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The Building Blocks of Sandbox and Open World Games: Eve, GTA, Minecraft, and Beyond
The term "sandbox" has become a bit of an overused buzzword over the past few years, with many games using it to attract attention. It's a difficult concept to define due to its abstraction, so I'm going to take you on a journey through gaming history to help you understand the evolution of sandbox games, and the advantages and disadvantages they offer to a game designer.
Minecraft: A Good Modern Example
A picture of a castle made by a player, Luís Prado, in Minecraft
Minecraft is a great example of a popular modern sandbox game. It's sold 8 million copies, yet its community is still growing. The game allows you to construct buildings in a randomly generated world made of cubes. You can gather resources, craft, explore and combat strange creatures to survive in the world – but mostly, you are free to do anything you want. The goals come from your imagination; there is no ultimate objective. (At least, none that you must aim for.)
And yet, although it's a great example of a sandbox game, Minecraft does not offer a perfect definition of the term. I'm not even sure whether there can be a true definition of "sandbox" because the concept is huge. There are many games in the market that use sandbox mechanisms, and they are quite different from each other.
A town in the desert created by a group of players in a multiplayer Minecraft server.
Let's start by imagining a real-world sandbox. Magically, a child appears inside that sandbox. Now he or she is free to do whatever they want – but there is only sand in the box and without any tools the child will get bored of playing with the sand rather quickly. At this point there is nothing else to do other than to leave and play something else. Without proper tools, the sandbox is no fun.
Imagination Is a Problem
It's essential to have the right tools to create a joyful box of sand.
The same rule applies to virtual sandbox games as to real sandboxes: if the developer doesn't give the right tools to the player, the player will get bored pretty easily.
Game designers have to think about a way to make people like and spend time playing their games. If you add some tools – a bucket and a shovel – to the sandbox and guide the child in his first steps, he will be able to achieve something magnificent. With the right tools he will build a sculpture of a lion blowing water out of his mouth while wearing a three-point hat. Can you imagine it?
Imagination is the second problem for a game designer. The limits of imagination won't allow some players to fully explore the world the game designer created – but on the other hand, the game designer can't allow the player to imagine everything he wants and apply it to the game. This means the designer must create some boundaries and rules. And there will always be rules in any kind of game, even in sandbox games.
Let's put aside the box full of sand for a while. Ever played a pen and paper role playing game (P&P RPG)? You gather a group of friends around a table, and create an adventure for them to live through. One player is the storyteller, and the rest create their own characters that will fit an imaginary world. The difficult part in the process is finding a good group of players. There are many online games that allow people to play together in the comfort of their homes, but no other game is like a tabletop role playing game, because there you are truly free to do anything.
Tabletop Games: The Source of It All
A character sheet and a set of dice ready to play a Role Playing Game.
I've found that the only way to make people try an RPG without any 3D graphics or cut scenes is to sell them on this idea of total freedom. After gathering my P&P RPG group I could start creating stories, but as I told you before, there is always a set of rules. Total freedom, yes, but within the game's boundaries. I had to read a 300 page book to learn all the rules of a fantasy world I was going to keep alive for some months.
For some days we, as a group, created true tales of heroes. Stories that were out of this world, stories that we couldn't tell in a linear game. We had our little big sandbox where we could try out everything we wanted, and as the storyteller I could change some settings and create a whole new environment to change the dynamic of the game.
I won't tell you the stories or the amount of fun we have playing P&P RPG. If you are a developer that didn't try to play such kind of game I encourage you to try it out. You will find a lot of ideas to apply to your own games; no-one has yet made a game offering the same freedom as our tabletop sessions, but sandbox game designers keep getting closer and closer.
From Elite to Freelancer
Elite was released in 1983 with its superb wireframe graphics – very advanced for the time!
Dungeons & Dragons was the first commercial P&P RPG, released as a tabletop game in 1974. The ideas around this theme started to flow and coders were keen to apply them to computer games. In 1983, Elite – an open world space trading video game based on a tabletop RPG called Traveller – was published. It was a huge success due to how the player had the possibility to make decisions making him feel free. The typical labyrinthine maps were nowhere to be seen, and you could fly across systems completing quests. And Elite had another peculiarity: as well as the quests, you had a market where you could "buy here, sell there" to make a profit and buy new parts for your spaceship.
One year later, The Seven Cities of Gold was released, ushering in a new genre where players could trade, explore, fight and go on adventures under the role of a Spanish Empire explorer. There were a lot of successors; games like Wing Commander and Freelancer made their way to the top, but the greatest innovation here was in the creation of multiplayer gaming and the evolution of 2D graphics to 3D graphics. Of course, every year it was also possible to save a lot more data on hard drives than before, making the lives of developers a lot easier when creating larger worlds and interactions, which was something they had been trying to do since the beginning.
SimCity and GTA
The GTA series of games sit at the frontier of the open world and sandbox genres.
Some years later the city-building games gained popularity. Utopia was released in 1982 but the free city building genre only started to get famous when SimCity hit the market in 1989. SimCity is another perfect example of a sandbox game, and yet it is totally different from the games I mentioned above: as mayor, you were given the tools to build a city in the way you want.
The year after that, Railroad Tycoon was released; like SimCity, it gave players objectives to complete within an economic simulation, but this time the player was tasked with running a railroad business rather than a city. Railroad Tycoon brought something new to the world of gaming: the "Sandbox Mode". You were given infinite resources to create anything you'd like with infinite resources (but always within the game's boundaries, of course). Remember the child I spoke of earlier? Imagine that child with a lot of tools, a big imagination, and now infinite resources, building cities, roads, places…
The release of The Sims, at the turn of the century, was another milestone in the evolution of sandbox gaming. Again, it is quite different from any other game I spoke about, and changed the way we look at the sandbox concept: you built the house (and the life) of a single person or family. The Grand Theft Auto series marked another important change. You can call GTA an open world sandbox game, but there is a massive difference between The Sims and GTA – and yet both fit in the genre, as they allow players to create and interact with the world.
Be a Witch in Salem
Salem is a new sandbox world. It's in beta for now.
The games industry is always expanding and game developers are trying their best to give players new experiences, grabbing ideas from the past, applying them in the present, to improve the future. That's why I want to talk about online sandbox games.
With the advent of massively-multiplayer online games, companies like Sea Tribe explored the sandbox concept, applying it to online gaming. They envisioned giant worlds where each person could have their own place to live, maintaining it through diplomacy (or fighting). Sea Tribe's game Heaven & Hearth is a free to explore world where people play together constructing anywhere they'd like. It's a mutable world that players change every day.
A house built by players in Xsyon shows what's possible to achieve in terms of architecture.
Sea Tribe is working on their new title Salem. Like Heaven & Hearth, Salem is a 3D world in a 17th century setting. You play as a colonist but you can take your ways into witchcraft. Salem and its witches… Sea Tribe is not the only company preparing to launch a sandbox game to the market. Games like The Repopulation by Above and Beyond Technologies and Xsyon by Notorious Games explore the same model each one with their different settings and capabilities.
These games are based around crafting, as a player needs to craft to be build things. Developers had to find a solution to make the game playable and enjoyable. As in any other MMORPG a player needs to level up to gain new skills. In these sandbox games you will earn points when crafting materials


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The ground investigation is split into three investigation phases
- Phase 1 involves a desk study which reviews records, old maps and photographs of local land uses to determine if there are any observational risks at the site that require investigation.
- Phase 2 involves drilling boreholes or digging trial pits to take soil and water samples for testing to determine if ground contamination is present at a site. This often encompasses collecting information to inform for building foundation design.
- Phase 3 involves designing a strategy to carry out remediation of any contamination found, and verification that the remediation has been carried out properly. This stage is not required if no contamination has been found.
Free guide: 'Phase 1 Site Investigations Explained'
This guide has been written specifically for those new to contaminated land. It's a brief introduction for the uninitiated and gives an overview of the steps you need to follow. Download "Phase 1 Site Investigations Explained" now for free!

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Welding helmets and helmet assemblies cover a welder's face to protect against sparks, extreme heat, flash burns and retina burns caused by UV and infrared light. Welding helmet assemblies include a shroud, which covers the welder's neck and upper torso, and a welding helmet. Welding helmets have large viewings lenses that can be passive or auto-darkening. Auto-darkening lenses automatically adjust in the presence of UV and infrared light. They improve visibility and protect the welder from retina burns and vision loss.
Welding helmet parts and accessories are used for equipment maintenance and repair. Replacement cover plates, headgear, retainers and spider clips are available for different types of welding helmets. Duct, inner shell and welding shield clip assemblies include multiple components for simple part replacement. A wide variety of kits also contain sets of supplies, such as adapters, cover plates, shields and sweatbands.
Welding helmet lenses, filters and plates are used to protect a welder's eyes from harmful radiation, heat, sparks and debris. Welding helmet lenses are filtered to improve visibility and protect against retina burns and vision loss caused by UV and infrared light. They can be passive, which means they have a fixed filter shade, or they can be auto-darkening. Auto-darkening lenses automatically adjust in the presence of UV and infrared light."


