Foreword Reviews
Starred Review:
Descendant of the Crane
Joan He's Descendant of the Crane is a riveting, complex story set in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world full of magic, intrigue, and mystery.
Hesina's first task as the new queen of Yan is to discover who poisoned her father. She starts by seeking out a sooth to provide guidance—an act of treason, as all sooths were outlawed when the Eleven, a group of rebel heroes, overthrew the last emperor three centuries ago.
With Akira, a brilliant thief whose help she enlists, Hesina discovers dangerous truths and finds herself embroiled in the politics of a corrupt court. She is forced to choose between the law, the truth about her father's death, and the welfare of her people.
The characters are complex and alive. Hesina does not believe she is a good ruler, but she sacrifices her own happiness to do the right thing. Akira has a violent, tragic past to overcome; he, too, always seeks to do what is right. Hesina's siblings, including her biological brother, twins her father brought to the palace as young children, and a half-sibling her father had with his concubine, have intimate and often difficult relationships, each pursuing their own agendas while supporting, and sometimes undermining, each other's efforts.
The world building is impressive, too. Yan's history is key to the story, and it is seamlessly incorporated via fables, laws, customs, and beliefs, with elements like descriptions of food and clothing adding texture. The Book of Tenets, which was created by the Eleven to guide the people of Yan, is the central element around which the entire world and its inhabitants are built.
Descendant of the Crane is a compelling, immersive book. Young adults will find a story and a world that is a joy to explore in this highly original mystery.
Reviewed by Catherine Thureson
Load Next Review


text:
I'm trying to implement simple 2D circle collision system. There are circles with different radiuses and velocities (the larger the circle the slower it is). Contrary to all the questions on the Stack, the circles do not bounce at all.
There is no problem with collision response for two circles that overlap. There are two approaches that I thought of:
- Pushing the circles apart with displacements dependent on the ratio of circles' radiuses.
- Pushing the smaller circle away so it doesn't collide with the bigger circle anymore.
However, neither of these approaches works for multiple circle collisions. Let's consider an easy example:
Three circles are moving towards the same point but with different velocities:
In the next frame they overlap like this:
Then with either of the two approaches the smallest circle gets pushed away from the biggest one:
And then the right-most circle would push the smallest circle to the right making an infinite collision loop.
Of course, the more circles, the more complicated the collision resolving would be. Additionally, I'm going to add static walls thus making collision system even more complex.
What algorithm can I use to make multiple collisions work? I guess that the desired effect would look like this:

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


To My Grown-Up Son Summary by Alice E. Chase
About the Poet: To my grown up son by Alice E. Chase was published in 1986. The poem's narrator is a mother, who has risen to be the representative symbol of all mother figures, with her insightful reminiscing of her son's childhood days, that subtly yet eloquently elucidates the regrets that is commonly felt by all once the child has grown up. As the name suggests, the poem is a note to the grown up son, an apology letter itinerating all those activities the mother now wishes she had indulged into, without getting too caught up in performing the daily duties. To this date, the poem remains relatable, for its universal quality, having successfully captured the dilemma most mothers face when caught between acts of responsibilities and pleasure.
To My Grown-Up Son Summary by Alice E. Chase
1st Stanza:
My hands were busy through the day,
I didn't have much time to play
The little games you asked me to,
I didn't have much time for you.
The mother, being the home maker and expected to play the role perfectly had a lot of daily chores to complete. So much so, she was "busy through the day" unaware of how the hours passed as the work she did were never ending. Being the sole one with the responsibility of maintaining the household, she did not have much time to "play", in other words indulge in leisurely activities. The "little games" her son asked her to play were played by him alone, for she did not "have much time for" him, owing to the various chores she was engaged in.
2nd Stanza:
I'd wash your clothes; I'd sew and cook,
But when you'd bring your picture book
And ask me, please, to share your fun,
I'd say, "A little later, son."
As the mother, she would do her duties to perfection. She would "wash" his clothes, sew them too, also "cook" meals to feed the family, along with various other household work, ensuring a smooth life for all. But when her son would bring his "picture book" to her amidst the day, want his mother to "share" his fun, do the activity together, she would inevitably answer "A little later". Unable to take a break, and unable to leave the chores unattended, she missed out on spending some quality time with her child.
3rd Stanza:
I'd tuck you in all safe at night,
And hear your prayers, turn out the light,
Then tiptoe softly to the door,
I wish I'd stayed a minute more.
At night she would tuck him in bed safely, hear his prayers and turn off the light to let him sleep after following the rituals. Tiptoeing to the door softly, in order to not disturb his sleep, she would leave the room to him and his dreams. Its only at present, when she looks back at those days and that time, that she wishes she had stayed a "minute more", been a little while longer with him, spent a bit more time by his side.
4th Stanza:
For life is short, and years rush past,
A little boy grows up so fast,
No longer is he at your side,
His precious secrets to confide.
An universal truth is said at the beginning, "life is short, and years rush past". Human beings have since time immemorial agreed on one fact that inspite of life seeming long at the beginning years, once you start living it, time tricks you, such that the years go by without one realizing where it went. The present becomes past in a matter of seconds, children grow up in the blink of an eye. Once they have grown up, they are no longer found by the mother's side, they are no longer there to confide in her their "precious secrets", for gone are those days.
5th Stanza:
The picture books are put away,
There are no children's games to play,
No goodnight kiss, no prayers to hear,
That all belongs to yesteryear.
Years later the mother takes a walk down the path of her son s childhood, reminiscing all those factors that adorned those days so beautifully. The picture books have been "put away" for they serve no purpose now, the games played by her son too have gotten lost with time for they are not indulged into anymore, the precious ritual of saying prayers at night followed by the ever sweet goodnight kiss have also been buried with time, as she realizes they all belong to the "yesteryears". These fragrant memories sweetened her journey down the memory lane, letting her revel in their pricelessness.
6th Stanza:
My hands once busy, now lie still,
The days are long and hard to fill,
I wish I might go back and do,
The little things you asked me to.
The mother's hands were always full during that golden period of childhood, but now they "lie still" with no work to do. The hours would pass by in the blink of an eye when she had numerous chores to do, but now the hours are "hard to fill" and the days feel "long" for there isn't anything to do. The contrast shows two opposite ways the mother spends her days, one filled with activity and the other with aplenty leisure. However, its in the end, that we hear the words coming from the depth of her heart, wishing she could go back to those days and do those "little things" her son asked her to do, instead of doing all her chores religiously.


Delaware seniors deserve more support, protection
Delaware Voice Ciro Poppiti
View Comments
How can we best protect our seniors and support their caregivers?
Without hesitation, that's the most important question facing Delaware today. We need to urgently prepare, plan, and educate, for ours has become a society of Fightin' Grey Hens. The Baby Boomers have reached Social Security age, with the demographics of Delaware tilting decidedly toward 55 and older.
As the Register of Wills, I am alarmed as day after day, generations of wealth are being lost. Mom and dad save and preserve the family house over the course of decades. Then, at the end of life, the costs of nursing care, and long-term living facilities, and plain old dignity of life, wipe out a financial nest egg that took a lifetime to build. The kids and grandkids never see a cent of that lifetime of savings. Yes, the costs of growing old are crippling Delaware, our seniors, their families, and just as importantly, our state budget.
There are many solutions, but they require political courage to set them in motion. One basic solution is to make probate easier, that is, the process of what happens when someone dies. By simplifying probate, we can make sure that the kids and grand kids will receive every penny that mom and dad had saved for them.
Today, the estate process is overly complicated and bureaucratic. Indicative of the problem, when I became the Register of Wills five years ago, 3,000 estates were stuck in red tape, representing a backlog of about two years. By proactively closing them, we have audited over $150 million in assets that rightly belonged in the hands of ordinary people, while generating $2.3 million in additional fees for New Castle County.
In order to simplify probate and prevent a backlog from happening again, I have created a document called Delaware Estate Administration. DEA is a cross between a how-to book and a policy manual. It is not the most spellbinding of reads, laden with legal jargon and law cases. Yet, DEA codifies common sense protections which make probate easier to navigate.
DEA establishes a "speed docket" at the Register of Wills, at no extra cost to the public, in order to handle emergency problems. Through the speed docket, we can help family members who, for example, need immediate access to the decedent's bank account to pay burial costs.
DEA institutes a new form that is applicable to about one out of three estates. When utilized, the new form cuts through the red tape. It reduces the bureaucratic process from months to days, meaning that families receive their money faster and more efficiently.
Finally, DEA "bans the box" for felons, who traditionally have been disqualified from serving as executors. Consider this scenario: A man commits a drug felony 25 years ago. In the interim, he reforms his life, marries, and has children. His wife names him as her executor in her will. She dies. Should the felon be automatically disqualified from becoming the executor of his wife's estate?
Fairness dictates otherwise. Through DEA, we have now established a better approach: Given the specific circumstances, some convicted felons are allowed to serve, while others are not.
The age of the Grey Hen is at hand. Let us focus every ounce of energy on protecting our seniors with courage, not political expediency, as our touchstone. Delaware Estate Administration helps lead the way.
Ciro Poppiti is the Register of Wills and a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. Delaware Estate Administration is available at _URL_.
View Comments


Creative Thinking for Individuals and Teams: An Essay on Creative Thinking for Military Professionals
Discusses the role of creativity in the military within the context of type, focusing on the fact that STJ (the dominant type in the military) tend towards efficient problem solving, while NTP (not so dominant) tend towards creative problem solving. Argues that the army would benefit from encouraging a more creative culture, leading to higher adaptivity and more successful problem solving. Also examines military leadership styles.


