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amotif amotif No Silver Bullet
Niner since 2004
I moved! Find me at _URL_
 - Programming in the Age of Concurrency - Anders Hejlsberg and Joe Duffy: Concurrent Programming with
 Good video.
 littleguru wrote:
 I would like to know how you guys make sure that function a(i) isn't calling a x(...) that relies on a global variable (like a singleton).
 That's an interesting thought. I have no particular insight into the answer, but I'm guessing it would be quite difficult to implement due to at least a couple reasons:
 a) To generalize your question (correctly, I hope), it's not just globals that are a concern, it's any shared state--is your lambda expression using shared state in a thread-safe fashion? Here's a simple non-global example:
 R r = new R();
 Parallel.For(0, 1000,
 i => {
 int v = r.Next(1, 6);
 Here we have N threads accessing r. How do you determine whether r is being used in a thread-safe manner? If you know that class R is not thread-safe, then this code isn't either. But how would a compiler or runtime determine whether this is safe, through static or run-time analysis of all the possible code paths? This seems to me to be a rather difficult problem.
 b) Aside from the difficultly of analyzing the code, how do you define what's "correct?" If I substitute a thread-safe class for R how would you now determine that the use of r is now thread-safe? Perhaps analysis would show the use of a locking mechanism? What if the new class is written using a lockless technique, how would you determine whether it's safe or not?
 As mentioned in the video some problems require shared state and some problems don't. For example, consider applying update operations to a graph in parallel. Shared state isn't a side effect here; in fact, the whole point is to update shared state. How would analysis take that into account?
 It's an interesting thought, though. Smiley
 stevetei wrote:
 ...we know that C++ developers are secure and self-confident in their own coolness and don't need all of that public relations stuff to tell them they're cool.
 I like to think we're also less distracted by bright, shiny objects. Tongue Out
 - Simon Peyton-Jones: Towards a Programming Language Nirvana
 Great video!
 - ARCast.net - Service Oriented Infrastructure (Part 2)
 FWIW, the WMA/MP3 link buttons are reversed.
 - ARCast.net - Someone Actually Doing SOA
 TomS wrote:
 Seriously, I couldn't take more than few minutes of this guy.
 I took 31 minutes of it and think Ron did an adequate job of simplifying or digging deeper when Chris' answers sounded opaque or insubstantial. Some parts of this business involve a lot of new terminology, architecture and SOA being among them.
 - Jim Allchin: It's time - Windows Vista RTM
 Nice interview. Smiley
 When you mention creating a Media Center add-in for C9, can I assume that you folks are planning on using Vista's RSS engine to download the C9 Videos feed (maybe Podcasts, too) and using the RSS engine's capability to automatically download the video file (background transfer via BITS, of course) and make that available for viewing?
 Just an idea I've had. Smiley
 - Scoble: Exit Stage Left
 Nice interview on both sides of the camera.
 Robert, good luck on your new venture! And the one beyond that, and the one beyond that, and the one beyond that!
 - VC++: Safe Libraries with Martyn Lovell
 leighsword wrote:
 Thanks, MS seems evil, but their employees have always been care about their customers.
 Martyn, I think that's a compliment. Smiley
 leighsword wrote:
 Here I have a problem on sizeof. the following foo shows szDen[] and strDen[] both are the same array, why sz!= sz1?
 sz is the size of the character array you've declared on the stack. sz1 is the size of the char* you've passed to the function. You've declared it as char[], but the compiler really passes a char*, not the full array. Someone (Sven?) can probably put that in C++ specification-compliant terms. Smiley
 leighsword wrote:
 And what's the difference between strcpy_s and strncpy and memcpy?
 It's probably better to compare strncpy_s to strncpy since they do the same thing. (strcpy_s copies a whole string, strncpy copies N characters.)
 strncpy_s returns error information where strncpy does not. It's difficult to write "good" code with strncpy (where "good" means checking for errors). strncpy does not return an error code because it doesn't know the size of the output buffer.
 EDIT: Oh, and memcpy is ignorant of types and their sizes. It copies bytes, not characters. With it you can do things like:
 int i;
 memcpy(&i, "Hello, world", sizeof(i));
 Which you just about never want to do. If you know you're copying strings, use the string functions--the compiler can do more type checking for you.
 leighsword wrote:
 char* strcopy(char strDen[]/*char* strDen*/, const char* strSou)
 size_t sz1 = sizeof(strDen); //sz1 always be 4?
 _ASSERT(szDen && sizeof(strDen) >= strlen(strSou));
 char* p = NULL;
 for(p = strDen;*strDen++ = *strSou++; );
 return p;
 int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
 char szDen[6];
 size_t sz = sizeof(szDen); //sz == 6
 memset(szDen, 0, sizeof(szDen))
 strcopy(szDen, "hello");
 return 0;
 - Alan Cooper - Questions after his keynote
 Karim wrote:
 Once I'm at the point where I can describe the problem in my own words, the customer's eyes light up and they go "Yes! Finally, someone who understands the problem."
 Isn't that the funnest reaction? It's strongest when the customer can't quite clearly describe the problem they're trying to solve and you wrap it up nicely in a little box with a bow and hand it back to them. "Zounds! That's it!"
 Some aspects of this field really are satisfying. How odd that it involves people. Wink
 - Jenny Lam - Designing Experiences at Microsoft
 Great interview. Good questions, Robert.
See more comments…


text:
This page explains how to import and export SLEUTH image data using ArcInfo Grid.
The world file contains cell size and geographic corner point information for a particular image. It is created when a grid is exported from ArcInfo using the command GRIDIMAGE and can be used import that image, or another image derived from the same, back into Arc using the command IMAGEGRID. It is related to an image by its file name. (e.g.; the world file output.tfw refers to the image file output.tif). The data contained in the world file is general to all grids with the same geographic extent and are therefore transferable between files. See the Arc Docs for more information on world files.
A grid of urban extent is transformed into a TIFF image as part of processing input data for SLEUTH.
Arc: gridimage urban_data # urban_data.tif TIFF
Two files will be generated from this command: urban_data.tif and urban_data.tfw. The first file is the new TIFF image. The second is the world file and contains geo-reference information.
Now let's say we have a SLEUTH output file that has the same extent as urban_data.tif and we'd like to bring it into a ArcInfo for analysis. SLEUTH uses GIF images as input and generates GIFs as output. Therefore the GIFs first need to be transformed into an ArcInfo friendly image format (such as TIFF) using an image editor software such as xv or Photoshop.
sleuth_output.gif -> sleuth_output.tif
Next the TIFF image can be brought into Arc using the IMAGEGRID command. In order for the image to be geo-registered after the import the a related world file must be in the same directory as the TIFF file being imported.
In a directory:
Arc: imagegrid sleuth_output.tif sleuth_output
Use PROJECTDEFINE to define the new grid's projection.
back to Build Products

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
White Leghorns are prolific layers that rarely go broody and are non-sitters unless left undisturbed. Eggs are white and of good size and are laid throughout the year. Chicks are easy to rear. White Leghorn feather up quickly, are fast growers and mature quickly, but they are not a large breed. The comb is large so care needs to be taken in cold, frosty weather to avoid frostbite. They can be left to roam freely but are just as happy in a run. White Leghorn are sprightly, alert birds and can be tamed but not enough to allow handling and prefer to remain rather aloof. They can be rather noisy and will roost in trees given the chance. They are not good as table birds as they aren't very meaty.
Over 45 years of scientific breeding research have gone into the development of this layer through a blending of special strains of White Leghorns. Fully grown Leghorn cocks weigh 3.4 kg, hens 2.5 kg; cockerels weigh 2.7–2.95 kg and pullets 2–2.25 kg. They start laying at 4 1/2 to 5 months, and will continue laying 10 to 12 weeks longer than most good layers. Livability and resistance to disease are very high, and the feed to egg conversion ratio is excellent, holding down the cost of egg production. Leghorn will lay the most eggs of top grade and size, of uniform shape, good shell, and highest interior quality, and do it on the least feed and in smallest amount of space.
We only sell our White Leghorn at day old only (no older) at Ksh120 each.
The White Leghorn is a breed of chicken originating in Tuscany, in central Italy. Birds were first exported to North America in 1828 from the port city of Livorno, on the western coast of Tuscany. They were initially called "Italians", but by 1865 the breed was known as "Leghorn", the traditional anglicisation of "Livorno". Leghorns are commonly used as layer chickens in many countries of the world. Other Leghorn varieties are less common.Google+


