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Is it good or bad to be able to see ghosts? I've been wondering about this since I recently realized that I've been seeing ghosts ever since I began to study freshwater mussels about 30 years ago.
There's nothing special about being able to see ghosts — all mussel ecologists can do it. Our native mussels make thick shells, some weighing more than a pound, that can last for decades or centuries, especially in places where the water is hard (rich in calcium). This means that when you visit a river, you can see the ghost shells of mussels that lived in 1940, or 1840, along with the shells of mussels that are living in the river today.
So mussel ecologists can see the past and present at the same time. Each of the 300 species of freshwater mussels in North America has its own habitat preferences and uses its own set of fish species to carry its larvae. Thus, mussel ghosts tell you not only what kinds of mussels used to live in a river, but also what the habitat was like and what kinds of fishes could be found there.
Let me give you an example. One of the first places I visited as a young ecologist was the mouth of Macon Creek in Michigan. I saw a nearly stagnant stream filled with warm water having the temperature and odor of fresh urine. Algal scum covered the stream bottom, and construction debris tumbled down its banks. Not surprisingly, I didn't find a single living mussel in the creek. The scene was unappealing in the extreme.
But the ghost shells of 18 species of mussels (the most I have ever seen at a site) showed me a different scene. At the same time that I was seeing the squalid scene in front of me, I was also seeing the creek mouth as it must have been before the land was cleared in the 19th century.
A small, clear creek overgrown with willows swings through broad loops before entering the river. The sandy spit where the two streams meet is covered with hopeful young sycamores and the tracks of sandpipers. Upstream of the creek mouth, the river flows in a foam-flecked green pool shaded by the graceful parents of those little sycamores. Downstream, a bright riffle sparkles in the sun. The water is filled with minnows and sunfishes and multicolored darters, and the air is filled with waxwings and warblers and black-winged damselflies.
You can imagine the emotions that these ghosts evoked in me — delight in discovering that such a lovely spot once existed in the monotonous landscape of southeastern Michigan, mixed with sadness at its demise.
I wonder how we would feel if we could see all of the ghosts around us. What if we saw the shadows of great flocks of passenger pigeons flickering on the ground each year during the migration seasons? Or the thin trails of wood smoke rising from Indian encampments along the creek every time we drove past I-84 and Route 9? Or if looking down from the Walkway Over the Hudson, we saw both the empty muddy water of 2012 and the clear water of 1750, alive with the numberless shads swimming up the river in huge schools?
I really don't know if it would be a good thing or a bad thing if we could see all of these ghosts. But I do know from my own unsettling experiences as a mussel ecologist that being able to see ghosts forever changes the way that you think about the world and our role in it.


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Kayani, Khan, Khar, Khattak, Khuhro, Lakhani, Leghari, Lodhi, Magsi, Malik, Mandokhel(MAYO, Marwat, Mengal, Mughal, Palijo, Paracha,Panhwar, Popalzai, Qureshi, Rabbani, Raisani, Rakhshani, Soomro, Sulaimankhel, Talpur, Talwar, Thebo, Yousafzai, and Zamani.
In Pakistan the official paperwork format regarding personal identity is as follows;
So and so, son of so and so, of such and such caste and religion and resident of such and such place. For example, Amir Khan s/o Fakeer Khan, caste Mughal Kayani or Chauhan Rajput, Follower of religion Islam, resident of Village Anywhere, Tehsil Anywhere, District.
In 1849, Governor-general Narciso Clavería y Zaldúa decreed an end to these arbitrary practices, the result of which was the Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos ("Alphabetical Inventory of Surnames"). The book contained many words coming from Spanish and the Philippine languages such as Tagalog and many Basque surnames, such as Zuloaga or Aguirre.
In practice, the application of this decree varied from municipality to municipality. Some municipalities received only surnames starting with a particular letter. For example, the majority of residents of the island of Banton in the province of Romblon have surnames starting with F such as Fabicon, Fallarme, Fadrilan, and Ferran. Thus, although there perhaps a majority of Filipinos have Spanish surnames, such a surname does not always indicate Spanish ancestry.
The vast majority of Filipinos follow a naming system which is the reverse of the Spanish one. Children take the mother's surname as their middle name, followed by their father's as their surname; for example, a son of Juan de la Cruz and his wife Maria Agbayani may be David Agbayani de la Cruz. Women take the surnames of their husband upon marriage; so upon her marriage to David de la Cruz, the full name of Laura Yuchengco Macaraeg would become Laura Yuchengco Macaraeg de la Cruz.
There are other sources for surnames. Many Filipinos also have Chinese-derived surnames, which in some cases could indicate Chinese ancestry. Many Hispanicised Chinese numerals and other Hispanicised Chinese words, however, were also among the surnames in the Catálogo Alfabético de Apellidos. For those whose surname may indicate Chinese ancestry, analysis of the surname may help to pinpoint when those ancestors arrived in the Philippines. A hispanicised Chinese surname such as Cojuangco suggests an 18th-century arrival while a Chinese surname such as Lim suggests a relatively recent immigration. Some Chinese surnames such as Tiu-Laurel are composed of the immigrant Chinese ancestor's surname as well as the name of that ancestor's godparent on receiving Christian baptism.
In the predominantly Muslim areas of the southern Philippines, adoption of surnames was influenced by connexions to that religion, its holy places, and prophets. As a result, surnames among Filipino Muslims are largely Arabic-based, and include such surnames as Hassan and Haradji.
There are also Filipinos who, to this day, have no surnames at all, particularly if they come from indigenous cultural communities.
A common Filipino name will consist of the given name (mostly 2 given names are given), the initial letter of the mother's maiden name and finally the father's surname (i.e. Lucy Anne C. de Guzman). Also, women are allowed to retain their maiden name or use both her and her husband's surname, separated by a dash. This is common in feminist circles or when the woman hold a prominent office (e.g. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Miriam Defensor-Santiago). In more traditional circles, especially those who belong to the prominent families in the provinces, the custom of the woman being addressed as Mrs. Husband's Full Name is still common.
For widows, who chose to marry again, two norms are in existence. For those who were widowed before the Family Code, the full name of the woman remains while the surname of the deceased husband is attached. That is, Maria Andres, who was widowed by Ignacio Dimaculangan will have the name Maria Andres viuda de Dimaculangan. If she chooses to marry again, this name will still continue to exist while the surname of the new husband is attached. That, if Maria marries Rene de los Santos, her new name will be Maria Andres viuda de Dimaculangan de los Santos.
However, a new norm is also in existence. The woman may choose to use her husband's surname to be one of her middle names. Thus, Maria Andres viuda de Dimaculangan de los Santos may also be called Maria A.D. de los Santos.
Children will however automatically inherit their father's surname if they are considered legitimate. If the child is born outside wedlock, the mother will automatically pass her surname to the child, unless the father gives a written acknowledgment of paternity. The father may also choose to give the child both his parents' surnames if he wishes (that is Gustavo Paredes, whose parents are Eulogio Paredes and Juliana Angeles, while having Maria Solis as a wife, may name his child Kevin S. Angeles-Paredes.
In some Tagalog regions, the norm of giving patronyms, or in some cases matronyms, are also accepted. These names are of course not official, since family names in the Philippines are inherited. It is not uncommon to refer to someone as Juan anak ni Pablo (John, the Son of Pablo) or Juan apo ni Teofilo (John, the grandson of Theophilus).
Until the 19th century, the names were primarily of the form "[given name] [father's name] [grandfather's name]". The few exceptions are usually famous people or the nobility (boyars). The name reform introduced around 1850, had the names changed to a western style, most likely imported from France, consisting of a given name followed by a family name.
As such, the name is called prenume (French prénom), while the family name is called nume or, when otherwise ambiguous, nume de familie ("family name"). Although not mandatory, middle names (Romanian numele mic, literally, "small name") are common.
Historically, when the family name reform was introduced in the mid 19th century, the default was to use a patronym, or a matronym when the father was dead or unknown. The typical derivation was to append the suffix -escu to the father's name, e.g. Anghelescu ("Anghel's child") and Petrescu ("Petre's child"). (The -escu seems to come both from Old Slavonic -ьскъ and/or from Latin -iscum, thus being cognate with Italian -esco and French -esque.) The other common derivation was to append the suffix -eanu to the name of the place of origin, especially when one came from a different region, e.g. Munteanu ("from the mountains") and Moldoveanu ("from Moldova"). These uniquely Romanian suffixes strongly identify ancestral nationality.
There are also descriptive family names derived from occupations, nicknames, and events, e.g. Botezatu ("baptised"), Barbu ("bushy bearded"), Prodan ("foster"), Bălan ("blond"), Fieraru ("smith"), Croitoru ("taylor").
Romanian family names remain the same regardless of the sex of the person.
Although given names appear before family names in most Romanian contexts, official documents invert the order, ostensibly for filing purposes. Correspondingly, Romanians often introduce themselves with their family names first, especially in official contexts, e.g. a student signing a test paper in school.
Romanians bearing names of non-Romanian origin often adopt Romanianised versions of their ancestral surnames, such as Jurovschi for Polish Żurowski, which preserves the original pronunciation of the surname through transliteration. In other cases, as with Romanians of Hungarian origin, these changes were often mandated by the state, as was the practice during the period of communist rule.
In Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese cultures, the family name is placed before the given names. So the terms "first name" and "last name" are generally not used, as they do not in this case denote the given and family names.
Chinese family names have many types of origins, dating back as early as pre-Qin era:
In history, some changed their surnames due to a naming taboo (from Zhuang 莊 to Yan 嚴 during the era of Liu Zhuang 劉莊) or as an award by the Emperor(Li was often to senior officers during Tang Dynasty).
In modern days, some Chinese adopt a Western given name in addition to their original given names, e.g. Lee Chu-ming (李柱銘) adopted the Western name Martin, which can often be used as a nickname of Chu-ming. The adopted Western name can be put in front of their Chinese name, e.g. Martin LEE Chu-ming. In addition, many people with Chinese names have non-Chinese first names which are commonly used. Sometimes, the Chinese name becomes used

