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Allocation: US$0.75 million
Grant agent: Save The Children
The US$750,000 COVID-19 grant supports:
- Developing home-schooling guides for early childhood, primary and lower secondary students
- Preparing audio lessons for pre-primary and primary students and video lessons for lower secondary students to complement home-schooling packages
- Developing home-based learning and guidance for parents
- Training teachers on delivering new modes of distance learning
- Developing policies and procedures to manage emergency response, disaster risk reduction and resilience building
In late March 2020, the UNICEF office in Tonga received a GPE grant of US$70,000 to support the Ministry of Education in planning its response to the coronavirus pandemic, in particular to develop distance learning programs.
Education in Tonga
Regional strategy: PacREF
In 2018, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat's Education Ministers, in which Tonga participates, adopted the Pacific Regional Education Framework (PacREF) 2018-2030: Moving Towards Education 2030. PacREF outlines a transformative and sustainable regional education agenda aligned with global agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4, and Education 2030: Incheon Declaration on Education for All Framework for Action.
The 12-year framework promotes equitable access to high quality education by all Pacific Islanders with a view to enable their countries to effectively deal with the development challenges facing the Pacific region. The framework also encourages inclusivity and opportunities for equal access to informal, primary, secondary and tertiary education and training. It focuses particularly on education quality and the importance of working cooperatively in the region and beyond.
While Pacific countries integrate what they consider as the relevant parts of the PacREF Program into their national education policies, programs and practices, the Framework also provides a means for identifying and understanding similarities and differences across the region. It offers organizing mechanisms for sector planning, reporting and collaboration, and give development partners with an understanding of where the region's resourcing priorities lie.
The PacREF has 4 key policy areas to maximize gains in student learning outcomes and well-being:
- Quality and relevance: Provide all learners with a safe and supportive environment, within which they are offered high quality learning opportunities that are meaningful, valuable, inclusive and future-focused.
- Learning pathway: Provide all learners equal access to multiple and seamless pathways and modalities of learning that will allow them to meet their full potential.
- Student outcomes and wellbeing: Make sure all learners acquire the knowledge, skills, values and attributes to enable them to contribute to their families, communities and to nation building.
- The teaching profession: Support and empower teachers through opportunities for continuous development, shared understanding and accountability.
PacREF is divided into three 4-year phases to facilitate in-depth program review by the education ministers.
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This first regional grant of US$14.9 million covers six countries: Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu. It supports the PacREF Program implementation, which is also supported by the New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade the PacREF implementing agencies and other development partners. The GPE grant covers 85% of the total costs of the PacREF program.
The program will produce an integrated set of regional goods, services and standards that are:
- (i) tested and contextualized to reflect the prevailing circumstances in each participating country's education system, and
- (ii) subsequently embedded in those systems as routine practices.
The program has four components (the PacREF key policy areas):
- Increase the quality and relevance of education at all levels by providing all learners with a safe and supportive environment with high-quality, meaningful, valuable, inclusive, and forward-looking learning opportunities. This will consist of:
- identifying and agreeing on a definition of non-cognitive skills
- assessing the needs based on the status of the quality of learning environments
- establishing quality assurance frameworks for school learning environments.
- Ensure that learners' needs are met by giving them access to a broad range of programs, delivery modalities and seamless pathways to allow them to fulfill their maximum potential. This includes:
- developing guidelines for quality early childhood education, tools for governance, management, quality assurance and financing
- establishing a framework, tools and processes for home-to-school transition
- setting up a framework for identifying learning pathways from early childhood education to adulthood
- creating a Pacific skills portal and organizing a Pacific skills dialogue and summit.
- Make sure all learners achieve their maximum potential by acquiring the necessary knowledge, skills, values and attributes to enable them to successfully contribute to their families, communities, and nation. This implies:
- improving literacy and numeracy instruction through Waka Learning Hub used by in-service teachers
- establishing a Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (primary)
- aligning lower secondary assessment with SDG 4.1.1
- Support and empower teachers through opportunities for continuous development, shared understanding and accountability. This aims at developing competent, qualified, and certified teachers and school leaders who are fully supported, engaged, effective and committed to their students by:
- setting up teacher competency standards
- instituting accreditation and recognition of teacher education programs
- establishing standards and qualifications in school leadership
- creating a framework for continuous professional development.
Implementing agencies will provide technical support for the development and implementation of these tools and services, while countries are expected to make the best use of them to improve their national education systems, as well as enhance Pacific regionalism.
The grant complements the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) existing technical assistance project.
All amounts are in US dollars.
** This is a regional grant for Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.
* The program development grant is a regional grant for Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga. The sector plan development grant covers the Pacific region.
Education sector progress
The graphs below show overall progress in the education sector in Tonga.
Primary completion rate
Lower secondary completion rate
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age
Pre-primary gross enrollment rate
Gender parity index for out-of-school rate
Public expenditure on education as share of GDP
Students/trained teacher ratio
Source: World Bank - Education Data
Data on education are compiled by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics from official responses to surveys and from reports provided by education authorities in each country.


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A serialization system for storing and transmitting data over a network. Apache Avro supports rich data structures, a compact binary encoding, and a container file for sequences of Avro
data (often referred to as Avro data files). Avro is language-independent and several language bindings are available, including Java, C, C++, Python, and Ruby. All components
in CDH that produce or consume files support Avro data files.
Avro provides functionality similar to systems such as Thrift and Protocol Buffers.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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TENTH TEXAS CAVALRY
TENTH TEXAS CAVALRY. The Tenth Texas Cavalry Regiment was organized from the late summer to the early fall of 1861. Many of its members were recruited from the Texas counties of Cherokee, Wood, Upshur, Smith, Rusk, Shelby, Panola, and Van Zandt and the towns of Quitman and Tyler. The unit was organized into ten companies and mustered into service in the Confederate Army in October 1861. The Tenth Texas' first commander was Matthew F. Locke. Its field commanders included James M. Barton (lieutenant colonel), Washington de la F. Craig (major, lieutenant colonel), Cullen R. Earp (lieutenant colonel, colonel), Wiley B. Ector (major), and Hullum D. E. Redwine (major).
For the first few months of the war the Tenth Texas served west of the Mississippi River in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana as part of the Department of Texas. In April 1862 the unit was dismounted and sent east of the Mississippi River where it served for the remainder of the war. At this time, the unit totaled 565 effectives in the field. The Tenth Texas' first significant action was in support of operations against the advance and siege of Corinth, Mississippi, by Union forces. During this campaign, the unit was part of the First Division, Army of the West. In August 1862 the Tenth Texas participated in the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, and an engagement at White's Farm.
Beginning in November 1862 the Tenth Texas was assigned to Ector's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. It participated in operations against the Union advance on Murfreesboro, Tennessee, including the battle of Stones River from December 30, 1862, to January 3, 1863. Of the 340 total effectives that the Tenth Texas put into battle at Stones River, 34 percent were lost. The Tenth Cavalry was included on the roll of honor published to commemorate heroism at the battle of Stone's River. Ten members of the regiment were mentioned on that roll: Pvt. Alexander Cook, Pvt. F. M. Moore, Sgt. J. T. McGee, Sgt. A. Sims, Pvt. James Terry, Pvt. W. W. Corley, Pvt. Stanley Hutchins, Pvt. J. O. Manning, Pvt. Joel Reynolds, and Pvt. S. L. Birdwell.
On March 20, 1863, Col. Matthew F. Locke resigned for reasons of health stemming from injuries sustained at the battle of Stones River. Lt. Col. C. R. Earp was promoted to commanding officer of the Tenth Cavalry. From August 16 to September 19, 1863, the Tenth Cavalry served as occupational troops in Middle Tennessee where it protected the passage through the Cumberland Mountains. On September 19, 1863, the unit participated in the battle of Chickamauga, the only significant Confederate victory in the Western theater of the war.
Following the battle of Chickamauga, the Tenth Cavalry saw action in the siege of Chattanooga and the subsequent campaign to take the city including the assault and capture of Missionary Ridge on November 24–25, 1863. From February to March 1863, the unit took part in operations against William Sherman's Meridian campaign. Later, it served in defense against Sherman's Atlanta campaign including early operations on the line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and the battles of Dallas, New Hope Church, and Allatoona Hills. As Union forces closed in on Atlanta, the Tenth Cavalry participated in the actions at Pine Hill, Lost Mountain, and the assault of Kennesaw Mountain.
In July 1864 the regiment was still serving in the defense of Atlanta and operated along Nickajack Creek (July 2–5) and along the Chattahoochee River (July 5–10). On July 22, 1864, the unit took part in the battle of Atlanta and the subsequent siege of that city. Following the fall of Atlanta, the Tenth Cavalry was assigned to participate in the harsh winter operations of Hood's Texas Brigade in Northern Georgia and Northern Alabama.
In December 1864 the unit returned to Tennessee where it participated in the battle of Nashville, skirmishes near Columbia, and actions around Sugar Creek. From March 17 to April 9, 1865, the Tenth Cavalry took part in the defense of Mobile, Alabama. On April 11 the regiment was evacuated from Mobile and finally surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama, on May 4, 1865. The Tenth Cavalry surrendered with other Confederate troops in the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. The unit, along with other troops in the department, was the last significant Confederate force east of the Mississippi River to surrender. As a result, very few men remained in service with the unit when it surrendered. The Tenth Texas was later paroled at Meridian, Mississippi.
Chuck Carlock and V. M. Owens, History of the Tenth Texas Cavalry Dismounted Regiment, 1861–1865: "If We Ever Got Whipped, I Don't Recollect It" (North Richland Hills, Texas: Smithfield Press, 2001). Joseph H.Crute, Jr., Units of the Confederate States Army (Midlothian, Virgina: Derwent, 1987). Richard G. Lowe, Walker's Texas Division, C.S.A.: Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004). Stewart Sifakis, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Texas (New York: Facts on File, 1995). John F. Walter, "Histories of Texas Units in the Civil War," Ms., Historical Research Center, Texas Heritage Museum, Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas, 1981.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Matthew K. Hamilton, "TENTH TEXAS CAVALRY," Handbook of Texas Online (_URL_ accessed May 18, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Queen's University
Meeting 7: Round Up
In this meeting, we discuss freedom of speech, family status, racial discrimination, religious accommodation and sexual harassment Investigation
Freedom of Expression
What happened when a University disciplines students for criticizing their prof on Facebook? (Prigden)
Family Status
What happens when an employer refuses to accommodate an employee with childcare issues? (Johnstone)
Can an Arbitration board hear the complaint of a probationary employee dismissed after her maternity leave? (Parry Sound)
What happens when you fire an employee after she announces that her child-care arrangements have changed? (Cavanaugh)
Racial Discrimination
Does a Human Rights tribunal have the power to remove a university dean and order the instatement of another candidate who was denied the position due to racism? (Seneca)
Can a complainant use employer attrition data to support an individual complaint of racial discrimination? (Carasco)
Can an employer offer benefits to non-aboriginal employees and not to aboriginal employees? (Malec)
What happens when a service provider singles out racialized minorities for identity checks? (Tahmourpour)
What happens when a deputy minister, to whom specific Tribunal orders to produce documentation have been directed, fails to comply with those orders? (Pieters)
Religious Accommodation
What happens when an insubordinate employee's religious beliefs are not accommodated? (Communications)
What happens when a religious accommodation policy violates provisions of the Collective Agreement? (Seneca)
Sexual Harassment Investigations
What happens when an employer fails to investigate when a male employee claims he is being harassed by his female subordinate? (Frolov)
At what point has a university fulfilled its substantial and procedural duties to investigate the sexual harassment? (Ford)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada. K7L 3N6. _PHONE_


