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Sensible Precautions to Use with Tape Backup Systems
While tape backups can play an important role in an enterprise's data loss prevention system, there are certain procedures and safeguards that should be followed in order to preserve the integrity of the backup media. A managed program model may include a structure in which IT services personnel are usually the ones to handle the tapes themselves, but any number of situations may arise that require other personnel to come into contact with them. Training to ensure proper handling and storage is essential.
Common Causes of Tape Failure: Things to Avoid
Most tape backup systems are designed to maximize the amount of information stored on each linear foot of tape. This means in practice that data is written right up to the edge of the tape medium itself. Anything that causes damage to the edge or causes it to become brittle or more likely to fray should be avoided. Also to be avoided are situations that cause stress or damage to the cartridge casing of the tape or the internal components in the housing. While it is possible to respool tape onto a fresh cartridge, it is better to avoid the need to do so in the first place.
The primary causes of tape degradation over time relate to environmental factors. Humidity and dust are the enemies of tape media, as are temperatures that are excessively high or low. Tapes should not be stored or stacked where they may experience prolonged periods of vibration, and they should not be stacked directly on top of each other as pressure can cause the casing in the bottom tape to become compressed.
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This is the second post as part of an ongoing series that discusses the market trends that are affecting the evolution of medical device connectivity (MDC) technology. I received some good comments from my previous post – please consider sharing your thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
The second trend I’d like to discuss is the shift towards patient safety as one of the key market drivers for connectivity. It is probably not news to anyone that patient safety has become one of the key drivers for many healthcare IT initiatives. But what is the relationship between patient safety and MDC? Ever since the often referenced IOM report, To Err is Human: Building A Safer Health System, hospitals and vendors alike have increased their focus on driving towards significant reductions in medical errors. The industry as a whole has made great strides, but still lots of work remains.
With device connectivity, my experience has been that for at least the past 15+ years, the key driver has been making the nurse more efficient by eliminating the manual transcription of device data into the patient’s chart. One of the related benefits is a more come complete and legible patient record. However, one could argue that the more legible patient record could be achieved if the vital signs from medical devices were simply typed into the charting application manually (something that many hospitals are actually doing today). So I believe that the nursing efficiency argument holds as the primary driver – but that is starting to be challenged by the focus on patient safety as it relates to connectivity.Read More
One of the most important areas of connectivity, and one that frequently does not receive the attention it deserves, is establishing and maintaining patient context. Historically, connected devices identified data by location – tagging data with a bed or even port number – rather than the actual patient name or ID. Because patients are frequently moved during an episode of care – not to mention ambulatory – data that is only tagged with a location presents risks of misidentification. In an effort to improve positive patient identification, data is increasingly tagged with a patient identifier.
Besides patient safety, patient context also greatly impacts medical device workflow. (Medical device connectivity is workflow automation through the integration of medical devices and information systems.) How a vendor implements patient context can have a big impact on usability and customer acceptance.
Patient context requirements can vary, based on the type of medical device in question. What is not variable is the requirement to reliably establish and maintain context. Mobile applications (like smart pumps or patient monitoring) where the device may go in and out of network coverage while constantly in use present special challenges. This compares to a fixed or portable medical device, like a dialysis machine or diagnostic ultrasound, with an episodic use case during which neither the device or patient is moved. Another variable is whether the application is life-critical. Continuous patient monitoring and many alarms (e.g., smart pumps and ventilators) are life-critical applications with a higher threshold of requirements. This contrasts with connectivity for documentation like with point of care testing or spot vital signs capture. In all cases though, patient context must be safe and reliable. The above issues just help define how many hoops you have to jump through to be safe and reliable.Read More
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Return to Work Form
The Return to Work form is a helpful tool to have proper documentation in place for an employee to return to work after a sickness.
How does it work?
Using this app will allow the employee to record the required information necessary and allow for employee and the human resource facilitator signatures to be documented and easily accessible for management to review when needed. During times where there is an increased need for work absence due to illness such as during the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), this form will be essential to businesses of any size to maintain appropriate records while tracking and monitoring exposure dates in the workplace.
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A small town in Southern Lithuania
Where the Jewish Community is no more
From Josh Rosenfeld
"We have been working on the family genealogy and now have some context for the mysterious album my grandmother brought from Lithuania when she came to the US in 1938 after my grandfather Yehoshua Rosenfeld passed away. His family lived in Vilkaviskis and he married my grandmother Esther Sadunishker from Vilnius. They lived in Vilkaviskis until the German's invaded in 1914 when the Russians moved the town’s Jewish population away from the front. They were resettled in Moscow until the war ended and then returned to Vilkaviskis. My father attended the University of Liege in Belgium after graduating from the Gymnasium and then came to the US in 1924. His younger brother Abe soon followed, went to Kansas City, Missouri and changed his surname to Rosenfield. My father’s youngest brother Hershel went to Israel and became Tzvi Vardi. He was a policemen there until 1951 when he and his family came to the US, went to Kansas City, Mo and he became Harry Rosenfield. Harry appears in the photo on your website of the Zionist group preparing for Aliyah (Maccabi). He is the one in the bottom row on the right"
The graduating class of the Hebrew Gymnasium in Vilkaviskis 1922/23
The class of 1921
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This page describes a reference implementation for an IIS proxy server running https behind a firewall which manages connections to an EASA Server and two EASAP (or historically 'JSF') Servers.
The machine names are:
iisgateway.easa.com is running https listening on ports 8443, 8081, 8082.
The EASA machines are all running http listening on port 8080.
An Author or User will directly interact only with ports on iisgateway.easa.com.
Below is a summary and reference for this four machine IIS and EASA example configuration.
The sections below describe:
In this window, pictured below:
If HTTP 500 errors are a problem, turn off static compression (uncheck box below) for all three EASA machines.
If HTTP 500 errors persist and compression is still turned on for other non-EASA hosts, change the order of the Modules so that the RewriteModule occurs before the StaticCompressionModule.
Further details may be found at the IIS online documentation:
Modify the registry key below to support long URL's:
jsf-server-two has the identical configuration as jsf-server-one above with the following two text substitutions:
Replace each instance of:
Configuration of jsf-server-one:
Configuration of jsf-server-two:
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30th April 2018
There has been an increase in measles in surrounding areas, as this is Immunisation week we would like to highlight this to all parents.
“Measles is highly infectious – a cough or a sneeze can spread the measles virus over a wide area. If you come into contact with it and are not protected, the chances are that you will be infected. Measles can be very serious and more severe in adults causing complications such as ear and chest infections, fits, diarrhoea, encephalitis (infection of the brain), and brain damage. Measles, mumps and rubella can also cause complications in pregnancy that can lead to miscarriage. About one in 5000 individuals with measles is likely to die.”
To be protected from measles and other infections including mumps and rubella, you need to be immunised with 2 doses of MMR vaccine. If you haven’t had 2 doses of MMR, it’s not too late. Speak to your GP today or visit www.nhs.uk/measles”
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When accessing the database in WordPress, you need to use the global variable
$wpdb. This will take the constants you set in wp-config.php to connect to your database and retrieve whichever results you specify. But what if you have a second database you wish to connect to for whatever reason? To do that all you need is the following snippet:
$newdb = new wpdb($DB_USER, $DB_PASSWORD, $DB_NAME, $DB_HOST); $newdb->show_errors();
Add the code snippet to your functions.php file or a specific page template, and then you can use
$newdb just like you would
$wpdb to access a second database and retrieve some data.
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Dogs will put almost anything in their mouths, and may view something as simple as a weekly pill holder as a plastic chew toy. Unfortunately, this means they are prone to swallowing all manner of poisonous materials — most cause unpleasant side effects, but some can be fatal without treatment.
When in doubt, pet proof your home and avoid self-administering over-the-counter medications without first consulting your veterinarian. And if you think your pet may have ingested something poisonous, call your veterinarian or a pet poison helpline immediately!
What To Watch For
Clinical signs will vary depending on the type of poison swallowed. They can be as mild as generalized lethargy, malaise, and weakness to gastrointestinal signs like vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, and nausea. More severe signs can include agitation, excessive sedation, tremors, twitching, seizures, or even coma. Because symptoms vary, always call your veterinarian or an animal poison helpline for help.
Most poisons are ingested by accident, when an inquisitive dog finds unsecured substances lying around. Sometimes, owners may self-medicate their pet, only to find out days later, when their pet is symptomatic, that the medication is poisonous to pets due to their altered ability to metabolize certain drugs.
-If your pet has accidentally ingested something poisonous, immediately remove him or her from the source of poison. However, you first must determine if it is safe to do so. Some substances require special safety equipment for handling (i.e., rubber gloves, masks, etc.). -If possible, identify the poison and have the contents available for your veterinarian to evaluate. Having the labels and/or containers of the material or medication is extremely helpful, too. -If the dog has vomited, gather a sample of it in a plastic bag and save it for your veterinarian. It may be used for testing and analysis. However, never induce vomiting without consulting with your veterinarian or an animal poison helpline first, especially if it is unconscious. Certain types of poisons can be made worse when vomiting is induced. -Contact the poison helpline on the way to the veterinarian or emergency clinic. It may help you relay important information to the doctors.
Instructions for poisoning with household products:
Some common types of household products include acids, alkalis, or petroleum-based hydrocarbons such as:
-Drain cleaner -Oven cleaner -Toilet cleaner -Dishwasher granules/tablets -Laundry soaps/detergents -Kerosene -Gasoline -Paint thinner -Paint stripper/remover -Lye -Furniture polish -Floor polish -Shoe polish -Wood preservative -Caustic soda -Chlorine bleach
If your pet is exposed to any of these products:
-Stay calm! -Contact a veterinarian immediately and tell them you are on your way; this will allow them to prepare for your arrival. -Move your pet to a safe area (away from the poison), if possible. -Check to see if your dog is breathing. If not, perform CPR on the animal. -If your pet begins to tremor or convulse, move her to a safe area where she won’t injury herself(away from stairs or furniture). -Always take the dog to the vet as soon as possible, as your vet may need to pump your dog’s stomach (called “gastric lavageâ€) or administer activated charcoal to bind up any toxins in the stomach.
Instructions for poisoning with acids, alkalis, and petroleum products:
-If your pet swallowed anything caustic (i.e., acids or alkalis), do not administer home remedies. Neutralizing the chemical ingestion can, in and of itself, cause a chemical reaction, which can further aggravate the dog’s injuries. -Instead, flush your pet’s mouth out with tepid water for 15 to 20 minutes by using a shower head or kitchen sink spray hose. Try not to point the hose to the back of the mouth, though. The water may go into the lungs, which can complicate the situation. It is better to clean the mouth from different angles. -Never induce vomiting without consulting a veterinarian or animal poison helpline first, as sometimes you can make your pet worse by inducing vomiting. -Burns in the mouth often take hours to show up. Just because you don’t see any injury, doesn’t mean it’s not occurring! Also, burns may only show up in the esophagus or stomach, where you can’t visualize them. -If your pet is unconscious, seek immediately veterinary care! -If your pet swallowed a petroleum product, do not induce vomiting. This can make your pet worse, and these substances are easy to aspirate into the lungs, making your pet develop a potentially severe aspiration pneumonia. -If the dog has licked the substance, refer to Burns and Scalding for treatment of chemical burns in the mouth.
Other important points to consider:
-If your veterinarian recommends inducing vomiting, use fresh, non-expired, bubbly hydrogen peroxide as directed by your veterinarian. It is no longer recommended to use syrup of ipecac, salt, or any home remedies, as this can make your pet worse. -Do not administer activated charcoal products that you have at home – these aren’t as effective as what your veterinarian can give -If your veterinarian or emergency clinic cannot be reached, call an animal poison helpline.
Treat your dog as you would a young, inquisitive child:
-Crate train your dog — this is the best way to prevent accidental toxicities! -Pet proof your house adequately, making sure all dangerous substances (i.e., medication, chemicals, household products) are stored in secured cabinets or closets, out of reach of inquisitive paws and noses. -Do not allow your dog to play in areas where chemicals are stored. -Keep the garage floor or parking space free of oil, antifreeze, and petroleum products, even minor spills. Antifreeze is especially toxic and enticing to dogs because of its sweet taste, and should be stored away securely. -Store your medication in a separate area from your pets’ medications. This will help prevent you from giving your own medications to your pet by accident. -Carefully read the label of the prescription vial to make sure you’re administering the correct drug to your pet. -If you keep pills in a weekly pill holder, make sure to put this in an elevated cabinet, instead of on the kitchen counter. Dogs view these as plastic chew toys (they even rattle inside with all those pills!), and can easily chew through this. -Do not store your pills in a plastic storage bag (i.e., Ziploc) — these can easily be chewed through, exposing your dog to many medications all at once.
This article is posted through the courtesy of petMD “Because pets can’t talk”
Also see ASPCA 10 Top Pet Poisons
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Sliding doors are no less elegant now than they were in the long-ago Asian cultures in which they originated, but new materials have given them a sturdier, more pronounced presence than their predecessors of centuries past. Today’s roundup of modern sliding doors, also called “fusama,” range from glass room dividers to metal sliding wardrobe doors, as well as a heavy slab of wood from Bartels acting as a privacy partition for a master bedroom in an urban loft. They may not provide as much satisfaction as a slammed door during moments of frustration, but then again, it might be a moot point since they lend a sense of Zenlike calm to their surrounding spaces. You could say it’s in their genes.
Modern wood sliding door found at Bartels.
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The Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition existing after World War II (1939–1945), primarily between the Soviet Union and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, particularly the United States. Although the primary participants' military forces never officially clashed directly, they expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic conventional force deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage, propaganda, a nuclear arms race, and economic and technological competitions, such as the Space Race.
Despite being allies against the Axis powers and having the most powerful military forces among peer nations, the USSR on the one side, and the UK, France, China and the USA on the other, disagreed about the configuration of the post-war world while occupying most of Europe. The Soviet Union created the Eastern Bloc with the eastern European countries it occupied, annexing some as Soviet Socialist Republics and maintaining others as satellite states, some of which were later consolidated as the Warsaw Pact (1955–1991). The US and some western European countries established containment of communism as a defensive policy, establishing alliances such as NATO to that end.
Several such countries also coordinated the Marshall Plan, especially in West Germany, which the USSR opposed. Elsewhere, in Latin America and Southeast Asia, the USSR assisted and helped foster communist revolutions, opposed by several Western countries and their regional allies; some they attempted to roll back, with mixed results. Some countries aligned with NATO and the Warsaw Pact, and others formed the Non-Aligned Movement.
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About the FDRF040-95/195-160/300 Diameter Measurement System
The system is designed for non-contact measuring of inner diameter of cylindrical and taper pipes, gun barrels. The system is used on the production line as the quality control tool.
- Measurement range (diameter): 95 to 195mm, 160 to 300mm
- Accuracy: ±50 µm, ±200 µm
- Number of laser sensors: 4
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SAP SRM 7.0 Enhancement Package 3 SP11
As part of SAP SRM 7.03 SP11 the following features are delivered:
Undo Accept or Undo Reject a Bid:
This feature enables the option to revert the acceptance or rejection of a RFx Response in bid decoupling scenario.
Generic Text Templates:
This feature provides a central location to create or edit the text templates and use them across business objects.
Adoption of a Formula:
This feature allows you to update the factors, value of the factors and the formula associated with a purchase order or a contract. This feature is an enhancement to the feature Formula based Condition for PO or Contract.
You can find detailed description about these features by following the links mentioned below:
For complete details about SAP SRM 7.03 refer: SAP SRM 7.03
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If you are currently deciding whether or not to file a disability discrimination lawsuit against your current or former employer, know that there are time limitations you should be aware of regarding your legal complaint.
An employee must first receive a right to sue letter from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) prior to filing a disability discrimination lawsuit. An employee generally has 1 year from the time of the violation to file this charge. This 1-year period is known as the first statute of limitations. After receiving the “right to sue” letter, an employee has another 1-year period within which he or she can sue the employer. This is known as the second statute of limitations.
As with any law, there are exceptions, and they can get rather complicated. There are two major exceptions to these rules: the continuing violations doctrine and equitable tolling.
Continuing Violations Doctrine
The Continuing Violations Doctrine essentially depends on whether the incident was “discrete” or “ongoing.” The doctrine allows employees to bring a charge to DFEH more than 1 year after discrimination occurred if the charge involves continuing discrimination and is brought within 1 year after the discriminatory behavior stopped. For most one-time instances of discrimination, such as firing or failing to hire or promote, the continuing violations doctrine will not apply. The doctrine will only apply to cases where discrimination is ongoing to a specific individual, even if most of the discrimination occurred more than 1 year before filing a charge. In practice, this usually means that the 1 year period does not actually start running until the employee quits, is terminated, or the employee responsible for the discrimination is terminated or leaves.
Equitable Tolling Doctrine
The Equitable Tolling Doctrine is a principal created by judges that seeks to impose fairness on statutes of limitations. It can potentially apply in many situations; however in practice it is usually effective in two specific situations. The first is when an employee files a charge with the federal equivalent of DFEH, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). If DFEH gives the employee a right to sue letter, but the employee also files a charge with the EEOC, the 1 year period does not run for the duration of the EEOC’s investigation.
The second situation is when the employee is following internal grievance procedures. For example, if an employee suffers disability discrimination, they may bring a formal grievance charge, which will prevent the 1 year period from running during the pending grievance. However, there are limitations. The grievance system must have a hearing where the employee is able to present their claim and evidence of the discrimination.
Contact a Discrimination Disability Lawyer
To learn more about your rights under disability discrimination law, call California employment attorney of Michelle Baker today. Give us a call at (858) 452-0093 or use our online submission form to schedule a Free Consultation.
