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Recent Posts by Peter Kafka
Brightcove's Old-School IPO
August 24, 2011 at 8:07 am PT
Yes, Brightcove is a money-losing Web company trying to go public, just like several other Web companies this year.
But compared to some of its peers, Brightcove is almost a throwback: CEO Jeremy Allaire's company has a clearly defined business, straightforward accounting and a minimum of insider selling in the run-up to its IPO.
A quick glance at the the company's filing will tell you that:
Brightcove's business is easy to understand. It generates sales by helping Web publishers put video online. That "software as a service" model has let the company boost sales, along with the Web video boom. In 2006, it posted revenues of $1.4 million. Last year, it pulled in $43.7 million.
The company's accounting doesn't require a good imagination. There's nothing in Brightcove's S-1 along the lines of Groupon's now-discarded "ACSOI," or Demand Media's novel approach to expensing content costs. And while plenty of established companies use not-strictly-official measures like EBITDA to show off their finances in the best possible light, Brightcove doesn't bother — there's not a single reference to "non-GAAP accounting." Which makes it quite easy to see that the company lost $67.5 million from 2006 through 2010, and another $9.5 million in the first half of this year. It says it doesn't expect to turn a profit until 2013 at the earliest.
Brightcove's investors and employees are sticking around. Unlike Groupon, Zynga, and a few other highfliers that haven't filed yet, including Twitter and Facebook, there's been very little insider selling. Early investor AOL got rid of all of its shares last November, and last year Allaire sold off 1.3 million shares for a gain of $4.8 million; some other employees sold a few more shares. But Allaire still holds another 2.5 million shares — 4.5 percent of the company's equity — and as far as I can tell, that's about it for insider selling.
Tagged with: accounting, ACSOI, AOL, BCOV, Brightcove, Demand Media, filing, insider selling, IPO, Jeremy Allaire, LinkedIn, Pandora, public offering, S-1, SEC, video, Web, Zynga
Twitter Asks You How You Use Twitter While You Watch TV, While You're Watching TV and Using Twitter
(Almost) No One Is Reading Your Tweets
Happy Holidays! Facebook Stuffs More Ads in Its Stockings.
Music-Discovery Service ExFM Pulls the Plug
Netflix Doesn't Have the Market Cornered on Binge TV: Zombies + Walter White Help AMC Win the Fall VOD War
The problem with the Billionaire Savior phase of the newspaper collapse has always been that billionaires don't tend to like the kind of authority-questioning journalism that upsets the status quo.
— Ryan Chittum, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review about the promise of Pierre Omidyar's new media venture with Glenn Greenwald


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Was the EPA data breach a failure of cybersecurity 101?
By Amber Corrin
More details are emerging from the Environmental Protection Agency's security breach that affected nearly 8,000 users -- including the conclusion that it was caused by a virus in an e-mail attachment, possibly on a contractor's computer.
The compromised servers contained data related to the Superfund program, the hazardous-waste cleanup effort mandated in 1980. The program is almost entirely managed by contractors, according to the Washington Business Journal, which originally reported the EPA breach on Aug. 4.
The breach occurred in March.
The data, including Social Security numbers, bank account information and home addresses, was exposed after an e-mail attachment with a virus was opened on a computer with access privileges to the breached servers, according to reports.
The EPA did not confirm that the computer belonged to a contractor, but reportedly did say that the agency heavily relies on contractors to provide IT services.
"Vigilantly keeping data secure from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats is a top priority at EPA and throughout the public and private sectors. The agency has already added new safeguards in response to this incident," reads an EPA statement.
The breach leaves questions about the cybersecurity measures in place at the agency -- and agencies throughout government. Technology and policy are both critical to the success of a security effort, along with education and training, experts say.
"We cannot just have policy-based approaches to cybersecurity – it has to be technology-based too," said Tony Busseri, CEO of Route1, an IT security firm. "If we rely upon the human condition – i.e., we expect someone to adhere to a policy – and that's the only protection we have, we're going to have failure. By nature people are prone to making errors."
According to Busseri, if a contractor was remotely accessing the servers – which the EPA has not confirmed – they may have been exposed to malware and/or viruses on the contractor's computer.
That concern isn't limited to the EPA, or to this specific incident – it's something that must be considered as the federal government increasingly looks to telework and bring-your-own-device policies, Busseri said.
"We've forgotten in today's world some of the simple rules of dealing with data. As soon as we allow data to go beyond the network perimeter, all the firewalls and monitoring tools are rendered useless. It comes down to cybersecurity 101," he said. "We should be using technology that is principled around minimizing vulnerabilities and risk. Then you educate the user on using that technology."
Amber Corrin is a former staff writer for FCW and Defense Systems.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Move to The Residences in St. Augustine, FL 32092
Located in The Neighborhoods of The Slammer & Squire
Conveniently situated at the intersection of WGV Boulevard and Royal Pines Parkway, these three-story flats feature wide balconies, garages and/or covered parking, storage facilities and covered access breezeways. Many of the upper level units have views all the way to the Hall of Fame Tower - which is over ½ mile across the Slammer & Squire golf course landscape. Other units, from the ground up, are situated overlooking the #8 fairway of the course and its background of forested conservation lands. The 8' wide community pathway links The Residences to all other neighborhoods as well as the Hall of Fame entertainment district via a WGV Boulevard bridge underpass, eliminating crossing conflicts with vehicular traffic.
The Residences Community Photos


