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Strengthening capacity in Latin America to meet pesticide export requirements
Slideshow or image
This project improved capacity of selected Latin American countries to meet pesticide-related export requirements based on international (Codex) standards through extensive capacity building in both the field and laboratory.
A result story on the project is available here. A news release by IR-4/Rutgers University is available here.
This project was recently evaluated by an independent evaluation team. Find out more about the evaluation and its findings here.
Pesticide residue data needed to establish Codex Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) are almost exclusively generated in industrialized countries. Data are very rarely generated in developing countries and, therefore, few Codex MRLs are established for minor-use crops (crops of low pesticide usage on a global scale, often termed "specialty crops" or minor crops), such as tropical fruits grown in developing countries. Where MRLs do not exist, exporters often face challenges to reach export markets. If MRLs do not reflect the actual pesticide use patterns where the crops are grown, then pests will not be controlled effectively. This project helped selected Latin American countries to generate residue data in order to facilitate the registration of new crop protection tools, inform the establishment of MRLs, and boost international trade. The focus was on low-risk pesticides and tropical fruits. National authorities in the participating countries collaborated with each other, the private sector and international partners to conduct coordinated and complementary pesticide residue studies. Skills and experiences gained enabled Latin American countries to expand and prioritize their residue programmes, to address proactively emerging pest control needs, and to comply with international food safety standards.
This project was part of a global MRL initiative to enhance market access for specialty crops, with complementary STDF-funded projects in Africa and ASEAN Member States. Together these three projects stimulated the creation of the Global Minor Use Foundation, which continues to build on the results of these projects. The work of the three regional STDF projects was recognized in a Joint Statement at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (Buenos Aires, December 2017) by Ministers from 17 countries.
Improved technical expertise in Latin American countries to generate, review and interpret pesticide residue data
The project established training programmes and developed capacity to conduct supervised residue trials. The programme focused on training in both the field and laboratory based on the principles of Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs).
Study teams (laboratory, field trial experts, others) improved their ability to conduct new residue studies as part of national pesticide registration processes, and generate quality data to support the establishment of MRLs based on international guidelines/procedures. Four pesticide residues studies were carried out: pyriproxyfen/pineapple (Panama), pyriproxyfen/banana (Costa Rica and Guatemala), spinetoram/avocado (Colombia) and spinetoram/banana (Bolivia). Based on these studies, data packages for new Codex standards were submitted to JMPR in 2016 and 2017. From this project, at least one new Codex MRL will be established for avocado, banana and pineapple. If crop grouping can be applied to this data, in combination with data generated under the ASEAN project, up to 84 new Codex MRLs may be established that would also cover other tropical fruits.
Increased participation of Latin American countries in setting Codex MRLs
A major component of this project was to harmonize MRLs in accordance with international standards to improve market access of agricultural products. This was achieved through a process facilitating the establishment and implementation of Codex MRLs for minor-use crops. Four residue studies were completed that could support new Codex MRLs for the commodities selected. The studies used two very low-risk test pesticides (pyriproxyfen and spinetoram), focused on avocado, banana, and pineapple. Upon completion of the studies, a part of the residue data generated was packaged and submitted to Codex to support the establishment of MRLs. Participating countries received guidance on how to nominate their pesticide/commodity to be placed on the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) review schedule, how to prepare and package the data submission, and how to best coordinate efforts with other countries.
The project's work also contributed to inform JMPR's work on new issues, such as incorporating data into the new crop grouping system using representative crops; combining data sets from multiple countries in a joint submission; creating guidance on procedures for sampling large fruits when storage space is limited.
More efficient use of available resources through enhanced collaboration
The project established a new collaborative approach for pesticide data generation and exchange within Latin American countries, based on public-private partnerships and regional cooperation. Collaboration was facilitated among national authorities and the private sector (including multinational pesticide manufactures, local agricultural commodity export organizations, industry associations and farmers). Global pesticide companies (Dow and Sumitomo) provided product samples, analytical standards, analytical methods, regulatory input, and support on pesticide registration and labelling, etc. This commitment included in-kind contributions to conduct the efficacy trials and determine appropriate good agricultural practices (GAPs).
The project's partnership approach resulted in more efficient use of resources and avoided duplication of efforts, A regional minor-use expert group, comprising public and private sector partners, met regularly to discuss and develop solutions on regional minor-use issues, and identify and prioritize pesticide and MRL needs. This prioritization enabled countries to develop strategies to maximize outputs by dividing work, resources and responsibilities to generate necessary residue data. The cost-saving of collaborative versus individual generation of data is estimated to be over 90%.
Increased environmental and consumer safety through upgraded crop protection tools
While second and third generation pesticides are being phased out by developed countries due to human and environmental risks, farmers in developing countries often continue to use these chemicals because of the lack of international MRLs based on newer, safer (less toxic) pesticides for their specialty crops. Due to this situation, farmers are limited in their crop protection tools (continued use of more toxic chemicals) resulting in economic loss (restricted market access), lower crop productivity (increased rate of pest resistance), and negative impacts on environmental, worker, and consumer safety. This project helped to resolve these issues, with additional benefits for agricultural productivity, environmental safety and consumer safety.
Enhanced market access for specialty crops
Developing countries frequently encounter market access obstacles resulting from insufficient international trade standards for minor-use crops. By developing a process to facilitate the establishment of Codex MRLs for minor-use crops of economic importance to Latin American countries, this project enhanced the ability of producers in developing countries to access important export markets. The project will deliver its full benefits once the new Codex MRLs are established.
Establishment of the Global Minor Use Foundation (GMUF)
A major spin-off result of this project was the establishment of the Global Minor Use Foundation, which provides a coordination mechanism to receive and prioritize pest control needs at a global level, and to coordinate data generation projects amongst multiple countries to establish national and Codex MRLs.
Scale-up partnerships developed through the project
Partnerships and regional cooperation were crucial to the project's success and sustainability. Effective collaboration between government regulatory authorities, multinational pesticide manufacturers, farmers, international partners, and IICA, the IR-4 Program and other organizations involved in project implementation resulted in coordinated and complementary pesticide residue studies, generating data to support the registration of new, improved low-risk pesticides for farmers in the beneficiary countries. Opportunities exist to further scale-up these partnerships, involving other countries in the region.
Continue to strengthen participation in Codex
The project demonstrated the importance of building national capacity to contribute effectively to Codex's standard-setting process. Through field trials and pesticide residue studies, officials from the beneficiary countries learned in practical ways about how to engage directly and effectively in the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues. National experts and governments from the beneficiary countries understand the value of the project to improve participation in Codex. Options to exist to build on these experiences to enable other countries to benefit and improve their participation in Codex.
Selection of pesticide-crop combinations
Before selecting pesticide-crop combinations for field trials, dialogue among all the concerned stakeholders, including pesticide manufacturers, pesticide registration authorities and the authorities involved, is important to ensure that expressions of interest result in firm commitment to participate. Commitment and trust, combined with competent personnel and adequate equipment, is necessary to ensure that the assigned residue trials are carried out correctly and on time.
Study team formation
Careful thought needs to go into the formation of the national study teams for pesticide trials. The composition of national study teams must reflect each country's needs and circumstances. Based on the project's experiences, it is advisable to select study team members from research institutions that can dedicate sufficient staff time to the project, as well as an in-country Study Director to manage the team and liaise with other project stakeholders. All the stakeholders involved should understand and support the long-term goals of the project.
Budget for site travel
A significant lesson learned from a budgetary perspective was the high cost of travel to conduct research. The initial budget was based on experiences from the United States, where experimental farms are located near research institutions, requiring limited long-distance travel. Under this project, most study sites were located far from the researchers, and in some cases required air travel and lodging for field investigators. Future similar projects should build larger budgets for site travel and identify multiple alternative sites to ensure trials can be conducted smoothly.
Further work on pesticide registration
Building on the project's results, the beneficiaries recommended the following areas for future work: harmonization of registration processes and mutual acceptance of efficacy and residue data within Latin American, simultaneous pesticide registration in multiple countries, and establishment of a regional Technical Working Group to tackle common challenges related to pesticide registration and data sharing.
STDF/PG/436 - Project Application Form (Oct-13) 798.79 KB
STDF/PG/436 - Poster 980.06 KB
STDF/PG/436 - Final Project Report 665.38 KB
STDF/PG/337_359_436 - External Evaluation (Apr-19).pdf 2.11 MB
STDF/PG/436
Project Value (US$)
STDF Contribution (US$)
Implementing Entities
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Governments of Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Panama
IR-4 Project, Cornell University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Multinational pesticide manufacturers (Dow and Sumitomo)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