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While running a program, when an exception occurs, sometimes it’s easy to figure out what caused it. Other times, it can be more complex, especially in the case of unique exceptions you might not be familiar with. Here, having Copilot chat inside Visual Studio offers an extra gear. Within the exception menu, we now have an option that allows us to ask Copilot for information on that specific exception.
Figure 1: Copilot AI Assistant in exception box
Copilot may not always be able to find the exact solution to our problem, but the interesting thing is that with a single click, without leaving the context of Visual Studio, we already have a very extensive description of what might be the cause of the exception. This helps us understand and find the root cause.
Figure 2: Copilot AI exception explanation
As you can see in the figure above, you have a circular dependency with castle. It occurs when one component depends on another, which in turn depends on another, and going around the resolution chain, we finally return to the main component. Therefore, Castle is unable to create the component because it enters a loop. If you work with castle it is common to find this exception, the reason is clear, but it is tedious understanding which is the chain*
However, if you look at the highlighted part, Copilot was still able to analyze the entire stack trace of the exception and tell me what the circular dependency is. These details are contained in the exception you just need to read description and stack trace carefully, but copilot chat can summarize with a single click, saving precious time.
Figure 3: Part of the original exception detail
As you can see in the figure above, the information in question is contained within the exception text. However, compare it with that from Copilot to understand how much simpler it is to read Copilot’s result, rather than having to rummage through the exception’s stack trace.
This area is where AI and ChatGPT shine, with the ability to summarize text and find relevant information. Copilot chat brings this capability within one click’s distance, without exiting Visual Studio, a real time-saver.
After several days of usage, Copilot Chat isn’t miraculous, but it is a real lifesaver in many situations. The more you understand where it shines the brightest, the more time you save.
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In a never-ending testing environment, formative assessments can be overwhelming. District-mandated assessments PLUS classroom assessments are a recipe for student shutdowns. But don’t fear, try any of these methods to spruce up your classroom formative assessments. Students love the games, and teachers can use the information to drive instruction.
- Quizlet Live: Quizlet Live randomly places students in groups, assigns a mascot, and requires students to work together to answer questions.
- Plickers: I recently showed this to teachers during a professional development and they were blown away. Afterwards, many teachers tried it immediately and the feedback was tremendously positive. Plickers stores information by student and uses technology to accept student answers. Each student is assigned a specific code card, so teachers can track students’ individual progress as well as the class. Plickers is great for accumulating data to drive instruction.
- Kahoot!: I’ve seen this used a lot at the middle school level. Students can play using their Chromebooks or personal electronic devices. It’s like an interactive survey with instant results. It also ranks students, creating friendly competition.
- Quizziz: Quizziz sends questions to the student’s device and allows them to answer at their own pace. The faster they answer, the more points they earn. There are also options to assign quizzes with a deadline, or quizzes can be done as a class.
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Following a few safe sleep precautions is one of the most important steps you can take to help prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) during the first few months of your baby’s life. Yet infant deaths related to SIDS, suffocation in bed and other unknown causes are still too high, at 3,700 in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). But a new test program involving texting may just help keep more parents informed on the latest sleep recommendations so they’re more likely to avoid unsafe sleep practices.
What the study looked at
Between March 2015 and May 2016, 16 hospitals across the U.S. enrolled 1,263 moms of healthy full-term newborns in a safe sleep program following birth. The moms were divided into four groups. Moms in all groups got the basic hospital rundown on bringing baby to bed to breastfeed and returning her to a separate space to sleep. Some of the moms then either received texts or emails on safe sleep, or they received the same information from hospital nurses.
The texts and emails, which included both health tips and 60- to 90-second educational videos, addressed common questions about safe sleep and breastfeeding when issues are most likely to arise. The messages were delivered every day for the first 11 days after the moms were released from the hospital post-birth, and then every three to four days for 60 days, providing a sort of virtual support system for moms when they needed it the most.
When their babies were 2 months old, moms were offered a survey about their sleep and feeding practices over the past two weeks, with all survey responses collected by the time the babies reached 8 months old. The authors’ goal was to determine whether the moms put babies to sleep on their backs, in the same room without bed-sharing, offered a pacifier and avoided using soft bedding in the babies’ sleep environment.
The authors compared the various nurse and text methods to the moms’ actual safe sleep practices, taking into account other factors like their age, household income, race/ethnicity and educational level.
What it found
Of the various programs, moms who received texts/emails were significantly more likely to stick to all safe sleep practices, especially room-sharing without bed-sharing and avoiding soft bedding. Training from hospital nurses, however, did not impact the moms’ sleep practices. "Other studies have found that mothers usually intend to adhere to infant safe sleep practices before they are discharged from the hospital, but that the challenges of caring for a newborn may result in changes in practice," the authors noted.
One limitation of the study was that 21 percent of all moms didn’t respond to the survey; what’s more, most of the moms completed the surveys when their babies were between 8 and 12 weeks old, so it’s not clear whether they continued to follow recommended safe sleep practices. And, of course, all of the responses were self-reported (so moms could have fibbed on the survey).
Will this be available nationwide?
The authors’ goal was to create an inexpensive program (the texts and emails can be automated) that’s well-received by moms. Happily, moms who participated opened the messages more than 50 percent of the time.
"Parents are bombarded with a lot of information from a lot of sources, and some of it is not reliable. The mobile health program offered a way to provide reliable messages during periods when parents may be having difficulty following the safe sleep recommendations," says pediatrician Rachel Moon, MD, lead author of the study and co-author of 14 Ways to Protect Your Baby from SIDS.
Moon says the authors are currently applying for funding to expand this study to high-risk moms, serve up texts during pregnancy and optimize the timing and content of the messaging. "Our hope is that it may eventually be expanded nationally," she says.
What this means for you
About 90 percent of all SIDS deaths occur in babies less than 6 months old, with most happening in babies 1 to 4 months of age. So it’s essential to follow all safe infant sleep practices the moment your baby comes home from the hospital, including:
- Share a room, not a bed
- Put baby to sleep on her back
- Keep baby's sleep area clear of bumpers, comforters, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and wedges
- Use a firm, tight-fitting mattress covered in a tight-fitting cotton sheet
- Offer baby a pacifier, which has been shown to reduce SIDS risk
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Campbell R. Harvey
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Chris M. Kirby
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
A number of well-known asset pricing models imply that the expected return on an asset can be written as a linear function of one or more beta coefficients that measure the asset's sensitivity to sources of undiversifiable risk. This paper provides an overview of the econometric evaluation of such models using the method of instrumental variables. We present numerous examples that cover both single-beta and multi-beta models. These examples are designed to illustrate the various options available to researchers for estimating and testing beta pricing models. We also examine the implications of a variety of different assumptions concerning the time-series behavior of conditional betas, covariances, reward-to-risk ratios. The techniques discussed in this paper have applications in other areas of asset pricing as well.
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Character Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood in the movie Magnum Force, so famously said, "A man's got to know his limitations."
After reading the book StrengthsFinder by Tom Rath, supported by The Gallup Organization, I'd like to modify this quote to read, "A man's got to know his strengths."
The concept of the book is that everyone should play to their strengths instead of focusing on improving their weaknesses. For example, if a child brings home a report card with an "A+" in math and a "C" in art - some parents may sign their child up for more art classes to improve the weakness; however,StrengthsFinder would say it's more important to better refine the math skills which are clearly the student's strength.
I agree, when people operate in an environment which utilizes strengths, the opportunity to maximize potential increases exponentially.
If we hire someone who is great at auditing, yet average at tax preparation, we're going to make sure they focus on getting even better at auditing, and keep the tax work assigned to others with strengths in that area.
If you haven't taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, it's enlightening. As the book points out, the assessment does not necessarily measure your strengths, it measures your talent, "...we have discovered that knowledge and skills - along with regular practice - are most helpful when they serve as amplifiers for your natural talents."
- My particular strength areas, with descriptive phrases based on the book's definitions, are as follows:
- Competition: Rooted in comparison - if you can compare, you can compete
- Futuristic: Fascinated with the future, visions of the future energize you and pull you forward.
- Learner: Love of learning
- Maximizer: Transforming something strong into superb
- Relator: Derive pleasure and strength from being around close friends
I'm always interested in hearing other people's strengths. If you give StrengthsFinder a try, share your results with others in your organization and start to manage people with their strengths/talents in mind. Leverage strengths - don't accentuate weaknesses. Good luck!
"Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power." - William James
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Over the last several years, the Government of Canada has funded programs designed to help Canadians adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Regional Adaptation Collaborative (RAC) Program is part of this investment. It is a three-year, $30 million, program delivered in cooperation with all provinces and territories.
The Governments of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador partnered to deliver the Atlantic portion of this program. The Atlantic Regional Adaptation Collaborative, administered through the Atlantic Climate Adaptation Solutions Association (ACASA), worked to develop tools and resources that can help decision makers address:
- coastal erosion,
- coastal and inland flooding,
- infrastructure design, and
- groundwater management.
From 2009 to 2012, Natural Resources Canada provided $3.5 Million to the region. The Atlantic Provinces contributed an additional $4.6 Million.
For more information, please visit the Natural Resources Canada website.
- Date modified:
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What the learner needs to know, understand or be able to do
The learner will:
Take part in an activity to support their own mental health and wellbeing.
What the learner need to demonstrate in order to meet the learning outcome
The learner can:
- Choose one activity that can support their own mental health and wellbeing
- Participate in an activity to look after own mental health and wellbeing for a minimum of three weeks
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1 Answer | Add Yours
A figure of speech in poetry is also known as literary devices or poetic devices. The main figure of speech used in the poem is one of personification.
Personification according to the eNotes site is:
a figure of speech in which abstractions, animals, ideas, and inanimate objects are endowed with human form, character, traits, or sensibilities.
What this means is that non-human things are given traits that only humans typically have. An example of personification would be "the wind is laughing" or "the clouds are screaming". Wind cannot laugh and clouds cannot scream. Only people can laugh and scream.
The entire poem "Mirror", by Sylvia Plath" is a personification poem. The personification is denoted by the title of the poem. Without the title, one could justifiably assume that the poem is about a person given the human characteristics depicted in the poem itself.
Whatever I see, I swallow immediately.
Here, the line refers to a mirror swallowing the reflection seen in the glass. Mirrors cannot swallow anything, but people can. Therefore, this examples the personification used in the poem.
Another figure of speech that exists in the poem is one of hyperbolic language. A hyperbole, as defined by eNotes, is:
obvious and deliberate exaggeration or an extravagant statement.
Basically, a hyperbole is an over-exaggeration of the truth. Here, an example of hyperbolic language is:
Now I am a lake.
The mirror is stating (personification- mirrors cannot state anything) that it is a lake. This qualifies as a hyperbole because a mirror is nothing like a lake- it is small and has no depth (physically). The hyperbole exists because the mirror is describing how deeply one can look into a mirror and it would seem that the mirror is endless and deep.
The last example of figurative speech in the poem is one of a simile. A simile is a comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as".
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.
The comparison is the image of the woman reflected in the mirror to that of a fish.
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The rise of China as a major player on the international stage over the past few decades has been breathtaking. This interdisciplinary course introduces students to some of the key challenges which face China today through the study and analysis of topics such as population, politics, geography, economics, culture and the environment.
Contents & Topics
Topics covered in the course include:
- Law and human rights
- International security
- Hanification of minorities
- Protest culture
Case studies presented and discussed in the course include Mao Zedong, China and Africa, CCP land grabs, China and the internet, Tibet, copyright and IP, the Three Gorges Dam, and Taiwan.
Goals and Objectives
The purpose of this course is to develop the skills needed to independently learn about and understand the nations of the world. With China as a giant case study, students will: analyze the impact of history, geography, economics, religion, politics, culture and language on nations; analyze challenges involving this dynamic nation with ancient roots; better understand the growing importance of China in international affairs and use these analytical skills to better understand any nation or region of the world.
This challenging yet rewarding two-credit blended learning course requires, at a minimum, six hours of work per week, including weekly face-to-face and online class participation, reading assignments, quizzes, written assignments, unit tests, a research paper, and a final project. Students will also read China Road, by Rob Gifford, and Contemporary China - An Introduction, by Michael Dillon. Access to a computer and the internet is also required for the course as the course calendar, assignment descriptions, online activities and the submission of all assignments are done via I-Learn.
- Completion of Writing and Reasoning (FDENG 101) with a D- or higher
- Completion of American Foundations (FDAMF 101) with a D- or higher
- Completion of Foundations of Humanities (FDCA 101) with a D- or higher
Winter, Spring, Fall
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Vlogging throughout an intensive wet lab practical
This article will show an example of how lab practicals can make use of vlogging for mimicking real life in a course.
Course: AFI31806 Aquaculture Production Systems
Period: Period 2
Short Introduction and background
Introduction and story behind the emergence of this learning activity. What was the need, what issue/problem was the teacher facing and wanted to resolve?
In this course, students acquire knowledge of and experience with biological, physical and chemical water quality control in aquaculture production systems. These systems are being used in aquatic research facilities and commercial aquaculture. The course practical specifically focuses on Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS).
During lectures and tutorials, students receive theoretical information on how to design and manage different aquaculture systems taking into account biological, physical and chemical processes that occur in the water and water treatment units, which affect fish production and welfare.
During the practical sessions, students are responsible for:
- building their own mini RAS
- managing the system and maintaining the water quality parameters
- taking care of live fish in the tanks of each RAS
The practical is quite extensive since it includes taking care of live animals. Students in groups manage the tanks, feed the fish, take care of water quality, etc. for a duration of 5 weeks, 7 days per week.
Due to corona restrictions, it was not possible for the students to do the practical session in the Aquatic Research Facility of Carus, the animal research facility of WUR (Carus-ARF). However, the application of the theoretical knowledge in practice is an important learning objective of the course - using such knowledge to evaluate the daily management actions on the RAS water quality performance and fish welfare. Therefore, the course offers very important skills to students for future occupations in aquaculture sector where they have to manage few thousands of fish, but also for those that want to continue in research and perform experimental studies involving aquatic organisms.
Mimicking real life in this course is therefore of great importance. Hence, the lecturers investigated ways to replace this practical session with something that approached that experience as close as possible.
Relevant tools / apps (software) or hardware used
- OneDrive - used to communicate data across all relevant parties (lecturers, student assistant, students)
- MS Teams - used for vlogging with the student assistant in the lab and for consultation sessions with the lecturers
- Gimble - vlogging hardware (rented via WUR)
- Cell phone - to record the vlogging
What has been learned after this lesson/activity has been executed ?
- Integrate insights in biological, physical and chemical processes occurring in water into the design of sustainable aquaculture production units, while considering input needs and environmental impacts
- Apply and control the main biological processes affecting water quality in aquatic ecosystems
- Design and operate outdoor and indoor recirculating aquaculture systems
- Apply the principles governing the management of aquaculture production systems to the maintenance, design or restoration of natural or man-made aquatic ecosystems
Lesson idea / Learning activity
Specific description and demonstration of the lesson idea/learning activity.
The students work in groups of 4-6 (the preferred group size is 4 students). Normally they would be responsible for building the RAS system and then for maintaining the systems and taking care of the fish living in those systems. They would do this taking turns, because it would require them to check-in and take several actions every day of the week, for a duration of 5 weeks. Live animals need daily care.
The first step would be to build the RAS. This step was replaced by a practical video with animated elements (see the second video), created by the educational video team. In this video, the different components and their functioning were explained, helping the students to understand how the RAS works. This would only cover the first practical morning of the course. For the practical, the normal setup was still the same as earlier years; there were 10 groups of students and each group was responsible for maintaining one RAS housing 30 common carps.
For the majority of the 35-day lasting practical, another solution involving video was used; vlogging. This vlogging was done by a single student-assistant who was present at the RAS systems for 35 consecutive days. The process that is explained below was hence repeated 35 times (each student being 6 -7 days ‘responsible’ and trained under supervision (5 minutes feedback and 5 minutes vlogging per student each day).
Every morning the student assistant would measure the water quality parameters in each of the 10 RAS and provide the data to each student group via an Excel file shared in OneDrive (one Excel sheet was allocated per group). Collected data (time series) were directly visualised in graphs to create optimal conditions for management actions and feedback on proposed management decisions of students. The students used the Excel file in which all data about the fish (number, daily feed ration etc), the water quality parameters (temperature, oxygen, pH, etc) and the approved management actions (temperature, pH, oxygen, etc) of the previous days were registered.
Based on those data, the student groups had to make decisions for their consecutive actions and had to register those decisions in the Excel file. They would discuss their intended actions with the lecturers during a feedback or consultation session every day (7 days a week) and they would ask for advice if needed. During the consultation session, a single (rotating) representative of each group was present, and there was time for consultation for each group. They would propose their management decisions based on the water quality measurements and they could ask questions about the measurements, or about the next steps required. Note: if the decisions would be detrimental for the fish, the lecturers would interfere. Then, they would go to the vlogging student assistant; one group at the time.
The vlogging student assistant had a cell phone attached to a gimble for a vlogging setup, see the video below what this vlogging looked like. He called the responsible student (5-10 minutes) and discussed the agreed actions accordingly. E.g. the students would indicate the amount of feed required to feed the fish, they would be able to check the filters in case cleaning was required, they could check the behaviour of the fish during feeding and the clarity of the water for instance, which were visible on the camera that was attached to the gimble. In that way, the student could follow what was done and see how the fish were responding. The student assistant also administered all taken actions in the Excel file, so that the students could discuss and take action on those things again the next day.
Even though the student-assistant performed the actions, the students were ‘fully responsible’ for the well-being of their fish and their environment. That all groups also participated actively during the weekend sessions, showed that they were engaged. The feedback that the lecturers and student-assistant received on these practicals was very positive.
Student reactions in the course evaluation
What did you like about the course (remarks selected are restricted to the vlogging in practical 1):
- "We could experience Practical 1 learning despite being fully online It was really sad that we could not do the practical in real life, however, the alternative with the vlogging was very nice."
