspective.
Thank you for dropping by and liking my post! Happy Sunday!
Thanks for liking my post! I’m a Communications student as well and it’s good to know I’m not the only writer out there with incomplete stories. No more going five months between posts! Nice blog by the way, I’ll keep reading your posts. | 2019-04-24T09:48:38Z | https://keelanfoley.com/about/ |
Just as some people are naturally gregarious and outgoing, others are naturally shy and reserved. While it can be more difficult to engage with someone who is shy, there are some easy things you can do to get them to talk. By approaching the other person first and reassuring them of your interest, you can draw a shy person out of their shell and make them more talkative.
Smile. Before making contact with the shy person, you can let them know you’re a friendly and inviting personality by flashing a genuine smile, as though you're smiling at an old friend, not a stranger. It’s a small, simple gesture, but it can do wonders to open up channels of communication and start building trust. This is because, unlike other body language and gestures which vary across different cultures and historical periods, smiling constitutes a universally positive signal.
Smiling has even been shown to have positive psychological effects for the person who is smiling, so remember that your friendly face isn’t just a good tool for conversation.
Make the first move. Dealing with a shy person means you’ll probably have to extend the first overture. After smiling from a distance, approach the shy person with a warm greeting. Introduce yourself and have a topic ready so that you can get the conversation rolling immediately. For example, bring up a book you've been reading or a short, funny anecdote. Taking the initiative and approaching first takes pressure off the other person and puts them at ease.
While you should try to avoid clichéd, boring comments about the weather, you don't need to find a dazzling, original greeting. A simple, "Hi, how are you?" will do the job just fine.
Ask open-ended questions. The best way to get a conversation started and keep it going is to ask questions. All questions aren’t equally helpful, though. Those which ask for a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response will stop conversation dead in its tracks just as quickly as silence will, so make sure your questions are thoughtful and open-ended.
Avoid controversial topics with someone you just met! Otherwise showing an interest in someone is a great way to make them like you instantly.
Be an active listener. Being a good listener is one of the most important interpersonal skills and also one of the most difficult, so showing you’re a good listener will encourage the person to open up and trust you. Show the person that you’re listening to them and engaged by making eye contact, keeping your face turned toward them, and nodding occasionally. Ask follow-up questions or restate their points to confirm you are listening.
For example, if the person has just expressed an opinion or explained a complex idea, paraphrase what they've said in order to clarify that you've understood correctly. Try, "So, what you're saying is..."
Look for signals that the person isn't engaged. Sometimes even your best efforts to make small talk will be fruitless. If the person you're talking to gives short, one-word answers, avoids eye contact, and steps back from you, chances are they're not just shy — they're also not interested in talking to you. Don't sweat it when this happens: you won't connect with everyone you ever talk to, so it's not a personal insult or failure when you don't hit it off. Cut your losses and move on to someone who's happy to talk.
This doesn't mean you have to be rude or abrupt. Smile, tell the person it was a pleasure meeting them, and excuse yourself.
Avoid dominating the conversation. A shy person’s reticence can make it tempting to fill the silence with your own chatter, but try to resist this impulse. Talking for extended periods of time may relieve the other person’s uncertainty and anxiety, but it’s unlikely to draw them out and get them talking. Keep asking questions about the other person and give them time to answer.
It can help to remind yourself that, despite what pop culture might tell you, silence isn’t necessarily awkward. On the contrary, a meaningful pause can signal thoughtfulness and respect, so try not to panic the moment a wave of silence sets in.
If it feels like you're pulling teeth to get the other person to talk, you might want to consider wrapping up the conversation. You can do this in a graceful manner by excusing yourself to go get a drink or say hello to an acquaintance and making sure that you make eye contact before withdrawing.
Steer the conversation to subjects the shy person likes. Once you’ve uncovered a few things that the shy person enjoys, guide the conversation in the direction of these personal preferences. You can do this easily by playing the student and asking your interlocutor to explain or elaborate.
For example, if the person has revealed that they love cooking, you can say something like, "I don't know much about cooking but I've always wanted to get better at it. How can I start doing that? What are some of your favorite recipes?" These learning-centered questions will show your interest while getting the person talking about something they love and feel confident about.
If you don’t share their interests, try to suspend judgment and avoid expressing your conflicting tastes. This doesn’t mean you have to lie or pander, though. Just try to keep an open mind and stay away from strong statements of disgust or disapproval.
End on a positive note. Once you’ve concluded your conversation, make sure your interlocutor walks away feeling good about the interaction. You can do this by saying what a pleasure it was to talk or expressing interest in continuing the conversation at another time. If they walk away thinking that you appreciate and like them, they’ll be more likely to branch out and talk in the future.
If you’re at a business or networking event, shake hands before you part ways. Friendly, personal contact is a good way to show respect and attentiveness while helping to leave a lasting, unique impression on your conversation partner.
Invite the person to hang out. If you’re trying to get closer to a shy acquaintance and develop a friendship, chances are that you’ll have to make the first move. Ask them if they’d like to meet up sometime soon, or send them a text asking if they’re busy. Be upfront about your interest in developing a friendship and, more likely than not, it will make them feel flattered and welcoming of your overtures.
If you’re in school or college, it can be an easy, no-pressure invitation to ask if they would like to go get some coffee and study or go to a campus event.
If you know one another from work, see if they’d like to go out after work for a happy hour drink.
Find activities you both enjoy. Going out for a meal, drinks, or coffee is usually a good way to get to know someone, but these kinds of talk-heavy activities can be intimidating or high-pressure for a shy person. You can alleviate this pressure by planning activities for the first few times you hang out together: a shared activity means that neither of you has to work continuously to support the conversation. It will also create shared memories that deepen and strengthen a friendship.
If you’re both sporty people, you can go for a hike or a bike ride. If one or both of you isn’t comfortable with this kind of activity, though, pick a more relaxed thing to do, such as seeing a movie or attending a community event.
Don’t tell the person to speak up. A shy person already knows they're shy, so mentioning and drawing further attention to it won’t do any good. In fact, you’ll just make the person feel uncomfortably spotlighted and even attacked for something which comes innately. You want to show them that you like and are interested in them just as they are, not that you’re trying to change them and their behavior in order to suit you.
For example, avoid saying things like, "You're so quiet! Why are you so quiet?" or "Stop being such a wallflower! Pipe up!" If you want to encourage your shy friend open up, say something instead like, "You always have such interesting stories, I'd love to hear more!"
If the shy person has done well by sustaining conversation for a while, give them a break. Take control of the conversation for a while or just keep the activities short and let them go.
Wait a while to get personal. It can take time to break down the personal defense barriers of a shy person, so don’t rush the process. Keep talking points light and impersonal until you're well-acquainted. In general, this is good etiquette with anyone, but it’s particularly important when dealing with a shy person. Touching on a sensitive personal issue or political hot-button can make the shy person feel vulnerable and retreat back into their shell, effectively undoing any progress you’ve made in the past.
A good way to develop intimacy in a friendship is to divulge a secret or something personal from your life, or to acknowledge an insecurity of your own. This self-revealed vulnerability will make the shy person feel entrusted with your intimate feelings and more likely to share something personal with you in return. Revealing your own insecurity may make the shy person feel okay about their own anxieties.
Also be sure to avoid racy or dark humor. Racial, sexual, or extremely sarcastic jokes may offend the person or make them uncomfortable, so keep your banter breezy and PG-13.
Introduce other friends gradually. Introducing your friends to one another can be a tricky business with no established etiquette, and it's made even more difficult when you’re dealing with a shy person. Since it’s more difficult and takes longer to get to know a shy person, you might want to keep your hangout sessions one-on-one until you get more comfortable with one another. Letting other friends into the dynamic too soon can make the newcomer feel pushed out and more hesitant to open up, so wait a beat before you bring in the whole gang.
You can help facilitate this by telling this person about your friends before they meet — knowing what to expect can help them feel more comfortable.
Try introducing the person to others around you with a piece of information you learned about the person. For instance, “John have you met Allison? We were just talking about how much she loves traveling.” This will help the shy person make more connections and feel comfortable.
If you met the shy person through your larger group of friends, this is less of an issue. You should still make time for the two of you to hang out one-on-one, though, in order to cultivate a unique friendship.
Check in to find out how the other person is feeling. While a shy person will often open up after they begin feeling comfortable with a new acquaintance, they might revert to old, reserved ways when something bad happens or they’re struggling emotionally. Be a good friend by checking in and helping them to articulate these thoughts and feelings.
The best way to get anyone to open up is to show them you're listening. Pick a time when the two of you are alone and ask, "Hey, how have you been lately? What's been going on in your life?" If you've noticed your friend has seemed withdrawn or depressed, you can gently bring it up by saying, "It seems like you've been a bit down recently. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
Make sure your friend knows that you're available and interested in the future as well. Reassure them by saying something like, "I'm always here to listen if you want to talk."
I am a shy person and I don't like to speak in front of my class. How can I get more comfortable doing this?
Maybe contact a therapist to help you work on relaxation techniques. Much of keeping your cool in nerve-wracking situations is maintaining control over your breath and relaxation in your body. You may also try something non-threatening that can give you practice with public speaking. Join a group such as Toastmasters or even gather your family to listen to you speak.
How can I communicate with a shy girl if I am also very shy?
She might feel left out, so when you see her say hi and smile. You can also sit with her at lunch and be nice.
There is one person in my class who won't talk. They're not mute. How do I make them talk?
Say "Hi, how are you, would you like to join in with us (we are just talking about ---------- .... )?". Ask them friendly questions, even just things like: "I like tea, do you prefer tea or coffee?". When they seem hesitant, give them time to think but follow up with a "What do you think?" or "What part of this project interests you enough to do?" and the like. Lead them, and show that you're good at inspiring others.
My friend acts mute. How can I make her into an outgoing girl?
As a friend, don't try to change her - change what you talk about. Find out her interests and talk about that. She might open up to you then.
My sixth grade boyfriend is very shy. We don't really talk that much. What should I do?
Start talking to him about his likes and dislikes, random questions would do. Plus, get him a bit involved in your day-to-day life, perhaps what you did on the weekend. And never pick on his behavior, as that would tick him off.
I've had a huge crush on a shy person, but I never see him around school, we only text. He is very dry on text. How do I engage in conversation with him or hang out with him?
Having affectionate feelings towards a shy person can be hard. Try to figure out what he is interested in and start a conversation about that. If that doesn't work, ask about his family or school things. After you've gotten to know him a little better, just ask him if he wants to do something low key, like going for coffee or a movie. If you think it would make him more comfortable, see if he wants to hang out in a group setting and invite some other friends.
How do I talk to a quite person whom I've never talked to before?
Go over to him and introduce yourself. Ask questions about him and his interests. Shy people often prefer for others to do most of the talking at first, so don't be surprised if he doesn't just open right up, and try to be encouraging and look interested.
What if we go to different schools and she does not have a phone and she is my brother's girlfriend's sister?
Talk to your brother and have him talk to his girlfriend. See if she can find out if she likes you back. If she does, maybe your brother and his girlfriend can organize an outing for the four of you, like a movie or coffee date or something. If she doesn't have a cell phone, maybe her parents have a landline phone you could call her on if you want to talk.
I'm really shy in my school. Is there anyway I could start a conversation?
Just approach a group and if someone in the group welcomes you or acknowledges you, then wait till the group is talking about something you have in common. Then say something small.
Is it rude to ignore a shy person? Or should I be compassionate and talk to them?
Im in the 8th grade and my girlfriend is very shy. What is the best way to approach her?
How can I help someone open up to me if I am also shy?
To make a shy person talk, introduce yourself and start a conversation with a short, funny anecdote or comment about something you’ve experienced recently to put them at ease. For example, you could tell them about how you locked yourself out of the house the other day or about a book you've just read. Then, you might try asking open-ended questions, such as what music they like, to help keep the conversation going. Once you know a bit more about them, you can guide the conversation toward the things they like and ask them to elaborate. For instance, if they like cooking, you might ask what their favorite recipes are. While you’re listening, make sure to show encouragement by making eye contact, smiling, and nodding occasionally. For more tips from our Counselor co-author, including how to invite the person to hang out, read on!
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 75,800 times.
"Earlier I didn't knew how to deal with a shy person, but this information helped me a lot to understand them." | 2019-04-23T18:37:59Z | https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Shy-Person-Talk |
If I have to sum up my entire visit to Prague in one word, it would be romantic. It is so beautiful and so firmly entrenched in the past that you cannot but view it with none other than rose-colored glasses. And one cannot deny that it seems shrouded in mystery, like most of its sister countries in the Carpathians.
Or maybe it’s just me – I tend to associate this region with my never-ending fascination with vampiric lore (way before Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries made it cool), given that Dracula lives in the mountains of the Carpathians and I will forever think of it in terms of magic and everything unreal.
Anyway, the historical/tourist area of Prague is quite small – you can reach all on foot or for the walking-averse set, take a short tram ride. I recommend the former as the experience is just all the more worthwhile and you get to see the lovely sidestreets and locals going about their daily routine. And as I mentioned, it is very compact.
The city is divided into two main parts, each sitting on one bank of the river Vlatava – the Lesser Town or Mala Strana, where Prague Castle is located, and the Old Town or Stare Mesto, where the town square with the famous astronomical clock is. Linking the two sides of Prague is one of the most famous bridges in the world – Charles Bridge or Karluv Most. There are many other bridges linking the two, of course, but none of them quite reached the importance of the Charles Bridge, which was, until 1841, the only means of crossing the Vlatava. Sidenote: Most actually means bridge in the local language and I finally figured this out after looking at our map and seeing this label on all the bridges.
Commisioned by King Charles IV to replace the old Judith Bridge which collapsed during the flood in 1342, construction on the Charles Bridge began in 1357, with the king’s favourite architect Peter Parler overseeing the work. According to legend, egg yolks were used in the construction of the bridge and that King Charles himself laid the first stone at a specific time because of his strong belief in numerology and that this would render the bridge with more strength. Considering that the bridge is now 700 years old and has survived countless wars, revolts, and yes, floods, there might be some credence to those beliefs after all.
The bridge is more than half a kilometer long and entrance to it is marked by three towers – two on the Mala Strana side and one on the Stare Mesto side. The Old Town bridge, completed in 1380 and which serves as the entrance to the Stare Mesto, is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture with sculptures by Peter Parler adorning its facade. Climbing the 138 steps to the gallery allows you to have unobstructed views of the bridge from the top, as well as the Prague Castle on the other side of the Vlatava. Too bad though, that when we were there, we either get there too early or too late for the opening of the gate so I wasn’t able to climb up.
The Lesser Town Bridge, on the hand, serves as the entrance to the quieter side of Prague – the Mala Strana. It was built later than the Old Town Bridge, in the first half of the 15th century during King George’s rule. Visitors can likewise climb up the tower, this time for views of the Old Town from across the Vlatava.
If you look at the tower closely, you will notice that there is actually a smaller tower connected to it by a walkway – the Judith Tower, which is the only surviving part of the old Prague bridge.
Initially just a simple bridge with just a crucifix in the middle, baroque statues were placed during the 17th century, when such themes became prevalent. The 75 statues on the bridge are now all replicas – the original ones are now so badly damaged that they’ve been taken down and kept on display at the Lapidarium.
Both sides of the bridge are fascinating but the Mala Strana, an old marketplace which began its life in the 8th century (!), is less crowded and in my opinion less commercialized – there are various cafes and shops showcasing works by local artists as well as jewelry stores with oh-so-lovely pieces in silver and lovely blood-red garnet, which is the official national gem. And pretty cheap too! When I checked in some of our jewelry stores here in Manila, they were all ridiculously priced that I now wish I’d hoarded garnet jewelry during my trip.
Oh well, there is always a next time.
And I can’t get over how clean the entire city was. Usually, old towns such as this would reek of horse urine and the like but I was surprised to see water tanks regularly drizzling the cobblestoned streets with clean water.
We visited the Mala Strana quite a number of times – first was to go to the Prague Castle (more on that later), and several to visit the Church of Our Lady Victorious and the miraculous image of the Infant Jesus of Prague.
The Church of Our Lady Victorious, while seemingly austere on the outside, is the first Baroque church in Prague, built in 1613. It was originally called the Church of the Holy Trinity and was supposed to be used by the German Lutherans. It was given to the Carmelites in 1620 as a sign of gratitute for their victory in the Battle of the White Mountain, and the church was rebuilt and its orientation changed tot he form we see today.
The exact history of the statue is not known but its first appearance was in 1556, when the statue was brought from Spain to the Kingdom of Bohemia (of which the Czech Republic used to be part of) by Spanish princess Maria Manriquez de Lara y Mendoza upon her marriage to the Czech nobleman Vratislav. It is said that the statue was a gift from St. Terese of Avila to her mother; she later gave it to her own daughter Princess Polyxena, who in turn donated it to the Carmelite Friars in 1628.
The 19-inch statue is made of wax-coated wood with it lower part encased in silver; it is similar to other sculptures of the Infant Jesus brought by Spanish missionaries to their conquered lands – it resembles the Sto. Nino de Cebu, itself a venerated statue in the Philippines.
Various miracles have been attributed to the statue – most notably for saving the entire city from plague and invasions, when entire armies would inexplicably withdraw their armies after the city prayed in front of the alter of the infant Jesus.
There are many devotees to the Infant Jesus and there is a room off to the side of the alter where various presents from its devotees are showcased. Perhaps the most famous of this is the garment sewn by the Empress Maria Theresa.
I spied a number of presents from fellow Filipinos in the glass cabinets – indeed, I felt immense pride upon learning that the choir (we attended the Sunday mass at the church during our trip) is mostly composed of Pinoys. And there were many Pinoys attending the Holy Mass with us.
I am not really fond of religious statues (except for the rosary and the crucifix) but I bought a small Sto. Nino for our little home. I felt so blessed visiting this Church and quite touched that the Mass was well attended.
There are so many things to see and do in Vienna that we barely scratched the surface with just three whole days. A good thing that our Varsi friends Gizelle and Harold took the time to tour us around the city the entire time!
On our first day, since we were still a bit tired from our overnight train from Milan, we just stayed close to our hotel and walked around our neighborhood. We’ve been lucky so far in all our hotel bookings, and so all we had to do was step out our hotel and voila – the St. Stephensplatz was at our doorstep.
Just a few more paces and we found ourselves looking up at the Hofburg Palace, the former imperial winter palace. It is now the official residence and workplace of the Austrian president.
It is a very grand structure composed of many buildings and halls, and though it occupies a massive amount of space and the architecture is by no means inferior, it is still less imposing than the Louvre or Versailles in France, and I couldn’t help but wonder that it also seems to be very open to the public. I mean, there were uniformed guards and all, but the palace grounds were pretty much accessible to everyone.
As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Vienna is also home to many famous musicians, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of them. It’s no surprise then to find a statue of Mozart occupying prime space in the Burggarten (imperial garden) of the Hofburg Palace.
I am not sure how many miles a day we walked in Vienna but the weather was always perfect for strolling that I didn’t really mind. In one of our excursions, we also viewed the Karlskirche, or St. Charles’s Church, which can be found near the southern end of the Karlsplatz, one of the plazas or squares abundant in the city, and which is just next to St. Stephansplatz. Built in the early 18th century under the patronage of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI in honor of his namesake saint Charles Borromeo, it is considered the most outstanding baroque church in all of Vienna.
It is very pretty, especially at night when the long reflecting pool in front of it casts a somewhat luminous glow on it. I was too busy looking at it (and tired from walking) that I forgot to take a photo of it at night. My bad.
We didn’t really have time to go to a museum in Vienna (we did spy the Mumok), other than visit one of the exhibits, but their museum square is something that I was really fascinated with – side by side are plenty of museums, galleries, and exhibition halls.
In the open area between museums is a large square where various art installations are displayed. There is also a dipping pool where a lot of locals and tourists alike rest their tired feet. I was so tempted to splash around!
We also found these two pretty girls providing free entertainment – I forgot from which country these girls were from, but they told us they’re aspiring singers and they are practising by singing here at the museum plaza. I love the gypsy/country vibe they had going, and the brunette had quite a unique style in singing.
Vienna is probably one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to, and I can easily understand now why it’s been at the top of most livable cities list – aside from its obvious beauty, it has a rich culture and history, and a deep appreciation for the arts.
One our our last stops before we headed to our next city was the Donauturm (Danube Tower), the tallest structure in Austria. It was opened to the public after 18 months of construction, in time for the Viennese International Horticultural Show in 1964, and is located in the middle of the Donaupark, itself built to host the horticultural fair.
I have a fear of heights so it took a lot of gulping and praying before I got the courage to ride the high speed elevator (35 seconds to go up 150 meters!) all the way to the viewing deck of the tower and while my knees turned to jelly and I could barely hold my camera in my hands (I was shaking so badly my knees almost buckled), the sweeping views of the city was more than worth it.
There are also two revolving restaurants at the top of the tower and we were lucky that the place wasn’t full – we waited for only a couple of minutes before we got a cozy table which afforded us different views of the city at every turn. It was my first time at a revolving restaurant (I have yet to try our very own here in Manila) and I loved it! I mean, the food was great and where else can you get such unobstructed views of one of the most beautiful cities in the world?
My travel buddies. We were tired but very happy! So long, farewell Vienna! Until we meet again!
In most of the European cities I’ve been to, the center of activity revolves around the parish church, or cathedral, if the city has been declared a diocese and this proves true as well in Vienna, perhaps even more so, since the main shopping and cultural area of the city is located in the Saint Stephansplatz, where the Saint Stephen Cathedral (or Stephensdom in German) is located.
Consecrated in 1147, it was hardly the oldest church in Vienna; however, recent excavations inside the cathedral revealed graves that have been carbon-dated to the 4th century, suggesting that it may have stood on an even older religious building. It was named after Saint Stephen, tthe earliest known martyr of Christianity, stoned to death on accusations of the Jewish authorities. Trivia: Saul was one of the witnesses at his death, when he still believed that he was serving God by persecuting Christians; he later converted after witnessing a bright light on his way to Damascus, converting into the saint we now know as Paul.
The building is of limestone, which over the years has been covered by soot and dust; recent restorations have brought it back to its original white. The south tower of the cathedral, called steffl by the the people. stands at 136 meters, and was used as an observation and command post for the city, and at one point even had an apartment for the watchmen.
The roof of the church, on the other hand, is made of ornately designed glazed tiles, forming the Royal and Imperial double-headed eagle and the coat of arms of Vienna on one side. It’s quite steep and I’ve read that due to this, only the rain cleans it every now and then. I wonder how they built it though and how many accidents must have happened! And I can’t believe that one point, this church was in fact ordered to be razed to the ground along with the rest of the city when the Germans were retreating during World War II; thankfully, Captain Gerhard Klinkicht disobeyed orders and left the church intact.
Near the entrance to the catacombs is the church’s original pulpit, the Capistran Chancel, where St. John Capistrano preached to a crusade to fight the invading Muslims in the mid-15th century. It shows St. Francis stepping on a defeated Turk, with a sunburst above his head.
Our hotel was located just a stone’s throw away from the Cathedral (to our pleasant surprise), but I didn’t get to go inside until our last day. My friends and I decided to split up (we couldn’t agree whether to go shopping or touring; my friend Leah and I chose the latter but ended in different destinations), and I as on an amazing race to tour the entire church in less than an hour. Tip: when pressed for time, avoid the guided tour and rent those headsets for a couple of euros. Both are extremely organized and I was surprised that such a well detailed and organized guide could be rented so cheaply (so I donated a couple more euros to the church’s coffers).
I was awed by the number of carvings and the fact that for an old church, it didn’t smell musty. I could tell that this church is frequented by Catholics and tourists alike, judging from the number of lit candles as well as the long row of tourist waiting to get in to tour the cathedral, or the catacombs underneath. I would have gone to see the latter but after my experience in Milan, I didn’t want to go by myself (never mind that I spied a lot of tourists going down the stairwell leading into the catacombs).
I am no architecture major (though the thought did cross my mind at one point), but I have come to realize that thick posts are easily identifiable features of Gothic architecture and while this is common in many churches in Europe, St. Stephen’s is embellished by colorful statues of saints in ornately carved alcoves, albeit some of them have faded a bit.
It also boasts of a huge organ, though not that old at only a litle over half a century.
The high altar of the cathedral is perhaps the first thing that would draw a visitor, since it is right in the middle and you just can’t tear yourself away from the magnificent paintings and carvings. It shows the stoning of St. Stephen, surrounded by figures of four saints and a statue of Mary on top. And I must say the stained glass windows are also very vibrant and lovely to look at.
There are many objects inside the cathedral which I found very interesting, not the least of which is this stone pulpit. I’ve seen many grand pulpits in Europe but this probably takes the cake in the way the sculptor paid attention to the tiniest detail – even the portions not easily seen by a casual observer was not spared. It shows the faces of the four doctors of the church: St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great and St. Jerome).
What I even found more interesting is that the rails going up the pulpit had carvings of frogs and lizards fighting each other; I later found out that this was a symbol of the fight between good and evil. At the top of the stairs, there is even a puppy to protect the preachers (how cute is that!).
Even the baptismal fount was TDF!
I normally find it creepy whenever I see tombs in conspicuous places inside churches, never mind that it is undoubtedly a great honor to be buried inside a church. While this one is no exception, I can’t help but agree that if I had a tomb this beautiful, I would want the whole world to see it too, which is probably what the church officials where thinking when they put Emperor Frederick III’s tomb on display, during whose reign, in 1469, Vienna was finally declared a diocese.
Such a massive tomb took 45 years to complete, beginning more than two decades prior to his death. It is made of red stone and depicts the emperor in his coronation regalia.
The tomb of Prince Eugene of Savoy (I first wrote about him in my post Belvedere Castle) is also located inside the cathedral, In the Chapel of the Cross, but this is off limits to the public. The Ducal Crypt, located under the chancel of the cathedral, is also the final resting place of 72 members of the Habsburg family.
Saving the best for last, is perhaps my favorite piece in all the church – the Wiener Neustadter Altar which was originally used in the Cistercian Viktring Abbey, and later the monastery of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, until it was finally sold to the cathedral in 1885. Ordered by Emperor Frederick III, tt is just so beautiful, with the double triptych opening up to reveal gilded wooden figures of Mary. When the panels are closed (during weekdays), it shows a painting of 72 saints.
It’s a retablo and triptych all rolled into one.
There are so many beautiful churches in Europe and it is getting hard to play favorites; I had always thought the Notre Dame in Paris would be the clear winner in my books but with more than ten cities and seven countries visited in the continent, I am now not so sure. Each of them have unique features that distinguish them, and make them works of art. | 2019-04-22T18:24:36Z | https://krissalvosa.com/tag/wanderlust/ |
When Joseph Smith, Jr., described his first vision in his 1838-39 account, he dated it to the spring of 1820 and affirmed that this vision was the result of a religious revival, “an unusual excitement on the subject of religion” which took place “in the place where we lived.” But he also dated it “sometime in the second year after our removal to Manchester.” As shown in the previous chapter, the Smith family did not move onto their Manchester farm until 1822. The second year after this move would have been 1824, not 1820. An examination of newspaper accounts, religious periodicals, church records, and personal narratives shows that there were no significant gains in church memberships or any other signs of revival in Palmyra in 1820. There was a stirring and momentous revival there with all the features that Joseph Smith’s history mentions during the fall and winter of 1824-25.
Smith stated that the revival that stirred him also led his mother, sister, and two brothers to join the Presbyterian church, while he was drawn to the Methodists.1 In the preliminary draft of his mother’s history, Lucy adds details which suggest an 1824 date for the revival as well. She begins by linking the revival to the death of her son Alvin. After relating the family’s sorrow after his death, when “we could not be comforted because he was not,” she adds a short statement, subsequently crossed out: “About this time their [there] was a great revival in religion and the whole neighborhood was very much aroused to the subject, and we among the rest flocked to the meeting house to see if their [there] was a word of comfort for us that might [p.16]releive [relieve] our over charged feelings.”2 Her “over-charged feelings” were the result of her oldest son Alvin dying suddenly the previous year (1823).
There was <at this time> a man then laboring in that place to effect a union of all the churches, that all denominations might be agreed to worship God with one mind, and one heart. This I thought looked right, and tried to persuade my Husband to join with them as I wished to do so myself and it was the inclination of them all [her children] except Joseph. He refused from the first to attend the meeting with us. He would say, Mother, I do not wish to prevent you from going to meeting or joining any church you like or any of the Family who desire the like, only do not ask me to <do so> for I do not wish to go. But I will take my Bible and go out into the woods and learn more in two hours than you could if you were to go to meeting two years. My husband also declined attending the meetings after the first but did not object to myself and such of the children as chose <going or becoming> church members.
In his 1838-39 account Joseph Smith remembered that great multitudes joined the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches during the revival. Church membership rolls are carefully kept, and in most cases can still be traced.
Membership rolls of “the first Baptized Church in Palmyra,” which had a frame meetinghouse west of the village of Palmyra in Macedon township, reveal that during the entire year of 1820 only eight people were received on profession of faith and baptized. However during the period between October 1824 and April 1825, even though the church was without a pastor at the time, 94 individuals were baptized and added to the membership roll.
William’s description of the revival fits the pattern of the period. Once a revival had broken out, regular and frequent meetings would be scheduled at the town meetinghouse to advance it. Since Presbyterians were dominant in Palmyra, one could well expect Reverend Benjamin Stockton, their pastor, to preside and to expect the converts to join the church located in the village itself. The Baptist building was about a mile west of the center of the village, and Methodists were a mile east on Vienna Road, so Joseph Smith’s [p.20]expression of the revivals in his “region of country” was a good way to describe the situation.
Stockton was pastor of the Skaneateles church in central New York from 4 March 1818 until 30 June 1822.19 He visited Palmyra for a speech to the Youth Missionary Society in October 1822, and the newspaper described him then as “Rev. Stockton of Skaneateles.”20 He appeared again in the Palmyra paper when he performed a wedding on 26 November 1823, just a week after Alvin’s death.21 According to William Smith, Stockton was present the previous week and preached Alvin’s funeral sermon. In this sermon Stockton implied that Alvin “had gone to hell, for Alvin was not a church member, but he was a good boy and my [William’s] father did not like it.”22 William noted that when the revival meetings closed and Stockton insisted that the converts join the Presbyterian church, “our folks hesitated” because of his insinuation about Alvin.
As presiding elder Lane was responsible to ride from circuit to circuit in the Ontario District and hold the quarterly business meetings for each circuit. Each preaching point or congregation on the [p.22]circuit sent delegates to the quarterly meeting, and at its conclusion the presiding elder would travel on to the next circuit of the district to preside at its quarterly meeting.
From Catharine [circuit] I went to Ontario circuit, where the Lord had already begun a gracious work in Palmyra… . About this time [25 and 26 September 1824] it appeared to break out afresh. Monday evening, after the quarterly meeting, there were four converted, and on the following evening, at a prayer meeting at Dr. Chase’s, there were seven. Among these was a young woman by the name of Lucy Stoddard.
The great deep of her heart was broken up; she saw clearly that she was a child of wrath, and in danger of hell. With this view of her sad condition, she fell prostrate at the feet of her offended sovereign, and in the bitterest anguish cried for mercy. In this situation, however, she was not suffered long to continue before she obtained a most satisfactory evidence of her acceptance with God through the merits of Jesus Christ. Her soul was unspeakably happy, and with great emphasis she exhorted others to come and share with her the inestimable blessing.
The same week she was married she was attacked by a bilious remittent fever, which terminated in a typhus fever… . at length, her disorder took such a turn as to convince her and others, that her stay in this world would be but short. The patience with which she endured her afflictions, which were sometimes very severe, was remarkable; not a murmur was heard to escape her lips… . From Saturday night to the time of her dissolution, which took place on Monday following, she seemed wholly swallowed up in God.
It has been a great time of lament[a]tion and mourning; children removed from parents, and parents from children. The scene has been truly alarming… . I was called upon almost every day to attend on funeral solemnities, and often two in a day; until I was attacked myself with the same fatal disorder, which brought me near to the grave.
Meanwhile revivals were spreading as well in the neighboring towns. By February revivals were reported in Williamson and Ontario to the north, in Manchester, Sulphur Springs, and Vienna to the southeast, in Lyons to the east, and in Macedon to the west. Even towns at a greater distance from Palmyra began to experience revival fires, with Mendon to the west and Geneva to the southeast sharing in the divine outpouring.
More than two hundred souls have become the hopeful subjects of divine grace in Palmyra, Macedon, Manchester, Phelps, Lyons, and Ontario, since the late revival commenced.—This is a powerful work; it is among old and young, but mostly among young people. Many are ready to exclaim, “what hath God wrought!” “It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes.” The cry is yet from various parts, “come over and help us.” There are large and attentive congregations in every part, who hear as for their lives. Such intelligence must be pleasing to every child of God, who rightly estimate the value of immortal souls, and wishes well to the cause of Zion.
However, this argument overlooks—and negates—Cowdery’s and Smith’s own assertion of a revival “in Palmyra” and “vicinity,” as well as the names of pastors responsible for the development. Smith in an 1843 interview with a reporter for the New York Spectator stated that it was “among the different religious denominations in the neighborhood where I lived.”48 Lucy says that she and her children in company with their whole neighborhood “flocked to the meeting house.” This description does not suggest a ten-to-fifteen-mile walk.
The definitive indication that the revival was local comes in Smith’s remarks about the “great confusion and bad feelings” ensuing at the end of the meetings. Even the most ardent defenders of an 1820 date recognize that this strife over converts was local, resulting in Smith’s family being proselyted to the local Presbyterian church.
The second line of argument seeks to establish one specific revival, characterized by several of the features his account describes, close enough to his home he could have attended. According to this argument, an awakening took place at the village of Vienna, some eleven miles from Palmyra, between the summer of 1819 and the [p.29]summer of 1820. The features seen as echoing Smith’s account include: the presence of George Lane at Vienna, a camp meeting in the area, and a substantial membership increase.49 However, there is no evidence that such a revival ever occurred.
Lane was at Vienna in July 1819 attending the annual meeting of the Methodist Genesee Conference, at which he was appointed to serve in Pennsylvania.50 There is no record that he preached or that a camp meeting was held in connection with this conference. In 1826, when a camp meeting was actually held, the conference minutes contain reference to the ministers who were put in charge of the arrangements for the meeting. No indication of any such arrangements appears in the 1819 minutes.
The reference to “camp meeting” alludes to a camp grounds site used by Methodists at that time. This camp was about a mile outside the village of Palmyra, “away down in the woods” on the road running southeast to Vienna. At this site in 1822, Methodists built their first house of worship. Much later, in 1826, about a mile southeast of this chapel a camp meeting was held by the conference which drew a crowd of 10,000 people. It was undoubtedly this camp meeting site which also received mention in the Palmyra paper during the last week of June 1820, not for a crowd of 10,000, but for a man who died from consuming too much alcohol purchased at “the grog-shops” on the edge of the campgrounds.52 Camp meetings were often held by Methodists but did not often spark a significant revival. When revivals did occur, they were customarily reported in the Methodist Magazine.
Second, when Blakeslee speaks of the year 1820 he does not mean the calendar year 1820 but the conference year 1820, which began at the annual meeting in either July or August and ran to the following summer’s meeting. This is evident from his statement that “For 1820, Loring Grant and John Baggerly were the preachers.” The published Minutes shows that these two preachers were not assigned to the Lyons circuit until 20 July 1820 and served until July 1821, too late for a spring 1820 revival. Thus the time Lane was at Vienna and supposedly conducting a camp meeting during July 1819 was an entire year earlier than the revival period picked by Blakeslee, which [p.31]came in the year following July 1820. It is also significant that the preachers Blakeslee names were not identified with the revival by the man who was converted.
Third, it seems evident that Blakeslee places this flaming revival in 1820 because he noted from the conference’s published minutes that in that year the Lyons circuit, which included Vienna, increased its membership by 274. The conference minutes show that as of July 1819 membership on the circuit stood at 673, dropped by 299 to 374 by July 1820, only to rise again by some 280 members to 654 by July 1821. These fluctuations most likely resulted from a typographical error in the printed text for 1820.
The Lord has been pleased to visit this District (Ontario) in mercy the present year [July 1823-July 1824]… . Four years since, Unitarianism or Arianism, seemed to threaten the entire overthrow of the work of God in some Circuits on this District, and on some others, divisions and wild and ranting fanatics, caused the spirits of the faithful in a degree to sink. But the Lord has turned again the captivity of Zion, and made us to rejoice. Though for two or three years [July 1820-July 1823] we saw no great awakenings, yet we saw that truth and rational scriptural piety were evidently gaining ground.
The present year [July 1823-July 1824] we have had some glorious revivals… .
From the annual Conference [July 1823] where we received our appointment to this [Lyons] circuit, we came directly to our work, in the name of the Lord, hoping and praying for a revival… .
We soon perceived the serious attention of the listening multitudes to the word preached, accompanied with tears and cries for salvation in Jesus’ name. Nor were they turned empty away. In our prayer-meetings scores of these deeply penitent mourners, witnessed the power of Christ to save.
Contemporary evidence thus requires an 1824-25 date for the revival Smith describes in his 1838-39 official history. Certainly memory at times conflates events, and perhaps Smith in retrospect blended in his mind events from 1820 with a revival occurring four years later. But the problems caused by the dating discrepancy are fundamental ones. That date for the revival provides the circumstances and motivation leading to the first vision and allows the four annual visits to the hill Cumorah, beginning in September 1823 and leading to Smith’s obtaining the plates in September 1827. A revival in the spring of 1825 would place the first visit to the hill Cumorah [p.33]in September 1825 and allow only one visit before Smith finally received the plates.
The absence of a motivating 1824-25 revival from the 1832 account relieves apologists of a serious chronological conflict. Hill, who recognized that the 1838-39 narrative describes the 1824 revival, notes that “an 1824 revival creates problems for the 1838 account” but not for the 1832 account.61 Hill’s point is that we should give priority to the 1832 account as closer to Smith’s experience. It is to this earlier account, as well as other evidence, that we now turn in considering Smith’s early educational and religious experiences.
1. See Manuscript History, Book A-1: 1-2, archives, historical department, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah (hereafter LDS archives); JS-H 1:5, 7-8, PGP; Dean C. Jessee, ed., The Papers of Joseph Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989), 1:269-70.
2. Lucy Mack Smith, Preliminary Manuscript (MS), “History of Lucy Smith,” 55, LDS archives (page numbering corresponds with a typed transcript in LDS archives and with the page numbers in the photocopy of the manuscript).
3. Ibid., 55-56; Lucy Mack Smith, Biographical Sketches of Joseph Smith the Prophet, and His Progenitors for Many Generations (Liverpool: Published for Orson Pratt by S.W. Richards, 1853), 90-91, hereafter as Biographical Sketches; Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith By His Mother, Lucy Mack Smith (Salt [p.34]Lake City: Bookcraft, 1958), 90-91, hereafter as History of Joseph Smith. In the 1853 edition Joseph Smith’s Times and Seasons account was inserted into Lucy’s history (74-78), making it contain two accounts of the same revival but with different dates.
4. Incorporation papers of the Western Presbyterian Church of Palmyra, 18 Mar. 1817, in Miscellaneous Records, Book C:209, Ontario County Clerk’s Office, Canandaigua, New York. Henry Jessup was referred to as Deacon Jessup; see Western Farmer 1 (12 Dec. 1821): 4.
5. Chase’s affidavit in E.D. Howe, Mormonism Unvailed (Painesville [OH]: Printed and Published by the Author, 1834), 241.
6. For 1820, see Minutes of the Palmyra Baptist church under the dates of 18 Mar., 17 June, and 19 Aug. 1820. For 1824-25, see the Minutes of the Palmyra Baptist church, 16 Oct., 20, 24 Nov., 4, 5, 18 Dec. 1824; 1, 15, 29 Jan., 19 Feb., 5, 19 Mar., and 3 Apr. 1825. See Minutes of the Ontario Baptist Association (Rochester: Printed by Everard Peck, 1825), 5, for published membership figures for the conference year 1824-25.
The records of “The First Baptized [sic] Church in Palmyra” are now in the American Baptist Historical Society in Rochester, New York. In 1835, when part of the congregation organized the Baptist church within the village of Palmyra itself, the original records remained with the part of the church that would eventually become the Macedon Baptist church in the next township to the west.
7. Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1773-1828), published in 1840, report: 446 (1824), 471 (1825), 330 (1819), 345 (1820), and 366 (1821). The records of the Palmyra Methodist church were burned in a fire at Rochester, New York, in 1933.
8. Geneva Presbytery “Records,” 21 Sept. 1825, Book D:40; Geneva Synod “Records,” 6 Oct. 1825, 431, both in the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the Presbytery’s Report to Synod, the Palmyra church reported for the year between 10 September 1824 and 23 September 1825 additions of 103 members and a membership jump from seventy-nine to 178 (130 percent) with forty adult baptisms. See “Presbyterial Reports to the Synod of Geneva,” Presbyterian Historical Society.
For the quote, see Geneva Presbytery “Records,” 2 Feb. 1825, Book D:27-28.
Messrs. Editors—Please to allow the subscriber…the privilege of [p.35]expressing his gratitude to God, for what He is doing for the people of Palmyra, and likewise his thanks to a number of friends in that village, for assisting him in printing Tracts, and in setting up Sabbath Schools.
The collection taken up on the Sabbath evening, amounting to $7[.]72, by the recommendation of the Rev. Mr. STOCKTON, will afford the subscriber some assistance, and it being divided and partly appropriated to a Juvenile Library, for a Sunday School in Palmyra, it will probably be the means of commencing a Library there for the benefit of the rising generation….
By a Sabbath School Society is meant an institution for collecting the children and youth, of all denominations, whenever most convenient, for the purpose of giving them instructions from the word of God without any attempt to build up any peculiar sect or party. Such parts of the Holy Scriptures ought to be committed to memory as are of the most practical nature, and such as may be considered most useful in pointing out the duty of man to his Maker, and to his fellow creatures; such, for instance, as the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, the xii. of Romans, iii. of Colossians, and iv. of Ephesians….
A MEETING will be held in the Presbyterian house of worship, in this village, on Thursday evening, the 16th inst. at half-past 6 o’clock, for the purpose of organizing a RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. All who feel disposed to encourage the circulation of Scripture truth in the form of small and familiar publications, are invited to attend.
9. Geneva Presbytery “Records,” 2 Feb. 1820, Book C:37, and “Presbyterial Reports to the Synod of Geneva.” The membership for Palmyra shows an increase over the previous year’s report from sixty-one to seventy-one members. This figure includes those who transferred in by letter of recommendation from another congregation as well as those joining upon profession of faith, off-set by those transferring out and those who either died or were dropped from membership.
10. James H. Hotchkin, A History of the Purchase and Settlement of Western New York, and the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the Presbyterian Church in that Section (New York: Published by M. W. Dodd, 1848), 378.
11. See accounts in The Christian Herald and Seaman’s Magazine (28 Sept. 1816; 10 May, 7 June 1817): 2:16; 3:103f, 164; Religious Remembrancer (5 Oct., 2 Nov. 1816; 17 May 1817), 4th Series, 24, 39, 151f; American Baptist Magazine (July 1817) 1:153; and Boston Recorder (17 Sept. 1816; 13 May, 21 Oct. 1817): [p.36]1:151; 2:88, 180. See also Joshua Bradley, Accounts of the Religious Revivals…from 1815 to 1818 (1819), 223.
12. Accounts of the revival in Palmyra during 1824-25 are reported in New-York Religious Chronicle 2 (20 Nov. 1824): 154; 3 (9 Apr. 1825): 58; Western New York Baptist Magazine 4 (Feb. 1825): 284; Western Recorder 1 (9 Nov. 1824): 90; 2 (29 Mar. 1825): 50; Boston Recorder 10 (29 Apr. 1825), 70; 10 (20 May 1825): 82; The Christian Herald 8 (Portsmouth, Mar. 1825): 7 (this last publication is the organ of the Christian-Connection church and should not be confused with The Christian Herald of Presbyterian affiliation); Christian Watchman 5 (20 Nov. 1824): 199; Baptist Register (Utica), 3 Dec. 1824; 11 Mar. 1825, 7; American Baptist, Feb. 1825; Zion’s Herald 3 (9 Feb., 11 May 1825), a Methodist weekly in Boston; American Baptist Magazine 5 (Apr. 1825): 124-25; and the New York Observer, 7 May 1825.
13. The following periodicals were examined without finding a single reference to a Palmyra revival: Baptist: American Baptist Magazine (Jan. 1819-Nov. 1821); Latter-day Luminary (Feb. 1818-Nov. 1821); Western New York Baptist Magazine (Feb. 1819-Nov. 1821). Presbyterian: Religious Remembrancer (Jan. 1818-18 Aug. 1821); The Christian Herald and Seaman’s Magazine (2 Jan. 1819-6 Jan. 1821); Evangelical Recorder (5 June 1819-8 Sept. 1821). Methodist: The Methodist Magazine (Jan. 1818-Dec. 1821). Congregational: Religious Intelligencer (Jan. 1819-May 1821). Christian-Connection: The Christian Herald (May 1818-25 May 1821). Other: Boston Recorder (Jan. 1818-Dec. 1821); Palmyra Register (13 Jan. 1819-27 Dec. 1820). The Palmyra Register has revivals reported in the state of New York but not in Palmyra (7 June, 16 Aug., 13 Sept., 4 Oct. 1820). Even when it describes a Methodist camp meeting in the vicinity of the village, it reports only that a man got drunk at the grog shops on the edge of the campground and died the next morning (3 [28 June; 5 July 1820]: 2).
14. Letter of Rev. James Murdock, dated New Haven, 19 June 1841, to the Congregational Observer, Hartford and New-Haven, Connecticut, 2 (3 July 1841): 1. Interview of William Smith aboard an Ohio River boat on 18 April 1841. Original of The Congregational Observer is located in the Connecticut State Historical Society, Hartford. This interview was republished in the Peoria Register and North-Western Gazette 5 (3 Sept. 1841).
15. William Smith, William Smith on Mormonism (Lamoni, IA: Herald Steam Book and Job Office, 1883), 6.
16. Interview of William Smith by E. C. Briggs as reported by J. W. Petersen to Zion’s Ensign 5 (13 Jan. 1894): 6, Independence, Missouri; see also, with minor inaccuracies, Deseret Evening News 27 (20 Jan. 1894): 11; Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 56 (26 Feb. 1894): 133-34; Church News, 16 [p.37]Mar. 1968, 11. William stated that “Hyrum, Samuel, Katharine [Sophronia] and mother were members of the Presbyterian church” (Zion’s Ensign 5:6), which he described as the “Church, of whome the Rev. Mr. Stoc[k]ton was the Presiding Paster” (William Smith, “Notes Written on `Chamber’s Life of Joseph Smith’ by William Smith,” typescript, 18, LDS archives).
The fact that the names of Smith’s mother and brothers appear later as members of the Palmyra Presbyterian church who were dropped for nonattendance is further evidence that the revival Smith had in view affected the local Presbyterian church. See Western Presbyterian Church of Palmyra, “Session Records,” 2:11-12. Volume 1, which would have shown the exact date the Smiths joined, has been missing since at least 1932.
17. For his installation, see Wayne Sentinel 1 (18 Feb. 1824): 3; (25 Feb. 1824): 2. Also Geneva Presbytery “Records” C:252-54, 274; and Hotchkin History, 377. Stockton asked for permission to resign on 5 September 1827 (Geneva Presbytery “Records” D:83) which was agreed to by the local congregation on 18 September (D:85).
19. For his installation date, see Evangelical Recorder 1 (7 Mar. 1819): 111; or Religious Intelligencer 2 (2 May 1818): 800. On the terminal date, see Hotchkin, History, 341. Stockton remained a member of Cayuga Presbytery, which included Skaneateles, through 1823 (see Geneva Synod “Records,” 1:211, 238, 258, 374) until he transferred to Geneva Presbytery on 3 February 1824 (see Geneva Presbytery “Records” C:252). The Presbytery and Synod records are in the Presbyterian Historical Society, Philadelphia.
20. Palmyra Herald 2 (6 Nov. 1822): 3.
21. Wayne Sentinel 1 (31 Dec. 1823; 7, 14, 21, 28 Jan. 1824).
22. Zion’s Ensign 5 (13 Jan. 1894): 6; Deseret Evening News 27 (20 Jan. 1894): 11 and Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 56 (26 Feb. 1894): 133.
23. For sketches of Lane’s life, see Minutes of the Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church 8 (1860): 40-41; William Sprague, Annals of the American Methodist Pulpit 7 (1861): 810-11; Hendrick B. Wright, Historical Sketches of Plymouth, Luzerne Co., Penna. (Philadelphia: T.B. Peterson & Brothers, 1873), 309, 346ff; Oscar Jewell Harvey, The Harvey Book (1899), 128-34; George Peck, The Life and Times of Rev. George Peck, D.D. (New York: Nelson & Phillips, 1874), 96-97, 104, 108-9; George Peck, Early Methodism Within the Bounds of the Old Genesee Conference from 1788 to 1828 (New York: Carlton & Porter, 1860), 492-95, and scattered references 166-67, 235-38, 309, 346, 428, 431, 441-42, 447-49, 509. Lane’s portrait appears in The Methodist Magazine 9 (Apr. 1826), and later in H. Wright, Historical Sketches, facing 346.
That our narrative may be correct, and particularly the introduction, it is proper to inform our patrons, that our brother J. SMITH jr. has offered to assist us. Indeed, there are many items connected with the fore part of this subject that render his labor indispensible [sic]. With his labor and with authentic documents now in our possession, we hope to render this a pleasing and agreeable narrative, well worth the examination and perusal of the Saints.
Cowdery’s eight installments which appeared in the Messenger and Advocate were recopied about October-November 1835 and are located in Manuscript History, Book A-1: 46-103 [a separate section], LDS archives. See Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:26-96. Besides being republished in the Times and Seasons (Nauvoo, IL), the letters also appeared in The Gospel Reflector (Philadelphia), were published as a pamphlet in Liverpool, England (1844), and were included in The Prophet (New York) in 1844.
25. Messenger and Advocate 1 (Dec. 1834): 42-43, emphasis in original. When Cowdery first published this account, he gave Smith’s age as the “15th year of his life.” He corrected this in his next letter, and said that in his previous letter the time of the religious excitement should have been in Smith’s seventeenth year: “You will recollect that I mentioned the time of a religious excitement, in Palmyra and vicinity to have been in the 15th year of our brother J. Smith Jr.’s, age—that was an error in the type—it should have been in the 17th.—You will please remember this correction, as it will be necessary for the full understanding of what will follow in time. This would bring the date down to the year 1823” (1 [Feb. 1835]: 78). Cowdery’s correction of the date to the year 1823 still presents a problem since Lane was not the presiding elder of the local Methodist circuit until he was appointed a year later in 1824. Smith’s 1823 excitement, as Cowdery reported it, was placed prior to the reported first appearance (September 1823) of the angel who guarded the golden plates of the Book of Mormon.
26. George Peck, Early Methodism, 494. George Lane was born on 13 April 1784 and died on 6 May 1859.
27. For official confirmation of Lane’s assigned field of labor, see Minutes of the Annual Conferences (1773-1828), 1:337, 352, 373, 392, 418, 446. In 1823 Lane was serving in the Susquehanna District in central Pennsylvania. In July 1819 Lane went with Reverend George Peck to the annual eight-day business meeting of the Genesee Annual Conference. This was held at Vienna (now Phelps), a village some fifteen miles from the Smith home. The “Journal” of [p.39]the conference does not indicate that any preaching services were held, and there is no indication of any revival touched off at Vienna or Palmyra.
28. Minutes of the Annual Conferences (1825), 470.
29. Letter of George Lane, dated 25 Jan. 1825, in Methodist Magazine 8 (Apr. 1825): 159.
30. Wayne Sentinel 1 (15 Sept. 1824): 3.
31. Minutes of the Ontario Baptist Association (Convened at Gorham, 22-23 Sept. 1824), 4.
32. Geneva Presbytery “Records,” 8 Sept. 1824, D:16.
33. Calvin W. Stoddard, twenty-three years old at the time, was baptized by Elder Malby of the Palmyra Baptist church on Sunday, 3 April 1825, along with his sister Bathsheba. His parents (Silas and Bathsheba), who were in their sixties, had been baptized the month before (Minutes of the Palmyra Baptist Church, 5 Mar. and 3 Apr. 1825). Calvin Stoddard worked for Lemuel Durfee, Sr., as is recorded in Durfee’s account books. In 1824 his wage was set at $8.50 per month and later increased to $10 a month for a period of eight months (Lemuel Durfee Account Book, 1813-29, Ontario County Historical Society, Canandaigua, New York). Stoddard married Sophronia Smith, who was then a member of the Palmyra Presbyterian church, on 30 December 1827. There were difficulties with Stoddard regarding open communion, and on 16 August 1828 a committee sent from the church to visit Stoddard reported that he said “that many of them were Devils.” He was excluded from the Palmyra Baptist church (Palmyra Baptist Church Minutes, 19 July, 16 Aug. 1828). He later joined the Mormon church.
34. Methodist Magazine 8 (Apr. 1825): 159-60.
35. Gospel Luminary 1 (Mar. 1825): 65-66.
36. Western Recorder 1 (9 Nov. 1824): 90.
37. American Baptist Magazine 5 (Feb. 1825): 61-62.
38. Methodist Magazine 8 (Apr. 1825): 160.
39. The Latter Day Luminary 6 (Feb. 1825): 61.
40. Methodist Magazine 8 (Apr. 1825), 161.
41. Gospel Luminary 1 (Feb. 1825): 42, emphasis in original.
42. Ibid., 1 (Mar. 1825): 65, emphasis in original.
43. Western Recorder 2 (10 May 1825): 74.
44. American Baptist Magazine 5 (Apr. 1825): 125, Solomon Goodale writing from Bristol, New York, 9 Mar. 1825.
45. Wayne Sentinel 2 (2 Mar. 1825): 3, 4. Unfortunately these reports have been mistakenly misdated to 1820 and used in several Mormon publications to establish an 1820 revival. However, the Religious Advocate did not begin publication at Rochester until about 1825, and its account quoted above [p.40]refers to the 1824-25 revival. For examples of this account being used to support an 1820 revival date, see Willard Bean, A.B.C. History of Palmyra and the Beginning of “Mormonism” (Palmyra, NY: Palmyra Courier Co., 1938), 22; Preston Nibley, Joseph Smith the Prophet (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1946), 21-22; and Gordon B. Hinckley, Truth Restored: A Short History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979), 1-2.
46. Milton V. Backman, Jr., “Awakenings in the Burned-over District: New Light on the Historical Setting of the First Vision,” Brigham Young University Studies 9 (Spring 1969): 301-20; map, 312-13.
47. Manchester, shown at about four miles distant from Palmyra, is actually five; Canandaigua, shown at ten miles, is actually twelve; Junius, shown as fifteen, is more than half a mile farther, and West Bloomfield, shown as fifteen miles, is nearly eighteen miles.
The two sites which should be eliminated are Victor and Phelps. Phelps and Oaks Corners met as one congregation and had only “prospects” of a revival. Victor should be omitted because the revival there occurred in 1830, not 1820. The History of Ontario Co. New York (1876) mistakenly reports a revival in Victor “in the winter of 1820-21, conducted by Reverends Philo Woodworth, Daniel Anderson, and Thomas Carlton.” It was not until the summer of 1830 that these three were assigned to the Victor charge. Carlton did not even join the Methodist Church until 1825 and was only twelve years old in 1820. See [W.H. McIntosh] History of Ontario Co. New York (Philadelphia: Everts, Ensign, & Everts, 1876), 203. For assignment of Woodworth, Anderson, and Carlton to Victor, see Minutes of the Annual Conferences 2:73; for Carlton joining the Methodist church in 1825, see Matthew Simpson, ed., Cyclopedia of Methodism (Philadelphia: Everts & Stewart, 1878), 167.
48. New York Spectator, 23 Sept. 1843.
49. Milton V. Backman, Jr., Joseph Smith’s First Vision: The First Vision in its Historical Context (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1971), 53-89, and 2d ed. (1980), 195-210.
50. “Journal of the Genesee Conference, 1810-1828,” 1:76-84, transcribed copy of original journal, Wyoming seminary, Kingston, Pennsylvania.
51. O[rsamus]. Turner, History of The Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham’s Purchase (Rochester, NY: William Alling, 1851), 214, 400. There was a letter waiting for Turner in the Palmyra Post Office, see listing of 30 June 1821 in Western Farmer 1 (4 July 1821): 3.
52. Palmyra Register 3 (28 June, 5 July 1820): 2.
53. M. P. Blakeslee, “Notes for a History of Methodism in Phelps, 1886,” typescript located in the Phelps Historical Society.
56. Abner Chase, Methodist Magazine, 7 (Nov. 1824): 435-36.
57. For discussions concerning Smith’s first vision and the revival, and responses, see Wesley P. Walters, “New Light on Mormon Origins from the Palmyra (N.Y.) Revival,” Bulletin of the Evangelical Theological Society 10 (Fall 1967): 227-44; revised and enlarged in Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 4 (Spring 1969): 60-81; reply by Richard L. Bushman, “The First Vision Story Revived,” ibid.: 82-93; Wesley P. Walters, “A Reply to Dr. Bushman,” ibid.: 94-100. For a detailed discussion of Backman’s attempt in Joseph Smith’s First Vision to place an 1819-20 revival at Vienna, see Wesley P. Walters, “Joseph Smith’s First Vision Story Revisited,” Journal of Pastoral Practice 4 (1980): 92-109.
58. Marvin S. Hill, “The First Vision Controversy: A Critique and Reconciliation,” Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought 15 (Summer 1982): 39.
59. Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:3-10.
60. Earlier in this account Smith said that he often wondered about the churches of his day, whether they were “all wrong together,” which contradicted his later statement that such an idea “never entered into my heart” (Manuscript History A-1: 3; JS-H 1:18, PGP; Jessee, Papers of Joseph Smith, 1:273).
61. Hill, “The First Vision Controversy,” 40. Hill later commented, “When Smith dictated a more polished version in 1838, it was altered in many details and more elaborate” (Quest for Refuge: The Mormon Flight from American Pluralism [Salt Lake City: Signature Books, 1989], 9). | 2019-04-23T14:03:45Z | http://signaturebookslibrary.org/inventing-mormonism-02/ |
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Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) started the construction of a 1.33GW thermal power project in Vietnam. The project, known as Nghi Son 2, involves construction of two 665MW thermal power generation plants in Thanh Hóa. Construction is scheduled to be completed by July 2022.
Thai firm SCG has signed loan agreements, worth more than USD3.2 billion, with 6 financial institutions for the Long Son Petrochemicals complex in Vietnam. The project, which would require an investment of around USD5.4 billion and would be located in Bà Ria-Vung Tàu Province. Construction on the complex was scheduled to start in 2018, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2023.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party agreed to nominate its General Secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, as president, almost two weeks after the death of former president Tran Dai Quang on September 21, 2018.
Construction was scheduled to start on Hà Noi's mega smart city project in Vietnam in December, subject to timely approvals and land availability. The 2.72sq km Nhat Tân-Noi Bài project was estimated to cost USD4.2 billion and works are scheduled to be completed in 2030.
In 2018, the Vietnamese government passed several new and amended laws which would come into effect in 2019. The laws primarily focus on wages, environmental projects, the food industry, rural development, cybersecurity and administrative procedures.
Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in January 11, 2007, following more than a decade-long negotiation process. WTO membership has provided Vietnam an anchor to the global market and reinforced the domestic economic reform process.
Vietnam is a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and a signatory to the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which aims to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade between member states. ASEAN has also negotiated FTAs with Australia, New Zealand, China, India, South Korea and Japan.
Vietnam shares the top spot in South East Asia with Singapore for having the most number of bilateral and multilateral FTAs, being a signatory to 16 of them. As Vietnam continues to live up to its commitments to further reduce import tariffs, this will lead to deeper economic integration with the world, boost foreign investments, and enhance productivity.
Some reductions in import tariffs have already come into effect since January 2018 (such as 0% import tariff for automobile, motorbike, vehicle components under the ASEAN FTA) and there are further commitments to progressively reduce tariffs to 0% by 2022 for a range of other commodities. For instance, under the ASEAN – Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the existing 5% import tax rate for various commodities will be removed by 2019. Similarly, under the ASEAN – India FTA, items currently subjected to import tax rates of between 1-3% will see 0% import tariffs by 2019. Under the Vietnam – South Korea FTA, a range of commodities with import tax rates ranging from 10-20% will also see a gradual reduction to 0% by 2022.
Import duty rates are classified into three categories: Ordinary rates, preferential rates, and special preferential rates. Preferential rates are applicable to imported goods from countries that have most-favoured-nation (MFN, also known as normal trade relations) status with Vietnam. The MFN rates are in accordance with Vietnam's WTO commitments and are applicable to goods imported from other member countries of the WTO. Special preferential rates are applicable to imported goods from countries that have a special preferential trade agreement with Vietnam.
Vietnam has concluded three important agreements in recent quarters: The ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA, the European Union (EU) FTA, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CP-TPP). In addition, Vietnam is negotiating other agreements, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the FTAs with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), and with Israel.
Import duty exemptions are provided for encouraged projects and goods imported in certain circumstances.
Export duties are charged only on a few items, mainly certain natural resources and these rates range from 0% to 40%.
Vietnam has reserved the right of importation to state trading entities in the following product categories: Cigars and cigarettes, crude oil, newspapers, journals and periodicals, and recorded media for sound or pictures (with certain exclusions).
Vietnam also prohibits importation of equipment and technologies which are more than 10 years old. However, there are exceptions in some special cases.
Vietnam currently prohibits the importation of some products, including weaponry, ammunition, explosive materials, military technical equipment, firecrackers, second-hand consumer goods, types of publications, and cultural products in the category prohibited from dissemination and circulation in Vietnam, right-hand-drive motor vehicles, materials and transport facilities, chemicals, plan protection agents prohibited from use in Vietnam, scrap and waste, refrigerating equipment using C.F.C., products, raw material containing asbestos of the group of amphibole, chemicals on the list of prohibited chemicals.
Foreign investors are exempt from import duties on goods imported for their own use which cannot be procured locally, including: Machinery, vehicles, components and spare parts for machinery and equipment, raw materials, inputs for manufacturing, and construction materials that cannot be produced domestically.
Valued added tax (VAT) of 10% applies to goods and services that are not specifically included in the list of goods and services subject to the 0% or 5% rates or the list of goods exempt from VAT. The 5% rate applies to the supply of essential goods and services (water supply, agricultural goods, medical goods and teaching aids).
VAT refunds are now allowed for imported goods that are then exported (this was previously disallowed). In addition, the scope of items not subject to VAT was amended to include exported products being primarily processed from natural resources and mined minerals. Both these changes are effective from February 1, 2018.
In March 2018, Vietnam and South Korea signed an agreement aimed at boosting their bilateral trade to USD100 billion by 2020.
On October 17, 2018, the European Commission (EC) submitted for approval a FTA with Vietnam, the first comprehensive open market deal between the EU and a developing Asian country. Following years of negotiations, the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) will likely be ratified in November 2018 and come into effect in early 2019. The trade deal would boost market access and eliminate 99% of all tariffs, although some staged over a time period and some limited by quotas.
Vietnam is a member of WTO (effective date: January 11, 2007).
ASEAN FTA (effective date: January 1993): reduces tariff and non-tariff barriers between member states. The 10 members of the ASEAN FTA are: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia. Vietnam benefits from increased regional integration and tariff liberalisation that includes the elimination of import duties in various sectors and classes of goods. These factors will help reduce input costs for businesses and will increase the country's exporting capacity and industrial base in the long term. Being a member of ASEAN also opens the economy to other significant trade agreements with key regional markets. By the end of 2018, member countries aim to eliminate all tariffs affecting trade with other members.
ASEAN-China (effective date: January 2005 for goods and July 2007 for services) is a comprehensive economic cooperation between ASEAN member states and China. The goal of the agreement is not just eliminating tariffs, but it also seeks to address behind-the-border barriers that impede the flow of goods and services. Trade relations between Vietnam and China benefit from trade preference in terms of tariff exemption or reduction. China is an important market for Vietnam; as it is a key trade partner and an important source of investment.
ASEAN-South Korea FTA (AKFTA): ASEAN and South Korea consolidated their partnership by signing the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation at the 9th ASEAN-South Korea Summit on December 13, 2005, which, among others, provides for the establishment of the AKFTA. Under this framework, three major agreements on trade in goods, trade in services and investment were subsequently signed on August 24, 2006, November 20, 2007 and June 2, 2009 respectively. The agreement provides for progressive reduction and elimination of tariffs by each country on almost all products. Vietnam benefits from trade preference in terms of tariff exemption or reduction under this agreement. South Korea is a key trade partner, and removal of tariffs benefits both exporters and importers.
ASEAN-India FTA (AIFTA): The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (TIG) was signed at the 7th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) – India Consultations on August 13, 2009. The agreement entered into force on January 1, 2010 for India and some ASEAN member states. The ASEAN-India Trade in Services and Investment Agreements were signed in November 2014. Vietnam benefits from trade preference in terms of tariff exemption or reduction under the AIFTA, which is a trade bloc agreement between India and ASEAN; this will help Vietnam in terms of trade growth and diversification given the size and performance of the Indian economy and other ASEAN member states.
ASEAN-Japan FTA (AJFTA): The framework for Comprehensive Economic Partnership between ASEAN and Japan was signed by leaders at the ASEAN-Japan Summit on October 8, 2003 and was aimed at establishing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement between ASEAN and Japan. The agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership among member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AJCEP) and Japan was concluded in November 2007 and signing was completed by April 14, 2008. The AJCEP is comprehensive in scope, with chapters on trade in goods; sanitary and phytosanitary measures; standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures; investment; services; and economic cooperation. The agreement aims at liberalising and facilitating trade in goods between ASEAN and Japan and promoting cooperation in fields such as Information and Communications Technology, Intellectual Property, and SMEs development. The parties will also continue to discuss and negotiate improvements to the chapters on Trade in Services and Investment. Trade relations between Vietnam and Japan benefit from trade preference in terms of tariff exemption or reduction under the AJFTA. Japan provides a large market for exports, with tariff-free trade therefore benefiting the manufacturing sector in particular.
The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA (AANZFTA): Signed on February 27, 2009 is ASEAN's first FTA with two developed countries simultaneously, and the first ASEAN FTA done in a single undertaking. AANZFTA represents ASEAN's most ambitious FTA to date, covering 18 chapters including new areas that ASEAN had previously never negotiated on, such as competition policy and intellectual property. The AANZFTA also includes an AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Support Programme, which will provide technical assistance and capacity building to the Parties of the AANZFTA with the aim of supporting the implementation of the agreement as well as to support the overall regional economic integration process. As of 2012, the agreement has entered into force for all parties and work is currently underway to resolve and implement the built-in agenda as stipulated under the agreement. The agreement aims to eliminate tariffs on 99% of exports to key ASEAN markets by 2020.
Chile-Vietnam FTA (effective date: March 2012): As part of the FTA, 73% of Chilean exports will be granted tariff-free access to Vietnam, while the remaining products will benefit from the FTA in terms ranging from 3 to 15 years. Only 4% of products will be on exception lists. 75% of Vietnamese exports will be granted tariff-free access to Chile and the rest of the products will benefit from tax relief in a period ranging from 6 to 11 years.
Japan-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement (effective date: October 2009): The agreement boosts cooperation between the two countries in many areas such as: Goods, services, investment, business climate improvement, human resource transfer, technical transfer, etc. Under this agreement, 92% of goods exchanged between the two countries will enjoy tax exemption and reduction within 10 years from the date of validity of the agreement. Vietnam's agricultural, garment, and aquatic products will gain tax exemptions when entering the Japanese market, and Japanese industrial products, including car components and electronic products, will gain tax exemptions or see a decrease to the corresponding import taxes.
Vietnam-Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) FTA (effective date: October 2016): commits Vietnam to open the market for about 90% of total tariff lines within a 10-year tariff reduction schedule. Tariffs will be eliminated from the entry into force (EIF) of the FTA for products in the priority list of the EAEU (which consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan), including agricultural commodities such as beef, dairy products and wheat flour. Tariffs will be eliminated within three to five years after EIF on processed meat and fish, electrical machinery and machinery used in agriculture. Five years after EIF, tariffs will be eliminated on pork and chicken. 10 years after EIF, tariffs will be eliminated on alcoholic beverages and cars. Tariff elimination will not be earlier than 2027 for petroleum, and not longer than 10 years for iron and steel. EAEU will eliminate the tariff rate for approximately 90% of all tariff lines. Groups of products for which the import tariff will be eliminated are agricultural, forestry and fishery products of Vietnam (majority of fishery items, certain kinds of fresh and processed vegetable and fruits, processed meat and fish, cereals and rice (with a tariff quota of 10,000 tonnes). Also included will be some industrial goods that Vietnam has an advantage in exporting, such as textile (in quota) and raw textile materials, footwear (especially athletic shoes), machinery, electronic components, some pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, rubber products, and wood and furniture.
ASEAN-Hong Kong FTA (AHKFTA): Hong Kong and ASEAN commenced negotiations of an FTA and an Investment Agreement in July 2014. After 10 rounds of negotiations, Hong Kong and ASEAN announced the conclusion of the negotiations in September 2017 and forged the agreements on November 12, 2017. The agreements are comprehensive in scope, encompassing trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, dispute settlement mechanism and other related areas. The agreements will bring legal certainty, better market access and fair and equitable treatment in trade and investment, thus creating new business opportunities and further enhancing trade and investment flows between Hong Kong and ASEAN. The agreements will also extend Hong Kong's FTA and Investment Agreement network to cover all major economies in South East Asia. These are expected to enter into force on January 1, 2019 at the earliest, subject to completion of the necessary procedures. Hong Kong is a key export market and the reduction of tariffs will ease the trading process; Hong Kong's potential as a key export market increases the importance of AHKFTA.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP): Also known as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), this is a signed but not yet ratified trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The 11 countries represent 13.4% of the global gross domestic product or USD13.5 trillion, making this one of the largest trade agreements after the North American FTA (NAFTA). The CPTPP incorporates most of the TPP provisions by reference, but suspended 22 provisions that the United States favoured that other countries opposed, and lowered the threshold for enactment so the participation of the United States is not required. The TPP was signed on February 4, 2016, but never entered into force as a result of the withdrawal of the United States. All original TPP signatories, except the United States, agreed in May 2017 to revive it and reached an agreement in January 2018 to conclude the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for TPP. The formal signing ceremony was held on March 8, 2018 in Santiago, Chile. The agreement enters into effect 60 days after ratification by at least 50% of the signatories (6 of the 11 participating countries), with three countries having ratified as of July 18, 2018.
EU-Vietnam FTA: The EU and Vietnam have finished negotiating a trade agreement and an investment protection agreement and the agreement now awaits ratification. Once in force, the agreement will provide opportunities to increase trade and support jobs and growth on both sides, through eliminating 99% of all tariffs, reducing regulatory barriers and overlapping red tape, ensuring protection of geographical indications, opening up services and public procurement markets and making sure that the agreed rules are enforceable.
Vietnam-Israel: Vietnam and Israel are negotiating an FTA. Israel is one of Vietnam's important partners in the Middle East, with two-way trade reaching USD2.3 billion in 2015. Prospects for co-operation have been seen in fields such as investment, finance, services, science, technology and labour.
Vietnam-EFTA: Vietnam and EFTA (consisting of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) are negotiating an FTA. EFTA's leading exports to Vietnam included fish, pharmaceutical products, and machinery and mechanical appliances, while electrical machinery, footwear and precious stones and metals were leading imports.
RCEP: There are also ongoing negotiations about the RCEP, which is a regional economic agreement being negotiated between the ASEAN governments and their 6 FTA partners: Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. This totals to a population of over 3 billion people that contributes around a third of the world's GDP. The RCEP is envisioned to be a modern, comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement that aims to advance economic cooperation, and broaden and deepen integration in the region which builds upon existing economic linkages. The RCEP would lower tariffs and other barriers to the trade of goods among the 16 countries that are in, or have, existing trade deals with the ASEAN.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) oversees an Investment Promotion Department to facilitate all foreign investments, and most of the provinces and cities also have investment promotion agencies. The agencies provide information, explain regulations, and offer support to investors when requested.
Foreign and domestic private entities can establish and own a business except in prohibited business lines, such as illicit drugs, wildlife trafficking and 243 conditional sectors. Foreign investors must negotiate on a case-by-case basis with the government on market access to sectors that are not explicitly open through a trade or investment agreement. The government occasionally issues investment licenses with time limits to specifically targeted investors.
Vietnam has made steady progress in improving its business environment. This can be seen by its higher scores in the World Economic Forum's Competitiveness Index, where it improved by five places to 55th (out of 137) in the 2017-18 edition, and in the 2019 World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index, where it ranks 69th among 190 economies. The Vietnamese government has also invested heavily in power and transport infrastructure to meet rapidly rising demand from the burgeoning manufacturing sector, resulting in a positive feedback loop.
The government's recently announced plans to revive a USD58 billion high-speed rail line project from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City bode well for the country's long-term investment profile. The railway, if approved by the National Assembly, would boost infrastructure spending significantly and could support tourism and economic activity along the route once operational.
Foreign owners are permitted to acquire full ownership of local companies except when mentioned otherwise in Vietnam's international and bilateral commitments.
There is a 25% cap on foreign investment in local banks from one foreign entity, and a 30% cap on overall foreign investment in local banks. The government can waive these caps on a case-by-case basis.
In June 2018, the government passed a new Competition Law, replacing the 2004 version of the law. The new law which focuses on competition restraining agreements, market dominance, economic concentration and unfair practices will be in effect from July 1, 2019. The new law has expanded its scope and now includes both Vietnamese and foreign companies and individuals in case their actions have or potentially have a competition restriction impact on the domestic market. Competition restriction impact is the impact which will exclude, reduce or hinder competition in the market. The Vietnamese government will also have authority over offshore activities if there is an impact on the domestic market. The law will apply to foreign entities' part in competition-restricting agreements, economic concentration, or other unfair activities even if they do not have a subsidiary in Vietnam.
The government revised the anti-corruption law in November 2018, to deal with corruption in the private sector. In addition to the private sector, the revised law also includes the duties of the agencies and organisations involved in controlling corruption. The law will be in effect from July 1, 2019.
Vietnam permits foreign participation in the telecommunications sector, with varying equity limitations depending on the sub-sector (there are five basic and eight value added sub-sectors). Foreign ownership in private networks is permitted up to 70%, while foreign ownership in facility-based basic services (eg, public voice service where the supplier owns its transmission facilities) is generally capped at 49%.
There are no local, state or provincial income taxes in Vietnam.
Vietnam plans to remove restrictions on foreign ownership of state-owned and listed companies by the end of 2019, as Hanoi looks to open its economy further in order to sustain rapid growth. The move would broadly remove the existing foreign ownership cap of 49%, but would exclude companies operating in 'sensitive and important' sectors. The draft law is expected to be submitted to lawmakers for approval in 2019 and would take effect in January 2020. However, the limit for banks will remain at 30%, while insurance will be kept at 49%. The new law would pave the way for Vietnamese companies to be included in the MSCI emerging markets index. The move is also expected to breathe new life into the privatisation of state-owned companies. Vietnam has around 1,500 public companies, including about 740 listed on the two main stock exchanges in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. More than 780 public companies are listed on a second-tier market or remained unlisted.
Tax incentives are granted based on regulated encouraged sectors, encouraged locations and size of the projects. The sectors that are encouraged by the Vietnamese government include education, healthcare, sport/culture, high technology, environmental protection, scientific research and technology development, infrastructural development, processing of agricultural and aquatic products, software production and renewable energy.
The minimum headcount is 3,000 by the fourth year of operations at the latest.
The preferential incentive rate applied for large manufacturing projects can be extended for a maximum additional 15 years if the project manufactures goods having 'international competitiveness' whose revenue exceeds VND20 trillion per annum within five years from the first year of revenue generation, or whose average head count exceeds 6,000.
The garment, textile and footwear, information technology, automobiles assembly or mechanics sector and were not produced domestically as of January 1, 2015, or, if produced domestically, they meet the quality standards of the EU or equivalent.
Additional fixed assets costing at least VND20 billion (or VND10 billion if the projects are in certain specified regions with difficult socioeconomic conditions) are invested.
There is at least a 20% increase in the value of fixed assets compared with the period before expansion.
There is at least a 20% increase in the designed capacity compared with the period before expansion.
Additional tax reductions may be available for engaging in manufacturing, construction and transportation activities that employ several female staff and/or ethnic minorities.
Business entities in Vietnam are allowed to set up a tax-deductible research and development fund. Enterprises can appropriate up to 10% of annual profits before tax to the fund. Various conditions apply.
Foreign investors generally pay rental fees for land use rights. The range of rates is wide depending on the location, infrastructure and the industrial sector in which the business is operating. In addition, owners of houses and apartments have to pay land tax under the law on non-agricultural land use. The tax is charged on the specific land area used, based on the prescribed price per square metre at progressive tax rates ranging from 0.03% to 0.15%.
Natural resources tax (NRT) is payable by industries exploiting Vietnam's natural resources, including petroleum, minerals, natural gas, forest products, natural seafood, natural bird's nests and natural water. Natural water used for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, salt industries and sea water for cooling purposes may be exempt from NRT, provided that certain conditions are satisfied. The tax rates vary depending on the natural resource being exploited, ranging from 1% to 40%, and are applied to the production output at a specified taxable value per unit. Various methods are available for the calculation of the taxable value of the resources, including cases where the commercial value of the resources cannot be determined. Crude oil, natural gas and coal gas are taxed at progressive tax rates depending on the daily average production output.
Environment protection tax is an indirect tax that is applicable to the production and importation of certain goods deemed detrimental to the environment, the most significant of which are petroleum and coal. The tax is calculated as an absolute amount on the quantity of the goods.
At the end of September 2018, the government announced the imposition of higher taxes on petroleum products, aimed at boosting revenue collection and environmental protection. The policy will come into effect on January 1, 2019.
270 industrial zones and export processing zones across the country. Vietnam is divided into three key categories of economic zones (KEZs), each of which has its own economic development plan. Foreign investors are exempt from import duties on goods imported for their own use and which cannot be procured locally, including: machinery, vehicles, components and spare parts for machinery and equipment, raw materials, inputs for manufacturing, and construction materials that cannot be produced domestically. Remote and mountainous provinces are allowed to provide additional tax breaks and other incentives to prospective investors. In addition, projects in high tech, research and development, new materials, energy, clean energy, renewable energy, energy saving products, automobile, software, waste treatment and management, primary or vocational education; or projects located in difficult areas or economic and projects in industrial zones are entitled to investment incentives such as lower corporate income tax, exemption of import tariffs, or land rental.
Tax holidays Investors may be considered for tax holidays and reductions. The holidays take the form of a complete exemption from CIT for a certain period beginning immediately after the enterprise first makes profits, followed by a further period where tax is charged at 50% of the applicable rate. However, where the enterprise has not derived profits within three years of the commencement of operations, the tax holidays/tax reduction will start from the fourth year of operation.
1. Income earned by enterprises carrying out new investment projects entitled to 10% CIT.
2. Income earned by enterprises carrying out new investment projects in the socialised sectors and difficult socio-economic areas.
- Four years of tax exemption and 50% tax reduction for five subsequent years shall be given to income earned by enterprises carrying out new investment projects in the socialised sectors and in regions not included in the list of difficult socio-economic areas.
1. Income earned by enterprises from carrying out new investment projects in regions with difficult socio-economic conditions.
2. Income earned by enterprises from carrying out new investment projects, including production of high-grade steel, production of energy saving products, production of machinery or equipment used to serve agricultural, forestry, fishery, or salt production, production of irrigational equipment, production and refinement of foodstuff for cattle, poultry, or aquatic products, and development of traditional trades.
3. Income earned by enterprises that carry out new investment projects in industrial zones (except for industrial zones located in regions with favourable socio-economic conditions).
- From January 1, 2018, certain incentives, including a lower CIT rate, will be granted to SMEs (various criteria applied to be considered as SMEs).
- Business entities in Vietnam are allowed to set up a tax deductible R&D Fund. Enterprises can appropriate up to 10% of annual profits before tax to the fund. Various conditions apply.
The environmental tax on petrol was increased from VND3,000 to VND4,000 per litre as of 2019.
In 2018, the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance released a draft tax law amending the current laws on VAT, special sales tax, corporate income tax, personal income tax, natural resources tax and customs duty. In the draft tax law, there are proposals to increase VAT rates to 11% from January 1, 2020 and 12% from January 1, 2022, while the 5% VAT rate shall be increased to 6% from January 1, 2022.
Special Consumption Tax (SCT) Applies to the production or import of certain goods, including cigarettes, cigars, spirits, beer, autos, assorted types of petrol, air conditioners and the provision of certain services including casinos, golf clubs and lotteries. SCT rates range from 10% to 70%. Exported goods are not subject to SCT.
Natural Resources Tax Rates vary depending on the natural resource being exploited, from 1% to 40%, and are applied to the production output at a specified taxable value per unit.
Generally preference for all roles is given to Vietnamese nationals. In order to qualify for work permits, foreign workers must have a degree of specialised knowledge, or experience in management and technical roles that the domestic labour force cannot fill/carry out efficiently – as deemed apt by the Department of Labour.
All foreign nationals seeking paid employment in Vietnam must be in possession of a valid work permit – The tenure of a work permit for a foreign worker is generally two years. In the first half of 2016, the Vietnamese government issued a decree ('Decree No. 11') guiding a number of articles of the Labour Code on foreigners working in Vietnam. The Decree proposes developments including changes to the conditions, paperwork and timeline for work permit applications and exemptions, allowing the import of skilled and unskilled labour with less red tape. Decree 11 also extends the time frame for lodging the re-issuance of work permits from 45 days prior to the expiry date, instead of the 15 days as per previous regulations.
Social insurance (SI) and unemployment insurance (UI) contributions are applicable to Vietnamese individuals only. Health insurance (HI) contributions are required for Vietnamese and foreign individuals that are employed under Vietnam labour contracts. Effective from January 1, 2018, SI contribution is also applicable to foreign individuals working in Vietnam under a work permit or practising certificate or licence.
Accordingly, from January 2018, the salary subject to SI/HI/UI contributions is the salary, certain allowances, and other regular payments according to labour law, but this is capped at 20 times the minimum salary for SI/HI contributions and 20 times the minimum regional salary for UI contributions. Effective from July 1, 2018, the minimum salary has increased from VND1,300,000 per month to VND1,390,000 per month. Effective from January 1, 2018, the minimum regional salary varies from VND2,760,000 per month to VND3,980,000 per month. These minimum salaries are subject to change each year.
Vietnam has recorded important achievements in socioeconomic fields and has become one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. While structural factors underpinning Vietnam's potential for long-term growth (including favourable demographics, proximity to China, and low cost of labour relative to the region) remain largely unchanged, there are several developments that reinforce the country's bright outlook. The economy recorded its strongest annual expansion in a decade in 2018, rounded off by a surge in growth in the final quarter. A stellar performance from the services sector and brisk industry and construction activity powered growth in the second half of 2018, while agricultural output also picked up. The manufacturing subsector was a star performer in 2018 overall, while vibrant tourism was also a key growth driver. Momentum in the industrial sector will likely be carried through in the first half of 2019, as seen by companies' upbeat business confidence. In addition to an increasingly open trade and investment policy environment, there has been a decisive shift in the government's focus towards policies aimed at maintaining price stability, and ongoing efforts to further address macroeconomic imbalances and fiscal deficits.
Vietnam offers businesses a number of other strategic advantages, which include a young and increasingly well-educated population that possesses high numeracy and literacy, a large industrial base, open trade policies, low security risks, and fairly adequate logistic infrastructure. Vietnam is constrained by a fairly weak legal risk subcomponent. The year 2018's robust growth is expected to continue in 2019, thanks to healthy private consumption supported by strong private credit growth and rising incomes. The industrial sector should also expand at a stellar pace, supported by strong FDI inflows and investor-friendly reforms that are improving the ease of doing business. While economies worldwide brace for the impact of rising protectionism, Vietnam could stand to benefit from increased market share in the United States.
Hong Kong has concluded Comprehensive Double Taxation Agreements with Vietnam. This agreement was signed on December 16, 2008 and entered into force on August 12, 2009.
Inaugurated in November 2008, the Hong Kong-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (HKVCC) is a non-government, non-profit limited organisation that engages to promote the common interests of the Hong Kong and Vietnamese business communities.
All Hong Kong SAR passport holders are required to have a visa to enter Vietnam. They can apply for a visa at the Vietnam consulate (in either Hong Kong or a third country), or online for a visa on arrival. Generally visits can range from one to three months' stay. | 2019-04-21T22:22:11Z | http://emerging-markets-research.hktdc.com/business-news/article/Asia/Vietnam-Market-Profile/mp/en/1/1X3CGF6L/1X0010GK.htm |
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The first female chief of the IMF on the Greek meltdown, a historic refugee crisis and one thing Hillary Clinton has in common with an "old crocodile."
The morning scene at New York’s Carlyle Hotel is about the most perfect illustration of the term “power breakfast” that you could envision. On the ground floor of the opulent art deco hotel—a longtime favorite of American presidents, and the preferred Manhattan residence of visitors from Princess Diana to Mick Jagger to George Clooney—impeccably attired men enjoyed the buffet as several different security details milled about the lobby.
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, was sitting at a secluded table with an aide. Since Lagarde, 59, replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the IMF—a formerly staid institution created in 1944 to ensure financial stability largely through the maintenance of exchange rates—she has found herself at the center of not one but several global emergencies. Europe’s economic meltdown has threatened not only the future of its shared currency, but the very idea of the European Union itself. Now, the continent’s still-stagnant economy must cope with the biggest flow of refugees the world has seen since the defeat of fascism. Under Lagarde’s leadership, the IMF has broadened its mandate significantly, not only playing a key role after the market crash, but also issuing controversial reports on the economic impact of global warming, inequality, and gender disparity.
Interviewing Lagarde is not like interviewing most other politicians or public figures. She is an intent listener, leaning forward attentively in her chair. She laughed often, never once checked her phone (this bordered on the astonishing), and answered questions on all manner of subjects without much of a filter. During our hour-long conversation, which has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity, she discussed her frustrations with Greece, her private conversations with Angela Merkel and Hillary Clinton, and her thoughts on how people react to powerful women.
Christine Lagarde: [Laughs] I will see him later today.
IC: I am doubly sorry then. He has some line about when there is a problem in Europe you don’t know who to pick up the phone and call.
CL: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
IC: So who do you call?
CL: I mean, that’s the reality. I will call Pierre Moscovici 1 and he answers the phone.
1 The European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation and customs.
IC: Merkel doesn’t pick up your calls?
CL: No, no, no, she does. We work together. First we text message, and then we talk when we are both available.
IC: Greece and its creditors have reached a deal, which includes a bailout in exchange for tax hikes and spending cuts, to avoid a major Greek default and keep the country in the euro. But given that Greece and Germany remain on the same currency, which some people think of as the original sin, what is going to keep these problems from recurring?
CL: First of all, I understand why you are opposing Greece on the one hand, Germany on the other hand. But you have other countries where the variation of the strength of the economy and the balance of payments could have been obstacles to integration. Ireland, Portugal, and eventually, Spain. And clearly those three show that you can restore a situation where countries can continue to operate.
IC: But isn’t the problem with a currency union that if one country makes bad choices, everyone is at risk? It seems very likely that even if Greece survives this particular crisis, it’ll happen again.
IC: You can be rude. It’s fine.
CL: I don’t want to offend people. They are trying to change that culture. But there was a culture—at a certain level in society—of not contributing to society by paying taxes. Under the constitution, the entire shipping industry is tax-exempt. 2 And over time, the definition of what was shipping gradually enlarged. One of the proposals on the table is to restrict the definition of the shipping industry and move it into paying tax. It’s a bit bizarre. At one point 18 months ago, the shipping industry was volunteering a contribution to the tax authorities of Greece because it wasn’t paying any. That doesn’t happen in many places.
2 Greece’s shipping industry is responsible for more than 7 percent of its GDP. Greek companies control nearly 20 percent of the world’s shipping fleet.
IC: The IMF released a report several months ago saying that Greece’s debts were going to have to be restructured or forgiven and that this was inevitable.
IC: Do you think that the IMF could or should have said this five years ago? Could that have made a difference, given the misery Greece has endured?
CL: We pushed very strongly for the first restructuring of private sector debt in winter 2011 or 2012.
IC: But even that was pretty late though, right, compared to when the crisis started?
CL: You know, it is very easy in retrospect to say that. But at the time, and I wasn’t in the IMF then, we had no European Stability Mechanism. 3 And each of us, in our countries, did not want that isolated case playing out throughout the entire European Union. Are you going to write a book on Greece?
3 Established in 2012, the ESM was created to provide financial support for struggling European countries in the event of fiscal emergencies.
CL: People didn’t like it.
IC: Did they dislike it because they disagreed on the economics, or because restructuring Greek debt would be a huge political problem?
CL: I think it was more of a political problem. With that level of debt, with that schedule of repayment, with the lack of attractiveness of Greece as a financial destination—everybody knows [restructuring] has to happen.
IC: So when you are talking to Angela Merkel or the German finance minister, do you think they know restructuring debt is inevitable, and their opposition is about the German electorate?
CL: I think there’s a big political dimension to it.
I have noticed that when a woman speaks, people start chatting or looking at their emails or doing something else. It is very, very strange.
IC: Do you think there is some lesson learned in Europe that austerity in a time of crisis doesn’t work?
CL: I don’t think there is austerity at the moment. There is no fiscal contraction today. Spain has done pretty well. The U.K. has had a very heavy-handed approach—sorry, I shouldn’t say that. It has had very heavy-handed communication on fiscal consolidation. But bottom line, has austerity worked? A well-balanced discipline has actually worked.
IC: Were you in the room for a lot of these negotiations?
IC: It must be fascinating having people from so many different countries and cultures. Here you have the Fed, and it’s just a banker from Dallas and one from Kansas City. But there you have [Greek Prime Minister] Alexis Tsipras and Merkel.
CL: Well, first of all, the way those meetings take place, there are a lot of pre-meetings beforehand to lay the groundwork. Then the full session begins and you have statements of different kinds made. And there is a roadblock. So someone says, “Let’s have a breakout session,” and people try to make progress. And then you come into the full session. The length of those breakout sessions will almost invariably tell you the size of the obstacles. We had two nights in a row in mid-July shortly after the debt analysis in Greece. The last bilateral took a lot of time. Two or three hours. And eventually it was completed with four actors in the room. I won’t tell you who they were.
IC: I want to transition: You have talked about being a woman in a leadership role. Do you ever feel that world leaders or central bankers treat you differently because of your gender?
IC: I should look out for that?
IC: Have you ever talked to Merkel about this? She is one of the three or four most powerful people in the world, arguably, and I can’t think of the last time that was true.
CL: I think Thatcher was the last one, at least on the European scene. I have discussed it with her, but she has a different take on that.
CL: Well, she is better off saying what she thinks about it, but I think she has had a different experience with inequality and discrimination. And that is what she explains about herself. Being born and raised in Eastern Europe, there was no discrimination between girls and boys. Everybody had to go to school. She says that she never faced discrimination in the Eastern European system. Which is not to say that she praises it.
IC: Do you find a gap in gender issues between Europe and America?
CL: Yeah. I brought up my children, one in France, and I had child care, publicly funded, from three months to three years. I had to get some family support, but all of that is much more accepted. It may not be the same in all countries. In Germany there is a bit of a cultural bias against women who do not raise children for a period of time. But here, when I talk to young mothers, they have a terrible time finding support.
IC: What about when you speak, in terms of things like being interrupted? Do you find a difference there?
CL: Oh, people don’t interrupt me when I speak. If they do, I am going to give all my comments looking at that person. [Another mock death stare.] It produces a freezing effect quite quickly. It’s rude. Either you are in the room or you are not in the room. I tell people, “Turn your thingie face down.” [Pretends to slam her phone face down on the table.] The only person able to use it is the head of communication. Sometimes people cheat and I see them.
IC: Do you have any advice for women running for office, like Hillary Clinton, about how to deal with these issues?
CL: She doesn’t need my advice. She is a strong woman. As she put it, she has skin as thick as an old crocodile.
IC: I can’t wait until the Republicans get hold of that line.
CL: No, no, no, no, no. Thick skin. Old crocodile is a bit unkind. I don’t want to say that. But you need a thick skin in the world of politics, and you need a thicker skin when you are a woman.
4 To recap, just in case: Strauss-Kahn resigned from the IMF after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman who worked at the New York City hotel where he was staying. Criminal charges were eventually dropped; he settled a civil suit with the hotel employee. It was a disaster.
IC: I was going to say gender, but your word is less euphemistic. When you came in, did you feel like you had to set a new tone?
CL: I will never forget the first town hall meeting I had when I joined. I arrived in the United States on July 4th, spent the night at a hotel room that was so sad, and I was thinking, what on Earth am I doing? I went to work on July 5th and the first town hall at the IMF headquarters was either that afternoon or the following morning. And the ambiance, the anxiety—it was a very strange feeling of anxiety, frustration, expectations. It was something I had never experienced before. And I felt we had to move on. They had to get over it. They had spent the last couple of months, since May 15th, looking every morning at what was new about the scandal. For a group of people of high-caliber intelligence, it was a bit debilitating. So I thought: let’s focus on quality work.
And then [Strauss-Kahn] asked me if he could come and say farewell because he hadn’t been able to in the circumstances. And I thought, yes, that is the way to heal.
IC: The Fund also released a report on inequality and economic growth.
CL: We released two reports, actually.
IC: How is battling inequality part of the IMF’s mission?
CL: I think the conclusions of the work we did were, number one, that excessive inequality was counterproductive to sustainable growth. And everyone wants sustainable, strong, balanced growth. Well, if we are logical about that goal, then we cannot have excessive inequality, which helps justify the fact that the IMF is doing growth and research on that. The second report said that redistribution was not necessarily anti-growth. There was that conventional wisdom that redistribution was not conducive to entrepreneurship, opportunity, and our findings were to the contrary.
Americans are so noisy. It’s really bizarre, no? It’s always like that. [She and her aide discuss moving to another room.] Anyway, I think they will gradually lower their voices. That’s what normally happens.
IC: You could try giving them death stares.
CL: Yeah, they would turn their backs on me. So, I think doing work and analysis on inequality is critically important, but we have to restrict our work to the mandate of the IMF. 5 I cannot take the institution into territories that are not allocated by the charter, because the backlash will be instant.
5 The Fund’s mandate was “updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability,” according to the IMF’s website.
IC: Do you worry about that when the IMF comments on inequality or global warming?
6 According to an IMF report, if the number of women in the workforce were equal to that of men, GDP would increase by 5 percent in the U.S, 9 percent in Japan, and 34 percent in Egypt.
IC: Right. It’s shocking that if you don’t let women drive, the economy suffers.
IC: Speaking of things that may not immediately seem like they are in the IMF’s purview: the refugees in Europe. How have you been involved in the issue?
CL: I will give you an example. We have a program in place with Jordan. Jordan has increased its population by 25 percent by welcoming refugees from Syria. Their fiscal consolidation program was completely changed so the Jordanians could cope with the flow of refugees. The second thing that we are doing, and hopefully it will help the Europeans, is some analytical work on the economic impact of migrations and the ways in which refugees are either welcomed or not, and how much that can help countries where the aging of the population is becoming a big economic issue.
IC: The Germans seem to think this could be an opportunity in some way.
IC: You do think they are right?
CL: I don’t want to prejudge because they have not done the analytical work, but I would bet that if the influx is well-managed, yes, it is bound to be a positive in a society which is aging and which has the fiscal space to accommodate it.
IC: Do you worry about a political backlash occurring in Europe? Someone in ISIS slipping through, or something?
CL: I think of two impacts. The divide that is created within the euro area, where you have, for the first time ever, interior ministers having to take a vote on the quota of refugees. Normally decisions are made by consensus. Five countries dissented and yet the majority view was imposed. The second is the practical one of managing the inflow of refugees. That is a big strain.
IC: This fits into a larger question about the IMF. People say that it is an organization of technocrats, and it seems, not just with America and people like Donald Trump, but in France with Marine Le Pen and anti-EU sentiment, we are in a very anti-technocratic moment.
CL: When someone says, “Oh, you are just a bunch of technocrats,” I can’t help thinking of our mission teams who are caught in the middle of turmoil. We just extricated a team out of Burkina Faso.
It’s interesting it is the woman shouting. Maybe she has to shout loudly because otherwise she is not listened to. That’s an aside. Second point: We produce intellectual work on the economic fabrics of society. You can’t make policy decisions based on populism. If you do that, you run serious risks. And the third point is, at a time when there are so many walls being built, I think multilateral organizations like the IMF are helpful, where people can have a forum.
IC: So you don’t regret getting involved in Greece?
IC: Whom do you like to read on economics or politics?
CL: I read The Economist almost on a weekly basis, not from page one to end, but I do read it. I am always interested in my dose of—I don’t want to say skepticism—but I read the columns of the likes of Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman, and those sorts.
IC: You seem a little skeptical.
CL: I think they have a bias in their own way. But I respect the intellectual work on which they are building their little op-eds and the views they express. But they are not necessarily the gurus of economics. I always read what Olivier Blanchard 7 has to say. He has a broad understanding of the international issues, and is prone to admit when he doesn’t know or has made a mistake. I respect that highly.
7 Blanchard is the IMF’s chief economist.
IC: How do you like living in Washington?
CL: I don’t like it as much as Chicago. I was spoiled because I lived there for five years. I lived in Paris for a period of my life as well. But I like D.C. I think it is a very green, clean and diverse city. But I only spend 50 percent of my time there. I had not seen as much of a concentration of categories of people, per square meter, of lobbyists, lawyers, politicians.
IC: When you look back on the way Europe and the Obama and Bush administrations dealt with the crisis, how do you think history will judge them?
CL: I think—I hope—that in 2008 the right decisions and urgency and collective approaches were taken. There was some complacency after the first big stimulus and growth began picking up. People thought, “We can let up and tighten.” I think there was a lack of understanding of how deeply the financial crisis had affected economies around the world. Monetary policies should have taken into account a much longer and much deeper crisis. It came back to haunt us.
8 The White House has attempted to sell Congress on IMF reform that would strengthen the fund’s ability to respond to financial crises. The changes have been blocked due to Republican opposition: Lagarde has said "I will do belly-dancing if that's what it takes to get the U.S. to ratify."
IC: I can give you an answer.
CL: Yeah. I am saying it defies sense. The institution is helping with Greece and Ukraine and stability. And yet. So. Off the record you can tell me what you think.
IC: I am happy to say on the record. It goes back to what I was asking about populism and rebellion. We have one political party that is not interested in governing because that’s what the Republican base wants.
CL: [Pauses and shrugs.] Anyway, I went to Mass yesterday and the Pope said we should have hope. So I am having hope.
Isaac is a contributor at Slate. He is writing a book about British novelists during World War II.
Rob is a Connecticut-based illustrator whose work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, Variety and several other publications.
How DuPont "Poisoned the World." | 2019-04-26T03:52:26Z | https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/lagarde-interview/ |
The advent of the technology called Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) has brought in a paradigm shift from the conventional English Language Writing, to what researchers now call SMS system of communication. This has been observed in many places as well as Nigeria. English language being an official language in Nigeria and fast becoming a global language cannot diffuse into un-intelligibility through such influences like SMS language. The importance of language generally to man is such that any virus that portends catastrophe to it attracts special attention. Some research works have been carried out to trace the influence of the emerging trends on the users of this technology; this project is one of researchers aims at identifying the influence of SMS language on the writing performance of secondary school students, in Nsukka Urban Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. An extensive literature review has been carried out on the GSM technology, its special features especially the Short Message Services (SMS) that brought in this encoding of English language through text message, computer mediated communication, the importance and dynamics of language and other relevant aspects of the project topic. From the foregoing it is obvious that the SMS of GSM influences students ’ writing.
Global system for mobile communication (GSM), is a digital telephone system that digitalizes and compresses data to help improve the speed of wireless mobile when communicating… (answers.yahoo.com/question/index3/11/09). GSM is one of the leading digital cellular systems that use narrowband Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) which allows eight simultaneous calls on the same radio frequency (Webopedia.internet.com/img/mock/rcat-new.gif.12/10/09). This system of communication is far more advanced than the traditional analogue cellular technology (Computer.com/ITNewspaperJan.2002 Pg.11). GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and is the most widely used of the three digital wireless telephony technologies (TDMA, GSM and DMA).In 2007, more than 690 mobile networks provide GSM services across 213 countries and GSM represents 82.4% of all global mobile connections. According to GSM world, there are now more than 2 billion GSM mobile phone users worldwide. The number of mobile subscriptions the world is expected to see by the end of the ongoing year (2009) is reportedly heading for 4.6 billion as reported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) secretary, recently (Softpedia.mht.14/10/09).
One of the objectives for the GSM-based platform was to offer advanced services and functionality from a single network, and to meet this goal, the designers made it part of the standard and based the architecture on the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) called model. (Comptuer.com/ITNewspaperl.Jan. 2002 Pg.11).
GSM services are a standard collection of applications and features available to mobile phone subscribers all over the world and are the world’s most dominant mobile phone standard. The design of the service is moderately complex because it must be able to locate a moving phone of the same service anywhere in the world. The GSM standard also provides separate facilities for transmitting digital data. This allows a mobile phone to act like any other computer on the Internet, sending and receiving data via the Internet protocol (Wikipedia, 2009). The mobile may also be connected to a desktop computer, laptop or Personal digital Assistants (PDA), for use as a network interface (just like a modem or Ethernet card) (Wikipedia, 2009).
All these services are mostly transmitted in the English language. The internet, with the majority of its content/ learning is written in English and it is no wonder that people of this planet are using the English language as the vehicle and bridge across borders and cultures. The language has become a source of unity in communicating with a rapidly changing world (Baskerville, 14). So, at a time in history when people want to, and can, through the Internet connect with the world, English just happens to be the tool close at hand that can do the job. English language commands unparalleled international intelligibility. Onuigbo and Eyisi (2009, v)describe it as an important centripetal force that pulls divergent chordstowards a central point in spite of the diversity of the world today. Even though computer and lasers are tools for the space age, English is the language of transmission. It has become a lingua franca, a global language regularly used and understood by many nations for whom English is not their first language. Any virus that interferes with English language learning portends a catastrophe for world unity and peace in the globalization process. With two billion people now speaking English or learning to speak it, we can creditably imagine a genuine global language.
Short Message Service (SMS) language or textese is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used owing to the necessary brevity of mobile phone text messaging. The objective of textese is to use the fewest number of characters needed to convey a comprehensible message, hence, punctuation, grammar, and capitalizations are largely ignored. People like John Humphrey, a Welsh journalist and television reporter, has criticized textese as “wrecking our language”. He describes emoticons and textese as “irritating” and essentially lazy behaviours, and summarised that “sloppy” habits gained while using textese will result in student’s growing ignorance of proper grammar and punctuation” (Wikipedia 14/01/09). David Crystal in his findings summarized in his popular book Txting: “the Gr8 Db8” says that despite scholarly research to the contrary, the popular notion that text messaging is damaging to linguistic development of young people and to the English language itself persists. (mhtml:file://:\smslanguage-Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia. Mht12/10/09).
Peter Baskerville in his book Global English: a Paradigm Shift (www.knol.google.com 14/10/09) says: “change has been the one constant in the development of the human race since the beginning. But never has change been so immense as it has been in the past decade. Just think about the massive changes taking place in our environment, technology, communications and economies just to name a few… and so it is now with language, in the form of Global English. According to him, recent statement has been made by researchers, that English in the 21st century has not only become the lingua franca of international business but is becoming the lingua franca of all global communication. The eventual effect on the English of this development can only be guessed at today, but there can be little doubt that they will be as important as anything that has happened to English in the past sixteen hundred years (Philip, Durkan.www.askoxford.com/world of Oxford/history. 1/10/09).
In Nigeria , GSM means telecom explosion. The GSM revolution began in August 2001 and changed the face of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Nigeria. Since the GSM launch, mobile telephony has rapidly become the most popular method of voice communication in Nigeria. Growth has been so rapid that Nigeria has been rightly described in various fora as “one of the fastest growing GSM markets in the world”. A growing number of population in Nigeria own a mobile phone, making it an increasingly important aspect of everyone’s lives. Likewise, GSM has revolutionized our business environment. Today, the people of Nigeria can transact their business from the comfort of their homes through the GSM facility (mhtml:file://E:\allAfrica-com. 16/10/09). Hamadoun Toure, International Communication Union (ITU) secretary general said, “ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) are vital within developing countries to ensure that ordinary people can fully participate in the knowledge economy of the 21st century (Softpedia.mht. 14/10/09). Nigeria is developing, and so. should not allow the ICT driven globalization, development, peace and unity be hampered by the said serious influence of the GSM/SMS, internet/email systems of communication. A high proficiency in the communicative ability of Nigerians in English language should rather be encouraged.
Opinion differs as to the use of SMS language. People have expressed their concern about the influence of SMS on the English language and said that the popular SMS and e-mail phonetic spelling have corrupted the English language. There have been some reports in the media of children using SMS language for essay in school: (mhtml:file://H:\sms language. 10/14/09).
Prince Charles in The Guardian of June 8, 2005 attacked teachers in a gathering, saying that plans to allow children to study text messaging as part of GCSE English studies were damaging the prospects of future generation. Others maintain that text messaging is merely one stage of our revolution and it is on the way out.
While some people decry the woe of text messaging and SMS language, others like David Crystal, a Professor of Linguistics in the University of Wales, Bangor9 said in The Guardian of February 28, 2005, that “the advent of new language styles and forms engendered by the Internet, and related communication development such as SMS messaging, should be greeted with delight”. To him, it is the greatest opportunity for the development of the English language since the advent of the printing press in the Middle Ages (mhtml:file//E:\textually_org). Experts believe that the new form of communication such as mobile phone texting, email and internet messaging are helping us to stay in touch with each other (mhtml://:GlobalEnglish.org/English a paradigm shift). In China, it is believed that text messaging preserves everyone’s dignity by eliminating the human voice. It has also been observed that English has undergone four stages in the past and is in the process to the fifth.
Modern English (Dialect of London) 1500 – 1800 AD.
Late Modern English (Industrial Revolution) 1800 – 2000.
Post Modern English (Internet) since 2000.
Baskerville consequently observed that “those sceptable about a new English being created from the technology of the internet and text messages will only need to view the new 900 SMS acronym list from a social mobile network provider SMS Fun Dictionary to see how a new language can form from English within just a few years.
The curiosity for this project arose when I intercepted a student teacher’s text message during a gathering. This was what I saw in her mobile phone.
Hi V, hw r u. U’re gr8, ryt? GF, I wntd 2 c u FTF A3 drng d hols, bt u wr scrse.
The effort both the girl and I made to decode the message proved abortive, until I personally took this message home and used the internet to find thefull meaning of some of the abbreviations.
It may be illogical to hope and to believe that language is dynamic and thus not allow the apprehensions created by the above mentioned systems become verified. From the foregoing, it is obvious that something is happening between the conventional English grammar and/or usage and the system of its usage in the GSM/SMS as an information communicating technology. The pattern with which information is passed through the GSM has changed in structure and probably in other linguistic levels of English language. The major interest in this project is therefore to find out whether GSM/SMS system of communication has influenced conventional English language to such extent that students in secondary schools forget the standard rules of the language.
Some researches have been done on the influence of GSM/SMS language, with university undergraduates. An example is that of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the British Overseers Administration (ODA) in 1990. Chiluwa (www.educ/utas.edu/au/users/Journal, Oct. 2009), of the Covenant University, Nigeria also researched on the extent to which textmessaging constructs Christian value belief system and sentiments in Nigeria.
In the same vein a similar investigation was carried on the socioliguistic of mobile phone SMS usage in Cameroon and Nigeria by Feuba Wanji Elvis of the Department of English, University of Yaunde. Ezekwesili (2008: 382) has also studied the impact of GSM/ICT on undergraduate writing. All these researches found adverse impacts of SMS coded language on the English language.
To the best of my knowledge, no such research has been conducted with secondary school students. No analysis has also been done on the pattern of text messaging with this group of students in Nsukka Urban.
This study therefore, aims at determining the influence of the short message service (SMS) on secondary school students on the learning of this all important language and by extension, on the teaching of the most widely spoken language of our time, English.
There is a paradigm shift from the conventional English language writing to what researchers have now call GSM/SMS, Internet/ e-mail systems of communication. The problem is identifying the influence of GSM/SMS, internet/e-mail systems of communication on the learning of the English language.
The fact that English language in Nigeria is studied in a second language situation creates enough problem, but the emergence of GSM/SMS and e-mail system of communication makes the learning of English more complex with the interference features from this new development. Many researches (as recorded above) have examined the problems of English in a second language situation at various levels of linguistic usage. There is so much literature on the phonological and syntactic problems of learners of English in a second language situation, but the emerging trends in GSM/SMS and e-mail system of communication add new dimensions to these problems. The emerging trends have provoked great interests but not much has been done in exploring the influence of the emerging trend on the structure and general development of the English language among secondary school students. And that is what this project is designed to fulfill.
Sporadic comments may exist, but this project is designed to do a detailed study with a view to providing a systematic view that will characterize the situation and the possible dangers of the communication revolution on the development of the core features of English, on the level of performance of the students at secondary school level.
Is there any influence of SMS language on the learning of English in secondary schools?
To what extent does SMS system of communication affect the writing of secondary school students?
To identify the influence of SMS system of communication on English language performance of secondary school students.
To identify the extent to which SMS language influences the writing performance of the sampled population.
To expose other users (parents/ teachers) of SMS to the danger of the influence of SMS language on young students.
It will reveal the level of impact of SMS system of communication on the students’ performance in English.
It will provide teachers with enough technique to employ to meet the massive and evolving need of youths so desperate for information and learning.
It will assist parents in interpreting some text-message abbreviations forged to confuse their understanding of certain contents, such as “CPC” which means “Keep Parents Clueless” and also help them check their children’s performance in English.
It will help learners curtail the excesses involved in the use of GSM/SMS, Internet/e-mail.
It will enable second language teachers to be alert to the challenges posed by students’ unrestrained dependence on SMS and its backwash on their writing ability.
This study is an investigation of the influence of SMS system of communication among senior secondary school students in Nsukka Urban. The focus will be on the influence of SMS on the writing performance of this category of students. Consequently, the study will cover only senior secondary schools in Nsukka urban.
Aja, Akpuru-Aja. Language, culture and power Politics. Lessons for the promotion of Nigerian languages and culture: a realist Analysis. Journal of Niagara Languages and culture; Vol. 10 No. 1, Nov.. 2008.1.
Ajala, Ireti. Directors Magazine: GIS and GSM Network Quality Monitoring: A Nigeria Case study. Nov. 26, 2005.
Akpabio, Eno. “The Medium and its Impact: Overview of GSM Service in Nigeria ,” International Journal of communication, Number three, April 2005. 32.
Azi Jang, Jude. “ICT Globalization and Cultural Imperialism: A study of Nigeria’s Position in the 21st century. ’ Journal of Nigeria Languages and Culture Vol. 11. No 2 2009. 135-142.
Baskerville, Peter Global English: A Paradigm Shift.
http: www.knol.google.com. k peierbaskeiville globalenglish-a-paradigm-shift 7: 14/10/09.
Chiluwa, Innocent. SMS Text Messaging and the Nigeria Christian Context: Constructing Values and Sentiments. The International Journal of Language Society and Culture. Thao Le and Author. URl:www. educ/utas.edu.au/users/journal/ISN1327- 774X.
Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language: New York: Cambridge, 1989. Durkan, Philip. Five Events that shaped the History of English. www.askoxford.com/worldfword/history, 1/10/09. | 2019-04-24T08:52:51Z | https://www.projecttopics.org/short-messaging-services-sms-english-language-usage-selected-secondary-schools.html |
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Enlarging your home is a great way to add value, give yourself more space, and make better use of the house. While the expense can be huge, the reality for most people is that it is dwarfed by the costs of actually changing homes. However, if you do plan on remodelling your home - whether it’s adding a room up, down or out - you need be aware of a few different things. Read on to find out more about the expansion issues you can’t ignore. Let’s get started right away!
It’s amazing, but even in this day and age, there are people who decide to build additional rooms in their home, without getting the proper clearance from the local authorities. Even though restrictions can be pretty lax in some states, the simple truth is that there are constraints. For example, although your plotlines indicate your land, the buildable area is subject to setbacks, to ensure the street and garden space have a sense of uniformity. Ultimately, if you do go ahead with building work, you could end up having to take it all down or modify it if the city and county offices find out.
Planning is a vital part of any project, and without a proper schedule, budget, and architectural work, the likelihood is your remodel will fail. You’ll need to look carefully at your finances, plan ahead and save a contingency fund, and also get a broad range of quotes to compare. Have a survey done to make sure you stay within guidelines set down by the city.
No doubt there are plenty of construction firms in your local area who would happily do a job for you. Never, ever take the first building company you come across. Neither should you race for the cheapest option. Good building firms cost money - it’s a simple fact of life. Unless you have implicit trust in the cheapest company and the work they will do, there’s a high chance that saving a small amount now will cost you a fortune in the future.
Fixed price contracts are almost always better for the customer. The truth is that when it comes to construction, most projects will encounter problems, and without a fixed contract you will find your bill just goes up and up. What happens when your budget runs out? Well, the likelihood is that you end up with an unfinished project, whole areas of your home unusable, and months - possibly years - before things get back to normal.
You might live in a cozy home right now, but open it up and add some rooms, and things might be very different. Heating can be a problem in several different ways. First of all, a large space takes more energy to heat than a small one. Secondly, there might be limits to what you can do with your current heating system. For example, if you learn about mini-split HVAC systems, you'll find out they are best suited for new rooms when extending the ductwork of the rest of the house isn't possible. It’s little things like this that often determine the success or failure of a project, so make sure you cover all your bases beforehand.
A lot of remodelers get way too carried away with building new rooms. It’s easy to see why, of course, but it’s also a big mistake. When the time comes to sell up and move on, you will find that buyers are looking for homes with something like one bathroom for every two rooms. So, if you want your remodeling project to pay for itself - or even make a profit - make sure bathrooms are at the top of your want list.
Finally, it’s easy to get sucked into planning and designing your rooms - it’s the fun part, after all! But before you even consider the aesthetic and cosmetic details, ensure you understand the importance of structural work. It always has to come before the fun stuff, and you should aim to build from the outside inwards.
As you can see, it’s one thing to add an extra room or two to your home. But when it comes to an extension, you have to pay attention! There are plenty of issues that can easily get in your way. And, at the end of the day, if you don’t understand what can happen, the chances are you will end up with an expensive mistake on your hands. Let us know how it goes!
Unfortunately, when you move to a new home you will sometimes find different people and different services that you work with will seek to rip you off in some form or another. You can stop this from happening by simply refusing to let it happen.
To see how to stop yourself from being ripped off during a new move, make sure to read on.
Before you move into your new home it is imperative that you have it surveyed. It is important because somewhere along the line there might be an some aspect of the home that is not noticeable or not as it should be, and whether you know about it or not, once you officially take the home on as your own these problems become yours. Thus, the need to pay for these problems to be fixed becomes your problem too.
So, to save yourself from inheriting a home that has something wrong with it, make sure to get it professional surveyed before you move into it. What a surveyor should do is check your new home from top to bottom, checking it for any hint of a problem that may cause you a big problem in the future, such as instances of water damage, or foundation issues.
During the transaction process of you buying a home from another person you will work alongside a lot of people who will all want some sort of cut. To stop yourself from potentially being ripped off by any of these people, you should make sure the transaction is made alongside a lawyer. By doing so you would be able to be sure that nothing untoward is taking place in regards to the money you are paying. He/she can help to make sure you are not taken advantage of, such as paying for unnecessary services.
Could you think of anything worse than your worldly belongings becoming lost, broken or stolen as they make their way from your old home to your new one? No, you couldn’t. Unfortunately, however, when you work alongside inexperienced movers, there is always a chance that this could happen.
So, make sure you're not working with beginners and make sure you are working with a trustworthy moving company, such as those found at https://www.mybekins.com/locations/oakland-ca-movers/,. By working with a company who has a proven record of helping people move home in as easy and stress-free a way as possible, you will be able to feel confident that your belongings will not be altered in any way during the moving process. This will also keep you from having to pay any unnecessary costs.
If you take heed of the advice above, others will find it hard to rip you off the next time you move. And this will make it far easier for your new home to quickly become home sweet home!
My sisters and I recently took a rather extended road trip from western Illinois to Tampa, Florida where we boarded a cruise ship for a 5 day Caribbean adventure. On our way, we were able to stop and get a taste of downtown Nashville, Tennessee with a visit to the Omni Nashville. We pulled in around 4:00 in the afternoon, and were greeted by an employee who offered to help with luggage, parking, et cetera. From the moment you step foot (or drive) onto Omni Nashville property, you will feel pampered. I wasn't even allowed the chance to open the front doors, as a bellhop hurried over to hold the door for me going in and out. Checking in was an easy process, with Paul making sure that I knew all the necessary details including parking, the need for a key to access certain floors via the elevator, and offered assistance if I had any questions later on.
Our guest room was quite a delight. A plush king-sized bed, a corner couch, desk for any business you might need to get done, and an oversized bathroom are all among the luxuries you will enjoy during your stay.
Once we had unpacked a few things, we took a walk around the property to get an idea of the size and all the offerings. There is a cafe on the main floor (perfect for folks like me who need several cups a day to survive!) as well as a steakhouse and a Southern cuisine restaurant. We also discovered the Mokara Spa and one of the best-equipped fitness centers I've ever seen in a hotel. Literally any machine or fitness tool you can imagine is in here, from kettlebells and mats to machines for just about every part of the body (triceps, biceps, etc) in addition to the standard treadmills and bikes. I could easily spend a couple hours in this fitness center!
M was thrilled with the views of downtown Nashville from the hotel. I'm not a city girl, but there was something about seeing the skyline light up at night that was just gorgeous. We even found a small balcony seating area that gave us a wonderful view. You will also find the pool outside on the rooftop, which I'm sure makes for an incredible swim. (We didn't have a chance to actually try it out).
The Omni Nashville is located right downtown, so you're in easy walking distance of many attractions and restaurants. In fact, the Omni is actually attached to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, giving extra easy access. We had time to stroll a little bit, simply enjoying the southern "big city" charm.
If you're heading to or through Nashville at any time, or maybe want to vacation in Nashville, I recommend checking out the Omni Nashville. You will find high quality service, classy and stylish accommodations, and easy access to all the Nashville attractions.
You may be beginning to notice that increasing numbers of animals are encroaching on your land and becoming more comfortable in close proximity to your home. While this may be amusing at first, as everyone crowds round to see the newest furry visitor to your garden, you’re likely to start noticing that having wildlife on your land can be a little troublesome. Not only do wild animals make a mess (perhaps leaving faeces, digging holes, or damaging different areas of your property), but they could also prove intimidating if you have smaller children or pets. It’s important to understand the reason that they are becoming increasingly brazen in their behaviour and habits. Humans are constantly encroaching on these creatures’ natural habitats. We are destroying their homes in order to use the land to create our own. What’s more? Even if they animals stray further afield to keep at bay from human-inhabited areas, they’re struggling to find sufficient food to survive. The herbivores no longer have the same land to graze on, and this has a domino effect on the rest of the food chain. The most obvious source of readily available food? Cities and residential areas, where humans openly leave an abundance of edible waste for the taking. It’s hard to blame animals for trying to survive in their new conditions. So, how can you go about controlling them and preventing their presence on your land without turning to pest control? Read on for everything you need to know.
Many pest control companies claim that they dispose of animals in “a humane manner”. While there are, of course, certain ways to kill pests that are faster or supposedly less painful than others, it’s important to understand that there is no humane way to kill an animal. Meaning that basically no matter if it does not cause pain, it still kills the animal.. This is why it’s so important to practice genuinely humane methods.
The easiest way to rid your land of animals is to remove any food supplies. Once they realize there is nothing on your property that will sustain them, they’ll find somewhere else to forage. Now, there are several ways that you can go about this.
The main source of food available on your property is likely to be your waste bin. Not only is it likely to have all sorts of scraps of food in it, but this supply will be seen by animals as constant and reliable, drawing them back time and time again. So invest in Bear Proof Food Storage. If the unit can keep a bear (perhaps the largest and strongest native animal) out, they’ll easily keep smaller creatures at bay too.
Many of us feed our pets outdoors to save on cleaning. But by keeping their food indoors, you remove another potential food source for wildlife. The amount of time and effort you save in clearing unwanted animals off your land will more than compensate for clearing up a little spilt gravy or kibble from your interiors.
These are just a couple of places to get started. Remember that animals aren’t encroaching on your land for the fun of it. They’re searching for sustenance, and if they can’t find it, they’ll quickly venture elsewhere!
Whether you are worried about your children’s safety, your own, or you just find you are concerned for the home itself, it is important that you want to try and keep your home as safe along with the people in it. Keeping their home safe and secure is something that everyone wants, but relatively few people really do what is necessary to make it happen. The truth is that there are a number of forgotten elements which you should consider if you want to make your home as safe as possible, and it is a good idea to make sure that you have crossed these off your list if you are starting to worry about your home security. In this article, we are going to look through just a few ideas, so that you can be in a better position to keep your home - and your family, and yourself - as safe as possible.
Although you might not consider it essential, it is nonetheless important that you treat your home to the best security system you can afford. It can actually be quite surprising how little you need to spend in order to protect your home in this way. These days, home security products are much cheaper and easier to get hold of - and yet they provide your home with much more additional security, and help to make you feel much safer in your home at all times. With the right security systems in your home, you will find yourself worrying much less about whether or not your home is safe - because you will just know that it is. It might be worth getting a professional in to tell you what you need to do and what you can skip in order to keep your home as safe as is necessary.
There is plenty to be said for the simple but powerful act of being a neighbor, and being a good one in particular. It is a fact that the more a part of the local community you are, the less likely you are to experience burglary and break-ins. You will also be able to ensure that you have a stronger support network around you should something of that sort happen, which will also help you to feel protected most of the time anyway. Be a good neighbor as much as you can and you will find that others in the neighborhood will also be good neighbors and help keep an eye out on your home. It will also improve the neighborhood itself, which is no bad thing - and helps you in the long run too. Perhaps you can start a neighborhood watch, to help deter someone who might try to break in.
Although you want to be cautious, you should be careful not to be overly paranoid with home security concerns, as doing so is rarely the best. When you are paranoid, it actually has a way of making these things seem more likely to happen. The best thing you can do is work at making your home secure and then allow that to ease your mind, knowing you have done what you can. That’s all you really need to do anyway.
We recently had the opportunity to visit the St. Louis Zoo. Yes, it is winter, but we managed to hit one of those weekends where there was no snow, and you could actually go outside without a jacket. It was actually pretty nice out, and apparently some other St. Louis residents thought so too! I was amazed to find out that the zoo is free. Yes, I said FREE! There are some options you have to pay for, but to wander the zoo and see the animals is totally free. A few things there is a fee for is their train, which will take you to different areas of the park. Yes, we took advantage of this to get from one side of the park to the other. Nice little ride, that gives you a chance to just sit back and enjoy the view. A few shows and tours also require a fee.
I honestly enjoyed the Saint Louis Zoo, more than many other zoos we have visited. The paths are laid out with enough room, to allow several people going in opposite directions. There are plenty of signs so you know where you are headed to. The employees we spoke to were all very pleasant when we needed to ask where something was located.
The best part of the park of course are the animals. Although we did not see any primates out, we saw many interesting and entertaining animals. Our first stop was Centene Grizzly Ridge, where we saw two HUGE grizzly bears. One was just sitting, looking around and the other was enjoying a bath.
Next we moved on to the Penguins. I personally love to watch them. We were actually splashed a couple of times by one that was swimming around, and another that was leaping out of the water and then splashing down.
We moved on to the next section of the zoo, which was set up for Polar Bears. It was so fascinating to stand there and watch the one as he/she swam back and forth. He would go to one end, then spin around an head for the other end. He often came up for air, and you could see the bubbles as he released air underwater. I think we could have stayed there for hours, if there wasn't so much else to see.
We wandered over to the primate area next, but it must have still been to cold for them to be out. That is when we decided to jump on the train and head over to the other side of the park. Remember the train does cost, but it is a nice way to enjoy a ride to the other side of the park.
After exiting the train we followed a short trail that was going to lead us to more animals. I have to tell you a little about this trail though. Remember I said it was winter? Well this are has water, rocks and some waterfalls, and because it was the first nice day in several days, some of it was still frozen. It was beautiful!!
These guys below were sound asleep. It is hard to even see the second one.
The Bush Dog was a little more active. He would run out, look around and then take off again. Check out the teeth on the little guy though. I do not think I would like to get him mad.
You can find the Rhino in the River's Edge section of the Saint Louis Zoo.
This is the Painted Dog. He reminded us a lot of the Harlequin rabbits we used to show years ago.
Anyone ever heard or sung the song, "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"? After seeing them up close, I am voting no. Although interesting to watch, they do not look like my idea of a pet. LOL!!
We did spend some time watching the elephants.
Now, I want you all to know, that this is just a portion of the zoo that we saw. There were several areas that we did not even make it to, so I am hoping to take another trip and finish our exploring. We completely missed the Red Rocks, Historic Hill, and the Insectarium. I do want to share a couple other animals/birds that many people at the park found just as fascinating as the others that they came to see.
Now, the zoo offers other activities and programs as stated before. The day we were there, you could Adopt a Sloth. I was very tempted!! You can rent strollers and wheelchairs if needed. They have restrooms scattered through the park, as well as gift shops and places to eat. Yes, we wandered one of the larger shops.
If you live in Saint Louis, or are visiting the area, be sure to take some time to visit the Saint Louis Zoo. It is definitely worth your time. Plan on spending a few hours so you have time to see everything. Or, you could take two trips! We really enjoyed our time there, and would LOVE to go back in the future! You can find out more about hours of operation and other information visit the website, HERE. | 2019-04-18T14:26:43Z | https://www.atthefenceonline.com/2018/02/ |
In this report I write about my impressions coming from the two day Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee (CFSAC) meeting. The best source to get your own impressions is the video the links to which are now posted on our website.
This is obviously a hardworking group struggling to advance the cause of ME/CFS in spite of both overt and covert obstacles. For years many of their recommendations have been ignored but apparently there has been enough progress to keep them going. A bit of their despair appeared but they did soldier on in spite of the very mixed messages from the federal agencies.
It is not clear to me how their members are selected (see Jennie Spotilla’s information from the link in Charmian Proskauer’s report) and I do not know the background of some. The chair, Dr. Gailen Marshall, an internist from the University of Mississippi, seemed to be a competent group leader. He showed understanding of the issues and tact and kept the committee on task most of the time. He dealt diplomatically with representatives of the agencies.
Thank goodness for Eileen Holderman, the sole patient representative, Steve Krafchick, a lawyer from Seattle, Dr. Susan Levine, clinician from New York, and Mary Ann Fletcher, Ph.D., immunologist researcher from the University of Miami. These were the more outspoken members who clearly were proponents we could rely upon. Jordan Dimitrakoff, M.D., Ph.D. a urologist and researcher from Harvard is chair of the research subcommittee and was active at times during the conference. Three other members were physicians of whom Ann Vincent from the Mayo Clinic was there the second day. They said little. Dane Cook, a Ph.D. from Wisconsin spoke up some. I have no idea where these last four stand in their beliefs about ME/CFS.
It will be important to learn more explicitly how members are selected. The ME/CFS communities should have a larger say in that selection.
HHS was represented briefly by Dr. Howard Koh and by Dr. Nancy Lee who was the Designated Federal Official and at times acted as a sort of co-chair. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was represented by Susan Maier, Ph.D., the CDC by Dr. Ermias Belay with Dr. Beth Unger on the second day. The regular representative of the Social Security Administration was Cheryl Williams with Mr. Arthur Spencer making the main presentation on the second day. The FDA was represented by Theresa Michele M.D. but on the second day there was an excellent presentation by Rear Admiral Sandra Kweder, M. D. Other agencies reporting were: HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration), and CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
These advocates, some present for one or two days and those who spoke by phone, were allotted a total of 3 hours. They each had 5 minutes. There were many comments, some quite forceful and/or poignant, covering a wide range from comments on the process, some on specific agencies, and personal stories dealing with ME/CFS.
We were one of 4 organizations invited. This was the second meeting where groups from the ME/CFS communities were called upon. The others this time were: CFS Solutions of Western Michigan, now, after a merger, called PANDORA (Laurie Chapo-Kroger); Wisconsin CFS Association (Pat Fero); and the IACFS/ME (Fred Friedberg by phone). We each had 5 minutes. There was extra time during which there were questions from the CFSAC Committee, some on the IACFS/ME Primer for Clinical Practitioners.
Before the meeting started a group of advocates gathered in the lobby before being escorted up to the meeting (talk about containment). It included Laura Hillenbrand’s father who later made an impassioned plea to the Committee. Bob Miller, from Nevada and a seasoned attendee (whose wife had made the important contact with President Obama resulting in the latter’s now well known letter), said it was important to have many advocates as possible actually in the room. He told us that a large group of patients in northern Virginia and relatively close by have unfortunately isolated themselves from others and do not attend.
Howard Koh M.D., Assistant Sec’y for Health of HHS (who was at the DPH in Mass.), provided the welcome and introduction. While lauding the supposedly high degree of government CFS activity he made no mention of the many problems.
The first scheduled talk was by Committee member Dr. Jordan Dimitrakoff (of Beth Israel Deaconess) speaking about biomarkers. He described a large (40 million dollars) 5 year research project on “chronic pelvic pain syndrome” also known as Urologic Pain Syndrome. They wanted to pinpoint biomarkers. The research might serve as a model he claimed (I'm not sure how). He agreed that for this study and for study of ME/CFS a good common case definition is necessary. This was echoed many times during the two days.
Next was Mary Ann Fletcher, Ph.D., who described a study with Nancy Klimas and Gordan Broderick (from Canada) which also searched for biomarkers. The study compared three groups: CFS patients, Gulf War Illness (GWI) patients, and controls. They used an exercise stress model comparing various markers of activity such as apoptosis, lymphocyte function, cytokines, etc. They demonstrated that GWI and CFS were different from each other and from controls, and that all markers and systems were interactive with each other. The two illnesses were different in gene expression. One cytokine, IL-1a, might be a good index in future clinical trials.
Dr. Fletcher added there are pertinent biobanks already available for future research (such as the one left over from the Lipkin studies). Eileen Holderman asked where would the monies come from. Susan Maier from NIH said possibly by linking to already funded research (which? how?). Dr. Dimitrakoff wondered if ME and CFS are different entities when a single entity is needed. Eileen Holderman pointed out that a generalized term such as urologic pain syndrome takes away from the organization of patient groups such as the more focused Interstitial Cystitis group.
In the public comments that followed, scheduled in advance, Dr. Rosemary Underhill (on the authoring group of the IACFS/ME Primer) spoke to the need to recognize the fact that ME/CFS occurs in small to large cluster groups. Little attention has been paid to that fact. It is a phenomenon that begs to be studied. Indeed, at the end of the second day this was included in the recommendations by the CFSAC Committee. There were other excellent comments from Laurie Chapo-Kroger, Dr. Grobstein, Mary Schweitzer, Rev. Hillenbrand. Note that there were many appeals to the effect that government agencies needed to move faster. For example NIH took 3 years after it had promised to do so to finally put on the State of Knowledge conference (2008 to April 2011)!
NOTE: WASHINGTON is a LARGE city filled with big impressive buildings within which government employees work. They are far removed from where we all live and the realities we patients live with daily. This remoteness shows, more evident in some of the agencies represented than in others. While CFSAC can bring information to the representatives, they and their colleagues need to emerge from their buildings and go out into the field to actually see and talk with patients and their families. Ph.D., MPH and MD degrees may be necessary but are not sufficient to really learn about ME/CFS.
Dr. Mary Ann Fletcher made it very clear that key researchers who have applied in the past were turned off by the experience, including unexpected obstacles thrown up by NIH, so are not reapplying.
It is not clear what attitudes prevail at NIH towards ME/CFS research.
The personal experiences of two fine researchers I know who described rejection of their applications for what they considered to be unwarranted reasons.
The presentation by Susan Maier left out details on how new applications could be made. Information from her was reluctantly given.
There has been a lackluster past history of support and arbitrary decisions in regards to ME/CFS actions.
When many present indicated that a major increase in funding is necessary, for example $100,000,000, Susan Maier seemed to find that totally unrealistic —yet that, if not more, will be what it will take.
There did not seem to be a positive and actively helpful attitude at NIH in regards to ME/CFS. I doubt that anything will change at that agency from within. They really don’t mean it. A fire needs to be lit and perhaps the only way that will happen is from the outside. It needs to come from the President, Congress, and from concentrated focus on the part of ME/CFS advocates. Yes, there are major problems at the CDC, but the funding needed for major scientific advances to occur would best come via a reformed NIH. Advocacy groups need to find out exactly how the application process works and to alert potential researchers but there may need to be a huge change of attitude at every level of this agency.
In contrast to the NIH the FDA seems to have fairly quickly reacted to patient advocates. Their representative, Theresa Michele, spoke of the large response from the patient community leading to the Stakeholder’s Meeting on Sept. 13th. She stated that the advocacy community could have an impact on future drug development. She mentioned a docket (I missed the number) that has been opened for which comments are needed by November 1st (!!).
At that point Dr. Sandra Kweder (Rear Admiral, in uniform) gave an excellent review of many aspects of the agency. The FDA regulates 25% of all products sold in the USA. She gave a brief history of the FDA which now is the largest regulating agency in the federal government. She pointed out that the FDA can encourage the development of therapeutic drugs but can’t require that development. For any new drug there needs to be a strict definition and well designed criteria to measure improvement. These must be objective measures. There also needs to be a very detailed description of the tactics used for research. Focusing on ME/CFS, she described the realities of what is needed: well established criteria or biomarkers. However there is not a “core” ME/CFS, meaning a well accepted definition, an accepted method for measuring how patients feel or function, and accepted biomarkers for objective measures. (Note: none of these are beyond reach). She contrasted the state of knowledge of ME/CFS with fibromyalgia for which there are now 3 medications available. Very important was her statement (if I heard it correctly) that the FDA could advise but the research community needs to develop the tools for study of ME/CFS as well as research definitions.
Dr. Fletcher pointed out that in her opinion there now are biomarkers for ME/CFS. Dr. Kweder did agree that there are not top flight biomarkers for some medical conditions such as migraine headaches, so perhaps strictly accepted biomarkers may not be necessary.
The last part of the afternoon consisted of many excellent public comments, including from our own Donna Pearson and others. There were some common themes: The CDC Toolkit is unacceptable and harmful, the history of the CDC is disgraceful, HHS is providing lower funding than they did in 1993, and a target funding level of $100 million is needed.
The initial speakers were from 2 other agencies: Alaine Perry from The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and Beth Collins Sharp from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The AHRQ runs the National Guidelines Clearinghouse, which has the website www.guidelines.gov to which physicians can link for information and clinical guidelines for a variety of illnesses and diseases. The IACFS/ME Primer has been accepted by the Clearninghouse and will be posted there soon.
CDC, represented by Ermias Belay Ph.D. Dr. Belay described activities at the CDC. Dr. Beth Unger was there this day as well. Dr. Belay started out by acknowledging the great need for educating primary care doctors. He referred to the 30 minute video available from Medscape: “CFS: the challenges in primary care” followed by CME questions as one effort. The problem that physicians report back is the limited time for patient visits. Two other videos deal with diagnosis and management of CFS and Sleep Problems. They are scheduled to release a video in November called something like “Back to School/CFS”. Who specifically is preparing this is not stated; that worries me.
Dr. Belay also reported that a series of patient vignettes are in preparation for release in June 2013, for use in medical schools via a medical education portal. The fact that the CDC is doing something for medical student education is good if the information is accurate and well presented.
And then a statement about the infamous Toolkit. Both Drs. Belay and Unger said that after much debate the CDC has decided to keep the current version on their website! There will be a revised version sometime in the future, but no date was given. No explanation was given. This was an absurd decision on the part of the CDC. CFSAC, advocacy groups, etc. have all called for taking down the Toolkit until a much revised version is prepared. The current version is harmful!! Why there wasn’t a big protest by CFSAC is puzzling.
The CDC is attempting learn more about CFS/ME patients via working with selected clinical practices, including: The Open Medical Institute (OMI-Kogelnik, Charles Lapp, Dan Peterson’s group, Lucinda Bateman’s group, and Podell’s practice). Nancy Klimas’s new clinic will also be involved as will Ben Natelson’s in New York. They hope to have 450 patients closely studied. How useful this study will be is hard to say. Very good clinicians are involved.
Dr. Belay then gave a long list of agencies with which they are trying to collaborate.
Impressions about the CDC: It is a mixed bag. They have an abysmal decades-long history in relation to CFS. Hopes were high after William Reeves left. Dr. Beth Unger has certainly been an improvement in many ways. She has reached out to many ME/CFS organizations over the past year for suggestions and information, including our Association, but the promised feedback was poor. They are initiating some promising projects, the outcomes of which only time will tell. Their decision about the Toolkit was ridiculous, because the Toolkit still contains information that is harmful to patients. What became clear at this conference, consistent with their past pattern, is their determination to remain in control of everything including information and decision making. I can understand the need hold the reins tightly to maintain their command of the issues and policies, but those reins are too tightly held.
Next up was Arthur Spencer of the Social Security Administration, Office of Disability Evaluation. Requests for SSA appearance at the CFSAC meetings have been made for quite a while. Mr. Spencer provided a clear, detailed, and probably helpful description of the process used for evaluating disability claims. There are five steps in relation to questions re qualification. (My notes are a bit scanty and may not be accurate.) The 1st is: Is the claimant engaged in substantial gainful employment? Basically if the claimant is still working disability is not granted. For this stage substantial provider information is necessary. Specific findings of ME/CFS are needed to demonstrate that the applicant is unable to work. “A one shot consultation” may not be sufficient. A diary of your daily activities can be very helpful but it need not be in great depth. The 2nd criterion is: Do you have a medical impairment? The 3rd was: Does the impairment meet or equal those impairments/illnesses listed on their “medical listing.” ME/CFS is not a listed condition but the impairments may be sufficient to be equivalent to those on the list. The 4th criterion: Can you go back to any past relevant work within your RFC (residual functional capacity). And the 5th criterion: Can you perform any other type of work within your RFC.
The SSA evaluators usually require at least 6 weeks of training.
In a review of the SSA experience from 2001 to 2011 in relation to ME/CFS, while the average national allowance for other conditions was 35%, it was only 21% for ME/CFS. The older the claimant the more likely disability would be granted. However if the claim was pursued up the ladder of reconsideration steps such as going to an administrative law judge the percentage of success increases to 70% (!!). So, one needs adequate medical evidence, a personal diary demonstrating one’s limitations, and a lot of persistence. One additional note: no specific case definition is used, according to Mr. Spencer.
I thought this presentation was quite straightforward. Spencer simply spelled out the criteria and steps and what is needed. I am sure others will be better informed than I am. Comments will be welcome.
Public comments followed. Dr. Lily Chiu asked for more prompt availability of meeting information, and the acceptance of international expert input. Others have commented on Billie Moore’s poignant description of the hopelessness experienced by some with ME/CFS because of an accumulation of overwhelming factors and the dangers of suicide that may follow. Mary Dimmock (perhaps speaking for someone else) focused on the dismal past history of NIH. Others reiterated the target funding goal of $100 million.
The four organizations invited to appear began this session. We (Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association) spoke first followed by the others (mentioned above). A copy of our presentation has been distributed. We also provided copies of our CD on pediatric ME/CFS to each committee member. I read our comments and Charmian Proskauer, who had created them, showed the slides. All presenters were informative but 5 minutes is 5 minutes. As an hour had been set aside (we hadn’t known that) there were several questions from the Committee including quite a few on the IACFS/ME Primer of which I am one of the authors. I answered as best as I could as Rosemary Underhill had already left.
The next to last subject was discussion of finding pathways towards selecting an American case definition for ME/CFS. I found this discussion wide-ranging but rambling. Dr. Nancy Lee stated towards the end that government agencies can’t dictate a specific definition. Such a definition must come from the “medical community” (which medical communities? and how might that be arrived at?).
Steve Krafchick, a lawyer with a MPH degree, in effect implied that was a cop-out, stating that speaking positively about certain definitions already out there would at least lead in the right direction.
He is right in my opinion. I think the government agencies were not happy about accepting either of the two Canadian definitions but unless they get moving fast it could be years before we have a useful American definition. The work on this illness is international. There is no reason why an international definition couldn’t suffice. The CDC has so messed up for years, contaminated as they were by their psychobabble leanings and overly broad definition that I doubt they could come through. BUT a good case definition is really needed ASAP.
Charmian and I agreed that attending the CFSAC Meeting was important. I want to join her in thanking the Board for making this trip possible. Being there and observing first hand as well as meeting Committee members, government representatives, and other advocates was key in gaining further insight. For me the number one problem currently and for years in the past is NIH. We know the problems with the CDC—there are many—but with time and further strong and pointed advocacy perhaps there can be more changes.
I came away feeling the NIH, as the largest potential funding source for research, has simply not made a sufficient commitment to ME/CFS in the amount of funding and positive sense of purpose. Others have documented these failings. While there may be limitations on NIH's total funding the message was that they could fund more ME/CFS research if there were more applications. If so, they need to figure out, along with our own advocates, what is getting in the way and actively encourage new applications and new researchers.
The CFSAC Committee is doing its best and has brought about some change. We need to know more about the NIH funding selection process and how advocates can best support CFSAC in working with NIH to provide more funding for ME/CFS research. | 2019-04-23T00:17:05Z | https://www.massmecfs.org/resource-library/15-conference-reports/423-some-impressions-cfsac-meeting-oct-3-4-2012-washington-dc |
Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences is a distinguished and innovative college providing excellence in education, scholarship, and practice in the health professions.
Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences will provide interdisciplinary leadership for new directions in health promotion and wellness, as well as illness care and disease prevention, in the community and beyond through innovation in education, practice, research, and scholarship for health science professionals.
The Undergraduate Nutrition program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics. The Baccalaureate Nursing Program is approved by the Colorado State Board of Nursing. The Baccalaureate in Nursing, Master’s in Nursing, and DNP programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The College also holds membership in the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics, the Colorado Association of Colleges of Nursing, the Colorado Council of Nurse Educators, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and Sigma Theta Tau (Xi Phi Chapter).
Dean: Nancy Smith; Associate Dean: Deborah Kenny; Chairs: Jacqueline Berning, Amy Silva-Smith; Professors: Jacqueline Berning, Kathryn Blair, Mary Ann Kluge, Nancy Smith; Associate Professors: Tim Behrens, Melissa Benton, Amanda Elder, Andrea Hutchins, Barbara Joyce, Deborah Kenny, Nanna Meyer, Deborah Pollard, Amy Silva-Smith; Associate Professors, Clinical Teaching Track: Craig Elder; Assistant Professors: Jay Dawes, Helen Graham, Margaret Harris; Assistant Professors, Clinical Teaching Track: Vicki Brownrigg, Gail Katz, Kerry Peterson, Carole Traylor; Assistant Professor, Research Track: Becky Lynch; Senior Instructors: Lynne Bryant, K.C. Craig, Sue Davis, Ben Galatzan, Eileen Gerrard-Gough, Sherry Lee, Denise Millot, Lynn Phillips, Kim Schenck, Val Sievers; Instructors: Deborah Beatty, Gina Burton, Sherry Farley, Susan Finke, Susan Garrett, Margaret Hunt, Jessica Kirby, Michelle LeCompte, Sherry McCormick, Deborah Pina-Thomas, Mysha Tompkins, Deb Tuffield, Mary Claire Wahl.
The programs at the undergraduate and graduate level that are available for completion through the University of Colorado Colorado Springs are listed on the Programs of Study table.
All students are responsible for knowing and following the provisions set forth in this Catalog, in the Registration Handbook, and in the College Student Handbook. It is also the responsibility of the student to know and observe program requirements and deadlines.
The Catalog that governs a student’s graduation requirements is the one in effect at the time of a student’s most recent admission into the college of the student’s degree program. The academic policies and regulations stated herein are in effect at the time this Catalog is published but may be subject to change.
In an effort to regularly enhance the programs offered as well as meet the needs of our students, changes are made periodically to the curricula. These changes may not be reflected in this Catalog. Students are encouraged to visit the website and the student handbook for current information.
All nursing and health science students participating in any clinical/practicum placement will be required to participate in a background check at the time of admission or first clinical/practicum course. Drug screens are also required of all nursing students. If the student is unable to pass or successfully appeal a negative background check, he/she will not be able to continue in the course and the program. Inability to participate in clinical/practicum experiences will force withdrawal from nursing or health science programs.
Students are expected to have basic computer skills upon entering the College. If not, students can take a computer literacy course to count for general education elective credit.
With the exception of NURS 2990 or 3990, students in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences may not use courses taken on a pass/fail basis to satisfy degree requirements.
Incomplete Grades: Please refer to the Academic Policies, Registration, and Records section of this Catalog for an explanation of incomplete grades.
To remain in good academic standing, undergraduate students must maintain a cumulative CU grade point average of 2.0 or better for all courses attempted. In addition, no course grade below a C- is applicable to the degree program. For nursing students, no course grade below a C is allowed if the course is a required health science or nursing course.
Students may be placed on academic probation if their CU GPA falls below 2.0 or if they receive a grade below a C in required health science or nursing courses for the first time. They may continue with required courses unless the failed course/courses are prerequisites for upcoming courses. In that case, the failed course/courses must be repeated prior to progressing. If the failed course/courses are general education courses, the students must meet with the Advisor in Academic Advising to create a plan for future success. Students may remain on academic probation for a maximum of three semesters. If, by the end of their third semester of probation, their CU GPA has not been raised to 2.0 or better, they will be subject to suspension from the College. Note: For Nursing, please consult the Nursing Student Handbook policies.
Students may be placed on academic probation if their CU GPA falls below 2.0 or if they received a grade below a C- in required health science courses for the first time. They may continue with required courses unless the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- are prerequisites for upcoming courses. In that case, the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- must be repeated prior to progressing. If the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- are general education courses, the students must meet with the Advisor in Academic Advising to create a plan for future success. Students may remain on academic probation for a maximum of three semesters. If, by the end of their third semester of probation, their CU GPA has not been raised to 2.0 or better, they will be subject to suspension from the College.
Students in the Nutrition Option may be placed on academic probation if their CU GPA falls below 2.8 or if they receive a grade below a C- in any required courses for the first time. They may continue with required courses unless the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- are prerequisites for upcoming courses. In that case, the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- must be repeated prior to progressing. If the course/courses in which they received a grade below a C- are general education courses, the students must meet with the Advisor in Academic Advising to create a plan for future success. Students may remain on academic probation for a maximum of two semesters. If, by the end of their second semester of probation, their CU GPA has not been raised to 2.8 or better, they will be subject to suspension from the College.
Unsatisfactory clinical performance may result in student clinical probation. The student must consistently improve all clinical performance ratings to satisfactory by the date determined by the clinical faculty member to pass the course. It is possible to receive a failing grade in clinical without having previously been placed on probation. Clinical failure constitutes failure of the entire course, regardless of academic scores on theory content.
Students must maintain a “C” (74%) or better in all required nursing courses. Students with one course failure (this applies only to NURS XXXX, non-elective, 3 credit or greater classes), including failures related to safety or professional conduct in any undergraduate nursing option, can no longer progress in the nursing program. If students incur a course failure they may appeal once through the Admissions and Progressions Committee for continuation in the nursing program.
All first and second year courses must be completed before progressing to NURS 3100 or NURS 3200.
Receiving a grade below a C- for two required health sciences core and/or specialty courses of two credits or greater will result in dismissal from the College. Students may petition in writing to the Department Chair for re-admission to the College within 30 calendar days. Dismissal from the Health Sciences Program does not imply dismissal from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
Students who have a previous conviction for a felony as well as some misdemeanors may not be eligible to be placed in clinical assignments and may be ineligible for a license as a Registered Nurse in Colorado, even if they complete a degree in nursing. A Background Check Policy is provided in the Beth-El Nursing Student Handbook and on the Beth-El Nursing webpage. Contact the Colorado State Board of Nursing for additional information prior to application to Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Students who meet admission criteria are admitted into the Nursing program under Nursing Prep. Nursing Prep students complete general education requirements.
There are limited clinical facilities in Colorado Springs, which limits how many students we can accept into clinical courses. Students in the Nursing Prep major are expected to complete all first level courses maintaining a GPA of 3.0. Individual progress will be reviewed every semester by the Academic Advisor. Once the student has completed the first level courses with a GPA of 3.0, the student should contact the Academic Advisor in Academic Advising to apply to the nursing major.
The Admission Assessment Exam tests the course material the student has completed during the first level course work. The admission committee will review all applicants at that time to determine who will be accepted as a nursing major. Students who are accepted as a nursing major will start their second year course work and continue to progress through the curriculum. Those students who are not selected for admission may change their major to another field of study, apply to another school, or choose to apply the following semester. Students are only allowed to apply twice and will be considered along with all of the other students applying with no preferential consideration because they are seeking admission again. Due to the limited number of clinical spots available, selection will be determined based on GPA and grade on the Admission Assessment Exam. More than four years may be required to complete the program. Nursing Prep students must meet with their Academic Advisor prior to registration for any semester.
If a Nursing Prep or Nursing Intent Student opts to take a NURS XXXX course prior to admission to a Traditional Clinical BSN seat and earns a C- or lower, the student’s performance will be considered during the final selection process and may jeopardize the student’s standing in the application cohort.
The Admission Assessment Exam tests the course material the student has completed during the first level course work. The Admissions and Progressions Committee will review all applicants at that time to determine who will be accepted as a nursing major. Admission eligibility to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs does not constitute a guarantee of enrollment in any specific nursing program.
Students who have completed a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field may be eligible to apply for the accelerated BSN program. The cumulative GPA must be at least 2.5 or higher and a passing score on the Admission Assessment Exam in order to be considered for this program. All required general education, pre-requisite courses and degrees must be completed by the end of the fall semester of the application year. Contact [email protected] for specific information.
A registered nurse with an associate degree or diploma can choose the RN to BSN curriculum option. Beth-El participates in the Colorado articulation plan which facilitates mobility from one educational program to another. Each student will have variations in the plan due to completion of course work prior to entering Beth-El or due to scheduling variation (full-time or part-time). RN students are advised to apply to the nursing program prior to completion of general education requirements. Include a copy of RN License with application and a letter from the clinical manager stating that the applicant has completed 1,000 clinical hours in the last 3 years. If the applicant is within 3 years of graduation a letter is not necessary. This program is offered online; pre-requisites are not necessarily offered online.
The Dual Enrollment is for students who are currently enrolled in a Colorado associate degree nursing program. After completing first semester courses, the individual may apply to start course work towards a bachelor’s degree in nursing while completing their associate degree in nursing. Dual Enrollment requires a cumulative 2.5 GPA and letter of support from a faculty member within the student’s current nursing program stating that the student is in good standing.
Freshmen applicants whose records vary in any way from the above admissions criteria will be considered on an individual basis by evaluation of their overall academic records including (a) the quality of their high school program of study; (b) the level of their college entrance test scores (SAT or ACT); and (c) any information unique to an individual situation.
Students not admitted directly into the College of Nursing and Health Sciences may still be admitted to UCCS under the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Pre-Health Care program. Freshmen admitted to the Pre-Health Care program may apply to transfer to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences once 30 credit hours have been completed at UCCS with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. Students entering UCCS as freshmen may apply to transfer to the Nutrition Option in Health Sciences once 30 credit hours of courses have been completed at UCCS with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better. Contact the Academic Advisor in Academic Advising for details. Students who have completed 60 or more credits at UCCS without achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better are no longer eligible for admission to Health Sciences. Students who have completed 60 or more credits at UCCS without achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better are no longer eligible for admission to the Nutrition Option in Health Sciences.
Admission eligibility to the University of Colorado does not constitute a guarantee of enrollment in any specific health care science program.
This upper division completion option is available for students who have completed training in allied health areas such as radiation technology, dental hygiene, medical technician, paramedic, respiratory therapy, etc. Students must complete a certificate or an associate’s degree in an allied health area from an accredited program other than UCCS that includes at least 40 training credit hours in order to complete the porfolio requirement of this option. Since this is a completion option, students are not admitted to this option as freshman.
Students who have attended a collegiate institution other than CU may apply as transfer students if they have completed 24 credit hours of transferable college level work. Applicants for the nursing program must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Transfer students must be in good standing and eligible to return to all institutions previously attended. While transferability of credit is determined by the Admissions Office, final application to the degree program is determined by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Students who meet admission criteria are admitted into the Nursing program under Nursing Prep. Students who are admitted to the Nursing Preparation Program with a 3.0 GPA must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Once the first level course work is completed with a 3.0 GPA, they may apply for admission to the nursing program as a nursing major.
Students who have attended a collegiate institution other than UCCS or who have been admitted to a different college within UCCS may apply to transfer into the Health Sciences program once 30 credit hours have been completed with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better. Students who have completed 30 or more credits at UCCS without achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if additional hours may be completed before they are no longer eligible for admission to Health Sciences. While transferability of credits is determined by the Office of Admissions, final application to the degree program is determined by the Department of Health Sciences.
Students who have attended a collegiate institution other than UCCS, or who have been admitted to a different college within UCCS, may apply to transfer into the Nutrition Option in the Health Sciences program once 30 credit hours have been completed at UCCS with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better and their cumulative GPA, including transfer courses, is 2.8 or better. Students who have completed 30 or more credits at UCCS without achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or better will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if additional hours may be completed before they are no longer eligible for admission to the Nutrition option in Health Sciences. While transferability of credits is determined by the Office of Admissions, final application to the degree program is determined by the Department of Health Sciences.
Students who have attended a collegiate institution other than UCCS or who have been admitted to a different college within UCCS may apply to transfer into the Allied Health Completion Option in the Health Sciences program once 30 credit hours have been completed with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better AND their allied health portfolio has been approved by the Department of Health Sciences. Students who have completed 30 or more credits at UCCS without achieving a cumulative GPA of 2.5 will no longer be eligible for admissions to Health Sciences due to ongoing inability to meet the academic standard for admission Students who have completed 30 or more credits at UCCS without meeting the academic standard for admission to Health Sciences can request a review of their academic record on a case-by-case basis to determine if additional hours may be completed to try and meet the academic standard for admission to Health Sciences. While transferability of credits is determined by the Office of Admissions, final application to the degree program is determined by the Department of Health Sciences.
Students who were previously admitted into the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences and who must reapply, must meet the admission criterion of a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. If no clinical courses have been completed, students will be readmitted into Nursing Prep to complete general education requirements and await availability of clinical spot. If clinical courses have been completed, assessment of clinical skills may be required with determination of clinical placement based upon the assessment and availability of clinical spot.
The Extended Studies Program for the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, BEES, provides a variety of accessible educational opportunities in traditional and non-traditional formats with a focus on career development as well as advancement and enhancement of personal knowledge and professional experience. Additionally, BEES offers the acquisition of additional university credit for licensure, certification, and re-certification purposes. Many BEES credit classes are transferable to UCCS degree programs.
BEES serves as an educational outreach arm to the communities and individuals it serves, with on-campus, online and hybrid course formats. Courses are offered for both semester-hour credit and continuing educational units. Students benefit from outstanding instruction and the experience of participating in a university environment, whatever their educational background or experience. BEES also administers the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) education, RN-Refresher, Spanish/English Medical Interpreter, Community Paramedic, and Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) programs.
BEES is a self-funded program and part of the Colorado Statewide Extended Campus. Contact by phone at (719) 255-4651 or by email at [email protected]. Additional program information and a list of current courses may be found at http://www.uccs.edu/bees.
Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences offers four levels of certificate programs: Professional Development Non-Credit, Undergraduate, Graduate, and Post-Master’s Certificates.
Students with master’s degrees in nursing may apply for these certificate programs: family, adult/gerontology, and nursing education. Please request information from the College.
Certificate programs can be taken through the College department of Extended Studies. | 2019-04-22T18:33:36Z | http://catalog.uccs.edu/content.php?catoid=11&navoid=588 |
In general when I'm at work, I'll go for the salad bar if there is one available, it seems to be the only thing that stops me from falling asleep in the afternoon. That and soup, but in the last few years, I've not had any luck with restaurant soups, so generally opt for safety and avoid them. Where I work at the moment, the salad bar has ups and downs. On a good day (and this happens about every other week or so), one of the salads offered is roast cauliflower with peppers of different colours, salted gherkins, olives and sun dried tomatoes. This is absolutely yummy, and the other salad eaters agree, since this salad is usually one of the first to run out. I'd been racking my brain on how they do it, simple though as it is, now that I've sussed it.
And I did suss it thanks to realising the other day that it's been ages since I read the lovely Green Kitchen Stories blog, so I decided to catch up and spotted a salad with roasted cauliflower. I feel a bit embarrassed not having thought about it on my own. Thus step one - roast the cauliflower. It appears this year is a bad one for these wonderful vegetables, they are very small, so I ended up buying two.
Before preparing the cauliflower, pre-heat the grill to 220 °C.
Remove all the greenery, cut up into florets and washed them.
Then lay them out on a shallow baking tray with a lip and brush generously with olive oil and sprinkle some salt or Vegeta.
It may help to also get your hands dirty and move the cauliflower around to get the pieces really well coated with the oil.
Place under the grill for 20 - 25 minutes and stir a couple of times during roasting. They just need to start softening somewhat and go brown and crunchy here and there, but not mushy.
Set aside to chill and store in the fridge. Mix in with your green salad.
This turned out to be quite a bit hit with Lundulph as well, even though he wasn't sure when he had a sniff of the cauliflower in the container where I'd put it. I'm not entirely sure what he was talking about, I didn't find the smell unpleasant, but cauliflower is a member of the cabbage family, I'm guessing there was some hint of fart.
I had intended to also do the tahini dressed chick peas, but I had plans already for my second tub of yoghurt and decided to leave them for another time.
What was left of the cauliflowers a couple of days later, I reheated with a covering of kashkaval - a Bulgarian yellow cheese, which was also extremely tastry.
When I went to Sweden just after Easter, my friend Nana invited us over for dinner - her Mum was visiting and so it was a good thing to meet up. As usual they'd prepared a fabulous spread, among everything else, a large bowl of what is called Snezhanka or dry tarator. And Nana's Mum makes the best one I've ever had and I've not been able to work out how, but today I decided to give it a go. It's not something my Mum has in her repertoire oddly enough, I'm guessing it's not something that my parents like.
A note on the name - Snezhanka is the Bulgarian name for Snow White fairy tale. Dry tarator is perhaps a more suitable name, given that the ingredients are almost the same.
Place two layers of cheese cloth in a sieve and place it over a large bowl. Spoon the yoghurt into the cheese cloth and leave for 5 - 6 h to strain as much as posible of the whey. Stir the yoghurt a few times while it's straining.
Chop the gherkins as finely as possible and place them in a bowl along with the strained youghurt, the dill, mayonnaise and salt.
Stir through to combine well and chill until needed.
The mayonnaise is a bit of an after-thought. I did try to find recipes on the internet, but none seemed to be quite right - some had fresh cucumbers, some used a 50-50 mixture of fresh cucumbers and pickled gherkins. Many added lemon juice or vinegar, which perhaps would be needed only if the yoghurt is on the sweet side. The one I got hold of this time was very close to what you get in Bulgaria, so quite sharp.
The tarator also calls for garlic - I skipped this as Lundulph seems to be struggling with it lately. And what I ended up with was something very sour, thus I squirted in a lot of mayonnaise, which mellowed the whole thing somewhat and after discussing with my Mum and asking her to chase up Nana's Mum's recipe, she did comment that mayonnaise might be the key ingredient here.
I discovered that it was rather tasty with Swedish smörgåsrån - thin wheat wafers that are normally served on a cheese tray. Lundulph thought it worked fairly OK with hot smoked salmon.
The interesting part of the recipe was the straining of the yoghurt. I've never done this before, they sell strained Greek youghurt in my local supermarket, but there had been a massive run on yoghurt and there was only the fat-free stuff left. There's no way I'll buy that. It's amazing how much whey there is.
As it turned out, I've run out of cheese cloth - I only had small pieces left and they were all pink from last year's egg paining. So straining the yoghurt was a bit of a challenge, but it worked.
Anyway, overall this experiment was not a success, but we've almost finished the dry tarator. Hopefully I'll get hold of Nana's Mum's recipe and have better success with that.
Update 2016-09-07: My Mum kindly spoke with Nana's Mum about the fabulous dry tarator she makes and indeed, a less "mature" yogurt should be used, i. e. one that's freshly made and thus not as sour in flavour as the one I used. Next is to use fresh cucumbers, not pickle ones. But they must be de-seeded or the straining of the yoghurt will have been in vain. Finally, a lot of walnuts, very finely chopped will help balance the flavours. So I'll need to experiment further still.
Despite my disappointment at the Petit Antoine, I was still riding high on inspiration from the Bakeoff: Creme de la Creme, and went for another technically difficult challenge, one that's tricky to pronounce even.
But, I decided to cheat and use filo pastry, rather than make it from scratch. I wasn't able to find any information if this was a reasonable substitute or not. I'll need to try out the real dough as well to be able to comment, but in all, there was still a lot of work to do, even without making the dough from scratch, again for something that's not very impressive, tasty though as it was.
The base recipe I used can be found here. I only used the butter/lard mixture and the filling parts.
Whisk together the butter and lard to a fluffy homogeneous mixture.
Depending on the shape of the filo pastry, cut if necessary to get rectangles with the short side being about 20 cm. Stack the rectangles and cover with cling film.
Starting with one sheet, spread some of the grease mixture over it, overlap with a second sheet about 2 - 3 cm along the longer side and grease it up as well.
Roll up from the short side,trying to roll as tightly as possible without breaking the filo sheets, massaging any air bubbles gently from the middle and towards the edges.
When you have about 5 cm left on the second sheet, overlap with a third sheet, grease up and roll up.
Grease up the outside of the roll, again trying to push any air bubbles out to the edges. Then wrap in double layers of cling film and chill in the fridge at least overnight. Save the left-over grease.
On the next day, place the milk and sugar in a large saucepan and bring to the boil and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Turn the heat down to low, then slowly add the semolina and flour, stirring quickly and constantly to avoid lumps and continue until the mixture is thick like porridge, about 2 minutes.
Pour out the porridge onto the prepared baking tray and spread out as evenly as possible, to speed up cooling.
Once the porridge has cooled down, transfer it to a mixing bowl, it'll break up into pieces, that's OK.
Add the egg, vanilla, ricotta and cinnamon and whisk to combine well.
At the end, stir in the lemon zest and transfer the mixture into a piping bag. At this point it can be stored in the fridge until required (~ 3 days or so), but bring to room temperature before using.
Take out the filo roll from the fridge. Trim the edges to get them even, then cut the roll into 2 cm thick rounds. If you trimmed the edges thinly, they can be combined into one round as well.
Take each round and holding it with the fingers of both hands, gently use your thumbs to push the inner layers so that a cone forms.
Pipe ricotta-porridge into the cone to the point where the cone edges can be brought together, but without pinching together.
Place on a baking tray and brush some more of the grease mixture on top.
Make sure they have enough space to expand and bake for about 25 minutes until deep golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool somewhat. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Store in an air-tight container, however the pastries will go soft due to the filling.
From the amount of filo pastry, I got 8 sfogliatelle and had more than half of the ricotta porridge left over, I've frozen it and I think it would work nicely in filo pastry, but folded up like a samosa.
Lundulph thought they were way too crispy when we had them on the day of baking and said the second day was better, when the filo pastry had softened somewhat. I didn't mind either.
The season for family birthdays is beginning, and since I'm still feeling inspired by the Bakeoff: Creme de la Creme, I decided to try my hand at one of the many miniature layered cakes that were made. Searching for the recipe, I was a bit sad that I couldn't find the ones used in the competition online. The explanation is that there is a book with every recipe out. Needless to say, it's on my Christmas list.
But I did find a recipe for this very pretty looking pastry. It's in French, so I ran it through Google translate, which was great fun and I heartily recommend it for a really good laugh. But by flicking between the translation and the original version, I worked out what should be done. There are a lot of parts to prepare, but several of them can be done well in advance. In particular the ganache needs to rest for 24 h at least, so some planning is called for.
Place a sheet of baking paper (not wax) on a heat-proof surface.
Starting with the hazelnut praline, place the sugar in a thick-bottomed saucepan with the water, stir through to mix only. Shake the saucepan once the sugar starts bubbling.
When the sugar starts getting colour, add the hazelnuts and stir through to get them coated. You will need to be quick, so the hazelnuts don't burn.
As soon as the hazelnuts start getting colour, pour them onto the baking paper and spread to help cool down quicker.
Once cooled down, place in a blender and whizz until it's turned into powder.
Transfer immediately to an airtight container. It makes more than is required for the pastry.
Scald the double cream under constant stirring to prevent it from burning. Once it starts bubbling, pour over the chocolate and stir through to get fully mixed.
Cover with cling film and allow to cool down to room temperature, then chill in the fridge for 24 h.
At this point, you need to decide what shape the cake should have. The original recipe suggests a rectangular form of 20 x 30 cm and the amounts are adjusted for this. I didn't have this, so decided to use my 8 small (7cm) food rings and my 2 large ones (15 cm) instead. I prepared two sheets with baking paper and drew circles of the rings on the underside, spaced about 2 cm apart.
Place the whole hazelnuts in a food processor together with a couple of table spoons of the icing sugar and grind as finely as possilble.
Sift the hazelnut flour, returning any remaining pieces to the food processor, adding some more icing sugar and blending again. If there's any icing sugar left, sift it into the mixture and set aside.
Place the whites in a clean glass or metal bowl and whisk until stiff peaks, then add the caster sugar in three parts, so the meringue goes glossy.
Carefully fold in the ground hazelnut mixture, followed by the chopped blanched hazelnuts.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C and prepare a piping bag with a wide round nozzle, transfer the meringue mixture into it and quickly pipe circles onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake each sheet for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before prising off the baking paper. If you're preparing these in advance, place all in an airtight container as soon as possible, so they don't start picking up moisture from the air. The dacquoise will be a bit sticky, so cut up the baking paper and use as spacer between each circle, to prevent them from sticking together.
Chop finely both types of chocolate and place in a heat-proof bowl.
Place the whipping cream in a large saucepan and scald.
While the cream is heating up, whip the yolks and sugar in another heat-proof bowl, until they are pale yellow and fluffy.
As soon as the cream bubbles, pour over the chopped chocolates and stir through to melt them and incorporate into the custard.
Cover the surface with cling film and leave to cool down to room temperature, then refrigerate until required.
Finely chop the chocolate and carefully melt it in the microwave, a few seconds at a time and stir through between each wizz.
Mix in the praline, followed by the cornflakes.
Spread the crunchy praline base mixture at the bottom of your chosen shapes and press down firmly. You should have about 0.5 - 0.8 cm thickness.
Brush a thin layer of chocolate custard over the base.
Trim the dacquoise to suitable size and gently press it down on top.
Distribute the rest of the chocolate custard over each piece, it should be about 1 cm thick.
Cover the pastries with cling film and freeze for 2 - 3 h at least.
When ready to serve, remove the pastries from their shapes and place on plates.
Put the chocolate ganache in a piping bag with a star nozzle and pipe some swirls on each pastry.
Well, gorblimey, so much effort for something not that successful, even if it was fairly tasty. I can only conclude that the amounts given have been badly scaled down from a more industrial level. There must have been typos for sure, in particular for the crunchy praline base, because there is no way I would have managed to get anything near a mixture that would stick together if I'd followed the given amounts. Besides, as it was the last thing I prepared, I was low on chocolate, so didn't have a choice in reducing the amounts of the other ingredients.
The custard was far from enough for the number of dacquoise rounds and I ended up with the two larger pastries uncovered. I also ended up freezing the whole pastries overnight, which I'm not sure was the idea originally, but I wouldn't have had time to put the pastries together on the day. The custard didn't set as I'd expected it either, so just as well and because there was so much sugar everywhere, nothing really froze very solid. The coldness took the edge off the sweetness too. Hopefully the recipes in the book are better than this one. The only thing I liked was the fact that this recipe stated the percentage of cocoa mass in the chocolates. I've read that professional recipes do that, as it can make quite a difference, but I'd never encountered this before.
The individual elements are interesting though - starting with the praline - I've had this on ice cream and cakes in patisseries and always wondered how they get the hazelnuts to taste like that. Now I know - they're coated in caramel. So a good thing to have for sprinkling on all sorts of desserts.
Next the milk chocolate ganache - I didn't expect it would work with these proportions and I think chilling for 24 h helped make it stiff enough to pipe. It was a good contrast colour-wise to the dark chocolate custard. But it's key that this is done with chocolate milk, dark chocolate won't work in the same way. I really should do a bit more experimentation with ganache and write up an entry about it, one for the types of chocolate I can get hold of in my local supermarket.
The custard I didn't like at all, I think the one I made the other week, was miles ahead, I shouldn't even make this comparison.
The dacquoise was really tasty and would have been fine on its own, as small soft/chewy cakes, dipped in dark chocolate possibly, so also a keeper. Would possibly also work as a cake base, as long as it's not built too high up and using light fillings inside.
The crunchy base is something I'll leave for now, I really don't know what it was supposed to be like. Admittedly the original recipe called for something called "Feuilletine", which appears to be caramel flavoured thin brittle flakes of some sort. Not something I'd come across, but a quick search on the internet seemed to indicate that cornflakes would be a reasonable swap. | 2019-04-19T06:54:48Z | http://caramellacooks.blogspot.com/2016/08/ |
I've never really considered myself an "emotional" person. For a female, I'm pretty even tempered. I was raised in a house of brothers. Emotions were pointless. We never discussed big stuff unless it was of the spiritual nature. I understood perfectly how the spiritual world worked. You go through something - you give it to God and you wait. You have a problem with someone - you give it to God and you move on. You feel heavy, burdensome stuff - you give it to God and you get relief. He will handle it. And there is some serious comfort in that simplicity. I saw God take problems and turn them around. I saw us run out of money time and time again and miraculously someone would show up to pay Dad back for a time he loaned money to them. Or a bank error was adjusted and suddenly we had groceries. My parents (more times than I can count) gave us their last $20 to hitch a ride with friends to attend a feastmeeting revival with our church. I'm not sure what they would stay home with - I guess the food in the house. Point being, God ruled our house and He was the most important. As I raise my family and make the important decisions, I'm so incredibly thankful for that example. It has led me well through this life.
What we didn't do was have the hard conversations. We didn't discuss our feelings. I didn't know how to process other than to give it to God. That's fine but what about the feelings? Feelings of loss, regret, guilt, anger? How do you reconcile it? How do you talk it through with yourself? What is ok? Can you get angry and yell? Can you cry in front of people or is that showing that you are not giving it to God? I still can't cry in front of people. When talking about God, no problem. He moves me to tears often. When talking about my mom who I see leaving me a little each day - I can't do it. By myself, the tears flow. Right now, no problem even though I know people will be reading this. I have to be vulnerable. I have to take time to feel. I have to take time to let it out. Otherwise it bottles up and comes out in other ways. It's ok to cry. It's ok to be sad. It won't last all day. I'm always scared to fall apart because I won't get it back together and I have too much to do. Ain't nobody got time for that. Not true. You will heal a little at a time and the healing is the balm.
Alzheimers is so hard to watch in a loved one. I hear, "enjoy every moment", "cherish these times", "she still knows you - that's good" but when your mom can't go to the bathroom without your help or she begs you to let her help you knowing she can't follow through on anything you ask her to do - it's so incredibly hard. I give her laundry to fold and she may get the towels right but she balls up everything else. It's ok. I gave it to her because she so desperately wants to feel important. Feel significant. I talk about things that she does remember, funny moments that she recently laughed about knowing that soon she won't remember those either. There will be a blank look when I mention it. I want to scream - how can I enjoy these moments??? How can I cherish this time??? How do you mourn someone who is still right in front of you? Nothing is put to rest. If you are going through this, you are not alone. I get it.
Why am I putting all this out there? Because when I feel, you feel. When you feel we connect. When we connect we help each other. I know the purpose of my life is to help people. I know it to the core of my being. In order to help people I have to be real. I have to be vulnerable. I have to show my weakness. I will, one day, cry in front of you. Maybe not today, but one day. And it will be ok. Emotions are a part of health and not all emotions feel good. But healing does and letting out those emotions offers healing.
Psa 61:2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Almond milk may be cheaper from the store rather than making your own if you are willing to give up control. Here's the how to make your own. I add dates to the blender when blending the almonds instead of sweeten after. You can buy a large bag of almonds at Costco and it might help make it cheaper to make your own.
What seeds need to be soaked for the next day? Get that going.
The energy soup (for me and Cliff) requires two runs of the blender so it's easiest to do that the night before.
Put the Omega juicer together the night before so it's ready for wheatgrass the next morning. It's the only juicer that can do wheat grass along with everything else. Anyone want a used Jack LaLanne juicer?
Have the blender ready for the kids' smoothies. It's the only chance I get to hide kale in their diet. Lucky for me it works!
Fill up my water bottle with filtered water and lemon slices to drink first thing. Here's 10 Reasons you can benefit too.
Drink my lemon water for all the reasons in #5 above.
Juice wheat grass into shots for me and Cliff. Here's 50 reasons you can benefit too.
Down my E3 live (uck) quickly then onto the energy soup which after the E3 tastes amazing!
A good, raw dressing or if ultra short on time just thin out your favorite hummus with water and use that as a creamy dressing.
Veggie Kraut - here's more info on how to make this fermented food that is great for gut health. I bought a kit similar to this one so I can make my own. It lasts 6 months in the fridge.
Zucchini noodle dishes. I posted this recipe for an alfredo sauce that we used the last time we went raw. We also made this amazing spicy spaghetti sauce which is very similar to this recipe only we added a cup of soaked cashews to make it creamier. If you have the sauce done ahead of time then when you get home just spiralize a zucchini and add the sauce and dinner is done!
Romaine leaves sandwiches - fill it with chopped veggies and hummus or nut cheeses. My favorite nut cheese recipe comes from the cookbook This Cheese is Nuts by Julie Piatt. Someone posted the recipe here and it works GREAT in a lettuce wrap with veggies and sprouts.
Recipes from the online ebook on this website are also very good. You can purchase and download. This was the raw restaurant we went to in Atlanta that was so amazing!
Some of the days include 20% cooked vegan and we throw in some quinoa onto our salad or have a half of a japanese sweet potato for dessert. After avoiding sugar for so long, I promise the sweet potato tastes like pound cake!
So far I have sprouted mung beans, wild rice and organic red hard wheat berries for wheat grass. I'll have to take pictures and post in a separate blog for the how to. I find that it's very hard to explain without pics. The wild rice just needed to soak and split then it could be used on salads. The mung beans just needed to sprout small tails and they were ready to eat. The wheat berries have to be put on soil to grow the grass but I'm still researching the best method and will post when I know more.
For now, continue to follow the Journey to Incredible Health page for more pics and details and I'll be back with more info soon! Thanks for checking in!
One of many colorful salads I get to eat these days. That stuff on the carrots is the Almond cheddar cheese that is AMAZING! Recipe above!
I didn’t post about the last two days of the trip to LivingFoods Institute mainly because I haven’t had time and I’m trying to listen to my body. I find that I can tend to use this blog as validation that people like me (which when I say it out loud sounds crazy) but it can fill my need for acceptance. We all have that need so I’m not apologizing for it, I’m just recognizing that my strategy for filling that need can get overwhelming if I don’t have time to post. It’s not more important than my need for family time, rest or being present in the moment. Yes, this is stuff I learned this week that I will share in another post.
Others in class had phenomenal stories. They recorded the testimonies and as soon as I get the YouTube link I will share it. Across the board, everyone was in less pain, sleeping better, better focused and more energy. One 82 year old grandma was hobbling in on a cane and by the end of the second day she left it at the clinic by accident. By the end of the week she was walking stairs without assistance. Everyone’s tastes had changed and carrots were sweeter, their bodies craved energy soup and they were excited about their new lease on life.
What are we eating daily? I know I have posted pics but I’m not sure I’ve been clear on what a day looks like.
First thing, Wheat grass shot – an effective healer because it contains all minerals known to man, vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, I and K. It is extremely rich in protein and contains 17 amino acids, the building blocks of protein. It also contains up to 70% chlorophyll, which is an important blood builder.
I added in a shot of E3 Live Blue Green Algae (just a TB) which contains high concentrations of protein, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, boosts and balances immune system and fights inflammation.
Energy soup for breakfast and throughout the day whenever I’m hungry. It’s a blend of 5 c water, ½ green apple, handful of sprouts, ½ avocado, 1 TB dulse flakes and as many greens as can fit in the blender (4 cups at least). If you are trying to make your own ask me about the sprouts first. It all depends on what is in your stores. The first 2 days are the hardest.
Lunch and dinner is something raw with living foods (sprouts) added. Yesterday I made the spicy kale salad I posted a few days ago and dinner was salad with zucchini noodles and spicy spaghetti sauce. Cliff was pleasantly surprised at how good everything was.
I’m avoiding all sugar including honey, agave, etc. I’m trying to lower the candida so no sweet fruits which limit me to green apples and berries. After the first two days my body calmed down on the sweet fruits. Now the ones I can eat are plenty sweet.
What about grains? There are some grains you can eat raw like oats (soaked in nut milk – which I learned how to make!) and wild rice which you can soak overnight and eat. I’m sure there are others I’ll discover.
After 90 days you go 80/20 – 80% raw/living and 20% cooked vegan which essentially is the Whole Food Plant Based lifestyle. What’s the deal with cooked? Depending on how you cook the food you can cook out all the good nutrients.
Bear in mind there is more to healing than the food – there is the importance of a clean, healthy colon which needs to be addressed especially if you are fighting any disease. Grab Brenda Cobb’s book The Living FoodsLifestyle for more details on her protocol. There’s also the emotional work that may need to be done if you have layers of baggage. There’s spiritual work that may need to be done if you do not have an experience with God. Connecting with your community is a huge benefit. All of this works together to bring about healing and what I call incredible health.
So what happens when you get home? What does the day to day look like? I wanted to wait to write this until a few days after returning home so I could be realistic. As most of you know, we went raw in April of 2016 for 21 days because I blogged about it. The juicing and smoothies were incredibly time consuming. This go around we are not juicing. The “energy soup” is essentially a smoothie and what we make lasts all day. The only prep work is the two other raw meals. Because I came home on a Sunday night, breezed through Whole Foods, came home unpacked and cleaned up – this is not your typical week. We are also heading to Huntsville as I write for an all-day field trip. Luckily I made salads yesterday that we could take and I’ve packed fruits and cut veggies. I’m sure we will grab a salad on the way home. Doable. A little time consuming yesterday but typically I would have more time to prepare for the week. I’ll be posting how to manage it all as I go forward. I may do some challenges on my facebook page so keep watch for that if you want to try this for yourself.
I’ll continue to post about our progress. Cliff is going to be joining me at his convenience. One of the things I learned was “I release everyone else to their own journey” which surprisingly gives me much relief. I can't change anybody. Who knew? So my brothers can find comfort in knowing I’m not coming after you! Not yet anyway!
This pic was significant because the first day I could barely choke down a mug of energy soup by lunch. Here I'm downing a quart before 9 while juicing wheat grass for the class. I got this!
Pretty medicine from planet Earth!
Vege Kraut. Yea it takes a special love but it's doable.
Sweet Julie who helped me in so many ways!
And I can't forget Lacey! She was my walking companion each night .I rented a room from her owner and she expected me to grab the leash as soon as I got home!
So far this week I have had really good energy but this afternoon I hit a wall (no, Noah not literally). So much information, detoxing the body, emotional baggage being unpacked..often. It's an amazing experience and I appreciate everyone who is keeping my life at home together while I'm here. Especially my husband. My best friend, love of my life, leader of our family and wonderful father of my children. I couldn't do this without his love and support.
SO what all have I learned the last two days? The more I learn about the human body the more amazed I am at God's creation. I knew the bottom of feet had points that meant stuff but I had never had a reflexology treatment before so I had not seen it firsthand. If you are not familiar with it, click on this link for more info. Basically points on your feet are connected to every organ in your body. A reflexology therapist can push on these points and determine if any of your organs could use some attention. Certain areas of the foot can be pressed on to relieve sinuses, headaches, back and neck pain. Super cool stuff. If you have never had it done, highly recommend it!
Soaps or shampoos containing sodium chloride or sodium sulfate.