'Fear of finding out' is a key barrier preventing or delaying adults from seeking medical advice when concerned about their health or making healthier lifestyle choices, finds new research by AbbVie and 2020Health.
According to the report, 'The Fear of Finding Out: identifying psychological barriers to symptom presentation and diagnosis in the UK', it accounts for nearly a third of all conscious reasons why individuals may be delaying or avoiding visiting their doctor or not taking the necessary steps to improve health.
It argues that 'Fear of Finding Out' is more likely to affect those who have an unhealthy lifestyle and are either smokers, heavy drinkers, or overweight, and highlights the potential scale of this as a barrier to making healthy lifestyle changes.
This is particular pertinent given that 40 percent of all the deaths in England are linked to behaviour, and managing ill-health caused by lifestyle factors is costing the NHS more than £11 billion each year, it notes.
The report's launch came as AbbVie's unveiled a new partnership discovery programme for 2017, called Live:Lab.
The project aims to improve the health of the nation by looking deeper into the 'Fear of Finding Out' and find an innovative solution to help reduce preventable health conditions and improve quality of life in the middle aged and beyond with a view to alleviating the strain placed on the NHS through chronic disease.
Through Live:Lab, the firm said it will recruit some of the nation's "most forward thinking individuals" from diverse fields such as technology, health, creativity, gaming and data "to collaborate and devise an innovative solution that will empower people to take control of their wellbeing".
"With long term funding constraints on our health system, it is part of our duty as an industry to support the NHS in remaining sustainable for as long as possible by being responsible for the nation's health in a way that is in addition to the medicines we make," said Matt Regan, UK General Manager, AbbVie. "We're proud to be part of this unique collaboration through Live:Lab, and will be listening to real people to provide solutions that make a remarkable impact on lives."


text: We consider a scenario where the small satellites of Pluto and Charon grew within a disk of debris from an impact between Charon and a trans-Neptunian object (TNO). After Charon's orbital motion boosts the debris into a disk-like structure, rapid orbital damping of meter-sized or smaller objects is essential to prevent the subsequent reaccretion or dynamical ejection by the binary. From analytical estimates and simulations of disk evolution, we estimate an impactor radius of 30-100 km; smaller (larger) radii apply to an oblique (direct) impact. Although collisions between large TNOs and Charon are unlikely today, they were relatively common within the first 0.1-1 Gyr of the solar system. Compared to models where the small satellites agglomerate in the debris left over by the giant impact that produced the Pluto-Charon binary planet, satellite formation from a later impact on Charon avoids the destabilizing resonances that sweep past the satellites during the early orbital expansion of the binary.


For thousands of years, Native Americans used the river as a major transportation and trading route. (Wikipedia) Listen to the midi, view and follow the score and/or read the lyrics.
Bless My Swanee River Home
Words by Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young
Music by Walter Donaldson
Published 1919
The Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) is a major river that runs through South Georgia southward into Florida in the southern United States. It is a wild blackwater river, about 246 miles long. The Suwannee River is the site of the prehistoric Suwanee Straits which separated peninsular Florida from the panhandle.
This river is the subject of the Stephen Foster song "Old Folks at Home", in which he calls it the Swanee Ribber. Foster had named the Pedee River of South Carolina in his first lyrics. It has been called Swanee River because Foster had used an alternative contemporary spelling of the name.(see below for more on "Swanee Ribber).
George Gershwin's song, made popular by Al Jolson, is also spelled "Swanee" and boasts that "the folks up North will see me no more when I get to that Swanee shore". Both of these songs feature banjo-strumming and reminiscences of a plantation life more typical of 19th-century South Carolina than of among the swamps and small farms in the coastal plain of south Georgia and north Florida. (Wikipedia) Listen to the midi, view and follow the score and/or read the lyrics.
Old Folks at Home
Words and Music by Stephen C. Foster
Published 1831
"Old Folks at Home" (also known as "Swanee River", "Swanee Ribber" [from the original lyrics], or "Suwannee River") is a minstrel song written by Stephen Foster in 1851. Since 1935 it has been the official state song of Florida, although in 2008 the original lyrics were changed due to political correctness concerns.
According to Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories _PHONE_ (1986), "Old Folks at Home" was the best-selling sheet music song of the period, with over twenty million copies sold. "Old Folks at Home" in print was credited to E. P. Christy on early sheet music printings. Christy had paid Foster to be credited, which Foster himself had suggested but later came to regret Foster had composed most of the lyrics but was struggling to name the river of the opening line, and asked his brother to suggest one. The first suggestion was "Yazoo" (in Mississippi), which despite fitting the melody perfectly, was rejected by Foster. The second suggestion was "Pee Dee" (in South Carolina), to which Foster said, "Oh pshaw! I won't have that." His brother then consulted an atlas and called out "Suwannee!" Foster said, "That's it, exactly!" Adding it to the lyrics, he purposely misspelled it as "Swanee" to fit the melody. Foster himself never saw the Suwannee—or even visited Florida—but the popularity of the song stimulated tourism to Florida, to see the river. (Wikipedia) Listen to the midi, follow and view the score and/or see the lyrics
Taking a Trip Up the Hudson
Words and Music by James Thornton
Published 1902
The Hudson River is a 315-mile river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States. The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows southward through the Hudson Valley, and eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean at New York Harbor, between New York City and Jersey City. The river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Further north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties.
The river is named after Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609, and after whom Hudson Bay in Canada is also named. (Wikipedia) Listen to the midi, view and follow the score and/or read the lyrics.
When It's Moonlight on the Mississippi
Words by Billy Vanderveer
Music by Arthur Lange
Published 1915
The Mississippi River is the chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. The stream is entirely within the United States, its source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota and it flows generally south for 2,320 miles to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 31 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian Mountains. The Mississippi ranks as the fourth-longest and fifteenth-largest river in the world by discharge. The river either borders or passes through 10 of the U. S. states
Native Americans long lived along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The arrival of Europeans in the 16th century changed the native way of life as first explorers, then settlers, ventured into the basin in increasing numbers. The river served first as a barrier, forming borders for New Spain, New France, and the early United States, and then as a vital transportation artery and communications link. (Wikipedia).Listen to the midi, view the score and/or read the lyrics.
Roll On, Missouri
Words by Ballard MacDonald
Music by Harry Carroll
Published 1913
The Missouri River is the longest river in North America. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a watershed of more than half a million square miles, which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. When combined with the lower Mississippi River, it forms the world's fourth longest river system.
All Quiet Along the Potomac To-Night
Words by Lamar Fontaine
Music by J. H. Hewitt
Published 1862
The Potomac River is located within the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands into the Chesapeake Bay. The river (main stem and North Branch) is approximately 405 miles with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles. In terms of area, this makes the Potomac River the fourth largest river along the Atlantic coast of the United States and the 21st largest in the United States. Over 5 million people live within the Potomac watershed.
Originally a poem by Ethel Lynn Beers, it was first published as "The Picket Guard" in the Harper's Weekly issue dated November 30, 1861, attributed only to "E.B." It was then reprinted broadly, both with that attribution and without, leading to many spurious claims of authorship. On July 4, 1863, Harper's Weekly told its readers that the poem had been written for the paper by a lady contributor whom it later identified as Beers. The poem was based on newspaper reports of "all is quiet tonight", which was based on official telegrams sent to the Secretary of War by Major-General George B. McClellan, following the First Battle of Bull Run. Beers noticed that the report was followed by a small item telling of a picket being killed. She wrote the poem that same morning. In 1863, the poem was set to music by John Hill Hewitt, himself a poet, newspaperman, and musician, who was serving in the Confederate Army. This song may have inspired the title of the English translation of Erich Maria Remarque's World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Listen to the midi, view and follow the score and/or read the lyrics.
Red River Valley
Words and Music by Unknown
Published circa 1870-90
Though this song may most often be considered a "country western" song and expectations may be that the Red River Valley was somewhere in the old west, in actuality the Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States.
The Red River of the North originates at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming most of the border of Minnesota and North Dakota and continuing into Manitoba, Canada. It empties into Lake Winnipeg, whose waters join the Nelson River and ultimately flow into the Hudson Bay. Edith Fowke offers anecdotal evidence that the song was known in at least five Canadian provinces before 1896.This finding led


