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Pro finance
Posted by Claire Stradling
Untapped public sector potential of crowdfunding
A new report from the University of Leeds titled Financing for Society: Assessing the suitability of crowdfunding for the public sector, has found that investment-based crowdfunding can provide local authorities with a competitively-priced source of capital and improved civic engagement. The project was led by University of Leeds academics Dr Mark Davis, Associate Professor of Sociology and founder of The Bauman Institute, and Research Fellow Dr Laura Cartwright. Dr Davis noted: "At a time when public sector finances are under increasing pressure, crowdfunding – still mistakenly seen as being just another form of charitable giving – has the potential to offer this radical alternative via an investment-based business model that generates social, environmental and economic returns."
National Fundraising Awards 2019 unveils shortlist
This year's National Fundraising Awards shortlist includes Action for Children, British Heart Foundation, Greenpeace UK and CLIC Sargent among others. Chair of the judging panel, Howard Lake, remarked: "Our judging panel received an amazing standard of entries this year. With such strong candidates, it was as challenging as ever asking the judging panel to come up with the top five entries in order for each category results in some strong debates, yet several judges told me just how much they enjoyed the experience." The winners will be announced on Monday 1 July 2019 at The Brewery, London.
Wild at Heart doubles text giving total
Animal welfare charity Wild at Heart Foundation is using text donation to help stray dogs worldwide. The charity aims to compassionately reduce worldwide stray dog populations using neutering programmes, awareness campaigns and education initiatives and has partnered with the Humane Society of the United States to try and neuter 20,000 Puerto Rican dogs by this year. Marketing and Fundraising Manager Eleanor Brampton said of their current campaign: "The real hook is it allows people to donate there and then on Instagram, where you can't link to a donation form directly, so it saves that kind of convoluted route. It works on Instagram especially because people are quite lazy when looking through their social media and are tempted to keep scrolling through, so this offers a quick and easy Call to Action."
Charity Digital News
Children with Cancer UK boss calls for more women in senior positions
Dhivya O'Connor, chief executive of Children with Cancer UK, has told Charity Financemagazine that more women are needed in top positions in the charity sector. She remarked: "Being a female CEO in a sector where we still don't see enough women in the top job is something that personally I'm very proud of. And, for me, it's important to also be a role model for other women in the sector." She also noted that "All charities have a responsibility ultimately to their donors to let them know exactly where their money has gone, and what the impact of that funding has been."
Scope publishes details of disabled employees' experiences
A "pioneering" report about the experiences of Scope's disabled employees and the mental health and wellbeing of all its staff has been published, and the charity has urged others to do the same. A new voluntary reporting framework was introduced by the government last November, but Scope is the first organisation to share details of its workforce's experiences. The report stated: "If we are to close the gap between disabled and non-disabled people's employment opportunities, all employers will need to step up and commit to shifting workplace policy and attitudes."
Charity failed to file accounts for five years
Charity Chabad Lubavitch UK failed to file its annual accounts for five years, with the Charity Commission concluding that there was "mismanagement in the administration". Amy Spiller, head of investigations team at the Charity Commission, stated: "This inquiry highlighted poor management and controls in the administration of the charity. The public rightly expect trustees to take their responsibilities seriously, so that charities can deliver on their mission and purpose effectively, and inspire trust." She noted that transparency has now improved, with the public "better able to see how the charity manages its finances."
Asthma sufferers go hungry to afford inhalers
A study by Asthma UK claims that around 805,000 patients with the condition have been forced to cut back on food in order to be able to pay for their essential medication, while 21% of those surveyed said they had to cut back on essential bills to fund their treatment. The charity's Stop Unfair Asthma Prescription Charges campaign is urging ministers to make medication free for sufferers, as it is for many other long-term illnesses. Charges for NHS prescriptions have risen by 26% to £9 since 2010.
Daily Mirror Yorkshire Post
Scottish Charity Regulator issues accounts guidance
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)'s guidance on the legal requirements for preparing charity accounts has been updated to help charity trustees better understand what they are required to do. OSCR's head of professional advice and intelligence Laura Anderson stated: "Getting accounting right is a vital task for charities as the annual report and accounts that each charity is required to prepare plays a huge part in public trust." She went on: "This guidance gives an overview of the law and provides essential information regarding charities' accounts."
Third Force News
Cybercrime alert issued to trustees
Charity trustees have been provided with information on how to report cybercrime by the Charity Commission, "amid ongoing prevalent threats, particularly around phishing emails". The Commission recommends that charities should report fraud to them as a serious incident, stating: "We require prompt, full and frank disclosure of incidents. Serious incident reporting helps us to assess the volume and impact of incidents within charities, and to understand the risks facing the sector as a whole". This comes as a government report, the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2019, reveals that one-fifth of charities experienced compromised online security in 2018.
RSPB releases bird song single
The RSPB has released a song called Let Nature Sing which reached number 11 in the UK midweek charts. The organisation is hoping it will break into the top 10 later today with the track, which featured various threatened and endangered birds and is intended to raise awareness of the challenges facing them and other wildlife. Rebecca Munro, director of fundraising and communications at RSPB, said that the political climate has encouraged the charity to be "bolder and braver", noting that Brexit represents "a once in a lifetime opportunity… so if we can't make nature laws strong now we are not going to get another opportunity for a very long time".
Campaign encourages everyday walking
A new digital street campaign called 'Walk this May' is intended to raise awareness of the street environment by getting people to walk more. Celebrating National Walking Month, the campaign is organised by walking campaign group Living Streets, which will be working with InLinkUK and showcasing images and messages of participants. Tanya Braun, Head of Policy and Communications at Living Streets remarked: "We support InLink UK's commitment to get more people walking. Where they have reduced pavement clutter – giving valuable space back to local communities – we applaud their efforts to make it easier to walk on Britain's streets."
Mencap teams up with 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon
Disability charity Mencap has been named by Virgin Money London Marathon as its official Charity of the Year for the 2020 event. Mencap's campaign Here I Am aims to start a movement of change toward greater inclusion for people with learning disabilities. Jan Tregelles, the organisation's chief executive, remarked: "We are absolutely delighted to be Charity of the Year for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon", while Hugh Brasher, event director for the Marathon, commented: "We passionately believe in sport for all and greater inclusion for people with a learning disability."
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Winter Olympics Will Leave Sochi More Flood Prone
February 3rd, 2014 9,966 Total Views
Amidst controversy surrounding Russia's human rights record and domestic security concerns, the Sochi Winter Olympics faces even further adversity in the form of the heightened environmental risk caused by the construction of venues for the event.
Environmental engineers say the new Olympic venues in Sochi will exacerbate the risk of flooding in the region as a result of both site selection and the failure of construction companies to account for local geographic conditions.
The sites chosen for the Olympic venues are situated in Imeretinsky lowlands, a rain-sodden region on the Black Sea coast which is laden with rivers and swamps. Sochi receives more rainfall than almost any other part of Russia, at an average of around 1.7 metres per year.
The choice of this area should have necessitated the construction of extensive drainage systems in order to ensure the prevention of flooding and the effective discharge of the copious amounts of rainfall that the coastal region receives.
According to environmental experts, however, construction company Transstroy, which was entrusted with much of the foundation work for the Olympic facilities, has done little more in the way of drainage work than pour soil into the lowland swamps.
This negligence is believed to have been a key factor in the severe flooding which occurred in the area in September last year, compelling local authorities to declare a state of emergency.
Valery Suchkov, a lawyer who specializes in environmental cases, said the flooding in September indicates the extent to which Olympic construction work has failed to provide new drainage systems which are effective.
According to local residents, the ground has become perpetually damp since the floods in September, failing to dry out fully even during sunny days devoid of rain.
Flooding isn't the only environmental dilemma created by the choice of Sochi's rain-laden lowlands as the location for this year's winter Olympics.
Environmental activists claim the disposal of construction waste in numerous landfill sites dotted throughout the area poses a major risk to the quality of local water supply. Given the copious amount of rainfall which Sochi enjoys, any hazardous substances in landfill are bound to seep into the nearby Mzymta River, which is the source of drinking water for the city's residents.
Yulia Naberezhnaya, spokeswoman for Sochi's Russian Geographic Society, has complained about the potential for these toxic substances to contaminate the city's drinking water given that "no one knows exactly that those materials in the landfill are comprised of, where they have come from."
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Since the project has been very successful (as documented on Instagram, see link below) Tiktin has decided to share his process with the public and offer them the opportunity to make one of their own.
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Step by step instructions and assistance to guide you towards success!
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On the contribution of István Mészáros (1930-2017) to critical thinking
Topics: Capitalism , Imperialism , Inequality , Marxism
Places: Global
Originally published: International Viewpoint by Jan Malewski (January 16, 2018)
We have taken the liberty of substituting the original English for a long passage by MR editor John Bellamy Foster which was translated into French and then retranslated into English in the article. —Eds.
István Mészáros, an outstanding Hungarian Marxist philosopher, died on October 1st 2017 in London.1 Born in Budapest in 1930 into a working-class family, brought up by his mother, he began working in industry at the age of twelve. He actually lied about his age, claiming to be sixteen, in order to be accepted by the factory. Thus, "as an adult", his pay was higher than that of his mother, a qualified employee of the U.S. transnational Standard Radio Company. The considerable difference between their weekly earnings was his first and most tangible experience of the particularly severe exploitation of women by capital. This was in 1942… 2
It was only at the end of the Second World War that he was able to begin his studies, thanks to the change of social system, and to become first of all a student of György Lukács and then his assistant to the chair of aesthetics. He was part of what can be defined as the first Budapest school, along with Agnes Heller, Ferenc Feher, Istvan Hermann, Dene Zoltai and Miklos Almasi. He said in an interview in 1992: "I started at university in September 1949, and the attacks against Lukács had begun in July 1949. I always risked being expelled from the university by attending his seminars. In reality, as the attacks against Lukács were so violent that his Institute was almost deserted, he had very few students" 3.
He was a member of the Hungarian Writers' Association, which engaged in the fight against Stalinism and sectarianism with enthusiasm, but not in a subversive or violent way 4, and then became "a true community with a real national consciousness and a sense of responsibility" 5. Following the Russian intervention, many members of the Association were arrested, tried and convicted, but that did not stop this group from continuing to support the revolution and the imprisoned Prime Minister Imre Nagy, until the dissolution of the Association in January 1957 and its replacement by a "Council of Literature" composed only of faithful followers of Kádár 6.
Editor of the review of the Academy of Sciences, Magyar Tudomány, he was also part of the Petöfi Circle, which starting in 1954 regrouped critical intellectuals, gained popularity after the 20th Congress of the CPSU and was banned by Rákosi following a meeting on freedom organized on June 30, 1956. His essay on the "National character of art and literature" was chosen as the central theme of one of the debates of this circle of intellectuals.
Envisaged to replace Lukács at the University of Budapest to teach aesthetics, he decided to go into exile following the Soviet intervention against the Hungarian revolution in 1956—teaching first in Italy, then in Scotland, Canada and England. He explained his choice: "At the time I did it, Lukács had been arrested, but I decided a little before that, at the time of the second Russian intervention, because I became convinced that there was no more hope for a socialist transformation of Hungary. They repressed what was then very far from being counter-revolutionary. It was a very promising uprising to start something new; in no time at all, workers' councils were formed all over the country. The question of a return to capitalism had never been envisaged" 7.
A Marxist against dogmas
Unlike a large number of exiled intellectuals from the "Soviet bloc", István Meszáros did not abandon Marxism, but instead continued his work of analysis. He remembered: "I worked with Lukács for seven years, before leaving Hungary in 1956, and we continued to be good friends until his death in 1971. We always understood each other, that's why I wanted to study with him. (…) Lukács used to say, quite rightly, that without strategy, you cannot have tactics. Without a strategic view of problems, there are no everyday solutions. So I tried to analyze problems systematically, because they cannot be treated simply at the level of an article dealing only with what is happening at the time of writing, although there is a great deal of temptation to do so. On the contrary, it must be done in a historical perspective. Since my first substantial essay was published in a literary magazine in Hungary in 1950, I have published and worked hard as much as I could. As modest as it may be, we make our contribution to change. That is what I have tried to do all my life" 8.
His contribution to Marxist thought was considerable. He wrote works on the Marxist theory of alienation, the elaboration of Lukács (history and class consciousness, conception of dialectics), the need for social control, the power of ideology, neo-colonial identity and counter-consciousness, Sartre's search for freedom, the theory of the transition beyond capital, the historical relevance of the socialist offensive, the socialism of the twenty-first century, social structure and forms of consciousness… Whereas his works are known, discussed and appreciated in the English-speaking, Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking world—he is considered in Brazil, where all his writings have been translated and where a book of tributes has been published, as one of the most important Marxist thinkers of our time—unfortunately they have not (yet?) been translated into French 9. This Marxist commitment, which he shared with his wife Donatella (1936-2007), earned him repression in the "free world": while he was teaching at the University of York in Toronto, the Canadian government considered him to be a danger and wanted to deport him.
Among Marxists, István Mészáros held a special position. He did not belong to any party, considering that "the old-fashioned political parties are integrated into the parliamentary system, which has itself lost its historical relevance. (…) The working class has accommodated itself to that and constrained itself according to the possibilities offered by this framework, which consequently could only produce defensive organizations". He called for another form of organization: "There will be no progress until the workers' movement, the socialist movement, redefines itself by becoming capable of offensive action, through its appropriate institutions and through its extra-parliamentary strength. Parliament, if it wants to become meaningful in the future, must be revitalized, and it can only be revitalized if it acquires an extra-parliamentary force in conjunction with the radical political movement, which can also be active through parliament" 10.
