Society has high expectations for our schools. As a result, many school principals and teachers feel pressure to continually improve student outcomes particularly those that are subject to public scrutiny, such as Naplan results. In this competitive environment some schools choose to 'narrow the focus' of their teaching with more emphasis on literacy and numeracy. This is arguably to the detriment of other key learning areas, interschool sport, and cultural and artistic opportunities for students.
Instead of 'narrowing the focus,' Narangba State School has deliberately sought to provide a broad-based education for its students. It was done to ensure that students have opportunities to engage with and excel in activities and programs outside academic focus, such as music, school sport, interschool and competitive sport, drama, robotics and ICT's.
In this session Martin Leach, the school Principal of Narangba Sate School, will discuss his school's approach to ensuring that a wide variety of options are available, and that every child has the opportunity to embrace their strengths.
Martin Leach is Principal of Narangba State School, an Independent Public School in the North Coast Region with an enrolment of approximately 715 students from Grade Prep to Year Six.
Previously Martin was Principal at Scarborough State School, Bribie Island State School and Surat State School. He has worked for Education Queensland since 1990 and taught in several schools in both South West and South East Queensland.
During 2016 Martin was based in North Coast Regional Office as a 'Principal Professional Colleague' where he worked extensively with Principals across the Region in a coaching and mentoring capacity.
He has three children, a long-suffering wife, and when he is not working, a love of the outdoors and in particular, fishing.
Teaching has changed, and so has society. The role of a teacher is no longer limited to delivering content; our students demand our expertise for a range of issues they experience. With 25% of young people experiencing a mental health difficulty, the importance of implementing a positive education initiative is evident; the difficult part is knowing where to begin.
Positive education requires intentional teaching and learning of social and emotional competencies where students are explicitly taught the skills to be resilient, flourish, practice mindfulness and manage their emotions. We want our students to learn these skills and transfer them from the classroom, to home and beyond. Based on Martin Seligman's research on positive psychology, developing a proactive rather than reactive approach to mental health is crucial.
In this session, participants will be guided through authentic experiences and activities that Rachael has found successful at her school. From the formation of a staff team and student team alongside a whole school wellbeing day, gratitude teachings, parent involvement and small meaningful interactions that are significant – you will walk away with something you are itching to trial in your classroom.
Rachael is a Level 3 primary school teacher at North Woodvale Primary School. She has a variety of leadership roles across the school, and is extremely passionate about mental health and wellbeing. Creating positive relationships with each individual student in her class is her strength and she has very high expectations of the Year 2 students in her care.
Rachael created a positive education team three years ago after identifying the students at school lacked the skills to deal with our ever-changing society. The team is zealous, driven and enthusiastic which has encouraged Rachael throughout the implementation process. Her passion is developing resilience in students and teaching gratitude.
She is currently studying her Masters of Education at the University of Western Australia and has conducted action research in the area of social and emotional learning and its impact on behaviour and achievement. Rachael has developed an ambition and commitment to share the success she has experienced with the wider community and encourages all schools to implement positive education making it meaningful and relevant in their context.
At Kidman Park our vision is to provide an inclusive, engaging and challenging curriculum that supports learners to aspire to take risks, embrace change and achieve their full potential. Our purpose is to foster creativity, knowledge and skills for the twenty first century, enabling our learners to be empowered, resilient and informed global citizens.
Despite a variety of programs to support and enable students to be empowered, and resilient, to achieve their full potential and to make a difference, there was always something missing. What have we overlooked?
We believe it is JOY. The dictionary defines joy as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness. Then why has it been missing from our programs?
In 2015 after listening to Amanda Gore speak about her book 'Joy Is An Inside Job' we decided to cultivate Joy in our school. Through our positive education program we have introduced practices which bring sustained happiness rather than momentary happiness at school. Practices that are designed to help students increase their well-being and enable them to meet the stresses of their world with skills and dispositions including gratitude, self-compassion, forgiveness, love and more. At our school we teach 12 practical skills which help students live a joyful, happy, positive and fulfilled life. One such strategy has been the introduction of 'Joy Spots' in each class to increase calmness and help students navigate difficult times. We don't want students to think they have to be happy all the time. We don't ignore our sadness, anger, anxiety or fears. We teach students to express their emotions in healthy ways rather than simply default to a range of destructive, negative emotions. Joy fuels each day's experience of learning at our school.
Desy Pantelos has been teaching children ranging from Foundation to Year 7 in the public education system for 37 years in both S.A. metro and country schools. For ten of those years Desy was a co-ordinator for Gifted and Talented students at different sites, and has conducted site visits to provide Training & Development tailored for individual school needs. She successfully planned, developed, implemented and evaluated learning programs integrating Higher Order Thinking Skills into learning prograns and ran workshops for over 1000 International and Interstate teachers. Desy was nominated for a 'National Excellence in Teaching Award.' She achieved an Advanced skill teacher level 1 – recognising and acknowledging exemplary teaching and learning practices.
Currently Desy is a Specialist teacher at Kidman Park Primary focussing on Wellbeing and is coordinating a whole school 'Joy Project' which is centred on helping students flourish and achieve their full potential.
Desy bases her interactions with students on the belief that student learning is significantly enhanced by development of positive self-esteem. Much of her educational programme is about supporting that belief. More than anything, she sees the success of every child in the school as making her job a rewarding one.
Surveys have consistently indicated that the students', staff's and parents' wellbeing are improving under the guidance of Ralph Johns at the Lakes Grammar – An Anglican School.
Join Positive Schools chair Dr Helen Street for an On-the-Couch discussion with Ralph Johns, the 2016 NSW Positive Teacher, to explore the various wellbeing activities he has introduced successfully to the school. Find out how he overcome the many challenges of getting parents and community members involved and how he started taking steps for future planning and future programs to enhance the school community wellbeing.
Ralph is the Co-ordinator of Student Well-being in the Junior School of Lakes Grammar – An Anglican School in Warnervale, NSW. Over the past four years Ralph has introduced and led the implementation of KidsMatter Primary. He has also helped establish, Peer Support, a student representative council and is introducing the social and emotional program, Friendly Schools Plus, to the junior school. Ralph has also been involved in collecting longitudinal data from parents, teachers and students on the school's interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the school.


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Consumer debt
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Monster Pre Launch DISCOVER THE ART OF PUBLISHING
Home New loan Greystone arranges $ 94 million construction loan for J&L
Greystone arranges $ 94 million construction loan for J&L
Alexis D. Jones
NEW YORK, June 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Greystone, a leading national commercial real estate finance company, today announced that it has set up a $ 94 million construction loan for a subsidiary of J&L Companies, Inc. ("J&L") to finance the development of a 12-storey, 403-unit, Class A multi-family project located at 55 Union Street in the heart of the Ironbound neighborhood in downtown Newark, New Jersey. The construction loan was provided by a syndicate of four banks led by Valley National Bank ("VNB"), with Bank Hapoalim, Abanca USA and TriState Capital Bank as participants, to finance the project, which also includes 3,000 feet squares of retail space. and a 196-space parking garage.
The project is located two blocks from Newark Penn Station in the Ironbound neighborhood, one of Newark's most desirable residential enclaves that has become a regional destination known for its vibrant nightlife and diverse mix of dining and shopping. entertainment options. J&L will offer a full suite of high-end amenities, including a rooftop garden and entertainment area; outdoor courtyard with grills; fireplaces and lounge area; and a state-of-the-art fitness center.
Greystone Capital Advisors, led by President Drew Fletcher, Director Matthew Hirsch and Vice President Steven Deck, served as the exclusive advisor to arrange the financing on behalf of J&L.
"As a local developer, long-term practitioner and property owner for over 40 years, J&L is deeply committed to advancing the revitalization of downtown Newark by developing projects that will create a thriving and vibrant neighborhood for residents and local businesses, "Fletcher said. "We are delighted to have delivered this execution and look forward to developing our relationship with J&L and our financial partners at VNB. "
"We are extremely excited to bring this project to fruition and add to Ironbound's rich fabric by providing local and future residents with new housing that perfectly complements the neighborhood," said Jose Lopez, Founder of J&L. "Greystone, VNB and the participating lenders have been a pleasure working with them on this transaction and we look forward to continuing to deepen our relationships with each company in the future. "
About Greystone
Greystone is a national commercial real estate loan, investment and advisory firm with an established reputation as a leader in multi-family and healthcare finance. Its range of services includes commercial loans on various platforms such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CMBS, FHA, USDA, bridge and mezzanine. Loans are offered by Greystone Servicing Company LLC, Greystone Funding Company LLC and / or other companies affiliated with Greystone. Greystone Capital Advisors is a team of full-service real estate intermediaries and advisors serving a select group of the most prominent real estate owners and developers in the United States. For more information, visit www.greyco.com.
About J&L Companies, Inc.
J&L is a family owned real estate company based in Newark, New Jersey, founded over 40 years ago by Jose and Luisa Lopez. Over the past 40 years, the company has invested in a diverse portfolio of real estate assets in the City of Newark and has founded and managed several successful businesses in the areas of development, construction, property and asset management, restaurants and parking. As one of Newark's largest landowners, J&L currently owns and manages over one million square feet of residential, commercial and industrial buildings, comprising over 30 buildings, above-ground parking lots and developable land. .
About Valley National Bank
Valley National Bank is a regional bank that has been in existence for 93 years. With approximately $ 41 billion in assets and over 200 branches in New Jersey, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Florida and Alabama. The Valley Commercial Real Estate team offers a wide variety of lending solutions. For more information, please visit https://www.valley.com/.
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Godrej Locking Solutions & Systems (GLSS) has forayed into the premium mortise locks market. It has launched a range of brass forged premium door handles under the Arsa brand.
The Arsa collection comprises of 20 designer luxury door handles of which four designs, drawing inspiration from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bikaner, were launched recently. The design for Kalasam is inspired by the rich floral engravings seen on Ahilyeshwar temple and fort in Madhya Pradesh. Bel, which means creeper, is a bold interpretation of Maharashtra's Uttareshwar temple carvings. Mor draws inspiration from the crown, crest and feathers of the majestic bird depicted in the Sanchi Stupa in Madhya Pradesh. Udaan is a result of the artist's expression of birds flying in different forms, from the Anup Mahal of Junagadh Fort in Bikaner.
Motwani also informed that princess Ashwathy Thirunal Gowri Laxmi Bai of the Travancore royal family has become the first customer to order Arsa door handles for the royal Kowdiar Palace in Trivandrum. The Arsa collection is available in antique brass and antique copper finishes. The products will only be available in 60 premium outlets of key metro cities and will be priced Rs 20,000 onwards. The company is aiming to sell around 2,000 units in the domestic and international markets this fiscal.
On the financial side, the company is eyeing a 15% sales growth to Rs 750 crore this year. "We would have sales of around Rs 750 crore in the current fiscal. Last year we were around Rs 650 crore. We are growing around 20% year-on-year," shared Motwani. Also, the company aims to clock Rs 3,000 crore sales by 2022-23 and would invest Rs 80 crore in the next two years for enhancing its production capacity.
At present around 83% of sales comes from retail, 14% from B2B channel and the remaining 3% from exports. "We have an aspiration to make B2B grow faster than B2C and become a larger contributor to our revenue," Motwani said, adding that the firm is focusing on a collaborative approach and partnering with many of its B2B customers, such as real estate firms, for its locking solutions. The company is also expecting the ratio of exports to go up in the coming years, as it is scouting for more geographies with an enhanced product range.