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The Virgo Pisa group is deeply involved in several crucial aspects of Virgo Advanced, in particular seismic attenuation systems, electronics and control, detector characterization and data analysis.
The pisa group is involved in the Virgo collaboration since its beginning. The group organized itself in 1985 around dr. Adalberto Giazotto, which together with his colleague dr. Alain Brillet in France put the basis for the interferometric detection of gravitational waves in Europe. The initial group of physicists and engineers, mainly with a background in high energy physics, started to investigate one of the main issue for an earth bound interferometric gravitational wave detector, namely the possibility of building suspended optical cavities. Suspensions are needed to maintain the mirrors in their working position. But they should not couple the apparatus to the seismic motion of the ground. The basic idea that was implemented is the one of a chain of pendula, which produces the requested noise rejection in the relevant frequency band, typically above few Hertz. Below this frequency there is no attenuation of noise, and in order to reduce the mirror motion sophisticated active control strategies are needed. The group expanded from its initial nucleus including physicists with competences in optics and data analysis. It had a key role in the construction, commissioning and data taking of Virgo and Virgo+. Several young physicists, which now have key roles in gravitational waves experiments all over the world, did their first steps inside the group. The Pisa group has a fundamental role in the implementation of Virgo Advanced: it is still working on its "traditional" responsibilities, but has a growing interest in data analysis which will be exploited in the next scientific runs.
The two main responsibilities of the group are the mechanical design and implementation of the seismic attenuation systems for the "large" optics and their control. Mechanical attenuators were designed and produced with all their details, and in the past years several R/D projects were developed to improve them. The implementation of the active control is deeply connected with the details of mechanical suspensions. For the advanced detectors both the control strategy (with the introduction of advanced techniques) and the needed hardware (with the design and the production of advanced DSP boards) were improved.
A dedicated subgroup works on data analysis activities. The main field of interest are continuous sources, detection of stochastic background and multi messenger strategies. Several members were actively involved in commissioning activities.


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Boy Scout Activities
There's nothing like a challenging group activity to make a group of boys work together to solve a problem and grow in confidence. Scouting is a game with a purpose and that game is usually played outdoors, with a lot of physical activity. Use these ideas to help your unit have fun and learn skills while increasing their leadership and teamwork.Activities for: Lions Tigers Wolfs Bears Webelos Boy Scouts
These outdoor activities can be beneficial to all youth groups. Take into account the age, physical abilities, and preferences of the members of your group when choosing one. Youth group activity, whether scouting or not, needs to be challenging, fun, and new - don't use your same old games over and over. Try something new today.
Dec 10, 2013 - Steve McFarland
Contest - Ask a Question - Add Content
Find more Scouting Resources at _URL_
Follow Me, Boys


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What does VW mean in Military?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand VW in the Governmental field in general and in the Military terminology in particular.
Find a translation for VW in other languages:
Select another language:
What does VW mean?
- Vietnam War, Vietnam(noun)
- a prolonged war (_PHONE_) between the communist armies of North Vietnam who were supported by the Chinese and the armies of South Vietnam who were supported by the United States


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Blacks in metropolitan Hartford are slightly more segregated by neighborhood than Latinos, the census study found. But because blacks tend to be more segregated in U.S. cities and suburbs, metro Hartford's segregation ranking for blacks was significantly better - 24th of 43 - in 2000.
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The Hartford metropolitan area - a 58-town, 1.2 million person region - was the fourth most segregated among 36 metros for Latinos in 2000, trailing only Providence, New York and Newark, according to the census study. The study tracked the distribution of people across the nation's largest cities and suburbs between 1980 and 2000.
During that period, Hispanics grew more segregated in most U.S. metro areas the Census Bureau studied, probably because of rapid foreign immigration in those regions.
But Greater Hartford bucked that trend. Between 1980 and 2000, only three of the metro areas studied by the Census Bureau - San Antonio, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., and Miami - experienced higher rates of Latino integration than Greater Hartford. In contrast, most Northeast metropolitan areas, including Providence, New York and Boston, saw significant increases in Latino segregation.
Fernando Betancourt, director of the legislature's Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission, said economic advancement has given some Latinos access to new neighborhoods.
"Still, I am very aware of the incredible concentration of Latinos in urban areas, and how poverty correlates with that fact," he said.
And some experts argued that metro Hartford's relatively high Latino segregation standing is the more significant measure to consider than a modest trend toward integration.
"I just don't think this is one of the places that Latinos did very well," said John Logan, a sociologist at the State University of New York at Albany who studies segregation. "My reading of Hartford is that as the Hispanic population grew substantially in the last 20 years, it remained very highly segregated, unusually segregated."
In a state where public schools are organized along neighborhood lines and town boundaries, neighborhood residential segregation isn't just a moral issue. It's a legal and financial one - especially with Connecticut facing a budget crisis and the prospect that it may need to spend even more on school desegregation because of the Sheff vs. O'Neill case.
The state Department of Education says Connecticut has authorized more than $1 billion to facilitate school desegregation since the 1997 verdict favoring the plaintiffs in the 13-year-old Sheff case, which charged that segregation was preventing minority students from receiving an equal education. The Sheff plaintiffs say those remedies are not sufficient.
Neither side would comment on their discussions, nor on how much money could be at stake. But one lawyer for the plaintiffs said that while the progress in neighborhood segregation was good news, the pace of change was too slow to mean much for school integration.
"That's like waiting for the glaciers to melt to put out a fire," said Dennis Parker, of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "You need to do something more quickly."
While a few suburbs near Hartford have many more black and Latino residents than a decade ago, Parker said many of Hartford's outlying suburbs are not becoming significantly more diverse.
"In fact, having schools that are not racially and ethnically isolated may speed the process of housing change, because the composition of the schools has an effect on where people choose to live," Parker said.
The 2000 Census counted about 114,000 Hispanics and 106,000 blacks in the Hartford metro area.
Many Latinos are highly concentrated in relatively few neighborhoods, almost all of them in either Hartford or New Britain; while blacks are most highly concentrated in Hartford, Bloomfield and Windsor.
Blacks and Latinos are about equally likely to live in neighborhoods where their own ethnic group constitutes more than half the population. About 30 percent of Latinos live in mostly Latino areas; about 33 percent of blacks live in mostly black neighborhoods.


text: Eating is the one thing on this list that absolutely can't be avoided. After a satisfying meal, the urge to smoke can be strong. This may be tied to dopamine, like stimulation, since eating a great meal can certainly increase your brain's natural happy drugs. It might also be a way to relax after the relatively taxing activity of eating (sometimes too fast) or the addition of wine with a meal. Most likely, though, it's habitual. Having a smoke after dinner was a socially reinforced habit for many years. Even in modern times, most smokers will wait until the food is cleared before lighting up, just out of politeness, not wanting to mar the smell or taste of the food until everyone is finished. So the enforced wait of dinner only tends to add to a cigarette's appeal, making this time another trigger to be on the lookout for.


