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Multiple sexual partners and condom use among 10 - 19 year-olds in four districts in Tanzania: What do we learn?
Amon Exavery1,
Angelina M Lutambi1,
Godfrey M Mubyazi2,
Khadija Kweka1,
Godfrey Mbaruku1 &
Honorati Masanja1
Although some studies in Tanzania have addressed the question of sexuality and STIs among adolescents, mostly those aged 15 - 19 years, evidence on how multiple sexual partners influence condom use among 10 - 19 year-olds is limited. This study attempts to bridge this gap by testing a hypothesis that sexual relationships with multiple partners in the age group 10 - 19 years spurs condom use during sex in four districts in Tanzania.
Secondary analysis was performed using data from the Adolescents Module of the cross-sectional household survey on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) that was done in Kigoma, Kilombero, Rufiji and Ulanga districts, Tanzania in 2008. A total of 612 adolescents resulting from a random sample of 1200 households participated in this study. Pearson Chi-Square was used as a test of association between multiple sexual partners and condom use. Multivariate logistic regression model was fitted to the data to assess the effect of multiple sexual partners on condom use, having adjusted for potential confounding variables. STATA (10) statistical software was used to carry out this process at 5% two-sided significance level.
Of the 612 adolescents interviewed, 23.4% reported being sexually active and 42.0% of these reported having had multiple (> 1) sexual partners in the last 12 months. The overall prevalence of condom use among them was 39.2%. The proportion using a condom at the last sexual intercourse was higher among those who knew that they can get a condom if they want than those who did not. No evidence of association was found between multiple sexual partners and condom use (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.35 - 1.67, P = 0.504). With younger adolescents (10 - 14 years) being a reference, condom use was associated with age group (15 - 19: OR = 3.69, 95% CI = 1.21 - 11.25, P = 0.022) and district of residence (Kigoma: OR = 7.45, 95% CI = 1.79 - 31.06, P = 0.006; Kilombero: OR = 8.89, 95% CI = 2.91 - 27.21, P < 0.001; Ulanga: OR = 5.88, 95% CI = 2.00 - 17.31, P = 0.001), Rufiji being a reference category.
No evidence of association was found between multiple sexual partners and condom use among adolescents in the study area. The large proportion of adolescents who engage in sexual activity without using condoms, even those with multiple partners, perpetuates the risk of transmission of HIV infections in the community. Strategies such as sex education and easing access to and making a friendly environment for condom availability are important to address the risky sexual behaviour among adolescents.
The incidence of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases due to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) continues to rise worldwide [1, 2], with nearly 50 percent of all new infections on the globe occurring among 15 - 24 year-olds [2]. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS pandemic than any other in the world. In 2007, about 22.5 million people were living with HIV/AIDS, with approximately 1.7 million people newly infected with the virus [3]. The 2007-08 Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey (THMIS) reported an estimated HIV/AIDS prevalence of 6% among Tanzanian adults aged 15 - 49 [4]. This figure is lower than the 2003 country's HIV/AIDS prevalence of 8.8% which was higher than the overall prevalence of 7.5%) in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2003 [2].
Person-to-person sexual contact is known to be a primary pathway through which sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV/AIDS spread [5]. Cultural and environmental contexts play an important role in variations in sexual practices across regions and societies [6]. In Tanzania, like elsewhere in Sub-Sahara Africa, adolescents (defined by WHO as persons in the age group 10 - 19 years [7]) are greatly vulnerable to STIs as they engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as unprotected sex, multiple sexual partners and young age at sexual debut [8, 9]. Recent statistics from Tanzania show that 32% of the adolescents aged 10 - 19 years were sexually active, with 15% of them reporting multiple sexual partners. Vaginal sex was the prominent form of sexual practices, outweighing anal, masturbation and oral sex [8]. Infidelity which immediately translates into multiple sexual partners has been documented as a key medium through which many STIs including HIV/AIDS spread.
Nevertheless, proper and consistent condom use has been acknowledged to be effective towards successful prevention of STIs [5, 10, 11], including 80 - 90% of heterosexual transmission of HIV [12]. Despite this reality, prevalence of condom use in Sub-Saharan Africa is still low and inconsistent [12] - less than 15% in Tanzania, Malawi and Ethiopia among those aged 15 - 19 years [13]. Objections to condoms due to allegations that condoms inhibit the enjoyment of sex, condoms cause sores on a penis, condoms come off inside a woman and it is a sin to waste semen and prevent pregnancy are widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa [14, 15]. From a religious point of view, there are also sanctions against condom use among Catholics and some Evangelists asserting that it fuels promiscuity [16]. Similarly, promoting condoms is considered as encouraging sexual acts among adolescents [10].
On the other hand, sexual partners tend to use condoms at first, only to stop later in subsequent sexual contacts (without testing for HIV) when their relationship deepens [14] due to claims that using a condom connotes distrust or absence of intimate love [17, 18].
A study conducted in Mwanza, Tanzania among primary and secondary school students aged 12 - 19 years, revealed a condom prevalence of 30% and a lower rate of STIs among those who were well informed about STIs, HIV/AIDS and used condoms [19]. Another study in the same country reported reasons youths give for not using condoms as trusting a partner, not having condoms, ineffectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission and reduced sexual pleasure [20]. Among secondary school and college students aged 16 - 24 years in Tanzania, it was observed that 35% of those who had multiple sexual partners in the previous year did not always use condoms [21], whereas in Angola, youths aged 15 - 24 years with multiple sexual partners were consistent condom users [22].
Tanzania's Health Policy stipulates that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MoHSW) will promote youth-friendly services to improve access to reproductive health information and services [23], but scale-up of youth-friendly interventions has been proven challenging because of structural constraints and broader social norms [24] and coverage of such services is therefore still low [13]. This highlights the importance of finding alternatives to address the situation.
Although some studies in Tanzania have addressed the question of sexuality and STIs among adolescents, mostly those aged 15 - 19 years, there is limited evidence on how multiple sexual partners influence condom use amongst adolescents. In this study, we thus test a hypothesis that being in sexual relationships with multiple sexual partners among 10 - 19 year-olds spurs condom use during sex.
Study design and study area
The data for this study was collected as part of a larger household survey on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH). This was a cross-sectional study that was carried out by the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) in partnership with the WHO (Regional Office for Africa) and the MoHSW in four districts in Tanzania mainland where the IHI's Empower project is being implemented, namely Kigoma, Kilombero, Rufiji and Ulanga. "Multiple sexual partners" was defined as having had more than one sexual partner in the last 12 months preceding the interview. Condom use was measured dichotomously as having used/not used a condom at the last sexual intercourse for either partner. Following the standard age categorization, two groups of the study participants' age were formed as 10 - 14 and 15 - 19 years and referred to as younger adolescents and older adolescents respectively [25, 26].
Sampling and study population
Sampling was done systematically using the CSurvey software. The sample size was determined depending on the indicators to be measured on population demographics (e.g. household size, fertility) and on local prevalence of selected conditions such as diarrhoea, cough with rapid breathing and fever. A total of 1200 random households, being 300 households selected randomly from each district were sampled.
The target population was school-aged adolescents (10 - 19 years) and this survey was conducted during their mid-year holiday. In addition, sampled households were informed in advance by their respective community leaders to be available at home for an interview on agreed day. Respondents were childbearing-aged women with a child aged < 5 years and adolescents. Information regarding children aged < 5 years was given voluntarily by a child's mother or guardian after signing a written informed consent. Adolescents aged 18 and above signed the consent by themselves after which they were interviewed. For the minors (under 18), the consent was sought from their parents/guardians. The response rate of this household survey on MNCH was as high as 94%.
Data collection and Management
Data collection took place between June and July 2008 through face-to-face interviews, using a questionnaire that was organized in different non-overlapping modules. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) were used for data collection and then the data were being synchronized into a laptop computer and backed up daily. The current study analyzed the Adolescents Module of the questionnaire, whereby 612 adolescents aged 10 - 19 years were interviewed.
We analyzed some demographic variables particularly sex, age and place of residence. The analysis focused on five key questions: 1. Have you ever had sex? 2. The last time you had sex, did you or your partner use condom? 3. Have you ever had more than one sexual partner in the last 12 months? 4. Have you ever had a HIV test? 5. If you wanted, could you get a condom?
The data were first analyzed descriptively to obtain summary statistics of the study participants. This was followed by testing for associations between condom use and the explanatory variables using Chi-square and student t-tests for categorical and continuous variables respectively. Multivariate logistic regression model was finally fitted to the data to assess the effect of multiple sexual partners on condom use, controlling for other potential confounding variables. This process was carried out using STATA (version 10) statistical software at 5% two-sided significance level.
Six hundred and twelve Tanzanian adolescents participated in this study. Of these, 330 (53.9%) were female and the rest were male adolescents. Their mean age was 14.3 years with a standard deviation of 2.50. About half (49.8%) of them were in the 10 - 14 and 15 - 19 years age group each. In terms of district of residence, the sample was made up of Kigoma (17.5%), Kilombero (21.4%), Rufiji (28.8%) and Ulanga (32.3%) (Table 1). Age and sex distribution by district of residence is presented in Figure 1. The proportion of adolescents in each age group (i.e. 10 - 14 and 15 - 19) was around 50% across the four districts. With regards to sex, the proportion of female adolescents was higher (at least 56%) than that of males in Kigoma, Kilombero and Ulanga, but conversely, the proportion of male adolescents (55%) was higher than that of females in Rufiji.
Table 1 Demographic characteristics of the study sample, 2008. (N = 612)
Percentage distribution of adolescent's age group and sex by district of residence in Tanzania, 2008 (N = 612).
One hundred forty three (23.4%) adolescent respondents (24.6% males and 22.0% females) reported being sexually active. Of these, 42.0% reported having had multiple sexual partners in the last 12 months. Among those aged 15 - 19 years, 37.5% were sexually active and the corresponding figure among the 10 - 14 year-olds was 9.4% (Figure 2). Data regarding the sexually active respondents were further analyzed to investigate associations between multiple sexual partners and condom use.
Percentage distribution of 143 sexually active adolescents by age group and sex in four districts in Tanzania, 2008.
Prevalence of condom use
The prevalence of condom use at the last sexual intercourse among the sexually active respondents in the study area ranged from 14% to 56%, with an overall prevalence of 39%. The prevalence of condom use was lowest in Rufiji and highest in Kilombero. Kigoma (47%) and Ulanga (46%) had similar prevalence of condom use (Figure 3).
Prevalence of condom use at the last sexual intercourse among 143 sexually active adolescents by district of residence in Tanzania, 2008.
Table 2 presents a test of associations between condom use and a set of explanatory variables. Condom use was found to be independent of multiple sexual partners (P = 0.863), hence failing to reject the null hypothesis of no association between condom use and multiple sexual partners. Condom use was however associated with age group (P = 0.010), district of residence (P = 0.001), knowing that it is possible to obtain a condom if one wants (P = 0.049) and knowing that it is possible to get a HIV test if one wants (P = 0.041) (Table 2).
Table 2 Distribution of factors associated with condom use at the last sexual intercourse among 143 sexually active adolescents in four districts in Tanzania, 2008.
Results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis are presented in table 3. Having adjusted for potential confounding variables, condom use remained independent of multiple sexual partners. However, adolescents reporting multiple sexual partners were 23% less likely to use a condom at the last sexual intercourse compared to those without multiple partners, but this effect was not statistically significant (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.35 - 1.67, P = 0.504).
Table 3 Multivariate logistic regression analysis of the association between multiple sexual partners and condom use at the last sexual intercourse among 143 sexually active adolescents in four districts in Tanzania, 2008.
Independent predictors of condom use at the last sexual intercourse were age group and district of residence. Condom use at the last sexual intercourse was nearly 4 times higher among 15 - 19 year-olds compared to the 10 - 14 year-olds (OR = 3.69, 95% CI = 1.21 - 11.25, P = 0.022). In terms of district of residence, Rufiji was made a reference category and the rest of the districts were compared to it. The odds of condom use in Kigoma was approximately 7 times as high as that observed in Rufiji (OR = 7.45, 95% CI = 1.79 - 31.06, P = 0.006). Similarly in Kilombero, the odds of condom use was approximately 9 times as high as that observed in Rufiji (OR = 8.89, 95% CI = 2.91 - 27.21, P < 0.001). It was also about 6 more likely among adolescents in Ulanga than those in Rufiji (OR = 5.88, 95% CI = 2.00 - 17.31, P = 0.001). The likelihood of condom use among adolescents in Kigoma, Kilombero and Ulanga was statistically similar.
In addition, we re-fitted the multivariate logistic regression model restricted to the older adolescents (Table 4) and found similar results to those presented in table 3.
Table 4 Additional multivariate logistic regression analysis restricted to 115 sexually active older adolescents (15 - 19 years) of the association between multiple sexual partners and condom use at the last sexual intercourse in four districts in Tanzania, 2008.
Diagnostic tests were carried out to assess the adequacy of the logistic regression models presented in table 3 and table 4. The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit test at the generally recommended number of groups [27] showed no evidence of lack of fit in the models (P > 0.05). Moreover, no statistical interaction (effect modification) was observed.
This study has shown that condom use among adolescents in the four districts in Tanzania, namely Kigoma, Kilombero, Rufiji and Ulanga is not associated with multiple sexual partners. We found evidence of association of condom use by age group and by district of residence.
Despite the fact that proper and consistent condom use prevents STIs successfully [10, 11], a significant proportion of the adolescents in the study area remains at risk of contracting STIs and unintended pregnancies. This is evident from the present study which indicates that among the sexually active adolescents, 61% did not use condoms at the last sexual intercourse and about 42% of them reported having had sex with multiple partners in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, more than three-fifth of those reporting multiple partners did not use condoms at their last sexual intercourse.
The likelihood of condom use was higher among older adolescents (15 - 19 year-olds) compared to the younger ones (10 - 14 year-olds), possibly due to knowledge differentials about transmission and prevention of STIs as the former may have had longer exposure to sensitization messages. This observation is consistent with others from other studies [28, 29]. However, the prevalence of multiple sexual partners was similar among the younger and the older adolescents. This is probably linked to the fact that both are on a transition into adulthood, thus experiencing much of physical, emotional and psychological changes and also being influenced by peer behaviours [30].
The lower level of condom use found in Rufiji compared to other districts may be partly attributable to the fact that rural residences (Rufiji being the most) are often correlated with lower levels of condom use and also inequality in condom accessibility [31]. It may also be linked to variations in cultural norms and differentials in access to information, communication and education [32].
Although parents or guardians can be the best entry point to reach adolescents, the fact that sex-related matters are very sensitive pose a great challenge to discussing them at home. In many communities, premarital sex is culturally or religiously forbidden [16] and youths engaged in it are considered to be misbehaving. The truth however is that a good number of adolescents engage in sexual activities stealthily and in fear of condemnation and mistrust. Therefore, not only the unfriendly environment for accessing condoms and other reproductive health services that matters, but also adolescents are afraid to buy condoms, especially in open outlets [33]. This calls for adolescent-friendly sex and reproductive health interventions which fully respond to such contextual limitations.
A separate analysis (results not presented) carried out to identify factors associated with multiple sexual partners revealed that male adolescents were two times more likely than females to report multiple sexual partners. This observation is in agreement with findings from other studies [34–36]. We also observed (Table 2) that 41% of all sexually active female adolescents, used condoms at their last sexual intercourse. The corresponding figure for male adolescents was 37%, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.658). This slightly higher rate of condom use observed among female adolescents can partly be explained by fear of getting pregnant. From this, it appears somewhat that male adolescents are more likely than their female counterparts to engage in risky sexual behaviours. Thus, context-specific interventions are important in order to reduce the chances of transmission of STIs and unintended pregnancies among adolescents.
Some important variables including religion, condom brand types, education level, frequency of sexual intercourse, whether or not sex was coercive and some household variables such as socio-economic status, that could further explain the relationship between multiple sexual partners and condom use were not available for this study. It should also be noted that due to the snapshot nature of cross-sectional studies, we cannot draw causal inferences from the findings of this study. Similarly, we cannot assert these findings as globally generalizable, because being in sexual relationship with multiple partners among adolescents has been found in other areas to be associated with condom use [22]. Further research however is needed to assess if the findings apply to other regions of Tanzania.
The study relied on self-reported information on sexual behaviours which is often unreliable [37, 38], difficult to verify and subject to recall bias or deliberate omission of some sensitive information.
However, all possible precautionary measures were taken to reduce biases in this study. Before the data collection began, a rigorous interviewer training was held for five days, in which the survey instrument was reviewed. The training also covered other important aspects such as basic interview techniques (e.g. probing, establishing rapport) and simulated interviews. The training was conducted in Swahili - Tanzania's national language - and the survey instrument was also translated from English into this language which is well understood and widely spoken locally. The instrument was then pretested in nearby villages with respondents who were similar to those who participated in the main survey study. All interviews during the pretest and the main survey were conducted in Swahili. A few changes were made to the survey instrument following the pretest feedback and ultimately, data collection commenced immediately.
We found no evidence of association between multiple sexual partners and condom use among adolescents in the four districts in Tanzania. A notable number of adolescents are engaged in sexual activity and a few use condoms during sex even those with multiple partners, probably due to limited knowledge on safe sex, cultural norms, unfriendly environment for condom accessibility etc thus exposing them to the risk of contracting STIs including HIV/AIDS and unintended pregnancies.
Sex and reproductive health education remains one of the very important strategies to address risky sexual behaviour among adolescents. Expanding coverage of adolescent reproductive health services need to be prioritized. For both the younger and the older adolescents, it is very crucial to emphasize condom use during every sexual encounter and consider limiting the number of sexual partners to one uninfected and faithful partner. Abstinence remains the most reliable method of prevention against the STIs.
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A version of this paper was presented at the Health Economics and Policy Network in Africa (HEPNet) International Workshop which was held in Abuja, Nigeria from November 29th to December 1st, 2010. Comments received from the participants are acknowledged. We also acknowledge the Ifakara Health Institute and its Empower project for carrying out the MNCH Household Survey in which this paper stems. Special thanks to the study participants, field workers and all partners who made the survey possible. Special commends to Francis Levira and Kate Ramsey for reading a draft of this manuscript and also to Albert Kitumbo, Selemani Mbuyita, Iddajovana Kinyonge and Josephine Shabani all from the Ifakara Health Institute for their important contributions in executing the project.
Ifakara Health Institute (IHI), Plot 463, Kiko Avenue, off Old Bagamoyo Road, Mikocheni, P.O Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Amon Exavery, Angelina M Lutambi, Khadija Kweka, Godfrey Mbaruku & Honorati Masanja
National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Centre for Enhancement of Effective Malaria Interventions (CEEMI) in Collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) under the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, P.O Box 9653, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Godfrey M Mubyazi
Amon Exavery
Angelina M Lutambi
Khadija Kweka
Godfrey Mbaruku
Honorati Masanja
Correspondence to Amon Exavery.
AE envisioned the problem, performed data analysis and wrote the manuscript drafts. AML contributed to data analysis and reviewed the manuscript drafts. GM, HK, HM and GMM contributed to study designing and read through the manuscript drafts for fine-tuning. All the authors read and approved the final draft of this manuscript.
Exavery, A., Lutambi, A.M., Mubyazi, G.M. et al. Multiple sexual partners and condom use among 10 - 19 year-olds in four districts in Tanzania: What do we learn?. BMC Public Health 11, 490 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-11-490
Risky Sexual Behaviour
Acquire Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Unintended Pregnancy


