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Contact: Michael Keller
keller@wvhumanities.org
Charleston WV – The following events happened on these dates in West Virginia history. To read more, go to e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
March 30, 1837: The Virginia legislature granted a charter to establish a private academy at West Liberty, north of Wheeling in Ohio County. The first class of 65 students met in the home of the Rev. Nathan Shotwell in 1838. The school is now known as West Liberty State University.
March 30, 1926: Actor, singer and game show host Peter Marshall was born Ralph Pierre Lacock in Wheeling. His career includes Broadway, television and over 5,000 episodes as host of The Hollywood Squares.
March 31, 1919: Governor John Jacob Cornwell signed legislation that created the West Virginia State Police. The governor appointed Jackson Arnold, grand-nephew of Gen. Thomas J. ''Stonewall'' Jackson and former executive officer of the 1st West Virginia Infantry, as first superintendent.
April 1, 1884: Nurse Florence Aby Blanchfield was born in Shepherdstown. She served in the Army Nurse Corps during World War I, oversaw expansion of the corps from 1,000 to 57,000 during World War II, and became the first woman to hold a permanent commission in the regular army.
April 1, 1934: A sales tax went into effect in West Virginia for the first time. The tax of 2 percent helped fill the revenue void caused by the drop in property values during the Great Depression.
April 2, 1900: Marlinton was incorporated. The town is generally considered to be the location of the first white settlement in the Greenbrier Valley.
April 3, 1755: Frontier scout and ''long hunter'' Simon Kenton was born in Fauquier County, Virginia. Upon leaving home, Kenton first traveled north through present West Virginia to Pittsburgh and then explored, hunted, and trapped through much of the Ohio Valley.
April 3, 1908: Samuel Starks died in Charleston. Starks became the first African-American in the United States to serve as a state librarian when he was appointed to the position in 1901 by Governor Albert Blakeslee White.
April 4, 1980: Musician Red Sovine died in Nashville. Sovine, born Woodrow Wilson Sovine in Charleston, gained country music fame for his recitations, especially those incorporating sentimental truck driver themes.
April 5, 1856: Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia. In 1865, he moved with his family to Malden to join his stepfather, who had escaped from slavery during the war.
April 5, 2010: An explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County killed 29 workers. Only two men escaped from the mine alive. It was the country's worst coal mining disaster since November 20, 1968, when the Consol No. 9 Mine at Farmington, West Virginia, exploded, killing 78 workers.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia is a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council. For more information, contact the West Virginia Humanities Council, 1310 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, WV 25301; (304) 346-8500; or visit e-WV at www.wvencyclopedia.org.
Run For It 2022 Event Begins April 1
eAdvocate – March 30, 2022


T134611: The OREL pants spawn in as the TTSKO pants.
I have also experienced this problem.
I have also experienced this problem. Also from farther away they have the correct texture.
PR9INICHEK mentioned this in T135597: Wrong colored pants.
PR9INICHEK mentioned this in T134611: The OREL pants spawn in as the TTSKO pants..
PR9INICHEK mentioned this in T135259: Bugs.


Product Customizer's premium tier allows you to add costs to an option created with the app, which is not available in the regular tier. Any price or cost added by the app will be added to the product price when purchased by the customer.
Important: In order to change pricing, Product Customizer will create a hidden "Item Customizations" product in your store. This product must remain in your Products list, as its price is used to add costs to your options. Customers will not see this product in your store.
Example: Customer purchases a $100 product, and selects an option with a price of $5. The customer will be charged $105 for the item. If the customer increases the item quantity, this cost will be used. Continuing with our example, ordering 2 of the item would cost $210 (not $200), ordering 3 would cost $315, and so on.
Additional costs can be added based on choice for some fields, or based on completion for other fields.
Any options that have values or choices can allow pricing based on the customer choice. If a price is not specified for a choice (blank), the choice is free, and choosing it will not result in any additional costs added to the product.
To add a cost to a dropdown option, enter a price next to the option text. When this item is chosen, the cost will be added to the product price.
You can mix prices of your option values; prices are entirely optional for each value, so some can be free and some can be paid, all can be free, or all can be paid.
To add a cost to a radio button option, enter a price next to the option text. When this item is selected, the cost will be added to the product price.
The radio button fees work the same way as dropdown fees.
To add a cost to a checkbox option, enter a price next to the option text. When this item is checked, the cost will be added to the product price.
Since multiple checkboxes can be checked at a time, multiple costs will be added. For example, if there are 3 checkboxes in a group, and each costs $10, then checking 2 checkboxes will result in a $20 additional charge. Each checkbox fee is added separately to the product price.
The single-line text input, paragraph text input, single checkbox, and file upload field types do not use "option values", and thus the price will depend on the field itself rather than a choice selected. If a price is specified for one of these fields, it will be charged if the field is completed.
For example, if a text input has a price associated with it, then leaving this field blank will not result in a fee. However, entering text in this field will result in the fee being added to the product price.
If a file upload has a price attached, then this fee will be added if a file is uploaded to the field.
To cancel a file upload and remove a price, the "upload file" button must be clicked again, then the customer can hit "cancel" to remove the file.


Make a reservation in advance for your group outing and receive a discount on general admission for organizations with 12 or more paid admissions. Snack and lunch packages available. If at time of entrance you do not have 12 or more paying children, general admission prices will apply. Subject to availability which varies by day. Group discounts valid Monday-Friday only. Some black out days may apply.
Lunch Package -4.50/child- kids meal entree, bag of chips/pretzels, and a 12oz. drink (fruit punch or lemonade).
Simply choose a day (Monday – Friday) for your school or organization to come in and play. We will give 50% (Yes, ½!) of the admission sales that your group generates, right back to your group! We will write you a check for the full amount within 1 week of your event! Call and speak with a manager to set up a date 248.919.3284. Some black out dates may apply.


After we pick you up from your hotels, we drive to zoo which is the biggest zoo in Turkey. It has 170.000m2 acreage, and more than 2.600 kinds of animals. Sapanca lake will be the second stop whose acreage is 42km. You can have a walk lake side or pedalling on the lake with nice lake view. Then, we will drive to Masukiye Village to have lunch consistnig of full organic stuff. Next, we will see Masukye waterfall.
While we come back to Istanbul, the last stop will be Viaport Shoppng Centre, which is one of the biggest outlet malls in Istanbul.
DAY 6 We will pick you up from your hotel and transfer to Ataturk Airport.
We will pick you up from your hotel and transfer to Ataturk Airport.


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Kojetice är en ort i Tjeckien.   Den ligger i regionen Mellersta Böhmen, i den centrala delen av landet,  km norr om huvudstaden Prag. Kojetice ligger  meter över havet och antalet invånare är .

Terrängen runt Kojetice är platt. Den högsta punkten i närheten är  meter över havet,  km sydväst om Kojetice. Runt Kojetice är det mycket tätbefolkat, med  invånare per kvadratkilometer. Närmaste större samhälle är Prag,  km söder om Kojetice. Trakten runt Kojetice består till största delen av jordbruksmark.