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Diesel generators are a power back-up solution for many homes and businesses worldwide. With the current load-shedding by Eskom and power outages experienced in some parts of the country from time to time, South Africans are now turning to alternative electrical power sources. Diesel generators is one of these options.
Here we will explore the pros and cons of using a diesel generator so you can make an informed decision for your business or home.
Pros of Diesel Generators
Modern diesel engines have been developed to overcome some of the drawbacks of earlier models of higher noise and maintenance costs. Let's look at some of the major pros of diesel generators:
- Durability – As long as they are maintained well, they are much longer lasting than alternative generators. They are extremely tough and can hold up through much wear and tear in a variety of environmental conditions.
- Low maintenance – Diesel generators are known to require less maintenance than other types of generators available on the market. This is because the generator's engine requires fewer components to start, so you won't have to worry about changing spark plugs or rebuilding carburetors like you would have to with, for instance, a gas engine.
- High power output – Diesel generators are capable of handling larger power loads and run for longer durations than other types of generators. They are perfect for remote sites where a power grid might be unreliable or unavailable.
- Fuel efficiency – Diesel generator systems are more fuel efficient than petrol generators because diesel engines have a higher thermal efficiency. You can get more energy from diesel fuel, as it has a longer running time when operating at the same capacity.
- Continuous power supply – A well maintained diesel generator can prove very reliable and keep your critical power systems running for long periods during blackouts and/or load-shedding. this will keep your downtime to a minimum to avoid experiencing significant financial losses.
- In terms of life span, a diesel engine is much longer lasting, when compared to a typical petrol engine, a diesel engine can last up to 3 times longer than a petrol one.
Cons of Diesel Generators
- Noise – Diesel generators can be very noisy. A way to combat this is by installing a sound-attenuated generator enclosure that helps reduce the noise levels. This enclosure also provides weatherproofing to help protect the generator from exposure to other elements like dust.
- Emissions – While modern diesel generators run much cleaner than earlier models, diesel generators still produce toxic emissions like carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide.
Maintaining a diesel generator
While maintenance requirements are low for diesel generators, some tasks will need to be done periodically. These include:
- A general inspection of all components.
- Draining and changing the coolant, oil, and fuel.
- Cleaning or replacing filters.
- Testing the generator battery.
- Running the engine to test operation.
' It's also a good idea to perform maintenance whenever there has been a major weather event. For example, after a dustor rainstorm. Exposure to dust and other airborne contaminants can greatly affect your generator's performance, causing clogs in the filters and making your generator work harder to do the same job.'
We, at Waygen Generators, specialize in manufacturing, installing and servicing of diesel generators, from 15 kVA to 1500+ kVA sizes. If you are still struggling to decide whether to go for a diesel generator or not, or struggling to figure what size of generator you need, contact us for assistance,


Faux Banksia Vase v.2.0 (2019)
Glazed stoneware with 24kt gold overglaze decals
57 x 10 x 10 cm
Over the course of studio practice of the artist, she has used light to attract and locate the viewer, to provide an unexpected sense of discovery, and to address notions of conceptual and intellectual illumination. Her work explores the material and immaterial through the creation of a 'drawing' in light and shadow. Creating pieces that demonstrate the space where only light exists is as important as the object that defines it. Interested in how elements such as fired clay, glass and gold may be brought into conjunction with each other, she creates novel forms and experiences for the viewer to encounter. Without depicting a specific event, object or place, she aims to capture a sense of the sublime in order to hold the viewer's attention and trigger their imagination.
Praça do Tap Seac, Edif. do Instituto Cultural, Macau
tel | 28366866
fax | 28366899
email |


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A method of transmission is the movement or the transmission of pathogens from a reservoir to a susceptible host. Once a pathogen has exited the reservoir, it needs a mode of transmission to the host through a portal of entry. Transmission can be by direct or indirect contact or through airborne transmission.
Direct contact is person-to-person transmission of pathogens through touching, biting, kissing, or sexual intercourse. Microorganisms can also be expelled from the body by coughing, sneezing or talking. The organisms travel in droplets over less than 1 metre in distance and are inhaled by a susceptible host.
Indirect contact includes both vehicle-borne and vector-borne contact. A vehicle is an inanimate go-between, an intermediary between the portal of exit from the reservoir and the portal of entry to the host. Inanimate objects such as handkerchiefs and tissues, soiled laundry, and surgical instruments and dressings are common vehicles that can transmit infection.


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EQUIPMENT, AUTOMATION AND OPERATION
The speed at which goods are passed through a transit chain is controlled by the speed of its weakest link. Particular attention must therefore be focused upon the handling facilities in rail and port terminals, which form the most important links in the chain between manufacturer and user. A wide variety of handling equipment is used at the trans-shipping points within a container terminal, and the flow of goods from ship to land is not continuous, making a buffer store at the port an essential requirement. In order to prevent a pile-up at the terminal a data flow must be closely associated with this goods flow, which must be faster thn the goods flow itself. Modern process computers and data processing systems offer the means which can satisfy this need. An automation concept with hierarchical structure provides comprehensive, up-to-date data for the control of the container handling process, for operational and strategic planning, and for billing and accountancy purposes; enables far reaching automation of the transport system, reduces operator costs by rationalisation, raises productivity and improves the quality of the handling process. Within the "hierarchical system concept" the author considers the electrical drive equipment of container cranes, demands on the mechanical design of an automated crane, and the automation of container stacking cranes and container port cranes.
- Paper presented at the 2nd Terminal Operations Conference, Amsterdam, June 1980.
- Trautnitz, W
- Publication Date: 1980-6
- Pagination: 7 p.
- TERMINAL OPERATIONS CONFERENCE
- Publisher: C S PUBLICATIONS --
- TRT Terms: Cargo handling equipment; Container handling; Container terminals; Containerization; Containers; Control systems; Cranes; Information processing; Terminal operations
- Old TRIS Terms: Container control
- Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Freight Transportation; Marine Transportation;
- Accession Number: 00330062
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: International Cargo Handling Coordination Assn
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Apr 15 1981 12:00AM


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Everyone is fascinated by food. Babies started life with food (breast milk), rewarded by food, comforted by food and living on food. Food is an indispensable part of human life, and it is necessary for survival. It was good before it became unhealthy. Eating is a practice for human survival. Anything that touches the brain's reward system to release dopamine is remembered … [Read more...]
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Augmented reality visor makes cake taste moister, more delicious
Augmented reality visor makes cake taste moister, more delicious
The modified image looks fresh and soft while the real food is dried one. Crossmodally, the taste and flavor were changed by the appearance of the food. Credit: Yokohama National University
Researchers have developed an augmented reality (AR) visor system that enables them to manipulate the light coming off food in such a way as to 'trick' people consuming the food into experiencing it as more or less moist, watery, or even delicious. The findings not only reveal how human taste is experienced in a multisensorial way—through a combination of visual perception, smell and even sound—but the technique could be used in hospitals to improve the palatability of food, or as a design development tool in the food industry.
The findings were published in Scientific Reports on September 30, 2020.
It has long been known that taste is not only a product of a's chemical composition, which directly shapes the experience of consumption of food and drink, but that its visual appearance also contributes to how we experience its taste.
For example, research has shown that humans tend to associate sour-tasting food and carbonated beverages with sharper shapes, and to associate creamy food and still drinks with more rounded shapes. Underlying that is the way that light bounces off an object, or—to put it in more scientific terms—the distribution of luminance. Earlier research had shown that variation in this luminance distribution influences how fresh a cabbage appears to people when looking at a series of still pictures of the vegetable. But pictures are not the same as the dynamic experience of actually eating a piece of food.
"So we wondered whether manipulating this luminance distribution while someone was eating something would produce a similar effect," said Katsunori Okajima, who specializes in vision and brain sciences at Yokohama National University in Japan.
The researchers developed an (AR) system that allows them to manipulate the standard deviation of luminance distribution. This is a statistical term that describes how spread out a set of numbers are from their average value. So for example, the total amount of light bouncing off two different slices of cake might be the same, but for the first slice, the deviation of luminance distribution is small, giving it a smoother appearance, while the deviation is large for the second slice, giving it a rougher appearance.
They used their AR system in two experiments. In the first, people wore the AR visor system while eating slices of Baumkuchen, a type of German cake widely available in Japan, and in the second they wore it while eating a spoonful of ketchup. The researchers were thus able to manipulate the appearance during consumption of food, going one step further than the photographs of cabbage.
Upon interviewing the participants, they found that manipulating the standard deviation of the luminance distribution (while keeping the color and the overall luminance constant) altered not only what the participants expected to taste in terms of moistness, wateriness and deliciousness, but also the actual taste and texture properties upon sampling the food itself.
The AR manipulation was most effective in moistness (of the cake) and wateriness (of the ketchup), while the effect of the system on perception of sweetness was relatively modest
"This suggests that the association between visual texture and sweetness is weak," added Dr. Okajima.
The researchers now hope to develop new image processing technology which can manipulate any appearance of any food in real time. Ultimately, they want to use these techniques to quantify all ways that affects our perception, and to describe the precise mechanisms of such processing within the brain.
Explore further
Distraction diminishes the taste of food
More information: Junya Ueda et al, Effects of varying the standard deviation of the luminance on the appearance of food, flavour expectations, and taste/flavour perception, Scientific Reports (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73189-8
Journal information: Scientific Reports
Provided by Yokohama National University
Citation: Augmented reality visor makes cake taste moister, more delicious (2020, December 15) retrieved 16 June 2021 from _URL_
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Framework Planning of a Provincial Information Management Platform for Energy Resource Analysis and Forecast Based on Diversified Data Acquisition
The information system with function of data acquisition and processing could be an essential foundation of decision making and planning for government on energy resource management in China. However, some existing barriers have impeded the usage of data, such as inefficiency mode of data reporting and transmission, sluggishness of data collection and summarization, deficiency of data standardization and serious information asymmetry. In this paper, a framework planning of an info management platform in provincial level is proposed for energy resource condition analysis and prediction. The various types of data from industries of electrical power, coal, petroleum and others such as bio-gas is acquired and analyzed based on certain data processing methods. And the related systems of statistic index, early warning index, monitoring index and unit GDP energy consumption statistic index and evaluation are established. The proposed platform can support info service to government or related department, help keep the balance and stabilization of energy supply.
Qunjie Xu, Hui Li and Qiaoxia Li
L. Ma et al., "Framework Planning of a Provincial Information Management Platform for Energy Resource Analysis and Forecast Based on Diversified Data Acquisition", Advanced Materials Research, Vols. 869-870, pp. 495-503, 2014


