text:
The Back Pages - new tracks!
We've had a week at Nordic Music Review listening to excellent albums from Arstidir and Esko Järvelä Epic Male Band, but it does feel pretty good to change direction slightly and head back to some new offerings that are entirely based on guitar driven alternative rock.
'The Back Pages' are from Oslo and released their debut album in October 2013, and you can now get it for free if you visit their Bandcamp page at the bottom of this feature. Their style of music is refreshingly straight forward, high energy driving guitars, always upbeat and big catchy choruses.
Theyre in the midst of recording their new album, but there are 2 new songs that are now available to listen to. We've provided the links below (this website doesn't allow us to embed Soundcloud into blog posts…. sigh), and theyre good down-to-earth rock songs.
The first is 'When the Spirit Flies', with a big guitar opening, and a sound which to me has echoes of bands like 'The Flatliners' from Canada, unpretentious solid, and bold. As always theres a lead up to a big chorus and it keeps going at a relentless pace.
https://soundcloud.com/thebackpages/when-the-spirit-flies
The 2nd track is called 'This Whole Mess', its slightly less frenetic, with a slightly more reflective subtle section in the middle, which builds back up to a bigger ending. The song still has a good tune, and if you like real honest indie rock then we'd recommend you give them a listen:
https://soundcloud.com/thebackpages/this-whole-mess
Of equal interest to us, is that on Bandcamp there's a little 4 song acoustic set they did at John Dee which you also can download for free. This is the type of thing we love to see and hear.
'The Back Pages' new album will hopefully with us sometime this year, and in the meantime if youre in Norway you can catch them in Trondheim on May 15th, check their Facebook page for details.
Website: www.thebackpages.no
Bandcamp: http://the-back-pages.bandcamp.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thebackpages
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thebackpages
#norway


Gulf Coast Oil Platforms: Save the Rigs?
A federal program urges the fast removal of "idle iron" oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. But in an unexpected twist, some environmentalists want the rigs to remain as a home for fish.
This year, it's likely more than 100 offshore structures in the Gulf of Mexico will be removed as part of a Department of the Interior plan. There are 650 nonproducing oil and gas platforms, known in the industry as "idle iron," listed for removal "as soon as possible"—i.e. within five years of the end of production or a year of losing the lease—under Interior's directive. Historically, companies seldom removed an idle structure until the lease for the area where it was located expired.
Having companies clean up after themselves sounds like a good idea, but many recreational fishermen, scuba divers, scientists, and fishery managers aren't happy about it. Turns out, some of the 2,500 multileg platforms that pepper the Gulf of Mexico have become de facto artificial reefs. According to Bob Shipp, University of South Alabama's Department of Marine Sciences, the platforms have transformed the entire ecosystem. Some marine species are attracted to platforms for shelter or food, but others—sea fans, sponges, algae, and reef fish—spend their entire life cycle on these structures. What's more, some species have increased in number because of the platforms.
Typically, platform removal involves using explosives on each of the support legs. These blasts kill fish and other marine life, says Clint Moore, a vice president for corporate development at ION Geophysical Corporation and former oil and gas representative to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimates that removing a platform kills 800 fish on average. Fishermen put the number in the tens of thousands.
Brent Casey, a fishing charter boat captain in Port Aransas, Texas, says that even the government's low figure means a single platform removal kills an entire year's catch limit of red snapper. "In another three years, there won't be anywhere to fish off of Port Aransas, no reef habitat," Casey says.
Rather than remove a structure, under federally endorsed but state-run Rigs-to-Reefs programs, companies can convert platforms to a designated artificial reef. These artificial reefs are an important part of conserving marine habitat, says Dale Shively, manager of the program for Texas. Yet as of 2009, only 2 percent of decommissioned platforms in less than 100 feet of water and 38 percent of those between 101 and 200 feet of water were officially reefed—generally meaning moved (but not all; some are toppled in place). Drew Hunger, manager of decommissioning for Houston-based Apache Corporation, one of the largest operators in the Gulf, blames a restrictive and lengthy permitting process.
Another problem with the Rigs-to-Reefs program: reefed platforms must be toppled or dropped to a depth of at least 85 feet beneath the water surface, but before reefing, most marine creatures are living on the part of the structure at depths of about 60 feet or shallower.
Louisiana Senator David Vitter introduced legislation last year that would leave the platforms where they are if protected—or valuable—marine life was found on or around them. Mississippi Representative Steve Palazzo filed a similar bill. Neither is likely to make it out of committee this session. As California has discovered in establishing its own rigs-to-reefs regime, the politics of decommissioning platforms attracts schools of opposing viewpoints, too.
On the other hand, it may not always be a bad idea to remove idle platforms: Improperly capped or poorly maintained wells can leak, and storm damage can cause spills. Platforms may disrupt sargassum mats—important habitat for a number of marine species, according to Emma Hickerson, a research coordinator at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary; and the structures have been demonstrated to serve as stepping-stones for invasive species.
But Paul Sammarco, a professor at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, counters that, while platforms can facilitate the spread of invasive species, those species would proliferate without the platforms, too. Invaders spread via the hulls and ballast water of thousands of ships traveling these waters every year, and the larvae of some species travel long distances naturally.
Given the controversy, and with so much at stake, re-evaluation of the pace of platform removal seems a reasonable request, and one that has been made by a number of groups, including the Gulf Coast Fishery Management Council; Coastal Conservation Association, which represents recreational anglers; and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.
While humans wonder what do with old oil rigs, fish scientist Milton Love suggests his subjects have a definite school of thought.


text:
using namespace signin_internals_util;

using content::BrowserThread;

SigninManagerBase::SigninManagerBase()
    : profile_(NULL),
      weak_pointer_factory_(this) {
}

SigninManagerBase::~SigninManagerBase() {
  DCHECK(!signin_global_error_.get()) <<
      "SigninManagerBase::Initialize called but not "
      "SigninManagerBase::Shutdown";
}

void SigninManagerBase::Initialize(Profile* profile, PrefService* local_state) {
  // Should never call Initialize() twice.
  DCHECK(!IsInitialized());
  profile_ = profile;
  signin_global_error_.reset(new SigninGlobalError(this, profile));
  GlobalErrorServiceFactory::GetForProfile(profile_)->AddGlobalError(
      signin_global_error_.get());

  // If the user is clearing the token service from the command line, then
  // clear their login info also (not valid to be logged in without any
  // tokens).
  CommandLine* cmd_line = CommandLine::ForCurrentProcess();
  if (cmd_line->HasSwitch(switches::kClearTokenService))
    profile->GetPrefs()->ClearPref(prefs::kGoogleServicesUsername);

  std::string user = profile_->GetPrefs()->GetString(
      prefs::kGoogleServicesUsername);
  if (!user.empty())
    SetAuthenticatedUsername(user);

  InitTokenService();
}

void SigninManagerBase::InitTokenService() {
  // TokenService can be null for unit tests.
  TokenService* token_service = TokenServiceFactory::GetForProfile(profile_);
  if (token_service)
    token_service->Initialize(GaiaConstants::kChromeSource, profile_);
  // Note: ChromeOS will kick off TokenService::LoadTokensFromDB from
  // OAuthLoginManager once the rest of the Profile is fully initialized.
}

bool SigninManagerBase::IsInitialized() const {
  return profile_ != NULL;
}

bool SigninManagerBase::IsSigninAllowed() const {
  return profile_->GetPrefs()->GetBoolean(prefs::kSigninAllowed);
}

const std::string& SigninManagerBase::GetAuthenticatedUsername() const {
  return authenticated_username_;
}

void SigninManagerBase::SetAuthenticatedUsername(const std::string& username) {
  if (!authenticated_username_.empty()) {
    DLOG_IF(ERROR, username != authenticated_username_) <<
        "Tried to change the authenticated username to something different: " <<
        "Current: " << authenticated_username_ << ", New: " << username;
    return;
  }
  authenticated_username_ = username;
  // TODO(tim): We could go further in ensuring kGoogleServicesUsername and
  // authenticated_username_ are consistent once established (e.g. remove
  // authenticated_username_ altogether). Bug 107160.

