I used to be a big plotter. I spent many days if not weeks on developing plot before "going in". This year I've noticed a change in my writing process, with character development taking a turn at the forefront.
Provided it ends up balanced, I'm happy with the shift. December brings a discovery of my own tilt between the two, shifting the scales of my own writing processes.
When I first started writing, it was through one of those many "write a book in a month" books – I forget which one. I used to suggest I followed the book formula or steps to get to the novel I wrote. But looking back, even then, I broke the steps, added in further craft knowledge gained from other books, and never properly wrote down a full outline. What I do know is that I did even less along the lines of character development, preferring to explore my character once writing.
I next moved to thrillers, where plot and action takes precedence. It's in that genre that I became a true plotting fiend, completely understandable now, given the genre requirements.
Now back into the fantasy and YA realm, I've this month found I'm not willing to finish that first incomplete draft without further character development. I had the plot (kind of) long ago, although really pantsed the first draft to near completion. But all this time, something has been missing, niggling at me that I can't go on until I understand – and like – my main characters.
Character development seems the key to me. This makes sense not only from a genre perspective, but from a time of personal growth in my real world. My daughter is currently getting on a plane to come home from Houston. She's been at Space Camp for the past couple of weeks – the longest period she's ever been away from home. Space Camp has been packed full of scheduled opportunities for her. Even watching them reported in photos hours later, I feel somewhat exhausted. Talk about character growth.
But not for her, for me. Because having her away found me acting all mumsy and being concerned and worried for her, missing her, and lacking a motive for filling my own days – even when my husband took me away for our first short break together for fifteen years. My own character appears lacking when I'm out of my domestic routine. I need to explore and change that, because it's only a few years now before my daughter will be moving out, and exploring her own adult life. My sense of purpose and identity has to alter with that upcoming shift.
In exploring character archetypes, personality types and development for my fictional characters, it seems much can be applied to myself.
I'm currently learning about Goddess archetypes, mostly based on Ancient Greek goddesses, but of course, having a down under perspective, I'm also researching many other nation's goddesses. My background history puts me personally as an Athena type, as much as I wanted to be the pop-culture favoured Artemis. That realization helped me understand one of my main characters, who displays many of the same Athena traits. It also gave her a much better background story.
Through Christmas and this holiday season I will continue to gather and apply more character tools to my fictional characters and perhaps too, myself.
The holidays and coming New Year is also a good place to take a look at our own writing processes – what has changed, and what needs to change, and to make some plans or strategies for 2016. Looking back at where I "failed" has also been character-building too.
Credit for graphic – KM Weiland, shared on her blog here, but also featured in her writing craft book, Outlining Your Novel Workbook.


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Stars and solar physics
Probing the cosmic-ray–climate link
View of the CLOUD experiment
Best known for its studies of the fundamental constituents of matter, the CERN particle-physics laboratory in Geneva is now also being used to study the climate. Researchers in the CLOUD collaboration have released the first results from their experiment designed to mimic conditions in the Earth's atmosphere. By firing beams of particles from the lab's Proton Synchrotron accelerator into a gas-filled chamber, they have discovered that cosmic rays could have a role to play in climate by enhancing the production of potentially cloud-seeding aerosols. Describing their findings in this week's Nature, the team has also found that our current understanding of the chemistry of these aerosols is inadequate and that manmade pollution could have a larger role in their formation than previously thought.
Aerosols are tiny liquid or solid particles suspended in the atmosphere that can warm or cool the climate directly by absorbing or scattering radiation. They can also act as surfaces on which water vapour condenses, leading to the formation of cloud droplets and so tending to cool the planet. Around half of all cloud droplets are thought to form on aerosols that are injected directly into the atmosphere, such as dust particles, sea spray or pollution from the burning of biomass. The other 50% form on aerosols that are produced by the clustering of molecules of trace gases found in the atmosphere. However, it is not well understood exactly how this clustering takes place and precisely which kinds of molecules are involved.
