text:
First to refresh everyone's memory, here's a quick description of a mod file form wikipedia.
This is the original module format. Uses inverse-frequency note numbers. 4 voices, with up to 32 in later variations of the format. Pattern data is not packed. Instruments are simple volume levels; samples and instruments correspond one-to-one. 15 instruments in the original Soundtracker, 31 in later trackers. This format was originally created to be easily playable with the Amiga hardware, since it was equipped with a four-channel DAC. The CPU has to do very little work to play these modules on an Amiga. Many games utilize this format - often with small player programs included. In the early 1990s, usage of this format with games was widespread across platforms, with games on PC and Nintendo systems utilizing it, as well.
So picking the highlights above a mod file basically 4 streams of notes, each note representing 1 of the 15 instruments.
My question is how can these files be converted into sound in modern day computers?? (I know they can, JavaModPlayer2 is a good mod player). I'm assuming that the original notes in the mod files were directly fed to the 15 hardware instruments that resides in the Amiga.
Wouldn't this undoubtedly make mod files sound different on practically every computer depending on how the 15 Amiga instruments are emulated?
How do modern mod players play mod files? Do they decode into another format first, like mp3? Or do they directly feed the information to the sound hardware - how do they do that? Does Java provide an API for this?
Would it be possible to ship "software" versions of the 15 Amiga instruments and use them while reading the mod file and to ultimately play the music unanimously on all computers?
I am quite clouded by how sound works in general, so any and all insights are welcome!
I was considering making my own mod player in java for fun since the mod format is fairly straightforward and tangible.


text:
Broward County (FL) Public Schools have developed lesson plans to address cultural relevancy in classroom instruction. A student body needs reflective images, stories and lessons to build skills and leadership. Take a look at the Haitian Culture Curriculum for grades K – 5.
News: "The Human Rights Archive at Duke University's Rubenstein Library and the estate of broadcaster Jean Dominique have announced a partnership to preserve the broadcast archives of the journalist's iconic Radio Haiti station. From the 1960s to 2002, Radio Haiti was that country's first independent radio station, promoting democratic freedoms, speaking out against human rights […]

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
By 2020, there will be 1,000,000 more computer science jobs than students. However, nine out of 10 schools don't even offer computer programming classes. Let's fix that.
Computer programming is the new literacy. It is a vital skill for the digital age. Yet the Newfoundland and Labrador education curriculum is not keeping pace. Right now, high schools in Newfoundland and Labrador offer Webmaster, which is a basic introduction to HTML. The course is often considered an "easy" elective, and is taken by students who are looking for a high grade with minimal effort.
Other provinces, such as Ontario, offer education in computer programming as early as Grade 10. If Newfoundland and Labrador wants its economy to keep up with other provinces, it needs to step up and offer better education in computer programming.
Computer programming is an important skill for the next generation. Please consider reaching out to your MHA, or Minister Education Clyde Jackman. Together, we can bring Newfoundland and Labrador to the forefront of computer programming education in Canada.
Toronto (formerly of St. John's)


text:
The field survey form rated battlefield integrity through the eyes of the survey team. While these observations are valuable in terms of how the battlefield landscapes are perceived subjectively, for the purposes of this study it was deemed important to find a more objective measure of the loss or retention of integrity. For this we turned to the Cultural Resources GIS Facility for a computer analysis of land use within the battlefield study and core areas. Computer mapping and analysis software, collectively known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used in this study to create a mosaic map by combining many different modern and historic maps; to document study and core areas, to assess current land uses within defined areas; and to calculate statistics for land parcels.
The battlefield study and core areas were reduced to a computer format to enable various comparisons. The average size of study areas of the fifteen battlefields was 5,727 acres, ranging from 3,082 acres at Front Royal to 22,274 acres at Second Winchester. The size of the Front Royal study area accurately reflects the smaller numbers of troops engaged and their restricted deployment along the main roads. Second Winchester, on the other hand, involved a larger force, a network of Union entrenchments, two sweeping flank marches by Confederate forces that literally encircled the town of Winchester, and three days of fighting and maneuvering. The study areas of the Valley's two major battles (in terms of forces engaged and casualties) at Opequon and Cedar Creek were 11,670 acres and 15,607 acres respectively.
Because the study areas of several battlefields overlap, the total acreage for the study areas of the fifteen battlefields was 85,909 acres, 3.4 percent of the area of the Shenandoah Valley under consideration. Battlefield core areas ranged in size from 944 acres at Front Royal to 6,252 acres at Cedar Creek. The mean size of the core areas was 2,415 acres. Total acreage included in the battlefield core areas was 33,844 acres, 1.4 percent of the Valley's land area.
Figure 14 presents the integrity of the battlefields as determined by the GIS analysis. The percentage of built-up lands was computed for the battlefield study and core areas, using available 1973 land use data. These figures were then updated by on-site field inspections. In general, built-up lands, new roads, and quarries were subtracted from study and core area acreage, to achieve an integrity rating. One exception was built-up areas that were residential at the time of the Civil War and that still retain a similar scale and density, such as the old towns of Winchester, New Market, and McDowell. These districts were felt to support battlefield integrity. Retention of 75-100 percent natural and agricultural lands rated ''Good,'' 50-74 percent rated ''Fair,'' 25-49 percent rated ''Poor,'' and less than 25 percent rated ''Lost.'' As presented, the GIS analysis reflects the relative integrity of the battlefields as of 1991.
Figure 15 compares the findings of the field survey with the GIS integrity assessment. The field surveyors were more critical of visual intrusions, particularly of highways, bridges, powerlines, and construction within the battlefield cores. Four battlefields ranked good by GIS were ranked fair by the field survey team: Cedar Creek, Fisher's Hill, Cool Spring, and Tom's Brook. Four battlefields ranked fair by the GIS methodology, were ranked poor by the field survey: Second Winchester, Second Kernstown, and New Market. Both methods agreed on the goodintegrity of McDowell, Cross Keys, Piedmont, and Port Republic, on the fair integrity of First Kernstown, on the poor integrity of Opequon and Front Royal, and the lost condition of First Winchester. Although the integrity ranking derived through GIS differed in these instances from the field survey rating, both methods cluster the battlefields similarly toward the top and bottom of the scale.
The GIS method generates a gross ratio between land of high and low integrity and does not measure many visual intrusions that are apparent in the field. A minor intrusion in terms of acreage might appear as a major visual intrusion, depending on the location and setting. In this sense, the computer is more forgiving than the critical observer. This reference data is crucial, however, for obtaining a more objective view of the current status of the battlefields. Where the GIS rating is considerably higher than the field survey rating, perhaps, visual intrusions could be removed or masked to improve integrity. The GIS assessment will provide a reference point for monitoring further loss of integrity.
Several interesting facts emerged from a regional analysis of the battlefield study areas. The study areas contain a higher proportion of agricultural land (63 percent) than is the case for the Valley as a whole (37 percent). Due to this, changes in agricultural patterns or loss of agricultural land tend to have a higher impact on the battlefields than on the overall Valley landscape. Forests make up more than 56 percent of the Valley's acreage but only about 21 percent of battlefield acreage. This is accounted for by the fact that the Valley's forests are more concentrated in the higher elevations, while battles typically were fought on lower, flatter ground. In addition, built-up lands are more concentrated in the battlefield study areas (14 percent) than in the Valley as a whole (6 percent), reflecting the location of battlefields on or near important towns and transportation nodes. A relatively high level of existing residential development within a battlefield study area indicates that further development in the vicinity is probable due to current zoning and continued growth. Figure 5 shows the pattern of agricultural land use in the Shenandoah Valley.
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Creation Date: 3/10/95

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Definition of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane:
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a persistent organochlorine pesticide[1].
This is the common definition for dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, other definitions can be discussed in the article
DDT, like other organochlorine pesticides enter the marine environment mainly through inputs from water and air, as a result of their use in agriculture. Although the use of DDT in Western countries has been forbidden since the 1970's, they are still detected in the marine environment due to it's extreme stability (half-life of 15 years), to illegal use or to use elsewhere (third world countries). DDT is metabolised into dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) which is equally toxic. Therefore, to asses the risk of DDT exposure, the sum both contaminants needs to be taken into account. This also means that when you encounter a high percentage of DDT, the contamination must be a recent one.[2].
DDT affects the central nervous system of insects and other animals. This results in hyperactivity, paralysis and death. DDT also affects eggshell production in birds and the endocrine system of most animals. [3]
DDT has a very high tenancy towards biomagnification. When in a simple ecosystem the background concentration is equal to 1, then zooplankton can accumulate concentrations of 13.000, small fish species concentrations of 170.000, large fishes up to 670.000 and finally birds will accumulate concentrations up to 8.300.000. [4] DDT has been found in all marine ecosystems, including the Antarctic and the deep sea. It can be found in all components of the marine food web.
Case studies
PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in Antarctic algae
PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in shrimp from the Belgian North Sea
Pesticides in harbour porpoises
See also
DDT on the ED North Database
 1. Lawrence E (ed.), 2000. Henderson's Dictionary of Biological Terms. 12th edition. Prentice Hall, Pearson Education Limited. Harlow, Great Britain.
 2. OSPAR Commission 2000. Quality Status Report 2000, OSPAR Commission, London
 3. ↑ Kennish, M. J. (1996): Practical Handbook of Estuarine and Marine Pollution, CRC Press 524 pp
 4. Janssen, C. (2008). Wat is giftig en wat niet, de zee onder de loep. Het Laboratorium voor Milieutoxicologie en Aquatische Ecologie, in: Goffin, A. et al. (Ed.) (2008). UGent aan Zee. pp. 54-61


