How To Understand Statistics Content from the guide to life, the universe and everything
How To Understand Statistics
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The world is littered with statistics, and the average person is bombarded with five statistics a day1. Statistics can be misleading and sometimes deliberately distorting. There are three kinds of commonly recognised untruths:
Lies, damn lies and statistics.
- Mark Twain
- George Carlin
Some Examples of Misleading Statistics
Women are Better Drivers Than Men
This is not the same thing as saying that all women are better drivers than men, although many people, by the look of some insurance company advertisements, seem to think that that is exactly what it means. In fact it simply shows that, on average, a woman between the ages of 20 and 65 who drives a car will have had fewer accidents than a man of the same age, driving the same car. The data is drawn almost exclusively from insurance company statistics. It may not, however, be accurate, as few people bother to alert their insurers if they clip the wing mirror or scratch the paint.
Here is another, rather famous use of distorting statistics...
Toddlers who Attend Pre-school Exhibit Aggressive Behaviour
A study was conducted on four-year-olds, comparing those who went to pre-school and socialised with other children, with those that stayed at home with their mothers. It measured aggressive behaviour such as stealing toys, pushing other children and starting fights.
It showed that children who went to pre-school were three times more likely to be aggressive than those who stayed at home with their mothers. The statistics were well documented and were, technically, accurate. The report used these statistics to persuade parents to keep their children at home until they start school, aged five.
What the study failed to mention was that aggressive behaviour is normal in four-year-olds. Parents who keep their children at home, but take them to toddler groups also observe their children being aggressive. Psychologists say it is the child learning about society's 'pecking order'. The children who stayed at home and did not attend pre-school were less aggressive, because their behaviour was abnormal. A follow-up survey (done by another group) demonstrated that the children who stayed at home before attending school ended up being more aggressive at a later age than those who had gone to pre-school.
In other words, the children who attended pre-school were 'normal', for want of a better word. The ones who stayed at home with their mothers were not.
The initial study was funded by a mother support group. They used the statistics to promote their own, pre-determined agenda. This illustrates the first rule of dealing with statistics: always ask who's paying for a study2.
First World War Head Injuries
Another strange statistical anomaly was the introduction of tin helmets to the front line. In the First World War the number of head injuries was very high and soldiers took a long time to recover. To begin with, the soldiers only had cloth hats to wear, but after the introduction of tin hats the number of injuries to the head increased dramatically. No one could explain it, until it was revealed that the earlier records only accounted for the injuries, not fatalities. After the introduction, the number of fatalities dropped dramatically, but the number of injuries went up because the tin helmet was saving their lives, but the soldiers were still injured. This demonstrates the second rule of statistical interpretation: which question is being asked? A leading or misleading question used to gather statistics can result in misleading statistics.
The examples above demonstrate that statistical conclusions can be misleading, and can even be used to prove a negative, showing something false to be true. A good eye for spotting any irregularities in statistical interpretation is a useful skill.
Things to Look Out For
47.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
- Steven Wright
 - Where did the data come from? Who ran the survey? Do they have an ulterior motive for having the result go one way?
 - How was the data collected? What questions were asked? How did they ask them? Who was asked?
 - Be wary of comparisons. Two things happening at the same time are not necessarily related, though statistics can be used to show that they are. This trick is used a lot by politicians wanting to show that a new policy is working.
 - Be aware of numbers taken out of context. This is called 'cherry-picking', an instance in which the analysis only concentrates on such data that supports a foregone conclusion and ignores everything else.
A survey on the effects of passive smoking, sponsored by a major tobacco manufacturer, is hardly likely to be impartial, but on the other hand neither is one carried out by a medical firm with a vested interest in promoting health products.
If a survey on road accidents claims that cars with brand X tyres were less likely to have an accident, check who took part. The brand X tyres may be new, and only fitted to new cars, which are less likely to be in accidents anyway.
Check the area covered by a survey linking nuclear power plants to cancer. The survey may have excluded sufferers who fall outside a certain area, or have excluded perfectly healthy people living inside the area.
Do not be fooled by graphs. The scale can be manipulated to make a perfectly harmless bar chart look worrying. Be wary of the use of colours. A certain chewing gum company wanted to show that chewing gum increases saliva. The chart showed the increase in danger to the gums after eating in red and safe time after chewing in blue. However the chart showed that the act of chewing would have to go on for 30 minutes to take the line out of the danger zone. The curve was just coloured in a clever way to make it look like the effect was faster.
Perhaps the most important thing to check for is sample size3 and margin of error. It is often the case that with small samples, a change in one sample or one data item can completely change the results. Small samples can sometimes be the only way to get the analysis done, but generally the bigger the sample size, the more accurate the results are and the less likely a single error in sampling will affect the analysis. For example, people will go on about how 95% of children passed their exams at such a school and 92% of children passed their exams at a different one, but the sample sizes are not actually big enough for the difference to be statistically significant: in a year group of 100, a 3% difference is a difference of three students, which makes the difference insignificant.
The Problem with Statistics
The main problem with statistics is that people like favourable numbers to back up a decision. For example, when choosing an Internet provider, most people will choose the one with the most customers. But that statistic does not tell you other useful things like what their customer turnover might be, what their connection reliability is, what the mean time taken to answer a technical fault call is, and so on. People will simply make the assumption that a lot of customers means that the company should be be all right. Generally this is true, but there are companies which work by having a large body of customers, providing bad service and making it hard for people to cancel their agreements. Just because a company is the most popular, does not automatically mean it is the best.
Common sense can cloud statistical results. For instance, a technology firm discovered that 40% of all sick days were taken on a Friday or a Monday. They immediately clamped down on sick leave before they realised their mistake. Forty per cent represents two days out of a five day working week and therefore is a normal spread, rather than a reflection of swathes of feckless opportunists trying to extend their weekends.
Fundamental to the mathematics of probability is the requirement for conditional probabilities to be independent of each other, such as dice rolls or coin flips. If they are not independent the maths stops working and the answers stop making sense. However, a lot of statistics are worked out at a distance from the core events, so working out if the results are valid can be next to impossible. This is essentially the same as the gambler who thinks his luck must change soon because he couldn't continue to have bad luck all night. This is wrong; there's nothing to say the dice should start rolling your way based on previous behaviour.
Legal History
A more serious problem was highlighted in a court case, in which an innocent man was accused of being at a crime scene, which he denied, but was facing fingerprint evidence. A finger print expert was presented in court by the prosecution, who asked.
Prosecution - 'Assuming that the defendant did not commit this crime, what is the probability that the defendant and the culprit having identical fingerprints?'
Expert - 'One in several billion.'
Prosecution - 'Thank you.'
Defence lawyer - 'Let me ask you a different question. What is the probability that a fingerprint lifted from a crime scene would be wrongly identified as belonging to someone who wasn't there?'
Expert - 'Oh, about 1 in 100.'
It's all about the question asked. The defendant's fingerprints had been incorrectly identified as being the same as the ones lifted from the scene. Several subsequent expert examinations showed that the fingerprints were not the same, even though the fingerprint evidence was submitted in court as fact. It is not a fact, it is a science, and is governed by probabilities.
Other cases involving cot deaths have raised serious questions about the presentation of statistics from experts in court. All too often these are presented as fact in a case. One such case is the story of Sally Clark, who served three years in prison before having her conviction overturned by the Appeal Court in February, 2003. In her case, as with several others in recent years, evidence from expert pathologists stating that the chance of multiple cot


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Indian and Himalayan Art
Herukas and Classes of SpiritsMade in Tibet, Asia
Nyingma, c. 19th century
Artist/maker unknown, Tibetan
Colors on cloth; cloth mountings
Currently not on view
1958-164-1Gift of Stella Kramrisch, 1958
LabelThe term "Heruka"--like its etymological cousin "Herculean"--denotes a type of deity. In a Buddhist context, a Heruka is a heroic, wrathful form adopted by a deity to assist devotees in breaking through ignorance. The monk portraits at the top of this painting represent individuals who promoted teachings about, and worship of, the central deity, whose peaceful form is Vajradhara (seen kissing his consort in the top center). The wild figures surrounding the central couple represent entire classes of spirits associated with mortal and spiritual dangers-such as epilepsy, cannibalism, and delusion-that can be controlled through proper worship of the appropriate Heruka.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Describe Wind?
If one was to describe wind to someone, they would state that wind is caused by the progression of gases on a big scale...
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Some words to describe wind include breezy and cold. Other words that can be utilized include hot and muggy.