His criticism of parliamentarism was severe. In a letter of July 2000 he said: "My criticism does not relate to politics in general or to "democratic politics", but to the degradation of politics, going as far as a nightmarish accommodation to capital, in the name of "democracy", promulgating the most authoritarian measures through submission to the domination of capital" 11.
He supported Chavez's experiment, hoping to help in the reflection on the necessary transition to socialism, never hiding his criticism of the concrete policies that were conducted—which earned him the esteem of the Venezuelan president. In the same way, he discussed with Cuban leaders, trying to convince them, in order to prevent Cuba from following the Soviet or Chinese road. He was also excited when Syriza won the elections in Greece and when in the Spanish state a new leftist party, Podemos, appeared.
In solidarity with steps forward, critical of errors, insisting on the vision of socialism that the experience of the failure of the attempts in his country enabled him to elaborate, Meszáros, without being a militant of a party, tried to carry out a Marxist praxis.
Lessons from the Soviet system
He was not a Trotskyist, but he was neither a sectarian nor a Stalinist. The British Marxist Hillel Ticktin 12 recalls that when they were discussing Lukács and he mentioned his antagonism to Trotsky, Mészáros commented that "that is a question of the limits" of the one who had been his master and his friend.
In the interview already quoted, he said: "The Soviet Union was not capitalist, not even state capitalist. But the Soviet system was very much dominated by the power of capital: the division of labour remained intact, the hierarchical command structure of capital was maintained 13. In 2015 he explained: "The implosion of the Soviet system had its deep foundation of determinations. To name but a few: the explosive contradictions of a multinational empire, inherited from the tsars, repressing its national minorities on the one hand, and on the other, the proclamation of 'socialism in one country' on the post-revolutionary terrain dominated by the reality of the capital-system. With regard to the first fatal contradiction—whose dangerous fallout can still be heard today—Lenin advocated the 'right to autonomy up to secession' for national minorities, and he strongly criticized Stalin as an arbitrary 'national –socialist' and a 'great-Russian tyrant', whereas Stalin degraded national minorities to the status of 'border regions' necessary to maintain 'the power of Russia'. As for the second problem, Stalin and his supporters claimed the 'full realization of socialism in one country', in total contradiction with Marx's opinion that an alternative social order is only possible as an act of ruling peoples, which presupposes the universal development of the productive forces and the world relations which correspond to that" 14.
Because for Meszáros, "What is at stake, of course, is that the object, the target, of socialist transformation overcomes the power of capital. Capitalism is a relatively easy object in this endeavour because you can, in a sense, abolish capitalism through a revolutionary uprising and intervention at the political level, the expropriation of the capitalist. You have ended capitalism, but you have not even touched the power of capital when you did it. Capital is not dependent on the power of capitalism and this is important also, in the sense that capital precedes capitalism for thousands of years. Capital can survive perfectly, not for thousands of years, but when capitalism is overthrown in a limited area, the power of capital continues, even though it is in a hybrid form. (…) In the Soviet Union the surplus labour was extracted in a political way and it is that which entered into crisis over the last years. (…) In the Soviet system, this was done in a very improper way from the point of view of productivity, because labour retained a lot of power in the form of negative acts, defiance, sabotage, work in the black economy, etc., through which one could not even dream of attaining the kind of productivity that is achievable elsewhere, and that undermined the raison d'être of this system under Stalin and under his successors—politically enforced accumulation. (…) What is absolutely crucial is to recognize that capital is a metabolic system, a socio-economic metabolic system of control. You can overthrow the capitalist but the factory system remains, the division of labour remains, nothing has changed in the metabolic functions of society. Indeed, sooner or later, you find the need to reallocate these forms of control to personalities, and this is how the bureaucracy begins to exist. Bureaucracy is a function of this command structure in changing circumstances where, in the absence of the private capitalist, you have to find an equivalent to this control. I think that's a very important conclusion, because very often the notion of bureaucracy is advanced as a mythical and explanatory framework, and that explains nothing. The bureaucracy itself requires explanation. How is it that this bureaucracy appears? When you use it as a kind of deus ex machina, which explains everything in terms of bureaucracy, if you get rid of the bureaucracy, everything will be fine. But you do not get rid of the bureaucracy unless you attack the economic and social foundations and devise another way to regulate the metabolic process of society so that the power of capital is first reduced and, at the end, it ends up disappearing completely. Capital is the controlling force, you cannot control capital, you can suppress it only through the transformation of the whole complex of metabolic relations of society, you cannot just touch it at the margin. Either it controls you or you get rid of it, there is no middle road, and this idea of market socialism could not work from the beginning. The real need is not the restoration of the capitalist market, under the name of a fictitious "social market", but the adoption of an appropriate system of incentives" 15.
Capital, capitalism, socialism
For years, István Meszáros worked with the American Marxist magazine Monthly Review, which published many of his books. John Bellamy Foster, who wrote the introduction to his book The Structural Crisis of Capital, regarded him as a "pathfinder of socialism". He presented his analysis thus:
For Mészáros "the structural crisis of capital" arises not simply from the fact that the system is now face to face for the first time with its own "absolute limits," but also from the reality that the necessary conditions of a mass-based, hegemonic socialist alternative are emerging, providing the bases of a new revolutionary situation globally…. His critique of capital (as opposed to capitalism) is equally a critique of the early "socialist" (or post-capitalist) experiments, which in failing to eradicate the capital relation in its entirely, but merely mediating this via the state, ended up in a historically dead end—while nevertheless illuminating the path that socialism of the twenty-first century must take. In Mészáros's analysis, this path can be summed up as "substantive equality," "self-critique," and communal self-organization of productive relations, which taken together define a sustainable socialist society…. Opposing those who claim that the working class has been integrated into the system, he makes it clear that this is a systemic impossibility even in the wealthiest capitalist states, and at most extends to the trade union leadership (190-95). The working class remains everywhere an alienated power, the indispensable agent of potential revolutionary change. Still, in responding to the question of whether such a revolutionary transformation will actually take place, Mészáros answers bluntly: "It depends" (p. 187). Genuine human emancipation, altering society "from top to bottom," in Marx's terms, can only be brought about through unrelenting struggle and hence is a contingent aspect of history (85). 16.
"That is why socialists, in order to have any hope of success," Mészáros argues in Beyond Capital, "must deny capital itself—as an unalterable causa sui (its own cause)—and not just one of its historically contingent variants as, for example, the current dominant system of global capital" 17.
Convinced that the future potential socialist society already exerts its influence on the contemporary world and that the capitalist world is in the process of disintegration, Meszáros was far from sowing illusions about any "historical inevitability" of socialism. In his book The Necessity of Social Control, he reflects on the state, this "mountain that we must conquer". Interviewed on this subject, he explains:
The state as such cannot reshape the social reproductive order of capital because it is an integral part of it. The great challenge for our historical time is the necessary eradication of capital from our social metabolic order. And this is inconceivable without eradicating at one and the same time the state formations of capital historically constituted in conjunction with the material reproductive dimension of the system and inseparable from it. (…)
To say that the 'withering away of the state' is necessary only means that it is a vital condition required to solve the problems at stake. But it does not claim that the stated requirement will inevitably be achieved. On the contrary, with the underlying idea of the danger that the state, with its overwhelming power of destruction, could catastrophically end any transformative and emancipatory effort, it opposes any illusion of so-called 'historical inevitability.'
There can be no 'historical inevitability' in the direction of the future. History is open, for better or for worse. Stressing the demand for the 'withering away' of the state was primarily to counter the anarchist illusion/vow that 'overthrowing the state' can solve the problem in question. The state as such cannot be 'overthrown', given its profound social and metabolic roots. The private capitalist property relations of a given state can be overthrown, but that is not a solution in itself. Because everything that can be 'overthrown' can also be restored, as the fate of Gorbachev's 'Perestroika' has amply demonstrated. Capital, labour and the state as such are deeply related to the organic ensemble of the historically constituted social metabolism. None of them can be overthrown by itself, or even 'reconstituted' separately.
Making the change that is required calls for the radical transformation of the social reproductive metabolism in its entirety and in all its deeply interconnected constituent parts. And this can only be done successfully in accordance with changed historical circumstances, within the limited framework of our global home. This is the meaning of the socialist alternative to the social metabolic order of capital, now dangerously overwhelmed and dangerously wasteful. And such an alternative is not a question of 'inevitability'. Inevitability must be left to the law of gravity by which the stones thrown by Galileo from the top of the leaning tower of Pisa were to reach the ground with certainty. This is why I wrote in the conclusion of my book that 'what the socialist alternative calls for is the tangible requirement of historical sustainability. And this is also offered as a criterion and measure of its possible success. (…) It is defined in terms of historical viability and practical sustainability, or not, as the case may be'" 18.
When the journalist asked him if, "more than 20 years after the end of the Soviet Union" he still believes that "the socialist alternative is not only possible, but necessary", Meszáros responded: "In historical terms, 20 years is a very short time. Especially when the magnitude of the task presents itself as the need to radically change the social reproductive metabolism as a whole, from an order of substantial inequality to a substantial state of equality. And the historic challenge of achieving a substantial order of equality is not a question of the last few decades. Babeuf and his comrades from the 'Society of Equals' eloquently put forward this demand, not 20 years ago, but exactly 220 years ago, when they insisted that 'we need not only the equality of the Rights of Man and the Citizen; we want it in our midst, under the roofs of our houses'". Their demand was totally incompatible with the order of consolidation of capital, and they were executed for it. But the historical challenge did not die with them, since it involves the whole of humanity. And no partial solution or its failure can eliminate this condition" 19.
Saving human existence
Asked about criticisms of the Marxist conception of history, which is supposed to announce "the inevitability of the collapse of the state" and described as "teleological", István Meszáros replied sharply: "Only dogmatic and mechanistic Marxists would argue in those terms. Marx never did it. After all, he wrote seven decades before Rosa Luxemburg's 'socialism or barbarism' that the recommended alternative was necessary for human beings 'to save their very existence'. In other words, if a thinker makes it clear that ongoing self-destructive human action—which results from the internal antagonisms and dangerous contradictions of the given social reproductive system, established by human beings themselves—can put an end to historical development, that is the opposite of the belief in a mysterious teleology of historical inevitability, and not a plea in its favour". And he continued: "Babeuf and his comrades appeared tragically at the beginning of the historical scene with their radical demand. At that time, capital still had the potential for a conquering global expansion, even if its mode of functioning could never overcome the problematic characteristics of what even its best advocates in the field of political economy described as creative or productive destruction. Because destruction was always an integral part of it, in view of the growing waste that is inseparable from the inexorable impetus of self-expansionism, even in the ascending phase of the historical development of capital. The greatest and most perilous irony of modern history is that the once-defended 'productive destruction' has become in the descending phase of the systemic development of capital a destructive production that is increasingly untenable, both in the domain of commodity production and in that of nature, supplemented by the ultimate threat of military destruction for the defence of the established order. This is why the socialist alternative is not only possible—in the sense of its historical sustainability mentioned above—but also necessary, in the interest of the survival of humanity" 20. This ecological dimension is central in his most recent works 21.
István Meszáros is no longer with us. But his work will long remain a source of inspiration for critical thought, for the elaboration of the socialist alternative and for the critique of capital. One can only hope that his writings will finally be translated into French.
↩ Other articles from International Viewpoint about or by Istvan Mészáros are at "After Alienation" and "The Only Viable Economy."
↩ The author thanks Michael Löwy and Jean-José Mesguen for their comments on this article
↩ Interview conducted by Joseph McCartney and Chris Arthur, Radical Philosophy 62, Fall 1992, under the title "Marxism Today".
↩ István Meszáros, La rivolta degli intellettuali in Ungheria, Turin 1958, Einaudi, p. 163 (Cited by Laura Ceresa, "Censure, Limitazioni e Limitazioni delle letteratura ungherse degli 'anni Cinquanta'", Thesis of the University of Padua 2017)
↩ Ibid, p. 142.
↩ 4. Ibid, p. 164.
↩ 5. Op. Cit., Note 1.
↩ Interview by Judith Orr and Patrick Ward, "A structural crisis of the system", Socialist Review No. 332, January 2009.
↩ The list of his works is long: Satire and Reality (1955), La rivolta degli intellettuali in Ungheria (1958), Attila Jozsef e l'arte moderna (1964), Marx's Theory of (1970), Aspects of History and Class Consciousness (1971), Lukacs' Concept of Dialectic(1972), Neo-Colonial Identity and Counter-consciousness: Essays in Cultural Decolonization (1978, with Renato Constantino), The Work of Sartre: Search for Freedom (1979), Philosophy, Ideology and Social Science: Essays in Negation and Affirmation(1986), The Power of Ideology (1989), Beyond Capital: Toward a Theory of Transition (1995), L'alternativa alla società del capitale: Socialismo o barbarie, (2000), Socialism or Barbarism: From the "American Century" to the Crossroads (2001), A educaçao para além do capital (2005), O desafio e o fardo do tempo histórico (2007), The Challenge and Burden of Historical Time: Socialism in the Twenty-First Century (2008), Historical Actuality of the Socialist Offensive (2009), The Structural Crisis of Capital (2009), Social Structure and Forms of Consciousness, Volume I: The Social Determination of Method (2010), Social Structure and Forms of Consciousness, Volume II: The Dialectic of Structure and History (2011), The Work of Sartre: Search for Freedom and the Challenge of History (2012), The Necessity of Social Control (2014).
↩ Op. cit., note 1.
↩ Quoted by Maria Cristina Soares Paniago, "Les impératifs d'expansion du capital et l'impossibilité ontologique de contrôle sur le système du capital, selon Istvan Mészáros."
↩ Hillel Ticktin, "A Marxist philosopher."
↩ "The mountain we must conquer—An interview with István Mészáros", by the journalist Leonardo Cazes for the daily O Globo, republished in its complete English version by the Brazilian publishing house Boitempo on April 22, 2015.
↩ John Bellamy Foster, "István Mészáros, Pathfinder of Socialism," (Introduction to István Mészáros, The Structural Crisis of Capital, Monthly Review Press, New York 2010). (Many texts of István Mészáros in English are available on the website of Monthly Review).
↩ Istvan Mészáros, Beyond Capital, London 1995, The Merlin Press, p. 72.
↩ Op. Cit., Note 12.
↩ Ibid.
↩ See, for example, his essay, "Socialism: the Only Sustainable Economy," which we translated for Inprecor n° 644.
Jan Malewski is a member of the New Anti-Capitalist Party (Nouveau parti anticapitaliste [NPA], France), editor of Inprecor and a member of the Bureau of the Fourth International.
Multimedia Artist Projects 'Try Our Shithole' on Trump building
Profits before people: capitalists abandon Alzheimer's and Parkinson's research