Trakten ingår i den hemiboreala klimatzonen. Årsmedeltemperaturen i trakten är  °C. Den varmaste månaden är juli, då medeltemperaturen är  °C, och den kallaste är januari, med  °C.

Kommentarer

Källor

Externa länkar

Orter i Mellersta Böhmen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
ASU Law welcomes its most highly credentialed and diverse class
Ranked a top seven public law school in the nation and No. 24 among all law schools according to U.S. News & World Report, the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University continues to be a premier choice for law school students around the country.
Continuing its streak, ASU Law welcomes its most highly credentialed class for the third year in a row. The incoming fall 2020 Juris Doctor students have a median LSAT score of 165 and a median GPA of 3.83, ASU Law's highest ever and up from last year's 164 and 3.81.
The class is also the most diverse in ASU Law's history with one-third identifying as students of color.
The group hails from more than 100 undergraduate institutions, 40 states and seven countries, with more than 60% from outside Arizona. Forty-seven percent of the students are women and more than 10% identify as LGBTQ. In addition, nearly 30 students are the first in their immediate family to graduate college.
On top of setting records for entering credentials and diversity, ASU Law again broke its record for JD applications at more than 4,700, a 28% increase over last year, while nationally applications remained nearly flat.
"While these numbers are impressive and drive us to continue our growth as one of the nation's best law schools, I am even more humbled by the magnitude of students wanting to be a part of ASU Law in these unprecedented times," said ASU Law Dean Douglas Sylvester. "The current health and economic conditions of our country, and the state of Arizona, put pressures on our students that no class has had to face in recent memory. Our faculty and staff are working hard every day to provide our incoming students with the most exceptional law school experience possible – in the way they feel most comfortable. That is why we are giving every student the choice of how they want to participate through in-person classroom experience (ASU immersion), online (ASU Sync) or a hybrid of both. The safety of our students, faculty and staff continues to be our top priority, and we look forward to making this a strong year."
A total of 265 students will be taking first-year JD classes, and every first-year JD student is awarded a scholarship once they are admitted. Students have the opportunity to tailor their education with over 250 unique courses and several programs and externships to match their interests.
Incoming ASU Law students had the opportunity to participate while physically distancing and wearing masks during orientation sessions before classes begin Aug. 19.
ASU Law also offers nearly 50 student organizations, many appealing to diverse personal and career interests. These organizations include the Asian Pacific American Law Students, Black Law Students Association, Diverse Students Coalition, Environmental Law Society, Federalist Society, Women Law Students' Association, and many others.
For individuals who want to expand their knowledge of the U.S. legal system and enhance their career opportunities without becoming an attorney, ASU Law offers a one-year Master of Legal Studies (MLS) degree. The MLS program enrolled 31 new MLS students and over 200 MLS online students. The MLS graduate program continues to identify trending industry needs to provide students with new focus areas of legal study, such as contract management, corporate and health care compliance, construction law and Indian gaming and self-governance law programs, all without becoming a lawyer.
The Master of Sports Law and Business program that blends sports, law and business welcomed 54 new students, including those who are part of the Veterans Sports Law and Business program. Additionally, the Master of Laws (LLM) program welcomed six new students.
More than half of incoming students in all of ASU Law's master's degree programs identify as people of color and over 60% are female. Fifty-six percent also hail from out of state.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


New findings published in the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveal nearly 2 percent of high schoolers in America identify as transgender, and approximately 35 percent have attempted to end their life sometime in the last 12 months.
The data comes from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which involves 131,901 high school students in grades 9-12 from 10 states—Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin—plus nine urban school districts in Boston, Florida's Broward County, Cleveland, Detroit, the District of Columbia, Los Angeles, New York City, San Diego and San Francisco.
Students responded to questions about violence, victimization, substance use, suicide risk, sexual risk behaviors. The survey also included an optional question regarding transgender identity.
» RELATED: What is the difference between transgender and transsexual?
Compared to their cisgender peers, the nearly 2 percent who identified as transgender faced higher rates of victimization, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts, according to the CDC.
The report, which reflects similar findings from previous but smaller studies, showed 27 percent of trans high schoolers feel unsafe at or when en route or leaving school, 35 percent are bullied at school and, as aforementioned, 35 percent attempt suicide.
Amit Paley, who heads the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention group for LGBTQ youth, called the findings "groundbreaking" and said in a recent interview with the Washington Post that the figures reveal "the very real health risks" plaguing trans students.
"This is the first time we've had a federal government report of this magnitude showing that transgender youth exist in this country and in larger numbers than researchers had previously estimated," Paley said.
In 2017, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on the trend of violence against trans people. Based on data from the Human Rights Campaign, more than 60 percent of transgender deaths occurred in the South that year.
"Georgia is one of five states nationally that does not have a hate crime statute on the books. Fifteen other states have hate crime laws, but do not address sexual orientation or gender identity," AJC's Nelson Helm wrote.
FBI reports revealed an increase in hate crimes against the LGBT community in 2016 compared to the previous year. Crimes motivated by an anti-transgender bias also increased to 111 incidents in 2016; up from 76 a year prior.
In light of the recent YRBS report, CDC experts call for coordinated intervention efforts in schools to create and enforce anti-bullying policy and implement training to ensure supportive school staff.
The agency's move comes just days after the United States Supreme Court revived President Donald Trump's transgender military ban, which blocks most trans people from serving in the military as cases challenging the policy make their way through lower courts.
Read the full CDC report at cdc.gov.
A previous version of this story stated the YRBS survey was nationally representative, which it is. However, to clarify, only the 19 sites in the new study responded to the pilot question on transgender identity.


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THE WORLDS FIRST NFT VENDING MACHINE
Jade March 3, 2022
Open 24 hours a day, New York City.
Neon, a Solana blockchain-based NFT marketplace and gallery, announced today the launch of its NFT vending machine, according to Business Wire. Located in New York City's Financial District, the vending machine is the first of its kind in the world, marking a new milestone for the growing NFT market.
Unlike most online NFT platforms that solely accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment, the NFT vending machine accepts both debit and credit cards. "While only 2% of Americans have digital wallets, 80% have a credit card or debit card," said Neon co-founder and CMO, Jordan Birnholtz. The expansion into accepting fiat currency allows for greater participation in the NFT space from interested parties. Open 24 hours a day, the vending machine contains boxes with special codes for the selected NFT, which can then be redeemed on Neon.
"Our goal is to support artists and creators by letting them sell digital art to everyone, and to help anyone who wants to become a collector," said Birnholtz. "Giving people the choice to use vending machines and an easy online platform that decouples cryptocurrency from NFT participation means we can engage the widest possible audience."
Neon's NFT vending machine is located at 29 John St. in New York, NY.