text:
Media Watch Archives
Mohammad Al Faruque, the director of UCI's Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab, led the team which showed that a simple device, such as a smartphone, can capture acoustic signals that carry information about the precise movements of the printer's nozzle. These recordings can then be used to reverse engineer whatever object is being printed and re-create it somewhere else. Basically, this poses a huge security risk due to how easily detailed and confidential processes can be deciphered using common, everyday gadgets.
Industrial spies could accurately'steal' 3D objects by recording the sound of them being produced on a 3D printer. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, have demonstrated a method by which a 3D design could be reverse-engineered by analysing the vibrations picked up from a common 3D printer.
The team of researchers at UCI's Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab, led by Mohammad Al Faruque, were able to recreate a 3D-printed key-shaped object with 90 percent accuracy using the sound copying and processing technique they developed.
The team, led by Mohammad Al Faruque, director of UCI's Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab, showed that a device as ordinary and ubiquitous as a smartphone can be placed next to a machine and capture acoustic signals that carry information about the precise movements of the printer's nozzle. The recording can then be used to reverse engineer the object being printed and re-create it elsewhere. Detailed processes may be decoded through this new kind of cyberattack, presenting important security risks.
Gizmodo UK -
Mohammad Al Faruque of the Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems lab. "According to the fundamental laws of physics, energy is not consumed; it's converted from one form to another -- electromagnetic to kinetic, for example. Some forms of energy are translated in meaningful and useful ways; others become emissions, which may unintentionally disclose secret information," he explained, in a complicated way of saying making stuff = sound clues. Like, you could fake a chair by listening to the chipping sounds of a carpenter.
Maine News Online -
A team of researchers, headed by Mohammad Al Faruque at the University of California in Irvine, displayed the possibility of rebuilding a 3D model on the basis of the audio of the printer, while in operation. The position and movements of a 3D printer's extruder can be determined through the sounds made by it during work.
Led by Mohammad Al Faruque, director of the Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems lab, the team found that placing a smartphone alongside the machine as it printed objects layer-by-layer enabled them to capture the acoustic signals. It says that these recordings contain information about the precise movement of the nozzle, and that information can later be used to reverse engineer the item being printed.
In research demonstrating that industrial espionage may be as simple as opening a recording app on your smartphone, a team led by Professor Mohammad Al Faruque at the University of California at Irvine has shown that it is possible to reconstruct a 3D model based solely on audio of the printer in action.
To the average visitor to the RapidTech prototyping center at University of California, Irvine, the methodical buzz of its 3-D printers would be nothing more than background noise. But to Mohammad Al Faruque, that hum is valuable information.
Your 3D printer is telling people what it's making CNET - 12 hours ago In research demonstrating that industrial espionage may be as simple as opening a recording app on your smartphone, a team led by Professor Mohammad Al Faruque at the University of -
"In many manufacturing plants, people who work on a shift basis don't get monitored for their smartphones, for example," said Mohammad Al Faruque, director of UCI's Advanced Integrated Cyber-Physical Systems Lab. "If process and product information is stolen during the prototyping phases, companies stand to incur large financial losses. There's no way to protect these systems from such an attack today, but possibly there will be in the future."


How Did Edgar Allan Poe's Mother Die?
The death of Edgar Allan Poe on October 7, 1849, has remained strange: the conditions leading up to it are unsure and the source of death is doubtful. Poe, born on January 19, 1809 was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered a member of the American Romantic Movement. Best recognized for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the first American consultants of the short story and is considered the originator of the detective fiction genre
Q&A Related to "How Did Edgar Allan Poe's Mother Die?"
Edgar Allen Poe's mother perished from tuberculosis when he was only about 2 years old. She was on tour as an actress in Baltimore, Maryland when she passed.
Edgar Allan Poe's birth mother was Elizabeth Arnold Poe. She died December 8, 1811, in Richmond, Virginia, of unknown cases (possibly pneumonia). Edgar was two years old when she
she died of the red death which is TB.
How did Edgar Allan Poe die? Nobody really knows. There are many theories regarding what happened to the famous author and poet, but in the end, his exact cause of death on Oct. 7
Explore this Topic
Edgar Allan Poe's father abandoned him when he was young and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was two years old. His foster parents appear to have died...
Edgar Allan Poe came to live with the wealthy Allan family in Richmond after the death of his mother. With no other family to care for him, Poe was taken in but...
Edgar Allan Poe's dark nature can be attributed to his unstable childhood. When he was a young boy, his mother died of tuberculosis and this left him and his siblings...


text:
These messages are caused by common misunderstanding of the Prolog interactive toplevel. Both (:-)/1 and (?-)/1 are used to specify queries. If some text reads
?- is the prompt and should not be typed. Repeating the
prompt results in:
?-?- prove(X). ERROR: Undefined procedure: (?-)/1 ERROR:?- is the Prolog prompt ERROR: See FAQ at _URL_
Terms that you enter at the toplevel are processes as queries, while terms that appear in a file that is loaded into Prolog is processed as a set of rules and facts. If a text reads as below, this is a rule.
carnivore(X) :- animal(X), eats_meat(X).
Trying to enter this at the toplevel results in the error below. Why? Because a rule is a term :-(Head, Body), and because the toplevel interprets terms as queries. There is no predicate with the name :- and two arguments.
?- carnivore(X) :- animal(X), eats_meat(X). ERROR: Undefined procedure: (:-)/2 ERROR: Rules must be loaded from a file ERROR: See FAQ at _URL_
Isn't this stupid? Well, no. Suppose we have a term
If this appears in a file, it states the fact that
rataplan eats meat. If
it appears at the toplevel, it asks Prolog to try proving whether rataplan
If a text reads
This is a directive. Directives are similar to queries, but instead of asking the toplevel to do something, they ask the compiler to do something. Like rules and facts, such terms belong in files.
Can I add rules and facts from the toplevel?
Yes. There are two ways. One is to consult
user, as illustrated below.
Where is says
, you must type the character for end-of-file, which
is Control-D on most systems.
?- [user]. |: carnivore(X) :- animal(X), eats_meat(X). |: % user://1 compiled 0.00 sec, 880 bytes true.
?- assert((carnivore(X) :- animal(X), eats_meat(X))).
We advice to use an editor to make a file with rules and load this using
the command below. Prolog files use the extension
.pl, which you do
not have to specify for loading the file. You may use any other extension,
but this requires you to add the extension and quotes to turn this into
valid Prolog syntax. For example:
Note that you can easily update your rules by editing the file and typing the command below. The make/0 predicate reloads all files that have been modified, replacing old rules loaded from that file with the current content of the file.
Can I put queries in files?
Yes. As we have seen above, there are directives for the compiler that
are written as
:- Term.. Here, Term must be recognized as a valid
directive by the compiler (SWI-Prolog doesn't enforce this, but some other
Prolog implementations do). You can specify arbitrary Prolog code that
is executed after loading the file using e.g.,
:- initialization format('Hello world!~n').

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


to implementing such policies in a small number of prioritized nations have proven to be highly effective in reducing extreme poverty.
 4. Denmark manages its foreign aid spending and implementation through DANIDA, the Danish International Development Agency. DANIDA's top priorities for 2020 are advancing human rights and equality, developing sustainable green growth, providing humane asylum for displaced people and maintaining international cooperation in all global efforts. Denmark's foreign aid reaches over 70 low-and-middle-income countries, but those of the highest urgency include Afghanistan, Somalia and Niger. Efforts in Afghanistan largely center around education as Danish aid provides teacher education, updated textbooks and curriculum development. In Somalia, DANIDA works to develop safety nets, human rights advancements and strengthen national and local governance. Niger receives policy advice on properly handling the irregular number of migrants in the country as well as basic delivery of living essentials to impoverished children.
 5. Denmark can still improve. While the country is one of only six to meet the U.N.'s target of 0.7% GNI in 2019 with 0.71%, this is a substantial drop from 2015 when Denmark spent 0.85% of GNI on foreign aid. Addressing this cutback, which was largely due to increased spending on refugees within the country, should be a top concern. Reverting back to 2015's percentage or higher is a positive step Denmark can take, and such a move is all the more likely now as Denmark's 2019 net migration was negative for the first time in almost a decade. As the country spends less on internal migrants, more of the Danish budget is available to supplement the once-highly-robust foreign aid sector.
One of the most effective ways developed governments can help to improve conditions in poverty-stricken nations is by properly funding and managing healthy foreign aid budgets. By taking Denmark's example, more countries should seek to meet the U.N.'s 0.7% GNI target and implement this aid in a manner that best fits the needs of impoverished individuals in low-income countries.
– Calvin Melloh
Photo: Flickr
Female Genital Mutilation in Somalia
Female genital mutilation (FGM) impacts more than 200 million women all around the world. The practice, which girls mostly experience between their infancy and teenage years, encompasses a range of procedures that involve the partial or total removal of external genitalia. It usually occurs in an informal setting without anesthesia. FGM is a global concern, but sadly there is a collection of nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia that grant it legitimacy. One of these nations is Somalia, and as the COVID-19 pandemic forces many people to stay at home, circumcisors are subjecting women to door-to-door mutilation. Here is some information about female genital mutilation in Somalia and how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting it.
A Universal Ritual
While the prevalence of FGM varies greatly across the many countries that practice it, Somalia has the highest percentage at 98% according to UNICEF. Many nations, including the United Republic of Tanzania and Togo, have met the practice with disdain and objection; however, more than half the women in Somalia think it should continue.
To most people, this would seem outside the realm of possibility, but tradition runs deep in Somalia, and disputing the practice of genital mutilation holds a gravity on par with blasphemy. The procedure itself is a family experience and a rite of passage where, according to Islamic Relief Worldwide, local women use "knives, scissors or razor blades to remove parts of the genitals, while female relatives hold the girl down."
Cutting Season
There is no law in the Somali Constitution that specifically criminalizes and punishes the practice of female genital mutilation in Somalia, so the tradition remains stable; so much so that experts recognize summer vacation as "cutting season" for girls. Breaking from school means they have time to undergo and recover from the procedure before the next school year starts.
While there is little formal data to strengthen this case, Somali circumcisors agree that the months of July and August are their peak season for FGM. They even pride themselves on the fact that girls travel from other countries like Djibouti to undergo circumcision in Somalia; however, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) saw a "massive" jump in the number of girls who underwent the procedure in 2020 due to coronavirus lockdown.
COVID-19 and FGM
The UNFPA projected that 290,000 girls experienced cutting in 2020 and that an extra 2 million girls could undergo cutting in the next decade due to the setbacks of prevention programs along with the vitality of circumcisors in their efforts to lobby the public into believing that FGM is a healthy rite of passage into womanhood. The lockdown has also led to this massive increase in FGM and the economic state has driven circumcisors to go from door to door, offering to cut the girls stuck inside. While the frequency of mutilation rises, the awareness declines as advocates cannot access communities where FGM is popular.
The pandemic has had detrimental effects on efforts to eliminate female genital mutilation in Somalia, but the country has not lost hope. Young women from all across the region are taking a stand against female genital mutilation and those who perpetuate it. The Y-Peer Youth Network is one such group. In 2002, the UNFPA founded the network to educate young people, communities and even health care workers about sexual and reproductive health. Other topics of advocacy are gender-based violence and child marriage.
While FGM is a widespread issue in Somalia, the young girls working to stop it are making waves and shaking the status quo to its core. To learn more about the Y-Peer Youth Network, check out its website.
– Matthew Hayden
Photo: Flickr
Examining Human Trafficking in SomaliaHuman trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain labor or a commercial sex act. Today, human trafficking is a modern term for slavery. Mayumi Ueno, the counter-trafficking project manager at the International Office for Migration (IOM)'s Somalia Support Office, said the scale of human trafficking in Somalia is unknown. Somal women are often trafficked to Kenya, Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates to be sexually exploited.
How Human Trafficking in Somalia Happens
Every day, Najib Jama Abdi's sister got up and walked to school. One day, she did not return. The Abdi family heard from the media that she had been trafficked to Somaliland. "By Allah's mercy she was saved," said Najib Jama Abdi to The New Humanitarian. Organizations like the Somali Police Force's criminal investigations division 40-officer Counter-Trafficking and Organized Crime Unit work to rescue girls who have been kidnapped off the street and sold into human trafficking, like Abdi's sister.
Human Trafficking in Somalia is a widespread issue. Women and girls are sometimes lied to and offered job opportunities, marriage or education in far-away places and then sold into sex slavery. In 2009, IOM began the Counter-Trafficking Project for Somalia. In Puntland and Somaliland, its activities included promoting awareness and informing citizens of the risks and dangers of being trafficked through media such as billboards.
History of Trafficking in Somalia
For decades, military dictator Siad Barre committed widespread atrocities, which effectively destroyed Somali civil society. Then, in May 1991, Barre was overthrown. The east desert region of Somalia declared itself the "Republic of Somaliland" after the overthrow of Barre. Somaliland now has a population of 3.5 million people, a functional political system, its own currency and a police force.
Before 1991, the federal and regional laws criminalized slave labor and certain forms of sex trafficking. Then, after Barre was overthrown, No progress was reported again until September 2017, when a human trafficking law was drafted and endorsed by Somaliland.
What's Happening Now
Officials said they are concerned about the increasing amount of human trafficking in Somalia, specifically in the region of Somaliland. This region lies in the south-central region of Somalia. As a result, the lack of government in Somaliland makes child trafficking easier for traffickers to get away with. In November 2017, the city-state of Puntland in northeastern Somalia made valid a human trafficking legislative framework. It was made of new criminal procedures, penal codes and laws that specifically prohibit trafficking. The authorities recorded two trafficking cases that involved six individuals in 2020, during the period the U.S. government reported on the issue.
The Trafficking and Smuggling Task Force was the government's anti-trafficking coordinating body. However, slow steps are being taken by the government to mitigate human trafficking in Somalia. Nevertheless, new anti-trafficking initiatives are moving in the right direction to end human trafficking in Somalia.
Madeline Drayna
Photo: Flickr


