cor.smooth {psych}R Documentation
Smooth a non-positive definite correlation matrix to make it positive definite
Factor analysis requires positive definite correlation matrices. Unfortunately, with pairwise deletion of missing data or if using tetrachoric or polychoric correlations, not all correlation matrices are positive definite. cor.smooth does a eigenvector (principal components) smoothing. Negative eigen values are replaced with 100 *.Machine$double.eps, the matrix is reproduced and forced to a correlation matrix using cov2cor.
A correlation matrix or a raw data matrix.
Report all abs(residuals) > cut
The smoothing is done by eigen value decomposition. eigen values <.Machine$double.eps are changed to 100 *.Machine$double.eps. The positive eigen values are rescaled to sum to the number of items. The matrix is recomputed (eigen.vectors %*% diag(eigen.values) %*% t(eigen.vectors) and forced to a correlation matrix using cov2cor. (See Bock, Gibbons and Muraki, 1988 and Wothke, 1993).
This does not implement the Knol and ten Berge (1989) solution, nor do nearcor and posdefify in sfmsmisc, not does nearPD in Matrix. As Martin Maechler puts it in the posdedify function, "there are more sophisticated algorithms to solve this and related problems."
cor.smoother examines all of nvar minors of rank nvar-1 by systematically dropping one variable at a time and finding the eigen value decomposition. It reports those variables, which, when dropped, produce a positive definite matrix. It also reports the number of negative eigenvalues when each variable is dropped. Finally, it compares the original correlation matrix to the smoothed correlation matrix and reports those items with absolute deviations great than cut. These are all hints as to what might be wrong with a correlation matrix.
The smoothed matrix with a warning reporting that smoothing was necessary (if smoothing was in fact necessary).
William Revelle
R. Darrell Bock, Robert Gibbons and Eiji Muraki (1988) Full-Information Item Factor Analysis. Applied Psychological Measurement, 12 (3), 261-280.
Werner Wothke (1993), Nonpositive definite matrices in structural modeling. In Kenneth A. Bollen and J. Scott Long (Editors),Testing structural equation models, Sage Publications, Newbury Park.
D.L. Knol and JMF ten Berge (1989) Least squares approximation of an improper correlation matrix by a proper one. Psychometrika, 54, 53-61.
See Also
tetrachoric, polychoric, fa and irt.fa, and the burt data set.
See also nearcor and posdefify in the sfsmisc package and nearPD in the Matrix package.
bs <- cor.smooth(burt) _TAG_ data set is not positive definite
plot(burt[lower.tri(burt)],bs[lower.tri(bs)],ylab="smoothed values",xlab="original values")
round(burt - bs,3)
fa(burt,2) _TAG_ throws a warning that the matrix yields an improper solution
_TAG_ first throws a warning that the matrix was improper, but produces a better solution
_TAG_ next example is a correlation matrix from DeLeuw used as an example in Knol and ten Berge.
_TAG_ example is also used in the nearcor documentation
 cat("pr is the example matrix used in Knol DL, ten Berge (1989)\n")
 pr <- matrix(c(1, 0.477, 0.644, 0.478, 0.651, 0.826,
 0.477, 1, 0.516, 0.233, 0.682, 0.75,
 0.644, 0.516, 1, 0.599, 0.581, 0.742,
 0.478, 0.233, 0.599, 1, 0.741, 0.8,
 0.651, 0.682, 0.581, 0.741, 1, 0.798,
 0.826, 0.75, 0.742, 0.8, 0.798, 1),
 nrow = 6, ncol = 6)
sm <- cor.smooth(pr)
resid <- pr - sm
# several goodness of fit tests
# from Knol and ten Berge
tr(resid %*% t(resid)) /2
# from nearPD
[Package psych version 1.4.5 Index]
Part of the Personality Project Take our Personality Test


text:
Greg Charvat earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 2007, and his dissertation described a low-power radar imaging system (PDF download). Now Dr. Charvat has made his dissertation available for anyone to download.
This system uses the combination of a spatially diverse antenna array, a high sensitivity range-gated frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar system, and an airborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging algorithm to produce near real-time high resolution imagery of what is behind a dielectric wall. This system is capable of detecting and providing accurate imagery of target scenes made up of objects as small as 6 inch tall metallic rods and cylinders behind a 4 inch thick dielectric slab. A study is conducted of through-dielectric slab imaging by the development of a 2D model of a dielectric slab and cylinder. The SAR imaging algorithm is developed and tested on this model for a variety of simulated imaging scenarios and the results are then used to develop an unusually high sensitivity range-gated FMCW radar architecture.

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


I have noticed that a cat and dog share the same radical, which is 犭dog (quǎn).
So, if we break the words down:
猫 cat (māo) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 艹 cǎo (grass) + 田 tián (field)
狗 dog (gǒu) = 犭dog (quǎn) + 勹 bāo (wrap) + 口 kǒu (mouth)
I have two questions:
1) Why a dog radical has the dog in it with other components?
2) Why a cat has the dog radical it in?
These words are not difficult to remember. For a cat, I use'meow', which is somehow similar to māo. For a dog, I stick to 'Go, go, dog!', which sounds a bit like gǒu.
However, I am curious about the origin of these words.
 - 1. Both 狗 and 貓 are 形聲字. 2. Nobody says 犭 can only be used for Canidae. – user3a Jan 15 '17 at 12:10
The radical in 猫 actually comes from 豸 zhi4 (beast), which you can still see in the traditional character 貓.
Whereas the radical in 狗 is in fact 犭 quan3.
The simplified version of 猫 got the 犭 quan3 radical because of trait reduction and semantic affinity (dog -> beast).
If it sounds easier to you, you can think of 犭 quan3 in simplified Chinese as generically referring to an animal, as in 狼 (wolf), 狮 (lion), 猴 (monkey), 狐 (fox) and words relating to animals as 猎 (hunt).
As for your other question:
The dog radical 犭 comes from 犬 which is a pictogram, still used in some words today, especially dog breeds. No radicals other than the image itself. Here you can see an evolution of the picture. (Source: Wenlin, and possibly 说文解字).
enter image description here
If you are talking about the modern character 狗 gou3, it comes from the semantic/radical 犭 quan3 plus the phonetic part 句 ju4. It was probably a colloquial or popular name for "dog" which has made it into the standard language, whereas 犬 keeps a more classical and scientific flavor.
 - 1
 Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. The picture is very interesting. You have made my day. I am very happy that I have learned something new today. – Luzing Jan 15 '17 at 12:49
 - The phonetic part 句 has another pronunciation gou3, exactly the same as 狗 – jf328 Jan 17 '17 at 12:07
 - I cannot find reference of the gou3 pronunciation. It appears to have gou1, (and some sources list also gou4) probably as a variant of 勾. Do you have any links? – blackgreen Jan 17 '17 at 12:24
 - _USER_ _URL_.htm – Graham Ou Apr 7 '17 at 15:54
Your Answer


text:
From the Telegraph … I may have things to add later when I have time to look into this more detail:
In Roman mythology, the bough was a tree branch with golden leaves that enabled the Trojan hero Aeneas to travel through the underworld safely.
They discovered the remains while excavating religious sanctuary built in honour of the goddess Diana near an ancient volcanic lake in the Alban Hills, 20 miles south of Rome.
They believe the enclosure protected a huge Cypress or oak tree which was sacred to the Latins, a powerful tribe which ruled the region before the rise of the Roman Empire.
The tree was central to the myth of Aeneas, who was told by a spirit to pluck a branch bearing golden leaves to protect himself when he ventured into Hades to seek counsel from his dead father.
In a second, more historically credible legend, the Latins believed it symbolised the power of their priest-king.
Anyone who broke off a branch, even a fugitive slave, could then challenge the king in a fight to the death. If the king was killed in the battle, the challenger assumed his position as the tribe's leader.
The discovery was made near the town of Nemi by a team led by Filippo Coarelli, a recently retired professor of archaeology at Perugia University.
After months of excavations in the volcanic soil, they unearthed the remains of a stone enclosure.
Shards of pottery surrounding the site date it to the mid to late Bronze Age, between the 12th and 13th centuries BC.
"We found many, many pottery pieces of a votive or ritual nature," said Prof Coarelli. "The location also tells us that it must have been a sacred structure. We spent months excavating, during which we had to cut into enormous blocks of lava."
The stone enclosure is in the middle of an area which contains the ruins of an immense sanctuary dedicated to Diana, the goddess of hunting, along with the remains of terracing, fountains, cisterns and a nymphaeum.
"It's an intriguing discovery and adds evidence to the fact that this was an extraordinarily important sanctuary," said Prof Christopher Smith, the head of the British School at Rome, an archaeological institute.
"We know that trees were grown in containers at temple sites. The Latins gathered here to worship right up until the founding of the Roman republic in 509BC."
The story about the golden bough and Aeneas, who is said to have journeyed from Troy to Italy to found the city of Rome, was documented by Virgil in his epic, the Aeneid.
"Virgil tells us that the sibyls told Aeneas to go to the underworld to take advice from his father but he had to take a branch of gold as a sort of key to allow him access," said Prof Smith.
The legend inspired JMW Turner to paint a grand canvas entitled 'Lake Avernus – The Fates and the Golden Bough', now held by the Tate Collection.
Addenda: There's a bit more detail in the La Repubblica coverage: In questo vaso cresceva l' albero con il ramo d' oro. However, I'm curious on what basis they think this enclosure housed a tree. It's certainly very interesting that this pushes the age of the sanctuary back to the Bronze Age …