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Surprisingly,according to statistics, every third marriage, which is conducted in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, is international. And across the country the number of marriages registered between Serbians and foreigners already reaches twenty percent!
"Serbian woman marry foreigners, like crazy, but the Serbian man marry foreign women much less", said Gordana Zorich, an employee of the registry office in Belgrade. The most popular among Serbian woman candidates for marriage are Greeks and Italians. But there are also grooms from Germany, Norway, India. Though there are not many fiancees from Arabian countries.
What happened to the Serbian girls? Are they just hunting for money or looking for rich foreign sponsor? Of course not! Serbian woman became much more to travel the world and, consequently, much more acquainted with its various representatives. And they connect their lives with these same representatives not only because of some exotic or exciting passion or tight purse and full fridge. After all, marriage to a foreigner is an opportunity to start life from scratch, and without neighbors expressing someone everything about your background. Plus a mixed marriage is very often the second for Serbian woman, that is why all the negative experience of the previous relationship is strongly associated with their homeland, no matter how sadly it sounds. Not accidentally, marriages of Serbian women with foreigners, according to statistics are much stronger than the same ones conducted with their compatriots and ends only 9 percent of the international marriages are end with divorce. Woman is always woman and it does not depend on geographical region of her inhabitance.
As for the difference in mentality, language and religion, women are much easier to accept the new conditions of life, and, overall, any marriage is a long process of "ointment" to each other and endless series of concessions. Yet, one thing that distinguishes the Serbian brides from foreign ones is they almost never change her maiden name, as a last resort, take the double.
Serbian men call their compatriots and brides from abroad money hunters or complain for too high demands of Serbian girls as for Serbian man and Serbian girls prove that nothing is like they say, it is more that just Serbian men went indecisivethemselves and "abroad" targeted.
So, according to the fact, if you you are foreigner who is looking not only for dating but possibly wants to marry Serbian girl, it is high time for you to do it now.
Wish i could find me one of these Serbian girls for serious relatisnship.
Previous story Why girls from Croatia are wished as girlfriends among Americans?