How do we reconcile evidences for evolution with Islamic texts?
Before I state the theory (or theories), let me state that it is meant to be a discussion on the different possibilities without concluding decisively on one as a fact. Furthermore, it is meant to be a possibility that does not contradict both Islam and science, of what is known to us today. If a theory can be devised that does not contradict both, then this, at a minimum, proves that evolution is not an Islamic problem and Muslims would/should have no problems textually to believe in it. Even furthermore, this theory does not challenge the scientific statements and viewpoints even though there are considerable differences (and perhaps gaps) in it. If Muslims are losing faith due to evolution, then they should know that even with such scarce data on evolution and its varying and numerous theories, there is nothing that contradicts Islamic text (see the theory below). Ideally it would be better to wait out and let science advance further to come up with better responses but an attempt has been made below to prove that it is not a subject to lose faith over and that nothing from science contradicts Qur'an or Hadith.
In the Qur'an 2:21, we find that Allah informs us: O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you (1) and those before you (2), that you may become righteous. The beings in group (1) could either be mankind or those from mankind reading/listening to this verse. If it refers to those listening, then those before would be the previous people i.e. our ancestors. If the people in group (1) are the entire mankind (as indicated by the beginning of the verse), then those before you could refer to creatures before mankind. Allah knows best.
In the Qur'an 2:28, we are told that the people were dead before being given life. How and when were we ever dead? This could be referring to the initial days of pregnancy when the soul has not been blown even though the piece of flesh may biologically be alive or it could also be referring to the creation of the first man who was also dead before life was entered into his body or the single cell that may have started the evolutionary process later evolved to pre-human beings (neanderthals, heidelbergensis etc.) who were dead in the sense that they had no soul and then through divine intervention, the first man was brought to life. Allah knows best.
When Allah informed the angels about the creation of Adam (عليه السلام), the angels asked 'Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood' (2:30). 'Causes corruption' is present continuous; there were some beings on earth similar to humans who caused evil. Allah said that He would 'make upon the earth a successive authority (Khalifa)'. This word has been used elsewhere in the Qur'an to refer to 'reproducing generation after generation, replacing each other on earth', 'inheritors of the earth'.
Now there is nothing here that directly states that there were beings already on earth but the words also do not deny it; in fact they hint towards some creatures (close to human shape) already being on earth whom the angels saw as chaotic and hence asked the Creator why He would create a similar being in shape and form.
Human beings inherited the earth from them and are in-charge of it now as allowed by Allah. Furthermore, the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) and their followers (tabi'een) were open to the idea of beings before Adam (عليه السلام) other than the Jinn. Whether true or false, the point is that the idea was there and, even if false, was not considered a deviant belief and hence I believe, we have freedom to explore in this area. Allah knows best.
Allah created Adam and Hawwa (Eve) (عليهم السلام) and they stayed in heaven for a period of time, the length of which we do not know. While they were in heaven, some of the species such as homo erectus, heidelbergenis etc. went extinct (or they were extinct before their creation, doesn't really matter does it?). Now when Adam (عليه السلام) was sent to the earth and if the other creatures had already gone extinct, then the case is closed and we have no issues.
If they did not go extinct then, Adam and Hawwa (Eve) (عليهم السلام) could have lived while the Neanderthals also existed on earth and may be more other beings.
I tried looking for a text that may contradict this statement – there is nothing that denies that Adam (عليه السلام) was not alone and he could have occupied the earth along with Neanderthals and/or more beings. They later on became extinct.
The statement of Allah to Adam (عليه السلام) in paradise: 'O Adam! Inform them of their names' (2:33) is striking. Neanderthals and/or other similar beings did not have fully developed language and spoke in grunts and puffs or in basic words and small sentences until they met homo sapiens sapiens (human beings). If they already had basic forms of communicating words, then they developed it further and if they did not have more than grunts and puffs, then they acquired it from scratch from the humans.
Some (or many) of their womenfolk could have married (or intermingled) with human beings to eventually become humans. I say womenfolk because them marrying human men would not be a scriptural problem and it would mean all the human beings today are bani Adam (descendants of Adam) (totally perfect!) and if human women married Neanderthal and/or other beings' men, then the human population of today would not all be bani Adam as lineage comes from the father. It is, Islamically, not correct to say that human beings have come from more than one source; all source is Adam and Hawwa (عليهم السلام). If there is a room here that human men and women mixed with Neanderthal men and women and, Islamically, all of the resultant population could/would still qualify as bani Adam, then the matter ends here and a solution is reached at. However, this would not be an Islamically correct view. This theory of Neanderthal women mixing with homo sapiens sapiens men, and not vice versa, may sound unscientific (why only men married their women) but it could still be logically justified. We have statements from the Salaf (early generations) that Adam and Hawwa (عليهم السلام) gave birth to twins and each boy married daughter from another delivery but nothing from the Qur'an or Hadith and hence once could say the basis for this is Israeliaat (Jewish traditions). Such a story is found in the lost books of the Bible [Book of Jubilees p.52 verse 9 onwards]. A potential theory, if the son and other daughter marriage is not accepted, could be that Adam (عليه السلام) only had sons who married Neanderthal women and hence the issue of DNA, evolution, common ancestor and everyone being bani Adam is resolved; again the matter ends here and a solution is reached at.
Eisa (عليه السلام) created birds from clay and by the will of Allah, the clay birds became real. The Qur'an quotes him saying, Out of clay, I fashion the figure of a bird and by Allah's leave, it turns into a (real) bird when I blow into it (3:49). The descendants of these birds fly around today along with the evolved birds. The 'single moment created birds' would have mixed with the evolved birds. Just like there were Adam and Eve for humans, there could be Adam and Eve for animals as well, all sent down, who mixed with the evolved animals to eventually produce the modern animals that exist today or have existed before. Even if there aren't, the theory won't have any issues.
There was a divine intervention similar to what the theory above states in regards to humans. However, the difference with humans is that the beings from evolution died out and what is present today is the result of that divine intervention.
The bottom line is that all human beings today are bani Adam; others might have mixed with our ancestors and become human while the other (non-humans) died out.
What about common origin? Does it contradict Islam? The theory only gives exception to human evolution but what about other creatures?
Human beings also have a degree of common origin while at the same time, they did not evolve from apes and other semi-human creatures. Possibility 1 above is plain and simple while 2 goes with the idea that humans mixed with other beings and 3 is more of a support to both of them in the sense that divine intervention is evidenced in the case of birds and hence, is also possible for human beings.
Allah Almighty says that He gave us cattle for our benefit (22:36) such as riding, food, and clothing among others. If these creatures evolved completely randomly, then this is by complete accident and they could have evolved in such a way that they were of no benefit to the human beings; in fact, all the animals could have ended up being of no use. On the other hand is the possibility that this evolution was not random and was part of Allah's plan, controlling which changes came at which point. As a Muslim, I choose the latter and ask the reader to ponder over this as well.
To end it here, evolution is not a Muslim problem and there is nothing in it to lose faith over.
Totally relevant. I always felt the same theory but never cared to share with others. Some people have more neanderthal than others, euro whites and east/north Asia have the most at up to 15 percent. Blacks have the least. Researchers are now under the impression that neanderthals are very crafty and intelligent. I think that is because they are white researchers who have only recently learned they have the most neanderthal blood.
I would say they were instinctively violent, yet with ice age survival qualities.
I must commend you, Mr. Rahma: possibility number 2 is most clever.
Of course, none of the three possibilities are presented in the Quran itself, nor does the Quran reveal which possibility is in fact what happened. Instead of dealing with these possibilities, the allah of Muhammad thought it was a much higher priority to, say, rush to Muhammad's aid when Muhammad's guests were staying too long at Muhammad's home, Muhammad being too shy to ask them to leave (see Quran 33:53).
Indeed, evolution itself is not mentioned in the Quran. Why is that? Well, let me state at this point that Mr. Rahma is one of the most adept Islamic apologists I have encountered. Suppose, Mr. Rahma, a person were to declare, "Evolution is not mentioned in the Quran, because Muhammad did not know about evolution, and if Muhammad did not know about evolution, then the god of Muhammad's imagination likewise could not know about evolution." How would you respond?
Of course evolution is not explicitly mentioned in the Qur'an and nor do I argue that it is or it isn't the correct theory; I maintain silence on it in the essay and I only intend to show that it is not a problematic issue for the Muslims. The Qur'an is a book of signs and not science. It speaks of scientific facts but the purpose, from among the purposes, is guidance of humanity. The Qur'an provides us with an open approach without constricting words that such theories do not contradict it. Humans have been given a free hand to explore this field. We find a somewhat similar approach in our lives as well. Our parents provide us an overall system in which we nourish and flourish and within that system, we develop and grow; they do not inform us of each and everything but their guidance is the most important to us by which to live our lives. Our morals, values, manners, and so on come from there and similarly, if you find that God provides you with superior level of everything within which you develop and grow, why would you be bothered by it? In fact, we should be thankful for the guidance of God.
When the sun, moon and the stars were mentioned, they were so with the examples that did not contradict the intellectual and mental state of the time but sufficient flexibility was retained such that after centuries, when the astronomical beliefs change, the explanation of the words of the commentary of the Qur'an do not confuse the mind. Roundness of the earth and its rotation and the movements of the sun and the moon – all these had not been mentioned in that time openly. The engineers of Greece and India, astronomers of Iraq and Egypt; all were of the view that the sky is the name of a big and vast roof in which the stars, moon are placed and fixed. If it had been mentioned, then who would have considered this Book worthy of believing and so many arguments, intellectual and mental, would have taken away the real purpose of guidance. The wisdom of Almighty chose such a miraculous way of speech in which the apparent meaning made sense to the people of that time but sufficient flexibility and space was kept so that when the intellect and knowledge of men reach its peak, then that same Book become a permanent evidence, and apart from pure believers and truthful ones, others also get benefit from it.
As for your comment on priority, I'm sure you would disagree if you put yourself in similar situations. Some believe that the creation of the heavens and the earth are big issues, purpose of life is a big question and there are similar big issues and questions in life, then why does the Qur'an care so much about trivial issues like the qibla, like Abu Lahab (Surah 111) and so on? Imagine a deep thinking person who is also a scientist and thinks about major world issues, works on eradicating diseases and constantly strives for betterment of his field of specialty. This person would likely not be bothered by such 'trivial' issues but suppose, a person stands outside his home constantly and simply stares at him and his family whenever they pass by. The police do not take action as he is not doing anything illegal – only stands in a public place and simply stares. This may sound like a 'trivial' matter but this can have the impact of devastating the life of the said intellectual, scientist, inventor etc. Therefore, we learn that 'trivial' matters are not actually 'trivial' and every matter has its own importance even matters like routine marriage issues, disputes and so on. Once one encounters a certain situation, only then he/she is better able to appreciate its significance; from the outside, every matter has the potential to appear 'trivial'.


