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The astrolabe was the most widely used scientific instrument in the middle ages. Nevertheless, its origins remain uncertain. The earliest surviving instruments date from medieval Islam. However, Greek and Syriac texts testify to a long theoretical and practical development that extends back to the second century BCE. The underlying mathematical principle of stereographic projection was described by Hipparchus of Nicaea (fl. 150 BCE). Less than two centuries later, Vitruvius (died post 27 CE) described a type of clock that depended on a similar stereographic projection. His suggestion that Eudoxus of Cnidos (ca. 408-355 BCE) or Apollonius of Perga (ca. 265-170 BCE) invented the rete or spider—the network of stars—almost certainly refers to the sundials he was discussing in the passage. Claudius Ptolemy (fl. 150 CE), the most famous astronomer from antiquity, wrote an extensive theoretical treatment of stereographic projection in his Planisphaerium, which included a short discussion of a horoscopic instrument. Although he described an instrument that resembles an astrolabe, including both a rete and the stereographic projection of a coordinate system, Ptolemy's instrument does not seem to have included the apparatus needed to make direct observations and thus to measure the altitude of the sun or stars.
07 February 2012
Of Astrolabes and Other Things
PACHSmörgåsbord is always an enjoyable read - their audience is serious, engaged, and discerning. They have a terrific post on the history of astrolabes. Go check them out; a taste:-


North valley's warm weekend brought out 'nuisance' mosquitoes
Anopheles freeborni mosquito pumping blood. The recent warm spell has brought the critters out in large numbers in Northern California.
OROVILLE — Swat! Swat! Swat!
Bothered by mosquitoes last weekend?
Staff at the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District wouldn't be surprised if you were. They got several calls from area residents about "nuisance" mosquitoes.
The culprit is a type of mosquito known as Anopheles freeborni, according to a news release the district sent out this morning.
Cold weather kills most adult mosquitoes every year, according to the district. But many Anopheles freeborni females manage to survive the winter.
After laying their eggs, they look for a place to hibernate, often in garages, outbuildings or even thick grass.
When the weather warms up, they emerge from hibernation and are ravenous.
Those are the mosquitoes that may have been buzzing around and landing on you over the warm weekend.
The district's news release characterized these mosquitoes as mainly a nuisance. They are unlikely to carry West Nile virus, the release said.
They can carry malaria, however. In fact, their common name is western malaria mosquito.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, these mosquitoes were involved in malaria epidemics in Northern California. Fortunately, malaria is rare these days, and transmission of the disease by these mosquitoes is not considered much of a risk.
The district can't stop the western malaria mosquito right now, the release said. Spraying isn't feasible because of weather conditions.
What people can do is avoid being outside in the late afternoon or at dusk, wear long-sleeved shirts if they are out, and use effective repellent.
It's also important to get rid of any standing water around the yard. That won't stop the hibernating mosquitoes, but it will remove places they could lay their eggs once there's an extended warm period.


Eagle Rock Observatory comprises two fixed facilities: the domed observatory building and an observing pad with a permanent telescope pier. The observatory building is the newer and more capable facility, but the observing pad still has its uses.
This page provides brief descriptions of the Eagle Rock Observatory facilities and equipment. Some sections include a link to another page with more detailed information. The contents of this page are...
The Observatory
telescope set up in garage bay
The Observatory Building
The observatory building is a Technical Innovations Prodome Model PD-10, ten feet in diameter, installed on a 12x12 foot concrete pad. The walls are four feet high, and the peak of the dome is nine feet high.
The observatory is equipped with electric shutter and dome rotation motors. The dome motors can be controlled either manually or by an automated controller. Dome rotation can be synchronized to the telescope, and the entire system can be controlled remotely from the residence.
The building is located in an open space about 125 feet southwest of the residence. Utilities from the residence include two independent electric circuits, multiple ethernet and video cables, telephone, intercom, security system wiring, and a wiring conduit to an external weather station.
The observatory building was completed in September 2007, and first light was in October 2007.
telescope set up in garage bay
The Telescope
The 16-inch Meade RCX400 was purchased in March 2007. It features Meade's Advanced Coma-Free optics and computerized go-to operation.
The specifications are
Other notable features include:
The telescope is permanently installed on a LeSueur Manufacturing Astro Pier in altazimuth mode to optimize it for visual observing.
computer workstation
Support Equipment
The telescope and dome controller are interfaced to a Dell Optiplex 380 minitower computer with a 2.60 GHz Pentium dual-core CPU and 4 GB RAM, operating Windows 7 with Windows XP mode. The operating system has since been upgraded to Windows 10 Professional. A dual monitor graphics card allows the dedicated use of one monitor for a planetarium program and the second monitor for operation of the dome, weather station, and other observatory equipment. The observatory computer is interfaced to the household network and ultimately the Internet. A Saitek Eclipse PZ30AUR backlit keyboard simplifies using the computer in the darkened observatory. A removable red filter covers the right-hand monitor, and a privacy filter covers the left monitor during observing sessions to preserve night vision. The mouse and mouse pad are also dimly illuminated so it is easy to find the mouse in the dark.
computer and UPS
Windows Remote Desktop allows remote operation of the observatory and telescope from any computer in the residence, including laptops with wireless internet connections. In practice, I use remote operation with considerable caution because of the danger of telescope slews against hard stops, jammed dome or shutter, and the like. However, remote operation is particularly convenient for routine computer upkeep and data transfers.
A UPS protects the computer from power surges and failures, and allows closing the shutter in the event of an extended power loss.
West computer shelf
The concrete pad inside the observatory is covered with indoor/outdoor carpet, with a rubberized surface, over a closed-cell foam pad. The quality of the carpet and pad are important. The gap between dome and wall can't be completely sealed, and rain and snow will be blown into the building or carried in through the door. The pad is the best I could find. It provides welcome insulation for my feet on cold winter nights, and a soft landing in the event something like an eyepiece gets dropped.
Red and white rope lighting, controlled by independent dimmers, is installed under a circumferential wall flange to provide indirect lighting. Switched outlets around the walls and near the pier allow for future installation of work lights.
Two sets of wall-mounted custom shelving provide storage and work space. An additional pair of shelves accommodate the computer monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
portable air conditioner
A folding two-step stepladder, and a folding observing chair, provide access to, and seating at, the eyepiece when needed. In addition, I use a small rolling stool for seating at the computer. The stool fits neatly under the keyboard shelves when not in use.
A portable air conditioner keeps the inside of the building below about 90F during the Summer, primarily to prevent damage to the telescope and electronics.
Finally, a portable vacuum cleaner and other cleaning supplies help me keep ahead of the Idaho dust that inevitably makes its way into the observatory.
The Observing Pad
the observing pad
The open-air observing pad is located about 50 feet southeast of the residence. It is a 10x10-foot concrete pad surrounding a LeSueur Manufacturing Astro Pier with a Polaris mount. The pier accomodates a removable Celestron C8 Deluxe eight-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, or any telescope with a compatible bolt circle on the base. The Polaris mount provides an adjustable equatorial mount for the telescope.
Utilities from the residence include electrical outlets, and multiple ethernet and video cables.
The observing pier allows the telescope to be brought out from an indoor storage room to the pier and set up for observing within five minutes. The telescope is in excellent polar alignment as soon as it is bolted to the wedge.
The observing pad was completed in September 2006.
Although the observatory and RCX400 telescope are far preferable to the observing pad for most purposes, the observing pad is still an excellent facility. In particular, it has the following uses:
The disadvantages of the observing pad led to the decision to build an observatory:


text:
Acute bacterial glossitis occurs infrequently, judging by the lack of reported cases in the English literature. Pseudomonas sp and hemolytic streptococci have been implicated as causative agents of suppurative parenchymatous glossitis.1 Two cases of acute glossitis owing to Haemophilus influenzae type B have been reported, both of them within the past three years.2.3 We report another case of H influenzae type B glossitis to further promote awareness and recognition of this disease.
Report of a Case.—This 4-year-old boy complained of a swollen and painful tongue. He was well until the evening prior to consultation when he complained of a vague discomfort of the tongue. Inspection of the child's mouth by his father did not yield any unusual findings. The child's buccal cavity was sprayed with a mouthwash and he was put to bed. Early the next morning, the patient woke up complaining of increased lingual pain. Swallowing was