February 23, 2012 Newsletter for HWU
This is an incredible energy technique that you can use by itself as well as including it in your daily 5-minute routine. I've used it many times around 3 pmwhen my energy runs out and my brain fogs up. It works!
The Daily Energy Routine (continued) – the Wayne Cook Posture
When you are stressed or exhausted your meridians begin to run backward so you will be compelled to rest. Tapping or massaging your K-27 points can often restore the natural direction of the meridian flow. But in more extreme cases, not only do the meridians run backward, but their energies may become quite chaotic. The Wayne Cook Posture reorders these chaotic, scrambled energies.
This procedure is named to honor Wayne Cook, a pioneering researcher of bioenergetics force fields, who invented the approach which has been modified by Donna Eden into the form presented here.
It is very powerful as it will calm you, bring order to your thinking and help you better understand confront the problems that you face. I have used it to help me when my brain feels "scrambled" after working intensely on the computer for several hours, or focusing keenly on a problem whose solution eludes me!
The Wayne Cook Posture will:
 - Untangle inner chaos
 - See with better perspective
 - Focus your mind more effectively
 - Think more clearly
 - Learn more proficiently
Even more exciting is that this technique is effective even when you are so upset that you cannot quit crying, you find yourself snapping or yelling at others, you are sinking into despair or feeling that you are beyond exhaustion. This posture helps process stress hormones. And the effect is almost immediate, you will begin to feel less crazy and less overwhelmed.
To do the Wayne Cook Posture, sit in a chair with your spine straight (time—about 90 seconds):
 1. Place your left foot over your right knee. Wrap your right hand around the front of your left ankle and your left hand over the ball of your left foot, with your fingers curled around the sides of the foot.
 2. Breath in slowly through your nose, letting the breath life your body as you breathe in. At the same time, pull your leg toward you, creating a stretch. As you exhale, breathe out of your mouth slowly, letting your body relax. Repeat this slow breathing and stretching four or five times.
 3. Switch to the other foot and reverse the hand positions (left hand around front of right ankle, right hand over ball of right food). Again breath slowly and stretching four or five times.
 4. Uncross your legs and "steeple" your fingertips together so they form a pyramid in front of your chest. Then bring your thumbs to rest on your "third eye," just above the bridge of your nose. Breath slowly and deeply about three or four full breaths.
For a demonstration please watch the following YouTube video:
[youtube_sc url="_URL_ title="Donna%20Eden%20demonstrates%20the%20Wayne%20Cook%20posture" border="1" color="white" theme="light" modestbranding="1" autohide="1"]


Shot glass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 (Redirected from Jigger (unit))
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Three shot glasses of varying shape and size
Shot glasses with a variety of designs. Shot glasses such as these are often collected as novelty items
A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass ("a shot") or poured into a cocktail. A "shot" of liquor is not the same as a "shooter".
Name origin[edit]
The Oxford English Dictionary's first citation for the term "shot glass" is in The New York Times during the 1940s, but the earliest known written reference was in a 1913 book by Dr. Jehu Z. Powell, " A History of Cass County Indiana from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time" [Lewis Publishing Company, 1913]. On page 655 Dr. Powell recounts an incident c. 1857 in the small town of New Waverly, Indiana, occasioned by a local man attempting to open a saloon against fierce local temperance opposition. The initial stock was a barrel of whiskey, which had arrived by train and was sitting on the open freight platform awaiting delivery to the would-be barkeeper. A local man who was an ardent temperance supporter fired his rifle from an upper floor window in his house and shot a hole in the barrel, draining it of its contents. "The remedy was effectual, and the saloon was not opened, and ever after, when the boys wanted a drink they would ask for a'shot of redeye.'" New Waverly is located just outside of Logansport, Indiana, which was an important transportation hub for northern Indiana in the 19th century as a riverboat port on the Wabash River and a stop on the Wabash and Erie Canal, as well as an important railroad engine maintenance and repair center during the first half of the 20th century. This intensive involvement in transportation could account for the gradual dissemination of an otherwise obscure local expression over a much broader geographic area.
Several examples also exist from the 1930s.[1][2] However, although it was used by some,[3][4] the term apparently did not come into common usage until much later.
Many references from the 1800s describe giving a jigger of whiskey or rum to workers who were digging canals. Most shot glasses are found in the United States, but shot glasses from before the 1940s are very rare.[5]
Before Prohibition in the U.S. in the early to mid 1900s, thin-sided whiskey glasses were common. After Prohibition, these were replaced by shot glasses with a thick base and thick sides.[citation needed]
Because the word shot also means "dose" or "small amount", it may simply be that these small glasses are called shot glasses because they hold small, powerful amounts. However, there are a range of more complex stories about the origin of the style of glass and its name. Few of them stand up to much scrutiny – either they place the origin decades before the term appeared in print, or they describe an item that had nothing to do with drinking liquor:
Country Small Single Double Notes
Australia 30 mL 60 mL A single shot is sometimes called a "nip".[6] At 30 mL, a typical spirit with 40 percent alcohol is roughly equivalent to one Australian standard drink.[7]
Canada 28.41 mL (1 ounce[8][not in citation given]) is a short shot (pony shot) 42.61 mL (1.5 ounces) 71 mL (2.5 ounces) In Canada, a "shot" generally refers to the province's definition of a "standard drink" under liquor licenses. Although sizes may vary, most provinces cite amounts similar to Ontario's guidelines of 0.6 oz. or 17 mL of pure alcohol; since a "shot" is typically a spirit with 40 percent alcohol, this makes the shot 1.5 oz. or 42.62 mL (though many establishments serve a lower "standard drink" of only 1 oz.).[9] A double shot in North America may be either 2.5 or 3.0 fluid ounces.[10] A smaller 1.0 fl. oz. shot is usually referred to as a "pony shot" or "short shot".[11]
Finland 40 mL In Finland, the maximum amount of strong alcohol restaurants are allowed to serve is regulated by law to one 40 mL portion at a time per customer. Doubles cannot be legally served.[citation needed]
Germany 20 mL 40 mL In Germany, shot glasses (German: Schnapsglas, Pinnchen, Stamperl) are smaller.[citation needed]
Greece 45 mL 90 mL A shot is commonly referred to as a "sfinaki" and it can be made of one liquor or a cocktail mix. There is also an 3 oz - "bottoms up" version of "sfinaki", called "ipovrihio", Greek word for submarine. It's served in a standard liquor glass half full of blonde beer, where the bartender adds a glass shot filled with vodka or whiskey.[citation needed]
Hungary 20 or 30 mL 40 or 50 mL 80 or 100 mL In Hungarian, shot glasses are called felespohár (feles meaning "half", standing for 0.5 dL), pálinkáspohár (for pálinka), kupica or stampedli.[citation needed]
India 30 mL 30 mL 60 mL A shot is commonly referred to as a "peg", and is measured as a "small" (chhota), or a "large" (bud-da) peg. A 90 mL shot in India is called a Patiala peg.[citation needed]
Ireland 35.5 mL 71 mL Derived from the use of a quarter-gill (35.516 mL) as the traditional Irish spirit measure.[citation needed]
Israel 30 mL 50 or 60 mL In Israel, the common word for a small shot is צ'ייסר ("chaser").[citation needed]
Italy 30 mL 40 or 60 mL In Italy, the common word for a shot is cicchetto or, more informally and used mainly in nightclubs by young people, shortino. In North Italy, the cicchetto is the most-common way to taste grappa from at least two centuries.[citation needed]
Poland 25 mL 50 mL 100 mL To take shots in Polish slang is to take po pięćdziesiątce, meaning to take "by fifties" (50 mL).[citation needed]
Romania 50 mL 100 mL A single shot is traditionally known in the Romanian language as unu mic (una mică) or cinzeacă, meaning "a small one". A double shot is simply called unu (una mare), meaning "one (big)".[citation needed]
Serbia 20 mL 30-50 mL 50–70 mL A single shot is traditionally known in the Serbian language as чашица за ракију and ракијска чашица, meaning "small glass for rakija" and "rakija glass", or simply as мера – мерица, meaning "measure". A double shot is simply called Дупли, meaning "a double", while the smallest, 20 milliliter glass, is known as dvojka meaning "two".[citation needed]
Sweden 20 mL 40 mL 60 mL A single shot is referred to as a fyra, meaning "a four" and a double is referred to as a sexa, meaning "a six", as Swedes will generally use centiliters rather than milliliters for any measure larger than 10 mL[citation needed]
Slovakia 20 or 25 mL 40 or 50 mL 80 or 100 mL The most-common single-shot size is the pol deci (literally, "half a decilitre", 50 mL).[citation needed]
South Africa 25 mL The South African government has an official definition for the single-shot size.[citation needed]
United Kingdom 25 or 35 mL 50 or 70 mL Shots sold on-premises must contain either 25 mL or 35 mL measures of whisky, gin, rum, or vodka, as defined in the Weights and Measures Act of 1985. This requirement does not extend to other spirits. A 2001 amendment allowed a double shot of 70 mL to be served. Generally, a single measure is equal to 35 mL in Northern Ireland and 25 mL in the rest of the United Kingdom.[12]
United States 30 mL (1.0 US fl oz) 44 mL (1.5 US fl oz) 89 mL (3.0 US fl oz) There is no standard size for a single shot, except in Utah, where a shot is defined at 1.5 fl. oz.[13] Elsewhere in the U.S., the standard size is generally considered to be 1.25–1.