At the family home of Yoganadaji in Kolkata, Sarita Ghosh continues to maintain his attic room as a shrine and is a gracious host to devotees who wish to visit and meditate in Master's private sanctuary. We had the great blessing of sitting in his spiritually charged space for some time, bathed in feelings of his divine presence. After our meditation Sarita prepared tea and shared some stories of Yogananda's life.


Contemporary, COOL and located right next to Mamitas Beach! Playa Village is a contemporary designed building that is located right between the World Famous Caribbean Beaches and all of the restaurant and shopping action of 5th Avenue (La Quinta). Mamitas Village features the largest floor plan, 2 bedroom units available in Playa del Carmen. Condos are extremely well outfitted and are filled with marble and granite throughout.


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Getting Into A Guild (Part 2)
September 30, 2009 Syp9 Comments
This is a continuation of a poll I posted last week, asking readers for their most common method of finding guilds. Here's a breakdown of the results, along with my personal experiences in these areas:
29% Research or Post on Forums
This was by far the largest percentage, which surprised me just a bit — I would've thought more people hunt around for a guild in game, but I guess not. For some games I have certainly prowled the forums, especially prior to launch (what else is there to do?), and agonized over which guild to apply for.
Note to guild leaders: I admire and respect a guild that does have an interview/application process, but there's a limit to how insanely tedious that process can become. When you're forcing me to jump through a week-long series of hoops to join your little club, chances are I'm going to head over to a competitor guild and enjoy it more.
22% Go To Whatever Guild Their Friends Are In
Nowadays, this is my most common way to select a guild, via friend networking. It's sometimes frustrating when you have good friends in more than one guild (or worse, in more than one guild across different factions or servers), forcing you to choose.
15% Are In A Multi-MMO Guild
This certainly makes things easier, for sure. For instance, I was briefly a member of The Old Timers Guild (OTG), who would create a chapter in most major MMOs whenever they launched. There's little to no stress about finding a guild when you have one guaranteed pretty much wherever you go. The only problem is finding enough members to support all of those games.
14% Sign Up From In-Game Guild Recruit Messages
Even though these are often frowned upon by more "serious" guilds and people who hate guild recruit spam, it certainly does offer ease of access. I truly wish more MMOs would include features to let guilds post recruitment messages on some sort of in-game bulletin board, to help cut down on the spam but assist players in finding a guild home without resorting to forum hunting.
12% Go Solo, No Guild
Fair enough. I see a lot of guildless players, enough to know that a guild isn't a necessity for all.
6% Seek A Guild Through General Game Chat
I used to do this in games like WoW, because an interesting and well-posted headhunter notice would sometimes get the eye of the guilds I was specifically seeking. I'd usually get laughed at when I'd be requesting the attention of guilds who were "mature, friendly, helpful and have a quirky sense of humor", but I'd also get private tells from folks saying "Yup, that's us, and you need to belong as part of our guild!"
2% Start Their Own Guild
Whew… I started a guild once, and it was work, work, work. Then again, having a great vision for a guild, coupled with a handful of trustworthy officers, could culminate in a terrific group of players — netting you satisfaction unlike anything else in the game.
Living the Apocalypse
September 30, 2009 Syp18 Comments
One of the reasons that I've gotten so into Fallen Earth is that it's tapped into a longstanding fascination of mine: post-apocalyptic settings. I dig movies like Doomsday, Mad Max and (naturally) Solarbabies, watch TV shows like Jericho, and I'm an avid reader of "quiet Earth" books like The Road, The Stand, The Dark Tower. Zombies, plagues, weather abnormalities or whatever — just give me a contemporary setting where 99% of the population has gone bye-bye and the remainder are carving out a new life in the wasteland, and I'm hooked.
Setting makes a HUGE difference for me in gameplay. For instance, while I enjoy fantasy titles, I have never really fantasized about being in those worlds. There's no part of WoW or LOTRO or Guild Wars that has made me feel as if I was finally living out my favorite dream. On the other hand, when it comes to science fiction or superheroes or post-apocalyptic madness, well, those have a long-standing contract with my imagination.
I've often made fun of people who can't think past generic fantasy names like Drizz't or Legolas or Gandalf for their character, but I understand why they do it. For them, they're finally able to live out what they've always imagined, and that's the experience they want. It might be what everyone else is doing, but it makes them happy — so be it.
My journeys across the wasteland of Arizona are enriched by my imagination and fond memories of the genre. At times, I look at the crumbling buildings, the rusted cars, and the downtrodden inhabitants and feel a tinge of despair, for a world that has gone away and left behind nightmares, hard work and uncertainty. Last night I finished up a series of quests in Odenville and was about to leave for good, when the quest giver told me that I was actually talented at commerce and should stick around, make a home in the town. For some reason, that connected with me — that I was going to have to say "no" and resume a nomadic trek across the desert, whereas if I was actually in that character's shoes, I might feel the pull to really set up shop and carve out a comfortable existence.