- "I really like that we could still manage the fish. It really helped to engage with the content by just doing it although it was online."
- "It was really nice to be able to still do a practicum, online."
- "The fact that we were still able to do the experiment even though we were not able to be at Carus present ourselves. Although I think that we would have learned more from doing it at the Carus facility ourselves."
- "The practicals with the carp, even though we weren’t able to visit the lab, practical knowledge is always a great learning method in my opinion."
Which online elements in this course did you like the most and why (selected remarks are restricted to vlogging):
- "I really liked video calling the fish."
- "The group work and the management vlogging online lectures and practical."
- "The vlogging with Taofik."
- "It made me feel like we were still an active part of the experiment."
- "The vlogging!"
- "The VLOGS from Taofik and MS teams."
- "Two practicals, they are very useful."
- "Vlogging for Practical 1 is a great idea, but the amount of idle waiting time to be called was unnecessary. Sometime we got called very late (later than 13:30), pushing it to overlap with the afternoon course."
There were no negative remarks in relation to vlogging (best alternative when a real-life practical is not possible). However, there were remarks from students that the real-life situation is preferred. One student unsubscribed from the course because he wanted to do the practical next year in real life.
Lessons learned / Tips
Mentions tips lecturer has for colleagues based on their experience.
It went really well and the experience was as close as it could get given the current circumstances. Of course, a real-life practical is always better. Although maybe an intermediate format could be where 5 groups work with 5 vlogging systems to keep updated their own group members. Certainly following this experience, the lecturers will keep the consultation sessions and the Excel in OneDrive to keep track of the data and actions. This is because the consultation and feedback were really contributing to the learning experience of the students. The use of a shared Excel file with 10 excel sheets resulted in very good control over the process; a certain problem and its solution were always traceable in the data and available for all students in the course.
Logistically it was a bit of a challenge because there were 10 groups and group #10 was always the last one being called by the student-assistant. This could perhaps be improved by randomisation.
Teacher(s): Fotini Kokou, Ep Eding, Geert Wiegertjes
Educational supporters/ESC contact: Senna Tamminga, Gerrit Bakker, Karly van Gorp
Author (interviewer): Karly van Gorp
- Manuals for adding MS Teams within Brightspace: Brightspace Help for Lecturers
- Microsoft tutorials on how to set-up your MS Teams page: Microsoft Support
- Manuals for using OneDrive with Brightspace: Brightspace Help for Lecturers
- The impression of the vlogging experience (Video executed and filmed by the student assistant Taofik Momoh. Edited by Esther Nijkamp.): (video below)
- Instruction video on the RAS system (Video Executed by: Fotini Kokou and Ep Eding. Filmed and edited by Educational Media Team.): (video below)
Interested in learning more about Showcases of learning activities?
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Eugenics began as a science studied by Francis Galton and Charles Darwin, his relative, in 1883. The reason for the study was to find a way to make sure human beings in the future evolved into socially acceptable members of society. This meant both in physical form and intellect. The eugenics idea came from ancient times but became popular during Europe’s enlightenment period. It was a time when scientists began questioning who we are and where we come from. SinceDarwin’s theory of evolution explained how species evolved through natural selection, Galton theorized the same could also be done artificially in humans. It caused scientists and fellow enthusiasts to think about what society would look like if scientists could directly manage its members by either promoting yearned for characteristics or preventing unwanted ones from occurring.
In the first part of the 20th century, eugenics was seen as a tool to control a persons living environment so that they could live disease-free. Studies were done and the result provided information for better nutrition, new medical remedies and health education, to include prenatal care.
From the popular characteristics that were considered to be good, scientists began studying how genes could be identified and singled out in the later part of the 20th century. This study coupled with the evidence gathered of individuals who displayed high intellect and their results began to spread across scientific communities. Much was learned from them but the studies did not always yield positive results. Sometimes they drew wedges in social circles when it was deemed that bad behavior was due to having bad genes. Studies showed the bad genes as well as good were found in abundance in different areas of societies.
Ethical problems arose as well when arguments against the rights of women to bear children or use birth control as part of informed choices emerged in political discussions. One question that was raised was how would birth control contributed to the spread of genes good or bad if controls on sex were not social enforced? This gave radicals further fuel to debate with and placed a moral monkey wrench into the picture.
Forced sterilization emerged as a solution to the spread of bad genes that burdened society and deemed certain people unfit to reproduce. People started advocating new laws to prevent immigrating families of people with bad genes from entering the US. The Immigration Act of 1924 was passed in Congress to set rules and guidelines on immigration. Eugenics influenced this passing. The idea of forced sterilization and control of reproduction however met with resistance among those who opposed it in 1930 to include the Catholic Church. The science was reduced to that of genetic study under a microscope rather than delivered measures forced upon individuals. It remains as a foundation of genetic study that is done today.
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A new report from the National Council on Teacher Quality finds that compared to other college majors, grading standards for students in teacher preparation programs are a whole lot easier. According to NCTQ authors:
Using evidence from more than 500 higher education institutions that turn out nearly half of the nation’s new teachers each year, we find that in a majority of institutions (58 percent), grading standards for teacher candidates are much lower than for students in other majors on the same campus.
Second, we find a strong link between high grades and a lack of rigorous coursework, with the primary cause being assignments that fail to develop the critical skills and knowledge every new teacher needs.
Prospective teachers are almost half again as likely as students in other majors to graduate with grade-based honors. While 30 percent of all graduating students at the 509 institutions earn honors, 44 percent of teacher candidates receive this distinction — a substantial 14 point differential.
A closer look at the coursework prospective teachers takes helps explain why this is so. Compared to other majors where students are expected to apply knowledge and skills to meet specified objectives through criterion-referenced assignments, teaching candidates are more than twice as likely to have what the NCTQ calls criterion-deficit assignments, namely coursework that does refer to any objective standard.
As US News & World Report’s Allie Bidwell reports:
"You’re not doing anyone any favors … by handing out meaningless A's that send a signal that says you’re prepared, and you get into a real classroom and it’s like hitting a brick wall," says Kate Walsh, president of the council. "Every piece of evidence points to the fact that teachers aren't getting prepared adequately to enter the classroom, by and large." …
One way to ensure better outcomes, Walsh says, is to have administrators and faculty involved in teacher preparation programs come together to define a common set of expectations for excellence within a program – in other words, what type of work constitutes an A and what constitutes a C.
"The truth of the matter is the prevalence of these criterion-deficient assignments are really a result of a field that has yet to embrace there are certain strategies and techniques and knowledge and skills that work better than others," Walsh says. "The field is still very much of the mindset that whatever you want to teach about anything is fine, that the teacher preparation candidates will decide on their own how to teach."
There are better ways to get well prepared teachers into the classroom. Raising admissions standards would help ensure better qualified candidates enter teacher preparation programs to begin with. Instructors should have extensive and recent classroom experience, and teaching candidates should have rigorous practical classroom training with expert teaching mentors. Finally, schools of education should not be the primary providers of teacher training programs. With a near monopoly, they have little reason to ensure that their teaching graduates are well prepared or effective in the classroom. Teach for America, for example, provides excellent training and mentorships, and gets great results. Alternative programs such as TFA should be encouraged and allowed to compete with schools of education to improve the overall quality of the American teaching force.
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GOOD GRAMMAR Lessons Without Grief
In addition to your child learning to express his thoughts in writing, your child needs Grammar lessons. Writing mechanics such as punctuation, spelling, and word usage are important, but I’ve yet to meet a child with learning disabilities who loves his grammar lessons!
While there are many programs that teach grammar skills, few programs have multi-sensory grammar lessons. For kids who struggle with print-on-paper learning, learning grammar can be a challenge. Additionally, if your child has Executive Functioning deficits or ADHD, then you may need to address those issues too in order for your child to learn his grammar lessons successfully. It’s an added bonus if your child can actually apply what he has learned. 😉
Given that grammar lessons are a chore for most kids with LD issues, I’d like to suggest two things:
1) Make your grammar lessons as fun as possible using the entertainment factor, and
2) Forget diagramming sentences and all of the nit-picky stuff that your child will never use outside of schoolwork!
Let’s look at these two suggestions separately.
FIRST, Make Grammar Lessons FUN!
You and I both know grammar mistakes can be fun and funny. Take the example of, “Jane loves cooking horses and her family.” Without any commas, that is an alarming sentence. Correct punctuation gives us, “Jane loves cooking, horses, and her family,” which has an entirely different meaning.
Using a program like Laugh Your Way Through Grammar can be THE ticket to engaging your child in his grammar lessons. The comical nature of Laughing Your Way through Grammar lessons helps kids understand and remember the importance of comma placement. We used Laugh Your Way Through Grammar for our grammar lessons, and it was fun for my guys to laugh at their mistakes once they realized the different meanings a sentence has based upon punctuation.
Another fun favorite is Painless Grammar (Barron’s Painless Series). The Painless series of books seeks to make rather boring topics interesting and memorable. A humorous approach to grammar lessons applies to these books too, so check it out if your child is hating grammar!
If you Search on Amazon for Grammar Fun, you will find a number of books with grammar lessons built upon the fun-factor.
Second, Forget Diagramming Sentences!
I know it is supposed to help a child understand the proper structure and to learn grammar within sentences. However, diagramming sentences, memorizing different clauses or the more complicated parts of speech has no practical use whatsoever when it comes to real life–or anything beyond school. For many kids with LD issues, trying to dissect sentences is torturous at best and an impossible task for most.
The main goal is for your child’s grammar lessons is to be able to write a proper sentence, using proper grammar, and to be able to convey his thoughts in writing. Therefore, I’d like to suggest diagramming is unnecessary fluff. Learning to identify parts of speech or diagram sentences is not worth the battle, in my humble opinion. 😉
Unless your child plans on being an English teacher, then your main goal should be to teach your child proper usage of commas, colons, semi-colons, etc. If you’re an English teacher, please don’t write to me and tell me how important sentence diagramming is–when is the last time an adult asked you to diagram a sentence outside of a classroom?
As a reaffirmation of skipping sentence diagramming, parts of speech, etc., my boys performed fabulously in college during English 101 and 102, earning all A’s. My boys didn’t have to diagram anything, identify anything, nor did I when I was in college. There may be an occasional college out there that requires it, but that is more likely the case if a person is majoring in English.
That said, please refer to the first section to make grammar lessons fun, and consider the programs in the next section to help your child learn grammar. The main reason for formal instruction outside of grammar fun is to enable your child to score well on standardized tests that quiz on punctuation.
Grammar Lessons and Programs Recommended by Learning Abled Kids’ Moms
One favorite of many is **Shurley Grammar. This program has catchy ‘jingles’ to help children remember rules. The program is thorough, sequential, and provides extensive instruction. Some parents find the program to be too cumbersome, but many who stick with it long-term think it is the best program available.
Applied Grammar is a great program for Learning Abled Kids. This program is colorful and multi-sensory in nature, which definitely helps with your child’s learning engagement. Learning grammar with the applied program involves teaching your child weekly grammar lessons that are about 15 minutes long. This lesson length is ideal for kids with short attention spans. There is about 15 to 20 minutes of application per lesson, which can be practiced immediately after the lesson. Grammar is then practiced throughout the week in a natural way. The best thing about Applied Grammar is that it is applied. Using it properly in writing assignments helps your child see the practical aspects of the grammar lessons.
Linguisystem’s Grammar Games and energetic grammar activities help engage your child in grammar lessons. Again, this adds in the “fun factor,” which can be of great benefit to your child. The Linguisystems products are primarily targeted towards Speech-Language Pathologists, and as such, the programs are specifically designed for kids who struggle with learning. Therefore, as far as direct instruction in grammar learning goes, the Linguisystems programs are likely to allow your child to learn grammar more effectively than using traditional mass market grammar programs.
Somewhat Multisensory Grammar Programs
Some of our favorite grammar lessons include the books produced by Critical Thinking Company. The Language Mechanic, Punctuation Puzzlers, and Editor-in-Chief are a few of the great series they have available in the Critical Thinking Company’s Grammar line of products. Visit Critical Thinking’s BrightMinds website to see series not available elsewhere.
If your child has a visual / auditory learning style or loves computers, you may find a Grammar Software program provides more enjoyable grammar lessons. Since grammar is an aspect of written language that is generally either right or wrong, using a software program with immediate feedback is a good way to help your child learn.
If, however, your child is not a computer lover, he may find the program frustrating if he doesn’t do well with entering the proper responses. We used some software for our grammar lessons (the Editor In Chief program), which worked alright for my boys. They didn’t love it, but that was mostly because it was grammar!
Wishing you and your child great luck with your grammar lessons.
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Contracts: The Essential Business Desk Reference
There’s no reason to risk your hard-earned money signing a contract you don’t understand. With Contracts: The Essential Business Desk Reference, you get easy-to-understand explanations for every common contract term. In no time, you’ll grasp mysterious concepts like “force majeur,” “indemnity,” and “time is of the essence.”
Contracts: The Essential Business Desk Reference is more than just an A–Z explanation of over 300 terms. It also includes:
- common negotiating strategies
- examples of contract provisions
- sample contract clauses and entire contracts
- examples of illegal and dangerous contract clauses
- what to expect if you or the other side breaks a contract
- up-to-date explanations of electronic contracts, and
- tips on amending and modifying agreements.
Whether you’re starting a business, signing a lease, hiring a new employee or independent contractor, licensing a concept, selling a boat, or contracting for a new fireplace, Contracts: The Essential Business Desk Reference can help. A must-have for small business owners, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and law students—and anyone else whose success is built around understanding and negotiating agreements.
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The practice of travelling into space for recreational purposes: space tourism could be a $10 billion-per-year industry within two decades
More example sentences
- There is also growing acceptance of suborbital markets beyond space tourism.
- U.S. lawmakers, too, are taking the first steps to regulate space tourism.
- Its designers are trying to win a $10 million contest to encourage space tourism.
space tourist noun
- Example sentences
- Two mega-rich businessmen have already become space tourists after paying a fee of around 20 million dollars for the privilege.
- In early 2001 Dennis Tito became the first space tourist when he spent a week on the ISS.
- Cumulatively, space tourists have spent almost three months in space.
Definition of space tourism in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed.
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- Read More
Cold feet can be caused by poor circulation, excessive perspiration or neurological conditions that limit blood flow to the feet. In some cases, cold feet may be due to one or more of these problems. Management of cold feet is often a matter of being pro-active, avoiding a cold or wet environment. Specific medical conditions that contribute to cold feet are discussed in this article.
- Sensation of cold is symmetrical in both feet
- Symptoms worsened by exposure to damp conditions
- Cold hands often found concurrent with cold feet
Warm feet are the product of good circulation and adequate neurological innervation of the feet. Warmth is brought to the foot by way of arterial blood flow. Warm blood nourishes the tissue of the leg and foot providing oxygen and stabilizing the body temperature. The most obvious reason for cold feet is a decrease in normal circulation. Many folks with compromised circulation describe feeling cold feet not only in the winter months but throughout the entire year.
Causes and contributing factors
One consideration in keeping the feet warm is heat loss. There are a number of ways that the body loses heat. Heat can be lost by conduction. Water is a great conductor of heat. Heat is also lost by windy conditions (convection) and contacting a cooler surface (radiation) such as standing on cold concrete or snow.
Alcohol, hunger, anemia, and cardiovascular disease all make you more susceptible to heat loss and cold weather injury. Smoking and use of smokeless tobacco can contribute to cold feet. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor that limits blood flow to small vessels.
Anxiety can also contribute to cold feet and hands. Anxiety increases perspiration of the hands and feet, resulting in conductive heat loss. Anxiety also results in vasoconstriction that limits blood flow to the extremities.
Here are a few tips to protect yourself from the cold this year:
- Be sure your feet are dry- Perspiration is the single most common contributing factor to cold feet. Frequent changes of socks, rotating shoes and using a drying solution on the feet are essential in limiting the amount of moisture surrounding the foot.
- Wear loose shoes - In an attempt to make the feet warmer we’ll wear thicker socks. The tighter the shoe, the greater the constriction of blood flow to the feet and toes.
- Avoid nicotine - Nicotine is a peripheral vasoconstrictor and will significantly contribute to cold feet and hands.
- Avoid alcohol - Alcohol makes you more susceptible to heat loss. Best to just go without.
- Wear a hat - No, I haven’t talked to your mom, but your mom was right. 30% of heat loss is from the head. Wear a hat and your feet will be warmer.
When to contact your doctor
Cold hands and feet can be a symptom of other medical conditions. Most cases of cold hands and feet can be managed by being proactive and avoiding situations where you are exposed to cold or wet environments. If your symptoms include pain or changes in the skin as a result of cold exposure, consult your podiatrist or family doctor for treatment.
References are pending.
Author(s) and date
This article was written by Myfootshop.com medical director Jeffrey A. Oster, DPM.
Competing Interests -None
Cite this article as: Oster, Jeffrey. Cold Feet. http://myfootshop.com/article/cold-feet
Most recent article update: December 8, 2018.
Cold Feet by Myfootshop.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
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Supposedly on Tuesday, but they just reschedule due to most of them is working in shift. So, I'm okay je.
Location? Tat Nasi Ayam, Sri Rampai. Nearest Wahab Cendol ( Quite Famous). However before we went there, we pleasuring ourself at Bazar Ramadhan Wangsa Maju. Bought some cream puff, Takoyaki<--my all time favourite! Hii. Then, we move to the restaurant. Already reserved. So, its okay. Managed to get the table la kan. Around 6.45pm, people are start filling all the tables. Memang dapat sambutan la kan?
Order? Nasi ayam special. Apa yang special? Just an extra rice. Dayah order Nasi Itik. Yummy. Drink? Mostly juices.
