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HOW TO MAKE AN INDEX
Having made an index for several different nonfiction print books over the years, I have a set of suggestions for how to create an index.
I prefer to do this manually. When I use the search tool that comes with an online article (or an eBook), I'm often disappointed. It easily pulls up every match of the word, which isn't always helpful. If the word is used 200 times, I must then sort out which of the 200 are most relevant.
Also, search tools are sometimes too literal. For example, if I want to find information in a book relating to the moon, when I type the word "moon" in the search, it won't show me pages where the author wrote the word "lunar" (unless the author also happened to write the word "moon" on the same page).
A manual index has the potential to be much more helpful than an automatically created one.
- I get out a blank spiralbound notebook with at least 26 leafs.
- Write the letter A at the top of the first leaf, B at the top of the second leaf, etc. (A book consists of leafs. Each leaf has two pages, one on the front and one on the back of each leaf.)
- If you might have several terms starting with a common letter (I always get a ton of I's, P's, and S's, for example), you might save an extra leaf for these, just in case.
- I open the PDF for my print book's interior on my computer and set my blank spiralbound notebook on my desk in front of my computer monitor.
- With fresh, relaxed eyes (which requires several short breaks to maintain), I go through my PDF file slowly, one page at a time.
- For each page of my PDF, there are typically a variety of keywords that I wish to include in my index.
- I write each keyword down in my spiralbound notebook on the leaf corresponding to its first letter. This helps me sort out the keywords, and helps me find repeated keywords easily.
- Next to the keyword, I write down the page number. Some keywords may show up on several pages. For my most popular keywords, I may need 2-3 lines in my notebook to record all of the relevant page numbers.
- I go page by page through my PDF, writing down keywords and corresponding page numbers in my notebook.
- When deciding on keywords, try to think in practical terms. Which keywords will readers want to search for in your index? Is there enough content on the page relating to that keyword to include that page in the index for that term?
- What other words or phrases might readers search for? It's kind of like word association. For example, one reader might search for "left alignment" in the index, while another might search for "ragged right," where both readers are actually looking for the same topic. An index works well when customers can find what they're looking for easily.
- On a related note, consider that a single term sometimes has different meanings. For example, the word "sale" could refer to the purchase of a product (we had a lot of sales today) or it could mean that the price is reduced (that t.v. is on sale). Some readers might look for "sales" in an index hoping to find pages that will show how to improve sales (that is, to sell more products), while other readers might look for "sales" hoping to learn about promotional pricing. One set of readers will be disappointed unless the index has separate entries for both (like "sales, selling" versus "sales, discounts").
- Write down the page numbers carefully. Double-check each one after you write it.
- Once I've written down all of the terms in my notebook, I type them in a blank Excel file on my computer. Excel is handy for this as it can quickly alphabetize the entries for you.
- I type the keywords in the left column. I type the corresponding page numbers in the second column.
- Be very careful when typing the page numbers for each term. If a customer searches for a term on page 57, for example, and the term isn't there, this will create a frustrating customer experience. Take your time and keep your eyes rested and fresh (with plenty of short breaks).
- When a keyword appears on consecutive pages, you can consolidate the page numbering, like 38-44. An alternative is to write ff for forth-following, but I prefer to list the starting and ending pages. As a reader, I like to know when the last page comes, so there isn't any detective work needed from the reader's end. (Also, keep in mind that not all readers will know what the ff stands for.)
- What if a keyword appears on several pages, but one of the pages is likely the most relevant match? You could put this page number in boldface, for example, so that it stands out.
- If there is a figure or table corresponding to a keyword and you feel that this will be helpful for the reader, you could write something like 48(fig) or 48(tab), or even just 48(f) or 48(t), though in the latter case, fewer readers will realize what you mean.
- If a page has a definition for a word, you might write something like 32(def).
- If a keyword appears in a footnote, you might write 124(fn), but beware of the potential ambiguity. Readers may wonder whether you mean page 124 in a footnote, or footnote 124 (on some other page), unless you write something like 124(fn 15).
- Once my index is typed up, I let Excel sort the data for me. Highlight the columns. Click on the Data tab. Click on the Sort icon. Adjust the Sort By column if necessary. (If it doesn't come out right, press the Undo button.)
- Actually, back up a step. I recommend that you copy and paste all of your information into a new Excel file before you sort it. This way, if you later discover some issue with the sorting that you didn't notice right away, you have your original to fall back on.
- I copy and paste the table into Word (or whatever software you're using). You might prefer to do this as plain text and then reformat it. I usually prefer to format my index as two columns.
- As you can see in the picture for my post, I type each letter of the alphabet at the top of the list of keywords that start with that letter.
- Browse through the index sections of a variety of traditionally published print books. This will help you see the different design possibilities, and will help you adopt your own unique style.
- Test your index out before you publish your book.
This seems like more work than it is. The hardest part is just to get started. I usually spend a few days on it, though only a couple of hours per day, so that I can keep my eyes fresh and stay focused. After spending months writing the book, a few days for the index isn't much.
Note that an eBook ordinarily doesn't include an index. That's because eReaders have a Search tool (though I mentioned earlier that this isn't foolproof).
Write happy, be happy. 🙂
Copyright © 2018
- Kindle Formatting Magic (new release)
- A Detailed Guide to Self-Publishing with Amazon (also part of a Boxed Set)
- The Improve Your Math Fluency series of workbooks (algebra, fractions, arithmetic, trig, long division, and more)


Can You See the Chart Under the Notes?
Annotating your chart helps your audience to understand the reasons behind some patterns or outliers. But, please, please, don't bury the data under boxes and arrows and busy grid lines, like this one on the right does (from WTRG Economics).
How can you improve a chart like this? First of all, the series must be visible… 🙂 Don't create a competition for the readers' attention. Notes should be in the background, like the axis, labels and other chart objects.
A note is not a marker. Add a note to explain a specific behaviour ("this happened because…"). If you have a time series, create a timeline outside the chart and add markers for relevant contextual events (there are several other design options).
It is easy to come up with something cleaner:
There was enough notes about quotas to create a new chart, with new insights. All the other notes are there, but they only murmur. I don't feel confortable with using two axis, but that's a topic for another post.
By the way: there is (at least) a perceptual error in my chart. Can you find it?
1 thought on "Can You See the Chart Under the Notes?"
 1. hey. i like the approach. did you "draw" the lines? how would you make it automatic? I have been using this approach
 the problem here is that if you make a dymanic chart to display different timelines (for example different equity indices using a dropdown element) the height of the error bars must also be dynamic. also, with many events they tend to overlap in a dymanic chart…
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Can anybody help with these please?!
Solve this problem by writing an equation. The length of a rectanglar room is 6.2m and the width is 3.3m. What is its area?
Express this problem as an equation. The length of a rectangular car park is a 128m and the width is 63m. What is its area?
Write the rule for finding the area of a rectangle as an equation which will be true for all rectangles.
Express this problem as an equation. The radius of a circle is 6.3m. What is its diameter? Thanks

source: HuggingFaceFW/fineweb-edu


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Usually, when you want to wake up your Mac, you simply click on your mouse or hit a key on the keyboard. However, there are times when your Mac is out of reach and you need to wake it up. So what can you do?
You can easily wake up your Mac using a technology called Wake on LAN, which can be found in OS X's System Preferences. I won't go into the details of the technology; I'll only tell you that it uses a network diagram called a magic packet. Generally, this is done to wake one Mac with another on the same network, but this can also be used with other devices that can send a magic packet, such as an iPhone.
First, you'll need to set up your Mac to be woken up using WOL. Follow the steps below to set up your Mac to be woken up wirelessly:
1. Open System Preferences via the Apple Menu.
2. In the Energy Saver section, navigate to the "Power Adaptor" tab. Here, enable the option to "Wake for Network Access."
3. Now, put your Mac to sleep via the Apple menu:
So, now that your Mac is ready, here's how to wake up your Mac via your iPhone:
2. Once Fing has downloaded, open it from your iPhone's home screen.
3. Your connected network should automatically show up, similar to the screenshot below:
4. Select the device that you want to wake up using WOL. In this case, the device is My Macbook Air. Tap on it.
5. Scroll down and select the option to 'Wake On Lan'. This should wake up your Mac, provided it's currently sleeping.
This may not be visible because using the WOL protocol to wake a Mac this way does not necessarily wake the devices display to the standard locked login screen which greets a Mac user if they were to hit a sleeping Mac's spacebar. Instead, the display typically stays black, but the hardware is awake and active, able to receive network connections, pings, and whatever else you want to do with the machine. This is most useful if you want your device to be on and ready as you enter your home so that you don't have to wait.
Do you have any problems or issues? Feel free to ask them in the comments below; we'll try to solve your issue.

source: openbmb/Ultra-FineWeb


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Benefits of Depositing Data
One of the major goals of NACJD and its sponsors is
to support the analysis of existing data. The criminal justice field as
a whole benefits when professional researchers test each other's conclusions - verifying, refining or
refuting original findings. This is one reason why the
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Office
of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) require that their grantees deposit data sponsored by these agencies
Sharing of data also fosters the development and testing of new conclusions, as data collected for one
purpose can be used to pursue inquiries not addressed by the original investigators. Indeed,
depositing files produced from the analysis of
existing data is also encouraged.
Archiving data affords multiple benefits to the investigator:
- The investigator's study is described on the NACJD website.
- NACJD distributes the data and supporting documentation to interested users, freeing investigators
from using their own time and resources to do so and permitting other researchers to reanalyze the data.
- Once the data are archived and available, the investigator is no longer responsible for maintaining
permanent backups of the data he or she collected.
- The investigator and his or her colleagues can assist each other in future research projects by
sharing the archived data and documentation over a wide variety of computer platforms.
Preparing Research Files for Deposit
NACJD urges researchers to begin their archiving strategy as they begin their research. The National Institute of Justice's
Program provides much useful information about things to consider. ICPSR, NACJD's parent organization, has also prepared valuable
guidelines for data management.
NACJD encourages researchers to deposit computer-readable data with NACJD for long-term preservation
and for use in analysis by other social science researchers. The following information will assist in the
preparation of data for deposit.