Make your own lemon oil water (this is used in various recipes) - take a large mason jar and fill with filtered water and organic lemon rinds (after making your own lemon juice for recipes). Let it sit (no lid) for 15 days. Then take out the rinds and you have lemon vinegar.
All purpose cleaner = 1 part water + 1 part lemon vinegar + 2 TB 7th Gen dish soap in a spray bottle. Use on anything but windows.
Hand sanitizer = in small spray bottle use filtered water and 5 drops of Bug Free or Purify essential oil blends (see links to order ingredients) Just spray your hands and let dry. Your bug free spray can act as a bug repellent for outside or inside your home. You can use the oil to repel mosquito for you and your family. Oil can be applied to the back of your dog's neck to repel bugs. Not good for cats.
Carpet and upholstery cleaning = sprinkle borax and baking soda and leave for at least 20 minutes then vacuum. Apply directly to stains and leave overnight then vacuum. Safe if pets walk around on it.
Refresh for mattress (also kills bed bugs) = sprinkle borax and baking soda and leave for at least 20 minutes then vacuum.
Deodorant = in small container mix 1/2 baking soda + 1/2 coconut oil (solid) and mix. Apply to armpits and wipe off with wash cloth or paper towel. Soft and Dry makes an aluminum free deodorant as well.
Veggie and Fruit wash - before you store in the fridge wash your fruit and veggies. Fill a large pot of water and add 1c vinegar. Dip the produce and dry. There may be a different process for herbs. You might have to dry completely then put in a cup of water like you would fresh cut flowers and set in fridge.
Random tip - open windows for 30 minutes a day to air it out.
This has been the day of great change. Remember the Dr Kathryn Lawson that I mentioned yesterday with the cell phone test? The holistic chiropractor? Well she also uses this Bio-Energetic Synchronization Technique known as B.E.S.T. See the link for a complete description. She took some emotions and had me think of what they brought to my mind then helped me release it. She then replaced it with a positive emotion. It was incredible! I felt weights lifted and my mood was so much lighter for the rest of the day. If you are local to Atlanta, I HIGHLY recommend her!
What about my back pain?
Alone. That’s how Satan wants us.
Alone with our own tangled thoughts. Alone with his whispered lies that start to sound more and more like truths. Separated from the very people who could speak courage into our deep places flirting with discouragement and defeat. Separated from friends who could let us stand on their faith when our own gets a little shaky.
The enemy knows if he can isolate us, he can intimidate us. Confuse us. Deceive us. And ultimately, make us believe that the safer paths in life are ones apart from God and our friends who serve God.
Sweet friend, if you have felt isolated recently, I want to encourage you to reach out to that friend who leads you back to God time and time again. If you are longing for a friend like that today, turn toward Jesus. Ask Him to send a godly friend your way.
This lunch was over the top! Spring mix, vegetable salad mix on top, vege kraut, spices, homemade raw crackers from chia seeds and peppers and this unreal homemade guac! We were all in bliss!!
Day 4 is coming to a close. It was an overload of information and exposure to stuff that just blew my little mind! I almost waited too late to write this. Let's see if any of this makes sense.
1. BPA - Do not buy bottles of water from the store - you don't know how long they have been in hot spaces leaching out the BPA into the water. What is BPA? Click on this link.
2. BPS - You can't always trust BPA free stuff because it likely has BPS which is just as harmful. Click on this link for more info.
What to do? To be safe use glass containers to store and reheat food (of course I'm going to find out the microwave is bad too but that's another post). Use glass water bottles for your water and filter your water to drink. To make it alkaline, add a lemon wedge. Otherwise it's acidic. I'm sure I'll learn more on that this week.
2. Fluoride - this one is of great confusion to me. I've been told my teeth look great because I grew up in a city with fluoride in the water. Then we are told to not give kids toothpaste with fluoride in case they swallow it but OH please give your kids fluoride water or tablets. Exhausting. Since I'm no dentist, I'm going to point you to the ones that know stuff... Here's the link. Again you can make the decision for yourself. There are options for fluoride free products. I have started using Tom's toothpaste which is fluoride free. Found at most grocery stores. Or I can make my own. That's for another blog, and probably another level of hippiness.
And if that wasn't exhausting enough then we learn about EMF - your Electro Magnetic Field that is affected by only ALL OF OUR ELECTRONICS!! We have all heard rumors that cell phones and such were harming us but who has time to do the research? Now you don't have to. I saw it for myself. A holistic chiropractor named Kathryn Lawson proved with several students the affect the cell phone had on our bodies if it did not have an EMF shield protecting you. She measured the strength and weakness of their arm raised in front of them. If she could press down and move their arm it was a sign of weakness. If she couldn't move it, it was a sign of strength. If the arm was strong she would hand them the cell phone. What happened? The arm went weak. She would apply the shield to the phone and the arm was strong again. Some people complain of numbness in the arm they are holding their phone. What to do? Get a shield. Not that expensive and then we don't have to worry about it anymore!
That would be nice because all this worrying is exhausting! That's only about half of what I learned today. I had a Mindful session with one of the instructors and it was eye opening. I'm excited for the ways I will be able to lessen my load and make my life and my family life better.
We did have delicious food today and the energy soup has now grown on me. I went in early so I could make the wheat grass shots and drink the soup. I was on a mission to get something in my body.
This is the only pic I have for today. It was our DELICIOUS lunch! It was mixed greens, marinated veggie salad, another salad blend of tomato, cucumber, green onion and kale, THEN on top of that was carrots, sprouts and this amazing avocado dressing. I have learned that putting spices on top of my salad is wonderful - try cumin, nutritional yeast, curry? Whatever you like. Then for dinner I found a raw restaurant that made this amazing kale salad where they only mixed in a bunch of spices and sun dried tomatoes then topped with avocado and tomatoes. They stuff this in a wrap but I just ate it as a salad. I was too excited to eat it and forgot to take a pic! If you are ever in Atlanta you can check it out: Tessilini's Turns out there's a recipe online too! My gift to you! See you tomorrow!
I decided to take the positive road today. I changed my mind. Instead of "ugh" I said "thank you God for healing foods, thank you for the opportunity I have to learn more about the medicine you created naturally for us". I started the minute I woke up. Before downing the first wheat grass shot I thanked God for it's healing effects. I looked at the Energy soup in my mug and thanked God for the rich nutrition we can get from the ground and heal our bodies. My taste changed because my mindset was different. Have you ever offered someone something you like but they weren't sure they would like it? They have a scowl on their face and turn up their nose WHILE they are putting it in their mouth? 99% sure they didn't like it. They made sure of that in their mind before it ever hit their tongue. I know because I've done it myself! If I approach it with a different mindset I might not completely like it but I can appreciate it. Mind over body.
1. Make peace with the feeling. Understand that emotions or feelings are messages from the body telling you what it needs. If it's sadness be ok with the fact that you are sad. That's a BIG one for me. I don't like to be sad. I will push stuff away that make me sad and move on. I see that if I were to be comfortable with it, view it like the video I shared yesterday of the emotions driving around in the car and just be present with them, I won't be afraid to tend to it. I always feel like I need to fix people. My goal is to bring everyone to a level of happiness no matter what they are going through. That's wrong of me. Sometimes the person needs to feel sad, angry, depressed. Their body is conveying a need. Instead (after I figure it out) I can help them see the need so they can address it.
2. Find the need behind the feeling. For example, why are you feeling sad? You need connection with others, you miss something that has been precious to you or maybe you don't know yet and you need to be present with the feeling for a while until you figure it out.
3. Find a strategy or a request to someone to help you fill the need. Same example, you need connection with others - call someone on the phone, ask a friend over for ..coff..(energy soup?), skype some family. You miss something that has been precious to you - pray for God to help you let them go so you can find a new normal or find peace around the loss. In asking for help though, you can not make demands. No more making demands. You do not want the other person to say yes if they don't really want to. They have needs too and they are not responsible for filling your needs as you are not responsible for filling theirs. Not in a selfish way, just in a protective way. If someone needs something from you and you do not have a way to fill their need at the time, tell them you recognize and value their needs and either direct them to someone else who can fill it or make a time for them that allows you to protect your needs.
So much good stuff on this today. There will be another day later in the week where we cover this so I will have more to share.
Yes that's a hairnet. I feel like the lunch lady. Juicing wheat grass so I can have breakfast!
Wheat grass shots ready for the class!
Learned how to grow our own wheat grass!
Maria teaching us how to sprout our own beans and peas. Much easier than expected!
Yesterday's lesson on making our own vege kraut. (Fermented cabbage) MUCH better than expected!
We have been interested in fitness and nutrition for years, following good trends and bad fads. Cliff is a former fat guy now trying to be a fit dad. Denise has a mostly full time job, is a fitness instructor and a Weight Watchers leader. We are also parents of the cutest toddler in the world. | 2019-04-26T06:32:17Z | http://journeytoincrediblehealth.blogspot.com/ |
Hi, guys. As you may have noticed in the comments on this morning’s workwear report, readers are having a great discussion about the comments. I’m writing this post to a) draw the attention of everyone to that discussion (find it here), and b) let you know that I am paying attention and reading every comment about the comments section. We’ve been through a number of commenting lulls in the past 10 years, and I’ve come to view them as a regular and expected part of doing business. That said, we are in a general period of reassessment for the commenting section and the moderation queue, so if there are sites you’d like me to look at that have a robust comment section, I’m happy to add them to the ones I’m studying. (Note that as a WordPress site we are somewhat limited in the comments section possibilities, and a lot of other sites may be running Jetpack, Disqus, or other plugins that aren’t ideal for us — but I’m still happy to take a look at other sites you recommend.) I’d be grateful if you’d comment on this post with a) URLs of sites with commenting sections you love, and b) the reasons you LIKE them.
*Note & Update! If your IP address was previously flagged manually by the editors as belonging for violating our prior commenting policy, until just now you would have STILL gotten caught in the moderation queue even if you followed the above system. At a commenter’s suggestion I’ve DELETED all IP addresses from the moderation queue, so effectively we’re starting with a blank slate as of 11/14/18 at 1:40 PM ET.
As a reminder: Yes, the comments policy is changing, in part due to trolls and other bad actors who were attracted/enabled by our previous policies. (Most of the worst comments were deleted before they ever made it “live,” so the situation may not have seemed that bad from a reader perspective.) If it works out, this current system we’re testing would be ideal because it would allow trusted commenters to get through without moderation yet still stay anonymous, while stopping trolls and others who use anonymizers to get around having their IP flagged.
As always, thank you guys for reading!
I mean, I’m in perma moderation from my usual IP address because occasionally I post as Shots Shots Shots. Which, I happen to think people used to like. Maybe wipe the slate clean since you’re making so many other changes?
You know what, Shots? That’s a great idea, and I just did it — all IP addresses that had been flagged formerly are now deleted from the moderation queue. I’ll update the post.
We have missed you, Madam Shots!
Who doesn’t like Shots, tbh?
Yes! More Shots! My favorite!
The font is too thin for me, though, and it just makes reading more than a couple of lines not very fun and I come here to read the c0mments! (And I’m young-ish and wear computer glasses!) I wish I could highlight all and either Bold the font or choose a different one. (Weirdly, even this font as I type in the box is smaller and a tad easier to read than the ones above that are actually p0sted.) Maybe try Helvetica? Georgia?
I made up an email address and seem to be getting through faster. Maybe just make up the first thing that comes to mind and see if it helps. I, too, am not willing to use a real email address, but do enjoy posting occasionally.
Basically this. I accept that I’ll be stuck in moderation longer if I don’t use an email and I’m fine with that but I’m reading/commenting less because I dislike the thin font and the collapse/expand comments function doesn’t work for me anymore in chrome.
It doesn’t look as good, it’s not as easy to read, and it doesn’t inspire discussion like it used to.
I’m curious on the “the site and comments section doesn’t inspire discussion the way it used to” comments — can you elaborate? are you talking about the posts (which generally deal with evergreen topics so may be repetitive if you’ve been reading for 10 years) or the comment section itself? can you give me an example of a post or comment section that you really felt “inspired discussion”? Not trying to be snarky just trying to understand.
I think anon at 2:21 meant the visual appearance is what is driving down comments. Not her, though, so I may be misinterpreting.
Yes! The font is driving me away and that makes me sad.
The font is so large and hard to read that it’s hard to follow the comments and subcomments threads – you have to scroll way up to reread what something was a response to if you want to reread the context of a reply. This is especially problematic on a phone. I almost never read while waiting in line in a store anymore or any other time I’d be likely to check while on my phone. It’s only bearable to read on desktop and even then it’s so much whitespace my eyes get tired and I’m young.
I also miss the denser layout. It was easier to follow threads and see more on each screen without scrolling. This redesign looks very “clean” but would prefer a font with a bit more weight to it. It does look trendier this way, but most blogs have comment sections comprised solely (or mostly) of people saying banal things to try to get traffic to their own blogs as opposed to a conversation among readers. As far as a specific recommendation, Ask a Manager’s comment section seems pretty good to me.
With the expanded layout, the “collapse/expand” feature is even more important, but it takes me at least two clicks, if not three, to get it to toggle on or off (whether at the top to apply to all, or below an individual comment chain.) I am using the latest version of Chrome. It also only shows the number of immediate-response comments (as opposed to comments further nested in), making it appear when scrolling that a topic is not active / has no new comments since the last visit.
I third needing a heavier font. This one appears almost grey on my screen because it is so thin, and it’s so thin and so hard to read that I have been coming here less frequently to read the comments! Please, please use a font that is thicker/darker so that it is readable.
I also much preferred the previous format where I could read more because the text was denser, but the biggest issue is that this font is incredibly difficult to read.
I actually do like the new *look* but this page is a much more reading-intensive s1te that I visit that the font is not really a good fit. (When you think about the volume, it really adds up to a lot of ‘pages’ if it were a Word doc and that’s too much to read with a font that’s not made for that heavy reading.) If it were a photo-heavy bl0g with the text limited to one-line captions, it would be a different story, but point-blank if the reading is not easy on the eyes, I am less inclined to want to do it. (My job is reading things on the computer all day anyway and I really enjoyed the content here and came here as a little oasis.) Given that the traffic/volume of c0mments seemed to drop off not randomly but pretty much around the re-design, I figured that others felt the same, plus frustration with the time-delay. More eye strain = less reading = less engagement /c0mmenting… which leads to less content to read and c0mment on.
Ok, need to go re-focus my eyes now on something far in the distance!
I definitely agree that the font makes it harder to stay and read awhile. Wasn’t the old font Georgia? It doesn’t need to go back to that exactly, but I do think something thicker or serif-ed would help!
Judge Easterbrook would say Palantino Linotype. I do not think that is necessary, but a tiny bit of seriffing would help the read a lot.
Yeah, I like sans-serif fonts for headlines, but they are really hard on the eyes for longer blocks of text. Especially online.
With all due respect, I don’t think it’s a random lull in the comments. The conversations now are not as dynamic and involved. I’m not as interested as I used to be.
For that reason, I am not only less likely to comment, I’m less likely to click on the s!te to see what’s new. The chances of me providing my highly identifiable email address are nil. I haven’t set up a dummy email address and I’m not sure I want to.
You don’t need to adjust things just for the commenter community. It looks like there has been a real fall off in commenting. I suspect a fall off in s!te visitation will follow if it hasn’t occurred already. Adjustment would be not so much to accommodate the commenter community as it would be to ensure the robust health of your brand and this s!te. I’d love to see that not only because I enjoy the conversations here, but also because I wish you success.
Do you? You have no suggestions to offer?
This is not a comments comment, but one quick redesign note: is there any way to add the “next post” and “previous post” links at the bottom of the comment section too? A lot of times I am catching up on multiple posts and like being able to easily click through to the next (or previous) post from the bottom of the comment section.
Yes I really miss it at the bottom!
FWIW – THANK YOU for moderating the comments if we never saw the “worst” of the trolls! THANK YOU!
+1, thanks for curating the trolls away.
I wonder if the increase in women participating in reddit, and especially if the many facebook groups have become the better option for many women who used to comment here? I find that while I dont have the anonymity in facebook groups, the conversations are more easily searchable and that the reply/tagging features are great. The conversations stay on topic, and people are less likely to act as trolls.
Hmmm.. I think you have a point there. I’m in a paid facebook group on marketing and for some reason even though I want to I can’t cancel my membership… the community has me stuck with the support and everyone rallying behind each other. Not to mention truly helpful advice. When I mentioned in my comment below that women’s website’s disable comments, only some do but most have low engagement. That’s not the case with this site!
I don’t reddit on the regular, but I do appreciate this site for anonymity on the inane. One of my friends replies to a lot of the threads on a blogger community FB page I also follow, and it rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Personally don’t care to have everyone know what wide-width shoes I’m recommending or travel recs I’m making during the workday.
Do people troll less on Facebook? I guess you know better human beings than I do. Facebook moderation is a Sisyphean struggle. And I’m constantly getting PMs from harassers and MLM salespeople from the groups I’m in.
Actually, I think you have one of the most robust and tight-knitch commenting section I’ve found a career professional websites. What is interesting is that the newer popular women’s career websites disable comments. But being part of a thriving community is what has staying power for me as a reader.
I like the way Ask A Manager does it: you cannot be “Anonymous,” but you can also be anything you like.
Ideally, I would like a comment name, but switched up about every six months to make it harder for people to figure out who I am. The value in our discussion comes from personal experiences, but that is also the source of the risk we take in posting.
And just to be totally clear you can STILL be anonymous and you can STILL choose different usernames at will. (Here, I mean.) The only people who see the email addresses are the people on staff here at Corporette.
Thank you for the FWIW comment. I am pretty darn good at internet stalking my dates but hadn’t thought of an easy way to identify frequent commenters. Your note is a good reminder that people can figure out more than you realize with relatively little info.
This is the only comments thread I read (outside of random Reddit lurking). Since the redesign, the comments are harder to skim and read, both on the full site and on mobile. I’m concerned not just the moderation issues, which have been ongoing and definitely need to be addressed, but also the visual presentation of the comments that is pushing down commentary. It’s all too spaced apart to flow well. Try looking to something as well known as Reddit for adjustments.
This is what I was trying to explain above.
Yes, the kerning is hard to read.
Just chiming in to say that I don’t like the redesign, and it makes me check the site less often. I don’t know if I’m a curmudgeon or what, but it feels much harder to read comments quickly and follow threads, and the format looks old to me, like CapHillStyle circle 2015 or something. Font is way too big, takes up way too much space, and generally is just tough to take in. The old format looked dated but was so much more efficient.
+1 You expressed my thoughts much better than I’ve been able to.
I’m sorry to say that I must agree with this comment.
What do you want these committee members to do, exactly?
I don’t even know what you’re requesting, but I think you’re asking too much. It’s the tone of your request, yikes. You word it as if you are not asking for volunteers to do some grunt work but for applicants to award a special honor to … huh?
What? No. I think she was just asking for people to provide input.
Kinda seems like an easy starting point would be to switch back to the old font/spacing at least for the commenting section and see if that drives commenting back up again.
This seems like it would be difficult to implement (going back to the original) but I do think the original/former layout could strongly inform what is wrong with the new look. Crowdsourcing design work seems a bit too much to ask and as a non-design professional, I don’t feel qualified to help. I’d suggest looking for a true design professional for help and improvements.
Yeah, that’s not as simple as it sounds. The old blog was likely built on a different platform altogether, and that’s probably not even an option.
I apologize if my tone came off wrong. This is a common problem on the Internet, which is one of the reasons I’d love to work with Real People on assessing the comments section, testing out tweaks to it so we can identify problems, having an ongoing discussion with a small group of people who understand what have a sense of history of the project and, when giving comments or suggestions, what changes were made previously and what changes were not made previously and why.
Woah! Interesting stats! I’d be willing to participate and will fill out the contact us form.
3. The kerning, line spacing, and amount of white space makes the comments feel more disjointed and hard to follow, especially on small phone screens. While more “modern” it’s not as functional for the goals of this community.
4. The collapse/expand button is, as you’ve noted, not practical the way it currently operates and tallies comments.
First line-LOL. The rest of your comment is a perfect sum up thus far. I do think a committee may be helpful in screening additional adjustments rather than overposting to the whole site.
YES. Cat has nailed all my issues.
Yes! I said this above, too. If you’re scrolling with comments collapsed, there’s no way of knowing that a topic is still active unless there’s a new direct response to the OP.
What about switching to the same font as the logo (but denser)?
I’ve noticed that too — it’s one of the main reasons we’re going back to scratch on the “expand/collapse” design feature.
Although there have clearly been issues with the redesign, I think it is also a function of the time of the posts. The morning post doesn’t go up till after 9am eastern, when a lot of people are already in the busy part of their day. I bet there would be more comments if someone could drop in and ask a question before heading to 9am meetings. And the afternoon post doesn’t go up to after 3pm eastern (like 4:30 eastern today), and lots of people are already work to wrap up the day by then.
Often I’ll check in around 1pm on lunch, but won’t post a question even if I have one. I know that few people are going to read all the way down to answer it, and even if I try to stop by in the afternoon to post it, that may not work.
Yes, this. The first post needs to go up earlier.
Just a few points (and thank you for addressing this) I want to add. I don’t really like the comment sections on other s*tes and I don’t comment on them so it’s hard to give an example of something “better.” What I really liked about this place is that a) it was anonymous (to whatever extent you cared about preserving your anonymity) and b) you didn’t have to provide an email address. I don’t know why but that last bit is an important component for me but it is. The fact that things are placed in queue may be inevitable but it’s annoying because even if you don’t personally get moderated, other responses might.
But some of the fall off in comments may be a byproduct of other issues. I have to be honest – all this stuff was way more interesting to me fresh out of law school than now (Can you pair black with navy? Is a tank top ever professional? How high a heel is too high? I had no idea!) I don’t think coming up with topic suggestions would help. Most of those get very few replies. I agree with the poster above that an earlier posting time might be good.
That is an idea to try… thank you!
Kat, I think you are kind of missing the point if you think the only cause for the decrease in comments is the redesign. People definitely have opinions about the redesign, which have been shared extensively already. I think there is probably a decent amount of feedback for you and your designers to work with. But I do think that a number of things over the years have happened which decreased the overall engagement level of this community. The redesign may be the final straw, which causes you to lose some participants altogether. However, separately, readers have told you that they feel you are out of touch since you stopped working. Separately, readers have told you that they don’t like the moderation process, as it eliminates the “conversational” element to the comments section. Separately, there were a few incidents, most notably one where you promoted some sort of video course for compensation, which have turned off your commenter base. Separately, readers have told you that your tone is somewhat off-putting. The request above for commenters to “nominate” themselves is a prime example. I think you have an opportunity to bring this community back to being an engaged community, if you handle the redesign/comments/moderation feedback appropriately. Generally, I don’t think you value the community nor recognize that the commenters are the fabric of this site. But I do think if you are willing to recognize that, there is an opportunity to bring people back.
Wow, this is rude! Fwiw a few weeks ago there were threads getting 400+ comments. I do think comments wax and wane a bit as Kay suggested and also vary based on the topics in each post, but I don’t think any recent drop-off is a result of the things you listed. Also from the stats Kat shared above, it’s pretty clear the commenters aren’t really the fabric of this site, at least money-wise.
Can we make the font a little thicker? I just find this font really hard to read. The text color looks more grey than black so there isn’t as much contrast on the screen. It negatively impacts my enjoyment of the site and the comment section.
As someone mentioned above, the redesigned comment section is incredibly hard to read on a phone or ipad. For that reason alone, I won’t check the site from home anymore as I use an ipad for web browsing in the evenings after work.
chiming in to ditto the thicker font/ reduced kerning point to make it easier to read.
Thanks to Kat for having the site! love the discussions most of the time, and if it’s something I don’t care for, I can skip over it, so no complaints there. I’ve bought a couple of the items over the last 8+ years and have generally appreciated the community, so please keep it up!
Late to reply but here is my feedback as a longtime reader and usually “lurker” – I really appreciate this site and want it to continue. An overhaul is needed as many of your original readers have matured and are at different stages in life now. Thank you for recognizing the need to keep things fresh for those of us who have been here a long time.
I’ve been a daily reader for 10+ years, but read the comments only infrequently. When I do, I often feel like the tone of the conversation turns quickly judgmental. I like Ask A Manager’s commenting community (though I’m not a regular commenter or comment reader for time constraints there either) and I think it helps that Allison regularly steps in to comment when a discussion turns overly judgy or otherwise becomes negative and unproductive.
I read the p’osts and then make my own comment to move the thread along. Once in a while I do see what others say, but I often do not see what I say, and wonder where my comment went! FOOEY! | 2019-04-22T11:59:21Z | https://corporette.com/a-note-on-the-comments/ |
CAR/RXR heterodimers bind a variety of hormone response elements and activate transcription in the absence of added ligands. This constitutive activity of murine CAR can be inhibited by the inverse agonist ligand androstanol or increased by the agonist TCPOBOP. RXR agonists activate some RXR heterodimer complexes, which are termed permissive, while other non-permissive complexes are not responsive to such ligands.
Direct protein-protein interaction studies demonstrate that the RXR agonist 9-cis-RA increases interaction of CAR/RXR heterodimers with the coactivator SRC-3, but also inhibits the ability of TCPOBOP to increase and androstanol to decrease coactivator binding. CAR transactivation of a response element with a five nucleotide spacer (DR-5) is unaffected by 9-cis-RA or the synthetic RXR agonist LG1069. In agreement with the inhibitory effect observed in vitro, these rexinoids block both the TCPOBOP mediated transactivation of this element and the androstanol dependent inhibition. In contrast, CAR transactivation of other response elements is increased by rexinoids. Stable expression of CAR in a HepG2 derived cell line increases expression of the endogenous CAR target CYP2B6. This expression is further increased by TCPOBOP but decreased by either androstanol or LG1069, and LG1069 blocks the stimulatory effect of TCPOBOP but not the inhibitory effect of androstanol.
We conclude that CAR/RXR heterodimers are neither strictly permissive nor non-permissive for RXR signaling. Instead, rexinoids have distinct effects in different contexts. These results expand the potential regulatory mechanisms of rexinoids and suggest that such compounds may have complex and variable effects on xenobiotic responses.
At least one third of the 48 human members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily function as heterodimers with the Retinoid X Receptors, (RXRs, NR2B1-3) . Some, but not all of these heterodimers can be directly activated by RXR agonists, called rexinoids, which include the endogenous ligand 9-cis-retinoic acid (9-cis-RA) and a number of synthetic compounds. The rexinoid responsive complexes are referred to as permissive and include the Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor (PPAR) and the Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) heterodimers; the Retinoic Acid Receptor (RAR), and Thyroid Hormone Receptor (TR) heterodimers are non-permissive [2–7].
The xenobiotic receptor CAR (NR1I3) [8, 9] is one of several RXR heterodimers that has not been assigned to either category. Initial results showed that CAR is an apparently constitutive transactivator able to activate gene expression in the absence of exogenously added ligands [8, 9]. The first CAR ligands identified, androstanol and androstenol, are inverse agonists that block this constitutive transactivation . More recently, it has been found that CAR mediates the characteristic response of a subset of drug metabolizing enzymes to a variety of structurally unrelated foreign compounds . These xenobiotic activators are referred to as "phenobarbital (PB) – like," based on the prototypic effects of the anti-epileptic agent on drug metabolism [12–14]. The most potent activator of murine CAR is the high affinity agonist ligand TCPOBOP (1,4-bis [2-(3,5-dichloropyridyloxy)]benzene) [15, 16].
The effects of specific RXR ligands on the CAR/RXR heterodimer have not been characterized, although high concentrations of both 9-cis-RA and all-trans retinoic acid have been reported to block PB induction of the CAR targets CYP2B1 and CYP2B2 in primary rat hepatocytes . In addition, a recent report suggests that both compounds decrease TCPOBOP-dependent CAR transactivation . In both cases, these effects were primarily attributed to sequestration of limiting amounts of RXR into ligand-dependent homodimers or heterodimers with other receptors.
We have used several approaches to specifically examine the responsiveness of the CAR/RXR heterodimer to rexinoids. Unexpectedly, different responses were observed using different methods. Direct biochemical measurements demonstrate that rexinoids can induce coactivator binding, but can also inhibit the effects of CAR agonist and inverse agonist ligands. In transient transfections, the presence of RXR ligands can also inhibit the effects of these CAR ligands. However, different CAR/RXR heterodimer binding sites show distinct responses to RXR activation. Overall, these results significantly increase the potential complexity of the response of RXR heterodimers to RXR ligands and suggest a potential modulatory effect of rexinoids on xenobiotic responses.
Initial functional results suggested that transactivation by CAR/RXR heterodimers is not affected by RXR ligands, including 9-cis-RA or synthetic rexinoids, indicating that CAR is a non-permissive RXR partner. However, gel shift studies indicated that the mobility of the CAR/RXR complex bound to a DR-5 element is increased by the presence of 9-cis RA, suggesting that the RXR ligand can bind to the CAR/RXR heterodimer. An increase in the mobility of the CAR/RXR complex was also observed in the presence of TCPOBOP or androstanol, alone or in combination with 9-cis RA (data not shown).
To test the effects of rexinoids on coactivator binding in a defined biochemical system, surface plasmon resonance was used to characterize the effects of the various ligands on binding of CAR, RXR and CAR/RXR heterodimers to SRC-3 (also known as ACTR, p/CIP, RAC3, AIB1, TRAM-1), an effective coactivator for CAR and many other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily. As expected, 9-cis-RA stimulated coactivator binding to RXR alone, and the basal interaction of CAR with SRC-3 was enhanced by TCPOBOP and decreased by androstanol (Fig. 1A,1B). The interaction of SRC-3 with the preformed and characterized CAR/RXR heterodimer complex was increased by either TCPOBOP or 9-cis-RA (Fig. 1C). Strikingly, however, coactivator binding to the heterodimer complex was decreased below the basal level in the presence of both ligands. In addition, SRC-3 binding to the heterodimer was decreased by androstanol and this effect was largely blocked by 9-cis-RA. These effects of 9-cis-RA on coactivator binding to the preformed heterodimer contrast with the strong stimulatory effect observed with RXR alone, confirming the characterization of this complex. These results demonstrate that the presence of the RXR ligand can significantly alter the response of the CAR/RXR heterodimer to CAR ligands.
9-cis RA blocks effects of CAR ligands on coactivator binding in vitro. GST-SRC-3 fusion protein was immobilized on a flow cell and tested for interaction with receptors. A. Overlaid results of injections of apo-RXR and RXR preincubated in the presence of 9-cis RA. B. Overlaid results of injections of apo-CAR and CAR preincubated in the presence of TCPOBOP (TC) or androstanol (An). C. Overlaid results of injections of preformed CAR/RXR heterodimers preincubated in the presence or absence of 9-cis RA and TCPOBOP (TC) as indicated. D. Overlaid results of injections of preformed CAR/RXR heterodimers preincubated in the presence or absence of 9-cis RA and androstanol (An) as indicated.
To examine the effects of RXR ligands on CAR transactivation in a more functional context, the rexinoid LG1069 was combined with the CAR inverse agonist androstanol and the agonist TCPOBOP in a series of transient transfection studies using different response elements. Initial studies were based on a well characterized binding site for CAR/RXR heterodimers, the DR-5 element from the promoter of the retinoic acid receptor β2 isoform [8, 9, 16]. In agreement with the biochemical results, the rexinoid blocked both the stimulatory effect of the agonist and the inhibitory effect of the inverse agonist on this element (Fig. 2A). In more detailed dose response studies, 100 nM LG1069 decreased the inhibitory effect of androstanol by as much as 70% and had an even stronger effect on TCPOBOP activation (Fig. 2B). Consistent with previous results , deletion of the helix 12 AF-2 motif of CAR eliminated both constitutive and ligand dependent transactivation. Deletion of the same motif in RXR also strongly decreased transactivation, but did not completely eliminate ligand responses (Fig. 2A).
The RXR ligand LG_1069 blocks effects of CAR ligands. A. HepG2 cells were cotransfected with vectors expressing wild type CAR (CAR wt), a CAR AF-2 deletion mutant (CARΔ8) or an RXR AF-2 deletion mutant (RXRΔ19), together with a luciferase reporter containing the βRARE response element, in the presence or absence of androstanol, TCPOBOP and/or LG1069. Luciferase activity is relative to that directed by CAR alone (100%). B. A CAR expression vector was cotransfected into HepG2 cells with the βRARE-TK-Luc reporter construct in the presence of solvent (open squares) or 100 nM LG1069 (solid diamonds) and increasing amounts of either androstanol or TCPOBOP as indicated. Luciferase activity is relative to that in the absence of ligand (100%).
To test whether the apparent allosteric effects of LG1069 on CAR transactivation vary with different response elements, the effect of the rexinoid on transactivation directed by cytochrome P450 response elements was examined. In contrast to the results with the DR-5 site, but in agreement with the biochemical results, LG1069 alone had a stimulatory effect on the ER-6 CAR response element from the promoter of the CYP3A4 gene (Fig. 3). This effect was not due to RXR homodimer function, since no transactivation was observed with RXR alone. In contrast to both the DR-5 and biochemical results, LG1069 did not block the stimulatory effect of TCPOBOP. Instead, the stimulatory effect of the two agonists was retained when they were combined. Combining LG1069 with the inverse agonist androstanol resulted in a partial block in its inhibitory effect and an intermediate level of activity. Similar results were observed with the tandem DR-4 sites from the CYP2B10 gene, except that LG1069 did not have a significant stimulatory effect on its own, but did augment the effect of TCPOBOP. It is interesting that these two CYP elements respond somewhat differently to RXR cotransfection, which increases responses directed by the CYP3A4 element but modestly decreases responses of the CYP2B10 element (data not shown). On both elements, similar results were observed when 9-cis RA was substituted for LG1069 (data not shown). These results show that the negative effects of rexinoids on TCPOBOP and androstanol signaling observed with the DR-5 site from the RARβ promoter are not observed with the DR-4 and ER-6 sites from the CYP promoters. Thus, the CAR/RXR heterodimer responds differently to retinoids on different elements.
Rexinoid effects on CAR/RXR are dependent on response element. A. HepG2 cells were cotransfected with expression constructs for CAR and/or RXR together with a previously described luciferase construct containing a ER-6 type element from the, human CYP3A4 promoter in the presence or absence of ligands. The luciferase activity presented above is relative to that directed by vector alone in the absence of ligands (100%). B. A similar transfection with a previously described reporter containing the tandem DR-4 elements from the mCYP2B10 gene .
A previously described HepG2 derivative stably expressing mouse CAR was used to determine the effects of RXR agonists on CAR function in the context of native chromatin. Expression of CYP2B6, a human relative of CYP2B10, is constitutively induced in this cell line. In contrast to the results with the transient transfections with the CYP response elements, CYP2B6 expression was decreased to a comparable extent by androstanol, LG1069, and the combination of both ligands. CYP2B6 expression was increased by TCPOBOP, as expected, and this response was blocked by LG1069 treatment.
A number of RXR heterodimer complexes have been categorized as either permissive or non-permissive based on their responses to RXR ligands . Although there are some reported discrepancies, the PPAR, FXR and NGF-IB/NURR1 complexes are generally considered permissive, while the non-permissive group includes the RAR, TR and VDR complexes (see [2–7]). In the permissive complexes, coactivators can presumably bind to the AF-2 surface of both partners and binding to the RXR partner is stimulated by rexinoid agonists. This can result in distinct responses depending on which of the two partners is activated. In the case of the PPARγ/RXR complex, for example, activation with PPAR or RXR specific ligands results in recruitment of quite different coactivators .
Among the non-permissive complexes, the RAR/RXR heterodimer is the best studied. Recent results suggest that the C-terminal helix 12 of RXR exerts allosteric effects on RAR function . However, additional studies suggest that corepressor binding to the apo-RAR component of the heterodimer blocks rexinoid induced binding of coactivators to RXR . These results suggest that the mechanisms that account for the lack of responsiveness of the non-permissive complexes are complex.
As summarized in Fig. 5, the results described here demonstrate that the effects of RXR agonists on the CAR/RXR heterodimer can be quite different in different contexts. In vitro studies in the absence of DNA demonstrate that CAR/RXR heterodimers can be activated by an agonist ligand for either receptor. This positive response to 9-cis-RA contrasts with the inhibition that would result from the loss of RXR to ligand-dependent homodimers , confirming that these studies reflect the activity of CAR/RXR heterodimers and demonstrating that such complexes can be permissive for RXR signaling. Remarkably, however, coactivator binding is decreased in the presence of both of the activating ligands. Similarly, the inhibitory effect of the inverse agonist ligand androstanol on coactivator recruitment is blocked by 9-cis-RA.
In transient transfections, the rexinoid LG1069 shows different effects on the ability of the xenobiotic receptor to transactivate various response elements. The rexinoid alone has no effect on transactivation of the βRARE, but strongly inhibits responses to both the agonist TCPOBOP and the inverse agonist androstanol. In contrast, LG1069 can stimulate transactivation of the response element from the CYP3A4 promoter. On that element it does not block the stimulatory effect of TCPOBOP, but decreases the inhibitory effect of the androstanol somewhat. On the tandem CYP2B10 elements, LG1069 does not have a stimulatory effect on its own and does not decrease the inhibitory effect of androstanol, but it does increase response to TCPOBOP. Finally, expression of the endogenous CYP2B6 gene in CAR expressing HepG2 cells is modestly inhibited by LG1069 alone, androstanol alone and the combination of both. In this context, the rexinoid blocks activation by the agonist TCPOBOP.
These rexinoid responses share the general theme of inhibition of some of the effects of CAR ligands by RXR ligands, but are clearly quite disparate. The differences may be based on variations in experimental approach or on more fundamental functional differences. For example, it is possible that the inhibitory effect of LG1069 in the stable CAR expressing cell line is based on the sequestration of limiting amounts of RXR into ligand-dependent homodimers, as has been suggested in previous studies using primary hepatocytes . However, similar effects were observed with the relatively large amounts of RXR used for the biochemical studies or with the transient transfections, which relied on cotransfected RXR. It is also possible that differences in the chromatin context could contribute to the differences between the effects observed with the endogenous and transiently transfected promoters. However, such differences cannot account for the results with reporter plasmids that differ only in the identity of the response element. Overall, we conclude that binding of both the DNA and the RXR ligands can result in allosteric effects on the function of the CAR/RXR heterodimer.
The disparities in these responses preclude a single, simple explanation for the effects of rexinoids on CAR/RXR heterodimers. Nonetheless, one attractive possibility is that binding of the RXR agonist exerts direct inhibitory effects on either the binding or functional effects of the CAR ligands. Some precedence for a significant allosteric effect of one heterodimer partner on another is provided by the inability of the insect ecdysone receptor to bind its steroid ligand in the absence of its heterodimer partner USP .
The outcome of this inhibition of CAR ligand binding would be somewhat different depending on whether or not the RXR agonist was able to activate the basal transactivation of CAR/RXR heterodimer bound to a particular element. On the βRARE, for example, the RXR agonist might bind, but not increase transactivation beyond that observed in the absence of ligands. In this case, blocking TCPOBOP binding would strongly inhibit TCPOBOP-dependent transactivation. In the case of the CYP3A4 response element, however, activation by the RXR agonist is comparable to that observed with TCPOBOP alone. Thus, blocking TCPOBOP binding would not result in the net inhibitory effect observed with the βRARE, but could account for the lack of additive effect of the two ligands.
A variety of factors complicate this relatively simple model, including the specific cytoplasmic to nuclear translocation that is required for CAR transactivation in the liver [22, 23]. Rexinoids by themselves are apparently unable to induce this translocation process in rat or mouse (data not shown) hepatocytes and thus cannot directly activate CAR targets. More complex combinatorial effects of other coactivators or corepressors (e.g. [6, 7]) could also contribute to the observed responses. Recent results suggest that CAR can interact with NCoR or SMRT in the presence of inverse agonists , although such interactions appear much weaker than those of other receptors. Further characterization of potential CAR cofactors, as well as the development of sensitive and direct ligand binding assays will be required to define the molecular mechanisms that account for the diverse effects of rexinoids on CAR transactivation.
Overall, we conclude that the disparate effects of rexinoids on CAR/RXR heterodimers in different contexts add significantly to the potential complexity of the effects of RXR ligands on such nuclear receptor heterodimers, and demonstrate that classifying a particular complex as permissive or non-permissive can be an oversimplification. The results described here also suggest that rexinoids may have modulatory effects on xenobiotic responses, and that such effects may differ for different CAR/RXR target genes. A systematic examination of the effects of RXR ligands and retinoid status on a number of the growing set of CAR target genes will be required to explore this possibility.
The effect of ligands on coactivator binding was evaluated using the BIAcore instrument as described [25, 26]. For interaction of CAR, RXR and CAR/RXR heterodimer with SRC-3, a GST-SRC-3 fusion protein containing the receptor interaction domain of the coactivator was expressed in bacteria and purified. This fusion protein was immobilized in flow cells using anti-GST antibody. Lack of binding of free GST demonstrated that the surface was saturated with GST-SRC3. Purified CAR and RXR proteins were produced in bacteria and preincubated overnight at 4°C alone or in combination, and in the presence or absence of 10-5M androstanol, 10-6M TCPOBOP, 10-6M of 9 cis-RA, as appropriate. CAR alone, RXR alone, and CAR/RXR heterodimers bound to various ligands were injected individually into flow cells and binding was measured as described [25, 26].
The βRARE-TK-Luc reporter plasmid with three copies of the DR-5 motif from the promoter of the mouse RARβ2 gene has been described previously, as has the CYP2B10-TK-Luc reporter with two copies of the DR-4 type elements from the promoter of the mouse CYP2B10 gene and the CYP3A4-TK-luc reporter with three copies of the ER-6 element from the human CYP3A4 promoter . Expression vectors for full length mCAR and RXR proteins were as described . The cdm8-mCARΔ8 deletion construct containing a deletion of the last 8 amino acids and the mutant with 2 helix 3 mutations (F171L, I174A) that block ligand binding and response have been described previously , as has the cdm8-RXRΔ19 construct with a deletion of the last 19 amino acids .
HepG2 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone). For transfections, 105 HepG2 cells were plated in 24 well dishes with DMEM supplemented with 10% charcoal stripped serum and transfected using the calcium phosphate precipitation method as described . The next morning, cells were washed with phosphate buffered saline and ligands were added. Typically, transfections included 100–200 ng of luciferase reporter plasmids, 100 ng of β-galactosidase (β-gal) internal control plasmid (CMV β-Gal), and 100 ng of cdm8 expression vectors. A total of 500 ng of plasmids was used per well. Cells were assayed for luciferase (Promega) activities 24 hours after addition of ligands and reporter expression was normalized to β-galactosidase activity (Tropix) according to the manufacturer's directions. Similar results were obtained from at least three independent experiments. Error bars are included for experiments where variations were more than 10%. A previously described derivative of HepG2 cells stably expressing mCAR was used for RNA analysis. Cells were subcultured and incubated in DMEM supplemented with 10% charcoal stripped bovine serum overnight. Various ligands were added and total RNA was prepared 9 hours later and used for Northern blotting using standard procedures .
Diverse effects of rexinoids on CAR/RXR activities. The effects of rexinoids on basal and CAR ligand dependent transactivation are summarized. Upward and downward arrows indicate stimulation and inhibition of coactivator binding or transcriptional effects. The rightward bar (----|) symbolizes a blockage of the effect of the CAR ligand by rexinoids (or decrease in the case of the repression of the CYP elements by androstanol); (-), no effect.
We thank Dr. Rich Heyman for LG1069. This work was supported by NIH grant DK46546 to D. D. M.
I. T. and S. S. C. carried out the studies of CAR function in transiently transfected cells. S. S. C. carried out the studies of gene expression in stable CAR expressing cells. B. C. carried out the surface plasmon resonance studies. D. D. M. directed these studies. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. | 2019-04-20T09:17:05Z | https://nuclear-receptor.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1478-1336-1-2 |
When I was younger, I used to build time capsules, containers into which I inserted my writings and buried. Some of them were buried in the ground, some of them were placed inside the substructure of objects. Most of these have since been destroyed and never made it this far into the future.
I also keep fragments of the world of the past, tiny fragments of matter. I have a carpet thread from the 1970's blue shag carpet that I played on as a child. I even have a signed autograph of Peter Davison, the 5th doctor of Dr. Who, a fictional time traveler. In 1985 at a convention in Bridgeton, Missouri, the city in which I grew up, I asked Mr. Davison to sign a poster of Tom Baker, the 4th doctor, and he seemed irritated but complied. I was only 15 years of age so he was being nice and excused my ignorance.
The poster never survived time and was mostly destroyed, but I saved that tiny fragment of his autograph, the writing of a time traveler. I asked him to dedicate the signature to my brother since he was not there to see him.
Time fascinated me more than any physical phenomena, and Time caused me to see that my world must be illusory. There is a set time that we begin and we end, a line of unknown but finite length, but this never made sense to me, something arising from nothingness and then disappearing into nothingness again. If I exist, I thought, then I must forever exist in some form and have always existed, but I just don't have the ability to see this. Perhaps it is like how Mankind once did not realize that it had been swirling inside the arms of a spiral galaxy during its entire existence.
When I focus on something intensely, I force myself to temporarily "forget" my surroundings, to apply all of my concentration to the task at hand. Otherwise, I am not trying my best. Our forgetfulness in life is similar, but it is many years longer, as our higher selves are perhaps focusing on our life, temporarily ignoring their surroundings. They are putting their best effort into us.
I read and wrote about Time and incorporated it into my films and games. I simply cannot accept that objects that once existed "pop" out of existence for eternity. Every time you eat a cookie, that cookie ceases to exist and can never exist again. You can make new cookies, but never that cookie. You cannot go back in time to revisit that cookie. I do not believe that information can be destroyed. I believe that information remains forever, but we simply move away from it. When someone dies, they didn't leave us, but it was we who left them as we traveled into the future. They waved to us through the rear window as we drove away. They live within a length of Time.
The idea of a time machine therefore fascinated me. I began looking for ways to construct them, and surprisingly, many are easy to build.
My time capsules↗ were forms of time machines. Anything placed inside of one will travel into the future as long as it isn't disturbed and is fairly static. The objects placed inside the capsule must ideally have low levels of chemical or molecular activity and be fairly stable, otherwise entropy will destroy them by the time they arrive at their destination. Writings are ideal, for books have survived for over a thousand years. Writings in clay or stone are better. But writing something in a Temporal medium, a medium that is forever replicated and regenerated like DNA or an electronic, digital medium is even better. Over the years, I have thought about building a new form of time capsule. The golden plaque↗ of the Pioneer spacecraft was inspiring to me when I was young.
An automobile, like that Pioneer spacecraft, is another form of time machine. When people enter an automobile and drive away, when they return to the same place, they arrive at a time in the future. You can never leave and come back at the moment you left. We don't normally consider them time machines since the relativistic reference frames of the occupants do not vary appreciably from their surroundings. In other words, the people in the car age at almost the same rate as the people standing on the ground.
But we unfortunately, after we make the trip, we cannot go back.
There is no way that we know of to go in the opposite direction, to reverse entropy and return to a past point in Time. It is my opinion that this is indeed possible, but this direction is being hidden from us, part of that forgetfulness that I mentioned earlier.
Imagine if you were born and lived your life in a moving vehicle on its way to a distant location, sitting in the front seat. You would see objects come toward you and pass you by, but you would never again see the objects that already passed you. The car could indeed drive in reverse, but the driver will not do that, as he is taking you to a destination. You might get motion confused with existence, like we do when we are under 2 years of age↗.
Time is really just space. If something in space doesn't change, doesn't move or have molecular action, then it barely exists in Space. Like a flat piece of paper, only its thickness lies in Space. The rest lies in Time.
It is easy to think that Time doesn't exist. It is also easy to think that depth doesn't exist. If we close one eye and look at our surroundings, they are like the images in a painting. We need motion (a concept created by Time) to discover the 3rd dimension of objects.
Matter consumes space such as the height and width of a statue in a museum. If we are blind, we have to feel the statue to obtain these measurements, but because of vision, most of us can see these measurements directly due to the angles of the light that reach our eye, neurons connected to our brain's visual cortex via the optic nerve.
Many sighted people use vision to help them think. We manipulate those shapes in our memory, like a picture, a 2-dimensional plane.
But as we move up a dimension (depth), our vision starts to break down. We cannot see what is behind the statue and need to either rotate it or walk around it to see the whole structure, storing the details in our memory. Our two forward-facing eyes try to help us with some of it (depth perception), but it is only a rough estimate of the front of the statue. Depth perception still cannot see the back of the statue. And no form of visible light can show us what is inside the statue.
But we think that we are at least 3-dimensional creatures ourselves, that we also have depth, a backside, and an inside. So even though we exist in the same dimensions as the object at which we are looking, we still cannot perceive its entirety without a little help from our brain storing the structure in memory. We can rotate it around in our mind using Time, we can memorize MRI's or CT scans, but we still cannot perceive the entity at once. We can perhaps store a fuzzy idea of the concept, an abstraction, but perceiving the entirety simultaneously is fuzzier and more difficult than a 2-dimensional object.
It makes me wonder if such an object is "real" in the way we think it is.
If we continue upwards another dimension (temporal), it becomes even harder to visualize the statue. The statue in 4 dimensions is a helical, snake-like object as it moves through space, called the world line↗. We cannot see the parts of the snake in the past or the future, as they are hidden from us. We only see the present form, a tiny blip, a moment in Time. We do not see its degradation in the future as entropy destroys it, like the disintegrating tail of a comet. If we could see this 4-dimensional world from a higher dimension, we would see all kinds of snakes twisting and criss-crossing over one another, like helices. Only the briefest of particles would appear as particles, everything else would be snakes.
But we can perceive Time in a different way. Time is trickier to perceive than depth. We are still part of it, but we are contained within a fractal shell so it is hard for us to visualize our position. At some point, our 2-dimensional vision, our diagrams, must be replicated and abstracted two more times to understand Time, the 4th dimension. But Time is no different than Space. Time is Space.
Time allows motion to exist. And if motion exists, then we can measure it (speed and direction). But motion is an illusion, a projection, just like how a projected film is an illusion, since the film itself is just a sequence of frames on film stock.
Like a filmstrip, there is only length and direction. Direction and length are already concepts that we know exist within that statue (up/down, left/right, to/fro), as they are inherent to dimension, but "speed" is something new. We don't have the concept of speed until we add Time. Speed, the magnitude component of velocity, is simply a length across both Space and Time, like a line drawn on graph paper. A moving car is simply a statue drawn in Time, like still frames on a flipbook or cylindrical zoetrope↗. Both cars and statues move through space, taking a helical path as the earth orbits, although their relative speeds may vary.
In the United States, we are familiar with the phrase miles per hour (distance/time) to denote Speed, which is really just the ratio of Space/Time. But we could also think of it as hours per mile, the ratio of Time/Space, a "speed" in the Time dimension. The problem is that, unless we are a physicist, we don't usually combine Time and Space into spacetime, a single 4D spatial continuum. Speed is simply lengths with directions across spacetime, tiny little arrows, or vectors, at every point in spacetime, like super-pixels on a higher-order television screen.
As you are reading the words on this page, you are probably reading them at a fairly constant speed, from left to right. We can measure this speed in words per minute, for example. You don't have to read that way, and you can look off the page, if you so desire. But you continue to read until you reach your "destination". Your eyes, your lower-order sensory organs do not know your destination, but they simply comply with the higher-order being. They have a direction that they cannot reverse unless you direct them in this way.
A film projector is the same way, moving at a constant speed of 24 frames per second.
There is also a constant speed to the Universe, which we call the speed of light, at 186,000 miles per second. Everything moves at this speed, not just light. But light is the only thing that can move at this speed through Space alone. But it really isn't a speed, like I mentioned before, it is a length, the Planck length.
The distance light travels in the shortest time possible, Planck time↗, is the Planck length↗. Perhaps there really are little tiny "arrows", 4-vectors, of Planck lengths at various angles in those 4-dimensions, and they are not just imaginary, problem-solving constructs. Vectors have direction and length only.
If you tilt the arrow into Time and slow down your speed in space to 1 mile per second, for example, you are moving through Time at 185,000 seconds per mile. That worldline snake will have a short length in Space but a long length in Time. If you tilt the arrow into Space and increase your speed in space to 185,000 miles per second, you are moving through Time at 1 second per mile. That snake will have a long length in Space, but a short length in Time.
On earth, we are masters of Time far more than masters of Space, our own version of "timelords". We don't travel fast or far within the Space around us, but like Hermes, we run fleet of foot through Time. Like darting hummingbirds, we are moving through Time faster than the center of the Sun↗.
But since matter and energy (which are really just the same thing) can both bend space, those tiny arrows need to be more complex, higher-dimensional arrows.
And as creatures of Time, we are reading those tiny tilted arrows at different points in spacetime↗. But you would not normally be able to see these arrows unless you were an outside observer. This would at first seem like a bizarre concept, if it wasn't for the fact that right now you are reading words made up with short lines and semicircles at different points on this page. And older alphabets, like cuneiform↗, actually look like arrows pointing in cardinal directions. Vector space could be read like a language by a sufficiently advanced being.
As we know from history, there are two major branches in physics, general relativity and quantum mechanics, both created in large part by Albert Einstein. Einstein was not comfortable with quantum mechanics, a result from his 1905 paper on the photoelectric effect where he found that Max Planck's "quanta" existed in light, which led to the theory that all energy and matter in the Universe is quantized, like the discrete pixels on a television screen.
But these two branches are so different that physicists have been spending decades trying to unify them, such as Edward Witten's M-theory attempt.
A relativistic Universe can be expressed using multidimensional vectors and tensors of Planck length, and string theory assumes tiny vibrating, 1-dimensional strings, which also have orientation, and are also of Planck length.
So I like to imagine the fabric of the Universe to be written in an alphabet of some sort of tiny arrows and to think of the Universe as a cuneiform tablet written in an advanced language, a large book that some higher intelligence is reading, an epic Choose Your Own Adventure↗ book, and that we are a fractal expression of this intelligence, like how an eye or a photoreceptor cell is a component of our fractal body.
Or if our higher self is a great pattern matching machine↗ like ourselves, perhaps it is simply watching a television display, a television made up of spacetime stress-energy tensors or strings. In modern society, we use 2-dimensional RGB LCD pixels↗ on flatscreen televisions to watch films about people's lives, such as the adventures of Dr. Who. Perhaps we are seeing the pixels of the film of our life, a film measured in years instead of minutes.
But there is a third form of the time machine that we use daily: Consciousness. When we go unconscious, for us, we skip segments in Time. Unless we dream, we awaken the moment after we went unconscious. Where were we during this Time? Our body was still there traversing that segment of time, but where was our consciousness?
That advanced reader of that book of arrows that I mentioned earlier came across the page of spacetime that said you were unconscious, and simply skipped that page and resumed reading after you had awoken. In books, we don't frequently read "Joe is sleeping. Joe is still sleeping. Five minutes have passed and Joe is still sleeping, etc." The author leaves out those portions for good reason, as we would simply skip over them.
We jump in and out of 2-dimensional space all the time. Anytime we lift up a pencil and then put it down again, we have jumped 2-dimensional space. Time is no different for a being that has mastery over even higher dimensions.
But those angular ratios, those arrow directions, are not in flat space, Euclidean space, they are in curved space. Einstein showed us that when the angle is directed mostly into Space, close to the speed of light, Time slows way down and Space shortens for the outside observer, which follows the graph of the Lorenz factor↗, a curve which hugs the lines asymptotically. But since we exist on earth with our arrows pointed mostly in the Time dimension and only a small part in Space, we are not at an angle, or perspective, where we can see this curvature in everyday life.
This slowing of Time and shortening of Space that we think is impossible is exactly what we perceive every day in the lower 3 dimensions of Space. When we move in two different dimensions that are perpendicular to each other, both of the "observers" see objects in different ways depending on the angles that their position creates, like the views from two cars driving apart at different angles. It is no different with Time, except that we must take into consideration the curvature of spacetime. The cars are driving on a curved surface of Space and Time. These strange distortions are simply due to perspective. It similarly gives us the "feeling" of gravity, which is just our path through this curved space bent by massive objects.
So when Einstein discovered time dilation and spacetime curvature, in my opinion, he saw the first evidence of the 5th dimension. I cannot comprehend that 4-dimensional space can curve if there is nothing for it to curve into. While the "information" for this curvature can be accounted for within 4 dimensions, as many suggest, Occam's razor tells me that this is the more complex approach, and we need the 5th dimension to allow for the simpler hypothesis, not the other way around. If you place a heavy ball on a sheet of 2-dimensional fabric, for example, that fabric needs the 3rd dimension to bend. Similarly, if you place the Sun in the 4-dimensional fabric of the spacetime continuum, it needs the 5th dimension in order to bend.
In this case, our outcome depends on our action, the so called many-worlds interpretation. But in order for those many worlds to exist, we need more than 4-dimensional spacetime, since the Universe is 4-dimensional spacetime.
The 5th dimension, the one that I believe allows curvature, would also allow every possible variation of Universes and their curvatures, just like a giant art museum in the 3rd dimension could display thousands of variations of paintings with thick brushstrokes that protrude into the 3rd dimension, paintings perhaps like Van Gogh's The Starry Night↗ with its snakelike swirls and lines of broken color.
But I think that there is only one exhibit in the museum gallery, a giant tree↗ of paintings.
At every moment in Time, we branch from one universe to the next. We only see the linear path, that snakelike worldline, of our particular branching. In my opinion, the illusion is not that other Universes exist, the illusion is that we don't realize that we are continuously jumping Universes, each millisecond, each nanosecond, each Planck second, the same way a car continuously passes over the atoms of the road underneath it.
The "Multiverse", in my opinion, based on these thought experiments, must be at least a 5-dimensional, a stretchy continuum of multiple Universes.
M-theory predicts six more dimensions (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11), but it also predicts that six dimensions are tiny curled up dimensions, a Calabi-Yau manifold. This may be why we do not notice them.
But within these lower 5-dimensions, we haven't accounted for "free will", any sort of outside observer than provides "choice", the observer that collapses the wave-particle duality, the observer that allows our consciousness to jump time.
Perhaps most of these dimensions are simply an illusion to begin with, like the higher levels of abstraction in a binary computer simulation.
If the holographic principle↗ is correct, then the highest dimension we can perceive is an illusion, and that reality is nothing more than a fancy painting, like a hologram, perhaps dropping back to 4-dimensions again.
The fractal space it generates would have fractal dimensions, perhaps being that of the Feigenbaum first constant (4.669...) or even Pi, (3.14159...), a number curiously found inside the Mandlebrot set. This would explain how singularities like black holes are scattered throughout the Universe, being those voids↗ found inside the fractal.
Perhaps the "end user" of this gigantic fractal generation program is the one who makes the decision to choose a path through the curved many-worlds, like a computer user zooming into that fractal. The end user may be just a parent process↗ of a higher-order fractal, analogous to how both ourselves and the computers we use are still inside the same physical world.
But note that we always move forward in Time, the "arrow of time", entropy. We cannot reverse Time. Why is this so? I believe this is governed by that parent process, the observer or end user, directing us to always choose the Universe that branches in this forward direction. Some current theories on entropy are related to dynamical systems and fractals.
While spacetime curvature does explain the force of gravity as being a simple consequence of this curvature, there is still the problem of quantum gravity, and there has never been a good explanation to me of why gravity and inertia are the same in Einstein's equivalence principle↗. Erik Verlinde's entropic gravity↗ may be the answer to this and could explain dark energy as well.
I once created a game on the TI-99/4A computer in Extended BASIC↗ when I was around 14, and I used sprites↗ for the first time. I created a field of asteroids and created a spaceship on the left side of the screen that rocketed into the moving asteroid field on the right. You could only move the joystick up or down, but each time you moved, the ship would thrust forward into the asteroids. So you could only move in diagonals. When the ship hit an asteroid, I also created interesting explosions, blowing particles outward using multiple sprites.
That game was kind of like how entropy works--we have choice, but each choice takes us forward into disorder.
I could have reprogrammed the game to allow the ship to go in reverse, but the player, even myself, was not given the controls to do so during the game.
Our fractal parent has apparently put limitations on our direction during the game. It is directing us to pilot our ships into the arrow of time↗.
Entropy seems to be spatial orientation. In an art museum, we can orient paintings in different ways, but only one way is the most meaningful, provides us with the information we want, as we derive information from order. Most words are not palindromes, for example, and do not mean the same thing when read in the opposite direction. But like how the painting itself determines its orientation, causes us to orient it in a particular way, perhaps information is creating the order, not the other way around. If the many-worlds, or Everett-Wheeler model, is correct, then this order could be reversed and replayed at different points in spacetime, like a VCR, or even turned in into a random access↗ device by a higher-order fractal parent. Since causality implies Time, information and order are inseparable. They are the same thing but are only subjectively different concepts, depending on whether you view the Universe as a purely physical system or an "intelligent" being, which I believe is a result of fractal geometry.
Information requires some level of intelligence to exist. The word is meaningless without it.
This fractal parent may not exist in a Euclidean or geometric dimension at all, similar to information passed within the abstractions in computer software, but has oriented the painting in such a way that it is meaningful to itself. The holographic principle is supported by the fact↗ that thermodynamic entropy (of energy) is equal to Shannon's entropy (of information), with the only difference being that information does not have a unit, like energy, but is dimensionless.
It appears that we are staring at the face of the mysterious mind-body boundary. It is just a matter of our interpretation, where physics and metaphysics meet.
Perhaps this information transfer can only be expressed within fractal dimensions↗, similar to how I define order.
I find it curious that light is the only thing that can "move" 186,000 miles per second in space alone, and 0 seconds per mile in Time. For light, Time and Space do not exist. But matter requires both Time and Space to exist. Light does not experience Time, and light does not take up Space. Actually, light does not "move" at all, for motion requires Time. But light can carry energy and information.
Light is a massless form of energy that just kind of "exists". Light is the oldest thing in the known Universe that we have ever detected↗. What may have existed before this light lies only within the imagination and theories of human minds.
It seems, to me, that light is like a mathematical line or asymptote drawn in the universe. What if these lines of light were pre-drawn when the Universe was created, like a spirograph↗? When we encounter light, we bump up against it, like the light cycles↗ in Tron that I played at the arcades in the 1980's. Perhaps it was already there, was forever there, and forever will be there. Light bends in space because it is "drawn" on top of it. Instead of imagining that the matter generated light, perhaps we should imagine that the light was like a wire scaffolding↗, and matter simply formed around it, like a painting that was filled in after the pencil lines were sketched. Perhaps these are sketches on a holographic canvas.
If light exists outside of Time, and yet we see it and encounter it, then I have to believe that our world must be a static, pre-generated world in spacetime, already curved around the matter and energy within it. For if the world I see everyday with my eyes (light) is timeless, then the matter around it must be as well, for how can you have a causal interaction with something that doesn't exist in Time? At the quantum level, stuff gets really weird↗. My choice today can decide the "choices" of people in the past. Causality holds, but not in the way we normally perceive it, since we have the ability to jump in and out of different causal Universes.
As each day passes, I am becoming more certain that we are living inside a computer, a real Matrix.
I remember the day in Kindergarten when I first found out that Time existed, when our teacher told us how to read the hands of a clock during nap time. Time for me was simply expressed as the spatial movement of the minute hand, which I watched closely, as I could never take a nap in the presence of other children. If I would have looked even more closely↗, I might have seen through the illusion. But when I found out that time itself was as quantized as those markings on the clock face (Planck time), I knew it had to be an illusion in the way we perceived it.
A geometry of Platonic solids↗ underlies the Universe.
The Universe is fractal, which is compatible with my fractal theory.
The Universe is 2-dimensional, but the higher dimensions emerge at macro-scales.
It seems to be compatible with entropic gravity.
It is modeled or generated using a probablistic computer simulation↗. The random universe itself is generating the model.
Those tiny "arrows" are simply triangles oriented in certain directions. It reminds me of tesselations↗ used in polygon modeling to create virtual worlds in modern videogames.
Those higher-dimensional triangles are called "simplexes". What fascinates me about them is that they are Platonic solids that we cannot fully see since they are in higher dimensions. The Platonic solids have some very interesting properties, and there are only 5 that exist within 3 dimensions. If you extend the triangle into 3-dimensions, it is the tetrahedron, and into 4-dimensions, it is the pentachoron, for example. Why is this interesting?
Platonic solids have a beautiful property of symmetry where every dual is another Platonic solid, with the vertex of one becoming the face of another. Also, all vertexes touch the edges of a sphere. They seem to underlie natural phenomena and can even form from interference patterns↗ of musical harmonics. Some of them are related to Phi, which we already know is expressed in nature.
There is currently a scientific experiment↗ going on in Fermilab to determine if we are indeed living inside some sort of digital ("quantized") computer. They are using a new device called a Holometer↗ to look for something like pixelated artifacts like you would see on a digital television, like seeing the polygonal artifacts of early first-person shooters, a type of spacetime "jitter".
The day before I finished the first draft of this essay on 8/29/2014, I had a dream that I discovered the theory of Everything, and wrote it down on several pieces of paper. I was so excited. And then I woke up, and it was all meaningless.
Our best theories about the world in which we reside will most likely be meaningless after we leave it.
But it is a way to pass the Time. | 2019-04-24T17:04:55Z | http://greatfractal.com/TimeCapsule.html |
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I came across this post looking for some help with my own Reader’s Reading spread, but first, I would like to know. This post is from feb 2012. What do you think of it now? Does it show the evolution you have had as a reader? Is there anything you would read differently?
I don’t see the Queen of Swords as sad at all, my sister is very much that queen, and she’s one of the funniest people I know! Her wit is quick, and she can laugh about pretty much everything, including herself. I see this card as almost clairvoyant: this queen can see through people, knowing their true intentions, even when they try to mask them.
I have a question regarding my own spread. As my limits as a reader, I got the King of Wands, and I don’t really know how to interpret that. All the characteristics I associate with that king are good in my eyes! Arrogance, perhaps? Impatience? Wouldn’t those be the characteristics of the Knight?
I’m confused… can you please help me?
Hey! Thank you so much for drawing my attention to this reading – it was so good to go over it once again. I think it deserves a whole new blog post of its own, but as I read over this, I feel that each of these cards is absolutely spot on for me, though I am adding a lot of extra learning and ideas about each card to the reading.
As for your reading, yes, I personally would associate a degree of arrogance with the King of Wands (though even more so with the Knight, just as you say). Think also about the King of Wands being the ‘boss’ of fire, as in, a person who uses the element of fire – inspiration, projects, gut-centred action, charisma – to control the world around them. So there could be ideas here about you being very ‘gung ho’ with your readings, perhaps not leaving enough room for your querents to bring in their own ideas, and focusing more on feeling that you ‘know what they should do’? Just thoughts!
I just used this spread and I’m a bit confused as to my potential outcome because I received The Empress Reversed, which doesn’t seem to good as a beginner on the journey. Any advice on this one?
Hey Nina! Wow, I love all of the major cards – that is one hell of a reading!
I don’t personally read reversed cards, but you could look at it in a few different ways. Start with the general energies associates with this card – self-indulgence, nurturing others, nourishment, abundance. This may be saying that you won’t be one of those fluffy tarot readers who makes everything seem okay? Or maybe that you won’t be drawn to *read for everyone you know* – it’s gonna be more of a personal relationship for you, at least at first (I’m looking at your other cards here, the Hermit and Death in those positions too.) There’s a real ‘inward’ feeling here. I feel like this isn’t about giving everything at once, but bit by bit, going deep. Does that make sense for you?
Yes that does make sense. I’m an inward type and I go d e e p. I use it mostly for my own healing and clarity and don’t know how to translate that for others yet. Im hoping with time that will change and I can offer others a nurturing experience. Thank you!
Hello, I love your blog and thanks for posting this great spread· I just completed a reading for myself and it was very insightful. I did however receive the three of swords in position 2 “strengths I already have as a reader”·····Which I had to giggle at·····The cards sometimes throw some pretty off the wall stuff at you! Maybe it means I have dealt with heart break in my life so can help others in these situations?? I always try to look at the positive. Do you have any other suggestions? I’m a bit of a novice reader. Thanks!!!
Oh wow!! I just did this reading on my self, using the beautiful “Wild Unknown” deck. As I watched the cards unfold, my heart filled with warm love and emotion. Truly, the beauty of these cards gets me every damn time.
I am having quite the love affair with my deck, it is the sweetest deck I have ever had the pleasure of working with. It spells everything out in the nicest possible way, making everything clear for my novice mind.
Such a lovely reading and so encouraging. It will surly keep me inspired for the remainder of the course.
The High Priestess and father of cups are a bit of a confusion for me in their positions though. I take the High Priestess in regards to limitations i feel, as I don’t trust myself to see all there is to see, that I am worried I will not listen closely enough.
The father of cups in the number 5 spot, I take as not letting my insecurities stand in the way of perusing and learning. Remain open minded.
Anything you see that perhaps I am not seeing? Thanks so much for developing such a fun online program!
1. Three of wands – the most important thing about me is that I have started on this journey and am looking at my options. The open vista is almost like the tarot world lies ahead of me and I am deciding how to move forward. This is true to an extant as at this point in my tarot journey I am choosing to spend more time and look at online courses, communities, etc. so as to learn more and dwell deeper.
2. Six of pentacles – hmmm .. I do find this to be a tricky card and I guess I need to spend more time with it, for now I take it to mean that you strengths that I already bring to the tarot are that I am fair and open to giving to others. Not sure how to read it – like I said – as of now – this is a tricky card for me.
3. Knight of cups – again a good card but a confusing one. What my limits are – taking a leaf out of your interpretation of your card. I would think that this card is saying – be mindful of your tendency to want to heal/ fix the seekers problems/issues.
4. Eight of wands – what key lessons I can learn – lots of new energy will come with this endeavor – so I can learn lots of new things about me, about life, etc.
5. Ace of wands – how can I be open to learning the most – by utilizing the opportunities that come my way as I start reading/working with the tarot.
6. Knight of pentacles – what will be the outcome – well one will have to wait and watch. If I take the opportunities offered by the ace, lots of new energy will come my way. If I can steadfastly work on those and do my bit. Then hopefully good things will sprout up. The knight of pentacles is strong and stable. So maybe it will also bring me stability?
Those were my two pence as of now, would you add anything else? Esp. With respect to the 6 of pentacles and the Knights ?
I did it yesterday and I am still puzzled with my most feared card “the tower” as my outcome on No 6.
Wow, what a card to get! I would interpret that as you being the kind of reader who brings scary but much-needed change, a liberator, a status-quo challenger. Bold and strong and not for the light-hearted!
I also saw The Tower as my outcome. If this question is, “what can in expect from this journey?” I interpreted it in a very positive way as change – that beginning this journey (learning Tarot) will change my life dramatically and that it is the right path. A friend often interprets this card as “revolution”, which has often has a positive association for me.
I did it with the Aquarian, which I’ve found more helpful for more inward-looking readings, and I did it as Beth did. Turn a card, write it up, turn the next, write it up, etc.
Seven of Rods: I stand up for what I believe the cards mean. I’m secure in my opinions and not too easily swayed. I defend my interpretations and way of reading, even if it might not be the most conventional. For example, I don’t own a Smith Waite deck, and some have said that that’s the only way to learn, but I feel much more connected to the Wild Unknown and the Aquarian than I did to my Smith-Waite when I had it.
Ace of Cups: This exact card came up to represent me during a polyamory reading I did a few weeks ago. In this case, it tells me that I make use of my intuition, emotional wisdom, and empathy for my querents when I read. The Ace of Cups also represents a promising new relationship, which could be the seed of my relationship with the cards or Tarot as a discipline in general.
Three of Pentacles: I might not be the best in working with groups or doing collaborative readings. I have a hard time taking input from others.
Eight of Rods: I can learn to draw conclusions from the information provided, and put plans into action or encourage my querents to do so.
Ace of Rods: Another ace! I’m keeping in mind that I’m just beginning, but channeling my creative power with confidence in all things whether that be reading the cards, taking courses, getting readings from others, etc.
6. What is the potential outcome of your journey?
Queen of Rods: I can become the full realization of the Ace of Rods’ creative potential: open, honest, passionate, and confident, with faith in my abilities. The conflict of the Seven of Rods will be an important part of the past, but maybe not quite as prominent.
Hi your reading just popped up after a really old friend who is a witch criticized my new tarot business. Stating I’m dumbing down tarot and remember the old ways. I’ve always felt uncomfortable being a fortune teller and she felt tarot was just that ‘period’ she’s American.
I read tarot via energies I feel and have developed as being someone who focuses on the clients situation nin and helping them understand this and whether they want the outcome that could come about. I focus on clafication that the cards show me. I’ve felt very confident since understanding this is how I’m supposed to read.
So after the knock back seeing your spread I was yahhhhhh this may help or show me how wrong. So here it is….
Page pentacles. I don’t shout it out. I examine I learn I check. I take it slowly and sensible without rash comments. I start there interests and thought process.
Ten Cups . Stumped with this one. Maybe I’m being too mice. Maybe I need to give it a bit more reality. Maybe my friends right I am sugar costing it all.
The Fool. To just do it. Bumble along don’t think too much. If you don’t risk it then you will never achieve.
10 Swords .Realise that your thought and fears are what bring you down. I have to stop the stop negativity and watch out for others wanting to stop or fell me due to their words. Time to let go of past. The battles finished.
Oh my no explanation. This cheered me up. I’m doing it right.
I’m totally speechless at the moment, I honestly have no clue what’s up with all the reversed cards in this reading. usually I read reversed cards as a guiding to focus more internally rather than outwards.
Would appreciate your thoughts on my cards, as sometimes it can give some great understanding hearing it from another reader (especially one as gifted and talented as you!).
1. Knight of Pentacles. I have a foundation. I think things through carefully. I want to build on something solid and know where I’m going. And yet, I also look back over my shoulder a lot. I want to be generous.
2. High Priestess. I’ve got both spiritual training and intuition. I seek balance. I am open to receive wisdom.
3. Ace of Swords. This is a re-beginning for me. (I’ve had a few years off from reading for the most part, and I signed up for the course to help me refresh.) I may overthink or overanalyze. Or, I may imagine limits into being that aren’t there because really I’ve Got This.
4. Nine of Cups. Just loosen up and have some goddamn fun. Tap into the plenty that’s there and enjoy it. Share it around. …This is so relevant to how I trip myself that I’ve chosen it as my keynote for the course. REMEMBER THAT YOU’RE HAVING FUN.
6. Eight of Pentacles. I mean, yeah, there will be work, but you’ll master it. You need the relaxing and pacing and enjoying so you can maintain more work; with that balance, you can work at a more “pro” level.
Thanks for the course and the site – it’s always awesome! | 2019-04-20T18:10:25Z | http://blog.littleredtarot.com/the-readers-reading/ |
Paper prepared for the tenth Annual Colloquium of Superannuation Researchers, University of New South Wales 8-9 July 2002.
This paper describes a personal superannuation model developed for the Australian Consumers' Association. The model was used to simulate the effects on retirement incomes of variables such as preservation of superannuation accumulations, tax rates, investment returns and fees. For wage and salary earners with broadly similar patterns of lifetime earnings, retirement income will be heavily influenced by the returns and fees of their funds. As real returns have fallen from their high levels of the 1990s, the influence of fees is becoming more significant in determining members' final superannuation accumulations.
Rising mandated rates of superannuation contributions have probably displaced other means of household savings. One consequence of declining discretionary saving and a rise in compulsory preserved saving is an increased dependency on and financial transfer from households to the finance sector of the economy.
This paper has its origins in work I have done for the Australian Consumers' Association over the last twelve months. The views and conclusions are mine, but much of the inspiration and information has come from the ACA. I would like particularly to acknowledge the contributions of Louise Sylvan and Catherine Wolthuizen from the ACA, and Dr Hazel Bateman from the University of New South Wales. The book Forced Saving, which Hazel has written in collaboration with Geoffrey Kingston and John Piggott, is a superb compendium of information and analysis of superannuation policies and practices; it has been of great assistance in this research.
The ACA has a strong interest in financial issues, an interest that has been growing as financial services account for an increasing portion of the household budget. On average, Australian households spend around $3600 a year (7 percent of total household expenditure), on financial and insurance services. That's more than we spend on operating motor vehicles or on buying furniture and whitegoods.(1) And that doesn't include financial payments passed through the business sector, such as credit card interchange fees.
Although specialist academic researchers have been working on superannuation for some time (Hazel Bateman and John Piggott wrote a comprehensive study for EPAC in 1993), it is only recently that it has become a regular issue in the financial press and, increasingly, in the popular media.
There are two reasons for heightened community interest. First, superannuation balances have been rising as accounts accumulate over time and as the compulsory contribution rates have risen. The average balance in a superannuation account is now around $20 000. That's not a great amount, but it's enough to arouse some level of interest.(2) Second, from mid 2000, fund balances stopped growing in real terms. Some funds reported negative returns, in fact. Both these trends are shown in Figure 1. A bout of recent poor performance has focused attention much more sharply than the bumper performance of the 1990s when funds were regularly reporting percentage returns in double digits.
That bumper performance is not likely to be repeated in the foreseeable future. The 1990s were unusual in three respects. The first was a steady fall in long-term bond rates as fears of inflation subsided. Such falls are rare; the previous sustained fall in bond rates was between 1920 and 1930. The second was a large number of privatizations and de-mutualizations, often pitched, politically, at low prices, which resulted in high capital gains after listing. (The political gain from undervaluing privatization share issues more than offsets the political odium from stripping public assets.) The third was the tremendous boost in funds coming into capital markets from the superannuation industry itself - not only in Australia, but also in other developed countries. Few industries have such an opportunity to create the conditions for their own success, but in time even the optimists on Wall Street come to understand that price/earnings ratios of 30:1 or 50:1 are unsustainable. The period of financial exuberance has ended. Corporate collapses and lower investment yields have wiped away the optimism of the 1990s. The outlook for the medium term, perhaps the long term, is much more subdued, and people are going to scrutinize their policies more carefully. When industry-wide returns are in the order of 10 or 12 percent a plus or minus two percent return is neither here nor there; when they are in the order of 4 to 6 percent such variations become important to investors.
The ACA isn't in the business of financial advice; neither am I. But, as with any complex consumer product, particularly one we have to buy, it is necessary to understand what was and wasn't important in influencing the performance of superannuation. Contribution rates, taxes, fees, earnings?
One way of answering these questions would have been a conventional journal search, supplemented perhaps by our own resources. But the situation is too dynamic to allow for reliance on published studies. If, say, we wanted to find the results of a five percent decrease in contribution tax, we needed some way to provide rapid answers. Would a five percent decrease in earning tax compensate for a five percent decrease in contribution tax? Applied policy research requires us to be able to answer "what if" type questions.
The most cost-effective way is through modelling. There are two approaches to modelling - one comprehensive, the other simplified. A short historical diversion may describe the difference and the uses of the two types.
Comprehensive models have their place. They are particularly useful for detailed planning in systems which can be described with a set of endogenous, controllable variables within known and previously experienced ranges. They are often less suited, however, to answer "what if" type questions of the sort the policy analyst might wish to ask. In such cases we are better served by simple models.
Paul Loomba, Professor of Management at Baruch College New York, also stresses the need for reductionist models.
The process of developing and refining a model of superannuation has allowed us to understand the key policy issues in superannuation - in particular the influence of fees and charges. I named our modest spreadsheet "supermodel.xls".
It is developed in Excel, and is available on this link.
The model is available in a more user-friendly form, at the ACA website, (http://www.choice.com.au - follow the links to superannuation) but that version doesn't show the model's workings.
age - commencing and finishing age are the age of commencing and finishing full-time paid work.
salary - as a simplification, we assumed salary is determined by two figures only, starting and finishing, and moves smoothly (generally upwards) over a person's life. All figures are in real, inflation-adjusted terms - we have made no assumptions about inflation, thereby keeping the figures understandable in constant 2002 prices.
years out of workforce - this is to allow one to take some years out of the workforce, generally for child raising. The variables are the years one is out, the age at which one leaves the workforce, and the fraction one is employed over that period. By setting the starting age out of the workforce equal to the commencing age, and setting a work fraction less than one, it is possible to simulate a period of initial part-time work, as may be experienced by a student.
contribution - the mandated contribution.
earning rate - a key variable, being the earning before fees and charges.
earning tax - in terms of legislation this should be 15 percent. But we have set it to zero as a default value, because many superannuation funds manage to reduce their earnings tax to zero with dividend imputation credits. According to APRA statistics, contributions (after tax) were $50.1 billion in 2000-01(6), which would imply a contribution tax liability of $8.8 billion. (50.1/0.85 - 50.1). But budget papers reveal a total superannuation tax, not including the surcharge, of only $4.1 billion.(7) This discrepancy is not easily explained; most parties comment on the poor quality of superannuation statistics. But it suggests our modelling should use a default of a low tax rate.
fees - we have allowed three different types of fees. The most common type is as a percentage of capital, but we have allowed two alternative methods, so that, using a reverse iterative function (e.g. goal seek in Excel), we can work out what a certain percentage of capital would be equivalent to if it were collected as an absolute amount or as a percentage of contributions.
Chris, although on a modest average salary ($32 500, a little below average weekly earnings(8)) is idealized, but it's useful to start with an idealized starting point. Chris has starts work at the age of 20, and has 45 years of unbroken full time work.
For a model of this nature it would be too onerous to go through all sensitivities. (The model is infinitely variable.) In general, the model shows the high compounding effect of early contributions, and the benefits of preservation - leaving funds to earn income later in life when contributions have accumulated.
Chris can retire earlier than 65, and choose whether or not to preserve. The effect is strong.
Even if Chris retires early, if there is a buffer of saving or a lump sum such as an inheritance or termination payment, there is a significant benefit in preservation. Superannuation funds accumulate strongly in the last few years because of growth from a high base.
In order to remove the income gradient effect above, we can model the effect of early retirement with and without preservation but with a flat salary - in this case a flat salary of $29 800 which will give the same lump sum for Chris.
This illustrates the effect of early redundancy or retirement. If Chris can hold on, then the effect of early retirement, in itself, is not as serious as the necessity to make an early call on superannuation.
This reveals the accumulation benefits of early contributions. It also gives some indication of the ultimate cost of deferring work while undertaking full-time study. Of course there are financial returns to study - an 18 year old school leaver can be expected to have a much lower average and lifetime income than a 24 year old university graduate.
When one is young, however, retirement is a long way off, and it is probable that young people feel little need to look at the performance of their funds, particularly when balances are low. But, because of the effect of compounding over a long time, good performance in early years is important.
There is a reasonably high penalty to pay for extending one's time out of the workforce, particularly at a younger age.
The effects of varying contributions and contribution taxes are straightforward and linear. An increase in the contribution rate to 10 percent raises the final accumulation to $428 000, or 11 percent. (A rise to 15 percent, as canvassed by various parties, would raise it to $642 000.) Similarly, reducing the contribution tax to zero would raise the final accumulation to $453 000, or 18 percent (the reciprocal of 0.85).
This is the most sensitive variable to judge. Because the model does not take account of inflation, a real rate should be used. But what is a reasonable real rate for a long-term investment?
A reasonable indication of the market's estimate for a risk-free investment is to take the long-term bond rate which is currently 6.10 percent(10), and subtract an estimate for inflation, which, according to Treasury, should be within a target band of 2 - 3 percent.(11) Taking the mid point of that range gives a real risk-free rate of 3.6 percent. That provides an estimate for a floor rate of return.
Because of the high returns of the 1990s, the suddenness of the collapse, and the volatility of fund returns in recent times, there is not much to be inferred from records of recent returns. This volatility is shown in Figure 2. These nominal returns have averaged 7.6 percent before expenses and 6.9 percent after expenses over the last three years. If this period were indicative of a longer-term trend it would indicate a reasonable rate of real return to be in the order of 5.0 percent.
The Government Actuary, adviser to the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme, uses an assumed real return of 3.5 percent.(12) This is even lower than the rate inferred from the long-term bond rate, and must be considered a conservative estimate.
In the model we have used a real return of 6.0 percent - a compromise between the high returns of the nineties and the recent low returns.
What is surprising is the rapidly accumulating benefit of the fund earning rate. To an extent this is a reflection of the influence of fees. Fees, generally, are taken as a percentage of capital, and as a general approximation, an X percent fee is equivalent to reducing the fund's return by X percent.
There are many ways of expressing fees, but the most common is as a percentage of capital. Such a frame gives small figures, but the effect of the levels of fees is significant.
In our model a fee of 1.0 percent has the same effect on the fund's final accumulation as an annual fee of $590, or 21 percent of contributions. If fees were expressed in such terms they may raise a great deal more concern among investors.
There is a vigorous debate on the measurement of fee levels. In late 2001 Dr Hazel Bateman published a paper on disclosure of superannuation fees(13). One figure in that paper, which showed that the average level of fees and charges was 1.7 percent of assets, captured a great deal of attention. It provoked a rejoinder from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) claiming that average fees were only 1.3 percent of assets.(14) The debate was also raised in the letters and columns of the financial press.
Averages mean little, for the superannuation industry is far from homogeneous, with a large variety of fee levels. Industry, corporate and public sector funds tend to have low fee levels. Retail funds, on the other hand, tend to have high fee levels, and these (apart from the "small funds") are the fastest growing sector of the industry, as is shown in Table 7.
Source: APRA June 2001"superannuation trends"
ASFA's estimates of fees by sector, showing the composition of that 1.3 percent, are shown in Table 8.
Source: Clare 2001, Page 8.
The main point to emerge from this analysis is that the fastest growing sector of the superannuation industry is the sector with the highest fee levels. Many firms are outsourcing their superannuation to retail managers. Many employees are unaware that the industry funds are open to outside members; one of the reasons their fee levels are low is that they spend little on advertising.
The main policy issues to have emerged from the fall in returns and the rising use of high fee levels relate to adequacy and equity. If superannuation returns had continued at the rate of the 1990s adequacy would hardly have been an issue, and no one would have noticed the level of fees.
The starting point for adequacy is the amount needed to sustain an annuity. This is given by the rather forbidding annuity formula, giving the annuity value A of a lump sum S, spread over n years, with a return of r.
If n is set at 20 years (from retirement at 65 to age 85), and S is set at $100 000, then the relation between A and r, that is, the amount of income each $100 000 can purchase, is given in Table 9 below.
That begs the question, "what is a reasonable value of r?". Assuming again earnings at six percent and fees at one percent, a figure of five percent is suggested at first sight. But an income indexed to inflation does not keep pace with living standards - it would do so only in the absence of productivity gains. (There has recently been a television series showing the hardships people had in living in a mocked up 1940 London house.) If we expect living standards to rise, say, by one percent a year, then a four percent real return is perhaps more realistic, if the annuity is to be indexed to keep pace with relative living standards. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, each $100 000 can be expected to yield an annual income only in the order of $7000. This is based on a 20 year annuity; if we retire at age 55 and need a 30 year annuity the figure is more like $6000 per $100 000 accumulated.
What then, does this say about policy? Coming back to our model, Chris will do fairly well if he or she has 40 years of continuous employment - a retirement income of $28 000, or 87 percent of average lifetime earnings. If Chris retires at 60 and preserves, the penalty is slight provided Chris can hold off dipping into superannuation for five years.
Failure to preserve has drastic results, both in terms of the value of the accumulation and the need to stretch out the annuity over more years. Even if Chris takes out an annuity and doesn't try to spend down his or her super, supplementary income support from a pension will probably still be required.
In this analysis we have not tried to model basic changes in Chris's situation - long periods of unemployment, periods of casual employment or self-employment, variations in income, high or low levels of salary sacrifice. The point is that if such chance events as early retirement and variations in fund expenses and performance can have such profound effects, then a fortiori, there will be very large variations in adequacy of superannuation schemes. Neighbours with similar earnings over their working lives will find gross differences in their retirement fortunes. One's lifetime earnings will not be a guide to one's retirement income.
Gross estimates of adequacy of the superannuation scheme, such as those published in the Treasurer's Intergenerational Report, overlook the range of outcomes of superannuation. And while there is a great deal of discussion about the impact of superannuation taxes, the consequences of different rates are minor compared with the consequences of differences in fund performance and fee levels. For Chris, abolition of the contribution tax would be wiped out by a movement in the management fee from 1.0 to 1.6 percent. Blanket moves to raise the superannuation levy would certainly provide more retirement income, but they would also amplify inequities.
The other issue, which has been subject to little policy consideration, has been the effect on household liquidity. The 1993 Fitzgerald Report suggested that a possible consequence of compulsory superannuation could be a displacement of other savings.(15) That seems to have occurred.
Figure 3 is an approximate representation of the trend in household savings over the last thirty years. It adds the Superannuation Guarantee Levy back to the household saving percentage. There are two offsetting approximations; not all household expenditure is financed from wages subject to the levy, and the levy is applied to gross wage income, not disposable income. It would be rash to claim precision in such analysis, but the trend is clear.
Another aspect of compulsory superannuation is that those who take out mortgages for their houses find themselves borrowing from and lending to the financial sector at the same time. Another more static model (available on the same website), simulates what would happen to a couple if they were able to re-direct what would otherwise be their superannuation payments to an accelerated paying-off of their mortgage. The couple has modest incomes, and a $150 000 mortgage (all assumptions are built into the spreadsheet). Assuming a spread of 2.0 percent between mortgage borrowing rates and superannuation returns, and assuming the couple saves what they gain through early mortgage repayment, they are better off by around $150 000 when they retire. (For a discussion of this model see Louise Sylvan "The Borrower/lender dilemma".(17)) This calculation is illustrative only, but it serves to illustrate that the present system, where people borrow from and lend to the financial sector at the same time, effectively results in a transfer to the financial sector in terms of the spread between lending and borrowing rates and in management fees.
Advocates of compulsory superannuation generally assume that saving is a desirable end in its own right, that it should be compulsory, and that it should occur in the household sector. But if the purpose of saving is to provide for an ageing population, then it is just as important to plan for the real resources which will be needed in the future. These include both private and public investments. In the public sphere are physical infrastructure, sustainable ecosystems, cities which can cater to the needs of an older population and real resources in health care. But Australia does not necessarily offer attractive opportunities for private sector investment - as Alan Kohler of the Financial Review puts it "fund managers are simply running out of things to buy".(19) At the same time Australia faces huge deficits in its public wealth - in its surface transport infrastructure, in environmental restoration, and many other projects which, while offering attractive economic returns, are not amenable to private investors because of their public good characteristics.(20) It is possible Australia is suffering a misdirection of savings with an imbalance between public and private sector investment.
We need to see superannuation in this wider context; it is important, but it is no more than the financial system which can fund some of our future investment. We still have to consider those real resources and their productivity, in both the public and private spheres.
1. Source: Derived from National Accounts Cat 5206.0 Household Final Consumption Expenditure, brought to 2001 prices using chain price index, and using an estimate 7.38 million households, from ABS Household Expenditure Survey 1998-89 Cat 6535.0, updated by population movement.
2. These are assets per account, according to APRA figures. APRA records show 24 million "members" - more accurately there are 24 million accounts; many people have more than one account.
3. For a description of Wack's work from a first person perspective, see Wack 1984, and from a detached perspective see Kleiner 1996.
4. Stokey and Zeckhauser 1978 Page 28.
5. Loomba 1978 Page 39.
6. APRA Superannuation trends Table 3.
7. Budget Paper # 1, 2002-03, Table E1.
10. Reserve Bank 10 Year Bond Rate April 2002.
11. Budget Paper # 1, 2002-03, Page 3.32.
12. Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme Annual Report 200-01 Page 19.
16. Norris and McLean 2000.
20. Institution of Engineers 2001.
Hazel Bateman, Geoffrey Kingston and John Piggott Forced Saving - Mandating Private Retirement Incomes (Cambridge University Press 2001).
Hazel Bateman "Disclosure of Superannuation Fees and Charges" Paper prepared for the Australian Institution of Superannuation Trustees August 2001.
Hazel Bateman and John Piggott "Australia's Mandated Private Retirement Income Scheme: An Economic Perspective" Economic Planning Advisory Council Retirement Income Perspectives: Two papers prepared for the Office of EPAC (AGPS July 1993).
The Institutions of Engineers Australia 2001 Australian Infrastructure Report Card (http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org.au).
Ross Clare "Are Administration and investment costs in the Australian superannuation industry too high?" (ASFA Research Centre 2001).
Vince W Fitzgerald National Saving: A Report to the Treasurer (Fitzgerald Report) (AGPS 1993).
Intergenerational Report Budget Paper No 5, 2002.
Art Kleiner The Age of Heretics: heroes, outlaws, and the forerunners of corporate change (Doubleday NY 1996).
Alan Kohler "Trusts' feeding frenzy as companies abandon super" and "Super heads offshore" Australian Financial Review 22, 23 May 2002.
John M Legge "Super - for Some" Dissent Summer 2001/2002.
Ian McAuley "Superannuation and the Public Purpose" Dissent Summer 2001/2002.
- "FAQ Superannuation" Consuming Interest No 91 Autumn 2002.
Keith Norris and Ben McLean "How long do jobs last in Australia?" Australian Bulletin of Labour Vol 26 No 2 June 2000.
Edith Stokey and Richard Zeckhauser A Primer for Policy Analysis (WW Norton NY 1978).
Louise Sylvan "Superannuation - Brilliant System or Consumer Rip-off?" Dissent Summer 2001/2002.
- "The borrower/lender dilemma" Consuming Interest No 91 Autumn 2002.
Pierre Wack Scenarios: The Gentle Art of Re-perceiving (Harvard Business School, Division of Research, ref 9-9785-042 1984, rev 1985).
Ian McAuley is a part-time lecturer in public sector finance at the University of Canberra and a part-time consultant to the consumer movement. | 2019-04-19T12:58:48Z | http://ianmcauley.com/academic/superannuation/superpaper.html |
The spectrum of mental health issues is wide and generally misunderstood. If you don't believe me find someone with depression and ask them how many people have told them to 'cheer up'; find those who have different issues and you'll find that they've been told to 'pull themselves together' (or better still, to 'ignore it and get on with life').
I am privileged to be in a place where a great many of those around me have mental health related needs and rather than limit the ministry of, or from, the Church I find that their experiences (and troubles) are nothing but beneficial. That said, around me I see centres closing and services 're-aligned' such that they are in effect removed and this is something that the Church must stand against and also take up the challenge and stand in the gap.
I have sat in the corner of a room whilst the 'caring professional' before seeks merely (or so it seems) to find that caveat which excuses them from offering care. An example of this being a series of questions aimed at a man suffering from depression which, as the interview went on, descended into questions about smoking and alcohol. When the answer to the question, 'Have you ever drunk chemical-based cider?' was in the affirmative the 'professional' stopped the assessment and, handing over a leaflet for the local drink and drug support agency, told their would be client that they couldn't help and terminated the assessment.
I later asked the same person why this was the case and they said that any indication of alcohol abuse meant that they could 'pass on' the person to a different agency (even though this person is obviously suffering from the effects of quite bad depressive illness).
To make things even more interesting, as their symptoms increased and the illness deepened, the same person found that they were no longer eating or sleeping, to which one of the GPs merely proscribe a three month supply of sleeping pills and told them to come back in a couple of months!
iii. Mental illness cannot be 'caught' (as one moronic minister once said) and it does not create a bar to being a fully functioning member of the Church (except of course where behaviour and stuff does - and even then there are ways of making it work) - We have within our walls (Church universal) people with damaged bodies, missing limbs, cerebrally controlled limitations and, of course, mental illness. It is just another illness and just as I don't give sugar to diabetics or ask those with the effects of Polio remaining in their bodies to 'run over to the shops', there are considerations when dealing with the mentally ill (have, are or perhaps will be) and this is to realise that it is merely just another illness with its limitations and considerations accordingly.
So, 2013 is knocking at the door - so are those with mental health issues; one you can't stop and the other you surely can't ignore. Can you?
O Lord, hear my prayer and let my crying come before you.
Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress.
For my days are consumed in smoke and my bones burn away as in a furnace.
My heart is smitten down and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread.
From the sound of my groaning my bones cleave fast to my skin.
I am become like a vulture in the wilderness, like an owl that haunts the ruins.
I keep watch and am become like a sparrow solitary upon the housetop.
My enemies revile me all the day long, and those who rage at me have sworn together against me.
Because of your indignation and wrath, for you have taken me up and cast me down.
My days fade away like a shadow, and I am withered like grass.
surely the time has come.
For your servants love her very stones and feel compassion for her dust.
This shall be written for those that come after, and a people yet unborn shall praise the Lord.
When peoples are gathered together and kingdoms also, to serve the Lord.
He has brought down my strength in my journey and has shortened my days.
‘They shall perish, but you will endure; they all shall wear out like a garment.
and whoever turns from evil is despoiled.
and wrapped himself in fury as in a mantle.
that the wind of the Lord drives on.
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the Lord: my spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouths of your children, or out of the mouths of your children’s children, says the Lord, from now on and for ever.
What's the difference between Spiderman, the Hulk, Captain America and Jesus?
Is simple - only one of them is a real superhero!
Not only that but three of them are Marvel whist the other is marvellous!
And best of all - only one of them really existed (and amazingly still does - let me tell you about Easter!).
Here we are on the sixth day of Christmas and we are not only celebrating Christ's birth in Bethlehem (and His resurrection some thirty odd years later) but looking towards His second coming and best of all, singing carols!
Another of the issues that cause me grief is that of homelessness.
A few years back (2006) the town in which I find myself serving had one of the local characters freeze to death in a bus shelter as he endured a night in the cold conditions. At that time some of those in the town decided that they would set about 'doing something' and yet here we are, almost seven years on from his death (January 7th) and nothing has changed.
Last year we had a homeless man whose tent had been burgled and his possessions taken. Now I don't know about you but I can't imagine being reduced to living under a canvas shelter only to find your stuff has been nicked - talk about being at the furthest end of the food chain!
Anyway, at first I tried to set him up with a proper tent, food and other stuff, but this was met with opposition from some of the locals in the place I tried to site him for the night (I needed to get him somewhere safe for one night so I could see what could be done to provide a more stable and safe environment). In fact, not only did they call the police but they told them that there were two vagrants (me being the other) who had dared to set up camp in their nice little village!
The upshot of this was that I got him moved and the church let him stay in a building until such time as he could be housed - and he was, for after some seven weeks, the day before Christmas Eve last year, the man got a flat (where he remains) of his own!
4. If we took the trouble to listen to the stories they have to tell, we would find that the majority of those who are homeless are no different from you or I (in fact one, an former pupil at a prestigious public school and former legal type had suffered a major breakdown and was was in fact probably much better off, and better educated, than many of us before his tragedy).
So here's the bottom line on this topic - I will not stand by and see people treated badly from now on. Where I find homelessness and nothing being done (whether it be church, council or community) or worse still, steps being taken to act against them - I will shout and make sure everyone who has ears hears, and will keep doing so until something happens.
and one night unfolds knowledge to another.
and their words to the ends of the world.
and rejoices as a champion to run his course.
and gives wisdom to the simple.
Who can tell how often they offend?
O cleanse me from my secret faults!
and innocent of great offence.
and fulfil all your mind.
may the Lord perform all your petitions.
with the mighty strength of his right hand.
but we will call only on the name of the Lord our God.
and answer us when we call upon you.
Made me laugh - should carry a health warning!
This is one of those things that made me (and others who saw it) laugh out loud - it's one of those amazingly simple to do and yet incredibly funny things and the thought alone keeps you chuckling.
Left with the gift of envy (of which of course I repented immediately and a sense of loss at no longer having one myself.
A big 'Thank You' to all those extremely patient people out there who wait for us to get the clearing up and tidying sorted!
They flatter themselves in their own eyes that their abominable sin will not be found out.
they have ceased to act wisely and to do good.
nor do they abhor that which is evil.
you, Lord, shall save both man and beast.
How precious is your loving mercy, O God!
and your righteousness to those who are true of heart.
nor the hand of the ungodly thrust me away.
as long as I have any being, I will sing praises to my God.
on that day all their thoughts perish.
and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemy.
but God will give you back to me with joy and gladness for ever.
and with the splendour of the Everlasting.
My children, endure with patience the wrath that has come upon you from God.
and will tread upon their necks.
they were taken away like a flock carried off by the enemy.
for you will be remembered by the one who brought this upon you.
Clearing the air (2a) - they're shooting the horses!
Following on from the 'shoot horses' theme I see in today's news that there has been as drop of almost 25% in the number of older people using day care centres in England over the past three years. This figure comes from Age UK who say that the numbers of those availing themselves of lunch clubs and other day care provision is due in the main to financial pressure on councils.
The report highlights the potential for the elderly to find themselves "'Living out their last years in loneliness'. Meanwhile, the government says that councils received sufficient funding to protect services and that there was no justifiable reason for such services* to be cut.
It seems to me that removing services from the elderly is a simple exercise for these are one group who rarely have a consistent or effective voice. Something is closed and all that happens is that the people who used the services are confined to home and their voice is unheard. It is an easy win for those who are seeking to cut costs as the people affected just appear to vanish and, because there is little outcry, the deed goes relatively unnoticed.
Age UK say that during the previous financial year, council spending on old people's services had dropped by £500m - no doubt diverted to more important services! The reality is that the critical and high-dependancy needs are being met but those who are able to potter on are now being left to their own devices and this, regardless of the financial situation, has to be wrong.
Where I am we offer free tea, coffee, cake and biscuits two mornings a week and have an afternoon club for the older people around us and whilst this is something, it's not enough ('but where do we find those who are willing to come and open the doors and do the stuff?' cries a voice somewhere in the recesses of my mind)).
If you read this (and so apparently will) can I ask you to take an hour from your busy life and check on what is on offer where you live? See what your church, council and other organisations are doings and if the answer is 'nothing' then start making noises - get the councils, the churches and others off their backsides and help to reverse this diminishing provision trend; not because of some charitable thing, but because it is the right thing to be doing.
*day centres, lunch clubs, exercise classes, hairdressing, podiatry, social activities and respite care all come into this category.
Clearing the air (2) - they shoot horses don't they?
Another of the issues that has caused me great problems this year is the fact that those who now form part of the 'older' generation of our land appear to be regarded as merely spent and expendable. After all, they have little to offer in terms of revenue generation and are another burden that demands time, money and attention from both the state and their own families.
But of course this isn't true and if you start to think about it logically, many of those who are the older generation have many years of work (and paying of taxes and National Insurance) behind them. Not only that but there are many who have paid out for the nation in another way, that of having served it in some form of military (or other) service!
There's the second world war - growing up in a time of depression and many other hardships that were faced by this group. They know the value of family (and are often the glue of their families) and generally worked hard to pay their way. These are the people who paid financially and with their own lives and the lives of those they loved to make the sixties the libertarian and relaxed age that it was. They paid in and now it is surely their turn to reap the respect and care of the nation.
Still wars, but not to the same scale as those before them. Still knew the value of stuff and still exist as the focus of the families and communities in which they live. Paid more in many ways as the NHS and other social care and concern provisions became available for everyone in a real and established manner. Accepted that paying NI and taxes meant a lifetime of care both medically, in social housing and in old age.
'Sixty is the new forty' (or so I'm told) and this group are now looking at paying, and working, for longer before they get their go onto the provision roundabout, that is if we still have a social health service and anything that looks like 'old age care' by the time the youngest of this group actuallty reaches seventy. Many of these will have paid and worked all their lives (but not all as Thatcher's job cuts and the various trough, trough and recovery have played their part) for something others wish to deprive them of. Trendy and living on credit is a greater reality for this bunch but they've still (in the main) played their part.
Unlike horses and other beasts of burden (which used to be shot but now find themselves in 'sanctuaries') these people have worked and contributed to the well-being of our society. they have produced children, been in gainful employment and paid their taxes and National Insurance to provide for those before them.
The State told them that they were entitled to 'cradle to grave' care and support, but no one told them that the grave might just be enticed that little nearer to reduce costs; neither did they realise that services and places of care would mean that we would end up with a 'can't pay - can't live' society (such as that I saw many years ago in a certain Western nation where there was wealth and health and poverty and early demise on the menu).
The Bible tells us that 'we don't muzzle the ox that treads the grain' (Deuteronomy 25) - meaning that when you do the work you should also benefit from it. Well those in the three groups above have done (and in many cases are still doing) that and they have a right to expect the best in care, provision and support. In fact, I would argue that legally, having paid in to the system, if services are withdrawn there must be a case for reimbursement of the financial components for them as they have paid money for something that isn't on offer (it's called 'fraud' when it doesn't relate to the government!).
One of the things that defines a nation is the way that it cares for the poor and needy; well if some of my visits to places around the country are anything to go by, we are to be judged as wanting. If some of the stories I hear (and have seen for myself) are anything other than isolated exceptions then there is a cynical streak that seeks to save money on the lives that actions designate as 'worthless' because of the age of the person.
Be warned - 2013 is the year when I will shout loud and make a stand for the older folk around me and where services are not forthcoming then I will be making this known; where charities fail to uphold their end of the bargain (a bargain which the giving of others has made possible) I will waste no time in pointing to it.
1 Timothy (chapter five) talks about providing for our relatives (and members of our households too) and it says that those who fail to do this have denied their faith and are 'worse than unbelievers' - sadly in a land where unbelief is applauded and financial probity is championed as a reason for poorer standards in old-age care, these words are appearing truer every day - another reason that we need to make this land a place where faith is applauded and reason, truth, love, justice and mercy are valued.
"Brothers and sisters, if you find someone acting wrongly, those of you with faith in God (and living by His Holy Spirit) should correct them gently. But take care that you are not tempted to do that wrongly yourselves.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
We need to care for the older people of our nation - it is their right and our duty!
If it isn't being done then we need to start doing some 'correcting' (the right way) - don't we?
It is always fun when words and pictures come together to tell one story but illustrate another.
The Daily express has managed that with a heart-warming story of Christmas Day and our troops getting the full Christmas meal.
For those who are wondering how on earth you can tell where these well camouflaged men come from (it's difficult I know) the clue is that we have a little union flag on our uniforms.
Still - was a great story (and it made me smile) Perhaps the caption should have been 'someone's brave troops'?
Happy Thursday and Veselé Vánoce!
how greatly shall he rejoice in your salvation!
You have given him his heart’s desire and have not denied the request of his lips.
For you come to meet him with blessings of goodness and set a crown of pure gold upon his head.
His honour is great because of your salvation;glory and majesty have you laid upon him.
and will make him glad with joy in your presence.
he shall not be overthrown.
the Lord will swallow them up in his anger and the fire will consume them.
Their fruit you will root out of the land and their seed from among its inhabitants.
you will put them to flight when you aim your bow at their faces.
we will make music and sing of your power.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates and has blest your children within you.
he blows with his wind and the waters flow.
Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
Whoever says, ‘I am in the light’, while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.
Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling.
But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.
one God, now and for ever.Amen.
One of the most amazingly brilliant presents I got this year was a weird looking pair of pliers that turned out to be a 'Pickmaster'. Take a look at the video I've made of it, and beneath it, there's the results of my efforts (in another Christmas present - a Pick case)!
Now I know what to do with all those expired or useless bits of plastic that often hang around the house and now I have a few to get through (and experiment with) as well.
Having a chilled day and thought I'd pin a few colours to the mast over the few days between now and New Year. I have done it with 'Happy Holidays' and now I feel the need to respond to people like Geoffrey Clark, a man who was standing as a candidate for UKIP's National Executive Committee, until he opened his mouth and put his foot squarely in it by calling for the compulsory abortion of all foetuses that have been identified as having the potential to be born with Down's syndrome or spina bifida.
As if it might make things better the man supported his opinion by stating that the reason for the views he held were merely 'financial' for he was concerned that such children would be 'a burden on the state and the family'. Mind you, the man's amazingly sad utterances didn't stop with children born with health issues for he also (apparently) thinks that the state should re-assess the care given to over eighties as it was 'extraordinarily costly'.
I write this as someone who has, for as long as I remember, been 'pro-life'. This is a position that has attracted a fair amount of conflict in the past as I have been engaged by those who wish to demote babies into 'just a mass of cells' and render them to be an abstract 'foetus' as they support what is often little more than social engineering! [I invite those who support the aborting (not 'termination') of a child because it interferes with holidays and changes careers, lifestyle and financial circumstances.
Over the years there have been many who have accused me of being able to have my views based on their premise that: 'it's alright for you because you haven't got a handicapped child'.
Well, this is probably a food time to 'fess up and explain that I have not only held my views for a long time, but that I held them long before I became the father of a severely handicapped child who was with us for just under ten years. Ten years that taught me a great deal about the value and place of the handicapped among us and only confirmed my original views regarding the value of live and the contribution that some of the most damaged can make to the lives of the most able.
There are times when tough choices regarding life and death are forced upon us, and when these appear, the Church needs to be present to offer pastoral and moral support. There are times when the continuance of an obviously non-viable pregnancy that threatens also to take the life of an otherwise healthy woman come knocking at our doors. At some stage we may well find ourselves engaging with others who have the spectre of an abortion somewhere in their life story. What do we do when this is our reality?
I would consider that the first word to think of is always 'Love' regardless of the reasons or outcomes before or behind them.
I have decided that 2013 will be a year when I seek to turn those with 'righteous anger' away from it into a place of 'righteous love'.
The second thing to think of is the fact that in Exodus chapter Twenty we are told that we must never take life 'feloniously' - by which I mean, 'do not murder' - but where life must be taken (and it seems that there are times when the word 'must' is very much a reality, but reliance upon man's laws and the assumption that they overrule the requirements of God's is a flawed, and dangerous, state of affairs.
I have seen a cerebrally palsied child, unable to speak, feed or toilet themselves communicate and contribute so much to the life of those around them.
I have seen the very best of people, sometimes in what appears to be the very worst of people, brought out by their encounter with frailty and helplessness.
To consider only the difficulties that children with major disability and handicap will bring to us in terms of negative numbers - be they financial, emotional or time - is to see past our own humanity and reduce us to nothing more than components. It is to remove the heart and soul from our society something which (with apologies to those humanists and secularists this might offend) is becoming more commonplace and more acceptable as our netion distances itself from being a people of faith.
So Mr. Clark (and those who might support your views) all I can say is that I am grateful that there isn't a 'Geoffrey Clark test' for those children who are yet unborn, and am glad that it wasn't on offer when you were as them, for each of us regardless of flaws and disability have within us that image of the invisible God that we need to treasure and that ennobles us and makes us and our society all the richer (regardless of financial cost).
What did you learn during advent?
This was a question I found myself facing earlier today.
You're NOT supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!
How long will you forget me, O Lord; for ever?
How long shall I have anguish in my soul and grief in my heart, day after day?
lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him,’ and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
But I put my trust in your steadfast love; my heart will rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt so bountifully with me.
Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
I put my trust in the Lord.
I will be glad and rejoice in your mercy, for you have seen my affliction and known my soul in adversity.
You have not shut me up in the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in an open place.
praise him upon the harp and lyre.
praise him upon the clashing cymbals.
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.
Then they secretly instigated some men to say, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.’ They stirred up the people as well as the elders and the scribes; then they suddenly confronted him, seized him, and brought him before the council. They set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.’ And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
And celebrate as you will!
What did Santa ever do for me?
Now ask yourself this question?
What did Jesus ever do for me?
*and it's not that the catalogue is out of date - just didn't have time to copy in a new one this year)?
Come on people get a life - happens once a year and if you weren't 'doing it' you'd still be at it wouldn't you?
You would still be going wouldn't you?
as I make my song for the king, my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.
full of grace are your lips, for God has blest you for ever.
gird on your majesty and glory.
Ride on and prosper in the cause of truth and for the sake of humility and righteousness.
so that peoples fall beneath you.
the sceptre of your kingdom is the sceptre of righteousness.
from ivory palaces the music of strings makes you glad.
forget your own people and your father’s house.
he is your lord, so do him honour.
the richest of the people shall seek your favour.
her clothing is embroidered cloth of gold.
after her the virgins that are her companions.
‘Instead of your fathers you shall have sons, whom you shall make princes over all the land.
The Lord is high above all nations and his glory above the heavens.
yet humbles himself to behold the things of heaven and earth?
To set them with princes, with the princes of his people.
and makes her a joyful mother of children.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. Therefore, brothers and sisters, be all the more eager to confirm your call and election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.
Therefore I intend to keep on reminding you of these things, though you know them already and are established in the truth that has come to you. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to refresh your memory, since I know that my death will come soon, as indeed our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
and the prophecy is done!
but both of them with songs.
the other facing condemnation - and possibly death.
and what does Mary do?
"I'll do it it if it's what God wants,"
if it was me or you?
as the mother of God?
was the one who said 'Yes' when Gabriel came.
And thank God for her.
And a a piece of sublime music to go with it.
I've just found a jar of salad dressing in my 'fridge and it appears that indeed it is true, the 'end by date' is 21/12/12.
Perhaps that's why they call it 'Mayannaise'?
He will not suffer your foot to stumble; he who watches over you will not sleep.
Behold, he who keeps watch over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
the Lord is your shade at your right hand, so that the sun shall not strike you by day, neither the moon by night.
Jerusalem, built as a city that is at unity in itself.
‘May they prosper who love you.
I will pray that peace be with you.
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do you good.
to you that are enthroned in the heavens.
so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God, until he have mercy upon us.
and of the contempt of the proud.
who have drunk to the dregs the bowl of staggering.
there is no one to take her by the hand among all the children she has brought up.
you shall drink no more from the bowl of my wrath.
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labour we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you.
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the mark in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
this is why why don't want Church to look like the world!
EVEN WHEN IT'S NOT WHAT SOME WHAT TO HEAR!
"Happy Holidays" is a recognition that Christians are not the only ones celebrating a major festival at this time of year. In a multifaith society this is important.
Its origins are, I believe, in the US where the significance of the Jewish community's celebration of Hanukah is acknowledged. Of course, here we also have Diwali which seems to move about a bit date-wise but occurs mid-winterish. This doesn't (or shouldn't) stop Christians witnessing to the birth of our Saviour, but I am always very pleased to receive my annual card from a local Islamic organisation wishing me "Happy Holidays"."
He also writes that Birmingham's failed 'Winterval festival' (which I have dealt with before) was never intended to replace or redefine Christmas and I have acknowledged (more than once) that it was nothing more than a bit of cynical marketing to try and attract various of the major faiths (and those of no faith) into Brum for a bit of shopping and perhaps even a spot of culture! The goal was to develop an extended period of commercial opportunity by stretching things from Diwali to Christmas [and perhaps beyond]) not create, or do away with, any of the festivals but as it wasn't going to mention any by name any longer, this would still have been the outworking even if not the desire!
Anyway, all I said was (tempted to do 'Life of Brian' here, but will resist) that it was cynical (and it was) just as the 'Happy Holidays' tosh is pretty much an exercise in cynicism, too!
For so many of us these days Christmas starts early. Where I live our town's Christmas lights went on on the 17th November and the week leading up to that saw a christmas tree festival in the parish church too! I have Jewish friends and whilst they are happy to get Christmas cards along with their Hanukkah cards, they are very definite that it is not 'Happy Holidays' either.
A couple of years back I was wished 'HH' by one of the members of a call centre and upon asking why they'd done it was told that it was company policy because it was less offensive to people who didn't celebrate it. Being that sort of a person I rang the head office and eventually got through to someone who informed me that it was policy so as not to offend the many 'non-religious people' who might find the Christian festival offensive that it was merely referred to as 'holiday'.
"Are there many of them? " I asked. The person on the other end said they weren't sure but it was company policy and had come from 'someone upstairs'. So I ask to speak to someone in that place and eventually found myself chatting to a director (about thirty minutes) who listened and promised that, on the balance of our conversation, they would revisit their policy. I left assured (in my mind) that nothing would really happen and was stunned when I got a call from the same call centre to be wish a 'merry Christmas'.
As for being offensive my many friends and acquaintances from other faiths not only insist on referring to Christmas but have also been extremely vocal (and far more active than the Christians) when they have perceived that Christmas might be being weakened or threatened. The reality being that members of the world faiths (and that include a great number of Muslims by the way in case there are any Daily Fascist readers visiting) are supportive of those who hold other beliefs. It is called tolerance - something that many secularists and humanists appear to know nothing about!
With that I take this early opportunity to wish you and yours a wonderfully blessed and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year.
Come let us sing - don't they know it's . . . ?
This morning I could not contain my excitement as I ran around my study doing my Lancaster impressions and called out to God and was glad in his presence, singing songs of joy and interceded for the world and all within it it!
'O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Just set me off on a roll. How could I not sing His praises and sing out joyfully in psalms and songs of praise?
How could I be silent as all around me those who claim to have no Christian belief are singing songs about the LORD (the ultimate, absolute and everything being) coming to earth in flesh as one of us to reveal His solution to ALL the world's problems? Of course, they (generally) think that what they have before them is Argostide, the season formerly known as 'CHRISTmas' (also featured as the 'Oooh, it's for the kiddies!' event of the year!).
People who would wish to deny the reality of Jesus and would distance themselves from His birth by use of the banal 'Happy Holidays' (what on earth does that mean?) it's as crass as Birmingham's 'Winterval' as they seek to lump people of differing faiths and none!
iii. by corrupting the humble gift of love that is Jesus; the sacrificial giving of a long-gone bishop (Nicholas) and making it about money and stuff.
So, are you one of those who will stand by today and tomorrow and keep silent or will you be singing out for the LORD I wonder.
I know what I'm going to keep doing - after all 'they don't know it's CHRIST's mass (appeal) time?
and though the mountains quake at the towering seas.
the holy place of the dwelling of the Most High.
but God utters his voice and the earth shall melt away.
what destruction he has wrought upon the earth.
and burns the chariots in the fire.
O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us heartily rejoice in the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving and be glad in him with psalms.
In his hand are the depths of the earth and the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands have moulded the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God; we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
‘When your forebears tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my works.
As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
my shield in whom I trust, who subdues the peoples under me.
mere human beings, that you should take thought for them?
their days pass away like a shadow.
touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
shoot out your arrows and let thunder roar.
and their right hand is the hand of falsehood.
You that give salvation to kings and have delivered David your servant.
Happy are the people whose blessing this is.
Happy are the people who have the Lord for their God.
I will sing praises to my God.
and bread to those who hunger.
We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.
This is evidence of the righteous judgement of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfil by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 2019-04-21T14:33:57Z | http://victhevicar.blogspot.com/2012/12/ |
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Poly-coated cloth backing with a very aggressive adhesive that bonds to almost any surface. Good conformability. Water and tear resistant. Provides clean removal from windows, trim and walls, even when exposed to sunlight for up to 8 days. UV resistant. Use for tough repairs that are best left unseen on things such as lawn chairs, suitcases, automobile seats and window screens. Last 6x longer than regular duct and is water and UV resistant for both indoor and outdoor use. Unwinds and separates easily, even when the sticky sides meet.
For non-critical painting and utility applications. Should not be applied to wallpaper, unpainted wallboard or ceiling tile. Formulated for water-based materials such as plaster, drywall texture and latex. Removes cleanly and easily for up to 14 days without leaving adhesive residue. For painted walls and trim, woodwork, glass and metal. Use with water-based and solvent-based coatings. Not recommended for use with or on lacquers, wallpaper, unpainted wallboard and ceiling tile.
For non-critical applications. For home, office and light duty projects. Good adhesion and clean removal at room temperature. Coated with an aggressive synthetic adhesive. An extra strong pressure sensitive tape for sealing, securing, unitizing, bundling, packaging and 1000 other uses. Has an aggressive adhesive which provides instant gripping and fantastic strength. Superior tear resistance and impact strength and will handle the very toughest of holding problems. Complies with U.S. Postal and UPS standards for package closure. High quality blue tape with a special adhesive that provides clean removability, even from glass that has been left in direct sunlight for up to 14 days. Excellent UV resistance, conformability and tensile strength.
For general, all-purpose use in packaging, wrapping, sealing, binding, bundling and general maintenance. Good tensile strength and even tear in cross and machine directions. 6 mil. Meets postal regulations. Ultraviolet resistance eliminates yellowing and increases shelf life. Offers wide temperature range performance (14-degree to 140-degree F). 2.6 mil. Meets postal regulations. Ultraviolet resistance eliminates yellowing and increases shelf life. Offers wide temperature range performance (14-degree to 140-degree F). 2.6 mil.
High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces. High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, color-coding materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces. Super strong poly tape meets or exceeds package-sealing requirements. Meets U.S. Postal Service regulations.
Poly-coated cloth backing with a very aggressive adhesive that bonds to almost any surface. Good conformability. Water and tear resistant. High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, color-coding materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces. High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces.
High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, color-coding materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces. High performance strength and adhesion characteristics. For repairs, color-coding, fashion, crafting and imaginative projects. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces. High performance strength and adhesion characteristics are excellent for coordinating repairs, color-coding materials and crafting applications. Tears easily by hand without curling and conforms to uneven surfaces.
High quality blue tape with a special adhesive that provides clean removability, even from glass that has been left in direct sunlight for up to 14 days. Excellent UV resistance, conformability and tensile strength. Has exceptional strength and flexibility with excellent adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces. Best for carton sealing, bundling and securing loose objects during shipment. Temperature, tear and impact resistant. Sticks without water. Complies with U.S. Postal and UPS standards for package closure. 1.85 Mil. Has exceptional strength and flexibility with excellent adhesion to a wide variety of surfaces. Best for carton sealing, bundling and securing loose objects during shipment. Temperature, tear and impact resistant. Sticks without water. Complies with U.S. Postal and UPS standards for package closure. 1.85 Mil.
Can be used on many types of surfaces. Delivers crisp paint lines without leaving a residue. For painted walls, woodwork, glass, metal & vinyl. 8 day clean removal. UV and sunlight resistant. Strong, high-density foam with permanent adhesive on both sides for wall mounting pictures, decorations, and other lightweight objects on smooth surfaces. For carton sealing and label protection. Meets UPS and U.S. postal regulation for package sealing.
Tape for the office. Pulls off roll smoothly and cuts easily, resists splitting and tearing. Easy to handle and apply, can be repositioned initially, yet secures permanently. Disappears on paper, will not show on copies. Resists yellowing, cracking and drying out. Formulated for the majority of water and oil based materials, including lacquers and acrylics. Use it on walls, trim, metal, glass and more. Acrylic adhesive. Crepe backing. 14-day UV resistance.
For shipping, moving and storage. Split & tear resistant. Water and temperature resistant. 3.4 mil thick construction. Crystal clear, for protecting box labels. High adhesion tape for production masking painting. For non-damageable surfaces such as vinyl, carpet and wood. Use with most solvent-based and water-based coatings. Industrial-quality adhesive fastens securely for a strong, weather-resistant hold inside or outdoors. Holds up to 5 pounds.
For general, all-purpose painting applications. Conforms well to most surfaces. 1-day clean removal and good paint lines. Suitable for a wide range of temperature and humidity conditions. For rough, non-damageable surfaces such as brick, concrete, rough wood, stucco and water-based, solvent stain and lacquer applications. Will not lift, curl, or transfer adhesive with most lacquers. Conforms well to most surfaces for an excellent paint line. DO NOT USE: On easily damaged surfaces, such as: wallpaper, wallboard, ceiling tile, uncured coatings or other delicate surfaces. All weather. Holds longer. Holds stronger. Designed to hold to rough, dirtier surfaces. UV-resistant backing for long-lasting outdoor applications. Premium adhesive and high-tensile construction. Made with advanced co-extrusion process which melts adhesive material to the backing of the tape in one single step. Easy, clean tear for quick repairs.
Anti-skid adhesive strips. Easy to apply, just peel and stick. Adheres to wood, concrete or metal surfaces. Can be used both indoors and outdoors. Formulated for water-based materials such as plaster, drywall texture and latex. Comes off roll smoothly, goes down cleanly, and sticks firmly for general-purpose use with a shiny, glossy finish that will not yellow with age.
Adhesive on both sides of foam squares for mounting pictures and decorations on most types of walls including ceramic tile and wood surfaces that are clean, dry, and smooth. Not recommended for use on wallpaper or walls painted with flat paint. Holds up to 2 lb (900g). For shipping items and for everday use. Meets US Postal regulations for standard packages. Anti-skid adhesive strips. Easy to apply, just peel and stick. Adheres to wood, concrete or metal surfaces. Can be used both indoors and outdoors.
For use on smooth, delicate, water-based, solvent-based or stain surfaces such as freshly painted surfaces (24-hours old), vinyl coated wallpaper, primed wallboard, wood floors and faux painting. Clean removal time up to 60 days. Resistant to UV and sunlight. Not compatible with Lacquer coating or surfaces. Anti-skid adhesive strips. Easy to apply, just peel and stick. Adheres to wood, concrete or metal surfaces. Can be used both indoors and outdoors. Anti-skid adhesive strips. Easy to apply, just peel and stick. Adheres to wood, concrete or metal surfaces. Can be used both indoors and outdoors.
For box sealing applications, under or over stuffed boxes, package repair and bundling applications, and packages exposed to more challenging shipping hazards and stress. Application temperature 35-degree F to 120-degree F. Featuring Corru-grip adhesive technology. 3 mil. Features the strength of Gorilla Tape, in a crystal clear tape that does not yellow outdoors. Made with a heavy duty adhesive layer and waterproof backing for extreme durability. This tape is UV and temperature resistant - great for projects and repairs both indoors and out. Can be applied to wet surfaces and also works under water. For a wide range of repairs. Weatherproof. Flexible. Composed of a heat-bonded 4-layer construction. Designed with a SmartSkin backing. Silver/Blue backing. 5.5 Mil weight.
Made with double thick adhesive, strong reinforced backing, and a tough all-weather shell. It sticks to rough and uneven surfaces, including wood, stone, stucco and brick. For construction, marine, automotive and home applications. Durable. Weather resistant. High tensile strength. Its backing is water-resistant woven polyethylene plastic. UV resistant. Does not leave a residue if removed within 7-14 days but will get stickier over time. Stretch and tear resistant. Offers triple-layer strength and versatility. For both indoor and outdoor use with UV resistance and ability to grip to rough, uneven, unforgiving surfaces like wood, stone, stucco, plaster, brick and more.
Offers triple-layer strength and versatility. For both indoor and outdoor use with UV resistance and ability to grip to rough, uneven, unforgiving surfaces like wood, stone, stucco, plaster, brick and more. For general-use painting projects such as window, door and wall trim, cabinets, and vinyl flooring. Apply water-based and solvent based coatings. Interior or exterior. An extra strong pressure sensitive tape for sealing, securing, unitizing, bundling, packaging and 1000 other uses. Has an aggressive adhesive which provides instant gripping and fantastic strength. Superior tear resistance and impact strength and will handle the very toughest of holding problems. Complies with U.S. Postal and UPS standards for package closure.
Can be used on a variety of surfaces such as painted cement or brick, glass, metal, tile, ceramic and more. Weather resistant. Conformable. Holds up to 10 lb. Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use. Provides clean removal from windows, trim and walls, even when exposed to sunlight for up to 8 days. UV resistant.
Strong, high-density foam with permanent adhesive on both sides for wall mounting pictures, decorations, and other lightweight objects on smooth surfaces. For use on latex paints, cured painted walls, wood trim, glass, and metal. Leaves clean edges. Treated with PaintBlock Technology, that seals edges of the tape, forming a micro-barrier between the tape and paint. Barrier helps prevent paint from bleeding under the tape. 21 day interior use and 7 day direct sun. For use on smooth, delicate, water-based, solvent-based or stain surfaces such as freshly painted surfaces (24-hours old), vinyl coated wallpaper, primed wallboard, wood floors and faux painting. Clean removal time up to 60 days. Resistant to UV and sunlight. Not compatible with Lacquer coating or surfaces.
Clear, with red liner for ease of use, fastens securely and is virtually invisible. For glass and tile, or any smooth surface where tape's visual appearance is an issue. Holds up to 2 pounds. Formulated for water-based materials such as plaster, drywall texture and latex. Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use.
High-tensile strength, reinforced with continuous filaments. Bands, repairs, seals, and reinforces. Meets U.S. Postal Service regulations. Edge-Lock technology produces sharp lines. Recommended for most painted walls, lightly textured walls, finished and unfinished wood trim, metal hardware, glass, curved surfaces and more. 14 day clean removal. UV resistant. Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use.
Strong, high-density foam with permanent adhesive on both sides for wall mounting pictures, decorations, and other lightweight objects on smooth surfaces. Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use. Removes cleanly and easily for up to 14 days without leaving adhesive residue. For painted walls and trim, woodwork, glass and metal. Use with water-based and solvent-based coatings. Not recommended for use with or on lacquers, wallpaper, unpainted wallboard and ceiling tile.
Masking paper with an adhesive edge is designed to work on multiple surfaces, while providing extra protection from drips and spills. Engineered to apply easily; specially formulated adhesive will not leave a sticky residue when removed. Paper construction doesn't allow seepage and bleed-through like regular masking tape. Leaves a razor-sharp line for professional results. Can be left for 7 days. For non-critical applications. For home, office and light duty projects. Good adhesion and clean removal at room temperature. Coated with an aggressive synthetic adhesive. Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use.
Aggressive adhesive. Strong, durable, weather-proof. For indoor or outdoor use. Advanced multi-surface with edge lock. For painted walls and trim, woodwork, glass and metal. Removes cleanly without adhesive transfer or surface damage for up to 14 days. For glass, metal, aluminum siding, vinyl siding, plastic trim and hanging poly. Features Hybrid technology giving it the durability of plastic, yet tearing easily like paper. 14-days UV resistant.
Visibility/identification tape for enhanced nighttime reflective brightness. Use on mailboxes, campers, tractors, or bike gear. Visibility/identification tape for enhanced nighttime reflective brightness. Use on mailboxes, campers, tractors, or bike gear. Removes cleanly and easily for up to 14 days without leaving adhesive residue. For painted walls and trim, woodwork, glass and metal. Use with water-based and solvent-based coatings. Not recommended for use with or on lacquers, wallpaper, unpainted wallboard and ceiling tile.
Kraft paper tape with aggressive adhesive has good moisture and tear resistant properties. Easy to write on. Meets UPS and US Postal regulations for package sealing. Has a high adhesion to plastic sheeting surfaces and a medium adhesion to painted walls and trims. Removes without adhesive residue or surface damage. Features Hybrid technology giving it the durability of plastic, yet tearing easily like paper. Creates razor sharp paint lines. Waterproof backing. Formulated for the majority of water and oil based materials, including lacquers and acrylics. | 2019-04-25T00:22:34Z | https://www.alpinebuildingsupply.com/category_s/1758.htm |
This module defines management information specific to internet Storage Name Service (iSNS) management. Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007). This version of this MIB module is part of RFC 4939; see the RFC itself for full legal notices.
This is a row in the iSNS Server instance table. The number of rows is dependent on the number of iSNS Server instances that are being managed through the same SNMP context.
This object uniquely identifies the iSNS Server being managed by the SNMP context and is the key for this table. This is an instance index for each iSNS Server being managed. The value of this object is used elsewhere in the MIB to reference specific iSNS Servers.
A non-unique name that can be assigned to the iSNS Server instance. If not configured, then the string SHALL be zero-length.
The iSNS version value as contained in messages received from the current primary server. The header of each iSNSP message contains the iSNS version of the sender. If unknown, the reported value is 0.
An index identifying the network interface for this iSNS Server within a network entity. This index maps to the entPhysicalIndex of entPhysicalTable table in RFC 4133. The entPhysicalClass value for the table row must be 'port', as the interface must be able to send and receive data.
Indicates the TCP port this iSNS instance is accepting iSNSP messages on, generally the iSNS well-known port. The well-known TCP port for iSNSP is 3205. If TCP is not supported by this server instance, then the value is 0.
Indicates the UDP port this iSNS instance is accepting iSNSP messages on; generally, the iSNS well-known port. The well-known UDP port for iSNSP is 3205. If UDP is not supported by this server instance, then the value is 0.
The value of sysUpTime on the most recent occasion that this iSNS server became active or suffered a discontinuity.
The current operational mode of this iSNS Server instance. Value Description --------- ---------------- notSet The iSNS Server role is not configured. server The iSNS Server instance is an operational iSNS Server. backupServer The iSNS Server instance is currently acting as a backup.
Indicates the discovery methods currently enabled for this iSNS Server instance. This allows a client to determine what discovery methods can be used for this iSNS Server. Additional methods of discovery may also be supported.
The type of Internet address in isnsServerDiscoveryMcGroupAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid multicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsServerDiscoveryMcGroupAddress is the zero-length string.
The multicast group that iSNS Heartbeat messages are sent to if multicast-based discovery has been enabled for this server instance. If not configured, then the string SHALL be zero-length. The format of this object is specified by isnsServerDiscoveryMcGroupType.
Entity Status Inquiry (ESI) Non-Response Threshold - the number of ESI messages that will be sent without receiving a response before an entity is deregistered from the iSNS database. A value of 0 indicates Entities will never be deregistered due to non-receipt of ESI messages.
Indicates if the iSNS Server administrative option to send Management SCNs to Control Nodes is enabled. Management SCNs are used by Control Nodes to monitor and control an iSNS Server. If enabled, Control Nodes can register to receive Management SCNs.
This indicates the Discovery Domain (DD) and Discovery Domain Set (DDS) membership status for a new device when registered in the iSNS Server instance. Either the new device will not be in a DD/DDS, or will be placed into a default DD and default DDS. The default setting is inNoDomain.
The methods that this iSNS Server instance supports to modify Discovery Domains and Discovery Domain Sets.
This indicates the methods this server instance currently allows for modifying Discovery Domains and Discovery Domain Sets.
Table providing the number of registered objects of each type in the iSNS Server instance. The number of entries is dependent upon the number of iSNS Server instances being managed.
The current total number of Discovery Domain Sets in this iSNS instance. This is the number of rows in the isnsDdsTable.
The current total number of Discovery Domains in this iSNS instance. This is the number of rows in the isnsDdTable.
The current number of Entities registered in this iSNS Server instance. This is the number of rows in the isnsRegEntityTable for this instance.
The current total number of Portals registered in iSNS. This is the number of rows in isnsRegPortalTable.
The current total number of Portal Groups registered in iSNS. This is the number of rows in isnsRegPgTable.
The current total number of iSCSI node entries registered in the iSNS. This is the number rows in isnsRegIscsiNodeTable.
The current total number of FC Port entries registered in the iSNS. This is the number of rows in isnsRegFcPortTable.
The current total number of FC node entries registered in the iSNS. This is the number of rows in isnsRegFcNodeTable.
Specified iSCSI Nodes that can register or are registered as control nodes. The number of rows is dependent on the number of iSCSI Control Nodes.
The index for the iSCSI storage node authorized to act as a control node.
The iSCSI Name of the initiator or target associated with the storage node. The iSCSI Name cannot be longer than 223 bytes. The iSNS Server internal maximum size is 224 bytes to provide NULL termination. This is the iSCSI Node Name for the storage node authorized and/or acting as a control node.
Indicates whether the control node is currently registered in the iSNS Server instance.
Indicates whether the Control Node has registered to receive Management SCNs. Management SCNs are sent to a Control Node if they are enabled, as indicated by isnsServerEnableControlNodeMgtScn, and the Control Node has registered for them.
Specified FC Ports that can register or are registered as control nodes. The number of rows is dependent on the number of FC Port Control Nodes.
The FC Port World Wide Port Name that can and/or is acting as a Control Node for the specified iSNS Server. A zero- length string is not valid for this managed object. This managed object, combined with the isnsServerIndex, is the key for this table.
A table containing configuration information for each Discovery Domain Set (DDS) registered in the iSNS Server instance. The number of rows in the table is dependent on the number of DDSs registered in the specified iSNS server instance.
Information on one Discovery Domain Set (DDS) registered in the iSNS Server instance.
The status of this Discovery Domain Set (DDS).
The mapping of one Discovery Domain (DD) to a Discovery Domain Set (DDS). This indicates the DD is a member of the DDS.
The ID that identifies the Discovery Domain that is a member of the Discovery Domain Set.
The Symbolic Name of the Discovery Domain that is a member of this DDS. This value SHALL be identical to the object isnsDdSymbolicName for the associated DD ID.
A table containing configuration information for each Discovery Domain (DD) registered in the iSNS. The number of rows in the table is dependent on the number of DDs registered in the iSNS instance.
Information on a Discovery Domain (DD) registered in the iSNS Server instance.
This defines the features the Discovery Domain has.
The mapping of one iSCSI Node to a Discovery Domain to indicate membership in the DD. The indexes are the iSNS server instance, the DD ID of the Discovery Domain, and the iSCSI Node Index of the iSCSI Node.
The index for this member iSCSI node entry.
The iSCSI Name associated with the storage node. The iSCSI Name cannot be longer than 223 bytes. The iSNS server internal maximum size is 224 bytes to provide NULL termination. This is the iSCSI Name for the storage node that is a member of the DD. This value maps 1 to 1 to the isnsDdIscsiMemberIndex node index. The iSCSI Name field is too long to be easily used for an index directly. The node index used for a specific node name is only persistent across iSNS Server reinitializations for nodes that are in a Discovery Domain (DD) or are registered control nodes. This value is only required during row creation if the storage node is not yet registered in the iSNS Server instance. If the storage node is not yet registered, then the iSCSI Name MUST be provided with the iSCSI node index during row creation in order to create the 1-to-1 mapping.
Each entry indicates an explicit addition of a portal to a discovery domain. The explicit addition of an entity portal to a discovery domain indicates the portal is preferred for access to nodes of the entity for this discovery domain. Registered Portal Group objects are used in iSCSI to indicate mapping of portals to nodes across all discovery domains. Portals that have been explicitly mapped to a discovery domain will be returned as part of a query that is scoped to that discovery domain. If no portal of an entity has been explicitly mapped to a discovery domain, then all portals of the entity that provide access to a storage node are returned as part of a query. The table indexes are the server instance, the DD ID of the Discovery Domain, and the Portal Index of the portal.
The index for a portal explicitly contained in the discovery domain. This managed object, combined with isnsServerIndex and isnsDdId, is the key for this table.
The type of Inet address in isnsDdPortalMemberAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsDdPortalMemberAddress is the zero-length string.
The Inet Address for the portal. The format of this object is specified by isnsDdPortalMemberAddressType.
The port type for the portal, either UDP or TCP.
The port number for the portal. Whether the portal type is TCP or UDP is indicated by isnsDdPortalMemberPortType.
The association of one FC Port with a Discovery Domain. Membership of an FC Port in a Discovery Domain is indicated by creating a row for the appropriate DD ID and FC Port WWN.
The Port WWN of the FC Port that is a member of the DD. The value MUST be a valid FC WWN, as per the FC-GS (Fibre Channel - Generic Services) standard. This managed object, combined with the isnsServerIndex and isnsDdId are the key for this table. A zero-length string is not a valid value for this managed object.
This indicates whether this member of the DD is currently registered in the iSNS Server instance.
The Entity Index for this entity. This index is assigned by the iSNS Server when an Entity is initially registered. The Entity Index can be used to represent a registered Entity object in situations where the Entity EID would be too long/unwieldy. Zero is not a valid value for this object.
The block storage protocol supported by this entity, as defined in the iSNS Specification, Section 6.2.2. The following values are initially assigned. Type Value Entity Type ---------- ----------- 1 No Protocol 2 iSCSI 3 iFCP All Others As assigned by IANA The full set of current Block Storage Protocols are specified in the IANA-maintained registry of assigned iSNS parameters. Please refer to RFC 4171 and the iSNS parameters maintained at IANA.
The type of Inet address in isnsRegEntityManagementAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsRegEntityManagementAddress is the zero-length string.
The iSNS Management IP Address for the registered Entity object. The format of this object is specified by isnsRegEntityManagementAddressType.
The minimum version supported for the block storage protocol specified by isnsRegEntityProtocol. The protocol version specified can be from 1 to 254. A value of 255 is a wildcard value, indicating no minimum version value has been specified for this Entity. Entity registrations with an isnsRegEntityProtocol of 'No Protocol' SHALL have an isnsRegEntityVersionMin value of 0.
The maximum version supported for the block storage protocol specified by isnsRegEntityProtocol. The protocol version specified can be from 1 to 254. A value of 255 is a wildcard value, indicating no maximum version value has been specified for this Entity. Entity registrations with an isnsRegEntityProtocol of 'No Protocol' SHALL have an isnsRegEntityVersionMax value of 0.
The iSNS Entity Status Inquiry (ESI) registration period, which indicates the maximum time, in seconds, that the registration will be maintained without receipt of an iSNSP message from the entity. If the Registration Period is set to 0, then the Entity SHALL NOT be deregistered due to no contact with the entity.
A table containing information on the number of registered objects associated with a registered Entity in the iSNS server instance. The number of entries in the table is dependent on the number of registered Entity objects in the iSNS.
The index for this Entity Portal.
The type of Inet address in isnsRegPortalAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsRegPortalAddress is the zero-length string.
The Inet Address for this Portal as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. The format of this object is specified by isnsRegPortalAddressType.
The port type for this Portal, either UDP or TCP, as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The port number for this Portal as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. Whether the Portal type is TCP or UDP is indicated by isnsRegPortalPortType.
The Symbolic Name for this Portal as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. If not provided, then the string SHALL be zero-length.
The Entity Status Inquiry (ESI) Interval for this Portal as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. A value of 0 indicates that ESI monitoring has not been configured for this Portal.
The port type for the ESI Port, either UDP or TCP, as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The TCP or UDP port number used for ESI monitoring. Whether the port type is TCP or UDP is indicated by isnsRegPortalEsiPortType. A value of 0 indicates that ESI monitoring is not enabled for this Portal.
The port type for the SCN Port, either UDP or TCP, as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The TCP or UDP port used to receive SCN messages from the iSNS Server. Whether the port type is TCP or UDP is indicated by isnsRegPortalScnPortType. A value of 0 indicates that SCN message receipt is not enabled for this Portal.
Indicates security attribute settings for the Portal as registered in the iSNS server. The bit for bitmapVALID must be set in order for this attribute to contain valid information. Setting a bit to 1 indicates the feature is enabled.
The index for the iSCSI Node associated with this PG. This index can be used to reference the isnsRegIscsiNodeTable.
The iSCSI Name of the initiator or target associated with the storage node. The iSCSI Name cannot be longer than 223 bytes. The iSNS Server internal maximum size is 224 bytes to provide NULL termination. This is the PG iSCSI Name that uniquely identifies the iSCSI Storage Node that is associated with this PG.
The Portal Index for the Portal associated with this PG. This index can be used to reference the isnsRegPortalTable.
The type of Inet address in isnsRegPgPortalAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsRegPgPortalAddress is the zero-length string.
The Inet Address for the Portal that is associated with the PG. The format of this object is specified by isnsRegPgPortalAddressType.
The port number for the Portal that is associated with this registered PG object. Whether the Portal type is TCP or UDP is indicated by isnsRegPgPortalPortType.
The Portal Group Tag (PGT) for the registered iSCSI Portal Group object in an iSNS Server instance. This indicates the tag value that the Portal uses for access to the iSCSI Storage Node. The PGT is used for coordinated access between multiple Portals, as described in the iSCSI Specification, RFC 3720. A PGT with no association is a NULL value. The value of -1 indicates a NULL value.
Information on one iSCSI node that has been registered in the iSNS Server instance. New rows cannot be added using SNMP.
The index for this iSCSI node.
The iSCSI Name of the initiator or target associated with the storage node. The iSCSI Name cannot be longer than 223 bytes. The iSNS Server internal maximum size is 224 bytes to provide NULL termination. This is the iSCSI Name that uniquely identifies the initiator, initiator/target, target, or control node in the network.
The Node Type defining the functions of this iSCSI node.
The State Change Notification (SCN) types enabled for this iSCSI node.
This contains a globally unique 64-bit integer value that can be used to represent the World Wide Node Name of the iSCSI device in a Fibre Channel fabric. This identifier is used during the device registration process, and MUST conform to the requirements in RFC 4171. A zero-length string for this managed object indicates that a Node WWN token has not been assigned.
This attribute contains a null-terminated string containing UTF-8 text listing the iSCSI authentication methods enabled for this iSCSI Node, in order of preference. The text values used to identify iSCSI authentication methods are embedded in this string attribute and delineated by a comma. The text values are identical to those found in RFC 3720 - iSCSI. Additional vendor-specific text values are also possible.
A table containing the registered FC Nodes in the iSNS. This supports iFCP as defined in RFC 4172.
The FC Node World Wide Node Name as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. A zero-length string is not valid for this managed object.
The FC Node Symbolic Name of the node as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. This is a variable-length text-based description. If not provided, then the string SHALL be zero-length.
The type of Inet address in isnsRegFcNodeAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsRegFcNodeAddress is the zero-length string.
The FC Node Inet address of the node as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. The format of this object is specified by isnsRegFcNodeAddressType.
This managed object identifies the FC Initial Process Associator of the node as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
Information on registered FC N_Ports in the iSNS. FC Ports are associated with registered FC Nodes. This supports iFCP as defined in RFC 4172.
The FC Port's World Wide Port Name as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. A zero-length string is not valid for this managed object.
The FC Port's Port ID as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The FC Port Type as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171, and the Fibre Channel Generic Services Specification. Current values are as shown below: unknown (0), nPort (1), nlPort (2), fNlPort (3), fPort (129), -- x'81' flPort (130), -- x'82' ePort (132), -- x'84' bPort (133), -- x'85' mFcpPort (65297), -- x'FF11' iFcpPort (65298), -- x'FF12' unknownEnd (65535) The future assignment of any additional values will be documented in a revision of RFC 4171.
The FC Port Symbolic Name as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. If not provided, then the string SHALL be zero-length.
The Fabric Port WWN for this entry as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. A zero-length string for this managed object indicates that the Fabric Port WWN is not known, or has not yet been registered with the iSNS Server.
The FC Port Hard Address as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The type of Inet address in isnsRegFcPortAddress. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsRegFcPortAddress is the zero-length string.
The FC Port Inet Address as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. The format of this object is specified by isnsRegFcPortAddressType.
The FC Port Class of Service as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The FC Port FC-4 Types as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The FC Port FC-4 Descriptor as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. The FC-4 Descriptor cannot be longer than 255 bytes. The iSNS Server internal maximum size is 256 bytes to provide NULL termination.
The FC Port FC-4 Features as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171.
The iFCP State Change Notification (SCN) types enabled for the registered object.
The FC Port Role defines the role of the registered object.
The FC Node World Wide Node Name that is associated with this FC Port as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. This managed object may contain a zero-length string prior to a device registering this value with the iSNS Server.
The Permanent Port Name (PPN) attribute is the FC Port Name WWPN of the first Storage Node registered in the iSNS Database that is associated with a particular FC Device (FC Node). The PPN of all subsequent Storage Node registrations that are associated with that FC Device (FC Node) SHALL be set to the FC Port Name WWPN of the first Storage Node, as defined in the iSNS Specification, RFC 4171. This managed object may contain a zero-length string prior to a device registering this value with the iSNS Server.
A table containing the mapping of a registered FC Node and associated registered iFCP Port to the supporting registered Entity object in an iSNS Server instance.
Information on one mapping from an FC Node and iFCP Port to an Entity object registered in an iSNS.
The Entity Index for the registered Entity object associated with the FC Port and FC Node. This managed object may contain the value of zero prior to a device registering this value with the iSNS Server.
Textual information about the notification event and the iSNS Server generating the notification. An example is: iSNS Server Started.
The type of Inet address in isnsAddressNotification. If the address is specified, then it must be a valid unicast address and the value of this object must be ipv4(1), ipv6(2), ipv4z(3), or ipv6z(4); otherwise, the value of this object is unknown(0), and the value of isnsAddressNotification is the zero-length string.
Identifies the IP address of the iSNS Server. The format of this object is specified by isnsAddressNotificationType. The IP address will always be specified in the notification unless an error causes the IP address to not be known.
Indicates the TCP port the iSNS Server is using, or 0 if TCP-based registrations are not supported.
Indicates the UDP port the iSNS Server is using, or 0 if UDP-based registrations are not supported.
Only addresses for unknown, ipv4, ipv6, ipv4z, ipv6z and their related SIZE need to be supported.
Only addresses for unknown, ipv4, ipv6, ipv4z, ipv6z, and their related SIZE need to be supported.
iSNS Server iFCP Port control node managed objects. | 2019-04-21T18:19:23Z | http://www.circitor.fr/Mibs/Html/I/ISNS-MIB.php |
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bNeurometrika (Timothy A. Zeffiro, Thomas A. Zeffiro), Potomac, Maryland.
BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have used structural neuroimaging to measure HIV effects on brain macroarchitecture. While many have reported changes in total brain volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, CSF volume, and basal ganglia volume following HIV infection, quantitative inconsistencies observed across studies are large.
PURPOSE: Our aim was to evaluate the consistency and temporal stability of serostatus effects on a range of structural neuroimaging measures.
DATA SOURCES: PubMed, reference lists, and corresponding authors.
STUDY SELECTION: The meta-analysis included 19 cross-sectional studies reporting HIV effects on cortical and subcortical volume from 1993 to 2016.
DATA ANALYSIS: Random-effects meta-analysis was used to estimate individual study standardized mean differences and study heterogeneity. Meta-regression was used to examine the effects of the study publication year.
DATA SYNTHESIS: Meta-analysis revealed standardized mean differences related to the serostatus of −0.65 (P = .002) for total brain volume, −0.28 for gray matter volume (P = .008), −0.24 (P = .076) for white matter volume, and 0.56 (P = .001) for CSF volume. Basal ganglia volume differences related to serostatus were not significant. Nevertheless, estimates of between-study heterogeneity suggested that much of the observed variance was between studies. Publication year was associated with recent reductions in many neurostructural effects.
LIMITATIONS: Many studies pooled participants with varying durations of treatment, disease, and comorbidities. Image-acquisition methods changed with time.
CONCLUSIONS: While published studies of HIV effects on brain structure had substantial variations that are likely to result from changes in HIV treatment practice during the study period, quantitative neurostructural measures can reliably detect the effects of HIV infection during treatment, serving as reliable biomarkers.
Early brain structural studies in HIV-infected participants found decreases in brain parenchyma,7 white matter,8 and basal ganglia7,9 volume. During the ART era, observations of cortical,10 subcortical, gray matter,9 and white matter10 atrophy have continued, with decreases in cortical gray matter and brain parenchymal volume observed even in the first year of HIV infection.11 While many studies have reported reduced total brain volume (TBv), total gray matter volume (GMv), white matter volume (WMv), basal ganglia volume, or increased CSF volume (CSFv) following HIV infection, quantitative inconsistencies observed across studies are large. The source of these inconsistencies is unclear, with possible mechanisms including image-acquisition methods, infection duration, ART treatment effects, sample demographics, and comorbidities commonly seen in seropositive patients.
To determine whether structural neuroimaging reveals consistent serostatus effects, we examined structural MR imaging studies in HIV-infected subjects, using meta-analytic techniques to explore the consistency of quantitative differences detected in structural neuroimaging studies from 1993 to 2016. Measures examined included TBv, GMv, WMv, CSFv, and subcortical GMv. We also investigated whether the observed HIV effects on brain structure are stable with time or have changed. Given that ART effectively suppresses peripheral viral load and allows immune system reconstitution, concurrent cessation of brain injury seems likely. We, therefore, expected that the structural effects of HIV infection would diminish in more recent HIV neurostructural studies that included large percentages of HIV-infected participants receiving ART.
To summarize the literature on HIV effects on brain structure, we followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)12 standards. Six PubMed computerized searches were performed on September 25, 2016, with the following terms: “HIV” and “structural and MR imaging brain” yielded 77 records; “HIV” and “MR imaging” and “basal ganglia atrophy” yielded 42 records; “HIV” and “MR imaging” and “caudate atrophy” yielded 24 records; “HIV” and “MR imaging” and “gray matter atrophy” yielded 38 records; “HIV” and “MR imaging” and “gray matter” yielded 102 records; and “HIV” and “MR imaging” and “brain volume” yielded 112 records. Of these 395 records, 151 were duplicates, leaving a total of 244 records to be examined. An additional 13 records were added from the reference lists of articles, resulting in 257 articles to be screened. Of the 257 articles screened on the first pass by reading the abstract, 182 were excluded if they were the following: 1) animal studies, 2) review articles, 3) not written in English, 4) case reports, or 5) without seronegative controls, leaving 75 full-text articles to be assessed for eligibility. Thirty-eight of 75 full-text articles assessed for eligibility were excluded for the following reasons: 1) They were review articles, 2) they did not have seronegative controls, 3) they did not study quantitative HIV effects on brain volume, or 4) they studied the association of serostatus and brain volume with neuropsychological performance, and 5) they did not provide a means of contacting the authors. Of the 38 eligible full-text articles, 19 studies completed between 1993 and 2016 were included in the meta-analysis, with 9 studies reporting TBv,7,11,13⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–19 10 reporting GMv,8,10,11,13,16⇓–18,20⇓–22 10 reporting WMv,8,10,11,13,16⇓–18,20⇓–22 12 reporting CSFv,7,8,10,13,14,17,18,20⇓⇓⇓–24 8 reporting caudate volume,4,7,11,18⇓–20,25,26 7 reporting putaminal volume,4,7,11,18,19,25,26 and 6 reporting globus pallidus volume.7,10,11,18,19,25 If the requisite numbers could not be located in the text or accompanying tables, ≥1 attempt was made to contact the corresponding authors of 20 studies for more information. Five authors responded and provided the requisite additional information. The remaining 19 studies, listed in the On-line Appendix, were excluded because the data were no longer available, the data could not be shared, or the authors did not respond to inquiries (Fig 1).
Meta-analysis flow diagram for study selection.
Mean structural values and their SDs for TBv, GMv, WMv, CSFv, caudate volume, putaminal volume, and pallidum volume were taken from the article tables and converted into consistent units.
We used R statistical and computing software, Version 3.4.1 (http://www.r-project.org) and the meta-analysis package meta27 to estimate the standardized mean difference (SMD) in TBv, GMv, WMv, and CSFv and caudate, putaminal, and pallidum volumes for each study; then, we calculated a weighted average of these estimates across studies. The metacont function from meta uses the same estimator as RevMan5 (http://community.cochrane.org/tools/review-production-tools/revman-5/revman-5-download). This is a version of the standardized mean difference called Hedges g, based on the pooled sample variance. Random-effects models were used to test for serostatus group effects. The I2 statistic, representing the proportion of between-study variation due to heterogeneity, was used to estimate study inconsistency.28 τ2 was computed as an estimate of between-study variance, with values of >1 suggesting substantial heterogeneity. Forest plots were used to visualize variations in standardized mean differences across studies. Radial plots were used to visualize study heterogeneity, with less precise effect estimates lying near the origin and more precise estimates occurring farther away. Study bias was explored by examining funnel plots of sample size versus effect size. Meta-regression was used to examine imaging protocol and publication year effects.
Random-effects meta-analysis of TBv revealed a reduction (SMD = −0.58) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −3.1, P = .0018), with study heterogeneity Q = 26.1 (df = 8), P = .001; and τ2 (variation in SMD attributable to heterogeneity) = 69%. The τ2 of between-study variance was 0.23. Five of the 9 studies had confidence intervals that included zero (Fig 2A).
Total brain volume standardized mean differences across studies comparing seropositive with seronegative participants. A, Forest plot. B, Funnel plot. C, Radial plot.
Next, we examined the serostatus effects on individual tissue compartments. Analysis of GMv revealed a reduction (SMD = −0.28) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −2.65, P = .0081), with study heterogeneity Q = 14.8 (df = 9), P = .096, I2 = 39%, and τ2 = 0.04. Seven of the 10 studies had confidence intervals that included zero (Fig 3A). Analysis of WMv revealed a nonsignificant reduction (SMD = −0.24) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −1.78, P = .076), with study heterogeneity Q = 24.3 (df = 9), P = .004, I2 = 63%, and τ2 = 0.11. Nine of the 10 studies had confidence intervals that included zero (Fig 4A). Analysis of CSFv revealed an increase (SMD = 0.56) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = 3.29, P = .001), with study heterogeneity Q = 61 (df = 11), P < .001, I2 = 82%, and τ2 = 0.26 (Fig 5A).
Gray matter standardized mean differences across studies comparing seropositive with seronegative participants. A, Forest plot. B, Funnel plot. C, Radial plot.
White matter standardized mean differences across studies comparing seropositive with seronegative participants. A, Forest plot. B, Funnel plot. C, Radial plot.
CSF standardized mean differences across studies comparing seropositive with seronegative participants. A, Forest plot. B, Funnel plot. C, Radial plot.
Although the included studies had a large range of group sample sizes, ranging from 5 to 85, it is possible that the known tendency for small-sample neuroimaging studies to go unpublished might have contributed to publication bias effects. Panel C of Figs 2⇑⇑–5 shows funnel plots of the estimated treatment effects against a measure of their precision, here the standard error. All show asymmetry consistent with small-study effects. If small-study effects were absent, the treatment effects of all studies should be distributed symmetrically around the average treatment effect. In addition, linear regression tests of funnel plot asymmetry were statistically significant for TBv (P = .001), GMv (P = .008), WMv (P = .025), and CSFv (P = .014). These results could reflect reporting bias because it is unlikely that small neurostructural studies that have failed to detect serostatus effects would find a place in most neuroimaging journals. Thus, the observed average effect sizes for each tissue compartment may reflect overestimates of their true values. Future studies may mitigate these effects owing to the increasing willingness of investigators to participate in more open data sharing, allowing aggregation and re-analysis of data that might not have shown serostatus effects in their original samples.
Next, we examined the serostatus effects on basal ganglia structures. Analysis of caudate volume revealed a nonsignificant reduction (SMD = −0.23) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −1.27, P = .20) (Fig 6A). Analysis of putaminal volume revealed a nonsignificant reduction (SMD = −0.22) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −1.00, P = .32) (Fig 6B). Analysis of pallidal volume revealed a nonsignificant reduction (SMD = −0.024) related to serostatus (test of SMD = 0: z = −0.09, P = .92) (Fig 6C).
Forest plots of basal ganglia gray matter showing standardized mean differences across studies comparing seropositive with seronegative participants A, Caudate volume. B, Putamen volume. C, Pallidal volume.
Temporal changes in serostatus effects were investigated using random-effects meta-regression, examining changes in SMDs for each measure with time. TBv SMDs became smaller with publication year, reflecting less volume loss in the seropositive group (P = .003). WMv SMDs also became smaller, with less seropositive volume loss (P = .028), and CSFv SMDs became smaller with time, reflecting less CSFv increase related to seropositivity (P < .001). GMv SMDs also became smaller with time, but this effect was not statistically significant (P = .086) (Fig 7). Possible small-sample effects are shown in the On-line Figure.
Publication year influence on serostatus effects. These are plots of structural brain measure standardized mean differences and their corresponding regression lines, for total brain volume (A) P = .001, gray matter volume (B) P = .086, white matter volume (C) P < .001, and CSF volume (D) P < .001. The plot circle area is inversely proportional to the estimated SMD variance.
Summaries of image acquisition protocols revealed that earlier studies tended to use 1.5T MR imaging systems and large voxels, while more recent studies used 3T MR imaging systems and smaller voxel volumes (On-line Table 1). Field strength and voxel volume are expected to have opposing effects on image SNR; thus, their effects may cancel each other out. Meta-regression revealed that there were no effects of field strength and voxel size on SMD. Because these 2 variables were confounded with publication year, it was not possible to examine their individual contributions statistically.
In a quantitative meta-analysis of HIV neurostructural studies reported from 1993 to 2016, spanning the widespread introduction of antiretroviral treatment, we observed that serostatus was, on average, associated with decreases in TBv and GMv and concomitant CSFv increases. Serostatus effects in all tissue compartments, except gray matter, have diminished with time, suggesting that widespread use of ART has resulted in a decline in macroscopic neurostructural changes. Nevertheless, small effects in TBv, GMv, and CSFv do persist in treated seropositive patients.
The articles used in the meta-analysis of HIV effects on GMv incorporated both cortical and subcortical gray matter under gray matter volume. Nearly 80% of post-antiretroviral therapy era studies assessed for eligibility in our analyses reported HIV-associated decreases in GMv, with several specifically reporting HIV-related cortical GMv reductions.10,11 Nevertheless, more recent literature includes multiple studies that find no HIV GMv effects, suggesting that ART treatment initiation diminishes gray matter loss. While GMv loss does persist in the ART era, there are strong associations between decreasing serostatus effects and more recent publication.
Before the introduction of ART, structural HIV studies reported decreased basal ganglia volumes,7 particularly in the caudate nuclei, that were associated with dementia.41 Viral load has been reported to be highest in the caudate nuclei,42 possibly due to the proximity to the virus-enriched CSF. Dopaminergic neurons are particularly susceptible to HIV neurotoxic effects.43 Basal ganglia volume loss is associated with psychomotor slowing44 and may be an important predictor of cognitive impairment. While HIV-associated reductions in basal ganglia volume are still reported in the ART era,45 more recent studies failed to demonstrate serostatus effects on the basal ganglia, likely related to earlier and more effective treatments. Nevertheless, to isolate possible serostatus effects on basal ganglia structure in the setting of the observed high between-study heterogeneity, further work using aggregated multisite data with subject-level information allowing estimation and isolation of comorbid neurostructural moderating influences is warranted.
Several potential sources contributed to the variability in the study effects included in our meta-analysis. First, differences in MR imaging acquisition parameters included field strengths ranging from 1.5T to 3T and voxel volumes ranging from 5.5 to 0.647 mm3. Second, there was wide variation in the demographic characteristics of the study cohort. For example, Sarma et al16 and Cohen et al22 examined TBv in young perinatally infected adolescents with mean ages of 17 and 13 years, respectively, while the cohort studied by Hines et al21 had a mean age of 59 years. Third, variation in sample comorbidities, including recreational drug use and antiretroviral therapy treatment type, was high. While ART effects on brain structure are difficult to isolate in cross-sectional studies with wide ranges of disease and treatment duration, our data suggest that ART does have a strong protective effect on brain macrostructure.
The serostatus-associated reductions in TBv, GMv, and WMv and increases in CSFv effects vary with study age. Older studies demonstrated larger effects, with differences in WMv and subcortical GMv virtually disappearing in recent years. One possible explanation for this variation is the difference in field strengths. Earlier studies used 1.5T systems, and later studies predominantly used 3T systems. Another possible explanation is differences in voxel size, with later studies having smaller voxel sizes. Meta-regression, however, revealed that there were no independent effects of field strength and voxel size. It is unlikely that these acquisition changes contributed to the progressive reduction in serostatus effects observed because brain structure quantification would be expected to be more accurate in studies using smaller voxels, with diminished partial volume effects. The most likely explanation for the temporal variation in HIV-related brain atrophy is the duration of untreated or partially treated illness. In the oldest study included in our meta-analysis,7 which also had the greatest HIV-related brain atrophy, 62.5% of participants were treated with zidovudine or didanosine single therapy and 37.5% were untreated. In more recent studies, almost all subjects were treated with combination ART, implying that subjects are on a combination of at least 3 different drugs from 2 of the major antiretroviral therapy classes. Combined therapies make treatment more effective and reduce the risk of developing drug resistance. While the associated reductions in viral load and immune reconstitution do appear to have a role in preservation of brain structure,5 brain volume losses are still evident in treated seropositive patients.
HIV-associated structural effects persist in treated cohorts, particularly in total GMv, albeit to a decreased degree. There is also evidence that progressive regional changes in GMv and WMv are associated with cognitive decline in treated HIV participants. In a study with 94% of participants treated with ART, impaired motor function was associated with basal ganglia gray matter atrophy.55 A study with 100% ART-treated subjects demonstrated a correlation between cortical thinning and reduced psychomotor speed.56 Another study of 100% ART-treated subjects revealed correlations between decreased TBv and reduced motor function and processing speed, and decreased thalamic volumes with reduced motor function.18 Impaired executive function correlated with decreased basal ganglia volumes in another study of treated subjects with HIV.9 Regional structural effects may therefore potentially serve as markers of fixed or progressive cognitive motor impairment, but this possibility may be best explored using longitudinal designs.
As with most meta-analyses, not all eligible studies were included in this study due to inaccessibility of data. Publication bias resulting from the tendency not to publish negative results from small imaging studies may also be a factor. There were many sources of demographic variability among the included studies, such as participants' infection duration, treatment status, age, educational level, and the presence of comorbidities that may also affect brain structure. Finally, there were MR imaging acquisition parameter differences across the included studies. Nevertheless, meta-regression results did not suggest that these acquisition differences contributed to serostatus effects on brain macrostructure.
Published studies indicate that regional brain atrophy results from HIV infection, with serostatus effects often more pronounced in neurologically impaired subjects. This study provides a quantitative meta-analysis of neurostructural changes related to serostatus in HIV-infected participants, with TBv, GMv, and CSFv all showing reliable serostatus effects. While older studies in our meta-analysis demonstrated larger effect sizes, smaller HIV-related volume change was still seen in more recent studies in which all or most participants received ART. HIV effects on brain structure showed substantial between-study variation, which likely resulted from changes in HIV treatment practice during the study period. It remains unclear whether the persistent neurostructural effects of HIV infection are secondary to the following: 1) initial brain injury occurring before ART treatment; 2) subclinical neuroinflammation persisting despite ART; 3) ART neurotoxicity; or 4) common HIV comorbidities. Longitudinal studies of HIV-infected participants and meta-analysis approaches incorporating subject-level data are needed to pursue these possibilities in more detail.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Drs Becker, Ragin, Jernigan, Archibald, Cohen, and Janssen for providing information not given in the original articles.
This work was partially supported by the Comprehensive NeuroAIDS Center grant (P30MH0921777). | 2019-04-20T05:24:50Z | http://www.ajnr.org/content/39/1/54 |
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Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’"
To the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God gives you rest and will give you this land.’ Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them, until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He gives you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to your own land, and possess that which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise."
They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. Anyone who rebels against your command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous."
Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. It was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land." And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land." But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them." But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men, "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s household, and give me a pledge of truth, and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death." So the men said to her, "Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the Lord gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you."
Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. She said to them, "Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way." The men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear, unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household. It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him. But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from the oath which you have made us swear." She said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
They departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them. Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and they related to him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, "Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us."
Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed. At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before."
Then Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
Now the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’" Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God." Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap."
Now when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord spoke to Joshua, saying, "Take for yourselves twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and command them, saying, ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet are standing firm, and carry them over with you and lay them down in the lodging place where you will lodge tonight.’" So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, "Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever."
Thus the sons of Israel did as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, just as the Lord spoke to Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel; and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there. Then Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan at the place where the feet of the priests who carried the ark of the covenant were standing, and they are there to this day. For the priests who carried the ark were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything was completed that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. And the people hurried and crossed; and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed before the people. The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over in battle array before the sons of Israel, just as Moses had spoken to them; about 40,000 equipped for war, crossed for battle before the Lord to the desert plains of Jericho.
Now the Lord said to Joshua, "Command the priests who carry the ark of the testimony that they come up from the Jordan." So Joshua commanded the priests, saying, "Come up from the Jordan." It came about when the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet were lifted up to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks as before.
Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. He said to the sons of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed; that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may fear the Lord your God forever."
It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, "Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?" And they could make no reply to this.
And He began speaking a parable to the invited guests when He noticed how they had been picking out the places of honor at the table, saying to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for someone more distinguished than you may have been invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy the last place. But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
But He said to him, "A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’ Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’"
Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
"Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." | 2019-04-21T10:22:36Z | https://podcast.biblemirror.com/nasb/13/3 |
Italy’s best region for white wines is the small but superb Collio district of Friuli. I have no doubt that others will dispute this proposition, but I’m very well prepared for the dispute, based on two relatively recent trips through the region and tastings of hundreds of wines from dozens of producers. Yes, Campania makes outstanding whites, as does Alto Adige and the area around Mount Etna in Sicily. However, Collio comes out on top when one carefully considers that its white wines show extremely high quality and strong consistency across a very broad set of grape varieties. Although Collio’s producers work with a wide array of grapes, the resulting wines show a strong commonality that can only be attributed to a great terroir. They combine generous richness with energetic acidity and prominent minerality, and they are remarkably age-worthy.
Collio isn’t famous yet, but its wines are utterly convincing, so we should start with a question: If these wines are so good, why aren’t they more widely known? For starters, the region is relatively compact, and its boundaries are much more narrowly drawn than, say, Alto Adige. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of producers are small, family-owned enterprises, and there is no truly big producer with the funds and inventory to disseminate the Collio “brand” world-wide (as Ste. Michelle has done for Washington). A related factor is that small producers don’t enjoy the economies of scale that make inexpensive wines possible, so Collio releases very few wines at truly low prices that can entice first-time buyers. Additionally, a few of the most famous producers don’t use the Collio DOCG appellation for all of their wines, as in the important case of Jermann’s Pinot Grigio.
A final factor of enduring importance is fully a century old. During World War I, fighting between the Italians and the Austro-Hungarian empire stalled along a line running right through Collio’s prime growing region. Over the course of about 19 months, nearly 60,000 died along this stationary front, and virtually every vine and tree was literally shredded by a constant exchange of fire. Viticulture didn’t resume appreciably until a full decade after the war, and has only risen slowly to levels approaching the extent of pre-war plantings. Artillery shells continue to be found in the vineyards to this day. When Italy finally recovered economically from World War II sufficiently to resume its appreciation for fine wine and dining, it was almost all about red wine until sometime in the 1980s. Today, fine Italian whites and sparkling wines such as Franciacorta have become highly respected, but their stature within Italy and beyond it remain far below the level they merit in comparison to their worldwide counterparts.
Be that as it may, the quality of Collio’s whites is so consistently high that fame is only a matter of time. This will eventuate first for the whites, which comprise about 85% of production in the region. Reds are likely to become somewhat more prominent as the climate warms gradually, but for now, the region is really most likely to be known--like Alsace--almost entirely as a prime source for whites. Also like Alsace, most producers work with a fairly wide array of grape varieties. But unlike Alsace, where Riesling seems to be getting increasingly sweet and Pinot Gris is on the verge of becoming uselessly blowzy, almost all of Collio’s whites are finished dry.
But here’s what’s most impressive about Collio’s whites: On one hand, they show very sharply delineated varietal character, and even a novice taster could quickly identify whether he or she is tasting Pinot Grigio, Friulano, Malvasia, Sauvignon, Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay or Pinot Bianco. But on the other hand, all the wines show a strong family resemblance to one another, a deeply etched terroir signature marking a Collio white as expressively aromatic, generously rich, crisply structured, and assertively mineral -- even to the point of seeming spicy.
These descriptors appear again and again in the tasting notes from my two trips, but they only convey half of what is most exciting about these whites. Beyond their static elements is the dynamic interplay between ripe, broadly textured fruit and zesty, driving acidity.
This is not hyperbole. The whites are almost invariably refreshing, with lots of linear energy, and yet they routinely show so much breadth and richness that I often caught myself checking labels to read alcohol levels. These were often pretty high, and yet very few of the wines showed any overt alcoholic heat in their aromas or finish. The ripeness of the wines was evident, but so too was a mineral undertone and an acidic balance that rendered it un-problematic.
Another way to convey the distinctive style of Collio whites is to note this: They show an uncanny combination of warm climate ripeness with cold climate structure, and they show this combination across vintages, grape varieties, sub-districts, and producers. It is a very engaging profile, and it makes for wines that work very well at the table while also proving very enjoyable as sippers.
Clearly this profile is strongly influenced by the local climate, which in turn is influenced by regional geography. The tendency toward ripeness in the wines can be traced to warm currents from the nearby Adriatic sea as well as hillside exposures to the sun. By contrast, the crisp, structured aspect of the wines can be traced to the region’s exposure to cool winds from central Europe and Russia. These winds are moderated by the proximity of the Alps, which is very fortunate since there’s a fine line between harmful cold and helpful cool. Most of Collio’s vineyards are situated equidistant between the mountains, resulting in very consistent temperature swings between days and nights during the growing season.
In terms of location for making white wine, Collio sits in a spot that lies very close to perfection. You might think that I’m being overly enthusiastic when writing this, but if so, ask yourself: If Collio’s growing conditions weren’t very close to optimal, would it be possible to produce wines at the very highest global level of quality from at least seven distinct grape varieties?
Here's another important indicator of excellence: Collio's white wines are phenomenally age-worthy. By this I mean not only that they can hang on over time, but also that they improve with time, achieving greater aromatic complexity as well as integration of flavor and structural components--and doing all of this without losing freshness and acidic "cut." This is true across the entire range of grapes, including even varieties that are routinely regarded as suitable only for immediate consumption--such as Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. I review dozens of top wines below, and you should keep an eye on the vintage dates. And if you encounter a Collio white that is a few years old on a restaurant list or in a retail shop, you should jump on the opportunity to taste it.
Since Collio’s climate can ripen a range of white grapes to near perfection, you might well be wondering about reds in the region, and here the good news continues. Although whites remain predominant in the area, the reds are (not just “can be”) very good. Made mostly from Refosco, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, along with a little Pinot Nero and Cabernet Sauvignon and a few other bit players, they are balanced, restrained and mineral.
Whenever I use a descriptor such as “restrained” for red wines, I worry that this might look like “damning with faint praise” to those who love whopping Zinfandel and Shiraz wines. And, actually, that’s probably the correct reading for those with this sort of palate preference. However, those who love medium-weight red wines from places like Burgundy or the northern Rhône or Piedmont will likely love what they find from Collio, where reds are full of flavor without any extraneous weight or jammy ripeness.
It is important to emphasize that Collio’s reds are consistently ripe and convincing, unlike reds from other places that specialize in whites but also make reds. To be specific, red varieties are manifestly more at home in Collio than in Alsace or the Loire or Switzerland or Germany. All of those places make good red wines. Plus lots of thin, weedy ones--except in unusually warm years. All four of these places have climates that are generally quite marginal for red wine production, though a warming climate is gradually changing that.
The thread of continuity running through the various renderings of Collio Bianco is that producers seem to regard their particular renditions as personal statements, with the consequence that they vector much of their attention and a lot of their best fruit toward these wines. I walked out of more than one cellar believing that the best of all the wines was the producers’ Collio Bianco, and you would be well advised to try these whenever you encounter them.
Summing up, Collio is not only an outstanding wine region, but also a terrific travel destination. Situated relatively near to Venice, the area holds huge potential for wine tourism growth, and many of the producers I visited have recently built inviting guest rooms. Although the wines are definitely an attraction in themselves, there are many other alluring options nearby: Quick side trips into the lovely city of Trieste, or up into the Alps, or into Slovenia, or down the nearby (and famously beautiful) coast of Croatia. Every wine lover headed to Venice should consider including Collio in his or her trip itinerary.
I hope that you’ll enjoy a chance to travel to Collio yourself someday, but for now, you’d do well to whet your appetite by tasting some of the wines. The list of reviews below is extremely long, so I am going to omit tasting notes for sparkling wines (which are rarely exported) as well as “Orange Wines” (which are likewise rare and also quite expensive).
Gradis’ciutta "Bratinis" 2011: For many producers, Collio Bianco is the house’s flagship wine, but it can’t quite be the region’s flagship wine due to the fact that the varieties in the blend differ among producers. Gradis’Ciutta (an exemplary producer) always uses Ribolla Gialla, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and always draws the fruit from the same vineyard sites. There is some vintage variation, however, due to differences in the warmth and yield levels of different growing seasons. I haven’t tasted enough different renditions to know how the 2011 stacks up against other vintages, but I tasted this particular wine on three separate occasions…and adored it all three times. Not only is it still alive at this stage, but actually quite vibrant and highly complex, with multiple layers of generous flavors and a very long, symmetrical finish. It is so complex that it seems impossible that no wood was involved, but that’s indeed the case. It starts with a super complex bouquet, followed by flavors that are very generous and almost succulent and tropical. These are mid-palate sensations; as the wine finishes, acidity gracefully supersedes the juiciness and provides remarkable refreshment value for a wine from a warm growing season. Starting lavish but then turning energetic, this provides a surprising and downright exciting tasting experience.
Borgo del Tiglio “Studio di Bianco” 2011: Really ripe and generous in character, this is a wine with a lot of ripeness and weight on the palate but no lack of focus or freshness. The generous fruit notes recall tangerine and mango, but just when this seems that it might be a bit too juicy, the late-arriving acidity energizes the finish. Wines from the 2011 vintage in Collio often show this unusual sensory characteristic of late-arriving acidity, and this is a fine case in point. Broadening out beyond the year, this also offers an object lesson in the unusually rich-but-sharply-defined template of Collio whites.
Primosic "Belvedere" 2013: Sourced from a single site, this is a remarkably complex, layered, elegant Friulano. It shows an uncanny combination of creaminess on the palate but edginess in the finish that really marks it as a wine from Collio… so much so that it would seem impossible any place else. The lovely flavors recall mandarin oranges and stone fruit, and though these are quite generous, there’s still an overall sense of subtlety to the wine.
Venica “Tàlis” 2013: Pinot Bianco is one of the world’s most delicious and versatile wines with food, and yet it is also among the most under-appreciated. Collio is a particularly good source for excellent examples, and this rendition from Venica (a.k.a. Venica & Venica) shows fine balance between the creamy and defined characteristics that the grape variety can show. It isn’t strikingly complex, but subtlety is the whole point of fine Pinot Bianco / Blanc, and this wine is subtle without seeming mute. Excellent, and likely to get even better over the next year.
Livon Tenuta Ronc Alto 2013: Ribolla Gialla vies with Friulano for the title of Collio’s signature indigenous grape variety, and though Friulano seems the more consistent of the two, this is a Ribolla that shows such superb quality that the competition between the two varieties seems unlikely to end anytime soon. Notably high acidity is expected from this grape and is certainly present in this finished wine, but there’s also exceptional concentration and substance that results in terrific balance and internal symmetry. Interesting, the wine’s edgy acidity and rich breadth of texture are so well integrated that this is more a wine of harmony than tension, as is usually the case with Ribolla. Terrific juice.
Borgo Conventi “Colle Blanchis” 2012: Established in 1975, Borgo Conventi is among the largest of Collio’s producers, and its wines are consistently solid. This one, however, is downright striking. Sourced from a single vineyard site, it is made in very limited quantities (roughly 2,000 bottles per year) from a special clone planted on just four terraces. Of these four, only two of the terraces are used for making this special wine, which is notably rich in the signature Collio style, yet also quite fresh as well--also in the signature Collio style. Exceptionally persistent aftertaste notes all tail off symmetrically, which is yet another indication of superior quality. An extremely impressive wine that speaks even more of place than grape variety.
Venica, Collio “Ronco del Cerò” 2013: This is certainly one of the world’s best examples of Sauvignon Blanc, and indeed it is so good that I doubt that any experienced taster would dispute this assertion after tasting the wine. Especially complex in aroma and multi-dimensional in flavor and texture, it shows superb depth of flavor and breadth on the palate, yet still manages to show excellent linear energy. Fresh acidity counterbalances a slight hint of sweetness in the finish, which is very persistent and symmetrical. Some of the world’s top Sauvignons attain excellence with sheer flash whereas others make the grade by dint of sustained attractiveness and versatility with food; this is a wine that reaches the heights on both of these counts.
Venica “Ronca delle Mele” 2013: The international variety Sauvignon Blanc is simply known as “Sauvignon” in north-eastern Italy, and Collio is a region that is among the world’s very best with this grape. Venica is among Collio’s star producers, and this “Ronca delle Mele” bottling as truly stellar in 2013. Beautifully balanced in all respects, it shows quite expressive aromas without turning overly pungent, and likewise shows refreshing finishing acidity without turning excessively tart. Relatively rich for the variety but quite standard in this regard for Collio, this is a supremely versatile Sauvignon at a more-than-fair price.
Villa Russiz Merlot “Graf de la Tour” NV ($40): Collio is rightly famous for white wines, but it is also a source for some mind-blowingly good reds, such as this one. It offers a marvelous mix of fruity and savory aromas and flavors, with a core of black plum and dark berry fruit with accents of tobacco leaf and baking spices. Very fine-grained tannins lend just enough spine to help this finish with some firmness, but there’s noting astringent about it, and the texture is as impressive as the aromas and flavors. | 2019-04-26T00:41:55Z | http://winereviewonline.com/Michael_Franz_on_Collio_Twenty_Fifteen.cfm |
Easy Render is an online web application that connects 3d artists to the clients who require their services. A 3d artist (“the Artist”) is defined herein as a person or entity capable of producing 3d images of the unbuilt based on instructions from a Client. A client (“the Client”) is defined herein as a person or entity looking to commission an Artist to produce 3d images of the unbuilt and subsequently purchase them. Clients could include architectural practices, real estate firms, engineering practices, interior design firms, etc. This online web application (“the Site”) aims to bring Artists and Clients together and facilitate the offer, job acquisition, collaboration, image transfer and payment processes between the two parties.
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The Site currently uses a third party professional payment platform known as Braintree to receive payments from Users; payments to Users will be done by Easy Render via the use of bank transfers; whilst any refunds to Clients made under provision 3.10.or provision 2.5 of these Terms and Conditions of Use will be performed through Braintree and incur a refund fee (currently 15 euros) as charged by Braintree, and paid by the Client, and which may change at any time and for any reason and solely and fully at Braintree’s discretion. Easy Render reserves all rights to change the Site’s third party professional payment platform at any time, for any reason and solely and fully at Easy Render’s discretion.