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If you or someone you know needs help now, click here
Dying to Live: Stories from Refugees on the Road to Freedom
Thursday, February 11, 5 p.m. EST (Online)
Ms. Danielle Vela, Director of Reconciliation and Social Cohesion at Jesuit Refugee Services, will highlight Jesuit Refugee Services' work of accompaniment through sharing stories about the refugee experience and of the forcibly displaced. Register at https://www.sju.edu/klein
2021 Catholic Social Ministry Gathering
Register now! This year, we will pray, learn, and advocate together on the disparities revealed by COVID-19 and re-imagine new models of justice and solidarity.
VIRTUAL BOOK TALK
February 17, 2021 | 7:00 PM
Black women living in the French empire played a key role in the decolonial movements of the mid-twentieth century. Annette K. Joseph-Gabriel mines published writings and untapped archives to reveal the anticolonialist endeavors of seven women.
February 6-9, 2021, Virtual Gathering. This year, registration is only $50! Register now and save the date for this four-day virtual event.
Cabrini University's Center on Immigration Book Talk Series
See all featured books and upcoming talks, and register to join virtually via Zoom Meeting.
Managed by the Catholic Coalition For Immigrants And Refugees
© 2021 Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia • 222 North 17th Street • Philadelphia, PA 19103


If you think about comfort food, people will tell you about the most delicious food that they ever had like a triple cheeseburger, a Chicago deep dish pizza, a hot fudge sundae, a hotdog, corn dog, a tomahawk steak, Philly's pulled pork sandwich, tortillas, adobo and many more. Comfort food is subjective and varies from one person, country, culture, religion to the other. But there's a common thing with comfort food and that is a feeling that makes one happy and emotional from the food that they eat.
There are many types of comfort foods like fried, dried, baked, grilled, and so on. Whatever it is, it's mostly fatty, sweet, salty and gives you the emotions that you're so familiar with. While there are people that go to their favorite restaurants in order to taste home or their mother's cooking, there are people that take it upon themselves to make their own comfort food and even more so if it's oven-baked comfort food. So why should you make your own comfort food anyway?
It's cheaper: There are a few factors why restaurants charge their food the way they do and that is because they have to buy the raw materials, pay their rent, paythe staff and the bills. But if you make your own comfort food, especially the baked types, you can save yourself the cost of paying too much for your meal. If you calculate the times where you go to your favorite restaurant to pay for your comfort food, you will realize that it's a substantial amount compared to making one yourself.
It's faster: If you order your meal in a restaurant, you still have to wait in line like the rest. In restaurants, it's FIFO (first in, first out). So if it happens to be a busy day, then good luck with that. But if you make it on your own, you're first on the priority list. No more waiting and no more falling in line ever.
You can add whatever you want with it: Sometimes, your creativity comes out and you want to experiment on the things that are being offered on the plate, and your comfort food is not anexception to that. If you wish to, you can make the dish your own and not anybody's dish. Add a few spices and add in new flavors and keep experimenting. No one can give you that free-range other than yourself.
You can guarantee the freshness: If you make your own comfort food, you can be assured of the freshness, especially if you know where to buy the freshest ingredients. As you know, when you buy fresh and cook fresh, there's just a certain sweetness and flavor to it that you won't find anywhere else.
Comfort food is probably something that you eat once every month, a couple of weeks, during special occasions and even when you're stressed. Comfort food triggers certain emotions that we like to experience. It's not just a dining experience but "THE experience." If you want to have access to that comfort food fast, cheap and have a free range on what you want to do with it, make it yourself. If you're looking for an oven baked comfort food to delight your senses, click the link.


VMT GmbH, a survey technology company, was founded in 1994 to supply a wide range of custom solutions, services, and surveying systems to the tunneling industry. Headquartered in Germany, VMT undertakes tunneling projects all over the world, including current projects in the UK, China, Hong Kong, and Australia. One of their major products that is used worldwide is a specific system that guides tunnel boring machines in segment-lined and pipe-jacked tunnels.
When manufacturing large size concrete segments to be used for tunnel linings, precisely assembled steel moulds with stringent quality control measures are employed to ensure correct fabrication of the concrete segments. Increasingly narrow tolerances are required for segment dimensional accuracy; so a reliable, efficient measuring method is essential to determine the linear dimensions and angular properties of the moulds. Due to the fact that measurements are needed during the early stages of the fabrication process and usually take place at the mould supplier's plant, the project requires portable metrology equipment and corresponding metrology software.
VMT uses SpatialAnalyzer® (SA) with Laser interferometer systems to measure both moulds and segments. SA is used not only to drive the laser continued from page 1 trackers, but to process the measurements, compare them to the original CAD models, and to use SA's spatial transformation capability for optimum fit analysis (SA's Best Fit and Bundling capabilities). Using 3D models allows for the detection of defaults that would have gone unnoticed during a mechanical inspection. This method also allows VMT to take multiple measurements and analyze them quickly enough to meet the requirements of a high speed quality control and quality assurance process.
If needed, maintenance/refinement of moulds' mechanical and geometric properties.
This process differs from previous fabrication management in that it allows for more attention and analysis of the geometric properties of the moulds and segments; not merely their mechanical integrity. Not only can VMT rapidly perform these measurements, but this type of quality control also allows VMT to react more flexibly to potential problems and more proactively prevent defects. Instead of identifying defects after a segment has been transported to the tunnel, VMT saves time and resources by identifying any problems before the segment leaves the fabrication plant.