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A 28,000-square-mile area of special-use airspace known as the Powder River Training Complex is now active. The airspace, which covers large areas of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota was activated Sept. 17, the same date the new Billings Sectional Aeronautical chart, which covers the entire complex, was issued.
"The Powder River Training Complex covers an enormous area and AOPA is continuing to work with military and FAA officials to mitigate the impact it will have on GA airports and operations," said Rune Duke, AOPA director of air traffic and airspace. "And now that the airspace is available for military use, we urge pilots to be aware of the Powder River Training Complex boundaries and operating times so they can continue to traverse the area safely."
The Powder River Training Complex consists of four primary military operations areas (MOAs) connected by Gap MOAs, and affects 39 airports. In places, it covers altitudes from 500 feet agl up to the flight levels. Military officials estimate the Powder River Training Complex will be used for an estimated 2,882 training hours each year, or three-to-six hours per day, about 240 days per year. The primary purpose of the special-use airspace will be to train B-1 and B-52 bomber crews.
AOPA has been working since 2004 to minimize the impact of the expanded MOAs. Several of AOPA's recommendations were taken into account in the final design, including requests to modify the MOAs to better accommodate IFR procedures, subdividing some MOAs to limit the affected area, raising the floor of some MOAs to allow aircraft to fly underneath, and adjusting some MOA boundaries to accommodate commonly used VFR routes.
Although the airspace is now active, AOPA is continuing to work with the FAA to reduce charted times of use to more accurately reflect actual usage of the airspace. The association is also working with the Air Force and FAA to implement a Special-Use Airspace Information System that would provide real-time information regarding military flight operations to general aviation pilots 24 hours a day via telephone or radio. A similar system has been in use in Alaska since 1990.


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Date of Award
Master of Science (MS)
Nacir M. Tit
Well logging technique is used to determine the physical and chemical properties of borehole formation, by using neutron porosity oil well logging tools. The present study simplifies logging tool design in order to reduce the time spent on obtaining well logging. We have combined both carbon/oxygen (C/O) tool and thermal neutron porosity tool. This has been done by adding boron lining on the detectors in C/O tool, where the boron lining acts as a thermal neutron porosity tool while maintaining C/O functions simultaneously. The Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) Transport Code, which was originally developed in Los Alamos National Laboratory, is used to investigate the combined tool response. The combined tool is employed to detect the effect of porosity. The effects of several factors, such as (i) the source-to-detector spacing, (ii) borehole salinity, (iii) capture cross section, (iv) boron lining thickness, (v) formation salinity, (vi) borehole salinity, (vii) temperature, and (viii) the casing on the detection sensitivity are investigated. The results show that the number of detected gamma rays is proportional to the porosity. Furthermore, a sensitivity measure (i.e., the sensitivity ratio) is defined and used to characterize the detectors sensitivity to the porosity. The effects of various factors on the sensitivity are studied and the response function is found to be very sensitive to the porosity especially in the domain of low values of it. The temperature factor was only examined to assess its effect on the nucleus speed. However, the results of our simulations showed that the temperature has very little minor effect. Evidently, the tool is sensitive to the porosity while maintaining all the functions of the C/O tool, which suggests that the boron lining can efficiently serve as a replacement of the porosity tool.
Al Muraikhi, Entisar Ali, "Optimization of A Combined Carbon/Oxygen And Neutron Porosity Oil Well Logging Tool" (2017). Theses. 624.


Goal Expectation and Efficiency
This article has been written by Constantinos Chappas (who can be followed on Twitter _USER_)
Introducing Goal Expectation
It's Sunday afternoon, you are heading home trying to catch the end of the match on TV but traffic is holding you back. By the time you get home, the final whistle was blown and you manage to catch a glimpse of the match statistics screen. Your team had 12 shots, with 8 on target yet they only drew 1-1.
"Their keeper must have played a blinder", you think to yourself. Well, possibly. But then again, maybe not. It depends on where those 12 shots were taken from.
If they were taken from way outside the box and tamely reached the opposition goal, then they don't really count for much, do they? On the other hand, if the opposition goalie had just saved 7 1-on-1s, well that's different. In effect, some shots or chances in general are worth more than others.
While discussing this with Colin Trainor (do follow him at _USER_), we realised that a shot – or a shot on target for that matter – is not an adequate metric. Some shots have a higher probability of being converted into goals whereas others a much lower one.
As a result, we came up with a metric which considers a number of important factors affecting the chance of a particular shot being scored and assigns a figure for the probability of a goal (or the shot's goal expectation) and named it ExpG. The exact calculations of ExpG will remain private as a lot of work between us has been dedicated to its creation.
ExpG and Shooting Efficiency
The reason behind the introduction of ExpG would be to provide a metric that chances / strikers / teams can be compared on. If a striker has a 25% conversion rate, that does not mean that he is a better finisher compared to someone with a 20% conversion rate. Perhaps his chances were from more favourable positions compared to the other striker's chances. Therefore unless we somehow break down the conversion rate (e.g. shots from inside/outside the area) and look at those individual figures, we would be comparing apples with oranges.
The proposed metric ExpG alleviates part of this problem. If a player, given the chances he was presented with, had an ExpG of 10.3 goals, he would be expected to score around 10 goals. If he managed to get on the scoresheet 12 times it could mean that he is an above average finisher whereas a player who only managed 12 goals while he was expected to score ExpG = 16.4 goals, would be considered as inferior.
An efficiency measure can be introduced here by dividing the number of goals a player or team has scored – excluding own goals when looking at team efficiency – by the number of goals that player or team was expected to score. An average player or team, in terms of efficiency, would have ratings equal to 1
Colin briefly introduced ExpG in his piece here and previously here so the purpose of this piece is to delve a little bit deeper and present some of our analysis and results.
Potential explanations for some of the results are offered but it has to be stressed here that this is very much work under progress therefore ExpG are always likely to be updated depending on what our research uncovers.
Shooting Efficiency Across Leagues
Without further ado, we start by looking at the shooting efficiency figures across the top divisions in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for the 2012-2013 season. For comparison purposes we can look at the deviation of each shooting efficiency figure from 1.00.
Plot 1
Based on our measure of shooting efficiency, it would seem that players in the English league are on average more inefficient i.e. they score fewer goals (approximately 10% fewer) than what they would be expected to score given the chances they are presented with, compared to players from other leagues. Germany appears in the opposite end of the spectrum of shooting efficiency and in fact this has also been mentioned by others such as Ted Knutson in his piece here.
Not the first time the words "Germany" and "efficiency" appear in the same sentence, I guess!
One potential issue to consider here which is not taken into account in our analysis due to shortage of available data is the effect the defensive organization of a team, including the defenders' positioning or defensive pressure has on ExpG. Faced with better defenders, a striker might be less likely to score a goal compared to when he faces a team with average defensive capabilities. This could potentially be a factor explaining the below average efficiency in England and Italy as identified by Colin himself at in his article here.
Shooting Efficiency By Team
If we now turn our attention to the team level, shooting efficiency for all 98 teams in these leagues follows a reasonably symmetric and roughly Normal distribution with the majority of teams exhibiting around average efficiency.
Plot 2
For comparison purposes, league average efficiency figures have been included as dashed lines and correspond to the previous plot. A lot has been said about the Barcelona team of recent years and they excel in this metric with a shooting efficiency of 1.44. Having first accounted for a number of factors through this analysis, Barcelona's conversion of chances remains very high and while part of this may be down to the quality of strikers they possess, interestingly enough even a Messi-less Barcelona registers a shooting efficiency of 1.35. On the other hand, only 3 English teams register an above-average attacking shooting efficiency.
A different way of visualizing the results is by plotting the expected versus the actual goals per match scored by each team – having first excluded own goals. Note that the number of expected goals for a team is simply the sum of ExpG for all of their attempted shots.
Plot 3
The blue line is a simple linear regression whereas the black dashed line is the equality line i.e. when teams have scored the same amount of goals they were expected to do. The green area highlights the confidence limits for the model fit whereas the blue area presents 95% prediction limits for individual teams.
In other words, we expect approximately 5% of the number of teams to fall outside of the blue band. The fact that both lines appear very close and the model appears to be a very good fit is reassuring. It suggests that ExpG is on average a good metric or even a substitute for actual goals, because it doesn't consistently overor under-estimate the number of goals a team/player will score.
Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have actually scored a significantly higher number of goals compared to what they were expected to do, given the type of chances they were presented with whereas Everton and Manchester City have vastly underperformed in this area.
Somewhat surprising, neither Bayern Munich nor Borussia Dortmund has the second highest shooting efficiency after the Catalans. Remember that shooting efficiency is defined as the number of actual goals divided by the number of expected goals, i.e. the slope of the dashed line. So the second prize goes to … (drumroll!):
Plot 4
… Lorient! Scoring a total of 56 goals whereas given their chances, they were expected to just score 41.5 goals, registering an attacking shooting efficiency of 1.35. Intriguingly enough, all but 1 Lorient players expected to score at least 1 goal registered above average efficiency. A further look at the Top 10 teams in terms of attacking efficiency reveals no English or Italian team excelling at this measure.
Plot 5
The top ranked Italian team and 16th overall is Catania with an attacking efficiency rating of 1.144 while champions Juventus appearing in 81st place out of 98 teams with a rating of 0.843. The 3 English teams with above average efficiency are Aston Villa (ranked 27th overall with 1.055), Man Utd (ranked 32nd overall with 1.041) and Swansea (ranked 40th overall with 1.020). Other notable teams include Real Madrid (30th with 1.054), PSG (38th with 1.025), Chelsea (50th with 0.980), Arsenal (56th with 0.961) and Liverpool (79th with 0.858).
Shooting Efficiency in Defensive Terms
To win matches, a team does not only need to score goals but defend against them too. It's therefore only natural to look at the same measure (shooting efficiency) but in defensive terms.
Which were those teams that defended well enough to prevent their opponents from scoring the number of goals their chances should have allowed them to do?
Plot 6
Once again as would be expected, most of the teams have close to average figures. Numbers above 1.00 indicate teams which conceded more goals than were expected to do whereas teams which register small numbers highlight teams with defences that prevented their opposition from scoring their expected numbers.
A single French team (PSG) comes on top of this metric with a value of 0.65 which translates to 35% fewer goals conceded than what would have been expected under this analysis. Bottom of this statistic, one can find Hoffenheim who conceded 66 goals whereas based on our research the chances the opposition had would only justify conceding 43.2 goals.
Looking at the actual and expected number of goals conceded per match an interesting issue appears. The equality line between actual and expected goals does not fall within the fitted line's confidence limits. This could be down to the particular dataset (as the points only correspond to the 2012-2013 performance of these