  NotifyDiagnosticsObservers(USERNAME, username);

  // Go ahead and update the last signed in username here as well. Once a
  // user is signed in the two preferences should match. Doing it here as
  // opposed to on signin allows us to catch the upgrade scenario.
  profile_->GetPrefs()->SetString(prefs::kGoogleServicesLastUsername, username);
}

void SigninManagerBase::clear_authenticated_username() {
  authenticated_username_.clear();
}

bool SigninManagerBase::AuthInProgress() const {
  // SigninManagerBase never kicks off auth processes itself.
  return false;
}

void SigninManagerBase::Shutdown() {
  if (signin_global_error_.get()) {
    GlobalErrorServiceFactory::GetForProfile(profile_)->RemoveGlobalError(
        signin_global_error_.get());
    signin_global_error_.reset();
  }
}

void SigninManagerBase::AddSigninDiagnosticsObserver(
    SigninDiagnosticsObserver* observer) {
  signin_diagnostics_observers_.AddObserver(observer);
}

void SigninManagerBase::RemoveSigninDiagnosticsObserver(
    SigninDiagnosticsObserver* observer) {
  signin_diagnostics_observers_.RemoveObserver(observer);
}

void SigninManagerBase::NotifyDiagnosticsObservers(
    const UntimedSigninStatusField& field,
    const std::string& value) {
  FOR_EACH_OBSERVER(SigninDiagnosticsObserver,
                    signin_diagnostics_observers_,
                    NotifySigninValueChanged(field, value));
}

void SigninManagerBase::NotifyDiagnosticsObservers(
    const TimedSigninStatusField& field,
    const std::string& value) {
  FOR_EACH_OBSERVER(SigninDiagnosticsObserver,
                    signin_diagnostics_observers_,
                    NotifySigninValueChanged(field, value));
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Fausto Puglisi Debuts Menswear at Pitti Uomo
The designer, who's known for his bold, embroidered looks for women, showed a men's capsule collection fit the for the Greek gods.
by Ally Betker
"I'm tired, but I'm okay, actually. I'm very happy," said Fausto Puglisi yesterday, the evening before he would show his first-ever men's designs at Pitti Uomo.
He had spent the day finalizing the casting and styling, meeting with the calcio storico (a brutal Rugby-like sport) players – "real men" – he had tapped to model the capsule collection. "Every guy is special, a human being," he said, which is why he let them choose for themselves what they would wear during the presentation. "Because there's nothing worse than looking at a man or a woman who doesn't believe in the look–though I did make two changes," he admitted with a laugh.
For inspiration, Puglisi looked to macho men from the movies, like Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver and Brad Pitt in Fight Club. But the idea for a men's line was actually born out of his bold, embellished, and altogether sexy women's clothes. "Many department stores told me 'you know what? There are so many men who buy your oversized jackets, your oversized shirts, your oversized t-shirts, whatever.'"
So he set out to create separates specifically for them. "Many women wear masculine, oversized knits, beautiful coats, beautiful jackets, and men wear the girlfriend's lace shirts. This is the reality already. So it's about freedom, it's about no boundaries," he said.
The resulting collection includes tunics, shorts, and jackets, in a red and black color scheme with prints we've come to recognize are purely Puglisi: palm trees, checker board, Greek and Roman motifs.
"I have a strong personality; I like to be in the middle of extreme good taste and extreme bad taste, and I like mixing them together," he said. "Yet everything can be styled with your Levi's from '95. It's made of separates, and every single piece I wanted to be itself."
Photos: Fausto Puglisi Debuts Menswear at Pitti Uomo
Fausto Puglisi Men's Spring/Summer '17 Collection. Courtesy of Fausto Puglisi.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
NGO drags government to court over illegal cancellation of titles
By Ruth Anderah.
The Attorney General of Uganda has been dragged to the Constitutional Court by concerned Citizens under their umbrella, "Citizens' Concern Africa over illegal cancellation of titles.
The NGO that is focused on improving social accountability and good governance, protection of the environment, as well as the observance of rights for all, says it is aggrieved with the provisions of the law entitling the government to issue and cancel land titles as and when it pleases, without a Court order.
The Organization contends that section 91 of the Land Act, which empowers the Commissioner of Lands to notify the persons likely to be affected by the cancellation, to give reasons why their titles shouldn't be cancelled, contravenes article 28 of constitution as it denies the victims a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal.
They also argue that the same provision of the Land Act, contravenes rules of natural justice where Government through the said Commissioner of Lands becomes a judge in its own case, and the cancellation sees the respective land revert back to the Government.
Through their Lawyers, Joe. R. Karigyenda & co Advocates, the Organisation avers that much as the Constitution allows the Government to hold resources and the lands harboring the same in trust for the people, in the same way the Commissioner of Lands ought to seek a Court order before cancellation of such titles.