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A valid table name in the geodatabase cannot start with a number, it has to start with a character.
Follow proper table naming conventions:
- Names must begin with a letter, not a number or special character such as an asterisk (*) or percent sign (%).
- Names should not contain spaces. If you have a two-part name for your table or feature class, connect the words with an underscore (_), for example, garbage_routes.
- Names should not contain reserved words, such as select or add. Consult your DBMS documentation for additional reserved words.
- Names are limited to 32 characters. The database and schema names do not count toward your 32 characters.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


Los Tres Cabritos, by Eric Kimmel
Los tres cabritos is Eric Kimmel's Tex-Mex take on the traditional story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. In this story, Chupacabra, the "goat sucker," a monster traditionally found in Puerto Rico but also part of folklore in other Hispanic communities, lives under the bridge across the Rio Grande which the three goats want to use to cross into Mexico.
Each goat tells Chupacabra to wait for his older brother, as in the Scandinavian tale, but each goat also plays music for Chupacabra to dance to. The oldest brother, however, can make the monster dance with his music. The biggest brother plays his accordion till Chupacabra ends up exhausted, like a punctured balloon, and the goats all get safely into Mexico.
The book is in Spanish, so it's a great choice for Spanish language classes.
Here are some cross-curricular activities for this book:
 - Use a Venn diagram to compare this book with Three Billy Goats Gruff.
 - The three main musical instruments in the story are the violin, the guitar, and the accordion. A harmonica is also pictured in the book, when the narrator says he always packs his harmonica when heading to Mexico. Bring the instruments or pictures of them to class. Compare them and put them in order by size. Sort them by the way the sound is made: the violin and the guitar are stringed instruments, while the accordion and harmonica are free reed wind instruments.
 - Chupacabra is a traditional monster. Use some of the ideas from our Monster classroom theme to study this creature, or check out the student project page, Chupacabra Home Page.
 - The cabriots had a fine time in Mexico, and were never again afraid of Chupacabra, "or so they said," according to the story. The narrator, however, always makes sure to pack his harmonica, just in case. Ask students to finish the sentence, "I always make sure to pack my ___________ when I go to __________, just in case." Have students illustrate their sentences. Challenge older students to write a story, using their sentence as the final sentence of the story.
 - There is a pinata in the illustrations of the book. Why not make and/or play with a pinata in your class?
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One Comment
 1. Dude, I don't know why this is such a joke to people man, the Chupacabra is real. It's derppod off by alien dudes and stuff. The point is, just like earth has many different kinds of beasts on it, so the places where these aliens and ufos come from also have their variety of beasts. On those long journeys through space, the aliens drop off their pet Chups to feed and the reason you never know where they went is because after they feed they are picked up again. The Chup is as tamed to the aliens as dogs are to humans, but they will get agressive toward strangers and thats why Chups seem so violent. Think about this dude, Chupacabras have the same big eyes as most images of aliens, and dogs, cats,goats, bears and so forth have the same size eyes as us, we from this planet have eyes like this, they from that planet have eyes like that. If you were to go to an alien planet, you would see that most of the creatures there would have those big oval eyes, dude. So lets get real people, the aliens are starting to feel alittle more at home here on earth and no matter where you are in space they would know you are from earth because of your eyes. Thanks for reading dude, I meditate often over real cool instrumentals about things like this often, If you would like to purchase the instrumentals too, just click on my url, peace dude.
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How to Introduce a New Pet Rat
Rats make great pocket-sized pets for people of all ages. Because of their social nature, rats should be kept in pairs or groups so that they enjoy constant companionship. This is easy when buying or adopting rats from the same litter who have already bonded; however, creating friendships between new rats is not always simple. Sometimes, a rat owner needs to introduce a new rat (or multiple rats) to an existing rat or group of rats. By following a gradual, step-by-step process, rats can be introduced without significant injury. This hub focuses on the introduction of a new female rat, Gadget, to the resident female rat, Patches. Interactions between male rats may not be similar.
Please note: Not all rats, male or female, will take to another cage mate. There are some rats that simply want to live in their territory alone. If attempting a slow introduction through small steps does not improve the relationship or aggression either rat experiences, do not force it. Aggressive rats can cause serious harm to one another if they view one or the other as a threat.
How many rats do you have?
1. Quarantine the new rat
When acquiring your new pet rat, professionals suggest that your keep the newcomer in quarantine for one to two weeks before allowing it near your other rats to avoid the transfer of disease. What does this mean? Essentially, quarantine entails keeping the new rat in it's own cage in a separate room without any possible contact with your other rats. This means washing your hands after handling the new rat before tending to your older residents and not swapping out items from the newcomer's cage with anything from your other pet rat's cage(s). Illness can spread quickly through this sort of contact. If you have multiple rats, this could result in many unexpected and undesired vet bills. Some signs of illness to watch out for include:
- lack of energy
- not eating or drinking
- discharge around nose or eyes
- noisy breathing
- excess sneezing
- excess scratching
During this period of time, you can still interact with your new rat and establish a relationship, but keep an eye on the rat's health in the meanwhile. Is your newcomer's nose wet, or crusted with red discharge? Rat noses are naturally dry, and wetness can be a sign of illness. Rat's have sensitive respiratory systems and are more prone to respiratory illness than other animals. An excess of red mucus around the nose and eyes may simply be a sign of stress, especially after moving to a new environment, but can signal to illness if constantly present. Do not confuse the red mucus with blood, but keep an eye on it all the same.
Note: I did not put Gadget through the quarantine, but only because I have had my eye on her long before I purchased her at my current place of work. During this time, she had constantly been with other rats in the small animal display, and was picked on - not ill.
2. Place the cages side by side
After the quarantine period, the next step to introducing the new pet rat is placing its cage side-by-side with the resident rat cage. The cages themselves should be just far enough apart that the rats in each cage cannot reach out and touch each other (especially their tails). This allows the rats to smell and see each other and thus become accustomed to each other. Sense of smell is a big deal to rats, and is much stronger than their eyesight. Like people and other animals, rats have different personal scents; when female rats are housed together, you will often catch them "scent-marking" in different areas of the cage, especially if another rat has urinated there previously. Sometimes rats will mark you because you smell like another rat!
Did You Know?
Did you know that you can help introduce your rats by letting them run around in the other's cage? Letting each rat explore the other's smell helps it become a familiar scent, and helps them become better friends!
The rat cages should spend at least one week next to each other this way, every hour of every day. It is important that the rats become used to each other's scents so that the newcomer smells less like an impostor and more familiar. If anything, the rats in both cages should be curious about each other, sniffing and looking at each other and sometimes showing excitement. If your resident or new pet rat is instead showing aggressive behavior or hissing, proceed through the following steps with caution. The rat may have an aggression toward other rats, and may be less likely to accept another cage mate.
3. Introduce them in neutral territory
A few days after placing their cages together, you can continue by having a play date between your resident and new rats. To minimize territorial behavior on behalf of the resident rat, the first introduction should be done in neutral territory - a place where your resident rat or rats do not usually play. A common compromise is the bathtub, but can be the bed, the couch, or anywhere else that the rats do not hang around. The bathtub was the best neutral ground for us, and should (theoretically) be harder for the rats to climb out of or escape than a sofa. When having a first play date, be sure to have something soft, like a towel, along the bottom of the tub, and plenty of tempting treats in the middle for the rats to share. Rats love treats, and eating them together is a great way for them to bond.
There is a method on YouTube called The Glove Rat that works great when introducing new rats, especially when one or both rats seem jumpy, nervous or potentially aggressive toward the other. In the video below, a woman essentially follows the rats around with a gloved hand while keeping close watch on their behavior. The idea is to deflect any negative confrontation between the two rats that has the potential to ruin their relationship, such as biting and scratching. If you get the sense that the rats are going to get into a fight of aggression, you quickly place your gloved hand between them and break it up. The glove is there for your own protection, and makes the process feel less nerve-wracking.
See the Glove Rat in Action!
It is normal during play dates for the rats to exert dominance on one another in the form of pinning each other down and forcefully grooming the other, pushing the other rat away or chasing them around. During these situations, the submissive rat will let out little "eeps" that sound low, like whispers, and simply mean that they give up. All of this is normal rat behavior - dominance is a big deal in rat colonies, and even rats sharing a cage will have scuffles over dominance. You should be concerned if a rat squeaks very loudly, or "screams" in pain, or if the rats are taking their fighting to a level you don't like. Some signs of rat aggression include:
- pulling a rat's hair out
- biting and drawing blood
- swinging it's tail around
- hissing at other rats
Watch the play date closely and following your gut. If you think one of the rats is taking it too far, separate them. The first few play dates should be relatively short; fifteen minutes is enough for the first few days, and you can introduce them as many times as you prefer each day. As the days pass, the rats should know each other more and need to be separated less. If you have an aggressive rat on your hands, give them some space for a while before you try again.
Note: after a while, Patches (who has ninja-like reflexes and moves) learned that she can pounce out of the bathtub. If you can't keep your rats in the tub either, you can introduce them anywhere neither of them has played before - kitchen counters work, as well as tables. It's up to you.
4. Introduce them in familiar territory
Once you feel your new and resident rats are making progress, you can start putting them together in familiar territory - a place where the resident rat likes to play on occasion. This is different from the previous step because your resident rats will feel partially territorial about their play date location. This place can be the bed, the sofa, or anywhere your resident rat might consider their own. The interactions between the rats here may be more tense than in neutral territory, so having keen eyes and using a gloved hand are very important here. Your resident pet rat may feel the need to guard her territory, and more dominance fights may break out than expected. Be sure to watch that neither rat is injured or overly aggressive toward the other; if the behavior escalates to a violent level (or if you feel the need to separate them), end the session for a little while and give it another try later.
Tip: If play dates in the resident rat's territory aren't going well, take a step backward and have the sessions on neutral ground again. You can repeat this until you feel the rats can move up to the resident's territory again, as many times as you feel necessary. Depending on your rats and their personalities, this step can be simple or take a few tries.
Need a new rat cage?
5. House your rats in the same cage
When your new and resident rats have bonded enough to share the same cage, you can either put them in a brand new cage, or move them into one of the cages either rat has been living in during your introductory phases. It is more economical to move them into a preexisting cage, but this step involves a lot of cleaning, rearranging, and time. It is best to complete this step on a day when you plan on being home and can monitor the rats, as well as in the morning when your rats are sleepiest.