Jim's Smokehouse at the foot of Hockley is a recent addition to the restaurant scene in Nottingham. It is the latest venture by Prashant "PJ" Jaiswal who previously ran the Red Hot Buffet shack, and Rakono both at the same location. (I will be honest and say that I was never keen on either of those two places, great for office outings where no-one can decide what they want, but a nightmare for the digestion when faced with a plate mixed with random selections of Chinese, Indian, or Italian cuisine).
So it was then with a 'tingle of excitement' tinged with a 'little scepticism' that I ventured over to try out this latest venture where he is now running a smokehouse complete with an a imported smoker from the states offering up "American Low 'n' Slow BBQ".
OK so we are seated and perusing the menu and things are looking promising. I have a bottle of Goose Island IPA and I can see a lot of BBQ description at the top of the page. "From the Smokers – dry-rubbed and marinated overnight and smoked for up to 12 hours". They seem to have a wide range of styles from several of the renowned BBQ regions of the States; St Louis Ribs, Carolina Pulled Pork, and Texas Beef Briskets. I was just hoping that they were cooked in the regional way and not just names stuck next to meat. To be honest I was surprised not to see an ode to The Memphis or Kansas City style BBQ on there, but then again perhaps this is a case of not running before you can walk.
Fifteen or so minutes later this tray of meat arrived at my table. Yes I agree it does look a bit of a mess (I am trying to block out the image of the flaccid fries in a tin mug). Having said that I am not sure that BBQ platters typically have Feng Shui so I (momentarily) forgave, until I eat. Sometimes when I venture out on these myfoodhunt trips I kind of write up from memory and don't always get the 'review in the moment', today I tried harder for you and jotted down a few thoughts as I was eating.
Now I usually love Rib Tips and sometimes I think these are the best bits, not as good as burnt ends but still tasty. For reference the rib tips are the short, meaty sections of rib attached to the lower end of the spare ribs, often these are the bits cut off the spare ribs when you are squaring up the rib like when preparing a St Louis Style Rib Cut. At the time I noted that the 'Rib Tips smelt smoky but didn't taste smoky and are a bit dry'. Looking back they were also a bit chewy, well actually a lot chewy. If they had been cut of a 12 hour smoked rib rack I would have expected them to be falling off the bones and be juicy and tender.
Ok so the chicken, this did look the best on the tray visually and I found it also to be a bit of a 'hit and miss' piece of BBQ. I noted that "chicken is on the verge of being dry but has a nice taste and the thick spicy BBQ sauce coating brushed onto the chicken transforms and elevates the whole thing". Looking back I kind of enjoyed the chicken the most on the plate.
Now the thing that I was most excited about was the Carolina Pulled Pork, but sadly this was the one thing that truly disappointed me. It was so dry, it almost felt like it was yesterdays meat leftover in a tray somewhere. I am sure that it wasn't but that was the kind of texture it had. You had to add one of the table sauces to turn it into a good enjoyable bite. I don't want to sound mean but I have eaten a lot of pulled pork and this wasn't featuring high on the list of all those that I have ever eaten. It may have been a bad day but I wasn't feeling any love in this offering.
Lets talk about those sauces for a moment. It is true that often it is the sauce that can elevate and transform some humble BBQ and I have been at many Rib Fests across the States where some of the additions have been true genius. But, and it is a big But, every time the Meat was always able to stand on its own two feet (or in many cases four feet) as a naked item before the sauce came in to make it 'all pretty and ready for the BBQ Prom'.
Now here at Jim's Smokehouse I would say that they have done fairly well with the sauces. I am not saying that they are true to the original style or recipe but they did help to transform some of the meat on my platter. At the time I wrote 'Pulled Pork needed sauce adding to it to get it going, the South Carolina Mustard sauce was the best one to do that'. I also noted that I "Like the East Carolina 'Hot and Tangy' sauce on the bits of chicken that were not coated in that lovely tangy sauce that they came with". I will say that all three sauces were too runny and needed something to thicken them out, they were tasty though I will give you that.
Now I still kind of want to come back and give this place another go, mostly because I have a whole group of people that want to try it. I just had to come on my own at a really unpopular time (opening on a Sunday) to test them out. If I do come back then maybe I will suggest the Grand Feast but if I do they will need to 'up their game' with that Pulled Pork. While I was there a lot of people were having the burgers which sounded really good on paper and seemed to be going down really well. Should I try the 'Wild Wild West Burger'? or is that too cheesy? It sounds good …quote "Just the way Texas cowboys would like it – pulled pork, beef brisket and cheeseburger topped with melted cheese, bacon, onion ring and bbq sauce". But hey lets be honest I probably would only be coming here for BBQ, for a Burger I would be queuing up at Annies Burger Shack where you can feel the love in the burger.