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Improving Efficiency of Sugarcane Genotype Selection in Florida
- The Canal Point (CP) sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) breeding program has developed high-yielding cultivars for the organic soils of South Florida, but cultivar development has not been as successful for sand soils in this region. Our objectives were to improve final-stage (Stage 4) selection efficiency of this program by assessing interactions among genotypes, soils, and locations and other sources of variation and by comparing the relationship between repeatability and number of replications as a measure of precision for testing sugarcane genotypes on sand and muck soils. Sources of variation were partitioned for plant-cane, first-ratoon, and second-ratoon data, from 7 yr and five CP series in Stage 4 tested at eight locations on muck soils and two locations on sand soils. Variation related to genotype × location (soil) was highly significant for cane and sugar yields for all series and crops, but most genotype × soil interactions were nonsignificant. This suggested that planting more Stage-4 tests on sand may improve genotype selection for these soils. The six replications used routinely in Stage 4 provided elevated levels of precision for both soil types. All locations with muck and sand soils in Stage 4 have ample testing resources for discriminating among genotypes. Our results indicate that, to improve sugarcane genotype selection for sand soils, increasing the number of sand locations would be a more successful strategy than increasing replications within locations.
Del Blanco, Isabel A., Edme, Serge J.
Saccharum officinarum, sugarcane, genotype, plant genetics, plant taxonomy, soil-plant interactions, sandy soils, humus, swamp soils, plant growth, crop yield, Florida
- Includes references
- Crop science 2010 Sept-Oct, v. 50, no. 5
Journal Articles, USDA Authors, Peer-Reviewed
- Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.


Epilespy med is a safe option
"Sabril (vigabatrin) is used when other medicines have failed"
June 1, 2020 - 9:42 AM
Dear Dr. Roach: I have been taking Sabril for five years. I have drug-resistant epilepsy, and this is the first drug that has worked. It is a high-risk medication, as it can affect eyesight. I have my eyes checked every three months.
Dr. Keith Roach
You don't hear much about this drug. Is this safe to keep taking, or should it be only taken for a short time? I would appreciate any information. — C.N.
Answer: As opposed to a generalized seizure, where the whole brain becomes involved, the drug you're taking is used for drug-resistant focal epilepsy. "Focal" means that one particular part of the brain is affected. Focal seizures may cause motor symptoms, such as uncontrollable movement of one part of the body; sensory symptoms, such as abnormal taste or odor sensation; autonomic findings, such as bladder, bowel or blood pressure changes; or central nervous symptoms, which may cause symptoms of fear, anxiety or deja vu. Complex focal seizures are often characterized by staring into space, but may also consist of a nonpurposeful repetitive movement, such as lip smacking, grunting or blinking.


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The Galt Museum and Archives digs into the southern Alberta landscape this fall in the new special exhibit "Uncovering Secrets: Archaeology in southern Alberta."
The exhibit features 15 local and area sites holding the secrets to stories of the past including the North West Mounted Police post at Fort Macleod, Paleo-Indian hunting sites more than 11,000 years old, more recent aboriginal habitation and hunting locations, coal mining towns from the early 1900s, ranches in the Porcupine Hills and the original site of Fort Whoop-Up.
"People have lived in southern Alberta for thousands of years," curator Wendy Aitkens said. "Blackfoot oral tradition preserves ancient stories of their people; written records tell us stories of native and non-native inhabitants from the last 200 years. But to discover unknown or forgotten stories, or to add to known stories, archaeologists dig under layers of soil sometimes to a depth of several metres, study artifacts stored in museums, analyze artwork created on stone, and compile previous research. Their findings enrich our knowledge of people who lived in southern Alberta."
Archaeologists, volunteers, and students methodically uncover artifacts using small trowels and fine brushes, record the location and relationship to one another, gather information about the soil in which the objects are found, analyze all of the data, and propose theories regarding their findings.
Archaeologists also study paintings and carvings left on stone, prehistoric rock configurations placed on the prairie, and movement patterns along ancient trails.
"Archaeological sites are often found by land owners, hikers, and children who report their findings to the Archaeological Survey in Edmonton," Aitkens said. "Others are discovered when archaeologists are hired to conduct a survey of a road or pipeline route or proposed building location. In 'Uncovering Secrets' we also examine who really owns what is found and highlight provincial laws and regulations to help people understand what they need to do when they locate an artifact."
"Uncovering Secrets: Archaeology in southern Alberta" examines 15 sites, some well known to local and area residents and visitors, and others more obscure, including Cluny Fortified Village, Fincastle Bison Kill and Processing Site, Fletcher Bison Kill Site, Fort Macleod North West Mounted Police Barracks, Fort Whoop-Up, Indian Battle Park, Kajewski Métis Cabins, Lille Coal Mine Town, Massacre Butte, New Oxley Ranche, Old North Trail, Stone Features including the Majorville Medicine Wheel and Noble Point effigy, Wally's Beach, and Writing-on-Stone Áísínai'pi National Historic Site.
"Uncovering Secrets: Archaeology in southern Alberta" runs Oct. 6 – Jan. 13 and officially opens Sunday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. with a presentation featuring fascinating stories about local archaeology, followed by a ribbon cutting.


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Advantages of a Multicultural Workforce
This article describes breaking traditional mindsets and explains advantages to a multicultural workforce.
The Advantages of a Multi-cultural workforce
The history of the United States of America is the concept of freedom from the tyranny of a domineering person, political, and religious system. Whereas, this basic fact may be true and a dominate thread in the fabric of the country, there are other contradictory strands, racial stereotypes, and ethnic prejudices also woven within the fabric of this country. These contradictory strands, stereotypes, and prejudices have held the minds of the holders of the Constitution in limbo during the country's timeline.
Ethnic Stereotypes and Perceptions
Enduring prejudice during the history of the United States, and carrying stereotypes is common to the groups chosen in the matrix. The Polish person endures ridicule as simple and ordinary for years. The perception of the Germans are ruthless, mean spirited, and anti Semitic because of World War II. Many classes of white America view African Americans still as slaves, only temporarily free whose only contribution is athletics.
Native Americans are to this day looked at as accepted only as the leftover trash of American expansion. Hispanic Mexicans carry the classification of migrant workers and a lowwage labor only workforce. Vietnamese identify as frugal, cheap, and culprits to the spread of Hepatitis B. Prevalent stereotypes and prejudices are both racial and ethnic to these groups.
As stated, the transformation in America has not been overnight. It has most certainly not been free of incident, as the history of each of these ethnic groups show in the passage of time. With the beginning of the 21st century, America most certainly is becoming a multi-cultural society.
The advantages of a multi-cultural society are vast and have shaped this country. There are hundreds of ethnic groups within the borders of the United States. These ethnic groups each have a distinct culture; most enjoy close family, warmth, and intimacy, each group possessing a distinct personality. The freedom to immigrate has been a constant ingredient to the fabric of the United States woven blend since the 17th century, which is producing this nation's multicultural society with these specific groups as well as others.
Thinking Patterns of U.S. Culture
Since the early 1980s, the United States is witnessing the migration of production facilities to lower waging countries such as Mexico and most recently China. This transformation of the American economy permits a more diverse culture of American labor in competition for the fewer employment opportunities, which remain. A multicultural workforce can benefit in the following ways,
- Customer Service
- Expanding the Market
- Image of the Organization
- Generating Ideas
A multi-cultural labor force will enhance customer service with the ability to communicate effectively with customers, vendors, and potential clients. From a marketing standpoint, a multicultural workforce can help an organization to branch out and connect with potential prospects to the given individuals workers culture. A multicultural workforce enhances the vision of the organization of the workers they employ by incorporating the workers thoughts and creativity. Last, a multicultural workforce will generate new ideas in creating a strong foundation to the organization and ultimately the country.
Multi-culturism is an evolving theory, science, and mindset within the borders of The United States. Hiring individuals from diverse backgrounds can yield tremendous benefits. The United States Department of Labor forbids the excessive hiring of any racial group to benefit any organization.
Globally speaking, these laws do not apply. Facets of society must embrace change as this country evolves and humanity develops a global entrepreneurial attitude. The expansion of the global market brings increasing pressure for countries, companies, and individuals to modify and embrace the transformation taking place. It is a process in the making for the last 300 years. History shows those who refuse to change, the system eliminates or replaces with those who accept the change.