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The Burris farm wagons
A collection of turn-of-the-century farming and ranching machinery has been on display for the past 30 years at the Burris Ranch headquarters south of Albuquerque, N.M., reminding passersby that agriculture was as diverse historically as it is today.
The farm implements and ranch wagons belong to Elizabeth Burris, who moved with her late husband, Weldon, to southwestern New Mexico in 1949 to establish a cattle ranch. The fertile valley of northern Socorro County, nourished by the Rio Grande River, supported the Pueblo Indians' ancient farming practices and, since the time of Spanish explorers, a rich ranching culture.
The Burrises leased the Lajoya Land Grant from its owner, a Montana man named Campbell whose first name Mrs. Burris does not remember, although he was known locally as 'Gen. Campbell.'
In time, the couple bought the Lajoya property, as well as other New Mexico ranches, including the Lazy E near Deming, in Luna County on the Mexican border. In 1972, they received the farming implements as a gift from Campbell, to thank them for their long lease of his land.
The farm implements, which are representative of Midwestern rather than New Mexican traditional farming, include a sulky plow, a small disk, cultivators, a dump rake, an iron-wheeled sickle mower and a road grader. Some pieces were long ago painted a dark green with red trim to match the wagons. The grader is a Galion brand; the name is cast into the machine. It was used on the Burris Ranch in Deming.
On display along with the implements, and intended to represent New Mexico's ranching heritage, are two vintage wooden wagons, which Mrs. Burris said probably are John Deeres. Deere & Company began selling such wagons in the 1880s.
Remnants of dark green and red paint remain on both; one is a supply wagon and the other is a chuck wagon, its faint 'Lazy E' lettering still visible. Mrs. Burris said both she and her husband traveled the range on trail rides with these wagons many times from Deming to Bosque, N.M. Chuck wagons were an important piece of equipment to the cowhands on long cattle drives. All would gather round the chuck wagon to eat their fill of breakfast at morning's first light, and return to it later in the day for their lunch and supper.
Little traffic passes the Burris Ranch headquarters these days, and few stop to ask about the vintage equipment on display, but Mrs. Burris said she plans to just keep it in place. FC
- Charles Perry is a freelance photographer and writer who lives in Belen, N.M.


What is the distinction of life insurance premium and proceeds?
To put it simply, life insurance premiums are what you pay to the life insurance company, while the proceeds are what the life insurance company pays to the insured or his beneficiaries as a result of a claimable event, such as the insured death.
That means that premiums cover the cost of the insurance. This amount is computed by the actuarial department of the insurance company. The computations take into consideration mortality, as well as expenses such as company overhead and agent's commissions. And since the premiums are based on mortality tables, premiums will vary depending on your gender, age, health situation and whether you smoke or not.
The life insurance premiums are also dependent on the kind of policy being bought. If it's a term policy, the premiums will be lower, as compared to a whole life or return to premium policy.
The method of paying for your life insurance premiums may vary. You may pay your premiums as a single amount, or you may pay it in installments - annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly.
As for the life insurance proceeds, this amount is usually paid tax free, after the beneficiaries have provided sufficient proof as to the claim and proof of their identity as beneficiaries.
Depending on the life insurance product you buy, the proceeds may be paid due to the death of the insured, as well as a diagnosis of a critical illness on the part of the insured (this is when the policy includes a critical illness rider). For return to premium benefits, the treatment with regards to taxes may vary, so it is best to check with your CPA.
The life insurance company may pay the proceeds as an annuity (recurring payments over a period of time) or as a lump sum.
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Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
- First attested probably in 1472.
- From Middle English absurdite, then from either Middle French absurdité, or from Late Latin absurditas ("dissonance, incongruity"), from Latin absurdus + + -itas.
- Surface analysis: absurd + -ity
- (obsolete, rare) Dissonance. [Attested from around 1350 to 1470 until the late 17th century.]
- (countable) That which is absurd; an absurd action; a logical contradiction. [First attested in the late 15th century.]
- His travels were full of absurdities. - Johnson
- (uncountable) The quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment. [First attested in the early 16th century.]
- The absurdity of the actual idea of an infinite number. - John Locke
- 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page viii
- Neither [Jones] […] nor I (in 1966) could conceive of reducing our "science" to the ultimate absurdity of reading Finnish newspapers almost a century and a half old in order to establish "priority."
the quality of being absurd
an absurd action
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
- ^ 1984, Urdang, Laurence editor, The Random House College Dictionary, New York, NY: Random House, Inc., ISBN 0-394-43600-8, page 7:
- ^ 1976, Gove, Philip Babcock editor, Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Co., ISBN 0-87779-101-5, page 8:
- 2003, Brown, Lesley editor, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, edition 5th, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7, page 10:


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You get this error when two or more Oracle APEX applications have the same alias.
When you import the sample application in the same workspace and give it a different ID, the alias is changed automatically so it's unique. However when you import an application in a different workspace, the alias is not being replaced by a unique value, which might result in the error: "The application alias "X" can not be converted to a unique application ID."
There's an easy way to find where those applications are with the same alias by running the following query (as a DBA or a user with the APEX_ADMINISTRATOR_ROLE):
select workspace, application_id, application_name from apex_applications where alias = 'X'
This will give you the workspace, application id, and application name with the specific alias.


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Dwell time is generally referred to as the time drivers spend at facilities waiting to drop off or pick up loads – and it's one of the more vexing challenges for stakeholders across the supply chain. Dwell impacts stakeholders at all levels of the supply chain, causing imbalanced load volumes, carrier arrival delays, inefficient on-site operations and much more. It's also a critical concern in achieving differentiation as a shipper of choice.
Learn more about the ROI of Real-Time Transportation Visibility
What is Dwell Time in Trucking?
As Chris Cunnane of ARC Advisory group put it during one of our recent webinars, "Carriers stand to make more money by keeping their trucks on the road, rather than sitting in warehouse yards or loading docks. While carriers can charge detention fees, they'd rather keep their trucks in motion. Detention fees can be difficult to collect and lead to delays in payment."
Dwell time is closely linked to detention costs for shippers. It can cause congestion at ports, facilities and border crossings. Finally, it has major repercussions for the amount of capacity available for the industry as a whole. If companies are to successfully minimize the effects of dwell time on their supply chains, it's required they first understand it in all its most common forms.
In the over-the-road trucking industry, dwell times usually occur at pickup or delivery facilities, as trucks are forced to sit waiting for an empty loading dock to load or unload their goods. It has major environmental ramifications, as drivers often find themselves idling for long periods of time at the pickup or delivery facility.
FourKites research has shown that loads with a greater level of complexity, such as mixed-pallet shipments containing orders for multiple customers within a single truck, can significantly increase dwell times as dock and warehouse crews struggle to unload these shipments in the same time frame it takes to unload trailers filled with a single type of good.
What is Container Dwell Time?
Contrary to truckload dwell time, container-based dwell typically occurs at a port or railyard, as large metal shipping containers filled with bulk goods are transferred from a ship or train to a new mode of transportation for the next leg in their journey.
Because goods being unloaded at a port have seldom reached their final destination, delays at ports and railyards can quickly compound into causing further delays for the truck waiting to pick them up for the final leg of their journey.
How Can You Measure Dwell Time?
Measuring dwell time is a critical first step to reducing its impact throughout your operation. To do so properly, however, requires a holistic, multi-layered approach. Since the factors that commonly influence dwell times exist at all levels of the supply chain, the ability to identify exact chokepoints within your own operation are key to achieving meaningful improvement in reducing dwell.
There are several key metrics that can contribute to the dwell time performance of a load. Because some amount of dwell is normal in any supply chain, why it's important to set target compliance thresholds which can help identify loads and facilities that fall outside of your target dwell.
FourKites handles this through our custom-designed Dwell Scorecard, a part of our Facility Manager reporting module which provides the ability for individual sites and facilities to analyze historical Warehouse Management System (WMS) data and identify operational bottlenecks.
Some of the key metrics we use to inform our Dwell Scorecard are as follows:
- Number of loads/appointments
- Percentage of non-compliant loads
- Percentage of delayed carrier arrivals
- Average delay of delayed arrival loads
How Can You Reduce Dwell Time?
FourKites' research has shown that dwell can be quickly and significantly lowered, once you know where the key problems are occurring. In our past collaborations with our shipper, carrier and 3PL partners, we've repeatedly found that some of the most common causes of high dwell times are as follows:
- Load Complexity: More complex orders, such as mixed-pallet loads, can contribute to greater delays at pickup and delivery facilities. By grouping purchase orders so that similar goods are delivered at the same time, or by scheduling higher-complexity loads to arrive during off-hours when delays are less likely to occur, FourKites customers have been able to successfully reduce detention throughout their supply chains.
- Arrival Times: FourKites research has shown a direct correlation between high load volume and high dwell times, suggesting that load-balancing initiatives across both time of day and day of the week can be key to reducing dwell.
- Check-In Procedure: Complex or convoluted check-in procedures at facilities can quickly result in a long line of trucks and a bottleneck for both pickups and deliveries. Therefore, simplifying and consolidating check-in procedures, for example by implementing paperless check-in technologies, is an easy way to lower detention costs throughout the organization.
Once you have identified the root causes affecting high dwell times within your organization, the potential value is high. Here are a few quick success stories from within the FourKites network:
- Using FourKites in conjunction with several existing logistics partnerships, Land O'Lakes reduced median dwell time by 21% per load in just three months.
- One of the largest meat producers in the US slashed their monthly detention costs by 22% within their first year of using FourKites. This translated to a positive return on investment from detention savings alone within the first six months.
- Specialty paper manufacturer Pixelle Specialty Solutions reduced dwell times by 20% within the first eight months of adopting visibility technology.
Clearly there are significant opportunities for streamlining operations, improving sustainability, and strengthening carrier relationships by targeting reduced dwell time throughout the supply chain. More than just helping a single organization, however, effective reductions in dwell times send positive effects cascading throughout the rest of the industry in turn, ultimately resulting in fewer missed appointments, happier drivers and more available capacity throughout the industry as a whole.
Especially in times of crisis, it's hard to find a better return on investment than that.