Use of Drumming in Trauma Support Therapy
Imagine sitting down in a quiet room with your therapist, and enjoy being around with the peaceful drumming sounds and relaxing vibes. The first thing which most likely to come across your mind, would be an inner sound that engages your attention and thoughts.
"Relax, embrace your inner peace." The calming guidance directs people to its gate of another world, and it would be a beautiful view inside the state of mind.
 If one could experience such things with another trusted person, drumming is definitely one of them. Drumming is an approach to trauma support therapy to create a healing environment for clients. It has been used to provide pleasant health care, both for physical and mental health, from the origin of various traditions.
The therapeutic effects of drumming work on healing people through using the rhythm, and it helps our body release emotional trauma, pain, and negativities.
Drumming is an activity that involves making rhythm with drums, with a therapist or other clients during a trauma support therapy. While drumming rhythm gets inside our mind and brain, it actually produces a harmony that is healthy to our body. It sounds really cool, isn't it?
Drumming has been relating to multiple benefits and healing effects in trauma support therapy.
Drumming helps our mind gets rid of negativities and unhealthy thoughts. Negative emotions, including anger, stress, anxiety, and tension, are reduced during the relaxation induced by drumming rhythm. It instead replenishes our mind with well-being, comfort, and positivities. Healing emotional traumas is no longer something to worry about, as ongoing positive emotions keep healing our soul.
That's why drumming could be used in trauma support therapy for a broad range of health care. Such as healing mental illness, stabilizing mood, recovering addicts, and healing emotional trauma.
Besides, drumming is also a perfect choice for treating physical health problems related to trauma support therapy. As our minds are getting into the natural state of rhythm, neurological and physiological systems are boosted in our bodies. So, it is excellent for helping to release chronic pain caused by traumas and improving the quality of life as well.
Drumming is a great alternative treatment that can be used in various trauma support therapies. You can make as little effort to easily start taking care of your mind by receiving the benefits of drumming, which continually heal your mind on a regular basis.
It helps our mind become stronger and healthier, so that all the negative emotions will be drumming out.
,,,


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The PP180 features a browser-based management system that allows users to customize the response protocol when motion is detected. Using "if this, then that" (IFTTT) logic, users are able to determine how they want to intelligently deter unwanted behavior. Below is an example:
The PP180 can also be networked together to extend the functionality of the units across a location or enterprise. The units operate in a peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture which provides for a highly-customizable response. Below is an example:
- Unit A detects motion and executes its local response protocol (sounding siren).
- Unit A also broadcasts its motion detection to all other units in the P2P network which receive the event and respond per their response protocol:
Unit B illuminates strobe light
Unit C sounds siren and illuminates strobe light
Unit D does nothing
Interested in Purchasing Wren Products?
PP180AP-BIP Perimeter Protection, Onboard Computer with PoE, 180˚ detection, with Strobe and Siren, Single Input/Output, Black


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Mainstreaming Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) in police and planning in Nairobi: iInstitutional issues and challenges
MetadataShow full item record
Non Motorized Transport (NMT) is a dominant mode of transport in African cities, and there are a number of institutional issues and challenges that confront African governments in mainstreaming the mode into the overall planning of cities. This paper acknowledges the progress made in the mainstreaming of NMT in planning, including inherent institutional issues and challenges, based on preliminary findings from a study on NMT provision in Nairobi. The paper argues that, in spite of several attempts aimed at mainstreaming NMT in policy and planning, the process is confronted with institutional issues and challenges which affect implementation. After an extensive discussion of the NMT drivers, institutional issues and challenges, the paper concludes that there is an innovative trend emerging which bears hope for mainstreaming NMT within the city of Nairobi. As discussed in the paper, there is awareness among various actors of the need to accommodate and integrate NMT into the existing modes of transport. However, a number of challenges impact on this effort, including: the slow pace of processing the National Integrated Transport Policy, an existing biased inclination towards motorised transport, poor coordination of the drivers of NMT, and, poor enforcement of regulations. These constraints make it difficult to conclusively determine the direction of NMT mainstreaming within the city of Nairobi.


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Rediff News All News » News » Are Maoists 'political prisoners'?
Are Maoists 'political prisoners'?
Last updated on: September 25, 2012 18:28 IST
Bibhu Prasad Routray examines how that decision will affect India's battle to control and fight the Maoist menace.
Two judicial decisions in Kolkata have opened up a dormant debate on the status of the jailed cadres of the Communist Party of India-Maoist. Whether the arrested left-wing extremists should be treated as 'political prisoners'? Whether India should recognise the Maoist movement as essentially political in nature?
In August, the Kolkata high court declared seven suspected Naxalites, including CPI-Maoist backed leader Chhatradhar Mahato and Maoist spokesperson for Bengal and Gaur Chakraborty as 'political prisoners'.
Following the trend, on September 21, a sessions court in Kolkata bestowed a similar status on nine suspected Maoists -- including head of the outfit's technical committee, Sadanala Ramakrishna.
This piece attempts to provide answers to three important questions relating to this debate.
First, do the Maoists qualify to be 'political prisoners'?
Second, what could have prompted the judiciary in Kolkata to take such decisions?
Third, what are the implications of such decisions on the future developments with regard to Maoist activities in the country?
Extremism: Political dichotomy
Being given 'political prisoner' status has been the long-standing demand of the CPI-Maoist. It is one of the three pre-conditions laid down by the outfit for peace negotiations with the government.
Legal teams representing the Maoists have persevered to gain a 'political prisoner' status for all the high-profile Maoists lodged in different state prisons today.
This yearning for a 'political' status, however, coexists with a strategy that seeks to uproot all that is commonly understood as 'political'. For the Maoists, all forms of elections held in India are a sham. The outfit opposes the parliamentary form of government, regularly calls for boycotting polling, coerces candidates to withdraw from the electoral processes and kills those who disobey.
The mass resignation of gram panchayat members in various states under duress is a successful implementation of the Maoist strategy. The demand for a 'political' status, thus, represents bit of a paradox for the Maoists who display intense contempt for the political set-up.
The Maoist objective of replacing the prevalent structure of governance relies not on peaceful political means, but a doctrinaire violent protracted people's war aimed at annihilating all class enemies.
Although the Maoists justify their violence as a response to the 'active and structural' violence of the State, more often than not the 'annihilation' has been the first streak of actual violence in areas now dominated by the extremists.
This grand strategy of people's war has resulted at least 5,291 dead bodies of civilians and security forces since 2004, the year the CPI-Maoist was formed, till 2011, averaging 755 deaths per year and 63 deaths per month.
An overwhelming proportion among the fallen have been from the very classes and communities the Maoists claim to be seeking to 'liberate'.
The class war has further left school and gram panchayat buildings, road stretches, bridges, electricity and mobile phone towers destroyed. By no stretch of imagination, this trail of blood, gory and destruction qualifies to be a political struggle.
The CPI-Maoist's overt reliance on violence and mayhem is intrinsic to its larger strategy of weakening the State, ensure its retreat if not disintegration, thus allowing the Maoist functionaries a free hand to establish a janathana sarkar (people's government) -- an euphemism for an extreme form of authoritarianism devoid of any respect for commonly accepted legal principles including basic human rights.
Such forms of government are a reality in the territories under firm extremist control.
This extremist plan of action is more than evident from the profiles of the two of the 16 Maoists granted 'political prisoner' status by the judiciary. Chhatradhar Mahato, who started as a defender of tribal rights in the Jangalmahal area of West Bengal's West Midnapore district, swiftly degenerated into running errands for the Maoist leader Kishenji.
Mahato was a key figure in the numerous Maoist activities in the district including giving shelter to the extremist cadres and murdering cadres of the then ruling Left Front.
Mahato's People's Committee Against Police Atrocities was the front organisation used by the Maoists to build up their 'liberation struggle' in the area and provide their wanton violence a legal and humane facade.
Charges against 60-year-old Sadanala Ramakrishna are even more unambiguous. RK, as he is commonly known, was the head of the outfit's 'technical committee', overseeing manufacturing arms and spares and supplying them deep into the Maoist territories all over the country.
During his stay in Kolkata, from where he was arrested in February, the team headed by RK collected explosive substances, ammunition and oversaw a project to manufacture rocket launchers and other weapons.
Close to Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million), ammunition, explosive materials, several diagrams and literature on rocket launchers were recovered from the arms factory he had set up in Kolkata.
It requires no complex science to understand that neither Mahato nor RK excelled in essentially 'political' activities.
Why the decision?
Given that the Maoist ideology and end game is fairly well articulated and understood in the country's strategic circles, the court decision could be treated with a sense of disbelief.
It appears that the judgments are based on an unwarranted focus on the end 'political' objective of the Maoists, while disregarding the'means' the outfit adopts to achieve such an objective.
However, this sense of bewilderment needs to be weighed in the wider context of the culture of political opportunism in West Bengal.
Maoists are not banned entities in West Bengal. While New Delhi and all the states affected by Maoist activities have proscribed the outfit, West Bengal has chosen to bypass such a decision.
The Left Front government considered the Maoist problem a 'political' issue, which it said should be fought politically. Only after the goons of the Left Front, the 'Harmad Bahini', were systematically butchered by the Maoists did the Budhhadeb Bhattacharya government agree to a central force-led initiative against the extremists.
However, the facade of a political fight against the Maoist was maintained till the very end of Left Front rule in the state. It is, thus, not surprising that the Communist Party of India has welcomed the latest court decisions.
Surprisingly, close to 18 months since the Left citadel was knocked off in West Bengal by the Trinamool Congress, the status quo has been maintained. In spite of Mamata Banerjee's proclivity to label all strands of critics -- students, cartoonists, farmers -- as Maoists, the chief minister has sidestepped the administrative expediency of proscribing the CPI-Maoist.
In these circumstances, unless the law enforcement agencies manage to prove their charges of sedition against the arrested extremists, nothing stops the courts from declaring the Maoists, 'political prisoners'.
The bigger picture
On the surface, the 'political prisoner' status bestows only rudimentary benefits on the arrested Maoists, which should have been granted to all prisoners under the long-pending prison reforms project.
Compared to the benefits some of our corrupt politicians manage to enjoy while behind the bars, the provision of newspapers, better food and a cot to sleep for the arrested Maoists vide the court judgment does not exactly threaten the existence of the nation.
The bigger issue, however, is the distinction the judgments establish between Maoism and other forms of extremism. It elevates Maoist activities to a higher level. It makes the Maoist violence an acceptable form of dissent articulation. And it attaches a stamp of legality behind ideology inspired use of carnage for political objectives.
This is no doubt a dangerous and unacceptable trend. Needless to say, the court rulings in West Bengal have been nothing sort of a moral victory for the CPI-Maoist.
Dr Bibhu Prasad Routray is a Singapore-based security analyst and a senior analyst at Wikistrat. He was deputy director at India's National Security Council Secretariat.
Bibhu Prasad Routray