Lately I've been listening to a few more podcasts and reading a few more op ed pieces in the media than I ever have before, and one really interesting observation has become clear to me. We are (all of us) biased in ways I think would surprise us were they actually understood. While it may seem obvious, nevertheless this had the feel of real discovery to me. And I think there is a reason for our collective myopia: the world rewards perception.
I think it's worthwhile to consider that the "world" does not exist as an objective reality like we suspect it might. And in the case where there is no objective reality, then the very concept of bias is meaningless. You simply have people describing their vantage points. Everyone has a particular view, and while all of them are more or less biased with respect to all the others, very few are actually mutually exclusive. The world as I see it is more like a web of partially overlapping perceptions than a fixed subject that reveals itself to careful scrutiny. Because of this, I think we mislead ourselves whenever we make sweeping claims.
But is the world simply what we make of it then? Can I simply declare how much money I have in my bank account? Who will love me? What my job title will be? How long I will live?
Of course not. But it simply doesn't follow from the fact that we do not control the world, or our specific place in it at any given time, that it must be the fixed, objective and singular "thing" we wish/suppose it to be. What's interesting to me is that if there is any veracity to this claim that the "world" as we think of it simply doesn't exist, then our relationship to the world changes. Our responsibilities change. Our experience is no longer simply a report on the world's condition, but the return on our perceptual investment. I want to explore what this could mean, but first I'd like to clarify what I'm suggesting.
For my purpose here it's fine to declare that water flows downhill and electrons radiate light when they shift places within the atom. I don't dispute these notions. What's more interesting to me is how the world's utterly reliable mechanics mislead us into thinking that our experiences are the result of particular and finite causes—of the world being a certain way. This idea compels us to identify the factors at work around us that have led to the conditions in which we find ourselves. As to what these are, or which are most relevant, we simply do not agree. If half a lifetime of observation is any clue, we'll never agree.
If the world were as objective as we've hoped, meaning that the experiences it engendered were due to orderly causes whose underlying mechanisms were more or less amenable to our tinkering, then it would be meaningful to think we could modulate the world's dials and change the quality of our existence. But if, instead, there are fundamental relationships between the modes of perception with which we seed the "world" and the sorts of evidence, or experiences, that it returns, then no amount of tinkering with the dials will lead to sustained transformations of experience. This, I believe, is the reality of our condition.
Why does this matter? Well, let us suppose that what we call "the world" exists only as an experiential engine that returns evidence to us of precisely what we have chosen to perceive. If this is so, then 99% of the strategies we find ourselves seeking to implement will fall short of the promised return. This would be important I think. Also, this discovery about the world would suggest we possess capabilities we've simply not understood.
Perhaps the most essential argument against what I'm proposing would be this: I can't wake up tomorrow, flip a switch on my perception, and end poverty. In fact, I can hardly flip the switch on my own life, and if you're talking about the power of positive thinking… then I can't believe I've even read this far. So let me be clear: I'm not talking about the power of positive thinking.
I'm talking about hereditable, self-reinforcing conditions of perception universally active in the collective human population so fundamental we don't know how to interrogate them. So fundamental they may even be hard-wired in our biology. One such perception might be this: we exist in a zero sum game. Another might be this: our existence is fragile. Or this: I can draw upon only on what I own. I'm talking about ideas so fundamental, and so ubiquitous, they appear to us as givens. We can't imagine how they could be outcomes instead of facts. We've baked them into the world engine in spades.
If these notions I've suggested about perception were so, then what would be the rational response to the world as we "see" it? It would be simple, I think. Being the smartest or most astute would be useless, really. Being "right" about policy would be secondary. What would be most important would be the inner act of perceptually undercutting these hereditable traits of perceptual orientation that have produced the word as it appears to be, and of making other possibilities real to ourselves and others. I think we'd recognize with little to do that any contributions we can make to supplying evidence of the possibility for genuine transformation would be of lasting value. What other response would compute?
Instead of mud-slinging, shouting one another down, insisting on our version of the "truth", or focusing on achieving the greatest degree of control over external conditions, we'd recognize the greatest resource we have is one another. We might even recognize that policies or actions we take that enable others to perceive the world anew are the ones that matter most, for these contributions would in essence contribute to the lasting cessation of needless suffering. If the gift we wished to give the world each day was the gift of evidencing the idea that the world does not need to be as it is, it would not be so hard.
I don't have all the answers, not even a fraction of them, but I'm not sure it's answers that we need. I think we need better questions.
Louise Erdrich's novel The Round House is first and foremost a good story. If I was to recount the basic narrative in less than a page—as you would if someone asked you, "what was that one about?"—I think you'd find it interesting even then, and for me it would be hard to do so without wandering off into some enticing narrative thicket. That's not something we can say about every book that toys with literary greatness.
Imagine someone asking you to tell the story of Mrs. Dalloway, and how difficult it would be to answer. They're quite different entities, Mrs. Dalloway and The Round House, to be sure, and that's not to say one is objectively better or worse than another. Such comparisons are ultimately facile. But it is to say that Louise Erdrich tells a beautiful and compelling story—in this case, a story that pushes and pulls on you from start to finish.
The subjects she chooses are visceral and necessary: violence against women, the cuckolding of justice on an Ojibwe reservation, the power of true friendship, and the symmetry of desperation and greed in our world. The urgency Erdrich feels for her themes is obvious, and it gives the work both tenderness and grit. She writes with the need to tell it just so, to be truthful to what it is and who it involves, and to avoid any proximal reporting. The result is a work that orbits the potency of its core on every page, a work unashamed of being what it has to be.
The characters, too, are unflinching in their construction. Flawed and hungry, unique and beautiful, they are accessible to us even as they kindle awareness of meanings that transcend the particular. What I loved about the characters is that they are not layered creations out of literary necessity; they are layered precisely as the world is layered, as we are layered. In this, The Round House is as much a vision as it is a story. It is a book that pierces the illusion of individuals disconnected from the powers they represent, to reveal that we are each indeed containers of history, agents of dreaming and need, and portents of time and place.
The externalized systems in our world attempt to displace the archetypal knowing of ourselves we once possessed, but those systems destroy what they seek to preserve. They rob us, too, of the power of who we are. Erdrich senses this I think, and lets it be what it is on the page. Thus the judge who cannot find justice, the priest who cannot find God, and the cop who cannot find clues. The powerful in this story are the ones who go against the grain, who walk the way that is their own to walk even if they flounder along the path. They are the ones who bring gifts back to the people.
The tragedy revealed by The Round House is the gifts that have been stolen, the physical and spiritual sustenance we all require that has been squandered, usurped, defiled or forgotten. It is when we find ourselves bereft that we, in turn, profane what matters most. In a fable contained within the greater novel, this force takes the form of hunger, which leaves a person vulnerable to possession by a wiindigoo. Such a person becomes an animal that sees other people as food, and if everyone in the community is in agreement, then the person must be killed. But great care must be taken in the killing of this person. Such a step should only be taken once all other remedies have been attempted.
The Round House is the story of one boy's confrontation with a wiindigoo in the broad daylight of our broken world, and of the steps that must be taken to cast it aside. Erdrich shows that those steps, even taken with care and with courage, exact a toll. In a sense, there can be no justice—no genuine redemption—until the altar at the center of our being, and of our communities, is restored. The altar in this story is the Round House, the ceremonial ground where the physical world is joined with the spiritual, a place that echoes with the wisdom of the buffalo, and also the scene of the crime that sets this novel into motion. Erdrich shows us that the consequences of hunger are not individual, but shared. Until the hunger in us is fed, and the original bounty of this world recovered, we all remain vulnerable to the wiindigoo.
In his landmark paper "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" philosopher Thomas Nagel suggested that an organism is conscious when there is something that it is like to be that organism. It's a beautiful definition, I think, and one that can be expanded to all sorts of questions of identity. What is it like to be American? To be a farmer? To be an art critic? To be a woman? To be Latino?
Is it possible that we partake of many forms of consciousness simultaneously? I think so, and in Paul Beatty's delicious, raucous, and profound novel on racism in America, The Sellout, Beatty describes in laugh-out-loud satire and rollicking detail what it is like to be black, only to undermine his own exploration with the discovery that blackness is unintelligible lest it be understood in the context of what it is like to be human.
I've read a number of great books in the last few years, but none that I would say were better than this one, and few that I would say were as good. Great art has a sort of recursive genius, a multi-layered exposition that cannot be planned or forced, but arises seemingly of its own volition and I daresay surprises even the artist at times. Individual lines echo major themes. Sequences illumine facets of the whole, and a spirit emerges from the work itself that speaks at every point, yet wriggles out of sight whenever we try to grasp hold of it. This book has that quality in self-referential spades.
We first catch sight of the book's slippery theme in the Prologue, when the narrator—who is on trial at the district court for reinstituting segregation and slavery in his hometown, as part of an effort to restore the community's lost identity and literal place on the map—asks why his only plea options are guilty or innocent. "Why couldn't I be 'neither', or 'both'?" he asks. Then he says, "Your Honor, I plead human." His lawyer instantly intervenes to clarify an innocent plea, then jokingly requests a change of venue, with Salem, Massachusetts and Nuremburg, Germany being the obvious choices.
The narrator's father is F.K. Me, a social scientist "of some renown" who conducted experiments on the narrator throughout his childhood. In a reprisal of research conducted by Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark on color consciousness in black children, Me presents his son with two dollscapes—one of Ken and Malibu Barbie chilling by the Dreamscape pool, and a second of famous black civil rights leaders being chased through a swamp by plastic German shepherds. Harriet Tubman is a 36-24-36 (bust-waist-hips) Barbie painted black, and the North Star is a Christmas ornament. When the narrator says, "I'm down with Ken and Barbie," (because they have better accessories), his father yells, "What? Why?" And the research program is terminated. The narrator is sent out to work in the fields.
This is the paradox that Beatty reveals so masterfully. Blackness isn't an answer in and of itself, but nor is it anything but relevant to the narrator's experience of being human. Through prose that cuts and bites and rips with humor—several times I laughed out loud in an otherwise empty room—Beatty grapples head-on with the very real tragedy of racism. He left me with the realization that there is, in fact, something it is like to be black in America, something encoded in the world and its history which we cannot simply strike down with a wand, but also it is a thing which defies absolutes. Its boundaries are diffuse, and whatever it is, we're all involved in it somehow, whether inside or out.
When we look closely at it, as closely as we can, we find that the center of blackness, as of whiteness, and of every other –ness we would discern, is our tragic inability as humans to hold difference and sameness together. This failure is the essential human handicap. We've failed to recognize that both are part of being human, and that each is necessary to the other—that we, in all of our colors and shapes and sizes, can only truly possess our humanity when our uniqueness and our commonality are respected as treasures equally worth preserving. It is this paradox, surfacing in passage after passage to peek at us through Beatty's delicious harangue of racism in America, that gives this novel life.
what it was like to be Hafiz.
from one cracking hangover of being.
And you don't look away.
What these characteristics don't tell you is that life is a singular field of continuous transformation. There appear to be discrete organisms, but there are not. There are merely stable orchestrations within a sea of exchange—local boons of complexity which begin and end in light, and which are never truly discrete.
The mechanistic notion of life we're taught describes the stacking and sequencing of stable commodities—the combination of immutable elements into molecular propensities, the typesetting of amino acids into instructions, and the weaving of molecules into the biological media of bone, muscle, brain and skin. But the underlying process of life is not combination; it is transformation.
Transformation simply looks like combination when it is not understood for what it is. When it is not afforded its natural state of wholeness.
All of life's exchange involves the speeding up or slowing down of the universal substance of light. A rock absorbs and emits light with minimal transformation. At most there is a shift in spectrum. But a tree absorbs light and emits—days later—fragrance, wood, and cherries. The light has slowed down, densified into matter, and been transformed. This is the hallmark of life.
The misperception that forms when transformation is left out of life's equation is beautifully apparent in our understanding of water. We call it H2O when in fact it is nothing of the sort. Water is not a sack of atoms, but a marriage begetting a new form of life. Water is a transformer of cosmic information.
Both Viktor Schauberger and Johann Grander wrote of this, and their ideas would be easy to dismiss were it not for their efficacy. Grander described water as a "cosmic substance" and noted that water actively receives subtle forms of energy and information from the cosmos, stores them, and releases them to living organisms. We see in water a primordial version of the continuous process of transformation on which life is built.
In Grander's technology water that has been prepared using his proprietary methods is sealed inside of stainless steel containers. These containers can then basically go anywhere, and, through resonance, the water inside of them can impart beneficial energetic characteristics to other water that passes nearby. The effects are most obvious when studying the bacteria that live in the water. What has been found in repeated trials is that the bacteria present in the water not only undergo a physiological transformation—a shift in the size and structure of the colonies that is noted when the bacteria are cultured, as well as an increased metabolic rate—but also a shift in the spectrum of species that dominate the population.
Grander described this as the reactivation of water's natural immune system.
Leaving the details and secondary effects aside for the moment, what is astounding to me is water's capability to receive information from the larger structure of nature, to not only sustain it's "living state" but simultaneously to transform it into forms that organisms can sense and utilize. One of the more amazing examples of this that I heard once was when I had a brief correspondence with a research scientist at Purdue University who was studying the role that water dynamics play in the body clock. He'd noticed an interesting phenomenon: the inner dynamics of water he was studying sometimes "rebooted" during strong solar events. I sent him a Grander device once to test—a small apparatus the size of a ball point pen with water sealed inside of it—and he noted the same process occurred instantly when the device was exposed to water in his laboratory.
An amazing thing about the Grander devices is they don't wear out. So it's not a case of the water within them being "charged up" at the factory and then "wearing down" over time. They don't have any power source, and are just water in a box. It's literally a case of water being a medium of continuous energetic exchange with the larger natural world, absorbing and transforming subtle forms of energy and information into new life. It's a case of water being a bridge from the cosmos to the cell.
When I first began experimenting with Grander devices I was working in industrial cooling systems. Mostly at nearby hockey rinks. I would head over during lunch over several weeks to take samples of the cooling water to a laboratory, then install a Grander device, and do it again. It was fascinating to see the pictures of the bacteria colonies and witness how they changed in shape, size and quantity. Something was obviously happening.
On one occasion two different labs were given samples from the same system we were testing. One lab told me the cooling water had thousands and thousands of colony forming units, and the other lab told me there were none whatsoever. This was really strange, because it was the middle of summer and the water was under incredible stress biologically speaking. I asked the second lab to check for really small colonies, and they called me back later and said they had assumed there was some sort of very fine debris in the sample because they didn't usually see colonies like that, but on re-examining the slides with this idea in mind they recounted, and agreed with the other labs quantification of the result.
Of course, most people I spoke with either kept their thoughts to themselves on this idea I was offering, or suggested I check myself into a rehab facility. But every time I think of the stars whispering into water's ear, and water listening–transforming and passing those whispers on to living beings–I get goose bumps. Non-living matter simply doesn't do this… Not, at least, at the level of scale that we see in living matter. At the deeper levels of nature I think we know each particle of matter is this very sort of resonating energetic twinkle.
When I was a boy my elementary school science book offered a definition of life that was based on a collection of properties. It was like a checklist, and where there was the right sort of smoke, you could count on a certain fire. Life was marked by the ability to reproduce, the ability to move and/or respond to environmental stimuli, and the ability to maintain homeostasis. I don't remember all of the characteristics now; I think maybe there were four or five of them. Years later I read a book which contained a definition of life authored by the Chilean scientist Francisco Varela, which encapsulated much of this in the singular notion termed autopoiesis. The basic translation is self-creating.
Another concept I loved discovering was the idea of dissipative systems. This is the notion that the flow of energy through a system can enable that system to sustain higher states of order. The example often given is a shallow pan of water which is heated from below. When a number of factors converge, the flow of heat through the water will create "dissipative structures", which are ordered convection cells within the pan of water. In essence, the water spontaneously forms an ordered pattern of convection currents—think of little water wheels spinning in place alongside of one another—that transport hot water from the bottom up to the surface, where it cools. This idea of dissipative structures is an elementary facet of life. We eat high grade nutrients, and return them to the Earth in a "lower grade" form, and our bodies live off of the difference.
Around this time I also began reading about water, first through the lens of Callum Coats' translations of Viktor Schauberger. I wasn't as much interested in water as I was Schauberger's conception of nature in general. One thing led to another and I was on my way to Austria to tour industrial facilities that were using the somewhat esoteric technology of Austrian naturalist Johann Grander (described in a previous post here) to eliminate the need for industrial chemicals in their cooling systems. These were modern, state of the art manufacturing facilities in Austria and Germany that produced such goods as competition skis (think downhill and slalom), semiconductors, and printed textiles. This was a tremendously exciting time for me.
Eventually I realized there was very little I'd learned about life over the years that didn't apply to water. It would take a pretty persuasive argument at this point to convince me water is non-living. For Johann Grander, water was absolutely alive. And there is a profound way in which all that we call life appears to be an augmentation and extension of the dynamics embodied in water. I want to explore these ideas in a series of pieces, not in any particular order.
Over the last ten years or so the Russian researcher Vladimir Voeikov,with the help of other scientists, has described what he terms the "respiration of water." You could think of this respiration as being closely related to metabolism, and to the idea of dissipative structures. The first definition on Google of metabolism is "the chemical processes that occur within a living organism to maintain life." Voeikov showed that water spontaneously undergoes internal reactions which form Reactive Oxygen Species. Low grade energy from the environment (think of water flowing down a stream, or vaporizing into morning mist) causes spontaneous reactions to occur which release bound oxygen and hydrogen. He calls this an exhalation because oxygen and hydrogen gases are released and mobilized in solution. The inhalation is when these gases are once again consumed, and bound together again. The key is that some of the energy released is stored in more complex molecules.
A distinction between dissipative structures in non-living matter and those found in living matter is that in non-living matter there are no internal reservoirs of energy storage. For instance, in the example of the convection cells, as soon as we remove the heat source, the convection cells in the pan dissolve. But in our bodies—the other extreme end of the spectrum—we don't have to eat continuously to live. We store the energy from our food in complex organic molecules that we can break down later to utilize when needed. It turns out that water does this, too!
Voeikov has shown that water's respiration processes are capable of producing more complex molecules such as H2O2 and other peroxides. This was a hypothesis he offered in approximately 2006. Later, through collaboration with the Italian physicist Emilio del Giudice, whose work focused on the formation of coherent domains within water, Voeikov realized that energy could also be stored in extensive water clusters that exist in a coherent state. A coherent domain is an ensemble of water molecules vibrating in unison, and it takes energy exchange to "lock" and "unlock" these states. When an ensemble of water molecules are in this collective state, they are able to exist for an extended period of time without degrading due to thermal effects. This is, in essence, a sort of homeostasis.
Let me try to explain this, because it's really important. When water molecules are in a coherent state they are essentially a single entity. You can only deal with them as a group. So if they change temperature, they all have to change temperature at once, together. They possess the property, in other words, of wholeness. Their individual degrees of freedom are blurred together and so transactions that could occur for individual molecules cannot take place for the group, because they are all holding hands in a circle. They don't have a free hand you can grab hold of. Thus, a coherent system is in some ways isolated from its environment, and energy can effectively be stored in these reservoirs for use at a later time. This energy storage for later mobilization is the hallmark of life!
What does this all really mean? Well, I am realizing I'll never come close to conveying the ideas about water that inspire me in a single post, so this will be a new series that I will write. But let me close this first post by suggesting that scientists have discovered that water displays one of the most fundamental characteristics of living organisms: it possesses an internal, cyclical dynamic that is able to receive energy from its environment, metabolize that energy into more complex internal structures that are insulated from the external environment, and utilize that energy through metabolic cycles to continuously sustain higher-order functions. There is much, much more to say about this, but I hope you find it an intriguing beginning to what is for me a fascinating topic.