text:
A Norwegian study, just published in the journal, Pediatrics, looked at data from more than 31-thousand pregnancies.
Researchers collected information about the fathers mental health during the second trimester, the mothers pre and post-natal mental health, and their child's development at 36 months of age.
At week 17 or 18 of gestation, 3-percent of the fathers had high levels of psychological distress. Using a special model to analyze all of the data, the team found a small, yet consistent link between the fathers mental health and their children's wellbeing at age 3. Kids whose dads had high levels of distress had higher levels of emotional, social and behavioral problems.
Researchers would like to see more study done on an expectant father's psychological health...and what can be done to help lessen the stress...to help all generations down the road.
I'm Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV with the health news that matters to you.
© Copyright 2013 A Granite Broadcasting Station. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Figure 6.
Parsing sequence S into three non-overlapping intervals t0, t1 and t2 with the state assignments q1, q2 and q3, respectively. Position k marks an index in S. The dashed box highlights the evidence overlapping the first interval from position b0 to e0.
Allen et al. Genome Biology 2006 7(Suppl 1):S9 doi:10.1186/gb-2006-7-s1-s9


text:
The National Council of La Raza has released a new report listing best practices for use by early education programs seeking to improve their services for Hispanic children and English language learners.
The civil rights group profiled four programs from around the country that are making progress and made policy recommendations for replicating those models elsewhere. According to NCLR, the programs highlighted exemplify the key areas of professional development, student assessments, language instruction and family engagement:
- Youth Development, Inc., of New Mexico. The program provides Head Start to 1,600 children, of whom about 76 percent are Latino. The organization's professional development goes beyond federal training requirements by providing ongoing lessons throughout the year on topics such as dual-language instruction. Community college professors also lead sessions. Other supports include mentor-coaches who develop goals with beginning teachers and observe classroom instruction.
- The Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. The LAMB charter school offers dual-language classes from pre-K through fifth grade. The school has three ways of assessing children: only in their home language; in a language that the children are proficient in, even if it isn't the home language; or both languages the children know. The school uses formal assessments such as DIBELS and informal assessments including student portfolios and weekly plans.
- East Coast Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program in southern Florida. This program with 60 sites serves primarily Mexican migrant farm worker families and focuses on providing dual-language instruction. The group developed a curriculum for toddlers and pre-K students that gradually increases the amount of English used. Learning benchmarks are used, classrooms are labeled in both English and Spanish, and home visits are conducted.
- The Concilio in Dallas. This group formed in 1981 works closely with the Dallas Independent School District to increase Hispanic parent involvement. The organization operates the Parents Advocating for Student Excellence program at 29 schools and four prekindergarten sites in the district. Past graduates of PASE recruit parents of preschool students to attend a series of 30 meetings during the school year focused around lessons and activities. Parents who participate must complete homework assignments tied to the sessions.


Template for comments on WCAG 2.0 Last Call Draft and Support Documents
Commenter: Lisa seeman
Email: _EMAIL_
Affiliation: Invited expert at W3C, UB access
Date: May 17 2006
Please ensure that the comments submitted are as complete and "resolvable" as possible. Thank you.
Document Abbv. (W2/UW/TD)
Item Number (e.g. 1.1)
Part of Item (Heading)
Comment Type (G/T/E/Q)
(Including rationale for any proposed change)
Proposed Change (Be specific)
 W2 3.2.2
Level 1 Success Criteria for Guideline 3.2
Some widgets - such as a tree, the tab order will and should change when a component is expanded. It make no sense to say that that is not OK unless it is not predicable.
As AT becomes used to these widgets, instruction will not be required
Changing the setting of any form control or field does not automatically cause a change of context (beyond moving to the next field in tab order or behavior for a progamaticly determinable widget type.), unless the authored unit contains instructions before the control that describe the behavior
 W2 3.2.
Level 1 Success Criteria for Guideline 3.2
I am concerned that level 1 SC will act against automatic help and combined with information hiding. For example when information is hidden unless you focus on the element in question, and then all the sub information about it is given.
If you do not hide the information then the page becomes busy and you can not see what the main points are. If the user has a two strep process to access the information, then they may never receive it.
As with many SC, they are OK if you read the definition, but if you just read the text it is misleading
change the term "change of context" to "confusing change in context"
the definition can remain the same
 W2 1.2
I am concerned that the requirement for real time synrcrization put a lot of extra work on authors who would like to provide short animations or clips that help people with learning disabilities fulfill a task.
On the whole, a lot of multi media, especially in education, is good for many learning disabilities, and these requirements may act as a step backwards for learning disabilities.
Make an exception in 1.2 for any content provides extra help visual for tasks and information that has been described in text else wear.
 W2 3.2.
to my mind the most important aspect if predictability is exposing to the user agent what each thing is. That way the interface can be tailored to the user's access strategy.
 If XHTML 2 roles are known - what is main and what is secondary navigation, then the order becomes less important
add success criteria
Terms in the document often seem to mean something a bit different, until you read the definitions. As WCAG is often quoted the terms themselves should be as close to clear language as the can be without viewing the definitions.
change the term "programticly determined", to "supported by Assistive technology".
 W2 3.2.3
. Adaptive interfaces are a good thing. sometimes change is because we know more about what the user likes..change the wording
...occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the user or may benifit the user
 W2 _URL_
To get to CR (candidate recommendation we believe two things are required.
1, Concrete checkpoints or list of requirements
2, Tests that completion of the minimum requirements of success criteria at each level will make sites progressively usable for people with disabilities listed in the overview.
Create a list of "what to do" checkpoint
· Level 3 success criteria:
1. Achieve additional accessibility enhancements.
2. Can not necessarily be applied to all Web content.
I object to definition. Because many criteria are level 3 only because they are considered too hard to do on all web content does not mean that level 1 and two achieve minimal and enhanced accessibility.
Level 3 is also minimal accessibility
 change of wording
Level 3 success criteria:
1. Achieve minimal accessibility , or, if the Success criteria can be applied to all Web content, achieves additional accessibility enhancements.
2. Can not necessarily be applied to all Web content.
 W2 _URL_ introduction
The claim in _URL_ learning difficulties, cognitive limitations,
However the checkpoints towards understandability even at level 3 addresses only secondary education level – in other word usable for mainstream people without these disabilities. The basic mechanism for simplifications have not been included, or use of symbols or conversion to symbols. Also left out are use for controlled languages
The result: I read a lot of complex specification. I am even writing W3C specifications, but WXAG is the only on that I can not follow though because of my disability. I ca understand the concepts, but the presentation requires remembering what technique 3.1.3 was for, and then (if I forgot what 3.2.3 stood for, going back to the original guidelines finding it, hopefully not confusing it with 1..3.2 etc – why because WCAG are following there own specifications, so I, as a person with a disability, can not use their material.
 to say "this document contains principles, guidelines, and success criteria that define and explain the requirements for making Web-based information and applications accessible" and to include learning difficulties, cognitive limitations is an insult to anyone with learning memory or cognitive impairments. there are many clear sets of guidelines that do that. WCAG is not one of them.
Practical proposal – state clearly that learning difficulties, cognitive limitations are not fully addressed beyond a very limited way. Then work on a extended guideline, be it optional and untestable, success criteria that does the job.
1. Identifying changes in natural languages USING a technology-specific technique listed below AND Identifying text direction of passages and phrases USING a technology-specific technique listed below (for a technology in your baseline) "
The example is an odd one because always, when changing direction, you are changing characters and there for it is, by definition programticly determined
More over bILI languages change direction all the times whenever numbers are used. Are you really expecting each number to be in it's own span? Why not follow the standard BILI algorithms
Remove this paragraph