text:
The shoveler, of course, has a bill that is in a league of its own. Shovelers primarily eat aquatic invertebrates, and their extra-wide, flattened bill with well-developed lamellae helps them skim crustaceans and other invertebrates from the water's surface.
There are distinct differences in bills between blueand green-winged teal. During the nonbreeding period, blue-winged teal consume seeds, aquatic insects, and some vegetation, but green-winged teal primarily eat seeds, including a variety of grains. As a result, the bill of the blue-winged teal resembles a miniaturized shoveler bill, whereas the bill of the green-winged teal might be compared to the shape of a small pinky finger—the width of the bill is uniform throughout its whole length.
In contrast to mallards, two species of ducks common to bottomland hardwood forests, wood ducks and hooded mergansers, have bills that are quite specialized. The wood duck eats acorns, seeds of moist-soil plants, some vegetation, and aquatic insects. Its bill is shorter and narrower than the mallard's because it specializes in grabbing acorns or cutting bulbs from wetland plants and swallowing them in pieces. Because the hooded merganser primarily eats small fish and aquatic invertebrates, its bill is long and narrow, resembling a pair of needle-nose pliers capable of demobilizing its prey.
The bills of diving ducks are also interesting. For example, canvasbacks use their stout, wedge-shaped bill to grub or rip tubers and roots of aquatic plants, whereas redheads are more like aquatic browsers and eat stems and leaves of submersed plants. As you might expect, the canvasback has a longer and heavier bill and a thicker, more muscular neck than the redhead.
We often see several species of geese in the same open green fields, but they are not necessarily eating the same foods. Snow geese uproot grasses and sedges to eat roots, rhizomes, and bulbs, while Canada geese shear off short grasses above ground. The bill of the snow goose is much higher than it is broad at the base, which gives the impression that the bird is smiling. The bill of a large Canada goose is stout but appears straight rather than curved like the bill of the snow goose. Although both geese eat waste grain, their bill adaptations evolved long before the advent of agriculture. Snow geese historically wintered along southern coastal wetlands and ate tubers and roots of marsh grasses and sedges. Long ago, Canada geese adapted to forage on seeds and herbaceous plants in river bottoms and probably in upland fields that contained short, new growth of green grasses. Today, agricultural fields are smorgasbords for these geese. Both species eat a variety of grain at specific times and places. However, Canadas still savor the stems of short green shoots, like wheat or barley, while snow geese grub the roots of these and other plants.
Nature has modified characteristics of waterfowl species so that they can exploit different types of foods. This allows them to coexist in the same habitats without much competition for food. Next time you are waterfowl hunting or just watching ducks and geese, study their modes of feeding and think about how they have developed great tools for accessing their favorite foods.
Dr. Brian Davis is a DU regional biologist based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


How an Electric Monitor Can Help Save Money
If you are looking to save money on your electric bill, you may want to try using an electric monitor. The electric monitor promises that you can save up to 20% on your electric bill without having to sacrifice any comfort you enjoy in your home. Does it sound too good to be true? Well, let's take a look at how it works and see if these promises are fact or fiction.
The Electric Monitor and How it Works
Efergy Elite 4.0 Wireless Electricity Monitor
Originally posted at Amazon
So what exactly does the electric monitor do? And, how can an electric monitor can help save money? Well, it monitors your electricity! You might argue that your electric meter already does that, and it does…but the nice thing about the monitor is it displays the amount of energy you are using in real time, on screen. That way you have easy access to this information round the clock.
The monitor is easy to use. It has two parts, one that fits over the mains live supply of your electric meter and the other is the part that stays in your home and gives you your read out. Here are some general instructions on how to set up your meter:
 1. Install batteries in both parts. (Some models are powered by the mains and do not need batteries).
 2. Setup date, time and current billing charge per kWh.
 3. Clip the monitoring part onto the live mains cable that feeds the fuse box from your meter.
 4. Synchronize both parts of the kit using the buttons provided.
 5. Place the unit in a convenient location.
There are several ways to set up your monitor to obtain your usage information. Updated information reaches the monitor in intervals which may range from 6-8 seconds. You can choose to view a breakdown of this information by cost, carbon footprint, kWh, etc. You can also receive updates on the cost of electricity per hour, or per 24-hour period.
How The Electric Monitor Can Help You Save Money
So now you have your kit installed, and it is telling you how much energy you are consuming. But how does one use this information to save money? Well, according to those who use the device, the electric monitor is pretty effective at doing its job. Read on to find out why.
 - The electric monitor provides information about the current trends in electricity use and rates so you can take action to cut back immediately if a particular rate is on the rise.
 - It helps you determine what appliances in your house are consuming the most electricity and cut down on usage if possible.
 - It may be able to alert you as to when a particular item or appliance has been left on. This will only happen if the monitor is easy for family members to view. You may want to consider this when choosing a monitor for your home and go for one that has an easy to read display and one that can be positioned somewhere where it is visible.
 - If you are in the habit of leaving lights on, an updated view of how much money you are spending by leaving those lights on may make you more aware of usage and more likely to turn those lights off. If your display is set for a 24 hour reading, you can really see how your costs are adding up.
How An Electric Monitor Can Help You Make an Informed Choice in Purchasing Light Bulbs
Electric monitors can also help you make money saving purchases. When you are purchasing light bulbs in a store, there is no certain way of knowing how long that bulb will last. There is a half life listed on the packaging, but it's impossible to determine how accurate this is without actually using the bulb.
There are other factors that might add to the cost of what might, on the surface, seem to be an energy saving bulb. Energy saving bulbs may not give off as much light. Also, some bulbs may not work with your lighting equipment, which will require you to use an adapter. By using an electrical monitor, you will be able to tell which light, (and therefore light bulbs) are using the most electricity and you'll be able to make money saving choices in the future. Some who have used an electric monitor have found eco-halogen bulbs to be a wise choice.
Other Money Saving Tips
Effective Electric MonitorAnother device that can be helpful into saving you money on your electric bill is an electronic barometer that can read indoor humidity and temperature. These devices give you information on whether a chill in the air is caused by a nosedive temperature or just a temporary fluctuation that is outside of the ambient range. This can prevent residents from turning up heat unnecessarily.
What To Consider When Buying an Electric Monitor
There are certain things you should consider when making a purchasing decision for an electric monitor. One thing you must think about is whether you will need a three phase or a single phase system. This depends on the current electric power in your home. Make sure you determine this information before purchasing.
You also want to consider the amount of amps that are used by the system. The number of amps supported by each system can vary. It's a good idea to find a system that has high accuracy and reliable consumption data. You also want to look for a monitor that is compact in size, cost effective, compatible worldwide, can work with a wide input voltage range and is easy to install.
Consider the communication protocols of the monitor. Choosing a smart power meter with compatible communication protocol can be the key in getting the system up and running. You may also want to look for features that allow you to upload stored data to your computer so you can compare trends over time.
An electric monitor can be a valuable tool helping homeowners to save money. However, it is important for owners to familiarize themselves with the ways electric monitors can be most helpful and which features they should look for to make these most effective for their households. Once you learn this information, you can make an intelligent choice in buying one, which will surely pay for itself over time.


The console package contains a set of classes required to route and dispatch incoming console requests. Moreover it contains the console front-controller file (lithium.php) as well as wrappers for both *nix and Windows environments (li3 and li3.bat respectively), allowing to easily invoke the console front-controller from the command line.
A command is to the command line what an action controller is to the HTTP request/response flow. In that commands are quite similar to controllers. Commands don't leverage the full MVC as they don't utilize views, but directly interact with the user through in() and out().
li3 itself provides amongst others commands for creating new applications or parts thereof. However commands can also be provided through other libraries or by your application. Commands running in the application context will have complete access to your application. This is especially useful to reuse existing logic in an application's model when creating a command to be run as i.e. a cron-job.
Invoking the front-controller
You invoke the console front-controller through one of the wrappers provided, as shown below. The examples shown are relative to the root directory of a standard li3 distribution. The first is for users on a *nix command line the second for users on a Windows system.
Invoking the wrapper like that (without arguments) should give you a list of available commands.
Built-in commands
Using the commands which come with lithium is easy. Invoke the wrapper without any arguments to get a list of all available commands. Get a description about each command and the options and arguments it accepts or may require by using the help command.
li3 help
li3 help create
li3 help g11n
Creating custom commands
Creating your own commands is very easy. A few fundamentals:
 - All commands inherit from lithium\console\Command.
 - Commands are normally placed in your application or library's extensions/command directory.
Here's an example command:
namespace app\extensions\command;
class HelloWorld extends \lithium\console\Command {
 public function run() {
 $this->header('Welcome to the Hello World command!');
 $this->out('Hello, World!');
If you would like to try this command, create an application or use an existing application, place the command into the application's extensions/commands directory and save it as HelloWorld.php. After doing so open a shell and change directory to your application's directory and run the following command:
li3 hello_world
Although it's probably obvious, when this command runs it will output a nice header with the text Welcome to the Hello World command! and some regular text Hello, World! after it.
The public method run() is called on your command instance every time your command has been requested to run. From this method you can add your own command logic.
Parsing options and arguments
Parsing options and arguments to commands should be simple. In fact, the parsing is already done for you.
Short and long (GNU-style) options in the form of -f, --foo, --foo-bar and --foo=bar are automatically parsed and exposed to your command instance through its properties. XF68-style long options (i.e. -foo) are not supported by default but support can be added by extending the console router.
Arguments are passed directly to the invoked method.
Let's look at an example, going back to the hello_world command from earlier:
namespace app\extensions\command;
class HelloWorld extends \lithium\console\Command {
 public $recipient;
 public function run() {
 $this->out('Hello, '. ($this->recipient?: 'World'). '!');
Notice the additional property $recipient? Great! Now when --recipient is passed to the hello_world command, the recipient property on your command instance will be set to whatever was passed into the command at runtime.
Try it out with the following command:
li3 hello_world --recipient=AwesomeGuy
You should get a special greeting from our good old hello_world command.


text:
A Low Power CMOS CORDIC Processor Design for Wireless Telecommunication
Source: Northeastern University
A CORDIC processor for wire telecommunication is integrated in a 0.5ìm CMOS technology. The CORDIC (Coordinate Rotation DIgital Computer) processor reduces the circuit complexity by performing a sequence of elementary rotations using shift and add operations without multiplications. Hard wired-logic eliminates the shifter and includes pre-calculated arctan angle values. The average power consumption is 76mW with 50MHz clock and 5V power supply. The fabricated modulator consumes 24mW at 61.44MHz sampling rate and 5V power supply.