Raised on Chicago House and fresh on the scene when hip-hop was king, independent DJ Kwest_on cultivated a signature style. Inspired to start a weekly party defining the true meaning of having a good time, Organic was born. Other parties on heavy rotation: The Freedom Party, We Love Soul, and a residency at Untitled.


Jerry Paull Replaces Sue Gartner on RSCA Exec. Bd.
After many years of dedicated service to the Rock Spring Civic Assoc. in numerous capacities, Sue Gartner recently resigned from the Board to pursue other activities in her busy life. While we wish her all the best, we will miss her frequent and valuable contributions to the Exec. Board.
The Exec. Board then met to consider a replacement for Sue and unanimously elected Jerry Paull, who has demonstrated a deep interest in RSCA, was a candidate in the recent RSCA elections, and has long serviced the community in other capacities. We are delighted to welcome Jerry to the Board.


a. What kind of learning is assessed in the article?
b. Was validity and reliability addressed in the article? How?
c. Do you agree with the information contained in the article? Why or why not?
The article discusses what is called Universal Design for Instruction. It is a means to help students that have special needs integrate to the general education classroom. The article is broken down into the key components of Universal Design for Instruction. The learning assessed in this article seems to center around Gardener's Multiple Intelligences Theory which states that all children learn differently. He proposed 7 "intelligences" that students may need to have adaptions for in order for them to learn in a manner that is best suited for them. Gardener states that there are Visual Learners, Auditory Learners and Kinesthetic Learners that all need different adaptions to help the realize their potential.
Learning assessment review based on a ProQuest article. Includes validity and reliability of the assessment. References included.
Creating assessments that are reliable and valid.


>> > On Oct 25, 8:25 pm, "address@hidden"
>> >> appeals to more people than the one on emacs wiki.
>> > As I see there are 103 user location entries on Emacs Wiki in total.
>> Please use international country code abbreviations.
>> gm for Germany?  Yuck!
> I've also found this strange, but there's nothing I can do about it.
Yep, sorry, I thought this was your own site.
There seem to be 231 entries already, right?
> country code to it.
>> > 75 people registered in the first 12 hours and counting.


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Q: How to add a tooltip in xslt I want to add a tooltip to an image as follows:

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    </xsl:if>

toolTip="Value" doesnt work. How can I do this?