text:
While some may think Cork flooring is a new fad, it is actually traced back to ancient Egypt. Dom Perignon used cork for champagne bottles in the 18th century, which led to the discovery of several other uses for it.
Cork is low in density and very lightweight.
Cork is quite durable. You will often find it in public buildings because of its durability.
Cork has several sound absorption qualities and is often found in churches and libraries.
Cork is soft to walk on and is sometimes more forgiving on your joints than hardwood. There are millions of air filled cells, which also makes it a great choice for retail stores, kids playrooms, and where people spend several hours on their feet.
Cork reduces the transmission of heat, virbration and sound and is therefore a great insulator. Air is sealed in each of the cells insulating from the adjacent cells with a moisture resistant, waxy like substance. A cubic cm of the honeycombed shaped cork cell contains about 40 million hexagonal cells. These cells are composed of almost 90% of an air like gas, which makes cork flooring a great choice for recording studios and other places where sound needs to be kept to a minimum.
Cork maintains an even temperature that is never too hot or too cold. It also reduces heat loss in rooms because of the encapsulated air cells. Cork also reduces heat loss in rooms because of the encapsulated air cells.
Suberin is a substance that naturally occurs in cork. This makes it resistant to mold, mites, termites and bugs. This substance also refrains it from rotting and makes it a natural fire inhibitor. Upon combustion, cork does not release any toxic gasses.
People with allergies are big fans of cork floors because of its hypoallergenic properties. Cork floors do not absorb dust and are very useful for people with asthma and respiratory diseases.
Cork is also very resilient. Because of those same air cells that help with heat loss, sound absorption and softness, cork can return to its original shape even when exposed to heavy weight and pressure. This is an advantage over hardwood flooring.
Good for the environment:
No trees are destroyed or damaged when harvesting cork.
It is better than a renewable resource because it is a harvested resource (only the bark is harvested from the tree).
Most are recycled products as they are made from the waste cork from wine stoppers.
Water based adhesives and finishes can be used to make it completelyenvironmentally sound. T
"The 9 Year Law" was passed in the 1930's. This keeps cork from being harvested any sooner than every 9 years. The trees have to reach at least 60 cm in circumference before it can be harvested. The first harvest from a cork tree can only occur at age 25.
Cork comes unfinished and pre-finished. There are many different types of finishes that are both harmful and safe for the environment.
In areas that can get wet, such as kitchens and bathrooms, it is recommended by most manufacturers to use a water based polyurethane sealant.
If the subfloor is dry and level, cork floors can be glued, pre-glued or clicked together for installation.
Cork floors can also be floated because of their tongue and groove
Some cork floors have beveled edges that allow the floor to naturally expand and contract without buckling.
Cork comes in mosaics, plank shapes and tile shapes.
Several different patterns of cork floors are offered. These differ from very wide abstract patterns to small and tight patterns.
colours range from natural cork colour to vibrant, bold colours.
Burning the cork before it is compressed in combination with varying granule sizes creates the different colours and patterns that make cork such a unique product.
Cork will fade if exposed to direct sunlight. Furniture and flooring should be moved periodically to even out the fading from sun and UV exposure.
Cork is very easy to maintain especially with polyurethane coatings.
Humidity should be maintained at 50-60% as the cork can sometimes react.
Cork floors should be swept and vacuumed often to avoid the build up of dirt, which can scratch the finish.
Do not use abrasive cleaners or solvents, especially those that contain glycerin. These products can harm the finish making it impossible to refinish.
A neutral PH detergent (PH of 6-8) should be used to clean cork floors either by misting over the floors and mopped with a damp mop or with a wrung out sponge.
Spills should be wiped up immediately.
Chairs placed on cork with casters should have minimum 2" casters.
Mats should be placed under chairs with casters to protect the finish from becoming dull.
Furniture or chair feet should sit on wide coasters to prevent excessive indentation.
If damaged, cork can be repaired.


text:
The Office for the quality assurance at the Fiscal Academy of Slobomir P University is an integral part of the entire quality assurance process at the university.
Ensuring the quality of work and study performed by the university itself and faculties and academies at the university is part of the national quality assurance and a prerequisite for comparability of diplomas and qualifications in the context of a single European Higher Education Area.
The objective of establishing an institutional quality assurance system is to set standards for the quality of work and regulating mechanisms and procedures for managing, monitoring, evaluation, improvement and development of quality, as well as developing policies and organizational culture in performing of all activities at the University.
Priority areas in which it provides, ensures, promotes and controls the quality are:
- Quality of study programs,
- Quality of the teaching process,
- Quality of scientific research and professional work,
- Quality of teachers and staff,
- Quality of students,
- Quality of textbooks, literature, library and information resources,
- Quality of managing a higher education institution and the quality of non-teaching support,
- Quality of facilities and equipment,
- Quality of financing,
- Role of students in self-evaluation and verification of quality,
- Systematic monitoring and periodic quality checks,
- Transparency of its operations.
The Office does the following:
- Provides advice and recommendations to the organizational units of the faculty,
- Organizes seminars in the field of quality assurance,
- works on establishing and editing documents on quality assurance,
- defines the criteria of quality of functioning of the faculty,
- Develops procedures of external and internal evaluation, methods for exploring different aspects of the quality of education and different target groups (students, teachers, administrative staff, managers, employers)
- Prepares, organizes and coordinates the evaluation of different segments of faculty's functioning,
- Provides feedback from students and directs their suggestions, proposals and criticism,
- Collects, processes and analyzes information about the quality assurance from all users,
- Organizes vocational and professional training of and administrative staff.
Office Coordinator : Mr Ljuljana Maksimović
Office no. 312, Slobomir campus
Telephone number: 055 231 170

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


text:
Q: What is a pack of wolves?
A: Wolves usually live in packs which consist of the adult parents,
referred to as the alpha pair, and their offspring of perhaps the
last two or three years.
Q: How many wolves in a pack?
A: Pack size is highly variable because of birth of pups,
generally, a gray wolf pack has six to eight wolves,
but in Alaska and northwestern canada some packs
have over therty members.


text:
Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
Print version ISSN _PHONE_
HEINECK, Isabela; SCHENKEL, Eloir Paulo and VIDAL, Xavier. Over-the-counter drugs in Brazil. Rev Panam Salud Publica [online]. 1998, vol.3, n.6, pp. 385-391. ISSN _PHONE_. _URL_
In this study we examined the 100 over-the-counter drugs that were most widely sold in Brazil from June 1992 to June 1993. We excluded 23 food products that were classified as medicinal. The sample, which included 77 drugs, was representative of about 67% of all sales in monetary value, and 76.8% of all units sold of the different classes of over-the-counter drugs. The anatomical-therapeutic-chemical (ATC) system was used to classify the various drugs; each class of drugs was also graded according to a scale of its intrinsic value, taking into account effectiveness and risks. Most classes of drugs (91%) showed "little intrinsic value" (that is, were of questionable or no value, of relative value, or unacceptable), and 70% were fixed-dose combinations. Only 10 classes of drugs were included in the Ministry of Health's National Drug List, and four appeared in WHO's list of essential drugs. The therapeutic classes to which the drugs belonged were, in descending order of frequency, for the digestive tract, skin, genitourinary system, musculo-skeletal system, central nervous system, parasitic diseases, respiratory tract, and sensory system. The therapeutic subgroup that commanded the highest sales was that of the non-opiate analgesics and antipyretics. Our results confirm the hypothesis that over-the-counter drugs in Brazil are of poor therapeutic quality and that the use of many such drugs is a source of unnecessary expense for the population. Some of them should not be accessible to individuals who lack current knowledge of their side effects, since 25% of all cases of poisoning in the country are related to self-medication. Modifying the public's perception of the need for taking drugs to relieve their ailments is one approach that may improve their use of medications in the long term.


text:
The total number of bacteria and culturable bacteria in Ade'lie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) guano was determined during 42 days of decomposition in a location adjacent to the rookery in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica. Of the culturable bacteria, 72 randomly selected colonies were described using 49 morpho-physiological tests, 27 of which were subsequently considered significant in... characterizing and differentiating the isolates. On the basis of the nucleotide sequence of a fragment of the 16S rRNA
gene in each of 72 pure isolates, three major phylogenetic groups were identified, namely the Moraxellaceae/Pseudomonadaceae (29 isolates), the Flavobacteriaceae (14), and the Micrococcaceae (29). Grouping of the isolates on the basis of morpho-physiological tests (whether 49 or 27 parameters) showed similar results to those based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Clusters were characterized
by considerable intra-cluster variation in both 16S rRNA gene sequences and morpho-physiological responses. High diversity in abundance and morphometry of total bacterial communities during penguin guano decomposition was supported by image analysis of epifluorescence micrographs. The results indicate that the bacterial community in penguin guano is not only one of the richest in Antarctica, but is extremely diverse, both phylogenetically and morpho-physiologically.
2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights


text:
| The Pribilof Island Shrew lives in maritime tundra on St. Paul Island, and almost nothing is known about its biology. A small shrew was collected by Russian explorers in 1840. They said it came from "Unalaska," which may have meant Unalaska Island, Alaska. However, none have been found there since. A species similar to the one the Russians described (and named) was later found on St. Paul Island, one of the Pribilof Islands, now part of Alaska, and given a different name; it occurs in relative abundance there. This raises many unanswered questions: did a shrew that is now extinct once live on Unalaska Island? Are there two species, or just the one we know as the Pribilof Island shrew?
Also known as:
Unalaska Island Shrew
Merriam, C.H., 1895. Synopsis of the American shrews of the genus Sorex. North American Fauna, No. 10, 57-98.
Mammal Species of the World


text:
Does the sequence defined by (-1)^n diverge or oscillate? I know technically it oscillates but in my MCQ options there are 4 options in which oscillation is not given.
the options are:
3. absolutely converges
4. none of these
therefore, would the answer be none of these or "Diverges"?
P.S: is oscilllation a sub-set of diverging? (something like if oscillation is happening then it must diverge? )