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Aircraft maintenance is key for safe and efficient aircraft operations. While most studies propose cost-efficient maintenance strategies, the safety and efficiency of these strategies need to be quantified. This paper proposes a formal framework to assess the safety and efficiency of maintenance strategies by means of agent-based modelling, stochastically and dynamically coloured Petri nets, and Monte Carlo simulation. We model an end-to-end aircraft maintenance process, considering several maintenance stakeholders. We apply our framework for aircraft landing gear brakes, and use a Gamma process to model the degradation trends of the brakes. The numerical results show that applying data-driven strategies reduces the number of inspections by 36%, while maintaining the same level of safety as in the case of traditional time-based maintenance strategies. Furthermore, in order to discuss the possibility to substitute all inspections by sensor monitoring, an advanced data-driven strategy using prognostics is considered. Overall, our proposed framework is generic and can readily be applied to assess the safety and efficiency of the maintenance of other aircraft components and maintenance strategies.
- Aircraft maintenance
- Gamma process
- Landing gear brake
- Stochastically and dynamically coloured Petri nets


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TextSoap is for people who work with text.
TextSoap effortlessly cleans up text from endlessly different formats. Wash away unwanted characters, spaces, tabs. Fix paragraphs with hard returns at the end of each line, as well as a myriad of other formatting issues that come your way and do it all while retaining desired font styles.
Unlike finding and replacing each of dozens of typical formatting issues or manually perusing through a file to find errors and fixing them by hand, TextSoap can automate that task down to just one click. And you can do it all from within your favorite app using the TextSoap Universal menu.
Easy to learn for casual users, TextSoap also has the flexibility that serious users need.
- New Action (Advanced feature): Perform Named Service. Will perform named OS X Service on the given text.
- [Direct] New License menu item in App menu to easily view current license info.
- [Direct] New Recover option to retrieve existing TextSoap 8 license codes. Select new License menu item to access.
- [Direct] License tab now shows current license key.
- Fixed issue that caused false error to be reported in Console when using the cleanFile command in AppleScript on a rich text document.
- Updated frameworks
OS X 10.10 or later, 64-bit processor


Interview: Wayout Micro-Factories Co-Founder and Creative Director, Martin Renck
The brand's automated machines filter water and drastically reduce reliance on traditional production techniques
Swedish sustainable technology firm Wayout successfully engineered an all-encompassing, solar-powered brewing system—essentially a micro-factory—that's available at a flat rate through a subscription plan. All of the machine's processes are automated—filtering water (which can be done instantly) or brewing beer, soft drinks, sodas, ciders, and kombucha (which take seven to 10 days)—and can be monitored locally via a smartphone app or from the firm's office in Stockholm. In the same way that 3D printers are loaded with material and then left to do the rest of the work, the Wayout micro-factories (which weigh 7.5 tons empty and 12 tons full) can mix, brew, store, and clean all internally and without manual labor or tedious monitoring. Plus, the exterior panels and serving stations are completely customizable and adaptable to fit the given owner's needs.
Its most basic function is filtering 70,000 liters of water each month for drinking in the community in its proximity—without the 200,000 plastic bottles needed or the eight tons of greenhouse gases emitted in order to distribute it. Wayout's aim for their micro-factory (a "lean and clean local production machine," as co-founder and creative director Martin Renck calls it) is to eventually bring clean water to the majority of the planet's population that otherwise do not have access.
Ahead of the installation of one of the first Wayout micro-factories at the Sayari Camp in Northern Serengeti, we spoke with Renck to discuss the system's inception, intention, and potential applications—from rural communities in Africa to resort bars across the world.
How was the technology conceptualized?
Food and beverage production is built on outdated structures with ingrained problems that are costly both for business and consumers—and for the planet. Production and knowhow is centralized, just as capital and innovation is. The unsustainable food industry is a main driver of global inequity, pandemics and climate change. In order to reverse this, food and beverage must be produced where it is consumed. The technology is already here—we just need to get it out there and put it to use. Our idea is simple: we make sustainable commercial beverage production micro-factories. These are offered to organizations and entrepreneurs that see the opportunities in locally producing beverages with a minimal eco-footprint.
We enable local prosperity, bypass the outdated industrial structures, and help humanity transition to a greener, healthier and safer future
By relocating the benefits of the business to where the products are consumed, we enable local prosperity, bypass the outdated industrial structures, and help humanity transition to a greener, healthier and safer future. We wanted to make a lean and clean local production machine. We wanted it to be simple to operate, less costly (both economically and ecologically) and with increased possibilities as to what you could offer your customers in terms of variety and styles—and with highest quality in hygiene, taste and craftsmanship.
What can you make with one?
At the moment, our micro-factories can make perfect quality still and sparkling mineral water, an almost unlimited range of soft drinks, smart drinks and functional drinks, and various brews, like craft beer, craft ciders and kombucha. The brewery is fully automated and—at this capacity—probably the most compact one available on the planet today. We only brew from extract, meaning we skip the malting and worting processes and start our brewing from the wort extract. This saves time and space and money—and energy and CO₂.
There are lots of sustainability metrics you've estimated. Can you explain more plainly how this is a more sustainable option than bottling, shipping, and producing beverages?
It's mainly the old structures that are unsustainable. We've gotten so used to them that we can't seem to be able to think outside the box. The problems we as humanity face can't be resolved if we still think the way we thought when we created them. For example, bottled water uses 2,000 times more energy than tap water. Every day, 1.4 billion plastic bottles are sold. More than 90% are not recycled. It takes at least 450 years for a plastic bottle to completely degrade. In the meantime, it turns into toxins and micro-plastics that end up in the oceans and inside all living things.
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestlé are the world's biggest plastic polluters. Coca-Cola produces about three million tons of plastic packaging a year—equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute. Imported bottled beer releases 400% more CO₂ compared to locally brewed beer served from tap on site.
Greater awareness of environmental factors is creating demand for products that preemptively guard against environmental concerns. Water will be a stressed resource. Many cities will be constantly in a state of water shortage. Big, centralized industry drains aquifers, uses up resources and dumps trash where there are no systems for recycling. What our concept solves is that instead of shipping pre-packaged beverages around the planet—producing tons and tons of excess carbon dioxide and leaving billions of plastic bottles in the wake—we provide a sustainable alternative for local coverage of water and beverages.
By removing the handling of bottles, we also remove a number of costly and harmful side effects from the entire beverages industry. The eco-footprint is kept at a minimum by carefully qualifying the technology, the sources of energy and the ingredients. Ideally, the only CO₂ we produce is what sparkles in the beverages.
Who is the intended owner of one of your micro-factories? Who benefits most from its proximity?
Our micro-factories would sit well with any hospitality chain or beverage company that wishes to produce beverages where they are consumed, wishes to increase profit by producing their own beverages, wishes to deepen their customers' brand experience through a tailored beverage portfolio, wishes to profile themselves as environmentally responsible and proactively sustainable, and wishes to help lead the way to a greener future by ridding their system of plastic bottles.
Typically, this would be businesses and chains within the hospitality and horeca [catering] industries, such as hotels and restaurants, bars and night clubs, arenas and catering services—but also beer brands that want to produce locally and sustainably.
Images courtesy of Wayout


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Aim : To verify the laws of combination (series) of resistance using a meter bridge (R=R1 + R2 )
Apparatus : a meter bridge, a leclanche cell (battery eliminator ), a galvanometer, a resistance box, a jockey, two resistance wire or two resistance coils, set square, connecting wires.
- The resistance (r) of a wire or coil is given by
Where R is the resistance from resistance box in the left gap and l is the length of the meter bridge wire from zero end upto balance point.
2. When two resistance r1 & r2 are connected in series, then their combined resistance
- Mark the two resistance coil as r1 and r2.
- To find the r1 and r2 proceed same way as in experiment 1.
(if r1 and r2 are not known )
- Connect the two coils r1 and r2 in series as shown circuit diagram in the right gap of meter bridge and find the resistance of this combination. Take at least three sets of observation.
- Record your observation.
Within limits of experimental error, experimental and theoretical values of R are same. Hence law of resistance in series is verified.
- The key should be inserted only while taking observation.
- Connections should be neat and tight.
Sources of error
- The key in resistance box may be loose.
- The galvanometer may not show opposite deflection.
|Resistance in R.B. (ohm)||Balance l (cm)||(100-l) (cm)||[(100-l)*R]/l||Mean r1 (cm)|
|Resistance in R.B. (ohm)||Balance l (cm)||(100-l) (cm)||[(100-l)*R]/l||Mean r2 (cm)|
|Resistance in R.B. (ohm)||Balance l (cm)||(100-l) (cm)||[(100-l)*R]/l||Mean rs (cm)|
R1 + R2 = 1.616+1.015 = 2.631 ohm
Rs = 2.615 ohm
Therefore, experimental error = [(2.615-2.631)/2.615]*100 = 0.6%
How does resistance change in series combination?
Ans. Resistance increase in series combination
Why does resistance increase in series combination?
Ans. Effective length of resistor increases. As R*l, resistance increases.
What is resistance?
Ans. it is the opposition offered by the material of two wire to flow of electric current.
What is the cause of resistance?
Ans. it is the opposition offered by the material of wire to flow of electric current.
What is the effect of temperature In the resistance of conductor?
Resistance of all conductor increases with increase in temperature.


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So you upgraded your Android phone or tablet to Android 4.1.2 or higher and now you get a "Please enable Google apps location access" error whenever accessing Google Maps or Google Now. What is this damn error and how do you get rid of it? This article spills the beans!
Prior to Android 4.1.2, to find your location in Google Maps all you had to do was enable GPS. Starting in Android 4.1.2, however, Google has made a change. You still need to enable GPS. However, in addition to enabling GPS, you need to explicitly give access to all Google apps to allow them to find your location. If you don't do this second step then you will get a "Please enable Google apps location access" error in Google Maps, Google Now, and any other Google app that tries to use your location.
Why did Google make this change? I'm not sure.
How to enable Google apps location access
As I just mentioned, before you can proceed further, you need to make sure you have GPS enabled. To enable GPS, go to 'System settings' -> 'Location access' -> flip 'Access to my location' to on -> check the box for 'GPS satellites'; you will also have to agree or disagree to send Google anonymous location data. Once you have GPS enabled, you need to do the following to give Google apps access to your location so you can start using Google Maps, Google Now, etc.:
- Go to 'System settings' -> 'Accounts' -> 'Google'
- Scroll to the bottom and tap on 'Location settings'
- Flip the switch for 'Let Google apps access your location' to 'On'
Once you do the above, you will no longer get the "Please enable Google apps location access" error in Google Maps, Google Now, or any other Google app.
If you ever want to revoke location access for Google apps, simply repeat the same process mentioned above except flip the switch for 'Let Google apps access your location' to 'Off'
Google definitely made this whole process a lot more confusing than it needs to be. However, it is a one-time thing — you set it once and you never have to worry about it again. Enjoy!


