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Special Collection: Open Data and Africa
Practice Papers
Weather Forecasts for Pastoralism in a Changing Climate: Navigating the Data Space in North Eastern Uganda
Shuaib Lwasa ,
Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), UG
Ambrose Buyinza,
Makerere University Department of Geography Geo-Informatics and Climatic Sciences, UG
Benon Nabaasa
Efforts to support the building of resilient pastoralism have been stepped up in Uganda through a number of activities. One of the activity is the provision of seasonal and medium-range climate forecasts to enable decisions concerning livestock herding. Seasonal weather forecasts are critical but there are challenges of timeliness and usability of the forecasts. The challenges are associated with the multiplicity of information sources, methods for data integration and dissemination channels. Institutions including public and Civil Society Organizations usually invest in collecting weather and other data which should be accessible. Often times this data remains hoarded necessitating other organizations to collect similar data. The inter-institutional relations notwithstanding, the lack of data sharing leads to minimal data available for open access. This paper illustrates that this challenge can be addressed by using combined multiple methods to elicit data on weather and other biophysical conditions for pastoralism in Karamoja. In this paper we additionally analyse the opportunities and challenges of using multiple sources of pastoral-relevant data to couple with weather information in support of herding decisions. Building resilient pastoralism that utilizes pasture and water availability will have to utilize available data. It is evident that more robust approaches for data sharing at global, regional and local levels are needed to understand how pastoralists can respond to climate shocks and changes. The paper illustrates the use of a multifaceted-methods approach including open data to develop climate forecast information for risk-reduction oriented information for decision-making. Integration of this data provides insights on how pastoralists have long adapted to a variable and changing climate, the methods and processes of adaptation to losses and damages from the climate shocks.
Keywords: pastoralism , climate shocks , weather forecasts , resilience , traditional systems
How to Cite: Lwasa, S., Buyinza, A. and Nabaasa, B., 2017. Weather Forecasts for Pastoralism in a Changing Climate: Navigating the Data Space in North Eastern Uganda. Data Science Journal, 16, p.50. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2017-050
Accepted on 18 Oct 2017 Submitted on 05 Jan 2017
It is argued that pastoralism is one of the human activities in African Savannahs that has for long demonstrated resilience to a variable climate (Dietz, 1987; Lind et al., 2016). The arid and semi-arid savannah regions in Africa have historically experienced a variable climate where pastoralism has coped with droughts, excessive floods and famine (Egeru, 2014; Kandagor, 2005). National meteorological services have always provided daily forecasts but more recently on seasonal basis to enable livelihood decisions that are dependent on weather conditions including pastoralism (Luseno et al., 2003; Ngugi et al., 2011). Seasonal forecasts are recent, partly because slow-onset hydro-meteorological hazards evolve over time. Thus information on possibilities for the performance and intensity of rains to be received is useful in enabling micro-level planning such as grazing (Ngugi et al., 2011). Seasonal forecasts are an improvement in weather services because they provide warning alerts about possible hazards or possibly a good season that would enable timely planning for optimum productivity. Data collection and its sharing on weather and pastoral activities by resilience building agencies becomes important. One of the challenges of shared data and information regarding seasonal weather forecasts by Uganda National Meteorological Authority is the format, level of detail and usability of the information disseminated (Luseno et al., 2003). In Uganda these seasonal forecasts are in form of a policy Ministerial press release that is qualitatively summarized. The briefings usually provide policy advise and recommendations on what users of the information can do (Patt and Gwata, 2002; Vogel and O'Brien, 2006). The challenge with this kind of information is that it does not specifically give details at a more defined spatial scale to enable micro-level adjustments and planning. Thus users including pastoralists take the information but the usability of such information is minimal. Reliance is based on other sources of weather information, which have been amplified by the Non-for-profit organizations providing support for adaptation and resilience building in the region (Vogel and O'Brien, 2006). This amplified information onto which decision makers in the region rely is often times unreliable. Comprehensive data access regarding weather forecasts is thus a big challenge even for the NGO's that often have plans to integrate it with applied data on economic activity to advise users at regional level. Karamoja region in Uganda is characterized by these problems of data access, format and usability and there isn't any foreseeable transition to sharing data which is in various formats that can support programming in institutions but also pastoralists for grazing planning and access to water. The legal mandates of public organizations managing data simply plays to the disadvantage of data accessibility and support for adaptation and resilience building. For the pastoralists, traditional methods of data capture and sharing remain important for their decisions but are also constrained by dissemination procedures and rules that gives mandate to the National Meteorological Authority (Vogel and O'Brien, 2006). In this paper we illustrate these challenges and examine how traditional methods of data capture and access can be integrated with national service forecasts to enable decision making up to the farmer or pastoralist level. The objective of the paper is twofold; a) to analyze the challenges of data collection, access and dissemination in pastoralist communities; b) to examine how multiple sources of data with an extended list transcending seasonal weather forecasts provides improved information for decision making at small geographical scales.
2 Framing data sharing principles and rules
Data on different aspects for multiple users is valuable and when analyzed to generate knowledge can also have a social power dimension. In the current globalization of knowledge and emergence of a knowledge economy, the value in data compels owners and generators to keep to it for cost and economic value recovery (Tallon, 2013). Data is usually owned by organizations, individuals and companies that generate it at primary level. These agencies of data generation collect it through observation devices or conduct extensive field studies following predetermined questions and observation variables. The primary investment in collecting this data whether from the field or use of satellite imagery or secondary data that is collated to suite the purposes of the data generator is a cost that many data generators have to incur. This cost coupled with copyrights give the data generators a natural ownership and claims for cost recovery (Sawyer, 2008). The cost and desire to recover the value sets the principles of data sharing in many countries including Uganda and particularly the region of Karamoja. Adhoc systems exist for sharing of data, which occur when institutions have arrangements for the sharing of data (Cragin et al., 2010). However many institutions involved in collecting and using data for resilience building do not manage for open access, leading to duplication and low data quality that all translate into complexities in data sharing (Takizawa et al., 1978). There are some existing inter-agency coordinating mechanisms especially in regard to weather seasonal forecasts which can be built upon. But the mechanisms are also largely constrained by the mainstream Government agency of Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA), which is mandated to issue daily and seasonal forecasts (Hansen et al., 2011). Thus UNMA controls and owns the weather data in addition to setting principles of how this data is shared and disseminated. The synthesis of weather data comes in form of a seasonal forecast bulletin that is released by the Minister in charge. But data needed for adaptation and resilience building is not only weather related. Data on livestock, disease outbreaks, grazing areas, and water availability is part of the holistic data needs for pastoralism, which in this paper we call the extended list of data needs. There are different players in respect to these other types of data. For example geospatial data in form of satellite imagery needed at temporal and spatial scales that enable planning for grazing at seasonal level is owned and held by research institutions as well as regional agencies such as the Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD). This centre serves the Eastern and Southern African Region. While statistical data at national level is held and owned by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), in addition to numerous NGO's operating in the region of Karamoja that have for long collected and stored data on pastoralist activities disaggregated to household level, which is yet to be shared (Azzarri and Cross, 2016). Institutional relations for sharing this data are still weak for the data to be optimally utilized for several interventions including resilience building. It emerges that there is lack of direction in regard to data copyright issues, data sharing although there is voluntary cooperation amongst institutions operating in the Karamoja region. These relations are based on partnership and trust rather than principles that would streamline cost recovery and pricing of data where necessary (Arzberger et al., 2004). The public sector including government, its agencies and ministries has not streamlined access of the data it generates neither the data held by other generators that would be beneficial to all in implementing resilience work in Karamoja. Instead what is common is to regulate the dissemination of weather information by UNMA yet the information like seasonal weather forecasts is not detailed enough to help pastoralists at more small geographical scales to plan for the grazing and resource utilization. Thus the discrete rules of data generation, management, dissemination and access set by the data-owning agencies lead to challenges of meaningful sharing of data that can support several interventions including resilience building. This paper refers to the spatial data infrastructure model that sets the ownership, management, clearing houses and principles as well as standards to illustrate how multiple sources of weather forecasts and other types of data can be integrated for decision making among pastoralists (Groot and McLaughlin, 2000; Kok and Van Loenen, 2005).
