text:
Field Manual, Stormwind Army Field Manual
Stormwind Army Field Manual: Ammunition and Reagents
< Stormwind Army Field Manual
Stormwind Army
Field Manual
General Conduct
Unit Composition
Drill and Marching
Uniforms and Armor
Arms and Weaponry
Ammunition & Reagents
Survival in the Field
Terrain & Reconnaissance
Fortifications & Sieges
Strategy & Command
Hound Mastery
Signal Policy
The Stormwind Royal Army fields some of the best arms and armor in all of Azeroth. Drawing from its mines, farms, and foundries throughout the realm, the kingdom produces enough equipment to completely outfit its regional brigades. This chapter of the Stormwind Army Field Manual will overview common and uncommon equipment.
Every ranged weapon, barring those of magical channeling, require Ammunition and Reagents to operate. The Royal Army employs a wide range of projectile weaponry, from simple arrows to explosive artillery shells. This chapter will overview these various ammunitions in addition to some of the magical reagents used by the crown's spellcasters and healers.
The Royal Army utilizes several types and tiers of weaponry and armor to account for the different roles present on the battlefield. Each has their own distinct advantages and disadvantages that should be accounted for in combat.
A link to Wowhead will be provided with each of the item sets listed so that members may look into how to obtain these items. Alternative items will be listed next to the official set for each uniform.
Ammunition Edit
The projectile weapons employed by the Royal Army require Ammunition to operate. The various projectiles and their associated properties should be known well by all soldiers of the crown.
Standard Arrows & Bolts Edit
(Wowhead Link)
Arrows and bolts are projectiles consisting of a straight stiff shaft, made of either wood or metal, fin-like stabilizers called fletching, and a weighted, sharpened and often pointed tip. Whether fired from bow and crossbow en masse at enemy formations or picking the enemy off one by one from a concealed position, they are an effective method of reducing an enemy forces numbers prior to melee engagement.
Issued to Infantry & Reconnaissance Recruits.
Fire Arrows & Bolts Edit
Standard arrows and bolts may be turned into flammable projectiles if their tips are dipped into a tar-filled pouch. Once lit, either magically or with another source of fire, the flaming projectile may be used to set enemy fields, siege equipment, buildings, and other flammable materials aflame.
Issued to Infantry & Reconnaissance Privates.
Blessed Arrows & Bolts Edit
The Church of the Holy Light is known to bless the projectiles issued to their witch hunters and temple guardsmen such that they inflict searing holy fire upon demons, maleficar, and supernatural abominations. They are often tipped with silver or even truesilver to smite malevolent spirits, making them incredibly valuable.
Issued to Witch Hunters and by approved request.
Arcane Arrows & Bolts Edit
When faced with magical threats, the Stormwind Circle of Magi equips its spell hunters with enchanted arrows and bolts with which they may discretely dispatch magic-infused monsters and rogue wizards. These projectiles are tipped with arcane crystals which explode in magical frostfire upon impact.
Issued to Spell Hunters and by approved request.
Black Powder Edit
Black powder, also known as gunpowder, is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. Its incendiary properties, along with the amount of heat and gas volume it generates, is often used as a propellant in firearms and as a blasting powder in quarrying and mining. The Royal Army uses it extensively in its firearms, from pistols to field guns. Soldiers of the crown equipped with black powder weapons carry individual charges of black powder wrapped in paper in a waterproofed bandolier draped across their chest or waist.
Issued to Infantry Privates.
Musket Balls Edit
Musket balls are a type of projectile ammunition specifically designed for firearms. The ammunition is usually wrapped in paper or cloth before being loaded down the barrel of a firearm after a charge of black powder, where the force of the black powder igniting expels the ball at a lethal velocity. Though the musket balls issued by the Royal Army are typically cast from lead, soldiers have been known to melt down or cast stone, scrap iron, and other hard metals into balls when lead is in short supply. Musket balls are typically carried in a waterproofed pouch at a soldier's waist. They can be used in other firearms and come in various sizes to accommodate them.
Silver Bullets Edit
Silver bullets are cast from silver, known to be effective against witches and other monsters susceptible to the metal and its believed properties against evil. Due to the malleability and softness of silver, these projectiles are rendered ineffective against most heavy armor and fortifications. Their great cost and niche purpose render silver bullets a rarity on the battlefield. The Stormwind Inquisition uses these projectiles in their hunts when pursuing supernatural threats.
Issued to Witch Hunters.
Firebombs Edit
Firebombs are a category of devices that can serve as incendiary weapons, explosives, or weapons that combine both effects of the formerly listed. The construction of these bombs varies depending on their intended use and contained material. In general, a firebomb is constructed by filling a bisque urn or similar container with flammable or explosive material, including but not limited to gunpowder, chemicals, and alchemical ingredients, which is then thrown at a target.
Dynamite Edit
Dynamite is an explosive used mainly in mining, quarrying, and demolition and is considered a more powerful alternative to black powder. The most common type of dynamite is made with explosive oil, absorbed in a sorbent, with a small mixture of stabilizer added. This combination allows the device to be used in a relatively safe fashion while also retaining its powerful explosive properties. Several types and combinations of dynamite exist, individually purposed to better fit their intended purposes.
Specialist weapon, per event basis.
Caltrops Edit
Caltrops are an anti-personnel weapon consisting of four or more sharp metal points arranged in such a way as that one of them is always pointing upward with a stable base. Rangers utilize caltrops to slow the movement of infantry and cavalry troops by discreetly scattering them along the anticipated routes of the advancing enemy armies.
Issued to Rangers.
Reagents Edit
Both church and circle employ magical or blessed Reagents in their casting of spells, sorceries, and miracles. These powerful goods have strong magical properties that require steady hands and a fortified mind.
Holy Water Edit
Holy Water is water that has been blessed by Priest of the Holy Light. Holy water has many applications and can be used to protect, banish, heal, curse, enlighten, cleanse, and purify. Depending on the situation at hand, herbs and other additions such as salt may be added to the water to fortify or amplify its effects.
Issued to Diocese Privates.
Blessed Oil Edit
The mother church often uses sweet-smelling blessed oil in its ceremonies to anoint the brows of those ordained in the Light. Oil blessed with the Holy Light shall readily take to its blessings and shall facilitate healing to flesh that has been anointed. The Light's champions have been known to coat their weapons with blessed oil before setting them aflame in combat, both to inflict righteous fire upon the enemies of the church and to act as righteous beacons in the face of darkness.
Sacred Candles Edit
Sacred candles have long be used as method of sympathetic magic, for meditative uses, and for mundane purposes. The composition, color, and shapes of these candles vary depending on its intended use, and the wax is sometimes infused with specific herbs or magical reagents. Once these candles have been formed and cured, they are most often blessed by a Priest of the Holy Light to sanctify them for the use against evil.
Rock Salt Edit
Harvested from the Great Sea, rock salt has been used over time and by several cultures for its multiple uses and properties - namely that it absorbs psychic energy and binds it into its own structure. It is an easily gained resource and most often used for purification, protection against psychic phenomena and evil spirits, and in healing.
Silversage Incense Edit
Silversage incense is often used in a bundle or as a loose collection of the dried herb. Its uses include the ability to purify, sanctify, and to bless a person, place, or object. There are two main ways to burn silversage: one is to shave or crumble bits of the herb onto a lit fire; the second is to bundle the herb together into a tightly packed 'stick' and light the stick itself. It is most often carried in a metal censer which may be carried at one's side.
Issued to Ordained Diocese Privates.
Symbol of Kings Edit
Kings often seek the church's blessings in war and strife in order to bolster the morale of their armies. The Church of the Holy Light is selective in which wars and conflicts it blesses as sanctified and just, but for those it does sanction, the church offers its support in the form of written edicts and blessings. Upon these holy documents are inscribed the Symbol of Kings, which the Light's champions may call upon to bolster the effects of their holy miracles. This symbol is the physical manifestation of the Light's recognition and support of the crown's actions.
Symbol of Divinity Edit
As the Light may be called upon to perform supernatural feats of resurrection, the Church of the Holy Light has created divine tokens with which its healers may use as beacons for the Light's divinity to return spirits from the realm of the dead. Cast from truesilver, gold, and platinum, these holy symbols of divinity are among the church's most valuable treasures. They are only issued to the most devout of the church's priests and paladins.
Stakes of White Oak Edit
The wood of white oak trees has been known for centuries to have cleansing properties. Their rarity and difficulty in cultivation, however, have rendered items crafted from its wood incredibly valuable. Carved into stakes and blessed by the church, white oak is supremely effective at banishing malevolent spirits, vampires, and those willingly corrupted by foul magics. Stakes of white oak are often hilted with white horse hair to mark them apart from mere wooden posts.
Arcane Powder Edit
Arcane Powder is a reagent made from the residual substances that occur as a result of disenchanting a magical item. In turn, arcane powder can also be used in the process of enchanting and is said to have multiple uses in potion-making, transmutation, and other magic-related practices and spells.
Issued to Mage Privates.
Wizard Oil Edit
Wizard oil is a substance created by alchemists using a combination of common oils, ground arcane crystals, and arcane powder. This ingredient can be used by mages to create, fortify, or amplify the effects of arcane-based weapons and items.
Fire Oil Edit
Fire oil is a substance created by alchemists using the oils derived from the flesh of Firefin Snappers. This ingredient can be used by mages to create, fortify, or amplify the effects of fire-based weapons and items.
General Orders • General Conduct • Ranks • Unit Composition • Drill and Marching
Uniforms and Armor • Arms and Weaponry • Ammunition & Reagents
Survival in the Field • Safety • Logistics • Terrain & Reconnaissance • Law Enforcement
Fortifications & Sieges • Strategy & Command • Hound Mastery • Horsemanship
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Questions about the impact of large donor-funded HIV interventions on low- and middle-income countries' health systems have been the subject of a number of expert commentaries, but comparatively few empirical research studies. Aimed at addressing a particular evidence gap vis-à-vis the influence of HIV service scale-up on micro-level health systems, this article examines the impact of HIV scale-up on mechanisms of accountability in Zambian primary health facilities.
Guided by the Mechanisms of Effect framework and Brinkerhoff's work on accountability, we conducted an in-depth multi-case study to examine how HIV services influenced mechanisms of administrative and social accountability in four Zambian primary health centres. Sites were selected for established (over 3 yrs) antiretroviral therapy (ART) services and urban, peri-urban and rural characteristics. Case data included provider interviews (60); patient interviews (180); direct observation of facility operations (2 wks/centre) and key informant interviews (14).
Resource-intensive investment in HIV services contributed to some early gains in administrative answerability within the four ART departments, helping to establish the material capabilities necessary to deliver and monitor service delivery. Simultaneous investment in external supervision and professional development helped to promote transparency around individual and team performance and also strengthened positive work norms in the ART departments. In the wider health centres, however, mechanisms of administrative accountability remained weak, hindered by poor data collection and under capacitated leadership. Substantive gains in social accountability were also elusive as HIV scale-up did little to address deeply rooted information and power asymmetries in the wider facilities.
Short terms gains in primary-level service accountability may arise from investment in health system hardware. However, sustained improvements in service quality and responsiveness arising from genuine improvements in social and administrative accountability require greater understanding of, and investment in changing, the power relations, work norms, leadership and disciplinary mechanisms that shape these micro-level health systems.
Between 1996 and 2008 global funding for HIV increased from US$300 million to an estimated US$15.6 billion . A large proportion of this funding was directed towards a handful of countries in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV/AIDS was a major health, social and economic threat . Justified in part by the emergency status of the epidemic, the exceptional levels of funding and rapidity of treatment services scale-up nonetheless spurred debate regarding the impact of disease-specific programs on recipient countries' health systems [2-10]. Central to this debate was the question of whether such intense focus on a single disease could be harmful to the overall development of health systems in low- and middle-income settings.
Questions about the functions of, and interactions between, donor-funded HIV interventions and national health systems have been the subject of a number of expert commentaries, but comparatively few empirical research studies . Amongst those studies that have focused on these issues, moreover, [11-14], critics have noted a bias towards national-level assessments, as well as a tendency to focus on measurement of effect. Far less research has been conducted to examine the mechanisms of effect (where found), that is, how and why HIV scale-up impacted on local health systems [9,15,16], although there are some notable exceptions [17-21]. The lack of empiric evidence in relation to these issues is concerning given the continued scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the transformation of HIV into a chronic disease, which are placing increasing pressure on weak primary level health services [22,23].