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dbForge SQL Decryptor is a free database tool that allows decrypting SQL Server procedures,functions,triggers and views, which supports most versions and editions of the Microsoft SQL Server and requires no DAC connection,decrypts all object types. - Decrypt all possible object types. Stored procedures (including numbered procedures and replication filters), functions (scalar, inline and multistatement table-valued), triggers (on tables, on views, on databases, and on server instances) and views. - No DAC connection is required. Similar tools compel you to use Dedicated Administrator Connection mode to decrypt an object, which may lead to certain difficulties with reconfiguring the whole server. dbForge SQL Decryptor does not require this mode, but doesn't prohibit to use it, because you can save some time while decrypting objects in large databases. - SSMS-like Object Explorer. You can do everything in a familiar way: connect to as many server instances as you like and browse all available databases. - Syntax highlighting. A build-in text editor allows you to see the original object definition with syntax highlighting , which facilitates reading of source code. - Saving definition to file. You can save every decrypted definition to a file with UTF-8 encoding, which preserves all national characters. - Batch decryption wizard. Decrypt all or particular objects with extra convenient and simple wizard, then save definitions to one or several files, or just alter database objects in-place.
Voimakas OST Recovery is a software that repair corrupted of damage offline Exchange OST file and restore emails from them as well as export all emails into Outlook PST, EML or MSG files, export emails to Live Exchange or Office 365 and recover deleted Outlook emails from OST filey to allow user to save offline Exchange emails to Outlook PST file with all email properties.
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Application Delivery Foundation for z Systems is a suite of integrated, full-feature tools, all built on the Aqua release train. Each of these tools can be obtained individually, and have been optimized to help you design, build, test, and debug z/OS software so that you can make the most of your investment. These tools include IBM z/OS Explorer, IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS, IBM File Manager for z/OS, IBM Developer for z Systems Enterprise Edition, and IBM Application Performance Analyzer for z/OS. Each tool contributes necessary functionalities in one interface, covering the spectrum of capabilities that programmers need to develop z/OS software. What is included in ADFz IBM Explorer for z/OS is the strategic integration platform for IBM Eclipse-based offering for z/OS application developers and system programmers. IBM Fault Analyzer for z/OS This robust problem determination tool helps to analyze and correct application failures quickly and early, increasing productivity and decreasing deployment costs. IBM File Manager for z/OS File Manager for z/OS allows you to manipulate production, test, and development data in a variety of data stores, including DB2, IMS, CICS, MQ, data sets, and HFS files. The tool also provides a set of utilities to work with data such as compare, copy, find/change, print and much more. IBM Developer for z Systems Enterprise Edition This comprehensive solution for creating and maintaining z/OS applications includes: IBM Developer for z Systems, IBM Debug for z Systems, IBM Explorer for z/OS, and added debug capabilities. This offering provides a comprehensive development and debugging solution for z/OS application developers. IBM Application Performance Analyzer for z/OS This tool identifies z/OS application performance and response time problems, and assists in reducing resource consumption.
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How ICOs Started and their Impact on Cryptocurrency Trading
JOHN K MWANIKI | 0 Comments|
Initial Public Offering (IPO) has been the leading way for companies to raise funds. That is apart from private funding. Things are, however, beginning to change with the increased crypto use.
Most currencies are embracing the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) as a way to gain funding. It involves the use of cryptocurrencies.
This analysis looks into everything to know about ICOs. It seems the concept and how it works. It also covers the impacts on cryptocurrency trading.
What is an ICO
An ICO is where DLT-based ventures create cryptocurrencies and distribute them among investors. The companies use this as a means to raise capital for start and operation.
Over $28b was raised in ICO between 2016 and 2018. Around 1601 ICO campaigns occurred in this period.
How ICO Works
An ICO involves a detailed process that looks to leverage technology, finance, and the law. It rolls these to make use of the decentralized systems of blockchain technology in capital raising.
The ICO process involves;
1. Identifying potential investors
Every company needs money to start. The first step to securing the money is by looking for potential investors. After which, they come up with materials relating to the investors. They can only buy into the idea if it's relatable.
2. Creating tokens
With a potential investor in mind, the company can create a token. A token is a representation of a utility or an asset in the blockchain. They are like shares in IPOs. The only difference though, is that tokens don't give an equity stake of the company to the investor. It instead offers a stake of a product within the company. They are also tradable and fungible.
Tokens are relatively easy to create. There is no need to start from scratch, building a commodity.
Companies can rely on support like Ethereum. It supports the establishment of other tokens on its platform.
3. Promotion campaign
The next phase is to reach as many people as possible. The token goes into a market mode. Most of the marketing plans are online-based. This way, it gets to reach many users. Some campaigns had also been using celebrities and other public figures.
Most social media sites are, however, banning ICO adverts. This follows several cases of scam launches. There have also been cases of celebrities arrested over failure to disclose payment to advertise.
Either way, they still have to reach the intended audience. Some ICOs offer a promotional gift. They provide free tokens for early investors. Some also offer referrals and affiliate marketing.
4. Initial offering
This is the point where investors get tokens while the company gets funding. Most of the time, the funding is in the form of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The company can present the offering in several phases, depending on needs. The investors meanwhile wait to gain from the tokens in the future specified data. They can also sell them off once the value rises.
Impacts of ICO on Cryptocurrency Trading
ICOs have changed how companies raise funds for the better. That is why they have been growing in popularity. Most virtual currency users regard it as fundraising for the future. It means it's only a matter of time before the extinction of IPOs.
Here are some of the significant impacts of ICOs on cryptocurrency trading;
1. Increased Institutional Investors
For a long time, institutional investors have been wary of cryptocurrencies. They have shied off due to the volatility and unregulated nature of cryptos. Investing In cryptos has been full of uncertainty. Institutional investors would not take such risks.
As cryptos become integral in fundraising, then they would have to join. Most of the institutional investors have been the leaders in the IPO. Banks are the platforms for offering shares. A dying IPO means they have to look for alternatives. Cryptos, for now, provides the best option.
The institutional investors are always willing to embrace change. That is when they can make the needed gains.
2. Increase Crypto Acquisition
One of the reasons for crypto growth is its usefulness. And nothing gives cryptos usability as its role in ICOS. Most of the crypto tokens rely on the existing cryptocurrencies like Ethereum to operate.
After a successful ICO, the tokens tend to grow into digital currencies of their own right. This has seen a bulging number of virtual currencies in recent times. As the cryptos become part of the market, it keeps expanding.
Increasing ICOs means more acquisition than ever before. It will, with time, become more mainstream, leading to even higher liquidity.
3. Increased Regulation
Even though cryptos are becoming integral, they still come with concerns. Scams in ICOs are the major challenge at the moment. For example, Giza raised more than $2.4m in a fake scam in 2018. It involved more than 1000 investors.
As long as these concerns persist, there is a need for regulation. Several countries are coming up with regulations to ensure investor safety. The European Union is leading in providing open space. It recently released a detailed regulatory framework for crypto-assets.
This would cover everything crypto-related. It would look into the coins, exchanges, service providers, and the ICOs.
In some countries, the current financial regulations apply to ICOs. For example, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) froze FlexCoin's $15m raised in 2015. The company was promising an unattainable 1354% in returns.
Started almost a decade ago, crypto influence is ever-growing. Of all the sectors, the financial sectors remain the most disrupted. Cryptos have impacted transactions and cross border money transfer. It is now upto how companies raise funds.
IPOs have been the to-go-to way to raise funds by companies. It involves a lengthy bureaucratic process before going live. It is also costly as it requires documentation and compliance. Still, the IPOs are limiting as it mostly for local investors. All these are different when it comes to ICOs.
The ICOs are offering a convenient means for companies to raise funds. There is no need for documentation or regulatory threshold to meet. The company can offer the tokens immediately after declaring an interest.
The ICO is impactful to digital currency trading as it has increased institutional investors take up. It has also increased acquisition and improved regulations.
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text:
Articles, Essays & videos, Plus Historical Fiction
News: Famous kitchen sets up in the heart of government to feed federal workers
Celebrity Chef José Andrés' Social Media Movement
By Sanchali Singh
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Celebrity chef José Andrés started a social media movement that encourages other restaurants to help furloughed federal employees. This is the sign on his kitchen on Pennsylvania Avenue. (Victoria Gomes-Boronat/Capital News Service)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Chef José Andrés stood outside of the Pennsylvania Avenue World Central Kitchen location for hours Wednesday, welcoming furloughed federal employees into the cafe to get food and supplies to help feed them and their families.
World Central Kitchen, a registered non-profit organization, does more than just hand out hot meals. Partnering with organizations like Martha's Table, Verizon and Pepco, the resource center provides federal workers in need with fresh produce, diapers, pet food and bill payment consultations.
Andrés announced the opening of the resource center on Tuesday as part of World Central Kitchen's nationwide campaign to help alleviate financial problems for the thousands of federal workers not receiving paychecks as the government shutdown reached its 33rd day.
Torrell J. Leach, Sr., an FBI management and program analyst working without pay, said he came to the center to get help with paying some of his bills, specifically his Xfinity bill.
He said the companies can and will defer payments until after the shutdown is over. Leach said he has already been spending money from his savings, but doesn't want to spend all his money on just paying bills.
"I'm just preparing, taking it day by day," Leach told Capital News Service. "That's all I can really do."
The shutdown is serving as a teaching moment for some government employees.
Lewis Wilborn, a pretrial service officer also working without pay, said he has learned how to prioritize his actions and activities. He said he drives less to save on gas, spends less on dry cleaning and stays at home more.
"It kind of makes you take a step back," Wilborn said. "I've had to evaluate my values and see what's important. I've been spending a lot less, and I'm going to save more for the years to come."
Lewis said the shutdown has been affecting his family since Christmas, right around when the government shutdown began.
"At that point, right after Christmas, that's when it gets tough," he said. "You know, you overspend a little bit and then things pick back up but I wasn't expecting this right now."
A father of a seven-year-old and a nine-year-old, Lewis said he had to return some Christmas gifts, like clothes and toys that his kids hadn't opened yet.
Andrés said he and other partners are working to open 40 more locations like the Pennsylvania Avenue World Central Kitchen to help people just like Leach and Lewis.
Andrés said the location on Pennsylvania Avenue was intentional. Equidistant from the White House and the United States Capitol, the chef said he wanted to draw in politicians so they could come and see how the shutdown was affecting government employees.
Already, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, has visited, and Maryland Democratic Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen toured the kitchen Wednesday.
Andrés said he won't close any locations until the government shutdown is over.
"We cannot afford not to be open. We'll feed the people first," the chef said.


This contest will be a 7 day point marathon focused on the Review Sections of Miniature Trading: Miniature Reviews and Armies. These sections strive on your input, whether it is your articles, votes, or comments. Currenly, the Pirates CSG section of the reviews dominate. This contest is aimed to build up the other libraries of game reviews that Miniature Trading fosters. However, it does not exclude Pirates CSG Reviews, but contributions for the Pirates reviews will be awarded fewer points.
So, you will receive points for creating articles, gaining comments, and leaving comments. The more you contribute, the more points you will receive. The contest will begin July 6, 12:00 A.M. GMT and will end July 12, 11:59 P.M. GMT. However, you only gain points while the contest is going on.
1. leave positive feedback AND constructive criticism. For instance, say a positive comment, followed by an idea to improve on, and end with another positive comment.
2. comment on your own reviews. Though you will not receive points for your own comments, responding to someone else's comment on your review may spark a discussion.
3. vote. Well, there's no way to award points for voting since it is anonymous, but you're there anyway. Why not vote?
- You will receive 1 point for every comment left on any of your reviews or armies during the contest time.
- You will receive 2 points for every comment you leave on someone else's reviews or armies during the contest time.
- You will receive 3 points for every Pirate review and fleet you create during the contest time.
- You will receive 10 points for every non-Pirate review and army you create during the contest time.
- if your only comment is, "Nice Job! Good review!" There needs to be an explanation about your comment.
- if you leave a comment targeted to "bash" or degrade the author. This contest is not meant to be a gateway for personal attacks. ALL comments should be helpful.
- if you comment on a review/army authored by a user that is no longer registered with Miniature Trading.
At the end of every day, I will check the Miniature Reviews and Armies sections in order to tally the points. Then, in the Welcome forums, I will post the participants and their points in a running total. The only Reviews and Armies sections that it may be difficult to check for will be the Pirates section. So, I will check those sections from May 2009 to present. If you commented on a review or army that was written before those dates, send me a personal message so that I may check that one.
There will be 5 prizes given away to the top 5 contributors. The prizes are set up to be starter kits, either complete starters from stores, or kits put together from various pieces. The idea is to give 2 people an opportunity to try a new game they are unfamiliar with, hopefully making new fans of the new game.
In case you can't commit time to the Reviews or Armies to be a significant point-runner, there will be 3 raffle pool prizes for ANYONE that contributes according the rules mentioned above. These 3 prizes will be available ONLY to users that are NOT in the top 5.
Sorry, there needs to be a correction: You get points for creating a review OR army. It is not required to do both to get points. Sorry about that.
I've included my points as well. I usually don't compete in the contests, but I'd really like to this time. If anyone sees a problem with it, PM me and we can discuss it.
I'm going to put up the scores only on the Welcome forum for now on. Thanks guys. You're halfway there!!