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Online Gaming: Why Won't They Come?
The potential audience is high yet why are so many online ventures struggling? The problem, according to Ms. Mulligan, is not so much high monthly rates, but the observation that some ventures don't know "diddley" about customer service. What follows is an argument for Sysops as well as illustrations of how some ventures have successfully earned player loyalty.
Jessica Mulligan
In his regular Gamasutra column, analyst Paul Palumbo recently crafted a must-read article titled Online vs. Retail Game Title Economics. As a 12-year executive in both the online and computer game industries, co-founder of Interplay's Online Gaming division and a founder of Engage Games Online, I tell you it is the best review of the current online games business situation I have read. Every business development person in the industry should read that article.
In the article, Mr. Palumbo wrote the following:
Nevertheless, it's still a question of volume for online games as well. 3DO's experience with Meridian 59 revealed that while there is a dedicated group of online gamers, their numbers are small. Meridian 59 averaged about 10,000 players per month. That was enough to cover ongoing production and maintenance, but not enough to reach full development payback.
Both retail and online markets have their problems: Retail has too many products chasing too little retail shelf space. Online titles are chasing too few initiated users and investors have yet to warm up to the concept.
This is the one point in Mr. Palumbo's article that screams for more detail. It's not a matter of the online gaming market being too small. By my most conservative estimate, there are at least 2.5 million hard core gamers with access to the Internet and online services today. OK, that isn't the mega-millions everyone wants, but it is potentially $300 million annually in subscription fees at the current standard of $9.95 a month. That's not chicken feed, and the market is growing in the double-digits every year.
However, for-pay online game sites today still have real trouble scaring up more than 10,000 subscribers. The largest, Ultima Online (www.ea.origin.com), claims some 50,000 +, although that will certainly go down now that players actually have to pay for the service. Even non-pay sites such as the well-publicized and distributed Mplayer (www.mplayer.com) claim only 200,000 subscribers. Microsoft issued a press release on 2/18/98 claiming 1.1 million registered users for The Zone (www.zone.com) and 6,500 simultaneous users at peak hours. More interesting statistics for them to release, I think, would be the number of unique users per month (I'm a registered Zone subscriber, but I rarely drop in more than once every couple of months) and the number of paid subscriptions to their one premium game, Fighter Ace.
Which begs the question: We're building it, why aren't the gamers coming to play?
I tell you this up front: The $9.95 standard pay-for-play fee is only an incidental reason. It is not the main reason people avoid online gaming sites. If it were, freebie service Mplayer would have far more than just 200,000 subscribers and the free section of The Zone would be looking at eight digit subscriber numbers. Gamers have shown in the past that they will pay fees as high as $6 an hour for access to some games. Remember The Zone numbers in the paragraph above? Prior to December 1, 1996, AOL's Games Channel used to have similar simultaneous player numbers every night. And they charged $2.95 an hour. So what is the reason the players aren't flocking?
It really all boils down to one thing:
Retail game publishers and most online game sites don't know diddly about online game management or customer service.
Players are looking for a safe place to play, one with a level playing field. If companies such as 3DO and Origin had done some basic market research before embarking on their online journey, they would have discovered one over-riding fact about online games: 90% of the work begins after initial development is finished and the game is deployed. Managing a multiplayer game correctly after the launch is the key to customer satisfaction and continued growth.
And boy! are they learning the hard way. Players expect added value for added costs, and that means proper game management. That doesn't mean just adding new features and game scenarios on a regular basis, which is something game companies know how to do. Far more important - and something very few developers or publishers understand - is having humans on hand to:
A) Train the new players, and;
B) Listen to and resolve problems as fast as possible.
The operative word above is 'resolve.' That implies the sysop is empowered to take action, and has the tools and authority to do so.
The Important Role Of The Sysop
How many times have you seen it? A new player pops into being in an online game, fumbles around for a while, then leaves in frustration, never to return? In some games, players just hanging out are generally happy to help, but that's no guarantee of hands-on assistance to the new user.
That first five minutes of play is a critical time for an online game; the customer will make up his or her mind in that time whether or not to spend money on playing. If there is a sysop present to get new players started, the chances are good that they'll decide to play long term, and pay for the privilege. Or, in the words of online games expert Bridgette Patrovsky, "The first five minutes customers are in your game, they're interviewing you. If you don't make a good first impression, you're unlikely to get the 'job.'"
This is no secret; we've known this for over a decade. If you drop into Gemstone III (www.simutronics.com) or Legends of Kesmai (www.gamestorm.com), you have a very good chance of finding a sysop or game master available to help you. And I'm talking meaningful help here, not just a company stooge to tell you how to call customer service. Done correctly, it works like a charm; the new player gets started fast and has a good experience his first time out, and the company gets a new customer.
So why are 9 out of 10 online games not doing this? Look at who does this, and who doesn't. Online game developers such as Kesmai, Simutronics and Mythic Entertainment, who have been developing multiplayer games since before the over-hype of the industry, do this without thinking twice. Dilettantes like 3DO and Origin are fumbling around, trying to figure out what it means.
There are always problems. This is a fact of life in online games. If it isn't a database bug destroying player characters or a bank bug ruining the economy and giving some players an unfair advantage, it's a personal conflict between two or more players or teams that erupts into a firestorm and disrupts play for everyone. Every online game is going to see these problems; how they are dealt with, and whether they are dealt with in a timely manner, will separate the winners from the losers. Remember: 90% of the work for an online game comes after it is released.
Sysops are the caretakers and loremasters of the system. Or, put another way, they are the police, teachers, writers, construction and repair workers, entertainers, storytellers and, most of all, salespersons, of the system. Sysops online can answer questions and give information; if a player notices something going wrong with the game operation, or comes across a situation that cannot be otherwise dealt with in the context of role-playing, then any sysop on duty can be contacted immediately for assistance. When not addressing such issues, sysops are expected to keep the game fresh, exciting and new for the players and, when necessary, act as arbiters in player disputes.
But, first and foremost, the sysops are in the game for the players. As such they have - or should have - an enormous amount of responsibility.
So here's the secret. Here's how an online game developer or publisher can guarantee success for their product:
The single most important tool for that timely, effective customer service online is the trained, empowered, supported sysop.
Sysops are an online game's front line for customer service and retention. If sysops have some power and discretion, they can resolve problems on the fly and keep word of mouth about your product high. These problems can be something as simple as replacing a piece of game equipment a player lost due to a server crash or lag death, or as complex as acting as an adjudicator and bringing both sides in a personal conflict together to work it out. If the sysop has the tools to do these things, the authority to do them on his own discretion in a timely manner, and the training to help him make those decisions correctly, your customer base will get what it needs and be very happy, indeed.
Historically, word of mouth has accounted for over 90% of online game subscribers. A well-trained, motivated, empowered sysop crew won't just retain users and reduce churn by solving problems; the good word of mouth generated by their actions will actually draw in more customers, as players encourage their friends to join them.
The growth curves of multiplayer games supports this. Below are two charts, based on my direct knowledge of the growth and income rates of over fifteen online games, dating as far back as the initial years for such perennials as Air Warrior, Neverwinter Nights and Gemstone III. The first shows growth rates over the first year of a game's online life for properly managed games and the second for improperly managed games:
Figure 1: The SUBS numbers are a generalized rate to show proportions. For example, RPGs online generally do over twice the business of simulators. In a properly managed game, the initial subscription or monthly play growth curve spikes at about 4 months, then slowly churns off some users. By month 7, the effects of good word of mouth cause another subscription spike, and the churn rate reduces and finally plateaus to a predictable subscription rate.
Figure 2: In improperly managed or unmanaged online games, the product will still experience the 'first flush' effect on launch, as users come to check it out. However, the effects of having no timely authority to ameliorate the effects of bugs and inter-player conflicts begins to take it's toll by Month 4. Left unresolved, the curve continues to descend to well below income levels that will sustain the effort.
If you accept the charts as valid, it makes perfect sense to give your sysops the right administration tools, train them and give them the authority to help the players solve problems on the spot. The experience of games which have done this, including the popular Gemstone III by Simutronics and all of Kesmai's games, has been happy, satisfied customers and constant growth, meaning more income.
However, the role of the sysop is almost always lightly regarded by management, rarely supported by the Development team with tools and generally not empowered to effect change within the game or resolve difficulties. Without that support and power, all a sysop can really do is stand around and look stupid, which can make or break you when the manure hits the fan, as 3DO found out in Meridian 59 and Origin is now discovering in Ultima Online.
In M59's case, the 'Guardians' have never had any power; why they were even in the game is a mystery, unless it's so 3DO can say, "Hey, we have sysops!". The only power they have to solve problems is to encourage players to call Customer Service who, of course, also had no power to solve problems. Being so unempowered, when problems erupt, as when the male members of one Guild decided to drive a female player out of the game by holding a virtual gang rape in the public square, nothing was done by either the Guardians or CS. Heck, a Guardian stood in the square and watched the whole thing. The female player canceled her account, as did her seven friends, and they moved en mass to another game. This is not an unusual occurrence in this industry
Ultima Online is experiencing similar problems, for similar reasons. One of the biggest single complaints is the uselessness of the game masters. UO has hope, however; Rich Vogel, who used to be on the Meridian 59 team and lobbied unsuccessfully for more Guardian powers there, is now in charge of UO for Origin. If they listen to him, he can fix what's wrong in UO.
In summary, any company delving into online games would be wise to do three things:
Recruit and train a whole corps of sysops, with an emphasis on solving problems for players;
Build the correct administrative tools to allow the sysops to do that job. At a minimum, they need to be able to add and remove game items from players, alter game stats and characteristics on the fly, lock out troublesome or unreasonable users and check account status on anyone;
Make sure your sysops and customers understand they have the authority and responsibility to deal with these issues.
If you do these things, they will come. If you don't, you'll lose your customers to those companies that will do them.
Jessica M. Mulligan is considered a pioneer in the online industry and has developed and managed online game and entertainment strategy for a host of industry leaders, including GEnie, America Online and Engage, of which she was a founder. Over a span of twelve years, she is credited with helping make possible some of the most successful online game and entertainment products in the industry's history, including Multiplayer BattleTech, Descent Online, Dragon's Gate, Warcraft II Online/Engage version, Advanced Dungeons &Dragons: NeverWinter Nights and Rolemaster: Magestorm. Ms. Mulligan is regularly invited to speak at industry conferences such as the Computer Game Developer's Conference, and has been published in key industry journals and magazines such as The Journal of Computer Game Design and Computer Gaming World. Now a consultant, she writes the quarterly column Biting The Hand… for The Cursor magazine (www.gamergals.com/jess) and is the co-author of the Joint Strike Fighter Strategy Guide for Prima Publishing and Eidos Interactive. She lives in Key West, Florida and can be reached at [email protected].