There has also been much debate about the possible role of cosmic rays in the formation of these aerosols. Henrik Svensmark of the National Space Institute in Copenhagen and colleagues hypothesize that the ions that are formed as (charged) cosmic rays pass through the atmosphere act as a kind of glue that makes it easier for molecules to stick together and form aerosols. This hypothesis has proved controversial because it suggests a role for solar variation, as well as human emissions of greenhouse gases, in climate change – the idea being that the stronger the Sun's magnetic field, the more cosmic rays are deflected away from the Earth, resulting in the formation of fewer clouds and so a warmer Earth, with a weaker solar magnetism having the opposite effect.
Cloud in a canister
The CLOUD collaboration, an international group led by CERN's Jasper Kirkby, was set up to settle the question of whether or not there is a link between cosmic rays and climate. The experiment, which has been running since the end of 2009, consists of a 3 m-diameter stainless steel chamber containing humidified ultra-pure air and selected trace gases, which is placed in the path of a charged-pion beam that simulates ionizing cosmic rays. By varying the concentrations of the trace gases, adjusting the temperature and humidity inside the chamber, turning the beam on and off, and then measuring the concentration of aerosols inside small samples removed from the chamber, Kirkby and colleagues can establish how changing atmospheric conditions affect the rate of aerosol production. The fact that they can do this very precisely and with extremely low levels of contaminants means that they can make much cleaner and more controlled measurements than is possible in the real atmosphere.
To their surprise, the researchers found that when simulating the atmosphere just a kilometre above the Earth's surface, sulphuric acid, water and ammonia – the components generally believed to initiate aerosol production – were not on their own enough to generate the quantities of aerosols observed in the real atmosphere, falling short by a factor of up to a thousand, even when the pion beam was switched on. They conclude that other molecules must also play a role, and say that an organic compound or compounds are most likely.
The possible cosmic-ray–aerosol link explained
As Kirkby explains, if the missing substance is manmade, then human pollution could be having a larger cooling effect than is currently believed (emissions of sulphur dioxide are already known to generate the sulphuric acid that is vital for aerosol production). Otherwise, says Kirkby, if the missing substance comes from a natural source, the finding could imply the existence of a new climate feedback mechanism (possibly, he adds, higher temperatures increasing organic emissions from trees).
However, when simulating the atmosphere higher up, the researchers found a stronger cosmic-ray effect. They discovered that at altitudes of 5 km or more, where temperatures are below –25 °C, sulphuric acid and water can readily form stable aerosols of a few nanometres across and that cosmic rays can increase the rate of aerosol production by a factor of 10 or more.
More detailed experiments required
Svensmark welcomes the new results, claiming that they confirm research carried out by his own group, including a study published earlier this year showing how an electron beam enhanced production of clusters inside a cloud chamber. He acknowledges that the link between cosmic rays and cloud formation will not be proved until aerosols that are large enough to act as condensation surfaces are studied in the lab, but believes that his group has already found strong evidence for the link in the form of significant negative correlations between cloud cover and solar storms (which reduce atmospheric ionization). "Of course, there are many things to explore," he says, "but I think that the cosmic-ray/cloud-seeding hypothesis is converging with reality."
I think that the cosmic-ray/ cloud-seeding hypothesis is converging with reality Henrik Svensmark
Jeffrey Pierce, an atmospheric scientist at Dalhousie University in Canada, however, is more cautious. Modelling carried out by his group shows that a 10–20% variation in atmospheric-ion concentrations, roughly the variation associated with solar storms or across a solar cycle, produces less than a 1% change in the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei, with the diminishing returns resulting from more aerosols having to share a given quantity of molecular raw material and aerosols merging with one another. "This change is very likely too small to explain the effect on clouds reported by Svensmark," he says. "We must continue to explore other potential physical connections between cosmic rays and clouds."
Kirkby shares Pierce's caution. He argues that CLOUD's results "say nothing about cosmic-ray effects on clouds" because the aerosols produced in the experiment are far too small to seed clouds. But he adds that the collaboration will have some "interesting new results" to present later this year regarding the role of organic molecules in aerosol formation. "What is needed now to settle this question are precise, quantitative measurements," he adds.
Jasper Kirky describes the broad aims of the CLOUD experiment.
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Politics plays such a huge role in our lives, in ways that we cannot even imagine. Everything that happens in today's world is a result of decisions and actions taken in the past.
When you consider that these events are also influenced by the rule of law, the reaction of society, and the effects of economics, the picture becomes very complicated.