text:
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It is time to celebrate! IPB 21st Anniversary
Author: C van der Vyver
2019 marks the 21st anniversary of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology (IPB), which was established in 1998 in collaboration with the South African Sugar Association under the directorship of Prof Frikkie Botha. The Institute operates as an independent unit within the Department of Genetics in the Faculty of AgriSciences. In 2004, Prof Jens Kossmann was appointed director, a position that he still occupies. The IPB, under his leadership, represents a multicultural and interdisciplinary team of researchers and postgraduate students that focuses on research opportunities in plant biotechnology.
In September, the IPB will host its 21st anniversary at the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) as an afternoon feedback and future prospective celebration session, concluding with a social dinner. Invited will be all current and former staff members, funders, alumni students still working in the field of plant science, national and international collaborators, a campus faculty and departmental delegation and people who, over the years, have provided essential services to the IPB.
The IPB, over the past 21 years, has trained numerous students, playing an essential role in establishing people's careers, contributed significantly to knowledge in the plant science field, published numerous scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and registered a number of patents as a consequence of the applied nature of conducted research. In 2019, we celebrate and remember these contributions.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


SparkNotes: The Odyssey Key Questions: Why does Telemachus go to Pylos and Sparta?
Why does Telemachus go to Pylos and Sparta?
1) Why does Telemachus go to Pylos and Sparta?
The goddess Athena, disguised as Mentes, advises Telemachus to visit Pylos and Sparta. Athena tells Telemachus that he might hear news of his father, Odysseus. If he doesn't hear that Odysseus is still alive, Telemachus will know it is time to hold a funeral and assert his status as master of Odysseus's house and property. The journey is potentially dangerous. By undertaking the journey, Telemachus shows that he has inherited his father's courage, and he begins to forge a reputation in his society as a brave and adventurous man. His visits to Nestor and Menelaus require him to tactfully observe the social rules that bind travelers and guests. This introduces one of The Odyssey's central themes: hospitality and the rules that govern it. Nestor and Menelaus tell Telemachus stories about Odysseus's achievements in the Trojan War. Menelaus affirms that Telemachus is a worthy son of his famous father: "Good blood runs in you, dear boy." Menelaus also tells him that his father is alive. This encouragement inspires Telemachus, and his experiences as a traveler help him to mature. When he returns to Ithaca, he is ready to help Odysseus defeat the suitors.
How does Odysseus escape Polyphemus?
Why doesn't the goddess Athena get Odysseus home sooner?
Why does Odysseus kill the suitors?
How does Penelope test Odysseus?


text:
Q: after using removeChars() in textbox in fabric.js the __lineWidths and position of the cursor is not getting updated I'm trying to build a sort of designer with fabric.js What I'm trying to achieve is to restrict the number of characters of user input. I'm doing this by checking the width of the canvas and textbox property __lineWidths. So then the __lineWidths exceeds the width of the canvas, the last character is deleted by removeChars().
The problem is that is works only once, till the moment when the condition is met for the first time, then it stops working because after the removeChars() execute the __lineWidths seems not to be updated. It is increasing by each further input.
Furthermore this is probably causing also a wrong cursor position. the cursor stays in the position of the removed character.
I have made a jsFiddle to demonstrate the issue. I have also put this piece of code below.
Is it a bug, or am I doing something wrong? then how it can be done the propper way?
 var canvas = new fabric.Canvas('myCanvas', {
   width: 300,
   height: 50
 });

var text = new fabric.Textbox(
 '123456789', {
  textAlign: 'center',
  fontSize: 40,
  fill: '#000',
  width: 300,
  height: 50,
  fontFamily: 'ANWB'
});

canvas.add(text);
canvas.renderAll();

canvas.item(0).enterEditing();
canvas.item(0).hiddenTextarea.focus();

canvas.item(0).hiddenTextarea.onkeydown = function(event) {
//forbid use of ENTER
if (event.key == 'Enter' || event.which == 10 || event.which == 13) {

event.preventDefault();
event.stopPropagation();
console.log('passed enter forbid');
}
}

/*text.hiddenTextarea.onblur = function(event){
    if (canvas.item(id).isEditing === true){
        setTimeout(function () {
            canvas.item(id).hiddenTextarea.focus();
        }, 20);