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Bethel hires director for new kind of athletic band
A dark story ends with reconciliation in spring opera
Cheer wins conference, takes second at regionals
Bethel forensics first at state, adds more for nationals
Bethel junior nursing majors observe lamplighting
Thanks for your gift, and for your patience
Hear the choir this month
March madness at the museum
Two spring bus tours will focus on famous Kansans
Names needed for Grandparents Day in April
Buy a hooded sweatshirt and save 20% on everything!
Bethel hires director for new kind of athletic band 2016-02-29T11:54:59-06:00 2016-03-02T08:35:59-06:00
The newest face in Bethel athletics has a musical challenge in front of him.
Brad Shores, Haven, will recruit for and build Bethel's first-ever scramble band, the only one of its kind in the state of Kansas.
He begins his position as Bethel's athletic band director in mid-May.
A scramble band, or scatter band, is a particular type of field-performing band with distinct characteristics — most notably, scramble bands don't normally march. The name comes from the way the band moves between formations — by running to each without using a prescribed path, called scrambling or scattering.
The band will also function as a pep band.
Shores, who has been named the Kansas Music Educators Association Outstanding High School Music Educator for 2015-16, is currently the middle-school and high-school band instructor for USD 312 in Haven.
He has been there since 2000, leading marching, pep, concert and steel drum bands as well as giving instruction in guitar and music theory. Shores is himself a steel-drum player.
Read more of this article.
A dark story ends with reconciliation in spring opera 2016-02-29T11:55:54-06:00 2016-02-29T11:55:54-06:00
Bethel opera audiences may have come to expect comedic or farcical productions — but not this time.
Nonetheless, the message of the deeply dramatic Iphigenia in Tauris is one of forgiveness and redemption, says music director Chris David Westover, director of instrumental music.
The Bethel music and theater departments will present Christoph Willibald Gluck's lyric drama in four acts March 11 and 13 in Krehbiel Auditorium in Luyken Fine Arts Center.
The Friday performance is at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee is at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale in Thresher Shop in Schultz Student Center, or at the door, subject to availability.
The opera and the performance times differ from printed calendars.
Although start times are later than originally planned, Westover cautions: "Don't come late for this opera. There is no overture — Gluck thought the overture was a convention that detracted from the drama, so he didn't write them." . . .
"The music is stunningly beautiful," says Westover. "This was the favorite opera of both Wagner and Berlioz, and the reason they both gave themselves completely to music and started writing operas themselves."
For Bethel's Iphigenia in Tauris, there will be guest artists in the title role of Iphigenia and in the role of King Thoas.
Monica Schmidt will sing Iphigenia. A graduate of Haven High School and Bethel College (2011), she is the former language arts teacher at Moundridge High School and now teaches at Maize South High School.
She has studied at Canta in Italia, the summer voice and opera program that Wichita State University coordinates in Lucca, Italy.
Andrew Voth will sing Thoas. The Topeka native is also a Bethel graduate (2013) and is the vocal music teacher and choral director at Goessel High School.
Ryne Preheim, sophomore from Reedley, California, appears in the role of Orestes and Shekhinah Jones, sophomore from Salina, as Pylades.
Cheer wins conference, takes second at regionals 2016-02-29T11:56:56-06:00 2016-03-02T08:47:08-06:00
The Bethel College cheerleading team has its first-ever conference championship.
The Threshers hosted the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Invitational Feb. 12 in Thresher Gym, finishing first with a score of 84.625, and topping teams from Kansas Wesleyan University, Ottawa University, Sterling College and University of St. Mary.
Because there were not at least six teams participating in the tournament, the KCAC champion does not earn an automatic bid to the national tournament. However, said Joseph Gogus, head cheer coach, "We have high hopes of earning an at-large bid because of our high score."
The NAIA Cheer National Tournament is March 10–12 at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.
In "team cheer," Bethel was first, followed by Ottawa, with 79.125, Kansas Wesleyan with 78.025, Sterling with 76.75 and St. Mary with 65.5.
In addition to winning the team competition, Bethel also dominated in the KCAC All-Star selection (awarded for individual excellence), capturing six of the seven spots.
Winning recognition were seniors Erin Doerksen, Newton, and Jenni Schrag, McPherson; sophomores Kendra Gonzales, Minneapolis, and Justin Haflich, Pretty Prairie; and freshmen Whitney Danbury, Killeen, Texas, and Nathaniel Ortega-Torres, Harker Heights, Texas.
Danbury tied for the highest score (18.33) with Elissa Bailey of Kansas Wesleyan.
A week later, on Feb. 19, the Threshers and 10 other teams competed in the NAIA South Cheer Qualifier at Oklahoma City University. With a score of 89.68 points, Bethel came in second to the host university, which had 92.85. Scores for the remaining nine colleges and universities ranged from 72.2475 to 86.7725.
Bethel forensics first at state, adds more for nationals 2016-02-29T11:57:47-06:00 2016-02-29T11:57:47-06:00
Another Bethel forensics team member has qualified for the national tournament, while two others will now be taking additional events.
Bethel hosted the Kansas State Individual Events Tournament, better known as KASIE, on campus Feb. 20, and finished first for the day.
"The team did exceptionally well," said Bethel head forensics coach Mallory Marsh, "with each student competing in at least one final round."
Other schools at KASIE were Hutchinson Community College, Independence Community College, Kansas Wesleyan University, Kansas State University, Ottawa University and Sterling College.
Kendra Gonzales, sophomore from Minneapolis, was the tournament champion in Program of Oral Interpretation, which gave her what she needed to qualify that event for the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET) in April.
She was also 3rd in Informative Speaking and 4th in Prose Interpretation.
Two freshmen, Candy Dao of Salina and Emily Kondziola of North Newton, each brought home state championships as well, in Poetry Interpretation and Impromptu Speaking, respectively, while also qualifying their second event to AFA-NIET. . . .
View profiles of the team members.
Bethel junior nursing majors observe lamplighting 2016-02-29T12:00:16-06:00 2016-03-02T08:51:58-06:00
Another large class participated in the annual lamplighting for junior nursing majors at Bethel College.
The traditional ceremony, which recognized the Class of 2017, took place Feb. 20 in Krehbiel Auditorium, with 25 of the 28 class members participating.
Two members of the class had roles in the lamplighting service.
Following the processional, junior Michelle Aguinaga welcomed friends and family.
Geri Tyrell, director of nursing (pictured at right with student Rickey Rodriguez), spoke briefly on the meaning of lamplighting, a Bethel tradition that honors upper-class nursing students for their commitment to the profession . . .
Members of the Bethel College nursing class of 2017 honored at the lamplighting were:
Michelle Aguinaga, Wichita
Alexis Brewer, Prescott Valley, Arizona
Hannah Brinker, Shawnee
Heather Dovenbarger, Lindsborg
Isaac Dunn, Fresno, California
Trent Fynaut, Madera, California
Rachael Harder, Augusta
Hailey Heide, Wichita
Russell Kramer, Wichita
Janae Lawson, Wichita
Lisa Loehr, Garden Plain
Sarah Loehr, Garden Plain
Falon McGovern, Benton
Tana Myers, McPherson
Shannon Neifert, Pratt
Brooke Neumann, Sterling
Holly Peters, Hesston
Kaylyn Rhodes, Wichita
Bryna Rietcheck, Bavaria
Rickey Rodriguez, Port Saint Lucie, Florida
Blake Samsky, Salina
Morgan Schrock, Hesston
Twila Smedley, Manter
Carrie Wiegand, Salina
Melissa Wimer, Smolan
(Absent were Taylor Adlesperger, Wichita, Delanie DeOrsey, Wichita, and Stephanie Duncan, North Newton.)
Thanks for your gift, and for your patience 2016-02-29T12:01:17-06:00 2016-03-02T08:53:04-06:00
February was annual Bethel phonathon month, and alumni once again responded generously to the appeal mailed in January, or by making a commitment when recently called.
This year students, alumni volunteers and staff used a new, interactive computer program when phoning. It allowed them to enter responses directly into the database, not only financial commitments but updates of personal or contact information.
"Bethel appreciates the generosity of the many alumni who responded to this year's phonathon," said Pam Tieszen, vice president for institutional advancement, "and their patience as the college used a computer-guided process for the very first time.
"It took a bit longer to generate pledge reminders using the new system. Those who made commitments to give a specific amount or asked for a general reminder can expect confirmation by mid-March. We appreciate their flexibility as we refine the new method."
Alumni who've not yet donated may do so by:
sending a check (made payable to "Bethel College Phonathon 2016") to the Bethel College Development Office, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS 67117,
giving online, noting that their donation is for the phonathon,
or setting up a monthly credit card gift or bank auto-draft. Call 316-284-5250 or e-mail the Development Office for details.
"Creative learning is happening at Bethel," Tieszen added, "including a new graphic design program; a literary studies internship; new campus ministries initiatives; field trips to Orthodox Christian churches, synagogues and mosques in Wichita; social work students heading to Dallas for a professional social work experience; new brass and string quartets; science abstracts accepted for a national conference in North Carolina; and plans for another business department trip to South America in January 2017. Donations from alumni and friends help make these opportunities possible."
Hear the choir this month 2016-02-29T12:02:02-06:00 2016-03-02T08:38:52-06:00
Bethel alumni and friends are invited to hear the Bethel College Concert Choir when it circles the plains during spring break, March 18-27, singing in Manhattan, Topeka, Kansas City and Ransom, Kansas; Beatrice and Lincoln, Nebraska; and Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado. The tour will close with a home concert in Memorial Hall.
Details are on the tour schedule web page.
March madness at the museum 2016-02-29T12:03:41-06:00 2016-03-02T08:55:48-06:00
It's March, and that means basketball madness — across the U.S. and at Kauffman Museum!
Check out the Bethel College and Newton High School basketball section of the current exhibit, Root for the Home Team: Building Community through Sports, on display through June 5.
Those interested in the many basketball highlights may:
stand at the center jump circle from Newton High School's Lindley Hall, where Bethel played its "home" games from 1947–1973.
remember those short shorts! On display are men's shorts circa 1980 as well as a revealing photo of the 1918 BC team.
look overhead for KCAC championship banners from the 1955–56 and 1972–73 men's team and the 1976–77 women's team.
view the signed NAIA ball from the 2002–03 Bethel men's team, the most recent to go to the national tournament.
learn about the first intercollegiate Bethel women's team, which began in 1958 and went 27–1 over the next three seasons.
contemplate the segregated past of Newton High basketball, which integrated in 1952.
Visitors are encouraged to add their own memories and stories to the exhibit.
Museum hours are:
9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Tuesday–Friday
1:30–4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Two spring bus tours will focus on famous Kansans 2016-02-29T12:04:44-06:00 2016-03-02T08:49:20-06:00
Kauffman Museum invites alumni and friends of Bethel to sign up for two bus tours this spring:
Wichita Museums Celebrate Gordon Parks — March 29
Tour participants will visit three museums that are hosting concurrent exhibits of works by groundbreaking African-American photographer Gordon Parks. The trip will include guided tours at the Wichita Art Museum (WAM), the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, and the Kansas African American Museum.
The excursion includes lunch at WAM, a session with Bethel associate professor of visual art and design Rachel Epp Buller '96 and time to interact with Wichita councilwoman Lavonta Williams. The day will close with a southern supper catered by Rachel's Kitchen.
Cost per person for the Parks tour is $100 for museum members and $115 for non-members.
Knowing Naismith — April 21
Participants will travel to Lawrence to visit Allen Field House, Booth Hall of Athletics and the DeBruce Center on the University of Kansas campus. The latter displays the original rules for the game of basketball, written by game founder James Naismith.
After lunch at the Free State Brewing Company, the group will visit the Watkins Museum of History, then embark on a driving tour hosted by a historical interpreter portraying Naismith. "Dr. Naismith" will escort riders to a memorial in his honor, his own grave site and other Lawrence highlights.
Cost per person for the Naismith tour is $125 for museum members and $140 for non-members. Supper on the way back to North Newton is included.
For more information or to register for either of both tours, e-mail Andi Schmidt Andres or call 316-283-1612.
Names needed for Grandparents Day in April 2016-02-29T12:05:40-06:00 2016-02-29T12:05:40-06:00
All grandparents of current students are invited to Grandparents Day at Life Enrichment, Wednesday, April 13.
The new take on two Bethel traditions is a collaboration between the long-running Life Enrichment Program and the Student Alumni Association (SAA), which offered the event independently for years.
Check-in will be 9–9:15 a.m. in the Luyken Fine Arts Center lobby, followed by three programs in adjoining Krehbiel Auditorium. At 9:30 a.m., John McCabe-Juhnke '78, Bethel professor of communication arts, will share information about his 2014–15 sabbatical in Ukraine. At 10:35 a.m., Casey Schunn '14 will present "Thresher Shop management and fashion show." Bethel students in this year's C. Henry Smith Peace Oration competition will speak at 11:30 a.m.
Registration in advance is requested. So that all grandparents of current students might receive an invitation and registration form, please e-mail the alumni office by Monday, March 14, if possible, with:
the name(s) of the current Bethel student(s) and
the name(s) and address(es) of their grandparent(s) and great-grandparent(s).
Current students are encouraged to join their grandparents for the presentations (no student registration necessary), and invite them to their classes during the day. Guests and students may also enjoy free time together at Mojo's Coffee Bar; see a residence hall; and/or go to the art gallery, Thresher Shop or Kauffman Museum.
"Combining the past version of Grandparents Day with Life Enrichment gives folks new to campus the opportunity to interact with Bethel alumni and friends from the local community," said Dave Linscheid '75, director of alumni relations and SAA advisor. "It also allows retired people who live in the area and aren't acquainted with Life Enrichment to experience it. They may want to keep coming in the future."
Other guests are welcome to accompany grandparents who need transportation or assistance while on campus. Invitations and registration forms will be mailed out beginning in mid-March.
Buy a hooded sweatshirt and save 20% on everything! 2016-02-29T12:06:32-06:00 2016-03-02T08:55:09-06:00
As spring approaches, Thresher Shop wants to move cold-climate clothing to make room for warm-weather wear. Purchase any hooded sweatshirt this month and you'll save 20 percent on your entire order!
Stop by the shop — open 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday in Schultz Student Center — or:
view the items available at Thresher Shop online
make your selections, including at least one hooded sweatshirt in order to receive the 20-percent discount on your entire order
during checkout, enter FO854TCEU8V03 in the Coupon Code box before proceeding to the payment options
Pay by credit card or via PayPal. And, Thresher Shop can ship almost anywhere in the world.
If questions, e-mail the shop or call 316-283-2500 during business hours.