This is what we are trying to do at The Rizk Assessment – we are trying to understand this picture in a more profound way.
Started in 2012, The Rizk Assessment is a show that presents the youthful, alternative perspective on the world of politics, the law and society through the eyes of Coptic youth.
There is no hard-and-fast rule as to how this show operates – we do interviews, field reports, presentations, etc. What we do care about is the content of the show.
In 2014, we started to introduce new content in different formats – that is, podcasts, blog posts, and video episodes done in different formats (e.g. documentary, interview).
There is a lot of research that goes into each episode. We have a dedicated research team that looks into each topic from a different perspective to bring you a holistic assessment of the topic. But we can only do so much in a 20-minute span!
As we prepared for Season 2, we felt the need for a new logo that describes the essence of the topics we cover on our show. The logo, which depicts an ancient pantheon, is also representative of the institutions that govern law, politics and society throughout the world.
Special thanks to Nardin Bekhit for designing the logo for us!


w/ Shaun McAlpine as Terrapin.
This work comes from some recording sessions in Giovanni's Studio. Later subtlety edited without any overdubs, just choosing the most suitable parts, noticing something evolve from the session, forming a solid arrangement.
The fundamental idea behind the project is leading people against vivisection, holding an historical vivisectionist in psychology, Harry Frederick Harlow, as example of brutality, anthropocentrism, speciesism and destructive practices against animals; in 50's and 60's conducted tons of experiments on Rhesus monkeys. "The effects of 6 months of total social isolation were so devastating and debilitating that we had assumed initially that 12 months of isolation would not produce any additional decrement. This assumption proved to be false; 12 months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially …(1965)"
Keeping these issues in mind through out the project and beyond.


text:
David Loebsack on Jobs
Voted NO on allowing compensatory time off for working overtime.
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required.
Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement.
Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time.
Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year.
Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off.
Opponent's Argument for voting No:
Rep. COURTNEY: This is the fifth time that the majority party has introduced [this bill since] 1997; and each time, the huge flaws in this legislation have resulted in its complete collapse. And once again, it doesn't deserve that support. Despite the representations made in its title--that it promotes workers' flexibility, that it gives workers choice--a closer examination of the bill shows the opposite is true. The better way to describe this bill is the More Work, Pay Less bill.
The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act created a bright line to protect people's right to a 40-hour work week, and make sure that that next hour after 40 hours is paid for with the time-and-a-half of wages. That created the weekend in America. That created the time off that middle class families have taken for granted for decades.
What this bill does is it blurs that line; it creates total chaos in terms of trying to come up with a system to set up ground rules with a case-by-case written contract, and then leaves it to the enforcement of State Labor Departments Wage and Hours Divisions, which are totally incapable of going into the tens of thousands of workplaces all across America.
Reference: Working Families Flexibility Act; Bill H.R.1406 ; vote number 13-HV137 on Apr 9, 2013
Voted YES on extending unemployment benefits from 39 weeks to 59 weeks.
Congressional Summary:Revises the formula for Tier-1 amounts a state credits to an applicant's emergency unemployment compensation account. Increases the figures in the formula from 50% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation ; and from 13 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount.
Proponent's argument to vote Yes:
Rep. CHARLES RANGEL (D, NY-15): The House, for weeks, has attempted to save the free world from a fiscal disaster. We have bailed out the banks and those who held mortgages. At the same time, we provided for energy extensions, we provided tax breaks for those people that tax provisions have expired. We provided for hurricane relief, for mental health. So over $1 trillion is out there for this House to ease the pain of millions of Americans.
While we were dealing with these gigantic powers, we overlooked the fact that over the last 12 months the number of unemployed workers has jumped by over 2 million, leaving 10 million Americans struggling for work. These are hardworking people that have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
Rep. JERRY WELLER (R, IL-11): This important legislation provides additional needed assistance to the long-term unemployed. It's important that we pass this legislation today as our last act before we leave for the election campaign.
This legislation focuses the most additional benefits on workers and States where the unemployment rate is highest and where jobs are hardest to find. This program continues the requirement that those benefiting from extended unemployment benefits had to have worked at least 20 weeks. Americans were rightly concerned about proposals to eliminate that work requirement and allow 39 weeks or, under the legislation before us today, as many as 59 weeks of total unemployment benefits to be paid to those who have previously only worked for a few weeks.