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How to Find the Best Studio Monitor Placement
Optimize your listening environment with proper studio monitor placement. This guide will help you find the best spot for your monitors and listening position.
Focal studio monitors and mixing desk
Photo by Focal
Why is Studio Monitor Placement Important?
Building an optimal listening environment is crucial. Proper studio monitor placement is essential for creating mixes that translate on different speaker systems. It also ensures you're hearing your music accurately. Conversely, incorrect studio monitor placement will cause problems in the frequency response of your room. A poor listening environment will also affect how you hear your music which leads to bad mix decisions.
This guide outlines five best practices to follow when setting up your studio monitors. However, these best practices may not work in every studio. But, these tips should provide a good starting point for setting up your listening environment.
1. Finding a Room's Sweet Spot
The first step is to pick the best position for your workstation and studio monitors. Here are some general guidelines:
Place Your Monitors Away from the Walls
Sound waves that bounce off walls and other surfaces can either cancel each other out or multiply. Phase cancellation and frequency buildup are serious problems! Place your monitors eight or more inches away from walls to reduce sound wave reflection issues.
Center Your Monitors and Listening Position
Center your monitors and listening position between the sidewalls to achieve a balanced stereo image. This position ensures equal frequency reflections. A listening position too far left or right will create a buildup of frequencies on that side. While the area further away will have a dip in the frequency response. These two issues will give you an unbalanced representation of your mix.
Also, if your room is small and narrow, try centering the monitors along the widest wall. This position reduces side wall reflections.
Avoid Sitting in the Exact Center of the Room
Placing your monitors and listening position in the center of the room creates various problems. For example, some frequencies that bounce to the center simultaneously can cancel each other out. It also creates a null that causes a dip in the bass response.
Keep Your Listening Position Away from Corners
Avoid placing your studio desk in a corner. Keeping your monitors away from corners will help prevent bass buildup. Low frequencies build up where two reflective surfaces meet. This problem affects how you perceive the low end of your mix.
Positioning Monitors in Large Rectangular Rooms
Consider positioning the monitors along the shorter wall if you have a large rectangular room. The further away your listening position is from the back wall, the better. This position allows sound waves that reflect off the rear wall time to dissipate before reaching you. However, place your monitors on the widest wall if your room is small and the shorter wall is narrow to reduce side wall reflections.
The 38 Percent Rule
Try the 38% rule. For example, if your room is 10 feet long, position your monitors 3.8 feet from the front wall. This distance is a good starting point when finding the sweet spot.
2. The Equilateral Triangle Position
Position your studio monitors to form an equilateral triangle with your listening position. This studio monitor placement will put you in the sweet spot and give you an accurate stereo image.
For example, your listening position should be five feet from the monitors if your monitors are five feet apart. Keeping an equal distance between your monitors and your head is the ideal position.
Also, aim the monitors toward your ears at a 60-degree angle for best results. This position ensures you hear high frequencies accurately.
3. Position Your Studio Monitors at Ear Level
Position the monitor tweeters at ear level. High-frequency content is more directional than low-frequency content. So, directing the tweeters at your ears will allow you to hear higher frequencies more accurately. You can also tilt monitors down to direct the tweeters towards your ears if they are too high.
4. Keep Your Studio Monitors Upright
For best sound reproduction, position the monitors vertically. Don't turn your monitors on their side unless the design allows it. Keeping monitors upright will also place you in the sweet spot and give you accurate sound reproduction.
Moreover, read the manual for your monitors. Some monitors can lay horizontal or vertical. Also, if you place your monitors on their side, position the tweeters toward the outside for best results.
5. Invest in Studio Monitor Stands
Placing monitors directly on your studio desk can cause several problems. For example, sound waves that reflect off your desk will not give you a clear and balanced stereo image. Monitors also transmit their vibrations to any surface they are resting on which could produce unwanted noise. Setting monitors on a desk may also place them below ear level, which is not ideal.
Studio monitor stands are an essential piece of studio equipment worth considering. There are a variety of studio monitor stands. Choose the type that best fits your needs. The three main types are:
Floor stands decouple your monitors from the surface. They allow you to place monitors behind your workstation on secure stands. They also isolate your monitors which prevents surface reflections and vibration.
Desk stands raise the monitors closer to ear level. They also help prevent reflections from interfering with your listening environment. Many are also cushioned to reduce surface vibration.
Isolation pads are foam or rubber stands that lift your monitors off the desk. They provide a cushion to reduce surface vibrations and reflections. Isolation pads are also the most cost-effective studio stand.
Calibrate Your Listening Environment
There is room correction software that measures and calibrates the frequency response of your monitoring. For example, Sonar Reference 4 uses a microphone to measure the frequency response of your room. It then creates an EQ curve that corrects any tonal imbalances. Monitoring through this custom curve will help you hear a more accurate representation of your mix. This method leads to better mixing decisions. It also makes it easier to achieve quality mixes that translate on different speakers.
Knowing the frequency response of your studio will also help you calibrate your monitors. Most studio monitors provide a set of controls on the back to adjust optimal settings.
There are exceptions to every rule. Use your ears to decide what the best studio monitor placement is for your room. Also, consider treating your studio with acoustic treatment. A combination of absorbers, diffusers, and bass traps will create an optimal listening environment.
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Rearrangement of methyl isonitrile to acetonitrile has activation energy of 25.0 kJ/mol and a rate constant of 8.1*10^-4s-1 @ 80 Celsius. what is the value of the rate constant @ 255.0 celsius?
The Arrhenius Equation
ln(k1/k2) = (E/R)[(1/T2) - (1/T1)]
T1 = 80 oC = 80+273 =...
Calculation and answer are based on the Arrhenius Equation.


What is a Valedictorian?
If you're wondering what is the valedictorian definition, search no further. A Valedictorian is a title, often accompanied by an award and recognition, to high school and college students who give the final, farewell speech upon graduating from an educational institution. Almost always, a Valedictorian achieves the highest cumulative grade point average at their university.
The term "Valedictorian" comes from the Latin phrase, "vale dicere," which means, "to say farewell." A Valedictorian address is considered the final farewell it classmates at the education institution, and usually includes words of farewell, nostalgia, thanks, and inspiration. The Valedictorian speech is held at the graduation ceremony.
A school's valedictorian is almost always based upon the student who has the highest GPA at that education institution. This student is considered to be a representative of the class year they are graduating with. There can be exceptions to this, but the student with the highest GPA is almost always awarded the honorary valedictorian title. The exceptions to this rule are schools where multiple factors and extra-curricular activities are considered, such as speaking ability, extracurricular activities, participation level, and possibly selection from classmates. By and large, it's wholly or primarily based on grade point average.
In some cases, schools allow two valedictorians, sometimes called "co-valedictorians." This is usually done as a matter of affirmative action, school tradition, or some other exceptional or unusual reason.
Selecting a valedictorian can be a difficult and controversial decision for the school administration to make. This is because the difference in grade point average among the top students – potential valedictorians – is often minute. Some differ by hundreds of a percentage. Some cases are particularly controversial – when a student's GPA factors in weighted classes, for example.
Valedictorian addresses, typically called the valediction, is the farewell addressed that is given by the selected Valedictorian and a graduation ceremony. Typically, the graduation speech is inspirational, a persuasive speech, nostalgic, and sometimes even controversial or unconventional. Typically the valedictory is intended to inspire the students of the graduating class to go out and succeed in life, many times revolving around a central or class theme. The speech is also regarded to be the final farewell to the class as they move on to the "real world" and start their life.