Inertia's picture
Tutorials Wishlist
This is a gathering topic for recommendations/requests/contributions of OpenTK Tutorials that should be added. Please keep this sane (noone will port Quake III's source code for a tutorial) and be verbose what the tutorial should achieve, i.e. with that knowledge the reader should end up with after reading the source code.
There's no limit how small or big the tutorial should be, but some things need to be part of a larger tutorial (e.g. load a texture and draw a textured quad - makes little sense separated)
Also note that the tutorials on this list will not necessarily be finished tomorrow, it's more a list of feedback from users to get an idea what is missing and which areas require improvements. Posts like "I second [name]'s suggestion" are very welcome too, as this helps to set priorities! Thank you :)
Free your mind...
Edit: this topic isn't much for discussion of the suggestion's details, so don't be confused if you get no reply. All suggestions will be read and considered.
Don't be afraid to add wishes that might sound trivial or stupid, the tutorials are supposed to help beginners get a good start with OpenTK and without you voicing the problems there cannot be done anything about this.
Comment viewing options
Mincus's picture
Running through a simple game with a tutorials for each part might be a big help.
Wouldn't have to be anything complicated. Something like a pong clone.
For example:
Tutorial 1: 3 coloured rectangles (2 bats, 1 ball) on the screen, no movement, just general "set up and draw" tutorial.
Tutorial 2: Input example, one bat controlled by keyboard, one by mouse. Have the ball moving as well, so basic collision detection.
Tutorial 3: Add textures.
Tutorial 4: Add scores (text/font tutorial).
Tutorial 5: Add sounds for the ball bouncing, maybe losing and possibly music to demonstrate both WAV and OGG loading.
Possibly it could move 3D and maybe move closer to an "air hockey" table at some point.
For VBOs a possible particle generation example might work.
That's a start anyway. I understand that would be a lot of work, but I think the basic idea of adding bits to a simple game is sound.
objarni's picture
I think the build-a-simple-game idea is great!
3d-pong is also a good idea. Or missile attack (cannon protects city from falling bombs/missiles).
I think it is a good idea to keep such a tutorial to the GameWindow style of OpenTK usage, since it is simpler to use than GLControl IMHO.
Basically, to build such a game, you would need the following "mini tutorials":
1. How to initialize / shutdown a GameWindow in OpenTK
2. How to read keyboard input
3. How to read mouse input
4. How to clear screen / swap buffers / draw colored triangles
5. How to generate sound samples and play them
Notice no files apart from OpenTK.dll is needed by any of 1-5. This is good since it saves the beginner lots of hassle.
After the "mini tutorials" have been read through, you might be ready for "3d pong":
6. Building 3d pong
After that, more intricate topics like texturing, WAVs, ogg, performance etcetera things might be added. I think 1-6 will get very many started with OpenTK development!
I don't think physics/modelling/collision detection/design patterns/performance should be adressed by the "basic game tutorial". That's why Pong is the best bet since it is so simple nothing fancy need to be done.
objarni's picture
Here is my previous wish list:
1) Simple VBO usage (two-three triangles are perfect; more and it becomes unecessarily complex)
2) Loading WAV / other supported formats (don't know which are supported)
3) Loading and displaying an image over the screen
4) Displaying Hello World and responding to any key (exits)
5) Using Mouse (moving triangle or something)
6) Going into / out of Fullscreen
Stevo14's picture
As far as I know, number 2 will be really easy. Something like this:
uint bufferID;
uint sourceID;
AL.GenBuffers(out bufferID);
AL.GenSources(out sourceID);
WaveSound FooSound = new WaveSound("Foo.wav");
AL.BindBufferToSource(sourceID, bufferID);
A total of 8 lines of code (including declarations).
objarni's picture
Inertia: how likely are Stevo14's example of being OpenTK's official way of playing a.WAV? The reason I'm asking, is because I might spend some time trying/putting this example up among the tutorials of then.. (or Steve14 maybe you want to do it?)
Inertia's picture
It's really that simple - his code will compile and play a sound. (assuming a valid ALContext, speakers turned on etc.)
You could change AL.BindBufferToSource into
AL.Source( sourceID, ALSourcei.Buffer, (int)bufferID );
(which is done by the AL.Bind helper internally)
AL.Delete* should be called for cleanup of the reserved handles before exiting and there's no error-checking, but that's it.
PlayStatic.cs demonstrates exactly this functionality, why write another example? I'll edit accordingly to work with AudioContext and WaveSound, once 0.9.1 is there.
Edit: Since I've already broken my plan not to comment in this topic, might aswell mention that an "OpenTK sample game" is in the works. It will come with full source code, and a couple of book pages giving insight into the'making of'. There is not only 1 single way to make a game, so it's kinda impossible trying to make it a step-by-step tutorial. The book pages will be more about considerations and choices made rather than trying to explain how to draw a textured quad. It will be a little more complex than pong, in order to deal with performance considerations aswell (after all, OpenTK is built around OpenGL)
objarni's picture
Great news about the sample game!
I prefer online samples / documentation of things, that's why I'm asking for it. IntelliSense (what you've sometimes referred to as 'docu') is great for details / reminders while coding. Example programs are great for demonstrations and testing the library on different platforms.
I thought the topic of this thread was "Tutorials Wishlist"?
Inertia's picture
Well it has been a week, and very few requests for tutorials were posted. If anyone has troubles getting started, it's usually the best approach to search/post in the forum to check if anyone has encounter similar difficulties before.
I prefer a 50 lines source code over a 5 page abstract talk about the problem, so the Source/Examples directory helped me getting started with OpenTK way better than if Fiddler had written a dozen tutorials. Guess it depends if you have an academic or autodidact background.
The VBO tutorial is only so verbose, because the topic is neither covered in the red nor orange book, but it's a really important concept to understand for programming GL. VBO questions were frequently asked at the Tao forums, so it was a good candidate to start with.
The term "book" might be misleading in context with OpenTK, at least I do understand it to be more of a manual for things too complex to deal with through Intellisense (which is imho the best thing that could happen to programmers besides home-pizza-delivery ;) ). It was agreed even before the "book" was created, that we won't bother rephrasing or c&p anything from already available resources.
AstroMag's picture
Here is my wish list:
1) How to get computer Total Physical Memory and Free Physical Memory size in MONO/NET?
2) Geting microphone - output (OpenAL)
Mincus's picture
AstroMag: I don't think getting the memory requirements is within the scope of OpenTK.
However under Windows (not tested this under Mono) you can add the reference "Microsoft.VisualBasic" then use the class "Microsoft.VisualBasic.Devices.ComputerInfo" to get the Total/Free RAM amounts.


text:
Wed September 5, 2012
The Toothbrush: It's In The Space Station's Toolbox. How About Yours?
When we heard that astronauts aboard the International Space Station took a spare toothbrush along on a spacewalk today and used it to help clean debris from around some bolts they needed to secure in order to install a power unit, it got us thinking.
Just how versatile are old toothbrushs? We know we've used them to:
-- Clean bike gears.
-- Get grime out of our hubcaps.
-- Get at the crust around a car battery's terminals.
-- Polish jewelry.
-- Reach into aquarium filters.
There must be, though, many other ways they've been used. Please put on your "Hints from Heloise" hats and share in the comments thread.
By the way, NPR's Joe Palca tells our Newscast Desk that the two astronauts' spacewalk was a success. He says that:
"The space station gets its power from an array of solar panels. Four boxes, called main bus switching units, deliver that power to the electrical system on board the station. One of those units had stopped working properly. The station has a spare, so NASA decided to replace the malfunctioning unit.
"But during a spacewalk last week, Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide were unable to drive home a bolt to needed install the unit, apparently because of some metal debris on the bolt or bolt housing. Using some jury-rigged tools, including a toothbrush on a metal handle, today they removed the debris. This this time the bolt went in without a hitch. Signals on the ground showed the new unit was working."
(H/T to NPR's Scott Neuman.)


text:
Smart Radio: Building Community-Based Internet Music Radio
The success of file-sharing networks demonstrates that there is a huge potential market for digital music services, if the music industry can find a service model that is attractive to listeners. The concept of digital distribution is appealing to the music industry, because it suggests the possibility of direct access to the consumer. In this thesis, we present Smart Radio, a prototype for an alternative distribution approach, one in which the consumers themselves are producers, building playlists of music which can be streamed to like-minded listeners. In this approach the service provider is an enabler of community and social processes, allowing information and recommendations to flow between users of the system, rather than engaging in targeted marketing. However, developing recommendation and personalisation techniques for music systems is problematic. Whereas information retrieval systems use keyword extraction to represent the subject matter of a document for indexing and retrieval, the comparable process for audio artefacts is still a subject of much research. The alternative is to rely on human input for content-description which can be a knowledge-intensive process. Automated Collaborative Filtering (ACF) is a technique which uses user ratings as a means of countering the problem of content elicitation. One serious drawback with ACF is that it is not sensitive to a user?s interests at a particular moment. ACF recommendation sets typically contain a mix of items reflecting the user?s accrued interests, rather than localised interests. We solve this problem using a Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) technique, in which we rank ACF recommendations according to their similarity to the user context. We call this technique context-boosted ACF. We define the context using a case-like representation of the user?s last playlist. The case representation describes the composition of a playlist in terms of the basic meta-tags we have been able to extract from each mp3 file associated with the playlist.We consider the light-weight case representation we use to be appropriate for an extension to ACF, which is often used in domains where content description is scarce. Increasingly, there has been a demand for objective evaluation criteria for automated recommendation systems. Conventional off-line techniques are not suitable for directly comparing recommendation strategies that produce different types of ranking, such as ACF and context-boosted ACF. We introduce a novel on-line evaluation technique in which two algorithms simultaneously compete to provide the user with recommendations. Unlike the off-line analysis, the on-line methodology judges the relative degree of success of each strategy according to whether recommendations were used by the on-line user. Our experiment, conducted over 15 weeks, found context-boosted ACF to be significantly more popular than ACF for all usage ranges. We demonstrate that the ACF mechanism is similar to an interactive CBR technique called case completion in which an incomplete target query is incrementally filled out in an interactive iv dialogue with the user. Using this insight we address some of the problems inherent in ACF systems such as query efficiency and memory overhead by applying techniques used in CBR. We implement our ACF component using a Case Retrieval Net (CRN) which reduces memory overhead by storing each feature-value pair once. We demonstrate how the calculation of the Pearson coefficient can be distributed among the nodes of the CRN. It has been recognised in ACF literature that the use of this measure is a computational bottleneck when calculating neighbours from a large set of users. Accordingly, we showed how retrieval time is speeded up because local similarity calculations are performed once for each node and distributed to indexed cases. Given that the structure of CRNs can be adapted for parallel processing, we suggest that this technique can be extended for large ACF data sets.


text:
Assuming the cars are all independent of one another, i.e. any given car has probability p of breaking down, regardless of what happens to the other cars...
Then two cars breaking down is two independent events, so to find the probability of it happening, you multiply the probabilities; p x p = p^2... less than the probability of one car breaking down
However, (I think this is where you're getting confused) if a car has ALREADY broken down, the probability that another will break down is still p, because they are independent.
If they aren't independent you need to know how they are related in order to answer questions about them


text:
adap·tive adjective \ə-ˈdap-tiv, a-\
: showing or having a capacity for or tendency toward adaptation
First Known Use of ADAPTIVE
adap·tive adjective \ə-ˈdap-tiv\ (Medical Dictionary)
: capable of, suited to, or contributing to adaptation
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up adaptive? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).


Demolition Grade Plates
Demolition Grade Plates
Modern demolition methods often call for for areas within the zone of operations to be protected for the activities of falling masonry and structures and heavy plant. Most hirers refuse to let their roadplate equipment be used for this purpose because of the very real risk of them being damaged and/or bent.
Similarly, grouser and cleated tracked machines and High Reach Demolition Excavators also have the potential to very quickly ruin pristine flat plates.
At roadplatehire we always have a quantity of not quite perfectly flat plates for just this kind of work.*
We'll lay plates where angels fear to tread!
Typical applications:
 - Can be used for covering hardened or unmade ground such as playing fields and lawns areas, zones where subterranean conditions are undetermined or sensitive required to support of massive loads, for heavier traffic such as trucks, cranes and machinery
 - Areas to be affected by the detonation of explosives and or pyrotechnics
 - Base for temporary structures
 - To protect areas where collapsing brickwork, concrete or masonry will be landed on
Mass: Various
Mechanical handling: Various
SALLY Only: Various
Anti skid: Various
Securing method: Various
*Obviously should the plates not be returned or are completely beyond any use then there may be a charge.
Specification sheet
Case study: Big Bang at Battersea