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


RTC Build Traceability with UrbanCode Deploy
There have been great developments in the past 12 months or so to improve the traceability between builds managed by RTC and UrbanCode Deploy.
 1. RTC build definitions now have built-in support for post-build deployment steps. If you use the Jazz Build Engine as your build engine, you can specify connection information and component information in the build definition itself to allow the build process to push a new version of the build result into a new component version. This is great and makes it simple and easy to accomplish getting your builds to the deployment engine. See Freddy's blog entry from about a year ago on this very topic for more details. There are of course some limitations to this feature. It assumes you want to push your build result into a single UrbanCode Deploy component. This is fairly unrealistic in that most applications of even modest complexity will most likely have more than one component in their application. If you build each component individually, then you are all set. However, if you have a single build file for the entire application (or for more than one component), this feature won't cut it. To solve this, you can always use the old tried and true method of adding ANT tasks to your build.xml to create a new component version and push the contents into that version.
 From a forward traceability perspective, RTC build results records also have links that you can add. A common practice is to create a link to the UrbanCode Deploy component that gets created.
 2. UrbanCode Deploy also has a feature that allows you to create links associated with component versions. These links can be URLs to anything you want, but the best use of this feature is to provide a link back to the build entries that produced the component version. In the case of RTC, a simple link to the build result record gives you that backward traceability. If you use another build engine like Jenkins, for example, you can also create another link that points back to the Jenkins job that produced the build.11-20-2014 12-03-08 PM
 And there are REST and command line API calls that allow you go GET and PUT links. This makes the creation of the link something you can do as part of the build step of pushing a new component version to UrbanCode Deploy.
So both RTC and UrbanCode Deploy have the ability to create and maintain links to and from build result records and component versions. But let's examine a bit closer how these links can be used to enhance the visibility of code as it walks down the release pipeline.
But first a quick aside. RTC has the concept of baselines and UrbanCode Deploy has the concept of snapshots. At some point in time someone needs to lay out some strategies on how these two concepts can be used together. The concept of a baseline in RTC collects together all of the code versions of all the files in all the selected components (RTC component here) into a single entity. This make sense to do at build time. At the same time, UrbanCode Deploy has the concept of a snapshot that essentially does the same thing but at a build output level. There may be additional components in a snapshot that don't have a corresponding build equivalent, but marrying the two concepts is something I hope the Rational development teams consider. Being able to build all components of an app, take an RTC snapshot of the code that corresponds to that build, push all the components into UrbanCode deploy as new component versions, and create a snapshot of the application with the new component versions seems like a logical thing to do. I am sure there are many scenarios where this simple case breaks down, but the concept is solid. Adding links to more element types in UrbanCode deploy will help make this a reality.
OK, now back to our story. We have the bi-directional traceability between RTC build results and component versions via links on either side. But as the components get deployed to new environments as they move down the release pipeline, there is no indication of that movement in the RTC build record. How can we make this happen? Let's build a plug-in.
The concept of the plugin is that each time a component version gets deployed to a new environment, let's put some type of indication in the build result record to indicate that it has been deployed to environment X. This way anyone observing the build result record will know how far into the release pipeline, if at all, the build output has made it. The easiest way to do this is to use the tag field of the build result record. Tags can be anything so let's add some tags to indicate deployment to environments.
In order to do this programmatically, we need to take advantage of the RTC Java API. For any release of RTC, you can get a zip file of the Java API jars that can be used to write java programs that manipulate RTC elements. There were a few jazz.net articles here and here that I used to help come up with the code I wrote. I also made the plug-in step that adds the tag a two step java plug-in (the plug-in calls a java program that then collects properties and then spawns another java process to do the work). This was for a specific reason. The code that does the work needs the RTC Java API jar files in its classpath. For the latest release of RTC, there are about 100 jar files that make up the classpath list. I didn't want to include that entire set in the plug-in. Therefore, I ask the user to provide a path to the directory that holds these jar files. I then spawn a second java process that includes this directory in its classpath. This also keeps the plug-in RTC version-independent as long as the Java API for builds doesn't change that much and it puts the onus on the user to get those jars.
So I created a plug-in step that adds a tag to the list of tags of an RTC build result record. The information needed for this step is relatively small: the RTC URL, a username and password, and the UUID of the build result record, and the tag to add. The java for this took a bit of time but again using existing examples made things much easier.
The other step in the plug-in that I created was getting the RTC build result ID from the component version link. The URL to an RTC build result looks something like this:
The id fragment at the end is the UUID of the build result record. So the plugin step needs to get the link from the component version, then parse that link to get the build record UUID, and then create an output property to hold that value so that the previously mentioned java step can use it. There is a REST API call that can be used to get the link from a component version. Groovy can then be used easily to parse the full URL and retrieve the id.
So here is a working example. I envision that at the end of a component deployment process you would add these two steps to update the build result record.
11-20-2014 2-10-24 PM
Here is the details for the first step, GetBuildId. It takes the parameters mentioned above. Using component name and version name properties makes this step dynamic. The link name comes from the process of creating the link through an ANT task when building the component. And the output property is simply whatever you want to call it.
11-20-2014 2-12-32 PM
Here are the properties for the second step. The RTC parameters are self explanatory. The build result record UUID is the property that is set by the previous step. And the Java API location is where the user has unzipped the RTC Java API files on the agent server. The tag value also uses the current environment name property so that this step works for any environment.
11-20-2014 2-15-43 PM
Both of these steps work in my environment without a hitch. If you are interested in trying it out, you can get the plug-in source code here in this IBM DevOps Services project. Let me know how it goes.
2 thoughts on "RTC Build Traceability with UrbanCode Deploy
 1. HI Darrell,
 I found this blog very interesting. I have a related question. Have you ever used the RTC Work Items plugins that ships with UCD? I am wondering how you get the work item ID into the steps included in this plugin. Is it a manual thing? Or is there a way to pass the work item id as part of the post-build deploy? I thought I could use build properties to set a component version property, but the former are immutable.
 Thanks for you thoughs.
 - Vincent,
 Yes, the RTC plug-in expects a work item ID in the property. How you get it there is up to you. You can manually enter it but that isn't practical. Or you could use the very same process that I am using here with a component version link. As part of the build process, you can add a link to your RTC work item via the command line method. Then use the exact same process I am using to retrieve the ID from the link create a step property out of the ID and then pass it to the RTC work item plug-in step the same way I am passing it to my custom step.
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- Similar to bicycles and mopeds, power-assisted bicycles are prohibited from use on certain provincial controlled-access highways.
- Any municipal by-law prohibiting bicycles from highways under their jurisdiction also apply to e-bikes. Municipalities may also pass by-laws specific to e-bikes that prohibit them from municipal roads, sidewalks, bike paths, bike trails, and bike lanes under their jurisdiction.
To operate an e-bike on Ontario roads, an e-bike must meet the following equipment requirements:
- Have a maximum unladen weight of 120 kg (includes the weight of vehicle and battery).
- Must be equipped with at least two independent braking systems that applies force to each wheel and is capable of bringing the e-bike, while being operated at a speed of 30 km/h, to a full stop within 9 metres from the point at which the brakes were applied.
- Must have wheels with a minimum diameter and width of 350 mm and 35 mm respectively.
- Must have all electrical terminals completely insulated or covered and, along with the battery and motor, must be securely fastened to the bicycle to prevent them from moving while the bicycle is in motion.
- No modifications to the motor of an e-bike to permit it to exceed the federal requirements for motor output or speed for an e-bike (500W and a speed greater than 32 km/h) are allowed.
- Must meet the federal definition of a power-assisted bicycle (for the full definition, please see subsection 2(1) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, which includes:
- Has steering handlebars and is equipped with pedals;
- Is designed to travel on not more than three wheels;
- Has an electric motor that has a power output rating of 500W or less. (Note: the motor is electric, and is incapable of propelling the cycle at speed of 32 km/h or greater on level ground, without pedaling) and
- Bears a permanently affixed label by the manufacturer stating in both official languages that the vehicle conforms to the federal definition of a power-assisted bicycle (refer to image below).
- Frequently Asked Questions: Electric Bicycles ("e-bikes")
Can be operated by park employees who have a valid driver's licence, other than an M-class licence or G1, on roads in provincial parks, municipal parks and conservation areas in Ontario.
Can be operated by any person with a valid Class A, B, C, D, E, F or G driver's licence on roads with speed limits of 50 km/h or less on Pelee Island, within 50 metres of property owned or occupied by a university or college of applied arts and technology and between private properties by directly crossing certain public roads subject to specific equipment requirements and operating conditions.
Can be operated by any person with a valid Class A, B, C, D, E, F or G driver's licence on public roads with speed limits of 50 km/h or less province-wide, if the LSV meets prescribed additional equipment requirements and Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS).
"A "low-speed vehicle" means a vehicle, other than an all-terrain vehicle, or a vehicle imported temporarily for special purposes, that:
- is designed for use primarily on streets and roads where access and the use of other classes of vehicles are controlled by law or agreement;
- is powered by an electric power train;
- does not produce emissions;
- is designed to travel on four wheels;
- does not use fuel as an on-board source of energy;
- has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 1,361 kg;
- has an attainable speed in 1.6 km of more than 32 km/h but not more than 40 km/h, on a paved level surface; and
- meets the Transport Canada Technical Document 500 standards for LSVs. (This means LSVs are required to have, at minimum, such equipment as headlamps, turn signals, parking brake, windshield, seat belt assembly, and exterior and interior mirrors).
*Please note there are different sets of rules, depending on where a LSV is used.
LSV usage in parks and conservation areas
On September 19, 2006, the Province of Ontario began a five-year pilot project to evaluate the use of low-speed vehicles (LSVs) on roads in provincial parks, municipal parks and conservation areas. This pilot has been extended and will expire on December 31, 2014.
During the pilot, low-speed vehicles used in parks and conservation areas must:
- meet definition and requirements of an LSV in the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations,
- operate on park roads with speed limit of 40 km/h or less,
- be driven by park employees who hold a valid driver's licence; and,
- have liability insurance.
LSV usage in controlled environments and on public roads province-wide with posted speed limits of 50 km/h or Less
Effective March 21, 2009, the Province of Ontario expanded the LSV pilot for five years to allow any person with a valid Class A, B, C, D, E, F or G driver's licence to drive an LSV on roads with speed limits of 50 km/h or less on Pelee Island, within 50 metres of property owned or occupied by a university or college of applied arts and technology and between private properties by directly crossing certain public roads subject to specific equipment requirements and operating conditions. LSVs will also be permitted to operate on public roads with speed limits of 50 km/h or less province-wide if the LSV meets prescribed additional equipment requirements and Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS).
To operate an LSV in a controlled environment with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less, your LSV must:
- Comply with the federal LSV definition;
- Meet the three Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) for LSVs. (i.e., seatbelt assembly, windshield, VIN);
- Be equipped with compartment doors; and
- Meet additional HTA motor vehicle requirements requiring service brakes, high and low-beam headlamps, windshield wiper, odometer, safety glass where glass is used, horn and federally compliant tires.
To operate an LSV on public roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less, your LSV must:
- Comply with the federal LSV definition;
- Meet additional HTA motor vehicle requirements requiring service brakes, high and low-beam headlamps, windshield wiper, odometer, safety glass where glass is used, horn and federally compliant tires;
- Be equipped with doors, defog/defrost and heating systems, 3-point seat belts, slow-moving vehicle sign, and a proximity warning device that emits intermittent noise when the vehicle is near pedestrians/bicyclists; and
- Meet eight Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS):
- The current three CMVSS required federally for LSVs. (i.e., seatbelt assembly, windshield, VIN); and
- Five additional federal Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) requirements for occupant protection, driver impact protection, occupant restraint systems in frontal impacts, seat belt assembly anchorages and side door strength.
During the pilot, the following operating conditions must be met for both pilots:
- Operator must have a valid full driver's licence (other than Class M, M1, M2, G1 or G2) and insurance coverage;
- LSV must have a Motor Vehicle Safety Act (Canada) compliance label* from a manufacturer/importer registered with Transport Canada, and be manufactured as an LSV;
- LSV must be registered and plated as a passenger vehicle;
- Slow-moving vehicle sign required;
- Operator to provide a signed "Declaration Form" prior to vehicle registration that states acknowledgement of LSV pilot and the vehicle's safety limitations;
- All HTA rules of the road and speed limits apply to LSVs and their drivers;
- LSV to have an interior warning label visible to occupants at all times;
- LSVs not to be driven faster than 40 km/h;
- A traffic control device must be present before a low-speed vehicle may directly cross a higher speed road of up to 80 km/h;
- No passengers under age eight;
- No towing;
- No modifications to increase maximum speed; and
- You cannot use an LSV for an MTO road test.
* Low-speed vehicles being operated as part of the controlled environment pilot (e.g., college and university campuses and Pelee Island) must have a compliance label that bears the notation "ONT-LSV-BASIC" or "ONT-LSV-5CMVSS." Low-speed vehicles being operated on roads with speed limits of 50 km/h or less must have a compliance label that bears the notation "ONT-LSV-5CMVSS."
Only LSVs manufactured/imported by a company registered with Transport Canada, that have a compliance label indicating compliance with the additional five CMVSS requirements, and meet all additional equipment requirements are eligible for use on roads with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less province-wide (subject to the above operating conditions). To view a list of LSV manufacturers/importers that are currently registered, please visit Transport Canada's website at:
Please note that prior to LSV registration for province-wide use, LSV manufacturers/importers registered with Transport Canada must also provide proof of compliance with the additional 5 CMVSS to the Ministry of Transportation.
Please note that a declaration form (PDF) (HTML) must be provided to the buyer by the seller prior to purchase and that a signed copy must be submitted at the time an LSV is registered. The declaration form outlines the conditions of the pilot, the operator requirements and