text:
This house has been witness of the lives from several people that occupied it, with the years they are part of the walls that we want to share with our guests as another testimony of the exciting history of this city.
The first record
In the late eighteenth century the house was owned by a French citizen and merchant named Jean D'Anglade, married with Rosa Guerra. There are numerous references in the archives that shows the richness of this family. They owned several houses in the city in addition to the hacienda San José de Cospique. Apparently engaged in buying and selling properties we found his name on various documents that show a feverish commercial activity but also slave trade and smuggling.
The Consul's house
In January 1824 reached Cartagena the British Consul Mr. Edward Watts with the purpose of promoting trade relations between UK and this port, after the weakness of the Spanish administration.
He settled down in two houses on Cochera del Gobernador street turning to Candilejo street.
The Consul supports the independence process led by Bolivar, who visited him during his last stay in the city, offering a miniaturist portrait painted by the Italian artist Meucci as a gift. This portrait was used in 1831 as ornament during the funeral that the city made in honor of Bolivar's memory.
Consul Watts was an outstanding member of the city' s aristocracy, proof of it are the numerous references made by English chroniclers and officers in their travel diaries of the years 1820 to 1830 in which they emphasize the friendly and hospitable attitude of Mr. Watts. He was forced to leave the city in 1833 as it was accused to intervene in the internal affairs of Colombia.
When he leaved the country his son George Burghalt Watts assumed as Vice Consul and took over the house. He married in 1838 with Juliana de Porras.
The next generation
In the census of 1851 from the Cathedral quarter on page 13 we can read: " family of George B Watts that includes among its children a boy named Tomas, son, single, age 6, free".
Thomas B. Watts and Porras was born in Cartagena in 1845 and according to a deed of 1883 stored in the historical records of the city bought "for himself and his family two tall houses adjacent to the accessory one side ruined stone tile wood... located on Cochera del Gobernador street... from his mother by an amount of six thousand pesos."
The scenes described in García Márquez book "Love in the Time of Cholera" are not immune to the tragedy that is unveiled from the death certificate of the wife of Mr. Tomas who died in 1892 leaving five minor children "after an illness that deprived her of life ".
The hardware store
In 1912 Tomas B. Watts dies and the house goes to auction on August 22, 1913.
Two years before the trading company Franco Covo & Co.. bought the adjoining house to move its hardware store and who finally round off the house that went for 7.800 "american gold pesos at 4.30 pm."
Since the end of 1800 in the houses had been established different kinds of shops like the pharmacy of Mr. Dionisio Araujo, a bar and the renowned FrancoCovo & Co hardware store that permanently announced new arrivals of imported products in the local newspapers.
At the same time the building of the Andean Corporation is built in the neighborhood that required the demolition of a house called "the island", because it was the largest that existed in the old city.


text:
Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) is a priority for the development of the Pays de la Loire Region, given the presence of large historical contractors, dynamic SMEs, recognized know-how in the marine and industrial sectors related to MRE and the presence of a unique density of recognized education and research centres. The entire value chain is covered regionally, with strong complementarities with Brittany Region. The ecosystem of Pays de la Loire has a positioning on the complete cycle of MRE (design, manufacture, operation, dismantling).
Two priority levels are defined for the WEAMEC Roadmap :
Priority 1 :
Themes with a priority 1 are strategic development issues for a critical mass of academic and industrial partners of the territory, driven by a national and / or international dynamic.
- Focus of WEAMEC tools for research and innovation support (call for projects, thematic focus groups, etc.)
- Strategic use of National and European tools (call for projects, working groups, lobbying, etc.)
Priority 2 :
Themes with a priority 2 provide activity to academic or industrial partners of the territory by enhancing their skills.
- Use of National and European tools depending on opportunities
- Less priority on WEAMEC tools in case of competition with Priority 1 projects.
Research and Innovation Roadmap of WEAMEC :
Priority 1 :
- Reduce LCOE :
- of offshore wind energy, by increasing power and size of wind turbines, and in particular in extreme and complex conditions (hard soils, high amplitude waves, etc.),
- of floating wind turbines (including "kite", autonomous floating system for far offshore, …) and floating substations.
- Advancing wave energy by breaking concepts, and/or by coupling with other sources of energy, for offshore energy self-sufficiency applications, or supplying sites not connected to the grid.
- Amplify the strong skills of the ecosystem and bring the effort to innovative key cross bricks :
- Amplify the development of some strong skills of the ecosystem :
- Multiphase modeling coupled with parks and structures at sea (resources / aerodynamics / hydrodynamics / mechanics / soil / electric),
- Advanced control systems,
- Geotechnical and marine geophysics,
- Materials (composites, concrete, metal): advanced technologies of production and behavior in marine environment. Associated modeling.
- Bio colonization of marine structures (modeling, characterization, sea trials, …),
- Monitoring the evolution of structures at sea, correlated with environmental conditions, and associated maintenance strategies,
- MRE structures/ship collisions
- Logistics from the port to the sea
- Humanities and Social Sciences for the sharing of uses, co-activities and acceptability of MRE technologies
- To focus on key components with high added value allowing a transfer to the regional industrial stakeholders
- Advanced tools for engineering (machines and farms – design, manufacturing and logistics),
- Mooring systems,
- Dynamic cables and electrical connection,
- Metal structures, composites and concretes (fixed, floating, blades, …)
- Energy storage devices and power quality management, H2 coupling
- Characterization of sites (resources and impacts), and monitoring structures at sea,
PrioritY 2 :
Take a lead on less mature MRE technologies, such as:
- Tidal energy,
- Wave energy for grid-connected applications,
By valuing the skills of the WEAMEC ecosystem with national or international leaders.
For each of these priorities, an analysis of the International, French and Regional contexts was conducted to support the choices made.
5 challenges on the Research theme:
- Modeling and multi-physics simulation and systems approaches: oceanic and meteorological, mechanical and physico-chemical simulations (materials, …), fluid-structure-soil coupling modeling, virtual reality for maintenance, global modeling of the network resource, approach system, optimization.
- Experimentation of the reduced model with the prototype: experimental databases, physical and experimental modelizations of components or complete systems (reduced models and in situ).
- Assessment and control of environmental and societal impacts: descriptors of MRE impacts, observation and monitoring of the environment, integration of the human and social sciences, etc…
- Control of risks, reliability, exploitation and life cycle: solicitations, instrumented structures, auscultation, reliability and life cycle, data processing, …
- Advanced materials and MRE structures: choice of materials, manufacturing processes, materials reliability, dismantling, recycling.
6 challenges on the Innovation theme :
- Characterization of the environment and the resource: resource evaluation, soil characterization, choice of location, wake effect, choice of architecture in the upstream phase, environmental impact studies, etc…
- Modeling, simulations and experiments for the study of the technological and economic model of production: upstream architecture, study of fluid coupling structure / loadings, physical modeling, mechanical simulation, simulation, mesoscale, reduced scale and full scale experiments, …
- Optimization of production processes (Factory of the future) and choice of materials
- Connection and integration to the grid: knowledge and methods for calculating hydrodynamic forces on underwater equipment including dynamic cable, substation infrastructure, storage, etc.
- Methodologies and numerical models for supply chain, port logistics and offshore installation
- Methods and tools for risk management and monitoring, instrumentation, monitoring, control.


Available in OroCRM Available in OroCommerce
Configure Workflow Steps, Transitions, and Attributes in the Back-Office
Each process or action applied to a record is called a workflow transition. On the interface, transitions are usually initiated when a user clicks the corresponding button or icon. There are two types of transitions:
 - Transitions that take a user from one state to another and connect to each step in the workflow.
 - Self-transitions that do not change steps in the workflow.
Every workflow has the Start transition that launches the workflow.
A transition can be defined as soon as there is at least one step besides Start. However, it is often simpler to define all workflow steps and then all the transitions between them.
Attributes are characteristics of the record. For example, a ZIP code and a street name are attributes of an address. In the course of each transition, you can change some attributes of the processed record.
A workflow may have configuration parameters (also known as variables). For example, the Alternative Checkout workflow includes reviewing of an order by an authorized person. This is usually required only for orders exceeding a certain amount, so the workflow's configuration parameter enables you to set an order subtotal limit that triggers the alternative checkout.
If enabled (see the section below), the workflow widget displays the process steps defined in workflow configuration on the record view page. Multiple workflow widgets can be displayed for one record at the same time.


text:
These instructions assume /your/phpsrcdir/ is the path to the PHP source distribution, and that extname is the name of the PECL extension. Adjust accordingly. These instructions also assume a familiarity with the pear command.
To be useful, a shared extension must be built, installed, and loaded. The methods described below provide you with various instructions on how to build and install the extensions, but they do not automatically load them. Extensions can be loaded by adding an extension directive. To this php.ini file, or through the use of the dl() function.
When building PHP modules, it's important to have known-good versions of the required tools (autoconf, automake, libtool, etc.) See the Anonymous CVS Instructions for details on the required tools, and required versions.


text:
A study of heat transfer in forced convective drying with the application of laser-induced fluorescence thermometry
Citation:Eoin Fanning, 'A study of heat transfer in forced convective drying with the application of laser-induced fluorescence thermometry', [thesis], Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, 2016
Fanning, Eoin PhD thesis, Dec 2015.pdf (PDF) 41.81Mb
Industrial drying is a highly energy-intensive process accounting for up to 25% of energy consumption in some developed countries. While there is a wide range of literature on the topic of drying, the majority of studies focus on specific materials and processes. Furthermore, there are few studies which consider local heat transfer effects on drying. Recently, this has become a fast-developing topic of study in numerical work using two-dimensional and three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulations. However, there is not a wide range of experimental work in which the influence of local heat transfer behaviour is studied. In order to study local heat transfer, complex arrangements of thermocouples or infra-red thermography are typically used to measure the surface temperature. A novel two-dimensional temperature measurement technique involves the use of laser-induced fluorescence in which temperature fields of the fluid can be inferred from fluorescence images. However, this technique has been employed scarcely in low temperature heat transfer problems involving gases. This study investigates two-dimensional heat transfer in drying and evaluates the use of LIF thermometry as a technique for convective drying as well as other low temperature heat transfer problems. An experimental model was developed, using an instantaneous mass measurement system and infra-red thermography to study the time evolution of the mass (or the moisture content) and the surface temperature distribution of a saturated porous cube. A laser-induced fluorescence experimental setup has been designed to validate and calibrate the relationship between fluorescence intensity and temperature, for toluene vapour excited with a 266 nm laser sheet, over a small temperature scale. This experimental setup was then extended to a flow tunnel and used to measure temperature fields surrounding a heated cylinder (convective heat transfer) and then a drying porous cube (convective heat and mass transfer). This technique was also tested using an emerging fluorescent tracer material, anisole, for which there are only a few studies to date. The relationship between toluene fluorescence intensity and temperature was validated over a temperature scale significantly smaller than in previous studies. Despite some inaccuracy in inferring temperature measurements, it was found that laser-induced fluorescence thermometry can be applied successfully in low temperature scales and used as a tool for studying heat transfer distribution across solid geometries. Using the single colour technique, the error of temperature measurement was found to range between 2C and 10C for temperatures of 20C and 95C, respectively. This is comparable to the error ranges of previous studies. A novel method for increasing the temperature-sensitivity by time-resolving the fluorescence signal has also been proposed. This led to a 50% increase in the sensitivity of the temperature measurements. This technique has not been performed to date and is particularly useful for low temperature scales where the sensitivity between fluorescence intensity and temperature is limited. During the constant drying rate period of the drying experiments, determination of heat and mass transfer coefficients meant that the analogy between heat and mass transfer in drying could be examined. These results indicated that the analogy between heat and mass transfer is not likely to hold for intense drying conditions (flow rate and temperature). This is an important finding since many numerical drying models rely on the analogy to calculate heat and mass transfer coefficients. It is hypothesized that this may be related to an imbalance between the rate of convective heat transfer and moisture supply to the cube edges, which the temperature distributions across the surface suggest. The laser-induced fluorescence temperature measurements demonstrate a thin thermal boundary layer at the corners facing the flow which supports this theory. These results demonstrate the value of two-dimensional temperature measurements for developing a deeper understanding of heat and mass transfer behaviour in drying.
Graduate Research Education Programme (GREP) in Engineering
Author: Fanning, Eoin
Advisor:Murray, Darina B.
Publisher:Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering
Note:TARA (Trinity's Access to Research Archive) has a robust takedown policy. Please contact us if you have any concerns: _EMAIL_
Type of material:thesis
Availability:Full text available