    }
}*/

text.on('changed', function(options) {
$('#line-width').append('
 line-width = ' + this.__lineWidths[0] + '
');

if (this.__lineWidths[0] >= (canvas.width - 40)) {
$('#line-width').append('
Characters length in __lineWidths[0] is longer than the specified number
');

this.removeChars((this._text.length - 1), (this._text.length0));
text.hiddenArea.focus();
$('#line-width').append('
line-width after the removeChar() = ' + this.__lineWidths[0] + '
');

}
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Buffalo, NY USA
Buffalo State to Pilot SUNY PRODI-G Program
During SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson's State of the University address on January 31, she announced Buffalo State College will play a leading role in a new systemwide initiative: Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion, and...
5-Feb-2019 4:05 PM EST Add to Favorites
Could the Behavior of an Invasive Species of Ants Explain the Way Humans Interact?
A study on an invasive ant species in the Buffalo area could explain how other invasive species thrive.
20-Nov-2018 2:20 PM EST Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Receives Prestigious Award for East Side History Project
The New York State Archives and Archives Partnership Trust awarded the 2018 Debra E. Bernhardt Annual Archives Award for Excellence in Documenting New York's History Award to the "East Side History Project," a collaboration between Buffalo...
14-Nov-2018 11:05 AM EST Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Included in New York's Clean Energy Workforce Development Initiative
As part of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's $15 million clean energy workforce development initiative, Buffalo State College is receiving a $753,000 grant to develop clean energy certificate programs.
6-Sep-2018 10:05 AM EDT Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Alumnus Takes on Duke University
Nicholas Irion, '17, was one of the first Buffalo Public School students to be involved with the Say Yes to Education initiative. Through the program, Irion landed at Buffalo State, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in music education.
27-Aug-2018 2:40 PM EDT Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Experts: Hazing Reflects Power Struggle and Desire to Belong
Approximately, 1.5 million high school students are hazed each year, according to the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention.
11-Apr-2018 11:05 AM EDT Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Ranks Second Among Public Universities for Military Friendly Designation
Buffalo State ranked second within the Top 10 list for large public colleges and universities in Victory Media's 2018 Military Friendly Schools.
21-Dec-2017 4:05 PM EST Add to Favorites
Buffalo State Experts: Weinberg Reflects on Changing Attitudes Toward Sexual Behavior, Identity
In just the past six years, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage, the Tinder app accelerated casual dating, Fifty Shades of Grey was an overnight sensation, and Bruce Jenner became a woman.
4-Dec-2017 12:05 PM EST Add to Favorites
What Is Modern Monetary Theory? And How Is It Being Used in Our Current Political Discourse?
10-May-2019 4:50 PM EDT
Buffalo State professor on Brexit: In or Out? Implications for the EU, the UK, and the US
22-Jan-2019 3:05 PM EST
Motivational Interviewing More Effective Than Lectures
Michael "Mick" MacLean, associate professor of psychology, who has done extensive research on adolescent alcohol and substance use. Most recently, he's implemented a strategy for reaching teens who are experiencing substance-related problems...
9-May-2018 12:05 PM EDT
Professor Shares Self-Regulatory Behavior Techniques with Next Generation of Teachers
Children with emotional and behavioral disabilities are the most isolated and have the lowest graduation rate of all students.One way to ensure better outcomes for these students is to help them learn how to self-regulate their behavior. This is an...
24-Apr-2018 12:05 PM EDT
#MeToo Movement Only the Beginning
Jennifer Hunt, Buffalo State associate professor of psychology, said the events that have occurred during the recent #MeToo movement are only the beginning in making changes to the way women are treated. Hunt is a social psychologist whose...
5-Feb-2018 2:05 PM EST
Mathematics Professor Plays Games with Infinity
"I work in an area of pure mathematics called set theory, a rich and beautiful subject whose fundamental concepts permeate virtually every branch of mathematics," said Cunningham, professor of mathematics at Buffalo State.
21-Nov-2017 3:05 PM EST
Grooming College Students for Booming Hotel Industry
Rebecca Tate, lecturer, Hospitality and Tourism Department, is now leading a new practicum at Buffalo State. Beginning this fall, 10 upperclassmen admitted to the course are learning the four elements of the hotel business: marketing; conferences...
Climate Change Impacting Western NY: Buffalo State Experts
7-Nov-2017 5:00 PM EST
Buffalo State, a State University of New York (SUNY) campus located in Buffalo, New York, offers more than 150 undergraduate programs and more than 60 graduate programs in the arts, sciences, education, and professional studies. The college is a leader in undergraduate research, hands-on learning opportunities, and community engagement.
Jerod Dahlgren
Susan Fischer
Office Assistant 1
Laurie Kaiser
Staff writer, Public Relations
Timothy Walsh
Music Professor Creates Device for Speech, Cognitive Therapy
Homepage www.buffalostat...
campus news www.buffalostat...
Tweets by @MaryDurlak


Large natural African lakes contain unique and diverse fish faunas which have evolved within each lake in a comparatively short period of time. members of the family Cichlidae are particularly diverse, although there is strong evidence to show that the haplochromines in Lake Victoria, and possibly Lake Malawi, are monophyletic. The unique faunas in Lakes Victoria and Kyoga have been subject to perturbations from the introduction of exotic fish, and the faunas in these and other lakes have been disturbed by fishing activities and other human endeavours. Factors governing the establishment of exotic species are not clearly understood. The exotic fish must be physiologically adapted to their new environment, able to compete successfully both for habitat and for food at each stage of their life history, able to avoid predation and must have a suitable reproductive potential. Although about 50 species of fish have been introduced into African inland waters, including reservoirs, only comparatively few, in particular Nile perch (Lates niloticus), various cichlids (especially tilapias) and clupeids (Limnothrissa miodon), have been successful in establishing themselves. Those that have become established have had obvious but unquantifiable impacts on the indigenous faunas. It is difficult to differentiate between the effects of fishing and of the presence of alien fish on the fish species composition of the lakes (Witte et al., 1992). Many of the lakes were overfished before introductions were made, with a resultant decline in some species, especially the larger ones, and the virtual disappearance of others. Some lake fish faunas, such as those of Lakes Kyoga and Victoria, which have been subjected to the perturbations described above, continue to change rapidly (Ogutu-Owayo, 1990b). There is a fundamental need to collect biological information on the fish communities of African lakes for effective management, resulting not only in the conservation of unique fish faunas but also the production of sustainable fish yields for the people relying on this source of protein. This information is required before any more introductions of exotic fish are made.


text:
Blow for Boks as Swys steps down
Wednesday 14 August 2019 - 8:30am
Swys de Bruin will no longer be involved with the Springboks.
BackpagePix/Samuel Shivambu
JOHANNESBURG - Springboks attack consultant Swys de Bruin has stepped down, leaving head coach Rassie Erasmus to find a replacement just five weeks out from the Rugby World Cup.
De Bruin, the head coach of Super Rugby side Lions, asked to be released from his role for personal and health issues, South African Rugby said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Swys made a great contribution to the squad in his time with us and I'd like to thank him on behalf of his fellow management and the players he has worked with in the past 12 months," Erasmus said.
"He brought a fresh perspective to one facet of the game and he'll be hard to replace."
De Bruin was not with the team since they drew 16-16 with New Zealand in Wellington last month. He played no part in their final Rugby Championship match against Argentina in Salta, SA Rugby added.
The 59-year-old De Bruin had issues earlier this year with a stress-related illness that forced him to leave the Lions on their tour of New Zealand and temporarily hand over the head coaching duties.
Erasmus said de Bruin's decision had taken him by surprise, but it would not affect their final preparations for the World Cup, with their opener against the All Blacks on September 22 in Yokohama.
"This was not something we were expecting," Erasmus said. "But our planning has been thorough and it's something we can manage."
The Springboks play Argentina in Pretoria on Saturday.
US Dollar 14.51 -0.01
Euro 16.11 -0.02
Silver 17.92 -12


Ladies, let's gather together for an Autumn evening Friday, September 14th from 7-9pm. We'll hear from Sheila, enjoy sweet and savory appetizers, have all kinds of fall fun and end the evening with a bonfire in the courtyard. Sign up here! Interested in using your gifts to help out? Contact denise@opcmilford.org!


Quite a lot of tourists arrive to London Gatwick as they travel to London. Gatwick is a bit outside the inner centre of London, but it is very easy to travel from the airport to the centre of London, at least with the information you can find in this article.
Gatwick Express is an express train leaving from the airport every 15th minute. The travel time is estimated to 30 minutes, and after 30 minutes you will arrive to London Victoria. There are also other trains available from Gatwick to London. These are cheaper, and you can find information and order tickets online using the link below this text.