Guests with disabilities can be assured that Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel offers accessible accommodations designed with you in mind. The details below give you an idea of our accessible room types and features.
If you have questions call our Reservation Specialist at (305) 532-7715, or email accessible@surfcomber.com. We are happy to make special arrangements for you, and some advance notice will help us have everything ready.


This is the best ever. We have been there may times and drive from Knoxville to go there. We have never had a bad meal there. Recommend this highly.
Great local place, love the free popcorn. Always busy with locals, great staff, large menu selection.
Love this place! Food very good, service is always spot on. Price is very reasonable. You can always find something on the menu for everyone.
We enjoyed our food especially the garlic knots- they are delicious! Pleasant atmosphere and staff. We will definitely eat there again in the future.
The place never disappoints! It is always delicious. The serving sizes are extremely large. The service is usually great. And the prices are very fair. And their dedication to veterans is very commendable. Love this place.
Everything that my family ordered was very good! We will be going back! They have anything from burgers to classic food dishes!
We have visited several times and tried many things on the menu. We have never been dissapointed. The food is fresh and tasty. Service has always been great! Make it a point to visit this gem!
Get quick answers from Chapmans Restaurant staff and past visitors.
11am to 10pm, unless bad weather.


As a move-equivalent action, this suit of armor or shield instantly transports the wearer and his or her equipment to any spot within 800 feet that he or she can visualize or specify, as the dimension door power. The armor or shield can transport the wearer in this fashion twice per day.
Manifester Level: 10; Prerequisites: Craft Psionic Arms and Armor, dimension door; Market Price: +3 bonus.