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


text:
January 17, 2012
Changing its position on a perch high above the lake this eagle spreads its wings to maintain its balance as it moves around for a better position to watch the action below.
Stories this photo appears in:
The count is in — the Payson Christmas Bird Count, that is. Since 1900 the National Audubon Society has conducted bird counts throughout North America. Local birding enthusiasts conducted their eighth annual count on Dec. 30. There was beautiful, calm weather when the 17 participants headed out to spend the day identifying and counting all the birds they saw or heard in and around Payson. The good weather contributed to a record 99 species being observed as well as a record 4,376 birds. The count is a census of the birds found during a 24-hour period in a designated circle 15 miles in diameter. The Payson count circle is centered a little northwest of town.


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The Richboro Elementary Meadow Project
Students in the Richboro Elementary Ecology Club have been planting a meadow each year since 2008. We were the first school in Council Rock School District to do so, and our project has inspired the District to plant four acres of meadows at several other Council Rock school locations.
Why plant meadows? Meadows provide habitats for more insects and other animals than green lawns. The first year we planted the meadow, we found two praying mantids had moved in! Additionally, meadows do not need to be mowed more than once a year, so they save fossil fuel. Below are photos and descriptions of our current meadow as well as meadows from previous years.
The Fourth Planting of
Richboro Elementary School's Meadow
Students in the Richboro Elementary School Ecology Club planted its fourth meadow this spring. Students sowed the flower seeds harvested last fall in the newly prepared plot. Additional native seeds, including sunflower and asters, were planted. Students and teachers look forward to seeing what surprises await when returning to school in the fall.
The Third Planting of
Richboro Elementary School's Meadow
The Ecology Club at Richboro Elementary School planted its meadow for a third growing season this April. Using seeds harvested from the meadow last fall, the club members, ranging from grades two through five, took turns planting seeds in a grid-like pattern across the meadow plot. Sunflower seeds were pushed into the ground with planting sticks, and the soil was raked to cover the seeds. As the club ended, the clouds gathered and watered the meadow, as if on cue. We look forward to watching our garden bloom as the seasons turn.
Richboro Elementary School's Meadow
The Ecology Club at Richboro Elementary School planted its meadow for a second growing season this April. The club, with over 40 students and 5 teachers, worked together to sow seeds on a drizzly, windy day. The seeds had been harvested by the students last fall from the meadow's first dried flowers. The charming sign, including drawings by 13 children, will be posted at the front of the meadow.
Richboro Elementary School's Meadow Blooms
and Seeds are Harvested
Last spring the Ecology Club at Richboro Elementary School planted seeds to create a meadow in the front of the building. Not certain how successful the meadow would be, the club members were greeted at the beginning of this school year by a surprisingly full field of colorful blooms. This fall the flowers matured to produce seeds. To complete the cycle, the Ecology Club plans to plant the seeds next spring.
The Earth Laughs in Flowers
Richboro Elementary School's Meadow Project
The Ecology Club at Richboro Elementary School planted a meadow for their final big project of the school year. Ecology Club students pulled out clumps of grass, and then teachers gave students seeds to plant in the plot. The students zig-zagged their way across the plot to ensure even coverage of the seeds. At the end of the day, each child received a small bag of seeds to plant at home with the saying, "The Earth Laughs in Flowers." The seeds had been sorted and packaged by students in the Autistic Support classes at Richboro Elementary.
The flowers hopefully will grow throughout the summer. In addition to adding beauty to the school, the meadow will reduce the fossil fuel needed to mow the grass all summer and will help insects gain a new home. The students and teachers look forward to seeing a wildflower meadow in full bloom at the beginning of the new school year in September.


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NREL and California Air Agency to Test Clean Diesel FuelsFor more information contact:
Sarah Holmes Barba, _PHONE_
email: Sarah Barba
Golden, Colo., Oct. 4, 2000 - The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will test Fischer-Tropsch synthetic diesel fuel for California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to determine if using the fuel can help reduce air pollution.
Fischer-Tropsch fuels can be produced from natural gas, biomass or coal. They are void of sulfur and aromatic chemical compounds, and therefore can reduce exhaust emissions from diesel vehicles. Fischer-Tropsch fuels, named after the German coal researchers Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch, who discovered the process for synthesizing hydrocarbons, are used in South Africa today and have been blended with crude oil-derived fuels in California to meet the state's diesel fuel quality standards. Synthetic diesel fuels have not been widely used in the United States.
In 1998 NREL and its project partners from DOE and West Virginia University (WVU) conducted what is believed to be the first controlled tests of Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels in heavy vehicles. The tests showed that Fischer-Tropsch fuels can be substituted in unmodified trucks and buses without any detectable loss in performance. The Fischer-Tropsch fueled vehicles emitted about 12 percent less nitrogen oxide and 24 percent less particulate matter than vehicles fueled with conventional diesel.
NREL's project with the SCAQMD will test Fischer-Tropsch fuels in a small vehicle fleet operating in southern California. The vehicles will be retrofitted with catalyzed exhaust filters to virtually eliminate diesel smoke, odor and particulate matter emissions. Project partners include DOE, NREL, SCAQMD, WVU and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.
The SCAQMD is concerned about the potential health risk associated with diesel exhausts. Fuels with low sulfur and low aromatic content may enable the use of catalyzed exhaust filters to reduce diesel emissions.
"Based on previous research, we expect the fleet to have very low exhaust emissions while maintaining diesel-like fuel efficiency," said NREL principal investigator Keith Vertin. "We will be evaluating an experimental Fischer-Tropsch fuel for 12 months to determine if there are any engine reliability problems or fleet operating issues that need to be resolved."
DOE currently is evaluating petitions from three companies to register their Fischer-Tropsch products as alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT).
"We are working with industry to develop paths for introducing Fischer-Tropsch synthetic fuels into the marketplace as well as trying to reduce vehicle emissions," Vertin said.
CLEAN ENERGY FOR THE 21st CENTURY
Visit NREL online for up-to-date news releases, photos and information.


