How we did it: Jie and Neeral on winning the first Kaggle-in-Class competition at Stanford
Neeral (_USER_) and I (_USER_) are glad to have participated in the first Kaggle-in-Class competition for Stats-202 at Stanford and we have learnt a lot! With one full month of hard work, excitement and learning coming to an end and coming out as the winning team, it certainly feels like icing on the cake. The fact that both of us were looking for nothing else than winning the competition, contributed a lot to the motivation and zeal with which we kept going each and every day. Each of us may have spent about 100 hours on this competition, but it was totally worth it.
Even though the professor and textbook already mentioned some points which ended up to be very useful, the experiences we gained from this practice were much more influential to us. We strongly recommend every data mining student to participate in such competitions, make your hands dirty, and eventually every minute you invest on it will reward back.
The most important lesson we learnt was: we should always analyze the data first.
As newbies in data mining, we had thought a cool model could give us the best result, so the main effort was to find such advanced models and keep tuning it. We used the features from the raw data, did some feature transformation to deal with missing values, and tried some supervised learning model, such as lm, randomForest and glmboost in R. It seemed working, because Random Forest could improve 18% comparing to linear regression.
However, we found the top 3 teams were more than 30% better than our result. We felt our approach was not on the right track, because we didn't believe any model on the same features could achieve such big improvement. So we switched the focus to the data itself and began studying its characteristics. We hoped to find clues from the data: was there any trick we didn't figure out yet?
Soon later, we found about 30% of test instances could exactly match instances in training set and got 0 error. Naturally, the next question was: for each of the rest 70% of the test instances, how to find the best training instance approximate the price for the test instance? Intuitively, a wine in the same location with most similar name and the closest year could be a good candidate. Following this idea, we thought k-NN may be a good model for this data.
The next things became relatively easy: how to define the distance between instances. We explored different distances and tried some optimizations, and finally combined the results from different k-NN modes to reduce the variance, which was inspired by the idea of ensemble methods.
In a word, we would not have thought of the k-NN model without carefully studying the data. If you only can remember one thing from this blog, we hope it is: analyze the data first.
The main model we used was k-NN (k-Nearest Neighbor, with k=1) using edit distance, tf-idf cosine similarity and lucene score on wine titles as the distance metrics. We found k-NN achieved much better performance (40+% improvement) than other supervised learning methods that we tried; and it works well even when there are many missing values. One challenge to use k-NN is that the computation cost is very high. We solved this problem by clustering the wines based on a fewer indexes, such as location (the combination of country, sub-region and appellation), cleaned name (after removing the descriptive information), short name (the first 2 words of length >=3 in cleaned name), brand name (the string in quotes); to ensure a cluster assignment for every test instance.
While performing look-up of neighbors for each test instance, we only selected the training instances in the same cluster (with the same index). For brand name based k-NN, for each test instance, we find the corpus of wines from the training set with the exact brand name as the test instance and find the closest match in terms of clean name(edit distance), volume and price.
Finally, we averaged all the predictions from the k-NN models. For test instances that had a missing prediction from a k-NN model, missing values were imputed as the average of non-missing predictions from other k-NN models for the test instance. We also used predictions from randomForest built on previous/elsewhere-year to replace the average of predictions from the k-NN models. If available, now price replaced the final prediction.
We found the prices of the same wines were proportional to its volume. Therefore, the price should be normalized by the volume. The prediction of price from k-NN for each test instance was then computed as the price of the closest training instance in the same cluster * (volume of test instance wine/volume of closest training instance wine).
Each k-NN model (using different clustering or distance metrics) can generate a prediction. Finally we average all the predictions to make the final one. The missing values are imputed using the average prediction from other models with non-missing predictions for the test instance.
Some improvements and tuning were made based on the ideas. For example, we applied query expansion method on the year and wine scores, we considered the difference of years and volumes when compute the distance so that the model will prefer the neighbor wines with closest year and volume, etc.
Even though about 80% of features in the data were continuous variables(score, alcohol content) and about 20% were nominal variables(location based, name), our final model, comprising of k-NN models utilized only the nominal variables as explanatory variables and a lot of credit goes to the fact that we were able to discover hidden useful information residing within the name/title of the wine. The following were the features derived from the name/title field:
- volume
- previous/elsewhere price
- now price
- pack (# of bottles)
- brand name (string withing quotation marks)
- clean name (name/title, after removing quoted text, year, punctuations, etc.)
- short name (first 2 words (length>=3) of the clean name)
- loc (contanenation of Country, SubRegion and Appellation delimited by '.')
A standard bottle of wine has a volume of 750mL and hence wines for which volume wasn't explicitly mentioned in the name/title field, volume was defaulted to 750mL. Also, for wines where _TAG_ or pack size was available, volume was adjusted as the volume specified(or default) times the pack size.
Any previous price(prevprice) in training or test data or predicted price as mapped to minprice(minimum price from training data, if predicted/previous price < minprice) or maxprice(maximum price from training data, if predicted/previous price > maxprice)
We selected final prediction based on the following order of model precedence
- If the test instance has now price available from the title, use it as the final prediction (MAE was 0 in ⅓ cross-validation training data used as test set during learning phase)
- If the test wine finds a neighbor in training set with edit distance <= 1, directly use the price of this neighbor (MAE < 0.1 in ⅓ CV training data)
- If the test wine has previous or elsewhere price in the title, we used randomForest to predict the price using the previous/elsewhere price and year as features (MAE was about 9 for ⅓ CV training data).
- For all the rest of the test instances, use k-NN models with k=1, then build a SVM model using the predictions from the 5 best k-NN models as the features, and finally use the average of the 5 k-NN predictions and SVM prediction.
- Fix outliers, for e.g. if predicted price > 1000, set predicted price = 999.99, which is the maximum price in the training data(based on information provided that all wines with price > 1000 were removed from training and test data)
R packages used
- randomForest (for random forest)
- e1071 (for svm)
- cba (for edit distance)
Java package used
- Apache Lucene
If time permitted, we would try our hands on sub-models based on locations, ratings, etc, and locally regression models based on the distance. We also thought about tuning this problem into a search problem, and using learning to rank models (using the price difference to rank items) to find the closest instance (answer) given a test instance (query).
We thank Nelson Ray, the TA for Stats202(Data Mining and Analysis) class at Stanford University to organize the competition and provide great support throughout. We also thank Prof. Susan Holmes for imparting both theoretical and practical knowledge during the class that helped us exploit different methodologies and packages on the wine data.
S202 Team Eureka
Jie Yang, Neeral Beladia
jieyang, beladia AT stanford * edu
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 - Yelena Kulpa
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 - Michiko Koonz


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Arun Awasthi — Activities in the evolutionary phase of solar flares as candles to the pre-eruptive magnetic-field structures on the Sun
Sep 2 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Thursday 2 September 2021
Dr Arun Awasthi
Activities in the evolutionary phase of solar flares as candles to the pre-eruptive magnetic-field structures on the Sun
Solar flares are transient explosions on the Sun. Being the earliest observational signature of solar eruptions that drive space-weather, investigating multi-wavelength emission emanated during flares not only probes the plasma processes but the capability of space-weather prediction is also improved. My research focuses on probing the pre-eruptive processes associated with impending solar flares and filaments and identifying their role in triggering eruptions. Pre-eruptive processes, including low-intensity flares and related plasma dynamics, enable tracing magnetic-field structures without disrupting them. This vital virtue has been widely utilized in our recent investigations, as will be presented in the talk.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Speech Trek
Speech Trek, is an AAUW California project that begins on the branch level with a speech tournament for local high school students and culminates with three top statewide finalists performing their five-minute speeches at the AAUW California convention/annual meeting in April. AAUW Morgan Hill participates by inviting high school students to participate in our own local contest.
Mission Statement
To promote understanding and communication of gender-equity issues among high school students through their research, preparation, and presentation of high-quality speeches, while promoting the value of public speaking as a life and leadership skill.
Speech Trek was established by AAUW CA in 2007. In 2009, it was renamed the Eleanor Stem Allen Memorial Speech Trek Contest in honor and memory of an AAUW member and teacher who recognized the importance of public speaking skills in teaching students about issues that matter to AAUW, and in gratitude to her family for providing ongoing financial support for the project.
 Morgan Hill Speech Trek
The Morgan Hill branch held its first annual Speech Trek contest in 2014. Contestants are limited to 5-6 minutes to express their thoughts on the given year's topic. (See contest details below.) Prizes are awarded to the top three contestants.
2020 Speech Trek winners. L-R: Margaret McCann (coach), Danielle Chaisson (3rd place, Sobrato HS), Diya Khandra (2nd place, Sobrato HS), Gelasia Tiwana (1st place, Sobrato HS), Joanne Rooney (contest organizer)
Why Speech Trek? From a a past participant
Why Speech Trek? From a a past participant
2020 winning speech, by Gelasia Tiwana
Speech Trek is open to all high school students in California. Girls and boys enrolled in any public or private high school, as well as home schooled students, are eligible to participate.
2020-21 Contest Details
Past contestants tell why Morgan Hill high school students should participate this year.