"Ya gotta have art!" That was the slogan for the Detroit Institute of Arts back in the 1970s (forever immortalized by this joyfully catchy commercial), but the sentiment has never been truer.
You do need art. We all do, and not just for high-brow reasons.
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing movement in public education and government circles to cut funding to the arts.
However, if you actually take the time to look at the data available, you'll find the arts have a very tangible, measurable, and essential impact on our lives. It doesn't matter if you're an elementary school student or if you haven't been in school for decades—the arts enrich all of us, sometimes in ways we'd never suspect.
You've probably heard that arts curriculum is beneficial to students, but did you know that it benefits all students, even the ones who aren't particularly artsy?
The work of advocacy organizations like Park West Foundation and Turnaround Arts—programs that specialize in bringing the arts to underperforming schools—has proven that both right- and left-brained kids really do benefit from arts education.
A two-year study revealed that students who participated in programs like Turnaround witnessed an overall 22.5 percent increase in math scores and 12.6 percent improvement in reading scores. If that wasn't enough, there is further evidence that schools with arts programs do better on standardized test scores as well.
It's nice to know continued involvement in the arts doesn't just benefit youngsters. Even when you're grown, art literally makes your smarter, stronger, and faster!
Yes, art can nourish our souls, but it can nourish our families as well. The next time you hear someone suggest that arts funding isn't an essential expense, remind them that the nonprofit arts and culture industry drove $166.3 billion of economic activity during 2015, according to the Americans for the Arts' fifth Arts & Economic Prosperity study.
Autumn de Forest contributed her time and talents to youth in Harlem at the Art Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center during her exhibition "Autumn de Forest: Selected Works" held December 2, 2016 to January 31, 2017.
The arts can make your kids smarter, they can make you stronger, and they can put money in your pocket, but they're not done yet—they can also make you feel better too.
Research from the University of Western Australia suggests that exposure to the arts for just two hours every week can drastically improve your mental health and overall well-being. It can be active exposure, like painting a picture, or passive exposure, like strolling through a gallery or museum.
Even if you're not as talented an artist as Romeo, there's something about art that teaches us to imagine, aspire, and dream. Can you think of anything more important than that?
Whether you appreciate art on a physical or a metaphysical level, we hope everyone realizes the importance of arts education for people of all ages and continues to support the arts. Because, remember, you gotta have art.
Every year, we observe National Arts in Education Week, a celebration of "the transformative power of the arts in education," which truly stresses how vital the arts can be to young people and society as a whole.
You can learn more about National Arts in Education Week here and, if you'd like to know more about the work being done by the Park West Foundation to support arts education and the welfare of young adults, you can learn more here.
Being an Early Years teacher in Australia, I strongly agree with comments made in this article. We take our classes to the local Art Gallery as part of Visual Arts and History programs. We promote STEM and STEAM.
When is the National art week this year?
Hi Sarah! It is September 8-14.


Last week I talked about losing some of my sense of adventure as I got older. I didn't lose all my sense of adventure because I chose to go to college in Alaska. Alaska was far away from all of my family and friends and anyone that I knew. This was a big step for the shy girl who didn't make friends easily. It turned out to be one of the greatest adventures that I had ever had. It was a glorious experience that I never would have wanted to miss. I lived in Alaska for four years. I met my husband and had my first two children during these years. I saw majestic views and had a wonderful time. I have never lived anywhere quite like Alaska. The people and life style are all their own. Life there isn't so concerned with the hustle and bustle that life down here is so focused on. Going to college in Alaska is something that I will always treasure.
My oldest daughter in her snow gear for walking around campus.
I hope you enjoyed another view from my past. I would love it if you would share an adventure that you have had with me. Large or small these adventures give life joy and wonder.
Thanks for sharing Mo. I love horses and the countryside there looks lovely. Even though your dream ended at least you have some wonderful memories.


text:
» Equipment
» San Jacinto
Ship Class Independence-class Light Carrier
Builder New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ
Laid Down 26 Oct 1942
Launched 26 Sep 1943
Commissioned 15 Dec 1943
Decommissioned 1 Mar 1947
Displacement 11,000 tons full
Length 623 feet
Beam 109 feet
Draft 26 feet
Machinery General Electric geared turbines with four screws
Power Output 100,000 shaft horsepower
Speed 32 knots
Crew 1,549
Armament 24x40mm Bofors guns, 22x20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons
Armor 5
Aircraft 45
ww2dbaseOriginally laid down as the light cruiser Newark, it was decided that the hull was to be completed as carrier Reprisal. On 30 Jan 1943, she was renamed San Jacinto. Her first commander was Captain Harold M. Martin. She had her shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea and then sailed for Pearl Harbor for combat duty. As a member as Task Force 58/38, she participated in raids against Japanese bases at Wake Island and Marcus Island, among others. In Jun 1944, she participated in the Marianas campaign; her gunner shot down a number of Japanese aircraft during the Battle of the Philippine Sea while her aircraft struck at Japanese surface ships. In the same campaign, her aircraft also raided Japanese positions at Guam. In Jul and Aug 1944, her aircraft struck the Palau Islands, Chichi Jima, Haha Jima, and Iwo Jima. In Oct 1944, San Jacinto sent bombers and reconnaissance aircraft over Okinawa, attacking Japanese positions as well as furnishing intelligence photographs that would become valuable for the upcoming invasion. In the same month, she also launched strike against Taiwan and Luzon, supporting the American invasion of the Philippines. At the Philippines, her aircraft played a part in the tactical victory at the Battle of Sibuyan Sea and the Battle off Cape Engaño. She was damaged during a typhoon in Dec 1944 and was sent to Ulithi for repairs. In Jan 1945, she launched strikes against airfields surrounding the South China Sea. On 16 and 17 Feb 1945, San Jacinto's aircraft joined in the first carrier strikes against the home islands of Japan, dogfighting over airfields near Tokyo. A few days later, she sailed off Iwo Jima where her aircraft provided support for the landing Marines. On 5 Apr 1945, she was the target of a number of special attack aircraft while operating off Okinawa. On 7 Apr 1945, her aircraft torpedoed destroyer Hamakaze which escorted battleship Yamato during Ten-Go. She continued to operate off Japan, launching frequent air strikes until the end of the war. After the war, her aircraft dropped food and other supplies over Allied POW camps until they could be liberated.
ww2dbaseSan Jacinto was decommissioned on 1 Mar 1947. Her hull was sold for scrapping on 15 Dec 1971 to National Metal and Steel Corporation, Terminal Island, Los Angeles, California.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.
Last Major Revision: Mar 2007
Light Carrier San Jacinto Interactive Map
San Jacinto Operational Timeline
15 Dec 1943 San Jacinto was commissioned into service.
18 Dec 1944 Many ships from the United States Third Fleet, Task Force 38 sailed into Typhoon Cobra in the Philippine Sea. Three destroyers and 790 men were lost.
4 Jun 1945 Many ships from the United States Third Fleet, primarily Task Groups 38.1 and 30.8 sailed into Typhoon Connie south of Japan. No ships were lost but 7 men lost their lives.
1 Mar 1947 San Jacinto was decommissioned from service.
See all 15 photographs of Light Carrier San Jacinto
1. Anonymous says:
16 Aug 2009 10:46:58 PM
Looking for the colors to or a color scan of the emblem for VF-45 cartoon pistol with pair of muscular arms wearing boxing gloves and has teeth in trigger guard area,contact me at, [email protected]
2. Brian Harkins says:
28 Sep 2010 07:04:11 AM
My father, Gerard Harkins, served on the San Jacinto during WWII. He passed away 9-11-72, and I would like to know what medals he earned during that time so I may include them in his memorial. Thank you.
3. bruce prater says:
7 Dec 2010 06:11:28 PM
my father served on the uss san jacinto during wwII, heard many stories about the ship, the war,and the brave men he served with he was proud to have served his country,my father passed away in 1993, his name was leonard bruce prater.
4. Patricia L. Gossett Sullivan says:
3 Jan 2012 07:10:16 PM
My husband, LT Commamder Philip C. Gossett, served on USS San Jacinto. If anyone remembers working with this brave man, please post your name and email address, so I can communicate with you. Thank you, Patti
5. Gerald Fine says:
29 Feb 2012 12:47:17 AM
My Grandfather, Arnold Wilt, served on the San Jacinto during World War 2 as well. I'm now stationed in Guam in the Navy, its amazing how much naval heritage still exists here
6. Louise VanAcker says:
29 Jun 2012 06:42:45 PM
My dad service on the San Jacinto also. He passed away in 2009. If anyone remembers him I would love to hear stories. I became a history major because of listening to him talk about the war.
7. michael y says:
my father passed away in 1993 he told me bought stories very littlei would love to talk to people and listen to them i heard nothing but braveness of the men whom served on this ship i ever hear president bush flew off this ship michael j mjy325 aol
8. Mike Luttropp says:
11 Apr 2013 07:30:01 AM
Mr Paul Swenson of Janesville WI entered the Navy during his sophomore year in High School and served as a gunner. He graduated High School in 2001. He passed away April 5, 2013 at the age of 86.
9. James Moon says:
12 Jan 2015 01:54:39 PM
My uncle served on this carrier and was wounded by a downed jap plane his buddy was killed. He past ways in 2006 in TN
10. V.Holland Jr says:
27 Feb 2015 07:39:42 PM
My Father V.R Holland WT1c served on the San Jacinto. He was in the Fireroom that was hit by a Kamikaze and flooded. I would like to hear any stories of this action .He passed away in [email protected]
11. Mike O'Connor says:
4 Mar 2015 12:49:32 PM
Looking for photo of Lt(jg) Robert Kidwell, assigned to VF-45 aboard San Jacinto.
Kidwell was an ace and is part of a book I am doing on Navy aces of WWII.
12. James says:
9 Feb 2018 07:24:20 PM
My father served on the San Jacinto in WWII. Would like to know where I can buy a cruise book
13. Lann says:
My uncle served on the San Jacinto during WW2. He passed away in 1996. He never spoke of the war.
14. s campbell says:
My father Arthur Barlow Campbell was on this ship during WW II,
he was the photographer and worked his the print room. Are there any out there that remember him ?
15. Robert Kahl says:
28 Dec 2018 08:44:52 AM
My dad Robert H. Kahl served on this ship and I have the the book "A short history of the U.S.S. San Jacinto. also a diary he wrote from April 14, 1944 until Sept. 3, 1945 while on board ship.
16. Caroline says:
29 Jul 2020 09:17:59 AM
My Uncle/Godfather also was on this ship from Dec 1944 to April/May 1945, and also never spoke of the war. His Distinguished flying cross says his Air Group 45 was active from Jan 3 - April 5, 1945. He was the tailgunner and his plane was shot down - I'm not sure who the pilot was but he and only 1 other guy in the 45th got the purple heart, his name was Robert Aitchison, and he died in 2019 at 93 yrs old! please contact me if anyone has more info.
17. Anonymous says:
I would like to know if this carrier brought SeaBees to the Kwajalein Atoll in the early part of WW11. My dad was a Seabee who served on this atoll....We don't know how he and the others got there, by what ship. His papers don't say.. My father was Sam F. Nicoletti, he passed away at the age of 43 in 1959. If you know any answers or any kind of information...please contact me...Our family would so appreciate it. Thank you
18. David Stubblebine says:
Anonymous (#17 above):
The short answer is: No. It would be unusual for SeaBees to be transported by carrier and SeaBees arrived at Kwajalein in Feb & Mar 1944 while San Jacinto's first service in the Pacific was in May. It appears in Feb & Mar 1944, CB Battalions 121, 109, 95, 74, 107, and possibly 15 were at Kwajalein.
10 Dec 2020 05:03:35 PM
Thank you so much for reply #17. Cleared up some questions....but if the Seabees were not transported to their site by carrier...how were they transported? Found out my Dad was on Ebeye Island. Cannot find the name of his Battalion on any of his papers. I do have photos of him on Ebeye. Thank you
More on San Jacinto
» Bush, George
Event(s) Participated:
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot
» Philippines Campaign, Phase 1, the Leyte Campaign
» Typhoon Cobra
» Okinawa Campaign
» Typhoon Connie
» Preparations for Invasion of Japan
» US Aircraft Carrier Functions
» US Aircraft Carrier Operational Status By Month
» US Carrier Time Operational
Light Carrier San Jacinto Photo Gallery
"All that silly talk about the advance of science and such leaves me cold. Give me peace and a retarded science."
Thomas Dodd, late 1945