51st Sydney Film Festival--Part 2
A timely and disturbing drama
Blind Flight, written and directed by John Furse
By Richard Phillips
13 July 2004
Blind Flight, written and directed by John Furse, is a compassionate and at times disturbing depiction of the illegal detention of Irish teacher Brian Keenan (played by Ian Hart) and English journalist John McCarthy (Linus Roache) by Islamic fundamentalists in Lebanon in 1986.
Kennan taught English at the American University in Lebanon and was kidnapped by four Shiite militiamen outside his Beirut home on April 11, 1986. Forced into a waiting car, he was taken to a secret prison, stripped of his clothes and kept in solitary confinement and total darkness for months. He began to lose all sense of reality until he was moved to a new location and placed in a cell with McCarthy, who had been captured a week after writing an article on the Irishman's seizure. They were among a number of UK and American civilians, including Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite, who were held hostage at the time.
Deprived of any contact with the outside world, Kennan and McCarthy, ostensibly from different social and political backgrounds, developed an extraordinary relationship—one that helped them maintain their sanity and endure years of physical and psychological abuse.
Keenan hailed from working-class Belfast and was a supporter of the Irish Republican movement. He defiantly refused to submit to the dictates of his jailers and at first clashed with McCarthy, a quietly spoken and well-educated middle-class Englishman. Slowly, however, the two men discovered that they had much in common.
Blind Flight carefully explores the complexity of this friendship—how it developed and was sustained—and its impact on the two men's jailers.
Keenan and McCarthy were kept blindfolded whenever their jailers were present. They had no access to newspapers, radio or television, and no idea how long they would be held. Keenan was eventually released in August 1990, after four-and-a-half years, and McCarthy a year later, following negotiations between the Irish, British, Syrian and Iranian governments.
Apart from the kidnapping and a couple of scenes depicting southern Lebanon—where the men were held for a period—the film is confined to their cockroachand rat-infested cells. A brief excerpt from a speech by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher about "fighting terrorism" in the movie's opening moments is effective and indicates that the political rhetoric employed to justify imperialist meddling in the Middle East has changed little over the years. Unfortunately, the Thatcher speech is Blind Flight's only political and historical reference point.
Background material on the Lebanese civil war and the political reasons for the kidnapping would have given the movie added depth and made clear that the detention and torture of the Western hostages was a desperate response to political aggression by the US and British governments, and the Israeli Zionists, in the Middle East. In fact, one of the reasons that the Iranian-backed militia kidnapped Kennan, McCarthy and others was to protest US and British support for Saddam Hussein in the Iraq-Iran war, and to secure the release of 14 Islamic radicals imprisoned in Kuwait.
Notwithstanding these omissions, Blind Flight has much to commend it. Performances by Hart and Roache are powerful and authentic, with moments of intense emotion. (Hart won the Tribeca Film Festival's best actor prize this year for his role.) To maintain an ongoing screen presence for over 90 minutes is a difficult challenge for any actor, but Hart and Roache hypnotically draw viewers into their dark and claustrophobic cells, where little appears to change each day. Insanity and the threat of physical assault are always present.
Director Furse should also be commended for providing an entirely objective portrait of the Lebanese jailers. These characters, played by non-professional actors, are not caricatured in any way. The film shows how these men were dehumanised by the kidnapping and detention.
One of the jailers is young, and another a recent father who proudly brings his baby to the cells for the prisoners to admire. He later admits to Keenan and McCarthy, "We are prisoners too." These brief moments are interspersed with outbursts of confused rage by militiamen against the hostages.
Most importantly, Blind Flight, by revealing some of the horrors perpetrated against those held captive in Lebanon in the late 1980s, highlights the criminal character of the current treatment of prisoners in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan by the US military and its allies.
Rather than opposing hostage-taking and torture, the Bush administration has "perfected" the medieval methods exposed in Blind Flight. In violation of international law and the Geneva Conventions, Washington and its allies have established a global network of state-run hellholes, where hundreds of people, including teenage children, are illegally held without charge and denied access to the outside world.
Over the past months, McCarthy and Keenan, who closely collaborated in the development of Blind Flight, have published memoirs about their years in captivity and denounced the Bush administration's illegal detentions and torture and its so-called "war on terror." McCarthy told BBC Radio Four that Washington's treatment of prisoners was "barbaric and uncivilised."
We were seized in Lebanon and held there, McCarthy said, but those now held in Guantanamo Bay "were arrested and detained in Afghanistan and then shipped somewhere else. They may not even know where they are on the planet, which would add to the terror, I mean trauma, that I would imagine they experienced."
Kennan told the BBC that Islamic radicalism's influence would grow because there was a "fundamentalist in the White House who makes pronouncements about the axis of evil and promises to rid the world of this contagion. This will only serve to rally young impressionable minds to the cause.
"But are they terrorists?" he asked. "Terrorism, like the word Jihad, is a term bandied about for the gullible by the myopic. It serves to legitimise aggression as a form of righteous crusade. Just as I was chained in darkness for almost five years, my captors were chained to their guns in a profound darkness that I could see into. Tell me now, who is the prisoner here?"
Blind Flight was voted one of the most popular films at the Sydney Film Festival. Despite this, local distributors have refused to give it an Australian release, and the movie will only be available on DVD later this year. This is a serious mistake. Blind Flight deserves the widest audience, above all because of its balanced and enlightened outlook.


%A Gómez-Zaldívar, Manuel %A Fonseca, Felipe J %A Mosqueda, Marco T. %A Gómez-Zaldívar, Fernando %D 2020 %T Spillover effects of economic complexity on the per capita GDP growth rates of Mexican states, _PHONE_ %K %X The opening up of the Mexican economy completely transformed the growth dynamics of the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country's various states, with a clear tendency towards growth being concentrated in specific regions. In this study, we quantify the indirect or spillover effect of economic complexity on growth based on the following two facts: i) economic complexity is an important factor in explaining GDP growth rates, and ii) there is a clear regional pattern in the states' economic complexity, i.e., the economic complexity variable shows a positive spatial autocorrelation. Our results provide two insights: first, that the estimated positive spillover effect of complexity on growth is not negligible, particularly for states in the north of the country, whose own economic complexity is as important as that of their neighbors. In contrast, the spillover effect in southern states is negative. Being located next to states with low levels of economic complexity has a significant negative externality that almost overrides the positive effect of a state's own level of complexity. Our findings lead us to conclude that spillover effects may have played a more important role in explaining the diverse pattern of growth between northern and southern Mexico than previously thought. %U _URL_ %J Estudios de Economía %0 Journal Article %P 221-243%V 47 %N 2 %@ 0718-5286 %8 2020-10-21