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Parents of Kindergarden students at a school in Larchmont, NY are protesting because they feel that the school is practicing segregation by grouping all of the minority Kindergarteners into one classroom with an African American teacher.
The parents took their case to Washington, DC and informed the federal government of the school's practices. The parents say that they informed the school that what they were doing was wrong, but their concerns were ignored.
The town of Larchmont is made up of 91 percent white residents so there isn't a lot of diversity.
The parents claim of discrimination was reviewed by the Federal Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights who found that "minority students were disproportionately assigned to one particular kindergarten class for two years reviewed."
The school district has denied any wrongdoing and agreed to have the federal government oversee race platement in the classroom for the next two years.
Some parents are now calling for other classrooms to be investigated for the same discriminatory practices.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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What we can see to appear is the dynamic line and the captivating details.
Where did Gepida get its name?
Gepida is the Latin name for the Gepids, an Eastern Germanic tribe that spoke the same language as the Goths, although they are thought to have had a distinct dialect. The Gepids did not intermarry with other peoples and had strained relations even with tribes of similar origins.
The Gepid race was of medium, well proportioned build and of typical northern European appearance, although a more mixed people developed with the passage of time. The first clear archaeological traces of this people, who described themselves as wealthy and generous, were found at the delta of the River Vistula and date back to the 2nd century. They appeared in the Carpathian Basin near the Szamos, Tisza and Maros rivers in the 3rd or 4th century. It was from here that they made regular incursions to the east and south to fight for new territories. The Gepids initially lived under tribal leadership in village communities with the real power exercised by a national assembly. A king was only elected in response to major historical developments.
With the emergence of the Hunnic empire, the Gepids maintained their identity even as they became allies to the all-conquering Huns. Following Attila's death, the Gepids are thought to have seized upon his wealth and occupied large territories in all directions. Recognising their importance, the Byzantine emperor also welcomed the Gepids as allies. The Kingdom of Gepidia was allowed to flourish in the Eastern Roman Empire, although unified leadership of the Gepids only emerged in the late 6th century. It was at this time that the Gepids occupied the city of Sirmium, establishing it as the seat of the kingdom as they took further swathes of the Eastern Roman Empire. When the Byzantine Empire withdrew its support and agreed to an alliance with the Lombards, the Gepids lost much of their territory and influence.
The two Germanic peoples were at war for almost 30 years, in which time the Gepids often suffered defeat at he hands of the Lombard knights. They lost the territories of the Eastern Roman Empire and were only able to hold the city of Sirmium. This became the royal seat and the site where the first silver coins in the Carpathian Basin were minted. The Byzantine Empire later terminated their alliance with the Lombards, who continued to fight for Gepid territories in league with the Avars. The Gepid army suffered a crushing defeat, losing their king and fleeing with their treasure to Byzantium, while the population migrated to modern-day Italy.
During the Avar invasion, Gepidia ceased to exist with only small Transylvanian settlements surviving. By the 7th century, even these had merged into their surroundings. The most valuable Gepida relics were the gold treasures unearthed in ªimleu Silvaniei, Transylvania.


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The Friends of the Petawawa Research Forest was established to support, promote, and protect the Petawawa Research Forest (PRF) for continued scientific study, environmental education, and public recreation.
The Friends of the Petawawa Research Forest, Inc. was established by a group of volunteers in 2002 to:
- create awareness of the valuable potential of the Petawawa Research Forest (PRF) for continuing scientific study, education, and public recreation
- generate support for the PRF through a non-political, non-profit organization with charitable status and which is at arms-length from the government
- help secure the viability and future of the PRF
- promote environmental awareness among children and youth through formal instruction and hands-on opportunities


Take the 2-minute tour ×
Let's say we are given $a$, $b$, $d$ with $1 \leq a, b, d \leq 1000$ and inequalities $x \geq a$, $y \geq b$, and $a+b < x + y \leq a+b+d$.
I need to combine all this and the following into one inequality. Is there a common factor that we can multiply to one or the other or something? Can we exploit the fact that ranges are known? How do we proceed in such a case? Any help is appreciated.
share|improve this question
Instead of writing $1 \leq a \leq 1000$, $1 \leq b \leq 1000$ and $1 \leq d \leq 1000$, I instead wrote $1 \leq a, b, d \leq 1000$ which is equivalent. – Michael Albanese Feb 6 '13 at 8:12
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1 Answer
The range defined for one set of value(s) is independent from the range of some other. For instance, $a+b


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Explore jet set Arachova this winter, and you will feel as if you have landed in the heart of a winter Mykonos. Arachova is a picturesque mountainous village that located on the foot of Mt. Parnassos in southern Greece. It is close enough to Athens to make it the perfect weekend getaway destination. Why not? It is famously known as the most cosmopolitan winter destination in Greece.
What to Do
Delphi is one of the most significant ancient Greek archaeological sites. Surrounded by the lush slopes of Mount Parnassos, this ancient Greek religious sanctuary was dedicated to the god Apollo. According to mythology, Apollo had placed a python or dragon to protect Delphi which was known to the ancients as the center or "navel of the Earth." During 6th century B.C., Delphi was an important religious center and symbol of unity of the ancient Greek world. Read More


projects - delete the following files/folders from ProjectName.Web folder:
 - obj folder
 - Properties folder
 - |YourProjectName.Web.csproj
 - YourProjectName.Web.csproj.user
 4. Now it is necessary to convert the build project to a web application. To do so, open Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager from Control Panel > System and Security > Administrative Tools.
 In the left panel, under Sites > Default Web Site, the DemoVisualization.Web (or DemoVisualizationSite if build with Expression Blend) will be available.
 5. Right click on the project and select Convert to Application.
 Convert the visualization project to application
 6. In the Add Application window, click on Select....
 Add Application window in IIS
 7. Select WEBfactory_AppPool from the Application Pool drop-down menu and press Ok.
 Select Application pool
 8. Press Ok to confirm the adding of the application.
Running the visualization
To run the visualization application, go to Content View in IIS, right-click Default.html and select Browse.
If "Error while loading the records!" error message is encountered when running the visualization, please review the settings described above and make sure all the steps above are properly executed. Click here for more information about Avoiding/Fixing User Manager "Error while loading the records!" [PROBLEM LINK].
To access the User Manager visualization from a remote machine via local network or Internet, open a web browser and access the IIS root folder using the HTTP protocol:
 - http://computer/DemoVisualization.Web/Default.html
computer is the ip/computer name of the machine running the IIS.
If the visualization will be accessed via Internet or from a location that is in a different network than the machine running the IIS, the router must be configured in order to allow access to the IIS from outside the local network.
To access the User Manager visualization without specifying html document at the end of the URL, the next settings must be made:
 - In IIS Features View, go to Default Document options under IIS category.
 In Default Document, you can see that there already is a Default.htm defined at the top of the list. As our document has the html extension and not the htm, we will need to add Default.html on top of the list, as default document.
 The order if the documents in Default Document in the list matters; IIS will first look for the first document, and if that document doesn't exist, will look for the second, and so on.
Right click in the Default Document window and select Add. In the dialog, enter "Default.html" and select Ok.
Now the visualization can be accessed from the web browser by typing the URL without the "Default.html" part:
 - http://computer/DemoVisualization.Web
Running UserManager on a different protocol, host and port number
As a Silverlight application, the WEBfactory 2010 UserManager uses the default Silverlight protocol, host name and port number to access the web services. Starting with WEBfactory 2010 Service Pack 10, these settings can be configured inside Studio, so the UserManager can access the web services using a non-default protocol, host name or port number.
Customizing the protocol, host and port number
To use your custom web services URL for UserManager, the following settings must be done:
 - In WEBfactory 2010 Studio, navigate to the Settings section > Project Settings > General Project Settings.
 - The two settings that define the way UserManager accessed the web services are:
 - Host Base URL - the base URL of the host, starting with the protocol and the host name. The protocol can be http or https, while the host name can be either the actual name or the IP address.
 - Host Port Number - the port number on which the web services can be accessed on the host
 - Configure the above options to match the web services access protocol, host and port number. These settings will be applied to UserManager when opened. The default values are http://localhost and port 80.
Using the WEBfactory User Manager
This tutorial will guide you through:
Creating and setting a Write Group for a specific signal in Studio
More about Write Groups
 1. In WEBfactory 2010Studio, go to Write Groups in the Signals Tab.
 2. Right-click in the right panel and select New Write Group; name the new Write Group.
 Creating a new Write Group
 3. The new Write Group is created. To add a signal to the new Write Group, go to Signals > Server List and navigate to the Group that has the desired signals. In WEBfactory Demo Project, the signals are in Group 1.
 4. Select the desired signal. For this tutorial we will use the Setpoint 1 signal from the Demo Project.
 5. Right-click on the signal and select Signal Details. The Signal Details panel will expand from the bottom of the window.
 Signal Details panel
 6. Expand the Write Group drop-down menu and select the new Write Group. In this particular case, ExampleWriteGroup.
 7. Click the Save button from the bottom right side of the Signal Details panel to save the changes.
Now the Setpoint 1 signal is assigned to the ExampleWriteGroup Write Group.
Creating an Authorization Group in User Manager and activate the write group
More about Authorization Groups
 1. In order to create and Authorization Group, navigate to the User Manager, under the Settings tab in WEBfactory 2010Studio.
 WEBfactory 2010User Manager
 2. Select Authorization Groups from the drop-down menu in the top bar.
 3. Select New (from the right side of the dropdown menu). Enter the name of the new Authorization Group in the General tab from the right panel. In this particular case, the new Authorization Group will be named ExampleAuthorizationGroup.
 4. In the Write Groups tab, select the new ExampleWriteGroup and click Save to save the changes.
Select the Write Group for the ExampleAuthorizationGroup
Now the ExampleAuthorizationGroup created above has the ExampleWriteGroup marked as active.
Creating a user in User Manager and assigning the user to the Authorization Group
More about Users
 1. In User Manager, select the Users option from the drop-down menu.
 2. Create a new user by clicking on the New WEBfactory User button, on the right side of the drop-down menu.
 The Users section of the User Manager
 The User Manager offers the possibility to use Active Directory Users in WEBfactory. In order to use this option, a new ActiveDirectory User must be created by clicking on the arrow next to the New WEBfactory User button.
 WEBfactoryUser and ActiveDirectory User
 You have the option to choose between the two types of users.
 And ActiveDirectory User in WEBfactory is an user that uses the ActiveDirectory credentials for logging in the WEBfactory applications.
 3. After creating a new user, the right side panel will display the list of options for the new users. Complete the necessary fields with the required information. For the demonstrative purpose, we will name the new user ExampleUser.
 4. To assign the user to an authorization group, go to Authorization groups section below the user details, in the right side panel.
 5. Select the desired authorization group. In our example, the ExampleAuthorizationGroup.
 Assign the user to an Authorization Group
 6. Click on the Save button to save the changes.