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text:
/*
 * Antonin Bas (antonin@barefootnetworks.com)
 *
 */

#include <bm/bm_sim/calculations.h>
#include <bm/bm_sim/checksums.h>
#include <bm/bm_sim/packet.h>
#include <bm/bm_sim/parser.h>
#include <bm/bm_sim/phv_source.h>
#include <bm/bm_sim/phv.h>

#include <gtest/gtest.h>

#include <cstring>

using namespace bm;

/* Frame (66 bytes) */
static const unsigned char raw_tcp_pkt[66] = {
  0x00, 0x18, 0x0a, 0x05, 0x5a, 0x10, 0xa0, 0x88, /* ....Z... */
  0x69, 0x0c, 0xc3, 0x03, 0x08, 0x00, 0x45, 0x00, /* i.....E. */
  0x00, 0x34, 0x70, 0x90, 0x40, 0x00, 0x40, 0x06, /* .4p.@.@. */
  0x35, 0x08, 0x0a, 0x36, 0xc1, 0x21, 0x4e, 0x28, /* 5..6.!N( */
  0x7b, 0xac, 0xa2, 0x97, 0x00, 0x50, 0x7f, 0xc2, /* {....P.. */
  0x4c, 0x80, 0x39, 0x77, 0xec, 0xd9, 0x80, 0x10, /* L.9w.... */
  0x00, 0x44, 0x13, 0xcd, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01, /* .D...... */
  0x08, 0x0a, 0x00, 0xc3, 0x6d, 0x86, 0xa8, 0x20, /* ....m..  */
  0x21, 0x9b                                      /* !. */
};

// Google Test fixture for checksums tests
class ChecksumTest : public ::testing::Test {
 protected:
  PHVFactory phv_factory;
  HeaderType ethernetHeaderType, ipv4HeaderType, udpHeaderType, tcpHeaderType;
  HeaderType metaHeaderType;
  ParseState ethernetParseState, ipv4ParseState, udpParseState, tcpParseState;
  header_id_t ethernetHeader{0}, ipv4Header{1}, udpHeader{2}, tcpHeader{3};
  header_id_t metaHeader{4};

  ErrorCodeMap error_codes;
  Parser parser;

  std::unique_ptr<NamedCalculation> tcp_cksum_engine_calc{nullptr};
  std::unique_ptr<CalcBasedChecksum> tcp_cksum_engine{nullptr};

  std::unique_ptr<PHVSourceIface> phv_source{nullptr};

  ChecksumTest()
      : ethernetHeaderType("ethernet_t", 0), ipv4HeaderType("ipv4_t", 1),
        udpHeaderType("udp_t", 2), tcpHeaderType("tcp_t", 3),
        metaHeaderType("meta_t", 4),
        ethernetParseState("parse_ethernet", 0),
        ipv4ParseState("parse_ipv4", 1),
        udpParseState("parse_udp", 2),
        tcpParseState("parse_tcp", 3),
        error_codes(ErrorCodeMap::make_with_core()),
        parser("test_parser", 0, &error_codes),
        phv_source(PHVSourceIface::make_phv_source()) {
    ethernetHeaderType.push_back_field("dstAddr", 48);
    ethernetHeaderType.push_back_field("srcAddr", 48);
    ethernetHeaderType.push_back_field("ethertype", 16);

    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("version", 4);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("ihl", 4);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("diffserv", 8);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("len", 16);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("id", 16);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("flags", 3);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("flagOffset", 13);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("ttl", 8);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("protocol", 8);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("checksum", 16);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("srcAddr", 32);
    ipv4HeaderType.push_back_field("dstAddr", 32);

    udpHeaderType.push_back_field("srcPort", 16);
    udpHeaderType.push_back_field("dstPort", 16);
    udpHeaderType.push_back_field("length", 16);
    udpHeaderType.push_back_field("checksum", 16);

    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("srcPort", 16);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("dstPort", 16);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("seqNo", 32);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("ackNo", 32);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("dataOffset", 4);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("res", 4);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("flags", 8);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("window", 16);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("checksum", 16);
    tcpHeaderType.push_back_field("urgentPtr", 16);

    metaHeaderType.push_back_field("f16", 16);

    phv_factory.push_back_header("ethernet", ethernetHeader,
                                 ethernetHeaderType);
    phv_factory.push_back_header("ipv4", ipv4Header, ipv4HeaderType);
    phv_factory.push_back_header("udp", udpHeader, udpHeaderType);
    phv_factory.push_back_header("tcp", tcpHeader, tcpHeaderType);
    phv_factory.push_back_header("meta", metaHeader, metaHeaderType, true);

    BufBuilder tcp_cksum_engine_builder;
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(ipv4Header, 10);  // ipv4.srcAddr
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(ipv4Header, 11);  // ipv4.dstAddr
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_constant(ByteContainer(1, '\x00'), 8);
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(ipv4Header, 8);  // ipv4.protocol
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(metaHeader, 0);  // for tcpLength
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 0);  // tcp.srcPort
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 1);  // tcp.dstPort
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 2);  // tcp.seqNo
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 3);  // tcp.ackNo
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 4);  // tcp.dataOffset
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 5);  // tcp.res
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 6);  // tcp.flags
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 7);  // tcp.window
    // skip tcp.checksum of course
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.push_back_field(tcpHeader, 9);  // tcp.urgentPtr
    // no headers after that, directly payload
    tcp_cksum_engine_builder.append_payload();

    tcp_cksum_engine_calc = std::unique_ptr<NamedCalculation>(
      new NamedCalculation(
        "tcp_cksum_engine_calc", 0,
        tcp_cksum_engine_builder, "cksum16"));
    tcp_cksum_engine = std::unique_ptr<CalcBasedChecksum>(
      new CalcBasedChecksum(
        "tcp_cksum_engine", 1, tcpHeader, 8,
        tcp_cksum_engine_calc.get()));
  }

  virtual void SetUp() {
    phv_source->set_phv_factory(0, &phv_factory);

    ParseSwitchKeyBuilder ethernetKeyBuilder;
    ethernetKeyBuilder.push_back_field(ethernetHeader, 2, 16);  // ethertype
    ethernetParseState.set_key_builder(ethernetKeyBuilder);

    ParseSwitchKeyBuilder ipv4KeyBuilder;
    ipv4KeyBuilder.push_back_field(ipv4Header, 8, 8);  // protocol
    ipv4ParseState.set_key_builder(ipv4KeyBuilder);

    ethernetParseState.add_extract(ethernetHeader);
    ipv4ParseState.add_extract(ipv4Header);
    udpParseState.add_extract(udpHeader);
    tcpParseState.add_extract(tcpHeader);

    char ethernet_ipv4_key[2];
    ethernet_ipv4_key[0] = 0x08;
    ethernet_ipv4_key[1] = 0x00;
    ethernetParseState.add_switch_case(sizeof(ethernet_ipv4_key),
                                       ethernet_ipv4_key, &ipv4ParseState);

    char ipv4_udp_key[1];
    ipv4_udp_key[0] = 17;
    ipv4ParseState.add_switch_case(sizeof(ipv4_udp_key), ipv4_udp_key,
                                   &udpParseState);

    char ipv4_tcp_key[1];
    ipv4_tcp_key[0] = 6;
    ipv4ParseState.add_switch_case(sizeof(ipv4_tcp_key),
                                   ipv4_tcp_key, &tcpParseState);

    parser.set_init_state(&ethernetParseState);
  }

  Packet get_ipv4_pkt(uint16_t *cksum) {
    *cksum = 0x3508;  // big endian
    return Packet::make_new(
        sizeof(raw_tcp_pkt),
        PacketBuffer(256, (const char *) raw_tcp_pkt, sizeof(raw_tcp_pkt)),
        phv_source.get());
  }