Easy Render accepts no responsibility for any failure whatsoever on behalf of a third party professional payment platform, this is to include, but not exhaustively: any loss of data and/or monies by the third party professional payment platform; any lost, failed or delayed payments by the third party professional payment platform; any inability to perform by the third party professional payment platform; etc.
Easy Render charges a fee for the services offered by the Site; this fee is taken from the payment made by the Client to Easy Render, prior to Easy Render’s payment of the relevant Winning Artist; for ease of reference, this fee is clearly stated within the User’s account.
The Client and the Winning Artist are required by these Terms and Conditions of Use to sign both a Client/Artist Agreement and an Image Transfer Agreement document if a job is to be successfully initiated and seen through to job closure; any User not prepared to sign both a Client/Artist Agreement and an Image Transfer document should refrain from using the services provided by the Site.
Easy Render accepts no responsibility for any loss whatsoever incurred by a User and/or a third party as a result of unsuccessful Image delivery by the Winning Artist and/or unsuccessful Image receipt/download by the Client; including late Image delivery, poor Image quality, refusal to sign the Image Transfer Agreement on behalf of either or both parties, loss of Images, technical Site malfunction, etc.
Easy Render accepts no responsibility for any loss whatsoever incurred by a User and/or a third party as a result of using and/or distributing any Images obtained through the Site.
Easy Render reserves the right to terminate a User’s account at any time and for any reason, in particular following a violation of these Terms and Conditions of Use and/or Easy Render’s Supporting Documentation; and Easy Render is in no way responsible for any loss whatsoever arising to the User himself, to another User and/or to any third party as a result of this termination.
Easy Render reserves the right to terminate the Site at any time and for any reason and Easy Render is in no way responsible for any loss whatsoever arising to a User and/or any third party as a result of this termination, except and solely as a result of provision 2.5. of these Terms and Conditions of Use; Easy Render also reserves the right to make any changes, modifications or alterations to the Site at any time and for any reason.
Although all reasonable care will be taken by Easy Render in the protection of the Site’s contents, including its Personal Data and Non-personal Data, Easy Render can not guarantee their absolute security, and Easy Render is not liable for any loss of Personal Data and/or Non-personal Data and any loss in whatsoever form arising to any party(s) as a result of the loss of Personal Data and/or Non-personal Data. Easy Render is not obligated to backup any User Content, including Personal Data and Non-personal Data, and User Content may be deleted and/or lost at any time; the User should note that the responsibility to create backup copies of a User’s own Content, including any Images, rests solely with the User himself. Following job closure, the collaboration page, its files, messages, marks and images are deleted. The high resolution images will be accessible by the relevant parties (the Client, the Winning Artist and Easy Render) through their User accounts, but only for a finite period of time as deemed reasonable exclusively by Easy Render. It is fully and solely the User’s responsibility to ensure he has obtained and made backups of the final high resolution images.
Personal Data is, in general, used by Easy Render to allow and subsequently improve the User’s and/or other Users’ experience with the Site. For example, Easy Render may use Personal Data to: allow the creation of a single, secure User account which will allow the User access to the Site and its services; identify a User’s movements and interactions within the Site; inform internal research and development that could improve the Site and its services; customise the Site to match a User’s preferences; respond to a User’s request; send administrative notifications and promotional materials to Users; block Site access to suspended Users; etc.
The disclosure of Personal Data to other Users is kept to a minimum. The more sensitive elements of a User’s Personal Data (such as the User’s name, surname, address, email, telephone number, bank details and/or credit card details) are visible solely to the User himself and Easy Render; it is only a User’s avatar and, in the case of an Artist, the User’s portfolio images, that are visible to all Users.
Easy Render is committed to protecting the security of the Site’s contents, including a User’s Personal Data; the Site uses password hashing to protect a User’s account, and it is fully and solely the User’s responsibility to keep said password safe and unknown to other Users and/or unauthorised persons; whilst credit card details are stored off-Site by a third party professional payment platform.
A User can modify their User Content, including Personal Data, through their User account, but only when said User account is inactive; that is, the User is not currently advertising a job on the Site’s job board (Client) or involved in any tenders, offers or collaboration with another User, no matter the stage of the collaboration (Client and/or Winning Artist).Any changes to Personal Data will require the User to be reapproved by Easy Render prior to gaining access to the Site and its services.
The Site allows all Users to supply feedback, testimonials and/or endorsements; any feedback is viewed solely by Easy Render, whilst testimonials and endorsements may be displayed on the Site along with the User’s name, unless said User wishes to remain anonymous, in which case the User’s avatar will be used. Once submitted, all feedback, testimonials and endorsements belong to Easy Render, but may be modified, updated and/or deleted by the author (User) by emailing or calling Easy Render.
In order to make full use of the Site and its services, the Client will have to submit Non-personal Data, examples of which could include: any job details as required by the Site’s job form; any detailed project files; any information shared on the collaboration page; etc. The Non-personal Data entered in the Site’s job form by a Client is considered low sensitivity and will be posted on the Site’s job board; the job board will be visible solely to all registered Artists (Users) and Easy Render, but not to any other Clients (Users).
Non-personal Data such as the detailed project files is treated as being more sensitive and will be posted on the collaboration page only; any User Content posted on the collaboration page, including any conversation between the Client and the Winning Artist, is visible solely to the Client, the Winning Artist and Easy Render. The Winning Artist is required by the Terms and Conditions of Use document not to create and/or keep any personal copies of the detailed project files belonging to the Client under any circumstances.
In order to make full use of the Site and its services, the Artist will have to submit Non-personal Data, examples of which could include: the Artist’s portfolio; any Images created by the Artist on the collaboration page; any information shared on the collaboration page; etc. An Artist’s portfolio will be visible to all Users on the Site,whilst any User Content present on a collaboration page, which will include the Images created by a Winning Artist in line with a given Client/Artist Agreement, will be visible solely to the Client, the Winning Artist and Easy Render.
All User Content, including both Personal Data and Non-personal Data, as posted by a User belongs fully and solely to that User, including any intellectual property rights associated with that User Content and all the possible liabilities and/or responsibilities that come with such ownership of that User Content; nonetheless, the Artist hereby agrees that any images present within an Artist’s portfolio, although they remain the full and sole property of that Artist, may and can be used by Easy Render, at Easy Render’s full and sole discretion, for advertising purposes. The only transfer of intellectual property rights allowed on the Site occurs through the Image Transfer Agreement document, where the intellectual property rights of those Images marked as completed by the Client on the relevant collaboration page are transferred from the Winning Artist, who created said Images, to the Client, who commissioned said Images, as evidenced in the relevant Client/Artist Agreement; whilst still allowing for the use of said Images by the Winning Artist, within his portfolio, and by Easy Render, for advertising purposes.
Where one, more or all Images created by the Winning Artist on a collaboration page in line with a Client/Artist Agreement are in any way linked to a third party, the Winning Artist must have full permission to share and ultimately transfer the full intellectual property rights of said Images to the Client; including full permission to sign the relevant Image Transfer Agreement document with the Client. Any loss in whatsoever form arising from the use of Images belonging to a third party will fall fully and solely on the Winning Artist who transfers said Images.
Easy Render is committed to protecting the security of the Site’s contents, including a User’s Non-personal Data; the Site uses password hashing to protect a User’s account, and it is fully and solely the User’s responsibility to keep said password safe and unknown to other Users and/or unauthorised persons.
Following job closure, the collaboration page, its files, messages, marks and images are deleted. The high resolution images will be accessible by the relevant parties (the Client, the Winning Artist and Easy Render) through their User accounts, but only for a finite period of time as deemed reasonable exclusively by Easy Render. It is fully and solely the User’s responsibility to ensure he has obtained and made backups of the final high resolution images.
This Image Transfer Agreement document relates to the sale and transfer of the intellectual property rights pertaining to those Images marked as completed by the Client on the relevant collaboration page, as they appear on the collaboration page, and which were created by the Winning Artist for the Client in line with the relevant Client/Artist Agreement assigned by both parties (these Images are referred to herein as the “Final Images”). This Image Transfer Agreement hereby transfers the intellectual property rights of the Final Images from the Winning Artist to the Client, allowing the Client to use and distribute the Final Images solely and fully at their discretion; in transferring the intellectual property rights of the Final Images to the Client, this Image Transfer Agreement allows the Winning Artist to use the Final Images in his portfolio (the Artist can only use the Final Images to showcase his portfolio) and Easy Render to use the Final Images fully and solely at Easy Render’s discretion.
The parties to this Image Transfer Agreement are those same parties who are party to the Client/Artist Agreement covering the Final Images whose intellectual property rights are to be transferred through this Image Transfer Agreement; that is, the Client and the Winning Artist. This Image Transfer Agreement will apply to both parties in their capacity as either the Client or the Winning Artist. If this Image Transfer Agreement in any way covers a Final Image(s) which is not fully and solely the creation of the Winning Artist who is a signing party to this Image Transfer Agreement, then the Winning Artist hereby confirms that he has the authority necessary to transfer the intellectual property rights pertaining to said Final Image(s) to the Client who is a signing party to this Image Transfer Agreement; and the Winning Artist accepts any inherent liability in whatsoever form attached to the transfer of intellectual property rights, use and distribution of these Final Image(s). Easy Render is not a signing party to this Image Transfer Agreement and accepts no responsibility and/or liability for any loss whatsoever as emerging from this Image Transfer Agreement and incurred by any party, whether signing or non-signing; this in no way negates the benefits due to Easy Render under provision 1.1. of this Image Transfer Agreement document. Easy Render can not guarantee that both parties will sign this Image Transfer Agreement document, nor force either party to sign this Image Transfer Agreement document.
This Image Transfer Agreement is part of a suite of documents (referred to herein as the Supporting Documentation) and should be considered in conjunction with the entirety of the Supporting Documentation.
The Image Transfer Agreement is signed by both parties prior to starting on a job collaboration and is binding from the instant the relevant job collaboration is marked as closed; regardless of any issues either party may have following job closure. A binding Image Transfer Agreement can in no way later be voided, including following Site termination and any instances where either or both parties to the Image Transfer Agreement: violate any of the provisions detailed within Easy Render’s Supporting Documentation; violate the Image Transfer agreement itself; delete their User account; have their User account terminated by the Site; etc.
If the job is not marked as closed, and then solely by invoking provision 3.10. (b) of the Terms and Conditions of Use document, the Image Transfer Agreement is deemed void and the Client surrenders any and all rights whatsoever to the Final Images. In order to protect the Client’s exclusive rights to the Final Images over an initial and limited period of time, the Client may specify a time period (up to a maximum limit of one calendar year) during which neither the Winning Artist nor Easy Render may make use of the benefits stated under provision 1.1. of this Image Transfer Agreement document; Easy Render is in no way responsible for ensuring that the Winning Artist does not use the Final Images during this time period, or for enforcing this provision, or any other provision present with the Image Transfer Agreement document.
In signing this Image Transfer Agreement, the Winning Artist hereby confirms that: the Final Images that the Winning Artist will transfer to the Client are those marked as completed by the Client on the relevant collaboration page; to the best of the Winning Artist’s knowledge and effort the Final Images will reflect what was requested of the Winning Artist by the Client in signing the relevant Client/Artist Agreement; the Winning Artist accepts that he will be paid his fee solely upon job closure; the Winning Artist is willing to, and has full permission to, sign this Image Transfer Agreement document and transfer the intellectual property rights pertaining to the Final Images from himself to the Client as set out under provision 1.1. of this Image Transfer Agreement document, including in the event where a Final Image (s) or part of a Final Image(s) was developed by a third party; and the Winning Artist agrees with, and will abide by, the entirety of this Image Transfer Agreement document.
In signing this Image Transfer Agreement, the Client hereby confirms that: the Final Images marked as completed by the Client on the relevant collaboration page will be those of interest to the Client and, to the best of the Client’s knowledge and within reason, will reflect what was requested by the Client in signing the relevant Client/Artist Agreement; the Client will be reasonable in his assessment of Images to be marked as completed and in his decision to close a job; the Client accepts that he will be granted access to the Final Images solely upon job closure; the Client is willing to, and has full permission to, sign this Image Transfer Agreement document and accept the intellectual property rights pertaining to the Final Images as set out under provision 1.1. of this Image Transfer Agreement document; and the Client agrees with, and will abide by, the entirety of this Image Transfer Agreement document.
The signing parties to this Image Transfer Agreement hereby acknowledge and agree that: Easy Render is not a signing party to this Image Transfer Agreement; Easy Render shall not be held liable or responsible for any breach in whatsoever form of this Image Transfer Agreement by any of the signing parties; Easy Render has no obligation to get involved in dispute resolution, it is solely and fully between the parties to the Image Transfer Agreement to resolve any dispute that may arise in whatsoever form; Easy Render is in no way liable or responsible for any loss whatsoever as incurred by the Client as a result of gaining the intellectual property rights for the Final Images; Easy Render is in no way liable or responsible for any loss whatsoever as incurred by the Winning Artist as a result of ceding the intellectual property rights for the Final Images; Easy Render is in no way liable or responsible for the quality (and timeliness) of the Final Images; the signing parties are to hold each other solely and fully liable for any loss incurred following a breach of this Image Transfer Agreement and/or as a result of gaining or ceding the intellectual property rights to the Final Images, including their use and distribution; and the Winning Artist accepts full and sole responsibility on behalf of any third party whose work may in any way be contained within the Final Images transferred to the Client under this Image Transfer Agreement.
All provisions made under section 5 (on liability and disclaimers) of the Terms and Conditions of Use document apply, where relevant, to all the Supporting Documentation, including this Image Transfer Agreement document. | 2019-04-26T07:56:05Z | https://app.easyrender.com/page/legal |
There are times when food doesn’t lead to celebration, but feels more like chewing on bitter herbs of truth.
The past news cycles have been hard to digest. We’ve swallowed a difficult pill called “truth.” The Catholic Church, though founded, sustained, and sanctified by Jesus Christ, is filled with flawed humans. Jesus chose as the first pope, the apostle who denied him three times.
Unfortunately, problems we’ve put on the back burner have bubbled over, creating a real mess. Part of solution is for the entire Church — from pilgrim to Pope — to remember who we are: We are servants.
The scandals, crimes, and cover-ups stem from brokenness in human nature and unhealthy nurturing. We need to heal, or at least manage natural brokenness and vices through prayer, spiritual direction, counseling, and if necessary, medical intervention. If not, our sinful tendencies become actions. That’s why Jesus, the Divine Physician, through the Sacred Food of the Eucharist, seeks to unite with us, in order to heal us.
The “nurture” part of the problem — the environment where sin festers — is through clericalism. It leads to living above the law and luxuriously at the expense and obedience of the flock. Prelates abused their authority over innocent children or seminarians learning obedience. Clericalism makes ordained men forget that at their first ordination, they put on a deacon’s dalmatic (a liturgical apron).
Unfortunately, a small number of priests and bishops drank the “Kool-Aid” of clericalism, like the religious leaders in Jesus’ time succumbed to hypocrisy and Pharisee-ism. Again, it’s a small number, but we know what a few bad apples can do to an entire cart.
Part of the solution requires priests to renew their identity as selfless, suffering servants (Isaiah 53). Unfortunately, Church protection policies plus clericalism have created a mindset that separates priests from having authentically healthy relationships with those they’re called to serve. Priests should not be afraid to meet people in their homes, roll up sleeves and wash dishes, take care of their own housekeeping, and live a life connected with everyday reality.
Consider St. Paul’s hard labor with and for the people he sought to convert. The more “connected” priests are to reality, the less likely they’ll live in a clerical bubble. Get to know your priests and help them stay connected to the people they’re called to serve.
Please, don’t see priests as “janitors,” but as “custodians” of the faith. We are not slaves, but servants. Priests are sacramental ministers, but also spiritual fathers.
To be part of the solution to the problem, raise a holy family and make sure your priest is a part of it. Go ahead and invite him over to dinner, and make sure he helps out with the dishes.
The bitter herb of arugula brings great flavor to a simple, tasty dish that I connect to a need for penance. It’s easy and delicious, and sharable when you have your priest over for a meal.
Place tuna in strainer and drain. Mince shallot and garlic; add to lemon juice in a bowl, to mute flavor. Finely dice celery stalk. Add lemon zest to drained tuna fish.
Combine tuna, celery, shallot, garlic, and lemon juice with 2 tbsp. of mayo and mix, flaking tuna for a nice creamy texture. Heat cast-iron skillet and melt 1 tbsp. of butter. Place buns in pan and toast, then add cheese, lowering heat and adding tuna mixture. Cover to completely melt cheese and add a little arugula atop sandwich.
This entry was posted in Columns, Feeding the Foodie and tagged cooking, Foodie, Fr. Leo E. Patalinghug, servants, truth, tunamelt on October 1, 2018 by admin.
It is a good thing to give a cup of drinking water to a thirsty man, but only if we are sure that the water is not polluted. It is a still greater thing to design, plan, and put into operation a fresh water system that serves many cities and many purposes, including the quenching of thirst. For example, the ancient Romans were famous for their vision of making fresh water available, and so began the widespread institutionalization of the aqueduct system (some of which is still functioning) and the care of entire populaces. In other words, the greatest service is truth, not only the truths of “know how,” but the truth of things, including human things. From this supposition, all other services flow.
…Catholicism and Intelligence is based on two premises. First, what is peculiar or distinct about Catholicism is this: what the faith holds is intrinsically intelligible even if not always understood by given persons. And second, intelligence has its own structure or form that is rooted in the principle of contradiction – “Nothing can be and not be at the same time in the same way.” “Intelligences” or understandings that maintain that everything is true even if contradictory cannot stand. It follows that we live in a world in which some things are true, even though some valid point may be found in everything that is not true. This seeing what is true within error is why the major function of the human mind is to distinguish what is true from what is not true, what is right from what is not right, what can be held from what cannot be held. To respect the mind is to respect what is.
…We need to know what we think as well as what happens when we carry out what we think. Our dignity depends on our affirming the relation between what we know and intend to do and what we carry out into the world, and what happens as a result.
FR. JAMES V. SCHALL, S.J. is an American Jesuit Catholic priest who is one of the most prolific Catholic writers today. Author of over 30 books, he was professor at Georgetown University for 35 years. Among his recent books are The Mind That Is Catholic, The Modern Age, Political Philosophy and Revelation: A Catholic Reading, Reasonable Pleasures, and Docilitas: On Teaching and Being Taught.
This entry was posted in Engaging the Faith and tagged catholic, Fr. James V. Schall, intelligence, st. thomas aquinas, truth on September 1, 2018 by admin.
As the new school year gets underway, it’s a good time to be thinking about the quality of education that our children are getting, or in all too many cases the education that they are not getting.
The first test of what constitutes a good education is the way that one of the most important questions is asked and answered. It is Pilate’s famous question to Christ: Quid est veritas? What is truth? If the asking of this question is not at the heart of a school’s curriculum, it is not a school offering a true education. If, on the other hand, the question is asked but only with the tired indifference of the relativist who believes that it is a question that is unanswerable, the school is likewise failing to offer an authentic education. The question needs to be asked as one that needs to be answered and, furthermore, as one to which the answer is ultimately knowable and known.
As for the answer to the question, a school offering a good and true education will answer it in the words that Christ gave to His disciples when He told them that He is “the way, the truth and the life.” The way to truth can only come through Christ, which means that it can only come with an understanding of the Gospel and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, which is nothing less than the Mystical Body of Christ in the world. An education that sidelines Christ, or ignores Him, or which treats Christianity as only one of several equally valid religions is not a true education at all. How can it be? In denying Christ, it denies the way, the truth, and the life, without which, or whom, there is nothing ultimately but darkness.
Having established the centrality of Christ to all authentic education, the other essential element of a true education is an acceptance of the unbreakable bond between fides et ratio, the indissoluble marriage of faith and reason, which is at the heart of true Christian philosophy. At the heart of this rational path to truth is a proper understanding of “science.” The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which simply means knowledge. It is for this reason that the Church has always taught that theology is the queen of the sciences. Theology is the knowledge of God, the first and most important of all the sciences. Another science that is often neglected is philosophy, which is the knowledge of reality to be discovered in the love of wisdom. It is the science of wisdom. History is the knowledge of reality to be discovered by understanding the past. It is the science of the past, or, to put it another way, it is the science of human experience. If an education is neglecting these crucial and authentic paths of knowledge in favor of the so-called “hard” sciences, the latter of which are encapsulated in the so-called STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), it is not an authentic or adequate education. These subjects are important, of course, but only as part of a wider knowledge, which includes the other sciences.
Last, but emphatically not least (indeed the last shall be first!), a good and true education must be an education that teaches what it means to be good. It must teach virtue, and it must teach the Christian understanding of love, the very heart of all virtue, which is the conscious choosing of the sacrifice of the self for others. Such an education, which teaches the good and the true, can be said to be truly beautiful.
JOSEPH PEARCE is a senior fellow at The Cardinal Newman Society and editor of its journal.
This entry was posted in Ethics and tagged catholic college, education, faith, knowledge, truth on September 1, 2018 by admin.
I was a history major in college. One of my history professors loved to tell us that our job as students was to be our own historians. He meant we should not simply read a history book and then believe we understood the topic, without further exploration of what we had read. We should study other books on the same topic and compare what the different authors put forth as explanations. In short, we were to become informed, independent thinkers who made critical judgments of the ways facts were chronicled and evaluated. Just because something is in a book does not make it true. It may be true, or partially true, or totally false. It is up to each student/historian to exert the effort to discover what is reliable, accurate, and reasonable, against what is mere conjecture or outright falsehood.
The professor’s advice applies to more than just studying history. University students should realize that much of what they’ll be taught needs to be analyzed and considered in the light of other facts and approaches. They need to be aware that in many fields of knowledge there is enormous pressure to conform to one set of ideas that reflect the modern secularist outlook. That outlook rejects the notions of eternal truths and natural moral laws. Instead students are confronted with subjectivism. Robert Cardinal Sarah describes this problem in his book God or Nothing: “Subjectivism is one of the most significant traits of our time. Feelings and personal desires are the only norm. Often modern man regards traditional values as archaeological artifacts.” Thus a college student will be told that the reason he should agree with (or at least not criticize) a blatantly immoral lifestyle is that everyone gets to decide what is right or wrong for himself. Making a judgment that certain ways of thinking or acting are wrong and harmful is treated as a violent intellectual assault on someone else’s unquestionable right to do whatever he wants, free from any criticism or disapproval.
To be a faithful Catholic, especially in today’s university setting, a student must be aware that being a truth-seeking thinker means treating Christ’s doctrine as the basis upon which to judge everything else. Going along with fashionable trends and drinking in politically correct relativism that admits no other way of thinking is a sure formula for drifting away from the Church’s teaching and demands of the Gospel. Going along to get along can easily lead one down the road to denying certain teachings of the Church in the illusory pursuit of showing love and respect to people who reject those teachings. True love and respect for others involves sharing with them the liberating truths of the Gospel as taught by the Church. If they refuse to hear you, you at least have made the effort to help them. They have had the perhaps unusual experience that someone out there does stand firm when the world wants him to be silent and capitulate to the coercive worldview of relativism.
My history professor was a wise man. Being your own historian is a good way to approach the rest of life. For the Catholic student, it means looking at everything we encounter with the mind of Christ and not caving into the demands of a relativistic spirit in which there is no truth, only opinions.
FATHER GERALD MURRAY is pastor of Holy Family Church, New York, NY. He holds a Doctorate in Canon Law from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and appears as commentator on religious topics on TV and radio, including EWTN, Fox News, Fox Business, MSNBC, NY1, Radio Maria, Relevant Radio, Fox News Radio, and the Voice of America. He writes a monthly column for The Catholic Thing website. He served in US Navy Reserve Chaplain Corps from 1994 to 2005.
This entry was posted in Faith Matters and tagged catholic, Catholic education, college, education, student, truth, university on September 1, 2018 by admin.
This entry was posted in Columns, Guest Editorial and tagged Catholic Business leader, Dr. Donald DeMarco, truth on July 1, 2017 by admin.
The Acton Institute’s Michael Miller writes that the world is going through crises of reason, truth, freedom and beauty. The current financial and moral crises in our culture are symptoms of the four greater crises. He argues that Pope Benedict has been addressing these four major crises throughout his pontificate — and that there is hope . . .
It seems that society is moving from one crisis to another lately — a breakdown of morality in business, an enormous financial crisis, social and familial breakdown, the scandal of abuse in the Church and an ever-growing government taking a bigger role in our lives.
Our time and its troubles are not unique. Every age has its crises. No perfect time has ever existed, and each generation is called to be stewards of their time. While the challenges I mentioned are serious, they are not the key problems of our time. They are manifestations of more significant civilizational crises that must be addressed if we’re going to see the current challenges clearly. Pope Benedict XVI has been addressing these deeper crises throughout his pontificate.
First is the crisis of reason. As the Pope discussed in his now famous Regensburg Address, we have limited our concept of reason to the empirical. Under this limited notion, anything that cannot be demonstrated empirically — by mathematical or scientific experiment — is not considered rational or reasonable. This means that all discussion of truth, goodness, beauty, right or wrong is relegated to the realm of emotion or opinion. Yet this position is untenable because it’s impossible to demonstrate empirically that reason should be limited to the empirical. As Benedict has argued, we must expand our concept of reason to include logical and moral reasoning. To limit it is irrational.
The second crisis is the rejection of truth — or what Benedict appropriately called a “dictatorship of relativism.” We’re all familiar with the person who argues that truth does not exist. Saint Thomas Aquinas dealt with this objection centuries ago. If a person says there’s no such thing as truth, we must ask a simple question: “Is that true?” To argue that truth doesn’t exist is a self-refuting proposition. Some may protest that that is the only truth, but that of course makes two truths!
The same applies to the person who says “The truth may exist, be we cannot know it.” “Really? Do you know that? If you do, then you know at least one truth.” This isn’t a word game. It’s the nature of reality. Truth, Aquinas wrote, is “conforming one’s mind to reality.” To reject the existence of truth is to ultimately reject the intelligibility of reality. Yet think what the limitation of reason and rejection of truth does to morality. If truth does not exist and all value judgments — right, wrong, just, fair, etc. — are non-rational, then how can we to expect people in government or businesses to be concerned with anything more than serving their own petty interests at the expense of others?
The third crisis flows from the first two: a crisis of freedom. Many people view freedom as merely the ability to exercise one’s will in whatever manner he likes. But as Benedict wrote: “An irrational will is not free.” If I start banging my head on the edge of a table or poking myself with a fork, no one would think, “Wow, that guy is so free!” No, they would think I had lost my mind, because freedom unhinged from truth and reason is not free. Think of all of the broken marriages, lying, stealing, abuse, harm and sadness that have come from this deceitful (and irrational) concept of freedom. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, we have created a tyranny of tolerance and the result is generations of damaged lives.
The fourth is a crisis of beauty. Beauty has been reduced to merely being “in the eye of the beholder.” We have taken a partial truth — that the unique nature of persons means that each individual is going to perceive a certain work of art, a landscape or piece of music differently, and thereby be able to contribute a new perspective to his fellow man — and turned it into the idea that beauty is merely a matter of opinion. We’ve turned the sublime into the banal.
This may not sound very important, but it has a host of serious consequences. One is that the grotesque, the ugly, the disgusting and the shocking are now placed on the same plane as the lovely, pretty, beautiful and sublime.
Plato believed that if we lost the ability to say what was beautiful in art and music, education itself would be compromised. Do we think that when St. Paul exhorted us in his letter to the Philippians to think about whatever is true, beautiful, noble, gracious, lovely and excellent, he was merely telling us to reflect on our own banal subjective feelings? No, he was calling us out of ourselves and into a life of excellence rooted upon the foundation of Christ.
What can we do? The ironic reality is that we as individuals cannot do much about the financial crisis, immorality on Wall Street and in Hollywood, or the growth of government. But we can do a lot about the civilizational crises. We can do a lot within ourselves, our families and communities to think clearly, to think like Christians, and to recreate a Christian culture. We can teach our children, and we can “renew our minds” in Christ. One person at a time, this will change the culture, business, politics, economics and the Church.
This entry was posted in Ethics and tagged beauty, freedom, michael miller, reason, truth on June 1, 2010 by admin. | 2019-04-23T17:57:41Z | https://legatus.org/tag/truth/ |
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FEATURED DOWNLOAD: Read and download the full transcription of Episode 21. Dr. David Darmanin, shares Hotjar insider tips to increasing your conversion rate.
Dr. David Darmanin, a conversion rate expert brought the multi-disciplinary Hotjar team together in early 2014. Hotjar Ltd. is a European startup headquartered on the island of Malta. Our founding team includes experts in Product / SaaS Development, Web Marketing, UX and Conversion Rate Optimization.
When I discover something which I like, I want to become the best at it.
But later on that passion for design led me to try and understand what is good design and what exactly will make people act or not.
We’re not after big enterprise, we’re focused on fast moving companies that want to grow.
Stephen: Hey everyone, it’s Stephen here from Marketing on the move and today; I’ve got a great entrepreneur.
David: Thanks for having me Stephen.
Stephen: So David, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, your company and what you do.
[00:31] David: Oh yeah, that’s quite a lot to fit in an answer, I’ll do my best. So yeah, my background is in conversion and optimization and pretty much Design if we had to give it the broadest category possible.
So that covers, UX interface.
David: Even branding added influences on marketing and yeah, the company that I now founded and worked with is Hotjar. So, what it is, we call it an all-in-one analytic and feedback tool.
So, it’s basically the tool that is going to let you understand how your visitors are using your site and why they’re doing what they do.
Stephen: Right, fantastic and how long has it been since you came up with Hotjar or launched it? Give us a bit of an idea of where you’re at with it.
[01:30] David: Yeah, it’s still quite a young start up. Early in 2014, I had the idea and I started working with some colleagues of mine from the past in different areas be it marketing and engineering development sphere and I was really lucky to bring on board some really talented people and we’re doing other projects so I had to be really use my persuasion skills.
So yeah, we all joined forces and we incorporated around middle of the year. Although we had already been working with it and since then yeah, the idea has really taken off and we’ve had a lot of interest and we just haven’t stopped since then.
David: We’ve been very surprised. Thank you very much.
Stephen: That’s a fantastic achievement and I know I came across it earlier this year and so I think what we’ll talk about it on when we have a bit of chat later on but through part of the ten pay where people sign up and they opt in and move along the line as a beta tester so tell us a bit about that.
How did you come up with that sort of idea?
I mean, it’s a great marketing move on your side of things to get people to share it with friends and obviously it’s a bit of a sort and an affiliate prices would you call it?
[03:20] David: Kind of, well actually my background funnily enough is a little bit similar to yours as in I’ve been involved in the entertainment industry quite a lot and back in the Uni years I was trying to make money while I was studying trying God knows what type of business ideas.
David: And I was organizing quite a bit of parties and events and it was a great way to socialize as well but we ended up creating kind of a brand and yeah anyways, during that experience we’ve really realized how important it is to create this feeling of demand. Let’s say, so having people wait in line there’s this concept of waiting lists, the guests list and what not.
David: Actually in the later years when I started reading a lot of books and read a Psychology of sorts, “Persuasion” by Cialdini so to understand the kind of underlined principles of it. So we knew that as kind of a small start up in the quite a big expensive industry, we had to come up with a clever idea.
We weren’t just going to spend money by achieving it. So yeah, we knew we had a complex product to build and we also knew that the only way that we can scale it up was too slowly on board users within one to kind of launch it and then take on too many users that our servers couldn’t take the load. So yes, I actually stumbled upon RobinHod.com I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it.
It’s an app basically that eliminated commission fees on stock trading and we felt it was similar to what we were doing in terms of really disrupting the market and making it accessible to everyone. So, we felt it was the perfect tip for this type of tool. So, yeah, basically—go ahead.
Stephen: No, no no, I was going to say, that’s it. It’s sort of a genius idea.
David: Yeah, exactly, so we decided that what we’ll do is make it a win-win for everyone anyone who signed up and recruited more users to Hotjar more of their friends or colleagues would go up on the waiting list and basically that kicked off an avalanche where everyone was inviting everyone, bit of much.
Stephen: Yeah, and have you seen a lot of gripe?
I’m sure obviously you guys have been checking the analytics more than any other company but have you seen any significant amount of growth?
Has it peaked and sort of come down or what did the sort of the results and that campaign?
[6:03] David: Yeah, I’d say there definitely was a peak or a couple of peaks and obviously when the word spreads quite quickly but now it’s settled down to a nice steady growth. So we have quite a lot of sign ups coming in everyday and then obviously we’ve boosted it with some campaigns and doing some retargeting so we’re not just relying on it just happening on its own.
We’re making sure we accelerate the promises as well.
Stephen: That’s fantastic and obviously it’s sort of like I guess, like a soft launch of a product. It sort of gives you an opportunity to nod out all of the issues and the bugs and this and that and it also asks you to grow at a city rate.
[06:41] David: Absolutely, our idea was kind of in a way to go to market with the minimum viable product and then scale it up based on demand and yeah that hasn’t been a problem having a challenge because with 10,000 sites and some of them being really, really big enterprise we’re dealing with a lot of data, yeah.
Stephen: What sort of trafficking you say?
I can’t imagine how bit it’ll be like you said there’s a couple of big websites on there hopefully the minimum viable product is supporting the service and everything like that?
David: Yeah absolutely, as I said, we’re really lucky to bring on some really great talents. So, Hotjar has been in a way that really scales really well because we’re using basically Amazon Cloud technology it’s horizontal scaling data basis, everything scales up so obviously that’s been great for us to meet the challenge and actually just last week we’ve completed one last redesign of the infrastructure which makes now every aspect of the technology scalable.
David: So yeah, that was a really interesting challenge and as I said if we had, I definitely give this as an advice, if we had to try and design this upfront to say, “Okay, how do we build a technology?
How do we build a back end that can sustain 30,000 clients?
There’s no way we would have even come close to building what we have today. So, yeah, I guess it kind of, we’ve been inspired by hearing investors in the past saying the biggest, the best problem that you should have is scale like every investor we’ll jump onto a project if your problem is scale.
So that means you have a lot of users wanting to use in your technology and can’t keep up.
David: Typically investors are the other way around. They’re worried when you’re spending a lot of money building for scale but you don’t have any users yet so that influences us a lot.
Stephen: That’s right I mean, you’re looking sort of, I guess it really works across industries as well when you’ve got an intangible product and you’ve got quarters sort of seeing it but you can’t build them so it’s just a way of managing to get those product made or getting an MVP as soon as possible so you can really scale it.
Stephen: So that’s what I’m on. But a question for you now that you sort of gone through that process is there anything that you would change that you thought, ‘If I was going to go through that again that might change or make a decision to develop a software in a different manner or a different way to maybe take it to market’?
[09:21] David: I don’t think so actually so I might change that few in a few months. But so far we’re extremely happy with the choices we’ve made.
We’ve prioritized long-term value and user value so we’re really thinking gross in terms of revenue.
David: So far it feels like, we’re getting it right.
Stephen: Yeah, well that’s fantastic and I guess it is at Hotjar within a bit of investors are involved in Hotjar or is it sort of your own team?
How are you so growing the company?
Stephen: Yeah, and I guess now you get to go through it as your own business?
As now you’ve seen the ups and downs of what being in business have done.
David: Very true, that’s been very insightful. So yea, and during the period I’ve obviously been thinking and realized some problems that we wanted to address with Hotjar so let’s say I was preparing to invest myself. But yeah, as the team we’re all investing personally into it. This makes it even more interesting.
Stephen: Yeah, and I think it sort of reminds me of I just finished an audio book Rework by the 37Signals company; I’m not sure if you may have read it or heard the audio yourself.
Stephen: And it sounds like a lot of what you’re saying is very in line of how they’ve grown their business too.
[11:01] David: Agreed, the only difference I’d guess is that at a certain point we did need a substantial investment. But as I’ve said, we were lucky enough that the people on the team had the resource available to do it ourselves at least for now.
David: And, we’ve saved on future challenges and how we can deal with that.
Stephen: Of course, and I guess, if we move on to like you were saying, with what you’ve done in the past and your work with a lot of the other big businesses, where did you start with all these conversion optimizations?
What sort of got you into it, because it’s I know, there’s not that many people who know exactly what it is and how it works.
So, how did you get into the conversion optimization space?
[11:41] David: That’s a great question because it kind of ties in with the vision we have with Hotjar. So, I have a really weird background.
Stephen: Well it sounds as if even before the start of the interview, you were telling me you’re born in Sydney.
David: Yeah, I traveled around the globe so when I was very young and moved back to Europe. So, we’ve been around and equally my background, I actually, I’ve always had a really big love for Languages probably related to the travelling.
So, for some reason, where I lived as a kid, that’s equated to; ‘you’re good at doing law.’ So I ended up anyway becoming a lawyer but during that time I was involved a lot in the startup field and entrepreneurship in general so yeah, I was involved in setting up a couple of companies but my biggest passion was always design.
So, I was doing that again a lot to make money, to get through University and enjoy the weekends.
Stephen: Yeah, of course. Well, I know, go on sorry.
David: Yeah, but later on that passion for design led me to try and understand what is good design and what exactly will make people act or not and how do I really become really good at doing design and that took me through the interesting process of looking at what the aesthetics people say to how to be visually pleasing and whatnot and eventually that led me to an analysis and split-testing and conversion optimization. And, yeah, it’s a little bit my mindset but then when I discovered something, which I like, I want to become the best at it.
So that took me down the road of working with some amazing agencies, consultants and I’ve learned a lot from a lot of businesses on the way.
Stephen: Yeah, that sort of leaves really nicely into my next question which is; I guess now that you’ve consulted with a lot of these big businesses and small business and all of that, are there any specific tools asides from Hotjar that you’d recommend for entrepreneurs these days?
Are there any sort of go to tools that you’d recommend?
[13:53] David: That’s interesting because next week we’re actually kicking off the process of kind of putting together what we think was the ultimate tool set for that same design.
Stephen: Is that going to be in a blog post?
David: Yeah, well more than a blog post we’re going to take it to the next level, we’re going to approach these providers and try to persuade them to give us a really good deal so we can put together like a bundle and make it accessible to everyone. So that will be interesting.
Stephen: That will be fantastic.
Stephen: Can you give us maybe a small preview?
If you don’t want to give us the whole list and we can put the links in the show notes, but just a small preview for the listeners?
David: Yeah, nothing’s been decided yet and I’d say with Hotjar our focus is mainly on the design side and I’d say that kind of obvious feeds into the marketing so it is well but our real vision is to change the way people build sites.
Stephen: Sort of like a visual revolution.
Stephen: Yeah, and it sound phenomenal, I guess, you’re going to be scaring a lot of web developers there.
David: No, I don’t think so, I think it’s going to be more challenging rather than scary and I think it’s going to be, I think they’re going to enjoy it. So far, the reaction, the feedback has been on those lines.
But yes, so based on that, so why am I blabbering on this. So obviously, the tools that we’re choosing and the ones we really believe in are the ones that fit into this visual and the ones that allow you to achieve that.
So, yeah, definitely we’d recommend having a basic let’s say, SEO monitoring tool something that allows you to kind of understand let’s say how your site is being perceived or what users are looking for when they get to your sites that gives you a little bit of a view one step before your site actually kicks in. That’s kind of important.
I’ve played around with ‘Positionly‘ which is quite cool and then there’s ‘Moz‘ so yeah, we as you can imagine we love experimenting with a lot of tools and then obviously one cannot go without actually doing user testing. So, user testing that comes as a great tool, unfortunately they’ve really kicked in high gear on enterprise.
Stephen: Right, so they’re difficult for small businesses.
David: Yeah, and so we’re looking at some other alternatives, other tools that are let’s say more affordable and accessible. And then definitely, on the rapid prototyping side of things.
So, it was like proto that I owe or collecting feedback for a quickly. Such as infusion and so, so yeah, there’s a lot of interesting tools that we believe in and we’ll be talking about those recent.
Stephen: Fantastic. I think that gives our users a little bit to play around with. I think even like probably things with like optimizing as well I guess. I’m assuming you guys will probably be using a tool and just doing a lot of testing a lot of it sort of becoming a bit towards big data.
All of these big data where you can really analyze what’s going on, on the website and that sort of assists you with the development and design of how everything is running.
[17:36] David: Yeah, agreed. Yeah, absolutely, optimizing visual websites. Optimizing is a really important tool to understand what’s going on.
But I’d say our view is less kind of big data and more touch points. So it’s good to collect a lot of that kind of information but I think we’ve reached a point where the tools that are available and what’s possible has possibly led us to kind of data paralysis.
David: So, our methodologist on adjusted tool because we go beyond that is also part of determining what you should be doing first because that’s kind of quite an important thing. So Hotjar is quite important in allowing you to do that.
So what should I do today and what should I do later and what’s the biggest, hottest opportunity?
[18:27] Stephen: Yeah, and where would you so say you’re maybe an aspiring web developer or web designer beginning a new company or new website, where would you lead them start first?
Do you have any, like, recommendations or someone starting a new website, how would you get going if you’re not sure what the market’s looking for?
David: Yeah, I know it sounds crude but it’s extremely effective. I’d say the key is to speak to your potential customers or users as early as possible.
So if you do have a little bit of traffic, or a deal on your site, and you have some kind of presence or some kind of identity on social media, then build some kind of survey or build some kind of really simple minimal viable product and get feedback. So Hotjar provides the tools for that to build a survey or you set up a page, you do a poll and you can ask those questions or just get out there and talk to them or show them your ideas and see what they think.
I’d say it’s so easy to believe a lot in your idea of a product that you kind of put on the blinkers and start building and forget about the user. I admit I’ve made this mistake myself so then it’s so important to get out there and see what people think and believe me when I say this, when you have the right product you will see people getting excited and offering you money.
David: So yeah, we saw this having built many other products and companies before, we’ve never seen their reaction without lethargy we’re literally we have people saying ‘listen, forget the queue, we’ll just give you money, we’ll give you money today just so we can use it today. So that’s always a good sign.
[20:11] Stephen: So are people currently using Hotjar right now? Or is there a waiting line to get into it?
David: Yes, I said that there’s a waiting line primarily not just from the marketing point of view which has helped us in the beginning, but now it’s actually a necessity recently and then obviously we can’t bring on board 50,000 sites because that would obviously break Hotjar as in a one goal.
David: If not from a technology point of view, from my life point of view, now as in, we really pride ourselves in giving amazing customer support. So we really want to on board everyone in the right way and obviously learn as much as possible, improve Hotjar, use the potential from that.
But you know we already have invited a large portion of the list. So I think we have around 10,000 sites, I’d say around 8,000 users, or I think today we went past that point, so a lot of activity and a lot of feedbacks, so it’s one hell of a beat I’d say.
[21:13] Stephen: That sounds great, I’m excited to get my ticket to get in and give it a test and give it a test run, but obviously I’m sure you know. I mean you’ve even put on your home page, there’s a lot of alternatives and a lot of other applications which, I guess, you sort of compiled into one because I’m just looking at the website now and you’ve sort of got the headline, the new easy way to truly understand your visitors.
So do you want to expand a little bit on that?
David: That’s correct. So during these last few years that I’ve worked with a lot of these companies, I’ve obviously had to recommend a lot of tools and use them myself and it’s been a constant pinpoint that in a few words the industry’s quite under-developed. So what you’re got is, you’ve got a lot of, kind of, split up tools.
You’ve got Crazy Egg, that does just heat maps, you’ve got quite a loop that just does polls, then you’ve got another tool that surveys, you’ve got ClickTale that do playbacks and stuff but then they’ve gone uber enterprise so it’s like impossible for anyone to use it because you need thousands of dollars a month.
David: So it was really frustrating and then you have different interfaces, different user experiences, and lot of these companies invest a lot of money in optimizing their sale side of things. Like how they collect revenue and less the actual interface and the features.
But then at the same time they’re bogged down with a lot of extra settings and features that most people don’t need. So yeah, it’s been just one big pinpoint and the kind of 8-20 rule kicks in here so literally having spent 10 years working with a lot of these tools you really start to see what actually has an impact and what doesn’t.
So we said listen, let’s just take all the items that really have a big impact, let’s help users by making it one affordable accessible, and to actually giving them information about how to use these tools in the right way. And literally kick off as you said this visual revolution.
[23:38] Stephen: Yup, that’s phenomenal. And then you’ looking to keep Hotjar affordable for the everyday small business owner or are you looking to grow for enterprise and small business, where’s the future life of Hotjar?
David: That’s a very good question. We actually have an interesting development and I’m actually saying this for the first time today. So that’s interesting.
Stephen: Hey we’ve got a, well first, we’re listening.
David: Yeah, absolutely. So because of this, let’s say, aggressive vision we have and because we want to achieve so much, we’ve decided we’re actually going to have a free version of Hotjar.
It’s going to be limited in terms of functionality, not in terms of what you can do but by the among of items you can have. So rather than having a limited surveys, that would be a, limited account but we’re actually going to make every feature available on the free account.
Stephen: That’s huge. Me and the half of every of other 10,000 websites, and they are going to be very pleased to get that.
David: I think so. But at the same time we’ve also been working closely with bigger businesses that they’re actually real happy with our approach because obviously you’re always into sacrifice something.
So, Hotjar is an awesome tool, it’s definitely not for the analyst have loved their data paralysis let’s say. So it’s not a tool like ClickTale that collects every click on every page.
Hotjar is much more reports it’s much more on demand. So you have this problem, let’s go identify it, let’s solve it. So that’s that allows us to keep pricing low.
So let’s say. However, we all working close with these enterprises and discovering their needs and obviously scaling up hard drive to meet those need sis definitely not a problem for us so we’re finding ways to make it, let’s say work in a mutual way where kind of obviously, these extra costs that will take on to kind of accommodate these bigger enterprises will be reflected in the service.
And a lot of the enterprises have been running after us because they love this way of doing things. Speeds, results actionable data.
[26:28] Stephen: That’s fantastic. And I think that’s super exciting as well .I mean being able to support both of the big enterprise companies and also the small businesses.
Is it the exact result that you want?
You want to be able to have, offered the free trial and it’s not even a free trial, you’re just giving a limited perspective on what’s available?
Or you’ll also be targeting the big business, you want everything, so having those both ends of a scale, it’s phenomenal.
David: Glad to hear you say that.
[26:56] Stephen: So that’s very exciting. I won’t give you much longer but a couple of last questions. What’s one of the biggest growth strategies that you’re saying for Hotjar?
So are you guys focusing on content creation or is it going to be on sort of your paid advertising, you’re retargeting, where do you guys sort of see the growth coming from Hotjar?
David: That’s a good question. I’d say in the first year, reach is going to be very important for us. So this is a completely new way of doing things so we want to make sure everyone becomes aware of us very quickly.
David: So we’ve actually just finalized another round of financing which will allow us to achieve this in 2015. So we are definitely now like riding on the result we’ve seen from the Beater and seeing the feedback we have from users, we have a lot of fans, addicted users; we know that it’s now time to kind of spread out the message.
So definitely advertising is going to be an important aspect although we want to do it in, let’s say, in an education form that is here’s how you can basically grow your sites and here’s how you can have access to this type of tools in an affordable way. So that will definitely be a part of it.
Content will also, is also definitely part of our strategy. We plan to do things a little bit differently, which is not a surprise for Hotjar.
We have played around a little bit with content in the beginning but since then, we’ve shifted all company resources on to building Hotjar, finishing it in time in the Beater. So once we’re out from that, we’re going to have some really interesting contents coming which are much more, let’s see, research-driven.
David: So anyone can sign up.
Stephen: Was that your witty creativity?
David: Honestly I don’t remember anymore. Let’s say it was a group effort because we come up with so many crazy ideas that it’s more turning down ideas now rather than executing them. But yeah, so that’s definitely going to be interesting.
So think on the lines of research-driven company content. So analysis of sites, analysis of landing pages, analysis of campaigns across yet multiple companies.
[29:33] Stephen: Yeah. Well just to give you an example, I think one company that’s doing that really well leadpage I’m sure you’re familiar with.
Stephen: And I think their blog and their podcast which they run is very much similar to I think what you’re trying to get to which is that content-driven around education based on the product.
So that entire, how is it, how are these case studies being applied?
And I think their lead chapter system using their blog and the content is phenomenal. So, I think, is that sort of what you’re trying to give me to build the idea of?
Or is that probably one of the clauses of blogs and software companies that you’re, I guess, going to be similar with?
David: Yeah, in a way it is. But our blog is going to be much less product oriented so it’s going to be much more talking about what’s happening in the industry and what people are doing.
David: And that’s why I want to use kind of an outside the jar kind of way so it’s more inside from what’s going on but then rather than doing like product related blogging we believe that that shouldn’t be in a blog format. Instead it’s more of a community format.
So, that’s going to take the shape of Hotjar community users sharing their stories of how they used Hotjarand us obviously sharing experiences of how best to leverage the product. But we don’t – we’re not big fans of preaching let’s say how to do stuff.
So, we, more than anything have built a methodology and by methodology we mean how you go about actually achieving your results.
It shouldn’t be random, it shouldn’t be just let’s look at this heat map or let’s just look at replaying this visitor how he’s using the site. Instead, it’s more based on your sight has barriers, it has drivers and there are hooks so we have this three elements and then we show how to use the tools on Hotjar to discover these 3 areas get the big picture and then go out and start making changes.
Stephen: Yeah, got you and that’s fantastic I think something like that with content being put out is going to give you a whole fresh perspective and a whole lot of methodology like you’re saying and going out and applying their own business.
[31:53] Stephen: That’s fantastic well look I’ll leave it there thank you so much David for coming on. I think the guys are going to be super excited with Hotjar coming out.
We’re looking forward to that blog post as well, the value you’re going to be giving outside the Jar so guys, and if you want to have a read about the blog I believe you said it was outside.hotjar.com is that correct?
Stephen: So you can go over there and have a look. Actually I had a look at it the other day I was just reading I think you analyzed 20 awesome starts up homepages and what you’ve learned from them that was a great post. So there’s a lot of value on there that you’ll get hooked on very quickly so you can actually put an hour or so at least to start reading through it.
But no, it’s been fantastic having you on David. So, thanks for coming on.
David: Thanks for having me Stephen and we’re really looking forward to giving you access to Hotjar and hearing your feedback.
Stephen: Awesome. It would definitely be coming soon. Alright David, thank you I’ll speak to you soon.
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Someone from Edinburgh built a funnel 1 hours ago. | 2019-04-20T12:30:07Z | https://www.stephenesketzis.com/podcasts/21-hotjar-founder-david-darmanin-conversion-optimization-marketing-move/ |
Is intelligent design theory a valid scientific alternative to evolutionary theory or is it only a religious view?
Is there a consensus in the scientific community one way or the other on this issue?
[+7] - farmerman - 11/27/2015Clambreath, Answering one of your rants would be like me trying to carry on a discussion about quantum chemistry with a guinea pig.
Yes there is a consensus in the scientific community.
By scientific community I mean all conventional scientific organizations which accept the scientific process (for example publishing in peer reviewed journals) which encompasses the great majority of scientists.
The consensus is that Intelligent Design is not scientifically valid.
I think the only formula to wonder about is the one Pythagoris discovered in Zeus cave so many thousand of years ago. The formula of phi which is 1 to 1.618 also mentioned in the Davinci code.While on Crete earlier this year it was reintroduced to me by the locals who knew much and plenty of that which has been diverted from our attention is North America. I think the greatest colamity was the sabotage of buring the library of Alexandria. because of that forces that be could manipulate historical truth to their wishes without the reprise from ancient written text.
As stated in The American Biology Teacher by the eminent scientist Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973), "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." This often-quoted declaration accurately reflects the central, unifying role of evolution in biology. The theory of evolution provides a framework that explains both the history of life and the ongoing adaptation of organisms to environmental challenges and changes.
While modern biologists constantly study and deliberate the patterns, mechanisms, and pace of evolution, they agree that all living things share common ancestors. The fossil record and the diversity of extant organisms, combined with modern techniques of molecular biology, taxonomy, and geology, provide exhaustive examples of and powerful evidence for current evolutionary theory. Genetic variation, natural selection, speciation, and extinction are well-established components of modern evolutionary theory. Explanations are constantly modified and refined as warranted by new scientific evidence that accumulates over time, which demonstrates the integrity and validity of the field.
Some people contend that creationism and its surrogate, "intelligent design," offers an alternative explanation: that organisms are well adapted and have common characteristics because they were created just so, and they exhibit the hallmarks of intelligent design.
Creationism has not made a single contribution to agriculture, medicine, conservation, forestry, pathology, or any other applied area of biology. Creationism has yielded no classifications, no biogeographies, no underlying mechanisms, no unifying concepts with which to study organisms or life. In those few instances where predictions can be inferred from Biblical passages (e.g., groups of related organisms, migration of all animals from the resting place of the ark on Mt. Ararat to their present locations, genetic diversity derived from small founder populations, dispersal ability of organisms in direct proportion to their distance from eastern Turkey), creationism has been scientifically falsified.
The fact is every mainstream scientific organization from the most prestigious AAAS and American Physical Society, to science educational organizations professional organizations accept evolution as fact and reject creationism and intelligent design.
The only exception to this are "scientific" groups that are connected to religious organizations. There are groups of religious people with scientific credentials, but these represent a very small minority. Gallup reports that over 95% of life scientists accept evolution as proven.
Justice Breyer (of the U.S. Supreme Court) once gave a speech to the AAAS about the need for a pool of science experts to serve as expert witnesses in court cases. Most court cases would involve something specific like DNA evidence, but other cases involve wider-ranging issues such as school board decisions on science education.
I think it's merely a postulate, at least until someone can rationally or empirically prove it. I wouldn't call it a scientific theory though.
I'm afraid that any mention of a "design" would make people think suddenly of Christianity when it isn't.
Re: Intelligent Design Theory: Science or Religion?
Intelligent Design Thory: Science or Religion?
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The general principle proposed by Intelligend Design is that biological life is so complex that there is no way it could have come about naturally, and therefor, it is a result of Intelligent Design.
The Logical extension of that principle is that anything in nature which is beyond our ability to understand at the moment, must therefor be the result of Intelligent Design.
Gag . . . the reaction which i experience whenever confronted with theology . . .
As far as including intelligent design theory in high school science, the criticism that it is religious can be set aside. Intelligent design theory has not been corroborated to the degree that evolutionary theory has. I don't think that high school students should be given the false impression that intelligent design is a valid alternative to evolution.
I find the entire premise of ID to be illogical, not just uncorroborated. Since when does science say that anything we can't fully explain must be supernatural or mysteriously artificial, in origin. In a nutshell, that is what ID is saying.
Science is supposed to propose theories to explain nature, not to deduce that nature is supernatural simply because we can't explain something. ID is obviously not science, and when you remove it's scientific sounding terminology, shows its true theistic colors.
I think that even Aristotle's science, although naive, was an attempt to replace Greek mythology as an explanation of nature. Do you agree?
I don't know. I'm not familiar with "Aristotle's" science.
As scientists, scholars, and teachers, we are compelled to point out that the quality of science education in your schools has been seriously compromised by the decision to mandate the teaching of "intelligent design" along with evolution. Science education should be based on ideas that are well supported by evidence. Intelligent design does not meet this criterion: It is a form of creationism propped up by a biased and selective view of the evidence.
At 9 a.m. Saturday, only about a dozen members of the community sat in the auditorium for a program commemorating the rededication of Dover Area High School. Two hours later, about 100 people were on hand for the district's biology seminar on intelligent design.
The guest speaker was Michael Behe, a professor of biological sciences at Lehigh University in Bethlehem who has authored "Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution" and has published more than 40 scientific papers. Behe made five points why intelligent design - the concept that life is too complex to have been evolved solely through natural selection and must have been created by an intelligent designer - was a better explanation for the biological world's existence.
Darwin wrote that all forms of life were, in part, the result of numerous, successive slight modifications. But Behe said there are some biological systems, such as those pertaining to bacterial flagellum and blood clotting, which could not have evolved on their own. The systems are so complex, he said, that no one part could have worked or survived without all the parts associated with it today. The concept is called irreducible complexity.
Behe, who said he was a Christian, also said he has no trouble accepting that the universe may have begun with a bang some 13 billion years ago. But he can accept this only if the igniter of the bang did so with a plan to get life to where it is today.
He also said he believes there is enough DNA evidence to support the idea that life could have come from a single source and that life is changing to meet the demands of a changing environment. But, he said that may mean that God, or the designer, is creating through secondary means. "Natural selection does a whole lot," Behe said. "But the question is, can it be extrapolated into everything?"
Kyle Cunningham, a professor of genetics at Johns Hopkins University, made the trip from Baltimore to hear Behe speak. "The ID movement is not about enlightenment," Cunningham said. "It's about creating confusion in an effort to ultimately remove evolution from the classroom." During a question-and-answer period, he asked Behe how he reconciled evidence suggesting that DNA is in a constant state of evolution. "Through DNA sequencing, we can see similarities between organisms, and there are some good indications that we all have a common (ancestor)," Behe said. "But there is still nothing to suggest how all of this came about." The Rev. Chad Rimmer of Union Lutheran Church in York asked Behe if he really believed that high-school biology was the best place to introduce young people to intelligent design. Behe said yes because there is more evidence for a designer than for evolution. He also said the controversial nature of intelligent design would stimulate students into a discussion they would find interesting. In Dover's statement, however, the district said it "leaves the discussion of the Origins of Life to individual students and their families."
Cunningham said he got the impression that Behe believes everything that evolution teaches except what really took place during the universe's first moments. "If that's what it comes down to, that's a philosophical question, not a scientific one," said Rimmer, who has a biology degree from the University of North Carolina. "So take the discussion out of science and place it where it belongs, in philosophy."
I believe this debate has been trivialized by protagonists on both sides.
The situation is that science can neither offer a complete description for the origin and evolution of the universe nor prove that it was not created. Same goes for the origins of life. In both cases science has developed models which have been continually refined and extended, and which today can consistently describe most of the respective processes. Continued research can be expected to produced continued improvement in these models in the future, just as it has in the past. This, however, does not guarantee that science will be able to dispense with the idea of a creator - that question is still open and there are in some areas of physics and biology reasons to doubt that it will.
The notion that belief in God requires that one reject evolution or even scientific models for the expansion of the universe is patently false - despite the fact that some religious zealots assert that it does. It is entirely possible that there is a creator and that the laws of physics and biological evolution, which we are struggling to understand, are themselves a part of His creation.
Science is the disciplined process through which we have learned to systematically develop refutable hypotheses and use reproducable experiment to confirm, reject, or modify them. In educating our children and ourselves, it is important that we focus on what is being taught and exclude what is not. Religion, per se, has no place in a science classroom. One should instead focus on and teach the scientific method, which is based on refutable hypotheses and acknowledgement of the limits of our understanding. Since science cannot prove there is no God or no creator, this assertion has no place in a science classroom either.
In short, most of this as it affects education is a phoney issue. There is no conflict between science and creationism as long as we adopt the scientific method, which calls for us to acknowledge possibilities that are still open.
I understand your desire to take a moderate "middle of the road" stance. I don't think it is correct.
There is a very serious conflect between science and creationism because of the scientific methos. The fact is, for the vast majority of the scientific community, evolution is not an open question.
Not only that, this is far from a "phoney issue". The scientific community considers this a very important issue.
I work with both scientists and educators. The creationist movement is a source of constant frustration to both groups. When these news stories come up (i.e. the current school board politics in Kansas) they are always brought up by my colleagues. To a person we all feel that this is nothing less than a religious assault on reason.
I bring this up only to point out that this is a very important issue to both sides.
Two points from the perspective of the scientific community.
1) The vast majority of the scientific community feels that there is enough evidence to justify the broad acceptance evolution as valid. Gallup reports that over 90% of scientists accept evolution as a fact. The number for life scientists is over 95%.
This is not just a belief that one is a better theory than the other.
I can report (from within the community) that the vast majority of the scitific community consider creationism as a "lunatic fringe". I use this term because it correctly conveys the feeling we express within the community. As evidence look at the Scientific American editorial from the April issue. It is aptly and intentionally derisive.
2) Most of us in the scientific and science education communities feel that stopping the Creationism and Intelligent Design from science classrooms is very important. Read the statements from the AAAS and other prestigious science organizations that I posted earlier on this thread.
The scientific community is spending a great deal of energy to stop the Creationism movement. And there is good reason for this.
Of course there is political controversy here. But the question is whether the vast majority of the scientific community who accept evolution determines the science curriculum, or a small minority of religiously motivated dissenters.
To me, and to many others, this is a very important issue.
Most people are quite ordinary -- this tautology applies to all groups scientists included. History shows us they can be as wrong as many other groups in their consensus views, and that the consensus view has often stood in the way of real scientific progress.
I am not trying to steer a middle of the road course for purposes of forced moderation. I am instead rejecting the close-minded prejudices of both extremes.
No one seriously doubts that evolution is observably occurring more or less as Darwin and others have described it. That is not and never has been the real question. What is at issue is whether or not any other hypothesis may be required to explain our present existence. That question is still open. You may believe that conventional evolutionary models may one day prove conclusively that no other elements are required. However, you cannot know that to be true in a scientific sense. The only "scientific" course for you is to admit the possibility and go on, distinguishing belief from certainty.
Physicists have developed excellent models with which to represent the origin of the universe. Indeed remarkable inferences can be made about the early expansion of the universe after the big bang, however, no explanation is offered for the bang itself. Moreover the physicist's models fail to explain the observed size of the universe, so to overcome this deficiency they invent "inflation" , which is merely a word for a tyemporary suspension of the laws of physics to reconcile the model with observed reality.
Those who are concerned with complexity considerations are in an equivalent position with respect to biological evolution. We know the age of the earth approximately, and geologists can tell us roughly how much time has passed since physical conditions on it were able to support life,. The question remains -- is that enough time to produced the observed complexity of living forms?. As far as I know that is still an open question -- science as yet offers no definitive answer to it.
I agree that the teaching of science in schools should focus on science and not religion. However this debate does not require that science attempt to claim ground it does not yet occupy. If you advocate a close-minded approach to these questions merely to keep out those who advocate a different close-minded approach, you will have established your equivalence with those whom you oppose --- a very unscientific outcome indeed.
"EVOLUTION IS NOT SCIENCE, it is nothing more than another religion. It is a guess at something that cannot be tested, experimented, or anything else. It is a big guess that is sugar coated with "science" The only reason anyone still believes it is because it is the only thing that they can claim as evidence to the nonexistance of God. They want to do whatever they want, and if the "logical thought" b.s of "science" says that there doesn't have to be a God, everyone will jump on board."
Leaving aside the issue of a lack of clarity of expression in that statement, the aspect of an irrational fear of the teaching of a theory of evolution leaps out at one. I don't have a dog in this fight. I can go from one year to the next without discussing evolution or religion with anyone in real life. I cannot recall the last time that i had a conversation on the subject of evolution, which suggests to me that it has been twenty years or more since that occurred--because i have an excellent memory and recall conversations for long periods of time. I have brief discussions of religion from time to time, with a friend of mine who is vehemently anti-religious. He is a dedicated conservative, and a vocal supporter of the current administration--i feel obliged to mention that before anyone leaps on the statement and hurls abuse at a true and cherished friend who would not swat a fly needlessly. Apart from occassional discussions with that friend, who needs an opportunity to vent his disgust and anger, i probably have not had a conversation on the topic of religion in more than 15 years--i recall the last one vividly, although it may have been 16 or 17 years ago, i cannot recall the temporal references necessary to establish it with certainty. It was quite amusing, in a nauseating sort of way, because i was being solicited to join a bible study group by some very narrow-minded, exclusionary and hateful fundamentalists.
All of which does in fact have a bearing on this topic. Hatred flies about the debate, cackling with glee at the anguish wrought. The statement above is exemplary of the paranoia of those of faith, but little education and experience of a wider world. The same can be said of those who make science their religion (giving ammunition to those who advance silly hypotheses such as that which i have quoted), i just don't have such a succinct statement to offer exemplary of that side of the coin. Fifteen years ago, i met a woman with whom i came in frequent contact because of my employment situation. She and i became sufficiently friendly to converse, and it came out through a third party that she was "an atheist." Well, i am not "an" atheist, because it simply is not an issue with me personally. I am atheist in the sense that i am without god. She eventually offered me reams of documents from a local atheist celebrity. Such individuals abound, and they make atheism their creed and science their god. They are to me cut from the same cloth as the religious fanatic. The woman in question became disenchanted with my lack of "evangelic" fervor for atheism and we drifted apart--no loss to either of us, i am certain.
Were i not active here, neither the topic of the current state of religious belief in America, nor of the current state of science education would ever impinge on my pleasant, nearly-monastic life of intellectual asceticism and physical sybaritic self-indulgence. Because i do participate here, and i can anonymously indulge a penchant for beating up on the absurdities of religious belief, i have a reputation here as a mean guy, who hates christians. I hate no one in my life--i do despise, as a purely intellectual matter, appeals to an unestablished authority. That goes for bible thumpers, and for worshippers of science who cannot even articulate the simplest of descriptions of the process of natural selection.
The quoted statement above is chilling in view of the resurgence of religious revivalism and fanaticism in this country, which seems to be cyclical, beginning with the putative "Great Awakening," corresponding to John Wesley and the rise of evangelical revivalism in England. Few people questioned the validity of the theological claims of the revivalists then, and they were basically put out of business by the authorities of the established religions of the colonies who did not appreciate having their theological monopoly challenged. The bitterness lasted right up to our Revolution, and helped to create a good many of the factions which formed at that time.
In our times, however, that revivalism has a new target, and one which exploitative religious authority is only too happy to see assaulted, which is those parts of scientific investigation which challenge the principle of "revealed truth." As the statement above plainly shows, for some among the religiously convinced, this is a matter of the very survival of their respective credos, and a clarion call to do battle as a christian soldier against the gathering forces of evil who intend to strike down god and all he (?) stands for. It is this extremism which gives pause to those who are not extremists in matters of the veracity of scientific investigation, but for whom such activity has the character of a valuable societal activity.
There is a war going on, and as is always the case with war, the first casualty has been truth.
» Intelligent Design Theory: Science or Religion? | 2019-04-18T10:33:11Z | https://able2know.org/topic/50511-1 |
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manfluenceDespite of the new womenomics revo-lution in which women control more than 80% of the purchases in the US, mens influences over food related pur-chases is increasing. They have become more powerful in the kitchen, cooking and planning the meals, and are conse-quently also spending more time in supermarkets. This has influenced food retailers to modify their environment and start tar-geting men. Some supermarkets even have experimented with man aisles filled with male-oriented food, and pro-motions to target and trigger impulse shopping.
produced groceries and products that are supporting the local economy. Such rural interest not only impacts what types of groceries are being display-ed but also how the groceries and foods are stored in the shops. We are seeing trends towards more rural aesthetics, with natural materials that seek to resemble a more rustic space. Larger cha-ins such as Tesco have understood this trend and have bought more authentic brands such as Harris + Hoole and Giraffe to fulfil such customer needs.
the millennials & digital generationThe increasingly aging population of the baby boom generation might have great economic power; still, it is time to take a look at the consumers of tomor-row, because they will become incre-asingly influential. Millennials, those born between 1982 and2001, are often passionate about food, but also concer-ned about where its from and how its prepared. Nevertheless, studies have showed that Millennials are deal-seekers and are much more focused on finding the lowest price over brand loyalty. Then again those born in the 21st century the skilled digital generation effortlessly integrating with the tablet screen in their hands, expect retail brands to engage them with responsive technology that eases the purchasing process and inspires them.
tasteful recipes for light | cooking - for whom?
Chief retail strategist and senior executive advisor, Booz and Co.
the lighting can definitely add that extra spice to the setting. Also, food and groce-ries are sensitive to UV radiation that can make it mature faster, which means that choosing the right light source is of great importance.
Delicious light in 15 minutesWe can assure you that planning a satisfactory and energy efficient lighting solution takes much more than 15 minutes. Nevertheless we would like to take the opportunity to quickly describe a few illustrative steps of how this can be done.
ating spotlights in the lighting solution for more dynamics and contrast, making the shop environment more inspiring. Also, the use of spotlights steers atten-tion towards products. Controls are also something that can be included to increase energy efficiency but also to create a more vibrant and responsive lighting installation. *Read more about controls on p. 60.
aisles & shelvesA supermarket is usually built from a various rows of aisles of shelves and dis-plays. It is important to illuminate all pro-ducts in them - from top to bottom and also the many signs that are attached above or next to them. At Fagerhult we have kept this in mind and have created a product, iTrack Dupio, with adjusta-ble reflectors that can be individually adjusted toward both graphics and the products in the shelves. Also we have suitable LED sticks for integrated ligh-ting, Relay Efficient for example - a great energy efficient luminaire for illumina-tion in shelves.
possible way - here the lighting plays a great part. By installing luminaires with a light source suited for the particular product it becomes possible. Traditionally, accentuating spot-lights with metal halides installed with different filters has been used to enhance the different colour variations of the gro-ceries; another alternative has been to use a high pressure sodium 2500 K that gives a warm, golden light that empha-sises warm colours. But now the rapid LED development has made it possible to choose from a selection of LED modules that are as suitable for this task as tradi-tional light sources and filters. The inno-vative LED technology has a much higher energy saving potential than we normal-ly see in traditional use of conventional light sources in combination with filters. In the old technology you first produce all the colours of the rainbow then you filter out the colours you dont want for the actual task and hence you waste a lot of energy. With LED you gently add the colours to the spectrum and gene-rate only the spectral colours you want and need no filtering, no losses, just the right colours. *Read more about our new LED spotlight for fruit and vegetables, Marathon Midi LED Glow, on p. 42.
especially if its sourdough bread. Luck-ily larger supermarkets often have a very extensive bread section with several displays of both newly-baked as well as pre-made breads. Nevertheless you dont want to get the impression of unbaked bread, you want a crisp, golden and fresh one. This is partly achieved by the baker of course - but also by the lighting. To really boost the freshness and the warm yellow tones, we recommend luminai-res with suitable LED modules carefully chosen for this type of applications for example Marathon Midi LED Glow. *Read more about our new LED spotlight for illumination of bread & cheese on p.46.
it can intensify any ice surrounding the food but also the blue tones of the fish. Now there are satisfying LED modules that exceeds metal halide. There are even LED modules that can enhance both spectrums of red and blue without producing any IR or UV radiation and consuming much less energy. Marathon Midi LED Rich is equipped with such a LED module. *Read more about our new LED spotlight for illumination of meat & fish on p. 34.
water, sodas & winesSparkling waters should appear crisp and cool whilst wines, for example red wines, rich and full. Once again the light source itself is important in making this happen. Also the bottles are often placed close to each other on deep shelves. In such shelves LED sticks can be conveniently integrated for a smooth enhancing light that makes the bottles stand out. In wine sections it can be flattering to use accen-tuating spotlights to create more dyna-mics and exclusivity.
energy efficient and radiate no light in the form of IR and UV that can damage the foods. LEDs are the only light source that radiates more light the colder they get; hence they are the obvious choice for the cold temperature in the fridges.
special offers that are the last ones the customer sees. Also, there are possibilities to create personality with a characteristic pendant over the checkouts, but nevertheless, it is still important to have a satisfying gene-ral light creating comfortable working environment for the cashiers.
cafsA lot of larger supermarkets have some kind of caf or restaurant enclosed in the shop concept a place where shoppers can relax, socialise and gather energy before or after grocery shopping. In such areas there is really a possibility to create atmosphere and identity in terms of the interior but also the lighting. These areas do not necessarily have to be as uniform-ly illuminated as the larger supermarket area itself there is more room for cre-ativity and to create a comfortable and inspiring atmosphere.
there are collections of smaller food brands that are very trend-sensitive and consumer insight-driven - resulting in unique and authentic concepts. This might not be the way for all traditional and big-box food brands, but they can be influenced by elements of, for example, a specific trend. Whether it is a trend, the vision of a unique expression in the shop, or a desi-re for a specific product, we can help you realise this with our Fagerhult O.D.D (On Demand Design) offer. We can help you to either modify an existing pro-duct or to tailor one specifically for your needs. Our skilled lighting professionals at Fagerhult and passionate lighting cre-atives at the Fagerhult Light Agency have vast experience of such processes quick adaptations are part of our day-to-day work.
For those new ingredients and influencesThe retail landscape is changing fast. New consumer behaviours, trends and technology are constantly setting new roadmaps in retail and therefore also for tomorrows food retailers. This is how we can help create a great lighting recipe when new ingredients appears.
and approved, a test installation was implemented in one shop to be able to evaluate the pricing, technology and mounting. The result of this evaluation was very satisfactory and the LED stick was chosen for many more shops. Today this LED stick, the result of an On Demand Design process, has been integrated in our standard product assortment since it proved to be so successful. We call it Relay Efficient.
fashionable food pendantsThe Fagerhult Light Agency work by carefully monitoring trends in different retail sectors, and are up to date with luminaire designs that complement such trends. In the food retail sector, for example, rustic-looking pendants con-nected to a rural atmosphere have been requested more frequently thanks to the Fagerhult O.D.D process we can propose such pendants.
Illustrated above are sketches of on-trend luminaires well suited for the food applications that could be presented or developed in our On Demand Design process.
Crystal ClearCrystal Clear is Fagerhults environ-mental initiative. Its our way of emphasising the importance of working in a way that has the least possible environmental impact. We are continuously working on improvements and constantly striving to come up with ideas and initiatives that make us proud and ensure that we remain a sustainable company. We want our customers to be confident that we have the knowledge necessary to propose the most sustainable lighting solution. www.
consider how the lighting should be aimed to avoid wasting energy by aiming light on empty spaces like the floor. The evolving LEDs are also making it easier for us to provide lighting tech-nology that is not only effective but also efficient. LED technology has really had a great impact and to a large extent star-ting to replace fluorescents and metal halides. The technology is highly energy efficient and durable, provided that the LEDs are used in luminaires specifically developed for them. On the next page are a couple of diagrams and tables that will explain this subject and give you a brief idea of what is possible to do today, for example a comparison of three different set-ups of one shop.
Low carb(on dioxide) lightingOur natural way of planning light is to consider the installation thoroughly and to be as energy efficient as possible. We also know that decreasing energy consumption is a concern of almost every food retailer.
culations clearly show that the LED-solu-tion is the most energy efficient and cost effective solution. This is due to the much lower energy consumption, approxima-tely 50 %, which in turn helps to reduce the operating costs. Given the much lower energy consumption and running cost for the LED solution you could say that after 2,5 years after the pay-off (i.e., 5 years after installation) you have saved the equivalent cost of another lighting solution for a new shop. We believe this encouraging fact would support abando-ning a brighter 70 W MT solution.
The three smaller diagrams below show the calculations of table 1. The first illustration displays the Life Cycle Cost diagram where it is possible to see the different costs in a concept invest-ment; energy, light source costs and maintenance. Second illustration dis-plays the CO emissions from the three different lighting concepts and the third the pay-off time.
table 2 - savingsIn food shops it is possible to make sub-stantial energy savings by installing a well planned lighting installation with the right products and technology. Table 2 briefly shows how, by doing just that, we have helped one of our clients during the last five years decreasing energy consumption.
controlling the lightAs table 2 indicates, controlling the light can contribute of even greater energy savings. This can be achieved by either using sensors that detect daylight or movement, or by dimming the luminai-res. Dimming has proven to be very bene-ficial since the lighting does not always have to be on full power. By dimming a luminaire by 10 %, it is hardly detectable to the human eye; still, it will create ener-gy savings of 10 %. We believe that controls can decrea-se energy but also affect purchasing patterns. At this very moment we are involved in a light study together with the Finnish hypermarket Anttila. Here the effects of how dynamic, controlla-ble lighting affect shopping behaviour is investigated by comparing three diffe-rent lighting scenes.
neoclassical dishes and Nordic tapas from locally produced groceries are served - traditional but with a modern twist.That is excatly how we would des-cribe our new spotlights, Marathon Midi LED Rich and Marathon Midi LED Glow. We challenged Christian to create four tasteful gastronomic recipes with the following main ingredients; meat, fish, vegetables and bread. Afterwards we will do the same, but our main ingredi-ents will be luminaires and light.
Tasteful recipes for food - and lighting designWe have described different groceries and the importance of the right ligh-ting emphasising each one of them; bread, vegetables, meat, and fish, for example. Here we present a few recipes, but also our specific lighting design recipes of how to make them extra appealing.
NOBA, Nordic Bar/Gastro, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Christian Andersson, head chef at NOBA.
Cod live in salt and brackish water from the Gulf of Bothnia to the North Atlantic. Nowadays this fish is growing in popularity and is a favourite ingredient on menus all over the world. The subtle flavour of cod makes it ideally suited to a wide range of seasonings and accompaniments.
instructions:Sandefjord butter sauce:Fry the shallots in butter, but do not allow them to colour. Add the white wine and reduce it by half. Pour in the cream and simmer until it thickens. Gradually add the remainder of the butter (which must be at room temperature), while stirring constantly. Also add a spoonful of crme frache.
Put the pan to one side, season the contents with salt and pepper and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Sprinkle in a little chopped parsley before serving.
Pickled carrots:Bring the white wine vinegar, sugar, water, bay leaf and peppercorn to the boil. Leave to cool. Add the sliced carrots and leave to stand (ideally for a day or so before serving).Season the cod with salt and pepper.
Bring some water to the boil in a saucepan with a little white wine and butter. Turn down the heat until the water is simmering. Put the cod loin in the water and leave to simmer over a low heat for a few minutes.
Served with boiled potatoes sprinkled with dill.
Install a track such as iTrack, which enables flexible lighting possibilities of both general and accent lighting.
Make sure that there is sufficient general lighting, such as iTrack Line or Dupio, in the area of the fish counter.
Install a set of Marathon Midi LED Rich and aim them appropriately at the fish.
Sit back and enjoy the perception of great looking fish and seafood.
about the maraton midi led rich spotlight:Marathon is our popular spotlight that has received yet another sibling - Marathon Midi LED Rich. This version is tailor-made for the fish and meat sections and equipped with an LED module that is specifically selected and tested for illuminating such foods. Above we present the spectral distribution of this specific LED module. This demonstrates the balance between the colours coming from the LED module. It is important to remember that any colour you want to enhance in the displayed food needs to come out of the light source. So in these diagrams you can ensure that the colour you need is emitted from the fixture. By developing LED modules for specific purposes like this fish/meat module you get top quality light with very low energy use compared to the old fashioned lamp and filter solutions. As shown above this module is strong in the blue- and red spectrum. This fact makes it suitable for illu-minating fish counters that stage both red fish and seafood, such as salmon and shrimps, but also ice and silver skinned fish types. This is an advantage that makes it easy and convenient to plan the lighting without having to install different lumi-naires, light sources or filters.
A succulent duck breast cooked to just the right shade of pink can have much more flavour than turkey, chicken or goose. Combining the rather fatty duck meat with a slightly acidic and sweet accompaniment produces just the right balance of tastes. One tip for removing excess fat is to brown the skin of the duck well and then pour most of the fat out of the frying pan.
instructions:Ragu:Shred the cabbage and put it briefly into boiling salted water. Remove the cabbage from the pan and cool it in cold water. Fry the mushrooms and cabbage in a little butter and season with salt and pepper. Add the pieces of apple just before serving. Mix in some chopped herbs to add colour.
Creamed Jerusalem artichokes:Cook the peeled artichokes gently in the cream and then blend them in a food pro-cessor to a smooth consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
Season the duck breast with salt and pepper and make two crosswise cuts in the skin.Fry the duck with the skin side down in a dry frying pan over a high heat until the skin is golden brown.
Bake the duck in the oven at 120C until the internal temperature reaches 55C.Leave to rest for a few minutes before serving.
Make sure that there is sufficient general lighting, such as iTrack Line or Dupio, in the area of the meat counter.
Install a set of Marathon Midi LED Rich and aim it at the meats.
Sit back and enjoy the view of moist and rich meat without any greyish tones.
about the lighting:iTrack Line or Dupio, with the possibility to adjust the reflectors, gives a good general lighting as a base in the meat section. To accentuate the meats our new Marathon addition Marathon Midi LED Rich is an appropriate choice of spotlight. It is equipped with a LED module not only good when illuminating fish, but also meat too. This is a result of the spectral qualities of the LED module, enhancing both warm red tones but also cool tones as seen in the spectral distribution curve above.
Scandinavian cuisine with its distinctive, authentic and robust flavours is more popular than ever. The ingredients that play an important role in tra-ditional Scandinavian dishes include root vegetables. A wide variety of root vegetables is available. They are not only cheap and full of vitamins, but also very tasty. They can be combined with one another to make nourishing soups and casseroles.
instructions:Peel and chop the root vegetables, chilli, onion and garlic, together with a few sprigs of thyme. Fry everything in a saucepan with a little butter. Add a splash of white wine and bring to the boil.
Add the water and stock cubes and simmer until the root vegetables are soft. Mix with stick blender and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the croutons over the soup.
Croutons:Remove the crusts from the bread and cut it into small squares. Mix the bread with oil and sea salt and bake for a few minutes in the oven at 180C until the croutons are crisp.
light that highlights all the diffe-rent variety of groceries and all of the wonderful colours.
Install a set of Marathon Midi LED Glow and aim it at the vegetables.
Sit back and enjoy the view of a colourful set of great looking fruits and vegetables.
about the maraton midi led glow spotlight:The Marathon spotlight family is accompanied by yet another appropriate food lumi-naire - Marathon Midi LED Glow. This version is tailor-made for the fruit/vegetable and bread/cheese section and equipped with an LED module that is specifically selec-ted and tested for illuminating such foods. Above we present the spectral curves of the specific LED module and as showed, it is strong in the warm coloured spectrum making it suitable to illuminate fruit and vegetables, which bring out the warm tones in these groceries.
Thin, hard crispbread is a traditional Scandinavian bread which has its origins in Sweden in the 6th century. Just as in this recipe, you can experi-ment with different spices to liven up the strong flavour of the wheat and rye. Many different types of crispbread are produced nowadays and creating new variants has become a trend at some restaurants. Home-made crisp-bread not only tastes good but, spread with butter and sprinkled with sea salt, also adds a special touch as an appetizer before a meal. Furthermore, it is low in calories and keeps for a long time.
instructions:Crumble the yeast into the warm water and mix together well. Then add the flour and the cumin. Knead the dough until it is smooth and leave to rest for around half an hour.
Shape the dough into a round on a floured work surface. Roll it out thinly and prick it with a fork. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Leave the dough to rise for another few minutes and then bake it in the oven at 225C until it is crisp and golden brown.
Install a track such as iTrack which enables flexible lighting possibi-lities of both general and accent lighting.
highlights all the different variety of breads and cheese.
Install a set of Marathon Midi LED Glow and aim it at the bread.
Sit back and enjoy a warm and golden bread and cheese section.
about the lighting:To accentuate the bread and cheese it is possible to use spotlights combined with general lighting. Marathon Midi LED Glow is equipped with a LED module that has demonstrated to be strong in the warm coloured spectrum making it suitable to illuminate groceries that radiate similar colours. This fact makes the light of Marat-hon Midi LED Glow enhance the warm golden tones in freshly baked bread making them look extra appealing and crisp. For that reason it is also appropriate to illumi-nate cheese.
some food shops are cosy, intimate and modest in size - often situated locally in the neighbourhoods of the city. Oth-ers are the complete opposite; large, prominent and bold - positioned in the suburbs where the shop floors spread out generously. In the latter, higher ceilings are more common. In such environments it can be a bit trickier to provide a dyna-mic combination of both accentuating LED spotlights and general lighting since the effect of the LED spotlights has not been good enough in ceilings of up to 4.5 metres in height. Until Zone Evo, Sync and Marathon. Zone Evo is one of our latest spot-lights that was derived from a careful technical evolution of our faithful Zone Point. Throughout the years the pro-duct has evolved according to customer demands, as well as the technical advan-cements of LEDs. Now the updated cone shaped Zone Evo have a version that comes in the generous lumen package 4500 lm - Zone Evo II LED. Yet another geometric expression, the square, is represented in Sync, a spotlight version that distinctly contrasts with the others due to its angular design.
Just as Zone Evo, Sync is also available in high lumen packages up to 4500 lm. There is also a controllable DALI version for iTrack with a dim range of 10-100 %. Finally the popular Marathon will be accompanied with yet a version, one of 4500 lm. These spotlights can be used in supermarkets with high ceilings where a truly effective spotlight with long life-time is required. At such ceiling heights, the tracks where the general and accent lighting is installed do not have to be sus-pended any lower than 4-4.5 metres. This will make sure that the groceries, not the lighting installation, will steal the atten-tion of the shopper. At Fagerhult we never include an LED module in a luminaire that is not as effi-cient, or more efficient, than traditional metal halides. Therefore we have been waiting patiently for such a module to emerge. And now, finally, the technology is good enough to produce one. Due to this advancement we are proud to pre-sent a high lumen LED spotlight that is more effective than one with metal hali-de. And this is something we know will satisfy the pickiest gourmand.
When expectations are running highWanting to get a taste of a really efficient LED spotlight for those high supermarket ceilings? Great! We are now launching the new Zone Evo family, Sync and a 4500 lm addition to Marathon. These luminaires provide solutions that address that exact need.
Tantalising installations of oursWe have worked with several supermarkets but also other retailers and brands where food and drinks have been the essence of business. Presented below are selections of such cases.
extremely satisfied with. The combina-tion of spotlights and fluorescents was also much appreciated as well as the flexibility of the lighting installation where the staff could rearrange the luminaires when moving interior and merchandise. Also iTrack Dupio, with its adjustable reflectors made it possible to aim the general light towards both the groceries and graphic signs. With its impressive 10, 000 square metres ICA Maxi in Haninge is Swedens largest ICA shop, a shop where we also had the benefit of being the main ligh-ting supplier. Thanks to Fagerhult O.D.D we could provide suitable products for this particular shop and its premises. First we created a suspended arm with fix points where Marathon spotlights could be installed despite of the high ceiling. We also created a special bracket that could be mounted directly on our standard product Dupio. This initiative made it possible to fit and attach Dupio on to the function ceiling that was used. Instead of developing a new version of the luminaire we solved the problem with a mounting accessory by doing so we could provide a solution in a swifter and time efficient way.
man out, turned all luminaires off with the exception of a few carefully chosen luminaires that ensures the brand mes-sages are seen throughout the night.
auchan A recent collaboration is the one with the French international retail brand Auchan. In the Auchan hypermarkets everything from food, electronics, clothes and home interior can be purchased. Auchan wanted a supplier of accent lighting - and for each of the different areas of commerce they had a technical specification in which a certain level of lux was required for the different working heights of the luminaires. For example; at heights of 0,8 metres, (where the groce-ries/products are displayed) 900 lux was required, when the luminaires are instal-led at 3,3 metres. They were also looking for a comfortable lighting with little glare and of course one that would reduce their energy consumption. We gladly met these requirements. Fagerhult got the mission of supp-lying lighting to both the commercial space and the back office. The solution that will be provided is an accentuating lighting solution of Marathon LEDs 3000 lm for the open sales area in the shop. The spotlight will be equipped with reflectors in different colours and LED modules of both 3000 K and 4000 K regarding of what section in the shop that is being illuminated. This lighting solution will be supp-lied in 2014 in super- and hypermarkets of the Auchan Group in countries such as; France, Spain, Luxemburg, Italy, Hungary etc. In the near future the objective is to evolve the solution with additional ligh-ting solutions of general lighting and more powerful projectors.
flexibility and variation in the lighting design. By using DALI the lighting can be dimmed, switched on and off, it also enables the recall of lighting schem-es, time-controlled changes and to the possibility to individually adjust diffe-rent luminaires. If sensors and motion detectors are included in the system you can create responsive lighting solutions When discussing controls within the retail lighting sector, a number of different factors impact the near- and long-term development; global evolve-ment, economics, technology and the environmental discussions. Already the exchange of lighting technologies has begun - from Dichroic Halogen to HID - and now LED. Some retailers have even shifted directly from Dichroic to LED since the LEDs of today are comparable and competitive to HID. The advantage of LED technology is that it enables control of all of the ligh-ting and that is particularly beneficial in retail lighting. Since a couple of decades, the HID have been the most used light source in retail lighting projects. Initi-ally this light source could not be dim-med and controlled in an efficient way. However, about five years ago, the pos-sibility arrived; but unfortunately there were still no benefits or savings in cost. But now with the advent of LEDs we are finally there.
Future cooking innovative outlooks on lighting In the introduction we highlighted trends and consumer behaviours that impact food retailers, making the premises of the physical shop progress. As a lighting partner we want to be able to balance such a progress.
is, which day of the week or what time of year it is. Controlling the light in such ways can actually boost the shopping experience and consequently also the brand of the shop.
Pret -A-Manger have used lighting controls to adapt and change the lighting sceneries/atmospheres during the day.
Fagerhults Wireless e-Sense Connect ligh-ting control system.
sed via an app in your smartphone, by the manager of the shop or by the amount of daylight. All depending on what the retai-ler/brand want to achieve with the con-trol system and the shopping experience.
when? Today. All this is possible to achieve with the technology we have in our hands today. But we do want to drive this even further into the future. Just imagine if, in a couple of years from now, there were to be personalised lighting opportunities in retail areas. Then you could make your own lighting scene depending on your emotional feeling at a specific time. You will be your own light DJ.
Although products are sufficiently illuminated, homogeneous grid lighting does not provide highlights or points of interest.
This image illustrates the lighting design that is described in Piia Markkanens lighting study. The ends of the shelves are brightly illuminated whereas the middle portion of the shelves is illuminated with only 20% of full efficiency when there are no customers in the vicinity of the shelves.
Floorplan of the hypermarket. The area of shelves are indicated in green. Piia Markkanen.
Source: Piia Markkanen, Diploma work: Intelligent and adaptive lighting in retail environment, University of Oulu, department of architecture.
ting above the main aisle was pendants that should illuminate the aisles with direct and indirect light. The pendants do illuminate the aisle with direct and indirect light, but the main idea here was to choose a different kind of luminaire to point out the hierarchy of aisles. Piia also chose to illuminate the end-caps of the shelves in different, livelier manner by a RGBW spotlight. The use of white light was the main idea; still, the RGBW alternative makes it possible to use coloured light as well. The ends of the shelves are significant to highlight since they are important space for product pla-cements. Accentuating spotlights also make the lighting non-uniform. The shelves in the middle section, should only be illuminated to 20% of full efficiency when no customers are nearby. Additionally, oval flood light (wider beam than spotlights) and wall washers would illuminate the vertical surfaces uniform-ly. The aisle area between the shelves should be illuminated with an LED ligh-ting fixture that would give general light downwards. With the exception of the pendant luminaires, all luminaires inclu-ded should be attached to Fagerhults iTrack system, a track that can be supp-lemented with sensors, which enable intelligent lighting control. Piia chose the iTrack to the design as she wished to study a lighting scheme that could be installed on a DALI control-lable system. I thought it was important to do the implementation in such a way that it can be adapted if the layout of the shop is rearranged later on, thus track instal-lation. The luminaires in the design and overall in my thesis were chosen to be representative in terms of light distribu-tion, such as wall washer or oval floods. I wanted to use examples of luminaires that are commercially available in order to study the lighting by visualizing it with renderings, Piia explains.
it is now light and the energy used to create it, should be directed to the areas where customers are present. Lighting could also be used to guide the custo-mer based on his or her interest of certain merchandise and also to inform where either complementing merchandise are located or just to enhance the visibility of other merchandise on the customers route in the shop, Piia concludes.
> Day 1: A selected area will be illuminated by static general lighting & accent tuneable white spotlights.> Day 2: The same area will be illuminated by static general lighting & dynamic accent tuneable white spotlights.> Day 3: The area will be illuminated by static general lighting & dynamic accent RGBW spotlights and dynamic tuneable white spotlights. Our goal with the study is to increa-se knowledge in how dynamic lighting can attract customers, draw attention to certain products and affect the path of route chosen and evidently share this knowledge with our customers. We are convinced that this can be applied in both fashion as well as food retail.
Psst! Look out for the new tuneable white Marathon addition, Marathon Dyna-mic, this spring. With this spotlight you can tune in any white colour from 2700 K to 6500 K but also control more saturated colours such as red, blue, yellow and purple.
for illuminating and enhancing diffe-rent groceries. Another new spotlight is Zone Evo, a luminaire that works well on high ceiling heights, usually common in supermarkets. It is companioned by its sibling Zone Evo Recessed, a recessed spotlight for lower ceiling heights. Browse the following pages to learn more about the products.
Presented on the following pages are products that we find suitable for illu-minating supermarkets and other food retail environments. They can bring that extra spice to the atmosphere and create a comfortable yet inspiratio-nal grocery shopping.
Visit, www.fagerhult.com, for complete product range.www.
iTrack.we wanted to offer a complete lighting solution for the ever-changing retail environment that addresses the need for a flexible, complete, future-proof lighting system. That is why we developed iTrack. This track system has been optimised for retail installation. It can be surface mounted or suspended to create a consistent brand identity, regardless of the ceiling solution. iTrack is designed to connect. 12-circuits provide unparalleled flexibility and choice with up to three different lighting circuits, DALI lighting controls and emer-gency capability built in. That is only the start; compatibility has been extended out-side iTracks impressive range of luminaires. iTrack is compatible with many 3-circuit track adaptors offered by other lighting companies, giving lighting designers the ultimate flexibility in luminaire selection. iTrack luminaires are available with DALI control gear. This enables each lumi-naire to be switched or dimmed individually to create the most efficient lighting schemes it gives retailers various new energy-saving options.
DESCRIPTIONExtruded aluminium in white (RAL 9016) or black (RAL 9004) finish with isolation profile. All conductors and earth conductor are made of 2.5 mm copper.
OTHER INFORMATIONiTrack can easily be equipped with a multisensor for constant light, occupancy detection and receiver for a remote control (IR), see accessories. The functionality requires luminaires with DALI (-368) and an externally placed and connected DALI power supply unit.
Wire suspension kit 1,5m for ceilings and visible T-bar (cable entry + single).
Suspension wire adjustable centre (Used for asymmetric loads such as spotlights).
(Eliminates the need for extra wire suspension for connec-tion unit).
iTrack Dupio.itrack dupio is a fluorescent luminaire with a lot of possibilities, especially developed for retail areas. The highly efficient T5 fluorescent lamp and Miro reflector creates an even light. With the individual adjustable reflectors, you can create an illumination suited for the interior design aim the light at the food in the aisles or aim it at the graphics in the shop. Besides the iTrack Dupio, there is also a Dupio standalone version for wire suspension. Both Dupio versions are equipped with multi-wattage ballasts, which make it possible to change to other lamp wattages without replacing the ballast.www.
DESCRIPTIONLuminaire body in aluminium profile and sheet of steel. HF multiwattage ballast. Individual adjustable Micro reflectors with high efficiency. iTrack version with adapter included, wire suspended version with friction lock and mains cable included. Colour setting in white (RAL 9016), grey (RAL9006) and black (RAL9005).
POWER SUPPLYOperating voltage 230 V. iTrack version installed direct into iTrack. Wire suspended version supplied with 3 meter mains cable. HF std version also with earthed plug.
OTHER INFORMATIONLouvre needs to be ordered separately. Reflectors adjustable 220 (+/-110) degrees, need to order separately. Wire suspension order separately (wire suspended version).
Light data on p. 109-111.
iTrack Line.at the heart of iTrack is the need for a simple, cost-effective and high performance lighting system. Line utilises the latest high performance T5 lamp technology combined with a range of reflector and louvre options to deliver high quality and perfor-mance in a budget industrial, shop atmosphere luminaire.www.
Body in white enamelled steel sheet with polycarbonate end caps. Four reflector options available, constructed from highly polished aluminium. iTrack can easily be equipped with multisensor for constant light levels, presence detection and receiver for remote control (IR), see iTrack accessories. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016).
Toughened plastic end cap to fit all reflector sizes and prevent light bleed. Aluminium seam to join reflectors in a continuous line. Lamella louvre.
Operating voltage 230 V. iTrack version installed direct into iTrack. Wire suspended version supplied with 3 meter mains cable. HF std version also with earthed plug.
Supplied with iTrack seven-pole adapter. Some functions require iTrack 12 pole adapter. Most models can be equipped with emergency lighting (-160). Most models can be equipped with a different ballast for dimming.
Marathon.the marathon spotlights are easy for customers to enjoy due to their subtle design. The proportions and aesthetic balance are perfect and one of the reasons for its incredible popularity. It can either blend in as a natural element, but can also attract attention in an elegant manner. The new additions Marathon Rich and Marathon Glow are equipped with thoroughly chosen LED modules making them a perfect choice when illuminating and enhancing the colours of different groceries.
Visit, www.fagerhult.com, for complete Marathon range.www.
Universal 3-phase adapter included. Installed on 3-phase track or fixpoint bracket. Driver and luminaire housing of enamelled aluminium extrusion/die cast aluminium. Front ring of thermal plastic. Metalised reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (RAL 9005).
Pan 360, tilt 0-90. Active cooling.
DESCRIPTIONUniversal 3-phase adapter included. Installed on 3-phase track or fixpoint bracket. Driver and luminaire housing of enamelled aluminium extrusion/die cast aluminium. Front ring of thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 1100 lm and 3000 lm and 4500 lm. Available in 2700 K, 3000 K and 4000 K, CRI>80 or >90 for standard version. Metalised reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (RAL 9005).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90. Passive/active cooling, check the fagerhult website for more details.
DESCRIPTIONiTrack adapter included for installation on iTrack. Driver and luminaire housing of enamelled aluminium extrusion/die cast aluminium. Front ring of thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 3000 lm and 4500 lm. Available in 3000 K and 4000 K, CRI>80 and >90 for standard version. Metalised reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (RAL 9005).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90. Passive/active cooling, check the fagerhult website for more details. Can be controlled via DALI and dimmed from 100% to 10%.
Zone Evo.evolution has added a clean and conical shaped housing with pure LED to the range. The cone is one of the basic geometric shapes and is there-fore very accepted, with its roundness and narrow end creating a smooth and light impression. The way in which the conical lamp housing joins the rectangular ballast box is both practical and visually harmonic. Zone Evo comes in three different sizes and mounting options, and the segmented MIRO reflector technology makes it extremely efficient with excellent visual performance. There is also a dim version for iTrack with a dim range of 10-100 %. Zone Evo is suitable in most retail areas and accentuates the merchandise nicely. The LED 4500 lm version is very suitable for high ceiling heights which are common in food applications.
Visit, www.fagerhult.com, in February for complete Zone Evo range.www.
DESCRIPTIONInstalled on a 3phase track or fixpoint bracket. Universal 3-phase adapter included. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 1100 and 2000lm. Available in 3000 and 4000K, CRI >80 or >90. Metalised reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016), grey (RAL 7038) and black (9005).
POWER SUPPLYOperating voltage 230 V.
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90.
ACCESSORIESBarndoors, honeycomb louvre, baffle ring and cap cone.
>> Available in February 2014.
DESCRIPTIONiTrack adapter included for installation on iTrack. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 1100 lm. Available in 3000 K, CRI >80 or >90. Segmented MIRO reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (9005).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90, can be controlled via DALI and dimmed from 100% to 10%.
DESCRIPTIONInstalled on a 3-phase track or fixpoint bracket. Universal 3-phase adapter included. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 3000 and 4500lm. Available in 3000 and 4000K, CRI >80 or >90. Segmented MIRO reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) black (9005) grey (RAL 7038).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90. Passive/active cooling, for more details visit the Fagerhult website.
DESCRIPTIONZone Evo III iTrack DALI: iTrack adapter included for installation on iTrack. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 3000lm. Available in 3000 and 4000K, CRI >80 or >90. Segmented MIRO reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) black (9005).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt 0-90. Zone Evo III LED iTrack DALI can be controlled via DALI and dimmed from 100 % to 10 %. Passive/active cooling, for more details see the Fagerhult website.
Zone Evo Recessed.zone evo has a recessed sibling, with the same conical housing. This makes it possible to work with a spotlight and a recessed spotlight in the same design language throughout the whole lighting installation. Zone Evo Recessed comes in LED and is avai-lable in colours of black and white and some versions in grey. The innovative spring solution ensures fast and easy installation and the housing can be rotated 360 and tilted -20 to + 90.www.
Zone Evo I decor plates, 1 and 2 units.
DESCRIPTIONFor installation in ventilated or non ventilated ceilings. The fixture is equipped with a 25 cm cable with SLM quick connector on the secondary side. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 1100 lm, 3000 lm and 4500 lm. Available in 2700 K, 3000 K and 4000 K, CRI >80 or >90. Zone Evo I, metalized reflector, Zone Evo II, segmented MIRO reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (9005).
OTHER INFORMATIONPan 360, tilt -20 -> 90, can be controlled via DALI and dimmed from 100% to 10%. Passive/active cooling, for detailed information visit the Fagerhult website.
Zone Evo II decor plates, 1 and 2 units.
Sync.yet another geometric expression is represented in the spotlight range, cylin-drical, conical and now squared. Sync is one of the latest spotlight versions that distinctly contrasts with the others due to its angular design. The standard black or white Sync elegantly matches the track and, despite its solid appearance, provides a soft touch. To give it a more characteristic look, accessories such as eye-catching barn doors can be attached to the front, which also makes options such as baffles, cones and honeycomb louvres possible. The segmented MIRO reflector technology makes the luminaire extremely efficient and the visual performance excellent. Sync is only available in LED, but its high lumen package makes it suitable for high ceiling installations. There is also a dim version for iTrack with a dim range of 10-100 %.www.
DESCRIPTIONInstalled on a 3phase track or fixpoint bracket. Universal 3-phase adapter included. Housing in extruded/die cast aluminium. Front ring in thermal plastic. Fortimo SLM 2000 lm, 3000 lm and 4500lm. Available in 3000 K and 4000 K, CRI >80 or >90. Segmented MIRO reflector. Colour settings in white (RAL 9016) and black (9005).
Barndoors, honeycomb louvre and cap cone.
Relay Efficient.relay efficient is, as its names suggests, an efficient LED shelf luminaire perfect for display and shelf lighting. Relay Efficient attaches with either strong magnets or screws, depending on the material it is being attached to.
DESCRIPTIONLinear light fixture in aluminium that can be freely plugged polarity remains constant regardless of connections. Three magnetic hold points.
POWER SUPPLYOperating voltage 230V/24 DC.
OTHER INFORMATIONSeries connection of max.12pcs.
Cube.in all its purity, Cube comes in the cleanest of shapes. It is a sober and minimal luminaire ideal for directional light from high ceilings. The angular Cube comes in LED and is available in ceiling or suspended versions. As all the workings are electronic and incorporated inside the fixture, Cube can be suspended up to several metres from the power supply.
Visit, www.fagerhult.com, for complete Cube range.www.
DESCRIPTIONThe Cube housing slides over an installation bracket and is fixed by means of 4 black fasteners. Luminaire housing in aluminium. Electronic gear is incorporated inside the fixture. Output/CRI versions: 1300 lm passive cooled Xicato LED with CRI >80, available in 2700 K, 3000 K or 4000 K.
See Prosper Suspended.see prosper suspended originated in a desire to move away from the traditio-nal suspended luminaire design and provide functional accent lighting that also created an atmosphere. This eye-catching luminaire provides effective exposure of products and merchandise while offering maximum flexibility the reflector and light source can be tilted 30 and rotated 355. The luminaire can even be used in the same way as a downlight. See Prosper Pendant can be equipped with up to three different types of light source metal halide, LED and halogen.
Visit www.fagerhult.com for complete See Prosper range.www.
DESCRIPTIONSuspended luminaire for accent lighting. Architectural approach with asymmetrical yet balanced shape. Metal halide, LED and halogen light source options. Body in bent aluminium, top and bottom cover in die casted aluminium and light unit in milled aluminium. Colour setting in white (RAL 9016) and black (RAL 9005). Reflector: MT - High specular faceted aluminium reflector. LED - Metalized polycarbonate reflector. HMG111 - Reflector included in the light source.
POWER SUPPLYOperating voltage 230 V constant current.
Here we present useful light data for our the selected products suitable for use in food applica-tion areas. Light data describes the light distribution and lux value at different heights or the luminaires luminous intensity in different directions.
1x32/35W Lamell medium refl. 2x32/35W Lamell medium refl.
1x32/35W Lamell wide refl. 2x32/35W Lamell wide refl.
enhance. Imagine a world without it?
Anders StrmbergConcept Development Manager, Fagerhult.
Visit our website for contact- and address information to our sales companies. www. | 2019-04-21T00:24:04Z | https://vdocuments.mx/fagerhult-tasteful-recipes-of-light.html |
Competition is just too tough in this part of the country for this product . . . We’re in the middle of a recession . . . Everybody is only interested in price—nothing else—just “who’s got the best deal?” . . . People are just not buying domestic (foreign) products anymore . . . It wouldn’t do any good to make the sale; credit’s so tight the finance company would turn us down . . . The economy is just dead in this town . . . With the rate of unemployment what it is, I don’t know how they expect me to make quota!
The question is, How do you deal with all of these situations, succeed in your chosen profession, maintain your sanity, avoid ulcers and heart attacks, continue in a good relationship with your mate and children, meet your financial obligations, prepare for those “golden years,” and still have a moment you can call your own? Fortunately, the book you hold in your hands endeavors to answer each of these questions by sharing information, inspiration, laughter, tears, and direction that will allow you to make the choices necessary to have a “balanced” life that leads to personal and professional success.
Selling is more than a profession; it is a way of life. And the sales professional of today is concerned about being fundamentally sound. In addition to fundamentals, any resource tool claiming to be “The Ultimate Handbook for the Complete Sales Professional” must be prepared to address those areas outside the actual time spent in face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) selling. This book is designed to do just that.
The second reason I wrote this book is that I have not found one book that addresses all aspects of a professional’s sales career. There are so many challenges to the sales staff of today that without some vital information, staying in the sales profession will be very difficult.
The third reason for writing this book is that we learn most when we are teaching. The information I have learned in the years since I wrote Secrets of Closing the Sale, through reading and research as well as from successful men and women from all walks of life, has been enriching and rewarding in my personal, family, and business life. In turn I have taught the lessons to others, empowering them to become even more successful.
This book is designed to allow you to “feel” real-life experiences in the safety of a controlled environment and become better prepared to handle the subtle changes you face daily in the world of selling.
Some of the things I am talking about involve the necessity of a change in thinking for many people, and this might include you! So let me point out that this book was written primarily for four groups of people.
In the first group are the people just getting into the world of selling who understand that a correct start can make the rest of the journey much easier.
This book is also written for those pros who clearly understand that “you may not need to be told, but the true professional doesn’t mind being reminded.” Jack Nicklaus, who was voted the outstanding golfer of the century, periodically went back to the man who first taught him the game.
The third group is made up of people who have had one year of sales experience repeated many times. Most of these salespeople are wandering generalities who are wondering why they have not made more progress. Not many of you will fit that pattern because few of these people will be reading these words.
Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that we are all in the field of selling. The fourth group of people for whom this book is written is the group that realizes that every person in every profession (lawyer, doctor, accountant, engineer, teacher, bus or cab driver, shipping clerk, counselor, receptionist, corporate executive, entertainer, administrator, coach, cook, etc.) is a salesperson.
One of the basic truisms of selling is that “slumps” will occur. You are going to hit those plateaus where nothing seems to work very well personally or professionally.
Selling can be and should be fun, so let’s make it clear from the beginning that a sense of humor combined with self-esteem that allows you to laugh at yourself will play a significant part in your success in your chosen profession.
I made my first sales call in 1947. After borrowing $50 (a considerable sum of money in those days) to buy a new $22 suit, a new dress shirt, a briefcase, and a hat (all professional salespeople wore hats in the late forties), I was prepared to enter the wonderful world of selling!
In 1947 the overwhelming majority of wives were at home, so my chances for making a presentation seemed pretty good on a long block like this one. Logically, I knew that putting my destiny in other people’s hands by determining to continue or quit in this way was not an overly bright decision. But emotionally, I knew that continuing to have doors closed in my face was unbearable. Regardless of who we are or what we do, everyone needs what psychologists call “accomplishment feedback”—some success, no matter how small—and I was yet to experience even the slightest hint of getting close to any form of success.
Later that evening, with cotton in my mouth and fear in my heart, I made my first sale: product #541 priced at $61.45! I finished writing the order and completely forgot Mrs. Dickert was sitting there. Finally, Mr. Freeman said, “Mr. Ziglar, I believe Mrs. Dickert is interested, too.” With all the aplomb of a true professional, I blurted out, “What about it, Mrs. Dickert?” (Smooth, huh?) She said, “Well, I don’t have my money with me.” Again with considerable tact and diplomacy I said, “Well, shoot, you just live next door. Run get it!” Mrs. Dickert smiled and said, “Well, I think I will.” Two sales—I couldn’t believe my good fortune!
As we get under way in our journey through Ziglar on Selling, I would like to begin in a somewhat unusual manner. Let me encourage you to leave the sales profession if you can. Yes, you read it properly. Zig Ziglar is encouraging you to quit selling— if you can. Those last three words are the most important words you can face at this point in your sales career: if you can .
WHY NOT GET IN THE BUSINESS?
Poor information and poor preparation may have always been the case, and that may never change. But you can do a few things to minimize the shock.
First: Realize that the majority of highly paid veterans in sales (or in any field) are hard workers.
Second: Remember, if you apply yourself to the job and absorb the training offered, your productivity will go up, and your stress and fatigue levels will go down.
Third: Work to stay current with the all-important, ever-changing areas of product knowledge and communication skills. Understanding your product and knowing how to communicate that knowledge give a great sense of security in any selling situation.
Lack of commitment is a primary reason that the sales profession has earned the reputation of having a high turnover rate. Fortunately this is changing, and the public is rapidly gaining respect for the true sales professional.
THE BENEFITS ARE FOR YOU!
As a matter of fact, let me encourage you to make this first entry on your “to do” list: “Today I will be a successful sales professional, and I will learn something today that will make me even more professional tomorrow.” If you will begin each day with this commitment to our great profession, there are many benefits that await you, the successful sales professional!
Yes, the calls got friendlier because in the “decade of technology,” the officer used a simple modern method to help “sell” the importance of courtesy.
“SALES TECHNOLOGY” BEGINS WITH SALES!
A primary reason I have worked so hard to grow Ziglar Training Systems into internationally respected training companies is so that we can sell each other on the importance of building our lives on the foundation stones of honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty. When we build on these foundation stones, we can build a business, a life, a family, a friendship, and a professional selling career while making a difference in the world in which we live.
This book is designed to guide you toward the balanced, ethical life that will help you become everything possible personally and professionally. Every sales technique, concept, formula, and principle can assist you as you build your career on an ethical foundation with the foundation stones of honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty.
All of us can be successful when modern technology is combined with “old-fashioned” positive thinking, charm, persuasion, persistence, and commitment.
The one thing that customers have always rated highest in the sales world is trust, which also is called dependability because it is a direct reflection on the integrity of the individual.
In a conversation I made the observation that in America, women are instinctively trusted more than men and that people are inclined to take them at face value and act on their suggestions. Men and women prospects are willing to “trust” the saleswoman more than the salesman and take action according to her recommendations.
Look your prospect in the eye and watch for those nonverbal clues that give insights into the person speaking. Notice the gestures, the way the person sits or stands, the smile or frown—anything and everything indicating the frame of mind at that particular moment.
Another factor involved in being a good listener is the “Law of Reciprocity.” When we carefully “listen” to the prospect’s elaborate interests, desires, hobbies, and other thoughts, we are putting them in debt to us.
You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want!
An ongoing debate at every sales get-together (meaning when two salespeople start talking) is this: “What is the most important part of the selling process?” A disproportionate number believe that “closing sales” more effectively would solve all their selling problems; some say that the only way to sales success is to sell the proper product; others say that handling objections is the key to success; one group claims that making a powerful presentation is the most important area; and still another group believes determining the specific wants and needs of the prospect is most important to sales success. The reality is, if you can’t handle all phases of the sales process, you will not sell enough to stay in the profession.
Prospecting is the most important key to sales success! Without prospects you are disqualified as a sales professional—done before you even get started. It is true that a journey of a thousand leagues begins with but a single step, and it is equally true that until you have a prospect, you have no chance of making a sale.
In the minds of most people, C.O.D. stands for “cash on delivery,” but in the world of prospecting, C.O.D. has an entirely different meaning. The C stands for “communication.” Every time you communicate with anybody who remotely resembles a prospect or one who might know a prospect, in some way you communicate the business you are in and your interest in sharing the excitement of what you have to offer to the prospect.
The O stands for “observation.” You watch and listen to what’s going on around you, whether it’s in an elevator, on a bus, in a crowded store, at a club or social gathering.
The D stands for “dedication.” You need to be dedicated to the concept of making the contacts and getting those references.
Family and friends can become great “centers of influence” in your career, but you are not restricted when developing this prospecting technique.
So what do you do? I encourage you to remember your ABP’s—that is, “Always Be Prospecting.” Regularly get out of the circle you’re in, and start another circle or another chain. Use all your resources to keep those prospect lists long and diverse so that your career is not dependent on one individual or one specific group of individuals.
One key in prospecting is to always remember that the person with whom you’ve already established a relationship is probably your best prospect for additional goods, products, or services.
Learn as much as possible about your prospect. The more you know about your prospect, the more respectfully you will be treated by the prospect. In addition, your knowledge about the prospect translates to the good feeling the prospect has about you and your business. The respect your prospect shows you is quite a boost to your self-image.
High self-esteem and a good self-image are vital because salespersons with these qualities will al- ways consider themselves to be self-employed and will act accordingly. Selling professionals with high self-regard accept responsibility for sales results, never falling back on the old “I just got lucky” comment. They realize that results follow effort when the effort comes from a competent, confident salesperson. You seldom, if ever, get lucky sitting down.
Successful sales professionals make the sales call for the benefit of the prospect and for their personal gain—in that order. You see, you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Keeping this statement in mind is the third step in overcoming anxiety.
Have you ever noticed how much better you feel about yourself when you have a plan of action? You must remember that the will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win. I have never met a salesperson who would not want to sell more with less time and effort. Selling more is only possible when extra effort is expended in the area of preparation. All of us have heard about the woodcutter whose production kept going down because he didn’t take time to sharpen his ax (prepare).
Sales professionals are open-minded (not empty-headed) and willing to change. Nonprofessionals are so narrow-minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes at the same time!
Concomitant is a seventy-five-cent word that means “transferable skills.” For example, a person who is a good table tennis player will probably have some skills that will transfer to badminton or racquetball. In the world of selling, we need a plan of action that will transcend product line and situational differences. Our planned selling process consists of a four-step formula that we will overview here and develop in detail in the following chapters. The first step is Need Analysis, second is Need Awareness, third is Need Solution, and finally, Need Satisfaction.
What is the best way to begin the sales presentation? With questions! What is the purpose of beginning with questions? Questions allow us to gather important information, which enables us to help our clients, and just as important (maybe more important), when we ask questions in a professional manner, we establish the most important aspect of the sales process—trust!
If you were to ask me a series of questions in a professional manner that showed a sincere interest in me and my company, what would I think of you? If you handle this portion of the sales presentation in the proper manner, I would learn that you are not “just another salesperson out to separate me from my money.” Instead, I would discover that you are truly interested in helping me! The best way to discover the true needs of a prospect or client is with proper questions.
This brings us to an ethical question, and ethics is the foundation upon which we must build a career. What is the difference between motivation and manipulation? Unfortunately these terms are often confused, but comparing motivation to manipulation is like comparing kindness to deceit. The difference lies in the intent of the person.
The P.O.G.O. formula will allow you to get involved in a conversational interview process that will be comfortable for you and the prospect. P.O.G.O. gives you a track to run on and specific direction on how to best meet the “comfort-level” needs of the prospect.
It is impossible to be “too prepared” for a sales presentation. Preparation is vital to success. Think about it. Do you want to buy from the fumbling, bumbling, inept salesperson? Do you want to buy from the person who doesn’t have a clue about you or your business? What do disorganized actions say about the company represented?
From this point forward, let’s divide our analysis into these four categories: (1) Bold; (2) Friendly; (3) Sincere; and (4) Competent.
So how does this apply to you and your situation? (Good open-door questions—see, you’re learning already!) Even when you are sure you have discovered the client’s need, you must continue to probe for two basic reasons: (1) to be sure you have the true need and not a symptom of the need; and (2) to be sure the prospect understands that there really is a need.
Personalize the benefits for the prospect. Paint the person into the picture driving that luxury car, receiving compliments on the beautiful dress or suit, looking at the sunset on the lake where the new home has been constructed, or sitting in the comfortable retirement environment provided by the investment being made. Paint the picture so your prospect sees personal benefits.
Remember, as a persuader, whether you are a doctor, dentist, or computer salesperson, in most cases the prospect really does want to say yes, particularly if you are pleasant, professional, and at least reasonably friendly. We all really do not like to say no because that could possibly end the relationship. Even though you might have been involved in the sales process for only a brief time, if you are a pleasant person and have genuine interest in the prospect, he or she instinctively knows that a “no” would mean it was all over between the two of you. The prospect might not be able to verbalize the feeling, but it is there, so the odds are in the professional salesperson’s favor. So ask for the order, my selling friend. Do it pleasantly and professionally, but ask!
Confidence in yourself as a person and then as a salesperson is essential; however, overconfidence leads to arrogance, and that’s when Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson and becomes a “one fight” heavyweight champion. It’s also when salespeople lose those “sure” sales.
We can learn a couple of critical lessons here. Number one, there’s no such thing as a sure sale until the order is signed, the merchandise or service is paid for, and the customer is happy with the transaction.
Number two, the “sure sale” wasn’t sure until the prospect was reassured. I might point out that this letter demonstrates considerable empathy and understanding.
At the end of the sales presentation—whether it results in a yes, no, or maybe—the successful sales professional always asks the prospect for the names of people who might benefit from using the product or service just described. You really have to ask yourself about your level of belief in what you are selling if you are not willing to ask this question.
Do you ask questions about things or ideas in which you have no interest? If there is a discussion concerning something you feel passionately about, are you prone to give your opinion? True selling professionals look forward to questions and objections because they realize that few sales are made without the prospect’s having enough interest to ask questions and raise objections.
Your prospects, however, will make a new decision based on additional information. You see, when prospects say no, the successful sales professional understands that the “no” must mean the prospect doesn’t “know” enough to make the right decision. Never argue with them. Just understand that you haven’t finished your job, and accept the responsibility for going back and providing the information needed. With additional information, they will “know” enough to make a new (and favorable) decision.
You must ask questions so that you can understand the objection.
Once you understand the objection, you must identify the objection.
To identify the proper objection (and not be fooled by a false objection), you must empathize with the prospect.
If you empathize instead of sympathize with the prospect, you are ready to test the objection. When you test the objection and prove it real, you can eliminate the prospect’s concerns and dramatically improve your chance of making the sale.
I’m certain many of us have experienced a degree of frustration as we’ve purchased vacuum cleaners, computers, insurance coverage, automobiles, housecleaning services, yard and garden services, and a host of other things only to discover that when all the “extras” were added, the price was considerably higher than we had anticipated. Please don’t misunderstand. Many times those “extras” make the difference between pure enjoyment and efficiency and certainly are worthwhile additions in most cases. The prime reason I include this example is to alert you to the fact that we need to always remember that as salespeople we have a responsibility to offer clients the things that will make their lives easier and make them more productive and profitable, but we must keep in mind that the overriding question is always, “Do I recommend this for the prospect’s benefit or for my benefit?” I recognize this is a fairly thin line to walk. We’re certainly in no position to make a prospect’s decision. In many cases offering the option is adequate to make the sale, but it’s an offer about which we should feel good. At the same time, we have a responsibility to that prospect.
Many of you might not think this is a big deal—and it really isn’t. But the difference between those people who build successful careers and those who don’t is the fact that the winners always take that extra, “simple” little step. That’s professional selling at its finest.
In many, many cases the customer simply wants to be heard. Everyone wants to be right, but with even more certainty we can say that everyone wants to be understood. When the customers know they’re understood, often they will make an adjustment that would be to your advantage. When this happens, it would be wise for you to allow the clients to gain as much as possible. Increase that adjustment; win your customers’ hearts and minds to your way of thinking. Make concessions smilingly and gladly, reiterating how much you appreciate the business and how pleased you are that they have trusted you and your company with the account.
How can you make sure you are treating people properly? If you will just begin by remembering that everyone wants to be right and everyone wants to be understood, you will have moved in the proper direction. Obviously everyone can’t always be right, but when you treat people right (professionally, courteously, and with dignity), making everything right with them is much easier. Try to remember that if you were in their position, you, too, would probably be unhappy with the events that led to the situation.
One of the least classy acts of any individual is to resort to foul or profane language. The primary reason for cursing is a language deficit, which is often revealed by immaturity and lack of emotional control. Individuals who use improper language are in essence saying they do not have enough intelligence or control to speak properly at that given moment.
Today’s selling professional realizes that the glam- our of travel wears off (if not out) after a very few trips, and what remains is plain old-fashioned hard work! But I don’t want to paint an entirely negative picture for the traveling sales professional. With the proper perspective, we can take this potentially negative situation and turn it into a positive winner!
To build a career in the world of sales, you will need the support and cooperation of many people. Let’s begin with the members of the company team: the accounting department, the billing department, the shipping department, and perhaps the public relations department. While in most cases the order is received, processed, shipped, and handled without any problems, delays, or defects, there are those occasions when everything seems to go wrong. This is particularly true if any degree of customization is required in the process.
You may have heard this comment: “Every obnoxious act is a cry for help!” If you can give others the benefit of the doubt and allow them to keep their dignity, you can help them to win while you win. And this is truly the “double win” you’ve heard so much about.
At one time or another every member of our family has worked with me in our company. The value I place on all of their input is beyond measure.
The successful selling professional heads off one of the greatest dangers to the family and the career by developing a financial plan. Please do not skip over what you are reading right now! For many years, if I had read the first sentence in this paragraph, I would have looked for the next line in bold print to indicate a change in topic. Consequently, for parts of my career, I rode the financial roller coaster of highs and lows. Go to school on my experience, and refuse to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them!
Now take those qualities and tie them to a product you believe in and with which you’re compatible, and you are on your way! We have already talked about the importance of believing in what you sell. By now, this factor should be obvious. The compatibility factor might not be quite as clear.
You have heard before that “efficiency” means doing things right; “effectiveness” means doing the right things.
Today, more than ever before, there are some ever- present companion traits of highly successful sales professionals. One is the conviction that customers must be given superior service if they expect to build customer loyalty. Selling a product that is not serviced is corporate suicide. And with the high level of expectation of today’s consumer, the option of not giving exceptional customer service no longer exists.
In other words, a true professional makes every effort to get in harmony and establish rapport with the prospect.
Everyone needs a method, technique, or system for accountability. In athletics, the scoreboard tells who won and who lost the game. In the business world, some say the check stub tells who won and who lost the game. In both cases I disagree. The best team does not always come out on top on the scoreboard, and the best paychecks don’t always belong to the top performers. The scoreboard and the check stub are indicators of performance, but they are not the final word.
In the world of selling, when we get the “person” right, it’s much easier to get the “salesperson” right. Realistically, until you get right, your sales world won’t be right. The “secret” to getting you right is getting your “attitude” right. My intention throughout this book has been to allow you to get the information necessary to make the proper choices in all areas of life so that the choices you make will yield the attitude that leads you to success!
With emotional health secure you need to look next at keeping your mental health in the proper focus.
How can you, the professional salesperson, take care of yourself in this climate? As I have said before and will say again, mankind is tri-dimensional: physical, mental, and emotional (spiritual). The answer to your question lies in evaluating yourself in these three areas.
Walter says that an incredibly high percentage of people spend most of their time “looking back in anger and forward in fear.” And with the double burden of anger and fear, you are literally, as Walter put it, “Mortgaging your future.” The anger of what has happened in the past creates fear of what is going to happen in the future. And even potentially successful people become paralyzed in the present.
The third aspect in the quest for the right attitude is physical health. Incidentally, it is impossible to separate the physical, mental, and emotional (spiritual) aspects of attitude. I’ll spend more time on the physical because most salespeople neglect this area. A number of superb books give you a considerable amount of information on the subject.
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN THE RIGHT ATTITUDE?
I believe the problem lies in the definition of success in our profession. I sincerely believe each of us can be number one. No, that doesn’t mean I believe that everybody can be the biggest, fastest, strongest, smartest, most persuasive, most pro- ductive, and most capable; but I do believe you are number one when you can honestly look in the mirror at the end of the day and say, “I used my ability today. I gave it my best shot.” In short, you realize that true success is not necessarily beating some- one else; real success, enjoyment, and happiness come from using your own ability. Success is not determined by beating the other fellow; real success is measured when you use the ability you have.
WHY WILL YOU MAKE SALES IN THE FUTURE?
The series of small steps you must take to make the move and close the sale include getting the prospect to like and trust you. The prospect must like you before trusting you, and the prospect must trust you before buying from you. | 2019-04-20T01:23:54Z | http://bestbookbits.com/zig-ziglar-ziglar-on-selling-book-summary/ |
IKr is the rapidly activating component of the delayed rectifier potassium current, the ion current largely responsible for the repolarization of the cardiac action potential. Inherited forms of long QT syndrome (LQTS) (Lees-Miller et al., 1997) in humans are linked to functional modifications in the Kv11.1 (hERG) ion channel and potentially life threatening arrhythmias. There is little doubt now that hERG-related component of IKr in the heart depends on the tetrameric (homo- or hetero-) channels formed by two alternatively processed isoforms of hERG, termed hERG1a and hERG1b. Isoform composition (hERG1a- vs. the b-isoform) has recently been reported to alter pharmacologic responses to some hERG blockers and was proposed to be an essential factor pre-disposing patients for drug-induced QT prolongation. Very little is known about the gating and pharmacological properties of two isoforms in heart membranes. For example, how gating mechanisms of the hERG1a channels differ from that of hERG1b is still unknown. The mechanisms by which hERG 1a/1b hetero-tetramers contribute to function in the heart, or what role hERG1b might play in disease are all questions to be answered. Structurally, the two isoforms differ only in the N-terminal region located in the cytoplasm: hERG1b is 340 residues shorter than hERG1a and the initial 36 residues of hERG1b are unique to this isoform. In this study, we combined electrophysiological measurements for HEK cells, kinetics and structural modeling to tease out the individual contributions of each isoform to Action Potential formation and then make predictions about the effects of having various mixture ratios of the two isoforms. By coupling electrophysiological data with computational kinetic modeling, two proposed mechanisms of hERG gating in two homo-tetramers were examined. Sets of data from various experimental stimulation protocols (HEK cells) were analyzed simultaneously and fitted to Markov-chain models (M-models). The minimization procedure presented here, allowed assessment of suitability of different Markov model topologies and the corresponding parameters that describe the channel kinetics. The kinetics modeling pointed to key differences in the gating kinetics that were linked to the full channel structure. Interactions between soluble domains and the transmembrane part of the channel appeared to be critical determinants of the gating kinetics. The structures of the full channel in the open and closed states were compared for the first time using the recent Cryo-EM resolved structure for full open hERG channel and an homology model for the closed state, based on the highly homolog EAG1 channel. Key potential interactions which emphasize the importance of electrostatic interactions between N-PAS cap, S4-S5, and C-linker are suggested based on the structural analysis. The derived kinetic parameters were later used in higher order models of cells and tissue to track down the effect of varying the ratios of hERG1a and hERG1b on cardiac action potentials and computed electrocardiograms. Simulations suggest that the recovery from inactivation of hERG1b may contribute to its physiologic role of this isoform in the action potential. Finally, the results presented here contribute to the growing body of evidence that hERG1b significantly affects the generation of the cardiac Ikr and plays an important role in cardiac electrophysiology. We highlight the importance of carefully revisiting the Markov models previously proposed in order to properly account for the relative abundance of the hERG1 a- and b- isoforms.
The IKr current is a primary contributor to the repolarization of the human cardiac muscle, a delayed rectifier potassium current conducted by the Kv11.1 ion channel (more commonly referred to as human ether-a-go-go-related gene, or hERG1) (Sanguinetti et al., 1995; Li et al., 1996). The Kv11.1 channel is homologous in structure to other voltage-gated potassium channels (Figure 1) and is assembled as a tetramer to become a fully functioning ion channel, but has very different kinetics compared to other potassium channels. Inactivation is much faster than activation, and consequently, current is suppressed at positive potentials but rebounds on repolarization as channels quickly recover from inactivation and slowly close. During an action potential, this gating behavior produces a resurgent current that peaks during the repolarization phase. Mutations, channels block by drugs and/or impaired trafficking of Kv11.1 channels to the cell membrane lead to prolongation of the QT interval on the surface electrocardiogram (LQTS), leading to a potentially life threatening ventricular arrhythmia (Behere et al., 2014). Since the physiological role of IKr is to repolarize the late phase of cardiac action potentials, hERG1 has a clear link to these arrhythmias (Robertson et al., 2008; Gustina and Trudeau, 2009; Robertson, 2012; Vandenberg et al., 2012). That is, if IKr is reduced, due to loss-of-function mutations or action of small molecules (drugs), patients are more likely to develop severe arrhythmias initiated by premature beats.
Figure 1. (A) Topology of Kv11.1 or hERG channel. (B) Comparison of a-isoform and b-isoform. Exons of each of the two splice variants, with a-isoform on the top and b-isoform on the bottom.
Up to date, our understanding of how IKr contributes to the ventricular repolarization is based primarily on studies utilizing heterologous expression of the originally identified hERG1 a-isoform (Sanguinetti et al., 1995; Trudeau et al., 1995; Smith et al., 1996; Wang et al., 1997). More recent studies showed that native IKr result from hetero-tetramers formed by the co-assembly of two hERG isoforms termed hERG1a and hERG1b. Two splice variants—hERG1a and hERG1b are co-expressed not only in cardiac tissue, but also in neurons and smooth muscles (Chiesa et al., 1997; Ohya et al., 2002). Importantly, isoforms display very different gating kinetics (Lees-Miller et al., 2003). The hERG gating is modulated by the cytoplasmic domains (N-terminal or PAS domain, CNBD and C-linker) in a way that still remains largely unknown but of a critical importance for unraveling structural mechanisms responsible for QT prolongation. In particular, a mutation in the N-terminal of hERG1b was discovered in a patient with long QT Syndrome (LQTS), highlighting the importance of this isoform in cardiac repolarization (Robertson et al., 2008; Robertson, 2012).
Many drugs are known to block ion current across Kv11.1 channels, resulting in an acquired form of LQTS (Larsen et al., 2010). Many blockers exhibit state-dependent activity and hence their propensity to later hERG currents is related to the channel's gating kinetics. It has recently been shown that EA4031, a selective blocker of hERG1 currents, differs in effectiveness on homo-tetrameric vs. hetero-tetrameric channels formed of different isoforms (Sale et al., 2008). Similar findings were also reported for hERG1 activators. Larsen et al. (2010) showed that activators such as NS1643 display differential effects on the homo-tetrameric channels formed by two hERG1 isoforms (Holzem et al., 2016). Due to the therapeutic risks hidden in hERG1 blockers and potential of hERG1 activators, establishing differences in gating mechanisms of two isoforms is critically important. Structurally, the two isoforms differ only in the N-terminal region located in the cytoplasm: hERG1b is 340 residues shorter than hERG1a and the initial 36 residues of hERG1b are unique to this isoform (Lees-Miller et al., 1997; Splawski et al., 1998) (Figure 1). As mentioned above, the channel gating is modulated by the cytoplasmic domains (PAS, CNBD, and C-linker) in a way that still remains unknown (Trudeau et al., 2011; Ng et al., 2014; Morais-Cabral and Robertson, 2015; Perry et al., 2015). Consequently, as hERG1b is lacking the entire PAS/Pas-cap domains, it has a different gating behavior compared to hERG1a.
The isoform originally discovered was hERG1a which is considered the full length transcript of the associated gene, and is often referred to simply as hERG1 when not being compared to other isoforms. Additionally, these isoforms are present in relatively fixed ratios, which depend on the cellular environment (Larsen et al., 2007, 2008). Deviations from these ratios, leading to abnormal abundance of a particular Kv11.1 isoform, may result in heart beat anomalies (Larsen et al., 2008; Kannankeril et al., 2010; Robertson, 2012).
Recently, hERG1b was found to be critical for human cardiac repolarization and a 1b-specific mutation associated with intrauterine fetal death was discovered (Jones et al., 2014, 2015, 2016). Additionally, the relative levels of expression appear to be greater in the young compared with the adult heart (Wang et al., 2008; Crotti et al., 2013). Evidence supports that when hERG1a and hERG1b are present in heterologous expression systems, they co-assemble to form hetero-tetrameric channels, although it is unknown if there is a preferred stoichiometry of these channels (London et al., 1997).
As previously mentioned, the two isoforms gating properties differ substantially. The hERG1 b- isoform is characterized by faster kinetics of activation, recovery from inactivation, and most prominently, deactivation (Larsen et al., 2008, 2010). These differences in gating kinetics are due mainly to the differences in the N-terminal regions of the two isoforms. More specifically, steady state activation is affected by the absence of the proximal N-terminal region in hERG1b, and the activation rate is suggested to be dependent on a short sequence of residues in the proximal portion of the hERG1a N-terminus (Saenen et al., 2006; Trudeau et al., 2011). Consequently, activation rates are much faster in hERG1b channels where these residues are missing (Larsen et al., 2008). Regarding deactivation, it has been suggested that the slow deactivation of hERG1a channels might be facilitated by the first 16 residues of the N-terminus, among other factors (Wang et al., 2008). According to that, faster deactivation rates in hERG1b can be explained by the presence of a unique N-terminal. The inactivation rate was shown to be similar between the two isoforms (Larsen et al., 2008). This finding is expected, as the mechanism by which fast inactivation occurs has been proposed to rely mainly on voltage induced changes in the structure of the outer mouth of the pore (Schönherr and Heinemann, 1996; Perry et al., 2013a,b; Thomson et al., 2014) and the sequence spanning this region is identical in both isoforms. Lastly, recovery from inactivation is significantly faster in hERG1b compared to hERG1a, potentially implying that by some means, the N-terminus contributes to this process with already proposed stabilizing interactions (Saenen et al., 2006; Gustina and Trudeau, 2011).
Despite the evidence that heterometric hERG 1a/1b channels underlie cardiac Ikr, little is known about the gating and pharmacological properties of these channels, how hERG1a channels differ from hERG1b homomers, 1a/1b heteromers, or which role hERG1b might play in disease. Two broadly accepted gating mechanisms were established on the basis of kinetic modeling driven by the experimental data from electrophysiology studies of Kv11.1a channel. The first gating mechanism that successfully describes gating kinetics was proposed by Rasmusson, and later refined by Fink et al. and Romero et al. (termed M-model 1, Figure 2) (Wang et al., 1997; Fink et al., 2008; Romero et al., 2015). The modified M-model 1 (Fink et al., 2008) for hERG1 channel has been combined with the cardiac cell model (Ten-Tusscher Model; Ten Tusscher and Panfilov, 2006) in order to reproduce, and explain in terms of kinetics, measurements in oocytes, and HEK cells and showed overall good performance. The second hERG1 current scheme with different connectivity between gating states was developed by both Clancy et al. (Clancy and Rudy, 2001; Clancy et al., 2007) and Mazhari et al. (2001) (termed M-model2, Figure 2) on the basis of M-model originally proposed by Kiehn et al. (1999).
Figure 2. Proposed kinetic mechanisms using Markov models (M-models) for WT hERG (Perissinotti et al., 2015; Romero et al., 2015) showing the transition rates with the corresponding labels.
There are only a limited number of studies that employ kinetic modeling to understanding of gating kinetics in hERG1 isoforms. Sale et al. (2008) previously attempted to study the hetero channels formed by hERG1a/1b in HEK cells in presence and absence of E-4031 blocker. The M-model 2 was used to describe gating process in a-isoform and a-,b- heteromer. To explain apparent challenges in fitting experimental currents, Sale et al. proposed that the presence of the extended N termini in all 4 subunits in hERG 1a may alter gating process; hence an alternative gating mode (“N-mode”) was considered. Another previous work modified the M-model 1 parameters proposed by Fink et al. (2008) and implemented them in the cardiac cell model (Ten Tusscher and Panfilov, 2006) in order to reproduce, and explain measurements in oocytes and HEK cells. However, none of the previous works (Robertson et al., 2008; Sale et al., 2008; Larsen et al., 2010; Holzem et al., 2016) tested the quality of the proposed kinetic models in fitting the hERG1b homo-tetramer experimental data, nor attempted to derive the set of model parameters for this isoform or suggest structural mechanisms explaining differences in isoform gating kinetics (Wacker et al., 2017).
The rapid progress in the structural biology finally resulted in the Cryo-EM high-resolution structure of hERG1 channel. The structure of the full hERG1 channel in its open state together with other highly homologous channels EAG1 and other closely-related channels from CNG and HCN families were published in 2016-2017 (Whicher and Mackinnon, 2016; Lee and Mackinnon, 2017; Li et al., 2017; Wang and Mackinnon, 2017). The availability of this new structural data provides a unique opportunity to connect well-established kinetic models of hERG1 channel to its structural determinant.
This work is striving to achieve several goals. First goal is the methodological one, where we developed and compared optimal gating schemes for hERG a- and b- isoforms. The second goal is to provide a perspective view on the potential structural mechanisms responsible for apparent kinetic differences between two isoforms and then to explore and discuss its implications at the tissue level. To achieve our methodological goal we systematically compared two gating schemes using available and novel electrophysiological recordings performed in HEK cell lines. The kinetic schemes illuminated profound differences in deactivation kinetics between two isoforms. To understand underlying reasons for different deactivation process, we employed structural modeling of hERG1 channel in open and closed-states using recently published structures of EAG1 and hERG1 channels from Cryo-EM (Whicher and Mackinnon, 2016; Wang and Mackinnon, 2017). We found that the available structures allowed identification of potential mutants with altered kinetics in good agreement with developed kinetic models. Finally, to provide a perspective on the potential role of isoforms in cellular dynamics, we undertook the cardiac cell simulations to reveal the conditions (i.e., isoform composition of hERG channels) leading to QT alterations. To provide initial glimpses into cellular roles of different isoform expression, a selected kinetic model, together with the optimized parameters, was incorporated into a higher dimensional model of the cardiac cell (O'hara et al., 2011) to simulate cellular and tissue dynamics effects as function of hERG isoform ratio.
Lees-Miller et al. first reported the electrophysiology of the hERG1 b-isoform (Lees-Miller et al., 1997). The hERG1 b-isoform was cloned from human atrium. hERG1 isoforms were cloned into the pIRES-hr green fluorescent protein-1a vector (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA) for co-expression with humanized Renilla reniformis GPF. Human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells were transfected by using calcium phosphate and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium supplemented with 10% horse serum (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). Transfection was monitored by green fluorescence. HEK cells were chosen because their background potassium currents are small. More importantly, no dofetilide-sensitive tail current has been observed by using the voltage-clamp protocol in un-transfected HEK cells.
Transfected HEK cells on glass coverslips were placed in a chamber mounted on a modified stage of an inverted microscope. The chamber was superfused at a rate of 2 ml/min with a normal external solution. Micropipettes were pulled from borosilicate glass capillary tubes on a programmable horizontal puller (Sutter Instrument Company, Novato, CA). Standard patch-clamp methods were used to measure the whole-cell currents of hERG1 mutants expressed in HEK 293 cells by using the Axopatch 200B amplifier (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA) (Lees-Miller et al., 2009). The pipette solution contained the following: 10 mM KCl, 110 mM K-aspartate, 5 mM MgCl2, 5 mM Na2ATP, 10 mM ethylene glycol-bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N′,N′tetraacetic acid, 5 mM HEPES, and 1 mM CaCl2. The solution was adjusted to pH 7.2 with KOH. The EC solution contained the following: 140 mM NaCl, 5.4 mM KCl, 1 mM CaCl2, 1 mM MgCl2, 5 mM HEPES, and 5.5 mM glucose. The solution was adjusted to pH 7.4 with NaOH. In patch clamp experiments, serious resistance and capacitance during the whole cell patch clamp recording were compensated to 90% through Axopatch 200B patch clamp amplifier. Whole cell patch clamp experiments were performed when access resistance was <10 MOme. No leak subtraction was performed. The junction potential of −10 mV was adjusted on all the membrane potentials recorded. All experiments were conducted at room temperature.
Where I / Imax is the normalized current, V1/2 is voltage of the half-maximal activation, k is the slope factor and Vm is the membrane potential.
Figure 3. Representative current traces of hERG1a and hERG1b channels and their current-voltage relationship at room temperature. (A) Selected current traces recorded from HEK cells and elicited by the voltage protocol shown in the top. (B) Normalized tail currents against voltage. The solid lines correspond to the fitted Boltzmann functions and symbols correspond to data. All data are listed as mean ± SEM. hERG1a (n = 10), hERG1b (n = 10). (C) Currents measured at the end of each step were used to construct the current-voltage (I-V) relationship. All data are shown as mean ± SEM. hERG1a (n = 10), hERG1b (n = 10).
The activation of hERG1a and hERG1b channels was examined at +40 mV in HEK cells. The protocol is shown in Figure 4. The measurements were carried out by activating the channels at +40 mV for various durations of time (from 5 to 500 ms) and then measuring the tail current at −100 mV (3 s). The peak amplitude of the tail current was used as a measure of the relative amount of activated channels at a given time point. The peak amplitudes were normalized to the maximum amplitude and plotted as a function of the duration of the activating step.
Figure 4. Activation kinetics of hERG1a and hERG1b channels expressed in HEK cells. An envelope of tails protocol was used to measure the activation properties at +40 mV. (A) Representative current traces elicited by the protocol shown at the top corresponding to 5–500 ms of activation are shown. (B)The data were normalized to the maximum amplitude of the tail current and plotted against time. hERG1a (n = 10); hERG1b (n = 10). All data are shown as mean ± SEM.
Deactivation of hERG1a/1b tail current was measured by activating channels al +40, followed with a short (5 ms) repolarization step to −120 mV and deactivating step at −120, −100, −60, −40 mV. Currents at different voltages were normalized and averaged (n = 10) time course data was plotted for each isoform at the different voltages (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Deactivation Kinetics of hERG1a and hERG1b channels measured in HEK cells. (A) Representative current traces elicited by the voltage protocol shown in the top for both isoforms. (B) Superimposed raw deactivation time courses for voltages −40, −60, −100, and −120 mV for hERG1a (n = 10) and hERG1b (n = 10). Average time course is shown with a solid white line.
Statsview (Abacus Concepts, Berkeley, CA) or QTIplot (Vasilef, 2013), Grace (http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/) were used to analyze the data. Data are presented as mean ± SEM.
The dominant paradigm for ion transport over the past 60 years has been based on the seminal experiments of Hodgkin and Huxley (Hodgkin and Huxley, 1952; Hodgkin et al., 1952). However, a much more detailed picture of the mechanisms underlying membrane excitation can be described in terms of Markov models (M-models) (Rudy and Silva, 2006; Moreno et al., 2011), where the conducting and non-conducting states are interconnected by rate constants dependent on the membrane potential. The essence of M-models is that, for any single step in the gating mechanism, the transition probability (i.e., the microscopic equivalent of the rate constant) is time independent. In an M-model of ion channels, transition rates define the interstate dynamics. These rates may depend on environmental variables such us membrane potential or ligand concentration.
where αi=kBTh•eΔSiR-ΔHiRT (ms−1), βi=ziFRT (mV−1); V is the external electric potential in mV; zi is the effective valence of moving charges; T(K) is the temperature; ΔHi (J/M) the change in enthalpy; ΔSi(J/M/K) the change in entropy. kB = 1.381 10−23 J K−1 (Boltzmann constant); h = 6.626 10−34 J s−1 (Planck constant); R = 8.315 Jmol−1 K−1 (ideal gas constant); F = 96785 C M−1 (Faraday constant).
Where gKr0=0.024 pA/pF/mV, a = 1/35, and b = −55/7, O is the open probability (see SM and (Fink et al., 2008) for more details).
Through the Global-Fitting procedure described in Balser et al. (1990) and implemented in VGC-KiMo1, the rate constants of a given M-model can be estimated from macroscopic ion channel currents in voltage-clamped membranes. The use of comprehensive and extensive data sets of experimental information from a broad range of ion current responses to multiple voltage stimulations conditions (voltage protocols, membrane potentials, temperature, etc.), shrinks the universe of possible solutions to the model system mechanism ensuring the robustness of the parameter set. Although several methods exist for analyzing voltage dependent currents (Wang et al., 1997; Mazhari et al., 2001; Fink et al., 2008; Bett et al., 2011; Moreno et al., 2011; Ben-Shalom et al., 2012) most of them are published only as a set of equations without the simulation tools. Others, from the neurophysiology field, are designed to use the full current traces, data that are neither commonly available nor easy to extract from published literature (Gurkiewicz and Korngreen, 2007; Ben-Shalom et al., 2012).
In the current form, VGC-KiMo1 source code includes two Markov formulations for the Kv11.1, best known as the hERG K+ channel. Any other channel can be added to the source code in addition to the current one, as well as different Markov models and other voltage protocols. The experimental data chosen for the model validation was not used for the development of the model's parameters and belongs to a different cell line than the one used to originally derive the parameters for the M-model (HEK cells), see SM (Section 2: Validation). The performance of the original parameters is fairly good but corrections were needed to reproduce the data from CHO cell line, suggesting that the published set of parameters is robust and reliable. A preliminary version of VGC-KiMo has also been used recently to simulate WT hERG and a variant using experimental data from HEK cell line (Guo et al., 2015; Perissinotti et al., 2015).
An IKr Markov model (Romero et al., 2015) was incorporated into the O'Hara-Rudy human ventricular action potential model(O'hara et al., 2011) and its maximum conductance (gKr = 0.0422) was scaled to elicit a close value of the peak Ikr as the original O'Hara model at 1 Hz. Physiological action potential simulations were subsequently performed at 37°C. b-Isoform and a-Isoform transition rate constants together with the corresponding temperature correction are shown in Table S12.
Simulated action potentials (APs) were recorded in endocardial cells at the 1000th paced beat (BCL = 1000 ms). The numerical method used for updating the voltage was forward Euler. All the Simulations were encoded in C/C++ and run on Mac Pro 3.06 GHz 12-Core computers. The time step was set to 0.00005 ms during AP upstroke, otherwise the time step was 0.005 ms. Numerical results were visualized using MATLAB R2014a by The Math Works, Inc.
Where V is the membrane potential, t is time, D is the tissue diffusion coefficient [0.00092 cm2/ms, calculated from Shaw and Rudy (Shaw and Rudy, 1997)], Iion is the sum of transmembrane ionic currents, Istim is the stimulus current (300 μA/cm2 for 0.5 ms), and Cm is the membrane capacitance (1 μF/cm2).
where ∇V is the spatial gradient of Vm, a is the radius of the fiber, σi is the intracellular conductivity, σe is the extracellular conductivity, and r is the distance from a source point (x, y, z) to a field point (x', y', z'). Φe was computed at an “electrode” site 2.0 cm away from the distal end along the fiber axis.
Recently published full hERG (hERGT) open channel solved by Cryo-EM at 3.8 angstrom resolution (PDB ID 5VA2) was used for the structural analysis. The construct used for structural studies has functional properties very similar to WT but is lacking residues between 141 and 350, that correspond to the structure between PAS and S1; and 871-1005 (C-terminal). The structure was cut right after CNBD ends and missing residues at the outer pore mouth were added and modeled as extracellular loops that were minimized using NAMD2.10 (Phillips et al., 2005). The 3D structure of the closed-state hERG channel used in this study is based on the homology modeling to EAG1 Cryo-EM structure (PDB ID 5K7L) determined at 3.78 angstrom resolution (Yang et al., 2017). This structure represents the closed pore while the voltage sensing domain (VSD) displays an open conformation (Whicher and Mackinnon, 2016). The SWISS-MODEL homology modeling program (Arnold et al., 2006) was used for the development of the hERG closed model from the available EAG1 channel structure as described previously (Yang et al., 2017). Sequence alignment was performed using the CLUSTALW algorithm (Larkin et al., 2007; Goujon et al., 2010). Protein models were generated from the alignment in a stepwise manner. The generated model was later minimized using NAMD2.10 (Phillips et al., 2005).
The whole-cell patch clamp configuration at room temperature was used to study the voltage-dependent activation by applying a standard step protocol described in the methodology. The normalized tail currents measured at −100 mV were plotted against the membrane potential of the previous step and fitted to a Boltzmann function. The V1/2 of activation is shifted around 10 mV in the negative direction for hERG1b compared to hERG1a (Figure 3, Table 1). The mean current levels measured at the end of the 1-s depolarizing pulse to +40 mV were used to construct the current-voltage (I-V) relationship (Figure 3C). Similar to what is observed for hERG1a, the b-isoform shows a strong inward rectification, resulting in the characteristic bell-shaped curve. Kinetics of activation was studied by applying an envelope of tails protocol, as described in the methodology section. The b-isoform shows a similar sigmoid shape of activation, but a much faster rate compared to the a-isoform (Figure 4).
Table 1. Experimental data for HEK cells at room temperature.
Deactivation kinetics was characterized by recording tail currents at potentials ranging from −40 to −120 mV after an activating step to +40 mV (see methods). Current traces for selected voltages are shown in Figure 5. The deactivating currents were best fitted to a double exponential function and time constants corresponding to the fast and slow deactivation processes are shown in Table S13. Both deactivating components are significantly reduced for hERG1b. The observed reduction depends on the voltage, at −60 mV, the slow and fast components are around 10 to 14 times faster for hERG1b while the difference is around 4 to 7 times for −40 and −100 mV, respectively. As it was found before for CHO cells by Larsen et al. (2008), the relative contribution of the fast component of deactivation depends on the voltage and is much more pronounced for hERG1b compared to hERG1a, in fact at −120 mV there is no slow component according to the experimental fit. Regarding the inactivation process, there was not significant difference and was not further investigated here (Larsen et al., 2008) (data not shown). Time constants for recovery from inactivation for a-isoform and b-isoform display a significant difference and are collected in Table 1.
The most pronounced difference evident from the experimental raw current traces is the markedly faster deactivation rate and the faster activation rate of hERG1b compared to hERG1a. This is in agreement to what was also found for CHO cells (Larsen et al., 2008). The experimental measurements in the HEK cell line focus in these events and the M-models were fitted to the data presented in the above section. All transition rates were defined using Equation (3). The previously derived values for αi and βi were used for initial guess (see Table S1 in Supplemental Materials). For M-model 1, the initial guess values were derived using the comprehensive experimental data-set from Berecki et al. at room temperature and 37°C respectively (Berecki et al., 2005). Two correction terms, a and b were introduced to α and β parameters for quality monitoring during optimization routine (Equation 9). α and β were set to the constant values, while a and b parameters were introduced as free variables for optimization routine.
Correction to individual parameters (ai, bi: Equation 5) from Fink et al. and Mazhari et al. has been done to reproduce available data from HEK-cell measurements at room temperature (23). All fitted parameters for the kinetic mechanism considered, can be found in Tables 2, 3 and Tables S4, S5. Note that β was set to zero for transitions ain and bin (Figure 2) and thus, these transitions are modeled as voltage independent. Maximum single channel conductance was assumed to be the same for hERG1a and hERG1b, so all differences are attributed to channel kinetics.
Table 2. M-model 1 rate constants for transitions within hERG gating for a-isoform and b-isoform.
Table 3. M-model 2 rate constants for transitions within hERG gating for a-isoform and b-isoform.
Three and/or four different voltage protocols were included simultaneously in the optimization protocol (see Supplementary Materials for a complete description of the voltage protocols). Different optimization routines were performed and the correction factors were defined for each of the parameters. All parameters required corrections to the initial guesses. The best fits are shown in Tables 2, 3 for two isoforms and each model, respectively. Further improvement of the optimizations was achieved by using the random initial guess generator around the already fitted values and assigning different weight to the partial cost function. In all the cases, the stability analysis showed that all values were well-converged. The simulated voltage protocols and computed currents are in reasonable agreement with the measured ones, meaning that voltage dependence and curve shapes are qualitatively well-reproduced. Overall, both gating mechanisms from the literature were able to reproduce the gating kinetics for both isoforms. However, the optimized parameters showed some interesting differences and limitations in quantitatively reproducing the time course of the deactivation kinetics at different voltages.
The M-model 1 implies linear connectivity between different gating states. The channel has to go through the open state to fully inactivate. The experimental basis for this scheme was extensively discussed in the literature (Bett et al., 2011). Assuming that both isoforms follow same kinetic scheme (Sale et al., 2008), the key differences between the a-isoform and b-isoform kinetics lie essentially in the highlighted steps shown in Table 2. According to the results collected in Table 2, the best fit within M-model 1 indicates that the main difference between two hERG isoforms is in the late deactivation step. The late deactivation is about eight times faster for the b-isoform. These parameters also show an increase in the activation rate steps, together with an increase in the recovery from inactivation rate in agreement with the experimental data (Table 1). Simulated data from CHO cell line (SM) also display a good agreement with the optimal fit (Tables S3, S4, S9). Figure 6 shows the simulated data together with the experiments. An excellent agreement is obtained for the activation and Steady State Activation curves for both isoforms (Figure 9). However, the main challenges are in the modeling of the deactivation kinetics for different voltage protocols (−40, −60, −100, −120 mV). For b-isoform in particular, the quality of the optimization is limited, although it qualitatively reproduces the behavior at the different voltages.
Figure 6. M-model 1 optimization to experimental data. (A) Activation curve of a-isoform and b-isoform. (B) Steady State Activation curve for both isoforms. (C) Simulated deactivation curves at −120, −100, −60, and −40 mV. Simulated data is shown as solid lines and symbols are used for experimental time course data (average, n = 10). Superimposed raw time course data (n = 10) is shown in the background for deactivation at each voltage.
This model, in contrast to the M-model 1, is not linear, but instead, includes a direct transition to the inactivated state from the closed state immediately preceding the open state. In one of the previous formulations (Mazhari et al., 2001), this transition is negligible compared to the transition to the open state and so, numerically, this model is almost linear. In our work, M-model 2 was tested assuming a range of different values for this transition and in all the cases a very small rate was obtained for both isoforms. Although the obtained value was small and almost negligible, it is almost 1000 times faster for the b-isoform. The M-model 2 shows a similar performance compared to the M-model 1 although the fit quality is consistently lower than that of M-model 1. The differences between a-isoform and b-isoform are distributed over the activation steps but mainly in the late deactivation and the new extra step considered in this scheme (Table 3). Simulated current traces elicited by the voltage protocols and the activation curves are well-reproduced by this model (Figure 7). Similar to what was observed for M-model 1, the quality of the optimization is poor, although it qualitatively reproduces the behavior at the different voltages.
Figure 7. M-model 2 fit to experimental data. (A) Activation curve of a-isoform and b-isoform. (B) Steady State Activation curve for both isoforms. (C) Simulated deactivation curves at −120, −100, −60, and −40 mV. Simulated data is shown as solid lines and symbols are used for experimental time course data (average, n = 10). Superimposed raw time course data (n = 10) is shown in the background for deactivation at each voltage.
Taking together the results from M-model 1 and 2, we conclude that both models capture the main kinetic difference between the isoforms. The pivotal feature of isoform kinetics is a considerable increase in the late deactivation step. Both models point to a moderate increase in the activation and recovery from inactivation steps, the changes and their magnitudes depend on the model. The current traces simulated by each model and elicited by the SSA voltage protocol are shown in Figure 8. It can be seen that they qualitatively reproduce the experimental behavior shown in Figure 3. The b-isoform displays larger currents, an increased activation rate, faster recovery from inactivation and clearly shows a much faster deactivation rate under the repolarizing pulse. The simulated I-V relationships show the typical curve shape and qualitatively reproduce the experimental differences characteristic of each isoform, although they show significant deviations for voltages above 10 mV. At these voltages background currents are relatively high, while hERG current is relatively small. The combination of these two factors presents a natural challenge and led to the discussed discrepancy between simulated and experimental data.
Figure 8. Simulated currents M-model 1 and M-model 2. (A) Simulated currents elicited by the SSA voltage protocol (Figure 3) for both M-models and Isoforms. (B) Simulated I-V steady state current (x104 pA) relationship for M-model 1 and 2. a-Isoform is shown as black dashed line and b-isoform as red dashed line. Experimental data is shown in the background as symbols with the corresponding error bar (Figure 3).
The best optimization for M-model 1 which also shows fair agreement with the fit to CHO data (Table S9), suggests that although the main difference is in the late deactivation step, being eight times faster for the b-isoform when compared to a-isoform, early and late activation are also increased by a factor of ~2 and 4, respectively. According to this fit, the voltage independent rates are increased in forward and backward directions by a factor of 2 and the recovery from inactivation rate by a factor of 4. M-model 2 suggests similar changes and fair agreement with CHO data (Table S10); late deactivation is 15 times faster for the b- compared to the a-isoform, but also early and late activation, being 3 and 2 times faster respectively. It also shows a three-fold increase for the recovery from inactivation and an increase for both voltage insensitive rates, being 2.5 times faster in the deactivating direction.
It is important to mention that the time course of deactivation was not well-fitted by the M-models used in this work for both HEK and CHO cell lines. We observed that the quality of the fit is different for different voltages. To improve modeling of the deactivation kinetics, a number of different conditions were tested for both models, i.e., randomization of initial values, constraints, boundaries, etc., but no further improvement was achieved. The reason could be related to the amount of data used in the fitting procedure, experimental limitations in the data acquisition (temperature, cell-line variability, resolution of electrophysiological recordings), or indicate that the M-models should be revisited. It is important to mention that some inconsistencies between the deactivation experimental data and these models were previously discussed by other authors (Fink et al., 2008). Another example can be found in a recently developed Markov model that reproduces biophysical experimental data at room temperature with CHO cell line includes two closed (C1, C2), one open (O) and corresponding inactivated states (IC1, IC2, IO) (Di Veroli et al., 2013). This model also faces difficulties in fitting deactivation at different voltages. Interestingly, the 6-states model with closed loops can be reduced to a 4-states cyclic model (C1, O, IC, IO) at 37°C, as different closed states could not be resolved. However, unless explicitly introducing temperature-dependent parameters, all of the available models cannot account for temperature-dependent hERG channel activity changes. A modification of the Di Veroli model was done recently by Li et al. (Li et al., 2016), and can recapitulate macroscopic hERG channel gating behavior for a temperature range from 20 to 37°C. Providing the better performance for the temperature range, different states and connectivity, it would be interesting to test the performance of this new model in reproducing the experimental data for both isoforms. It is important to emphasize that having a complete and more reliable M-model is of key importance for modeling and predicting differential and temperature dependent effects of drugs on the delayed rectifier potassium “Ikr” current.
The kinetic modeling discussed above isolates principal differences in gating kinetics of hERG a- and hERG b-isoforms. The recent Cryo-EM structures allowed the structural modeling for open- and closed states of hERG1 channel enabling molecular-level description of the determinants of this apparent isoform-specific differences. Homology models (Wacker et al., 2017) and chimera constructs were very useful in the past (Dhillon et al., 2014) for understanding structure-function relationships in K+ channels. However, most of the models were focusing on the trans-membrane section of hERG1 channel only (Wacker et al., 2017). The recently-solved hERG structure shows an open pore, while the EAG1 channel solved by Cryo-EM is captured with the pore closed due to the presence of Ca2+ and calmodulin, which lock the pore closed while the VSD is supposed to be in its depolarized state (Wang and Mackinnon, 2017). The hERG closed model presented here was built using EAG1 structure as a representative template for hERG‘s closed pore. Given the fact that conformational differences between these two states of VSD are relatively small compared to structures and models of open- and closed states found in K+ channels from Shaker family (Li et al., 2014); then the question is, if this is a good representation of hERG closed state, what kind of VSD movement could result in that same conformational change in the pore?. As Wang et al. (Wang and Mackinnon, 2017) pointed out, there are key structural differences in the arrangement of the VSD (non-domain swapped) in hERG and EAG1. It seems that an S4 inward movement toward the cytoplasm and centric displacement toward the pore axis driven by the membrane electric field could produce a similar pore closure. In that scenario, there is almost not translation of S4 across the membrane, S5 maintains an extensive antiparallel contact with S6 and the VSD would transmit force through the S5-S6 interface as the movement of S4 would compress the S5 helices and close the S6 gate. This proposed mechanism is different than the lever mechanism proposed for Shaker-like Kv channels and the cytoplasmic domains may play a crucial role in it. It is important to mention that functional measurements also point to substantial differences in the total gating charge, being much less for hERG, which implies that the VSD conformational changes are smaller in hERG channel (Zhang et al., 2004; Li et al., 2014). These rapid developments in hERG structural biology emphasized important roles of PAS and CNBD domains in gating kinetics. As it was shown previously for Kv1.2-Kv2.1 (Morais-Cabral and Robertson, 2015), PAS-CNBD complex published for mEAG1 (Haitin et al., 2013), and all the recent structures; the PAS (Figure 9, in orange) domain is far away from the VSD. In stark contrast, hERG structures show (Whicher and Mackinnon, 2016; Wang and Mackinnon, 2017), that the N-terminus of the PAS domain (absent in b-isoform) is directed toward the VSD and S4-S5 linker (Figure 9B) and most likely interacts with the gating machinery. NMR studies previously suggested that the N-terminal cap shows a high degree of structural variability and is long enough to reach the voltage sensor, the S4-S5 linker or the C-linker (Muskett et al., 2011; Ng et al., 2011, 2014) (Figure 9B). As it was mentioned before, the new structures present new topology of VSD-pore domain packing, which is different from the domain-swapped architecture and might suggest a new paradigm for voltage dependent gating. It was recently proposed for EAG1, a mechanism in which the VSD interacts with the cytoplasmic domains to gate the channel. Combined with the data from isoform kinetic modeling described above, models of hERG in open and closed state may provide better understanding of stabilizing interactions present or missing in a particular isoform.
Figure 9. Models of the quaternary structure of homomeric hERG tetramers. Side view (A) of closed state model in the left panel and open state hERG Cryo-EM structure, right panel. In both structures N-cap PAS can be seen interacting with VSD (black arrow). When the TM domain is aligned, cytoplasmic domains are slightly rotated respects each other. Orange arrow show the rotation direction when transitioning from closed to open states. (B) N-cap PAS interaction with VS (S1 & potentially S4-S5), CNBD, and C-linker for closed in the left panel and open states, right panel.
The arrangement of cytoplasmic domains in the open state and closed state models are shown in Figure 9. The PAS domain is interacting with CNBD in a similar way it was found previously for homologous channels (Lee and Mackinnon, 2017; Li et al., 2017; Wang and Mackinnon, 2017). Similar to the previously solved structures for CNBD domains (Ng et al., 2011; Adaixo et al., 2013; Brelidze et al., 2013; Haitin et al., 2013), a portion of the hERG sequence occupies the cyclic nucleotide binding site, which prevents the cyclic nucleotide binding. In addition to that, the N-terminus of PAS Domain (N-cap), which influences the rate of voltage dependent channel opening and closing, is directed toward the VSD (Wang and Mackinnon, 2017) (Figures 9B, 10B). When the channel is in its open state, the C-linker region is packed against the transmembrane domain (Figure 10A) interacting with the S4-S5 linker and VSD. A novel interaction pinpointed by the structural analysis is the salt-bridge formed between Glu544 and Arg681 (Figures 10C,D). This salt-bridge is missing in the closed state model of the channel as the C-linker is slightly rotated with respect to the S4-S5 linker. Hence, we hypothesize that it might be one of the open-state stabilizing interactions that it is affected in the absence or the PAS domain (b-isoform), note that N-cap (Val 3) is close to E544 and might indirectly affect the E544-R681 interaction. Unfortunately, solved structures are missing significant part of the PAS domain sequence and further refinement of hERG1 PAS domain is essential future goal for structural modeling. Nevertheless, the previously studied E544L mutant (Durdagi et al., 2012) shows an increase in the deactivation rate. Even though is not as much as for the b-isoform (Figure 10E), it highlights a potential key role of this residue. When transitioning from closed to open state, the transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains slightly rotate with respect to each other (Figures 9, 10B), we suggest that the interplay between PAS, VSD: S4-S5, and C-linker during such rotation might be of key importance in modulation the gating.
Figure 10. Structural alignment of closed (light colors) and open (dark colors) models of hERG. TM and C-linker side view shows that the C-linker/TM are closer to each other in the open state compared to the closed (A). Distances between residues Gly669 show that a closer C-linker is a consequence of a more open pore in the open state (B). Key salt bridge interactions between Glu544 and Arg681 can only be found in the open state (C) but not in the closed state (D). (E) Current traces from experiments previously published by Durdagi et al. for hERG1a, hERG1b, and hERG1a-E544L elicited by the voltage protocol at the top. E544L mutant displays a faster deactivation rates than WT but not as much as hERG1b.
While more work is still required to decipher gating kinetics of hERG1, the structural models already show enhanced interactions between the cytoplasmic and the transmembrane (TM) domain for the open state of the channel. Analysis of structural differences between open and closed states suggests that a slight rotational movement changing packing of the cytoplasmic domains against the TM part of the channel is required as part of activation/deactivation process. This is in line with the finding that the conformational change that VSD is undergoing during gating cycle might be small compared to other potassium channels. This would allow the CNBD to close the channel independent of the VSD conformation (as it was observed for EAG1) and provide an added level of regulation through the interaction of intracellular domains with the voltage dependent gating machinery (Whicher and Mackinnon, 2016). These structural insights, although preliminary, lead us to the hypothetic gating mechanism summarized in Figure 11. The similar mechanism of gating modulated by soluble domains has been proposed for MolK1, a prokaryotic potassium channel lacking the C-linker and PAS domain (Kowal et al., 2014).
Figure 11. Proposed mechanism based on the structures modeled. When the channel opens the cytoplasmic domains rotate toward the membrane as the S6 end twists in the same direction.
These structural models also raise another point. In other channels, PAS and CNBD domains serve a regulatory function in which the binding of small molecules or signaling proteins is transduced into conformational changes. It is not known whether or not this could be happening for hERG. These new models align to what was suggested previously (Morais-Cabral and Robertson, 2015), and that points to the possibility that the C-linker-CNBD-PAS serves as an anchor to correctly position the N-pas terminal cap during the gating process. Can we explain observed differences in the deactivation kinetics between hERG a- and b- isoforms observed with kinetic modeling? Any of the functional alterations due to mutations or truncations in the N-terminal cap or the entire PAS Domain (b-isoform) would ultimately lead to a loss of N-terminal cap position and severely-altered gating kinetics. The lack of stabilizing interactions between soluble and trans-membrane domains is expected to impact the opening probability and stability of the open state. It may explain observed rapid transitions between open and closed states present in the b-isoform.
The improved kinetic models allowed us to directly address physiological questions like whether or not hERG isoform composition in ventricular myocytes has a potential to alter QT duration and, hence, to pre-dispose a patient for drug-induced QT prolongation. To specifically address the functional implication of having homomeric hERG1a or hERG1b in the heart we conducted simulations including our M-model 1 parameters in the cardiac cell (O'Hara-Rudy human cardiac ventricular myocyte Model) (O'hara et al., 2011; Romero et al., 2015). The final parameters from the fittings were then used as input values in the cardiac cell and tissue model (O'hara et al., 2011) in order to simulate the shape of the action potential and ECG signal for both isoforms (Figure 12). The M-model 1 and its parameters from the optimization were introduced in the cardiac cell model in order to test the way in which they affect the shape and duration of action potential. As it was found previously (Larsen and Olesen, 2010), the results of the ventricular cardiomyocyte simulations showed that kinetic changes in Ikr corresponding to homomeric hERG1b resulted in much shorter action potential duration (APD). Figure 12B shows the action potential (Dhillon et al.) shape and duration considering the extreme situation of Ikr corresponding only to hERG1 a- or b- isoforms. Intermediate cases, where weighed contributions from both isoforms were considered, are shown in Figure 12A. Ikr currents are also shown in Figure 12A and, as it can be seen, the currents became larger and peak earlier when transitioning from pure a- to b- isoforms.
Figure 12. Simulated action potential duration (APD) in cells and virtual pseudo-ECGs in a transmural 1-D tissue model. (A) Single cells simulations show concentration response for different ratios of a- and b-isoforms. (B) APD for the 1,000th paced beat at 1 Hz in single endocardial cells. hERG 1a shows a longer APD compared to hERG 1b. (C) The Pseudo ECGs of hERG 1b (red) indicates shorter QT intervals than hERG 1a.
Mechanistic inspection of the changes in the channel state occupancy revealed several differences. Figures S9, S11 show the proportion of channels in the different states. The most prominent difference lies in the occupancy of open and inactivated states when comparing a-isoform to b-isoform. The AP shortening is mainly due to an increase in the open state occupancy and a reduction in the inactivated states occupancy for hERG1b compared to hERG1a. Finally, the M-model 1 was also introduced in the tissue model (cable) and the ECG signal was simulated for both homomers (Figure 12C). As expected, virtual hERG1b expression resulted in a reduction in the QT interval on the computed pseudo-ECG.
Experimental investigations have revealed many sources of heterogeneity and associated regulation in the heart. Distinct regions with associated cell types that are distinguishable by morphology and action potential duration have been documented. The different cell types have been shown to arise from heterogeneities in ion channel expression, which have been modeled and used in cell-type specific predictive simulations (Viswanathan et al., 1999) (Shimizu and Antzelevitch, 1999). In the left ventricle of the heart, cellular heterogeneity from the endocardium to mid-myocardium to endocardium exists and arises from heterogeneity in potassium currents (Shimizu and Antzelevitch, 1999) (Liu and Antzelevitch, 1995). The differences in stoichiometry between hERG1a and hERG1b likely constitute a novel source of cardiac heterogeneity that may vary in terms of distribution and be subject to regulation by as yet unknown mechanisms.
The kinetic modeling in section Markov Kinetic Models to Describe hERG a- and b-Isoforms shows a profound difference in hERG1a and hERG1b deactivation rates, where the quantitatively fitted parameters to the data suggested that the hERG1b late deactivation rate is between 8 and 15 times faster than hERG1a. One of the most interesting and counterintuitive findings in the results shown above is that this difference did not result in effects on the action potential duration that would expected from the observed changes alone. The dominant presence of the hERG1 b-isoform results in faster deactivation, which by itself would result in fewer channels in the open state as the channels close more quickly. The anticipated effect on the action potential duration would be less repolarizing current and consequently, shorter APD. In fact, the opposite was observed both in our modeling predictions with M-model 1 and in a previous experimental study (Larsen and Olesen, 2010). The reason is that the hERG1 b-isoform has both faster activation kinetic and faster recovery from inactivation kinetics that results in a net increase current compared to the hERG1 a-isoform.
We investigated structural and biophysical properties of hERG1a and 1b homo-tetramers in the context of previously proposed Markov models and new data measured in the HEK cell line. Two M-models were tested and fitted to the experimental data. For the first time a set of parameters were provided for both isoforms. The models' parameters were then used to investigate effects of various homo-tetramers ratios formed by two isoforms in cardiac cells and tissue to track isoform-specific effects on emergent behaviors that occur in higher dimensions. The minimization procedure presented here, allowed assessment of suitability of different Markov model topologies and the corresponding parameters that describe the channel kinetics. In terms of the gating kinetics, we found that both M-models were able to qualitatively capture the kinetics of two isoforms. The kinetic modeling showed a profound difference in hERG1a and hERG1b deactivation rates, where the quantitatively fitted parameters to the data suggested that the hERG1b late deactivation rate is between 8 and 15 times faster than hERG1a.
In order to gain insight and link the observed isoforms' differences to the structure, full channel structural models were developed and analyzed for open and closed states. From the structural point of view, open and closed structural models for the full channel were for the first time compared providing hypothetical structural mechanism for transitions between closed to open states of hERG channel. In line with the kinetic modeling, interactions between soluble domains and the TM part of the channel appeared to be critical determinants of the gating kinetics allowing explanation of apparent differences in the deactivation rates between two isoforms. The model emphasized importance of the electrostatic interactions between N-cap of PAS domain and TM domain. To test the proposed role of stabilizing interactions between N-cap of PAS domain and the gating machinery in TM, we examined gating kinetics of E544L. Introduction of charge neutralizing resulted in significantly enhanced deactivation rates, reminiscent of isoform-specific differences. We attribute it to interactions between E544 and R681 missing in E544L mutant. Importantly, this interaction is present in both hERG1 a-isoform and hERG1 b-isoform, however b-isoform is missing the of PAS domain who might contribute to stabilize that interaction. While this work was under review, another publication by de la Peña et al. (2018) showed that hERG gating profiles can be reconsiled from non-covalently linked VSD and Pore Domain. Their findings, in line to what is presented in this work, challenge the classical view of the S4–S5 linker acting as lever to open the gate, supporting the hypothesis that the S4–S5 linker might integrate signals coming from the cytoplasmic domains (c-linker/PAS). Importantly, those split-channels disconnected at the S4–S5 linker show a destabilization of the closed state, in particular one of the split shown to be near E544 position discussed in our submission. Our structural modeling is providing a first structural glimpse of the structural underpinnings of the peculiar isoforms' gating and suggesting potential key interactions between S4–S5 linker, C-linker and PAS. Equally important question discussed in our study is the potential impact on the Action Potential from different ratios of isoform expression in the myocytes. The AP simulations performed in our study suggest that recovery from inactivation of hERG1 B may contribute to its physiologic role of b-isoform in the action potentials. Both structural and functional models were exploratory in nature aiming to provide a perspective for future multi-scale modeling studies.
In conclusion, the results and in-depth review of modeling, structural and functional data presented here contribute to the growing body of evidence that hERG1b significantly affects the generation of the cardiac Ikr and plays an important role in cardiac electrophysiology.
JG: Performed all of the electrophysiological recordings and mutagenesis experiments, analyze results and wrote the manuscripts. LP and PD: Wrote the software; LP, ML, and P-CY: Performed simulations and analyzed the data; CC, SN, and HD: Supervised the research; LP, HD, CC, and SN: Designed the research. All authors wrote the article.
This work was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (to SN); and the Discovery grant from Natural Scientific and Engineering Research Council of Canada (to HD). CC was supported by the National Institutes of Health Grants R01HL128170, U01HL126273 and R01HL128537 (together with SN). The computational support for this work was provided by West-Grid and Compute Canada through a resource allocation award and NSERC-RTI award to SN.
1. ^Voltage-Gated Ion Channels Kinetic Modeling from whole-cell voltage-clamp data (VGC-KiMo) is a standalone tool written in C++ language, working on Linux machines and parallelized with OpenMP (see the Supporting Material for the scalability benchmarks). VGC-KiMo code is distributed under GNU General Public License thus freely available for download from https://github.com/vgckimo/vgckimo, together with documentation and tutorial files. See Supporting Material for a complete description of the code.
Hodgkin, A. L., Huxley, A. F., and Katz, B. (1952). Measurement of current-voltage relations in the membrane of the giant axon. J. Physiol. 116, 424–448.
Robertson, G. A., Sale, H., Tester, D., O'hara, T. J., Phartiyal, P., Wang, J., et al. (2008). hERG 1b as a potential target for inherited and acquired long QT syndrome. Circulation 118:S525.
Vasilef, I. (2013). Data Analysis and Scientific Visualization. Utrecht: Universiteit Utrecht.
Copyright © 2018 Perissinotti, De Biase, Guo, Yang, Lee, Clancy, Duff and Noskov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. | 2019-04-25T03:58:25Z | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.00207/full |
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The basic slogan "no person ever obtained fired for buying IBM" holds genuine for the predictive analytics implement SPSS information. although it trails behind market leader SAS in income, it's a solid, time-honored option. It offers an fanciful array of statistical algorithms and modeling capabilities. while it remains aimed toward facts scientists as opposed to habitual company clients, the brand new interface is easier to use, and it integrates extra simply with Microsoft workplace.
in short, it subsist for corporations that requisite to finish advanced, in-depth work, as opposed to discover short answers – even though SPSS is in a position to quick response and facile statistics mining.
In certain, giant organizations that already finish enterprise with IBM are specifically the best option for IBM SPSS facts. The interoperability between this utility and different points of the IBM platform will besides subsist expected to subsist seamless.
one of the most most fulfilling-promoting predictive analytics tools in the marketplace, IBM SPSS information earns extravagant marks for usability with its these days more advantageous drag-and-drop interface. Now on edition 25, it subsist a mature, finished device that allows you to hasten advanced analytics and create visualizations from the same interface. multiple licensing and deployment alternatives can subsist found, as is a free 14-day trial.
Extensions enable integration with R and Python, and it besides integrates with Microsoft evolution equipment and Excel.
Base subscriptions and add-ons can subsist found to buy online, with a free 14-day ordeal available. other styles of licenses require contacting IBM. pupil and college discounts are available.
I attended IBM’s inaugural believe experience in Las Vegas remaining week. This event, IBM’s greatest (estimated 30,000+ attendees!), focused on making your traffic smarter and blanketed keynotes and periods on such themes as synthetic intelligence, statistics science, blockchain, quantum computing and cryptography. i used to subsist invited by using IBM as a guest to share some insights from the viewpoint of an information scientist. beneath are a number of highlights of the adventure.
IBM SPSS is IBM’s set of predictive analytics items that tackle the entire analytical method, from planning to facts collection to analysis, reporting and deployment. IBM celebrated the 50th anniversary of IBM SPSS with their new beta free up of IBM SPSS statistics 25, the biggest beta unlock in its historical past. The up to date version contains new developments enjoy book-in a position charts, MS workplace integration, Bayesian statistics and advanced information. also, they added a brand new person interface which is fairly slick.
i used to subsist added to SPSS records in college and maintain used it for each one of my research initiatives since then. To subsist sincere, SPSS facts has aged stronger than I have! I even maintain already begun using the new edition and am fairly excited in regards to the new elements and consumer interface. i'll report about journey in a later post. try SPSS with a free 14-day trial.
recent experiences maintain estimated that 45% of marketers are anticipated to raise the employ of synthetic intelligence for client event in the next three years, and fifty five% of agents are focused on optimizing the customer experience to boost client loyalty. moreover, eighty five% of sum customer interactions with a company might subsist managed with out human interplay by artery of 2020.
consumer experience administration (CXM) is the manner of realizing and managing purchasers’ interactions with and perceptions concerning the business/company. IBM is cognizant that enhancing the customer experience is more and more becoming information-intensive recreation, and the employ of the mixed power of statistics and nowadays’s processing capabilities can aid businesses model the procedures that maintain an repercussion on the consumer journey. I attended a few periods to learn about how IBM is leveraging the energy of IBM Watson to aid their purchasers with Watson Commerce and Watson customer event Analytics solutions. These options employ the energy of synthetic intelligence (e.g., predictive analytics) to extend how agencies can stronger manage customer relationships to enhance consumer loyalty and scoot their company ahead.
These facts gurus from Aginity, IBM Analytics, H2O.ai and IBM Immersive Insights are improving how you glean from records to insights.
I noticed a very righteous demonstration of the intersection of information science, better analytics and augmented reality. Getting from records to insights is the purpose of facts science efforts and, as records sources proceed to develop, they are able to want more advantageous the perquisite artery to glean to those insights. Aginity is working with H2O.ai to demonstrate the artery to enrich your predictions by means of augmenting public data with enhanced information (with derived attributes) and enhanced analytics to fabricate greater predictions. the usage of baseball statistics, Ari Kaplan of Aginity pointed out that the improvements in predictive fashions may translate into thousands and thousands of dollars per participant. whereas his demo concentrated on the employ of those technologies in baseball information, the concepts are generalizable to any industry vertical, including finance, healthcare and media.
on the equal demonstration station, Alfredo Ruiz, lead of the Augmented reality software at IBM Analytics, showed me how his crew (IBM Immersive Insights) is incorporating augmented reality into records Science journey to champion corporations more suitable maintain in intelligence their ever-expanding facts sets. I’m eager for seeing how his efforts in marrying augmented fact and facts science progress.
I had the privilege of interviewing Ari Kaplan of Aginity who talked in regards to the work he is doing to extend how Aginity and H2O.ai is improving the records science manner. remove a keep at what he has to declar under.
Don’t leave out this interview with Ari Kaplan, a genuine “Moneyball” and neatly intimate around most essential League Baseball, as he talks about the latest laptop researching applied sciences powering today’s baseball decisions, and remove a keep at the remarkable demo.
I had the desultory to talk with with many industry experts who approach to facts science from a different point of view than I do. whereas I focus essentially on the facts and arithmetic elements of statistics science, lots of my information friends strategy information science from a technological and programming perspective. in fact, for an upcoming podcast, Dez Blanchfield and that i maintain been interviewed with the aid of Al Martin of IBM Analytics to focus on their respective roles in data science. This conversation become a active one, and that i am anticipating reliving that evening once the podcast is launched. The final analysis is that data science requires such a diverse faculty set that you simply really want to work with other individuals who can complement your capabilities.