The Perfect Fit
SERIES 25 Episode 36
John gives tips on assessing and working with microclimates
"Microclimates are small-scale areas that differ from the broader, general climate around them," says John, "and this garden in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn is the perfect spot to show how a garden can be designed to work seamlessly with the seasons by identifying, creating and harnessing the various microclimates."
The 600 square metre north-facing garden is designed to be a wonderland. John says it contains an eclectic mix of plants, chosen for both their flower colour and for their foliage. It also tries to balances recreation and pleasure in equal measure. But the key element is that it's enveloped in greenery, creating a lot of shaded areas.
Whilst gardeners can control, to a degree, the placement of plants in the garden, most of the time it's the house which creates most of the shading.
John explains that during spring and autumn, the sun slants in at around 52 degrees in Melbourne. For a 7-metre house, that results in a 5-metre strip of shade at midday on the southern side of the house.
As the sun rises during the summer it reaches a 75 degree slant, creating only a 2-metre belt of shade and exposing the rest of the garden to the sun's hot rays.
But in winter, the sun drops right down in the sky to 28 degrees. This means a 7-metre high house gives 10 metres of shade - the greater part of the garden.
Gardeners need to understand these changing environments to create plantings that cope with the variable sun and shade - and also place our recreational sites so they also are in either sun or shade, depending upon what's needed.
One plant that adapts well to shifting light is the Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis). Deciduous woodland is its native habitat, where it uses the light of winter and spring to flower and to develop its new foliage. When that deciduous woodland creates shade later in the summer, the Hellebore becomes more or less dormant. In other words, it's an opportunistic plant, using light when it's available.
Microclimates can also be used to ripen fruit. For example, an espaliered lemon hedge facing east still gets light from the north-east all morning until midday - so the lemons do very well. In the same climate, fruit grown on the west side of a fence where the plants get hot, late-afternoon sun much of the fruit will cook where it grows.
On the opposite side of the garden, John points out the plants that have been added to create shade and a cool microclimate. They include Cliveas (Clivea miniata) and Hydrangea quercifolia (Oak-leaf Hydrangea).
A west-facing wall in the same zone has also been cooled by the use of Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila) grown over the wall. This prevents any reflected heat coming from the wall. This means that even in a west-facing area it's cool enough to grow plants like Azaleas and Hellebores.
In the centre of the garden a pool, paving and lots of sun make it an ideal spot for vegetables in raised beds. The light-coloured paving creates plenty of reflected heat, which encourages plants like the ground-covering Euphorbia rigida or Silver Spurge to thrive. Even heat-lovers like False Red Agave (Beschorneria yuccoides) can survive in chilly Melbourne.
"As a garden designer," says John, "I think it's really important to take microclimates into consideration right at the beginning of your design. This allows you to create a garden that suits you and your needs. More than that, it allows you to understand the different planting opportunities you have and how to grow your plants in the places that best suit them. And that's half the battle of growing a beautiful garden."


Crown Lengthening Procedure for Short Crowns
Home > Periodontics > Crown Lengthening procedure for short crowns
FAQ's :
1. How long does it take for a crown lengthening to heal?
It usually takes 7 to 10 days. If bone trimming is done then Your gums should heal for aboutone to three months before the tooth is prepared for the final crown.
2. What is the procedure for crown lengthening?
3. Is a crown lengthening necessary?
A crown lengthening can reduce the bone level and gum tissue in order to gain better access to your tooth. When a tooth breaks, or if there is severe decay, the remaining healthy tooth area is reduced and this can affect the potential for a successful tooth restoration.
4. Does a crown lengthening hurt?
The dentist removes a small amount of gum and bone around the tooth, and several weeks are needed for healing. The new "taller" tooth is then prepared for the crown. The crown lengthening procedure starts with anesthesia, and then the periodontist removes excess gum tissue to expose more of your teeth.
Book Your Appoinment
 Patient's Reviews


by Diana Filer
 1. May 8th this year is the 73rd anniversary of VE Day: WWII victory in Europe.
 2. Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system.
 3. A barn find is a classic car or motorcycle found in derelict condition, often in old run-down buildings such as barns.
 4. Agatha Christie's 'The Mousetrap' is in its 68th year of continuous performances in London.
 5. The world's youngest billionaire at the age of 24 is Perenna Kei Hoi-Ting of Hong Kong. Her estimated net worth is $1.3 billiion.


text:
CPCCPD3021 Prepare existing coated surface for painting Training Resources
Get the latest CPCCPD3021 Prepare existing coated surface for painting RTO training and resource assessment tools from CAQA, one of Australia's most trusted RTO resource developers. These training resources will help you deliver quality, up-to-date training for this unit of competency.
The RTO training and assessment materials in this unit training package are designed to give your organisation and your students the best learning experience possible. These course materials were created with the help of professional instructional designers and industry expert to ensure their quality.
These training resources by CAQA were created to meet all CPCCPD3021 training requirements and underwent a comprehensive development process to make sure you receive only the best RTO training materials.
CPCCPD3021 Learner Resources
- Learner Guides— developed to meet training package requirements. These also include formative assessments to evaluate students' competence level before they undertake any summative assessments.
CPCCPD3021 Assessment Tools
- Students Assessment Workbooks—include an assessment plant, context and conditions of assessment, tasks to be administered to the student, and an outline of the evidence to be gathered from the candidate.
- The Trainer Assessor Assessment Materials— have benchmark answers and evidence criteria used by assessors to judge competence.
- Mapping Document— maps each assessment task back to the unit requirements. This vital reference tool will help with compliance and at audit.
- Simulated Business Resources (where applicable)— includes workplace resources such as templates, policies, procedures, and the like to ensure students have access to the resources required for assessment are consistent with the Principles of Assessment and the Rules of Evidence.
Additional CPCCPD3021 Training Resources
- Self-Study Guide— support your learners and help them understand the underpinning knowledge of the training package with this tool. This guide assists with delivering effective, engaging, and compliant classroom or webinar delivery of this unit.
- Class Activity Books—help your students develop greater understanding of the competencies with these books. These materials allow your trainers and assessors to collect detailed information on students' current level of competence. Your trainers and assessors will have a better idea on how to improve instruction and ensure excellent learning outcomes.
- Session Plans—for effective and engaging classroom delivery of the unit. These plans are easy-to-customise to adapt to different delivery modes.
- PowerPoint Presentations—designed around classroom delivery sessions. These presentations have pictures, topic headings, and key content notes for each topic. It also includes mapping so you can demonstrate how this tool meets your training package requirements.
Features of Your CPCCPD3021 Resources
- Unlimited Student Licence—you are free to deliver and assess training to as many students as you want within your RTO. No ongoing fees or resource costs!
- Printable Digital Resources—print as many copies of the RTO training resources as you like for your students to use in the classroom or take with them on work placement.
- Editable Training Resources—your CPCCPD3021 training materials come in an easy-to-edit digital format so you can contextualise them to meet your organisations' needs.
More Information About the CPCCPD3021 Prepare existing coated surface for painting Unit of Competency
Find more information about the CPCCPD3021 Prepare existing coated surface for painting unit of competency, including currency, vocational outcomes, elements, performance criteria, unit requirements, course packaging and more on the training.gov.au page here.
Check Out through Our Online Shop Now!
Simply click the "Buy Now" button at the top of the page to complete your order of the CPCCPD3021 RTO learning materials. You can also get in touch with us for more information.


text:
Scientific name: Cestrum aurantiacum
Common names: Orange or yellow cestrum, yellow shrub jessamine, golden jasmine
Native to Guatemala
Description: Large, sprawling evergreen shrub. Leaves are simple, waxy and lance-shaped with an acute or pointed tip. Leaves are to 6 inches long with long petioles (leaf stems) and are alternate on the stem. Have a wet-dog smell when crushed. Flowers appear at the ends of the branches in panicles (a branched inflorescence), are 1 inch long, waxy, slender and tubular, and abruptly end with five small folded-back petals or teeth. Flowers are not strongly fragrant and the color is yellow to orange. Fruit is a half-inch round berry, usually white.
Hardiness: USDA hardiness zones 8-11, has perennialized fairly well in Dallas/Forth Worth.
Height/width: Can grow to 12-15 feet tall, but more often is seen at 4-10 feet tall and 6-8 feet wide.
Light: Full sun to part shade.
Culture: Tolerant of most soils, including poor and sandy locations. Very drought tolerant once established; plant in well-drained soil with supplemental irrigation available during drought.
Culture/use: Back of borders, along fences, informal hedge, and in large containers for patio and poolside. A good addition to butterfly gardens as the bright orange-yellow flowers appear most of the year in tropical areas, but are heavier in spring and summer. Prunes easily, though leaves are too large for shearing and may require support as it is rangy in growth habit. Heavy pruning can reduce flowering. Moderate to heavy feeder; fertilize with organic products two to four times per year. Mulch well as with all normal palnts.
Problems and misuses: Yellow cestrum occasionally is bothered by aphids on new growth, caterpillars and leafminers, though plant is vigorous enough that it rarely requires treatment. Some of these plants are weedy species. Yellow cestrum is considered an invasive pest in Australia. Cestrum species have been reported as toxic to animals and humans if large quantities of foliage or berries are ingested.