How long is the Arizona Trail?
The current official length of the Arizona Trail is 788 miles, not counting side trails and summit routes to off-trail scenic overlooks. The trail may be rerouted each year due to wildfires, blowdowns, flooding, or other natural obstacles. The trail is subdivided into 43 passages or sections.
Where does The Arizona Trail begin and end?
The most popular route for the AZT is Northbound (known as NOBO), beginning at the U.S/Mexico border at a monument in In Coronado National Memorial near the Huachuca Mountains and ending at the Utah border on Buckskin Mountain. Hikers generally begin in late February or early March. Our team will hike Southbound (SOBO), beginning September 27th and ending in November 2020.
How many days will it take to complete the hike?
It generally takes a thru-hiker 6 to 8 weeks to complete the Arizona Trail. We are aiming for 45-50 days, weather and health permitting.
How many people thru-hike the AZT each year?
Roughly 100 people thru-hike the Arizona Trail each year. Many others complete various sections from the list of 43 passages; some piecing together the entire trail over many years of section-hiking.
How will you access and carry water?
We will each carry roughly 1 liter of water per 4 miles we plan to hike each day between water caches, streams, wildlife ponds, and cattle tanks strewn across Arizona. Although we always prefer fresh water supplied by our support team, there will be many times where it is necessary to filter water from wild sources. Our longest scheduled water carry is about 30 miles between water sources. We will have the capacity to carry up to 9 liters each. Each liter of water weighs 2.2 pounds! Our average water carry will be 3-5 liters each.
Where will you be sleeping?
We will each carry our own tent and will sleep most nights under the stars along the trail. There are a few "gateway communities" and towns along the way where we may stay in hotels, hostiles, or with friends.
How will you handle dangerous wildlife encounters?
Animals are more afraid of humans than we are of them. In Arizona, we will encounter scorpions, rattlesnakes, Gila monsters, coyotes, and possibly black bear, bobcats, and mountain lions. Our guide is experienced dealing with wildlife and will help us navigate and even enjoy these encounters.
How will you communicate in case of emergency?
We are carrying cell phones, satellite GPS two-way communicators, and a personal locator beacon (PLB) in case of emergency. Although the trail is remote and non-motorized, we will usually be within about a few hours from an extraction point if needed.
What if you get lost?
We are carrying GPS apps and a map and compass. Our guide is highly experienced with wilderness navigation.
Why did you select the Arizona Trail?
Arizona is our home. Of the 11 National Scenic Trails contained within the National Trails System, it makes the most sense for us to complete the AZT since our goal is to raise $1,000,000 to bring hope and healing to the people of Colorado City, AZ.


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The Physician - PA Team
More than 30 years ago a group of physicians, looking critically at America's health care needs, envisioned a new type of health professional. Their hypothesis was that physicians could treat more patients, utilize their time and talents more wisely, and provide better care, if they worked with assistants who were trained in medicine and practiced with physician supervision. This idea has grown into the health profession known as physician assistants (PAs).
The visionaries of the PA role were right. A physician can more effectively care for patients when working as part of a physician-PA team. The efficiency of this model has led to its utilization in all medical and surgical specialties. The physician-PA team is effective because of the similarities in physician and PA training, the PA profession's commitment to practice with supervision, and the efficiencies created by utilizing the strengths of each professional in the clinical practice setting.
Physician Assistant Education - Training in the Medical Model
The relationship between PAs and physicians begins in PA school where physicians, PAs, and others provide instruction in a curriculum following the medical school model. PA students typically share classes, facilities, and clinical rotations with medical students. Applicants to PA programs must complete at least two years of college courses in basic science and behavioral science as prerequisites to PA training. This is analogous to pre-med studies required of medical students. The mean length of PA education programs is 26 months1. Students begin PA programs with a year of basic medical science courses (anatomy, pathophysiology, pharmacology, physical diagnosis, etc.). Following the basic science and medical science classroom work, PA students enter the clinical phase of training. This includes classroom instruction and clinical rotations in medical and surgical specialties (family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, general surgery, emergency medicine, and psychiatry). PA students complete 2,000 hours of supervised clinical practice prior to graduation. 2
Because they train using similar curriculum, training sites, faculties and facilities, physicians and PAs develop a similarity in medical reasoning during their schooling that eventually leads to homogeneity of thought in the clinical workplace. 3
Commitment to Team Practice
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is the national professional society for PAs. In this capacity the AAPA is the voice of over 60,000 physician assistants in the United States.
The PA profession remains committed to the concept of the supervising physician-PA team. This is reflected in the AAPA's description of the profession:
Physician assistants are health professionals licensed or, in the case of those employed by the federal government, credentialed, to practice medicine with physician supervision. 4
The commitment to practicing as part of a physician-directed team is clearly stated in the AAPA policy on team practice:
The AAPA believes that the physician-PA team relationship is fundamental to the PA profession and enhances the delivery of high-quality health care. As the structure of the health care system changes, it is critical that this essential relationship be preserved and strengthened. 4
Other organizations also have policies supporting team practice. In 1995 the American Medical Association adopted "Guidelines for Physician/Physician Assistant Practice." The 10 guidelines describe the roles of the physician and the PA, including:
The role of the physician assistant(s) in the delivery of care should be defined through mutually agreed upon guidelines that are developed by the physician and the physician assistant and based on the physician's delegatory style. 5
The American Academy of Family Physicians recognizes the value of team practice. AAFP policy states:
The AAFP recognizes the dynamic nature of the health care environment and the importance of an interdependent team approach to health care that is supervised by a responsible licensed physician. 6
In 1998 the Pew Health Professions Commission completed a two-year study of the PA profession. In its 12 recommendations for PA deployment, the report supports the continuation of the traditional physician-PA team, and suggests its use as a model in an evolving system:
The traditional relationship between PAs and physicians, the hallmarks of which are frequent consultation, referral, and review of PA practice by the supervising physician, is one of the strengths of the PA profession. The characteristics of this relationship are also considered to be the elements of professional relationships in any well-designed health system. 7
The Physician - PA Team - Synergy in Clinical Practice
In all states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, physicians may delegate to PAs those medical duties that are within the physician's scope of practice, the PA's training and experience, and state law.
Such duties include performing physical examinations, diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting lab tests, assisting in surgery, and making rounds in nursing homes and hospitals. In 47 states plus the District of Columbia and Guam, physicians may delegate prescriptive privileges to the PAs they supervise.
Effectively utilizing the skills of each provider results in appropriate and efficient care and high levels of patient satisfaction.
A study conducted by the Rand Corporation found that PAs can perform most of the routine functions in a general medical practice and are widely accepted by patients. 8 PAs are able to handle common patient complaints, follow-up visits, and patient education and counseling. PAs are responsible for the day to day care of patients, turning to their supervising physicians when faced with cases requiring more advanced medical knowledge.
In many primary care practices the presence of PAs allows patients to be seen promptly, knowing that their routine problems will be handled effectively and that the expertise of the physician is available if needed. Physicians are able to focus on complicated patient problems and allow appropriate time for their care.
In surgical practices, the presence of PAs enables surgeons to delegate the performance of preoperative histories and physical examinations, the ordering and compiling of necessary tests, and part of the postoperative care. In addition, PAs are excellent assistants in surgery. The familiarity and experience of the physician-PA surgical team results in efficiency in the OR that can reduce operative and anesthesia times.
Physician-PA teams are also effective in medical and surgical subspecialty practices, where PAs perform examinations and procedures, order tests, provide follow-up care, and help with the coordination of care for patients with complex illnesses.
Studies have shown that PAs, practicing as part of a supervising physician's team, provide high quality health care. A 1994 federal study of state practice environments reported: "Within their areas of competency, and within appropriate training and supervision, these practitioners may provide medical care similar in quality to that of physicians at less cost."9 The AMA's Socioeconomic Monitoring System of approximately 4,000 practices found that 56 percent of group practice physicians and 39 percent of solo practice physicians employ nonphysician providers, including PAs. "The data show that employing nonphysician providers enhances physician productivity," according to the survey report. 10
Numerous individual reports describe the value of the physician-PA team. Writing in the journal Family Practice Management, a family physician describes the physician assistant's role in the practice: "The PA makes himself invaluable by smoothing the ebbs and flows of our daily workload…. We wonder how any practice can thrive without one." 11
- Nineteenth Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, 2002-2003. Alexandria, VA. Association of Physician Assistant Programs.
- Eleventh Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, 1994-95. Alexandria, VA. Association of Physician Assistant Programs.
- White GL, et al. Physician assistants and Mississippi. J Miss St Med Assn 1994;25:353.
- American Academy of Physician Assistants. 2002-2003 Policy Manual. Alexandria, VA.
- American Medical Association. Guidelines for Physician/Physician Assistant Practice. 1998 Policy Compendium. Chicago, IL.
- American Academy of Family Physicians. _PHONE_ AAFP Reference Manual: Selected Policies on Health Issues. Kansas City, MO.
- The Pew Health Professions Commission. Charting a Course for the Twenty-First Century: Physician Assistants and Managed Care. San Francisco. UCSF Center for the Health Professions. 1998.
- Jolly DM. Patients' Acceptance of Physician's Assistants in Air Force Primary Medicine Clinics. Santa Monica. RAND Corporation. 1980.
- Sekscenski ES, Sanson S, Bazell C, et al. State practice environments and the supply of physician assistants, nurse practitioners and certified nurse-midwives. New Eng J Med 1994;331:1266.
- Gonzalez, ML, ed. Socioeconomic Characteristics of Medical Practice 1995. Center for Health Policy Research, American Medical Association. Chicago, IL.
- Iliff, D. "Solo practice: the way of the future." Fam Practice mgmt 1998; 5:16.
AAPA Issue Brief: The Physician-PA Team