Aim higher, reach further.
Sandy Aside, Weather Puts 2012 in Record Books
Even though it's mid-December, blooms are evident in Central Park. ENLARGE
Even though it's mid-December, blooms are evident in Central Park. Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal
New York City is poised to finish its warmest year since modern record-keeping began, with an average temperature projected to top 57.2 degrees.
A Wall Street Journal analysis of federal temperature data from an observation station at Central Park puts 2012 on course to surpass the three-way tie for the city's warmest year, which is currently shared by 1990, 1991 and 1998.
With less than two weeks left in December, it would take an unprecedented cold snap—with a deeper freeze than January 1918, the coldest month in city history—to keep the current year out of the record books. If the remainder of December follows the long-range forecast, the year would end with an average temperature of 57.3 degrees.
"If you were to end the year right now, we would finish a 10th of a degree above 1991, which was the current warmest year on record," said David Stark, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Upton, N.Y. He cautioned that the final result remains uncertain at this point.
Temperature records at Central Park date back to 1869, the longest-running set of government weather data in the five boroughs. Eight of the 10 warmest years in that span have occurred since 1990.
Tree-ring analysis and other proxy data compiled by climate scientists suggest 2012 might be the warmest since the Dutch opened the trading post of New Amsterdam in 1624, said William Solecki, director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College.
"I think it is entirely possible that 2012 might be the warmest year for the city since its founding," he said.
November featured the city's earliest snowstorm in more than a century, helping to possibly obscure the broader warming trend over the course of 2012. The current month, for instance, could end as one of the 10 warmest Decembers in Central Park since the Civil War. More than 80% of the daily temperature averages in December so far have been warmer than normal, according to the data.
A temperature milestone might carry extra significance just three months after the devastation of superstorm Sandy, which touched off a discussion about possible links between the region's shifting climate and extreme weather.
In the days after the storm, for instance, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg framed his endorsement in the presidential election as a response to climate politics.
But for scientists, the more urgent discussion isn't the prospect for more big storms—it is the city's vulnerability to increasingly balmy temperatures.
"In what it means for the future, the temperature is as big a story as Sandy," said Adam Sobel, an atmospheric scientist at Columbia University.
"As a symbol, it's significant," he added. "But if next year doesn't break the record again, it won't mean global warming has slowed."
Mr. Solecki, a co-chairman of the New York City Panel on Climate Change established by the mayor, said that a record-warm year could prompt a "discussion of how to make our critical infrastructure more resilient to heat-related stresses." But he also cautioned against investing too much meaning in any numerical milestone.
Not all New Yorkers with a careful eye on the unusually warm year are bothered by the apparent record-breaking temperatures.
After finishing up a morning jog in Brooklyn's Prospect Park earlier this month, Joanna Paterson reflected on the ways the weather has been good for certain segments of the local economy.
"As a fitness trainer, my business is more successful. People are feeling healthier, recovery times from illness are shorter," said Ms. Paterson, 40 years old. "More people going to the green market. To be able to use this park for more of the year is a huge benefit."
Just down the street, a coffee shop offered a sale: "Global warming got you down? Get a cold brew coffee and enjoy summer forever!"
Inside, Matt Easton, 42, sipped an espresso and mused on the likely temperature record for 2012. He was not as sanguine as the runner.
"It's less dramatic than Sandy," Mr. Easton said of the city's warmest year. "But in some ways it's a more frightening indicator."
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values underpinning CSR are driven by a socialist-collectivist agenda, which is inherently opposed to capitalist/libertarian values of free enterprise and individualism.
Without critical reflection on the leftwing ideology instantiated by CSR, the business community may unwittingly adopt and sustain values that undermine free markets.
Without critical reflection on the leftwing ideology instantiated by CSR, business and research communities may unwittingly promote values that, stealth-like, undermine individual liberty and the capitalist foundations of free markets.
Purpose – This chapter makes sense of the volume and suggests avenues for future research.
Design/methodology/approach – This chapter reflects upon some of the challenges facing biology and politics; it offers two case studies of areas calling for more research and discussion.
Findings – Some evolutionary theorists criticize religion. In the process, they undermine the ability to reach out to religious people about the value of evolutionary theory. Two case studies – group selection and genetic bases of political behavior – are examined to illustrate ongoing issues that call for further attention


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What is the Chartered Mathematics Teacher designation?
The Chartered Mathematics Teacher (CMathTeach) designation reflects the balance between teaching skills (pedagogy) and mathematics knowledge that is necessary for a professional teacher to educate and inspire today's students.
The CMathTeach designation can also:
- Identify you as being at the forefront of your profession.
- Encapsulate standards of professional excellence across mathematics teaching in the 21st century.
- Benchmark you at the same level as a Chartered Mathematician, Chartered Scientist, Chartered Engineer, Chartered Science Teacher etc.
Who awards the CMathTeach designation?
The CMathTeach designation is incorporated within the Royal Charter of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and is awarded by the Chartered Mathematics Teacher Registration Authority. The Authority is composed of representatives from the following organisations:
To apply for the CMathTeach designation individuals must be a member of at least one of the above organisations and also satisfy the requirements in the following four areas:
- Continuing Professional Development
Full details of the designation requirements


Neuromuscular Integration and Structural Alignment (NISA) is a deep-tissue fascial technique that is used to address postural concerns or dysfunction.
Fascia is a type of fibrous connective tissue that surrounds muscles, organs and joints. NISA focuses on stretching and loosening this tissue to improve posture and restore proper body alignment. This results in pain relief, improved breathing and an increase in movement.
NISA was developed in the 1980's by Jean Loving. NISA's techniques are based in SOMA bodywork but with a gentler approach aimed at solving the problems related to body structure.
NISA 1Treatment Protocol
Treatment time is 60-90 minutes
Treatment is a series of 12 sessions, 1 session per week
NISA Training
nisa 2
NISA is a specialized 100 hour post-graduate course and is performed by a Registered Massage Therapist.
Benefits of NISA
 1. Improved posture
 2. Increase in range of motion
 3. Improved breathing
 4. Decreased pain
 5. Improved joint function
 6. Restoration to full height


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Our Groovy Games room offers a wide range of opportunities for the children to develop their social skills and form positive friendships through working together and having fun.
Our gaming area is comfortable and relaxing, which helps to calm the children and exercise their minds. The games encourage creativity and thinking and most of all having fun and laughter, which is an important part of our existence.
ICT can help develop children's dispositions to learn by increasing self-esteem and confidence, or by supporting independence and persistence in the face of initial difficulties. Using ICT develops children's concept of technological interactivity by showing that taking an action can produce a response
There are a range of resources available including games, jigsaws, football table, air hockey and pool table which encourages the children to be competitive and work together in teams. These activities enhance their mathematics skills and challenges the way children think.


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- Drawing from imagination
- Recognizing the unique characteristics which define an animal.
- Working with details and patterns.
realistic, pattern, unique characteristics
YOU WILL NEED
- 12 x 18-inch white drawing paper
- Non-toxic black permanent markers
- Watercolor markers
- Pencils (optional)
- Set out the pencils, markers, and drawing paper.
- Have the watercolor markers ready, but put aside until the drawings are completed.
Creating the animals
- Explain to the children that, by combining the parts of three or more animals, they will be creating one-of-a-kind, never-before-seen animals. Ask them to imagine an animal with an alligator's head, a tiger's body, and an elephant's ears.
- Discuss the unique characteristics which identify an animal, such as a squirrel's tail, a giraffe's neck, and a camel's hump. Emphasize the importance of including patterns and details. For example, leopards and tigers have similar body shapes, but are immediately recognized by their spots or stripes.
- Have the children each draw one large animal combining the parts of three or more animals. Older children appreciate drawing with pencils first and then going over their lines with the black markers. Younger children work best drawing directly with the black markers.
- When the drawings are completed, have the children color their animals with watercolor markers. Since this project is most effective when the parts of the animals are quickly recognizable, encourage the children to use realistic colors as seen in nature.
- Have the children name their new species of animals by combining several sounds or syllables from the names of the animals used in the drawings, such as a "chelegator" (ch-ĕlĕ-gātor), which includes parts of a chicken, an elephant, and an alligator. The older children can work individually to name their animals, but plan this as a group activity with the younger children.
- Tongue twisters are fun, as long as the children are able to pronounce the names.
- Prepare a list of the unique characteristics which define some animals to offer when ideas run short. For a greater variety of even zanier animals, include insect and/or fish parts.
- Encourage the children to draw one large animal that fills their paper instead of several smaller ones.
- For the most impact, the animals need to be quickly recognizable. Encourage the children to include lots of details and use realistic colors.
- Young children tend to fill in their work with the black markers, so be sure they understand that colored markers will be available when their drawings are completed.
- The lighter shades of watercolor markers work best because they won't cover up the black lines of the drawings.
- Ask the children to identify the different animal parts in the drawings.
- Discuss what information helps them to recognize these parts.
- Do I have to use three animals?
- Can I use ten animals?
- My animal has four legs and they are all different.
- Do I have to use gray for my elephant's legs? I wanted to stripe them like a tiger's legs.
- I've never seen animals like these before!
- The never-before-seen animals are more fun if you use at least three different animal parts.
- You can decide the number of different animal part to use as long as you have included at least three.
- Be sure to draw and color the parts carefully, so we can have the fun of recognizing each one.
- It will be easier to recognize the different animal parts if you color them as they are in nature. However, you as the artist can decide how to color your animal.
- If all these animals were in a zoo, it would surely be a Zany Zoo!