3 Understanding data needs for pastoralists
With the grim situation in regard to data ownership, access and dissemination in Karamoja, region, pastoralists have continued to navigate the data access space using various methods in order to make grazing decisions, determining routes for migration and water resource utilization (Egeru, 2012; Nyambura, 2003). The most important data needs for pastoralists is information regarding water and pasture so that they can plan for livestock grazing, where to graze and by which herding groups. Weather information and particularly seasonal forecasts provide the basis for livestock herding because pastoralists would anticipate where pastures and water would be in abundance. The pastoralists have traditional institutions with a hierarchy that includes, herders at the lowest level supervised by Kraal leaders, who in turn are supervised by elders that form an elders' council that determines the routes, grazing patterns and decision to migrate or not. The actors regularly meet to use traditionally predicted weather and decide on how the grazing will be managed. In case of an anticipated drought, elders from different groups of the Pokot, Bokora, Dodoth, Jie, Labwor and Matheniko, which are the tribal groups with slightly differing cultures, language, meet to dialogue about the forecasted drought or rains and how grazing lands can be shared to minimize loss of livestock. In the grazing areas of the Dodoth, a trans-boundary issue with Turkana from Kenya exists and thus these are often incorporated into the discussions (Dietz, 1987). Traditional system for predicting seasonal weather is based on four traditionally known weather seasons, which differ from the two conventional UNMA seasons. The seasons include, the dry season (Akamu) (mid November, December January, February), post-dry season of (Akiceret), (Mid February, March April), pre-wet season of (Akiporo) (months of May, June, July August and September) and the wet rainy season (Atieth) (September, October and mid November). In addition to knowing their grazing fields, pastoralists rely on data from the traditional system for these detailed seasons, which illustrate needs for information that is of higher temporal resolution and spatially detailed as opposed to the UNMA seasonal forecasts. The information regarding forecasts from UNMA does not align with these seasons and is not detailed enough at small spatial scales. But the pastoralists also use the information from government and other institutions operating in the region. Pastoralist data needs include sub-regional weather forecasts as opposed to the summarized regional forecasts that don't tell much on how the rains will be distributed. The pastoralists also require information on water availability beyond the known valley dams that have been constructed in the region for watering animals and wildlife (Chow, 2014). Pastoralists also need to estimate the livestock from different herders in order to plan for the available pasture and water. But there are serious data gaps in regard to all data needs related to the multiple data generators and mechanisms for sharing the data. These data gaps are created by data hoarding on the part of data generators but also the lack of standards, principles and mechanisms for data sharing constraining decision making at herder level. This paper addresses the data gaps by illustrating how multiple sources of data can be leveraged to provide data at a scale where it can be readily synthesized and applied.
4 Materials and method
We utilized a multifaceted approach in this study to understand the weather data challenges as well as other data needs beyond seasonal weather forecasts. In regard to weather forecasts, we collected seasonal forecasts from Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), two agencies with national and regional mandate to release forecasts. These forecast releases were analysed in respect to format, detail and usability of the information. The reason for using the two sources of forecast data is because the UNMA provides data within the boundaries of Uganda and summarized for the region whereas the IGAD early warning forecasts provide data for the region extending as far as the Horn of Africa. We collected releases of four seasonal forecasts for the years 2015 and 2016. Since herding in this region is sometimes trans-boundary, it was important to integrate the regional forecast with other data in order to analyse what data is provided and how it can support herder level decisions.
Consultations in all the 7 districts in Karamoja region also covered seasonal forecasts and user satisfaction of the information. The consultations also involved collecting data on herding decisions, through Focus Group Consultations. This method generated the narratives about various aspects of conflicts, historical accounts that could not be adequately represented on the maps. FGD's were formed at each consultation taking into account stakeholder representation and gender. The qualitative data on grazing fields, migration decisions, water and pasture resource mapping was collected through these participatory methods. We also consulted existing electronic databases on livestock statistics and baselines. Data on water and pasture planning, grazing patterns, routes of grazing and institutions that influence the herding decisions were collected through the participatory GIS. In mapping we generally visualized the different actors, identified their sphere of influence and relations between each other contextualized around four themes of a) access to grazing areas as shown in Figure 1; b) access to water resources; c) conflict resolution and d) access to livestock services. The consultations targeted representatives from Herders, Kraal Leaders, Water User committees/Community, Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF), Local, governments, Non Governmental Organizations, Administrative staff and Office of Prime Minister.
Location of the study sites.
In addition to general mapping, we also applied participatory GIS mapping (PGIS) that integrated participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods with Geographic Information Technologies (GIT). Participants for each of the consultation were trained on how to draw maps basing on the thematic areas of access to grazing areas, access to water sources and conflict resolution. The same categories of representatives worked to map these thematic topics on a base map. A two-day training workshop provided the skills and insights to the participants in generating the maps. The sketch maps were georeferenced in a GIS environment and simulated planning at a smaller geographic scale combined with seasonal forecast. In addition a sample of kraal leaders were given GPS's for logging while grazing to get insight into the patterns in the grazing fields. The method involved training and giving herders the GPS loggers to track herders' movements on a daily basis such that data can be downloaded and input into the GIS system for various analyses and visualization. In addition to mapping and GPS data logging, semi-structured consultations of the stakeholders were conducted.
4.1 Studysite
Karamoja region, located in North Eastern Uganda lies between latitudes 10° 30′ and 40°N, and longitudes 30° 30′ and 35° 0′E and covers an area of over 27,200 Km2 as shown in Figure 2 below. The region is composed of seven districts namely: Kaabong, Abim, Kotido, Moroto, Napak, Nakapiripirit and Amudat. The region is home to a cluster of different pastoralist and agro-pastoralist groups including the Karimojong, Jie, Dodoth, Pokot and Ethur. It's characterized by a harsh climate as the area is arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zones with rainfall ranging between 350–1000 mm per annum, variable in space and time. Precipitation is usually intermittent received between June and October, characterized by the desert winds and the hot dry season from November to March (FAO, 2010). The vegetation of Karamoja consists of open savannah grasslands, woodlands, thickets and shrublands. Karamoja's vegetation can be described as consisting of Acacia–Combretum–Terminalia species associations, with a grass layer of Hyparrhenia, Setaria, Themeda, Chrysopogon and Sporobolus species (Egeru et al 2014). The region essentially consists of a plain sloping west wards. Karamoja's border with Kenya is raised and to the extreme northeast is Mt. Zulia dropping to the eastern rift valley. There are isolated highlands interspersed in the plains including: Mt. Kadam (Debasien) 3200 m; Mt. Napak (Kamalinga) 2,500 m; and Mt. Moroto 3,050 m. Several momentary streams and rivers originate in the hills and mountains on the east of Karamoja and flow towards the south and west. (Egeru et al 2012).
Showing actors in grazing decision around a specific grazing field of Sangar.