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Home > Business > Nigeria's Debt Profile Rises To N24.38trn – DMO.
Nigeria's Debt Profile Rises To N24.38trn – DMO.
April 5, 2019 Kalu Okoronkwo145Leave a Comment on Nigeria's Debt Profile Rises To N24.38trn – DMO.
Ms Patience Oniha, Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), says the total public debt of Nigeria as at Dec. 31, 2018 is N24.38 trillion.
Oniha, who made the disclosure during a news conference on Thursday in Abuja, said that the figure comprised of debt owed by the Federal Government, States and Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
She explained that the figure was N2.66 trillion higher than the N21.7 trillion recorded as at Dec. 31, 2017, and represents a year-on-year growth of 12.25 per cent.
"Further details provided in the report showed that more progress was made towards achieving the target Debt Stock mix of 60 per cent (Domestic) and 40 per cent (External).
"The share of domestic debt dropped to 68.18 per cent from 73.36 per cent as at Dec. 31, 2017 thereby achieving a mix of 68.18 per cent and 31.82 per cent in the debt stock."
She said the federal government loans accounted for 78 per cent of the figure, while states and the FCT accounted for 22 per cent.
The Federal Government, she said, has an external debt stock of N6.4 trillion and Domestic at N17.11 trillion, culminating in N19.23 trillion, while the states and the FCT have external debt of N1.25 trillion and N3.85 trillion domestic debt, culminating in N5.15 trillion.
Oniha said that the Federal Government's domestic debt stock includes N331.12 billion Promissory Notes issued to Oil Marketing Companies and State Governments in December 2018.
She added that the strategy of using relatively cheaper and longer tenor external funds was achieving the expected objectives, some of which were to create more space for other borrowers in the domestic market.
"Other objectives are to extend the average tenor of the debt stock in order to reduce refinancing risk and increase external reserves."
She also said that the implementation of the strategy led to an injection of N855 billion through the redemption of Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) in 2018.
She added that it also effected a general drop in the Federal Government's borrowing rate in the domestic market from over 18 per cent per annum in 2017 to between 14 and 15 per cent per annum in 2018.
The DG said that some of the major plans of the DMO in 2019 were to undertake more of project-tied borrowing and access more external borrowing from concessional sources.
According to her, there are plans to issue 30-year Federal Government Bonds for the first time. "The issuance of the bond will meet the needs of annuity funds and other long term investors while also developing the domestic capital market and reducing the re-financing risk of the Federal Government.
"Another area of focus will be the management of risks associated with the debt stock to mitigate debt service costs."
She said that as captured in the 2019 budget proposal before the National Assembly, the Federal Government would borrow N1.6 trillion to finance the budget deficit.
She said N824 billion of the amount would be borrowed domestically through Federal Government Bonds, Sukuk, Green Bonds and Savings Bonds.
The other N824 billion is expected to be financed externally from concessional sources as they are cheaper and are longer-termed funds for infrastructure, she added.
Oniha said that the planned N15 billion Green Bonds and the infrastructure bonds would be issued in the second quarter of 2019.
Alleged N33bn Pension scam: Reps summon Emefiele, AGF.
21st Nestle Nigeria's Milo Basketball Championships Kicks Off.
SON Act Contributes To Ease Of Product Seizures –Aboloma
2019 UTME Candidates Can Now Check Their Results On JAMB Portal.
2018 Economic Summit to focus on making Governance and Institutions work
September 19, 2018 September 20, 2018 Kalu Okoronkwo


text:
Q: Avoid nested try/except I have the following code structure:
try:
    x = function_one(args)
    try:
        y = function_two(args)
        try:
            #
            # some code where I need x and y
            #
        except Exception as e::
            print("Problem with code above : ", e)
    except Exception as e:
        print("Problem with function_two : ", e)
    #
    # some code here
    #
except Exception as e:
        print("Problem with function_one : ", e)

It works but i was wondering if i can avoid this nested try/exception ?
For example if x is empty and can't be used after, would it be better to put the try / except inside function_one and find a solution to check if i can use x for the rest of the code, and if not, stop the code ?
I could do a if x something but it creates also nested part.

A: If you're only checking a certain block of code with a try\except, you can just wrap that block in the handler:
try:
    x = function_one(args)
except Exception as e:
        print("Problem with function_one : ", e)

try:
    y = function_two(args)
except Exception as e:
   print("Problem with function_two : ", e)

try:
    #
    # some code where I need x and y
    #
except Exception as e::
    print("Problem with code above : ", e)

try:
    #
    # some code here
    #
except Exception as e::
    print("Problem with code above : ", e)

In general, only nest exception blocks if you plan to handle a more specific error in the inner block.