Home MBE Articles Adventure Cragging Etiquette: Ethics for a sport under a microscope
Cragging Etiquette: Ethics for a sport under a microscope
By Jason Martin
In the old days, most people learned to climb from a mentor who showed them the ropes, literally. These mentors would also teach new climbers how to behave at climbing areas. That's not so common anymore. Now, most people transition to outdoor climbing after logging time at a gym and they don't have the same kind of guidance that climbers had in the past. The result is that new climbers often make mistakes that irk not only other climbers, but also land managers.
Climbing ethics are important because the sport's growing. There's room for us all to have a good time if we treat each other and the crags with respect. But they're also important because we're under a microscope. Land managers are always watching. If we mistreat an area or if a dispute between climbers grows beyond the climbing community, it jeopardizes the crag.
It can take years to understand the nuances of climbing ethics, but there are a handful of universal ethical considerations that every climber should contemplate.
Human waste and trash
Nothing gets a crag closed down faster than human waste and litter. Indeed, nothing makes a crag less appealing than those things either.
Poop is a major problem at climbing areas across the country. New climbers often don't know how to deal with it and leave stinky surprises for others to find. Sometimes they seem to think putting a rock on top of the pile will mitigate its impact. It doesn't.
The best way to deal with human waste is to carry it out. Several commercial waste bag systems make this easier, but Ziploc bags work too.
If you're unable to deal with packing out your waste, climbing outside probably isn't for you. This is considered a baseline standard that everyone should abide by at hundreds of climbing areas throughout the United States and Canada.
If you are in an area with good, organic soil, it's possible to bury your waste in a cat hole. Dig your hole at least 6 inches deep, at least 200 feet from any water source and nowhere near the crag. Pack out your toilet paper. Climbing tape, candy bar wrappers, gum, cigarette butts and other trash should always be packed out.
Crag hogging
Climbing clubs and other large organized groups occasionally string ropes on all the climbs in an area to claim them. If people from the group are actively climbing on the ropes, there's nothing wrong with this. The problem arises when the ropes are left empty while another party waits to climb.
North American ethics dictate that whoever gets to the crag first gets priority. But that doesn't mean they're the only ones with access for the day. Group leaders should work to accommodate all visitors.
Multi-pitch climbs have a similar issue. If you're first to the crag, then you get priority access. However, if you are first and you are not a fast party, you should allow others to pass. Those who arrive later should understand that even if they're faster climbers, they still must ask before passing.
The know-it-all
Occasionally you will run into the person who thinks he knows everything. In some cases, he'll provide unsolicited beta or advice. In other cases, he will tell you all the things you're doing wrong.
If you're that guy, nobody wants to listen to you.
There are legitimate reasons to step in and give advice. If someone is in imminent danger you should say something.
But it's quite unusual for someone to be in such danger. It's far more common to run into someone who's doing something mildly wrong. In those cases, be friendly, talk to the person, make friends with them, and then provide gentle, nonjudgmental advice.
Dogs and music
In most climbing areas, well-behaved dogs on a leash are acceptable. Barking dogs, dogs off-leash and dogs that bite people are not welcome. Ask yourself two things before bringing your dog: does your dog listen to you? If it doesn't, it's not acceptable at the crag. And second, ask yourself honestly if your friends like your dog. If they don't, strangers probably won't either.
Not everyone has the same musical tastes. In fact, many people like to hear the sounds of nature when they go climbing. It's fine to listen to headphones, but speakers are not considered acceptable in either a crag or a multi-pitch environment.
Rock climbing is one of the fastest growing sports in America. The Outdoor Foundation estimates that 4.6 million people climb each year. Certainly a large percentage of them only climb indoors, but we all know they won't stay there – climbing outside is just too much fun. Educating yourself and others in climbing ethics will ensure that everyone has a good time and that the crags and mountains of North America will remain open and clean for generations to come.
Want to get involved with protecting your favorite rock climbing access? Get active with these organizations:
Washington Climbers Coalition
Access Fund
The American Alpine Club
Climbers' Access Society of
The Mountaineers


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Instruments Made in Germany
Enlarge image Musikwinkel (musical corner) in Saxony (© picture-alliance/ dpa) The centers of German musical instrument making lie hidden in two German border regions. As early as Mozart's time, all orchestral instruments were being manufactured in the "Musikwinkel" (musical corner) of the Vogtland region, in Saxony, near the Czech border. Not far from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the famous ski resort in the border region to Austria, lies the small town of Mittenwald, which is known for its string instruments.
The Musikwinkel, now also – borrowing on Silicon Valley – sometimes called Musicon Valley, incorporates the towns of Markneukirchen, Klingenthal, Erlbach, Schöneck, and the smaller communities situated between those localities.
Enlarge image Instrument master builder Björn Stoll manufactures premium double basses and cellos. (© picture-alliance/ ZB) In 1677, following the Thirty Years War, religiously persecuted Protestant violinmakers fled the Bohemian town of Graslitz (Kraslice) across the border to Saxony and settled in Markneukirchen. Gradually, more instrument makers migrated to Vogtland – string and bow makers, guitar and zither builders. The construction of musical instruments did not require city centers; rather, makers practiced the craft in their own workshops. The forests in the region supplied the raw material to build wooden instruments; other necessary materials were imported from abroad, particularly from Russia.
The instruments from Vogtland quickly became known beyond the borders of Saxony, and instrument-making developed into the region's most important economic sector. In Markneukirchen alone, the number of master builders climbed from 160 in 1821 to 234 in 1828. Employment and production figures reached mass-production levels in the 19th century, sometimes at the expense of the quality of instruments. Expanding trade was assumed by professional distributors, whose profit margins were so large that there were more than a dozen goldmark millionaires among them. Around the turn of the 20th century, instruments from the musical corner had a global market share of 80 percent; during the Depression, the region still accounted for 50 percent of the market. After World War II, the region became part of the GDR, and the instruments were mostly mass-produced in factories. The number of production plants fell from 700 to 100. Since reunification, the number of smaller and medium-sized companies has, however, begun to rise again. This has the advantage that small operations can better respond to customers' special requests.
Enlarge image A traditional violinmaker's workshop at the violin making museum in Mittenwald (© picture-alliance/ dpa) Direct trade relations with the United States (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) have existed since 1795 through a native of Markneukirchen who immigrated to America. Business relations continuously expanded over the ensuing years. Another émigré from Markneukirchen in 1833 became the founder of C.F. Martin & Company, a guitar company still in existence today in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Trade with the US was of such great importance that a US consulate was established in Markneukirchen in 1893 and remained in existence until 1916.
Instrument makers living in the musical corner are happy to let visitors see how they practice their craft in their workshops. In Markneukirchen alone, over 100 workshops today employ 1,300 people. The locale is known for its string and wind instruments. The world's oldest accordion factory is located in Klingenthal, and world-renowned guitars come from Erlbach. The secret behind the instruments' perfect tone, which is achieved through the use of certain woods and lacquers, are often closely guarded as family treasures and passed on from father to son. For some years now, the University of Applied Sciences of Zwickau has been offering the opportunity to study musical instrument making in Markneukirchen.
Enlarge image Violinmaker Anton Sprenger works on a violin in his workshop in Mittenwald. (© picture-alliance/ dpa) Only 260 miles south of Vogtland, along an old trade route between Augsburg and upper Italy, lies the city of Mittenwald. Violin-making in Mittenwald is inextricably linked with the Klotz family name. In the 17th century, during the life of the famous Italian violinmakers Stradivari and Amati, the young Mattias Klotz (_PHONE_) moved to Italy to learn the tradecraft of violin-making. On his return, he introduced it in Mittenwald, and until today all subsequent violinmakers follow his tradition. The residence of Mattias Klotz now houses a violin museum, where visitors trace the over 300-year tradition of violin-making in Mittenwald.
String instruments from Mittenwald soon became known well beyond Bavaria. To maintain the high-quality standard practiced there, Maximilian II of Bavaria in 1858 founded a violin making school, which is still widely respected today.
Mittenwald has been holding an international competition in violin and bow construction since 1989. The 6th competition took place in May 2010, and the gold medal in violin bow construction was awarded to American Kot hu-Sheng from Wayne, Pennsylvania.


Portuguese EZ word boards
Item Number: ACU013
Language Word Boards -- for both Non-English and Non-Verbal Communication.
They come in 20 languages wheres one side is is for ackts a a body locator and the other side has wording. Their is also one in English that can be used to communicate with an English speaking person who cannot speak due to tubes, surgery or other reasons. And the 20 non-English boards will also provide non-verbal communication.