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
Sexual Diversity in Asia, c. 600 - 1950
Editor : Raquel A.G. Reyes, William G. Clarence-Smith
Master eBook ISBN10 : _PHONE_
Master eBook ISBN13 : 978-0-203-11600-5
No of pages : 192
eBook Price : $135.00
Originally Published : Jul 26, 2012
Non-reproductive sex practices in Asia have historically been a source of fascination, prurient or otherwise, for Westerners, who being either Catholic or Protestant, were often struck by what they perceived as the widespread promiscuity and licentiousness of native inhabitants. Graphic descriptions, and pious denunciations, of sodomy, bestiality, transvestitism, and incest, abound in Western travel narratives, missionary accounts, and ethnographies. But what constituted indigenous sexual morality, and how was this influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity over time and place? What sex practices were tolerated or even encouraged by society, community, and religious ritual, and what acts were considered undesirable, transgressive and worthy of punishment?
Sexual Diversity in Asia, c. _PHONE_ is the first book to foreground samesex acts and pleasure seeking in the histories of India, China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. Drawing on a range of indigenous and foreign sources, the contributors, all renowned experts in their fields, shed light on indigenous notions of gender and the body, social hierarchies, fundamental ideas concerning morality and immorality, and episodes of seduction. The book illuminates - in striking case studies - attitudes toward non-procreative sex acts, and representations and experiences of same-sex pleasure seeking in the histories of Asia.
This path-breaking book is an important contribution to the study of gender and sexuality in Asian cultures and will also interest students and scholars of world history.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


menyusuri lautan makna
April 18, 2007
arbitrariness of language
Filed under: ilmu — eka1 @ 10:07 am
1. The Arbitrariness of Language
Knowing a language means being able to speak and to be understood by other people who know that language. Language distinguishes us from other animals in what ways. It means knowing a language makes one a human. According to our definition that language is an arbitrary system of vocal symbols by means of which people of e certain community can cooperate an interact. In this case, knowing a language also means knowing what sounds are in that language and what sound are not.
Knowing the sounds and sounds patterns in one's language constitutes just part of our linguistic knowledge. It means that knowing a language is knowing the certain sound or sound sequences signify or represent different concepts or meaning. When we do not know a language, the sounds spoken to us in this foreign tongue mean nothing. This happens because the relationship between speech sounds and the meanings represented is an arbitrary relationship (there is no relationship between the sounds and the meaning or in other words, we know that there is no logical and rational relationship between the two).
For example: Ball (in English) and bola (Bahasa)
For people who have already seen what a ball looks like, the icon of a ball does not have an arbitrary relation with its meaning 'ball'. On the contrary, for people who have never seen what a ball looks like, the icon of a ball would have an arbitrary relation with its meaning 'ball'. So, the basic principle of the arbitrariness of the sign in the example is there is no specific reason why a particular sign should be attached to a particular concept..
Linguists say that language is arbitrary in the sense that meaning emerges, not from anything logically inherent in words or their arrangement, but from the specific conventions and expectations shared by members of a given speech community, conventions and expectations that can and do change dramatically from time to time and place to place (Streeter, 2007:1).
Actually, every languages are arbitrary but it does not mean that the language is unpredictable, but it means that we cannot predict exactly which specific features that we can find in a language. There is impossible to predict exactly which sounds will occur. Each language has its own system that differentiates the sounds and the meaning.
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text:
Now that we have burned our image of Linux we will be able to check that your existing computer is compatible with Linux by loading the Linux distribution from the CD without actually installing it. This allows you to try Linux without touching your current operating system. To check multimedia compatibility I suggest that you prepare a few audio and video files on your hard disk to test the audio and video subsystems. If you are testing with Linux Mint these can be in almost any format, but if you are using Ubuntu it is better to have then in the free OGM, OGG or WAV format, as with Ubuntu the non-free decoders have to be installed.
This will be a two part post. In the first part we see how to boot from the live CD, while in the second part we will see how to check that our computer is Linux compatible.
How to boot from the CD.
Place the linux Min or Ubuntu live CD in your drive and restart your computer. If your BIOS is correctly configured Linux should load when you restart your computer. If Windows loads instead this means that you Bios is not configured to start from the CD drive. This will need to be changed: restart your computer again, and when you see your computer manufacturer's logo press the "delete" key to enter the Bios. On some computers it's the F2 key instead. In any case you should see the mention "hit XXX to enter setup" XXX is the key you should push. Note that you may have to hit that key repeatedly, as it will only register during a specific part of the boot process. If you see the Windows logo it means that you were too slow and that you will have to restart the computer and start again.
Once in your bios try to find the "boot order" menu and ensure that CD/DVD is before (i.e. higher) than HDD. If you are using a nebook with an USB CD drive or thumb drive you may not have a CD/DVD option; If that is the case select USB instead. There should be instructions on how to navigate the menus on the screen, as this is different for various brands of computers I can hardly help much.
Once the change is done you need to "quit and save" the bios to make your changes effective. This is usually done by pressing the "F10" key.
After the changes are done restart the computer, and you should notice that it boots from the CD instead of the hard disk. You should be presented with a boot menu. Select the option to start the live CD. Let the computer boot up. This may take quite some time because a CD is not designed to be used as you boot device. Rest assured that if you actually install Linux on your hard drive it will boot much faster. If you see a login prompt with a countdown just wait for the countdown to finish and the boot will proceed. At some point you should hear the little Ubuntu or Mint "boot music" and finally be presented with the Ubuntu or Mint desktop. Congratulation, you successfully started Linux!
In the next episode we will see how to check that you computer hardware is supported by Linux.
4 millions Windows 8 upgrades, that's not much!
7 months ago


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Finnmark County, NorwayEdit This Page
From FamilySearch Wiki
Norway > Finnmark County
Finnmark is a county in the extreme northeast of Norway. By land it borders Troms county to the west, Finland (Lapland) to the south and Russia (Murmansk Oblast) to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea (Atlantic Ocean) to the northwest, and the Barents Sea (Arctic Ocean) to the north and northeast.
The county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt, and since 2002, has had two official names: Finnmark (Norwegian) and Finnmárku (Sami language). It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, and is the largest and least populated county of Norway.
Situated at the Northernmost part of continental Europe, where Norway swings eastward, Finnmark has always been an area where east meets west, in culture as well as in nature and geography.
Family History Resources
Government Offices and Sites
Cities, Parishes and Clerical Districts in Finnmark County
Fornavnregister til skifteprotokollene for Finnmark _PHONE_ (1818) by Arne Gunnar Edvardsen. Index to probate records for Finnmark county, Norway, _PHONE_ (1818). The index is arranged in alphabetical order according to given name.
Registre til geistlige og militære skifter i Troms og Finnmark by Arne Gunnar Edvardsen. Index to probate records for Lutheran ministers and their families, 1697 -1824 for Troms and Finnmark counties; and for military personnel at Vardøhus fortress, _PHONE_.
Return to Norway Page
New to the Research Wiki?
In the FamilySearch Research Wiki, you can learn how to do genealogical research or share your knowledge with others.Learn More


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About the Maryland Biological Stream Survey
The Maryland Biological Stream Surveyís (MBSS) goal is to provide the best possible information for ensuring the protection and restoration of Marylandís stream resources.
The MBSS was created in 1993 by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as a way to characterize the health of Marylandís 10,000+ miles of freshwater streams. Sites are selected using a rigorous statistical design that allows DNR to estimate stream condition in medium and large watersheds, as well as statewide. Data is collected at each site on the physical, chemical, and biological (fish and insects) characteristics, and then combined into an overall assessment. Since 1995, the MBSS has surveyed 3,405 sites across Maryland. For more details on the program, please visit the MBSS website.
The MBSS program has striven to not only collect high-quality data, but make its findings and results available to the scientific and lay audiences. This website is intended to help in that effort. You can also download MBSS publications at the Publications portion of the website. Data can be accessed on the MBSS Searchable Database.
In the News
Message From the Governor
The health of the Bay is ultimately determined by what we do on the land -- in our cities and towns, on our farms and forests, in our schools and backyards. The 10,000 miles of streams that run through our communities can deliver either clean water or pollutants to the Bay. Itís our Bay and itís our choice.
Thank you for choosing to get involved in improving the health of your stream and our Bay.


Sign up ×
I have a Lie algebra comprised of the generators $\{e_1,e_2,e_3,e_4\}$ for which the only non-zero commutators are
$$ [e_4,e_2]=-i e_3 $$ $$ [e_4,e_3]= i e_2 $$
(Excuse the physicist notation, for mathematicians the generators are actually ${ie_1,ie_2,ie_3,ie_4}$). Clearly, this is a solvable Lie Algebra ($[e_3,e_2]=0$).
My question is: Is there a simple way to refer to it without declaring its commutators? Like we can refer to $su(2)$ instead of writing out all of $su(2)$'s generators. I'd like to be able to do that for this algebra. If there's not a way to do this, I'd like to know that instead.
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What is the field? $\mathbb R$, $\mathbb C$ or any? I can't understand completely your notation. – emiliocba Jan 24 '12 at 19:32
Sorry, $\mathbb R$ is implied in physics, so that we get unitary evolution. However, $\mathbb C$ would be just the complexification of the analogous "real" algebra, no? – thequark Jan 25 '12 at 1:02
2 Answers 2
up vote 1 down vote accepted
Consider using the basis $$\{ f_1, f_2, f_3, f_4 \} = \{ e_1, i e_2 + e_3, e_2 + i e_3, e_4 \}$$ since all basis commutators are zero except for $$[f_4,f_2]=f_2 \quad [f_4,f_3]=-f_3$$
As emiliocba mentioned, the algebra is the direct product of a trivial one-dimensional algebra generated by $e_1=f_1$, and a three dimensional algebra generated by the other basis vectors.
According to wikipedia this three dimensional algebra is the Lie algebra of type Type VI0, the Lie algebra of the group of isometries of Minkowski space.
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Firt at all, your algebra $\mathfrak g$ can be written as $$ \mathfrak g=\mathfrak h\times \mathbb R, $$ where $\mathbb R$ is the generated space by $e_1$ and $\mathfrak h=\langle e_2,e_3,e_4\rangle$.
Now, $\mathfrak h$ is one of the infinite solvable Lie algebras of dimension three. Look at Exercice 2 of Chapter I of Knapp's book. I don't know if these algebras have a name.
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One of the major problems in geotechnical engineering and particularly in tunneling is the planning of exploration, the selection of methods and locations of exploration. The goal of exploration is to reduce our uncertainty about the geologic conditions, but when planning the exploration these uncertainties still exist. An additional consideration is the meaning of "reduction of uncertainty". We have to be able to put a value on this reduction of uncertainty and this can be done only by determining the effect of reduced uncertainty on construction cost. Exploration planning is thus a classic problem of decision under uncertainly where due to the uncertainty of the environment, several actions are possible and where decisions have to be based on potential cost consequences of these actions. The application of decision analysis to the exploration problem is thus strongly indicated. It is, however, fair to say that only in mineral exploration--where the problem is somewhat more straightforward has the decision analysis approach been used. In geotechnical engineering and tunneling in particular, we are only at the very beginning. One of the reasons for this lagging behind is the practical difficulty in geotechnical problems of locating critical areas which should be explored. Approaches that have been used up to now are either based on intuition or on simplifications (Lindner et al, 1975) and contain inconsistencies that may affect the decision. The present paper will introduce a consistent use of decision analysis in exploration for rock tunneling. A brief overview of the principles of the decision analysis approach will be given first, followed by specific application to tunnel exploration which includes details on the analysis. An example will conclude the paper.
Two main topics will be covered in this section: 1) the principle of decision analysis and 2) some of the major elements of decision theory.
Figure 1 is a presentation of the Decision Analysis cycle consisting of the deterministic, probabilistic and information phase leading to the decision, which can be a decision to collect more information thus leading to a cyclic process. Each of the major phases consists of the steps also shown in Figure 1. Most steps will be described in detail in the application of Decision Analysis to tunnel exploration (Section 3) and the only comments made here are to clarify the overall concept.
Figure 1 - The Decision Analysis Cycle (after Stoël van Holstein, 1973) (available in full paper)
In the e one actually goes through the possible courses of action and quantitatively determines their outcome (1-3). In each course of action there are variables that influence the outcome: decision variables that can be controlled by the decision maker and state variables representing the uncontrollable environment (4). The variables and the outcomes have to be related to each other in a model (5). The outcomes have then to be compared with each other which usually involves cost criteria and/or time criteria (6,7). The sensitivity study (9) will make it possible to identify the most important variables. The e is basically a "revision" of the deterministic phase introducing now the uncertainty of the variables.