_USER_{Hottenrott2015Flying, abstract = {This paper studies the importance of the socialization environment - nest - for the career destinations of early career researchers. In a sample of research groups in the fields of science and engineering at universities in Germany, we identify research orientation, output, funding as well as openness to industry and commercialization as relevant components. Nests that attract more public funding and are led by professors with high research performance are more likely to produce researchers that take jobs in public research, while links to industry predict jobs in the private sector. In a more nuanced analysis that differs by type of industry employment we find that larger firms also recruit from groups with higher scientific performance, while SMEs recruit from nests with a higher patent productivity. A focus on experimental development instead is associated with academic start-ups, and an applied focus with employment in consulting. Recommendations for research training are discussed.}, address = {D\"{u}sseldorf}, author = {Hanna Hottenrott and Cornelia Lawson}, copyright = {_URL_ isbn = {978-3-86304-152-6}, keywords = {330; Researcher Mobility; Research Groups; Research Funding; Science-Industry Technology Transfer; Academic Careers}, language = {eng}, number = {153 [rev.]}, publisher = {D\"{u}sseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)}, title = {Flying the nest: How the home department shapes researchers' career paths}, type = {DICE Discussion Paper}, url = {_URL_ year = {2015} }


Radio-Frequency and Microwave Measurements
Course Description
Basic measurement methods, techniques and instrumentation for measurement in the radio-frequency and microwave frequency band are introduced. The course is focused on laboratory work - getting experience measuring circuit and system parameters.
General Competencies
The course thoroughly explains the differences between measurement techniques and appropriate instrumentation in classic electronic engineering and those in radio-frequency and microwave engineering, caused by complicated electromagnetic phenomena. It is expected that students will develop practical skills for autonomous measurements of all basic quantities needed in everyday engineering practice in the field of radio-frequency and microwave engineering (power measurements of CW and pulsed signal, spectrum measurements, scattering parameters measurement, noise figure measurement).
Learning Outcomes
 1. Identify the differences between measurements in low-frequency regime and RF and microwave regime.
 2. Identify the basic measuring quantities in RF and microwave regime
 3. Explain construction of standard laboratory instruments in RF and microwave regime (power meter, signal generator, scalar and vector analyzer)
 4. Select appropriate measurement method and measuring instrument for every basic quantity in RF and microwave regime (power, frequency, scattering parameters, spectrum, EM field)
 5. Identify appropriate connectors, measuring cables and other auxiliary equipment for particular measurement..
 6. Develop a simple RF (or microwave) measuring system that comprises several standard instruments
Forms of Teaching
Theoretical background of each unit is given in the lectures. This is complemented by in-front-of-class experiments and computer situations that explain physics of particular phenomenon.
Laboratory Work
Four blocks of laboratory exercises. Each exercise is run as a group work of five students.
There are 12 in-front-of-class experiments that cover whole syllabus. Each experiment is recorded by camera and projected on the screen. Therefore, each student is able to follow the experiment. Each experiment is also complemented by computer simulation, which enables further discussion and analysis.
There are weekly scheduled consultations with a professor and a teaching assistant. For some special problems, the group consultations are also organized occasionally
Structural Exercises
There is optional non-compulsary project, in which the students are expected to design and construct small measuring system. This project bears 10 credits. This 10 credits are summed up to other achieved credits. They also can replace 10 credits from any other component.
Grading Method
Continuous Assessment Exam
Type Threshold Percent of Grade Threshold Percent of Grade
Laboratory Exercises 0 % 20 % 0 % 20 %
Class participation 0 % 3 % 0 % 3 %
Attendance 0 % 2 % 0 % 2 %
Mid Term Exam: Written 0 % 10 % 0 %
Final Exam: Written 0 % 15 %
Final Exam: Oral 50 %
Exam: Written 0 % 25 %
Exam: Oral 50 %
Week by Week Schedule
 1. Introduction - the importance of measurement in the radio-frequency and microwave engineering, examples of everyday engineering problems. Basic measurement quantities in radio-frequency and microwave engineering: power, frequency, scattering parameters, spectrum, noise figure.
 2. Signal generators, free running generator, dynamic generator, synthesized generator
 3. RF and microwave digital frequency counter. RF and microwave power measurement, thermistor, bolometer, diode detector. Power measurement of CW, pulsed and modulated signal.
 4. Laboratory exercise I - power measurement of a laboratory synthesized generator in CW mode and power measurement of a radiocommunication equipment by using bolometer sensor and diode detector.
 5. Scattering parameters measurement: scalar and vector measurements. Scalar network analyzer and scalar calibration.
 6. Measurements in radiocommunication systems based on scalar scattering parameters measurement: antenna mismatch, measurement of transfer characteristic of a radiocommunication system
 7. Laboratory exercise II - measurement of scalar scattering parameters (return loss and insertion loss) of a microwave filter and of a down converter.
 8. Midterm exam
 9. Vector network analyzer. Calibration and vector error correction
 10. Measurement cables, connectors, fixtures, and wafer probes. De-embedding.
 11. Laboratory exercise III - measurement of transistor scattering parameters and reflection coefficient of the antenna.
 12. RF and microwave heterodyne spectrum analyzer
 13. Laboratory exercise IV - measurement of third order intercept point of a microwave amplifier, spectrum measurement, determining modulation parameters
 14. Laboratory noise sources, Y method for noise measurement, noise figure meter
 15. Final exam
Study Programmes
University graduate
Wireless Technologies (profile)
Specialization Course (2. semester)
G.H Bryiant (1993.), Principle of Microwave Measurements, Pergamon Press
---------- (1997.), RF Fundamental Measurements, Hewlett Packard
---------- (1989.), Vector Measurements of High Frequency Networks, Hewlett Packard
Laboratory exercises
ID 127428
 Summer semester
L2 English Level
L1 e-Learning
30 Lectures
0 Exercises
12 Laboratory exercises
0 Project laboratory
Grading System
90 Excellent
80 Very Good
60 Good
50 Acceptable


Tarahumara language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Rarámuri ra'ícha
Native to Mexico
Region Chihuahua
Ethnicity Tarahumara people
Native speakers
85,000 (2010 census)[1]
Official status
Official language in
One of 63 national languages of Mexico [2]
Regulated by Secretaría de Educación Pública
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
tar – Central Tarahumara
thh – Northern Tarahumara
tcu – Southeastern Tarahumara
twr – Southwestern Tarahumara
tac – Western Tarahumara
Glottolog tara1321[2]
The Tarahumara language (native name Rarámuri/Ralámuli ra'ícha "people language"[3]) is a Mexican indigenous language of the Uto-Aztecan language family spoken by around 70,000 Tarahumara (Rarámuri/Ralámuli) people in the state of Chihuahua, according to an estimate by the government of Mexico.[4][what is the date of the commission's report?]
Genetic affiliation[edit]
Tarahumara was previously considered to belong to the Taracahitic group of the Uto-Aztecan languages, but this grouping is no longer considered valid. It is now grouped in a Tarahumaran group along with its closest linguistic relative, the Guarijío language (Varihio, Huarijío), which is also spoken in the Sierra Madre Occidental.
Rarámuri is spoken by 70,000 or more indigenous Mexicans living in the state of Chihuahua. There is no consensus among specialists on the number of dialects: competing proposals include two (Western and Eastern);[5] four (Western, Northern, Southern, Eastern);[6] and five, according to field surveys conducted in the 1990s by linguists working for the Mexican government[7] and Ethnologue.[8] Mexican researchers emphasize that the knowledge of Rarámuri dialects is still patchy, and they say there is a possibility that there are many more than five dialects. The five divisions tentatively recognized by the Mexican government are not the same ones proposed by Ethnologue.
The landscape of the area is dominated almost entirely by the Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in western Mexico. As of 2011, Ethnologue splits Eastern into four dialects. The five dialects recognized by Ethnologue, with Ethnologue's own current designations and population estimates, are Western (40,000 speakers); Central (55,000, including 10,000 monolinguals); Northern (300); Southeastern (no estimate given); and Southwestern (100). The figure of 40,000 is cited as an being official census figure from 1996.[9]
Roles in society[edit]
The language is used in primary schools and local administration as well as in traditional religious practices and local business transactions. Spanish speakers who live near or among the Tarahumara often use it in commerce as well.[citation needed] At the same time, Spanish is becoming ever more prevalent in indigenous communities. Currently, only one percent of the speakers are literate in their language, while 20 percent of them are literate in Spanish.[citation needed]
Grammar of Western Rarámuri[edit]
The following description is based on Burgess (1984) unless otherwise noted.
Rarámuri has five vowel phonemes: /a, e, i, o, u/. Additionally, [ə] occurs as an allophone of /a/ word-initially and between a stressed close vowel and the glottal stop. Phonemically, all plosive consonants are voiceless. There are four fricative phonemes, two voiced and two voiceless; but the voiced fricatives both have a plosive allophone: [b], and [ɡ], respectively. The phoneme /r/ has two allophones: a trilled and a forward-flapped variation. Both allophones occur phrase-initially, but the trilled allophone is much more common.
Bilabial Alveolar "Retroflexed alveolar"[10] Palatal Velar Glottal
Nasal m n
Plosive p t k ʔ
Affricate [t͡s] [optional allophone of /t͡ʃ/] t͡ʃ
Fricative β s ʃ (optional allophone of /s/) ɣ h
Approximant w [11] [ɽ] [ɭ] (has lateral
and flap allophones)
Rhotic r
/t͡ʃ, ʃ, j, ʔ, h/ are spelled ch, sh/s, y, ', j; /s/ is spelled s/c
[ʃ] is an optional allophone of /s/ before [i, u], while [t͡s] is an optional allophone of /t͡ʃ/ before [a, o, u].[12] Some writers spell [s, ʃ] as s, sh, respectively,[12] while others spell them c, s, respectively.[13]
Some important phonological rules:[14]
 1. In phrase-initial syllables not followed immediately by a vowel, [h], or [ʔ], unstressed vowels acquire length.
 2. Stressed phraseand word-final vowels can optionally acquire voiceless offglides. Word-final vowels, however, only receive offglides when preceding a stressed syllable-initial plosive or affricate.
 3. Word-initially, [a][ə] if between a stressed [+high] vowel and [ʔ].
 4. In unstressed, word-medial or –final syllables, [i] becomes allophonically less tense.
 5. In fast speech, vowels in unstressed syllables are frequently dropped.
 6. In unstressed, word-medial or –final syllables, all vowels are dropped when following a nasal and preceding a plosive.
Affixes are almost always realized as suffixes, and clitics too come word finally. Nouns and verbs are semiagglutinating. Words and phrases are head initial. Adpositions can be prepositions or postpositions, and some are suffixed to nouns.
In noun morphology, there are two cases: nominative and accusative. Both direct and indirect objects are marked with the suffix [-ʔt͡ʃi]. In addition to case marking, there are also the characteristic Uto-Aztecan "absolutive" suffixes, which appear when there is no other suffix. Variants of the absolutive include [-ʔt͡ʃi] [-ri]. Possessed nouns are marked in several different ways: verbal constructions, noun suffixing, or a combination of the two. In terms of noun suffixing, possessives are marked with [-ra]. Some nouns are not inflected for plurality, but noun phrases containing them will mark plurality by other means: quantity words will be added to the noun phrase or words related to the head will be inflected for plurality.
Demonstratives mark proximity/distance but number. Given that Rarámuri is head final, demonstratives come before the noun. They can be used as both articles and pronouns, and can also be doubled. Storytellers will sometimes omit demonstratives in front of names of animals, showing that the animal is being ranked higher on the animacy scale and/or the animal name is being used as a proper noun.
There are several verbal suffixes for both the future and past tenses, with allomorphs of all three of the future tense suffix markers. The imperfect, conditional, passive voice, plural and singular imperative, and past participle are all marked for with suffixes as well. Interestingly, there are several suffixes that indicate different types of gerunds: past, singular, and plural.
Subject can be marked for in one of two ways. A pronoun coming before the verb can mark for 1, 2, 3 person singular and plural. Additionally, a suffix coming after the TAM marker can mark for the subject as well. In this way, subject marking is more flexible than marking for tense, aspect, and mood; however, subject pronouns cannot be used in conjunction with subject suffixes.
There are multiple suffixes that can change nouns to verbs. These suffixes cover a range of meanings, from "become" or "make" to "put on", "take off", and "have". In a similar suffix-adding process, adjectives can also become verbs. In fact, verbs can also take on suffixes to become other verbs, though noun to verb constructions are the most productive of these types of transformations.
Rarámuri utilizes valence changing processes that will most often transitivize verbs. This feature is widespread in Uto-Aztecan languages. To transitivize a verb, it is necessary to change the final vowel of the verb root. The process of applicativization involves a suffix and prefix, as well a change in voicing for the root-initial bilabial consonant. This process goes both ways: if a bilabial is [+voice], it will become [-voice] with the addition of these affixes, and vice versa.
Rará