PEGASO (2010 - 2013)
PEGASO is an ICZM project for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It is the FP7 project, supported by the EU. The main objectives of the project are: identifying and assessing the main threats in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea; looking at existing scientific data that can give more insight on what is happening; and bridging science with decision making. Such a complex work is based on the ICZM Protocol for the Mediterranean. In this context, PEGASO's main objective is to help the countries to put the ICZM Protocol into practice.
PEGASO works in 4 main directions:
 1. Working with the countries to know how they are equipped for the implementation of such a policy, through the creation of a PEGASO ICZM Governance Platform, where needs can be expressed, information exchanged and collaborations strengthened (WP2);
 2. PEGASO develops a number of sustainability tools (indicators, accounting methods, scenarios, social and economic valuation, guidelines for coastal and maritime planning, etc.) (WP4) with and for the Governance Platform, which includes also 10 case study areas, where the tools will be tested at different scales (WP5);
 3. All this work needs to gather relevant data and information at different scales: available remote sensing images for the two basins (for land and sea assessment), national data, as well as regional/local monitoring, statistics, etc. All these data are organised in a Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, reinforcing the governance through a network of geo-nodes that allows sharing data amongst all partners and end users, each institution being the owner and manager of its own node; and
 4. An important action of capacity building is envisioned for the collaboration between Southern institutions and around the Black Sea to build a common knowledge base for coastal and sea management and planning purposes, and to make stakeholders and decision-makers aware of what it is possible to do in order to stop or mitigate unwanted threats, and adapting as much as possible to risk, to reach a more resilient environment and equitable society, how to monitor well using the best existing technology in use in the countries, finally learning to work together, to collaborate on main issues, in a governance model that will adjust in organizing itself along the project life.
The role of PAP/RAC in PEGASO
The work package (WP2) has been led by PAP/RAC. WP2 is going to provide important support to enable ICZM to build upon current scientific work and information, as well as the experience from the past EU projects within the same or similar thematic fields. An assessment of ICZM governance in the Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal regions is going to be made, creating the bridge between scientists and end-users. The willingness and readiness to prepare an ICZM Protocol for the Black Sea will also been assessed.
At the heart of this work package is the "ICZM Governance Platform" which, during the project lifetime and beyond it, is going to foster links between the world that provides the necessary scientific input and the worlds of decision-making, policy formulation and the everyday management actions at the local level. The Platform allows these worlds to meet, exchange, discuss, and argue if necessary to avoid scientists becoming isolated in their own closed universe of ever expanding data, and decision-makers forced to look only at short-term solutions because they are not able to interpret and/or use these data in a proper way.
Most importantly, the ICZM Governance Platform will facilitate the application of the ecosystem approach to the Mediterranean and Black Sea coasts - linking the knowledge and information of the different elements that are required for the equitable and sustainable management of both coastal land and waters.
Platform Components
The Platform is a forum where partners share the data, information, methods and tools they have at their disposal with Mediterranean and Black Sea end-users and CASES who will help enrich the initial data input and transform it, in a joint effort, to what we can call know "knowledge". This kind of joint effort is called the "adaptive management", which can be defined as being science-based, participatory and strategic.
Pegaso platform
The Platform is:
 1. structured to last after the project;
 2. helps find good ICZM solutions;
 3. assesses the readiness/preparedness for the implementation of the ICZM Protocol (Mediterranean);
 4. assesses the willingness/readiness to prepare an ICZM Protocol for the Black Sea;
 5. offers solutions for smoother implementation/preparation of the Protocol.
Besides the "official" members of the Platform all ICZM addicts, coast-lovers, people that want to engage themselves to make our coastal zones resilient, healthy, productive and attractive, have been invited to join the PEGASO team and to contribute by their knowledge and experience. We are more than happy to welcome them in the PEGASO family.
Specific WP2 Objectives
 1. To take an initial stock of scientific, technical, legal, and institutional knowledge base to create a Platform for desired policy changes in Mediterranean and Black Sea coastal areas.
 2. To integrate scientific, policy, managerial and societal views and attitudes towards ICZM governance in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions.
 3. To develop a methodology for evaluation and assessment of ICZM governance in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions.
 4. To assess end-user needs, define target groups and stakeholders.
 5. To build a shared ecosystem-based ICZM Governance Platform for Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, aimed at assisting decision and policy makers, professionals, private sector and civil society elements to plan actions and assess their impacts in coastal and marine areas.
 6. To facilitate implementation of the regional legal instruments.


Connection Queue Information
In Proxy Server, a connection is first accepted by acceptor threads associated with the HTTP listener. The acceptor threads accept the connection and put it into the connection queue. Then, request processing threads take the connection in the connection queue and process the request. For more information, see Connection-Handling Overview.
Connection queue information shows the number of sessions in the connection queue, and the average delay before the connection is accepted by the request processing thread.
The following is an example of how these statistics are displayed in perfdump:
Current/Peak/Limit Queue Length 0/1853/160032
Total Connections Queued _PHONE_
Average Queue Length (1, 5, 15 minutes) 90.35, 89.64, 54.02
Average Queueing Delay 4.80 milliseconds
The following table shows the information displayed in the Admin Console when accessing monitoring information for the server instance:
Table 2–1 Connection Queue Statistics
Present Number of Connections Queued
Total Number of Connections Queued
Average Connections Over Last 1 Minute
Average Connections Over Last 5 Minutes
Average Connections Over Last 15 Minutes
Maximum Queue Size
Peak Queue Size
Number of Connections Overflowed
Ticks Spent
Total Number of Connections Added
Current /Peak /Limit Queue Length
Current/Peak/Limit queue length shows, in order:
If the peak queue length, also known as the maximum queue size, is close to the limit, you can increase the maximum connection queue size to avoid dropping connections under heavy load.
Total Connections Queued
Total Connections Queued is the total number of times a connection has been queued. This number includes newly-accepted connections and connections from the keep-alive system.
This setting is not tunable.
Average Queue Length
The Average Queue Length shows the average number of connections in the queue over the most recent one-minute, five-minute, and 15-minute intervals.
This setting is not tunable.
Average Queuing Delay
The Average Queueing Delay is the average amount of time a connection spends in the connection queue. This represents the delay between when a request connection is accepted by the server and when a request processing thread begins servicing the request. It is the Ticks Spent divided by the Total Connections Queued, and converted to milliseconds.
This setting is not tunable.
Ticks Spent
A tick is a system-dependent value and provided by the tickPerSecond attribute of the server element in stats.xml. The ticks spent value is the total amount of time that connections spent in the connection queue and is used to calculate the average queuing delay.
This setting is not tunable.
Total Number of Connections Added
The new connections added to the connection queue. This setting is not tunable.


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The layout page is primarily designed to be the top-level page of the web UI. The idea is to set up a layout page as the navigation URL for the browser, so the layout page fills the browser window. You then arrange your functional windows within the layout page - a command window, a status line window, etc. This arrangement is similar to banner window in HTML TADS, but IFRAMEs are considerably more flexible; for example, they don't have to tile the main window, and you can size them in the full range of units CSS provides.
Layout windows aren't limited to the top level, though. Since you can put any HTML page within an IFRAME, you can put another layout window within an IFRAME, to further subdivide the space inside the IFRAME.
WebLayoutWindow : WebWindow
If the window already exists, this updates the window with the new layout settings.
'win' is a WebWindow object that will be displayed within the IFRAME. This method automatically loads the HTML resource from the WebWindow into the new IFRAME.
'name' is the name of the window. Each window within a layout must have a distinct name. This allows you to refer to the dimensions of other windows in 'pos' parameters. The name should be alphanumeric.
123 - a number, representing a number of pixels on the display
5em - 5 'em' units, relative to the main BODY font in the window
5en - 5 'en' units in the main BODY font
5ex - 5 'ex' units in the main BODY font
window.width - the width in pixels of the enclosing window
window.height - the height in pixels of the enclosing window
50% - percentage of the width or height of the enclosing window
content.width - the width in pixels of the contents of the frame
content.height - the height in pixels of the contents of the frame
x.left - horizontal coordinate of leftmost edge of window 'x'
x.right - horizontal coordinate of rightmost edge of window 'x'
x.top - vertical coordinate of top edge of window 'x'
x.bottom - vertical coordinate of bottom edge of window 'x'
x.width - width in pixels of window 'x'
x.height - height in pixels of window 'x'
The "window" dimensions refer to the *enclosing* window. If this layout window is the main page of the UI, this is simply the browser window itself. For a layout window nested within another frame, this is the enclosing frame.
Percentage units apply to the enclosing window. When a percentage is used in the 'left' or 'width' slot, it applies to the width of the enclosing window; in the 'top' or 'height' slot, it applies to the height.
The "content" dimensions refer to the contents of the frame we're creating. This is the size of the contents as actually laid out in the browser.
"x.left" and so on refer to the dimensions of other frames *within this same layout window*. 'x' is the name of another window within the same layout, as specified by the 'name' argument given when the window was created.