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Vector graphics are great to use when you don't know the size you want the graphic to be. With vector graphics, the image is saved as series of points and equations. These equations draw the image depending on the size. This means no matter the size the vector image will never blur or pixelate. Vector images therefore are great for scaling, animation, and multi-purpose uses. Premiere Pro recently added support for vector graphics through vector motion controls. Today I show you how to use vector motion controls in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.
How to Use Vector Motion Controls in Adobe Premiere Pro CC
- Create a new sequence, or navigate to the sequence you want to add the graphics layer to.
- Create a graphics layer through one of the shape tools, or the text tool.
- Click on the graphics layer in the sequence, and then go up to effect controls.
- Now look inside for "Vector Motion"
- Adjust any of the settings in "Vector Motion" to create a vector transformation.
- This will insure the graphic remains crisp no matter the transformation you give it.
It's that simple. Adobe put it right in the common workflow. The only change you really need to make is to use the vector motion tab instead of the regular motion tab. After that, Adobe does the rest.
If you have any questions or comments, leave them below, or on the video itself!
Other Premiere Pro Tutorials:


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In 1779, Ludd is supposed to have broken two stocking frames in a fit of rage. After this incident, attacks on the frames were jokingly blamed on Ludd. When the "Luddites" emerged in the 1810s, his identity was appropriated to become the folkloric character of Captain Ludd, also known as King Ludd or General Ludd, the Luddites' alleged leader and founder.
Supposedly, Ludd was a weaver from Anstey, near Leicester. In 1779, either after being whipped for idleness, or after being taunted by local youths, he smashed two knitting frames in what was described as a "fit of passion". This story is traceable to an article in The Nottingham Review on 20 December 1811, but there is no independent evidence of its truth. John Blackner's book History of Nottingham, also published in 1811, provides a variant tale, of a lad called "Ludnam" who was told by his father, a framework-knitter, to "square his needles". Ludnam took a hammer and "beat them into a heap". News of the incident spread, and whenever frames were sabotaged, people would jokingly say "Ned Ludd did it". Nothing more is known about the life of Ludd.
By 1812, the organized frame-breakers who became known as the Luddites had begun using the name King Ludd or Captain Ludd for their mythical leader. Letters and proclamations were signed by "Ned Ludd".
In popular culture
- The character of Ned Ludd is commemorated in the folk ballad "General Ludd's Triumph." Chumbawamba recorded a version of this song on their 2003 release, English Rebel Songs 1381–1984.
- Robert Calvert wrote and recorded another song "Ned Ludd," which appeared on his 1985 album Freq; which includes the lyrics:
They said Ned Ludd was an idiot boy
That all he could do was wreck and destroy, and
He turned to his workmates and said: Death to Machines
They tread on our future and they stamp on our dreams.
- Steeleye Span's 2006 album Bloody Men has a five-part section on the subject of Ned Ludd.
- The Heaven Shall Burn song "The Final March" has a direct reference to Captain Ludd.
- Alt-country band The Gourds affectionately refer to Ned Ludd as "Uncle Ned" in the song "Luddite Juice" off their 2009 release, Haymaker.
- The Scottish folk musician Alasdair Roberts sings of Ned Ludd in his song "Ned Ludd's Rant (For World Rebarbarised)" on his 2009 album, Spoils.
- Theo Simon has written a song entitled "Ned Ludd", commemorating the machine-breakers of 1811-13 and praising current direct action protest as a continuation of his ethos.
- San Diego punk band The Night Marchers included a song called "Ned Lud" on their 2013 release "Allez, Allez."
- Edmund Cooper's alternative-history The Cloud Walker is set in a world where the Luddite ethos has given rise to a religious hierarchy which dominates English society and sets carefully prescribed limits on technology. A hammer – the tool supposedly used by Ned Ludd – is a religious symbol, and Ned Ludd is seen as a divine, messianic figure.
- The novel The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975), by Edward Abbey, is dedicated to Ned Ludd.
- Anne Finger wrote a collection of short stories titled Call Me Ahab about famous disabled historical and literary figures, which included the story "Our Ned" about Ned Ludd.
- Ecodefense: A Field Guide To Monkeywrenching was published by Ned Ludd Books. Much of the content came from the "Dear Ned Ludd" column in the newsletter of the group Earth First!.
See also
- Anstey at Welcome to Leicester (visitoruk.com) According to this source, "A half-witted Anstey lad, Ned Ludlam or Ned Ludd, gave his name to the Luddites, who in the 1800s followed his earlier example by smashing machinery in protest against the Industrial Revolution."
- Palmer, Roy (1998) The Sound of History: Songs and Social Comment, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-215890-1, p. 103
- Chambers, Robert (2004) Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Part 1, Kessinger, ISBN 978-0-7661-8338-4, p. 357
- Hammond, J.L.; Hammond, Barbara (1919), The Skilled Labourer _PHONE_ (pdf), London: Longmans, Green and co., p. 259
- Chase, Alston (2001) In a Dark Wood, Transaction Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7658-0752-6, p. 41
- Alsen, Eberhard (2000) New Romanticism: American Fiction, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-8153-3548-1, p. 43
- George Gordon Lord Byron (2002) The Works of Lord Byron. Letters and Journals, Adamant Media Corporation, ISBN 978-1-4021-7225-0, p. 97
- Traill, Henry Duff & Mann, James Saumarez (1902) Social England, Cassell & Co, p. 841
- Coe, Jonathan. "The Gourds," The Daily Gamecock, January 20, 2009
- Theo Simon, Seize the day (lyrics), Occupy Sheffield, retrieved 2012-07-27


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Endangered species do not need juniper.
Juniper is native but has served as a component species rather than a dominant species. Species at risk in our natural landscape are at risk from loss of habitat. Sage grouse do not live in juniper. The juniper offers predatory hawks a convenient perch to use as they watch for grouse to eat. The pygmy cottontail rabbit lives in and depends on sagebrush. Juniper degrades the sagebrush. Studies show an increased number of animals, birds and butterflies in areas where the juniper was cut compared to juniper woodland. A closed juniper woodland is a biological desert when compared to a verdant shrub steppe landscape.
As the area and density of juniper is expanding, juniper is actually a problem for endangered species and wildlife in general. When a spring dries up or a creek flows less, all the wildlife in the area is affected. Water is a limiting factor in this arid region. Juniper further limits the water available. Our efforts to protect salmon trout and steelhead are costing our society billions of dollars. Still, we ignore the fact that the water lost to interception and transpiration due to juniper encroachment is water lost to the watershed and all its inhabitants. Juniper invasion has been shown to increase soil erosion eight fold. If we consider cost to benefit, the juniper invasion is costing us soil, water and wildlife. Where is the benefit?
Environmental / preservation groups are not fighting tooth and nail to save the juniper. There is uneasiness about juniper becoming another big industry like logging (Weyerhaeuser) and farming (Cenex). There is also wariness about the disturbance of old growth stands and fragile locations. Those concerns are generally addressed during the planning stage of projects. It is easy to recognize and train workers to recognize the attributes of the old growth trees. The old trees lack commercial value. The old trees do have a value for the wildlife and scenic values of the site. Not much abuse of these recognized values has occurred. There is also a recognition of the impact juniper is having on the watersheds and wildlife. Thus "Environmentalists" have been guarded but generally quiet about juniper "management."