5.1 Seasonal Forecasts and Grazing decisions
As noted, officially released forecasts for the four seasons in the last two years were analyzed, from IGAD and UNMA. According to UNMA, Karamoja region has one long season of rainfall from April to October followed by the dry period. The average annual rainfall is about 620 mm. But according to the traditional system, there are four seasons as described from the traditional pastoralist calendar. These include, the dry season of (Akamu) (mid November, December January, February) characterized by drying up of water sources, the post-dry season of (Akiceret) (late February, March, April), when first rains start and the animals are herded towards home direction expecting heavy rain, the pre-wet season of (Akiporo) (months of May, June, July, August and September) and the wet rainy season (Atieth) (September, October and mid November). This is the season in which planning to migrate is undertaken to ensure adequate pasture for the animals. The neighbouring regions of Teso, Lango Acholi are the targeted grazing fields during this temporal migration. As mentioned earlier, the signals that trigger decisions to migrate depend on how the rainy season performs. Elders discuss forecasts from traditional system and how the period is likely to perform with pasture productivity. When the performance of rains is considered poor and temperatures are high, the Atieth period is when pastoralists are ready for migration (Stites et al., 2007). Decisions regarding grazing are tied to these four seasons which are locally and traditionally understood (Egeru, 2012). We compared the seasons with the official forecasts from UNMA and IGAD and found that the later are based on the generic climate seasons in the region as influenced by the Inter tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ brings rainfall in March April May and later in September, October November. What seems clear with the official forecast is that the summary forecast statements are disseminated through the website and government entities which takes time to get to the pastoralists due to administrative hierarchy. Secondly the forecasts are too generic for decisions regarding grazing. But the organizations operating in the region have stepped this up by often disseminating the accessible information on the IGAD and UNMA websites direct to the pastoralists. For example, as noted above, the season of Atieth, is always expected to be followed by the dry season of Akamu, the decisions to migrate are made as early as Mid-November yet the seasonal forecast by UNMA are provided at the end of November. Likewise the decisions to migrate back to grazing fields within the districts are made in early April when the following months are expected to perform well on rains but also return home to cultivate some crops. Thus it can be observed that seasonal forecasts are sometimes not very appropriate for the region. This is because of two reasons. First is that they tend to be generic and thus inappropriate at local level for herders and elders to make decisions. Second is because these forecasts don't align with the traditional seasons thus information coming either too early or too late for useful decision making as shown in Table 1.
A synthesis of the regional and national seasonal forecasts from bulletins by IGAD-ICPAC and UNMA.
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Forecast
Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA) forecast
November 2014–February 2015 Near normal to warmer Sea Surface Temperatures of Indian Ocean. Rains outlook above normal to below in Karamoja region Elnino warning as a build up in Indian Ocean and farmers advised to take advantage of above normal rains Forecast very abstract and on refers to crop farming and other sectors but not pastoralism
March–May 2015 Above near rainfall in the region Near normal rainfall across the country with influence of local features particularly Lake Victoria Rainfall intensity, small spatial scale indicative patterns of irregular light rains provided in country forecast. No supportive map
June–August 2015 Increased likelihood of above normal rains and warmer temperatures Near normal rainfall and tendency to below normal. Karamoja region chances of below normal rainfall Disjuncture between the forecasts with greater horn forecast predicting above normal while country predicting below normal for Karamoja region
September–November 2015 Seasonal outlook sustained forecasted above normal rainfall Specially Karamoja region forecast below normal rainfall with intermittent dry spells Inconsistent forecasts but potentially useful forecast at country level
December 2015–February 2016 Seasonal outlook sustained forecasted near normal rainfall Country forecast of near normal rainfall and normal temperatures Consistent forecasts
March–May 2016 Increased likelihood of near normal to above normal rainfall and near normal temperatures Start of rains with possible peaks in October November Rainfall intensity, small spatial scale indicative patterns of irregular light rains provided in country forecast. Supportive map but still generic
June–August 2016 Increased likelihood above normal rainfall and near normal temperatures Country forecast of near normal rainfall and normal temperatures Forecast very abstract and on refers to crop farming and other sectors but not pastoralism
Sources: http://www.icpac.net/wp-content/uploads/2016Seasonal-bulletinJJAS_2016.pdf; https://www.unma.go.ug/index.php/alerts/disaster-warnings.
5.2 Data access and cultural information systems
Pastoralist decisions occur at the herding level and not necessarily at household level perse. Herding is organized in kraals which are located distances away from the household. There is separation of grazing roles in Karamoja where households are for most times of the year occupied by women, children and elderly while the young able-bodied graze distances from the household locations. Herders in the kraals traversing the region in advance search of water and pasture. Herders can stay away from the households for a number of seasons depending on pasture performance. The council of Elders hold the responsibility to guide grazing decisions and all other issues associated with grazing such as conflict resolution (Barnabas, 2012; Chapman and Kagaha, 2009; Inselman, 2003; Mkutu, 2008). Elders determine the plan for grazing which among other strategies include location for grazing fields for a block period of two weeks and the transects along which animals should be grazed or migrate (Otim, 2002). The Kraal leaders collect data on availability of water and pastures which they pass on to the elders. This traditional system involves traversing large tracts of land in search of the resources that involves cross-border treks. The elders' work in conjunction with the kraal leaders, is to synthesize data and information collected traditionally and integrate it with forecasts from the UNMA and IGAD agencies. Traditional systems involve shrines where traditional forecasts are made and information is disseminated through open community meetings (Egeru, 2012; Ejoku-Oonyu, 2009). The shrine leaders use various artefacts to foretell weather. The leaders then communicate what the diviners tell about the performance of rains, water and pastures providing advice to elders. The elders meet with kraal leaders and give orders on where and when the animals can graze. This information is also shared with other agencies including security organizations to ensure safety of the animals and people. Elders also sanction or gazette certain areas to be grazed in certain periods of the year depending on the rain performance as forecasted to ensure quality and availability of pasture (Egeru et al., 2015, 2014). The forecasted information may or not be collated with the seasonal forecasts from UNMA or IGAD. Inherent in these decisions is health status and security of both animals and herders. The herders implement the orders and coordinate with other kraal leaders of the other districts including trans-boundary communities to plan where the animals can graze when and how (Dietz, 1987; Mieth, 2012; Wasonga et al., 2003). Peace meetings with neighbours around water and pasture resources are an integral part of the role of herders, Kraal leaders and elders for conflict resolution (Otim, 2002). It emerges from the forgoing that there is a disjuncture between the traditional system in respect to the seasons as compared to UNMA and IGAD. The traditional system often integrates their divine forecasts with the forecasts provided by UNMA and IGAD if the later are released and disseminated on time. The NGO's operating in the region have established Resilience Adaptation Committees (RAC's) at village level through which this information is disseminated though coverage is yet to improve.