Activity? Just talking. After meal, we stop by at Bazar nearest. They buy dresses, shirt and etc. Ok la. Murah dan lawa. Me? None. Pokai. HAHAHA
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One of the challenging issues raised for Christians by the science of evolution is understanding what it means for an evolved human to be made in the image of God (imago Dei). Evolutionary theory implies that species are not neatly distinguished from one another in discrete categories. Instead, it posits that the ancestry of life on earth is better understood as a slow, continuous development with ever-changing lines differentiating species from one another. Species, including humans, have changed over time and continue to change. If, according to evolutionary theory, the human species has evolved from non-human ancestors over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, how might we understand humans as uniquely bearing the image of God?
In a previous BioLogos blog post, Dennis Venema suggests that modern homo sapiens have evolved along “different evolutionary trajectories.” While all modern homo sapiens share common ancestors from Africa, some homo sapiens also have Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestors. Who, then, were divine image-bearers – the common ancestors from Africa, Neanderthals, Denisovans, their mixed species children, or all of the above? In other words, if the lines differentiating species from one another are less clear and the development of a species is seen as an extended, continuous process involving the mixing of different related species, how are we to understand modern humans as divine image-bearers in comparison to the direct ancestors of humans who presumably were not?
One way of addressing this question is to consider the role divine image-bearers are given and the capacities required for that role. If bearing God’s image requires a particular role with particular capacities, those species that lack those capacities and therefore cannot act in that role are not image bearers of God. Those species that possess those capacities may then be considered potential image bearers, in the sense that these species have the necessary capacities for this role. In this way, a line may be drawn between direct ancestors of humans that most likely did not bear the image of God and those that may have. We believe this approach is compatible with existing interpretations of the imago—whether Christological, relational (i.e., being in relationship with God), functional (i.e. fulfilling God’s role or commission to humankind)—and also compatible with understanding how God could have used natural processes to enable humans to become unique image bearers. (Tomorrow’s post will address a different approach to understanding the image of God in the context of evolution as well.)
This method is, of course, somewhat complicated by disagreements concerning what it means to be made in the image of God. These disagreements, while certainly interesting, will not be resolved here. For the sake of this post, one well-established feature of the imago Dei will be focused on: the role of dominion or stewardship over creation. We will then consider which capacities are required for this role to be performed in a meaningful way. Two broad examples are the ability to learn about creation and flexibly care for different species with different needs and the ability to plan for the benefit of these species.
The ability to learn about creation is important for dominion because different species require different care. Here we may discuss various psychological capacities that enable this ability. Theory of mind—the ability to consider the intentions, desires, and beliefs of other minds—is greatly useful. In order for a divine image-bearer to exercise dominion, he or she must understand that gazelles prefer to eat grass and lions prefer to eat gazelles. Various aspects of intuitive biology may also be useful as they allow humans to understand the basic needs of species in general (e.g., food, water, shelter, etc.) and to differentiate between species and attribute specific needs to them. These abilities, in turn, allow humans to flexibly care for different species with different needs. The sheep can be led to pasture and the fish left in its pond where they may both respectively thrive, rather than applying one method of care to both.
In order to helpfully rule over creation, image bearers also need to plan ahead for the benefit of these species. Sheep taken to the same pasture too often may create an environment that can no longer sustain the life of the sheep or the life of other co-existing species. Here we may also speak of particular psychological capacities, such as a certain amount of self-control and the ability to delay gratification. Without these abilities, humanity may wreak havoc on ecosystems in order to pursue their own gain or obtain immediate rewards. Further, image bearers may need to examine potential futures, set goals, and implement these goals. In this way image bearers may foresee problems and helpfully avoid them.
To a degree, these capacities exist in other species as well, but the extent to which they exist in the human species is unique. This method may allow us to say that those groups of humans that possessed these capacities, such as theory of mind and self-regulation, were potentially image bearers, but those groups of direct ancestors of humans that lacked these capacities were likely not image bearers. For example, if Neanderthals lacked a number of necessary capacities for dominion, it may be accurate to say that they were likely not image bearers. But, if Neanderthals, like modern humans, possessed these capacities and were capable of exercising a meaningful amount of dominion over creation, it may be accurate to say they were potential image bearers.
This method does raise further questions about humans or groups of humans with limited capacities in these areas, and for this reason, this method may be better applied to species as a whole, rather than to individuals. Tomorrow’s post will address the different ways by which humans have borne the image of God across time.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://biologos.org/blog/evolution-and-image-bearers-part-1
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Fig.1-Forming the correct material shape inside the pinch-off is critical to part performance. That shape is determined by both the pinch-off design and processing conditions.
Fig.2A-Changing the amount of material compression in the flash pocket will also change the amount of material on the inside of the part at the pinch-off seam.
Fig.2B-In case of excess material inside the part at the seam, adding half-round channels to the flash pocket provides more volume and less compression of flash material so less is forced back into the part.
Fig.2C-If the problem is too little material inside the pinch-off, one solution is this step-down design of the flash pocket to press more material back into the part.
Extrusion blow molded parts often fail at the parison pinch-off seam of the mold parting line. Common forms of part failure at the pinch-off are cracking from impact, fatigue failure from flexing, or chemical stress cracking. Once the mode of failure is identified, the appropriate processing changes or pinch-off design modifications can be selected to optimize part performance and appearance.
Part failure along the parting line is related to material processing conditions, parison geometry, molding conditions, mold design, or a combination of these factors. Developing the optimal material shape inside the part at the pinch-off is a key to building parting-line integrity.
The pinch-off mold section is designed to cut through the excess extruded material (flash) that extends beyond the part and separate it along the mold parting line. When the mold closes on an extruded parison, three segments are formed: the top flash (parison between the die and the part), the part, and the bottom flash/tail (parison below the part). In some cases, the whole part is surrounded by flash and is considered fully flashed (part plus flash).
The array of pinch-off designs is endless, often selected from experience or designed for use in specific applications. For instance, multilayer barrier pinch-offs require bonding or manipulation of the barrier layer to maintain the part’s barrier properties. Some mold designs, including pinch-off designs, are patented, so it is always best to check before redesigning.
Optimizing the seam
Both processing conditions and mold pinch-off geometry will influence the shape of the material inside the part and the integrity of the parison bond. The objective is to produce a consistent material geometry along the pinch-off weld. Figure 1 illustrates common shapes of the material inside the part at the pinch-off. Figure 1A shows excess material along the seam. That excess material is likely to shrink and warp because it is not cooled at the same rate as the surrounding part wall. Slower cooling may also increase the residual stress and degree of crystallinity in some materials such as HDPE, increasing the tendency for chemical stress cracking.
Figure 1B shows a seam configuration optimal for cooling and strength. The material thickness is the same as or slightly thicker than the adjacent part wall.
Figure 1C illustrates a “V” notch or weak bond area. This seam is likely to split with impact or show fatigue failure with bending. Some materials, like polycarbonate, tend to have impact failure with both thin notched sections and thick stiff sections.
To evaluate and correct part pinch-off failures, first confirm that the part weight and material thickness are within specifications. Second, cut the part and examine the parting-line pinch-off and wall thickness throughout the part. Under magnification, examine the outside of the part along the pinch-off for a notch or indentation, which can occur from flash that is removed too hot or too cold or from damage to the mold pinch-off land. Check the land for “coining” damage if a notch is found.
Process adjustments should be tried to improve material distribution and bonding before considering making changes to the mold. Consider the following types of process changes for pinch-off improvement:
- Material compression in the flash pocket: Changing parison thickness and the mold slow-close speed and cushion will change the amount of material squeezed back into the part. Adjust the slow-close distance and cushion just before mold lock-up to add or decrease material pushed back (Fig. 1). Also, the parison melt viscosity varies according to the melt temperature and material type. Higher-viscosity material causes greater material push-back into the part.
- Material delivery: Confirm that the parison melt temperature and moisture levels are within the manufacturer’s recommended conditions. Adjust parison programming to distribute the material uniformly as per product specifications. Change die and/or mandrel size to adjust parison diameter and wall thickness. Add parison die shaping to distribute material more evenly in the part.
- Mold location and movement: Close the mold at a speed that captures the parison uniformly, minimizing material sag and allowing the air to vent. Also, adjust the mold location in relationship to the die and any pre-pinch device.
- Air management: Adjust the pre-blow and blowing air pressures and flow rates. A pre-pinch device can be added or adjusted to help capture air in the parison and improve material distribution without a blowout. Also, adjust blowing air duration and pressure to optimize part cooling. Examine the part’s outer surface to confirm that mold venting is adequate.
To properly evaluate your efforts to improve the pinch-off seam, be sure to document all processing and mechanical changes in the sequence that they were made. If possible, keep digital pictures of the results of changes for the record.
Fixing pinch-off design
If processing changes do not correct pinch-off failures, it’s time to look at pinch-off design geometry. Compare the material geometry formed inside the part by the pinch-off with those in Fig. 1. In some cases, the design for optimal pinch-off material uniformity will change in different sections of the mold, i.e., top versus bottom. A new mold is usually built “metal-safe” so that mold changes can be made by removing metal. Consider several approaches to design changes before committing to mold modification. Also confirm the location of mold cooling lines and internal components and ask the mold maker for suggestions before making any mold modifications.
Excess material inside the part at the pinch-off, like in Fig.1A, is reduced by decreasing the material compression in the flash pocket. The solution in Fig. 2A is a relatively simple mold modification to increase the flash pocket depth. The solution in Fig. 2B consists of half-round channels that are added perpendicular to the pinch-off to reduce the amount of material that is compressed close to the pinch-off land. The compression area adjacent to the pinch-off land is maintained to provide better response to changes in molding conditions. Modification 2B also shapes the flash to improve cooling and make the flash more rigid and less likely to fall back on the part. The 2B design is also less sensitive to minor fluctuations in parison thickness and length.
Thin material inside the part at the pinch-off (Fig. 1C) is alleviated by forcing additional material back into the part by increasing the parison compression or by restricting material from moving away from the pinch-off. A simple way to increase compression in the flash pocket is by adding metal on each mold half to decrease the flash pocket depth. A flash pocket depth of 1.4 to 1.7 times the parison wall thickness will usually create sufficient material compression in the flash pocket. Figure 2C adds a step-down flash pocket and Fig. 2D uses two opposed dams to compress material into the part.
Depending on the mold material and configuration, dams may be added to the flash pocket without changing the entire flash pocket surface area. Dam height and width can be modified if further changes are required. Always confirm that clamp tonnage is adequate for the increased material compression area while maintaining adequate blowing-air pressure.
A key component of the pinch-off is the land, a short parallel section that helps bond the material and separates the part from the flash. The land length is usually 0.125 to 0.380 mm (0.005 to 0.015 in). A longer land is more durable and produces more separation of the part and flash for improved cooling and trimming. A short land and small gap are more susceptible to damage or coining. Metal in the land should be hardened or made of a harder metal if wear from the plastic or fillers is an issue.
The land gap or separation is controlled by the mold lock-up position and by the distance the land is cut below the plane of the mold parting surface. Land thickness can be adjusted to create optimal flash thickness for easy part removal and trimming. With thin material in the land, the flash may fall off the part during the mold opening, before the part is removed. The land can be deepened if the flash separates from the part too easily. Thicker flash is stiffer, which aids part handling and flash removal. A thick land gap is often used with larger parts to aid part removal and handling, but it makes parts more difficult to trim for good appearance.
Also, changing the angle of the land to the flash pocket influences the material push-back. A sharper angle will cut through the parison with less material push-back.
Lewis Ferguson has 40 years of experience in the plastics industry, much of it in blow molding PVC and engineering thermoplastics. He worked in material and process development at Tenneco Chemical, Borg-Warner Chemicals, and GE Plastics. After retiring from GE in 1998, he founded Parisons, a blow molding consulting business in Stone Harbor, N.J. He can be reached at (609) 368-7230 or by e-mail at [email protected].
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Text and Illustrations by Jon
More displacement and greater leverage means more torque. This
concept is obvious when you compare the torque ratings between
factory small block motors and factory big block motors. However,
nowadays it is not necessary to suffer the time and switching
costs of leaping to a larger block if you are only after more
displacement. Displacement is just a factor of bore and stroke,
by increasing the stroke of your current motor you can enjoy the satisfaction of
more torque disguised in the same package.
Widespread awareness of the facts above and an abundance of
aftermarket stroker kits have made the stroker option extremely
popular. If you are out for performance, a stroker is a wise
alternative to building a motor that only meets the factory
displacement. Whether you have already built a stroker motor
or are simply researching them, take a little time to learn
the basics and understand the benefits and possible compromises
of the now popular engine building practice.
|Formula A. Displacement.
Simply a factor of bore and stroke. Increase the stroke
of your current motor and reap the benefits of more torque.
Stroker Motor (def.)
A motor that has greater than stock displacement due to an
increase in the factory crank throw. An increase in crank throw
increases stroke (the difference between the piston's top dead
center and bottom dead center position).
The illustrations below show the difference between a stock
and a stroked rotating assembly. Study the differences and you
can see what makes up a typical stroker motor. Though a bit
exaggerated for effect, the stroked cross section in Figure
Crank Throw (distance between C and D)
Rod Length (distance between B and C)
Piston Compression Height (distance between A and B)
Keep in mind that rod length
does not affect the displacement of the engine, it is common
to have a stroker motor that uses an increased crank throw,
decreased piston compression height, and stock rod length to
achieve additional stroke. We'll discuss why longer rods are
often used in stroker motors later in the article.
1. Stock Cylinder
2. Stroked Cylinder
The animation below helps visualize the effect of increased
stroke and rod length on piston travel and speed.
1. Stock Cylinder
2. Stroked Cylinder
Stroker engines are nothing new, and in fact they are not
even an aftermarket invention. If you look
closely at factory engine offerings, you'll see that changes
in displacement are often nothing more than a change in stroke.
This was a cost effective way for the factory to increase power
for larger vehicles, or future models, while reusing the same
block and accessory components.
Performance enthusiasts then caught on and they found that creative
machining and parts matching could yield more cubes while hidden
in the stock block to fool fellow racers.
|Figure 3. Offset Grinding. The rod journal is offset ground to move the centerline of the rod journal further from the centerline of the main journal. Result is increased stroke.
One of the methods used to increase stroke with a stock crank,
is called offset grinding. By offset grinding the rod journal
you move the centerline of the rod journal away from or toward
the centerline of the main journal. This will result in increased
or decreased stroke. Figure 3 above illustrates the case we
are interested in, the rod journal is ground in a manner to
increase stroke. Keep in mind that when the rod journal is offset
ground it now has a smaller diameter. The motor will require
special connecting rods with correctly sized bearing bores.
Additionally, if the rod journal is ground too much it becomes
weak. Unless you add material and regrind, you can only stroke
a motor so far with a stock crank.
Due to a demand for more stroke than offest grinding a stock
crank could achieve, many aftermarket companies developed specialized
cast and forged cranks with relocated rod journals. The specialized
stroker crank has dramatically increased the amount of stroke
you can add to your stock bottom end. Stroker cranks require
a shorter piston to keep the factory sized piston from extending
beyond the deck surface, it is also shortened to accommodate
a longer rod. In the past the only way to complete a stroker
motor was to find the right combination of rod lengths and piston
heights. This often meant researching other factory motors for
the right dimensions. It was not uncommon to have a Small Block
Ford stroker motor consisting of Pinto rods and Chevy pistons.
Longer rods are often required to increase leverage and minimize
the high degree of rod angularity created by the increase in
stroke. The longer rod also prevents the piston from being pulled
out the bottom of the cylinder bore. Rod Ratio and rod angularity
are especially important issues to consider before simply choosing
the stroker kit that yields the largest displacement for your
application. We will discuss these topics in the following section.
| (Rod Ratio Explained)
An illustrated review of the geometry behind the increasingly
popular "stroker motor". This article covers
the fundamentals and makes special note of the benefits,
compromises, and limits of stroking your block.
How to Build Big-Inch Small Blocks by George
Reid, covers the theory behind increasing displacement via bore
and stroke modifications and then dives right into stroker kit selection
and assembly. The book has pictorial build-ups on 302, 351W and
351C based stroker engines. Reid also discusses proper cylinder
head and camshaft considerations for the bigger displacement engines.
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What does Oceania mean?
The meaning of Oceania is "ocean".
Oceania is generally used as a girl's name.
It consists of 7 letters and 4 syllables and is pronounced O-cea-ni-a.
The Given Name Oceania
The water name Oceania, has a wonderfully daring quality.
A wonderfully distinctive name.
Oceania has no variant spellings.
Oceania falls into the water name category.
In contrast, the year before less than 5 girls were given the name. Less than 5 boys were given the name.
The trend's your friend. See how Oceania has changed in popularity since 1880 by visiting the Oceania Name Popularity Page.
Oceania Related Names
It may all be in the numbers.
The numbers that make up your child's name.
Numerology may give you some insight.
Children named Oceania are often content and frail but most of all they are read more >>
Oceania Name Fun
Then just follow the diagram below.
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Characterisation of semi-volatile hydrocarbon emissions from diesel engines
Exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles have recently been receiving global attention, due to potential human health effects associated with exposure to emitted pollutants. In addition, a link has recently been established between unburnt hydrocarbon (HC) emissions from diesel engines and photochemical smog. Despite being present at very low concentrations in the exhaust, these HCs may act as precursors in the formation of photochemical smog pollution. While short-chain HCs are easier to characterise and have been successfully reduced in many developed cities, longer chain HCs, most likely arising from diesel exhaust emissions, have been poorly quantified and to date, a limited range of HCs from this source has been studied. In this study, transient cycle tests were conducted to collect exhaust emissions from a Euro 3 compliant, 1.6 L test engine fuelled with three diesel fuels (SAM10, PAR10, and EUR10), using portable denuder samplers which were analysed by thermal desorption-comprehensive 2D gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (TD-GC x GC-TofMS). The SAM10 diesel had the greatest n-alkane emissions with greater emissions observed in the earlier phases (low and medium phase) of the WLTC test cycle. PAR10 diesel had the second highest n-alkane emissions and EUR10 had the lowest n-alkane emissions amongst the three fuels. Substituted alkyl-benzenes were also detected in the gas phase emissions from each fuel. The results showed that long-chain HCs were present at easily detectable concentrations in diesel engine exhaust emissions, which is critical in understanding their contribution to photochemical ozone and informing appropriate mitigation and management strategies.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; copyright is retained by the authors. Readers are welcome to reproduce, share and adapt the content without permission provided the source is attributed.