A: title= "Value" also seems to work!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How to append another column header and values to CSV file using Pandas in Python I'm trying to append an extra column heading to a CSV file, and to also add a column value for each row in the CSV file.
I am able to partially get this right, but my code adds an additional header row as well. The TIMESTAMP column does not exist in the CSV file - this is the new header and column values I am trying to insert.
import os
import pandas as pd
from datetime import datetime

# Get the list of all files and directories
path = "//wherever"
dir_list = os.listdir(path)

fields = ['Field1', 'Field2', 'Field3','TIMESTAMP']

for i in dir_list:
    file = path+"//"+i
    time_raw = i.split("_")
    time_compressed = time_raw[1]
    d = datetime.strptime(time_compressed, "%Y%m%dT%H%MZ")
    df = pd.read_csv(file, encoding="cp1252", names=fields, low_memory=True)
    df['TIMESTAMP'] = d
    df.to_csv(file)

A: The reason why you're getting this additional header is because you're using names inside your pd.read_csv call. If you want to read only the columns from the fields list, change the parameter names to usecols.
For example:
import os
import pandas as pd
from datetime import datetime

# Get the list of all files and directories
path = "//wherever"
dir_list = os.listdir(path)

fields = ['Field1', 'Field2', 'Field3']

for filename in dir_list:
    filepath = f"{path}{os.path.sep}{filename}"
    time_compressed = filename. split("_")[1]

    d = datetime.strptime(time_compressed, "%Y%m%dT%H%MZ")
    df = pd.read_csv(filepath, encoding="cp1252", usecols=fields, low_memory=True)

    df["TIMESTAMP"] = d
    df.to_csv(filepath, index=False)


text:
Marni's art installation and furniture designs at Salone del Mobile
Welcome to the 'Animal House'
Image: Buro 24/7 Russia
4/2/14, 5:00 PM 2014-04-02T17:00:45+04:00
Birds, giraffes and rabbits make up an eclectic mix of art and design by fashion label Marni, set to go on show at Salone di Mobile this year
Italian powerhouse Marni will unveil an exotic and vibrant furniture installation as part of Milan Design Week, built around the Salone del Mobile fair that launches next week.
Entitled 'Animal House', the concept is comprised of a series of limited edition pieces which draw inspiration from giraffes, flamingoes and rabbits. The festive designs feature strong colour schemes and bold materials such as metal and PVC...
The range includes classic chairs, chairs with one-sided armrests, rocking chairs, small benches and tables – and asymmetry is one of the principal themes of the collection.
Each unique piece was handmade by a group of female Colombian workers as part of a sustainable work initiative, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charities which help terminally ill children, and the works reflect a certain freedom to mix and match – something that stays within signature characteristics of the Marni brand, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Salone del Mobile runs April 8–13
Salon del Mobile
The Buro 24/7 Overview: Art Basel Miami Beach
Designs of the Year 2014: Shortlist announced
Art Dubai 2014: The art in Cartier


Fitness Ball Basics is a user-friendly educational exercise book for achieving a stronger, leaner and more flexible body on the ball.
The Body Coach, Paul Collins, provides step-by-step coaching for improving balance, co-ordination, strength and flexibility on the ball with exercises that target the upper, mid and lower body regions.
It is the perfect educational book for those who seek to improve their total body fitness with exercises that can easily be carried out at home or in the gym by athletes, sports persons and fitness enthusiasts alike.


text:
Snap Counts: Cook, Jefferson Pace Vikings Offense
EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings will get some time off following a perfectly normal 36-28 win over the Steelers on Thursday night.
All kidding aside, Minnesota's close victory, which was initially on track to be a blowout but tightened, kept it alive in the NFC playoff picture. The Vikings are at the Bears in Week 15 on Monday Night Football.
Here's a look at Minnesota's snap counts in Week 14:
— Kirk Cousins and the Vikings revamped offensive line played all 70 offensive snaps. The unit, from left to right, of Olisaemeka Udoh, Ezra Cleveland, Garrett Bradbury, Mason Cole and Brian O'Neill didn't allow a sack all night and paved the way for 242 rushing yards. Cousins threw for 214 yards with two scores and two interceptions.
— Justin Jefferson (67 snaps) and K.J. Osborn (60 snaps) paced Minnesota's wide receivers group with Adam Thielen inactive because of an ankle injury. Jefferson had a team-high seven catches (for 79 yards), while Osborn had a team-high 83 receiving yards (on three receptions). Both players found the end zone. Dede Westbrook played 29 offensive snaps for the Vikings. Ihmir Smith-Marsette was in for three offensive snaps, and Dan Chisena played two.
— Dalvin Cook returned from a one-game absence with a vengeance, playing 54 snaps in a starring performance. Cook rushed for 205 yards and two scores on 27 carries, and set a franchise record for first-half rushing yards with 153. Fullback C.J. Ham played 31 snaps on Thursday, and Alexander Mattison was on the field for 13 plays. He had six carries for 27 yards.
— Tyler Conklin played 49 offensive snaps, catching two passes for 20 yards. Luke Stocker played 16 snaps, and Chris Herndon was on the field for nine snaps. Herndon had one catch for 17 yards.
— Blake Brandel was on the field for 17 snaps as an extra lineman and drew praise from Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer. Ihmir Smith-Marsette (three snaps) and Dan Chisena (two snaps) each also played sparingly on offense at wide receiver.
— Defensively, the Vikings had five players — Xavier Woods, Harrison Smith, Patrick Peterson, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks — who were on the field for all 74 snaps. Smith had a sack and helped force an incompletion on the game's final play, and Kendricks also recorded a sack.
— Mackensie Alexander played 64 snaps as the slot cornerback, and Minnesota rotated through a handful of players opposite Peterson throughout the game. Bashaud Breeland played 50 snaps (and had an interception) but also missed a chunk of the game due to illness. Kris Boyd (12 snaps) and Cameron Dantzler (11 snaps) each saw the field for double-digit plays against the Steelers.
— D.J. Wonnum (67 snaps) led the way at defensive end. Sheldon Richardson played 56 snaps and had a sack in the win. Kenny Willekes played 31 snaps in a reserve role, and Patrick Jones II was on the field for 17 plays.
— Armon Watts led all defensive tackles with 39 snaps and also had a sack. Dalvin Tomlinson played 38 plays and Michael Pierce got to the quarterback and recorded his first forced fumble on one of his 30 snaps. James Lynch played 18 snaps against the Steelers.
— Nick Vigil played just 10 snaps in the Vikings base defense, and Camryn Bynum was on the field for a single defensive snap after missing the past two games with an ankle injury.
— Blake Lynch, Minnesota's top special teams player in terms of playing time, was out with an ankle injury. The Vikings had five players — Ham, Chisena, Bynum, Troy Dye and Josh Metellus
Game Photos: Vikings vs. Steelers
View game action photos between the Vikings and Steelers during the Thursday Night Football matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium.
— log 22 snaps apiece in the third phase.
— Vigil played 21 snaps on special teams, while Boyd (17 snaps), Stocker (16 snaps) and Tuf Borland (15 snaps) also saw ample playing time. Borland made his NFL debut after being elevated from the practice squad.
— Ryan Connelly played 11 snaps on special teams before leaving with an injury.


text:
Q: Spring mulitple rows with hibernate bean We are migrating to spring & hibernate from struts1.x and JDBC.
Facing issue while adding multiple rows in jsp (like mapped properties in struts1.x) based on user preferences (Ex: Adding/deleting employees to Manager) in spring.
In service layer, getting Manager Object (as persistent object returned by hibernate )then displaying manager object in JSP. Employee row will be deleted by using java script/jquery from html form by user delete action, upon form submission spring does not delete in the respective employee from the list of employees of Manager object (model attribute). I have worked on some examples without hibernate where the object is being deleted from the list and works well but not in the hibernate prepared object.
ex: lets say Manager object have 3 employees as List when displaying on screen, when user will delete one employee row and submitted then spring needs to populate the Manager object with two employee objects as list since one employee is deleted by user in UI.
I suspect that, this behavior with PersistentBag implementation of Hibernate?
Anybody experienced this problem earlier? Any ideas would be greatly appreciate.

A: It might depends on how the pojo is declared..
Sure you are deleting a manager, but how is the manager connected to the employee?
If on the manager you have a Employee Object, you should have
    @OneToOne(cascade=CascadeType.ALL, orphanRemoval=true, fetch=FetchType.EAGER)
    @Fetch(FetchMode.SUBSELECT)
    @JoinColumn(name="EMPLOYEE_ID", nullable = false)
    private Employee employee;

This way, if you delete the manager object, it will cascade delete the Employee object...
Either your "cascade" is enforced via db, or it must be enforced via annotation.. if you're not doing either, of course nothing will happen...


Handy pebble erasers in a mix of ten. These little friends are mini versions of Koh-i-noor's well known shapes and forms. Each eraser is unique and has a unique color combination. There feel gentle to the touch with their rounded edges.
Koh-i-noor is a Czech brand that has been around since I can remember. In Eastern Europe they were THE household name for stationery and are still very successful on the market. We love their approach to design: a little bit traditional and also nostalgic.
The mix contains 10 erasers in different colors, forms and sizes.
Length approx.: 3-4 cm / 1.2-1.6"
Great assortment, nice quality! Came in plenty of time for the holidays (unlike my belated review!) 10/10 would order again!
Fast shipping and well packaged. The erasers are excellent.


text:
Le royaume de Tallo est du  à 1856 l'un des deux royaumes des Makassar dans le sud de Sulawesi. Il formait avec le royaume de Gowa une alliance politique dans laquelle le souverain était de la lignée de Gowa et le premier ministre de celle de Tallo. Avec l'islamisation des deux royaumes au début du , ils deviennent généralement connus sous le nom de royaume de Makassar.