This quality Cushion Storage Bag provides high-end style and protection at a value price. Thoughtful design and performance features ensure protection in all types of weather, while the neutral color blends into any garden or patio setting. The heavy-duty fabric protects patio cushions against weather damage and dirt.


""When people start talking about Poe, I get all riled up" Boy you weren't kiddin.…"
"Sorry if this reply is a little late I didn't realize you had replied to it. I doub…"
"I always like The Raven and Dream Within a Dream."
"Milton and Dante both wrote epic poetry and this was actually something I was thinki…"
"I finished The Subtle Knife last week and I've just started The Amber Spyglass. I lo…"
"The Shadow Over Insmouth is a definite favorite of mine. I read a story in Best New…"
"They burned copies of Fahrenheit 451? That's ironic!"
"I didn't start reading Bukowski until I saw Barfly and I saw Secret Window before I…"
"No I haven't but I've heard a lot about it. Any good?"
"I haven't read American Psycho but I do have the movie and I love it. Yeah that movi…"


There's a new label for women floating around on the Internet: bagel girls. A Konglish (Korean + English) combination of baby-faced and glamorous, the phrase started popping up about a year ago on websites dedicated to K-pop and South Korean celebrities. South Korean stars, especially actresses and singers, are praised as bagel girls for the contrast between what fans have called their youthful "baby faces" and "glamorous" bodies.
As for the glamorous bodies, it's all about the curves, of course. While their faces should remain girlish, their bodies are often singled out for having "S-lines." What's an S-line? It's the South Korean equivalent of T&A and just one of many troubling "alphabet-lines" ubiquitous in South Korean pop culture. Other ridiculous examples include W-line (breasts), V-line (to describe one's face or cleavage), M-line (men's abs), and, perhaps worst of all, X-line, which is reserved for women with long limbs and tiny waists.
"However fleeting the popularity of the term 'bagel girl' may or may not prove to be, I find the fact that such an inane term has gained such traction in popular culture to very much epitomize the pervasive media objectification of women here [in South Korea]," Turnbull says.
Sexualizing young women for having childlike features sets off all kinds of alarms, regardless of whether or not they are over 18. The "bagel girl" label does more than infantilize women. It compartmentalizes them by applying two irreconcilable ideals: looking like a baby and a full-grown woman at the same time. It's not enough to look youthful and beautiful anymore in industries that have a history of idealizing and objectifying women. Shin Se-Kyung, who was voted the top bagel girl, is just 21 years old.
It's no surprise that this environment exists in a country that has one of the lowest (and, sometimes, the lowest) rates of females in the workforce in the O.E.C.D., an economic organization with 34 members concentrated in Europe and North America. South Korea is also the only country in the O.E.C.D. where women with degrees are less likely to work than those without a college education.


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Q: Sorting Multiple Choice Questions using OPENCV and PYTESSERACT I am trying to make and compile a multiple choice quiz , the MCQ questions comes from different books and other sources so that I can answer them digitally. I didn't bother to type them one by one because it was a hassle and will consume a lot of time. So I took pictures of the questions from the books then fed them to my script that uses openCV for image processing and Py-tesseract to convert them to text and used a python module to export it to excel which acts as a "database" for my questions.
My problem is I am having trouble sorting the choices to its corresponding letter
Here is an image of the choices
Multiple Choices
and my code that sorts the choices by newline
choices = cv2.imread("ROI_2.png", 0)
custom_config = r'--oem 3 --psm 6'
c = pytesseract.image_to_string(choices, config=custom_config, lang='eng')

x = re.sub(r'\n{2}', '\n', c)
text = repr(x)
print(text)
newtext = text.split("\\n")

It works well if the choices are short but fails in other choices having multiple new lines
Choices having multiple new lines
I'm trying to find a way to sort these choices efficiently by its corresponding letter , I was thinking about maybe de-limiters would work or combining the newly converted text to a single line or maybe its in the image processing ? I have ideas on how to solve my problem but i dont know how to proceed I'm still fairly a beginner at python and rely heavily on tutorials or past answered questions in stackoverflow

A: Your images seem to be noise-free. So it was easy to extract the text.
code:
    img = cv2.imread("options.png",0)
    img_copy = cv2.cvtColor(img,cv2.COLOR_GRAY2BGR)
    otsu = cv2.threshold(img,0,255,cv2.THRESH_BINARY+cv2.THRESH_OTSU)[1]
    custom_oem_psm_config = r'--oem 3 --psm 6'
    ocr = pytesseract.image_to_data(otsu, output_type=Output.DICT,config=custom_oem_psm_config,lang='eng')
    boxes = len(ocr['text'])
    texts = []

    for i in range(boxes):
        if (int(ocr['conf'][i])!=-1):
            (x,y,w,h) = (ocr['left'][i],ocr['top'][i],ocr['width'][i],ocr['height'][i])
            cv2.rectangle(img_copy,(x,y),(x+w,y+h),(255,0,0),2)
            texts.append(ocr['text'][i])

    def list_to_string(list):
        str1 = " "
        return str1.join(list)

    string = list_to_string(texts)
    print("String: ",string)

Output
String:  A. A sound used to indicate when a transmission is complete. B. A sound used to identify the repeater. C. A sound used to indicate that a message is waiting for someone. D. A sound used to activate a receiver in case of severe weather.

But here we have all the options joined in one string. So to split the string according to the options, I have used split function.
    a = string.split("A.")
    b = a[1].split("B.")
    c = b[1].split("C.")
    d = c[1].split("D.")

    option_A = b[0]
    option_B = c[0]
    option_C = d[0]
    option_D = d[1]

    print("only options RHS")
    print(option_A)
    print(option_B)
    print(option_C)
    print(option_D)

Output:
only options RHS
 A sound used to indicate when a transmission is complete.
 A sound used to identify the repeater.
 A sound used to indicate that a message is waiting for someone.
 A sound used to activate a receiver in case of severe weather.

there you go, all the options. Hope this solves the problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Phnom Penh Post - Hun Manet promoted after royal decree
Hun Manet promoted after royal decree
Khouth Sophak Chakrya | Publication date 07 September 2018 | 07:55 ICT
Hun Manet has been promoted by royal decree. Photo supplied
Fri, 7 September 2018
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Hun manet, the son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, rose to the rank of Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) – the second most powerful position in the Kingdom's military – on Thursday after a royal decree.
The order, issued by King Norodom Sihamoni, saw the 41-year-old Lieutenant General replace General Meas Sophea – who was appointed Senior Minister in charge of Special Operations – while General Vong Pisen was promoted to General Commander of the RCAF, the armed forces' top rank.
The key promotions came on the advice of Hun Sen, who said they were based on "the necessity of the government", the merit of the men involved and the experience of the senior soldiers.
Manet maintains his positions as the Deputy General Commander and Joint Chief of Staff of the RCAF.
According to the royal decree obtained by The Post on Thursday, Pisen, who was the former deputy commander and chief of staff of the National Military Police, replaces General Pol Saroeun, who was appointed a senior minister.
General Ith Sarath was promoted to the rank of Joint Chief of Staff, in addition to his current position as the Deputy General Commander and Training Chief of the RCAF.
He will replace General Kun Kim who was elevated to the rank of senior minister.
Both General Kim and General Sophea stepped down to contest the July 29 national elections.
Deputy Prime Minister Tea Banh, Minister of National Defence, told The Post that during its sixth mandate, the government will continue to implement deeper reforms to bolster the military.
The move was in line with the government's aspiration to promote talented army chiefs to modernise the defence sector which was crucial to national security, he said.
He expressed confidence that the three newly promoted senior armed forces staff will carry out their duties to ensure the development of the Kingdom's defence sector.
"According to the knowledge, talent and experience of these three senior soldiers, I believe that our defence sector can be modernised into a highly [responsive RCAF] that can help protect the nation's territory," Banh said.
Manet currently holds a number of key positions in the security forces, including head of the defence ministry's anti-terrorism unit and deputy chief of the Prime Minister's Bodyguard Unit.
Meanwhile, Sophea, who retired before the national elections and was promoted to senior minister on Wednesday, said he supported the elevation of the three army staff and urged them to continue the reforms of in the military.
The three newly promoted senior military officers could not be reached for comment regarding their promotions yesterday.
Contact author: Khouth Sophak Chakrya
Kampot tourism quay '90% done'
Construction on Kampot International Tourism Port – a 4ha quay in Teuk Chhou district about 6km west of Kampot town – has fallen off track, reaching 90 per cent completion, according to a senior Ministry of Tourism official last week. The project is now planned to be finished
Manet to Rainsy: Choose political successor now to show courage
Manet in Rainsy degree wager
CPP backs Manet's future PM run
CPP backs Manet as future PM candidate
CPP's Central Committee set to meet over PM candidacy
The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has scheduled its Central Committee meeting for December 24, with an agenda focused on building support for the candidacy
PM's Manet backing gives parties pause
A path toward a peaceful political transition and stability
PM backs oldest son Manet as successor
Hun Sen: Manet to be candidate for prime minister