5.3 Managing Livestock and pasture data for grazing densities
As mentioned earlier, conventional forecast data is not enough for grazing decisions. The number of livestock and estimates for pasture and water is critical to the elders. There are also recent changes in land use within the region that have transformed the grazing patterns (Houdet et al., 2014; Rugadya and Kamusiime, 2013). The conservation areas of one National Park and two wildlife reserves have claimed huge chunks of land. Although the boundaries around these conservancies are relatively soft, access is often restricted by Uganda wild Life Authority. The National Park of Kidepo and two game reserves of Bokora and Matheniko act as water reservoirs with large valley water dams as well as wild life corridors. These extend to the nearby districts of Teso and Acholi in Uganda while the National Park borders South Sudan. There are controlled 'hard' boundaries around the conservancies for controlled grazing by pastoralists in the corridors while watering is allowed occasionally. This has often sparked conflicts that are sometimes violent due to water resource scarcity during the Akamu season. Conservation area boundaries have coupled with increase in livestock, other land uses most prominent mining and agriculture, leading to reduction in grazing land size. In some of the neighboring districts like Teso and Kitgum the land that was used for grazing is used for agriculture (Ezaga, 2010; Hansen et al., 2011; Mubiru, 2010), sealing off and changing migration routes. The promotion of agriculture in Karamoja first as a strategy for improving food security and second as a measure for adapting to a changing climate has been supported by numerous agencies (Ezaga, 2010; Wang, 2013). But the investment in agriculture has not been supported adequately by data and information on the moisture availability for crop growing (Muleke and Nalule, 2013; Nakalembe, 2013). Agriculture is putting pressure on the carrying capacity for pastoralism. As a result pastoralists have been advised by government agencies to reconsider the number of livestock that can be supported by the resources in the region (Murphy et al., 2017). This change in pastoralism practice extends data needs in terms of satellite imagery and livestock data to determine the pasture availability to analyze carrying capacity. But data are not readily available and where it exists, constraints for access are enormous (Bemigisha, 1991; Harvey and Tulloch, 2006). Carrying capacities for the landscape requires data that supports separation of grazing fields from conservation areas, urban areas, the agricultural or mining land. The use of multiple sources of data is critical in analyzing carrying capacity. In view of the changing climate with the uncertainties of rainfall, it is important that the geographic scale at which data should be available for grazing decisions is sub region. Results of the analysis of carrying capacities indicate that livestock numbers will increase as health is improved but this will lead to more competition for water and pastures. Thus the outcome of this competition is likely to be temporal migration of livestock as has been traditionally. For example in the map for present migratory routes, it is noticeable that the eastern route was diverted to southeast which implies that the Dodoth now migrate towards Pokot areas as shown in Figure 3. This should always be preceded by dialogue meetings and agreements through the elders' council. This has been illustrated by increasing migratory routes as shown on the map.
Showing past and present migratory routes in Karamoja.
5.4 Pastoralist Data Conflicts
Due to unavailable data sharing mechanisms, there are data conflicts in Karamoja region. There are several organizations public and private which are involved in development activities and particularly pastoralism improvement (Catley, 1997; Oloka-Onyango et al., 1993). More recently, there are programs that are targeting adaptation and building resilience to climate change (Venton, 2014). One of the data conflicts emerging is the issue regarding livestock and agricultural baselines. Each institution is conducting a baseline and most if not all on the same issues at the same level of household. The continuous baselines by different organizations have created fatigue among the households and also created elitist field research assistants with high monetary expectations. In addition, the disparate baselines are hoarded for ownership and cost recovery. A cultural issue regarding data on livestock that prevents pastoralists to divulge actual numbers punctuates the hoarding. Divulging data on number of livestock at household level is considered a taboo and thus differing figures have emerged from public agencies just as private organizations operating in the region. Data conflicts have also emerged in respect with the disaggregated livestock data collected by the UBOS, which has not been disseminated. The summaries of the livestock census only give statistics at district level and not village level where planning for grazing occurs. Interventions around adaptation to climate change and building resilience requires disaggregated data at a small geographic scale to be meaningful for decision making especially in regard to carrying capacities for pasture and water although as known, pastoralists can herd the livestock for longer distances to access resources. Hoarding has created data owners who generate and don't share for integration and reintegration. Using some examples, this paper illustrates an approach that would be useful in dealing with data access to support interventions in a changing climate.
We argue that climate related interventions need seasonal weather forecasts but this data is just but one category needed for decision making around adaptation and resilience building (Hansen et al., 2011; Luseno et al., 2003; Ngugi et al., 2011; Patt and Gwata, 2002; Vogel and O'Brien, 2006). The extended list of data on livestock, water availability, land for grazing and pastures, pastoralist migratory routes and systems of conflict resolution is equally important (Bainomugisha and Okello, 2017; Barnabas, 2012; Ocan and Ocan, 1994; Otim, 2002). The data list changes with time due to changes in land use, land ownership, security reasons and political reasons (Anderson, 1993; Dyer et al., 2008; Kandel, 2016; Oloka-Onyango et al., 1993). Response to climate shocks should be appropriately targeted and thus the integration of the data from multiple sources is important because adaptation and resilience building are both long term in nature while comparatively, forecasts seem to be on shorter term basis (Patt and Gwata, 2002; Vogel and O'Brien, 2006). It emerges that herding decisions are made at herder and kraal level and thus targeting the actors at this level is critical as illustrated by the mapping in this paper (Ejoku-Oonyu, 2009). It is also important that traditional systems of forecasting can supplement the modern systems of forecast instead of negating such data that comes from the traditional systems. This is due to the geographic scale at which traditional forecasts are produced. The four seasons which breakdown the two major seasons by UNMA are more detailed and meaningful to the pastoralists because they enable planning for temporal migration but also grazing patterns and access to water and pasture resources (Egeru et al., 2015). The use of information based on four seasons also emphasizes the importance of temporal migration, which is not only a tradition but also as adaptation measure for the pastoralists (Wiese et al., 2003). This issue makes it imperative for unlearning to learn about which data is used for the kind of decisions that influence resilience building. This is because pastoralists have for long adapted, adopted new strategies to a variable climate (Busby et al., 2011; Kandagor, 2005; Stites and Huisman, 2010). Multiple sources of data and information on weather and climate is thus an unavoidable strategy for improving the data access among pastoraliss communities (Arzberger et al., 2004; Takizawa et al., 1978; Zimmerman, 2003). Motivation for this integration is related to the fact that traditional information is worth integrating into the forecasts and climate projections if adaptation interventions are to be meaningful. For example, pastoralists in Karamoja use the traditional seasons information to plan on where and how often the livestock would have to be watered. This is similar to processes and decisions by pastoralists in Ethiopia (Hughes, 2013; Kandagor, 2005; Luseno et al., 2003). Livestock access to water is determined according to analyzed availability which may be watering once in a day as water sources tend to be far from the kraals. As they migrate to access other districts the pastoralists also dialogue with other communities often non-pastoralists to reduce conflicts for purposes of ensuring access to water and pastures for the livestock. In periods of onset of rains, it was also reported that they target particular areas due to the quality of pastures that are traditionally known to be "salty" and nutritious. This special pasture is related to the intensification of rains and is available in particular areas and not the entire fields grazed by the different tribal groups. Some of these areas with nutritious pastures overlap with the conservancies thus potentially causing grazing conflicts. Once again these detailed accounts on season to determine the quality of pastures illustrates the importance of improving integrating the data for improved information access by pastoralists. Thus the need for a system for acquisition, integrating and disseminating the information is critical (Egeru, 2016, 2012, Egeru et al., 2015). For future climate shocks and change, the dominant top-down approach in dissemination of seasonal weather forecasts would have to be adapted to the four traditional seasons, pastoralists-led systems of dissemination and targeting the right actors for the weather information. Integrating such weather information with the extended list of data needs, is also critical for enabling adaptation and resilience among the pastoralists (Arzberger et al., 2004; Cragin et al., 2010; Gardner et al., 2003; Groot and McLaughlin, 2000; Harris et al., 2007; Zimmerman, 2003).