Histoire
Le royaume de Tallo est fondé au milieu du . À la mort du sixième roi de Gowa, Tunatangka'lopi, son fils aîné Batara Gowa Tuminanga ri Paralakkenna lui succède. Son frère Karaeng Loe ri Sero devient souverain d'une partie du royaume, Tallo.

Par la suite, les deux royaumes s'affrontent jusqu'à la défaite de Tallo. Sous le règne du dixième roi de Gowa, Tunipalangga Ulaweng, et du quatrième roi de Tallo, Daeng Padulu (vers 1540-1576), un accord est conclu, qu'on appelle "Rua karaeng se're ata" ("deux rois mais un peuple"). Par cet accord, le roi de Gowa est le Sombaya (roi suprême), tandis que le roi de Tallo devint le "porte-parole aveugle" de la communauté formée par les deux royaumes. Depuis lors, Tallo a toujours participé à l'expansion du royaume de Gowa dans sud de Sulawesi et au-delà. L'élite du royaume se convertit à l'islam en 1605 et participe à la diffusion de la nouvelle religion à travers l'archipel indonésien.

Parmi les rois éminents de Tallo on peut citer Karaeng Matoaya (1593-1623) et son fils Karaeng Pattingalloang (1641-1654), qui étaient des hommes de grande culture et des premiers ministres dignes de confiance, portant le royaume de Makassar à son apogée. Au cours de cette période, le pouvoir des Makassar s'étendait sur la plupart de Sulawesi du Sud, du Kalimantan oriental, de Lombok, de Sumbawa et de certaines parties des Moluques et de Timor. Mais cette expansion ne pouvait qu'entrer en conflit avec les prétentions des Néerlandais de la Compagnie néerlandaise des Indes orientales basée à Java et aux Moluques. À l'époque du roi Harunarrasyid (1654-1673) et du sultan Hasanuddin de Gowa, une guerre éclate contre la VOC alliée à Arung Palakka, un prince de Bone. Makassar est finalement défait en 1667 et perd son empire. Le traité de Bongaya régit les affaires politiques de la région et instaure l'installation des Néerlandais dans le sud de Sulawesi. Harunarrasyid se rend avec sa flotte à Sumbawa, où il meurt en 1673. Au cours des décennies suivantes, plusieurs princes de Tallo mèneront une vie mouvementée sur mer, se tournant souvent vers la piraterie et les raids. Tallo est resté une entité distincte sous la souveraineté néerlandaise jusqu'en 1856, date à laquelle le vingt-troisième et dernier roi, La Makkarumpa Daeng Parani, est contraint d'abdiquer.

Bien que Tallo soit désormais placé directement sous la souveraineté du gouvernement colonial néerlandais, le territoire garde un sentiment d'identité propre, même après l'indépendance de l'Indonésie. À l'heure actuelle, Karaeng H. Andi Abdul Rauf Maro Daeng Marewa, également connu sous le nom de Karaeng Rewa, est le dirigeant traditionnel de la population.

Aujourd'hui, Tallo est un kecamatan (district) de la ville de Makassar, la capitale provinciale de Sulawesi du Sud.

Liste des souverains de Tallo

 Karaeng Loe ri Sero 'milieu du
 Tunilabu ri Suriwa (fils) c. 1500
 Tunipasuru '(fils)? -C. 1540/43
 Je Daeng Padulu (fils) 1540 / 43-1576
 Je Sambo (fille) 1576-90
 Tunipasulu '(fils) 1590-1593
 Karaeng Matowaya, Abdullah (son oncle) 1593-1623
 Karaeng Kanjilo, Muzaffar (fils) 1623-1641
 Karaeng Pattingalloang (frère) 1641-1654
 Harunarrasyid (fils de Karaeng Kanjilo) 1654-1673
 Abdul Qadir Mappajanji (fils) 1673-1709
 Sirajuddin Mappaurangi (fils) 1709-1714
 Najmuddin I Manrabia (fils) 1714-1729
 Sirajuddin Mappaurangi (deuxième fois) 1729-1739
 Safiuddin Karaeng Limpangang (fils) 1739-1760
 Tu Timoka (petit-fils de Najmuddin) 1760-1761
 Abdul Qadir Karaeng Majannang (petit-fils de Karaeng Patingalloang) 1761-67
 Sitti Saleh I (reine de Taeng) 1767-1777
 interregnum 1777-1814
 Sitti Saleh II (fille de Safiuddin) 1814-1824
 Abdul Rauf Karaeng Limbangparang (frère) 1824-1825
 Je Kumala Abdul Kadir (fils) 1825
 La Odanriu Karaeng Katangka (son oncle) 1825-1845
 Aisyah (sœur) 1845-1850
 La Makkarumpa Daeng Parani (petit-fils de La Odanriu) 1850-1856

Références

Articles connexes
 Royaume de Gowa

Liens externes
 https://makassar.merdeka.com/pariwisata/mengunjungi-kompleks-makam-raja-raja-tallo-170422y.html
 http://cagarbudaya.kemdikbud.go.id/siteregnas/public/objek/detailcb/PO2016021000126/Kompleks-Makam- Raja-Allo
 http://www.astalog.com/7263/daftar-nama-raja-raja-kerajaan-tallo.htm
 https://www.sejarah-negara.com/kerajaan-goa-dan-talo/
 https://www.sejarah-negara.com/the-development-of-islamic-in-gowa-tallo-kingdom/
 http://www.berpendidikan.com/2015/06/sejarah-kerajaan-gowa-tallo-lengkap.html
 http://jalur9.com/islam-di-kerajaan-gowa-tallo-jejak-islam-di-sulawesi/

Sulawesi du Sud
Royaume à Célèbes
Histoire de l'Indonésie
Makassar
Ancien royaume en Asie
État disparu en 1856

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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•	Any other time when several hours have passed since your last meal.
•	The speed at which a nutrient particle is absorbed is partly a function of its surface area. The greater the surface area, the more digestive enzyme molecules can react with it simultaneously. This promotes greater rates of absorption and higher insulin spikes. The MuscleMeds lab managed to reduce the average size of the carbohydrate particles in iSpike while increasing the total number of particles. The result is a staggering increase in reactive surface area and faster absorption. Studies suggest that iSpike's surface area enhanced carbohydrates, when combined with a fast-acting protein, could promote a greater insulin spike as compared to eating a fast-acting protein alone.* Test subjects have reported a sensation of strength and energy within 30 minutes of taking CARNIVOR MASS.* This could be the feeling of anabolism you've been waiting for!
•	High-speed BPI, surface area enhanced carbohydrates and a multi-action enzyme system - you'd think this combination would be enough to create some major insulin spikes leading to equally major mass gains. But MuscleMeds went a step further by giving iSpike a novel amino acid that has been suggested by studies to have insulinotropic properties.* This novel compound acts as the "gatekeeper" for insulin's path to muscle tissue. Now every serving of CARNIVOR MASS has the potential to deliver that much more of an anabolic impact.


text:
Forget lattes and Jamba Juice. These days Hollywood types are all guzzling kombucha.
by Kevin West
The first thing you notice upon entering the headquarters of Millennium Products, the maker of a trendy health-food drink called GT's Organic Raw Kombucha, is the smell. It's a sharp odor akin to cider vinegar—strong enough to prickle your nose—and it utterly permeates the 50,000-square-foot facility from which company founder G.T. Dave and his employees shipped more than a million bottles last year. One wonders how Dave himself must smell at day's end; he drinks up to a gallon and a half of kombucha daily.
"I taste-test all the batches," says Dave, who at 30 is gym-toned and sleek as an otter. "I get customers calling in and saying, 'I'm drinking X bottles a day. Is that too much?' I suggest everything in moderation, but then I tell them how much I drink and that it's never turned on me."
It's hard to imagine a salesman advising customers to consume less of his product, but Dave's testimonial for kombucha goes beyond mere salesmanship. Given 30 seconds to spiel on his company, he will inevitably mention his mother, Laraine, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 but rallied to a complete recovery because, she says, of kombucha's ability to "turbo-boost" the immune system. Today, Mama Dave continues to make public appearances to tout kombucha's health benefits.
Back in the mid-Nineties, kombucha was not widely available, but it's hardly a new invention. Made by fermenting tea with a culture—in much the same way milk is cultured to produce yogurt—the drink has been regarded as a health tonic in China for more than 2,000 years. In recent decades samples of the culture, or "mother," were swapped in America's fringe health circles, and fans nurtured their own batches. Laraine Dave, a devotee of Eastern spirituality, and G.T.'s father, Michael, an attorney and CPA, first got their "mother" from friends who owned a Beverly Hills juice bar. "I drank it purely for vanity reasons," recalls Laraine, citing the claims that kombucha improves skin quality and thickens the hair. G.T., then a teenager, was initially skeptical. "It wasn't until my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer that I really started paying attention," he says. "She's still the reason why I do what I do."
Convinced that kombucha had saved Laraine's life, Dave, a Beverly Hills High School dropout, devoted himself to the potion full-time. In 1995 he started brewing small batches of the stuff in his parents' kitchen and selling it to a local health-food store. In 1999 Whole Foods picked up his product, and in 2005 he sank his life savings into a larger bottling plant in L.A. (A psychic told him the building would bring him great success after he brought her a soil sample from the site.) These days Dave's kombucha and Synergy drinks (kombucha flavored with fruit juice) are available in more than 1,000 outlets, and he's building a house in Beverly Hills. He calls kombucha a "blessing." Retailers agree. "The sales are so remarkable that the first time I saw [the numbers], I thought it was a mistake," says Perry Abbenante, senior global grocery coordinator for Whole Foods.
The label of Dave's drinks suggests that kombucha supports the immune and digestive systems, and fans also credit the drinks with everything from forestalling hunger to imparting a sense of spiritual calm. The medical establishment, however, isn't completely convinced. "There have been no clinical trials," points out Mary L Hardy, medical director of the Simms/Mann–UCLA Center for Integrative Oncology, but she does note that "most probiotic foods stimulate the immune system."
But lack of clinical data hasn't kept kombucha from becoming a Hollywood trend. In the past year the beverage has been photographed in Lindsay Lohan's hand and plugged by Tina Fey on Late Show With David Letterman. ("It smells horrible," she quipped, "but it tastes…horrible.") The cast of Grey's Anatomy has cases of Dave's brew shipped to the set, and CAA partner Kevin Huvane sends it to clients. Dave has declined corporate buyout offers and still personally oversees the brewing of every batch. Kombucha, he insists, is extremely sensitive to the "energy" of its maker. "So until the day that I find a way to clone myself," says Dave, "I don't see a second factory happening."