A: If your exception block is not doing something functional(proceeding with the rest of the code if it even has an error inside), you shouldn't use a nested try-catch block. Instead, you can write more exception blocks. For example,
try:
    x = function_one(args)

    y = function_two(args)

except Exceptionx as e:
        print("Problem with function_one : ", e)
except Exceptiony as e:
        print("Problem with function_two : ", e)

The Exceptionx and Exceptiony should be Exception class object and you should know that what kind of exception you would get. You can learn more examples at
https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/errors.html

A: If the reason for the different except blocks is to better understand where the error occurred, you can just wrap the whole block in a single try-except block and print the traceback:
import traceback

try:
    x = function_one(args)
    y = function_two(args)
except:
    traceback.print_exc()

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İn 1723 Sultan Ahmet III with his navy expedition goes into a storm and decides to stay in the village. Local people knew that the Sultan has the power and decided to seek help for him, so he helped them solve the problem with pirates. After listening to them, he instructed the matter Vizier Ibrahim Pasha and Mustafa Pasha captain. Immediately was a decree issued and sent to all sides of the country, that all prisoners will be directed to construction of the castle, and in return they will get freedom.
Here from all over of the country were brought thousands of prisoners. They have worked tirelessly day and night because they knew that in return they will receive freedom. However, during construction of the prisoners rebelled and killed the captain Derya Mustafa Pasha, but it did not stop to finish construction of the castle. The name of the village Babakale left from name of the castle. After completion of construction of the castle, all prisoners were to live here and for them began a new life.
Prisoners were pave the 5 km of water pipes and thus appeared in the village drinking water. Water source was built in 1726, was of great importance for the Ottoman fleet. Each time the men were recruited water and could use it for many months in the open sea, the water does not spoil and does not lose its taste. Currently, however, the source does not work.
Babakale castle occupies a special place in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Because this is the last castle which was built during the Ottoman Empire. As a local people say that when construction of castle began immediately started building of castle in the same plane in Midili island Molivos town. Every evening litghs of the Molivos castle say hello Babakale.
At the expiration of the time and winds Aegean Sea, the castle and its walls collapsed. Part of the wall began to fall. Now the castle under the protection of government and part of the castle has been restored. Babakale castle was built using limestone and a mixture of sand, and in a rectangular form. In every corner of the castle there are 10 round ball. In the castle go through the big iron gates. At the entrance there is a large corridor and then starts the entrance to the castle.
At the top of the door has an inscription, which is dedicated to those times. "This land was abandoned, sleep soundly. Hated enemy and it was a refuge against the pirates. It settled ideas of Mohammed, the enemies are constantly robbed. Captain Vizier Mustafa Pasha was so close to God and the Sultan and well-treated people. To get rid of enemies at once began building work on the castle. Captain Mustapha Pasha also builted a bathhouse, a spring and a mosque in the village.
The castle site was occupied by the Turkish-Muslims people. Thanks to Mustafa Pasha, this sturdy and beautiful castle was completed. Built a fortress at the entrance of the Strait, may God keep all of the enemies. "
At the entrance to the castle there is a water source on the left side. And to meet the needs of people and soldiers who lived here had a mosque and several houses. Over time, buildings were broken, and now of them stayed only a foundation. In the south-eastern and north-eastern side of the castle is located right ladder by which one could climb to the top of the castle.


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2021 Honda ADV150: Everything We Know
More ADV this way comes.
Apr 02, 2020 at 9:44am ET
Straddle scooters are some of the most popular types of "motorcycles" in Europe. For a brief moment, in 2018, the Honda X-ADV even managed to surpass the popular BMW R 1200 GS in sales numbers on the Old Continent. In the Summer of 2019, Honda doubled-down in its ADV scooter segment with the addition of an urban-oriented 150cc model (without the X). Until recently, neither model was sold in the U.S.
Then in February 2020, a California Air Resources Board (CARB) filing was published with the ADV 150 added to the list of Honda models approved for the year. This led everyone to believe that Honda was bringing its smallest ADV stateside. True enough, on April 1, Honda unveiled all the details surrounding its newcomer. Here's a look at everything we know about the 2021 Honda ADV150.
In The Works:
Honda Is Bringing Its Super Tough ADV 150 To The U.S. For 2021
After The 150, Honda Considering An X-ADV 300 For North America
The ADV150 is a cross between the bigger X-ADV and the PCX150—or, according to Honda, a cross between the Africa Twin and the PCX150. It uses the same engine as the PCX but the silhouette definitely has more of the X-ADV's motorcycle/scooter hybrid flavor. So, is it a scooter or a motorcycle? Yes.
Don't be fooled by its name, however. Unlike its big brother that actually has respectable off-roading chops, the 150 is not really equipped to do the same. Its mission is mainly to take you on urban and on-road adventures—despite the Africa Twin inspiration.
The ADV sits higher on its suspension which, along with the smaller front shield, gives the model a more motorcycle-y look than the PCX. It uses a 41mm Showa fork with 5.1 inches of travel at the front and Showa dual shocks with 4.7 inches of travel at the back (versus 3.94 and 3.33 inches respectively for the PCX). The 14-inch front wheel is armed with a 240mm disc with ABS while the 13-inch rear wheel receives a 130mm drum brake.
Gallery: 2021 Honda ADV150
As previously mentioned, the ADV150 borrows the PCX's powertrain, a 149cc, 80-degree, single-cylinder engine teamed with an automatic V-Matic belt drive transmission. Honda doesn't list the model's power figured but we know that abroad, it's rated at 14.3 horsepower and 10.2 lb-ft of torque. It also features an Idling Stop System that cuts the engine while the vehicle is on idle for longer than three seconds. The system is meant to improve the fuel economy and allow the bike to make better use of its 2.1 gallons of fuel.
The Honda "scootercycle" features a 7.1-gallon storage compartment under the seat that can easily accommodate a helmet as well as a smaller compartment behind the shield riders can store their phones in. You even get to keep your keep in your pocket—it uses a SMART key and push button start system which means you'll never forget the key in the ignition again. There's also a 12-Volt accessory adaptor for personal devices that need charging.
The 2021 Honda ADV150 is priced at $4,299 and will be available in dealers in June 2020.


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Turismo de Extremadura
Plasencia, Cáparra and Hervás
There is nothing better than a journey through these three cities distinguished by history, to completely immerse yourself in the history of the province of Cáceres. Experience first hand the traces of our Roman, Hebrew and medieval past which flood its streets and traditions.
Plasencia, Cáparra y Hervás
A journey through time in Extremadura
Along the Silver Route you'll find, amongst others, the cities of Hervás and Plasencia: two historically important cities with a multicultural past which you will breathe in each and every corner.
Hervás, located in the Valley of Ambroz, grew from a 12th century shrine built by the Knights Templar, and lies next to the Santihervás River, from which it takes its name.
In the 15th century a Hebrew community settled in Hervás, a fact which has had a significant effect on this town. The Jewish Quarter, designated a Historic-Artistic Site, dates from this period. You can lose yourself in the maze of narrow streets, enjoy one of best preserved Jewish Quarters in Spain and immerse yourself in a past age in a quarter composed of houses built out of adobe and wood.
If you have time, take part in the Popular Festivity of The Converts, where the town steps back into the Middle Ages for a few days, with a historical setting in the Jewish Quarter. More than 400 townsfolk take part in recreating a typical village of those times with its habits and customs, representing a number of trades, with the participation of tradesmen, street players, craftsmen and other characters who lived in the town in the 15th century. In addition to the recreation of life in the village in times gone by, each year there are plays focussing on the Jewish community established in the town.
You are also invited to visit the Church of Santa María de la Asunción de Aguas Vivas, situated at the highest point in the town. Another interesting building is the 18th century Baroque palace of the Dávila family, which currently houses the Pérez Comendador-Leroux Museum.
If you continue on the road to Plasencia, (between Oliva de Plasencia and Guijo de Granadilla), you will find the Roman ruins of Cáparra, situated in the Alagón Valley. There you can admire the arcus quadrifrons, or four-fronted arch, the most important and best preserved monument, under which the Silver Route passes. Nearby you will find the Silver Route General Interpretation Centre which will provide all the information you need about this magnificent route and the history of this Roman city.
And on the banks of the Jerte River we arrive finally in Plasencia, declared Historical Site of Cultural Interest. A place with a rich historic quarter, the result of the numerous different cultures which have passed through and its strategic location on the Silver Route. After being inhabited by Romans and Moors, Alfonso VIII reconquered and repopulated it in the 12th century.
Palaces, noble houses and important religious buildings give a monumental touch to the historic quarter. Part of the city walls remain with their gates and defensive towers, a concentric layout of streets which lead to the Plaza Mayor square. Here you will find the Town Hall and each year Martes Mayor (Tuesday Market) is celebrated, declared an Extremadura Festivity of Tourist Interest.
Another of the town's most representative buildings and which you really must visit is the Cathedral, divided into two, the Old and the New. The Old Cathedral is Romanesque (in spite of having been built in the 13th century by important architects such as Juan Francés, featuring the chapter house). The New Cathedral, in the building of which Covarrubias, Diego de Siloé and Gil de Hontañón, amongst others, took part, includes Gothic and Renaissance elements and features the choir of Rodrigo Alemán and the main altarpiece of Gregorio Fernández. Very near to the Cathedral you will find the Pérez Enciso Provincial Ethnographic-Textile Museum, the most important of its kind in the province.
Take a stroll through the medieval streets where you will find the House of the Dean or of the Two Towers, the Palace of the Marqueses de Mirabel, the Church of San Nicolás, the Church of San Esteban, the Episcopal Palace, the Provincial Hospital and the old Convent of Santo Domingo which is now a Parador. You may also want to try its delicious gastronomy with dishes such as mushrooms, pickled sauces, trout, and roast or stewed kid goat. Not forgetting the Iberian ham of the Dehesa de Extremadura, the cheeses of La Serena, Torta del Casar cheese, cherries from the Jerte Valley, etc. all DO (Designation of Origin).
Type of Transport:
a Plasencia — where culture and nature go hand in hand
The historical heritage of Plasencia holds its own in terms of the cultural interest of the other towns and cities of Extremadura, but with the added attraction of its parks.
Plasencia , Cáceres (Extremadura)
b The Roman town of Cáparra
Caparrá, which has uncertain origins, became a Roman municipium under Emperor Vespasian. The town's growth was propelled by its privileged position along the Silver Way
A-66 motorway. Junction 455 towards Guijo de Granadilla - CC-13.3 (B-road). About 5 kilometres from the A-66 Oliva de Plasencia, Cáceres (Extremadura)
A stroll around the town centre and a taste of the local dishes will suffice to conquer all visitors, not to mention the warmth and friendliness of the local inhabitants.
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Tulip Time is offering photography enthusiasts a unique opportunity to see one of Holland's top tourist attractions through the eyes of a professional photographer during pre- or post-admission hours to avoid crowds. Photography buffs can join photojournalist Mike Lozon on an exclusive early morning or evening photo shoot of Windmill Island Gardens in full festival bloom. Mike will share tips and tricks on how to achieve the best results for shooting landscapes and architecture before leading the hands-on tour around the beautiful island gardens.
All participants of the Tulip Time Photo Walk have the option to submit one (1) photo taken during the class to be selected as Best Picture. There will be one winner per class, who will be awarded a Photography Quick Guide created by Mike Lozon, and will be featured in Tulip Time social media posts. Details for submitting photographs and announcing winners will be provided by Mike Lozon at the conclusion of each class.
Class participants will meet at least 5 minutes prior to the start of the class at the entrance booth in the parking lot at Windmill Island Gardens. The class will be offered rain or shine so please dress for the weather. No refunds due to inclement weather will be issued.
Mike Lozon is a writer, editor and photographer who spent the first part of his career working for newspapers throughout Michigan. He left the newspaper business in the 1990s to start The Write Way, a business specializing in the creation of personal memoirs, and the histories of Michigan businesses and nonprofit organizations. He started Freestyle Photography in 2014 as an offshoot of his writing and editing business. He has taken photos for the Holland Area Visitors Bureau, Outdoor Discovery Center, Tulip Time, Holland Historical Trust, Windmill Island, and Holland Area Arts Council, where he is a photo instructor. A Holland resident, he received his bachelor's degree in photojournalism from Central Michigan University.