Buy the Alien: Isolation Season Pass and get five add on packs as they become available to download. All Season Pass content will be available by March 2015. If you purchase the Alien: Isolation Season Pass, all future content that is part of this pass will be accessible in-game once it is available. Alien: Isolation game required; sold separately.
Buy the Alien: Isolation Season Pass and get five add on packs as they become available to download. All Season Pass content will be available by March 2015. If you purchase the Alien: Isolation Season Pass, all future content that is part of this pass will be accessible in-game once it is available. Alien: Isolation game required; sold separately..
-As the Marine, you'll experience a claustrophobic and terrifying experience where light is your friend, but there's never enough. However, the United States Marine Corps are humanity's last line of defense, and as such they are armed to the teeth with the very latest in high explosive and automatic weaponry.
-As the Predator, you will stalk from the shadows and from above, passing athletically through the treetops to ambush your victims. Although equipped with an array of powerful, exotic weapons and tracking equipment, honor ultimately dictates that you must get in close and take your trophies face to face.
-As the most deadly species in the universe, the Alien offers you the chance to play as the very stuff of nightmares - the monster in the dark swarming forward with countless others, jaws like a steel trap and claws like blades.
-Play all sides off against each other in a series of unique 3-way online modes and go tooth-to-claw-to-pulse rifle in the reinvention of one of multiplayer gaming's defining moments.


text:
Warren Buffett: Baptist and Bootlegger
How America's favorite billionaire plays politics to make money
by Peter Schweizer
In 19th-century America, there was a concerted effort to ban alcohol sales on Sunday. "Blue laws," intended to protect the sanctity and sobriety of the Sabbath, were pushed by what seemed like an odd alliance: Baptists and bootleggers. Baptists backed the ban publicly on moral and religious grounds, while the bootleggers lobbied for the ban privately to boost their own bottom lines. Blocking legal alcohol purchases for even one day each week meant more opportunities for their illegal sales. Bans were enacted state by state, and many blue laws still exist (in Arkansas, Indiana, Minnesota, and Mississippi, for example), although restrictions have been steadily disappearing in recent years. Economist Bruce Yandle immortalized the phrase "Bootleggers and Baptists" in a 1983 Regulation magazine article of the same name, making the point that ostensibly opposing sides will happily collude when it serves their mutual interests.
The old paradox continues in modern-day Washington. Politicians enrich their friends and allies—and sometimes themselves—by coming off as earnest "Baptists" for a worthy cause. Lobbyists for big corporate interests, by contrast, are widely considered bootleggers, no matter how nobly they cloak their arguments. This arrangement has created an opening for a third way: What if a capitalist could somehow manage to sound like a Baptist?
Consider Warren Buffett. Often seen as a grandfatherly figure above the rough-and-tumble of politics, Buffett appears to be immune to the folly and excess of finance as well. He lives in Omaha, Nebraska, in a house he purchased in 1958 for $31,000. He made a fortune for himself and his investors at the business conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway through the humble-sounding approach of value-based investing. He uses folksy expressions: "You don't know who's swimming naked," he said during the height of the financial crisis, "until the tide goes out." He frequently takes to the nation's op-ed pages with populist-sounding arguments, such as his August 2010 plea in The New York Times for the government to stop "coddling" the "super-rich" and start raising their taxes.
Buffett the Bootlegger
But this image does not always reflect reality. Warren Buffett is very much a political entrepreneur; his best investments are often in political relationships. In recent years, Buffett has used taxpayer money as a vehicle to even greater profit and wealth. Indeed, the success of some of his biggest bets and the profitability of some of his largest investments rely on government largesse and "coddling" with taxpayer money.
During the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, Buffett became an important symbol on television. He filled the role of fiscal adult, a responsible father figure in the midst of irresponsible Wall Street speculators. While pushing for calm and advocating specific market interventions in both public and private, however, he was also investing (sometimes quietly) so he could profit once his policy advice was implemented. This put Buffett in the position of being both Baptist and bootlegger, praised for his moral character while shaking his finger all the way to the bank.
In the summer of 2008, when several investment houses and the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac teetered on the brink of financial collapse, Buffett was "uncharacteristically quiet," as the London Guardian observed. It was only on September 23 that he became a highly visible player in the drama, investing $5 billion in Goldman Sachs, which was overleveraged and short on cash. Buffett's play gave the investment bank a much-needed cash infusion, making a heck of a deal for himself in return: Berkshire Hathaway received preferred stock with a 10 percent dividend yield and an attractive option to buy another $5 billion in stock at $115 a share.
Wall Street was on fire, and Buffett was running toward the flames. But he was doing so with the expectation that the fire department (that is, the federal government) was right behind him with buckets of bailout money. As he admitted on CNBC at the time, "If I didn't think the government was going to act, I wouldn't be doing anything this week."
Buffett needed the bailout. In addition to Goldman Sachs, which was not as badly leveraged as some of its competitors, Buffett was heavily invested in several other banks, such as Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp, that were also at risk and in need of federal cash.
So it's no surprise that Buffett began campaigning for the $700 billion Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP) that was being hammered out in Washington. The first vote on the bill failed in the House of Representatives on September 29. But Buffett was in a unique position to help reverse its fate.
During the 2008 presidential campaign Buffett was mentioned as a candidate for Treasury secretary by both John McCain and Barack Obama. But it was clear where his loyalties lay: He had been a financial supporter of Barack Obama going back to 2004, when Obama ran for the U.S. Senate. Each had been impressed when they met, and Buffett said at a 2007 fundraiser in Nebraska that the two "had a lot of time to talk." During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama made it clear that while he received plenty of advice on the campaign trail, "Warren Buffett is one of those people that I listen to." Obama added that the Oracle of Omaha was one of his "economic advisers."
Several senators and congressmen were shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway and therefore in a position to earn big returns by passing the bailout bill. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), for example, held between $1 million and $6 million in Berkshire stock, by far the largest asset in his portfolio. Initially resistant to the bailout bill, Nelson ended up voting in favor of it. Buffett's support was hardly the deciding factor in passing the bill. But his Baptist-bootlegger position was strong in both directions: Many people heeded his advice, then he (and they) made a lot of money after the bailout.
Throughout the financial crisis and the debate over the stimulus in early 2009, several members of Congress were buying and trading Berkshire stock. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) bought Berkshire shares four times over a three-week period in September and October 2008, up to $130,000 worth. He bought shares during the debate over the bailout, during the vote, and after the vote. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) bought the stock, as did Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), who bought up to $500,000 worth just days after the bailout bill was signed. Some legislators also followed Buffett's example by buying shares in Goldman Sachs after the bailout. Among them were Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), and Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.).
Early in the financial crisis, Obama, then a senator and his party's presidential nominee, had been cautious and lukewarm about a possible bailout. But in the days following Buffett's multibillion-dollar play for Goldman Sachs, and with fears of economic collapse mounting, Obama became a powerful champion of the government rescue. As the top Democrat in the country, he had an important vote. The New York Times reported that Obama "intensified" his efforts to "rally support for the $700 billion financial bailout package" after September 28, 2008. The plan was necessary, said Obama, "to safeguard the economy."
Publicly, Buffett struck a posture of cheering on the bailout from the sidelines. "I'm not brave enough to try to influence the Congress," he told The New York Times in a September 24 article. But Buffett's actions directly contradicted his words. Days later, he participated in a conference call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other House Democrats during which he pushed them to pass the bill, warning that otherwise the country faces "the biggest financial meltdown in American history."
Read the rest of the article
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(英) We introduce a probabilistic model to analyse job-matching processes in recent Japanese labor markets by means of statistical physics.
we show that the aggregation probability of each company is rewritten by means of non-linear map under several conditions.
are reversed during the dynamics. Moreover, we derive the stationary distribution at high temperature limit.
文献情報 信学技報, vol. 111, no. 339, NLP2011-118, pp. 7-12, 2011年12月.
開催地(英) Iwaki Hall AB, Hirosaki Univ.


text:
Q: Should the call to the superclass method be the first statement? The results of a speech recognition can be read in the onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) method, as shown in this example. This method overrides the same method in class Activity: why is the call to the superclass method not the first statement?
@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
    if (requestCode == VOICE_RECOGNITION_REQUEST_CODE && resultCode == RESULT_OK) {
        // Fill the list view with the strings the recognizer thought it could have heard
        // ...
    }

    super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}

A: Methods you override that are part of component creation (onCreate(), onStart(), onResume(), etc.), you should chain to the superclass as the first statement, to ensure that Android has its chance to do its work before you attempt to do something that relies upon that work having been done.
Methods you override that are part of component destruction (onPause(), onStop(), onDestroy(), etc.), you should do your work first and chain to the superclass as the last thing. That way, in case Android cleans up something that your work depends upon, you will have done your work first.
Methods that return something other than void (onCreateOptionsMenu(), etc.), sometimes you chain to the superclass in the return statement, assuming that you are not specifically doing something that needs to force a particular return value.
Everything else -- such as onActivityResult() -- is up to you, on the whole. I tend to chain to the superclass as the first thing, but unless you are running into problems, chaining later should be fine.