Initially published by LLRX on February 1, 1999 this article required updating due to the ongoing developments in the field of legal databases. Not only are they appearing at a dramatic rate, but the factors of evaluation are considerably more numerous and more complex.
Even though there is an entire literature on this subject, ultimate standards have yet to be agreed. Tentative projects of evaluation were addressed by Argus Clearing-House Ratings Systems2, NELLCO Criteria Worksheet for Electronic/Intranet Acquisitions, Evaluation of Internet Medline for OMNI guidelines, and Principles for California State University Acquisition of Electronic Information Sources. One might ask why it is taking so long to develop standards for online legal resources. The answer is simply that it has not been possible to adapt traditional evaluation criteria because the very newness itself of electronic sources demands new standards.
In his "Introduction to Reference Work", William A. Katz3 discussed the evaluation process for print reference sources – taking into consideration criteria such as purpose, authority, scope, currency, audience, cost, format, objectivity, annotated indices, and guides to reference. In a comment on "Evaluation of Databases"4 found in the same book, he emphasized that "effective evaluation of databases depends on methods similar to those employed for evaluating printed works, such as purpose, authority and scope". In addition, he made reference to various formats for storage of database data, how data is accessed, how often the database is updated, "what hardware and software is necessary to make use of the database to its fullest", and to the speed and efficiency of search. Because of many unexpected factors, these criteria unfortunately proved insufficient, and sometimes actually impossible, to apply to legal databases in the Internet.
The Internet carries both non-professional and professional information. In the former case, a "site" will contain almost any type of data, with Home Pages usually not disclosing either author or publisher, and the source of the information maybe uncertain (for example, neither the reliability nor the authority for the data may be specified ). Reliable legal databases fall in the latter professional category.
There is a distinct difference between a "site" and a "database". An Internet "site" can be any URL in the Internet which contains a document (e.g. a treaty, a decision, a law), a collection of data, or just an index to some sources gathered by some good-hearted persons. There are many good Samaritans on the Internet. By contrast, "database" means subject-oriented data gathered and maintained in a server by an official entity, displaying a high interactivity with the user as well as search engine capability, data records files, query or sales transactions, product catalogs etc. This describes the Hague International Court of Justice official database, as well as the databases of the United Nations and Optical Disk System, European Union, World Trade Organization, and foreign databases such as AUSTLII-Australasian Legal Information Institute.
A "database" is a collection of data organized in such a way that its content can be easily accessed, managed, and updated. Generally, a database has its own server hosting HTML, PDF, RTF, CGI, etc., files. In practice, we work mainly with legal databases and not with Internet sites. Surprisingly, and in fact, the "Internet" has a pejorative meaning in our profession. In summary, to say that we evaluate legal databases is more accurate than saying we evaluate legal sites on the Internet.
The process of monitoring and evaluating foreign and international legal databases from so many jurisdictions is also a question of content expertise and access, and requires certain skills. They range from weighing and authenticating documents found (to use Richard Danner's words from his article "Redefining a Profession"5, identifying value-added features, and engaging in establishing database policies, to understanding copyright issues, maintaining links or implementing mirror sites, and dealing with different languages and various formats. Some consider that "source evaluation is an art"6, which can only be achieved by first acquiring an extraordinary level of understanding. As we know, reference librarians for foreign and international law have to work with databases located in far away servers, from different jurisdictions, in many languages, in various formats, and displaying a different kind of thinking as well as different copyright issues – all of which contributes to the complexity of our task.
Though we are in process of creating the full set of necessary standards, there are still guidelines toguide us to the right information, from the right source, at the right time, and in the form most suitable to use. In addition to the evaluation forms I have designed and use on a daily basis, and which are available at the Home Page of New York University Law Library – Guide to International and Foreign Legal Databases, I would like to bring to your attention a more comprehensive checklist for evaluating foreign and international legal databases.
Database name; Database subject; Database address; Date of evaluation; Name of the person evaluating and monitoring the database; Official citation; Database contact person.
Despite the fact that databases are cataloged today, not all of them are found in online catalogs and not all of these elements are included in the online records if they exist. In this transitional and still troubled period of time, we need to watch carefully the above stated elements and act promptly. The address of a foreign or international database could change as well as its name and features. New content could be added. Coverage could change and also the language (abstracts in other languages than the vernacular or even full interfaces in other language than the official one might appear over night). In the case of fee-based databases with only one available password, this information needs to be shared with all other potential users. In this category fall databases such as The Inter-American Database for International Trade (NATLAW at http://www.natlaw.com) with one password, no IP access, and very dynamic changes in the content. In fact, all international databases are loading old content continuously, build up mirror servers, and migrating to more accurate URL addresses consistent with the content and server requirements.
Is this a full text database? Or, index and abstracts? Or, index only?
Magnus, a comprehensive fee-based Danish legal database, in the vernacular – with prices ranging from $300 to $450 per month, which allows free access to its valuable daily index of legal news.
TAXLINE – Offers daily tax news and daily summaries of Italian laws, decrees, and presidential ordinances from Gazzetta Ufficiale (Italy Official Journal). Because of the huge amount of every day changes in Italian law, such an Index is a blessing.
COLEX-DATA, a fee-based database giving free access to a valuable Index of the new Spanish laws (the last month laws) followed by a helpful abstract (See Ultimas Novedades en las Bases de Datos – Jurisprudencia; Legislacion; Derecho Fiscal).
GLIN, a fee-based database, permits to search its content. Citation to Official Gazettes or other foreign legal documents are always of a great help. Unfortunately, GLIN doesn't give us any idea about the data coverage by jurisdiction.
Does the database have standing authority? – Government? University? Legal institution? Private vendor? a Samaritan provider?
In the case of foreign and international substantive law published by legal databases on the Internet, the ideal situation is that both author and publisher are the same entity: as an example – a government, parliament, department of justice, international organization, or a legal institute working under government supervision. A fee-based database of a private vendor providing guarantee of authenticity of legal documents could be viewed as preferable to a database that may be free but does not provide such guarantee. The quality of the publisher is a guarantee in "creating quality controlled collections".7 In the field of Internet databases, publisher and author are many times mainly the same. This is an interesting change in comparison with printed legal documents. Another move is to see printed services relying or referring to online databases. A recent example is the Handbook of WTO/GATT dispute settlement by Pierre Pescatore and published by Transnational Publishers, Inc. On July, 2000 a statement from the editors said that " in light of enormous number of pages of findings in recent WTO Panel and Appellate Body Reports, the editors of the Handbook have expanded their Summaries of the Panel and Appellate Body Reports and direct readers to the WTO Web site under "trade topics" – "dispute settlement" – for the full text of the decisions".
There are situations when questioning closely the Webmaster of a database could be helpful. This was the case with The South African Cyber Treaty Series, by Arnold Pronto. To be sure about the reliability of the database, I directly asked the Webmaster about his credentials, source of data, etc. His answer was satisfactory, so I included his database in my annotated guide to South Africa legal resources.
A scandal on Wall Street concerning Emulex (http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18995,00.html), in August, was related to sensitive information published by Internet portals that mislead shareholders, and involved millions of dollars in loses. This event brought to international attention the hot issue of source verification. The upcoming series of law suits will certainly enforce this criteria as a requirement for reliable commercial and news databases. The evaluation of databases has to follow general guidelines, applied to any databases on the Internet.
Does the database indicate the page of the printed document?
More and more databases are trying to offer the page of the printed legal document, the citation to the official code, gazette, reporter. The German database REFACT (http://www.refact.de/rda_inh.htm) is one of them. UN Treaty Collection (http://untreaty.un.org/) displays the image page of the UNTS series. In Canada, QUICKLAW (http://www.quicklaw.com/) and a new database recently launched by eCarswell – LAW.PRO (http://ww1.ecarswell.com/law.pro), are fighting for the rights of pagination of the Carswell Law Reports. eCarswell also announced that will offer legal documents in html and pdf (the imaged page of the reporter with the printed pagination).
Do we have the imaged version of the official page in "pdf" or other formats?
Is there an HTML version?
Swiss Systematische Sammlung des Bundesrechts – Recueil Systematique du Droit Federal (Swiss Federal law)?
The ideal, of course, is to obtain the original version in the vernacular in pdf format (image of the original text) together with the translation in any other language (English or French or Spanish would be preferred whenever Chinese or Japanese or Russian are the language of databases). This is often hard and expensive to acquire – though some international organizations such as the UN, supranational organizations such as the European Union, governments such as the German and Swiss are already providing the data in this way. Nevertheless, it is preferable to have the original version of a legal document, instead of an English translation which may lack any guarantee of accuracy.
Vernacular? Is there an English, French, Spanish, German abstract or an abstract in a well-known language?
Many databases have no legal information in English, but only in other European languages. This is the case of Confederatio Helvetica, the Swiss government database, which offers legal documents in French, Italian, and German – the official languages of the Confederation. On the other hand, many Chinese databases such as Ceilaw and Great China Web do not give us any hint about the content in any other language. Some databases provide us with an English service (Juristisches InternetProject Saarbrucken) or with English abstracts. This is the case of GLAW (German Case Law Project) moved lately to Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg.
Is the information correct? Fully or partly? Is it comprehensive?
Is the content as reliable as its print counterpart?
Does the resource have an organization or expert backing it?
Are there any obvious errors or omissions in the documents?
Is the information of consistent quality?
I always compare online documents with the printed ones. This is an exercise that helps me see the differences or even the gaps. Gene L. Wilkinson emphasized the importance of objectivity and the avoidance of "indications of careless or hasty preparation"8. D. Scott Brandt considered as an important point of source evaluation the ways in which "information gets filtered"9, written and/or issued by an authoritative source (federal government, reliable organization); authenticated as part of an editorial or peer review process by a publisher; evaluated by experts, reviewers or subject specialists/librarians as part of a collection development. Aimee Glassel10 highlighted the importance of selection criteria to filter resources and recommended to "Start with a site recognized for its authority; look for references to new resources; evaluate new resources as either a potential site to review, or as a new source for further scouting".
In any case, it is very worthwhile whenever possible to obtain the views and opinions of scholars from different countries concerning their own country's databases. INT-LAW and EURLEX listserv members are of a great help in maintaining the critical review process.
Is the document page or Home Page dated?
When was the last time updated?
Does the organization have a commitment to ongoing maintenance and stability of the resource?
Currentness of links; The percentage of the dead and misdirected links.
To determine the date of last updating of a database or of a legal document is one of the most difficult tasks – especially when dealing with civil law jurisdictions where no date is displayed on the Home Page, and sometimes the date refers to anything but to the question of updating the legal content. In many cases, even if Webmasters do not care to inform us about this issue, the machines themselves can be very informative – because they can neither lie nor ignore this problem due to their built-in software. The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the language which Web clients and Web servers use to communicate with each other. The server can "tell" about the currency of data whenever there is a doubt related to a database or a document. Here is an example.
First of all, I went to my telnet port is2.nyu.edu, logged in, went to "Network" and from here to "Telnet". The technique is to omit http:// from the beginning of the URL but to add 80 at the end of the address, which is the standard port for any server in the world.
1. Telnet — the same as the above.
The server notified that the French directory of the database was updated in the same day with the entire database. Also, comparing my previous attempts to find the same information, the server told me that the database is updated only once a week, specifically on Wednesdays. The shortcoming of this technique is that if the server indicates the date of change in the physical file, this may not reflect the currency of information13. Also some pages are updated automatically in databases using artificial intelligence. The date is updated every time any change is made to the file, no matter how insignificant – as for example adding a comma.
Another way to investigate how current a web site is concerns the occurrence of the dead and misdirected links. The bigger is the percentage, the less reliable the database. The age of links is also important. Links that point to out-of-date databases shows that the database in question is not credible.