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volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2.24 m) for women, divides the court—60 ft (or 18 m) long and 30 ft (or 9 m) wide—in half. Three forwards and three backs compose a team. The inflated rubber or leather volleyball, about 27 in. (69 cm) in circumference, is served from behind the back lines of the court. Players bat the ball across the top of the net into any part of the opponents' court. Any part of the body (especially the open hand or fist) may be used to bat the ball, but players may not catch or carry it. A maximum of three hits per team is permitted in returning the ball to the opponents' court. Teams must return the ball without allowing it to touch the ground. Spiking is the game's most dramatic offensive maneuver, occurring when a player drives the ball forcefully downward into the opponents' court with an open hand at speeds of about 100 mph. Defenses attempt to block spikes at the net. Only the serving team scores points; if the receiving team wins the volley, it gains the next serve after the players rotate their positions clockwise. The team scoring 15 points first wins the game, though the margin of victory must be at least two.
William G. Morgan originated volleyball in 1895 at Holyoke, Mass; since 1928 the game's governing body in the United States has been the U.S. Volleyball Association. Changes introduced in 2000 allow a team to score whether it is serving or not and added the libero —a freely roaming, back-row defensive player—to the game. Although the game at high levels is technical and strategic, millions of recreational players enjoy it in indoor winter leagues and in the summer outdoors.
Beach volleyball is played outdoors on a sand court with two players instead of six. The court dimensions, the net and its position, and the scoring are similar to that of the traditional six-player game. Beach volleyball began in the 1920s in California and held its first men's tournament in 1947. The professional game developed in the 1970s, world championships were first held in 1987 (men) and 1993 (women), and the sport achieved Olympic status in 1996.
See G. Bulman, Volleyball (1989).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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Not just Another Museum: a Visit to the Hokusai Museum in Ryogoku
Despite this title, I really like going to museums. Even if my knowledge is limited, I like looking at art and I also like visiting history museums as I love to imagine how people used to live in older times.
However, visiting museums in Japan can sometimes be a disappointing experience. Even at Japan's most famous museums, English explanations are often reduced to the strict minimum, if any. As a result, visitors often find themselves looking at things without having any insight into their meaning, missing the opportunity to learn new things or be surprised (what museums are supposed to be for). Even when you can read a fair amount of Japanese, reading difficult kanji making references to people or events famous only if you know your Japanese history very well, can end up being very discouraging.
The Hokusai Museum is completely different and has managed to create an exhibition appealing both to Japanese and foreigners, no matter your knowledge of art or history. Let me explain the reasons why.
2020-01-20 Visit: Museums, Tokyo,
Who was Hokusai and why is he so important?
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, probably Hokusai's most famous work
Even if you know nothing about Japanese art, you have surely seen this illustration somewhere. You can find it on the JR Pass, wallpapers, tote bags, mug cups, parodies and on many other objects all over the world. It was drawn by Hokusai when he was about 70 years old, a result of his very, very long career in drawing and painting.
Hokusai was a Japanese painter and woodblock print artist. He was born in 1760 and passed away at the venerable age of 88. Hokusai was an extremely talented person, and I think of him as a genius, and he was also a very dedicated, hard-working person. Calling himself an 'old man mad with painting' he spent his whole life drawing and studying until his death. He is famous for saying 'until the age of 70, nothing I drew was worthy of notice' and he hoped to live until the age of 110, when, he thought, he'd finally be an accomplished painter.
The museum's reconstitution of Hokusai's older days in his home in Edo (Tokyo) where he lived a simple life among scattered drawings with his daughter Oi, also a painter.
Hokusai left us with an incredible number of paintings, woodblock prints, illustrations and even drawing manuals. His most famous work is 'Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', a series of woodblock prints from which the 'Great Wave off Kanagawa' is from. His influence on Japanese art is huge, but he also inspired 19th century Europe's most famous artists and movements such as Art Nouveau and Impressionism. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Klimt, Manet, Van Gogh and many more collected his prints and were influenced by his works.
One of Hokusai's earlier 'great wave' themed work that can be seen in the permanent exhibition. Visiting the museum gives an insight on Hokusai's progression in the art of painting all along his life.
What made him remarkable among the painters of his time, except for the fact that he dealt with an unusually wide range of subjects, is that he tried and introduced new techniques. Probably inspired by paintings owned by Dutch merchants (in a time when Japan was still closed to the outside world), Hokusai introduced perspective in his drawings, something that didn't exist in Japanese art at the time. Using this technique, he managed to give depth to his creations while keeping the typical, abstract lines and colors of the traditional Japanese style. He also experimented with colors, using colors or associations that were new at the time, or used blue instead of black for the lines on his woodblock prints. This fact about colors was something I learnt during my visit to the museum.
A peculiar building by Kazuyo Sejima
The museum as seen from the nearby park
Like the Natsume Soseki memorial museum in Shinjuku, located in the same area the writer's house used to be, the Hokusai museum is located in Sumida ward, where Hokusai was born and spent most of his life, even though he travelled throughout the whole country and moved about 90 times.
 The building was built by the famous female architect Kazuyo Sejima. She likes to play around with slick surfaces and use reflections in her designs, features that can be seen on the Hokusai museum's building. The building surface has to be mostly closed in order to preserve Hokusai's paintings and woodblock prints from daylight, but Sejima's use of reflection makes the building's outside bright and welcoming. She also decided to cut the structure into different shapes to make it fit with its surroundings.
 The result is a modern, almost futuristic building, but that looks good in this quiet area of Tokyo.
This small triangle-shaped opening in the middle leads to the entrance of the museum.
A model in welcoming foreign visitors
The permanent exhibition provides extensive explanations in English about woodblock prints, Hokusai's life and his works
Before I even went through the glass door of the museum, a uniform-clad museum security staff brightly smiled at me and greeted me with these words: 'Hello and welcome to the Hokusai museum'. Wow. I think it was the first time I was so courteously greeted in English by a guard at a museum entrance in Japan.
 The ladies who welcomed me and sold me the tickets also spoke very good English. The souvenir shop staff were very helpful to another visitor who was looking for a very specific book. Free Wifi (something tourists often find lacking in Japan) is also available and visitors are encouraged to share their pictures on social media.
 The museum, especially the permanent exhibition, has extensive information in English about Hokusai and his works, and I think it was the first time I saw so much English in a Japanese art museum. Most of the information is on display on interactive panels, letting you choose the topics you'd like to read about (more on this a little later). The information is available in Japanese, English, Korean, and Chinese (traditional or simplified).
Interactive panels give all sorts of information in several languages, helping visitors understand the art and its context
As a matter of fact, when I was there, at least half of the visitors seemed to be foreign tourists. Obviously, the museum curators are aware of Hokusai's popularity around the world and the museum's potential in attracting foreign visitors and really did their best to accommodate them. As a result, you don't only admire the paintings but also learn a lot, which was very satisfying.
An interactive permanent exhibition
The permanent exhibition space
The permanent exhibition costs 400 yen, which is a great deal for a museum in Tokyo. Actually, it occupies quite a small space compared to other museum's permanent exhibitions or the temporary exhibition. The number of paintings or prints is also comparatively small.
 However, the permanent exhibition's main interest resides in the diversity of information and interactions provided on touch panels all along the exhibit, allowing the visitors to learn at their own pace and according to their interests. Some also provide activities to put some of the exhibits into context, and enjoyable both by adults and children. Here are a few examples in the pictures below.
At the entrance a touch panel connected to a wall projection of a map of Sumida ward allows visitors to check different neighborhoods that were important for Hokusai during his life. Senior visitors seemed comfortable with the screens too as the menus are very user-friendly and instinctive
The information available for each work is detailed without being overwhelming
This panel allows the visitor to enhance some famous woodprints by having a closer look at the small details. Hokusai had a great sense of humor and some details can be very funny
Some panels also allow you to draw. On this one, you can learn to draw like Hokusai following the instructions of one of his drawing manuals
One of Hokusai's drawing manuals put on display (I'd love to have one)
Hokusai was also a 'designer' and he created many patterns to be used on fabric. With this activity you can test combining different designs for a kimono
Is the temporary exhibition worth it?
When I visited the museum, the temporary exhibition was commemorating the 170th anniversary of Hokusai's death by exhibiting some of his masterpieces owned by the Mogi-Honke museum (located in Noda city, Chiba prefecture).
 The temporary exhibition ticket is more expensive. Prices vary depending on the exhibition but should be around 1200 yen. However, discounts are available under different conditions. Some of the conditions can be funny: when I visited, you could get a discount if you were wearing clothes or accessories with the color purple. Sadly I didn't know about it prior to my visit so I could not benefit from it. If you plan to visit, make sure to check the temporary exhibition information page on the museum's website to check the discounts!
 The temporary exhibition usually shows many famous or rare pieces of art from other places in Japan. The current one shows masterpieces that can usually be seen only if you go all the way to Obuse in Nagano prefecture. If you're a Hokusai fan, it's definitely worth a visit.
Even if you're not a fan though, the temporary exhibition is worth its admission price. First, the exhibition area is much bigger. Secondly, it's much less crowded than Hokusai exhibitions when they happen in the other Tokyo art museums. Third