A: Because you generally want to perform the events unique to your overridden activity before passing the control back up the class hierarchy.  Note that it is not always the case.  Sometimes you should put the calls first such as in the callbacks that happen when your app is initialized, and you might want to put them last for events that happen when your app is destroyed so that you can clean up first.
In general though it doesn't matter and if it does it will be mentioned in the SDK -- I've ran into it mentioned a few places in the SKD (I think on documentation regarding dialogs) but I can't remember exactly which page/section it's on.
There is some more detailed discussion on the topic here: http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers/browse_thread/thread/9ddb2b06c21c8457


IFI Spotlight takes place this Friday, 7th April. Now in its fifth year, Spotlight is the IFI's annual look at the Irish film and media industry, reviewing the past year and considering current trends in production, distribution and consumption of new work.
As always, the day is split into two parts; this year's morning session will look back at 2016, and will also feature an interesting and topical panel on copyright infringement and intellectual piracy.
For the afternoon session, there is a panel looking at the response to measures introduced by the Irish Film Board in relation to gender equality in the sector. There are also two events devoted to advertising, the main panel of which will be facilitated by Tania Banotti of IAPI and will consider the main ways in which the advertising industry contributes to the culture and economy of film, TV and animation in Ireland.
Entrance to either of the morning or afternoon sessions costs €5 each, with an all-day ticket available for €8.
Full day tickets are available for purchase here. Morning session only tickets are available for purchase here. Afternoon session only tickets are available for purchase here.
Dr Roddy Flynn of DCU and Dr Tony Tracy of NUIG will review the film and television output of 2016 considering the impact of 1916 Centenary programming on TV, feature and short film production, discussing fresh new work in film and TV drama, and noting the continuing rise in popularity of Irish theatrical documentaries.
11.45 Panel: Copyright Infringement, Intellectual Piracy, and the Film and TV industry.
This panel, presented in association with the Irish Industry Trust for IP Awareness, will consider the increasing threat of piracy to the film and home entertainment industry in Ireland. It will outline the work of the Trust in educating consumers on legitimate sources of content and promoting the value of copyright and creativity. The session will be facilitated by the Trust's Communications Director, Alison Crinion, who will be joined by Liz Bales, CEO Industry Trust for IP Awareness and British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE); David Burke, General Manager of Universal Pictures Ireland; Karen O'Malley, Head of Home Entertainment at Element Pictures; Garry Walsh Writer and Producer at SnackBox Films.
Annie Doona (returning Chair of Irish Film Board / Bord Scannán na hÉireann) will provide an update on the response to measures introduced by the IFB/BSÉ to achieve gender equity in particular funding areas within an agreed timeframe. Stephanie Comey will update on BAI activity in identifying gendered anomalies in funding provision, while Sunniva O'Flynn of IFI will report on representation of women directors across IFI programme. Session will be moderated by Rachel Lysaght of Women in Film and Television, Ireland.
Kasandra O'Connell, Head of the IFI Irish Film Archive, will introduce a selection of vintage Irish ads from collections restored by IFI Irish Film Archive in a major project supported by the BAI.
This panel will go behind the scenes of the advertising world to consider the many ways in which the advertising industry contributes significantly to the culture and economy of film, TV and animation in Ireland. The panel will celebrate the talent of Irish ad-makers; explore the influence of advertising on Irish filmmaking aesthetics, budgets, pitching and economy of storytelling; and will look at women in advertising – their roles and their representation. Facilitator Tania Banotti of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland will be joined by: first AD/director Liz Gill; producer Andrew Freedman (Antidote / Venom); executive producer, Max Brady (Pull the Trigger); animation director, Gavin Kelly (Piranha Bar); and copywriter/director Conor Ferguson.
Generating a great deal of interest when it was introduced last year, this strand invites filmmakers to discuss forthcoming features. Cartoon Saloon (Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells) will whet our appetites for their new feature- length animation The Breadwinner about a young girl in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Pat Collins will give us a foretaste of his new feature drama Song of Granite, a biopic of sean-nós singer Joe Heaney.
Round up of the day facilitated by Professor Margaret Kelleher.


Less than 67 percent of Californians have had a professional dental cleaning in the past year, according to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
With the onslaught of over-the-counter teeth whiteners and cleaning products, many consumers may be given a false sense that these items can deliver the same caliber of dental hygiene afforded by a professional dental cleaning.
The prime culprit for tooth decay and gum disease is plaque, a bacteria-laden film that accumulates on our teeth as soon as we eat or drink and hardens into yellow tartar in as little as 48 hours. Plaque and tartar can't be removed by standard at-home dental care, which is why dentists such as Dr. Leo Arellano recommend a professional dental cleaning 2 to 4 times a year.
A professional teeth cleaning will take approximately 45 minutes, longer if you have not had regular cleanings or have substantial tartar buildup. The teeth are cleared of tartar and given a thorough polishing, topped by an intense fluoride treatment as needed. It is usually pain-free, however if you have any tooth sensitivities please share this information with your hygienist before they begin. They can take measures to minimize any discomfort and evaluate the cause of your sensitivity.
At Leo Arellano, DDS, General and Cosmetic Dentistry, your cleaning is performed by a licensed dental hygienist. Dental hygienists complete special schooling and are required to pass state and national board testing to receive their license. They must also complete annual continuing education credits to maintain their license.
Your teeth will be cleaned of tartar and rinsed using a water spray. Tobacco, tea, and coffee stains can often be removed or substantially lightened by this cleaning. The hygienist may also screen for periodontal disease by measuring the space between each of your teeth and the surrounding gum line using a probe-like instrument to measure these small pockets. A fluoride treatment may be applied to give teeth an extra buffer of protection.
During the cleaning, the dental hygienist is also scouting for more severe oral disorders such as tooth decay, mouth or tongue cancers, broken fillings, and bite issues.