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||<< Index >>||
[clear] local fn functionName [(arg1 [,arg2...])]
end fn [= expr]
end fnstatement. A local function is a named collection of statements which can be accessed and executed as a unit by referring to the function's name (see the fn statement). All variables and arrays referenced in a local function (except those explicitly declared as "global") are local to the function, which means they do not have any influence outside of the function; any identically-named variables which appear outside of the function are actually different variables, and occupy a different place in memory, than the function's local variables. (An exception to this rule occurs when an array is listed as one of the function's formal parameters; see more about this below.) When your program "calls" (executes) a local function, you can pass data into the function by means of its parameter list (also called its argument list), and you can receive a value back from the function by means of its return value. Local functions allow you to encapsulate complex programming tasks; they're a fundamental and extremely powerful programming construct.
local fnstatement also declares the function's name, the data type of its return value (if any), and the number and types of its input parameters (if any). A local function can be placed anywhere in the program, except inside another local function; you should also not place a local function inside a "block" structure such as
long if...end if, etc. The statements in
statementBlockcan contain anything except the following:
clearkeyword causes all of the function's local variables and arrays (except the parameter variables
arg2etc.) to be initialized to zeros, null strings or empty records, each time the function is called. Otherwise, the local variables and arrays will have unpredictable initial values. (You can accomplish the same effect by using the
localstatement with the
clearkeyword; see the
localstatement for more information.)
functionNamemust be unique; that is, it must be different from the name used in any other
def fn usingstatement anywhere else in the program. If the function is to return a value, then you should specify the data type of the return value by including an appropriate type-identifier suffix at the end of
functionName. For example, a local function which is to return a string value might be declared as follows:
local fn FullName$(idNum&)
&" type-identifier suffix or omit it. No type-identifier suffix should be appended to
functionNameif the function does not return a value.
statementBlock, your program must "call" the function using the
fn statement. The
fn statement can appear anywhere in your program, as long as the function it calls is either defined (using the
local fnstatement) or prototyped (using the
def fn statement) somewhere above the
fn statement. This restriction is required in order to allow your program to compile; however, the actual order of execution of your program's statements is not affected by where you place your
arg2etc. can have any of the following forms:
|SimpleVar||A simple numeric or string variable. Cannot be a record variable, a record field nor an array element.|
|ptrVar As Pointer [To unType]||(See below.)|
|_USER_&||longVar& is a simple long-integer variable.|
|_USER_ As Pointer [To unType]||(See below.)|
|tableau(dim1[,dim2...])||array is a numeric or string array (not an array of records), and dim1,|
local fnstatement are called the function's "formal arguments." They must not be global variables. You should not declare the formal argument variables in a
dimstatement; they are implicitly declared by the
fn statement are called the "actual arguments." They must match the function's formal arguments in number, and they must be of "compatible types" (see
fn for more information). Each time the function is called, values are assigned to its formal arguments as follows:
ptrVar as pointer [to someType], then the actual argument should be either a record variable or a long-integer expression. In the first case, the record's address is copied into ptrVar; in the second case, the long integer's value is copied into
_USER_ as pointer [to someType], then the actual argument must either be a variable (possibly a record variable), or a long integer expression preceded by "=". In the first case, the variable's address is copied into
ptrVar. In the second case, the value of the long integer expression is copied into
array(dim1 [,dim2...]), then the actual argument must be the base element of an array of the same type, which has the same number of dimensions. The base element is the element in which all subscripts are set to zero. The entire array is then accessible to the local function, and (important!) any changes made to the array's elements within the function will persist after the function exits.
local fnstatement. For example, suppose we have a function defined like this:
local fn SetElements(anArray&(1,7), max&)
'Set each element to 1492 in the array:
for i& = 0 to max&
for j = 0 to 7
anArray&(i&,j) = 1492
fn SetElements, the passed array can have any size as its first declared dimension, as long as it has a second dimension declared as 7. For example:
dim arrayOne&(1250,7), arrayTwo&(465,7)
fn SetElements(arrayOne&(0,0), 1250)
fn SetElements(arrayTwo&(0,0), 465)
fn SetElements, we can set the first subscript in
anArray&to values much greater than 1, even though
anArray&was "declared" with dimensions (1,7).
local fnstatement) and the external
dimstatement that declares the actual passed array.
end fnstatement, the function will "return" the value of
expr. This can be any expression which is compatible with the type-identifier suffix (if any) that appears in
functionName. When your function "returns" a value, it means that you can reference the function (using
fn ) as part of a string or numeric expression, and the function's return value will be substituted in the expression. For example:
maxPuppets = 6 * fn storeCount%(x)
fn storeCount%(x)returns a value of 7, then the value 42 will be assigned to
end fnstatement is executed. Therefore, you should never make reference to a local variable's address after the function has finished executing; in particular, you should never pass a local variable's address back to the routine that called the function. For example:
'DON'T do THIS!
local fn myFunction&(x,y,z)
r# = sqr(x*x + y*y + z*z)
end fn = _USER_#
rAddr& = fn myFunction&(x,y,z)
rAddr&points to an area of memory (the old address of
r#) which is no longer reserved, and which should not be used.
'THIS IS OKAY:
local fn FirstFn
dim 255 myString$
'Pass address of local var into another fn:
local fn SecondFn(strAddr&)
BlockMove _USER_$, strAddr&, len(gString$)+1
FNpermute_rcalls itself. It would be very difficult to write such a program without using recursive functions.
def fn Permute(aString$)
def fn permute_r(prefix$, suffix$)
input "Enter a word: "; theWord$
local fn Permute(aString$)
'Prints all permutations of the letters in aString$
fn permute_r("", aString$)
local fn permute_r(prefix$, suffix$)
'Prints all permutations of prefix$+suffix$
'that start with prefix$
long if suffix$ = ""
for i = 1 to len(suffix$)
'Move the i-th letter of suffix$ over to newprefix$:
newprefix$ = prefix$ + mid$(suffix$, i, 1)
newsuffix$ = left$(suffix$,i-1) + mid$(suffix$,i+1)
'Now print all permutations that
'start with newprefix$
fn permute_r(newprefix$, newsuffix$)
end fnstatement can return only a single numeric or string expression. But many times, it's useful to have a local function which can return more than one value. The way to accomplish this is through the function's parameter list. If you give the function access to the address of some external variable or array, then the function can alter the contents at that address, effectively modifying the value of that variable or array.
array(dim1 [,dim2...]) syntax in the formal parameter list), then your function implicitly has access to the address of the passed array. Any changes you make to the array's elements inside your function are actually made to the external array, so the changes persist after the function exits.
_USER_ in the function's formal parameter list, and specify a variable when you call the function, then the variable's address is copied into var. Your function can then modify the contents at that address.


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Create beautiful designs with water, then let them slowly evaporate. Inspired by the Zen idea of living in the moment, the Buddha Board encourages mindfulness and creativity.
- Paint with water on a special surface, and watch your brush create bold strokes.
- Designs slowly disappear as the water evaporates, leaving you a blank canvas and a clear mind to start your next masterpiece.
- Portable 5" version folds into its own stand with a trough for water. Includes a brush.
- Recommended for ages 5 to 105. Adults love it as much as kids do!