Sarichioi, Constanta, Tulcia, Mila 23, Murighiol, Mamaia, Mangalia, Olimp, Neptun, Saturn, Jupiter, Dunabe, Dunabe Delta, Sulina, Lipovans, Black Sea, Lacul razim
Sarichioi a paradise on earth
Eurasian Hobby
The Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo), or just simply Hobby, is a small slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus Hypotriorchis.
Adults are slate-grey above with a dark crown and 2 short black moustachial stripes. The throat is unstreaked white, thighs and undertail coverts are unstreaked rufous and rest of the underparts are whitish with black streaks. Close views enable the red "trousers" and vent to be seen. Sexes are similar. Juveniles are generally much browner, with scaled upper parts and streaked buffy thighs and undertail coverts.
The Hobby has a distinct first-summer plumage.
This species breeds across Africa, Europe and Asia. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa and Asia.
It is a bird of open country such as farmland, marshes, taiga and savannah. They are widespread in lowlands with scattered small woods. It is an elegant bird of prey, appearing sickle-like in flight with its long pointed wings and square tail, often resembling a swift when gliding with folded wings. It flies powerfully and fast. It will take large insects, such as dragonflies, which it transfers from talons to beak and eats while soaring slowly in circles. It also captures small bats and small birds like swallows, swifts, pipits etc. in flight. Its speed and aerobatic skills enable it to take swallows and even swifts on the wing, and Barn Swallows or House Martins have a characteristic "hobby" alarm call. It is known to harass swallows while they are roosting and dispersing from roosts. When not breeding, it is crepuscular, hawking principally in the mornings and evenings. While on migration, they may move in small groups.
Hobbies nest in old nests of crows and other birds. The tree selected is most often one in a hedge or on the extreme edge of a spinney, whence the bird can observe intruders from a considerable distance. It lays 2-4 eggs. Incubation is said to take 28 days and both parents share in this duty, though the female does the greater part.
It is a very bold and courageous bird and was used in falconry, trained to hawk birds like quails, larks, hoopoes, drongos etc.


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Image credit: markus spiske | Flickr
Here are 10 things every entrepreneur can tweet about, which can allow your clients and prospects to see another side of you:
1. Personal news: Share the big events of your personal life — vacations, weddings, births — the type of info you'd share with close friends. It can help keep your followers feeling like they're "in the loop." You're also more likely to make a connection with followers who have experienced something similar.
2. Mistakes and lessons: Sharing mistakes and what you learned is a sign of growth, not weakness. Try doing a "What I learned this week" tweet and see how your followers respond.
3. Answers to questions: If someone asks a question on Twitter and you know the answer, share it. This can also be a way to develop a FAQ within your industry, which you can later point them to via a link.
4. Links to articles: They key to sharing articles is to also include your unique opinion. Let others know why you liked or didn't like an article.
Just remember that your opinion paints a public image, which means you should be cautious about which opinions you choose to share — ideally only those which are congruent with your market. Keep the rest to yourself.
5. Pictures of unusual things you see: If something catches your attention, it's probably going to catch the attention of others, too. So why not share it? This includes visually impressive products, food and architecture.
6. Wisdom from the book you're reading: When you hit a "golden nugget" of wisdom in a book, share it. It not only shows that you're well read, but that you value wisdom. Those are two things that can only help your reputation.
7. Interesting advertising: When a billboard or any other advertising catches your attention, take a picture and tweet it. Everyone can benefit from seeing smart marketing.
8. Fun purchases: Sharing your recent purchases, such as music, video games or sports equipment can stir up comments and conversations from others that have bought similar items and enjoy the same kind of entertainment.
9. Share wisdom from outside the world of business: Quotes from sports heroes, military leaders and artists can teach us about innovation and leadership, which are essential to business success.
10. Your work: The greatest links you can share are links to your personal work, but don't limit that to what you do professionally only. If you have a hobby or passion for something creative, share it.
What types of tweets would you add to this list? Leave a comment below and let us know.


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An infomercial is a form of television commercial, which generally includes a phone number or website. Most often used as a form of direct response television (DRTV), long-form infomercials are typically 28:30 or 58:30 minutes in length. Infomercials are also known as paid programming (or teleshopping in Europe). This phenomenon started in the United States, where infomercials were typically shown overnight (usually 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.), outside of peak prime time hours for commercial broadcasters. Some television stations chose to air infomercials as an alternative to the former practice of signing off. By 2009, most infomercial spending in the U.S. occurs during the early morning, daytime and evening hours. Stations in most countries around the world have instituted similar media structures. The infomercial industry is worth over $200 billion.
While the term "infomercial" was originally applied only to television advertising, it is now sometimes used to refer to any presentation (often on video) which presents a significant amount of information in an actual, or perceived, attempt to promote a point of view. When used this way, the term may be meant to carry an implication that the party making the communication is exaggerating truths or hiding important facts. Often, it is unclear whether the actual presentation fits this definition because the term is used in an attempt to discredit the presentation. Hence, political speeches or conventions may be derogatorily referred to as "infomercials" for a specific point of view.


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CT teens develop bullying app to protect peers
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WHDH) -- A group of Connecticut teens has developed an app to protect their peers. The app is called 'Back off Bully' or 'BOB'.
They hope it will change the way schools respond to the issue across the state.
Statistics show one in four Connecticut kids suffers the horrors of bullying.
"Students are bullied and they don't know how or where to go to get help," said Christina Puglisi, a BOB developer.
The brainchild of 14 teens in a New Haven design class may become standard operating procedure at schools across the state.
The web app is an anonymous resource. When kids witness or are the victim of bullying they can use their computer, smart phone, or iPad to report the incident. The app will ask questions about where and when the bullying is happening. All of the reported information is put in a data base so administrators can study it for common threads, intervene and break the bully's pattern.
"It's not something adults are telling them something to use, it's something kids are making for one another," Adam Scott who worked with research and design, said of the app.
"Instead of doing negative things for their phone, do a positive thing. Report somebody," said Michelle Zheng, a Bob developer.
"We're making reporters out of the 400 students at our school. So we can hope that we're catching more of that bullying and be able to actually affect change," said Puglisi.
Students have already begun promoting the app around the Metropolitan Academy. They plan to make a big push with next year's freshman class.