Abstract: Why does Lithuania support Turkey's accession to the European Union? The article analyzes some of the key domestic factors and the strategic thinking behind Lithuania'a continuous support. Domestically, the political culture of the foreign policy elite and the permissiveness of public opinion allow treating Turkey's accession as a foreign policy issue, subject to cost-benefit calculations. Short-term calculations involve mutually advantageous deals between Turkey and Lithuania. Long-term assessments focus on how Turkey's membership would affect global, regional, and intra- European dynamics of power relations. The article suggests that, in the context of lasting foreign policy objectives and concerns, Turkey is attractive to Lithuania primarily due to its geopolitical roles: its traditional transatlantic alignment, its function as a transit hub for energy supplies to Europe, and its potential to become a great power, engaging in regional competition with Russia.
Abstract: This article examines whether the presence of imperial legacies in Central and South-eastern Europe affects their foreign policy stances and public opinion towards Turkish accession to the EU. It first discusses the boundaries of the ideational factors affecting the perception of Turkey, namely the historical legacy of the Ottoman Empire as a European power in Eastern Europe. Secondly, it looks at the ideational factors in how Turkish foreign policy, more specifically Turkey's EU membership, is perceived by Eastern and South-eastern European political elite and public. The author finds that in places where the Ottoman Empire is perceived in more historically distant terms, the more positive or neutral views are of Turkish membership. It concludes with a juxtaposition of Eastern European stances with Turkey's new foreign policy strategies. It recommends that Turkish foreign policy should not neglect advocacy in the western part of the old Ottoman sphere of influence where new EU members lie. These may indeed by transformed into new allies to support Turkey's bid against the opponents among older EU members.
Abstract: In recent years, not only have the changes in Turkish foreign policy been discussed but also the key factors and actors behind the change. This book deals with both the professional and academic life of the foreign minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and provides information on him and on developments in Turkish foreign policy. The author, Gürkan Zengin, is a journalist with an interest in foreign relations. His book includes a number of important stories of Davutoğlu from when he was a university professor and advisor up to today as a diplomat and minister. It seems that the author reached his conclusions and got information for the book from colleagues of Davutoğlu, his writings, and from other media. At first sight, this book is very beneficial for those who are interested in Davutoğlu and Turkish foreign policy in general.
Abstract: Socrates' pupil Chaerephon once asked an oracle "who is the wisest of all men?" The oracle responded that Socrates is the wisest of all because of his self-awareness. According to philosophers from Socrates to Montaigne, Spinoza, Kant, true wisdom and full knowledge may be a utopian fantasy. In a world of uncertainty where mistakes are unavoidable facts of daily life for citizens and politicians alike, how politicians will be able to avoid foreign policy mistakes is the main concern of this book. There are some other questions of crucial importance which the book deals with: What are foreign policy mistakes and how and why do they occur? The answers to those questions are available in this book and it concentrates on the concept of power. Regarding the concept of power, the main question is "kto-kovo?" (Lenin's famous question, "who controls whom?") The answers to the question "what are foreign policy mistakes?" and conceptualizing foreign policy mistakes are quite blurry and complicated. There may be lots of different kinds of mistakes, such as violating moral rules, lack of cognitive judgment, and policies costing too much and having unanticipated and undesirable results. The mistakes can be classified as omission (too little/too late) and commission (too much/too soon). For example, mistakes of omission are evident in the British policies towards Germany which failed to deter Germany's occupation of Sudetenland in 1938 and to reassure the Russians that they would negotiate an alliance against Germany. This failure of the British decision makers led to a non-aggression pact between Stalin and Hitler in 1939. The Katyn Forest massacre exemplifies best how Soviet Russia misperceived the gains in cooperating with Germany in the removal of Poland from the map of Europe because according to the authors, the Soviet decision to execute Polish POWs and bury them in the Katyn Forest is a foreign policy decision that falls into three domain; morality, intelligence and policy. It was a violation of international law, based on a diagnostic judgement blinded by ignorance of the future and by communist ideology, which led to a prescription for a policy action that alienated future allies.This, at the same time illustrates the mistake of commission (too much/too soon) and moral failure. Foreign policy choices are not only concerned with rational choices, but, as Axelrod and Jarwis clearly defined it, they also stem from some sources of mistakes such as subjective cognitive maps, heuristics, attribution errors, desires to maintain cognitive consistency and avoid cognitive dissonance, selective attention, and other emotional or cold cognitive biases. Khong explains why human beings are "creatures with limited cognitive capacities" by emphasizing that leaders, like every human, tend to turn to historical analogies for guidance when confronted with novel foreign policy challenges. However the issue is that the result is often a foreign policy mistake since this only helps the leaders "access analogies on the basis of surface similarities".
Abstract: Turkey is becoming more independent and self-confident. Yet, the current analysis on Turkey in most American circles tirelessly refers to the tension between secularism and Islam or Eastern versus Western proclivities. Such focus often comes at the expense of the most powerful force driving Turkish foreign policy: nationalism and self-interest. Turkish-American relations are witnessing a paradigm shift that can be best defined as the rise of Turkish Gaullism. A Gaullist Turkey may in the long run decide to no longer pursue an elusive EU membership. It may even question its military alliance with the United States. Burdened by a sense that it never gets the respect it deserves, Turkey may increasingly act on its own in search of full independence, full sovereignty, strategic leverage and, most importantly, Turkish glory and grandeur.
Abstract: The "axis-shift" discussions on Turkish foreign policy activism over the last couple of years have attracted remarkable international attention. Some pundits have attempted to place Turkey's increasing relations with its neighbors within the context of an ideological and identical reshuffling of Turkish foreign policy principles. While finding the "shift of axis" argument a rather crude characterization, the paper nevertheless argues that there are subtle shifts in Turkish foreign policy orientation. In this context, the paper aims to identify both the elements of continuity and rupture in the style and behavior of Turkish foreign policy. In fact, there are solid political economy fundamentals and legitimate reasons for Turkey to pursue a multi- dimensional and more assertive foreign policy in the emerging multi-polar world system. However, the present paper underlines that Turkey's multi-dimensional foreign policy activism with no firm axis may have potentially counterproductive consequences regarding Turkey's long- term national interests as well as its ability to play a stabilizing role as a pro-active and benign regional power.
Abstract: Turkish foreign policy activism during the last decade has attracted widespread international attention. As a result, scholarly literature on the issue has expanded noticeably. If one makes a general categorization, the literature on the new Turkish foreign policy has mainly concentrated on "security-based" and "identitybased" explanations. The role of the changing economic dynamics in Turkey and the transformation of Turkish financial and industrial capital, however, are not adequately addressed in the existing literature. This study aims to contribute to the recent debates from a political economy perspective with reference to the functionalist and interdependence approaches. It is argued in this paper that the bifurcation within the financial capital in Turkey in the post-2001 period and the internationalization of the 'Anatolian tigers' have turned out to be the 'practical hand' of Turkish foreign policy. In addition, this study argues that there are certain limits and constraints of employing political economy factors as a driving force in the Turkish foreign policy activism.
28. Turkey's Neighborhood Policy: An Emerging Complex Interdependence?
Abstract: In this paper, I argue that a fuller understanding of the recent activism in Turkish foreign policy, and in particular the changing nature of relations with its neighbors, requires us to engage in the study of the increasing economic interdependence and the analysis of broadly redefined national interests. Therefore, this paper aims to explain Turkey's relations with its neighbors through the neo-liberal theory model put forth by Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, which underlines the importance of interdependence and cooperation among states. I argue that recent developments in Turkish foreign policy, particularly Turkey's relations with its neighbors, resemble the characteristic features of complex interdependence. The new activism in Turkish foreign policy facilitates international cooperation among regional actors and creates a "complex interdependence".
Abstract: Research on state-business relations has traditionally focused on business associations' lobbying activities. However, as these organizations started to assume a more active role in their country's economic life, scholars began to look at another distinct role of business associations: their formal participation in policy making. This article examines to what extent Turkish business associations are taking part in the foreign economic policy-making process, which, in turn, leads to two sub-questions: (1) Through what kind of mechanisms is a pattern of interaction established between the state and the business associations? (2) Does the state transfer a part of its administrative functions to the private sector? This article examines the institutional setting established during the liberalization wave of the 1980s and has gradually evolved up to the present, through which the state has maintained its role as the policy maker yet has allowed the private sector to play a role in the process because it is deemed to be capable of administering specific functions more efficiently than the state.
Abstract: Our analysis will discuss Turkey's changing direction, if any, in terms of its trade orientation. This paper argues that Turkey's trade sector has maintained its long-standing direction towards the major European Union (EU) member countries with only minor setbacks, while new dimensions in bilateral trade have emerged not only due to Turkey's changing foreign policy considerations but also global economic transformations. Moreover, this paper argues that Turkey's trade partners are subject to these changes, as the epicentre of the global economy shifts, i.e. to the East. In the first section, a brief introduction with regards to Turkey's foreign trade under the AK Party's administration -since 2002 will be provided. The second section will discuss the scope of regional and worldwide changes in trade patterns and analyze the recent shift in Turkey's trade orientation in the context of Asia's economic and political rise in early 21st century. The Third section will focus on the role of political dynamics in Turkey's trade sector and structural issues.


text:
This Is Why Kim Kardashian Needs Her Own Goop
By Josh Duboff
By Rick Diamond/Getty Images.
Kim Kardashian's pregnancy news may have been slightly overshadowed earlier this week (you know, by that story that has consumed the entire Internet for the whole week—that is, Enrique Iglesias getting injured by a drone, of course). But, yes, to remind you: the evening before Caitlyn Jenner introduced herself to the world, Kim Kardashian revealed that she was pregnant. According to TMZ and other sources, Kim will be giving birth in December, which has led some to wonder whether Kimye will be giving the baby a Christmas-themed name (Ksnowflake? Santa Klaus? Jesus?). Oddsmakers have already started taking bets on the American royal baby equivalent, with Krystal and King as the two front-runners (King almost seems too on the nose though, doesn't it?). And of course, the Internet is jonesin' for South West, though, again, Kanye doesn't strike us as the type to give us exactly what we're expecting, so this also doesn't seem quite right to us.
Kim spent Tuesday venting on Twitter about pregnancy-related rumors, in glorious, uncharacteristically off-the-cuff fashion. She began the day complaining about morning sickness (using expletives to emphasize her pain). Later, she teased her upcoming Web site, informing us, "Can't wait til my website is active! I'm gonna do live video streaming so every time someone talks shit I can go blast the fuck outta them." (WHAT IS THE HOLD UP HERE, KARDASHIAN CORP WEB DEV HEAD?!?!??! GET THIS SITE UP!) She later informed that "Pregnant KiKi does not play!!!!," before answering a few questions from fans, confirming, for example, that she is not using a surrogate. All of this was so unusual, for Kim (who has over 32 million followers), that Twitter reached out to make sure she hadn't been hacked. Later that evening, she tweeted that she had just had Chipotle.
The latest rumor (that, IF ONLY KIM'S WEB SITE WAS UP, she could respond to—we're imagining her responding to queries behind a computer with a magnifying glass and houndstooth cap, by the way, for some reason) is that Kim is pregnant with twins. According to a "well-placed source," the Daily News reported that Kim and Kanye had used I.V.F., and "two eggs were fertilized," and that she is waiting to "see if they are both O.K." before making the news public. (The Daily News also claims that Kim "wants Caitlyn to have her moment" and is "lying low about her pregnancy for now," though she will soon be seen with Caitlyn, in an outing to be captured by the paparazzi.) But Kim told reporters at a Nashville press event Tuesday that . . . well, she didn't quite refute the report outright. "It's ridiculous rumors," she said. "I can't wait till my Web site's up so I can just say whatever I want, when I want." WE ARE GETTING REPETITIVE WE KNOW, BUT KRIS JENNER / TIM COOK / PAUL MCCARTNEY / WHOEVER MAY BE RELEVANT HERE, GET KIM'S SITE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Definitive Examination of Kim Kardashian's Hair
From Getty Images.
Pre-Kanye Vegas-y Hair


text:
Coldstream är en ort i Kanada.   Den ligger i provinsen British Columbia, i den södra delen av landet,  km väster om huvudstaden Ottawa. Coldstream ligger  meter över havet och antalet invånare är .