SAVE 30% on your next dog food & supplies order
Why Does Your Cat Have A Swollen Lip?
For the most apprehensive of us, any changes in our pets can easily make us worried. Any sign of sickness, be it behavioral or physical like a swollen lip, shouldn't be underestimated, although it's not always critical.
When a cat has a swollen lip, there may be many causes, including their diet, environment, dental issues. It's not always a concerning sign, but if the problem doesn't go away in a few days or it's recurring, it might be hiding a bigger issue.
Why does your cat's lip is swollen?
The reason for a cat's swollen lip is often eosinophilic granuloma complex or EGC. This term is used to describe a group of skin disorders, and often when this condition is present your cat's bottom lip will be swollen.
EGC can have many causes, including a wrong diet, bugs, dental or environmental issues, but it's commonly caused by an allergy.
Listed below are a few common causes of EGC along with other possible conditions behind cats' swollen lower lip.
Food allergy
Have you recently changed the type or brand of food you give to your cat? That could be the reason why your cat has a fat lip.
Just like us, cats can be allergic to food, and some of these allergies can be very dangerous or hide more serious conditions, like onion poisoning.
Many brands of dry and wet food have industrial additives to make food more appetizing to your pet. Some of these components may ignite an allergic reaction in your pet.
Sometimes simply removing the problematic food solves the problem. Other times, even if the cause is found, the swollen lip on the cat remains.
In this case, you can keep your cat on a hypo-allergenic diet for a while, and see if the problem solves itself. Topical medication may be needed to help the healing process.
Of course, you should consult your veterinarian before changing your cat's diet or giving them medications.
If your cat suffers from recurring episodes of swelling, keeping your pet on a hypo-allergenic diet for the rest of their life could be a solution.
Bug bites
When the season is warm and mosquitos are out for our blood, it's not uncommon to see a cat with a swollen lip.
Mosquito bites are the most common cause of EGC during summer, but it's not always easy to know for sure that your cat fat lip was provoked by a mosquito, so if it doesn't go away in the span of a few days, call your veterinarian.
Mosquitoes aren't the only culprits behind a swollen lip in cats. During summer, as well as the rest of the year, it's not uncommon for bugs and insects to come into our home.
Surely if you have an outdoor cat, you have to consider the risks and the 'encounters' your cat might have when outside, but indoor cats aren't immune to bug bites either.
Cats are also predators, and they have a lot of fun catching flies or other bugs. There's no saying in what insects and bugs have touched or the places they've been before meeting your playful feline, that's why cats may get swollen lips from trying to catch them.
The swelling caused by bug bites should disappear in a few days. However, if they touched a bug that carried some substance your cat is allergic to, this might not be the case and they will need a medical examination.
Food bowls
Cats can have more or less sensitive skin, just like humans. One of the items they come in contact with more often is of course their food and water bowls.
These bowls can easily provoke contact dermatitis or EGC if bacteria linger on them, but the material they're made of plays an important role as well.
In fact, plastic bowls are known to be the worst type of bowl your pet can have. They're not dangerous for cats only, they've been proven to cause skin problems to dogs as well.
That's because plastic contains chemicals that might ignite an allergic reaction in your pet. On top of that, bacteria are more likely to linger on plastic rather than other materials.
If you had a plastic bowl for a long time, that doesn't rule out the possibility that your cat lip swelling is caused by the bowl. In fact, your cat might develop an adverse reaction to plastic in the long run.
Try substituting your cat's plastic bowls with stainless steel or ceramic bowls. Stainless steel bowls are considered the best type of bowls for pets. Remember to wash your cat's bowl often and regularly to avoid lingering bacteria.
Environmental causes
This category is very vague because it refers to the specific habits and the environment that your cat lives in.
Outdoor cats are bound to visit different places and there's no saying in what material, food, ground, or living being could give them a swollen lip or other kinds of issues.
However, the life of indoor cats is not void of risks. Even the cleanest house is bound to have some dust, dirt, or other materials lying around every now and then.
As cats are very curious and exploratory by nature, it doesn't take much for them to come in contact with something that might cause an allergic reaction or even a light form of dermatitis.
How many times has your cat sneaked under a chair or a piece of furniture? That's one of the easiest ways to get swollen lips on cats.
It's impossible to restrain a cat, especially if it's an indoor one that doesn't have a lot of stimulation by default, so they should have the freedom to explore and play as long as it's a safe environment.
Swollen lips caused by these unfortunate circumstances are often innocuous and should pass on their own. However, if a cat's lip is swollen for more than a few days, don't hesitate to contact your veterinarian.
Dental issues
Sometimes dental issues are behind a cat's swollen bottom lip. A dental abscess, rotting tooth, or infected gums could provoke swelling in the lips or face.
In this case, the swollen lip might be the last symptom you notice, because dental issues are rarely without pain, and your cat will likely do one or more of the following:
 - Whine incessantly
 - Avoid food even when they're clearly hungry
 - Drool
 - Have extremely bad breath (more than usual)
 - Shake their head for apparently no reason
 - React aggressively or painfully when you touch their face, mouth, under their chin
Dental issues shouldn't be underestimated because they're likely to get worse with time. Your veterinarian will recommend medications or surgery to remove the problematic tooth or the infected tissue.
Chin acne
Did you know that cats can get acne? Not many people are aware of a condition called chin acne, which is often overlooked or not recognized at all because its symptoms are easily confused with other conditions.
This skin disorder is actually called follicular keratinization, where there is an overproduction of keratin in the outer layer of the skin that gets trapped in the hair follicle.
Chin acne can be a consequence of using plastic bowls because it exposes the cat to bacterial contamination. Poor grooming habits are another cause of chin acne, so it's not uncommon to see this disorder in older cats that cannot manage to groom themselves properly anymore.
When the acne affects hair follicles near the mouth, it may look like your cat has a swollen lower lip. However, this condition has nothing to do with the oral cavity and another symptom is usually the dirty appearance of the chin.
Chin acne is diagnosed through clinical signs, but sometimes blood tests and skin cultures may be needed. Treatment usually involves products to flush out the hair follicles and improve the hygiene of the pet.
A swollen lip might be, in rare cases, the symptom of an oral tumor, specifically feline oral squamous cell carcinoma, or FOSCC.
This kind of tumor is the most common oral tumor in cats, but it doesn't mean it's a common tumor. It usually occurs in old cats and affects the lower jaw and lip.
This tumor might affect other parts of the mouth, and cause great discomfort for your pet. A cat affected by this carcinoma has difficulty eating and might share the same symptoms as a cat with dental issues.
Luckily, metastasis for this kind of tumor is rare, but a more accurate assessment can only be done after a thorough medical examination.
The veterinarian will decide whether to proceed with treatment or surgery and will help you assess the quality of your cat's life in the future.
What should you do if your cat has a swollen lip?
A cat with a swollen lip is not necessarily a medical emergency, but you should nonetheless monitor your cat closely until they get better.
When the swelling is due to their diet, their food and water bowls, or another recent change in their routine, it is enough to remove the problematic item from their daily life and wait for the swelling to pass.
During the summer season, it's not uncommon for cats to be bitten by mosquitoes or other bugs. In that case, as well, the swelling should subside in a couple of days.
More often than not, outdoor cats come in contact with dirt, unknown materials, or other animals or insects that might provoke such a reaction.
Indoor cats are also at risk of developing swollen lips from eating the wrong food or sneaking under a dusty piece of furniture.
The wisest thing to do is to call the veterinarian right away, however, some pet parents might be reluctant because a trip to the vet can easily become an expensive situation.
Often, a cat with a swollen lip will be fine in a few days, but in the case that the swelling doesn't go away on its own after 2-3 days, or if


text:
initial graphs (minimal and negative initial digraphs)
One of the main advantages of MGG over other approaches to graph transformation is its ability to study properties of the grammar independently of the initial state. Thus, it is possible to define an algortihm (productions of a grammar) and analyse some of its properties without taking into account the concrete problem it is going to be applied to.
For a given sequence, one natural question is the minimal (smallest) graph that we have to be given in order to apply the sequence. Recall that MGG is not only able to study the elements that have to be present in order to apply a production, but also those that must not be in the initial graph. The minimal initial digraph (MID) is precisely this smallest graph. The negative initial digraph (NID) specifies those elements that should not appear in the host graph. They both can be explicitely calculated. Sections 4.4 and 5.3 in the MGG book are devoted to this topic. It is interesting that we can use this concepts to contribute to Petri nets (Sec. 8.2).
The main importance of the initial digraphs is that they substitute the host graph in those cases where some initial state is mandatory. For example, when dealing with universal quantifiers in application conditions. Hence, the analysis of the grammar productions can be performed without the need of a concrete host graph.
In previous posts I have commented on non-determinism in MGG, being one of its sources how nodes across productions are related (whether two nodes of the same type in different productions have to be the same node or not). If we have in mind a concrete sequence, as soon as the left hand sides of the productions are matched in the state graph the non-determinism disappears. But the interesting part of the analysis is the one that happens before the productions are matched into the host graph. Recall that this non-determinism is classified as vertical and horizontal. The initial digraphs deal with horizontal non-determinism, so they contribute also to the study of the vertical non-determinism.
Depending on the way completion is carried out, different initial digraphs will be derived, giving rise to the notions of initial digraph set. The horizontal non-determinism needs further research. For some time I tried to address this issue using representation theory, which I will comment on in a future post. There is a fast introduction to representation theory here.
Summarizing, initial digraphs are interesting at least for three reasons: They keep independence in MGG of the analysis with respect to the host graph, they also help in the study of horizontal non-determinism and they answer the question of what is the smallest graph able to fire a sequence.
Today I find myself a bit sarcastic. Normally I choose quotes that are related to the topic of the post in some way, but today I cannot stand including the following phrase from David Hilbert: Some people have got a mental horizon of radius zero and call it their point of view.


text:
Key Stage 1 - Story of a Sunflower
Using living plants grown in our nursery pupils observe the life cycle of a sunflower - from seed to flower. They compare and contrast dry and soaked seeds. They take seedlings out of the soil and can look carefully at the root structure. They observe closely how the plant changes as it grow to its full height, comparing it to their own growth.
- Length: approximately 45 minutes.
- Group size: 30 students (maximum).
- Minimum supervision required: 1 adult per 5 students.
Programme cost: Part of a fullor half-day visit. See our Prices and FAQs page for more information.
We design our sessions to match the learning outcomes in the National Curriculum. All our sessions have a cross-curricular approach and are tailored to suit the educational needs of your group. We aim to give pupils opportunities to work scientifically in areas that are difficult or impossible to create in the school environment.
This session offers pupils the opportunity to:
- sequence the plants to show the sunflower lifecycle
- observe closely the changes which occur as the plants grow
- identify the basic structure of the plant
- compare the different stages of the plant
- record their findings by taking photographs
This KS1 visit supports and enhances the Science curriculum offered in schools.
Year 1 Plants
- identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees.
Year 2 Plants
- observe and describe how seeds grow into mature plants