The study reported here formed part of a larger research project that aimed to address the evidence gap vis-à-vis the influence of HIV service scale-up on Zambian primary health centres. An initial objective of the larger study was to produce theoretically informed insights relating to the mechanisms driving health centre performance. Previously reported findings pertaining to this objective  point to the critical role of mechanisms of accountability, amongst others (e.g. mechanisms of trust), in determining primary-level service quality and responsiveness.
The explicit focus of this article is to examine whether and how the establishment and scale-up of HIV services influenced mechanisms of accountability within the primary service domain, and, as a result, service quality and responsiveness. We then apply these findings to a consideration of whether there is merit in attempting to design disease-specific interventions that reflect the complexity in primary-level services, and, in the process, enable a more contextually comprehensive approach to the design and implementation of health system strengthening interventions.
The national HIV care and treatment program of the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) progressed in several distinct stages from the early 2000s. Between 2001–2003 a hospital-based HIV treatment program financed by government and patient co-payments was piloted . In 2003, a radical policy shift introduced by then President Levy Mwanawasa promised free and universal access to ART, primarily supported by the (United States government-funded) President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the (multi-lateral) Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) . As in many sub-Saharan nations with generalized epidemics, the early emphasis of HIV service rollout in Zambia was now placed on speedy implementation, justifying (at least initially) the bypassing of what some perceived to be weak or inefficient systems . Between 2003 and 2010, scale-up was overseen by the Ministry of Health (MOH) but executed primarily by PEPFAR implementing partners, namely, non-government sub-contractors tasked with establishing and supporting (both materially and technically) HIV treatment services in government primary health facilities . During this period, HIV services expanded from just two hospital-based treatment centres to encompass prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) in some 1450 government primary health centres and health posts, and full ART services in over 150 health centres .
In 2010, PEPFAR implementing partners everywhere came under pressure from prime grantees and US agencies to harmonize the 'vertical' HIV services with the structures of the local health system . In Zambia, as a result, direct salary support in the form of the 'over time' or 'part time' payments for providers working in 'ART clinics' was phased out and the money reallocated to capacity building activities such as additional clinical training and training of future trainers . From 2011, as part of the same process, local non-government implementing partners were required to transition responsibility for some support activities (e.g. quality assurance checks, administrative support roles) to District and Provincial health offices. Funds previously channelled to these partners were now redirected to government institutions taking a greater role in (non-wage) support and technical assistance. According to officials from partner agencies and the Ministry of Health, this transition received considerable attention during the central planning stages, but was poorly managed on the grounda [25,30,31]. The period of 2011–2012 saw a marked decline in direct material and technical support to primary level health centres, particularly in the large urban health centres that were each supporting HIV patient loads of between 3000 and 15,000 individuals.
Mechanisms of effect: a framework for micro health systems analysis.
For this study we sought to refine our exploration of the impact of HIV services on accountabilityc and so conducted a scoping review of health services and accountability literature to identify key themes of focus. The review suggested that administrative and social accountability were of most relevance for explorations of front-line, clinic-based health services [38-43]. Administrative accountability (elsewhere called bureaucratic or political accountability) is defined as healthcare providers' sense of accountability to their managers in relation to clinical guidelines and pre-defined performance standards. Social accountability is defined as providers' accountability to their clients (and broader community) in relation to the needs and expectations of these groups.
Our examination of social and administrative accountability was informed by Chandler and Plano's definition of accountability as 'a condition in which individuals who exercise power are constrained by external means and internal norms' . This definition is significant in a number of respects. First, it points out that accountability is relevant to all individuals who exercise power, not only those who occupy formal positions of authority or those exercising legal/rational power. In the micro-health system setting this suggests that all actors (not just health centre managers or doctors) must be accountable. Second, this definition highlights the fact that accountability is not only achieved through 'external means' – indicating policies, rules, guidelines and other formal means – but also through 'internal norms' and self-policing. In the health centre setting, these internal norms might include perceptions of responsibility for delivering high quality services, a sense of obligation to the patients, or a strong work ethic. Third, the definition suggests (implicitly) that both external means and internal norms are necessary to generate accountability and that the constraint of power via only one or the other is likely to be insufficient.
In developing a typology of accountability we additionally drew on Brinkerhoff's characterisation of accountability [39,45] as the product of effective mechanisms of answerability and of enforceability. Answerability implies the ability of a supervisor, official or client to obtain information about what is happening and why it is happening in a certain way. Enforceability refers to the ability of a supervisor official or client(s) to demand certain formal or informal standards be met and to seek redress if they are not.
Figure 2 provides the typology of accountability adopted in this study, illustrating the domains of administrative and social accountability and examples of mechanisms of answerability and enforceability (representing both external means and internal norms) common to primary level services in low and middle income countries (LMIC).
Mechanisms of administrative and social accountability in a health centre setting.
The overall aim of the study reported here was to understand whether and how the establishment and scale-up of HIV services influenced mechanisms of accountability. Specific objectives that guided our exploration included: to describe how the introduction of HIV care and treatment services influenced the organisation of resources and actors in each health centre; to describe whether, and in what ways, health centre components interacted to produce differing levels of accountability; and to explore the ways in which introduction of HIV care and treatment services influenced the interaction between system components, and, subsequently, the production of accountability (social or administrative) in this setting.
A full description of the study design and data collection methods used in this and the larger research project has been published previously . Briefly, we adopted a multi-case study design using a theoretical replication strategy . Case 'units' – four primary health centres located in two adjacent Districts, one urban one rural – were selected by the lead investigator (SMT) in consultation with District Medical Officers, and based on both empiric and anecdotal evidence of characteristics that enabled exploration of patterns of service delivery. Such characteristics included: average patient attendance data; vaccination coverage rates; and District officers' descriptions of health centre performance. Data were collected between June and December 2011. Methods used at each case site included: in-depth interviews with a proportionate sample of healthcare workers from various levels (n = 60); semi-structured interviews with a quasi-random sample of patients (n = 180); review of health centre paper-based registers; and direct observation of facility operations spanning at least two weeks in each centre. Observation was both structured and semi-structured, and included the National Healthcare Standards Assessment tool for Zambian Health Facilities, and note-taking to record informal discussions and interactions during the period of residence. In addition, key informant interviews were held with government and non-government officials (n = 14) with specific knowledge or experience of the processes of HIV service scale-up.
Data for this study are primarily drawn from interviews with providers and patients and direct observations in the four health centres, although interviews with key informants including District officials and NGO were also used. During all interviews (patient, provider and key informants), respondents were asked a range of questions exploring the formal and informal relationships, processes and structures that influenced their own and others' decision making and actions in the health centre. Analysis was carried out in three phases. Phase one, conducted concurrently with data collection, comprised collated notes and summaries of evidence for each health centre. In phase two, transcribed interviews were imported into NVivo QSR™ for electronic coding, and data were organised to produce a case description for each health centre  built around four major themes. These were: i) providers' role in the health centre, their typical routine, and their position in relation to others in the facility; ii) challenges faced in day-to-day work; iii) perceptions of the work patterns and work culture in the facility, including relationships with colleagues and health centre managers; and iv) understanding of, and attitudes towards, the introduction of HIV services. Phase three involved a subsequent round of coding which focused on identifying how the different domains (administrative and social) and mechanisms (answerability and enforceability) of accountability were influenced by the new HIV services in each and across the four facilities. Deductive analysis was guided by codes developed from the Mechanisms of Effect (Figure 1) and Accountability (Figure 2) frameworks respectively, while inductive coding was used to incorporate new or emergent themes. Coded text and anonymised sources were collated in a word-processor document and printed, after which we synthesised evidence of the impact of HIV service establishment on mechanisms of social and administrative accountability. Negative case analysis was conducted through the identification of experiences or interactions that appeared to contradict our theoretical assumptions.
Written informed consent was obtained from all respondents for formal observations or interviews. The study received ethical clearance from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) of the University of Melbourne (REF#:1035194) and the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (REF#: 004-03-011).
Findings are presented in two sections, (1) the key characteristics of the process of HIV service establishment and scale-up in study sites and (2) analysis of the influence of this process on administrative and social accountability within and across the sites. We use the terms 'health worker' and 'provider' interchangeably to refer to any individual employed by the Ministry of Health and working in a public health facility.
Table 1 outlines key characteristics of the four health centres. In each centre HIV services were established as stand-alone 'ART clinics'; this occurred during 2006 in Health Centre 1 (HC1), 2009 in Health Centre 2 (HC2), 2005 in Health Centre 3 (HC3) and 2007 in Health Centre 4 (HC4). While ART clinics were located within existing health centre grounds, almost all material and technical support was initially delivered by PEPFAR-funded non-government implementing partners.
• Electronic medical records in three sites (HC1, HC3, HC4); ART specific stationary at all sites.
• Improved infrastructure & technical capacity to deliver ART.
• Early improvements in HCW motivation and clinical standards in ART department.
• Lay personnel enabled efficient administrative & non-clinical functions in ART department.
• Early intra-cadre jealousies around opportunities for HIV training, overtime payments and better work conditions in ART clinics.
• Additional fragmentation (stand-alone ART clinics) of health centre management & operations.
• Strong perception amongst providers that HIV services were exceptional to their core duties (especially HC1, HC2, HC3).
• Perceptions that HIV services constituted additional/over work, undermining staff morale and service values.
Enduring intra-cadre jealousies around overtime payments & superior work conditions in stand-alone ART clinic continued to undermine provider cooperation & continuity of care between ART clinic and other departments.
Small cadre of professional staff frequently overwhelmed by requirements of additional HIV services. Effects exacerbated by weaker supervision & quality assurance afforded to rural (as opposed to urban) sites.
Very large patient numbers & decreasing NGO support for lay personnel in scale-up phase led to marked decline in administrative functionality (e.g. missing files; queue bunching) and frequent patient-provider confrontations.
Overall in-charge able to use early gains in performance standards & staff morale in ART clinic to strengthen overall operations via whole-of-clinic meetings/integrated OPD/ART service delivery as levers.
*At the time of study.
**OPD = Outpatient Department; MCH = Maternal and Child Health department; TB = Tuberculosis treatment department; ART = antiretroviral therapy clinic; LAB = laboratory; EH = Environmental Health department; IPD = Inpatient Department; LABOUR = labour ward.
^Includes paid or stipendiary lay staff with a formal terms of reference; does not include ad hoc voluntary lay staff.
As summarised in Table 1, key components of the establishment phase of ART clinics included: training and appointment of a new departmental 'ART in-charge' within each facility (all sites); substantial investment in new or renovated infrastructure (HC1, HC3, HC4); clinical training for select staff (all sites); recruitment of lay health workers to carry out essential non-clinical duties including patient education and information dissemination (all sites); establishment of an HIV-specific electronic medical record system (HC1, HC3, HC4); a HIV-specific supply chain for antiretroviral drugs and other commodities (all sites); and the provision of non-government partner-assisted quality assurance and quality improvement support (all sites). Additionally, in order to overcome chronic staff shortages, in the three urban health centres (HC1, HC3, HC4) 'overtime' payments were provided to existing healthcare workers to work extra shifts in the new ART clinics. In-service training in HIV medicine was paid for and delivered by non-government implementing partners with accreditation provided by the Ministry of Health. Critically, however, early involvement by District Health Management Teams in HIV service implementation or oversight remained limited .