Future of Colorado Agriculture
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The Green Industry in Colorado
A 2001 U.S. study estimated that consumers spent nearly $40.7 billion on garden-related products, up 12.1% from $36.3 billion in 2000, with the average U.S. household spending $444 on lawn and garden goods. Colorado household and business expenditures on a broader set of garden, landscape and lawn products and services (including linkage industries such as irrigation systems, botanical gardens, lawn and garden equipment and maintenance services) have followed a similar trajectory, averaging almost 10% annual growth since 1993, for a 2007 total of $1.8 billion.
Through 2007, the green industry in Colorado has seen sustained growth: the $1.8 billion directly contributed increases to $3.3 billion when you consider its impact on broader economic activity and employment generation in the Colorado economy. Because of its labor intensity, the local impact of this industry is fairly strong.
The green industry provides over 35,000 jobs, an increase of 12,000 jobs since 1994 (tripling in size in less than 15 years), with $1.2 billion in payroll (up $750 million from 1994). These increases are indicative of the demand for green services and the ability to hire workers on a more year-round basis (resulting in greater earnings per worker). The average wage earned has also increased to an average of $35,318 annually, up from $26,159 in 2001. The industry has come along way in providing better compensation to its workers, but like other sectors of agriculture, has struggled to find enough workers.
The highest growth sectors within the Green Industry during the 1990's and early 2000's were wholesale nursery, tree and sod production, landscape design, installation and maintenance, public and private golf courses, and nursery/garden centers.
Questions to Consider:
Given its need for land, water and workers, many view the green industry as a competitor to food-based agriculture, while others note that the growth in Green industries signals yet another changing preference of consumers for aesthetic surroundings.
How can the green and traditional ag industries work together to benefit resource issues (water, labor) they are both struggling with?
Are Green Industry stakeholders at more risk of a downturn during tough economic times? Or will those who would have normally changed homes likely to reinvest in upgrading their current landscape and add more value and sweat equity to their homes?
Willie said...
i believe that if the farmers and all of the people that are growing green things could find a way to upgrade all of their equipment then they could save a lot of money on labor, and as for the water situation there are going to be a lot of problems with the enviromentalists but if there was a way to get everyone's fields watered with irrigation pivots so that they are not using an excess amount of water, watering at night so that there is more absorbed into the ground rather than evaporating, and this would also help because they could patrol the amount of gallons of water they use daily.
marry said...
Meteorology Dissertation
Dissertation Writing service said...
MBA Dissertation Topics


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UNCG Home > The University Libraries > Civil Rights Greensboro Home > What Is Neo-Black Society?
What Is Neo-Black Society?
October 18, 1968
Ada Fisher was a student at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and contributor to The Carolinian in 1968.
This October 18, 1968, article from The Carolinian, the student newspaper of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) introduces the Neo-Black Society (NBS), a new student organization on the UNCG campus. The article, possibly written by a member of the organization, explains that NBS is not a racist or separatist organization, and lists as its goals to help with voter registration, to work with the university's tutoring service for low-income youth, and to establish an Afro-American history course at UNCG.
Format of original:
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
It is responsibility of the user to follow the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). Materials are not to be reproduced in published works without written consent, and any use should credit Civil Rights Greensboro and the appropriate repository.


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Book T of C
Chap T of C
Response cost or negative punishment is another way to make behavior less frequent. It is therefore a form of punishment. It occurs when a stimulus is taken away as a consequence of behavior and the effect is to reduce the frequency of the behavior. The word "negative" in "negative punishment" comes from the fact that a stimulus is removed.
What is response cost or negative punishment? How are penalties negative punishment?
In general, any time you use the word penalty you are talking about response cost. A speeding ticket is a negative reinforcer. Your money is taken away to reduce the frequency of speeding behavior. This is a form of punishment because it is a stimulus that makes the behavior it follows less frequent in the future. Technically it is negative punishment because a stimulus is removed or subtracted as a form of punishment. The alternative label-response costis perhaps more intuitive. It labels the fact that a response (such as driving too fast) "costs" you.
Extinction and response cost both make a behavior less frequent by taking away something good. The distinction between them is fairly subtle, but here it is. In extinction the reinforcer that maintains a behavior is withheld. This means the behavior has been analyzed and the reinforcer causing the behavior has been identified and taken away. That produces extinction. An example would be extinguishing the bar press operant by turning off the food dispenser in a Skinner Box.
How is extinction distinguished from response cost? Why is a speeding ticket response cost rather than extinction? How would you extinguish speeding?
Response cost, by contrast, involves any valued stimulus being removed, whether or not it caused the behavior. If you get a speeding ticket, your money (a valued stimulus) is taken away from you. However, the money was probably not the reason you were speeding. Therefore a speeding ticket is categorized as response cost (negative punishment) rather than extinction.
How would you extinguish speeding? If a person drove fast for thrills, then to extinguish speeding one would have to eliminate the thrills. This might occur naturally if, for example, a person matured and eventually grew bored with driving over the speed limit. The result would be extinction of speeding behavior in that individual.
The usefulness of all these concepts is directly linked to their abstract quality. People have intuitions about what is reinforcing and punishing, and often these intuitions are wrong. By stepping back and analyzing the situation ("Is a stimulus being added or subtracted? Is the behavior getting more frequent or less frequent?") one can categorize the situation and identify a reinforcer or a punisher.
How can analysis of operant behavior produce insights?
For example, you might know somebody who teases you. You respond in a way that you assume will make the teasing stop, for example, by showing some irritation. But if the teasing gets more intense instead of stopping, then your response functioned as reinforcement. Whatever you did, it must be reinforcement because the frequency of teasing increased after the stimulus was applied. Therefore it is time to try something different.
One web site that advertised a dramatic new technique for reducing bullying. The author found that protests by the bullied child were ineffective and actually encouraged more bullying, but he said he had discovered a technique that worked much better. It consisted of teaching a bullied child to react to a bully with friendliness. The author of the web site was not very familiar with behavioral techniques and reacted with astonishment when I mentioned that, technically, his procedure was punishing the bully. To him, punishment had to hurt! In the anti-bullying technique he described, however, the punishing stimulus was friendly behavior, because it reduced the incidence of bullying.
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Don't see what you need? Psych Web has over 1,000 pages, so it may be elsewhere on the site. Do a site-specific Google search using the box below.
Copyright © 2007 Russ Dewey


Monday, August 12, 2013
Low Relative HumidityIn Pictures!
Conservators spend a lot of time talking about how environmental conditions can affect the overall stability of an artifact. Our training includes reading many, many articles and case studies that document how fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity (RH) can cause dimensional change in an artifact and increase the rate of chemical decay. High RH can cause a book to expand and is an even bigger factor when it comes to the chemical reactions that cause paper to degrade.
Low relative humidity is also a concern. If high RH can cause a book to expand, low RH can case a book to shrink and warp. Since a book is made of several different component parts that will respond to RH fluctuations at different rates, keeping books and artifacts at a stable RH is crucial.
These facts can be a little abstract and when sharing them with colleagues as I advocate for the care of the Library's collections, it can be difficult to convince people that a book that has survived hundreds of years without environmental control is still susceptible to low RH. So I was particularly horrified and delighted on a recent cross-country plane flight when I noticed that the book I had brought with me, Maurice Craig's "Dublin _PHONE_" had started to respond to the low RH (10-12% at best) almost two hours into my flight. Note how the covers have warped away from the body of the text block (pages). The book had been completely flat when I packed it that morning. I had been reading it during the flight and only noticed the warping when the flight attendant gave me a cup and I put the book down on the tray table. I took the picture to make sure I wasn't mis-remembering the condition of the book and resolved to compare it with the condition of the book once I had returned home and the book had a chance to re-adjust to my air-conditioned home in Charlottesville.
My flight had been on Wednesday, August 7th, leaving SFO at 1pm Pacific Time. The picture at right was taken Friday, August 9th about 8am Eastern Time. Note how the covers are no longer warping away from the textblock. Remarkable!
The low relative humidity on the plane is extreme, but it isn't uncommon. The winter time RH for the Northeastern United States is often in the mid to low teens and collections that are housed in areas that don't have supplemental humidity control are at risk. Most libraries address the need by keeping their fragile books in boxes. I was going to return this book, but maybe I will renew it through the winter to see whether we need to make a box.


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Developing in Digital Worlds is a four-year study conducted by the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland and is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). It is the first study in the world to identify links between teaching, family participation and game-based learning to promote educational outcomes and equity. The project started in 2014 and is due for completion by September 2018.
The study is a three-phase project involving early childhood, primary and secondary schools, teachers, students and their parents or caregivers. With youth educational outcomes and equity as its aim, the study will test how to promote achievement and participation in the digital world at school and out-of-school through cognitive and social development. This new knowledge will inform ways to accelerate national achievement through digital environments, in English, maths and science for ages 4-17 years, and in Māori contexts.
The research aims to answer three questions about cognitive and social development in digital environments:
How does participation in the digital world influence children's cognitive and social development?
What skills, knowledge and capabilities do children need to manage, engage and benefit from participating in the digital world?
How can family, educators and society effectively support children's involvement in the digital world?
Who is involved?
The Developing in Digital Worlds study involves teachers, students, parents and whanau. Because one of our core aims is to understand the relationship between learning within digital environments, teaching, and family participation, we are collecting data from a range of people. So far, we have observed teacher lessons, gathered data about student achievement, took samples of student blogs, and collected questionnaire responses from teachers, students, parents and caregivers. The schools that are involved include one 'early adopting' school cluster, and two 'later adopting' school clusters (English and Maori medium). You can meet the researchers and see their profiles in the Project Team section.
Where is the project up to now?
We are currently in Phases Two and Three:
Phase One, which began in July 2015 and was completed in April 2016, profiled the nature of students' cognitive and social development in digital environments. It addressed research questions one and two: how participation in the digital world influences children's cognitive and social development, and what skills or knowledge children need in order to engage in and benefit from participating in the digital world. During this phase, we:
- gathered data about student achievement
- observed teacher lessons
- took samples of student blogs
- collected questionnaires from teachers, students, parents and caregivers
Phase Two continues to test how to promote achievement and participation in the digital world at school and out-of-school through '21st century' cognitive and social skills development. Specifically, it addresses how family, educators and society can effectively support children's involvement in the digital world by examining the variability in levels and trends from Phase One. This phase began in July 2017 and will end in May 2018.
Phase Three is focussed on disseminating the findings of the study to national networks including:
- school boards of trustees
- Communities of Learning (CoLs)
- parent communities
- Manaiakalani Educational Trust
- Manaiakalani Digital Teaching Academy
- Māori and Pasifika advisory groups and community networks
- Ministry of Education
Direct knowledge transfer will also be delivered through initial teacher education and professional development at The University of Auckland. As part of the knowledge transfer process, researchers will polish and package the game-based and assessment tools associated with Phase Two, and include examples of effective use in teaching and parent programmes. Phase Three starts in October 2017 and ends in September 2018.
In sum, through analysis of baseline data, researchers and schools will develop understandings about the relationships between the 21st century skills of interest, digital innovation and the associated outcomes for students. Schools that use the data will then be in a position to self-improve by taking action most likely to result in changes in skills and achievement.