Are prawns just really big shrimp? Let's put this coastal culinary quandary to rest. Here's the real difference between prawns and shrimp.
By Mary Tomlinson
Updated June 29, 2020
How to Tell the Difference Between Shrimp and Prawns
When it comes down to their biology, both shrimp and prawns are decapods, meaning they're crustaceans with 10 legs.
Shrimp, the more petite crustacean, live in saltwater. To tell if your crustacean is a shrimp, there are a few small but distinguishing details to look for. Shrimp have claws on two of their legs, and the second segment of their shell overlaps the first and third shell segments. This also gives a distinct bend to their shape, another detail to watch for when seafood shopping.
Prawns live in fresh or brackish (somewhat salty) water, often near the bottom. These crustaceans have claws on three of their legs, which you can spot if you purchase your seafood unpeeled. Prawns' shell segments overlap down their abdomen (first overlaps second, second overlaps third), meaning there's less of a distinct bend in their body.
A good rule of thumb to differentiate between the two is size, as prawns are typically larger than shrimp. If you really want to know what crustacean you purchased without making a trek out on a shrimp boat, just check the shell. If the second segment overlaps the first and third, you've got a shrimp; if the segments overlap down the abdomen, you've got a prawn.
Shrimp generally live in salt water, have claws on two of their legs, and are smaller than prawns, which are usually harvested from freshwater, can be quite large, and have claws on three of their legs.
Credit: TIFS
Can You Taste the Difference?
Does this mean you need to run to the fridge and inspect the shell of every little crustacean before your next shrimp boil? No need! Culinary-wise, the flavors of the two have no major distinguishing factor, aside from prawns' slightly sweeter taste. Prawns also tend to be more expensive than shrimp.
But overall, your purchase is more likely to be affected by the diet, habitat, and region of the seafood. Your energy is better spent on finding out where the product is sourced from as opposed to the minutiae of its taxonomy. Wild-caught shrimp are best, as the majority of farmed shrimp comes from regions where regulations are limited.
Let's Get Cooking
Now that we've gotten the biology out of the way, here are a few delicious recipes to serve friends and family while you dazzle them with your newfound seafood knowledge.
Buttery Garlic Shrimp
Credit: Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham
Our Favorite Shrimp Recipes
Did you know? "A Marine Yabby" is an Australian nickname for the Australian ghost shrimp
Maya Prawns with Chipotle Mezcal Sauce
Maya Prawns with Chipotle Mezcal Sauce
Our Favorite Prawn Recipes
Did you know? "To Come the Raw Prawn" means to deceive someone, especially by pretending you have no knowledge of something


text:
Multiple Epigenetic Modifiers Induce Aggressive Viral Extinction in Extraembryonic Endoderm Stem Cells
Cell Stem Cell
URL with Digital Object Identifier
To prevent insertional mutagenesis arising from retroviral reactivation, cells of embryonic origin possess a unique capacity to silence retroviruses. Given the distinct modes of X chromosome inactivation between embryonic and extraembryonic lineages, we investigated paradigms of viral extinction. We show that trophectoderm stem cells do not silence retroviral transcription, whereas extraembryonic endoderm stem cells aggressively extinguish proviral transcription, even more rapidly than do embryonic stem cells. By using a short hairpin RNA library, we identified epigenetic modifiers of retroviral extinction in extraembryonic endoderm stem cells. Multiple chromatin remodeling and polycomb repressor complex proteins act to modulate integrated, as well as endogenous, retroviral element silencing, with a subset of factors displaying differential effects between stem cell types. Furthermore, our data suggest that small RNAs play a role in this process through interactions with the Argonaute family. Our results further the understanding of mechanisms regulating retroviral transcription in different stem cell lineages.


Convert a Shard Standalone to a Shard Replica Set
Starting in MongoDB 3.6, all shards must be replica sets. Before you can upgrade your 3.4 sharded cluster to version 3.6, you must convert any shards that are running as standalone mongod instances to replica set shards.
This tutorial describes the process for converting a shard standalone into a shard replica set. The procedure is specific to a shard standalone. To convert just a standalone to a replica set (i.e. not a part of any sharded cluster), see Convert a Standalone to a Replica Set instead.
The following procedure converts a standalone shard to a single-member replica set shard. The procedure assumes that the single member runs on the same host and port as before.
 1. Shut down the shard standalone mongod instance.
 2. Restart the shard instance with the --replSet option to specify the name of the new replica set. Ensure that the name is distinct (for instance, you could use the shard name as the replica set name); in particular, shard replica sets must not use the same name as the config server replica set.
 The other options can remain the same.
 For example, the following command starts a standalone instance as a member of a new replica set named shardA. The other options stay the same as before; e.g. --dbpath uses the standalone's existing database path of /srv/mongodb/db0 and --port is the same as before:
 mongod --port 27018 --dbpath /srv/mongodb/db0 --shardsvr --replSet shardA --bind_ip localhost,
 For more information on configuration options, see Configuration File Options and the mongod manual page.
 3. Connect mongosh to the shard mongod instance.
 4. Use rs.initiate() to initiate the new replica set:
 The replica set is now operational. To view the replica set configuration, use rs.conf(). To check the status of the replica set, use rs.status().
 5. Disconnect from the instance.
 6. Connect mongosh to one of the sharded cluster's mongos instances and retrieve the shard information:
 var myShard = db.getSiblingDB("config").shards.findOne( { _id: ""} )
 Replace with the name of the shard. The of the shard is separate from the shard replica set name (unless you are using the shard name as the replica set name). To retrieve the name of the shard, see the shards section in the results from the sh.status() method. For example, if the result of sh.status() includes the following shards section, the name of the two shards are "shard0000" and "shard0001" respectively:
 { "_id" : "shard0000", "host" : "", "state" : 1 }
 { "_id" : "shard0001", "host" : "", "state" : 1 }
 7. Update the host information with the replica set information: = "/"
 Replace with the name of the replica set. Replace with the replica set member. For example shardA/
 8. Save the information.
 db.getSiblingDB("config"), { writeConcern: { w: "majority" } } )
 9. Repeat for the next standalone shard in the sharded cluster. Ensure that you use a distinct name for each shard replica set.
 10. Once you have finished converting shard standalone instances to shard replica sets, force the members of sharded cluster to update their knowledge of other shards' connection strings by restarting all members of the sharded cluster:
To add members to this replica set, use the rs.add() method. For more information on adding members to a replica set, see Add Members to a Replica Set.
To convert a non-shard standalone to a non-shard replica set, see Convert a Standalone to a Replica Set instead.
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We can obtain pure random (NOT pseudo-random) bytes from /dev/random. Linux kernel harnesses a good source of randomness from you. The random bytes in /dev/random is measuring based on the time delay between your input actions.
so seems /dev/random provided random bytes, we need to turn the bytes into an integer so that we could read. The simplest way is uses
od is a kind of object dump tools, we can specified how many btye to extract from a file, what is the type of output ( decimal, floating points, hexadecimal etc).
The example bellow shows the simple way of extract a 2 byte decimal integer using
od from /dev/random.
od -An -N2 -i /dev/random
-An is to turn off the address from displaying, -N specified number of bytes to extract, -i indicate display format is an integer.
Okay now what? Let say we want to create a file with random number as a file name with ".tmp" as the extension. I simply uses
touch to create a empty file.
touch 'od -An -N2 -i /dev/random'.tmp
Let say I want to have a random number within a range. Let say from 100 to 1000.
echo $(( 100+('od -An -N2 -i /dev/random' )%(1000-100+1) ))
It looks complicated, but actually it is not. To do a simple calculation at bash shell, you can put your equation in
The the formula for getting a random number in range is
min+( seed%(max - min + 1) ).
/dev/random provide quite number of bytes of random value, if you need even larger, you can obtain at /dev/urandom.


Is "Race" Modern? Disambiguating the Question
du Bois Review 1:1-19 (2020)
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Race theorists have been unable to reach a consensus regarding the basic historical question, "is 'race' modern?" I argue that this is partly because the question itself is ambiguous. There is not really one question that race scholars are answering, but at least six. First, is the concept of race modern? Second, is there a modern concept of race that is distinct from earlier race concepts? Third, are "races" themselves modern? Fourth, are racialized groups modern? Fifth, are the means and methods associated with racialization modern? And sixth, are the meanings attached to racialized traits modern? Because these questions have different answers, the debate about the historical origins of "race" cannot be resolved unless they are distinguished. I will explain the ways in which "race" is and is not modern by answering these questions, thereby offering a resolution to a seemingly intractable problem.
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Growing Onions in a Raised Bed
Raised beds are popular among gardeners with limited space or poor naturally occurring soils. Onions can be successfully grown in raised beds with certain precautions taken. Remember that onions are shallow-rooted, but the majority of the roots are intensely located within 8" of the plant. If you were to plant the lines of the bed closer than 8" it would double the competition for nutrients within that area.
The roots of the plant extend horizontally for up to 1' so it is important to have loose soil at least down to that level. It is fine to space the plants 4" down the row, but do not put the lines of onions any closer than 8" apart. The additional consequence of placing the lines of onions too close together is that it impedes the airflow through the onions and will keep the tops from drying out as quickly. This will lead to more disease pressure in the foliage.
As always, remember to spray fungicides on your onions to prevent the disease formation.