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Japan is one of the world's most rapidly ageing countries. According to statistics, 23 percent of its population of about 120 million people was aged above 65 in 2010. By 2055, this percentage is expected to double.
The country's woes do not stop there. Japan's population is also shrinking at a negative compounded annual growth rate of a half-percent each year. Its total fertility rate is 1.3, far below the replacement rate.
Likewise, Singapore suffers from similar problems. While Japan has the world's most aged population, Singapore's population is among those ageing fastest in Asia. In Singapore, the percentage of people aged over 65 will double to 20 percent of the population by 2030. The nation's fertility rate last year is a meagre 1.2.
Both countries — two of the most developed in Asia — share interesting parallels when it comes to demographic trends. Japan started grappling with the burden of a greying population in the 1970s, 30 years before this issue emerged proper in Singapore.
Given that Singapore seems to be following in Japan's footsteps in terms of demographic challenges, it would be particularly pertinent for Singapore to observe what Japan has done with its healthcare system and the challenges that lie ahead for the country.
An overview of Japan's healthcare system
In 1961, Japan became one of the earliest countries worldwide and the first in Asia to successfully implement universal medical insurance coverage. Japan's universal health and social care system offers each Japanese citizen free choice and access to healthcare.
Following a uniform fee schedule, citizens pay between 10 and 30 percent of the cost as co-payment. This is lower for young children and the elderly.
Beyond universal medical insurance, Japan has also put in place Long Term Care Insurance (LTCI) for the elderly.
Many of the policy makers and academics I have spoken to during my travels overseas as a member of KPMG's Global Healthcare practice have repeatedly touted Japan's LTCI for aged citizens as probably the greatest innovation the country can share with the world.
Indeed, there are good reasons for Japan to be proud of its LTCI system.
Since 2000, the mandatory scheme entails payment of premiums starting at age 40 for all citizens, topped up by subsidies from the government — central, prefecture and municipal.
LTCI then reimburses 90 percent of healthcare expenses to providers which range from semi-public welfare corporations and hospitals (which are all non-profit) to for-profit companies providing home and respite care. All providers are licensed and supervised by the local governments.
Fees for each service are set by the national government and revised every three years. There is also a comprehensive list of services available to elderly citizens, from day rehabilitation centres to 24-hour home visits, and this list is updated as new needs are identified.
As countries including Singapore consider universal coverage and equitable access for both healthcare and elderly care, Japan's fairly successful model which differentiates and covers both is well worth studying.
Challenges Japan still faces
Japan's hospital sector still struggles with inefficiency issues and low profitability. According to Japan Hospital Federation's 2010 report, 85 percent of government sector hospitals and 37 percent of private sector hospitals are suffering losses.
Where do these inefficiencies lie?
For one, the Japanese show a heavy reliance on hospital care. The average hospital stay in Japan lasts 20 days — more than three times the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of seven days.
While Japan has a large number of acute hospital beds relative to the size of its population at an estimated 14 beds per 1,000 people in 2010, many of these beds are currently being inappropriately used for the long-term care of the elderly. This has led the Japanese Government to drive the conversion of a-third of the one million acute hospital beds to community beds for long-term elderly care or assisted living beds over the next few years.
While a revision of the national fee schedule for medical and social care occurs every two years, there is increasing pressure to cap reimbursements to healthcare providers as cost and government budgetary pressures mount.
Japan's national medical and long-term care expenditures are also expected to increase significantly as the population ages and shrinks, with fewer adults of working age supporting the elderly. Japan is therefore under an increasingly unbearable financial burden.
To fund such relentlessly increasing expenditure, Japan's Diet has recently passed legislation to double consumption tax from five to 10 percent over the next three years. This is, however, understandably a difficult political decision to make.
As healthcare costs rise, it would seem that no amount of savings or pooled premiums collected will ever be enough for Japan.
Lessons for Singapore
Japan's steady-handed approach to healthcare contains lessons for countries with ageing populations such as Singapore.
The various obstacles it now has to overcome also provide Singapore with a better idea of what to expect in terms of healthcare for a graying population.
Singapore's national healthcare system is marked by the 3MsMediSave, a compulsory savings plan for hospitalisation expenses; MediShield, a low-cost insurance scheme for catastrophic illnesses and MediFund, an endowment fund set up by the Singapore Government to help those who cannot afford their medical bills even after the first 2Ms have kicked in.
In addition, Eldershield, Singapore's limited and voluntary version of long term care insurance for severe disabilities was also launched in 2002.
The key questions now are whether enough Singaporeans are taking up these schemes and whether payouts are sufficient for the high medical costs.
Following Japan's example, Singapore policymakers may need to consider whether more schemes should be compulsory. How can mindsets of Singaporeans be changed, so that they are more open to the idea of paying higher premiums at a younger age? How can the insurance dollar be stretched, and coverage be extended equitably beyond hospitals into long-term and social care?
The Eldershield scheme is due for review in 2013, and it may be timely for all these to be considered then.
Another key lesson Singapore may learn from Japan is that the right model for healthcare is vital to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources.
Singapore is already on the correct path- a major part of Singapore's Healthcare 2020 vision entails increasing capacity to achieve a 30 percent increase in acute hospital beds, tripling of community hospital beds, and adding another 6600 nursing home beds.
Moving ahead, hospitals can think about how they can be horizontally integrated to achieve sustainable economies of scale. More can also be done in assisting healthcare providers in implementing shorter term cost-cutting or process improvement initiatives.
The route ahead for healthcare and elderly care in Singapore is no easy one as the challenges an ageing population poses are severe and urgently require attention. Learning from the successes and pitfalls of others who have embarked on similar journeys will provide us with ideas on how to move forward.
This article is contributed by Dr Loke Wai Chiong, Director, Global Healthcare Practice, KPMG in Singapore. The views expressed are his own.


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Better phosphorus source
Testing sustainable fertilizer reclaimed from waste
Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013
By Rachel Webber, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences
Pierce College student Arielle Munn adds fertilizers to marigolds and peppers in the greenhouse.
PUYALLUP, Wash. – Phosphorus recycled from human and animal waste for plant fertilizer could ease demand for the dwindling, increasingly expensive rock-mined element.
Scientists at Washington State University have found plants flourish with struvite, a material in waste composed of magnesium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Teamed with Multiform Harvest, a Seattle phosphorus recovery company, the researchers are fine-tuning the application and amounts of fertilizer in hopes of marketing a product and benefiting the world's food supply.
"You can't continue mining a finite resource forever," said Rita Hummel, a scientist at the WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center. "But as long as we … can reclaim struvite from animal manure and sewage, then this is something that's sustainable.
We're figuring out how to use it effectively and safely."
Tomato 'Early Girl' and marigold 'Little Hero Flame'
from early experiments with struvite, triple
superphosphate and no phosphorus.
Benefits to local economy, water quality
Hummel is using Multiform Harvest struvite from wastewater treatment plants at Yakima, Wash., and Boise, Idaho. In addition, struvite from manure at dairy farms could result in development of regional nutrient recycling.
"When you feed a cow, about 20 to 25 percent of the phosphorus the cow eats ends up in the milk carton," said Joe Harrison, Hummel's scientist colleague at WSU. "That means about 70 to 85 percent doesn't end up in the milk carton and ends up in the manure."
Not only could reclaiming struvite from waste localize production and distribution, but it could also help mitigate water pollution problems such as overloading phosphorus in agricultural soils.
"The research being performed at WSU is central to us generating the hard data we must have to get this recycled phosphorus into the agricultural market, from large fields to specialized greenhouses and nurseries," said Kevin Fullerton, product developer for Multiform Harvest.
In previous greenhouse crop studies, Hummel discovered she could grow plants with struvite just as well as with the commercial phosphorus source, triple superphosphate. Crops like basil, cucumber, marigold and tomatoes barely sprouted without phosphorus, but flourished with struvite from King County municipal wastewater.
With support from a U.S. Department of Agriculture small business innovation research grant, she will experiment with different rates and ways of applying the struvite—adding it to the potting mix, sprinkling it on the surface or placing it beneath the plant—and looking at how quickly it is released.
"One of the things we need to look at here in the Puget Sound is if this is slow-release," Hummel said. "We think it is and (we) are very interested in a slow-release product so it doesn't leach out the bottom of the pots, run down the drain and into the streams, rivers and Puget Sound."
Hummel is also interested in researching how the product interacts with Douglas fir potting mixes popular in the Pacific Northwest.
Variety of products
Most phosphorus in the U.S. comes from Florida. But U.S. production could decline sharply in the next 30 years, Fullerton said. Then the world will depend mainly on stockpiles in Morocco, China, South Africa and Jordan.
With the federal funding and WSU research, Multiform Harvest would use anaerobic digesters to recycle waste into crystalized solid fertilizer, providing growers with products like earth spikes, mixes and tablets that release nutrients.
"If we can take … a waste disposal problem and turn it into a fertilizer that actually replaces something we have to mine and are running out of - that's sustainability," Hummel said.


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Housing more than half of the global population, Asia is a region characterised by increasingly diverse forms of migration and mobility. Offering a wide-ranging overview of the field of Asian migrations, this new handbook therefore seeks to examine and evaluate the flows of movement within Asia, as well as into and out of the continent. Through in-depth analysis of both empirical and theoretical developments in the field, it includes key examples and trends such as British colonialism, Chinese diaspora, labour migration, the movement of women, and recent student migration.
Organised into thematic parts, the topics cover:
- The historical context to migration in Asia
- Modern Asian migration pathways and characteristics
- The reconceptualising of migration through Asian experiences
- Contemporary challenges and controversies in Asian migration practice and policy
Contributing to the retheorising of the subject area of international migration from non-western experience, the Routledge Handbook of Asian Migrations will be useful to students and scholars of migration, Asian development and Asian Studies in general.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Asian Migrations and Mobilities: Continuities, Conceptualisations and Controversies, Gracia Liu-Farrer and Brenda S. A. Yeoh Part I: Asian Migrations in The Historical Context 1. Colonial and Postcolonial Migrations, Sunil S. Amrith 2. The Changing Meanings of Diaspora: the Chinese in Southeast Asia, Els van Dongen and Hong Liu Part II: Asian Migration Regimes and Pathways 3. Temporary labor migration, Michiel Baas 4. Intimate Migrations: The Case of Marriage Migrants and Sex Workers in Asia, Maria Cecilia Hwang and Rhacel Salazar Parrenas 5. Intra-Asia Higher Education Mobilities, Rochelle Yun Ge and Kong Chong Ho 6. Diaspora Engagement and State Policies of Return Migration in Asia, Elaine Lynn-Ee Ho and Madeleine Lim Pei Wei 7. Ethnic Return Migration in East Asia: Japanese Brazilians in Japan and Conceptions of Homeland, Takeyuki (Gaku) Tsuda 8. Conceptualising Asian Medical Travel as Medical Migrations, Andrea Whittaker 9. From Asia with Money: the Emigration of the Wealthy, Gracia Liu-Farrer Part III: Re-Conceptualizing Migration Through Asian Experiences 10. Migration and the Production of Migrant Mobilities, Weiqiang Lin and Marielle Stigum Gleiss 11. The Infrastructural Turn in Asian Migration, Johan Lindquist and Biao Xiang 12. The Cultural and Economic Logics of Migration, Jamie Coates 13. Internal and international migration: Separate or integrated system?, Ronald Skeldon 14. Human Trafficking or Voluntary Migration? Lessons Learned from Across Asia, Pardis Mahdavi 15. Critical Expatriate Studies: Changing Expatriate Communities in Asia and the Blurring Boundaries of Expatriate Identity, James Farrer PART IV: Challenges in Asian Migration 16. Migration, Poverty and Source Communities, Robert Cole and Jonathan Rigg 17. Remittances, Migration, and Trade, Philip Martin 18. Transnational Migrations and Plural Diversities: Encounters in Global Cities, Brenda S.A. Yeoh 19. Growing Up in Transnational Families: Children's Experiences and Perspectives, Theodora Lam, Shirlena Huang, Brenda S.A. Yeoh and Jocelyn O. Celero 20. Noncitizen Political Engagement, Erin Aeran Chung and Rameez Abbas 21. Irregular Migration in Asia: Are New Solutions in Sight?, Marujia M.B. Asis and Graziano Battistella 22. Mobilities on Edge: Migration at the Margins of Nation-States, Juan Zhang
Gracia Liu-Farrer is Professor of Sociology at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Japan.
Brenda S.A. Yeoh is Professor in the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore, and Research Leader of the Asian Migration Cluster at NUS's Asia Research Institute.