Statistics of an Image Region
reduceRegion diagram
// Load an input region: Sierra Nevada.
var region = ee.Feature(ee.FeatureCollection('EPA/Ecoregions/2013/L3')
 .filter(ee.Filter.eq('us_l3name', 'Sierra Nevada'))
var meanDictionary = image.reduceRegion({
 reducer: ee.Reducer.mean(),
 geometry: region.geometry(),
 scale: 30,
 maxPixels: 1e9
// The result is a Dictionary. Print it.
B1: 25.406029716816853
B2: 23.971497014238988
B3: 22.91059593763103
B4: 54.83164133293403
B5: 38.07655472573677
B6_VCID_2: 198.93216428012906
B7: 24.063261634961563
reduceRegion diagram
Figure 2. False color composite of the Landsat image data for California and Nevada. The region over which to reduce is shown in white.
// Perform the reduction, print the result.
 reducer: ee.Reducer.mean(),
 geometry: region.geometry(),
 crs: 'EPSG:4326',
 crsTransform: affine,
 maxPixels: 1e9
Pixels in the region
Pixels are determined to be in the region (and weighted) according to the following rules, applied in the specified scale and projection:
 - Unweighted reducers (e.g. ee.Reducer.count() or ee.Reducer.mean().unweighted()): pixels are included if their centroid is in the region and the image's mask is non-zero.
 - Weighted reducers (e.g. ee.Reducer.mean()): pixels are included if at least (approximately) 0.5% of the pixel is in the region and the image's mask is non-zero; their weight is the minimum of the image's mask and the (approximate) fraction of the pixel covered by the region.


text:
|Author: Clara Lawrie||Published: 5th December 2009 17:44|
Christmas is steeped in tradition, but how did these start and where did they come from? For example, why did we all decide it was necessary to send cards or eat Christmas pudding?
It seems that the first recognised commercial Christmas card was produced in England in 1843 by Henry Cole, founder of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a hand-coloured print showing a family scene flanked by scenes of Christmas charity ( see image right ).
This was inscribed with the words, A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You, with space at the top to put the name of the recipient and at the bottom for the name of the sender.
However, it was not until the 1860s that the Christmas card as we know it came into being. Initially these were small cards with a simple greeting, set within an embossed border. Over time, they have evolved into the variety of cards available today.
The origins of the Christmas pudding go back to the 14th century when a type of porridge called frumenty (or furmety) was made by boiling beef and mutton with raisins, currants, prunes, wines and spices. This was similar to soup and was eaten as a fasting dish in preparation for the Christmas festivities.
By 1595, frumenty was beginning to evolve into plum pudding. It was thickened with eggs, breadcrumbs and dried fruit and was given more flavour by the addition of ale and spirits.
Over the years it became the customary Christmas dessert. However, with the arrival of the Puritans in 1664, it was banned as a lewd custom and its rich ingredients described as being unfit for God-fearing people.
In 1714, plum pudding was restored to the Christmas table by George I, who had tasted and enjoyed it, despite objections by the Quakers.
By Victorian times, the plum pudding had evolved into something that looked similar to the Christmas puddings enjoyed by people today. It is now estimated that in the UK more than 40 million people will finish their festive meal with a bit of Christmas pudding.
One of the many customs surrounding the Christmas pudding is that they should be made by the 25th Sunday after Trinity.
They should also be prepared with 13 ingredients - to represent Jesus and his disciples, and every member of the family should take turns to stir the pudding from east to west with a wooden spoon in honour of the three kings.
Another custom is for silver coins to be put into the pudding mixture before it is baked. Whoever finds one will have health, wealth and happiness for the coming year.


What is the stitch length regulator on a sewing machine?
A stitch regulator is a tiny computer attached to a sewing machine that constantly adjusts the machine's stitch speed to accommodate the speed of the fabric during free-motion stitching. This ensures balanced, equal-length stitches.
What sewing machines have a stitch regulator?
Bernina is the only home sewing machine brand with stitch regulated technology built-in. I used the Bernina Stitch Regulator to quilt all my Stitching Cosmos quilts!
How do you fix the stitch length on a sewing machine?
Adjusting the stitch length (For models equipped with the stitch length dial)
 1. Raise the needle by turning the handwheel toward you (counterclockwise) so that the mark on the wheel points up.
 2. Turn the stitch length dial to adjust the stitch length that you want to sew.
What is the normal stitch length?
IT IS INTERESTING: Can the Cricut maker embroidery?
Can I quilt with a regular sewing machine?
What stitch length should I use for machine quilting?
What is the best stitch length for sewing a straight stitch?
What is the best stitch length for free motion quilting?
Yes, for free motion quilting, set your stitch length to '0'. That way your feed dogs won't be moving while you're quilting because you don't need them. Less wear and tear on those parts.
Basic Settings for Sewing Straight Stitches on a Sewing Machine
 - Stitch Length: 2.5mm or 10 (stitches per inch)
 - Stitch Width: needle centered over stitch plate*
 - Stitch Tension: 4.
How do you troubleshoot a sewing machine stitch?
21 Stitching Problems On Sewing Machines (and easy solutions)
 1. Check the needles isn't bent.
 2. Check the needle size.
 3. Let the machine pull the fabric at its own speed.
 4. Use a table to catch the fabric.
 5. Needle and thread must match.
 6. Check the timing of the machine.
IT IS INTERESTING: Your question: Can cross stitch patterns be used for needlepoint?
Why is my sewing machine making long stitches?
Make sure that the thread is in the tension disk and the spool is placed correctly on the machine. Also, double-check to see if the bobbin is in the correct way and threaded tightly. Sometimes, a poorly wound bobbin is the culprit for skipped stitches. Good quality thread also plays a part in nice and even stitching.
What setting should my sewing machine be on?
What does stitch length mean?
Stitch length is basically how long each stitch is sewn by your sewing machine. Changing the stitch length adjusts the feed dogs, which controls how much fabric is pulled through with each stitch. For a shorter length, less fabric is pulled through. For a longer stitch, more fabric is pulled through.
Why is my bottom stitch not straight?
Why is my zigzag stitch sewing straight?
IT IS INTERESTING: Do I need a serger to make clothes?


text:
If we go by simple logic and the rule of mathematics, a power bank 10000mah should be able to charge a device of battery capacity 2000mah alteast 5 times. And this would have been true if other constraints were not in place. When we talk of electronic gadgets, the actual performance and the stated performance would always vary because of internal and external factors like heat loss, power loss, battery health and some other factors.
If you buy power bank 10000mah for a device, you are not really going to be able to use all of the 10000mah battery into use, there would be looses that would lessen the real capacity of the power bank.
The first factor that affects the battery capacity is the conversion rate. Conversation rate is the loss of power, could be in form of heat loss too, that occurs when you charge a device with a power bank. The reason here is fairly simple, if you stuff in a big bite of food in your mouth, there will always be some food that will spill. Similarly, when we talk of charging a device with a power bank, there is loss of power because of the difference in the output voltage of the power bank and the input voltage of the device that you charge with it. The output voltage of the power bank varies between 3.7 volts and 4.3 volts, this fluctuation occurs as the battery of the power bank begins to deplete. Now, the input voltage of most of the devices is 5V. In order to compensate for the less voltage, the output voltage of the power bank is converted to be equivalent to 5V. This conversion results in heat loss. You can calculate the conversion rate in a simple way, Charge the power bank and use it to power a device with 2% battery, record the performance of the power bank and calculate the conversion rate.
The second factor that affects the battery capacity of power bank is the battery health. With time, as you use Smartphone/gadget/device, the battery health gets affected. All those times when you did not charge your phone with an original charger or when you were negligent towards ever charging your phone to a 100% or when you always used USB ports of desktop/laptop to charge it will come and bite you back. These things and several other factors can affect the battery health of the Smartphone you own. When we talk of real capacity of a power bank 10000mah, the battery health is considered to be perfect but this is not really the case when we check that in real time. For calculating battery health of Smartphone, there is no fix method, but if you think that the phone is working fine, the average efficiency can be used i.e. 80% or 0.8
These two important factors affect the real capacity of the power bank and thus the actual battery capacity is low then the real battery capacity. To calculate the actual number of times that you charge a device with your power bank 10000mah, use the following formula:
Real battery capacity of power bank * conversion rate * battery health/ battery capacity of gadget= no of charge time


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run the given instructions
Major Section: PROOF-CHECKER-COMMANDS
Example: (do-all induct p prove)Run the indicated instructions until there is a hard ''failure''. The instruction ''succeeds'' if and only if each instruction in
General Form: (do-all &rest instruction-list)
instruction-listdoes. (See the documentation for
sequencefor an explanation of ''success'' and ''failure.'') As each instruction is executed, the system will print the usual prompt followed by that instruction, unless the global state variable
do-all ''fails'', then the failure is hard if and only if
the last instruction it runs has a hard ''failure''.
Obscure point: For the record,
(do-all ins_1 ins_2... ins_k) is
the same as
(sequence (ins_1 ins_2... ins_k)).