Experiences of oppression among Middle-Eastern couples living in Denmark: Implications for marriage and family therapy
Date of Award
Degree Type
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Marriage and Family Therapy
Kenneth Hardy
Oppression, Middle-Eastern, Couples, Denmark, Marriage and family therapy
Subject Categories
Psychology | Race and Ethnicity | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Psychology | Sociology
There has been an increasing interest within the field of Marriage and Family Therapy over the last decades in uncovering and exploring how specific contextual parameters influence the life experience of minority groups. The identified experiences of minority groups include emotional and psychological responses directly connected to oppression, the effect of oppression on the couple relationship, and specific mental health needs. This dissertation adds to the existing knowledge in several ways. Specifically, the aim is to explore (1) how experiences of oppression may be present in a Scandinavian context, (2) how lived experiences affect the relationship of minority couples in Denmark, and (3) their specific mental health needs and implications for marriage and family therapists.
During this study eight couples (16 individuals) were interviewed to gain an indepth understanding of their experiences and meaning-making processes. The data was analyzed using a phenomenological method developed by Edwards and Titchen (2003) and based on the theory of Alfred Schutz (1967; 1970a). Results indicated that, as a consequence of their racial, cultural, and religious difference, the participating couples experienced that others tend to devalue them, seeing them as not-Danish, and being of lesser worth, affecting them emotionally and psychologically. This study identified several coping mechanisms commonly used by Middle Eastern couples in Denmark. This dissertation is ground breaking in Denmark, as it takes a first step toward exploring the experiences of minority couples and the emotional and psychological impact that the Danish context has on them. In addition, this dissertation makes a contribution to the field of marriage and family therapy by connecting theories developed in the United States to lived experiences in Denmark, enabling marriage and family therapists around the world to reflect on trans-cultural and trans-national processes and experiences in regards to oppression.


text:
win principle of the modern quality integration.
"Proposition 1. The world is everything that is the
- - -
Proposition 6.362. What can be described can happen too,
and what is excluded by the law of causality cannot be described.
- - -
Proposition 7. Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must
- Ludwig Wittgenstein


text:
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) issued a hazard alert that urges employers in hydraulic fracturing operations to take appropriate steps to protect workers from silica exposure. Last month, in response to findings reported by NIOSH that workers in fracking operations were exposed to silica levels well in excess of OSHA permissible and NIOSH recommended levels, the AFL-CIO, Mine Workers (UMWA) and the United Steelworkers (USW) sent a letter to the federal workplace safety agencies urging they act to protect workers in these operations.
AFL-CIO Health and Safety Director Peg Seminario says the alert, issued yesterday, provides important information to employers and workers involved in hydraulic fracturing operations regarding the serious health threat from silica exposures.
It is critical that OSHA and NIOSH disseminate this information, so that immediate action can be taken to protect workers from silicosis and other silica-related diseases.
A recent NIOSH study found silica exposure is a major workplace hazed in fracking operations. Workers exposed to silica run the risk of developing silicosis, lung cancer and other debilitating diseases.
Silica sand is a major component of the fracking process. The sand is mixed with large volumes of water and chemical additives and injected under high pressure by drilling into shale rock. Massive quantities of sand are used, and workers are at risk of high levels of exposure during multiple points of the fracking process.
OSHA administrator Dr. David Michaels says, "[H]azardous exposures to silica can and must be prevented."
It is important for employers and workers to understand the hazards associated with silica exposure in hydraulic fracturing operations and how to protect workers.
The hazard alert provides specific steps employers can take to reduce silica exposure. Click here for the alert.


text: InMountain States Medicinal Plants, Briana Wiles is your trusted guide to finding, identifying, harvesting, and using 120 of the region's most powerful wild plants. You'll learn how to safely and ethically forage and how to use wild plants in herbal medicines including teas, tinctures, and salves. Plant profiles include clear, color photographs, identification tips, medicinal uses and herbal preparations, and harvesting suggestions. Lists of what to forage for each season makes the guide useful year-round. Thorough, comprehensive, and safe, this is a must-have for foragers, naturalists, and herbalists in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and northern Nevada.


text:
This week, Wendy Couture, the district's safety and risk reduction manager, shares information about exercising caution when displaying seasonal decorations.
Seasonal decoration safety
Decorating our workspaces and classrooms happens during many different times of the year for many different seasons. Decorations can increase student and staff enthusiasm and seasonal and holiday themes can harness excitement. Decorations must always be set up safe and not create a hazard.
Potential decorating hazards
Even well-intentioned decorations can pose a risk to students, staff and property if used incorrectly. The following potential hazards include:
- Fires: Too much clutter on classroom or hallway walls and ceilings can spread fires more quickly.
- Poisoning: Some decorations may be made with toxic substances and could be hazardous if young students were to unwittingly taste them.
- Falls: Items that are improperly secured may fall and injure students.
- Trips: A classroom cluttered with decorations has more trip hazards.
- Cuts: Paper cuts are common from foil and paper decorations, while glass items could break into hazardous shards.
School decoration safety tips
To minimize the risks of classroom decorations but still enjoy a fun, colorful atmosphere, decorations should be put up carefully and safely.
Tips applicable to all types of decorations include:
- Only use decorations in their intended fashion and read all display instructions before use.
- Do not block fire alarms, emergency signs or exits with decorations.
- Confine decorations to suitable spaces such as bulletin boards. Covering windows and ceilings with additional decorations increases the amount of combustible material in the classroom or office and increases fire risks.
- Never hang decorations from light fixtures, sprinkler heads, or vents.
- Choose decorations with flame resistant coatings.
- Fasten flags, posters, papers and other decorations flat to the wall to minimize exposed edges that could cause cuts or increase fire risks.
- Fasten all items securely for their weight to reduce the risk that they may loosen and fall.
- When removing decorations, be sure to remove all strings, staples and other materials used to hold the decorations.
- Store decorations safely and out of reach of students.
- Do not allow students to climb on desks or other unsafe surfaces to help decorate.


What Are The Types Of Redundancy?
What is redundancy in communication?
Redundant communication refers to having multiple back-up communication modalities and is imperative in emergency preparedness planning.
Past experience demonstrates that hospitals cannot depend on just one or two means for communication.
Some examples of redundant communication include: Basic telephone systems..
What is hot redundancy in PLC?
Warm & hot redundancy are similar in architecture but hot redundancy that offers instant process correction when a failure is detected. For example, in a mining or ore operation, if a primary controller for a conveyor fails, a backup one should immediately assume control to avoid any delays in the transfer.
Is data redundancy good or bad?
Redundant data is a bad idea because when you modify data (update/insert/delete), then you need to do it in more than one place. This opens up the possibility that the data becomes inconsistent across the database. The reason redundancy is sometimes necessary is for performance reasons.
What is redundancy and its types?
What is redundancy, you might ask. Well, the act of using a word, phrase, etc., that repeats something else and is therefore unnecessary. The five most common types of redundancy are: the pleonasm, redundant abbreviations, intensifiers, plague words, and platitudes and cliches.
What is the standard redundancy pay?
You'll normally be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you're an employee and you've been working for your current employer for 2 years or more. You'll get: half a week's pay for each full year you were under 22. one week's pay for each full year you were 22 or older, but under 41.
What is image redundancy?
That is, it contains data (or words) that either provide no relevant information or simply restate that which is already known. It is thus said to contain data redundancy. Data redundancy is a central issue in digital image compression. It is not an abstract concept but. a mathematically quantifiable entity.
How do I make someone redundant nicely?
10 Tips on How to Announce RedundancyDevelop a clear and simple communication strategy. Communicate a clear and consistent message based on the business reasons for the change. … Prepare and practise. … Avoid leaks. … Be compassionate, visible and supportive. … Signpost individuals to resources that can help them.
Why should data redundancy be avoided?
Data redundancy leads to data anomalies and corruption and should be avoided when creating a relational database consisting of several entities. Database normalization prevents redundancy and makes the best possible usage of storage.
What are the three problems with data redundancy?
Problems caused due to redundancy are: Insertion anomaly, Deletion anomaly, and Updation anomaly.
How many types of redundancy are there?
2 typesThere are 2 types of redundancy pay you could get: 'statutory' redundancy pay – what the law says you're entitled to. 'contractual' redundancy pay – extra money your contract says you can get on top of the statutory amount.
What are the different redundancy techniques?
In computer science, there are four major forms of redundancy, these are: Hardware redundancy, such as dual modular redundancy and triple modular redundancy. … Time redundancy, performing the same operation multiple times such as multiple executions of a program or multiple copies of data transmitted.
What is term redundancy?
The general definition of redundancy is exceeding what is normal. However, in computing, the term is used more specifically and refers to duplicate devices that are used for backup purposes. The goal of redundancy is to prevent or recover from the failure of a specific component or system.
What is built in redundancy?
Building In Redundancy Redundancy is the installation of additional or alternate network devices, communication mediums or equipment in your infrastructure. By providing additional or alternate equipment, or planning alternate network paths, you ensure availability in the case of device or path failure.
How is redundancy calculated?
A measure of redundancy between two variables is the mutual information or a normalized variant. A measure of redundancy among many variables is given by the total correlation.
How do you control redundancy in a database?
1st normal form: Avoid storing similar data in multiple table fields.Eliminate repeating groups in individual tables.Create a separate table for each set of related data.Identify each set of related data with a primary key.
What is data redundancy with example?
Data redundancy occurs when the same piece of data is stored in two or more separate places. Suppose you create a database to store sales records, and in the records for each sale, you enter the customer address. Yet, you have multiple sales to the same customer so the same address is entered multiple times.
How many weeks pay do you get for redundancy?
Why is redundancy important?
The purpose of a redundancy is to prevent any disruption of system operation in the case of a technical failure or disaster by maintaining a continuity of service. To guarantee the uptime of the total IT environment redundancy of data and internet connectivity is very important.


text:
Memorial Day has just passed, it's fitting to take a look at one of the oldest facilities in the United States for housing soldiers-Jackson Barracks, in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans on St. Claude Avenue. It's been through a lot since 1833-hell and high water, literally. The old building could tell us some stories about all the military heroes, known and unknown, who served their country there, including some latter-day heroes who helped get New Orleanians out of harm's way during Hurricane Katrina. You can visit the Jackson Barracks Military Museum and see military artifacts dating back 200 years. That trip is easily combined with a visit to the Chalmette Battlefield, part of the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve, where you can see the site of the legendary Battle of New Orleans, fought January 8, 1815.
Jackson Barracks, originally known as New Orleans Barracks, was built after the War of 1812. The first militia, consisting of four infantry companies, were housed there in 1837. Built on the river, the original facility had a storehouse, four three-story guard towers, and a prison. It had its own levee, road, railroad, and trolley car tracks. Ulysses S. Grant, George B. McClellan, Robert E. Lee, P. G. T. Beauregard and J.E.B. Stuart, were all in these Barracks before the Civil War, although not all at once. After the Mexican-American War, it became the earliest Public Service Hospital for soldiers in the nation in 1849.