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By George Alleyne
August 29, 2012 – newsday.co.tt
The argument has often been put forward by politicians and would be politicians that persons of Indian descent own a far greater degree of property in Trinidad than people of African descent, because they had saved and used their money wisely.
It is an attempt to create misunderstanding between the two major ethnic groups. What led to today's disparity in land ownership is well documented and rooted in Trinidad's colonial past. The end of slavery in 1838 and the movement by freed slaves to urban and suburban areas and away from the sugar estates, with which they had for so long identified with their suffering, meant that the sugar planters had to source new labour.
Wages demanded by ex-slaves, who remained, were in the order of some 36 cents a day. Planters, with the example of Indian indentureship in Mauritius, looked to India for the restocking of their labour force.
Lord John Russell, then United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Colonies, would refer to the proposition for the introduction of Indian labour to the West Indies in a letter to Sir Henry Light, Governor of British Guiana, dated February 15, 1840. "It is stated" Lord Russell wrote, "that the wages of a day labourer are in Guiana one shilling and six pence 36 cents per day and in Hindostan (India) not more than two pence."
While there had been a limited use of Indian indentured labourers in Guiana, between 1837 and 1839, indentureship had not been introduced in other areas of the West Indies. On July 25, 1842, Lord Howick moved a resolution in the British House of Commons: "That is the opinion of this Committee (the House of Commons Committee on the West Indian Colonies)" that, inter alia, "one obvious and desirable mode of endeavouring to compensate "for the diminished supply of labour," is to promote the immigration of a fresh labouring population, to such an extent as to create competition for employment".
It should be pointed out that as early as 1814, 24 years before the end of slavery, a planter in Trinidad, William Burnley, had proposed the bringing of free labour from India "on a large scale", as Dr Eric Williams would note in From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean (Page 347). This proposal carried with it a sense of urgency as the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 had effectively blocked a traditional means of supplying labour to the sugar plantations.
Sir Ralph Woodford, who was Governor of Trinidad at the time, would recommend to the Colonial Office "the introduction of East Indian immigrants" — Eric Williams. With the bringing into operation of indentureship, a crucial provision of the agreements between parties had been the repatriation of indentureds to India at the end of their contracted stays, with the expense to be borne by the planters. But because sugar planters had found the cost of passages of indentured labourers back to India to be expensive, they made offers to the labourers of either money or land in Trinidad in lieu of return passages.
More than 100,000 accepted. Many of those who accepted cash, purchased land. The entire process would see some 100,000 indentureds becoming land owners. It would provide a financial jump-start and ladder that not even the calculated up to 1970 denial of commercial bank loans, in all too many cases, could negatively affect.
Ironically, following on Emancipation, instead of former slaves being given money for their years of having been forcefully and brutally exploited, money which could have given them the same jump start, the sum of 973,442 pounds sterling was paid out by the British Government to the planters in Trinidad as compensation "for the loss of their slaves"! It was a dismissal of the former slaves and was a statement that only the interests of sugar planters really mattered.
Indeed, the only freed slaves who received grants of land in Trinidad were those who had fought on the side of the British in the 1813 war in Virginia. They were given land in an area South of Princes Town known today as Fourth Company, Fifth Company and Sixth Company.
Meanwhile, despite the efforts of some politicians, Indian and African descent Trinbagonians are committed, as other ethnic groups, to the development of their country.


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Procedures for Administering the SIR II™ Survey
Refer to the materials listed below as you prepare to administer the SIR II™ Student Instructional Report survey.
The SIR II online and e-SIR surveys are administered via the Internet, through collaboration with ETS.
SIR II paper-and-pencil surveys are administered by faculty during class time. ETS will mail survey questionnaires to your institution. Within 15 business days after receiving your completed questionnaires, ETS will mail your survey reports.
To process completed surveys, complete the SIR II Processing Request Form and fax it to ETS. Please also return a copy of the form with your completed surveys.
Guidelines for Survey Administration
The following guidelines are recommended for administering the SIR II Student Instructional Report and based on research studies of SIR and SIR II survey administrations since 1972.
- Students should be instructed to respond fairly and to work independently.
- They should also be assured that their responses are anonymous.
Timing of Administering the Survey
- Evaluations should be made during the last week or two of classes.
- Faculty can increase participation rates if students are required to complete the survey before receiving their final grades.
- Results should not be given back to instructors until they have graded students in the course.
- Instructors and others who may have administered the forms should refrain from reading the forms until course grades have been assigned.
Tips for Paper-and-Pencil Administration
- Many institutions have a student helper or another staff member distribute, collect and package the surveys in a sealed envelope.
- The instructor should be absent during the administration, which takes about 15 minutes of class time.
- Mailing the forms to students usually results in a poor response rate.
Serving Students with Disabilities
The SIR II survey should be administered following the same accommodation procedures you normally use when testing students with disabilities. Appropriate arrangements are needed to ensure the confidentiality of each student's responses and to promote all students' participation in evaluating instructor performance.
For example, students with vision disabilities may wish to respond to the SIR II survey on their own computers with a text file of the survey instrument that can be presented in audio format using screen reader software such as JAWS® or Window-Eyes. You might also recruit an unbiased individual to read the questions aloud and mark down the student's responses.
For more information about the SIR II survey, contact an ETS Advisor.


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Rain in Spain is on the decline
02 February 2011
A study led by the University of Zaragoza (UNIZAR) has studied precipitation trends in Spain's 10 hydrological basins over the 1946 to 2005 period. The results show that precipitation has declined overall between the months of March and June, reducing the length of the rainy season. The rains are heavier in October in the north west of the country.
Since 1946, the average precipitation falling on Spanish hydrological basins has undergone "notable" changes. The researchers observed a widespread decline in March and June, above all in March (except in the basin of the Segura), with less intense rains in June.
"The basin of the Guadiana (in the south west of Spain) has experienced the strongest downward trend, with a reduction of 18%, while the positive trends recorded in the north west of the peninsula were less intense (the Norte, Douro and Tagus basins)", José Carlos González-Hidalgo, lead author of the study and a researcher at the UNIZAR, tells SINC.
The study, which has been published in the journal Climate Research, shows that the decline in rainfall in March leads to a reduction in the duration of the wet season. Even with the trend recorded in October (increased precipitation), the total precipitation for the hydrological year is increasingly dependent on the onset of the wet season. "In other words, it seems that the wet season has become shorter", explains González-Hidalgo.
Understanding what is happening in the basins
The research team studied the precipitation changes in each Spanish basin, and analysed the monthly series using the running trend technique, which "calculates the precipitation trend for various successive years, looks at the changes that have taken place, and detects possible modifications in this trend", the scientist explains.
Water is the most important resource in Spain, and it is managed by national water planning units at local level within the hydrological basins. "In order to plan the most effective way of using water, it is of fundamental importance to know what has happened in these basins, and what is happening now," the professor from the UNIZAR Department of Geography explains.
The data used to produce the study come from MOPREDAS, the most complete monthly precipitation database in mainland Spain, produced by the Department of Geography of the UNIZAR.
The UNIZAR researchers, working with the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science of Bologna (Italy), used all the records preserved in the archives of the Spanish State Meteorology Agency (AEMET).


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DISCOVERY OF SUCCESSFUL ABSCONDING IN THE STINGLESS BEE TRIGONA (TETRAGONULA) LAEVICEPS
T INOUE, S F SAKAGAMI, S SALMAH AND N NUKMAL
The first authentic record of the occurrence of absconding in stingless bees is described for Ttigolla (Tetragollula) laeviceps in Sumatra. In the reproductive swarm of stingless bees, a virgin queen goes to a new nest. An ovipositing queen has so far been considered to be unable to fly. However, the characteristics of the queen and workers in a swarm indicated that it was an absconding swarm. On the basis of her worn wings and dark pigmentation, this queen was estimated to be more than 6 months old. Her metasoma, with developed ovaries, was intermediate in size between that of actively laying and of pre-laying queens. The number of workers in the swarm was 82, and only 4% of them were younger than 20 days. Compared with the reproductive swarm of the same species, the number of workers was much smaller and their ages much greater.


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Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the tissue retraction and gingival healing in pulsed laser (diode 980 nm and Nd:YAG 1064 nm lasers) gingival retraction in comparison with the conventional mechanical or surgical techniques (double cord and electrosurgery). Materials and Methods: A group of 103 adult patients, 45 women, 58 men (mean age 42, range 19 to 52 years) scheduled for fixed and implant prosthetic rehabilitation was recruited, and four impression techniques were compared: the double cord technique, the electrosurgery technique, the 980-nm diode and the 1064-nm Nd:YAG laser technique. Patient were randomly placed into four groups according to impression-taking technique. Thirty impressions were taken in each group, for a total of 110 elements each. The preferred impression materials were addition silicones (polyvinyl siloxanes) (2nd generation). The outcome was measured by the bleeding index (during the impression taking and after 15 days) and gingival retraction (after 15 and 30 days). Results: Compared to the conventional techniques, both laser techniques proved to be less aggressive in terms of absence of gingival bleeding (99.2% vs 92.7%). There were also fewer cases of gingival retraction than with the conventional technique (2.2% vs 10%). Conclusion: This study suggests that the laser technique can be valuable for implant prosthetic rehabilitation. While both the conventional and laser techniques are satisfactory in achieving gingival retraction, the laser techniques may be less traumatic to the periodontal tissue.
Keywords: impression techniques, diode 980 nm laser, Nd:YAG laser, electrosurgery, polyvinyl siloxanes, gingival retraction, oral soft tissue surgery