The thing that does keep me going is that I really want to help these NPCs. I want to make this fallen earth a better place, even if it's subject to MMO conventions where my actions make no difference whatsoever when the quest is done. When I came across a small camp of people who had been run out of their town by mutants, I went in with guns blazing just to recover a wedding ring of a woman whose husband died protecting her. I am the vengeance of the apocalypse, the savior of petty wrongs, and a force to be reckoned with.
Also, I just like killing mutants. Who doesn't?
The Barrens Chat Hypothesis
This states that the first few weeks following any MMO's launch will see a large increase of trolls, troublemakers and flamers populate general/regional/zone chat with inflammatory arguments that typically revolve around sex, religion, politics, Chuck Norris and a 3rd grader's understanding of how the world actually works.
Then things get better as their stupidity kills their brains and they lose the ability to type.
LOTRO: Siege of Sherwood Forest
Wow, it's been a while since we've talked about LOTRO in any way, shape or form on this blog, huh? That doesn't mean I dislike the title — on the contrary, it's one of the more solid and interesting fantasy MMOs out there. I just hit a point where I didn't want to progress any further, and with the ongoing expansions, I felt hopelessly behind.
But if LOTRO is your bag, you're probably happy today to hear that the new mini-expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, now has a launch date: December 1. This is obviously the result of last year's statement by Turbine's Jeffrey Steefel, who promised a new expansion every year from now on. This seems to be cheating that promise a bit — a much smaller expansion, sort of a glorified chunky content update — but at least they did get something out (or hopefully will) by the end of 2009.
Also note that Turbine is bringing back their $199 lifetime subscription, which is still a good deal if you're into the game, as LOTRO undoubtedly has many years of life left to it. If they had done this earlier this year, I probably would've bit, so I guess I've saved myself a couple hundred bucks. They've also added a couple of really sweet incentives:
Any current or former player who renews or upgrades their subscription to any multi-month plan by October 31st gets the Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion for FREE!
All players can pre-order the new LOTRO Adventurer's Pack which contains 2 character slots and one shared storage slot that allows players to share items with all of their characters on the same server for $19.99 and get the Harbinger's Cloak which provides 8% speed boost and the Dusky Nimblefoot Goat mount for FREE!
Starting today, existing Lifetime Members who pre-order the LOTRO Adventurer's Pack get the Siege of Mirkwood digital expansion plus two in-game items (Harbinger's Cloak which provides an 8% speed boost and a new mount) for FREE!
I can't argue with their promotions — Turbine's always putting out excellent deals for both LOTRO and DDO!
TOR Opens The Door For Beta Signups
I'm sure nobody else will post this today, so I guess it's up to me: Star Wars TOR has officially announced beta signups, and you can go here to throw your name into the hat to be a tester. There's also a vague FAQ thing that tells you more or less what you could've figured out without it.
So am I going to sign up? Hm. I'm actually leaning toward "no". I mean, it's all exciting and whatnot to get into any beta, but that comes with a lot of baggage as well — having your opinion of the game diminished by beta bugs, "spoiling" the launch experience, and spending time with characters you won't get to keep. Then again, curiosity is near-irresistable!
Poll: What MMO Genre Are You Most Attracted To?
Because sometimes you don't want to talk a lot about one thing, so you spread the linguistic love around.
Apparently Funcom is laying off 20% of its workforce, a move that will undoubtably (further) shake confidence in the MMO developer. What's worse is that this will bump The Secret World's development back a few month at least. Past the tragedy of folks losing their jobs, this is disappointing because it seemed as though Funcom was starting to pick up a lot of good press and word of mouth concerning TSW, but a story like this will only infuse past rancor toward the developer (i.e. "Failcom", etc.). Here's hoping TSW will rise to the surface nonetheless — it really looks like an intruiging title.
If I was still playing KOTOR 2 (which I am not — my interest tapered off, and now I'm waiting for Dragon Age for my next single-player RPG fix), then the news of the beta of the Restored Content Project would be of interest to me. KOTOR 2 had to rush to ship by a certain date, which meant that the developer had to cut a lot of content from the end of the game, giving it an abrupt tone. Players have since taken this cut (but available) content and been working at restoring it back into the full version. Good for them.
Speaking of The Old Republic, apparently BioWare slipped (or did they?) and briefly posted a notice concerning testing signups for TOR. It was quickly taken down, but there's like a million hawks watching that game, so the news (and screenshots) are out, and the only question is if (a) this is real, (b) if it'll be officially announced this week, and (c) how many catfights will ensue over getting into this beta? This is notable because it will represent a milestone on the way to launch, and perhaps indicate that launch is closer than we suspected (for my money, I'm voting fall 2010).
And finally, because Sony doesn't just want to keep us guessing with EverQuest 3, it's now out that they're possibly/probably working on Planetside 2. I never played the game, and considering its small population, a lot of people didn't, but there's a rabid group of fans that continue to tout this game to this day, so I bet they're in a tizzy over this. I just have to wonder what SOE hopes to gain from developing a sequel to a low-pop MMO, if they indeed are. I would imagine that a complete overhaul of the game, a la Ultima Online's Kingdom Reborn, would be more appropriate and useful.
Planetside, Star Wars: The Old Republic, The Secret World