Maj Augustus Leacock Marsh _PHONE_, 55th Regiment
Born: April 1823 and died 8 March 1876 at South Yeo, North Devon.
Son of: George Augustus Eliott Marsh MA (_PHONE_) who married Julia Murdock (1792?-1854).
Brother of:
3. Charles Smith Marsh (1823?-1845) buried on the Island of Madeira.
Married: 20 October 1864 Susan Agnes Scott, daughter of Gen Sir Hopton Stratford Scott and Lady Scott.
Augustus and Susan had issue:
1. Julia Augusta Feist (nee Marsh), who married Frederick Herman Feist.
2. Capt Hopton Elliott Marsh RA, who married, 30 Dec 1896, in St George's Cathedral, Kingston, Ontario, Ethel Lucretia Jean Taylor, daughter of Lieut Duncan Norton Taylor and Harriett Liddle Taylor (nee Hoyles).
3.?
4.?
5.?
6.?
3. We know about Augustus from the "History of the Ancient Family of Marsh" by Joseph J. Green, Archivist and Genealogist, 1903, revised to date by Wm. Ernest Marsh, of Marston, Bromley, Kent, 1912. Page 248.
This reads as follows:
(Home) (Biographies) (Bookplates) (Contact)


text:
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE PAST
Levi Jordan Plantation
Conversations about the Past
by Carol McDavid
For more on some problems with the words we use in these conversations, go to Words.
Whose pasts? Many pasts...
This plantation has many histories. This is not to say that "historical facts" don't exist, but it IS to say that the meanings of those facts are perceived differently by different people who have different points of view. Archaeologists see the same "facts" differently than people with different sorts of training, just as different descendants will see certain "facts" differently from each other. And you may have another point of view altogether! We hope this web site will allow all of these different voices to "speak".
How to participate in the conversation...
The Big Picture
The organization overseeing this project, the Levi Jordan Plantation Historical Society, has addressed some of this in its Mission Statement and Statement of Belief. Have a look if you want more of the Big Picture of what we're up to. Or, go to Archaeology and the Internet, or to a report about this project, for more behind-the-scenes information. Also attached is a short essay entitled "Truth Claims, Conversations and Borderlands: Archaeology and the Internet", written during the early stages of this research.
From time to time we will also post information about how all this is working. The first such posting (which will be on this page) will probably be in mid-1999.
HOME * Conversations * Words * Archaeology * History * Ethnography * Community * Media * Descendants
& others * People in the Past * Kids * Bibliography * Definitions * Links * Maps * Search * Table of
For information about this site or this project, contact or.
‹ Carol McDavid 1998


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Feature Selection in Data Mining
Yong Seong Kim (University of Iowa, USA), W. Nick Street (University of Iowa, USA) and Filippo Menczer (University of Iowa, USA)
Copyright: © 2003
Feature subset selection is an important problem in knowledge discovery, not only for the insight gained from determining relevant modeling variables, but also for the improved understandability, scalability, and, possibly, accuracy of the resulting models. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive analysis of feature selection via evolutionary search in supervised and unsupervised learning. To achieve this purpose, we first discuss a general framework for feature selection based on a new search algorithm, Evolutionary Local Selection Algorithm (ELSA). The search is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem to examine the trade-off between the complexity of the generated solutions against their quality. ELSA considers multiple objectives efficiently while avoiding computationally expensive global comparison. We combine ELSA with Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithms for feature selection in supervised and unsupervised learning respectively. Further, we provide a new two-level evolutionary algorithm, Meta-Evolutionary Ensembles (MEE), where feature selection is used to promote the diversity among classifiers in the same ensemble.


text:
If you live in a dense urban neighborhood—the heart of Brooklyn, say—deciding to open your window is a complicated process. Getting some air flow would be nice, and the smell of grilled chicken from the food cart down the street is pleasant enough. But there are just so many people. And horns. And sirens. If only there were a way to get the air without the noise, so you can cool off without having your thoughts drowned out or your sleep interrupted.
Two Korean researchers, Sang-Hoon Kim and Seong-Hyun Lee, may have just the thing: they've designed a new kind of window that blocks the sound, but not the air.
Ok, but…sound waves are carried by air. So…wait, what? We know, it's confusing.
The trick, says MIT's Technology Review, comes from a clever design strategy that let the window effectively damp the sound out of the air before it passes through.
To make their soundproof window, the scientists took two sheets of plastic and drilled tiny little holes in them. As the air passes through the holes the sound waves get diffracted.
But if this was all they did, say the researchers, your windows would sing "like a wind instrument." So from here, once the sound waves are diffracted, they bounce around in a little chamber, sandwiched between the two pieces of plastic. Inside these little chambers, they say, the sound waves are attenuated. By hooking a few of these little chambers up in a row, each with a different sized hole to let the air through, the windows can strip different frequency bands of the sound from the air.
The windows, the scientists write in their study, cut the sound by around 30 decibels, enough to turn a motorcycle into a quiet office. But, the little holes still let the air flow through. According to the scientists,
The structure of the air transparent soundproof window or wall is so simple that any carpenter can make it. The soundproof frequency range is tunable. There is a wide range of application areas such as soundproof windows of houses close to noisy area, the soundproof walls in residential areas, etc. For example, if we are in a combined area of sounds from sea waves of low frequency and noises from machine operating at a high frequency, we can hear only the sounds from sea waves with fresh air. These principles should work in water as well as in air and may contribute to underwater noise reduction for marine life.
Not to get greedy, but can they add a function that filters smell as well? Because while the chicken grill smells nice, the garbage rotting on the sidewalk does not.
More from Smithsonian.com:


text:
In 2002 Ghana published a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS), as a framework for national economic policy and all development assistance to Ghana. But little attention was paid to the environmental impact of policies, such as improving transport, intensifying farming and developing the private sector. This may ultimately harm or even stop economic growth. Moreover the strategy did not explore the potential contribution of natural resources to the economy. The government therefore decided to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to adjust the strategy as required. The SEA was applied at national and district level, with options that favour both the poor and the environment. They may be used to update the strategy and enhance the sustainability of more than 100 district development plans.
By Ineke Istenhauer, Netherlands Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment
The prime aim of the SEA was to bring parties together and build up mutual understanding on poverty reduction and the environment, a process that started with the make-up of the SEA team itself, combining environmental and economic planning expertise.
The team doing the assessment had six members: three from the Environmental Protection Agency and three from the National Development Planning Commission. They enjoyed the support of a local and an international consultant and the advisory services of the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Impact Assessment. A steering committee provided regular inputs. The team did all the actual groundwork, to ensure the process and results were completely "Ghana-owned". Hiring a foreign consultant would have been easier, but far less effective in terms of scope for training-on-the-job and commitment to using the outcomes.
The relevant ministries came onboard right from the start, with the organisation of a national workshop. It set out to explain how an SEA enables the environment to be integrated in framing policy and planning. The findings of a preliminary pilot assessment showed how a more detailed assessment could provide an opportunity for all sectors to pool their energies and discuss common issues – especially those that give rise to conflict or can mutually reinforce each other to achieve sustainable poverty reduction. A number of conflicting policies were identified. For example the Ministry of Food and Agriculture's policy of rehabilitating existing irrigation facilities conflicted with the Ministry of Health's malaria control policy. Similarly the Ministry of Lands and Forestry's establishment of plantations and the Ministry of Works and Housing policy of acquisition of land for housing may compound land availability problems.
The workshop produced a consensus on the key recommendation that the SEA should proceed, involving district assemblies, due to their responsibility for framing District Development Plans, the main way of implementing the PRS. Ultimately all 27 ministries and 108 out of 110 districts participated.
At national level ministry staff, supported by the expert team, reviewed all policies, plans and programmes in the strategy. Each review sought to modify and improve policies to make them facilitate, rather than hinder, environmental objectives. In the meantime guidelines, manuals and training material were produced on how to apply the SEA to all ministry staff.
On the basis of this exercise the expert team suggested measures to refine policies in line with environmental risks. The assessment clearly demonstrated the link between over-exploitation of natural resources including soil, water and forest cover and environmental hazards such as bushfires and drought, and the resulting hardship faced by subsistence farmers. The team consequently recommended developing specific programmes and policy measures to help subsistence farmers improve soil quality and reduce exposure to hazards. It also suggested alternatives to the most hazardous policies, with greater potential for assisting the poor and protecting the environment. The relevant ministries discussed these options, leading to practical recommendations endorsed by the expert team. For example the overall objectives of the mediumterm macro-economic framework should include increased government expenditure on natural resource conservation, sustainable development initiatives and enhancement of degraded environment to support agricultural production. Small-scale business development proposals that should provide incentives for community-based initiatives to manage natural resources, such as agro-forestry, wetland conservation and eco-tourism.
At district level, District Development Plans were reviewed and improved. District staff assessed the plans directly, after prior training on assessing the sustainability of programmes and budgets.
The SEA has resulted in broad awareness and recognition of the importance of integrating environmental issues in plans and policies at national and district level. It even convinced ministries which once thought the environment did not concern them. It also led to clear recommendations for a more sustainable PRS for 2006-8. The expert team is currently fully involved in framing the new strategy as members of "cross-sectoral planning groups". There is good reason to hope results will play a key role in the new PRS.
At district level the SEA led to a better grasp of how district plans can be made more sustainable and some districts have adjusted plans and budgets to incorporate environmental activities.
The manuals, guidelines, reports, checklists and training material produced in the course of the assessment have helped to raise environmental awareness. This is a prerequisite for real changes in activities on the ground and the relevant ministry and district budgets, ultimately decisive for poverty and the environment.
Non-governmental organisations have played an active role and the public sector is starting to take the environment seriously.
It is too early to say whether the SEA has really contributed to reducing poverty in Ghana, but there are signs of some promising spin-offs. Some ministries have used SEA methods for internal planning purposes. The environment has thus been integrated in planning. But the SEA has also made for more transparent and participative planning, thanks to dialogue with other ministries. Some ministries have included new budget lines for environmental activities, or strengthened or upgraded in-house environmental units. Having their own budgets and units, rather than relying on the Ministry of Environment, will show how the environment can contribute to poverty reduction.
There is clearly room for further improvement. For example, most of the assessments were based on qualitative expert judgement. Additional justification and supporting evidence would probably have made the conclusions more objective and convincing as a basis for decisionmaking. The same is true of the cost of implementing recommendations, which the SEA overlooked.
District and sector pilot assessments will be undertaken in a follow-up phase. They will be an opportunity to develop more concrete policies in favour of the poor and the environment and to gain a clearer idea of the budgetary consequences of recommendations. Pilot studies will also be used for capacity building, through learning by doing.
Another priority is to develop and implement a system to monitor SEA impacts. This is important to determine whether the new PRS performs better than the existing strategy. It could also check whether programmes, projects and district development plans, resulting from the strategy, pay more attention to the environment than current plans. This will ultimately lead to tangible improvements in the conditions vital to successful poverty reduction.