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


Back to Education & Training : Current Grantees
321 Education Foundation
Area of Work
Education & Training
Mumbai Maharashtra
Supported by MFE since
321 focuses on empowering educators in order to facilitate a more interesting and interactive methodology of teaching in our schools. Their programs include:
 1. Individualised support for teachers through workshops and one-on-one coaching.
 2. World class curriculum and tools for teachers and students.
 3. Student level data analytics to measure student progress and for program innovation.
 4. Continuous communication and engagement with parents and schools.
MFE Supported Programs:
Ignite 3.0 is an integrated early grades program for 5 grades (Lower Kindergarten, Senior Kindergarten, Grade 1, 2 and 3) to ensure significant improvements in student learning. The program will provide academic support to primary schools and teachers covering primary education in English and Mathematics.
The program includes:
 1. Ongoing incidental & individualised support for each teacher to ensure higher curriculum adaptation.
 2. World class curriculums.
 3. Ongoing student level data analytics.


text: This article examines the role of nuclear power in the USSR. Since the beginning of development of power reactors in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, their contribution had grown to 6% of all electric power by 1980. Reactor development has proceeded rapidly, with a number of reactor designs in use. Fast-breeder reactors and designs for specialized applications are under development. It is anticipated that the contribution of nuclear power will continue to grow. The status of nuclear power stations at 20 locations is summarized in a table.


FSDU Dictionary
FSDU Glossary of Terms
FSDU glossary of terms
The world of free-standing display units is full of unique words and acronyms. Most of these mean very little to the new or occasional visitor!
See below for definitions of the most common (and most confusing!) terms:
What does FSDU stand for?
Foamex and Cardboard FSDU POS Display Unit
FSDU stands for Free Standing Display Unit or Floor Standing Display Unit. The terms' usage is fairly equal; however, FREE standing display units is a slightly more common interpretation than FLOOR standing display units. Typically FSDU refers to customised cardboard display units. Occasionally, however, this term is used to refer to display stands made of other materials. Other materials used include Foamex stands, and general point of sale stand displays, as long as they are free-standing displays.
What does CDU stand for?Premium CDU with spot UV
When talking about retail displays, CDU stands for Countertop Display Unit. The acronym CDU normally refers to cardboard countertop display units. Occasionally, however, the term is also used for other tabletop or counter display units such as Perspex display units. Beware of other interpretations outside the world of cardboard display stands – _URL_ lists no less than 38 definitions for CDU, the most common being the Christian Democrats Union party in Germany! But to us, a CDU is always a countertop display unit.
What is a Pallet Wrap Display Stand?Pallet Wrap Display Stand
This is a very misleading term to someone not familiar with the point of sale industry. It is nothing to do with the plastic shrink-wrap sold by the packaging industry! Instead, it refers to a cardboard or Correx FSDU display that fits onto a standard pallet. This gives a highly mobile point-of-sale solution that is sometimes sent to the retailer fully-stocked and ready-to-go. Also, these are a great option if you need a mobile display and your budget doesn't allow display stands with wheels.
What is an Off-Fixture Display Unit?Off Fixture Display Unit
An off-fixture display is simply an FSDU or point of sale stand that stands alone apart from the permanent display fixtures in the retail outlet, e.g. isle end stands, fill-in stands, or stand-alone foyer displays and lobby displays. These are a great way to get access for your goods into major retailers, as competition for existing shelf space is high, but major retailers like Tesco, Asda, Boots, and Debenhams welcome any extra selling space you can offer them! Of course your brand enjoys more exposure as well.
What is a Dump Bin?Cardboard Catalogue Dump Bin
The rather unglamorous term 'Dumpbin' is widely used to refer to an FSDU display stand that holds brochures or catalogues or products. It is certainly nothing to do with a conventional bin! Catalogue dump-bins are typically a high-capacity unit displaying a stack of promotional literature. Catalogue dump-bins are not the same as literature display units, where smaller quantities of brochures are displayed in a more upright position. Catalogue dump bins are commonly used at exhibitions and trade counters.
Product dumpbins are typically a large fully-printed display box containing the product for sale. Product dump bins are commonly found in large retailers.
What are POP Displays and POS (Point of Sales) Display Stands?
POS Cardboard Cubes Display
Point of Sales Display Stands and Point of Purchase Display Stands
These terms tend to refer to FSDU displays that hold products for sale and are usually positioned near the checkout areas.
What is a Mop Tray?
mop tray
A mop-tray is a clear plastic tray that fits underneath an FSDU or floor-standing point of sale item to protect it from rising damp (and the cleaner's mops)! Normally only around 5cm high, occasionally higher mop-trays are recommended, particularly in environments where there are animals, such as vets waiting rooms or pet shops, to protect from other fluids!
Euro Hook ProngWhat is a Euro-hook?
A euro-hook is a standard-sized 2-prong hook that loops around at the end, designed to take products with the standard 'Euro-slot' hole. The term sometimes refers to any kind of display prong that products hang from. These work well on FSDUs. These are also widely used in general display fixtures in retail environments.
What are Shelf Edge Pricing Strips?Shelf Edge Pricing Strip
Typically a clear plastic strip designed to contain SEL (shelf edge labels) displaying pricing and product details. The labels can easily be removed and replaced to allow short term promotions and 'Promotional SEL' (Promotional Shelf Edge Labels). Fixed retail shelves often have these, as well as FSDUs. You can see a video of an FSDU for BASF below:
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Former Student Raises $27,000 For Substitute Former Teacher Living In A Car After The Pandemic Hit him Hard.
A former student rescued his kind substitute teacher who was living in a car due to his declining financial situation mostly after the pandemic gulped his job as a teacher. The student setup a GoFundMe page, and have him as a present a check of $27,000 on his birthday.
The pandemic has given us all quite a hard time when it hit last year. Many people went from poor circumstances to the worst where they couldn't even survive.
The same happened with substitute teacher José Villaruel who found himself out of work as lessons went online. The consequences were catastrophic for the teacher who already was having a tough time managing his finances and most of all, he had been using his income to send to his sick wife and children living in Mexico.
In fact, he had been living out of his car for quite a time so he could send his family the money they needed. Now, with no job, Villaruel was living off his Social Security check, most of which he sent to his loved ones.
But when a former student, Steven Nava, saw his teacher in a parking lot at 5 a.m. on the way to work, he was shocked. After plucking up the courage, he approached his old teacher and asked about his circumstances. When Villaruel explained his struggles, the 21-year-old felt compelled to help. Nava realized it was time to say him a Thank-you for the effort he put in his students.
Villaruel's response encouraged Nava to help him further, and he promised the teacher he'd do whatever it took to get him out of his predicament.
Nava set up a GoFundMe page and the donations quickly mounted up to $27,000. So along with some other former students, Nava successfully was able to help his teacher with whom he had a great time in the past. And remembering how he was so caring and kind, Nava was pleased to help him with all his heart.
Nava with some other students presented the check to the delighted teacher on his 77th birthday. Villarreal was so moved that he hugged him and thanked him for the effort he made to help him all along.
Article and image source: Diply
Recommended for you


text:
|Determinants of child immunization in Nepal: The role of women's empowerment.|
||Pandey, S., & Lee, H.
||Health Education Journal, On-line first, Sept 2011 doi: 10.1177/0017896911419343
Background: Approximately 1.4 million or 13% of all children who die each year could be prevented with widely-available vaccines.
Objective: We examined if women's empowerment improved child immunization using data on 1,056 mothers with young children from Nepal.
Methods: The study utilized the 2006 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, a nationally-representative sample of 10,793 women from 8,707 households across Nepal. We selected all mothers with first child between the ages of 12 and 23 months at the time of interview. This resulted in a sample of 1,056 mothers.
Results: Among the measures of women's empowerment, mothers' education was significantly associated with child immunization. The odds of being fully immunized for children of mothers with secondary education were 5.91 times the odds for children of mothers without any formal education. Other measures of women's empowerment – women's age at birth of first child, gap in age between spouses, women's knowledge about sexually-transmitted diseases, their role in intra-household financial, health and mobility decisions, and their perceptions toward wife beating – were not associated with child immunization. Among control variables, mothers who received antenatal care were 3.31 times as likely to immunize their children as mothers who did not receive any antenatal care. Other such barriers to health service use such as cost of care, distance to health services, and quality of health services were not significant.
Conclusions: To improve child immunization, Nepal should strengthen its antenatal care services. Additionally, over 56% of mothers in Nepal had no formal education; to improve child health in the long run, the country should focus on education of women and girls.