The scale-up and transition phase saw some shifts in activities and support for HIV services. In three facilities, in-service training for professional staff was extended to include more nurses and clinical officers (HC1, HC3, HC4). However, cuts in funding for direct salary support meant that HC2 and HC3 both lost lay registry and counselling staff. This period also saw a removal of the donor-funded overtime payments in HC1, HC3 and HC4 and, in an effort to move responsibility for oversight to District and Provincial offices, a scale-back of the quality assurance programs run by non-government implementing partners. At the time of study, quality assurance visits to all four sites had become increasingly ad hoc, compared to the nearly weekly visits that had taken place between 2006 and 2009.
Mechanisms of administrative answerability and enforceability should help to make transparent and justify the nature of individual or team performance as well as enable rewards or sanctions for that performance. In Zambian primary health centres, as outlined in Figure 2, mechanisms of administrative answerability included documentation of service activities in medical records, hard-copy registers and tally sheets, production of summary activity reports and performance review and feedback by District administrators. Mechanisms of administrative enforceability were more limited, but included public sector disciplinary processes and horizontal staff transfers as well as the work norms that shaped health worker attitudes and work patterns.
Administrative answerability in the ART clinics of all four health centres was initially strengthened via the considerable investment in health system 'hardware' as described in the previous section. Improved infrastructure, guaranteed drugs and other medical commodities, training for professional staff and the recruitment of new lay personnel all ensured the clinics had material capabilities necessary to deliver HIV care and treatment according to Ministry of Health issued guidelines.
With ART we received the big building; and supplies and drugs. We had support. Even the Peer Educators [were recruited and introduced]. Nurse, HC1.
Just as importantly, providers' ability to collect and disseminate information to demonstrate strong performance was improved (Figure 3). Introduction of a more rigorous HIV health information system, including in three sites (HC1, HC3, HC4) an electronic medical record system, facilitated more accurate and timely documentation of patient and service data. This in turn was used in quality assurance reports and performance reviews, making routine assessment easier and more transparent.
Impact of HIV scale-up on mechanisms of administrative and social accountability.
During the establishment phase, work norms (internal mechanisms of administrative enforceability) were also improved amongst the teams of professional staff working in the ART clinics. Professional development in the form of health worker training and workshops, in combination with NGO supervision and quality assurance support for HIV services, had a demonstrable effect on providers' attitudes and service motivation.
Traditionally, [health workers] had the knowledge they accrued in school, but that was it. They started working and then there were no updates. The morale was down and the culture was to do what you always do, whether it's right or wrong […]. But when the ART clinics were introduced, we saw updates coming in, in-house meetings, and clinical meetings. And that changed the culture quite a lot. The older culture was: "I know I do this, I will do it this way because I have been doing it this way forever." So change was very hard. But with ART clinics came support and mentorship. And also there was that exchange of skills. It had a huge impact. In-Charge, HC4.
In the three urban/peri-urban sites (HC1, HC3, HC4), overtime payments were also described as a powerful, albeit short-term, mechanism of enforceability, as a material incentive as well as a more symbolic form of motivation.
Receiving those payments I felt that I was being appreciated for doing my job well. We were given what we needed, and we were supported. Nurse, HC4.
In the ART clinics they have been [paid and therefore] motivated. So there is teamwork and they care for the patients; In-Charge, HC1.
Longer registration queues due to lack of staff to find paper medical records.
Reduction in the time dedicated by peer educators to group patient education and individual adherence counselling.
Insufficient support staff to transport files around the clinic, resulting in bottlenecks and lost files.
Large backlogs of paper files awaiting electronic data entry – creating storage, filing and queue management problems as well as data quality problems.
Long queues increasing tension amongst patients and encouraging clinicians to take shortcuts to 'clear the queue'.
The cessation of ART overtime payments during the transition period was another key factor, effectively removing the only formal mechanism of enforceability associated with ART service performance. Removal of overtime payments also revealed a now established perception among health workers that HIV services were additional to, not a part of, their core duties, making the new MOH policy stipulating HIV service delivery be part of routine duties difficult to enforce.
Now that motivation [payment] has been taken away why should I work in the ART clinic? It is extra. No, I will just do my job. Clinician, HC3.
I used to work in the HIV department. But now, I can't. There is unfairness in the working hours. I was told to be working long hours [in the ART clinic] with no incentive. So I tabled it with the sister in-charge and asked for a departmental transfer. Nurse, HC1.
In two sites (HC1, HC3), overall in-charges even reported instances of staff boycotting the ART clinic as a result of this policy shift.
Now, because there are no payments, [the staff] from ART clinic are saying: "No, I can't even work. You want me to work for free!" So now it is different. Overall In-Charge, HC1.
As can be seen in Figure 3, investment in HIV services also had comparatively few positive flow-on effects in non-HIV departments. Mechanisms of administrative answerability in the broader health centres, including summary service reports and performance reviews in non-HIV departments, generally remained unchanged by the establishment of the ART clinics. Nor did the new services have a positive effect on mechanisms of enforceability in the wider health centres, with the sanctions available to in-charges (e.g. formal disciplinary action or intra and inter clinic transfers) still cumbersome and largely ineffective.
Provider work norms in non-HIV departments were also unchanged by the nascent cultural shift taking place in the ART clinics. In HC1, HC3 and HC4, tensions around the inequitable service conditions of providers working in ART clinics appeared to exacerbate the apathy and disillusion with which many other providers went about their work. This had particular ramifications for internal referrals and continuity of care.
They used to say of us [ART staff]: "you are highly paid, highly looked after". They looked at the environment in which we were working in the ART clinic and said we were better off. Nurse, HC1.
That tension influenced our work because we saw [staff members] saying: "as long as you are a HIV patient, we [in OPD] will not attend you. Let those other health workers [in the ART clinic] attend to you, since they are trained and paid extra." Clinician, HC3.
Nor did investment in establishing the ART clinics improve the strategic leadership capacity of departmental and overall in-charges. Rather, the stand alone nature of the ART clinics, complete with external supervision and NGO-led quality assurance mechanisms, resulted in several in-charges explaining how they had paid little attention to the ART clinics during the establishment period precisely because they were so well resourced.
There was so much support for training and supplies in the ART clinic. They never complained because they had everything they needed. So I could just leave it and concentrate on other things. Overall In-Charge HC1.
Weak management of the mostly negative responses to the removal of ART overtime shifts (e.g. boycotting of the ART clinics) was one example of in-charges' generally weak leadership capacity in this regard. Weak or absent management of other endemic human resource management problems include absenteeism and moonlighting was also evident in several in-charges' fatalistic approach to these issues.
They [the staff] just have their own agenda. There is nothing I can do; Overall In-Charge, HC3).
The overall in-charge in HC4 was an exception to this general finding. Presiding over the integration of an initially stand-alone ART clinic with the outpatient department, he described some clear improvements in facility-wide administrative accountability. Specifically, he was able to use the appointment of a single departmental in-charge for the newly merged OPD and ART departments, and the consolidation of the formerly separate staff rosters, to help reduce unexplained staff absenteeism arising from clinicians and nurses switching between the two departments.
When we integrated, we were able to cut out on that shift switching whereby some senior staff were really taking advantage. Overall In-Charge, HC4.
Integration also reportedly helped the overall in-charge to improve expectations for the quality of general outpatient services through the use of ART standard operating procedures. The routine measurement and recording of patient vital signs and provision of patient education, for example, were re-introduced for OPD clients following service integration. Notably, although HC2 and HC3 had also recently integrated OPD and HIV departments, they retained separate OPD and ART in-charges and few of these benefits were documented.
In a health service setting, effective mechanisms of social answerability should enable clients to understand and assess service availability, quality and responsiveness. By enabling data collection, dissemination and feedback, mechanisms of social answerability serve to ensure transparency of service availability and help to justify service quality. Mechanisms of social enforceability, meanwhile, include 'voice' and 'exit' sanctions . Voice sanctions may encompass written or verbal demands made to and about service providers in one-on-one or group settings, public forums, or via public and social media. In the context of health service delivery, exit sanctions refer to patients' capacity to 'vote with their feet' by attending a different facility. Voice and exit sanctions do not automatically equate with enforceability, however. They are examples of mechanisms that may either partially or wholly compel a stakeholder to act or make a change. The efficacy of such mechanisms is contingent on the way they are enacted (e.g. collective or communal 'voicing' of a demand versus individual complaints) as well as a range of structural conditions including legislative environment and/or informal or formal power relations .
In Zambian primary health centres neighbourhood health committees (NHCs) constitute an important mechanism of social answerability and enforceability (Figure 2). Elected or appointed to ensure citizen representation for each facility's catchment population, NHCs are made up of 8–12 'zone chairpersons' who meet monthly at the health centre, and who preside over smaller zonal committees in between times. The de jure purpose of the NHCs is to ensure answerability through information exchange and to enable joint decision-making between providers and the community in relation to service priorities. However NHC committee members in all four facilities in this study listed their most important duty as supporting and supplementing health centre services (e.g. child growth clinics, vaccination drives, outreach programs or health information campaigns), with little evidence of capacity or opportunity to hold health centre staff accountable.
Our job, it is to support the clinic [services]. Like during under-five activities or if they are doing immunizations in the community. Then we support them and also tell people about these services. NCH Chair, HC1.
Various factors underpinned the NHC focus on assisting with service delivery versus ensuring the answerability of health workers. Lack of human resource capacity within the health centres meant that professional staff placed significant pressure on committee members to provide stop-gap measures for service delivery.
We really depend on those guys [the NHC]. I don't know how we would do our environmental health outreach and MCH activities because we lack staff. Even with these volunteers we still lack capacity. EHT, HC4.
More fundamentally, NHC members appeared to lack information that would enable them to compare de jure health policies with de facto services. Nor did NHCs receive any support or training to develop the sorts of communication and advocacy skills necessary to enforce any breaches in performance.
The standing appointment of the health centre in-charge to the position of NHC secretary was also important. Although rationalized in terms of ensuring staff representation at every NHC meeting, the appointment weakened committees' capacity to act as an independent adjudicator of facility performance, make demands for information or issue complaints in relation to service responsiveness. In two of the health centres (HC1, HC2) the overall in-charges were also responsible for NHC meeting minutes, wielding significant power over the recording and representation of issues at future forums.
Critically, the establishment and scale-up of ART clinics in relative isolation from mainstream clinic operations in these four sites did little to strengthen the capacity or orientation of NHC members to invoke their nominal authority as a mechanism of social accountability (Figure 3). Nor did HIV scale-up activities reinforce the implementation of other mechanisms of answerability, such as the Ministry-mandated 'patient feedback' boxes. Health centre audits at the time of study (Jun. – Nov. 2011) found only one of the four facilities (HC 1) with an observable feedback system, though this was described by several staff as rarely used.
Some positive effects of HIV scale-up on aspects of social accountability were nevertheless identified. Interviews with health workers demonstrated that HIV service scale-up resulted in a substantial shift in the attitude of professional staff towards HIV-patients. Providers in all four sites clearly articulated the needs of HIV patients as 'special' or 'different', commenting on the need for empathetic and high quality care when dealing with this group. Some described the intensive material investment in the ART clinics as evidence, in-and-of-itself, of the special nature of this population. These shifts in attitude strengthened work norms related to HIV services, a critical internal mechanism of enforceability.