This inspiration that statistics science is a team recreation became placed on full array in an lively session through which a couples therapist (Trisha Mahoney) helped unravel an argument between an information science chief (Shadi Copty) and IT chief (Ryan Arbow). Asking probing questions, the counselor revealed that the facts science and IT leader were at odds because of an absence of communique. She brought them to IBM’s records Science experience, an enterprise statistics science platform that enables them to easily collaborate, employ accurate open supply equipment and glean their fashions into creation quicker.
For me, IBM suppose 2018 was sum about making your traffic smarter through analytics. basically, analysis shows that businesses which are superior able to deliver the vigour of analytics to bear on their enterprise problems should subsist in a higher site to outperform their analytics-challenged rivals. This theory turned into illustrated through keynotes, periods and conversations. through bringing diverse statistics science specialists together to leverage the tools and methods of AI and computer/deep discovering will assist you circulate your company forward. if you were unable to attend the event, that you would subsist able to watch replays of many of the keynotes perquisite here.
IBM remaining week announced that the version 22 release of SPSS information could subsist the remaining release of the product to maintain any piece that runs on device i (IBM i). it'll besides subsist the remaining free up with the capability to pull SQL statistics out of the DB2 for i database, which is arguably extra harmful for any IBM consumers that might want to hasten some statistical evaluation on their DB2/four hundred data.
SPSS statistics is ripen and multi-faceted software kit that offers clients loads of advanced statistical evaluation capabilities. Surrounding the core analysis piece is a fleet of more than 50 add-on products that, among different things, provide record distribution capabilities.
SPSS facts has not ever hasten on IBM i itself, even when it was owned by using SPSS. before it changed into purchased by artery of IBM, SPSS supported the IBM i platform with just two main product lines: the betray off OLAP and Reporting tools (some of which maintain been got by using aid/techniques) and the Clementine statistics mining software. but the core SPSS facts kit become at sum times supported on greater “mainstream” structures, enjoy Unix, Linux, home windows, and the S/390 mainframe, which is where SPSS facts obtained its delivery so a long time in the past.
despite the fact, IBM did, curiously, champion the SPSS Collaboration and Deployment features component on the IBM i platform, which is exciting in its personal right. IBM infrequently (if ever) touted this skill, which isn't brilliant considering that it’s a narrowly concentrated region of interest product that plays a champion role to other items. In any event, IBM introduced that the Collaboration and Deployment functions component in SPSS statistics version 22 will now not usher the “gadget I” (a denomination that IBM stopped the employ of in 2010).
possibly extra harmful is the incontrovertible fact that SPSS facts version 22 marks the ultimate version of the application that can subsist able to employ DB2 for i (DB2/four hundred) as a source for SQL statistics, notwithstanding the core SPSS information software is operating (because it ought to) on an additional server platform.
IBM i experts are cognizant of relocating construction data from DB2/400 onto other platforms where it will besides subsist analyzed. however, apparently so few SPSS statistics clients were the usage of this skill that it now not made sense to retain it.
obviously there are other ways to glean statistics off the IBM i server and into SPSS information. in any case, the SQL records habitual is meant to deliver better facts interoperability amongst structures. however the undeniable fact that it’s no longer value IBM’s pains to hold this SQL channel open to the IBM i server isn't a superb signal.
For more suggestions survey application Announcement 213-309.
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Big data has emerged as a key concept both in the information technology and the embedded technology worlds.1 Such software systems are characterized by a army of heterogeneous connected software applications, middleware, and components such as sensors. The growing usage of cloud infrastructure makes available a wealth of data resources; smart grids, intelligent vehicle technology, and medicine are recent examples of such interconnected data sources. We’re producing approximately 1,200 exabytes of data annually, and that pattern is only growing.2,3 Such a massive amount of unstructured data presents stupendous and mounting challenges for traffic and IT executives.
Big data is defined by four dimensions: volume, source complexity, production rate, and potential number of users. The data needs to subsist organized to transform the countless bits and bytes into actionable information—the sheer abundance of data won’t subsist helpful unless they maintain ways to fabricate sense out of it. Traditionally, programmers wrote code and statisticians did statistics. Programmers typically used a general-purpose programming language, whereas statisticians plied their trade using specialized programs such as IBM’s SPSS (Statistical Package for the gregarious Sciences). Statisticians pored over national statistics or market research usually only available to select groups of people, whereas programmers handled large amounts of data in databases or log files. mountainous data’s availability from the cloud to virtually everybody changed sum that.
As the volumes and types of data maintain increased, software engineers are called more and more often to effect different statistical analyses with them. Software engineers are active in gathering and analyzing data on an unprecedented scale to fabricate it useful and grow new traffic models.1 As an example, deem proactive maintenance. They can continuously monitor machines, networks, and processes to immediately detect irregularities and failures, allowing us to rectify them before damage occurs or the system comes to a standstill. This reduces maintenance costs in both material cost as well as human intervention. Often, processing and making sense of data is just piece of a bigger project or is embedded in some software, configuration, or hardware optimization problem. Luckily, the community has responded to this requisite by creating a set of tools that bring some of statisticians’ magic to programmers—in fact, these are often more powerful than traditional statistics tools because they can ply volumes that are scales of magnitudes larger than feeble statistical samples.
There’s a wealth of software available for performing statistical analysis; Table 1 shows the most current ones. They differ in the statistical sophistication required from their users, ease of use, and whether they’re primarily stand-alone software packages or programming languages with statistical capabilities.
Because these are stand-alone programming languages, they’re relatively easy to interface with other systems via gauge language mechanisms or by importing and exporting data in various formats.
Scripts in Python and R can subsist embedded directly into larger analytical workflows.
Python and R programs can subsist directly used to build applications that read data from various sources and interact directly with the user for analysis and visualization via the Web.
These are much closer to a programmer’s frame of intelligence than specialized statistical packages are.
With the exception of D3, sum entries in the table provide facilities for carrying out advanced statistics, such as multivariate and time-series analysis, either by themselves or via libraries. Each one, though, has a particular focus that will better suit working on a given target problem. Python’s Pandas package, for instance, has righteous champion for time-series analysis because piece of it was written to cater to such analysis regarding fiscal data.
The most current general-purpose programming language for doing statistics today is Python. It’s always been a favorite for scientific computation, and several excellent Python tools are available for doing even knotty statistical tasks. The fundamental scientific library in Python is NumPy. Its main addition to Python is a homogeneous, multidimensional array that offers a host of methods for manipulating data. It can integrate with C/C++ and Fortran and comes with several functions for performing advanced mathematics and statistics. Internally, it primarily uses its own data structures, implemented in aboriginal code, so that matrix calculations in NumPy are much faster than equivalent calculations in Python. SciPy, which builds on top of NumPy, offers a number of higher-level mathematical and statistical functions. SciPy deals again with NumPy’s arrays; these are fine for doing mathematics but a bit cumbersome for handling heterogeneous data with possibly missing values. Pandas solves that problem by offering a springy data structure that allows easy indexing, slicing, and even merging and joining (similar to joins between SQL tables). One attractive setup involves using iPython, an interactive Python shell with commandline completion, nice history facilities, and many other features that are particularly useful when manipulating data. Matplotlib can then visualize the results.
Figure 1. A program for calculating World evolution Indicators correlations using Python. The program collects the top 30 most measured indicators, calculates the Spearman pairwise correlations, and shows the results graphically.
Now they maintain a problem to solve: Are the indicators independent among themselves, or are some of them related to others?
Because they measure indicators by year and by country, they must more precisely define the problem by de-ciding which parameters to retain as constant. In general, they glean the best statistical results as their samples increase. It makes sense then to rephrase the problem: For the year in which they maintain most measurements, are the most measured indicators independent among themselves, or as some of them related to others? By “most measured indicators,” they add up to those that maintain been measured in more countries. It turns out that they can find the respond to the question in about 50 LOC. pattern 1 contains the full program.
Lines 1–10 are imports of the libraries that we’ll subsist using. Line 11 reads the data. In line 13, they give the number of most measured indicators that they would enjoy to examine. In line 15, they find the zero-based position of the first column with yearly measurements. After that, we’re able in line 17 to find the column with the most measurements (the year 2005). They then remove sum data for which measurements aren’t available. In lines 20–26, they glean the most measured indicators.
The actual statistical calculations start from line 28, where they prepare a table of ones to hold the result of the correlation values between each pair of indicators. In the loop that follows, they pattern each pairwise correlation and store it in the table they prepared. Finally, in lines 41–52, they array the results on screen and rescue them to a PDF file (see pattern 2). They remove supervision to invert the plumb order of the correlation matrix so that the most essential indicator comes on the top of the matrix (lines 41 and 49).
The diagonal has consummate correlation—as it should, because we’re examining the same indicators. In addition to that, they finish survey that there are indicators that correlate with each other—some positively, even strongly so, and some negatively or very negatively.
Figure 2. World evolution Indicators correlations matrix with Python created from the program in pattern 1.
As Python has attracted interest from the research community, several specialized tools maintain emerged. Among them, Scikit-learn builds on NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib and offers a comprehensive machine-learning toolkit. For very mountainous datasets that succeed a hierarchical schema, Python offers PyTables, which are built on top of the HDF5 library. This is a sweltering topic, and DARPA awarded US$3 million in 2013 to Continuum Analytics as piece of the XDATA program to develop further Python data analytics tools. You can await the ecosystem to maintain evolving steadily over the next few years.
R is a language for doing statistics. You can believe of Python bringing statistics to programmers and R bringing statisticians to programming. It’s a language centered on the efficient manipulation of objects representing statistical datasets. These objects are typically vectors, lists, and data frames that limn datasets organized in rows and columns. R has the habitual control flux constructs and even uses ideas from object-oriented programming (although its implementation of protest orientation differs considerably from the concepts they find in more traditional object-oriented languages). R excels in the variety of statistical libraries it offers. It’s unlikely that a statistical test or fashion isn’t already implemented in an R library (whereas in Python, you might find that you maintain to roll out your own implementation). To glean an design of what it looks like, pattern 3 shows the same program as pattern 1 and adopts the same logic, but using R instead of Python. pattern 4 shows the results.
Figure 3. A program similar to that in pattern 1 that calculates World evolution Indicators correlations using R.
The examples they give in this article are typical of the artery different applications can subsist merged to ply mountainous data. Data flows from the source (in some raw format) to a format acceptable to their statistical package. The package must maintain some means of manipulating and querying data so that they can glean the data subsets that they want to examine. These are theme to statistical analysis. The results of the statistical analysis can subsist rendered in textual contour or as a figure. They can effect this process on a local computer or via the Web (in which case data crunching and processing is performed by a server, and parameters, results, and figures fade through a Web browser). This is a powerful concept, because a host of different settings, from an ERP framework to car diagnostic software, can export their data in simple formats enjoy CSV—in fact, they would survey a warning note whenever they encounter a piece of software that doesn’t allow exporting to anything but closed and proprietary data formats.
To dissect your data in any artery you will, you must first maintain access to it. So you should by sum means select technologies that facilitate the exchange of data, either by simple export mechanisms or via suitable calls, for instance through a repose (representational situation transfer) API.
Data is getting bigger sum the time, so you must investigate whether the implement you’re considering will subsist able to ply your data. It’s not necessary for you to subsist able to process sum the data in main memory. For instance, R has the mountainous remembrance library, which lets us ply huge datasets by using shared remembrance and memory-mapped files. Also, fabricate certain that the software package can ply not only mountainous input but besides mountainous data structures: if table sizes are limited to 32-bit integers, for instance, you won’t subsist able to ply tables with 5 million entries.
Figure 4. World evolution Indicators correlations matrix with R.
This article first appeared in IEEE Software magazine. IEEE Software's mission is to build the community of leading and future software practitioners. The magazine delivers reliable, useful, leading-edge software evolution information to maintain engineers and managers abreast of rapid technology change.
Are Republican-led companies less friendly to female employees? A keep at large corporate law firms in the U.S. says yes.
For the study, traffic professors Seth Carnahan (University of Michigan) and Brad Greenwood (Temple University) examined individual political donations from partners at America's 200 largest law firms between 2007-2012, then weighed these against outcomes for female associates at the firm. The goal was to determine how much managers' personal political ideologies correspond to levels of organizational gender parity.
"In general, women are much less likely to subsist promoted, and much more likely to leave their firms," said Carnahan, an coadjutant professor of strategy at Michigan's Ross School of Business. "We found that this gender gap gets smaller when virile bosses are more liberal, but it gets larger when virile bosses are more conservative."
"Researchers maintain long argued that a manager's political ideology, situated on a liberal-conservative continuum and defined as a 'set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can subsist achieved,' can influence organizational outcomes such as investments in corporate gregarious responsibility initiatives, targeting by LGBT activists, and allocation of resources among traffic units," the authors note in their paper. "If these preferences influence managerial decision-making, a manager's political ideology may drive considered choices or unconscious biases that maintain an essential influence" on treatment and promotion of female employees.
As one artery to test this, Carnahan and Greenwood explored merger-and-acquisition deals which U.S. law firms were involved in from 2007 through 2012—a sample that included 5,702 deals involving 16,860 partners and 18,215 associates at US law firms. Even after controlling for things such as an associate's number of years with a firm, their law-school ranking, shared law-school ties between associates and partners, and law-firm location, they found a "negative interaction between donations to Republicans and the selection of female associates" to serve with partners on client teams.
Compared to politically qualify partners, conservative virile partners were 2.7 percent less likely than other partners to choose female associates for their deal teams. bounteous virile partners were 0.8 percent more likely than moderates to choose a female associate for their teams.
The authors besides pinpointed associates at America's top 200 law firms in 2006, and followed them until they received a promotion to ally or exited the company. Women made up about 45 percent of sum associates. With or without controls factored in, Republican leadership in a rehearse region corresponded negatively to female promotion rates in that region and positively with turnover rates.
These conservative law-firm heads "are probably not consciously discriminating against women," Carnahan said in a statement, "but their beliefs could influence their willingness to invest in female subordinates. And this could happen on both sides of the spectrum. You could maintain conservative managers who don't promote women enough and you can maintain bounteous managers who promote women more than they otherwise should."
"It is essential to emphasize that they don't know the perquisite level of diversity for each office, each organization," said Carnahan. "Our results should not subsist interpreted as 'anti-conservative' or 'pro-liberal.'"
In the paper, Carnahan and Greenwood imply that "the most valuable break for future work is to examine whether ideologically driven gender role preferences influence firm performance."
A rapidly growing carcass of research suggests that gender diversity in corporate ranks can subsist a boon for traffic performance. It's not necessarily a matter of women being superior managers, however, or there being some delicate, exemplar gender divide within companies that makes things hasten more smoothly. As Carnahan and Greenwood note, both conservative managers who "under support" female staff and bounteous managers who "over support" ideals of gender equality can subsist linked to less well-performing organizations or traffic units. The bottom line, they say, is that organizations are likely to pay for making hiring decisions based on "ascriptive preferences" rather than talent and skill.
Data and mountainous data analytics are speedily becoming the lifeblood of any successful business. Getting the technology perquisite can subsist challenging, but pile the perquisite team with the perquisite skills to undertake mountainous data initiatives can subsist even harder.
Not surprisingly, that challenge is reflected in the rising claim for mountainous data skills and certifications. According to research by IT research firm Foote Partners, both noncertified advanced data analytics skills and certified mountainous data skills maintain gained value in recent years: with 74 advanced data analytics related skills and certifications rising in dispassionate value by 6 percent in 2015, followed by 116 advanced data analytics related skills and certifications increasing 4.8 percent overall in market value in 2016. Additionally, Foote Partners research found 123 related certified and noncertified mountainous data skills seeing a 0.3 percent gain in value in the first quarter of 2017.
Organizations are on the hunt for data scientists and analysts with expertise in the techniques required to dissect mountainous data. They besides requisite mountainous data systems architects to translate requirements into systems, data engineers to build data pipelines, developers who know their artery around Hadoop clusters and other technologies, and systems administrators and managers to tie everything together.
These skills are in tall claim and are relatively rare. Individuals with the perquisite fuse of experience and skills can claim tall salaries. The perquisite certifications can help.
"Advanced data analytics capabilities are just too faultfinding for staying competitive," David Foote, co-founder, chief analyst and chief research officer of Foote Partners, said in a statement released with the research. "They've expanded in popularity from a few industries to nearly every industry and market. And there is the Internet of Things, the next faultfinding focus for data and analytics services. IDC is predicting a 30 percent CAGR over the next five years, while McKinsey is expecting IoT to maintain a $4 trillion to $11 trillion global economic repercussion by 2025 as businesses keep to IoT technologies to provide more insight."
While the market value of noncertified advanced analytics skills has actually increased faster as a percentage of groundwork salary than the value of certified mountainous data skills, according to Foote Research, Foote believes pay premiums for both noncertified and certified skills will steadily mount over the next 12 to 24 months.
If you're looking for a artery to glean an edge — whether you're job hunting, angling for a promotion or just want tangible, third-party proof of your skills — mountainous data certification is a much option. Certifications measure your lore and skills against industry- and vendor-specific benchmarks to prove to employers that you maintain the perquisite skillset. The number of mountainous data certs is expanding rapidly.
Below is their usher to the most sought after mountainous data certifications to wait on you choose which cert is perquisite for you.
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The Analytics: Optimizing mountainous Data Certificate is an undergraduate-level program intended for business, marketing and operations managers, data analyst and professionals, fiscal industry professionals, and diminutive traffic owners. The program brings together statistics, analysis, and written and oral communications skills. It introduces students to the tools needed to dissect large datasets, covering topics including importing data into an analytics software package, exploratory graphical and data analysis, pile analytics models, finding the best model to explore correlation among variables and more.
Offered in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, India, the Certificate in Engineering Excellence mountainous Data Analytics and Optimization is an intensive 18-week program that consists of 10 courses (lectures and labs) for students of sum aspects of analytics, including working with mountainous data using Hadoop. It focuses on R and Hadoop skills, as well as statistical modeling, data analytics, machine learning, text mining and optimization. Students are evaluated on a real-world capstone project and a series of quizzes.
Price: $1,858 per credit (a minimum of 12 credits, including the four courses, are required to complete the program). In addition, there is an $85 non-refundable application fee for the on-campus program and $150 for the online program. The online program besides includes an additional non-refundable technology fee of $395 per course.
The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) credential is a universal analytics certification that certifies end-to-end understanding of the analytics process, from framing traffic and analytic problems to acquiring data, methodology, model building, deployment and model lifecycle management. It requires completion of the CAP exam and adherence to the CAP Code of Ethics.
A SQL developer who earns the CCA Data Analyst certification demonstrates core analyst skills to load, transform and model Hadoop data to define relationships and extract meaningful results from the raw output. It requires passing the CCA Data Analyst Exam (CCA159), a remote-proctored set of eight to 12 performance-based, hands-on tasks on a CDH 5 cluster. Candidates maintain 120 minutes to implement a technical solution for each task. They must dissect the problem and arrive at an optimal approach in the time allowed.
How to prepare: Cloudera recommends candidates remove the Cloudera Data Analyst Training course, which has the same objectives as the exam.
The CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer credential certifies a professional has proven their core skills to ingest, transform and process data using Apache Spark and core Cloudera enterprise tools. It requires passing the remote-proctored CCA Spark and Hadoop Developer Exam (CCA175), which consists of eight to 12 performance-based, hands-on tasks on a Cloudera Enterprise cluster. Each question requires the candidate to decipher a particular scenario. Some cases may require a implement such as Impala or Hive, others may require coding. Candidates maintain 120 minutes to complete the exam.
The CCP: Data Engineer credential certifies the faculty to effect core competencies required to ingest, transform, store and dissect data in Cloudera's CDH environment. It requires passing the remote-proctored CCP: Data Engineer Exam (DE575), a hands-on, practical exam in which each user is given five to eight customer problems each with a unique, large data set, a CDH cluster and four hours. For each problem, the candidate must implement a technical solution with a tall degree of precision that meets sum the requirements.
How to prepare: Cloudera suggests professionals seeking this certification maintain hands-on experience in the territory and remove the Cloudera Developer Training for Spark and Hadoop course.
The EMCDSA certification demonstrates an individual's faculty to participate and contribute as a data science team member on mountainous data projects. It includes deploying the data analytics lifecycle, reframing a traffic challenge as an analytics challenge, applying analytic techniques and tools to dissect mountainous data and create statistical models, selecting the usurp data visualizations and more.
Designed for data architects, the IBM Certified Data Architect – mountainous Data certification requires passing a test that consists of five sections containing a total of 55 multiple-choice questions. It demonstrates a data architect can work closely with customers and solutions architects to translate customers' traffic requirements into a mountainous data solution.
The IBM Certified Data Engineer – mountainous Data certification is intended for mountainous data engineers, who work directly with data architects and hands-on developers to transmute an architect's mountainous data vision into reality. Data engineers understand how to apply technologies to decipher mountainous data problems and maintain the faculty to build large-scale data processing systems for the enterprise. They develop, maintain, test and evaluate mountainous data solutions within organizations, providing architects with input on needed hardware and software. This certification requires passing a test that consists of five sections containing a total of 53 multiple-choice questions.
Designed for software engineers, statisticians, predictive modelers, market researchers, analytics professionals, and data miners, the Mining Massive Data Sets Graduate Certificate requires four courses and demonstrates mastery of efficient, powerful techniques and algorithms for extracting information from large datasets enjoy the Web, gregarious network graphs and large document repositories. The certificate usually takes one to two years to complete.
How to prepare: A Bachelor's degree with an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better is required. Applicants should maintain lore of basic computer science principles and skills, at a level adequate to write a reasonably non-trivial computer program.
How to prepare: There are no prerequisites, but MongoDB suggests candidates complete an in-person training or one of its online courses (M102: MongoDB for DBAs; M202: MongoDB Advanced Deployment Operations). MongoDB besides provides the MongoDB Certification Exam Study Guide, available to those who maintain registered for a certification exam.
The MongoDB Certified Developer Associate credential is intended for software engineers who want to demonstrate a solid understanding of the fundamentals of designing and pile applications using MongoDB. It requires a 90 minute, multiple choice exam.
How to prepare: There are no prerequisites, but MongoDB suggests candidates complete an in-person training or one of its online courses (M101J: MongoDB for Java Developers; M101JS: MongoDB for Node.js Developers; M101N: MongoDB for .NET Developers; M101P: MongoDB for Developers). MongoDB besides provides the MongoDB Certification Exam Study Guide, available to those who maintain registered for a certification exam.
The SAS Certified mountainous Data Professional certification program is for individuals seeking to build on their basic programming lore by learning how to assemble and dissect mountainous data in SAS. The program focuses on SAS programming skills; accessing, transforming and manipulating data; improving data trait for reporting and analytics; fundamentals of statistics and analytics; working with Hadoop, Hive, Pig and SAS; and exploring and visualizing data. The program includes two certification exams, both of which the participants must pass. | 2019-04-26T08:00:38Z | http://morganstudioonline.com/brain-dumps.php?pdf=M2090-733 |
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Cynthia Cox shared the following encouraging word at The Covenant Center recently. Be encouraged and inspired as you move forward in this new season.
It came even to pass as the trumpeters and the singers were as one. To make one sound to be heard and be praising and thanking the Lord; when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and instruments and music, praising the Lord. Praise the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. And then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord, so that the priest could not stand, by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. Allow the glory to fill the house today. Release the sound. Release the sounds that are due to His name. Release His praise. Release His worship.
For I would say unto you my little ones, look not to the left - nor to the right for I am the Lord your God. I am the great I Am. I am the true and the living God, and it doesn't matter what goes on in this world, I am God and I change not. But look unto Me, for I am the Author and Finisher of your faith. I change not and surely whatever I have promised you I will bring it forth, for I am not a God that will lie. But know that this day give the praise and the glory that is due to Me, for I am still God of this earth, and I am still doing great and mighty things in the earth.
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For many Christians it is a challenge to decide whether they are suppose to wait on God or step out. Many are also discouraged because their personal prophetic word has not come to pass yet and they are unsure if they are: 1) suppose to do something to make it come to pass, 2) whether God will do everything Himself or 3) they have to co-labor together with Him. There even seems to be scriptures which emphasize two different aspects of responding to the Lord's word, one thinking and one doing.
In Philippians 4:8 we are instructed to:"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." And in James 1:22 we are exhorted:"But prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves."
The word dwell in Philippians 4:8 means to reckon, count, compute or calculate. In other words, we should calculate with our mind so that it counts according to these things: true, lovely, good repute, excellence, and worthy of praise."
When we practice"hesed" (covenant compassionate acts) God asks us to count and see if we are following through with action on these acts, not just thinking about them. So it seems we are not just suppose to dwell or think on these things, but put them into practice.
James speaks of the same concept of being doers of the word and not just hearers. Delusion in James is not doing what we already know to do. The Bible is about obedience and applying what we've learned, not just gathering more information. Sometimes I think we criticize others because they are applying the principles of the Bible and yet we accuse them of trying to perform God's word to get approval and love by striving. In reality, they may just be obeying God's word and doing what they know or sense to do from understanding and following scripture.
It is good to check to see why we do what we do, and figure out why we are motivated to do certain things. However, after we understand our motives, receive healing and sincerely want to please Him, then walking out covenant compassionate acts of love would certainly follow the biblical directives. I believe this is a time if we do not hear clearly what to do from God, we need to continue doing what we already know to do by applying the principles of His word. In response to loving others compassionately He will continue to give, direct and communicate because of His covenant love for us.
Recently I came across a Martial Arts competition broadcast. My thoughts quickly returned to college when I took a beginning Judo class and later tried Taekwondo, which by the way was really fun, but also revealed my less than stellar abilities. I hadn't watched this sport for many years, but I was drawn into the strength, ability and agility of each participant as they tried to out maneuver each other; grunting, panting, twisting and heaving toward the victorious moment when their opponent would give up, slap the mat and yell Matte,' meaning peace or I give up.
As the young man beat the mat, I immediately envisioned the times I have wrestled or fought with God unwisely thinking I could win, believing I knew what was best for my life. There were moments of crying out, whining, pouting, anger, deferring, ignoring, or simply resisting as I determined to make my own way and forge my own path. Of course, I was no match for God's desires as I opposed Him and struggled at my own expense. Years earlier I had given my life to Him, but it was actually conditional surrender. I chose to serve Him when I liked the assignment, but I would become passive and distant if it did not seem to benefit me. It only took one good wilderness to awaken me to His power and the revelation that He was actually in control and my insufficient attempts at life were simply an illusion of my own inability to succeed without Him. As I gave my heart to Him I asked to know and understand His ways, but my surrender to His training was purely subject to my approval.
Many people still have points of enmity or frustration with God. They may be angry, feeling He did not meet their needs or fulfill His promises as they imagined. And unfortunately in this fallen world, bad things do happen to very precious people and the end result can lead one to feel betrayed or rejected by God. If we are not vigilant we can give way to the lies of darkness believing God is not with us nor does He care. Each person is faced with the choice to either turn their back to Him or surrender as He begins the divine work of covenant exchange. Understanding His process of changing us into more of His image often erases fear as we begin to intimately cooperate with Him and allow the deep work of change within. God's covenant exchange is a divine work of Holy Spirit, as He takes all that we are in exchange for all that He is. God patiently removes all the worldly thoughts, belief structures and actions in our life and He then pours more of Himself into us. He is actually changing our character and nature to become more like Him. Even in our maturity, there are still moments in our relationship where we must choose to bow low, slap the mat and say, "Peace, I give," surrendering to His desires above our own. Trust is built over time not always understanding His reasons, but we learn to serve without disputing or resisting, knowing He love us, is faithful and has our best interest in His heart. God always has a much bigger plan than what we are able to "see" or comprehend.
As you mature you will begin to trust Him more. He shows you that your circumstances or conditions do not determine His love for you, and even in the midst of tragedy or loss, He is with you. Every challenge that confronts you gives Him a chance to reveal more of Himself and His name. He is Understanding and Knowledge. He is Majestic and Glorious. He is Revelation, Comfort and Wonder. He is the King of Glory, the Spirit of Truth and the Prince of Peace; Wonderful Counselor, Creator, Salvation, Health, Safety and Increase. He is Salvation and the God of the spotted and speckled and so much more. He educates you regarding His kingdom and teaches you to co-labor with Him. Through dreams and visions He comes to you and instructs you in the way you should walk. We learn His ways are not our ways and in our weakness we experience His sovereignty and strength. He gives understanding that we are not called to a life of idleness, but are asked to actively serve at His direction and requests, willfully surrendering to His work and desires.
God has a way of wrestling us down on the mat, pinning us in situations, until we finally give up. Sometimes He leads by gentle means and sometimes He must deal with His children by firmer or more forceful means. Arthur Burt once wrote in his book "Surrender, Your Key to Spiritual Success" the following: "God endeavors to bring us to the point of surrender. We have been subject to heavenly raids: God has been dropping bombs on the fortifications of the empire of our flesh life. Blockbusters with unerring precision have devastated our communication lines, and many of us have been made aware that we are in a preparatory 'softening up' process."
Each day we awaken to new mercies and possibilities; new opportunities to yield to His agenda. He comes and offers all that He is - the fullness of God - to all who surrender to Him. We are then provoked to respond to His eternal question: How much of you will you surrender to Me? Maybe you feel pressure, resistance, fear, disappointment, irritation, anger, frustration or pain? Is life less than what you hoped for? Is it possible you may be resisting the very One who has a better way to do life? Is it possible He may want to speak to you and share what He holds in your future? Would you consider the possibility He may be persuading you to "slap the mat?" Our cry will no longer ring of our own ideas, plans, pain, wounds or personal desires; but we will choose to kneel, yielded to God in peaceful acceptance of HIs will and way, releasing from our heart and soul to Him the words Jesus spoke in the Garden: "Not my will but Yours be done"(Matt. 26:39).
"Thank you Father for Your mercy and grace. Help me to trust and surrender to You and Your desire for my life. Please help me to understand Your ways as I learn to acknowledge and receive Your love, knowing You deeply care and have a plan for me. Thank You for patiently working in my life, helping me to release my worldly nature and character to receive more of You."
Christmas is always a special time for many to celebrate, trim the tree, hang the lights and enjoy festivities and gift giving. Joy and hope seem to permeate the atmosphere as we look toward a new year brimming with endless possibilities. For others, it is a challenge to wade through what seems to be a path of never ending celebrations, watching joyful people who appear to have it all; while inside you wrestle with pain, loss and sometimes despair. Unfulfilled expectations can make Christmas intolerable. Whatever your experience, this Christmas can be your best ever by not merely focusing on the festivities, personal loss or regret, but turning your eyes upon Jesus; for He is the true gift of this season.
Believers often describe Jesus as Lord, Savior or use other names describing His character as Truth, Hope, Redeemer and Light, Friend and Shepherd. Over the centuries almost everyone has heard the supernatural story of His birth as well as His crucifixion and resurrection, but what makes Jesus so special and separates Him from other deities. What makes Him such a great gift?
For one thing Jesus, is the only one who is able to forgive mankind of their sin. Whatever you have said or done, no matter how shameful, Jesus has the divine power to cleanse you and forgive you where sin no longer dictates your life. He gives you a clean slate to begin again.
Secondly, after you invite Him to be your Savior and Lord, He is the only one who can renew and transform you into the new person He wants you to be. His supernatural work accomplished through Holy Spirit, will penetrate deep within your heart, mind and soul, causing you to begin to think more clearly and make wiser decisions and choices. He will patiently help you to renew your mind, change your thoughts and ways of thinking, transforming you into a new being. You have the potential to become all that He desires for you to be.
These two qualities certainly make Jesus the greatest man that ever lived, but there is even more to celebrate. He is the only one who provides the pathway for you to live with Him eternally in paradise (Luke 23:43). By simply asking Him into your heart, into your life and getting to know Him, He has promised you will live eternally with Him. I sometimes ponder this point which is too spectacular to actually comprehend with our natural mind. Life everlasting, with Jesus in heaven, living in paradise eternally. He is the only one who can grant this future to you. He is not only the greatest gift but the greatest gift giver.
So as you approach this season, whether you have met Him or not, I submit to you these points in hope you will take a moment to savor and give thanks to the greatest gift God has ever given to you and to mankind - His only Son. If you have never met Him or desired to trust Him, it is never to late to become acquainted with this loving Son of God who became man for you. Whatever your holiday affords you, Jesus is there beside you. He desires to walk with you through your life journey and through His covenant of peace bring you peace, safety, security, prosperity, health, and increase. Yes, it really is possible for you to have new life, filled with hope and renewed vision. As you meet with family and friends this holiday, preparing to ring in the New Year, please consider opening your arms to receive the most expensive and extraordinary gift of love and life from God your Father to you. His name is Jesus and He gave His life for you.
This Christmas season gives you a tremendous opportunity to operate in two aspects of covenant: Giving and Exchanging. Galatians 1:4 states: He gave his life for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age..." He even now gives Himself for us in intercessory prayer because He loves us.
You have a wonderful opportunity this Christmas season to release the love of God within you to others. Of course, this will look different to each of you as you are presented with various occasions. It could be through your financial giving, providing food, clothing, visits to those who are lonely, prayer, writing a note, books, cards of encouragement and more.
Covenant is briefly defined as an ongoing process of intimate exchange of all that I am for all that He is. During covenant making, the stronger party exchanges what it has with the weaker party, who does not have as much to give, gladly and thankfully embracing the receiving part of covenant.
In the new covenant, rather than needing to perform and strive to get God's love and approval, we can exchange our weaknesses, sin and unrighteousness for His strength, love and righteousness. In fact there are five aspects that can be exchanged in this covenant exchange process in which we are able to receive His names, character, nature, position and responsibility. We can also exchange our sickness for His health, our anxiety for His peace and our depression or disappointment for His hope.
So during this Christmas season let's consider the joy of giving to others as we exchange our shortcomings to receive more of His nature and character in this magnificent covenant exchange.
Don't Give Up! Breakthrough Is On The Way!
Who is in need of breakthrough? Are you in a season where you just feel like you are pushing and pushing and nothing is happening? Are you ready to give up? Or maybe you are wondering if you have done something that disqualifies you from getting your breakthrough? Have you lost that place of faith and you feel like you just cannot muster up one more ounce of belief? Well, hold on and keep pressing in to God, because He is up to something BIG!
Our family recently experienced a huge breakthrough. But prior to it happening I was in inner turmoil and really wanted to give up. Even though I could see our victory on the horizon I was afraid and my faith was failing. Then in the early hours of the morning of June 24, 2017, I was awakened with a troubled heart and went to prayer. During this time I saw a mental picture and received encouragement from God that I believe He wants to released over His body. He wants to encourage believers who are struggling to find faith. He wants to encourage you to continue in your hope. To continue to believe for what He has promised you. To continue to pray!
On that early morning as I waited before God, I saw a mental image of huge heavy doors, like the gates of a medieval castle. The timbers that were used to construct the doors were massive - like whole trees for each piece of wood! Each plank could easily have been a square yard. These doors were so massive that they were humanly impossible to open!
As I pondered this picture I saw a squad of angels come to push against the doors and they started ever so slowly to budge them open. And then more angels came to push. And as they pushed and the doors began to open, golden-yellow coins started to flow from behind the doors. They weren't coins of currency, but they were "The Blessings of the Saints" that were stored up in heaven. And I heard the sound of them starting to trickle out, coin hitting coin, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, and then all rushing out with a mighty, sweeping force! And endless stream of blessing was starting to flow! I could sense the vibrations going on in the heavens as this picture played out. I summed up the feeling with a personal Facebook post for that day saying: "Did you feel that shaking? Did you hear that rumbling? The heavy doors of heaven are being opened and breakthrough is on the way!" The sense of heavenly vibration was so strong!
Then this was the encouragement I sensed the Lord speaking to me that followed: "Let's pick up where we left off (meaning the place where there use to be faith). Let's go! I am about to open doors for you. I am opening them NOW. Big, heavy doors. They are opening. It is taking an army squad to open the doors because they are so heavy. At least five angelic men-big, strong, men, on each side of these huge, heavy doors. Maybe seven or eight as help comes and more warrior men are opening these doors.
You saw this hindrance in your life from your own understanding. You thought it was just a thin narrow door - like a bedroom door - and you were trying to open it and walk through. But no! These hindrances - these blocks in your life were not those kind of doors. These doors are like the gates of a castle. They are not the kind of doors you just walk through nor are they the kind of doors that I lead you to; but these are doors that are opening to release to you from the storehouses of heaven, blessing and outpouring that has been stored up for you from years and years of prayer. These doors are so heavy that battle ramparts could not break them down. They are massive like city gates, and floodgates at the same time. And they are being pushed open for you. They are swinging open for you.
For My faithful ones who have stored up prayer upon prayer, petition upon petition, the answers, My release, My breakthrough is getting ready to pour out. As those doors swing wider and wider, breakthrough is gaining momentum and pushing its way out to you. The sheer force of momentum is so powerful that you have to jump out of the way so that it does not over take you! But reach out. Grab hold! Because I am pouring out! Reach out with your faith. Reach out with your words. Reach out with your belief. Reach out with your obedience to the actions I impress upon you to take. Reach out and take hold! Breakthrough is pushing through!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and be encouraged and strengthened by His love and grace. May this holiday season be filled with His presence and a fresh breath from heaven bringing refreshing, joy and peace to you and your loved ones.
God sent His good news because of His faithfulness toward mankind. He sent Jesus as our covenant representative to become our sin and our blood sacrifice so we are now acceptable to Him. That was His love and faithfulness in action. He opened the door to intimacy and fellowship with the Father through the Holy Spirit. Understanding what God did for humanity also builds trust.
Now instead of working and striving to become like Him, He imparts Himself and His character into us, as we allow Him access to our lives. We now respond in love to His Word as He gives us grace to walk in His ways. He reshapes what matters to us by altering the intentions and motivations of our heart so they reflect Him.
The good news of the gospel is His invitation for us to enter into covenant with Him. We accept this covenant relationship knowing He is faithful. "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself " (2 Timothy 2:13). As we understand His covenant commitment to His Word, then we begin to walk in faith rather than anxiety, knowing He will fulfill His promises or blessings.
What a covenant! We enter in by faith, knowing we cannot do anything to make us righteous except to accept the fact that Jesus' death, burial and resurrection made us justified. Now, because of His love toward us and our love and thanksgiving to Him, we offer ourselves by devoting our life and love to pleasing Him. He then writes His word on our hearts, which begins to transform our thinking, emotions, character and behavior. That is His good news for us. We do not have to do everything. All we have to do is enter in and surrender to HIs love!
His covenant is incredibly good news!
The following word was recently released at The Covenant Center. I hope it will encourage you to keep your eyes on Him and remember His love and faithfulness.
I hear the voices of My people crying out: "Oh God! What are You doing? Oh God, what is happening? Oh my God, where are You? Oh God, I don't understand?"
What are you looking at My children? What are you looking at and where are your eyes focusing? Are you focusing on the injustice? Are you focusing on the terror? Are you focusing on the devastation? The earth is shaking! The earth is shaking! It is shaking for the sons of God to arise. I am calling My sons and daughters forth. What have you studied for? What have you trained for? What have you planned for? What have you prayed for? What have you seen in your mind's eye? I am calling you forth. Do you not see it? Do you no sense it? Do you not understand it? For the earth is shaking for My glory to be released into this place that I have created, and I desire you to align with My plans and My purposes.
So, where is your hope? Where is your focus? For is it not written that I am the God of Hope? Am I not the God of Hope that loves His children and desires to give good gifts to them? Even in the chaos, even in the shaking, even in the alignments and realignments, know that I am there. Know that I feel your pain and know that I feel your suffering. But understand, is it not written that there is a greater purpose for what is coming - for what is taking place? And will I not pull you into My breast and comfort you and keep you and bring revelation to you? For I love you! I love you! I love you!
So as the earth shakes, I ask you one thing - keep your eyes on Me. When your spirit becomes troubled, when you become discouraged or dismayed, keep your eyes on Me. Keep your eyes on Me. Remember to always keep your eyes on Me.
Now that we have passed through an intense time of introspection and repentance with the Lord during Rosh Hashanah and the Days of Awe, we move toward a time of celebration during the Feast of Tabernacles. We are thankful for all that God has done for us this past year and for His provision, grace, mercy, and revelation for the New Year!
I believe we have an opportunity to continue to increase our intimate relationship with the Lord and become more conscious of His heart and mind. As our awareness of His ways increase, it will change our perceptions of what He wants us to do by following Him.
There are so many distractions that occur in our lives, on the Internet, television, and the news that affect us emotionally and even spiritually. I believe the same tactic of the enemy is similar today as it was in the Garden. Use any technique possible to discredit God so we won't believe His love and not follow Him.
Since there is a relationship bond in the Semitic lands when one eats together, the enemy will always get us to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because it eventually brings death. The opposite is to eat (an intimate relationship of love and obedience) from the Tree of Life (Jesus) that will bring truth and life.
The distractions in the world are incredible. The enemy wants us to determine what is good for us and what is evil. Therefore, we look at our desires as being equal to God's. The subtlety of believing our thoughts and desires are the same as His needs to be examined. It is a big decision, because it goes back to: "Do I follow my will and my desire, versus His will and desire for me?"
Decisions will be made this year. Hopefully, His written logos Word and His rhema words we receive in prayer will take priority, rather than the distractions that tempt us to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Let's celebrate as we enter this Hebraic New Year with joy and thanksgiving, that the Lord has given us the choice to live and love abundantly and intimately with Him!
Recently after the destructive path of Hurricane Irma came through Florida and took out our power, exhausted from the stress of the storm and sticky humidity, oddly I found myself humming an upbeat show tune from the 70's entitled: "It's Not Where You Start It's Where You Finish." It must have been an angel whispering in my ear, because I've not thought of this song in years and our circumstances were less than ideal. Humming merrily I stopped and reflected for a moment on what I was actually singing. This was a song about perseverance and not giving up. God was speaking to me.
How often are we bombarded with events in various seasons of life that come in waves where all you can do is hold on and try to keep your head above water. You overcome one obstacle only to be hit with another one. Exhaustion and discouragement begin to set in. Here in Florida hurricane season is sometimes like that. One storm passes and another one forms. If you are breathing, you have probably also experienced seemingly out of control seasons. Our forefathers all walked through challenging times too. I can not think of one person in the Bible who didn't at some moment experience pain, suffering or loss. Even Jesus experienced moments of humiliation, extreme pain and rejection. It's just a fact of life that problems will surface living in this fallen world. And even though we all like to feel secure and in control of our future we only truly know today. Even our multitudinous questions regarding human suffering and evil are still debated and basically go unanswered. Where is God when I hurt? How could God make such an evil world? Why should I believe or follow God? Why do good people sometimes suffer while sin seems to go unpunished? Does God really watch over and protect His children?
I've pondered these questions since my head on car wreck by a drunken driver in 1975. It was on that rainy evening awakening in the hospital that I realized I was not immortal. I always come back to the same conclusion as Job. In my youth I looked at him as a very sad character. I hoped I would never experience any suffering. I mean really - it was only what Job experienced back in his day, right? It didn't have anything to do with me? God just allowed Job's testing to teach him some things. It just didn't seem relevant. Fast-forward now sixty years later and I now know that everything in scripture is relevant for today. It brings truth and revelation as well as comfort for the seasons you will eventually experience.
In my youth I had difficulty with Biblical stories, but through my journey I can look back and see my life has paralleled theirs. I've personally walked through times of questioning God and ignoring His mandates while murmuring and complaining just like the Israelites. I've experienced the pain and loneliness of waiting for His promises like Sarah. I've doubted like Thomas, and I've become undone in my sin, self righteousness and criticalness of others like Paul. But I've also looked into His face and sensed the depth of His unconditional love, and wept and repented as I poured myself out at His feet like Mary Magdalene. At times I've danced wildly and joyfully before Him filled with overwhelming joy and thanksgiving in His salvation, mercy, faithfulness, loving kindness, goodness and forgiveness like David. And like Job, I've experienced pain and loss that left me with more questions than answers.
I am now beginning to see more beauty in God visiting Job rather than what once seemed to be harsh punishment. Psalm 11:5 speaks of God testing the righteous, and if you are devoted to Him you will be tested. As a child I never wanted to believe that He tested His children. It was scary to me and seemed unloving and cruel. But I have come to understand that God's testing is not for Him, but for us. He already knows what is in our hearts. Just like in school the results of our tests reveal what we have learned. Tests are kind of like the dashboard of our car that lets us know what is under the hood. Through our testing and hardships, we find out how much we have grown in knowing Him and matured in Him. Over the years I have more insight with the wonderings of Job, and can now more clearly identify with his own questioning and final conclusions. Job eloquently shares with us his revelations from his own sufferings in his confession found in chapter 42. "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore, I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and do what You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You. Therefore I retract and repent in dust and ashes."
God, through His stunning and sometimes painful work of transformation and sanctification, sometimes allows circumstances much like Job, to change us into more of His likeness and image. It is a work we cannot do ourselves. We may surrender to it, but it is a divine work by His hand through Holy Spirit. It is the narrow path, sprinkled with unknown situations that you may choose not to walk. And yet it is the road that will take you to a more intimate relationship and deeper understanding of Him and His ways.
Everyone comes to God as a child. Everyone is to be trained and taught to grow into maturity. Surrendering to Him and His plan for you is a great key to finishing well in life. The dark places of failure are where we exponentially grow and mature. As you run the race with God, remember that in Him it will end well. Like Job, it truly doesn't matter where you start, but it's where you finish that brings wisdom, understanding and maturity. Whatever you experience in His plan, He will redeem it. Whatever task He assigns, He will help you prosper and complete it. Whatever pain or loss you walk through, He will bring healing, wisdom and truth. He will teach you to trust Him. Through out your life He will walk with you. He will help guide and direct you, so you by His great grace and excellence will finish well. | 2019-04-25T13:27:14Z | http://www.thecovenantcenter.com/blog/?offset=1520383653898 |
In early 1992, passengers boarding BWIA planes across the Caribbean, South and North America, and Europe found something new in their seat-pockets: a magazine by the name of Caribbean Beat, with the watchful face of a Martiniquan filmmaker on the cover.
As those early readers turned the magazine’s pages, they discovered a profile of director Euzhan Palcy, a memoir by Trinidad-born broadcaster Trevor McDonald, and previews of the Caribbean’s yearlong Carnival calendar and the upcoming Carifesta arts festival. They found articles on Tobago Sailing Week and a fashion portfolio by some leading Caribbean designers, alongside a thoughtful essay on the state of West Indies cricket and a business report on trade liberalisation across the region. So the key ingredients were all there at the very beginning: Caribbean arts and culture, travel and current affairs, explored from a Caribbean perspective, with a Caribbean audience in mind.
Twenty-five years later, so many things have changed. Caribbean Beat’s airline partner, for example: we’re now the official inflight magazine of Caribbean Airlines, celebrating its own tenth anniversary in 2017. The masthead design is different. Originally published quarterly, the magazine has appeared bimonthly since late 1995. Nowadays, our editorial and production process is completely digital: it’s been many years since a writer filed copy via fax, or a photographer turned up with a case of film slides. And the Caribbean region has changed too, in countless ways — social, cultural, political.
But some things haven’t changed much at all. Caribbean Beat is still published from the same small office space in Port of Spain — we prefer to think of it as cosy, rather than cramped — and by a tiny editorial team. (Most of the current editorial staff were schoolchildren back in 1992.) Some of the writers, photographers, and illustrators whose work appeared in our first issues a quarter-century ago are still regular contributors, alongside dozens of others in the bank of talent we’ve built up over the years.
And the contents of the magazine, the words and images that fill our pages, still hold to Caribbean’s Beat’s original brief: to explore and portray the Caribbean as it really is, rich in complexities and contradictions, and to celebrate the best and most brilliant of our people and our culture.
Caribbean Beat has never been a typical inflight magazine — and that’s to the credit of Caribbean Airlines (and BWIA before them). Of course, we’ve covered Caribbean travel from the very beginning, including the beaches, resorts, and festivals that the region is best known for. But we know the Caribbean is much more than that: it’s our writers and artists, our scientists and inventors, our sportsmen and -women, philanthropists and thinkers.
The Caribbean is coconut trees and deckchairs, of course, but it’s also skyscrapers and high-tech concert halls, universities and cricket grounds. It’s Jamaica’s lushly forested Cockpit Country and the “blue holes” of Andros in the Bahamas, the stark desertscape of the arid ABC islands and the vast savannahs of Guyana. It’s ruined Mayan pyramids in the jungle of Belize and the Hindu Temple in the Sea in Trinidad.
Like the airline that connects the far-flung peoples of the Caribbean region, with our many languages and ethnicities, Caribbean Beat brings together in its pages the diversity of elements that makes our part of the world so fascinating and bewildering. The energy, creativity, and diversity of the Caribbean, formed in the crucible of our history, make us unique.
Looking back over the past twenty-five years, we realise how aptly those qualities are represented in the 144 covers we’ve published — as you can see for yourself in the following pages. Here are landscapes familiar and unexpected, the colour and spectacle of festivals, flora, and fauna, the work of artists, the gestures of performance, and above all the faces of Caribbean people, famous or not, reflecting our sheer variousness. So we’ve taken the opportunity of this milestone to revisit the stories behind some of those cover images. Why did we choose those images back then, and what’s happened to their subjects in the intervening years?
For this telling panorama, and for Caribbean Beat’s huge (and we think valuable) archive of stories and images, we thank the hundreds of writers, photographers, and artists we’ve worked with over the years. The life of a magazine, behind the scenes, is replete with small thrills, the occasional crisis, and an unending series of deadlines. Generations of editorial, sales, and production staff have known that the magazine is only as good as its next issue — and have worked with dedication and imagination to earn Caribbean Beat its reputation as one of the region’s best-informed, best-written, and best-looking magazines. (For the latter, we owe special thanks to Russell Halfhide, Beat’s designer from 1992 to 2007, who gave the magazine its elegant, approachable style at the very beginning.) We’re grateful for Caribbean Airlines’ consistent support, and their belief in the value of a magazine that looks beyond the stereotypes to the real heart of our people and culture. And, of course, we also owe thanks to you, our readers — for your encouragement, suggestions, and even your criticism, which have helped shape our sense of the magazine’s mission.
We hope you share our pride in reaching this anniversary — which we commemorate, above all, by simply doing the thing we’ve done for the past quarter-century: imagining what’s possible for the next issue, and the ones after that, and then racing after the deadlines.
I still have a soft spot for the very first cover we published, back in January 1992.
Looking back at it now, it’s hard to see why. The tones are grey, the subject is stiff and formal, and there’s a dated feel to the image. The photo is not even by a Caribbean photographer (in 1992 we could not afford to commission a cover image, and had to make do with a studio PR photo).
Since 1992, many of our covers have been more colourful, more appealing, more popular. There have been beaches and boats, beautiful people, landscapes and seascapes, sports heroes, singers, musicians, Carnival people, striking graphics and paintings. I like them all, and feel proud of many of them. Yet that very first cover somehow managed to announce what Caribbean Beat was going to be all about.
Why (that cover asked) is Caribbean filmmaking not taken seriously? Why do we think of the Caribbean as a romantic backdrop for other people’s movies, not for making our own?
We saw Euzhan Palcy as a formidable Caribbean woman who had broken through ethnic and gender stereotypes into a notoriously difficult industry and had produced some powerful work. She was interested in making Caribbean films, not perpetuating Caribbean stereotypes. It was exactly the sort of achievement that Caribbean Beat wanted to discover and celebrate.
So that very first Caribbean Beat cover did not depict a wonderful golden beach, or a sunset, or a luxurious villa. It made the statement that the Caribbean is more than its beaches, more than rum punch and partying, wonderful and liberating though those pleasures are. The Caribbean is not just a romantic backdrop: it has successes and achievements of its own, world-class people in sport and science, music and business, writing and the visual arts. And we wanted our readers to know about them too.
Since then . . .
When Euzhan Palcy appeared on the cover of our Spring 1992 issue, she was already, at the age of thirty-four, recognised as an icon of Caribbean filmmaking. Her 1983 debut, Rue Cases Nègres (adapted from Alfred Zobel’s novel), had earned her a César Award — the French equivalent of an Oscar — and a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, plus a dozen other international awards. The screenplay — which she started while still a film student in Paris — had won the admiration of famed French director François Truffaut, and Aimé Césaire, the celebrated Martiniquan poet and mayor of Fort-de-France, had helped secure the production budget. Rue Cases Nègres was a rare example of a film almost immediately recognised as a classic.
Despite this early success, Palcy’s second project was six years in the making. The subject she’d set her heart on — an adaptation of South African writer André Brink’s anti-apartheid novel A Dry White Season — proved difficult to raise financial support for. Still, Palcy was determined to make a politically hard-hitting film. She even travelled to South Africa, pretending to be a musician, to research conditions in Soweto. It took some hard lobbying and an unshakeable faith in her creative vision, but she succeeded, securing the juggernaut MGM as producer. A Dry White Season made Palcy the first black woman filmmaker to be produced by a major Hollywood studio, and won another slew of awards, including an Oscar nomination for star Marlon Brando.
The film’s success inevitably brought offers, from Hollywood and elsewhere, to work on more “commercial” projects. But Palcy’s sense of political commitment and her resolution to follow her own creative instincts led her, over the years, to turn down many such “opportunities.” “People think, Oh where is she?” Palcy said in a 2015 interview. “She did those movies and she disappeared.” In fact, she’s created a solid body of work that speaks to the range of her concerns, from the culture of her native Martinique to questions of social justice around the world.
The lighthearted Simeon (1992), set in Martinique and France, tells the tale of zouk music and its impact on the world. Palcy has also made a documentary about Césaire — hero of the Négritude movement, and her own mentor — and another about the young men and women of Martinique who fled the island to join the Free French army during the Second World War. The biographical Ruby Bridges (1998), produced by Disney, is a profile in courage from the US Civil Rights Movement: the story of a six-year-old girl who was the first African-American child to desegregate an all-white school in New Orleans. It was followed by The Killing Yard (2001), about the infamous 1971 Attica prison riot and its effect on the struggle for prison rights in the United States.
And Palcy’s magnum opus may be yet to come. For over twenty years, she’s been working on a feature film about Haitian revolutionary hero Toussaint L’Ouverture. More than two centuries after the Haitian revolution, Toussaint remains a figure both inspiring and deeply controversial, and Palcy is determined to tell his story her way. No surprise, then, that there’ve been setbacks and numerous delays. “I will never compromise in a way that distorts history or hurts my project,” she says. It’s an ethos her successors in the Caribbean film industry can learn from — as much as from her indelible films.
A Caribbean rocket launch? Yes: since 1971 the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana, has been the major launching site for the European space agency, thanks to its location near the equator — where the earth’s spin gives an extra nudge to departing rockets, allowing them to carry a heavier payload.
When David Rudder graced the cover of Caribbean Beat in 1994, he’d already been a defining voice of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival for eight years. At that pivotal point of his musical career, calypso fans could look back on the bluesy, soulful soca singer from Charlie’s Roots who in 1986 became the first lead singer from a brass band to capture the national calypso monarch title with “The Hammer”, a tribute to the late, great pan arranger Rudolph Charles, and the “Bahia Girl” with her bouncy Baptist beat. In that moment, he had redefined the calypso stage in much the way the Mighty Sparrow did in the 1950s, making it a daring display of rich, lyrical social commentary with an upbeat, jazzed-up, soca beat.
By 1994, Rudder had penned “Rally ’Round the West Indies”, which would become the theme song of the West Indies cricket team. He had songs featured in the Hollywood movie Wild Orchid. And the hits kept coming: “Haiti”, a lyrical lament for the Caribbean nation; “The Engine Room”, a tribute to the percussion side of a steelband; and “Calypso Music”, a joyful history of the art form. By 1995, he had become bolder and more political by offering the album The Lyrics Man, with his distinct brand of calypso rap, including stinging political irony in “Another Day in Paradise”.
By 1998, Rudder had climbed to the pinnacle of success with the album Beloved. Projecting a strong sense of history, Rudder crossed musical boundaries and injected a sense of spirituality into Carnival with “High Mas”, a collision of puns that stretched from the Roman Catholic church’s sacred liturgies to the profane street theatre of Carnival. The celebratory experience of Trinidad culture culminated in the title song “Beloved”, a nostalgic look at the island’s soul-filled sense of community. The following year, he addressed the growing ethnic rift perceived by many people in politics and society with a calypso reminding Carnival revellers of their ethnic roots, represented by the rivers that define their history: “The Ganges and the Nile”.
Rudder’s career took a new direction when he married and moved to Canada in 2002. That experience would manifest itself the following year in “Trini to the Bone”, a celebration of those roots that ensure Rudder’s connection to Carnival and elevate him to the role of calypso ambassador. Distance has not eroded the legacy of his lasting voice: he’s destined to be remembered as a performer who carved an original place in calypso history.
To be the holder of multiple world records — highest individual score in a Test (twice: 375 and 400), in first-class (501), runs in one Test over (28), and the only batsman in first class games to have scored one, two, three, four, and five centuries — is rightfully to be acknowledged as one of the greatest batsmen in cricket history.
The impact of Brian Charles Lara’s personal achievements was amplified by the circumstances under which he accumulated them. From 1993, when he scored 277 and captured international attention, to his last West Indian appearance in 2007, he was part of a team on an unhappy trajectory towards cricket ignominy. West Indies supporters were regularly crushed by the unrelenting losses, but Lara gave them — gave the world — something that sparkled beyond the gloom. On the field, he embodied greatness, and for West Indian societies, struggling with rampant mediocrity in leadership and politics that was manifest in weak economies, growing crime, and brazen corruption, he was a reminder of the magnificence that has periodically erupted in our history.
Lara’s feats were celebrated worldwide, and West Indians were able to bask in that reflected glory. Bestowed with high honours — the Trinity Cross (as it was then known in Trinidad and Tobago), the Order of the Caribbean Community, the Order of Australia — he had a remarkable career that was dogged by difficulty, not least of which was the ongoing adversarial relationship between players and the West Indies Cricket Board.
He was named captain of the West Indies team three times, and despite his super status as a batsman, could never claim to be a winning captain like Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards. Instead, he presided over a team with wildly fluctuating fortunes, where victories were few and embarrassments were many, though individual performances were often brilliant. But, in his time, he became one of the first of the breed of wealthy cricketers who brought business savvy to their dealings, and saw endorsements and sponsorships as a natural extension of their cricket incomes. That breed changed international cricket forever.
Heading into the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Trinidadian sprinter Ato Boldon seemed one of the Caribbean’s best hopes for a medal. A year before, he’d won the 100-metre bronze at the World Championships in Gothenburg — at just twenty-one, the youngest athlete ever to medal in the sprint event. And, indeed, he did take home two medals from Atlanta — bronze in both the 100- and 200-metre races — though precious gold eluded him this time.
That wasn’t the case the following year, when Boldon won the 200-metre World Championship gold in Athens, or in 1998, when he took the 100-metre gold at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, setting a still-unbeaten Commonwealth Games record of 9.88 seconds. A serious hamstring injury took him out of the 1999 World Championships, but hopes were high, nonetheless, for further Olympic glory at the 2000 games in Sydney. There, Boldon won the silver in the 100 metres, beaten by US sprinter Maurice Greene (and with Barbadian Obadele Thompson in third place), and the 200-metre bronze.
That was to be his final Olympic medal — after a car accident in 2002, Boldon never again ran under ten seconds in the 100 metres or under twenty seconds in the 200. But his Olympic silver and three bronzes still place him in rare company: only three other male athletes have ever won as many or more Olympic individual event sprint medals. And in his post-competition life Boldon has turned his knowledge of the game and on-camera charisma into a thriving career as a television commentator — most recently, Sports Illustrated named him 2016’s best TV analyst for his coverage of the Rio Olympics.
Every year, a week before masqueraders take to the streets of Trinidad for the reign of the Merry Monarch, thousands pack into Port of Spain’s Hasely Crawford Stadium for the biggest show in Carnival. The show is Machel Monday. The star: Machel Montano, five-time Soca Monarch, eight-time Road March champ, and the indisputable king of soca.
Others have given themselves that title, based on their mainstream success, but none can boast a thirty-five-year career in the art form, practically the same number of albums, or a brand that dominates the Carnival scene — whether or not they are even present.
Montano doesn’t wine that much these days. The lithe young man with a waist like butter has now evolved into a sage forty-two-year-old who posts inspirational quotes daily on Instagram. But he still churns out hits to make people dance, think, celebrate, and debate.
The key to Montano’s longevity and success has been his ability to change, adapt, and push the limits of his genre, while keeping his eye on his oft-repeated mission to make soca popular and take it to the four corners of the earth. He’s pursued this relentlessly, pushing boundaries, taking risks, and setting trends. He was the first to collaborate with Jamaican dancehall singers, opening the door for them to become staples on the soca scene. He was the first to marry house music with soca on 1995’s “Come Dig It”, later opening the floodgates to EDM soca with “AoA”. He sought international collaborations, teaming up with the likes of Pitbull, rappers Lil John and Wyclef Jean, among others, R&B group Boyz II Men, and South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to name just a few.
He’s taken the music far: to Egypt, India, and South Africa, filming videos, meeting songwriters and producers, and looking for sounds to infuse with his. In 2007, he became the first soca artist to headline his own show at Madison Square Garden in New York, and he’s performed on stages at Radio City Music Hall, Coachella, and South by Southwest.
To maintain his position atop the pack, Montano — now an elder in the music arena with his thirty-five years’ experience — surrounds himself with young talent: songwriters, producers, musicians, and singers who help to keep his sound fresh and trendy.
But nowhere has his evolution been reflected more clearly than in his changing handles. In the early days, his band was known as Pranasonic, named after the Prana Lands area in Siparia, south Trinidad, where Montano grew up. That changed to Xtatik. Then, as he changed the way his band functioned, he assumed the HD persona to reflect his mission to transmit a clearer image of who he is and what he’s about. In 2014, HD made way for Monk Monte. MONK, he said, was an acronym for the Movement of New Knowledge.
With the new name came a new role, that of actor. Montano starred in his own film, Bazodee, a Bollywood-style love story set in T&T. In 2016, Bazodee became the first T&T-made film to be distributed in the US, Canada, and across the Caribbean. He’s expected to follow that up in 2017 with a documentary called Machel Montano: The Journey of a Soca King. That journey is far from over. For the foreseeable future, Montano’s crown seems secure.
André Tanker’s music might have been washed away in the torrent of soca that floods Trinidad at Carnival every year. But instead it’s outlasted almost all the local music produced since he died in 2003, at sixty-one.
Tanker grew up in the middle-class Port of Spain neighbourhood of Woodbrook, home of the Invaders steelband, where he learned to play pan, and the Little Carib Theatre, where Beryl McBurnie was reviving folk dance and Orisha drummer Andrew Beddoe played for Derek Walcott’s Trinidad Theatre Workshop.
But Tanker didn’t appreciate them fully until Afro-Trinidadians reclaimed their heritage in the 1970 Black Power Movement. “It gave you a perspective on who you are, what motivates you, why you like what you like,” Tanker said, looking back in 1997.
That was when he understood he was entitled to draw on his entire birthright: calypso and reggae, jazz, blues, soul, Latin American music, African and Indian. “Children of a one great love,” he sang.
Like many intuitive artists, he wasn’t easy to interview: low-key and laconic, he preferred his message to be conveyed by his music. Likewise, he was more composer than performer, though he played vibraphone and flute, and he sang his songs of love and the oneness of humankind, though his voice wasn’t his greatest asset.
Walcott described Tanker’s work as “disciplined enough to be simple”; it was also rich enough to have enduring appeal. Even now, Trinis catch themselves humming “Wild Indian”, “Basement Party”, “Sayamanda”. His talent lay in blending traditions to make something that was at once fresh and familiar.
Previewing that year’s FIFA World Cup in our May/June 1998 issue, Georgia Popplewell concluded, “For the first time since 1974, Caribbean people will really have a team to root for.” She was referring to Haiti’s national team, which unexpectedly qualified for the 1974 World Cup in West Germany — and to the Reggae Boyz, the Jamaican national team, which made history in 1998 as the first football team from the Anglophone Caribbean ever to go to the sport’s most prestigious tournament.
“For a small country,” wrote Popplewell, “a national sports team is . . . a repository of civic dreams and aspirations.” Such was the case for Jamaica — even if the Reggae Boyz didn’t advance out of the finals’ first round.
Five years later, it was Trinidad and Tobago’s chance. Beating Bahrain in a qualifying match, the Soca Warriors booked their tickets to the 2006 World Cup in Germany — and T&T became the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, a victory in its own right.
The Caribbean adores its beauty queens. For a small country, any citizen who wins positive international acclaim is a hero. And our various Misses Universe and World over the decades have also proven to be a talented, enterprising bunch, going on to careers in politics, the arts, and philanthropy. Grenadian Jennifer Hosten (Miss World 1970) later became a diplomat. Jamaican Cindy Breakspeare (Miss World 1976) may be best remembered as Bob Marley’s muse and the mother of his son Damien, but she’s also a successful recording artist in her own right. Her countrywoman Lisa Hanna (Miss World 1993) served as a Cabinet minister. And among the Trinidadians, Janelle Commissiong (Miss Universe 1977) and Giselle Laronde (Miss World 1986) both become successful businesswomen.
No wonder, then, that T&T’s Wendy Fitzwilliam, Miss Universe 1998, managed to appear twice on Caribbean Beat’s cover, in July/August 1998 and again less than a year later, resplendent in Carnival costume. Her “reign” was just the beginning: a law student when she won her title, she was later admitted to the bar in her home country, honoured for her activism in HIV/AIDS awareness, recognised as a Red Cross Ambassador for Youth, published a well-received memoir, and now hosts the reality TV series Caribbean’s Top Model — all while maintaining her elegant but down-to-earth presence on T&T’s social scene.
The 1990s were arguably a high point for Barbadian music. The nightclub scene in Barbados was alive and well, and artistes were not afraid to experiment. This decade saw the rise of soca stars like Hinds alongside Rupee and Edwin Yearwood (who’d appeared on Caribbean Beat’s cover two years before); jazz/reggae saxophonist Arturo Tappin; calypso powerhouse Anthony “Mighty Gabby” Carter; and local band Spice and Company, just to start. Creativity seemed to be at an all-time high and the Barbadian sound was one of the leading influences in Caribbean music.
Soca dominated the landscape and infiltrated foreign markets, allowing artistes to share their sound with global audiences. Rupee’s “Tempted to Touch” peaked at number 39 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at 44 on the UK singles chart, and featured in the soundtrack of the Hollywood movie After the Sunset.
Reggae, hip-hop, jazz, electronic dance music (EDM), and R&B also inspired the style of music performed and created by Barbadian musicians. By the mid 2000s, Barbados was producing international artistes from hybrid genres — Rihanna above all, but also Livvi Franc, Hal Linton, Shontelle, Teff Hinkson, Cover Drive, 2 Mile Hill, and others.
Barbadians are proud of their successful musicians, and have created the glamorous Barbados Music Awards and other festivals to highlight, showcase, and honour the wealth of musical talent within the country. Relevance and longevity are always concerns in the industry, and often it’s a battle of legend versus newcomer.
Mahalia Cummins, lead singer of the band 2 Mile Hill, says the music scene is once again resurging. “Where support was previously lacking, young and upcoming artistes are working with the more seasoned performers,” she explains. Hinds, our cover subject eighteen years ago, is one such artiste, and she’s always working behind the scenes collaborating with or mentoring younger talent. Most recently, she’s signed up to mentor the young people of the UNICEF Caribbean Junior Monarch Competition, which will launch officially in August this year.
Soca is still a main staple in Barbadian music, meanwhile — and with names like Damian Marvay, Nikita, King Bubba, and Joaquin in the current mix, it’s not going to wind up anytime soon. Wining down — that’s a different matter.
Boats were a favourite cover subject in the magazine’s earlier years — no fewer than nine in all, ranging from fancy yachts to humble pirogues. How do other categories compare in the rankings? Three covers have depicted botanical subjects, and three have featured children playing on beaches. Seashells? Two. Surf-, windsurf-, and kite-boards? Three. Rivers? Five. At the other end of the scale: sportsmen and -women? Eighteen. Musicians? Twenty-four. We aren’t called Caribbean Beat for nothing.
Every photographer on assignment for a magazine wants the cover. It’s prime space and usually pays the best, but a portrait session can go off the rails if there isn’t a good, balanced range of images for the publication’s designer to work with. That means putting effort into making every setup as compelling as possible, while thinking about how they play together to offer their own visual narrative in the final piece.
Ideally, the photographs complement the words in a profile. Sometimes they tell a parallel but unrelated story. At worst, they exist in a different world from the words. The cover photo has work to do. It is a preview of the issue’s tone and content, a sales pitch to the potential reader, and an invitation to read the story it references.
My first preference with a subject is almost always an environmental portrait. If it can happen effectively in the subject’s space, they begin with the advantage of home ground in the encounter. The Mungal Patasar session happened at his home. The musician lives in the countryside, and I imagined great possibilities. I photographed him in his living room with his family and, with time running out, in a nearby field seated with his sitar under a tree.
But it was the portrait taken just a few inches from the front door of his home — a heavy, weathered slab of wood with just enough texture and muted tone to complement the musician and his well-used instrument — that ended up leading the issue.
After some broad direction about posture, Mungal began to play. I wish I could say I was an appreciative audience, but I had one roll of 120 Fujichrome 50 allocated for this shot, twelve frames on the Hasselblad I was using, and I needed to bracket exposures.
Mungal just played on, doing his work while I did mine, a portrait more passionately given than taken.
Our twenty-odd Carnival cover subjects have included sequined pretty mas, calypso and soca stars, traditional characters like the blue devil and Dame Lorraine. Mas is one of the hardest subjects to capture in a single image: it’s chaotic, it’s unpredictable, it moves too fast.
Over two and a half decades, we’ve profiled dozens of our region’s best writers — novelists, poets, dramatists, biographers. We’ve run in-depth features on Nobel laureates and talented up-and-comers. Our first story on Jamaican Marlon James ran in 2006, nine years before he won the Man Booker Prize; we profiled Trinidadian Vahni Capildeo, winner of the 2016 Forward Prize, back in 2004. But in twenty-five years, only one writer has appeared on the cover: Grenada-based Oonya Kempadoo, profiled in March/April 2002.
Kempadoo had made an auspicious debut three years before, with her novel Buxton Spice, which set off a fabled “bidding war” among London publishers. Tide Running soon followed. And her third novel, All Decent Animals, was imminent, our 2002 article predicted. Except it was another decade before it actually appeared. Our readers got a preview in our May/June 2013 issue, when we published an excerpt from the long-awaited work.
It’s one of the permanently contentious issues of public debate in the Caribbean: the state of West Indies cricket. Over the lifetime of Caribbean Beat, fans of the game have argued and agonised over the regional team, its players and administrators, and wondered if the West Indies will ever return to the form of its glory days in the 1970s and 80s.
In our May/June 2003 issue, we took a stab at predicting what a future version of the West Indies team might look like. After talking to experts at the West Indies Cricket Board and regional cricket associations, we compiled our “next 11”: a lineup of exceptional young cricketers under seventeen years old, who seemed to have the talent and attitude.
So how solid were our predictions? Of our eleven youngsters, one — Marcus Julien of Grenada — switched sports, to football. Most of the others went on to play for their national under-17 or under-19 teams. A handful — including Kavesh Kantasingh of T&T and Javal Hodge of St Kitts and Nevis — have played for their national senior teams. And two have represented the West Indies at the highest levels of the game.
Trinidadian batsman Jason Mohammed made his first-class debut for T&T against Jamaica in 2006. And in December 2011 he played his first One Day International match for the West Indies, versus India. He subsequently represented both T&T Red Steel and the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premiere League T20 regional tournament. Meanwhile, Barbadian batsman Omar Phillips found himself batting for the West Indies in a 2009 Test match against Bangladesh. A contract strike by several members of the regional senior team saw seven young players selected for that Test series. Phillips came just six runs short of a debut century.
It’s one of the most iconic Carnival photos of all time, perfect for the cover of our issue profiling thirteen designers from the golden age of mas: Peter Minshall’s 1974 costume From the Land of the Hummingbird, portrayed by Sherry-Ann Guy and captured on film by the late Roy Boyke.
The most celebrated and controversial masman in T&T Carnival from the time of his debut in the mid 1970s, Minshall himself had appeared on the cover of our third issue, back in 1992. On two other occasions, photos of his creations made striking cover subjects: our September/October 1998 issue featured a costume from his band Red, and a bird-garbed masquerader from Picoplat appeared on our January/February 2003 issue. Caribbean Beat’s most extensive take on Minshall’s career came in our May/June 2006 issue, when a profile by editor Nicholas Laughlin was accompanied by personal accounts from some of the artist’s closest colleagues and observers.
In an irony of timing, 2006 also turned out to be the final year in which Minshall produced a full-scale Carnival band. But a handful of smaller subsequent mas collaborations have continued to astound and provoke his audience. Witness the drag-ballerina Dying Swan costume he designed for the Carnival Kings and Queens competition in 2016, which set off a firestorm of debate unlike anything since — well, since the last Minshall controversy. Genius remains restless.
In perhaps the most ambitious feature Caribbean Beat had yet published, we polled a panel of music experts and came up with a list of 250 great songs from the Caribbean — most of them from the pre-digital era, as suggested by the vinyl record on the cover.
At midnight on 1 January, 2007, BWIA — Caribbean Beat’s airline partner for fifteen years — ceased to exist, and Caribbean Airlines was born, welcomed by a cover featuring the colourful hummingbird from the new airline’s logo.
“It always seemed glamorous,” said Rihanna early on in her career, “but it is real work.” Talent and luck have something to do with it, too. A nineteen-year-old relative newcomer when she appeared on the cover of the September/October 2007 Caribbean Beat, the Barbadian singer-songwriter was then two years into a stellar international career. A decade later, she’s indisputably the top selling digital artist of all time, winner of eight Grammy Awards, among numerous other honours — also a fashion icon, movie star, named one of 2012’s “100 most influential people in the world” by Time magazine, and an astute businessperson: in 2015 she created her own label, Westbury Road Entertainment.
“Whenever I get the chance, I fly home to Barbados,” Rihanna said, interviewed in Caribbean Beat by writer Essiba Small. And her contributions to her home island go beyond the reflected blaze of her pop-star celebrity. In 2012, Rihanna made headlines when she donated US$1.75 million to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, in memory of her late grandmother — the namesake of Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation, which she founded to “improve the quality of life for communities globally in the areas of health, education, arts, and culture.” An unapologetic force to reckon with, the first-ever recipient of the American Music Awards Icon Award is now working on her ninth studio album.
Arguably the Caribbean’s most famous icon, Bob Marley was the cover subject of our May/June 2001 issue, on the twentieth anniversary of his death. His legacy lives on through his music, familiar to fans around the world — and though his children and grandchildren, many of whom inherited Marley’s musical genes. Like first-born son David “Ziggy” Marley, who appeared on the cover of our July/August 2010 issue.
Last year, Ziggy released his fifteenth album. There are also rumours of new albums in the works from both Damien and his brother Julian. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is involved in various Marley-branded projects, from fashion to cooking, graphic design to electronics, and of course running the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston. There’s a line of Marley coffee — including beans grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and the highlands of Ethiopia — and eco-friendly footwear. Whatever else you can say of the Marley family, they understand the value of their family legacy.
Back in 2010, three of the directors I highlighted had just made their debut features: Maria Govan (Rain) and Kareem Mortimer (Children of God) of the Bahamas, and Jamaica’s Storm Saulter (Better Mus’ Come). As I write this, Govan’s second effort, Play the Devil, is winning plaudits on the festival circuit; Mortimer’s third film, Cargo, is about to premiere; and Saulter is in post-production on his follow up, Sprinter.
Other talented filmmakers have joined in the act. The blessings of the digital revolution notwithstanding, making films in the Caribbean remains a challenging business. The biggest challenge, however, still is winning over hearts and minds to the idea that there’s more to cinema than the Hollywood formula.
Caribbean Beat’s special “Green Issue” featured a rare frog species on its cover — the only time an amphibian has served as cover model. Fauna cover subjects have also included one non-human mammal and four birds — can you spot them all?
Heading into the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the eyes of the world were on Usain Bolt — understandably, considering how the Jamaican sprinter had overwhelmed the competition in Beijing four years earlier. But astute observers — like writer Kwame Laurence, who wrote the cover story on Caribbean Olympic prospects for our July/August 2012 issue — had their eyes on other contenders as well. Like Grenada’s Kirani James, then just nineteen years old, who a year before at the World Championships had become the youngest ever 400-metre gold medalist.
“He has all the expectations of Grenada resting on his shoulders,” wrote Laurence. And on 6 August, 2012, those expectations were fulfilled: thanks to James, Grenada’s first-ever Olympic medal was gold. Five of the eight lanes in the final were occupied by Caribbean athletes, plus all three spots on the medal podium — with Luguelín Santos of the Dominican Republic in second place and Lalonde Gordon of T&T in third.
James’s welcome back to Grenada — and his home village of Gouyave — was euphoric. And Grenadian readers of Caribbean Beat were delighted the magazine had the foresight to put him on the cover. How did we make the call? “I think it was a mixture of reasons,” remembers Judy Raymond, then editor. “We wanted to use a photo of someone promising but not too familiar, and from somewhere that didn’t already have a great Olympic track record. And we had a good pic of him.” The confidence of writer Kwame Laurence — one of the Caribbean’s most experienced sports journalists, specialising in track and field, and a longtime contributor to the magazine — about James’s promise also helped.
Four years later, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, James was a favourite to repeat his win. Only one athlete — American Michael Johnson — had ever managed to defend an Olympic gold in the men’s 400 metres, in 1996 and 2000. But the achievement just barely escaped the Grenadian champion. James came second, to Wayde van Niekerk of South Africa — but still brought home Grenada’s second-ever Olympic medal, and singlehandedly gave his country the highest number of Olympic medals, per capita, at two successive Summer Games.
Just seventeen when she appeared on the cover of the March/April 2013 Caribbean Beat, slicing through a wave, Chelsea Tuach already had four years’ experience as a national and regional surfing champion. Starting at the age of ten, Tuach is the youngest surfer to represent Barbados in the watersport, and the most successful in competition. Ranked fourth in the world in 2015, she’s twice won the World Surf League (WSL) North American Junior Pro Championships.
Tuach has flown the Barbadian flag in Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Fiji, Mexico, Spain, France, and Japan. “I set goals, seize opportunities, and with a lot of faith and support, I’ve managed to do it,” she says. She’s had moments of self-doubt and at times intimidation, going up against older competitors. But nothing has stopped her burning spirit of determination, especially backed with resounding support from her island.
The old adage “you can’t judge a book by its cover” doesn’t apply to magazines. When “From island to end zone”, profiling NFL football players with Caribbean roots, hit the Internet, Caribbean Beat’s website got thousands of hits in the first hour — enough to crash the site temporarily. The Washington Redskins and its star wide receiver Pierre Garçon had retweeted the story, and it was read by legions of fans. Garçon spoke about his Haitian roots and his continuous ties with the Caribbean island — and his friendly smile lit up the cover photo.
Garçon hasn’t skipped a beat since his Caribbean Beat profile. He finished his five-year, US$45-million contract with the Redskins and became a free agent. At thirty-one, he showed no signs of slowing down. He’s been a consistent play-maker for the Redskins throughout all the team’s travails with its numerous quarterbacks. Then when Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti last year, Garçon’s team sent him to Haiti as an extension of his prolific community service work, and the NFL chose him to represent his team for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which pays homage to NFL players who engage in community service.
Meanwhile, Jamaica-born Patrick Chung, also featured in the story, left the Philadelphia Eagles and returned to the New England Patriots to play for Bill Belichick, considered one of the most difficult and challenging coaches in the NFL. Chung soared, figuratively and literally, with high-flying tackles at the free safety position, which stunned opponents’ offenses. Belichick deemed Chung a crucial, versatile player who excelled at any defensive position where he was slotted.
And Jamaica-born Trevardo Williams, a fourth-round draft pick and rookie for the Texas Texans, suffered an injury that prevented him from playing most of the season with the Texans. He made the rounds of the NFL, and landed eventually in the Canadian Football League (CFL), playing for the Toronto Argonauts.
What’s the exemplary colour of the Caribbean? Many would say blue, in all its hues: the colour of the sea that surrounds our islands. There’s something about that tropical marine blue that lifts the spirits: no wonder blue waters have appeared on no fewer than seventeen of our covers over the years.
This freshly painted chattel door caught my eye as I was driving past, and I just had to stop and capture it. We have a history of finely crafted chattel houses in Barbados. More recently we started using bright colours rather than the traditional brown of past times — orange and green being a popular colour combination in Bim.
Imagine my delight when my chattel house door ended up on the cover! On receiving the magazine, I kept it for a few days, then decided the people who live in the house should have it. Having never met them, I drove over and knocked. Lisa came to the door. And her mum. And her son. They were all delighted. I had already planned to “pay it forward,” so gave Lisa a percentage of what I earned for this photograph. Lisa emotionally told me that the money had come at just the right time. She hugged me. Gran hugged me, and Son told me I had to hug him too. So, hugs all round, all of us crying and laughing. I have now met three more wonderful Bajans in my island. Feels good. Feels right.
A Cuban street musician — performing a trumpet solo, snazzily attired in brown suit and two-tone shoes — was the cover subject of our November/December 2015 issue. It was a favourite of Dionne Ligoure, head of corporate communications for Caribbean Airlines, and a longtime reader of the magazine. In fact, Ligoure keeps a copy of this cover on display in her office at the airline’s headquarters.
And what does Caribbean Beat mean to her, and the airline? I’m tremendously proud of the magazine,” Ligoure says. “For the past twenty-five years, Caribbean Beat has featured, documented, archived, and highlighted the accomplishments of Caribbean icons throughout the region and our diaspora.
Sometimes it’s tough deciding among the options for a cover subject — and sometimes there’s no contest. That was exactly the case with our July/August issue last year, timed with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. “No contest” also describes how some of the world’s best sprinters must have felt, knowing they were up against Usain Bolt in the men’s 100- and 200-metre events.
Born in rural Trelawny Parish, Jamaica, in 1986, Bolt is the fastest human being on record, and considered the greatest sprinter of all time. Where track and field are concerned, the past decade has indisputably been the Age of Bolt, and it’s hard to imagine another athlete so dominating the sport in the near future.
Few people could have predicted this unprecedented victory streak back in 2004, when Bolt — then just shy of his eighteenth birthday — appeared in the pages of Caribbean Beat for the first time. But it was already clear he was a major talent — writer Kwame Laurence called him one of the fastest men alive, previewing the Caribbean’s medal hopefuls in the Athens Olympics. Slowed by a leg injury, Bolt didn’t make it past the first round of heats. But he was just getting started.
Heading to the 2012 London Olympics, Bolt was a clear favourite — both with the crowds, who loved his high-spirited antics, and to repeat his wins. He didn’t disappoint. For Jamaicans, the timing of the achievement was especially significant, coming in the very month when the nation celebrated its fiftieth anniversary of Independence. “I’m now a legend,” Bolt remarked, matter-of-factly.
But the truly legendary feat was in Rio in August 2016. “This will surely be his last Olympic Games,” wrote Kwame Laurence, “and he’ll do everything in his power to ensure a golden farewell.” No athlete had ever won the 100-metre event at three consecutive Olympics, nor the 200 metres. To win them both — a “triple double” — would once have been unthinkable. But not, as it turned out, for Usain Bolt.
Our oldest cover subject in twenty-five years? That would be Linda McArtha Sandy-Lewis, the indefatigable Calypso Rose, who was seventy-six when she fronted our November/December issue last year. And in this case, age isn’t just a number, or a bit of trivia — it’s evidence of the longevity of one of the most extraordinary careers in Caribbean music, dating back to the 1950s. When the Tobago-born calypsonian started her career as a teenager, calypso was still a macho genre. That she ascended to the heights of the artform is tribute to her skill as a singer and composer, her warmth and sincerity on stage, her wicked lyrics and playful performance style. Audiences adored her, but it wasn’t until 1978 — more than two decades into her career — that she won calypso’s highest honour. They had to literally rename the Calypso King title for her sake.
The same energy, talent, and dedication that earned her that groundbreaking accolade are also responsible for the remarkable resurgence in popularity Rose has experienced in her eighth decade. Her latest album, Far from Home, was a surprise hit of summer 2016 in Europe, winning her thousands of new fans and a growing number of international awards, as she keeps to a touring schedule many younger musicians would envy. And her tune “Leave Me Alone” — featuring a guest appearance by Machel Montano — was yet another hit on the road at Carnival 2017.
Caribbean Beat has always been free for Caribbean Airlines (and, before that, BWIA) passengers to take home — and many of you have done just that, collecting each issue as it appears on planes. A full set of all 144 magazines published to date takes up about two and a half feet of shelf space (and weighs almost a hundred pounds — yes, we checked). Readers hold on to them because many of the articles, profiles, and interviews are worth revisiting, even decades later. Researchers make reference to the magazine and teachers use it in classrooms.
But if you haven’t been a Caribbean Beat reader and collector since 1992 — or if you don’t have two and a half feet of shelf space to spare — you can still access our rather vast archive via our website. The magazine first went online circa 1998. Back then, in the days when no one knew as yet what the World Wide Web would turn out to be, only a handful of articles from each issue were posted online, and some HTML hand-coding was involved. It’s a lot simpler these days. Not only can you read the full contents of each new issue online, you can also search all the way back to issue number one in a matter of seconds — if, say, your heart is set on finding every single reference to Machel Montano we’ve ever published.
Now, the archive is a work in progress — we’re still digitising some of the earlier issues. Even so, there are close to 2,500 articles already available, which makes the Caribbean Beat website one of the most extensive free online archives of Caribbean culture. Even for our editorial staff, exploring this archive is always an adventure of discovery and re-discovery.
Find it all at caribbean-beat.com. | 2019-04-20T10:48:17Z | https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-144/caribbean-beat-goes-on-25th-anniversary |
A catheter adapted for performing a task at a location inside a lumen, the catheter comprising: a) an outer sheath; b) a balloon capable of inflating inside the lumen when the catheter reaches the location; and c) a balloon inflation tube, which is attached to the balloon and carries a fluid which causes the inflating of the balloon, said balloon inflation tube running through the outer sheath, movable relative to the outer sheath, and stiff enough so that it can be used to push and pull the balloon relative to the outer sheath.
This application claims priority from and is a continuation-in-part of PCT application PCT/IL03/00995 filed on Nov. 25, 2003, which designates the United States, and is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/303,064, filed on Nov. 25, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application also incorporates by reference a patent application titled “Catheter Drive,” agent's file reference 378/04070, filed on May 27, 2004, the same day as the current application, at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The field of the invention is catheters, particularly for positioning and advancing stents and other medical devices in blood vessels and other lumens of the body.
Blood vessels can suffer from various diseases, in particular arteriosclerosis, in which obstructions form in a lumen of a blood vessel, narrowing or clogging it. Emboli can also cause clogging of blood vessels. A common treatment method for narrowing is inserting a catheter with a balloon at its end to a clogged portion of the blood vessel, inflating the balloon and possibly leaving a stent at the clogged location, to keep the blood vessel open.
Precise positioning of the stent in the blood vessel is important. For example, stents are often placed over plaque in arteries. Placing the stent at a wrong position, for example not directly over the plaque, can increase the chance of complications such as stent thrombosis and restenosis. Precise positioning also allows a stent with the right length to just cover the plaque. It is also important, in the case of plaque located near a bifurcation in an artery, not to position the stent so that it will block the ostium of the artery in the bifurcation. However, it is often difficult for physicians to precisely control the position of a catheter, even when imaging techniques make it possible to tell exactly where the stent is, relative to the plaque. This difficulty is due to the friction between the catheter and the blood vessel. A certain force is needed to get the catheter to start moving, but once it starts moving, the catheter might jump a finite distance. Typically, the friction is dominated by the body of the catheter, which can be a meter or more in length, and not by the balloon and the stent, which tend to have relatively little friction with the blood vessel wall when the balloon is not inflated.
In some implementations, a guide wire is brought to the narrowed location, and then the catheter is pushed over the guide wire. If the catheter is soft, helping it to negotiate curves, it may be difficult to convey the pushing force along the catheter from outside the body to the tip. If the catheter is stiffer, it may be less able to negotiate sharp curves. In either case, excessive pushing may damage the blood vessels.
One solution suggested in the art is providing a catheter with varying levels of stiffness along its length—stiff at its proximal end and soft at its distal end.
Catheters with a balloon at the distal end typically have a separate lumen for an inflation tube, made of flexible plastic or metal for example, to inflate the balloon. The inflation tube is typically part of and inside a sheath which is stiff enough to push through the blood vessel.
An aspect of some embodiments of the invention concerns a catheter with a balloon, for example for expanding a stent. In an embodiment, the catheter comprises a relatively stiff inflation tube inside an outer sheath, and the inflation tube can move relative to the outer sheath. The catheter as a whole is used for coarse positioning of the balloon in a blood vessel or other lumen, as in conventional catheters. For example, the catheter is pushed and sometimes twisted by hand, while its progress is followed by using medical imaging device such as a fluoroscope. For fine adjustment in the position of the balloon, the inflation tube is used to push or pull the balloon, while keeping the outer sheath in place relative to the blood vessel wall. Because there is less friction between the inflation tube and the outer sheath than there is between the outer sheath and the blood vessel, there is better control on the positioning of the balloon and the stent and there is little or no jumping when using the inflation tube to move the balloon, and the balloon may be positioned accurately. The inflation tube is stiff enough to push or pull the balloon by itself. In addition, the stiffness of the inflation tube helps make the catheter as a whole stiff enough for the initial coarse positioning of the balloon. Once the balloon is accurately positioned, it is used to expand a stent, or to perform another task.
An aspect of some embodiments of the invention concerns a catheter with a balloon and an inflation tube, in which the inflation tube comprises two tubes: a relatively stiff inner inflation tube surrounded by a relatively flexible outer inflation tube. The inner inflation tube can be manipulated relative to the outer inflation tube from outside the body. Normally, both the inner and outer inflation tubes extend to the distal end of the catheter. When it is desired for the catheter to have a more flexible end, for example in order to negotiate sharp turns without damaging the blood vessel, the inner inflation tube is drawn back from the distal end of the catheter. This leaves an end portion of the outer inflation tube empty, and makes the end portion of the catheter more flexible than it would be with the inner inflation tube inside. When it is desired for the catheter to have a stiffer end, for example in order to push past a narrow region in a blood vessel, then the inner inflation tube is pushed to the distal end of the catheter. The relatively stiff inner inflation tube then stiffens the end portion of the catheter.
Optionally, both of these aspects may be present in an embodiment of the invention, in which there are three concentric tubes, an outer sheath, a relatively flexible outer inflation tube and a relatively stiff inner inflation tube, which may be moved relative to each other. Optionally, either or both of these features may be combined with the hydraulic mechanism for advancing the catheter described in PCT/IL03/00995. In that case, there are as many as four concentric tubes: an outer sheath, an inner sheath which comprises the hydraulic mechanism, an outer inflation tube inside the inner sheath, and an inner inflation tube. The outer inflation tube, or the inflation tube if there is only one tube, need not move relative to the inner sheath. The physician then has at his disposal three different means to position the balloon: 1) moving the outer sheath, i.e. the whole catheter, as in conventional catheters; 2) using the hydraulic mechanism to move the inner sheath, together with the inflation tube and the balloon; and 3) using the inflation tube to move the inner sheath and the balloon. Once the balloon is in the desired position, it is inflated, for example in order to expand a stent which surrounds the balloon, and once the stent is in place, or another therapeutic or diagnostic task has been accomplished, the balloon is deflated and the catheter is withdrawn.
c) a balloon inflation tube, which is attached to the balloon and carries a fluid which causes the inflating of the balloon, said balloon inflation tube running through the outer sheath, movable relative to the outer sheath, and stiff enough so that it can be used to push and pull the balloon relative to the outer sheath.
whereby moving the inner inflation tube element back from the tip of the catheter makes a distal portion of the catheter substantially more flexible than when the inner inflation tube extends to the tip of the catheter.
Optionally, the inner inflation tube element has a lumen which carries the fluid which causes the inflating of the balloon.
In an embodiment of the invention, the catheter includes a propulsion compartment located proximal to the balloon, the propulsion compartment comprising an outer tube and an inner tube, said tubes being concentric, wherein one of said outer tube and inner tube can slidingly move in relation to the other of said outer tube and inner tube in response to a pressure exerted thereon by a fluid introduced into one or both of said outer tube and inner tube.
Optionally, one of said outer tube and inner tube is the outer sheath, and the balloon inflation tube runs through and is attached to the other of said outer tube and inner tube.
Optionally, the outer tube is the outer sheath.
Alternatively, the inner tube is the outer sheath.
Optionally, the task comprises dilating the lumen.
Optionally, the lumen is inside the body.
Optionally, the lumen is a blood vessel.
Optionally, the task comprises placing a stent.
Optionally, the balloon inflation tube comprises stainless steel.
Alternatively, the balloon inflation tube comprises NiTi.
Optionally, the balloon comprises plastic.
Alternatively or additionally, the balloon comprises a polymer.
In an embodiment of the invention, the catheter is adapted for using a guide wire.
Optionally, the catheter is adapted for using an “over the wire” guide wire.
Alternatively or additionally, the catheter is adapted for using a “rapid exchange” guide wire.
b) fine adjusting the position of the balloon, said fine adjusting comprising moving an inflation tube of the balloon catheter relative to an outer sheath of said catheter, by manually manipulating said inflation tube.
Optionally, moving the inflation tube relative to the outer sheath comprises moving the inflation tube while keeping the outer sheath stationary with respect to the lumen.
Optionally, positioning the balloon approximately comprises moving the entire catheter through the lumen.
Alternatively or additionally, positioning the balloon approximately comprises using hydraulic force.
Optionally, fine adjusting also comprises using hydraulic force to move the balloon, while keeping the outer sheath of the catheter stationary with respect to the lumen.
b) arranging the moveable stiffening element to be withdrawn some distance back from the tip of the catheter, when manipulating the tip of the catheter past the sharply curved portions.
Optionally, the stiffening element is located inside a balloon inflation tube of said catheter.
Alternatively, the stiffening element comprises a balloon and a balloon inflation tube of said catheter, and arranging the stiffening element to be withdrawn some distance back comprises withdrawing the balloon into an outer sheath of said catheter.
Exemplary, non-limiting embodiments of the invention will be described below, with reference to the following drawings, which are not generally drawn to scale. The same elements are marked with the same or similar reference numbers in different drawings.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a catheter according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 1 shows an intravascular balloon catheter 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, comprising an inflation tube 102 surrounded by an outer sheath 104. There is a balloon 106 at the end of inflation tube 102, which is stiff enough so that the inflation tube can be used to push the balloon relative to the rest of the catheter, for fine adjustment in positioning the balloon.
FIG. 1 is not necessarily drawn to scale, and in particular, the outer sheath and inflation tube of catheter 100 are typically very much longer, relative to their diameter, than shown in FIG. 1. This is also true of the catheters in all the other drawings. Also, in FIG. 1 and in the other drawings, balloon 106 is shown in a somewhat inflated state, for clarity. In practice the balloon will be in a collapsed state, fitting fairly closely around the inflation tube, until it is in position and ready for inflating.
An inflation tube manipulator 108, outside the body, allows the inflation tube, together with the balloon, to be moved back and forth axially with respect to the outer sheath. Optionally, inflation tube manipulator 108 also includes, or is connected to, an indeflator, i.e. an element for pumping a fluid such as saline solution into the balloon, to inflate it. If manipulator 108 includes a reservoir and plunger for pumping fluid into balloon 106, it would preferably be bigger, relative to balloon 106, than shown in FIG. 1, and this is true of inflation tube manipulators appearing in the other drawings as well. One or more optional seals 110 may be located at the distal end of the outer sheath, as shown in the drawing, or outside the body at the proximal end of the outer sheath, or anywhere in between. Seal 110 prevents blood from leaking out of the body, and prevents air and other material from getting into the blood vessel, through the catheter. Alternatively, inflation tube 102 fits closely enough to the inner surface of outer sheath 104 that there is no need for a special seal. Optionally, there is also a guide wire, not shown in the drawing, which may use either a “rapid exchange” (monorail) system, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No 4,748,982 to Horzewski and Yock, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, or an “over the wire” system.
The balloon catheter may be used, for example, to place a stent in an artery, as shown in FIGS. 2A-2E, or to enlarge the lumen of a partially obstructed artery by angioplasty or arthrectomy, or for any other therapeutic or diagnostic purpose for which conventional balloon catheters are used. Such applications include thermal ablation of tissue (using RF, laser, or ohmic heating for example), cryotherapy, photodynamic therapy, drug delivery, dilation of various lumens in the body (including, for example, esophagus, bile duct, urethra, Fallopian tube, heart valve, tear duct, and carpal tunnel), positioning devices for radiation therapy or for imaging (for example using ultrasound), occluding or sealing openings, and delivering endovascular grafts. Balloon catheter 100 is particularly useful for applications in which precise positioning of the balloon is important.
In FIG. 2A, outer sheath 104 of catheter 100, together with inflation tube 102, and balloon 106 with a stent 206 fitted around it, is initially manipulated through a blood vessel 202, similarly to a conventional intravascular catheter, until the balloon and stent are approximately in the desired position in the blood vessel. If the catheter includes a guide wire, not shown in FIG. 2A, then the guide wire is optionally pushed first into position through the blood vessel, followed by the catheter. In FIG. 2B, balloon 106 has reached a location close to plaque 204 in the wall of blood vessel 202. It is desired to place stent 206 precisely over plaque 204, but not to have the stent block the opening of a blood vessel 208 which branches off blood vessel 202 near plaque 204. In FIG. 2C, outer sheath 104 remains in place relative to blood vessel 202, and manipulator 108 is used to move inflation tube 102 and balloon 106 toward lesion 204. Because outer sheath 104 and inflation tube 102 are optionally designed to have much less friction and stiction moving against each other than the outer sheath has when moving against the blood vessel wall, it is potentially easier to precisely position the balloon in this way, than it would be by moving the whole catheter in the blood vessel. Finally, in FIG. 2D, balloon 106 is in the precise position desired, centered at lesion 204, and past the opening of blood vessel 208. Balloon 106 is expanded, by pumping fluid into it, under pressure, through inflation tube 102. The expanding balloon causes stent 206 to expand, and anchors it in place. In FIG. 2E, balloon 106 has been deflated, by releasing the pressure through inflation tube 102, and catheter 100 is being withdrawn, leaving stent 206 in place, precisely covering lesion 204, but not blocking the opening of blood vessel 208.
Optionally, balloon catheter 100 performs any other therapeutic or diagnostic task, including any of those listed above, once balloon 106 is in position, instead of or in addition to placing the stent. Similar balloon catheters, of appropriate dimensions, are optionally used in lumens other than blood vessels.
Inflation tube 102 is optionally made of stainless steel, nickel-titanium (Nitinol), or other biocompatible materials with the right mechanical properties, including plastics or polymers. The inflation tube is preferably stiff enough so that it can be used to push the balloon for fine positioning, but flexible enough so that it can bend with the catheter in going around sharp curves in blood vessels. Also, outer sheath 104, in combination with inflation tube 102, is stiff enough to enable the catheter to be manipulated through the blood vessel for coarse positioning, but flexible enough to allow the catheter to follow turns in the blood vessel.
FIG. 3A shows a catheter 300, similar to catheter 100 in FIG. 1, but with the additional capability of using hydraulic force to move the balloon, as described in PCT/IL03/00995. Like catheter 100, catheter 300 has a balloon 106 attached to an inflation tube 102, a manipulator 108 at the proximal end of inflation tube 102, and an outer sheath 104. Catheter 300 also has an inner sheath 302, attached to the balloon. Inner sheath 302, which is moveable relative to outer sheath 104, surrounds inflation tube 102 and fits inside outer sheath 104. Inner sheath 302 does not extend over the whole length of the catheter, but ends at a seal 304, before the proximal end of outer sheath 104. Seal 304 can move smoothly along the inside surface of outer sheath 104, but seal 304 does not allow fluid to pass through it. At its distal end, inner sheath 302 optionally ends at a surface 308, which extends radially from the inner surface of inner sheath 302 to the outer surface of inflation tube 102.
The portion of outer sheath 104 proximal to seal 304 is filled with saline solution or another relatively incompressible fluid, and there is an indeflator 306, or a similar hydraulic displacement element such as a plunger or a flexible bulb, located outside the body at the proximal end of outer sheath 104. When indeflator 306 is compressed, pressure builds up in the fluid, which exerts an unbalanced longitudinal force on surface 308. This force causes inner sheath 302 to move, together with balloon 106 which is attached to inner sheath 302. This forward motion of inner sheath 302 increases the volume of fluid again, relieving the build up in pressure. Realistically, indeflator 306 would preferably be larger in volume, relative to the volume of inner sheath 302, than shown in FIG. 3A, and this is true of the indeflators in other drawings as well.
Indeflator 306, like manipulator 108, is optionally used only for fine positioning of balloon 106, after coarse positioning the balloon by manipulating the entire catheter through the blood vessel. In this case, inner sheath 302 is optionally rather short, only as long as the greatest distance needed for fine positioning. Also in this case, there is optionally no inner sheath 302 at all, and seal 304 is attached directly to inflation tube 102. But using an inner sheath, with surface 308 greater in area than seal 304, has the potential advantage that most of the force is applied to surface 308, which is close to the location of the balloon, rather than to seal 304, which is removed some distance from the balloon.
Alternatively, indeflator 306 is used not just for fine positioning, but for the initial coarse positioning of the balloon as well, instead of or in addition to manipulating outer sheath 104, as in a conventional catheter, for initial positioning. In this case, inner sheath 302 is optionally almost as long as outer sheath 104, and seal 304 is optionally located near the proximal end of outer sheath 104 initially. Particularly in this case, surface 308 is preferably much greater in area than seal 304, so that the hydraulic force is exerted mostly on surface 308, near the balloon, and not on seal 304, which may be very far from the balloon.
Optionally, whether or not indeflator 306 is used for initial coarse positioning of the balloon, inner sheath 302 makes a sufficiently close fit to the inside of outer sheath 104 that there is no need for seal 304 at all, and almost all of the hydraulic force is applied to surface 308, near the balloon. Alternatively, there is a seal attached to the distal end of outer sheath 104 which prevents fluid from leaking out, instead of or in addition to seal 304.
Depending on the shape and texture of the inner wall of the blood vessel adjacent to the balloon, either indeflator 306 or manipulator 108 may be more effective for fine positioning of the balloon, or manipulating the catheter as a whole may even be more effective. Alternatively, a combination of two of these methods of moving the balloon, or all three, may be more effective than any one of them. A potential advantage of catheter 300 is that the physician has a choice of these three options when positioning the balloon.
Optionally, indeflator 306 can only exert a force which moves balloon 106 in a distal direction. Alternatively, indeflator 306 is reversible, and can be used both to pull and to push on surface 308 and seal 304, moving balloon 106 in either a distal or a proximal direction. In the latter case, indeflator 306 can be used to adjust the position of the balloon by pulling it back if it is inadvertently pushed too far. In the former case, only manipulator 108, or the catheter as a whole, can be used to pull the balloon back.
FIG. 3B shows a catheter 310 which is similar to catheter 300, but with what used to be the “inner” sheath now located outside the outer sheath. To avoid misleading terminology, the former “inner” sheath will be referred to as the “outermost sheath” in FIG. 3B, since it is outside the outer sheath. The outer sheath will still be called the “outer sheath” because it is outside the inflation tube, even though it is now inside the outermost sheath. Thus, in catheter 310, there is an outermost sheath 312 which is attached to inflation tube 102 and balloon 106, and there is a surface 308 at the distal end of outermost sheath 312. There is an outer sheath 314, between outermost sheath 312 and inflation tube 102, which does not extend to the distal end of outermost sheath 312. Outermost sheath 312 does not extend to the proximal end of outer sheath 314. Seals 316 and 318, respectively attached to the proximal end of outermost sheath 312 and the distal end of outer sheath 314, allow the outer and outermost sheaths to slide along each other, but do not allow fluid to leak out between them. Optionally, only one of these seals is present, or the outer and outermost sheaths fit closely enough together so that there is no need for either seal. A manipulator 108, at the proximal end of inflation tube 102, allows inflation tube 102, together with outermost sheath 312 and balloon 106, to be pushed or pulled relative to outer sheath 314, for fine positioning of the balloon. Outer sheath 314, and a distal portion of outermost sheath 312 up to seal 318, are filled with a relatively incompressible fluid, such as a saline solution, which is connected to an indeflator 306 or similar hydraulic displacement element located outside the body. The indeflator exerts a hydraulic force on surface 308, causing outermost sheath 312, together with inflation tube 102 and balloon 106, to move relative to outer sheath 314. Depending on how long outermost sheath 312 is, indeflator 306 is used either only for fine positioning of the balloon, or for both coarse and fine positioning of the balloon.
FIG. 4A shows a catheter 400, the distal portion of which can be adjusted in stiffness. Catheter 400 has a balloon 106 attached to a relatively flexible outer balloon inflation tube 402. An inner inflation tube 404 is relatively stiffer than outer inflation tube 402, or at least the two tubes together are significantly stiffer than the outer inflation tube by itself. The inner inflation tube can move relative to the outer inflation tube. A manipulator 406 is attached to the proximal end of inner inflation tube 404, outside the body, and can be used to move inner inflation tube 404 relative to outer inflation tube 402. Optionally, manipulator 406 also includes, or is connected to, an indeflator or similar element for pumping a fluid such as saline solution into the balloon, to inflate it.
In FIG. 4A, inner inflation tube 404 is pushed as far as it will go toward the distal end of outer inflation tube 402, at or past the end of balloon 106. In this state, the distal portion of catheter 400, out to the tip, is relatively stiff. In FIG. 4B, inner inflation tube 404 is shown withdrawn some distance back from the distal end of outer inflation tube 402. In this state, the distal portion of catheter 400, back to the end of inner inflation tube 404, is substantially more flexible than it was in FIG. 4A.
Controlling the flexibility of the tip of a catheter is potentially useful for manipulating the catheter through a blood vessel, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. For example, when trying to push the tip of catheter 400 past an obstruction 502 in a relatively straight portion 504 of a blood vessel, as shown in FIG. 5A, a stiff catheter tip may be desirable. A more flexible catheter tip may be desirable when trying to push catheter 400 past a sharp curve 506 in a blood vessel, as shown in FIG. 5B. By moving inner inflation tube 402 relative to outer inflation tube 404, a flexible portion at the end of the catheter may be made any desired length, depending on what is needed at that time.
Optionally, inner inflation tube 404 is not a complete tube, but has, for example, a C-shaped cross-section, at least in the part of its length that is inside outer inflation tube 402. Optionally, no part of inner inflation tube 404 is a complete tube, and the fluid for inflating balloon 106 is pumped not into inner inflation tube 404, but directly into outer inflation tube 402. In this case, “inner inflation tube” would be a misnomer, and it would be more accurate to call inner inflation tube 404 a “stiffening element” for outer inflation tube 402. However, it is potentially advantageous to make inner inflation tube 404 a complete tube, since that will increase its stiffness and its resistance to buckling, for a given material and inner and outer diameter. For similar reasons, it is potentially advantageous to have inner inflation tube 404 fill up almost all of the cross-sectional area of the lumen of outer inflation tube 402. In that case, there will not be much room for fluid to flow through outer inflation tube 402, so it may be advantageous to inflate balloon 106 through inner inflation tube 404, as described.
It should be appreciated that catheter 100 or catheter 300 is also optionally used in a manner similar to catheter 400, to adjust the stiffness of the catheter tip. In the case of catheter 100 or catheter 300, the tip is optionally made more flexible by using inflation tube 102 to pull balloon 106 back some distance inside outer sheath 104, leaving the distal end of outer sheath 104 empty and relatively flexible. When inflation tube 102 is used to push balloon 106 back up to the distal end of outer sheath 104, then the tip of the catheter (i.e. the distal end of outer sheath 104) becomes stiffer. Depending on the relative stiffness of outer sheath 104, balloon 106 and inflation tube 102, pushing balloon 106 some distance beyond the distal end of outer sheath 104, as shown in FIG. 1, results in a catheter tip (now the balloon and the inflation tube without the outer sheath) of intermediate stiffness.
FIG. 6 shows a catheter 600, which combines the features of catheters 300 and 400 of FIGS. 3A and 4A. Catheter 600, like catheter 300, can be fine positioned using any of three different methods, alone or in combination: 1) manipulating the whole catheter; 2) using manipulator 108 to move outer inflation tube 402 (together with balloon 106) relative to outer sheath 104; and 3) using indeflator 306 to move inner sheath 302, together with balloon 106, relative to outer sheath 104. As with catheter 300, any of the hydraulic elements described in PCT/IL03/00995 may be used, instead of or in addition to indeflator 306. Optionally, the hydraulic elements can be configured to look like those in catheter 310 of FIG. 3B, instead of like those in catheter 300 of FIG. 3A.
Like catheter 400, catheter 600 has an inner inflation tube 404, which can be withdrawn back any distance from the tip of the catheter, in order to reduce the stiffness of some portion of the catheter near the tip. The adjustability of the flexibility of catheter 600 is potentially useful both when manipulating the catheter as a whole, and when moving the balloon separately, using either manipulator 108 or indeflator 306, as well as when using any combination of these methods. Thus, catheter 600 potentially provides more options for precise positioning of balloons in difficult situations than catheters 100, 300,310 or 400.
3. A catheter according to claim 2, wherein the inner inflation tube element has a lumen which carries the fluid which causes the inflating of the balloon.
4. A catheter according to claim 1, and including a propulsion compartment located proximal to the balloon, the propulsion compartment comprising an outer tube and an inner tube, said tubes being concentric, wherein one of said outer tube and inner tube can slidingly move in relation to the other of said outer tube and inner tube in response to a pressure exerted thereon by a fluid introduced into one or both of said outer tube and inner tube.
5. A catheter according to claim 4, wherein one of said outer tube and inner tube is the outer sheath, and the balloon inflation tube runs through and is attached to the other of said outer tube and inner tube.
6. A catheter according to claim 5, wherein the outer tube is the outer sheath.
7. A catheter according to claim 5, wherein the inner tube is the outer sheath.
9. A catheter according to claim 8, wherein the inner inflation tube element has a lumen which carries the fluid which causes the inflating of the balloon.
10. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the task comprises dilating the lumen.
11. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the lumen is inside the body.
12. A catheter according to claim 11, wherein the lumen is a blood vessel.
13. A catheter according to claim 12, wherein the catheter comprises a stent.
14. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the balloon inflation tube comprises stainless steel.
15. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the balloon inflation tube comprises NiTi.
16. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the balloon comprises plastic.
17. A catheter according to claim 1, wherein the balloon comprises a polymer.
18. A catheter according to claim 1, adapted for using a guide wire.
19. A catheter according to claim 18, adapted for using an “over the wire” guide wire.
20. A catheter according to claim 18, adapted for using a “rapid exchange” guide wire.
22. A method according to claim 21, wherein moving the inflation tube relative to the outer sheath comprises moving the inflation tube while keeping the outer sheath stationary with respect to the lumen.
23. A method according to claim 21, wherein positioning the balloon approximately comprises moving the entire catheter through the lumen.
24. A method according to claim 23, wherein positioning the balloon approximately also comprises using hydraulic force.
25. A method according to claim 21, wherein positioning the balloon approximately comprises using hydraulic force.
26. A method according to claim 21, wherein fine adjusting also comprises using hydraulic force to move the balloon, while keeping the outer sheath of the catheter stationary with respect to the lumen.
28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the stiffening element is located inside a balloon inflation tube of said catheter.
29. A method according to claim 27, wherein the stiffening element comprises a balloon and a balloon inflation tube of said catheter, and arranging the stiffening element to be withdrawn some distance back comprises withdrawing the balloon into an outer sheath of said catheter.
30. A catheter according to claim 13, wherein the stent is located at substantially the same axial extent of the catheter as the balloon in a configuration suitable for inserting of the catheter into the lumen.
31. A catheter according to claim 13, wherein the stent is adapted to move with the balloon inflation tube when moved relative to the outer sheath.
32. A catheter according to claim 13, wherein moving the balloon inflation tube distally telescopically extends the length of the catheter. | 2019-04-23T02:50:09Z | https://patents.google.com/patent/US20070282302A1/en |
per person for 7 nights, based on a family of 4 staying in a Casetta Splendida on a bed and breakfast basis and including transfers.
The climate in Puglia is generally warm sunny and dry in April/May and again in October with the risk of the odd shower of rain. Sometimes it can be cool in the evenings. By June the weather settles in a pattern of long hot sunny days and balmy evenings especially in July and August when it can get a bit humid. Rain is unlikely but it can happen from time to time. June and September are particularly pleasurable months.
The Borgo Piazza during the summer months is transformed into a bustling Puglian square during the day and a fascinating musical venue in the evenings.
Trullalleri the Borgo children's club is one of the best I have ever visited. Plenty of activities and toys for the children, not to mention the lovely team of childcarers.
A fresh juice in the morning from the beach bar is a great way to start the day.
The children's playground is the best play area I have ever seen with plenty to keep them entertained.
You must try the local superb peppery olive oil you will need the local crunchy bread biscuits called Taralli to dip into this to truly enjoy it. - Don't worry you can buy these moorish treats in the hotel shop before departure.
If you have a hire car, a lovely trip out from Borgo Egnazia is to visit the picturesque coastal towns of Monopoli and Polignano A Mare which are just a 15 and 25 minute drive away respectively.
The interior decor of Borgo Egnazia is really stunning, with reference to the four elements throughout - you certainly leave feeling inspired for your own home!
The Vair spa is the ideal retreat with a unique specialisation in psychosomatic naturopathy.
Make sure you hire some bikes and take a guided tour through the olive groves – you can also organize a picnic for your half-way break!
Spend the day at the beach club and enjoy a long lunch of fresh seafood and Puglian Rose at Cala Masciola.
Enjoy a round of golf on the championship San Domenico golf course which stretches between the hotel and the beach.
Borgo Egnazia is one of the Mediterranean’s most luxurious hotels. Set within 20 hectares along the Puglian coast of Southern Italy, it's perfect for couples as well as families wanting to take advantage of the well-appointed children's club.
Borgo Egnazia has been designed on a traditional Apulian village all set within 20 hectares along the Puglian coast of Southern Italy. It has been created using traditional craftsmanship blended sympathetically with the local architecture and history that typifies this undiscovered region of Italy. All materials have been sourced locally from the stone, marble, plants and wood.
The hotel is composed of three different areas; La Corte (hotel), Borgo village and Villas. The hotel accommodation ranges from standard Corte Bella rooms to spacious one and two bedroom suites, many of which can interconnect. All rooms have a contemporary, Mediterranean feel with neutral tones, white limestone walls, traditional fabrics and spacious living. Many of the hotel rooms offer views of the Adriatic Sea to the distance, nearby hills or the hotel’s stunning pool area. The Egnazia Spa featuring a modern day interpretation of a Roman bath house is situated at the hotel along with two enormous outdoor swimming pools, restaurant and bar. The restaurant offers a rich bounty of sun-grown produce, experience the fresh ingredients and enticing flavors of Puglia.
The 30 villas (spread across eight separate buildings) all have three bedrooms spread over three floors and are the most luxurious and exclusive accommodation at the resort. Outside, each villa features a private garden, private pool, wrap around balconies and a roof terrace where the stunning panoramic views can be enjoyed. For larger groups it is also possible to take two villas side by side.
Accommodation in the Borgo (meaning 'village' in Italian) includes beautiful, spacious 1 or 2 bedroomed townhouses with a small kitchenette, open plan with the sitting room and outdoor courtyard. There is also a traditional Apulian village square, further restaurants and the family friendly pool which is heated from mid-May.
The Trullalleri children's club for children aged eight months to eight years is a bright and airy club that has been cleverly divided and designed for each age group. Half days are possible at the club.
There is also a club for older children and teens, aimed for those aged 8 - 16 years. The club's base is in the games room with access to air hockey and table tennis.
At Borgo Egnazia there is a fantastic range of accommodation options to suit all budgets and space requirements. Guests can choose to be centrally located in the main hotel (La Corte), independent in the three-bedroom villas around the perimeter of the resort or in the one of the terraced townhouses within the Borgo. Whatever type of accommodation you choose, each has been beautifully styled and decorated in creams and neutral tones with a Puglian twist.
The main hotel has 63 elegant guest rooms with locally quarried limestone walls and cream decor. Modern luxury influences the rooms, perfectly evident in the spa style bathrooms. All rooms boast balconies or rooftop terraces.
The three bedroom villas represent the pinnacle of Adriatic luxury. Each villa has a private pool and wraparound terrace.
The Borgo is a re-creation of a typical Puglian village complete with a central Piazza. The Townhouses vary in type and layout but each follow the theme of the hotel with the stylish neutral interiors blended with typical Puglian design features.
All 28 villas are fully furnished and designed over three levels, with three bedrooms, four bathrooms, terrace, garden, patio and private pool. Villa Il Villiano is 100sqm over two floors.
• Ground floor: fully equipped kitchen; living area with TV and mini audio system with Ipod dock station and dining area.
• First floor: main bedroom with king-size four-poster bed and bathroom, second bedroom with super king-size bed or twin beds and bathroom with bath.
• Basement: fully furnished family room with dining table, comfortable living area with TV and home-theater system including DVD player and connectivity panel, third bedroom with super king-size bed or twin beds; bathroom with shower box.
• Welcome and Goodbye gifts.
Occupancy: 6-8 people. A king-size sofa bed in the family room and/or an extra beds in the spare room are available at an extra charge in all Villas, except Il Villino, which is for a maximum of 4 people in two double rooms and Villa Bella and Villa Deliziosa, which are for a maximum of 6 people.
There are 6 villa categories. All villas have the same layout, style and size (250sqm). The only difference is the pool size and the outdoor access/natural light in the basement.
The basement opens up to a private courtyard and citrus garden through French doors in the family room or 3rd bedroom in these 3 villas.
The Borgo, with its central Piazza, is an unique part of the property. Its architectural design is that of a traditional Apulian village. It hosts many of hotel's facilities and services, such as La Frasca restaurant and the trattoria Mia Cucina where you can attend cooking classes, enjoy a pizza; the fabulous Trullalleri Kids Club and the Fichi d’India Teens Club. The narrow streets and architectural details are all inspired by nearby towns with a clever mix of tradition, elegance and attention to detail. During the summer months, the Piazza is the Borgo's focal point. It hosts outdoor dinners and events, movie-screenings, street fairs and games (ends approx 11pm).
The Borgo offers a number of accommodation categories: Borgo Splendida, Borgo Magnifica, Casetta Bella, Casetta Splendida and Casetta Magnifica. They are all provided with at least one stone-bathroom, telephone, safe deposit box, mini-bar and at least one LCD TV set with video and music on demand; satellite channels and a connectivity panel that enables to connect personal contents to the TV by cable or bluetooth; cable, Wi-Fi and TV internet connection; TV audio control/speaker in bathrooms.
The entire Borgo is characterized by a rustic-chic interior design.
The Borgo offers cosy and affordable accommodation. The types recommended for families are the 2 bedroom Casetta Splendida or Casetta Magnifica. The size of these two casettas are very similar, but the layout is different.
Casetta Splendida (90sqm). Max occupancy 4 people. Ideal for families with one or two older children or a couple wanting independence and space.
•Ground floor: living area with a TV, kitchenette and bathroom with glass shower box. Extra room which can be used as studio or kids room with bunk beds.
•First floor: bedroom with super king-size bed or Twin beds, TV and stone bathroom with double sink, walk in shower and separate bath.
Casetta Magnifica (90sqm). Ideal for: groups of friends or a family of 4/5. NB. There is no space for a cot.
•Ground floor: living-room area with a sofa,TV, kitchenette and bathroom with glass shower box, walk-in closet ideal for golf sacks, strollers and luggage.
•First floor: bedroom with super king-size bed or twin beds, TV and stone bathroom with double sink and double shower; second bedroom with king-size bed or twin bed, TV and stone bathroom with bath tub.
The Casetta Bella is a Borgo townhouse for 2 people which can take an extra bed.
The Villa Stupenda is a three-storey villa surrounded by a large private garden with a gazebo and pool and has a rooftop terrace. The Villa has two living areas, one with fireplace, a large kitchen with dining table and three en-suite bedrooms. The Villa measures 250 sqm and can accomodate up to 6 guests and 2 children.
La Corte is the main central building home to the Due Camini restaurant and the spa Vair. The interiors are a perfect blend between traditional Mediterranean style and contemporary design. The 63 rooms are divided in different categories: La Corte Bella, La Corte Splendida, La Corte Magnifica, plus the wonderful Suite Egnazia.
Each room is equipped with a super king-size bed or twin beds, the bathrooms are entirely made of local limestone and the rooms boast either a balcony, terrace or private garden.
The balconies and terraces offer wonderful views, some over the Adriatic Sea in the distance, others, the millenary old olive groves or the surrounding Murge hills. Each La Corte room is provided with: at least one bathroom with double sink, walk in shower and separate bathtub; three telephones including a cordless one; mini-bar, safe deposit box and at least one LCD TV set (32”-42”) with video and music on demand, satellite channels including Italian SkySports and connectivity panel enabling guests to connect personal contents to the TV by cable or bluetooth; cable, Wi-Fi and TV internet connection; TV audio control/speaker in bathrooms.
90 sqm two storey townhouse ideal for a family with up to two children or for a couple looking for extra space.
Includes a small kitchenette, living area, double bedroom with super-king bed and a convertible studio to include bunk beds if required. Private patio and roof terrace.
La Corte Magnifica rooms are our suites in La Corte, featuring a bright living area with two sofas, a large stone table next to an exquisite decorative fireplace. The separate bedroom is both spacious and stylish, with a super king-size bed and a large bathroom. The suite’s private terrace is equipped with table, chairs and some sun loungers allowing guests to enjoy the view over the swimming pool, the olive groves or the San Domenico golf course and the blue Adriatic sea.
The kids club is situated in the Borgo and is known locally as Trullalleri. It is a fantastic custom designed space for children embracing the traditional lives of the local Apulians and what typifies this region of Italy. The club caters for children aged eight months - 7 years and is opened daily from 9am - 6pm. The indoor area has been divided into age appropriate areas by the traditional Trulli houses. Each day there is a varied and interesting activity program designed for each age group which makes the most of the facilities and activities available in the resort.
Probably the largest and best play area in Italy is situated in a walled courtyard and features an impressive adventure playground complete with wobbly walkways, spring bridge, slides, nets to climb and a fireman's pole. Other features include giant sized games like noughts and crosses, a mini amphitheater for story-time and plays. For the younger members, there is a grassed play area with a good selection of equipment.
As well as the Trullalleri children's club, there is a club for older children and teens called the Tarantari & Marinai Club. The team primarily look after older children from 8-16 years in a fun and active style. The animation team have a base in the games room which has a table tennis table, air hockey, Wii to name a few. The club is open from 10am - 6pm.
Babysitting is available, but pre-booking is essential.
Available at an additional charge. This is arranged through the children's club manager.
There is an additional charge for this service. Guests can pay by the hour or by the day. Discounts are available for weekly bookings. Pre booking is recommended. The Creche is open from 9- 6pm.
The children's club offered on a complimentary basis for this age group however there is a local charge for lunch. The club is open from 9am -6pm daily and pre booking is recommended.
There is also a supervised tea available at an additional charge from 6pm - 8pm for this age group.
The Marina Club is run by a group of Italian activity specialists (who are also fluent in English) that particularly specialize in sporting activities. It is aimed at children aged 8 years to 12/13 years old.
For Teenagers there is the Tarantari Club, which caters for older children 13 - 16 years. The club organizes a wide ranges of activities, such as climbing and pool games plus has wii, xbox and a great wi-fi network, so they can stay in touch with friends back home.
In the evenings the team is available until 10pm for all age groups (except the young ones) with a fun program of entertainment, including Movie Night and Fun Fair.
Trullalleri Kids club staff will be at their disposal during meals.
There will be no additional cleaning charge for guests traveling with pets.
Only small dogs are allowed upon request and only in some room categories. No animals are allowed in the common areas except Bar areas or Calamasciola as long as dogs are kept with their owners or in the basket. Guests are required to inform the hotel about pet presence at the moment of booking request.
All bicycles for guests staying in Villas (all categories) will be free of charge. One bicycle per person for the entire stay. For guests staying in the other categories for the peak season, la Corte and Borgo, bicycles will be free of charge for day use, as long as they are returned to Bike Point before closing time of the same day.
Borgo Egnazia has exceptional dining options fusing innovative flavors with authentic regional flare. Dine al fresco amid brilliant sunshine and sweeping views of the Adriatic sea. Due Camini is a particular highlight with its traditional vaulted ceilings and intimate fireplaces. There are also a number of bars to choose from especially in peak season, many of which have a snack menu.
Room service can be considered as an option for half board treatment, together with the outlets opened according to the season.
Due Camini is the main a la carte restaurant open all year round (with along with Porticato for pool bar and snacks) in a very refined and elegant atmosphere. It is situated at the main hotel by the pool. Here the resident chef creates his own sophisticated re-interpretation of typical Apulian dishes. Due Camini has just recently been awarded it's first Michelin Star thanks to Chef Andrea Ribaldone.
Situated in the Borgo, this informal restaurant offers simple food often served buffet style, spiced-up by live cooking stations and outdoor barbecue. One of the porticato areas is dedicated to children where they can eat and play, supervised by the Trullalleri (children's club) staff.
Cala Masciola is situated at the beach closest to the hotel for relaxed dining by the sea. There is a selection of light meals including sandwiches and salads as well as main courses with a particular emphasis on local fresh fish. Also, from June to September there will also be a daily barbecue. Open seasonally May to October 0930 - 1830.
Stretched between Borgo Egnazia and the Adriatic sea lies the San Domenico 18 hole, par 72, championship golf course with stunning sea views at every tee. The local fishing village of Savelletri is within walking distance. The hotel provides 2 tennis courts, a games room with billiards, table tennis, table football, air hockey and board games, 4 outdoor pools, football pitch, an 18 hole championship golf course, cookery school, a small sandy beach with beach snack bar (10 minutes shuttle) and a tranquil, relaxing Spa.
Hire a bike from the hotel and take a guided tour through the local olive groves that surround the hotel and enjoy a private picnic for you and your family.
The roads and paths are flat with limited traffic so it a great way to get outdoors for all ages and enjoy the beautiful scenery that Puglia has to offer. At the same time, the knowledgeable guide will teach you all about the amazing history of the area and make sure that everyone is safe during the trip. When you reach half way, the guide will pull over in the olive groves where you can enjoy an amazing picnic with local produce from the surrounding farms.
The trips can last from 1 hour to all afternoon so there is something for everyone.
Available all year round except for high season, festivities and bank vacations .
A seminal opportunity to reverse the ageing of your body. Highly qualified instructors from Puglia, lead a variety of classes either relaxing, detoxifying, regenerating, corrective or specifically oriented to combat physical ageing.
Private or group classes take place in the large, beautiful and fully equipped Iyengar Yoga Studio.
After an easy flight to Bari and a one-hour transfer you arrive at the beautiful Borgo Egnazia hotel in Puglia. Borgo Egnazia is a unique hotel designed like a traditional Puglian village; surrounded by ancient olive groves and just a stones throw from the coast. Everywhere you look you see quality design features and classic local touches such as the amazing fresh lemons and apples in the lobby and the local stone used throughout the hotel.
The accommodation is perfect for couples and families alike, the large Cassetta rooms and impressive villas being perfect for families as you get a generous amount of space both indoors and outdoors. The kids club and family pool area is also very impressive, allowing families a huge amount of space to relax and make noise without distracting adult-only groups by the main pool.
From the hotel you have exclusive access to two beaches which are completely private just for guests of the hotel. Cala Masciola beach restaurant is located just a 5-minute golf-buggy ride from the hotel where you can enjoy long lunches and days of relaxing by the sea. The sea is beautiful and perfect for cooling off during the hot sunny days. Overall, Borgo Egnazia is the perfect destination for everyone; if you want to relax and switch off in pure luxury then you can; if you want to explore and experience the local culture of Puglia then you can; and if you want to be active and play golf, tennis and take guided cycling tours of the olive groves then you can! There really is something for everyone at this beautiful property.
As you approach Borgo Egnazia you very quickly realise you will be staying somewhere extremely special - attractive olive groves either side of the road, a rather grand gated entrance, and then an impressive local tufa stone forecourt to the property where you are greeted by warm smiles and assisted by very friendly and welcoming staff. Arriving at dusk is particularly magical as candles are lit absolutely everywhere, creating a very romantic and warming atmosphere. Despite only being 5 years old the architect very cleverly designed Borgo Egnazia to be in keeping with the traditional Masseria design, with villas and 'village houses' surrounding the main building, all built in the local tufa stone. References to the four elements are throughout the property also, with talking points that are in keeping with the primarily agricultural surrounds. With an amazing spa, great dining options, an 18 hole golf course, two large central pools, a separate heated one beside the Kids Club, an indoor one in the spa, and a private beach club just a short shuttle drive away, this is an ideal destination for those looking to travel for some much needed rejuvenation. Easter through to early November is fantastic weather wise, but even during the winter months makes for a great break for those looking to relax, enjoy good food and wine, and explore surrounding hilltop towns and villages.
There are certainly no signs of penury at the super-luxe five-star Borgo Egnazia in Puglia, southern Italy, a chic complex with hotel and villas, set amid an Apulian style Borgo, or village, with cobblestone streets, a church and a central piazza. With its creamy, white-washed stone walls (that are tinged with a pinky glow as the sun goes down), this is a calm and tranquil setting that nestles like a milky oasis amid an expansive backdrop of rural loveliness with row upon row of olive groves on all sides.
Designed to replicate the ancient city of Egnazia, there are echoes of Moorish, Turkish and Norman influences in the architecture, with churchly arches and columns that evoke a feeling of grandeur. Owned by a local Italian family who have hospitality in their blood (they also own two further luxury properties in the vicinity), the resort is also designed to entice families with plentiful amenities to appeal most importantly, with a brilliant Our Space childrens club, catering for children from eight months to 13 years, and a special games area for teens, which (once the children are happily entertained) leaves parents to indulge in a Roman Bathouse-style spa, swimming pools galore, tennis, golf Theres something for everyone.
The sky was black by the time our party of three arrived on a balmy evening and made our way into the hotels foyer. Inside, the dcor is pure boutique, with a color scheme made up entirely of decidedly tasteful creamy shades of beige, taupe and ecru. There are huge glass urns of wheat and lavender as a nod to a rural farmhouse heritage, as well as arty knick-knacks: giant rusted keys tied nonchalantly with thick rope, stacks of old newspapers artfully tied with string and rows of glass lanterns flickering with soft candle flames.
There was some confusion about our accommodation Id mistakenly told the children that our villa had its own swimming pool so Grace, 15, and Joe, six, were a little disappointed to discover a pretty courtyard garden, complete with a lemon tree with plumptious fruit, but sadly no pool. (We did later take a tour of one of the stunning three-bedroom Imperial Garden Villas, complete with its own majestic 16x10 meter pool, not to mention the fully equipped games room with 46-inch flat-screen television and home-theater system, and lavish living areas, but on three levels, we reluctantly agreed wed kind of be rattling about in such a palatial space, plus there was a giant dead black beetle floating in the pool who was rather offputting. We did, however, covet the iPod docking station though).
In contrast, our two-bedroom townhouse was rather more bijou, with the same creamy color scheme and rusty keys dcor, but the bedrooms required some careful maneouvring of various doors when you wanted to open cupboards or watch TV. Downstairs was a small kitchenette (not yet stocked with utensils) and cosy sofas, with doors opening out onto the courtyard patio. In reality, we only really returned to our townhouse to sleep with a couple of detours as we orientated ourselves, as all the villas look the same.
The relaxed ambiance of the resort is conducive to mooching about with no particular plans except to chill out. Our daily routine would involve a leisurely breakfast, after which we would drop Joe off at the childrens club and Grace and I would settle by the pool with the iPad and Kindle set, taking a dip in the pool every now and again to cool off in the heat. I drifted off with my headphones tuned into Plan B, belting out Welcome To Hell, which made me smile, considering our location was more akin to paradise.
The clientele at the Borgo are a good-looking bunch: there were lots of shiny, happy families with gorgeous mummies who looked like friends of Kate Moss, with their beautiful olive-skinned offspring. While I tried not to stand too close to the leggy blondes, Joe fitted in perfectly with the mini Polo Ralph Lauren and Crocs gang. So profuse, in fact, was the iconic polo pony, that we started to play a game of Count the RL Ponies, as it seemed to be the costume of choice for practically all the males, from nappy-clad tinies to silver-haired seniors. Grace was also a keen handbag-spotter, nudging me to point out a Hermes Birkin bag, advising me Theres a waiting list to get one of them, and they cost, like, thousands of pounds. I think Grace was just a bit concerned that the bag was sitting nonchalantly on the floor, when it clearly warranted its own cushioned throne.
Wed nip back regularly to the childrens club to see if Joe wanted to join us, but more often than not, he preferred to stay with his new international buddies (mostly, fluent English-speaking native Italians), and fill his day with fun activities. He had aligned himself with one of the English nannies who was helping make copious treasure maps, as well as enjoying trips to the indoor swimming pool, cooking sessions, and time in the playground with its giant trampoline or playing on the Wii. The staff were really friendly and very conscientious, always checking that Joe had his sunscreen and hat for playtime. There was a nice number of children at the club, too (in my experience, it can be tricky if there are no same-age children for your child to buddy up with) including a couple of babes-in-arms who had the nannies cooing and queuing up to have a cuddle. Open all day, the club also offers a dinner time service, and Joe would often make plans to meet one of his new friends later in the childrens club rather than dine with Grace and I, which worked well all round.
After ten years in development and four years in the making, this is only Borgo Egnazias second summer, and the resort still has that air of newness. But you have the feeling that it will also blossom even more just like the gorgeous bright pink bouganvillia that clambers so prettily over the walls as the resort becomes more established.
Borgo Egnazia, Puglia, provides chic family accommodation and a state-of-the-art children's club.
With delicious pasta and gelato on offer, not to mention that warm Italian hospitality, the stunning creamy-colored building of Borgo Egnazia provides chic family accommodation.
Theres also a dedicated program of activities for children from eight months to 13 years, with a team of English-speaking carers available at the state-of-the-art Our Space childrens club.
If you fancy brushing up on the art of Italian cooking, where you can make pizza or homemade orcehhiatte, the distinctive Puglian pasta, try one of the cooking classes, or youre your sporting prowess with tennis or golf at the 18-hole championship San Domenico Golf course situated nearby.
For those seeking a more leisurely agenda, a visit to the Vair Spa will revive body and soul, or simply lounge by one of the tranquil swimming pools and embrace la dolce vita.
Borgo Egnazia has a secluded real castle-like feel to it being secluded and surrounded by olive tree's as far as the eye can see. Much like an oasis popping up out of nothing. Built in imitation of a traditional village (borgo) but with a few extra add on's including a championship golf course, two beach clubs Trullalleri children's club and a fabulous Spa that's treatments are based on ancient Puglian rituals. Rooms are styled in a romantic simply style with what one can only describe as refreshing, every area of the hotel is faintly scented with lemon which is something a little different.
Shortly after arriving in Puglia I realised just how special the destination is. It was noted just how many Italians vacation in the area of Italy proving just how unique and relaxing the area is. When arriving at Borgo Egnazia you instantly feel at home and made to feel special. The hotel is like nothing I have ever experienced before in the Mediterranean, the architecture together with its rural location sets itself apart from many other family friendly properties in Europe. Bikes are able to be rented to explore the resort, Cala Masciola beach club and the local town of Savelletri. You are spoiled for choice when its comes to the extensive wine list in the restaurants. The waiters are very passionate and encourage you to sample the very affordable local wines.
The villas and Borgo townhouses are ideal for all families and the La Corte (main hotel) is more suited to couples offering enhanced privacy.
I very much look forward to returning to Borgo Egnazia, Italian food in the UK will simply never be the same!
This is a beautiful hotel with excellent facilities. On arrival there are plenty of people on hand to help you and from start to finish you will be wowed by this traditional resort. The townhouses in the Borgo are just perfect for families and allow guests to have a real experience of being in an old Italian village. For those families who want more space or with more people then the villas are just stunning. They have amazing views and lovely pools for the children to play in, there is also a huge amount of space to enjoy inside and out.
The children's club is just one of the hotel's biggest achievements, there were plenty of children happily playing with a huge array of different toys and the staff have all been there for a while so very qualified.
Overall I was so impressed with the way a new hotel has managed to capture the authenticity of Italy and would love to return.
Book seven nights and only pay for six when you stay at Borgo Egnazia, Italy during Spring or Fall 2019.
Based in the heart of Borgo Egnazia, learn how to create the famous and most delicious traditional Apulian recipes at the Trattoria Mia Cucina.
Explore the villages and countryside of Salento, Puglia, in true Italian style - on the back of a Vespa. Discover the area's hidden gems as you drive through this picturesque region.
Embark on a maritime adventure across the glistening waters of the Adriatic or Ionian sea. Sit back and relax as your skipper guides you along the picturesque coastline, and cool off with a dip in the azure water.
Discover the fascinating town of Alberobello, home to the unusual trulli houses that are traditional in the Puglia region. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Alberobello contains around 1500 trulli, many of which date back hundreds of years.
A fabulous way to experience the mix of mountains and beach that Italy has to offer.
Borgo Egnazia is located in the beautiful and unspoiled region of Puglia in Southern Italy. It is five minutes from the local fishing village of Savelletri and is an ideal base from which to explore the entire Puglian region - from Lecce's unique baroque architecture to the UNESCO World heritage town of Alberobello, famous for the traditional trulli's.
The flying time from the UK is 2-hours 40-minutes to Brindisi or Bari Airports followed by a 50 minute transfer from the Airport. British Airways and Easyjet both have a service from Gatwick to Bari three times a week from March - October. Alternatively Ryan Air has a daily service to Bari and Brindisi from Stansted year round. | 2019-04-26T04:16:03Z | https://www.scottdunn.com/luxury-holidays/europe/southern-europe/italy/puglia/borgo-egnazia |
Comments on artificial superintelligence, the nature of reality and other topics that interests me.
Reality — What Is This Thing?
I have written about pretty far-out stuff on this blog. Future superintelligent computers going haywire (here), possible multiverses containing our doppelgängers giving us non-local immortality (here), the hypothesis that we live in a simulation (here). You have to have a certain kind of worldview to take these speculations seriously. In this post I will try to paint a picture of what that worldview looks like. This will involve some hand-waving and elaborating on some subjects I’m far from an expert in. I might misrepresent facts in any of these subjects (please let me know if I do). This is not an attempt to make a strong defence of my worldview, I’m just presenting it to make my beliefs explicit and hopefully illuminate the reasons for my focus on future technology and the nature of reality.
It’s easy to take modern technology for granted, but if you think about it for a second you’ll realise that it’s really remarkable. Sometimes it can feel like magic. At the risk of rehashing a boring cliché, I will remind you of some of the miracles of modern technology. There are wagons made of metal pulled by invisible superhorses. Stiff giant birds gracefully carrying hundreds of people thousands of kilometers (or miles) in the sky. People touching a slab of lit-up glass in their hands that can send and receive messages, talk to almost anyone regardless of distance, play any music, display any image or video, buy almost anything, get directions to anywhere and distribute information invisibly through the air that is accessible to billions of people virtually without delay, each slab powered by billions of small electrical switches, switching on and off billions of times a second (1). There are robots on Mars, and we landed one on a comet. People are floating in a space station cruising around the Earth faster than the fastest bullet.
It feels like the last couple of centuries, the development of technology has really taken off. I think this is supported by the evidence. For instance, change in economic output has gone from almost horizontal to almost vertical when plotted on a graph over the last two millennia (2).
For the first time in human history, economical growth has outpaced population growth, making most people much richer. The global average income has increased tenfold (3) and the fraction of the world population living in extreme poverty has declined from about 90 percent to 10 percent since the 19th century (4). The effect of modern technology is not always positive, a demonstration of the unchecked and sometimes unintended power of our technology is our impact on the climate. A sign of modern technology can be seen on the carbon dioxide record, which looks normal for hundreds of thousands of years until about 1950, when it shoots straight up. With deliberate climate engineering, a large country could apparently usher in an ice age if it feels like it by spending a tiny fraction of its GDP, and moderate climate engineering might be a part of the solution to climate change (5). It can feel as though the present is the normal state for things to be in. Decision theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky jokingly points out in one of his talks that the world seems to tend towards greater and greater ”normality” over time. He brings up that women used to be unable to vote, that is odd from our perspective. Going back further, things were even stranger. However, if you could take an outside view of human life since the origin of our species, it would really be in the last few pages of the story where things became strange, and it should not be farfetched to expect this trend towards greater strangeness to continue.
Our ability to manipulate the world at an ever greater degree is strongly linked to our increasing scientific understanding of the world. Philosopher Rebecca Goldstein says about science that it ”gets reality itself to collaborate with us”, by ”prob[ing] reality so that it will answer us back when we are getting it wrong” (6). Someone has an idea about how some facet of reality works and comes up with a test that will settle whether they’re wrong, then others try the experiment themselves to check if the originator of the hypothesis deluded herself. Virtuous scientists should always be on the lookout for subtle ways in which the predictions of a theory fails. For instance, in the 19th century people were confused by Mercurys orbit, because it did not seem to follow the law of Newtonian physics. When general relativity came along, where gravity is conceptualised as the curvature of spacetime, Mercurys orbit made sense (7). This was a big point in favour of the theory Scientists make progress by trying to refute themselves and others and only what survives scrutiny is given credence. This simple falsification-based view of science can be amplified with the more extensive and somewhat counterintuitive Bayesian account which I won’t cover here. It specifies how your credences in any theory or hypothesis should change as new evidence becomes available.
One seemingly necessary condition for successful science is mathematics. Galileo Galilei, who helped birth the scientific revolution, compared nature to a book written in the language of mathematics (8). Physicist Eugene Wigner wrote about ”The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences”, the (perhaps surprising) fact that nature follows intelligible mathematical rules. After Maxwell discovered his equation for electromagnetism we mastered electricity, rockets use Newton’s law of gravitation to reach orbit, nuclear power as well as weapons were developed through discoveries in particle physics, and the computer industry depends on quantum mechanics in order to make transistors work (9). Engineering students are taught physics and math because we make technologies work by understanding the forces and laws that govern them, although maybe also because those are difficult subjects that can be used to showcase a students competence. In some cases, the necessity of science for technological development might be overstated, it could be the case that some technologies that came after scientific breakthroughs could have been invented and perfected without scientific theories and could instead rely only on trial-and-error and heuristics, but it would probably take a lot more time and resources.
One way to benchmark the pace of technological progress is by comparing it to the first ”design process” (10) in the universe: evolution. Humans have in a few centuries developed technology with abilities that took evolution by natural selection millions of years to acquire and perfect. Flying, seeing and hearing (detecting photons and air waves), harnessing and storing solar energy to take a few examples. Sometimes when we put serious effort into an ability, we have pushed that ability further than evolution ever has. Airplanes fly faster than any bird, boring machines can dig through harder material than any animal can. This is partly because we arguably use a more efficient ”design process” than evolution, we make use of our (imperfect) scientific understanding, reasoning and planning ability as opposed to evolution which lacks any understanding or foresight, and partly because we can choose any desired set of features to optimize, whereas evolution can be said to only optimize inclusive fitness. We can also make use of designs unavailable to evolution, because the designs from evolution can only improve gradually. A classic example is the wheel: there is no use in a half-finished couple of wheels and there are no roads in nature. Nuclear power is another technology that will arguably never be available to the ”design process” of evolution because it seems to require rare, enriched non-organic materials, large facilities and planning.
So far I’ve suggested that we live in a strange era in which we are rearranging matter into useful stuff much faster than evolution accomplished similar things, in large parts thanks to scientific progress. I want to say two things with this. Firstly, it should not be too far fetched to think that we can keep this pace up and eventually outperform evolution in the design of intelligent things, perhaps not far from now, which should unlock even faster technological developments – a telescoping of the future, to use Nick Bostrom’s words – a superintelligence could possibly invent in a day what would take humans thousands of years. Intelligence is an evolved ability (governed by the laws of physics I might add) that we are making progress on understanding and reproducing artificially, and just like with many other technologies we can probably take the desired ability to further heights than can be found in nature. It has been pointed out (though I can’t remember where) that after a certain human cognitive ability has been automated, it can instantly or soon after be done faster and better artificially. Secondly, if you work from the assumption that the world is intelligible and constituted of physical stuff interacting according to mathematical rules, you can make remarkably precise predictions (11) and do remarkably powerful stuff. We have, to my knowledge, never found anything that contradicts this assumption. Lightning was thought to be angry God’s, disease and natural disaster were thought to be God punishing the sinners, and sacrifice was thought to control the weather. Supernatural accounts of natural phenomena has one by one been overtaken by a scientific explanation, never has the refinement of explanation gone the other way. This makes me think that the world might really be constituted entirely of physical stuff following mathematical rules. This means that there would be no purpose at the fundamental level of reality, just clockwork. Furthermore, no one makes sure that whatever goes on is fair, and there is unfortunately no fixed limit on how bad it’s allowed to get. We would have no benevolent cosmic father who looks after us and steps in if things get really out of hand (12). It’s just particles (or waves in quantum fields) mindlessly following rules without exception. As long as it’s allowed by the laws of physics, it can happen. The physicist Sean Carroll describes the world poetically as caught in the grip of an unbreakable pattern. A sequence of states, snapshots, following each other according to a mathematical rule. Each state determines the next, like the states of Conway’s game of life evolving according to preprogrammed rules.
The world can be described at different levels, with physics being the most fundamental to the best of our knowledge. It’s not useful to talk only in terms of fundamental particles and the laws of physics when explaining why someone delivered a pizza or how plate tectonics work, even though everything that happens is determined by them. As Dan Dennett notes in a discussion about this topic, someone who knows everything about the universe at the fundamental level, but nothing else i.e. had no conception of chairs, people and pizza delivery apps (the so-called Laplace’s demon), would be surprised by the efficiency of a simple human who can predict with fairly high reliability that a pizza will be delivered to his door in 30 minutes without having the knowledge about the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, and without the computing power required to calculate their trajectories. Understanding the world at the higher level of description with emergent features like money, social trust, and language is indeed indispensable to us, even though they are not necessary for Laplace’s demon to make perfect predictions.
Do we have free will on this view, if we’re just collections of particles mindlessly following rules? I’m a compatibilist, which means that I think free will (the ability to make choices, see more in note 13) is compatible with determinism, the theory that every events is the necessary result of what happened before it. I’m not sure if the universe is deterministic, but free will better be compatible with determinism for us to have free will, because introducing randomness doesn’t seem to help. I’d rather my decisions where determined by my previous experiences, intuition and deliberation than by a roll of the dice (I think).
A concept I find useful is the distinction between the manifest and scientific image of the world, the world as it appears to our senses and the world as it is unveiled by science. The manifest image and the scientific image aren’t always easy to reconcile, as in the case of free will where the feeling that you could have done otherwise which some people see as essential for free will clashes with the scientific view of brains as collections of particles obeying physical laws. In this case, I think the feeling is mistaken and that our notion of free will should be adjusted to fit the scientific view. The manifest image and the scientific image are true in different senses, the manifest image is true in the sense that what your experience of the world is a real experience. Even if you’re a brain in a vat, you can claim things like “I experience a red car” and not be mistaken, but you can be mistaken about the causes of your experience (the car might exist only as a representation in signals fed into your visual system). The scientific image is our best account of the causes of our experiences, and we can reach beyond our raw senses with microscopes, telescopes, infrared cameras and other tools to get a richer view of reality. I think we should trust our scientific understanding over our hunches and raw perception when they disagree about the cause of our experiences, since we know from experience that our senses can be simply fooled by for example conjuring tricks and visual illusions. It shouldn’t be surprising if the universe violates our common sense, we’re evolved to deal with the challenges of the African savanna – not understanding the nature of reality (I recommend this talk by Richard Dawkins on the topic).
The most important thing I can’t fit into the scientific, naturalist, view is consciousness. I don’t understand how it can exist. But it is the very last thing I would deny. While apparent causes of experiences can be illusory, conscious experience itself, I submit, cannot be an illusion. It’s the very stage where illusions can appear. However, it seems to be a hard problem to explain why and how physical processes give rise to subjective experience. ”As physicists work toward completing a theory of the universe and biologists unravel the molecular complexity of life, a glaring incompleteness in this scientific vision becomes apparent. The ‘theory of everything’ that appears to be emerging includes everything but us […] We need a ‘theory of everything’ that does not leave it absurd that we exist.” says the back of Incomplete Nature by Terrance Deacon, which exposes his attempt of filling the missing piece. I’ve read two different accounts of consciousness by naturalists, Incomplete Nature and Dennett’s Consciousness explained as well as Brian Tomasik’s writings on consciousness, which echoes Dennett’s. Reading these accounts didn’t get me closer to feeling satisfied with a resolution, though I can’t claim that I fully understand them. Steven Pinker summarises (14) the believed function that consciousness plays according to some neuroscientists as a blackboard in the brain where ”a diverse set of computational modules can post their results in a common format that all the other modules can ’see’” These modules include perception, memory, language and action planning. This seems like a plausible account of the biological function of consciousness to me, but it doesn’t explain the nature of first-person experience.
I think there is a physical process that causes me to believe and say that I’m conscious. I would like to think that this process is informed by the fact that I am conscious, that is, I would like my consciousness to be the reason for why I say that I’m conscious. I think that a perfect computer simulation of me would be conscious (it would talk and write about consciousness just like me, and I think these things are caused by actually having consciousness), so I think a computational process can know that there is consciousness associated with the computation. The question is this: how come some computations are accompanied by consciousness? This question seems kind of hopelessly difficult (14), if it is a good question. Would any answer feel satisfactory? To any answer of the type “because of this particular process”, you could reply: why isn’t that process going on “in the dark” like any other? I’m tempted to believe that consciousness is coming from somewhere else, and the computation is merely summoning the consciousness, which exist outside the physical world. But how could a physical system know and report that it is conscious, unless consciousness is interacting with that physical system? The non-physical would have to interact with the physical, but this violates the Completeness principle, namely that all physical effects appear to have sufficient physical causes. The only way out seems to be epiphenomenalism, which states that mental events are determined by physical processes, but mental events have no casual role in the physical system. You, the conscious witness, would be a silent, powerless witness. According to epiphenonenalism, the reason why I’m thinking and writing about consciousness has nothing to do with the fact that I’m conscious, which seems dubious. I’m left thinking that consciousness must be a feature of some physical, and hence computable, processes. However, conscious experience have properties that seem impossible to grow out from a mathematical pattern, since these properties are nowhere to be found in mathematics. This is the biggest question mark about my current worldview. My working assumption is that those that claim to answer or dissolve this question mark are correct and that I don’t need to dramatically change worldview, it might however be appropriate to take a quick glance at an alternative worldview.
Cognitive scientists Donald Hoffman has a radically different belief about the world, where conscious experience is fundamental. Reality on his view is composed only of minds, and minds made up of minds. These minds don’t see the world as it is but instead see useful evolutionary adaptive illusions. ”Snakes and trains”, he says in an interview, ”have no objective, observer-independent features. The snake I see is a description created by my sensory system to inform me of the fitness consequences of my actions.” My problem with theories about reality that have no objective observer-independent features, by which I take to mean no true facts, only interpretations, is that the nature of the observers themselves is unsupported. To say that an observer makes a certain interpretation, is that also only an observer-dependant interpretation? To say that an observer exists, is that only an observer-dependant interpretation? Donald Hoffman’s theory doesn’t have this flaw, it is based on a mathematical model of observers, so they do have a specified observer-independent nature, even though everything is observers. I don’t know what to make of this theory, other than that I think it’s surprising that our illusion of reality designed by evolution for survival happens to be so consistent and mathematical, because even the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics are illusions on his view. Hoffman’s view doesn’t explain consciousness, but it at least positions it as fundamental, rather than something that unexplainably emerge. If his view or something resembling it would turn out to be correct, it would possibly have large implications for how to improve the world. Reality would turn out to be very different than it appears. With an inaccurate world model, we might head in the wrong direction. I’m not sure how we should take into account uncertainty about ontology in altruistic efforts, or how much uncertainty it is reasonable to have in the scientific view, given the question mark surrounding consciousness.
To sum up, science and technology are incredibly powerful according to my world view, they progress much faster and produces more powerful designs than evolution does for many of the features we care about, although not outperforming the creations of evolution in all metrics. We live in highly unusual times, economically and technologically, and we should expect things to get increasingly strange. The world runs like Conway’s game of life, a mathematical pattern with simple beginnings that grew in complexity over time. It operates with no purpose, no rhyme or reason and there is no guardian who limits the depth of the abysses in the landscape we traverse. On the plus-side, nobody restricts the heights (this is not to say that the depths or heights are infinite). The mindless pattern underlies and determines everything, including the mindless “design process” of evolution, and the human mind. The human mind is the first and only known entity in the universe that has learned about the mindless and unbreakable pattern, and has come to know the rules the pattern follows in everyday life, i.e. the rules that govern us and our local surroundings. I give credence to this scientific worldview because of its predictive power and the technological progress it has made possible. The big question mark for me is consciousness, how does subjective experience with intrinsic properties emerge from a mindless pattern? The question might be fundamentally confused, I’m certainly also open to that possibility.
I wanted to write this post to explain my focus on future technology, such as superintelligence, and the nature of reality, like the questions about whether we live in a multiverse or a simulation. Especially I want to answer why I take these things seriously. With my scientific view, where the world has no obligation to appeal to our common sense, I take seriously hypothesises that appear strange when these hypothesis are backed by good evidence or rigorous and rational thought, I even expect reality to violate most peoples sensibilities. With technology, humanity is exploiting the power inherent in nature revealed by science and this has made our science and technology rival evolution as the most advanced design process. If evolution can create intelligence, we might outperform it in a tiny fraction of the time (16). It could be important to know if this worldview is inaccurate, as it might profoundly shift what outcome-minded altruists should prioritize. For instance, if I’m wrong about general intelligence being a computable process that is feasible to replicate in machines, I should probably not focus as much on AI. If my assumptions about consciousness turns out to be wrong, that should impact how likely I think it is that we are in a simulation. If I come to realise that I’m too confident in the power of technology and common-sense violating scientific theories taken seriously by scientists, that should lower my relatively high credence in things like the multiverse, and that grand futures are possible and likely to occur in at least some branches of the multiverse, or far away in space on a twin-earth.
(2) https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth As I’m required to mention by the CC-license: graph colors are edited.
(10) There is disagreements among naturalists about whether evolution should be called a ”design process” or not, so I use the term in scare quotes.
(13) There are different definitions of ”free will”, the one I’m using is from Wikipedia: ”Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.” and more specifically I think of free will ”as a psychological capacity, such as to direct one’s behavior in a way responsive to reason”, this is the definition used by determinists, if you think the notion of ”could have done otherwise even if the conditions before the decision were exactly the same” is important in the definition of free will, then you would not be a compatibilist. I like this post by Sean Carroll on determinism and free will.
(14) Page 426, Enlightenment Now.
(15) Maybe that’s why it’s called the hard problem.
(16) One wrinkle in this argument is that the fact of our existence can bias us into thinking intelligence is a likelier outcome of evolution than it actually is, because we are only able to observe evolution in places where it did lead to intelligence, namely us. So the argument that if evolution can do it, so can we might not hold for things like human intelligence, where there could be observer selection effects. I still think a weak form of the argument holds when we look at species far away in the evolutionary tree that have impressive cognitive abilities, like octopi. Read more here. | 2019-04-20T18:52:06Z | https://alblog.me/2018/09/10/a-mindless-pattern/ |
macOS 10.13 High Sierra Now Available: When Should You Upgrade?
Apple has now released macOS 10.13 High Sierra via the Mac App Store for Macs running at least OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, going back to the MacBook and iMac from late 2009 and the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and Mac Pro from 2010. (These are the same hardware requirements as for 10.12 Sierra.) As we noted at the very start of our WWDC coverage in “Tripping to macOS 10.13 High Sierra” (5 June 2017), High Sierra is one of Apple’s smaller upgrades in the recent “tick, tock” of operating systems, including Leopard/Snow Leopard, Lion/Mountain Lion, Yosemite/El Capitan, and now Sierra/High Sierra.
However, as much as High Sierra has relatively few user-facing changes and new features, Apple is using the release to make some huge updates under the hood. High Sierra automatically converts Macs with SSDs to the new APFS file system (see “What Apple’s Forthcoming APFS File System Means to You,” 24 June 2016) and uses the new HEVC and HEIF formats for videos and photos (see “HEVC and HEIF Will Make Video and Photos More Efficient,” 30 June 2017). These infrastructural changes should modernize the Mac’s underpinnings, improve performance, reduce storage needs, and pave the way for future improvements.
The significance of those changes raises the question: when should you upgrade your Mac to High Sierra? With iOS, and even more so with watchOS and tvOS, we generally trust Apple enough to upgrade quickly, in large part because the company exercises such control over those operating systems that they can’t vary much. Plus, frankly, problems with an Apple Watch or Apple TV aren’t likely to impact your life much.
On a Mac, though, there are innumerable opportunities to stray from the straight and narrow, and many users do. If developers follow Apple’s rules, and if Apple did its due diligence during beta testing, there should be no problem with upgrading to High Sierra. But there’s no way to know if the hardware and software on your Mac meet Apple’s specs, or if Apple was able to test your particular configuration. That doesn’t mean anyone failed to do their jobs right; it’s just a fact. Add that to the fact that many of us rely heavily on our Macs to get our jobs done, and the upgrade question becomes all the more important.
Happily, if you follow Joe Kissell’s advice in “Take Control of Upgrading to High Sierra” and make a bootable duplicate right before upgrading, you have nothing to lose except perhaps time. That’s because, in the worst case scenario, you can always reformat your Mac’s boot drive and restore from your bootable duplicate. Joe has released the 1.1 version of his book now, and it includes instructions for downgrading if necessary.
If you can’t spare the time to deal with unanticipated problems. That’s true if you’re upgrading your own Mac or if you’re upgrading the Macs of users who you support (see “Important High Sierra Changes for IT Admins,” 11 September 2017).
If you’re uncomfortable with the tasks involved with downgrading despite Joe’s advice.
If some piece of software you rely on is incompatible with High Sierra. Developers are releasing updates, but older versions of apps may experience problems.
Users of one particular class of software should delay upgrades: those who rely on disk utilities that haven’t yet been upgraded to be compatible with APFS. You really don’t want to let an old disk utility touch an APFS-formatted drive. That could also be true of backup software. Although the developers of Carbon Copy Cloner and Mac Backup Guru have said that they’re ready for APFS, the developers behind SuperDuper have expressed more worry due to minimal documentation from Apple (nonetheless, SuperDuper 3.0B1 is available for testing).
If you do upgrade to High Sierra, make sure to maintain a Time Machine backup, since Apple has undoubtedly used its internal knowledge about APFS to update Time Machine as necessary. Up-to-date backups protect you from a multitude of evils.
Now, despite these words of caution, if you’ll excuse me, I need to finish going through Joe’s checklists so I can upgrade my main iMac.
Comments About macOS 10.13 High Sierra Now Available: When Should You Upgrade?
What about those of us who have home or office networks with some machines that can't run 10.13 because of hardware or software issues? Can macs running 10.11 or 10.12 access files in APFS formats on other Macs in the network?
I just tested by networking my iMac (10.12) to my MBA (10.13) and everything is there and accessible.
That shouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that Macs whose drives are formatted with APFS cannot use AFP for networking and must rely instead on SMB. Since SMB has been the default for a while, few people should have any issues there, even still.
I'm afraid "should" is the appropriate word. A while back I ran into a problem with file sharing between my MacMini and MacBookPro, both running El Capitan. I couldn't share files either way until I turned off SMB in the file-sharing preferences. This is discussed in https://discussions.apple.com/message/30544913 but you have to ignore the first proposed solution, which does not work for most and should not have been flagged as "solved". There may be some other root problem, but I spent quite a while finding this work-around.
Any comments on whether the problems with PDFKit in Sierra have been fixed in High Sierra? I have not seen any update yet on this issue which is definitely still a concern for many.
I haven't heard anything yet, but I'll ping my sources.
Did the download, then install and reboot. Now for the past 2+ hours have nothing but white screen with a circle and slash. Have tried SafeBoot, but it won’t go there for me. Found this website while seeking help.
Sounds like it might be worth restoring from the backup you hopefully made right before updating.
Those of us who ditched stuff like CCC and SD years ago in favor of the built-in Disk Utility for cloning/restoring can rest assured that our workflow will remain fully compatible with APFS and/or macOS X HS.
Problem is, Apple's backup not bootable. And that's a requirement for me...I have software which runs 24*7 and need to get back up and running quickly. I'll sort out the problem on the primary boot drive later.
TM Backups aren't bootable. Clones made with Disk Utility are very much bootable considering they're a bit copy.
I read an article that said that APFS only worked on SSD right now and was wondering how this would work with my Carbon Copy Cloner and TimeMachine HDD drives.
But I also saw an Apple page on this saying that bootable HDD would work with AFS - is that the same as APFS?
So my MBP is SSD, and my two backup drives are HDD. Am I safe in that regard?
High Sierra automatically converts your Mac's boot drive to APFS if it's an SSD, and you can't avoid that. If the boot drive is a Fusion Drive or hard disk drive, it will not be converted. High Sierra will not convert any external drives automatically, regardless of type.
You can choose to convert an HDD or a Fusion Drive to APFS, but it's not required in order to run High Sierra.
Apple seems to use AFS in some of their articles when they are talking about APFS. This is certainly confusing and, in my opinion, quite careless in an environment where precision is important. The file system Apple has been using for many years is HFS+. APFS (or AFS) is new. Supposedly it's more efficient, but that premise has not been well tested yet. If you upgrade to macOS 10.13 your SSD will be converted to APSF automatically. You don't say what utility you used to create your backups. Until whatever utility you used is upgraded for High Sierra you will not be able to use them for further backups. But, as Adam suggests, you should be able to boot from those backups in order to reformat your SSD to HFS+ and then you can clone the backup to your internal drive. If you have no problems with High Sierra on your SSD then this will not be necessary. But it's important to be prepared for trouble rather than wish you had.
It's also important to repeat the advice to bring your backup up-to-date just before you upgrade to High Sierra, just in case you need to downgrade.
I make a point to hold off upgrading my system until I've heard from early adopters (like Adam) how well or poorly the new system works. Almost without exception it does no harm to wait. In the present case there are a number of changes in the technologies under the hood in High Sierra that have not really been tested "in the wild." I've got more reading to do before I'll be confident that I understand them sufficiently well.
As a test, I upgraded my "just for emergencies if my MBP is broken" iMac late 2009 to High Sierra. No problems so far, but it took a very long time. I started it at about midnight, and at 2 am it was still showing "20 minutes left." This morning it was done and I had the login screen.
Now it's going through something, I don't know what, with iCloud. In the meanwhile, the other settings and apps are working.
System Utilities shows the HDD was not converted to APFS automatically. I suppose there is some way to do that?
My backup utility is the latest version of Carbon Copy Cloner, which is supposed to be High Sierra ready.
Please disregard this comment. This was true in beta but not true in the release version. Apple says APFS is coming to Fusion Drives, but hasn't given a firm timeline.
When Apple mentions AFS they mean Apple File Service as opposed to let's say SMB. AFS has nothing to do with APFS. The former is a protocol for file sharing (remember AppleTalk?) while the latter is a file system.
Oh yeah. I believe it's at least as common to see AFP as AFS. I believe the former is just part of the latter (one of the protocols offered), but it's the part users probably deal with most, especially considering the historic evolution of file sharing on the Mac.
One thing that is definitely wrong in 10.13 is the Safari. The Activity Monitor reports Safari or the network content process (Not responding). Try the news web pages and hangs.
As a comment. If you come across speed problem with the Safari check extensions. I got rid of one at it now works very fast.
Any comment about upgrading when one has an iMac fusion drive?
You can upgrade to High Sierra, but your drive won't be converted to APFS. I imagine that at some point during the evolution of High Sierra that will happen, much as it did with iOS in 10.3. So I don't have a feel for whether you'd prefer to wait until Fusion Drives are supported for APFS, or if it's better that they'll remain as HFS+ right now.
I'm sure posts and articles will appear about how to convert the Fusion drive boot portion to APFS. I recommend staying away from those (as I plan to) until Apple releases a dot release that does that job.
I have a slightly odd situation in that I just bought an (Apple refurbished") Mini 2014 with fusion drive. Since I was phasing over from an old iMac which is stuck on El Capitan, I went onto the public beta soon after lighting up the machine (but late enough that the drive was not converted, saving the "unconvert.") That meant I could nuke and pave if necessary without data loss.
I went to the beta because I had some in-development company code that I needed to exercise with APFS (no problems). I partitioned the fusion drive before going to the beta (and it still has a Sierra startup partition for testing).
I did the APFS testing in a converted partition with two partitions in the new APFS container.
Before HighSierra final, I removed the APFS stuff leaving an HFS+ partition in its place.
High Sierra final fell cleanly onto the machine, which has been running well throughout this adventure.
This page here - https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/APFS_Guide/FAQ/FAQ.html - says APFS works with a regular HDD and will boot from it.
1. Can I use Apple File System with my existing hard disk drive?
2. Can I boot macOS High Sierra from an APFS-formatted hard disk?
I am still on Yosemite, and I am very happy there is Tidbits and Joe Kissell to help me decide whether to upgrade. I have no idea what APFS, HFS+, HEVC or any of the other acronyms stand for or what their presence/absence means.
However, I know that when I have to learn them and their meaning, Joe and Tidbits will be there explain the technical language and help me with upgrades, problems, slow downs and whatever other disasters come. Thank you.
If Apple stays true to form, they will no longer be providing security updates for OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Which means you will stay there at your own risk. For what it's worth, I suggest you upgrade to El Capitan at least in order to remain under Apple's security umbrella. I moved from OS X 10.9 Mavericks to Sierra with few problems—I had already upgraded the utilities I use to Sierra compatible versions.
"Apple has now released macOS 10.13 High Sierra via the Mac App Store for all Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and later."
This is incorrect. An early 2009 24" iMac, for example, can run ElCapitan, but can't upgrade beyond that; late 2009 iMacs can be upgraded. The early 2009s shipped with Leopard; the late 2009s with Snow Leopard (which may or not be relevant).
Perhaps it's not so much incorrect as incomplete. The implication I took was that you had to be running Mountain Lion or later to download and install High Sierra. An amplification about the compatible hardware was, perhaps, called for as well since it's clear, from your response, that it's possible to draw the wrong conclusion based on software alone.
No, actually, it was incorrect. "For all Macs running OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion" *is* a hardware statement; it states that "all macs" running 10.8 can upgrade, not that a Mac has to be running at least 10.8. It's not that I drew an implication or came to an incorrect conclusion, but that it is what was written. I knew beforehand what was intended (it's pretty obvious if you know the requirements); but what was written not only missed that but ended up presenting a factual error. Your comment actually led Adam not to recognize the error that exists, instead of correcting it.
Yes, that was more of an ellision that might have been ideal. What I was trying to point out is that Apple says that 10.8 is the minimum requirement for upgrading to High Sierra, so if you're running an earlier version, it might not install. Joe thought the minimum was 10.7.5 in the betas; we're not sure what changed.
As far as Mac hardware compatibility goes, it's everything that can run Sierra, and Joe has the full list in "Take Control of Upgrading to High Sierra."
Adam, I have a concern about what I've read about how upgrading to High Sierra applies a firmware update to the computer. Does this firmware upgrade impact the viability of downgrading to Sierra or any other version of the Mac OS that may have pertained before the upgrade?
Also, from what I've read, you cannot write to an APSF volume from an HFS+ boot drive, which would mean that one would need to upgrade any utility disk you might use to APSF in order to run a maintenance utility, even Disk Utility. ?
My understanding is that no, the firmware update that's necessary for APFS will not affect the Mac's ability to boot from HFS+ in any way. It's merely additive.
And no, I don't think what you're saying is correct about a Mac booted from HFS+ not being able to access an APFS volume. It must be running High Sierra, but HFS+ is not a problem.
During the beta, I installed High Sierra on my MacPro (trashcan) via an external SSD. It appeared that the firmware update was installed since the Mac did a reboot in the middle of the install. I had no problem using Sierra as my primary OS until the release of 10.13 (High Sierra).
If you were able to upgrade to Sierra, you can technically upgrade to High Sierra.
Whether that will address your performance issues, I can't say. It's not uncommon for a Mac to be slow for a while after upgrading as Spotlight rebuilds its databases, but it shouldn't persist for more than a day at most, I wouldn't think.
My approach would be to upgrade to High Sierra, and if there was a performance problem, do a clean install of High Sierra again. Joe's "Take Control of Upgrading to High Sierra" has all the instructions for that (link is above in the article).
You cannot use APFS on a Fusion Drive (like the one in my iMac) in the release version of High Sierra. Unfortunately, for those brave souls who were testing the beta version, which could use APSF, if they formatted their Fusion Drives to APSF, they will have to back up their files and reformat the drive to HFS+ to use the release version of macOS 10.13. Apple provides a tricky procedure using Terminal to create a High Sierra installer disk from which you can erase the Fusion Drive and then reinstall High Sierra and restore you files using Time Machine, if that was your backup medium.
So I won't have to worry about the new file system for awhile. Whew!
Yes, correct, though Apple says that APFS is coming to Fusion Drives eventually.
Does upgrading to High Sierra mean being stuck with iTunes 12.7? If so, I'm holding off as long as possible. I don't want to lose the ability to use iTunes to manage my iOS apps.
No, you can upgrade to High Sierra without updating to iTunes 12.7. I'm not yet sure in what situations iTunes 12.7 is required — 12.6 seems to be able to sync with my iPhone 7 running iOS 11.0.1 fine.
If you are using Adobe's Creative Cloud, do not upgrade to High Sierra. See the article 'Mac Users Should Not Upgrade to High Sierra Yet' at indesignsecrets.com and included links to Adobe forums and announcements.
Yeah, it's distressing that Adobe hasn't fixed this already, and that it wasn't reported sooner.
Yes, it is not as if this were an error deep in the plumbing triggered by an obscure corner issue.
I just found out the Final Cut Express is broken under High Sierra, $300 to upgrade to the Pro version! I wish they would provide an upgrade path for a discount!
I need to reinstall USB fax modem capabilities after upgrading to High Sierra; I had fax modem capability with Sierra using instructions previously posted here and on GitHub (Reinstall USB Fax Modem Capabilities on macOS Sierra ) However I now get "Hold for Authentication" in the fax window after submitting a job. Any ideas ?
I upgraded my MBP (late 2013 retina, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM) to High Sierra tonight. It took about an hour from download to upgrade complete.
No problems so far. All my open applications opened up.
The SSD was converted automatically to APFS.
When done my free space went up from 90 GB to 135 GB. | 2019-04-18T12:24:22Z | https://tidbits.com/2017/09/25/macos-10-13-high-sierra-now-available-when-should-you-upgrade/ |
Thanks to the technology nowadays, markets are full of great products. Best Vinyl Cutting Machine is another wonder of tech. And technology is really keeping up to date with everything, as they're expanding and meeting customers needs more than ever before.
It's the same deal with vinyl cutter machines. Manufacturers are constantly updating cutter machines, to match the needs of the customers. If you need a vinyl cutter machine for home use or even a business use, you will be able to find some for a relatively cheap price.
As we all know, best vinyl cutting machine can be priced in thousand of dollars, still low priced ones will do a great job for your home or office use.
If you are here to learn, you've come to the right place. Because in this post, I will help you learn what are the vinyl cutter machines - if you don't know yet, what is their purpose, what will you be able to do with them and I will show you top 10 vinyl cutter machines from my personal recommendation.
What Can I Make With Vinyl Cutter?
What To Look Before Buying a Good Vinyl Cutter Machine?
The easiest explanation for a vinyl cutter machine would be a small type of machine which is controlled by a computer.
They look like a computer home printers and they have a very similar mission, so you can think of a vinyl cutter like a small printer but with a sharp blade instead of a pen.
Computer printers are controlled by the computer just like a vinyl cutter, however, printer's purpose is to print out anything we demand by using a computer while vinyl cutter has a sharp blade and he cuts out anything we demand by using a computer.
Vinyl cutter will cut out shapes in adhesive vinyl which allows you to stick it onto any surface.
Using software such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw you will be able to send the design to a vinyl cutter. You will be able to make custom designed gift cards or even pillows.
As I have mentioned before, by getting a vinyl cutter you will be able to send the wanted design to the vinyl cutter machine through the computer, which will then cut the design with a sharp blade onto the adhesive vinyl.
You will be able to choose from wide variety of colors, such as gold or silver foil which will make vinyl that simulates frosted glass, reflective or even holographic vinyl.
Only sky is the limit as you will be able to make labels & stickers which you will be able to stick onto your car, paper engineering, paints,T-shirt, prototypes, custom apparel and even silicon printing.
There are only a few limits, so you can really have a freedom and do anything you want. Being creative will help in this case, yet if you aren't a really creative person it's okay since there are plenty of ideas on the internet so all you have to do is find something you like and get to work!
As there are many different versions of vinyl cutters, we had to look for individual factors and then combine them all together to get top 10 vinyl cutter machines.
There are many more important features and details, but these are one of the most needed ones.
Size of a vinyl cutter is important because it depends on how big projects will you be working on. You will need to know what's the max size of your vinyl sheets. The bigger the vinyl sheets size - the more pricey will be the cutter, so that's something to keep in mind.
Although, I don't recommend settling down for the smallest size in a hope you won't need a bigger size ever. It's better to be ready than unable to do a project you want.
Types of materials depend on your purpose. If you want to cut only vinyl, then you can settle down with a less expensive model. However, if you want to be able to cut foil, thick plastic or even fabrics - you should consider going for a high-end model.
Again, I don't want you to settle down with the less expensive option just because you don't think you will need better features. It's better to invest some money, so later you have a piece of equipment which will meet your requirements and expectations.
Adequate support and additional parts are always of help. You will want to have a full support once you decide to purchase a vinyl cutter. If you have one vinyl cutter and it breaks down, you don't want to find yourself in a trouble.
Purchasing a vinyl cutter from a bigger brand might be a smarter idea because they will offer better support and replacement parts in the case something breaks down.
I don't recommend purchasing used out-of-date vinyl cutters because there is a higher risk for them to break down, and once they break down - you will have a hard time finding the right parts to replace.
Ease of use is very important. You want a vinyl cutter machine which will be easy to use as much as the software you will use to command the vinyl cutter. If you have experience with vinyl cutters, you can purchase a high-end model with a less user-friendly model.
However, if someone who has never used a vinyl cutter before will operate it, the best for everyone would be to go with a user-friendly model which will be easy to handle for beginners.
Type of a drive motor plays a role as well. There are stepper motors and digital servo motors. Stepper motors are older technology and they move in small steps by physical gears. As it's the mechanical option, they can be sometimes noisy and have a little loss in precision.
On the other hand, digital servo motors are newer technology and they're more economical as they allow the manufacturers to produce vinyl cutters which are more affordable.
We have taken every aspect of the best vinyl cutter machines to make this list, so you can be sure you won't miss by going for any of the cutters listed down below.
All you need to take care of now is your budget, and keep in mind your purpose for getting a vinyl cutter.
By the criteria, I have made where I have listed all the features, cons and pros of the vinyl cutter machines, I have come up with top 10 vinyl cutter machines listed down below.
This vinyl cutter is 34" which is important as I have mentioned earlier. It comes with a VinylMaster Cut software for ease access and process of designing and cutting your favorite vinyl.
This vinyl cutter won't limit your material to only a vinyl. It allows you to use any of the 60+ materials available.
It also has ability to cut even through different few layers. Thanks to the adjustable pinch rollers you will be able to use other materials such as plastic or fabric.
A blade which is inside this cutter is a respected brand Roland, so if your blade ever breaks or you experience problems - you will have access to the most economical replacement blades available.
If you decide to purchase this vinyl cutter, you will be instantly ready to start working on your vinyl.
Everything necessary is provided and it comes with this vinyl cutter. It includes vinyl rolls, transfer tapes, magnetic blades, squeegee, knife and even a lifetime phone support.
Size of 34", great software, no limitations when it comes to materials, replaceable Roland blade, everything necessary to start working immediately and a fullsupport by their agents over the phone.
I have received some complaints about the stand which is provided with the cutter, however, if you experience a problem with it - it's an easy fix.
Silhouette Cameo has always worked hard to update their vinyl cutters. This is their newest model and it comes with a bundle for starters.
It has all the necessary kit ready to begin producing vinyl. It will get you prepared with the software and templates for you to choose from.
If you aren't very creative as I have mentioned before, templates will keep you busy until you think of a design yourself. In this latest model, this vinyl cutter has a touch screen and you will also get a 1-month free membership to silhouette download store where you will find all kinds of useful templates and designs.
On top of that, you will also get $25 USD to download things from Silhouette's site. This vinyl cutter is great for beginners, because of all the extra kit which is provided and user-friendly vinyl cutter with a touch screen option.
User-friendly, provided software, it comes with free templates, 1-month free membership to download store, easy to learn and use.
There are some speculations that there might be glitches with the software. Which doesn't mean it's the vinyl cutter or software problem, but rather a computer.
It's another vinyl cutter from Silhouette. This version is a little bit older than previous one.
however, it's still great for beginners. You will get 50 digital designs to start with, $10 USD for a download store and free software for both Windows OS and Mac OS.
Silhouette Portrait will allow you to use a variety of materials including fabric, cardstock, hard plastic, paper and much more. This is a better option for beginners who don't want to spend a fortune on Silhouette Cameo, instead, they can master the craft with Silhouette Portrait first.
The portrait isn't too loud, but it's not too quiet and that's because of the mechanical stepper motors I talked about earlier. If you don't mind a little bit of noise, then you will be alright.
User-friendly great for beginners, software compatible with both OS, 50 digital designs to start with, $10 USD to use in their download store, no limitation of material, a great price.
It is a little bit tricky to use your own designs instead of the designs they have provided. However, they have a full store of their designs so if that problem occurs to you, you'll have an easy solution.
As I have stated that technology is upgrading constantly nowadays, Circut Explore Air is a real proof of that.
It has embedded Bluetooth connection for wireless cutting which will save your time sorting the cables out.
You will have a freedom to use any material from 60 available materials. You will be able to all of that by simply following their software Free Cricut Design Space, which is available for computers but also for iPad - which I find really amazing.
It looks more like a printer, and it has the ability to cut and write at the same time which is a great feature.
Wireless access which makes things faster and easier, no limitation on the material, cut and write at the same time option, free software which is available even for the iPad.
It has a potential as a powerful device, but the software just isn't delivering the very best.
Air 2 is an upgraded version of the Air which we have seen previously.
Cricut Explore has done their very best to make this model way better than the last version.
Air 2 has become a DIY machine which allows you to custom vinyl stickers, greeting cards, home decor, custom design apparel and much more. It also features a better software called Cricut Design space which is available for computers, tablets, and even mobile phones.
They didn't stop at tablets. Now you can design your favorite vinyl using your mobile phone.
Also, a great feature is Smart Set Dial which will make precise cut everything you make your own design, thanks to the calculation of the depth and pressure of vinyl cutter.
You won't be limited to any of the materials because this cutter will be able to cut 100+ different materials.
It's also wireless like a previous version so you won't need to deal with cables, just connect to it with your software, start designing and producing your custom vinyl.
Better updated version, better software, possibility to use any out of 100+ materials, custom designs, Smart Set Dial feature for precise cuts.
Software needs the internet to be able to use it. It's not a cloud software.
It is the same vinyl cutter like the previous one, however, this one comes with the bundle. You will get 100+ free images and 50+ free project ideas, however, that's not everything this bundle includes.
You will get color candy shop pen set tool kit which has all the necessary tools for creating your design, 8 sheets of vinyl with 2 sheets of transfer paper, 4 pack of glitter heat sheets of transfer paper, exclusive Craft e-Corner Vinyl and heat transfer designs.
All of that will get you right on the track and you will be ready to start producing your custom vinyl once you set the vinyl cutter up. You won't need to worry about materials, tools or designs as everything within this bundle is provided and you only need to think of the custom design you want.
However, if you aren't creative enough, you will also get a book about designs and project inspiration which will teach you and give you ideas how to make your own custom design in the future.