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In the following, we demonstrate how to get the most out of Datup forecasts to increase accuracy levels and decrease lead times in demand planning. To do this, the basic, intermediate and advanced journey and usage scenarios will be described.
These use cases will allow the analyst to take into consideration various fields of the results cubes, which will better guide decision making with respect to sales, demand, supply or similar behaviour.
Basic Use Case: Suggested Forecasts
This use case guides better decision making for:
Know the volume of demand required by customers for each item for one or more future months.
Propose in S&OP sessions demand volumes according to optimistic, conservative or pessimistic sales conditions.
Assess the certainty or uncertainty of demand forecasts.
Prioritise portfolio forecasting by top-selling items, turnover and demand variation.
This scenario focuses on suggested forecasts, automatically generated and selected by the platform. First, you must locate the date and the item of interest, by means of the columns
Itemrespectively. The column
Pronóstico Sugerido shows the suggested forecast for the date and item under analysis, based on historical demand behaviour (
Demada Histórica); considering seasonality, levels, trends and even relationships with other items in the portfolio.
In addition, the column
Pronóstico Sugerido Supwhich presents an alternative scenario to the suggested forecast when there are indications or a substantial increase in demand for the item is anticipated for the specific period. The
Pronóstico Sugerido Sup is often very useful for S&OP sessions, where the trading counterpart often arranges higher values for forecasts of certain items, subject to marketing campaigns or higher consumption strategies. Instead of opening the space for speculation for such a possible higher level of demand, the platform offers an alternative value that contemplates such an over-demand scenario. On the other hand, the solution also presents an alternative value for the under-demand scenario, where the trading partner foresees a discouragement in the consumption of the item for future periods. The field
Pronóstico Sugerido Inf contains the amount of demand to be considered.
WMAPEThe error expected for the forecast period, based on the errors obtained by testing the backtestsThis is to simulate the demand forecast for previous periods, where the actual behaviour is known, hence it is possible to measure performance. By default, Datup performs 5 of these simulations, or backtests in each iteration of the models.
Finally, it is suggested to take into account the column
RankingThis allows us to determine the items with the highest consumption, turnover and stability in demand. In other words, it identifies the items of highest and lowest value for the business.
Intermediate Use Case: Suggested Intervals
This use guides better decision making for:
All the advantages of the basic journey.
Know which items are recurrently over-predicted with respect to their historical demand to prevent excessive inventory losses.
Know which items are recurrently under-predicted with respect to their historical demand to prevent out-of-stock losses or stock-outs.
The second scenario accompanies the suggested forecasts with suggested ranges, allowing the demand analyst to know which items have been consistently underor over-forecast in the past. The column
Intervalo Sugerido indicates the forecast interval associated with the suggested forecast in column
Pronóstico Sugerido. Accordingly, the suggested upside forecasts (
Pronóstico Sugerido Sup) and downward (
Pronóstico Sugerido Inf) are also accompanied by their suggested intervals
Interval Sugerido Supy
Intervalo Sugerido Infrespectively.
The forecast intervals
Intervalo Sugerido Sup y
Intervalo Sugerido Infare not only calculated for the periods to be forecast, but also for each forecast period. backtest or simulation. It is precisely in this way that it is possible to determine what is the forecast interval, and hence the most likely suggested forecast, based on its repetition in the observed demand history.
As a practical matter, the demand analyst or planner can determine whether an item is susceptible to over-demand if the suggested range
Intervalo Sugerido has one of the following values:
Lo60. On the contrary, the item is susceptible to overdemand if the
Intervalo Sugerido presents either
Up95. In both cases, the over-demand is set with respect to the forecast point that lies in the middle of all forecast intervals.
Using forecast intervals allows the demand planning process to anticipate and avoid overproduction or oversupply events, as well as stock-outs or stock-outs.
Advanced Use Case: Naive Forecasting and Forecast Intervals
This use guides better decision making for:
All the advantages of the intermediate journey.
Examine naïve forecasts, i.e. averages or last observations, to plan demand on items with high variation or intermittency and increase their accuracy.
Examine the suggested forecasts for each item and period to see how high or low demand may behave in different market circumstances.
Evaluate the MASE error to determine in which cases it is advisable to use naïve forecasts to increase planning accuracy.
The third and final scenario involves the naïve forecast and all the associated forecast intervals estimated by Datup. This collection of values allows the analyst to know all possible scenarios of high and low forecasted demand.
The forecasts point
Pronóstico Puntolower 95
Pronóstico Inf 95, lower 80
Pronóstico Inf 80, lower 60
Pronóstico Inf 60, higher 60
Pronóstico Sup 60, higher than 80
Pronóstico Sup 80 and above 95
Pronóstico Sup 95 The total number of points Datup estimates for each date and item to consider the different scenarios of high, medium and low demand. The algorithm automatically selects the scenario, and in turn the most likely value. However, the cube results are presented in an open way to the analyst to enable possible additional exercises.
For its part, the naïve prognosis in the column
Pronóstico Naive calculates the forecast value by means of a rolling window average. The size of the window coincides with the number of periods to forecast. For example if you want to forecast 4 weeks, the rolling window calculates the naive forecast by taking the average of 4 weeks at a time from history. Datup compares the performance of its model against the naïve forecast, as there are items whose stability in the demand history suffers from high intermittency and/or random sharing that prevent their forecasting through traditional or advanced statistical methods. The value of the
MASE shows the result of this comparison. Values close to 1 (above or below) confirm the superior performance of the Datup model, while values well above 1 favour the use of the naive forecast.
Pronóstico Naive. If this is the scenario, in the bucket, the naïve forecast will be the value suggested as the forecast for the period evaluated.
Advanced Use Case: Impact, Correlation and Causality
This journey guides decision making to:
Identify the variables or indicators that have the greatest impact on the forecast for one or more items of interest. Upward or downward changes in the associated variables are most likely to produce significant variations in the planning forecasts.
Determine the variables or indicators correlated with the items of interest. That is, the variables whose upward or downward changes produce changes in the Items of Interest, in the same proportion.
Determine the causal variables or indicators for the items of interest. That is, the variables whose upward or downward changes are a direct cause for the future behaviour of the items of interest.
In conjunction with demand planning, it is possible to know the items, variables or indicators that have the greatest impact on the forecasts, accompanied by a percentage of importance; the higher the percentage, the greater the importance of the variable. Datup automatically identifies and orders the determining variables in the planning. In this way, analysts can focus their efforts on tracking key indicators whose changes have a direct and considerable influence on forecasts. In the example in the graph, US Existing Home Sales is the most important indicator for the generated forecasts with a 15% share, followed by the Acetic Acid Index (7.4%), Acetic Acid RMB (6.4%) and US Ethanol Price (6.2%). Thus, analysts can identify among hundreds of variables, which are the top-n that really influence purchase prices, sales quantities or demand units for future periods, in order to put in place better targeted trading, purchasing, production or distribution strategies in advance.
Correlation provides a second criterion in the selection of the variables or indicators that deserve greater attention in the decision-making processes for purchasing, negotiation, production or distribution, as it determines which are the variables whose upward or downward trends generate a direct or inverse behaviour in an item of interest. In general, variables with a direct correlation between 0.7 and 1 or an inverse correlation between -1 and -0.7, deserve to be taken into account. In this case, the item or indicator of interest is the purchase price of the raw material Vynil Acetate Monomer (VAM). The directly correlated indicators are: Price VAM ADC (0.9), VAM Index (0.86), Acetic Acid Index (0.85) and Acetic Acid RMB (0.85). At this point, special attention should be paid to those variables that appear with high percentages of importance and high correlations, i.e. Acetic Acid Index and Acetic Acid RMB, as their upward variations will most likely produce upward variations also in the price of VAM. It is important to check if there are variables with high negative correlations (-1 to -0.7), as they may indicate an inverse behaviour, a rise in


text:
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Samples in periodicals archive:
Ghaddar's professional achievements were recognized by the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research in June 2012, when she received the Distinguished Scholar Medal and Certificate for Research Excellence for her work in energy efficiency.
In 1991, the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese National Council for Scientific Research, and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Relief Fund (UNICEF) founded the National Water Research Unit (NWRU) as a joint endeavor.


George Meredith
Here you will find the Poem Hypnos On Ida of poet George Meredith
Hypnos On Ida
[Iliad, B. XIV. V. 283]
They then to fountain-abundant Ida, mother of wild beasts,
Came, and they first left ocean to fare over mainland at Lektos,
Where underneath of their feet waved loftiest growths of the woodland.
There hung Hypnos fast, ere the vision of Zeus was observant,
Mounted upon a tall pine-tree, tallest of pines that on Ida
Lustily spring off soil for the shoot up aloft into aether.
There did he sit well-cloaked by the wide-branched pine for concealment,
That loud bird, in his form like, that perched high up in the mountains,
Chalkis is named by the Gods, but of mortals known as Kymindis.