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Technology, Warehouse
Warehousing, the Rise of IT, Automation, and Now… Robotics
Mar 15, 2018 | Technology, Warehouse | 0 comments
From a simple place to stock goods, warehouses have developed in many ways—function and form included. Affected by changes in production, procurement and distribution methods, warehousing has continually been pushed and pulled in different directions.
Just-in-time techniques have led to more products arriving directly from manufacturing to the end-customer, shrinking warehouse use. On the other hand, offshoring growth has fuelled the need for warehousing as part of the elongated supply chain.
Furthermore, by making the warehouse a retail centre in its own right, warehouses are getting a new lease of life as end-customer distribution outlets, whether or not just-in-time methods are being used.
Where to Do Your Warehousing
Some of the impacts of geography on warehousing are stable to the point of being immutable. For instance, cold storage warehousing for fresh agricultural produce should normally be close to the growing or production area and close to the end-customer market as well.
Transport optimisation considerations dictate that warehousing is used at the end-point of a transport system to amass enough products for a full load for the subsequent transport system.
Products that are best transported in high volume (like agricultural products) will need to be warehoused in locations that make access easy for large vehicles, and so on. Consequently, networks of large, central warehouses and smaller, decentralised warehouses (supply or delivery warehouses) will need to be designed and implemented according to the span of distribution and location of customers.
What works on one continent will not necessarily be suitable on another. Australia and Europe have similar surface areas but very different customer densities and concentrations.
In addition, while rivers and mountains stay where they are, other geographical features, like conurbations, change over time; associated factors such as labour availability and customer buying habits may change even faster. Warehousing locations therefore also need to be chosen with evolving and future needs in mind.
Some choices, when based on these factors, can be surprising at first glance. Logistics services provider TNT runs a large distribution hub in Belgium. Instead of using space at the international Brussels Airport that handles over 19 million passengers a year, TNT chose the much smaller airport of Liège with just 300,000 or so passengers annually.
A closer look though, reveals the clear logic behind TNT's decision. Less passenger traffic and reduced congestion means flexibility for TNT in scheduling onward transport, whether by air or road. In addition, Liège is equidistant from the major cities of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany), and Paris (France). In fact, two thirds of all TNT's European customers are within four hours driving time.
Who Will Do Your Warehousing?
As a vital component, yet without being a core competence for many organisations, warehousing is a natural candidate for outsourcing. However, simply slinging it out of the door to the first likely outsourcer would be to neglect the links that exist – that must exist – between a warehouse and other parts of the supply chain.
Although some problems in warehousing are endemic, others are symptoms of malfunctions in other departments.
For instance, missed targets for on-time shipments may be due to poor warehouse management of product storage, picking and packing. However, the problem could also stem from the sales department withholding orders until past the due date for shipment, or the transport team letting trucks overrun the loading docks, causing backlogs or inefficiencies at put-away.
Any decision to outsource must be planned properly, taking into account not only cost-efficiencies and basic warehousing skills, but also effective information management to ensure customer satisfaction and overall profitability. The trick is to make the right choice in a way that ensures warehousing is still properly integrated with the rest of the organisation.
Technological Advances and Benefits
Technology continues to grow in importance for optimal warehousing, whether in itself or as part of the larger supply chain. Outsourcing providers use advanced technology to make their operations more efficient and to safeguard their own margins, but the same tools are available to all those prepared to invest in them. Current trends include:
RFID tagging to know automatically which product is held where or moving to which destination;
Pick-to-light systems in which visible displays positioned on a storage slot show where the next item is to be picked and how many of that item;
Voice-activated receiving, picking, and packaging for warehouse operatives to receive instructions from the warehouse management system (WMS) software.
The benefits of these tools are principally in the acceleration and increased efficiency of operations, plus improved tracking and inventory optimisation.
Information technology allows the WMS to talk to other systems in the organisation. Transportation management systems can input information on goods and their delivery ahead of their arrival to allow for better warehouse organisation. Warehouse inventory levels can be automatically taken into account by ERP and procurement systems, while sales and CRM systems can query the WMS in order to confirm orders placed by customers and run sales promotions.
Automation has also become significantly more popular. Conveyors or forklifts can move products, cartons, and pallets automatically, according to instructions given by the automating IT system.
Two situations in particular motivate enterprises to invest in automation. One is the need to use the footprint of a warehouse as efficiently as possible, by extending warehousing vertically. Automated systems can work to heights of as much as 40 metres. The other is in environments that are more difficult for human beings to work in, such as refrigerated warehouses for fresh products and certain pharmaceuticals.
Now There are Data Warehouses Too
While data warehouses are often considered brainchildren of the IT department, they and their physical counterparts are moving closer together. Consider the case of Wal-Mart, the biggest retail organisation in the world. Its excellence in supply chain management was achieved in parallel with the development of its data warehousing to collect point-of-sale information on what its 100 million customers were buying and how its 25,000 suppliers were supplying.
From the use of archived data on tapes for sales analysis, Wal-Mart went to a system that made each individual sale from each Wal-Mart outlet available for scrutiny in fewer than seven minutes. This in turn allowed Wal-Mart to replicate sales successes between outlets; creating and managing peaks in demand via its systems for buying, shipping, and of course, warehousing.
Everyday Challenges in Warehouse Operations
Tropicana Products, Inc. produces and ships '100% Pure Squeezed Sunshine', or more prosaically, orange juice and other fruit juices. In the US, the company has four main distribution centres (DCs), one of which is located in Jersey City in the state of New Jersey. This DC uses an automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) that is part of an overall automated warehouse system (AWS).
Product references (SKUs) in the DC number over 200, relate to different packaging sizes, and are supplied to customers "on-demand," which actually makes demand relatively unpredictable.
The customer service department attached to the distribution centre also runs sales promotions and must find solutions for fruit juice batches that are close to expiry dates. Premium orange juice for example has a storage life of about 65 days. The fruit juice products arrive at the warehouse pre-packaged and on pallets via refrigerated transport.
According to demand, the products are unloaded and moved into the ASRS, or they are cross-docked for immediate reshipment to certain customers or to a smaller, decentralised distribution centre in the neighbouring state of New York.
While automation helps efficiency, the New Jersey DC must rely on good processes and timely information to manage this dynamic ordering and shipping environment.
Daily warehouse management challenges include fluctuating orders from individual retailers, orders placed centrally with the DC from Tropicana in Florida, and the need to store and distribute a highly time and temperature-sensitive merchandise.
Major Disasters and Successes in Warehousing Projects
High-profile warehousing initiatives have their hits and misses. Not all of them make the news. Whether for reasons of competitive advantage or embarrassment, some stories stay hidden away. Warehousing problems can arise from the following root causes:
Insufficient space (often a vicious circle once stock starts to pile up in the aisles);
Stock discrepancies including negative inventory (goods shipped before being recorded as having entered the warehouse);
Slotting problems (too little or too much space allocated to given product lines);
In extreme cases, even structural collapse (racks that collapse under excessive weight of products).
Our warehouse disaster and success selection here has another factor in common—warehouse automation. First, we look at three large companies that either failed or came too close to failure for comfort, because of problems involving automation:
Foxmeyer: This company was the second biggest ($5 billion in revenues) wholesale pharmaceuticals distributor in the US, at least in 1996. Often presented as an ERP system disaster, warehouse automation was also a large part of its woes.
The goal was to move to a new IT architecture and a highly automated distribution centre with an impressive number of carousels for picking and conveyors for product transport. However, the automation failed to work properly.
Expenses and losses soared as manual fallbacks were initiated and tens of millions of dollars of products were erroneously shipped twice. To cap it all, Foxmeyer had aggressively bid to win new contracts on the assumption that it would make massive savings. The company was ultimately sold to a competitor for just $80 million.
WebVan: Whether bad marketing or huge investments in warehouse automation sank this online grocer is a moot point. However, investment in large automated warehouses, to the tune of $25-30 million each, as a start-up company, and without the demand to return on those investments, was a bad business decision.
Did the warehouse automation work? Perhaps it did.
Did it matter? Unfortunately not…
WebVan went out of business in 2001 with a market value close to zero after having initially raised billions in funding.
Adidas: The sporting goods maker survived its warehouse automation debacle, but the cost was still high. After the first technology vendor it used went bankrupt trying to make the Adidas DC automation work, Adidas went live before the second provider had finished work.
The system failed and a huge shortfall in shipments turned into major, long lasting losses in market share. Materials Handling magazine called the new Adidas DC the "Warehouse of the Month" in late 1995 before it went live. Afterwards, Information Week magazine came closer to the truth by describing it as a "Meltdown".
Do these calamities mean that warehousing automation is bad? Not at all – many organisations use it effectively and efficiently. In 2018, Amazon represents perhaps one of the finest examples of successful automation in warehousing, having transformed from a company that automated only where necessary; to one that now pursues the latest and greatest in warehouse robotics.
Amazon 2012: Taking Orders out of Chaos
In 2012, with some 80 massive warehouses around the world to deliver to customers, Amazon was still using human beings rather than robots.
Despite miles of conveyor belts per warehouse, the company used barcodes and a system known as 'chaotic storage' to achieve and maintain its leadership position.
'Chaotic storage' means that products are stored wherever space is available. This optimises shelf space and avoids wasting employee time in extra organisation. Computer-generated listings then let warehouse personnel easily retrieve products, with barcodes helping in locating, shipping and tracking products.
Amazon 2018: Leading the Field in Warehouse Automation?
Today, Amazon still makes use of chaotic storage, but you're just as likely to see robots picking products from the randomly assigned storage locations as humans. Indeed, Amazon is so intent on ramping up automation, that it now has its own robotics division, Amazon Robotics, which originated with the company's purchase of a warehouse automation company called Kiva Robotics.
Amazon now has more than 100,000 robots operating in its fulfillment centres around the world, and is at the forefront of warehouse robotics development.
Amazon Robotics co-founder Peter Wurman believes that an important breakthrough is nearby, which will see robots able to perform warehouse piece picking with far greater efficiency than is currently possible.
In fact, Amazon is doing its utmost to drive such a breakthrough, with its sponsorship of a competitive challenge to improve robotic warehouse technology. The project, known as The Amazon Picking Challenge, awards a prize of $25,000 (USD) to the team that engineers the most efficient piece-picking robot.
What Will Come Next in Warehousing?
Developments in warehousing, whether robotic or otherwise, need to be driven by customer requirements. History is littered with the casualties of companies that fell in love with technology or designs that were disconnected from real market demand.
Driving factors already coming to the forefront include ecological awareness. Warehouses are being designed to handle reverse logistics, dealing efficiently and ecologically with the increase in product returns generated by today's omnichannel retail trends.
Elsewhere, increased value is being added to warehousing as companies supply more to international markets. Foreign-country warehouses are used as customisation or localisation centres to change packaging, labeling and price tags to meet local market requirements.
Never a Dull Moment in the Warehousing World
Exciting times are ahead in the world of warehousing, but it's not always easy to predict what the next steps should be in your own organisation. The key is always to keep a close eye on the market in which you operate, and try to respond promptly to what it wants!
This post was originally published in July 2015 under the title "Warehousing, the Rise of IT and the Sort-of-Rise of Automation." It has now been revamped and updated with more comprehensive and current information.
Rob O'Byrne
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Delale, C. F., & Pasinlioğlu, Ş. (DEC 06-10, 2015). First Iterative Solution of the Thermal Behaviour of Acoustic Cavitation Bubbles in the Uniform Pressure Approximation. Conference : 9th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV) Location: Ecole Polytechnique Federale Lausanne, Lausanne, SWITZERLAND. vol .656.
The thermal behaviour of a spherical gas bubble in a liquid driven by an acoustic pressure is investigated in the uniform pressure approximation by employing an iterative method to solve the energy balance equations between the gas bubble and the surrounding liquid for the temperature distribution and the gas pressure inside the bubble. It is shown that the first iterative solution leads to the first order law of the gas pressure as a polytropic power law of the bubble wall temperature and of the bubble radius, with the polytropic index given as an explicit function of the isentropic exponent of the gas. The resulting first order law of the gas pressure reduces to the classical isothermal and adiabatic laws in the appropriate limits. The first order gas pressure law is then applied to an acoustically driven cavitation bubble by solving the Rayleigh-Plesset equation. Results obtained show that the bubble wall temperature pulsations during collapse and rebound can become a few orders of magnitude higher than the bulk liquid temperature.