It looks like a printer and actually, it's even smaller than a printer, yet it's such a powerful tool.
Everything necessary for work including tools and materials are included, wireless access, software available even on your smartphone, necessary help to design own custom vinyl.
Maybe it's not user-friendly for beginners. But with some time you will learn everything and master the craft, no doubts.
We have seen two different models from Silhouette already, but Cameo 3 is the newest and the latest model out there.
It's similar to the Cameo II model, however, Cameo 3 has some improvements which will benefit the customers. At the first sight, you could have already seen that this model is a wireless cutter.
It's common that new vinyl cutters have wireless for easy access. You will also get plugs and cables for your home, just in case. It's 12 inches wide and 10 feet long, and you will be able to use any of the materials including vinyl, fabric, plastic and any other materials.
You won't have problems cutting thicker materials either such as hard plastic. Cameo 3 is available with a few different software which is good.
You will be able to use self-adjusting AutoBlade, Print & Cut, PixScan technology and you will also have an access to the Silhouette Studio Software. All of that will make the process of designing and creating way easier for you.
An improved model of Cameo II, wireless connection, no limitations on the materials, different software and technology available to help, price.
Cutter might not work correctly if you don't use the provided software.
Sizzix is one of the vinyl cutters which have an extended platform. It's nice to see that as all of the other cutters look like small printers.
It has a roller style, you will be able to use many different materials but also it's a portable vinyl cutter. Designing and creating own cards, shapes, home decors, art and much more.
The limit is your creativity, I would say. The more creative you are, the more you will be able to design and create. You will be able to use Sizzix library for inspiration and designs, but you will also be able to use any other tools.
Multi-purpose extended platform, no limitations when it comes to materials, can even cut through 6 different layers, designing and creating is easy, ability to use it with any software, access to Sizzix library, 3-years warranty, support.
I've heard from someone that Sizzix comes with small screws which don't fit very well and that's why the lifespan might be short. However, they've got new replaceable parts directly from the company after one call. So it's not a problem at all.
We have seen already this vinyl cutter, it was on this list previously, however, this cutter comes in a bundle.
I always prefer to choose a bundle, and I would always recommend it because there are so many things you get which will be necessary for your designing and creating art at some point.
And when that time comes, you will have everything ready. It's user-friendly vinyl cutter Cameo 3, the newest and the latest model. What you get with this bundle is 24 sheets of permanent Oracal 651 vinyl, 8 pack of sketch pens, auto blade, vinyl trimmer, ratchet adjustment tool and many more useful tools.
They will help you with your creation and design art. You will also have an access to 100 exclusive designs, and a bonus of $25 in downloads from Silhouette Download Store.
There is 30 days membership of Silhouette University which you will be part of where you will be able to find Cameo 3 instruction class. You will be taught how to get inspired, get the idea, create a design and finally make it art.
Everything necessary in the bundle including papers, tools, and bonus things. Good for beginners, instruction class, 100 exclusive designs to choose from, $25 USD to spend in Silhouette Download Store.
Blade cuts too deep sometimes which can cause vinyl to get destroyed.
Last on our list, but not the least important for sure. As Brother has stated, this is a home & hobby cutting machine.
It looks very like a home printer, however, this vinyl cutter has some great features. It comes with a LED screen which is almost 5" big, and it is 30% larger than in the previous model.
You will be able to connect to the device wirelessly, and it has 700 different designs you will be able to choose from, and also 7 different fonts. The best thing about this cutter is the 300DPI built-in-scanner which gives you the ability to scan and create your own cut files.
After you have scanned something, you will have an access to ScanNCutCanvas cloud application for editing and designing cut data. There is also step-by-step training provided so it's a very user-friendly device.
I would recommend this device to anyone who wants to create their own designs. You will be able to find any design and scan it or even draw yours and produce it! Custom designed pillows, cards, home decor and much more is just a simple step away from you using the Brother CM350 vinyl cutter.
It doesn't only have a vinyl cutter option, but it has a built-in scanner which is a huge advantage when compared to other vinyl cutters.
Definitely built-in scanner, being able to scan anything and make your own print to cut vinyl, 700 different designs, 7 different fonts, wireless connection, big LED screen.
Someone complained that it is not a very user-friendly device, but once you read the manual or look up a few videos online or even the step-by-step instructions provided, you will do alright.
You should definitely look for the purpose of what you intend to do. On this list, there are many vinyl cutters, yet they are so different. You will need to know what are the features you would want to have with your vinyl cutter, what support will you get and what the purpose will it be for.
Reading how we chose these top 10 cutters might help you to understand what to look for in the vinyl cutter machine. Look into the features, if it is a user-friendly cutter, what is the support like, do you get a warranty, and what else do you get provided along the cutter.
Buying a bundle is a great option even for beginners because you will have everything necessary to start working on even the most complex designs.
You won't miss by going for any of these vinyl cutters on the list. They are the top 10 out of many cutters out there, so I made sure that they're really quality and that they would serve the purpose even to someone who is new into the vinyl cutting.
Also, every vinyl cutter is different, so I made sure that there is a support on all of these devices, plus lessons or classes.
Basically, I chose the best vinyl cutting machine for you to help you decide it easily.
You should take this slowly as there are many things to consider. But once you find the right one, you will know it. It will have everything you wanted, and once you feel like that - you know it's the right one.
What is your experience with the vinyl cutters?
Let me know in the comments, feel free to share your experience and opinion but also ask any questions if the help is needed and I will be more than pleased to answer. | 2019-04-26T00:29:02Z | https://top10suggest.com/best-vinyl-cutting-machine/ |
ATP-dependent chromatin remodelling proteins represent a diverse family of proteins that share ATPase domains that are adapted to regulate protein–DNA interactions. Here, we present structures of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Chd1 protein engaged with nucleosomes in the presence of the transition state mimic ADP-beryllium fluoride. The path of DNA strands through the ATPase domains indicates the presence of contacts conserved with single strand translocases and additional contacts with both strands that are unique to Snf2 related proteins. The structure provides connectivity between rearrangement of ATPase lobes to a closed, nucleotide bound state and the sensing of linker DNA. Two turns of linker DNA are prised off the surface of the histone octamer as a result of Chd1 binding, and both the histone H3 tail and ubiquitin conjugated to lysine 120 are re-orientated towards the unravelled DNA. This indicates how changes to nucleosome structure can alter the way in which histone epitopes are presented.
The DNA inside cells contains all the information needed to build an organism. Human DNA measures about 2 metres. To condense it, DNA is wrapped around eight histone proteins to form disc-like structures, called nucleosomes. Nucleosomes are further compressed into chromatin fibres that make up our chromosomes.
The way DNA is packaged and positioned into the nucleosomes can be variably controlled and affects how genes are switched on and off. Although all cells have the same DNA, the way specific genes are turned on and off gives rise to the different types of cells in our body. Specialised motor proteins, called ‘chromatin remodellers’, control the positioning of nucleosomes inside cells. In yeast cells, for example, the protein Chd1 moves nucleosomes along the DNA so that they are evenly spaced. So far, it has been unclear how chromatin remodellers interact with nucleosomes.
To investigate this further, Sundaramoorthy et al. studied the structure of Chd1 bound to a nucleosome, in which one histone protein was modified with a molecule, called ubiquitin, which is present on genes where Chd1 is known to be active. The structure revealed that both Chd1 and the nucleosome did not have their usual shape. Moreover, Chd1 partially unwrapped DNA from the nucleosomes. As a consequence, the ubiquitin moved to interact with the unwrapped DNA; as did a flexible area on one of the histones, known as ‘histone tail’. Both ubiquitin and histone tails play important roles in signalling processes on chromatin. Therefore, such a rearrangement could affect the transmission of signals from chromatin.
The organisation of nucleosomes affects the accessibility of the underlying DNA. As a result, any process that happens on DNA is affected – including controlling when genes are turned on and off under normal conditions, and when things go wrong during diseases. A better knowledge of how the organisation of nucleosomes is controlled will improve our understanding of gene regulation.
The extended family of ATPases related to the yeast Snf2 protein acts to alter DNA-protein interactions (Flaus et al., 2006; Narlikar et al., 2013). They act on a diverse range of substrates. For example, while the Mot1 protein acts on complexes between the TATA box binding protein BP and DNA (Wollmann et al., 2011), the Snf2 protein carries out ATP-dependent nucleosome disruption (CoteCôté et al., 1994). At the heart of all these proteins are paired domains capable of rearranging during the ATP hydrolysis cycle to create a ratchet like motion along DNA in single base increments (Clapier et al., 2017; Gu and Rice, 2010; Velankar et al., 1999).
The yeast Chd1 protein is a member of this protein family and acts to organise nucleosomes over coding regions (Gkikopoulos et al., 2011; Ocampo et al., 2016; Pointner et al., 2012; Tran et al., 2000). Consistent with this, Chd1 is known to interact with elongation factors including the Spt4-Spt5 proteins, Paf1 and FACT (Kelley et al., 1999; Krogan et al., 2002; Simic et al., 2003). The partially redundant functions of Chd1 and Isw1 in organising nucleosomes over coding regions are in turn required to prevent histone exchange and non-coding transcription (Hennig et al., 2012; Radman-Livaja et al., 2012; Smolle et al., 2012).
In addition to the positioning of nucleosomes, the distribution of many histone modifications is ordered with respect to promoters (Liu et al., 2005; Mayer et al., 2010). For example, histone H3 K4 methylation is frequently observed at promoters, while histone H3 K79 and K36 trimethylation are detected in coding regions (Kizer et al., 2005; Li et al., 2003; Pokholok et al., 2005). Histone H2B is also observed to be ubiquitinylated within coding regions (Fleming et al., 2008; Xiao et al., 2005). Ubiquitinylation of histone H2B at lysine 123 in budding yeast, H2B K120 (H2BK120ub) in mammals, is dependent on the E2 ligase Rad6 (Robzyk et al., 2000) and the E3 ligase Bre1 (Hwang et al., 2003; Wood et al., 2003) and removed by the deubiquitinases Ubp8 and Ubp10 (Bonnet et al., 2014; Schulze et al., 2011; Wyce et al., 2007). A specific reader of H2BK120ub has not been identified. However, H2BK120ub does assist the histone chaperone FACT in enabling transcription through chromatin (Pavri et al., 2006), and has been found to be required for methylation of histone H3 K4 and K79 (Sun and Allis, 2002). An intriguing aspect of H2BK120ub is that while mutation of the writer enzymes or K120 itself disrupts nucleosome organisation, deletion of the deubiquitinylases increases chromatin organisation (Batta et al., 2011). One way in which H2BK120ub may influence nucleosome organisation is via effects on enzymes responsible for chromatin organisation. Consistent with this H2BK120ub increases nucleosome repositioning mediated by Chd1 (Levendosky et al., 2016).
Yeast Chd1 serves as a useful paradigm in that it functions predominantly as a single polypeptide. In addition, the catalytic core of the enzyme has been crystallised in association with the adjacent tandem chromodomains (Hauk et al., 2010). Similarly the C-terminal region of the protein has been crystalized revealing that this region includes SANT and SLIDE domains that comprise the DNA binding domain (DNABD) (Ryan et al., 2011; Sharma et al., 2011) and are also present in ISWI proteins (Grüne et al., 2003). Chd1 enzyme engages nucleosomes in a conformation in which the SANT and SLIDE domains bind linker DNA, while the ATPase domains engage DNA at super helical location (SHL) 2 (Nodelman et al., 2017; Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). Higher resolution structures of Chd1 (Farnung et al., 2017), Snf2 (Liu et al., 2017) and INO80 (Ayala et al., 2018; Eustermann et al., 2018) show that the ATPase domains make contacts with DNA via residues that are conserved in ancestral single-stranded ATPases and some unique to Snf2-related ATPases. The binding of the Chd1 DNABD unravels two turns of DNA from the surface of nucleosomes in a nucleotide-stimulated reaction (Farnung et al., 2017; Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). Here, we report a structure for the yeast Chd1 protein in association with a nucleosome, bearing modifications that are found to occur within coding regions, where Chd1 is known to act. Interestingly, nucleosomal epitopes are observed to be reconfigured specifically on the side of the nucleosome on which DNA is unwrapped. This indicates the potential for changes to nucleosome structure to reconfigure the way in which histone epitopes are presented.
As Chd1 functions on transcribed genes, it is of interest to understand the interplay between Chd1 and histone modifications observed in coding region chromatin. As a result, nucleosomes were prepared in which histone H3 K36 was alkylated to mimic trimethylation (Figure 1—figure supplement 1) and H2B cross-linked to ubiquitin (Figure 1—figure supplement 2). Conditions were established to favour binding of a single Chd1 to modified nucleosomes that included an asymmetric linker DNA extension of 14 bp (Figure 1—figure supplement 2B) in the presence of ADP-BeF. Purified complexes were frozen onto EM grids.
2D classification of some 893000 particles revealed 16 classes in which nucleosomes with the Chd1 molecule attached could be identified (Figure 1—figure supplement 3B). Initial 3D classification resulted in five related classes (Figure 1—figure supplement 3C). Three of these were combined and reclassified as six classes, one of which was selected for refinement. This resulted in the generation of a map with an average resolution of 4.5 Å (FSC 0.143) (Figure 1—figure supplement 4A). The resolution varies within the map, with resolution highest in the region occupied by the nucleosome and ATPase lobes and lower resolution in the vicinity of the DNABD and ubiquitin peptides (Figure 1—figure supplement 4B). The nucleosome particles exhibited a preferred orientation, which may limit the resolution (Figure 1—figure supplement 4C). A structural model was generated to fit the density map making use of the structures of a nucleosome assembled on the 601 DNA sequence, Chd1 chromoATPase, and DNABD (Figure 1). The fit for individual components of the structure to the electron density is shown in Figure 1—figure supplement 5.
(A, B) Overall fit of nucleosome bound Chd1 to density map. Chd1 chromodomains – yellow, DNABD – dark blue, ATPase lobe one cyan, ATPase lobe two blue, Ubiquitin dark yellow, H2B yellow, H2A red, H3 green, H4 blue. (C, D) Two views of the structural model.
The overall organisation of Chd1 is similar to that observed previously by cryo EM (Farnung et al., 2017; Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017) and directed cross-linking (Nodelman et al., 2017). The ATPase domains are bound at the SHL-2 location. Of the two SHL2 locations within nucleosomes, the bound site is in closest proximity to SANT-SLIDE domain bound linker DNA in physical space, but distal on the unwrapped linear DNA sequence (Figure 1). Chd1 predominantly contacts the nucleosome via contacts with DNA, via the DNABD in the linker and ATPase lobes at SHL2; contacts with histones are limited to the histone H3 and H4 N-terminal regions discussed below.
We previously showed that Chd1 binding results in nucleotide-dependent unwrapping of nucleosomal DNA resulting from the interaction of the DNABD with linker DNA (Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). The higher resolution of the current structure shows that precisely two turns of nucleosomal DNA are unravelled (Figure 1). The extent of DNA unwrapping observed here when Chd1 is bound to nucleosomes flanked by a 14 base pair linker DNA is identical to that observed when Chd1 is bound to the opposite surface of the 601 nucleosome positioning sequence with a 63 base pair linker (Farnung et al., 2017). As the interaction of histones with the two sides of the 601 positioning sequence differ quite dramatically (Chua et al., 2012; Hall et al., 2009; Levendosky et al., 2016; Ngo et al., 2015), this suggests that the extent of unwrapping is dominated by the properties of Chd1 rather than the affinity of DNA for the octamer. The path of this unwrapped DNA is oriented away from the plane of the wrapped DNA gyre and is kinked at the location where contacts are made with the SANT-SLIDE domains (Figure 1). Other than DNA unwrapping, we do not detect additional changes in the organisation of DNA on Chd1 bound nucleosomes at this resolution.
The orientation of the DNABD is critical in determining the extent of DNA unwrapping. The only contacts detected between the DNABD and the remainder of Chd1 are contacts with the chromodomains (Figure 2 contact I and II). The first of these is the interaction between K329 of chromodomain II and D1201 P1202 in the SLIDE component of the DNABD and has been observed previously (Farnung et al., 2017; Nodelman et al., 2017) (Figure 2—figure supplement 1A). The second contact is between S344 and K345 in the linker helix between chromodomain II and ATPase lobe I with the SANT component of the DNA binding domain at D1033-D1038 (Figure 2—figure supplement 1A). Given that chromodomains are present in Chd1 enzymes but not ISWI and Snf2 remodellers, it makes sense that the residues contacted in the SANT and SLIDE domains are most highly conserved in Chd1 proteins (Figure 2—figure supplement 1B) (Hall et al., 2009; Meng et al., 2015; Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017).
Overview of the major contacts constraining the positioning of the Chd1 chromodomains. Colours of domains as for Figure 1. Key contacts are highlighted. (I) Chromodomain II SLIDE, (II) Chromodomain linker helix to SANT, (III) Chromodomain II to ATPase lobe 1, (IV) Chromodomain I to nucleosomal DNA at SHL + 1.
The position of the chromodomains is determined by each of the four contacts made with other components of the complex (Figure 2). When not bound to nucleosomes, the tandem chromodomains of Chd1 are observed to impede DNA binding to the ATPase domains (Hauk et al., 2010). This gave rise to the prediction that these domains would be rearranged in the nucleosome-bound state (Hauk et al., 2010). This is indeed the case as the chromodomains undergo an 18 degree rotation when compared to the orientation observed in the crystal structure of Chd1 in the open state (Figure 3). Following repositioning, chromodomain I interacts with nucleosomal DNA at SHL1 (Figure 2—figure supplement 2) as observed previously (Farnung et al., 2017; Nodelman et al., 2017).
Closure of the ATPase lobes changes the chromodomain interaction surface.
(A) The long acidic helix within chromodomain I interacts with a basic surface on ATPase lobe two in the open state (3MWY). (B) In the closed state, the basic surface on lobe two is rotated towards DNA and replaced with an acidic region. The long acidic helix within chromodomain I is repositioned away from this acidic surface.
Coincident with repositioning of the chromodomains, ATPase lobe II is repositioned closer to lobe I. This results in residues including those contributing to the conserved Walker box motifs (K407 and R804, R807) being brought into an arrangement compatible with ATP catalysis. Density for ADP-BeF within the pocket formed by conserved residues from ATPase domains I and II is well defined (Figure 2—figure supplement 3).
The repositioning of ATPase lobe II enables contacts to be made with nucleosomal DNA (see below), the histone H4 tail and the histone H3 alpha one helix (Figure 2—figure supplement 4).These are the only direct contacts with histone components of the nucleosome. The contact with the H4 tails is conserved in mtISWI and Snf2 (Liu et al., 2017; Yan et al., 2016). D729 and E669 are conserved across all classes of remodelling enzyme but D725 is not as well conserved in Snf2-related enzymes (Figure 2—figure supplement 4B). The conservation of this contact in Chd1 enzymes is consistent with the H4 tail playing an important role in regulating Chd1 activity; deletion or mutation of the H4 tail has been shown to reduce nucleosome sliding and ATPase activity (Ferreira et al., 2007).
The additional helices that make up the protrusion 2 region of ATPase lobe two in Chd1 are conserved in chromatin remodeling ATPases, but not within all SF2 DNA translocases. In the crystal structure of the Chd1 chromoATPase and the previously published Chd1-nucleosome structure this region was not mapped (Farnung et al., 2017; Hauk et al., 2010). However, within the structure presented here residues ranging from 632 to 647 pack against the alpha 1 helix of histone H3. In particular the two conserved residues K632 and K642 are located closer to H3 α1 D81 and E73 (Figure 2—figure supplement 4A). Deletion of this lobe two loop K632-K646 abolishes nucleosome sliding consistent with a role for this region in Chd1 action (Figure 2—figure supplement 5). The residues participating in the interaction are progressively less well conserved in ISWI and SNF2 related proteins (Figure 2—figure supplement 4C). A loop from Phe1033 to Leu 1045 in an equivalent region of the yeast Snf2 protein is not assigned in the Snf2-nucleosome structure, but this region is positioned such that a related contact with histone H3 could be made.
The structure, also provides clues as to how these conformational changes are driven. A central event is likely to be the closure of the cleft between ATPase domains driven by ATP binding (Figure 2—figure supplement 3). The 40o rotation of ATPase lobe II required to form the ATP binding pocket results in a positively charged surface, observed to interact with an acidic surface on the long helix of chromodomain I (Figure 3A) (Hauk et al., 2010), being replaced by an acidic surface likely to repel chromodomain I (Figure 3B). As a result, closure of the ATPase domains is anticipated to drive nucleotide-dependent repositioning of the chromodomains. Pulsed EPR was used to directly measure repositioning of the chromodomains in the absence of nucleosomes (Figure 4). The distance between engineered labels at V256C in chromodomain I and S524C in ATPase lobe1 is 4.4 nm in the open state, consistent with that observed in the crystal structure of the Chd1 chromoATPase domains (Hauk et al., 2010). In the presence of ADP-BeF the 4.4 nm distance predominates, but a shoulder is observed consistent with a proportion of molecules adopting a new conformation with a distance of 5.6 nm (Figure 4) which is similar to that observed in the ADP-BeF bound nucleosome by cryo-EM. This indicates that ATP binding is a driving event for repositioning of the chromodomains.
Nucleotide dependent reconfiguration of Chd1 chromodomains.
Pulsed electron paramagnetic measurements were used to measure the distance between nitroxyl reporter groups attached to Chd1 at ATPase lobe 1 (S524) and chromodomain I (V256). (A) The probability distribution P(r) at different separations was measured in the presence (purple) and absence (blue) of ADP.BeF. The distance corresponding to the major distance is shown for both measurements. The distance corresponding to the additional distribution appears as a shoulder in the presence of ADP.BeFx and is also indicated. Modelled distances between these labelling sites in the open state (3MWY), and the closed state observed in the Chd1 bound nucleosome are indicated in (B) and (C), respectively.
The partial repositioning of the chromodomains observed in free Chd1 is likely to be stabilised by additional favourable interactions formed when this repositioning occurs within the context of nucleosome bound Chd1. These include the formation of contacts between chromodomain I and DNA at SHL1, between ATPase lobe II and the H3 alpha one helix, between ATPase lobe II and the histone H4 tail and most significantly the formation of a substantial interaction interface between ATPase lobe II and nucleosomal DNA at SHL2. The repositioning of the chromodomains in turn acts as a lever to reposition the DNA binding domain. In the context of nucleosomes this results in nucleotide-dependent unwrapping of two turns of nucleosomal DNA (Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). Conversely, the interaction of the DNABD requires linker DNA to be accessible.
In order to investigate how the ability of the DNABD to interact with linker DNA is affected by the presence of an adjacent nucleosome, interactions between dinucleosomes with different separations were modelled. With a linker length of 19 bp Chd1 can be modelled binding the linker between adjacent nucleosomes (Figure 5). However, as the linker between nucleosomes is reduced, steric clashes become increasingly prohibitive. The requirement for a 19 bp linker is likely to provide a limit below which engagement of the DNABD will be less stable. As this lower limit is set by clashes between the DNABD and the adjacent nucleosome, it is different from the length of linker required to occupy the DNA-binding surface of the SANT and SLIDE domains on a mononucleosome with a free DNA linker. In this latter case, seven base pairs of DNA make contact with the DNABD (Figure 1). The c19 bp separation below which access of the DNABD to linker becomes progressively more difficult resonates with the average inter-nucleosome spacing of 19 bp observed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Tsankov et al., 2010). As the conformation of the DNABD is connected via the chromodomains to the ATPase domains, the structure of Chd1 provides molecular connectivity between the availability of nucleosomal linker DNA in excess of 19 bp and the generation of closed nucleotide bound motor domains. This potentially provides a mechanism via which linker DNA length regulates the rate of nucleosome movement (Yang et al., 2006).
Modelling the interaction of Chd1 between adjacent nucleosomes.
The structure of the Chd1 bound nucleosome was used to model binding to the linker between an adjacent nucleosome (grey) by extending the liner DNA to 19 bp. With shorter linkers steric clashes with the adjacent nucleosome become progressively more severe.
Nucleosome repositioning is likely to be driven by the ability of the ATPase domains to drive ATP- dependent DNA translocation. This has been observed directly for several Snf2 family proteins (Deindl et al., 2013; Lia et al., 2006; Sirinakis et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2006) and is conserved within a wider family of superfamily II ATPases (Singleton et al., 2007). Structures of superfamily II single stranded translocases, such as herpes virus NS3, in different NTP bound states illustrate how the ratcheting motion of the ATPase domains drives translocation (Gu and Rice, 2010). To date such a series of structures does not exist for a double strand specific translocase. This raises the question as to whether structures of NS3 can be used to inform key aspects of the mechanism of Chd1 such as identifying the tracking strand. To do this we first align the ATPase lobes of Chd1 individually with NS3. The ATPase lobes of Chd1 like other Snf2 related proteins contain additional helices not conserved with NS3 (Dürr et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2017; Thomä et al., 2005). As a result, the alignment is restricted to conserved helices. In the case of lobe I and II, the RMSD of the fit is 4.9 Å and 6.5 Å, respectively (Figure 6—figure supplement 1A). In the closed state alignment of both domains with the structure of NS3 in the ADP.BeF bound state results in an RMSD of 9.8 Å. Using this alignment, the ssDNA bound by NS3 can be docked into the Chd1-Nucleosome structure (Figure 6A). This ssDNA aligns with the top strand of nucleosomal DNA (Figure 6). Conserved motif Ia in ATPase lobe one and motifs IV and V from ATPase lobe two contact this strand. These residues undergo a ratcheting motion during the course of ATP hydrolysis that drives the ssDNA through NS3 (Gu and Rice, 2010). Similar motion between these residues would be anticipated to drive nucleosomal DNA across the nucleosome dyad in the direction of the longer linker (Figure 6B).
Comparison of NS3 and Chd1 interactions with DNA.
(A) Contacts between motifs conserved with DNA at SHL2. Motifs and colouring are indicated on the structure. The ssDNA from NS3 aligned to Chd1 is shown docked into Chd1 (red). In Chd1 motifs II and III contact the opposite (3’−5’) strand. Contacts made by remodelling enzyme specific extension are labelled A, B and C. The locations of each sequence are indicated in the schematic guide. (B) Schematic indicating directionality in context of a nucleosome. The directionality of NS3 translocation inferred from docking the ssDNA is 3’−5’ away from the nucleosome dyad. Assuming movement of Chd1 around the nucleosome is constrained (for example via contact with linker DNA, the H4 tail and histone H3) translocation of Chd1 with this directionality is anticipated to drive DNA in the opposite direction towards the long linker as indicated.
It is notable that within Chd1 additional DNA contacts are made that differ from those observed in NS3. Firstly, motifs II and III within lobe one contact the opposite DNA strand (Figure 6A). As these motifs are intimately associated with motif Ia they would be anticipated to undergo a similar ratcheting motion with respect to the contacts made by lobe 2. Secondly, the ATPase lobes of Chd1 like those of Snf2 contain additional helices including the protrusions to the helical lobes and the brace helix that are unique to chromatin remodelling enzymes (Figure 6A) (Farnung et al., 2017; Flaus et al., 2006; Liu et al., 2017). These extend the binding cleft between the ATPase lobes and make additional contacts with both DNA strands.
The structure of a fragment of the yeast Snf2 protein bound to a nucleosome revealed contacts between ATPase lobe one with DNA at SHL2 and the adjacent DNA gyre at SHL 6 (Liu et al., 2017) (Figure 6—figure supplement 2A). The basic surface of lobe one responsible for this interaction is not conserved in Chd1, and the acidic residues D464 and E468 make a similar interaction with DNA unlikely. In addition, DNA is not present in this location as it is lifted off the surface of the octamer (Figure 6—figure supplement 2B). In the case of the Snf2 protein the interaction with the adjacent DNA gyre is proposed to anchor the translocase preventing it from transiting around the octamer surface (Liu et al., 2017). Chd1 has a relatively small interaction interface with histones, so there is a similar requirement for DNA interactions to constrain motion of the whole protein. In the case of Chd1 this could instead be provided through the interaction of the chromodomains with DNA at SHL1 and through the interaction of the DNA binding domain with linker DNA. Amino acids 476 to 480 of lobe one also interact with DNA in the unravelled state (Figure 6—figure supplement 2B). These residues are not conserved even in Chd1 proteins so the significance of this contact is not clear.
Chromatin organising motor proteins are capable of catalysing bidirectional nucleosome repositioning that can occur as a result of the binding of two or one enzyme (Blosser et al., 2009; Qiu et al., 2017; Racki et al., 2009; Willhoft et al., 2017). As Chd1 binds to one side of the nucleosome, no steric clashes are anticipated should a second Chd1 bind linker DNA on the opposite side of the nucleosome. To investigate this further, complexes consisting of two Chd1 molecules bound to one nucleosome were prepared using nucleosomal DNA with symmetrical linkers of 14 base pairs and the images processed as indicated (Figure 7—figure supplement 1). Most particles were assigned to 2D classes in which two bound Chd1 molecules are discernible, though one is often more dominant likely as a result of the projections of the dominant orientations observed. All 3D classes have two bound Chd1 molecules and the best refined class provides an envelope with 11 Å resolution (FSC 0.143) (Figure 7). Two Chd1 molecules bound in the same mode observed in the 1:1 complex can be docked into this volume. There are no direct contacts between the two Chd1 proteins suggesting that the two bound enzymes are likely to function independently. Previously, negative stain EM of two Chd1 molecules bound to a single nucleosome indicated that the DNA binding domain interacted with linker DNA on only one side of the nucleosome (Nodelman et al., 2017). Our envelope shows that both DNA-binding domains can bind to linker DNA simultaneously and that the extent of DNA unwrapping is similar on both sides of the nucleosome. We do however observe that within some 3D classes the path of the unwrapped DNA is less clear on one side of the nucleosome. This could relate to differences in the dynamic interactions of Chd1 with DNA on the two sides of the nucleosome (Tokuda et al., 2018).
Complex of two Chd1 bound to one nucleosome.
The volume obtained for the 2Chd1:1Nucleosome complex is shown contoured to 0.0027. Two Chd1 molecules in the conformation observed in Figure 1 and a nucleosome on which DNA is unwrapped from both sides to the same degree as observed on the Chd1 bound side of the 1:1 complex are shown ridged body fitted into the volume. The correlation coefficient for fitting is 0.95. The colouring of domains is as for Figure 1.
On the fully wrapped side of the nucleosome the H3 tail can be traced to proline 38, emerging between the DNA gyres at SHL1. In contrast, on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome the H3 tail can be traced to alanine 26 indicating that on this side of the nucleosome the H3 tail is better ordered. In addition, the trajectory of the tail is different to that observed in previous structures (Figure 8A). This altered trajectory was also not observed in a previous structure of a Chd1-bound nucleosome (Farnung et al., 2017). This structure was made in the presence of PAF1 and FACT complexes which may have contributed to noise in this region that is not apparent in our structure (Farnung et al., 2017). A potential explanation for the defined and altered trajectory of the histone H3 tail on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome is that amino acids within the extreme N-terminal region, that are not resolved in our structure, interact with the unravelled DNA. The 25 N-terminal residues include eight lysine and arginine residues that could interact with DNA at different locations along the unravelled linker. Interestingly, deletion of the H3 tail to H3K36 increases the initial rate at which nucleosomes are repositioned by Chd1 (Figure 8—figure supplement 1). This effect is not dependent on DNA binding via the extreme N-terminus as deletion to K26 does not stimulate Chd1 activity (Figure 8—figure supplement 1). The region of H3 that exerts the repressive effect occupies the density shown in Figure 8A. Surprisingly, no contacts between this region of H3 and Chd1 are observed. It is possible that this region interacts with regions of Chd1 such as the N-terminus that are not resolved, or that the repressive effect is exerted when Chd1 is bound in a conformation different to that observed by EM.
Histone epitopes are repositioned on Chd1 bound nucleosomes.
(A) The histone H3 tail on the unwrapped side of a Chd1 bound nucleosome is shown in dark blue fitted to electron density shown in red. The density extends to residue 26 on this side of the nucleosome and follows a path towards the unwrapped DNA. On the wrapped side of the nucleosome, the H3 tail is less well defined and follows a path similar to that observed on nucleosomes bound by 53BP1 (shown in light blue). H3 tail. (B) Ubiquitin on the wrapped side of the nucleosome is located over the acidic patch. On the unwrapped side of the nucleosome it is repositioned away from the acidic patch and interacts with the unravelled DNA.
The electron density for ubiquitin molecules is not as well defined as other components of the complex, and limiting for the overall resolution (Figure 1). This is likely to reflect mobility of the ubiquitin peptides. Consistent with this, the electron density determined from X-ray diffraction on crystallised nucleosomes with ubiquitin conjugated at this location resulted in no density attributable to ubiquitin (Machida et al., 2016). On the wrapped side of the nucleosome, ubiquitin is located adjacent to the acidic patch that is widely used as an interface for nucleosome binding proteins (McGinty and Tan, 2016) (Figure 8B). This is also the location that ubiquitin conjugated to H2A K15 has been observed to occupy on unbound nucleosomes (Wilson et al., 2016) and likely represents a favourable conformation for ubiquitin when coupled at different sites within this locality (Vlaming et al., 2014).
On the unwrapped side of the nucleosome, the ubiquitin peptide is displaced across the lateral surface towards the DNA. The unwrapped DNA is oriented away from the lateral surface and this positions the DNA backbone at SHL6 in contact with the repositioned ubiquitin (Figure 8B). In 2D classes, ubiquitin is more prominent on the unwrapped side suggesting it is more tightly constrained. The residues interacting with DNA include Lys 48 Arg 54 and Asp 60. It is likely this interaction stabilises DNA in the unwrapped state. Using a fluorescence-based assay, H2BK120ub has previously been observed to stimulate the activity of Chd1 118–1274 approximately 2-fold(Levendosky et al., 2016). Using a gel-based assay with Chd1 1–1305, we observe a slightly greater 3-fold effect (Figure 8—figure supplement 2).
A striking feature of the Chd1 nucleosome complex is the limited number of contacts with histones. The two direct contacts with histones are with the H3 alpha one helix and with the histone H4 tail (Figure 2—figure supplement 4). The contact with the H4 tail is required for efficient remodelling by Chd1 (Ferreira et al., 2007) as it is for ISWI subfamily enzymes (Clapier et al., 2001; Hamiche et al., 2001). Aside from these two contacts, the interaction of Chd1 with nucleosomes is dominated by interactions with DNA. This leaves the majority of the nucleosome accessible for binding by additional factors. We show that a second Chd1 molecule can bind the opposite side of the nucleosome using a similar mode of interaction (Figure 7). Even in the case of a nucleosome bound by two Chd1 molecules the lateral surfaces of the nucleosome are accessible for binding by other factors.
Despite a lack of direct contacts with histones H2A and H2B, Chd1 activity is dependent on histone dimers (Levendosky et al., 2016). The requirement for histone dimers may arise as a result of dimer loss affecting DNA wrapping. Loss of a histone dimer will result in a loss of histone DNA contacts at SHL3.5, 4.5 and 5.5. More extensive unwrapping of DNA to SHL3.5 would require major repositioning of DNABD in order to retain the interaction with linker DNA while the chromoATPase is engaged at SHL-2. This provides a potential explanation for the dependency of Chd1 activity on histone dimers. Conversely, association of a histone dimer with a histone tetramer or hexamer around which DNA is initially significantly unwrapped, could be stabilised by the binding of Chd1 rewrapping DNA to SHL5. The stabilisation of the SHL5-wrapped state may facilitate correct docking of histone dimers into chromatin. This provides a mechanistic basis for the observed activities of Chd1 in H2A/H2B transfer (Lusser et al., 2005) and chromatin assembly (Fei et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2012; Torigoe et al., 2013). Repositioning of the Chd1 DNA-binding domain towards the major orientation observed in free solution, the Apo state reported by (Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017), would guide linker DNA towards the fully wrapped state. As a result Chd1 has the potential to function in multiple stages of chromatin assembly and the generation of organised chromatin (Lusser et al., 2005; Robinson and Schultz, 2003; Torigoe et al., 2013).
The Chd1 enzyme has the ability to organise spaced arrays of nucleosomes both in vitro and in vivo (Gkikopoulos et al., 2011; Lusser et al., 2005; Robinson and Schultz, 2003). Enzymes that exhibit this organising activity typically reposition nucleosomes away from the ends of short DNA fragments. This is also true for Chd1 (McKnight et al., 2011; Stockdale et al., 2006). Repositioning of nucleosomes with this directionality conflicts with the directionality of translocation inferred from docking the tracking strand of NS3 into Chd1 (Farnung et al., 2017) (Figure 6). Tracking along this strand with 3’−5’ directionality would instead be anticipated to draw DNA into the nucleosome from the side of the nucleosome that has no linker DNA.
Inferring the mechanism of Chd1 from NS3 is complicated by the fact these enzymes are not so closely related. Conserved motifs are difficult to align based on sequence alone. In addition some aspects of nucleic acid binding by both Snf2 and Chd1 profoundly differ from NS3. Notably, motifs II and III within lobe one contact the opposite, 3’−5’ stand, which is not present in NS3. In addition, Snf2-related chromatin remodelling enzymes contain features that extend the nucleic acid binding cleft between the two ATPase lobes and make contacts with both strands (Figure 6). As a result of the extensive contacts with both strands, it is possible that the assignment of guide and tracking strands within remodelling ATPases is not absolute as tracking may be coupled to both strands. Consistent with this, experiments that have probed the action of remodelling enzymes using short gaps in either strand of nucleosomal DNA have found them to be sensitive to lesions in either strand (Saha et al., 2005; Zofall et al., 2006).
The introduction of gaps in nucleosomal DNA has also been used to infer the directionality with which ATPases’s move along DNA. Introduction of gaps distal to the SHL two location closest to the entry linker DNA has been observed to impede the action of Snf2, Iswi and Chd1 enzymes (McKnight et al., 2011; Saha et al., 2005; Zofall et al., 2006). This has been used as evidence that the enzyme translocation that drives repositioning initiates from the SHL two located distal to the entry DNA. As a consequence it has been proposed that Chd1 bound in the cross gyres conformation, that we and others observe, represents an inactive state in which the interaction of the DNABD with (exit) linker DNA is inhibitory (Nodelman et al., 2017).
Confounding this, the Chd1-nucleosome structure bears the hallmarks of an active DNA translocase. Density for ADP.BeF is observed in the nucleotide binding pocket, and the ATPase domains are repositioned to a closed conformation with conserved residues positioned for catalysis (Figure 2—figure supplement 3). The closure of the ATPase domains in the Chd1-nucleosome complex is connected to repositioning of the chromodomains, which in turn levers the DNABD position and allows DNA to gain access to the cleft between the ATPase domains.
Further study will be required to reconcile these observations. We nonetheless speculate that the initial stages of remodelling by Chd1 are most effective on nucleosomes lacking exit DNA. Consistent with this the initial rate of Chd1 ATPase activity has been observed to be greater on nucleosomes lacking exit linker DNA (Nodelman et al., 2017). In cells, lack of linker could arise in close packed nucleosomes and represent a suitable substrate for a nucleosome spacing enzyme. The rapid action of Chd1 on close packed chromatin would generate new exit linker DNA which would then be available to be bound by the DNABD in the conformation observed by in the EM structures. In this case, Chd1 bound in the conformation shown in Figure 1, could be active but represent a state in which the DNABD is bound to exit rather than entry DNA. This reconciles many of the biochemical observations, and is compatible with the directionality inferred from the interaction of DNA with the ATPase domains. However, it requires that the Chd1 ATPase domains exhibit a preference for initial binding to nucleosomes on the side that initially lacks linker DNA. The basis for this is not clear, but in the case of ISWI enzymes the initial and subsequent translocation events have been observed to differ (Deindl et al., 2013), raising the possibility that they could be regulated independently. Following initial repositioning, the engagement of the DNABD with the new exit linker may provide an opportunity for large changes in enzyme conformation, perhaps related to those observed for SNF2H (Leonard and Narlikar, 2015) and enabling individual Chd1 molecules to switch between different sides of the nucleosome enabling bidirectional repositioning (Qiu et al., 2017).
Both budding yeast Chd1 and human Chd2 are found to be enriched within coding regions (de Dieuleveult et al., 2016; Gkikopoulos et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2017). Histone H3 K36me3 is a hallmark of coding region nucleosomes, so we prepared nucleosomes alkylated to mimic trimethylation at this position. Alkylation modestly stimulates Chd1 activity (Figure 1—figure supplement 1), raising the possibility that this modification is recognised by the enzyme, possibly via the chromodomains. However, we observe electron density for the histone H3 tail to residue 26, indicating that H3K36 does not stably interact with the chromodomains or any other component of Chd1 in the structure reported here. Furthermore, for this interaction to occur, either the chromodomains would need to be repositioned, or the structure of the N-terminus of H3 reconfigured for example by unfolding of the alpha–N helix (Elsässer et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2012).
The improved density for the H3 tail on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome is most likely to result from the interaction of the basic N-terminal region of the H3 tail, which is not resolved, with DNA. It is notable that in the fully wrapped state the H3 tail would need to follow a very different path in order to interact with DNA. Consistent with this the trajectory of the H3 tail on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome is different to that observed in structures of intact nucleosomes (Wilson et al., 2016). This raises the possibility that changes to DNA wrapping could affect the way in which histone tail epitopes are displayed. In principle, such effects could be positive or negative. For example the tudor domain of PHF1 preferentially interacts with trimethylated H3K36 on partially unwrapped nucleosomes (Gibson et al., 2017). The interaction of the PHD domains of Chd4 with DNA is also inhibited by nucleosomal DNA (Gatchalian et al., 2017). As a result if Chd4 generates unwrapped structures similar to those observed with Chd1 the interaction of these domains would be enhanced. The reconfiguration of the H3 tail by Chd1 has the potential to affect the interaction of histone reader, writer and eraser enzymes with the tail and as a result the distribution of these modifications in chromatin. Such effects have been observed, as Chd1 contributes to the establishment of boundaries between H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 at most transcribed genes (Lee et al., 2017).
H2BK120ub is also enriched in coding region chromatin, and directly stimulates Chd1 activity (Levendosky et al., 2016) (Figure 8—figure supplement 2) (Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). It has also been observed that H2BK120ub negatively affects the activity of some ISWI containing enzymes (Fierz et al., 2011). As organisation of coding region nucleosomes involves these and other enzymes (Krietenstein et al., 2016; Ocampo et al., 2016; Parnell et al., 2015), H2BK120Ub has the potential to regulate interplay between different enzymes.
Ubiquitin on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome is repositioned such that it interacts directly with DNA. As in the case of the H3 tail, the repositioning of the ubiquitin resulting from Chd1-directed DNA unwrapping could potentially affect interactions with the factors involved in the placing, removal or recognition of H2BK120ub. The most striking functional evidence for this interplay is that H2BK120ub is greatly reduced in Chd1 mutants (Lee et al., 2012). One possible explanation for this effect is that Chd1 sequesters ubiquitin in a conformation less accessible for removal. Consistent with this, the position of ubiquitin on the unwrapped side of Chd1 bound nucleosomes is incompatible with interaction with the SAGA DUB module (Morgan et al., 2016). Interestingly, the paradigm for trans regulation between histone modifications stems from the interplay between H2BK120ub and H3 K4 methylation (Sun and Allis, 2002), both of which are influenced by Chd1 binding. While Chd1 is not required for H3K4me3 (Lee et al., 2012), it does influence the distribution of this histone modification (Lee et al., 2017).
H2BK120ub has previously been observed to directly affect chromosome structure at the level of chromatin fibre formation (Debelouchina et al., 2017; Fierz et al., 2011). Our observations show a new role for H2BK120ub at the level of nucleosomal DNA wrapping. The specific relocation of ubiquitin on the unravelled side of the nucleosome, the local distortion of H2B at the site of attachment and the presence of lysine and arginine residues at the site of interaction with DNA all indicate this is a favourable interaction that stabilises DNA in the unwrapped state. The outer turns of nucleosomal DNA rapidly associate and dissociate on millisecond time scales, with occupancy of the unwrapped state estimated at 10% (Li et al., 2005). The ubiquitin interaction we have observed would be anticipated to stabilise the transiently unwrapped state increasing its abundance. It is however, unlikely that the unwrapped state predominates in the absence of Chd1 or other factors that promote unwrapping as the structure of isolated ubiquitinylated nucleosomes is unchanged (Machida et al., 2016). Nonetheless, increased occupancy of the transiently unwrapped state would be anticipated to facilitate access to nucleosomal DNA. Chromatin folding to form higher order structures is likely to be favoured by fully wrapped nucleosomes, and so an increase in the proportion of unwrapped nucleosomes could potentially contribute to the effects of H2BK120ub on chromatin fibre formation (Fierz et al., 2011). Many other processes involving chromatin dynamics are linked to H2BK120ub including transcription (Bonnet et al., 2014), DNA repair (Moyal et al., 2011; Nakamura et al., 2011) and DNA replication (Lin et al., 2014). A more stable unwrapped state could also provide an explanation for the association of factors that lack recognised ubiquitin interaction domains, with ubiquitinylated chromatin (Shema-Yaacoby et al., 2013). Interestingly, H2BK120ub associating proteins include human Chd1, SWI/SNF complex, pol II and the elongation factors NELF and DISF (Shema-Yaacoby et al., 2013).
The change in the position of ubiquitin also has the potential to indirectly affect the way in which other factors interact with ubiquitinylated nucleosomes. On the wrapped side of the nucleosome, ubiquitin is positioned such that it occludes access to the acidic patch formed by the cleft between histones H2A and H2B. This provides a surface via which many proteins including LANA peptides (Barbera et al., 2006), RCC1 (Makde et al., 2010), Sir3 (Armache et al., 2011), PRC1 (McGinty et al., 2014) and the SAGA DUB module (Morgan et al., 2016) interact with nucleosomes. The repositioning of ubiquitin away from the acidic patch on the unwrapped side of the nucleosome improves access to the acidic patch. In this way, H2BK120ub may provide a means of regulating access to the acidic patch that is sensitive to changes in nucleosome structure.
Although the repositioning of the H3 tail and ubiquitin were observed on Chd1-bound nucleosomes, the potential for reconfiguration of histone epitopes may be more general. All processes that generate local DNA unwrapping would be anticipated to result in similar repositioning of histone tail epitopes. In particular, where combinations of modifications are recognised bivalently, the spatial alignment of epitopes will be important for recognition by coupled reader domains. This potentially provides a means of tuning signalling via histone modifications to regions of transient histone dynamics.
ScChd1 C-terminal and N-terminal truncations were made from the full length clone described in Ryan et al, using an inverse PCR strategy (Ryan et al., 2011). A similar approach was used to generate a chd1 lobe2 Δ632–646 deletion. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to introduce cysteine residues at strategic locations on ScChd1 1-1305ΔC using standard cloning procedure. All proteins were expressed in Rosetta2 (DE3) pLysS Escherichia coli cells at 20° C in Auto-induction media, and the purification of the protein was carried out typically as described in Ryan et al. After the purification of the protein the GST tag was cleaved with precision protease and the tag cleaved proteins were subjected to size exclusion chromatography using Superdex S200 10/300 GL columns (GE Healthcare). Expression and purification of Xenopus laevis histones were carried out as described previously (Luger et al., 1999).
Alkylation of cysteine-mutant histones to generate histones modified with methyl-lysine analogues was performed as in (Simon et al., 2007). Approximately 10 mg of lyophilised cysteine mutant histone was resuspended in 800 µL (me3) or 900 uL (me0) degassed alkylation buffer (1M HEPES, 10 mM D,L-methionine, 4M Guanidine HCl, pH7.8). Histones were reduced with fresh 30 mM DTT for 30 min at room temperature.
For trimethyl-lysine analogues, the reduced histone was added to approximately 125 mg of (2-Bromoethyl) trimethylammonium bromide (Sigma 117196–25G) in 200 µL of DMF and incubated in the dark at 50⁰C for 3 hr. An additional 10 µL of DTT was added, and the reaction was allowed to proceed overnight at room temperature.
For generation of the unmethylated lysine analogue, 75 µL of 1M 2-Bromoethylamine hydrobromide (Fluka 06670–100G) was added to the reduced histone and was incubated at room temperature in the dark for 3 hr. An additional 10 µL of DTT was added for 30 min prior to the addition of an extra 75 µL of alkylating agent, and the reaction was allowed to proceed overnight at room temperature in the dark.
The reaction was terminated with the addition of 50 µL 2-mercaptoethanol for 30 min and the alkylated histone was desalted either by dialysis into water with 2 mM 2-mercaptoethanol or on a PD-10 desalting column (GE 52130800). The shift in molecular weight associated was confirmed via MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.
Recombinant expression of xH2B K120C and His-TEV-Ubiquitin G76C mutant proteins was induced with IPTG for 4 hr in Rosetta 2 DE3 pLysS cells grown at 37⁰C. Inclusion body purification followed by cation exchange chromatography was performed to isolate the histone protein. Ubiquitin was purified using HisPur cobalt resin with 150 mM sodium chloride/20 mM Tris pH8 buffer and eluted with 350 mM imidazole. Histones and ubiquitin were desalted by dialysis into water with 2 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and lyophilised for storage.
Proteins were re-suspended in 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate pH eight and treated with 2 mM TCEP for 1 hr. Ellman’s reagent was used to ascertain the concentration of free sulfhydryls, and xH2b and ubiquitin were combined at equimolar ratios, as defined by the Ellman’s assay, and diluted with 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate to 200–250 uM each protein. The proteins were crosslinked at room temperature with four hourly additions of ¾ molar ratio of 1,3 dichloroacetone (freshly prepared in DMF). An equal volume of denaturing buffer (7M Guanidine HCl, 350 mM sodium chloride, 25 mM Tris pH7.5) was added to the reactions, which were purified using HisPur cobalt resin, pre-equilibrated in denaturing buffer. The His-TEV-Ub-xH2B crosslinked product was eluted with 350 mM imidazole and dialysed into SAUDE200 buffer (7M Urea, 20 mM sodium acetate, 200 mM sodium chloride, 1 mM EDTA, 5 mM 2-mercaptoethanol) overnight. The ubiquitinated histone was further purified over a cation exchange column, as before, and fractions were dialysed into water with 2 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and lyophilised for storage.
Xenopus H2B-K120 ubiquitinylated histones were refolded in equimolar ratios with H2A and similarly H3 K36 methyl analogue histones were refolded in equimolar ratios with histone H4 to obtain dimers and tetramers as described previously for wild type histones Dyer et al., and purified on a size exclusion chromatography using S200 gel filtation column. The peak fractions were analysed with SDS-PAGE gel and pooled. 601 DNA fragments of respective lengths for recombinant nucleosome assembly were generated by PCR method as described previously (Sundaramoorthy et al., 2017). Nucleosomes were generated by salt dialysis as described previously by combining H2A/H2B-K120 ubiquitin dimer, H3K36 methyl lysine analogue tetramer (2:1 ratio) with DNA containing PCR-amplified Widom 601 DNA sequence.
Nucleosomes were reconstituted on Cy3 (me0) and Cy5 (me3) labelled DNA, based on the 601 sequence, with a 47 bp extension. Repositioning by Chd1 was performed in 40 mM Tris pH7.4, 50 mM KCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 1 mM ATP, 100 nM each nucleosome, and 10 nM Chd1; 10 µL was removed at each time point (T = 0, 4, 8, 16, 32, and 64 min), placed on ice, and stopped with the addition of 100 ng/µL competitor DNA, 200 mM NaCl, and 1.6% sucrose. Repositioned nucleosomes were run on 6% PAGE/0.2X TBE gels in recirculating 0.2X TBE buffer for 3–4 hr at 300V. The percent of repositioned nucleosomes was analysed using Aida image analysis software. Data were fit to a hyperbola in Sigma Plot, to determine the initial rate of repositioning.
Xenopus laevis nucleosomes (20 nM), reconstituted on Cy3 labelled 0W11 DNA, were bound to titrations of Chd1 enzymes (concentration specified in figure legend) in 50 mM Tris pH 7.5, 50 mM sodium chloride, and 3 mM magnesium chloride supplemented with 100 µg/mL BSA. Unbound and bound nucleosomes were separated on a pre-run 6% polyacrylamide gel (49:1 acrylamide: bis-acrylamide) in 0.5X TBE buffer for 1 hr at 150V. The gel shift was scanned on Fujifilm FLA-5100 imaging system at 532 nm.
MTSL was conjugated to introduced cysteines immediately following size exclusion purification as described in Hammond et al. (2016). Excess unreacted labels were removed from the sample by dialysis. PELDOR experiments were conducted at Q-band (34 GHz) operating on a Bruker ELEXSYS E580 spectrometer with a probe head supporting a cylindrical resonator ER 5106QT-2w and a Bruker 400 U second microwave source unit as described previously (Hammond et al., 2016). All measurements reported here were made at 50K. Data analysis was carried out using the DeerAnalysis 2013 package (Jeschke and Polyhach, 2007). The dipolar coupling evolution data were first corrected to remove background decay. Tikhonov regularisation was then used to determine distance distributions from each dataset.
To model the distance distribution for the open conformation of Chd1 helicase lobes crystal structure of chromo helicase (PDB Code: 3MWY) (Hauk et al., 2010) was used. For the closed conformation refined cryoEM structure of Chd1 bound to nucleosome in the presence of ADP.BeFx described in this study was used as a model. For each structure, R1 spin labels were added and the distribution simulated for each position using MTSSL wizard in Pymol. Also the average distance from the distribution from a pair of spin labels were calculated using MTSSL wizard in Pymol.
The appropriate ratio of ScChd1(1-1305Δ57–88) to nucleosome for 1:1 and the 2:1 complex formation in the presence of 5-fold molar excess of ADP-BeFx was determined by titration and native PAGE analysis. The formed complex was then purified by size exclusion gel filtration using a PC 3.2/30 superdex 200 analytical column in 20 mM Tris, 50 mM NaCl and 250 µM ADP.BeFx.(formed by mixing 1:1:3 molar ratio of ADP:BeCl2:NaF). In a typical run 50uLs of 20 µM of sample was injected using Dionex autoloader. 50uLs fractions were collected and analysed in 6% Native PAGE gel and appropriate fractions containing ScChd1-nucleosome complexes were pooled together. A 4 µl drop of sample was then applied to C-flat Holey carbon foil (400 mesh R1.2/1.3 µM) pre-cleaned with glow discharge (Quorum technologies). After 15 s incubation, grids were double side blotted for 4 s in a FEI cryo-plunger (FEI Mark III) at 90% humidity and plunge frozen into −172°C liquefied ethane. Standard vitrobot filter paper Ø 55/20 mm, Grade 595 was used for blotting.
The prepared grids are initially checked for its ice quality and the particle distribution using a JEOL 2010 microscope with side-entry cryo-holder operated at 200 keV and equipped with a gatan 4k × 4 k CCD camera. Cryo-grids were then stored in liquid nitrogen and dry-shipped to respective centre for data collection. For the 1:1 complex the data were acquired on a FEI Titan Krios transmission electron microscope (TEM) operated at 300 keV, equipped with a K2 summit direct detector (Gatan). The 2:1 complex data were collected with FEI Titan Krios microscope equipped with Falcon three detector. Automated data acquisition was carried out using FEI EPU software at a nominal magnification of 105,000 × for the 1:1 complex and 59,000X for the 2:1 complex. For both the datasets, the data were collected as a movie with 32 frames per movie for the 1:1 complex and 40 frames per movie for the 2:1. Details of the data collection and processing parameters for both the datasets are included in Table 1.
The movie frames were subjected to frame wise motion correction using MotionCor2 (Zheng et al., 2017). CTF correction was then performed on the motion corrected summed image using GCTF (Zhang, 2016). Subsequent image processing was performed with RELION 2.0.4 (Scheres, 2012). About 5000 particles from 50 micrographs were first handpicked in RELION, extracted and 2D classes were generated. These 2D classes were then used as a reference in RELION auto pick routine and particles were picked from respective number of micrographs from each dataset. The auto picked particles were subsequently extracted and sorted. An iterative round of two-dimensional classification was performed to discard poorly averaging particles, contamination and exploded particles. On the resultant cleaned up particle stack a hierarchical three-dimensional classification and refinement was performed as described in the results. A low pass filtered low resolution chd1 engaged nucleosome structure was used as an initial model in the 3D classification. At the three-dimensional refinement stages a soft mask that encompasses the entire Chd1-nucleosome complex was applied. Post processing of refined models was performed with automatic B factor determination in RELION. Resolution for the refined reconstruction are determined at 0.143 FSC cut off as 4.5 Å for the 1:1 complex and 10 Å for the 2:1 Complex. Local resolution estimates were determined for the 1:1 complex using Resmap-1.4.
For model building X.laevis nucleosome with Widom 601 sequence (PDB 3LZ0), the S.cerevisiae Chd1 DNA-binding domain (PDB 3TED) and the ATPase core with tandem chromo domain (3MWY) were used. The domains were individually placed into the electron density using UCSF chimera and fitted as a rigid body. The path of the unwrapped DNA, H4 tail region and H3 tail region were manually built in Coot. Protein back bone restraints and DNA base pair, and parallel pair restraints were generated using ProSMART and LibG modules (Nicholls et al., 2012). The generated restraints were then used as constraint in jelly body refinement with CCPEM REFMAC program. ADP·BeF3 was built by superpositioning ATP-gamma-S from the inactive Chd1 structure (PDB code 3MWY) onto our model, inspected in COOT and replacing the ATP analogue with ADP·BeFx. For the 2:1 complex the structural model of 2chd1 bound to one nucleosome with 14 bp symmetrical linker on both side was generated using one chd1 bound to 0W14 nucleosome presented in this study and the one chd1 bound to 63W0 nucleosome (PDB-ID 5O9G). The model was then rigid body docked into the reconstructed 2chd1:1nucleosome volume in chimera. The quality of the fit is assessed by visual examination and the correlation coefficient between the model and the map. Sequence alignments were generated using JALVIEW (Waterhouse et al., 2009). The EM volumes and the fitted model can be accessed from the EMDB database with EMDB accession number EMD-4318 and PDB code 6FTX for the 1:1 complex and EMD-4336 and EMD-4336 for the 2:1 complex.
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Thank you for submitting your article "Structure of the chromatin remodelling enzyme Chd1 bound to a ubiquitinylated nucleosome" for consideration by eLife. Your article has been reviewed by three peer reviewers, including Geeta J Narlikar as the Reviewing Editor and Reviewer #1, and the evaluation has been overseen by John Kuriyan as the Senior Editor. The following individual involved in review of your submission has agreed to reveal their identity: Song Tan (Reviewer #3).
The Chd1 chromatin remodeler is important for nucleosome organization at promoters and coding regions in vivo and its presence is positively correlated with the coding region histone marks, H2BK120-Ubiquitylation and H3K36-methylation. In vitro Chd1 has been shown to have nucleosome assembly and nucleosome sliding activities. The link between these in vitro and in vivo activities is an area of active study and it is not known which of the in vivo effects of Cdh1 are direct vs. indirect. Sundaramoorthy et al. present a cryo-EM structure of Chd1 bound to a nucleosome with ubiquitylation on H2BK120 and tri-methylation mark on H3K36 in the presence of ADP-BeFx, at 4.5 Å resolution. In addition the authors obtain lower resolution reconstructions of doubly bound Chd1 molecules on a mono-nucleosomes.
The singly bound structure largely resembles the published Farnung et al. structure obtained with an unmodified mono-nucleosome. Despite the overall similarities the reviewers felt the Sundaramoorthy et al. study provided new insights that would be of much interest to researchers in the field of chromatin regulation. Firstly, the results suggest an interesting new mechanism for how ubiquitylation of histone H2B Lys120 could affect chromatin biology without requiring a specific reader protein for this chromatin modification. The structure is consistent with a model in which Chd1 action promotes H2B-ubiquitylation by protecting it from de-ubiquitylation and promotes H3 modifications by relieving inhibitory tail-DNA contacts. Secondly, the manuscript provides substantially more information and richer analysis than the Farnung et al. Nature Letter. A particularly important example is the discussion of the directionality of Chd1-mediated nucleosome repositioning. Both structures appear to be inconsistent with the observed direction of translocation, but as Sundaramoorthy et al. discuss, this analysis is based on comparisons with the NS3 single-stranded DNA translocase and it is not clear that the NS3 translocase is a good model for double-stranded DNA translocases like Chd1. Thirdly, unlike the published work this structure is obtained with using only Chd1 and nucleosomes.
While overall the reviewers feel this work could be suitable for eLife, there are some major concerns that the reviewers would like to see addressed before acceptance as outlined below.
1) For Figure 1, there are some concerns about whether the resolution of the 3D reconstruction is overestimated. Normally, in maps with resolution higher than 5 Å, bulky side chains become visible and β strands become separated, but such features cannot be recognized from the reconstruction, even in Figure 1—figure supplement 5. The local resolution estimation for the core histones is also shown to be ~4 Å resolution in Figure 1—figure supplement 4, however it appears lower than 4 Å. One way the authors can address this concern idea by using the high-resolution noise substitution method (Chen et al., Ultramicroscopy, 2013) in RELION. The authors should compare among the FSC curves of the masked FSC, the unmasked FSC, the phase-randomized FSC, and the masking-effect-corrected FSC.
2) The authors need to show multiple views of the final reconstructions, because Figure 1—figure supplement 4B is the only view from the top. It is easier to understand the 3D structure, if multiple views are presented. In particular, locations of the ubiquitin at the unwrapped and wrapped sides of the nucleosome are important points in this manuscript, both of which are missing in this figure.
3) Regarding local resolution estimation in Figure 1—figure supplement 4B, the authors mentioned that "The resolution varies within the map, with resolution close to 4 Å in the region occupied by the nucleosome and ATPase lobes and lower resolution in the vicinity of the DNABD and ubiquitin peptides (Figure 1—figure supplement 4B)." However, I cannot recognize the ubiquitin peptides in the map with local resolution. The authors need to change the contour level of the map to allow visualization of the ubiquitin peptides on the local resolution estimation map.
4) The FSC curve of the 2:1 Chd1-nucleosome complex (Figure 2—figure supplement 1E, no indication for X-Y axis) does not appear healthy enough to determine the resolution of the 3D reconstruction. According to the book chapter written by Pawel Penczek (Resolution Measures in Molecular Electron Microscopy, Methods in Enzymology, p73-p100, 2010), "Artifactual "rectangular" FSC: remains one at low frequencies, followed by a sharp drop, in high frequencies oscillates around zero. Typically, it is caused by a combination of alignment of noise and a sharp filtration during the alignment procedure. The FSC never drops to zero in the entire frequency range. Normally, this means that the noise component in the data was aligned, the results are artifactual and the resolution is undetermined." To avoid the artifactual reconstruction from noise, as performed by Mao et al. (PNAS, 2013; also see Henderson, PNAS, 2013), for example, the authors need to reprocess the data to obtain a reliable FSC for the 3D reconstruction.
5) There were a few concerns about the reasoning used by the authors to suggest that singly bound structure is the active conformation.
i) The authors do not explain how the published DNA gaps data can be reconciled with the cross-gyres conformation being the active conformation as opposed to the same-gyres conformation.
ii) Previous work has shown that Chd1 can move nucleosomes by 23-29 base-pairs without a stall, which is more than the 7 bp that is contacted by the DBD. The authors use this data as evidence against the cross-gyres conformation. This reasoning is not clear because the ISWI ATPases (Deindl et al., 2013) have step sizes as assessed by smFRET that are not correlated with the amount of DNA that is contacted by their DBDs. Further depending on the processivity of the enzyme the amount of DNA moved before a stall could be several multiples of 7 bp.
iii) In the Discussion the authors say: "This is anticipated if the DNA binding domain acts to generate an active conformation, but not if sensing of exit linker DNA is repressive." However, the ATPase data from Nodelman et al. (2017) shows a repressive effect of exit linker DNA. This should be discussed.
iv) In the Discussion the authors say: "Thirdly, the activity of chimeric Chd1 proteins in which DNA binding is provided via a heterologous domain is greatest when the cognate binding site is placed in the entry linker mimicking the arrangement observed in the Chd1-nuceosome structure". While this data is consistent with the cross-gyres conformation being the active conformation, the data is also consistent with the same-gyres conformation being active if what is being trapped by EM is the inactive state. In other words this prior data does not rule out the same-gyres conformation being the active conformation.
6) A few straightforward biochemical tests are required to test the mechanistic significance of the structural data. The authors can investigate the functional effects on nucleosome sliding of mutating the Chd1 lobe II residues that make contacts with the H3 alpha 1 helix and the 25 N-terminal residues that are hypothesized to contact the unpeeled DNA.
FSC curves generated using the high resolution noise substitution method confirm our original assessment of overall average resolution as 4.5 Å (new Figure 1—figure supplement 4A). There is a masking effect and the unmasked FSC is lower at 6.5 Å (new Figure 1—figure supplement 4A). The phase randomised FSC indicates there is no overfitting. We removed the text “close to 4Å” to avoid the potential for over interpreting areas of higher local resolution. The colour scheme in the original Figure 1—figure supplement 4 did not clearly distinguish resolution in the range 4-5 Å, the revised version includes an improved colour map of the unfiltered envelope with and additional view. We have included an example illustrating that some bulky side chains fit the unsmoothed density map (new Figure 1—figure supplement 5). This is comparable to the fit observed in the 4.5 Å structure of 53BP1 bound to a nucleosome (PDB:5KGF) and not as good as that observed in the 3.9 Å structure (EMDB 8140).
Additional views are now presented in the new Figure 1—figure supplement 4B.
Density for the ubiquitin peptides is visible in the revised figure.
We appreciate the concerns raised. The data has been reprocessed as suggested. The revised FSC curves are much healthier allowing resolution to be estimated at 11 Å.
The structures of Chd1 bound nucleosomes present a conundrum as the directionality inferred from the structures is opposite to what is anticipated based on the known biochemical properties of Chd1. The comments below have been thought provoking and we have revised and shortened this part of the discussion substantially.
The gaps data are presented as evidence for ATPase binding to the SHL2 location on the same gyre as the entry DNA.
This is a good point, the difference in the initial and subsequent step sizes observed in the Deindl paper is mentioned in the revised Discussion.
iii) In the Discussion, the authors say: "This is anticipated if the DNA binding domain acts to generate an active conformation, but not if sensing of exit linker DNA is repressive." However, the ATPase data from Nodelman et al. (2017) shows a repressive effect of exit linker DNA. This should be discussed.
This data is mentioned in the revised Discussion.
iv) In the Discussion, the authors say: "Thirdly, the activity of chimeric Chd1 proteins in which DNA binding is provided via a heterologous domain is greatest when the cognate binding site is placed in the entry linker mimicking the arrangement observed in the Chd1-nuceosome structure". While this data is consistent with the cross-gyres conformation being the active conformation, the data is also consistent with the same-gyres conformation being active if what is being trapped by EM is the inactive state. In other words this prior data does not rule out the same-gyres conformation being the active conformation.
This is a good point we removed this section.
6) A few straightforward biochemical tests are required to test the mechanistic significance of the structural data. The authors can investigate the functional effects on nucleosome sliding of mutating the Chd1 lobe II residues that make contacts with the H3-alpha1 helix and the 25 N-terminal residues that are hypothesized to contact the unpeeled DNA.
New data has been added showing that deleting the lobe II residues abolishes Chd1 activity in nucleosome sliding (Figure 2—figure supplement 5). The truncation of the H3 tail to K36 unexpectedly stimulates Chd1 activity quite strongly. However, deletion to 26 has no effect. This indicates that the interaction of the N-terminal region of the tail with DNA is not required for it to exert a repressive effect. This shows an important role for the histone H3 N-terminal tail in Chd1 action. The new data is included as Figure 8—figure supplement 1.
We thank Daniel Claire electron Bio-Imaging Centre (eBIC), Diamond light source Ltd, UK for data collection with respect to the 4.5 Å structure. We thank Rebecca Thompson and Neil Ranson for assistance with collection of 2Chd1 bound to one nucleosome structure at the Astbury Biostructre Laboratory, University of Leeds. The ubiquitin expression plasmid was kindly provided by Ron Hay, University of Dundee. This work was funded by Wellcome Senior Fellowship 095062, Wellcome Trust grants 094090, 099149 and 097945. ALH was funded by an EMBO long term fellowship ALTF 380–2015 co-funded by the European Commission (LTFCOFUND2013, GA-2013–609409). We thank Dale Wigley and Chris Aylett for useful discussions.
© 2018, Sundaramoorthy et al. | 2019-04-19T07:06:59Z | https://elifesciences.org/articles/35720 |
The following is an excerpt from a Historical Overview document dated June 1989 from Lubicon Nation dealing withthe events surrounding negotiations and lack of negotiations in 1986 to mid 1987.
The new Federal negotiator was named Roger Tasse. Predictably Mr. Tasse's credentials and experience were quite different than Mr. Fulton's. While Mr. Fulton is a former Justice Minister and Judge with a reputation for independence and fairness, Mr. Tasse is a former Federal civil servant clearly accustomed to following whatever orders he's given without qualm or question, and who has a long-term and continuing relationship with the Canadian Security Service. (Mr. Tasse is the man to whom the old Canadian Security Service (SS) reported during the period when it was charged with all kinds of political dirty tricks, including the burning down of the offices of a rival political party in Quebec. Tasse then retired from the civil service and the old SS was replaced with the new Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS), after the old SS came under increasingly heavy criticism for having "a police mentality and being unable to distinguish between legitimate dissent and political subversion". When Tasse resigned as Lubicon negotiator after being charged with conflict of interest for supposedly negotiating with Mr. Rawson on behalf of some Indians while at the same time reporting to Mr. Rawson regarding negotiations with others, he was given another Security Services appointment by the Canadian Government -- this time to study the recommendations of a Security Intelligence Review Committee which had in the meantime taken a look at the operation of the new CSIS and concluded that it suffers from basically the same problems as the old SS).
Originally negotiations with Mr. Tasse were scheduled to commence on March 1, 1986, with the Provincial Government involved as an observer. However developments with both levels of Canadian Government caused those plans to be changed.
Two weeks before negotiations were scheduled to begin, the Provincial Government commenced a Province-wide propaganda campaign intended to subvert our aboriginal position in those negotiations. Provincial Native Affairs Minister Milt Pahl wrote letters to the editors of various newspapers around the Province falsely claiming that our aboriginal rights "were satisfied by treaty". Provincial officials took out paid political advertisements dressed up to look like public information notices claiming falsely that the Alberta Government has the right to determine whether or not "there is sufficient basis for an entitlement based on the facts presented". And, on February 26th, Mr. Rawson phoned and asked that the start of negotiations be put off until March 17th.
Having heard nothing from Mr. Rawson by March 19th, we phoned his office and asked what was happening. We were told that Mr. Rawson was planning to call "a protocol meeting" involving all three parties for March 24th.
We replied that Mr. Rawson's concern for "protocol" hadn't been much in evidence a couple of days earlier, when we were supposed to start negotiations and didn't even receive the courtesy of a phone call advising us of yet another delay. As for the involvement of the Provincial Government, we said, we weren't prepared to accept the involvement of a Provincial observer while Provincial Government officials were actively seeking to subvert the negotiations.
A short while later an indignant Mr. Rawson phoned Lubicon lawyer James O'Reilly and charged that we were breaking the agreement to allow a Provincial Government observer. Mr. O'Reilly told Mr. Rawson that agreement to allow a Provincial Government observer was based on the notion that involvement of the Provincial Government would facilitate negotiations between the Lubicons and the Federal Government. Current Provincial Government efforts to subvert those negotiations, Mr. O'Reilly said, made clear that Provincial Government involvement wouldn't be helpful.
After a number of phone calls back and forth between Mr. Rawson and Mr. O'Reilly, we agreed to a meeting in Ottawa on March 27th to discuss the Lubicon position on the involvement of a Provincial Government observer. The meeting was held in Ottawa because Mr. Rawson was too busy to meet us in Edmonton. However Mr. Rawson had to leave the meeting in Ottawa early in order to catch a plane for Edmonton, where he was to spend the Easter weekend with his family, who live in Edmonton.
During the meeting on March 27th Mr. Rawson again charged that we were breaking the agreement to allow the involvement of a Provincial Government observer. We pointed out to Mr. Rawson that Provincial officials were actively seeking to subvert negotiations with their public propaganda campaign.
Mr. Rawson said that the Province would have to agree to "a publicity moratorium" in order to attend negotiations as an "observer". We pointed out to Mr. Rawson that the Provincial Government had a similar "publicity moratorium" agreement with Mr. Fulton when Mr. Pahl called his December 10th press conference, and that they supposedly also had a similar "publicity moratorium" agreement with him when they started their current propaganda campaign.
Mr. Rawson said, "We're offering to sit down and negotiate with a Provincial observer". We told Mr. Rawson that we weren't prepared to give Provincial officials access to negotiations, in which technically they had no role to play, and which they were actively seeking to subvert.
Mr. Rawson told us that we had to either agree to the involvement of a Provincial observer "or go to the end of the line" as far as negotiations with the Federal Government were concerned. We told Mr. Rawson that we'd either be negotiating or we'd be doing something else. We assured him that we wouldn't simply be waiting for the Federal Government to solve the problems which it had created for us by not meeting its constitutional responsibilities.
Mr. Rawson said, "The meeting is a nullity" and walked out. One week later we announced our boycott of the 1988 Calgary Olympic Games, which ultimately included a nation-wide protest along the entire route of the Olympic Torch Relay -- sponsored by PetroCanada -- and museums from around the world refusing to loan artifacts to the main Olympic cultural event -- a Shell Oil sponsored exhibit of North American Indian artifacts.
Initial Canadian Government reaction to announcement of our Olympic boycott was one of amused disdain. Within two weeks, however, there were two major statements of support clearly indicating the seriousness our boycott. On April 12th aboriginal rights organizations from across Europe announced their support. And on April 13th Churches from across Canada and the United States announced their support.
On June 3, 1986, two weeks before we were to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development to discuss lack of negotiations, a more conciliatory Mr. Rawson agreed that negotiations could proceed without the involvement of a Provincial Government observer. While suspicious about the timing of Mr. Rawson's change of mind, we still hoped that it would be possible to engage in productive negotiations with the Government of Canada. We therefore asked the Standing Committee to postpone our scheduled appearance until we had a chance to meet with Mr. Tasse.
During our first negotiating meeting with Mr. Tasse on June 20th we made clear that we weren't prepared to retain less reserve land than other aboriginal people who signed treaty, as determined by the same criteria. Given historic precedent, we said, we were talking about more than 90 square miles of reserve land.
Mr. Tasse refused to agree with our position, saying that "The Government has the right to change the basis for determining land quantum". He said that he was prepared to talk about "some amount in excess of 25.4 square miles (set aside in 1939), but the amount of additional land will have to be discussed".
We pointed out to Mr. Tasse that we weren't dickering over the price of a used car. We told him that we were talking about basic principles of justice, fairness and equity which should guide our negotiations. We reminded him that the 25.4 square mile area was recognized to be only a partial settlement even in 1939. And we told him that Government unilaterally changing the rules at this stage couldn't possibly be considered fair, just or equitable.
Mr. Tasse said that he didn't want to talk about what was just, fair or equitable. If we wanted to talk about justice, fairness and equity, he said, "go to court".
Mr. Tasse said that he rather wanted to talk about what was "practical". He said "The Province will never agree to 90 square miles and the Band will have to go to court". "If these negotiations fail," he said, "the Band will be in court for ten years".
We told Mr. Tasse that the negotiations would certainly fail if we couldn't at least agree that the negotiations should be guided by the principles of justice, fairness and equity. As for Mr. Tasse's statement that our only alternative was to spend the next ten years in court, we told him what we told Mr. Rawson when Mr. Rawson told us to either knuckle under or "go to the end of the line". We told Mr. Tasse that we'd either be negotiating or we'd be doing something else. And we assured him that we wouldn't simply be relying upon the Canadian courts to ensure our survival.
A couple of days later we were advised by one of Mr. Tasse's associates that Mr. Tasse didn't want to commit himself to the principle of equity during our meeting on June 20th "because he just didn't know the implications of such an agreement". We were also told that Mr. Tasse "knows that he will have to address the question of equity at the next meeting".
The next meeting with Roger Tasse occurred in our traditional community of Little Buffalo Lake on July 8th. At that meeting Mr. Tasse tabled a written settlement offer from the Federal Government which said that the Federal Government was only willing to talk to those Lubicon people recognized as Indians by the Federal Government prior to the passage of C-31 revisions to the Indian Act, or, in other words, the basic list established by the Federal Government following the 1942 McCrimmon removals, plus the direct, legitimate descendants of the people on that list. Regarding this partial list of our members, Mr. Tasse said that the Government was prepared to agree to the same amount of land per person as was retained by the aboriginal people who signed treaty. "In that sense," Mr. Tasse said, "the Band is being treated the same as other Bands."
We told Mr. Tasse that he had a perverse sense of what was fair, just and equitable. We pointed out that his position on membership would effectively disenfranchise more that half of our people of their aboriginal land rights. We pointed out that the aboriginal peoples who'd signed treaty had determined their own membership, using their own historic criteria -- not had their membership determined by Federal bureaucrats using arbitrary and ever-changing criteria which literally split up families and tore aboriginal societies apart. We told him that he was proposing to apply the old Indian Act to us retroactively, after the Federal Government had been forced by international pressure to change that Act as completely unjust, unfair and discriminatory. And we told him that he was in breach of our pre-negotiation agreement that Mr. Fulton's Discussion Paper would be used as the starting point for negotiations, since Mr. Fulton had recommended that C-31 be used as the policy of the day to determine membership.
In spite of constitutional recognition of the aboriginal rights of all aboriginal people, Mr. Tasse said, "The Federal Government is not prepared to accept that non-status and Metis people have any aboriginal rights". He said, "A different approach to different groups is the way around this". He said, "We are prepared to identify an amount of land that could be transferred based on the status people". Regarding the people not on the Federal Government's "status list", he said, "we will not ask them for a release as to any rights they might have". He said, "If they can go to court and prove that they have any rights, then we might be able to provide more land for them".
We told Mr. Tasse that the Lubicon people are all aboriginal people related by family ties and historic ties to our traditional area. We told him that there was nothing more fundamental to us than the fact that we are one people, and that we weren't prepared to let the Federal Government split us up into arbitrary, artificial, Governmentally determined groups with different rights and responsibilities. Therefore, we told him, we'd welcome him back to our community for further negotiations if and when he had a proper mandate to deal with us as a people.
Mr. Tasse spent the next few minutes going from person to person asking them if they knew what they were "giving up for these non- status people". He approached one man who's a member of our negotiating team and asked him if he knew what he was "giving up". The man told Mr. Tasse, "You jackass, don't you realize that I'm one of the non-status people you're talking about?"
Following our brief exchange Mr. Tasse returned to Edmonton, called a press conference and commenced what was clearly a pre-planned propaganda campaign designed to paint our position on land and membership as both unreasonable and unrealistic. He charged that we were trying to use recent C-31 revisions to the Indian Act "to jack-up (our) membership numbers and obtain more land than (we're) entitled to." He said, "The Band, in its wisdom, had decided that it would allow a lot of non-Indians...to be Band members" and that we were now demanding that "Government should give them land as well". He said that C-31 allows for the addition of new members, including "non-Indians", but that it "does not create any land entitlement". And he said that our position on membership had caused negotiations to break-down, because, he said, "the Federal Government is in no position to negotiate a land settlement based on a head count of non-Indians".
In fact, of course, our position on land and membership pre-dates C-31, in no way depends upon C-31, has remained unchanged over the years and is consistent with the way land and membership has historically been determined in Canada. Our people are all aboriginal people linked by family ties and historic ties to our traditional area, whether or not the Federal Government considers all of us to be "Indians" -- by whatever criteria Federal officials happen to be using at the moment. Moreover it's not the Lubicon people but Canadian Government which is seeking to take land that rightfully belongs to somebody else. It's not the Lubicon people but Canadian Government which is trying to manipulate membership numbers in order to effect reserve land size. And it's not the Lubicon people who caused negotiations to break-down by adding so-called "non-Indians" to our membership list, but the Canadian Government who caused negotiations to break-down with a position on membership which would literally require parents to disenfranchise their own children merely to be able to talk to representatives of Canadian Government about settlement of our unextinguished aboriginal land rights.
Ordinarily one would expect a negotiator to be negotiating, trying to negotiate or at least not doing things which would adversely affect his ability to negotiate. After July 8th, however, Mr. Tasse showed little interest in talking to us about negotiations or anything else, and rather spent the next year, until he was forced to resign over conflict of interest charges, trying to sell the Government's artfully conceived propaganda line on our situation. The way he handled this propaganda campaign provides insight into the true nature of the job he been hired by the Federal Government to do.
On October 20th, for example, Mr. Tasse met with an interchurch coalition called Project North to discuss our situation. The report we received from Project North regarding that meeting was typical of reports we received from others meeting with Mr. Tasse.
Despite independent confirmation from a number of qualified observers, Mr. Tasse denied that our traditional economy and way of life was being destroyed by development activity. He claimed that the moose hadn't disappeared from our traditional area because of development activity at all, but rather because we'd killed off all the game. He claimed that massive development activity was actually good for the moose population because, he said, it cleared away old vegetation and allowed for new growth. And he claimed that the miles and miles of new development roads made hunting and trapping easier for us, by providing access to otherwise remote and inaccessible areas.
Regarding charges of ( a word has been deleted here in order not to possibly contravene a court order against FoL ) by qualified independent observers who've spent considerable time in our community studying the problems we face, Mr. Tasse said that these charges were also false. He said that he'd attended a meeting in our community for an hour or so one morning and could safely report that "The Lubicon people are a neat, clean, tidy and reasonably well-off people". He also reported that our houses and children were "neat, clean and tidy".
Regarding the re-commencement of negotiations, Mr. Tasse repeated that we could never win legal recognition of our land rights in court, because, he said, "a legal determination would take too long". Contradicting his earlier comment that the very nature of our land rights was "not negotiable", he said that the Federal Government's position on the issues is flexible, and that the Federal Government is prepared to enter into negotiations at any time, but that the Lubicon people were refusing to negotiate. He charged that we were "more interested in European travel than negotiating", referring to our work with European Support Groups.
Lastly Mr. Tasse told the representatives of Project North that "for some reason the Lubicon people are after (his) blood, even though (he's) only trying to do (his) job and what's best for the Band".
Fortunately Mr. Tasse looks like what he is and so few people believed him. Our only other contact with him after the meeting in Little Buffalo on July 8th was in the form of an exchange of letters occurring at the end of July, 1986.
"I would like to reiterate that my offer remains on the table for discussion. I would be pleased to know if any of the elements of the proposal are within the realm of what you hope to achieve and whether talks could resume on that basis. Alternatively, I would be pleased to consider, as a basis for discussion, a detailed proposal from you which sets out your aims."
"You say that you would be pleased to consider, as a basis for discussion, a detailed proposal from us. You already have it, in the form of Mr. Fulton's revised Discussion Paper, which you've repeatedly said was your starting point anyway. Start with Mr. Fulton's revised Discussion Paper and we're prepared to talk. But don't expect us to agree to negotiations based on terms which would, by definition, deny us our rights before we even begin".
Contacted by the press following the July 8th meeting, Mr. Fulton expressed "disappointment" over the break-down in negotiations. He also expressed "surprise" that his Discussion Paper wasn't being used as the starting point for negotiations, because, he said, he'd been told by Federal officials that it would be.
In January of 1986 Mr. Rawson had asked Mr. Fulton to include a recommendation in his final report to the Minister that there be a Provincial Government "observer" at bi-lateral negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people. Mr. Fulton told reporters that he'd instead recommended no Provincial Government involvement until agreement had been achieved between the Lubicon people and the Federal Government. Should negotiations between the Federal Government and the Lubicon people break-down, Mr. Fulton said, he'd recommended "a direct reference to the Supreme Court on the question do the Lubicon people retain continuing native title". He explained that a direct reference to the Supreme Court would circumvent years of procedural and other delays which would be unavoidable following the normal route. If the highest court in the land ruled that we never ceded our aboriginal land rights, Mr. Fulton said, "the claim would be settled and the Band would be entitled to enormous compensation".
"It (the direct reference) would drag on and on and on, and we would like to see it resolved much more quickly".
"The Lubicon case will not lend itself to a reference to the Supreme Court because there are still too many facts in dispute".
On November 17, 1986, we received a letter from the newly appointed Federal Minister of Indian Affairs Bill McKnight urging us "to return to the negotiating table to further explore the (Tasse) offer". We responded the same day with a letter indicating that we were ready to proceed with negotiations any time that the Federal Government was prepared to honour the pre-negotiation agreement to use the Fulton Discussion Paper as the starting point for negotiations.
Our June 19th appearance before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs, which had been postponed when Mr. Rawson agreed to negotiations without Provincial Government involvement, had been re-scheduled for February 11, 1987. The purpose of our February 11th appearance was to discuss the break-down in negotiations. Mr. Fulton had also been asked by the Committee to appear and had agreed to do so.
On February 9th, two days before the scheduled Standing Committee meeting, Lubicon lawyer O'Reilly received a hand-delivered letter from Mr. McKnight. The letter claimed that the Federal Government was honouring the agreement to use the Fulton Discussion Paper as the starting point for negotiations but that there was more than one way to interpret the Fulton Discussion Paper. The letter therefore proposed a meeting between the Lubicon people and Mr. Tasse to talk about different possible interpretations of the Fulton Discussion Paper.
That the cost of Mr. Fulton's involvement be borne by the Government of Canada, but to avoid what happened to Mr. Fulton earlier, that he report to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs rather than the Government regarding the conduct of negotiations.
Asked by the Committee for his views, Mr. Fulton offered that he thought the term "mediator" was better than "arbitrator". Otherwise, he said, he was prepared to support the Lubicon proposal and work in the way suggested.
On May 5th, two days before we were scheduled to participate in a conference of European Support Groups to discuss the Lubicon situation, we received a hand-delivered letter from Mr. McKnight supposedly responding to our February 12th proposals. By this point the timing and intent of Federal Government moves had gone beyond being suspicious to being obvious. The only time we heard from the Canadian Government was immediately before some major public occasion when they were trying to deflect or defuse our efforts to respond to their steady barrage of deceitful propaganda.
Mr. Rawson, for example, walked out of the meeting on Provincial Government involvement on March 27th and nothing further happened until July 3rd -- over two months later but only two weeks before we were scheduled to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee to discuss lack of negotiations. We wrote Mr. Tasse on July 25th regarding our position on use of the Fulton Discussion Paper as the starting point for negotiations and heard nothing back until February 9 -- nearly 7 months later but only two days before we were again to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee to discuss the break-down in negotiations. We tabled our proposal regarding the reinvolvement of Mr. Fulton before the Standing Committee on February 11th and received no response until May 5th -- nearly three months later but only two days before we were scheduled to discuss the Lubicon situation at a conference of European Support Groups.
Mr. McKnight's May 5th letter indicated that he had "some flexibility on the initial (membership) proposal tabled (by Tasse) last July", but he rejected our proposals to re-involve Mr. Fulton and publicly release the Fulton Discussion Paper. His stated reason for rejecting the re-involvement of Mr. Fulton contradicted earlier Federal Government insistence on involving the Provincial Government in negotiations, and his stated reason for not publicly releasing the Fulton Discussion Paper was immediately contradicted by officials of the Provincial Government.
"The Lubicon Lake Band's land claim is a matter which must be addressed between us and, if sufficient agreement can be secured, subsequently with the Province of Alberta. As a result, I am not prepared to entertain any third parties at the negotiating table".
"...the Province of Alberta has advised my department of its understanding that its submissions to Mr. Fulton were made on a confidential and without prejudice basis and that, as a result, Mr. Fulton's paper would not be released without the prior consent of your Band, Canada, and the Province. The Province has also explicitly refused my department's request for its consent to release the paper. Consequently, I regret that I am not prepared to release the paper."
Asked by reporters about Provincial Government refusal to release the Fulton Discussion Paper, Provincial Native Affairs Minister Milt Pahl told reporters "the document was commissioned by the Federal Government, it's Federal Government property and it's up to the Federal Government to release it".
We wrote back to Mr. McKnight on May 18th expressing interest in further discussions on the membership question, pointing out we were not proposing that Mr. Fulton be a "third party" to the negotiations but rather a mediator, advising Mr. McKnight of statements by Provincial officials that it was up to the Federal Government to either release or not release the Fulton Discussion Paper, and therefore asking Mr. McKnight to reconsider his position regarding Mr. Fulton's re-involvement and public release of the Fulton Discussion Paper.
Tasse's resignation over conflict of interest charges was publicly confirmed by Federal officials on July 8, 1987. A month later, on August 6th, we received a letter from Mr. McKnight acknowledging our letter of May 18th, indicating that he was "encouraged" by our willingness to discuss the membership question, formally advising us of Mr. Tasse's resignation, ignoring our request that he reconsider Mr. Fulton's re-involvement, ignoring our request that he reconsider public release of the Fulton Discussion Paper, and informing us that "Mr. Tasse's decision (to resign) will lead to a delay in renewing negotiations while a replacement negotiator is sought".
We responded to Mr. McKnight's August 6th letter the same day, reiterating our willingness to hear what he had to say on the question of membership, but also reminding him of our earlier proposal to re-involve Mr. Fulton and publicly release the Fulton Discussion Paper.
"Ottawa has offered to sit down with the Alberta Band and negotiate a settlement but until the Band agrees, there's nothing the Federal Government can do... You can't force a people to negotiate." | 2019-04-19T18:15:31Z | http://lubicon.ca/pa/negp/ho87_86.htm |
I've been thinking again about how to look at photographs. An awful lot have passed my eyeballs since helping to hang the 2018 PhotoForum Members’ show at Studio 541. In fact, ever since acquiring an Instagram account, a barrage of images have scrolled by. The temptation with this quantity is to skim. Skim and Like, Skim. Skim and Like. One in one hundred, a smiley face comment. But with this quantity even skimming takes time. As Instagram (and Facebook) have compelled into their algorithms, I stay on for longer than I expected. Skimming, looking for...?
There are bots to do this for the time-deprived. A bot can skim and like much faster and be tuned to your likes. skimlikeskimskimlike, and a bot is not emotionally attached to its selections. It leaves you to get on with the other important things in life. A bot that looks, and looks out for you. Likes for you. Without you needing to see.
We all know the statistics on the multitude of images that has overtaken us and overtaken our ability to take them all seriously.
Coming into a photo-packed show like this, or other collective shows, group shows etc, is a little like confronting Instagram’s infinite feed. You need a strategy. Where's my show bot?
For those of us who remember the processing lab, the cost of printing film, the photo albums, we should also remember the uniqueness, the precious quality of those prints. Many families, affluent enough to own a camera, could only afford to put 3 or 5 rolls of film through it a year - then select a few reprints from those 24 prints. Even fading ill-exposed backlit snapshots were precious. Even the 1/2 frame at the end of the roll might have a cherished snap, part of a head or pet.
Now, you can apply effects to create that black-red-white trauma of the end frame, and the faded print, the streaky dusty negative, the burnt or crumpled edges, the Polaroid that never actually saw the insides of an instant camera. Low to no cost, apps, the internet distribution allow these artifices to be applied and uploaded indiscriminately, but without the precious quality that comes only with the whole physical setup that surrounded those prints.
The internet and its infinite storage also allow me this overly long scene setting and divergences, so let's get through the front door - well, shortly. Because there is one more thing I need to say. Stepping out of Instagram and into the cold world of a real room full of pictures, there is (like at many art shows) the desire or temptation to skim. To look and like. And this is why the need for "so how to look at photos". When they are presented like this, non-thematically, in the rush of enthusiastic submission that is a members’ group show, it’s important to remember that each picture is just a glimpse of an individual's process and progress through ideas. Are they able to reduce their ideas to one image? If so, have they in fact chosen well or wisely?
There is a catalogue, both online and at the gallery for those who like words with their pictures. I do, and feel words are indispensable even though at times flawed.
Commendations to gallery owner Sonja Gardien who insisted on a bio and statement being supplied with each photographer’s work and produced this catalogue.
Of course, the text comes in as much variety as the images and it perhaps reflects or summarises the artists' personality. Some are presented in the first person, others in the 3rd (but most often I'd guess, still artist-penned). How much can we rely on this to inform the work? Sometimes the photographer is eloquent and their genre lends itself to an apt description. Other times the genre is obscure (perhaps even to the artist), and perhaps they work better visually than verbally. And sometimes they may be playing a game with us. So words may help contextualise and may obscure. More on this later.
Most important, and as I've alluded to, in a group show there may be overlapping or distinct genres. In a members’ show and in particular I think (although call me biased) in a PhotoForum members’ show, the genres are wide-ranging and have multiple overlaps. I celebrate that - there are no rules here, no rule of thirds has to be at work, the general obsession with sharpness that photographic technology can bring is let off the hook. That's to say that while there are many images that are 'technically' well executed, there are others where the light has been thrashed around inside the pentaprism and only reluctantly allowed to escape (this is not a condemnation; these are the pictures I gravitate to). And speaking of technology again, PhotoForum collects such a variety of members that we see everything from the large format view camera at work, through the gamut of digital (DSLR and snap), 35mm film, to boxes with holes in them and cameraless works.
This acceptance of varietal process and interests, arguably much more in evidence these days, is something that PhotoForum has championed historically, sometimes as a lone voice. When a comments book was available in 'Open The Shutter - Auckland Photographers Now' (from 1994), it generated the infamous comment "Does it have to be weird? Glad I'm not in your club".
While PhotoForum has a perhaps deserved reputation that it favoured historical and documentary, looking at its output belies that narrow reading. Many of the members and others that PhotoForum gave a platform to, work in areas that are diverse, and even when outwardly falling into those documentary roles, are much more questioning than didactic. Many have continued to work over decades with either recognition or not, some have evolved their practices or crossed boundaries.
A few dropped names might give an idea of the latitude PhotoForum gave to photographic workers who were doing "weird" work: John Lyall; Fiona Pardington; Haru Sameshima; Rhondda Bosworth; Marie Shannon, Greg Semu, Darren Glass. Less "weird" is the work of Mark Adams, John Miller, and a few who have done some jumping around like Jenny Tomlin (who has a multiple-pinhole work in this show but has showed what might be termed psychological landscapes in other PhotoForum venues). All are artists who have been involved with PhotoForum or included in one or more showings (many of those names had work in Open The Shutter), all continue to make work and to various extents could have fallen into this "club" where the club mentality of conformism and 'in or out' start to get applied. Maybe then, PhotoForum, if it might generate the idea of a club, is one for those who don't belong to clubs.
Tellingly, there are no mentions of weirdness in the guestbook at this show, rather there is a congratulatory reference to the variety and scope of the work.
One aspect that surprised me (submitting a large piece that I worried would overwhelm or take up too much of the shared space - disclaimer: yes I have a work in this show) is that the size of work has increased noticeably. I'm a veteran of participation in and organising of several PF shows and it is striking in this one. I started to say that its a reason that work might feel jammed in, but then past PhotoForum shows had that feel at times, due to the enthusiasm to show as much as possible.
I think this is indicative of a number of things - that photography has become comparable in importance to the other contemporary arts, and scale in these has become at times amusingly gross. Photography claims this place too and wants size both to show but also to support its claim. It’s also indicative of both a diversification of media and a reduction in price for printing and framing and a rising affluence of photographers. Notably in the 'Auckland Photographers Now' exhibition for example, many works played on their (small) size, and many were unframed.
"they have the size of paintings ... they seem to exist somewhere between photography and painting" Ralph Rugoff , Director of the Hayward Gallery, currently (as at April 2018) showing a major Gursky retrospective.
Neither of these things should have such bearing, but to outsiders (and here I include the market driven collectors who have much influence on how photography is placed in the art market), it most certainly does. And we photographers can jump on the coattails or at least announce that that debate is finally over. Although allow me to raise a further idea that reopens and shifts the debate. Auction prices might at one level be lauded, but the consequence of a major sale of an important artwork is that very often it goes into the portfolio of a private collector. This regularly takes a work out of public circulation for decades or forever (apart from when it resurfaces at auction again, perhaps as the result of a divorce or to facilitate money laundering ). So the irony is that most people will never get to see the original work that gets such publicity and the double irony with huge works such as Rhein II is that most of us only see it in tiny low res reproductions.
I got distracted with talk of size, technique and equipment but what I wanted to say is that this variety of genres comes with a disclaimer. When you approach a show like this, it is easy, but a mistake to skim and like. (Perhaps this could be applied more universally - to people and viewpoints for instance). You have to move with each pace, be nimble in your seeing. Genres swap from image to image, through explorations of space and urban landscape through what I guess is still called the 'New Topographics' and straight up landscape, psychological portrait, various kinds of abstraction and conceptual, documentary and street work. Use that catalogue.
For instance, Caryline Boreham's image is ostensibly a straightforward image of a rural lake or estuary on a cloudy day. But, spurred by the title (Very Fast Moving Lights, Mangawhai, 2017) to read the statement, the clouds take on another nature. Caryline is searching out sites that have had UFO sightings. The picture becomes eerie, suddenly jumping out of its straight document mode and into an unformed conceptual zone and loaded with personal interpretations depending on what the individual thinks about the existence or not of visiting aliens. There are no clues in the visual image, but what, if anything, happened here?
John Collie photographed around Christchurch after the earthquakes. His statement seems to revolve around loss. Many personal and public decisions were made as a result of the devastation in that city. Whether and how to rebuild (both houses, streets and monuments), whether to remain in Christchurch at all. There was the loss of life and the especially public loss and investigation of the CTV building construction. It’s fair to say that this series of earthquakes impacted almost everyone in New Zealand in a personal way.
I'd argue that New Zealanders have a social and cultural context they can apply when looking at Collie's three pictures - for many, there is a personal evocation of loss because of direct association with the earthquake. For others it may be a more glancing recall of the televised and talked about destruction, and the analysis of the various players, not least of which is the EQC and the politics of large-scale disaster funds. However, in all cases there is a personal emotional connection that can make these pictures more than what face value brings. At the great risk of over referral to cultural theorists, this is perhaps an example of the 'punctum' - the mysterious sharp edge in some pictures that evokes more than surface reading. To address that mysteriousness a little more, I imagine that much more context is required for someone from out of New Zealand, with little knowledge of the earthquakes - what is the entry point for such a person? Collies' text certainly helps here, with his evocations of abandonment and loss which come not just from what earthquakes can do, but from other disasters, big and small; metaphorical earthquakes perhaps. When not punctured by the personal, these pictures might easily not move, without more work on the part of the viewer.
Victoria Hodgkinson gives away just technical detail in her text. These are relatively small works, and we learn that they are unique photographic prints by virtue of their production. This is chemically treated paper that leaves a lot to chance. Since the paper is light-sensitive, the results of treatment don't become apparent until the paper can be developed fully and fixed. But the photographer has never given up all control. Indeed, a resist is purposefully applied to the paper, which blocks chemical effect. But there are other choices that she makes to push the process in certain directions (and then no doubt the editing out of 'mistakes'). Such works are part of the large number of 'alternative photographic processes' that are becoming popular again almost as a rejection of the move to digital and quick-easy image taking. The edition of one, by it's nature, also pushes such works into the art realm in part by removing the ever problematic issue of having artificially limited editions of a generally unlimited print possibility. Collectors love to know that reproduction is limited, even if artificially done.
In this case, the statement describes the how but not the why. It does refer to artists working in a similar area as inspiration, including Len Lye, and the jazz-frenetic movement in one image certainly has Lye resonations and rhythmic intent. The images are left to work on an intuitive level and on one hand I applaud that, but am also aware that in a group show, two such disparate images do leave the question of why very much open.
Approaching the single work by Geoffrey Short (Director of PhotoForum) there's a direct confrontation of light and dark, an implied line surrounded by ghostly cloudiness. It could be Morse Code made visible (which might be N. U. in my translation), but the title pushes in a clear direction - "Long Sun #1, 2015". So immediately I know that the light has something to do with the sun, and the catalogue information of it being a 20 minute exposure lets me extrapolate that the camera was pointed at the sun (or maybe a reflection of it on another surface), the light line (which one can perceive is a very slight curve) documents the progress of the sun over the exposure time, and interruption by clouds is the cause of the dot-dash flashes. From what I've written, it might seem like the picture is essentially a straight-forward documentation of nature, but visually there is as much disguised as revealed and the idea of photographic documentary evidence is allowed to be examined - an elusive visual document that might hold potentially accurate scientific information. Lucy Soutter refers to the documentary dilemma that now exists in classic documentary work and contrasts that against a 'fictive document' where "key to their meaning [is] that they are seen and understood within the context of art. Nonetheless, their link to events in the real world is undeniable." In light of Geoff Short’s more visually direct work with explosions, the links with real events that are then abstracted into aspects of energy and light frequency becomes clearer.
If there's a niggle here, it stems from an old dictum that art is a universal language, that it talks directly through a visual and mysterious process. For me, self-evidently (although hard to admit since I feel I am kicking a prickly cactus), that is not so. I struggle with many works in the contemporary scene, I want to skim without liking, I despair at the convolutions and effort that I'm required to make, especially when there are no clues in or around the work that let me find a hold and stick a stable foot into. I don't know Latin and so any such references in the work or the title leave me floundering. I also have huge holes in my pop culture knowledge from years of self imposed avoidance of TV and trash movies, so those references lose me and leave me cold. I seem to be out of the mainstream of this universal language when works travel in these areas (I'm thinking Jeff Wall or Gregory Crewdson in the latter case, and a number of recent contemporary photographers who use ancient Greek references). This is the old argument over whether the artist need say anything about the work, and I think the answer is – yeah-na-maybe.
Uta Barth is perhaps one of the more articulate of artists, who now teaches part-time at the University of California. She appears to advocate for words: " I learn much from teaching, I learn from students and I learn what I am thinking when forced to put language to it. "
Maybe others just aren't good at talking about their work (and they are yet to find someone else who wants to take that role). But inevitably you get some extra context. That's got to be better than nothing, and I don't think it can ever be a perfect balance.
"Ever since I was a teenager I have been fascinated by the ephemeral nature of meaning. What starts out as hope soon becomes debased into a dialectic of power, leaving only a sense of decadence and the dawn of a new reality."
Try this bot 3 times and as well as the fun, and the realisation that it is at least as good as you in statement creation, you will understand the simple algorithm behind it.
As a maker as well as the writer here, I'm aware that I implicate myself in all these points. From the self conscious and perhaps impatient viewer to the potentially lame artist statement. The use of words and the questioning of the use of those words to add to visual recognition. A cautious experimenting with size and a suspicion of the same.
I try not to care too much about my own doubts, about finding a single truth and about imposter syndrome doubled up with the imposter-filled contemporary world. I suspect that at the bottom of lofty statements and arty flourishes is that we first make the work in a conversation with ourselves and leave the audience to find what they can in it.
So finally to reiterate my point - in a show with such diversity of genre and content, skim and like will not get you far. When in the space of 4 metres you can go from delicately printed abstraction to seemingly straightforward portrait to high concept or digital rendering, your sense of reading must change rapidly to keep up. You will not get the pleasure or whatever else you go to exhibitions for, if you do not nimbly progress with the challenge that this collection can bring.
And with that, I've about got you through the door, the hard work is now yours. | 2019-04-21T09:03:16Z | https://www.photoforum-nz.org/blog/2018/5/8/photoforum-members-show-2018-a-participants-view-by-stuart-sontier |
Hi everyone! Episode 17 features our guest Jason Juniewicz. We go over storylines that we feel deserve more attention. The intro song is Mute City F-Zero by Power Glove.
Here’s a review of Marvel 1602.
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Born 8 Dec 1948; died 16 Oct 2002 at age 53.
How Nature Works: The Science of Self-Organized Criticality, by Per Bak. - book suggestion.
American biochemist and molecular biologist who, with Sidney Altman, was awarded the 1989 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for their discoveries concerning RNA (ribonucleic acid). Prior to Cech's research on RNA, most scientists believed that proteins were the only catalysts in living cells. Discoveries by both Cech and Altman overturned the notion that RNA is merely a genetic messenger - an intermediate in the synthesis of proteins from DNA. Cech showed that RNA could have an independent catalytic function, a "ribozyme", aiding a chemical reaction without being consumed or changed. This discovery had major implications for genetic engineering as well as for understanding how life arose.
Born 8 Dec 1924; died 22 Nov 2003 at age 78.
English microbiologist who was a pioneer in the field of nucleic acid research. He helped to establish the structure of RNA and to discover the methylation of the bases in bacterial DNA. The RNA structure information was crucial to the double-stranded model of DNA proposed by Watson and Crick. He contributed to the methodology involved in the unravelling of the secrets of the genome. In the early 1960s, Smith became involved in unravelling the process whereby the sequence of bases in DNA determines the assembly of the different amino acid sequences of proteins which are responsible for all our bodily functions (structural, enzymatic, hormonal, and so on), a process known as protein synthesis.
Born 8 Dec 1916; died 1 Mar 1998 at age 81.
Brazilian anthropologist and activist whose life was dedicated to the search for and protection of the country's indigenous people as their lands were taken over and developed; he and his brother Orlando aided in the creation of the Xingu National Park reservation in 1961 and the National Indian Foundation six years later. He helped to build more than 30 airfields in the middle of the jungle and opened more than 1,000 miles of trails under the Amazon canopy. Together with his brothers, Cláudio contacted some of the most feared tribes like the Kalapalos, Kayabi, Kamaiurás, Meinacos, and Txucarramães. In 1973 they made contact for the first time with the Kreen-Akarore Indians (or Panarás, the giant Indians) in the north of the state of Mato Grosso.
French mathematician who proved the prime-number theorem (as n approaches infinity, the limit of the ratio of (n) and n/ln n is 1, where (n) is the number of positive prime numbers not greater than n). Conjectured in the 18th century, this theorem was not proved until 1896, when Hadamard and also Charles de la Vallée Poussin, used complex analysis. Hadamard's work includes the theory of integral functions and singularities of functions represented by Taylor series. His work on the partial differential equations of mathematical physics is important. He introduced the concept of a well-posed initial value and boundary value problem. In considering boundary value problems he introduced a generalisation of Green's functions (1932).
Born 8 Dec 1795; died 28 Mar 1874 at age 78.
Danish astronomer whose most important work was the improvement of the theories and tables of the orbits of the principal bodies in the solar system. At Altona observatory he assisted in measuring the arc of meridian (1821). He became the director (1825) of Seeberg observatory, which was removed to Gotha in a new observatory built for him (1857). He worked on theoretical geodesy, optics, and the theory of probability. The work in celestial mechanics for which he is best known are his theories of motion for comets, minor planets, moon and his lunar tables (1857) which were in use until 1923. He published his lunar theory in Fundamenta ("Foundation") in 1838, and Darlegung("Explanation") in 1862-64.
American inventor, mechanical engineer, and manufacturer, who invented the cotton gin and developed the idea and methods for mass-production of interchangeable parts. The cotton gin is a machine that separates cotton fibre from the seeds. The device, patented in 1793, greatly stimulated cotton growing in the southern USA. Whitney subsequently turned to firearms manufacture, into which he introduced the notion of interchangeable parts. This he applied in his fulfilment of a US government contract (1797) to supply muskets. Whitney manufactured these in standardized parts for reassembly, meaning that for the first time worn parts could be replaced by spares rather than requiring special replacements to be made.
Born 8 Dec 1730; died 18 Feb 1799 at age 68.
German botanist who did more than any other scientist to advance the knowledge of mosses (bryology). He dealt with the anatomy, fertilization, and reproduction of mosses and introduced a new method of classification based on the distribution of spores (reproductive bodies). Hedwig was the first to recognize the true organs of reproduction in mosses. He demonstrated the close relationship between mosses and liverworts. He described the development of the spore capsule (sporogonium) bryophytes, and was one of the first to observe, and the first to illustrate, conjugation in the aglae Spirogyra and Chara. Skilled in the use of the microscope, he identified more mosses than any other botanist of his time and produced a series of well-illustrated, informative books on them, illustrated by accurate and beautiful figures, many of which were drawn from highly magnified images. His posthumous Species Muscorum (1801), based on natural groupings, was a landmark in moss taxonomy and has been adopted as the starting point of moss nomenclature. The moss genus Hedwigia is named for him.
John Glenn: A Memoir, by John Glenn. - book suggestion.
Died 8 Dec 1986 at age 69 (born 26 Sep 1917).
Harrison (Scott) Brown was an American geochemist known for his role in isolating plutonium for its use in the first atomic bombs and for his studies regarding meteorites and the Earth's origin. He was one of 67 concerned Manhattan Project scientists at Oak Ridge to sign a July 1945 petition to the President, which said, in part, "...Therefore we recommend that before this weapon be used without restriction in the present conflict, its powers should be adequately described and demonstrated, and the Japanese nation should be given the opportunity to consider the consequences of further refusal to surrender." His later studies included mass spectroscopy, thermal diffusion, fluorine and plutonium chemistry, geochemistry and planetary structure.
Died 8 Dec 1970 at age 86 (born 1 Jan 1884).
American endocrinologist who demonstrated the importance of the pituitary. Beginning in 1916, often collaborating with his wife, Smith set out to study the embryonic frog pituitary. He painstakingly made the microinstruments needed to operate on the pituitary anlage (bud) of the 4-mm tadpole. In 1926, he fashioned a minute pipette to remove the rat pituitary by suction without damage to the brain. He showed that such “hypophysectomy” resulted in the cessation of growth and atrophy of the other adrenal glands, such as the thyroid, the adrenal cortex, and the reproductive glands. Smith was thus able to study “pure” hypopituitarism and hormone replacement therapy and to publish a paper immediately recognized as classic.
Died 8 Dec 1942 at age 73 (born 21 Mar 1869).
German-American industrial architect and planner who is considered the world's foremost in his time: “father of modern factory design.” His rise coincided with the growth of U.S. industry, particularly for the auto industry in Detroit. Shortly after founding Albert Kahn Associates in 1895, he designed Detroit's first large auto plants for the Packard Motor Car Company. Kahn's design for Packard's tenth building was the first concrete- reinforced auto factory. The building was strong, fireproof, and with large areas free of columns, an advance over the dangerous, inefficient, timber-framed plants of the era. Kahn designed Ford Motor Company's famous Highland Park plant, where Henry Ford produced of the Model T and perfected the assembly line process.
Irish geologist and physicist whose interests spanned several fields. Using Edmond Halley's method of measuring the degree of salinity of the oceans, and then by examining radioactive decay in rocks, he estimated Earth's age at 80-90 million years (1898). Later, he revised this figure to 100 million years. He published Radioactivity and Geology (1909) in which he demonstrated that the rate of radioactive decay has been more or less constant through time. He also developed a method for extracting radium (1914) and pioneered its use for cancer treatment, and invented a constant- volume gas thermometer, a photometer, and a differential steam calorimeter for measuring the specific heat capacity of gases at constant volume.
Radioactivity and Geology: ...Terrestrial History, by John Joly. - book suggestion.
English sociologist and philosopher who was an early adherent of evolutionary theory. He regarded society as an organism which was evolving from a simple primitive state to a complex heterogeneous form according to the designs of an unknown and unknowable absolute force. Similarly, knowledge developed from an undifferentiated mass into the various separate sciences. Formulating his ideas independently of Darwin, Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” as early as 1852. He applied Darwin's theory of natural selection (proposed four years later) to social development and in A System of Synthetic Philosophy (1862-96) presented a philosophical system to the natural and social sciences, synthesizing metaphysics, biology, psychology, sociology, and ethics.
Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life, by Mark Francis. - book suggestion.
German statistician, the head of the Prussian Statistical Bureau (1860-82), known for the "Engel curve," or Engel's law, which states that the proportion of expenditure on food will fall as income rises, i.e. food is a necessary good. Engel's law applies to goods as a whole. Demand for food, clothing and shelter - and for most manufactured products - doesn't keep pace with increases in incomes. Engel curves are useful for separating the effect of income on demand from the effects of changes in relative prices. Engel also examined the relationship between the size of the Prussian rye harvest and the average price of rye over a number of years prior to 1860, probably the first empirical study of the relationship between price and supply.
Died 8 Dec 1870 at age 65 (born 7 Nov 1805).
Early English railway contractor who built railway lines worldwide. While working as a land surveyor he and George Stephenson became friends. In 1834, Stephenson helped Brassey to obtain a contract to build a railway viaduct at Bromborough. In 1835, he constructed a section of the Grand Junction railway and later helped complete the London and Southampton line. With W. Mackenzie, he built the Paris to Rouen line (1841-43) and lines in Netherlands, Italy, Prussia, Spain. With Sir S.M. Peto and E.L. Betts, Brassey built the Grand Trunk railway, Canada (1853-59), the Crimean railway (1854); and also built in India, Australia and South America. He built more than 10,000 km (6,500 miles) of railways worldwide, including one-sixth of the British network.
English mathematician and logician who helped establish modern symbolic logic and an algebra of logic, now called Boolean algebra. By replacing logical operations by symbols, Boole showed that the operations could be manipulated to give logically consistent results. Boole's logical algebra is essentially an algebra of classes, being based on such concepts as complement and union of classes. The study of mathematical or symbolic logic developed mainly from his ideas, and is basic to the design of digital computer circuits. Boolean algebras also find important applications in such diverse fields as topology, measure theory, probability and statistics. Boole also wrote important works on differential equations and other branches of mathematics.
An Investigation of the Laws of Thought, by George Boole. - book suggestion.
Died 8 Dec 1818 at age 73 (born 19 Aug 1745).
Swedish mineralogist and crystallographer who was born in an iron-ming town, and followed mining as a career. At the copper mine in Falun, he improved smelting methods and the use of by-products. He discovered manganese (1774), and also selenium. Gahn assisted his friend Carl Wilhelm Scheele (discoverer of chlorine) in finding phosphoric acid in bones. His limited published work included essays on the balance and use of the blowpipe as a convenient analytical tool. During the American Revolutionary War, one of his companies supplied copper for sheathing ships. Gahnite, a dark green to brown or black mineral, (ZnAl2O4), also called zinc spinel was named after Gahn.
In 1994, approximately one month after announcing the creation of element 110, a team of German scientists led by Peter Armbruster at the Gesellschaft für schwerionenforschung (GSI) facility at Darmstadt, Germany, claimed to have created element 111. Its atom has 111 protons and 161 neutrons in its nucleus, giving it a mass number of 272. As a new element it was named unununium, symbol Uuu, according to an internationally adopted system for naming new elements. Only three atoms of the element were made by accelerating nickel atoms to high speed and bombarding them into bismuth. When an atom of each fused to make the new nucleus, it lasted for about four-thousandths of a second before decaying into smaller nuclei.
In 1993, the U.S. Secretary of Defense declared that the Global Positioning System, accurate within 100 meters, had 24 GPS satellites operating in their assigned orbits, available for navigation use at Standard Positioning Service (SPS) levels for civil users. This Initial Operational Capability was followed on 27 Apr 1995 with a formal declaration by the U.S. Air Force Space Command that the GPS satellite constellation had met the requirement for Full Operational Capability after successful testing for military functionality. This worldwide, satellite-based radionavigation system used as the DoD's primary radionavigation system provided authorized users encrypted Precise Positioning Service accurate to at least 22 meters.
In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower gave his “Atoms for Peace” speech in an address before the General Assembly of the United Nations. He proposed the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency to devise “methods whereby this fissionable material would be allocated to serve the peaceful pursuits of mankind ... to apply atomic energy to the needs of agriculture, medicine and other peaceful activities. A special purpose would be to provide abundant electrical energy in the power-starved areas of the world.” This initiated commercial nuclear power. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. Congress passed the 1954 Atomic Energy Act which permitted, for the first time, the wide use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
In 1946, the first test in the U.S. of a snow-melting apparatus embedded in a sidewalk was made in New York City. The department store, Best & Co. installed 15 coils made up from 4,530 feet of pipe. A mixture of about 67% water with 33% Zerex was circulated, effective to prevent freezing to as low as -5 deg.F. It was first put to use shortly thereafter, on 26 Dec 1946, during a blizzard. This was not the first method to melt snow devised in the U.S. On 27 May 1890, black American inventor F.J. Farrell was issued a patent for an "Apparatus for melting snow" (No. 428,670), which was a cast-iron box laid beneath the street gutter and heated with steam.
In 1931, the invention of coaxial cable was issued a U.S. patent for the first time in the U.S., described as a "concentric conducting system". The inventors were Lloyd Espenschied of Kew Gardens, N.Y. and Herman A. Affel of Ridgewood, N.J. The patent was assigned to the American Telegraph and Telephone Co. of New York City. (No. 1,835,031). The application was television, for which a wide range of transmision frequencies is required. Whereas individual channel requirements for telegraphy are of the order of a few hundred cycles at most, and telephony perhaps a few thousand cycles, television requires bands of hundreds of thousands of cycles in width to ensure a reasonable degree of picture detail. A single pair concentric conductor arrangement is used.
In 1896, a patent for an improvement in a Lemon Squeezer was issued to the Black-American inventor J.T. White (U.S. No. 572,849). It made squeezing lemons and straining the juice easy and also kept hands clean while juicing.
In 1866, the first transpacific side-wheeler steamship launched in the U.S. was the Celestial Empire (later named China) with capacity for 1,300 passengers. The keel was laid on 13 Jan 1866, and built in less than a year by William H. Webb of New York with a wooden hull and three masts, for the Pacific Mail SS Co.. Webb introduced many features of naval architecture in this liner, since in common use. On 1 Jul 1867, the steamer set off for Panama, picked up passengers and continued to San Francisco, arriving 20 Sep 1867. The boilers burned 45 tons of coal per day. It was 370-ft x beam 47.49-ft, 3,386 tons. After transpacific service, China was sold (1883) to Henry Villard, became a receiving ship for smallpox patients (1884) and was scrapped in 1886. | 2019-04-20T07:02:07Z | https://todayinsci.com/12/12_08.htm |
I am honoured to be here, but I am not sure if I should be happy. The Stavros Niarchos lectures tackle major world problems. In 2016, David Lipton discussed the backlash against globalisation. In 2017, Mervyn King explored global macroeconomic imbalances. Last year, Tharman Shanmugaratnam looked at wage stagnation and the decline of social mobility. This year I have been invited to discuss central bank independence.
There’s a pattern here. Central banks must be in trouble.
Looking around the world, there are signs of this trouble in many places – including advanced economies, where institutional stability can no longer be taken for granted. You will all be able to think of examples. The Bank of England has been criticised for warning about the costs of Brexit, which just shows that giving good advice in a polarised political environment is no way to make friends. As for the United States, everyone likes telling the Fed what to do, and as we have seen this urge is not confined to those without authority. Elsewhere, a conflict over the central bank’s reserves has led to a Governors’ resigning. And of course in South Africa, the independence of the Reserve Bank has also come under threat in recent years, which must be why you think I’m the person to discuss this subject.
Tonight, I will briefly review the textbook case for central bank independence, which centres on the well-known time-inconsistency problem. It is an elegant analysis, but it only covers a narrow part of central banking. In particular, it does not apply very well to financial sector mandates, such as financial stability or banking regulation, which are core duties for many central banks. I want to argue however that the case for central bank independence goes further. The issue is actually another classic economic concept: the principal-agent problem. How can societies get their leaders to look after the public interest instead of their own short term political interests? This is one of the fundamental difficulties of government. In my experience, it has also been the main reason the South African Reserve Bank has needed its independence.
Independence allowed us to deliver on our mandate, as set down in the constitution. Independence ensured that the tremendous powers of a central bank – such as printing money, or licensing and supervising banks – couldn’t be taken over by politically connected individuals bent on looting the state instead of serving the citizens. I’m not sure exactly how this should be modelled – how we could prove the point in a large empirical study, and get a peer-reviewed article out of it – but it has been my lived experience for some years now. There is a saying: there are no atheists in foxholes. We’ve been on the frontlines lately, the place where good and bad governance meet, and I promise you – in that situation, you really learn to believe in central bank independence.
Let’s start with the textbook. Kydland and Prescott showed that governments suffer from a time inconsistency problem. They’d like to promise low inflation in future, but when the future shows up, they discover it’s easier to tolerate higher inflation instead. As a result, lenders, firms and workers start to anticipate tighter inflation, and everyone ends up living in a world they would not choose, with a built-in bias towards higher inflation and higher interest rates. The solution to the problem is an independent central bank, with a clear mandate to control inflation. With this mandate in place, governments do not have to pay higher inflation risk premia on their debt, and society as a whole gets to enjoy a lower level of inflation. This is why central bank independence has been described as a free lunch.
But this time-consistency argument does not cover the whole case for independence. In particular, it says nothing about financial stability mandate nor about narrower bank supervision duties, which occupy a lot of central bank staff.
…there should be no ‘spillover’ from monetary policy independence to independence in other spheres of activity. In practice, the Federal Reserve engages cooperatively with other agencies of the U.S. government on a wide range of financial and supervisory issues without compromising the independence of monetary policy.
Unfortunately, it is not always and everywhere the case that the two can be combined so harmoniously. Serious threats to central bank independence are possible, even when the sanctity of monetary policy is intact.
For a telling example of the problem, consider Cyprus. As a member of the euro area, Cyprus does not have an independent monetary policy. It has a large banking sector, however – and when this sector fell into crisis, in 2013, that also generated a serious threat to the independence of this central bank.
Cyprus’s banking crisis was the result of falling asset prices, particularly for Greek government bonds. The banks bought these in 2009 and 2010, and incurred haircuts as part of Greece’s 2011 debt restructuring. The result was banks that were probably insolvent, but which were also simultaneously too big to fail and too big to bail. Tackling this problem required several desperate measures, including emergency liquidity assistance from the European Central Bank (ECB), strict capital controls, a two-week shutdown of the entire banking system, and even bail-ins for bank bondholders and uninsured depositors.
The politics of this were predictably toxic, especially in a small country where many people depended on the banks for their wealth and status. The central bank got the job of administering much of the crisis management and resolution process, not least because it had the trust of international lenders. Perhaps inevitably, it then became a scapegoat, with critics questioning its motives and patriotism.
Although the independence of the central bank was secured by EU treaty, and the position of the Governor was protected, the Bank’s independence was compromised anyway. It achieved this by expanding the Board of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) and giving it more power. The Board then switched reporting lines away from the Governor to its own members, so bank staff ended up answering to the Board instead. The European Central Bank issued a legal opinion questioning these measures, but they were adopted anyway, and the European Commission did not take legal action in response. Sidelined and under constant, personal attack, the Governor, Panicos Demetriades eventually resigned.
I claim no great expertise about Cyprus’s economy, and there are probably people in the audience who know many interesting details of that country’s crisis that I have overlooked. I drew this account from the memoirs of the former Governor. The point I want to make is that the independence of a central bank can be gravely compromised without monetary policy coming into dispute. Indeed, even without that central bank issuing its own sovereign currency or having much control over monetary policy – which of course was being set in Frankfurt.
One answer to this problem is to say that independent agencies like central banks shouldn’t be controlling bank bailouts and resolutions. The distributional consequences are too large, the preferences of society are not clear or stable, and the scope for accountability and transparency is too limited. The natural endpoint of this logic is that financial stability and bank supervision problems should stay in the political realm, with the line ministries and their political heads, instead of being delegated to independent agencies. In this way, central banks can focus narrowly on monetary policy, and have independence for that, without wading into the mire of finance and perhaps being dragged down.
But there are two problems with this argument for narrow central banking. First, not many central banks do narrow monetary policy. If the plan for safeguarding central bank independence is to hive off non-monetary mandates to other bodies, then we have lost our way. Most jurisdictions are adding new duties for central banks, not taking them away.
This is related to the second problem: in a crisis, central banks find it hard to stay on the side-lines or escape blame. To borrow an anecdote, recall that in the UK it was the Financial Services Authority and not the Bank of England which was the lead regulatory agency for the financial sector – but when Northern Rock failed in 2007, it was Mervyn King whose picture ended up in The Economist alongside the heading, ‘The bank that failed’. The FSA doesn’t exist anymore, and the Bank of England now has responsibility for financial stability.
The lesson learned, one taken to heart in many places, was that central banks have unique powers as the lenders of last resort. No-one else can flood a banking system with liquidity like a central bank. As a result, a promise to stop a bank run, or to do ‘whatever it takes’, has unique power coming from a central bank.
These institutions also tend to have institutional capital, in the form of expertise, access to international networks, especially fellow central bankers, and reputations as responsible technocrats, which can be very helpful in coordinating responses amongst diverse stakeholders. For these reasons, a central bank sitting at ground zero of a financial crisis will struggle to stick to a narrow monetary mandate. And this is even before we reflect that financial crises are also likely to prompt big misses of inflation targets, as happened in many advanced economies after the global financial crisis.
The implication is that financial stability is also very important for achieving inflation targets.
So central banks probably cannot steer clear of financial stability and bank regulation. Yet that conclusion doesn’t make the space any safer for independent central banks. I can testify to this from my own experience in South Africa.
We are all used to thinking about attacks on central banks as demands to cut rates for political reasons. But I never once got a call or any other communication from the Union Buildings – the seat of the South African executive – telling me what to do with monetary policy. Similarly, my toughest public engagements haven’t been about interest rates; they have been about the financial system. Twice a year we have monetary policy forums outside financial centres, but we barely talk about monetary policy. Instead, we get questions about two things. One is a sideshow issue, which is the fact that the Reserve Bank has private shareholders. These shareholders don’t have any policy control, they get tiny dividends (about $14,000 per year collectively), and the private ownership isn’t the basis of our independence.
Still, it sounds strange that there are private shareholders, and people have questions, which we answer. The other thing we get asked about is the financial sector, especially issues around transformation, financial inclusion and development. And the financial sector work is also where we have had the most difficult time, politically.
Let me just pause a moment to note that monetary policy has had its problems. The South African economy has experienced a prolonged slump, with negative per capita GDP growth since 2013. At the same time, we have had inflation mostly at or above the top end of our target range. We have had to raise interest rates in the midst of the downturn, to keep inflation expectations in check and stave off worse scenarios, like the crises that hit Turkey and Argentina last year. We are now getting inflation where we want it, in the middle of our target range, which is a rate we intend to maintain. But that hasn’t provoked more than the usual grumbling and op-eds – no major onslaughts. The attacks came for other reasons. I’ll describe three big ones.
The first involved banking services for politically connected people. As has now been widely reported, some very senior figures in the South African government developed warm relations with a family of businessmen. When it became clearer that a lot of that family’s money wasn’t clean, commercial banks became unwilling to handle their accounts, for fear of violating laws against facilitating money laundering.
This made it nearly impossible for the family to run its operations and sparked a political fightback. We started feeling pressure to force banks to service these accounts, in violation of the law. In addition, we came under pressure to allow this family to obtain a banking license by buying a small bank. We even faced the threat of bank licensing being taken away from the SARB altogether. We were using our independence to uphold a law against dirty money flows, and that made us enemies.
The second problem was over a small mutual bank. This institution had spent most of its life quietly taking deposits from retail savers and extending mostly mortgage loans. Frankly, we didn’t realise the full extent of what was going on until the very end.
Starting in 2013, new management took over the bank and turned it into a crude Ponzi scheme. Their innovation was bribing public officials to deposit municipal funds at the mutual bank in exchange for ‘Christmas presents’. They then simply spent these deposits on themselves, accumulating fancy cars and a helicopter or two along the way. When we noted the significant growth in the business, we started engaging the bank about converting to a commercial banking license.
Ultimately, we realised something was wrong when they failed to make a routine payment through the national payment system, and it turned out they had no money left. But they nearly got away with it for longer, because they almost received a huge deposit from a public sector rail operator, which would have kept the Ponzi scheme going. I should also note that one of the reasons we missed what was going on was that one of the people involved in the looting was a partner at a Big-4 accounting firm, who signed off the accounts. We accepted audited accounts as a true reflection of the business.
When we put the mutual bank into curatorship, we came under attack from people who said we were targeting this business because it was a black- owned bank. We were accused of undermining black excellence and protecting the interests of white capitalists. You know the saying that patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels? Well, in South Africa, if you really need somewhere to hide, it’s not in patriotism but in race politics. And these guys really needed a place to hide. They had just perpetrated a big bank robbery. Most troubling of all, they did it by stealing money sent by government for service delivery to some of South Africa’s poorest people – and that municipal money was lost. This did not stop people saying we should save the bank because it served the poor, even though it was an insolvent, corrupted institution.
The third problem was the strangest. In 2011 the Public Protector, South Africa’s ombudsman, decided to investigate a bank bailout the SARB did in 1985, for an institution called Bankorp, later taken over by ABSA, one of our big banks. There was talk that the bank had received money improperly, and it was argued that ABSA owed the government a refund. When this was investigated in the 1990s nothing came of it; the allegations were found to be baseless. Nonetheless, the Public Protector’s office decided to reopen the matter, and in June 2017, the Public Protector issued a finding that ABSA had to pay back R1 billion (roughly US$70 million). Then, to our surprise, the finding included an order that parliament change the constitution, so that the Reserve Bank’s mandate stopped being to ‘protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth’. Instead, it should have a much more opaque duty to look after the socio-economic well-being of South Africans.
You may be wondering how an ombuds office goes from investigating a thirty-year-old bank bailout to changing the Constitution. We all wondered. Ultimately the courts threw out both the findings. Yet, although we were all surprised by the attack coming like that, we had not anticipated such a flagrant disregard of the law.
This brings me back to the point I raised at the start of my speech. When I reflect on what the Reserve Bank was doing during this period, I cannot say it was all about maintaining a credible commitment to sound monetary policy. The problem we were really addressing was the principal-agent problem. The people of South Africa were relying on their government to look after their interests, while some people were instead using public power to pilfer. The SARB made that more difficult, which is why the Bank was attacked.
The terrifying thing we saw was how easy it is to flip between equilibria. There is one equilibrium where the rule of law is upheld and corruption is not tolerated, and most people then do their jobs honestly. And then there’s another equilibrium where people use their power to enrich themselves, where there is impunity, and where everyone has the incentive to take what they can before there’s nothing left. Over the past 10 years we moved from the first equilibrium towards the second, slowly at first, much faster towards the end. Many good institutions were weakened.
It’s not a surprise to me that the institutions which survived best were the ones with independence, particularly the Reserve Bank and the judiciary. Independence is a powerful defence. Many times during my term we have reflected with gratitude on the foresight of our founding mothers and fathers, who saw what could happen in the future and gave us the constitutional tools to defend ourselves.
The writers of our Constitution were students of history. They reflected especially closely on the African experience, where people had suffered so many disappointments in the decades after independence, perhaps the greatest being how leaders looted and impoverished their countries instead of governing them in the public interest. When our constitution was adopted the president was Nelson Mandela, and it would have been easy to take good leadership for granted. But good laws last longer than good leaders, and it was very helpful, twenty years down the line, to have the constitutional protections, the checks and balances, the guarantees of independence.
This emphasis on how independent institutions can protect democracies from bad leadership implies a close connection between how we think about central banks and how we think about judiciaries. I appreciate that central banks have narrower tasks than judiciaries, and aren’t peer organs of government. They are not the fourth branch. But the comparison still has some utility, in two ways.
First, the example of judiciaries is relevant because they too need to honour democracy while exercising unelected power. They are also confronted with the challenge from elected officials, “I’m elected and you’re not, so shut up and listen to me.” In practice, judiciaries do not resolve this tension through a policy of maximum deference. Rather, they typically take direction from the rights and values embodied in their countries’ foundational laws, and they confront violations of these principles when they see them. They appreciate that there is more to government than having 50% plus 1 vote.
The lesson for central banks is, we can honour democracy without feeling obliged to define it in strictly majoritarian terms, in which only directly elected leaders have any legitimacy. Democracy ensures that government serves the interests of the people. It does not consist of elections only. One of the gravest threats facing any society is the ruler who is more powerful than anyone else and therefore cannot be stopped by anyone, even when he is acting against the interests of the principals, the people.
Not all leaders are bad - I have met many good leaders, and some who would have behaved better in easier circumstances. But a small portion of leaders are bad, and if you understand probability, then you know sooner or later most countries will get a bad leader. There is nothing undemocratic about buying some insurance against this eventuality, and independent central banks, like judiciaries, are useful parts of those insurance policies.
Second, like judiciaries, central banks tend to be relatively high- performing institutions. There’s a famous book about judiciaries called, ‘the least dangerous branch’. The idea is that all parts of government can do terrible things, but the judiciary tends to do the least harm. I think central banks have a parallel claim. For a start, central banks generally maintain high standards of honesty and competence. Every now and then, when there’s a story about corruption in a central bank, people are shocked. By contrast, when last was anyone surprised by a corruption story in a government procurement agency or a legislative office?
Furthermore, central banks tend to be good at what they do, especially when their performances are compared with other parts of government. In emerging markets, inflation is at long-term lows. Many countries have moved beyond the problem of ‘original sin’, the inability of emerging markets to borrow long term in local currency, in large part because independent central banks mean the local money can now be trusted. Given how many financial crises have been caused by original sin, and how pervasive it was, this is important progress.
In advanced economies, central banks can make an even grander claim - to have been ‘the only game in town’ in the years after the global financial crisis. This was not a position they desired, and it is not optimal from a policy perspective. But aren’t you glad there was a game? Central bankers did as much as anyone to avert another Great Depression. We are now worried about the rise of populism and reinvigorated nationalisms, but imagine how much worse this would have been with a debt-deflation spiral and double-digit unemployment.
This record tells us the case for independent central banks is not just theoretical. We have tried these institutions in many countries, and the experiments have generally succeeded. If anyone looks at this history and concludes independent central banks should be abolished, well, we might ask, what parts of government deserve to survive?
Of course, it’s not enough to say we have a record of success and now we must be left alone. The principal-agent problem applies to central banks too – if there are no accountability mechanisms, what is to stop central bankers privileging their own interests over those of society? Part of the solution to this so far has been cultural, in the sense that there is a community of central bankers with high standards and strong norms. This isn’t a hard or legal guarantee, but as with many professions, it is important because it works even when people aren’t watching. Even better, however, is having nothing to hide. Modern central banks, unlike their forebears, actively embrace transparency and communication. We try to be clear about what we’re doing, why, and what evidence we rely upon for our decisions. This also promotes accountability, because it is easier to assess success or failure. These values – transparency, accountability – have served us well, and I doubt central bank independence would be tenable without them.
We will also need new ideas for tackling new challenges. To conclude, I’d like to address two broad problems, one to do with financial stability mandates, and one affecting the price stability mandate.
Regarding financial stability, I opened this lecture with a problem. Financial stability is probably an inescapable responsibility for central banks, but it is a dangerous environment for an independent agency to operate - more so than the monetary policy space. How best can we navigate it? I have two suggestions.
First, we usually frame the problem in this sphere as one of independent central banks taking decisions away from the duly elected authorities. But sometimes independence helps ensure decisions are made in full view of the public, by the appropriate authorities, instead of being shirked. Let me give you an example.
In South Africa, one of the worst examples of state capture has been state owned enterprises which pose a significant fiscal risk. State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are a financial stability issue and should not the Reserve Bank be doing a bailout?
Absolutely not. The challenge of dealing with too-big-to-fail SOEs, of combining cash injections with conditionality measures, needs to be dealt with by the elected authorities – as it has been in the latest budget from National Treasury. The SARB’s power to say no was greatly enhanced by its independence.
Second, sometimes central banks face a tough choice between - on the one hand - stretching their mandates and raising legitimacy questions, and - on the other hand - staying in their safe spaces, but then risking bad economic outcomes. For instance, with Lehman Brothers, I understand there were legal problems, but I wish the Fed had found a way to prevent its bankruptcy. Similarly, I’m glad it was possible to give other investment banks access to Fed funds, and to prevent AIG from collapsing.
Finding the right balance here is always going to be an art. Fortunately, we have some master-class performances to draw on for lessons in how it’s done.
When ECB had to manage the euro crisis, it did with just a few words – doing whatever it takes. But the Council followed them with a major effort to convince political leaders, who ultimately backed the plan in public. They also worked to address the concerns of critics, by devising conditionality measures for bond purchases. In policy, there is always trade-off between how decisively you act and how widely you consult. In a crisis, the trade-off becomes very difficult indeed, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. I think a useful term here is one we used a lot in South Africa during the transition to democracy: ‘sufficient consensus’. It meant, given the importance of moving forward, you can’t permit filibustering, but you also can’t make decisions unilaterally, and ride roughshod over opponents. The ECB team did a masterful job of achieving sufficient consensus, and I think that’s what central banks should aim for in future financial crises.
Finally, on monetary stability, for once I am concerned about too little inflation. In emerging markets we still mostly worry about inflation being high, but some advanced economies keep on missing their targets from below. Frankly, it doesn’t seem to me so terrible to have price stability.
That was the original goal with 2% inflation targets - the idea was to get an inflation rate households and firms wouldn’t notice. The problem with winning the war on inflation, however, is that the only price movements left tend to be temporary, from supply shocks. This makes it easy to forget the responsibility of monetary policy for inflation. Indeed, the so-called Modern Monetary Theorists even think you can do away with independent central banks and tackle inflation with other tools. Well, if you build a maximum security jail and there are no escapes, does that prove you didn’t need to build a jail? I think it proves you built it right.
The same goes for inflation. Price stability is proof of the success of independent central banks, not an argument for their abolition. But I worry there’s a new generation coming of age in the advanced economies who have never experienced inflation, and won’t appreciate that subtlety.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, central banks may be under attack, but they deserve to be defended. They have been principled agents, serving the interests of their citizens, mostly with more effectiveness than people usually get from their governments. There are any number of institutions needing reform in this world. It would be best if the energy of our critics, and our defenders, could be directed to those other causes instead. Meanwhile, for central bankers, we should always bear in mind that independence is not a birth-right, but something we need to get up every day and earn. Our insulation from day-to-day politics creates a special responsibility to do our jobs right, and to be transparent and accountable so that our principals, the citizens, can see we are living up to this privilege.
Debelle, G. (1996) “Central bank independence: a free lunch?” IMF Working Paper 96/1; Alesina, A., & Summers, L. (1993). Central Bank Independence and Macroeconomic Performance: Some Comparative Evidence. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking 25 (2), 151-62.
The initial bail-in arrangements included insured deposits, but these were exempted when it became clear breaking the insurance guarantee would be a major error, not least because of the spillover risks. The deposit guarantee threshold was €100,000. | 2019-04-18T19:12:29Z | https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/race-politics-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel--le |
Panoramic and a breathtaking vantage point. Powdery sands and the bluest ocean water. Small villages and local encounters. An unforgettable hiking experience and a kickass destination. That’s what this post is about. Travel bloggers from all over the world gives us the best beach hikes in their books.
From tropical beach hikes in Southeast Asia, to breezy walks down under, to the cold ocean breeze of Canada and to the warm Mediterranean sunshine, the sick views of Brazil to the utterly gorgeous coastal hikes of USA, and from offbeat locations around Indian Ocean to the grand sights of New Zealand, this list will take you AROUND THE WORLD and show you the sickest, the dopest, and the most kickass. This are THE best beach hikes ever.
The province of Antique is a gem itself, but one of my favorite find in this underrated province is the island of Malalison. Antique is a short journey from the ever so loud Boracay, and as it remains overshadowed by the party island capital of the Philippines, the solitude that you’ll find here is a breath of fresh air. It takes a short boat ride to reach the island of Malalison. Although the island is inhabited by locals, the serenity upon reaching the shore is undeniable. But it is the hike around the island itself that will introduce you to the solitude like no other. The hike is simple and very beginner friendly, and in less than hour, you can go around the entire island depending on your pace. The only big challenge is the heat, so it’s best to do the hike early in the morning. But alas, upon reaching the summit, you will be blown away. The view up top gives you a panorama of the beach– white powdery sands and blue water as seen from above! It’s exhilarating being up there as the vista is just phenomenal. The great thing about the hike down is that you don’t have to necessarily take the same route back. You can also hire a boat for 20-50 pesos per person to take you back to the other side of the island where you came from.
Slurping the cold juice of a fresh coconut while laying on a white-sand beach – this is the picture that most people have in their mind when they think of Hawaii. It is a paradise destination, no questions asked. However, some may desire more than that when they plan a trip to Oahu. The combination of sandy beaches and lush-green mountains create the perfect environment for adventure seekers and beach lovers. One of my favorite spots on Oahu is Lanikai near Kailua. It has the most powdery sand I have ever felt in my life. The water is crystal-clear and you can overlook this pristine beach with the turquoise ocean by hiking up to the Pillboxes. It’s a short and easy hike for everyone from young to old. The trailhead is conveniently marked on Google Maps as it is frequently used by tourists and locals. The Pillboxes are old military bunkers that provide a spectacular view of Oahu’s East coast. There are three bunkers in total, of which the first one is the most popular. It takes around 30 min to reach. If this is not exciting enough, keep following the trail and it will lead you to the other Pillboxes. After your hike, you definitely should take a dip in the refreshing calm waters at Lanikai Beach.
The Algarve in Southern Portugal is a well known hot spot for glorious sandy beaches that are continuously warmed by the Mediterranean sun. Our favorite area in the Algarve is the pretty little town of Lagos, not only for its historic centre but also for the number of beautiful coved beaches that line its shore. The best way to explore these beaches is via the cliff top walk which starts from Lagos town and winds all the way to Ponta da Piedade, a fine natural feature where the cliffs of the headland have been naturally carved into rock pillars, tunnels and hidden grottos.
The beaches that fall in this walking trail are Praia do Pinhão, Praia Dona Ana, Praia do Camilo, Praia dos Pinheiros, Praia da Balança and finally Farol da Ponta da Piedade. The views along the entire route are stunning with sea views as far as the eye can see and a bird’s eye perspective of each of the beaches. You can access all the beaches along the cliff top path, ranging from tiny secluded coves to wide sandy stretches, using the staircases clinging to the cliffside. It’s an easy hike to make in 90 minutes or so, with only a little climbing needed to scramble up some of the steeper pathways, but we recommend wearing some decent footwear because flip-flops won’t cut it.
I recently went to the Azores, a group of islands owned by Portugal in the middle of the Atlantic. You weren’t hard-pressed for a beautiful view there, but my absolute favorite views came from my many morning and afternoon hikes along a new ocean trail that opened on the north coast stretching from Sao Vicente Ferreira to Capelas. I was staying at the Santa Barbara Lodge in Sao Vicente and the trail began right outside of my doorstep! The trail hugs the coast and offers some of the most killer views I’ve ever witnessed on a hike anywhere in the world. The landscape ranges from feeling tropical to feeling like you’re in a desert all within a few meters. You can birdwatch, check out the interesting local flora (which consists of lots and lots of flowers!), or just relax and listen to the waves come in. This area is not very populated and we never passed another person on these hikes, which made us feel even more remote than how we already felt being on the Azores. I highly suggest this hike, or any north shore hike, to everyone who finds themselves on Sao Miguel in the Azores. It will truly take your breath away!
Gili Lawa is the ultimate beach climb – in as much that there is barely a beach at the bottom, but one heck of a climb to get to the top! Located in Komodo National Park (Indonesia), it is much lesser known than the nearby Padar hike, and to be honest, much more challenging. Wear sunscreen and take as much water as you can carry. From the beach you’ll see the start of the track – which is only marked by the feet that have gone before you. The higher you climb, the more narrow the path, and the more uneven the ground becomes. All in all it will take up about an hour to reach the top, climbing at around at 75 degree angle. It is hot, dusty, loose rocks make you unsteady on your feet and by the time you reach the peak you’ll be wishing you were in the aqua blue waters below. But the view is totally worth it. You can see across to the bigger Komodo Island, and your boat parked in the cove will make for a great screensaver-like photograph. And, possibly the best news you’ll get from the top – is that there is an easier hike back down which is a little less taxing on your legs!
Everyone coming to North Stradbroke Island must check out the North Gorge Walk. This is an easy 1.5 km walk providing spectacular views from the rocky outcrops across the Pacific Ocean. From the designated walk ways, you can easily spot dolphins, turtles and manta rays as well as whales during the months of June to November. Along the path you most likely will see kangaroos grazing as well as well as a variety of bird life.
The walk commences at Moloomba Road, Point Lookout opposite Fish Café along an unsealed track through bushland with breathtaking views across the Point Lookout headland. The walk then continues along a wooden boardwalk which zig zags along the gorge. The North Gorge walks takes around 1 hour at a slow leisurely pace. The walk can be strenuous at times due to steep stairs, but for the most part it is an easy walk and suitable for all fitness levels and ages. There are parts of the walk that allow you to walk out on the rocks along the cliffs, provided you keep a safe distance from the edge this is safe enough, however keep a close eye on younger children. At the end of the walk there is toilets and a small playground. On a hot day reward yourself with some delicious ice cream from the Oceanic Gelati Bar which is located in the small group of shops at Point Lookout.
You have probably seen the famous Seven Sisters Cliffs on a postcard or at the front of book covers. It is an iconic British landmark. The Seven Sisters is a series of chalk cliffs by the English Channel. After living in London for 2 years I decided to visit the famous cliffs. I love hiking and was really lucky with the weather on the day I planned my walk. I took the train from London to Brighton, then a bus to the Visitor Centre. There are a few walks you can choose from. I decided to walk on top of the cliffs to Beachy Head, where we can see a lighthouse. The walk offered beautiful views of the ocean and cliffs. I had a little break in Birling Gap. There is a visitor centre and cafe here. After a refreshing ice cream, I continued my way to Beachy Head, where I was rewarded with a stunning view of the lighthouse. Unfortunately, some people lost their life getting too close to the edge while trying to take selfies. Please use common sense and always be safe! This walk was a total of 6 miles on easy terrain. You could continue your way to Eastbourne and take the train back from there to London. However I also wanted to have a little sightseeing in Brighton, so I took the bus back there and had lovely fish and chips for dinner while watching the sunset.
Padar Island in Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia would have to be my best beach hike ever. Why? Well, just look at that view. Isn’t it grand? 😉 Padar Island is the third largest island in Komodo National Park and used to be inhabited my Komodo Dragons. So that’s one less thing to worry about while hiking up to the peak. The loose soil and steep incline directly from the coral beach makes for a tricky start to the hike but after all the knee pain you’ll get, don’t worry the view will definitely be worth it. From the higher viewpoints, you’ll see the tri-colored beach of Padar Island – black, white, and pink. Add to that the amazing landscape and panoramic view of the island and nearby islands in the national park. The hike can be fast, less than 30 minutes if you don’t stop along the way but since we were so busy catching our breath and marveling at the view, it took us 45 minutes to the top. The way to the summit can be trickier than the first part again because of the loose soil. But it offers an even more bird’s eye view of the picturesque scene so it’s worth the extra effort.
The West Coast Trail is world renowned for being rugged, remote, and starkly beautiful. Running along the Southwest coast of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island, the West Coast Trail is 75km of pristine BC scenery and wildlife. The trail winds between old growth rainforest and over the headlands that give startling views of the ocean. But the reason most folks come is to walk along the miles of unspoiled and empty sandy beaches and enjoying the views with every step. Some beaches are hard packed and perfect for walking, while other may be silky and soft, but can make hiking with that backpack a bit of a slog. Regardless, the ‘beach boogying’ is unforgettable, as it will bring you up close with sea otters, seals, sea lions, coastal birds, and probably even the resident pods of whales. All of the designated campsites along the trail are on the beach, creating the perfect setting for a beach fire every night on the trail, not to mention dozing off to the sounds of crashing ocean waves just outside your tent.
Rio de Janeiro is well known for sunny beaches, caipirinhas and Samba parties. However, that’s not all! One of the best ways to enjoy the city is to hike the nearby hills and observe its beauty from above. Although most people visit only Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer, the views from Dois Irmãos are equally impressive, if not better! I love this trail because it’s not touristy, it’s well located near Ipanema and it gives you a chance to learn about Rio’s culture. To reach the starting point, you must walk up the Vidigal favela, which is totally safe. The residents are used to seeing many foreigners and you’ll have no problems walking around. A visit to Vidigal is worth your time; have an açai or a coffee and see how things work in a Brazilian favela.When you get to the top of Vidigal, you’ll have to hike along a marked path surrounded by rainforest. After a while, the forest will become a hill with views of the open ocean. Once on the top, you’ll enjoy a wonderful view of the southern part of the city, Ipanema, Copacabana and other beautiful beaches. The hike is not difficult at all, and takes only about 40 minutes up and 20 minutes down. If you want to take a hike that includes culture, adventure and spectacular scenery just a few minutes from the city, don’t miss Dois Irmãos!
Santorini is a Greek island that is known for its stunning beauty. In the 16th century BC, a devastating volcano eruption forever changed the rugged landscape. Sometimes the crowds (especially from the cruise ships) can make getting a good photograph of the gorgeous scenery difficult. However, we found that one of the best ways to view the caldera (crater) is to hike along its edge. Not only will you capture stunning pictures, but you’ll be able to experience it at your own pace.The best time to hike from Fira to Oia is early morning, especially during the sweltering summer months. Starting in Fira keeps you in the shade for the first 1/3 of the hike. The hike is about 6 miles (10 km). It took us 3 hours to hike from Fira to Oia with stopping for photographs and snack and water breaks.
Kauai, the Garden Isle of Hawaii is a hiker’s paradise. There are so many trails to choose from that it’s hard to know which to tackle first. But if there is one that you absolutely must do, it’s the trek to Hanakapi’ia Beach on the Kalalau Trail.The trail begins in the carpark of Ke’e Beach on the North Shore of the island, and Ke’e Beach also marks the start of Kauai’s amazing Nā Pali Coast. This four-mile return hike is one of the most beautiful ones in Hawaii, offering spectacular views of the Pacific ocean, the Hanakapi`ai Valley, and the breathtaking Nā Pali Coast.The path from the car park steadily ascends to an elevation of four hundred feet. You will need to be reasonably fit and mobile as the trail can be quite tough in parts. But the sweeping views across the soaring cliffs of the Nā Pali Coast, and of Ke’e beach’s sparkling lagoon, make it well worth the effort. You’ll also have plenty of time to stop and catch your breath while you admire the picture postcard scenery around you.Along the way, the hike takes you through lush green valleys, freshwater streams, and past waterfalls and jungles of exotic plants. Your final obstacle to tackle before you reach Hanakapi’ia beach, is boulder hopping across the Hanakapi’ia stream. Take extra care there, as the current can be quite strong. It’s best not to attempt this crossing after heavy rain. Once you’ve made it to the beach you might be tempted to jump straight into the water, but don’t! This beach is treacherous and definitely not suitable for swimming. Many people have been dragged out to sea and drowned there. Just relax and enjoy its beauty. You can always swim at Ke’e Beach once you’ve completed the hike.
Torrey Pines State Park sits about 30 minutes north of downtown San Diego and just above the tourist destination of La Jolla. It’s San Diego’s best hike for panoramic views of the ocean and trails down to the beach. There is pay parking from the state park entrance at the bottom and a limited number of street parking spots at the bottom and top entrance. The hikes are generally short (about 3 miles) with 300’ of elevation from the ridge to the ocean. This gives you the opportunity for amazing vistas and just a little bit of cardio heading back uphill. Several lookouts give you views of the ocean that stretch to Mexico and often gliders from the nearby gliderport dot the sky. This is a place to find spring wildflowers or the rare Torrey Pine tree that is only found here and the Channel Islands. The geologic activity that formed the ridge left a landscape that looks like another planet. You can also catch glimpses of the Torrey Pines PGA tour golf course adjacent to the park. As you would expect, a beautiful hike this close to city center gets crowded. There will be people on the trail and on the beaches so come early if you want some solitude.
Florida’s powdery white shores attract hordes of beach goers and Hawaii’s volcanic black sands make for stunning Instagrams, but there’s no question that Canada’s Bay of Fundy is the one of the most unusual beaches in the world. Every six hours, the water levels rise and fall by over 50 feet, exposing miles of ocean floor in the process. New Brunswick’s Coastal Trail, located in Fundy National Park, is the ideal place to see this dramatic tidal action up close – and get a hike in at the same time.
This was the first trail I did in Cape Breton which is the northern part of Nova Scotia. The “Middle head“. I have no idea how it got its name but it was really perfect! The trail passes through trees (of course) and provides incredible views of the ocean both south and north! So you’re walking between trees and see the blue water with these big rocks and cliffs. The reason you see both directions relatively good is that it’s on a peninsula going out to the sea (look for it on a map and you’ll understand what I’m talking about). But what’s special about the trees is that they are evergreen unlike other trees in the area which are changing colors at this time of year. It was quite easy, about 1.5 hours, interesting, and with fantastic views. Anyway, on a sunny day the blue, green and grey colors are very vivid. And now for a tip from someone that’s been there – bring a beer and a snack and stop somewhere along the way with some fantastic views in front of you. The trailhead is located right beside the Keltic Lodge and one of the many golf courses I saw on this trip.
Hiking around Ilha Grande (Big Island) in Brazil was an amazing experience, all the hikes we’d done before were somewhere in the mountains where it’s cold, rainy, windy etc. This hike was something completely different, a dream hike that you walk in your bikini/board shorts and flip-flops moving from beach to beach swimming and snorkelling from time to time. Ilha Grande is quite a big tropical island in the South of Brazil about 100km from Rio de Janeiro a popular place for locals to come for weekends or holiday. Not many people venture to do the entire route but if you have time we’d definitely recommend to do it. We walked around the island in 5 days but a week would be better this way you’ll have more time to relax on the beach, enjoy swimming and snorkeling in crystal clear warm water and to discover hidden corners of the island. Unlike big cities in Brazil Ilha Grande is very safe you can camp on the beach, at a local’s house or in a campsite without being worried about yourself or your belongings. Don’t miss sunsets and sunrises they are absolutely stunning especially on Aventureiro beach. Walking through the dense jungle watch for tropical birds and monkeys, these are super cute.
Although Hong Kong is famous for its dense skyline, it may surprise you to find out that it is actually home to more than 50 hiking trails and that approximately three quarters is countryside! One of the most popular hikes in Hong Kong is the “Dragon’s Back”, aptly named as you walk along the ridge of the mountain for most of the hike and take in the gorgeous scenery. Dragon’s Back is easily accessible from the Shau Kei Wan MTR subway station and it takes anywhere from 2-3 hours to complete the beginner-friendly hike. Towards the end you have the option to follow the path to Big Wave Bay Beach for a bite to eat and dip in the ocean. The best time of year to do this hike is during the autumn months, when it is still sunny but much less humid and stuffy.
Tioman Island lies off the Eastern Coast of Mersing/Tanjung Gemok in Malaysia. It’s a popular weekend escape for locals and tourists as it has both unspoiled natural beauty as well as resorts and spas. While people usually come to tax-free Tioman for a beach escape or to get their PADI certification, as the diving is out of this world, there are also fantastic hikes that range from easy to more advanced. Most visitors will be staying in the resort-clad Western part of the island, Tekek. If you trek north, you will end up at the almost isolated Monkey Beach and as the name suggests, the mischievous macaques own this place, so pack any food away. To the South is the beautiful Asah Waterfall by Mukut village. Tioman even has trails for veteran mountaineers, who can ascend the 1038m Mount Kajang. This trail is so untouched that you may have to carve your own path to summit the mountain. Yet the most popular hike by far is walking around the mountain to the East coast where resort construction forbidden. While the diving on this side is not so great, the nature is unparalleled and the beaches are untouched. One of the best parts of hiking Tioman is that you don’t have to hike both ways. This means you can enjoy a leisurely wander through the lush jungle, spotting monitor lizards and red giant flying squirrels, and catch a boat taxi back to your resort after lunch. Tioman really is a unique beach hike that is filled with astounding scenery of white sand and azure ocean. Remember to pack your snorkel as the marine life is bustling at every turn.
Mount Maunganui is one of the more well-known places in the North Island for people visiting for New Zealand due to its reasonable year round weather, beaches, and adventures around the area including the walk up to Mount Maunganui. The hike to the top of the Mount isn’t strenuous. You’ll be climbing for 30 minutes or so up a mild incline to the summit X above sea level. Once you get to the top, you get some incredible views in all directions with the Mount Maunganui beach the stand out.
Before you make the stroll up the Mount, head to one of the many cafes in the town by the entrance. After the descent, it’s time to head to the beaches you were just admiring with a couple of the pathways leading straight to the beach. If you’re looking for a similar hike nearby, drive south 20-25 minutes and explore the Papamoa Hills. There you’ll get a slightly less touristy place with just as incredible views. Two epic hikes that everyone can do with minimal organization required whether you’re on a kiwi road trip, backpacking or on a tour.
The Eastern Walkway is in the eastern suburbs of Wellington near the airport. This walk offers stunning views of the beaches and coastline of Wellington. As the saying goes, ‘you can’t beat Wellington on a good day!’. This is an easy walk up in the bush so you can view the tuis (native birds) and native bush. The track is 2.5 km long and takes about 1.5 hours to complete. The track surface is mainly gravel and much of the track is exposed.At the Tarakena Bay end of the track is the Ataturk Memorial which commemorates the first president of modern Turkey, and defender of Gallipoli. This particular spot was chosen for this memorial, dedicated in 1990, due to the landscape’s resemblance of Anzac Cove in Gallipoli. There is also an extra track out to Point Dorset above Breaker Bay, where you will find WWII gun batteries and observation points, as well as stunning views over the bay and harbour entrance.
Taganga is a small fishing village in Santa Marta, Colombia. Well, these days it is more of a backpacker chill-out spot, but that doesn’t stop it from being pretty. At the end of Taganga beach, there is a trail through the hills which will lead you to Playa Grande, another beach. It is not a very long trail. You could do it in 10 minutes if you wanted to. It takes most people longer though. Sometimes it took me up to an hour.
Along the way, you can walk down to some other secluded beaches. There are far fewer people than in Taganga, and if you have your own gear you can snorkel. There are also some great viewpoints along the way, looking out to the ocean or back towards Taganga.
Once at Playa Grande you can reward yourself with a fresh fruit juice, beer, or the catch of the day. The snorkeling at Playa Grande is pretty good too. Want to hike some more? At the end of Playa Grande, there is a path that keeps going through the hills. You could hike all the way to Tayrona National Park if you wanted! Tip: Avoid the local crowd and the Carribbean heat. Go before noon on a weekday.
The hike up to top of the Palm Beach peninsula located just 35km North of Sydney is the ultimate walk in terms of ocean views. The hiking trail starts on the beach and will lead you up to the top of the rock on the end of the small peninsula. From here you will be rewarded with incredible 360 degrees ocean views. The trail itself is short, pretty steep but easily accessible from the beach. If you don’t want to take the steep stairs there is also a path going up. To get to the lighthouse on the top of the hill will take you about 20 to 30 minutes only. Once you reach the plateau on top you can find a hidden cave, which you have to climb into for some extraordinary views, and some really cool photo spots with some incredible optical illusion. Palm Beach is also famous for filming one of Australia’s most popular soap series: Home and Away. On Sundays a return bus trip from the city center of Sydney to Palm Beach will cost you only $2,50 AUD. I visited Palm Beach many times while working abroad in Sydney.
Located just a quick 15-minute drive from the central California city of Monterey, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve offers a variety of easy to moderate hikes. It’s surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on three sides, with no shortage of beach views. Besides walking among towering trees and hearing the crash of waves against the cliffs, visitors can also learn about the area’s whaling history in Whalers Cove and look out for the variety of local wildlife that lives in and off the coast of the park. Examples include sea otters, whales, bobcats, and great blue herons.Spring is one of the best times to hike Point Lobos. In addition to the year-round beach vistas, spring offers gorgeous weather and the blooming of California wildflowers. Those who time their visit for mid to late spring may also witness harbor seal pupping season, a wonder of its own. While trail maps are available for free online and for purchase at the entrance ($2), one of the best ways to explore the natural reserve is by randomly following the clearly marked trails and letting them take you to the park’s many surprises. Entrance to this gorgeous slice of paradise is free unless you want to park inside the reserve, in which case a $10 fee is assessed for passenger vehicles.
Karwar is a coastal city in the Karnataka state of South India. The city has numerous pristine and untouched beaches which are yet to fall on the touristic radar. One such beach which is well hidden from the tourists is the Tilmati black beach. The beach can be reached only through an easy hike of the rocky volcanic hill which offers magnificent views of the blue seas as far as the eyes can see. The hike starts from the Gabitwada beach in Majali Village. The not so well marked path of the rocky terrain is dotted with wildflowers and beautiful seashells. The beach is one of its kind where the sand of the beach unlike other beaches in Karwar is made up of fine grainy black pebbles. Tilmati in the local language literally means sesame sand which gives the beach its name. The trail descends to small bays at several points which are great to make short stops and take in the views.
The Bondi to Coogee walk is one of Australia’s best and most scenic ocean view walks! The winding clifftop pathway takes you on a visual journey along several of New South Wales best beaches. This walk is classified as a medium urban walk with plenty of elevations and it does include quite a few stairs. We would strongly recommend that you prepare yourself for a bit of a work out here. Bondi to Coogee walk is a 6km hike one way and it will take you approximately 3 hours at a steady and leisurely pace. This walk has plenty of stunning spots and picture perfect panoramic views. Make sure to have your camera ready, so you can capture some of those unforgettable moments and spectacular scenery.There are number of extraordinary beaches along the way and all of them different to one another. Whether you step down to Bronte Beach, Clovelly Beach or Gordon’s Bay, the scenery changes dramatically from sandy, to rocky to quiet little coves. Absolutely loved this walk and everything along the way. Our little tip: Make sure to stop at the Tamarama Beach for a coffee at the cliff side café. The coffee is delicious and it makes for a great half way stopping point.
One of my newly discovered areas for hiking in Thailand now, is the lesser known Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park. I spoke to colleagues who had lived in Bangkok for decades and had still never heard of this place. It is absolutely stunning with beautiful beaches and amazing mountains that seem to appear from nowhere. ‘Khao Sm Roi Yot’ in Thai roughly translates to ‘300 mountain peaks’ and they weren’t lying. There are some amazing viewpoints and quiet beaches to stop along the way. I recommend hiring a scooter as the roads are not particularly busy and this is the easiest way to travel around the national park. One of my favourite hikes is to Praya Nakorn, which is a giant cave with a throne inside. If you go in the late morning the sun pours in through the top of the cave and illuminates the throne and surrounding area.
The Fundy Footpath is a challenging 41 kilometers hike along the gorgeous Bay of Fundy. Located in the province of New Brunswick (in eastern Canada), it is perfectly situated for a full wilderness experience, yet easily accessible – at times, the nearest houses are over 15 miles away!Lounging the water’s edge, this wooded trail runs from the edge of Fundy National Park all the way to the renowned suspension bridge of the Fundy Trail Parkway. Enjoy breathtaking views of the bay while you take on the area’s rugged terrain and sleep in the primitive campgrounds along the path. If you complete the full hike, you’ll be rewarded with views of the impressive 10 meter high tides of the bay multiple times during this 3-4 days wilderness adventure. The length of time required to complete this hike is entirely dependent on making the crossing at Goose River and Goose Creek in time for low tide. Should you get there at high tide, you will have to hold off and wait for the waters to go down. Don’t despair if you don’t have the skills or the time for this 3 to 4 day hike, you can always complete part of the trail and simply turn around after a few hours, or try some of the shorter hikes that are available in neighboring Fundy Trail Parkway!
Beaches have such a wonderful and serene quality about them. The soft sands, the sight and sound of the waves relentlessly caressing the beach. What if the beach experience was blended with the thrill of hiking? The resulting cocktail of an experience would indeed be an intoxicating affair.That is what happens when you get to Gokarna, a place situated in Karnataka, a southern state of India. You can indulge your senses in a hike that along the coastline that will take you across not one, but 4 gorgeous beaches. A hike of about 10 kilometers takes you through some amazing natural landscapes. As your feet trudge along the sands of the beach towards your destination you are serenaded on one side by rocky hills and on the other the wide expanse of the Arabian Sea. The hike starts from Kudle Beach and takes you to Om Beach which is mystically formed in the shape of an OM, the beach here is really lovely and a dip in the placid sea water a must. From the Om Beach, the trail will lead to another lovely beach known as the Half Moon Beach where there is a possibility of Dolphin sighting if you are lucky. One can also sit on a huge rock known as the Rock of Peace and gaze out in the sea and be carried away by the serenity of the moment. The last beach on the trail is fittingly known as Paradise Beach, the trail to this beach is slightly difficult as it involves negotiating rocky terrain, but once you reach the beach, all your tiredness will vanish as you sink into the soft sands of the beach.
Lord Howe Island is a tiny speck of paradise located a few hours off the eastern coast of Australia. Thanks to restricted visitor numbers (the whole island and surrounds are World Heritage listed), it’s a secret little shared with the world. The island abounds with the walks of varying lengths, all offering up amazing views of the pristine waters surrounding the island. But my pick of them all, and the biggest challenge, is ascending Mt Gower.See the right hand peak looming off in the distant in the photo? That’s Mt Gower, climbing 875m high directly from the beach at its base. The ascent of Mt Gower is only possible with a guide, mainly for safety reasons, plus due to the colonies of rare birds near its peak. Sufferers of vertigo will have to skip this hike, with one section making its way along a veritable goat track halfway up a cliff, a sheer drop off to one side, a rope to hold onto on the other. There’s also some tough climbs up rock faces, with a rope a necessary help. It’s a tough climb that will take a good 8 hours to finish. But along the way and from the top you’ll be rewarded with beautiful views, stretching as far as the Balls Pyramid sea spire off in the distant. Plus, there are multiple spas on the island to book a massage for your recovery the next day!
Call it irrational, but sometimes I get discouraged from doing a hiking trail when there’s a defibrillator at the start. What am I letting myself in for here? Fortunately, when I spotted it at the Hotel Punta Tragara on Capri, I didn’t allow myself to be put off. And it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my trip to Italy.You can approach the trail known as Via Pizzolungo from two directions – if you want a harder hike, start at Hotel Punta Tragara. If you want an easier time of it, follow the signs from Capri Town to the Arco Naturale, until you reach the Le Grottelle restaurant, and take the steps down. Either way, prepare yourself for some outstanding views of one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in the world: from wide expanses of the Tyrrhenian Sea, stretching right to the distant Sorrentine Peninsula, to flashes of bright cobalt blue waters, glimpsed between the deep green of pine forests. And you’ll have a prime view of the famous Faraglioni rocks, rising up out of the ocean to a height of over 100 metres – stop for a while and watch the waves crashing into stone, whilst boats sail through a natural arch in the base of the middle rock. It’s the definitive image of Capri.And that’s not all – you’ll also spot the mysterious Roman site of Grotta di Matermania, and the striking archtecture of Villa Malaparte, built on a spur which stretches into the sea itself. Pine and seasalt scent the air, heady and intoxicating. And when you’ve walked it? Buy a lemon granita, put your feet up, and enjoy the never-ending views of deepest blue sea.
One of the best hikes that I’ve taken was in Alicante, Spain. You don’t need to walk too long, but the view is gorgeous. There is a mountain Bonacantil with an ancient fortress called Castell de la Santa Bàrbara (Castle of Santa Barbara) located on the top of it. The hike is not very difficult, and you also have several terraces with great views on the way to the top. The castle itself is also very interesting. It is a 9-century Muslim fortification that survived to our days.For some time, it played a role of a prison. For about a century, it was abandoned, and it became open to public in 1963. Recently, an elevator was built to be able to get to the castle. You can use it just for 2.7 euros, but you would appreciate the view much more if you hike. The view is amazing!
The short 20-minute hike to get to the top of this island is done best in the late afternoon, when the sun isn’t too rough. It’s easy, breezy, and quite therapeutic once you see the lovely view of the white beach. Getting to Calaguas Island itself, on another hand, is one long journey. From Manila, it already takes over 8 hours to reach the jump off point to take another 2-hour boat ride that will bring you to the promise land– Calaguas Island. The beach itself is quite glorious, but the hike on the next island, a short 10-minute boat ride away, is another lovely way to pass your time while completely disconnected in this off grid spot. There are different view points once you get to the top. One corner will show you the vast blue sea, another will give you a view of gorgeous rock formation below, one gives you a great vista of the white beach, and if your timing is right, another might just be the perfect spot of the sunset. For a short hike, this definitely gives you a variety of Instagrammable spots!
An iconic viewpoint of Nusa Penida, Kelingking Beach may be one of the most beautiful sights in all of Bali. I knew as soon as I saw photos of it online that I had to do absolutely everything I could to visit – even if it meant driving a scooter on scary pothole filled roads to do so! And although the drive was very challenging (and seriously terrifying), cruising through the lush mountainside jungle to get there is enough to make the trip worthwhile. As soon as you see your first glimpse of the breathtaking t-rex ridge and golden sands, you forget the scary drive and immediately soak in the beauty. From above, you can see bright blue waters and jagged coastline for miles, as well as the giant waves crashing on the beach below. If you’re up for the challenge, hike down the ridge to actually step foot on Kelingking Beach. Fraying bamboo poles tied with twine and the rock face of the cliff are all you have for support and stability on this steep and slightly dangerous trail. And when I say it’s steep, I mean in some places the trail is nearly vertical! At the bottom, enjoy feeling the salt spray on your face and watching the monkeys play amongst the trees. Sadly the waves are too large and dangerous for swimming, but the view alone makes the hike worth it! So, is Nusa Penida on your bucket list yet?
In one of the coves of El Nido in Palawan lies one of the best beaches in the world, as well as one of the most marvelous beach sights you can find. The Nacpan Beach is a four-kilometer-long unspoiled bliss of a beach. Its fine white sand, sparkling blue water and clear view of the horizon, adorned by a couple of picturesque islands are sure to leave you breathless. After wonder, a certain calm will wash over you as you realize that the beach is indeed big for everyone there; the lack of enormous resorts and hordes of tourists promising relaxation.But this is not where it ends as an extraordinary sight is available to the curious and restless. Venturing to the left end of the beach will lead to the strip of sand that separates the Nacpan Beach from its twin, the Calitang Beach. Walking further along will lead to a low hill where a well-worn path has been carved by curious visitors. A short trek will lead to the top and to one of the most magnificent vistas you can ever see, the Nacpan-Calitang Twin Beach. The panorama is impressive, a combination of the azure Nacpan beach to the far left, perfect for relaxing and swimming, and the almost rugged aspect of the Calitang beach, mostly the fishing side of the cove. The boats and coconut trees properly lined up along the beach complete the marvelous scenery.
Located just 28 km west of Lisbon and covering an area of about 145 km², the Sintra – Cascais National Park in Portugal features some great hiking trails. To enjoy some of the most spectacular views the park has to offer, you should go for a hike along the coast. Here, you can visit continental Europe’s westernmost point, Cabo da Roca, which was once considered to be the edge of the world, the point where land ends and the ocean begins. The trails along the coast can be steep and narrow at some points and sometimes they are not well-marked, but overall hiking in the area is quite straightforward. One thing to keep in mind is that there are no trees to protect you from the sun, so if you are hiking in the warmer months you should definitely wear some protection. The good thing is that when it gets too hot, you can head down to the beaches for a refreshing dip in the Atlantic ocean. And, after a nice day of hiking and swimming, you should reward yourself with a delicious meal in one of the little towns along the coast. What else could you ask for?
The beach that occupies the eastern coast of the Placencia, Belize Peninsula is 17 miles long. It is a wonderful hike that affords you many hiking options. You can choose to walk on the water’s edge and enjoy the surf lapping against your legs or hike further up the beach for a wonderful low-impact workout in the sand. Along the way you will find small coffee shops and cafes where you can take a break to grab a bite to eat or something to drink. Depending on how far you choose to hike there are sections you pass through that are totally wild with no development at all and then luxury resorts offering many upscale amenities.You’ll spot a plethora of shore birds as you walk as well as excellent shelling opportunities in the more remote areas. If you choose to do the entire 17 miles and start in Placencia Village, you’ll go through the tiny villages of Maya Beach and then Seine Bight. But be sure to arrange your return transportation, because these two villages are tiny and you’re not likely to catch a taxi there. My recommendation is to start out just before dawn so you can catch the sunrise over the Caribbean Sea. It’s beautiful and something you’re not going to want to miss.
Easter Island has many beautiful hikes but I especially loved the North Coast hike. This strenuous hike is about 18 kms long and easily takes 8-9 hrs to finish. Many hikers prefer walking partway and returning for a shorter hike. There is so much to see and do on the North Coast and yet very few visitors to Easter Island do this hike. This area of Easter Island is still primitive; no roads or infrastructure exists in this part of the island. Hence hikers can experience the natural beauty of Easter Island as it was centuries ago.
The North Coast hike can be completed in both clockwise and anti-clockwise direction; I chose to begin my hike at Tahai. The entire hike follows the rocky coast of Easter Island and the route ends at the beautiful sandy beach at Anakena. On the trail I felt as if I had stepped back in time, when tourism was yet to explode on Easter Island and archaeological sites were still to be reconstructed. Crumbled and deteriorated archaeological remains were scattered across the trail. The blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean visible throughout the hike was amazing. I was lucky to have experienced Easter Island in this magical way.
China’s territory is huge, you can find almost every kind of landscape there, big sand dunes, Himalayan peaks, tropical forests, you name it. But there’s one thing China is not famous for, and it’s its coastal areas. Although most of the long Chinese coastline is muddy or polluted, there’s a place that will really make you wonder if you really are in China, and this is Dongji Dao. The literal translation of this place’s name is East Pole Island, this is, in fact, the Easternmost place of the whole “Middle Kingdom”, a magical destination easily reachable from Shanghai.
The vegetation here is almost Mediterranean, with its low yellow grass, and barren rocks. It reminded me a bit of the Aegadian Islands or even some parts of Sardinia. You can hike the whole island in one afternoon, there are paved roads, used by the few cars the place ever sees, and small paths, leading you to the many peculiar tombs scattered across the landscape. Donji is indeed home to an unusual burial practice: big graves made by a single monolith, surrounded by a drywall; a table and some chairs, also made of stone, are used for the offerings. We advise visiting during the Tomb Sweeping Day, a Chinese National Holiday (held in April) dedicated to the commemoration of the deceased, so that you could witness some unique rituals.
One of the most beautiful hikes in the world has to be Cinque Terre, Italy! I spent a little over a week there and loved walking around the five hilly villages. As soon as my friend arrived in Italy and joined me, we decided to attempt one of the famous Cinque Terre hikes. There are a few different options to choose from (including Trail #2, where you can complete the full hike and see all five towns in a supposed six hours), but we opted for the Vernazza to Monterosso route. We chose to start there because it is my personal favorite of the five towns and it seemed like a good choice at the time. Famous last words, as I found out later that this is considered the toughest hike of them all!
When we started the hike, it was blazing hot and the sun was right overhead. We climbed what felt like four million steep stairs, winding our way through the alleys and tiny streets of Vernazza until we made it to the actual start of the hike, which took quite awhile. At this point, we were already tired, but we pressed on! We started up a dirt path, climbing even more stairs, and were treated to a spectacular view of Vernazza at the top! Unfortunately, this is where our plans took a turn, as a summer thunderstorm rolled in and began dumping rain on us, causing us to have to climb precariously back down to Vernazza for an afternoon Aperol Spritz. While we were relieved to get an early break, I definitely want to go back and finish out the full hike. The views are more than worth the effort, and trekking through vineyards and charming towns makes hiking Cinque Terre one of the most beautiful hikes in the world!
Besides the epic experience of the cruise along Halong Bay, the hike to the top of one of the islands is another reason to put Vietnam in your travel bucket list. The hike is exhausting, especially in the summertime heat, but it must be done! Seeing Halong Bay from the top is an absolute cherry on top from the entire experience. Views of not one, but countless huge limestone rock formations scattered across the bay is an unforgettable sight to see. It may not be a view of an actual beach, but it’s still just as magnificent, if not better. It’s almost otherworldly, like a CGI movie setting. It’s definitely not to be missed. The hike is included in most Halong Bay cruise tours, together with a trip to one of the biggest caves in the country. It certainly is a must when in Vietnam. In fact, when people ask me what part of Vietnam they should go to on a limited amount of time, I instantly say North for this specific reason.
Crete, the largest island in Greece, is home to two of the most stunning beaches in the world. One of which requires a short hike to get to if you arrive by car or bus. Balos Lagoon is located in Kissamos, on the north western tip of Crete. You’ll have to walk 20 to 30 minutes down a rocky slope to reach the Mediterranean Sea. This downhill trek is not so bad with the exception of goat poop here and there. The trek up, however, is a completely different story. Young children and the elderly may find the harsh terrain challenging. There is also zero shade under the blistering sun. You can imagine how hot it gets mid day! The breathtaking view and crystal clear waters make it all worthwhile, though! You can even find pink sand here. Come prepared with comfortable sneakers and lots of water. It does get extremely busy, so arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.
Kalcha beach is in North Goa and the only way of reaching here is by hiking from Arambol beach. To reach Kalcha, you need to go towards the end of Arambol beach and climb the steps that lead to a little market on the cliffs. Walk through the market for 5 minutes, climb on the rocks towards the end of the market and you will hit Kalcha beach. There is a fresh water lake that’s right opposite this beach and is called “sweet lake” – that’s what makes this beach really special.
Not so much of a hike, but more like a lovely gorgeous walk instead, the entire stroll leading to this history old rope bridge in this Northern Irish coast will give you one of the best views of the Atlantic ocean. This was actually my very first glimpse of the second largest ocean in the world, and let’s just say my standards are instantly out of reach. Mind you, it was a rainy day in December and I pretty much got sick the day after. But nonetheless, the entire walk around the area was just lovely. It cost a couple of extra pounds if you wanna cross the bridge, which I think is a pretty fun experience too. But if you’re just there for the view, pretty much every corner will take your breath away. Think gigantic lush landscapes paired with pretty ocean blue– it’s pretty damn majestic! It was almost frustrating trying to photograph the place because I just couldn’t capture it good enough to show it any justice.
Cathedral Cove is located in Hahei, Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. It is relatively easy to get to but quite remote. The drive is worth it though as Cathedral Cove boasts postcard worthy picturesque views. The walk itself down to the cove is well maintained and concreted, so no falling over tree roots here unless you detour off into the inviting little pockets of trees on the way. Cathedral Cove is a 1-2 hour round trip but allow for longer as you will be stopping to snap photos at regular intervals. Well, I was anyway. The walk is downhill practically the whole way to the Cove which means you’re walking uphill nearly the whole way back. It is never too steep however and easily achieved by everyone regardless of fitness levels.Cathedral Cove slowly emerges from behind the trees, as you round the final corner and step down the last of the stairs you are greeted with the bay in all its glory. A beautiful sandy beach, islands of rocks dotted in the water, imposing cliffs and of course, the natural arch in the rocks that Cathedral Cove is famous for. As it was raining when we trekked down, the bay was secluded. However, this is rare as Cathedral Cove is a popular tourist spot, especially in the summer. Be prepared to enjoy it along with plenty of others.
Manta Point in Nusa Penida is definitely one of the highlight of my day trip here. Although the hike itself is more like a short walk from the parking lot, I can imagine how much more refreshing it is if we actually hiked here. The area itself has many other spots to explore such as the broken beach and Angel’s Billabong– both offering yet another gorgeous view point. But what stood about Manta Point besides its gorgeous blue waters are the animal spotting you could enjoy as you stare out into the vast blue sea. Manta Point, as where the name is derived from, is actually quite an awesome vantage point to spot Manta Ray families! We spotted a few big ones and it was mesmerizing seeing them even from afar. Although we didn’t get to snorkel with them this time, it was a nice little tease.
Loved reading through everyone’s favorite beach hike tips! So many gorgeous places to add to my own list now!
Hiking by the beach sounds like a lot of fun but not something that comes to mind right away. | 2019-04-23T20:56:54Z | https://girlunspotted.com/2017/11/30/45-best-beach-hikes-ever/ |
– in Westminster Hall at 1:30 pm on 14th March 2019.
It is a pleasure to serve under such a distinguished member of the Panel of Chairs today, Mr Walker. I am grateful to see so many members of the Scottish Affairs Committee in their places and ready to go for this very important debate.
The Scottish Affairs Committee decided to hold an inquiry into oil and gas because of the unprecedented uncertainty caused to the sector by the dramatic fall in oil prices at the end of the last decade. We were interested in assessing how—or indeed whether—the sector had recovered and in better understanding the contemporary issues in the industry and how new innovations and interventions had played out.
Critically, we wanted to explore the readiness of the sector for transition and decarbonisation. We also wanted to look at its preparedness for diversification of the skills acquired over 40 years of production and development in the North sea.
We are, as always, grateful to the many people who gave evidence and contributed to our inquiry, and for the support we received from the sector. We held six evidence sessions and received more than 30 written submissions to the inquiry. We are particularly grateful to the Oil & Gas Technology Centre in the constituency of Ross Thomson, which hosted one of our evidence sessions and kindly lent us their premises to launch the report a few short weeks ago.
I should say first that the sector is in a reasonably good place. The resilience shown by our oil and gas industry in the face of such turbulence is to be commended. The tenacity that has been shown by the workforce and others involved in the industry is something we all recognised, and which has supported the sustainable recovery that has been put in place in the past few years. There remains a strong and positive future for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, and the opportunities of a just transition to a decarbonised future are there to be grabbed.