The head of the United Arab Emirates Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), which this week inaugurated a new Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), has said it is in the final stages of preparations but not yet ready to issue the operating licence for the Barakah nuclear power plant.
Construction of Barakah unit 1 was completed in March 2018 and operator Nawah Energy Company said in May the unit will commence fuel loading between the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020, to allow time to complete operator training and to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals. The unit has received an electricity generation licence from the UAE Department of Energy, and requires an operating licence from FANR before fuel loading and operation can begin. FANR Director General Christer Viktorsson earlier this week said it was still difficult to say when that will be. "We are not yet ready to issue the operating licence … but we are in the final stage," he said.
Speaking after FANR's 26 March board meeting, Viktorsson said the regulator was "essentially at the end" of the process of reviewing the licence application documents submitted by plant owner ENEC in 2015. FANR's oversight also covers verification that the plant has been built to the correct standards, and also Nawah's organisational readiness to operate Barakah, he said.
The EOC, which is located at FANR's Abu Dhabi headquarters, will be key in ensuring the regulator's preparedness and readiness to respond to any nuclear or radiological emergency, the regulator said. It described the newly inaugurated facility as a "state-of-the art" centre equipped with advanced technologies that will enable it to advise and coordinate with national entities and the International Atomic Energy Agency to support response efforts in case of any nuclear or radiological accident.
The centre's functions include nuclear assessment, radiological assessment, a nuclear security team, and a communication team, among other things. The structure of the centre includes highly qualified and trained employees who are able to assess nuclear or radiological accidents, FANR said. The centre will provide technical advice to government entities in such situations, including radiation protection and precautionary action to support protection of the public and the environment.
FANR is mandated by the UAE's nuclear law to establish measures for emergency preparedness and response. The regulator is part of Barakah's off-site Nuclear Power Plant Emergency Response Plans, which include national and local entities responsible for a response to the incident commander (Abu Dhabi Police) in case of a nuclear accident.
FANR Chairman Abdulla Nasser Al Suwaidi said the EOC would be "indispensable" in strengthening the regulator's mission to protect the public and the environment from radiation risks. "We are committed to building Emirati capacity in nuclear emergency preparedness and response as part of our long-term plan," he said.
FANR's board has also this week approved a newly drafted regulation on the disposal of used fuel and radioactive waste. Regulation 27 is based on the UAE's nuclear law that stipulates the need for regulations addressing used fuel and radioactive waste to protect the public from any radiation hazards. FANR has also this week been awarded the ISO 9001:2015 Certification for Quality Management System for the regulation and management of services related to the nuclear sector in the UAE, including licensing, compliance monitoring for safety, security, safeguards and radiation protection, and the provision of services related to the radiation protection infrastructure.
Four Korean-designed APR1400 reactors are being built at Barakah, in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi. All main concrete works and heavy equipment lifting for the four nuclear reactor units was completed in October 2018. Overall units 1-4 are now over 91% complete.