text:
Banders are responsible for ensuring that they have all valid permits and licences, in addition to their federal scientific permit to capture and band birds, that may be necessary for their project. Federal banding permits will be issued without confirmation that all authorizations have been obtained, but the permits are valid only if the other necessary permits or authorizations have been obtained.
Additional permits which you may require include but are not limited to the following:
- Provincial or territorial banding permits:Some migratory birds such as owls, hawks, falcons, and eagles require provincial banding permits in addition to federal scientific permits to capture and band migratory birds.
Ptarmigan, quail, pheasants, and grouse are excluded from the North American Bird Banding Program because they are non-migratory. Contact your local provincial or territorial authority regarding these species.
- Other provincial and territorial permits: Many of Canada's provinces and territories have wildlife legislation that requires those who work with wildlife to hold appropriate permits. It is advisable to check with the provincial or territorial authorities where you will be banding to ensure that you have all necessary permits in place.
- Protected areas banding permit: Banding in a provincial/territorial park or protected area may require approval or permits from the provincial/territorial government. Authorization to band in provincial or territorial protected areas may be obtained through provincial conservation officers.
If you will be banding in a national park, please contact the local park superintendent for a research permit.
Authorization to band in federal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries or National Wildlife Areas may be requested from your CWS Regional Office.
Telemetry: Applicants wishing to use radio-telemetry must have a permit from Industry Canada. Contact your nearest regional office for more information.
Federal scientific permits: If the project involves collection of biological material such as blood samples or eggs, banders must hold a federal scientific permit specifically for these activities as well as a federal scientific permit to capture and band migratory birds. Contact your CWS Regional Permits Officer for more permit details.
Species at risk: Applicants wishing to band a threatened or endangered migratory bird listed under the Species at Risk Act must apply for a SARA permit from the Bird Banding Office.
Animal Care Committee approval: All banding projects involving fitted collars, nasal saddles, patagial/wing tags, or radio and satellite transmitters or other auxiliary markers other than colour bands must be approved by an Animal Care Committee.
Banding permits outside of North America: The Bird Banding Office issues permits to Canadians conducting banding projects on North American migratory birds outside of North America. Applicants must also have the approval of the host country.
Please contact the Bird Banding Office for more information.
- Date Modified:


text:
Do you remember the kind of curious thoughts you had as a child? Did you muse on nature, people, and what you were having for dinner, all at once? Or have you been enchanted by a child of your own having these whimsical thoughts? Now you can do so again: watch the introductory video for A Rainbow in my Pocket!
There are so many questions and thoughts that chase through your mind! Why is the sky blue? Why do the ants queue in such a straight line? Why are some words kind and some words harsh?
How do you put a rainbow in your pocket?
The meaning of this beautiful story is hard to chase down – just like a rainbow! But it expresses something of the nature of keeping your mind free; of how the thoughts of children rush in and out of their minds with breathless rapidity; and how their wishes for themselves and the world around them are simple and tender, and should be cherished.
Visit our bookstore
Limited edition prints
Subscribe to Tiny Owl on YouTube!


text:
Blueprint for Survival is a half day workshop for people who have been laid off or expect to be laid off, and people who prefer entrepreneurship to the chance of being laid off. We will teach bootstrapping skills as well as provide information and instruction on how to use a wide range of free web tools and other resources for running a business.
The content of the workshop includes:
- Backing Into Entrepreneurship: Forming a Business
- Health Insurance
- Tax Implications of Owning a Business
- Free Software to Run Your Business
- Community Resources
- Online marketing tips
- Co-working Opportunities
- "Opportunities" to Avoid
- Financing Strategies
Almost every resource presented at this workshop will be FREE to attendees.
Francine Hardaway, co-founder of Stealthmode Partners and OTEF Executive Director, has been an entrepreneur for almost 30 years, is a survivor of several downturns, and doesn't sugar coat it. Attendees receive immediately useful information about how to start new business ventures and collaborate with others to support their entrepreneurial success.
Benefits To Community::
- A viable alternative to 'job training'.
- Redeployment of key human resources
- Job and income creation
Benefit To Attendees:
- Real world examples and training
- Access and linkage to community resources
- Opportunity to brainstorm with experienced entrepreneurs
- Connections to potential partners
- Introduction to funding organizations
- 1/2 day
- Held at locations across Maricopa County
- Small class size (20 max. per class)
- Highly collaborative and led by experienced entrepreneurs, with guest speakers from the business community and municipal, county, state or federal agencies.


What is Organic Towel?
What is Organic Towel?
Undoubtedly, one of the most common words we come across recently; organic. With the consumer turning to the natural, a wide range of organic products from food to textiles started to increase. We can even say that the word organic has turned into a separate category for many brands. So what does organic mean in real terms and what positive contributions does choosing an organic towel have for you?
In its simplest terms, it means "naturally made" organic. In fact, although we come across the phrase organic in many places, we are not sure whether all of them really deserve this label. In order for a product to be organic, it is not enough to use natural raw materials during the production phase of the product, at the same time, it should not be exposed to external factors such as chemicals during the entire production phase, and the production should be made under the necessary sensitive conditions.
Contrary to popular belief, organic towel production is a process that is subject to very serious controls. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about organic agriculture before organic textile. Organic cotton is collected by planting in fields where synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers have not been used for at least 3 years, and chemicals such as synthetic dyes, bleaches, brighteners and heavy metals are not used at any point of the production stage. For this reason, in order for a textile product to be organic, not only the brand that produces cotton and its production, but also all manufacturers supplying products to that brand must be working in accordance with the standards. Brands that make such production are regularly checked and certified. To summarize briefly, it is essential for organic textiles that the whole process starting with the collection of cotton from the field and until it reaches the consumer is natural.
The company that sells with the organic product label must make a contract with one of the certification bodies. This certificate, owned by the brand, is a guarantee that all processes until the raw material turns into a product do not contain substances harmful to the environment and living life and that they are inspected. Therefore, you can tell whether a product is really organic or not from the certificate logos or numbers on the product.
With the development of environmental awareness, the value of organic products has become more known in recent years. So what are the advantages of choosing an organic towel?
As we have explained above, an organic product has been produced without harming the environment. By choosing this product that is produced in harmony with nature, you will protect the water resources contaminated by pesticides and the soil against erosion. Choosing a product that does not disturb the ecological balance is also of great importance for your health.
It is known that chemical products used in agricultural practices and production processes cause diseases such as cancer and lung diseases, which are frequently encountered in recent years. Nature-friendly products do not pose any danger to your health as they do not contain any chemicals. Organic cotton is more pure and natural. It allows your skin to breathe more easily. The natural nature of products such as towels and bathrobes that directly contact your skin eliminates risks such as allergic reactions. Since there are no chemical residues in these products, which adjust the heat balance of the body, you will not have skin problems.
Since no chemicals are used in the growing, processing and production process of cotton, we can say that the towel you have purchased is of higher quality and longer life than standard cotton products. Organic towels and bathrobes that offer an extra softness will leave a more pleasant impression on your skin and make you feel more comfortable.
If you want to explore this experience by using organic towels or bathrobes, you can take a look at the products of the Hotexhome brand, which has the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) certificate.
Timely Shipments, Appropriate Quality & Competitive Price!


text:
Busy Trains (Shape Book) takes your kids to a train journey where they explore different concepts and locations, from farms to lands to busy train stations. Go on this journey with the help of these 3D-effect books, where every page is designed in the shape of the scene, as a hardcover. A perfect children's book for your young ones between the age of 0-2. It will allow them to explore various locations and understand different concepts.
They will visit the farms full of animals or the train stations full of colourful trains and passengers. It will allow them to learn and identify, count, spot, and learn various objects, colours as well as figures. It is a book full of fun as well as providing sufficient knowledge to the young little minds. They will get to experience a busy train ride for a day and will not even get tired by the end of this journey. Every page is a different scene and is designed in bright and attractive colours and graphics. Therefore, come along on this train journey and enjoy this exciting tour day with this Busy Trains (Shape Book)! Also available in the Busy Farm edition (shape book). You can buy yours here.


text:
Despite a growth in the number of Hispanics in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), recent studies show Latinos are still underrepresented in these critical professions.
To help reverse this situation, the U.S. Army announced today its continued support of Great Minds in STEM (GMiS). GMiS is a leader in promoting STEM careers especially in underserved communities. As part of its efforts, the Army will partner with GMiS at the annual HENAAC conference, Oct. 6-8 in Orlando, Fla., which provides Hispanic youth with information and resources related to education and careers in STEM.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in STEM occupations will grow by more than 21 percent by 2018, more than double the growth of other occupations. Because Latinos are the fastest growing demographic group, projected to be 25 percent of the U.S. population by 2025, it is critical that Hispanic students are prepared to contribute to the growing demand for a highly skilled STEM workforce.
Organizations such as the Army and Great Minds in STEM provide students with information and resources that support academic achievement and career training. The Army, for example, offers more than $270 million in merit-based ROTC scholarships for youth to complete their college education. Further, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point – rated one of the nation's top undergraduate engineering programs – provides free tuition to all cadets, who then are commissioned as second lieutenants in the Army upon graduation.
STEM-related career opportunities in the Army include civil, chemical and mechanical engineering careers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) or working with the Army's Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) to create break-through innovations for what soldiers wear, fire, fly or drive. Both USACE and RDECOM also offer civilian career opportunities.