Scotland remains at the forefront of the global oil and gas industry, which contributed £9.2 billion to the Scottish economy in 2017 and supports 135,000 jobs in Scotland. Only this week, the Oil and Gas Authority predicted that 11.9 billion barrels will be extracted by 2050—a hike of almost 50% from the forecast four years ago of 8 billion barrels. That shows an industry and a sector in a reasonably healthy condition.
More than that, Scotland’s oil and gas is central to the UK’s energy security. It is forecast that two thirds of the UK’s primary energy needs will be met by oil and gas until at least 2035.
The hon. Gentleman is of course absolutely right—this is a UK-wide industry, which has a footprint in most nations of the United Kingdom. Practically every region of England has some link to the supply chain serving the oil and gas industry across the UK. He is absolutely right to remind us that this is a UK-wide industry and one that we should all be very proud of, whether we are in Northern Ireland or in rural Perthshire.
It will not surprise hon. Members, however, that the inquiry found that the sector is still facing unprecedented challenges. Fluctuation in the oil price has hit companies with extreme uncertainty, particularly those working in the supply chain, while the rate of new well exploration has nose-dived. At the same time, the industry needs to properly prepare for the decline in production that will inevitably happen, to ensure that the economic benefits and highly skilled jobs the sector has acquired in and brought to Scotland are not lost.
The industry also has to find new ways to reduce its carbon footprint and use its skills and engineering knowledge to help develop low-carbon and renewable technologies. That is no small task, and those challenges are at the heart of the Committee’s report. We address how the Government should support the industry while it gets ready for production to decline. How do we meet the UK’s energy needs, of which oil and gas will remain a major component, while meeting our climate change obligations?
We believe that the best way for the Government to support the industry through those challenges is to agree an ambitious sector deal. A sector deal backed by a combined investment of £176 million from industry and the Government could deliver £110 billion for the UK economy, with particular benefits for Scotland and the north-east of Scotland. The funding would support three centres of excellence, focused on transformational technology, underwater innovation and decommissioning.
When the Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, Claire Perry, appeared before the Committee in December, she said that she was not able to go into the detail of the deal, which we totally accepted given that the Government were still to properly design it and come forward with what would happen. She said that progress would be announced in weeks, not months. It is not many months since December, but it is certainly weeks. I know the Energy Minister could not join us today because of other pressing business, but we are fortunate to have the Minister responsible for sector deals with us. Perhaps he can update us on the progress and shape of the sector deals.
I am certain that any delay will, of course, be down to the Government’s taking very seriously the recommendations in our report, and designing the deal around some of the very useful recommendations that we made—that the sector deal is forward-thinking and sets up the industry to meet the challenges of climate change, decommissioning and of the industry’s future beyond the UK continental shelf head on, rather than focusing on the usual support for maximisation of production in the short term. The days of short-termism in the North sea are over. Long-term planning and strategic thinking is required, and those are the priorities for the deal that the report outlines.
I will explain the detail a little further. First, a sector deal must capitalise on the opportunities arising from decommissioning. The North sea is not only going to be the first major basin to go through large-scale decommissioning; without doubt, it is also one of the most challenging environments anywhere in the world for decommissioning. As one of the witnesses said to us in an evidence session, if we can decommission a rig in the North sea, we can decommission a rig anywhere in the world. Scotland has an unmissable opportunity to export its decommissioning knowledge to the rest of the world and the Committee has therefore called for the sector deal to be accompanied by a Government decommissioning export strategy to anchor a global decommissioning industry in the north-east of Scotland.
The sector deal also needs to deliver on reducing the cost of decommissioning. We were surprised when we heard the range of estimates of the cost of decommissioning—the gulf between the lowest and highest point was quite extraordinary. We need to see that cost reduced for UK taxpayers, because half of the decommissioning cost will still be met through the Treasury and by taxpayers through tax relief.
The sector must find ways to transfer its unique expertise to other sectors of the economy so that the jobs are not lost when oil production stops. One of the most impressive features—I think all members of the Committee recognised this when we were taking evidence for the report—is the range of skills available to us from North sea exploration. The skills acquired over four decades of production are among the most impressive to be found in the oil and gas sector anywhere in the world. It is absolutely imperative that the skills, expertise, talent and energy that have been built up in the sector are not lost as we move towards decommissioning and the ending of production.
We heard that there is no end to the opportunities available if we get decommissioning right. Sectors including aerospace, data analytics, marine and offshore engineering, digital manufacturing, satellite technology and offshore wind are all open for skills and technology transfer. We were particularly taken by the opportunities in the renewable sector, and we call for the sector deal to contain specific and measurable proposals for how it will improve skill and technology transfer to the sector. Scotland gained by acquiring North sea oil. It is questionable whether we secured the benefits of discovering North sea oil; we must not lose any benefits of what happens next with renewable technology. The skills acquired in the North sea are perfectly fitted, and could be adapted, for use in renewable energy.
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is an opportunity to continue to use these skills in fracking and connected industries?
I had a sneaking suspicion that I would secure an intervention based on the hon. Gentleman’s desire for fracking to be included in all this. As he knows, there was a robust debate among Committee members on the value of fracking and what we should say about it in the report. He knows that I do not share his views, although I am aware of the evidence that was given sincerely by some members of the sector. The Committee agreed a consensus that this was something we were not really concerned with as we went forward, and we have left it as such in the report.
Yesterday in his statement the Chancellor talked about banning gas from new homes in 2025. Surely we have to look to the benefits of oil and gas in the future. Is that not a worry for us?
Absolutely. I was intrigued by the message from the Chancellor yesterday, when this was mentioned. Yes, there are huge opportunities for us. I think the hon. Gentleman will agree that it was mightily impressive to see the things that could come and how these skills could be applied and transferred. Perhaps the Minister can say what more work could be done to ensure that we get this. We would be grateful for any insight into the conversation he has been having with the sector on skills transfer.
The sector deal must bring forward proposals for how the sector will address its carbon footprint, both in the process of producing and extracting oil and gas, and by finding ways to reduce emissions from their use. The report received a mixed reaction from some environmental groups—I will put is as delicately as that. That surprised me, due to the range of recommendations we made and the care and diligence that we gave to shaping up some of the transition recommendations. We believe in a just transition and said as much in the report. We believe that if that is achieved, we will get to a new future—a green and transformative future for the sector.
Absolutely. When the report came out, all of us on the Committee were quite surprised by the scale of the response. I do not think there was a true examination of what we had in the report. We say in it that a transition is required, but it has to come from a position of strength. We cannot do anything that would compromise our ability to have a viable and sustainable sector that is in a position to carry out the just transition that environmental groups are looking for.
The hon. Gentleman is being very generous with interventions. One of the things that I noticed in the report was the impact on fisheries. The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation referred to the retention in the seas of artificial rigs and so on, which might disadvantage the local fishing community. What consideration did the report give to that?
I was not going to mention this, but it was a fascinating feature of the report; I am really grateful that the hon. Gentleman has drawn my attention to it. We took a lot of time speaking to environmental groups, particularly some of the wildlife groups, about sustainable fisheries. There was a suggestion of switching from rigs to reef: to leave the infrastructure in place as a magnet and attraction for wildlife and fish species.
We received very mixed evidence on that. One group told us that in the gulf of Mexico, where this project had been initiated, people had to drag the reefs off the seabed, take it onshore to clean it, and then put it back again. One recommendation in our report is that the environmental groups have to decide among themselves about the best way forward. We encourage that debate among our friends in environmental sustainability groups, and I am grateful the hon. Gentleman for raising the issue.
We were struck by the importance of carbon capture technology for the long-term future of the industry. The Committee on Climate Change told us that without this technology, decarbonisation of the sector will happen much more slowly and be more costly. This is one area where the Government are ahead of the industry, having announced £45 million of funding for carbon capture innovation, with more potentially available from industrial strategy funds. I know that particularly pleases David Duguid, because most of that investment will be in his constituency. It is right that it should be, because of the infrastructure that exists there.
We believe that the industry needs to step up its contribution in this area, and that the sector deal must contain a detailed proposal from the industry on how it will support the development of carbon capture technology and how that progress can be measured. The oil and gas sector has a bright future ahead of it.
I am very impressed by the report. Oil and gas obviously have an enormous footprint in my constituency. Does the hon. Gentleman welcome the fact that the UK continental shelf oil and gas industry operates in what is recognised as one of the best fiscal regimes in the world, and does he welcome Her Majesty’s Treasury’s fiscal policies on oil and gas?
Obviously. It goes without saying that some of the fiscal support that has been given to the oil and gas sector has been welcome, and it is of course necessary. I think we are going to the next stage, which is the sector deal initiative. That is now critical, according to the report and what we found in the course of the inquiry. That type of investment will be required to try to ensure that some of the things highlighted in the report take place.
We believe there is a bright future for the industry; it is now up to the Government to respond with how they will help the industry to secure it. I hope that the Government and industry rise to the challenge of the report and secure Scotland’s future as a global leader in energy technology for decades to come. We have 30 to 40 years, and we have the opportunity to maximise economic recovery. We now have the ability to ensure that we can transition to a new type of future for the North sea. I am sure that with the right type of approach and the right type of mentoring and support, we can get there. Our oil and gas industry still has a viable future.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. As a member of the Scottish Affairs Committee, and as someone with 25 years’ experience of working in the oil and gas industry, I have taken a particular interest in this inquiry and very much welcome the report’s publication. Like all parts of north-east Scotland, my constituency has a deep relationship with the oil and gas sector. Many of my constituents work in the industry, as I did. The industry has helped bring prosperity to the area over the last half a century or so.
It is clear that the industry is moving into a new era, which is why the report is so important. While the industry is emerging from the downturn of the last few years, the medium to long term promises smaller reserve finds, reduced production rates, more decommissioning and the challenge of a wider transition towards a low-carbon economy. The prosperity of north-east Scotland relies on the industry making the most of this transition. The report makes a valuable contribution to the important debate on how we can achieve that. The industry has led the way in that debate, and its recognition of long-term risks and the need to address them will give many people confidence in the industry’s future.
It is worth recognising the work that many of the large oil and gas companies have been doing to encourage a transition towards low-carbon energies. They are often cast as cartoon villains in relation to climate change, but throughout the inquiry I have commended them on leading the way in the sector, and on taking climate change seriously. That commitment was exemplified by the creation in 2015 of the Oil and Gas Climate Change Initiative, initially made up of the BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Reliance Industries, Repsol, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Statoil—now known as Equinor—and Total. Significantly, it was joined in the last year by American companies—Chevron, ExxonMobil and Occidental. Having worked for many of those companies as a member of staff, mostly for BP, and as a consultant for some of the others, I can confirm that that commitment to a low-carbon future is not just lip service.
The Committee’s report praises industry efforts such as Vision 2035 and the “maximising economic recovery” strategy, which aim to ensure that the industry continues to thrive in the medium to long term. As recommended in the report, I hope that the UK Government continue to listen to the call for an oil and gas sector deal to help the industry achieve those aims.
We need to use the next couple of decades to diversify the industry beyond just exploration and the production of hydrocarbons. Decommissioning technology and expertise will not only accelerate the reduction of decommissioning costs in the North sea but open up new export opportunities for the industry. Similarly, the subsea or underwater sector has great export potential, provided that we act quickly and do not fall behind other countries with expertise in this area, such as Brazil and Norway.
I am particularly pleased that the report recognises the potential of carbon capture, use and storage for the future of the industry. As Pete Wishart mentioned, that is particularly important in my constituency. CCUS technology will be vital if we are to continue to use oil and gas in a low-carbon economy. In assets that have ceased or are due to cease production, decommissioned infrastructure can be converted to use for CCUS purposes. This report is certainly not the first time that that potential has been recognised. Banff and Buchan has been the location of previous proposals for CCUS projects, which were sadly deemed not viable at the time. I continue to believe that CCUS can be part of a great future for the energy sector in Banff and Buchan, provided that the right proposals come along.
I am particularly excited by the Acorn project by Pale Blue Dot. Unlike previous proposals, it focuses on the St Fergus gas terminal, which is the third-largest emissions site in Scotland. The St Fergus gas terminal is an attractive proposition because it is already linked by pipeline to the Grangemouth industrial complex. Unlike previous proposals, Acorn aims to achieve commercial viability by starting small and growing through additions to the core project later. Whereas a previous proposal for a CCUS power station at Peterhead would have cost about £1 billion, the cost of the initial Acorn project is estimated to be just £300 million.
I pay particular tribute to the Oil & Gas Technology Centre, run by Colette Cohen. Its vision is to become more about the technology than the oil and gas. The trade body, Oil & Gas UK, led by Deirdre Michie, provides a huge amount of co-ordination and expertise for the industry. Finally, the Oil and Gas Authority, run by Dr Andy Samuel, is an exemplar of how a UK Government body can be hugely effective when based closer to the action.
I look forward to the Minister’s response to the report and, in particular, the recommendations on the sector deal. The report’s tone and the industry’s approach are constructive and optimistic, so I hope that the UK Government’s response will be similarly constructive and encouraging. Together, we can build on the work already done, and take the necessary steps to help the oil and gas sector continue to contribute to the economy, not just for Aberdeen and north-east Scotland, but for the whole United Kingdom, sustainably and for decades to come.
I will come to that point; I take an interest in it. I recently met Oil & Gas UK, with which the unions are getting together to bring the workforce on board. Without the workers on board, no company can go anywhere. Unless companies involve their workers in the process, there is no point trying to organise the company.
I declare an interest: 27 years ago today, I took an interest in North sea oil safety helicopters when a Super Puma helicopter went down, killing 11 men, of whom my brother was one. Today is the 27th anniversary of the crash, so I welcome the report. I hope that the industry will take serious steps to address those safety concerns, particularly as employers have a duty to ensure that workers are safe in their workplace and can get home safely.
To conclude, I reiterate my support for the findings of the report, including its recommendation of a sector deal. It is clear, however, that there are challenges that we will have to address: “maximising economic recovery”, decommissioning, terms and conditions and, most importantly, the safety of the workforce.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I genuinely welcome the report and thank colleagues on the Scottish Affairs Committee not only for looking at this important issue, but for taking the time to come to Aberdeen—the heart of the UK’s oil and gas industry—to speak with representatives and hear the views of the industry on how we can move forward. That was much appreciated by the oil and gas companies there.
My constituents in Aberdeen South know better than most just how important the future of the oil and gas industry is and how difficult the past few years have been. The climb out of those difficult days has been long and not without challenges. I see those challenges every day when I speak with constituents and meet local businesses.
I was encouraged to hear the latest news from the OGA this week that North sea production reached a seven-year high last year. That shows that the sector still has huge potential to form an integral part of the UK’s energy mix and be a major source of high-value jobs across Scotland and the whole of the UK. Last week, I was pleased to welcome my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to Aberdeen, where we met representatives from Oil & Gas UK at Aberdeen harbour. During his visit, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the huge opportunities that await oil and gas companies once we leave the European Union.
Balmoral Group, a company based in my constituency, specialises in subsea buoyancy, renewable energy products and engineering solutions. It employs 500 people and is highly dependent on the rapidly growing markets of west Africa, South America, and the gulf of Mexico. The company is clear that its opportunities for growth are truly global. Aberdeen is a global city, and oil and gas companies based in my constituency have an increasingly international outlook. The new technologies developed through the Oil & Gas Technology Centre show the great export potential that will place Aberdeen at the centre of supply chains reaching around the world into mature and emerging markets.
Oil & Gas UK’s Vision 2035 has the ambitious aim of doubling the supply chain’s share of the global market from 3.7% to 7.4% by 2035. Those new technologies will be key to achieving that goal. They will not just unlock the future potential of the UK continental shelf, but secure the future of companies throughout the sector, as they diversify their interests. I welcome the Government’s continued work with industry to invest in technology that maximises recovery, improves efficiencies and extends the life of the UK continental shelf, while boosting the potential for export growth.
From the day we arrived in Westminster, my colleagues and I have worked hard to secure much needed support for this vital industry. I remember vividly lobbying the Treasury at every opportunity, and we were successful in securing transferable tax history for the sector, which unblocked billions of pounds of investment. Maintaining certainty on tax relief and reducing barriers to investment will be crucial to attracting the investment that the sector requires to maximise economic recovery and secure the long-term future.
The UK’s position as a market leader at the centre of global supply chains rests on the industry and Government working hand in hand to attract talent and investment as the sector prepares to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the coming years. I welcome the report on the future of the oil and gas industry, as it sets out the case for a sector deal for the industry and calls on the Government to commit to securing the long-term future of this vital industry. I look forward to the Minister’s remarks on the progress of that sector deal.
The future of the oil and gas industry rests on innovation not only in extraction to ensure that we maximise recovery, but in decommissioning. Decommissioning does not represent the end of the oil and gas industry, but a huge opportunity to use the expertise and talent of a globally focused industry to turn a liability into an opportunity. The UK will be the largest market for decommissioning spending over the next decade, and is placed at the forefront of a rapidly growing market. I welcome the report’s emphasis on the benefits of a sector deal to unlock the global potential of the oil and gas industry not just in my constituency, but in constituencies across the United Kingdom.
There is a lot of life left in the North sea, and a bright future for the oil and gas industry. Investment in new technologies and the growth of the sector at the centre of a global supply chain are key to grasping future opportunities. I welcome the report, which sets out how industry and Government can work together to secure that future.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Walker.
As has been mentioned, Scotland’s oil and gas industry is a world leader in many areas, health and safety being a notable one. Of course, we know the reason for that and we should pay our respects to the memory of the workers who have lost their lives in the industry, particularly in the Piper Alpha explosion and fire, but also in other incidents, including helicopter crashes, which Hugh Gaffney mentioned.
We should acknowledge that other workers have suffered serious injuries over the years while working in the industry. The safety record of North sea operations is better now, but that did not come easily or free of charge. The North sea industry has come a long way since its beginnings in the 1960s and the first gas from the Sea Gem rig, which gave us the first large-scale loss of life three months later. The industry has delivered substantial sums in wages, profits and taxes over the last half century, and it is incumbent on the Government to make a substantive contribution to decisions on the future of the industry, as the Committee’s report lays out.
That should include the transfer of skills to new industries, and it seems to me that renewable energy should be a major recipient of those transferred skills. Offshore wind farms and marine energy schemes would be ideal recipients of those skills. I recently had the privilege of visiting Nova Innovation, which is headquartered only a few hundred yards from my constituency office in Leith, and I was extremely impressed by the advances it is making and the pace of change in the offshore renewables industry. Nova leads the way in the tidal energy industry, and the Shetland tidal array looks like it may be at the leading edge of a new energy revolution. Just as Shetland was important in the development of the oil and gas industry, it may well be important in the development of the next energy industry.
While the Government are developing their future plan for the oil and gas industry, they really should be developing a parallel plan for the future of renewables that offers proper financial support for research and development and for connection to the grid. I have a bit of trouble having confidence in the UK Government to do that, however, given the record of past UK Governments when it comes to the North sea. Regulatory and taxation changes have come abruptly and swept in with very little consultation. Frankly, there is little in the current Government’s approach to legislating that gives me much hope of an alternative way of working.
I agree that that was a definite point of progress and much to be welcomed, but the industry has been going for some 50 years, and some within it would argue that it was too little and almost too late. It is great that that came along, but much more can be done to support the industry.
As I mentioned with regard to improved support, I hope that the Government will surprise me, because the industry still has a lot to offer. The industry has plans to increase productivity so that in 16 years’ time it will be producing an additional £920 billion in revenue—not bad for an industry that we get told regularly is finished.
The scale of the contribution that the industry has made over the years is breathtaking. Scots will be aware of the famous, or infamous, McCrone report that was uncovered in 2005 by a friend of mine, Davie Hutchison, but written some years before he was born, in 1974. Professor McCrone was a UK Government civil servant at the time of writing, when he pointed out that the resources in the North sea were so enormous that they destroyed all the economic arguments against Scottish independence. Recently, Professor McCrone said that he regrets that the UK Government wasted that resource, frittering the income away, rather than investing in a sovereign wealth fund.
Furthermore, the McCrone report was written some years before the biggest discoveries in the North sea. Peak annual production did not come until 1999 and, as we have heard throughout the inquiry, new extraction techniques are increasing the potential recoverable resources even now. With another half century of extraction still possible, and new fields coming on stream in other areas, the industry has a long future yet. The Government need to step up to the plate.
One of the issues that has been mentioned is the protection of the environment and the development of serious carbon capture and storage proposals. Previous attempts to develop such schemes fell foul of Government inaction and broken promises. We need to see some serious commitment to making progress. I once heard about a pilot project, I think in Poland, where the carbon was captured and pressurised only to be driven a couple of hundred miles in tankers to the injection site, possibly defeating the purpose.
Some schemes that have been suggested before may well be capable of revival, and I am sure that more ideas would emerge when asked for. I hope that the Government will open the door to those ideas and help fund them, perhaps even hypothecating some of the revenue gleaned from the offshore industry, which should have gone into a sovereign wealth fund for Scots but is instead frittered away by successive UK Governments. The Government should consider doing a lot more for the environment with the resources brought in by the offshore industry. They could match the Saltire tidal energy challenge fund launched by the Scottish Government earlier this year, or reinstate the marine energy subsidy. If oil and gas were the energy choices in the second half of the 20th century, renewables will fill that role in the 21st century. We urgently need Government investment to make that industry a world leader.
The oil and gas industry is not dead yet, not by a long way. With at least as many years of exploitation left as we have already seen, there is still some way to go. The UK Government should sit down regularly with the industry to help plan the next half century. Vision 2035 is the industry view of the next few years; it would be good to see a UK Government vision or, better still, one agreed by the Government with the industry.
Following on from something the Chair of the Committee said in his opening remarks—I meant to say this in my speech—I have benefited from that skills transfer, having worked not in Libya but in some of those other places around the world where oil and gas are prevalent. Does Peter Aldous agree that an important aspect of the sector deal, and the urgency of it, is to encourage the retention of those skills in this country in order to develop the technologies and innovations that we have discussed?
My hon. Friend is right. We have developed enormous expertise in the oil and gas sector which it is important to retain and build on. We are just beginning to see that in the offshore wind sector as well and, as I will come on to, the two are inextricably linked.
Yesterday was an important day for the industry. The APPG had its annual parliamentary reception, and those attending were in good heart and had a positive outlook for the future. We also had the Chancellor’s spring statement. Normally, the APPG lobbies Government hard coming up to annual Budgets and statements, but yesterday the Chancellor made no mention of the industry. I think that was mainly because he is keen for statements to be just that and not mini Budgets, but in many respects that was good news, because the industry wants a stable fiscal regime with no unforeseen, unpleasant or unhelpful surprises. That said, as we anticipate the autumn Budget, I suggest that we should all be back in top lobbying gear.
I acknowledge that we are now entering the second half of the contest—perhaps I should say challenge—of extracting oil and gas on the UKCS, but we should emphasise that this is not a sunset industry, as indeed colleagues in all parts of the Chamber have said. As in many matches, the best performances, goals and tries come in the second half. The industry has come through a great deal in recent years, but while challenges remain—in particular the low level of drilling activity and exploration—it is largely in a good place. Last year, significant final investment decisions were made on a number of major projects, production performance was strong, and unit operating costs had stabilised.
I shall highlight three areas in which the industry, the Oil and Gas Authority and the Government need to work together in the immediate future to maximise the sector’s potential for the benefit of all those who work in it and for the UK. First, attention needs to be given to strengthening the industry’s supply chain. Many companies’ revenues and margins are under extreme pressure, and increased collaboration and innovative contracting models are needed. If those are put in place, as a country we will be able to continue to compete for international investment, to provide security of energy supply, and to create and support highly skilled and fulfilling jobs.
Secondly, we need to build up expertise and create specialist hubs to carry out decommissioning. A good start has been made with the launch of the National Decommissioning Centre, but we must have it in mind that that is an enormous prize, not just on the UKCS—and, from my own perspective, most immediately in the southern North sea—but in basins all around the world.
Thirdly, the sector has made a good start in promoting and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy. Instead of the Danish oil and natural gas company and Statoil, we talk about Ørsted and Equinor. Gas has an important role to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy. In the southern North sea, the oil and gas and offshore wind sectors are collaborating on such innovative projects as gas to wire, which involves gas being generated into electricity offshore and transmitted to shore via spare capacity in the subsea cables that are used for the wind farms.
There are plenty of challenges, but my sense is that the industry is resurgent and brimful of ideas. With the right nurturing, promotion and collaboration, it can play a key role in the UK on the post-Brexit global stage.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Walker. I thank the Committee members and the witnesses for helping to reach the well-considered conclusions and recommendations, and I thank the Chair, my hon. Friend Pete Wishart, for his push to consider matters of real significance to Scotland. If one sector has been a dominant industry in the political discourse of Scotland in the past 40 or 50 years, it has been oil and gas.
Today’s Scottish oil and gas sector is in a strong position. With up to 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent remaining, there is enough to sustain production for the next 20 years and beyond. Recent discoveries such as the Capercaillie and Achmelvich wells by BP, the huge and significant gas reserves west of Shetland and Clair Ridge, and Nexen’s phase two of developing the Buzzard field, demonstrate the significant untapped potential that this industry holds should we wish to exploit reserves.
Figures published in the last week by the Oil and Gas Authority forecast that 11.9 billion barrels will be extracted by 2050, up almost 50% from the estimated 8 billion barrels predicted just four years ago. That is why the Scottish Government are keen to do everything they can to support the industry and its workforce. In 2016, the Scottish Government launched a £12 million transition training fund to help oil workers retrain and make the most of their transferable skills to forge careers in other sectors. Some 4,000 applications have been approved, with training satisfaction at around 90%.
We have helped the Scottish supply chain to capitalise on an expanding decommissioning market that is forecast to reach £17 billion by 2025. The decommissioning challenge fund has offered grant funding of £3.1 million for projects focused on delivering innovative infrastructure improvements and technological advances in this area. As part of the Aberdeen city region deal, the SNP has committed £90 million over the next decade to support the Oil & Gas Technology Centre.
We are looking at an uplift of over £194 million in the enterprise and energy budget to support entrepreneurship, construction and productivity. That additional funding will contribute to an investment of almost £2.4 billion in enterprise and skills through our enterprise agencies and skills bodies.
The Scottish Government offer an impressive range of support for the industry. As we move forward, I hope the UK can step up to the plate and do more to support the industry as it moves into its next phases of production. However, successive Tory and Labour Governments have continually exploited the oil and gas industry for cash, with little regard for its future sustainability. They have been quite content to rake in a tax take of £350 billion from North sea revenues alone over the past 50 years. The Tories failed to deliver any real fiscal support when the sector was in depression after the oil price dropped. I hope that is a lesson learned. This is an extremely important sector for the future, and we need to support it to allow it to continue, maintain jobs and transition out of oil and gas into other areas.
On successive UK Governments’ management of the oil resource, I should say that in recent years Norway’s state-owned oil sector has generated many billions of pounds in Government revenue, while the UK has lost many. Does my hon. Friend agree that that points to a gross mismanagement of this valuable resource over many years by successive UK Governments?
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. Norway’s population is very similar to Scotland’s and it has a similar ability make good from the resource it found on its doorstep. It now has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, yet in Scotland and the UK we have not put anything aside for future generations. That is a huge lost opportunity for the industry and the UK people.
We often hear about the Norwegian sovereign oil fund. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the same fund is investing heavily in the UK market as we prepare to leave the European Union?
I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point that there is no sovereign wealth fund in the UK, but the revenues generated from the oil and gas industry in the UK were used at the time to invest in what we enjoy now: hospitals and infrastructure. That money was used for huge investment in infrastructure that is still used today by people across the United Kingdom. In the 1970s, it was used to help lessen the costs of unemployment.
The UK Government has had a spend, spend, spend approach, but as I said, I would like us to put away much more of that wealth for future generations. Perhaps it is a bit late to do that now; we probably should have started doing it from the beginning. It is easy to say in hindsight, but it should have been part of the overall oil and gas strategy right from the start.
The fact that £350 billion went into Treasury coffers but not a brass farthing went directly into the Scottish economy underlines the point made by my hon. Friend Deidre Brock about what Scotland has got out of oil and gas. We could have had an awful lot more to benefit every man, woman and child in our country. The Chancellor’s concept of pooling and sharing is much different from mine.
I am grateful that the control, stewardship and the tax take will soon be back in Scotland’s hands—“stewardship” is the key word rather than “management”. I return to the eloquent point made by the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Hugh Gaffney) on safety: if companies are being brought to the table to talk about how to license certain fields, surely that is a fantastic opportunity to talk about their responsibilities for trade union recognition, and the safety and security of people who work on rigs far out in the North sea.
Scotland does not underestimate the vital part the oil and gas sector plays in meeting our energy needs; as the Committee points out, it is forecast that two thirds of the UK’s primary energy needs will be met from the North sea until at least 2035. However, we must also appreciate that we need to transition to a low-energy, low-carbon economy. Our world-leading, export-oriented supply chain already plays a positive role in that respect by looking at ways to reduce its carbon footprint at every turn. Average emissions per unit of production on the UK continental shelf have fallen year on year since 2013, and total emissions have been in decline since their peak in 2000.
Our oil and gas industry is awash with highly skilled individuals in possession of world-leading expertise. The sector currently supports 283,000 jobs across the UK. We must seek to hold on to those workers to retain the value they add to our economy. As I said, the Scottish Government’s transition training fund has made good progress in that regard, facilitating training for many oil and gas workers to move into renewables such as tidal, onshore and offshore wind, wave power and solar. However, the UK Government’s decision to slash funding for the renewable energy sector does not give us much encouragement. In fact, it does exactly the opposite, removing opportunities for talented individuals to utilise their skills to develop new wind technology and other low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and storage—not so much opportunity knocks as an opportunity lost.
Brexit looms large in many people’s minds. We stand at a Brexit crossroads, with freefall into no deal on one side and a car crash of a bad deal on the other. It is inevitable that business across the UK will suffer if we ever actually leave the EU, but the oil and gas industry is likely to be one of the hardest hit, due to its highly globalised nature. With approximately £61 billion of oil and gas-related goods traded with the rest of the world, the threat of tariffs looms over the industry. In a worst-case scenario where the UK reverted to World Trade Organisation rules with the EU and the rest of the world, the cost of trade would likely almost double to around £1.1 billion per annum, assuming trading behaviours remained unchanged.
Order. I remind the hon. Gentleman that we want to share the time out: if he could wrap up in two minutes, that would be great.
Certainly, Mr Walker; I will move on to my final comment.
The report’s conclusions focus on the positives: developing an ambitious deal for the sector as a whole, which I hope will be supported; developing new technology, which many Members spoke about, so we can recover more of what we need; reducing the costs of decommissioning; exporting the sector’s skills and experience, not just in exploration but in subsea work; and making the vital transition from carbon energy such as oil and gas to renewables—especially hydrogen, which could be a game changer and might just help save the planet. The opportunities remain immense, and the sector deal outlined by the Committee would offer energy security for decades to come and allow Scotland to remain a sector leader.
I congratulate the authors of the Select Committee’s excellent and wide-ranging report, and everyone who took part in the Committee’s proceedings. The report goes well beyond some previous considerations of the future of the North sea by putting it in the context of a number of other issues relating to where we stand on the exploitation of North sea oil and gas and what the future looks like.
As the report states, the North sea is a very mature basin. Hon. Members mentioned that its exploited resources total some 43 billion barrels, and estimates of what is left vary from about 8 billion to 10 billion barrels. Some of the discoveries to the west of Shetland notwithstanding, it is extremely likely that there will be no more Brents and that we will see the exploitation of smaller pools, which are more difficult to exploit. Clearly, there will be great emphasis on the efficiency of exploitation. The report emphasises the extent to which the oil and gas industry has increased its efficiency; it needs to continue to do so for that exploitation to be effective.
The report also goes into considerable detail about not just the future alternative paths, but what we might call the future imperative paths for the North sea as a mature basin. My hon. Friend Hugh Gaffney mentioned that the oil industry has come through a challenging period—it is in a better position than it has been in for quite a while, given its efficiency achievements and what is happening with the exploitation of future fields—but he drew attention to the need to look at a future industry for decommissioning in the context of the climate change imperative. I was pleased to see that the report did not duck climate change; quite a few of its passages actually centred on the challenges that the fight to get us to a low-carbon economy will present for the oil and gas industry, and on how the industry can take part in that process rather than opposing it.
Ross Thomson is right about the need to consider how decommissioning can be turned from a liability into an opportunity and, indeed, become a substantial part of the industry. We need only reflect on what is at stake: 250 fixed installations, 250 subsea platforms, 10,000 km of pipeline and 5,000 oil wells need to be decommissioned. The potential decommissioning industry is huge, not just in its own right but in terms of the expertise that already exists, which could be added to. The UK could be a world leader in decommissioning, exporting its expertise and methods. I commend the report’s attention to the detail of decommissioning and how it can be undertaken to the advantage of jobs, skills and exports for UK plc.
We must recognise that the imperative of climate change will cause us to take a considerable number of decisions about the oil and gas industry. Indeed, the report identifies a number of those decisions, one of which is the question of what we do about carbon capture, use and storage. That is not just a possible extension of activity and industry for the North sea as fields are depleted—indeed, those fields are enormous potential repositories for carbon dioxide—but can be used to the benefit of the North sea fields in their own right.
I would link that to the decommissioning efforts that are under way, because the next phase will be about exploiting smaller fields. That needs to be done on the back of existing infrastructure, which arguably should not be decommissioned but rather kept in place, so that those fields can be exploited without the infrastructure having to be completely replaced. If we decommissioned all that infrastructure when a lot of it could be used as the carrying capacity for carbon capture and storage, we may well live to regret it.
We need an understanding about future roles for the North sea. We should not only think about potentially depleted fields that could be repositories for carbon capture and storage, but look at practical considerations in respect of how the capture, transport and sequestration chain can be completed, possibly by using installations that are already there. The same applies to the future North sea wind industry. As Peter Aldous said, there is a close link between the skills and practical measures involved in developing offshore wind energy and maintaining the structure and infrastructure of the North sea oil and gas industry. Those two industries should work in tandem, rather than separately. As is mentioned in the report, that is important for satisfactory developments in the North sea and for the transfer of skills to the new industries. The skills, facilities and techniques that are already there in the North sea can greatly aid us in creating world-beating offshore wind energy installations and similar technologies, and ensure that the North sea plays its part in the transition to the attainment of a low-carbon energy economy.
In conclusion, the report marks an important milestone. It shows where we need to go next with the North sea oil and gas industry, and its recommendations and suggestions will stand the test of time. In the immediate future, I commend the report’s suggestion that we need to get on with a sector deal for the oil and gas industry. I do not need to say more about that, because I am sure the Minister will update us about it in his response. I emphasise my support for the need to get that deal over the line. In addition to milestones for the future, we have ambitions for the immediate time ahead to ensure that the oil and gas industry continues to be in a better position than it was in before and that it has the wherewithal to make its mark over the decades to come.
Minister, please could you leave two minutes at the end for Mr Wishart to wrap up?
Certainly, Mr Walker. It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. The Chairman of the Scottish Affairs Committee referred to you as a distinguished member of the Panel of Chairs. The next time I appear in front of him in a different capacity, I will remind him of that, as it implies that he is less than distinguished. I am sure nobody could say that about him; in fact, Mr Walker, I think you would agree that the opposite is true.
I congratulate the Scottish Affairs Committee and its Chairman on bringing forward the report, which I have read. One never knows what happens with Committee reports behind the scenes—the whole idea, of course, is that that information is privileged to the Committee—but from what I can gather, the Committee is an exemplar in the way that its members work cross-party. With the greatest respect to Douglas Chapman, the spokesman for the Scottish National Party, most of the comments today were of a non-partisan nature. I will try to answer in that spirit.
Ministers in Westminster Hall debates either give a prepared speech—written by civil servants, then checked and rewritten by Ministers—or respond to comments; the difficulty is that so many comments were made today, and I disagree with so few of them, but I will absolutely do my best.
The former Prime Minister referred to this sector as the real jewel in the crown of the UK economy. Of course, I would refer to the former Prime Minister as the jewel in the crown, but he is not here to answer that. I briefly held the energy portfolio, but I am here today because there was a fight of a verbal nature between myself and the Minister for Energy and Clean Growth as to who should appear at this debate. I cover sector deals generally and she covers the oil and gas sector, but we are not both allowed to speak. I discussed the subject extensively with her and I am trying to speak for us both.
When I held the energy portfolio I went on a visit to Aberdeen, and I was amazed by the way the industry was fighting back from a real recession, if not depression, caused entirely by the reduction of the oil price on the international markets. I have not had any experience in oil and gas, but I realised that the cycle was similar to those in the mining sector that I had read about, though I have no experience in mining, either. Once skills disappear, it can be difficult to restart. In mining, as in oil rigs, some sites can become disused, and it is difficult to get them back into action. Exactly the opposite has happened; I was amazed by the way the oil and gas industry fought its way out of the recession, especially given that the core bit—the international commodity price of oil—is completely beyond its control.
To paraphrase some of the Brexit debate—the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife brought Brexit into this, so I felt I should—the oil companies are market takers, rather than market makers. They cannot control the international oil price—the price of what they have to sell. At least, I assume they cannot; nothing I have read suggests that they can. The sector has changed itself into a lower-cost, more nimble industry, which is interesting. Some big companies found that difficult because of their high overheads, but other companies have come into the market, are more nimble and have new sources of cash. I found that fascinating.
On setting a regulatory environment in the oil and gas industry and funding for research and development—that funding can come about in different ways, including from Government—Government’s work has been absolutely brilliant. In these discussions, it is easy to criticise Governments generally, but please do not think I am making a party comment; any sensible Government would have done this. I am pleased to say that we have had a lot of sensible Governments in this country. My comments are not a reason for complacency, though; I hope hon. Members do not think that I am saying that.
I am completely ignoring the speech that I prepared because I was so excited by some of the things that were said. To an outside person, perhaps a reader of the Daily Mail, it may seem as if North sea oil is finished and the continental shelf is clapped out. The exact opposite seems to be the case. I am pleased that the report reiterates that, and that it has been confirmed by hon. Members. There is huge potential. I hope the Government are on top of it.
A formal response to the report will be made in the usual way. However, the major conclusion, as far as I can see, was that a sector deal—a really ambitious one—should be agreed. I absolutely share the Committee’s desire to support the sector; there is a close relationship there.
I will make one comment that might be politely critical, if it is possible to be politely critical, to Deidre Brock regarding what she said about the McCrone report. I know one should not talk about drinks party conversations, but I had the pleasure of meeting Gavin McCrone—I believe that is his name—once. I do not think it was quite a formal report. He was a well-respected adviser to different Scottish Secretaries of State, I seem to remember his telling me—if Gavin McCrone is the same person. The way the hon. Lady quoted him, if I may respectfully say so, was a little unfair to what has happened.
On sovereign wealth funds, Norway sounds really great—it is wonderful what it does; it invests billions of pounds all over the place—but it is a little bit selective to say that our money was squandered. First, as has been said, a lot of tax came from it. We have a big economy and a big population. It is not as though the money was spent somewhere else; it was spent for the benefit of everybody in the United Kingdom, so I do not accept the “squandering” point of view.
I think we will have to agree to disagree on the benefits or otherwise of sovereign wealth funds, but can I ask about the taxation situation and North sea oil revenues? In 2017, Norway taxed the Royal Dutch Shell company £4.6 billion, while the UK gave the company £176 million. Can the Minister talk a little bit about the implications of those figures? I find them quite staggering.
The hon. Lady has caught me unawares, because I am afraid tax is not one of my specialities; I apologise to her. I will find out about that, and if she would like me to write to her—or we could have a coffee together outwith this place—I would be happy to do so.
I should make some progress, because I am testing the patience of the Chair, and he wants two minutes left over. Trevor Garlick and the team have done a lot for the industry. He has brought a diverse sector together, which is the purpose of our sector deals; previously, most relationships between Government and companies seemed to be based on a few big companies that had very effective lobbying machines and knew the way the Government worked. In the oil and gas sector, he has helped to break that and has brought a lot of things forward.
The leadership has been very good, as have many of the work streams; we have five areas of focus in the report, but it seems to me that work on them is already being undertaken. For example, the National Decommissioning Centre has already been launched, with £38 million in funding. The Oil & Gas Technology Centre continues to lead on new technology and to support MER UK, which I was happy to visit in Aberdeen, on transformative technology. The work on exports that was mentioned is progressing well.
The work streams on other things that are part of Government policy, such as diversity and inclusion as well as CCUS, have developed very well. I was pleased that the Chancellor yesterday called for evidence to identify what more should be done to make Scotland and the UK a global hub for decommissioning, as the Chair of the Select Committee has talked about.
The Chancellor yesterday mentioned, if I can rephrase him, using less gas by 2025. The Minister is talking about decommissioning. Is that not a worry for the oil and gas sector?
The Minister is coming to the end of his remarks, but I worry that he has not touched on the issues raised by my hon. Friend Hugh Gaffney. Can he outline how the Government will work with the workers in the industry and the unions?
Mr Wishart, you have three minutes, 45 seconds, or thereabouts. | 2019-04-23T12:11:50Z | https://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2019-03-14a.201.0&s=speaker%3A11461 |
Coordinator of Advocacy and Veterans Behavioral Health at Mental Health America of Greater Houston.
Postpartum Depression Screening and Referral Services.
Mental Health America of Greater Houston thanks you for the opportunity to submit comments on the draft policy for House Bill 2466 regarding the ability of an infant’s provider to conduct and bill for postpartum depression (PPD) screening for the infant’s mother in Medicaid and CHIP. We believe the following recommendations will assist in the successful implementation of this Medicaid benefit.
In early 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended PPD screening at one, two, four and six months postpartum.[i] Line 1 of the draft policy states the Academy’s recommendation of screenings at the infant’s pediatric well-child visits but does not include the suggested intervals. We recommend adding language to line 1 about the appropriate integration of screenings at the 1-, 2-, 4- and 6-month visits.
HHSC’s draft policy (line 22) limits screening to once per provider in the year postpartum. We understand the need to implement this benefit within existing funds. That said, we recommend the agency consider the feasibility of screening according to national recommendations, as indicated by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This will result in multiple screens reimbursed per provider, and the language should be changed appropriately.
Mental Health America of Greater Houston participates in the Regional Maternal Mortality Task Force, where we examine the leading causes of maternal deaths in Houston. This task force is acutely aware of “white coat” syndrome, in which individuals are likely to lessen the severity of a condition when speaking to a doctor to disclose physical and behavioral health issues. Significantly more positive screens result in studies in which the screen was performed by a licensed clinical social worker, rather than a medical doctor. Line 7 states that screening tools may include the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (7.2), Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (7.3) and the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (7.4). To ensure the successful roll-out of this new benefit and accurate screenings, it is important all THStep providers – including physician assistants, nurses and licensed social workers – are trained on the screening tools and the risk factors for postpartum depression.
The three tools listed above are all validated and routinely used for postpartum depression and identify a range of severity or level of need, which help guide clinician-patient decision making regarding necessary supports. The Edinburgh is most routinely used and available in more than 20 languages. While these screening tools are effective, they may not capture positive screens for women facing other maternal mental health disorders, including anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder present during the postpartum period. We recommend adding to the list of validated tools (line 7) so THSteps providers may screen moms using validated tools identifying a range of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, such as the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) tool, among others. No-cost screening tools should be prioritized to increase access to THSteps providers.
We appreciate HHSC recognizing that screening alone does not improve clinical outcomes for moms and infants, but more guidance is needed to ensure successful referrals and improved outcomes. Specifically, pediatric providers need to know the appropriate and available supports for mothers. While some pediatric providers may already screen mothers, most are not familiar with the mental health providers serving parents. We recommend HHSC should provide a menu of resources with which provider can refer when a mother screens positive for postpartum depression or other perinatal mood disorder. At a minimum, HHSC should provide THStep providers a menu of referral options in each region that serve women enrolled in or eligible for Medicaid, Healthy Texas Women or the Family Planning Program, as well as city or county indigent care programs. Also, at a minimum, this should include clear guidance to THSteps providers on how to refer women, in consultation with any existing primary care physician to the Local Mental Health Authority (LMHA). The Office of Mental Health Coordination offers a list of mental health and substance use professionals, including LMHAs and other mental health clinicians across the state. Including a list of postpartum depression treatment providers on this list would be a good resource for pediatric providers screening for perinatal mood disorders. Some moms may need more intensive therapy or medication; others may need a lower level of supports or services. It’s important that a menu of referral options is available so THStep providers, in consultation with existing primary care providers, can help refer women to services that meet her needs.
Mental Health America of Greater Houston also asks you to consider the efficacy of the existing referral process for postpartum mental health treatment. New mothers who are not eligible for Medicaid are automatically enrolled in Healthy Texas Women sixty days following delivery when their CHIP perinatal benefits expire. Healthy Texas Women’s coverage of postpartum depression treatment is minimal at best. Many women with the most complicated postpartum mood disorders cannot receive adequate treatment within the confines of the Healthy Texas Women reimbursement model. Should mothers require more intensive medication or hospitalization, they are typically referred out to another facility, frequently an emergency room, where they do not have coverage for services. We need to ensure that doctors have a safe place with the appropriate supports to send mothers who screen positively for postpartum mood disorders; otherwise, doctors will not feel comfortable making referrals and women won’t get the treatment they need. We recommend HHSC shall communicate clearly to state health programs and community mental health providers, including LMHAs, that women with postpartum depression fall under priority diagnosis of major depressive disorder and assist them to prepare for increased referrals of women with postpartum depression.
Lastly, the results of the screenings used are not digital – leaving a paper form to record the results of a postpartum screen. Mothers are sent from the pediatrician’s office with the paper medical record and information can be lost in the process. With digital records, a “warm handoff” can be more secure knowing that all information is transmitted to the next provider. We recommend the agency consider the feasibility of digital records to ensure successful referrals and improved clinical outcomes.
Again, we sincerely thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the draft policy for HB 2466. We look forward to continued partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to ensure families have access to needed mental health supports. For any questions or concerns, please contact Annalee Gulley at [email protected] or (210) 823-5818.
On June 15, 2017, Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Texas’ first post-partum depression screening legislation. HB 2466, authored by Representative Sarah Davis (R-Houston), allows for Texas Health Steps provider reimbursement for post-partum depression during the twelve-month period following delivery. Reimbursement will be funded through an infant’s Medicaid or perinatal CHIP.
Parents with postpartum depression experience a range of physical, emotional, and behavioral changes including sadness, anxiety and exhaustion that interfere with day-to-day life and routines. Postpartum depression is the most common complication of childbirth, with approximately one-in-nine women experiencing depression or anxiety during pregnancy and/or the first year after childbirth. Postpartum depression, and other perinatal mood disorders, can result in adverse maternal, infant and child outcomes, including lower rates of breastfeeding initiation and shorter duration, poor maternal and infant bonding and infant developmental disorders.
Thinking of harming herself or her baby.
Under current state law, women who receive prenatal care through Medicaid for Pregnant Women remain eligible for Medicaid benefits for 60 days following delivery. During this time, Medicaid will cover the postpartum visits as well as medication and follow-up necessary for women who are diagnosed with postpartum depression. However, postpartum depression and other perinatal mood disorders can present anytime within the first four-to-six weeks up to 12 months following childbirth. When coverage under Medicaid for Pregnant Women ends, a woman will transition to the Healthy Texas Women Program, if she meets eligibility requirements.
For more information on postpartum depression, click here.
To review HB 2466’s draft policy language or provide public comment, click here before Tuesday, December 19.
On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, Annalee Gulley, Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Mental Health America of Greater Houston, was invited to provide testimony before the House Committee on Public Education.
– Recommend any measures needed at the state level to prevent unintended punitive consequences to both students and districts in the state accountability system as a result of Hurricane Harvey and its aftermath.
– Examine the educational opportunities offered to students displaced by Hurricane Harvey throughout the state and the process by which districts enroll and serve those students. Recommend any changes that could improve the process for students or help districts serving a disproportionate number of displaced students.
Ms. Gulley was on one of five panels of invited testimony and shared the importance of trauma training for classroom teachers and the impact transition plans could have on displaced students. Other panelists included Superintendents from Aldine, Alief, Aransas County, Flour Bluff, Katy, Orange Field, Port Arthur, and Sheldon Independent School Districts. Josette Saxton, Director of Public Policy for Texans Care For Children, also provided testimony. This was the last House Public Education Committee meeting of 2017.
Annalee Gulley testifying in front of the House Public Education Committee (Left to Right: Rep. Linda Koop, Rep. VanDeaver, Rep. Ken King, Rep. Bernal (Vice Chair), Rep. Huberty (Chair), Rep. Allen). Ms. Gulley was on a panel with Mr. Loius Malfar, President of Texas AFT, Dr. Bruce Marchand, Director of Charter School Growth and Development with Texas Charter School Association, and Ms. Josette Saxton, Director of Mental Health Policy at Texans Care for Children.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today, Chairman Huberty.
Since Harvey hit Houston, Mental Health America of Greater Houston has prioritized the mental health needs of Houston’s approximately 800,000 youths aged 6-17 with supports and interventions that are more important now than ever. Our primary focus has been to provide trauma-informed training to teachers within 27 schools across 10 independent school districts in the Greater Houston Area. We are also advocating for the implementation of transition plans within school districts with a disproportionate number of displaced students to aid in the successful reintegration into the public-school system.
Before the storm, national prevalence data estimated that 10 percent of Texas’ youth will experience an average of three adverse child experiences – or traumas – before the age of 17. With 2 in 5 youths affected by mental health or substance use issues, we know that approximately 250,000 Houston-area students went into the storm with a predisposition to trauma, as trauma affects individuals with mental health issues more severely. Even if you excluded youth predisposed to adverse childhood experiences from the conversation, we are no longer just talking about kids with mental health issues, or “bad kids” or “problem kids.” We are talking about every kid throughout the region.
The psychological reaction to disaster lasts approximately one to three years, with signs and symptoms presenting most frequently three months after the traumatic event. Unlike some affected groups, we know how to access this population and the necessary supports for trauma-affected youth. Teachers are our entry point. They work in classrooms eight hours a day, five days a week. With trauma-informed training, they can properly identify and respond to signs and symptoms of trauma such as inattentiveness, poor academic achievement and difficulty following rules of the classroom. Trauma-trained teachers also will better know how to prepare for triggering events such as heavy storms, the holidays and the first anniversary of a disaster.
State funding will be required for comprehensive, trauma-informed training within public schools. Mental Health America of Greater Houston has been fortunate to partner with private sponsors to provide trauma-informed training, but the funds allocated were not enough to meet the existing need in Harris County – and Harris County is not the only affected county by Hurricane Harvey.
Again, we appreciate the Committee’s time today and the opportunity to bring trauma-informed training and transition service plans into the conversation surrounding Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. The Governor was right when he said that our hardest to heal wounds would be invisible. That does not mean they should be forgotten. With trauma-informed training and transition service plans, we can provide impacted youth with the necessary supports begin anew.
On Monday, October 23, Speaker of the House Joe Straus and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick released a full list of interim charges for Texas’ State House and State Senate committees to study before the 86th Legislative Session begins in January 2019. Many of the interim charges examine Hurricane Harvey and the state’s response, including the storm’s impact on public health, the juvenile justice system, agriculture and the state’s tax structure. In addition to these charges, Speaker Straus called for the creation of a Select Committee on Opioid and Substance Abuse which will study the prevalence and impact of substance abuse and substance use disorders in the state. This committee, chaired by Representative Four Price, is an extension of the work of the Select Committee on Mental Health, convened following the 84th Legislative Session.
Examine the Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECI) in Texas, including a review of historical funding levels, programmatic changes, challenges providers face within the program and utilization trends. Evaluate ECI’s impact on reducing the long-term costs of public education and health care. Identify solutions to strengthen the program.
Monitor Congressional action on federal healthcare reform and CHIP reauthorization. Identify potential impacts of any proposed federal changes. Identify short- and long-term benefits and challenges related to converting Texas Medicaid funding to a block grant or per capita cap methodology. Determine how Texas should best prepare for federal changes, including statutory and regulatory revisions, as well as any new administrative functions that may be needed. Explore opportunities to increase the state’s flexibility in administering its Medicaid program, including but not limited to the use of 1115 and 1332 waivers.
Examine the use of social workers and peer support specialists in the Texas criminal justice system to assist individuals on probation, on parole or who have been discharged, in order to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes. Identify best practices and make recommendations for legislative action.
Study how counties identify defendants’ and inmates’ behavioral health needs and deferral opportunities to appropriate rehabilitative and transition services. Consider models for ensuring defendants and inmates with mental illness receive appropriate services upon release from the criminal justice system.
Assess developments in medical science and legal standards related to the imposition of the death penalty on defendants with serious mental illness or intellectual and developmental disabilities. Review statutorily prescribed jury instructions used during capital sentencing.
Examine the needs of homeless veterans in Texas. Examine obstacles veterans may face finding housing across the state. Recommend measures to bolster the state’s efforts to address veteran homelessness in Texas.
Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, review the implementation of S.B. 27 (85R) and the related Veterans Mental Health Program, as well as S.B. 578 (85R) and the development of the Veterans Suicide Prevention Action Plan.
Review the history and any future roll-out of Medicaid Managed Care in Texas. Determine the impact managed care has had on the quality and cost of care. In the review, determine: initiatives that managed care organizations (MCOs) have implemented to improve quality of care; whether access to care and network adequacy contractual requirements are sufficient; and whether MCOs have improved the coordination of care. Also determine provider and Medicaid participants’ satisfaction within STAR, STAR Health, Star Kids, and STAR+Plus managed care programs. In addition, review the Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) oversight of managed care organizations, and make recommendations for any needed improvement.
Review the availability of prevention and early intervention programs and determine their effectiveness in reducing maltreatment of children. In addition, review services available to children emancipating out of foster care, as well as services available to families post-adoption. Determine if current services are adequately providing for children’s needs and meeting the objectives of the programs. While reviewing possible system improvements for children, follow the work of the Supreme Court of Texas Children’s Commissions’ Statewide Collaborative of Trauma-Informed Care to determine how trauma-informed care impacts outcomes for children.
Study the increased use of specialty courts across the state. Examine the role these courts play in the judicial system and recommend improvements to ensure they continue to be appropriately and successfully utilized.
Evaluate the use of telemedicine to improve behavioral health services in the juvenile justice system.
Review state programs that provide women’s health services and recommend solutions to increase access to effective and timely care. During the review, identify services provided in each program, the number of providers and clients participating in the programs, and the enrollment and transition process between programs. Monitor the work of the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Task Force and recommend solutions to reduce maternal deaths and morbidity. In addition, review the correlation between pre-term and low birth weight births and the use of alcohol and tobacco. Consider options to increase treatment options and deter usage of these substances.
Study and make recommendations to improve services available for identifying and treating children with mental illness, including the application of trauma- and grief-informed practices. Identify strategies to assist in understanding the impact and recognizing the signs of trauma in children and providing school-based or community-based mental health services to children who need them. Analyze the role of the Texas Education Agency and of the regional Education Service Centers regarding mental health. In addition, review programs that treat early psychosis among youth and young adults.
Review opportunities to improve population health and health care delivery in rural and urban medically underserved areas. Identify potential opportunities to improve access to care, including the role of telemedicine. In the review, identify the challenges facing rural hospitals and the impact of rural hospital closures.
Study the prevalence and impact of substance use and substance use disorders in Texas, including co-occurring mental illness. Study the prevalence and impact of opioids and synthetic drugs in Texas. Review the history of overdoses and deaths due to overdoses. Also review other health-related impacts due to substance abuse. Identify substances that are contributing to overdoses, related deaths and health impacts, and compare the data to other states. During the review, identify effective and efficient prevention and treatment responses by health care systems, including hospital districts and coordination across state and local governments. Recommend solutions to prevent overdoses and related health impacts and deaths in Texas.
Review the prevalence of substance abuse and substance use disorders in pregnant women, veterans, homeless individuals and people with co-occurring mental illness. In the review, study the impact of opioids and identify available programs specifically targeted to these populations and the number of people served. Consider whether the programs have the capacity to meet the needs of Texans. In addition, research innovative programs from other states that have reduced substance abuse and substance use disorders, and determine if these programs would meet the needs of Texans. Recommend strategies to increase the capacity to provide effective services.
Examine the impact of substance abuse and substance use disorders on Texans who are involved in the adult or juvenile criminal justice system and/or the Child Protective Services system. Identify barriers to treatment and the availability of treatment in various areas of the state. Recommend solutions to improve state and local policy, including alternatives to justice system involvement, and ways to increase access to effective treatment and recovery options.
Identify the specialty courts in Texas that specialize in substance use disorders. Determine the effectiveness of these courts and consider solutions to increase the number of courts in Texas.
For a full list of the Texas State House of Representatives’ Interim Charges, click here.
Adult and Juvenile Corrections Funding: Examine the funding patterns used to fund the juvenile justice system and adult probation departments. Develop recommendations to ensure the Texas Juvenile Justice Department budget does not dis-incentivize the use of cost-effective best practices such as diverting youth from the juvenile justice system, providing services to youth in their community and keeping youth closer to home. In addition, review funding to adult probation departments and ensure it provides for an equitable distribution to all Texas Probation Departments.
Monitor the state’s progress in coordinating behavioral health services and expenditures across state government, pursuant to Article IX section 10.04, including the impact of new local grant funding provided by the 85th Legislature.
Substance Abuse/Opioids: Review substance use prevention, intervention and recovery programs operated or funded by the state and make recommendations to enhance services, outreach and agency coordination. Examine the adequacy of substance use, services for pregnant and postpartum women enrolled in Medicaid or the Healthy Texas Women Program and recommend ways to improve substance use related health outcomes for these women and their newborns. Examine the impact of recent legislative efforts to curb overprescribing and doctor shopping via the prescription monitoring program and recommend ways to expand on current efforts.
Medicaid Managed Care Quality and Compliance: Review the Health and Human Services Commission’s efforts to improve quality and efficiency in the Medicaid program, including pay-for-quality initiatives in Medicaid managed care. Compare alternative payment models and value-based payment arrangements with providers in Medicaid managed care, the Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System, and identify areas for cross-collaboration and coordination among these entities.
Initiatives intended to improve child safety, Child Protective Services workforce retention, and development of additional capacity in the foster care system. Make additional recommendations to ensure children with elevated levels of medical or mental health needs receive timely access to services in the least restrictive setting.
Veterans’ Health: Study the effectiveness of veterans’ health and mental health initiatives in Texas and recommend ways to improve access and delivery. Explore the state of the federal VA Choice Program, including potential expiration, continuation or expansion of the program. Consider the impact of the VA Choice Program on improving the delivery of health care, and determine ways to raise awareness and increase participation among Texas veterans. Consider the potential connection between chronic pain and mental health and identify strategies to improve the prevention of veteran suicide.
Monitor the implementation and impact of legislation passed by the Texas Legislature, including SB 27 by Campbell 85(R), relating to the mental health program for veterans.
For a full list of the Texas State Senate’s Interim Charges, click here.
While Texas’ 85th Legislative Session has been touted as one of the most contentious sessions in recent memory, mental and behavioral health funding and programming received important time and attention – largely due to the formation of the Interim Select Committee on Mental Health. Below is a brief summary of both the regular session and the special session and the status of MHA of Greater Houston’s legislative agenda.
As always, The Texas Tribune is an incredible resource in Austin. Please listen to recordings of their recent TribFest, which covered important topics including mental health, maternal mortality and the future of Medicaid.
At 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, House Bill 2623 (Allen, Alma | Thompson, Senfronia) and House Bill 3887 (Coleman) will be heard before the Senate Education Committee – because of you.
Your calls, your emails to friends, your commitment to advancing legislation for youth mental health. You made this happen. And you can’t stop now. We’ve come too far. Together.
Each member of the Senate Education Committee needs to know how important these bills are to Texas students and that, when I stand before them to testify tomorrow, I have all of you standing beside me.
We have eight days left to pass these bills.
Please take five minutes to call your State Senator and the Senate Education Committee to let them know you support our Senate sponsor, Senator Zaffirini, and House Bill 2623 (Transition Services) and House Bill 3887 (Trauma Training). Ask them to vote yes on both bills and send them to the Senate floor for a vote.
Please call your Houston Senator – and members of the Senate Education Committee – and ask that they support HB 2623 (Allen | Thompson, Senfronia) and HB 3887 (Coleman). The more support they hear, the better our chance of getting the bills voted out of the Education Committee as soon as possible.
Hello, my name is ________. I am calling Senator _______ because I want to make sure they support HB 2623 (Allen | Thompson, Senfronia) and HB 3887 (Coleman). Both bills are scheduled for a hearing in the EDUCATION COMMITTEE this Thursday, May 18. I support these bills and the positive impact they will have on mental health in education in the state of Texas and encourage Senator ______ to do so as well. Thank you very much!
Hello, my name is ________. I am calling Senate Education Committee to show my support of HB 2623 (Allen | Thompson, Senfronia) and HB 3887 (Coleman). Both bills are scheduled for a hearing in the EDUCATION COMMITTEE this Thursday, May 18. I support these bills and the positive impact they will have on mental health in education in the state of Texas. Thank you very much!
Friday, March 10 marked the deadline to file legislation for Texas’ 85th legislative session. Mental Health America of Greater Houston is excited to report on the progress of our priorities.
MHA of Greater Houston successfully filed four bills, supporting both our Center for School Behavioral Health and Women’s Mental Health programs. We have also worked closely with Chairman Four Price and Representative Sarah Davis to ensure specific language reflecting our priorities was inserted into their existing bills concerning these legislative issues. We are proud both of the final bills resulting from these ongoing conversations and of the influence MHA of Greater Houston demonstrated during a critical moment when competing political priorities can too often sink impactful legislation.
After meeting with many members of the Houston delegation, we believe that our legislative agenda is strong; however, the current fiscal outlook and political climate in Austin make the passage of any bill a very difficult task. We have our work cut out for us during the next 67 days.
Now that our bills have been filed, the next step is getting them through their respective committees. HB 2135, our Post-Partum Depression bill, and HB 11, Chairman Four Price’s children’s mental health bill, were referred to the House Public Health Committee in the beginning of March. Earlier this week, HB 2135, Representative Davis’s Post-Partum Depression bill, was referred to the House Committee on Public Health and HB 2623, our transition services bill, was referred to the House Committee on Public Education.
In a session in which 6,657 bills were filed and money is tight, now is the time to connect with your legislators and bring our bills to the front of their priority list.
We are thrilled House Bill 2623 (Allen), relating to requiring school districts to assist students in making the transition back to school after certain prolonged placements outside of school, has been referred to the House Public Education Committee! For a refresher on the importance of this bill, check out our recent Center for School Behavioral Health post in which local expert Latashia Crenshaw, Director of Educational Support and Advocacy Services at the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, talks to MHA of Greater Houston about transition services.
What does House Bill 2623 (Allen) do?
This bill requires that school districts provide assistance to students transitioning back to school after 30 or more days in a disciplinary alternative education program, a juvenile justice alternative education program, a residential program or facility operated by or under contract with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, a juvenile board, or any other governmental entity, a residential treatment center, or a public or private hospital.
Under this legislation, schools will be required to create individualized transition service plans for returning students. The plan, to the extent possible, must be developed in conjunction with the student’s parent/guardian. As appropriate, the plan must include: consideration of the best educational placement for the student; provision of counseling, behavioral management assistance, or academic assistance; and access to community mental health or substance abuse services.
What problem does the bill solve?
Education is the key to a successful life, reducing juvenile recidivism, and ending the school-to-prison-pipeline. For a child returning to school following a prolonged absence, particularly for a disciplinary placement in the judicial system, succeeding once there is not easy. There are a variety of individual, school, and systemic factors that must be addressed if young people are to successfully return to schools. Individual factors include poor academic and social–emotional skills, credit deficits, special education needs, and the failure to develop an identity as a learner. Systemic factors include the failure of agencies and institutions to share records quickly, the absence of alignment and articulation between sending and receiving schools at both ends of the transition process, the dearth of accountability for mobile student outcomes, and inadequate systemic capacity to collaborate with families.
Through collaboration and planning, administrators that serve transitioning youth can prepare youth, from entry through discharge, for their return to their home-based school, enabling them to resume educational services successfully.
While HB 2623 was referred to the House Public Education Committee, there is no guarantee it will be heard before the committee. The House Public Education Committee is chaired by Houston State Representative Dan Huberty and includes Houston-area Representatives Alma Allen, Harold Dutton, Jr., and Representative Dwyane Bohac.
Please call your Houston Representatives on the Public Education Committee – and the Public Education Committee itself – and ask that they set a hearing date for this bill. The more support they hear, the better our chance of getting a hearing scheduled as soon as possible.
Hello, my name is ________. I am calling Representative _______ because I want to make sure that House Bill 2623 (Allen) gets a hearing scheduled in the PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE. I support this bill and the positive impact it will have on mental health in education in the state of Texas and encourage Representative ______ to do so as well. Thank you very much!
While we still need support for HB 3853 and HB 3887, we will focus our attention on scheduling a hearing for HB 2623 until they are referred to a committee.
We urge you to connect with members of the House Public Health Committee to let them know that you support MHA of Greater Houston and hope the Representatives will fight to make sure our bills are heard before their committee as quickly as possible!
Luckily, the House Public Health Committee includes Houston-area Representative Garnet Coleman and Representative Tom Oliverson.
Please call these State Representatives and ask for these bills to be heard in front of the Public Health committee. The more support they hear, the better our chance of getting a hearing on this important women’s health issue.
Hello, my name is ________. I am calling Representative _______ because I want to make sure that House Bill [ ] gets a hearing scheduled in the PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE. I support this bill and the positive impact it will have on women’s mental health in Texas and encourage Representative ______ to do so as well. Thank you very much!
While you’re making calls, call your local State Representative to express support for House Bill 2623 (Allen), as well! While your local Representative may not be a member of House Public Education, his or her support for House Bill 2623 is important! As a constituent, your opinion matters! Ask them to use their influence with their colleagues on the Public Education Committee to make sure House Bill 2623 (Allen) gets a hearing! Better yet, ask them to “Joint Author” the bill!
Hello, my name is ________, I’m a constituent from Houston, zip code ___. I am calling Representative _______ to urge [him/her] to consider becoming a joint author of House Bill [2623| 3853| 3887]. This bill is incredibly important for the future of the kids in our local schools and a great step toward ending the school-to-prison-pipeline. If you won’t consider joint authoring the bill, please reach out to your colleagues on the PUBLIC EDUCATION COMMITTEE and tell them your constituents want this bill to be heard in front of this committee. Thank you very much!
In addition to our priority partner bills, we are also following these bills for their impact on mental and behavioral health in Texas.
In the meantime, take heart in knowing we still have time to get some great work done. | 2019-04-24T13:53:19Z | https://mhahouston.wordpress.com/author/rebeccafmha/ |
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Project interviewers sought first-person accounts of Nebraska life that would reveal the struggles and ingenuity of ordinary people. These life histories, good regionalists believed, would reveal the true creative depth of American culture in its local and historical unfolding. Life histories collected in Nebraska address a fascinating array of subjects, including elections, the rise of the Populist Party, the Farmer’s Alliance protests of the 1890s, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, local folklore, outlaws, horse-trading, Civil War battles, slavery, African-American life in Omaha, Native-American culture and history, European immigrants, the Oregon Trail, pioneer customs, blizzards, prairie fires and grasshopper plagues, to name but a few. The Nebraska Project also emphasized Pioneer stories and how different ethnic traditions shaped everything from weddings and funerals, to planting, cooking, holiday celebrations, dancing and medicinal practices.
In The Dream and the Deal, Jerre Mangione traced initial instructions to collect life histories and folklore to Washington, and the interests of Henry Alsberg, Director of the Federal Writers’ Project, and of John A. Lomax and Benjamin Botkin, his successive folklore editors. Some state projects received these instructions “with derision.” Yet in Nebraska, Mangione notes, as in some southern states, Project workers and the local community took an enthusiastic interest in gathering folklore materials.
The Nebraska Project decided to devote special attention to folklore and pioneer reminiscences. It eventually published some thirty folklore pamphlets on topics that included Cowboy Songs, Pioneer Dance Calls, Santee-Sioux Legends, Nebraska Cattle Brands, and Indian Ghost Legends, among others. Two pamphlets, Farmers Alliance songs of the 1890s and More Farmers Alliance songs of the 1890s reflected the deep roots of populism in William Jennings Bryan’s home state and the resonance of those protests in the hard times of the 1930s.
As Nebraska’s Project workers gathered stories from old timers for the Nebraska Guide and local guides, and interviewed them about daily life, folk culture and local history, they put together a unique collection of narratives and anecdotes that became Nebraska’s contribution to the American Life Histories. In the minds of the Federal administrators, these life histories, recording the struggles, passions, and creativity of ordinary people, would be the foundation of a new understanding of “composite America,” a civilization enriched by the dreams and dynamism of ethnic, national, and racial minorities. This vision grew from a new appreciation of the complex brew of ethnic and national cultures that first began to take shape in Willa Cather’s immigrant novels. The appeal of this understanding of American life grew enormously as Americans watched the vicious nationalisms of fascism and Nazism take hold of old Europe.
The Library of Congress now makes its American Life Histories collection available on-line. The reader who surveys Nebraska’s contribution to the on-line collection at random will find enormous variation in the quality and interest of the interviews. This variation reflects the varying purposes of the interviews, different levels of interviewer skill, and the differing storytelling abilities of informants. The best of these accounts preserve a rich record of history and individual experience that would have been utterly lost without the Federal Writers’ Project. These include pioneer stories, humor, songs about Nebraska, and the like, but extend to other matters as well. Fred Dixon’s careful interviews of African-Americans preserved memories of slavery, and of early African-American history in Omaha and the rest of the state that would otherwise have been lost with a passing generation. Dad Streeter’s wonderful stories, including a story about his father, “A Preacher Tries Farming” in the American Life Histories (not a direct link), and his contributions to the folklore pamphlets, would never have seen the light of day without the Writers’ Project.
There were no well known or experienced writers among the employees of the Nebraska Federal Writers’ Project. Neither Jake Gable’s boy’s adventure book, nor his bibliography of Robin Hood stories, published while he was Project director, put him in the same league with the rising stars or established writers sometimes employed by other state Projects. Only two Project writers, Loren Eiseley and Weldon Kees, would, someday, gain real fame as writers. Rudolph Umland became Prairie Schooner‘s most prolific contributor, and, as a hobby, wrote book reviews for the Kansas City Star and the odd magazine article, but he pursued a post World War II career as a Federal bureaucrat.
Nebraska Writers’ Project Christmas party at Jake Gable’s house, December, 1936.
It required a kind of magic to create a functioning organization out of the assortment of inexperienced and previously unemployed people who, it was believed, might become writers, if assigned the task. Umland, with help from his friends Lowry Wimberly and Mari Sandoz, helped create an informal community among Project workers that sustained a vigorous and long-lived discussion of Nebraska lore. In this informal setting Wimberly and Sandoz urged the Project toward success, offering invaluable knowledge, advice, and stories about their own experiences. When the work began to bear fruit, they read and offered editorial advice on some of the Project’s manuscripts.
The acclaim and admiration that Wimberly’s beloved Prairie Schooner had won from critics and friends of literature around the nation earned him scant credit with the University administration. He had to beg for a small subvention for each issue from an increasingly unsympathetic chancellor. In the summer, 1937 issue of the Schooner, Wimberly hinted that readers might be looking at the last issue of the magazine. He was thinking he should stop accepting new manuscripts.
In those years, Lincoln’s literary community revolved around the Prairie Schooner. Mari Sandoz, Umland noticed, read each issue from cover to cover just as soon as it came into her hands. The Project’s writers gathered regularly in Sandoz’s apartment, or elsewhere for “talk-fests.” These were lighthearted and informal affairs, where once, in her apartment, Mari Sandoz demonstrated her knowledge of Polish dances, a skill she picked up either as a young girl or as a country schoolteacher. Sandoz’s years of misery were behind her, and she seems to have been at the center of many of the writers’ gatherings. Umland recalled that she “could chatter endlessly, hoot and laugh lightheartedly in those years in Lincoln.” Conversation at these gatherings often dissected writing that had appeared in the Schooner, or probed the latest news or rumors about Wimberly and his epic campaign to keep the little magazine alive.
News of the impending demise of the Schooner led the writers to the realization that they could write about matters other than history, Umland recalled. Letters of protest and petitions deluged the chancellor and regents. Who knew, Umland asked, “that half the signatures… were those of WPA workers who had never seen a copy of the magazine.” Mari Sandoz wrote wrote to the chancellor as well. Wimberly first heard of the flood of letters when called to the chancellor’s office. He was told that the Schooner would be funded for the year, and that there were to be no more rumors that the magazine was about to expire.
With this brusque gesture, the Schooner finally gained acceptance as a worthwhile–or at least inevitable–University emblem and institution. The magazine was never again in quite so much peril. “The sudden shower of letters always remained a puzzle to Wimberly,” Umland says. But those letters, Wimberly told his readers in the next issue of the Schooner, had saved the day.
Wimberly and Sandoz continued to keep abreast of all the news about the Project. Until he left the project for the military in 1941, Umland, sometimes joined by other writers, sat down with Wimberly almost every week at Grasmicks, the Bull Head, or some other tavern for a rambling conversation over a beer or two (two was always the limit, Umland remembered). Just as often, Umland met Mari Sandoz in the coffee shop at the bus depot.
In May of 1958, Mari Sandoz returned to Lincoln for a visit, and Umland accompanied her on a bus trip to a speaking engagement in Omaha. Along the way, Umland said, Mari talked non-stop; she recalled people who had worked on the Writers Project, and said that in those years (this is Umland’s paraphrase) “nobody had much money… but it hadn’t seemed to matter; they weren’t unhappy years.” Sandoz had “lived on day old cinammon rolls from Acme bakery and day-old chicken pies from Miller and Paine’s and had survived.” Once again, and for the last time, they chatted about Wimberly. Wimberly, she said, had revived a literary consciousness that had been dormant in Lincoln since the 1890s. He created an atmosphere that got people to think about writing and to try to write themselves. Without this atmosphere and his encouragement she said, she would never have been able to keep on writing and rewriting her manuscript of Old Jules. She intended to write an autobiography and wanted especially to get the story of those years on paper. Her other projects kept her much too busy though, and she never did write about those times.
Mari Sandoz could look back on the late 1920s and 1930s as a kind of golden age for Lincoln writers. Mari’s early life gave her a tough-mindedness and a hard grip on life’s essentials–her life’s essentials. Her own work and the community of writers meant more to her than a full stomach. Her committments shielded her from the full uncertainty and misery of the Depression.
For many of its employees, the Writers’ Project too, provided not just work, but the shelter of social connection and a sense of purpose. This was true all across the country. “We were all like people on a raft, sharing a world of common disaster,” federal administrator Lawrence Morris recalled in an interview with Jerre Mangione. A Nebraska employee recalled that just before the Project offered her work, she and her husband, both unable to find employment and without food in their apartment, had very seriously discussed suicide. Workers’ memories of isolation and their fears of losing this shelter account for some of the intensity of the friendships and lively social life that emerged within the Nebraska Project.
The Nebraska Project documented the onset and effects of the Depression in the state. Among the life histories collected by the Project is a banker’s account of the bank failures that began in the early 1920s as agricultural prices and the value of land fell after World War I. This is a window on how early hard times began in Nebraska. Times were hard in the state long before the 1930s, when the rest of the country found itself in trouble, and the ‘official’ Depression began.
Every time a Project worker interviewed an informant to gather folklore or local history, the worker filled out a form that described the circumstances of the interview. Most of these interviews seem to have taken place at the informant’s residence, and in these cases the worker described the room and set down their impression of the informant’s current circumstances. Some of these descriptions testified to the most desperate poverty.
The desperate circumstances of individuals also intruded into the administration of the Nebraska Project in a variety of ways. Umland and his director, Jake Gable, tried hard to avoid releasing people who otherwise had no means of support, even if these people were not well suited to the work at hand. Periodic crises forced them to let go of even the most desperate. In 1939 such a crisis forced the Project to let go of J.H. Norris, an older man known to Umland as a creative storyteller and folklore collector. Norris’s letters to Umland described his frantic effort to get re-certified as eligible for the relief rolls, a necessary prerequisite for reapplying for his old job or any other WPA work. Later he pleaded for re-assignment to the Writers’ Project. “I’m literally on the rocks, but I’ll be damned if I ever go without eating for three days as I did a few years ago right here in this room,” Norris wrote.
These and similar events notwithstanding, the Depression entered into its second half during the first year of the Project. Work programs like the WPA and the Project itself, as well as more jobs and better prices in the private sector, were making life easier. The consumer economy was reviving. The American Guide Series itself testified to this. The automobile tours outlined in every State guidebook reflected the new role of the automobile in American life. More and more people owned an automobile and more and more had time to take a few days off and see some of the country.
As a relief program, the Nebraska Federal Writers’ Project needed to accept and make the most of employees whose qualifications for the job at hand were less than obvious. There were many hardworking and competent workers, and a very few geniuses (we discuss the geniuses later). There were others whose temperament or background did not fit the work, or who departed on some eccentric trajectory of their own that left the project behind.
The tour editor for the Nebraska Guide, Umland recalled, wrote a piece that clearly needed revision. Upon hearing that it had been sent to a rewrite editor, the tour editor responded with bitter recriminations. She was a well known Nebraska poetess, and she did not think her work required revision. “I have 20 years of editorial experience and am the author of several books,” she told Umland. The editor, she was certain would destroy her essay, “He’ll take away all its color, destroy its beauty!” Umland felt that the editing improved the piece by getting rid of purple prose and excess verbiage. The poetess took this as an intolerable insult, and left the project.
Local Democratic party politics saddled the Writers’ Project with Henry Richmond, a former newspaper reporter and politician, who had acquired the epithet of “Colonel,” as politicians of the time sometimes did, without a scrap of military experience. Colonel Richmond had been a reporter in Red Cloud when Willa Cather was a girl, a red hot populist editorialist and newspaper editor, a reporter again, a close associate of William Jennings Bryan, President of the Nebraska Press Association, a state representative, and in later years a city health inspector in Omaha. He was a wonderful storyteller and informant about Nebraska politics, and Umland enjoyed his company. But Colonel Richmond was so deeply mired in his political world that he would always be too busy reminiscing and scheming to contribute anything at all to the Writers’ Project.
At Umland’s suggestion and on the basis of a formal letter of recommendation by Lowry Wimberly, Jacob Harris (“Jake”) Gable was appointed Director of the Nebraska Federal Writers’ Project in July of 1936. Gable, an unemployed librarian, had been one of the student founding editors of Prairie Schooner in 1927. Gable’s legendary self-adulation was a constant topic of conversation and source of amusement for Umland and Wimberly. “He frequently interrupted his work to pound on his desk with his fists and proclaim himself the greatest writer, the greatest editor, the greatest bibliographer, the greatest gourmet who ever lived.” He was loud, boisterous and cheerful. Wimberly thought him too gregarious to ever be much of a writer. He could not bear to be alone, and built a mutual admiration society among some of the employees at the Project. He convinced himself that he was a great man. “Jake comes at you with head up and cheeks puffed out like those of a squirrel,” Wimberly once said.
Gable reorganized the Project and was a brilliant promoter who left the research and editing to Umland. His abilities so impressed the Washington administrators that he was appointed regional field administrator, a position he loved because he got to attend Washington parties and travel as a bigwig. As time went on, however, Gable grew careless, he spent over his budget and he used his time at the office to work on his own book on photography. By 1939, Gable, a married man with children, had become enamoured of one of his younger female employees. He sat, Umland recalled, drumming on his desktop with his fingers, humming “I am in love, love, love.” The scandal finally embarrassed state officials, who fired Gable. Umland would succeed him as State Director.
Join the Nebraska Literary Heritage Association to support the Heritage Room. Donations to the Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries may also be designated for the Heritage Room.
We would enjoy discussing any possible donations of works by Nebraska authors or author memorabilia with you. We provide a Certificate of Gift for those who cannot visit in person. | 2019-04-23T06:48:37Z | https://lincolnlibraries.org/heritage-room-of-nebraska-authors/the-nebraska-federal-writers-project-remembering-writers-of-the-1930s/the-nebraska-federal-writers-project-remembering-writers-of-the-1930s-nebraska-lore/ |
With the announcement that Town Council will support a coopertive effort with RedClay and Blair Art School for occupancy of the MZI buildings, our need has shifted from one of again avoiding demolition to one of supporting and furthering these renovation plans as a philanthropic element. As we learn more about the legalities of how that works, we'll share with you as soon as we're able exactly how pledged donations figure into the public/private parttnership that is envisioned. FOMZI is keeping the pledge drive open, with more assurance now that your generosity will be fuitfull and rewarded! The online pledge form below is still suitable for your use.
Friends of Mt. Zion Institute has continued to meet and monitor developments with the MZI project over the past two years. It has been clear that these years were not the optimum for attracting tenants and taking on a project such as this. RedClay has worked tirelessly on it, but time – and the times - have not been in their favor. FOMZI realized that we must likely intercede again if they are not successful; and we applied for and have been granted our independent federal tax-exempt status as a 501c3 apart from the Mt. Zion Society.
Here is what we plan to do: in the event that RedClay is ruled in default in December under their agreement with the Town (which looks likely), we want to be prepared to go to Council with enough pledged funding to convince them to let FOMZI undertake a phased project over a 5-year period, either on our own or as a minority/non-profit partner to RedClay. Our three-year involvement has gained us credibility, and start-up funds from our original drive will cover mailings and preliminary legal work. This campaign addresses the capital.
We’d want to immediately secure the buildings with new roofing and windows, a cost roughly estimated at $450,000. As economic conditions and the business climate improve, we anticipate that discussions will resume with parties already interested in the property as well as further interest being developed and the project proceeding.
To that end, we’re asking for your specified pledge of new financial support if our proposal were to be offered and accepted. Your prompt response is needed.
This will be a demonstration of initial funding we can expect and count on, without actually receiving funds unless and until we are in a legal position to begin renovation. Individual donation is the basis that attracts larger corporate, matching grant and foundational support, and we’re assured that there is still money flowing from those sources for projects such as this.
Please carefully consider your level of giving and your ability and commitment to honor your pledge if asked.
Yes! I am happy to pledge $ _____________ toward the goal of saving MZI.
This gift will be tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Please respond quickly and thank you for your support! We’ll be reporting our progress on this website.
On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, Friends of Mt. Zion Institute announced the kick-off of a Capital Campaign Pledge Drive. The event was held at noon on the Mt. Zion Campus, with the trimmed and adorned entry steps of the main classroom building as the backdrop. Supporter Bil Haslett welcomed the generous turnout and thanked those who'd assisted with the preparations. FOMZI Chairman Vicki Dodds then recognized two graduates, J. M. Lyles, Sr. and Frances Davis Haslett, from the MZI Class of '36, the last class to graduate before the current buldings were completed.
In announcing the Pledge Campaign, Dodds described the current status and FOMZI's decision to intercede and try to move the stalled effort forward. The campaign drive is designed to raise enough pledged funds to approach the Town Council with an offer to take the buildings and quickly begin a 5-year phased renovation. Economic conditions have made it difficult for the private developer to sign user or tenant commitments that are needed to obtain typical financing. The group believes that a philanthropic effort can better address the financial needs of stabilizing the five buildings while continuing to work with already interested parties or potential new ones.
The group’s focus is on using the buildings and the history of Mt. Zion to leverage a unique story into an economic advantage for its town and county. More involvement from those governments was called for; and Dodds noted that the plan isn't an overly-ambitious one for even these times, saying that it provides an opportunity to do it the way that most often leads to success - a team effort combining local government, enthusiastic citizens, and a group willing to work hard to see a dream realized.
The pledge campaign will run for the months of November and December and utilize pledge letters mailed or distributed to over 1200 residents and former residents, approaches to corporations operating in the county and the Midlands, as well as a promotional video, speakers and fund-raising events.
South Carolina Senator Creighton B. Coleman, a native and resident of Winnsboro, took the podium to thank FOMZI and the Winnsboro Town Council for their efforts to preserve this part of the town's history and return it to productive use.
... for more, be sure to go to our photo pages!
Sincere thanks to RedClay, LLC for their permission and to our citizen volunteers Cathcarts, Parker, Gutschlag & Haslett for their grounds work on the building and to the anonymous good souls who carted off the refuse!
Also, our appreciation goes out to Frances Haslett and to Christina Lee at Petal Pushers flower shop in Winnsboro for the potted plants and mums that brightened the scene.
For the pledge letter and an online pledge form, please click highlighted phrase or go to:the drop-down menu of Announcements.
We're happy to report that attorney Mike Kelly's plans to renovate the burned Thespian Hall in downtown Winnsboro go on! FOMZI wishes him great success and send our thanks for being a part of the preservation and renewal movement we so hope to be a part of.
We welcome your questions and queries. Please see our Contact Us page or the Pledge Form page for complete contact information.
We've continued our updating on the Announcements page for now. Just click the link below and scroll to the bottom on that page.
Well, no one ever said it was going to be easy. Several factors conspired to slow things down during late May, June and part of July, not the least of which was the impact of the current economic situation on the timeline that the Town, the McMaster family, and FOMZI itself had hoped for. In an effort to lessen that impact, a new plan is currently developing that may be the answer to many of the concerns inherent in the purely philanthropic means of rehabbing Mt. Zion. It's a little early to go into details, but we are pleased that it appears to be a truly united effort to reach the best and most timely solution for both funding and construction. Stay tuned ... we'll share more when we can!
Still with us? Good! It seems agonizingly slow, but the Mt. Zion plans ARE still moving along. The McMaster family and Town of Winnsboro continue to hammer out the details necessary to best structure their agreement on the campus property. Both naturally need safeguards and assurances in place, all of which can only serve to better protect the chances of success at Mt. Zion. It's not a "done deal", but so far, so good.
FOMZI continues as an advocacy group for the project. We've moved from a steering committee to naming an official board of directors and will soon elect our first term officers. Though not immediately involved with the ownership transfer or initial renovation details, we'll continue to monitor the process and report on any progress. Also in the works are some related plans or events that will allow the town and Mt. Zion supporters to participate in celebrating the long-awaited beginning of the rehabilitation. All we need to hear is "It's a go!"
FOMZI enters the new year still awaiting finalization of what it appears will be an agreement for a conditional transfer of the Mt. Zion building campus from the town to a private patron, the McMaster family. This will facilitate the most expedient beginning of the stabilization and renovation process and ensure a definite period of time in which to move the process along and prevent the loss of the buildings. The Town is working with Mr. McMaster to make sure various historic protections are in place and that appropriate zoning and ordinance needs are met that will enable the vision of MZI as a continuing educational and cultural venue to be realized.
FOMZI itself is somewhat in a "holding pattern", or stand-by state, for the time being. As a non-profit, we cannot provide funds to a private entity and have suspended our requests for donations until we determine what, if any, part we'll be needed to play in the foreseeable future. At the least, we hope to continue building the structure of our organization and to support, promote and advance the interests of the whole campus and historic setting.
We'll continue to share developments in the project here.
Our sincere thanks go to the McMaster family and the Town of Winnsboro for their efforts to find a way to save Mt. Zion and return it to a meaningful place in the community.
Thanks, too, to you who've followed our story through this website and provided encouragement in so many ways. FOMZI is gratified that we were able to provide evidence of interest and support that played a large part in establishing the case against demolition!
October's been a busy and productive month for FOMZI! We applied for and received our non-profit Charter, making us a legal entity in our own right and able to enter agreements and contracts if the need arises. We continue to operate under the Mt. Zion Society's 501c3 for donation purposes but are drawing up By-Laws and beginning a board selection process that will lead to a fully functioning independent organization to serve the support needs of the Mt. Zion campus.
FOMZI continued its local support sign-up effort both in Winnsboro businesses and at the Rock Around the Clock festival, which was a fun event that brought us many signatures and words of encouragement.
Last, but most important, we prepared our official presentation for Town Council and appeared before them on October 7. To supplement print material provided to them a few days before the meeting, we narrated a Power Point presentation on the WHY, WHO, WHAT and HOW of our planned renovation and reuse of the Mt. Zion property. It appears to have been well received, and we are presently awaiting the final deliberation of Council and the working out of certain details related to an agreement. Things look quite positive but are not yet definite. Watch this spot for big, bold letters when we're able to make a definitive announcement!
August brought us the long-awaited engineering reports, which confirmed earlier assessments that the classroom building, auditorium and gymnasium are all well worth rehabbing for our purposes. The cafeteria, a later addition to the campus, will likely be razed, with the space providing additional parking.
We accomplished several other important things during these weeks. A door-to-door canvass of the residential neighborhood surrounding Mt. Zion was conducted. We gleaned many insights into concerns of nearby homeowners and can address many in our planning and structuring. The level of positive neighborhood support for this project delighted us, and we'll do everything we can to make the "new" MZI a welcome improvement to this lovely and historic area.
Another project completed in mid-August was the mailing of nearly 900 brochures to former students of Mt. Zion, starting with the Class of 1936, who inaugurated the then-new buildings. Many went to still local residents and more were sent all over the U.S. The response has been very good so far and FOMZI is enjoying the comments and good wishes we're receiving.
Presently we're waiting (again!) on cost estimates and recommendations from the architect we engaged as consultant to the project. Working plans already existed and we hope to have few significant changes necessary. FOMZI is using this time to develop our presentation to the Town for acquisition of the buildings or an agreement that will allow us to proceed. This will, of course, be the defining prelude to working out many details and issues that are dependent on their decision. Stay tuned.
FOMZI is now three months into our work. Those weeks have gone by too fast but have been full of planning, learning and more planning and learning. We've sought out experts in various fields that could assist us in moving forward and found that most of what we're doing is right but that we may not have been tackling things in the right order! So, back at the drawing board, we've revised our to-do schedule. Time remains "of the essence", of course, but we believe we're now on a more realistic track and remain optimistic about our chances of success.
Engineering studies have been underway this month and we're awaiting the written results. Verbal comments by those poking and prodding through the buildings have been encouraging. This process and the wait for reports is more than a little nerve-wracking; but we know that, when they're in, we'll be more fully informed and knowledgeable during our decision making and the bidding and contract negotiation process.
Midlands Technical College appears to be firmly committed to a location in Mt. Zion if we are successful with our plans. Dru Blair, of Blair School of Art, is already in Winnsboro readying the Monticello portion of his school for opening and will be working with us on plans for the portion of Mt. Zion he hopes to occupy. Since we think this will be a phased project, we haven't begun talks with the several museum interests yet but will be pursuing those once we're on more solid ground with regards to acquiring the buildings.
We're increasing our publicity efforts, with a mass mailing in the final stages before send out. Our database contains more than 800 names, many of whom will no doubt be hearing about this effort for the first time. Additionally, we now have a promotional DVD, which we'll use in presentations before clubs and civic groups and as a donor appreciation gift as well. Unfortunately, we can't make it available for sale but hope to upload a brief version to a video site and link to it here on these pages.
Again, you can also follow our progress through our special reports in The Herald Independent (www.heraldindependent.com) and we'll make every effort to get weekly meeting recaps up and running. Meanwhile, let us hear from you ... every name and note of support is important!
Talks with Midlands Tech continue to be positive. An engineering liaison has been assigned to us to assist us in meshing our renovation plans for the classroom building with their space and layout needs.
Additionally, Blair School of Art, currently located in Raleigh, NC, has expressed a strong desire to take part of the Mt. Zion building if we're successful in our rescue effort. This is a widely known commercial art school that draws both U. S. and international students and would fit well into our educational focus.
More, several museum interests have made overtures about locating specific collections at the Mt. Zion Campus. While all of this is still quite tentative in nature, FOMZI is encouraged by the show of interest and their positive view of our future.
Look who explored MZI this week!
We've reclaimed our HOME page as an introduction to the MZI story. We'll still feature our most recent updates on the ANNOUNCEMENTS page and others have been moved to UPDATES or archived in a drop-down under that link.
A site overhaul may be due .... but this is, after all, a "story" and we're not yet ready to skip any of the chapters!
Weeks whiz by! Among the things FOMZI has been working on: an email newsletter that will eventually go out to all those who have registered their email address with us, either online or through other means. If you've changed your address or neglected to include it, please let us know. We hope the newsletter will be informative both about what we're working on and about preservation-based economic development in general. The newsletter is part of FOMZI's effort to reach out to the wider community and encourage a cooperative spirit of support for the MZI project.
Also getting underway is the engagement of the Moore School of Business at USC to conduct an economic impact study focusing on the potential of Blair School of Art to significantly affect Winnsboro's and Fairfield's revitalization efforts. Thanks to the two donors who have made this study possible! It's one thing for supporters to tout the expected impact but quite another for a respected business school to put hard numbers to it.
We're meeting regularly and staying in close touch with James Maynard of RedClay, who is assembling his team and working with Dru Blair to formulate a final plan. Speaking of Dru, be sure to check out the link below (also found on the Links page) to see a short feature done on his art school by SCETV recently.
And lastly, Friends of MZI are now a proud member of the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce!
We have a brand new year to work with and the fresh hope of RedClay Development and Dru Blair's art school moving forward, FOMZI is delighted at the prospect of posting frequent and exciting updates in the coming months.
Since the December announcement, FOMZI has continued the pledge drive in anticipation of being a non-profit "partner" in what must ultimately be a public/private team effort. (See drop-down "Special Announcement" under this page link.) The response has been gratifying ... $50,000 raised in less than two months! No, not enough yet to complete a first phase but more than enough to convince us that it would be doable if it came down only to citizens who care. For now, though, that isn't the case; but in the weeks ahead we'll carefully weigh options and opportunities to assist.
We've met this week with RedClay and Dru Blair, along with several others who will be involved in the project either as consultants or participants. First steps are being planned, particularly security at the building and immediate stabilization. Also, there's still much groundwork to lay: gaining further community support from the business sector, bringing County leaders on board, and fine-tuning the game plan.
Momentum is building ... and Friends of MZI will keep you posted each step of the way.
Another shout out of thanks goes to Winnsboro Town Council for being willing, yet again, to give Mt., Zion a chance! It's not an easy decision for a body entrusted with the day-to-day services and well-being of a town but IS a decision that shows recognition of the possibilities and appreciation for the rewards a successful readaptation can bring.
Thanks, too, to James Maynard of RedClay Development, PLLC for hanging in there and continuing the quest even when things looked so dim during the worst of the economic crunch ... and to Dru Blair of Blair School of Art for boldly stepping forth and claiming the vision he and so many others have had all along.
HUGE THANKS to all of our pledgers during our recent pledge drive. Your response not only reaffirmed our faith in the validity of the project, it strengthened our belief that individuals, working together, CAN make a positive difference in their community.
To have gotten to this point is more than we five years ago, so with Mt. Zion still standing and its future looking nearly secured, it seems important to say a special thank you to those who played the biggest roles in getting us there.
Thank you, McMaster Family, for stepping up to the plate with funds to stop the demolition.
Thank you, Bill McMaster, for eloquently presenting the case on so many occasions.
Thank you,Town Council members, for your individual and collective willingness to keep open minds and open ears about the possibilities for the buildings and what they could mean for the town and county.
Thank you, Town employees, for the extra hours of research and thought we know some of you put in along the way to give Council the information they needed to make the decisions they did.
Thank you, members of the FOMZI Steering Committee and Board, for bringing the cause to public attention and garnering the support that perhaps held things together until the answer came along.
And thank you, MZI friends, for letting us represent you.
FOMZI received word today that RedClay developer James Maynard and Dru Blair, of Blair Art School, appeared before Town Council at their regular meeting last night (12/20/11).
Instead of the default we feared, Maynard and Blair offered a definite proposal to move forward with relocating the art school to Mt. Zion, contingent on the Town and the County participating in the redevelopment and allowing enough time to put the plan together. Town Council agreed, and agreed to help bring County on board.
This is a major turning point and FOMZI is delighted, to say the least! We’ve long supported continued educational and cultural use for the campus and Blair’s well-regarded school has been at the top of our list. The potential to enhance further economic development is so promising and, as shown in a recent Herald Independent article and photo of a Japanese contingent traveling to see it, the school attracts students and visitors from all over the world.
Our pledge campaign will continue, with the hope that our participation in the joint effort is expected and welcome … and, yes, in case something changes with the current picture. Right now, though, we regard the events of last night and the evident spirit of cooperation as VERY positive, and we offer congratulations and hurrahs to all concerned.
PLEDGE DRIVE NEAR ROOFING GOAL!
Many, many thanks to those who have taken a leap of faith and promised an investment in our community's future! Pledges large and small are mounting up and Friends of Mt. Zion Institute is both encouraged and hopeful.
We're finding more and more examples of successful public/private efforts that use historic preservation as a component of town revitalization. Time after time, history-based development has proven to be a catalyst for increased employment, increased property values, higher tourism and prosperity, and improved quality of life for residents.
Let's help make it happen for Winnsboro and Fairfield County and preserve Mt. Zion's history of service . We'll keep you posted!
See news of our 2011-2012 Pledge Drive Kick-Off under Special Announcements!
Nine months have gone by since our last update and, regrettably, progress has been slow and reflective of the economic changes and times. RedClay WAS granted the rezoning in June 2010 and has been working to secure financing and tenants. In a report to Town Council in October, they were candid in their assessment that these are difficult times to be undertaking a project of this type, saying " ... the current economic climate and change in lending requirements of banks nationwide have changed the way banks deal with unsecured debt from the way it was handled just two years ago. Effectively, the property is not suited for collateral ...". Nonetheless, RedClay Development, PLLC has remained committed to the project and continues to seek avenues of funding and occupancy. FOMZI has kept in contact through these months, both as a monitor of sorts and as official "cheerleader" and encourager. RedClay has been good to keep us apprised of promising leads and contacts and, at this point, feels that some pieces of the project are close to falling into place. We fervently hope so!
The archeological study continued into the summer, with a pit project at the site of the old wooden dining hall (long demolished) behind what had been the elementary school. Among the items found were old square nails, a great deal of coal pieces, unidentified metal pieces, unsurprising pencil nubs, chinaware shards, and an abundance of glass, which our knowledgeable leader characterized as "wine glass". It was decided not to draw any conclusions from that particular find, but the colors and thickness of the pieces, which included a nearly-whole bottle bottom, indicated late 18th century and 19th century use. Summer heat suspended the study but we hope to continue this spring.
April and May have brought several notable developments in the project. The first is RedClay's application for rezoning of the property, from R-l (residential) to PDD (planned development district) which will allow the mixed uses needed in the project. No date has been set for the public hearing. In the meantime, work is being done on the old cafeteria building in preparation for its use as a training center for local labor who will be working on the renovation of the school. RedClay is committed to utilizing local labor as much as possible, something we especially applaud in these times that have been so hard on Fairfield Countians. A third item of interest is news that a so-far small archeological study has begun on the Mt. Zion grounds. Coordinating with the state archeologist, knowledgeable local volunteer John White is plotting and investigating a number of test digs, which are basically small holes to see what may be found. A few small items have already turned up, so we'll follow that story as it unfolds. Related photos can be found on the photo page and are linked here.
No official announcements have been made as to tenants, but it is generally known at this time that negotiations are underway for a wellness center to occupy the gym, possibly the old cafeteria, and likely one floor of the classroom bulding. We know that there are also talks underway with several arts-related entitles regarding both the remainder of the classroom building and the auditorium; however, we don't know where they stand at this point. FOMZI recognizes the need for confidentiality as RedClay works to find suitable and appropriate tenants, and they have been most thoughtful in letting us know as much as they can when they can without jeopardizing any agreements. We've learned great patience over the last two years, but as soon as we have official pronouncements, you'll find the news here!
On December 11th, ownership of the Mt. Zion property (building tract only) was transferred by the Town of Winnsboro to the newly-formed The Historic Mt. Zion Institute, LLC. This is the business entity under which RedClay will renovate and operate Mt. Zion. It is our understanding that the transfer includes conditions that protect the property and both parties. The old football field, or green, and the monument portion of the larger tract are not included in the transfer and will remain the property of the Town of Winnsboro.
Discussion continued between the Town and RedClay and, while we were not privy to the ongoing negotiation, both parties were gracious and understanding about assuring FOMZI that progress was being made. We did some "due diligence" of our own in the meantime and remained hopeful.
On October 29, RedClay and the Town held a public information meeting at the Old Armory to present preliminary plans to citizens (and us!) and explain their methods of financing such projects. The presentation was well-attended and brought forth spirited discussion on the related issues most impacting the property, the neighborhood, and the town. There were, of course, some understandable concerns expressed by several nearby neighbors but , for the most part, those attending were very supportive and enthusiastic.
Mr. Warlick, who has a construction engineering background, and Mr. Maynard, an architect, related how their common interest in old buildings and historic properties led to their partnership and RedClay Development. They gave a PowerPoint presentation showcasing a recently completed project in Ware Shoals, SC (see Link page) and had several schematic drawings of their plans for Mt. Zion. The venture is to be financed through a combination of RedClay's established major lending relationships, sales of tax credits, and grants. Mr. Maynard especially is obviously quite knowledgeable about grant funding for projects such as Mt. Zion and the process of obtaining them.
We made reference to a new development in our previous July update. It was becoming clear to all involved that a strictly private effort by the McMaster family was likely unfeasible, given the current market conditions and various other things that had to be factored into the plans. The time frame would have stretched out beyond what anyone wanted, and the burden on a singular patron would grow as that time passed, as would the deterioration of the buildings. About that same time, an alternative presented itself in the form of a development team who concentrate on historic properties, Frank Warlick and James Maynard of RedClay Development, LLC out of Charlotte, who’d learned about the project through an acquaintance with Winnsboro connections.
After several weeks of contact and exploration involving the FOMZI board, Bill McMaster and the RedClay group, we recognized that we had an promising alternative to Bill’s strictly philanthropic venture and its inherent time impediments. Both Bill and RedClay met with Town Council in late July, and Council and RedClay worked together from there to arrive at a workable plan.
RedClay has several impressive and successful historic rehab projects under its belt and we’re confident that it is a company sensitive to both the needs and the character of the areas it has gone into. From the get-go, FOMZI strongly emphasized the type of uses we originally envisioned for Mt. Zion; and both Warlick and Maynard were immediately receptive and eager to respect the framework of benefiting the whole town and county while staying mindful of the Mt. Zion neighborhood. | 2019-04-22T10:33:35Z | http://mtzioninstitute.com/updates/archives |
1Bioengineering, Genetics, and Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
2Biomedical Data Science and Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
3Pathology and Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
4Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.
5Biomedical Informatics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
6Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA.
7Medicine, Genetics, and Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
8DNAnexus, Mountain View, CA 94040, USA.
9Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
10Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
11Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
12Systems Medicine and Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Bioengineering, Genetics, and Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Biomedical Data Science and Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Pathology and Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Biomedical Informatics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA.
Medicine, Genetics, and Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
DNAnexus, Mountain View, CA 94040, USA.
Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.Material Measurement Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Systems Medicine and Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
The Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) is a U.S. national effort “to enable a new era of medicine through research, technology, and policies that empower patients, researchers, and providers to work together toward development of individualized care” (1). One goal is to bring about the routine use of next-generation precision diagnostics to benefit individuals and public health. Central to the introduction of safe and effective new precision diagnostic technologies is an adequate understanding of how well they perform. Through the PMI, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking to address this issue by providing dynamic, flexible, and well-balanced regulation of precision diagnostics. Because these complex technologies pose new challenges in understanding their likely benefits and their limits in terms of accuracy, precision, and clinical validity, FDA is advancing a robust research agenda in regulatory science. New knowledge gained from this agenda will inform the next generation of regulation for precision medicine.
The UCSF-Stanford Center for Excellence in Regulatory Science & Innovation (CERSI) hosted a series of meetings in September 2015 that included a public workshop and discussions on identifying key activities needed to evaluate the clinical implications of next-generation nucleic acid sequencing (NGS). Here we summarize the ideas and directions that were proposed and put forth a working “roadmap” for NGS evaluation, as a possible exemplar of how many other new next-generation diagnostics may be understood.
Technological breakthroughs have recently led to DNA sequencing methods that can generate the raw data necessary for determining nearly the entire genome sequence of any individual. Eventually, these developments are likely to culminate in the routine sequencing of patients’ genomes. In the meantime, there will be several years during which the process of DNA sequence determination remains challenging and in which cost-, quality-, and goal-driven tradeoffs result in a large diversity of testing strategies. In this Perspective, we lay out the technological challenges that are slowing the routine clinical use of a new generation of genetic tests and propose questions that regulatory science should address to arrive at a flexible yet robust regulatory framework that results in maximum benefit for patients.
As part of its PMI effort, FDA seeks to undertake and support regulatory science research that will enhance our understanding of NGS test products and their development and validation, as well as how the results of such tests are best communicated in an evolving health care environment.
Sharing the stage with a DNA double helix, U.S. President Barack Obama discusses the Precision Medicine Initiative.
A centerpiece of this effort is precisionFDA, a research and development portal that will allow community members to better understand, develop, and improve existing and new bioinformatics approaches for processing the vast amount of genomic data that is collected using NGS technology. precisionFDA is a public, cloud-based platform developed by FDA and its contractor DNAnexus that hosts shared tools, crowdsourced testing, and community challenges, to improve and share knowledge and methods for evaluating NGS bioinformatics pipelines.
This is currently a preregulatory platform that can host research-grade software. With time, we expect best practices to emerge for the evaluation and use of NGS pipelines that may allow NGS test developers and FDA to rely on precisionFDA-based analyses to build standards and communicate the technical performance of NGS tests.
In addition, FDA seeks to answer practical regulatory science questions, such as which reference sequences and data sets will be optimal for supporting development and validation of NGS bioinformatics tools, and how providers and patients want to receive genetic information.
NGS is similar to traditional DNA-based genetic tests, in that it begins with specimen collection and DNA extraction and requires interpretation of the detected genetic variants, and variant findings are reported as test results to clinicians and patients. However, NGS differs from traditional genetic tests in many ways, including its ability to assess large segments of the genome and, perhaps more importantly, its ability to detect variants in an untargeted way. These differences pose singular challenges to evaluation of the quality of an NGS test, which this Perspective seeks to highlight.
For the purposes of this discussion, we will refer to the sequence or sequences of the genome that are being interrogated by an NGS test as the interrogated region, which includes the DNA segment(s) that are intended to be measured and whether the intent of the test is to measure a particular base in the genome, an entire gene, a locus, a chromosome, an exome, or a complete genome. We will refer to the types of potential variants of interest in this region as the detectable variants. This could include single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertions/deletions (indels), and copy-number or other types of variants. The expected use defines the anticipated clinical (or research) use of genomic information and will factor in minimal performance characteristics that make the test useful to researchers, providers, or patients. Both the interrogated region and detectable variants depend critically on the expected use of the test results. A range of expected uses envisioned today are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Range of currently envisioned uses of NGS.
In the context of different expected uses, bioinformatic pipelines might be distinct in design and heterogeneous in implementation. This, in turn, suggests that performance characteristics and evaluation metrics for different applications of NGS-based tests would benefit from use-specific development and should be evaluated in accordance with their individual benefits and potential for harm. The evaluation of pipelines and their differences, as well as the assessment of how the pipelines affect test performance, is the vision behind the precisionFDA infrastructure: To accommodate a diverse set of use-cases for NGS testing and to measure performance levels and understand tradeoffs as appropriate for each application.
In order to organize precisionFDA as a community platform and to ensure an effective means of developing robust methods for evaluating NGS-based diagnostics, we propose a research roadmap that highlights nine areas of potential regulatory science investigation for FDA (including precisionFDA) accompanied by a discussion of aims, research milestones, software tools, and data services. This roadmap focuses on questions that we believe should be asked, not on the exact research methodology that should be employed. Methodological discussions are left to individual stakeholders pursuing these questions and should (as for all research) be nimble and responsive to the reality of rapidly changing knowledge and technological advances in the field.
(i) Address secure storage, sharing, and maintenance of genomic data and software tools for regulatory science and research. PrecisionFDA must be able to accept, store, and manage data from authorized users. Ideally, it will include the ability to create, test, and promote adoption of methods for storing and accessing large numbers of genomes. Therefore, it is important to create methods to ensure security and confidentiality of information and access controls tied to specifics of the informed consent obtained from those who provide samples. Of course, these methods should respect intellectual property and ownership. When sharing genomes, technical challenges include (but are not limited to) the creation of unique genome identifiers, methods for searching genomes based on specific features (for example, disease status), and adopting and promulgating standard formats of sequence representation and variant calls.
In a similar vein, software developed by the precisionFDA community might be for private use, for group sharing, or open to the public. Therefore, precisionFDA needs a set of rules for access to software and mechanisms for enforcing them. Robust systems for version control of software and data are also needed, so that experimental results can be effectively tracked and audited. Conditions under which software updates should trigger reevaluation of an entire pipeline need to be identified, to ensure continued integrity of analyses performed. The precisionFDA team is now building the first generation of these capabilities.
(ii) Create reference data sets based on diverse patterns of expected use. In order to conduct rigorous tests of NGS pipelines, it is critical to have “gold standard” data sets (also called reference data sets) that contain “known” validated genetic sequences and variants to be used as benchmarks. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has led an effort to create reference materials and data sets with associated known sequences by creating the Genome in a Bottle consortium (2), whose output includes several high-quality genome data sets established through sequencing on a variety of platforms.
Ideally, a large suite of data sets would be available to provide assurance that different types of variants in different contexts are adequately represented in pipeline testing and that specific platform biases are not driving the availability of reference data sets. Some of the data sets may be generated from sequencing human samples and others could be created using genome “synthesizers,” such as VarSim and HIVE Insilico, that can create de novo genomes with specific targeted variants. Synthesizers, if perfected, could represent a way to generate data sets for rigorous pipeline evaluation without bias toward performance on “known” samples. FDA’s regulatory science effort will benefit from community sharing of new synthesizer tools to aid in generating suitable data sets for evaluation of bioinformatics pipelines.
(iii) Understand error models of NGS technologies, how these errors inform characterization, and how combinations of technologies may complement one another. The various existing sequencing platforms demonstrate different biases and errors; these differences will only increase as new platforms emerge. Developing an error profile for each technology will help guide decisions surrounding the types of interrogated genomic regions for which the technology is best suited and, by extension, the range of expected uses for which it might be deployed. For example, if optimal clinical impact could be achieved by combining platforms and technologies (for example, 90% short read, 10% long read, in a mixture), then principles to evaluate tradeoffs and to design hybrid tests will need to be developed. These decisions may be guided by “error model” abstraction software tools [such as ART (3)], which could be made available through precisionFDA in a documented and version-controlled manner. The suitability of these existing error-model abstractions will need to be assessed, and additional research into representative error models for each platform will need to be pursued. The availability of gold-standard genome sequence data sequenced by multiple vendors on the precisionFDA portal could encourage experimentation with such combinatorial tests.
(iv) Develop competitions for systematic, summary statistic−based comparison of NGS pipelines. In order to optimize NGS performance over time, a comprehensive suite of metrics to evaluate how well different NGS platforms perform in the context of a variety of expected uses is an important goal for FDA regulatory science. A series of precisionFDA competitions could be organized to build communal knowledge of high-quality pipelines and best practices. These competitions would benefit from comprehensive gold-standard data sets as well as software to compare the performance of candidate submissions (usually through metrics such as sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and other widely used measures of reliability and accuracy).
Competition success metrics could reflect performance focused around specific uses as well as overall performance of candidate platforms in the contexts of the type of variation, interrogated regions, and intended use. A key challenge would be to identify sources of variability and systematic bias, if any, and encourage the community to address them. New or optimized informatics tools built through this effort could be shared on the precisionFDA platform, allowing researchers and, eventually, regulatory applicants—those submitting new applications to FDA—to evaluate their own pipelines.
(v) Understand strengths and limitations of different benchmarking strategies using a variety of data types. Benchmarking methods are likely to vary in their ability to evaluate the different wet-lab and informatics stages of a pipeline. Whereas entirely synthetic data are clearly defined and characterized, they may not reflect all the features of natural human DNA sequences. Conversely, natural data that capture these features might not be perfectly characterized and may contain undefined sequence elements. Hybrid methods that inject synthetic variation into natural sequences have strengths and weaknesses, too. Therefore, an important research goal is to compare natural data with different strategies for creating synthetic test sequences to understand the utility of various synthetic strategies.
(vi) Understand the clinical relevance of population genetic information on the detection, characterization, and interpretation of variants. A core principle of the PMI is the inclusion of diverse, underrepresented populations. A critical challenge for clinical NGS is to accurately identify medically relevant variation in the context of an ethnically and geographically diverse and admixed target population. The issues of causal versus linked variants, baseline variation in each population, the creation of ethnicity-specific reference genomes for performance characterization, and methods for analyzing admixed genomes (genomes that have several contributing ancestries) are all relevant to FDA regulatory science, to test developers, and, more generally, to precision medicine. Collection of high-quality samples representing many population groups through the PMI and other efforts will enable their characterization and contribute to the creation of gold standard reference data sets for specific ethnicities and geographically defined groups. The precisionFDA community might help in determining the proper role of population-specific reference genomes in benchmarking clinical tests. Preliminarily, it seems reasonable to suggest that tools that will help investigators generate realistic genomes (by synthesis, injection, or new methods) should incorporate principles of population genetics, and that computational analysis pipelines should be tested on such genomes. Development and dissemination of practices for detecting and incorporating linkage disequilibrium−based inference into pipelines, an understanding of when inferences are robust or brittle, and the relevance of such information will also be important for many clinical NGS tests.
(vii) Understand costs and performance tradeoffs of NGS strategies in nuanced clinical contexts. Not all genetic variation is equally important under every circumstance. Ideally, clinically important variation would be easy to identify. Some important variation is, and will continue to be, challenging [for example, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing and CYP2D6 genotyping]. PrecisionFDA may play a role in catalyzing research into methods for recognizing medically important genomic regions and promoting the performance assessment of single and combinatorial technologies at effectively interrogating variants of known and unknown significance. These regions may be identified collaboratively with genetic data resources that focus on particular genes, diseases, or drug responses, while the overall characterization of NGS platforms for clinical use would emphasize performance in these critical areas. Appropriate performance stratification will not only allow a better understanding of the tradeoffs of different test designs, it might provide information useful for the design of new reference data sets.
(viii) Understand how to use databases with clinically validated variants in the assessment of individual technologies and their error rates. The field of genetics is fortunate to have a number of public databases that catalog functionally critical variants alongside the evidence supporting each, providing focus on regions that are important for clinical applications of NGS. Key projects currently categorizing genetic variation of importance to human health include ClinVar, ClinGen, PharmGKB, LOVD [Leiden open (source) variation database], the Human Gene Mutation Database, and OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) as well as many locus- and disease-specific genetic databases. The value in these third-party resources could be leveraged in FDA regulatory science, which could seek to develop ways to evaluate their content and recognize them (and their standard operating procedures) as resources for test developers and clinicians to use in many of the activities described in the previous sections. These databases serve several useful functions: (i) They can provide evaluation of levels of evidence associated with genotype-phenotype correlations; (ii) they allow test developers and FDA to focus on loci of medical importance when evaluating the performance of informatics pipelines; and (iii) they provide a valuable longitudinal source of information about medically important variation that will inform, over time, many of the activities described above, without requiring FDA to mount parallel efforts in genetic surveillance and capture of new knowledge.
(ix) Understand how patients and practitioners comprehend and use genetic testing. The goal of clinical genetic testing is to inform clinicians and patients about diagnoses, disease risks, adverse drug responses, therapeutic interventions, and other medically relevant issues. Numerous groups have emphasized that genetic test results should be presented to physicians and patients in a way that is understandable and informative for making rational choices about health care. The ability to understand the implications of genetic test results for health care decisions without always requiring the involvement of a genetics expert is critical if genetic testing is to become widely and effectively used in current and future health care settings. Regulatory science research could work with a broadly drawn cross section of both health care providers and the public to understand provider and patient preferences for test labeling and how test risks, benefits, and limitations are adequately communicated within the label. Useful starting points could include discussions involving patients with diverse genetic disease diagnoses, to help articulate the kinds of information patients find most relevant, the level of certainty they find acceptable, and the support structures and additional information resources needed to support the recipients of NGS test results.
NGS is a transformative technology for clinical medicine and is poised to propel precision medicine into real-world clinical use. This Perspective reflects a number of regulatory science issues for NGS tests and identifies activities that will contribute to a robust understanding of NGS tests, all with the goal of enabling better test development and validation. Some of these activities are already in their initial stages, and some are, as yet, unaddressed. We present these ideas to spur advancements in NGS testing that allow this technology to reach its full potential in providing important health care information in a timely, safe, and effective manner.
, Integrating human sequence data sets provides a resource of benchmark SNP and indel genotype calls. Nat. Biotechnol. 32, 246–251 (2014).
, ART: A next-generation sequencing read simulator. Bioinformatics 28, 593–594 (2012).
Progress in nine research areas will help generate the knowledge required to advance next-generation sequencing diagnostics to the clinic. | 2019-04-21T08:21:51Z | https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/8/335/335ps10 |
Ashur Yousuf's widow Arshaluys in Aleppo with her five adult children. Standing from the left: Mary, Alice (author of the book), Sella. Sitting; Sargon, Arshaluys, George. Elder son Rasin is absent because he was living in Armenia under the name Tigran Hovsepyan.
(AINA) -- The horrors that Seyfo (genocide) brought are described in a new book about the Assyrian national hero Ashur Yousuf and his widow Arshaluys. It is a poignant story of a family's tragic destiny and a testimony of the strong will and sacrifice that Arshaluys Yousuf demonstrated during her 80 years. At the same time, it depicts the attempts to eradicate the area's two indigenous peoples, Assyrians and Armenians, writes author and journalist Augin Kurt Haninke.
The book bears the title Bloodied, but Unbowed (Nineveh Press 2018). Its first part is about Arshaluys's tribulations and struggle for survival after her husband Ashur Yousuf was murdered under Seyfo. He was arrested on May 1, 1915, with a group of other intellectuals. According to the information we were provided with up to now, he was hanged in prison. But according to contributor "French" in a tribute to Ashur Yousuf that the Assyrian Five Association in the United States published in 1919, the prisoners were driven into a death march towards Urfa/Urhoy. There, a bunch of hired Kurds would have massacred the prisoners to death on June 22, 1915. Ashur Yousuf was 57 years and his remains were never found. They lay probably in an unknown mass grave. His widow Arshaluys wrote a letter of thanks to the Assyrian Five Association, published in Babylon magazine on March 1920, and asked the contributor "French" to tell her where he had seen her dear husband being killed, because she wanted to be buried next to him.
From her letter, it appears that Ashur Yousuf's arrest was not on April 19, which we have been taught for all years, but on May 1. The source of the incorrect date was an article by George D. Sefer in the United States, published as an undated brochure by the New Assyria Publishing Company, the publisher of the New Assyria magazine (September 1916-June 1919). It is not known when the brochure was published, but the story is placed three years after the war, which could be 1921--22. In George Sefer's story, entitled "A Dream of a Long Journey," he reproduces a letter that Ashur Yousuf is said to have written on April 20, 1915 and smuggled out by his brother Donabed. While Sefer's article contains accurate information about certain family members, it is at the same time fictitious. Therefore, the letter that Sefer describes as Ashur Yousuf's letter must be seen as a fictional story, writes the book's editor, Ashur Yousuf's great-granddaughter. Arshaluys Yousuf's information is, of course, a first-hand testimony. However, she does not write if her husband had been moved to the prison in Diyarbakir.
Previously, Ashur Yousuf had been called to interrogation by Turkish police and released. When he was picked up that fatal day in May, Arshaluys wondered why he willingly followed them. He had of course no chance of fleeing at that time, but she may have meant on the time before. Ashur Yousuf calmed down his wife with the words; "Do not worry. I'll tell them what they want to hear. Then they will send me home again." In her letter to Assyrian Five, Arshaluys also says that when the Turkish police arrested her husband, he told her; "Farewell, Arshaluys! Don't be sad. God is merciful." But he never returned and left six children fatherless: Rasin (later called Tigran Hovsepyan in Armenia); Sella who lost her first husband in the genocide; George who died in Aleppo in his mother's arms after being burned severely in a fire; Sargon who had heart disease and died in Yerevan 45 years old - also in his mother's arms; Mary who was born three months after her father's death; and Alice who is the author of this book.
Alice Nazarian was Ashur Yousuf's second youngest child and wrote the book in 1965. She was born in Kharput in 1910, grew up in Aleppo and died in 1976 in the United States. Her son, John Nazarian, has now sponsored the translation and publication of the book from the Armenian original. This was done to enable a wider audience, not least the descendants of the family in the West who cannot read Armenian, writes her granddaughter Arda Darakjian Clark, the editor of the book.
The Yousuf family certainly experienced accident after accident while they had to move between Kharput, Diyarbakir, Beirut, Aleppo, Homs. Finally some ended up in Armenia and some in the US. But their outstanding mother Arshaluys stood firm in her faith and conviction that the best way to retrieve new power and move forward, was to help others affected, especially Armenian orphans. She taught at various schools in Diyarbakir, Beirut, Aleppo, and Homs, where the orphan pupils often saw her as their own mother.
Arshaluys was a devoted academician and regarded education as the primary means of moving forward. Education and intellectual character were so important to her that she refused to let her daughters marry Armenian young men despite the strong love of the young to each other. Her daughter Alice's prospective husband Nazar Nazarian was an enterprising young man but lacked higher education because the genocide had displaced thousands of families in the Middle East and forced them into a life of seeking their livelihood. In the end, Nazar had to take correspondence courses to get Arshaluys's consent to marry Alice. He was regularly interrogated by Arshaluys about what he learned in his correspondence courses.
Arshaluys Yousuf was the daughter of Hagop Oghgassian, an Armenian Protestant minister. She was born in 1876 in the village of Hoghe outside Kharput and studied at The Euphrates College in Kharput, where her future husband Ashur Yousuf was a teacher. The college was founded by American missionaries in 1852 and was primarily intended to educate Armenian ministers. But there was also secular higher education. Ashur Yousuf taught Armenian language and linguistics, as well as religion and psychology. He was also talented in calligraphy and formed many of the signs of the shops in the city. He was fluent in Armenian, Turkish, and English. He taught in both Assyrian and Armenian schools. He married Arshaluys in 1895. They were both Protestants.
They lived a poor but intellectually rich life. She took care of their home and children while Ashur used his modest teacher's salary not only to feed his family, but also to travel around Diyarbakir, Mardin, and Urhoy in order to create a national awakening among Assyrians. In Kharput, Diyarbakir, and Urhoy, the Assyrians spoke Turkish and Armenian. Ashur Yousuf was unable to read or write Assyrian until his 50s when he began publishing the journal Murshid Athuryon (The Guide of the Assyrians) from 1909 until 1914 when WWI broke out. The magazine was published in Turkish with Assyrian letters. Today, only the first four years of the magazine have been found in the original with the grandchildren of his old student Nshan Koyoun in the United States. These volumes have in recent years been digitized by Modern Assyrian Research Archive (MARA). Ashur Yousuf also participated extensively as a columnist in several Armenian newspapers. Unfortunately, he was not mentioned at all when Armenian organizations published a list of Armenian scholars who fell victim to the genocide, according to his friends in the booklet the Assyrian Five Association published in 1919. We find the contents of the booklet (obituaries and tributes to Ashur Yousuf) at end of the book.
Armenian intellectuals and politicians have for more than a hundred years designated the first genocide of the 20th century as "The Armenian Genocide," thus excluding the Assyrians and Greeks. When the so-called Blue Book was published for the second time in Lebanon in 1970, 100 pages were removed containing testimonies regarding the Assyrian Seyfo. There were eyewitness accounts collected by Englishman James Bryce's assistant Arnold Tonybee. Only in the third edition in recent years has genocide researcher Ara Sarafian from the Gomidas Insitute added back the pages relating to the Assyrians.
Ashur Yousuf, who lived intimately with the Armenians, was deeply concerned about the fact that the Assyrians were missing intellectual leaders. He saw the low level of education among the leadership as an obstacle to the development of Assyrian people in comparison to the Armenians. Admittedly, in his writings he often responded to the condescending views of the Armenian intellectuals on the Assyrians, but it was a fact that the Armenians were politically well-organized, unlike the Assyrians who were controlled by the arbitrariness of their priests. Unfortunately, the Assyrians are still at the mercy of the arbitrariness of the priesthood, even though they have formed civil and political organizations nowadays.
"Ah, I don't know how fair you were being to yourself when you wrote those words, in view of the tireless, relentless, and invaluable work you have carried out for the betterment of your nation. It's so very true that your desires and wishes for your people remained unfulfilled and left you frustrated, as you often stated. Indeed, your writings were the faithful mirrors of your life. Your unequaled heart, boundless love, selflessness and sincere and exemplary patriotism endeared you to your people. Ashur, you became the leader and dazzling editorial star that illuminated the horizons of the forgotten literature of the Assyrians. With your mercurial intellectual stature, you laid the foundations of an unprecedented tradition of publishing Assyrian periodicals, thus becoming a fragrant violet that sprouted in desolate places."
A better description is difficult to find in what has been written about Ashur Yousuf. What strikes me is that the Yousuf family seemed to have selflessness and concern for their fellow human beings as their guiding principle. They were deep believers and found comfort in their Christian faith. Ashur Yousuf's grandfather Hovsep Yousuf was an educated, pious and patriotic man who belonged to Kharput's affluent Assyrians. He had a sewing studio with several employees and his home was always open for the needy. But one day he was fooled by an employee of the company and thus became destitute. This also affected the family of his only child Mariam -- Ashur Yousuf's mother.
Mariam was betrothed to Sahag (Isaac), the son of a poor family, when she was twelve. Already as a young woman she was independent and outspoken. She liked to kick ball with her friends but that was frowned upon when she was soon to be a bride. Then she said to Sahag: "I don't want a fiancé who stands in the way of my game". They married two years later with financial assistance from her father Hovsep. It was customary for girls to get married at an early age, often in order to minimize the risk of being abducted by surrounding Kurds. Mariam gave birth to four boys; Ashur, Yakub, Donabed and Garabed , as well as two daughters; Anna and Margaret (Markrit). Sahag became the foreman of the in-laws' sewing room and was able to support his family without any problems. When his father-in-law lost his business, Sahag and Mariam were faced with major financial pressures. But Mariam was a proud and independent woman who refused to admit to poverty. There were periods when her children lacked food for the day, but she gathered firewood and lit the stove with a pan containing only water. In this way, she allowed the neighbors to believe that the smoke in the chimney came from cooking. She was a dominant woman reminiscent of my own grandmother -- an authority in our home village of Anhel in Turabdin. My grandmother had also experienced grief in losing her husband, her father-in-law and her only son. All three were 27 years old. Three black-dressed widows were forced to take care of four small children in my family.
Eventually, Mariam Yousuf's children grew up and were able to contribute to the family's livelihood. Ashur was talented and wanted to invest in higher education but had to move around teaching in cities like Malatya, Izmir, Amasya and Urhoy to secure his livelihood. Eventually he ended up at Euphrates College, where he met his wife Arshaluys. When he was murdered in 1915, she was left alone with fear for her children and responsible for the family's livelihood. The entire Armenian and Assyrian community in the area had been smashed. The men were murdered or driven on marches to labor camps that often ended with death. Many women and children became slaves to Kurdish families who also enriched themselves by confiscating Christian property. Arshaluys and her children were spared and she was determined not to give way to the grief. She rolled up her sleeves to get food and security for her six children.
She asked her aunt in Mezre, an hour's walk from Kharput, to accompany her to surrounding Kurdish villages to exchange household items for food. But it was a risky journey and she barely managed to escape death. Arshaluys and her aunt had met two Kurdish women in a village who befriended them and accompanied them on their way back. The Kurdish women even insisted that Arshaluys and her aunt stop by their home whenever they went past the area. When they left the village together, her aunt had to go home to Mezre. One Kurdish woman claimed that she had a job to do in Kharput and followed the same route as Arshaluys, while her aunt and the other woman turned away on another road. Just when Arshaluys and the woman sat down to rest on the roadside, she heard a deep voice in the distance. She turned around and said to herself that it must be a daydream. When the voice was heard again, Arshaluys ran towards where it came from. Suddenly, the exhausted aunt fell in Arshaluys's arms. She told her that the other Kurdish woman she had been with had had a pang of conscience and revealed that Arshaluys's companion had a plan to throw Arshaluys over the bridge into the river to steal her Belongings. When I read these chapters in the book, I had to put it away for the rest of the day, because they are so gripping.
Another story in the book that I want to relate here is about the remaining teenagers in the neighborhood who were about to be conscripted to Turkish military. Arshaluys's oldest son, Rasin, was arrested by the police and taken away under threat and violence. He was only 16 years old. Mom feared he would face the same fate as his father, but he returned home unharmed. Rasin and ten other boys felt compelled to escape out of Turkey by being smuggled by Kurds who demanded good pay. The next day, the police knocked on and fetched the boys' mothers to court. Arshaluys, an intellectual woman, became the representative for the eleven women. She courageously turned the table by accusing the authorities of having abducted the boys. On behalf of the mothers, she demanded that they be returned to their families as soon as possible. The judge saw that he could not prove the women's guilt and released them. The one who had informed the police about the boys was an Assyrian priest who testified in court that he had seen them the day before and that suddenly they were gone the next day. Arshaluys scolded the clergyman for being corrupt and for informing on the boys for personal benefits.
Arshaluys Yousuf's 80-year life was continuous struggle for survival, lined with one tragedy after another. Financial difficulties may seem prohibitive, but there is nothing worse for parents than burying their own children. Arshaluys buried two of her dear sons as she constantly struggled to get bread for the day for her children and fatherless grandchildren. But she stood straight up and never bowed to the misery. Her Christian faith was firm as a mountain and she always relied on the Lord's help in difficult times. At one point, she was robbed of her small savings in Beirut. In addition, some gold coins disappeared which she kept for a couple of students at the girls orphanage. She was accused of selling the gold coins and her honesty was questioned. She was dismissed from her position as principal of the orphanage. She did not mourn so much the loss of the $100 note that relatives in the United States had sent, as her good reputation. The loss of her job and her small income put the whole family in a precarious situation. But her prayers were heard and her reputation was restored when a relative proved that the thief was in fact a dishonest neighbor who had come to be considered almost a member of the Yousuf family.
The book also contains a chapter on Dr. Abraham Yousuf, an Assyrian patriot who did his utmost for Assyrian self-determination during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919--20, but whose heart was crushed when all hopes were shattered. Four years later, he died in a heart attack in his clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, where he selflessly helped poor patients with free care and medication. He was resentful that all his efforts for his poor Assyrian people had been in vain in the eyes of the great powers. Altruism and a genuine feel for the Assyrian nation were characteristics of the cousins Ashur and Abraham Yousuf. (Their fathers were brothers). Dr. Abraham had previously sent money to Arshaluys's family. But just as she was about to ask him for a financial contribution after being robbed in Beirut and when her son's business was failing, the announcement came that he had died -- yet another tragedy of the family.
Arshaluys was regarded as a mother by traumatized Armenian children in various orphanages in Diyarbakir, Beirut, Aleppo, and Homs. She also wrote many dramas that the students set. In 1946, the first wave of repatriation of Armenians from Syria to Armenia began. She was delighted to be able to gather her family in the land of her ancestors. Unfortunately, she could only bring a small part of the family to Armenia. She died, shortly before she was about to complete 80, of a heart attack when her son and grandson had been exiled to Sibera. Before that, she gave her five orphaned grandchildren who followed her to Armenia and her son Rasin's children who already lived there, a good upbringing.
She became both mother and father to her children and guided them through the tribulations of exile and the whims of life to the best of her ability. Her daughter Alice writes that Arshaluys imprinted on her children awareness of and pride in their Assyrian identity, despite the fact that the family lived among Armenians throughout their lives and married Armenians. In short; Arshaluys was a wonderful personality who demonstrated her strength in life's most difficult moments.
Title: Bloodied, but Unbowed: A Memoir of the Ashur & Arshaluys Yousuf Family, 426 p.
The book's original title in Armenian would be literally translated as The Bloody Smile, but Arda Darakjian Clark, the author's grand-daughter and editor of the English translation, thought that a title inspired by a line in a poem by William Ernest Henly -- "My head is bloody, but unbowed" -- would more accurately convey the meaning of the Armenian title. The title alludes to the main character's indomitable will and strength to overcome countless tragedies in her life. | 2019-04-19T03:00:47Z | http://www.aina.org/news/20190130180816.htm |
It’s a brand new year and you’re looking to get back in shape after eating rich, unhealthy foods that are synonymous with the holiday season.
There’s nothing wrong with spending time with your family and friends and indulging in your favorite food.
Everybody does it. They’re lying if they say they don’t.
However, when you’re health conscious, you’re aware that it’s only a matter of time before you will end up completely turn your eating habits upside down.
This is why you must make a commitment to eat a healthy diet and work out regularly. When I say diet, I don’t mean starving yourself.
Just avoid processed food and eat regular small meals throughout the day and you’ll be fine.
It’s great that people make these strong statements about their goals but in reality, without discipline and a set routine, they won’t last long.
If so, no more eating crappy, low-nutrition foods! It’s time to build muscle and get completely ripped!
It’s easy to predict that in January, most gyms will be packed with newbies all excited about getting into shape, but give it one or two months and that gym traffic will start to die down.
As always the only people left remaining will be the old regulars that were there before.
I know this to be completely true. I’ve been a member of my local gym for years and I’ve always noticed new members come in around late December and early January.
Like clockwork, you will see them workout almost every day and slowly start to lose hope, eventually giving up completely.
There are several reasons why people give up on their fitness goals so suddenly.
Your body is a fine-tuned machine. Just like a machine, you cannot expect to make a tiny tweak and have it working in a completely different way.
When you start any new workout program, it’s much better to start small.
No need to go on a completely strict diet and spend too much time in the gym.
This sets you up for failure. I know people that completely burn themselves at the start of the new year and get frustrated when they don’t achieve the results they expected.
Pace yourself, and set small achievable goals that you know you can easily accomplish.
You are much more likely to stick to your workout in the long term if you make slow steady improvements each week.
It took me months to get in decent shape, all because I set small achievable goals. I didn’t take any shortcuts; nor did I ever use drugs or steroids.
I just made it my goal to eat clean and train at the gym 4-5 days a week. That’s it!
I had a clear picture in my mind how I wanted to see myself after a few months and it worked.
Because I held myself accountable for what I needed to do in the gym and monitored my eating habits.
Sometimes I like, Before a workout, I like to spend a couple of minutes visualizing my self in the gym, giving it everything I got. I only spend about an hour in the gym so I might as well get the most out of each workout.
Once you get into the habit of working out and eating properly, you will start to feel better about yourself, especially when you start making progress. As long as your goals are realistic, there is no reason why you can’t achieve them.
Below is a list of 40 ways to stick to your workout goals in 2016. If you just follow these basic steps, it will be easier to envision your goals and achieve them.
You should never start anything without a plan and that includes working out.
Your life may be filled with various activities and tasks, but you should try to fit in some exercise in your busy schedule. If you have time to watch hours of soaps or football then you definitely have time to workout.
A few minutes will do you wonders, even if it is a simple jog.
That is why you must always have a plan; where and when you can workout is essential to losing weight and gaining muscle.
If you have never been in a gym before, this is the perfect time to start joining now.
Preparation is key to a successful workout. Before beginning your workout, plan a week ahead by acquiring all the tools and gear you need.
Make sure to clear your schedule on the days you are going to work out and be sure you give yourself enough time to recover.
It helps to keep your gym clothes clean and washed so that there is no chance of getting an infection, and so that all you have to do is put them in a bag and start working out as soon as you can.
The key to success is to understand that you will fail in the process. You will fail multiple times and that is perfectly fine. Eating clean all the time is quite difficult and it is only human to give into your cravings.
If you can’t make it to your cheat day, it’s not the end of the world, just keep going and work twice as hard. Though it is fine to cheat every now and then, the key to success is not to make it a habit.
Keep trying and stay true to your workout and diet plan.
The human body is a wondrous thing as it has the ability to adapt to various environments and lifestyles.
This includes working out; if you keep repeating the same workout routine the body will eventually get used to it.
Your body will then have more strength, energy and endurance to complete your workout without much difficulty.
Like most things in life, we enjoy our activities in the company of others. Working out is no exception, as we tend to work harder and enjoy working out when we have someone else to help out or motivate us.
A good workout buddy can make all the difference when it comes to achieving your goal.
Try to find someone who is willing to push you, even if it is not your best friend.
At times, it might seem as if working out with your best friend is the best idea, but if they allow you to slack off then you are only hurting yourself. Find yourself a workout buddy who already has experience and is determined to reach the same goals as you.
It might help to hold tryouts until you come across someone who will push you to your limits.
There’s nothing like an “I’ve got to be fit by X date” mindset to get you moving.Signing up for a competition or event may help you in the long run.
By signing up to a bodybuilding or physique contest, you are setting up a deadline for yourself.
You will then work harder as you have to prepare for the competition or event.
It isn’t smart to put off training, especially if you have already registered for to complete.
When it comes to working out, you are not alone. There are many with the same questions and a place where they can get their questions answered is online.
Try joining a fitness forum such as My Fitness Pal or Bodybuilding.com and search for whatever you may need. There are many members that would be happy to help you out.
At the end of each month, it is recommended that you schedule all of your workouts for the next month. Once you have completed your workout, cross them off.
If you need to reschedule your workout, do it on another day that is free.
You should start off light and gradually increase your workouts each month (try starting out with 16 workouts a month).
Who says playgrounds are just for kids? There are plenty of ways you can get a great workout on a playground. Just last summer, myself and my brother took his kids to the local playground, and let me tell ya, “I had an awesome time.
I have not been on a kids playground since I was a kid myself. And as you can guess, I damn sure made the most out of it.
Okay, I know I might look ridiculous to some, but it was a lot of fun.
You don’t have to do what I did but you can easily do tons of body weight exercises such as chin-ups, dips, bench step ups. Just use your imagination and I bet you’ll have fun.
Working out can take place anywhere and at any time.
For those who are a bit introverted, you can skip the gym and get yourself a set of free weights and workout at home. It is ideal to purchase the necessary equipment that is required for you plan.
If there are problems with motivation or need a workout program tailored to your needs, you can always invest in a training program.
Your body must mature and become conditioned by training. It is unhealthy and dangerous to tackle rigorous exercises or to lose a lot of weight in a short period of time.
Be realistic and set goals that are within your skill range. Slowly add more weight or repetitions with time, once you have more confidence in your abilities.
At times, you may need ask your partner for honest criticism. They will be able to see where you need improvement and will be happy to help you out.
Sometimes you just need to be told where you falter, and even though it is hard to hear the truth at times, it can be the best advice you need to succeed. Don’t be discouraged by a little criticism, just use it as motivation.
You are only cheating yourself if you decide to skip out on a workout. If you are feeling tired or lazy and are planning on skipping out, don’t.
Just show up and you will eventually start working out.
If you are not in the mood of doing a specific workout, then change it up and do some other exercise. All that matters is that you show up and do SOMETHING.
Invest in someone who will focus on your success. Invest in a good personal trainer who will help you reach your ideal goal.
A personal trainer is a fitness professional who motivates their clients by providing unbiased feedback and setting realistic goals for you.
If money is an issue, join a gym that includes a trainer.
Even though you may not have the same trainer each time, the trainer at hand will still provide feedback and advice.
Just working out isn’t enough to reach the body you desire. You must apply a healthy diet and use protein. If you buy a year’s worth of protein and stay committed to your workout plan, you should see results in no time.
If you cannot stay committed, then you waste time, money and fail to achieve your goals.
Consider buying organic food and choose lean meats. Improving your diet is key to improving your health.
Keep track of your workout in a journal and be specific of your exercises.
Write down what exercise(s) you have done, the duration, how much weight if it includes it and how many repetitions you have done.
You should also write how you felt while completing your workouts and reflect on whether or not you feel comfortable with your workout.
If writing your progress down seems like a hassle, consider getting an app or logging in your progress on a website.
You worked hard and finally reached your first goal, so what do you do? You reward yourself by treating yourself to something nice.
Whether that is a massage, a hot bath, some new clothes or that burger you have been craving, treat yourself to something you want. You deserve it for working hard.
You should keep track of your body-fat percentage every few months to see the progress you have made. If you notice that your body-fat is not changing or increasing, then you should change your workout or diet.
Seeing these numbers will allow you to see actual evidence instead of relying on your image.
You will not progress until you tackle your fears.
Don’t be afraid to try something new, as new experiences, sometimes have the solution to your problem.
If you need help, don’t be afraid to reach out to someone. Try new activities that challenge you, if you are afraid of heights then try an activity like rock climbing.
If you are afraid of water try whitewater kayaking.
Photographs are a great way to visually show you the progress you have made. Make an album on your phone just for your workout plan.
At first, you may not see much of an improvement, but as you compare the pictures throughout your work out, you will begin to see a difference.
Be sure to upload them online too, so that you can further motivate others who seem to be struggling on their workout.
The best way to stay committed to your workout is to make it a habit. By making your workout a routine, you will stay on track to your goals. This will then set up your body the transformation that you are seeking.
There is nothing more satisfying than an after workout treat. Whether it is a tasty protein drink or a “cheat meal, it always tastes better after working hard.
Sometimes all you need is something to look forward to, to improve your performance. It is recommended to stay away from food that is processed as it can take away from your workout.
List all the positives that comes with working out and keep repeating them in your head. Soon you will keep going and it will motivate to work harder.
It may seem tough and daunting going to the gym, but once you start thinking of the positives, you will begin to enjoy your daily trip to the gym.
Once you have worked out remind yourself of how good it feels. Keep that thought in your head as you head to the gym the next day.
Eventually, you will feel good about going to the gym all the time, which will keep you focused and motivated. Praise yourself and make yourself feel good and it will be a fun experience getting in shape.
The body will begin to adapt to any workout if it is continuously doing the same thing. You will then plateau and will slowly stop seeing progress.
When you begin to plateau, it is important to change your workout plan by adding more weight, adding more repetitions, changing the duration of the workout, or by rearranging the days in which you workout a certain muscle group.
When you change your workout, you will begin to see more progress.
Choose the most upbeat and uplifting music you have and put them in a workout playlist. Choose songs that keep you focused and motivated when you listen to them.
Keep rhythm, sometimes helps you keep a constant pace and instead of feeling like a daunting process, listening to music can make working out fun.
It is generally recommended to listen to upbeat and catchy music, as it will provide a good tempo to follow.
I recommend listening to music that gets you motivated. Some of my personal favorites are by Eminem and Flo Rida.
Imagine losing money by hurting yourself. If you need money to motivate you, then try handing out your money to a (reliable) friend who will pay you back once you have reached your goal. Make it seem as if you are working for something (in this case your money). If you prefer to use technology, try downloading the Pact app or go to DietBet.com.
If writing down your progress doesn’t work for you, try making a video diary instead. Talk about your goals and how you feel after each workout.
Once you have a made a diary, upload it on Facebook or YouTube and make it public.
Share your goals with others and watch your videos. You can compare the old ones to the new and see the changes you have made to your body.
Don’t be afraid to post your progress on social media. It is a great tool that allows people to share their goals and workout plans.
Keep updated on social media allows others to see how you started and how far you have come. You can also join fitness groups on Facebook and discuss further ways of becoming healthy.
You may also want to follow famous athletes and bodybuilders in order to learn their secrets to a toned or muscular physique. Social media is just another tool that you can use in order to reach your goals.
This can be very motivating, as long as you subscribe to the right fitness channels – ones that give great advice. Some of the channels that I’m subscribed to are Scooby’s Workshop, Brandon Carter, TwinmuscleWorkout, Vince Delmonte and Lee Hayward.
It’s clearly obvious each of these guys are in great shape and know what they are talking about. I also enjoy watching them because they don’t take themselves too seriously and you can easily have a laugh as well as get great tips from their videos.
Whenever you are unsure of something, there are three places you go to and they are google, the library and YouTube.
Youtube has an endless amount of user uploaded videos that range from almost everything in the world. With that said, you can easily find fitness videos on Youtube.
Be sure to subscribe and keep up with channels that you think are knowledgeable about their workouts. Take caution as anyone can upload a video and call themselves an expert.
Always compare different videos so that you can see the differences in workout plans, techniques and diet plans.
Do what you can do and do consistently then worry about optimizing later as you gain traction.” All that matters is that you start and commit to your workouts.
The key to fitness success is to make it a habit. Most people fail at fitness because they don’t make working out a habit. It needs to become a standard routine in your life to the point where it becomes necessary for you to function normally.
Most people stop working out because they either get bored, frustrated or just lose interest. You must power through and keep working out constantly if you wish to see results.
It is called working out because it is not easy, but like anything, if you keep working at it you will eventually get better at it.
Your family and friends can sometimes be the best support anyone needs. It is important to inform them of the importance of your workout and how much it means to you.
If you let them become aware of how much it means to you then it will become important to them. They might even become your new workout partner(s).
Before you achieve success, you must visualize yourself attaining that success. Before you begin your workout session, visualize yourself performing and completing your workout.
Always strive to do more, imagine yourself lifting more or running longer.
The only limit is yourself, and when you don’t limit yourself, you’ll soon realize how far you can go. Just visualize the perfect body that you want and go out there and earn it.
If you are finding it difficult to workout for yourself, then why don’t you try working out for someone or something else? Try working out for a cause and sign up for a marathon that donates to a charity.
If you are running for the benefit of someone else, you might find that you end up working harder. This helps the people you are helping and yourself at the same time.
You’ll feel good knowing you helped a cause and got in better shape.
Before you begin your workout, ask yourself if you feel comfortable and safe with your exercises. If you are comfortable, then continue your workout.
But if you feel the opposite, then maybe it is time to change your plan.
Always make the necessary adjustments to your workout plan.
At the end of the day, you should feel good about your workout. If your workout is too rigorous, consider doing smaller repetitions or lowering the weight.
If you want to feel like a doughnut, then you should keep eating them, but if you want to feel lean and clean, then it is best to start eating healthier.
Cut back on processed food that is cluttered with chemicals and preservatives as it is harder to burn off fat and calories gained by them.
Change your diet to a balanced nutritional one and include more water.
Sometimes the hardest part of working out is cutting back on all the food that is stopping you from achieving your goal.
You are your own worst critic. Keep these words in your mind and make sure to acknowledge where you come short.
Do not beat yourself up though, and quit. Instead, highlight your errors and work to fix them.
Work slowly and with a plan as you can hurt yourself if you try to force things.
You have worked hard and you deserve to treat yourself every once in a while. It’s okay to eat a burger or have a slice of cake at a party. As long as you are mindful of how much you eat and don’t over indulge.
Be reasonable with how many times you treat yourself and limit portions to an appropriate amount.
Success is only achievable when you have the right mind set.
All you have to do is believe that you have the capability to succeed, and in no time, you will start to see the results that you dream of. Once you achieve your goal, keep going and set a higher goal for yourself.
The key to success is to keep moving towards your goals despite any obstacles that stand in your way.
Success is only achievable when you have the right mind set. All you have to do is believe that you have the capability to succeed, and in no time, you will start to see the results that you dream of.
Once you achieve your goal, keep going and set a higher goal for yourself. The key to success is to pushing yourself harder. Which success tip made you more motivated? Is there any tip that was not included in the list?
Which success tip made you more motivated?
Is there any tip that was not included in the list? Share your thoughts in the comments below. | 2019-04-25T10:20:27Z | http://www.justinkavanaghfitness.com/40-ways-to-stick-with-your-workout-goals-in-2016/ |
HotForex Upcoming February Webinars | Learn Analysis with a Former Wall Street Trader!
Join our Technical and Fundamental Analysis webinar with Senior Currency Strategist and former Wall Street Trader, John Knobel on Tuesday, 9th February at 12:00 PM GMT. Register for this webinar to learn how to take advantage of technical analysis and fundamental resources.
Also, do not miss our Trading the News Effectively in FX webinar with Senior FX trader, Josh from BlueSkyForex on Thursday, 11th February at 12:00pm GMT. This webinar will help you to discover the common pitfalls in news trading and how price action and mean reversion impact your trading.
Our Senior Currency Strategist, John Knobel will examine and compare the differences in Fundamental and Technical Analysis, and how to blend the two methods into a trading plan.
In this Live Analysis Webinar our Chief Market Analyst will analyse FX, Commodity and Stock Markets. This is a great learning opportunity for both new and experience traders as you can ask all your analysis, trading and risk management related questions as well as find trading setups for the coming days.
23 Feb. 13:00 PM GMT: Risk on / Risk off – How Do We Know?
25 Feb. 12:00 PM GMT: How is China Impacting Your FX Trading?
Make every trade count by joining HotForex Trading Rewards Loyalty Program!* The more you trade, the more HotForex Bars you’ll earn. Exchange them for CASH or trading services, it’s your choice!
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Register for the HotForex Trading Rewards Loyalty Program and start earning today!
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, feel free to get in touch with our dedicated Customer Support Team via myHotForex, live chat.
In line with our previous communications relating to the expansion of HotForex, we are excited to announce that in addition to the licenses held under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) , the Financial Service Authority (SVGFSA) and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) license, the HotForex brand is now officially licensed by the Financial Services board (FSB) of South Africa through HF Markets (SA) Ltd.
The license is under the name HF Markets SA (PTY) Ltd with license number 46632.
This latest addition to the group shows the commitment of HotForex to develop into a truly global and mutli-regulated brand and better serve its partners and clients.
This is a new milestone in the steady growth of HotForex, demonstrating the continued success of the Company only made possible by our clients and partners and our relentless efforts to extend the best and safest trading environment to our Clients and Partners around the world.
In this interactive webinar our market analyst will explain why a trader’s mindset and doing what is probable are so important. If you have ever blown an account or would like some help to discipline your mind and emotions then this is the session for you. Learning to stop losing is the first step on the road to success.
Ever heard of the term Fibonacci? Need some help on how to apply and use the concept in the right way? Come and join Stuart Cowell as he explains the Fibonacci number sequence and how it is applied to the financial markets to aid your Entry and Exit levels.
In this live analysis webinar, our market expert will analyze forex, commodity and stock markets. This is a great learning opportunity for both new and proficient traders as you can ask all your analysis, trading and risk management related questions as well as find trading setups for the coming days.
HotForex VIP Contest: Win luxury trip to Cyprus & other prizes.
The HotForex VIP Contest is back! Grab the chance to win a luxury trip to Cyprus and cash prizes from an overall prize pool of USD 10,000!
If you want to learn more, contact us via live chat or email at [email protected].
What are the next few months going to bring along to our loyal traders? Come to today’s webinar starting in just a few hours to find out!
In this webinar, our market expert will present an outlook for the main currencies and analyze political developments and trends affecting the market. He will also elaborate on forex, commodity and stock markets. This is a great learning opportunity for both new and proficient traders.
Moving averages are some of the most popular indicators traders use. But which ones do you choose and which time frames do you use? Let Stuart elaborate on that and see how they can all work together.
06 October,1:00 PM GMT : Does RSI Really Work?
Join senior trader and FX researcher, Kay, for this advanced level webinar that looks to RSI and ways to trade the FX markets using this indicator.
In this live analysis webinar our market expert will analyze forex, commodity and stock markets. This is a great learning opportunity for both new and proficient traders as you can ask all your analysis, trading and risk management related questions as well as find trading setups for the coming days.
* Price Action vs. Mean Reversion in risk management.
* Setting risk levels in FX.
Volatility has a direct impact on the daily trading transactions outcome and with a good understanding of the volatility indications you will be able to improve your trading skills. Today Stuart will explain the use of some volatility indicators that will offer great help in these two vital areas.
HotForex wins best new broker in South Africa award!
You have every right to be proud for your broker!
Global Banking & Finance Review recognized our expertise and top position in the financial markets by awarding us the Best New Forex Broker South Africa 2016 accolade.
The award follows only few months after we obtained a financial service provider license by the Financial Services Board (FSB) of South Africa!
Thank you for contributing to this success!
HotForex Introducing First Branded Prepaid Card.
New HotForex MasterCard allows traders to cash their trading account earnings and pay electronically worldwide.
The brand new HotForex MasterCard allows clients to make direct deposits from the card to their myHotForex wallet. They can also transfer their trading profits to the card with ease and carry out secure online payments, hassle-free shopping, as well as buy goods and services at outlets displaying the MasterCard logo.
Traders who apply for HotForex's new global payment solution can profit from a complimentary SMS service for transaction notifications, free online statements for complete command over their finances, and a global network of ATMs to withdraw cash from.
"By combining the strengths of HotForex with a globally recognized name such as MasterCard, we bring flexibility and efficiency to our traders. Since the launch of HotForex MasterCard, we have seen an overwhelming popularity for this handy payment solution, mainly because it offers incredible ease and convenience in transactions, allowing our clients instant access to their money."
The card costs a mere USD 10 with standard delivery and can be shipped to most parts of the world. Click here to apply for HotForex MasterCard or learn more details.
New PAMM app by HotForex!
It is official – the HotForex PAMM App is available to download and use! The power is now in your hands, any place and any time, whether you are a PAMM Manager or a PAMM Investor.
Providing effective portfolio management for all your investment needs, the HotForex PAMM App is the essential solution to help you keep track of your PAMM assets and trading action.
We are proud to have been honored with the Best Forex Broker Middle East Award 2016 by the 17th MENA FFXPO Dubai.
HotForex strives to become better year-after-year and our goal is to excel in every aspect of the business!
Thank you for contributing to this success! We remain committed to providing the best possible trading conditions for all our clients, both in the Middle East and around the world.
Read more details at this Press Release.
You are invited to explore our bonus offerings available to new and existing clients!
Make special note of the 100% SuperCharged Bonus. It is really a double bonus as it significantly increases your margin potential and allows you to earn daily rebates of 2 USD per lot that goes straight into your account!
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HotForex: Protected against negative balance.
The markets are unpredictable and extremely volatile conditions are part of the game. But with HotForex, you can feel at ease, as we are making sure that your trading doesn’t result in debt.
Specifically, with our Negative Balance Protection policy, in the rare event that your account reaches a negative status after closing positions, we make a relevant adjustment of the amount so as you don’t bear the loss. If you want to know more about our Negative Balance Protection policy, Click here.
The markets might let you down, but we don’t!
With a busy year of trading coming to an end, we thought we’d give you a festive gift to help start 2017 in style. If you register and deposit $500 by January 16, you will be entered in our Holiday Draw. You could win a shiny new smartphone, iPad, or their equivalents in cash!
Now’s the time to fund your trading: top up your account and you could win a fancy gadget. Good luck!
HotForex Upcoming January 2017 Webinars!
Senior trader and FX researcher, Kay, looks at Price Action vs. Mean Reversion, the two types of currency trading strategies, and explains how they can be combined successfully.
* Understand why Bollinger Brands are one of the most powerful trading tools.
* Discover Chart Formations such as Channel Surfer, Waterfall, Breakout and Hummingbird.
* See how Price Action and Mean Reversion strategies can be combined.
* Get your trading questions answered live.
* What is Fibonacci theory?
* How to spot a dead-cat bounce?
* How to trade a Fibonacci retracement?
Forex trading allows for various styles of trading depending on the market conditions, the risk appetite and also the personality of the trader. During this webinar, the various options will be presented and discussed in order for you, the traders, to be able to select the style that fits you the most.
HotForex Upcoming February 2017 Webinars!
In January, the UK Supreme Court ruled that the UK parliament should approve Brexit, before the UK’s Prime Minister, Theresa May, can invoke Article 50 and start the process. As a result, this has brought the uncertainty back in the UK and GBP is being affected by this.
In this webinar, we will discuss how your FX trading may be affected by this news and also the uncertainty that this brings to the future of GBP.
There are regular weekly and monthly news items that generate opportunities in the forex market. Which are the ones that really have an effect, and how can you organize your trading around them?
Join Stuart as he identifies and examines the news that matters as opposed to just noise in the market. News hierarchy makes a difference when it comes to fundamental analysis!
* How to manage risk?
HotForex Upcoming March 2017 Webinars!
Prepare yourself for some enhanced forex knowledge. As of March, HotForex is increasing the frequency of its in-house webinars! We are growing and we are improving; join us and develop your skills with us!
In this interactive webinar, our market analyst will explain why a trader’s mindset and doing what is probable are so important. If you have ever blown an account or would like some help to discipline your mind and emotions, then this is the session for you. Learning to stop losing is the first step on the road to success.
Today we will look at an intra-day strategy that focuses purely on the price action of the shorter time frame charts. The 5-minute to 4-hour time frames will be explored and the importance of the lower time frame and higher time frame will be explained – the most appropriate indicators and the timeless power of support and resistance.
Today we examine some, often overlooked, alternative indicators that provide a different approach to momentum, including the Williams Percent Range indicator (a new look at momentum), how it compares to Stochastics and the Commodity Channel Index (CCI) and how it’s not really about commodities at all.
Bollinger Bands is one of the most popular of all technical indicators. They are simple to apply and help with trends, volatility and momentum. They also can help with identifying new trends and the end of trends. A truly multiple purpose indicator.
Join Stuart to and see how he applies the Art of the Bollinger Bands to stay on the right side.
Senior trader and forex researcher, Kay, looks at Price Action vs. Mean Reversion, the two types of currency trading strategies, and explains how they can be combined successfully.
* Understand why Bollinger Bands are one of the most powerful trading tools.
Today, we are taking a look at the underlying forces that affect the status of economies. Why is this important? Because, as with most analyses, a trader’s goal is to derive a forecast and profit from future price movements.
30 March,1:00 PM GMT: Forex Trading Journal. Do you keep one?
HotForex Presents New Client Area.
HotForex has launched the new design of its myHotForex Client Area.
In line with its commitment to offering cutting-edge trading services, HotForex aims to smoothen its traders' and affiliates' experience when managing their accounts, making deposits or withdrawals, and more.
We are constantly aiming to provide highly competitive trading solutions and services to our clients, so we are proud to be introducing this revamped and fine-tuned Client Area which addresses our traders' top needs. We always take our clients' feedback into serious consideration when it comes to our products and services; our main priority is to stay current with the markets and provide them with top-of-the-line experience.
HotForex clients and other interested traders can have a closer look at the new myHotForex area by logging in or registering with HotForex.
We hope you enjoy the ease of use, seamless navigation and improved functionalities!
If you wish, don’t hesitate to give us your feedback!
HotForex: Global Trends 2017 Report now available!
Get cool gadgets with new HotForex contest!
HotForex MasterCard | Access your funds in minutes.
This prepaid card is the best solution to get immediate access to your funds without unnecessary delays, as it is connected to your HotForex account.
WHY APPLY FOR HOTFOREX MASTER CARD?
HotForex Upcoming April 2017 Webinars!
Prepare yourself for some enhanced forex knowledge. As of April, HotForex is increasing the frequency of its in-house webinars! We are growing and we are improving; join us and develop your skills with us!
We are thrilled to have collaborated with the world-famous German football legend Michael Ballack!
The company event was followed by the release of a 7-minute video presenting The 13 Golden Rules on How to Be the Michael Ballack of Trading.
Our focus is to constantly educate our traders; to give them the right tips and tools to expand their trading potential. Being the market leader through groundbreaking educational resources remains our top priority.
In the new spot, Michael Ballack explains what are the characteristics that professional football and trading have in common, based on the principle that both are the result of determination, constant training and passion. The German footballer advocates trading the global financial FX markets using HotForex’s pioneering trading platforms and mobile app: from demo to live accounts, making use of HotForex market research and interactive webinars.
To watch the new video released by HotForex featuring Michael Ballack, click here.
To read the rules, click here..
Aside from being the captain of the German national team from 2004 to 2010, Michael Ballack is also one of the national team’s top goal scorers. He won multiple titles with Bayern Munich and Chelsea F.C., has been selected as UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year in 2002 and has won the German Footballer of the Year award three times – in 2002, 2003 and 2005.
Trading Forex and CFDs carries a high degree of risk to your capital.
HotForex Upcoming May 2017 Webinars!
Analysis is the focus of our webinars this week. Alvaro’s doing tomorrow’s live analysis, then on Wednesday Andria’s going to be looking at Andrews’ Pitchfork for channel and trend traders. Finally on Thursday Kay will be studying how the markets have been and might be affected by the French elections. It’s an exciting lineup of topics: join in to broaden your analytical knowledge and expand the scope of your trading strategy.
Live analysis tomorrow sees Alvaro looking critically at recent developments in the markets and suggesting how this might affect activity in the week ahead. He’ll also be answering your questions on trading and analysis.
Do you like channel and trend trading? Do you have problems identifying the end and start of trends ? – Andrews Pitchfork could be for you – Join our Technical Analysts Andria as she demonstrates and explains this powerful technique.
The much-awaited French elections have come and especially now after Brexit, the outcome is set to have a big impact on the future of EUR and possibly of the EU itself. In this webinar, we will discuss the latest updates and how they may influence your FX trading.
HotForex Upcoming June 2017 Webinars!
The markets have priced in a win for UK Prime Minister Theresa May. The outcome is expected to have a heavy impact on the GBP, the country’s Stock Markets and many of its companies.
Stuart will discuss how the outcome could also impact the Brexit negotiations and the forex market.
Trading is much more than just having a strategy or reading the charts properly. It is about execution and discipline. This is where the trading plan comes into play.
In this webinar, we will discuss what it takes to create a trading plan and also the effect that following a proper trading plan may have on your trading.
Last month Alvaro introduced the powerful Elliott Wave Analysis. Today he completes Part Two of the Elliott Wave principle for a deeper understanding of this popular approach.
Andria will explain the most important and powerful of the many Japanese Candlestick patterns and how to apply them to forex charts.
Stochastics are one of the most popular of the Oscillators. Join Andria as she explains how to get the most out of this simple indicator and how spotting divergence can be of great assistance in forex trading.
Join Stuart today as he explains some of the most popular charting patterns that more experienced traders like to use.
Instructor: Stuart Cowell, HotForex’s Senior Analyst. | 2019-04-24T14:36:40Z | http://www.videobourse.fr/forum-forex/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9988&sid=4b2ca65d2dc7161ba2ec9beefaaa22e7&start=175 |
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To own the explosive energy essential to breathe a champion fencer an athlete must spend time within the gym constructing a ground degree of dwindle limb power then steadily construct into advanced plyometric actions whereas soundless protecting the eye-hand coordination that connects a fencer to their blade.
Roger W. Earle is the associate executive Director and Director of exam progress for the NSCA Certification commission.
each year, a gaggle of 500+ armed forces, law enforcement, fire fighter, and special ops trainers and operators gregarious gathering to share the latest and ultimate strategies, advantage, and items being used to do a far better tactical athlete.
The national electricity and Conditioning association entire started the TSAC in 2005 and hosts a countrywide convention, or annual practising software, that attracts within the sports scientists, trainers, therapists, medical doctors, and operators into the identical space. This gathering has advanced over the years to provide a lot obligatory elements in scientific analyze as well as commercial and executive investment to the tactical health arena.
The movement of Human efficiency has dramatically changed. trained and authorized trainers or participants of military command now own a spot to breathe trained extra from others in the box and create more desirable programming for his or her crew and themselves.
one of the crucial speakers and companies that i was for my section able to talk with and watch their displays were here: Air oblige Battlefield Airmen Prep course – The route designers and operators own been existing to share how they began a brand new military command with the mission to better prepare Air drive particular Ops candidates for his or her future practising. Colonel Ronald Stenger is spearheading a particularly technical working towards application the exhaust of refined monitoring apparatus (Smartabase) to greater teach, reduce injuries, and create greater Air oblige PJs, combat Controllers, Tactical Air control celebration / JTAC, and special Ops weather Technicians with fewer candidates. In different phrases – reduce back the 80% attrition expense by means of being smarter and more productive. the brand new eight-week prep direction is conducted after simple militia working towards for entire Air drive Battlefield Airmen candidates just before their observe-on selection lessons.
The Mobility Maker – Dana Santas CSCS, E-RYT did a hands-on presentation on suitable respiratory mixed with stretching to free up muscle corporations of the core. The tactical applications for mobility and respiration are getting more criterion as the perquisite artery to reduce ache and raise durability within the career province in addition to de-stress and construct resiliency as stress mitigation equipment. Dana is a mind-physique coach in expert activities, the yoga skilled for CNN health, creator of the booklet “practical options for returned ache aid” and a world speaker/presenter on effortless methods to aid americans breathe, movement and suppose improved in their bodies and happier and more hale of their lives.
Three Phases of Tactical health – i used to breathe capable of attain a joint presentation with Jeff Nichols of PerformanceFirstUS and my podcast companion on the Tactical health record. The time epoch To, through, and After is how they described the event of the special ops recruit. You need to derive TO the training by mastering a health check. constantly these are aggressive so greater than the minimal middling is required. Then, you must prepare to derive throughout the working towards or option software. After, when you are an operator the third section comes into play and focuses on job performance, capability preservation / toughness, stress mitigation, and ordinary health and wellbeing as the tactical athlete will likely breathe older in these professions than he/she should breathe younger.
other displays on activities nutrition, hydration, annoying humor accidents, overuse running accidents, and stress mitigation are a few spotlights on a protracted listing of speakers and educators who share most efficient practices and instructions realized with members.
at the Sorinex exhibit booth you could exhaust the apparatus and derive a exercise with superb coaches and athletes like Bert Sorin and Brandon Lilly. Free deadlift clinics from americans like Brandon turned into one of the crucial highlights of the week for many of these tactical athletes into greater lifts with superb kind. different gadget businesses existing were operate more desirable, BeaverFit, TRX, to title a few.
There are moreover sports nutritionists and meals corporations latest as well as athletic trainers and physical therapists and their corresponding apparatus companies. one of the crucial typical companies from outdated years who own been latest once more own been the folks from Drip Drop (old article), GNC, in addition to a new traffic referred to as SoreAndTired.com with a magnesium rub to allay aching joints and muscle mass.
There are over 50 vendors at the Tactical fitness Annual practicing. you probably own health, wellbeing, and health items or features you want to derive in front of the creators of Human efficiency programs inside the tactical arena, here's one artery to attain that.
How stern is the executive in producing smarter educated operators? rescue it this manner – there is a $475 million SOCOM condense that is at present operated by means of Booz Allen and numerous sub-contractors that deliver the theme signify specialists to bring science-based mostly practising purposes to the distinctive commands of the special Operations Command. well-known Dynamics was an exhibitor at the conference to parade their capabilities as they movement to problem for this open condense within the next year. besides the fact that children, common armed forces and some police / SWAT, and fireplace fighting departments are additionally spending cash to employ educated and certified trainers to office their Human performance / Tactical health programs.
The NSCA has two certifications that practice to being qualified for these jobs – The certified energy and Conditioning expert (CSCS) and the Tactical electricity and Conditioning Facilitator (TSAC-F). These jobs are awesome for prior tactical athletes in addition to activities scientists with different backgrounds as getting to know from each and every other has been the hallmark of the Human performance programs perquisite through the tactical inhabitants.
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Many personal training certification programs exhaust science, sports medicine, and nutrition research.
All products and services featured here are chosen for their potential to inspire and enable your wellness. Everyday Health may merit an affiliate commission on items you purchase.
Having the perquisite qualifications and credentials is an considerable section of any job. The world of health and wellness is no different; knowing the dissimilarity between a pulse squat and plyometric squat is just section of it. Having the proper training will give you a leg up on the competition (literally), as you will breathe equipped with the necessary resources to give your clients exactly what they need.
And if you're hiring a personal trainer, knowing they own the perquisite qualifications will animate you safely and smartly meet your fitness goals.
While no one program is better than the other, they entire own a slightly different approach. Some certification programs are more scientific in their approach (National Academy of Sports Medicine), and other programs remain grounded in the principle that sustain is the most considerable teacher (American Council on Exercise).
The ACE certification is one of the most widely known and accepted certifications among employers. At the heart of their program is the credence that movement is the key to a hale lifestyle, which is why their program is a current selection for individuals looking to reach broad audiences and a variety of age groups. They tender three study programs that entire focus on you being able to prepare for the exam at your own pace. (The Premium Plus plan, which offers online courses and an ACE exam retest voucher, is their most popular.) Plus, entire courses give participants access to an ACE Study Coach.
If you prefer a program with a more scientific approach, consider enrolling in a personal trainer certification course from NASM. It’s heavily grounded in science and sports medicine, as they space a cumbersome stress on injury prevention and integrating corrective exercise into regular training. NASM’s flagship Optimum Performance Training (OPT) training system is in its 30th year. This system is based on scientific, evidence-based research, and was developed to concurrently help entire functional abilities, including flexibility, core stabilization, balance, strength, power, and cardiorespiratory endurance.
You can pick from four different kinds of programs depending on your schedule, ranging from a basic Self-Study program, which lets you learn at your own pace and has no set schedules, to an All-Inclusive program, which provides guided support, weekly assignments, and mentoring. Within the ultimate 10 years alone, NASM has successfully certified over 190,000 personal trainers.
Officially recognized as an academic institution, the ISSA places cumbersome stress on carcass pile and weight training. In addition to teaching the speculative knowledge needed to transcend as a personal trainer, they cover client assessment, program design, basic nutrition, and sports medicine, plus common business,] and marketing skills. Participants are allowed to learn at their own pace, so this course is distinguished for those who might already own a full-time job. Similar to the other programs already mentioned, the ISSA offers educational support. Note there is only one course option.
The American College of Sports Medicine is one of the largest and most prestigious sports medicine organizations in the world. This program does a superb job of using current research and technology (they tender virtual online sessions and webinars, for example) to preserve their curriculum current. Other benefits associated with ACSM accreditation involve discounts to ACSM’s Health & Fitness Summit, discounts on ACSM books and apparel, and a free subscription to ACSM’s certified news. Many hospitals and wellness centers require their trainers to breathe ACSM certified, so this a agreeable option if you are aiming to work at a clinic or hospital. Plus, their expense point is lower than most programs.
The National might and Conditioning Association uses an individualized approach to educate and train their participants. They were founded in 1978 by a group of conditioning coaches who were passionate about helping others discover and maximize their strength. Today, their community is composed of more than 45,000 members and certified professionals who work as might coaches, researchers, personal trainers, educators, and more. Aside from the NSCA-Certified Personal Trainer certification, they tender three other certification programs for Certified might and Conditioning Specialists, Certified Special Population Specialists, and Tactical might and Conditioning Facilitators.
In response to the need to create a resource for personal trainers that parallels the depth and property that the second edition of the Essentials of might Training and Conditioning text provides for might and conditioning professionals, the NSCA Certification Commission recently produced the NSCA's Essentials of Personal Training text.
If you want to derive suitable but you don't know how, that's no occasions for shame or despair. No one is an expert in every province — so instead of puttering aimlessly around the gym, you should circle to someone whose sole focus is helping people to transform into their best selves.
There's tons of information available online and programs designed by professionals to animate you to derive in shape, but it can breathe worth it to recall a more personalized approach. If you can afford it, hiring a personal trainer is an excellent option, particularly if you struggle with keeping yourself motivated. You’re less likely to bail on your workout when someone (or something — in this case, your wallet) holds you accountable, and a trainer can give you that extra propel out the door when you're trying to determine whether or not to attain your morning workout.
But how can you find a agreeable trainer? And if you've already hired someone to design your training plan, how can you breathe positive you’re working with the perquisite one? Even if a trainer has credentials up the wazoo, it doesn’t necessarily signify he or she is the best option for you and your goals.
When it comes down to it, you’re putting in the time, money, and effort for your new and improved body, so you better do it worth your while. Here are eight things you need to preserve in humor before hiring a personal trainer.
The first step in your newly-focused fitness journey should breathe establishing exactly what you're trying to accomplish. attain you own positive targets for your training, or attain you simply own a nebulous point to "get fit"?
Having broad goals is OK, but you shouldn't do a major fiscal and personal conclusion like hiring a coach if you don't own a few well-defined objectives for your training plan. Start with something simple, like a target carcass weight or race time, or even a goal as basic as working up to the capacity to perform 10 pullups. do positive the objectives are things you truly custody about.
Once you start talking to potential candidates, you can streamline your goals and even arrive up with new ones with their animate and expertise. But if you start without any thought of what you're trying to accomplish, you'll breathe more likely to tumble in with a trainer who won't propel you to your replete potential.
As with most things in life, a personal trainer will cost you. Prices may vary based on geographic location, gym affiliation (some trainers are affiliated with a gym, while others own an independent practice), and more. But a trainer can own a hefty expense tag, especially if the trainer has higher education or a large Instagram following.
“I'd utter a ordinary high property sustain trainer can impregnate between $125 and $200 per session. There are certainly those who can command much higher fees, but those are based on require and a long track record of proven results,” Jeff Cavaliere MSPT, CSCS, former Head Physical Therapist/Strength Coach with the New York Mets and Men’s Health advisor, told MensHealth.com.
Before burning a hole in your wallet, determine the absolute top dollar amount you can afford or are willing to pay. Once you find a potential trainer, discuss the possibility of a discount. Perhaps there’s a deal for getting a package and paying up front, or maybe you can even split the session and cost with a friend.
In the age of celebrity or Instagram-famous personal trainers, it's considerable to know that a broad title doesn't disclose you a all lot. While some high-profile trainers may own credentials, others might not.
“Celebrity trainers aren't necessarily agreeable trainers. They could just breathe in the perquisite belt at the perquisite time,”said Cavaliere.
Keep in humor that celebrity trainers are only worth the investment if they own safely generated results for their clients and are soundless being hired by other celebrities. So if someone lists a celebrity client on their website, that doesn't necessarily signify much by itself.
Similarly, a high follower signify on gregarious media doesn't guarantee that they actually know what they're doing with clients. They might just breathe a pretty visage or a flashy set of abs — selfies and brand sponsorships are not personal training credentials.
On that note: Technically, literally anyone can advertise themselves as a personal trainer. That’s why it’s considerable to find someone with actual credentials — which arrive in the shape of letters at the terminate of their name.
You're forgiven if those just scrutinize like alphabet soup to you now, but you need to learn up before making hiring someone.
So how attain you know you’re in agreeable hands? You’ll want to breathe positive your trainer attended an organization that is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), which is nationally recognized as being a trustworthy predictor of sports medicine and exercise knowledge. “The gold criterion in the industry is the National might and Conditioning Association (NSCA). The NSCA-CSCS (Certified might and Conditioning Specialist) or NSCA-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) certifications are the two to scrutinize for,” said Cavaliere.
Other certifications worth having: NASM-CPT (National American Sports Medicine) ACSM-CPT (American College of Sports Medicine), or ACE-CPT (American Council on Exercise) entire betoken some plane of credibility.
Every personal trainer has their own focus. Some trainers work with those struggling with joint pain, while others might work solely with elderly clients pile bone density and improving balance. It’s considerable to find a program that works best for you. If a trainer's programming is built around HIIT workouts that leave you drenched in sweat and out of breath, that kind of warrior-style mentality won’t reduce it if you treasure doing yoga, or if you struggle with chronic knee pain.
“There is definitely more than one artery to program workouts for stout loss, muscle growth, etc. So find the one that meshes best with your style and proceed with that. There’s nothing worse than hating everything you're doing in a workout,” according to Cavaliere.
If you’re soundless unsure, inquire the trainer for what they typically involve in a program and inquire about their other clientele. If your trainer works mostly with bodybuilders, you’ll know their style is geared towards pile bigger muscles and strength. So if you’re looking to work on leaning out (rather than bulking up), maybe you should hire someone else.
“Trainers can disagree in their mode of motivation (some are more supine to screaming, while others can breathe steely-eyed but encouraging), or their methods of getting the job done,” Cavaliere said.
If the trainer seems rigid and uncompromising, and you’re more of a laid-back type, it’s probably not going to breathe a agreeable fit. If your personality doesn’t mesh with that of your trainer, that’s a problem.
Conversely, it’s moreover a problem if you derive along too well. If you’re too diligent chatting during workouts to derive in another set of deadlifts, it’s going to meddle with the rate of your progress. While you want a trainer who is encouraging and fun to breathe around (you don’t want to spend entire that time with a drill-sergeant-type you can’t stand, right?), you need to do positive you’re soundless being pushed to your limits and are achieving your goals.
Make positive your trainer checks in with you before trying to rescue you on a program. That means asking questions about your diet and previous fitness routine beyond your current weight.
The trainer should moreover inquire you if you are on any medications, as some, like unavoidable asthma medications, can influence your heart rate. If you’re asked to attain 10 burpees in 20 seconds, you could breathe causing undue strain on your heart, so this is really considerable for them to know.
A agreeable trainer will moreover inquire about your history of injuries (recent or chronic). “I'd evaluate every major joint (ankles, knees, hips, lower back, thoracic spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists) to notice if I could uncover reasons for the injury or potential debilitated links in the kinetic chain that will occasions future breakdown,” Cavaliere explained.
“I'd moreover inquire about any current training regimens. What own they been doing most recently and at what consistency level?" he said. This can animate to identify a client's goals (which we've already established is a major factor in picking a trainer) and motivation level.
If you’ve been training for a while but you’re not seeing tangible results, it’s OK to dawdle on and find someone new — especially if you wind up with a corrupt trainer. Sometimes it’s just not the perquisite match, but it might recall a few months to notice that. Give it a agreeable four to six weeks, Cavaliere advised, at which point you should start seeing some positive results. | 2019-04-25T04:05:35Z | http://www.stargeo.it/new/cheatsheet.php?pdf=NSCA-CPT |
In my latest article for TomDispatch.com, I detail how the U.S. military is out everywhere but winning nowhere. What I mean by not winning is the military’s failure to end wars on terms remotely favorable to national security and the interests of democracy. I hesitate to be a cynic, but perpetual war does mean perpetual high “defense” budgets and prolonged and prodigious power for generals (and retired generals). Peace would mean smaller defense budgets and far less influence for these men.
What chance of peace with President Trump in charge surrounded by the generals of all these losing wars? Indeed, generals continue to speak of generational wars, so much so that I’m tempted to make a play on words: generational wars generated by generals. It’s not entirely fair, nor is it entirely unfair.
Anyway, here’s an excerpt from my article. You can read it in its entirety at TomDispatch.com.
When it comes to the “world’s greatest military,” the news has been shocking. Two fast US Navy ships colliding with slow-moving commercial vessels with tragic loss of life. An Air Force that has been in the air continuously for years and yet doesn’t have enough pilots to fly its combat jets. Ground troops who find themselves fighting “rebels” in Syria previously armed and trained by the CIA. Already overstretched Special Operations forces facing growing demands as their rates of mental distress and suicide rise. Proxy armies in Iraq and Afghanistan that are unreliable, often delivering American-provided weaponry to black markets and into the hands of various enemies. All of this and more coming at a time when defense spending is once again soaring and the national security state is awash in funds to the tune of nearly a trillion dollars a year.
What gives? Why are highly maneuverable and sophisticated naval ships colliding with lumbering cargo vessels? Why is an Air Force that exists to fly and fight short 1,200 pilots? Why are US Special Operations forces deployed everywhere and winning nowhere? Why, in short, is the US military fighting itself — and losing?
Too few ships are being deployed for too long. Too few pilots are being worn out by incessant patrols and mushrooming drone and bombing missions. Special Operations forces (the “commandos of everywhere,” as Nick Turse calls them) are being deployed to far too many countries — more than two-thirds of the nations on the planet already this year — and are involved in conflicts that hold little promise of ending on terms favorable to Washington. Meanwhile, insiders like retired Gen. David Petraeus speak calmly about “generational struggles” that will essentially never end. To paraphrase an old slogan from ABC’s Wide World of Sports, as the US military spans the globe, it’s regularly experiencing the agony of defeat rather than the thrill of victory.
Back in the Cold War era, the regions in which the US military is now slogging it out were once largely considered “the shadows” where John le Carré-style secret agents from the two superpowers matched wits in a set of shadowy conflicts. Post-9/11, “taking the gloves off” and seeking knockout blows, the US military entered those same shadows in a big way and there, not surprisingly, it often couldn’t sort friend from foe.
A new strategy for America should involve getting out of those shadowy regions of no-win war. Instead, an expanding US military establishment continues to compound the strategic mistakes of the last 16 years. Seeking to dominate everywhere but winning decisively nowhere, it may yet go down as the greatest self-defeating force in history.
Not many people have noticed how America’s wars, which used to have clear ending dates, like VE and VJ days in 1945 at the end of World War II, presently never seem to end. In his introduction to Bill Hartung’s new article at TomDispatch.com, “Destabilizing the Middle East (Yet More),” Tom Engelhardt reminds us of how U.S. military interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, and elsewhere simply never end. Instead, they fester, they surge and shrink, they metastasize, they become, as Dr. Guruge noted, permanent.
Why do so many Americans fail to see this? Because believing is seeing. I heard that line on “American Gods” recently, a compelling reversal of “seeing is believing.” It applies here because America’s leaders believe in war, and Americans in general believe in their military, and believing is seeing. A belief in the efficacy of war and the trustworthiness of the military drives America’s “kinetic” actions around the world, and that belief, that faith, serves to make wars permanent.