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Thick heavy man's man bracelet.
Bought as a gift for my husband and he loves it. I was surprised by the weight of item as well as the quality.


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Wacław "Wacek" Kisielewski (12 February 1943 – 12 July 1986) was a Polish pianist. He was the son of Polish politician Stefan Kisielewski, and one half of the pianist duo Marek i Wacek (Marek and Wacek) with Marek Tomaszewski. He made arrangements of classical and modern music, and played concerts in many countries worldwide.

Waclaw died in a car accident in Wyszków and was buried in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw on 17 July 1986. The funeral mass in the Church of Saint Cross Piaseczno was attended by a huge crowd. The representatives of EMI and Yamaha were present, among others.

Discography

With Marek and Wacek

Long plays
 1966 – Ballade pour deux pianos Barclay
 1968
 Kisielewski-Tomaszewski: Play Favourite Melodies (Pronit; CD re-release by Muza in 1994)
 Marek & Vacek: Piano Firework (Polydor)
 Marek & Vacek: Romanische Figel (Polydor)
 Marek & Vacek: Trumerei (Polydor)
 1969
 Marek & Vacek: Piano Fascination (Polydor)
 Marek & Vacek: Piano Firework, Vol. 1-2 (Polydor)
 1970 – Marek & Vacek: Classical and Pop Pianos (Polydor)
 1971 – Marek & Vacek: Stargala, Vol. 1-2 (Polydor)
 1972 – Marek & Vacek: Concert Hits (Electrola)
 1973
 Marek & Vacek: Concert Hits II (Electrola)
 Marek & Vacek: Concert Hits, Vol. 1-2 (Electrola)
 1974 – Marek und Vacek Live: Vol. 1-2 (Electrola)
 1976 – Marek und Vacek: Spectrum (Electrola)
 1977 – Marek & Vacek: Wiener Walzer (Electrola)
 1978 – Marek und Vacek: Das Programm (Polydor)
 1979
 Marek und Vacek, Vol. 1-2 (Polydor)
 Marek & Vacek Live (Wifon)
 1980 – Marek & Vacek: Mondscheinsonate (Polydor)
 1981
 Marek i wacek grają utwory romantyczne (Veriton)
 Marek und Vacek in Gold (Polydor)
 1982 – Die Marek und Vacek Story 1962-1982, Vol. 1-2 (Prisma)
 1984
 Marek und Vacek '84 (Intercord)
 Marek i Vacek (Wifon)
 Marek und Vacek: Welterfolge (Intercord)
 Marek and Vacek: Again (Pronit)
 1987 – Marek & Vacek: The Last Concert, Vol. 1-2 (Pronit)