Chegg Textbook Solutions for Principles of Microbiology 0th Edition: Chapter 34
Chapter: Problem:
Fresh lemon slices are often served with raw or steamed seafood (oysters, crab, shrimp). From a food microbiology perspective, provide an explanation for their being served. Are there other examples in either the cooking or the serving of foods that not only enhance flavor but might have an antimicrobial strategy? Consider the example of marinades.
 - Step 1 of 1
 The acidity of lemon juice lowers the pH and may have an effect of diminishing the levels of viable infectious bacteria that might be present on raw or undercooked seafood, especially oysters and organisms that are filter feeders and may concentrate bacteria in their tissues. However for this to really be effective, the fish would probably need to be marinated in the lemon juice. For instance, a Latin American raw fish dish (ceviche) uses on the order of a dozen limes/lemons per 2 pounds of fish. Chinese cooking often requires that chicken, fish and seafood be marinated with slightly beaten egg whites. While the amount of protease in egg whites is low, lysozyme is present in significant concentrations. This marinade would serve to lyse the peptidoglycan matrix and render any contaminating bacteria more susceptible to gastric juices and pancreatic hydrolases.
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text:
"Colonists Ignore Principles of Self-Government"
1) What does the headline imply about the colonists' view of government?
2) Close-read in your groups 4.4 Rights of Colonists. How accurate is the headline?
3) Write a new headline that accurately sums up the colonial view of government.
"African Merchants Make Fortunes Trading Cloth for Rum"
1) What does the headline imply about how slaves lived?
2) Close-read in your groups 4.5 Life of African Americans. How accurate is the headline?
3) Write a new headline that accurately sums up the life of African Americans in the colonies.
Use your outline from yesterday (hook it/state it) to write the following paragraph:
1. In the first sentence introduce your subject. How? Grab the reader's attention with a hook. Mention a unique feature, like climate, housing or economic activity. You do this in a statement or by asking a question. Keep it brief. Don't explain too much. Do not mention the name of the subject!
2. In the second sentence reveal more about your subject. Mention its name.
3. In the third and final sentence, state your big point as the last sentence of your introduction. (this is in your outline!)
Due end of class. (It's homework!)


Nitrate Removal from Drinking Water using Organo-Silane Modified Natural Nano-Zeolite
Document Type : Research Paper
1 Shiraz University, Faculty of advanced technologies, nanochemical engineering department, shiraz, Iran
2 Faculty of Advanced Technologies, Nano Chemical Engineering Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran
Nitrate-containing compounds are considered as groundwater contaminants, the concentration of which
has been growing in these resources during recent years. As a result, it seems necessary to use effective
methods to remove nitrate from water and wastewater. Adsorption is generally considered more
economical in water treatment compared to other feasible alternative techniques. Natural Clinoptilolite
zeolite is one of the best absorbents because of its high capacity and low cost. Surfactants such as
hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium (HDTMA) are usually used for modification but they are not stable and
removed as a result of subtle temperature variations. In this research, zeolite nanoparticles are
chemically modified by 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane. The advantage of this modification method is its
stability at different environmental conditions. Adsorbent properties have been analyzed by PSA, FTIR,
XRD, FESEM and CHN elemental analysis. Also, nitrate adsorption capacity of modified zeolite was
examined by UV-Vis spectroscopy. NH
2 groups are developed on the zeolite surface as a result of
organo-silane modification, which must be converted to NH
4+ so that nitrate adsorption becomes
possible in acidic conditions. Based on the results, the best nitrate removal capacity is achieved at the
lowest concentration and pH values. 80.12 % nitrate removal was obtained at pH=3, nitrate
concentration = 50 mg/l and adsorbent concentration = 4 g/l.


Doyle is one of those Michigan towns that barely existed...and when it did, it wasn't for long.
Doyle was located on the border of Macomb & St. Clair Counties in Riley Township. It was created specifically as a post office in 1885 and was also a railroad station along the Port Huron and Northwestern railway, approximately 23 miles west of Port Huron. The railway later became part of the Flint & Pere Marquette Railroad.
Some sites reference Doyle as being at the junction of Bordman & Cryderman roads...but the railroad tracks actually went through a half mile north on Riley Center Road, where you can still see where the tracks were originally laid on satellite maps. Another half mile up the road is an old schoolhouse.
Even though Andrew Martin was the first area postmaster, to his chagrin the community was not named after him; that honor went to train agent Charles Doyle.
The Belle River was about 4 miles east of Doyle, from which the town of Memphis reaped the benefits. Water sources for Doyle were the skimpy Ashery Creek (south) and Sage Creek (northeast).
Finally, in 1913, the trains stopped coming through Doyle. With that revelation, the post office had no choice but to shut down for good. Today, no one would ever know there was once the faint glimmer of a village that failed to grow. The old one-room schoolhouse just north of town is now used as a residence.
Looking at satellite maps, it looks like another railway may have come through town, running NW & SW. Just below that is where the Port Huron and Northwestern railway went through, now used as a path for electric wire towers.
When roadtripping near the thumb, add Doyle to the itinerary. There are no stores, gas stations, or eateries so don't plan on stopping to pick up any road munchies here. There are a very few homes scattered around, so be respectful if you visit.


text:
Glasses can be very expensive (hundreds of dollars) for a pair. You do not want to break them. Read this article on how to not break your glasses. Minor wear and tear is normal.
1Never forget that you are wearing your glasses.
2Try not to fall asleep while wearing your glasses.
3Don't wear your glasses if you intend to play a sport, if your glasses tend to slip a lot. Similarly, try to avoid playing contact sports with glasses on, such as dodge ball.
4Try wearing a lens.
Give us 3 minutes of knowledge!
- It's okay if your first pair break after a while. You have to learn to be careful.
- It's a good idea to purchase a second pair of glasses, because if your favorites break and its during a holiday, Sunday, or place far away from your home you can have a back up. (Remember depending on your prescription and how often it changes it may not be a wise idea to do this).
- If glasses aren't right for you, you might consider investing in contact lenses.
- Your results can vary, depending on the durability of your glasses.