Paradoxically, however, this shift in attitude towards HIV-patients seemed to exacerbate the perception held by some providers that non-HIV outpatient clients were less in need and less deserving of responsive and ethically informed care.
These OPD patients, they are not patients. Generally speaking twenty five percent in a day are genuine cases… seventy five percent are not genuine cases […] they are malingerers. Clinician HC1.
Interviewer: Why do OPD patients carry their own file around the clinic, while HIV patients have their files delivered to the clinician by a staff member?
Interviewer: Shouldn't OPD files also be confidential?
Clinician HC3: With the OPD files, it's just like malaria and cough. So with these guys we don't usually encourage confidentiality. There's no stigma for OPD patients, but with HIV more care is needed.
As summarised in Figure 3, providers in all four sites reported that HIV service scale-up strengthened HIV-patients' willingness to make demands about aspects of their treatment or to request transfers. Providers attributed this shift to the chronic-care approach of the ART clinics, which included routine counselling, health education talks and a standardized approach to service-delivery that helped HIV-patients understand both their disease and the processes involved in their treatmentd.
In the HIV department there is routine. There is order. And the patients, they know what to expect and then they can demand it. Lay Counsellor, HC2.
For ART patients it's standard, it is being done for every visit that the patient comes. So the patient is going to be educated to say: "When I arrive at the clinic I'm going to listen to a health talk, I'll have my vital signs checked or maybe I'll go for adherence, etc., etc., because that is a standard and it is being done." That sinks in the patients' mind and they expect that to be done. But on the other side [in OPD] things are not being done properly; there is no "system" if I may call it. Nurse, NGO Partner.
Both observation and interview data confirmed that HIV-patients' improved understanding of their treatment and service environment improved their capacity to use 'voice' sanctions as they were more confident to demand certain services (e.g. measurement and recording of vital signs) and point out or demand redress for what they saw as service breakdown (e.g. loss of paper medical files). Enforceability against such demands, however, remained more ad hoc.
Although these outcomes were positive, providers' attitudinal shifts and HIV patients' improved awareness and health literacy did not substantively improve social accountability overall within the health centres. Lack of investment in structures and processes that would enable and strengthen collective action (such as the NHCs) meant that strengthened individual capacity to 'voice' complaints did not translate into effective mechanisms of enforceability. Providers' ongoing perceptions of being overworked, underpaid and unable to influence the macro-level factors shaping their work environment, moreover, continued to be influential in shaping their service patterns and work norms . Staff in several facilities (HC3, HC4), for example, expressed a sense of frustration (rather than pride) when describing patients who transferred to their facility, even when it implied superior performance.
There are too many patients. There is too much work. I can't stop [the patients] but they should just [go elsewhere]. ART Clinic Nurse, HC3.
The [patients] who come from other catchment areas should just stay within. They shouldn't come here. We can't cope. ART In-Charge, HC1.
Thus, neither the shift in providers' internal norms vis-à-vis the entitlements of HIV patients, nor the improvements in HIV patients' capacity to 'voice' their needs, was sufficient to improve social enforceability in the health centres overall. At the time of study, moreover, providers in the ART clinics displayed similar work patterns to those in other departments, including frequent absenteeism and a 'queue clearing' approach to patient care.
This study set out to explore whether, and in what ways, the process of HIV scale-up influenced key drivers of service quality and responsiveness in four Zambian health centres. Specifically, we sought to understand how the introduction of HIV services influenced the dual domains of administrative and social accountability, via mechanisms of answerability and enforceability.
Previous work on the impact of HIV care and treatment scale-up on frontline services in Zambia by Brugha et al. pointed to early improvements in the availability of ART but mixed findings with respect to improvements in the availability and uptake of other (non-HIV) services. Critically, the authors point to the need for more explanatory research to "move beyond correlation studies to analyse the processes within facilities to understand and explain such trends" .
The findings presented in this paper go some way to address such research gaps, demonstrating that the early, resource-intensive investment in the ART clinics contributed initially to strong administrative answerability within the ART clinics at all four sites by helping to establish the material capabilities necessary to deliver and monitor service delivery. Simultaneous investment in system 'software' via external supervision and professional development helped to promote transparency around individual and team performance. In combination with improved data collection and routine monitoring, this investment in system software also had positive effects on administrative enforceability in the ART clinics, through strengthened provider motivation and work norms, if not through any overt improvement in clinic managers' disciplinary capacity.
Well-resourced ART clinics and the implementation of a chronic care service model had an incidental albeit important impact on social accountability in the ART clinics. A heightened sense of responsibility for delivering high quality care to HIV patients was evident among providers in all four facilities, and was linked to providers' sense of empowerment arising from their well-resourced service environments and the perception that HIV-patients were in particular need of care. Such findings highlight the way normative behaviour – a critical internal mechanism of accountability – may be strengthened via dynamic interactions between adequate resourcing and robust data systems on the one hand, and strong leadership focused on relational aspects (notably trust and communication) of service delivery, on the other.
Notwithstanding these gains, establishment and scale-up of HIV services had relatively few positive impacts on the production of accountability in the wider health centres. Mechanisms of administrative accountability, including data collection and performance review mechanisms in other departments were largely unchanged by the HIV scale-up processes. Nor did these activities strengthen the capacity of in-charges to provide strategic leadership or enforce performance standards, despite placing pressure on these individuals to manage an increasingly complex logistical and human resource landscape. In-charges generally weak handling of the tensions surrounding the introduction, and subsequent removal, of ART overtime payments was one example and observations from other settings, including South Africa, have flagged the need for more explicit investment in leadership and stewardship to ensure sustained improvements in quality and responsiveness of both HIV and other primary-level health services . The exceptional example of HC4, meanwhile, provides evidence of how even in generally weak systems, where public sector service values are eroded or latent, strong leadership plays an important role in helping to shift service patterns, work culture and overall performance.
Rifkin  argues that social accountability is only truly present when those affected by decisions or actions have some type of effective recourse or process to ensure their needs and concerns are dealt with fairly. In this respect, substantive and long-term gains in social accountability – both in the ART clinics and beyond – were elusive. Despite a positive shift in providers' attitudes towards HIV-patients, and strengthened capacity of HIV-patients to invoke 'voice' sanctions, the scale-up of HIV services contained no specific activities designed to address the deeply rooted information and power asymmetries affecting social answerability and enforceability more broadly. The gap between NHCs' de jure purpose and de facto activities, for example, was unchanged by the introduction of HIV services and remained heavily influenced by NHC members' imperfect understanding of health centre performance standards and their lack of authority in facility planning processes.
In the absence of a more coordinated application of 'voice' or 'exit' sanctions at the meso- and macro-levels, we also found that the positive but unintended gains in relation to patients' capacity to 'voice' issues had little impact on the deeply rooted norms and macro-level determinants of service quality such as chronic human and other resource shortages.
As Walt  notes, health provider behaviour is embedded in the social institutions and power relations of their working environment. Such uneven power dynamics remain an unfortunate but notable feature of many LMICs' health services [49-52]. Growing experience of programmatic work and a nascent body of research in the area of social accountability highlight potential areas of intervention and system strengthening in this domain [53,54]. Mechanisms such as community dialoguing and patient score-cards, in particular, have been the focus of an increasing number of programs [55,56]. A recent small-scale evaluation of a 'citizen voice and action' program in Zambia provided local evidence of the importance of addressing entrenched power dynamics between patients or communities and facility and District level health officers through concerted investment in dialoguing and networking skills on both sides .
Influenced by the assumption that front-line or lower-level health services represent simple or even mechanistic systems [15,37,58], service interventions, particularly those planned and financed through global health initiatives, are often based on the logic of linear causal pathways, which assume that investment in one area of a health facility will produce automatic, predictable and positive effects overall. This assumption is in turn underpinned by a failure to recognise the complexity of both the interventions themselves (with their long and multi-factor causal chain) and the people-centredness of the target (micro-level) health systems .
One of the implications of failing to engage with the complexity of micro-level health systems is highlighted by our finding that administrative accountability in three of the four ART clinics in this study actually weakened over time. During the period of HIV service establishment, NGO and government implementers focused attention on establishing strong, self-sufficient ART services. With the focus squarely on emergency scale-up, less consideration was given to the interaction that these frontline ART services would ultimately have with broader health centres. Inevitably, as the ART clinics began to experience more structural pressure from increasing patient numbers and as the distinction between ART and general health centre staff and systems became more blurred, the service patterns and work norms that shaped providers' behaviour in health centres as a whole, started to merge. Structural conditions – including donor policy shifts that resulted in the removal of financial incentives, weak GRZ capacity to meet resource gaps and the poorly implemented transfer of technical support activities – also contributed to a shift of ART service patterns and work norms towards those found in the wider facilities.
Such findings demonstrate how despite some initial gains in service quality and responsiveness in one specific service domain, sustained improvements were ultimately inhibited by the selective nature of the intervention.
The research presented in this paper adds to a small but important body of work that provides policy-relevant evidence of the complex nature of micro-level health systems and the way targeted service interventions have multiple and often unintended effects on system performance. Our findings highlight the importance of shifting the understanding by global health technocrats, national and sub-national policy makers and implementing officials of the interaction between targeted interventions and the health systems in which they are located. To (at worst) do no harm, and (at best) produce an overall system strengthening effect, policy makers and implementers of disease-specific service interventions must give more specific and strategic consideration to understanding hardware-software interactions and their relative impact on service drivers. This requires a re-orientation of disease-specific interventions away from mechanistic logic-models and towards realistic assessments of the complex, social and adaptive nature of health systems at all levels, and highlights once more the importance of careful planning and adequate investment in both system hardware and software to achieve sustained and quality service-delivery at all levels.
aThe transition phase was marked by poor communication between policy-makers, NGO implementing partners, and front-line service providers. Underpinned by the lack of operational planning for what 'transition' would mean, lack of information in the health facilities in Zambia, for example, meant that many health workers were either unaware that NGO implementing partners no longer had the funds or the remit to provide technical support, or that these funds had been redirected to the Ministry of Health. A perception of being 'abandoned' was noted throughout the data collection period, and similar confusion has been reported elsewhere [24,29].
bWe acknowledge some conceptual overlap between the domains of accountability described above, and the role of trust in health care settings. For the sake of conceptual clarity, however, our focus in this paper lies exclusively with accountability. Future publications will examine the interactions between the two.
cWe recognise the importance of trust but for the purposes of analytical clarity choose to address this mechanism in a separate paper.
dAlthough not explored in this study, it also seems likely that the public information dissemination, education and communication campaigns run between 2000 – 2006 in Zambia (see for example [60,61]) may have helped to improved clients' general health literacy related to HIV care and treatment.
This work was supported by an Australian Post Graduate Award (APA) for Doctoral Research, through the Nossal Institute for Global Health at the University of Melbourne, Australia. The funders had no influence over the subject matter or reporting of this study. The authors would like to thank the health-care workers, patients and district officials interviewed during this research for their willing participation and time given.
SMT conceived of the study, collected the data, led analysis and wrote the first draft. JB and MM participated in the design of the study, analysis and provided critical edits to the manuscript. JMC assisted in the collection of the data and provided critical edits to the manuscript. WvD was involved in the analysis of the data and provided critical edits to the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