One of the major problems in evaluating Internet full text databases is that the records are very dynamic. The scope and the coverage can change overnight. A FAQ file or a description of a database should be visited once in a while. Databases cover sometime in full text only the last few weeks of a legal publication, such as in the case of French Official Journal (official version), or are trying to be complete, such as the International Court of Justice database. ICJ is continuously loading legal data. As of August 2000, the database contains all contentious cases and advisory opinions referred to the Court since 1946. The United Nations ODS announces formally that the full text of documents dating back to 1992 is accessible in Portable Document Format (PDF) in all official languages of the United Nations – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Documents are stored in two databases, UN Documentation, which includes documents back to 1992 and UN Resolutions, which includes resolutions of the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and Trusteeship Council since 1946.
How long will the provider keep data?
Will the data be archived by another provider? Who?
Do the database states archival responsibility?
Do the database permits to make/obtain digital copies of content for archiving and for use in perpetuity?
For example, EUR-Lex keeps E.U. Official Journal issues for only 45 days after the date of publication. Afterward, the data can be found in EUDOR. EUDOR informs users that the Official Journals of previous years (back to 1952) will gradually be made available from the time the site is made public (as of August 2000, EUDOR is a fee based database). While Norway's legal database Lovdata offers Supreme Court decisions shortly after release by the Court, and each decision will remain available for about two months only. Even though some databases are great and we are using them fully relying on them, there is not archiving commitment there. CELEX as well as WTO do not mention anywhere the archiving commitment which has to keep us aware of the possibility of disappearance of these databases. In order to prevent the trouble in such an event, we have to have always alternative parallel sources.
Is there a link to an external search engine or is there a search engine embedded in the database?
Is there a built in Thesaurus?
Any restrictions (date, kind of legal document, citation, region)?
European Union has EURODICAUTOM, an extraordinary online translator, thesaurus while CELEX has an online glossary of terms. To see it, go to "About CELEX", "Online User Guide" and "Glossary of Terms".
United Nations Treaty Collection provides a guide and definition of key terms as well as a glossary of terms relating to treaty actions.
Serena Fenton rates "Search Engine Intelligence" as one of the most important criteria in evaluating a database.14 Actually, findability becomes important not only for newly users but for the experienced ones too15 . The ability to find quickly the required document is a big advantage. There are databases such as GLIN and READEX (Index to United Nations microfiche system) where searching is becoming a hassle. In those cases, only the right title or citation to the legal document may help you to locate it. In the same category was ODS. The database Dialog with its users and the openness and willingness to change things made finally ODS a product where findability could be rated as very good.
Another issue related to the findability is the terminology16 used for services. European or Asian databases use different names we are used to for labeling the same services. Linguistic "obscurity" coming from different legal concepts or from word by word translation into English of foreign legal concepts could be a problem of which the information specialist should be aware.
a good organizational scheme to help (e.g., by subject, format, chronology, etc).
A perfect example of this kind of difficulties could be experienced at the Italian Supreme Court database – Corte Suprema di Cassazione, a very frustrating to work with fee based database that costs $1,500/year for one password. EasyFind is the software that has to be downloaded in order to access the database. The downloading could be possible only with a special password, which is different from the one given for accessing the database. The browser and the computer configurations have to be changed whenever accessing the database. The downloading process and the connection to the database took me more than one week and back and forth emails to Italy. Special assistance from the Library's computer support was needed. Any information regarding the database was only in Italian. The database handbook, written in 1996, was not covering all user questions. The database has to be adjusted to the new characteristic of the electronic environment in order to be world wide accepted. The difficulties in accessing the database are high and the required configurations are time consuming and primitive. LexisNexis Butterworths Canada acquired Quicklaw in July 2002.
In order to access their documents, a lot of databases require software applications (plug-ins) such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, Shockware, Real Audio Player, and others. As a courtesy, some webmasters are providing links to databases containing plug-ins easy to download. But not all necessary software is free. Others come with the package. This is the case of JUDIS containing all reportable judgments of the Supreme Court of India from 1950. From 1950 to 1998 they are on the CD-ROM. From 1986 to date, they can be obtained online. A special device is needed in order to access the CD-ROM. Asian Suite is a software for accessing (reading) Chinese and Japanese databases.
Is there a mirror site? Does database use fluctuate during different times of day?
A study from the Internet Research Group indicates that 85 percent of the largest Web databases will have multiple hosts by the year 2001.19 As the Internet grows, the practice of having two or more hosts for the database is becoming more prevalent. This is a procedure for speeding the delivery of content to the end users (downloading) and also a measure to improve managing database traffic.
Servers have a limited numbers of entries which means that there is a limited number of users able to access the server in the same time. An example of extreme congestion is seen at the CELEX database. CELEX doesn't have its own server, being hosted by the European Union database. CELEX is a directory of the EUROPA server. This situation makes CELEX practically unapproachable in Europe from 9 AM to 5 PM because of the enormous number of users in the same period of time.
One may be better off to use more than one location such as in the case of CISG (United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods). The CISG Online Project is maintained by the Institute of Foreign and International Private Law at the University of Freiburg, Germany. It provides the status of the convention, text, cases, bibliographic references and German case law on the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). There is also the International Trade Database at Pace University CISG-UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods which has similar content. Another example is the International Court of Justice official database with two mirror servers: the Cornell mirror database and the French mirror.
Open to any kind of problems, malfunctions is a chapter that lists any possible errors encountered by the searcher. They could range from the server malfunction during some periods of time (European databases have their pick hour problems as well as United Nations databases), to the fact that similar searches in the same database in the same period of time bring different results. As Karen Diaz remarked in her above mentioned article on "The best of the best", a great database that cannot be accessed "is as useful as a great reference book that is nowhere to be found".
Are there interactive files such as forms for queries, comments, requesting documents and ordering publications (using cgi scripts, perl programs)? Are they helpful? Is there a user support?
A clue of how developed services are in establishing web-based relationships with end users is the length of time it takes to respond to an email message submitted to a database. Speaking from my own experience, I developed in time good relationships with databases such as WTO based in Geneva, SAIJ based in Argentina, Wettenbank from The Netherlands, Hong Kong and China legal portals, AUSTLII located in Australia. The time lag has to be taken into consideration when dealing with overseas databases.
Other costs that are not hidden?
My belief is that a database should cost no more than its print counterpart, and that the ideal is to maintain one paper copy in addition to the electronic version. However, in this transition period, print may cover more than databases, so we may be paying a lot for a database that is still incomplete or growing, even though reliable (UN ODS). But the database has the advantage of being more timely than the printed service. After all, it is preferable to have this kind of policy for two reasons – firstly, because electronic databases represent the future format in which legal documents will exist, and because today electronic databases represent an excellent tool for accessing the most up-to-date legal information.
There are different approaches in pricing policy for almost every fee-based database. Many of them offer a subscription for a number of records and require other payments for any additional record, such as in the case of Chinese CEIlaw database. European databases such as the French Jurifrance and The Netherland Wettenbank will offer an amount of information to be seen and downloaded for a flat fee, and charging for any additional use. This causes an enormous bureaucracy. I receive from Europe receipts whenever I see a document from the above mentioned databases. LAWSITE from New Zealand charges per view, per search, per Data Services Products such as Recent Decisions – $5.00 (PDF format); Environmental News Bulletin – $5.00 (PDF format); Environmental Digest per section – $3.00 ; per statute – $20.00 ; per PDF decision downloaded – $15.00, etc.
Information related to the possibility and the degree of using legal information published by a foreign or international database is crucial. Usually, a database has to maintain a file listing the permission to reproduce and the protocols to be followed in such a situation. Some databases want to be sure that aggressive users will not download huge amount of information, so the downloading is restricted to a certain amount of information. On the other hand, free databases want to have control over users so the registration may be necessary or a request for the permission to reproduce.
An example of the copyright permission contains EUR-Lex: "© European Communities, 2000 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Neither the European Institutions nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which might be made of the information on this Web site. Please note that only European Union legislation published in the paper editions of the Official Journal of the European Communities is deemed authentic." The last sentence reflects more a precautionary measure than a real concern.
Does the database permit fair use of all information for non-commercial educational, instructional and research purposes by authorized users, including unlimited viewing, downloading, and printing?
Is the number of simultaneous users limited?
As we know, licensing agreements have become more prominent in the electronic era. A licensing agreement should cover those circumstances which a content owner and user/purchaser agree upon for the use of certain specified content in a digital environment. First, we have to understand the nature of licensing content. After that, we have to decide what is the appropriate type of arrangement.
There is no consistency in the way this matter is handled . TAXBASE accepted multi-users for one password. A single annual subscription gave unlimited access to all tax news and documents to a tax professional in the company – which meant that one "tax professional" could make available his password to more than 10 persons working for him. But things changed. TAXBASE sells today portion of the database for a certain amount of money. For special multiple user subscriptions we see different prices. By contrast, ODS and CELEX only allow one access per password at a time while the United Nations Treaty Collection, and European Journal of International Law allow IP access.
In addition, "fair use" (see AALL Copyright Committee Report – Fair Use Guidelines) does not have the same meaning in Europe as it does in the U.S. The fair use exemption in Europe is, generally speaking, more limited than in the U.S. For example, in the U.K. it appears that there is no "educational" fair use. Databases monitoring intellectual property and copyright issues in Europe can be found at European Union Information Society Website, Legal Advisory Board legal news and at the European Union – Internet Action Plan promoting safer use of the Internet.
"The law governing electronic commerce, software licenses, and published information content over the Internet is in larval stage both in the United States and around the globe".20 This reality makes difficult sometimes the task of dealing with cross-border procedures and restrictions, norms of foreign jurisdictions, and even rejection. Some databases reject any servers from outside the country of origin. There are databases that don't allow a foreign user to view the content and don't want to sell to foreign users their content. NACSIS-IR is a Japanese provider that sell databases only in Japan. Japanese Laws in Force is only for "domestic service only" as well as other databases.
The record structure and the index structure of databases with built in search engines tell about the structure of the database.21 The evaluation has to estimate the record structure and the subject hierarchy structure. Greg R. Notess recommends as a technique the comparison of the subject structure to the traditional thesauri. In databases with powerful search engines, the full text stored in the databases is available through search engines results. The retrieved records are displaying extracts of the full texts so the searcher doesn't know which are the searchable fields as in Lexis, Westlaw, Dialog. The retrieved records are his only guidance. Because the indexes of internal search engines cannot be browsed and the search engines are not offering the full record, the searcher has to know in depth how the database search engine manages the search.
The duration of transactions22 (search and content delivery) is another point to be considered especially in Europe where the Internet connection is very expensive. This is a key measurement of the database performance.
It is becoming clear that the future in providing legal information will be in electronic format. Therefore, it is critically important to establish from the outset clear standards for publication over the Internet. They have to be known by Internet databases publishers. The purpose of this paper is to define standards, in spite of the fact that further work remains to be done in developing them for international use.
The information and research environments make the evaluation process a problem of content, access, point of view, server and database configuration. The evaluation depends on our patrons' needs, the realities of our workplace technical and legal resources. The main concern in the evaluation process is the Quality of Information found in the Internet and the ways of accessing it. Criteria of evaluation are as well starting points in building electronic resource collections, developing Internet-based information services, or instructing users in the effective use of digital information.