text:
dnsfilter reads a series of lines from stdin, converts an IP address to a host name at the beginning of each line, and prints the results to stdout.
If a line does not begin with an IP address, dnsfilter leaves the line alone. If an IP address does not have a host name listed in DNS, dnsfilter leaves the line alone. If an IP address has a host name listed in DNS, dnsfilter inserts an equals sign and the host name before the first space or tab in the line. If a DNS lookup fails temporarily, dnsfilter inserts a colon and a dash-separated error message before the first space or tab in the line.
While dnsfilter is looking up an address in DNS, it reads ahead in the input and looks for more addresses to look up in parallel.
opts is a series of getopt-style options:


text:
For any set x and predicate F(...), there is a set y such that, for all z: z is a member of y iff (z is a member of x and F(z))
and of complement:
For any set x, there is a set y such that, for all z: z is a member of y iff z is not a member of x.
are incompatible with the existence of any sets. Proof:
Assume a set exists. Then by separation, the empty set exists. So by complement the universal set exists. So by separation, the Russell set of all non-self-membered sets exists. Russell's paradox follows.
So, we need to give up either separation or complement. Needless to say, standard mathematical practice has opted for the latter option.
The question is: Should we have? In other words, are there philosophically respectable reasons for thinking that it is complement, and not separation, that should be jettisoned?
Each of these principles corresponds to a natural intuition to have about the 'definiteness' or 'determinateness' of the results of certain set-forming operations. To put things in a bit silly terms:
Complement: If the sheep can be determinately isolated from the non-sheep, then the non-sheep can be determinately isolated from the sheep.
Separation: If the sheep can be determinately isolated from the non-sheep, then the black sheep can be determinately isolated from the non-black-sheep.
["non-black-sheep" here refers to anything that is not a black sheep, not anything that is a non-black sheep!]
The immediate answer that I usually get is that the intuition behind complement, but not the intuition behind separation, depends on the collection of all objects - the universal set - being determinate (so if the sheep are a determinate collection, than everything 'left over' is as well). But this strikes me as a little question-begging. After all, it is only our acceptance of separation (and of ZFC more generally) that throws the existence of the universal set into question. There are all sorts of alternative set theories (such as New Foundations or Boolos' DualV) that accept complement (and most of the standard ZFC axioms in the case of DualV) and hence accept the existence of a universal set.
So, what arguments can be given for the claim that it is separation and not complement that we should retain - arguments that don't depend on things like the iterative conception of set that already presuppose rejection of complement?


text:
We develop an efficient estimation procedure for identifying and estimating the central subspace. Using a new way of parameterization, we convert the problem of identifying the central subspace to the problem of estimating a finite dimensional parameter in a semiparametric model. This conversion allows us to derive an efficient estimator which reaches the optimal semiparametric efficiency bound. The resulting efficient estimator can exhaustively estimate the central subspace without imposing any distributional assumptions. Our proposed efficient estimation also provides a possibility for making inference of parameters that uniquely identify the central subspace. We conduct simulation studies and a real data analysis to demonstrate the finite sample performance in comparison with several existing methods.
"Efficient estimation in sufficient dimension reduction." Ann. Statist. 41 (1) 250 - 268, February 2013. _URL_


text:
R. Miller, M. Ortiz, R. Phillips, V. B. Shenoy and E. B. Tadmor
Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 61, 427–444 (1998).
The development of modeling tools which allow for the simultaneous treatment
of scales ranging from Angstroms to microns has stood out as one of the main
challenges in materials modeling. In this paper we discuss a formulation of
the quasicontinuum (QC) method that allows for a treatment of internal
interfaces, opening the possibility of simulating the interactions of cracks,
dislocations and grain boundaries. The model is applied to crack tip
deformation and is shown to account for both brittle fracture and crack tip
dislocation emission. A key example of the method is the treatment of a crack
propagating into a grain boundary which reveals both migration of the boundary
and that the boundary is a source for the emission of dislocations.


Broad Bean
Vicia faba
The broad bean is, despite it's name, not a bean but belongs to the vetch species. It has ben cultivated by humans for thousand of years. The plant is hardy and the big seeds are very filling and high in protein.
Witkiem, ekofrö
Super Aquadulce, ekofrö
Express, ekofrö
Hangdown, ekofrö
The broad bean is a member of the Pea family but not a close relative of the other beans. Instead it belongs to the Vetch species and is also called fava bean, field bean, tic bean and horse bean depending on the size of the seeds.
It is probably originally from the Caspian Sea and the Middle East, where it was grown already in the younger Stone Age. Broad beans have been found in Egyptian graves and in the ruins of Troy. The Romans and the Greeks used them in many different ways. The broad bean arrived in China via the Silk Road in the 100s CE. There it is used the most today.
Today broad beans are mostly grown in the Iberian Peninsula, Holland and Britain.
Broad beans grow upright with sturdy stalks of ab. 1m and fragrant white-black or red flowers. There are short sorts of ab. 30-40cm as well as tall ones of 150cm. It is different than other beans since the pods are rarely used, only the large seeds - often unripe and tender but also dried for use in winter.
The grey-green seeds are high in protein and very filling. They're used in soups, purée, casseroles or sautéed with herbs in oil. They can also be frozen after parboiling and ripe ones can be dried for winter storage. Lots of people like to peel the beans after a quick boil, like almonds, to take away the bitter peel. Quite young pods where the seeds have only just begun to develop are delicious slightly poached or fried.


You are here
How can I calculate pixel intensity in an ROI?
I'm looking for suggestions on how I can use GIMP to calculate pixel intensity in an ROI. This kind of function is frequently used in gel electrophoresis analysis, where the software will identify gel bands and calculate relative concentration based on pixel intensity. I'm actually analyzing microscope images, but the principle is the same. I need to calculate the average intensity of pixels within a specific region. Any suggestions?
I would also be very interested in what you mentioned. Would be glad, if someone has an idea. greets, Benjamin
What I could think about a stupid way to do it is by means of histogram, as follows: 1. Highlight a blank lane of gel or background and check the limits of pixels in the histogram, say 170-255. The smaller figure will be used later. 2. Move the same rectangular mask to a lane containing one band. Redo the histogram. This time you should see more pixels distributing on the left side of the histogram, i.e. smaller number of the scale. 3. Move the right limit to 170, the number obtained in step 1 which serves as the lightest gray color to be discarded. 4. Move one step more to 171, and you should see the pixel number changed. Record the difference. 5. Subsequent move of the right limit until all have counted. (Up to this step I think I'm stupid enough to do this!) 6. Here comes the core: for 171, say there is 5 pixels. The "quantity of protein / nucleic acid" at this particular level of gray corresponds to 5 x (255-171+1) = 425. 7. Calculate similarly for different gray levels having pixels, and add them all. This would be the final "band intensity". Here comes to my problem that how could we obtain a list of numbers of pixels at particular gray level for such calculation, but not by moving the limits one by one with my own hands. My way is not doable for many bands on the gel.
Can you provide a sample image and what you are looking for as a result? This should be easy enough to script. -Rob A>
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text:
Published in Health and Medicine Week, November 22nd, 2004
"Human pythiosis is an emerging disease in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions of the world. It is caused by the straminipilan, fungus-like, aquatic organism Pythium insidiosum. Pythiosis occurs in localized as well as systemic or vascular forms. Most patients with arterial pythiosis usually have underlying hematologic disorders such as thalassemia and aplastic anemia/paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) syndrome. Vascular pythiosis is characterized by ascending blood vessel infections and thrombosis of the major arteries...
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text:
Creating interactive map charts in excel is one of the easiest things to do…..that is if you know how. I recently created this map chart showing the top 50 tropical storms to hit the Unitef States since 1900. As you move ahead in time from 1900 to 2005, the map shows the states that were hit by the storm, the damage caused, storm category and rank. It takes about 5 lines of code per map unit (in this case a state) to render this effect.
You can download the file here.
Steps to create this interactive chart map in excel:
1. Get relevent data and lay it out clearly.
2. Prepare a placeholder for the map and the information points (Dates, Names, $'s etc.)
3. Introduce a dynamic control (in this case a horizontal scrollbar) that the user can use to interact with the graphic.
4. Insert formulae and charts so that when the user moves the dynamic conrtol, values get updated.
5. Inroduce the map chart (in this case the WMF map of the U.S.)
6. Write VBA code to make the relevent map objects behave in accordance with the user inputs.


text:
Back to main Impact Risk Page.
Earth Impact Risk Summary
Analysis based on
19 observations spanning 1.1610 days
(2006-Nov-18.29615 to 2006-Nov-19.45711)
Orbit diagram and elements available
These results were computed on Sep 16, 2011
Earth Impact Table
Summary Table Description
The Summary Table includes basic information about the hazard for this object.
The maximum Torino and Palermo Scale values are listed, as well as the number
of tabulated potential impacts and their corresponding cumulative Palermo
Scale value and cumulative impact probability. The observation set used
for the analysis is also listed. Certain parameter values depend upon the
specific impact event in question, but they change little among the various
table entries. For this reason we tabulate only mean values for these parameters:
- Vimpact - Velocity at atmospheric entry.
- Vinfinity - Relative velocity at atmospheric entry
neglecting the acceleration caused by the Earth's gravity field, often
called the hyperbolic excess velocity. (Vinfinity2
= Vimpact2 - Vescape2, where
Vescape = ~11.2 km/s is the Earth escape velocity.)
- H - Absolute Magnitude, a measure of the intrinsic brightness
of the object.
- Diameter - This is an estimate based on the absolute magnitude,
usually assuming a uniform spherical body with visual albedo pV
= 0.154 (in accordance with the Palermo Scale)
but sometimes using actual measured values if these are available.
Since the albedo is rarely measured, the diameter estimate should
be considered only approximate, but in most cases will be accurate to
within a factor of two.
- Mass - This estimate assumes a uniform spherical body with
the computed diameter and a mass density of 2.6 g/cm3. The
mass estimate is somewhat more rough than the diameter estimate, but
generally will be accurate to within a factor of three.
- Energy - The kinetic energy at impact: 0.5 * Mass * Vimpact2.
Measured in Megatons of TNT.
Impact Table Legend
See our Introduction for a more extensive explanation of these terms.
- The calendar date (UTC) of the potential impact.
- The minimum distance on the target plane (scaled b-plane)
from the LOV to the geocenter, measured in Earth radii. For these purposes
the radius of the Earth, 6420 km, includes some allowance for the thickness of
- The one-sigma semi-width of the LOV uncertainty region, measured
in Earth radii.
- Sigma Impact
- The lateral distance in sigmas from the LOV to the Earth's atmosphere.
Zero indicates that the LOV intersects the Earth. It is computed from
(Distance - 1)/Width.
- Sigma LOV
- The coordinate along the Line Of Variations (LOV). This value is
a measure of how well the impacting orbit fits the available observations.
Zero indicates the best-fitting, central (nominal) orbit and the further
from zero, the less likely the event: Roughly 99% of all the uncertainty
region lies between -3 and +3. Sentry explores out to Sigma LOV = +/-5.
- Stretch LOV
- The stretching is the semimajor axis of the local linear uncertainty
region. It describes how fast one moves across the target plane as Sigma
LOV changes, and is measured in Earth radii per sigma. The local probability
density varies inversely with the stretching, and thus larger stretching
values will generally lead to lower impact probabilities.
- Impact Probability
- The probability that the tabulated impact will occur. The probability
computation is complex and depends on a number of assumptions that are
difficult to verify. For these reasons the stated probability can easily
be inaccurate by a factor of a few, and occasionally by a factor of
ten or more.
- Impact Energy
- The kinetic energy at impact, based upon the computed absolute magnitude
and impact velocity for the particular case, and computed in accordance
with the guidelines stated for the Palermo Technical Scale. Uncertainty
in this value is dominated by mass uncertainty and the stated value
will generally be good to within a factor of three.
- Palermo Scale
- The hazard rating according to the Palermo Technical Impact
Hazard Scale, based on the tabulated impact date, impact probability
and impact energy.
- Torino Scale
- The hazard rating according to the Torino Impact Hazard Scale,
based on the tabulated impact probability and impact energy.
The Torino Scale is defined only for potential impacts less than 100 years in the future.