Compact discs
 1994 – Kisielewski - Tomaszewski: Play Favourite Melodies (Muza)
 2001 – Niepokonani: Marek & Vacek Live (Polskie Radio/Universal Music Polska)
 2002 – Prząśniczka (Pomaton/EMI)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

1943 births
1986 deaths
Musicians from Warsaw
Polish classical pianists
Male classical pianists
Polish jazz pianists
Burials at Powązki Cemetery
Road incident deaths in Poland
20th-century classical pianists
20th-century male musicians

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Brava, a Netherlands-based pan-European cultural television channel, today announced that is has acquired Flemish television channel Cultuur 7. The transaction includes all of Cultuur 7's content and existing contracts with TV distributors.
With the acquisition of Cultuur 7, Brava – a subsidiary of Stingray Digital Group Inc. – is now positioned in Belgium as a provider of quality classical music content with particular attention given to local content. Brava's acquisition of Cultuur 7 ensures the preservation of an important Flemish cultural heritage.
Cultuur 7 is available in Flanders and Brussels through Telenet and Proximus. The channel has established partnerships with several prestigious ensembles and organisations such as the Brussels Philharmonic, the Davidsfonds, deFilharmonie, deBuren, the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, the National Opera of Belgium, and Cultuurnet Vlaanderen.
Cultuur 7 was launched in 2006 as the only Flemish culture channel, initially under the name EXQI Culture. The name was changed to Cultuur 7 in October 2013. The channel broadcasts on Telenet channel 50 (Flanders) and channel 135 (Brussels), as well as on Proximus channel 110 (Music & Culture package). Cultuur 7 offers classical music concerts, operas, and other forms of cultural content in four-hour blocks, 24 hours a day. The channel's mission is to provide accessible, high-quality cultural content, including top national and international productions, to new and established audiences. Cultuur 7 aims to secure partnerships with several players in the cultural milieu with whom to promote culture. For more information about the channel, please visit cultuur7.be.
24 hours a day, Brava broadcasts the finest operas, operettas, ballets, and concerts in Full Native HD and Dolby Digital Audio. All productions were recorded at the world's most prestigious opera houses and theatres, including London's Royal Opera House, Madrid's Teatro Real, and Milan's La Scala. Brava is available 24 hours a day, offering its viewers a front-row seat in top productions that feature the world's greatest musicians and actors. Brava is available in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Turkey, Portugal, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Monaco, Lebanon and a number of African countries. For more information, please visit bravahd.com.
Stingray (TSX: RAY.A; RAY.B) is a leading business-to-business multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider operating on a global scale, reaching an estimated 135 million Pay-TV subscribers (or households) in 127 countries. Geared towards individuals and businesses alike, Stingray's products include the following leading digital music and video services: Stingray Music, Stingray Concerts, Stingray Brava, Stingray Djazz, Stingray Music Videos, Stingray Lite TV, Stingray Ambiance and Stingray Karaoke. Stingray also offers various business solutions, including music and digital display-based solutions through its Stingray Business division. Stingray is headquartered in Montreal and currently has over 235 employees across the world, including in Toronto, Miami, London, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. Stingray was recognized in 2013 and 2014 as a finalist in the Top 50 of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50TM list, and figures amongst PROFIT magazine's fastest-growing Canadian companies. For more information, please visit www.stingray.com.


Alanna Heiss was born in 1943 in Louisville, and lives in New York. In 1976 she founded the P.S.1. Contemporary Art Center in New York, which she ran until 2008. Heiss is the founder and Director of the Clocktower Gallery and its Web radio station, ARTonAIR.org, New York. She has received numerous honors including the Mayor's Award for Contributions to the Artistic Viability of New York City and the CCS Bard Award for Curatorial Excellence.