Ask an Eye M.D. Answer Archive
Please read our important medical disclaimer.
I tear up whenever I laugh, or sometimes if I even smile too hard. We're not talking about laughing until you cry, we're talking about something that's barely funny that I respond to with a slight giggle, at most. I can't figure out why my eyes start overflowing with tears every time I laugh, even just a little. What could be causing this?
There are three reasons that come to mind about why your eyes tear so easily. One cause would be an alteration of the normal anatomy of your lids and tear ducts when you laugh. This could stretch or even close the opening to the proper drainage of your tears. The other would be a neurologic condition that affects the rate of tear formation. The third reason could be that your nerves taking care of your facial muscles and tearing system are abnormally connected. This can occur when you are developing as an infant or after trauma when your tissues heal. This can be complex and I suggest you see your ophthalmologist (Eye M.D.) soon to evaluate your condition.
Answered by: Wayne Bizer, DODr. Wayne Bizer
Categories: Eye Conditions
Have a question that hasn't been answered yet? Ask it!
Answered: Jun 18, 2013
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text:
About How to Draw Elephant:
Learning how to draw an elephant is fun, but it can also help kids develop many important skills. These skills, eye-hand coordination, color concepts, picture and number comprehension, form the foundation for early learning success. Enjoy this free, printable how to draw an elephant page!
Use of our How to Draw Elephant page:
Our how to draw an elephant may be used only for your personal, non-commercial use. Parents, teachers, churches and recognized nonprofit organizations may print or copy multiple how to draw an elephant pages for use at home or in the classroom.


text:
Step 1.1. Identify the student learning needs that the activity will address.
Identifying student learning needs begins with a review of student learning outcomes. Your review should concentrate on a variety of student data. You should begin by reviewing results from the Maryland School Assessment or the High School Assessment, depending on the grade level on which you are focusing. Next, you should conduct a more detailed analysis of student learning outcomes by reviewing results from end-of-course assessments and formative or benchmark assessments, and other student work samples. In reviewing these kinds of data, it will be important to be sure that the assessments and assignments are explicitly aligned with the learning outcomes and indicators specified in the Voluntary State Curriculum. In addition to data on learning outcomes, your review of student data may focus on attendance data disciplinary referrals, and other factors that contribute to or impede student learning. These data should be disaggregated by race or ethnicity, gender, and age or grade level, English language learner status, and special education status. Ideally, these data will cover several years of student progress. This analysis will help pinpoint the gaps between what students know and are able to do and what they are expected to know and be able to do. This analysis can also help identify the reasons for the gaps, including disconnects between teacher content knowledge and/or instructional strategies and the desired student learning outcomes.


text:
- Join The Movement
- Media & More
- About Us
Types of Builds
Millard Fuller used to say that a home is the foundation on which human development occurs. It is also an important, positive step in working on a safer, healthier and more responsible future. Many people struggling to put food on the table, pay bills, purchase school supplies and clothing and maintain transportation to work are not thinking about repairing their homes, even though those homes might be dangerous, literally crumbling around them and their children.
The Fuller Center is an organization devoted to partnership, renewed opportunity and providing a hand up instead of a hand out. The construction and rehabilitation of simple, decent houses are the two basic ways we do this.
The work of The Fuller Center allows the elderly to live out their rest of their days comfortably in their own homes, gives families a fresh start, enables the handicapped to maintain a level of independence in accessible homes and, in some cases, transforms entire neighborhoods.


Solved Examples (Reading Comprehension)
Directions: Each passage in this group is followed by questions based on its content. After reading a passage, choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions following a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.
Questions 1-6
Passage: The history of literature really began was the earliest of the arts. Man danced for joy round his primitive camp fire after the defeat and slaughter of his enemy. He yelled and shouted as he danced and gradually the yells and shouts became coherent and caught the measure of the coherent and caught the measure of the dance and thus the first war song was sung. As the idea of God developed prayers were framed. The songs and prayers became traditional and were repeated from one generation to another, each generation adding something of its own.
As man slowly grew more civilized, he was compelled to invent some method of writing by three urgent necessities. There were certain things that it was dangerous to forget and which, therefore, had to be recorded. It was often necessary to communicate with persons who were some distance away and it was necessary to protect one's property by making tools and so on, in some distinctive manner. So man taught himself to write and having learned to write purely for utilitarian reasons he used this new method for preserving his war songs and his prayers. Of course, among these ancient peoples, there were only a very few individuals who learned to write, and only a few could read what was written.
Before man invented writing
 1. Literature was passed on by word of mouth
 2. Prayers were considered literature
 3. Literature was just singing and dancing
 4. There was no literature
(C). The first line of the passage describes the beginning of the literature as sing and dance for joy around the campfires after the defeat and after slaughter of enemy. Gradually these literature forms converted to advance literature. Hence it is obvious; literature was just singing and dancing before the invention of writing, The right answer choice is C.
As for the war songs and prayers each generation
 1. Added something of its own to the stock
 2. Blindly repeated the songs and prayers
 3. Composed its own songs and prayers
 4. Repeated what has handed down to it
(A). In the second last line of the first part the sentence "each generation adding something of its own", gives the right answer choice A.
The first war-song
 1. was inspired by God
 2. developed byspontaneously
 3. was a song traditionally handed down
 4. was composed by leading dancers
(B). Middle of the fourth line of the passage gives the idea that war songs were developed spontaneouslyby yells and shouts. The right answer choice is B.
The war song evolved out of
 1. Creative inspiration
 2. There was no literature
 3. Artistic urge
 4. Yelling and shouting
(D). Same as question there. The right answer choice is D.
Man invented writing because he wanted
 1. To be artistic
 2. To write war song
 3. To write literature
 4. To record and communicate
(D). The second line of the second part of the passage describes the urgency of developing some tool to remember. For the man at that time it was dangerous to forget, therefore he wanted to record for the communication to the people who were at distance from him.
The word'measure' in the context of the passage means
 1. Weight
 2. Rhythm
 3. Size
 4. Quantity
(B). The writer uses "coherent and measure" simultaneously in the passage. They stand for almost the same meaning of rhythm. Moreover, according to passage both "measure of the coherent" and "measure of the dance" led towards the development of the first war song. This idea also leads towards the implied meaning of the word "measure" as rhythm.


text:
In fact, adults who frequently engage in mentally stimulating activities are 63% less likely to develop dementia than those who rarely do such activities, a New England Journal of Medicine study discovered. A University of Michigan study found that adults who play a mentally challenging game every day for several weeks can dramatically improve their memory.
The week's worth of games and activities that follow are designed to do just that. They were developed as part of a brain-boosting lifestyle program called the Brainpower Game Plan by by Cynthia Green, PhD, an assistant clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and founder of its renowned Memory Enhancement Program.
Boost brain power with an easy-to-follow plan! Order your copy of Brain Power Game Plan.


text:
July 29, 2010
Story by Cpl. Jo Jones
Sexual assault is a criminal act that often leaves its victims suffering from physical and emotional scars for the rest of their lives.
Whether stationed stateside aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune or deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, sexual assault can happen to anyone at any time.
With the amount of reported sexual assault cases reaching the thousands, the Department of Defense has been taking proactive measures to combat this issue and offer aid to its victims.
In 2005, the DoD implemented the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, which formally educates DoD personnel about sexual assault and assists those affected by the criminal act. In 2009, the Marine Corps hired SAPR program managers at all Marine Corps bases with more than 1,000 Marines.
"The SAPR program is a victim-centered program supported by senior leadership," said Marie Brodie, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program manager and installation sexual assault response coordinator for MCB Camp Lejeune. "The ultimate message (to the victims) is, 'We are here for you; we will stand by you; you should know you can get help and support.'"
The DoD defines sexual assault as intentional sexual contact characterized by the use of force, threats, intimidation, abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. It is criminal in nature and includes rape, forcible sodomy and other unwanted sexual contact that is abusive or wrongful.
The SAPR program is designed to aid and protect victims of sexual assault, educate bystanders about recognizing and preventing sexual assault and hold offenders accountable for their actions.
Anyone can be a victim of sexual assault. Although most sexual assault cases occur between male perpetrators and female victims, Brodie said there have been cases of males sexually assaulting other males and very occasionally, female offenders with male victims.
Regardless of the victims' gender, Brodie said commanders highly encourage victims of sexual assault to come forward and report the cases. Still, there are many reasons they do not. Brodie said victims may be uncertain about what will happen next and who will find out. Some victims feel shame and guilt about the crime, which affects their decision to report it or not. Victims sometimes fear they won't be believed or that people will think negatively about them. Others feel the legal process is confusing. Many are intimidated by superiors or fear that their chains-of-command will do nothing.
Brodie said many people know someone who has been a victim of sexual assault and that understanding the crime and the fears of the victim could help commanders and peers to be more supportive.
"We want to ensure all victims are treated fairly, with dignity, without prejudice and with respect," said Brodie.
Brodie said most people were not offenders but rather bystanders, people who do not commit acts of sexual assault but may have an opportunity to intervene and prevent someone else from committing a criminal act. Brodie said the SAPR program provides training and education on risk reduction and bystander intervention.
Risk reduction teaches service members how to recognize behaviors that might make them vulnerable to sexual predators. Bystander intervention is scenario-based training that teaches service members how to intervene on behalf of someone who could potentially be in a dangerous situation or conversely, how to stop someone from doing something that is possibly criminal behavior.
Brodie said both of these factors were crucial to preventing many potential sexual assault cases.
"It's important to teach people bystander intervention," said Brodie. "It takes skill and practice to know how to speak up and intervene if you see someone behaving inappropriately."
Brodie said the SAPR program allowed SAPR personnel and commanders to hold offenders accountable for their violent, criminal behaviors. For the 2009 fiscal year, the DoD reported 3,230 sexual assault cases, 983 of them resulting in command disciplinary actions such as courts-martial charges, administrative discharges and other adverse administrative actions.
In order to take such actions against perpetrators, however, victims must take action. Brodie said it was important, therefore, to create an environment where victims feel safe to report sexual assault cases to law enforcement personnel.
"Reporting is the key to holding offenders accountable," said Brodie.
There are two ways to report sexual assault incidents: restricted reporting and unrestricted reporting.
During restricted reporting, victims receive medical treatment, advocacy and counseling while protecting their identity and confidentiality. Law enforcement personnel do not get involved and the victims' chains-of-command are not informed. Restricted reporting may turn into unrestricted reporting at any time with the victim's consent.
While those who opt for unrestricted reporting also receive medical treatment, advocacy and counseling, unrestricted reporting generates a formal report to the victims' chains-of-command and other law enforcement units such as the Provost Marshal's Office and Naval Criminal Investigative Service to ensure a full investigation of the incident is conducted.
Any service member can report sexual assault cases, but there are other people who are also available to take a report of sexual assault and who are protected by confidentiality. Sexual assault response coordinators, uniformed victim advocates, civilian victim advocates, health care providers and chaplains are available to listen, provide information and resources. Brodie said DoD personnel can talk to any of these people about sexual assault and that person does not have to report the crime to law enforcement or the chain-of-command if it goes against the wishes of the victim.
Brodie said about 85 to 90 percent of sexual assault victims know their offenders, often making it much more difficult for the victims to come forward. Brodie stressed, however, victims and bystanders alike should not use familiarity as an excuse to tolerate sexual assault.
Brodie said the DoD has implemented a number of formal, proactive measures to combat sexual assault incidents in every branch of the military and every unit within each service. For those stationed aboard MCB Camp Lejeune or in the Camp Lejeune community, please contact the following to report a crime or for help:
-- Ms. Marie Brodie can be reached at her office: _PHONE_ begin_of_the_skype_highlighting _PHONE_ end_of_the_skype_highlighting; her cell phone: _PHONE_ or by e-mail: _EMAIL_.
-- Call Military OneSource at _PHONE_.
-- Call MCB Camp Lejeune Community Counseling Center at _PHONE_.
- Civilian Victim Advocates may be contacted directly during normal working hours at MCB Camp Lejeune's Community Counseling Center.
-- Service members, whether stationed stateside, overseas or forward deployed, may contact their respective Uniformed Victim Advocates. Every battalionor squadron-sized unit or higher should have at least two UVAs.
For more information regarding the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program, refer to Marine Corps Order 1752.5A or visit the website _URL_.