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Tessa Lorimer
Consultant | London
Email Tessa
Secretary Paula Marques
Tessa is a consultant in the private client and tax team, focusing on tax investigations.
She is a barrister who specialises in both civil and criminal tax fraud investigations and litigation conducted by the Special Investigation and Criminal Investigation departments of HMRC.
Tessa has extensive experience in advising the Board of the former Inland Revenue, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office as well as HMRC and SOCA (now NCA) in relation to their most complex direct and indirect tax investigations and prosecutions, as well as money laundering, organised / white collar crime, and regulatory offences.
Most of her work has been international in nature and Tessa has considerable experience of mutual legal assistance, extradition, search warrants, judicial review, injunctions, SOCPA production orders and legal professional privilege issues. Tessa was responsible for drafting the written responses to the Quadripartite Committee of the House of Commons, on strategic export controls. Tessa was also responsible for liaising with other countries, such as the USA and EU, as well as Eurojust to ensure that a coordinated approach could be taken to arms exports and enforcement.
Tessa now specialises in representing both companies and individuals who are subject to civil and criminal, direct and indirect tax fraud investigations and litigation, as well as defending white collar crime and regulatory offences.
In private practice, Tessa has represented a number of sophisticated investors, including traders and hedge fund managers who have been investigated by HMRC under both criminal and civil investigation of fraud, including investigations arising out of HMRC's criminal investigation into Montpelier tax consultants. She is also advising a client who has been raided by HMRC using their criminal powers and clients who have promoted high risk investments which have come to the attention of HMRC.
On behalf of HMRC, Tessa has advised on the prosecution of numerous defendants who have been suspected of committing tax fraud. Most recently she advised on the international investigation and prosecution of the promoters of a marketed tax avoidance scheme involving tax breaks available to investors in the film industry. She also advised on the investigation and prosecution of 13 defendants (two trials) in a multi-million pound international MTIC VAT carousel fraud and related money-laundering operation based in Scotland as part of Operations Vex and Thorn.
Recent recognition
Tessa Lorimer is 'highly personable' and has a 'unique insight into cases.'
Chambers UK 2018, London
Me in a minute
I am able to guide clients in the best strategy to resolve their tax dispute
I was drawn into the world of tax investigations by a job description promising lots of overseas travel. In the event, I got no further than the Channel Islands during my first seven years with HMRC, but things have improved since then!
I spent 23 years working with the Inland Revenue, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and the Crown Prosecution Service prosecuting fraud cases, and specialising in tax fraud. The experience gained in these agencies gives a unique perspective to the advice I deliver to my clients, frequently helping them in very difficult circumstances. With a deep understanding of the anatomy of an investigation, I am able to guide clients in the best strategy to resolve their tax dispute with HMRC.
When I'm not grappling with a tax investigation matter, I am otherwise occupied as taxi-driver for my two children and umpire between our two Jack Russell dogs.