- Police may trace stolen Wi-Fi signals to find criminals, federal court says
 - email print
 - People who hijack their neighbors' Wi-Fi to commit crimes on the Internet shouldn't expect their misdeeds to stay hidden, a federal court has ruled, upholding an Allegheny County man's conviction for trading child pornography.
 State police in 2010 used a device called the "MoocherHunter" to trace a wireless Internet signal being used to transmit child porn after an initial raid on a Pittsburgh home turned up nothing.
 Tracing the signal through a neighbor's unsecured wireless router led an investigator to the apartment of Richard Stanley, who is now serving a four-year, three-month federal prison sentence.
 Stanley, 35, argued that because police didn't get a warrant before tracing the Wi-Fi signal back to his apartment, the evidence they seized -- including 144 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children -- should not have been admitted in his trial.
 In its decision last week, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that police didn't need a warrant because Stanley deliberately projected his criminal conduct outside of his home via the wireless Internet connection.
 "In effect, Stanley opened his window and extended an invisible, virtual arm across the street to his neighbor's router so that he could exploit his Internet connection," Judge D. Brooks Smith wrote for the panel. "In doing so, Stanley deliberately ventured beyond the privacy protections of his home."
 The Fourth Amendment protects people's homes from searches unless police can show probable cause they contain evidence of a crime. Because Stanley had made an unauthorized connection to his neighbor's Wi-Fi router, he was a virtual trespasser, the court said.
 "As such, he can claim no 'legitimate' expectation of privacy in the signal he used to effectuate this trespass," Smith wrote.
 The ruling is among the latest in a constellation of appeals court decisions defining the boundaries of Fourth Amendment protection when applied to modern wireless and computer technology.
 "This case and many others raise the question of whether new technology being used by law enforcement violates the expectation of privacy by showing where they are or where they've been and what they've entered into their computers or smartphones," said David Rudovsky, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who specializes in issues involving search and seizure.
 Hanni Fakhoury, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontiers Foundation, which works to protect freedoms in the digital age, said the technology used in Stanley's case is widely used by law enforcement. Fakhoury said he would prefer to see courts review and apply discretion to its use to avoid abuses.
 "The government could absolutely use this technology in other ways," Fakhoury said. "They could sit outside a Starbucks and figure out who's doing what."
 In its opinion, the 3rd Circuit panel acknowledged the case raises concerns about privacy and rejected the trial court's basis for finding the MoocherHunter did not violate Stanley's rights.
 The trial court relied on a 1979 Supreme Court decision that said police didn't need a warrant to obtain a list of numbers that a telephone subscriber had dialed. The subscriber, the court said, voluntarily provided that information to the telephone company.
 Stanley's case was similar, the trial court reasoned, because he voluntarily connected to his neighbor's wireless network, providing information about his identity in the process.
 In his opinion for the 3rd Circuit, however, Smith wrote that anyone who uses the Internet must necessarily provide information to third parties as the user's computers and devices connect to others.
 A decision that an Internet user gives up his or her right to privacy by connecting with another computer could, "without adequate qualification, unintentionally provide the government with unfettered access to this mass of private information without requiring its agents to obtain a warrant."
 The 3rd Circuit also rejected an argument by Stanley's attorneys that police had to get a warrant under a 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the use of infrared screening equipment to find homes where marijuana was being farmed indoors. The excess heat from high-powered growing lamps could be used to locate such operations, police found.
 The Supreme Court found that the defendant justifiably relied on the privacy protections of the home to conceal his activities and that the police use of screening equipment violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
 "Stanley made no effort to confine his conduct to the interior of his home," Smith wrote. "In fact, his conduct -- sharing child pornography with other Internet users via a stranger's Internet connection -- was deliberately projected outside of his home."
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Annobón (or Annabon or Anabon; from ano bom Portuguese for "good year"), also known as Pagalu or Pigalu, is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located in the South Atlantic Ocean at Coordinates:, about 220 miles (350 km) west of Gabon and 110 miles (180 km) south west of São Tomé Island. It measures about 4 miles (6.4 km) long by 2 miles (3.2 km) wide (6.4 by 3.2 km), with an area of about 6¾ square miles (17.5 km²). It has a population of around 5,000. The island's main industries are fishing and timber.
Annobón is an extinct volcano of which just the 598 m (1961 ft) peak (called Quioveo) rises above sea level. It is characterised by a succession of lush valleys and steep mountains, covered with rich woods and luxuriant vegetation. It has a central crater lake named Lago A Pot. A number of tiny rocky islets lie off the main island, including Santarém to the south.
The island constitutes the small Annobón Province, one of the provinces of Equatorial Guinea. Its capital is the northern village of San Antonio de Palé, and the island's other main settlement is the similarly named San Antonio. The roadstead is relatively safe, and some passing vessels take advantage of it in order to obtain water and fresh provisions, of which Annobon offers an abundant supply. However, there is no regular shipping service to the rest of Equatorial Guinea, and ships call as infrequently as every few months.
Annobón is often described as being "in the Gulf of Guinea", like the neighbouring islands of São Tomé and Príncipe, but the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) boundary line for the Gulf of Guinea actually runs north of it.
|This section does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007)|
The island was discovered by the Portuguese on January 1, 1473 – its name arises from its discovery on New Year's Day. It was apparently uninhabited until colonised under the Portuguese from 1474, primarily by Africans from Angola via São Tomé Island.
The island was passed to Spain by the Treaty of El Pardo (1778), together with Fernando Pó (now Bioko) and the Guinea coast between the Niger and the Ogooué as part of an exchange in which Portugal received Spanish recognition of its annexation of territory in Brazil beyond the line of the Treaty of Tordesillas. The Spanish colony thus formed would eventually be known as Spanish Guinea.
The island's populace was opposed to the arrangement and hostile toward the Spaniards. The islanders revolted against their new masters and a state of anarchy ensued, leading, it is said, to an arrangement by which the island was administered by a body of five natives, each of whom held the office of governor during the period that elapsed until ten ships landed at the island. In the latter part of the 19th century, the authority of Spain was re-established. The island briefly became part of the Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco colony until 1909.
In 1968, Spanish Guinea, including the island of Annobon, achieved independence from Spain as the state of Equatorial Guinea.
During the final years of the rule of Francisco Macías Nguema, the first President of Equatorial Guinea, the island was called Pigalu or Pagalu (from Portuguese papagaio, meaning "parrot").
Today, Spanish is the official language. The island's inhabitants are of mixed Portuguese, Spanish, and Angolan descent. Nevertheless, the early anti-Spanish sentiment, combined with the isolation from mainland Equatorial Guinea and the proximity of São Tomé and Príncipe — which is just 175 km (about 110 miles) from the island — has helped preserve the island's cultural ties with Portugal.
Flora and fauna
Originally, this small equatorial island 335 km (about 210 miles) from the Gabonese coast was uninhabited and had great biological diversity. With colonisation, islanders used rafts or "cayucos" (canoe-like boats), and hunted humpback whales, whale calves, and other Cetaceans with harpoons near to the island.
Today the Ojo Blanco (Annobón White-eye, Zosterops griseovirescens) and the Monarca del Paraíso de Annobón (Annobón Paradise-flycatcher, Terpsiphone smithii) are endemic passeri (songbirds), as is the São Tomé Island or Malherbi pigeon (Columba malherbii). There are 29 species of bird on the island as well as 2 bat species (1 endemic); reptiles (5 species endemics): 1 snake, 3 geckos, 2 scincid lizards, 3 marine turtles; river fish: 18 species (1 endemic); mosquitoes, scorpions and huge centipedes. Introduced domestic animals include: fish, guinea fowl, rats, dogs and cats. The island has no indigenous mammalian predators. Sharks are found in the surrounding sea.
The island's main language is the Annobonese language (Fá d'Ambô), a Portuguese creole. Spanish, the official language, is also widely spoken, especially by schoolchildren and those working in tourism. Spanish is also a second language of the majority of residents.
Annobon is of strategic importance to Equatorial Guinea as through its ownership the Equatorial Guinean government claims to extensive maritime territory to the south of its neighbour, São Tomé and Príncipe (which itself lies to the south of Equatorial Guinea's main land mass). Oil in the Gulf of Guinea represents more than 80% of Equatorial Guinea's economy, though supplies from current reserves are predicted by some sources to run out before 2020. Although no drilling is currently taking place in São Tomé, there are estimated to be 34 billion barrels (5.4×109 m3) of oil within its marine borders. Equatorial Guinea claims the right to explore for and produce hydrocarbons in a huge area of sea surrounding Annobón that stretches from 1°N to almost 5°S, and from 2°E to 7°E; an area larger than the entire land and sea borders of the rest of Equatorial Guinea.
The German edition of Der Spiegel of 28 August 2006 reported that the government of Equatorial Guinea sold permits to UK and US companies to bury 10 million metric tons toxic and 7 million metric tons radioactive waste on the island of Annobón. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of Equatorial Guinea, supposedly receives 200 million US-Dollars per year for renewed permits, while the population of Annobón lives in extreme poverty. The report also showed evidence that the whole island's eco system is about to collapse due to the massive waste dumping.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Annobón|
- Gulf of Guinea Conservation Group
- Ghuty Mamae: La esencia de Annobón


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(PhysOrg.com) -- A University of Arkansas researcher studying the way caves "breathe" is providing new insights into the process by which scientists study paleoclimates.
Katherine Knierim, a graduate student at the University of Arkansas, together with Phil Hays of the geosciences department and the U.S. Geological Survey and Erik Pollock of the University of Arkansas Stable Isotope Laboratory, are conducting close examinations of carbon cycling in an Ozark cave. Caves "breathe" in the sense that air flows in and out as air pressure changes.
The researchers have found that carbon dioxide pressures vary with external temperatures and ground cover, indicating a possible link between the carbon found in rock formations in the caves and seasonal changes. They presented their findings at a recent meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The movement of carbon in cave systems is controlled by the concentration of carbon dioxide. When conditions are right, this carbon can be deposited as layers in stalagmites, stalactites and soda straws. These layers resemble the rings found in trees, except that they can date back millions of years, hold information about cave conditions.
"People have been using these formations as paleoclimate records," Hays said. However, researchers make an assumption when they do so.
"The problem is that you have to assume you are getting even carbon and oxygen isotope exchange," Knierim said. Isotopes, or atoms of the same type but with slightly different weights, are found in plants, animals, organic matter and rocks. Different types of material have unique "signatures," or proportions of a particular atom at a particular atomic weight.
By looking at carbon isotope ratios in cave topsoils, the cave atmosphere and the stream within the cave, Knierim and her colleagues will be able to determine the different contributions of carbon sources to the formations. This will help scientists develop more accurate paleoclimate conditions from cave formations.
A greater knowledge of how carbon cycles through cave systems also will help scientists develop better methods for watershed management.
Provided by University of Arkansas
Explore further: Sea level influenced tropical climate during the last ice age


text:
Engineer your first step to a four-year degree at Edmonds Community College
Engineers Make a Difference
Engineering is the art of applying scientific and mathematical principles, experience, judgment, and common sense to make things that benefit people. Engineers solve problems. They improve and develop products to meet consumer and societal needs. They find ways for existing products to work better, last longer, operate more safely and cost less.
They also look for innovative solutions to global problems. Engineers design bridges and important medical equipment as well as processes for cleaning up toxic spills and systems for mass transit.
It's a Fact
Engineering professions requiring a four-year degree are among the highest paying jobs in Washington State according to the office of Labor Market and Economic Analysis. Source: _URL_