A Planeswalker's Guide to New Phyrexia: The Quiet Furnace
 - Boards
 - Print
Author Image
This section describes the Quiet Furnace, the Phyrexian faction associated with red mana.
"What is our purpose? To reforge. Nothing more."
—Urabrask the Hidden
Mountain | Illustration by Tomasz Jedruszek
The vast majority of red-aligned Phyrexians dwell in the so-called Furnace Layer, a relatively new, interstitial layer between Mirrodin's outer surface and inner core. This layer's creation was one of the first steps in transforming Mirrodin into New Phyrexia, built from the ancestral memory embedded in the glistening oil.
Effect of the Red Sun
In its original incarnation, Phyrexia had access only to black mana. It did encompass concepts beyond those central to black mana, such as hierarchy and flame, but without access to the vital red mana behind those concepts, its core ethos was unified and unchallenged. Access to all five of Mirrodin's mana-rich suns has led to diversification and disunity, damaging the Phyrexian singularity of purpose. Of all the energies Mirrodin introduced to the Phyrexian ethos, the mana from the red sun has been most challenging, because it's the force that lies behind the concepts of individualism, compassion, emotion, and freedom.
Priest of Urabrask | Illustration by Kev Walker
The mana from the red sun gave rise to Phyrexians who had just a glimmer of concern for other lifeforms—not full-blown compassion, but enough empathy to cause hesitation, a phenomenon more or less alien to Phyrexia. Beings of varying levels of sentience reacted to this impulse differently. Among nonsentient creatures, this primitive empathy simply caused moments of confusion before action, but fully sentient Phyrexians found themselves deeply conflicted and even ashamed of their concern for others. Make no mistake—Phyrexia, even when influenced by the red sun, is still a brutal and horrific system. Most Furnace Layer denizens do what they were created to do: tend the molten slag and turn the scraps of Mirrodin into the hellish landscape of New Phyrexia. But the influence of red mana has caused this part of New Phyrexia not to fall in lockstep with the other factions.
Slag Fiend | Illustration by Mike Bierek
"The fiend had me in its grasp, and I could feel the heat of the furnaces. I was resigned to meet my death, but then something strange happened. It paused for a moment and then unclasped its pincers, releasing me. I slumped to the ground, exhausted, too wounded to run. It regarded me for a time, and although it had no features familiar to our world, I felt as if it was confused. Then it turned and left me there. I'll never understand why."
—Kardem of the Spear
The Safety of Industry
Faced with impulses and hesitations they didn't know how to cope with, the Phyrexians of the Furnace Layer cleaved tightly to their function: to keep the fires of the furnaces burning, to incinerate dead and failed organisms, to reprocess the metals of former Mirrans, and to turn those metals into the raw materials for new Phyrexians and new nested layers of the plane. This adherence to labor afforded the conflicted Phyrexians a measure of resolve in the face of their sublimated dissent against the broader Phyrexian disregard for individual beings.
For the least sentient of them, apathy toward other beings became the norm. For the most sentient, industry became a means of demonstrating to other Phyrexians that they were part of the system, that they were functioning correctly, that they had a use, despite their secret doubts.
Then the Mirrans came.
A Secondary Invasion
The furnace denizens cooperated with the Phyrexian invasion of Mirrodin's surface world; they aided exactly as much as asked and no more. When the Mirrans on the surface found themselves outnumbered and outgunned, a few did the only thing they could do to survive: they retreated into the lacunae, especially through Kuldotha and Taj-Nar, but also at Lumengrid and the Araneas Altar. Only Ish-Sah was blocked off completely to Mirrans.
Rally the Forces | Illustration by Steve Belledin
"Their forces are unknown to us. The Moriok or the nim that emerge from the necrogen bogs—those we understand. These horrors which pour out of the canyons use weapons, tactics and magic that are alien to even our most capable generals and seasoned warriors. Our armies are scattered. We have no choice but to hide and survive."
—Jor Kadeen, the Prevailer
In the initial days of the appearance of Mirrans at the lacunae, the furnace Phyrexians killed and incinerated them. But as the days passed and more and more refugees appeared, a hesitation grew. The sentient beings appealed to their praetor, Urabrask, for guidance. Urabrask took days to reply. When he did, his three-word decree stunned the others: "Let them be." But none dared challenge his decision, and most tacitly agreed, although their subordinate nature prevented them from voicing that agreement.
Urabrask the Hidden
Urabrask is called "the Hidden" because he seeks no audience with other Phyrexian leaders or with Karn. He will cooperate when his presence is requested or demanded but speaks as little as possible. His responses to questions about the Furnace Layer operations are detailed and thorough, but he never elaborates or speculates. Urabrask is quick to anger, and his might and temper deter others from prodding.
Urabrask the Hidden | Illustration by Brad Rigney
Neither Sheoldred, the other thanes, nor Vorinclex give Urabrask much thought—or the Furnace Layer generally, for that matter. Elesh Norn and her orthodoxy see Urabrask as nothing more than a glorified factory boss, serving the Great Work in toil and fire. Only a couple of key researchers under Jin-Gitaxias suspect that Urabrask has any other agenda beyond tending the furnaces, and this suspicion is still formless and hasn't yet prompted any action.
Urabrask himself lacks a grand plan; foresight is not his strong suit. For now he has commanded the furnace legions to turn a blind eye to the Mirrans among them. But more Mirran refugees arrive every day, and as they do, his status inches from neglect to betrayal of Phyrexia. To buy some time, Urabrask has made only one thing clear to the other factions of Phyrexia: No others are to enter the Furnace Layer, lest the metal be made impure, the Great Work disturbed, the grand system interrupted. For now, the rest of Phyrexia respects his territory and heeds his command.
"Destruction purifies. The furnaces cleanse. Words can always be twisted, but the fire cannot."
—Urabrask the Hidden
Mirran Sanctuary
The Mirrans had a choice on the surface: Flee into the hearts of the capitols and down into the lacunae, or die screaming. The first of them that entered the lacunae fully expected to die and were instead awestruck and terrified to see the hellish landscape that had developed under their feet. Many were killed by Phyrexians that saw them as a threat to their forges, an impurity to be cremated. In the initial days, scores of Mirrans were killed as they tried to enter the Furnace Layer.
Vulshok Refugee | Illustration by Wayne Reynolds
But after Urabrask's decree, things abruptly changed, and from the Mirran point of view, the sudden change in behavior was bewildering and inexplicable. The furnace dregs simply passed by the Mirrans as though they weren't there. The towering virons wouldn't change their paths to avoid Mirrans or their makeshift shelters, but they wouldn't they change their paths to crush them, either. It seemed as though the Furnace Layer suddenly found the Mirrans invisible.
Slowly at first, the Mirrans set up camp amid the furnaces and Phyrexians. They were then joined by more refugees, and more. Through trial and error they learned quickly to settle near but not too near the lacunae, and away from the largest furnaces. They also learned to keep their encampments small—settlements too large for the Phyrexians to ignore were destroyed.
"We blindly stumbled into the crevasse and hauled our wounded far into the dark interior of the mountain. We did not care where we were going, only that we were fleeing a horrific death and the echoes of our comrades' screams. After what seemed an age, we arrived here, this giant hollow space filled with lakes of fire. It's not home—home is gone. But for the moment, we are safe."
—Sakasha, Leonin sunspear
Phyrexian Roles in the Furnace Layer
Because industry is the primary purpose in the Furnace Layer, Phyrexians there have been adapted from their prototypical forms to more specialized functions.
Ogre menials are compleated ogres who have found new purpose in gathering scrap and ore from both the surface and the core and bringing it to the furnace. They are stupid, violent and dangerous. Urabrask favors them because they rarely speak, never question orders, and are quite willing to smash anything that


Climate Change / CRP7 / Farming Systems / Livestock / Livestock Systems / Report
Small scale livestock farming and climatic variability focus of VSF report
As part of a development education/awareness programme in Europe, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Europa and its partners recently carried out a study on the importance of Small Scale Livestock Farming in the context of climate variability.
Part of a 'campaign' to sensitize and mobilize people in favour of small scale livestock farming, the study "shows that small scale livestock farming has a potential to cope with and adapt to climatic variability, especially in some determined regions in the world. Moreover, due to its specific functions, small scale livestock farming can also be considered as an important way to mitigate carbon emissions from livestock sector."
The report contextualizes the role that small-scale livestock farming (SSLF) plays in the climate change (CC) debate and its potential contribution to food security. It addresses three principal questions:
 1. how small-scale livestock farming systems are sustainable and could contribute to CC mitigation;
 2. how they are efficient at producing animal source foods for the growing populations and contribute to future food security challenges;
 3. how SSLF communities have traditionally adapted to climate variability and whether these strategies can be valid for CC adaptation.
To address these questions, the authors propose three main categories of livestock farming:
 - small-scale livestock farming (SSLF), which includes pastoralism, small ranching, backyard pig and poultry production, and small mixed farming (both irrigated and rain-fed);
 - medium-scale livestock farming (MSLF), with the highest variability of farming types, including large ranching and large mixed farming (both irrigated and rain-fed);
 - and large-scale livestock farming (LSLF), defined fundamentally by landless industrial production.
The report critically assesses the existing literature in terms of livestock production and mitigation alternatives and, drawing on cases in Turkana (Kenya), Alaotra Lake (Madagascar), Khar-o-Touran (Iran) and Huancavelica (Peru), it presents adaptation measures undertaken by small scale livestock farming communities.
Download the executive summary of the report
View a photographic exhibition as part of the project
Leave a Reply
You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )
Twitter picture
Facebook photo
Google+ photo
Connecting to %s