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The Power of Sport
During the final week of the first semester, through ‘The Power of Sport’ students were introduced to the ‘Power of Athletics,’ a term-long course that focuses on both the impact of being a part of a sporting community on people’s inclusivity within sports and the culture surrounding it. This will cover subjects including diversity, accessibility, and how to overcome the barriers that many people encounter when trying to join a sporting group. Consider the adaptations that have been made to sports to make them more accessible, such as wheelchair sports. Ashley Jenner, SEDA’s Director of Learning Innovations, addressed the subject himself, as shown below:
“Every day, millions of people from all over the world pour their blood, sweat and tears into their sport of choice. This can be as a player, coach, parent, administrator or even just as a fan! What is it about sports that brings out our inner passions, and how is this different for others in our communities and across the world? In The Power of Sport, students explore how elite, grassroots, and modified sports have the power to change lives. They consider common barriers to sports participation and develop programs to help overcome these barriers. They also consider their own focus sports and look at ways to make these more accessible to all people in the community. Finally, they connect with their peers to experience how teamwork and collaboration can lead to improvements in both performance and participation.” – Ashley Jenner, Director of Learning Innovations
As an introduction to the task, students were able to meet and speak to Michael Neroni. Michael runs Novita’s ‘WHEELIENET’ program. This is a service in which they bring wheelchairs to courts to help people develop a better understanding of the concerns and obstacles that individuals with disabilities face in a fun and engaging way. Throughout this day students, all spoke about how positively it affected them. They mentioned how much empathy and respect they had built up for people who were affected by disabilities.
“It was extremely tough to adjust to using a wheelchair, especially in a sporting setting. Hearing [Michael Neroni’s] story was quite inspiring, and it enabled me to let go of some old assumptions that I had bought into.” – Will Emin, Basketball Student
The class was very thankful for the help that the WHEELIENET program was able to provide, as it gave the students a real immersive introduction to their new subject. The subject will cover the term, and students will complete multiple tasks. We look forward to seeing how students approach the upcoming assignments and how they will have developed by the end of the subject.
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US 7552458 B1
An apparatus for the intelligent display of advertisements to a television services user includes a transmitter, a receiver and a display on which an electronic television program guide, television programs, and advertisements are displayed. Advertising and electronic program guide data are transmitted to a receiver used by one or more television service users. The electronic program guide data includes information characterizing television programs listed in an electronic program guide. Similarly, the advertising data includes advertisements and information characterizing the transmitted advertisements. A selection history contains information characterizing those programs selected by a user for viewing. Received advertisements are displayed to the user based upon a comparison between the information characterizing each of the plurality of advertisements and the information in the selection history.
1. A method for broadcasting and displaying advertisements comprising:
receiving program guide data including program attribute information identifying content of each of a plurality of television programs;
receiving advertising data including a plurality of advertisement objects and advertisement attribute information identifying content of each of the plurality of advertisement objects, wherein the advertisement objects comprise a plurality of different versions of an advertisement, and wherein the plurality of different versions of the advertisement comprise advertisements of different display sizes;
maintaining a selection history comprising a user viewing profile that includes program attribute information identifying content of television programs selected by a user;
calculating similarity scores for the plurality of advertisement objects based on one or more comparisons between the advertisement attribute information and the program attribute information of the user viewing profile;
selecting at least one of the advertisement objects to display to the user based on a comparison of the similarity scores to a first threshold similarity score;
selecting a version of an advertisement associated with the selected advertisement object based on a comparison of the similarity score of the selected advertisement object to a second threshold similarity score; and
displaying the selected version of the advertisement associated with the selected advertisement object.
2. The method of
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This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/126,573, filed on Mar. 29, 1999 entitled “Method and Apparatus for Transmission, Receipt and Display of Advertisements.”
The present invention relates to the provision of television content and advertising to a receiver unit. Television programs are distributed to viewers by a variety of broadcasting methods. These methods include traditional analog broadcast television (National Television Systems Committee or “NTSC” standard), the upcoming digital broadcast television (Advanced Television Systems Committee or “ATSC” standard), cable television (both analog and digital), satellite broadcasting (both analog and digital), as well as other methods. These methods allow channels of television content to be multiplexed and transmitted over a common transmission medium.
Channel numbers are typically used to identify the stream of television content offered by a content provider. Program guide information is typically transmitted along with the television content. The program guide information includes a set of channel definition parameters that define which portions of the transmitted television content are associated with the various channels, and typically also includes schedule information for display on users' televisions. The schedule information informs users what television programs are currently on, and what television programs will be shown in the near future.
It would be desirable in a television broadcast system to be able to broadcast advertisements that are directed only to particular users, with each receiver determining whether the advertisement is appropriate for display based on characteristics such as geographic region of the receiver, subscription information and past viewing history. Specifically, using these characteristics, it would also be desirable that each receiver determines which broadcast advertisements are shown to a particular user, and when and how the broadcast advertisements are shown to that particular user.
The present invention is a method and apparatus for transmitting, receiving and displaying television content and advertising. The apparatus includes a transmission station and a plurality of receiver stations. The transmission station creates program guide data and advertising data that is in an “object” format. The transmission station combines the program guide and advertising objects with digital audio and video television signals, and transmits an output stream to the plurality of receiver stations. Each of the plurality of receiver stations receives the transmitted output stream and identifies the electronic program guide objects and advertising objects within the output stream. Each of the plurality of receiver stations stores the identified electronic program guide and advertising objects.
The present invention varies the display of advertisements in the electronic program guide depending on the user. In the present invention, the receiver identifies the user who is watching, that user's viewing history and preferences, which advertisements have already been shown to that viewer, and which channels the viewer is currently looking at in the electronic program guide, and uses the identified information to determine which advertisements will be shown to that particular user. The receiver also uses the identified information to select the best timing, placement, and size of advertising shown to a particular user. Broadcast advertising which the receiver determines poorly matches a user may be discarded in favor of what the receiver determines better matches that viewer, thereby making better use of the finite memory space available to the receiver, and better use of advertising time and space in the electronic program guide.
Television broadcasting system 20 includes transmission station 26, uplink dish 30, satellite 32, and receiver stations 34A-34C (collectively referred to as receiver stations 34). Transmission station 26 includes a plurality of input lines 22 for receiving various signals, such as analog television signals, digital television signals, video tape signals, original programming signals, and computer generated signals containing HTML content and digital video server signals. Each input line 22 typically corresponds to a single television channel. Transmission station 26 also includes a plurality of schedule feeds 24 and advertising feeds 25. Schedule feeds 24 provide electronic schedule information about the timing and content of various television channels, such as that found in television schedules contained in newspapers and television guides. Advertising feeds 25 provide advertising data and information about the content of individual advertisements. The electronic schedule information from schedule feeds 24 is converted into program guide data by transmission station 26. Similarly, information from advertising feeds 25 is converted into advertising data by transmission station 26.
Transmission station 26 receives and processes the various input signals received on input lines 22, advertising feeds 25 and schedule feeds 24, converts the received signals into a standard form, combines the standard signals into a single output data stream 28, and continuously sends output data stream 28 to uplink dish 30. Output data stream 28 is preferably a modulated signal, which is modulated by transmission station 26 using standard frequency and polarization modulation techniques. In a preferred embodiment, output data stream 28 is a multiplexed signal including 16 frequency bands. Transmission station 26 is described in further detail below with respect to
Uplink dish 30 continuously receives output data stream 28 from transmission station 26, amplifies the received signal and transmits the signal to satellite 32. Although a single uplink dish and satellite are shown in
Satellite 32 revolves in geosynchronous orbit about the earth. Satellite 32 includes a plurality of transponders that receive signals transmitted by uplink dish 30, amplify the received signals, frequency shift the received signals to higher frequency bands, and then transmit the amplified, frequency shifted signals back to receiver stations 34. A total of 32 transponders are preferably used in the present invention.
Receiver stations 34 receive and process the signals transmitted by satellite 32. Receiver stations 34 include hardware and software for separating the electronic program guide data and advertising data from the received signals, and processing both the electronic program guide data and the advertising data. Receiver stations 34 are described in further detail below with respect to
Program transmitting system 44 includes input signal adapters 36A-36D (collectively referred to as input signal adapters 36), analog to digital (A/D) converters 38A-38D (collectively referred to as A/D converters 38), and combiner 42. Input signal adapters 36 are coupled to A/D converters 38, and A/D converters 38 are coupled to combiner 42. Although four input signal adapters 36 and four A/D converters 38 are shown in
Input signal adapters 36 receive input signals from input lines 22, and convert the input signals to a standard form. As mentioned above, signals from input lines 22 include analog television signals, digital television signals, video tape signals, original programming signals, computer generated signals containing HTML content and digital video server signals. Also, input lines 22 can receive signals from digital video servers having hard discs or other digital storage media. Input signal adapters 36 preferably convert the input signals to a high quality analog format. The high quality analog signals are output by input signal adapters 36 to A/D converters 38. A/D converters 38 convert the analog signals received from input signal adapters 36 to digital signals, and compress the digital signals using MPEG2 encoding, although other compression schemes may be used.
During the MPEG2 encoding step, A/D converters 38 also perform a statistical multiplexing operation. During the statistical multiplexing operation, A/D converters 38 determine the amount of bandwidth that each channel will use. The amount of bandwidth allowed for each channel is determined based upon the content of the signal on that channel, and the amount of bandwidth used by other channels. For a program such as the motion picture “Independence Day”, which has a very dynamic picture content with a great deal of movement and numerous bright explosions, the signal can not be compressed as much as a more static video signal like an information channel. The greater the dynamic content of the signal, the less it can be compressed and the greater the bandwidth required.
Typically, 30 Mega bits of data per second are transmitted by uplink dish 30 for each transponder in satellite 32. Each transponder receives and transmits data for about 6 channels. Thus, each channel occupies approximately 5 Mega bits of data per second, on average. During the statistical multiplexing operation, the amount of compression for each channel, and correspondingly the amount of information transmitted for each channel, is adjusted up or down depending upon the amount of available space for each transponder. Combiner 42 feeds back information to A/D converters 38 during the statistical multiplexing operation, informing A/D converters 38 of the amount of bandwidth used by various channels. A/D converters 38 then adjust the amount of compression of a signal based on the information fed back from combiner 42.
The MPEG2 encoded digital data are output by A/D converters 38 to combiner 42. Combiner 42 groups the MPEG2 encoded digital data from each A/D converter 38 into a plurality of packets, with each such packet marked with a service channel identification (SCID) number. The SCIDs are later used by receiver 64 (shown in
Program transmitting system 44 processes audio signals in the same manner as video signals, and combiner 42 combines digital audio signals with the digital video signals. Combiner 42 also receives advertising and electronic program guide data from input lines 58 (as described below with respect to the advertisement program guide transmitting system 46) and adds that data to output data stream 28. The assembly and processing of the electronic program guide data prior to it being sent to combiner 42 is described in more detail below.
Output data stream 28, which is output by combiner 42, is a multiplexed signal that is modulated by combiner 42 using standard frequency and polarization modulation techniques. Output data stream 28 preferably includes 16 frequency bands, with each frequency band being either left polarized or right polarized. Because there are 32 transponders in the preferred embodiment, each of the 16 frequency bands are shared by two transponders. Therefore, transponder 1 is assigned frequency 1, left polarization; transponder 2 is assigned frequency 1, right polarization; transponder 3 is assigned frequency 2, left polarization, etc.
Also shown in
Schedule feeds 24 provide electronic schedule information about the timing and content of various television channels, such as that found in television schedules contained in newspapers and television guides. Schedule feeds 24 also provide HTML content. Advertising feeds 25 provide information describing various advertisements and provide the content for individual advertisements.
Database 48 is a computer-based system that receives data from schedule feeds 24 and advertising feeds 25 and organizes data into a standard format. Program guide data and HTML data may also be manually entered into program guide database 48 through data entry station 50. HTML data can be created with commercially available applications, including Claris software, Microsoft software and Adobe software. Compiler 52 reads the standard form data out of database 48, converts the data into the proper format for transmission to users (specifically, the data is converted into program guide and HTML objects as discussed below) and outputs the data to one or more of sub-databases 54. Compiler 52 includes a filter program for HTML data that makes sure that only the subset of HTML version 4.0 that is defined in receiver 64 (shown in
The program guide, advertising and HTML objects are temporarily stored in sub-databases 54 until cyclers 56 request the information. Each of cyclers 56 preferably transmits objects to combiner 42 at a different rate than the other cyclers 56. For example, cycler 56A may transmit objects to combiner 42 every second, while cyclers 56B and 56C may transmit objects every 5 seconds and every 10 seconds, respectively.
Because receiver 64 (shown in
All of the objects output by the plurality of cyclers 56 are combined by combiner 42. Combiner 42 combines the objects with the digital video and audio data output by A/D converters 38 on output lines 40. Combiner 42 transmits output data stream 28, which includes the advertising data, the program guide data, HTML data and the digital video and audio data, to uplink dish 30.
Prior to transmitting data to sub-databases 54, compiler 52 organizes the program guide and advertising data from database 48 into objects. Each object preferably includes an object header and an object body. The object header identifies the object type, object ID and version number of the object. The object type identifies the type of the object. Various types of objects are discussed below. The object ID uniquely identifies the particular object from other objects of the same type. The version number of an object uniquely identifies the object from other objects of the same type and object ID. The object body includes data for constructing a portion of a program guide or an advertisement that is ultimately displayed on a user's television, and is also used for channel definition parameters.
Prior to transmission, each object is preferably broken down by compiler 52 into multiple frames. Each frame is made up of a plurality of 126 byte packets. Each frame includes a frame header, program guide data or advertising data and a checksum. Each frame header includes the same information as the object header described above—object type, object ID and version number. The frame header uniquely identifies the frame, and its position within a group of frames that make up an object. The checksum is examined by receiver 64 to verify the accuracy of the data within received frames.
The system described herein may use over 15 different object types. The objects that are used for providing channel definition parameters may include boot objects, channel list objects, channel objects and conditional objects. Advertising objects provide the characteristics of advertisements and point to other objects that contain the content of the advertisements. Other objects, such as HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) objects, are used to provide channel and advertisement content. Still further objects, such as general program objects, general schedule objects and master schedule objects are used by receiver 64 to generate a display of a program guide on a user's television.
A boot object identifies the SCIDs where all other objects can be found. A boot object is always transmitted on the same channel, which means that each packet of data that makes up a boot object is marked with the same SCID number. Boot objects are transmitted frequently to ensure that receivers 64 that have been shut off, and are then turned back on, immediately receive information indicating the location of the various program guide objects. Thus, boot objects are sent from compiler 52 to a cycler 56 with a high rate of transmission.
Receiver dish 60 receives signals sent by satellite 32, amplifies the signals and passes the signals on to tuner 70. Tuner 70 operates under control of CPU 74. Tuner 70 is preferably two separate tuners, a first tuner for tuning to digital DSS and ATSC channels, and a second tuner for tuning to analog NTSC channels. The functions performed by CPU 74 are controlled by a control program stored in memory 78. Memory 78 also stores a parameter table, which includes a variety of parameters for receiver 64 such as a list of channels receiver 64 is authorized to process and generate displays for, the zip code and area code for the area in which receiver 64 is used, and the model number of receiver 64. Clock 76 provides the current local time to CPU 74. Interface 82 is preferably coupled to a telephone jack at the site of receiver station 34. Interface 82 allows receiver 64 to communicate with transmission station 26 via telephone lines. Interface 82 may also be used to transfer data to and from a network, such as the Internet.
The signals sent from receiver dish 60 to tuner 70 are digital signals that are grouped into a plurality of packets. Each packet includes a header that identifies the SCID number for the packet, and the type of data contained in the packet (e.g, audio data, video data, advertising data, or program guide data). Tuner 70 includes multiple output lines for transmitting video data, audio data, advertising data and program guide data. As packets are received from receiver dish 60, tuner 70 identifies the type of each packet and outputs each packet on the appropriate output line, as discussed in more detail below. If tuner 70 identifies a packet as program guide data or advertising data, tuner 70 outputs the packet to memory 78. Advertising data is stored in an advertising database in memory 78. Program guide data is stored in a guide database in memory 78.
In addition to the digital satellite signals received by receiver dish 60, other sources of television content are also preferably used. For example, alternate content source 62 provides additional television content to television 66. Alternate content source 62 is coupled to tuner 70. Alternate content source 62 can be an antenna for receiving off-the-air signals NTSC signals, a cable for receiving ATSC signals, or other content source. Although only one alternate content source 62 is shown, multiple sources can be used.
Initially, as data enters receiver 64, tuner 70 looks for a boot object. Boot objects are always transmitted with the same SCID, so tuner 70 knows that it must look for packets marked with that SCID. A boot object identifies the SCIDs where all other objects can be found. The information from the boot object is used by tuner 70 to identify packets of advertising data and program guide data and route them to memory 78.
As program guide data and advertising data are received and stored in the database in memory 78, CPU 74 performs various operations on the data in preparation for displaying a program guide or an advertisement on television 66. These operations include packet assembly, object assembly and object processing.