Not that anyone in a position of power seems to notice, but there’s a simple rule for American military involvement in the Greater Middle East: once the U.S. gets in, no matter the country, it never truly gets out again. Let’s start with Afghanistan. The U.S. first entered the fray there in 1979 via a massive CIA-led proxy war against the Soviets that lasted until the Red Army limped home in 1989. Washington then took more than a decade off until some of the extremists it had once supported launched the 9/11 attacks, after which the U.S. military took on the role abandoned by the Red Army and we all know where that’s ended — or rather not ended almost 16 years later. In the “longest war” in American history, the Pentagon, recently given a free hand by President Trump, is reportedly planning a new mini-surge of nearly 4,000 U.S. military personnel into that country to “break the stalemate” there. Ever more air strikes and money will be part of the package. All told, we’re talking about a quarter-century of American war in Afghanistan that shows no sign of letting up (or of success). It may not yet be a “hundred-years’ war,” but the years are certainly piling up.
Then, of course, there’s Iraq where you could start counting the years as early as 1982, when President Ronald Reagan’s administration began giving autocrat Saddam Hussein’s military support in his war against Iran. You could also start with the first Gulf War of 1990-1991 when, on the orders of President George H.W. Bush, the U.S. military triumphantly drove Saddam’s army out of Kuwait. Years of desultory air strikes, sanctions, and other war-like acts ended in George W. Bush’s sweeping invasion and occupation of Iraq in the spring of 2003, a disaster of the first order. It punched a hole in the oil heartlands of the Middle East and started us down the path to, among other things, ISIS and so to Iraq War 3.0 (or perhaps 4.0), which began as an air campaign in August 2014 and has yet to end. In the process, Syria was pulled into the mix and U.S. efforts there are still ratcheting up almost two years later. In the case of Iraq, we’re minimally talking about almost three decades of intermittent warfare, still ongoing.
And then, of course, there’s Somalia. You remember the Blackhawk Down incident in 1993, don’t you? That was a lesson for the ages, right? Well, in 2017, the Trump administration is sending more advisers and trainers to that land (and the U.S. military has recently suffered its first combat death there since 1993). U.S. military activities, including drone strikes, are visibly revving up at the moment. And don’t forget Libya, where the Obama administration (along with NATO) intervened in 2011 to overthrow autocrat Muammar Gaddafi and where the U.S. military is still involved more than six years later.
Last but hardly least is Yemen. The first U.S. special ops and CIA personnel moved into a “counter-terrorism camp” there in late 2001, part of a $400 million deal with the government of then-strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the CIA conducted its very first drone assassination in that country in November 2002. Almost 16 years later, as TomDispatch regular Bill Hartung reports, the U.S. is supporting a grim Saudi air and ground war of terror there, while its own drone strikes have risen to new highs.
To continue reading Bill Hartung’s article at TomDispatch.com, click here.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his most powerful speech as he left office in 1961. He warned the American people about an emerging military-industrial complex, a complex that was already beginning to erode democratic rule in America. Originally, Ike had Congress as a collaborator with and enabler of that Complex, but he deleted the reference in the final version, apparently deciding that by alienating Members of Congress, he’d only push them further into the Complex’s corner.
In the U.S. today, the Complex is almost unchallengeable. This is not only because of its size and power. The Complex has worked to convince Americans that war is inevitable and therefore endless (it’s never the fault of the Complex, of course: it’s the terrorists, or the Russians, or the Chinese …), and also that military service (and spending) is virtuous and therefore a boon to democracy.
America’s founders like James Madison thought differently, knowing from bitter experience and deep learning that incessant wars and standing militaries are an insidious threat to democracy. Nowadays, however, Americans say they trust their military more than any other societal institution, and mainstream society universally celebrates “our” troops as selfless heroes, the very best of America. This moral, indeed metaphysical, elevation of the U.S. military serves to silence legitimate criticism of its failings as well as its corrosive effect on democratic principles and values.
All of these topics I’ve written about before, but I wish to cite them again by way of introducing an article by Maximilian C. Forte, an anthropologist who writes at Zero Anthropology (I first saw his work at Fabius Maximus). The article Forte wrote is on Bernie Sanders and his limitations, but what struck me most was his reference to C. Wright Mills and his analysis of the nexus of interests and power between U.S. capitalism and militarism.
For C. Wright Mills, the problem was not just “Wall St.,” nor the “Pentagon” alone — focusing on one over the other produces a half-headed understanding, with all of the political demerits that result. As he argued in his 1958 article, “the high military, the corporation executives, the political directorate have tended to come together to form the power elite of America” (pp. 32-33). The power elite is what he described as a “triangle of power,” linking corporations, executive government, and the military: “There is a political economy numerously linked with military order and decision. This triangle of power is now a structural fact, and it is the key to any understanding of the higher circles in America today” (Mills, 1958, p. 32).
Rather than challenge the arms industry, whose growing size and power stunned Eisenhower, Sanders would simply tax them more. It is open to debate whether Sanders is offering even half of a solution, and whether he sees even half of the bigger picture. Usually Sanders has voted in favour of military appropriations, supported the financing of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has backed a range of regime change and “humanitarian interventionist” efforts, from NATO’s war in Kosovo, to support for the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act and for regime change in Libya (contrary to his false representations on the latter point). He is also an aggressive supporter of NATO and its anti-Russian posture. While he is not even half of anti-imperialist, some might argue that it is also too generous to see him as half of a socialist–either way, we need to do better than beat each other up with half-answers.
Forte’s criticism of Sanders is spot on. My guess is that Sanders refused to take on the Complex precisely because of its financial, its political, and finally its cultural and societal clout. There are only so many windmills you can tilt at, Sanders may have decided. Yet, notwithstanding his willingness to appease the Complex, Sanders has been relegated to the sidelines by a corrupt Democratic establishment that did everything it could to ensure that one of its own, Complex-abettor Hillary Clinton, won the party nomination.
The fundamental problem for the U.S. today is as obvious as it appears insoluble. The Complex has co-opted both political parties, Republican and Democratic. It has at the same time redefined patriotism in militaristic terms, and loyalty in terms of unquestioning support of, even reverence for, American military adventurism and interventionism. Candidates who have rival ideas, such as Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein, are simply not allowed on the stage. Their voices of dissent are suppressed. They are never heard within the mainstream.
We have a new reality in U.S. government and society today: the Complex essentially rules unchallenged. Back in the 1950s, Ike had the military and political authority to constrain it. Today, well, no. There are no restraints. Just look at Hillary and Trump, both boasting of how many generals and admirals support them, as if they couldn’t run for office unless they’d been anointed by men in military uniforms wearing stars.
And America calls this democracy?
Democracy in America is dying. It’s dying because it’s being strangled by winner-take-all capitalism and corrosive militarism. Greed-war is consuming America’s resources. Not just material, not just political, but mental and emotional resources as well. The greed-war nexus as represented and nurtured by the Complex and its power elite is both narrowing and coloring the horizons of America. Tortured by mindless fear and overwrought concerns about weakness and decline, Americans embrace the Complex ever tighter.
The result: America builds (and sells) more weapons, supports higher military spending, and wages more war. Trump or Clinton, the war song remains the same. It’s a narrowing of national horizons, a betrayal of American promise, that we will overcome only when we reject greed-war.
Afterword: The sad part is that Martin Luther King said it far better than I can fifty years ago in this speech on Vietnam. Ike in 1961, MLK in 1967, both prophetic, both largely ignored today for their insights into the “spiritual death” represented by greed-war. Even earlier, General Smedley Butler, twice awarded the Medal of Honor, argued in the 1930s that war is a racket and that it would end only when the profit motive was eliminated from it.
So, if I had one question for Hillary and Trump, this would be it: When it comes to your decision to enlarge the military-industrial complex, to feed it ever more money and resources, what makes your decision right and the warnings of Ike, MLK, and General Butler wrong?
So, Republicans now control the Senate as well as the House. As we the people endure the forced march to 2016 and the next presidential election, our new political landscape is sure to produce more military escalations.
The reason is as obvious as it is sad. De-escalation of military conflicts is defined, especially by Republicans, as “losing” whereas escalation is defined as “doing something,” as being “decisive,” even when decision is nowhere in sight. Even when military action just makes matters worse.
Once again, as we approach 2016, the Republicans will bash the Democrats as appeaseniks. And the Republicans will be right. The Democrats are appeaseniks — to the national security state.
You can almost guarantee that the hawkish Hillary Clinton — doing her best imitation of Margaret Thatcher — will be the Democratic candidate. Meanwhile, Republican candidates will run to the right of Attila the Hun as they blame Obama for having “lost” both Iraq and Afghanistan (even though both of those countries were never ours to “win”). Dishonest (or disingenuous) the Republicans may be, but they know how to win elections via the Big Lie.
As Tom Engelhardt noted this week, the national security state has built a militarized escalation machine that will execute its function of perpetual war regardless of whom is sworn in as the next commander-in-chief.
As my wife said to me today, our country is in big trouble. Yes, we are, because as James Madison pointed out, perpetual war is the enemy of democracy and freedom.
As for me, I’ll vote for any candidate who has the spine to stand up for an end to perpetual war. Show me a candidate who’s willing to abandon fear-mongering about overseas threats while telling the truth about the threats we face right here at home from America’s power brokers and I’ll show you a candidate worthy of being elected. Either that, or show me a candidate who’s so worried about those overseas threats that he or she takes up arms (I mean literally) in the trenches against the enemy, and I’ll show you a candidate who at least is not a hypocrite.
But I fear 2016 will be the year of Benghazi! Benghazi! and who lost Iraq/Afghanistan/and similar countries we never “found” to begin with.
Did I mention my smarter wife said our country is in trouble? | 2019-04-21T05:03:36Z | https://bracingviews.com/tag/james-madison/ |
NordicTrack is a Minnesota established company that started off by first creating indoor cross-country ski machines. They later went on to expand their designs, during 1980’s, towards treadmills, elliptical machines and other cardio related in-house trainers.Currently, Nordic Track is known to be a top international brand under the ownership of ICON health and fitness. Nordic Track brings its customers traditional treadmills, incline trainer treadmills and treadmill desks, with each series having separate models of its own and various resources such as touchscreens installed with android. Treadmills are a very integral part for those who are enthusiastic about staying in shape, working on their cardio or who prefer to stay indoors, in the safety of their homes, and enjoy working out. It boosts your stamina and makes you more energetic. NordicTrack, with its variety of fashionable treadmill consoles, gives easy access to every one looking forward to an enjoyable workout experience.
Kicking off with one of NordicTrack’s cheaper models.
The T 6.5S is equipped with a folding frame which falls under the “Space Saver”design by this brand. This treadmill gives out a 2.6 Continuous Horsepower and has a 300 pounds (136 KG) weight capacity. The treadmill will also be able to reach a 10% incline and a top speed of 10 mph (16 Km/h), giving you the autonomy of choosing to either walk, jog or run. Besides that, with a 20 inches wide and 55 inches long belt area, the T 6.5S also comes with FlexSelect Cushioning which helps in reducing stress on your joints (knees and ankles), a 5 inch back lit LED, which helps you in tracking your workout progress, the level of incline, elapsed time, calories burned so far and the distance covered. It also has two cup holders. Although the T 6.5S has 20 pre-installed workout programs, you can get an iFIT subscription and get access to more workouts using this iFIT compatible treadmill. With heart rate monitoring sensors you can keep track of your heart rate throughout your workout routine and to aid to your motivation and concentration,The machine comes with MP3/iPod fitted port and two speakers to keep you pumped up. NordicTrack gives you a staggering deal with a lifetime warranty on the frame, 25 years on the motor and 1 year each on parts and labor.
All in all this treadmill is a “you get what you pay for” model which brings you few featured offered in high end models by this brand. This product offers you simple actions and tasks you switch between with ease. It is designed for beginners looking for uncomplicated functionalities and maintenance.
If you’re looking for a workout machine that brings you up to the minute technology, the C-700 is your haven.
Conclusively, it can be confidently said that the C-700 is best for beginners looking forward to machines that offer a few high end features. The specs on this console do not meet high expectations, it has mid-range potential which mainly attract walkers. For some users it offers a decent deal considering it’s rather more entertain than it is athletic.
The NordicTrack C-990 is designed to bring its customers the option of walking, jogging and light running.
The machine is equipped with a 3.0 Horsepower motor, a tablet/smart phone holder, where you can set up your personal routine to follow using other fitness applications or videos, an iPod compatible port, InterMix Acoustics speaker and a 7 inch back lit touch screen accompanied with internet access and a digital race track that brings you a virtual progress experience. The running belt is 20 inches long and 60 inches wide. It offers customers 32 pre-installed workout programs, for those who prefer to work offline, that are grouped with specific targets to be reached such as, weight loss, interval training, speed training,calorie burn, etc. This model comes with iFit technology that makes it easier for the user to track their workout data and have access to a library of infinite amount to workouts they can follow. To make the experience more enjoyable for you, the machine has a web browser and an iPod friendly sound system through which you can listen to your preferred music. This model has a whopping top speed of 12 Mph (19 Km/h) and a 12% incline limit. With access to the internet through the C-990 you can challenge yourself online by working out with friends over Facebook or even creating routines best suited to you. C-990 also has an AutoBreeze cooling fan that automatically adjusts according to your working out and FlexSelect cushioning which can be switched on or off based on your preference of indoor or outdoor track. The SpaceSaver design gives it a foldable frame that helps you save up space in the room.
Finally, we can agree that the C-990 offers a decent amount of features in its price bracket. Although, it’s still not the best option for runner, as it offers basic facilities. The added tablet holder makes it an entertainment hub for the users. It is still a more than well-equipped machine for those who want a good workout indoors.
The top contender in NordicTrack’s C series, the C-1650, aids its customers with great functionalities.
This treadmill has a 3.5 Continuous Horsepower motor, which can hit a 12 Mph top speed (19 Km/h), and a 20 inch wide and 60 inch long running belt, making is very spacious. This model particularly stands out due to the 10 inch touch screen it comes with. The touchscreen is web enabled and is powered by android. The screen helps you in checking your progress, web surfing and serves as an interactive user interface. It has 34 pre-installed programs created by a certified trainer that brings you specific targets to reach in different categories like, weight loss, speed training, interval training, calorie burn, etc. Additionally, because it is iFit enabled, it makes tracking your workout data easier and supplies an endless range of workouts. With iFit you can make routines that are best suited to you and challenge yourself by racing against your friends over Facebook. This model also has an iPod friendly port and speakers to make your exercise more enjoyable and help your stay concentrated. An adjustable tablet holder is available to use various applications for athletic or entertainment purposes. This treadmill gives its users access to 2 different heartrate tracking methods, either by using the handlebar sensors or by wireless Bluetooth sensors. Moreover, it has an Auto Breeze cooling fan which adjusts according to your workout and a FlexSelect cushioning on the generously long track which can be switched on, to reduce the impact on your joints, or switched off, if you want realistic road-like touch to be added to your exercise. Equipped with a Space Saver design it takes up less room after folding the deck upwards. The C-1650 comes with a lifetime warranty on the frame and the motor, a 5 year warranty on parts and electronics and a 2 labor warranty.
Arguably, this is one of NordicTrack’s stronger models. With a longer and durable track, a more powerful 3.5 CHP motor,iFit features, and a quiet and smooth functionality, it can start delivering satisfying results to walkers and joggers. The additional speakers, touchscreen and tablet holder makes the workout experience rather entertaining for the customers. The C-1650 is like Christmas in summer for those who prefer light exercises.
Jumping to NordicTrack’s commercial series, we first introduce the commercial 2450 treadmill. This machine is equipped with a stronger motor, heavy structure and a tougher build. Commercial 2450 is designed for those who want a pure running experience. The 2450 successfully mixed power with advanced technology. The machine has a powerful 4.0 horsepower motor with a 22 inch wide and 60 inch longtwo-ply running belt, giving you more room to move freely. A new addition to the treadmill functionality by NordicTrack, which wasn’t available in any of machines seen before, is the option to decline the machine during your workout, you can bring the ramp down to a -3% decline. The 10 inch touch screen gives you access to the internet like never before, you can go online and go through latest news, watch videos, read mails or even use social media while you exercise. With iFit compatibility accompanying the treadmill, you can choose between various terrains to run from around the world, have a virtually realistic experience, track your workout, make diet plans, and download several more workout routines online. Even if you choose not to have an iFit subscription, there are already 40 pre-installed workouts you can take advantage of. These workouts are goal oriented like calorie burn, speed training, interval training and are created by professionals. It has a top speed of 12 mph, making it an ideal product for several users who prefer to run. It is a great console for various forms of training like, sprinting and speed training. This model comes with a wireless heart rate monitor, which is preferred by several users because it makes the workout more efficient and gives out more accurate tracking data. It also has adjustable FlexSelect cushioning and an adjustable tablet holder for the user to set it at any desired angle, like other NordicTrack treadmills.
This is one of NordicTrack’s high end products thattargets regular runner’s customer base. If you want a smooth running experience with a flood of modern day features to make it enjoyable and worth the while, this machine is perfect for you. It is a peak value product with its state of the art facilities like, the 10-inch touchscreen, iFit, access to the internet, etc.
Yet again, NordicTrack brings its customers what they need for a satisfied indoor workout. The 1750, despite being the cheapest model in the commercial series, has plenty to offer with its sleek design and HD touchscreen. An impressive warranty and new age technology brings us a must have for frequent runners.
NordicTrack introduces its largest treadmill equipped touchscreen with the Commercial 2950. The treadmill has a 22 inch touchscreen, with color display, that supports high definition videos and with access to the internet you can use several other functions, like surfing the web, going through the news and installing more workout content. A powerful motor of 4.25 Horsepower accompanies the treadmill which offers a top speed of 12 Mph. Again, with a spacious design of 22 inch width and 60 inch length two-ply running belt, that gives you a comfort and ease when working out. The deck also has WhisperQuite technology, which is said to soundproof the machine. This machine also has a Runners Flex cushioning facility, which is to reduce stress on joints by 30%, and can be switched off on command of the user. AutoBreeze fans offer control in temperature and can automatically adjust according to the intensity of your workout. It has an access tray and a tablet holder for the users. The 2950 comes with a one year subscription to iFit Coach plus where you can choose your everyday exercises from an endless library.However, the treadmill also has 40 pre-installed programs to assistuser’s workout if they choose to not continue theiriFit subscription after a year. Due to SpaceSaver technology, the machine can be folded after the workout. If you feel the need to make your exercises more intense, the machine also has incline (15%) and decline (-3%) operations that help you practice particular muscles and burn more calories. This time around NordicTrack brought something different to its customers. The 2950 comes with arm-candy. A wearable iFit wrist device to aid you in tracking your steps, calorie intake and other functions to keep you healthy. Making the user’s workout routine more efficient than ever. There is a lifetime warranty for the frame, deck and motor. Alongside, a 5 year warranty for parts and electronics and 2 year labor warranty is also provided.
The 2950 is without a doubt is a heavy duty in house exercise machinery. It offers durability with its components.With its ability to adjust heights and endure a 300 pound weight limit, it becomes a family friendly machine as well as a good option for regular runners but the price bracket the 2950 lies in makes it a reasonable purchase in higher end home gyms only.
This machine is built for serious walkers. It is energy and time efficient and carries most specs found in only high end treadmills in the market. With ample workout programs, the X9i serves all your intense workout needs, so if you’re a user looking for fast results and regular challenging task to improve your body, there’s no better way to go than the X9i.
An upgrade from the X9i is the NordicTrack X11i. X11i is also an incline trainer that has a lot to offer to its users. Similar to the X9i, the X11i has a -6% decline and 40% incline limit, making it one of the most effective fitness equipment as it lets you burn calories five times as faster than usual treadmills. However, with this model you get a more powerful motor with a 4.25 horsepower which brings you a top speed of 12mph and performs all tasks quietly. The machine supports weight of up to 350 pounds making it very durable. The X11i flaunts its 10 inch touchscreen display which access to the internet. The running belt is very generous with 22 inches in width and 60 inches in length, 2 inches wider than most traditional treadmills present out there. Just like all of NordicTrack treadmills, this one also has an iPod friendly port and speakers to help you stay motivated during your workouts and make it an enjoyable experience. Besides using the handle bar heart rate monitoring sensors to track your heartrate, you can use chest strap that comes as a complimentary good with the machines when purchased, for wireless monitoring of heart rate via Bluetooth during workout. This model has 2 cooling fans to help you regulate your body’s temperature by automatically adjusting to your exercise intensity. The highlight of this product is its range of variation with the ramp. The variations target specific muscles in your body so you can focus on toning them. You can use iFit’s abundant library of workouts present online. The iFit also gives you the option to train on various landscapes. Or you can make use of the offline 44 pre-installed programs that come with the machine. The pre-installed programs are goal oriented. It also has a tablet holder through which you can access outsider workout apps if you prefer. NordicTrack has been very generous with the warranty on this product. You get a lifetime warranty on the frame, deck and motor, a six year warranty on parts and electronic components and 3 years of warranty on labor services.
The reality TV show “The Biggest Loser” claimed that this machine is the fastest way to lose weight.If you want to step up your game, while working out indoors, the X11i will provide you with more than sufficient facilities to do soas it is built to give you fast results. A report said that users were able to burn 400 calories in just 20 minutes at the speed of 2 mph only.It is an improved version of the X9i, while both are incline trainers, the X11i has a more powerful motor, a more interactive user interface, 10 inch touchscreen, internet access and speakers for entertainment. The only downside to this product is itshigh price bracket where the X9i has an upper hand.
All work and no play is no fun. You’ll sometimes make exceptions on your exercise routines when it comes down to doing work related tasks.
This product is best suited for both offices and homes when you want to mix your leisure time with your work. Due to its foldable feature you don’t require large spaces to use this and the motor doesn’t come as a distraction with the product. Besides multitasking it can serve as a typical treadmill in your homes too but it isn’t as sturdy as other treadmills in the similar price range.
If you really love multi-tasking and can’t take your mind/eyes off your computer screen then you will fall in love with the Desk Platinum treadmill. It has a firm 40 inch wide desktop you can resort to. A silent 3.0 Horsepower motor which means you can perform important tasks, like taking a phone call, without the hesitation of interruptions or distractions. It is iFit enabled which means you have access to an infinite amount of exercises. Besides doing your work on your computer, you can use the iFit application and launch an interactive interface to choose a terrain anywhere in the world while you are on the treadmill or do any other task while working out. This treadmill can specifically be beneficial to runners due to the 3.0 continuous horsepower motor and a 60 inch long track that’s usually found in treadmills made for runners. The cushioned track also makes it a very comfortable device. You can also incline the treadmill up to 10% like other traditional treadmills to target specific muscles and speed up your calorie burning. It has a large work area, 40 inches in width and 18 inches in depth, which means you can perform other functions or have more objects on your desktop without the fear of creating a clustered space. You can also adjust the height of your desktop through a touch of a button unlike the NordicTrack Treadmill Desk where you had to manually adjust the desktop’s height. The adjustable desktop can also serve as a normal office desk after you are done working out. The spacious running belt and 3.0 HP motor also gets you to a top speed of 8 mph. The Desk Platinum is also equipped with a USB charging port for your electrical devices and due to its foldable functionality, you can save space in the room.
With the Desk Platinum, you no longer have to give up your workout routine for work. You can take care of projects, paper work and presentation while staying in amazing shape. Besides using it at work you can use it like a normal treadmill machine at home and with features like iFit compatibility it makes a perfect In house machine to work out on while reading a book or even watching a movie. With an 8 mph top speed you can choose to run on the treadmill which isn’t possible on the NordicTrack treadmill desk. However, if you’re looking some light-weight walking or less of a challenge, you should consider the Treadmill desk. | 2019-04-21T00:08:04Z | https://nortreadmillsaudit.com/ |
"How about Hamel Memorial DOG park?
Hamel Memorial Park is off Clyde Fant Parkway. On the Red River and river trail, the spot is ideal because it is a big open space, it is by the water, it already has infrastructure in place (entrance & parking), it is at the end of the recreational trail that can end up as the destination spot for dogs and their owners."
SPAR likes the idea. And there's a dog park petition to sign at the blog. Additionally, there's news of other cities' dog parks (Atlanta, Austin).
Hoffpauir even sees a well-run dog park as the sort of amenity that would help combat the loss of young professionals from the area, as discussed in the recent Times feature on local demographics.
Her blog is an example of the sort of activity that could, in my opinion, help Shreveport grow. It's not just about dogs. It's about alternative ways to build community. Her thoughts are about applying good ideas from her hometown of Austin to a city that needs healthy new movement.
Click here to see the dog park petition.
Louisiana Dance Theater is headed to Chicago for the Jazz Dance World Congress, says company director Carol Anglin. She says, "LDT will perform a new piece, El Encierro, in the Choreography Competitive Event Friday, August 3, at Harris Theatre for Music and Dance in Chicago's Millennium Park."
El Encierro, a dance created by Anglin, will be performed by Louisiana Dance Theatre soloists Shelby Bass and Ashley Murphy. Also performing: Bailey Anglin, Allison Hagan, Alexis Jackson, Madeline Marak, Kimi Rousseau, Allison Sauls, Liz Weiss, and Elizabeth West.
Anglin says to dance lovers, "Drop by Carol Anglin Dancenter @ Pierremont Mall tonight, July 31, from 6:00 – 7:00 pm for Louisiana Dance Foundation’s Windy City Benefit. It's a studio performance / wine & cheese reception honoring Louisiana Dance Theatre’s Chicago-bound dancers."
The LSUS Department of Communications will present Lanford Wilson's "Burn This," says the director, Robert Alford. His production will offer an opportunity for local actors to play opposite a Hollywood veteran, Pruitt Taylor Vince.
Anna (mid 20s to mid 30s) a beautiful, strong, dancer turned choreographer. She keeps her emotions to herself, even more so since the death of Robby, her roommate and collaborator.
Larry (mid 20s to mid 30s) an acerbic, witty, bright advertising executive, Anna’s other roommate.
Burton (late 20s to late 30s) a wealthy, athletic, self-assured, sci-fi screenwriter, Anna’s boyfriend.
The role of Pale will be played by guest artist Pruitt Taylor Vince, says Alford.
Baton Rouge native Pruitt Taylor Vince's feature film credits include James Mangold's Heavy, in which he played a sweet, silent cook harboring a crush on waitress Liv Tyler and Identity, in which he played a schizophrenic serial killer, as well as Bertrand Tavernier’s In the Electric Mist, Robert Benton’s Nobody's Fool, Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty, Patty Jenkins’ Monster, Oliver Stone’s JFK & Natural Born Killers, Alan Parker's Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning & Come See the Paradise, Roland Joffé’s Captivity, David Lynch's Wild at Heart, Barbet Schroeder's Barfly, Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder, Lawrence Kasdan’s Mumford, Giuseppe Tornatore’s The Legend of 1900 and Wim Wenders’ The End of Violence, in addition to Trapped, Constantine, Shy People, Beautiful Girls, Doctor Doolittle, The Cell, Red Heat, City Slickers: The Legend of Curly’s Gold and S1m0ne.
Vince received an Emmy Award for his recurring role in the second season of the TV series Murder One.
Thur, Aug 2 at 6:00 p.m.
Fri, Aug 3 at 6:00 p.m.
The movies of Ingmar Bergman yanked many of us out of the dappled world of Hollywood into a world of movies that required thought and patience. The Swedish stage and film director is known as one of the key film auteurs of the 20th century. He died today at age 89, said the NYtimes.
Wikipedia says, "His films usually deal with existential questions of mortality, loneliness, and faith; they also tend to be direct and not overtly stylized. Persona, one of Bergman's most famous films, is unusual among Bergman's work in being both existentialist and avant-garde."
Bergman fathered 9 children and was married 5 times.
Pardon me while I nip over to youtube for a reminder of his style.
"Thanks to all of you that have indulged my e-mail blast over the past year and going to my blog to see the art. Last weekend I took over the maintenance of my website, a domain I have owned since early 2001. Blogs are mainly online journals - but I had made it a site to see my work, since updates for the website were taking months. Lots of months to upload, and then they were never as I wanted them (editor: Sound familiar?). Now my blog will be mainly an art journal ~ art in process. And my website, maintained by me, will be for completed work.
and ALT text are very important because the search engines do not recognize images, flash or video. It's all about the text.
Not too little, but not too much...there is a sweet spot of about 3-7% key words that they like to see.
So while it's about the images in front for people to see, it's about the text behind the scenes that the machines see.
All very interesting material to digest and I only thought I was re-doing a template full of pictures of my work."
RT: May all the regional artists who believe in their work stride into the digital underbrush as has this intrepid former Shreveporter. See his site in the sptBlog links, please.
King's Highway holds fabulous potential to become a complete specialty shopper's alley for people nipping off I-49 for a peek at soulful Shreveport.
Of course, it's partway there. It begins with the deluxe landscaping used by Raisin Caine's store at King's Hwy. Even the shrubbery at the McDonald's seems laudable. The upgraded landscaping and signage at Byrd High School plays an important part. Columbia Cafe is certainly a significant node on the ride.
When you cross Creswell, you are soothed by the considerable efforts of Centenary College. And there, clustered around the super house center called Centenary Hardware, are the target boutiques. I'm not thinking of the antique shops, which are important mainstays, but Counter Culture and the clothes shop called Heart and Soul. Both seem to have done well and offer models for the future.
Coming soon, says a press release that originated from janeryderdesigns.com: "The Designer's Consortium, a new way to shop. A new way to sell. Direct from the designer to you."
at 208 E. King's Highway in Shreveport, across from Counter Culture," says Ms Ryder.
Being across from Counter Culture does not seem a bad idea at all. Bon chance to all.
Hello Louisiana," a Bayou State documentary by Monty and Marsha Brown, is featured in the Summer edition of Louisiana Life, says Marsha Brown.
The Browns' latest travel video is on La Manche, better known as the English Channel. Already on the market are their Euro documentaries La Belle France and It's Great! Britain.
Their travel films are sold through adventurecinema.com. The Browns also show them to audiences while providing live narration.
Singing their own tunes (2 of their many compositions were used in the movie Steel Magnolias) as the duo La Cahoots, they have entertained everyone but the Queen, they wryly note.
At SciPort plans have been made for Globe Week, Mon, July 30, to Sat, Aug 4. The agenda?
Think you can be a weather person? Use a cool tool called a sling psychrometer to measure cloud type and cover, temperature, relative humidity, and daily rainfall.
Learn the ten basic cloud types and how you can spot them. Then, put your meteorology skills to the test to estimate cloud cover percentage.
Test the dirt and learn what minerals are found in soil.
Make crayons using a variety of colorful dirt.
See what an owl had for lunch!
And, on Fri, July 27, says Jennifer Tuxen, celebrate “La Bella Luna” during the Full Moon Star Party.
Says Robinson Film Center mensch Chris Jay: "We’re hosting an impromptu premier of a 30-minute program of student films created during our 2007 Summer Filmmaking Camp, a partnership of the RFC and SPAR. The program consists of a handful of wildly creative short films created by students enrolled in Valencia Community Center (Stoner Hill), Lakeside Community Center (Allendale) and David Raines Community Center (West Shreveport). Made possible by a grant from the Shreveport Regional Arts Council, these camps have taken place over the past month. Instructors at the camps were Chris Lyon, Allison Bohl, and Sara Hebert, all of whom did outstanding jobs making the most of chaotic summer camp environments and helping the kids create some outlandish, wonderful short films."
If you want to to discuss issues of the day with intelligent teens, assay the region of Darfur and the Western world's general avoidance of the genocidal tragedy.
Increasingly Americans of all ages will email their congressmen (see sptBlog links for their addresses) to ask for thought and action re the tragedy in Sudan.
The latest effort to galvanize the public is a movie called The Devil Came on Horseback.
The New York Times review of the movie is found in a Manohla Dargis article entitled "Showing the Unspeakable From Six Months Spent in Darfur."
Dargis writes, "Brutal, urgent, devastating — the documentary “The Devil Came on Horseback” demands to be seen as soon as possible and by as many viewers as possible. An up-close, acutely painful call to action, the movie pivots on a young American, a former Marine captain named Brian Steidle, who for six months beginning in the fall of 2004 worked for the African Union as an unarmed monitor in Darfur. What he saw in Darfur was unspeakable. And then he returned home, his arms, heart and head filled with the images of the dead."
Nonetheless, teens sometimes are like artists. Their role may be to bring the concept of conscience to a higher place on the table.
Award-winning actress, director and Southfield School drama teacher Mary Thoma has just returned from New York, says Shaum Grimshaw of Bossier Arts Council. Thoma attended workshops presented by the Broadway Teaching Lab with instructors from Yale Drama School, Julliard, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.
Youths can learn new skills in improvisation, storytelling through movement, scene and monologue work in her Young Actor Workshops.
* Ages 7 to 17.
*All young actors are expected to have memorized a 1- 2-minute monologue (no longer monologues, please) taken from a play, movie or book. Suggestions will be made available upon email reservation, if needed.
* Limited to 16 participants.
* Saturday, August 4, 10 am to 4 pm.
* Bring a sack lunch and drink.
* East Bank Theatre/Bossier Arts Council 630 Barksdale Blvd.
* Registration: email [email protected] or phone (318)861-0538. Deadline Friday, Aug. 3.
Says Thoma: "I had a Marvelous experience in New York, training at the Broadway Teaching Lab and cant wait to share the fun and exercises! I was very affirmed in my teaching style and process."
In a July 23 article entitled "Shreveport lures production / Katrina, tax incentives turn city into a production hub," writer Bashirah Muttalib sized up Shreveport and New Orleans.
The Louisiana Wave Studio, which houses the tank, is the only feature film facility in the U.S. that can automatically generate a variety of waves up to nine feet and horizontal storm conditions. The 8,000 square-foot tank, 100 feet long, 80 feet wide and 8 feet deep, holds 750,000 gallons of water.
Part of Shreveport's film infrastructure now includes production studios, according to Acree, with plans for a subsidiary of Nu Image to build a $10 million facility expected to be completed year.
StageWorks of Louisiana, offering clear span sound stage space totaling 52,000 square feet and 25,000 square feet of networked productions offices, including a wide range of amenities. The facility has hosted TV and film projects including, Kevin Costner's "Mr. Brooks," Warner Bros.' "The Year Without Santa," the Weinstein Company's "The Mist" and Nu Image's "Mad Money."
Mansfield Studios, with more than 75,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of converted stage space with 26-foot clear ceilings, full service production offices and vendor support services.
Stage West, in association with TurnKey/Louisiana, has more than 50,000 square feet in stage space, hosts Cinelease & Expendables Plus and Avid Meridian offline edit suites.
Mansfield Studios, in association with Louisiana Production Consultants, boasts 80,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of air-conditioned stage space and 26-foot clear ceilings.
While this bodes well for Shreveport, there is an offsetting balance to the city's lure.
" 'Major Movie Star' is the fifth Nu Image/Millennium Films' production we've done here. The city is tremendously accommodating with locations, permits, closing of roads and the people are great," producer Michael Flannigan said. "The drawback is that this is not Hollywood where there is an abundance of resources. You have to bring in a lot of people and equipment. In the long run, it eats into those tax incentives."
The Variety article also looks at New Orleans, where productions are beginning to return. One respondent says, "We wanted to show that ... New Orleans is not just a Third World country without running water."
Sadly, the image sticks. In effect the writer has implied that it's a Third World city that has managed to get running water.
The story makes it abundantly clear that Shreveport is Normalsville, with an Anywhere, USA, landscape.
Tickets are now on sale for Shreveport Little Theatre's Summer Lagniappe drama, Daughters of the Mock, by Judi Ann Mason, directed by Vincent Williams. The play will be presented at 8 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at the University Center Theatre at LSUS, says Robert Darrow.
This African American drama is set in south Louisiana where three generations of women share a horrible secret. The play is a mysteriously haunting tale about a grandmother's curse that protects her daughters. A Louisiana woman, her daughter, and now her granddaughters must carry on the curse to protect future hearts from the clutches of a man.
The cast features Panderina Soumas as Maumau, Pamela Hamilton as Oralia, Sharon Penson as Maneda, and Shana Rogers as Amanita. Along with director Vincent Williams, the production crew includes Carolyn Jones Haygood, costumes and makeup, and David White, lighting.
Box Office noon - 4 p.m., weekdays.
"We need about 10 additional artists to create ofrendas for the Dia de Los Muertos celebration being installed in Artspace in September," said Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Pam Atchison. The celebration of Mexican culture opens in Artspace, 710 Texas, on Sept 14. Expect a profusion of flowers and skulls and mariachi music.
An ofrendas is an offering, or tribute, to someone important to your life. Most ofrendas comprise a framed photo of the loved one surrounded by objects representative of their lives. The food, drink or material goods favored by the deceased are placed on a table, or altar. The display is surrounded by flowers, candles and other decorative touches.
"In SRAC's tribute to Mexican culture we are displaying ofrendas created by local artists in tribute to deceased artistic figures," said Atchison. "For instance, Tama Nathan's ofrendas is dedicated to Frida Kahlo. Talbot Hopkins' altar will celebrate Clyde Dixon Connell. Jane Heggen and Thelma Harrison will give tribute to Clementine Hunter."
Interested in building an artist's ofrendas? See the guidelines at Shrevearts.org or call Stacie Leng at 673-6500.
NY Times writer Harriet Rubin says, "Michael Moritz, the venture capitalist who built a personal $1.5 billion fortune discovering the likes of Google, YouTube, Yahoo and PayPal, and taking them public, may seem preternaturally in tune with new media. But it is the imprint of old media — books by the thousands sprawling through his Bay Area house — that occupies his mind."
In an article entitled "CEO Libraries reveal keys to success" there is considerable comfort for teachers and classicists. Rubin writes, "Serious leaders who are serious readers build personal libraries dedicated to how to think, not how to compete." She cites Steven B Jobs extreme interest in the books of William Blake and the attention paid by Michael R Milken to books about Galileo.
Rubin says that "Dee Hock, father of the credit card and founder of Visa," retired and built a magnificent library. "In his library, Mr. Hock found the book that contained the thoughts of all of them. Visitors can see opened on his library table for daily consulting, Omar Khayyam’s “Rubáiyát,” the Persian poem that warns of the dangers of greatness and the instability of fortune."
Shelly Lazarus, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, tells Rubin, "“As head of a global company, everything attracts me as a reader, books about different cultures, countries, problems. I read for pleasure and to find other perspectives on how to think or solve a problem, like Jerome Groopman’s ‘How Doctors Think’; John Cornwall’s autobiography, ‘Seminary Boy’; ‘The Wife,’ a novel by Meg Wolitzer; and before that, ‘Team of Rivals.’"
"CEO Libraries" has been high on the NYT's Most Emailed list since its publication on July 21.
Some 250 people trekked to LSUS Theater last week to see the debut of the movie Plummet, a half-hour drama made by Chris Lyon and film partner Luke Lee. At age 20, these independent filmmakers have created a piece that compares well to film school graduate work.
The movie's strengths were in production values: big sound (especially in the underwater sequences), first-rate HD cinematography, and editing that was of a piece. They also scored in several additional ways.
Lorna Dopson, the female lead, played the sort of girl every movie needs. She portrayed an unpretentious, intelligent young woman who wasn't afraid to fall in love and make out madly.
Much of the time, male lead Derek Johnson seemed unaccountably laconic and depressed. The script failed to adequately explain his muddle. But the movie's slow opening was picked by the intervention of a friend; it was played with lead-role charisma by Ren Heeralal. And the role of the psycho was confidently portrayed by Ian Price.
Ron Fagan played the professor whose class on dying added philosophical stimulation to the story. Writers Lyon and Keith Shively added a deft touch by focusing on the physiological as well as emotional aspects of the intersection of life and non-life.
As the movie's male lead sinks into a swimming pool following a deadly attack, the filmmakers showed technical savvy and script-writing dexterity. For me the ending worked. Although its ambiguity may not suit all, the closing certainly offered a beginning for post-movie discussion.
In their premiere at LSUS Theater the movie's makers delivered a shimmering denouement. A curtain behind the projection screen rose and a 4-piece rock band, A New Pace, performed the last song in the soundtrack. The credits scrolled above a lovely performance by Josh Lyon, keyboard, and Colton Blount, vocal. They were backed by Chase Reneau and Kurt Wiley.
Having completed their movie, Lyon and Lee have begun an odyssey. They will finish production of the DVDs (and slight problems in the lip-synch will be corrected, Lyon said) and begin the tedious and costly applications to film festivals. They must build support for the movie with more showings. Their web sites on myspace and facebook must continue to vibrate.
Will they be able to sell the value of their project to more investors? Is there enough vibe in Plummet to build a wave of support?
Slip over to the blog at Perennialmedia.com to follow the lives of the two filmmakers. A successful debut? It’s one step. There are many ahead.
Producers of the Lyon and Lee movie were Bruce Hennigan of 613 Media and Lori Baynham of Baynham Advertising. Also contributing were designer Jeremy Johnson and photographer Hannah Parker.
"We're allowing Rick Rowe to make the announcement of the people being inducted into the CE Byrd Hall of Fame in 2007," said Byrd principal Jerry Badgley. "He'll tell the story on KTBS Friday at about 5:15."
Yet we know that one of the new Hall of Famers is a painter and sculptor. She is artist Jerry Wray.
Wray's art has been purchased by people in Europe, Asia and across the US. Her work is in 6 US museums. The Newcomb graduate has been a leader in arts education in Shreveport.
The vibrant painter, known for process art and for non-representational art as well as landscapes, raised 4 children while pursuing her career as a painter. She has been married to George Wray, Jr, for 60 years.
See her work and more at Jerrywray.com.
"We've had coverage by media teams from Natchitoches and Alexandria, not to mention Shreveport," said Bonne Summers, producer of TNT, the monthly Thursday Trolley Tours of Shreveport's arts district. "And we've had 200 to 300 people arrive at Artspace, 710 Texas, to enjoy the rides."
Stacie Leng, Shreveport Regional Arts Council, aka SRAC, says it's one of the best attended summer programs since Neon Saturday Nights.
Jeff Everson and Andrea Master, of the Young Professionals Initiative of the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, were in their element. "We're part of the Art Mob," said Everson. "We're here to enjoy the tour as well as listen to Buddy Flett and check out the new sculpture in Artspace."
Matt DeFord, artist and art teacher at Northwestern State, Natchitoches, explained his casting process to Julie and Mike Miller.
DeFord's sculpture exhibit has a series of heads cast in plastic and iron.
Photography by Ernie McDaniels, a show that debuted at Artspace last month, drew many onlookers. His black and white work was competent and coherent. In one photo a group of teens at a concert gyrated with salacious intent. A family at the beach offered viewers a retro moment; the scene looked like a 50's snap by Ed Friedlander. There were carefully composed nudes and an affecting, frame-filling portrait of an African American boy.
"Join us for a laid-back evening of music by Junior III, delicious food and fantastic auction items presented by Sonja Bailes and Ed Walsh," says Ken Beatty of the Philadelphia Center.
It's the 18th annual auction against AIDS, to be held Sat, July 21, 6:30 pm, at Municipal Auditorium. They're calling it Bluesiana Saturday Night.
Tickets $45 at the door; $40 in advance.
In the auction: fresh art from Trudeau and numerous other artists.
Louisiana's Department of Tourism is advocating the return of visitors with a "Fall in love with Louisiana all over again" program, says Kelly Pepper. There is a Lot to Love about La and in an attempt to highlight more of them the Office of the Louisiana Lieutenant Governor (OLG) and the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism (DCRT) in cooperation with the Louisiana Lottery and the Greater Baton Rouge Area Arts Council announce the "LOUISIANA JOYS, ARTS, ZEST & ZEAL", (La. JAZZ) visual arts contest.
* The winner(s) of the contest may receive as much $3,000.00 licensing fee to allow the winning work(s) to be displayed on Louisiana Lottery Scratch-off tickets.
See it all at Crt.state.la.us/lajazz.
Shreveport rapper Hurricane Chris 'adds to the lexicon' with slammin' hook: A bay bay!
Shreveporter Chris Dooley, aka Hurricane Chris, has a tune climbing the hip hop club charts, says Steve Johnson of USA Today. It's called "A bay bay."
Johnson interviewed Dooley and found "It just means 'fa' sho,' " says Chris. "Like, 'Are we going out tonight?' 'A bay bay.' Or you see a car you like. 'A bay bay.' It means 'I'm with that' or 'I'm riding with that.' "
"The song pays homage to DJ Hollyhood Bay Bay, who spins records at KoKo Pellis, a club in Shreveport, La. The crowd would chant "Hey, Bay Bay, hey, Bay Bay" whenever he'd enter the club, and it soon became part of the local lexicon," wrote Johnson.
Shreveport's Lava House Records will release a ratchet compilation album under the Polo Grounds umbrella.The drum- and bass-driven track exposes Shreveport's ratchet movement to a national audience. "Ratchet is our whole swagger and our attitude about ourselves," says Chris, who wrote his first rhyme at age 8 for a school talent show. "This song is going to open the door for everybody else."
Readers can sample the monstah hook while enjoying the USA Today article.
Some of us have been waiting for a new Leadbelly for the past several years. Chris Dooley might be that person. Or maybe a leggy local rhymer will ratchet out of the "A bay bay" mechanism.
In Paris a progressive mayor has made it easier for an enormous number of people to get greener. The city of boulevards and hairy traffic has set up self-service docking stations for more than 10,600 rental bicycles, says the NY Times.
The bikes provide an alternative to the Metro - as well as to autos. The system is designed to work for locals but suits savvy tourists, too.
It is called the Vélib for “vélo,” bicycle, and “liberté,” freedom. Users can rent a bike online or at any of the stations, using a credit or debit card and leave them at any other station. A one-day pass costs 1 euro ($1.38), a weekly pass 5 euros ($6.90) and a yearly subscription 29 euros ($40), with no additional charges as long as each bike ride does not exceed 30 minutes.
Bicycle commuting is a an evolutionary movement championed by sptBlog. Even this city of humid substropical lassitude might grow as a center for practical cycling. In particular, East Shreveport is a sweet ride.
This fall my buddies at work and I are going to try to bike to work 2 days a week instead of one.
And, secretly, I have a long-term goal of establishing an annual art bike parade for the city. First, I'm going to paint my commuter bike in the colors I saw on a bike in Amsterdam. And I'm seeding the idea with art teachers and students. Next step?
@ Big D's BBQ, 101 Common St, corner of Caddo and Common St.
"Astronautalis and Natives of the new Dawn are both veterans of the Warped tour. Astronautalis played SXSW, for you kids that only go to shows based on sweet status," says the earnest and practical Garner.
"Ps: Big D has a new sandwich, the noids! burger. It's a burger with chopped beef. Bound to be f**ing amazing, so bring food/beer money."
Did you listen to "My dinner with Andy" or others of the recordings by Astronautalis? Whoa. Whadja think?
"Buddy Flett will be playing acoustic blues Thurs night at Artspace for Trolley Thursday - from 5 pm til 7:30 pm," says Bruce Flett. "Jim Caskey will also be on guitar, and maybe some other friends. He'll be on the 3rd floor of Artspace, the area called Coolspace."
Flett is part of an Artspacepalooza. Sculptor Matt DeFord will have a reception for an exhibit of his acclaimed work. And then there are the Trolley Thursday rides.
"Last month we had 400 people come to tour the Arts District in Shreveport on the first Trolley Thursday,' says event producer Bonne Summers. This week buses will begin their tours at 5:30, 6, 6:30, 7:30 and 8 pm.
People have tended to say, "Gee, I did Not know we had such great art centers."
Spt Regional Arts Council: 673-6500.
Chris Lyon and Luke Lee are obsessive creators. And they've been video-possessed at least since they were age 14 at Caddo Magnet High School. They've shot scores, nay, hundreds, of video projects in the intervening years. They've shot so much commercial material that they formed Perennial Media Entertainment Group. So their new 28-minute movie, Plummet, is the fruition of 6 years of work.
Plummet, a mental thriller, debuts Fri, July 20, at LSUS Theater.
Says Robinson Film Center's John Grindley, "Several regional filmmakers will debut new works on Fri, July 20, at the LSUS University Center Auditorium. Admission to the hour-long program, which begins at 7:00 PM, is $5. Tickets may be purchased in advance at www.plummet-movie.com or at the University Center prior to the screening.
2004 Louisiana Film Festival Grand Prize-winning director Chris Lyon will premiere his new film, Plummet, a 28-minute psychological thriller. The film tells the story of Jeremy, a young man who, after meeting and falling in love with fellow student Marie, must quickly unravel a mystery surrounding the life-altering events that follow.
The evening’s program will also include a screening of “Fred,” a comedic short film by writer/director Keith Shively. “Fred” stars Ron Fagan as a quirky, garden gnome-obsessed resident of a tight-knit community who becomes incensed when his treasured gnomes disappear.
Both films are appropriate for all ages. Come out and support north Louisiana’s thriving local filmmaking community."
Matt DeFord is a mixed-media sculptor who lives and works in Natchitoches, Louisiana. An exhibit of his works opens at Artspace Thu, July 20, says Bonne Summers.
DeFord, well-regarded for his ceramic sculpture, says Bill Gingles, joined the art faculty at Northwestern State University in 2005. Matt received his M.F.A. in Sculpture at Kansas State University in December 2004, and a B.F.A. in Sculpture at Brigham Young University in August 2001.
DeFord's work is "an amalgamation," he says, "of found objects, cast metal, sound, light, wood, cast silicone and welded steel. It touches on mortality and its limitations, the transition to death, and then to rebirth. Matt’s work has been exhibited from New Jersey to New Mexico, from Kansas to Canada."
He also says he is happily married to a beautiful Canadian named Julie. They have four children.
Neil Johnson is one of the city's prominent photographers partly because he has packaged his shots and ideas and capable prose into a series of books. Johnson will talk about his considerable work Friday from 5 to 7:30 at Bossier Arts Council, says Danielle Reans.
Johnson has written a photography guide for National Geographic, a coffee table book called Louisiana Journey for LSU Press and a large-photo book called simply Shreveport and Bossier City. All these can be purchased on his inviting web site, njphoto.com (see links, please).
Johnson has many other books in print, mostly aimed at young readers. There's a Battle of Gettysburg book, a 3-D ghost story book that he shot in Keachie, and numerous others. In the illustration you see one of his best-known works, an iconic armadillo that he calls Purple Felton.
His talk is sponsored by West Edge Artists Co-op. Having given up their gallery on Milam St, the co-op is placing art in boites and fomenting art discussions across the city. Next month painter Bill Gingles will discuss his work via a West Edge event.
Neil Johnson's presentation is at 6 pm.
Singer Adam Freedman is rambling across America, being a bard. He will play his Taylor guitar and sing wry tunes at at Courtyard Cafe Mon, July 16, 7:30 pm.
KSCL's John Schleuss will chat with the singer on KSCL, 91.3 fm, at noon. For a sample of his very well-made indie pop tunes, finger over to myspace.com/adamfreedman.
No Dead Artists is an open, juried exhibition of Louisiana art today, says show founder Jonathan Ferrara.
The exhibition is designed to give a voice to underexposed artists.
Winner's work will be on display at the Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, 400a Julia Street, in the New Orleans Arts District, and selected jury winners will appear in a feature article in the September 4th issue of Gambit Weekly. In the article, art critic Eric Bookhardt will review the exhibition.
The annual event is designed to take the pulse of the creative scene in New Orleans and Louisiana. Is there a cultural renaissance taking place right now? This show may help art lovers decide.
All media are accepted, including but not limited to painting, sculpture, glass, metal work, mixed media, video, performance and installation art. Typically there are some 250 applications and the show is attended by thousands, claims Ferrara.
Deadline for postmarked material is Aug 2.
This year's sole juror is Dan Cameron, former curator of Visual Arts at the New Museum and currently the director of Visual Arts at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.
New Orleans-Shreveport artist Mary Jane Potts is one of the artists selling via the Ferrara gallery.
35,000 years ago a magical artist rendered a mammoth in ivory . . .
Archaeologists at the University of Tübingen, says Spiegel, have recovered the first entirely intact woolly mammoth figurine from the Swabian Jura, a plateau in the state of Baden-Württemberg, thought to have been made by the first modern humans some 35,000 years ago. The mammoth and a lion and two more representations are among the oldest examples of figurative art. And they date from the Ice Age.
Doesn't this tiny sculpture of a mammoth remind you of the Venus of Willendorf? The woman was carved some 10,000 years later. She is much more detailed. But the sexual energy, the expression of life force, seems much the same.
Simplicity, suggestion, awareness of the primal: the maker of this talisman established in one carving the classic standards of art.
"Yeah Bike was stenciled onto lots of stuff," noted Christoper Lin, who documented the June Baton Rouge Critical Mass ride and pre- and post gathering.
His terrific biking shots are on flickr.com.
Lin is a member of a Flickr group that I initiated a couple of years ago called simply "Louisiana." There you'll find a pool of some 6000 photos of the Bayou State contributed by maybe 300 photogs. I noticed that Lin also shot a bit of the recent show called Art Melt. Not sure who from North Louisiana might have entered that exhibit. And he's got a couple of additional Flickr sets on bicycling.
When you look at a set on Flickr you'll see a setting in the upper right corner called View As Slide Show. It can be set to Fast for a pleasant viewing experience.
14 July is the French Bastille day, simply called 14 Juillet or less commonly but more officially Fête nationale. Many cities hold fireworks during the night, says wikipedia. Many dancing parties are organised (bals du 14 juillet) and it is customary that firefighters organise them (bals des pompiers).
The day officially celebrates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, though it is often associated, even in France, with the Storming of the Bastille. Military parades, called Défilés du 14 juillet, are held on the morning of 14 July, the largest of which takes place on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.
The parade opens with cadets from certain schools (École Polytechnique, Saint-Cyr, École Navale, and so forth), then other infantry troops, then motorised troops; aviation of the Patrouille de France flies above. It always ends with the much-cheered and popular Paris Fire Brigade. Traditionally, the students of the École Polytechnique set up some form of joke.
* Bastille Day also falls during the running of the Tour de France.
* New York has a large Bastille Day celebration each year on 60th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
* San Francisco has a large celebration downtown.
* Philadelphia's Bastille Day, held at Eastern State Penitentiary, involves Marie Antoinette throwing "cake", which are actually Twinkies, at the Parisian militia and a storming of the Bastille.
Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge Teams make pit stop at Sci-Port!
Tuesday, July 17 from 6-9 p.m.
See some inspiring engineering by young, enthusiastic minds and "catch some rays." It's a free event.
Optional Catfish/Chicken Dinner at 7 p.m.
$7.50 Adults, $3.50 Children. Food reservations: (318) 424-8660.
Wednesday & Saturday at 1 p.m.
Owner of One Planet Solar in Grand Cane, Louisiana, Matt Roberts speaks about the advantages and rewards of solar energy, including lowering utility bills, tax advantages, and artfully reducing your impact on the environment.
Wednesday & Thursday at 3 p.m.
Design, build, and race a solar art car in this cross Sci-Port event.
Monday & Friday at 11 a.m.
Make an artful UV detecting necklace to take home with you. In the process, learn about the type of radiation that causes sunburn and how to protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun.
Monday & Friday at 3 p.m.
Cook a Sun-model art cookie in a solar oven made from a cardboard box.
Guys and Dolls, directed by the young and hungry Ryan Williams, rolls into the Performing Arts Center stage 7:30 p.m. Fri and Sat, July 13 and 14. It continues July 20-21. There are also shows at 2:30 pm Sun on July 15 and July 22.
Trey Jackson, Rob Laha, Jenny Mayo and Emily Kirkland lead the cast. Choregraphy: Laura Beeman. Music: Will K Andress and Amy Wakefield. Tech director: Jamie Sanders.
Guys and Dolls is a musical based on a short story by Damon Runyon. It was first produced on Broadway in 1950 and ran for 1,201 performances, winning five 1951 Tony Awards, including the award for Best Musical. In 1955 the film version was released, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.
$9 for students and children; $17 for adults.
Box office: noon to 4 pm M - F and one-half hour before curtain on performance dates.
Singer-dancer David Williams took the audience into the mysteries of Harlem, 1929, with a sensual and hilarious version of the reefer classic, "When You'se a Viper," last night at LSUS Theater. It wasn't a politically comfortable passage, but the dream of "a reefer about 5 feet long, not too fat and not too strong," is true to America and, presumably, to the New York life of super songwriter Fats Waller. "When You'se a Viper" is part of a 2-hour revue of tunes written in the heat of the Harlem Renaissance by Waller. The show, cunningly called "Ain't Misbehavin," was directed by Robert Darrow and produced by Gene Bozeman for Shreveport Little Theater.
In addition to the tall and graceful Williams the small stage at LSUS was energized by the not-so-tall but entirely charming Carnetta Cooper. Aside from Cooper, this is a cast making its debut in community theater. Each singer has considerable background in church presentations, and it shows in their timing and tunefulness. Mairus McFarland is an adept singer, competent dancer and expert mugger. Barbara Holmes has a rich voice and a smile of platinum. Whitney Jones added long legs and an energetic presence to the boards.
There's a 7-piece band, too. With Grambling student Tramaul Love at the keyboard, the band backed the singers smoothly.
The sexual innuendo and many of the Harlem colloquialisms written by Waller are well dished. But the enunciation of the cast and the performance of the mics and sound team of SLT are works in progress. The art of articulation in lyrics is one developed under the pressure of repeated performance and critical review. There's a balance to be sought in making sure the audience gets the words while the performer has fun with the role. Under the limited lighting of the LSUS theater this cast was struggling to bring clarity to the lyrics.
The band also has a challenge over the coming nights. Such a seasoned set of players might whip up a Harlem storm. On opening night the music was faultless but artless.
The delights of community theater are well realized by the beaming McFarland - his joy of being onstage is palpable - and the shimmering Williams. During an evening of basic hoofing Williams offers a brilliant moment of dance that focuses on his vibrating fingers and torso. Holmes and Cooper are endearing. An evening of Fats Waller tunes is a capital idea.
SLT's "Aint Misbehavin" plays the coming 2 nights: Fri and Sat, July 13 and 14, at 8 pm.
Tickets are $20 and can be insured by calling 424-4439 between noon and 4 pm, M - F. Performances at LSUS Theater are open seating. Unlike the Margaret Place home of SLT, a site being remodeled over the next year, seats at the university theater are spacious and abundant.
Sandra odom, singer and friend of Fairfield Studios, has researched nice things people have said of Dana Cooper, such as, "Literally the best singer-songwriter to come out of Nashville in over a decade, his heartfelt but sophisticated lyrics aim to reconcile the heart and mind in everyday life. His sense of melody is unique and he has a voice that could melt ice caps."
She adds, "A longtime collaborator with Texas' Shake Russell, Cooper recently returned from touring in Denmark, Sweden and Ireland. Noteworthy appearances include Austin City Limits, The Cactus Café (also in Austin) and Mountain Stage, which is broadcast on West Virginia public radio."
Listening to Goodmornin Blues at the Noids myspace site reminds me that this trio is among the few punk slash garage groups doing Leadbelly. And they are shakin Mr Huddie Ledbetter's material in a way that I feel he would approve.
An outdoor gig at the corner of Common at Caddo St? Leadbelly undoubtedly played his Stella 12-string within a few blocks of that address at more than one point in his ramblings in and out of the St Paul's Bottoms.
The Noids - Paul Garner (also the poster artist), Hayden Camp and Jessie Gabriel - are not slick; they are the real schpiel. Like the BBQ at Big D's, 318-226-0301.
"Ain't Misbehavin' is a tribute to the black musicians of the 1920s and '30s who were part of the Harlem Renaissance," says Wikipedia. "It was a time when Manhattan nightclubs like the Cotton Club and the Savoy Ballroom were the playgrounds of high society and Lenox Avenue dives were filled with piano players banging out the new beat known as swing. Five performers present an evening of rowdy, raunchy, and humorous songs that encapsulate the various moods of the era and reflect Waller's view of life as a journey meant for pleasure and play."
Starring Dr. Mairus McFarland, Carnetta Cooper, Barbara Holmes, Whitney Jones and David Williams, this show is Shreveport Little Theater's first black production.
And this show makes more new friends because of the location. It's at LSUS Theater. The Margaret Place home of SLT is being remodeled. An entire season of shows will be produced at LSUS, says director Robert Darrow.
Musical director is Grambling University's Marcus J. Rhodes.
July 12-14, 8 pm; LSUS University Theater.
(318) 424-4439: noon to 4 pm, M - F.
The Artcar Museum is a private museum of contemporary art located in Houston. It's on Heights Blvd near Washington Blvd. The museum, nicknamed the Garage Mahal, opened in 1988.
The Artcar Museum shows more than vaporous vehicles. Its emphasis in fine arts includes "artists that are rarely seen in other cultural institutions," says the web site. Last week we saw displays by artists working in lucite, encaustic, clay, paper and video.
The Artcar Museum is a below-the-radar sort of place in a city where the art scene has exploded. One of our favorite Houston photographers, Killy Chavez, said, "In all the years I've been in Houston, I've never been to the Artcar Museum, nor to the Artcar Parade."
Houston's Artcar Parade is "The first and largest Art Car Parade in the world," says Wikipedia. It features cars, bicycles, motorcycles, roller-skaters, and many other rolling surrealities.
Houston's Artcar parade debuted on Montrose Blvd in 1986. In 1988 some 40 decorated vehicles were featured during the Houston International Festival.
Today the parade is sponsored by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, which is a story of its own. Held on Allen Parkway, the 2004 parade featured 250 entries observed by a live audience of over 100,000 people. The 2007 parade featured 282 entries, says Wikipedia.
Some of the most elaborate cars in the parade are displayed in the Artcar Museum, a center founded by Ann Harithas, artist and long-time supporter of the Art Car movement, and James Harithas, former director of the Corcoran Museum, Washington, D.C. He is current director of the Station Museum of Houston.
She is one of the dancingest members of the Blanc et Noir Marching Society, and I must say I admire the pioneer spirit and Creole vibe of Panderina Soumas. While she's had Soumascreole.com online for some time, Panderina is now opening a storefront in Bossier.
She says, " I've got Creole Red Beans~n~Rice, ‘Jumpin-Da-Broom’ Jambalaya Mix, Creole Gombo Mix, Creole Bayou Bean Soup Mix, Gris-Gris-Soup/Stew Mix, Soumas Heritage Creole Cookbook, Creole Pralines, West Indies Creole Sauces, Unique Fleur De Lis items and more.
Soumas Heritage Creole Gift Shop & Gallery culturally invites each of you to a small celebration for the July opening of this new shop.
Come browse, buy and listen to the sounds of Louisiana Jazz and snappy Zydeco music while you shop and network. I look forward to seeing you all and meeting new faces."
It's the 18th annual auction against AIDS, to be held Sat, July 21, 6:30 pm, at Municipal Auditorium. This year's edition is being called Bluesiana Saturday Night.
Says Julia Foley, "Please vote on Monday and Tuesday, July 9th and 10th, for Chronic Soul (Rene Foley's band) in the CBS Early Show Living Room Live Battle of the Bands competition. Vote by going to CBSEarlyShow.com. Click on the Early Show banner (done for you in this SptBlog post) and scroll down to the Living Room Live voting section.
Just click on "Chronic Soul" and submit. That's all there is to it and you can vote as many times as you like. To see the video, go to the bottom of the page and hit the link for Living Room Live and it will take you to the site with the videos.
The video will be broadcast on the CBS Early Show on Monday, July 9th. After that you can vote until Wednesday morning. The winner of this round will be announced on Thursday morning's show.
Since Hurricane Katrina, Rene has been in Shreveport, working diligently with his friend Gary Randall to get their music more exposure. Please take a minute and show them some love."
If only more songwriter-performers were as media-savvy as Californian Adam Freedman: he lines up a KSCL radio interview - with live performance - prior to his Mon, July 16, show at Courtyard Cafe. That's the way to speak to people.
Freedman's recorded work at myspace.com/adamfreedman is excellent. He opens with loping guitar and pleasant voice, quite in the mode of the day, but builds his songs with canny keys, drums and voices. To me that says the album he's pushing, Best Laid Plans (Gone Wrong), is going to have legs.
KSCL manager Jon Schleuss will interview Freedman on KSCL at noon, to be repeated at 6 pm, and the guitarist-singer will play Courtyard cafe at 7:30 pm.
On his his myspace you can see the national tour he's pursuing. From his bio I've learned he's also working on a PhD in biology at UCLA.
KSCL's Schleuss is working to establish his station as the place to learn about both the indie news and groove. With cosmic gadflies like Leo Kacenjar and Kevan Smith on the roster, this small station is the most exciting media in town.
* Shreveport Green Presentation Wed at 4 p.m.
* Lexi Romine, Wed, Thur & Fri at 1 p.m. Hear from the 2007 Aaron and Peggy Selber Red River Science Fair winner, Lexi Romine, whose project investigated the effects of recycled paper's content on the strength of liner board used to make cardboard boxes. She will share her project and a variety of recycling tips.
* Recycled Paper, Mon, Tues, Thurs, & Fri at 11 a.m.,Sat at 3 p.m.
Create new decorative paper from various paper scraps.
* Recycled Refrigerator Magnets, Mon & Fri at 3 p.m. , Wed & Sat at 11 a.m. Make refrigerator magnets out of found materials while learning the importance and ease of recycling.
* Talking Trash, Tues & Thurs at 3 pm, Sat at 1:30 p.m.
Participate in a discussion on reducing the amount of waste that is sent to landfills.
- GLOBE Week (July 29-August 4).
All activities are included with Sci-Port admission.
Photographic portraits by Scarlett Hendricks will be on display at the Gardens of the American Rose Center beginning July 15 and continuing until Aug. 31, says Pat Gill at Tourist Talk.
Hendricks' portraiture has captured people from age 8 months to 80 years. She will also show fine art images, ranging from future studies to still life and travel photography. For a sample of her highly-realized work, please see the Photography by Scarlett link on SptBlog's list of connections to accomplished artists of the region.
The display will be in Whitaker Hall, located inside Klima Rose Hall Visitor and Education Center. There is no charge to view the exhibit; however, garden admission will apply for those wishing to tour the grounds.
Reception for the Hendricks' exhibit: Sun, July 15, 2 to 4 pm.
The Gardens of the American Rose Center are located near I-20, Exit 5. For additional information, contact the gift shop at 318-938-5534, or 318-938-5402, extension 109.
The West Edge Gallery, 725 Milam St, is closing. West Edge Artists Co-op will focus on expanding their Citywide Gallery Program, says Debbie Engle.
Managing the expansion will be Citywide Gallery Program director Danielle Reans. Also on the agenda: fine-tuning the online presence.
Membership dues will be reduced. WEACo will continue to serve in marketing, networking, education and exhibits for its members.
Monthly membership meetings will continue on first Mondays, and will take place at the Bossier Arts Council Annex. "Thanks to Richard Folmer, Anne Susman and the BAC Board of Directors for their generosity," says Engle.
All artwork will be removed from the gallery by Sunday, July 15.
As a person who watched the many events produced by West Edge artists at 725 Milam, I have to say it was a stimulating and successful year. The numerous art shows, speakers and mixers brought an edge of cultural pursuit typical of a bigger city.
One of the things I liked about West Edge gallery was the variety of artistic levels mingled in the 2 story space. Highly-accomplished painters such as Ellen Soffer, Jane Heggen and Michael G Moore showed alongside those in the early stages of exploring their talent. Art by handicapped people using art as therapy was also presented.
Then there were the Leftist speakers and literary events presented by Michael Parker. At times it almost felt like 1971.
Shreveport is richer for the artistic mining pursued by the diggers above. I will miss the art and the crew that hung at 725 Milam.
If the Louisiana senate agrees, points out Janet Creech, solar and wind rebates for Louisiana citizens are on the way.
wind power equipment for home use, to a ceiling of $25,000, would be provided by a bill by Sen. Nick Gautreaux, D-Abbeville."
- pole mount PV system is fairly economical.
- the first step is to make your home more energy efficient (CFLs, energy star appliances, seal leaks, etc.), then the renewable energy system you build (solar or wind) won't have to be as large and therefore is less expensive.
- grid-tied PV systems are the most popular and less expensive than a stand-alone system (the grid, ie the utility company, takes the place of having the bank of batteries used in a stand alone system and is therefore more economical).
Keep in mind that net metering is available in all of Louisiana and the net meter is supplied to you by the utility company at no charge. The cost of installation is not free, of course, but you can set that up or the utility company can.
Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED). It is the UK's largest carbon-neutral eco-community. Sustainability, both environmental and social, is fundamental to the Peabody Trust mission to fight poverty in London. The Trust works to develop desirable homes and build thriving communities with a long-term future.
BedZED is a mixed-use, mixed-tenure development that incorporates innovative approaches to energy conservation and environmental sustainability. It is built on reclaimed land owned by the London Borough of Sutton, sold to Peabody at below market value due to the planned environmental initiatives.
More background on PVs from the US Dept of Energy here.
It seems someone in this world is using their brains instead of sitting around smoking the last of the fossil fuel deposits.
SptBlog correspondent Rachel Hill writes from Albuquerque: "The first Slow Food dinner is coming up, probably July 24, at Bistro 6301. I hope you'll want to go check it out!"
Hill did the slowfoodnla.org web page for the new organization. She also created the web site for D'Agostino's Catering. Regrettably, D'Agostino's Cafe is no longer part of Artspace.
"Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world," says their web site. "Today, we have over 80,000 members all over the world."
Wired to Win: Surviving the Tour de France, is a real-life drama exploring the physical and mental intensity of competing in sports’ most grueling race. It opens Sat, July 7, for a three-month feature run at Sci-Port Discovery Center’s IMAX Dome Theatre, says Jennifer Tuxen.
The film tells the story of two riders in the legendary race—Australian Baden Cooke and his French teammate, Jimmy Casper—as they attempt to compete in the three-week-long event. It follows the athletes over the peaks of the Alps, the villages of Provence and cobblestone streets of Paris as they try to avoid danger, deny pain and fatigue, control their emotions, seize fleeting moments of opportunity and stay highly motivated.
Wired to Win combines dramatic images from the centennial 2003 Tour de France with spectacular computer-generated and medical imagery. The film draws upon a team of scientists, filmmakers and educators to present a striking portrait of the human brain.
Wired to Win show times through September 2 will be 11 a.m., 1:30 & 3:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday; and 1:30 & 4 p.m. Sunday.
"We are hoping to offer these low rates so that yoga is available for those with modest incomes and so that one can afford to attend classes on a frequent basis," says yoga teacher Susan Bayliss.
The yoga classes - by certified instructors - are $5 per class at Grace Community Church. You need not be a member of the church nor pay any monthly fees. Mats are available, but bring your own if you have one.
Multi-Purpose Room on the 2nd floor; enter through the single door on the south side of the building and follow the signs. | 2019-04-20T09:04:22Z | http://shreveport.blogspot.com/2007/07/ |
2013 was a good year for NIS j.s.c. Novi Sad; however, it was harder than the previous one due to the macroeconomic situation, increase of taxes, excise duties and some other factors.
Nevertheless, despite all this, NIS has made progress. We have significantly increased the contributions to the Serbian budget and our direct and indirect obligations to the state are higher by 25 percent compared to 2012, and our share in the total budget revenues in the last five years has increased from seven to more than 13 percent, says Mr. Kirill Kravchenko, NIS j.s.c. Novi Sad CEO for NIN Magazine.
Does this mean that you are satisfied with the year which is about to end?
We have achieved growth in all production parameters. Compared to 2012, we have increased oil and gas production, but also oil and gas reserves, while refining operations have grown by one third. Our market share is also significantly higher as a result of increased sales in the Serbian market and exports, which makes us the second largest exporter in Serbia. All this is accompanied by good financial results – operating profit will be the same, while net profit will be similar to last year’s, which is not a bad result considering that the income tax was increased from 10 to 15 percent and depreciation rates were increased after significant investments were made.
If 2013 was harder than the previous one, what do you expect from the next year?
Our macroeconomic assumption is that 2014 will be worse than this one. The crisis is not only a problem in Serbia as it affects the entire region. At the same time, the new budget proposal assumes the GDP deficit of 7.1 percent and we witness the problems the state has with large debts of public enterprises… I also see that the Government invests great efforts in resolving this really difficult situation. Because of all this, we expect that the next year will be a bit harder. It will be a great challenge for us to preserve profitability and our efforts will be focused on reducing internal costs, increasing efficiency, and a small increase in sales, production and refining. We have decided to increase efficiency by applying new technologies, which is extremely important. All in all, I expect that the next year will be worse than this one, but at the same time NIS will do its best to make the results as close as possible to what was achieved in 2013.
You have mentioned public enterprises’ debts. Do you find acceptable the idea, which has been widely discussed recently, that debts towards NIS are settled by NIS acquiring certain state-owned companies such as Petrohemija, MSK from Kikinda or the Lubricants Plant?
First of all, our priorities include investments in three largest areas of our business – gas, oil, and gas conversion into thermal and electrical energy. We wish, however, to provide our assistance in resolving all the problems in this country, but we primarily do this through investments and as of the acquisition of NIS, we have invested 500 million euros a year on average. We also try to help the state in finding strategic partners for companies and sectors that are not within the focus of our business, but which may be in our interest for future cooperation between us and those companies. We may provide assistance in finding a strategic partner for petrochemical industry, increasing its efficiency and other segments of the business, but we do not consider being its majority shareholder an option.
You say that you may help in ensuring that someone else acquires Petrohemija and that you would have a normal partner relationship with the new owner and nothing more than that?
Yes, we have made that clear to the Government of the Republic of Serbia, Prime Minister and competent ministers and we do our best to make it come true.
As you mention the relationship with the Government, there have been some misunderstandings lately, in particular on account of the conclusion which the Government has made regarding NIS development stating that “it is preferable that the Serbian staff should assume key management functions in NIS within the period of five years”. What are your views regarding this? Does it mean that the Government is not satisfied with the way NIS is managed?
In the past five years we have never had a situation that a decision is not adopted unanimously, no matter how hard the decision was. As regards this conclusion, it is obviously a technical mistake. Whoever we have talked to has agreed that there was a misunderstanding during the harmonization of technical details. We have agreed to amend the document and it was a mutual decision both of the Serbian and the Russian part. Honestly, I would be happy to have as many Serbian managers in leadership positions as possible and so far we have appointed 40 managers to senior positions in NIS j.s.c. Novi Sad, both those who live in Serbia, and Serbs who were appointed to functions abroad. We have brought those who wanted to contribute to their country and to our company back to Serbia. We have entered into contracts on cooperation with technical faculties and engaged 600 freshly graduated experts in the last three years. And last, but not least, we plan to engage another 200 young experts next year. In addition to that, we have launched several programs of cooperation between Serbian and foreign universities. We engage experts from more than 30 countries as our strategic objective is to ensure that our shareholders are satisfied with the speed of our progress, irrespective of the nationality. Another thing which is very important in terms of relationships with employees – we have a good and constructive cooperation with trade unions, which is very important for us.
The relevant document states that the shareholders should have at least 25 percent of net profit through dividends. Is this possible since you expect that 2014 will be worse than this year?
Lots of efforts will need to be invested in 2014 to preserve the current results. As regards the dividend, I find our policy, which assumes the balance between investments and dividend payment, to be good and at a good European level, because we reinvest the remaining profit and the investments in the years to come will not be less than this year, during which we have invested half a billion euros.
Do your further investments also include the so-called “Deep Refining” project, and modernization of the Refinery in Pančevo, purporting with years to stop the production of “black” products of poor quality, which now account for 20 percent of the total refining process?
In the last meeting with GAZPROM and GAZPROM NEFT top management, Mr. Miller and Djukov clearly communicated that the majority shareholder was willing to invest in the modernization of the Refinery and we are confident to finish the job in three to four years. I have no doubt that the Refinery in Pančevo will be one of the best in this part of Europe. Therefore the “Deep Refining” will take place. For details we are currently making adjustments, and in late January or early February 2014, we will start to prepare the feasibility study, obtain the permits, so that already by the end of next year we could start working on the Project.
How much money will be needed for that?
A minimum of 300 million euros, but the money has already been reserved in our three-year budget for the next period.
Does that modernization involve the so-called “hydro-cracking” and could NIS become a leading regional player without it, since MOL and LUKOIL have already done that in Romania and Bulgaria, with indications that INA is preparing to do the same in its refinery in Rijeka?
There are two approaches to “Deep Refining”. In the region, however, 90 percent of players use coke, and only 10 percent “hydro-cracking”. And it is true that LUKOIL in Bulgaria has opted for that, but INA and MOL use coke, because it is more cost-effective. In any case, without “Deep Refining” our Refinery could only survive through donations, consequently not being a competitive player in the market, because all the players have already renovated or started renovating their refineries.
Often a source of controversy is the Mining Royalty of only three per cent, which NIS has been paying for exploitation of local petroleum. When will this fee be increased?
But, do you know what is the difference between the royalty here, and the one we would be paying in other countries? Only three billion dinars, whereas this year we will disburse to the state budget about 115 billion dinars! In addition, as a result of the stable Mining Royalty, this year NIS has invested in exploration of petroleum and gas reserves more than 200 million euros, and thanks to that we have in the last five years almost doubled the petroleum and gas reserves in Serbia, and yet in the meantime we have also increased the production. Without such an accurate picture of the trends in the Mining Royalty we could not have invested in the exploration of new petroleum and gas reserves. And that probably means a lot more to the state than the three billion difference due to the Mining Royalty. Moreover, when OMV and MOL entered Romania and Croatia they too had the Mining Royalty unchanged for 10 years and that was not challenged in those countries. That is the situation everywhere. When a big investor enters a country, it wants stability so as to be able to plan investments.
But it is for that reason that the share of domestic petroleum in the refining has been increased significantly ever since GAZPROM NEFT became the majority owner of NIS?
In 2012 and 2013 refining has increased by 30 percent, whereas the domestic refined petroleum accounts for 40 percent, and imported petroleum for 60 percent in the total refined petroleum volume. The share of domestic petroleum, therefore, has increased, but not radically, as claimed. Having said this, it is also important that our petroleum reserves keep growing, and even more importantly, that we do not send all the yields from domestic petroleum refining to our shareholders in Russia or somewhere else; we invest that in the development of NIS instead. This is an important factor often forgotten by those criticizing us.
This has created a myth that GAZPROM NEFT is here just to take advantage of the domestic petroleum reserves, and then to leave Serbia. How much are these concerns founded?
I will repeat that our petroleum and gas reserves have doubled, while before our arrival, that is for the previous 20 years, they had been falling. Further to the significant investments we now have a lot more reserves than ever before, and we have a larger market share in derivatives, so these stories really are not founded.
Once you had acquired NIS it turned out that there were many unresolved property issues. What is currently happening and does that mean that while signing the Sales Contract, Serbia did not even know what it was selling, or GAZPROM NEFT what it was buying?
It is true that we encountered some unexpected issues, but I would not blame only the Serbian side. We too deserve criticism, because one could ask how it is possible that in the data we had checked it turned out later that we had failed to see some things. The situation has changed significantly ever since. In cooperation with the state, we have managed to acquire 82 per cent of the NIS property, of which 15 percent are for the use, while the status of a minor property share has not been resolved. Therefore, the situation now is much different than in 2009, when we were the owners of one percent of the NIS assets. I would add that the property issue was only an example of the problems that we came across in NIS, but those other problems we have also been successfully resolving with the cooperation of the Serbian Government.
What are your comments on the latest warnings from Brussels that the agreement on the construction of South Stream is not in line with European regulations? Can this slow down or stop the construction of the gas pipeline?
This is not within the scope of my authority, but here I would like to offer a personal opinion. This gas pipeline is very important, not only for the region but also for Europe. Europe is undoubtedly interested in the implementation of the project as well, so I am convinced that South Stream will be started.
The energy agreement with Russia has been criticised from the very beginning. There are still people, in the Government of Serbia but also on the outside of it, who believe that the agreement must be changed because it is detrimental to Serbia. What are your views on this?
Irrespective of all the talk in the media which aims at spoiling this agreement, I am convinced that the Serbian Government does not want that. The vote in favour of the agreement was unanimous, and it is European practice that, whenever a big investor is coming for a long period of time, it comes on the basis of a strictly defined collaboration framework, which is not subsequently changed. I do not see a risk that could jeopardize the agreement because it is in the interest of Serbia. I would like to remind you that from 2009 up until this year, the taxes and duties that NIS pays into the budget have increased from 60 to 115 billion dinars. In the meantime, the investments have grown five times, and the market share has been doubled. In other words, the European practice, common interest, and the benefit for Serbia are strong enough arguments in favour of the Energy Agreement.
There is an impression in the general public that there are “pro-Russian“ and “anti-Russian“ ministers in the Government. Have you noticed this division as well?
Our relations with everybody in the Government have been good. Of course, some ministers, in addition to these good relations, truly like Russia, but the Government is not either ”pro-Russian” or “anti-Russian”, but rather pro-Serbian. And that is what is most important for this nation. I support that.
Among other things, the document that the Government of Serbia has adopted states that the objective of the Serbian shareholder is increasing rather than decreasing employment, and a social programme acceptable for the trade unions. Do you see this as a criticism of the NIS personnel policy?
employees, and in the upcoming period NIS has to develop the long-term rather than short-term motivation, so that we could keep our finest experts, especially in the geological survey sector.
In your Strategy for the period to 2020, you predict the growth of the NIS share price from the current price of 930-940 to 5,000 RSD. Is that realistic?
We said that that price is possible on condition that we implement the strategy fully and leave behind the crisis that Europe has had in recent years. Unfortunately, the crisis is not over yet, and we have many limitations regarding the estimate of the value of our share, because the Belgrade Stock Exchange is small. If we went public on additional stock exchanges, I believe that the share price would rise.
Does this mean that NIS shares could soon be listed on the London or Warsaw Stock Exchange?
This is a decision of the shareholders and not the management. What they decide is how it will be. I still believe that in 2020 a NIS share will be worth approximately 5,000 dinars. Especially if a positive macroeconomic environment is created and if have good “tools” to estimate the value of our shares.
Is there a chance that in the upcoming period small shareholders could get their representative on the NIS Board of Directors?
Our corporate governance has been making quite good headway. For the past two years, we have had two independent members on the Board of Directors. Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer spent 10 years as Chairman of the OMV Executive Board, and Stanislav Shekshnia is a French professor at the international business school INSEAD. The two of them as independent members of the BoD represent the interests of small shareholders and help us balance their interests and those of the large shareholders.
The black market of petroleum products is becoming more and more of a problem. How widespread has the smuggling become and does this cause a lot of trouble for you?
The black market is always a problem for those who play fair on the market. Together with the tobacco industry, we have developed a plan supported by other players in the tobacco and oil and gas industries. Because smuggling inflicts damage on everyone, but most of all on the state, as the taxes and excise duties are not paid. A conservative estimate that we have made indicates that the state loses at least 100 million euros a year due to non-payment of excise duties and taxes on petroleum products, and an additional 200 million euros on tobacco products. The 300 million euros is a large sum of money for the budget, and I can see a serious intention on the part of the Government to resolve this and bring the black market down to the level which is acceptable both for the state and for the fair players on the market. It is of great importance that the state is flexible and determined to act quickly regarding smuggling, just like a private person would react seeing someone’s hand in their pocket! | 2019-04-19T00:39:43Z | https://www.nis.eu/en/presscenter/kirill-kravchenko-nis-j-s-c-ceo-weekly-nin |
One by one, I set off car alarms.
I walked along the curb and methodically gave each parked car a gentle kick, just hard enough to trigger the siren. Behind me, a dozen violated vehicles already blared out of tune.
The prospect hung back, sullen and quiet. He was having a tough week, and my erratic behavior wasn’t helping his mood any. With each siren adding its voice to the cacophony, the prospect got a little twitchier. To his credit, he hadn’t cut and run. Yet.
Having finished with the cars, I fumbled with the lock on the front door of a vacant house.
But, of course, it could. He hadn’t seen the beetles up close yet. The prospect’s problem with insects was part of the reason I had brought him to this place. I needed to know, when push came to shove, that he’d be able to handle himself. I needed him to overcome whatever phobias and preconceived notions he’d been living with, before he learned about any of the really bad things that are out there.
The lock finally surrendered to my ministrations and the door was forced open by the pressure from the inside. Hundreds of fully grown beetles burst out of the house. Each of them was two to three feet long and stood at least a foot tall. The entire swarm rushed past us and toward the sewer, trying to get as far away from the roar of the sirens as they could. The prospect turned white as a sheet, but he didn’t run. This one just might be a keeper.
“This is New York,” I told him. “We don’t sweat the small stuff. You should see the size of the troll under the Verrazano Bridge. Come on.” I took a careful step inside.
“The beetles we’ve scared off can’t reproduce on their own and won’t last a week outside of the nest,” I said while examining the foyer. “The root of the problem is in here.” The house was a mess–foul smelling and covered with greenish goo. Dozens of semi-translucent eggs, each the size of a golf ball, hung from the walls and ceiling like ornaments, cradled in the slime. You could almost see the larva gestating inside.
“Do we crack them open?” asked the prospect.
“No need,” I replied. “I’ve come prepared.” I pulled a small antique lantern out of my backpack, and lit the candle inside with a match. The special candle, blessed by the Panchen Lama himself, activated the lantern’s magic. Wherever its light shone, the eggs shriveled and died, as though they’d been doused in DDT.
We proceeded through the house, using the lantern to illuminate every corner and nook. The queen would not have abandoned the nest as easily as the other beetles, so I tread very carefully. The prospect opened the door to one of the bedrooms and there she was–three times larger than the drones we’ve chased off–guarding a pile of eggs at the back of the room. The queen trilled in warning and turned toward us.
“Blast her,” I told the prospect.
Frazzled by the sight of the huge bug, the prospect mumbled the incantation, getting half of it wrong. Instead of a powerful blast of energy, he only managed to unleash a spray of sparks, hurled in the general direction of the queen. The insect charged, and the prospect stumbled back, desperately trying to cast another spell. With the queen almost upon him, he managed a shield spell. The queen bounced off it as though it were bulletproof glass, momentarily stunned by the force of the collision.
The prospect began another spell, fighting hard to keep his concentration as the queen got back up and scraped against his weakening shield. Casting several combat spells in a row isn’t easy even for an experienced mage, let alone a rookie. The prospect’s apparent fear of bugs inspired him to dig extra deep within his energy reserves. With a belligerent bug inches away and held off only by an invisible barrier, the prospect spoke the words of power in a trembling voice. It was close, but he managed to finish the incantation before the shield collapsed. The queen was enveloped in a ball of fire for several seconds. When the flames disappeared, a charred chitinous shell was all that remained.
The prospect was practically hyperventilating. “I could have used some help,” he said.
I walked past him into the room and used the lantern to take care of the last batch of eggs. The prospect took another look at the singed bug remains on the floor, and threw up.
The first time I met the prospect was several weeks ago, when I sprung him from a loony bin.
This wasn’t unusual, as such things go. When people first begin to See, their mind wants badly to reject the truth, to pretend that the world is still safe and normal. They convince themselves, or those around them, that they are losing their marbles. Some try to drown out the new Sight with pills or liquor. A few get themselves committed. They don’t typically go as far as to burn their house down.
Back when the prospect went by the name of George Gartner, his Sight began to awaken, slowly. He began to notice things, things that regular people are blissfully unaware of. Mostly he noticed a particularly nasty ghost that’s been haunting his house since the early fifties.
The only one more surprised by this development than George was the ghost. You would think that the old spook might have appreciated having someone to talk to. Being stuck in that house for over half a century with no one but the cats even remotely aware of your existence couldn’t have been fun. Instead, the ghost unleashed fifty years of pent up frustration and anger on poor George. Every day George’s Sight became clearer, and the ghost’s cursing louder. It followed him around the house, wailing, nagging, and shouting abuse the entire time. It got so bad, George could no longer remain in his own home.
He went through the usual stages. Denial, self-medication, and trying to share what he could See with the world. He even tried to get a priest to perform an exorcism, but the church won’t battle what they can’t See. Eventually, George couldn’t take it anymore. He bought a container of gasoline, poured it all over the house and set it on fire.
Lucky for George, he’d been seeing a shrink, and his claims of ghosts and otherworldly creatures had been duly documented. Because of this, when the cops and firefighters sorted things out, he got sent to the nuthouse rather than prison.
The head physician at Bellevue’s mental ward owed the Watch a few favors, and he knew to call us any time someone like George would turn up. After a couple of weeks, it was easy as pie for him to declare George no longer a danger to himself or others, and release him into our custody.
I swaggered into George’s hospital room like I owned the place. I’ve learned how to make a good entrance over the years. Perception is as important as reality sometimes, and it’s crucial to immediately establish who’s in charge.
George gaped at me, trying to puzzle out whether I was legit or just a fellow patient.
I told him about the real world–beings and things that only one out of every thirty thousand people can See. A world the rest of humanity catches glimpses of through fairy tales and scary campfire stories. Not a nice place at all.
I told him about the Watch–a group of people with Sight who do their best to protect humanity. I gave him a choice. He could join us or go out into the night and deal with whatever’s out there on his own. Few people ever turn us down, when the situation is laid out for them like that. Then it becomes a matter of making sure they’ve got what it takes to join.
The first order of business was to ditch his name. Real names have power and one shouldn’t casually volunteer them to every stranger one meets. Stripped of his name, George became a prospect. If found worthy, he would choose a new name for himself, a name that’s safe to share with others. Mine’s Conrad Brent and I’ve been wearing it proudly since the nineties.
After we finished taking care of beetle eggs, our next stop was to visit the oracle of Eighty-Sixth Street.
She had sent word that she wanted to see me, and the oracle isn’t someone I like to keep waiting. She might get annoyed and predict something unpleasant in my future, like an ingrown toenail. The oracle’s predictions came true much more often than not, and no one was entirely sure whether she merely Sees the future or influences it. The whole cause and effect thing gives me a headache, so I try not to think about it. Much.
I left the prospect in the car. He wasn’t advanced enough in his training to be meeting the major players. Besides, I suspected that the oracle knew things about me, things that the prospect had no business learning.
The oracle operated out of a one bedroom apartment above a Korean nail salon in a rundown building. She could do far better, for what she charged. One time I asked her about that. She smiled cryptically as she surveyed the peeling wall paint and leaky ceiling and said that she was exactly where she was meant to be.
I should have known the oracle had a serious difficulty when she contacted the Watch. Her own resources are substantial enough to handle lesser issues. A shard showing up in New York wasn’t just a problem for her; it was trouble for all of us.
Three thousand years ago, Atlantis was the first global superpower. While most of humanity was muddling its way through the Bronze Age, Atlantis had skyscrapers, a public transportation system, and a power grid. Powering it all was a giant crystal, fused with science and magic more advanced than anything another human culture had accomplished, then or since.
One day a crack appeared in the crystal. Some say it was an accident; others blame the Atlanteans themselves, who put too much strain on the crystal, greedily drawing ever more power. Their best alchemists tried feverishly to seal the crack even as other Atlanteans fled the island. Ultimately they failed and the resulting explosion annihilated their culture. The crystal itself was broken into thousands of shards, the smallest of which are still very potent and incredibly dangerous. A decent-sized shard is capable of increasing a magic user’s power hundredfold, which often doesn’t end well for anyone, most especially the hapless mage who dared to use it. A minor personage like this Crimson Prophet character getting his grubby little hands on a shard was even worse. It was like letting a child play with a suitcase nuke.
I jotted down the Crimson Prophet’s address and said my goodbyes. The Oracle of Eighty-Sixth Street would get the help she had asked for. This had just become the Watch’s problem.
I had to give the Crimson Prophet some credit–he knew how to live well. A stately brownstone in the nicest part of Williamsburg was a stark contrast to the oracle’s decrepit abode. I was ushered in through a series of posh rooms by a pair of elegantly dressed men. A trained eye could catch their holsters, hidden under expensively tailored suits. These guys were muscle, but not the cheap, thuggish type. They were the up-market variety, the sort that could handle themselves in a hoity-toity setting like this, but hadn’t forgotten how to break kneecaps out back when necessary.
The Crimson Prophet waited for me in the middle of a tastefully decorated study. The rare paintings and antique furniture served to make the rich feel right at home, and to intimidate the rest. I did my best to appear unimpressed, bordering on slightly put off, on general principle. The prophet himself was a tall, skinny man in his thirties. He wore a three-piece suit with a red velvet robe draped around his shoulders. All he was missing was a top hat and a handlebar mustache and he’d be ready to perform in a play as some sort of a Victorian villain.
A blank stare was followed by several seconds of uncomfortable silence. Could it be possible that the Crimson Prophet did not know about the Watch?
“Arcane cops.” The Crimson Prophet’s smile got even wider. “How delightful,” he added with a barest hint of disdain.
He opened the case and there it was, a piece of Atlantean crystal the size of an iPhone, glowing warmly like a dimmed light bulb. He tapped it with his index finger and shimmers of energy spread across the surface like ripples from a rock thrown into a still pond. It was the largest Atlantean shard I had ever seen.
I thanked him and headed out. I didn’t really expect my offer to tempt him. While the prophet was a dilettante when it came to magic, he clearly understood money and power. He would not relinquish the crystal voluntarily. Fortunately, this wasn’t going to be an issue. I’d staked out his home, and there were no magical wards or other supernatural defenses in place. I’d be back at night to liberate the crystal.
A fool and his shard are easily parted.
Lacking arcane protections, The Crimson Prophet would have to rely on mundane security. Non-magical problems are best solved via non-magical means, and there existed no better non-magical solution than Petya.
At six-foot-four, Peter “Petya” Kuznetsov stood an entire head taller than me, and was at least twice as wide. He moved with the easy grace of a ballet dancer, which he wasn’t, and the precision and purpose of a killing machine, which he totally was. Peter was trained by the Spetsnaz and had worked for the Pennant, the Russian government’s most elite special ops unit. Some say he had gone rogue after a series of unjustified kills, others claim he was planted in New York City as a Pennant sleeper agent on some sort of a long-term mission. Either way, Petya was the best operative money could buy.
At around four in the morning, Petya disabled the security system at the Crimson Prophet’s brownstone. The lock on the front door barely slowed him down. He slipped inside, motioning for the prospect and I to wait.
Two minutes later, Petya emerged and waved us in. The three of us quietly traversed the dark hallways. We passed by one of the goons I met the day before. His unconscious form slouched in a chair, his gun still in its holster. Another sentry lay sprawled on the floor of the next room, a small trickle of blood congealing at the corner of his mouth–a recipient of Petya’s tender mercies.
Unlike the rest of the house, the lights were still on in the study. Petya paused by the door to disable yet another security widget, then we were inside. I reached into the drawer from which the prophet had produced the case earlier, but now it was empty. As I looked up from the desk, a searing pain shot through my body and brought me to my knees.
It was an arcane attack of immense power. My various charms and amulets had absorbed the brunt of it, yet I still felt like I’d just been Tasered. Absent my protections, Petya and the prospect were not so lucky. Petya was out cold, his ungifted body defenseless against the hostile magic. The prospect fared only a little better; he moaned in pain by the door.
I tried for something witty, but was only able to produce a pained grunt. Enhanced by the shard’s power, the prophet’s magic was too much for me to handle.
The Crimson Prophet grabbed me by the front of my shirt with his free hand, and lifted me up to his eye level. He then touched the shard to his forehead and began an incantation. The shard flared, as guttural words spoken in a dead language hung in the air with an almost physical presence. The Crimson Prophet was casting a spell that would rip the magic right out of me, a spell so difficult and dangerous that even the most talented mage would be foolish to attempt it. A spell that he could manage now, thanks to the power of the shard. In moments, he was going to drain all of my arcane powers and claim them as his own.
He struggled to finish the incantation, barely able to contain and direct the dark magic even with the power of the shard. As the last words were spoken, a great jolt shot through my body, an unstoppable invasive force seeking to collect every shred of my magic and bestow it on the prophet.
The Crimson Prophet still held me up at eye level. I could see his pupils widen with surprise, a realization that something had gone wrong. Then I made a fist and punched him hard in the face. There was a satisfying crunch, and the prophet staggered back as blood poured from his broken nose. I went after him, pummeling him to keep him off balance. He whimpered as he tried to scamper away from me. I grabbed his hand and pried his fingers open. I clenched the shard, but it grew dim in my hand, like a useless chunk of glass.
The Crimson Prophet reasserted himself and lunged at me, trying to regain the crystal. Even with the broken nose, he was a fair match for me after I had been worked over by his spells. As he reached for me, I turned around and threw the shard.
The shard slid across the floor, landing near the prospect. He grabbed for it with both hands, then cupped the crystal to his chest. The Crimson Prophet went after him, but before he could cross the room the prospect fired off a beam of energy.
The air smelled of ozone and singed hair. The Crimson Prophet stopped and stared with disbelief at his chest. In it, there was a fist sized hole burned cleanly through. Wordlessly, he crumpled onto the floor.
The prophet’s plan was nearly perfect. He couldn’t have known that I was the only member of the Watch without magic. Almost no one knew, not even others at the Watch itself. I was an accident, a freak of nature, capable of Seeing the arcane, but with no powers of my own.
When I became a prospect, my mentor could not figure out why I failed to cast even the simplest spells. He was not obtuse; it’s just that there has never been anyone like me before. If you could See magic, you could cast it, simple as that. Well, I couldn’t.
I learned to get by. My weapons were bluster, information, and an array of enchanted tools and magical charms that could make Batman’s utility belt turn green with envy. I performed my duties for the Watch, and used their authority and resources to quietly look for clues, hints of what was wrong with me and how to cure it.
One day I would find a way to do magic. A way to repair whatever broken link had crippled me. I was glad that day had not yet come before I met The Crimson Prophet.
I extended my hand wordlessly, and the prospect handed over the shard without hesitation. I smiled at him. To experience such power and give it up voluntarily is no small thing. Yes, this one definitely had a future within the Watch.
First, we had to tend to Petya. Then I’d tell the prospect the good news, so he could spend a few happy hours picking out his new name. | 2019-04-20T04:17:05Z | http://buzzymag.com/a-shard-glows-in-brooklyn-by-alex-shvartsman/ |
Charlotte, NC 28205 Holiday Party. Come celebrate with the LWVCM!
We are again collecting new, unwrapped children's books for the CMPD, and this year we've added another giving opportunity: a 50/50 raffle. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5. Half of the proceeds will go to Hurricane Florence relief efforts and half to the lucky winner of the drawing.
We hope all of our members can join us for this holiday buffet luncheon as we celebrate the joyous season, another successful year of voter advocacy and education, and our League's bounty of new members.
Larry Shaheen, founder of Carolina Political Consulting and former adjunct professor of Political Science at UNCC, will share the Republican viewpoint.
Dan McCorkle, who has managed or consulted with over 55 NC campaigns in the past 32 years will offer the Democrat viewpoint.
Emma Schambach, a UNCC Political Science and Communications student who has been managing VOTE411.org student outreach for college campuses, sharing the Students' perspective.
The cost is free. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or order lunch from us for $10. We ask that you let us know you are coming. Click on LEAGUE EVENTS to RSVP.
Charlotte, NC 28205 LWVCM Board of Directors Meeting. League Board of Directors Meeting.
Click on VOTER SERVICES for more information.
Charlotte, NC 28205 On the Table CLT - The Legacy of Segregation in Charlotte and its Continued Impact. On the Table CLT, is a one-day event when residents from all over Mecklenburg County will come together to examine the history of segregation in Charlotte and how its legacy continues to impact our community.
Light refreshments will be served. Feel free to bring friends!
"Engagement is action! When we come together to learn from and with each other, we have the power to impact our communities."
There's a parking garage on site and nearby on-street parking and parking lots.
NOTE: Your dinner is included in your registration fee.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. Join us as our very own League member, Dr. Jessica Saxe, discusses the current status of the single-payer medical system in the U.S. Learn how this system can save billions while reducing costs, expanding coverage and improving outcomes. Dr. Saxe's decade of experience working with the underserved have informed her convictions. She retired from the CHC System after 34 years as a family physician, dedicating herself to helping people access healthcare and advocating for reform. She has practiced as CMC Biddle Point for 17 years and chairs Health Care Justice-NC, a chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Parking available in the garage across the street. Enter on Davidson between 3rd and 4th. Take a ticket to enter, but there will be no charge on exiting.
NOTE: Give yourself extra time to go through Security.
Parking is free in the FUMC spaces in the 9th Street Garage between Tryon St and Church St. Bring parking ticket inside to be validated.
Women's Issues are everyone's issues and everyone's issues are women's issues.
Park at the 4th Street Deck, directly across from 3rd/4th St./I-277 exit ramp. Using the crosswalk, cross McDowell St. and enter the courthouse through the McDowell St. entrance.
NOTE: Remove all metals from your person, including belts and steel-toed shoes.
Charlotte, NC 28205 LWVCM Board of Directors Meeting.
Charlotte, NC 28205 FEAT meeting. FEAT (Fair Elections Action Team) meeting.
Funding meets at 1:30; Equity meets at 1:50; New Initiatives meets at 2:10 Full Team meets at 2:30.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch With The League. Lunch With The League welcomes Dimple Ajmera.
Dimple Ajmera was elected to a first term on Charlotte City Council in November 2017. She previously served one year as an appointed District 5 representative. Dimple is widely known for her leadership in bringing new life and opportunities to the former 69-acre Eastland Mall site. She is passionate about creating a sustainable, equitable and safe Charlotte and currently chairs the city's Environmental Committee, which is focused on committing Charlotte to become a "global leader in environmental sustainability, balancing economic growth, while preserving our natural resources." Dimple has the proud distinction of being the first Asian-American and the youngest woman to serve on the Charlotte City Council.
The program is free. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or you can order lunch by Wednesday, September 10th at 12:00pm for $10.00.
Charlote, NC 28205 WORKSHOP: Redistricting Reform Advocacy!. The League of Women Voters Charlotte Mecklenburg is working with the LWVNC Fair Elections Action Team to host a workshop to advance a statewide advocacy approach to redistricting reform.
League leaders working to promote redistricting reform reviewed and studied 50 bills introduced in legislatures throughout the country. Our analysis identified the key elements that make up a "reasonable redistricting reform," one that can control extreme gerrymandering and pass the legislature.
During the workshop, we will review these elements and develop steps to move forward. Be a part of the process! Feel free to invite others who are willing to work towards the goal of getting this much-needed reform passed before the next census/redistricting.
Registration is required by August 21 (no charge). Light refreshments will be provided. If you have questions, contact Debbie Snowdon, 704.975.4335; [email protected].
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS to download the brochure.
This is the perfect opportunity to be out in the community fulfilling our core mission + to GET OUT THE VOTE!!
Charlotte, NC 28217 Voter Registration after USCIS Naturalization Ceremony. Join the League in helping new US Citizens complete voter registration forms immediately after their naturalization ceremony.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Phone Bank Call to Action. Join the League and LWVNC in "doing advocacy" regarding the proposed constitutional referendum to call the income tax rate. Click on CALL TO ACTION and LEAGUE EVENTS for more information.
Charlotte, NC 28205 FEAT meeting. Join us for the FEAT organizational meeting.
Charlotte, NC 28205 2018 Annual Meeting. 2018 Annual Meeting headlined by Former District Court Judge Nancy Black Norelli.
The deadline to order dinner has passed but all are welcome to attend the meeting!
Charlotte, NC 28205 LWVCM ANNUAL MEETING. Click on LEAGE EVENTS for details.
Click on VOTER SERVICES to sign up.
Charlotte, Cn 28217 Voter Registration after USCIS Naturalization ceremony. Join the League in helping new US Citizens complete voter registration forms immediately after their naturalization ceremony.
Charlotte, NC 28217 Voter Registrations after USCIS Naturalization Ceremony. Join the League in helping new US Citizens complete voter registration forms immediately after their naturalization ceremony.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. Join us for this month's Lunch with the League.We welcome the Director of Mecklenburg's Board of Elections, Michael Dickerson.
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for details and to RSVP.
6:30am - 7:30pm Throughout Charlotte-Mecklenburg ELECTION DAY. Primary Election Day.
Click on ELECTIONS for information of how to find the Candidates for your area and where to vote.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. This month we welcome Charlotte's City Council members, Edmund Driggs and Larken Egelston. Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for more information and to RSVP.
Charlotte, NC Charlotte's St. Patricks Day Parade. Join the League at the St. Patrick's Day Parade!
We need you to come out and march with your League!
The parade begins at 11am at the corner of N. Tryon and 9th Streets. We will march south to 3rd Street, take a left and finish at Caldwell Street. Be sure to check out the Irish Festival on S. Tryon between 3rd and Stonewall Streets, either before or after the parade. The Festival hours are 10am - 6pm and it features Irish music, dancing, bagpipes (of course), penny of vendors and amusements for the kids.
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for more information.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. Lunch With the League welcomes Ms. Janet Singerman, President of Child Care Resources, Inc. Ms. Singerman will present: Nurturing Opportunity Right from the Start: The Critical Importance of Early Care & Education.
For more information go to LEAGUE EVENTS.
6:00pm - 8:30pm Charlotte Observer 600 South Tryon St. Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 - Graduation Dinner + Meet the Press. Session 5 of Civics 101, a 5-week course led by current and former government officials in a face-to-face format.
Click on CIVICS 101 to Register and for more information.
There's a parking garage on site and nearby on-street and parking lots. Your dinner is included in your registration fee.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Board of Directors meeting.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 - Mecklenburg County Courts. Session 4 of Civics 101, a 5-week course led by current and former government officials in a face-to-face format.
Park at the 4th Street Deck, directly across from 3rd/4th St./I-277 exit rampUsing the crosswalk, cross McDowell St. and enter the courthouse through the McDowell St. entrance. NOTE: Remove all metals from your person, including belts and steel-toed shoes.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. The League welcomes East Mecklenburg High School Student Presentation - Unified: A Political Harmony Seminar.
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for details.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 - City Government. Session 3, Civics 101, a 5-week course led by current and former government officials in a face-to-face format.
Click on CIVICS 101 to Register and for more information about the program.
Charlotte, NC 28204 League Gathering - Dress rehearsal for EVITA. CPCC's theater department is graciously offering our League members the opportunity to gather for the the final dress rehearsal of "Evita." This smash-hit Broadway musical, with lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber, tells the story of Evita Peron, the dynamic and tragic leader of Argentina. A Tony-award winning show, Evita has been translated into 14 languages and has enjoyed over 40 years of success in the West End and on Broadway.
Family and friends are most welcome. There are ample seats available, however seating is on a first-come basis.
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for information about the fundraiser.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Session 2 of Civics 101, a 5-week course led by current and former government officials in a face-to-face format.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 - Mecklenburg County Government. Session 1 of Civics 101, a 5-week course led by current and former government officials in a face-to-face format.
Park at the 4th Street Deck, directly across from 3rd/4th St./I-277 exit ramp.
Using the crosswalk, cross McDowell St. and enter the courthouse through the McDowell St. entrance.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Education Committee Meeting. Equity group meets at 11:30am; Innovations Group meets at 12:30pm; Full committee meets at 1:30pm.
Charlotte, NC 28205 LWVCM Board Reflection/Look Forward meeting. The Board will be looking at successes and challenges of the past year and considering plans for the new year. All members welcome.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Charlotte Women's March - First Anniversary. LWVCM is participating in the Charlotte Women's March.
Click on COMMUNITY EVENTS page for detailed information about the Charlotte Women's March.
Charlotte, NC Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade. Our League Chapter is proudly participating in Charlotte's Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade on Friday, January 13th. All are invited to come out and support the League as we honor Dr. King and increase community awareness of our efforts to further his democratic principles. All ages are welcome!
The Parade route follows Tyron Street in uptown Charlotte from 9th Street to Stonewall Street.
Contact Debbie Snowdon at [email protected] or 704-976-4335 if you plan to march with us for details on where and when to meet beforehand.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. Join us as our speaker from Action NC will speak about how to reduce Charlotte's homicides. Click on LEAGUE EVENTS for details about our Speaker.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Silenced Voices, Silenced Justice protest march. Join the League, Citizens in Action NC and http://www.faircourtsnc.com in a silent protest march to represent the threat of silenced justice across the state. See League Events for details.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Holiday Celebration Honoring Women Elected to Office. The League in conjunction with the Black Women's Caucus and Charlotte Women's March invite you to a a reception honoring women elected to office this November. Honorees include Mayor Vi Lyles and women elected to City and Town council and the Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board. Former female office holders will also be recognized at this unprecedented celebration of women's contributions to government.
Parking is free at Seventh Street Station garage. Validate ticket at the Guest Services Desk.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Holiday Luncheon. Our League is once again joining CMPD and the CMPD Police Explorers to provide books as holiday gifts for families in Charlotte. This project began in 1974 by helping 15 struggling families, and now contributes gifts for hundreds of children across the area.
CMPD also partners with CMS teachers and counselors to indentify families in need of assistance during the holiday season. The LWVCM proudly donated more than 80 books last year!
Charlotte, NC 28207 We Are Democracy Workshop held by DEMOCRACY NORTH CAROLINA. Because of your passion and dedication, you are invited to Democracy North Carolina's first-ever "We Are Democracy" Fall Summit.
This is a pivotal moment for North Carolina and we need your help to push back against efforts to rig the political process in our state. This year we're knocking thousands of doors, making calls, and having crucial conversations with our neighbors to fight for fair voting maps and elections in 2018. But we can't do it without you.
We will equip you with the tools to fightback against voter suppression and set the stage for our collective work in 2018. You'll also learn how your work connects to people like you all across testate!
DEMOCRACY NORTH CAROLINA is embarking on this new era with a new executive director in 2018 -- Tomas Lopez. He's so impressed with our collective work. In his words, "this dynamic organization has accomplished great things, and I'm truly pleased to join my new colleagues and the community of advocates in NC to do even more." He's ready. Are you?
Check-in and refreshments begin at 9:30, and lunch will be served in the afternoon.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. James E. Ford, Program Director of the Public Schools Forum of N.C. is our speaker this month.
Please RSVP and let us know you're coming. If you are ordering lunch, please follow the instructions on the RSVP link. Lunch orders are required no later than Monday, November 6th by 5:00pm. We do not order extra lunches.
See LEAGUE EVENTS for more information.
On-street parking is available as well as in two nearby ground-level, paid parking lots.
Your dinner is included in your registration.
Click on CIVICS 101 to Register.
Charlotte, NC West Side Education Forum. Charles Jeter, Government Relations Coordinator for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will lead the audi-ence through the maze of school funding sources and the elected officials responsible for each. Jeter lives in Huntersville and was twice elected to the NC House. He represented District 92, which stretches down the Ca-tawba River from Huntersville to Lake Wylie, from January 2014 until last year when he was appointed to the CMS staff.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. There will be no League Talk this month; however, the Education Action Team is sponsoring two Education Funding Forums on October 14th and 21st. Please attend the Forum event that's closest to you in place of League Talk. Check LEAGUE EVENTS for information.
Parking available in the garage across the street. Enter on Davidson between 3rd and 4th. Take a ticket to enter, but there will be no charge upon exiting.
Charles Jeter, Government Relations Coordinator for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will lead the audience through the maze of school funding sources and the elected officials responsible for each. Jeter lives in Huntersville and was twice elected to the NC House. He represented District 92, which stretches down the Catawba River from Huntersville to Lake Wylie, from January 2014 until last year when he was appointed to the CMS staff.
Charlotte, NC Protecting Judicial Independence. The North Carolina General Assembly, on April 10, 2017, introduced HB717, An Act to Revise Certain Superior Court Judicial Districts. This bill introduces partisanship to judicial elections and fundamentally alters how judges are elected to the district court bench. This event features a panel discussion with local government and legal experts discussing their perspectives on this issue. The event aims to educate citizens on the impacts of House Bill 717 from the perspective of stakeholders and to discuss proposed judicial legislation and reforms. Event starts promptly at 6:30 and building doors close at 6:30.so arrive early! Seating capacity limited. We hope you will join us.
See LEAGUE EVENTS for link to RSVP.
Charlotte, NC 28204 Night at the Theater. An opportunity to join your fellow League members for a dress rehearsal performance of "Bridges of Madison County."
All seats are specially priced at $12. Tickets can only be purchased here.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. Gerrymandering Update: Where are we now and where are we going?"
Barbara Bleiweis, the redistricting reform team lead for LWVCM and representative to the LWVNC Fair Election Action Team, will update guests on the League training and advocacy efforts towards ending this century old practice of manipulating voting boundaries for partisan advantage.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Education Committee meeting.
Charlotte, NC Charlotte's Labor Day Parade. Join the League by marching in the Charlotte's Labor Day Parade. Meet us at 701 N. College Street at 10:30am.
OR, if cheer us on along the parade route. The parade starts at The Hall Marshall Building, runs down Tryon Street from 9th Street through the Square, turns left at 3rd Street and finishes on College Street.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Women's Equality Day Celebration. All are invited to join us as we celebrate Women's Equality Day on Friday, August 25 from 6:00 + 8:00pm.
Our guest speaker, Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins, served as the first African American president of the LWVUS and will help us to commemorate the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. We will round out the evening with a satirical skit on gerrymandering.
Refreshments will be provided. Suggested donation of $10.
Channel 42 on AT&T U-VERSE, DirecT, Dish, and Comporium Charlotte Mayoral Debate.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Celebrate Gov. Elbridge Gerry's 273rd Birthday!. Celebrate Gov. Elbridge Gerry's (Father of "gerrymandering") 273rd birthday with cake and North Carolina trivia.
Charlotte, NC 28205 LWVCM Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is the League's important business meeting where all members adopt the budget and program for next year, as well as to elect officers as specified in the League By-laws.
An important element of the Annual Meeting is "Directions to the Board." This is the best opportunity for members to share their insight and give input to our newly elected officers.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. Join us for League Talk featuring Darryl Hammock of the City of Charlotte's Storm Water Services Division.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk. Join us in welcoming Darryl Hammock, Assistant Manager of the City of Charlotte, Storm Water Division.
Charlotte, NC 28211 Education Committee Meeting.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 Course Topic: Graduation Dinner & Meet the Press. This is the fifth and final session of the five week course in this year's Civics 101 Program. For more information on the course and instructions on parking, click on CIVICS 101 from the home page.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 Course Topic: Mecklenburg County Courts. This is the fourth session of the five week course in this year's Civics 101 Program. For more information on the course and instructions on parking, click on CIVICS 101 from the home page.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 Course Topic: City Government. This is the third session of the five week course in this year's Civics 101 Program. For more information on the course and instructions on parking, click on CIVICS 101 from the home page.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 Course Topic: Charlotte - Mecklenburg Schools. This is the second session of the five week course in this year's Civics 101 Program. For more information on the course and instructions on parking, click on CIVICS 101 from the home page.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch With the League. Kicking Off the League's formation of a roundtable discussion group on gerrymandering, a representative of Common Cause will be the featured speaker.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Civics 101 Course Topic: Mecklenburg County Government. This is the first session of the five week course in this year's Civics 101 Program. For more information on the course and instructions on parking, click on CIVICS 101 from the home page.
Charlotte, NC 28205 League Talk Welcomes Democracy NC. The LWVC-M is starting the 2017 League Talk series with a discussion on the influence of social medial on elections.
Join us at League Talk, where our guest will be Jen Jones, Communications Director from Democracy NC. She will educate us on the rise of fake news and social media in a post truth Era and how organizations like the League of Women Voters can use social media to counter those narratives.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Holiday Lunch With the League. This month join us in celebration of the holidays at our annual Holiday Lunch.
Please bring a book appropriate for children up to age 8 to donate to the CMPD literacy outreach.
Join us for our popular Lunch With the League program on the 2nd Wednesday of every other month.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Board Meeting.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch With the League. Wonder about the air quality at League headquarters? Join staff members from Clean Air Carolina for a real-time reading at the League Education Center during this month's Lunch with the League.
Mary Stauble, coordinator for Clean the Air for Kids! program, giving an overview of Clean Air Carolina's new Citizen Science program and its educational presentation "investigating our Air with Citizen Science."
Calvin Cupini, will discuss the air quality data.
Program Director, Terry Landsdell, who brought Particles Falls exhibit to Charlotte, may also join the pair.
Click on LEAGUE EVENTS to learn more about our speakers.
12:00pm-6:30pm WTVI, PBS Charlotte, Charlotte Candidate Debates. Candidates for various political posts field questions.
Charlotte, NC 28204 "Why Democracy Matters" - A Voter Education Forum. The League and North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections is sponsoring a Voter Education Forum featuring Chris Fromm, Executive Director of the Institute for Southern Studies and Rhiannon Fionn, Award-winning Journalist and Coal Ash Documentary Filmmaker.
Charlotte, NC 28202 Women's Equality Day Celebration. The League is co-sponsoring this event with the Mecklenburg County Women's Advisory Board. A reception with heavy for d'oeuvres begins at 5:30; the program starts at 6:30pm. Event is free.
The theme is "The Power of The Woman's Vote."
Join Moderator Brittney Johnson of WSOC and our panelists for the program: Dr. Sally McMillen of Davidson College; Pat Orange of North Carolina Women Matter; Mel Hartnell of Democracy NC; and, Michael Dickerson of Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.
Charlotte, NC 28216 Voter Education Seminars. Join us for a voting conversation with experts to learn how your vote matters in local, state and national elections.
Seminars are sponsored by the NC National Alliance of Black School Educator's Affiliates: Greater Charlotte ABSE, North Carolina ABSE, Wayne County ABSE and ABSE and UNCC.
The League is in Partnership with the following other organizations: Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Board of Elections, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Association of Educators, NAACP, Action NC, Democracy NC, NC Women Matters, Friendship Youth Ministry, Safe Coalition and Starbucks.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League. Join us for our popular Lunch With the League program on the 2nd Wednesday every other month beginning in August.
This month: Legal Services Doesn't Just Defend People! Ken Schorr, executive director of Legal Services of the Southern Piedmont, and other staffers will tell League members and guests about the many services their organization offers that are not as well known as going to court. These services include Family Support and Health Care, Immigrant Justice and Consumer Protection. Watch your email for an e-vite to order lunch or bring your own if you prefer.
Charlotte, NC 28215 Voter Registration Drive. Want to register to vote? League volunteers will be available to help you complete a voter registration application. Join us!
Charlotte, NC 28217 Voter Registration Drive. Want to register to vote? League volunteers will be available to help you complete a voter registration application. Join us!
Charlotte Re-airing of U.S. Congressional House of Representatives Districts 9 & 12 Debates. The League partnered with WTVI PBS Charlotte to host three debates that aired originally on Sunday, May 22.
12:00 - 1:30pm WTVI Channel 42, Charlotte U.S. Congressional House of Representatives Districts 9 & 12 Debates Televised. The League is partnering with WTVI PBS Charlotte to host three debates.
The debates will also air Sunday, June 5, 3:00pm - 4:00pm on Time Warner Cable News.
12:00 - 1:30pm WTVI Channel 42, Charlotte U.S. Congressional House of Representatives Districts 9 & 12 Debates. The League is partnering with WTVI PBS Charlotte to host three debates on Sunday, May 22 from Noon - 1:30pm.
The debates will be moderated by PBS Charlotte's Danielle Kosir and Jeff Rivenbark, and Time Warner Cable News' Shawn Flynn.
Charlotte, NC 28209 LWVCM Annual Meeting. Reserve your spot today for the Annual Meeting, Dinner and Featured Speaker.
Worried about the possibility of coal ash poisoning Charlotte's drinking water? Concerned whether Charlotte will be able to continue to provide quality water to our growing community?
Emilee Syrewize, Executive Director of the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation will discuss these and other issues concerning officials about Charlotte water, describe the work of the Riverkeepers, and, discuss issues facing the Catawba River.
Ms. Syrewicze holds a degree in environmental law with a focus on nonprofit and environmental law policy. Prior to her work in Charlotte, Ms. Syrewicze worked in Traverse City, Michigan and can offer a perspective on the Flint water crisis.
6:15 pm League Office Monthly League Board Meeting.
(Corner of 7th Street and Caldwell) Dinner & Particle Falls Outing. Particle Falls, the light projection on UNC Charlotte's Center City building, reveals the invisible dangers in the air you are breathing. It is a dramatic public artwork designed by artists and scientist Andrea Polli that raises awareness of the presence and impact of particle pollution.
Charlotte, NC 28205 Lunch with the League - Voter Registration Planning. Meet for a brainstorming session for Voter Registration plans - coordinating with other county groups for maximum reach - what events should we attend? Bring your own lunch.
Charlotte Monthly League Board Meeting.
10:30 am - Noon League Office (Room 210) LWVC-M Coffee. Please come and meet the Judicial candidates.
7 pm Time Warner Cable News Channel US Senate and Gubernatorial Debates Aired on Television. The US Senate and Gubernatorial election debates will be telecast on the Capital Tonight, aired on the Time Warner Cable News Channel.
8-5 The Voter Newsletter Deadline for Submissions. Please e-mail all questions or content proposals to our newsletter editor.
Ella Scarborough and Vilma D. Leake were unable to participate in the debate. | 2019-04-19T13:02:33Z | http://goleaguego.org/pastcalendar.html |
Beaucoup de travail a été effectué lors des derniers mois, me laissant peu de temps pour parler des nouveautés. Jetons un coup d'œil à la dernière.
Pour le développement de Salut à Toi nous ne voulons pas utiliser de logiciels propriétaires ou centralisés et nous utilisons Mercurial, aussi nous avons jusqu'ici été réfractaires à utiliser les plateformes actuellement à la mode. Avec les améliorations récentes de notre composant SàT Pubsub (vous pouvez lire – en anglais – l'article de jnanar pour plus d'infos), et de Libervia, notre interface web, il est devenu clair que notre vieille idée d'utiliser XMPP et SàT pour gérer les tickets était à portée de main, nous l'avons donc fait.
c'est décentralisé et fédéré, pas besoin de X comptes pour utiliser X gestionnaires de tickets. Vous pouvez également importer des tickets de projets tiers (par exemple des greffons pour votre projet) dans votre propre site web.
c'est standard : il est possible de retrouver ou gérer des tickets sur un serveur extérieur facilement, sans API propriétaire.
c'est extrêmement souple : n'importe quel champ peut être utilisé, et le mécanisme peut être utilisé pour toute liste (rapports de bogues, choses à faire, liste de courses, etc.).
Le fonctionnement est basé sur pubsub avec une extension expérimentale (non standard pour le moment): les schémas de nœud qui permettent de spécifier une mise en forme des données (en utilisant les « data forms » qui devra être respectée pour chaque élément (chaque ticket). De cette façon, les tickets publiés par des clients tiers peuvent être vérifiés et validés. Pubsub a également un système de permissions qui permet d'avoir des collections de tickets publiques ou privées (des nœuds dans la terminologie pubsub). Les commentaires utilisent l'extension microblogage de XMPP (qui aurait plutôt dû s'appeler « blog »).
Mais ça n'est pas tout ! Une autre fonctionnalité a été implémentée par-dessus ça : les requêtes de merges (« merges requests »). L'idée ici et d'avoir un moyen de proposer des modifications/améliorations à un projet sans être lié à un outil particulier, c'est-à-dire que l'on peut les utiliser avec Mercurial, Git ou potentiellement n'importe quel outil. Encore une fois, nous profitons de la décentralisation, et nous pouvons avoir des collaborations/contributions en personnes sur des serveurs différents.
Ci-dessous vous avez une petite vidéo (en anglais) qui montre les requêtes de merge. On utilise jp (l'interface CLI de SàT) pour envoyer les modifications à un serveur. Par défaut, le serveur va essayer tous les gestionnaires de « merge requests » jusqu'à ce qu'il trouve lequel peut gérer le dépôt demandé. Il y a une petite couche autour des commandes pour faire les opérations de base (en particulier créer les données à exporter), puis les données et métadonnées sont mises en forme et envoyées sur le nœud pubsub. Pour le moment, seul Mercurial est implémenté, mais Git va bien entendu suivre, et peut-être un gestionnaire de base utilisant un diff pour les cas les plus simples.
Bien sûr, la fonctionnalité est nouvelle et encore basique : il n'est pas encore possible de préciser les lignes du code auxquelles un commentaire se réfère, ou d'utiliser une mise en forme riche. Cela va bien sûr venir plus ou moins vite, mais si vous voulez accélérer les choses, eh bien, les « merge requests » sont les bienvenues ;).
Pour celles et ceux qui sont à Paris, je serais au « Paris Open Source Summit » (POSS) demain et jeudi (au stand A2, « Salut à Toi »). Si vous voulez aider le projet, nous sommes sur Liberapay.
It's been a little more that one year now that the crowdfunding campain has been successfuly completed, and that we have promised to develop a new Desktop/Android frontend for "Salut à Toi", our Multipurpose, multi frontend communication tool based on XMPP.
It's time for an overview of the state of the development. You'll find below a link to the first .apk (pre-alpha), FOR TESTING PURPOSE ONLY.
As we've already announced, the new Desktop/mobiles (Android only for now) frontend will be named "Cagou", a wind to the Kivy framework that we're using, and to this endemic bird of New Caledonia, which bark and can't fly.
Oh, and yes we know that "Cagou" has different meaning in different languages.
This part is technical, you can go directly to the next one if you're not interested.
After a short time to get familiar with the Kivy ecosystem, the first step has been to integrate "Quick Frontend", which is a common base that we are using, as you guess, to quickly develop a frontend and factorise the code (cache handling, contact list – or "roster" in XMPP world –, widgets, etc.), then to integrate the "bridge" which is the name that we are using for the IPC and which handle the communication between the backend (which is the heart of SàT) and the frontends.
This phase went relatively well, and was followed by a thought on the architecture and user interface.
Once all of this was more or less usable, the Android port could began.
Things have been a big more complicated there. The Kivy community has created several tools to develop on this platform, including python-for-android (compilation and archive creation tool), and Buildozer (multi-platform tool to facilitate the use of the first one). Using these tools take some efforts, specially for a project already well advanced (it's far more easy if you start directly with Kivy and the Android port).
There a 2 "chains" for developing on Android: the old and the new one. After the first unsuccessful tries with the new one, it has been temporarly put aside for the old one, the time to build the foundations of the port.
Pure Python dependencies can be imported easily, but as soon as it get more complicated, you'll have to creates "recipes" to tell how to build something to python-for-android. Fortunately, most of those needed for SàT (Twisted in particular) were already available, and just needed to be updated.
After all this dependencies and building chain problems solved, and after the joy to see the first .apk (no working), 2 other big troubles showed up: D-Bus which is the main "bridge" is not usable on Android, and how to have the backend and the frontend running together?
Being my first Android development, I've had to read a lot or documentation (which luckily is not lacking), and after a first try with a bridge "embedded", allowing to have backend and frontend in the same process, it's finally a new "pb" bridge which solved the issue. "pb" stands for "Perspective Broker", the Twisted IPC. Android native IPC is an other option to be evaluated in the future.
To launch the backend, Kivy comes with modules to start it as an Android service. With it, the backend can stay in background and process messages and other activities when the frontend is not visible to the user (which means frozen until the user show it again on Android).
This section is already long, so I'll skip other problems (like the lack of HTML widget), and let's now talk about the UI.
At the moment Cagou is usable on desktop (GNU/Linux, but other platforms will most certainly follow), and on Android.
The current release is a pre-alpha, the .apk is available below, only to have a rough idea of the software. It is really bugged, doesn't check yet server certificates, doesn't handle SRV record on Android, etc. This is linked for 2 reasons: showing the progress, and having feedbacks early enought to go in the right direction.
You can't create account from the application (this will come before the release), so if you have no account yet you can use Libervia(SàT), the demo instance of our web frontend, to create one.
Cagou's UI take inspiration from the excelent Blender. The widget selection and splitting are the most obvious examples. The huge bars that you can see should disappear later in favor of a small button, which may follow Blender example again. The goal here is that a newcomer can switch widgets intuitively, and an advanced user can use this splitting feature.
The contacts list is not the central element in the interface, it can be displayed if wanted, but it's not needed to use Cagou.
The upper menu, which is for now always visible, will certainly be only available on Desktop. On Android the menu button or a floating touch one should replace it before the release.
If you have notifications, they should appear for a couple of second on the top, but you can read them later by touching the cagou head on the upper left.
If there is an event needing user action (for instance a website needs your authorisation with XMPP), an other cagou will appear on the right, and the dialog will only appear after touching it. The idea is to never have an unwanted popup stealing the focus when you are doing something else: popups are displayed only with explicit user action.
In Android case, it may be replaced by the native notification system in the future, but it's not decided yet because notifications history would not be available anymore.
To change the mode (widget), you just have to click on the upper left button in the current widget. Only 4 widgets are available so far: the selector which display all widgets available, the settings, the contact list, and the chat. Other are planed, notabily the blogging one.
Inside a widget (only for chat so far), you can swipe horizontaly to switch between active conversations.
For now it's not easy to use the first time (you have to do a very quick swipe), it needs some tuning.
As for other SàT parts, Cagou is thought since the beginning to work with plugins and being easy to extend. All the widgets and file transmitting system (see below) are plugins.
As we want a frontend usable on small screens, which is simple but without making sacrifice on features, we have to find a compromise between data displayed on the screen and the elements/buttons needed for actions. Too many elements will make the UI more complicated and take room, but not enough will make the actions more difficult to do.
The current design (which can evolve) has a header with an input bar and a button (in addition to widget selection button), the body with messages, and a bottom input bar with a button too.
To talk with one or more contact(s), type some letters belonging to its name (anywhere in the name). For now, only identifiers ("jid") and already opened talks are looked for, but later the search will include names, nicknames and bookmarks.
Cagou detect if you want to talk to a single person, or to a group chat room, and will act consequently.
The end 2 end encryption is there, but only with OTR (v2) for the moment. OX (modern OpenPGP) and OMEMO are planed, but it's not sure that they will be available for the next release (they may be there for the following one, 0.8). To use it, you just have to click on the lock, it will be closed if the chat is encrypted, and will have a question mark if your contact is not authenticated.
Let's go directly to the input bar. You'll see on the right a "+" button, click on it and you'll have a sending dialog.
This dialog has 2 buttons on the top, with which you can choose between uploading the file or sending it directly using peer 2 peer. A text under them explain in simple language where your file will go, and if encryption is done (for now all files are sent unencrypted).
This text message is important to let the user understand where the data are transiting, it's the kind of information we plan to put in several locations.
The buttons below are the various transmitting options. On desktop, you can only use a file browser (for now), but on Android you can also send a picture from your gallery, take a new photo or a video, or record a voice message.
In addition to the work on Cagou itself, other things have been done.
A now mandatory feature with the explosion of mobile devices, carbon copy has been implemented. Server archives is implemented for long fot blogging, but not yet for chat messages, it will be done before the stable release.
Small binary files handling ("BoB" for "Bits of Binary") is now available. Implentation has been motivated by its use on the friend project Movim.
Delivery receipts and HTTP authentification have been contributed by Chteufleur.
Since the 0.6.1 version, messages handling has been improved, making now possible to implement features like last message correction, planed for the release.
Lastly, component (for gateways) and static blogs have also been implemented, but we'll talk about this later.
SàT is a huge project with strong ethical values (check the social contract), and it need help! It can be as easy as coming to talk with us (our room is at [email protected], also availble by clicking here).
If you can, financial aid would of course be useful, we have recently opened an account on the excellent Liberapay.
And of course contributions are useful, specially development but also translations, icons, CSS, etc. Most of the coding is done in Python, and working on SàT is working on a tool you may use everyday. You'll not find us on big centralised forges, but we are in the process of modernising our development tools (more to come on that).
Talk about our association and project around you is always useful.
I think the most important things have been said, I'll try to keep you up to date with shorted posts.
Cela fait maintenant un peu plus d'un an que la campagne de financement participatif s'est achevée avec succès et que nous nous sommes engagés à développer une interface bureau/Android de « Salut à Toi », outil de communication multi-interfaces et multi-usages basé sur XMPP.
Il est temps de faire un petit état des lieux du développement. Vous trouverez en bas de cet article un lien vers une première version (pré-alpha) POUR TEST UNIQUEMENT.
Pour la petite histoire, nous entendions faire une campagne plus importante à l'origine quand nous avons décidé de faire un financement participatif. Mais suite à des discussions avec l'équipe d'Arizuka (plate-forme que nous avons choisie), nous avons largement réduit la somme demandée, ce qui s'est avéré judicieux puisque nous avons réussi la campagne : nous avons récolté 3 326,00 € sur les 3000 € demandés, soit 3 159,70 € après les frais.
Évidemment, cette somme est insuffisante pour vivre, aussi nous avons repris une activité salariée (j'en ai d'ailleurs parlé ici) et dû réduire le rythme de développement : je suis le seul développeur actif à l'heure actuelle (avec quelques contributions, notamment les accusés de réception et la authentification HTTP par XMPP par Chteufleur).
Ajouté aux choses annexes (gestion de l'association, écriture d'articles, projets liés, etc), ceci explique le temps de développement.
C'est aussi cette situation qui explique que nous avons réduit notre participation aux événements du Libre, ainsi vous ne nous avez pas vu au Fosdem cette année.
La plupart des contreparties promises aux soutiens ont été fournies (mais pas toutes, certaines n'ayant pas encore été réclamées). La somme reçue n'a pas encore été utilisée, sauf pour les frais fixes (serveurs, plate-forme de paiement des cotisations, banque).
Si ceci vous intéresse, vous trouverez les détails dans le compte rendu de la dernière assemblée générale extraordinaire de notre association.
Comme déjà annoncé, la nouvelle interface de bureau et pour appareils mobiles (Android pour le moment) de SàT s'appelle « Cagou », un clin d'œil à l'outil Kivy que nous utilisons, et à cet oiseau emblématique de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, oiseau qui ne vole pas et qui aboie.
Cette partie est technique, vous pouvez passer directement à la suivante si cela ne vous intéresse pas.
Après une petite phase de prise en main de l’écosystème de Kivy, la première étape a été d'intégrer « Quick Frontend » (frontal rapide) qui est une base que nous utilisons, comme son nom l'indique, pour développer rapidement un frontal et factoriser le code (gestion du cache, de la liste des contacts (« roster » en XMPP), des widgets, etc.), puis d'intégrer le « bridge » (pont) qui est le nom que utilisons pour l'IPC qui permet la communication entre le « backend » (démon qui gère le cœur de SàT) et les frontaux.
Cette phase s'est relativement bien passée, elle a été accompagnée d'une réflexion sur l'architecture et l'interface utilisateur.
Une fois ceci à peu près utilisable, le port sur Android a pu commencer.
Les choses ont été un peu plus compliquées. La communauté Kivy a créé plusieurs outils pour développer sur cette plate-forme, dont python-for-android (outils de compilation et empaquetage) et Buildozer (outil multi-plateformes qui facilite l'utilisation du premier). La prise en main de ces outils demande quelques efforts, surtout pour un projet déjà en place (c'est nettement plus simple quand on commence directement avec Kivy et le port Android).
Il y a 2 « chaînes » de développement pour Android, l'ancienne et la nouvelle. Après des premiers tests non concluants avec la nouvelle, elle a été temporairement mise de côté pour l'ancienne le temps de développer les bases du port.
Les dépendances en Python pur s'importent facilement, mais dès que ça se complique un peu, il faut faire des recettes (« recipes ») pour indiquer à python-for-android comment faire la compilation. Heureusement, la plupart de celles nécessaires pour SàT (en particulier Twisted) étaient déjà disponibles, il a toutefois fallu les mettre à jour.
Une fois ces questions de dépendances et de chaîne de compilation réglées, et après le plaisir de voir un premier .apk apparaître (mais non fonctionnel). 2 autres gros problèmes se sont posés : D-Bus qui est le « bridge » principal n'est pas utilisable sur Android, et comment faire fonctionner backend et frontal en même temps ?
Étant novice pour le développement sur Android, j'ai dû lire beaucoup de documentation (qui ne manque pas heureusement) et après un premier essai avec un nouveau bridge « embedded » permettant d'avoir backend et frontal dans le même processus, c'est finalement l'écriture d'un bridge « pb » pour perspective broker, IPC de Twisted, qui s'est révélé être la meilleure solution. L'IPC d'Android est aussi une piste à explorer à l'avenir.
Pour lancer le backend, Kivy fourni des outils permettant de le lancer comme service Android, ce qui permet de le garder en arrière plan et de pouvoir gérer les messages et autres activités quand l'interface n'est pas visible pour l'utilisateur (ce qui signifie sur Android que l'interface est gelée jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit de nouveau sélectionnée par l'utilisateur).
Cette section est déjà bien longue, aussi je vous passe les autres difficultés (comme l'absence de widget gérant le HTML), parlons maintenant de l'interface.
Cagou est donc utilisable sur bureau (GNU/Linux, mais probablement d'autres plates-formes également) et sur Android.
La version actuelle est une pré-alpha, l'.apk plus bas est fourni uniquement pour se faire une idée. Elle est très boguée, ne vérifie pas encore les certificats sur serveur, les enregistrements SRV ne sont pas pris en compte sur Android, etc. Elle est fournie pour d'une part montrer l'avancement, et d'autre part profiter des retours suffisamment tôt dans le développement pour prendre une bonne direction.
L'interface de Cagou est inspirée de celle de l'excellent Blender. En particulier la sélection de widget et la possibilité de faire des divisions à volonté en faisant glisser les bords du widget. Les grosses barres actuelle devraient disparaître à terme pour un bouton plus discret, probablement là encore inspiré de Blender. L'idée est qu'un utilisateur novice puisse changer de widget intuitivement, et qu'un utilisateur avancé puisse utiliser cette fonctionnalité.
La liste des contacts n'est pas l'élément principal de l'interface, elle peut être affichée si souhaité, mais n'est pas nécessaire à l'utilisation de Cagou.
Le menu en haut, pour le moment tout le temps visible, ne devrait être disponible que sur bureau, sur Android le bouton menu ou un bouton flottant vont probablement le remplacer d'ici la sortie stable.
Si vous avez des notifications, elles apparaissent pendant quelques secondes en haut, mais vous pouvez le lire en prenant votre temps en caressant la tête du cagou qui apparaît alors en haut à gauche.
Dans le cas d'événements nécessitant votre intervention (par exemple une autorisation d'accès via XMPP sur un site), un cagou apparaîtra sur la droite, et le dialogue n'apparaîtra qu'après l'avoir touché. L'idée est de ne jamais avoir de fenêtre modale (type « pop-up ») qui surgit et vole le focus alors que vous faites autre chose. Ces dernières n'apparaissent que suite à une action de l'utilisateur.
Dans le cas d'Android, il est possible que ces notifications soient remplacées par le système de notification natif, mais le choix n'est pas arrêté puisque l'historique des messages ne serait alors plus disponible.
Pour changer de mode (de widget), il suffit de cliquer sur le bouton en haut à gauche du widget actuel. Il n'y a actuellement que 4 widgets : le sélecteur qui affiche tous ceux disponibles, la configuration, la liste de contacts, et le chat. D'autres sont à venir, en particulier le blogage.
À l’intérieur d'un widget (uniquement pour la messagerie instantanée pour l'instant), il est possible de faire un mouvement de glisser horizontal pour passer d'une conversation ouverte à une autre.
Pour le moment ça n'est pas évident à utiliser la première fois (il faut faire un mouvement vif), il y a des petits réglages à prévoir.
Comme pour le reste de SàT, Cagou est prévu dès l'origine pour fonctionner avec des greffons et être facilement extensible. Tous les widgets et système d'envoi de fichiers (voir plus bas) sont des greffons.
Comme nous voulons une interface utilisable sur petits écrans, simple, mais qui ne sacrifie pas les fonctionnalités, il faut trouver un compromis entre les informations affichées/ables à l'écran et les éléments/boutons permettant des actions. Trop d’éléments compliquent l'interface et prennent de l'espace, mais trop peu rendent les actions difficiles d'accès.
La disposition choisie actuellement (qui peut évoluer) consiste en un en-tête avec une barre de saisie et un bouton (en plus du sélecteur de widgets), le corps avec les messages, et une barre de saisie avec un bouton également.
Pour discuter avec un ou des contact(s), entrez des lettres faisant partie de son nom (n'importe où dans le nom). Pour le moment uniquement les identifiants (« jid ») et les conversations déjà ouvertes sont cherchés, mais à terme la recherche se fera également dans les noms, surnoms et dans les marque-pages.
Cagou détecte si vous voulez parler à une personne seule ou dans un salon de discussion, et s'adapte en conséquence.
Le chiffrement de bout en bout est de la partie, mais uniquement avec OTR (v2) à l'heure actuelle. Il est prévu d'intégrer OX (OpenPGP moderne) et OMEMO, mais il n'est pas certains que ça sera disponible pour la prochaine version (ça sera peut-être pour la 0.8). Pour l'activer, il suffit de cliquer sur le cadenas, ce dernier sera fermé si la conversation est chiffrée, et aura un point d'interrogation si votre correspondant n'est pas authentifié.
Passons directement à la barre de saisie. Vous trouverez sur la droite un bouton « + » qui sert pour le moment à ouvrir le dialogue d'envoi d'élément.
Ce dialogue comporte 2 boutons en haut, qui permettent de choisir si vous voulez téléverser votre fichier ou l'envoyer directement à un correspondant en pair à pair. Un texte en dessous indique en langage clair où votre fichier transitera, et si le chiffrement intervient (à l'heure actuelle tout est en clair pour les fichiers).
Le message texte est important pour que l'utilisateur comprenne bien où vont ses données, c'est une indication que l'on va sûrement placer à divers endroits stratégiques.
Les boutons en dessous sont les types d'envoi. Sur bureau il n'est actuellement possible que d'envoyer un fichier de votre arborescence, mais sur Android il est possible également d'envoyer une photo de votre galerie, d'en prendre une nouvelle ou de faire une vidéo, et d'enregistrer un message audio.
En plus du travail sur Cagou lui-même, d'autres travaux ont été effectué.
Désormais indispensable avec l'utilisation sur appareils portables, la copie carbone a été implémentée. La gestion des archives sur le serveur est elle implémentée depuis longtemps pour le blogage, mais pas encore pour les messages, ça sera fait d'ici la sortie de la version stable.
La gestion des petits fichiers binaires (« BoB » pour « Bits of Binary ») est désormais disponible, son implémentation a notamment été motivée parce qu'ils sont utilisés par Movim.
Comme indiqué plus haut, les accusés de réception et l'authentification HTTP ont été implémentés par Chteufleur.
Depuis la 0.6.1 la gestion des messages a été améliorée, préparant notamment le terrain pour des fonctionnalités comme la correction du dernier message, prévue pour la version stable.
Plus récemment la gestion des composants (pour préparer les passerelles) et des blogs statiques sont également arrivés, mais nous en parlerons peut-être une autre fois.
C'est un appel que nous faisons souvent mais qui n'est pas toujours entendu, de l'aide serait grandement appréciée.
Ce peut être aussi simple que venir discuter avec nous (notre salon est à [email protected], disponible en cliquant sur ce lien).
Si vous avez de quoi, une contribution financière serait bien sûr utile, nous avons récemment ouvert un compte sur Liberapay, suite a discussion résumée dans le compte rendu de l'A.G. lié plus haut. Notre objectif est de réussir dans un premier temps à travailler un jour par semaine sur SàT et de compenser la perte de salaire par des dons.
Vous pouvez aussi adhérer à notre association, toutes les infos sont par ici. Vous choisissez le montant de la cotisation (entre 0 et 100 €).
Et bien sûr des contributions, en particulier du développement, mais aussi des traductions, du graphisme, du thème CSS, de l'administration des serveurs. La plupart du développement est fait en Python, et c'est participer à un outil que vous utiliserez potentiellement tous les jours.
Parler de notre association et projet autour de vous est toujours utile.
Je crois que l'essentiel est dit pour cette fois, j’essaierai de tenir informé avec des billets moins longs les prochaines fois.
It's time for a blog post on Cagou development.
Cagou is the new desktop/Android frontend for "Salut à Toi" (SàT), the full-featured social network based on standards (XMPP) and with a strong emphasis on ethics.
This frontend is using the very nice Kivy framework, and is already usable on desktop.
As you can see, the interface can be divided easily. This idea is inspired by the excellent Blender interface, and make it easy to adapt to a small or big screen by choosing the number of widgets accordingly.
Instead of being a discreet software that you'll use only when you want to answer to somebody, Cagou is an application which should be used full-screen, with a layout suiting the current needs.
Other important point: the contact list is not the central element (as it is usually in instant messaging software). You can access it by selecting the widget, or put it on the side to simulate traditional layout, but it is not visible by default and you can spend a whole session without using it.
About notifications, it will be slighly different on desktop and on platforms with their own notification system (like Android). In the later case, the native way will be used.
On desktop, a specific header is used. 2 cagou icons (thanks to Muchoslava for its contributions) can appear: one on the left for notes (i.e. short messages which will automatically disappear), and one of the right for more important notifications, needing attention from the user.
A click on the left icon will show the last 10 notes, and one the right one show the next important notification.
This was made to avoid popups: they are displayed only after an interaction of user, and will not appear all of a sudden while you are writting a message.
Thanks to the architecture of SàT, menus are already available with a couple of useful actions.
There are several ways to start a chat: you can click on an item in the contact list, or enter a jid (XMPP identifier) in a chat widget.
Discussions are not closed when you switch widget, and they can be later accessed by swiping the current one (see video below).
There have been a lot of work done and the interface starts to be really usable. Concerning the desktop the greatest part is already finished, the most important remaining thing is to adapt interface to features (e.g. displaying of delivery reciept) and to make new widgets.
The other big thing to cope with would be displaying of HTML content and of course the Android port. An Ubuntu touch port is an eventuality.
The project is still in active progress, but it is really demanding. If you can contribue in any way – code, distributions packages, tests, graphics, translations, etc. – please contact us by any mean shown on our website.
Last but not least, we reminds all of the Aziruka contributors of the crowdfunding campaign, that they can claim their counterpart if not done yet (or request it later).
Cagou commençant à prendre sérieusement forme, il est temps de faire un billet sur l'avancement.
Avant le début du développement de l'interface elle-même, des changements nécessaires ont été faits en particulier sur la gestion des messages. Outre la gestion des langues dont j'ai parlé dans des précédents billets, le plus important est que nous pouvons désormais changer l'état d'un message après réception, ou y faire référence. Ceci permet d'implémenter des fonctionnalités comme les accusés de réception, ce qui a été fait par une contribution de Chteufleur (merci :)). D'autres fonctionnalités qui attendaient comme la correction du dernier message vont bientôt pouvoir suivre.
Il était nécessaire de faire ce travail avant d'implémenter la messagerie instantanée sur Cagou, pour pouvoir partir sur de bonnes bases.
Ensuite il a fallu intégrer l'interface sous Kivy à SàT, et en particulier D-Bus et QuickFrontend, notre modèle pour faire des frontaux en Python.
Comme vous le voyez, l'interface peut-être divisée facilement. Cette idée est inspirée de l'excellente interface de Blender, et permettra de s'adapter facilement à un petit ou grand écran en choisissant le nombre de widgets et leur disposition.
Au lieu d'être un logiciel discret qu'on utilise uniquement quand on veut répondre à quelqu'un, Cagou est une interface qui s'utilise principalement en plein écran, avec une disposition adaptée à la situation et les outils importants directement visibles (si la taille de l'écran le permet).
Autre point important, la liste de contacts n'est pas l'élément central comme c'est souvent le cas dans les logiciels de messagerie. Vous pouvez y accéder en sélectionnant le widget, voire la mettre sur le côté pour reproduire le comportement traditionnel, mais elle n'est pas affichée par défaut et n'est pas indispensable.
Tous les widgets sont des greffons, a terme il devrait être possible d'en télécharger, ou de changer complément le fonctionnement d'un widget de base. Comme effet de bord, et surtout grâce au travail de l'équipe derrière Kivy, Cagou sera une plate-forme qui permettra d'échanger facilement des scripts Python sur Android (reste à voir comment on va gérer les permissions).
En ce qui concerne les notifications, le fonctionnement va être différent sur bureau et sur les plates-formes qui ont déjà un système de notification (comme Android). Dans ce dernier cas, le système de la plate-forme va être utilisé.
Sur bureau, un en-tête spécifique est utilisé. 2 icônes de Cagou (merci à Muchoslava pour ses contributions) peuvent apparaître : une à gauche pour les notes (c.-à-.d les messages court qui ne s'affichent que quelques secondes), et une à droite pour les notifications plus importantes, nécessitant l'action de l'utilisateur.
Un clique sur l’icône de gauche permet d'afficher les 10 dernières notes, et un sur l’icône de droite affiche la notification importante suivante.
Ceci a été pensé pour éviter les popups, ces dernières ne sont affichées que suite à une action de l'utilisateur, et n’apparaissent pas d'elles même si un quelconque événement les déclenche.
Les menus ont également été implémentés, ils apparaissent en haut sur bureau. Sur petits écrans (téléphones), ils ne seront sûrement visibles que suite à l'appui de la touche idoine.
Grâce au fonctionnement de Salut à Toi, ceux-ci permettent déjà de faire des actions de base comme ajouter ou modifier un contact et avancées comme piloter son serveur.
Enfin le lancement d'une conversation peut se faire de plusieurs manières. On peut en commencer une en cliquant sur un contact dans le widget « liste de contacts », ou en tapant son jid dans un widget « chat » (il devrait rapidement être possible de taper quelques lettres pour avoir les suggestions). Les conversations ne se ferment pas quand on change de widget, on peut accéder aux conversations en cours en faisant passer son doigt (ou sa souris pendant un clique) rapidement vers la droite ou la gauche, cf. la vidéo ci-dessous. Il sera bientôt possible de les fermer via un menu dédié.
Voilà l'état des lieux actuel. Il y a déjà eu beaucoup de travail, et l'interface commence à être vraiment utilisable. Côté bureau le plus gros est fait, il s'agit maintenant d'adapter l'interface aux fonctionnalités (afficher l'accusé de réception par exemple), et à faire de nouveaux widgets. Un gros morceau reste toutefois l'affichage du contenu HTML, vu que ça n'est pas géré de base par Kivy (mais il y a différentes solutions possibles).
En ce qui concerne Android, il va y avoir une partie qui risque d'être un peu difficile pour faire le port, mais je ne m'inquiète pas plus que ça.
J'envisage également de faire un port sur Ubuntu Touch, j'ai commandé à cette fin une tablette d'occasion qui devrait me permettre de l'installer (ce n'est pas une promesse, juste une éventualité).
Ah et bien sûr, Cagou va profiter des fonctionnalités de SàT, y compris le chiffrement de bout en bout (OTR pour le moment, mais OpenPGP est envisagé pour la 0.7, et peut-être OMEMO également).
Petite note pour les programmeurs : une fois la prise en main passée (qui n'est pas très difficile), j'apprécie beaucoup travailler avec Kivy, c'est souple, agréable à utiliser et ça fonctionne jusqu'ici très bien, félicitation aux équipes derrière.
Je conclus sur une bouteille à la mer : c'est un travail absolument énorme de travailler sur SàT, et à l'heure actuelle je suis pratiquement seul dessus, et en plus de mon emploi salarié. Le projet avance toujours à bon train, mais j'ai besoin d'aide. La base de code est importante, mais il n'est pas insurmontable de s'y mettre : Chteufleur mentionné plus haut a pu rapidement écrire des greffons et a fait les implémentations des XEP-0070 et XEP-0184.
Il est aussi possible de contribuer en dehors du code : empaquetage pour des distributions, tests, graphismes, traductions, installation de serveurs, etc. Contribuer à une bibliothèque utilisée par SàT (comme l'implémentation de XMPP dans Twisted ou Kivy) est également très utile.
Au passage, je rappelle à ceux qui ont participé à la campagne de financement, qu'ils peuvent nous contacter sur « contact chez salut-a-toi point org » pour réclamer leur contrepartie, ou la demander plus tard s'ils préfèrent. | 2019-04-25T13:54:32Z | https://www.goffi.org/tag/S%C3%A0T?after=EWc7ic8xZ8m6EZZp4zz4iZ |
2008-12-03 Assigned to WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION reassignment WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: MCCOY, RICHARD A.
A system for managing resources used by an appliance includes a messaging architecture that uses resource profiles and function identifiers that represent a meaningful context related to the resource profiles so that the production or consumption of a resource can be managed by electronic messages using the message architecture.
The invention relates to networks of information about resources and appliances and more particularly, to a protocol or messaging architecture for managing resources used by an appliance.
Household appliances typically operate on an article using one or more cycles of operation. Most appliances perform the cycles of operation using a resource. A resource comprises a product or good that is in relatively constant and unlimited supply. Common resources include utilities, such as water, electricity, air, gas, chemical additives, ingredients, ice, cooling air, chilled water, flavoring, steam, heat, or hot water. Sometimes a consumable, which comprises a finite supply of at least one product or a perishable good that must be periodically replenished or replaced is mixed with a resource, as for example, when a detergent is mixed with water.
It is known to provide communication between an appliance and a source of information about a resource in order to manage consumption of the resource by the appliance. For example, an in-home water meter provided by a utility company can send signals to an appliance to instruct the appliance to curtail water usage if the amount of water consumed by the appliance has exceeded a predetermined amount. This amount can be determined by the utility company in accordance with water demand in the region. However, the appliance is unable to efficiently manage resource consumption because these signals typically comprise only an “on” or “off” command rather than detailed information that could be used by the appliance to make predictions about future resource consumption and/or other determinations about resource consumption that could be used to increase the efficiency of the appliance.
According to the invention a messaging architecture is provided for conveying information by electronic messages between a producer of a resource and a consumer of the resource. The messages, singly or in combination, include a first portion representing one or more resource profiles. Each resource profile has one or more points defined by a value associated with a first identifier related to the resource and a value associated with a second identifier related to the resource. The messages also include a second portion representing a function identifier that represents a meaningful context related to the resource profile.
In another aspect the invention provides a system to manage a resources among a producer and consumer, where the producer and the consumer are in two-way communication with each other through electronic messages and the consumer uses the resource in a cycle of operation. The system includes a message architecture wherein the messages, singly or in combination, comprise a first portion representing one or more resource profiles, each resource profile having at least one point defined by a value associated with a first identifier related to the resource and a value associated with a second identifier related to the resource. The messages also include a second portion representing a function identifier that represents a meaningful context related to the at least one resource profile. The system also includes a source of information about the resource. With this system, the source of information can affect the production or consumption of a resource by electronic messages using the message architecture.
A further aspect of the invention is directed to an appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on a physical article, where the appliance uses at least some of a resource in performing the operation. The appliance includes a controller configured to send and receive messages related to a resource, where the messages include, singly or in combination, a resource profile and at least one function identifier. With this message architecture, the appliance can participate in effective management of the resource based on the messages.
A further aspect of the invention is directed to a namespace for use in managing consumption or production of a resource. The namespace includes a first set of unique identifiers representing a set of resources, each identifier representing a unique resource, and a second set of unique function identifiers representing a context for information about a resource. The namespace can be used in electronic messaging to effectively manage the resource using electronic messages.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system comprising an appliance and incorporating a messaging protocol according to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a network comprising a consumer and a producer according to the invention.
FIG. 3 is a graphical illustration of a resource profile according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of message exchange comprising information about the resource profile of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5A shows one embodiment of a message packet in a message structure according to the invention.
FIG. 5B shows another embodiment of a message packet in a message structure according to the invention.
FIG. 5C shows another embodiment of a message packet in a message structure according to the invention.
FIG. 5D shows another embodiment of a message packet in a message structure according to the invention.
FIG. 5E shows another embodiment of a message packet in a message structure according to the invention.
By employing a software architecture that enables facile communication among internal components of an appliance and between an external component and one or more of the internal components of the appliance, various components and accessories can communicate with the appliance to expand the capability, functionality, and usability of the appliance. The appliance can be any suitable appliance, such as a household appliance. Examples of household appliances include, but are not limited to, clothes washing machines, clothes dryers, ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, microwave ovens, trash compactors, and countertop appliances, such as waffle makers, toasters, blenders, mixers, food processors, coffee makers, and the like.
The appliance can be configured to perform a cycle of operation to complete a physical domestic operation on an article. Examples of the physical domestic operations include a food preparation operation, a food preservation operation, a fluid treatment operation, a cleaning operation, a personal care operation, a fabric treatment operation, an air treatment operation, and a hard surface treatment operation. The air treatment operation can comprise, for example, air purification, air humidification, air dehumidification, air heating, and air cooling. The food preparation operation can comprise, for example, food cleaning, food chopping, food mixing, food heating, food peeling, and food cooling. The food preservation operation can comprise, for example, food cooling, food freezing, and food storage in a specialized atmosphere. The fluid treatment operation can comprise, for example, fluid heating, fluid boiling, fluid cooling, fluid freezing, fluid mixing, fluid whipping, fluid dispensing, fluid filtering, and fluid separation. The cleaning operation can comprise, for example, dishwashing, fabric washing, fabric treatment, fabric drying, hard surface cleaning, hard surface treatment, hard surface drying, carpet cleaning, carpet treatment, and carpet drying. The personal care operation can comprise, for example, hair treatment, nail treatment, body massaging, teeth cleaning, body cleaning, and shaving.
The internal components of the appliances can include any component that participates in the operation of the appliance. Some of the internal components have a corresponding controller (main controller, motor controller, user interface, etc.), which can be a simple microprocessor mounted on a printed circuit board, and other components that have no controller. The components can comprise one or more devices that are controlled by the controller. Typically, the controller components in cooperation either directly or indirectly, through other components, control the operation of all of the components and the associated devices to implement an operation or cycle for the appliance.
The software architecture can be implemented on and communicate over an internal communications network on the appliance. The internal communications network connects the various internal components of the appliance and can be considered a closed network. One example of the internal communications network used within the appliance is the WIDE network protocol, created by Whirlpool, Inc., the assignee of the present patent application.
The software architecture expands the communication ability of the appliance by effectively creating an open network, hereinafter referred to as “network.” Within the appliance, the software architecture can, but does not have to, reside on each of the components that have a controller. Those components with the software architecture form a network node that can communicate with the other nodes.
The software architecture can perform multiple functions. For example, one function can relate to identifying each of the components corresponding to a node on the network, while another function can relate to identifying capabilities or functions of the identified components on the network. Yet another exemplary function is to identify the status of the components on the network. In this way, the software architecture can function to inform all of the nodes on the network of the presence, capabilities, and status of the other nodes.
The software architecture can comprise multiple modules, each of which has different functionality. Various combinations of the modules or all of the modules can reside on each of the components. One module having a basic or core functionality resides on all of the components. In one anticipated configuration, all of the modules reside at least on the main controller, which establishes the main controller to function as a primary or main software architecture, with the other nodes functioning in a client relationship to the main software architecture. In such a configuration, all of the nodes can communicate through the main software architecture. The software architecture can be sufficiently robust that it can permit configurations without a main software architecture or with multiple main software architectures. For example, the controllers of the various components can work together to control the operation of the appliance without any one of the appliances functioning as a main controller. Regardless of the configuration, any component with the software architecture can function as a client with respect to the other components.
Because of the software architecture, the internal components of the appliance are not only connected with one another, but the internal components can also be connected to one or more external components or a new internal component through the network. The external component and/or the new internal component has one, some, or all of the software architecture modules in resident. As a result, the external component and/or the new internal component can communicate with the internal components of the appliance and can also communicate with other external components having the software architecture.
The software architecture can be any suitable software architecture that enables communication between the internal components of the appliance and the external component and/or the new internal component or between components external to the appliance. An example of the software architecture is disclosed in International Application No. PCT/US2006/022420, titled “SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATION WITH, AND MANAGEMENT OF, AT LEAST ONE COMPONENT WITHIN A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE,” filed Jun. 8, 2006, published as WO2006135726 on Dec. 21, 2006, and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. All of the communications between components and accessories and/or any combination of components and accessories described in this application can be implemented by the software and network structures disclosed therein.
The software architecture disclosed in the aforementioned reference can be implemented by providing one or more of the software elements of the software architecture at least on each of the components to be controlled and on the accessory. The software architecture is configured to generate a plurality of messages, with at least one of the software elements residing in each of the components and in the accessory and configured to enable transmission of at least one of the plurality of messages between the components and between the accessory and the components. The messages can be transmitted for bi-directional communication between components and/or components and accessory. The messages can include command messages that are used to implement a physical domestic operation cycle of the appliance.
The messages can be generated by a message generator, which can take the form of the software architecture, the accessory, or a component. One possible message generator is a user interface.
For example, looking at FIG. 1, the software architecture and messaging protocol can be incorporated into a system comprising an appliance 12 according to the invention. The appliance 12 is configured to perform an operation on a physical article, such as clothing or food, using a resource 10 such as water, temperature-controlled air (hot or cold), steam, gas, electricity, and the like. The resource 10 is typically supplied to the appliance 12 by a resource conveyance 11, such as a conduit, wire, inlet and the like. The appliance 12 can comprise a process control apparatus 14 configured to implement and control a cycle comprising at least one operation. The process control apparatus 14 can include components such as electronic control boards, wiring and wiring harnesses, power-supplies, sensors which integrate with the electronics as digital or analog inputs, and actuators like valves, relays, heaters, and the like, all of which integrate with the electronics as digital or analog outputs.
The appliance 12 might have a consumable holder 16 containing a consumable 24 for use during the cycle of operation. The appliance can further comprise an interface 18 between the consumable holder 16 and the process control apparatus 14, and any number of coupling points, one of which 20 couples the resource conveyance 11 to the appliance 12. In other embodiments, the consumable holder 16 can comprise the interface 18, or both the appliance 12 and the consumable holder 16 can comprise mateable or engageable interfaces 18. The interface 18 can be an internal or external interface and can be configured to receive, connect to, or otherwise couple the consumable holder 16 and the appliance 12. The interface 18 can comprise any number of coupling points 20. Coupling points 20 can also be included on the appliance 12 separately from the interface 18. The coupling points 20 are configured to enable the coupling together of various devices and/or sources. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, coupling point 20 comprises a conventional valve configured to selectively supply a resource 10 from the resource holder 11 to the appliance 12. The process control apparatus 14 is configured to control operation of the coupling point 20.
The appliance 12 can further comprise additional elements commonly included in appliances 12, such as a user interface 22. The user interface 22 is configured for communication with the user. The user interface 22 can comprises a clock or time display. The user interface 22 can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display, a digital display, or any other suitable device. The user interface 22 can communicate to the user a status of the appliance, such as via one or more notification icons. Examples of an appliance status include, but are not limited to, laundry washing complete, laundry drying complete, laundry off balance, microwave food defrosted, turn defrosting food in microwave, microwave food ready, oven pre-heat complete, oven food ready, boil over on cooktop, fire, hot water ready, and coffee ready. The relevant notification icons can become illuminated, such as by flashing or being constantly illuminated or otherwise visible when appropriate and become un-illuminated or otherwise not visible when appropriate. The user interface 22 can comprise appliance control capability whereby the user can provide control inputs or commands to the appliance 12 through the user interface 22. Exemplary commands include, but are not limited to, start/stop wash cycle, start/stop drying cycle, start/stop cooking program, decrease heating element power for simmer, execute low heat tumble following drying cycle, decrease microwave heating power, increase temperature of chill zone in refrigerator, and the like.
An appliance 12 performing a cycle of operation on an article will often use at least one consumable 24 during the cycle. A consumable 24 for purposes of the invention includes anything that would be consumed by an appliance 12 during a cycle of operation, such as a substance or device that is used up and must be replenished for subsequent cycles of operation. A consumable 24 can comprise a quantity of a resource 10 that must be periodically replenished. A consumable 24 also includes anything that would be consumed by a person, such as food, cosmetics, or medicine. For a washer it might be a detergent and/or a softener. For a dryer it might be an anti-static cloth. For a cooking or refrigeration appliance, the consumable may actually be the article on which the appliance performs its cycle of operation, as in the case of food, later to be consumed by a person.
The appliance control apparatus 14 will normally determine the detailed instructions for the cycle of operation from information provided with or regarding the resource 10, the consumable 24, user inputs via the user interface 22, and/or machine sensor data. Consumables 24 here are to be distinguished from resources 10, although resources 10 can be “consumed” during a cycle of operation. Resources 10 are typically constantly supplied, normally from an outside supplier, such as a utility company 30, to an appliance. Examples of resources 10 include the aforementioned water, temperature-controlled air (hot or cold), steam, gas, electricity, and the like. Thus, water supply lines, air conduits, gas lines, and wiring are considered resource holders 11. In a refrigerator, for example, water supplied to the appliance 12 can be considered a resource 10. If flavoring is mixed with the water supplied to the appliance 12, the flavoring can be considered to be a consumable 24, and whatever carries the flavoring to be the consumable holder 16.
More specific examples of the use of a consumable 24 in appliances 12 include dispensing additives for laundry washers, dryers, or combination washer/dryer appliances. The additives can include, but are not limited to, normal detergents, gentle detergents, dark clothing detergents, cold water detergents, fabric softeners, chlorine bleaches, color-safe bleaches, and fabric enhancement chemistry. Non-limiting examples of fabric enhancers are additives to provide stain resistance, wrinkle resistance, water repellency, insect repellency, color fastness, fragrances, and anti-microbials.
The dispensers may be either single load and dispense the entire additive placed in the dispenser. But they may also be bulk dispensers which hold more than a single load. In that case the appliance would meter out and dispense the correct amount of additive for that particular load, and notify the user of how much is remaining. Because these consumables come in different concentrations, the amount needed for a load will vary depending on the concentration, which would be provided with the consumable. The amount needed will also depend on the amount and type of laundry being treated, as well as the condition of the laundry (e.g. soil and stain level). The amount, type, and condition of the laundry will have to be supplied by the user and/or be obtained from appliance sensor information, or otherwise calculated from appliance data. For a laundry application, the additive will have to be dispensed at the right time (before, during, or after wash, rinse, spin, or drying), and sometimes under the right conditions (water or air temperature). This information would be provided with the consumable.
The consumable holder 16, therefore, comprises a device that than holds or contains a consumable 24. Typically the consumable 24 is contained by a receptacle of some sort, such as a container, a dispenser, a cartridge, a dish, a bag, a carton, a conduit, or the like. In some cases, consumable holders 16 can be nested within other consumable holders 16. For example, a cartridge holding a consumable can be disposed in a dispenser, which is another consumable holder 16. In some cases articles on which the appliance operates—such as clothes, dishes, and food stuffs—may not be contained by receptacles, but can perform at least some of the inventive functionalities of a consumable 24 and/or consumable holder 16 and can therefore be considered a consumable 24 and/or consumable holder 16. An example of an article with consumable holder 16 capabilities is a shirt having a bar code thereon containing information that is directly readable by an appliance 12. The appliance 12 can use data and/or information contained by the bar code for use in configuring and selecting the cycle of operation of the appliance. The bar code can be read by the appliance 12 while the shirt is being operated on contemporaneous with the cycle of operation.
As shown in FIG. 2, a producer of a resource 40, the resource 10, and a consumer of the resource 42 will interact as discussed above. The relationships among the producer 40, the resource 10, and the consumer 42 are illustrated by the arrows A, B, and C in FIG. 2. The producer 40 produces the resource 10 as at A, and a consumer 42 consumes the resource 10 as at B. In some circumstances as, for example, when a consumer agrees to forfeit future consumption, a consumer 42 may actually be a producer 40 as at C. Resource 10 in the context of this invention is considered to include any matter or energy used or consumed by a consumer. Consequently, in some cases a resource may also be considered a consumable. Information about a respective producer, resource and consumer can reside in sources 50, 52, 60 that can be networked, directly or indirectly, and can function as nodes on a network 32. And the producer 40 and consumer 42 can be networked with their respective sources 50, 53. Alternatively, the producer and consumer can actually be their respective sources 50, 53. And in either case, the producer and consumer may be a source of information about a resource, 60 The nodes can be coupled to the network 32 in a wired or wireless manner, such as by Bluetooth, coaxial cable, power lines, USB connection, optical coupling points, or any other suitable means. In certain cases, the consumer 42 can act as a producer. For example, if a consumer 42 agrees to forfeit a given amount of future consumption of the resource 10, then the consumer 42 can effectively “produce” the given amount of the resource 10 (see the arrow C). The producer can be a utility company 30 or any other entity or device that can produce or provide a resource 10. The consumer can be an appliance 12 or any other entity or device that consumes or uses a resource 10. If the consumer is the appliance 12, the process control apparatus 14 of the appliance 12 can be communicatively coupled to the network 32 and can also function as a node. In another embodiment, the appliance 12 can contain both a producer 40 and a consumer 42. For example, a producer 40 could be a consumable holder such as a detergent dispenser in a washing machine, and the consumer 42 could be the process control apparatus of the washing machine that uses the detergent for a cycle of operation. In this case, the producer and consumer are sub-components of a system working together for proper dispensing of the detergent. The detergent can be considered the resource from the “producer” perspective that it is consumed by the consumer over time.
The sources 50, 52 can also be communicatively coupled to each other. The source of information about the producer 50 is configured to communicate information associated with the producer 40 or the resource it produces across the network 32. An example of a source of information about the producer 50 includes a meter configured for communication by electronic messages. Another example includes a water heater configured to communicate information about the production of hot water by electronic messages. The source of information about the consumer 52 is configured to communicate information associated with the consumer 42 or the resource it consumes across the network 32. The source of information about the producer 50 and the source of information about the consumer 52 can be integral with the producer 40 and consumer 42, respectively. Alternatively, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the source of information about the producer 50 and the source of information about the consumer 52 can be separate devices communicatively coupled to the producer 40 and to the consumer 42, respectively, across the network 32, or by any other suitable means. The sources 50, 52 can be configured for one-way or two-way communication with the producer 40 and consumer 42, respectively.
Similarly, a source of information about a resource 60 can be connected to the network 32 and can function as a node on the network. The source of information about the resource 60 can be communicatively coupled to the source 60 can be communicatively coupled to all of the other elements on the network 32, including the producer 40, the consumer, 42, and the sources 50, 52. The source 60 is configured to communicate information associated with the resource 10 across the network 32. The source of information about the resource 60 can be integral with the resource 10. Alternatively, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, the source of information about the resource 60 can be a separate device communicatively coupled to the resource 10 across the network 32 or by any other suitable means. The source 60 can be configured for one-way or two-way communication with the resource 10.
The source about the resource 60 uses information supplied by and gathered from the sources 50, 52 to make determinations about the supply and demand of the resource 10. Likewise, the source 50, 52 use information supplied by and gathered from the source 60 to make determination about the supply and demand of the resource 10. For example, the source 60 can query the sources 50, 52 regarding consumption and production levels. Based on these levels, the source can determine an amount of the resource 10 available at any given time. Any or all of the sources 50, 52, 60 can comprise memory for storing historical records associated with the system. The sources 50, 52, 60 can further comprise microprocessors or circuit boards for analyzing stored and retrieved data and information.
In accord with the invention, all or at least some of the nodes on the network 32 communicate with one another using a specialized messaging protocol comprising a messaging architecture. A protocol is a standard procedure for regulating data transmission between devices; however, not all devices necessarily communicate in the same protocol. A bridge can be used to communicatively couple the nodes to the network 32, if necessary. A bridge effectively translates one protocol into another so that devices with different protocols can communicate with one another. Other kinds of bridges couple networks of the same type using the same protocol but are not physically connected. Network 32 represents a simple network without any bridges or a complex network with an arbitrary number of bridges providing coupling between networks within the complex network. It will be understood that a more complex network can include two sources of information about a resource, each source being in communication with the other. Thus, for example, a consumer in one network can request and obtain relevant production data from a completely different network by way of the communications between the two sources of information about the resources. According to the invention, as shown in FIG. 2A, the message structure 71 of a message about a resource includes a first portion representing at least one resource profile 70, and a second portion representing a function identifier 72.
Referring to FIG. 3, a resource profile 70 is a data structure comprising at least one point of an ordered collection of points where each point is defined by two values and each value corresponds to a variable related in some way to the resource. It can be graphically represented with a labeled x-axis, a labeled y-axis, and an ordered collection of points PN, such as P1-P4 corresponding to pairs of x-axis and y-axis values. P1 is the first point in the ordered collection and is defined by a first value associated with the x-axis and a second value associated with the y-axis. Each axis has an identifier 74, 78, respectively, that is related in some way to the resource and provides meaning to each axis. Thus, a first identifier 74 of the resource profile 70 is associated with the x-axis 76, and a second identifier 78 of the resource profile is associated with the y-axis 80. The first and second identifiers 74, 78 represent parameters of the resource or other related meanings associated with each axis. For example, the first identifier 74 can identify the units of the x-axis as being such things as time in minutes or seconds, cost in dollars, and the like that might relate to the usage of a resource. The second identifier 78 can identify the units of the y-axis as being amounts of the resource such as water, hot air, electricity, grey water, waste heat, bleach and the like, or other types of variables 78 related to resource. To find the value of the y-axis variable, a line perpendicular to the y-axis can be drawn such that it intersects P1 and the y-axis. The value of the y-axis variable is then the value of y where the line intersects the y-axis. Similarly, the value of the x-axis variable can be determined by drawing a second line perpendicular to the x-axis intersecting P1 and the x-axis. The value of the x-axis variable is then the value of x where the second line intersects the x-axis. Thus, for example, each point of the ordered collection of points P1-P4 can represent an amount of power (in kilowatts), and a length of time (in minutes). The ordered collection of points P1-P4 can be stored, retrieved, and interpreted such that each point has a known ordinal relation to every other point. Thus, for example, the resource profile 70 can provide information about the past, present, or future usage of the resource. The resource profile 70 can comprise information associated with the producer 40, the consumer 42, and/or the resource 10. In other embodiments, the first and second identifiers 74, 78 can be incorporated directly into the ordered collection of points.
The message structure 71 of a message about a resource can have a third portion comprising information about the network 32 (not shown in FIG. 2A), such as routing information (including a destination address on the network) that enables communication among nodes. As well, the messaging architecture can include other identifiers of a producer, a consumer, a source of information about a producer, a source of information about a consumer, and/or a source of information about a resource. As such, a namespace can be constructed comprising the other identifiers so that messaging can be directed to nodes of a respective producer, consumer, source of information about a producer, source of information about a consumer, and/or source of information about a resource. By “namespace”, we mean a set of names in a naming system where things represented by the names can have unique identities.
The function identifier 72 of the second portion of the message structure 71 of a message about a resource 71 designates the meaning or context of the resource profile 70. For example, the resource profile 70 can be sent as a produce request, a consume request, a do not consume request, a do not produce request, a consumption history, a predicted consumption, a production history, or a predicted production, each of which is associated with a function identifier 72. Additionally, because messages can be sent by any node in the system, any node in the system can also send requests. Requests for production can be sent to a producer 40 from a consumer 42. Likewise, a first producer may request additional production from a second producer in order to meet the overall consumption requirement. It is contemplated that there are many combinations of messages transactions in the effort to automatically manage resources using the message architecture.
A message structure 71 with a function identifier 72 for a produce request can comprise a resource profile 70 being sent to the producer 40 requesting the producer 40 to produce the resource 10 according to the resource profile 70 (e.g., produce 5000 kW Monday, 7000 kW Tuesday, and 3000 kW Wednesday). A message structure 71 with a function identifier 72 for a consume request is similar to a message structure with a function identifier for a produce request, except a consume request comprises a resource profile 70 being sent to the consumer 42 requesting that the consumer 42 consumes an amount of the resource 10 according to the resource profile 10. Likewise a message structure 71 with a function identifier 72 for an increase in production request would contain a resource profile representing an amount of incremental production to the current production wherein the y-axis could be specified in percentages or in absolute units of the resource like gallons and the x-axis could be specified using an identifier representing time in either absolute units like hours of a 24 hours clock or a delta time from a known time such as 4 hours from 6:00 AM. Other messages can be responses to requests. For example, as in FIG. 4, a consumer may receive a first message for reducing consumption by an amount over time defined by a first resource profile, the consumer may respond with a second message having a second resource profile wherein the second resource profile represents the consumption of the resource over time that the consumer is now committing to in response to the first message with the first resource profile. The example, therefore, shows how the messaging architecture enables a producer and a consumer to negotiate in an iterative fashion until a mutual determination of production and or consumption is reached thereby illustrating a message architecture enabling an electronic message based process of negotiation including initiating a negotiation, performing negotiation which includes proposals and counter-proposals in an iterative fashion, concluding negotiation which includes a mutual determination between the negotiators in response to the iterations, and then acting on the determination such that each negotiator can act in cooperation with the other negotiators in accordance with the determination.
Messages having function identifiers 72 for “do not produce” or “do not consume” requests request that the producer 40 and consumer 42, respectively, prohibit or limit production and consumption according to the resource profile 70. Do not produce and do not consume requests can comprise reduce requests, which request that production or consumption is reduced according to the resource profile 70.
A production or consumption history function identifier 72 indicates that the resource profile 70 comprises a historical account of the production or consumption of a resource according to the first and second identifiers in the resource profile. For example, a production history can comprises a set of points P1-Pn indicating the amount of power generated over n days. Similarly, predicted production and predicted consumption function identifiers 72 indicate that the resource profile 70 being communicated represents the predicting future behavior of the resource 10. Predicted production and predicted consumption resource profiles 70 can be generated by referencing production history and consumption history resource profiles 70.
Resource profiles 70 can also be sent in response to a request. For example, upon receipt of a do not produce request message, a producer 40 or consumer 42 can respond by sending or publishing a resource profile 70. If the responsive resource profile 70 is identical to the resource profile 70 included in the do not produce request message, then the receiving party has agreed to adjust production or consumption levels according to the request. If the responsive resource profile 70 is not identical to the resource profile 70 included in the do not produce request message, then the receiving party is unable or unwilling to adjust production or consumption levels according to the request. This responsive behavior enables the sending party to recognize that the producer 40 or consumer 42 has received the request and will or will not adjust its behavior accordingly. The aforementioned responsive behavior exemplifies the aforementioned iterative process of negotiation of production and consumption using electronic messages with resource profiles 70 and function identifiers 72.
For example, in an exemplary message exchange according to the messaging architecture and illustrated in FIG. 4, the producer 40 sends a reduce request to the consumer 42 requesting that the consumer reduces its consumption levels to the levels indicated in resource profile A, which comprises a desired consumption profile. In this instance, the consumer 42 accepts the request and alters its future consumption profile accordingly. The consumer 42 then sends a message to the producer 40 publishing the altered consumption profile, resource profile B. Once the producer 40 receives the published resource profile B, the producer 40 recognizes that the request has been accepted either in full or in part.
The invention contemplates, for example, a producer 40 that may be in communication with a plurality of consumers where the plurality of response messages may be aggregated according to the identifiers that identify the axes such that an aggregate consumption profile can be constructed by the producer. If the aggregate consumption profile cannot be met by a known production profile, the producer 40 can used additional messaging according to the messaging architecture to further drive the aggregate consumption profile and/or a new production profile to a desired shape. A production profile is a resource profile associated with the production of the resource. In one embodiment, the association can be accomplished by a function identifier 72 providing a production context. Conversely, a consumption profile is a resource profile associated with the consumption or use of the resource.
Looking again at FIG. 1, the inventive messaging structure 71 and architecture can also be used by the consumable holder 16, which can also function as a node on the appliance network 32. The messaging structure can be used by the process control apparatus 14 to manage consumption of the consumable 24. In this example, the consumable holder would be considered a producer of a resource and the process control apparatus 14 could be considered the consumer of a resource. If the appliance were a washer, the resource might be a detergent.
In this or another embodiment where the appliance is part of an appliance network having more than one appliance in communication with each other, the messages communicated between components of an appliance or between appliances can include a production profile generated by an appliance in response to one or more cycles of operation. The production profile can be associated with a resource by product of the cycles of operation. For example, the by product can be such things as waste heat, grey water, hot water, warm water, water, potable water, steam, humidity, and/or conditioned air.
It will be apparent that the messaging structure 71 takes advantage of a namespace for defining a resource profile used in managing consumption or production of a resource. The namespace includes a universe of unique identifiers, each of which represents a parameter about a resource such as gallons, time, dollars, BTU's, watts, and the like. Another universe of identifiers 72 represents the universe of functions such as reduceRequest, produceRequest, publishConsumptionProfile, and publishProductionProfile, and the like that can be associated with a resource profile 70.
Referring now to FIGS. 5A-5E, a number of message packets are shown that illustrate an exemplary namespace or message structure 100 according to the invention. In the following discussion, it will be understood that the values for what are explained as “identifiers” will ordinarily, but not necessarily be expressed in the packet in some numeric format such as binary as opposed to the text or string-meaningful representation as might be implied by the drawings. It should be understood, that the text or string representation shown are shown for clarity and readability and do not reflect the actual values that would be sent in the packet in this embodiment. In other words, identifiers are the numeric values sent in the packet structures according to descriptions for the contents of the bytes in the following paragraphs. However, for purposes of clarity and readability, identifiers are described in terms of the text or string-meaningful representations. For example, “time” is used as an identifier in Byte 5 of FIG. 5C. However the literal string ‘time’ would ordinarily not be in Byte 5. Rather a numeric identifier representing ‘time’ would be in Byte 5 in this example. It is possible to send strings in packet format, but since each character in a string requires one byte in the packet, numeric identifiers for the meaningful data are typically used as a mechanism to save network bandwidth, computer memory, and processing time.