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Here you see what genocide means
New project sets out to trace sites of Holocaust mass-killings
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Debois, a French priest, has been collecting testimonies since 2001
Often desolate, in isolated fields and overgrown forests, many sites of Second World War mass-shootings of Jews are in danger of being forgotten.
And yet locals remember what happened in these places, and can point the way. Their memories have formed the basis for a new mission to secure and preserve such sites. Of the six million Jews killed, more than a million were murdered by mass-killing units, mostly on the outskirts of towns and cities.
"A lot of the mass-graves have been ignored and fallen into the wrong hands. At some sites, people are digging them up," said Joe Shik, 30, a rabbinical supervisor for the London-based Committee for the Preservation of Jewish Cemeteries in Europe.
Mr Shik recently took part in a pilot project to assess the state of several sites in Ukraine, co-ordinated by the American Jewish Committee, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and the German War Graves Commission. German's Foreign Ministry has given 300,000 euros to the project.
"It's not like in Germany, where you have Jewish communities around," said Jan Falbusch, program manager at the American Jewish Committee office in Berlin, who led the recent delegation to Ukraine. "There is nothing. You are walking through empty streets which used to be Jewish. You see Jewish traces. You walk in an old Jewish cemetery that is vandalised. So in a way, you kind of experience what the term genocide really means."
The project was inspired by the work of the French Catholic Priest Patrick Desbois, who since 2001 has visited sites of mass-shootings of Jews in Ukraine and collected eyewitness testimonies. Based on these testimonies, which are preserved in Desbois's Paris-based Yahad-in-Unum archive and at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, the delegation was able to locate and assess the condition of a handful of sites in December.
Few people are left who could point the way to such sites, said William Mengebier of Yahad-in-Unum. Some elderly Ukrainians may not recall dates, but they vividly recall the massacres and often lead researchers to the sites.
Some need to be marked off with fences, and in some cases, another layer of earth may have to be added to cover exposed graves, Mr Shik said.


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Aliens under the rainbow
The geometry that gives rise to rainbows may help scientists to find out whether other planets contain water, which is necessary to sustain life. Rainbows are formed because light rays are bent, or refracted, and scattered as they enter droplets of liquid that hang in the atmosphere. The refraction occurs because light waves are slowed as they enter the droplet — think of a shopping trolley slowing down as you push it onto a lawn at an angle, and changing its direction as a result. The amount by which the light rays are slowed, and hence bent, depends on the liquid's consistency and is measured by its refractive index. Thus, different liquids give rise to rainbows at different angles, a fact that enabled researchers to determine that the clouds of Venus are droplets of concentrated sulfuric acid. Researchers now suggest that the same approach could be used to detect clouds made of liquid water in a planet's atmosphere.
posted by Plus @ 4:12 PM


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Standard C: Manages Classroom Climate and Operation
Manages Classroom Climate and OperationPhotos of Students Working in Various ArrangementsPhotos of Daily Routines and ProceduresReflective Essay
Students Hard at Work…The students worked in many different arrangements. Sometimes they were at their desks, but other times they worked in small groups at tables, on the floor and even on the windowsill. Letting students work where they feel comfortable creates a positive productive environment.
As students worked in smallgroups on their Pearl Harbor isBurning ABC posters, expectationswere repeatedly said anddisplayed on a chart in the room.Setting clear expectations that aredelivered in various formats is anintegral part of effective classroommanagement to keep students ontask and productive.
Daily Routines Every morning, the students would pass in their homework in one bin and take the morning work to get started on out of the other bin. Students would also pass in any notes from home in the third bin. This table with bins was located right by the classroom door.Students all had a daily job to perform. Whoperformed what job was changed weekly.Jobs included purell patrol for before lunch,paper passers and line leaders. Having jobscreated an environment of ownership overthe classroom and instilled responsibility inthe students. When the students started to lose focus or were sitting for too long, we got up and moved! Students would choose one of the Drive Thru Menu options to perform. This activity helped with getting students energized and paying attention.
At the end of each day, I did read aloud time with the class. Our first book was Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies andhere I am starting the second book, Swindle by Gordon Korman. The read aloud was a great way to build classroomcommunity. The students were always eager for read aloud time. It was also a great way to manage the ten to fifteenminutes after Reading class and before dismissal. It brought a nice sense of closure to the end of the day. As a way to manage class behavior, the class worked towards minutes each week to earn free choice time on Friday.
Reflective Essay: Standard C Throughout my practicum, I learned that effective classroom management needs to happen beforeanything else can. I implemented lessons and activities in the classroom that had students work collaborativelyand allowed them to work in different areas of the room, but this would not have been possible without propermanagement. Proper classroom management includes things such as setting clear expectations, building areward system to motivate students and creating an environment that holds all students responsible. Setting clear expectations was something that I worked on throughout my practicum. At the beginning, Isometimes assumed that just giving directions or expectations aloud was enough. I soon learned that just sayingsomething once is not enough to ensure all students follow what was said. To ensure students workedproductively and cooperatively in situations such as small group work, I began to say, write and displaydirections. For example, the students created ABC Pearl Harbor posters in small groups. If I just told thestudents once what I expected the final product to be and how they were to work together, the room would havebecome chaotic. Instead, before anyone moved into groups I talked about the final product and showedexamples from another class, I fielded questions, I assigned the groups and I wrote the four expectations onchart paper and left the chart displayed in the room. One thing I learned I should have done was designatecertain areas where groups could work and how many groups per area. I found that three groups gravitated tothe rug and tried to morph into one big group. I used this experience to set different spots for literature circlesthat the groups rotated through so everyone got a chance at each location. Building a reward system for the class as a whole is also an effective management technique that Iobserved and used. Miss Chiles set up a system where the students earn minutes for choice time at the end ofthe week. The class needs to get at least ten minutes for choice time to happen. During choice time, the studentscan play a game, color, look at fun 3-D books or play with the various blocks and legos and building sets in theroom. Basically, choice time is ten minutes in the day for indoor recess. To earn the minutes, the class as awhole needs to be following directions, being quiet when it is time to be quiet, staying focused and on task etc.The class can also lose minutes for doing the opposite of what should be happening. This was an effectivetechnique that helped the class as a whole be motivated and work together towards achieving a goal. As I began
to take over, I tried to use the minute system, but I put it to the backburner and did not do a good job offollowing the system. On a particular couple of days, the students kept entering the room loudly and not settlingin to begin morning work or afternoon work after recess. I tried to have a stern discussion with them about itand one student asked why I was not doing minutes anymore. I had no real answer for this student, but I didbegin following the minute system again and I saw the behaviors improve. This was proof for me that having amotivational system in place works. Once I have my own classroom, I will remember to implement a systemsuch as the minutes and follow it consistently. Creating a classroom environment that all students feel responsible for and ownership over is animportant classroom management technique. When I began the practicum and was just observing, one of thefirst things I noticed was how well the students took to having jobs in the classroom. They took pride in theirjobs and ensured they got done so that the classroom would run smoothly. For example, before dismissal time Iobserved students emptying pencil sharpeners, passing out lunch boxes, picking up stray items from the floorand inspecting each other's desks for neatness. I was impressed by how these small tasks really created a feelingof community where everyone pitches in. The students were proud that they contributed to some aspect ofrunning the classroom. Having jobs in the classroom is something I want to continue with as a way to buildcommunity and promote responsibility. Student seating arrangement is also something I paid particular attention to in terms of classroommanagement. The students' desks were arranged in groups so that they could easily work with one another andlearn cooperatively. I think grouping desks instead of putting them in rows is a much more effective way toachieve authentic learning. The students do not have to feel like they are alone in the learning process. If theyhave a question, they can easily turn and ask a neighbor for help. I think this is the way learning happens ineveryday life. Having desks in groups does pose some management challenges however. One thing I noticed isthat during quizzes or tests or other work that needs to be completed independently the students have to put up acardboard shield. Having the students get the shields and set them up takes a few minutes and they can bedistracting for some. However, I think the benefits of grouping outweigh the inconveniences of setting upshields. Another challenge to management is the fact that sometimes students take the opportunity to chat with
neighbors about things other than the task at hand. I had to diligently work with Miss Chiles to adjust wheresome students sat if they were getting distracted by friends sitting too closely. Of course, some level of chatterbeyond school work is expected. But, when it begins to take away from school work or distracting otherstudents, seats need to be moved. The teacher has to play an active role in knowing who can handle sittingwhere. Students with IEPs also need to be considered because some IEPs state that students need to sit as closeas possible to the board or to where the teacher spends most of the time. However, it is worth working throughthese few challenges to group students and create a collaborative learning environment.