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Background: Beak Trimming and Feather Pecking in Laying Hens
Injurious feather pecking is a major welfare problem in laying hens which can occur in all types of rearing systems, including free-range systems that have a higher welfare potential. In the most severe cases it can lead to cannibalism. In order to reduce the risk of feather pecking and cannibalism, hens are usually beak trimmed. This consists of amputating one third to a half of the bird's beak using a red hot blade or infra-red beam. Beak trimming leads to tissue and nerve damage and is associated with acute pain, irrespective of the method used.
Insufficient opportunity to carry out foraging behaviour is widely accepted as a primary risk factor for feather pecking. However, the causes of this abnormal behaviour are multi-factorial with risk factors – including genetics, environment, health and management. It is therefore important to address them all in order to prevent injurious pecking and to successfully operate a laying hen rearing system without the need to beak trim.
The Rondeel system is a unique barn system, with many features in which the hens are not beak trimmed. This case study highlights the key features and management aspects of this system which make it possible to rear laying hens with beaks intact, without resulting in injurious feather pecking.
Overview of the Rondeel Barn System
Rondeel is an enriched barn system for laying hens, owned by the Dutch Venco Group. There are currently three Rondeel farms located in The Netherlands, and the system is also available for franchise. Rondeel eggs are mainly sold in Albert Heijn retail stores, at an intermediate price between free-range and organic.
A Rondeel barn accommodates 30,000 birds and has a characteristic circular design split into 10 sub-units, each housing 3,000 hens (see illustration on the left).
Each unit is divided into three distinct areas in order to better address the hens' behavioural and mental needs and give them the freedom to choose their environment.
The three distinct areas
1. Multi-tiered night quarters with three separate levels for feeding, nesting and egg laying, and perching (see picture on the left). The bottom tier is composed of a layer of litter for scratching and dust-bathing. The second tier incorporates nesting boxes while the third tier provides aerial perches, allowing birds to feel safe whilst resting. Feeding stations are provided on the first and third tiers.
2. Spacious day quarters (or veranda – see picture on the right) which provide more space than is required by EU regulation – 6.7 birds/m² vs. 9 birds/m² – and natural light (transparent ceiling). This area is covered in artificial grass and grain is scattered every morning to encourage foraging. Dust bathing areas are provided with open-sided screens.
3. An enclosed outdoor area (see picture on the left) enriched with wood trunks and access to soil for dust bathing. When open, this area reduces the indoor stocking density to 5.2 birds/m², providing a very generous space allowance. The area is covered with netting to prevent wild birds from entering the system and spreading disease. Tree trunks have been provided to create opportunities for perching and hiding.
Keys to success: How Rondeel has managed to stop beak trimming
Several features of the Rondeel barn design are key to preventing injurious pecking, including:
- A multi-tier system in the night quarters, which provides a more complex environment than a single-tier system, and is more similar to the chicken's natural woodland habitat.
- Aerial perches help prevent feather pecking as they create opportunities for resting and refuge by enabling resting birds to avoid being pecked by foraging birds. They also avoid mixing active and inactive birds by providing distinct resting areas.
- Ranging opportunities - the whole length of the house can be opened for the birds to go outside. Ranging is encouraged in the day quarters by scattering grain daily and providing natural light in a fully covered area – allowing the hens to range while being protected from adverse weather. The provision of wood trunks and wood shavings and the presence of a sandy surface and drainage system to avoid puddles also help to increase the use of the outdoor run. Finally, the presence of drinking points in the day quarters, encourage the birds to range in this area. Increased use of the range is strongly associated with a reduced risk of feather pecking.
- Plenty of environmental enrichment with the provision of nesting boxes and aerial perches in the night quarters, dust bathing areas, artificial grass in the day quarters, wood trunks and wood shavings in the outside run. This diverse and interesting environment is important to allow the expression of a range of natural behaviours such as foraging, perching and dust bathing, which helps prevent injurious pecking.
- A lower stocking density gives the birds more space; 9 birds/m² in the night quarters, reducing to 6.7 birds/m² when the day quarters are open and down to 5.2 birds/m² when the outdoor run is also open.
- Provision of adequate litter in the night quarters, which has been shown to reduce the incidence of feather pecking. The artificial grass in the day quarters is also a unique addition which encourages the hens to scratch, peck, rest and range.
- Climate control, with sensors placed on the rolling doors that separate the day and night quarters, controlling the opening of the doors according to the temperature and creating a uniform climate between the day and night quarters, helps encourage the hens into the day quarters to range and forage.
- Reducing group size within the barn which is divided into 10 sub-groups. The risk of feather pecking is generally lower in hens that are kept in smaller groups than in larger flocks as they are able to establish stable social interactions.
Feeding regime and opportunities for foraging
- Daily scattering of grain, which provides an opportunity for natural foraging behaviour. Increasing the length of time the birds spend foraging and feeding is likely to reduce the incidence of feather pecking.
Genetics and breeding
- The use of the Lohmann Brown Lite breed, which seems to have a lower propensity to feather peck.
Key Learnings and Take Home Messages
As successfully demonstrated in the Rondeel barn system, it is possible to stop beak trimming without resulting in injurious feather pecking. This can be achieved with a good housing and feeding system, a varied environment, appropriate choice of genetics, good flock management and climate control.
Key aspects to successfully stop beak trimming and reduce the risk of feather pecking in a cage-free rearing system include:
- Creating opportunities for resting and refuge and avoiding mixing active and inactive birds, especially through the provision of aerial perches
- Providing ranging opportunities and encouraging the use of the range, especially through the provision of environmental enrichment and outdoor tree cover
- Increasing the length of time the birds spend engaged in foraging and feeding especially through the daily scattering of grain or feeding a high fibre, low-energy diet of mash rather than pellets
- Choosing appropriate strains of hens, less prone to feather pecking, such as the Lohman Brown Lite breed.
Early experiences during the rearing period (before laying) should also be considered as they have a significant impact on the future tendency of the hens to feather peck. Housing, feeding and management conditions during the rearing and laying periods should be matched as closely as possible to reduce the risk of feather pecking later in life.
To find out more
- For further information on beak trimming and reducing the risk of feather pecking in laying hens, you can consult our fully referenced technical resources:
- Our information sheet Reducing the need for beak trimming in laying hens
- Our report Controlling feather pecking and cannibalism in laying hens without beak trimming
- For a detailed practical guide to avoiding injurious pecking, see Bristol University's management guide at: _URL_
- For more information on the Rondeel system, you can visit their website at: _URL_
- View our other Case Studies
La pica delle piume rappresenta uno dei principali problemi di benessere negli allevamenti di galline ovaiole, compresi quelli all'aperto con un potenziale di benessere più elevato. Versione inglese.Scarica: Rondeel-Case-Study | Dimensioni (0,35MB)


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Kentia / Howea forsteriana, total 50-60 cm
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Descripción rápida
Kentia / Howea forsteriana, total 50-60 cm
Howea forsteriana
Howea forsteriana (Kentia palm or thatch palm) is a species of flowering plant in the palm family Arecaeae, endemic to Lord Howe Island in Australia.
It is a relatively slow-growing palm, eventually growing up to 10 m tall by 6 m wide. Its fronds can reach 3 m long.
As potted plants Kentias are fairly tolerant of neglect: they can withstand low-light conditions, low humidity, infrequent watering and cool temperatures.
However, it is advisable to give Kentias bright, indirect light to encourage growth and a more robust appearance; Kentias placed in dark corners with little natural light tend to look leggy and grow very slowly.
In the northern hemisphere, a northern or northeastern window is best, as Kentias cannot tolerate direct sun and will sunburn if placed in such an exposure.
The roots are very sensitive to disturbance, so gardeners should only repot Kentias after they have become extremely root bound in their existing pot, and even then should take special care.
They appreciate regular water but should be allowed to dry out between waterings.
Overwatering, or allowing the roots to sit in water, can induce root rot and kill the palm.
An indoor houseplant fertilizer should be applied regularly in the spring and summer to encourage growth.
Información adicional
Specie Kentia / Howea forsteriana
Altura total: 50-60 cm
Usted compra el producto en el cuadro:
Precio: 9,95 €
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Fact Checking, Free Writing
Time & Space Complexity
In programming, time and space complexity often plays a critical role while developing the right algorithm for the business function. A programmer would weigh the trade offs between time and space that aligns within the infrastructure limit of the system and eventually determine the the algorithm.
So, what really is the Time & Space Complexity?
Transistors make the vital electronic blocks of computer hardware. Bits of information is stored / translated or executed by the transistors; in series of complex logical gates. This process of execution and storage is referred to as the Time and Space Complexity.
Time Complexity : The total time required to execute an algorithmic function. i.e the steps of using / reusing of the transistors required by the algorithm before a desired outcome.
Space Complexity: Total memory required by an algorithmic function for storage. i.e Number of bits of information required by the algorithm to store date in computes memory.