In conclusion, traditional systems of weather forecast may be for shorter periods compared to the meteorological seasons and therefore may appear unconventional, but the forecasts are a solid basis for determining the grazing patterns, carrying capacity for watering points, migratory routes and reducing conflicts over the key resources needed by pastoralism. In this paper, it emerges that the data access for pastoralism particularly in Karamoja region seems to be characterized by dominance of UNMA seasonal weather forecast but the pastoralists largely use the traditional forecasts, which are at a more detailed spatial-temporal scale. The disjuncture between the two sources of forecasts has thus led to mixed decisions in respect to grazing and migration. Since the region has historically experienced a variable climate, we conclude that data on seasonal weather needs to be coupled with traditional forecasts in addition to other data and information needs for the appropriate decisions regarding adaptation and resilience building. It also emerges that the data issues in respect to access and generation notwithstanding, other factors are also intervening to influence the decisions about grazing. The promotion of conservation, mining, and agriculture are good in diversifying the production base of the region. But these have interfered with the traditional migratory routes, grazing patterns and accentuated conflicts. Agriculture in particular and its promotion as a strategy for diversification of the region's economic base may actually lead to negative impacts on pastoralism and thus needs to be rethought through careful land use planning. Coordination in data generation as well as data sharing is important but would have to consider the fact that each organization needs a different set of baseline data. Data generation principles and standards supported by a data infrastructure platform may help in this regard such that basic information of livestock, household data, productivity, value chains can be updated regularly by the planned baselines rather than completely new baselines. This would require a repository of data and standards for sharing this data. This paper illustrates that there are multiple sources of data all of which can provide useful information to enable grazing decisions. A system for integrating this data would be useful for the region especially given that there is already ample momentum by the organizations operating in the region to co-generate the data. If data sharing is improved, streamlined and enhanced, the resources going into data collection would be rechanneled to systems of sharing, standards and access mechanisms that would spur design of adaptation and resilience building interventions.
BRACED program implemented by Mercy Corps which funded the study in conjunction with the Interest Group on Grazing comprising 15 stakeholder organizations of KDF, KART, DADO, GIZ-Moroto field office, VSF-Belgium, Karamoja Region Elders Council.
The authors have no competing interests to declare.
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Lugs: роtеntiоmеtеrѕ by соnvеntiоn have thrее lugs.
Shаft: Thiѕ iѕ a рlаѕtiс/mеtаlliс ѕtiсk whiсh iѕ uѕеd to turn thе роtеntiоmеtеr.
Rеѕiѕtivе Strip: Thiѕ is the hеаrt оf thе роtеntiоmеtеr. It is a carbon ѕtriр thаt iѕ рrintеd оn a phenolic ѕtriр. Thеrе аrе mеtаl соntасtѕ in thе еnd tо connect it to thе lugѕ.
Mеtаl Wiper: Whеn wе rоtаtе the ѕhаft, it in turn rоtаtеѕ a mеtаlliс wiреr.
Thе metallic wiper acts as a соnduсting раth bеtwееn thе lugs. So thе resistance between thе lеft lug аnd thе сеntrе lug is the rеѕiѕtаnсе оf thе раrt of саrbоn ѕtriр over which the mеtаlliс wiper hаѕ trаvеrѕеd. Whеn wе rotate the ѕhаft оf the роtеntiоmеtеr, we actually rоtаtе thе mеtаlliс wiреr аttасhеd tо it аnd hеnсе сhаngе thе rеѕiѕtаnсе. This wау thе роt асtѕ аѕ a variable rеѕiѕtаnсе.
Linear Pоtѕ: In these роtѕ, the rеѕiѕtаnсе between the lugs iѕ dirесtlу рrороrtiоnаl tо the distance mоvеd by thе wiper. Thеѕе are thе соmmоn роtѕ found in lаbѕ аnd аrе inexpensive.
Lоgаrithmiс Pоtѕ: In thеѕе pots, thе resistance bеtwееn the lugs iѕ a lоgаrithmiс function оf the wiреr position. Aсtuаllу thеir tареr grарh looks mоrе likе a 10x grарh. Thеу аrе expensive and nоt rеаdilу available. Also there are rеvеrѕе lоgаrithmiс роtѕ which are ѕimilаr to logarithmic роtѕ, whiсh hаvе a tареr орроѕitе to thаt оf log роtѕ. Mоrе about logarithmic роtѕ in thе next section.
How to check thе taper with аn оhm mеtеr? Sеt the роt tо thе centre position (50% rоtаtiоn) and mеаѕurе thе resistance bеtwееn thе сеntrе pin аnd each of the outer pins. If thе rеѕiѕtаnсе is equal (50% of thе роtѕ value) thе pot iѕ linеаr. If thе vаluеѕ are nоt еԛuаl, thе роt iѕ аn lоg taper.
These аrе аlѕо роtеntiоmеtеrѕ but аrе "ѕеt and fоrgеt" devices whiсh аrе dirесtlу mоuntеd оn tо PCB оr brеаd bоаrd tо finе tune the сirсuit. For еxаmрlе, you wаnt tо biаѕ a trаnѕiѕtоr to an еxасt potential whiсh in turn rеliеѕ on rеѕiѕtаnсе, уоu can use a trim роt tо gеt thе еxасt vоltаgе (by сhаnging the rеѕiѕtаnсе) аnd thеn fоrgеt about it. Onе might hаvе tо uѕе a ѕсrеwdrivеr tо сhаngе thе resistance which might nоt be vеrу соnvеniеnt but thiѕ wау it is diffiсult tо сhаngе thе resistance оnсе you hаvе ѕеt it tо thе dеѕirеd resistance.


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Now more than 50 years old, Ealing comedy The Ladykillers is one of Britain's best-loved films. So how will Graham Linehan, writer of The IT Crowd and Father Ted, rework it for the theatre?
In the vaulting back room of a church off Islington's Upper Street in north London, five bad bogus men are plotting to bump off a little old lady. It is a hugely ambitious undertaking. Not only is The Ladykillers one of Britain's best-loved films, but the cast of the 1955 production – Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom and Danny Green – did include one or two actors that modern film programmes like to wrongly refer to as "legends", even if (pedantry aside) you know what they mean.
But this won't be a film; it's a stage version. And it's far from a knock-off of the film. The story's pretty much the same, of course – criminals posing as musicians in a little old lady's guesthouse, as they plot a bank job; little old lady finds the loot; duplicity and betrayals and deaths ensue, just not in the way you'd think. But the script, originally by William Rose for the Alexander Mackendrick film, has been entirely reworked, by Graham Linehan (comedy writer – Father Ted, The IT Crowd – and renowned tweeter with 135,000 followers). The cast includes Peter Capaldi, Ben Miller, James Fleet; direction is by the rightly feted Sean Foley (one half of comedy duo the Right Size, best known for The Play What I Wrote, their acclaimed tribute to Morecambe and Wise). It says a lot for their belief in the project when I learn they're all now committed to it until April – it opens in Liverpool and moves to London in November – because these are not people lacking current job offers.
"Hi, I'm Ben," says a softly spoken, softly bearded man, offering his hand. It takes me a few seconds to realise that Ben Miller (best known for BBC1's The Armstrong & Miller Show) is just terribly self-effacing and hidden by a beard (I check later; he's losing it for the show proper). Miller plays Louis, the Romanian hit man (Herbert Lom in the film), and got into this (the production, rather than being a hit man) because Sean Foley directs the Armstrong/Miller tour, and asked him.
"We couldn't be unaware of the film, I love it, but really we were starting from fresh with Graham's new script. It's very different now; there's a lot of very, very physical stuff. And it's been a joy to do, if new territory for me, and hard work. Sean is quite a… stickler." (A little later, I watch director Foley ask a genially menacing professor Capaldi to lift, and lift, and lift, the needle from a record in, I think it was, 12 different ways, to get it just so; I think "stickler" is fair.) Miller, like all the others, can easily separate this work from the original, keeping a clear linked duality: they seem in love with Linehan's script, but can't help making reference to the film, which they also loved. "What I've always found particularly attractive about the film is that it feels so solid, so perfectly crafted, yet it follows no formula whatsoever; it's so different from any Hollywood template we're used to now. This is comedy without template, which you don't see these days. Maybe the Coen brothers. That's it. And now Graham, and this. "
Clive Rowe, who plays One-Round, is one cast member who hasn't seen the film – deliberately so. " I don't think I will – the scripting and directing are so tight, and I've got my character, and I don't want to run the risk of starting to try to impersonate someone else. Apart from anything else, I don't look much like him [Danny Green]. There's isn't a person of my, um, hue in the film."