Question: Can A Puppy Get Parvo After First Shot?
Are puppies protected after first shots?
After that, annual booster vaccinations are needed to maintain your dog's immunity..
How likely is it for a puppy to get parvo?
Risk Factors Dogs of any age can get parvo, depending on their vaccination history, but some dogs are more susceptible than others: Puppies 6 to 20 weeks old are most susceptible (it takes some time for the vaccination series to become fully protective).
Can a puppy get parvo after second shot?
What does parvo poop look like?
Are puppies safe from parvo after first shot?
Puppies are vaccinated against parvo at approximately 6, 8, and 12 weeks of age. They are vulnerable to the disease until they have received all three shots in their vaccination series, which means owners need to take extra precaution during this time to prevent their puppies from contracting the virus.
How long does it take for a parvo vaccination to protect puppies?
Parvo Prevention Vaccines for the parvovirus are recommended for all puppies and are usually given in a series of three shots when the pup is between 6-to-8 weeks old, again at 10-to-12 weeks, and at 14-to-16 weeks. A booster shot is administered one year later and every 3 years after that.


- Uncaged
How Healing from Sex Trafficking Happens for Survivors
Updated: Mar 2, 2020
Hello Friends,
I have so much joy as we move closer to opening the first Sanctuary this year. We have a lot to do and a long way to go, but we can finally approach the starting line! As we focus on preparing to get the program in place, I wanted to share a bit more about how transformation in the Sanctuary will happen. Starting survivors' healing journeys is complex work. We're so glad we have a team of experts like Dr. Vanessa Snyder to guide us.
Dr. Snyder is designing the therapeutic elements that will aid survivors' restoration. She's currently the Director of the Institute for Trauma and Recovery at Richmont University. She's been researching best practices in accompanying survivors for almost ten years! Our Uncaged team sat down with her to learn from her expertise. We're excited to share a snippet of that conversation with you below!
As always, we are so grateful for your encouragement and support.
Uncaged: Can you tell us a little bit about the trauma that happens in sex trafficking?
Dr. Snyder: I think one of the distinctions of trauma in sex trafficking is its complexity. Many trafficking survivors already have a history of some kind of trauma, or many traumas, during their developmental years. Those traumas may include abuse, neglect, poverty, war, or a host of other things. But trafficking becomes an additional horror they experience. Trafficking is a trauma that occurs over a long period of time. Most traumatic events happen in one occurrence -- a car accident, a death, events like that. In sex trafficking, survivors experience many traumatic incidents over a lifetime.
Dr. Vanessa Snyder (L) specializes in therapy for survivors.
The fact that it's sexual trauma magnifies the already devastating effects. Sexual experiences are always powerful. The sexual nature of the trauma can bring in a spiritual element to the wounds. For survivors, the trauma can become deeply ingrained in the mind, body, and soul.
Uncaged: Wow. Given that the trauma is that complicated and intense, is healing really possible?
Dr. Snyder: Yes! Healing is absolutely possible, but it looks different for each individual. We have to make space for what survivors think health looks like for them. Sex trafficking takes away survivors' ability to say who they want to be and what they want their lives to be like. The last thing we would want to do is repeat that pattern when we're trying to help!
Uncaged: That makes sense. If it depends so much on the individual, what do best practices look like?
Dr. Snyder: Healing for all survivors of sexual abuse, and particularly sex trafficking, includes some necessary components across individuals. For example, every survivor of complex trauma needs a place that is safe and stable. We know that sex trafficking takes away three things from survivors: 1) Voice 2) Choice and 3) Power. Equipping survivors to heal means giving back their ability to choose, speak, and direct their own lives.
At the Sanctuary, that means we actually give survivors the choice to stay or to leave. Gradually, we give survivors the chance to make choices with different levels of impact. They can choose what they want to eat for breakfast. They can choose what they want to do in their academic empowerment session. Eventually they have to re-learn how to absorb good and bad consequences for choices they make. Our job is to provide a safe space where they can explore at their own pace, and boundaries help make the space safe.
Uncaged: When you describe that balance, it almost sounds a bit like a family.
Dr. Snyder: It does have some similarities to a family: community, connection, and relationship. Survivors need to experience consistent care, from a variety of people. Staff members at the Sanctuary will be trained in a trauma-informed way. Every interaction at the Sanctuary will either accelerate or impede healing. In therapy, we often say that 60% of healing work happens in the formation of relationships.
Uncaged: The model you're describing at the Sanctuary sounds incredible! We know that a lot of people around the world want to pour into the work there. How can people far away support survivors?
Dr. Snyder: That's a great question. First and foremost, I would invite everyone to pray for survivors. It's a long, hard road for them even after they're free, and prayer makes an enormous difference. The second suggestion I'd offer is for people to take stock of their own skills and abilities. Then, they can see how they could join Uncaged and other anti-trafficking organizations' efforts. No one person, not even one organization, will turn the tide on Human Trafficking. We all need to have our hands open to connect globally. Every person has valuable talents and treasures to share. And we need every gift to end this evil.
Uncaged: Thank you so much, Dr. Snyder. We're so grateful for your work and your vision.
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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'apsaras' tag.
In both Hindu and Buddhist mythology a group of beautiful & ethereal female spirits inhabit the skies. These elegant beings are known as apsaras. They are lesser goddesses of water and clouds. In classical Indian literature apsaras are often portrayed dancing seductively in the courts of the gods or married to ganharvas—nature spirits who play celestial music for the gods. Both groups of entities are particularly connected with the court of Indra, the god of the skies and storm, and also king of the gods (although that title is less absolute in Hinduism than in other cosmologies).
In many myths, apsaras are cast as supporting characters. They are roughly analogous to nymphs and naiads in Greek mythology or angels in Abrahamic myths. Indra constantly felt threatened by great ascetics who amassed titanic spiritual and magical power through physical austerity. One of his favorite ways of dealing with these powerful yogis was to send apsaras to seduce them—which is why many heroes of Indian myth have a sexy apsara as a mother and a crazed hermit as a father! In addition to being masterful dancers apsaras could alter their form at will (although I can't think of any story where they were anything other than beautiful). They also ruled over the vicissitudes of gaming and gambling.
Apsaras can be recognized because of their tiny waists and their pronounced feminine attributes. Usually they are pictured dancing gracefully, clad (or partially clad) in lovely silk skirts and bedecked with gold jewelry and precious gems. Often they are gamboling in the skies or playing in the water. Additionally apsaras tend to be crowned with gorgeous ornate headdresses.
Sculptures of apsaras are frequently a principle component of classical Indian temples and the gorgeous undulating female forms remain a mainstay of Indian art. These celestial dancers were also particularly esteemed in Southeast Asia. Classical art and architecture from Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos frequently features the lovely spirits. Recently a controversy has broken out in the Cambodian community involving contemporary paintings of apsaras which some critics deem too racy for refined tastes. Ascetics beware!


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25. What is Relationship set?
The collection (or set) of similar relationships.
26. What is Relationship type?
Relationship type defines a set of associations or a relationship set among a given set of entity types.
27. What is degree of Relationship type?
It is the number of entity type participating.
28. What is DDL (Data Definition Language)?
A data base schema is specifies by a set of definitions expressed by a special language called DDL.
29. What is VDL (View Definition Language)?
It specifies user views and their mappings to the conceptual schema.
30. What is SDL (Storage Definition Language)?
This language is to specify the internal schema. This language may specify the mapping between two schemas.


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There are many kinds of connectors that crimp onto a wire. These connectors serve a wide variety of purposes, which all relate to joining wires together to make circuits.
A crimp-on connector has an end of a wire inserted into it, and then you crush the connector in a specific way so that it grabs the end of the wire. Often one uses a crimping tool, but in some cases pliers can do the job. In some cases there are special purpose crimping tools for specific connectors.
It is arguably a good idea to also solder a wire to a crimp on connector. Many claim that a crimp on connection doesn't give a good enough electrical connection, and that soldering does a much better job. Some do not crimp at all but only solder. While others only crimp and do not solder. Clearly to each their own.


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PENINGKATAN MINAT BACA DAN LITERASI INFORMASI MASYARAKAT MELALUI PROGRAM UNGGULAN PERPUSTAKAAN UMUM DI BALI
This research is a part of a research entitled "The Role of Public Libraries for the Society (Case Study of Public Libraries in Bali). This study examines the efforts of public libraries in Bali in improving literacy and literacy skills of public information through various programs developed by each district public library. The research method used in this research is qualitative research, where data is collected through interviews with librarians and staff in public libraries. the results of the research indicate that each district / municipal public library has excellent programs to increase reading interest of the community as well as improving the information literacy skills of the community. Some of the leading programs developed include: mobile services, story telling, inter-library loan, ancient manuscripts, and special services. Implementation of the leading program by the public library aims to make the library as a public space where people can meet each other and share knowledge.