Harm van der Zeeuw is a autodidact, from an interest in clay started experimenting.
By combining the techniques, shapes and colors are images of a different culture arose. Ceramic images that you can let your mind go, you might move and you can elicit a smile.
Slowly, the initial basic technical interest for the place-making and creativity.
His motto:
Everything in life is made in three parts:
* It is seen through the eyes
* It is conceived and merged in the main
* It is formed by the hands
Enjoys his work and let you hear comments.


Take the 2-minute tour ×
This question already has an answer here:
In R, I create a data frame in a following way:
data <- data.frame(dummy=rep('dummy',10000))
data$number = 0
data$another = 1
When I run a for loop that assigns values to data frame (iterating through rows), my code runs infinitely slow
calculation <- function() {2}
somethingElse <- function() {3}
 for (i in 1:10000) {
The above snippet runs in 20 seconds on my laptop. In other languages like C or Java, this finishes instantly. Why is it so slow in R? I remember reading that R stores matrices column by column (unlike C, for example, where it's row by row). But still, I'm puzzled about why it takes so much time. Shouldn't my data.frame fit comfortably in memory (eluding slow disk write behavior)?
As a continuation of my question, I'd like to ask for a quick way to fill my data frame by row, if there exists one.
EDIT: Please note that I'm not trying to assign constants 2 and 3 to my data frame, in the actual problem that I was trying to solve calculation() and somethingElse() are a bit more complicated and depend on another data frame. My question is about efficient insertion into data frame in a loop (and I'm also curious about why this is so slow).
share|improve this question
If you are unable to provide an example that actually matches your situation, no one will be able to help you. – joran May 23 '13 at 20:38
In the first snippet, I do initialize the data frame. If you do a str(data) after the first snippet, it is "10000 obs. of 3 variables". – Davor May 23 '13 at 20:42
Look, the short answer is that R isn't C, and so techniques that are fast in C may be slow in R. If I had to guess, the real solution to your problem would be to totally rethink how you're calculating the values being inserted. But we obviously can't help with that, because you've provided us no information on that topic. – joran May 23 '13 at 20:45
_USER_ I'm quite clear that R is not C. If you know why this is so slow, please elaborate in more detail. What kind of argument copying is taking place here? Why is reading from data frame in the same way fast, but writing is not (even though data frame is pre-allocated)? – Davor May 23 '13 at 21:09
show 3 more comments
marked as duplicate by Ari B. Friedman, joran, mnel, Vishal, Freelancer May 24 '13 at 5:06
1 Answer
The answer is vectorization:
data[,2] = 2
data[,3] = 3
finishes instantly for me. For loops in interpreted languages like R are veeeeery slow. Performing this kind of operation by assigning a vector directly (i.e. vectorized) is much, much faster.
Programming in a new language requires a new mindset. Your approach breathes a compiled language, no need for the for loop.
share|improve this answer
In my actual problem, I assign to this data frame something that I've calculated (from some other data). I know that I can assign all the same values using what you wrote above, but my values all different and I need to assign them one by one. – Davor May 23 '13 at 20:33
The for loop isn't slow, it's the copying induced by the assignment. – joran May 23 '13 at 20:35
_USER_ if you want an accurate answer, please extend your example above. This answers the question you ask above, although this is not your real question. – Paul Hiemstra May 23 '13 at 20:39
I've edited my question so that it's more clear about what I'm actually asking. – Davor May 23 '13 at 20:52
As long as the result of calculation is vector of the length of data[,2], this will still work fine. – Paul Hiemstra May 23 '13 at 20:54
show 2 more comments


text:
Transactions with entities from other European Union countries require compliance with the specific VAT settlement. Special taxation rules and the various nature of the distribution of goods may be the cause of many legal and tax doubts and problems. At CGO Legal, our specialists will help you find the most convenient solutions for the distribution of goods within the European Union, as well as serving the support in correct tax settlements and all legal aspects.
Intra-Community regulations in the field of goods distribution are very diverse, and foreign transactions may include different activities, including:
- mail-order sales from the territory of the member state,
- mail-order sales in the territory of a member state,
- intra-Community supply of goods,
- intra-Community acquisition of goods.
Each of them has different specifics of settlements. That is why depending on the type of distribution of goods a given company performs, it may take completely different forms. We will help you find the best solutions by adapting operating methods and tax structures to a specific business profile.
Factors that are important for determining the type of taxation of specific transactions within the European Union include primarily:
- the type of taxable person for whom the delivery of goods takes place,
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- place of providing individual services,
The knowledge of the specificity of taxation of individual types of transactions related to the distribution of goods within the European Union makes CGO Legal the best support for every entrepreneur.
Should you have any further questions regarding the distribution of goods in the European Union contact us.


text:
The BW Gas Alert Extreme is a single gas detector by BW Technologies and Honeywell. This unit can be ordered to detect a range of common toxic industrial gases to protect against over exposure.
The Gas Alert Extreme is supplied with a 2 year replaceable lithium battery allowing ease of use without the need of re-charging. The unit has a range of language settings and is also fully datalogging and when used with the free to download fleet manager II software and USB datalink cable you can download records of event and alarm data.
Compatible with the BW Microdock II Test station providing a quick and easy bump and function testing solution.
The gas sensors available for the BW Gas Alert Extreme are :
Ammonia (NH3),Carbon monoxide (CO), Chlorine (Cl2), Chlorine dioxide (ClO2), Ethylene oxide (ETO) (C2H4O), Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), Nitric oxide (NO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Oxygen (O2), Ozone (O3) Phosphine (PH3) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
Features & Benefits :
Quick Specs :


text:
AB Development Studies Program
The Bachelor of Arts major in Development Studies was established in 1986. This degree program is ideal for individuals who want to make effective contributions to the continuing effort to improve Philippine society. It combines analytical rigor with practical considerations of development dynamics in the Philippines. Its curriculum provides a healthy balance of socio-economic theories, policy analysis and research and management tools. In a world where "development" in its various dimensions is a central concern and need, systematic theoretical and practical training in this field of study serves as a distinct advantage for the graduates of the AB Development Studies Program.
Development Management involves the application of management principles and practices to the context of social development. The Minor in Development Management is being offered by the Development Studies Program in response to the increasing need for good managers working with social development institutions – managers who do not only have a mastery of development concepts but who also possess management skills that will make them effective change agents. The minor is open to all undergraduate students of the Loyola Schools.