The first operation performed on the advertising and program guide data stored in the guide database in memory 78 is packet assembly. During the packet assembly operation, CPU 74 examines the stored advertising and program guide data and determines the locations of the packet boundaries.
The next step performed by CPU 74 is object assembly. During the object assembly step, CPU 74 combines packets to create object frames, and then combines the object frames to create program guide and advertising objects. CPU 74 examines the checksum transmitted within each object frame, and verifies whether the frame data was accurately received. If the object frame was not accurately received, it is discarded from memory 78. Also during the object assembly step, receiver 64 discards assembled objects that are of an object type that receiver 64 does not recognize. Receiver 64 maintains a list of known object types in memory 78. CPU 74 examines the object header of each received object to determine the object type. CPU 74 compares the object type of each received object to the list of known object types stored in memory 78. If the object type of an object is not found in the list of known object types, the object is discarded from memory 78.
The last step performed by CPU 74 on received program guide and advertising data is object processing. During the object processing step, the objects stored in the database are combined to create a digital image of a program guide. The objects stored in the database are also organized to create a digital image of an advertisement. The digital image of the program guide or advertisement is later converted to an analog signal that is sent to television 66 for display to a user.
Users select a particular channel to watch on television 66 using remote control 86. Remote control 86 emits infrared signals that are received by infrared (IR) receiver 84 in receiver 64. Other types of data entry devices may alternatively be used, such as an ultra-high frequency (UHF) remote control, a keypad on receiver 64, a remote keyboard and a remote mouse. Channels are preferably selected using remote control 86 to navigate around an electronic television program guide, such as program guide 88 shown in
Program guide 88 includes grid 90, cells 92, channel list 94, scroll buttons 96A and 96B, time indicators 98A-98C (collectively referred to as time indicators 98), jump button 100, time button 102, day indicators 104, information window 106, and category buttons 108A, 108B and 108C (collectively referred to as category buttons 108). The various buttons and cells are highlighted by navigating around program guide 88 using remote control 86.
Grid 90 includes a plurality of cells 92. Each cell 92 includes a program title, and may provide additional information. Channel list 94 includes a list of channel names or channel numbers, or both. Channel list 94 may also include icons, such as icons that represent particular channels. The names and channel numbers for each entry in channel list 94 are obtained from the channel object for that entry. Time indicators 98A, 98B and 98C (referred to collectively as “time indicators 98”) indicate start and end times of the various programs displayed in grid 90. Although half-hour time blocks (a time block is the length of time between two time indicators 98) are shown in program guide 88, other time block lengths may be used. Scroll buttons 96A and 96B allow users to scroll up and down channel list 94 and display different channels. Day indicators 104 indicate the day for which program information is presently being displayed. In
Information window 106 provides additional information about programs displayed in grid 90. The type of information displayed in information window 106 depends on which category button 108A-108C is currently selected. Users select one of category buttons 108A-108C using remote control 86. As shown in
Program guide 88 preferably includes schedule information for numerous channels, including DSS channels, ATSC channels and NTSC channels, regardless of whether the channel content is actually transmitted by television broadcasting system 20. For instance, the embodiment shown in
Advertisements include trademark images, product images, text, or video, alone, or in combination, and can include accompanying audio. Traditionally, advertisements have been part of television content as it is being broadcast. Each television receiver displayed whatever advertisements happen to be broadcast to it in conjunction with the television programs selected for display. Once the television content and advertisements were broadcast to a receiver, there was virtually no intelligence or flexibility with regard to which advertisements are displayed to a television broadcast service user, or when and how those advertisements are displayed to the user.
The present invention provides a system for intelligently and flexibly displaying advertisements. According to the present invention each receiving station will display advertisements that other receiving stations will not necessarily display. In addition, each user of a particular receiver may not see the same advertisements as another user of the same receiver. Television content, program guide data and advertising data are broadcast to receiving stations as described above, receiver 64 monitors both which television programs are selected by a user and which advertisements it has received to tailor which of the received advertisements will be displayed to a user of receiver 64, in addition to how and when the advertisements chosen by receiver 64 will be displayed.
The advertisement display system includes three parts. The first part involves building a database of information regarding what viewing selections an individual user makes. Here, receiver 64 compiles information about the user's viewing history and uses that information to intelligently display advertisements to the user. Receiver 64 preferably tracks the user's viewing history and stores this information in a selection history table in memory 78. The selection history table is initially empty when receiver 64 is first purchased. For each program that is chosen by a user, receiver 64 stores information characterizing the program. The characterizing information is included in the program guide objects broadcast to the receiver as discussed above. When a user selects a program from program guide 88, the characterizing information from the associated program guide object is stored in the selection history table in memory 78.
The characterizing information may be organized into attributes. Attributes include information such as category descriptors that identify the type and category of program, name descriptors that identify the name of the program selected, credits information that identify the names and roles of those involved in the production of the program, and key words and phrases in the description of the program. Category descriptors preferably provide a two-tiered category classification, such as “sports/baseball” or “movie/drama,” although any number of tiers may be used including single tiers.
Attributes also include indicators that the program is one of a particular series or that the program is one of a group of associated programs. For example, each episode of “Star Trek, The Next Generation” will have the same series indicator. The “Star Trek” movies, and various “Star Trek” series will all have the same group indicator, even if they are not part of one particular series. CPU 74 keeps track of the program selections made by users, stores the attributes for selected programs in the selection history table and links the attributes to the current user.
In compiling a selection history table, receiver 64 preferably filters out programs the user has selected, but viewed for an insignificant time period. CPU 74 of receiver 64 preferably keeps track of the amount of time each program is watched using clock 76 and stores the times in the selection history table. If programs and channels are watched for a time more than a set threshold, 12 hours for example, the attributes for those channels and programs are not stored in the selection history table. If programs are watched for a time that is less than a set threshold, such as 30 seconds, the attributes for those programs are not stored in the selection history table. In this way, programs the user selects when “channel surfing,” or programs displayed when the user has forgotten to turn off the receiver are filtered out of the selection history table stored in memory 78.
In addition, in compiling a selection history table, receiver 64 preferably tracks a plurality of individual users' viewing preferences. When receiver 64 is first turned on, or after receiver 64 has not been interacted with for a predetermined time, receiver 64 prompts the user to identify himself or herself.
When a user enters one of descriptions 112A-112D with remote control 86, a user identification signal is sent to receiver 64. Receiver 64 receives the user identification signal, identifies the user and stores the attributes associated with that user's channel and program selections in a user-specific sub-history within the selection history table. Receiver 64 uses the selections made by each of the plurality of identified users to create and update the list of attributes linked with that user. In this way, the flexible advertising targeting techniques of the present invention can be specific to one of a plurality of users of one receiver 64.
As discussed earlier, advertisements are broadcast to receiver 64 along with television content and program guide data. Each advertisement comprises an advertising object which includes attributes associated with the advertisement and which points to other objects which contain content to assemble the advertisement for display. Receiver 64 determines how well a particular advertisement fits the individual user by comparing the attributes associated with the related advertising object with the attributes stored in the selection history table that are linked to the individual user's viewing history. Receiver 64 then determines which advertisements are assembled and displayed to the user, and when and how those advertisements are displayed to the user.
An example of a static advertisement displayed in program guide 88 is shown in
The second part of the advertising system involves correlating the characteristics of transmitted advertisements with the information compiled regarding individual users' viewing selections. Receiver 64 uses similarity matching to determine how well advertisements fit the information compiled and stored in the selection history table.
Receiver 64 uses a similarity algorithm to compare advertisements to the individual user's viewing preferences as described by the list of common attributes stored in the selection history table. The similarity algorithm used can weight certain attributes in order to calculate a similarity score tailored to a user in specific ways. The amount of weight given to a particular attribute (e.g., name descriptor) effects the relative similarity scores for the advertising objects, and therefore ultimately the priority in which these advertisements are displayed to the user.
For example, a fast food chain may tie certain items it serves to a movie or television program. The fast food chain advertisement that markets the tie-in may have an associated name descriptor that includes the name of the tied movie or television program. If the user has selected the tied movie or television program, the similarity algorithm which heavily weights the name descriptor attribute relative to the other attributes will insure that the fast food advertisement has a relatively high similarity score even though other attributes associated with the advertisement may not match the list of common attributes in the user's selection history. In this way, the user is likely to see advertisements tied to the programs the user has selected, regardless of how few of the advertisement's other associated attributes match the list of common attributes from the user's selection history table. Other similarity algorithms may be used to emphasize other attributes by weighting those attributes to further tailor advertisements to the user in other ways.
The example similarity algorithm explained below in reference to
According to the example similarity algorithm illustrated in
CPU 74 examines the advertisement and the selection history for category descriptors common to both the advertisement and the selection history and calculates a category score (Block 124). CPU 74 counts the number of category descriptors common to both the selection history table and the advertisement and weights the count by multiplying the count by five.
Next, CPU 74 examines the advertisement and the selection history for words common to the description fields of both the advertisement and the selection history table and calculates a description score (Block 126). CPU 74 filters out less significant words such as “and”, “is” and “the” in order to determine a more meaningful description score. CPU 74 counts the number of significant words common to both the selection history table and the advertisement and weights that number by multiplying the count by ten.
Next, CPU 74 calculates a name score by examining the name descriptors in both the advertisement and the selection history table (Block 128). CPU 74 counts the number of name descriptors common to both the selection history table and the advertisement. CPU 74 weights the count by multiplying the count by thirty.
Finally, CPU 74 calculates the similarity score for the advertisement by adding the category score, the description score, and the name score together (Block 130). The calculated score for that advertisement is stored in memory 78 (Block 132) so that CPU 74 can compare the newly calculated similarity score with similarity scores for other advertisements, and later use the calculated similarity score to determine when and how to display the advertisement.
The third part of the advertising system involves using correlations between the characteristics of advertisements and the compiled selection history to display advertisements in an individualized manner suited to each individual user. One example of receiver 64 using similarity scores to match advertisements to an individual user's preferences is to only display those advertisements which have at least a predetermined cutoff similarity score. As shown in
Another similar example of how similarity scores are used is illustrated in
Receiver 64 starts with the list of common attributes from the selection history table for a user as discussed earlier in reference to
CPU 74 compares the similarity score for the newly received advertising object to the lowest similarity score associated with the advertising object among the advertisements already stored in memory 78 (Block 154). If the newly received advertisement's score is lower than the lowest similarity score currently in memory 78, CPU 74 does not save the newly received advertisement in memory (Block 156). If the newly received advertisement's score is higher than the lowest similarity score currently in memory, CPU 74 replaces the advertising object with the lowest similarity score and its associated advertisement with the newly received advertising object and its associated advertisement (Block 158). In this way, receiver 64 assembles and displays advertisements drawn from a pool of advertisements in memory 78 that most closely matches the user's preferences. In addition, the finite space in memory 78 is occupied only by those advertisements that have relatively high similarity scores.
As mentioned earlier, according to the present invention, receiver 64 not only determines which advertisements to display, but also how and when to display the chosen advertisements according to how advertisements fit a user's selection history. For example, an advertising object having a high similarity score would be shown before an advertisement having a low similarity score. Also, an advertisement having a high similarity score would be shown more frequently and prominently on the display screen. In this way, users of the present invention see advertising customized to their interests and advertisements more likely meet an interested audience.
Receiver 64 uses the similarity scores for the set of advertisements to determine which advertisements to display (Block 168). For example, if of the three example advertisements, only the laundry detergent advertisement 160 and the corporate advertisement 162 have similarity scores above a predetermined threshold similarity score, only these two advertisements are displayed. On the other hand, soft drink advertisement 164 is not displayed if its associated similarity score was not at or above the similarity score threshold.
Similarly, receiver 64 uses the similarity scores for the set of advertisements to determine the priority and length of time for displaying the advertisements (Block 170). If, as in this example, the laundry detergent advertisement 160 has the highest similarity score, laundry detergent advertisement 160 is displayed before the corporate advertisement 162 and so on. In this way, the laundry detergent advertisement is most likely to be seen before the user selects a channel or turns receiver 64 off.
Alternative versions of the same advertisement are displayed according to the user's viewing preferences in the present invention. For example, each of the plurality of advertising objects stored in memory 78 can point to a plurality of different images (e.g., a different size, or a different graphic) for the advertisement. Receiver 64 uses the similarity score for each advertisement and determines which advertising image to display based on the similarity score for that advertising object (Block 172). For example, if CPU 74 determines soft drink advertisement 164 has a similarity score greater than a threshold similarity score, receiver 64 assembles and displays larger image 174 rather than smaller image 176 for soft drink advertisement.
Receiver 64 can use similarity scores in alternative ways to determine the image and timing of advertisements. For example, receiver 64 may simply compare the similarity scores of the advertisements currently in memory 78 and display the larger image of those advertisements which have a similarity score a predetermined percentage higher than the average similarity score for all of the advertisements currently stored in memory 78. By using the same techniques, receiver 64 also determines how long and how often to display a particular advertisement according to the similarity score of the associated advertising object for that advertisement.
Another technique for intelligently displaying advertisements according to the present invention is selective retention of advertisements. Receiver 64 retains advertisements that are interesting to an individual user so that the user can later view or interact with the retained advertisements. Each advertisement may have a predetermined viewing lifetime. The viewing lifetime data broadcast as part of the advertising object for that advertisement. CPU 74 uses the advertising lifetime to determine when and how long to display the associated advertisement. For example, an advertising object containing the data for assembling an advertisement for a newly introduced automobile may have a two month viewing lifetime from the date the automobile first becomes available to consumers. With the present invention, advertisements are retained beyond the predetermined viewing lifetime by receiver 64, if receiver 64 determines that the advertisement has at least a predetermined threshold similarity score. In this way, users are less likely to miss an opportunity to view or respond to interesting advertisements.
An example of this is shown in
Another aspect of intelligently displaying advertisements according to the present invention includes the ability of the user to interact with displayed advertisements. User interaction includes manipulating the display of advertisements, and the user requesting more information, or making purchases, in response to an advertisement. In addition, statistical data concerning which advertisements are shown is kept according to the present invention. The statistical data enables a broadcast service provider to collect information related to the advertisements it broadcasts.
One example of a user-manipulation of displayed advertisements is illustrated in
The user controls which image he sees by selecting the advertisement using remote control 86. Remote control 86 may have an array of buttons which allow the user to send an image altering signal to receiver 64.
When the user selects initial image 182A (
Another example of user interaction with displayed advertisements is illustrated in
For example, the user may respond to advertisement 196 for laundry detergent displayed in program guide 88 as shown in
Letters and numbers may be entered into the fields by using the navigation buttons 184A-184D to scroll through the alphabet and by using number pad 192 on remote control 86. Various other fields such as an email address field, receiver number field and receiver model field may be included or substituted for the fields shown on order screen 198. Once the requested information has been entered, the user sends the order by highlighting submit button 202 on order screen 198 and pressing enter button 186 on remote control 86. At any time before submitting an order, a user can return to program guide 88 by highlighting cancel button 204 on order screen 198 and pressing enter button 186 on remote control 86. Other methods of displaying an ordered message may be employed according to the present invention such as simply overlaying the ordered message on the current screen the user is viewing.
After receiver 64 has sent the stored requests to transmission station 26, receiver 64 acknowledges (Block 216) the request. Transmission station 26 sends an acknowledgment signal to receiver 64. When receiver 64 receives the acknowledgment signal, receiver 64 displays an “ordered” message to the user in a request summary screen (Block 218) and deletes from memory 78 the acknowledged requests.
An example of how an ordered message may be displayed in request summary screen 220 is shown in
For example, as shown in
Another feature of the present invention provides for a statistical accounting of the advertisements displayed to a user. The statistics provide valuable information which may later be used by the broadcast provider or advertisers to better target and price advertising. According to the present invention, advertising statistics for a user are reported to transmission station 26. Advertising statistics include the number of times a particular advertisement is displayed to a particular viewer, the number of times a user has selected the advertisement, or which advertisements prompted the user to request additional information such as brochures or samples.
Another aspect of the present invention involves compiling and reporting statistics on what advertisements are shown and reacted to by an individual user. The block diagram in
The present invention provides a method and apparatus to intelligently tailor the display of advertisements to individual users of a television broadcast system. Rather than displaying to the user whatever advertisements happen to be broadcast, the present invention provides for flexibly and intelligently tailoring advertisements to each individual user. The present invention tracks individual users and the programming choices they make and uses that information to tailor what advertisements are displayed to each individual user. The present invention makes it possible for each individual user to have a unique viewing experience both with regard to the programming he or she chooses, and with regard to the advertisements he or she chooses. In addition, advertisers can be better assured that users most interested in particular advertisements actually see those advertisements.
The above examples of intelligently displayed advertising are merely illustrative of the present invention, and are not the only ways in which the present invention may be implemented. Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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Department of Primatology
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
phone: +49 (341) 3550 - 200
fax: +49 (341) 3550 - 299
I studied biology at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, focusing on animal physiology, anthropology and biophysics. I started work on nonhuman primates with experimental studies at the MPI for Psychiatry by exploring the physical configuration of vocal and visual signals used by squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus). This work was followed by field studies on the vocal communication of sympatric species of macaques (Macaca silenus, M. radiata) and langurs (Presbythis johnii, P. entellus) in South India. The four species offer an interesting model as they differ in terms of their social systems and in their flexibility to adapt to environmental changes. This work was done in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (Bangalore) and led to my PhD at the LM-University Munich.
After finishing my PhD, I moved from the Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry to the Max Planck Research Centre for Human Ethology (1989-95). Here I started work on wild bonobos (Pan paniscus) at Lomako. This work was initially funded by the MPI for Human Evolution and later by the MPI for Behavioral Physiology (1996-99). Since 1999, my research is hosted by the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology. Studies at Lomako continued for eight years and produced the first information from fully habituated but unprovisioned bonobos. This included data on kin relationships of natural communities, the relation between kinship and social ties, and the first detailed information on hunting, meat eating and meat sharing by female bonobos highlighting the role of females in a domain that is usually considered to be dominated by males.