Channels ▼
2007 Turing Award Winners Announced
Edmund M. Clarke, E. Allen Emerson, and Joseph Sifakis are the recipients of the 2007 A.M. Turing Award for their work on an automated method for finding design errors in computer hardware and software.
Clarke, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Emerson, of the University of Texas, Austin, and Joseph Sifakis of the University of Grenoble, will share $250,000. The Turing Award, presented annually by the Association for Computing Machinery, is considered to be the most prestigious award in computing. Often referred to as "the Nobel Prize of computing," it is named for British mathematician Alan M. Turing
Clarke implemented the first Model Checker in 1982. It could analyze all the possible states of a given circuit, but was limited to relatively small designs -- much smaller than the systems being built by computer manufacturers. In 1987, Clarke's graduate student, Kenneth McMillan, realized that he could implement Model Checking by a series of operations on binary decision diagrams (BDDs), a method of representing symbolic information that had recently been developed by another Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, Randal E. Bryant. This new system, called "Symbolic Model Checking," was able to analyze billions of billions of states, making it relevant to commercial computer design problems and leading to its widespread adoption by the industry. For this invention, Bryant, Clarke, Emerson and McMillan won the 1998 Paris Kanellakis Award for Theory and Practice from the ACM. In 1999, they also received the Allen Newell Award for Research Excellence from CMU.
Related Reading
More Insights
Currently we allow the following HTML tags in comments:
Single tags
 Defines a single line break
 Defines a horizontal line
Matching tags
 Defines an anchor
 Defines bold text
 Defines big text
 Defines a long quotation
 Defines a table caption
 Defines a citation
 Defines computer code text
 Defines emphasized text
 Defines a border around elements in a form
 This is heading 1
 This is heading 2
 This is heading 3
 This is heading 4
 This is heading 5
 This is heading 6
 Defines italic text
 Defines a paragraph
 Defines preformatted text
 Defines a short quotation
 Defines sample computer code text
 Defines small text
 Defines a section in a document
 Defines strikethrough text
 Defines strikethrough text
 Defines strong text
 Defines subscripted text
 Defines superscripted text
 Defines underlined text


a Titanium 3s ghost band::
Overlap
Atom type 1
u(s) udot(s)
1s -0.001431 0.000644
2s -0.000830 0.000414
3s 0.287789 -0.878671
u(p) udot(p) ulo(p)...
2p -0.000665 0.000112 -0.000494
Maximum overlap at (band/kpoint)
Atom type 1
1s 0.000611 (031/ 001)
2s 0.000343 (031/ 001)
3s 0.664265 (047/ 001)
2p 0.000340 (003/ 036) 0.000481 (003/ 042) 0.000340 (003/ 036)
(:OBSOLETE:!!! Overcompleteness of the interstitial plane waves
The set of interstitial plane waves (IPW) (i.e., plane waves where the MT spheres are cut out) is overcomplete in the sense that a function (defined only in the interstitial region) has a nonunique representation in this set: one can always add the Fourier coefficients of a function, which is restricted to the MT spheres and zero outside. This leads to the fact that the IPW coefficients of the wave functions might not go quickly to zero for large G vectors, especially for a large '''G''' cutoff in the DFT calculation and large MT radii. In the ''GW'' calculation this gives rise to bad convergence with respect to the parameter ''GCUT'' ('''G''' cutoff in Spex) as well as jumps in the band structure. In this case Spex can exploit the nonuniqueness of the coefficients to make them approach zero for large '''G''' vectors as quickly as possible. Use the keyword ''MINCPW'' for this.:)
Setting up ''spex.inp''
Mixed Basis (section ''MBASIS'')
The bare Coulomb scattering {$ v(\mathbf r,\mathbf r') $} couples two electrons whose incoming and outgoing waves give rise to wave-function products (occupied/unoccupied). The mixed basis is optimized for representing wave-function products and derived from the FLAPW basis set. It is a combined set of interstitial plane waves (IPWs) and MT functions and is defined in section ''MBASIS'' of the input file ''spex.inp'' with the keywords
* ''GCUT'': '''G''' cutoff for the interstitial plane waves,
* ''LCUT'': L cutoffs (one for every atom type) for the MT functions,
* ''SELECT'': determines the pairs of radial functions from whose products the MT functions are constructed. For every atom type two l cutoffs ''l1'' and ''l2'' must be specified for the functions {$u_l(r)$}. Optionally l cutoffs ''l3'' and ''l4'' can also be defined for {$\dot u_l(r)$}, which are neglected by default. The local orbitals, on the other hand, are always used in the construction of the products by default, but can also be chosen individually by series of zeros (neglect) and ones (select), e.g., ''10100'', ''lo1'' and ''lo2'' for occupied and unoccupied states. (Instead of ''_PHONE_'', one can also use ''4031''.) Examples are --- ''2;3'' --- ''2,2;3,2'' --- ''2,2,10100;3,2,1110'' --- ''2,,10100;3,2,1110''
The so-defined set of product MT functions is usually highly linearly dependent. Therefore, in a subsequent optimization step one diagonalizes the overlap matrix and retains only those eigenfunctions with eigenvalues exceeding a tolerance value which is defined by the keyword ''TOL''.
* ''OPTIMIZE'': Truncation of the polarization and related matrices to ''n''x''n'' by ''MB=n'' where ''n'' is an integer number between 1 and the size of the full mixed basis. Alternatively, one can use ''PW=n'' where plane waves are used instead of the mixed basis (or better: projections of plane waves onto the mixed basis) in which case the Coulomb matrix is analytically known. In both cases (''MB'' and ''PW''), you can also specify the minimum Coulomb eigenvalue instead of ''n'' as a negative real number, e.g. ''MB=-1.0''. Alternatively, you can specify a "pseudo" reciprocal cutoff radius as a positive real number, e.g. ''MB=4.5'', which is more suitable for convergence tests. This cutoff value {$K$} is related to the minimum Coulomb eigenvalue {$c$} by {$K= \sqrt{4\pi/c}$}. The options ''MB'' and ''PW'' can speed up the calculation considerably.
If any of the keywords (or the whole section) is not defined, Spex guesses reasonable values according to the FLAPW basis parameters.
Coulomb Matrix (section ''COULOMB'')
In many-body perturbation theory the perturbing force is the Coulomb interaction. Thus its representation in the mixed basis is one of the basic ingredients in the implementation. The IPWs are plane waves {$\exp[i(\mathbf{k+G})\mathbf{r}]$} from which the MT spheres are cut away. In a MT sphere a plane wave is given by the Rayleigh expansion over l quantum numbers. In a practical implementation we must introduce an l cutoff here (keyword ''LEXP''). Multipole interactions between the periodic MT functions and their periodic images are calculated in an Ewald summation involving a real and a Fourier-space sum. The cutoff radii of these are determined during the program run. There is a scaling parameter (''SCALE'') which must be adjusted if one of the sums take much longer to evaluate than the other one. In most calculations, the default values work reliably, though.
Labels for k points (keyword ''KPT'')
The keyword ''KPT'' allows you to define labels (single characters) for k points, e.g. ''KPT X=[0,0,1]''. Here, ''X'' is the label and the square brackets denote that cartesian coordinates are used instead of internal coordinates (round brackets). Note: In order for the cartesian coordinates (square brackets) to be interpreted correctly, Spex must know the lattice constant. (In Fleur, this is the global scaling factor for the lattice vectors.) You can also add a prefactor by ''L=0.5*(0,0,1)'' or ''L=1/2*(0,0,1)''. The so-defined k points must be elements of the k mesh defined by ''BZ''. A single k point outside that mesh can be specified by the plus sign ''+'' as a special label. Each time you change this single k point you have to regenerate the k-point set and rerun the DFT code.
Job definition (keyword ''JOB'')
The most important entry in ''spex.inp'' is the job definition. It defines what Spex should do. Each job begins with one of the keywords ''HF, QP, SUSCEP, SUSCEPR, DIELEC'' or ''SCREEN'' followed by additional parameters:
* ''HF'': Hartree-Fock correction, e.g., ''HF A:(1-3,5)'' where A is a k-point label or index and ''1-3,5'' are band indices. A spin index (up or down) can be specified by ''A:u(...)'' and ''A:d(...)''. More than one k-point definition is possible in one job, e.g., ''HF A:(1-3,5) 12:(1,2,6)''. Normally, only diagonal elements are calculated, i.e., {$ \langle \phi_{n\mathbf{k}} | \Sigma_{\mathrm{x}} | \phi_{n'\mathbf{k}} \rangle $} with {$ n=n' $}. Full calculations of the self-energy matrix (i.e., {$ n \neq n' $}) are possible by adding ''FULL'' (e.g., ''HF FULL A:(1-10)''). This allows a subsequent self-consistent HF calculation.
* ''GW'': Quasiparticle correction with the ''GW'' approximation. Spin, k points and bands are defined as in ''HF''. A full self-energy calculation is also possible with ''GW FULL''.
* ''SUSCEP'': Calculation of the susceptibility, e.g., ''SUSCEP A:{0..2,0.01}'' where A is a k-point label or index and a frequency mesh from 0 to 2 Ha in 0.02 Ha steps is specified. A more general frequency mesh can also be specified as a list of real or complex frequencies in a file. Then simply write the file name into the brackets, e.g., ''{foo}''. A spin index (''uu, dd, ud, du'' or ''+'') can be specified with ''A:ud{...}''. The spin index ''+'' denotes addition of ''uu'' and ''dd'' and is the default. Furthermore you can add ''MB'' or ''PW'' (see above) and ''OUT=n'' (separated with commas) to the job definition. With ''OUT=n'' an ''


text:
You know those 4 or 5 digit codes on produce in the grocery store? They are called PLU codes or "Price Look-Up" codes and they are found on most produce. While their purpose is to help suppliers and distributors and grocery store checkers figure out what the item is and how to price it, they can help you out too to make informed shopping decisions based on how the produce was grown.
While this quick tip post is not intended to outline all of the problems with genetically modified foods, as an Integrative RDN, I recommend that you avoid them. Nutrition labeling of genetically modified foods is working its way through the political system right now, but there is one way you can tell whether produce is genetically modified without the government mandating labeling.
Here's how it works:
- If the PLU code is 4-digits, the produce was conventionally grown
- If the PLU code is 5-digits starting with an "8", it means it was genetically modified (or GMO)
- If the PLU code is 5-digits starting with an "9", it means it was organically grown
Here are some examples:
- 4101 – Braeburn apple, conventionally grown
- 83424 – papaya, genetically modified
- 94285 – grapefruit, organically grown
Here's a caveat however, the use of PLU codes is optional. GMO foods do NOT have to be labeled starting with an 8. For some produce, the producers simply leave off the PLU code so they don't have to label the produce as GMO since many Americans would not buy GMO foods if they were labeled. If you want to stay away from GMO produce, keep a close eye on Hawaiian papaya, zucchini, yellow squash, and corn. It is best to buy these foods as organic since organic foods cannot be genetically modified.