Why has a Local Government Boundaries Commissioner been appointed?
The Department for Communities has appointed a Commissioner because they are required to do so by law. The laws that apply can be viewed at _URL_
What are the local government boundaries?
There are 11 local government districts, or district councils, in Northern Ireland. Each district is divided into a number of wards. In most districts, there are 40 wards, however the Belfast district is divided into 60 wards. It is these district and ward boundaries that are under review.
What is the Commissioner's role?
The purpose of the Commissioner is to provide an independent review of the boundaries and names of the 11 local government districts in Northern Ireland, and the number, boundaries and names of the wards into which each local government district is divided.
What is the purpose of a boundaries Review?
Boundary reviews are intended to provide electoral equality, in that all the wards within a district should, as far as possible, have a similar number of electors.
Why is this Review happening now?
The Review is taking place now because the boundaries and their wards have to be reviewed by law within 12 years of the last review.
What is the basis of the Review?
The Review is based in law specifically the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 governs the appointment of the Commissioner and the procedure that applies to the review and her recommendations. _URL_
When was the last Review?
The last Review was started in 2008. A final report was published in 2009.
Who will get a say in the new boundaries?
The Commissioner will give everyone an opportunity to have their say, including district councils, political parties, organisations and individuals.
When will we get a chance to have our say?
You can have your say at three stages, now by emailing the Commissioners at _EMAIL_ or you can participate after the launch of the Commissioners provisional and final proposals.
What evidence will the commissioner use as the basis for any change?
The Commissioner will use electoral data provided by The Electoral Office NI to support any decisions for change.
When was the electoral data collected?
The electoral data that the Commissioner will be using was captured on 4 January 2021. This date is known as the Enumeration date.
Where are there maps available of the Council and ward boundaries?
You can access maps in the public OSNI Spatial NI - Map Viewer: _URL_
There is an Add Data button that you can use to search for Wards 2012 and Local Government Districts 2012.
Will the Commissioner produce new maps to show her provisional and any revised proposals?
Yes. The Commissioner's team will work with a team from Ordinance Survey NI in Land and Property Services, Department of Finance, to produce new maps to show any changes to the current boundaries.
Is the Commission independent of Government?
The Local Government Boundaries Commissioner (LGBC) is completely independent of Government Departments and Ministers in making decisions.
What is the status of the LGBC in relation to Government in NI?
The Department for Communities (DfC) is the sponsor Department. LGBC will be utilising services within DfC for administration purposes only.
Will there be a change to the number of wards within a district?
The legislation allows the Commissioner to increase or decrease the number of wards by 5 if there is enough evidence to support an increase or decrease.
Will the Review include changes to the names of the districts or wards?
The Commissioner will give due consideration to any submissions regarding name changes.


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I found that all the commutative rings with involution I know are the following:
 - complex number with complex conjugation (plus similar constructions based on rationals and its extensions),
 - any commutative ring with trivial involution,
 - direct sum of two copies of a ring with involution * (not necessary nontrivial) with involution which sends pair $(a,b)$ to $(b^*,a^*)$,
 - direct sum of involutionary rings with involution acting component-wise.
My question is: are there any other commutative rings with involution?
share|improve this question
The ring of rational functions of one variable under $X\mapsto 1/X$? Or $R[X]$ under $X\mapsto -X$? – Henning Makholm Oct 5 '11 at 21:08
_USER_'s examples fit in Qiaochu's example of quadratic extensions very nicely. – Mariano Suárez-Alvarez Oct 5 '11 at 21:13
_USER_. Oh, shame on me for not noticing such obvious examples. – andrei Oct 6 '11 at 8:44
3 Answers 3
up vote 5 down vote accepted
Let $X$ be a set and let $\sigma:X\to X$ be an involution. If $k$ is a ring, then there is an induced involution $\sigma:R\to R$ in the ring $R=k[X]$ of all functions $X\to k$.
By restricting this general situation, you get new examples. For example,
 - if $X$ is a topological space, $\sigma:X\to X$ is continuous, $k=\mathbb C$ and $R=C(X)$ is the ring of all continuous real functions on $X$;
 - if $X$ is a manifold, $\sigma:X\to X$ is differentiable, and $R=C^\infty(X)$ is the ring of all smooth real functions on $X$;
 - &c.
In a sense, all examples are of this nature. Indeed, let $R$ be a comm. ring and let $\sigma:R\to R$ be an involution. If $X=\mathrm{Spec}\;R$ is the sprectrum of $R$, then there is an induced morphism $\sigma^*:X\to X$ and we recover the action of $\sigma$ on $R$ by looking at the action of $\sigma^*$ on the ring $\mathscr{O}_X$ of global sections of the structure sheaf on $X$.
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The situation turns on whether $R$ contains nonzero solutions of $x+x=0$ (2-torsion) and whether $x+x=y$ can be solved for all $y$ (2-divisibility).
If $R$ admits division by $2$ then there is an additive decomposition $x =\frac{x + \sigma(x)}{2} + \frac{x - \sigma(x)}{2}$ as a sum of invariant and anti-invariant parts with respect to the involution. $R$ is an extension of its invariant subring $R_0$ by a set of elements on which the involution acts as $-1$.
Otherwise, consider $\Bbb{Z}[X,Y]$ and $\Bbb{Z}/2[X,Y]$ each with the involution exchanging $X$ and $Y$. In the first case there are subrings of symmetric and anti-symmetric functions but sums of those do not fill the whole ring. In the second case there is no canonical projection onto the invariant subring.
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For $X$ any topological space, the ring of continuous functions $X \to R$ where $R$ is any topological commutative ring with involution is itself a commutative ring with pointwise involution (consider in particular the case $R = \mathbb{C}$ with the usual topology). For $X$ compact Hausdorff we get important examples of $C^{\ast}$-algebras.
Note also that if $k$ is any field, any quadratic extension $L/k$ is a commutative ring with involution where the involution is the unique nontrivial automorphism of $L$ as a $k$-extension.
Really there are many examples and many ways of constructing examples.
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text:
From the mobile phone wristwatches of the late 2000s to today's fitness bands, wearable technology has dramatically evolved in recent years. Now, wearables, as they're known, are changing the way consumers interact with the environment, and their popularity is growing. However, the wearables market is still in the early phases of expansion, and currently dominated by health, wellness and activity tracking devices – despite industry developments pointing to an increasing number of use cases.
Connected Development has some key technology experience and understanding that directly correlates to the development of wearable devices. These devices tend to be small and worn on the body which presents certain technology challenges. These include battery life, antenna design and certification (especially SAR). We have successfully completed a number of these devices which include:
Child tracking watch
Health fitness band with mood recognition
Dog tracking collar


Stendhal is a friendly community, and higher level players will generally help lower level players. For example, there is a community chest south of the Inn where players can deposit unwanted items for others to use.
There are some basic rules mainly about account safety and fair play:
 1. Account sharing and password sharing is strictly forbidden and there are no exceptions to this rule, it is a bannable offence.
 2. Trying to guess someone elses password or obtain someone elses password by any means is a bannable offence.
 3. Any actions from your account are your responsibility. This means, if you tell your friends your password or let them sit at your computer unattended, what happens is your responsibility. You should create a guest user account on your computer for friends who visit, so they do not have access to your stored accounts (or your files, browser history, etc...)
 4. If you discover an abusable bug, you should report it using /support or the tracker
 5. Don't use bots or other client automation (including mouse recorders) as this will be considered cheating. (Service bots like postman have to get approval on _TAG_)
 6. 'Rule 11' Please listen to what an admin or Game Master asks you to do.
These are suggested behaviours which allow the community to operate well without external intervention.
 1. Please read the StendhalFAQ and StendhalManual before contacting support.
 2. You can be attacked outside protected areas (outside the pale green areas on minimap).
 3. Spamming with messages is antisocial. Players being spammed may use /ignore to block public chat.
 4. Trapping and blocking other players from playing in a normal way is antisocial. Players should be free to push other players out of the way so they can continue to play.
 5. If you are trapped, use a scroll or logout. It is intended to fix the exploit of placing items under you to stop pushing. _TAG_ fixed.
 6. Your items are your responsibility. Don't leave anything lying on the ground even for a moment. Use right-click Trade or Harold to trade. Support will not help with stolen items as the trading interface provides a safe way to exchange items. Likewise if you want to give away an item to a specific player for free, use right-click Trade.
 7. If you are training and another kills the creatures around you, try asking them to stop. If they continue, find a new place to train. It is not an issue /support will help with.
Community guidelines
Please work together as a community to help each other.
 - /ignore playername will block public and private chat and shade their avatar black so you cannot see outfit or name, so if any chat, outfit or name offends you, please simply use /ignore playername and you can advise your friends to do the same.
 - If you kill another's sheep you may get attacked by the owner - sheep cost money and time.
 - If you drop something on the ground a thief may take it - be careful of your items.
 - Some players like to train by letting creatures attack them. Please respect this and don't kill the creatures around them.
 - If you are low level and you get too far from city, then beware of monsters or other players who may kill you.
 - Take care if you leave your computer and your character is outside the city - you may die.
 - Please don't kill new players for no good reason or the Stendhal community may not be able to expand. Attack creatures, they give better drops and XP.
 - If you annoy any player too much, you may join their /ignore list and they won't be able to hear anything you say, or you may get attacked.
 - 'Camping' for creatures and items can be annoying for other players who want to share the experience of this online multiplayer game, it is more friendly to share than to be 'territorial'.
 - Please do not take advantage of new players who haven't learnt how to trade safely, by stealing their items. Instead teach them and help them.
 - If you have a social problem, try to negotiate to find a solution, many things can be solved by talking rationally.
 - You can make signs with Gordon to ask for help or warn other players if you have a social problem with a player.
 - Report genuine rule breaking using /support
Help, I got banned. What now?
1. Calm down
Perhaps wait a day before you do anything.
2. Read the ban message carefully
Was your account or ip-address "blocked" because of too many failed login attempts? Please wait half an hour and try again. If you are sharing your internet connection with family members, you might want to have a word with them.
3. Is your account temporarily suspended?
Please take this as a warning that your behaviour needs to improve.
4. Is the reason "investigation"?
The account was reported or detected at being in risk (e. g. a likely account hack). An investigation is needed. In the mean time the account is kept safe to prevent further damage (e. g.stealing of items, suicide). Note: This ban reason does not mean, that you have done something wrong. It is to protect your account. If you have helpful information, contact the displayed email address.
5. What should I do?
You may contact the displayed email address to request an independent review. It is a good idea to spend some time on a well written email which includes all the important details. Don't lie. The logging is very good in the sense that all the required information is there. But writing the required query commands is a time consuming task. So accurate information may speed up the investigation, but lies slow it down.
6. Does it help to create new accounts, rent signs or spam chat?
No, your best chance is to contact the displayed email address. Please note that bad behaviour during a suspension or ban, may result in a permanent ban without further investigation.
7. How long does an investigation or review take?
Stendhal is a project, which is run by volunteers in their spare time. Like commercial games, we try to answer within four weeks, sometimes we are much faster. But on complex issues or heavily work load (caused by either real life or other incidents in Stendhal), it may take longer. This is especially true, if the available time is used up by dealing with your new accounts.
See Also
You can edit this pages because it is imported from the Stendhal Wiki.
© _PHONE_ Arianne Project
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text:
The PING Project
This map shows data reported by users of the mPING app during Friday's blizzard in the Northeast.
This map shows data reported by users of the mPING app during Friday's blizzard in the Northeast. The PING Project
If you love to talk about the weather — or want to help collect information about it — a new smartphone app may be for you.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma are giving regular folks an opportunity to fiddle with weather reporting. Using crowdsourcing, the mobile Precipitation Identification Near the Ground app collects geographic, winter precipitation data from users. The mPING app also links to a map showing weather reports sent in by locals.
The data collected by the app will help weather officials program radar to determine exactly what's falling near you. For example, is it hail or mixed rain?
The free app is currently available for the iOS and Android operating systems.
Screengrab of mPING
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma's new mPING app helps forecasters capture a better description of falling precipitation.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Oklahoma's new mPING app helps forecasters capture a better description of falling precipitation. Screengrab of mPING
Users anonymously update reports by selecting a variation of winter weather between "none" and "graupel/snow grains,"* their GPS location is noted, and information is sent in to NOAA. (It can also be done through NOAA's website, but an extra step of figuring out your longitude and latitude has to be completed.)
"The purpose of PING is to give us ground observations of precipitation types that are not well observed from automatic systems," Kim Elmore, a science researcher working on the project, told All Things Considered. He says the gathered information will be used to build algorithms for newly upgraded radars.
The data can also help officials and the public prepare for severe weather, he says.
Screengrab of mPING
The PING project captures data from locals on its app or website. Users are able to choose from different types of precipitation.
The PING project captures data from locals on its app or website. Users are able to choose from different types of precipitation. Screengrab of mPING
"If we can better marshal our resources for dealing with it, then it may not cost quite so much and people may not be in quite such jeopardy," Elmore says. Throwing salt, buying sand, fixing wires and removing fallen trees can be constant expenses, he adds.
mPING is just the latest weather app to use crowdsourcing. Others include Weddar, which asks users to add a colorful description of the weather; and Metwit, a hyperlocal app that lets you pin photos to your weather reporting.
The app had a "soft launch" in December, but it has already become popular.
Elmore estimates about 20,000 people have downloaded the app and nearly 60,000 reports have been submitted. The project itself has been around since 2006, using different methods like cold-calling to verify falling precipitation.
Much of its popularity may come from the high level of interest in weather and science, Elmore says. The "real hook" is the data readily available for people to view on their phones.
So this app may not break the ice for your weather forecasting career, but it may someday help your local weatherman have an accurate picture of what's going on outside your window.
* In case you're wondering, NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory says graupel (aka soft hail or snow pellets) are "soft small pellets of ice created when supercooled water droplets coat a snowflake."
NPR Digital News intern Brian De Los Santos contributed to this report.