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Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usually accomplished by exchanging the requisite instruments, and in the case of multilateral treaties, the usual procedure is for the depositary to collect the ratifications of all states, keeping all parties informed of the situation.
The institution of ratification grants states the necessary time-frame to seek the required approval for the treaty on the domestic level and to enact the necessary legislation to give domestic effect to that treaty. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutions in federal states such as the United States and Canada. The term is also used in parliamentary procedure in deliberative assemblies.
In contract law, the need for ratification often arises in two ways: if the agent attempts to bind the principal despite lacking the authority to do so; and if the principal authorizes the agent to make an agreement, but reserves the right to approve it. An example of the former situation is an employee not normally responsible for procuring supplies contracting to do so on the employer's behalf. The employer's choice on discovering the contract is to ratify it or to repudiate it.
The latter situation is common in trade union collective bargaining agreements. The union authorizes one or more people to negotiate and sign an agreement with management. A collective bargaining agreement can not become legally binding until the union members ratify the agreement. If the union members do not approve it, the agreement is void, and negotiations resume.
A deliberative assembly, using parliamentary procedure, could ratify action that otherwise was not validly taken. For example, action taken where there was no quorum at the meeting is not valid until it is later ratified at a meeting where a quorum is present.
Main article: Treaty
See also: List of treaties by number of parties
The ratification of international treaties is always accomplished by filing instruments of ratification as provided for in the treaty. In many democracies, the legislature authorizes the government to ratify treaties through standard legislative procedures by passing a bill.
In Australia, power to enter into treaties is an executive power within Section 61 of the Australian Constitution so the Australian Government may enter into a binding treaty without seeking parliamentary approval. Nevertheless, most treaties are tabled in parliament for between 15 and 20 joint sitting days for scrutiny by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, and if implementation of treaties requires legislation by the Australian parliament, this must be passed by both houses prior to ratification.
The President makes a treaty in exercise of his executive power, on the aid and the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, and no court of law in India may question its validity. However, no agreement or treaty entered into by the president is enforceable by the courts which is incompatible with Indian constitution/ national law, as India follows dualist theory for the implementation of international laws.
If the Parliament wishes to codify the agreement entered into by the executive thereby making it enforceable by the courts of India, it may do so under Article 253 of the constitution.
In Japan, in principle both houses of the parliament (the National Diet) must approve the treaty for ratification. If the House of Councilors rejects a treaty approved by the House of Representatives, and a joint committee of both houses cannot come to agreement on amendments to the original text of the treaty, or the House of Councilors fails to decide on a treaty for more than thirty days, the House of Representatives the will be regarded as the vote of the National Diet approving the ratification. The approved treaty will then be promulgated into law by the act of the Emperor.
Treaty ratification is a royal prerogative, exercised by the monarch on the advice of the government. By a convention called the Ponsonby Rule, treaties were usually placed before Parliament for 21 days before ratification, but Parliament has no power to veto or to ratify. The Ponsonby Rule was put on a statutory footing by Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Treaty power is a coordinated effort between the Executive branch and the Senate. The President may form and negotiate, but the treaty must be advised and consented to by a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Only after the Senate approves the treaty can the President ratify it. Once it is ratified, it becomes binding on all the states under the Supremacy Clause. While the House of Representatives does not vote on it at all, the supermajority requirement for the Senate's advice and consent to ratification makes it considerably more difficult to rally enough political support for international treaties. Also, if implementation of the treaty requires the expenditure of funds, the House of Representatives may be able to block or at least impede such implementation by refusing to vote for the appropriation of the necessary funds.
The President usually submits a treaty to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) along with an accompanying resolution of ratification or accession. If the treaty and resolution receive favorable committee consideration (a committee vote in favor of ratification or accession), the treaty is then forwarded to the floor of the full Senate for such a vote. The treaty or legislation does not apply until it has been ratified. A multilateral agreement may provide that it will take effect upon its ratification by less than all of the signatories. Even though such a treaty takes effect, it does not apply to signatories that have not ratified it. Accession has the same legal effect as ratification, for treaties already negotiated and signed by other states. An example of a treaty to which the Senate did not advise and consent to ratification is the Treaty of Versailles, which failed to garner support because of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
The US can also enter into international agreements by way of executive agreements. They are not made under the Treaty Clause and do not require approval by two-thirds of the Senate. Congressional-executive agreements are passed by a majority of both houses of Congress as a regular law. If the agreement is completely within the President's constitutional powers, it can be made by the President alone without Congressional approval, but it will have the force of an executive order and can be unilaterally revoked by a future President. All types of agreements are treated internationally as "treaties". See Foreign policy of the United States#Law.
Federations usually require the support of both the federal government and some given percentage of the constituent governments for amendments to the federal constitution to take effect.
Further information: Amendment of the Constitution of India
Not all constitutional amendments in India require ratification by the states. Only constitutional amendments that seek to make any change in any of the provisions mentioned in the proviso to Article 368 of the Constitution of India, must be ratified by the Legislatures of not less than one-half of the States. These provisions relate to certain matters concerning the federal structure or of common interest to both the Union and the States viz., the election of the President (articles 54 and 55); the extent of the executive power of the Union and the States (Articles 73 and 162); the High Courts for Union territories (Article 241); The Union Judiciary and the High Courts in the States (Chapter IV of Part V and Chapter V of Part VI); the distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the States (Chapter I of Part XI and Seventh Schedule); the representation of States in Parliament; and the provision for amendment of the Constitution laid down in Article 368. Ratification is done by a resolution passed by the State Legislatures. There is no specific time limit for the ratification of an amending Bill by the State Legislatures. However, the resolutions ratifying the proposed amendment must be passed before the amending Bill is presented to the President for his assent.
However, when the treaty terms are interfering with the powers exclusively applicable to states (State List), prior ratification of all applicable states are to be obtained per Article 252 of the Indian constitution before the ratification by the Parliament.
Main article: History of the United States Constitution
Article VII of the Constitution of the United States describes the process by which the entire document was to become effective. It required that conventions of nine of the thirteen original States ratify the Constitution. If fewer than thirteen states ratified the document, it would become effective only among the states ratifying it. New Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify, doing so on June 21, 1788, but, as a practical matter, it was decided to delay implementation of the new government until New York and Virginia could be persuaded to ratify. Congress intended that New York City should be the first capital, and that George Washington, of Mount Vernon, Virginia, should be the first President, and both of those things would have been somewhat awkward if either New York or Virginia were not part of the new government. Ratification by those states was secured—Virginia on June 25 and New York on July 26—and the government under the Constitution began on March 4, 1789.
For subsequent amendments, Article V describes the process of a potential amendment's adoption. Proposals to adopt an amendment may be called either by a two-thirds vote by both houses of Congress or by a national convention as a result of resolutions adopted by two-thirds (presently at least 34 out of 50) of the states' legislatures. For a proposed amendment to be adopted, three-quarters of the states (presently at least 38 out of 50) must then ratify the amendment either by a vote of approval in each state's legislature or by state ratifying conventions. Congress may specify which method must be used to ratify the amendment. Congress may also set a


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Measurement error as a source of QT dispersion: a computerised analysis
OBJECTIVE: To establish a general method to estimate the measuring error in QT dispersion (QTD) determination, and to assess this error using a computer program for automated measurement of QTD. SUBJECTS: Measurements were done on 1220 standard simultaneous 12 lead electrocardiograms. DESIGN: The computer program was validated against two observers on a random subset of 100 electrocardiograms. Simple laws of physics require that at least five of the six extremity leads have the same QT duration. This allows the direct assessment of the error in measuring QTD derived from five extremity leads (QTD5). It also enables ST-T amplitude dependent distributions of measurement error in determining QT duration to be established. These QT error distributions were then used to estimate the error in measuring QTD from all 12 leads (QTD12). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean and standard deviation of error in measuring QTD duration, QTD5, and QTD12. RESULTS: Performance of the program was comparable to that of observers. Errors in measuring QT duration (measured QT minus reference QT) fell from a mean (SD) of 6.9 (17.1) ms for ST-T amplitudes < 50 microV to -1.4 (6.3) ms for amplitudes > 350 microV. Measurement errors of QTD5 and QTD12 were 20.4 (11.5) ms and 29.4 (14.9) ms. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that no QTD can exist between five of the six extremity leads provides a means of estimating QTD measurement error. Measuring error of QT duration is dependent on ST-T amplitude. QTD measurement error is large compared with typical QTD values reported.
|*Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted, *Electrocardiography, Databases, Factual, Heart Diseases/*diagnosis, Heart/physiopathology, Humans, Sensitivity and Specificity|
|Organisation||Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam|
Kors, J.A, & van Herpen, G. (1998). Measurement error as a source of QT dispersion: a computerised analysis. Heart. Retrieved from _URL_