text:
Reading: Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience...
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Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)
Juliet Obhajajie Inegbedion
National Open University of Nigeria - NOUN, NG
The quality of the programmes and courses in ODL depends on the academics that plan the programmes, develop the curriculum, manage courses and programmes and carry out administrative duties. It is observed that the academics often complain of work overload. It also appears there is a mix-up in integrating the mode of planning workload in the conventional universities into the open and distance education universities. This may be attributed to inadequate spread in the duties assigned, which if not checked could affect the quality of teaching and learning. This necessitated the study that was carried out to determine academic workload in NOUN. The findings revealed a gap between academic activities and adequate utilisation of time. Also, inadequate spread of activities affects the quality of the academic inputs. This led to the development of academic workload model to guide the spread of academic activities in open and distance learning.
Keywords: distance education, workload, model, academic activities
How to Cite: Inegbedion, J. O. (2017). Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Open Praxis, 9(3), 313–333. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Published on 01 Jul 2017
Accepted on 29 Jul 2017 Submitted on 04 Dec 2016
Open and Distance Learning (ODL) has been widely accepted in the world over as a means of widening access to education. In describing open and distance learning, UNESCO (2002) said:
"The term open and distance learning reflects both the fact that all or most of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in time and space from the learner, and that the mission aims to include greater dimensions of openness and flexibility, whether in terms of access, curriculum or other elements of structure" (p. 8).
The context of open and distance learning is peculiar, especially in academic workload. Therefore, to meet the objectives of open and distance learning different planning models are required in the allocation of workload.
The quality and standards in open and distance learning are often questioned where there is high enrolment. Quality in this perspective is viewed from the angle of learning being able to meet the set standards such that the graduates from such learning will be able to perform effectively in their respective fields of study.
In open and distance learning the academics are the core in quality determination. The academics are the staff that are certified as subject matter experts in their respective fields of study. The academic staff plan the programmes, develop the curriculum, manage courses/programmes and carry out administrative duties. The extent to which these activities carried out by the academic staff to meet the set standards determines the quality of learning and knowledge gained.
The effectiveness and efficiency of the academics could be thwarted with the assigned workload. Workload is the specified duties assigned to an employee. The University of Exeter (2016) emphasized that
"Academic workload planning allows us to plan for an equitable and transparent spread of workloads. It means that workload is distributed strategically to maximize capacity and share departmental workload in ways that build on the strengths of all staff" (p. 1).
The total amount of duties assigned to an individual determines the level of effectiveness and efficiency in completion of such duties. Perks (2013) felt concerned when senior university managers say they do not have idea on how their staff utilize their official hours. This study is focused on eliciting a model that could be used in determining academic staff workload towards quality education in open and distance learning universities.
The researcher observed that academic staff complain of high workload. This observation prompted further enquiry towards arithmetical knowledge of teacher student ratio. Officially, the university has its teacher-student ratio at 1:50. As at 2011, NOUN has a student enrolment of 38,431 with 188 full-time academic staff (NOUN, 2011), and in 2015 the student enrolment increased to 189,346 with full-time academic staff of 370 (NOUN, 2015). From the figures presented, it could be said that the teacher-student ratio as at 2011 was 1:204 and by 2015 it rose to 1:512. It is also worthy of note that the student enrolment comprises all students in academic certificates, diplomas, undergraduates, post-graduate diploma, masters' and Ph.D. programmes.
It was also observed that there is no policy document on academic workload distribution for open and distance universities at both university and national levels. What is obtainable at the national level – which is provided by the National Universities Commission (NUC) – is for the conventional universities. NUC is the accrediting body for all Nigerian Universities, including NOUN. Again, there seems to be a mix-up during accreditation where the open and distance academic staff workload is viewed from the conventional mode. Lastly, there is dearth of literature and guides on the determination of academic staff workload in open and distance learning. These observations stimulated the need for a working framework that could be adopted in open and distance universities.
What is the work schedule of academic staff in a distance learning university?
What are the perceptions of academic staff regarding their workload?
There is no significant difference among the responses of the different levels of academic staff on the academic teaching services.
There is no significant difference among the responses of the academic staff on their perception on academic workload.
Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study focused on teaching, scholarship, research and service related activities carried out by the academic staff in National Open University of Nigeria.
Existing Workload Models
The researcher studied the application of the workload models in the University of South Wales Academic Workload Model (2014), the University of Queensland (2015), CQUniversity of Australia (2016), The University of Melbourne (2014, 2015), James Cook University Australia (N.D.), Teesside University (N.D.), and the academic workload of the Republic of Rwanda (N.D.). All models have common guide as specified thus:
An academic workload model must be fair and transparent.
The model must be in line with the university vision and mission.
Deans and Heads of Department to be responsible for the determination of staff workload and with the consent of the staff.
Academic workload responsibilities are categorized thus:
Teaching and Related Duties: effective course coordination, development of courses, contributions towards teaching improvement, mentoring teaching and learning, etc.
Scholarship: Teaching-focused and Teaching Scholar (currency with existing technology, conference/seminar attendance relating to scholarship of teaching at local level, participation in professional development, innovation in teaching practice and delivery, sharing reflective teaching practice through presentations at seminars, conferences and workshops).
Research-Related Work.
Service-Related Work: serving on school or programme committee, contributions towards external body.
To determine workload, the following are important:
List of all activities to be carried out.
Student credit hours.
Teacher-student ratio (classified according to faculty, therefore not same in faculties).
Class size and large enrolment class may require increase faculty time and effort depending on the pedagogy used.
Number of hours in a working year.
Number of hours in a working week (e.g. 8 hours per day multiplied by 5 working days per week will give 40 hours).
Number of weeks/hours of holidays and annual leaves. This will be deducted from the hours in a working year to get the actual number in a working year.
Number of hours used for lecture preparation.
Classification of activities into actual (such as scheduled teaching) and nominal hours (such as research and scholarly activity).
Hours for administrative duties.
Used crude approximations for activities such as lecture preparation and personal research.
Assumed arbitrary figures for teaching hour's baseline per week, marking, examination setting, invigilation, student contact, personal administration, networking and general reading.
Although the structure did not fully integrate the activities of open and distance learning, it served as a guide in determining the variables that would be required in calculating workload in open and distance learning.
The limit in the various models is that there was no clear expression on how figures representing the class size, credit units, contact hours attached to credit units were developed. It appeared that the figures were developed through assumptions. The researcher attempted to clarify this in the proposed model.
Academic Staff Workload in NOUN
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) was established in 2002 as the only single mode open and distance university in Nigeria and first of its kind in West Africa sub-region to provide access to those who seek quality education at the university level through flexible learning (NOUN, 2015). There are two categories of academic staff: full-time and part-time. The full-time academic staff in NOUN are responsible for the planning, development and delivery of all the courses being offered at the university. In addition, they are to undertake research activities and participate in University/Professional/community services (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2002). The part-time are the facilitators/tutors.
The National Universities Commission (NUC) being the accrediting body has stipulated standards for student and academic staff workload. Although these standards were specifically designed for conventional universities, they are also currently used to access distance universities. Staff/Student Workload as Stipulated by NUC (2007):
For undergraduate programmes:
Every full-time student should be required to register for a minimum of 15 credit units per semester and a maximum of 24 credit units except for students on field experience.
A full-time Lecturer, on the other hand, should have a minimum teaching load of 8 credit units per semester.