Please be aware of Rhythm Snow Sports Terms & Conditions prior to booking your hire equipment.
Pre-book your hire for the winter season and you will automatically receive 20% off during APRIL only.
If hiring chains, I agree I have consulted my vehicles owner manual confirming that chains are recommended for my vehicle.
Rhythm Pty Ltd will accept no responsibility for damage of chains or the vehicle under any circumstances.
No condition of warranty is implied regarding safety or fitness of the above equipment and Rhythm Pty Ltd will not accept responsibility or any loss, damage, accident or injury from any cause whatsoever.
© 2019 Rhythm Snow Sports. All Rights Reserved.


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> Championing All the "Rudy's" of the World
Championing All the "Rudy's" of the World
Alumni Profile — Jonathan Solomon '08
Many remember the powerful scene in the 1993 American sports film, Rudy, when Rudy Ruttinger—the archetypical underdog who had long romanticized playing for the University of Notre Dame's football team—is allowed to suit up in the final down of the game. Victory, inevitably, follows, and—in true cinematic serendipity—the previously disregarded, benched player is whisked onto the shoulders of his teammates and carried off the field.
Only in the movies? "Not so," said Jonathan Solomon '08, who recruits and trains "real-life 'Rudy's'" to reach their athletic potential. In 2011, Solomon founded Self-Motivated Athletic Agency (SMAA), a sports agency that focuses on discovering talent, specifically in basketball, from mid-major NCAA Division I schools to non-major college programs, and anyone else with a hoop dream. The goal is to showcase players on a more prominent and global stage, eventually helping them earn a professional contract to play abroad.
"You have to want it and be realistic with yourself," he tells his growing roster of clients, which includes notable athletes like seven-time NBA All-Star swingman Tracy McGrady, Hall of Famer Gary Payton, Jason Williams, and Bonzie Wells—all of whom participated in legends tours in 2013. He also represents those of lesser fame but equal athletic verve, like combo-guard Kwan Waller. "Don't worry about what people think," Solomon will add in earnest, "and do not give up."
While Solomon did not get much court time during high school, or in his years playing point guard at Arcadia University, his "whatever it takes attitude" never wavered. "I'm more talented in business than basketball," admitted Solomon, who went to Full Sail University to obtain his master's degree in the entertainment business after graduating from Arcadia University with a bachelor of arts in elementary education.
I met so many great people at Arcadia. It was a time of development for me in so many ways.
With a lighthearted chuckle, Solomon referred to his tenure at Arcadia as a growth period, learning how to balance schoolwork with his love of basketball. "I met so many great people at Arcadia. It was a time of development for me in so many ways." However, it was during his graduate studies at Full Sail that he began his business plan for SMAA. "It was just an idea at first, a fantasy…but now I'm able to provide a legitimate opportunity for any aspiring basketball player who thinks he can be a pro."
Solomon grooms players who, like him, have experienced adversity in their careers, but exude a passion for the game, "have confidence, and a great attitude." SMAA hosts camps to train and test players' skill level before sending select players overseas to compete in exhibition games against the top teams in a particular country's highest professional league. In its first foray abroad, SMAA sent six players to China to position them in front of coaches with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). The CBA is the foremost men's professional basketball league in China, and allows a limited number of slots to foreign players on each team. "Finally, they're given the exposure they deserve…a chance to really be seen," said Solomon. "And if they land a contract, all the better. This is what SMAA is all about…we're opening doors for players who have had the door slammed on them by the NBA."
Following the trip to China, SMAA has hosted competitions in Spain, Germany, Hungary, Australia, Slovakia, Ireland, Luxemburg, Mexico, and the Philippines.
Solomon is so enthused about the uniqueness of his program that he is actively promoting the emotional side of "what it's like to make it overseas" to potential reality show producers. "SMAA will go down in the books as one of the greatest stories of all time. I'll be that guy that changes the way basketball works on the business side."
Solomon's advice to aspiring athletes and business-focused majors at Arcadia:
"If you have a vision to do something, just do it. You won't regret it!"
Catch up on Alumni Spotlight stories.