text:
Fish and fishes
People often ask about how the terms 'fish' and 'fishes' should be used. In fact it is often said that there is no such word as 'fishes'. This is not true.
A group of fish of the same species are called 'fish'. Two or more species of fish are called 'fishes'.
For example, a number of Eastern Australian Salmon swimming together can be called a school of fish. But if one Tarwhine starts swimming with the Eastern Australian Salmon they are called fishes.
Books such as the Sea Fishes of Southern Australia and Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia use the term 'fishes', because more than one species of fish are included in the book.
For more information, view the Wikipedia comment on Fish or Fishes?
Mark McGrouther, Collection Manager, Ichthyology


text:
tool for early identification of the elderly gait asymmetry in the clinical diagnosis.
Wu, Jianning; Wu, Bin
The accurate identification of gait asymmetry is very beneficial to the assessment of at-risk gait in the clinical applications. This paper investigated the application of classification method based on statistical learning algorithm to quantify gait symmetry based on the assumption that the degree of intrinsic change in dynamical system of gait is associated with the different statistical distributions between gait variables from left-right side of lower limbs; that is, the discrimination of small difference of similarity between lower limbs is considered the reorganization of their different probability distribution. The kinetic gait data of 60 participants were recorded using a strain gauge force platform during normal walking. The classification method is designed based on advanced statistical learning algorithm such as support vector machine algorithm for binary classification and is adopted to quantitatively evaluate gait symmetry. The experiment results showed that the proposed method could capture more intrinsic dynamic information hidden in gait variables and recognize the right-left gait patterns with superior generalization performance. Moreover, our proposed techniques could identify the small significant difference between lower limbs when compared to the traditional symmetry index method for gait. The proposed algorithm would become an effective tool for early identification of the elderly gait asymmetry in the clinical diagnosis.
We obtain the relaxation time for the shear viscous stress for various geometries using the'membrane paradigm' formula proposed recently. We consider the generic Schwarzschild-anti-de Sitter black holes (SAdS), the generic Dp-brane, the Klebanov-Tseytlin (KT) geometry, and the N=2* theory. The formula is the'shear mode' result and is not fully trustable, but it may be helpful to learn some generic behaviors about the relaxation time. For example, a simple formula summarizes all known results for SAdS, and a single expression summarizes the results for the Dp-brane and the KT geometry.
Lu, Kai; Vicario, David S
Auditory neurophysiology has demonstrated how basic acoustic features are mapped in the brain, but it is still not clear how multiple sound components are integrated over time and recognized as an object. We investigated the role of statistical learning in encoding the sequential features of complex sounds by recording neuronal responses bilaterally in the auditory forebrain of awake songbirds that were passively exposed to long sound streams. These streams contained sequential regularities, and were similar to streams used in human infants to demonstrate statistical learning for speech sounds. For stimulus patterns with contiguous transitions and with nonadjacent elements, single and multiunit responses reflected neuronal discrimination of the familiar patterns from novel patterns. In addition, discrimination of nonadjacent patterns was stronger in the right hemisphere than in the left, and may reflect an effect of top-down modulation that is lateralized. Responses to recurring patterns showed stimulus-specific adaptation, a sparsening of neural activity that may contribute to encoding invariants in the sound stream and that appears to increase coding efficiency for the familiar stimuli across the population of neurons recorded. As auditory information about the world must be received serially over time, recognition of complex auditory objects may depend on this type of mnemonic process to create and differentiate representations of recently heard sounds.
Noor, Ahmed K.
The accelerating pace of the computing technology development shows no signs of abating. Computing power reaching 100 Tflop/s is likely to be reached by 2004 and Pflop/s (10(exp 15) Flop/s) by 2007. The fundamental physical limits of computation, including information storage limits, communication limits and computation rate limits will likely be reached by the middle of the present millennium. To overcome these limits, novel technologies and new computing paradigms will be developed. An attempt is made in this overview to put the diverse activities related to new computing-paradigms in perspective and to set the stage for the succeeding presentations. The presentation is divided into five parts. In the first part, a brief historical account is given of development of computer and networking technologies. The second part provides brief overviews of the three emerging computing paradigms grid, ubiquitous and autonomic computing. The third part lists future computing alternatives and the characteristics of future computing environment. The fourth part describes future aerospace workforce research, learning and design environments. The fifth part lists the objectives of the workshop and some of the sources of information on future computing paradigms.
Yu, Shimeng; Gao, Bin; Fang, Zheng; Yu, Hongyu; Kang, Jinfeng; Wong, H-S Philip
Hardware implementation of neuromorphic computing is attractive as a computing paradigm beyond the conventional digital computing. In this work, we show that the SET (off-to-on) transition of metal oxide resistive switching memory becomes probabilistic under a weak programming condition. The switching variability of the binary synaptic device implements a stochastic learning rule. Such stochastic SET transition was statistically measured and modeled for a simulation of a winner-take-all network for competitive learning. The simulation illustrates that with such stochastic learning, the orientation classification function of input patterns can be effectively realized. The system performance metrics were compared between the conventional approach using the analog synapse and the approach in this work that employs the binary synapse utilizing the stochastic learning. The feasibility of using binary synapse in the neurormorphic computing may relax the constraints to engineer continuous multilevel intermediate states and widens the material choice for the synaptic device design.
Reza Karimi, RPh, PhD
Full Text Available Purpose: An Integrative Student Learning (ISL activity was developed with the intent to enhance the dynamic of student teamwork and enhance student learning by fostering critical-thinking skills, self-directed learning skills, and active learning. Case Study: The ISL activity consists of three portions: teambuilding, teamwork, and a facilitator driven "closing the loop" feedback discussion. For teambuilding, a set of clue sheets or manufacturer's drug containers were distributed among student pairs who applied their pharmaceutical knowledge to identify two more student pairs with similar clues or drugs, thus building a team of six. For teamwork, each team completed online exams, composed of integrated pharmaceutical science questions with clinical correlates, using only selected online library resources. For the feedback discussion, facilitators evaluated student impressions, opened a discussion about the ISL activity, and provided feedback to teams' impressions and questions. This study describes three different ISL activities developed and implemented over three days with first year pharmacy students. Facilitators' interactions with students and three surveys indicated a majority of students preferred ISL over traditional team activities and over 90% agreed ISL activities promoted active learning, critical-thinking, self-directed learning, teamwork, and student confidence in online library searches. Conclusions: The ISL activity has proven to be an effective learning activity that promotes teamwork and integration of didactic pharmaceutical sciences to enhance student learning of didactic materials and confidence in searching online library resources. It was found that all of this can be accomplished in a short amount of class time with a very reasonable amount of preparation.
Full Text Available Purpose: An Integrative Student Learning (ISL activity was developed with the intent to enhance the dynamic of student teamwork and enhance student learning by fostering critical-thinking skills, self-directed learning skills, and active learning. Case Study: The ISL activity consists of three portions: teambuilding, teamwork, and a facilitator driven "closing the loop" feedback discussion. For teambuilding, a set of clue sheets or manufacturer's drug containers were distributed among student pairs who applied their pharmaceutical knowledge to identify two more student pairs with similar clues or drugs, thus building a team of six. For teamwork, each team completed online exams, composed of integrated pharmaceutical science questions with clinical correlates, using only selected online library resources. For the feedback discussion, facilitators evaluated student impressions, opened a discussion about the ISL activity, and provided feedback to teams' impressions and questions. This study describes three different ISL activities developed and implemented over three days with first year pharmacy students. Facilitators' interactions with students and three surveys indicated a majority of students preferred ISL over traditional team activities and over 90% agreed ISL activities promoted active learning, critical-thinking, self-directed learning, teamwork, and student confidence in online library searches. Conclusions: The ISL activity has proven to be an effective learning activity that promotes teamwork and integration of didactic pharmaceutical sciences to enhance student learning of didactic materials and confidence in searching online library resources. It was found that all of this can be accomplished in a short amount of class time with a very reasonable amount of preparation. Type: Case Study
El Naqa, Issam; Bradley, Jeffrey D; Deasy, Joseph O; Lindsay, Patricia E; Hope, Andrew J
Radiotherapy outcomes are determined by complex interactions between treatment, anatomical and patient-related variables. A common obstacle to building maximally predictive outcome models for clinical practice is the failure to capture potential complexity of heterogeneous variable interactions and applicability beyond institutional data. We describe a statistical learning methodology that can automatically screen for nonlinear relations among prognostic variables and generalize to unseen data before. In this work, several types of linear and nonlinear kernels to generate interaction terms and approximate the treatment-response function are evaluated. Examples of institutional datasets of esophagitis, pneumonitis and xerostomia endpoints were used. Furthermore, an independent RTOG dataset was used for 'generalizabilty' validation. We formulated the discrimination between risk groups as a supervised learning problem. The distribution of patient groups was initially analyzed using principle components analysis (PCA) to uncover potential nonlinear behavior. The performance of the different methods was evaluated using bivariate correlations and actuarial analysis. Over-fitting was controlled via cross-validation resampling. Our results suggest that a modified support vector machine (SVM) kernel method provided superior performance on leave-one-out testing compared to logistic