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Because we didn't do an in-place upgrade from Vista 3 to Vista 4, we're realizing there are even larger gaps in our policies than we had thought, and there are serious misconceptions on campus concerning types of course management data and their retention, purging and archiving.
Notre Dame is starting to look at some of these issues and our assumptions around them:
1. How long should student work (online quiz answers, assignment submissions, discussion postings) be accessible to students after the semester is over? Is continuing their access through the next semester good enough? Should it be for the duration of their stay at the university?
2. How long should Instructors have access to student work?
3. How long should an Instructors' online course (with student work removed) be retained live on the server? Here at Notre Dame we have a Banner SSB customization that displays a form to faculty allowing them to choose from content available on the Bb Vista servers as the starting point for any given course in the current semester. Behind the scenes this programmatically creates an assignment job of one section's content to the specified one.
4. How much data can we feasibly store in the database? Even if archiving isn't practical, what should the purging cycle be for online course content and for user accounts? Should it be based on some time after last access, or on a time period such as # of semesters or years?
5. Should we make the technical investment to develop a viable section archiving strategy and then, policies around it?


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Demonstration of Rapid Waste Reduction from Ships Using Hydrothermal Liquefaction and Compaction
Agency / Branch:
DOD / NAVY
Waste management on ships is an important yet difficult task because as waste is generated by day to day processes, it accumulates and occupies valuable space aboard vessels. The waste consists of a wide variety of organic and inorganic constituents, some of which are high in water content such as food waste. A process that is capable of rapidly converting all of the waste into a dense media for efficient storage or capable of completely eliminate some of the waste is ideal. We propose to develop a process consisting of a hydrothermal liquefaction reactor and a waste compactor. The hydrothermal liquefaction reactor will convert organic materials into an energy dense fuel, while the compactor will condense the inorganic waste. Hydrothermal liquefaction is a unique technology that can depolymerize wet or dry biomass into fuel. This fuel can be then be burned to heat the reactor, essentially eliminating waste from the boat. In Phase I, a batch reactor will be used to demonstrate the feasibility of rapidly reducing the volume of solid waste aboard ships while producing fuel from this waste. In Phase II, the batch reactor will be converted to a pilot-scale continuous reactor to achieve more efficient waste processing.
Small Business Information at Submission:
Mainstream Engineering Corporation
200 Yellow Place Pines Industrial Center Rockledge, FL 32955
Number of Employees:


Is happiness really beyond reach?! **** Authored by The Great Humane Eminent Scholar Mohammad Amin Sheikho (His soul has been sanctified by Al'lah) _PHONE_ **** Checked and Introduced by The Researcher and Thinker Prof. A. K. John Alias Al-Dayrani **** Published by amin-sheikho.com at Smashwords Copyright 2012 amin-sheikho.com **** Our web site: _URL_ _EMAIL_ Is happiness really beyond reach?! The civilization of this time has reached the highest degree of development and scientific rise by the inversions and unique achievements which the technical outburst produced; and thereby people nowadays have attained all means that allow them to enjoy a life that is more comfortable than the life they lived before. They put laws and systems in order to employ the natural sources so that they may give them more and more and create for them better and higher ways of living. Thus cars and planes were industrialized, electricity and electronics were discovered, towering palaces were built and large factories were founded and provided with machineries of high technology. Beyond all of that, mankind was seeking after a welfare life so that they may enjoy happiness. However, despite all the plans and the rules they adopted and despite all the means they created, there has still remained one missed cycle in the chain of their life whose absence caused stern spiritual anxiety in the hearts of all humanity. Although modern and developed science prevailed over the countries and supported people with great laws, discoveries and high technique, they have missed happiness and all feelings of heart pleasure. The thick material veil has thrown its dark shadow over the spirits until it closed up the entrances of light and delights into them and deprived them of enjoying the Godly heart life and happiness. Having realized the absence of happiness from their life, a group of scholars turned to look for a way to attain it. They wondered if they can put their hands on the core of happiness by physical laws, so that they may reach it scientifically and enjoy it by following them!! But… Can worldly scientific laws, whatever great they are, control happiness and make it surrender to them and give them its reins?! Will they actually help them taste happiness so that the earth may turn into a garden of paradise?! How great this achievement would be if they could do it!! In the early decades of the twentieth century, one scientific team studied the ways which may help them overrule happiness by physical laws. For this purpose and out of yearning for happiness and loving for finding it, one researching staff in Britannia set to studying this important problem (happiness) and threw an arrow so that they might hit the target which all their inventions were but ways to attain. This British team consisted of master of geniuses, scholars, philosophers, and specialists in psychiatry; they began to study all the social classes of humanity, the upper class and the lower one, the poor and the rich, and searched deeply and carefully into each of them. They examined the measure of happiness existing among the members of each class to know where it could be found, which class might enjoy it and live in it and how one can reach it. They did so trying to introduce a method with rules that can be followed by any society and be taken as a guide that leads people to absolute pleasure all during their life without suffering or disturbance. So, by following these precise rules and laws, everybody shall ride the ship of the happy people to sail in seas of serenity and felicity and enjoy a life filled with joy and delight. They shall roll in eternal bliss and rise up from good and beautiful one to another better and more beautiful with wonders that attract minds and captivate hearts until they become wholly absorbed and immersed in high happiness and great enjoyment. Many are those who seek after a better life so that they may become happier, more comfortable and more peaceful. That is because striving for perfection which is accomplished by the attainment of happiness according to inclusive law that all humanity can apply and be distinguished from other creatures by, is the desired hope. In the world of people of wealth In the view of the majority of people, perfect happiness and good life are not be obtainable unless man has abundant money, great wealth, wonderful palaces and kingdoms to which the heads bow; therefore you see them compete one another in amassing money and treasure as much as possible and make every effort to get them. They make studies, projects and businesses, and may even travel to faraway lands, sea and air to get degrees caring not about the troubles and dangers which they may meet. They look for picking up the fruits of happiness materially and immaterially, concluding favorable trading transactions, or getting great monetary enterprises, and bear for that what they bear. The money, in their view, enables them to get whatever they want and wish, as it removes any obstacle that prevents them from leading a pleasant life with the utmost level of luxury and advancement. So, by money the worldly life will open its doors before them saying: "come on, here I am". But how far! How far!! The British scientific team began to search and to make investigations among that section of society, that is to say, the upper class which contains the rich people and those living in great luxury, so that it might find its long-pursued aim (happiness) therein within material laws; but it was not long until it came back disappointed, having wasted time and effort for nothing. The researchers stood before a bitter fact when they realized the anxiety and restless life of this class. Its members set to remembering their past life, yearning for the days when they were possessing nothing to be mentioned but, however, enjoying a peaceful and pleasant life, far from distress, grief, and troubles. But why?! That is because when they possessed the magnificent palaces and the large factories and workshops, the competition took place extremely between one another then it turned into contention and stormy struggles which, as usual, ended at litigations and taking cases to court. Thus, the hearts of every party became filled with ill will towards the other one until they spent most of their time in scheming and laying plans and machinating against their competitors in order to surpasses and overcome them, they are obliged to spend evenings and nights in preparing and making accounts and therefore they neglect their duties towards their wives and children and consequently they fail to enjoy the homely happiness, amassing money and aggression have distracted them from giving their relatives and families their rights, and of course they completely forgot the share of the needy and the poor people. Not to mention the horrible nights which they spent without sleeping whenever they feel that their competitors are going to gain a lot in their deals whereas they have lost their commerce. As a result, those people cannot feel tranquility or find a way to be at ease. They fear lest they be killed or face ruin and failure. They are the center of attraction for criminals and thieves; therefore worry does not leave their minds. If they could take safe steps for protecting themselves, the possibilities of loss and failure would be always before their eyes. They fear unsalability for their merchandise therefore they are always absorbed in the account of profits and losses. Their hearts are trembling out of their concern lest the structure of the fortune which they have built fall down and vanish. In such circumstances, how can happiness find a way to creep into their hearts?!! Nothing other than distress and chagrin are that which have settled in their hearts. Thus, although they have abundant money and enjoy various materials pleasures they are not happy. Out of curiosity and loving for more inquisitiveness, the team which was looking for happiness began to ask and to speak with those people. It questioned some of them. Perhaps happiness is hidden somewhere behind a puzzle that none knows except the people of palaces and wealth. Yet the answers of those were completely clear and open. They said: "since we became of abundant money we became wholly busy, distressed and unhappy. We tasted no flavor of pleasure or joy, moreover we became remiss in giving rights to their people, for in the midst of such conflicts we have no free time. Thus we neglected the rights of our wives and children, fathers, friends and relatives. We became longing for the sweet sleep as we are always obliged to burn the midnight oil. All of that is out of our concern about our wealth. Indeed, amassing money has deprived us from enjoying this life and thrown us in heated struggles and material aspirations; and because of our large and many occupations, we forgot our religious duties and drew far from our Provider until our heart life became dark and bitter. Apart from this, we have entered into struggles with the workers who wish to destroy us and follow the subversive faiths to overcome us (such struggle is inevitable) Over and above, we humble ourselves before owners of authority so as to stand by us in our strife against our emulators of people of factories and wealth. Thus we have missed happiness, tranquility, safety, heartsease and peace of mind. In fact, we would like now to live as the simple people live so that we may become carefree, sleep in peace and wake up in delight. Oh! Had people known the miserable spiritual life which we live, they would have never thought that money may ever bring happiness. Now, we mention some actual incidents which affirm this fact. We say: Shahn-shah the prior king of Persia and the king of kings gave evidence on T.V. and admitted this undeniable truth before all people. He declared the actual fact which all kings and rich people live in when the revolutionaries kicked him out of his country to America "which later on banished him to Egypt". So, he fell a victim of a spiritual shock and suffered a great distress. He said: "