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Climate Witness: Pak Azhar, Indonesia
I have been living in Balikukup since 1999. Balikukup is a small island of 18 ha consisting mainly of sandbanks. However, the island's size is not fixed as it depends on the tides. During low tide, a large sandbank is exposed, extending 1 km towards the sea.
The weather is a significant factor in the work of a sea cucumber fisherman
I started collecting sea cucumbers in 2001. There are 2 ways to catch sea cucumbers; some fishermen just search on the beaches around the island during low tide at night, while others dive underwater, down to depths of 10 m.
Sea cucumber fishermen are highly dependent on the weather to do their job. Fishermen cannot catch good harvests during rainy or stormy weather, as sea cucumbers hide underneath the sand during that time. Therefore, it is important for a sea cucumber fisherman to predict what the weather will be like before going to work.
Usually I observe the weather at dusk or in the early evening to predict whether it is going to rain or be stormy at night. But nowadays, it is getting harder to predict the weather accurately. For example, early evening yesterday I predicted that there would be no rain at night, but around midnight and early morning heavy rain came down.
In the old days, we fishermen could predict the weather. But not anymore. The elders on our island also mentioned the same thing. Since 2002, Atang, one of the fisherman elders whom we regard as the best expert in predicting the weather in Balikukup, said that the weather was getting unpredictable. Before, Atang could produce a very good prediction, even for the course of a full year.
'Bulan janda' or Widow month
One example of unpredictable weather is the gone phenomena of 'bulan janda', or 'widow month'. It is called widow-month because when the fishermen went to the sea during the event, they rarely came home safely. Thus, their wives became widows. Widow month is an annual event when the wind blows very strongly for 44 days from the south. This wind stops for a short period of time (half an hour), and then goes back to blowing very hard. During that time it is impossible for fishermen to go at sea.
Fishermen who had saved enough money and food supply did not need to go at sea during 'widow month' because the conditions were too dangerous. However, other fishermen had no other option but to go to sea during the event.
The phenomenon of 'widow month' does not exist anymore. The last time it happened was in 1991 according to fishermen. After 1991, during the supposedly 'widow-month', there could be calm periods for up to 2 weeks. None of the fishermen understands why the 'widow month' phenomenon has slowly disappeared.
No clue when money will come
The unpredictable weather is a disadvantage for us fishermen because we no longer know when we can go fishing. It is difficult for us to predict when we will make money. Before, we could estimate when was the right time to make income and put some money on the side, as we could predict when we can go fishing. Now, whenever we have good weather, we just go fishing. We can no longer make financial plans.
Credit: WWF-Indonesia / Primayunta
Scientific reviewReviewed by: Dr Heru Santoso, Project Coordinator of the TroFCCA (Tropical Forests and Climate Change Adaptation) project, Indonesia
The witnesses told three natural phenomena that they considered climate related. They are increased land erosion, higher tides and unpredictable weather. Even though non-climatic factor could contribute to these phenomena, for example an increase in land erosion could be due to land mismanagement, or a higher tide could be the subsequent of regional subsidence, etc. However, in all three different locations the people observed an increase of wave energy and increasing unpredictable weather that could affect the sustainability of their villages and their livelihood.
There are very few scientific literatures to report whether the observed phenomena in this specific region are related to climate change. This region is open to Sulawesi and Sulu seas as flow paths of oceanic current from the western Pacific Ocean to Indian Ocean. Higher tides in Berau area could be related to the increase of sea surface level in the western Pacific during La Niña events. This phenomenon recently has become noticeable than in the past probably because global warming has accentuated the extent of this climate mechanism (Mimura et al. 2007).
For the same reason, unpredictable and abrupt change of weather has become noticeable. Abrupt changes are usually associated with high wind speed which could only happen if there is a significant difference in pressures between two areas. Striking heat, in particular over a heat sensitive land area, under a warmer condition could generate this high pressure difference quickly. Land sensitivity to heat is higher if the forest cover has gone or heavily degraded. The 'widow month', a regular phenomenon of strong southerly wind that has been disappearing, is normally associated with the monsoonal trade wind in which the easterly wind from eastern Indonesia turn northward to Asia. Global warming or higher regional temperature could alter the distribution of regional or subregional energy concentration and could also alter the scale and extent of circulation.
Therefore, global warming could have contributed to the increasing trend of recurrences of natural phenomena as reported by witnesses. However, it is quite proper to verify whether this global warming has accentuated climate mechanisms in this subregion by comparing with other climate variables. For example, during La Niña events warm waters from the east flow to the west and usually bringing more rains. The high tides in the Berau region which could be explained by this mechanism could be verified with rainfall data during that particular time of the events, preferably with a long period of observation data.
All articles are subject to scientific review by a member of the Climate Witness Science Advisory Panel.


text:
Sole, Lemon – UK
Lemon Sole is a medium sized flatfish found along the northern European coast on coarse gravelly and rocky bottoms at depths ranging from 40 to 200 m. They mature relatively quickly and live up to nine years.
Lemon Sole appear to be at medium levels of abundance, although information about population size is somewhat limited. In the United Kingdom, they are generally taken by beam and otter trawls as bycatch in mixed whitefish fisheries that target Cod, Haddock, and Whiting. Bottom trawls can damage the seafloor. Management of Lemon Sole in the United Kingdom is limited and bycatch levels are mostly unknown.
This fish may have high levels of PCBs that could pose a health risk to adults and children. More contaminant info here.


text:
"Today, scanners that read documents use a red laser light," Wong says. "When the red laser light scans the document, it turns the entire document red. Thus, a signature written in red ink seems to disappear. In many cases, you'll find that black ink is more likely to be used when submitting applications, official documents, and other business documents. Government documents, such as a passport application, also require the use of black ink. In some countries, they are so strict about these guidelines that they will completely reject any government correspondence classified in the wrong color. That's right. Final documents must always be signed in blue ink. Thank you for explaining the blue ink for signatures on the final documents. They should have talked about wills and powers of attorney. The color of the ink you use isn't the only potential legal pitfall signatures can bring. Let's say your spouse is out of town and you want to deposit an expense check or discount for your partner.
You could be in legal trouble. Some legal documents and financial records may require blue ink. This includes documents such as credit card applications. This is because the use of black (or any other color) can trigger indicators for fraudulent cheques or credit card applications, as they cannot tell if they are original documents versus a photocopy. However, avoid colors other than black or blue, as lighter ink colors may be washed out when copying. Some government agencies require black ink, while others require blue ink. Some reasons are: black ink, which is compatible with older scanning technology. or. Blue ink is more different from black text.
Be sure to follow the instructions on government, commercial, or financial forms for the required ink color. Without specific instructions, the choice is yours. Beware of specific pen requirements in the instructions at the top of each form you can fill out. Using the wrong color can lead to a number of issues if your form is rejected or fraudulent activity is triggered. You never want to use a pencil for important documents, as it can be erased and tampered with. Even if you're legally married and have a joint bank account, it's illegal to confirm your spouse's name on the back of a check, says Charles R. Gallagher III, an attorney at Gallagher & Associates in St. Petersburg. Petersburg, Florida.
Technically, signing someone else's name is cheating. And that could result in the cheque being denied for payment and even your arrest if your spouse were to lay charges. It is best to use blue or black ink for signatures. Avoid colors such as red, purple, and green. Blue ink signatures are easier to distinguish on papers filled with a lot of black printing. The securities company and lender will want to quickly verify the exact signatures of more than 100 pages of documents before the transaction is completed. The blue ink stands out in a sea of black ink. Plus, it's dark enough to read and appear on a copy. "Blue ink is preferred because when black ink is used, someone at the bank or credit card company may not be able to tell if they are looking at a photocopy of a signature or a signature originally inked," says Wong. CDE, a court-certified and court-qualified forensic expert. "It is easier to assume that the document is 'original' if it is signed in blue ink." And with the sophistication of today's technology, it's entirely reasonable that a copy could be mistaken for an original. It is not difficult to imagine the various documents that could be changed for shameful purposes.
These documents can include wills, contracts, deeds, promissory notes and many others. You shouldn't just use the first pen you find when it comes to signing professional or legal documents. It's important that you consider professional colors when filling out business forms. You don't want to use red, purple or green. To be sure, it is best to use blue or black ink. But determining which color is acceptable doesn't have to be difficult. "We encourage signatories to our documents to use blue ink because it contrasts with our applications, which is especially beneficial if identification issues arise in the future," says Angleton. The investment company and the lender will want to quickly review the more than 100 pages of documents to obtain accurate signatures before closing the transaction. The blue ink stands out in a sea of black ink. Plus, it's dark enough to read and appear on a copy.
Blue ink is also valuable when it comes to learning and other creative goals. Blue ink (and colors other than black) help improve memory response and have positive effects on the brain. They also help keep the creative juice flowing. However, the pen is more powerful than the sword. (Ask anyone who regrets signing their timeshare agreement.) So what color of ink is officially legal? All colors work. As soon as someone puts his name on paper, he wants the words above his signature to become an indisputable law. For this reason, legal documents have strict rules designed to avoid loopholes, subsequent negotiations, and future litigation. In most cases, for example, legal documents must be signed with a pen. The use of other writing tools is rare: you don't want to sign a legally binding document in pencil – although a signature with a pencil is still legally binding, despite what you might have suspected. You could sign with a pencil, and the document would still be legitimate.
However, most people know that it is not recommended because common sense dictates the use of permanent ink. Pencil marks can be removed and the validity of the document questioned. Blue ink is also valuable when it comes to learning and other creative goals. Blue ink (and colors other than black) help improve memory response and have positive effects on the brain. They also help to make creative juice flow.