text: The growth lag phase during microbial fermentation reduced productivity and equipment efficiency. Inoculum age and size were the two important variables considered in fermentation optimisation. Previous studies investigated these two variables separately, in contrast to the orthogonal or use of response surface modelling method by recent papers. In nearly all cases, the inoculum from the late exponential or early stationary phase was selected as optimal. In the current study, the authors optimised inoculum conditions using a strategy that combined inoculum age and size as inoculum cell number to shorten the lag phase in yeast cultivation. Inoculum from the middle exponential phase (7th h) exhibited priority in activity and adaptability. This condition was confirmed by inoculating the resuspended cell sediments into fresh potato dextrose medium. The results indicate that biomass (cell number for single cell microbes and wet/dry cell weight for filamentous strains), rather than inoculum age and size, should be considered during inoculum condition optimisation.Key words: Fermentation, optimisation, cell number, exponential phase, inoculum age, inoculum size.


Reclaiming the Cowboy Way
Time constraints and mechanization can get in the way of horseback cowboying traditions. A veteran cowboy offers his advice on increasing your riding time, and becoming a better 21st-century hand.
Ranch people, those who own cattle and have a horse or two, often say they'd love to spend more time cowboying their own cattle or maybe helping with their neighbors' herds when the opportunity arises. Such people want to use their horses more, work afoot in the corrals less, count on their roping skills, and work cattle in the open.
They want to cowboy. And they want those around them - family, friends and neighbors - to share the satisfaction of working cattle quietly, efficiently and from the back of a horse.
For horsemen, these reasonable requests are fundamental to healthy souls. The ability to use horses in harmony with the land and cattle, and the people we hold dear, is a liberty few are lucky enough to enjoy.
So, if cowboying is so important to them, why can't they make it happen? The answer is simple: They've lost touch with the Cowboy Way.
For the rest of this article, see the July 2006 issue of Western Horseman.


John Collins aka Davidson
Carolyn Davidson Hicks
I've been researching my Collins line for 24 years but most of my facts have been recent. I discovered that two of my relatives were actually the same man! The strange twist happens later after Amos Collins born 1784 migrated from Va. to Ky. One of his sons was named John Gilbert Collins born 1812. John Gilbert Collins had two sons, one named John Collins b:1843 and the other named Solomon b:1852.
I am a descendant from both these man, brothers, John and Solomon Collins. John Collins on my fathers side, and Solomon Collins on my mothers side. The story goes that when John Collins returned from the Civil War he changed his last name to Davidson. Generations later, my parents marry.
This is what made completing my family tree difficult. On my fathers side, John Davidson was actually born John Collins. Where one's life seem to stop at around 1863, the others life began and it all happened by a simple name change.
The moral of this story is, when you start researching your family tree, be prepared for a few surprises! Especially when you get your Y-DNA or mtDNA done.
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1. The isoagglutination reaction of 131 infants and children from birth to 10½ years was examined by testing their serum and washed corpuscles microscopically against the serum and corpuscles of each of the four adult groups.
2. The grouping as present in adults is rarely present in blood from the umbilical cord.
3. At birth and during the 1st month of life isoagglutination is rarely present, but the percentage of infants in whom the isoagglutinin group is established increases with age, so that after 1 year the group is usually established, and after 2 years is always present as in adults.
4. The grouping is established in the corpuscles before it is established in the serum; i.e., the corpuscles acquire agglutinophilic receptors before the serum acquires agglutinin. Therefore, Group I is the first group to be formed and Group IV is the last.
5. The early grouping in the corpuscles before the group is established in the serum is liable to change by the acquisition of new receptors.
6. When the grouping has been established in both serum and corpuscles it does not change.
7. Isoagglutinins are present in mother's milk and the grouping is identical with that in the mother's blood. These agglutinins are probably not transmitted to the nursing infant through the milk.
8. On account of the differences between the agglutination reactions in the blood of mother and child it is not safe to transfuse an infant from its mother without making the preliminary tests.
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text:
Beyond such grounding and ambitions, the CRESPAR TD evaluation framework seeks to re–position evaluation in low–income urban contexts as accountable, not only for producing accurate and relevant information on the program being evaluated, but also for enabling and contributing to the program s social betterment and social justice intentions. This re–positioning is effected primarily by a collaborative, co–constructionist model for evaluation in which CRESPAR program developers, implementers, and evaluators along with key program stakeholders partner together in envisioning, implementing, and evaluating programs that are responsive to and make cultural sense in the context at hand. CRESPAR TD evaluators are contextually and culturally engaged and are responsible for this engagement. This volume highlights the approach s five major themes: engaging stakeholders, co–construction, responsiveness, cultural and contextual relevance, and triangulation of perspectives.
1. Building a Contextually Responsive Evaluation Framework: Lessons from Working with Urban School Interventions (Veronica G. Thomas).
The chapter discusses the conceptual underpinnings and overarching themes of the Talent Development evaluation framework and makes recommendations for minimizing evaluation problems in diverse urban settings.
2. Evaluating the Co–Construction of the Family, School, and Community Partnership Program in a Low–Income Urban High School (Velma LaPoint, Henry L. Jackson).
This chapter describes the collaborative evaluation of the co–construction of a school–based family, school, and community partnership program for black students attending an urban high school.
3. A Culturally Responsive Evaluation Approach Applied to the Talent Development School–to–Career Intervention Program (Jo–Anne L. Manswell Butty, Malva Daniel Reid, Velma LaPoint).
A culturally responsive approach in evaluating an urban school–to–career intervention program resulted in both successes and challenges.
4. Successes and Challenges in Triangulating Methodologies in Evaluations of Exemplary Urban Schools (Donna Penn Towns, Zewelanji Serpell).
Triangulating methodologies in evaluation allowed for stakeholder involvement and revealed contexts that a narrower approach might have failed to illuminate.
5. Talent Development Professional Development Evaluation Model: A Paradigm Shift (Constance M. Ellison).
The chapter discusses the Talent Development Professional Development program evaluation design, which is consistent with the Talent Development evaluation framework.
6. Commentary: Do Talent Development Project Evaluations Demonstrate a Coherent Approach? (Floraline I. Stevens).
This commentary examines the extent to which the chapters in this volume used a coherent, contextually responsive evaluation framework. It also offers suggestions about possible alternative evaluation efforts to produce more powerful and comprehensive outcome information.
7. Commentary: Can Critical Theories of or on Race Be Used in Evaluation Research in Education? (Laurence Parker).
This commentary explores the utility of critical race theory in the
evaluation process in education, particularly in regard to the epistemological and methodological perspectives put forth by the Talent Development Model.