same. Nobody is responsible for the lion's killing instinct, but the whoever lets a cat run free is responsible for the suffering of the birds.
In Germany it is against the law to kill a healthy cat or other pet animal in any way, even a veterinarian is not allowed to put him to sleep. But nobody cares about the sufferings of the half dead birds, whom the cat brings into people's houses.
Is there a fundamental difference between a rabbit, a cat and a rat? They are all mammals and not too big. They all suffer pain, when treated cruelly, they all do not know, what is happening to them, when they are painlessly and fast killed. Rats are poisoned and trapped as vermin, rabbits are killed and eaten. But if someone has the bad luck to have a cat deliver a litter of half a dozen on their premises, they have a lot of trouble. If they kill the kittens themselves, they break the law, abandoning them is cruel and against the law, therefore the animal asylums are full with pets, that people cannot keep, or who have been found and abandoned. It costs a lot of money. Principally, there is nothing wrong with this, if there were no humans living in misery anywhere on the globe.
But today I read in the newspaper, that a German supermarket chain pays 11 (Euro)Cent per hour to the workers in sweatshops in Bangladesh sewing trousers to be sold for cheap. With such an income, they can only dream of the luxury life of a dog or cat in a German animal asylum, provided with healthy food and medical care.
Animals should not have suffering afflicted on them, but what about the poor people in Bangladesh? If all stray and unwanted animals would be painlessly put to sleep, and animal asylums be closed, there would a lot of money be available for much more humane purposes, either for supplying some basic needs for the people in Bangladesh and other poor countries or paying them fair wages for their labor.
People buy the cheap clothes from the sweatshops and contribute to the death by starvation of many people in Bangladesh, but cry in outrage about people killing pets.
It is absurd and it is an indirect form of racism, when German dogs are considered to deserve better care than the people from third world countries.
Humans need more protection than animals, because they suffer much more, they consciously experience their suffering. Animals suffer hunger and sickness only in the moment of occurrence, humans additionally suffer the emotional pain of knowing, what comes, of fear in advance, of hopelessness, of emotional pain. As long as the resources are scarce, humans should be cared for first, in priority over animals.
20. Constructive Communication
Constructive Communication
Constructive communication is a core part of the ERCP. To feel emotionally save and bonded in harmony requires the absence of distortions by unresolved conflicts. The motivation to resolve conflicts by communicating is an expression of the appreciation of the partner as important and equal.
1. Harmony is so important, that communicating about all conflicts needs to be continued, until it is resolved, no matter, how long it takes, hours, even days, when the problem is complicated. Both partners need to talk about everything, that has an impact upon each other, and the best procedure is to do this also as a prevention of conflicts. Solving a conflict also requires to generalize the solution to a kind of policy guiding both to prevent similar conflicts. I feel very uncomfortable with pending conflicts.
2. Both partners need to make sure, that both mutually know exactly all, what the other knows and thinks, in as much as it has anything to do with the topic of the conflict. This is the most important part of the process. All attempts to suggest a solution are futile, until there is a shared basis of information. Using logic together upon the same premises can lead to a satisfying shared conclusion. Using logic upon distinct premises causes many conflicts.
3. This means to ask questions, to listen and to proffer all information, that has not been asked for.
Jumping to conclusions must be avoided. Assumptions are suggestions, that need to be verified or discarded. Statements need to be blunt, direct, explicit to avoid misunderstandings by subtleties and hints. Verbal communication is fair, while provoking and probing the reactions of the other as a lab rat is not acceptable.
4. Honesty without hiding anything is essential, to always say, what one means, and to mean, what one says, and to trust the same from the other.
External facts should be offered with evidence, but all statements about personal introspection, emotions, perceptions, experiences, needs should be taken for serious and as subjective reality without doubting.
5. To be right or wrong is of no importance. A conflict needs a solution, which convinces both as being the best. Communicating serves not the purpose of contradicting the other but to understand, what the other can contribute to a convincing progress.
6. It is important to be aware of the modules of the communication. If one person needs ten sentences to explain a thought, then it is destructive, if the other discards or tries to prove wrong single sentences instead of attempting to comprehend the entire thought before reacting.
7. Conflicts need to be analysed on two levels, the direct practical level and the abstract meta level of how the values and attitudes causing the conflicting behavior have an impact upon the bond and viability of the relationship. Many apparently trivial incidents can have a very significant meaning of ethical disappointment as breaking trust or indicating depreciation. Profound harmony requires to solve the meta level of conflicts sometimes more then the superficial issue.
I am looking for a partner, who agrees to strife for harmony based on such a concept of communication.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
19. Myth of Unconditional Love
The Myth of Unconditional Love
A relationship based upon the ERCP is based upon the principle, that the relationship should be made as beneficial as possible for both partners, and that any imbalance, where one suffers because of the other, should be avoided.
This is not unconditional love. It is love on the one fundamental condition of being treated with decency, consideration, care.
Love cannot be bought or earned by money and services, it has to grow out of the combination of intellectual, emotional and physical intimacy. It grows the best, when it is kindled.
But love can be forfeited and destroyed by hurtful treatment. Then it either dies or it converts into an addiction. If a woman falls or grows into loving someone, who first appears to be a nice man, but later on reveals himself as a sadistic jerk, then her continued attachment is an addiction to a toxic relationship, and should not be called love anymore.
In the case of one doing wrong to the other, any forgiveness of suffering without consequences upsets the balance. Instead, there needs to be a restitution of the emotional state before the wrong has happened, by the combination of amends of the damage to the partner and the connected damage to the relationship. The later requires a full insight of the transgressor, what he had done, that he should not have done, and why it had been detrimental. That insight in cooperation of both partners can then be used to agree, how to avoid the recurrence of the same incident. After that process, it can be forgiven and forgotten.
The two partners in a relationship based upon the ERCP are a dyad, that has the task to kindle the love by keeping a balance of making the relationship beneficial for both.
For people with the deity delusion, there is no dyad, but there is always a triad, the two partners and their deity. Both believe, that if they personally suffer on this earth, they will be rewarded in the afterlife. Both also believe, that whatever pain they cause the other, will be compensated for the other in the afterlife and is therefore somehow excusable. Both believe that they are accountable for their behavior to the deity more than to the partner.
When the guidebook of their specific religion commands men to dominate, then men feel justified to dominate, even if the woman suffers. If the man does wrong to the woman, he feels compelled to gain the forgiveness of the deity, not of the woman, and when he has done all the rituals and maybe made some financial sacrifices, he feels to have earned the deity's forgiveness. But thus, he has not made amends to the woman as the target of his wrongs, and in the case of financial sacrifices, he even deprives her of spending the money with her.
The woman believes, that it is the deity to decide to forgive or not and on what condition, while she as the victim is obliged to forgive without expecting any amends, else she risks the loss of rewards in the afterlife. Therefore the transgressor reliefs himself of any guilt, while the victim suffers powerlessly.
With a deity as a third party, there is no balance, there is no kindling of love, there are no amends or avoiding future transgressions. Would decent treatment be the condition for love and for staying together, women would recoil from entering triads with a deity. The myth of unconditional love is the manipulation of the deity to lure people to accept such a triad.
Someone has posted a comment, that is completely enigmatic and has nothing to do with the topic of this


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to do with the idea that only finitely many possible values of n
? are less than n
!, whereas infinitely many are greater. There's no point in reconstructing my argument, because it was totally wrong. When I wrote a program to answer the question experimentally, it became clear that nearly two-thirds of the n
? values are less than n
!. (The results appear in the illustration above.)
You can get an inkling of what's going on here by looking at a small example, say n=3, and counting the cases in which the final product is less than 3!, or 6. For n=3 the only possible outputs of the random number generator are 1, 2 and 3, each of which appears with probability 1/3. The simplest event is that a 1 comes up on the first try, in which case the product is obviously less than 6; this happens with probability 1?3. There are two possible sequences of just two factors, namely a 2 followed by a 1 and a 3 followed by a 1; each of these outcomes has a probability of (1/3)2, or 1/9, and again the products are less than 6. A pencil-and-paper enumeration shows that there is only one other sequence of factors whose product is less than 6, namely 2, 2, 1; here the probability is 1/27. The sum of these probabilities is 1/3 + 2/9 + 1/27 = 16/27, or 0.5926. This is in agreement with the experimental results.
As n increases, the proportion of n? values less than n! converges on the value 0.6322, and the proportion that are greater tends toward 0.3678. Is there anything special about these numbers, and can we explain why this particular proportion should crop up? I think so. Note that on each iteration, the probability of getting a 1 and thereby ending the factoidal process is 1/n. That means the probability of getting anything other than a 1, and continuing the sequence of factors, is (n–1)/n. Then the probability of avoiding 1 twice in a row is ((n–1)/n)2, the probability of going on to three factors is ((n–1)/n)3, and so on. To have a high likelihood that n? will exceed n!, the chain of factors has to be extended to a length of at least n. The probability of reaching this point is ((n–1)/n)n; as n increases, this expression converges to 1/e, with a numerical value of 0.3678—just what is observed.
If most values of n? are less than n!, then the average of all n? values should also be less than n!, shouldn't it? We'll see. But first another digression, to look at a closely related function that shows how averaging is supposed to work.
A Well-Mannered Function
If you delve into the code for the factorial function and replace the multiplication sign with a plus sign, you wind up with a procedure for calculating triangular numbers—1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21.... To see why they're called triangular, think of 10 bowling pins or 15 billiard balls. Whereas the factorial of 4 is 1x2x3x4=24, the corresponding triangular number is 1+2+3+4=10. (There is a well-known shortcut for computing the nth triangular number: n(n+1)/2. It's interesting that no comparable shortcut exists for factorials, although there are approximations.)
Having converted the n! code into a program for generating triangular numbers, we can clearly make the same change in the program for n?. The result will be a procedure that rolls an n-sided die and keeps a running sum (rather than a product) until a 1 turns up.
Sums of random variables are much better-behaved than products. With randomized triangular sums, the algorithm for calculating the arithmetic mean works flawlessly. Generate a sample of values (all for the same n), add them up, divide by the size of the sample, and you get an estimate of the mean. With a small sample, the estimate is somewhat unreliable, so that repeating the procedure is likely to produce a substantially different result. But as the sample size increases, the estimates grow more consistent. The illustration at right shows the convergence of sample means toward the true mean for 2,000 samples of various sizes.
By No Means
How different are the statistics of the factoidal process! When I first began playing with the n? function, I was curious about its average value, and so I did a quick computation with a small sample—100 repetitions of 10?. The result that came back was much larger than I had expected, in the neighborhood of 1025. When I repeated the computation several times, I continued to get enormous numbers, and furthermore they were scattered over a vast range, from less than 1020 to well over 1030. The obvious strategy was to try a larger sample in order to smooth out the fluctuations. But when I averaged factoidals 10,000 at a time, and then a million at a time, the numbers got even bigger, and the variations wider.
The illustration at left shows what I was up against. Each dot represents a sample of runs of the n? program; a dot's horizontal position indicates the sample size, and its vertical position gives the arithmetic mean calculated from that sample. In all cases the value of nis 10. It's important to emphasize that this is nota graph of n? as a function of n; the value of nis fixed. All that changes in moving from left to right across the graph is the size of the sample over which the average is computed. There is no sign of convergence here. The trend is continuously upward: The more trials in the sample, the larger the calculated mean. And because both scales in the graph are logarithmic, the apparent straight-line trend in the mean actually represents exponential growth. The "average" value of 10? is somewhere near 1040or 1050 if you average over 1,000 trials, but it rises to roughly 1090 if you go on to collect a million samples. (For comparison, 10! is roughly 106—or more precisely 3,628,800.)
The dispersion of the dots around the trend line also shows no sign of diminishing as the sample size increases. Thus the variance or standard deviation of the data is also impossible to pin down.
Odd, isn't it? Generally, if you are conducting an experiment, or making a measurement, or taking an opinion survey, you expect that collecting more data will yield greater accuracy and consistency. Here, more data just seems to make a bad situation worse.
With a closer look at the factoidal data, it's not hard to understand what's going wrong with the computation of the mean. Although the majority of 10? values are comparatively small (less than 3,628,800), every now and then the factoidal process generates an enormous product—a rogue, a monster. The larger the sample, the greater the chance that one of these outliers will be included. And they totally dominate the averaging process. If a sample of 1,000 values happens to include one with a magnitude of 10100, then even if all the rest of the data points were zero, the average would still be 1097.
The arithmetic mean is not the only tool available for characterizing what statisticians call the central tendency of a data set. There is also the geometric mean. For two numbers a and b, the geometric mean is defined as the square root of axb; more generally, the geometric mean of k numbers is the kth root of their product. The geometric mean of samples taken from the factoidal process suffers from none of the problems encountered with the arithmetic mean. It converges, though somewhat slowly, to a stable value. Moreover, it turns out that the geometric mean of n? is simply n!, so this is a highly informative measure. Perhaps it should not be a surprise that factoidals are better described by a statistic based on multiplication than by one based on addition.
The median of n? is also well-defined. The median is the midpoint value of a data set—the item that is greater than half the others and less than half. Because it merely counts the number of greater and lesser values, without considering their actual magnitudes, it is insensitive to the outliers that cause havoc with the arithmetic mean. For samples of 10? the median converges on a value near 27,000 (notably smaller than 10!).
Still another way to tame the factoidal is to take logarithms. If you determine the logarithm of each n? value, then calculate the arithmetic mean of the logarithms, the result converges very nicely. (Note that taking the mean of the logarithms is not the same as taking the logarithm of the means.) The success of this strategy does not come as a surprise. Logarithms reduce multiplication to addition. Essentially, then, taking the logarithm of the n? values converts the factoidal process into the corresponding triangular-number calculation. Logarithms are also at work behind the scenes in computing the geometric mean.
Even with other statistical methods available, it's disconcerting to face the failure of something so familiar and elementary and ingrained as the arithmetic mean. It's like stumbling into an area of mathematics where Euclid's parallel postulate no longer applies