How to Fix a GPU Overheating (Is your Temperature Safe?)
Fixing a overheating GPU
What is the average GPU temperature?
The average GPU temperate of a laptop is 167°F (75°C). At this temperature, you won't need to worry about your GPU overheating.
What is the normal GPU temperature for a laptop?
The normal GPU temperature for a laptop when it is in use is generally between 149°F (65°C) and 185°F (85°C). In the idle state, the optimal temperature is lower and ranges between 95°F and 131°F (35°-55°C).
When the GPU operates at a normal or a slightly colder temperature, you'll often be able to achieve consistent performance from your laptop.
A slightly colder temperature is always better for the GPU than an above-normal temperature.
If the temperature of your GPU is very high, the performance may not be consistent. You may be able to start fine but are likely to experience decreased performance over time. In some cases, system stability will also be at stake.
What is a safe GPU temperature for a laptop?
The safe GPU temperature for a laptop is between 176°F (80°C) and 194°F (90°C). When the temperature increases beyond this range, the performance will go down. It's recommended that the GPU temperature does not exceed 201° to 221°F (94°-105°C).
What is the normal GPU temperature under load?
The normal GPU temperature under load for a laptop is between 158°F and 167°F (7075°C). Some users prefer their GPU to have a lower temperature range of 122°F (50°C) to 140°F (60°C).
For a desktop, the normal temperature is usually lower than that of a laptop. Experienced users prefer this temperature to be between 140°F (60°C) and 167°F (75°C).
What is the normal GPU temperature when gaming?
The normal GPU temperature when playing medium-resolution games for four to five hours is between 140°F (60°C) and 149°F (65°C). For high-resolution games, the temperature will be slightly higher and can range from 149°- 158°F).
If you're in a cold country, it's ideal for your system to have a normal GPU temperature between 127.4°F (53°C) and 140°F (60°C) while gaming.
What causes the GPU to heat up?
The GPU tends to get hot because of heavy loads, airflow issues, GPU cooler failure, or a system cooling failure.
 - Heavy loads
 - Airflow issues
 - GPU cooler failure
 - System cooling failure
Heavy loads
The CPU is generally idle when the computer is used to carry out normal tasks such as sending e-mails, processing a Word document, or working on a spreadsheet calculation.
However, when one or more intensive tasks are carried out such as executing a financial model or using design software to create a 3D image, the load on the CPU increases considerably and it has to work more actively making it hotter. Overclocking the CPU also contributes to an increase in heat.
Airflow issues
Sometimes, dust accumulates on the case, ports, and inlets of the CPU. This will obstruct the smooth flow of air that keeps the CPU cool.
When the dust and dirt are blown out using compressed air, normal airflow resumes and the CPU will not get hot.
CPU cooler failure
The fan in the CPU cooling assembly may be faulty or could have become defective. If so, it will stop spinning. Having the fan replaced should help. Sometimes, there may be a loose contact in the CPU cooler that can be fixed by removing and reattaching it.
System cooling failure
If either the fan present in the power supply or the case fan stops functioning, the CPU cooler starts working overtime to stop the CPU from getting overheated.
However, this results in hot air circulation that can cause some components in the CPU to get fried. Getting the defective fan and affected components replaced should help.
How to reduce GPU temperature of a laptop
You can reduce the GPU temperature of the laptop by opting for a raised surface, using a cooling pad, using a better thermal paste, or by removing the accumulated dust inside. Some other ways include replacing a faulty fan, downgrading the GPU clock, or a GPU driver rollback.
 1. Keep your laptop slightly lifted off the table. You can keep a book or just about anything under the laptop. However, you must take care not to block the inlets while you do this.
 2. Consider using a cooling pad. It is worth considering a pad with large fans as they have more airflow and are quieter.
 3. Replace the thermal paste on the GPU. The rise in GPU temperature may be due to drying out of this paste on your graphics card. You'll need a lint-free cotton swab or cloth or microfiber, replacement thermal compound, screwdriver, and isopropyl alcohol to do the replacement. This process takes only about five minutes to get done.
 4. Remove the screws from the GPU using the screwdriver. Apply some isopropyl alcohol on the microfiber cloth and clean both the GPU base and fan. Apply some thermal paste and close the cover of the GPU. Tighten the screws back in a criss-cross pattern and install the GPU back in place.
 5. Remove the dust accumulated on the GPU. This may be one reason why the temperature is high. You can do this using a screwdriver, baby wipes, and compressed air can.
 6. Remove any dust on the outside of the GPU and unscrew it from its position. Twist the cooler gently and take it apart. Don't pull the graphics card and fan apart.
 7. Disconnect the fan, turn it downward and remove the dust using compressed air. Clean the fan and graphics card using the screw and baby wipes. Assemble the card after everything has dried up.
 8. Plug the fan back and install it in position. Screw everything back in place.
 9. The graphics card may have a defective or malfunctioning fan that spins very slowly or doesn't spin at all. A replacement is the only solution.
 10. You can consider lowering or downgrading the GPU clock by using the overclocking tools of your graphics card. This is a temporary solution to lower the GPU temperature until you figure out the actual reason and resolve it. Once you have fixed the problem, you can reset the GPU clock to its original setting.
 11. Check whether the video driver of the graphics card has been updated. In some cases, an update tends to raise the graphics card temperature to a high level. If so, do a rollback to the previous stable version. It's to be noted that there might be instances where you may have to delete the graphics card driver or update it.
Why is my GPU overheating all of a sudden?
Your GPU may be heating all of a sudden because of dust in the heatsink, bad contact between heatsink and GPU, a graphic driver update, or a GPU fan problem.
Alternatively, the position of the Wi-Fi card or a GPU bitcoin mining malware can trigger the problem.
 - Dust in heatsink
 - Bad contact between heatsink and GPU
 - Graphic driver update
 - GPU fan problem
Dust in the heatsink
One way to find this out is to put your hand behind the heatsink and check for hot air coming out of the holes near the ports at the rear. If there is no air at all, the heatsink may be blocked.
Blowing a can of compressed air over the heatsink can help cool down the temperature of the GPU.
Bad contact between heatsink and GPU
You may consider reseating the heatsink. The thermal paste between the graphics chip and heatsink could have come off or dried up. Remember to remove traces of the old paste before doing a reapplication.
Graphic driver update
The graphics driver may have automatically got updated to a newer version. Sometimes, it happens that a version update heats the GPU for no reason at all. This is especially true in Windows systems. A rollback to the previous version will often solve the problem in such cases.
GPU fan problem
You can use a utility tool like MSI Afterburner and adjust the speed of the GPU fans. Alternatively, you may consider increasing the number of fans. If the fan doesn't spin at all, it may be faulty and will need a replacement. Use this chance to clean the dust from the fans.
Laptop GPU temperature is too high
Your laptop GPU temperature is often too high due to dust accumulation on the heatsink, a dried-up thermal compound, or incorrect fan settings.
 - Dust accumulation on the heatsink.
 - Dried up thermal compound.
 - Improper fan settings.
 1. Use compressed air to blow out the dust and dirt on the heatsink. This will remove the dirt blocking the air vents as well. You can also use this chance to check if the heatsink is seated properly on the chips.
 2. Dismantle the laptop and do a thermal paste replacement. Make sure that you remove any remains of the old paste before adding the new one.
 3. Adjust the fan speed settings using third-party tools like MSI Afterburner. If a fan doesn't spin at all, you must do a replacement as it's likely to be defective. This tool also helps in setting a power limit for the graphics card at a lower temperature.
 4. Get a gel pack fitted inside the laptop cooler. This will ensure that the GPU temperature does not get very high.
 5. Link the CPU and VGA cooling through the same cooling fan