Lecturer - student ratio shall be (table 1):
For postgraduate programmes:
For academic workload for students will be a minimum of 12 credits for students per semester; and staff should have a maximum of 9 hours per week for lectures, tutorials, and supervision of projects.
The teacher-student ratio for post graduate diploma in education shall be 1:20 (NUC, 2011, p. 9)
NUC specified one credit unit to be equivalent to:
One hour of lecture or tutorial per week per semester.
Two hours of seminar.
Three hours of laboratory or field work, clinical practice/practicum.
6 hours of teaching practice.
One week of industrial attachment.
NUC provides guidelines for student and academic staff workload for all Nigeria universities to adhere to. NUC determined student workload by the number of credit unit's student carries and determined the academic staff workload by teacher-student ratio and number of hours taught by a lecturer per semester. Going by the activities in the context of open and distance learning, NOUN finds it difficult to determine academic staff workload using NUC model since the academic activities in NOUN differs from what operates in the conventional mode.
Lecturer-student ratio in Nigeria
Lecturer-student Ratio
1 Art 1:30
2 Administration 1:30
3 Education 1:30
4 Science 1:20
5 Engineering 1:15
6 Medicine 1:10
7 Veterinary Medicine 1:10
8 Pharmacy 1:10
9 Management Science 1:30
10 Agricultural Science 1:15
11 Environmental Science 1:15
12 Social Science 1:30
13 Law 1:30
Setting of standards help to direct staff activities towards the attainment of quality delivery. A staff that is sure of fair treatment and security seems to achieve more in his/her job performance. This could be traced to the need why the workload in New Zealand University was developed based on equity, transparency, reasonableness, safety and accountability to staff (Paewai, Meyer & Houston, 2007). However, there are different practices on workload allocation. On the average, there are similarities on the methods, which seem to work on a continuum. Consideration of disciplinary context is very useful in allocating academic workload (Barrett & Barrett, 2011). Skewed allocation of types of work that is not associated with promotion leads to lack of transparency that affects increase in workload. Academic staff tend to give more attention to work that are considered for promotion. This is supported by Kenny (2016), who found that it is difficult to achieve high number of quality publications without proper academic workload management.
It is worthwhile to develop academic workload such that quality academic publications could be encouraged. Academic staff that is suffering from work overload could either end up with few quality publications or substandard publications that could lead to falling standard in education. The standard of education is likely to fall where academic publications are often focused on promotion rather than improving on the profession and the general standard in teaching and learning specific skills.
Tight (2010) survey in United Kingdom showed that an increase in academic workload is attributed to administrative demand. Academic staff are not only saddled with academic workload of teaching or preparing to teach but they also carry out administrative duties such as attending to students complain and participating in committee activities. Where the administrative works are overwhelming, the academic work suffers due to stress that may have occurred from the work overload. Kausar (2010) study showed a positive relationship between academic workload and perceived stress. Heavy workloads are identified as stressor at work as academics feel that they cannot deliver as much as they would like to. Academics attribute their heavy workload to the quality of administrative duties they are to undertake (Darabi, Macaskill & Reidy, 2016).
The number of students taught can also increase academic workload. The study of Dobele and Rundle-Thiele (2014) showed that academics that taught fewer students had more publications and were internally promoted, as compared to their counterparts who taught larger students. It was suggested that
"academic internal promotion processes need to be carefully managed at the institutional, school and departmental levels to ensure that academics remain committed to teaching. For example, academics teaching larger course sizes and more classes should be rewarded via internal promotion processes" (p. 271).
The reaction of academics to workload could lead to scepticism, anger, vindication, justice and balance. Workload is means of balancing role expectations in an equitable and transparent manner. The problematic issue is that management use workload models as management tools to monitor and control the work place (Boyd, 2014), but Dekeyser, Watson and Bare (2016) argued for comprehensive cross institutional scrutiny of models to yield exhaustive and comparable data towards improved outcome. There is increase in workload when the focus of professional development is on technology and presentation rather than on pedagogy. This adds complexity without understanding (Haggerty, 2015). Academics are better empowered to understand and manage their workloads through the implementation of targeted professional development.
Academics need more balanced power relationships to influence key processes which control their work to preserve the self-managed aspects of academic work and the intrinsic motivations driving their career (Kenny, 2017). However, there is no link between workload and performance management at the operational level (Graham, 2016).
Descriptive survey design was used in the study. The population for the study comprised all the 370 full-time academic staff in NOUN as at 2015. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 30% of the population, which gave 71. The researcher used 30% to have a fair representative of the population, and developed a questionnaire that was used to elicit information from the respondents. The questionnaire was pilot tested on 20 academic staff that were not part of the selected sample. The pilot test was analysed with the use of Cronbach Alpha Statistical analysis and the reliability co-efficient was 0.7. Two professors of Educational Management did the face and the content validity of the instrument. Data were collected on the academic status, teaching activities and workload. The responses for teaching activities were classified as 'Yes' and 'No' with the scale of 2=Yes and 1=No; while the workload was classified as 'Satisfactory', 'Unsatisfactory' and 'Don't Know' with the scale of 3=Satisfactory, 2=Unsatisfactory and 1=Don't Know.
The research questions were analysed with the use of percentage and weighted mean, while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyse the hypotheses at alpha level of 0.05.
The model was derived from the theoretical and empirical findings from the study.
Answer to Research Questions
Research Question 1: What is the work schedule of academic staff in a distance learning university?
The weighted mean in Table 2 of 60 (85%) and 11 (15%) shows 85% of the activities could be said to be the most common activities in the institution and 15% may not be common activities or they are the activities that affect some group of academics. For instance, not all faculties are involved in laboratory/field work/clinical/practicum. Also, mentoring may be more pronounced with senior academics like the professors. At one point or the other, these are the activities the academics agreed to be teaching activities in the institution.
Teaching Activities in NOUN
Teaching activities done
Programme development 55 16
Course development 71 0
Course material writing 71 0
Course review 71 0
Course coordination 71 0
Online Facilitation 61 10
Project supervision 70 1
Teaching practice/SIWES 66 5
Laboratory or field work, clinical practice/practicum 30 41
Mentoring others in ODL teaching 21 50
Assessment (Tutor Marked/Computer Marked Assignments and Examination) 71 0
Monitoring of examination 51 20
Participation in Conference Marking 71 0
Weighted Mean 60 (85%) 11 (15%)
The figures in Table 3 indicate that the listed activities are held in NOUN hence there is a 'yes' response to all activities though in limited number. The weighted mean of 48% for 'yes' and 52% for 'No' indicate a need for the university to adequately spread the workload. It could be said that some activities overshadow others. It is also observed from Table 3 that there is 100% agreement on personal research. This could mean that academics give more attention to personal research. It could be said that this occurs because it serves as the major consideration for their promotion.
Scholarship Activities in NOUN
Scholarship: Teaching-focused and Teaching Scholar:
Active participation in seminars, conferences at local and professional level 27 44
Participation in training on modern technology for teaching and learning in ODL 55 16
Being innovative in ODL teaching practice and delivery 11 60
Sharing teaching ODL teaching practice through workshops, seminar, and conferences 7 64
Research-Related Work – personal research work that will increase your chance for promotion 71 0
The figures in Table 4 show a weighted mean percentage of 46% for 'yes' and 54% for 'No'. This implies that not all academic staff are aware of the various academic activities in NOUN. Generally, it could be said that the responses indicate the level of awareness of the different academic activities by the academic staff.
Service Related Work in NOUN
Service Related Work:
Active participation in committees at departmental, faculty and university levels 71 0
Administrative services such as Dean/HOD/Chair of a committee, desk officer (project, examination, seminar, publications etc) 48 23
Professional consultancy to other institutions 11 60
Professional contribution to the society 24 47
Contributions to external professional bodies in your field of specialization 10 61
Research Question 2: What are the perceptions of academic staff regarding their workload?
The result in Table 5 shows that 57.7% were satisfied with the academic activities. This represents average satisfaction. It was only in project supervision that a very high percentage (100%) was recorded. Online facilitation, assessment and course review recorded low satisfaction of 7%, 17% and 22,5% respectively. This could mean that the current process of online facilitation, assessment and course review require attention and improvement towards achieving desirable quality standard.