object. The default (when no nisplusLDAPentryTtl is specified) is 1 hour. The template mapping file /var/nis/NIS+LDAPmapping.template changes this to 12 hours for objects other than table entries. However, there is no auto-recognition of non-entry objects, so if you add mapping for a non-entry object, the TTL will default to 1 hour.
Note - There are no TTLs for nonexistent objects. Hence, no matter which TTLs are in effect for LDAP-mapped entries in an NIS+ table, a request for an entry that does not exist in NIS+ will query LDAP for that entry.
nisplusLDAPobjectDN Attribute
For each mapped NIS+ object, nisplusLDAPobjectDN establishes the location in the LDAP DIT where the object data resides. It also allows specification of the action to take when an LDAP entry is deleted. Each nisplusLDAPobjectDN value has three parts. The first specifies where LDAP data is read from, the second to where it is written, and the third what should happen when LDAP data is deleted. Refer to the following example.
nisplusLDAPobjectDN rpc_table:\
The above example shows that the rpc.org_dir table object should be read from the DN cn=rpc,ou=nisPlus, (since the value ends in a comma, the value of the defaultSearchBase attribute is appended), with scope base, and that entries with a value of nisplusObjectContainer for the ObjectClass attribute are selected.
The table object is written to the same place. The delete specification is missing, which implies the default action, which is as follows. If the NIS+ table object is deleted, the entire LDAP entry should also be deleted.
If data should be read from, but not written to LDAP, omit the write portion (and the colon separating it from the read part).
nisplusLDAPobjectDN rpc_table:\
Note that the nisplusObjectContainer object class is not part of RFC 2307. In order to use it, you must configure your LDAP server as detailed in Mapping NIS+ Objects Other Than Table Entries.
For the rpc.org_dir table entries, you could use the following example.
nisplusLDAPobjectDN rpc:ou=Rpc,?one?objectClass=oncRpc:\
The above shows that the table entries are read from and written to the base ou=Rpc. Again, the trailing comma appends the defaultSearchBase value. Select entries that have an objectClass attribute value of oncRpc. When creating an entry in the ou=Rpc container in LDAP, you also must specify top as an objectClass value.
As an example showing a non-default delete specification, consider the following.
nisplusLDAPobjectDN user_attr:\
The user_attr.org_dir data resides in the ou=People LDAP container, which it shares with account information from other sources, such as the passwd.org_dir NIS+ table.
Select entries in that container that have the solarisAttrKeyValue attribute, since only those contain user_attr.org_dir data. The dbid=user_attr_del portion of the nisplusLDAPobjectDN shows that when an entry in the user_attr.org_dir NIS+ table entry is deleted, deletion of the corresponding LDAP entry (if any) should follow the rules in the rule set identified by the user_attr_del database ID. See nisplusLDAPcolumnFromAttribute Attribute for more information.
nisplusLDAPattributeFromColumn Attribute
nisplusLDAPattributeFromColumn specifies the rules used to map NIS+ data to LDAP. Mapping rules for the other direction is controlled by nisplusLDAPcolumnFromAttribute.
nisplusLDAPcolumnFromAttribute Attribute
nisplusLDAPcolumnFromAttribute specifies the rules used to map LDAP data to NIS+.
The full entry mapping syntax can be found on NIS+LDAPmapping(4). However, a few examples should make things clearer.
The NIS+ rpc.org_dir table contains four columns called cname, name, numbe, and comment. Therefore, the entries for the NIS+ RPC program number (100300) with the canonical name nisd and the aliases rpc.nisd and nisplusd could be represented by the following NIS+ entries in rpc.org_dir.
nisd nisd 100300 NIS+ server
nisd rpc.nisd 100300 NIS+ server
nisd nisplusd 100300 NIS+ server
Assuming the defaultSearchBase value is dc=some,dc=domain, the corresponding LDAP entry, as listed by ldapsearch(1), would be the following.
dn: cn=nisd,ou=Ppc,dc=some,dc=domain
cn: nisd
cn: rpc.nsid
cn: nisplusd
oncRpcNumber: 100300
description: NIS+ server
objectClass: oncRpc
This makes for a simple one-to-one mapping between NIS+ and LDAP data, and the corresponding mapping attribute value going from NIS+ to LDAP is the following.
nisplusLDAPattributeFromColumn \
rpc: dn=("cn=%s,", name), \
 cn=cname, \
 cn=name, \
 oncRpcNumber=number, \
This constructs the DN for the entry to be cn=%s, with the value of the cname column substituted for %s.
Since the value ends in a comma, the read base value from the nisplusObjectDN is appended, and you have the following.
The oncRpcNumber and description attribute values are just simple assignments of the corresponding NIS+ column values. The rpc.nisd will collect the multiple NIS+ entries into one LDAP entry, with multiple cn values to represent the different name column values.
Similarly, the mapping from LDAP to NIS+ would be as follows.
nisplusLDAPcolumnFromAttribute \
 rpc: cname=cn, \
 (name)=(cn), \
 number=oncRpcNumber, \
The above assigns the oncRpcNumber and description values to the corresponding NIS+ columns. The multi-valued cn (denoted by (cn) is mapped to multiple name column values (denoted by (name)). Since the name column cannot be multi-valued, the rpc.nisd creates one NIS+ entry for each cn value.
Finally, the nisplusLDAPattributeFromColumn value is an example of rule sets used for deletion.
nisplusLDAPattributeFromColumn \
user_attr_del: dn=("uid=%s,", name), \
 SolarisUserQualifier=, \
 SolarisAttrReserved1=, \
 SolarisAttrReserved2=, \
Again, the user_attr.org_dir data shares the ou=People container with other account information (from the passwd.org_dir and other tables). If an entry in the user_attr.org_dir table is deleted, you probably do not want to delete the entire ou=People entry. Instead, the delete entry above says that when a user_attr.org_dir entry is deleted, the SolarisUserQualifier, SolarisAttrReserved1, SolarisAttrReserved2, and SolarisAttrKeyValue attributes (if any) are deleted from the ou=People entry specified by the following rule.
The rest of the LDAP entry is left unchanged.
NIS+ to LDAP Migration Scenarios
Likely scenarios for a migration from NIS+ to LDAP include the following.
How to Convert All NIS+ Data to LDAP in One Operation
How to Convert All LDAP Data to NIS+ in One Operation
Merging NIS+ and LDAP Data
NIS+ to LDAP Migration Scenarios showed how to synchronize NIS+ and LDAP data when data conflicts between the two should be resolved by letting either the NIS+ or the LDAP data be authoritative. Merging data requires a more complicated procedure.
The example procedure in this section assumes the following.
How to Merge NIS+ and LDAP Data
Caution - If the LDAP data should change between the download in Step 4 and the upload in Step 10, the upload might overwrite those changes. For this reason, you should try to prevent modifications to the LDAP data during this procedure. Consult your LDAP server documentation for more information.
 1. Back up all NIS+ data using the nisbackup command.
 # nisbackup -a /nisbackup
 2. Identify the NIS+ tables that have data which must be merged with LDAP. Dump the contents of these tables to flat files. For example, dump the contents of group.org_dir by using nisaddent as follows.
 # nisaddent -d group | sort > /before/group
 Piping the nisaddent output to sort will make for convenient comparison later on.
 3. Download LDAP data to NIS+.
 # /usr/sbin/rpc.nisd -D -m tmpmap \
 -x nisplusLDAPinitialUpdateAction=from_ldap \
 -x nisplusLDAPinitialUpdateOnly=yes
 4. Start the NIS+ service.
 # svcadm enable network/rpc/nisplus:default
 The rpc.nisd daemon will now be serving the data downloaded from LDAP. If the conflicts to be resolved are such that NIS+ clients should not be exposed to them, make sure to perform this and the following steps when there are few (preferably no) active NIS+ clients.
 5. Dump the NIS+ data for the affected tables.
 The following example uses the group.org_dir table.
 # nisaddent -d group | sort > /after/group
 6. Create merged versions of the tables.
 Use the file merge procedure of your choice to produce the


Standard Auto
Standard Auto,
Standard Auto Meanings:
 1. Car insurance for the average driver with relatively few accidents in life
Literal Meanings of Standard Auto
Meanings of Standard:
 1. A measure of quality or performance.
 2. An idea or thing that is used as a reference, standard or model in benchmarking.
 3. A popular melody or song.
 4. Military or formal flags are hoisted on poles or waved on ropes.
 5. A tree or shrub that grows taller on a vertical trunk.
 6. Vertical piping for water or gas.
 7. Used or accepted as normal or medium.
 8. (From a tree or shrub) that grows on a full, upright trunk.
Sentences of Standard
 1. The restaurant offers a high quality service
 2. Low wages by today's standards
 3. Many songs were sung in Western countries in the form of jazz and pop kiss Nova standards.
 4. Sir Marcus Versley paid tribute to the Queen Mother and members of the Malton and Norton branches of the British Royal Legion raised flags.
 5. Regular tax rate
 6. Standard waves are useful in situations where direct altitude is required.
Synonyms of Standard
ordinary, traditional, set, usual, banderole, conventional, quality, paradigm, specification, requirement, expected, exemplar, fixed, colours, gauge, typical, ideal, principle, law, customary, archetype, quotidian, benchmark, criterion, pattern
Meanings of Auto:
 1. A basket
 2. Summary for Automatic (which means name 3)
Synonyms of Auto
machine, automobile, motor


text:
This review discusses the benefits seen of heat treatment during storage in order to reduce embryonic mortality caused by prolonged storage in avian species.
Heat treatment during storage
The longer eggs are stored, the higher the losses in hatchability. Stored eggs have a higher rate of embryonic mortality between days 2 and 3 of incubation, and need more time to complete incubation. This causes some live chicks to be rejected at take-off because they hatch too late. Several studies have investigated the possibility to limit the hatchability loss after long storage by applying short periods of heat treatment during storage, with differing results. Heat treatment for stored eggs has been around since the 1950's, most commonly known as SPIDES but also known as PRESI in Canada and IDEAS in Turkey. In recent years, more and more successful attempts have been reported applying heat treatment during storage, even for large-scale trials. Nicholson (2012) and Aviagen (2014) have shown a consistent improvement of the hatchability of long stored eggs (Ross 308 & Ross 708 broiler eggs, as well as various GP & GGP lines) by applying one or more heat treatments in 34 small to large-scale trials.
Effect of storage according to developmental stage
Development of the avian embryo begins immediately after fertilization in the infundibulum and continues as albumen and shell are deposited over the next 24-26 hours. The embryonic developmental stage at the moment of oviposition (egg laying) is variable for different genetic lines as well as parental ages. This may be genetically determined or linked to variations in oviductal transit time and/or body temperature. The effect of long storage times on embryonic development highly depends on the developmental stage of the embryos at oviposition. Although there are variations of staging at point of lay, according to breed type, etc. the stage should always be well away from the "point of no return". However collection timing, farm storage, transport, etc. can all affect the embryo stage if the eggs are poorly managed and it must be remembered that to fill a commercial incubator will usually take more than one days egg collection or eggs from more than one farm. It has been reported that embryos at the pre-gastrula stage at oviposition are less able to withstand prolonged storage compared to embryos at the gastrula stage. For these embryos, incubation during storage may improve hatchability, since it can advance them to the developmental stage in which hypoblast formation is complete. In contrast, if development is already well advanced and embryos have started to form the primitive streak, incubation during storage may be detrimental since it brings the embryo in a more advanced stage of primitive streak formation (to around stage 3/4 H&H, 1951, period of active cellular migration and differentiation). Storage during such a period could impede critical embryonic processes. So there is some sort of "point of no return"- once this is reached, the embryonic development cannot be stopped anymore via returning the eggs to cold storage.
How does heat treatment during storage help?
In the egg holding room, eggs are kept at or under a so-called threshold temperature or physiological zero for development. However, some partial, but not a global or proportionate development can take place at these subthreshold temperatures. Different cells or tissues in these early embryos may have different threshold temperatures for development, resulting in uneven or disproportionate development. When this disproportionate development progresses too far it may interfere with embryonic viability and, hence also hatchability. Total heat treatment aims to be around 12 hours, but this will depend on egg size, cold store temperatures and egg temperature at removal. Using current technology adapted to work in a specialised way, has allowed the process to be refined to give accurate and consistent results irrespective of egg age, breed, size, egg weight or storage time of the loaded eggs. This consistency would the answer the question as to why previous heat treatments have been shown to give a benefit but with varying levels of success.
Storing eggs is an inevitable practice when incubating eggs on commercial scale. It is impossible to synchronize breeder egg production with final product production, which often generates high levels of losses. Heat treatment during egg storage allows a significant reduction in these logistical discrepancies. There is undoubtedly a huge potential in restoring the hatchability of stored eggs, and even improving post-hatch performance. The initial series of commercial trials demonstrated that the operational parameters required in order to achieve a degree of benefits was relatively broad; however achieving the optimal gains considerably narrowed the parameter limitations. Add to this the logistical need to minimize space usage within the hatchery, it was clear there is a need for dedicated, accurate equipment that has a practical capacity. It is crucial to accurately and consistently control the key incubation parameters, as inadequate application of the technique will result in suboptimal results or might even lead to major losses. The precise measurement and control of the egg shell temperature in the incubator, as well as a controlled and uniform warm-up and cool-down phases of the eggs, are key to achieve consistent, optimal gains. The trials currently being undertaken under precise controlled conditions indicate gains can be achieved on eggs with relatively short storage. Taking an immature embryo to a more robust developmental stage either prior to or during initial storage has a major effect on embryonic viability as this gain is seen in the improved hatch of set figures.
Presented at the 9th Turkey Science and Production Conference