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What Is the Receivables Turnover Ratio?
The accounts receivable turnover ratio is an accounting measure used to quantify a company's effectiveness in collecting its receivables or money owed by clients. The ratio shows how well a company uses and manages the credit it extends to customers and how quickly that short-term debt is collected or is paid. The receivables turnover ratio is also called the accounts receivable turnover ratio.
Receivables Turnover Ratio
The Formula and Calculation
Accounts Receivable Turnover=Average accounts receivableNet credit sales
- Add the value of accounts receivable at the beginning of the desired period to the value at the end of the period and divide the sum by two. The result is the denominator in the formula.
- Divide the value of net credit sales for the period by the average accounts receivable during the same period.
- Net credit sales are the revenue generated from sales that were done on credit minus any returns from customers.
- The accounts receivable turnover ratio is an accounting measure used to quantify a company's effectiveness in collecting its receivables or money owed by clients.
- A high receivables turnover ratio can indicate that a company's collection of accounts receivable is efficient and that the company has a high proportion of quality customers that pay their debts quickly.
- A low receivables turnover ratio might be due to a company having a poor collection process, bad credit policies, or customers that are not financially viable or creditworthy.
- A company's receivables turnover ratio should be monitored and tracked to determine if a trend or pattern is developing over time.
Receivables Turnover Ratio Inferences
Companies that maintain accounts receivables are indirectly extending interest-free loans to their clients since accounts receivable is money owed without interest. If a company generates a sale to a client, it could extend terms of 30 or 60 days, meaning the client has 30 to 60 days to pay for the product.
The receivables turnover ratio measures the efficiency with which a company collects on their receivables or the credit it had extended to its customers. The ratio also measures how many times a company's receivables are converted to cash in a period. The receivables turnover ratio could be calculated on an annual, quarterly, or monthly basis.
High Accounts Receivable
A high receivables turnover ratio can indicate that a company's collection of accounts receivable is efficient and that the company has a high proportion of quality customers that pay their debts quickly. A high receivables turnover ratio might also indicate that a company operates on a cash basis.
A high ratio can also suggest that a company is conservative when it comes to extending credit to its customers. Conservative credit policy can be beneficial since it could help the company avoid extending credit to customers who may not be able to pay on time.
On the other hand, if a company's credit policy is too conservative, it might drive away potential customers to the competition who will extend them credit. If a company is losing clients or suffering slow growth, they might be better off loosening their credit policy to improve sales, even though it might lead to a lower accounts receivable turnover ratio.
Low Accounts Receivable
A low receivables turnover ratio might be due to a company having a poor collection process, bad credit policies, or customers that are not financially viable or creditworthy.
Typically, a low turnover ratio implies that the company should reassess its credit policies to ensure the timely collection of its receivables. However, if a company with a low ratio improves its collection process, it might lead to an influx of cash from collecting on old credit or receivables.
Tracking Receivables Turnover Ratio
A company's receivables turnover ratio should be monitored and tracked to determine if a trend or pattern is developing over time. Also, companies can track and correlate the collection of receivables to earnings to measure the impact the company's credit practices have on profitability.
For investors, it's important to compare the accounts receivable turnover of multiple companies within the same industry to get a sense of what's the normal or average turnover ratio for that sector. If one company has a much higher receivables turnover ratio than the other, it may prove to be a safer investment.
Receivables vs. Asset Turnover Ratio
The asset turnover ratio measures the value of a company's sales or revenues relative to the value of its assets. The asset turnover ratio is an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is using its assets to generate revenue. The higher the asset turnover ratio, the more efficient a company. Conversely, if a company has a low asset turnover ratio, it indicates it's not efficiently using its assets to generate sales.
The accounts receivable turnover ratio measures a company's effectiveness in collecting its receivables or money owed by clients. The ratio shows how well a company uses and manages the credit it extends to customers and how quickly that short-term debt is collected or being paid.
Receivables Turnover Ratio Limitations
Like any metric attempting to gauge the efficiency of a business, the receivables turnover ratio comes with a set of limitations that are important for any investor to consider before using it.
A limitation to consider is that some companies use total sales instead of net sales when calculating their turnover ratio, which inflates the results. While this is not always necessarily meant to be deliberately misleading, investors should try to ascertain how a company calculates its ratio or calculate the ratio independently.
Another limitation to the turnover ratio is that accounts receivables can vary dramatically throughout the year. For example, companies that are seasonal will likely have periods with high receivables along with perhaps a low turnover ratio and periods when the receivables are fewer and can be more easily managed and collected.
In other words, if an investor chooses a starting and ending point for calculating the receivables turnover ratio arbitrarily, the ratio may not reflect the company's effectiveness of issuing and collecting credit. As such, the beginning and ending values selected when calculating the average accounts receivable should be carefully chosen so to accurately reflect the company's performance. Investors could take an average of accounts receivable from each month during a 12-month period to help smooth out any seasonal gaps.
Any comparisons of the turnover ratio should be made with companies that are in the same industry, and ideally, have similar business models. Companies of different sizes may often have very different capital structures, which can greatly influence turnover calculations, and the same is often true of companies in different industries.
Lastly, a low receivables turnover might not necessarily indicate that the company's issuing of credit and collecting of debt is lacking. For example, if the company's distribution division is operating poorly, it might be failing to deliver the correct goods to customers in a timely manner. As a result, customers might delay paying their receivable, which would decrease the company's receivables turnover ratio.
Example Receivables Turnover Ratio
Let's say Company A had the following financial results for the year:
- Net credit sales of $800,000
- $64,000 in accounts receivables on January 1st or the beginning of the year
- $72,000 in accounts receivables on December 31st or at the end of the year
We can calculate the receivables turnover ratio in the following way:
Average accounts receivable=($64,000+$72,000)/2=$68,000Accounts receivable turnover ratio=$800,000/$68,000=11.76
We can interpret the ratio to mean that Company A collected its receivables 11.76 times on average that year. In other words, the company converted its receivables to cash 11.76 times that year. A company could compare several years to ascertain whether 11.76 is an improvement or an indication of a slower collection process.
A company could also determine the average duration of accounts receivable or the number of days it takes to collect them during the year. In our example above, we would divide the ratio of 11.76 by 365 days to arrive at the average duration. The average accounts receivable turnover in days would be 365 / 11.76 or 31.04 days.
For Company A, customers on average take 31 days to pay their receivables. If the company had a 30-day payment policy for its customers, the average accounts receivable turnover shows that on average customers are paying one day late.
A company could improve its turnover ratio by making changes to its collection process. A company could also offer its customers discounts for paying early. It's important for companies to know their receivables turnover since its directly tied to how much cash they'll available to pay their short term liabilities.


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Shades Creek, Birmingham Area
Fishing in Shades Creek
Shades Creek is a small to medium size stream that runs through the southwest corner of Jefferson County and Bibb County, Alabama, before finally emptying into the Cahaba River. Its watershed extends roughly from Tannehill flowing northeast through Irondale. Portions of the watershed have experienced tremendous residential expansion and development in recent years, which has increased stormwater runoff. Stormwater drainage from urban areas results in more contaminants and pollutants entering this system, impacting both water quality and quantity. Jefferson County has developed a Comprehensive Plan (The Shades Creek Watershed Plan) that addresses many of these issues and focuses on road and sewer development in addition to economic and recreational issues.
As with many small streams and watersheds, sediment runoff from urban development has impacted Shades Creek over recent years, which has affected the natural diversity of aquatic resources in this small stream. Several federal and state agencies such as the US Environmental Protection Agency, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Alabama Water Watch and others have a mission to preserve the biodiversity of the aquatic and wildlife resources within the watershed. In 2003, Samford University's Biology Department, designed a program using students to monitor and survey the stream using a variety of sampling and collection techniques. Findings indicated that Shades Creek had or was currently experiencing pollution problems. This conclusion was based upon low diversity, expanded urban construction, sedimentation problems, and channelization of the stream bed. New measures have since been developed by the Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission to help reduce the unhealthy sediment discharge into this creek and to assist in recovery efforts.
Although Shades Creek has experienced habitat problems in certain "high development" areas where it flows through Jefferson County, it continues to maintain a population of popular sportfish and non-game species for savvy anglers who enjoy stream fishing. Various species of bream and sunfish, largemouth bass, Alabama spotted bass, and channel catfish are often found in large pools or along the edge of riffles adjacent to deeper sections of the creek. Small beetle spins, rooster tails, popping bugs, artificial crayfish or various artificial flies are the most popular lures used to entice fish to strike.
The land on the bottom of the stream and land adjacent to the stream may be privately owned, and permission must be obtained from the landowner prior to crossing or wading these areas. Access to Shades Creek can often be found at road crossings or bridge overpasses along the 54.6 mile length before it joins with the Cahaba River at the Shelby-Bibb County line. This scenic creek runs through six urban areas that include Irondale, Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover and Bessemer, AL.
Several effort are on-going to restore the biological and recreational integrity of Shades Creek. Near Samford, the Alabama Clean water partnership held a workshop to show a stream restoration. A 33-acre section of the creek adjacent to Homewood High School serves as unique habitat for a rare salamander and is under petition to be listed as a special conservation easement. The Black Warrior and Cahaba Land Trust have also purchased 47-acres of property along Shades Creek near the Shannon community and behind Wildwood Shopping Center as a permanent conservation area for preservation purposes.
Shades Creek is a unique stream system that flows through several geographical and urban areas in Jefferson County and contains a variety of fish and other aquatic resources. However, due to its location, this small stream flows through some of the fastest growing regions of the state whose population expansion and suburban sprawl threaten to degrade the habitat and ecology of this fragile system. It is up to concerned citizens and conservation groups to protect and monitor residential development and make sure Better Management Practices (BMP's) are followed to protect this ecosystem from further environmental impacts so that future generations can enjoy the scenic beauty and recreational opportunities along this stream.
Fishing license information may be found at: Licenses. Instant licensing is available via Internet (2% fee) or telephone _PHONE_ ($3.95 fee). Fishing licenses may also be purchased at local bait and tackle stores and county probate offices. Youth age 15 and younger fish for free. Alabama residents age 65 or older are not required to purchase a fishing license.
Possession and creel limits for Alabama public waters are listed at: Creel Limits.
The US Geological Survey gives water discharge estimates and gage heights.
Friends of Shade Creek is "a nonprofit organization of local citizens working for the protection of, and responsible development along, beautiful Shades Creek in Alabama." Regular hikes are hosted on Homewood Forest Preserve. Shades Creek is cleaned in the fall, and several canoe trips are made during the year. They have monthly meetings on the second Thursday of the month at Homewood Public Library on Oxmoor Road.
Additional information about the local area is available at _URL_ and _URL_.
The Fisheries Section's District Office can answer specific questions about the Cahaba River by sending email to _EMAIL_.
"It shall be unlawful to intentionally stock or release any fish, mussel, snail, crayfish or their embryos including bait fish into the public waters of Alabama under the jurisdiction of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries as provided in Rule 220-2-.42 except those waters from which it came without the written permission of a designated employee of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources authorized by the Director of the Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries to issue such permit. The provisions of this rule shall not apply to the incidental release of bait into the water during the normal process of fishing."
Support kids fishing, aquatic habitat improvement
and bringing back rare Alabama fish - click here
Prepared by: Fisheries Section, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This site is presented for information only the Fisheries Section cannot be responsible for the quality of information or services offered through linked sites, disclaimer. To have your site included, send your URL, email address, or telephone number to the Fisheries Web Master, _EMAIL_. The Fisheries Section reserves the right to select sites based on relevant and appropriate content of interest to our viewers. If you discover errors in the content or links of this page, please contact Doug Darr. Thank you.