There has been much discussion on farm incomes in recent months. The debate on farm incomes, their levels and how they should be measured has revealed a considerable amount of uncertainty and confusion. This presentation outlines the current structure of Irish farms and attempts to clarify how farm incomes are measured and more importantly show the wide variation that exists within the overall "average" national farm income figure. The input of off-farm income to farm household income is also examined. The principal sources of data used are the Teagasc National Farm Survey and CSO agricultural income data.
To provide an independent and authoritative research knowledge base, technology transfer and training services for the sustainable development of agriculture and the food processing industry to enable it to respond profitably to consumer demands and requirements and contribute to a vibrant rural economy and society.
In terms of its natural and cultural heritage, the Burren landscape is a veritable oasis. The Burren uplands play host to over 70% of Ireland's native flora, hundreds of burial sites, stone forts and ancient ecclesiastical sites. It is a key flagship for the Irish environment, remarkably rich, diverse and intact. However, the Burren is a landscape that depends very much on farming activity for the retention of its rich heritage. For over six thousand years, farmers have shaped the Burren. In much the same way, the unique challenges presented by karst landscape of the Burren have shaped use of the land and evoked distinctive agricultural responses.
When is a cow not a cow? When she is 6.7 ewe equivalents for the purpose of calculating stocking levels on farms with commonage. (A ewe equals 0.15 livestock units). Over 6,200 farmers with commonage land recently received the preliminary calculations setting out the ewe stocking level, and ewe quotas for 2003.