text:
1Not displaying or forming part of a cycle.
- An orientation is acyclic if it contains no directed cycle, and is totally cyclic if every edge is contained in some oriented cycle.
- The network model without selection is also implemented in the directed acyclic graphs used in causal modeling.
- Over the past 15 years, directed acyclic graphs have been introduced into the statistical and philosophical literature to describe statistical models and the causal relationships they capture.
2 Chemistry (Of a compound or molecule) containing no rings of atoms: simple acyclic alkenes
More example sentences
- We describe here the photochromism of another class of viologen inclusion complexes in which the linear acyclic viologen molecules are included in the cavity of crown ether having the pi-electron-donating units.
- The latter are substrates for at least seven different enzyme families, whose products are a group of cyclic and acyclic compounds, collectively named oxylipins, which play different roles in plant cells.
- Channel formation may be the result of the presence of the acyclic monoterpine side chain.
Words that rhyme with acycliccyclic, polycyclic
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: acyc¦lic
Definition of acyclic in:
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Columns | May 22, 2009 19:23
What baby names can tell you about chess openings
Baby names and chess openingsIf you have kids, you've probably thought hard about how to name your child. Should you choose a'special' kind of name, or rather a very trendy or well-known one? Popularity is an important aspect when it comes to choosing virtually anything. The same goes for chess openings: do you want to go for popular main lines or for 'off beat' variations?
Both options come with their own advantages and disadvantages. A trendy baby name may suggest a popular baby - and trendy parents - but a special name will suggest a special child. Likewise, playing a trendy chess opening will imply theoretical knowledge and opting for an obscure variation will suggest more independence and creativity. A lot has been written about the popularity of baby names (see, for example, the chapter 'What's in a name' in Steven Pinker's recent book The Stuff of Thought and the chapter 'Would a Roshanda by any other name smell as sweet' in the book Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner). But why do baby names (and chess openings) start to lose their popularity at some point? Is it merely that more and more people become 'fed up' with it, or is there more going on? Recent research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 2009) on baby names suggests a solution: the rate at which a cultural trend becomes popular, is also indicative of its decline. As one Scienceblogs article on the research put it: "the faster the rise to prominence, the steeper the fall from grace."
The researchers, Jonah Berger and Gael Le Mens, looked at the changing popularities of first names in France and the USA over the last 100 years. They found that parents were less inclined to give their children names that had become very popular very fast, regardless of the overall popularity of these names. The names Tricia and Krisi, for example, became very popular very fast in the 60s, and lost their appeal in the 70s equally quickly, whereas the name Charlene slowly gained in popularity and also declined much slower than Tricia and Kristi. The reason? "Fads are perceived negatively, so people avoid identity-relevant items with sharply increasing popularity because they believe that they will be short lived."
Of course, chess openings are much more than just a cultural trend. In chess, unlike fashion, popularity is not merely subjective - it's also highly objective: a losing line won't be played much. That's why nobody plays the Damiano Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6?) these days. A 'hard refutation' can simply kill a chess line's popularity instantly. But what about lines that are not known to be refuted, or even known to be inferior? Might their popularity also be dependent on the idea that they might be'short lived'? I have always wondered whether adopting a particular variation isn't also part of one's image. Apart from any objectivity - isn't it cool to play popular lines?
I realize this is a different point of view that most chess players will think of. They will, of course, accept that chess lines are subject to change in popularity, but my guess is they will try to analyse this change in terms of chess theoretical developments: novelties, strong players starting to experiment with the line, matches being played with it, etc. Indeed, in a recent discussion on this site, many posters gave reasons for why certain openings fluctuated in popularity over time. But these were all reasons to do with chess. In this article, I want to see if there are other reasons for adopoting a particular line or not. I want to raise the possibility that chess openings, like baby names, can be a cultural trend, subject to sociological and psychological forces.
Take, for instance, the 7...Qc7 line of the Winawer variation of the French Defence, a pretty cool and exciting line which I have analysed myself a lot of times:
French WinawerIn a recent issue of ChessVibes Openings, Merijn van Delft and Robert Ris noted that this line became increasingly inpopular in the 90s, even though nobody seemed to know why. In top grandmaster games, Black was usually fine after the opening, and Black even seemed to score better than usual with this line. But all of sudden, Black players just switched to 7...0-0 without an apparent reason. (Now, by the way, 7...Qc7 seems to be back on the scene.) What was going on? If the reasons for the change couldn't be related to particular objective developments such as games or novelties, maybe there were other, more subjective different reasons.
I found myself wondering whether Berger and Le Mens' conclusions also played a role in the popularity decline of this particular variation. Could the mere speed with which the variation became popular be of influence to its eventual decline? To test this, I decided to do a little research of my own. In ChessBase MegaBase 2008, I counted all games in which the diagrammed position occurred between 1980 and 2004 over a reperiod of 5 years. For instance, in the period _PHONE_, the position occurred in 47 out of 96230 games, i.e. 0,048%. In 2000-2004, the position occurred in 737 out of _PHONE_ games, i.e. 0,062%, and so on. To make sure I hadn't overlooked some kind of'refutation' of the line, I also checked the score results of these games, but I didn't find any strange results compared to the overall results of chess games in this period. (The average was around 54% for White.)
This was the easy part. Chess databases are a real gold mine for this kind of research, actually, but the problems only start here. One important question is: how to measure the popularity of a particular opening variation? First, I decided that it would be best to take all Qc7-Winawer games played - not only the ones played by grandmasters or titled players. This may be surprising to some readers, but I believe I had good reasons for it: 1. the number (N) of games would be bigger, and thus more likely to say anything significant; 2. there is no reason to assume that the popularity of a line doesn't go beyond the top level of chess players; 3. Berger and Le Mens research also didn't exclude particular groups or classes of people; and, most importantly, 4. because including all games in the sample rules out the possibility that a certain small group of players (namely, the elite) simply became bored with it or couldn't surprise their (also elite) opponents with it anymore.
Thus, the popularity of the line (P) in a particular period would simply be defined as the percentage of games played with that line of all the games played. By comparing periods, something could be said about the rate of decline and increase of popularity over time. (One possible problem with this method is that comparing different time periods may not be such a straightforward task in chess databases, since these databases contain vastly more games, and by weaker players on average, for later periods due to the rise of digital game storage and the internet.)
I must confess I was pretty excited when I starting counting and found that in the period _PHONE_ (a period for which I recalled the Winawer becoming more and more popular), the popularity of the Winawer variation indeed seemed to increase slowly but steadily until around 1986. In 1980, P was 0,006%, in 1986 it had gone up to 0,019%. But in 1987 it suddenly took flight: P for 1987 was 0,028%, for 1988 it was 0,038% and in 1989 it had grown to 0,042%. Within a three year's period, the popularity of the Winawer had more than doubled! And then, in 1990, the popularity of the Winawer suddenly sunk back to 0,017%. Here are the results in a graph:
Winawer popularity
Sure enough, these data seem to support the conclusions of the baby name research. Here, too, we see a sharp decline in popularity right after a sharp increase in the preceding period. After that, the variation has never again been as popular as it was then. But as usual, doubt soon crept in. Even assuming the results of the opening (on top level) didn't affect the overall popularity of the variation (if anything, the variation scored better in the 5 year period right after it was abandoned), what did the data tell me, exactly?
In the baby name research, the popularity of a name was measured in comparison to the popularity of other baby names. But my little research didn't say anything about other opening lines (such as the Rubinstein French, or indeed the Sicilian). To be able to draw any conclusions, I had to include other opening lines in my data as well. As co-editor Merijn van Delft pointed out to me recently, you can't measure the popularity of the 6.Be3 Najdorf without taking into account the status of the Poisoned Pawn variation, which arises after 6.Bg5! It soon became clear that this would be an enormous amount of work - interesting work which, regrettably, has to wait until further notice.
But even so, I think it's definitely possible that in the