text: Three members of the Corean Alliance for Independent Reunification and Democracy (CAIRD) are in the United States on a peace expedition. They speak with us about the brutal history of the US' involvement in Korea and their work to end the Korean War, bring reunification and build democracy. Their work builds on decades of work by Korean activists. Under the current leader, this work is being made even more challenging by the application of a National Security Law. We also discuss the impact of trade agreements on Korean farmers and workers.


text:
The passage of time has brought with it vast alterations to the landscape of Northern Virginia and Fairfax County. Once a sleepy rural area dotted with a few small villages, it has changed into a bustling suburb that is now home to thousands of people. Throughout its history, Fairfax County has hosted presidents, been home to slave traders and been a strategic component in multiple campaigns during the Civil War. "Remembering Fairfax County, Virginia," by longtime local historian Karl Reiner, is a collection of historical vignettes that captures not only the essence of the events and people who have shaped the history of Fairfax County, but also their impact on the Old Dominion. From the influence of presidents such as George Washington to forgotten battles during the Civil War, this collection chronicles the history of Fairfax County during some of the most influential periods in American history.
Title: Remembering Fairfax County, Virginia
Author: Karl Reiner is a 1971 graduate of Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Publisher: The History Press (April 24, 2006; third printing 2010)
Description: Paperback, 128 pages


text:
Using Audio to Enhance Teaching and Learning
Date: 9 January 2013 -- 8 x 30 minute periods over 8 weeks.
Time: This course will be provided online through a series of weekly video podcasts and tutorials.
Each week a video podcast will be made available and integrated with a tutorial. The topics covered will be practical and related to the production of audio for teaching purposes. The content will include:
- using free software to help record and edit audio recordings to a good standard
- ensuring the audio is in the correct format to share with your students
- providing examples of how staff may wish to record audio for their students
- suggesting activities where students may be encouraged to create audio themselves
- discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using audio and raising awareness of the practical and legal issues associated with its use.
In the latter part of the course, there will be anopportunity for participants to use their newly acquired knowledge to create a short audio recording and share it with others for review.
Staff interested in learning how to record audio and integrate it into their teaching and learning.
Prerequisites: A knowledge of how to listen to audio on a computer.
Registration is via Queen's Online (In the navigation under My Services, select Other then Training Courses).
Teaching and/or Supporting Student Learning
Teaching, Student Learning, Audio, Video, Podcast,
Course Contact Details
Centre for Educational Development
_PHONE_ 1447


text:
There's incredible value in giving your students challenging tasks. Home educators have a headache or need to take a sick day? Challenge tasks can be a way to provide yourself with the rest you need while giving your student something rigorous and engaging to do. Maybe your student is gifted and needs a bit more of a challenge during the regular learning time? Tasks like this can be a way for them to be very challenged. Maybe you're looking for a low-stress but highly engaging learning opportunity? Cue a challenging task!
Coming up with ideas and specific challenges can be difficult. You have to think of challenges, set the specifics, and do a bit of prep, even if it's minimal. Here are a few ideas to help give you a head start.
Egg Drop Challenge
Grade levels: 5+
Why it's a great idea: The egg drop challenge can be done independently or in small groups. Students don't need to be "on the same grade level," and the home educator doesn't need to have all the answers. In fact, not knowing what will work will actually help the students learn more through trial and error. Also, beyond the eggs, the "required list of materials" is relatively flexible. Cotton, tape, paper, boxes, string, even grass clippings.
How to prep ahead of time: The only thing you can't prepare is the eggs--you'll need some fresh uncooked eggs (or another small, fragile item) for this challenge. However, you can print out the directions (there are a few different ways to do this) for the challenge. Place the directions along with the materials in a shoebox or large bag and save it until the day you'll need it! For project extension, depending on the student's age you can add things like showing a space landing, reading Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty, or making connections between the body and challenge.
Straw Rocket Challenge
Grade levels: 3+
Why it's a great idea: This challenge is easy, stress-free, and can be fully prepared for a random day in the future. There isn't a huge list of required materials. Plus, it's fun!
How to prep ahead of time: This is as simple as printing out the directions, collecting the non-perishable materials, and placing them to the side until needed. If you have a student who might need more structure, NASA has a step-by-step option. In addition, you can extend learning by watching and discussing rocket launches, reading up on basic rocket science, or studying the design of rockets.
Cooking without a stove
Grade levels: 6+
Why it's great: Students can actually solve this challenge in a few different ways. That means you have a lot of flexibility on what you require and what materials are needed.
How to prep ahead of time: First, be sure you remember food safety rules--your students shouldn't be challenged to cook things like raw meat. Decide what method you'd like your student to try, and provide them with the materials. Your student can make a solar-powered pizza hot box using an old satellite dish, solar visor, or a Pringles can. Extend the learning by doing more than just thinking about how solar ovens work. Challenge your student to think about how this technology could be applied on a larger scale to fill the needs of others.
Can you think of other challenge ideas that kids can conduct? What are they? Can they be prepared ahead of time?


text:
The makeup of the federal workforce has been changing along with that of the American workforce as a whole over the last decade, although some differences between the two have remained fairly constant, according to data the government released Friday.
In comparison with the overall workforce, the federal workforce is slightly more male and slightly less white: The federal workforce is 43.6 percent female and 65.9 percent white, compared with 46 and 70 percent respectively in the overall workforce.
Among demographic groups, Hispanics remained the most under-represented in federal jobs as of fiscal 2011, which ended Sept. 30. Hispanics made up 8.1 percent of the federal workforce, compared with 13.6 percent in the overall workforce, a gap that has been consistent for years. In 2002, 6.9 percent of the federal workforce was Hispanic compared with 12.2 percent of the overall workforce, and in 2007 the figures were 7.8 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the percentages of blacks in the federal workforce and in the overall workforce have held roughly steady. Currently, African Americans make up 17.8 percent of the federal workforce, the same as in 2007 and up from 17.6 percent in 2002. The percentage in the overall workforce was 10.4 in 2002 and 10.1 in both 2007 and 2011.
The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders in the federal workforce rose from 4.5 to 5.3 to 5.6 percent in that time, while the percentage in the overall workforce rose from 4 to 4.3 to 4.4 percent.
Native Americans make up about 2 percent of the federal workforce, more than double their representation in the overall workforce, ratios that have changed little over a decade. Non-Hispanic multi-racial employees account for the rest, about 1 percent.
The numbers changed relatively little from 2010 to 2011, with the percentage of men rising — and the percentage of women dropping — by 0.3 percentage points. The white percentage also dropped by 0.3 percentage points, while there were 0.1 percentage point increases among blacks, Hispanics and non-Hispanic multi-racial employees.
The report notes that the government has several initiatives under way, including a government-wide program to promote diversity and inclusiveness, a council to promote hiring, retention and advancement of Hispanics, and programs that seek to boost the hiring of the disabled and veterans. Programs for recruiting students and recent graduates also were overhauled recently.