text:
GM Foundation Donates $27.1 Million to Help Raise Graduation Rates
WEBWIRE – Friday, December 10, 2010
Five-Year Commitment Seeks to See Four of Five Students Earn High School Diplomas
DETROIT - The General Motors Foundation will donate $27.1 million to the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to create Networks of Excellence from five existing area high schools with the goals of dramatically increasing graduation rates and ultimately rebuilding the area's skilled workforce.
The money, which is the largest donation in the 34-year history of the GM Foundation, is aimed at reducing the nearly 50 percent dropout rate in parts of Metro Detroit where the most manufacturing jobs have been lost in recent years.
"The students we are trying to reach are the future," said GM North America President and GM Foundation Board member Mark Reuss, who announced the donation on Friday at Cody High School in Detroit. "The GM Foundation can make a difference and helping create Networks of Excellence is a proven way to do it."
The network, which will be the second administered by the United Way in Detroit and its suburbs, will choose five high schools from which to create up to 20 academies along with establishing five Early Learning Communities to help get young children ready for kindergarten.
The first Network of Excellence began with five schools in 2008. After the first year, 83 percent of the students at the turnaround schools are on track to graduate, up from a low of 65 percent, according to the United Way.
"The goal is audacious," said Michael J. Brennan, president and CEO of United Way for Southeastern Michigan. "We want to transform Southeast Michigan into the home of one the top five most skilled and educated workforces in the nation. Our measurement is 80 percent or greater readiness for kindergarten and high school graduation where the norm in at least five key communities is 50 percent."
For the GM Foundation, which recently announced a $2 million GM Foundation donation to help upgrade two community centers near its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant, the Networks of Excellence commitment is the latest and largest example of helping its hometown and its residents.
"We talk a lot these days about doing the right thing," Reuss said. "It has to be more than talk. It has to be tangible, and it has to be done with the right partners to get results."
The breakdown of the donation includes $5 million a year for the next five years plus $425,000 a year for the five Early Childhood Learning Communities.
About the GM Foundation – Since its inception in 1976, GM Foundation has donated hundreds of millions to deserving American charities and to disaster relief efforts worldwide. The GM Foundation focuses on Education, Health and Human Services, Environment and Energy and Community Development initiatives, mainly in the communities where GM operates. For more information, visit www.gm.com/corporate/responsibility/community
About General Motors – General Motors Company (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM), one of the world's largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, and Wuling. GM's largest national market is China, followed by the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and Russia. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer to operations of the old General Motors Corporation. More information on the new General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.
About United Way for Southeastern Michigan – United Way for Southeastern Michigan mobilizes the caring power of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties to improve lives in measurable and lasting ways throughout the region. The organization is led by a diverse group of volunteers from business, labor, government, human services, education and the community. United Way provides opportunities to invest in the metropolitan Detroit community and is a leader in convening partners to impact local residents each year by providing individuals with the three building blocks for a good life: Education, Income and Basic Needs. Additional information is available at www.LiveUnitedSEM.org.