Censoring Evolution is Not the Answer - Evolution News & Views
Evolution News and Views
Censoring Evolution is Not the Answer
According to a report from the Montreal (CA) Gazette some parents in the Quebec town of Salluit don't want their children learning about evolution.
Alexandre April, who teaches French and physical science to students in Grades 7 and 8, said he was told repeatedly by the principal to stop teaching evolution, for fear of hurting their students' religious beliefs.
I suspect that the parents are more concerned that their students are being taught evolution dogmatically, without any exposure to the science that challenges it. The way to avoid these kind of problems of course is to teach the scientific evidence for evolution, as well as the sceintific evidence against it. Were they to teach evolution critically, students would be more interested, and the parents would probably stop complaining.


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Finding best grains if Idaho's climate changes
by Bill Loftus
Aberdeen Research and Extension Center-based wheat breeder Jianli Chen will have a lot of wheat to analyze as part of a five-year project to assess the waterand fertilizer-use efficiency of 3,000 wheat and barley lines.
The lines are part of the National Small Grains Collection maintained by the USDA Agricultural Research Service at Aberdeen as a genebank to represent the global diversity of small grains.
Chen's $750,000 research is part of a $25 million project led by University of California at Davis to help farmers nationwide prepare for climate change. "It will be a big job because we will be growing three plots of each line, so we will be monitoring 1,800 plots for each of the next five years," Chen said.
Chen's preliminary research into drought stress supported by the Idaho Wheat Commission helped her to become a key part of the grant by conducting the phenotypic screening for waterand nitrogen-use efficiency.
Aberdeen provides a perfect location for the project, she said. Because the region's rainfall averages 10 inches a year, grain production relies on irrigation. Simulating drought conditions simply means turning off or reducing the water supply.
Support from the USDA-ARS Special Collaborative Agreement Grant allowed Chen to prepare for the new project by starting to grow the wheat and barley lines in 2009 to increase the amount of seed needed for her research.
The project will be the first effort in the genebank's history to measure the water and nitrogen efficiency of various wheat and barley lines in the collection.
Contact Jianli Chen at _EMAIL_.
Learn more about the National Small Grains Collection at Aberdeen. ars.usda.gov/research/projects/projects.htm?accn_no=413018
Learn about the University of Idaho Aberdeen Research & Extension Center
Minimum size increase could help Idaho potato producers boost profits
by Mary Ann Reese
Idaho fresh-potato revenues could increase by $130 million annually, and Idaho dehydrated potato revenue could increase by $20 million, if the minimum size for fresh market potatoes were increased from 4 to 5 ounces.
That's the finding University of Idaho Extension Economist Joe Guenthner and CALS graduate student Whitney Plant Goodwin, both of Moscow, shared with the Idaho Grower Shippers Association at a summer conference in Sun Valley.
"That size shift would divert an average of 5 million cwt from Idaho's fresh to its dehydrated potato market each year," said Guenthner, also a professor in CALS Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. "Our studies show that decision could make sense because the dehydrated potato market is more elastic than is the fresh potato market."
The Idaho Potato Commission hired the university economists to conduct this study, "because of the recent downward trend of the demand for fresh potatoes in the marketplace," said Guenthner, a trend troublesome to both the Idaho potato industry and Idaho's economy.
The UI study and consumer research will be presented to shippers, growers, and processors "during our November Whistlestop Tour to seek further feedback," said Frank Muir, head of the Idaho Potato Commission, _URL_. "Both study and tour feedback need to be considered together as the Idaho potato industry decides on this important issue."
Contact Joe Guenthner at _EMAIL_
E. coli vaccine advances, puzzle remains
by Bill Loftus
What's bad for beef eaters may be good for the beef cattle, says Carolyn Hovde Bohach, a CALS microbiologist and School of Food Science faculty member.
That is no consolation to those who have suffered devastating losses to E. coli O157:H7, but it reflects the difficult puzzle the bacterium presents. Bohach talked about her work with E. coli as part of the Science on Tap series in Moscow sponsored by the Idaho IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence _URL_ which she directs.
As part of long-term research on a potential vaccine for cattle against E. coli O157:H7, Bohach has discovered how the bacteria colonize in the gut of cattle. The bacterial serotype is feared for its lethal threat to people, particularly the young and old.
Cattle and a host of other animals can carry with no ill effects the E. coli strain so threatening to people. It appears that O157:H7 may even benefit cattle, providing immunity from bovine leukemia virus.
Questioned about cattle producers' exposure to O157:H7, Bohach noted studies show healthy rural residents from both beef and dairy areas carry antibodies for higher exposures to the bacteria than do city folk. That suggests people candevelop immunity.
Conditions in meat processing plants have improved to lessen the risk of O157:H7 contamination, but she advised against eating sprouts because growing conditions multiply even a tiny risk. Bohach championed food irradiation as an ideal solution, adding that all foods aboard U.S. Navy submarines are irradiated to combat disease threats and protect shelf life and nutritional benefits.
Contact Carolyn Hovde Bohach at _EMAIL_
Young students focus on Idaho-grown foods
Bannock County students from seven elementary schools who attend EFNEP afterschool programs from October through April will learn to cook Idaho-grown foods as part of The Year of Idaho Foods (YIF), a celebration of some 90 food crops grown in Idaho.
"We'll teach the children to make healthy, tasty dishes using potatoes, beans, fruits, hamburger, cheese, and other foods grown in Idaho," says Char Byington, University of Idaho Extension educator in Bannock County.
EFNEP—Idaho's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program—afterschool programs serve students from grades 1 to 6 who are eligible for free school lunches. Nutrition fundamentals and healthy, economical dishes are the focus of 1-hour afterschool sessions at least once a month where youth actually help prepare foods they then eat. "Helping students be aware of foods grown nearby and the nutrition they bring is a good tool for us," says Byington. EFNEP is funded by the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Founded by the Treasure Valley Food Coalition and Meadowlark Farm, Nampa, the Year of Idaho Food includes University of Idaho Extension as a partner. It piggybacks on the Idaho State Department of Agriculture's September-long celebrations of Idaho Preferred, a label alerting grocery store customers to foods grown in Idaho.
See The Year of Idaho Food _URL_ and Idaho Preferred idahopreferred.com
Contact Char Byington at _EMAIL_
Also see Bannock County's Stretching Your Food Dollarswww.uidaho.edu/extension/bannock/pages/stretchingyourfooddollars
UI Extension scientists help Idaho counties fight noxious weeds
by Mary Ann Reese
INVASIVE NOXIOUS WEEDS COST IDAHO AN ESTIMATED $300 million a year in damages to livestock and wildlife and their habitats, agricultural crops, and degradation of recreation areas. University of Idaho weed scientists are developing and teaching methods to better detect and predict the spread of this weed menace.
"You can't eradicate a weed until you know where it is," a big issue in Idaho's vast wild areas, says Tim Prather, Moscow, UI Extension weed specialist for the Department of Plant, Soils, and Entomological Sciences. "If you can determine how weeds will spread, then you can better target eradication efforts."
Prather believes his team leads the nation in creating on-the-ground adaptive surveys that combine emphasis on human activity and understanding of plant dispersal patterns to predict weed locations. His team has also created a process to show which plant communities are susceptible to invasion by a weed species to further focus survey efforts.
Prather also is lead author of UI Extension's popular 140-page Idaho's Noxious Weeds, 5th Edition pocket guide and the 72-page Idaho's Noxious Weeds 2011 Control Guidelines. (Find them at _URL_
How Lemhi County uses weed models
In Salmon, Lemhi County Weed Superintendent Daniel Bertram uses Prather's models to detect Rush skeletonweed (Chondrilla juncea), tricky because of its high germination rate and dandelion-like papas enabling seed to travel miles in wind currents.
"Tim has taken our known Rush infestations and run them through our wind patterns. This allows us to focus on areas of high probability for seed dispersal," says Bertram. He also uses Prather's model to determine in which areas the seeds are likely to germinate.
He praises Prather's help, "especially when, due to budget cuts from every avenue, weed control crews are forced to do more with less. The problem with invasive species is they don't take a break."
Good news. Bertram's good news is, of 21 noxious weeds infesting 100,000 Lemhi County acres, "We have eradicated Dyers woad, Saltcedar, yellow starthistle, and we currently are trying to eradicate Japanese knotweed, puncturevine, and perennial pepperweed."
Working with Prather from UI CALS are Larry Lass, Bahman Shafii, Steve Cook, Bill Price, and Sandya Kesoju; from University of Montana are Woodam Chung and Tyron Venn.
The team also collaborates with Montana State University to prevent invasive species from crossing the Continental Divide, a program coordinated by MSU's Kim Goodwin.
Contact Tim Prather at _EMAIL_
Also see Lemhi Cooperative Weed Management Area _URL_
Indicators Northwest website now includes 2010 census figures
Populations for Idaho, Washington


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Editor's note: The following article was contributed by Mark Connor and Tim Green of the U.S. Department of Labor. The content may be edited for clarity, style and length. Find more information at _URL_
Transitioning out of the military can leave you with a lot of unanswered questions. You many be wondering:
- How can I find a new job that compliments my skills and interests?
- Where can I find free local resources?
- How can I prepare for applying and interviewing for jobs?
- What benefits are available at my new job, and how do they differ from my military benefits?
- Am I on target to meet my retirement and other savings goals?
- How can I balance competing goals for my savings ― like college savings, a new car or retirement?
Here are some resources to get you started on finding answers:
1. Veterans' Employment and Training Service
The Labor Department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service, or VETS, can help prepare you for a civilian career, including employment and transition assistance. Visit veterans.gov or download the department's free Employment Assistance Workshop eBook. From planning your transition to finding civilian employment to researching local labor markets, these resources will help you plot your path.
2. Employee Benefits Security Administration
Check out publications, worksheets and online tools from the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA. These can help you learn about saving for retirement, making the most of your private sector employer's benefits and financial planning.
3. Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs can provide a lot of assistance to transitioning service members. And they can help you make the most of your retirement benefits if you take a position within the federal government.
4. Labor Department webcast
This Labor Department webcast can also be a valuable tool. Representatives from VETS, EBSA, the VA and the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards provide information to help you find employment, employee benefits and financial planning resources.