text:
Have you ever wondered about the biggest and heaviest flying machines....aircrafts. These airplanes actually rule our skies. Below are the world's largest airplanes, by takeoff weight.
1. Antonov An-225
The An-225 has a maximum takeoff weight of over 1.3 million pounds (600,000 kg) and is the world's largest plane. The jet was built in the Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, and is used strictly as a cargo transport.
2. Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is the world's largest passenger jet, and the second largest airplane with a takeoff weight of just over 1.23 million pounds (560,000 kg).
3. Antonov An-124
The An-124 is the predecessor to the An-225, and has a takeoff weight of approximately 900,000 pounds (405,000 kg). As with the larger An-225, this super cargo jet was intended for Soviet military transport and not commercial use.
4. Boeing 747
Tied with the Soviet An-124, the 747 is the world's fourth largest airplane with a maximum weight of 900,000 pounds.
5. C-5 Galaxy
The C-5 Galaxy has a takeoff weight of 769,000 pounds (348,818 kg), and is the largest airlifter in the American Air Force inventory. The C-5 can carry more than any other American airlifter. It has the ability to carry 36 standard pallets and up to 81 troops simultaneously. The Galaxy also carries all of the US Army's air-transportable combat equipment, including such bulky items as its 74-ton mobile scissors bridge from the United States to any theater of combat on the globe.
Like this Article? Share it with friends or submit to your favorite sites :


text:
By speaking swiftly, you can indicate speed, urgency or danger. By speaking slowly, you can suggest tension, finality or fear. Slowness of pace can also indicate slowness of action. And it is a good way to emphasize a word or phrase.
Note, however, that I did not list "talking swiftly to cram more words in." This is a frequent practice—people speaking at a constantly swift pace.
The typical Toastmasters speech is a maximum of seven minutes long—and strictly timed. Going over time is frowned upon and will get you disqualified in a speech contest. When members write their initial speech, it is typically nine minutes long. They then have a choice to either edit their speech down to seven minutes or talk swiftly to get it down to that length. Guess which option most choose? Yep, they choose the latter, which is what I did when I first joined the organization.
So why does it matter? Sounds communicate the literal meaning of your words, expressiveness communicates something else—an implied or secondary meaning. Expressiveness is best achieved when your words have duration. Speaking quickly limits or eliminates the lengthening of individual words, and, thus, limits expressiveness. If your sole purpose is to communicate information, and intellectual connection is your only objective, speaking quickly can be effective. (That is, if you are not speaking so quickly that people can't understand what you are saying.) If, however, you want to connect with your audience on both an intellectual and an emotional level, you will find it much more effective if you slow down to a normal pace.
You might ask, "Yes, but don't some professional speakers speak quickly? Doesn't that indicate that it is effective?" Yes, to a point. I would suggest that these speakers have found a way to introduce some expressiveness into their style; however, when I hear them, I think to myself, How much more effective could they be if they slowed down and stretched out their words?
This article was reprinted from Bill Brown's Speech Delivery Tips email series.


The Shortest day of the year – time to discover
21 December – festival for the Sun
Soon on the 21st of December we celebrate the winter Solstice; it is a very important and unique moment of the year, in this day in the northern hemisphere we have the shortest day and the longest night of the year. There is very little light and much dark.
The sun is rising on the east, yes of course. Eventually the sun is rising on the true east only 2 times a year on the spring and autumn equinoxes. In the rest of the year the, from spring equinox till the autumn equinox the sun is rising more north to the true east, and from the autumn equinox till the spring equinox more south then the true east. In the shortest day of the year the sun is rising at the most southern point on the eastern horizon, or we can say that the sun is arriving to its most southern point in the eastern horizon.
At the shortest day of the year there are very little light and much dark, this means that there is great potentiality in this day to discover. In English discover is a very beautiful word, it means dis – cover, to take the cover off.
There is no real darkness; we can see it because the only way to be in darkness is to avoid any source of light, that means that darkness is the result of lack of light, or in other words when light is covered there is darkness. So in in the shortest day and the longest night is time to take the covers off and discover.
Discovering is very powerful and include great awakening, in discovering we look for the unseen with the intention to unveil it, while doing it we discover something NEW, in discovering there is always NEW something that is born.
Discovering is breaking through, is exploring the secrets of our life, it is a true revelation.
Discovering is a process of finding the light which is hidden in the darkness.
For many cultures the shortest day of the year is the most important day of the year, they connect to this day a great celebration which brings with it the element of fire, it is a beautiful metaphor: the fire is expulsing the darkness.
In Christian culture they celebrate Christmas on the 24 of December, which is the most important feast of the year, there are so many lights in Christmas and is always symbolize a new born, a new beginning.
In Peru on the shortest day of the year (in the southern hemisphere is 24 of June) they celebrate the Intiraymi – the Sun Festival, in the Hebrew culture we celebrate in these days Hanukkah festival in which we celebrate the miracle of light the expulse the darkness and we light a candelabra. The symbol of light, fire, sun is dominant in all this festivals.
Many of you are celebrating the Christmas which is related to the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), probably nobody knows the real date of birth of Yeshua, this date was chosen to connect it to the new birth of the Sun, the sun is born again, and the days start to become longer and longer.
I bless all of you with Mary Christmas but I call you to celebrate the shortest day of the year too, the great sun festival, and I offer you use this day to discover.
Discovering is always a born of new something.
Mary Christmas
May all sentient beings be happy
Shmuel Shaul
כתיבת תגובה
האימייל לא יוצג באתר. שדות החובה מסומנים *


Where Are You From? 10 Fantastic Activities for Talking about the World
One of the most exciting parts of teaching a class of internationals is that you get to touch the entire world without leaving your classroom. It's easy to learn about places all over the world. Students always have something to say when you encourage them to share about their homes. The following activities go global: they give you and your students a chance to talk, read, and write about different places around the world.
Experiment with 10 Fantastic Activities for Talking about the World
 1. 1
 Flag Matching
 One of the most simple ways to talk about the worlds is to give your students different national flags. Without labeling which countries they come from, copy pictures of several flags and give them to your students. Then have your students work in groups of three to see how many of the national flags they can identify. For additional conversation practice, have students describe what the flags look like. If you like, follow up by having your students design their own personal flag and share it with the class. When they show off their flags, have students explain why they chose the design that they did.
 2. 2
 Comparative Countries
 If you are teaching a class of internationals and are studying comparative adjectives, this activity will be perfect for your students. Have each person write ten comparative sentences about their home country and their host country. If you are teaching in a non-English speaking area, have students compare two countries of their choice. Then have students share their sentences with a partner substituting A and B for the country names and see if the listener can tell what countries his partner is describing.
 3. 3
 20 Country Questions
 Twenty questions is a great activity for the ESL classroom. It gives students a chance to practice question formation and keeps them interested in the puzzle they are solving. Narrow down your game by having one person select a country and then give the class up to twenty questions to identify which country was selected.
 4. 4
 Fill Your Passport
 For a simple reading activity, have students design passports (or make copies from a template). Then gather several short books about different countries of the world. When a student reads a book about a particular country, he gets that stamp (or sticker) in his passport. See which student can fill their passport first. Or if you prefer, set your books and empty passports out at a learning station for students to use during independent work periods.
 5. 5
 Continent Collections
 Work together with your class to create continent collections. Gather a large container for each continent of the world (large boxes, baskets, or buckets work well) and label each with the name of a continent. Invite students to bring in items which relate to each of the continents. Before someone can add their item to the collection, she must explain to the class what it is and why it belongs in that continent's collection.
 6. 6
 Food Festival
 It is always fun to have a food festival in class (allergies permitting, of course). Invite each of your class members to bring in a food item from someplace in the world. At your food day celebration, have each person talk briefly about what they brought and how they made it.
 7. 7
 Travel Brochures
 Brochures are a fun project for students to make in class. They can be very simple with only hand drawings and text, or they can be more complicated, designed with desktop publishing programs. Either will work well for this activity. Have students research a particular country and gather some basic information that might be of interest to tourists. Then have students compile their information into a brochure. Give each person a few minutes to present their information to the class and then compile the brochures in a learning center for your class to read at their leisure.
 8. 8
 Sounds of the World
 In your local library you can probably find a CD with music from around the globe. Bring one of these CDs to class and share a song or two with your students. After each song, lead a class discussion about the music you shared. Have students guess which country the song was from and talk about the images it evoked as they listened. If you like, you can even have students draw as they listen to each song and then share their pictures with the class afterward. You could also have students write a paragraph about a particular song and how it made them feel as they listened.
 9. 9
 Global Games
 Each country has traditional games, and you can use those games in class. Have pairs of students research a traditional game from a country of choice or one you assign. Then have the student teach the rest of the class how to play the game. Once everyone is clear on the rules, give the game a try and enjoy yourselves as you do.
 10. q
 Global Garb
 If you teach elementary aged students, this activity is particularly fun. Make copies of paper dolls around the world for your students to color and play with in class. Have students talk about the traditional clothing, what it looks like, what they like about it, and how it compares to others. Young girls will especially enjoy playing with the paper dolls during free learning periods.
When you teach ESL, there is no limit to the ways you can incorporate global themes into your class. Try these activities with your students and reap the benefits from teaching people from all around the world.
How do you incorporate global activities into your classroom?
What are your favorites to do in class? Share with us (and each other) in the comments section below.
Like it? Tell your friends: