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Mangrove-based coastal defense strategies
Wetlands International is committed to reducing the knowledge gaps on mangrove functions and values. Our aim is to maximise the utilisation of ecosystem-based solutions for coastal defense.
Mangrove forests are at the front line of natural defense systems which is of great significance to disaster risk reduction. As a terrestrial natural defense system, mangroves are capable of sheltering coasts from a range of possible hazards coming from the sea, such as tidal waves, hurricane, storms, and even tsunami.
This knowledge is yet inaccessible and underrated. To date, coastal defense strategies are mainly based on infrastructure-based solutions which are costly to build, require high maintenance costs and only provide restricted protection against extreme and unpredictable events. There is an urgent need for in-depth researches and pilot activities to the contribution of mangrovebased coastal defense strategies.
We are committed to reducing the knowledge gaps on mangrove functions and values. We aim to maximise the utilisation of ecosystem-based solutions for coastal defense. Together with partner organisations from the engineering sector, we are currently exploring innovative coastal defense solutions that combine nature and infrastructure. This integrated approach is called hybrid-engineering. In Indonesia, for example, we are exploring how erosion can be halted by establishing mangrove belts in grids of small permeable bunds made of branches and bamboes. When implemented jointly, these measures allow for maximum capture of sediment, while minimising the eroding forces. Another example of hybrid-engineering is the salt marsh works; as part of this approach, salt marshes are constructed along sea dikes to mitigate the power of incoming waves before they reach the dyke.
This represents a fundamentally different way of working. Rather than fighting natural processes through infrastructure, hybrid-engineering enables engineers to work alongside natural processes. In other words, the protective services provided by nature are optimally used and complement those that are provided by infrastructure. Another advantage is that the approach sustains a range of other natural values, such as carbon storage, fisheries provision or opportunities for ecotourism. This renders the approach more sustainable and often more cost-effective than conventional hard-infrastructure approaches. Hybrid engineering approaches are often highly adaptive: by capturing sediment and storing organic matter in the soil, salt marshes and mangroves, for example, are to a certain extent able to 'grow' along with the sea and thereby cope with rising sea levels. This flexibility is highly relevant in times where climate change makes it very hard to predict future changes in the occurrence and intensity of coastal hazards.
These methodologies will be tested in the field through key pilot activities.
- The Netherlands-based knowledge institute on water issues, Deltares: development of new approaches for coastal defense through restoration of mangroves and sediment dynamics.
- Wageningen University: studies on the economic values of different land-use scenarios in (former) mangrove areas.
- The global NGO The Nature Conservancy: literature reviews on mangrove services.
- The Indonesian government service BPDAS-PB of the Ministry of Forestry: to coordinate the engagement of government agencies in data gathering, fieldwork and policy dialogues.
- The Indonesian Government Centre for Marine Resource Survey: detailed mapping of mangrove status and distribution in Indonesia.


Temple Tots
Temple Tots is a program designed for families of pre-schoolers at Or Chadash. Temple Tots meets one Sunday a month, and runs from 11:00 A.M. -12:00 P.M., with a snack towards the end of the hour. We meet in the Sanctuary after Tefillah (prayer assembly).
Temple Tots is a fun and educational program that teaches basic Jewish concepts at the pre-school age level. In addition to learning about the Holidays, the children will have an increased awareness about:
 - What is a Rabbi?
 - Why do we come to Temple?
 - What is Tzeddakah?
 - Where can I find a Mezuzah?
Theme-related crafts, stories, and a hands-on approach to learning are all active ingredients in the Temple Tots program. We read Sammy the Spider stories and other PJ Library books. In the past, the children played I-Spy in the Synagogue. They located and counted Mezuzahs, and Stars of David. They planted trees on Tu B'Shevat. They were very excited!
We look forward to seeing you on Sundays, and showing you just how exciting Temple can be when seen through the eyes of a pre-schooler!


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Health Tip: Common Immune System Problems as You Age
-- The inevitable changes brought on by aging include graying hair, wrinkling skin and weakening senses. Even your immune system isn't spared.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine offers this list of immune system problems that tend to occur more often as people age:
- Greater risk of developing infections.
- Reduced ability of the body to fight disease.
- Wounds and injuries take longer to heal.
- Cancer risk increases.
- Autoimmune disorder risk increases.
Posted: September 2009

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Claim: The word "shit" comes from an acronym for "Ship High in Transit."
[Collected on the Internet, 2002]
History in the making!!!!
Fabulous bit of historical knowledge: Ever wonder where the word shit comes from … well here it is
Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was back then) by ship … well in dry form it weighs a lot less, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, and one of the by products is methane
Bet you didn't know that one.
[Collected on the Internet, 1999]
In the 1800's, cow pie's were collected on the prairie and boxed and loaded on steam ships to burn instead of wood. Wood was not only hard to find, but heavy to move around and store.
When the boxes of cow pie's were in the sun for days on board the ships, they would smell bad. So when the manure was boxed up, they stamped the outside of the box,
When people came aboard the ship and said,"Oh what is that smell!" They were told it was shit.
That is where the saying came
Origins: This sorry piece of codswallop
about exploding ships appears to have begun its Internet life in February 2002. Its cousin, the "bad smelling steamship fuel" tale (second example quoted above) began its online life as an April 1999 post to the USENET discussion list rec.humor. Akin to the faux etymology of the word
We could launch into a long, involved discussion of ancient shipping practices, methane production and properties, and Internet leg-pulls, but we'll spare you all that, as the fanciful stories listed can easily be debunked as the product of someone's wild imaginings through linguistic means.
The word shit entered the modern English language via having been derived from the Old English nouns scite and
the Middle Low German schite, both meaning "dung," and the Old English noun scitte, meaning "diarrhea." Our most
treasured cuss word has been with us a long time, showing up in written works both as a noun and as a verb as far back as the
Scite can trace its roots back to the proto-Germanic root skit-, which brought us the German scheisse, Dutch schijten, Swedish skita, and Danish skide. Skitcomes from the Indo-European root skheidfor "split, divide, separate," thus shit is distantly related to schism and schist. (If you're wondering what a verb root for the act of separating one thing from another would have to do with excrement, it was in the sense of the body's eliminating its waste — "separating" from it, so to speak. Sort of the opposite of today's "getting one's shit together.")
Barbara "shit disturber" Mikkelson
Last updated: 8 July 2007

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Out of work (completed)
The impact of health care seeking of 15-year-olds as predictor of marginalisation from the labour market ten years later
About the project
The study will address scientific gaps in our knowledge about how health care seeking, life experiences, mental health, ethnicity and school climate in adolescence affect long-term marginalisation from education and work. The study will add to current knowledge and support policy formulation regarding work integration and adolescents's living conditions.
My study aims to investigate the impact of health care seeking during the formative years of adolescence for subsequent marginalisation from work in a long-term perspective. The study will have a special focus on how life experiences, mental health, ethnicity and school afilliation relate to health care seeking and subsequent marginalisation.
Marginalisation of work is a burden both to the individual and the society. A considerable proportion of young adults in Norway are marginalised from the labour market. This may in the future represent a large number of years potentially lost to work. Young people's process of integration into work is considered multifactorial, and may best be studied with a prospective and comprehensive approach. Empirical knowledge about such processes will aid the facilitation of interventions that may enhance intergration at an early age.
The project is a sub-project of the following study:
Out of work. Life adversities and health behaviour in 15-years old as predictors of marginalisation 10 years later.


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The EU aims to cut its energy consumption by 20% by 2020. However, ccurrent estimates tend to show the EU is not on track to achieving this objective. As a result, new measures on energy efficiency are now being proposed.
The European PROMISE Project - launched in 2012 and funded by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy - Europe (IEE) programme - will host a European awareness conference on energy-efficient consumer behaviour in European Islands. The project aims to solve the issue of energy use still being largely invisible to the user, while being rapidly increasing due to larger homes, new services and additional appliances. By sharing information and experience, energy agencies from Samsø (Denmark), Iceland, Rhodes (Greece) and Tenerife (Spain) aim to promote tried-and-tested methods for reducing the energy consumption of households.
The event will seek to promote energy savings and awareness by spreading knowledge and experiences on how to reduce the energy consumption of households. Stakeholders and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss and exchange on how to successfully implement the project-tested methods.
Le Chalet Robinson - Bois de la Cambre
Sentier de l'Embarcadère, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgique


What is Foolsaurus?
Reserve replacement ratio
The reserve replacement ratio is the amount of new reserves found compared to the amount of oil produced.
Expanded Definition
Exploration and production companies use this to measure how new discoveries exceed (or fall short of) production. Let's say that for every barrel produced, a company wants to increase reserves by 1.5 (replacing the barrel produced plus another half a barrel). If the ratio falls below 1 : 1, then the company is using up its reserves. Percentages are also used to express this; if the number falls below 100%, then the company is using up its reserves.


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Effect of Surface Texturing on the Stretchability of Electrogalvanized Steel Sheets
Effect of Surface Texturing on the Stretchability of Electrogalvanized Steel Sheets
From: Products Finishing,
3-D surface topography of electrogalvanized steel sheet affects its press-forming behavior
by Erfan Abbasi, Young Researchers Club, Saveh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Saveh, Iran and Mohammadreza Salmani, Material Science and Engineering Department, Islamic Azad University of Saveh Branch, Saveh, Iran
The three-dimensional surface topography of electrogalvanized steel sheet affects its press-forming behavior and also influences the appearance of the end product. In this study, the three-dimensional surface topography of several steel sheets processed by a stochastic surface texturing method has been considered both theoretically and experimentally. In the presence of liquid lubricant, results indicate an increase in rate of mixed lubricated regime rather than boundary lubricated regime as well as improvement of stretchability of textured samples in comparison with non-textured samples.
Stretch forming is one the most significant processes for sheet metal forming (SMF). SMF consists of deformation processes where a steel sheet is shaped by tools or dies. Stretch forming is used in particular for forming body panels, such as doors, roofs or fenders for the automotive and other industries. The performance of SMF processes depends on characteristics of the forming process, the sheet metal, the tool material, frictional conditions at the tool or steel interface and other product requirements.1
In SMF processes, the sheet surface structures have the function of storage, transport and distribution of the lubricant as well as the take-up and transport of wear particles. In order to fulfill these functions, they can be separated as follows: (a) stochastic surface texturing and (b) deterministic surface texturing.2
It has been demonstrated that the frictional conditions during testing are controlled via lubricant viscosity, film thickness, surface roughness and deformation velocity.3,4 Often, the friction force in a lubricated tribo-system is described as a function of one or even more of the operational parameters. Depending on the value of operational parameters, a tribo-system can operate in the following lubrication regimes: (a) hydrodynamic lubrication, (b) mixed lubrication or (c) boundary lubrication.5
In practice, the operational parameters of the three-dimensional surface topography are modified by some methods such as: (a) shot blast texturing, (b) electro-discharge texturing, (c) electron beam texturing and (d) laser beam texturing.6 The interaction of surface texturing with coated and uncoated steel sheets during SMF has been considered in previous studies.7 Evaluation of the tribo-system during the SMF processes has been carried out via different theoretical equations.
In the stretch forming process, the upper limit of the punch load is determined by the maximum tensile load that can be transmitted by the workpiece material, the angle γ between the sheet metal at the grippers and the direction of material of the punch (Fig. 1), the ultimate tensile stress of material UTS, the total width of the clamped sheet b and sheet thickness s, while frictional effects can be considered using a corrective friction factor c, per Equation 1.1,8
Figure 1 -Schematic diagram of a stretch forming process.
The aim of present work was to control the tribo-system of steel sheets during stretch forming so that samples were prepared by the stochastic texturing method, considering the texturing effects on both frictional status and stretchability. Therefore, two different ranges of normal forces as variable factors to texture the surface were studied and finally the stretchability of samples was tested.
Steel sheet stretchability samples with a 34 to 44 g/m2 coating mass were used, which were produced by the Posco Steel Company (Table 1). In addition, metallic spherical steel shot with a range of 200 to 500 µm diameter and 390 to 530 VHN and 7.2 g/cm3 density were used in order to texture the surface of the steel sheets.
Table 1 - Specification of electrogalvanized steel sheet.
290 N/mm2 (42,100 psi)
154 N/mm2 (22,300 psi)
Nominal coating thickness
5.6 μm (220 μ-in.)
Seventy-two samples were cut to dimensions 200 × 200 × 1 mm. The surface of the steel sheet was then cleaned and degreased by general alkaline solution and was immediately dried with a clean tissue. The steel sheet surface was then covered with a 200-µm thick layer of nylon. The steel shot was then spread over the surface so that it covered it entirely. A metallic roller was run over the shot with a reciprocating motion for about 10 min (Fig. 2). Based on the normal forces used, the samples were categorized in three groups: (a) coarse samples (40 N), (b) fine samples (20 N) and (c) non-textured samples.
Figure 2 - Schematic diagram of the texturing process used.
To calculate the depth of artificial indentation in terms of diameters and the normal forces used, the following equations were used, whereas the parameters are described in Fig. 3.
Figure 3 - Schematic diagram of one shot indentation on the surface.
Because of the fairly large scale of the texturing process, a method to analyze the surfaces on a three-dimensional scale was used, consisting of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and roughness measurements.9,10 In order to study the surface topography before and after texturing and to measure the dimension of asperities on the surfaces, microscopic tests were done using a Tescan model VG20805731R with secondary electron capability.
The surface roughness measurements of the textured steel sheets were made using a MarSurf perthometer M2 as a universal standard instrument. Parameters such as Ra, Rmax, Rk, Rp and Rvk were recorded by moving the stylus indenter through cross directions (approximately 8 mm). Samples were then subjected to a simulated drawing test in order to consider the interaction of texturing with stretch forming.11 The Erichsen cup test was done using a Universal Sheet Metal Testing Machine Model 142-20. In addition, solid and liquid lubricants were employed during the simulation test to study the interaction of lubricating system with three different types of surface texturing.12
Figures 4(a) and (b) show the SEM micrograph images of samples which were textured by 40 N and 20 N normal forces, respectively.
Figure 4 - SEM micrographs of textured samples with respect to asperity dimension: (a) coarse, (b) fine (40×).
Table 2 compares the result of roughness tests for two different samples with two different types of texturing in accordance with the rate of normal forces used.
Table 2 - Results of roughness tests for the coarse and fine textured samples.
Table 3 shows the results of the Erichsen cup test, categorized in three major groups: (a) non-textured and textured with (b) 20 N and (c) 40 N normal forces individually. Results are shown for tests done using liquid lubricant, solid lubricant and without lubricant.
Table 3 - Comparison among the results of three different samples after the Erichsen cup test with two different lubricant systems.
Solid lubricant (grease)
Max. drawing force (kN)
Cupping depth at Fmax (mm)
In this section, the effects of the surface texturing process used on the surface topography are considered. SEM images demonstrate that closed void areas result in hemispherical asperities on the sample surfaces. As can be seen in Fig. 4, there are trivial differences among diameters of the closed void areas. By increasing the rate of normal force, the average diameter increases in a range from 149.3 to 165.9 µm. Differences among the diameter sizes result from different factors, such as rate of normal force, or the hardness of sheet surface and so on.13 Diameters were assessed statistically by applying a t-test analysis to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between the result of applied process and initial assessment. A t-test analysis of these results shows that for the fine texturing there is a 90% probability that the diameters range between 133.09 and 152.54 µm if the true diameter is 137.2 µm. When comparing coarse texturing, p = 90% that diameters range between 155.38 and 173.89 µm if the true diameter is 162.8 µm. Moreover, Fig. 5 shows the histograms of textured samples in accordance with the t-confidence interval for the mean of fine and coarse samples separately.
Figure 5 - Histogram of textured samples in terms of the t-confidence interval.
On the other hand, Fig. 6 illustrates the cumulative probability plot including percentile points for corresponding probabilities of diameters. The middle line is the expected percentile from the distribution based on maximum likelihood parameter estimates. The left and right lines represent the lower and upper bounds for the confidence intervals of each percentile. The coarse samples demonstrate less standard variance than the fine samples, while the Anderson-Darling (AD) normality statistic for coarse samples is bigger than fine ones. Thence, it is probably better to choose the fine process in lieu of coarse texturing. It relates to the interaction of texturing with the surface coating, so that applying lower normal force in fine texturing brings about a more optimized state.
Figure 6 - Probability plot of two different textured


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|Connect with Nature
Saskatoon (Amelanchier species)
Also known as: serviceberry, june-berry
General: Saskatoon plants vary from shrub to small tree size. A single stem may be less than 30 cm high, whereas a clump of small trees may be over 6 metres tall.
Leaves & Twigs: Leaves are oval-shaped, and slightly longer (about 2–6 cm) than they are wide. In the West, leaves are usually rounded at the tip and straight across at the base, with coarse "teeth" on the upper half. In the East, leaves are pointed with teeth all around the edges.
Flowers & Fruit: The flowers appear in clusters of five to 11 white flowers, often before the leaves are fully opened. Small clusters of reddish-purple to black berries develop in early summer.
Habitat: Especially common in the West, saskatoon plants prefer well-drained, coarse-textured soils. In the East, these shrubs often are found in wetter soils.
Sampling: Tag a typical shrub for observation.


How we make stuff
 1. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
 2. Teachers! download activities
 3. Get the book
Where do burgers come from?
When you eat a burger, do you ever wonder where all the different ingredients have come from? They might well have started off on the other side of the world, travelling thousands of kilometres by plane, train and lorry to reach your plate.
Based on the original book 'How We Make Stuff' by Christiane Dorion, Templar Publishing, 2012.
Website text by Christiane Dorion - Design by Harriet Pellereau.
© 2012 Ellen MacArthur Foundation - Illustration © Beverley Young - Text © Christiane Dorion


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We can, of course, calculate the molar entropy of a substance at some temperature provided that we define the entropy at a temperature of absolute zero to be zero. By way of example, assuming that the molar entropy of hydrogen at 0 K is zero, calculate the absolute entropy of a kmole of H2 gas at a temperature of 25oC (298.15 K) and a pressure of one atmosphere. We can do this in five stages, as follows. You will find it helpful to sketch these stages on a drawing similar to figure VI.5.
1. Heat the solid hydrogen from 0 K to 13.95 K at a pressure of 7173 Pa. (That's the triple point.) The increase in entropy is ∫CP d(lnT). Assuming that we know CP as a function of temperature in this range, that comes to 2080 J K−1 kmole−1.
2. Liquefy it at the same temperature and pressure. The molar latent heat of fusion is 117000 J kmole−1. Increase in entropy = 117000/13.95 = 8400 J K−1 kmole−1.
3. Vaporize it at the same temperature and pressure. The molar latent heat of vaporization is 911000 kmole−1. Increase in entropy = 911000/13.95 = 65300 J K−1 kmole−1.
4. Increase temperature to 298.15 K at constant pressure. See equation 12.8.3. The increase in entropy is ∫CP d(lnT). Assuming that we know CP as a function of temperature in this range, that comes to 70000 J K−1 kmole−1.
5. Increase pressure to 1 atmos = 1.013 × 105 Pa at constant temperature. See equation 12.8.3, from which we see that there is a decrease of entropy equal to R ln(P2/P1) = 8314ln(1.103 × 105 / 7173) = 22000 J K−1 kmole−1.
Hence, taking the entropy to be zero at 0 K, the required entropy is 124000 J K−1 kmole−1.
Now that we have calculated the absolute entropy at a given temperature and pressure, we can calculate the increase in the Helmholtz and Gibbs functions from equations 12.9.9 and 12.9.11. But this leaves us in a rather uncomfortable position. After all, all we have done in this example is to calculate the increase in entropy as we took the sample up to 25 oC and 1 atmosphere – we haven't really calculated the absolute entropy. The entropy appearing in equations 12.9.9 and 12.9.11 is surely the absolute entropy, and we cannot calculate this unless we know the entropy at T = 0 K. This slight puzzle will remain with us until Chapter 16, when we meet Nernst's Heat Theorem and the Third Law of Thermodynamics.
Many of the examples of thermodynamical calculations have hitherto involved PdV work in a system in which the working substance has been an ideal gas. Let us now look at two entirely different situations, both involving non-PdV work. Let us look at charging a battery, and creating new surface by distorting a spherical drop of liquid.


Lillian Gertrud Asplund
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Lillian Asplund
Lillian Gertrud Asplund
was a Third Class passenger of the Titanic, aged five at the time of the disaster. She survived the sinking.
Early Life Edit
She was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 21st, 1906, the daughter of Carl & Selma Asplund. Lillian was a fraternal twin and her twin brother was Carl Edgar. Her other brothers were Filip OscarEdvin Rojj Felix and Clarence Gustaf Hugo.
Lillian's family came originally from Alsema in the Smaland region of Sweden but had for some years been settled in Massachusetts. In 1907 they had returned to Sweden to settle Mr. Asplund's father's estate upon his death and to care for his mother. In 1912, Lillian's father, Carl O. Asplund, was set to go back to his previous position as a labourer at Spencer Wire Works in Worcester. According to a letter written by Mr. Asplund to his sister, the family was very much looking forward to returning to the United States. Four of Lillian's aunts (3 being her mother's sisters and 1 her father's) and their families lived in Worcester at the time.
Titanic Edit
In an interview conducted with Miss Asplund, some time ago, she recalled the disaster and relayed how she remembered being passed through what she described as a window (later identified as the First Class Promenade) into a descending lifeboat and looking back up at the sinking Titanic. Having left 3 of her brothers, including her twin, Carl, and her father on board the doomed ship, she maintains she was haunted by their faces peering over the rail at her for much of her life. She recalled her father was holding her twin and her 2 older brothers were on each side of them. Lillian was rescued in lifeboat 15 with her mother and brother, Felix. After rescue by the Carpathia, they were brought to St.Vincent's Hospital in New York City.
After the Sinking Edit
Upon their eventual arrival in Worcester, they resided at 151 Vernon St., the family's original intended destination, at the home of Lillian's aunt and uncle. The devastated family had lost all of their possessions including their life savings on the Titanic. The city of Worcester, shortly thereafter, held a very successful fundraiser and benefit for the family with the total sum raised reaching nearly $2,000. That money was supposedly invested and the interest paid to the family with access to funds as needed. The mayor of Worcester at the time, the honorable Mayor David F. O'Connell, was one of the trustees. In 1951, Lillian and her family moved to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.
After the disaster, Lillian was employed at various secretarial jobs in Worcester but retired early to care for her elderly mother. Her mother passed away on the 52nd anniversary of the disaster that claimed the lives of 4 members of her family, at the age of 90. Her younger brother, Felix, passed away at the age of 73, 18 days shy of his 74th birthday. Neither Lillian or her brother ever married and never had children.
Lillian Gertrude Asplund was the last living survivor of the Titanic disaster with actual memories of it. She lived in Massachusetts until her death on May 6th, 2006. Lillian's hobbies, when she was able, included gardening, flowers (especially roses) and it was said her favorite snack was pepperoni pizza. She declined ever to discuss the disaster, as had her mother.
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This posts contains a Teaching Explanation.
You can buy Calculus by Stewart here.
Why You Should Trust Me: I'm Dr. Fred Zhang, and I have a bachelor's degree in math from Harvard. I've racked up hundreds and hundreds of hours of experience working with students from 5th grade through graduate school, and I'm passionate about teaching. I've read the whole chapter of the text beforehand and spent a good amount of time thinking about what the best explanation is and what sort of solutions I would have wanted to see in the problem sets I assigned myself when I taught.
Question: If $f(x) = (x^2-x)/(x-1)$ and $g(x)=x$, is it true that f=g?
Page in 8th Edition: 19
Short Answer: No, f≠ g. For input x = 1, f(1) is undefined since the denominator is zero, whereas g(1) = 1.
Homework Answer: Same as short answer.
Motivated Answer: We're asked if f = g, but the equations for f and g look very different. You might be tempted to say, "No the functions are different because the equations look different." However, functions can be the same even if the equations look very different.
Remember, functions take in inputs, and spit out outputs. Two functions are only equal if they always give you the same output for a given input.
You can't manually test every possible input value using pen and paper, since it would take up too much time! But you can try to test whether the equations are the same. So we can write:
$$(x^2-x)/(x-1) =? x$$
(Here =? means, we're not sure yet if it's equal or not.)
Now if you've taken algebra before, you might recognize that you can write this as
$$(x^2-x)/(x-1)=(x(x-1))/(x-1) =? x$$
It's tempting to cancel out the (x-1) and conclude that $x(x-1)/(x-1) = x$, but this is not perfectly true.
Remember when you cancel things out from the top and bottom of the fraction, the bottom cannot equal zero. This means that we have the caveat here is that x-1≠ 0.
If x – 1≠ 0 in this cancellation, then x≠1. This gives us the clue we need to get the answer, which is that we can try to put 1 into both equations.
$f(1)=(1^2– 1)/(1-1)$, so f is not defined at $x=1$.
$g(1) = 1$, so g is defined at $x=1$.
Now, we've proven that f≠g. Remember, if we can find for any input x, the functions f and g give different outputs, then f and g are different, no matter how similar f and g are for other inputs!
Get full textbook solutions for just $5/month.
PrepScholar Solutions has step-by-step solutions that teach you critical concepts and help you ace your tests. With 1000+ top texts for math, science, physics, engineering, economics, and more, we cover all popular courses in the country, including Stewart's Calculus.
Fred is co-founder of PrepScholar. He scored a perfect score on the SAT and is passionate about sharing information with aspiring students. Fred graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics.


March 26, 2013
Dr. Robert Epstein, Research Professor at United States International University, says that intelligence tests predict only about 10% of an individual's potential for success. He says that what is needed is an analysis of what makes people successful and then to construct a test to measure those things. Here are some of the success factors that he identifies:
1. Common sense. A lot of people who didn't get A's in school have common sense–a good sense of logic.
2. Memory. Most tests are framed to determine how much of a given group of facts has been retained long enough to get them back on paper. This continues to be graded because it is so easy and convenient to test and grade.
3. Creativity. Studies show that the people who make major contributions to society have high levels of creative skills. They can solve problems that can't be solved by applying some memorized principle.
4. Persistence. This may be the most significant characteristic of successful people–the willingness to keep on keeping on when others get discouraged and give up.
So maybe there's hope for all of us who didn't get straight A's if we just hang in there.


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With parallel processing, high-quality images and animations can be rendered in reasonable times. This course reviewed the basic issues involved in rendering within a parallel or distributed computing environment, presented various methods for dividing a rendering problem into subtasks and distributing them efficiently to independent processors, then reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of
multiprocessor machines and networked
render farms for graphics rendering. Case studies demonstrated practical ways of dealing with the issues involved.
Some knowledge of ray tracing, radiosity, and photon maps. No prior knowledge of parallel or distributed processing, although previous experience in
the area would be advantageous.
Basic issues involved in rendering in a parallel environment (task subdivision, load balancing, task communication, task migration, and data management), parallel rendering systems
for various task subdivision techniques in
two hardware environments (traditional
multiprocessor machine and render farm), and several successful applications of ray tracing, radiosity, and photon maps.
University of Bristol
Henrik Wann Jensen


text:
If you've read this blog for any length of time at all you know that I am interested in all manner of wildlife. While I have a unique interest in animals that would be thought of as cryptids, I am not one of those people obsessed only with animals that might exist.I'm also intrigued by any owl sightings; while not cryptid, the owl does hold a place within that realm as a symbol, an icon, of high strangeness. From theories out of the skeptic world to debunk Mothman, aliens, and monsters (Flatwood Monster), to sightings of owls during some UFO and abduction events, the owl is mysterious, no matter if it appears in the esoteric realm or the "real" world.
But as Crytpid Hunter writes, the owl in question is of the real world, yet still out of place: Texas Cryptid Hunter: Rare Sighting of a Long-Eared Owl on Texas Coast:
This species of owl would not be considered uncommon in anyone's book. What's unusual about these photos is where they were taken. These images were captured in the Sabine Woods on the Texas Coast just outside of Sabine Pass. The Sabine Woods (formerly known as Grim's Woods) is a bird sanctuary owned by the Texas Ornithological Society.Adding to the Fortean vibe to this non-other worldly owl appearance are the names of the woods. The name "Sabine" has a mythological history. According to Wikipedia:
Legend says that the Romans abducted Sabine women to populate the newly built Rome. The resultant war ended only by the women throwing themselves and their children between the armies of their fathers and their husbands. The Rape of the Sabine Women ("rape" in this context meaning "kidnapping" rather than sexual violation, see raptio)Then of course is the name Grim, which, while lacking the second "M" still evokes the tales of the Brothers Grimm!


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Introducing the revolutionary IantiTheft App, a comprehensive mobile application designed to enhance personal security and safeguard valuable possessions. With its advanced features and user-friendly interface, this cutting-edge app provides individuals with an effective means of protecting their belongings from theft and unauthorized access. By leveraging state-of-the-art technology, IantiTheft offers a range of security measures, including real-time tracking, alarm systems, and remote locking capabilities, empowering users to take proactive steps in preventing theft and ensuring peace of mind. Discover the power of IantiTheft App today and embark on a journey towards a more secure and worry-free lifestyle.
Anti-Theft App: Protecting Your Digital Assets
In today's interconnected world, where smartphones have become an integral part of our lives, the need to safeguard personal data and prevent device theft has never been more crucial. This is where anti-theft apps come into play, offering advanced security features to protect your digital assets.
Anti-theft apps provide a range of functionalities designed to track, secure, and recover stolen or lost devices. These apps are available for various platforms, such as Android and iOS, and offer a comprehensive set of tools to ensure the safety of your smartphone or tablet.
One of the key features of anti-theft apps is device tracking. Through GPS technology, these apps can pinpoint the exact location of your stolen or misplaced device. This information is vital for law enforcement agencies to recover the device and apprehend the culprits involved.
Additionally, anti-theft apps enable remote locking and wiping of devices. In case your phone falls into the wrong hands, you can remotely lock it to prevent unauthorized access to your personal data. Some apps even allow you to wipe all data from the device, ensuring that your sensitive information remains protected.
Another noteworthy feature offered by anti-theft apps is the ability to capture photos or videos using the device's front and rear cameras. This feature can help identify potential thieves and increase the chances of recovering the stolen device.
Besides theft prevention, anti-theft apps often include other security measures like alarm triggers, SIM card change alerts, and even disguised modes to deter thieves. These apps aim to create a comprehensive defense system against device theft, giving users peace of mind and confidence in their digital security.
It is important to note that while anti-theft apps are effective in securing your device, they should be used in conjunction with other best practices, such as setting strong passwords, regularly updating software, and being cautious of suspicious links or downloads.
Best Anti-Theft Apps
With the increasing prevalence of smartphones and the valuable data they contain, protecting our devices from theft has become a top priority. Fortunately, there are numerous anti-theft apps available that can help safeguard our phones and personal information. These apps offer a range of features designed to track, locate, and secure stolen or lost devices, giving users peace of mind.
One of the leading anti-theft apps is "Find My iPhone" for iOS devices. This app allows users to remotely locate their lost or stolen iPhones using GPS technology. It also provides the ability to display a custom message, lock the device, or even erase its contents remotely to prevent unauthorized access.
For Android users, "Prey Anti Theft" is a popular choice. This app offers similar tracking capabilities, allowing users to locate their devices on a map. Additionally, it provides features such as remote locking, triggering an alarm, and capturing photos with the front camera to identify potential thieves.
"Cerberus Anti-Theft" is another noteworthy app available for both iOS and Android platforms. It offers comprehensive protection through remote tracking, SIM card change alerts, and even recording audio from the device's microphone to gather evidence. Cerberus also provides a web-based control panel for managing multiple devices from a centralized location.
When considering anti-theft apps, it's important to ensure they offer robust security measures without compromising user privacy. Look for apps that use encryption to protect your data and provide options to remotely wipe sensitive information if necessary.
Protecting our smartphones from theft is crucial in today's digital age. By utilizing reliable anti-theft apps like "Find My iPhone," "Prey Anti Theft," or "Cerberus Anti-Theft," users can enhance their device's security and increase the chances of recovering a lost or stolen phone. These apps provide valuable features such as remote tracking, locking, and data erasure, offering peace of mind to smartphone owners.
Mobile Phone Security App
In today's digital age, where mobile phones have become an integral part of our lives, ensuring the security of our devices is crucial. Mobile phone security apps play a vital role in safeguarding our personal information, protecting against malware, and maintaining the privacy of our data.
These security apps offer a range of features designed to keep our devices secure. One of the key functions is antivirus protection, which scans for and detects malicious software that can harm our phones or compromise our data. It helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information such as passwords, credit card details, and personal files.
Additionally, mobile phone security apps often include anti-theft measures. These can help track a lost or stolen device, remotely lock or erase its contents, and even capture photos or location information to aid in recovery efforts. Such features provide peace of mind, knowing that your device and the data it contains are protected.
Another essential aspect of these apps is safe browsing. They employ web filters to block potentially harmful websites, phishing attempts, and other online threats. By using secure browsing features, users can confidently browse the internet without worrying about their privacy or falling victim to online scams.
Furthermore, mobile phone security apps often offer additional functionalities like app permission management, call and message filtering, and device optimization tools. These features allow users to have better control over their devices' security and performance.
It is important to note that while mobile phone security apps are effective tools, they should be used in conjunction with good mobile security practices. Users should regularly update their devices' operating systems, be cautious when downloading apps from unfamiliar sources, and utilize strong, unique passwords for all accounts.
To summarize, a mobile phone security app provides comprehensive protection against various threats, including malware, theft, and online attacks. By utilizing these apps and following best security practices, users can enhance the safety and privacy of their mobile devices.
Anti-theft App for Android
An anti-theft app for Android devices is a security application designed to protect your smartphone or tablet from theft or unauthorized access. These apps offer a range of features to help you locate, secure, and recover your device in case it gets lost or stolen.
One of the primary functionalities of an anti-theft app is GPS tracking. Through this feature, you can pinpoint the exact location of your device on a map. This information is valuable when trying to retrieve a lost or stolen phone. Some apps even provide real-time tracking, allowing you to monitor the movement of your device.
In addition to GPS tracking, anti-theft apps often include remote locking and wiping capabilities. If you are unable to recover your device, you can remotely lock it to prevent unauthorized access to your personal data. In extreme cases, you can also initiate a remote wipe, which erases all data on the device to protect your privacy.
Furthermore, anti-theft apps may offer alarm systems that trigger loud sounds or notifications on your device to deter thieves or attract attention to its location. These alarms can be activated remotely, even if your device is set to silent mode.
Some anti-theft apps go beyond basic security measures and provide additional features like capturing photos or recording audio from the device's camera or microphone. These features can assist in identifying the person in possession of your device or gathering evidence for law enforcement purposes.
It's important to note that while anti-theft apps can significantly increase the chances of recovering a lost or stolen device, they are not foolproof. It's always advisable to take preventive measures such as setting up strong passwords, enabling device encryption, and being cautious when handling your device in public.
Anti-theft App for iPhone
An anti-theft app for iPhone is designed to provide security and protection against the loss or theft of your device. These apps offer a range of features to help users locate, track, and recover their stolen or misplaced iPhones.
One essential feature commonly found in anti-theft apps is GPS tracking. By utilizing the iPhone's built-in GPS capabilities, these apps can pinpoint the exact location of the device, allowing the user to track its movements in real-time. This information is valuable for both retrieving a lost iPhone and providing authorities with precise data to aid in theft investigations.
In addition to GPS tracking, anti-theft apps often include remote control functionality. This enables users to remotely lock their iPhones, preventing unauthorized access to personal data. Some apps even allow users to wipe all data from the device remotely, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure, even if the iPhone falls into the wrong hands.
Many anti-theft apps offer additional features to enhance security. These may include an alarm function that can be triggered to attract attention and deter potential thieves. Some apps also provide the ability to take photos or record audio remotely, which can assist in identifying the perpetrator or gathering evidence.
Furthermore, anti-theft apps may have a "lost mode" feature, which displays a customizable message on the lock screen of the lost or stolen iPhone. This message can include contact information, encouraging anyone who finds the device to return it to its rightful owner.
It's important to note that while anti-theft apps can significantly increase the chances of recovering a lost or stolen iPhone, they do not guarantee retrieval. It's always advisable to take preventive measures such as keeping your device secure, using strong passwords or biometric authentication, and being cautious in public spaces to minimize the risk of theft.
Top Anti-Theft Apps
Anti-theft apps are designed to protect your mobile devices and personal data from theft or unauthorized access. These apps offer a range of features that help


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- What is river sand?
- Is water a non renewable resources?
- What are 6 Non renewable resources?
- What are 2 examples of renewable resources?
- Is soap renewable or nonrenewable?
- Will we run out of sand?
- How much sand is in the world?
- What is renewable and non renewable?
- What type of resource is sand?
- What are 10 non renewable resources?
- Is glass a renewable resource?
- Will we run out of concrete?
- Is sand a renewable or nonrenewable resource?
- Why is sand not a renewable resource?
- Is Gold renewable or nonrenewable?
- What is sand made from?
- What are 5 examples of renewable resources?
- How much non renewable resources are left?
- How can we save non renewable resources?
What is river sand?
Sand generally composed of rounded particles, and may or may not contain clay or other impurities.
It is obtained from the banks and beds of rivers.
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Is water a non renewable resources?
Water resources For example, as groundwater is usually removed from an aquifer at a rate much greater than its very slow natural recharge, it is a considered non-renewable resource. Removal of water from the pore spaces in aquifers may cause permanent compaction (subsidence) that cannot be renewed.
What are 6 Non renewable resources?
Nonrenewable energy resources include coal, natural gas, oil, and nuclear energy. Once these resources are used up, they cannot be replaced, which is a major problem for humanity as we are currently dependent on them to supply most of our energy needs.
What are 2 examples of renewable resources?
Renewable resources include biomass energy (such as ethanol), hydropower, geothermal power, wind energy, and solar energy. Biomass refers to organic material from plants or animals. This includes wood, sewage, and ethanol (which comes from corn or other plants).
Is soap renewable or nonrenewable?
Production is energy-intensive, requires nearly a dozen steps, requires the addition of synthetic fragrance to mask intrinsic odor, and depletes a non-renewable resource (crude oil or petroleum). Saponification is the term used for true "soap making"" where fats/oils are converted to soap by adding a strong base.
Will we run out of sand?
An estimated 40-50 billion tonnes are extracted from the earth each year but like the flip of an hourglass, time may be running out for sand.
How much sand is in the world?
They said, if you assume a grain of sand has an average size and you calculate how many grains are in a teaspoon and then multiply by all the beaches and deserts in the world, the Earth has roughly (and we're speaking very roughly here) 7.5 x 1018 grains of sand, or seven quintillion, five hundred quadrillion grains.
What is renewable and non renewable?
There are two types of energy: renewable and non-renewable. Non-renewable energy includes coal, gas and oil. … They are made by burning fossil fuels to create energy. Renewable energy includes solar, hydro and wind energy. Wind energy is made when the wind moves the blades on a wind turbine.
What type of resource is sand?
Sand, however, is the most-consumed natural resource on the planet besides water. People use some 50 billion tonnes of "aggregate" – the industry term for sand and gravel, which tend to be found together – every year.
What are 10 non renewable resources?
Types of Non-Renewable EnergyCoal. Coal comes from the remains of plants that died hundreds of millions of years ago. … Oil. Oil – also known as petroleum – can be extracted and refined in order to make products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. … Natural Gas. … Nuclear Energy.
Is glass a renewable resource?
Glass is made of sand and, as such, is considered to be made from an inexhaustible renewable natural resource.
Will we run out of concrete?
So running out of the raw materials, yes that will happen some time in the future but running out of glass and iron probably never. Concrete is not recyclable. The raw materials are cement (clay / silica), stone (aggregate), sand (smaller aggregate) and water. These materials are limited by the resources we have.
Is sand a renewable or nonrenewable resource?
Sand is not a renewable resource. This means that once we use sand, it will not become available again. Sand is a resource that is used for…
Why is sand not a renewable resource?
"Sand is not a renewable resource," Parkinson said. "When sand is eroded from the beach during a storm, it typically accumulates in offshore areas as a very thin layer that can't be dredge again to construct a new beach or dune."
Is Gold renewable or nonrenewable?
Earth minerals and metal ores like gold, silver, and iron are sometimes also considered to be nonrenewable resources since they're similarly formed from geological processes that span millions of years. On the other hand, renewable resources include solar power, wind power, and sustainably harvested timber.
What is sand made from?
Sand is typically made mostly of varying amounts of material weathered from inland rocks (or seacliff material) and transported to the beach on the wind or in rivers, and/or shells and other hard parts precipitated out of the ocean water by marine organisms. Sand therefore records processes at a variety of timescales.
What are 5 examples of renewable resources?
There are five basic types of renewable energy sources. These are biomass, hydropower, geothermal, wind and solar.
How much non renewable resources are left?
Taking into consideration the current rate of natural gas production and current known natural gas reserves, we have about 52.8 years worth of natural gas reserves left. We will still have gas and coal left by the time oil runs out in 2052.
How can we save non renewable resources?
The three R's – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle – represent the best strategy for conserving non-renewable oil, coal and natural gas. The United States Environmental Protection Agency champions this approach, which was popularized by environmental conservationists in the late 20th century.


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Dogs and cats can suffer from bacterial urinary tract infections (UTI), just like people do. UTI are commonly seen in dogs of all ages and in older cats, but are relatively rare in young cats without another predisposing condition.
UTI most frequently occur when fecal bacteria (always present in the region, even in very clean pets) travel up the urethra into the bladder, and host defenses aren't sufficient to prevent colonization of the bladder lining. Clinical signs associated with UTI in pets are similar to those that humans experience: frequent urination, straining and/or pain with urination, blood in the urine. Some pets, especially cats, may cry or become less social; some dogs may lick the genital region or scoot on the ground. That said, many pets with UTI show no discomfort or altered habits/behavior.
Healthy dogs can develop UTI, but it is uncommon for healthy cats. Most young cats showing signs of lower urinary tract discomfort or blood in the urine actually have a nonbacterial disease called feline idiopathic cystitis (sometimes called "feline lower urinary tract disease" or FLUTD), which requires environmental and sometimes dietary management, rather than antibiotics. Your veterinarian can definitively diagnose UTI by sterilely sampling urine and performing a urinalysis and culture. These tests determine whether UTI exists, and if so, which antibiotic to prescribe.
Your vet may recommend additional tests to assess overall health and screen for other medical problems, based on your dog or cat's age, physical exam and medical history. Health conditions predisposing to UTI include: diabetes, adrenal disease, urinary stones, kidney failure and anatomical abnormalities in dogs; and hyperthyroidism, diabetes, urinary stones and renal failure in cats.
Knowing your pet's normal urinary habits will help you promptly alert your veterinarian to possible signs of disease. Early detection is always best.
Dr. Julie Fischer is a board-certified specialist in veterinary internal medicine at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital (vshsd.com) with locations in Sorrento Valley and San Marcos.


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Crossing the Midline - Why and How?
The midline is an (obviously invisible) line that runs down the center of our bodies from the top of the head down to the toes, loosely dividing leftand right-brain function.
Recently, scientific research has strongly indicated that, in order to properly develop brain pathways, humans must have opportunity to do something called "crossing the midline," which involves physical movements of opposing parts of the body, or literally crossing over to the left side of the body with the right arm or leg, and vice versa.
One of the earliest methods of crossing the midline humans display is learning to crawl, because as a baby's left arm lunges forward, his right legs does so simultaneously. Although some babies never learn to crawl, and move right to walking, scientists now believe crawling to be an integral piece of the development puzzle for teaching babes to cross the midline - many child development specialists will now even query parents about babies' crawling habits, and, if it was a step they skipped, will actually teach the child to crawl, regardless of age!
Why, then, do scientists now believe crossing the midline to be so important to a child's healthy physical and intellectual development? Children with an inability to cross their midlines (pick up a pencil on their right side with their left hand, for instance) can struggle with reading and writing, or participate in sports and other physical activities.
And, as we learn more about crossing the midline, child development specialists have also discovered that there are many ways to help children (and even adults!) develop an ability to cross the midline, and exercise this function, which, theoretically, could help kids in other areas of intellectual development, as well.
The following are some fun ways to teach your tot to cross on over to the other side:
- Wash windows together! Teach him to use his left hand to wipe the lower right corner of the window, or to reach up and wash as high as he can on his left side with his right hand.
- Make an X with your arms, and then, wiggle your fingers, first on the left side, then on the right, and finally, at the same time.
- Play flashlight tag! Grab two flashlights, turn off the lights and lie in bed together. Have your tot "chase" your light on the ceiling with hers!
- In a widened stance, show your tot how to reach down and touch his left foot with his right hand, and then, his right foot with the left hand.
- With your tot lying down, have her reach for objects like small balls, puzzles pieces or the like with the non-dominant hand on their dominant side.
- Draw outside with sidwalk chalk, encouraging your toddler to reach as far as he can to the opposite side of his body with the chalk.


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To flee is defined as to run away from someone or something to get away from something unpleasant.(verb)
When you run away from a ghost, this is an example of a situation where you flee.
See flee in Webster's New World College Dictionary
Origin: ME fleen < OE fleon: see flow
See flee in American Heritage Dictionary 4
verb fled fled (flĕd), flee·ing, flees verb, intransitive
Origin: Middle English flen
Origin:, from Old English flēon; see pleuin Indo-European roots.
Learn more about flee


Nov 27, 2020 in Member Spotlights by DIACC
Spotlight on ARUCC
1.What is the mission and vision of ARUCC?
The Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada (ARUCC) provides leadership in the post-secondary education field and service to its member institutions nationally and internationally, helping foster the advancement of registrarial practices in Canada. ARUCC strives to meet the needs of its members by adopting proactive measures reflecting changes in our professional environment.
Member institutions consist of universities, colleges and polytechnics that are recognized through either Universities Canada or the Colleges and Institutes Canada.
The need for online solutions increased with the COVID-19 pandemic. These solutions will become the norm as Canada and the global economy adapt to consumer expectations. As members of the post-secondary education field in Canada, we are not unfamiliar with the need for trustworthy digital identity given the increased demand for sending/receiving electronic documents.
3. How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does ARUCC address challenges associated with this transformation?
Digital identity is most often managed as a gate to individual businesses through methods such as confidential passwords, PINs, and security questions. With each business having its own requirements (i.e., variations of password length and structure) it becomes nearly impossible for people to remember them all. Businesses and post-secondary institutions are forming allegiances to minimize the impact on the individual while maintaining trustworthy digital identity. An example of this is with CRA and banking passwords.
ARUCC also recognizes the need for trustworthy digital identity and is leading the implementation of a National Network with the core objective of improving permission-based, trusted access and portability of learner documents (i.e., transcripts, confirmation letters) across Canada and with trusted international partners for students, graduates, participating post-secondary institutions, provincial application centres and member 3rd party organizations.
Canada is in the global arena and is recognized as being trustworthy and reliable. From the post-secondary perspective, Canada has over 2.5 million students including more than 642 thousand international students[1] (based on 2019 statistics). As a destination for higher education it is imperative that trusted networks be established for identity management. The formation of the ARUCC National Network allows us to establish a 'made for Canada' solution that can also be tied to other trusted networks (i.e., My eQuals, CHESICC).
In 2018 Canada ratified the Lisbon Recognition Convention which demonstrates our commitment to the recognition of academic credentials, which need to be portable, as learners and alumni move to work and live around the globe. This inspires the work of ARUCC to enhance trusted document exchange and provide learner credential wallets.
5. Why did ARUCC join the DIACC?
ARUCC believes in working together to achieve common goals. We feel the purpose of ARUCC and the creation of the National Network to support learner mobility aligns well with DIACC's principals.
6. What else should we know about ARUCC?
ARUCC was formed in 1964 and became incorporated in 2018. It includes over 150 member institutions representing over 2.5 million current learners and millions of alumni from within Canada and around the globe.


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UC San Diego
Cosmopolitanism and patriotism in Ghanaian hiplife lyrics
- Author(s): Garfinkel, David A.
- et al.
Ghanaian Hiplife is a musical style that emerged in the early 1990's, and has steadily gained popularity since. The music is a combination of Ghanaian Highlife--an early 20th century mix of both European and local traditions-- and American Hip Hop. As a musical hybrid, Hiplife often blurs the lines between the global and the local. Its recontextualization of Western synthesized beats with local languages and music traditions has created a music that in many ways represents the cosmopolitan. However, it often simultaneously symbolizes a sense of patriotism for the relatively young country, emphasizing local significance of ethnicity and location. Through the use of various languages--Akan languages, Pidgin English, and Hip-Hop Vernacular English--current Hiplife artists demonstrate a complex give and take between the cosmopolitan and the patriot


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时间：2020年4月17日（周五上午），9:00 – 10:30
9:00 – 10:30
报告题目：The value of pre-contract information about an agent's ability in the presence of moral hazard and adverse
报告人：Shaopeng Li (Temple University)
摘要：We analyze the expected value of information about an agent's type in the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection. Information about the agent's type enables the principal to sort/screen agents of different types. The value of the information decreases in the variability of output and the agent's risk aversion, two factors that are typically associated with the severity of the moral hazard problem. However, the value of the information about agent type first increases but ultimately decreases in the severity of adverse selection. The decrease comes about because the means available to the principal to induce effort—namely, the pay–performance sensitivity—must also be used to sort/screen agents, and these two goals conflict. This decline in value occurs despite the monotonically increasing importance of the information in determining the principal's expected profits. Further, we show that the peak value of information occurs at a predictable level of adverse selection. These results imply that over some range, the importance of the information will be increasing, and the value of the information will be simultaneously decreasing, in the severity of adverse selection.
报告人简介：李少鹏，美国天普大学Fox商学院会计学博士。研究方向为分析式会计理论、公司绩效、管理控制、委托代理理论、数据包络分析，以及成本会计。研究成果发表在Journal of Accounting Research，有多篇工作论文被AAA Annual Conference和AAA MAS Conference等国际会议录用。


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The Top 12 Relationship Problems, According to the Experts
For all the joy that romantic relationships bring us, it is needless to say that they are hard work. In the United States, it is estimated that one in two marriages ends in divorce.
Other data show that approximately 33% of people find it difficult to maintain their romantic relationships.
What makes sustaining a romantic relationship so difficult? A new study forthcoming in the journal Evolutionary Psychology has an answer.
A team of psychologists led by Menelaos Apostolou of the University of Nicosia in Greece found that 'fading enthusiasm,' 'long work hours,' and 'lack of personal time and space' are the three most common problems that prevent people from staying together.
They also estimate that only 30% of adults find it easy to sustain long-term romantic relationships.
To come to this conclusion, the researchers recruited 123 Greek adults to participate in a 40-minute survey interview. During the interview, participants discussed various difficulties they had in their romantic relationships.
The researchers kept track of the challenges mentioned by the participants, identifying 78 in total, and grouped them into 12 broad themes. Finally, they ranked these themes from most common to least common. Here's what they […]


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In the Peshitta, what is the difference between the original word translated "Sabbath" and that translated "week?"
In Matthew 28:1 of the Aramaic Peshitta text, the word translated "Sabbath" and the word translated "week" appear similar but with slight variation. Does anyone know what the significance is of the...
It appears that redaction criticism can be viewed either positively or negatively by proponents of a grammatical-historical hermeneutic (see this article)? What are the primary arguments for and...
The historical-grammatical method and historical criticism are both hermeneutical approaches seeking to uncover the original meaning of the text. What is the difference between the two?
What is "Regula Fidei" and is this principle of interpretation considered obsolete by those who practice the Grammatical Historical approach to hermeneutics or does it survive in some form?


queue size, then a single batch of M × W jobs will take less time than M batches of W jobs. Diminishing returns occur as M grows, so M is set to eight by default. To show the combined effect of the change in alignment and queueing algorithms, Du Novo 2.15, using Kalign2 and the default queue size was compared with Du Novo 0.4, using MAFFT and the old queueing algorithm. Table 3 shows that the combination of the two changes results in an over 9× faster performance at low levels of parallelization. The trend in memory usage is the same as when comparing Kalign2 vs. MAFFT.
Table 3 Time and memory usage of different versions of, using different multiple sequence alignment algorithms
Next we used the simulated dataset to test whether the change in alignment algorithm affects the accuracy of the pipeline. The simulated experiment was the same, but with 40,000 fragments generated instead of 400,000. Because the input was one homogenous sequence with no minor variants, any differences from the input must be due to incorrect consensus base calls. Using the previous multiple sequence aligner, MAFFT, resulted in an error rate of 0.00563 differences per output base (Table 4). Using Kalign2 instead resulted in 0.00561 differences. Adding barcode error correction improved this figure slightly to 0.00525 while also increasing the yield. The standard pipeline published by Loeb et al. [8] was also compared, resulting in 0.0114 differences per output base.
Table 4 Effect of aligner on "correctness"
In this manuscript we have introduced an error correction approach to the analysis of duplex sequencing data. This allows correcting errors in barcodes thereby reducing data loss and increasing the yield of duplex sequencing experiments. We made a number of other improvements including a new alignment engine and advanced parallelization. Finally, we made the new software readily available to a wide audience of users. To achieve this goal we are distributing Du Novo in three complementary ways:
 - Interactive pipeline at Here users can upload datasets of any size and process using the complete Du Novo pipeline to produce SSCS and DCS sequences. The Galaxy system contains all tools for downstream processing including mapping and variant calling. To help users effectively use our system we have developed a detailed step-by-step tutorial that can be found here:
 - Bioconda package. Du Novo code relies on a number of software components that need to be installed before the tool can be used. Conda package eliminated the need to install these dependencies by automatically installing all components using conda install dunovo command (see
 - Source code for the package can be found in GitHub at It is distributed under Academic Free License.
Barcode error analysis
The edit distance quantifies similarity or dissimilarity between two DNA sequences of equal length by calculating the number of differences between them:
$$D_{i,j}=\sum_{k=1}^{n}{[X_{ik} \neq X_{jk}]}$$
Di,j is the number of sites where Xi and Xj do not match, k is the index of the respective site out of a total number of sites n. The input data was in tabular format organized into family size, the sequence of the tag, and the direction of the tag in the SSCS (ab = forward or ba = reverse). Each tag represents a family of paired-end sequences forming SSCS. Since the whole dataset contained more than one million tags, the comparison of all tags was computationally too demanding. Thus, we parallelized the algorithm and only selected 1000 random tags from the data set and compared them to the whole dataset to estimate the minimum edit distance between tags. A sample of 1000 tags gives a very similar estimate to the edit distance estimated for a sample of 10,000 and ~ 130,000 tags.
Error correction
The script performs an alignment of all barcodes against themselves (all scripts mentioned in this section can be found at First, it extracts all unique barcode sequences (concatenations of a + b tags) as FASTA sequences. Then it indexes them, along with their reversed (b + a) versions, with bowtie-build and aligns them to the index with bowtie -v 3 --best -a. This alignment is then read by, which uses the networkx module to construct graphs where each vertex is a barcode and each edge is a high-quality alignment between two barcodes. The definition of a high-quality alignment is configurable and based on the MAPQ mapping quality, the edit distance given by the NM tag, and the distance between the aligned starting positions of the two barcodes. The default values for these filters is 20, 1, and 2, respectively. Then, for each graph, a "correct" barcode is chosen by one of two methods. The default method is to choose the barcode which tags the largest number of reads. An alternative is to choose the barcode with the most edges to other barcodes.
Generating simulated duplex data
To validate the effectiveness of our approach we have first applied it to a simulated duplex sequencing dataset generated with a duplex sequencing simulator developed to test the correctness of the Du Novo algorithms against known duplex sequencing behavior and sources of errors. It simulates an entire duplex sequencing experiment but taking a reference genome sequence as input, randomly fragmenting it, adding random barcodes to the ends of these fragments, simulating PCR and sequencing errors to produce a set of simulated duplex reads. To randomly fragment the reference sequence, it uses wgsim ( in error-free mode (options -e 0 -r 0 -d 0), using the − 1 option to set the length of the fragments. Then it simulates random oligomer synthesis to produce duplex barcodes using a uniform 25% probability for each base. It concatenates these oligomers, along with a constant linker sequence, with the fragment sequence to produce starting fragments. These simulated tagged fragments then undergo in silico PCR in order to introduce amplification errors. First, a family size is chosen from an empirical distribution observed in a previous duplex experiment. Then, the phylogenetic tree relating these reads is generated. For a family size of n, the process starts with n reads at the root node representing the original fragment molecule. Each read is randomly assigned to a daughter molecule with 50% probability. Then the process repeats with each daughter, using the number of reads assigned to the daughter instead of n. Because amplification efficiencies decline as PCR cycles continue, the probability of replication starts at 1 and is divided by 1.05 each cycle, a realistic value compared with observed reactions [3]. Once a tree is generated, errors are simulated at each node and propagated to their descendents. Then, sequencing is simulated, also with errors, and reads are output. A log of the errors is also saved, in order to allow checking results against the "truth". Unless noted otherwise, simulated data presented here were generated with a sequencing and PCR polymerase error rate of 0.001 errors per base. Twenty five cycles of PCR were simulated, the fragment lengths were set to 400 bp, and the read lengths to 100 bp. Using this approach we have generated a dataset containing 400,000 simulated duplex reads and applied our error correction strategy.
Du novo 2.0
The basic algorithms in Du Novo 2.15 remain as described in [13], except the addition of barcode error correction, the Kalign2 multiple sequence aligner, and the replacement of the parallel job queueing algorithm. In all experiments described here, the threshold required to form a consensus base ('s --cons-thres) was 0.7, 3 reads were required to create a consensus sequence (−-min-reads), and a PHRED score of at least 25 was required to count a base toward the consensus (−-qual).
When consensus reads were filtered, the script was used from the bfx directory of Du Novo's distribution. Unless noted otherwise, the script was set to remove the 5′ end of reads when the proportion of N's in a 10 base window exceeded 0.3 (−-filt-base N --window 10 --thres 0.3). If either of the reads in a pair was trimmed to less than 75 bases, both were removed (−-min-length 75).
Availability of data and materials
All software is freely available under a non-restrictive AFL 2.0 license. It can be accessed via Galaxy system at or downloaded from GitHub at
Duplex Consensus Sequencing
Duplex Sequencing
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Single Stranded Consensus Sequence
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 Fennell T, Homer N. fgbio fulcrumgenomics; 2018.
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Ep 27 - Using different modes to manage uncertainty with Sam Swidzinski
Jan 27, 2021
How shifting his emotional states helped a psychology researcher survive challenging life events that were out of his control.
What happens when your own emotions feel overwhelming in a situation you cannot control? And what about if you've learned through your environment that strong emotions are not welcome?
In this story, Sam Swidzinski, a researcher focused on innovative therapeutic methods to support mental health, shares a unique experience of how shifting into different emotional modes has helped him manage challenging uncertain life events.
For example, when it seemed like his life was up in the air as a teenager, having lost a number of friends and his sister diagnosed with a terminal illness, Sam needed a way to have some control in this challenging and incredibly uncertain environment.
So he switched into a mode he calls "Samuel" a calm, monk-like, stoic type, to manage his life and his feelings. He has a more emotional mode, driven by passion and justice called "Adrian" and a more childlike, playful mode called "Sammy".
Sam began to learn that each of these modes actually can help him in different situations. He now taps into these different modes consciously. For example, when he needs to get things done, do research or when writing his book, he taps into stoic "Samuel"; when working on passion projects, he taps into "Adrian" whose emotion fuels his energy for social impact work; and when connecting with friends he taps into playful "Sammy".
In this episode, we explore how different emotional states can be helpful in different situations, the influence that an environment unaccepting of strong emotions can have on our own tendency to shove down our pain, and the various ways we all respond to life tragedies that we cannot control.
You can find out more about Sam by visiting his LinkedIn page You can also check out his book, "Winning the War with Bipolar" here
If you like what you've heard and want to be part of our community, participate in special events, or discover the wisdom waking up in your own breakdown, check out our website at
If you would like to help us out, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or share your favorite episode on social media to make sure that these stories reach the people waiting to hear them.
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I am thinking of extending an irreducible cuspidal representation to more bigger group. My question is almost same with the earlier one posted by Neal Harris except the only one.
Let me first invoke his original question.
"Let $E/F$ be a quadratic extension of number fields, and let $V$ be an $n$-dimensional Hermitian space over $E$.
Let $\tilde{G} := GU(V)$ and $G := U(V)$. Suppose that $(\pi, V_{\pi})$ is an irreducible cuspidal representation of $G.$
Is there an irreducible cuspidal representation $(\tilde{\pi}, V_{\tilde{\pi}})$ of $\tilde{G}$ such that $V_\pi \subset V_{\tilde{\pi}}|_{G}$? Note that here, the restriction is that of cusp forms, not of the representation itself."
The difference between mine and his is this; While his assumption G=U(2) and $\tilde{G}$=GU(2) hit the condition $\tilde{G}_{der}\subset G\subset\tilde{G}$, a core property after the Mattew's comment on the post, but my situation does not satisfy this.
Because, I am considering the case $G=E^{\times}, \tilde{G}=B^{\times}$ where E/F is quadratic extension of number fields and B is a quaternion algebra over F with a fixed embedding $E \hookrightarrow B$. Is there no hope in this case?
Since this question is very important to me, if you leave some comment or reference treating this, I will be very appreciate to you.
(Harris's original post.
extending cusp forms)
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Looked at a slightly different way: the question of what happens when automorphic forms/repns are restricted to subgroups has complicated answers, in general. It can be treated as a problem in spectral decomposition, say in $L^2$. Another keyword is "period integral" for the integral expressions for the spectral components. Some examples are well-known in other terms: the "Mellin transform" integral that produces the standard L-function for GL(2) cuspforms can be construed (on the critical line!) as computing the spectral components of the restriction of the cuspform to the GL(1) imbedded in the upper left corner. The $GL(n-1)\times GL(n)$ integral formulas amount to computing the $GL(n-1)$ components of the restriction of a cuspform from $GL(n)$.
In other cases, sometimes it is feasible or elementary to compute periods of Eisenstein series, while the corresponding periods for cuspforms are much less elementary. (The Gross-Prasad conjectures were/are an example of this.)
In your specific situation, there are results of Waldspurger that may be approximately what you want.
Given that many of these periods/decomposition coefficients are values of L-functions at the center of the critical strip, except for trivial vanishing due to signs in functional equations, it is non-trivial to prove non-vanishing or vanishing. Thus, to ask that such a period be non-zero for exactly one cuspform would seem to be too much to ask, although perhaps very difficult to prove or disprove.
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Thanks Paul. I will search for Waldspurger's papers. – Jude Dec 25 '12 at 3:18
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Five ways travelling can boost your career
Taking time out to go travelling can leave a gap on your CV. But with careful planning, you can use the break to rejuvenate or kickstart your career
School of Anthias Near Soft Corals
Think about your CV before taking the plunge with a year abroad Photograph: Stephen Frink/ Stephen Frink/CORBIS
If you're going travelling after university – or as a career break – an extended period of time of unemployment can leave a gaping hole in your CV. And, with the current shortage of jobs, many people have had to re-evaluate their career options. But don't worry: as long as you plan your trip carefully and think about what you can do while on the road, travelling can actually boost your CV and career.
1. Recharge you batteries
If you've just spent three or four years at university, or working without a break, then you'll need to recharge your batteries. If you take time out to travel you'll have the opportunity to think about what's important in your life and refocus on your career. More often than not, you'll come home feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, looking forward to the next challenge.
2. Learn a new skill
If you're going on a round-the-world trip then you could be travelling from anywhere between a month to a year. This is an extremely long period of time in anyone's books, so why don't you learn a new skill while you're on the road?
Think about what employers are looking for in your industry and cater to that. All businesses and companies need candidates with a broad skill set, so look at learning another language or getting further qualifications, with the Open University for instance, to boost your CV.
3. Make contacts
When you're backpacking and travelling, try to make contacts with people who might be useful for your career. With the rise of social media, making contacts is as simple as saying "just tweet me" or "I'll add you on Facebook". The contacts you make while travelling could be your avenue into a new career – it's important to network wherever you are in the world.
4. Volunteer
Volunteering is one of the most popular activities for gap years and round-the-world trips. Not only will you make a difference to the community and society, but it'll look great on your CV. With volunteering you'll learn what it means to live and work in another country, and employers are actively encouraging it. In a YouGov survey, 63% of HR professionals said that those who have taken a constructive gap year of volunteering or working abroad had an application that stood out from the rest.
5. Get work experience
One of the hardest things to overcome when applying for a job is work experience. And it's a catch 22 situation – employers want candidates with work experience, but how can you get work experience if employers don't give it to you?
If you're finding it hard to get experience in the UK, then why not try elsewhere? You could apply for positions in Australia, Canada and New Zealand on a working holiday visa, or send off your CV to companies in Europe. If you can get a position in a foreign country for a month or two then you'll quickly become a stand out candidate.
At the end of the day, travelling will turn you into a more confident and more rounded individual. As long as you think about how travelling can boost your career before you go, you'll be able to customise a trip that'll give you new skills, relevant work experience, and most importantly, a trip that you'll enjoy.
Macca Sherifi is the travel editor of He tweets at _USER_.


Environment setup and the Derby tools
ij, sysinfo, and dblook are tools that can be used in an embedded or a client/server environment. The import and export utilities and database class loading utilities are database-side utilities, which means that they run in the same JVM as Derby (e.g. on the Server). This means when used in a client/server environment all files imported, exported, or loaded must be local to the Server machine.


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Just about everyone has seen a television show or movie in which a criminal suspect is questioned while detectives watch from behind a one-way mirror. How does a piece of glass manage to reflect light from one side while remaining clear on the other?
The secret is that it doesn't. A one-way mirror has a reflective coating applied in a very thin, sparse layer -- so thin that it's called a half-silvered surface. The name half-silvered comes from the fact that the reflective molecules coat the glass so sparsely that only about half the molecules needed to make the glass an opaque mirror are applied. At the molecular level, there are reflective molecules speckled all over the glass in an even film but only half of the glass is covered. The half-silvered surface will reflect about half the light that strikes its surface, while letting the other half go straight through. It turns out that half-silvered mirrors are also essential to many types of lasers -- see How Lasers Work for details.
So why doesn't the "criminal suspect" see the detectives in the next room? The answer lies in the lighting of the two rooms. The room in which the glass looks like a mirror is kept very brightly lit, so that there is plenty of light to reflect back from the mirror's surface. The other room, in which the glass looks like a window, is kept dark, so there is very little light to transmit through the glass. On the criminal's side, the criminal sees his own reflection. On the detectives' side, the large amount of light coming from the criminal's side is what they see. In many ways, it's the same as if people were whispering in one room while a loud stereo played in the other. The sound of the whisper might carry into the room with the stereo, but it would be drowned out by the intensity of the music.
If the lights in the room with the mirror are suddenly turned out, or the lights in the observation room suddenly turned on, then the one-way mirror becomes a window, with people in each room able to see those in the other. You can see this effect in any mirrored office building at night -- if the light is on in an office, you can see into the office just fine.


text:
Date of Award
Master of Public Health
Field of Study
School of Public Health
An estimated 33 million people have been displaced by complex humanitarian emergencies. The most pressing issues of refugees include HIV/AIDS awareness, sexually transmitted diseases, gender issues, human rights, conflict resolution, and repatriation. Primary tasks of humanitarian agencies include health maintenance, nutritional support, community development, and training of health workers. Tools used to promote health and education in the refugee camps include film screening/videotape, pamphlet, posters, self-instructional manual, and group sessions. These strategies address most of the critical health and social issues when a dynamic and community-based approach are used and takes into consideration the cultural norms of the community. These strategies are used to promote health, alleviate psychological trauma, and promote interventions and community responses that allow members of the refugee community to improve health.
"Literature Review of Effective Health Promotion and Education Strategies Used to Promote Health in the Refugee Community" Fort Worth, Tx: University of North Texas Health Science Center;


text:
Level Design Guidelines
- All Jungle Levels should have enough '1' tiles for a Black Market to spawn. If the game cannot spawn a Black Market on the chosen level, it will crash.
- If your Ice Caves levels are crashing the game, move the exit to another chunk.
- Do not require players to use Force Level, instead, go under Level->Project Settings and set the starting level to the target level.
- Enable "Quick Restart resets to current level" under Level->Project Settings if your levels are particularly difficult to allow the player to reset to the level they died on.
- Under Level->Project Settings set the Olmec/Yama fight level to be after your last level in the pack.
- Do not use '=' tiles in the Ice Caves, use '+' instead.
- Use'm' (unbreakable) terrain tiles where you do not want the player to break through.
- Use 'q' (anti-obstacle) terrain tiles where you do not want the game to spawn tikis / area-specific obstacles.
- Use '.' (unmodified) terrain tiles where you do not want your terrain to be changed by the generator.
- Use water tiles ('w') and Destroyed Cobweb entities to remove unwanted tiles/entities placed by the game.
- To allow the player to reach Hell place down a Hell Bible somewhere within reach.
- The Hell Bible can be found either in the Entity Picker or as the '#' tile in all areas past the Mines.
- You can use Bullet entities to have high-damage entities that float in mid-air.
- Any height water negates all fall damage (useful for falling starts).
- Giant Spider Cobweb Projectile entity negates fall damage if the player falls through it.
- When modifying Olmec, you can only modify the first two and last row of chunks, however you can place entities anywhere.
- When doing Force Level on Olmec/Yama, you must enter through Quick Restart, not the lobby. Otherwise the game will put you in the end cutscene.
Working with Mouse
- Left Click:
- Click Once: Pick Tile/Entity
In Tile Editor:
- Left Click:
- Click Once: Position cursor with one-tile size
- Click and Drag: Position cursor and size it
- Right Click:
- Click Once: Position cursor and place down currently picked tile
- Click and Drag: Draw with currently picked tile
- Middle Click:
- Click Once: Position cursor and erase tiles at position
- Click and Drag: Draw with eraser
Working with Keyboard
- Arrow Keys
- Move cursor in specified direction
- Ctrl+Arrow Keys
- Move cursor in specified direction (skipping 1 tile)
- Shift+Arrow Keys
- Size cursor in specified direction
- Reset Cursor Size to top left
- Reset Cursor Size to bottom right
- Alt+Arrow Keys
- Navigate currently picked tile/entity in tile picker
- In tile picker pick tile under cursor
- Open Entity Picker (then type desired entity and press Enter)
- Open Tile Picker Search (then type desired tile and press Enter)
- Any Text Character Key
A-Z a-z 0-9!#$%&*+,-.|~
- Place down tile by key text
- Erase tile and move cursor forward
- Erase tile and move cursor backward
- Backtick (')
- Place down currently picked tile in tile picker


Why Western Sahara remains one of Africa's most divisive political issues
File 20190327 139341 wwtfut.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1
A Sahrawi refugee carries a flag of the Democratic Arab Republic of Sahara. MOHAMED MESSARA/EPA
Frank Mattheis, University of Pretoria
South Africa and Namibia hosted a "solidarity conference with Western Sahara", convened by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on 25 and 26 March 2019 in Pretoria. The summit opened with a call for unity in "ensuring the right to freedom and self-determination of the people of the Western Sahara". Politics and society editor Thabo Leshilo asked Frank Mattheis for some perspective.
What is the issue? Why does Western Sahara require a solidarity conference?
The Western Sahara is a disputed territory in Northwest Africa. It is sparsely populated and consists mainly of desert. Two parties claim sovereignty of the territory. One is the Moroccan government, which considers it a province with certain autonomous rights. The other is the Polisario Front, a political and military organisation that has proclaimed the area as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
A referendum to choose between the two options was proposed as far back as 1991. But it's never happened. This is mainly because of disputes over who would be eligible to vote. Negotiations between Morocco's government and the Polisaro Front have resulted in little progress since. The two parties officially ceased their military operations in 1991, but the situation remains fragile despite a United Nations peacekeeping mission being deployed to the Western Sahara since that same year.
The solidarity conference hosted by SADC can be seen as a reaction to the gradual shift of power towards Morocco. In 2017, Morocco joined the African Union (AU) after a 33-year absence. It chose to stay away because the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic was already an AU member (it remains so today).
Since Morocco joined, the AU has held back from playing a further role in the conflict. Previously its Peace and Security Council had tried to intervene on the issue. This shows that most African countries prefer to circumvent the thorny issue of self-determination for Western Sahara; instead, these countries are pursuing closer ties with Morocco.
The SADC region, however, is home to countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa. They are among the Polisario Front's most faithful allies. They have sided with the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic because of how Morocco has handled the Western Sahara's status, which reminds them of their own legacy of settler colonialism.
How long has the problem been brewing?
Since the late 19th century, when the territory was colonised by Spain. When Spain withdrew in 1975 a war broke out between Morocco, Mauritania and the Polisario Front over control of the Western Sahara.
Mauritania retreated after four years. But fights between Morocco and the Polisario Front (which was supported by Algeria) continued all the way until 1991. Back then, the United Nations established the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara to oversee a truce. No solution has been implemented since. The current UN Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, former German president Horst Köhler, has struggled to make notable progress.
The longer the conflict continues, the more the power balance tilts in Morocco's favour. Economically and diplomatically the Kingdom of Morocco has been on the rise on the continent. This offers tangible gains to its allies and makes it ever more powerful.
Meanwhile, the Western Sahara's inhabitants are suffering. Human rights violations are reportedly common. Protest movements that support self-determination are restricted and oppressed.
The level of reported violence has diminished in recent years. That's why the issue of Western Sahara has gradually disappeared from the international agenda.
What's the significance of a declaration from SADC?
The declaration issued at the end of the conference confirms SADC's long-standing support for the Polisario Front.
While other African countries have abandoned this position in favour of closer ties with the economically strong Morocco, SADC (and other countries such as Algeria) still follow a value-driven foreign policy in this regard. The declaration confirms that the AU remains split on the matter.
However, the impact of the declaration is limited to maintaining the issue on the agenda. It is unlikely to have a direct impact on the intended referendum, and the UN remains the main body that can resolve the impasse.
It's also worth noting that Morocco hosted a parallel conference on the Western Sahara to undermine SADC's efforts. This just highlights the divisions.
What would success look like?
Success from a SADC and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic point of view would entail the self-determination of the Sahrawi people. But, it would still count as a notable success if the SADC declaration marks a reversal of the current trend that favours Morocco's diplomacy in Africa.
On a global level, success for the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic people could also mean forging stronger alliances with other countries, such as the European Union, for their self-declared republic.
Frank Mattheis, Senior Researcher in Global Studies, University of Pretoria


text:
Website Detail Page
written by Priscilla W. Laws
Workshop Physics is an activity-based approach to teaching calculus-based introductory physics in which traditional lectures are replaced by student investigation. Students do experiments in which they make predictions as well as observations and analysis; they perform guided derivations of major concepts; and they use computer tools to develop mathematical models. All the activities and materials needed for a two-semester course are available in the published books, with example materials available online. Workshop Physics was developed and class-tested by Priscilla Laws of Dickinson College and coworkers.
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Contains Assessment Examinations: Action Research Kit
These assessments can be used to determine student understanding of introductory physics concepts.relation by Bruce Mason
Contains Workshop Physics: Oscillations, Determinism, and Chaos
This cost-free item is Chapter 15 of Workshop Physics, a module on the topic of Oscillations.relation by Caroline Hall
Contains Workshop Physics Software
This is the link to the free download of WPtools, the software developed to accompany Workshop Physics. It allows students to customize data to develop mathematical models.relation by Caroline Hall
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