While you may not think about it all the time, there's a lot more to literature than storylines and content. In literature, style is the way in which an author writes and/or tells a story. It's what sets one author apart from another and creates the "voice" that audiences hear when they read. There are many important pieces that together make up a writer's style; like tone, word choice, grammar, language, descriptive technique, and so on. Style is also what determines the mood of a piece of literature, so its importance is huge across all genres. Different types of literature need different styles, and different styles need different authors!
While there are specific types of styles of writing, this article will focus on style's overall role in literature.
She picked a red rose from the ground.
Scarlet was the rose that she plucked from the earth.
From the ground she delicately plucked the ruby rose, cradling it in her hands as if it were a priceless jewel.
As you can see, there are many ways to share the same basic information. An author can give a short and simple sentence, like #1. Or, he could use more descriptive words and a poetic sentence structure, like in #2, with phrases like "scarlet was the rose" instead of "the rose was red." Finally, an author could use imagery to paint a picture for the audience and add feeling to the sentence, like in #3.
These poems use two different styles to describe the same thing: a rose. The poem on the left rhymes and has a simpler, more direct style with easy vocabulary. The poem on the right, however is more descriptive and expressive—more "poetic"—and that's because of tone and word choice. The first poem describes the rose in a basic way, while the second seems to express the author's understanding of a rose. For instance, the author chooses more specific colors, like "emerald" and "scarlet" instead of "green" and "red," and describes the rose by relating it to other things, like "smooth velvet." The style of the first poem would be great from young readers, while the second is definitely targeting an adult audience. That's because, as you can see, some of the language of the second poem would be too difficult for young readers to understand.
Some authors combine these factors to create a distinct style that is found in all of their works, like Dr. Seuss (see Examples in Literature). Other authors, however, may choose to write each of their works in a different style.
Style is what distinguishes one author from the next. If everyone used the same style, it would impossible for any writer or piece of literature to truly stand out. While style has a role in all types of literature, its role in works of fiction is what's discussed most often. That's because style is an essential, defining thing for fiction authors—so stories have been and will be retold over and over, but it's an author's style that can make a work truly stand out and change the way a reader thinks about what literature. In fact, it's really impossible to imagine what literature would be like without any style.
'Good day, Little Red Riding Hood,' said he.
These two versions of the same part of the story are very different from each other. They both give the same overall information, but the Perrault's version is shorter and less detailed, with very little dialogue. Actually, Perrault's story ends after Red Riding Hood is eaten, while the Brothers Grimm's story continues—it's several times as long and includes more imagery, more dialogue, and even more characters. The point of Perrault's story was to teach a lesson, while the point of the story found in Grimm's Fairy Tales was more for entertainment—so; each author developed his own style based on his purpose.
Like in this passage from The Cat and the Hat, Dr. Seuss uses unusual sentence structures and fun-sounding rhyme schemes to make his stories silly and memorable, and it works. He also includes all kinds of strange vocabulary in his stories, sometimes even making up words and creatures to fit his rhymes, whereas other authors would simply change their vocabulary to follow sounds.
Now you can see that if it weren't for the name Snow White, you would likely not know that these two films had any relation to each other. While one artist chose to focus on love and humor, the other chose to focus on the battle of good versus evil and intense human emotions.
While the film tells the exact same story as the original Romeo and Juliet, even using the exact same language, its rough, flashy style is fresh and relevant for today's audiences. Here, Verona, Italy is replaced with Verona Beach, California; instead of swords and robes, the actors bear guns and tattoos.
In conclusion, style is has a central role in every piece of literature, from prose to poetry. It gives both the author and his text a voice, allowing works of all genres and topics to be shared and expressed in ways that are memorable, intriguing, and different. If all authors and genres followed the same style, the world of literature would be a dull, unchanging place!


I've seen discussions on here about using CRISPR to knock out the myostatin gene and I am wondering if this would be something similar to that? I'm very interested to see what you have to say!
So, right up top, this type of stuff isn't in any way something I'm familiar with, but whenever people mention vampirism, the first thing that comes to my mind is rabies. The behavioral changes and infection from saliva to blood covers the major checkboxes.
I've also considered rabies however those cases almost always lead to death. This is an excerpt from the site "explaining" what the virus is.
The source for this disease is the human vampirism virus (HVV). Like rabies, HVV has a distinct bullet shape and belongs to the order Mononegavirales—viruses with a nonsegmented, negative-stranded RNA genome. The virus' natural host is a flea commonly found on cave-dwelling bats, including the vampire bat. In the most common scenario, the flea bites a bat, which in-turn passes the virus on to humans and other mammals.
While most viruses are highly specific in what tissues they target, HVV is able to infect every living cell in the body, with the exception of red blood cells (which are replaced over time by the infected bone marrow). It's also much less destructive, as it can effectively transform tissues without causing cancer or necrosis.
While in theory HVV infection is possible through any exchange of bodily fluids, transmission occurs through the bite of an infected person or animal in virtually every case. Thankfully, the virus isn't airborne, and waterborne transmission is highly improbable.
I suppose if anyone is interested in a way to kill time and do a thought provoking thought experiment that's what this is for. The FZVA website may be fictional however the creator certainly took his time in doing research. I'm mostly curious if it is possible.
Oh man, you don't need any silly virus, just deprive me of food for long enough... I'll rapidly resort to vamprire-ish activities in order to feed.
"... viral agent that rewrites the genome of every tissue."
If that kind of virus exists we wouldn't have so much limits with trying to manipulate genes in adults.
Also, retroviruses are positive-sense RNA viruses, not negative-sense.
It sounds very science-y but it's all bullocks.
There are fictional vampires in the Blindsight/Echopraxia universe (By Peter Watts, highly recommended, especially for the sort of people on this forum). It has a scientific explanation for their repulsion by crucifixes, and the fact that we think they're a legend now.
The vampires are predators on humans. As predatory megafauna, they were naturally rare to begin with, and in order to outthink their prey, have extremely multi-threaded cognitive processing. Unfortunately, their visual processing is prone to a glitch where right angles filling enough of their visual field sets up an activity pattern that results in seizures. This wasn't a problem until humans developed architecture and started building stuff that was straight and angular, whereupon it became fatal.
Then some clever gene hackers figured out a way to re-create that genome. Things go downhill from there (although mostly not for vampire-related reasons).