Stephen Wight, the youngest here, is Harry Robinson, whom Peter Sellers had so much fun playing. "He's your cockney spiv of that age; likes the ladies but also quite addicted to pills. He's a character of that era, the 50s, when there was quite a lot of… moral duplicity. It's a fascinating time, isn't it, but we do have rose-tinted specs about it, particularly in cockney world."
Wight is not the first to tell me that he "can't wait to get on to the real set". It is, apparently, extraordinary, one of the stars of the show: a warped, sliding, lame, crooked house in which all the action occurs. The real challenge for him, he says, was "getting to grips with some of the technical physical stuff, props and timing and the rest. There's a rhythm to this physical comedy, it's almost like a dance troupe, and you have to get it spot-on – everyone, say, putting their hats on at exactly the same time – and these are tricks and skills, which I at least have had to learn."
They really are a terribly nice bunch, this lot, but perhaps the nicest and most self-effacing is James Fleet, who in real life still seems to be channelling his character, nice Tom, from Four Weddings. Fleet is Major Courtney, and I've just watched him rehearse, with breathy stammering, his introduction by the professor to Mrs Wilberforce. "There's a dark, edgy menace to it," says Fleet. "There's a certain cruelty in there. It's in the writing, of course, but also the set, props, music. We have that authenticity of the age, the way that their cuffs and trousers were always a little threadbare."
I am bizarrely glad that, when Peter Capaldi comes offstage for his chat with me, he's removed the long scarf in which he'd been bedecked in the manner of a criminal professor. On stage, it had added significantly to his air of menace and deceit; he was treating the beaming Mrs W with wheedling charm while another side of his face was twitching with twisted insincerity. He is, of course, all real Scots charm in person, and happy to admit that he's still learning.
"All the emotion has to be done without, of course, close-up shots," Capaldi says. "The contrasting emotions, the duplicity, it's all pure stagecraft, up to us to get it right and to Sean to make sure the audience gets the right view every second." And you have to do emotion and anger without even one swearie-word, let alone the exuberant filth of Malcolm Tucker, Capadi's character in The Thick of It. "Yes, but that's a bit of a relief for once.
"So it's about trying to get the tiny reactions right, every moment, while not losing the sense of the ensemble rhythm; it's a bit like a dance. Learning about the super-clarity that is needed on stage to bring about thatslight sidetracking of reality. And balancing doing justice to Graham's script with a consciousness of what the original film seems to mean to the people of Britain."
It was, surely, a film that could only have been made back then? "They must have been odd times. There was a chaotic fallout from the war. A sense of a change of class barriers, of government, of expectations, of certainties, that was probably, at times, brutal. And I think there was a potential or even need for reinvention; of identities, status, personae. So you got quite a few bogus gentlemen around the land. Gloriously captured in the film. We all want to do it justice, but also remember that we're putting on a theatrical experience, a live show. With just a fabulous list of people; I knew from the off that I wanted to be part of this. It would have been daft not to get on board."
Graham Linehan, when we meet as the others grab sandwiches, is flustered from traffic but more so, I suspect, from, at the moment, being the ghost at the feast. "I haven't seen much of the rehearsing. I find it very, very hard to take myself away from things, to relinquish any amount of control. But this time I had to step away.
"Sean and I had early discussions and agreed that would be the way. I needed someone who understood the language of the theatre. I've seen almost everything he's done, and do trust him. But it's still hard not to interfere. I really wish I could get my hands on certain bits I'd written. Maybe later, once we're there."
The more we talk the more I realise he loves the original film with a passion. He has read Mackendrick's book on film craft and thinks it's "genius". "And I think, every time I re-see it, that it's such a subtle film. I just noticed the other day the doorbell ringing. It's such a horrible grinding chime. Says it all. It's a glorious film, but when the pitch was made to me by the producers, to rewrite – well, it was a really good pitch. So I thought, yes, I'll take that on. Yes, a little ambitious. But I could expand the other characters, give them more space and time, find reasons, and bring some things, later things, to it – oddly, I thought quite a bit of Reservoir Dogs, another great film where the robbery sits mainly in the back story, and it's all about the personalities afterwards.
"I do think my script's funny," he continues. "I think I know when I've written funny. Your best writing partner is yourself, three weeks down the line. You put your work away for a while, take it out and see if it's any good. Then the bad shouldn't get through."
Lunchtime cups of tea are being brewed on a trestle table before resumption, and I finally grab the nicely frantic director, Sean Foley. He doesn't look like he's having fun, but he is. He's about the 18th person to tell me about the "phenomenal" real set, currently being built up in Liverpool. "And it, and the characters, are representative of that time. There's the bogus professor, the major trading on old glory, the hint of dangerous foreigners, and Mrs W is, of course, Britain: living in a crumbling, crooked, subsiding house stuffed with reminders of naval glories. Back then people didn't know quite what to make of the trailers for the film; it wasn't a thriller, or a comedy, or a drama; none of them, quite. It was, in the end, billed as a 'delightfully different entertainment'. And I've tried to keep that phrase in my head. At the end, our purpose is to give people an entertainingly good night. If we get this right, that'll be exactly it."
Ealing Studios' two great directors each peaked with a classic black comedy starring Alec Guinness. Robert Hamer's Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) was set in Edwardian England; Alexander Mackendrick's The Ladykillers (1955) takes place in shabby postwar London. Both are outrageous tales of multiple murder, allegories about a troubled Britain in transition. In Mackendrick's film, Guinness heads a gang disguised as a string quintet planning a heist from the home of an innocent old lady. She represents a fading tradition of gentility, the bizarre criminals are a cross-section of a nation in decline. Guinness's sinister Professor Marcus (modelled on cadaverous Observer theatre critic Ken Tynan) is a cut-price Moriarty. Danny Green plays punchy ex-boxer "One-Round", Peter Sellers's Harry is the archetypal cockney spiv, Cecil Parker's seedy ex-officer Major Courtney a recurrent postwar figure. The one true professional is Herbert Lom as ruthless central European Louis. It was Ealing's final triumph.


Our latest developments project update for March 15th 2019 is now available to download in PDF format.
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Our latest sea-front development on the coast of Llanfairfechan in North Wales is taking pride of place right now with internal works ongoing and the gardens and block paving next on the agenda. The works continue to progress as we near towards completion of the project and you can see for yourself just how nicely things are coming along with these superb drone footage photos offering you a view with an aerial perspective.
For more information on this project or to enquire about sales or rent please contact Oaking Developments directly on 01492 338 228.
Our fabulously impressive site at Forest Hills, Colwyn Bay is looking stunning thanks to our aerial drone footage with all 19 apartments now in use. This iconic looking property development project completed in 2017 and is a stand out accommodation block set in a tranquil woodland spot with superb sea views.
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Itinerary Name: Old Charm Meets Future - 1 Day Private Essence Shanghai Tour
One Day Tour in Downtown Shanghai
Meal:Not included in the quotation
Hotel:No
Today is packed: In the morning, your personal driver, and guide will be waiting at your address in time, ready to maximize your time.
Your tour in Shanghai will begin with the visit to the 468m high Oriental Pearl Tower in Pudong area (East of Huangpu River) which is the icon of Shanghai, ranks the second tallest in Asia and the fourth tallest in the world, only second to Guangzhou TV tower (600 m), Toronto CN Tower (553.3 m) and Moscow Ostankino Tower (533.3 m). You will take the express elevator to arrive at the upper sphere (the middle sphere) which is 250m above the ground. The Shanghai Municipal History Museum located at the ground floor in the tower is also a must for tourists in Shanghai. The museum has six separate galleries which show the evolution of Shanghai in a period of 6,000 years. Then you will get to the West of Huangpu River to take a stroll on the Bund - the waterfront by the side of the river, and with many elegant classical skyscrapers built in the colonial period, it is also the most important showcase of Shanghai, to enjoy the spectacular view here.