text:
cutli, the Earth. Tlaltecutli translates into "our guide"; thus, the Tonalmachiotl is our guide to understanding how to live in harmony with the Earth. The Sun is, however, represented in the form of an Eagle and Butterfly in the center of the Tonalmachiotl, symbolizing an astronomical event that can be witnessed on Earth every year in July.
Among the many documented counts within the Tonalmachiotl, two are of significance and are elaborated in the maiz-based curriculum. The xiuhpohualli (a solar count) represents the solar calendar, which consists of 360 days with 5 days of the nemontemi, a reflection period used to evaluate the previous year with the intent to learn and grow from our lived experiences. The xiuhpohualli consists of eighteen veintenas (20-day cycles) as our ancestors discovered that the climate changes slightly every twenty days. Each twenty-day period that changes in the Earth's climate is recognized and ceremonial obligations continue to be completed in an effort to assist the Earth or thank the Earth for everything that She provides. This solar count was critical to the survival of our ancestors as it was an agricultural calendar that provided the necessary knowledge for them to grow their sustenance effectively without destroying the Earth. An understanding of this count cements our interdependence with the Earth and establishes our responsibility to respect Her, for ourselves and the many generations hereafter.
The second count, the tonalpohualli (human count), consists of 260 days. The tonalpohualli consists of twenty trecenas (13-day cycles). This count totals 260 days, which is the amount totaling the human gestation period and applies to our development in the womb and the philosophy that the very second we take our first breath we are granted the energies of the day. Additionally, each thirteen-day cycle carries an energy that, when known, can be used. For example, according to the thirteen-day cycle, Ce Tochtli (one rabbit) days carry the energy of completion and maturity, a great time to undertake a project and to complete it.
Knowing the energy of the day on which we were born serves as a guide to realize and develop our potentials and capabilities so that we can fulfill our destiny as human beings to develop our profound potentials and inhabit this Earth and live in harmony with Her. This is what the Tonalmachiotl teaches us. Each day is given the symbol of an animal, a plant, a life-giving element or a symbol of life. For example, the day tochtli (rabbit) carries the energy of fertilization and maturity, and so a person born on the day, rabbit, is granted that energy. As such, that person can be fertile with the creation of ideas and on the completion or maturity of projects. A person born on the day atl, water, has the potential like water to give life, to take the shape of any container that it is housed in. As such, that person will be the giver of life to all things, ideas, and projects and will be well-established in all groups of people just as water conforms to its surroundings.
Each of the twenty days carries a very specific symbol because the elders matched the energy of the day with an animal or element that is representative of the specific energy. The twenty days, which appear counterclockwise in one of the inner circles, are the following: cipactli (crocodile), e'hecatl (wind), calli(house), cuetzpallin (lizard), coatl (serpent), miquitzli (skull), mazatl (deer), tochtli (rabbit), atl (water),itzcuintli (dog), ozomatli (monkey), Malinalli (herb), acatl (reed), Ozelotl (jaguar), cuautli (eagle),cozcacuautli (condor), ollin (movement), tecpatl (flint), qiahuitl ( rain), and xochitl (flower). In a maiz-based curriculum, students are able to find the personal symbols that correspond to their birthday. By knowing these symbols, students have acquired an identity that gives them purpose and direction in life to live in beauty.
Another critical pillar of the maiz-based curriculum is centered on the Nahui-ollin. This way of knowing is extrapolated from the center of the Tonalmachiotl, including the face and the four images in the squares surrounding it. The knowledge reveals a fundamental concept in Aztec-Mexica Cosmology that establishes a guide for everyday life and decisions. Moreover, it guides us in our development towards harmony and balance of the mind, body, and essence that fosters community. This epistemology serves to guide our decision-making in that there is an understanding that as evolutionary beings we grow and become wise through our lived experiences. The cycle consists of the male energies of Tezcatlipoca (reflection), Xipe Totec (transformation), Huitzilopotchtli (our will), and Quetzalcoatl (stability). The Nahui-ollin demonstrates that we must be reflective in our daily actions so that we can learn from them and grow into loving and respectful human beings.
This maiz-based curriculum focuses on the development of identity, purpose, and hope that is appealing to a students' humanity and not focused on test scores. The focus on human measures is how we can transform the experience of students in the classroom and where we can disrupt the achievement gap.
While some will deny that there is a civilizational war at play here, what is clear is that indigenous knowledge has been demonized. That demonization has backfired as there is a newfound interest among people of Mexican, Central, and South American descent—indigenous peoples on this continent—to learn about the ancestral knowledge that lives in our midst. That the knowledge that is indigenous to this continent would be deemed to be Un-American is mind-numbing. Regardless of how this plays out in the courts, this is why it has become a teaching moment. It is possible that the calendar that has graced homes, schools, and restaurants in both Mexico and the United States for many generations, will no longer be appreciated simply for its artistic value, but for its actual content.
1. A June 2012 study confirms the positive relationship between taking MAS classes and success in school, thus debunking once again the notion that there is no such proof. See this study.
2. For a broader discussion on the topic of whether MAS is outside of Western civilization, go to Truthout.
3. The proper context of this conflict can only be appreciated by knowing that several months before on May 3, 2011, perhaps 200 law enforcement officers converged on the school board meeting, surrounding the entire neighborhood, occupying the building with SWAT officers, snipers, police dogs, a bomb squad and a metal detection unit. At this meeting, seven women were arrested inside for speaking in support of the program, while youths and students were beaten outside. To this day, there has been no accounting as to the reason for the massive show of force.
4. The directives can be found on this website in a column titled TUSD shuts down Dept., bans books, & issues draconian directives as to what can and cannot be taught in schools.
5. The initial seven books that were boxed in Jan 2012 were: Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic; 500 Years of Chicano History in Pictures edited by Elizabeth Martinez; Message to Aztlan by Rodolfo Corky Gonzales; Chicano! The History of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement by F. Arturo Rosales; Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Rodolfo Acuña; Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire; and Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years by Bill Bigelow.
6. Several of my own books were part of the MAS-TUSD curriculum. Two, The X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human, were banned by TUSD administrators the year before and were part of the original MAS curriculum since the department's founding in 1997.
7. The argument that TUSD was not censoring books was also predicated on the idea that the books were not actually banned, but simply placed in district libraries. While books are available to students, they can no longer be taught in MAS classes or by former MAS teachers.
8. Chucho Ruiz, who is part of Calpolli Teoxicalli in Tucson and who teaches for Chicanos Por La Causa in area schools, including TUSD schools, is permitted to teach the Aztec Calendar through Native American Studies.
9. Tom Horne has not attacked the concepts of In lak Ech-Panche Be or Hunab Ku, but these are the most celebrated concepts of the MAS program. His attacks have generally attacked everything outside of Western Civilization. One such attack was Lecture #1023, Heritage Foundation, May 14, 2007
10. One of the legal challenges actually precedes HB 2281. The long-standing Fisher/Mendoza desegregation lawsuit may trump local and state laws. As of Nov. 2012, it seems likely that the courts may order TUSD to reinstate the Raza Studies curriculum. A preliminary report calls on TUSD to greatly expand its Latino-relevant classes.
11. In the United States, people of Mexican origin have a greater interest in the Nepohuatzinzin because it is of Mesoamerican origins, though Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci posited in the 1700s


Feb 14, 2017
Romain Millan, Jeremie Mouginot, Eric Rignot
Environmental Research Letters
 - Presents a comprehensive mapping in Queen Elizabeth Islands (QEI), Canada of ice velocity using a suite of satellite data from year 1991 to 2015, combined with ice thickness data from NASA Operation IceBridge, to calculate ice discharge
 - Finds that ice discharge increased significantly after 2011 in Prince of Wales Icefield, maintained or decreased in other sectors, whereas glacier surges have little impact on long-term trends in ice discharge
 - Finds that during 1991–2005, the QEI mass loss averaged 6.3 ± 1.1 Gt yr−1, 52% from ice discharge and the rest from surface mass balance (SMB)
 - Finds that during 2005–2014, the mass loss from ice discharge averaged 3.5 ± 0.2 Gt yr−1 (10%) versus 29.6 ± 3.0 Gt yr−1 (90%) from SMB