  Packet get_tcp_pkt(uint16_t *cksum, uint16_t *tcp_len) {
    auto pkt = get_ipv4_pkt(cksum);
    *cksum = 0x13cd;  // big endian
    *tcp_len = sizeof(raw_tcp_pkt) - 14 - 20;  // - ethernet and ipv4
    // return std::move(pkt);
    // enable NVRO
    return pkt;
  }

  // virtual void TearDown() { }
};

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, IPv4ChecksumVerify) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  auto packet = get_ipv4_pkt(&cksum);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  IPv4Checksum cksum_engine("ipv4_checksum", 0, ipv4Header, 9);
  ASSERT_TRUE(cksum_engine.verify(packet));

  auto &ipv4_checksum = phv->get_field(ipv4Header, 9);
  ipv4_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_FALSE(cksum_engine.verify(packet));
}

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, IPv4ChecksumVerifyInvalidField) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  auto packet = get_ipv4_pkt(&cksum);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  IPv4Checksum cksum_engine("ipv4_checksum", 0, ipv4Header, 9);
  auto &ipv4_checksum = phv->get_field(ipv4Header, 9);
  ipv4_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_FALSE(cksum_engine.verify(packet));
  // if the ipv4 checksum field is not valid, we shouldn't see an error
  phv->get_header(ipv4Header).mark_invalid();
  ASSERT_TRUE(cksum_engine.verify(packet));
}

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, IPv4ChecksumUpdate) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  auto packet = get_ipv4_pkt(&cksum);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  auto &ipv4_checksum = phv->get_field(ipv4Header, 9);
  ASSERT_EQ(cksum, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());

  ipv4_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_EQ(0u, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());

  IPv4Checksum cksum_engine("ipv4_checksum", 0, ipv4Header, 9);
  cksum_engine.update(&packet);
  ASSERT_EQ(cksum, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());
}

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, IPv4ChecksumUpdateStress) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  auto packet = get_ipv4_pkt(&cksum);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  auto &ipv4_checksum = phv->get_field(ipv4Header, 9);
  ASSERT_EQ(cksum, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());

  IPv4Checksum cksum_engine("ipv4_checksum", 0, ipv4Header, 9);
  for (int i = 0; i < 100000; i++) {
    ipv4_checksum.set(0);
    ASSERT_EQ(0u, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());

    cksum_engine.update(&packet);
    ASSERT_EQ(cksum, ipv4_checksum.get_uint());
  }
}

// actually more general than just TCP: CalcBasedChecksum test
TEST_F(ChecksumTest, TCPChecksumVerify) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  uint16_t tcp_len;
  auto packet = get_tcp_pkt(&cksum, &tcp_len);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).set(tcp_len);

  ASSERT_TRUE(tcp_cksum_engine->verify(packet));

  auto &tcp_checksum = phv->get_field(tcpHeader, 8);
  tcp_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_FALSE(tcp_cksum_engine->verify(packet));
}

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, TCPChecksumVerifyInvalidField) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  uint16_t tcp_len;
  auto packet = get_tcp_pkt(&cksum, &tcp_len);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).set(tcp_len);

  auto &tcp_checksum = phv->get_field(tcpHeader, 8);
  tcp_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_FALSE(tcp_cksum_engine->verify(packet));
  // if the TCP checksum field is not valid, we shouldn't see an error
  phv->get_header(tcpHeader).mark_invalid();
  ASSERT_TRUE(tcp_cksum_engine->verify(packet));
}

TEST_F(ChecksumTest, TCPChecksumUpdate) {
  uint16_t cksum;
  uint16_t tcp_len;
  auto packet = get_tcp_pkt(&cksum, &tcp_len);
  auto phv = packet.get_phv();
  parser.parse(&packet);

  phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).set(tcp_len);

  auto &tcp_checksum = phv->get_field(tcpHeader, 8);
  ASSERT_EQ(cksum, tcp_checksum.get_uint());

  tcp_checksum.set(0);
  ASSERT_EQ((unsigned) 0, tcp_checksum.get_uint());

  tcp_cksum_engine->update(&packet);
  ASSERT_EQ(cksum, tcp_checksum.get_uint());
}

class ChecksumConditionTest : public ::testing::Test {
 protected:
  PHVFactory phv_factory;
  HeaderType testHeaderType, metaHeaderType;
  header_id_t testHeader{0}, metaHeader{1};

  std::unique_ptr<NamedCalculation> cksum_engine_calc{nullptr};
  std::unique_ptr<Checksum> cksum_engine{nullptr};

  std::unique_ptr<PHVSourceIface> phv_source{nullptr};

  ChecksumConditionTest()
      : testHeaderType("test_t", 0),
        metaHeaderType("meta_t", 1),
        phv_source(PHVSourceIface::make_phv_source()) {
    testHeaderType.push_back_field("f48", 48);
    testHeaderType.push_back_field("f16", 16);
    testHeaderType.push_back_field("f32", 32);
    testHeaderType.push_back_field("f64", 64);

    metaHeaderType.push_back_field("f64", 64);

    phv_factory.push_back_header("test", testHeader, testHeaderType);
    phv_factory.push_back_header("meta", metaHeader, metaHeaderType, true);

    BufBuilder cksum_engine_builder;
    cksum_engine_builder.push_back_header(testHeader);
    cksum_engine_calc = std::unique_ptr<NamedCalculation>(
        new NamedCalculation("cksum_engine_calc", 0,
                             cksum_engine_builder, "xxh64"));
    cksum_engine = std::unique_ptr<CalcBasedChecksum>(
        new CalcBasedChecksum("cksum_engine", 1, metaHeader, 0,
                              cksum_engine_calc.get()));
  }

  virtual void SetUp() {
    phv_source->set_phv_factory(0, &phv_factory);
  }

  // virtual void TearDown() { }

  Packet get_pkt() {
    // dummy packet, won't be parsed
    Packet packet = Packet::make_new(128, PacketBuffer(256), phv_source.get());
    packet.get_phv()->get_header(testHeader).mark_valid();
    return packet;
  }

  void run_test(std::unique_ptr<Expression> condition, bool cond_res) {
    cksum_engine->set_checksum_condition(std::move(condition));
    auto packet = get_pkt();
    PHV *phv = packet.get_phv();
    phv->get_field(testHeader, 0).set(0xab);
    phv->get_field(testHeader, 1).set(0xcd);
    phv->get_field(testHeader, 2).set(0xef);
    phv->get_field(testHeader, 3).set(0xaa);
    uint64_t expected = cksum_engine_calc->output(packet);
    uint64_t bad_v = 0u;
    phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).set(bad_v);
    assert(expected != bad_v);

    if (cond_res)
      ASSERT_FALSE(cksum_engine->verify(packet));
    else
      ASSERT_TRUE(cksum_engine->verify(packet));

    cksum_engine->update(&packet);
    if (cond_res)
      ASSERT_EQ(expected, phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).get<uint64_t>());
    else
      ASSERT_EQ(bad_v, phv->get_field(metaHeader, 0).get<uint64_t>());
  }
};

TEST_F(ChecksumConditionTest, True) {
  auto condition = std::unique_ptr<Expression>(new Expression);
  condition->push_back_load_bool(true);
  condition->build();
  run_test(std::move(condition), true);
}

TEST_F(ChecksumConditionTest, False) {
  auto condition = std::unique_ptr<Expression>(new Expression);
  condition->push_back_load_bool(false);
  condition->build();
  run_test(std::move(condition), false);
}

TEST_F(ChecksumConditionTest, Valid) {
  auto condition = std::unique_ptr<Expression>(new Expression);
  condition->push_back_load_header(testHeader);
  condition->push_back_op(ExprOpcode::VALID_HEADER);
  condition->build();
  run_test(std::move(condition), true);
}