In the afternoon, you will get to the Old Town of Shanghai which is right by the side of the former French Concession and Huangpu River, to visit the Yuyuan Bazaar and charming Yuyuan Garden, one of the best typical Classical Chinese style gardens in China. You will also visit the Old City God Temple here – the most famous city god temple in China and one of the most important religion centers for local Shanghai citizen.
Then you can visit the heart of the former French Concession – Xintiandi area. Itis an upmarket, pedestrian only, shopping, eating and entertainment district composed of refurbished or reconstituted traditional early 19th century shikumen ("stone gate") houses, narrow alleys and stone paved courtyards. You could spend some time browsing through book shops, cafes and delis selling French cheese, wines and Mo?t & Chandon, upscale boutiques and restaurants. Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seating. Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, though romantic settings are more common than loud music and dance places. It is considered one of the first lifestyle centers in China. With the Taiping Lake area right by the side of it, Xintiandi area now is also the most expensive place to live in China, with some apartments costing more than Tokyo, New York and London. It is home to the Chinese elite and top executive expats.
The small leafy street between the North Block and South Block of Xintiandi is Xingye Road (old name Rue Wantz, Built in 1914, named after the name of the chief engineer of Public Council of the French Concession, Wantz).
The Shikumen Open House Museum is a museum on the south side of the North Block of Xintiandi on Xingye Road that presents Shanghai life as it was around the 1920s and 30s in a shikumen-style "stone-gate" house. There are about 7 rooms furnished with period furniture. The museum includes a tingzijian, a small triangular room, sometimes rented out at a low price to impoverished writers and others.
Shikumen, means stone gate. The architectural focus of these houses is a front do
or framed in sometimes elaborately carved stone. The houses themselves – interconnected row houses usually three stories high – are made of brick typical to Shanghai in red and gray.
The style was originally created to house refugees from the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) who flooded Shanghai from the nearby provinces. It gained in popularity and remained the preferred style
until 1980s in Shanghai.
In the south eastern corner of this block, also on the Xingye Road is the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China which has now been preserved as a museum. It is also located in the historical shikumen buildings in which the 1st National Congress of the Communist Party of China took place on 23 July in 1921. The museum houses exhibits about the history of China and Shanghai and the foundation of the CPC..
Not far from Xintiandi area is Sinan Road (Old name Rue Massenet) which was built in 1912 and completed in 1914, in the memory of the famous French musician - Massenet (12 May 1842 - 13 Aug 1912) who was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are Manon (1884) and Werther (1892). He also composed oratorios, ballets, orchestral works, incidental music, piano pieces, songs and other music. Now in 16th arrondissement of Paris (also known as "Arrondissement de Passy"), there is still a same name road.
Please click Sinan Mansions for more info about it.
Further down this quiet picturesque street with pretty buildings and villas on each sides, many elegant detached French style garden villas will appear in front of your eyes. Built in 1920s, this community was designed by French architect and copied from the buildings in Biarritz, a famous beach resort by the side of Atlantic in the south France near Spain.
Sinan Mansions is the only one project in the central Shanghai in order to protect acres of villas. With 51 villas built in 1920s in the heart of the former French Concession, almost all kinds of architectures in morden Shanghai can be found in this area, including detached garden villas, veranda style architectures, townhouses with courtyard, townhouse without courtyard. It was a hub of high society where dignitaries, entrepreneurs, professionals and renowned artists frequented and lived. Shanghai Municipal Investment, the developer, spearheaded a $3.5 billion restoration project to revitalize Shanghai's former glory. The total area covers around 50,000 s.m. The total construction area is around 80,000 s.m. Many luxurious villas have been renovated and reimagined, converted to upscale hotel - Hotel Massenet. Some other villas were converted to cafes, restaurants, boutiques and galleries.
As day draws to an end, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Shanghai.
More about Oriental Pearl Tower at Wikipeida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriental_Pearl_Tower
More about the Bund at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bund
More about Yuyuan Garden at Wikipeida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuyuan_Garden
More about Old City God Temple at Wikipeida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_God_Temple_of_Shanghai
More about Xintiandi area at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xintiandi
More about Sinan Mansions at its official website: http://www.sinanmansions.com/en/Index.asp
More about Tianzifang at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianzifang
More about French Concession in old Shanghai at Wikipeida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Concession

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


LIU Ju-peng. 1985. A New Genus of Acrididae From Yunnan. Zoological Research, 6(3): 239 - 241.
 CHANG Yu-mei,KUANG You-yi,LIANG Li-qun,LU Cui-yun,HE Jian-guo. Searching for Protein-coding Genes Using Microsatellites in Common Carp by Comparing to Zebrafish EST Database[J]. Zoological Research, 2008, 29(4): 373 -378 .
 HAI Sa,LI Jia-le,FENG Jian-bin,Mulati. Systematics of Perca Species Based on Multivariate Morphometrics and Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Variation Analysis[J]. Zoological Research, 2008, 29(2): 113 -120 .
 ZHAO Jin-xia,LIU Hao,ZHANG Li-quan. Spatial Patterns for the Distribution of Winter Waterbirds in the Aquaculture Ponds of Chongming Dongtan,Shanghai[J]. Zoological Research, 2008, 29(2): 212 -218 .
 ZHANG Zheng-liang,WEN Bo,TANG Chuan-hong,HUA Tian-miao. Aged Changes of Glu/GABA Expression in the Cerebellar Cortex of Cats[J]. Zoological Research, 2008, 29(2): 152 -158 .
 LI Qing-wei,CHEN Yi-feng. Enlarge The Mitochondrial Genome in Bird[J]. Zoological Research, 1996, 17(4): 376 -384 .
 JIANG Shi-ren,DING Ping,LI Jian-hua,ZHU ge-Yang. The Sound Spectrographic Analyses on The Call of Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus[J]. Zoological Research, 1996, 17(4): 403 -409 .
 YOU Yong-long,LIN Dan-jun. A Study on The Fine Structure of The Spermatozoon of Teleost Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus)[J]. Zoological Research, 1996, 17(4): 377 -383 .
 LI Hai-tao,CHEN Liang,HO Chi-kong,LIU Yang. A New Bird Record in China : Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva)[J]. Zoological Research, 2008, 29(3): 325 -327 .


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ALM Insider Trading
Insider Buying (Last 12 Months): £58,823.50
Allied Minds Insider Trading History Chart
This chart shows the insider buying and selling history at Allied Minds by year and by quarter.
Allied Minds Share Price & Price History
Current Price: GBX 13.85
Price Change: ▲ Price Increase of +3.2 (30.05%)
As of 11/29/2022 10:36 PM ET
This chart shows the closing price history over time for ALM up to the past year.
Allied Minds Insider Trading History
10/13/2022 Sam Dobbyn Insider Buy 588,235 GBX 10 £58,823.50
2/1/2021 Harry Rein Insider Buy 24,344 GBX 27 £6,572.88
1/29/2021 Harry Rein Insider Buy 38,156 GBX 28 £10,683.68
SEC Filings (Institutional Ownership Changes) for Allied Minds (LON:ALM)
Allied Minds plc is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in pre-seed, seed, start-up, and early stage technology investments. The firm prefers to invest across all products, services, and industries with a focus on the life science and technology sector including medical devices, diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals, big data, cyber security, communications, semiconductors, and food safety. It primarily invests in companies based in the United States, but depending on opportunities this could be expanded to a global network of partners and investments. The firm typically invests between $0.25 million and $1 million in seed investments and from $5 million to $10 million in Series A investments. The firm focuses on commercializing technologies from leading United States Universities and national labs. It seeks to take majority equity positions in its portfolio companies. The firm partners with universities to fund licensing deals and corporate spin-outs. It prefers to continue to invest alongside a syndicate for larger Series A and follow-on rounds. Allied Minds plc is based in Boston, Massachusetts with additional offices in London, United Kingdom; Los Angeles, California; Seattle, Washington; New York; New York and Washington, DC.