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hits a weak return that I can put away for a winner.
To say that the Boyd cycle is important is not to say that it is everything. In some real-time competitions, material factors predominate. In sports, the ability to out hit, outrun, and outlast your opponent usually trumps observing and orienting skills. In tennis, for example, strong young players consistently whip lard-assed old geezers like me. Advantages similar to strength, foot speed, and stamina are provided in wartime by a nations personnel pool and its industrial, technological, and logistical base. As Napoleon Bonaparte observed, "God is on the side of the big battalions." Or, as Damon Runyons character Nathan Detroit explained with greater precision: "The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong, but thats the way the smart money bets."
I would also add that in many real-time competitions, frame of mind is extremely important. Winners have grit. In battle, grit means physical, moral, and intellectual courage. In sports, it means the will to win. Again, as Napoleon observed: "In war, the morale is to the material as the ratio of six to one." (Obviously, Napoleon was fond of hyperbole.)
Grit is important to business competition, as are various material considerations. But the ability to perform Boyd cycles faster and more appropriately than your competitors is the crux of success in business competition -- by success I mean earning supranormal profits. In the remainder of this essay I will explain what Boyd cycles mean in terms of business competition. I will show why the ability to perform Boyd cycles faster and more appropriately than your competitors is of paramount importance to profitability. Finally, I will show how to organize the firm to speed up Boyd cycles.
Businesses participate in two kinds of competitions: games against nature and games against rivals (games of strategy). Golf, for example, is primarily a game against nature; tennis is partially a game of strategy. In games against nature, material and morale factors predominate. Paradoxically, under the economists competitive ideal -- where there are many perfectly informed buyers, many perfectly informed sellers, a standard product, and competition is simply a matter of price -- inter-firm rivalry resolves to a game against nature. The key to success in this game lies in improving operating processes faster than your rivals. However, the material inputs used by firms in a competitive industry, the equipment and technology, the functional skills and organizational designs that are available to one tend to be equally available to all. Consequently, the search for a lasting competitive advantage through process improvement or cost reduction is usually futile. In a perfectly competitive industry each of the participants must strive constantly to improve operating processes and to reduce costs just to survive.
Another way of putting this point is to say that competition tends to drive the rate of return on invested capital to "normal" levels, which is approximately the same as the yield on long-term government securities adjusted to take into account the risk of capital loss. Investors will not accept less than the normal return and firms that fail to earn this rate eventually go out of business. If perfect competition were the rule, all the firms in a given industry would face identical capital costs. That is rarely the case. There are many obstacles to the free movement of capital -- including information asymmetries and, in some cases, national borders, although these barriers have tended to atrophy in recent decades. More importantly, some firms are simply more profitable than their competitors and expand at their expense. Investors like supranormal returns and capital tends to flow to industries and firms earning supranormal returns.
What, aside from good luck or truly exceptional incompetence on the part of their competitors, permits some firms to dominate their competitors and thereby earn supranormal profits? Industrial organization theorists tell us that the answer is market power, which is secured through monopoly or quasi-monopoly in the marketplace. Among the means by which a firm can become or remain a monopolist are the following:
1. Collusion with the other members of the industry to restrict output and raise prices above perfectly competitive levels;
2. Special knowledge about the product or production techniques that enables the monopolist to make a better product that other firms cannot imitate or to make it at a lower cost;
3. Government protection, the easiest way to keep a monopoly where products or techniques can be easily imitated by others, as is usually the case -- patents are one kind of government protection, the Hudsons Bay Companys royal franchise is another;
4. Sound product-market strategies and tactics.
We are concerned here primarily with the elaboration and implementation of sound product-market strategies and tactics. It is generally agreed that, where governments do not protect monopolies and where legal institutions make it harder to collude than to compete, creating and defending a monopoly is by no means easy. Unfortunately for the monopolist (although not for the rest of us) competitors are attracted to supranormal returns like moths to a flame.
In war, one of the most effective strategies combines offensive operations with defensive tactics. By this I mean taking a defensive position that threatens the base of your opponents, thereby forcing them to attack a prepared position or to withdraw ignominiously. If your opponents attack, they often expose themselves to destruction in the form of a well-timed counter attack. Getting to the market first with a superior product is the competitive analog of taking the high ground. It forces the competition either to withdraw or to attack the incumbent with similar or improved products. As in war, it is easier to defend a given position than to attack it successfully.
Entrenched products have several competitive advantages. First, they are familiar to customers. Later entrants must overcome consumer awareness and product reputation if they are to capture market share. Lacking a superior product or a significant cost advantage, this is hard to do. Early entrants also have production experience; they are therefore likely to have moved farther down the learning curve and to have lower costs than later entrants. In some cases, the initial entrant grows large before potential competitors can act. Because it has already spread its fixed costs over many units of output, its per-unit cost is lower than that which any follower could hope to soon achieve. Moreover, getting to the market first often means that the early entrant can make mutually advantageous arrangements with suppliers, giving it preferential access to parts and raw materials. Similar arrangements are possible with wholesalers and retailers. These arrangements can be substantial barriers to entry on the part of potential competitors, even where the initial entrant is earning substantial monopoly profits.
Knowledge of the early entrants competitive advantages is often enough to deter potential competitors. As Michael Porter explains:
Good defense is creating a situation in which competitors, after [considering the factors] described above or actually attempting a move, will conclude that a move is unwise. As with offensive moves, defense can be achieved by forcing competitors to back down after a battle. However the most effective defense is to prevent the battle altogether.
The very fact that the initial entrant has made the first move gives it a major advantage. It has already taken a position, made investments, and acquired product-specific assets (that is, sunk costs) that make it unlikely that it will exit the industry without a fight. Moreover, this commitment gives the entrenched firm an incentive to spend more money to defend its position than potential competitors are willing to spend to take it away from them.
Should competitors nevertheless attack an entrenched firm, it can counterattack employing a variety of maneuvers involving price, product, promotion, and place. The following example illustrates some alternative price maneuvers, not because they are more important than those involving product, promotion, or place, but because I understand them better due to my own background and training.
It takes time to develop products, order components, acquire plant and equipment, train personnel, inform customers, and so on. Owing to adjustment costs, other things being equal, the more quickly followers try to enter a market, the higher their costs. This means that the entrenched firm has the option of following a passive pricing policy, treating its hard-won monopoly as a cash cow and milking it. In which case, it will start by charging a high price for its product. Ultimately, subsequent entrants will erode the entrenched firms market share and gradually force it to lower its price to the competitive level. The speed of this process will depend upon its head start, the height of the barriers facing potential entrants, and the initial price.
Presumably, the entrenched firm will set a lower price than if it ignored the future. Nevertheless, profits today are worth more than future profits (assuming positive interest rates) and its owners could "take the money and run." This tactic is illustrated by the price schedule labeled "Passive" in Figure 2, where the schedules show the per unit price asked by the initial entrant over time, the vertical axis shows price, the horizontal axis shows the number of firms in the industry, and the line labeled "p = c" and also "NLAC" shows the nth firms long-run average cost schedule -- the competitive price level, where for illustrative convenience constant average and marginal costs are assumed. Note that under this tactic, price eventually falls to the competitive level and "n" firms comprise the industry -- approximating the case of perfect competition, although if the early entrant has a long-term competitive advantage, it will continue to earn supranormal profits and to be the dominant firm in the industry for some time.
This is essentially the tactic that IBM followed when it entered the personal computer market. To take revenue from what was then a tiny but growing market, IBM launched the PC in 1981. Subsequently thousands of small software companies wrote application software for the PC, causing PC sales to skyrocket. IBM initially set the price of the PC


The Birds Directive and Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981
This piece of domestic legislation remains a very important statute relating to wildlife protection in Scotland.
The Birds Directive
The Birds Directive is the short name for Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conservation of wild birds.
This Directive requires the classification of European sites known as Special Protection Areas for species on Annex I but also provides legal protection for all wild bird, their nests, eggs and habitats within the European community.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 was a fairly simple source of wildlife law in Great Britain when it was enacted to implement the Birds Directive and Bern Convention. But the legal picture is now more complex.
Firstly, the Habitats Regulations 1994 introduced a separate set of rules for those species (and habitats) protected under the Habitats Directive.
Secondly, devolution resulted in changes to the 1981 Act, through the:
Further, the Habitats Regulations in Scotland differ from those in England and Wales.
View the consolidated version of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. This may not show all the amendments as they apply in Scotland.
The 1981 Act applies to our terrestrial environment and inshore waters (within 12 nautical miles of land).
Part 1 of the Act details a large number of offences in relation to the killing and taking of wild birds, other animals and plants.
Schedules attached to the Act categorise species. The level of protection given to a species depends on the schedule it's listed on.
The main schedules are:
NatureScot and the other country agencies must review Schedules 5 and 8 every five years.
You can also view a table of all of Scotland's protected species, which details the legislation under which each is protected.
As noted above, there are many offences in relation to the killing and taking of wild birds, other animals and plants. Some offences are specific and others more general. For example, it's an offence to commit or attempt to commit specific actions in relation to protected species of animal, bird and plant.
Corroborated evidence is usually needed to secure a conviction in Scotland. But a person may be convicted of taking or destroying birds' eggs on the evidence of a single witness.
Some offences require intentional or reckless behaviour on the part of the accused.
Other offences are of strict liability (e.g. the possession or sale of specimens). This means that the law expects accused persons to show their innocence. If you hold a protected species, you do so at your own risk.
There are various exceptions to – or defences against – the offences set out by the legislation, including licensing.
Discover the specific offences listed for each protected species.
Learn more about licensing.
Find out about wildlife crime.
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