TEST_F(ChecksumConditionTest, Complex) {
  auto condition = std::unique_ptr<Expression>(new Expression);
  condition->push_back_load_header(testHeader);
  condition->push_back_op(ExprOpcode::VALID_HEADER);
  condition->push_back_op(ExprOpcode::NOT);
  condition->push_back_load_const(Data(1));
  condition->push_back_load_const(Data(2));
  condition->push_back_op(ExprOpcode::EQ_DATA);
  condition->push_back_op(ExprOpcode::OR);
  condition->build();
  run_test(std::move(condition), false);
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
People Nerds San Francisco Recap: Top Insights from 27 Speakers
On May 1st we got 250+ user researchers together for a day of insight-sharing, question-raising, and curiosity-building. Here's what we learned.
Words by Mac Hasley, Visuals by Emi Tolibas
On May 1st, dscout hosted our first ever People Nerds event—a chance for the qual research community to come together IRL and share their ideas, their research, and their take on where, and how, UR is moving.
The day was filled with talks from 27 research leaders: keynotes, panels, case studies that dove into the value of in-context research, and asked and answered some big "why?" questions.
We've summed up the top insights from the day—with highlights from every speaker.
Lance Weiler on the future of storytelling
Margaret Laws on empathy in design
Sarah Koenig on making a story resonate
Panel discussion: becoming more strategic researchers
Panel discussion: necessary skills for modern researchers
Panel discussion: growing and caring for research teams
dscout on product features for deeper, in-context research
Fjord on the trends shaping 2019
dscout studio on new American perceptions of tech
Casper on in-context product prototyping
KR&I on mobile ethnography and shared meaning
Instagram on testing and developing face filters
Capital One on making every team your research team
Remind on understanding a distraction-ridden audience
The North Face on in-the-moment research with elite athletes
Mckinsey on defining the business value of design
"In order to get a story, you have to give a story." @LanceWeiler #PeopleNerds #UX #userresearch pic.twitter.com/1VZLk315HP
— Kay Panchal (@KayJPanchal) May 1, 2019
Lance Weiler on how we can pioneer the future of storytelling.
Lance Weiler is the director of Colombia's Digital Storytelling Lab and an advocate for co-crafting narratives. He took the stage at People Nerds to discuss the intersection of storytelling, technology, memory, and AI.
Storytelling has changed, in that the barrier to entry is totally gone. We are all storytellers.
But there are four design principles to storytelling that will continue to really resonate: the trace, granting agency, thematic frame, and serendipity management.
The trace refers to our desire to look for a bit of ourselves in every story.
Granting agency refers to bringing people into your story and making them feel like they're able to be expressive. People should feel like they have some control over, and some stake in, what's happening.
Refining your thematic frame means rooting your story in a common language, and finding a common ground, so you can easily collaborate and build a shared narrative.
Serendipity management means allowing enough flexibility—for opening up your scope so it extends beyond just "making things work."
Because we live in a digital world, physical, tactical elements are really fascinating in terms of the storytelling potential. Artifacts, or stimuli, can be powerful tools for connecting someone to a story, and getting them to interpret a story.
Vulnerability is essential for getting a good story. In order to get a story from someone, you have to give one yourself.
Designing for an aesthetic can mean designing for what someone is thinking, feeling, and doing in an experience.
In one project, Lance's team wondered, "what if instead of us asking our personal assistants questions, an AI asked questions of us?" So they wrote an AI, trained it, and as it evolved it asked questions about being human.
The team brought the AI to a "dinner party" setting to host a group of humans. It had prompts, asked questions, and inspired incredible, vulnerable conversations that eventually got to the future of technology.
Instead of it being dystopian—when people tried to educate an AI—it changed the way they talked about the core technology. It prompted a bunch of questions about where more inclusivity and better narrative framing was needed for proper AI design.
Storytellers outside of UX/UR often look at data just as a risk mitigation tool. But data really is the heart of creative opportunities.
Read more about Lance's approach to storytelling in his People Nerds profile
Margaret Laws on how we can inject empathy into research and design.
Margaret Laws is the CEO of Hopelab—a social innovation firm that designs science-based technologies to improve public health. She shared how her team meets design challenges with users as their guides.
Margaret's team sought to improve post-cancer care in young people, and were looking for better ways to engage them with technology. The goal was to build tech that would actually be used, and be helpful—rather than just getting in the way of their regular recovery regimen.
A core problem was that young people were not taking their medications—no matter how many times their doctors and parents told them to. They wondered: how might a video game help?
The game Remission was born (and tested, and tested, and tested). The Hopelab team involved young people every step of the way, and through that, learned a lot about the way they thought about their disease.
The big takeaway was that agency is essential. Hopelab needed to design tools that would help young people understand that they could have self-efficacy and power over their disease.
Aside from user testing their products, Hopelab brought young cancer survivors "in residence—to help them more generally understand the nuances of what's so challenging about survivorship.
Their input informed a later project, Vivibot—which engages teens in cancer remission with a series of interactive, positive-psychology based prompts.
Throughout all their research, Hopelab keeps one essential question in mind: how do you use this medium of technology, and make it a jumping off point for more meaningful social and personal connection in people's day-to-day lives?
Read more about Margaret's research in her People Nerds profile
Sarah Koenig on responsibility, artistry, and making a story resonate.
Serial co-creator and longtime This American Life contributor Sarah Koenig embodies as a journalist, what most of us strive for as researchers. She has a deep care for her interview subjects, an unwavering sense of curiosity, and a talent for telling stories that resonate. She discussed what "behind-the-scenes" decisions led Serial take off.
Serial was supposed to be a low stakes project—because at the time, no one listened to podcasts. But after 5 million downloads in the first 6 weeks, it was safe to say the broadcast landscape had changed. The question was: why? Narrative journalism, and serialized stories weren't new. What was different?
A short answer is: the role of the journalist.
Sarah picked a story that she personally was captivated by, and that she loved the world of. That came through in the way the story was told.
The storyteller became a part of the story. Sarah as a reporter became a part of the report. The team had moments where they admitted to uncertainty, and where they were honest about not knowing what was right. The story was propelled by vulnerability, and in that, artistry came forth.
The Serial team subverted crime journalism tropes by making sure the story didn't feel fake—that the complexities of the reporting were laid bare. Every character was as 3-dimensional as possible. There weren't any formulas.
The team at This American Life encouraged experimentation, which meant being open to failing. That environment was freeing, and necessary for something like Serial to evolve.
Being a good reporter, or a responsible storyteller, sometimes means NOT putting information out in the world. It involves always asking: "Is it necessary? Is it fair?"
Telling stories with artistry creates empathy. And that's what moves a story from being interesting to being meaningful. It's important not to mimic narratives because we think that's the way they're supposed to be told. It's essential to allow for ambiguity and contradiction—rather than running away from it.
Read more about the storytelling tactics behind Serial in Sarah's People Nerds profile.
Dave Sonders, David Keegan, Kirsten Lewis and Ben Singer on how researchers can become more strategic.
Acorns' David Keegan, Sonos' Kristen Lewis, Humana's Ben Singer, and Salesforce's Dave Sonders sat down to discuss how researchers can design their studies more deliberately. Here are their top strategic tips:
Part of strategy is presenting to stakeholders. Research should help executives "see the future."
Researching strategically means interpreting strategically. Delve into your capacity to be a better listener, and treat listening as an interpretive sport.
Create allies within an organization, get all of the product teams aligned, and have people on your team own different parts of the overall experience.
Whittle down "curious" until you find "clarity."
Find the sweet spot between the business impact and what the person you want to listen to you actually cares about.
Read more on David Keegan's and Kirsten Lewis' research philosophies in their People Nerds profiles.
Aryel Cianflone, Andy Warr, Jen Romano-Bergstrom and Vanessa Whatley on the skills needed for effective modern research.
LinkedIn's Aryel Cianflone, Uber's Andy Warr, Bridgewater Capital's Jen Romano-Bergstrom, and Google's Vanessa Whatley discussed how the field of user research is changing, and what modern research teams will look like, and be asked to adapt to.
Perspectives differed on dealing with data. For some, it seemed the role of every researcher would involve some proficiency in coding. For others, the key skill seemed to be collaboration—the capacity to work with data scientists, designers, and content strategists.
As researchers are asked to do more and take on bigger roles, the capacity to do research at scale will be key.
Researchers are moving towards strategic partnership. They're going to be more prescriptive. Because they understand the technical side, the design side, and the customer side—they'll move away from "we recommend" and to "'here's what we envision for the product."
Researchers will have to go beyond being strategic, and move to getting entire teams to be strategic. Research is one data point amongst many other functions.
As privacy becomes a bigger concern, researchers will have to be advocates for their participants. Ethically, they should be the mediator between what stakeholders want to know, and the protection participants need.
Researchers used to hear "we can't design for everyone." But as products scale and become globally spread, so does your intended audience. The narrative needs to change to "we can't design for every user need."
Researchers have to do a better job of anticipating unintended consequences. They have to ask: "who are they speaking to?" And when they talk about "voice of the customer" they have to ask: "which customer?"
Read more on Aryel Cianflone's and Jen Romano-Bergstrom's research philosophies in their People Nerds profiles.
Katy Mogal, Ben Babcock, Monal Chokshi and Yasmine Khan on growing, and caring for, research teams.
Google's Katy Mogal, Jet.com's Ben Babcock, Lyft's Monal Chokshi, and Even.com's Yasmine Khan sat down to discuss the best practices for building and structuring a modern research team.
One measure of success for a user research team is: "are we getting stuff on the roadmap that's getting built?" Is the team actively influencing how the company is communicating with the customer?
As teams evolve and change, so do research tactics and goals. Small teams are often asked to insert research into a product development cycle, and to run studies that are tactical in nature. But as teams grow, their role should be more strategic.
In a "move fast and break things" culture, sometimes it's important to push back on "moving fast"—or redefine what "moving fast" looks like. There needs to be enough time to turn insights into hypotheses.
In models when researchers are embedded within teams, you usually need "full-stack researchers," but with specific backgrounds and strengths.
Having a diversity of experience can make a research team richer. Pairing people fresh out of school, with veterans, can make for a useful collision of worlds.
Caring for a research team just means treating researchers like they're human, and on a career journey.
In the end, the best work is going to come from people who are excited, motivated, in the right role fit.
Read more on Katy Mogal's and Yasmine Khan's research philosophies in their People Nerds profiles.
The dscout team on new product features for deeper, in-context research.
At People Nerds, the dscout product team unveiled and demoed a series of landscape shifting product updates. Read the full recap of what's new, and what's next, here.
"People are demanding to be seen as individuals." - Martha Cotton @fjord #PeopleNerds #UX pic.twitter.com/O6xwuLGDmO
Fjord's Martha Cotton on the trends that will shape 2019.
Annually, Fjord uses dscout to unearth trends that are prevalent in consumer markets and that showcase consumer needs. Martha Cotton presented the 7 major motivators moving design in 2019.
Silence is Golden. We need to say more with less. Consumers are looking for quiet in an increasingly noisy world. In that, the digital divide has changed. It used to be about access to technology. Now exists between "those who have access to digital," and "those who have the capacity to turn digital tech off."
Consumers are more and more aware of the environment, and our impact on it. We think of single use plastic as a problem, and we're are starting to demand companies do more to improve planet earth.
People know the value of their data, want transparency about how their data is used, and are scrutinizing the companies that use their data. We need to embrace data minimalism.
We're looking for more seamless ways to get from A-to-B. We're not thinking about traditional transportation; we're hoping for smarter mobility companies. The lines between public and private transit are blurring.
People are demanding to be considered as individuals, but businesses aren't actually able to do that in a way that makes people feel satisfactorily "seen." We're in a post-demographic world. We can no longer assume we understand people based on demographic profiles, and trying to do so has become reductive.
People are excited about tangible spaces again, again. When we're able to integrate "digital" into physical spaces—we create really additive human experiences
Seeing isn't believing anymore—and that makes "now" a scary time for consumers. But there are ways to embrace "synthetic realities" as a source of good. Not too long we feared photoshop. Now it's part of our day-to-day engagement with digital.
Head here to check out the full 2019 trends report, or here to read more about Martha's approach to research.
dscout Studio's Emily Wurgler on our shifting perceptions of tech.
Amidst the headlines of data breaches, digital dependence, and a major "tech backlash," The Studio wanted to understand how Americans really feel about technology. They ran a mixed methods study that combined both qual inputs and quantitative surveys. Emily Wurgler presented what they learned:
Faced with an open-ended question, participants consistently cited 3 key factors as being tech benefits:
43% cited convenience via automation
59% mentioned increased connection to others
47% benefited from an increased access to information
Americans across the board (Democrats and Republicans, men and women, urban and rural) agree on the ways technology adds to their lives. They also have common concerns about technology. They fear they're unable to pick out what's real and what's fake. They're concerned about the way tech will impact their children.
Americans are less sure about whether or not social media makes a positive impact on society. Only 50% say social is a good thing for the country.
Read the original Tech and Us report here.
Casper's Rachel Robinette and Defne Civelekoglu on doing in-context research for a bright new product idea.
The team at Casper wanted more insight into how technology could help sleep. They used dscout to learn about what people thought made for a good night's rest—and translated those findings into a new product: Glow.
They found that people were often aware of what contributes or detracts from their sleep, but that awareness wasn't helping.
When they asked for sleep hacks, they expected to get tools. Instead they got experiences like "cleaning the kitchen" or "flossing" or "reading with the kids before bed."
They started building a product in week-long sprints. Each sprint focused on an "environmental lever" from the study. They had the office try each result.
In the end, they developed 12 productized experiences they wanted to test. As they tested, they evaluated each product in terms of practicality and joy—and they built a roadmap based on a product that did both.
After validating with some quant, and some prototype tests—they launched Glow. It brought in heaps of social engagement, and sold at 4x expected sales rate.
Welcoming @s_kresnicka to share how her team of business anthropologists @KresnickaRI use mobile ethnography in their work on gender identity #PeopleNerds pic.twitter.com/RTFBhJKKPX
— dscout (@dscout) May 1, 2019
KR&I's Susan Kresnicka on mobile ethnography, and a deep into gender identity.
At KR&I, Susan uses mobile ethnography to study shared cultural meaning. In this case, her original research question was, "what do women find sexy?"—which first required an understanding of "what does it mean to be a woman today?"
The research, at first, ran into some roadblocks. For example, studying gender as a "source of shared meaning" means admitting gender is socially constructed—which isn't necessarily a consensus across the field.
They decided to define gender by three C's: "constructed, complex, changing."
To "see" gender in everyday life, they ran a mobile ethnography study. The prompt was: "Submit an entry every time being a woman proves relevant, important, or meaningful in everyday life."
They got hundreds of submissions, which ranged from "leading a meeting at work" to "getting cat-called" to "being second-guessed by a co-worker."
They received 167 mentions of gender inequality, and 35 moments of active resistance.
They learned mobile ethnography can be effectively done. It gives insight into everyday life—which is where shared meanings get reinforced and navigated. And most businesses would benefit from a better understanding of how their success interacts with these shared meanings.
Read more on Susan's anthropological research in her field report or People Nerds profile.
Instagram's Randy Illum on co-developing features with the people who actually use them.
The way Instagram's face filters work is simple—which means the way they were developed was complicated. Randy discussed what brought them to life—both in terms of user testing, and stakeholder management.
The team wanted to ensure that the people who were experts on Instagram's face filters—the people who use them everyday—had their perspectives reflected.
A face filter effect had to meet some sort of need. For people to use it, there needs to be a driving factor. This came out when users were actually asked to demo a type of filter.
Data tells one story while qualitative research tells another. Together data + research provides a clearer picture of how and why something is successful, or isn't performing as well as expected. If you just A/B test to see what's working, you miss out on the "why."
When there are many stakeholders on a project, communication is paramount. Collaboration can make or break a project. Having open channels of communication allows more stakeholders to have a voice in the research process, ensuring that the questions that need to be asked and answered are addressed.
Capital One's Beth Schwindt on making user research a part of company culture.
At Capital One, Beth was given a huge research goal, a very tight turnaround time, and a team of non-researchers. So she used dscout to get findings fast, and made a "non-research team," highly research capable.
Agile research forces you to feel like you are building a plane while in flight. A project has to have a soul, or it doesn't fly.
Sometimes opening up research to a team means being a coach, and a "librarian of research," rather than a "doer of research." It's an identity shift, and requires the right tools and expertise to guide a group.
When you have teams who aren't normally involved with research involved, they get invested. They start to understand "why" they're doing their jobs. Engineers talk about "if Mike the persona would actually do something." Everyone becomes responsible for the data.
Beyond that, as a researcher, you understand their world. You understand why engineers make the decisions they do, and how they build, and how to best work with them. That's key for innovation.
Remind's Ana Rosario on meeting your users where they are.
Remind is a two-way communication platform built for education, which allows teachers to reach students and parents where they are. But teachers are a busy, traditionally difficult to reach audience. Ana's team at Remind used dscout to gain insight into their lives and needs.
Remind has integrated user research into their product development process from the beginning. They have a full UR team, which is uncommon for startups, but which has been a difference maker. Research has become a big part of their culture, and led to more effective decision-making.
Sometimes the distractions that popped up during interviews can become opportunities. The complications, technological challenges, and limited availability teachers faced got researchers asking the right questions about their lives and workdays.
Even if, from a research or product perspective, a feature don't sound like a very innovative solution—it can be the right call. If from a user behavior perspective, it makes sense, you need to meet our users where they are.
Super geeking out over this case story with @thenorthface and how they uncovered rich insights with their pro-athletes by using @dscout! #PeopleNerds pic.twitter.com/6V4AKdLrmc
— Zoei Benzon (@zoeijb) May 1, 2019
The North Face's Vanessa Dillof on understanding their elite athletes—on and off the mountain.
At The North Face, researchers have direct access to some of the world's top-performing athletes. But their engagement with them was limited to brief email exchanges. They wanted a better understanding of who these athletes are, and were looking for more in-context insights into their day-to-day life. Vanessa discussed how they used dscout to see their audience up close.
For The North Face "AI" stands for "athlete intelligence." The program had a few key goals:
To solicit honest and insightful opinions from a source that can inspire and ground the team.
To give more structure for the research process—reducing athlete headaches.
To build empathy for athletes internally—humanizing them, and bringing the outside in. The North Face talks about being "athlete tested." But they didn't quite understand athletes as people—or understand their lives off the mountain. They wanted to know about their tattoos. They wanted to see around their homes.
They used dscout missions to get video responses from athletes on their smartphones, wherever they were in the world. The team went from receiving misunderstood bullet point responses—to knowing where athlete feedback was coming from. This made it so that designers WANTED to solve their problems.
New product/campaign launches became inspired early on by feedback, and issues were addressed well before launch.
They learned keeping missions simple was essential. 5 parts is 4 parts too many. Their athletes (and everyone else) have better things to do than to take surveys.
Bringing back show and tell increases engagement. Interactive studies are just more fun than clicking and writing.
Context is king. Real situations are so much more valuable than responses from another respondent on their couch.
McKinsey's @mahinsam dropping knowledge about the business value of design #PeopleNerds pic.twitter.com/QjY6QupgJS
McKinsey's Mahin Samadani on defining the business value of design.
Users expect good design—and good design impacts the bottom line. Mahin Samadani contextualized a McKinsey study showing that design thinking, and user-centric design, can have a real business impact.
About five years ago, design matured to the point where a lot of business leaders wanted to embrace it. Now we're transitioning from the "why" to the "how"—and once you get to the "how," a bottom-line impact starts to be made.
Top performers integrate their design teams across the organization, and break down silos. Silos kill creativity.
Companies struggle in a few key areas. 66% don't share prototypes with end users. 50% don't involve users prior to product development. 95% of leaders feel they can't make objective business decisions on design.
Customer video can give design decisions a lot of weight. When you run a mobile diary study, it puts an end to a "should we do it this way debate." You can answer with: "Well, Joan from Texas directly told us..."
Design will have to democratize. Everyone will have to be a designer, or be equipped to function like a designer.
Mac Hasley is a writer and content strategist at dscout. She likes writing words about words, making marketing less like "marketing," and unashamedly monopolizing the office's Clif Bar supply.