text:
Kalamazoo Chinese Academy (KCA) is a 501c(3) non-profit educational organization dedicated to providing Chinese language and cultural experiences to youth from all cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the greater Kalamazoo area.
The curriculum has been well-designed for students to develop both their oral and written communication skills in the Chinese language. In addition to language instruction, our school offers many opportunities to participate in Chinese cultural programs. This includes cultural classes in our school and participation in various festivals in our community.
To provide Chinese language and cultural experiences to K-12 students from all cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds in the greater Kalamazoo community.
To bridge the culture gap and enhance the community's understanding of Chinese culture. To prepare students for meaningful and successful participation in the global environment.
In addition to offering heritage and non-heritage Chinese language classes for various proficiency levels, KCA also offers cultural enrichment programs and activities that are engaging, entertaining, enlightening, and educational. Chinese dance classes are offered for multiple age groups with or without prior dance experience. Classes include Chinese folk, ballet, and creative movements, and are a beautiful fusion of various dance styles and techniques. The Chinese YoYo Club, also known as diabolo, provides an opportunity for youth to come together to play this ancient spinning game that provides endless levels of skill development, challenge, and entertainment. Students gather to learn challenging new tricks while perfecting dazzling routines, with more experienced students helping novice students learn how to spin, toss, and perform various other tricks.
KCA supports local businesses and nonprofits by collaborating with local organizations and participating in local events, such as the China Festival hosted by WMU, Chinese New Year Gala hosted by the Chinese Association of Greater Kalamazoo (CAGK), Art Hop hosted by the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, the building of a Chinese language book section at Portage District Library, etc. At some of these events, KCA dance students and YoYo club members get the opportunity to perform and show off their talents, serve as cultural ambassadors, and celebrate their rising confidence and pride as Chinese Americans and/or as performers.
As the world grows more diverse each day, it becomes more and more important for our youth to develop an appreciation toward other languages and cultures and to be globally competent. KCA provides youth access to a unique opportunity to develop global competence that would otherwise not be available in the greater Kalamazoo community. Non-heritage youth have the opportunity to learn another language at a younger age, when language acquisition is often faster and easier. Additionally, KCA creates an environment where heritage youth can appreciate, embrace, and celebrate their Chinese heritage and develop their identity as Asian Americans. Together, students and families from both heritage and non-heritage backgrounds come together to build community and work together to achieve common goals. When our youth are globally aware and feel a sense of belonging and a connection to their community, they are more likely to participate in and contribute to their community, and the civic engagement of our new generation is critical to our democracy.
The idea of starting a Chinese language school to teach the young Chinese children came to my mind in the late spring of 1972 when my daughter, who was a second-grader then, began to speak to me in English after school. The concept became stronger when I saw more young Chinese children losing their Mandarin-speaking ability as they started elementary school. I eventually started the first class of the Kalamazoo Chinese School in 1972 on a Sunday afternoon in the basement of my house. There were eight students, ages 5 through 8. The goals for the students of the school were:
I am very happy to see that the Chinese school has continued to grow and serve families after 48 years. It is meaningful to help our children to become aware of their Chinese heritage background, and also to help non-Chinese families understand Chinese culture.


text:
Consider the Kovsh
These ornamental ladles are kovshi (singular: kovsh), a type of Russian drinking vessel in the shape of a duck. Traditionally, various vessels were intended for different beverages. Kovshi, which come in a range of sizes, were intended for drinking kvass or beer. They were also used for drinking mead, a honey based drink that varied in flavor from using different fruits and berries. Silver kovshi were used for white mead, while golden kovshi were used for red mead.
They were originally made of wood and some early kovshi were made of tightly woven cloth. In the 16th century, they began to be made in silver and increasingly assumed a ceremonial status. The kovshi in our collection are nineteenth and early twentieth century pieces of the Old Russian style, seen in the multicolored enameling inspired by sixteenth and seventeenth-century patterns. A yearning for a Russian art unmarred by Western influence contributed to what became the Russian Revival in the 1870s and 1880s. Interest in exploring early Russian artistic traditions provided craftsmen with a rich body of sources for creating beautiful, distinctly Russian works of art. Cloisonné enameling is but one example; another is trompe l'oeil, discussed in this blog post. While many such pieces were ornamental, a few could function as punch bowls or salts depending on their size.
These pieces illustrate how time and again the functional and artistic merits of the decorative arts can be appreciated both independently and harmoniously.


a gallery wall of paintings on a dark purple wall
Transcendental Modernism
Drawn primarily from deCordova's permanent collection, Transcendental Modernism connects to the nearby exhibition Visionary New England, while focusing on artistic developments in Massachusetts from the 1940s through the 1990s. Veering away from dominant narratives of modern art as abstract, secular, and self-referential, Transcendental Modernism advances an understanding of vanguard art in Massachusetts based on intersectional social progress and interdisciplinary artistic pursuits. The exhibition examines the spiritual commitments of Boston Expressionists, the presence of Afrofuturism in Boston, and utopian collaborations between artists and scientists.
The exhibition was organized by Sam Adams, Curatorial Fellow.


text:
Secular trend in stature in the Portuguese population (_PHONE_)
Author: Padez C.
Source: Annals of Human Biology, Volume 30, Number 3, May-June 2003, pp. 262-278(17)
Publisher: Informa Healthcare
Abstract:The records of height of 995 101 18-year-old Portuguese males were analysed as well as the relation between localities of the subject's residence (districts) and final height. The sample includes all the Portuguese 18-year-old males born between 1966 and 1982 and examined between 1985 and 2000, in the north, centre and south of Portugal, representing all the social strata. Statistically significant differences (p 0.001) among the districts were found: males from Lisboa (172.79 cm) and Braga (172.67 cm), the most developed districts, are the tallest, and those from Madeira (170.67 cm), Castelo Branco, Leiria and Coimbra (171.31 cm) are the shortest. Comparing to published data from 1904, a positive secular trend in height was found. The average increase was 8.93 cm, which yields a rate of 0.99 cm per decade. This positive trend must be related to the general improvement in the population's standard living conditions that took place in Portugal mainly after the 1960s and 1970s, especially in terms of nutrition and the health system. However, taking into account the differences that still exist in mean height values between the districts, these results suggest that there are still great social inequalities in Portugal and the secular trend in height will continue for the Portuguese population in future decades.
Document Type: Research article
Publication date: 2003-05-01


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friendzone - a social network is rising
friendzone discontinued! Please use use the successor InstaHub.
Source code and install instructions are in English. Documentation and excersices currently are available in German only.
friendzone is a social network for educational purpose only. Students can create their own social network as a database admin. They learn basics about working in a software project, creating and managing a database, querying (SQL SELECT) and editing (SQL INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE).
This project aims to help students develop a general technical understanding of social networks. As result, they will be able to discuss sinjects as big data and information privacy.
Live Demo:
Read more (only in German):
Standing on the shoulders of giants
Many thanks and respect to:
Prerequisits for Windows users
Mac Os, Ubuntu and Windows
 1. Create a local database named friendzone with encoding utf8_general_ci
 2. Create user friendzone and grant all rights on friendzone and for creating databases
 3. cd to your local target folder and clone remote project: git clone git://
 4. Rename.env.example file to.envinside your project root and fill in the database information. (windows won't let you do that, so you have to use Notepad++ or open your console, cd your project root directory and run mv.env.example.env )
 5. Edit.env
 - APP_ENV=production
 - APP_DEBUG=false - enable only temporaly for debugging!
 - DB_* - if you want another database than MySQL, you have to edit source code.
 - DB_USERNAME - user for database
 - DB_PASSWORD - passwort for database
 - MAIL_* - mail provider for resetting passworts (admin accounts may reset passworts without sending a mail)
 - PHPMYADMIN - url for opening phpMyAdmin - Example:
 6. Open the console and cd to your project root directory
 7. Run composer install or php composer.phar install
 8. Run php artisan key:generate
 9. Run php artisan migrate
 10. Run php artisan db:seed to run seeders, if necessary.
 11. Visit website and create first user.
 12. In the user table of your database, manually set the attribute is_admin to 1. Now your user is admin and may manage other accounts.
Thank you for considering contributing to the friendzone! Create a pull request or contact me.
Contact me if you need an other licence.
social network for educational purposes only
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