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Common Tetraka (Bernieria madagascariensis) - HBW 10, p. 248
French: Bulbul tétraka
Spanish: Bulbul Tetraka
Other common names: Long-billed/Madagascar Greenbul
Taxonomy: Muscicapa madagascariensis J. F. Gmelin, 1789, Madagascar.
Relationships with rest of family uncertain. Previously thought close to species currently placed in Xanthomixis but formerly included in present genus; recent data derived from mitochondrial DNA sequencing indicate, however, that the two groups are not monophyletic. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- inceleber Bangs & Peters, 1926 - N & W Madagascar (Montagne d'Ambre and Sambirano S to Toliara), including Nosy Be.
- madagascariensis (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) - E Madagascar (Andapa S to Tolagnaro), including Sainte Marie I.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
Secretive and quickly moving in dense vegetation. Formerly known as Long-billed Greenbul
Locality Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park, Madagascar (ssp inceleber)
Patrick Floré 28 November 2011 45 weeks ago 4.1
Adult male in the hand
Locality Manombo Special Reserve, Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar (ssp madagascariensis)
nlb.birder 12 November 2009 3 years ago 3.8


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the ear's loudness
vs. frequency response is not flat, it is argued, we should not try to
correlate flat frequency vs. loudness measurements with what we hear. Fair
enough. Five weighting filter designs dominate (See: References: Metzler):
Editorial Note: Low-cost audio equipment often list an A-weighted noise spec — not because it correlates well with our hearing -- but because it helps "hide" nasty low-frequency hum components that make for bad noise specs. Sometimes A-weighting can "improve" a noise spec by 10 dB. Words to the wise: always wonder what a manufacturer is hiding when they use A-weighting. "However, an exception has arisen: Digital products using A/D and D/A converters regularly spec S/N and dynamic range using A-weighting. This follows the semiconductor industry's practice of spec'ing delta-sigma data converters A-weighted. They do this because they use clever noise shaping tricks to create 24-bit converters with acceptable noise behavior. All these tricks squeeze the noise out of the audio bandwidth and push it up into the higher inaudible frequencies. The noise may be inaudible, but it is still measurable and can give misleading results unless limited. When used this way, the A-weighting filter rolls off the high frequency noise better than the flat 22 kHz filter and compares better with the listening experience. The fact that the low-end also rolls off is irrelevant in this application." From RaneNote 145, Audio Specifications
wet Recording. 1. The result of mixing the original recorded sound with the processed sound (reverb, chorusing, doubling, etc.). 2. Any sound with significant reverberation; not dead. Contrast with dry.
wet circuit See below.
wetting Electronics. 1. The free flow of solder alloy, with proper application of heat and flux, on a metallic surface to produce an adherent bond. [IEEE] 2. Wetted relay contacts prevent damaging chemicals such as oxides and hydrocarbons from forming on the contacts. The build-up increases the contact resistance which can cause a voltage drop and/or heating of the contacts. 2. The practice of wetting reed relay contacts with mercury; called mercury-wetted relay.
wet transformer Telephony. An analog audio transformer designed for both DC and AC operation. Derived from the term, wet circuit, referring to a circuit where voice signals are transmitted and also carries direct current. Contrast with dry transformer.
WFAE (World Forum for Acoustic Ecology) "An interdisciplinary spectrum of individuals engaged in the study of the scientific, social, and cultural aspects of natural and human made sound environments."
WFS (wave field synthesis) See wave field synthesis.
WFX Worship facilities conference & expo that brings together three church groups: Church Leaders, Technology Gurus, and Facilities Managers and teams.
whammy bar Electric Guitar. Nickname for the metal handle contraption found on some electric guitars that allows the player to momentarily change the tension (or actually stretch) the strings in order to create a vibrato effect (often mistakenly called a tremolo device).
Wheatstone bridge An instrument used for measuring resistance. The circuit used is a 4-arm bridge, all arms of which are predominantly resistive. The bridge is a two-port network (i.e., it has two terminal pairs across opposite corners) capable of being operated in such a manner that when voltage is applied to one port, by suitable adjustment of the resistive elements in the network, zero output can be obtained at the signal output port (usually a meter). Under these circumstances the bridges is termed balanced. [Although the circuit used in a Wheatstone bridge was first described by Samuel Hunter Christie (_PHONE_) — the son of James Christie, founder of the well-known auction house — in his paper "Experimental Determination of the Laws of Magneto-electric Induction" (1833), Sir Charles Wheatstone (_PHONE_) received credit for its invention because of his adaptation of the circuit in 1843 for the measurement of resistance. Wheatstone also invented the concertina, the stereoscope and contributed significantly to the development of the telegraph.]
windowing Signal Processing. The technique of analyzing small subsets of the total data.
whippin' that ivory Playing the piano. [Decharne]
whistle or whine Acoustics. Terms for noise in the 500 Hz to 2 kHz range. [Things like air conditioners and diffusers.] Musical Instrument. An end blown flute with a fipple.
white label Music. New twelve-inch vinyl singles with plain white labels used by record companies and DJs for their advance promotional copies.
white noise 1. Physics. Analogous to white light containing equal amounts of all visible frequencies, white noise contains equal amounts of all audible frequencies (technically the bandwidth of noise is infinite, but for audio purposes it is limited to just the audio frequencies). From an energy standpoint white noise has constant power per hertz (also referred to as unit bandwidth), i.e., at every frequency there is the same amount of power (while pink noise, for instance, has constant power per octave band of frequency). A plot of white noise power vs. frequency is flat if the measuring device uses the same width filter for all measurements. This is known as a fixed bandwidth filter. For instance, a fixed bandwidth of 5 Hz is common, i.e., the test equipment measures the amplitude at each frequency using a filter that is 5 Hz wide. It is 5 Hz wide when measuring 50 Hz or 2 kHz or 9.4 kHz, etc. A plot of white noise power vs. frequency change is not flat if the measuring device uses a variable width filter. This is known as a fixed percentage bandwidth filter. A common example of which is 1/3-octave wide, which equals a bandwidth of 23%. This means that for every frequency measured the bandwidth of the measuring filter changes to 23% of that new center frequency. For example the measuring bandwidth at 100 Hz is 23 Hz wide, then changes to 230 Hz wide when measuring 1 kHz, and so on. Therefore the plot of noise power vs. frequency is not flat, but shows a 3 dB rise in amplitude per octave of frequency change. Due to this rising frequency characteristic, white noise sounds very bright and lacking in low frequencies. [Here's the technical details: noise power is actually its power density spectrum - a measure of how the noise power contributed by individual frequency components is distributed over the frequency spectrum. It should be measured in watts/Hz; however it isn't. The accepted practice in noise theory is to use amplitude-squared as the unit of power (purists justify this by assuming a one-ohm resistor load). For electrical signals this gives units of volts-squared/Hz, or more commonly expressed as volts/root-Hertz. Note that the denominator gets bigger by the square root of the increase in frequency. Therefore, for an octave increase (doubling) of frequency, the denominator increases by the square root of two, which equals 1.414, or 3 dB. In order for the energy to remain constant (as it must if it is to remain white noise) there has to be an offsetting increase in amplitude (the numerator term) of 3 dB to exactly cancel the 3 dB increase in the denominator term. Thus the upward 3 dB/octave sloping characteristic of white noise amplitude when measured in constant percentage increments like 1/3-octave.] See noise color. 2. Music. Slang term for music that is discordant with no melody; disagreeable, harsh or dissonant.
white space Communication. Term for the theoretically unused frequency spectrum separating analog TV channels. While unused in theory, it is in fact where pro audio wireless microphones and monitors operate.
whole tone or whole step Music. Two notes spaced 1/6 octave apart. Contrast with semitone.
wide-range curve Same as X curve.
widget (perhaps alteration of gadget) 1. A small mechanical device or control; a gadget. 2. An unnamed or hypothetical manufactured article. [AHD] 3. As developed by Guinness, a small disk with a pinprick-size hole that fits inside their beer cans. As the beer is packaged, a small amount of stout is forced into the widget and held there under pressure. Once the pressure is released by opening the can, the beer is freed from the widget and a stream of bubbles flows upward. Now when the stout is poured, it looks like a pub-poured draught with the characteristic Guinness head (thick collar of foam), without the widget it looks like any other beer. It also reproduces the creamy texture and low carbonation of a draught pint. Now also used by Murphy's and Beamish.
widow's piano Inferior instruments sold as bargains. [Kacirk]
Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) Shorten form for the Wi-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit international association formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of wireless Local Area Network products based on IEEE 802.11 specification. Wi-Fi Certification results from testing 802.11-based wireless equipment to make sure it meets the Wi-Fi standard and works with all other manufacturers' Wi-Fi equipment on the market. See the RaneNote Wireless Control of RPM Series Drag Net Programmable Processors.
wiki wiki Hawaiian word meaning "quick" used to create the name of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia — a fantastic resource.
Wild Life Festival A four-stage, two-day music festival held at the Brighton City Airport, U.K.
wild sound Film & Video Sound. Audio recorded independent of the visual it may accompany.
Williams, Jim See:


Cultures of central-nervous-system neurons at low densities require for their survival exogenous pyruvate, alpha-oxoglutarate or oxaloacetate, even in the presence of high glucose concentrations. Most other alpha-oxo acids support cell survival only in the presence of alpha-amino acids which transaminate to alpha-oxoglutarate, oxaloacetate or pyruvate. The alpha-oxo acids therefore operate as acceptors of amino groups from appropriate donors to generate tricarboxylic acid-cycle-relevant substrates, and these alpha-oxo acids provide for neuronal support only insofar as they make it possible for exogenously supplied alpha-amino acid precursors to generate intracellularly one of the three critical metabolites. To examine more closely the relationship between transamination activity and neuronal survival, we measured 14CO2 production from [14C]glutamate in the presence of appropriate alpha-oxo acid partners by using 8-day-embryonic chick forebrain, dorsal-root-ganglion and ciliary-ganglion neurons. Neuronal survival was measured concurrently in monolayer neuronal cultures maintained with the corresponding amino acid/oxo acid pairs. Forebrain and ganglionic cell suspensions both produced 14CO2 from [14C]glutamate, which accurately correlated with 24 h neuronal survival. Concentrations of glutamate or alpha-oxo acid which provide for maximal neuronal survival also produced maximal amounts of 14CO2. The same ability to generate CO2 from glutamate (in the presence of the appropriate alpha-oxo acids) can ensure neuronal survival in 24 h cultures and therefore must meet energy or other metabolic needs of those neurons which glucose itself is unable to satisfy.
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Supporting Volunteers - British Gymnastics
Supporting Volunteers
Recruiting new volunteers
When individuals are asked why they don't volunteer, the most common answer given is "because no one asked". You will often find that there are people within your club and community with the time and energy needed to support your club or event. It's just how you go about finding them. A good place to start is with parents of your gymnasts and previous club members. Why not design a leaflet or poster to display on your noticeboard, letting people know you are looking for volunteers. Be specific, detailing the role(s) you would like the volunteer to fill, how much time it is likely to take and what skills and attributes would be useful for the role. Individuals are much more likely to put themselves forward if they understand the level of commitment you are asking them to take on. Consider what your club does in terms of an induction process for volunteers.
Retaining volunteers
Once you've spent time, money and effort recruiting volunteers, it is important you do what you can to keep your volunteer involved: this will help with continuity at your club. Develop ways to maintain/improve the relationship between your volunteer and the club, for example by offering training for your volunteers.
Ensure that your volunteers feel valued, regardless or their role in club. It is important they know they contribute to the running of the club. This will help them to remain motivated and continue contributing because they can see the impact they are having.
Recognising volunteers
Recognition of time and effort is important to ensure volunteers feel appreciated. Learn what motivates each volunteer, and make your recognition appropriate to what they think is important. There are many ways you can recognise your volunteers, for example;
 - Thank your volunteer at the end of the session or send a Thank You letter after an event
 - Announce your volunteers at events and thank them for their hard work and commitment in front of the audience.
 - Organising a volunteer social evening
 - Nominate your volunteers for awards such as the British Gymnastics Volunteer of the Year Award, regional volunteers awards, or local sports awards operated by local councils. Even if your volunteer doesn't win, they will appreciate you recognising them by being nominated.
 - Write about your volunteers and put an article on your club noticeboard, in your club newsletter or send the it to your local newspaper.
 - Provide your volunteers with T-shirts. It will make them feel part of the team.


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If you order an AP Calculus AB or BC Exam for a student and they indicate after the November 13 ordering deadline that they would like to switch to the other type of AP Calculus Exam, you may switch the student's AP Calculus Exam in AP Registration and Ordering by March 12, 2021, (11:59 p.m. ET) without incurring a late order fee.
The student must be enrolled in two class sections: the one they were originally enrolled in and the one for the exam they would like to switch to.
- For example: A student enrolled in AP Calculus BC decides they would like to instead take the AP Calculus AB Exam. The student should enroll in the class section for AP Calculus AB while still being enrolled in the class section for AP Calculus BC.
When the student has enrolled in the second class section, click the Why can't this be changed? tooltip next to the Order Exam? field for the class section corresponding to the exam the student isn't taking.
Select the checkbox to switch the exam.
When you've completed switching the student's exam, submit the change to your exam order. See How do I submit a change to my initial order?


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Scaffolding is a common metaphor in education. The idea is that temporary support allows the learner to perform at a more advanced level, then this support is gradually reduced until the student can manage without it entirely. A little bit like using support wheels when learning to ride a bicycle.
Another way of looking at scaffolding is to say that there is an optimal difficulty the material you approach should be at (even if that varies), and that when learning Chinese, this is often too high. Scaffolding is then any tool or service that lowers the difficulty to a manageable level.
8 great ways to scaffold your Chinese learning
In this article, I want to discuss ways of scaffolding your Chinese listening and reading practice. While it's certainly possibly to scaffold any learning activity, I think the need is much bigger for listening and reading, so that's what I will focus on today.
Like most articles on Hacking Chinese, this article takes a student perspective. However, when it comes to scaffolding, it's usually the teacher who provides scaffolding, but it's possible to provide this for yourself as well.
I would also like to hear about how you scaffold your learning. This article is by no means exhaustive, so if you have other suggestions for how to make listening and reading practice easier, please leave a comment!
4 ways to scaffold your Chinese listening practice
When it comes to listening ability, many of the problems experienced by students are not actually directly related to listening ability. Instead, other areas such as vocabulary is often to blame. However, there are some things that can be done to scaffold listening practice:
- Slow down the audio – Using programs like Audacity, it's easy to slow down any audio you have recorded. It's technically not possible to do this as much as you want, but decreasing speed by a third usually gives good results and is considerably easier to understand. Make sure you use the function called "change tempo" and not "change speed" (the former will not alter the pitch, but the latter will, making any speaker sound like a drunkard). Other programs and services offer this too, including YouTube.
- Listen many times – This should be obvious, but some students still overlook the fact that when you study on your own, you can listen many times. They give up after listening just once, thinking the content too difficult. It probably is, at least for casual listening, but if you want to study it anyway, listen to it five, ten or twenty times. Unless you're really out of your depth, you will gradually understand more and more.
- Use written support – Listening is difficult partly because it's instantaneous; if you don't understand something it's gone after a few seconds. You can't linger on a specific word until you get it like you can with reading. For this very reason, using written support can sometimes be a good idea. This could be subtitles for a movie, the lyrics to a song or a transcript of a podcast or news broadcast. However, as I have pointed out in another article (Listen before you read: Improve your listening ability), make sure you listen before you read!
- Visualise the audio – This is a non-linguistic version of the above. Instead of relying on written support, you rely on other visual input, such as pictures, video or similar. A movie is much easier to understand than a radio play, a news broadcast on TV is not as hard as one on the radio, and so on. This could also be extended to very specific things such as tones. Having a visual aid to tones could help you hear them (you can draw tone curves with programs like Praat, although that's not something I really recommend for the average student).
There are more ways to scaffold your listening practice, but these broadly cover the ones you can do on your own. With a competent teacher, you can of course do much more. If you have further suggestions for outside-the-classroom situations, please leave a comment!
4 ways to scaffold your Chinese reading practice
Scaffolding for reading is a bit more direct and you're probably already using some of these methods. Let's go through them to make sure you know about the tools you have available!
- Pop-up dictionaries – This is by far the most important tool of all. As David Moser points out in this article (The new paperless revolution in Chinese reading), it's something that has revolutionised Chinese reading. I elaborated this point further in an article about reading Chinese texts on your phone, something you should definitely do if you haven't tried it already. The main point is that if you can look something up in a fraction of a second, you can suddenly deal with texts that would have been impossible without them. This type of scaffolding is so powerful that you might be tempted to use it too much. Remember the analogy about using support wheel to learn to bike? I think most people understand that you won't learn if you never take them off!
- Spoken text – For people who have more problems with reading than listening, being able to hear the written text can help a lot. There are many ways of doing this. To start with, you can use the same type of resources as you do for listening provided that they have transcripts, but instead focus on the written text first. Text to speech is also becoming better by the day and is now at a level where it actually works well for understanding. I wouldn't dream of teaching pronunciation based on it, but it does aid understanding if that's what you're after.
- Visualise the text – Most I said above about visualising audio can also be done for text, such as reading news articles with pictures or using the subtitles of a TV series or movie as your main focus (turn off the audio to remove scaffolding, turn it on to add it). My favourite example of this is, without a doubt, reading comics/manga to learn Chinese. It's an excellent example of how pictures can help your reading practice!
- Annotate the text – There are multiple ways you can annotate the text to make it easier to understand. This includes generating custom word lists (check Mandarin Spot) adding pronunciation in Pinyin, Zhuyin or just tone marks (check Purple Culture). However, remember the support wheels! If you include Pinyin next to the characters, you might end up not even trying to read the characters and you won't improve your ability to do so.
Conclusion: Scaffolding is an important part of learning
I strongly believe that it's very important to adjust input to a level which is suitable for your current level, your current stated of mind and the specific situation you're in. This vastly increases the material available to you and it also helps you learn. Sometimes you might want to make it harder for yourself, but in the majority of cases, you want to make it easier. Far too much time is spent on difficult text and audio. Use the proper scaffolding to make it more manageable!
Finally, I would like to hear what you think. Are you using some kind of scaffolding I haven't mentioned here? Do you have a clever approach that perhaps fits in one of the categories, but you want to share with me and others because it's so useful? Leave a comment!
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