text:
Q: Calculating Fourier coefficients given a function. Given the function, $ f(x) = 3\sin(2x)+2\cos(5x) $, with the period $2\pi$.
Find the Fourier coefficients using,
$a_0 = \frac{1}{\pi} \int_{0}^{2\pi}f(x)  dx$
$a_n = \frac{1}{\pi} \int_{0}^{2\pi}f(x)\cos(nx)  dx$
$b_n = \frac{1}{\pi} \int_{0}^{2\pi}f(x)\sin(nx) dx$
where $n$ is a natural number. Which coefficients are nonzero and what frequency do they correspond to?
Should I just calculate the integral? Is there something that I have to keep in mind? New to this area!

A: In this case, you can read the coefficients right off of the expression for $f(x).$
We know that $\{1, \cos k x, \sin k x\}_{k=1,2,\cdots}$ are orthogonal, so, for example, $$ \int_0^{2\pi} \cos j x \cos k x \, dx = 0 \text{ when } j\ne k,$$
so
$$ a_n = \left\{ \begin{array}{cc} 2, & n=5\\ 0, & \text{otherwise}\end{array} \right.$$
$$ b_n = \left\{ \begin{array}{cc} 3, & n=2\\ 0, & \text{otherwise}\end{array} \right.$$
To elaborate ...
$$\begin{aligned}
a_0 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x) \, dx= \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x) \, dx = 0\\
a_1 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\cos x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\cos x \, dx = 0\\
&\vdots\\
a_4 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\cos 4 x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\cos 4 x \, dx = 0\\
a_5 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\cos 5 x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\cos 5 x \, dx = \frac{2}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} \cos^2 5x \, dx= 3\\
a_6 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\cos 6 x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\cos 6 x \, dx = 0\\
&\vdots\\
\end{aligned}$$
$$\begin{aligned}
b_1 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\sin x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\sin x \, dx = 0\\
b_2 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\sin 2 x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\sin 2 x \, dx = \frac{3}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} \sin^2 2x \, dx= 3\\
b_3 &= \frac{1}{\pi} \int_0^{2\pi} f(x)\sin 3 x \,dx = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{2\pi} ( 3 \sin 2 x + 2 \cos 5 x)\sin 3 x \, dx = 0\\
&\vdots\\
\end{aligned}$$

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