text:
t = 0
p_ball = 5
vel = 0
time_step = 0.01

# Now for the wile loop I talked about in lecture
while p_ball > 0:

    # First, let's calculate our change in position using only the kinematic
    # equation. Note: For a rough approximation, the velocity can be ignored.
    # Because I did not want to complicate things, I did not have the velocity
    # in the e-mail I initially sent you and instead offered adding in the
    # velocity as bonus

    p_ball = p_ball - (vel*time_step) - (0.5*10*time_step*time_step)

    # Now let's update our velocity, which depends on acceleration

    vel = vel + 10*time_step

    # and finally, let's update our time variable

    t = t + time_step

# Now that we are out of the loop, let's print the time!

print(t - time_step)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I want to say, I am a Retired U.S. Army, Disabled Veteran that has been searching for a new home for me and my family. I have looked all over North Georgia at many homes. Just to happened to find The Chafin homes on Riverbend at Mulberry Park Community and new homes being built 5 minutes from my home.
Upon looking at the new homes I met Kenny Giles the Realtor for the Chafin homes new subdivision. I was so impressed with his professionalism and dedication to the Buyers (me/us ). His attitude and ability to assist me, my wife and my realtor was beyond approach. Awesome Gentleman.
My current home which happens to be the first Ranch built in this subdivision was serviced and upgraded with the best of materials. The Chafin™s Staff, Zeb, Spencer and all the builders were completely willing and able to accommodate all my needs, questions and changes without hesitation. These homes are priced well below surrounding areas and build so much better.


Children were not shown mirrors. They may get bad dreams. Or was it something else? And how old did a child have to be before they could look at themselves in the mirror? I cannot remember now. We thought it was ridiculous. But my grandmother used to say, "what you cannot disapprove to 100%, could … More Are you Self-centered or are you self affirming?
From this day forward, (there is a before it happened and an after) I will say "I know! disgusting! And it was not even the hotty I wanted grabbing at me!! Hahaha… and trail off". We all have our eye on the hottest colleague with his Mexican mustache on and a hot poncho hanging on … More Office party Shenanigans – It finally happened to me!
I thought I would create a list that can help others. I realized after number 1. Listen to Rihanna's shine bright like a diamond I realized that I have nothing to list. I am no help to anyone who is having a bad morning. Not even to myself. I woke up to two bad news; … More What to do when a nice morning is ruined by mediocracy??


Alibaba Group has launched a global research program, Alibaba Damo Academy, "Damo" standing for discovery, adventure, momentum and outlook.
It designed to increase technological collaboration worldwide, advance the development of technology and make the world more inclusive by narrowing the technology gap.
Alibaba expects to invest more than US$15 billion in research and development over the next three years, and the academy will oversee the opening of labs worldwide and seek to recruit 100 talented scientists and researchers.
Headed by Alibaba Group's chief technology officer, Jeff Zhang, the academy will first focus on opening seven research labs – in China (Beijing and Hangzhou), Singapore, Israel, Russia and the US (two).
The labs will concentrate on both foundational and disruptive technology research including data intelligence, internet of things (IoT), fintech, quantum computing and human-machine interaction. Those broad research areas will include topics such as machine learning, network security, visual computing and natural language processing (NLP).
It is also intended the Damo labs will collaborate with technology and education experts to explore breakthroughs aimed at improving the lives of technology end-users and boosting the efficiency and security of enterprises globally.
The academy is Alibaba's first major global initiative that will enable it to fulfill its commitment to serve 2 billion customers and create 100 million job opportunities in 20 years. Alibaba now has around 25,000 engineers and scientists on its staff.


text:
Chelsea express surprise interest in signing Burnley centre forward Ashley Barnes
Date: 22nd January 2018 at 12:04pm
Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Burnley striker Ashley Barnes, according to Sky Sports News.
The defending Premier League champions, who comfortably defeated Brighton and Hove Albion 4-0 at the Amex Stadium on Saturday, have been surprisingly linked with a move for the Clarets centre forward before the close of the January transfer window.
The 28-year-old, who is a former Austria Under-20 international, has scored four goals in 26 appearances in all competitions for Sean Dyche's side so far this season.
Burnley's Ashley Barnes in action with Arsenal's Nacho Monreal (left).
Barnes, who began his career at non-league outfit Paulton Rovers, has netted 18 times in 123 games overall for Burnley since arriving from Brighton back in January 2014.
The report suggests The Blues' search for a new target man at Stamford Bridge this month has widened and includes Barnes as a potential transfer target for manager Antonio Conte, whose Chelsea side sit third in the Premier League standings, 15 points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Ethiopia on map
Ethiopian Crisis: IOM condemns killing of aid workers in Tigray Region
On Friday, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) confirmed the death of three colleagues in Tigray Region last month.
byAgency Report
Boko Haram: UN calls for more support to tackle worsening humanitarian crisis
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expressed its deepest condolences to the Danish Refugee Council and the International Rescue Committee following the killing of four humanitarian workers in Tigray, Ethiopia.
"On behalf of IOM staff around the world, we are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of these humanitarians who bravely served some of the most vulnerable people – a loss which is deeply felt across the entire humanitarian community," said IOM's Director General, António Vitorino.
"The Organization condemns in the strongest possible terms the targeting of aid workers in conflict around the world. The protection of civilians and aid workers is imperative to ensuring dignified and secure humanitarian responses."
In solidarity with the entire humanitarian community, IOM also echoed the call of the United Nations that all actors urgently require unimpeded access to all those in life-saving need.
DRC's humanitarian workers are at the forefront of the humanitarian imperative to provide assistance to those in need, and these colleagues – who worked as guards in one of our project sites – were an integral part of DRC's work in Ethiopia, said a statement issued by the Council.
ALSO READ: Ethiopia says forces fired on UN team in embattled Tigray region
"Sadly, due to the lack of communications and ongoing insecurity in the region, it has not yet been possible to reach their families. We will continue all efforts to reach them and ensure that they receive support," it lamented.
"The safety and security of our humanitarian workers is a top priority for DRC, and we are doing all we can to keep them safe in the current challenging circumstances. Our staff serve critical functions to deliver support to vulnerable populations in need. DRC urges all parties to respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of both civilians and humanitarian aid workers. We extend our heartfelt condolences to all those affected," the statement added. (PANA/NAN)
Atiku to Buhari: Declare 'state of emergency' in states ravaged by insecurity
Buhari appoints interim administrator for NDDC
Uganda's Museveni declared winner of presidential election
NIPSS: We'll implement recommendations on population growth control -- Buhari


text:
Thu, May 19, 2016 • Events
AI by the Bay
Subutai Ahmad • VP Research
Thu, May 19, 2016 2:10 PM — 2:50 PM
Galvanize SOMA
San Francisco, CA USA
Detecting Anomalies in Streaming Data - Real-time Algorithms for Real-world applications
Subutai Ahmad
"Detecting Anomalies in Streaming Data – Real-time Algorithms for Real-world
applications"
There's no question that we are seeing an increase in the availability of
streaming, time-series data. Largely driven by the rise of the Internet of
Things (IoT) and connected real-time data sources, we now have an enormous
number of applications with sensors that produce important data that changes
over time. This data presents a challenge and opportunity for businesses across
every industry. How do they handle the onslaught of streaming data? How can they
exploit it to make decisions in real-time? One way is to detect, in real time,
when something unusual occurs. Early anomaly detection in streaming data has
significant implications, yet can be very difficult to execute. It requires
detectors to process data in real-time, not batches, and learn while
simultaneously making predictions. In this talk, we'll look at algorithms
designed for such data and analyze the components that lead to optimal
performance. We'll also discuss a new benchmark with a labeled, real-world data
set, designed to provide a controlled and repeatable environment of open-source
tools to test and measure anomaly detection algorithms on streaming data. How do
we score in a way that rewards algorithms that detect all anomalies as soon as
possible, triggers no false alarms, works with real-world time-series data
across a variety of domains, and automatically adapts to changing statistics?
AI By the Bay is a new conference applying scalable Machine Learning to batch
and streaming data. Text and speech channels such as social media, sensors and
other Internet of Things devices are generating more of these streams every day.
These streams can be understood semantically, correlated, and used for real-time
modeling of interactions crucially relevant to your business. We'll apply the
same scientific rigor and uncompromising software engineering presented at Text
By the Bay 2015 to the AI and IoT domains, and connect them through open-source
systems, applications, and community.