FIG. 5A is a packet structure 102 that can be used in a command sent from resource producers to resource consumers or from resource consumers to resource producers as a request to adapt production or consumption. It can also be used in a Publish Profile event either as a stand alone message from a resource producer or a resource consumer to notify others of a change or update to a resource profile, or responsive to a Get Profile command that requests such information of resource producers or resource consumers. The packet structure 102 comprises a resource profile identifier 104 in bytes 0 and 1, and a resource profile context identifier 106 in byte 2.
The resource profile identifier 104 identifies a collection of definitions defining the meaning of the data for an X-Y axis. Data for an X-Y axis is typically expressed as an ordered collection of X, Y coordinate pairs 108 and succeeding pairs starting at Byte 11, 19, and 26. Definitions defining the meaning of the data for an X-Y axis include meaning, units, resolution, direction, and span. Meaning refers to meaning of the data on the axis such as time, watts, liters, etc. Units further define meaning by associating known measurements with the meaning of the axis so that an axis can express a precise quantity of something. Resolution is the level of granularity of the values of the data represented on the axis. Resolution is the smallest incremental value or smallest value of change that can be expressed for the data on the axis. Span is the range of values between the maximum value and the minimum value of the data on the axis. Direction provides additional context of the data for the X-Y axis specifying the data as absolute, incrementally more, or incrementally less. The resource profile identifier 104 is an identifier representing the definitions defining the meaning of the data for an X-Y axis. The data must only be used in concert and with full knowledge and understanding of the definitions for proper use and interpretation of the data; otherwise, for example, a producer may produce gallons even though the consumer only requested ounces.
The resource profile context identifier 106 gives additional meaning and/or purpose to the resource profile identifier 104. In other words, a given ordered collection of X-Y data points plotted across a defined X-Y axis is a curve with a defined meaning. The resource profile context identifier 106 provides an additional identifier for the curve so that the data of the curve can be used or interpreted and acted on. Examples of resource profile context identifiers 106 are consumption requests, production requests, consumption forecasts and the like. In one example, a consumer might send a producer a request to produce. In another example a dishwasher might send a hot water heater a production request for hot water for the given cycle of operation of the dishwasher. “Producerequest” may be the resource profile context identifier 106 in these examples. In another example, a producer may notify registered listeners with updated resource profiles expressing new production plans. This could be used, for example, for one electrical generating plant to inform other plants that new generators were being put on line. “ProductionPlan” may be the resource profile context identifier 106 in these examples. Another example could be in the electrical industry where sometime loads are turned on to improve power factor. “ConsumeRequest” could be the resource profile context identifier 106 to turn on a given load in Watts wherein the magnitude of the requested consumption watts could be varied over time according to the ordered collection of coordinate X-Y pairs. In another example, an appliance user may change the normal cycle of a dishwasher to a soak and scour. Upon change, the dishwasher could notify registered users or could send a broadcast message of a new ‘water’ consumption resource profile using “consumptionPlan” as a resource profile context identifier 106.
The remaining bytes contain XY pairs 108, comprising an ordered collection of x-y coordinates where the first 4 bytes are the X value and last 4 bytes are the y value. The MSbit of the X value 4 bytes is a sign bit where a 0 means positive and a 1 means negative. The remaining 3 bytes and 7 bits are data. The format of the 4 bytes for the y value is the same as the X with the MSbit of the Y value 4 bytes also being a sign bit.
Referring now also to FIGS. 2A and 4, the resource profile identifier 104 and the XY pairs 108 together may be considered a resource profile 70. The resource profile context identifier 106 may be considered a function identifier 72.
FIG. 5B is a packet structure 110 that can be used in a command that will result in a Publish Profile event. It can be seen that it contains a resource profile identifier 112 in bytes 0 and 1, and a resource profile context identifier 114 in byte 3, each having the foregoing definitions of resource profile identifier 104 and resource profile context identifier 106, respectively.
Byte 3 holds a Y axis identifier 126, shown here, for example, as having a value representing “natural gas” or “electricity.” Byte 4 contains a forking element 128 to point to a sub-identifier of byte 3 such as units. For example, an electricity identifier 126 can be in milliwatts, watts, or kilowatts. Similarly, a natural gas identifier 126 can be expressed in liters, cubic inches, or cubic feet.
Byte 5 holds an X axis identifier 130, shown here for example as representing “time” or “cost.” Byte 6 contains a forking element 132 to point to a sub-identifier of byte 5. For example, “time” can be expressed in relative or absolute parameters, and “cost” can be expressed in dollars or cents or a combination thereof. As well, a time byte forking element can have further forking elements to provide better definition. Absolute and relative time can be expressed in a number of different ways as shown.
FIG. 5D is a packet structure 140 that might be used in a command to request the parameters associated with a particular resource profile identifier 142 and result in a message containing the packet structure of FIG. 5C. In such case, the value of the resource profile identifier 122 in the return message of 5C will be the same as the resource profile identifier 142 in the command message of 5D.
FIG. 5E is a packet structure 150 that might be used in an event responsive to a command asking for collection of resource profiles, and contains an enumeration of all resource profile identifiers 152, . . . , 152 (n) responsive to the request.
It can be seen that the namespaces defined in the exemplars of FIGS. 5A-5E contain several unique set of identifiers that represent parameters about and resources with enough information to effectively manage the resources entirely via electronic messaging. The namespaces include sets of identifiers representing all meanings of the data for all possible XY axes of all resource profiles, all resources and all resource profile contexts.
Referring again also to FIG. 2, the resource management capabilities provided by the messaging structure 71 of the invention can be used to reduce resource consumption, coordinate the production of resources, or coordinate the usage of resources or consumables by an appliance or the mixing thereof within an appliance or within any system wherein ingredients are aggregated over time. Information from the sources 50, 52, 60 can be used by an appliance 12 on the network 32 to alter operational parameters in accordance with a preferred resource consumption profile, or simply in a manner intended to minimize waste and increase operational efficiency. Information about the appliance 12 operation made available by the messaging architecture can be displayed at the user interface 22 so that a user can select operational parameters best suited for the appliance 12 and system. In addition, the appliance 12 can be configured to automatically modify a cycle of operations based on information made available by the messaging architecture.
whereby the first and second portions provide enough information in the messages to effectively manage the resource.
2. The messaging architecture of claim 1 further comprising identifiers of one of a producer, a consumer, a source of information about a producer, a source of information about a consumer, and a source of information about a resource.
3. The messaging architecture of claim 1 wherein the function identifier comprises one of a produce request, a consume request, a do not consume request, a do not produce request, a consumption history, a predicted consumption, a production history, and a predicted production.
4. The messaging architecture of claim 1 wherein the messages comprise a third portion containing information about a network.
5. The messaging architecture of claim 1 wherein the first portion further comprises a direction.
6. The messaging architecture of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first and second identifiers comprise a units identifier.
whereby the source of information can affect production by the producer or consumption by the consumer of a resource by electronic messages using the message architecture.
8. The system according to claim 7 wherein the source of information about a resource aggregates the information from at least one of a producer or consumer.
9. The system according to claim 8 wherein the information includes information from one of a source of information about a producer or a source of information about a consumer.
10. The system according to claim 9 wherein the producer is the source of information about a producer.
11. The system according to claim 9 wherein the consumer is the source of information about a consumer.
12. The system according to claim 9 wherein the source of information about a resource is one of the source of information about a producer and the source of information about a consumer.
13. The system according to claim 7 further comprising a second source of information about the resource and the two sources of information about the resource communicate with each other.
14. The system according to claim 7 further comprising one of a source of information about a producer and a source of information about a consumer, wherein the consumer is an appliance, the source of information about a producer is a meter, and the resource is one of gas, water and electricity.
15. The system according to claim 7 wherein the consumer is an appliance, the producer is a water heater, and the resource is hot water.
16. The system according to claim 7 wherein the producer is an appliance and the resource is one of grey water and waste heat.
17. The system according to claim 7 wherein the consumer is an appliance, the producer is a utility, and the resource is one of gas, water and electricity.
18. The system according to claim 7 wherein the consumer is an appliance.
19. The system according to claim 7 wherein the producer is an appliance by forfeiting future consumption of a resource.
20. The system according to claim 7 wherein the producer and the consumer iteratively negotiate using the electronic messages to agree on one of production and consumption of the resource.
whereby the appliance can participate in effective management of the resource based on the messages.
22. The appliance according to claim 21 further comprising a user interface whereby a user can input information related to effective management of the resource based on the messages or the user interface can display information about a resource profile and a function identifier.
23. The appliance according to claim 21 further comprising a component that provides a resource and process control apparatus that uses a resource, wherein the messages can be communicated between the component and the process control apparatus to effectively manage the use of the resource within the appliance.
24. The appliance according to claim 23 wherein the appliance is a washer, the component is a dispenser, and the resource is a detergent.
25. The appliance according to claim 21 wherein the messages include a production profile generated by the appliance in response to a cycle of operation.
26. The appliance according to claim 25 wherein the production profile is associated with a resource by product of the cycle of operation.
27. The appliance according to claim 26 wherein the by product is one of waste heat, grey water, hot water, warm water, water, potable water, steam, humidity, and conditioned air.
28. The appliance according to claim 21 wherein the messages include a consumption profile generated by the appliance in response to a cycle of operation.
29. The appliance according to claim 28 wherein the resource is one of water, electricity, air, gas, chemical additives, ingredients, ice, cooling air, chilled water, flavoring, steam, heat, and hot water.
30. The appliance according to claim 21 wherein the controller is configured to affect a cycle of operation in response to a received message.
Asian Electronics Ltd., Glossary, 2003, pp. 1-6.
IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Jan. 1, 1986; vol. 28, pp. 3657-3660.
Matsukawa, Isamu; Asano, Hiroshi; Kakimoto, Hitoshi; Household Response to Incentive Payments for Load Shifting: A Japanese Time-of-Day Electricity Pricing Experiment; Energy Journal, 21, 1, 73; Jan. 2000; ISSN: 0195-6574.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms, 1984, Merriam-Webster, Inc., p. 13.
U.S. Appl. No. 10/280,902, filed Oct. 25, 2002; Method and Apparatus for Managing Resources of Utility Provider; first named inventor Gale R. Horst.
U.S. Appl. No. 10/460,885, filed Jun. 13, 2003; Total Home Energy Management; first named inventor Gale Richard Horst.
U.S. Appl. No. 10/757,891, filed Jan. 15, 2004; A Process for Managing and Curtailing Power Demand of Appliances and Components Thereof, and System Using Such Process; first named inventor Gianpiero Santacatterina.
U.S. Appl. No. 11/733,385, filed Apr. 10, 2007; Energy Management System and Method; first named inventor Gale R. Horst. | 2019-04-19T04:05:09Z | https://patents.google.com/patent/US9665838B2/en |
"WSJ" redirects here. For other uses, see WSJ (disambiguation).
It is published six days a week by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corp, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal. The Journal is the largest newspaper in the United States by circulation. According to the Alliance for Audited Media, it has a circulation of about 2.4 million copies (including nearly 900,000 digital subscriptions), as of March 2013, compared with USA Today 's 1.7 million. Its main rival in the business newspaper sector is the London-based Financial Times, which also publishes several international editions.
The Journal primarily covers American economic and international business topics, and financial news and issues. Its name derives from Wall Street, the heart of the New York financial district. It has been printed continuously since its inception on July 8, 1889, by Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. The newspaper version has won the Pulitzer Prize thirty-four times, including 2007 prizes for its reporting on backdated stock options and the adverse effects of China's booming economy. In 2011, The Wall Street Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the 12th consecutive year. Its editorial pages and columns, run separately from the news pages, are highly influential in American conservative circles. As editors of the editorial page, Vermont C. Royster (served 1958–1971) and Robert L. Bartley (served 1972–2000) were especially influential in providing a conservative interpretation of the news on a daily basis.
Dow Jones & Company's, publisher of the Journal, first product was brief news bulletins hand-delivered throughout the day to traders at the stock exchange. They were later aggregated in a printed daily summary called the Customers' Afternoon Letter. The reporters Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser converted this into The Wall Street Journal, which was published for the first time on July 8, 1889, and began delivery of the Dow Jones News Service via telegraph. In 1896, The "Dow Jones Industrial Average" was officially launched. It was the first of several indices of stock and bond prices on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1899, the Journal's Review & Outlook column, which still runs today, appears for the first time. It initially was written by Charles Dow.
Journalist Clarence Barron purchased control of the company for US$130,000 in 1902; circulation was then around 7,000 but climbed to 50,000 by the end of the 1920s. Barron and his predecessors were credited with creating an atmosphere of fearless, independent financial reporting—a novelty in the early days of business journalism. In 1921, Barron's, America's premier financial weekly, was founded.
Barron died in 1928, a year before Black Tuesday, the stock market crash that greatly affected the Great Depression in the United States. Barron's descendants, the Bancroft family, would continue to control the company until 2007.
The Journal took its modern shape and prominence in the 1940s, a time of industrial expansion for the United States and its financial institutions in New York. Bernard Kilgore was named managing editor of the paper in 1941, and company CEO in 1945, eventually compiling a 25-year career as the head of the Journal. Kilgore was the architect of the paper's iconic front-page design, with its "What's News" digest, and its national distribution strategy, which brought the paper's circulation from 33,000 in 1941 to 1.1 million at the time of Kilgore's death in 1967. Under Kilgore, in 1947, that the paper won its first Pulitzer Prize, for William Henry Grimes's editorials.
In 1967, Dow Jones Newswires began a major expansion outside of the United States that ultimately put journalists in every major financial center in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and Africa. In 1970, Dow Jones bought the Ottaway newspaper chain, which at the time comprised nine dailies and three Sunday newspapers. Later, the name was changed to "Dow Jones Local Media Group".
1971 to 1997 brought about a series of launches, acquisitions, and joint ventures, including "Factiva", the Asian Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Europe, the WSJ.com website, Dow Jones Indexes, MarketWatch, and "WSJ Weekend Edition". In 2007 News Corp. acquired Dow Jones. WSJ., a luxury lifestyle magazine, was launched in 2008.
A complement to the print newspaper, The Wall Street Journal Online, was launched in 1996. In 2003, Dow Jones began to integrate reporting of the Journal's print and online subscribers together in Audit Bureau of Circulations statements. In 2007, it was commonly believed to be the largest paid-subscription news site on the Web, with 980,000 paid subscribers. Since then, online subscribership has fallen, due in part to rising subscription costs, and was reported at 400,000 in March 2010. In May 2008, an annual subscription to the online edition of The Wall Street Journal cost $119 for those who do not have subscriptions to the print edition. By June 2013, the monthly cost for a subscription to the online edition was $22.99, or $275.88 annually, excluding introductory offers.
On November 30, 2004, Oasys Mobile and The Wall Street Journal released an application that would allow users to access content from the Wall Street Journal Online via their mobile phone. It "will provide up-to-the-minute business and financial news from the Online Journal, along with comprehensive market, stock and commodities data, plus personalized portfolio information—directly to a cell phone".
The paper's paid content is available free, on a limited basis, to America Online subscribers, and through the free Congoo Netpass. Many of The Wall Street Journal news stories are available through free online newspapers that subscribe to the Dow Jones syndicate. Pulitzer Prize–winning stories from 1995 are available free on the Pulitzer web site.
In September 2005, the Journal launched a weekend edition, delivered to all subscribers, which marked a return to Saturday publication after a lapse of some 50 years. The move was designed in part to attract more consumer advertising.
In 2005, the Journal reported a readership profile of about 60 percent top management, an average income of $191,000, an average household net worth of $2.1 million, and an average age of 55.
In 2007, the Journal launched a worldwide expansion of its website to include major foreign-language editions. The paper had also shown an interest in buying the rival Financial Times.
The nameplate is unique in having a period at the end.
In 2006, the Journal began including advertising on its front page for the first time. This followed the introduction of front-page advertising on the Journal's European and Asian editions in late 2005.
After presenting nearly identical front-page layouts for half a century—always six columns, with the day's top stories in the first and sixth columns, "What's News" digest in the second and third, the "A-hed" feature story in the fourth and themed weekly reports in the fifth column – the paper in 2007 decreased its broadsheet width from 15 to 12 inches while keeping the length at 223⁄4 inches, to save newsprint costs. News design consultant Mario Garcia collaborated on the changes. Dow Jones said it would save US$18 million a year in newsprint costs across all The Wall Street Journal papers. This move eliminated one column of print, pushing the "A-hed" out of its traditional location (though the paper now usually includes a quirky feature story on the right side of the front page, sandwiched among the lead stories).
The paper still uses ink dot drawings called hedcuts, introduced in 1979 and originally created by Kevin Sprouls, in addition to photographs, a method of illustration considered a consistent visual signature of the paper. The Journal still heavily employs the use of caricatures, notably those of Ken Fallin, such as when Peggy Noonan memorialized recently deceased newsman Tim Russert. The use of color photographs and graphics has become increasingly common in recent years with the addition of more "lifestyle" sections.
The daily was awarded by the Society for News Design World's Best Designed Newspaper award for 1994 and 1997.
On May 2, 2007, News Corporation made an unsolicited takeover bid for Dow Jones, offering US$60 a share for stock that had been selling for US$33 a share. The Bancroft family, which controlled more than 60% of the voting stock, at first rejected the offer, but later reconsidered its position.
Three months later, on August 1, 2007, News Corporation and Dow Jones entered into a definitive merger agreement. The US$5 billion sale added The Wall Street Journal to Rupert Murdoch's news empire, which already included Fox News Channel, financial network unit and London's The Times, and locally within New York, the New York Post, along with Fox flagship station WNYW (Channel 5) and MyNetworkTV flagship WWOR (Channel 9).
On December 13, 2007, shareholders representing more than 60 percent of Dow Jones's voting stock approved the company's acquisition by News Corporation.
A special committee was established to oversee the Journal 's editorial integrity. When the managing editor Marcus Brauchli resigned on April 22, 2008, the committee said that News Corporation had violated its agreement by not notifying the committee earlier. However, Brauchli said he believed that new owners should appoint their own editor.
A 2007 Journal article quoted charges that Murdoch had made and broken similar promises in the past. One large shareholder commented that Murdoch has long "expressed his personal, political and business biases through his newspapers and television stations". Former Times assistant editor Fred Emery remembers an incident when "Mr. Murdoch called him into his office in March 1982 and said he was considering firing Times editor Harold Evans. Mr. Emery says he reminded Mr. Murdoch of his promise that editors couldn't be fired without the independent directors' approval. 'God, you don't take all that seriously, do you?' Mr. Murdoch answered, according to Mr. Emery." Murdoch eventually forced out Evans.
In 2011, The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had artificially inflated its European sales numbers, by paying Executive Learning Partnership for purchasing 16% of European sales. These inflated sales numbers then enabled the Journal to charge similarly inflated advertising rates, as the advertisers would think that they reached more readers than they actually did. In addition, the Journal agreed to run "articles" featuring Executive Learning Partnership, presented as news, but effectively advertising. The case came to light after a Belgian Wall Street Journal employee, Gert Van Mol (nl), informed Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton about the questionable practice. As a result the then Wall Street Journal Europe CEO and Publisher Andrew Langhoff was fired after it was found out he personally pressured journalists into covering one of the newspaper's business partners involved in the issue. Since September 2011 all the online articles that resulted from the ethical wrongdoing carry a Wall Street Journal disclaimer informing the readers about the circumstances in which they were created.
The Journal, along with its parent Dow Jones & Company, was among the businesses News Corporation spun off in 2013 as the new News Corp.
Off Duty – published Saturdays in WSJ Weekend; focuses on fashion, food, design, travel and gear/tech. The section was launched September 25, 2010.
Review – published Saturdays in WSJ Weekend; focuses on essays, commentary, reviews and ideas. The section was launched September 25, 2010.
Mansion – published Fridays; focuses on high-end real estate. The section was launched October 5, 2012.
WSJ Magazine – Launched in 2008 as a quarterly, this luxury magazine supplement distributed within the U.S., European and Asian editions of The Wall Street Journal grew to 12 issues per year in 2014.
WSJ. is The Wall Street Journal 's luxury lifestyle magazine. Its coverage spans art, fashion, entertainment, design, food, architecture, travel and more. Kristina O'Neill is Editor in Chief and Anthony Cenname is Publisher.
Launched as a quarterly in 2008, the magazine grew to 12 issues a year for 2014. The magazine is distributed within the U.S. Weekend Edition of The Wall Street Journal newspaper (average paid print circulation is +2.2 million*), the European and Asian editions, and is available on WSJ.com. Each issue is also available throughout the month in The Wall Street Journal's iPad app.
Penélope Cruz, Carmelo Anthony, Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson, Emilia Clarke, Daft Punk, and Gisele Bündchen have all been featured on the cover.
In 2012, the magazine launched its signature platform, The Innovator Awards. An extension of the November Innovators issue, the awards ceremony, held in New York City at Museum of Modern Art, honors visionaries across the fields of design, fashion, architecture, humanitarianism, art and technology. The 2013 winners were: Alice Waters (Humanitarianism); Daft Punk (Entertainment); David Adjaye (Architecture); Do Ho Su (Art); Nick D'Aloisio (Technology); Pat McGrath (Fashion); Thomas Woltz (Design).
In 2013, Adweek awarded WSJ. "Hottest Lifestyle Magazine of the Year" for its annual Hot List.
U.S. Circulation: Each issue of WSJ. is inserted into the weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal, whose average paid circulation for the three months ending September 30, 2013 was 2,261,772 as reported to the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM).
The Wall Street Journal has a global news staff of more than 2,000 journalists in 85 news bureaus across 51 countries. It has 26 printing plants.
WSJ Live became available on mobile units, including iPad, in September 2011.
WSJ Weekend, the weekend newspaper, expanded September 2010, with two new sections: "Off Duty" and "Review".
Greater New York, a stand-alone, full color section dedicated to the New York metro area, launched April 2010.
The Wall Street Journal's San Francisco Bay Area Edition, which focuses on local news and events, launched on November 2009, appearing locally each Thursday in the print Journal and every day on online at WSJ.com/SF.
WSJ Weekend, formerly called Saturday's Weekend Edition: September 2005.
Launch of Today's Journal, which included both the addition of Personal Journal and color capacity to the Journal: April 2002.
Friday Journal, formerly called First Weekend Journal: March 20, 1998.
WSJ.com launched in April 1996.
First three-section Journal: October 1988.
First two-section Journal: June 1980.
The Journal won its first two Pulitzer Prizes for editorial writing in 1947 and 1953. Subsequent Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for editorial writing to Robert L. Bartley in 1980 and Joseph Rago in 2011; for criticism to Manuela Hoelterhoff in 1983 and Joe Morgenstern in 2005; and for commentary to Vermont Royster in 1984, Paul Gigot in 2000, Dorothy Rabinowitz in 2001, and Bret Stephens in 2013.
Two summaries published in 1995 by the progressive blog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, and in 1996 by the Columbia Journalism Review criticized the Journal's editorial page for inaccuracy during the 1980s and 1990s.
They are united by the mantra "free markets and free people", the principles, if you will, marked in the watershed year of 1776 by Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. So over the past century and into the next, the Journal stands for free trade and sound money; against confiscatory taxation and the ukases of kings and other collectivists; and for individual autonomy against dictators, bullies and even the tempers of momentary majorities. If these principles sound unexceptionable in theory, applying them to current issues is often unfashionable and controversial.
On our editorial page we make no pretense of walking down the middle of the road. Our comments and interpretations are made from a definite point of view. We believe in the individual, in his wisdom and his decency. We oppose all infringements on individual rights, whether they stem from attempts at private monopoly, labor union monopoly or from an overgrowing government. People will say we are conservative or even reactionary. We are not much interested in labels but if we were to choose one, we would say we are radical. Just as radical as the Christian doctrine.
Every Thanksgiving the editorial page prints two famous articles that have appeared there since 1961. The first is titled The Desolate Wilderness, and describes what the Pilgrims saw when they arrived at the Plymouth Colony. The second is titled And the Fair Land, and describes the bounty of America. It was written by a former editor, Vermont C. Royster, whose Christmas article In Hoc Anno Domini, has appeared every December 25 since 1949.
During the Reagan administration, the newspaper's editorial page was particularly influential as the leading voice for supply-side economics. Under the editorship of Robert Bartley, it expounded at length on economic concepts such as the Laffer curve, and how a decrease in certain marginal tax rates and the capital gains tax could allegedly increase overall tax revenue by generating more economic activity.
In the economic argument of exchange rate regimes (one of the most divisive issues among economists), the Journal has a tendency to support fixed exchange rates over floating exchange rates. For example, the Journal was a major supporter of the Chinese yuan's peg to the dollar, and strongly disagreed with American politicians who criticized the Chinese government about the peg. It opposed China's move to let the yuan gradually float, arguing that the fixed rate benefited both the United States and China.
The Journal's views compare with those of the British publication The Economist, with its emphasis on free markets. However, the Journal demonstrates important distinctions from European business newspapers, most particularly in regard to the relative significance of, and causes of, the American budget deficit. (The Journal generally points to the lack of foreign growth, while business journals in Europe and Asia blame the low savings rate and concordant high borrowing rate in the United States).
The editorial board has long argued for a pro-business immigration policy. In a July 3, 1984 editorial, the board wrote: "If Washington still wants to 'do something' about immigration, we propose a five-word constitutional amendment: There shall be open borders." This stand on immigration reform places the Journal as an opponent of most conservative activists and politicians, for example National Review, who favor heightened restrictions on immigration.
The Journal in recent years has strongly defended Scooter Libby, whom it portrays as the victim of a political witchhunt. It has also published editorials comparing the attacks by Seymour Hersh and The New York Times on Leo Strauss and his alleged influence in the George W. Bush administration with those of Lyndon LaRouche, a fringe conspiracy theorist and perennial presidential candidate.
Some former The Wall Street Journal reporters have said that, since Rupert Murdoch bought the paper, news stories have been edited to adopt a more conservative tone, critical of Democrats. The op-ed section routinely publishes articles by scientists skeptical of the theory of global warming, including several essays by Richard Lindzen of MIT. Similarly, the Journal has refused to publish opinions of prominent scientists with opposing conclusions.
Both the Journal and Reuters Chinese language editions were blocked by the Chinese government in October, 2013, reportedly after they had published unflattering stories about "Chinese elites". They were unblocked at the beginning of January, 2014.
The Journal 's editorial page has been fiercely critical of the Affordable Care Act legislation passed in 2010 and regularly features opinion columns attacking various aspects of the bill. The Editorial page, which is operated separately from the news pages, has also attacked nearly every aspect of Barack Obama's presidency, especially since Murdoch purchased the paper.
The Journal 's editors stress the independence and impartiality of their reporters. In a 2004 study, Tim Groseclose and Jeff Milyo calculated the ideological bias of 20 media outlets by counting the frequency they cited particular think tanks and comparing that to the frequency that legislators cited the same think tanks. They found that the news reporting of The Journal was the most liberal (more liberal than NPR or The New York Times). The study did not factor in editorials. Mark Liberman criticized the model used to calculate bias in the study and argued that the model unequally affected liberals and conservatives and that "think tank ideology [...] only matters to liberals."
The company's planned and eventual acquisition by News Corp. in 2007 led to significant media criticism and discussion about whether the news pages would exhibit a rightward slant under Rupert Murdoch. An August 1 editorial responded to the questions by asserting that Murdoch intended to "maintain the values and integrity of the Journal."
The Journal has won more than 30 Pulitzer Prizes in its history. Staff journalists who led some of the newspaper's best-known coverage teams have later published books that summarized and extended their reporting.
In 1987, a bidding war ensued between several financial firms for tobacco and food giant RJR Nabisco. Bryan Burrough and John Helyar documented the events in more than two dozen Journal articles. Burrough and Helyar later used these articles as the basis of a bestselling book, Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco, which was turned into a film for HBO.
In the 1980s, Journal reporter James B. Stewart brought national attention to the illegal practice of insider trading. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory journalism in 1988, which he shared with Daniel Hertzberg, who went on to serve as the paper's senior deputy managing editor before resigning in 2009. Stewart expanded on this theme in his book, Den of Thieves.
David Sanford, a Page One features editor who was infected with HIV in 1982 in a bathhouse, wrote a front-page personal account of how, with the assistance of improved treatments for HIV, he went from planning his death to planning his retirement. He and six other reporters wrote about the new treatments, political and economic issues, and won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting about AIDS.
Jonathan Weil, a reporter at the Dallas bureau of The Wall Street Journal, is credited with first breaking the story of financial abuses at Enron in September 2000. Rebecca Smith and John R. Emshwiller reported on the story regularly, and wrote a book, 24 Days.
The Wall Street Journal claims to have sent the first news report, on the Dow Jones wire, of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Its headquarters, at One World Financial Center, was severely damaged by the collapse of the World Trade Center just across the street. Top editors worried that they might miss publishing the first issue for the first time in the paper's 112-year history. They relocated to a makeshift office at an editor's home, while sending most of the staff to Dow Jones's South Brunswick, N.J., corporate campus, where the paper had established emergency editorial facilities soon after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The paper was on the stands the next day, albeit in scaled-down form. Perhaps the most compelling story in that day's edition was a first-hand account of the Twin Towers' collapse written by then-Foreign Editor (and current Washington bureau chief) John Bussey, who holed up in a ninth-floor Journal office, literally in the shadow of the towers, from where he phoned in live reports to CNBC as the towers burned. He narrowly escaped serious injury when the first tower collapsed, shattering all the windows in the Journal's offices and filling them with dust and debris. The Journal won a 2002 Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting for that day's stories.
The Journal subsequently conducted a worldwide investigation of the causes and significance of 9/11, using contacts it had developed while covering business in the Arab world. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a The Wall Street Journal reporter bought a pair of looted computers that Al Qaeda leaders had used to plan assassinations, chemical and biological attacks, and mundane daily activities. The encrypted files were decrypted and translated. It was during this coverage that terrorists kidnapped and killed Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
In 2007, the paper won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, with its iconic Gold Medal, for exposing companies that illegally backdate stock options they awarded executives to increase their value.
Kate Kelly wrote a three-part series that detailed events that led to the collapse of Bear Stearns.
A report published on September 30, 2010 detailing allegations McDonald's had plans to drop health coverage for hourly employees drew criticism from McDonald's as well as the Obama administration. The WSJ reported the plan to drop coverage stemmed from new health care requirements under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. McDonald's called the report "speculative and misleading," stating they had no plans to drop coverage. The WSJ report and subsequent rebuttal received coverage from several other media outlets.
On the Money (2013 TV series) – the current title of a CNBC-produced program known as The Wall Street Journal Report from 1970 until the CNBC/Dow Jones split in January 2013.
↑ "Total Circ for US Newspapers". Alliance for Audited Media. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
↑ 2.0 2.1 Plambeck, Joseph (April 26, 2010). "Newspaper Circulation Falls Nearly 9%". The New York Times.
↑ "Press Release: Wall Street Journal is Honored with Two Pulitzer Prizes: for Reporting on Stock Options Backdating and on China". Dow Jones. April 16, 2007. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2010.
↑ "The 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners – Public Service". Retrieved June 13, 2010.
↑ "The 2007 Pulitzer Prize Winners – International Reporting". Retrieved June 13, 2010.
↑ Dow Jones & Co. Inc., "Dow Jones History – The Late 1800s", Retrieved July 25, 2013.
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Crossen, Cynthia. "It All Began in the Basement of a Candy Store", The Wall Street Journal (New York), p. B1, August 1, 2007.
↑ "Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.". dowjoneslmg.com.
↑ Edgecliffe-Johnson, Andrew (3 September 2008). "WSJ magazine targets upscale market". The Financial Times (The Financial Times).
↑ "Subscribing to the Wall Street Journal". WSJ. June 17, 2013.
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↑ "The Wall Street Journal Now Offering Limited Content via AOL Instant Messenger". Resource shelf. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
↑ Paula J. Hane (March 26, 2007). "Congoo News Circles Adds the Glue". Newsbreaks. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
↑ "The Pulitzer Prizes - What's New". pulitzer.org.
↑ Wray, Richard (February 1, 2007). "How the word on Wall Street will spread around the world". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved February 3, 2007.
↑ "Punctuation Nerds Stopped by Obama Slogan, 'Forward.'". The Wall Street Journal. July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
↑ Noonan, Peggy (June 20, 2008). "Tim Russert WSJ drawing". WSJ. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
↑ Caricaturist Captures the Corporate Market, Biz Bash Orlando, August 11, 2008.
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↑ "News Corp Dow Jones Deal Done –". Portfolio.com. September 11, 2008. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
↑ 31.0 31.1 L. Gordon Crovitz, "A Report to Our Readers". The Wall Street Journal (New York), page A14, August 1, 2007.
↑ Steve Stecklow (April 30, 2008). "WSJ Editor's Resignation Is Criticized By Committee". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved Sep 27, 2008.
↑ Davies, Nick (October 12, 2011). "Wall Street Journal circulation scam claims senior Murdoch executive". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2011-10-13.
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↑ Meyers, Steve (October 13, 2011). "WSJ Europe publisher resigns after reports he 'personally pressured' journalists into covering paper's business partner". Pointer. (US). Retrieved 2011-10-13.
↑ Sonne, Paul (October 12, 2011). "Publisher of WSJ Europe Resigns After Ethics Inquiry". WSJ Online (London). Retrieved 2011-10-13.
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↑ "Check Out All of the Winners in the Print Category From This Year's Hot List". AdWeek.
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↑ Lindzen, Richard S. (30 November 2009). "The Climate Science Isn't Settled". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
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↑ Arnall, Daniel (September 30, 2010). "McDonald's Fights Back Against Report It Will Drop Health Care Plan". ABC News. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
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↑ Weisenthal, Joe (September 30, 2010). "The WSJ's Demonization Of Obamacare Hits New Low With Article On McDonald's Dropping Coverage". Business Insider. Retrieved September 30, 2010.
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Dynapac’s shop features a wide range of different machines with different capabilities to produce almost any part you can think of. We have recently added a new machine to expand our repertoire; the Okuma LB3000 EX II machining center! This is a larger, more accurate machining center that both mills and turns parts, allowing us here at Dynapac to offer a wider range of services than ever before. With our specialization in producing our own gears and gearboxes the LB3000 is helping us to refine our craft even further with high precision gears and splines.
With our wide range of capabilities, world-class service, and commitment to customer care Dynapac is ready to help you produce the parts you need to run your business smoothly. Contact Dynapac Rotating Company today to begin!
Dynapac’s company slogan and creative commitment, “You dream it, we rotate it,” was on full display during a recent project commissioned by Sign Producers and Universal Studios.
Having worked with companies like Disney and Universal Studios in the past, including a project at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Dynapac Rotating is well known in the industry for its ability to create custom-crafted devices, no matter the complexity or scope of the project. Based on this reputation, Sign Producers and Universal Studios reached out to Dynapac earlier this year to produce a special mechanical rotator device for the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen.
Because the sign’s design called for a double mechanical rotator drive that could spin an outer ring while also rotating a minute hand back and forth, Dynapac set out to create a custom rotator unit with a custom frame and housing. Dynapac engineers designed a single unit with two bearings and two drive units to create the desired motion.
The frame of the Dynapac rotator not only moves both objects (the rotating ring and the minute hand), but also holds the center stationary face of the sign. To achieve this, Dynapac engineers had to design a multi-concentric-tube device to hold all three objects – the moving minute hand, the stationary sign face, and the moving outer ring. And, as with every Dynapac drive unit, a safety clutch device was incorporated into both rotating elements to prevent damage to the gears, motor and sign due to high winds or obstruction from a foreign object.
In addition to the mechanical parts, Dynapac designed and programmed a custom motor control system to operate the rotating ring and minute hand. A variable speed drive was added to provide the option to change the speed of the outer ring, and to reverse its direction. The sign’s minute hand waves back and forth using proximity sensors connected to the computer system. Once the hand hits the end of the stroke, the motor ramps down in speed and reverses direction gently, so as not to bounce and create a distraction to those viewing it.
After a few design iterations to get the right fit and motion, Dynapac delivered a final product, which is now on display at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen at Universal Studios. At first glance, the casual observer might not appreciate the ingenuity of the design and the complexity of the motion involved, but perhaps that’s the mark of a well-made rotating sign.
Universal Studios and Sign Producers dreamed it. Dynapac created it. If your business is looking to implement an attention-grabbing display like the one seen at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, Dynapac Rotating Co. is ready to transform your dream into a rotating reality.
Motion Attracts Attention! And, the more attention you can draw to your display, the more likely it will be that consumers respond to and remember your message. So, how does motion attract attention? Well, we know that movement in a person’s peripheral vision can trigger a shift in visual attention. How fast that attention shifts toward a moving object depends on the how animated the viewer perceives the object to be. Factors such as the speed of the object, the magnitude of its shift in position, and most importantly, whether this motion appears to be self-propelled or not all influence how much attention your display will receive.
At Dynapac, we understand what it takes to produce attention-grabbing displays. We are the industry leader in the design and manufacture of high quality motion products for the sign industry. But, our displays don’t just attract attention, they attract the type of attention you need to propel your message or brand forward.
A static sign just does not have the same effect as a sign in motion. Anything that you can do to give your display or signage a unique spin, will morel likely capture the consumers attention and increase the likelihood that they will actually remember your message. According to a study by Ketchum Global Research and Analytics 76% of consumers said they have entered a store they have never visited before based on its signs. Also 68% of consumers said they have purchased a product or service because a sign caught their eye. Let motion help you stand out and catch the eye of your consumers.
The quality of your signage may have more of an effect than you think. According to that same study by Ketchum Global Research and Analytics, 68 percent of customers believe that a store’s sign reflects the quality of its products and services. In other words, customers believe that a company with a badly designed or unattractive sign will offer an inferior product or unprofessional service. Additionally, 52 percent of people interviewed in the survey state that they’re less willing to shop at a store with a poorly made sign. Let our high quality rotators and animation mechanisms help speak for the high quality products and services you offer.
Have you ever wondered what allows Dynapac Rotators to rotate without wires getting twisted or tangled? The answer is collector rings!
What is a collector ring? A collector ring is a small, cylindrical device with several metal rings, called ‘slip rings’, at regular intervals along its length. These slip rings are just as conductive as standard copper wire, but don’t have any parts that can twist or tangle. When the rotator unit is powered on the unit remains stationary while the collector ring rotates alongside the turntable and provides power to the rotating display.
At Dynapac there are two varieties of collector ring; standard power and video signal. Standard power collector rings are used to transfer electricity to a standard rotating outlet, which then can be used to power lights, speakers and movement. Video signal collector rings transfer high quality video signal to rotating screens.
At this time Dynapac is pleased to announced our newly remodeled, barrel style standard collector rings, which are in all Dyanapc rotators as of July 1, 2016. New barrel style collector rings come standard with up to 12 power wires, each wire rated to 15 or 30 amps each and collector rings with higher amperage or more wires can be built if needed. This is a 33% power increase over our old 9 ring standard collector rings. Dynapac is able to provide this increase in power by decreasing the size of the ring itself, fitting more rings into the same space. As well as being more compact, our new standard power collector rings are more heavily insulated; this provides more protection for anyone working on or around the rotator and protects the collector ring itself from debris.
Video signal collector rings use a very high quality slip ring system to transfer video signal and data. Our standard video signal collector rings can transfer data over CAT5 Ethernet at a rate of 100 Megabit per second or 1 Gigabit per second, depending on the unit. Dynapac is also able to build custom video signal collector rings when called for, up to 4k video passthrough!
All around the globe people are coming up with new and creative ways to use motion to make their company and their products stand out. Here are four of the most unusual, most unique and all around most fun uses for Dynapac Rotators we have seen.
The most fashionable item on our list, this lively crowd is on display for the Japan-based clothing company Uniqlo. The mannequins are placed throughout the store, in the front windows and even hanging upside down from the ceiling and every mannequin in the store rotates in perfect synchronization.
Instead of constantly turning, the Rock of Ages Slot Display at the Venetian in Las Vegas makes half a turn before pausing. This gives casino-goers plenty of time to admire the flipping stage and its reversible display; a motorcycle on one side and a drum kit on the other. Whichever side isn’t on facing upwards is cleverly hidden below the stage while it waits for its turn in the spotlight.
What better way to celebrate the Indianapolis-500 than with a party, complete with hanging Indy Car in the place of a disco ball? BMG Event Productions suspended the several thousand pound car, upside-down, from the ceiling above the dance floor for the event. Like any good car turned disco ball the display rotates slowly to reflect the lights.
For New Years 2015 and 2016 Salt Lake City has forgone fireworks in favor of a giant disco ball, the largest in the United States, built by artist Derek Dyer and christened the MirrorBall. The behemoth, measuring over 60 feet in diameter, is opened up and rotated at ground level, allowing party-goers to walk inside before it is hoisted over the city on December 31. And the spinning disco ball is, of course, dropped when the clock strikes 12.
We’ve all seen them; spinning signs, rotating cars, and flashy hanging disco balls at parties. But did you know that behind these eye catching displays are a variety of styles of rotators?
Originally used for large-scale signage outside businesses, these powerful machines are still turning heads in theme parks, stadiums, the Las Vegas strip and internationally. Built to withstand wind and weather they’re proof that the classics never die.
The Indoor Rotator is an incredibly versatile tool, used to draw attention to everything from airport information to mannequins to coffee shop logos. They’re a popular choice to advertise specific brands in bars and pubs, strong enough to rotate a car and have even been used to display products on the home shopping network.
As their name suggests Banner Winch Rotators’ talents lie in their ability to raise and lower signs in addition to turning them. The banner winch inside the rotator safely lowers the sign for repairs or changes. Convenience is key and the Banner Winch is ideal for lightweight, seasonal signs that need to be changed out quickly and easily.
Made for use with stretch fabric banners and light displays, Hanging Rotators themselves are light and inexpensive. But don’t let that fool you; they’re no lightweights when it comes to attracting attention. The turning motion of a Hanging Rotator is sure to draw eyes when placed against the stationary backdrop of a trade show or retail environment.
These rotators are built to attract the attention of foot traffic in a trade show booth. Turning signs, displays and even TV’s catch the eye of anyone walking past because they stand out among the hundreds of stationary signs around them. Even bad real estate isn’t a problem; booths at the back and sides of the hall get lots of visitors thanks to rotating signs drawing people in.
Video Rotators come in two styles; Casino LCD and Classic LED. Casino LCD’s are large, flashy and always in motion above slot machines and other casino games. When it comes to drawing attention casino style Video Rotators are the kings. On the other end of the spectrum Classic LED Video Rotators move so slowly that you’ll barely notice. Quiet and subtle, they’re used in shopping centers to give 360 degree video viewing without ever completely obstructing the customers line of sight to any store in the mall.
The littlest member of the rotator family, Display Turntables typically carry small objects and light loads, though they can handle up to 800 lbs if needed. They’re used in shopfronts and store windows to show point of purchase items like shoes, baked goods and jewelry, increasing interest and sales in those products along the way.
From point-of-purchase to large scale product displays, the competition for consumer awareness is never ending. At Dynapac we have made it our business for over 50 years to attract attention and engage consumer awareness with high quality motion products that stand out among static displays and stationary signage. With the capacity to custom engineer both indoor and outdoor rotating product displays, and experience with exhibits ranging from 20 to 100,000 pounds, Dynapac has become the industry leader in rotation and special applications for the sign industry.
Motion has proved to be one of the most invaluable ways to attract attention in the advertising industry. The difference between an advertisement that sells itself over and over and one that does not is simple: consumer awareness. In order to create a “view” that will stand out and remain with the consumer, a product needs to be advertised in a creative way. This becomes simple with a Dynapac rotator or rotating product display, as product perception increases by over 50% with a motion display as compared to a static one (POPAI).
Research conducted for Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute (POPAI) looked into the effectiveness of both motion and static displays, noting results in Market Sales as well as Consumer Awareness. Their studies showed that motion does indeed attract attention, increasing sales by 107% in product specific stores with a rotating product display in comparison with a 56% sales increase in the same stores that carried static displays. In a Consumer Awareness Test, based on three different point-of-purchase product displays, POPAI discovered that 94% of consumers recalled seeing the display with rotating motion, 62% recalled the display with front to back motion and only 43% recalled seeing the static display for the same product. Their conclusion? “The value of traditional point-of-purchase displays can be increased by the use of attention getting devices such as motion.” Motion stands out. Dynapac knows that there are significant advantages to using motion to engage consumers and make interesting, memorable point-of-purchase displays that can lead to improved sales, market share and consumer brand awareness (POPAI).
POPAI. Two Studies on the Effectiveness of Static and Motion Displays, conducted by Product Acceptance and Research, Inc. for the Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute, Inc. (POPAI) Information Center.
Dynapac’s Display Turntables present any product with ingenuity and flair, and are made for standard loads up to 100,000 lbs. or built to spec for any occasion, from car shows to point of purchase displays such as watches or jewelry. Dynapac Display Turntables may be controlled remotely as well as made to rotate in sync for display purposes. Dynapac Display Turntables come with or without rotating wires, and small models have the option to run on D-cell batteries or plug into the wall.
Weighing 1500 lbs each, and with barely over a millimeter of separation between them, giant LED screen covered doors with Dynapac custom motorized hinges are poised to open for happy couples in a Singapore wedding chapel sometime in the first half of 2015. These awe inspiring doors are outfitted in a wall of LED that towers at about 10 meters (32 ft) and span 16 meters (52 ft) across the chapel, where lucky wedding guests will be able to view pictures and videos of the couple as they walk through the doors, each about 6×6 meters. The doors open inward about ninety degrees from a fitted position adjustable to within 1.5 mm of space between the doors, and are equipped with a safety system also engineered by Dynapac that stops the doors before they could potentially harm someone with their crushing force. | 2019-04-23T18:38:33Z | https://www.dynapacrotating.com/blog/ |
Above all things he feared imagination, that double-faced companion, friend on one side and foe on the other – friend in so far as one distrusts it, and enemy if one goes trustfully to sleep to the sound of its sweet murmur.
Spinoza distrusted imagination, seeing it as the primary form of defective and deceptive thinking. However, both his view and Goncharov’s may have been influenced by the absurdly superstitious worlds in which they found themselves.
These days we value our imagination, often equating it to creativity. Yet I think Spinoza and Goncharov had a point and we should distrust its sweet murmur. It seems to me that vast swathes of political reasoning are little more than the sweet murmur of imagination swirling around some more or less nebulous utopian core.
Impossibilities dressed up as possibilities, like a dream where we swoop and soar through fluffy clouds supported by nothing better than the power of the unconscious mind to pooh pooh physics.
...and that’s enough imagination for one day.
In my view a significant proportion of the public sector generates junk. This is largely achieved by ignoring efficiency and by gold-plating regulations.
The private sector also generates junk via market logic – if the customer can be persuaded to accept it, then junk it is.
So we end up with two broad types of junk and have been conditioned to accept both. This is politically convenient because it generates an endless source of misdirection over those we see as the political good guys and those we see as bad. Good junk versus bad junk.
In order to form an idea of an unknown situation our imagination borrows elements that are already familiar.
The real problem seems to be one of power – obviously. If governments, bureaucracies or global companies have too much power then they abuse it by filling our lives with junk. They don’t necessarily abuse it because ratbags are running the show, although that’s often the case, but because there is no adequate opposition. We are insufficiently junkphobic.
So we have far too many regulations, far too many constraints on individual freedom and vast global companies buy their way into the corridors of power and our lives. These trends are obviously not desirable, but the surest way to misunderstand them is to present modern politics as an antiquated left/right dichotomy.
There is no left/right dichotomy except in our political traditions which have long outlived their usefulness. The same applies to traditional political parties.
The only political issue is who has the power, what they are doing with it. If those with the power collude as they now do, then we have power structures which cannot be effectively opposed from a traditional left/right standpoint.
So the only political reality is global trends in political and economic power. The old left/right dichotomy doesn’t even come close to an adequate narrative.
This is not where our enemy hides.
Please accept my congratulations on your accepting Nick Clegg’s challenge – one that, I hope, he will have good reason to regret having made. May I offer some points to raise in the debate?
Not “why should we leave?” but “why should we join?”: Some argue – and I think they’re right – that the English Constitution cannot be altered without the express consent of all parties, including the Commons speaking for themselves, not through elected representatives. If that is so, then all acts to date of the British Government and Parliament implying surrender of sovereignty in any degree, are ultra vires. Why not offer Clegg that as a hypothetical starting point, and ask what reasons he could give for us to surrender our sovereignty to the EU? This shifts the onus to him.
College of Europe: What exactly did Clegg learn in his year there, and did he make any oaths or give any undertakings that might conflict with his duty as a British MP and Minister?
UK Parliament: continuing the conflict of interest theme, should all in either House who have been EU Commissioners or otherwise stand to lose their EU pension and privileges if they fail to represent a pro-EU point of view, not merely declare their interest but recuse themselves from voting or taking part in any debate that has an EU dimension?
Politics has become the art of the impossible.
We have a dysfunctional economy because we have a dysfunctional society, and vice versa. The pieces in the jigsaw box don't match up with the picture on the lid.
The picture shows people providing manufactures and services for each other. Families are holding together through thick and thin, and raising their children with love and discipline. Tax rates are low because money velocity and employment are high and few need to call on the safety net of the Welfare State. After paying for the necessaries of life, there is money left over to save for emergencies and old age, and saving is worthwhile because the currency keeps its value. The country is self-governing and at peace with its neighbours. Our leaders work for our best interests, arbitrating fairly between the demands of different groups.
The pieces we have now don't make that picture, and they don't even fit each other.
Our leaders have given our law and governance to the EU, effectively abandoned border controls, sold our economic base to foreign interests and combined to oppose electoral reform that would make them more answerable to the voters.
So to distract from their comprehensive failure, they select victims to be the lightning-rods for our anger. The recent "life means life" ruling on prisoners is to give us the illusion that our judicial system is independent of Europe; benefit claimants are demonised so that we don't ask why we haven't got jobs for them to do; economic immigrants, because they cannot be excluded, are to be treated as second-class citizens (in terms of social benefits) when they arrive.
This is reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution, the cynical sowing of factional discord to secure control at the top. It feels like an era is ending, and those in the know are looting the system before the collapse. If Martin Armstrong's theory is correct, it's all inevitable, part of the long-cycle economic pulse that is bringing both Marxism and representative democracy to an end.
In the latest edition of the Spectator, Melissa Kite is distributing leaflets on behalf of a local action group, about the proposed massive (2,175 houses) residential property development in Wisley. The beneficiaries, she claims, are based in the Cayman Islands (though in 2012 there was also some legal dispute in Jersey, another offshore tax haven) and stand to make a billion pounds, tax-free.
Kite says that she has been warned off her campaign by people who told her they would "wear her down"; Surrey County Council seem to have managed it in the case of another residents' association chairman at the back end of last year.
The nominee company in the Jersey case was Prestigic (Wisley) Nominees Limited Company, whose address appears to be the same as that of Prestigic Holdings Limited (Chairman: Adrian Goldsmith). It also shares that address with a chi-chi Indian restaurant called Gymkhana; the horsey connection might vaguely appeal to an equestrian fan like Melissa.
We in the UK already have to import half our food, and I don't know of any program to convert housing back to arable land. Once it's gone, it's gone, and Heaven help us if we're ever in a food crisis again as we were in the 1940s.
"Panellists on Radio 4's Any Questions? and Charles Moore in this week's Spectator magazine agree (with lots of others, it seems) that there is a housing shortage in the UK and the only question is how to satisfy it. I beg to differ, or at least think we can question the assumption.
1. "According to The Empty Homes Agency, there are an estimated 870,000 empty homes in the UK and enough empty commercial property to create 420,000 new homes", according to the BBC website section on Homes.
2. There are over 245,000 registered second homes in the UK, according to Schofields home insurers.
3. The 2001 census showed that average home occupation in England and Wales had declined from 10 years before, from 2.51 to 2.36 persons.
4. According to the official Housing Survey of 2008/9, 7.7 million households were couples with no dependent children; there were also 6.2 million single person households (up from 3.8 million in 1981).
5. The same survey showed that the average (mean) dwelling had 2.8 bedrooms, rising to 3.0 bedrooms for owner-occupiers. Fewer than 3% of households were defined as overcrowded.
6. According to a 2005 Home Office study, there were 310,000 - 570,000 illegal immigrants in the UK, a figure which MigrationWatch thought to be underestimated by 15,000 - 85,000. This is a separate issue from the 8.7% of the population who are economic migrants to the UK, and whose real net contribution to the economy (after taking into account all benefits to which they and their dependants may be entitled) is a matter of debate.
We are not in the situation we faced in 1945, when soldiers returning home from war squatted on military sites and even caves. The modern "housing shortage" is an arbitrary notion."
The broken window parable has interested me for years, because much of what we do seems akin to breaking windows.
Designed to fail so we can do it again.
Designed to fail so we can buy another one.
Designed to fail so we need regular maintenance.
Designed to fail so we need regular policing.
Designed to fail the vagaries of fashion.
Designed to be laborious so we need more staff.
Designed to be complex so we need more consultants.
And so on and so on. It seems to be a feature of almost any society - promoting wasteful activity once we have a full belly and a warm hut. When we can afford some illusions to keep reality at bay.
Even a Dark Age village may have been able to feed a travelling story-teller in return for a night or two of entertainment - to keep reality at bay.
AK Haart wonders about the uselessness of much research, calling it "remunerated gossip" (a phrase that might be re-used to describe modern Parliamentary proceedings).
Yet we never know where a line of enquiry might lead, and how profitably. Look at penicillin: Alexander Fleming was not the first to discover its bactericidal effect, and when he did he soon gave up trying to exploit it.
Edward de Bono, the "lateral thinking" man, noted that we come to useful ideas or solutions in roundabout ways and only then build a straight path from A to B. The internet - which itself has developed into something nobody expected - is bound to result in countless fruitful connections being made, by the sort of creative intellectual bummeln that web-surfing allows.
Granted, there will also be rubbish and (apparent) dead-ends, but if one in a billion notions gets us somewhere, then 2.4 billion users playing with the Net on pretty much a daily basis are certainly going to come up with something.
Blair "has not volunteered for Mars mission"
Our sources say that Mr ACL Blair has not yet put his name forward as a candidate for the 2023 expedition to establish a colony on Mars, though it could have certain advantages for him.
He would be safe there from attempts by members of the public to perform a citizen's arrest. Nor could he be called back to explain what he meant when advising Mrs Rebekah Brooks to establish a "Hutton style" enquiry that would "clear" her.
However, some say that Mrs Blair might be tempted to nominate him for the one-way trip, should further embarrassing evidence come to light suggesting a romantic link between him and the wife of Rupert Murdoch.
Although Mr Blair would then be aged 70, Mars One sets no upper age restriction. More important are qualities of intellect and character. We are confident that he would qualify in most, if not all respects - "The astronauts must be intelligent, creative, psychologically stable and physically healthy" - and the jaunt would certainly satisfy his well-known delight in travel.
The full astronaut specification can be seen here: http://www.mars-one.com/faq/selection-and-preparation-of-the-astronauts/what-are-the-qualifications-to-apply.
Readers may care to suggest others who might be similarly suited to go, or whom it would suit us to send.
Well, we visited Torcross after all, yesterday.
You can see the sky through the fire-damaged roof of the only recently-refurbished Boat House restaurant; half the windows in the street are boarded up, and one door caved in at the bottom. Not only was the road temporarily beachified, but the beach itself is considerably narrower and is no longer a shingle beach but a bucket-and-spade sand one.
Yet the Start Bay Inn seems completely unscathed. We had half-expected to be choosing our lunchtime fish off the carpet in the lower room, but all was well, and the food as good as ever.
Thank goodness for the 1980-built sea defences; otherwise it could well have been another Hallsands clearout.
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A few decades ago we tried our hand at antiques dealing. Those were the days when every leisure centre and church hall held an antiques fair at least once a month and they were usually full because people had seen lots of antiques on the telly.
We were nervous about our first fair because we weren’t sure what to expect on the dealer’s side of the stall. Would the other dealers turn out to be supercilious experts? Well we already knew that was unlikely because we’d been to so many as browsers and occasional buyers.
Our stall was next to a guy who just sold bric-a-brac, anything from vinyl records to toys to bits and pieces of tat nobody could possibly want. Except they did want it and he was busy all day.
“I just gi’ em what they want,” he said almost apologetically after running a doubtful eye over our stall.
It was our first hard knock and a timely one too. It isn’t just a case of buying well, but of buying what people want at a price well below what they might be prepared to pay. It’s no good following your own tastes either – you have to buy what the market likes.
All this is obvious stuff and nothing we didn’t know at the time, but somehow it isn’t as easy to do as it sounds. I found it very difficult to put my interests and preferences to one side. It’s no good finding a piece of china with a rare mark if it just looks like a cruddy old teapot. To the market that’s what it is.
Cruddy old bits of china don’t sell unless there is something seriously special about them such as turning out to be early Ming. Even then it might be a fake and who can tell these days without expensive scientific tests?
It’s a strange and fickle market. For example, today you can buy good solid antique furniture for peanuts. Furniture which will easily last a hundred years.
But it isn’t as fashionable as junk from IKEA made from chipboard or lumpy furniture which looks as it was made by taking a chainsaw to some old railway sleepers. Or faux antique shabby chic which costs as much and is less well made than the real thing.
Gi’ em what they want – it's almost a philosophy.
In 1790, while English radicals lost their heads in admiration for the French Revolution, Edmund Burke's "Reflections on the Revolution in France" fought the flames that threatened to reach and engulf Britain: "Whenever our neighbor's house is on fire, it cannot be amiss for the engines to play a little on our own. Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions than ruined by too confident a security."
"When I see the spirit of liberty in action, I see a strong principle at work; and this, for a while, is all I can possibly know of it. The wild gas, the fixed air, is plainly broke loose: but we ought to suspend our judgment until the first effervescence is a little subsided, till the liquor is cleared, and until we see something deeper than the agitation of a troubled and frothy surface. I must be tolerably sure, before I venture publicly to congratulate men upon a blessing, that they have really received one. Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver; and adulation is not of more service to the people than to kings. I should therefore suspend my congratulations on the new liberty of France, until I was informed how it had been combined with government, with public force, with the discipline and obedience of armies, with the collection of an effective and well-distributed revenue, with morality and religion, with solidity and property, with peace and order, with civil and social manners. All these (in their way) are good things, too; and without them, liberty is not a benefit whilst it lasts, and is not likely to continue long. The effect of liberty to individuals is, that they may do what they please: we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations, which may be soon turned into complaints. Prudence would dictate this in the case of separate, insulated, private men. But liberty, when men act in bodies, is power. Considerate people, before they declare themselves, will observe the use which is made of power,—and particularly of so trying a thing as new power in new persons, of whose principles, tempers, and dispositions they have little or no experience, and in situations where those who appear the most stirring in the scene may possibly not be the real movers."
To us, that last sentence may serve equally as a warning against the (supposedly ex-) Communists and other cabalists influential in the modern European Union, as about the Robespierres and Napoleons who were then still bubbling their way to the top of the French Revolutionary froth.
Richard Price's "A Discourse on the Love of our Country" (4 November 1789), to which Burke's book was a riposte, claimed that the Glorious Revolution of 1688 had established the principle that we could arbitrarily choose or depose our rulers. Burke countered that although it was true that William had not been first in the royal succession and so it appeared that we had then instituted a new Constitution, yet the link with our ancient Common Law had not been broken, and had been amended by statute only so far as was necessary ("to the peccant part only") to correct the malfunction in the British body politic caused by James II's Catholicism and its concomitant threat of ceding power to persons and entities outside the kingdom.
"Though a king may abdicate for his own person, he cannot abdicate for the monarchy. By as strong, or by a stronger reason, the House of Commons cannot renounce its share of authority. The engagement and pact of society, which generally goes by the name of the Constitution, forbids such invasion and such surrender. The constituent parts of a state are obliged to hold their public faith with each other, and with all those who derive any serious interest under their engagements, as much as the whole state is bound to keep its faith with separate communities: otherwise, competence and power would soon be confounded, and no law be left but the will of a prevailing force. On this principle, the succession of the crown has always been what it now is, an hereditary succession by law: in the old line it was a succession by the Common Law; in the new by the statute law, operating on the principles of the Common Law, not changing the substance, but regulating the mode and describing the persons. Both these descriptions of law are of the same force, and are derived from an equal authority, emanating from the common agreement and original compact of the state, communi sponsione reipublicæ, and as such are equally binding on king, and people too, as long as the terms are observed, and they continue the same body politic."
The people, it should be unnecessary to remark, are an essential "constituent part of the state" and their part is an inalienable element in "the engagement and pact of society". Burke's stress on the continuity of the Common Law means that he could not possibly have approved of the surrender of national sovereignty implied in our unconstitutional (and therefore unlawful) entry into the Common Market in 1972, much less of the considered deceit and treasonable collusion by high officials whereby they usurped the immemorial social pact of the nation.
Though a Whig (progressive) himself, Burke is viewed as the founder of modern political Conservatism. (The Tories, believers in absolute authoritarian rule, supported the 1715 rising that tried to reinstate James on the throne; so to be a Conservative is to be opposed to Tories.) Today's Conservative voters and MPs, if they do indeed stand in the line of Edmund Burke, should be against EU membership to a man and woman.
"You will observe, that, from Magna Charta to the Declaration of Right, it has been the uniform policy of our Constitution to claim and assert our liberties as an entailed inheritance derived to us from our forefathers, and to be transmitted to our posterity,—as an estate specially belonging to the people of this kingdom, without any reference whatever to any other more general or prior right. By this means our Constitution preserves an unity in so great a diversity of its parts. We have an inheritable crown, an inheritable peerage, and a House of Commons and a people inheriting privileges, franchises, and liberties from a long line of ancestors."
"Though a king may abdicate for his own person, he cannot abdicate for the monarchy." Nor may a Parliament, or treacherous Ministers, Prime Ministers and civil servants abdicate our sovereignty for us. Our "entailed inheritance" of national freedom and self-determination is to be "transmitted to our posterity" and cannot be sold, mortgaged or gambled away.
AK Haart regrets what seems to be the decline of the blog - but what are we regretting?
Are we after numbers of readers (millions would be nice) or quality? Popularity, or influence? Number of visits, or average length of visit? Number of comments, or content of comments?
In the battle between the MSM and the Internet, Goliath is still pulverising David: Martin Langeveld estimates that, even though readership has declined in recent years, 96 per cent of newspaper reading is done in relation to print editions, with only some 3 per cent online.
Similarly, Paul Grabowicz says, "A visitor spends an average of a little over 1 minute per day on a newspaper website. Compare that with the 27 minutes per day that newspaper readers say they spent perusing the print product on a weekday, and 57 minutes on Sundays, according to a 2008 survey by Northwestern University's Research Institute."
But, as Grabowicz observes, you can offer more online: "More in-depth stories and richer content can be published on a website than in the relatively short snippets of information distributed to people via mobile devices, on YouTube and Flickr, or through blogs and micro-blog postings. Providing deeper content fulfills the public service function of journalism and can help form online communities at news websites where people can gather to discuss issues of importance to their communities, both geographic and topical."
This reminds us that people read in different ways, and for different purposes. In 2006, Holsanova, Rahm and Holmqvist studied eye-movements of a group of readers to test assumptions about types of readership and concluded, "there are three main categories of readers: editorial readers, overview readers and focused readers."
Which leads us to ask, how much of what we write is actually read? In 2008, Jacob Nielsen found that "on the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely." Grabowicz's article (linked above) also observed an increasing tendency to skim and hop about: "while the total number of unique visitors and pageviews at the newspaper websites has been increasing from 2004 - 2009, the average time spent by each person on a site declined." This jackrabbit reading was turned into a very funny Radio 4 series in 1999, called "The Sunday Format."
Writing can take into account readership tendencies, so WikiHow shows us the art of composing adverts (for example, don't use punctuation in headlines, as this encourages the reader to stop).
But unless you're doing it for money, is the reader you whore after the one you should be concerned to attract? Perhaps we need to worry more about why and what we write, and less about who and how many are reading. Posterity and the estimation of one's peers outweigh meretricious éclat.
Following the decision of the highest court of the Tennessee in Pope v. Phifer, 3 Heiskell 691, and other cases, this Court holds that the Board of Commissioners of Shelby County, organized under the Act of March 9, 1867, had no lawful existence; that it was an unauthorized and illegal body; that its members were usurpers of the functions and powers of the justices of peace of the county; that their action in holding a county court was void, and that their acts in subscribing to the stock of the Mississippi River Railroad Company and issuing bonds in payment therefor were void.
While acts of a de facto incumbent of an office lawfully created by law and existing are often held to be binding from reasons of public policy, the acts of a person assuming to fill and perform the duties of an office which does not exist de jure can have no validity whatever in law.
An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as inoperative as though it had never been passed.
The same principle, that the Constitution overrules local and national law, means that until the people have spoken, the United Kingdom remains wholly outside the EU.
Hat-tip to Karl Denninger for the legal reference.
- that's David Robie's anaylsis of the current rapprochement between Australia and Commodore Bainimarama.
Like the Elizabethans, the Chinese are conscious that the fires of romantic love are dangerous. Roseann Lake's cultural and scientifc report suggests that the lessons are: love carefully, and refrain from criticism.
"The potentates of this world are [...] apt to consider themselves as possessed of an inherent superiority, which gives them a right to govern, and makes mankind their own; and this infatuation is almost every where fostered in them by the creeping sycophants about them, and the language of flattery which they are continually hearing."
"We are apt to believe that today we experience more violent upheavals of Nature than in past generations, but this is not so. Heavy storms and exceptional weather phenomena occurred much the same in past years as now."
But we can make things worse, whether it be the EU-directed failure to dredge rivers that has exacerbated the flooding this year or the late-19th-century dredging of the pebble beach at Hallsands that led to the sea's destruction of the whole village in 1917.
Some think efforts to stop coastal erosion at Slapton Ley are ultimately doomed, anyway.
Back in the seventies when Big Questions were generally sorted out at the pub over a game of darts, a philosophically-minded friend said something to me I’ve always remembered.
What he meant was obvious enough – we have our preferences and allegiances and in end we have to admit that’s all they are. We usually pad it out with reasoned argument, but may as well admit what’s behind it all – a liking for our own conclusions.
Most of us are not open to verbal persuasion and although the arts of argument can be good for the soul, it is worth remembering why we like ice cream. Or whatever else takes your fancy.
I like that cheap synthetic swirly stuff with a chocolate flake shoved in. I’m not so keen on proper ice cream full of genuine dairy products.
A quote from Santayana on the systems framing our ideas.
No system would have ever been framed if people had been simply interested in knowing what is true, whatever it may be. What produces systems is the interest in maintaining against all comers that some favourite or inherited idea of ours is sufficient and right.
A system may contain an account of many things which, in detail, are true enough; but as a system, covering infinite possibilities that neither our experience nor our logic can prejudge, it must be a work of imagination and a piece of human soliloquy. It may be expressive of human experience, it may be poetical; but how should anyone who really coveted truth suppose that it was true?
My reading of this is that experience is one thing, but framing into some kind of congenial narrative is another, much more problematic matter.
On the whole I am a data man. The data of experience may not be entirely trustworthy, but generally it is often more trustworthy than data framed by some prior allegiance, especially those covert allegiances of self-interest.
Not only that, very often the art of life lies in allowing the data of experience to tell its story, especially where the subject is complex. Unfortunately, as complexity increases so does the commercial, institutional and political value of those framing narratives. Leviathans to which we hand over our allegiance without so much as a whipped whimper.
Yet there are many times when data does tell a story if we are prepared to listen. Many folk seem to know this instinctively. They live life from day to day, being wary of confusing the data of experience with airy speculations.
I can’t help thinking it’s a good policy, but then another airy speculation comes along and off I go a-framing.
One of my minor ambitions has been to settle on a promising area of climate science and study it in depth. Downloading papers, data, plotting my own graphs and calculating my own stats – that kind of depth. However a problem arose.
The more I look at the climate sciences, the more convinced I become that we are not even close to articulating the main climate drivers with their timescales and uncertainties. Well maybe we are getting to know more and more about the uncertainties, but that's the problem.
Although we are accustomed to speak and write of climate science and climate scientist, there are no such beasts. We use the terms as established norms of verbal behaviour, but in my view they do more harm than good. Our global climate is far too complex to be studied within a single discipline and it's time we acknowledged it.
In much the same way we speak of chemistry and chemists when what we really have are specialist chemists working in related areas we place under the umbrella of chemical science.
Unfortunately, sticking with the chemistry analogy, climate science has yet to discover its periodic table. Without something of the kind, some overall theory to justify the term climate science, there is not enough coherence to stitch the various climate sciences together. It is also possible that some climate sciences such as dendroclimatology may become obsolete.
I think a good deal of confusion has arisen from a perception that the climate is a cluster of known scientific laws so the stitching together is already done by those laws. There seems to be a largely covert assumption that all will become clear if only climate scientists select the appropriate data and build models to encapsulate known scientific laws.
This is essentially philosophical assumption – that it must be possible to resolve climate behaviour into known physics. However, with numerous failed climate predictions and the current warming hiatus, it is obviously not so. The current state of the game is that climate behaviour cannot be resolved into known physical laws.
So I haven’t found an area promising enough to be worth studying in depth because so far there isn’t one. That may be one reason why the public domain is saturated with embarrassing falsehoods, emotional rhetoric and appeals to authority. For those who must persuade and those who must be persuaded, there is nothing else on which to base the arts of persuasion.
The climate is fiendishly complex on all timescales. We need much more data and a huge flash of inspiration, but in any event there are no experts with a grasp of the whole subject.
As yet there is no such thing as climate science.
Plenty more fish in the sea - and they're storing carbon for us!
From The Conversation website, a report suggesting that we may have massively underestimated the quantity of sealife in the middle levels of the ocean. It may not be catchable, but it could be helping sequester carbon and so reduce the threat of global warming.
I read your latest piece on the origins of the EU (“The 100-year plot”, 8 February) with interest and would like your opinion on the implications of the English Constitution for the UK’s membership.
Some months ago, I ran a series of posts by a man called Albert Burgess, who claims that Ted Heath and others (some still alive today) knowingly and surreptitiously committed treason in 1972 (and later acts) by surrendering our national sovereignty without the public’s informed consent. Burgess is therefore pursuing the matter using the criminal justice system, and he and his colleagues have reported the alleged crimes to police stations around the country, obtaining crime numbers and pressing the police to investigate further.
A vital element of his argument is that that in choosing to change how we are to be governed, the English people, as Commons, must give their assent with their own voice and not merely via elected representatives. Yet we have never had a referendum on the fundamental issue.
If Burgess’ reasoning is correct – and I find his logic and history persuasive – then since the appropriate consent has never been obtained, surely this must mean that all acts of the British Government and Parliament implying surrender of sovereignty in any degree, are in that respect ultra vires and so have no force or effect . So rather than arguing for exit from the EU, we should be saying that we are not in it now, and we are ready to listen – skeptically, but politely - to arguments for our joining.
Does the demon drink make people more likely to kill each other? The answers are ambiguous to say the least.
I looked up tables of adult (age 15+) annual alcohol consumption per capita here, and intentional homicides per 100,000 population here. Sifting out countries where data was not available under both headings, I was left with 184 nations for the purposes of statistical correlation.
The range runs from 1.0 (perfect correlation, so that as one figure increases so does the other, in every case) to -1.0 (perfectly negative correlation, so that as one increases the other reduces).
Overall, the correlation between the two factors for this list of countries is, surprisingly, -0.1. That is, virtually no connection at all.
What if we are more selective in our survey?
If we look at the top 30 countries by alcohol consumption, ranging from Moldova's 18.22 litres of pure acohol down to Spain's 11.62 litres (UK: 13.37 litres), there is a significantly negative correlation with homicide: -0.29.
Yet when we narrow down further to the top 10 toping nations, there appears to be a positive correlation: 0.48. Having said that, within those ten countries the level of alcohol intake is pretty similar: 18.22 to 15.11 litres; whereas the murder rate varies widely, from 0.7 to 7.5. Perhaps all this shows is that with too small a sample you get erratic results.
The list of the 30 most homicidal countries starts with Honduras (91.6 murders per 100,000) and finishes with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (21.7 murders per 100,000). The annual alcohol intake ranges from Guinea's 0.36 litres of pure alcohol up to Uganda's 11.93 litres. In this violent subset of countries, the relationship between drink and killing is pretty much random: 0.09.
The conclusion is that there is no definite conclusion, though we can suspect that other (perhaps political-economic and social) factors may have a more direct influence on the propensity to kill, than the average quantity of alcohol consumed.
If you had a "session" last night, you can at least endure your thick head today with a fairly clear conscience on that score.
If you want to know a bit more, here are the four lists, followed by the long list of 184 countries. Compare the UK with the USA, for example!
When the Prime Minister returned to the Velodrome in January 2020, the audience had been expecting a speech oriented towards the coming General Election, but Cameron had a surprise for them.
From Wallsend in the North Sea to Bowness in the Irish, a tartan curtain has descended across the British mainland. Behind that line lie all the ancient dukedoms of Scotland. Lennoxlove, Inveraray, Drumlanrig, Blair, Auchmar, Floors, Mertoun and Gordon, all these famous seats and the populations around them lie in what I must call the lairdish sphere, and all are subject in one form or another, not only to lairdish influence but to a very high and, in some cases, increasing measure of control from Holyrood.
The address has since become universally known as the "Cauld Fecht" speech.
Opinion is divided as to its long-term merits. One the one hand, it served to alert the world to the dangers in many countries of intensifying nationalism, insularity and political repression and corruption; on the other, by isolating the Scottish leadership, it can be said to have accelerated Scotland's descent into full-blown tyranny.
When I’m chatting with my better half over a glass of port with the log-burner flickering away and the wind whistling round the chimney, she often has to look up bits and pieces of information on her phone.
Nothing unusual in that, but this tiny gadget gives us access to more information than we could ever have imagined just a couple of decades ago. What difference is it making to our lives?
A few centuries ago there were chained libraries and books with locks because books were expensive and not for the common people.
Today, the ancestors of the common people are able to access anything they please from an unimaginably vast repository of information, news, comment and entertainment. Most of it dross of course, but how many of us would care to read the contents of a chained library anyway?
It changes the balance of power in subtle and not so subtle ways.
We assess the capabilities of our political leaders more easily and don’t have to rely on establishment media to do it. We bypass the genteelly selective BBC and look around for sources we trust and visit them as often as we choose.
Social status is far less important as a route to sound information. A good example is how far behind the curve our leaders are on fracking. Many of us knew about the benefits long before they did, just as we have known for years that climate science is an unholy mess.
It’s impossible to be completely sure of all this, with our political class being so untrustworthy, but their mendacity is something we are aware of too. We don’t suspect – we know.
We know some of them are thick, some dishonest, some personally unreliable, some sexually deviant, some arrogantly aggressive and a few may be good eggs but the good eggs don’t usually get anywhere. We may know all this in some detail, where years ago it was all glossed over by compliant pundits.
Is it likely to make a difference though? I don’t see how it can fail. Narratives are multiplying and for every item of establishment pap there is a more reliable, less ameliorative source of information readily available.
We have reached a stage where no intelligent person takes the BBC as reliable on any subject with an establishment narrative. This is new and unless the BBC changes, its authority has gone for good.
The deselection of Tim Yeo may have had a number of causes, but one of them was surely the persistent wash of negative information telling us about the man, the games he plays and how effective he is as an MP.
It isn’t merely that the negative information on Yeo exists, but it is far more pervasive than it ever could have been in the comparatively recent past. The web seems to keep issues alive in a way which in pre-web days was rare.
Pressure could be brought on newspaper editors and stories would disappear if indeed they ever appeared in the first place. Now anyone may launch a story and if it spreads there is little others can do. Even court injunctions have been circumvented.
The world has changed and I’m sure we have yet to see the full consequences. Although Tim has had a taster.
When things go wrong, the modern meme is to blame the “Law of Unintended Consequences”, which is the modern way of saying “it’s just God’s will”. However, in all too many instances, the “unintended” consequences could be easily predicted.
Case 1: Most stocks are now owned by mutual funds. The fund managers are interested in fees, which means waiting for price increases, and selling the stocks. Their sole interest is short-term price gains. The CEO’s are hired with bonuses for price increases, and the only oversight is the Board of Directors (consisting of CEO’s of other companies), and the annual stockholder meeting (dominated by the fund managers). Then there is general surprise that many companies are managed for short-term stock price increases, and not for long-term performance!
Case 2: Most US school systems have curricula which are dominated by methods courses, and very light on the content that they will teach. We put those ill-educated teachers into the field, and give them the message that any failure of a student means that the teacher is incompetent (I was told this by an education professor recently). We then test students and blame the teachers for every bad result. Why are we surprised at grade inflation and cheating on tests?
Arnold Bennett clearly liked electric cars. They must have been the coming thing and maybe they were also seen as a hint that the machine age could produce more than dark satanic mills. Here are a few quotes.
Richard’s car ran through the cutting — it was electrical, odourless, and almost noiseless.
He crept back to his own car, found it unharmed in the deep shadow where he had left it, and mounted.
Richard directed the car gently through the gate and then stopped; they dismounted, and crossed the great field on foot.
This vehicle, new and in beautiful order, and charged for a journey of a hundred and twenty miles, travelled in the most unexceptionable manner. The two and a half miles to the North-Western station at Dunstable were traversed in precisely five minutes, in spite of the fact that the distance included a full mile of climbing.
The electric brougham was waiting. I gathered up my skirt and sprang in.
Oh, the exquisite dark intimacy of the interior of that smooth-rolling brougham!
Notice the reference to a range of a hundred and twenty miles. There are a number of explanations as to why electric cars were ousted by the internal combustion engine after an auspicious start, but are any of them satisfactory?
Wi-Fi sky-spy eye on you - all the time!
Not only does your car spy on you and constantly report your whereabouts, so (if you've ever used free Wi-Fi) does your smartphone or portable computer - and the tattletale goes back in time to when you bought the thing.
Did Lloyds Bank have a heart attack last week?
Last Sunday, "hundreds of thousands of customers were left unable to use debit cards and 7,000 cashpoints" (Daily Mail).
The BBC News website said the cause was "a hardware failure" but - perhaps in an attempt to reassure us - the bank told them "the faults were not caused by any external upgrade work or cyber attack."
Just in time - or very nearly so, anyway?
As it happens, our current account is with Lloyds and earns 0% interest. This Harvard economist has just withdrawn $1 million from Bank of America for exactly that reason: the odds against a collapse, though presumably small, are not zero, so the risk to a depositor is underpriced.
Weekends seem to be bad for banks: on Saturday, September 13, 2008 the Federal Reserve was in talks with Lehman Brothers, Barclays backed away from making an offer (as reported in the NYT next day, Sunday) and the bankruptcy filing came on the Monday - at 1.45 in the morning. Not much chance for the likes of you and me to queue up at the counter.
Shoebox or bank account, bank account or shoebox? So hard to decide. | 2019-04-20T17:02:34Z | http://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2014/02/ |
The starting vortex at the trailing edge, as visualized by Prandtl in 1934 using a water channel and aluminum particles.
The fourth and final student guest post explains the Wagner effect, and its role in animal flight. We hope you enjoy the series of posts from GW students of animal locomotion!
This post completes the series, which was inspired by the entertaining cross-comment thread to a Google+ post of Michael Habib (Sept.22, 2013).
Both experiments and numerical simulations have shown that the aerodynamic forces acting on a wing accelerating from rest are lower than the values predicted by quasi-steady models (which assume steady-state forces are produced at each instant in time). A transition period is needed before the forces reach the steady-state value. This latency in the establishment of lift was first proposed by Wagner (1925) and studied experimentally by Walker (1931).
Wagner effect: growth of the circulation to a steady-state due to the shedding of the starting vortex (from Sane, 2003).
The Wagner effect can be described in terms of circulation around an airfoil: as a wing starts impulsively from rest, the circulation around it does not immediately attain its steady-state value. Thus, when any wing first starts moving through the air, it must travel several chord-lengths before reaching the steady-state circulation around it (Dickinson & Götz, 1993 & Sane, 2003; see figure, left).
The Wagner effect is the consequence of two phenomena. First, when the wing is accelerating from rest, vorticity is generated around it (called the bound vortex) and shed at the trailing edge, where it rolls up forming the starting vortex (see feature image, above). This trailing-edge vortex can be observed on insect wings, but also on the wings of a commercial jetliner. The starting vortex induces a velocity field that counteracts that of the circulation bound to the wing. The influence of the starting vortex on the airfoil decreases as it is convected away from the trailing edge by the free-stream velocity.
Second, the fluid viscosity slows the development of the bound vortex, so we could conclude that the delay in reaching steady state will be amplified at low Reynolds numbers. However, the experiments of Dickinson & Götz (1993) with model insect wings showed that the delay in build-up of lift is less noticeable at lower Reynolds numbers, in the range . (The experiments of Walker used .) It appears that the dependence of the Wagner effect on Reynolds number is not firmly established.
When designing either an aircraft or a bio-inspired robot, engineers have to explore many design alternatives to optimize performances of the device. This can be very time-consuming. That is why usually only quasi-steady aerodynamic models are employed (which are fast and robust). But those models do not take into account the possible unsteady effects that can occur during rapid manoeuvres or takeoff, such as the Wagner effect.
Here, is called Wagner’s function (see a plot, below). It corrects the quasi-steady models when obtaining the aerodynamic forces during the transitional period. The angle of attack, , is assumed small, and is the downwash velocity: .
Although Wagner's function can be derived analytically, good approximate expressions have been calculated (some of them can be found in Fung’s book).
Some insects, as well as some birds, use mechanisms to quickly build the circulation around their wings during take-off, and therefore attenuate the Wagner effect. The clap-and-fling mechanism was first described by Weis-Fogh (1973) to explain how certain insects and birds are able to increase the amount of generated lift.
The mechanism starts before the pronation (rotational movement on the wing between the upstroke and the downstroke) with the apposition of the two wings. The wings are then rotated about the trailing edge. The void created by the separation of the leading edges is rapidly filled with air generating a circulation. It also produces counter-rotating vortices above the animal that give extra lift. Once the pronation is done, the downstroke begins.
The clap-and-fling mechanism is mostly used by insects; however, some birds have developed this function as well. For example, the pigeon uses this technique during lift-off (see photograph) producing a recognizable sound. But mostly, it is observed that the birds do not often use the clap-and-fling mechanism to overcome the Wagner effect (Sane, 2003). This suggests that the Wagner effect might not have much effect on bird flight. Some birds (e.g., pigeon) may be using a clap-and-fling motion just to obtain maximum amplitude by the wings, rather than to overcome the Wagner effect.
Photograph of a pigeon clapping its wings at the top of the upstroke, for take-off. Credit: Joe Hancuff, @joehancuff on Twitter.
Does the Wagner effect apply to pterosaur flight?
As previously stated, the latency to build circulation applies to any accelerating wings. According to Habib, the Wagner effect is an important factor for any animal flyer during launch and is often underestimated. Even if this delay is more significant at low Reynolds numbers, one could wonder if the Wagner effect affects a pterosaur to get off the ground?
There are two schools of thought about the take-off of the pterosaur: bipedal launch and quadrupedal launch. Witton and Habib (2010), some of the avid proponents of a quadrupedal launch, maintain that the bipedal launch position would have placed the wings in a stall configuration, a real problem to quickly build circulation. Habib (2008) mentioned that the pterosaur could reach steady-state lift faster by having high launch accelerations (more plausible with a quadrupedal launch, using the forelimbs and the hindlimbs) and opening the wing rapidly by flinging it outwards and forward during the ballistic phase, thereby overcoming the Wagner effect.
Alexander and Vogel (2004) suggest that the Wagner effect is magnified at low Reynolds numbers (where viscous effects dominate over inertial effects). However, some results contradict this statement. The experiments of Dickinson and Gotz (1993) at Re=10–103 show little evidence of Wagner’s effect. For the first one-chord-length of travel, the lift increases quickly, under the effect of a finite acceleration. Upon reaching uniform velocity, the lift dips sharply, then slightly increases for about one extra chord length of travel. The authors identify this last stage of lift increase as evidence of Wagner’s. But by of travel, steady-state lift is established.
We were not able to find Walker’s paper (1931), but other sources say his experiments at Re=140,000 agree with Wagner’s prediction. Beckwith and Babinsky (2009) conducted some experiments on a flat plate at a Reynolds number about 60,000 that show the Wagner effect is negligible after about one chord length of travel. Considering that the Reynolds number is estimated to range from 104 to 106 for pterosaurs, it is reasonable to think that the latency would be negligible for pterosaurs. Therefore, using quasi-steady models could be adequate to evaluate aerodynamic forces acting on the pterosaur.
Moreover, it’s entirely plausible that the angle of attack during the first downstroke is in the post-stall region. In that case, other unsteady effects, such as delayed stall, will be more important than the Wagner effect.
Alexander D.E. and Vogel S. (2004). Nature’s flyers: birds, insects and the biomechanics of flight. JHU Press.
Beckwith, R. M. H. and Babinsky, H. (2009). Impulsively started flat plate flow, Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 46(6):2186–2188.
Dickinson M.H. and Gotz K.G. (1993). Unsteady aerodynamic performance of model wings at low Reynolds numbers. J. Exp. Biology, 174:45-64.
Dickinson M.H., Lehmann F.O. and Sane S.P. (1999). Wing rotation and the aerodynamic basis of insect flight. Science, 284:1954-1960.
Habib M.B. (2008). Comparative evidence for quadrupedal launch in pterosaurs. Wellnhofer Pterosaur Meeting: Zitteliana B28. Pp 161-168.
Sane S.P. (2003). The aerodynamics of insect flight. J. Exp. Biology, 206:4191-4208.
Walker, J. A. (2002). Rotational lift: something different or more of the same? Journal of Experimental Biology, 205(24), 3783-3792.
Witton M.P. and Habib M.B. (2010). On the size and flight of the giant pterosaurs, the use of birds as pterosaur analogues and comments on pterosaur flightlessness. PLoS ONE 5(11).
Walker, P. B.(1931). Growth of circulation about a wing and an apparatus for measuring fluid motion. Reports and Mem., Aeronaut. Res. Com. no. 1402.
Sorry to be jumping in late on this one; I had some travel that kept me away from the blogosphere for a bit. I really enjoyed this article. In particular, this post in the series probably had the most impact on my own thinking. Based on your summary and the additional literature you supplied, I have started to take a second look at the potential importance of circulation delays during launch in pterosaurs, and it may not have been as important as I originally thought. That's always the best part of research - when things turn out differently than you expected!
- For pigeons, it may be that they use clap and fling in order to more rapidly climb out after launch. Pigeons are able to launch and climb out at very steep angles and high accelerations (called burst launch), but they don't have as many hind limb specializations for this behavior as other burst launchers, such as pheasants and quail. It might be that pigeons compensate by reaching maximum CL faster after the initial launch.
- One of the reasons that I have previously suggested that the Wagner Effect needs to be considered in animal launch is the ubiquity of high acceleration launches, even in suspensory animals. Flying animals as diverse as gliding snakes, gliding lizards, birds, and bats use leaping to initiate launch - even in species that can hover. Bats launching from a suspensory position cycle the wings 2-3 times before they let go of the perch, effectively "revving" up the wings. These features could be explained (in part) as adaptations to beat circulation delays and therefore improve initial climb out performance. However, other explanations are possible (for leaping, the primary factor is probably just starting acceleration: pushing against a substrate performs much better than lift starting at zero speed. It gets you "out of the gate" faster. That's why fish use drag to fast-start).
- Pterosaurs probably used relatively low amplitude flapping cycles, which could mean that even a 1-2 chord delay in reaching full circulation might be slightly detrimental. If the Beckwith and Babinsky results applied to large pterosaurs, then it is likely that they would not *require* a more rapid circulation start than what a quad launch already allowed, but it might still slightly improve performance. Rough sums to check this possibility would be an interesting exercise (one which I've been playing with over the last day or so). The wing was probably opened rapidly after launch regardless - a slight improvement in starting CL might have been more of a useful side effect than a primary adaptation, based on what you all have presented here.
- I mentioned the stall issue with bipedal launch. Another issue, if a running bipedal launch is modeled, is trailing edge flutter (since the wing was attached to the hind limbs), which might be something fun to look at. In fact, the whole subject of aeroelastic limits in pterosaurs needs work, and might something for you all to look at in the future. Somewhat paradoxically, quad launch was probably better for tensioning the membrane than biped launch, because a quad situation allows the hind limbs (and thus the trailing edge of the wing) to be set well before the wing opens.
Cheers everyone! Some great work. I am duly impressed.
Prof. Habib, thank you very much for your very kind comment! We really enjoyed working on the Wagner effect that is quite unknown and controversial.
It seems that researchers have been investigating it for birds and insects, but not for larger animals. They noticed the presence of the Wagner effect, but mentioned that this effect is dominated by some other unsteady mechanisms at post-stall angle of attack (Weis-Fogh mechanism, delayed stall, wake capture). Those studies have been done for reynolds numbers found in insects/birds. Since Walker in 1931, I cannot find other studies for higher Reynolds numbers.
I got the idea of the bat flapping its wings before releasing from the perch. A nice trick to build circulation before getting airborne. I guess this is not relevant to the pterosaur and its quadrupedal launch.
Based on the kinematics you proposed for the quadrupedal launch, the pterosaur is pushing skyward and moving forward when taking-off. Once in the air, the animal is opening its wings rapidly. If the pterosaur was doing it at high acceleration, that would have been a smart way to get away faster from the influence of the starting vortex.
About the bipedal launch: is it completely inadequate to think that those flyers might have been able to enhance lift, flapping their wings at post-stall angle of attack, taking benefit of a possible leading edge vortex, while pushing upward and forward with their hindlimbs?
I agree with the fact that large pterosaur had to use their forelimbs to launch. But what about smaller species? Do you think a bird-like take-off is a serious hypothesis for those ones?
Another controversy is about the shape of the membrane. The shape is different among models that have been reconstructed during the last decades. You mentioned that the wing was attached on the hindlimbs. What is your opinion about the location where the wing was attached? On its ankle, on its femur?
Again, thank you for your help in this work, we really enjoyed having you on Google hangout last time.
Great thoughts, Oliver. In terms of bipedal launch, trying to engage post-stall vorticity upon launch is very difficult to do. Delayed stall works well for many flying animals if they already have a bound vortex on the wing. The stall is delayed, in part, because it takes time for the vorticity on the wing to be reduced by the sudden change in wake structure. However, starting at that sort of angle would presumably require an additional mechanism, such as clap and fling (which pterosaurs likely could not use because their shoulder anatomy lacked the required range of motion). This may be why, in practice, only the smallest birds (hummingbirds) get much assistance from their wings during launch. Hummingbirds get about 50% of their launch force from the hind limbs and the other 50% from the wings, according to work by Tobalske and colleagues. All other birds measured to date achieve 80%-95% of their launch power from the hind limbs. There are some water launch birds that push against the water with the wings and feet to take off (a quad launch scenario). These birds achieve much more rapid takeoffs than those that run/leap across the surface of the water with the hind limbs. Otherwise, any bird larger than about 5 grams seems to rely almost entirely on the hind limbs for takeoff.
That said, just because bipedal launch is less powerful does not mean that small pterosaurs never used it. The question largely comes down to whether any pterosaurs were bipedal. All of the trackways we have show a quadrupedal gait. However, we lack good trackways from early pterosaurs. Kevin Padian, in particular, has suggested that pterosaur ancestors were bipedal (see Padian 2008 in Zitteliana). Chris Bennett has suggested a semi-bipedal arboreal precursor for pterosaurs, as well. If pterosaurs had a bipedal ancestry, then early pterosaurs themselves may still have been bipedal, with quadrupedality appearing further up the pterosaur phylogeny. Since the early pterosaurs were also not particularly large in most cases, it may be that the smaller, early forms were bipedal launchers, with quadrupedal launch appearing later (and then allowing for the evolution of giant size, among other traits). If early pterosaurs were bipedal launchers, then I would still expect it to have occurred via leaping acceleration, rather than running.
In terms of the wing attachment, there are a few specimens showing an ankle attachment, and one species that seems to show a thigh attachment. Beyond that, we have very little direct evidence of attachment location. Because the known specimens have hind limb attachments, and these are usually near the ankle, that is the configuration I typically use in analysis. However, it could be that there was more variation in membrane attachment location within pterosaurs than we see in the fossil record. Some species might have had hip attachments, for example, and thigh attachments might have been more common than it appears. For now, the most conservative approach is to assume that ankle attachment dominated. [Interestingly enough, I used to be a proponent of hip attachments for most pterosaur wings - I subsequently changed my mind on this after being shown some critical fossils in Munich by my colleague, David Hone].
If you get to read this I challenge you to provide the maths behind your outrageous claims that Quetzalcoatlus Northropi could fly at 80mph; could fly for 12,000 miles non stop (literally); could reach 15,00 ft altitude and yet had a body about the same size as a Labrador dog: a shoulder to hip measurement of less than 2 feet to hold the muscle mass to flap a 34ft wing.
Habib, unless you can provide some maths for the above, I place you as a charlatan and a snake-oil salesman. You are one of those so called 'scientists' who invent facts to fit the answers they have already decided they want. Shame on you. Give me the maths behind these outrageous claims above or withdraw them. Put up - or shut up!
Dear Mr Parsons — Thank you for commenting and noticing our blog posts. But I feel compelled to remind you that this is my home. Some of your language is not appropriate for the respectful dialogue that I hope to host here, an informal but still professional and academic space.
Thus, I would insist that you behave courteously to my guests, in my home. You are also more likely to get a genuine and meaningful reply.
I have been trying for over a year to get a sensible reply from Mike Habib. My language is strong and disrespectful because my respect for Mike and his theatrical postulations is non-existant. If you do not like the arguments in your 'home' may I suggest you get out into the public arena and debate them there. Just look in Wikipedia and notice the nonsense quoted. You might also ask Mike Habib why his postulations are qualified in parenthesis as (Habib - unpublished). Why hasn't he published and how can he quote from un-published material without causing scepticism in his reader?
Where on the web can we go to continue this discussion without offending your domestic sensibilities?
Incidentally, what are your own views on the aerodynamic capabilities of the late Cretaceous azhdarchidae?
I was just wondering about that. I come from an entirely different discipline (optical engineering), so my understanding of aeronautic principles is sketchy at best... but it seems to me from the explanations that the Wagner Effect might also limit the lift of a hovering flier (such as a hummingbird), since there's no laminar flow possible (the columns of air ahead and behind the wings are static, so there has to be some turbulence... I think?).
Indeed, Wagner Effect constraints have been historically examined mostly in animals with low advance ratios (like hummingbirds and insects). The expectation was that circulation delays would affect hovering and rapid-frequency flapping flight more than it would in larger animals. In practice, the expected delays don't seem to be observed in most cases, and this is probably an indication that small flyers are using some tricks to reduce the delay in reaching maximum circulation. Clap-and-fling is a well known example, but the most prevalent mechanism is probably rapid wing rotation at the end of each half stroke. | 2019-04-19T18:17:16Z | http://lorenabarba.com/blog/student-guest-blog-post-the-wagner-effect/ |
Sheila Kelsey comes to the podcast today with years of sales experience. She’s currently with ACN, one of the largest direct sellers of telecommunications, energy, and other essential services for both home and business. A native Texan, Sheila, her husband, and her “bonus” son live in the DFW area. Today, she’s talking with us about how she’s grown in her walk with Christ, and shares one of the many ways her faith has been strengthened.
Jake: 00:49 your host once again and hey just good morning to each and every one of you I hope all is well with you today my friend. You know as we are opening up this morning I just want to let each and every one of you know I always love saying this whenever I go to be at a prison or any any place else that they allow me to even open up any place they even allow me to say yes they always like to start like this. Listen Thus saith the Lord I sure do love you. And if you haven’t heard that in a minute man I pray and hope that you receive that will today. I sure do love you so say the Lord OK. Do me a favor. If you’re married today make sure you tell your spouse you love him or love her whichever which one it may be.
Jake: 01:32 If you have kids today make sure you tell them kiddos you love them. Hey youngsters if you’re listening you know I know mostly youngsters don’t. But anyway praise God if you’re a youngster make sure you tell your parents you love them. Man I love. I’m trying to tell you love it’s all about the love you know and the love of the Lord Jesus Christ is always with us and never fails. So make sure that today we all move in love if you will. If you’re familiar with and reach you know that we’re all about faith family and community and one of the areas of community for us is the business community. We absolutely love the business community. I mean I absolutely love people that are in the business community that are not afraid to stand in their faith.
Jake: 02:16 Actually actually not just not afraid to stand in their faith but move and be led in their faith. Out here in the business community and today we just so happen to have a guest who is a member of our business community here in the local Dallas-Fort Worth area. She has familiarity with sales and service and she’s been doing this for quite some time and I want you to welcome her today because because she is a member of our business community here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and most importantly is because she’s not afraid to stand firm in her faith. Please welcome Ms. Sheila Kelsey to the show. Hey Sheila what an honor and a privilege it is to have you with us this morning.
Sheila: 02:56 Thank you very much Jake for inviting me to be here with you today. I am truly honored and I appreciate this time with you today.
Jake: 03:04 Oh no Sheila. Thank you. Thank you for joining us and I’ll tell you what because we want to get to know you on a personal level. Can you just take a few moments and just introduce yourself and kind of tell us a little bit about where you’re from and who you are.
Sheila: 03:16 So just a little bit about me where I’m from my background is I was actually born in Texas. I’m a I’m a native of Texas born in El Paso. And growing up I spent most of my childhood all over the Southwest.
Sheila: 03:47 moved out here to Dallas and this has been home ever since. This is where I met my husband. It’s actually a second marriage for us both. And so with the guest of a husband also came the gift of a bonus son. So we’re a blended family and we call Bedford home.
Jake: 04:03 Oh good. OK. Betfred and I like the way you put that a bonus mama. Ok awesome. Thank you for that. You know there’s you know blended families. We’re we have a blended family you know. Me and my wife and I know that it is truly a blessing. I tell you what you are involved in a company you’re employed by a company called ACN right. That is correct. Yes. OK. And if you would just kind of tell us what ACN is all about.
Sheila: 04:33 It is all about helping people individuals like yourself and myself like you and myself and companies save money on those services that we have to pay for anyway.
Sheila: 04:45 It’s referred to as the world’s largest direct seller of telecommunications energy and other essential services.
Sheila: 04:52 So if you know somebody with cell phones you know somebody with an electric bill. Those are the types of bills that we can help. He will save money on and create more margin in their home.
Jake: 05:02 OK. And how long has this company been around.
Sheila: 05:05 The company itself has been around for 25 years. It was launched actually in Detroit but it’s headquartered right now of North Carolina oh North Carolina OK.
Sheila: 05:28 . Why. Who wouldn’t want to save money on some of those services.
Jake: 05:33 That’s right. And I think about the electric bill. But but from all standpoint you have the electorate you have satellite TV the phones home phone home security high speed internet and even payment processing it right.
Sheila: 05:46 Yes that is correct on the business side.
Sheila: 05:48 And there are several businesses that love that because the partnership that we have on Merchant Services is with a company called novio payments and they’re actually based out of Las Colinas So they’re local to the Texas area and they have a guarantee where they can either guarantee to meet or beat the business’s current rates on merchant services so I don’t have to do the selling I just say let us try if we can’t locate you as a customer and save you some money they’ll give you a gift card for$100. Thank you.
Jake: 06:18 That’s always the best way. That’s always the best way I should say to get your point across because everybody wants to you know test the market on these different things. That’s competition right.
Sheila: 06:28 Yes it is.
Jake: 06:29 OK so let me ask you this because I know you’ve been doing this you said a little over a year right. Yes correct. OK. And tell us now how did you come into this how did you get started with it because you were doing I believe it was restaurant business before.
Sheila: 06:46 Yes so sort of so I have a background in the restaurant industry what I was doing prior to ACN. I was selling high end cookware.
Sheila: 06:54 So I was going from home to home preparing these wonderful meals for families with the intent hope and desire to sell them the cookware set that they needed for their dreams. You know so there it was the Rolls Royce of cookware. Great product. I love the product. I have it all over my room. So when any one ever comes over to my house and they want to cook in my kitchen they see the product represented well. OK. So I was doing that. What’s interesting is you know the product of a company or the service of a company is one thing but when you think about the alignments you think about people that you do that day in and day out grind to work in a company with. And what had become very evident in that season the last six months of my season there was that those were just not the right alignments for where I am in life.
Sheila: 07:45 So what I’m wanting to do in this life is my faith is very strong and I’m all about Godly alignment and advancing the kingdom and making sure that whoever I am a linguist shares my core values. And so it just became clear that it was time for me to start looking elsewhere.
Sheila: 08:04 And plus you know I’m 41 years old. I was lugging around a lot of cookware that is awfully heavy. I didn’t want to be doing that 10 years from now I understand that.
Jake: 08:21 learning the sales business because you know if you’re lugging around that cookware if you’re doing a job like that you are going door to door is that right.
Sheila: 08:30 Sort of you know referrals is always a great way to expand your business so there was a little bit of door to door in there but thankfully people like me and to say you know what I think I’m I know a couple of people so I’m always very helpful I didn’t have to knock on too many doors in the extreme heat or the extreme cold.
Jake: 08:55 you really were exposed to something that I think that we all need and we all benefit from and that’s learning that sales skill you know because we have to have that. If you’re going to be in business you certainly need sales tax.
Sheila: 09:10 So I would even go so far as to say that whatever we’re doing in life we’re selling something if we’re not selling a product or service we’re selling our space we’re selling our lifestyle we’re selling something absolutely somebody is getting close right.
Sheila: 09:35 like to think so to some elements. There’s always a learning curve to any business but yes I was able to bring some of my past knowledge to the table if you will.
Jake: 09:45 OK. And the reason why I point that out is because I do think often when people think about what they’re doing today whether it be a job or a business whatever it might be always like to tell people listen carpus is always unfolding. So whatever you doing whatever you’re doing you know the scripture says do it unto the Lord but your purpose is always unfolding. You’re never like losing time unless you just aren’t doing anything. But this thing that you were doing actually helped you continue in this business now that you’re in which is the seed which is you know it’s really just an extension of what you were already doing. So I know it has to benefit you in that area. So tell me a little bit about how that may have helped you. You know when you transition from that other business to here.
Sheila: 10:43 up I was a very shy and I was very introverted. And when you and I met I am pretty sure you wouldn’t look at me and think I was an introvert because I think I’m the one that came up to you. So that’s not that’s not a trait of an introvert.
Sheila: 11:37 so I have seen how God has continued to use me and develop me in that arena putting me in front of people and getting more and more comfortable with. And I know that’s like one of the biggest fears that most people have is public speaking. Sure. For me that’s one of the most exciting things for me is I want to be happy in front of an audience. Sharing what I’m passionate about sharing. You know my faith in sharing my testimonies and I just you know I’m excited about that.
Jake: 12:03 That’s good. That’s awesome. You know and here’s here’s what I’m thinking about right now. You know you’re you’re coming into this thing and you’re growing as you as you go. And just like you said you know this is something that you now have a passion for and you’re very compassionate about what you’re doing.
Jake: 12:17 But when we think about change and we think about growing up or you know these things that have taken place there’s the one thing that remains and you heard it said before. The one constant that always is is change there’s always change that occurs in our life. So tell us a little bit about cause I know you have a very interesting story about growing up. So tell me a little bit about share which you were shared earlier about you know growing up with you.
Sheila: 13:26 when I was with my mom we did not practice in fact I think she just didn’t practice anything after that at points and by age 15 I had come to the conclusion that religion as a whole was not for me.
Sheila: 14:36 so he came with a child from a previous marriage and at that particular time he was six years old and we started having those conversations a where are we going to do when it comes to God how are we going to explain to him What are we going to tell him. So we knew that we were not equipped to do it on our own. So we started thinking OK maybe it’s time we look for a church maybe there’s some sort of you know denominational non-denominational church where do we go what do we do.
Sheila: 15:02 Well even then the Holy Spirit was speaking to us because he put people in our past that started having these gentle conversations with us and we would look at each other and we think this conversation keeps coming up again and again that we really ought to evaluate those.
Sheila: 15:18 And then our son was in baseball and his coach at that particular time happened to have been a worship pastor at the church that we ended up being invited to and getting our foundation at. And it was a beautiful season for us because in that season is where we were able to get the basics and really understand the history of Christianity and and just the education behind it. Not just here’s a book. There it is go to church.
Sheila: 15:47 Right. You know the wording in here is kind of crazy.
Jake: 15:52 Maybe it is but you know that’s awesome I greatly appreciate you sharing that because you know we can all come up a little bit confused or come from different backgrounds and you know I think about that often out here everybody is not the same we’re all from a different background. We’ve all been through different things and one doesn’t know the other and what they came up in so we’re always just slow.
Jake: 16:17 We slow down on it and say and never be judgmental about one another so I greatly appreciate you sharing that. I’ll tell you what we’re going to take a really quick break and then we’re going to be right back.
Sheila: 17:55 to one Jake let me count the ways. Sure.
Sheila: 19:14 challenge is the back and forth. For anybody who’s ever experienced any sort of custody situation then you know what I’m talking about and I’m trying to keep this very high level but just that there’s lots of pain shared is wrapped around all of that and lots of tears and heartache. So in that season when many people including us to point you just want to break down you just want to crawl into bed and go into the fetal position and just you know cry. She can’t do that. You know you want to ask why you want to describe are you. You want to cry and you won’t ask why but sometimes it’s not about why. So what we learned in that season a couple of things happened immediately upon everything starting my husband. It was almost like instant and he said you know what we need to be in the word.
Sheila: 20:03 Every single day like deliberately every single day we’re going to be in the word. And so we went out and we picked up. A daily devotional book that we would read together as a couple every day. Individually we were in the word and we’re in prayer throughout the day we were we were very deliberate deliberate about having prayers with one another whereas before we would have you know our time to do bible study once or twice a week and it was more casual. This was very intentional and very deliberate in our in our time every day in the word Yeah. And so then we were surrounded by prayer where prayer warriors we started leaning into our church family more and more we began serving more during the season because honestly when you’re going through all of that you’re looking for an escape and the escape for us was let’s get around with prayer warriors who can stand in agreement with us and let’s just go be a blessing to other people let’s take the focus off us while we can and just go serve others.
Sheila: 21:19 . And that’s just it it allowed us to feel the Holy Spirit’s presence more and more.
Sheila: 22:22 when the attorneys were scratching their heads saying well you can go this direction we would say no this is you know this is what we know the Holy Spirit is asking us to do. So here’s what we’re going to do.
Sheila: 22:33 And you know he is he has blessed us that in so many ways financially so relationship not just with each other but through others opportunities that have come our way in business.
Sheila: 23:02 when you allow him to do work in interview and surrender to His purpose for your advice so many great things can come out of it. Yes. Just one of those things was the fact that we have a deeper stronger relationship with each other now.
Jake: 23:17 Sure. And you know I’m listening to what you’re saying and you know you’re talking about number one drawing close to God. OK so. And you know the Scripture says and that that’s a promise. By the way for the listeners who are listening today if you don’t know I want you to know that if you draw close to God God says he’ll draw close to you. OK. And that’s the only place that we would ever seek refuge which which would be in the Lord. You mentioned earlier you said some days you just want to curl up in a fetal position. Hey there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s really actually nothing wrong with that as long as we’re asking it of God. So that’s a really good place to be. By the way is on our knees and praying to God and sitting there asking it of you.
Jake: 24:03 And you know you were talking about that and there were some things that came to mind. And one of them was that prayer. You know it really helped to bring her life right. Oh yes. So when that prayer life when we’re asking of God we’re in communication with God. His Again his word tells us this. The Scripture says that you know he’ll give us the peace that surpasses all understanding and that’s what you are describing when you know you guys were going through that at the end you’re able to laugh you’re able to find joy. You know you know the Apostle Paul said Rejoice. Again I say rejoice. Which means to bring back the joy that was within you. And that’s what those are the things that do happen you know for us when we’re in the Lord like that seeking the Lord now and I tell people right now that does not mean and I know that you actually touched on just a second ago that does not mean that you don’t have trials you won’t have tribulation you won’t have these things that go on in your life.
Jake: 24:58 going to have all those. It just changes the way we walk through it. It just changes the way you walk through it. And I greatly appreciate you describing you know those things for us here today so it sounds like to me that it truly affected your prayer life.
Sheila: 25:14 Yes it did in a significant way.
Jake: 25:17 Yeah. OK. And then and that’s great. I mean you know if that’s what it takes for us sometimes then so be it. You know and I and I’m not trying to be harsh or anything but I’m telling the truth sometimes we need to be broken to a different point.
Jake: 25:48 what would you say about that if you do in fact find yourself struggling from time to time. What are some of the ways for you just to kind of get back on point.
Sheila: 26:14 this for me prayer is just having these conversations throughout the day as I’m driving as I am preparing a meal as I’m you know working on a spreadsheet or whatever it happens to be listening to music I love just having music on. And then all of a sudden I hear something or one of the songs and it’ll make me just start to think well you know what I need to pray about this or just have a conversation and this is going to sound silly maybe but maybe there’s some folks out there that know exactly what I’m talking about. But he speaks loudest to me when I’m in the shower.
Jake: 26:48 Ok that’s just us. There’s nothing wrong with that right. I think he knows there’s no other distractions.
Sheila: 26:55 Yeah. So he’s got me right in the center and up there it is you know we I like to say we had a great conversation one day about forgiveness. And if I may just share that real quick because you know you go through Hertz and we’re all we’ve all been hurt by somebody or something or some sort of situation at some point in time and you know this was a deep hurts and I kept struggling with you know we accept the decision we accept what is the how do I move on how do I forgive the person for that. Yeah.
Sheila: 27:27 And the question that came to me was tell me one good thing I want to know one good thing that has come out of you holding resentment.
Sheila: 27:38 That’s a great question. I can’t answer it. And to this day I still can’t answer.
Sheila: 27:43 Right. Yes that’s right. What is holding resentment do for our benefit.
Jake: 28:17 were talking about earlier where we were before we even got on here so who might you call your mentor in this time this season I should say for your life.
Sheila: 28:27 Oh gosh. Well this is definitely God ordained for sure because I’ve never had a mentor and coach like this individual.
Sheila: 28:34 And how she came into my life. It was out of prayer. My coach is Stacey Wallace Z.
Sheila: 28:43 Her background is 29 years in direct sales. She and her husband actually have raised up companies and taken them over a billion dollar market cap. She’s negotiated big deals across the table from Carl Icahn. She she is a big fish. And here I am little old me you know making my way through the pond when I was introduced to her and she has been such a great influence over our lives. And you know encourage she encourages us every single day in our faith walk in our business walk in relationships. She’s got a book right now that we’re about to go to a called Mission Possible. And so she put myself and a handful of other people through this very intense coaching program over the last 30 days. Tomorrow is actually the last day of this program. OK. You know you made a comment a few minutes ago but sometimes you got to break down in order to break through.
Sheila: 29:57 know I would love to say yes I know she’s got a crazy busy schedule. But you know there is just that possibility that she would. I think.
Jake: 30:06 We’re going to put it on you to ask her How’s that.
Sheila: 30:09 Yes absolutely. So I think you would enjoy hearing some of her answer.
Sheila: 30:14 You know she announced their name is around but part of her her past experiences. She actually did travel the world for 12 years with none other than Zig Ziglar.
Jake: 30:26 You know those Zig. Oh yes. Oh yes.
Jake: 30:53 here’s the thing I want to ask you these things because we often like to say that readers are leaders. OK. So I’ll ask you Do you have a favorite book that you would like to recommend to our listeners a book that’s really set well with you over time.
Sheila: 31:09 Gosh there’s a few books I would say for anybody starting out in business. There’s a great book that I read that is called the go giver. And it was asserted by Bob Berg and I can’t remember the other author right now but basically there is what they outline is the five stratospheric laws of success and it really has less to do about go out and earn a buck and more to do about you know the value that you bring to the marketplace.
Jake: 31:39 We’ll surely put that on the show notes. And I appreciate that. And let me see where else now if we’re looking for you in a ACN way how you’re serving our community. Where would our guests go and find user you have a Web site social media. How would you like them to reach out to you.
Jake: 32:17 put that on the show notes as well for you. Perfect. Thank you.
Jake: 32:20 And let me ask you this she live in. And number one I greatly appreciate you coming on and being with us.
Jake: 32:25 But as you go and as we wrap up here what would be one final word of encouragement. You would like to share with the listeners.
Sheila: 32:33 I would say whatever you’re going through will lean in meaning lean in to god lean into the word lean in to the Holy Spirit lean into your prayer lean into those other prayer words that you got here because I can promise you you’re not alone every time you feel that you’re going through something that you’re you’re on an island that nobody else could possibly understand.
Sheila: 32:55 I assure you you’re not a word.
Jake: 32:58 So I mean praise God we greatly appreciate that. And like I tell anybody else that comes out here to share it who’s definitely lifted up the name of the Lord.
Jake: 33:07 We got to tell you hey I absolutely love you and I thank God for you and for all that you’re doing for the kingdom of God.
Sheila: 33:13 Praise you and I thank you so much for inviting me to be on here with you today.
Jake: 33:17 Thank you so much Sheila. And guys thank you for coming in and hanging out with us today. That was Miss Sheila Kelsey talking about leaning in to God and you know already that that reminds me of the scripture that says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. OK so as she was leaning into God she certainly found some different things that transpired in her life and number one was that she was drawn close to God and because of that God was drawing close to her. Not only that also that she found this peace that surpassed all understanding and surprisingly so she was still able to maintain joy. That’s amazing. We thank you so much again Sheila Kelsey and guys. Her information will be on the show notes so what you do is just go to press and reach dot com forward slash our 17.
Does It Line Up with God’s Values?
Sheila spent time prior to ACN selling high-end cookware, taking their products into people’s homes and demonstrating their quality. She began to realize that the people she was surrounding herself with in her workplace had different goals and desires than what she had. She saw herself wanting to be in alignment with God and advancing His kingdom, and desired to work with others who shared her core values. She recognizes that, though she sought something different for her business life, she still gained valuable experience within the realm of sales. As a natural introvert, the biggest element she’s seen transfer from one role to the next has been the ability to speak confidently in front of people. It’s also an area she sees that God has continued to use her and develop her – allowing her to become more comfortable speaking in front of others, even to include sharing her testimony with small groups.
Sheila grew up Catholic, until her father converted the family to Islam when she was around five or six years old. A few short years later, her parents divorced and Islam was only practiced when she was with her father. By the age of 15, Sheila decided that religion was not for her. She essentially determined that she could keep God, her beliefs and morals, and her overall faith, to herself. She lived without organized religion and without a church home all the way through her twenties. Her husband had reached a similar conclusion, and so when they married, they were on the same page in terms of religion. Once their son reached school-age, they recognized that they wanted and needed to teach him about God, but didn’t feel equipped to do it alone. They decided it was time to look for a church. Social connections led them to the first church they would attend as a family, where they would both get the basics of their faith and a better understanding of Christianity.
Sheila recalls a very specific season in which her faith was strengthened. It was a lengthy custody situation, full of pain and tears and heartache, which brought her to her knees. Her husband led them to seek counsel and comfort in God’s Word. They intentionally and deliberately determined to read a devotional, together, daily. They prayed together, as well as individually. They sought out prayer warriors within their church family who would stand in agreement with them. They set out to serve and to be a blessing to others, to take the focus off of themselves and their hardships. They sought to be obedient to God in whatever He asked of them, regardless of the outcome. Drawing near allowed them to feel the Holy Spirit’s presence, giving them peace in the midst of their trial. | 2019-04-18T16:21:54Z | https://www.pressandreach.com/leaning-into-god-with-shelia-kelsey/ |
Among the 15 bills governor Jim Doyle signed into law on Wednesday will require the software of touch-screen voting machines used in elections to be open-source.
Municipalities that use electronic voting machines are responsible for providing to the public, on request, the code used.
Any voting machines to be used in the state already had to pass State Elections Board tests. Electronic voting machines, in particular, already were required to maintain their results tallies even if the power goes out, and to produce paper ballots that could be used in case of a recount. The new law also requires the paper ballots to be presented to voters for verification before being stored.
I wrote about electronic voting here (2004), here (2003), and here (2000).
The paper ballot part has great value. Having to provide the public source code does just about nothing. The source code should be available to the state and to the courts if demanded in a trial.
I can see the price for such machines going way up as the vendor has to take into consideration the cost of sending source code to every requestor.
> source code to every requestor.
"Providing to the public" could be met by putting the source code up on a website, accessible via download. You could go to the library and download the source. How does this add cost? And if bandwidth is your answer, then my reply is bittorrent and signing the code.
You probably should reword that first sentence to "little common sense". The story has been corrected and it is not truly open source. The Source code is just escrowed with some X agency.
This is the first I've heard of someone argue providing the source is expensive! I'd think that they can charge the printing cost if someone wanted it printed.
Nevertheless, let's move on. I think it is a good idea -- because the public could help in debugging the machine! This would in turn reduce the cost of providing solid code that cannot be hacked. It is no replacement for a good security audit, but it helps.
Correction: the original story was based on an official summary that referred to the bill as introduced and did not take into account certain amendments. Under the law as enacted, the source code would be placed into escrow with the elections board. It would be analyzed in the case of a recount, but not open to the public. WTN very much regrets the error and any confusion it may have caused.
Open/escrowed/closed source aside - the important part of the legislation seems to be the voter-verified archived paper ballot that serves as an independent record of voter intent. That's a significant boost for common sense. Still don't have it here in Maryland, USA, though (see http://www.truevotemd.org; I am not affiliated w/ the organization).
the passed bill after amendments http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2005/data/acts/05Act92.pdf is excerpted below. doesn't sound like "open source" to me. access is granted only in the event of a recount, only to the few, and only after signing an NDA. the original link you cite now has a correction.
strict confidence except as authorized in this section.
person who requests access under s. 19.35 (1).
(4) If a valid petition for a recount is filed under s.
that were used to record and tally the votes in the election.
""Providing to the public" could be met by putting the source code up on a website, accessible via download."
If it was GPL then you would be correct. But that is not the way things work when it is a government service. The Federal ADA can be a real pain with this kind of thing.
The point appears to be moot as the clarification shows a software escrow. I would also see a way to verify that the object code in use is actualy what is in escrow. Otherwise trojaned voting machines could be a problem.
Electronic voting is the way to go in the future. Its cuts down on the amount of paper used and in the long run is more environmentally friendly.
I don't understand the need for touchscreens and the likes of it. It makes it more expensive.
Case in point: Last general Elections - India. With its huge population, about a year back, its last general election was totally using electronic voting machines. All they had was a set of switches(push button type) for the voter to indicate their choice. Each machine would accept one vote, after which the master key at the voting booth's front desk had to be pressed by the booth superintendent before it would accept the next vote.
To cut out all the details, the elections went off smoothly, and it took 1/4th of the total time for the results to be announced than the regular paper voting of the previous occasions.
There's no super source code- nothing to tamper- the boxes are completely self contained-only the master key goes by a cable to the reg desk. And u have the break the seal of the box to get at the results.
Bruce what about this?!? I'm a freaking genius!
Government opens a bank and gives every person an account.
The accounts are filled with various "currency" Local election dollars, state election dollars, national election dollars, etc. Of course the currency is non transferable.
Every person is given a VISA check/credit card for their account.
To vote you go to a regular ATM, put in your card, your PIN, and Vote.
Advantages: The systems are already in place, tested, and reasonably secure.
During elections you would "buy" a vote for which ever candidate you were voting for. The candidate would have an account and your vote would transfer to their account. The candidate with the most "voting dollars" in their account wins.
Fraud? You could check your "voting statement" or "online voting account" and verify no one is stealing your votes.
You could vote in the line at the supermarket.
If you had questions you could call the 1-800-Visa-Vote number and the customer service rep could review your account.
You could even have two or three Voter Banks to ensure competition?
of any subsequent change in the components. "
-It should be reviewed & placed in escrow prior to approval or any change, not escrow only afterwards.
That ignores the reality of people influencing the votes of others. For example, if your union told you to vote for someone and wanted to see your statement for proof that you voted "correctly", you'd have to do it if you wanted to keep your job.
Any solution that makes it possible for you to verify your vote after the fact allows someone else to verify your vote as well. Of course, you could create a Machiavellian system where you are able to create as many ballot receipts as you want, but only one would actually be submitted and there was no way to differentiate between a submitted and unsubmitted receipt.
1) It would dramatically increase vote-buying; it may even enable vote-buying after the initial vote ("Hey! I voted for the other person!").
2) It would change the source code issue from a voting machine to an uncontrolled ATM, making any software or physical security problems worse.
Adam, you're missing one reason for a secret ballot: if a voter can verify his/her vote in a form that allows a third-party to view that vote, that voter can be bribed or intimidated into voting a particular way - if the fraudster can tell whether or not the vote was cast as desired, the bribe can be given to only those that vote in the chosen fashion.
As for the law passed, all it takes is for the voting machine manufacturer to declare that the fraud-inducing portion of their code is "proprietary", and the reviewer is bound by NDA not to reveal that fraud is going on. Sometimes I wonder if our elected officials are paying attention; on my darkest days, I realise they probably are.
Cash up front for a vote seems less of an evil than the current method of opening the public coffers once elected to reward the groups that supported the candidate.
If you will sell your vote for a pack of smokes you will do the same for a larger welfare check.
Sorry about the double post here but here is an idea.
Each election a special batch of $1 bills are printed up (adjust currency value as desired). When you show up at the poll you are given one bill for each person on the ballot. You vote by placing a $1 bill into the slot for your candidate. You also have the option of not voting and taking the money and going home.
It would be interesting to see who would acutaly vote.
I believe Adam Gates is talking virtual dollars. He's using the dollar idea as a token of a vote by using existing secure hardware/software that's been proven fairly secure.
Fairly secure is not good enough, the existing banking system is *not* fairly secure (look at identity theft and phishing), and the existing banking system is primarily secure in a way that is the opposite of the type of security needed for a voting system: namely, bank machines are designed to ensure that every transaction is traceable to the parties involved, and a voting system MUST be designed to make it IMPOSSIBLE to trace transactions to the voter involved.
@Mike Sherwood---> Vote buying? How is this any different than the current system?
@Fred Page ---> Vote buying? Again how is this different than the current system?
@Alun Jones ---> Unions, Companies, etc cannot get a printout of my bank account statement. Why would they have access to the voting account?
All of the vote dollars ignore that the current system isn't very secure. It's just secure enough to still be profitable. There is a lot of fraud that happens with the current system, just not enough to bring it down.
In the current system, you don't get a receipt that allows the buyer of the vote to verify that you didn't lie to them. Currently, the one who gets a vote out of coercion or purchase is only getting the word of the voter that they have complied.
Well then don't include the candidates on the receipt!
If you think you are going to make a more secure system than one that is created to protect money... yeah good luck with that.
I work with taxing agencies for state and fed electronic filing, and Minnesota is one of the best to work with. They use current and proper technology, they listen to their partners, and they run a nice operation.
I'm not surprised to see MN being sensible in the voting arena as well.
"If you think you are going to make a more secure system than one that is created to protect money... yeah good luck with that."
Money is typically protected by locking it up. Can democracy and freedom be protected in the same way?
"Bruce what about this?!? I'm a freaking genius!"
If you're willing to give up the secret ballot, secure voting becomes easy. Once you add anonymity to the system, though, the problem becomes much much harder.
If the receipt no longer has the candidate name, it can't really confirm for whom your vote was cast. If it does, it can be used as proof for a vote for pay or benefit scheme.
While easily confused, Wisconsin and Minnesota are actually separate states. Just ask a Vikings fan.
> how is this different from the current system?
> long run is more environmentally friendly.
That argument may be factually correct, but "more environmentally friendly" could easily be substituted with "infintesimally more environmentally friendly". The Los Angeles Times probably blows through more paper printing a single sunday edition than the entire country does printing paper ballots for a year's elections. Okay, that may be an exaggeration (it's probably not too far off the mark), but the environmental cost of printing paper ballots is miniscule. There is also an environmental cost to electronic balloting... if you're manufacturing balloting machines you're creating silicon chips, circuit boards, wiring, plastics, etc. with their associated waste products (anyone know of a good EIR for the production of integrated circuit machines in the U.S.?) Not to mention you're using power, which has its own environmental cost.
> than the regular paper voting of the previous occasions.
And I, personally, don't care if the election results take a day or even a week if I'm confident that they're secure, reliable, and auditable. I'm not entirely confident in the current paper balloting systems in the U.S., but I'd rather see those concerns fixed in the current methods of balloting than have the country switch to a new technology with much more dubious reliability, especially when the manufacturers and distributors of electronic polling machines may have their own political agenda.
The whole "electronic voting" hoopla strikes me as a giant sales campaign for gadgets and widgets that we don't need.
--"It's also, the only point that makes any sense."
Well, not quite the only. Electronic voting also allows for better accessability, since it's easier for every polling place to load multi-language software than it is to have ballots in all possible languages (including braille).
We, as a country, have managed to go about this whole thing back-asswards though.
> than it is to have ballots in all possible languages (including braille).
It also results in greater logistical problems, since the polling places have to have they physical configuration to allow the machines to be delivered, set up, plugged in, etc.
Again, this seems to me to be a wash.
The accessibility issue can be solved by making machines to punch or mark paper ballots, which can be verified by eye, then handed in.
7. Infrastructure already in place!
WHY IS VOTING DIFFERENT THAN MONEY?!?
I think everyone is making this overly complicated the solution is staring us in the face EVERYDAY. Use ATMs to vote!
My solution isn't the coolest, newest, or the one with the most bells and whistles... that is why it is perfect.
The source code itself is worth nothing by itself. As long as there is no way to build the software from this source and deploy it to one of the devices yourself to verify that the built software in use is exactly the same as the software you built from the "open source" source code you cannot say releasing the code as open source makes the device safer or more transparent.
Bruce, some time ago I sent you an e-mail regarding similar news from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here is the transcription for the rest.
started a project to develop voting software for its electoral process.
mortals who don't have access to the hardware.
software can be found under the Plan de Publicación link.
of Argentina, it gives me some hope as well.
machines in action: http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/dgelec/index.php .
1- was ever loaded on the box.
is very hard to put in place. And that's not all. What does tell me that those votes get to be the ones counted?
"Security is only as strong as the weakest link"
For all those who believe that security by obscurity is not the way to go, making things open in the voting machine is one first step. If the code is open (and it doesn't even look it's really going to be), the weakest link becomes something else: the reporting of the results.
So don't come and mess with my 1xx years perfectly valid people counting ballots system and obscur it with some black box technology before you've got something that I can really really *really* trust. It's the hard way, but it's the only way.
I'd be much more confortable if technology addressed the aggregation of the results in a completely open way (e.g. with a fully open system that puts the nation results online inside a single spread-sheet, one line per voting center) but let the local voting be done in a completely accountable and manual way. That would still let people check things at both the local and global level. Then make sure citizen get the encentive to be in the voting center when results are counted and reported. Anonymous and very hard to temper with.
But do they really want to make it open?
Requiring a paper trail is great. I looked at mine after the last election to prove my vote counted.
It was actually who and what I voted for.
What should help is that each political party be charged $1 for every vote cast for each of their candidates, after the election results are posted.
Send the politicians the bill, and spend the money on keeping paper trails and voter access.
That would encourage a few 'bases'.
Who can check and verify the source? LOL this isn't going to do anything. We need to vet the source of the vote and hand count it.... that's it, no machines, none... If we, as a society, cannot get together and vote publically as actual persons we have a problem, barring Handicap accomadations etc..
Americans suffer from mass insanity.
Why do we think the Republicans are so arrogant?
They can do anything they please because they control the voting machines.
Watch the win for Republicans in the future and check the voting method. | 2019-04-20T16:54:15Z | https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/01/wisconsin_votin.html |
Bay Area Video Coalition is a non-profit video preservation service provider whose goal is to provide subsidized digitization services and other types of support to archives, artists and cultural heritage organizations. As part of its Dance Preservation & Digitization Project partnership with the Dance Heritage Coalition, the organization has been investigating capture software and encoding practices for digitizing analog videotape.
This paper presents a case study of how capture software was chosen for this project. It also summarizes and provides user experience summary from a survey of moving image archive community regarding analog video digitization capture software interfaces and features. The survey examined how software’s editing and creative purposes can impact a preservationists’ experience and how the archiving and conservation community might re-imagine software functionality. Issues examined include needed features and contextual questions in computing environments. By presenting user feedback about digitization workflow and capture software, this paper aims to advocate for more tools and software created specifically for preservation rather than for editing and creative functions.
Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) is the sole national non-profit alliance of institutions holding significant collections of materials documenting the history of dance. Its mission is to preserve, make accessible, enhance, and augment the materials that document the artistic accomplishments in dance of the past, present, and future. The DHC was founded in 1992 to address problems in documenting dance and preserving its record, problems which were identified in a study commissioned by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. This study, titled Images of American Dance, recommended the formation of an alliance of the nation’s major dance collections to facilitate communication; develop national standards, policies, and priorities; and implement collaborative activities and projects in the fields of dance preservation, documentation, and access. In keeping with this history and mission, in 2009 the DHC embarked on an ambitious project to preserve and make accessible vital dance documentation, rare performances, and other notable works via a digital preservation repository of moving image materials, as well as a corresponding web-accessible repository available on-site at DHC member archive institutions.
Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) is collaborating with DHC on this Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded project to digitize, preserve, and make accessible analog and digital tape-based documentation of key importance to dance heritage. In creating a digital repository, materials and workflow are managed using a suite of tools and standards, including Open Archival Information (OAIS) standard (ISO 14721:2003) based systems. At this point in development, digital sustainability will be managed using Archivematica repository software, along with a suite of open-source software tools for transcoding, file analysis and information about moving image video files, including FFmpeg, ExifTool, cron and custom scripts developed by technologist Dave Rice.
For archives, providing preservation and accessibility can be a particularly costly and technically encumbered process. Bay Area Video Coalition’s mission is to “inspire social change by empowering media makers to create and share diverse stories through art, education and technology.” Within this mission, BAVC provides services to archives and other non-profit organizations to help them to preserve and provide access to histories captured on videotape. BAVC first began its partnership with the Dance Heritage Coalition in 2009, creating a repository plan and mapping out digitization centers for analog video to server DHC’s constituency. In choosing to work with BAVC, a like-minded organization, serving archives and creating ways forward that work for under-served organizations, the project brings to the forefront advocacy for analog videotape preservation, as well as intending to serve as a model for collaborative work in the digital preservation field.
The challenge for archives moving from analog to digital is most apparent when working with video materials. Video is composed of chemical elements that affect its rate of decay. Storage conditions can also exacerbate or prevent this decay. In 1995, a study published by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) voiced the urgency in examining and pursuing strategies for preservation of analog videotape. This study included an appendix outlining the life expectancy for analog videotape; Appendix B, Estimation of Magnetic Tape Life Expectancies (LEs) states, “The binder systems used in today’s audio and videotapes are generally based on polyester polyurethanes. These polymers degrade by a process known as hydrolysis—where the polyester linkage is broken by a reaction with water” (Bogart 1995, 34). The article further states that even stored in ideal conditions, any analog tape will have a maximum LE of 30 years; under poorer storage conditions, the LE may be 10 years.
The CLIR article also notes that a carrier cannot be read without functional technology to access it. The difficulties of analog video preservation are two-fold: an accelerated rate of decay compared to paper-based materials and technological obsolescence. In 1995, analog tape and machines were still being manufactured; now, only low-quality consumer videotape is still manufactured at low production rates, while machinery for playback is obsolete. In order to transfer these videotapes, keeping aging playback decks on the one hand and making sure there is advocacy for the need to digitize analog materials and service providers to perform this work is essential.
Part of this investigation culminated in the recent publication of “Codec Comparison for Digitized Analog Videotape” (Sacerdote and Sorensen 2012). The paper presents a survey of capture software practices from a variety of archives and vendors, listed below. It also gives a review of some digital preservation tests performed in our preservation lab. It states what was found to work best for this project’s requirements, outlining specific project goals and how the choice of codec affected those goals.
In order to look at our capture software testing as a case study, here we will provide background information on how the project came to choose the target codec for analog video capture and digital preservation. This study was presented as a comparison of different high-quality video codecs, and included lossless, lossy, and uncompressed. A group of colorists, archivists, video editors, and preservationists were asked to evaluate a set of the same video clip encoded in several different video codecs. The testers were asked to provide specific feedback on aspects of the clip, in a blind test.
Overall, most participants noticed major differences only in the H.264 files and the IMX files. Some participants noticed minor color differences between 8-bit and 10-bit uncompressed files, but all stressed that these differences were very subtle. Time-base correctors, playback equipment, or monitor issues can also introduce these types of color changes. In general, artifacts such as blockiness, blur, or motion artifacts were not seen when comparing 8-bit and 10-bit uncompressed files, but were seen in H.264 files. Visible artifacts included subtle visual softening in varying degrees on certain clips and a reduction in apparent noise, which led some participants to conclude that the compressed file was better. Most of the lower-quality analog tape formats exhibited signal problems that can be difficult to distinguish from other artifacts that may be introduced by digital compression.
Based on this study, BAVC recommends 10-bit, uncompressed files for any visually significant recording, the case for performing arts documentation. These lossless, high-quality files are also useful in any future transcoding that may be required for preservation of the digital files. Lossy codecs, when transcoded (in the case of a new standard format or codec adopted by the archive), lose information and result in poorer image quality.
The purpose of this study is to examine current, common workflow and equipment practices for the digitization of analog videotape onto a hard drive, and to incorporate in these reflections into the digitization practices that are part of the Dance Preservation & Digitization Project project. Often, Non-Linear Editing (NLE) software is used as a means for presenting digitally while capture occurs, and wrapping the digital audio and video stream. Meaning, common features of this software includes functionality which allows digitization technician may view a digital presentation of the content on the tape while it is digitized, and the software will output a file containing (wrapping) two streams of content, audio and video, via hardware called a capture card. Software drivers for the hardware work with these NLE systems, where the intention is largely editing or creative purposes. The hope is that this study will prompt discussion and help in establishing workflows. This information can help those pursuing video preservation and reformatting think about establishing an archival workflow with capture software by being able to consider what options colleagues in the field have also pursued. It also describes the needs of the preservation community regarding development of software directed to this group of users.
The first part of the survey investigated common practices related to workflow in computing, staff position, and dealt with contextualizing an organization’s choice in working with a capture software in pursuit of analog video preservation. An account of the quantitative survey results can be found in Appendix 1. The survey found that most of the participants used a Macintosh computing environment, possibly for the product’s reputation for working well with graphics and moving images. Most also worked in a Graphical User Interface environment, an advantage if staff has a background in video production or if staff monitors the image during digitization (as is the case with Apple Final Cut Pro 7.0.3, and Adobe Premiere).
Not surprisingly given the constituency surveyed (subscribers to the Association of Moving Image Archivists email listserv), the majority of respondents are operators who digitize analog media, and close to 30% perform duties in addition to digitization for their or other organizations. Close to half of the survey respondents are solely responsible for analog digitization; the rest are responsible for both managing digital assets and analog video digitization. More than 80% of respondents digitize their analog videotape assets for purposes of preservation.
The qualitative report below examines which specific file use is tied to which software type. Capture hardware is one of the central contextualizing questions posed in the survey. It was noted that the decision to choose capture software was often two-fold, and software is very closely tied to hardware for many products on the market. AJA and Blackmagic Design have marketed to the preservation community, but there remains a wide variety of capture hardware used for digitization of analog video in the moving image archiving community.
Another contextual consideration was the choice to capture standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD). While HD is making more of an appearance in the preservation community, these specifications are not widely adopted, and mostly SD specification is used for preservation purposes. Digitization occurred mostly as a supervised transfer, while there was a small number in the group, 9 out of 28 responses, who performed batch digitization of analog video. Since capture hardware is often closely associated with the software choices, this question was included in the survey for context. Settings within the capture software can at times be dictated by capture hardware and driver settings, as well.
Several types of software are used in the context of Blackmagic Design’s Decklink Studio capture card device the hardware chosen for the Dance Preservation & Digitization Project project. The project uses the Macintosh environment due to staff training and context, as well as Mac’s strong reputation in the professional video field. The capture card hardware allows for specific bit depth and sampling rates: 24-bit depth and 48 kilohertz sampling rate for audio, and 10-bit depth 4:4:4, approximately 250 megabytes per second data rate, 4:2:2 chroma sampling was chosen in this instance because the SD content and analog source did not demand a chroma sampling as 4:4:4.
Because the project involves building geographically diverse digitization centers, software types vary. Engineers must also keep abreast of software dependencies as they shift, and as companies adopt new versions of software. For example, the release of Apple Final Cut Pro 10 brought criticism to the company from the professional editing community following its early release. Additionally open-source Ubuntu Linux operating systems do not support Final Cut Pro in any version. Blackmagic Design Media Express is the capture software used by our Ubuntu hub in lower Manhattan. It is a simple, out-of-the-box software for capturing video developed by the hardware company. Other digitizing stations use Final Cut Pro version 7.0.3 for interfacing with the capture process. Capture software choices for the hubs involved context questions, including budgetary restrictions, technician familiarity and ability to map BAVC’s processes and practices to the hubs in Washington and New York and elsewhere. Ubuntu operating system station running Media Express was built in February 2011. The software used to transfer DV tape to file is an open-source system called dvgrab, used with dvanalyzer. Both of these command line tools are available on Github. Running these two programs was one of the reasons for choosing Ubuntu as a desktop software operating system, as well as cost. Our user feedback from technicians has been essential in establishing workflow and in many ways, very similar to those above: a desire for a more simple interface, more of an aim of the software in relationship to the end goal of preservation and sustainability of digital files, and clarity around technology processes that may not be where the technicians’ familiarity lies. The project also uses export bypass by selecting for preservation purposes the file directly from the capture scratch.
The second part of the survey solicited more subjective responses. These questions, as follows, aimed to describe the character of the user group for digitization software in the video preservation and archiving community. Though responses varied, common concerns emerged regarding usability. Many times, decisions were made because of budget concerns and staff expertise and training.
Please explain, if you were involved in the decision-making, why this particular capture software was selected.
User who operates software for unknown purposes: “Final Cut: cost and multi system shared storage was a huge consideration.” Editor’s note: Noting storage likely refers to the storage capability of the Final Cut Server within the FCP workflow. Final Cut Server is no longer supported by Apple.
If you had the choice, what features would you look for in a capture software for preservation purposes? A series of features were given as examples in our deliberations over what features may be desired for preservation (see appendix for quantitative questions); respondents were then asked to follow up with elaborate below on why you are looking for any of the features listed above. Additionally, please describe features or settings that you would find useful to be built into capture software for preservation purposes. Repeating features are highlighted in bold.
Popular answers included: digitally monitoring the signal during capture; ensuring that capture codecs and wrappers are consistent with policy set by the archive or digitizing body; ease of use; flexibility in choosing file formats, simplicity in software’s native workflow; and automatic generation of metadata reports and file analysis. Following these set options, we asked respondents to consider what options they might find especially useful in a preservation workflow.
Please explain why your capture software does or does not adequately perform the functions you and your archive, project, or repository requires, and what these functions and requirements are. (Please be as specific as possible as to the type of software).
Please describe any key features, settings, or workflow issues pertaining to the capture software that you currently use that unnecessarily complicate or impede your workflow in digitizing for preservation, and why. Please feel free to be as broad or as specific as you like.
Do you have any workflow adjustments or alterations, such as settings purposefully ignored, export bypass, or other changes that you’ve adopted to your workflow that is not native to the software’s intended workflow? If so, why did you chose to incorporate this change and how does it help you get the results you need from the capture software?
Ability to verify if dropped frames occurred during capture and a mechanism to report out errors like this one.
Software users in the preservation community have specific needs, such as automated fixity checks and signal analysis reporting. Open-source tools are promising options to create desired software features. The survey revealed that some users are distrustful of proprietary software and systems. The strategy that BAVC has used, because we rely on commercial products in our day-to-day work is three-fold: 1) keep in touch with manufacturers, keep track of software updates and what, if any, changes were made to the software that might affect our system and make certain all relevant aspects of the digitization system are supported and usable for their intended purposes in your institution; 2) complete periodic testing of software and hardware compatibility on sample tapes; and 3) become involved in the digital preservation community, including keeping tabs on usability of open-source standards and obsolescing file formats that may result from standards shifts.
community document and share practices with materials’ custodians moving forward.
Thanks to BAVC’s Moriah Ulinskas, Sarolta Cump, and Jennifer Brice. Thanks to project consultants Dave Rice and Tanisha Jones, and to Dance Heritage Coalition’s Christopher Miller and Libby Smigel.
Percentages apply only to those participants who chose to respond to the question listed.
Does your organization house and do you operate the digitization of analog videotapes?
Comments: These results demonstrate that many operators who digitize analog media (close to 30%) perform other duties in addition to digitization services for their organization or other organizations.
What is your specific role as a digitization service provider?
What are the functions of the files produced following digitization?
Comments: Respondents, members or followers of AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists), represent a diverse community within the larger professional association. Some communities and organizations focus on preservation, while others focus on distribution and access. The purpose of this question was to lay the groundwork for analysis of subsequent queries.
What brand of capture hardware do you currently use?
Comments: Since capture hardware is often closely associated with software choices, this question was included in the survey for context. Settings within the capture software are often dictated by capture hardware and driver settings.
What digitization software do you use to handle capture of analog videotape?
Do you capture SD (Standard Definition) video or HD (High Definition) video?
Are your projects completed as a supervised transfer or batch transfer?
What operating system do you use when digitizing your analog videotape assets?
Do you digitize via command line or graphical user interface?
Do you perform any file analysis following capture?
Blackmagic. 2012. Blackmagic Design, Pty, Ltd. www.blackmagicdesign.com (accessed 06/06/13).
Bogart, J. V. 1995. Magnetic tape storage and handling: A guide for libraries and archives. Washington, DC: Commission on Preservation and Access. Available at www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub54 (accessed 01/15/13).
Sacerdote, A. and L. Sorensen. 2012. Codec comparison for the digital preservation of analog video The Electronic Media Review. 1: 59–70.
From the Blackmagic Design web site: “Blackmagic Design capture cards are codec independent. Which codecs and video containers can be captured, or played back are determined by software. Typically you would expect to be using the Quicktime .mov container on Macs, and on Windows, .avi, but certain software may use different containers. Codec support is much more particular to your software. Our Media Express application will capture and playback Uncompressed 10 bit and 8 bit YUV, as well as support for 10 bit Uncompressed RGB and DPX with certain cards. On PC there is also Motion JPEG support. If your Mac has Final Cut Pro installed, you will also have access to DVCPro and DVCProHD, as well as ProRes 422 HQ. Other third party software such as Final Cut Pro, and Premiere Pro, support capture and playback of a wider range of codecs, as this is built into the software.” (Blackmagic 2012). | 2019-04-24T02:49:24Z | http://resources.conservation-us.org/emg-review/volume-two-2011-2012/capture-software-study-for-preservation-of-analog-videotape/ |
News - S&N Communications, Inc. News - S&N Communications, Inc.
Your time is valuable, so we won’t go on and on. But, if you want to know the latest about S&N, we’ve captured the highlights for you.
Tower Climbing Safety Gets Spotlighted?
WHEN IS THE LOWEST PRICE NOT REALLY THE LOWEST PRICE?
Kernersville, NC (Nov. 5, 2018)— Stake Center Locating, Inc. and S&N Locating Services, LLC, formerly operating units within S&N Communications, Inc., have combined operations under the Stake Center Locating name to reflect the company’s 100% focus on utility locating services. Separately, S&N Communications, Inc. is now under new ownership, operating as an independent company focused solely on wired and wireless infrastructure construction.
Tony Belford has been named President of Operations and Business Development, and Debbie Scott will serve as Chief Financial Officer of Stake Center Locating.
Stake Center Locating understands that utility locating is a job that requires skill, precision and accuracy. Getting it wrong can have major implications to the operations of our customers and to the public. Whether it’s building construction, road construction, or utility installation, there are more damage risks today than ever before.
“We know that damage prevention, accuracy, and timeliness are vital, and our record proves that. We have combined the experience and best attributes of both locating companies to become one powerhouse locating company. Stake Center is dedicated to getting the job done right—no shortcuts. We offer a clear alternative to those customers seeking quality and true customer service,” said Baer.
The company unveiled a new logo, website and mantra, “There’s A Lot At Stake,” illustrating the company’s belief that customers have a lot at stake when it comes to protecting the integrity of their infrastructure.
Moving forward, Stake Center will continue to build its brand and reputation as a quality choice for utility locating, an alternative to larger locating firms where it’s easy to get lost in the crowd and a better option than smaller, less equipped firms. Stake Center is pin point focused on becoming the locating company synonymous with safety, service and accuracy.
Stake Center Locating is headquartered at 636 Gralin St., Kernersville, NC. 27284. It is a utility locating company focused on delivering high-quality, safe and accurate locating services. Stake Center Locating operates in 43 states and Washington, D.C. and is home to more than 700 employees and field personnel. Stake Center completes over 500,000 locate requests each month.
S&N Communications, the foremost resource in underground utility locating, announces the debut of a new division, “S&N Wireless.” The division, operated out of the company’s Hampton, VA offices, consolidates a wide range of services the company began offering in 2014 through two subsidiary companies SCE, Inc. and Tower 16. The company recently closed both subsidiaries but, at customers’ requests, will continue to offer many of the same “cradle-to-grave” services. These services include infrastructure construction for electric, gas, telecommunications, fiber optics, wireless networks and tower modifications. Professional services offered through S&N Wireless include site development, project and inventory management, assessment, analysis, acquisition, zoning and permitting.
The company’s expertise in underground utility locating is unrivalled. Collectively, they have installed more than 60 million feet of fiber-optic cable and connected over 1 million homes and businesses with telecom, cable, gas and electric service.
The company continues to operate through subsidiary partner Stake Center Locating. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, Stake Center is most active in states west of the Mississippi River. The company averages more than 400,000 completed locate requests each month.
S&N congratulates Cody Norman, newly certified Journeyman Lineman by the Commonwealth of Virginia. The certification is labor-intensive, requiring 8,000 man hours in the field and a written test.
Congratulations to Cody. We appreciate your drive, knowledge, commitment and hard work!
For the last 21 months, S&N has been working on a program for a large utility in Virginia providing aerial-to-buried conversions in areas prone to storm-related outages.
Brian Sink, S&N’s Director – Communications/Energy Infrastructure for the Mid-Atlantic and North East, notes that during the initial phase of the project, S&N converted more than 50 miles of overhead lines to underground in portions of Virginia.
Work will continue in the state following strict project management and regulatory standards.
The Excavation Safety Guide is an annual publication that outlines the excavation process from pre-planning to job completion with articles written by industry experts.
S&N is proud to be cited in the article Drawing the Line: Why Interstate Challenges Are Rising For Contractors. The article covers challenges excavation crews commonly encounter when placing interstate bids. Examples include staffing, licensing knowledge, understanding topographies, knowing how different states handle one call enforcement, and increased competition and pricing pressures when working for multiple utility companies. Different members of the S&N team were called upon to offer solutions to these challenges. We don’t have all the answers but, as always, we’re happy to share the knowledge we have in the hopes of bettering the industry and the great people working in it.
Read the full 2016 Excavation Safety Guide.
It’s an exciting time for the Distributed Antenna System (DAS) industry, especially for those directly involved in the constant evolution of DAS systems. And not surprisingly, economic and social trends can and do influence how and when DAS systems are installed.
Three notable and growing trends catching the attention of the DAS industry these days include public safety, real estate development and customer retention. A new article in ISE magazine, “What’s Trending in DAS,” explains trends and explores DAS cost control tactics and how to stay within the scope of your project.
Life happens. Which makes planning for it often challenging and sometimes impossible. Nowhere is this truer than in trying to see into the future and make plans for what it takes to keep workers safe.
S&N President and CEO Allen Powell is featured in the Summer Digital Issue of Damage Prevention Professional, reflecting on Locator Safety Awareness Week and the collective responsibility we have to our locators. Powell cites encouraging awareness, slowing down, maintaining and following proper procedures, and doing things the right way as key standards to hold ourselves to, in an effort to plan ahead for safety.
S&N’s subsidiary partner Stake Center Locating has been selected for the 2016 Best of Salt Lake City Award in the Pipeline Locating Service Contractors category by the Salt Lake City Award Program.
Each year, the Salt Lake City Award Program identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These local companies enhance the positive image of small businesses through service to their customers and our community.
Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2016 Salt Lake City Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined, based on the information gathered, both internally by the Salt Lake City Award Program and by data provided by third parties.
S&N’s Senior Director of Business Development Chuck Baur has long been out of the dating game, but he’s figured out that business and personal relationships share some common ground. So, if you’re looking for a professional partnership that’ll last the test of time, check out Chuck’s “dating tips,” shared in the June digital issue of ISE magazine, to help you seek out, build and maintain better business relationships.
Can you name the top five challenges excavating contractors face when crossing state lines? More to the point, do you have the know-how to address the problems and come out on top? We do. And we’re sharing what we know in the 2016 version of Excavation Safety Guide magazine.
“Drawing the Line: Why Interstate Challenges Are Rising For Contractors”, pages 26-27.
S&N’s CEO Allen Powell recently compiled a list for Damage Prevention Professional of eight traits we’ve found to be present in many of our company’s most effective leaders.
Read the full article and see if you agree.
If your biggest client walked out the door tomorrow, how long would your business be able to survive? In this month’s issue of AGL Magazine, S&N CEO and President Allen Powell discusses when and why you should consider diversifying your services, your client base and maybe even your company holdings.
Tackling challenges, solving problems and broadening reach. With more than 35 years of experience, S&N reaches past the obvious and finds different ways of looking at construction. Find out how in the Spring 2015 edition of Energy & Infrastructure magazine.
Property owners and managers often fear that FTTH construction will bring howls of disapproval from inconvenienced residents. S&N CEO and president Allen Powell offers tips and best practices (pizza party, anyone?) to minimize disruption and keep end users happy.
Read the full article in the October 2015 issue of Broadband Communities magazine.
What’s your company’s safety record? While it’s easy during flush times to give lip service to the need for safety, too often the promise and commitment to safety fall by the wayside during the push to deliver. In this month’s issue of The Damage Prevention Journal, S&N CEO Allen Powell shares lessons learned on how to keep crews safe, during good times and bad.
Read the full article (p. 14-15) here.
What does the future hold for utility construction? S&N CEO Allen Powell answers that question in a feature article in this month’s issue of Damage Prevention Journal.
Per Powell, change is coming. With an ever-growing number of iPhones, tablets and broadband devices continuing to enter the homes and businesses of almost every American, the demand for high-speed fiber networks will only increase.
Utility construction companies that fail to make plans for the future will be left behind. Planning for the future should include an evolution of the current business model. For example, companies seeking to set themselves apart will be asked to play the role of both engineer and construction manager.
S&N Communications is early to the game, providing a one-stop shop for customers. The company continues to integrate project management and oversight for everything from initial project planning and site development to turnkey construction implementation, to post-construction maintenance, repair and locating services. From small-cell wireless networks to large scale fiber-optic-network builds, to erecting and maintaining cellular towers, S&N handles it all.
Are you planning for your company’s future? There’s no time like the present to start preparing for tomorrow.
Listen First, Act Later. Make sure everyone in your company feels confident that they have a voice and that it’s heard. Engage in two-way communication with your employees and ask for their opinions. Then, look to implement their suggestions while giving them public credit.
Be Honest In Your Dealings With Others. In order to grow your business, a company must have the trust of others. Be as good as your word, and hold others to theirs.
Give Away Your Power. If you’re seen as a leader, coach others. When you provide employees with the confidence and tools they need to develop, they’ll almost always step up to the plate.
Read the full article on how to develop leadership within the workplace.
Thanks to everyone at our company that keeps our culture thriving—we couldn’t have done it without you!
We’ve come a long way in the underground utility locating industry. Check out our newest article by S&N Director of Utility Locating, Steve Roark, in the May 2015 issue of OSP Magazine and get his perspective about disaster prevention through advances in underground utility locating. Regulations have risen; technology progresses and we’re excited to keep evolving.
We’re working hard to change perceptions for how underground utility locating is seen. Read the newest article by S&N CEO Allen Powell, published in the Spring 2015 issue of Damage Prevention Professional, pages 35-36. Powell writes about why it’s everyone’s job to elevate the status of our hardworking locating and utility construction employees.
Want to know the secrets behind being an industry leader? S&N Communications CEO and President Allen Powell tells all in the new issue of the Excavation Safety Guide & Directory (Issue No. 11). Read Allen’s article,”Taking ‘Best Practices’ To A New Level: 10 tips to be seen as an industry leader in damage prevention” then, let us hear your best tips for safety and damage prevention.
S&N closed out 2014 on a high note with a profile piece from Underground Construction senior editor Jeff Griffin on how the NC-based communications company adapted and grew to meet market needs. Read the full article.
As contractors, we should constantly ask the important questions: What are we doing right? In what areas might there be room for improvement?
In this OSP article, S&N President and CEO Allen Powell evaluates where the industry is improving and challenges yet to be overcome.
Read the full “Contractor Reflections” article, OSP Magazine, December 2014.
Business View Magazine is a global leader in multi-platform business-to-business profiles, news and opinion. The magazine recently profiled S&N and why our “We’ve Got This” slogan rings true every time.
Read the full article: S&N Communications: Foremost Resource in Infrastructure Construction.
Texas 811 magazine’s fourth quarter publication featured the article “Pay Now or Pay Later: 5 Steps Facility Locating Services Can Take For Greater Damage Prevention.” The article, contributed by S&N CEO and President Allen Powell, outlined five simple steps utility companies can take to prevent damages and save money on the front end.
“Damage prevention comes down to a willingness to see beyond today to tomorrow,” notes Powell. “Even if your team is doing everything right, there are always things they can do better.” Powell discusses how inspections, training, community outreach and making safety a part of a corporate culture all pay for themselves in the long run.
For copies of the article, contact Chuck Baur at [email protected]. For future industry insights from S&N, subscribe to Damage Prevention Journal at www.damagepreventionjournal.com.
We may not be camera-ready for our close-up (we’ve still got dirt under our nails), but when the Winston-Salem Journal asked S&N’s CEO and president Allen Powell for some insight into S&N’s current expansions and future plans, well, we didn’t run from the spotlight.
Read the full story: Kernersville company succeeds through calculated risks.
For the second time in its 38-year history, the Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association (VCTA) inducted a member of an underground utility locating and construction company into its ranks. On November 11, 2014, S&N Communications president and CEO David Allen Powell was officially welcomed into the (VCTA) Hall of Fame.
S&N is proud to be led by a man of such depth, integrity and hard-working ingenuity. Congratulations to our leader! You continue to make us proud.
S&N Communications is proud to have been awarded the 2014 Best of Roanoke Award in the Construction and Remodeling Contractors category. The Roanoke Award Program identifies companies that have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. Rather than focusing exclusively on growth or sales, the award measures the quality of the services provided by the recipient. The award recipients are companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and the community and help make the Roanoke area a great place to live, work and play.
S&N Communications’ CEO Allen Powell continues as a thought leader in the industry with a new article in the Fall 2014 issue of Damage Prevention Professional. The article covers what underground utility construction companies should be doing to save you time and money on the front and back end, as well as to provide the best service for customers.
Read “Best Practices for Underground Construction Companies” on page 53 to find out.
“I’m writing to let you know I am very pleased with the quality of service your company… provided on our D2L work orders. James and Ray are very knowledgeable of our product and seem genuinely interested in helping not only us, but our customers. Their responsiveness and the way they care for our facility is sincerely appreciated. In our business, we must get repairs completed on an acceptable schedule. We rely on dependable service from our contractors like you to help us keep these scheduled commitments and satisfy our customers. Because of their efforts, I’m very satisfied, and so are our customers. I have recommended your company to others because of our genuine pleasure with your service. You have put together a great team that makes us and our customers feel respected and valued.
As innovators and leaders, S&N isn’t known for playing it safe. Unless we’re talking safety, in which case we ALWAYS play it safe.
S&N President and CEO Allen Powell is making waves with his new article, Digging Deep: The Secrets Behind Successful Fiber-Optic Project Management, now available online at lIghtwaveonline.com. Fiber-optic construction companies want your business and, unless it’s their first rodeo, they know the answers you want to hear. Click here to learn the seven steps every municipality should use to pre-qualify a fiber-optics company (beyond just price) to ensure maximum effectiveness and cost savings.
S&N Communications continues to expand, strengthen and focus our management as we move into the next stage of our evolution.
George L. Baer who has been both chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operating officer (COO) will now concentrate 100 percent of his efforts as COO.
Debbie Scott who has been our director of finance and chief information officer (CIO) will now concentrate on our systems technology side as CIO and will also assist with integration of acquisitions as vice president of mergers and acquisitions transitions.
Ron Smith has been hired as CFO. Ron comes to S&N with more than 20 years experience in multiple strategic and financial leadership roles.
Congratulations to George and Debbie on their new positions, and welcome, Ron. This is an exciting time for our company.
Jamie Avelar, buried foreman, and James Clark, buried D2L foreman, for their exceptional safety records during first quarter 2014.
Billy Salyer, Bill Weaver, Jamie Hicks, Reggie Hoback and Brian Sink as the recipients of the 1st quarter safety award for S&N’s new “Destination Zero” safety campaign.
Brian Bevins, our first quarter 2014 Safety awardee.
You may have noticed we don’t sit around waiting for things to happen. That’s why, when we saw the opportunity to acquire Utah-based Stake Center Locating and blend the talents of our two companies, we didn’t hesitate. With this acquisition, S&N Communications will be able to offer locating services nationwide. We like to think of it as the coming together of two perfect teams, a tsunami of talent swirling together to create a new nationwide synergy for our company and our clients. | 2019-04-22T06:14:10Z | http://www.sncomm.com/news/ |
Billing is actually a great illustration of this an activity that isn’t exclusive to this subject of overall wellbeing. Evaluation of the method to personalize a wellness and fitness billing resume. When customizing it resume, highlight not just technical expertise, but also your people skills and capacity to act as a member of a team.
Medical assistants possess a vast range of responsibilities. They have to demonstrate their interest in employed in the health care field and their ability to carry out a wide range of tasks that are related. Be aware, nevertheless, that at the lack of wellness coders and billers in hospitals, billing is performed by medical addicts. A wellness professional in a orthopedic office should possess comprehension about reconstructive systems because that is the main focus of an orthopedist.
Information not provides in the suitable arrangement is going to have to be more Reformatted earlier used, causing delay and also developing a risk that the info is going to be mismanaged during reformatting. You should also send your tax advice, so it’s likely to find yourself a 1099 form at the decision of the tax season. Assure you keep it uncomplicated yet with necessary information. Up on a positive outcome, you will be requested on the very own personal particulars. The info about your goods and solutions can interest most of your potential clients. For a financial services company, you’ll also need to include a few thorough information about the services or products that are of attention towards the particular customer.
Physicians at a hospital need a diverse mixture of medication. Physicians provide the utmost level of care required by the individual patient. Health practitioners can take advantage of a continuously expanding information foundation which allows them to create far superior utilization of one of the most recent advice when making medical decisions. Nurses want to understand how to make use of the equipment within most patient’s room as well as assist health related conditions in numerous processes. Nurses expertise more patient contact than every other hospital employee and sometimes learn if the individual has a beneficial or adverse experience. When you are worried with your nearest one, it’s straightforward to forget about that hospitals need to control their company in a company, or Profession, outlook whilst caring for patients.
Try Something Creative The quickest way to discover a job will be by being aware of everything you want, where you prefer to operate, and harshly chasing it. A job for someone entry agent can be rather exciting for folks who wish to be always a portion of the health care area, but who would love to prevent their complexities of holding someone’s own life in their hands. Your job is the origin of earnings and you have never, at all probable expenses, let the other individual or some little dilemma block you by earning profits which you personally or your family members might need to live. Perhaps you have been put off and also haven’t been able position to locate a brand new endeavor. Before deciding to give up your present project and locate a brand new one, you are going to want to test your motives for quitting. Medical office helper projects are among the hot occupation options amongst many opportunities in the healthcare discipline. Keeping that in mind, in the event that you are feeling reckless at the office, experience as though you can’t advance any further, or in the event you need new job from Nigeria in order to support your relatives, you may want to examine each of your choices.
When wanting to immediately locate a job, you have to creatively and confidently be in a position to promote to companies. A rising number of employers are now searching for a concise yet informative document that says substantially past the most obvious. Its the exact first place to start looking for employment, especially since many companies are utilising the web to get a means of obtaining a few qualified candidates at an issue of hours. The worker is liable for its safeguarding and upkeep of their asset. Human source employees want to know mandatory instruction rates for numerous positions in addition to compensation rates.
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Let’s take an example in that you suppose the component of a project supervisor who would like to find the help of men and women in their own group. It is vital to offer an example which exemplifies the method by which the candidate can be just really a terrific club player, compared to just building the blanket remark. An overall resume template will do that.
When you are completed, you’ve must generate a declaration about the location you are deciding on. The first factor to formulate is a overall announcement about the job you’re applying to. In the event you aren’t able to acquire all of your resume cover correspondence within 1 screen perspective, at least attempt to attempt to add the vital points of one’s pitch on the exact first fullscreen perspective. It’s crucial include things such as the words that characterize your existing expertise. When you’re using Microsoft Word as the editor then conserve the time on the design, by merely opening Word.
In the event you prefer to find out more about writing resumes that get interviews, then go to a site such as for example Leading job Resumes at which you’re discover a good deal of articles and ideas. The only method to make an amazing and successful resume will be always to express what is important for them, perhaps not exactly what is significant to you. If it will come packed writing resumes, you always have to put your very best foot forwards and that means you feel needed this particular work interview.
As for resume arrangement, you also should look at the place you are on your livelihood and decide about the resume structure best suited to your own circumstance. If you should be very keen to earn a career in the banking business, you can employ in several banks and financial institutions. If you are thinking about developing your job, whatever the sort of sector you’re currently in or even the job that you hold now, you want a resume that reflects you at the most greatest way.
If you are trying to be given a job lately, you’re mindful the present labor market place is extremely competitive. Whenever you are interested at a job that you have one opportunity to obtain the interest of the potential employer and it has achieved whenever you submit your resume. Afterall, you are looking for employment since you want to make money, perhaps never to invest it first! You may want to create your resume relevant to just about each and each single job. The job from the banking market is of excellent responsibility since the patient must deal with the economic transactions and interpret the accounts prepared with the lender as a consequence of the trade.
Apply to your career only as long as you’re certain you would have the ability to perform nicely there. Consistently be certain that which you create relates to this location you are looking for. Certain clerical positions demand special skill sets such as fluency in a specific language or competence together with pick pc computer software programs.
Your aim is a great destination for a really pay attention to status outside. A well presented aim can be the exact same tool that could secure a potential employer’s interest from first. As soon as it is necessary to generate a well-written objective, remember to avoid some severe problems on your objective also. Producing a distinguishing and intriguing resume objective is not very likely to be a simple job. Producing executive resume aims is really straightforward. A job goal is normally a statement of what the candidate will really like todo or perhaps even the particular occupation they truly have been seeking.
Regardless, the job marketplace is not a game series. At the endyou shouldn’t forget to include things like the sort of business you’d like to use for, and then utilize some heavenly language. Additionally focus on the company that you are employing to, perhaps maybe not at all.
The goals element may be the optimal/optimally approach to create job specific resumes. It is first thing catches your own attention catching. Including an objectives section in the initiation of one’s resume provides a succinct introduction to this intention behind the resume, highlighting your career objectives as well as the kind of career you are looking for. It’s not uncommon for job-seekers to incorporate a short aims section at the start of these resume The objectives section can be a considerable part of an restart, and also might be the very first issue companies discusses.
When it regards a CV, they will probably need to look for the information which they want, as it’s not geared to specific employers or tasks. A CV is merely a hook to secure you a gathering with all the recruiter. If you are utilizing a CV to apply to find work in any other nation, it is essential to know about the structure common within that nation. If you figure out you have to submit a CV, then bear in mind that while there aren’t any specific formatting guidelines, you ought to utilize shared belief to create a document that’s complete and well organized.
In the event you are trying to turn to some dentist, then you may need to visit your restart first. Dental assistants must be comfortable juggling several jobs simultaneously since significantly a lot more than 1 patient is treated in a moment. They must retain a expert look and demeanor at all moments. The measures to becoming a dental helper are comparatively easy. He resume sample provides you a concise idea concerning the assorted elements that make your resume distinctive from the competition. Part of the challenge of finding jobs as a Dental Assistant will be aware of what to do during the process.
Medi cal agents spend the majority of these period around the road, making sales forecasts. Moreover, they usually work independently and are not supervised although out on the road. They must also have enough selfconfidence to deal with all the unavoidable rejection which is sold with failed sales requirements. As a result, they should have a lot of important characteristics to establish a thriving livelihood.
Being a dental assistant, you won’t only love greater. Locate all of the details which you need for example insider strategies for employed as a dentist. You are about to compose the ideal office helper resume For the exact 1st time on your own life, you’ll have complete health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
Dental assistants are a significant section of a dental clinic also take out various activities, from aiding direct inpatient care into workplace. Our Cosmetic Attorneys are recognized as a few of those finest in the enterprise. Dental assistants in a few particular places might possibly be in a place to perform them.
Try not to just revolve round listing tasks which you did on your own dental assistant restart, however, additionally on achievements. Cosmetic assistants need in order to follow patients as well as other health care personnel. They must do the job closely with patients and dentists. He is additionally known as dental hygienist in some specific scenarios. Dental Assistants should possess superior wisdom and expertise from the work of dentistry. They’re required to satisfy the minimum certification to work in the area. Dental assistants who would like to supply an agency to some particular population should consider people health.
Doctors and dentists would not wish to choose the likelihood on employing a individual that has not been licensed to the task. As a Dental Assistant, you will see yourself regularly helping the Dentist during the procedure. Some dental practitioners are happy to pay for a dental assistant-in-training with a superior attitude and work ethic. Your dentist would like to find out what are as of clinic or dentistry surgeries you’re already knowledgeable about. It is also a wonderful stepping stone if you choose to be a dental hygienist. Dental hygienists are a few of the biggest income generators at the business.
Everybody values precision and proficiency, regardless of what job you are applying for. The occupation involves quite a few projects, and also every circumstance is a bit more unique. In the event you are in require of an exceptional job that you’d need to highlight all the skills you know or have acquired working like a dentist. Much enjoy any job, the very first thing is always to earn a remarkable restart. The majority are working in minimum wage occupations, occupations that do not offer sufficient to pay standard living expenses in many regions of the nation. The volunteer work indicates a service mentality.
Employed being a hygienist requires specialized wisdom and the capability to work with a varied patient base. You may edit and download in accordance by means of your experience and profile. Dental knowledge is completely necessary. Once again, it is far better to talk with some one with knowledge in the field prior to making a last choice. In other words , it is possible to depend on me personally to really own the crucial understanding, skills, and capabilities, together with a complete comprehension of all security and procedural guidelines that has to be followed in a dental clinic. Since you imagine of your own skills and search on your chances, you want to become open minded about the jobs you are considering. Superior communication skills are critical to some wellness and fitness provider.
In the office, people are often brought together in groups for several reasons or to perform special functions. Faith classes play a main function. Work portals articles lots of offerings and there are particular collections on Facebook and linked in at which you could be in a position to locate a number of internships. Group tasks are likewise a fundamental portion of mastering surroundings.
As participants begin running throughout the road map, do not forget to track effects and solicit suggestions so you can continually increase your process and also make better roadmaps in the future. For instance, if you are in possession of a good deal of PPT presentations, make certain that the system permits people to observe slides. Extra info regarding the yatra are available here. All you want to express, you have must state through an image or, even in regards to Storiesvia a succession of graphics.
Inch word onto a patent describing details of the look might produce the difference in winning or losing an case. It is accurate, you may put in any text into your own images nevertheless the principal focus won’t be about the written writing . Detailing each one the wisdom and capabilities you need your viewers to profit out of every issue will allow one to create content after. You risk investing plenty of resources that don’t point ahead of the learning outcomes you are looking for. To discover more proceed to www.aischool.org. That was a thorough number of online courses.
Small-small business people are available in all sizes, shapes and backgrounds. On your DApp, then you’d like to really have the ability to put away exactly the ownerof every marriage contract which gets generated. Just like tech, it isn’t feasible to forecast what is going to happen within 10 a long time.
As stated by the official rules, you’ve got the opportunity for adding a URL to your Instagram Stories should you’ve got at least 10,000 followers. In fact, it is the alternative. Our thought will be based on the problem of gold.
Among the consistent replies I get is that they would get started networking every time potential. If you feel like you have to have everything ready prior to going out, you are dead wrong. You have to encourage personnel each the full time so they knowingly accept courses. The adventure role will arrive in time and you may always find out. In fact, it has THE opportunity to meet people in case you have nothing to reveal and nothing else to require. Everything finally appeared to be slipping into place. It is the the beginning maybe not the conclusion of something greater.
Create a list of everything that you need your trainees to be able todo at the decision of their learning path. Training is essential to creating partnerships work. The training course has been designed so you get an operational training at the frame. Back in Brighton and Hove’s Sanctuary on Sea’, by way of example, English lessons and soccer clubs have been all organised to furnish freshly arrived Syrian refugees an opportunity to become involved in their regional communities. Students may also additionally learn by way of a string of livelihood conversations personally or by telephone number. To take one example,, all students learn chess for a section of the standard curriculum and lots of play . Hence, if you should be considering finding a level in data science, this really is what the pros would prefer you to understand.
My customers consist of huge corporations as well as inventors working out of their own garage. It is crucial put your customer first. There is absolutely no excess application required. Much the same procedure could be achieved in order to alter the main text shade. Plus, the’s crucial that you keep in mind that professional growth does not will need to become time-consuming or costly. Research implies it is far superior to concentrate on the communications process rather than class conclusions. Moreover, a number of the technologies we have in Brazil have been brought from Africa.
Professionalism is very important. You must not choose a livelihood simply as it’s popular or get paid a bundle. Experienced professionals may appear confident to you simply because they know everything. Like any market, internet site professionals have their particular language that they have a inclination to chat in.
Journalism isn’t a preordained purchase. There is absolutely no journalism that is universal. Just like everything you can do on social media, there are good practices as well as lousy habits. Free marketing may give you having lots of of strengths but on occasion, it might only not be adequate. If you’re at a business, permit your overall current team participate a part from the hiring method, its beneficial in several ways. There exists a good deal of chances.
Make certain you have work arranged for months ahead of time even when busy. My occupation for a patent lawyer can be a significant bit more hours sensitive and painful. Needless to state there are many real-life careers offered in criminology, too, ones which are extremely satisfying and tough.
An autobiography isn’t just a handful of facts from your life the text has to be intriguing and simple to learn. To begin with, it is a great way to check at your own life from your opposing aspect. Fourthly, it is a significant method of learning how to create fiction. Even when you should be writing an official Auto Biography on your a job, it’s still true that you must entice your reader with text.
In the event you really don’t know how to compose an autobiography at the perfect way it is the right time to learn from the ideal writing illustrations. Writing an autobiography is a challenging and intriguing job. Yup , it makes it possible for you to select what job you need. A good Auto Biography produces a particular picture of the person and demonstrates just how events in their life possess formed precisely the person for someone.
Some-times auto-biography is sufficient. An autobiography can be really a major method to educate women and men in exactly the identical situation that there’s a way outside. In the event that you must write an autobiography for a volunteering company or internship, you also will require to compose an even more in-depth Auto Biography. Some times, autobiographies of noteworthy amounts have been made through cooperation with an expert author or by way of the sole initiatives of the ghost author.
Your writing needs to be powerful enough to make people act to the situation. Whether it’s occasionally a excellent creative exercise to merely describe what you see, in descriptive writing, there are many times a specific reason to describe everything you have put out to describe. Wonderful descriptive composing has got the capacity to tempt the reader, enticing their him to carry on looking at through to the endresult. Besides the office, it’s critical from a number of other areas as well. Writing about your childhood might possibly also be healing.
The producing must be literate as well as also sensible. Firstly, the expression writing has been characterized by the Oxford dictionary as Writing is your vital method of communication in a company. Likewise in case the composing is devoid of mistakes, then we’ve got a propensity to generate a very great feeling about this writer. In the event you’ve done any form of formal writing or written to get a novel, you’ve got to be conscious the composing must undergo specific steps prior to the very first draft becomes a previous backup. In regards to creative writing, there aren’t any rules about just how to get started doing such a thing. A superb deal of individuals are scared of adding an inordinate quantity of creating in their own family history books if you presume it requires a distinctive talent.
If you should be writing the correspondence rather than typing, ensure the handwriting is legible and clear. Ergo, it really is clear, letters are listed to be able to remain. These letters protect various destinations, in which you needs to grant responsibilities and power to your someone. Very good correspondence composing abilities will enable you to write proper donation petition letters.
Hence, the correspondence writing should maintain a manner that’ll justify the main reason behind the correspondence, in totality. In general, it has been noted that many folks become puzzled between an benchmark letter along with correspondence of suggestion, and usually take into account them of the specific same. So be very careful as soon as you draft such characters. A introductory letter from a brand new teacher can be a manner of welcoming the parents and students to some one’s course and thus, the tone of this correspondence should be very polite. A introductory letter for parents from your new teacher in the start of the academic year is extremely crucial to come up with a relationship together with the parents to the remaining part of their year.
Producing an autobiography results in a excellent deal of self searching and researching. It’s is one of the significant means of expressing your own thoughts, and communication thoughts and views into some the others. After having a peek at the case provided under, you need to really have the ability to find yourself a thought of how you want to start writing your own personal. Every one of the facts ought to be definitely stated as within the event of any discrepancy it is possible you will be held in contempt of the court. When producing an affidavit it is crucial that each one the important points which you have to mention are recorded out from the order in which they’ve occurred. If it is potential to do this, subsequently consist of evidence within the form of photos and see statements with this correspondence.
1 such case in point is what I am very likely to give you. In addition, there are lots of cases of dramatic poetry for children. It is essential to offer references at the beginning of letter to greatly assist the reader form a connection for the letter’s contents. Sponsorship letters illustrations will supply you with an idea concerning how essential it’s to be extremely polite and courteous whilst composing a letter .
In the world of sales, receipts have an immense role to playwith. A receipt may be utilized in various approaches, and also the objective will be set from the title. The sales receipt will serve as an evidence a particular trade done with a specific business. The sales receipt is vital in personal as well to in tax accounting for assorted organization to prevent rubbing shoulders with taxation jurisdictions. The automatic sales receipt might be customized to meet the essentials of the specific business enterprise.
From time to time, you could also have to submit receipts to companies as a piece of an expense report. For example, a lease receipt may comprise info about the owner and also the tenant of the certain home, the property which has been rented, the day of rent, the number of rent that’s due and the style of payment. You have also requested they make each of many receipts for every transaction that you engaged in during the whole lifetime of using the credit score score card. A receipt for a automobile sale involves the buy price, some very simple advice about the automobile and the time and date of purchase.
In an scenario where coming having a certain receipt might be hard, you also can decide touse statement you’ve got sent as a receipt. Furthermore if you’re able to always make you possess invoice employing a Microsoft office gear. At the organization of automobiles and vehicles, it has really a given that a bill invoice goes to be made. Sending bills is important after you sell globally. Car bill is quite a thoughtful and cheap way tackling all the cash flows. Car or truck invoice also needs to possess a signature of their authorized person covering the customer to avert any misunderstanding or any type of fraud.
Without the right paper work, the client is probably going to own a difficult time re-registering the car or truck in his title. Intelligent buyers will probably understand to appear past the outside, also also in actuality, more pragmatic truth of the motor car or truck. When you discover the perfect buyer, our Vehicle Revenue Receipt will be useful for your requirements. In the event you locate a buyer to the vehicle you are attempting to market, then our Revenue Receipt in PDF will be helpful to you personally when making one.
Many dealers are oblivious of all the instructions determined by this nation. Even though they will sometimes mis-represent an automobile as mentioned previously, the solution is an unaffiliated examination of the vehicle and any trader that won’t permit that needs to really be averted at all costs. Car traders and people can take advantage of car earnings receipts and accomplishing this really is just one of the utmost helpful ways to make sure you’re earning one with the appropriate arrangement and outline.
Few men and women are keen on purchasing autos. Purchasing a vehicle is attentive method of balancing what you want, together with exactly what it’s likely to get. Whenever you’re purchasing a pre-owned vehicle, do not don’t request the Road Tax Receipt in original.
When you have the automobile, spending off the road tax is going to function as the duty, even in case it isn’t paidoff. Additionally make sure you alter the possession of the RC whenever you get the vehicle transferred. After the vehicle is acquired, you really do not need to be concerned with doing it. Purchasing or selling a secondhand car is some thing that must be carried out precisely.
Acquiring or selling an auto is an process that necessitates attention to depth. It is a very crucial advantage, and also purchasing a vehicle is a very vital deal. While you commence searching for a secondhand automobile, you’ll want to bear in mind that the auto identification number (VIN) is the one most crucial number you require. Read … Purchasing a used automobile is quite different by getting a new car or truck.
If you’re trying to market or buy a vehicle, while it truly is an older car or truck or even a new new one, then it is critical to really own a Sale Receipt. Even should you not market us your automobile, you should be sure you sell it into a Texas Accredited Salvage Dealer. In just a handful of days, the automobile was also ours. You may well not legally drive your new vehicle if it’s not precisely enrolled. It really is important to be advised when buying or selling some other automobile. Whenever you buy a car, owner may execute a reception which is actually greatly like a charge sort.
The contribution reception template is going to become useful to build fingerprints with all the factual specifics upon receipt of a specific donation. A blank receipt template includes features that may be fairly acceptable for a huge range of organizations. Sales reception templates are employed to make the custom of producing product sales receipt much simpler.
There are times once you maynot incorporate substantially for identification amounts, since they’re not always easily available on many products that are distinct. It’s vital to mention that the moment, date or duration where you are approving the person to do this particular undertaking and it is contingent on the situation otherwise it could be billed as misuse. You might potentially be occupied doing something different. The reply is actually only a bit difficult, dependent on the context of this solitude you’re looking for. Please telephone me with any concerns you may possibly have. Please do not hesitate to call me with any questions which could have.
You can find plenty of forms of approval letter. Authorization letters need to get verified carefully. It’s typically utilised for organization purposes. At the event of any misdoing, an authorization letter could function as valid signs. A authorization letter can be used when you want to give somebody the ability to perform a task for your advantage. Authorization letters has an important part in maintaining an individual person’s NBI Clearance. A authorization letter will be issued with somebody, organization or business concern so as to devote the receiver with specified powers which may be anything away from withdrawing money from your bank account to producing a business agreement.
The letter needs to be short and simply contain the essential information. This correspondence could even be developed to find access to special data and files. It is critical to register the correspondence going through a witness, which really isn’t the specific same person whom you are committing the consent to.
In the event you don’t recognize the party together with which you are planning to be dealing or you are not certain of this name of this celebration, then you might leave the portion blank. Even the very first party is composed of the legal rights of their original holder, for example, whoever owns a passport or your parent and protector of a kid. There are plenty of instances where you might require somebody else to represent your passions.
To eliminate potential hazard, then it really is most reliable to request permission or expel use of the copyrighted content in your work. In the event you decide not to look for permission since you plan on using a very superb use discussion, be ready together with all the best-possible circumstance to safeguard your usage of the copyrighted content in case you are sued. Photo permissions can purchase sophisticated rapidly if they feature versions (you might require a model release and permission) or trademarked services and products. Some governments need an authorization letter to ensure it is possible for you to live and perform in their own nation. Give you the information with respect towards the point of your letter, and be certain to provide the full specifics of the individual or folks whom you have granted the ability to do something for your own benefit.
In the event you need some advice, don’t hesitate to get hold of me 49493949. Contact advice must be somewhat authentic. From today’s phase, information about the advent of technologies is now truly very straightforward to acquire. Should you require assistance in an authorized issue, be sure that you incorporate the scenario amount.
Individual citizen identification number will not authorize one to legally have a company inside the United States. Every individual who’s unable to acquire a social security amount is ostensibly entitled to make a program for somebody taxpayer identification number. Every individual should be granted a fantastic trial, however dreadful of a offense they truly are accused of. Mention as soon as , date or duration to which you are devoting the guy to complete that specific task. Clearly suggest the person has been licensed to perform the duty along with the most important reason behind it. For those who have children under 18 years old, they won’t have to show up. | 2019-04-25T17:14:41Z | http://phillynewsstand.com/lebenslauf-vorlage-kostenlos-download-word/ |
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