Terrängen runt Coldstream är kuperad österut, men västerut är den bergig. Coldstream ligger nere i en dal. Den högsta punkten i närheten är  meter över havet,  km söder om Coldstream. Närmaste större samhälle är Vernon,  km nordväst om Coldstream.

Kommentarer

Källor

Orter i British Columbia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Five Things to Know in World Business Today
September 24, 2018 EnergyNow Media
Sep 24, 2018, by Lorcan Roche Kelly
(Bloomberg)
Chinese authorities said that President Donald Trump's threats of further tariffs on the country's exports to the U.S. are blocking any chance for negotiations between the two sides. The comments came shortly after the imposition of duties on $200 billion of Chinese products, which came into effect at 12:00 p.m. Beijing time today. In a sign that it is looking for other ways to influence the dispute, China is taking the fight over trade directly to the U.S. heartland, paying for an advertising supplement in Iowa's largest newspaper to highlight what it calls "the fruit of a president's folly."
Oil surge
A barrel of Brent crude traded at $80.93 this morning, the highest level since November 2014, after OPEC and its partners signaled less urgency to boost output at a meeting in Algiers yesterday. The move comes despite a call from Trump to increase supply in order to cap rising oil prices. Major energy trading houses are predicting OPEC will continue to hold the upper hand with forecasts for $100 crude becoming more common.
Brexit challenge
British Prime Minister Theresa May is under attack from several fronts over her Brexit plan. Members of her own party launched an alternative plan for leaving the European Union which would involve ditching her Chequers deal for a cleaner break with the bloc. The main opposition Labour Party are holding their annual conference where members will decide on whether to back a second referendum on the issue. There were also reports over the weekend of a possible snap election in November. Relations with the EU side, meanwhile, continue to be strained.
Markets slip
Overnight the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index fell 1.1 percent as trade relations between China and the U.S. showed no signs of improvement. Markets in Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan were closed for a holiday. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.3 percent lower at 5:50 a.m. Eastern Time as trade concerns weighed again. S&P 500 futures pointed to a lower open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 3.083 percent and gold was lower.
Courting trouble
A new sexual misconduct allegation has emerged against Brett Kavanaugh, putting further pressure on his nomination to the Supreme Court ahead of a hearing planned for Thursday on an allegation by Christine Blasey Ford. Kavanaugh denies Ford's claim that he assaulted her at a high school party three decades ago. To add to the nominee's difficulties, lawyer Michael Avenatti said on Twitter that he represents another woman with "credible information regarding Judge Kavanaugh."
LNG shipping rates spike with no respite seen through 2019
Oil Traders Say $100 Coming as OPEC Strains to Fill Iran Gap
Inter Pipeline green-lights $3.5B petrochemical project to produce plastic
Unifor says ruling on its Suncor Energy random drug testing injunction on Dec. 7
Oil Rises as Saudis Pledge Deep Export Cuts, Shale Boom Slows
Cenovus agrees to sell Saskatchewan enhanced oil recovery assets to Whitecap
Categories CDN and International News Post navigation


text:
Евге́ний Анато́льевич Шаро́нин (род. 9 сентября 1971) — украинский гребец, выступавший за сборную Украины по академической гребле в период 1993—1999 годов. Участник шести чемпионатов мира, член украинской восьмёрки на летних Олимпийских играх в Атланте.

Биография
Евгений Шаронин родился 9 сентября 1971 года.

Дебютировал на международном уровне в сезоне 1993 года, когда вошёл в основной состав украинской национальной сборной и выступил в распашных рулевых восьмёрках на чемпионате мира в Рачице. Год спустя в восьмёрках стартовал на мировом первенстве в Индианаполисе. Ещё через год на аналогичных соревнованиях в Тампере вновь соревновался в той же дисциплине.

Благодаря череде удачных выступлений удостоился права защищать честь страны на летних Олимпийских играх 1996 года в Атланте — вместе с командой, куда также вошли гребцы Роман Гриневич, Олег Лыков, Виталий Раевский, Валерий Самара, Игорь Мартыненко, Игорь Могильный, Александр Капустин и рулевой Григорий Дмитренко, дошёл в распашных восьмёрках до утешительного финала «Б» и расположился в итоговом протоколе на десятой строке.

После Олимпиады Шаронин остался в составе гребной команды Украины и продолжил принимать участие в крупнейших международных регатах. Так, в 1997 году он побывал на чемпионате мира в Эгбелет-ле-Лак, где в зачёте распашных двоек с рулевым занял пятое место.

В 1998 году отметился выступлением на этапе Кубка мира в Бельгии и на мировом первенстве в Кёльне.

Последний раз показал сколько-нибудь значимый результат на международной арене в сезоне 1999 года, когда выступил в программе безрульных четвёрок на чемпионате мира в Сент-Катаринсе. Вскоре по окончании этих соревнований принял решение завершить спортивную карьеру.

Примечания

Ссылки

Гребцы (академическая гребля) Украины
Гребцы (академическая гребля) на летних Олимпийских играх 1996 года


text:
Mining Lobby Faces Flake From Australians Over New Mines
by Staff Writer February 20, 2020 0 Comment
Global mining companies are having a tough time keep their heads above water in the escalating environmental concerns. There is no denying that the recent spate of bush fires and floods has been a result of the escalating global warming concerns.
It is now confirmed that shareholders are pulling themselves away from coal companies in order they can show their solidarity towards the Paris climate accord. This has been the cry for nearly a third of shareholders in BHP Group Ltd, the world's biggest miner. It is confirmed that the voters had voted for resolutions to axe its membership in industry groups that are not in tandem with policies the Paris climate accord. According to the policies set down by the Paris climate accord, global warming limit should be "well below" 2 degrees Celsius.
Strangely the resolution failed and what could be seen is the terrible bushfires that wiped away literally half of the koala bear population. However, shareholders and the public continue to mount pressure on related companies to ensure lobby groups support the Paris goals.
Companies like BHP, Rio Tinto Plc, Glencore Plc and Anglo American Plc. Are feeling the heat but are in tandem with the energy policies that favor the rapid phase out of coal. If the Australian government and coaling companies don't do something quickly, they might be faced with stringent carbon import duties that the European Union plans to impose on good from countries with less strict climate policies.
According to climate scientists and researchers, opening new coal mines in Australia would prevent the country from meeting its emissions targets agreed under the Paris accord. It is therefore important to curb the opening of anymore coal mines.
While some in Australia remain skeptical of a human connection to global warming, the devastating fires that raged across the country recently are hardening public attitudes against coal.
A survey of 1,056 respondents in a new poll taken between Feb. 6 and Feb. 9 by Essential Research, a leading market research firm, found that 62% of Australians favored banning political donations from fossil fuel companies, with the same number opposed to new coal mines.
In a November 2019 poll by Essential Research, 60% of respondents said they thought Australia was not doing enough to address climate change, up from 51% in March.
To read more Geopolitics News and Updates
Staff Writer (Website)
Implementation of the 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran and China
Lisbon city council fined for for revealing protesters details to
Kazakhstan: Cynicism and distrust overshadow President's promises
Implementation of the 25-year cooperation agreement between Iran
Iran – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian announced that the implementation of the 25-year strategic agreement between Iran and China has
Lisbon city council fined for for revealing protesters
Lisbon – As protestors were called off during their protest in Lisbon, authorities took a string stand against them and
by AP Journalist January 15, 2022
Kazakhstan -Kazakhstan has witnessed the most violent protests on its land over past few weeks. The rugged stand was taken


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