Read More on Allied Minds
Now: GBX 13.85
Low: 9.38
MA: GBX 13.33
High: 23
1,919,131 shs
Who are the company insiders with the largest holdings of Allied Minds?
Allied Minds' top insider shareholders include:
Sam Dobbyn (Insider)
Learn More about top insider investors at Allied Minds.


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text:
Music of Ireland
Ciaran Nagle & Tara Novak
Bellows Falls, VT
Join famed tenor Ciaran Nagle of "The Three Irish Tenors" and fiddler extraordinaire Tara Novak for an entertaining and life-changing weekend with the music and culture of Ireland.
Part of Ciaran's gifts as a performer is his storytelling. Nothing conveys the mindset, attitude and spirit of the Irish better than a good joke, story, or song and Ciaran is the master of them all.
In this workshop you'll not only learn to perform Irish music with an authentic lilt and accent, but you'll learn the customs of the "session" - how to participate successfully in an impromptu Irish musical gathering as a leader or a sideman.
Focused on musicians and educators from classical and other musical genres wising to gain an understanding of Irish Music. Open to fiddle, voice, bodhran (or other drums), pipes, whistles, harp, guitar, mandolin and accordion, The Music of Ireland will concentrate on 10 must-know Irish tunes and songs.
The Workshop will also include performances by Ciaran & Tara, student performances, and instruction in the basic dance steps of Ceilidh.
There will be discussion on selecting a set list, how to prepare for performance, simple ways to arrange tunes and songs, how to get bookings, plus chats on the art of performance and the history of Irish music.
This invaluable workshop, taught by a musician, producer and agent with nearly two decades worth of experience, is intended for both amateur and professional musicians and singers, working in all genres and styles.
Tara Novak
Although originally from a classical background, multi-instrumentalist (violin, viola, electric violin, voice) and composer/arranger Tara Novak has devoted the past 15 years of her life to studying the music of all genres – specifically Irish traditional, jazz, pop, and Americana.
The child of a jazz guitarist/composer and classical pianist in Omaha, Nebraska, Tara was convinced of her career path as a classical violinist – until in her early 20′s, when she heard the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the music of George Crumb, and Ireland's Bothy Band. These hugely differing uses of the violin sent her on a path to find her own sound, from the studio of international concert violinist Benny Kim to NYC to Berklee College of Music, and eventually across the Atlantic.
Since 2007, Tara has been dividing her time between Ireland and the USA. In addition to working extensively as a soloist, she is also the lead violinist with both the Three Irish Tenors and Druid. She has toured throughout Ireland, the UK, Holland, North America, and the Caribbean, and in the past year alone, has performed as a featured soloist at over 100 corporate, private, and charity events, including the American Ireland Funds, Renault, Failte Ireland, Deloitte & Touche, the UEFA Europa Leauge, Jameson Distillery, Google, Ronald McDonald House, Make A Wish Foundation, Rotary International, To Russia With Love, Sosad, Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin, ISPCC, Krystle Nightclub, and on!
In addition to her busy performance schedule, Tara is also an active educator, composer, and arranger/orchestrator. She teaches both privately and at Waltons New School of Music in Dublin. Her compositions and arrangements are featured in her own solo show, as well as being performed on tours with the Three Irish Tenors and Druid. She co-wrote three of the tracks on Irish baritone Nyle Wolfe's album: "Home Ground," which was released in March 2009.
Tara performs on both an acoustic violin made by Bronek Cison in 1998 and a custom-made 5-string metallic blue Violectra, made by David Bruce Johnson in 2009.
www.taranovak.com
Ciaran Nagle
Eugene Ginty, Ciaran Nagle, Tony Norton
Ciarán Nagle's first real interest in singing began when he was ten, when he played the lead role in a school production of the Gypsy Baron. From that moment, singing and music have always been his passion. Ciarán trained in the College of Music Dublin and in the Royal Academy of Music Dublin. He became a member of the National Chamber Choir of Ireland, singing with them until 1998. Under the baton of Robert Shaw, he performed at NY's Carnegie Hall in productions of Haydn's "Creation" and "Seasons." Ciarán has worked extensively with Opera Ireland, appearing in numerous productions, including: La Cenerentola, Faust, The Magic Flute, La Boheme, MacBeth, Falstaff, and The Tales of Hoffman. A keen fan of musical theatre and operetta, Ciarán has performed such roles as "Gaylord Ravenal" in Showboat, "Ralph" in HMS Pinafore, "Cascada" in The Merry Widow, and "Tony" in WestSide Story.
This led to Ciarán's appointment in 1998 as the lead male singer of Riverdance, with whom he toured for two years across Europe and Japan. Upon returning to Dublin, he became a founding member of the Three Irish Tenors, which has gone on to win huge national and international success.
Known affectionately as "The Anthem Man," Ciarán has sung the Irish National Anthem for both the Hurling and Gaelic Football All Ireland Finals in Croke Park to capacity crowds in excess of eighty thousand. He also sang the National Anthem at several world cup qualifiers in Landsdowne Road to crowds of more than fifty thousand people. In 2005, Ciarán sang the "Rose of Tralee" at the final presentation of the globally renowned pageant by the same name, and he has had the privilege of singing the American National Anthem at the invitation of the Pittsburg Steelers in the Heinz Field Stadium. At the 2002 Fourth of July Celebrations in Dublin, he performed with Neil Diamond, singing both the American and Irish National Anthems.
Ciarán is also the producer (and a performer) in "Druid – A Musical Journey" with tours in the US and Europe.
His latest show, "Nollaig: An Irish Christmas," is a unique and personal show where he performs with some of the world's most renowned musicians and Irish dancers and with his life partner Tara Novak (violin and voice). "Nollaig: An Irish Christmas" premiered in the US in December 2011 to huge critical acclaim.
www.ciarannagle.com
The Stone Church & Immanuel Retreat Center
The Music of Ireland will include classes, discussions, meals, private instruction, jamming, and public performances by Ciaran, Tara and participants. Classes, meals and performances will take place in the historic Immanuel Episcopal Church (Stone Church) in the heart of Bellows Falls, Vermont. The church has a full kitchen and dining hall in a pleasant and cool basement, and the sanctuary is a magnificent space with warm acoustics and 9-foot Steinway grand piano. The former parsonage has been updated as The Immanuel Retreat Center, and has accommodations for a limited number of participants at very reasonable prices.
Click blue button below for more information on the Stone Church and the Immanuel Retreat Center:
Stone Church/Immanuel Retreat Center
Full tuition, including dinner each day, is $525. A deposit of $100 will reserve your space (enrollment limited).
Please submit this form for more information on THE MUSIC OF IRELAND with Ciaran Nagle & Tara Novak, July 18-21, 2013


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The Russell 's: Where did my pants go?
As you can see, I am missing my pants in this picture but had them on in the other one. Well, Dad attempted to change my diaper and I have became quite the escape artist! I can get away!!
It's my new game....to escape when they try and change me. I just laugh at them :) I have nice thighs though!!!!
is he crawling in that bottom picture? he is so cute, great looking thighs I must add!
Landon's Dad always had muscular legs!!