This album was written in the midst of personal and nation-wide despair. Musically and lyrically diverse, many of the songs were written in and around 2001, when the ends of long-time relationships and 9-11 were fresh on the band's collective minds. Ambition, confusion, disgust, and sadness are all emotional trademarks of this album. Powerful, infectious riffs are the base of all the songs, contents of which range from scathing and heart felt break-ups to their stupid neighbor to their friend's mental breakdown to courage and rebirth.


Seven members of one family were among the 23 victims identified after an outbreak of tornadoes devastated the US state of Alabama.
The victims range in age from six to 89.
About 50 structures have been reduced to rubble.
On Monday, a tornado hit Lee County to EF-4 with wind speeds of 170 mph (275km/h).
During Tuesday's briefing, an official with the National Weather Service said the deadliest tornado had travelled for about 70 miles, and another nearby travelled for 29 miles.
The Most Reverend Thomas J. Rodi Archbishop of Mobile Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life and the injuries caused by the tornado which struck Alabama in recent days, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses heartfelt solidarity with all affected by this natural disaster. He prays that Almighty God may grant eternal rest to the dead, especially the children, and healing and consolation to the injured and those who grieve. Upon all who are suffering the effects of this calamity, the Holy Father invokes the Lord's blessings of peace and strength.


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Books My Daughter Read in 4th Grade
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library My daughter read this book first in 3rd grade and loved it.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car (The audio book is fantastic. We listened to it when my kids were 6 and 8.) For a list of books in this series click here.
The Tail of Emily Windsnap For a list of books in the Emily Windsnap series click here. She read other books in this series.
The Thief Lord This was a must for us as we visited Venice this summer. 🙂
Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin Both my kids loved this book so my daughter asked me to get the other one in the series. See below.
Jack: The True Story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Stranded Find two sequels here.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase For a list of books in the Wolves Chronicles series click here.
The Mysterious Benedict Society She loved it! She read 3 books during the summer but finished reading the prequel in September. Click here for a list of books in this series.
Roller Girl (graphic novel) She loved it the same as Smile (she read it in one night).
The City of Ember For a list of books in this series click here.
Giants Beware! (graphic novel) Check out its sequel here. Both my kids (7 and 9) loved it and asked me to get the sequel Dragons Beware.
Book Scavenger
Circus Mirandus
There's A Boy in the Girls' Bathroom
Fairest of All For a list of books in the Whatever After series click here. My daughter discovered this easy-to-read series and fell in love with it. She read three books so far.
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 For a list of books in the I Survived series click here.
All the Answers
Girl's Best Friend (A Maggie Brooklyn Mystery)
Boys Are Dogs
The following titles are graphic novels because my kids discovered a few they really liked so I checked out several series from our local library.
The Stonekeeper (graphic novel) For a list of books in the Amulet series click here. My kids were actually almost fighting over these books (who is going to read it first) and were very sad that they have to wait for the 7th book until it comes out next year.
Cleopatra in Space (graphic novel) For a list of books in this series click here.
Rapunzel's Revenge (graphic novel) For a list of books in this series click here.
The Misadventures of Salem Hyde: Spelling Trouble (graphic novel) For a list of books in this series click here.
Zita the Spacegirl (graphic novel) For a list of books in this series click here.
The Marvels
What Were the Salem Witch Trials? (What Was…?)
The Gollywhopper Games
Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute: Lunch Lady #1 This is a graphic novel both my kids fell in love with. They read the whole series and every time I brought a new book from the library they fought over who was going to read it first. For the list of books in this series click here.
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword (graphic novel) For a list of book in the Hereville series click here.
Cardboard (graphic novel)
Ms. Rapscott's Girls
What Was D-Day?
The Hostile Hospital (A Series of Unfortunate Events #8) She read the first 7 books last year and took a break there, so now she resumed the series.
The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events # 9)
The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book #10). She also read the rest of the books in the series (I believe there are 13).
Rain Reign Read more reviews here.
Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy
The Name of this Book Is Secret For a list of book in this series click here.
The Girl Who Could Not Dream
The Mother-Daughter Book Club For a list of books in this series click here. My daughter fell in love with this series and read the whole series.
Wonder They are reading this book in school.
Out of My Mind
The Name of this Book Is Secret For a list of books in this series (all with great reviews) click here.
Mission Unstoppable For a list of books in The Genius Files series click here. She read the whole series as did my son in 2nd grade.
The Word Eater
Flashback Four #1: The Lincoln Project The first book of a new series–she wants to read the next one when it comes out.
What Was the Battle of Gettysburg?
The Isle of the Lost For a list of books in this series click here.
Millicent Min, Girl Genius
The Wish Stealers
The Romeo and Juliet Code
The Wig in the Window
Fridays with the Wizards Last year my daughter read the whole series (for a list of books click here) and the next installment just came out so she was thrilled because she loved it so much.
The Case of the Missing Moonstone For a list of books in The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series click here.
The Sixty-Eight Rooms For a list of books in this series click here.
Space Case For a list of books in this series click here.
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
The Templeton Twins Have an Idea (Check out the sequel here.)
Masterminds For a list of books in this series click here.
Spy School For a list of books in this series click here.
Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood
Belly Up For a list of book in the FunJungle series click here.
Poached For a list of book in the FunJungle series click here.
Three Times Lucky
One for the Murphys
The Lightning Thief For a list of books in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series click here.
Books I read to her or she listened to
Young Fredle
Rufus M. Although this is a very nice book, it is older and the style is different from the books that come out now. My son (7) loved it but my daughter (9) thought it was just okay. I'd probably agree with her. I don't know how many kids her age would read it on their own. It is probably a good read-aloud.
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
The Forgotten Door
Twelve Kinds of Ice
Pennyroyal Academy
The Tale of Rescue
Dragon Slippers Both my kids loved it and we read all books. But I must say that the first two were fun to read, the the third one though was a bit boring. For a list click here.
Misty of Chincoteague
Dealing with Dragons For a list of books in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles series click here. Both my kids asked for the sequels.
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Thinley Norbu breaks biking record
At the third edition of mountain biking challenge held in Thimphu on December 31 last year, Thinley Norbu completed the race in 34 minutes 40 seconds, riding a six-kilometer uphill stretch against the average gradient of 8.5 percent.
Breaking the previous record of 35 minutes 33 seconds, he won the King of the Mountain title. Chimi Dema took the Queen of the Mountain title for the second consecutive time. She completed the race 0.95 seconds late against her previous record of 46 minutes 7 seconds.
Tandin Wangchuk, 17, broke the fastest time record by three seconds. He topped the junior boys' category, completing the race in 35 minutes 30 seconds.
The race started from Lungtenzampa school parking, through Samarzingkha plantation area, and finished at the top of Tandin Ney.
Twenty-six cyclists took part in the day-long challenge organised by Thimphu Mountain Biking Club. The men cyclists competed in three different categories – elite men, masters men, and junior boys. The lone women competitor took part in the elite category.


At the 63rd World Health Assembly, WHO member nations were encouraged "to take all the necessary steps to establish, implement and support nationally-coordinated, efficiently managed and sustainable blood and plasma programmes according to availability of resources, with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency".
Currently, excluding China, plasma fractionation plants are only available in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Most of these fractionators are focused on the European and US markets and only supply Asia with excess product. Although a few high development index (HDI) countries in the Asia Pacific region have sufficient access to a broad portfolio of plasma products through domestic or contract plasma fractionation programmes, the volume of plasma fractionated in the region is too low to meet the needs, resulting in high prices.
Recognizing the importance of self-sufficiency to reduce costs, prevent blood shortages and meet the transfusion requirements of patients, a number of South-East Asian countries are moving towards setting up domestic fractionation plants.
Earlier this month, Malaysia's Strovi Tel Sdn Bhd announced the construction of the country's first fractionation plant through a partnership with LFB - Laboratoire francais du Fractonnement of des Biotechnologies – also stating its plans to further expand its business eventually into the South-East Asian and Middle East markets. Thailand's Thai Red Cross Society (TRCS) also announced a partnership with Korea's Green Cross, in January 2013, to design and construct a blood plasma separating facility in the Chon Buri province. While Malaysia and Thailand make headway, countries like Indonesia, Phillippines and Singapore are not far behind from self-sustenance.
At the upcoming Bioplasma World Asia 2013 gathering (co-located with Asia's most prominent bloodborne Pathogen workshop) taking place on 3-5 September 2013 in Bali, health representatives from these and many other Asian more countries, will get together with international plasma fractionators, blood establishments, and technology providers to explore opportunities and viable partnerships to meet the persistently rising demand of the Asian blood and bioplasma products market.
Some of the confirmed fractionators and government bodies attending this event include Central Blood Collection, Egypt, Indonesian Red Cross, Indonesia, Ministry Of Health, Kuwait, Ministry Of Health, Phillippines, National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Vietnam, National Institute of Biologicals, India, Baxter Healthcare, Austria, Greencross, Korea, Blood Product Research Organization, Japan, CSL Behring, Australia, Cordlife Blood Center, Singapore, Red Crescent Society, Brunei, Red Crescent Society, Malaysia, LFB, France, and Prime Biologics, Singapore.
Technology providers like Sartorius Stedim Biotech, Haemonetics Corporation, Asahi Kasei Medical Co. Ltd, Merck Millipore, Novartis, Nigale, GFE Blut, Dometic, ProMetic, Fresenius Kabi, Neste Jacobs, Boccard, Roche, Abbott, Cerus, will also be present.


At Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services, our aim is to make your life easier. We will work closely with you to develop an individualized solution, tailored specifically to the needs of your aircraft. Our main priority is keeping your jet airworthy and ready to go when you need it. Our technical coordinators are always on hand to provide you with the highest level of safety and flexibility. You can choose between all-round carefree packages (CAMO) or individually needed services (Maintenance Management Services - MMS).


The Roundtable meets over dinner on the second Wednesday of the month from September through May to hear talks by noted Civil War historians and authors as well as by members. Additionally, the Roundtable organizes a field trip each summer to a Civil War battlefield or related site. Recent destinations have included Gettysburg, PA, Fredericksburg, VA, Franklin, TN, Vicksburg, MS and Shiloh, TN. The club is also active in various Civil War educational and preservationist causes and publishes a newsletter, The Charger, each month of the nine-month Roundtable season as well as this web site.
Thank you for your interest in the Cleveland Civil War Roundtable. We hope to see you at our next meeting.


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HomeSportsAround The DormLions Around the Dorm
Lions Around the Dorm
August 25, 2009 Signal Editorial Staff Around The Dorm, Sports 0
The Around the Dorm opener will pit newcomer Robert Morris against seasoned veterans Michael O'Donnell and Bobby Olivier. New Sports Editor Garrett Rasko-Martinis will be testing the contestants with questions concerning the growing number of baseball players facing steroid allegations, Brett Favre once again opting to return to the National Football League, and the moral dilemmas surrounding Michael Vick's reinstatement.
1. Over the summer, several more Major League Baseball players have been accused of failing their 2003 steroid test. At this point, would baseball be better off keeping the records sealed, or just getting it all out in the open?
MO: First of all, this is not baseball's decision. The federal government is in possession of these records, and it's their decision whether or not to withhold the information. Nevertheless, baseball needs the name dropping to stop. Just when the public thinks the names are going to stop coming out, another pops up. The survey was supposed to be anonymous, and as each performance enhancing drug (PED) user surfaces, the public becomes more enthralled and wants more names. If cut off right now, people will eventually realize the releases are over, and will focus on baseball once again. This is not a problem that is going to be fixed overnight. Unless it continues to somehow illegally leak, as has happened over the last few years, baseball would very grateful if these positive tests did not come out for the world to see.
RM: It makes absolutely no sense to pick and choose what players will be exposed the public for their use of PEDs. Baseball fans have already seen one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game in Roger Clemens, and one of the greatest hitters in Manny Ramirez, both named in the report. Lives, reputations, legacies and the integrity of the game have already been tarnished with the release of some names. It is now the MLB's obligation to make all the findings public and would serve in the best interest of fans to just try and move past this dark cloud. It would be better to release all the names to the public so that every time a strikeout is tallied in a scorebook and a homerun is hit, baseball fans don't have to ask themselves if the athlete is clean.
BO: This whole "who was juicing and who wasn't" thing is just like a band aid. Rip it off, release the list and have everything out in the open, or leave it on and seal it for good. But for God's sake, make a decision. This slow, painful process of learning about various superstars and Jason Grimsley enhancing themselves to improve their game is only hurting the MLB and everyone associated with it. But, because there will always be leaks in one way or another, let's just get it over with and see that list. Nothing shocks anyone anymore regarding who tested positive. The list cannot hurt the sport much more than it already has, and then we can finally move on.
GRM: Robert and Bobby said they think it would be better for the list to be public, even if it isn't legally possible, and I too agree. So whoever got their ATD answers to me first wins. Bobby gets a 3 for submitting them on Friday at 11:00 a.m, Robert gets 2 for sending them five hours later. Mike receives the 1 because the name-dropping isn't going to stop unless the perpetrators are caught.
2. It's a different summer, but it's conclusion is just the same – Brett Favre is once again coming out of retirement. Does it tarnish his legacy that he keeps mulling retirement, just to re-enter football a few weeks later?
MO: I wrote for The Signal about this last year and said that when he came out of retirement the first time and played for the Jets, that it did not destroy his legacy because all he wanted to do was play football, and that was obviously not going to happen in Green Bay. This time around, I think his legacy is slightly more tarnished. Don't get me wrong, Favre will still be remembered as arguably one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. However, he may now be remembered as the guy who betrayed his loyal Cheeseheads by joining the hated Vikings, liked the attention of being in the spotlight, or had the worst decision-making skills in history. No matter how you spin it, Favre has made people think about him more now as something other than a great quarterback and a model human being.
RM: Retirement is nothing new to the sports fan. Athletes have retired and returned throughout the history of sports. It is a part of sports, and the business that is sports. The great Michael Jordan had two retirements himself, Roger Clemens retired at least four or five times, and the hockey great Mario Lemieux also had more than one retirement. Lance Armstrong, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman are all big names who have retired and returned, and yet Favre has been labeled a "prima donna" by many media outlets. In a league filled with athletes who have been in prison, are under house arrest and have made more court appearances then Brett Favre has changed his mind, how can we seem to be so angered at a man who just can't seem to step away from a game that has done so much for him, and he's done so much for?
BO: Although Favre's signing with the Vikings garnered the "sigh … really?" response from a good chunk of sports nation, it does not tarnish his legacy. Sure, the way Favre has gone about retiring and returning has been exhausting, but I have to respect that after all of his time in the NFL and everything he has accomplished, Favre still finds that desire to compete. The records speak for themselves, and no matter what shenanigans Favre pulls in the future, the way he is regarded as an all-time great and tenacious competitor will — or at least should — always stand. And honestly, who doesn't want to see Favre return to Lambeau Field in the dead of winter to take on a franchise he brought back into the spotlight so many years ago?
GRM: Mr. O'Donnell gets the 3 on this question. Favre still has all the records, but he's destroyed the part of his legacy that labeled him a hometown hero. Bobby gets 2 for mentioning how intriguing it's going to be when Favre returns to Lambeau. Robert gets 1 point for downplaying the impact of Favre's flip flopping.
3. Michael Vick's NFL reinstatement has been met with a great deal of protest by animal lovers across the country. Does Vick deserve this second chance, or should Roger Goodell have prohibited Vick from playing?
MO: As much as it pains me to say as a dog lover, Michael Vick does deserve a second chance. Despite the backlash the NFL and the Eagles are experiencing for this reinstatement, this is a good move by Roger Goodell. Not only did Goodell provide a solid initial punishment of an indefinite suspension along with his jail time, Vick also has to wait until Week 6 at the latest in order to have a shot at playing. Goodell made his mark by laying down the law, not only with Vick but also with Plaxico Burress. Goodell encouraged Burress to admit his guilt to the gun possession charges, and because of this, Plax will be allowed to return to the NFL when he is done serving his jail time. If Vick ends up reforming himself and being a positive role model in the community, that could mean positive publicity for the NFL. This will all be forgotten if Vick plays well. Does anyone think about Kobe Bryant and his rape charge anymore? Hardly, and the same will happen to Vick, pending he plays well yet again.
RM: We all have made mistakes in our life. I certainly do not condone what Vick did, and I will never be the Vick fan that I once was, but I do fully support him getting a second chance to turn his life around. Vick served his time in prison. Perhaps I am naive but I do like to believe that people are inherently good at heart and he is sorry for his mistakes. Tony Dungy has fully supported Vick's reinstatement and said that he believed Vick to be sincere in his regret and apologies. My hat is off to Commissioner Goodell. He has done a superb job in cleaning up the league and once again, I strongly feel he did the right thing in allowing Michael Vick a second chance.
BO: Let's get something straight. Michael Vick screwed up. We know it, and he knows it. Just like any criminal, Vick wants a second chance to redeem himself after his incarceration, so give him that chance to shine. He's most likely not going to be the that missing link that makes or breaks the Philadelphia Eagles on their quest for a Super Bowl appearance, so let the guy get his snaps and get back to his life. Roger Goodell made the right call by letting Vick back into the league, and for the animal rights protestors, I'm sure there's plenty of other criminals committing canine atrocities around the world. Go bother them. All I'm saying is give Vick a chance.
GRM: Robert gets the 3 here because I completely agree that Vick did his time and deserves a second chance. Bobby gets 2 for saying the same thing, but in a less interesting way. Mike gets a 1 because no matter how good Vick does in football, the animal rights activists will still hate him and you can't compare Kobe to Vick. Kobe's rape allegations were just that, allegations, and Vick admitted to his crime.
Bobby opens up the season with a victory, 7-6-5
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