Level of Satisfaction of Teaching Activities by Academic Staff in NOUN
Don't know
Teaching activities done:
Programme development 68 3 0
Course development 51 20 0
vCourse material writing 29 42 0
Course review 16 55 0
Course coordination 32 39 0
Online Facilitation 5 66 0
Project supervision 71 0 0
Teaching practice/SIWES 45 26 0
Laboratory or field work, clinical practice/practicum 33 38 0
Mentoring others in ODL teaching 69 2 0
Assessment (Tutor Marked/Computer Marked Assignments and Examination) 12 59 0
Monitoring of examination 41 30 0
Participation in Conference Marking 67 4 0
Weighted Mean 41 (57.7%) 30 (42.3%) 0
The weighted mean in Table 6 shows 25.4% satisfaction. This implies a great shortfall from the required standard. It could also mean that scholarship activities do not receive much attention in the university.
Level of Satisfaction of Scholarship Activities by Academic Staff in NOUN
Active participation in seminars, conferences at local and professional level 12 59 0
Participation in training on modern technology for teaching and learning in ODL 11 60 0
Being innovative in ODL teaching practice and delivery 10 61 0
Sharing teaching ODL teaching practice through workshops, seminar, and conferences 10 61 0
Research-Related Work – personal research work that will improve your specialisation 45 26 0
The satisfactory level for service related work is 42.3% as shown in Table 7. This indicates the need to increase the level of service related activities, especially in professional consultancy to other institutions, which recorded 2,8%, contributions to external professional bodies in field of specialization (19,7%) and professional contribution to the society (21,1%).
Level of Satisfaction of Service Related Work by Academic Staff in NOUN
Service Related Work
Active participation in committees at departmental, faculty and university levels 68 3 0
Administrative services such as Dean/HOD/Chair of a committee, desk officer (project, examination, seminar, publications etc) 50 21 0
Professional consultancy to other institutions 2 69 0
Professional contribution to the society 15 56 0
Contributions to external professional bodies in your field of specialization 14 57 0
From the weighted means in Tables 5, 6 and 7, it could be said that there is no balance in the academic activities required from the lecturers.
The level of effect of academic workload on the staff reads 67% (table 8). This indicates high effect which if not controlled could affect the other activities and the quality of teaching and learning in the institution.
Effect of Academic Workload in NOUN
To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
Inability to meet timelines reduces the job effectiveness and efficiency 58 10 0 3 0
Uncontrolled workload could lead to a reduction in the quality of service delivery 61 5 1 3 1
Lecturers often repeat question items because of so many activities they need to attend to a time 58 6 3 3 1
Most lecturers are unable to publish because of other urgent activities they need to respond to. 15 40 3 8 5
Weighted Mean 48 (67%) 15 (21%) 2 (3%) 4 (6%) 2 (3%)
Key: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree, UD = Undecided, D = Disagree, SD = Strongly Disagreed.
Testing of Research Hypotheses
Ho1: There is no significant difference among the responses of the different levels of academic staff on the academic teaching services.
The mean and standard deviation scores in Table 9 show large deviation of responses from the mean. This could mean that the academic staff do not have equal knowledge of the required teaching services.
The figure in the Sig. column in table 10 reads .000, which is less than 0.05, therefore it is significant. This implies that there is a significant difference among the responses given by the different academic status. To find out where the difference lies, a post hoc analysis was done as presented in Table 11.
Descriptive Statistics of Respondents on Teaching Service
Std. Deviation
Lecturer Status 71 3.76 1.388
Teaching Service 71 38.70 3.751
Valid N (listwise) 71
ANOVA on the Responses of Academic Staff on Academic Services
Sum of Squares
Mean Square
Between Groups 930.851 5 186.170 224.353 0.000
Within Groups 53.937 65 0.830
Total 984.789 70
Multiple Comparisons on Teaching Service (Scheffé's method)
(I) Lecturer Status
(J) Lecturer Status
Mean Difference (I-J)
Lower Bound
Upper Bound
Professor Associate Professor 1.25 0.519 0.339 -0.53 3.03
Senior Lecturer 3.938* 0.467 0.000 2.34 5.54
Lecturer 1 7.000* 0.455 0.000 5.44 8.56
Lecturer II 10.000* 0.475 0.000 8.37 11.63
Assistant Lecturer 11.750* 0.519 0.000 9.97 13.53
Associate Professor Professor -1.25 0.519 0.339 -3.03 0.53
Lecturer II 8.750* 0.404 0.000 7.36 10.14
Senior Lecturer Professor -3.938* 0.467 0.000 -5.54 -2.34
Associate Professor -2.688* 0.394 0.000 -4.04 -1.33
Lecturer II 6.062* 0.333 0.000 4.92 7.21
Assistant Lecturer 7.812* 0.394 0.000 6.46 9.17
Lecturer 1 Professor -7.000* 0.455 0.000 -8.56 -5.44
Senior Lecturer -3.062* 0.306 0.000 -4.11 -2.01
Lecturer II Professor -10.000* 0.475 0.000 -11.63 -8.37
Associate Professor -8.750* 0.404 0.000 -10.14 -7.36
Lecturer 1 -3.000* 0.317 0.000 -4.09 -1.91
Assistant Lecturer Professor -11.750* 0.519 0.000 -13.53 -9.97
Associate Professor -10.500* 0.455 0.000 -12.06 -8.94
Lecturer II -1.750* 0.404 0.005 -3.14 -0.36
The mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level.
From the analysis presented in Table 11, the difference lies between those in the professorial cadre and in the other cadre. This could mean that the workload of the professors and the other cadre are not same. For instance, in most cases, it is those at the professorial level that are made Deans, Heads of Department, serve as chair in most university committees and mentor the younger academics.
Ho2: There is no significant difference among the responses of the academics on their perception on academic workload.
The scores of the standard deviation on the academic workload are high (table 12), which indicates difference in the responses given by the different academic status on workload.
Descriptive Statistics of Respondents on Academic Workload
Academic Workload 71 33.93 4.761
From the data in Table 13, Sig. is less than 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis is rejected. The result shows there is a significant difference in the responses given by the academics. To know where the difference lies, post hoc analysis was conducted with the result presented in Table 14.
ANOVA on Academic Workload
Between Groups 1495.63 5 299.126 213.624 0.000
Within Groups 91.016 65 1.4
Total 1586.65 70
Multiple Comparisons on Academic Workload (Scheffé's method)
Lecturer 1 9.850* 0.592 0.000 7.82 11.88
Lecturer II 13.329* 0.616 0.000 11.21 15.44
Assistant Lecturer 13.650* 0.675 0.000 11.33 15.97
Lecturer 1 9.200* 0.495 0.000 7.5 10.9
Lecturer 1 Professor -9.850* 0.592 0.000 -11.88 -7.82
Associate Professor -9.200* 0.495 0.000 -10.9 -7.5
Assistant Lecturer 3.800* 0.495 0.000 2.1 5.5
Lecturer II Professor -13.329* 0.616 0.000 -15.44 -11.21
Associate Professor -12.679* 0.524 0.000 -14.48 -10.88
Assistant Lecturer 0.321 0.524 0.996 -1.48 2.12
Assistant Lecturer Professor -13.650* 0.675 0.000 -15.97 -11.33
Lecturer 1 -3.800* 0.495 0.000 -5.5 -2.1
Lecturer II -0.321 0.524 0.996 -2.12 1.48
There is no significant difference among Professors and Associate Professors (table 14). There is no significant difference between Lecturer II and Assistant Lecturers, either. This implies that the workload of the two highest cadres is similar, as well as the workload of the two lowest cadres. The difference is between the Professorial cadre and others.
From the findings, the focus of the academic activities is more on course development, course material writing, course review and course coordination. These activities expressed the peculiarity of the academic activities in open and distance learning, which conform to the description of open and distance learning as given by UNESCO (2002). The course development deals with the curriculum and the knowledge in the developed curriculum is transferred to the students through the course materials and course review. The coordination takes care of the process of guiding and monitoring the quality of teaching and learning activities. These activities are activities that must be concluded before academic semesters can commence. It could therefore be said that academic staff are aware and involved in the basic open and distance learning activities.
It was observed that not all academic staff are involved in facilitation. On the other hand, most academic staff are either not aware or not involved in mentorship, either as mentees or mentors. This calls for attention. Good mentorship enhances quality teaching and learning in open and distance learning.
Scholarship activities need improvement. The academic staff seem to give more time to course development, course writing, assessment and course editing than scholarship and community services. This may be because of the emphasis the university has on course design and development as expressed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2002) in NOUN blueprint.
Although the academic staff are more involved in teaching activities (course design, course writing and coordination), most of them expressed dissatisfaction on the level of teaching activities in the institution. This was mostly attributed to too much administrative workload, which has adverse effect on the quality of teaching and learning in open distance learning. This supports Tight (2010), who found that increase in academic workload is attributed to administrative demand.