from the syringe 90 and throw the tube 14 the handle 16 and needle 17 away. Optionally, an aspiration subroutine, discussed below is also performed to ensure that fluid from the needle 17 does not spill.
In many instances, aspiration is desirable during a drug infusion process. For example, for the infusion of an anesthetic, after the insertion of the needle, aspiration is required to check if the needle tip is disposed in a blood vessel. In this instance, aspiration causes some blood to be withdrawn from the vessel. This blood becomes visible in the handle 16 or the hub of the needle 17.
As seen in FIG. 11, if in step 322 the pedal is found released, an ASPIRATE routine is initiated as shown in FIG. 17.
More particularly, in step 400 a check is performed to determine if the plunger 94 in the syringe 90 is stopped. If it is not then in step 402 a check is performed to determine if the plunger is moving at a low speed. If it is, then in step 404 low speed stop routine is performed to slow down and stop the motor. Otherwise in step 406 a high speed stop is routine is performed to slow down and stop the motor.
In step 408 a check is performed to determine if there is sufficient clearance to perform an aspiration. Referring to FIG. 3, at the moment an aspiration command is received, the plunger 94 could be in its rightmost position so that retreating it further from the syringe may cause it to fall out. Obviously such an event is not desirable. Therefore, in step 408 a check is performed to determine from the location of the plunger and the length of the syringe whether it is safe to perform an aspiration without the plunger falling out. If it is not, then the process is stopped and in step 410 an error message is displayed to the clinician to indicate that it is unsafe to aspire at this time.
Otherwise in step 412 the motor is reversed and runs in the opposite direction for a predetermined time causing the plunger 94 to retract. After the plunger is moved the predetermined distance, it is stopped (step 414). The plunger is then moved forward again (step 416) until it is returned to its original position at step 408. The motor is then stopped (step 418).
Steps 416 and 418 may be omitted if the aspiration is performed at the end of the process when the needle is retracted from the tissue.
In this manner the subject system is used to deliver an anesthetic for a particular procedure. For example, if the procedure is a periodontal ligature then the following parameters are applicable: Syringe type: Dental Cartridge Syringe size: 1.8 cc Drug: Local Anesthetic (Lidocaine HCl 2%, and epinephrene 1:100,000) Specific weight of drug: 0.0361 Tube inner diameter: 0.015 in Tube length: 60 in Needle type: BD 30 G 1/2 Needle length: 0.5 in Needle inner diameter: 0.006 in Low Speed: 0.0059 cc/sec High Speed: 0.370 cc/sec Peak Pressure: 250 psi.
When a normal syringe and needle of the dimensions described above are used to inject the same fluid manually, it has been found that an exit pressure of up to 660 psi or more is generated.
For other procedures, different syringes, drugs, tubes and/or needles are selected.
As discussed above, a critical parameter being monitored by the subject system is the fluid exit pressure at the tip of the needle, i.e., the pressure within the tissue as the fluid exits from the needle. This is the pressure which is indicated by the graphs of FIGS. 15A and 16A. However, this pressure is very difficult to measure directly. Therefore in the present invention rather then taking a direct measurement, an indirect measurement is obtained. More specifically, the desired exit or needle pressure Pn is derived from the force indicated by the cell 78 and the physical characteristics of the system. More particularly, it has been found that the exit pressure during a steady state (i.e. with the plunger moving at a constant velocity) can be expressed as follows: Pn=Ps-dVhn+dVhl-d(Fl+Ft+Fn)
Ps is the pressure generated at the plunger/fluid interface by the movement of the plunger;
Vhn is the velocity head in the needle;
Vhl is the velocity head in the syringe;
d is the specific weight of the fluid; and
Fl, Ft and Fn represent frictional losses due to flow in the syringe, tube and needle respectively.
There are some other minor pressure losses in the system which have found to be less than 1% and therefore can be ignored.
The frictional losses are determined empirically and stored as part of the profile for each element of the system. For example typical values for Fl, Ft and Fn have been found to be: Fl=0.1%; Ft=89%; Fn=11% of the total head loss.
The density of the fluid is known and is usually close to the density of water.
The velocity heads are calculated using the expression: Vhl=α*Q2 d/[(π/4)2 D4 (2g)]
where α is the kinetic energy factor related to the Reynolds number and for laminar flow has a value of 2;
Q is the respective fluid flow, as indicated in FIGS. 15A an 16A;
g is the gravitational constant; and
D is the inner diameter of the respective member, i.e. the syringe for Vhl and the needle for Vhn.
An additional factor for acceleration must be added whenever the motor speeds up or slows down. This factor is given by the following expression: Ms*a/As+Mt*a/At+Mn*a/An
where Ms, Mt and Mn are the fluid masses respectively in the syringe, tube and needle and As, At and An are the corresponding cross sectional areas.
A program for determining the exit pressure (designated in the program listing as 'Needle Pressure') is attached at the end of this specification. As can be seen from this listing, and in the flow chart of FIG. 20, in order to calculate the exit pressure, first the friction losses in each of the tree components (the syringe, tube and needle) are determined as follows.
In step 700 a Reynolds number is determined from the flow rate, the component diameter and viscosity. If the Reynolds number is over 2000 (indicating a turbulent flow) then (step 702) a parameter Kinetic Energy Factor is set to 1 and the Friction Loss is calculated using the Reynolds number (step 704).
For R<2000 (step 706) the Kinetic Energy Factor is set to 2, and a different expression is used to determine (step 706) the Friction Loss. (based on the fluid viscosity the flow rate and component diameter). In the absence of a flow, the Friction Loss and the Kinetic Energy Factor are both set to 0.(step 708). Next, when the parameters from all the components are calculated, the flow loss for each component is calculated, the stopper force is calculated, and all these parameters are used to obtain the exit or needle pressure (step 712).
Every time the microprocessor 152 checks the pressure (Step 318 in FIG. 11), it actually calculates the exit or needle pressure Pn as discussed above. FIGS. 15B and 16B show a normal pressure and an abnormal pressure curve respectively using these expressions.
Going back to step 302 in FIG. 11, if the device is to be used to charge the syringe, a charging subroutine is initiated, as indicated in FIG. 18. In step 600 of this FIG. the platform 30 is moved to the home position. In step 602 a test is performed to determine if the syringe is to be charged with or without air. If a charging with air is to occur then in step 604 the platform 30 is positioned for the syringe head in the position when the syringe is completely full. In step 606 the system waits for the syringe to be placed.
In order to charge a syringe, the system must be connected to a source of fluid such as a vial or bottle. More particularly, as shown in FIG. 19, in order to achieve charging the syringe 90 is connected to tube 14 through a three-way valve 700. Valve 700 is used to connect the system to fluid source 702 through a pipe 706. For charging the syringe, the valve is positioned so that the fluid source 702 is connected to the syringe. In the FIG. 19, fluid source 702 is shown upside down so that it has an air space 706. For charging with air, the syringe plunger 94 is positioned as if the syringe was full, i.e. in the position shown in FIG. 19. For a charging without air, the syringe plunger is moved in so that it is as close as possible to the opposite end as shown at 94A. Once the connections shown in FIG. 19 are completed, the clinician can position the syringe on the grove 36 and secure it with clamp 40 with the plunger head engaged by platform 30.
Referring back to FIG. 18, in step 606 the syringe is now detected. In step


text:
Have Vatican archaeologists found the remains of the Apostle Paul?
Pope Benedict announced on Sunday that fragments of bone dating to the first or second century have been discovered in a tomb in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome.
Tradition holds that Paul was martyred in Rome around A.D. 65 and that his remains are located in the Basilica.
But there was no way of knowing until the discovery of a sarcophagus in 2006.
Archaelogists drilled a tiny hole in the stone coffin and found traces of purple linen cloth and fragments of bone, which have been dated to the time of Paul's life.


text: Abstract : This work concerns the representation and approximation of functions on a sphere with applications to source localization inverse problems in geodesy and medical imaging. The thesis is structured in 6 chapters as follows. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to the geodesy and M/EEG inverse problems. The inverse problem (IP) consists in recovering a density inside the ball (Earth, human brain) from partially known data on the surface. Chapter 2 gives the mathematical background used along the thesis. The resolution of the inverse problem (IP) involves the resolution of two steps : the transmission data problem (TP) and the density recovery (DR) problem. In practice, the data are only available on some region of the sphere, as a spherical cap, like the north hemisphere of the head (M/EEG) or continent(geodesy). For this purpose, in Chapter 3, we give an ecient method to build the appropriate Slepian basis on which we express the data. This is set up by using Gauss-Legendre quadrature. The transmission data problem (Chapter 4) consists in estimating the data (spherical harmonic expansion) over the whole sphere from noisy measurements expressed in Slepian basis. The second step, density recovery (DR) problem, is detailed in Chapter 5 where we study three density models (monopolar, dipolar and inclusions). For the resolution of (DR), we use a best quadratic rational approximation method on planar sections. We give also some properties of the density and the operator which links it to the generated potential. In Chapter 6, we study the Chapters 3, 4 ans 5 from numerical point of view. We present some numerical tests to illustrate source localization results for geodesy and M/EEG problems when we dispose of partial data on the sphere.