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Photo Courtesy of Prensa Obreros Zanon
While many workers around the world are worried about downsizing, lay-offs and how to protect their jobs, workers in Argentina have come up with their own solution to business closures – Occupy, Resist and Produce. Many factories, like the Zanon Ceramics plant, have been running without bosses for almost a decade. In response to a financial crisis in 2001 that wrecked Argentina's economy, workers decided to occupy their workplaces and start up production without bosses in order to safe-guard their jobs.
Zanon Ceramics, now known as FASINPAT (Factory without a boss), has re-defined the basis of production: without workers, bosses are unable to run businesses; without bosses, workers can do it better. As the largest recuperated factory in Argentina, and occupied since 2001, the Zanon ceramics plant in the Patagonian province of Neuquén now employs 470 workers.
This month, the FASINPAT collective is a step closer in winning permanent control of the factory. The provincial government presented a bill in the provincial legislature for the expropriation of the factory. If this bill is passed, and it looks favorable, it would mean a solution to the workers' long standing legal woes.
Since the plant began production under worker control in 2002, they have faced numerous eviction threats and other violent attacks. The government has tried to evict them five times using police operatives. On April 8, 2003, during the most recent eviction attempt, over 5,000 community members from Neuquén came out to defend the factory.
In a press release, the worker collective said that the legislature received the bill was a positive step. "The historic progress we made today was the result of a hard fight. The collective struggle and mobilization of Worker Self-management, along with the workers in this country, community support and international recognition has made this possible."
In 2001, Zanon's owners decided to close their doors and fire the workers without paying months of back pay or indemnity. Leading up to the massive layoffs and the plant's closure, workers went on strike in 2000. The owner, Luis Zanon with over 75 million dollars in debt to public and private creditors, fired en masse most of the workers and closed the factory in 2001—a bosses' lockout. In October 2001, workers declared the plant under worker control. The workers camped outside the factory for four months, pamphleting and partially blocking a highway leading to the capital city Neuquén. While the workers were camping outside the factory, a court ruled that the employees could sell off remaining stock. After the stock ran out, on March 2, 2002, the workers' assembly voted to start up production without a boss. For more than eight years, FASINPAT has created jobs, supported community projects and shown the world that we don't need bosses.
Luis Zanon's debts of over $70 million are still outstanding, while many of the creditors want their money back, pushing for the eviction and foreclosure of the ceramics plant. The current bill presented in the legislature would mean that the state would pay off 22 million pesos (around $7 million) to the creditors. One of the main creditors is the World Bank – which gave a loan of 20 million dollars to Luis Zanon for the construction of the plant, which he never paid back. The other major creditor is the Italian company SACMY that produces state of the art ceramics manufacturing machinery and is owed over $5 million.
Omar Villablanca, a worker at Zanon said that the workers are most concerned about providing job continuity – safeguarding the 470 jobs that the factory without a boss have created and maintained since 2001. He stressed that FASINPAT needs a formal long-term legal solution in order to survive as a competitive business in a faltering economy.
"The state needs to make laws so that workers can work. In eight years we haven't asked the state for anything other than an expropriation law," said Jose Luis Paris, another worker from FASINPAT.
Economic Crisis Grips Argentina
Argentina is in a better position than other Latin American nations in the face of the deepening global crisis. From 2003 to 2007, Argentina enjoyed a high economic growth rate, between 8 and 9 percent. However, with the global economy in recession the nation's growth has come to a halt, and it is expected that Argentina will see a drastic drop Gross Domestic Product in 2010.
Many independent analysts expect that the global recession will affect Argentina's real economy, that's to say industry and employment rates will suffer from the crisis, rather than the financial sector which already took a major blow in 2001. Those who benefited from Argentina's economic recovery of course are now those who are using this crisis as an excuse to downsize and lay-off workers.
The current government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has bolstered that unemployment has gone done from the staggering numbers post-2001 crisis. Many of those jobs are subcontracted and underpaid. Official unemployment statistics, which have been under fire for being conveniently inaccurate, report unemployment at 8 percent. However, many independent analysts say that the actual rate is much higher. Eduardo Lucita, economist from Economists of the Left said that analysts don't have exact numbers because many of the firings are of workers without formal contracts and can't be tracked. "Argentina has already had a crisis in the financial sector in 2001. The current crisis is directly affecting Argentina's real economy. Since October, there are more than 50,000 people who are now unemployed. There have been mass firings, lay-offs and pay cuts."
Workers Paying for the Crisis
In the failing economy, the jobs at FASINPAT are more important than ever. But the government seems to have all but forgotten that the recuperated enterprises and worker cooperatives provide nearly 20,000 jobs for Argentina, while the government has failed to provide a long-term legal solution to the workers without bosses or subsidies that standard businesses regularly have access to.
Another factor in the struggle at FASINPAT is the lack of subsidies for the cooperative. Sales have dropped by 40-50 percent since 2008 due to a radical slow-down in the construction industry nationally.
"Because of the drop in construction, we aren't producing as much," says Paris. In 2006, the plant produced 400,000 square meters of ceramics per month, today that number has gone down to 150,000 square meters per month. The cooperative has had to shut off some of the ovens and shorten production shifts. On top of this drop; the workers controlling the factory have had to face sky-rocketing energy prices. The workers pay over 300,000 dollars a month for electricity and gas. And for Paris, the workers should not have to pay more than other businesses do: "Many industry leaders get government energy subsidies up to 70 percent. We want to buy directly from the gas companies to lower our costs or receive subsidies that we are entitled to."
Many of the 200 worker controlled businesses and factories in Argentina are being affected by the crisis. But unlike their capitalist counterparts, the worker cooperatives are taking any measure possible to avoid laying off workers, something which they are opposed to doing.
"We aren't like the capitalists. You can't throw workers out like they are lice," said Candido Gonzalez, a veteran worker from Chilavert worker occupied print factory in Buenos Aires, one of the first occupied plants after the 2001 crisis.
During the Argentina's financial crisis in 2001, he occupied his workplace and fought until he and his fellow workers won legal recognition. Now that business is slowing down, many assemblies at the worker occupied factories would rather accept collective pay cuts, than their fellow workers lose their jobs.
When Capitalism Fails – Occupy, Resist and Produce
Capitalism has taken a turn for the worse, spinning itself out of control into a downward spiral which many are characterizing as the second depression of the century. And during this crisis, there are going to be winners and losers. The winners? Most likely big business and banks receiving bailout plans. The losers? The millions who are facing unemployment, dropping wages and inflation.
"During a capitalist crisis, when the businessmen and governments are trying to unload all their responsibilities onto the workers of the world, Zanon under worker self-management, is a clear example of how workers can come out of this crisis," say the workers at FASINPAT.
Since late 2008 there have been several new factory takeovers in Argentina. Many workers from the newly occupied factories say that their bosses saw the crisis as the perfect opportunity to clear their debts by closing up shop, fraudulently liquidating assets, firing workers and later re-start production under a new firm.
"[However] Many companies are still open because they are afraid of the recovered factory phenomenon; we have to keep them scared," said Paris from Zanon. In almost all of the newly recuperated factories, the workers suggest that the owners had no real reason to close up shop – meaning that the businesses had production demand. I have heard workers on numerous occasions say that during the crisis, the bosses are taking advantage of the situation of a recession.
The worker controlled factories and businesses occupied after 2001 may not be by themselves a social revolution, but the example of worker self-management has helped many workers today facing the possibility of losing their jobs with the idea that they can occupy their workplace in order to defend their rights as laborers. Nearly 10 factories have been occupied since 2008. This may be a sign that workers are confronting the global financial crisis with lessons and tools


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—(2010) The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 19:3, 322 - 357.
This article explores heterogeneity as fundamental to learning. Inspired by Bakhtin's notion of heteroglossia, a design team consisting of an experienced classroom teacher and 2 researchers investigated how a class of 3rd and 4th graders came to understand disciplinary points of view on heat, heat transfer, and the particulate nature of matter. Through a series of planned and unplanned encounters, official versions of the Second Law of Thermodynamics and the particulate view of matter were juxtaposed with varied domains of experience of heat transfer and phase change in water. We analyze the children's discourse to examine how they populated these phenomena with meaning and what they learned in the process. We conclude by describing key principles and a conundrum that emerged from this research.


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Nttheng means to divine; ma, with, of; yonggo is a Mendi word referring to the apparatus; le is the article [ Sherbro]. The pieces are thrown on the ground, and certain ones selected and arranged in lines of differing lengths and directions; from these the ttheng no [ diviner] foretells good or ill fortune.
Museum Expedition to Sierra Leone, _PHONE_; Henry Usher Hall
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