We can now confirm that Something for Kate will play at this years Splendour in the Grass Festival in Byron Bay. The band will play on the evening of Saturday 22nd July. This year is yet another stellar line-up including Sonic Youth, Brian Wilson, Yeah Yeah Yeah's, Death Cab for Cutie, The Zutons and many more. Watch the website for exact playing times.


text:
Cambodia bans export of human breast milk
National pride was indicated as a possible reason for the ban on the baby food product that was also sold as an adult supplement.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has permanently banned the export of human breast milk by a company headed by a former Mormon missionary that pioneered the business two years ago.
A letter issued Tuesday by the Cabinet to the Health Ministry said Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered a halt to U.S.-based Ambrosia Labs Ltd. buying and exporting the milk. The product is marketed as food for babies and as an supplement for adults with special needss, and sells for as much as $4 an ounce.
The letter indicated national pride was at stake. "Even though we are still poor, we are not so poor that we have to sell human breast milk," said the statement by Secretary of State Ngor Hongly.
The milk's export was recently suspended while the Health Ministry investigated the health effects on babies of nursing mothers selling their milk and whether the business violated a law on trafficking in human organs.
Central Maine Obituaries
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text:
/**
 * A helper method that allows you to pass the status code of a search and get back a friendly oject
 * @method
 * @namespace Mapifies
 * @id Mapifies.SearchCode
 * @param {Number} code The status code of the query
 * @return {Object} Returns a friendly object that contains the 'code', a 'success' boolean and a helpful 'message'.
 */
Mapifies.SearchCode = function ( code ) {
	switch (code) {
		case G_GEO_SUCCESS:
			return {'code':G_GEO_SUCCESS,'success':true,'message':'Success'};
		case G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS:
			return {'code' : G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS, 'success' : false, 'message' : 'No corresponding geographic location could be found for one of the specified addresses. This may be due to the fact that the address is relatively new, or it may be incorrect'};
			break;
		case G_GEO_SERVER_ERROR:
			return {'code' : G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS, 'success' : false, 'message' : 'A geocoding or directions request could not be successfully processed, yet the exact reason for the failure is not known.'};
			break;
		case G_GEO_MISSING_QUERY:
			return {'code' : G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS, 'success' : false, 'message' : 'The HTTP q parameter was either missing or had no value. For geocoder requests, this means that an empty address was specified as input. For directions requests, this means that no query was specified in the input.'};
			break;
		case G_GEO_BAD_KEY:
			return {'code' : G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS, 'success' : false, 'message' : 'The given key is either invalid or does not match the domain for which it was given.'};
			break;
		case G_GEO_BAD_REQUEST:
			return {'code' : G_GEO_UNKNOWN_ADDRESS, 'success' : false, 'message' : 'A directions request could not be successfully parsed.'};
			break;
		default:
			return {
				'code': null,
				'success': false,
				'message': 'An unknown error occurred.'
			};
		break;
	};
}

/**
 * An internal function to get the google travel mode constant
 * @method
 * @namespace Mapifies
 * @id Mapifies.GetTravelMode
 * @alias Mapifies.GetTravelMode
 * @param {String} travelMode The string of the travel mode.
 * @return {String} travelMode The Google constant for a travel mode.
 */
Mapifies.GetTravelMode = function ( travelMode ) {
	switch(travelMode) {
		case 'driving':
			travelMode = G_TRAVEL_MODE_DRIVING;
		break;
		case 'walking':
			travelMode = G_TRAVEL_MODE_WALKING;
		break;
	};
	return travelMode;
};

/**
 * A helper function to create a google GIcon
 * @method
 * @namespace Mapifies
 * @id Mapifies.createIcon
 * @alias Mapifies.createIcon
 * @param {Object} options The options to create the icon
 * @return {GIcon} A GIcon object
 */
Mapifies.createIcon = function (options) {
	/**
	 * Default options for createIcon
	 * @method
	 * @namespace Mapifies.createIcon
	 * @id Mapifies.createIcon.defaults
	 * @alias Mapifies.createIcon.defaults
	 * @param {String} iconImage The foreground image URL of the icon.
	 * @param {String} iconShadow The shadow image URL of the icon.
	 * @param {GSize} iconSize The pixel size of the foreground image of the icon.
	 * @param {GSize} iconShadowSize The pixel size of the shadow image.
	 * @param {GPoint} iconAnchor The pixel coordinate relative to the top left corner of the icon image at which this icon is anchored to the map.
	 * @param {GPoint} iconInfoWindowAnchor The pixel coordinate relative to the top left corner of the icon image at which the info window is anchored to this icon.
	 * @param {String} iconPrintImage The URL of the foreground icon image used for printed maps. It must be the same size as the main icon image given by image.
	 * @param {String} iconMozPrintImage The URL of the foreground icon image used for printed maps in Firefox/Mozilla. It must be the same size as the main icon image given by image.
	 * @param {String} iconPrintShadow The URL of the shadow image used for printed maps. It should be a GIF image since most browsers cannot print PNG images.
	 * @param {String} iconTransparent The URL of a virtually transparent version of the foreground icon image used to capture click events in Internet Explorer. This image should be a 24-bit PNG version of the main icon image with 1% opacity, but the same shape and size as the main icon.
	 * @return {Object} The options for createIcon
	 */
	function defaults() {
		return {
			'iconImage': undefined,
			'iconShadow': undefined,
			'iconSize': undefined,
			'iconShadowSize': undefined,
			'iconAnchor': undefined,
			'iconInfoWindowAnchor': undefined,
			'iconPrintImage': undefined,
			'iconMozPrintImage': undefined,
			'iconPrintShadow': undefined,
			'iconTransparent': undefined
		};
	};

	options = jQuery.extend(defaults(), options);
	var icon = new GIcon(G_DEFAULT_ICON);

	if(options.iconImage)
		icon.image = options.iconImage;
	if(options.iconShadow)
		icon.shadow = options.iconShadow;
	if(options.iconSize)
		icon.iconSize = options.iconSize;
	if(options.iconShadowSize)
		icon.shadowSize = options.iconShadowSize;
	if(options.iconAnchor)
		icon.iconAnchor = options.iconAnchor;
	if(options.iconInfoWindowAnchor)
		icon.infoWindowAnchor = options.iconInfoWindowAnchor;
	return icon;
};

/**
 * A helper function to get the map center as a GLatLng
 * @method
 * @namespace Mapifies
 * @id Mapifies.getCenter
 * @alias Mapifies.getCenter
 * @param {jQuery} element The element that contains the map.
 * @return {GLatLng} A object containing the center of the map
 */
Mapifies.getCenter = function ( element ) {
	var thisMap = Mapifies.MapObjects.Get(element);
	return thisMap.getCenter();
};

/**
 * A helper function to get the bounds of the map
 * @method
 * @namespace Mapifies
 * @id Mapifies.getBounds
 * @alias Mapifies.getBounds
 * @param {jQuery} element The element that contains the map.
 * @return {GSize} The bounds of the map
 */
Mapifies.getBounds = function (element){
	var thisMap = Mapifies.MapObjects.Get(element);
	return thisMap.getBounds();
};


text:
In 2009, Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards. [72] On 10 November 2009, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD Robsessed, a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity. His next film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was released on 30 June 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide. [73][74] The film received mixed reviews, Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised Pattinson's performance, stating that "(he) makes you forget the white makeup and weird eye contact lenses – to focus on a character torn between his love for the human Bella (Stewart) and the knowledge that she'll have to let go of her beating heart if she's to stay with him forever. "[75] Will Lawrence of Empire Online praised the performance of three leads of the film by saying that "All three corners of the love triangle look sharper than before: the most accomplished actor, Stewart, still lip-biting, Lautner still pec-flexing, and Pattinson not fully shaking that fiery-eyed pout. But all have grown into their roles, cutting loose in a film that (thankfully) sidesteps the melodrama of its prequels. "[76]
Robert Pattinson was born on May 13, 1986 as the third child and only son of Richard and Clare Pattinson. His foray into showbiz began in local London theater productions and modeling. Shortly thereafter, he landed his first film job, acting in the 2004 movie "Vanity Fair" with future "Water For Elephants" co-star Reese Witherspoon. His scenes, however, were cut from the theatrical release.
Bio: Robert Pattinson (born Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson in London, England on May 13, 1986) is a British actor and musician. Pattinson is best-known for playing Edward Cullen in the popular Twilight films. He has also been the lead in films like Remember Me , Water For Elephants, and Cosmopolis . He first gained international fame playing Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . He is one of the richest young actors in the world, and in 2010 was named one of TIME 's 100 Most Influential People in The World.
Jennifer Winget In Kahin To Hoga
Pokemon Ponyta Evolution
Generic Avatar Image
Zoozoo Images For Presentation
Ugliest Black Man Alive
Colorful Sea Plants
White Arabian Horse Rearing


The pattern laid down by the first fifty lessons becomes clearer with each day of review. The writing in these ten review lessons is among the clearest and most straightforward in the entire Course.
Of course, I am determined to see things differently; "disease, disaster and death" (1:2) are not what I want to see. That I see them proves I do not understand God, and I do not know who I am. The world I see pictures attack thoughts, "attack on everything by everything" (2:3). In this world everything lives by consuming the life of something else; whether it is the life of an animal or a plant makes little difference. Even the lowest life form lives from the energy given off by the destruction of the Sun. What gives rise to this picture? My own attack thoughts.
"My loving thoughts will save me from this perception of the world" (2:6). Changing my mind from attack to love will change the world I see. "It is this I choose to see, in place of what I look on now" (3:5).
And no wonder I am confused about my best interests! I don't know who I am; how could I know what I need? I am willing to accept the guidance of One Who knows me; I understand that I can't perceive my best interests by myself. I use everything to sustain my illusions about myself (4:4). What I need is a way to let the world teach me the truth about myself. Seeing it as I see it, the world is frightening; I want to know the truth.
The transformation hinges on my willingness to recognize that I do not like what I see, and since what I see comes from what I think, I want to change what I think. I do not know my best interests, and the purpose I have assigned to everything has been twisted to support my ego identity (5:2), so now I am willing to let these ideas go. Confused as I am, how could I teach myself what I do not know? I need a reliable, trustworthy Teacher, and in the Holy Spirit I have that Teacher.
My only job is to make myself teachable by letting go of my false thinking, letting go of my attack thoughts. I think they sustain me but they are destroying me. I resolve today to choose differently, and to open my mind to a way of thinking I cannot, as yet, begin to understand. I open my heart to love.