Erik Twist, Headmaster of Veritas Archway Classical Academy in Phoenix, recently sent an email blast to the school's parents explaining his opposition to Proposition 204. Prop 204 seeks to permanently extend the one-cent sales tax to fund public education, which includes charter schools like Veritas.
In the email Mr. Twist rattled off a number of reasons as to why he personally opposes the law, including his fear of funding special interests. Then he attaches a "fact sheet," created by the special interest group No New Taxes, No on Prop 204 to back up his reasoning.
I was always told that parent directories would and should only be used for official school business. No pandering allowed.
Apparently Mr. Twist, who also happens to be the Chairman of the Arizona Right to Life group, feels political posturing is part of the duties of headmaster. The Right to Lifers, by the way, are also opposed to Prop 204, saying it might provide funds for abortions, which is not mentioned anywhere in the bill and is vehemently denied by the authors.
This makes me wonder, whom is Mr. Twist representing when he sends out political literature to parents? Veritas or his anti-abortion group?
As the head of a charter school, Mr. Twist should be aware that it is against the law to use public resources to try and influence an election. Sending out an email blast from the school's computers on school time to school families is a blatant abuse of the law, and Mr. Twist should be properly disciplined.
So where's the outcry? I'm not sure there is one. The only story I could find was one by the Phoenix NewTimes seen here. There's no mention of any action being taken by the charter school's board, only a handful of brave parents who have said they plan to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office. Though considering the mess our current AG is in, I'm not sure how much good it will do.
Can you imagine if this had occurred at a public school? What if a grade school principal had used school resources to pass along political literature along with her personal thoughts on why Prop 204 should be passed, or why she believes President Obama is the best-qualified candidate for education proponents? Do any of us believe this principal wouldn't be punished for overstepping her bounds?
If Mr. Twist wants to step out publicly and speak about his personal opposition to Prop 204, that's his right. He can go on camera and write editorials to the paper and use his money to finance special interest groups. That's all legal.
But using public resources and public dollars to try and further a personal political agenda is clearly not legal and should not be tolerated. And whether or not you agree or disagree with his position doesn't matter as much as whether or not you agree that people in positions of authority should not be allowed to sidestep the law.
As the head of school, Mr. Twist has hundreds of students under his guidance. He needs to be the example of upstanding behavior instead of the exception.
I agree that public resources and public dollars should not be used to further any agenda when it comes to politics. That being said I do agree with Mr. Twists views on Prop.204 and will vote no on it.
Your accusations are not fair and are an unjustified character attack on an honest and talented educator. First, charter schools are not public schools and Mr. Twist is not using public resources or public dollars. Veritas is not part of the government just because it receives compensation from the government. In the same way that a military contractor that receives compensation for support to the military is not part of the Department of Defense, Veritas is not part of the government just because it receives compensation from the State. Put in another way, Great Hearts owns the the computers and building, not the State.
But more troubling, you cleverly impute a hidden agenda on Mr. Twist simply because of his association with a pro-life group. You know better than to do this and puts your credibility at issue.
It is also incorrect to say that I made a character attack on Mr. Twist. Please reread the article. I clearly stated that it is within Mr. Twist's rights to advocate for whatever position he wants, just not on school time and with school resources. The reference to his position with Arizona Right to Life is valid, in my opinion, because that group is also advocating against Prop 204 by using misleading information, saying that Prop 204 could fund abortions.
As far as my credibility is concerned, again, I believe you are off the mark. Nothing I wrote in this piece is factually incorrect and my opinions are my opinions… that's why it is a blog article. If you were looking for a story without opinions, you should read the newspaper, though I caution you to stay away from columnists and editorials as those are also infused with opinion.
FYI – My understanding is that the Scottsdale School District has outlined on its website all of the reasons why Prop 204 should be supported. How is this different? So it is ok for a public school district to come out in support of a proposition but not ok for another school to oppose it.
It is not okay for a public school to come out in support or opposition to a proposition or even an override or bond election. According to Arizona law, districts may "distribute informational reports on a proposed budget override or bond election" only.
I checked Scottsdale Unified's website and found information on what the district would do with the proposed monies from an override as well as fact sheets "for" and "against" the override. I also found a statement on the fiscal impact of Prop 204 on the school's budget, but no additional statements "for" or "against" the proposition or any statement advocating the school's position.


Aussie Home Loans founder, John Symond, has won a multimillion-dollar court case against Gadens law firm over an $11m tax bill. However, the two sides remain on relatively good terms, a Gadens spokesperson tells Australian Broker, with the law firm continuing to represent Aussie Home Loans.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Supreme Court Justice Robert Beech-Jones ruled on Friday that 'aggressive and wrong' advice given by ex-Gadens partner, Ross Seller, between 2003 and 2004 was 'negligent', 'misleading' and in breach of the firm's contract of retainer.
Symond's legal representatives claimed Gadens' advice on the restructuring of the Aussie group was wrong and resulted in 'double taxation'. The iconic broker had initially sought advice about a way to borrow money from the business without the funds, totalling $57m over three years, being taxed in his hands.
The ATO, however, saw things differently. Symond was forced to pay a $6.6m settlement to the ATO in December, 2007, to cover tax, penalties and interest.
Seller left Gadens in 2005 and continued to give advice on the restructure from his new post at Abbott Tout. Symond settled his claim against Abbott Tout, now HWL Ebsworth, in February this year for $1.85 million.
The judge rejected an argument by Gadens that there were 'concurrent wrongdoers', such as accounting firm PwC, which was retained by the Aussie Group in late 2006 or early 2007.
The accounting firm was "dealing with a quagmire of someone else's, namely Gadens', making", the judgment continued.
A Gadens spokesperson was unable to comment as to whether the firm will appeal Justice Beech Jones' ruling.
At time of publication, Aussie remained unavailable for comment.
Reckon Aussie won't be using Gadens anymore..