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I have read a book called Clean code. One of the strongest messages that I took from the book is that the code must be readable. I do not understand why functional languages such as F# do not include function parameter names into the intellisense or in the type defintion?
val copy: string -> string -> unit
val copy: sourceFile:string -> destinationFile:string -> unit
What is the best practise in the functional world? Shall we prefer single parameter functions? This is what Clean code promotes. Or shall we use records for all functions of 2+ parameters?
I know that one work-around is to use static member instead of let functions but this is not a functional approach, is it?
Just to give more information:
 - Haskell : addThree :: Int -> Int -> Int -> Int
 - OCaml: Unix.unlink: (string -> unit)
and surely others. They just do not show parameter names in the type definitions.
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What version of the language are you using? In F# 3.0, typing let f x y = x + y + 1 into F# interactive gives me: val f : x:int -> y:int -> int (and IntelliSense gives me the same thing in the editor). – kvb Feb 26 '13 at 12:14
this is true, but how about: let g() = let f x y = x + y + 1 in (). Anything that is not at the top level does not work. But it is good to know that F# team tries to do something about it ;) I was just confused by the general nature of the functional programming. Or do other functional languages show parameter names? – Oldrich Svec Feb 26 '13 at 12:18
This is about IDEs and development environments, not languages. – Don Stewart Feb 26 '13 at 12:38
In Haskell at least, pattern matching makes named parameters in the type signature often impractical. foo Nothing = bar; foo (Just []) = baz; foo (Just (x:xs)) = quux. What should the IDE make of that? Also, foldl' :: (a -> b -> a) -> a -> [b] -> a; foldl' f z = go z where go..., only some arguments are explicitly provided in the definition. – Daniel Fischer Feb 26 '13 at 14:00
"Shall we prefer single parameter functions?" <- That's how it is in Haskell, every function takes exactly one argument. addThree :: Int -> Int -> Int -> Int is a function taking an Int and returning (a function taking an Int and returning (a function taking an Int and returning an Int)). [Of course that's cumbersome, so one normally speaks of a function taking three arguments, but occasionally, the difference is important.] – Daniel Fischer Feb 26 '13 at 14:04
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4 Answers
up vote 6 down vote accepted
Or am I completely wrong and it has nothing to do with diferences between functional and imperative programming?
You're not completely wrong, insofar as functional languages with HM type inference often do not require type annotations at all, or, at least not everywhere.
Add to this that type expressions are not necessarily function types, hence the concept of a "parameter name" is not applicable. All in all, a name there is just redundant, it does not add any information to a type, and that could be the reason for not allowing it.
Conversely, in imperative languages, type inference was almost unknown as of late. Thus you must declare everything (in statically typed languages) and so it happens that name and type tend to appear in one place. Moreover, as functions are not first class citiziens, the concept of a function type, let alone an expression that describes a function type is merely unknown.
Observe that with recent developments (like "lambda" syntax, etc.) the concept of an argument whose type is known already or can be easily inferred also appears in those languages. And when I remember correctly, there is even syntactical easement to avoid long names, the lambda argument is just it or even _
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If you practice typeful programming, which is the idea that a lot of the semantic content of programs can be reflected statically in the type system, you will find out that in many (but not all) cases, named arguments are not necessary for readability.
Consider the following examples in the List standard library of OCaml. By knowing that they operate on lists, and with the (hopefully clear: we're all for good name choices) name of the function, you will find that you don't need explanations for what the arguments do.
val append : α list -> α list
val flatten : α list list -> α list
val exists: (α -> α bool) -> α list -> bool
val map: (α -> β) -> α list -> β list
val combine : α list -> β list -> (α * β) list
Note that the last example is interesting because it is not exactly clear what the code will do. There would in fact be several interpretations. combine [1;2] [3;4] returns [(1,3); (2,4)] and not, for example, [(1,3); (1,4); (2,3); (2,4)]. It is also not clear what happens when the two lists are not of the same length (the failure mode is unclear).
Functions that are not total, that may raise an exception or not terminate, usually need more documentation about what the failure cases are and how they will behave. This is one strong argument in favor of what we call pure programming, where all the behavior of a function is expressed in terms of returning a value (no exceptions, observable state mutation, or non-termination), and can therefore be statically captured by the type system.
Of course this only works really well for functions that are parametric enough; they have a type that make it very clear what they do. This is not the case of all functions, consider for example the blit function of the String module (I'm sure your favorite language has such examples as well):
val blit : string -> int -> string -> int -> int -> unit
Programming languages add support named parameters for this reason. In OCaml for example we have "labels" that allow to name parameters. The same function is exported in the StringLabels module as:
val blit : src:string -> src_pos:int -> dst:string -> dst_pos:int -> len:int -> unit
That's better. Yes, named parameters are useful in some cases.
Note however that named arguments can be used to hide bad API design (maybe the example above is targe to this criticism as well). Consider:
val add : float -> float -> float -> float -> float -> float -> float * float * float
obscure, huh? But then:
type coord = {x:float; y:float; z:float}
val add : coord -> coord -> coord
That's much better, and I didn't need any parameter labeling (arguably record labels provide naming, but in fact I could equally use float * float * float here; the fact that value records may subsume named (and optionals?) parameters is also an interesting remark).
David M. Barbour develops the argument that named parameters are a "crutch" of language design, that is used to tamper over the lazyness of API designers, and that not having them encourages better design. I am not sure I agree that named parameters can be profitably avoided in all situations, but he certainly has a point that agrees with the typeful propaganda at the beginning of my post. By raising the level of abstraction (through more polymorphic/parametric types or better problem domain abstractions), you'll find you decrease the need for parameter naming.
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Haskell's type synonyms can help in making the type signatures more self-documenting. Consider for example the function writeFile, that just writes a string to a file. It has two parameters: the string to write, and the filename to write to. Or was it the other way around? Both parameters are of type String, so it's not easy to tell which is which!
However, when you look at the documentation, you see the following type signature:
writeFile :: FilePath -> String -> IO ()
That makes it clear (to me, at least!) how the function is intended to be used. Now, since FilePath is just a synonym for String, there's nothing preventing you from using it like this:
writeFile "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" "test.txt"
but if you get the type FilePath -> String -> IO () as a hint in your IDE, I think that's at least a big push in the right direction!
You could even go a step further and make a newtype for filepaths so you don't accidentally mix up filenames and contents, but I guess that adds more hassle than it's worth, and there's probably also historical reasons why this isn't done.
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What is the best practise in the functional world?
There is alternative standard library for OCaml called Core. It uses labeled parameters almost everywhere. For example
val fold_left : 'a t -> init:'b -> f:('b -> 'a -> 'b) -> 'b
P.S. I have no information about another functional languages.
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text:
For decades, biologists have relied on written descriptions of protocols to guide their experiments in the laboratory. However, with the emergence of microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" systems, many of today's experiments are carried out by a computer rather than by a human. In order to leverage the power of these technologies, protocols will need to be written in a standard language that machines can understand.
We are developing a language, called BioCoder, that formally expresses the steps needed to carry out a biology protocol. We have used BioCoder to execute real protocols on diverse microfluidic chips, as well as to direct the actions of experimental biologists in the laboratory. Our vision is to change the way that experimental methods are communicated: rather than publishing a written account of the protocols used, researchers will simply publish the code.
Bill Thies is a researcher at Microsoft Research India, where he is a member of the Technologies for Emerging Markets Group. His research focuses on creating appropriate information and communication technologies to promote socio-economic development, as well as the description and automation of biology protocols on platforms such as microfluidic chips. Bill received all of his degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he completed his Ph.D. in computer science in 2009. His prior research focused on programming languages and compilers; his Ph.D. thesis was the recipient of the 2009 ACM SIGPLAN Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Award.