Dr. Mark Adkins, MD, practices Radiology in Rochester, MN at Mayo Medical School. Dr. Adkins received his medical degree from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Medical School.
DrScore strives to maintain current information on US doctors. Please let us know about any inaccuracies with our profile of Dr. Mark Adkins. Some information about Dr. Mark Adkins provided by Vitals.com.
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Septic tank care and what homeowners should be aware of.
We recall that the septic tank has to have cleanings, also known as pump outs with regularity.
When I was a child, my friends and I used to play on the large sewer pipes that were being installed in various places around town . Those were the same white pipes that we see today that cause aggravation when the traffic must be diverted or alternately halted while being installed. The City does these new installations, repairs, renovations, and even cleanings for those pipes at various intervals to maintain the sewer system for the city.
Similarly, those of us with septic systems must go through some best practices techniques to keep up with our system. Some of these techniques are not exclusive to septic systems, but they are necessary conditions in order to maintain proper septic tank care.
A practice for all is to have good water conservation habits. Water conservation will reduce the wastewater amount that must be treated and will put less stress on the septic system. An easy beginning for conserving water is to detect and repair any leaks in plumbing, faucets, or toilets. Also, installing water efficient plumbing, fixtures, and fittings is helpful.
If you put grease, motor oil, cooking oils, or fats down your sink, STOP! Any added grease or petroleum products to your plumbing will cause clogs by sticking to the inside of pipes. Eventually the build up in the pipes will cause backups, overflows, or affect the drain field.
Don't allow harsh chemicals, sudsy detergents, non-biodegradable bleach and cleaners, or antibiotic medicines to be poured into the plumbing. These items interfere with the breakdown of the solids in the tank.
Eliminate or minimize garbage disposal usage. The introduction of matter that is not broken down in the septic tank causes the need for additional pump outs. The inclusion of egg shells, animal bones, coffee grounds, fruit peels and rinds, and home brewery waste and other garbage will diminish the efficiency of the system.
Do what you can to encourage bacterial growth in your septic tank system. The purpose of bacteria is to devour the septic tank solids. The excretory products of the bacteria are liquids and gases. Then the waste of the bacteria, remaining solids, and undigested sludge are to subsequently be pumped out. Keep in mind, Lapin Services offers a product to aid in bacterial growth for your tank.
All of these suggestions will assist you with proper system function. Doing the right stuff, together with the excellent technicians and staff at Lapin Services, will provide much needed tender loving septic tank care.


text:
Q: How to detach Postman console into a separate window? I'm using Postman 9.1.3 in Windows 10. I had Postman console as a separate window. Then after a power outage and sudden PC reset it is now only available as a pane within the main window, and I can't seem to find a setting to detach it.

A: On Windows 10 and Ubuntu 20.04 => Ctrl + Alt + C

Tested and checked now on Postman for Linux 8.12.5 and Postman for Windows 9.1.3

A: According to Postman folks, view console in separate window is only available when signed in, since 9.1

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Where can I buy it? A'kin's body washes come in two sizes - 225ml (RRP $13.50 AU) and 500ml (RRP $24.95 AU). Go to the Purist Company's website to find your nearest stockist.
A little over 2 years ago, I reviewed A'kin's Orange Blossom body wash for Perfume Critic. I liked it, and ended up giving it a 9 out of 10. PC's editor Marlen asked me whether I had tried the Jasmine body wash by the same brand, and I had not. He highly recommended it!
A'kin's Aromatherapy Jasmine Body Wash is a gentle cleanser and is suitable for all skin types - which is good for me & my sensitive skin. It's made of natural ingredients - another plus - and because of this, you don't get a super bubbly lather like regular store-bought supermarket shower gels. It does produce a little bit of lather, and you can get some bubbles - but don't expect a bathroom full of them!
And what about the scent? Glad you asked... GORGEOUS!! It's a very real jasmine aroma, not synthetic at all. Honestly, it smells like you're standing next to a jasmine bush in full bloom...just not as overpowering. I'm not going to describe it any more than that - if you know what a jasmine bush smells like, you'll get my point.
If you haven't already guessed, I'm a fan of this product. I mustn't be the only one - it was voted 'Top Body Wash' at the Nature & Health Natural Beauty Awards in 2009! If that isn't enough of a recommendation for you to try it, I don't know what is!
Disclaimer: I purchased this product with my own money. All opinions are my own.


text:
Groty Elefanty (hindi: घारापुरी गुफाएँ, ang. Elephanta Caves) – zespół siedmiu wykutych w skale świątyń na indyjskiej wyspie Elefancie na Morzu Arabskim.

Głównym obiektem kultu jest wykuty w skale, niemal pełnoplastyczny wizerunek Śiwy Mahesiamurti o wysokości niemal 6 metrów. Jest to popiersie o trzech twarzach, wyrażających trzy aspekty boga: z lewej strony wąsaty i groźny to Śiwa Bhajrawa, pośrodku Wielki Bóg – Mahadewa, z prawej żeńska, miłosierna postać Śiwy – Uma. Główna świątynia ma kształt długiej na około 30 metrów sali, której główne elementy konstrukcyjne tworzą kształt mandali. W świątyniach Elefanty liczne są również emblematyczne wizerunki Siwy jako lingamu. Innym znanym przedstawieniem są zaślubiny Śiwy i Parwati w świątyni Ganesia gumpha. Świątynia ta służyła Portugalczykom za magazyn prochu, i na skutek jego wybuchu została poważnie uszkodzona.

Zespół Grot Elefanty od 1987 znajduje się na liście światowego dziedzictwa UNESCO.

Przypisy

Rzeźba
Architektura Indii
Obiekty z listy dziedzictwa UNESCO w Indiach
Święte miejsca hinduizmu
Zabytki Indii

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Kenya Nyeri Tekangu Karogoto AA Ecotact
Pink grapefruit, cranberry, black currant, sugary
Bag Weight: 133.80 lbs
1000 coffee producers organized around the Karogoto Factory
SL-28, SL-34, Ruiru-11, Batian
Nyeri County, Kenya
October – January
1708 masl
Fully washed and dried on raised beds
Mt. Kenya, at the helm of Kenya's Central Province, is the second tallest peak on the continent of Africa and a commanding natural presence. The mountain itself is a single point inside a vast and surreal thicket of ascending national forest and active game protection communities. The central counties of Kenya extend from the center of the national park, like six irregular pie slices, with their points meeting at the peak of the mountain. It is along the lower edge of these forests where, in wet, high elevation communities with mineral-rich soil (Mt. Kenya is a stratovolcano) many believe the best coffees in Kenya, often the world, are crafted. Nyeri county is perhaps the most well-known of these central counties. Kenya's coffee is dominated by a cooperative system of production, whose members vote on representation, marketing and milling contracts for their coffee, as well as profit allocation. It's not perfect, and in Kenya in particular the number of individual margins sliced off an export price before payment reaches the actual farms is many, leaving only a small percentage to support coffee growth itself, and most often this arrives many months after harvest. However, Kenya coffees are sold competitively by quality, which means well-endowed counties like Nyeri achieve very high average prices year after year, and the smallholders here with a few hundred trees at the most are widely considered to be middle class. The Karogoto processing station, or "factory", as they're known in Kenya, is one of four sites managed by the Tekangu Farmers' Cooperative Society (FCS), an umbrella organization that centralizes management and marketing relationships for their member factories. Karogoto itself has 1000 contributing farmer members. Kenya is of course known for some of the most meticulous at-scale processing that can be found anywhere in the world. Bright white parchment nearly perfectly sorted by density and bulk conditioned at high elevations is the norm, and a matter of pride, even for generations of Kenyan processing managers who prefer drinking Kenya's tea (abundantly farmed in nearby Muranga and Kiambu counties) to its coffee. Ample ground and river water supply in Nyeri has historically allowed factories to wash, and wash, and soak, and wash their coffees again entirely with fresh, cold river water. Conservation is creeping into the discussion in certain places--understandably in the drier areas where water, due to climate change, cannot be as taken for granted—but for the most part Kenya continues to thoroughly wash and soak its coffees according to tradition. At Karogoto, cherry is hand-sorted for ripeness and floated for density before accepted and depulped each day. After the coffee is washed, it's soaked in fresh water to stop sugar fermentation and clean the parchment. The coffee is dried over a period of two weeks on raised beds, which are carefully constructed to ensure proper air circulation and temperature control for optimal drying. Coffees are most definitely citrus-forward and elegant with hibiscus-like volatiles and a mouth-watering, sweet-tart minerality. Tekangu FCS includes the Ngunguru, Wakamata and Tegu factories along with Karogoto. The Society's name is a port-manteau of the original three factories: Te-ka-ngu. Tekangu recently added Wakamata to the society, whose coffee we are also carrying. Tekangu was founded in 1998 and retains its main office at the Kayu factory, 17 kilometers from Kangema town, in the Mathioya district of Muranga County.
Kenya Red Cherry Project: So Much More than Ripe Fruit
Coffee Auctions Part 2: The Modern Coffee Auction