In 2002, a new study site was established for hosting long-term field research on bonobos at LuiKotale. This site is used jointly by the bonobo project and by a long-term project on plant biodiversity directed by Barbara Fruth (http://www.eva.mpg.de/procuv). Initial studies of bonobos at LuiKotale have focused on a complex of related aspects such as feeding behaviour, food processing, nutritional ecology, and forest productivity. Following habituation of the members of one community to close range observations, various behavioural aspects are now being studied by post-docs, PhD and Master students. Meanwhile a second community tolerates the presence of humans which allows expanding research activities of this population.
Ongoing field studies combine behavioural observations with molecular genetics, behavioural physiology, and ecological data. Field work in Congo is complemented by a series of experimental studies on converging topics such as ontogeny, social and environmental stress, nutrition, and energy acquisition.
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All Dual Blades in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak
This page contains a list of all Dual Blades available in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. The main page includes an overview of every single Dual Blade and their relevant stats like rarity, attack, element (if any), affinity, and defense bonus. Click a Dual Blade's name for a detailed page with general information about it, its crafting and upgrade costs, possible rampage skills, and so much more!
The table is sortable by clicking a column header and searchable by using the input field above it.
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Ocycte (Egg) Freezing & Fertility Preservation
Fertility Preservation Oocyte (Egg) Freezing
Women usually do not know they have fertility problems until they try to become pregnant. However, in certain circumstances, a woman may know ahead of time that her ability to reproduce is in jeopardy, allowing her to make the decision to preserve her fertility for the future. A common example of such a scenario is someone about to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer, both of which are known to damage a person's reproductive potential. Oocyte (egg) freezing, through a technique known as vitrification, offers women hope for improving fertility in their future.
Fertility Preservation Before Cancer Treatment
Chemotherapy and radiation can damage eggs or sperm and possibly render a patient infertile. Freezing a woman's eggs, or embryos created with sperm from her partner or an anonymous donor, allows her the chance to have a genetic child in the future. We understand the time constraints and emotional stress of patients facing cancer treatment, as well as the concern over the potential negative impact on future fertility. We offer expedited, compassionate care at a discounted rate for egg or embryo freezing for cancer treatment.
Simulation and Retrieval
Although it is possible to conduct oocyte freezing with immature eggs or even sections of ovarian tissue, the most effective technique for egg vitrification is to induce maturation of the eggs and collect them as would be done for IVF. Fertility medications are used to stimulate the development of multiple ovarian follicles and induce ovulation. Before the eggs can be released from the ovaries they are retrieved using a procedure known as ultrasound-guided transvaginal aspiration. During this procedure, an ultrasound probe is used to see the ovaries and surrounding structures while a very fine needle is guided through the vaginal wall and into each ovarian follicle. Gentle suction is used to remove the egg and fluid from each follicle, and it is then stored in an individual container, where it will be prepared for oocyte freezing.
Egg Freezing and Storage
Once the eggs are collected, they are examined and mixed with a cryoprotectant solution before being rapidly cooled. The traditional method for the cryopreservation of sperm, embryos, and eggs involves a slow freezing technique. This is effective for sperm and embryos, but problematic for egg freezing, as oocytes are large cells that contain a good deal of water and have a tendency to be damaged by the formation of ice crystals. Vitrification, however, is a technique that involves very quick freezing and does not allow ice crystals to form, thereby preventing damage to the eggs. Once the eggs have reached the appropriate temperature, they are transferred to long-term storage, where they will be kept in liquid nitrogen until they are ready to be used.
This advancement has now made this a valid option for women not affected by a medical condition, but also for those women waiting later in life to start a family. Many women with other priorities can now freeze their eggs or embryos, preserving their future fertility for later in life.
The process involves four stages - Ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and freezing or storage. Thawing of eggs with fertilization, embryo development and intrauterine transfer. To receive addition information please select this link to receive more information.
Thawing and Fertilization
When the patient is ready to use her frozen eggs, they will be retrieved from storage and gently warmed. After thawing, the eggs are examined and those that have survived the oocyte freezing process will be fertilized in vitro or through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The resulting embryos are transferred into the patient's uterus as normal.
Reproduction After Oocyte Freezing
Early attempts at egg freezing showed very little promise. The rate at which eggs survived the freezing and thawing process was very low and even lower was the rate of successful conception and pregnancy. Using the vitrification technique, however, fertility experts have seen significant increases in the numbers of oocytes that are viable after being frozen and thawed.
Contact Our Fort Lauderdale, Florida Area Practice
To learn more about oocyte (egg) freezing and how the process of vitrification may improve the chances of IVF success, contact us today at, 888.313.0307, or request an appointment.
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Sources and levels of ambient ocean sound near the antarctic peninsula
Arrays of hydrophones were deployed within the Bransfield Strait and Scotia Sea (Antarctic Peninsula region) from 2005 to 2009 to record ambient ocean sound at frequencies of up to 125 and 500 Hz. Icequakes, which are broadband, short duration signals derived from fracturing of large free-floating icebergs, are a prominent feature of the ocean soundscape. Icequake activity peaks during austral summer and is minimum during winter, likely following freeze-thaw cycles. Iceberg grounding and rapid disintegration also releases significant acoustic energy, equivalent to large-scale geophysical events. Overall ambient sound levels can be as much as ~10–20 dB higher in the open, deep ocean of the Scotia Sea compared to the relatively shallow Bransfield Strait. Noise levels become lowest during the austral winter, as sea-ice cover suppresses wind and wave noise. Ambient noise levels are highest during austral spring and summer, as surface noise, ice cracking and biological activity intensifies. Vocalizations of blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and fin (B. physalus) whales also dominate the long-term spectra records in the 15–28 and 89 Hz bands. Blue whale call energy is a maximum during austral summer-fall in the Drake Passage and Bransfield Strait when ambient noise levels are a maximum and sea-ice cover is amore »
- Oregon State Univ./Cooperative Inst. for Marine Resources Studies/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Pacific Marine Environmental Lab., Newport, OR (United States)
- North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States). Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences.
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Applied Physics Lab.
- Korea Polar Research Inst., Incheon (Korea, Republic of). Polar Environmental Research Div.
- Virginia Commonwealth Univ., Richmond, VA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Grant/Contract Number:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- PLoS ONE
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 10; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1932-6203
- Public Library of Science
- Research Org:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Newport, OR (United States)
- Sponsoring Org:
- Contributing Orgs:
- NOAA Ocean Exploration and Research Program; Korea Ocean and Polar Research Institute
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
- OSTI Identifier:
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When children are being shuffled between divorced parents, they often spend time in two different households. When each family has its own set of rules for the children, it can end up in problems for both the parents and the children. It is best to handle such situations with an easy hand.
The following suggestions can be fruitful for divorced parents as they try and develop a consistent parenting approach for their kids:
Talk to your ex-husband or wife and make sure you both are on the same page regarding basic rules and how they are enforced (e.g., same bedtimes, chore responsibilities, amount of TV and video game time allowed, etc.). Discuss each issue calmly and conclude the discussion with positive approaches for your children.
Don’t let your child manipulate or play you and your ex against each other. For example, if you’ve given your child a “No” answer to a request made while he or she is living with you, and the child calls your ex hoping to elicit a “Yes,” explain that it’s not okay to do that and that your response stands. This might only happen when your child wants to do something u might not consider. Therefore, you and your ex need to be on a unanimous stance.
Along similar lines, it is important to note that many parents don’t know what to do when a child starts seeing one parent as the “good guy” and the other parent as the “bad guy”. When such a situation arises consider the following suggestions:
When the kids come back from staying with your ex, take a moment before they run off to help them get re-acclimated to your home. Remind them that they’re no longer at the other parent’s house, and that what you say goes. IT might be hard for them, but eventually they will adapt to it.
Explain to your kids that how they act and behave at one parent’s house will be different from how they act and behave at the others. Tell them that while both households may have similar expectations and rules (see the earlier tip about being on the same page), they should obey whichever parent they are staying with.
In the end, the better you and your ex can communicate about and establish basic rules in both your homes, the easier it will be for you to parent and for your kids to do what you want. Most importantly, you must remember that regardless of what broke up your marriage, you both will always be united in your love of your children and that they always come first in your lives.
Click HERE to read more from Fashion Central.
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i•Rewards is a fully customizable and flexible player loyalty system. Interactive bonus games and fixed point awards allow for complete control over the promotional budget. With the addition of i•Rewards Snapshot you’ll create more player loyalty than ever before from the players that matter most.
- Interactive bonus games on LED screens allow for increased player/attendant interaction.
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- Integrated text messaging with no additional cost.
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- Reward players based on their actual play and not just time on device.
- Increase player loyalty from the players that matter most.
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To reduce lead exposure to you and your family, you can:
- Let cold water run for 30 seconds before drinking it
- Use cold water when cooking, as hot water absorbs more lead
- Invest in a water filter for your drinking and cooking water
- When mixing formula for infants, use filtered water
- Dust, vacuum and wash toys often if you are renovating or live in a home built before 1978 – as lead travels in dust from soil and paint
If you have any questions or concerns about lead poisoning, consult with your doctor.
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A NEW METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF VITAMIN D
Small Business Information
BOX 293, HWY 13 S, NORTH WEBSTER, IN, 46555-0293
AbstractDESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): After almost a century of research there are still critical questions regarding the role of vitamin D in health and disease. Beyond the well established function of vitamin D in bone health, evidence is emerging that itmay be a risk factor in chronic diseases ranging from autoimmune diseases and cancer to cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. One complication in ongoing research is the lack of reliable measurement technology with sufficient selectivity and sensitivity to determine physiological levels of vitamin D and its metabolites in tissues, blood, and food. Commercially available kit assays provide high throughput analysis of 25(OH)D, but not of vitamin D, and inter-laboratory performance is poor. Additionally, these kits are unable to accurately and separately measure 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2, as they are confounded by cross-reactivity with catabolic 24,25(OH)2D metabolites. On the other hand, HPLC coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) offers both increased sensitivity and selectivity and minimizes interferences commonly seen from complex food matrices. Several LC-MS/MS methods have been developed for measuring vitamin D metabolites in plasma that reported Limits of Quantification (LOQ) ranging from 0.17 to 6.5ng/mL. While promising, the premature fragmentation of vitamin D molecules in ion sources contributes to the higher variability of these methods and high LOQ. To overcome this problem, a specific vitamin D derivatization reaction based on Diels-Alder cycloaddition was developed. Using PTAD derivatization and methylamine, LOQs of 10 - 20 pg/mL have been accomplished for five vitamin D metabolites. Although a significant improvement, this method does not achieve the sensitivity of immuno- assays and does notallow for simultaneous analysis of multiple samples in a single chromatographic run. A solution to these problems that will be developed in this proposal is to increase both the selectivity and sensitivity with which the components of vitamin D are determined. This will be achieved with a new liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry approach in which the 9,10- secosteroid components of vitamin D are derivatized with a new reagent that both differentially codes components isotopically according to sample origin and greatly increases their ionization efficiency. Taken together this will enable multiple samples to be analyzed simultaneously at the level comparable to immuno-assays (1-5 pg/mL) while still allowing molecular discrimination between vitamin D2, vitamin D3, 25(OH)D2, 25(OH)D3, 1,25(OH)2D2, 1,25(OH)2D3, 24,25(OH)2D2, 24,25(OH)2D3. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: A new quantification strategy and reagents for the analysis of vitamin D and its different forms is being developed that will facilitate broader understanding of the various bio- regulatory functions unique to this hormone-like vitamin.
* information listed above is at the time of submission.
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Working with Refugees
This page provides a broad overview for effectively working with refugee populations, along with resources to use when working with refugees resettling to the United States. Refugees are processed by the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), administered by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Refugees arrive to the U.S. having a well-founded fear of persecution and are deemed unable to return to their home countries. Resettlement Agencies (RAs) are funded by PRM to resettle refugees, providing required core services and basic necessities during the refugee’s first 30-90 days in the U.S. through the Reception and Placement (R&P) Program. For more detailed information about specific refugee populations, visit the About Refugees page.
Service Delivery Approaches
The following section identifies two approaches to consider when working with refugee populations: a strengths-based approach and a trauma-informed approach. The information provided is summative and you are encouraged to review resources provided under the Learn More section for each approach. For detailed guidance on delivering effective Cultural Orientation, visit the Provider Onboarding page.
Taking a Strengths-based Approach
Taking a Strengths-based Approach
Implementing a strengths-based approach with refugees can aid in their effective resettlement and longer-term integration. A strengths-based approach refers to policies, practices, and strategies that identify and draw upon the strengths and capacities of individuals and communities instead of focusing on deficits. Deficit thinking centers on shortcomings and failures, instead of strengths and capabilities. Applying a strengths-based approach has the potential to improve self-awareness and develop an individual’s confidence.
- Taking a Strengths-based Approach online course from CORE
- Strengths-based approaches for working with individuals from The Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS)
- Demystifying Strengths-Based Services: Fostering Refugees’ Resilience in Resettlement from Switchboard
A trauma-informed approach recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role trauma may play in an individual’s life. The impact of exposure to traumatic events will differ depending on the individual. Some individuals may not display any symptoms of trauma and can cope with difficult experiences in healthy and productive ways. For others, trauma may have a profound and lasting impact on their daily functioning. The intention of a trauma-informed approach is not to treat symptoms or issues related to the trauma; rather it is to provide support services in a way that is accessible and appropriate to those who may have experienced trauma.
- Trauma Informed Care: Movement Towards Practice from Switchboard
- Resource Guide to Trauma-Informed Human services and their Resources Specific to Immigrant or Refugee Populations from Administration for Children and Families
Deepen Your Knowledge
Access the following resources to learn more about specific refugee populations and hear from refugees about their experience resettling to the United States.
Resources for Refugees
CORE’s refugee-facing digital platforms offer more than 500 resources in multiple formats and languages. These platforms and resources prioritize visual simplicity and design clarity, low-literacy and low digital literacy needs, and cultural and linguistic adaptability. If you’re new to CORE, below is an overview of our resources for refugees.
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Antonyms for perseverance are terms or phrases that represent the opposite of persistence, determination, and dedication. These antonyms convey the idea of giving up easily, lacking the resolve to push through challenges, and being easily discouraged in the face of adversity.
Individuals who exhibit antonyms for perseverance may struggle to stay committed to their goals, often abandoning them at the first sign of difficulty. This lack of perseverance can hinder personal growth, prevent the attainment of long-term objectives, and lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and unfulfillment.
Understanding antonyms for perseverance can provide valuable insight into the importance of resilience, tenacity, and grit in overcoming obstacles and achieving success. By recognizing these contrasting characteristics, individuals can reflect on their own ability to persevere and make proactive changes to cultivate a stronger sense of determination and persistence in their endeavors.
35 Antonyms for PERSEVERANCE With Sentences
Here’s a complete list of opposite for perseverance. Practice and let us know if you have any questions regarding PERSEVERANCE antonyms.
|Sentence with Perseverance
|Sentence with Antonym
|She showed perseverance in completing the project.
|She decided to quit halfway through the project.
|His perseverance paid off in the end.
|He felt like giving up after facing repeated failures.
|Despite the challenges, her perseverance never wavered.
|She decided to surrender and gave up on her goal.
|Through perseverance, he overcame all obstacles.
|He chose abandonment when the going got tough.
|Perseverance is essential for achieving success.
|Resignation will only lead to unfulfilled dreams.
|His perseverance and determination inspired others.
|Defeat was inevitable as he lacked perseverance.
|The marathon runner’s perseverance was commendable.
|Finally, he bowed down in capitulation to the challenges.
|The team’s perseverance led them to victory.
|They decided to relinquish their goal and move on.
|Despite the setbacks, she showed great perseverance.
|She chose to give in to the difficulties and quit.
|His perseverance in academics earned him a scholarship.
|He decided to yield to the pressure and dropped out.
|The artist’s perseverance was evident in every brushstroke.
|However, he chose to abandon his passion for painting.
|Through perseverance, she achieved her fitness goals.
|She decided to forfeit her health journey and indulge in unhealthy habits.
|Perseverance is the key to overcoming challenges.
|Renunciation of one’s goals will only lead to regret.
|The project was successful due to the team’s perseverance.
|However, termination was imminent when they lost motivation.
|He demonstrated perseverance by never giving up.
|Eventually, he chose to abandon his dreams.
|Perseverance is essential for personal growth.
|Surrender to difficulties will stunt one’s progress.
|With perseverance, she overcame all obstacles.
|Her submission to challenges hindered her success.
|The athlete’s perseverance led to victory.
|Unfortunately, he decided to relinquish his title.
|Never give up, keep moving forward with perseverance.
|Concede defeat and you will never achieve your goals.
|The student’s perseverance resulted in high grades.
|Whereas, surrender to challenges leads to failure.
|The explorer’s perseverance led him to new discoveries.
|However, abandonment of his journey halted his progress.
|His perseverance in learning new skills was admirable.
|Unfortunately, his submission to failure held him back.
|Through perseverance, she achieved her dreams.
|Yet, capitulation to hardships was her downfall.
|The chef’s perseverance resulted in a five-star dish.
|Nevertheless, he chose to relinquish his culinary career.
|With perseverance, she transformed her life.
|However, she decided to forfeit her progress and revert to old habits.
|Perseverance is the key to achieving your goals.
|Abandon your dreams, and they will remain unfulfilled.
|Her perseverance in the face of challenges was inspiring.
|However, renunciation of her goals dampened her spirit.
|Perseverance enabled him to climb the corporate ladder.
|He chose to yield to pressure and settle for mediocrity.
|The athlete’s perseverance made him a champion.
|Concede to defeat, and success will always elude you.