The findings reveal the need to address the management of academic workload. NUC (2007) stipulated the criteria for determining academic workload which include teaching, research and community services. There is the need to further determine the percentage that each of the components should have. In this study with consideration to the positive responses, 45.5% representing teaching activities, 25.8% scholarship and research activities and 28.8% community services. This supports the study of Kenny (2016), who found that it is difficult for academic staff to achieve high number of quality publications without proper academic workload management. Publication is the major criteria used for academic promotion. The 25.8% for scholarship and research activities is an indication that the staff do not have much time for research. To determine the acceptable percentage will require the level of contribution of each criterion –teaching, research and community service– to the overall goal. For instance, quality research is desirable to produce quality course material for the distance learners. The findings reveal that most academics are more interested in personal research that serves as a major determinant for their promotion with very little attention to scholarly work that would enhance their job performance and general contribution to the university. This corroborates the findings of Barrett and Barrett (2011) that the skewed allocation of types of work not strongly associated with promotion leads to lack of transparency that affect increase in workload. Attention is given more to what will help them earn promotion. This might also be one of the factors why mentorship and other community services receive less attention.
Based on the findings there is a need to have a workable workload model for the university. On this note, a model is therefore presented which could be adopted or adapted by NOUN and other open and distance learning institutions.
Justification for a Workload Model in NOUN
The summary of the findings in the study as presented below, justifies the need for a working model.
Academic staff is either not aware or not involved in some teaching activities.
Only about 48% of the academic staff actively takes part in scholarship teaching/activities.
Only about 46% academics actively take part in service related activities.
About 48% academics show level of satisfaction of teaching activities.
Too much workload reduces the quality of the academics' job performance.
A difference exists in the workload of academic staff in the professorial level and others.
There is similarity in the workload of lecturer II and assistant lecturer.
Recommended Model
Based on the findings the following model is recommended.
Step 1: Study the institutional vision and mission.
Step 2: Study existing benchmark on workload as recommended by the national accrediting body. Relate the benchmark with the institutional vision and mission.
Step 3: State all activities to be carried out by academic staff in line with the benchmark and institutional demand.
Step 4: In line with step1 and step 2, arrange the activities into major categories and assigned expected percentages of achievement to the Categories.
Step 5: List the activities in each category.
Step 6: Calculate the total number of official working hours per week, per semester and per academic year.
Step 7: Calculate the total number of hours for all annual leave including other official holidays such as public holidays declared by government.
Step 8: Calculate the total number of hours for breaks during working hours per week, per semester and per academic year.
Step 9: Add up step 7 and step 8 as per week, semester and academic year.
Step 10: Subtract step 9 from step 6 to get the actual working hours
Step 11: Divide the hours in step 10 (the answer after subtraction) into categories in step 4 using the assigned percentages.
Step 12: Divide the hours in each category in step 11 with the number of activities in each category. This will help determine the minimum number of workload for each activity. It will also help to watch out for over concentration on certain activities to the detriment of others
The percentage assigned to the category could be reversed depends on institutional judgement. For instance, a Dean or HOD will need more attention for university community service than teaching. In this instance, the community service will have higher percentage. Community service could either be within the institution or outside the institution.
There is flexibility in the hours assigned. What should be considered is the number of official working hours on which the staff earn salary. For instance, the official working hours in Nigeria mostly in the public sector is 8 hours per day per five working days. This is what the government pay for. There could be flexibility on how these hours are spread in a day. Any other assigned official activity outside the stipulated hours that does not earn extra money is regarded as excess workload.
Activities on which staff are paid extra amount of money should not be considered among the workload within the working hours. For example, in NOUN staff is paid for project supervision.
The amount of extra work given should be considered so as not to affect the workload within the working hours.
Application of the model in NOUN Context
To be regarded as the foremost university providing highly accessible and enhanced quality education anchored by social justice, equity, equality and national cohesion through a comprehensive reach that transcends all barriers
To provide functional cost effective flexible learning which add life-long value to quality education for all who seek knowledge.
From the benchmark, the activities of the academics cover teaching, research and community service. Teaching=40%, research=40% and 20% for community service.
8 working hours per working day
Step 3: State all activities to be carried out by academic staff inline with the benchmark and institutional demand.
At the institutional level, key things to consider include social justice, equity, equality, national cohesion, flexible learning and quality education.
The activities are as shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3 in this document.
See the defined categories inTables 1, 2, and3.
Step 5: State the number of activities in each category.
Teaching Activities = 13
Scholarship and Research related work = 5
Service Related work = 5
Step 6: Calculate the total number of official working hours per week, per semester and per academic year. (Note, only the days within the time frame of the semester are considered).
The 2016 academic calendar was used.
Academic year resume on 11th January 2016
Academic year ends 20th December 2016
Working hours per day = 8 hours
Number of working days in the academic year = 248 days
Official working hours in the academic year = 248 days x 8 hrs = 1984
Annual leave = 30 days x 8 hrs = 240 hrs
Public holidays = 12 days x 8 hrs = 96 hrs
One hour of break per working day
Break hours in the academic year = 248 days x 1hr = 248 hours
240 + 96 + 248 = 584 hrs
Actual working hours: Step 6 (1984) - Step 9 (584) = 1400
• Teaching Activities = 40%
40100×14001=560hours
• Scholarship and Research relatedwork = 40%
• ServiceRelated work = 20%
Step 12: Divide the hours in each category in step 11 with the number of activities in each category. This will help determine the minimum number of workload for each activity. It will also help to watch out for over concentration on certain activities to the detriment of others. (Note, the institution is to determine the weight of the activities and apply as determine. In this model, the weight on the activities in each category is same).
• Teaching Activities= activities
56013=43 hours per activity per academic year
• Scholarship and Research relatedwork = 5 activities
5605=112 hours per activity per academic year
• ServiceRelated work = 5activities
2805=56 hours per activity per academic year
The number of activities should be determined by the university/faculty
This model can be used at departmental level to share workload equitably.
Each of the academic activities should be used for promotion. This will enhance the academic effectiveness in each of the activities identified.
The university need to come up with a model to guide the workload of staff.
The findings revealed high concentration on personal research to the detriment of other scholarly activities. To balance the activities, all activities should have points for promotion.
There should be adequate documentation and policies of academic workload and all academic staff should be aware of this to guide their performance in the various activities.
For quality in learning and teaching, the staff workload should be re-considered.
Quantitative determination of academic workload will enhance quality education. Through quantitative determination of academic workload all proposed activities that would lead to quality learning and teaching will be well covered.
A workable workload model in an institution makes self-assessment and evaluation of activities easy by being able to identity the areas of needs and to review the required resources that would help in meeting the identified needs. By application, there should be breakdown of the academic activities in each of the categories (teaching, scholarship and community service) with the stipulation of man-hour and other resources that would be required to successfully carry out each activity. There should be a balance in the involvement of academic staff in teaching activities, scholarship teaching/activities, service related activities and research for the achievement of quality education. When this is adequately done, it will help to determine salaries and wages.
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Inegbedion, J.O., 2017. Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Open Praxis, 9(3), pp.313–333. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion JO. Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Open Praxis. 2017;9(3):313–33. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion, J. O. (2017). Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Open Praxis, 9(3), 313–333. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
1. Inegbedion JO. Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN). Open Praxis. 2017;9(3):313-333. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion JO, 'Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)' (2017) 9 Open Praxis 313 DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion, Juliet Obhajajie. 2017. "Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)". Open Praxis 9 (3): 313–33. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion, Juliet Obhajajie. "Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)". Open Praxis 9, no. 3 (2017): 313–33. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
Inegbedion, J O. "Academic Workload Planning for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) Universities: The Experience of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)". Open Praxis, vol. 9, no. 3, 2017, pp. 313–33. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.9.3.498
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