text:
The goals of the Provost's Scholars Program are to incentivize trainee research fellowships and to promote achievement of exemplary pre- and post-doctoral trainees at the University of Missouri. To achieve these goals the program provides institutional support and career development training to recipients of individual fellowships from extramural funding agencies and foundations. Supplemental support is provided to academic units to cover any funding gaps that occur in trainee research fellowships. For example, NIH typically covers only 60% of tuition costs for recipients of a F31 pre-doctoral fellowship. Therefore, if a MU student received this fellowship, the rest of the tuition costs would have to be covered from other sources (e.g., PI discretionary funds; general departmental funds).
The Provost's Scholars Program will provide academic units with supplemental funding when they have a trainee who receives a competitive research fellowship that has a funding gap. To apply, the department chair of the academic unit that houses the trainee should submit a Provost's Scholars Program application to the Office of the Provost. The request should include the following:
Trainee name
Fellowship name
Amount and details of funding gap, including documentation (e.g., a link to the fellowship webpage that details tuition/stipend limits)
How this fellowship advances MU strategic priorities
A copy of the trainee's CV
If approved, funds will be transferred from the Office of the Provost to the appropriate academic unit. Awards from the Office of the Provost may provide full or partial coverage of the fellowship funding gap, depending upon factors such as size of the funding gap and availability of funds.
To submit an application, or for additional questions, please submit a single packet to Matthew Martens, Associate Provost for Academic Programs: martensmp@missouri.edu.


Roland takes digital hand percussion to a new dimension with the HandSonic HPD-20, a unique and versatile instrument that's ideal for a wide range of music creators, from percussionists and drummers to electronic dance music performers, composers, and producers. Equipped with the renowned SuperNATURAL® sound engine and potent multi-effects, the HPD-20 offers 850 dynamic, ready-to-play sounds, plus the ability to import your own custom sounds via USB flash memory.
13 pads provide ultra-sensitive response and flexible control options for playing onboard sounds and external MIDI instruments with an incredible range of expression. The HandSonic pad interface also excels in computer music applications, where it's perfect for playing virtual instruments, recording MIDI and audio performances in DAW software, and much more. And with its convenient trigger inputs, you can easily expand the HPD-20 with a Roland pad and hi-hat controller to build a super-compact percussion set.


Keith shuttle kilns are widely recognized for their performance, efficiency and reliability by leading potteries around the world. Featuring modular design, energy efficient construction and long service life, they provide economical high-volume production.
For use to 2420°F (1326°C) or cone 12 with gas or electric heating, shuttle kilns are especially well-suited for firing earthenware, stoneware and porcelain products. Typical applications include dinnerware, garden pottery, sanitary ware (first-fire and re-fire), electrical porcelain, tile, technical ceramics, brick, clay pipe, and refractories. Higher temperature models are also available for specialty products.
What is a Shuttle Kiln?
Shuttle kilns have fixed position heating chambers and one or more ware cars that are moved into the kiln for firing. Cars facilitate loading and unloading operations, especially in large production sizes. Shuttle kilns are ideal for dense, heavy loads. Keith pioneered the TwinTrak two-car wide shuttle kiln in the early 1970s, a major energy efficiency development still in use today around the world.
Keith gas-fired kilns use atmospheric inspirator or sealed package burners. These burner systems feature multi-zone control and pulse firing for more uniform firing temperatures. All our gas systems have combustion safeguards.
Electrically-heated kilns have heavy gauge wire heating elements supported on ceramic rods, or rod-over-bend elements mounted along the sidewalls. This clean-firing, durable construction provides very uniform temperatures.
All Keith kilns feature digital process controls. Everything from programmable heating and cooling to pulse firing and gas safety logic is managed automatically using the latest control technology. Digital communications with a remote supervisory workstation is a popular option for larger kilns.


Anyone may upload their own photographs or select from the many photographs that are already available online, such as photos from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration's web site. The software in the Civil War Photo Sleuth web site then maps as many as 27 "facial landmarks" on each photograph. Once it finishes cross-referencing, the site will serve up a slate of closely similar photographs that already have names attached.
For any one photo, the web site often identifies a number of potential candidates, rather than just one. In that case, humans have to compare the photographs of potential candidates to identify the correct person, if possible.
A lot more information about the Civil War Photo Sleuth may be found in an article by Annie Palmer in the Daily Mail web site at https://dailym.ai/2S6gUwy while the Civil War Photo Sleuth web site may be found at: https://www.civilwarphotosleuth.com.
My thanks to the several newsletter readers who wrote to me to let me know of this valuable online resource.
Thanks. Great resource. Been trying to i.d. Civil War era photo for years.
What a great merger of technology concepts !
Does anyone know if this technology is available for identification of other photos please, ie non-US Civil War ones.
We have a photo, originally ambrotype, marked 1860, of a gentlemen. Clearly well-to-do, almost certainly taken in NSW, Australia. Does a collection of old photos exist, with a database where one can specify such selection criteria and it will than bring up other photos that maybe of the same individual.
In this case, the only image we know of the person this photo might be, is a portrait. They don't match, but that could be because the painter didn't correctly capture his features.