Rituximab in immune thrombocytopenia: gender, age, and response as predictors of long-term response
Miriam Marangon, Nicola Vianelli, Francesca Palandri, Maria Gabriella Mazzucconi, Cristina Santoro, Wilma Barcellini, Bruno Fattizzo, Stefano Volpetti, Elisa Lucchini, Nicola Polverelli, Monica Carpenedo, Miriam Isola, Renato Fanin, Francesco Zaja
Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of a salvage treatment with rituximab (RTX) in adults with primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), in terms of short-term response and long-term response (LTR, i.e., probability to achieve and maintain response) and to identify biological and clinical predictors of response. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the outcome of patients with primary ITP treated with standard dosage RTX (375 mg/m2 × 4) as salvage therapy in five Italian centers. One hundred and three patients, median age of 46 yr, were included. The median period of observation was 59 months. Results: Response (R) and complete response (CR) were documented in 57 (55%) and 37 (36%) patients, respectively. Patients younger than 40 yr had a higher probability to achieve CR (P = 0.025). Younger women (age < 40 yr) had a significantly higher probability to achieve R and CR (P = 0.039 and P = 0.009, respectively). The estimated LTR rate was 36% and 31% after 48 and 72 months, respectively; female sex (P = 0.033) and younger age (P = 0.021) were associated with better LTR. Younger women had the highest LTR rate (P = 0.006). Response duration was associated with the obtainment of CR after RTX (CR vs. partial response, P = 0.002). Conclusions: The effect of RTX salvage treatment appears higher in younger women, with LTR rate possibly approaching that of splenectomy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)371-377
Number of pages7
JournalEuropean Journal of Haematology
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Apr 1 2017
 - hemostaseology and platelets
 - rituximab
 - thrombocytes
ASJC Scopus subject areas
 - Hematology
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A hub of online professional and topical glossaries/dictionaries
Items 1→50 of 398. Page 1 of 8. items/page.
"THE FIRE'S OUT" look up translate image
Common expression used when a string of strikes comes to an end.
300 GAME look up translate image
A perfect game consisting of 12 strikes in a row.
300 GAME JINX look up translate image
It is customary when someone starts a game with a string of strikes not to mention the possibility of scoring 300, which would "jinx" the player.
ABC look up translate image
American Bowling Congress. Official rule making body of ten-pin bowling.Alley (also lane bed). Surface on which the ball is rolled. Approach (also runway). The space extending back from the foul line used to make the steps and delivery.
ABSENTEE look up translate image
See Blind
ACTION look up translate image
Motion of the pins caused by the bowler's technique; generally, the combination of accuracy, rotation (also see), and other factors, causing pin motion which is horizontal, rather than vertical, since a horizontally spinning pin covers more of the lane.
ADDRESS look up translate image
Bowler's starting position. (stance)
ALL THE WAY look up translate image
Finishing a game from any point with nothing but strikes.
ALLEY look up translate image
AMERICAN BOWLING CONGRESS (ABC) look up translate image
The world's largest sports organization and the official rule-making body of tenpin bowling.
ANCHOR look up translate image
Last man to roll in team competition. Usually the best bowler; i.e., the bowler most likely to get a strike in the "foundation frame" (the ninth frame) and most likely to "strike out." The term originated in 1913 when a bowler (Hans Arfsparger) for the Anchor Brewing team in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bowled in the fifth position and struck out 94 times in succession.
ANGLE look up translate image
The direction the ball travels when going into the 1-3 pocket (1-2 for lefties). Recent studies [see reference at end] have shown an optimum angle of 4-6 degrees; less or more angle tends to leave pins as the width of the pocket decreases.
APPLE look up translate image
1) Bowling ball; 2) bowler who fails to come through in a clutch situation. (choke)
APPROACH look up translate image
1) Part of the lane from the very back of the ball return area to the foul line. Most approaches are 16' long; they are required by the ABC to be at least 15'. (platform, runway) 2) Start of the bowler's motion, ending with the start of the delivery, which is when the ball begins its final swing forward to the release.
ARMSWING look up translate image
The arc of the bowling arm and hand from the first move toward the line until the delivery of the ball over the line.
ARROWS look up translate image
The triangles embedded on the lane used in aiming the throw.
AUTOMATIC FOUL DETECTOR look up translate image
Light beam at the foul line which sounds an alarm if the bowler's foot crosses it. Penalty for doing so is loss of pins for that ball; the bowler shoots at a new rack of ten pins (which counts as a spare if all are knocked down). (foul, foul line)
AUTOMATIC PINSETTER look up translate image
First used in the 1940s, the original editions took note of the pins left, swept the entire area, and reset the pins for the spare. This invention is credited for the great bowling boom of the 1950s; the inventor received $1 million from AMF.
BABY BALL, BABY THE BALL look up translate image
Too delicate, not enough emphasis on delivering the ball with authority; released too carefully. Baby split: The 2-7 or 3-10.
BABY SPLIT look up translate image
The 2-7 or 3-10 split.
BABY SPLIT WITH COMPANY look up translate image
The 2-7-8 or 3-9-10.
BACK ENDS look up translate image
Last 5-6 feet of the lane, including the pin deck. (ends)
BACKUP look up translate image
A ball that falls away to the right (for right-handers) or left (for left-handers).
BACKUP ALLEY look up translate image
A lane that holds or tends to stop a ball from rolling to the right (or left for left-handers).
BACKUP BALL look up translate image
A ball that curves left to right for a right-handed bowler or right to left for a left-handed bowler.
BALK look up translate image
1) An incomplete approach in which the bowler does not deliver the ball; 2) to interfere or cause another bowler to stop his approach or not complete it in his normal fashion.
BALL RACK look up translate image
1) Where the ball rests before it is rolled and after it returns from the pit; 2) the structure used to store house balls.
BALL RETURN look up translate image
Track between the lanes the ball travels on when being returned to the bowler.
BALL TRACK look up translate image
Area on lane where most balls are rolled.
BALSA look up translate image
A slight, powerless hit on the headpin. (thin hit)
BARMAID look up translate image
A pin hidden behind another pin; 1-5, 2-8, 3-9. (bicycle, double wood, one-in-the-dark, sleeper, tandem)
BED look up translate image
The entire area a lane is set into, from the approach to the pit, including the channels.
BED POSTS look up translate image
The 7-10 split.Big four (also double pinochle). The 4-6-7-10 split.
BEDPOSTS look up translate image
The 7-10 split. (fence posts, goal posts, mule ears, snake eyes)
BEER FRAME look up translate image
In team play, when all players strike, the one who doesn't must treat (usually liquid refreshments). May also be the low scorer in a designated frame (often the 7th frame).
BELLY THE BALL look up translate image
Increase the width (number of boards ball crosses from its maximum outside position) of a hook from an inside starting angle.
BENCH WORK look up translate image
Any type of conversation or actions intended to upset an opponent. (bench jockeying)
BENDER look up translate image
Hooking or curving shot that comes close to the channel before breaking into the pocket.
BERLIN WALL look up translate image
See "Blended condition"
BEVEL look up translate image
Rounding of thumb/finger holes after drilling to smooth their edges.
BICYCLE look up translate image
Pin hidden behind another pin. (barmaid, double wood, one-in-the-dark, sleeper, tandem)
BIG BALL look up translate image
A working hook that enables a bowler to carry strikes on less-than-perfect pocket hits.
BIG EARS look up translate image
The 4-6-7-10 split. (big four, double pinochle, golden gate)
BIG FILL look up translate image
Nine or ten pins on a spare, or a double on a strike.
BIG FIVE look up translate image
Spare leave of three on one side and two on the other.
BIG FOUR look up translate image
The 4-6-7-10 split. (big ears, double pinochle, golden gate)
BLENDED CONDITION look up translate image
Oil pattern resulting from lanes with a slight depression in the middle; proprietors compensate by "accidentally" over-oiling, resulting in a "regular blended block." If the contrast from the oily center to the dry sides is very great, it's called a "Berlin Wall." A blocked condition around one arrow (usually the second arrow) is a "tunnel block." When the block narrows toward the pins, it's a "funnel block." If you can find the edge of a block, the edge will move toward the center as the oil evaporates....(more)
BLIND look up translate image
Score allowed for an absent member, usually the average minus ten or a set score (for example, 140 for men and 120 for women); considered a penalty. Many league rules define "Blind" and "Absentee" with different qualifications. (dummy)
BLIND SCORE look up translate image
When


text:
Australian Theatre, Film and Learning
This unit of study will examine the nature of theatre and film in Australian cultural and educational settings. A particular focus will be placed on theatre and film for and by young people, and the range of learnings that take place through young people's engagement in, and appreciation of, theatre and film. In addition, the role and nature of Australian film and theatre will be placed within an international context so that students can examine the international forces influencing Australian culture. Indigenous issues in Australian Film and Theatre will be examined. Australian Theatre, Film and Learning will provide first hand experiences of Australian films and theatre performances through field trips to significant theatre performances and festivals, Australian school performances and the viewing of Australian films.
Essay (2500 words), Film Assignment essay (2500 words).


Set up libraries to use Active Directory - On Premises 6.4
Author-it Administrator
When you are working in a library there are two steps to follow when setting up Active Directory in Author-it Administrator.
To set up libraries to use Active Directory:
 1. Map the library user groups to the Active directory groups. Ensure this step is completed first.
 2. Map existing library users to their Active Directory user. This step enables existing users to log in to the library using Active Directory. New users can be created by the library administrator (and mapped to their Active Directory user), or they can be automatically added by Author-it at their first login (see note). The maximum length for the user names is 20 characters.
Once the user groups have been mapped, the network administrator can take over administration for user access.
Note: When the user logs in to an Author-it library for the first time, Author-it looks for that user in an Active Directory Group. When it finds the user, it creates an account in Author-it, and assigns the Author-it group permissions based on the Active Directory Group/Author-it group mapping.


Out of the box, FluentValidation provides translations for the default validation messages in several languages. By default, the language specified in the.NET's framework's Current UI Culture will be used (CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture) when translating messages.
You can also use the WithMessage and WithLocalizedMessage methods to specify a localized error message for a single validation rule.
If you are using Visual Studio's built in support for resx files and their strongly-typed wrappers, then you can localize a message by calling the overload of WithMessage that accepts a lambda expression:
RuleFor(x => x.Surname).NotNull().WithMessage(x => MyLocalizedMessages.SurnameRequired);
You could also use the same approach if you need to obtain the localized message from another source (such as a database) by obtaining the string from within the lambda.
The above 2 examples assume you're using a strongly-typed wrapper around a resource file, where each static property on the class corresponds to a key within the resourece file. This is the "old" way of working with resources prior to ASP.NET Core, but is not relevant if you're using ASP.NET Core's IStringLocalizer.
If you are using IStringLocalizer to handle localization then all you need to do is inject your localizer into your validator, and use it within a WithMessage callback, for example:
public class PersonValidator : AbstractValidator {
 public PersonValidator(IStringLocalizer localizer) {
 RuleFor(x => x.Surname).NotNull().WithMessage(x => localizer["Surname is required"]);
Default Messages
If you want to replace all (or some) of FluentValidation's default messages then you can do this by implementing a custom version of the ILanguageManager interface.
For example, the default message for the NotNull validator is '{PropertyName}' must not be empty.. If you wanted to replace this message for all uses of the NotNull validator in your application, you could write a custom Language Manager:
public class CustomLanguageManager : FluentValidation.Resources.LanguageManager {
 public CustomLanguageManager() {
 AddTranslation("en", "NotNullValidator", "'{PropertyName}' is required.");
Here we have a custom class that inherits from the base LanguageManager. In its constructor we call the AddTranslation method passing in the language we're using, the name of the validator we want to override, and the new message.
Once this is done, we can replace the default LanguageManager by setting the LanaguageManager property in the static ValidatorOptions class during your application's startup routine:
ValidatorOptions.Global.LanguageManager = new CustomLanguageManager();
This is a simple example that only replaces one validator's message in English only, but could be extended to replace the messages for all languages. Instead of inheriting from the default LanguageManager, you could also implement the ILanguageManager interface directly if you want to load the messages from a completely different location other than the FluentValidation default (for example, if you wanted to store FluentValidation's default messages in a database).
Of course, if all you want to do is replace this message for a single use of a validator, then you could just use WithMessage("'{PropertyName}' is required");
Contributing Languages
If you'd like to contribute a translation of FluentValidation's default messages, then I'd be very grateful! Please open a pull request that adds a language file to the project and I'll happily merge it in. The current language files are located in the GitHub repository.
The default English messages are stored here
Disabling Localization
You can completely disable FluentValidation's support for localization, which will force the default English messages to be used, regardless of the thread's CurrentUICulture. This can be done in your application's startup routine by calling into the static ValidatorOptions class:
ValidatorOptions.Global.LanguageManager.Enabled = false;
You can could also force the default messages to always be displayed in a specific language:
ValidatorOptions.Global.LanguageManager.Culture = new CultureInfo("fr");