Final Thoughts about Antonyms of PERSEVERANCE
Having the opposite of perseverance can lead to giving up easily, lacking determination, and faltering in the face of challenges. When perseverance is absent, progress is hindered, success is harder to achieve, and goals may remain unmet. Without perseverance, individuals may struggle to overcome obstacles, lose motivation, and become discouraged easily.
On the other hand, demonstrating perseverance can lead to resilience, tenacity, and ultimately success. By showing persistence, determination, and grit, individuals can overcome difficulties, achieve their objectives, and realize their aspirations. Perseverance is a key trait that drives individuals to keep pushing forward, even in the face of adversity, and ultimately leads to personal growth and accomplishment.
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ExFDO is a portable software tool intended to store, organize and quickly find data and information about any subject you deal with. Stored data could be files, notes, urls, passwords, tasks to do, location of physical objects, and more... The software has also many features like :
- viewing, copying and archiving files,
- cataloguing files from any directory,
- exporting and importing data,
- printing daily tasks list,
- managing data privacy,
- encrypting critical data,
- managing keywords,
- and more...
The main purpose of ExFDO is to get a portable personal data bank in which you can store and quickly find anything you want like files, notes, urls, passwords, tasks to do and objects location. So, you can use ExFDO to organize all your data and physical storages with one software tool.
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- (Amenophis IV)
King 1379-1362 BC.
The son of *Amenophis III and *Tiye, Amenophis IV changed his name to Akhenaten (probably meaning 'Servant of the Aten') in Year 5 of his reign, thus indicating his allegiance to the Aten, the creator-god who was symbolised by the sun's disc.Tuthmosis IV had begun to elevate the Aten many years before and, under *Amenophis III, the god was given special honours. Akhenaten's unique contribution was to ensure that the Aten's cult approached a form of monotheism; the god was regarded as unique and omnipotent, a universal, supreme and loving deity who was symbolised by the life-giving sun. The king, as the god's sole earthly representative, became virtually interchangeable with the Aten and communed with him every day.It is difficult to determine the extent to which these ideas were innovative and revolutionary; they were at least partly a restatement of an earlier belief in a supreme deity which had been represented by the gods Re or Amun. Also, in addition to personal religious motives, Akhenaten was probably prompted by political pressures to try to curb the over-reaching powers of the priests of Amen-Re, by advancing the cult of the Aten. His actions re-established the king's own role as the god's sole representative on earth.Akhenaten's early reign was spent at Thebes. A period of co-regency with *Amenophis III may have occurred, but at Thebes, Akhenaten was already building special temples to the Aten where he and his chief wife, *Nefertiti, worshipped the god. This cult continued alongside the orthodox worship, of the great Theban deity, Amen-Re. In Year 6, he made a clear break with tradition and moved the political and religious capital from Thebes to a new site in Middle Egypt, perhaps because the cult of the Aten could no longer exist alongside the other gods. Akhenaten closed their temples, disbanded their priesthoods and diverted their revenue to the Aten's cult. In addition, the names of all the other deities were officially erased and the Aten became the exclusive royal god.The new capital was called Akhetaten, which meant the 'Horizon of the Aten'. Palaces, official and administrative quarters and temples to the Aten were built, in addition to villas and houses. The modern term of Tell el Amarna or Amarna is often used for the site. Partial excavation of the city and the neighbouring Royal Tomb and courtiers' tombs has revealed much information about this time, often referred to as the Amarna Period. The text of the Great Hymn to the Aten was found inscribed in some of the courtiers' tombs; this provides an outline of the tenets of Atenism and is regarded as a major influence on Biblical Psalm 104. Texts on boundary stelae ,which marked the perimeter of the new capital, describe the royal conditions laid down for the foundation of Akhetaten.Nefertiti (who took the additional name of Nefernefruaten) reared six daughters at Akhetaten. The royal family is frequently represented in the so-called 'Amarna Art' of the period. This type of art, with its distinctive characteristics, was inspired by religious innovations and is exemplified by reliefs and statuary discovered at Akhetaten. Instances also occur at other sites, such as the standing colossi of Akhenaten from the Aten temples at Thebes. The king imposed both the Aten doctrine and its associated art forms; the art emphasises creativity and the naturalistic representation of plants, birds and animals and extols the joy and beauty of life; it also appears to show the king with an abnormal physique. Certain bodily features are emphasised almost to the point of caricature and it has been suggested that such physical abnormalities may have been due to a glandular deficiency, although, since the king's body has never been found, the reasons behind this strange artistic convention must remain speculative. The abnormalities shown in the king's physique became the norm in Amarna art and all other human figures are represented with the same features. At Thebes, the tomb of the courtier *Ramose is decorated with wall-scenes that provide a striking example of both the orthodox and Amarna styles of art.Akhenaten has been blamed for allowing Egypt's empire in Syria to disintegrate while he pursued his religious reforms. In the Amarna Letters (the diplomatic correspondence found at Akhetaten), vassal princes beg in vain for Egyptian aid against the predatory ambitions of other great powers. However, some of the decline in Egypt's interest and influence in this area may already have already begun in *Amenophis III's reign.At home, the internal organisation had begun to crumble, and the counter-revolutionary methods of Akhenaten's successors, *Tutankhamun and *Horemheb, sought to restore the old order. Even his immediate heir, *Smenkhkare, who may have ruled briefly with him, perhaps attempted some restitution of the traditional gods.Akhenaten was first buried in the royal tomb at Amarna; later generations regarded him as a heretic and a disastrous ruler and every effort was made to expunge his name from the records and to return to religious orthodoxy.Modern scholarship has variously interpreted him as a fanatic, a political opportunist, a mystic and a visionary, a prophet before his time, and the first individual in history. It has also been suggested that he was the pharaoh of the Exodus, and Sigmund Freud proposed that he had been the inspiration of *Moses and of Jewish monotheism.BIBL. Aldred, C. Akhenaten, King of Egypt. London: 1988; Davies, N. de G. The Rock Tombs of El-Amarna. (six vols) London: 1903-8; Mercer, S.A.B. The Tell el Amarna Tablets. (two vols) Toronto: 1939; Aldred, C. and Sandison, A.T. The Pharaoh Akhenaten: a problem in Egyptology and pathology, Bulletin of the History of Medicine 36, pp 293-316; Peet, T.E., Woolley, C.L., Frankfort, H. and Pendlebury, J.D.S. The City of Akhenaten. Parts 1-3. London: 1923-51; Martin G.T. The royal Tomb aty El-Amarna: Vol. 2, The Reliefs, Inscriptions and Architecture. London 1974, 1989. Redford, D.B. Akhenaten. The heretic king. Princeton, N.J. 1984; Smith, R.W. and Redford, D.B. The Akhenaten Temple Project. Vol. 1: The initial discoveries. Warminster: 1977.Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David* * *(reigned c. 1352–1336 BC)Throne name Neferkheperure waenre. Original name Amenhotep IV. Son of Amenhotep III and Tiy. It is probable that he was not the eldest son, as a Prince Thutmose is attested but presumably died young. It is also not clear if there was a coregency between his father and himself or whether he succeeded only upon his father’s death. Akhenaten sought to establish the primacy of the cult of Re-Harakhty in the form of Aten, the sun’s disk. Following opposition in Thebesfrom the followers of Amun, he established a new capital at Akhetaten, now Amarna, and built his royal tomb nearby. His opposition to the older cults gradually grew more intense, and they were eventually proscribed. His religious beliefs have been wrongly described as monotheism, as Akhenaten did not abandon those cults associated with the sun god or with kingship, namely his deified father and himself. His reign is also noted for a revolutionary new art style, which is far freer than older Egyptian conventions and depicted the royal family and he himself in a particular manner. Some have sought to identify a medical problem in this style, but it may simply have been a new artistic convention. His wife, Nefertiti, assumed a prominent role in royal scenes, and it has been suggested that she even succeeded him. The circumstances that ended the reign are unknown. Akhenaten’s eventual successor, Tutankhamun, who may have been his son, abandoned Amarna and reverted to the worship of Amun. Akhenaten’s name and that of his immediate successors were later proscribed.See also Ankhesenamun; Art; Ay; Baketanen; Horemheb; Meketaten; Meritamun; Meritaten-Tasherit; Nefernefruaten; Nefernefrure; Religion; Setepenre; Sitamun; Smenkhkare; Talatat.Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier
Ancient Egypt. A Reference Guide. EdwART. 2011.
См. также в других словарях:
Akhenaten — or Akhenaton [ä΄ke nät′ n] var. of IKHNATON * * * … Universalium
Akhenaten — or Akhenaton [ä΄ke nät′ n] var. of IKHNATON … English World dictionary
Akhenaten — Pharaoh Infobox Name=Akhenaten / Amenhotep IV Alt= Amenophis IV, Naphu( )rureya, Ikhnaton Caption=Statue of Akhenaten in typical Amarna style. NomenHiero=i t:n:ra G25 x:n Nomen= Akhenaten Servant of the Aten or reflection of the wiserClayton… … Wikipedia
AKHENATEN — Amenhotep IV (1372 1354 B.C.) Egyptian King and earliest religious REFORMER known to HISTORY. He sought to weaken the power of the PRIESTHOOD and impose a FORM of MONOTHEISM on his people. After his death the priests regained power and… … Concise dictionary of Religion
Akhenaten — n. Egyptian Pharaoh (who was known as Amenhotep IV at the beginning of his reign) of the 18th dynasty who reigned between approximately 1350 1332 BC, father of Tutankhamen … English contemporary dictionary
Akhenaten — /ækəˈnatən/ (say akuh nahtuhn) noun died c. 1357 BC, king of Egypt c.1375–c.1357 BC; a monotheist who worshipped Aten; founded new capital at Tell el Amarna. Original name, Amenhotep IV. Also, Akhenaton, Ikhanaton, Ikhnaton … Australian-English dictionary
Akhenaten — noun early ruler of Egypt who rejected the old gods and replaced them with sun worship (died in 1358 BC) • Syn: ↑Akhenaton, ↑Ikhanaton, ↑Amenhotep IV • Instance Hypernyms: ↑king, ↑male monarch, ↑Rex … Useful english dictionary
Akhenaten (comics) — Superherobox| caption = Akhenaten , as depicted on the cover of #2 (May 2003). Art by Jim Starlin. comic color = background:#ff8081 character name = Akhenaten real name = Amenhotep IV publisher = Marvel Comics debut = Incredible Hulk #457 (vol. 2 … Wikipedia
Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth — infobox Book | name = Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth title orig = translator = Tagreid Abu Hassabo author = Naguib Mahfouz cover artist = Eric Fuentecilla country = Egypt language = Arabic series = genre = Historical, Novel publisher = Columbia… … Wikipedia
Akhenaten (disambiguation) — Akhenaton or Akhenaten may refer to:* Akhenaten, Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt * Akhnaton (play), 1937 play by Agatha Christie about the pharaoh * Akhnaten (opera), a 1983 Philip Glass opera about the pharaoh * Akhenaten (comics),… … Wikipedia
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The exhibition bauhaus imaginista: Learning From explores the role of cultural appropriation at the Bauhaus and in the work of Bauhaus related artists and designers during the 20th Century. It departs from the example of Paul Klee’s 1927 drawing of a carpet that references traditional Maghrebi carpet patterns, which shows a Bauhaus Master’s interest in non-Western cultural forms.
From the mid 1930s onwards Bauhaus emigres, including Josef and Anni Albers, and Marguerite Wildenhain, travelled throughout the Americas observing, documenting and collecting handicrafts produced by pre-Columbian and indigenous cultures. Anni Albers and her fellow weavers, including a younger generation of Fiber Artists looked to ancient Peruvian textiles because of their complexity and the high social value afforded weaving in Inca society. An interest in vernacular handicraft and architecture can also be seen in the work and study of the second Bauhaus director Hannes Meyer and Bauhaus weaver Lena Bergner during the period they spent in Mexico.
The turn to the vernacular and to handicrafts was given a political dimension in post-independence Morocco, where the rejection of a French Beaux-Arts model by Moroccan artists of the early 1960s led to the re-evaluation of local North African crafts and the Bauhaus, both of which were integrated into the curriculum of the School of Fine Arts in Casablanca.
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What are oesophageal strictures?
The oesophagus carries food from the mouth to the stomach after swallowing. Strictures are a narrowing of the oesophagus due to the formation of scar tissue. In dogs, oesophageal strictures occur most commonly secondary to acid reflux during an anaesthetic. In cats, oesophageal strictures are most commonly seen following certain medications which can irritate the oesophagus.
How can I tell if my pet has an oesophageal stricture?
Trouble when eating or drinking is often the main sign of oesophageal disease. Many patients choke when eating certain food types, for instance, struggling with biscuits but managing soft food or water. Regurgitation is also very common in oesophageal strictures – this is where undigested food is brought up shortly after eating (this can sometimes be hard to tell apart from vomiting). Pets with regurgitation can sometimes develop pneumonia, so a cough may be present too.
How is an oesophageal stricture diagnosed?
Plain x-rays may sometimes be suggestive of an oesophageal stricture however it is best diagnosed with a combination of a fluoroscopy visualised swallowing study and endoscopy.
How is an oesophageal stricture treated?
Balloon dilation of an oesophageal stricture is often effective in short-term however recurrence of the stricture is relatively common. The vast majority of patients will require several balloon dilations to be performed. At Fitzpatrick Referrals, we perform oesophageal balloon dilation under fluoroscopic assistance, as it is widely considered that this allows more effective ballooning to be performed. In some refractory cases, an indwelling balloon can be placed for up to six weeks which owners will dilate at home to prevent strictures reforming – our Interventional Radiologist Gerard McLauchlan, has placed several of these indwelling balloons with excellent results.
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Key: "S:" = Show Synset (semantic) relations, "W:" = Show Word (lexical) relations
Display options for sense: (gloss) "an example sentence"
- S: (n) obeche, obechi, arere, samba, Triplochiton scleroxcylon (large west African tree having large palmately lobed leaves and axillary cymose panicles of small white flowers and one-winged seeds; yields soft white to pale yellow wood)
- S: (n) samba (music composed for dancing the samba)
- S: (n) samba (a lively ballroom dance from Brazil)
- S: (n) samba (a form of canasta using three decks of cards and six jokers)
- S: (v) samba (dance the samba)
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Founded during the reign of Edward I in 1284 by Jean de Grailly, his senechal, Monpazier is perhaps the best known and frequently visited of all of the bastides. Its appeal lies in its well-preserved stone buildings, many of which date from the thirteenth century, its old halle sheltering ancient grain measures, a street system of major arteries, minor cross streets, and narrow lanes, extensive remnants of the town wall, and the presence of several of the bastide gates. More
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Here are 5 riddles only smartest people on Earth can solve. Even if you get 3 out of following 5, consider yourself true champion. Look down for answers..
1. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?
2. A woman shoots her husband. Then she holds him under water for over 5 minutes. Finally, she hangs him. But 5 minutes later they both go out together and enjoy a wonderful dinner together. How can this be?
3. What is black when you buy it, red when you use it, and gray when you throw it away ?
4. Can you name three consecutive days without using the words Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday?
5. This is an unusual paragraph. I'm curious as to just how quickly you can find out what is so unusual about it. It looks so ordinary and plain that you would think nothing was wrong with it. In fact, nothing is wrong with it! It is highly unusual though. Study it and think about it, but you still may not find anything odd. But if you work at it a bit, you might find out. Try to do so without any coaching!
THE ANSWERS TO ALL FIVE THE RIDDLES ARE BELOW:
HEY DON'T Cheat - Do you really need to check the answers first?
1. The third room. Lions that haven't eaten in three years are dead. That one was easy, right?
2. The woman was a photographer. She shot a picture of her husband, developed it, and hung it up to dry (shot; held under water; and hung).
3. Charcoal, as it is used in barbecuing.
4. Sure you can name three consecutive days, yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
5. The letter "e", which is the most common letter used in the English language, does not appear even once in the paragraph.
How did you do?
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FineWeb
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Topical Symposium 4
Semiconductor photocatalysis is becoming a popular method for surface depollution and decontamination in the 21st century. A photocatalytic process can be defined as the acceleration of a photoreaction in the presence of a catalyst. Practical applications of photocatalysts include water splitting and green solar fuel production, chemical synthesis, and the degradation of organic pollutants and surface disinfection. The photocatalytic phenomenon is often also associated with the development of photoinduced superhydrophilic properties, which provides a ‘self-cleaning’ effect at the surface, which has been exploited in, for example, large area glazing applications.Titanium dioxide remains the most studied and practically used photocatalytic material, owing to its chemical and biological stability, low cost and non-toxicity. However, for practical exploitation of the photocatalytic process to real-life processes, the quantum efficiency of pristine titanium dioxide may not be sufficient. Solving this issue is one of the main objectives in modern photocatalytic research, where the proposed techniques range from modifications of titanium dioxide (via metal and non-metal doping, coupling with another semiconductor, or the introduction of crystal lattice defects) to the use of alternative, non-titania, semiconductors with higher quantum efficiency. This Topical Symposium will address: Industrial applications of photocatalytic and superhydrophilic materials; Water splitting applications and characterisation; Chemical synthesis via photocatalysis; Measurement of photocatalytic activity and superhydrophilic behavior; film and particle characterisation techniques; Production techniques for photocatalytic thin films and particles; Alternative materials and new applications.
TS4. Invited Speakers:
- Josef Krysa, University of Chemistry and Technology, Czech Republic, “Hematite and Titania Thin Films: Energy and Environmental Applications”
- Suresh Pillai, Centre for Precision Engineering, Materials and Manufacturing Research & Nanotechnology and Bio-Engineering Research Division, Ireland, “Industrial Applications of Photocatalytic and Superhydrophilic Materials”
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