text:
Both chefs and grandmothers have said for generations that we eat with our eyes first, and point out that if a meal looks delicious, you'll enjoy it even more. Scientific studies have said the same thing, but now science explains why good looking food—or even images of good looking food—can make bland or otherwise subpar dishes taste better and feel more satisfying, just in time for you to hack your next diet meal.
A new study, reviewed and published by a team of Swiss and Japanese researchers, (full text at PLos One) points out that when we see delicious food, specifically fatty and succulent foods, the part of the brain responsible for providing the feedback we interpret as pleasant, positive experiences associated with taste fires up. Then, regardless of the actual quality of the food you eat afterward, your brain interprets it as tastier, more delicious food than you would if you didn't see those images, or if the food weren't dressed up so well. Specifically, the study says:
When viewing high-calorie food images, participants reported the subsequent taste to be more pleasant than when low-calorie food images preceded the identical taste. Moreover, the taste-evoked neural activity was stronger in the bilateral insula and the adjacent frontal operculum (FOP) within 100 ms after taste onset when preceded by highversus low-calorie cues.
The researchers studied both good looking plates and pictures of food, and found the response was similar in both cases, meaning even looking at pictures of tasty food can make otherwise less flavorful food seem better. So if you're eating a diet version of one of your fatty favorites, it can help to dress it up so it looks nice, or even look at pictures of the fattier option before you dig in.
It's worth mentioning that the researchers were working for the Nestlé Research Center, and while the study's results have been reviewed and released publicly, companies like Nestlé are probably interested in the research in order to improve their food marketing and advertising efforts. While they do that, you can use the same data to hack your diet with clever plating and a few photographs. What do you think, scientific proof of something you've always known, or are you skeptical? Whatever you think, let us know in the comments.


text:
Five Types of Definitions
by Richard W. Hartzell
One's understanding of the meaning of various terminology is greatly facilitated if an appropriate type of definition is used. At least five types of definitions are relevant to the discussion of Taiwan status issues.
Lexical definitions attempt to report usage. All good dictionary definitions are lexical, since they state how native speakers employ the words in all of their various senses.
Stipulative definitions are those which specify or stipulate the meaning of a word or phrase. Sometimes these involve the introduction of new terms, or the stipulation of new meaning for old terms.
Extensional definitions are simply a list of all the things to which the term applies. For example, the term "Chinese Provincial Capital" can be defined extensionally by listing all the capitals of the Chinese provinces.
Intensional definitions list a set of properties such that the term applies to all things having that set of properties, and to nothing else. A chemist or geologist might supply us with an intentional definition of the term "gold".
Ostensive definitions indicate the meaning of a term by providing a sample of the things denoted. We can define "polite" ostensively by making a listing of polite actions and behavior.
Notes: Obviously, ostensive definitions are risky, or unclear, in ways that extensional definitions are not. An extensional definition provides the complete extension of a term or concept, and hence leaves minimal margin for error in interpretation. An ostensive definition furnishes only part of the extension of a term. However, some concepts are so complex that extensional definitions are extremely difficult to formulate.


text:
[New? Start here: _URL_
An "implementation intention" is a research construct which was designed to study goal pursuit. (I am told CFAR has adapted this construct to be a practical tool [as has lots of popular advice] and given it the name "trigger-action plan.")
The idea is that, if you want to make sure you do something, you specify to yourself when or especially where you're going to do it. Research has shown that, if you specify when and where, you're significantly more likely to do what you intended, versus the condition where you merely made the intention without specifying when and where.
For example, you might check that you're holding your car keys in your hand, every time you touch the interior driver's side door handle, thereby making sure you never lock your keys in your car. (Choosing triggers is an art and a science. I prefer fairly high-level but, importantly, relatively unambiguous triggers, e.g. classes of situations or events. The trigger triggers [sic] as long as it's ultimately recognizable/graspable-all-at-once by the attentional system.)
(Note that research has shown that the triggered behavior need not be performed mechanically. Research subjects can recall that a particular behavior is available to them but they retain the option to not perform it or to perform a contextually appropriate or creative version of that behavior.)
Again regarding what to call these things, I prefer to just think, "if/when-then-because".
I think "when-then-because" when I have high confidence that the "when" condition will come to pass. I think "if-then-because" when I'm thinking opportunistically, and I don't know if the condition will ever come to pass, at least in a form that triggers the "then" clause. [I like having the "if" versions so that I'm decisively prepared when future opportunities present themselves in the environment.] Anyway, let's simplify it to "if-then-because," for now; the if/when distinction doesn't really matter, except that it helps the strategic gears in my brain turn a little better.
The "because" clause is to explicitly, strongly remember why I'm setting this intention, which strengthens the intention, makes its successful formation and triggering more likely, and it also helps me to contextualize, chain, and strategically form and dissolve these intentions. The "because" clause links up the intention with the bigger picture. Often the "because" clause is the very first thing I'll "capture" (to use GTD language) and then I'll elaborate or refine it a bit before moving to the "then" clause. The "if" clause is often the last thing that gets specified, though they all influence each other.
So, I have long been interested in forming "swarms," "suites," or "chains" of implementation intentions to facilitate achievement of complex goals.
There is some potentially discouraging research that forming implementation intentions makes it less likely you'll carry out intentions, if the number of intentions set is greater than a handful. My suspicion is that this doesn't have to be the case and that those results aren't super-generalizable. If I had to guess, I would expect that the brain can handle many hundreds of them, with training. (I'm sure that the parts of the brain involved in prospective memory would get noticeably bigger over time, like the hippocampi in those London taxi drivers.)
My impression is that CFAR suggests lightweight trigger-action plans, setting them and forgetting them (heh) in the moment. I prefer something slightly more heavyweight (in the practiced limit), and I generally look for ways to systematize behaviors so that I can one-shot install them if at all possible.
So, I've been thinking about how to systematize suites of implementation intentions. What I present below could be plugged into an already-existing GTD-style system. (I intend to do just that.)
So, first consider, say, a spreadsheet of implementation intentions that would fill up and evolve slowly over time.
Ok, so, "if-then-because." That's three columns:
(Note that this example isn't to scale. Each column could have several hundred words, whatever's needed to sufficiently evoke a complex condition, behavior, or situatedness/bigger-picture context.)
The fourth column is used for linking the intention to a tracking sheet, because I love tracking sheets. I consider the tracking sheet below to be the main "touchstone" or "dashboard." If you don't love tracking sheets, just consider this a provocative example that you could adapt.
So, I use generic and tailored tracking sheets because I find them helpful for one-shot installation of habits. If I can figure out how the tracking sheet should look, I'm 95% of the way there towards a regular habit. This one will probably go through more iterations as I play with it:
(Click graphic to enlarge.)
Alright, so that's pretty complex. Let me break it down:
- This sheet can track up to 64 intentions (0-63). Each tiny cell refers to a single intention on a single day. Each column is a particular intention over time. Each row (except for the interspersed informational rows) is a single day.
- "Sheet code" refers to the id column in the spreadsheet above. It is intended to a be a prefix, e.g. "A" for intention "A1." All the intentions on this sheet would start with an "A" if that's what I filled in for the sheet code. There could also be a "B" sheet, etc. An "A" sheet and a "B" sheet could track up to 128 intentions, and so on. We'll see if I get that far. In any case, I wanted to be able to add in additional intentions up to an arbitrary number. GTD systems sometimes track hundreds of discrete elements.
- The "Location" cell points back to where the explicit evocations (text) of the intentions are stored, e.g. the name of the electronic spreadsheet or the label on the paper file folder, etc.
- Each cell contains something like "i > t". There are three possible letters: i, t, b. And there are two slots, _ > _. This gives six distinct strings that could appear in a cell. i, t, and b stand for, "if," "then," and "because," of course. The idea is that they allow me to quiz myself in a pre-arranged way. (I suppose you could also throw everything in Anki.) "i > t" means that I can look at the "if" clause, and then I have to generate the "then" clause, and so on. These prompts are ordered and staggered to evenly exercise all permutations for a particular intention, over the course of six days.
- Finally, I creatively repurpose the "i > t" strings to structure my daily tracking; these strings have three symbols for me to color over, the two letters and the angle bracket. I color over the first symbol if that slot/id is currently occupied. I color over the second symbol (">") if I got the quiz right and/or it metacognitively feels like the intention is "locked in." (I could also take the CFAR-style inner simulator view on that, like, simulate the future and ask myself if I'd be surprised if the intention didn't trigger in the future, etc., etc.) I color over the final symbol if that intention was triggered that day. I may make a hollow circle if the intention could have been triggered but it wasn't. These notation systems evolve naturally.
- So those are the big pieces. With a little practice, based on prior related experiments and experiences, I expect to be able to get through this in 5-10 minutes per day, not including curating intentions. But, anyway, we'll see how it goes. I'll keep stripping it down until I find the right speed/benefit tradeoff.
In any case, the goal of this system is to have a relatively lightweight (for me) way to signal commitment to myself, to form commitments with myself, and to make it more likely I'll carry out those commitments when I desire to do so. I'm very curious to see if/how I use this system.
I'm looking for ways to cache dense, sophisticated, opportunistic behavior that importantly do not put a drain on working memory. (And indeed, research shows that the more likely an intention is to be triggered, the less drain on working memory and cognition it has!)
I'm also especially interested in anti-goal-shielding. Goal shielding is often thought to be a positive thing: if you focus on goals over time, to the exclusion of other environmental stimuli and opportunities, then you'll be more likely to achieve those goals. But that can come at the cost of missed opportunities. It just depends on the specific situation on the ground.
So, one-shot habit installation, sophisticated goal pursuit with reduced drain on working memory and attention (and thereby more flexible attention, for deep focus or open focus), and cached triggers to decisively engage in opportunistic behavior. We'll see how it goes: about one-in-six of my experiments gets used for weeks (these usually don't make it to the blog), and about one-in-ten get used for years.