Opponent's argument to vote No:None voiced. Reference: Unemployment Compensation Extension Act; Bill HR.6867 ; vote number 2008-H683 on Oct 3, 2008
Voted YES on overriding presidential veto of Farm Bill.
OnTheIssues.org Explanation: This bill was vetoed twice! Congress passed an identical bill in May, which Pres. Bush vetoed. Congress then discovered that a clerical error. A replacement bill was passed; then vetoed again by the President; and this is its "final" veto override.
Congressional Summary: Provides for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through FY2012. Revises agricultural and related programs, including provisions respecting:
commodity programs;
conservation;
trade;
nutrition;
credit;
rural development;
research and related matters;
forestry;
energy;
horticulture and organic agriculture;
livestock;
crop insurance and disaster assistance;
socially disadvantaged and limited resource producers; and
miscellaneous programs.
President's veto message: I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 6124. The bill that I vetoed on May 21, 2008, H.R. 2419, did not include the title III (trade) provisions that are in this bill. In passing H.R. 6124, the Congress had an opportunity to improve on H.R. 2419 by modifying certain objectionable, onerous, and fiscally imprudent provisions [but did not].
This bill lacks fiscal discipline. It continues subsidies for the wealthy and increases farm bill spending by more than $20 billion, while using budget gimmicks to hide much of the increase. It is inconsistent with our trade objectives of securing greater market access for American farmers. [Hence] I must veto H.R. 6124.
Proponents argument for voting YEA: We had a meeting this morning with the Secretary of Agriculture to talk about implementation. So [despite the two vetoes], the work has been going on within the department of agriculture to get ready for implementation.
This is a good bill. It has wide support in the Congress. It does address all of the issues that have been brought to the Agriculture Committee. Reference: Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008; Bill HR6124 ; vote number 2008-417 on Jun 18, 2008
Voted YES on restricting employer interference in union organizing.
To enable employees to form & join labor organizations, and to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts. Requires investigation that an employer:
discharged or discriminated against an employee to discourage membership in a labor organization;
threatened to discharge employees in the exercise of guaranteed collective bargaining rights; and
adds to remedies for such violations: back pay plus liquidated damages; and additional civil penalties.
The principle at stake here is the freedom that all workers should have to organize for better working conditions & fair wages. There are many employers around the country who honor this freedom. Unfortunately, there are also many employers who do not. These employers attempt to prevent workers from unionizing by using tactics that amount to harassment, if not outright firing. In fact, one in five people who try to organize unions are fired. These tactics are already illegal, but the penalties are so minor, they are not effective deterrents.
Democracy itself is placed at risk by this bill. The sanctity of the secret ballot is the backbone of our democratic process. Not one voter signed a card to send us here to Congress. None of us sent our campaign workers out to voters' houses armed with candidate information & a stack of authorization cards. No. We trusted democracy. We trusted the voters to cast their ballots like adults, freely, openly, without intimidation, and we live with the results. But here we are, poised to advance legislation to kill a secret ballot process.
Let's be clear. Every American has the right to organize. No one is debating that. This is a right we believe in so strongly we have codified it and made it possible for workers to do so through a secret ballot. Reference: The Employee Free Choice Act; Bill H R 800 ; vote number 2007-118 on Mar 1, 2007
Voted YES on increasing minimum wage to $7.25.
Increase the federal minimum wage to:
$5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment;
$6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and
$7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day.
We have waited for over 10 years to have a clean vote on the minimum wage for the poorest workers in this country Low-wage workers had their wages frozen in time, from 10 years ago, but when they go to the supermarket, the food prices are higher; when they put gasoline in the car, the gasoline prices are higher; when they pay the utility bills, the utility bills are higher; when their kids get sick, the medical bills are higher. All of those things are higher. They are living in 2007, but in their wages they are living in 1997.
This bill is marked more by what is not in the bill than what is in it. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They create two-thirds of our Nation's new jobs, and they represent 98% of the new businesses in the US. What protection does this bill provide them? None whatsoever.
We can do better. In the interest of sending the President a final measure that provides consideration for small businesses and their workers, the very men and women who are responsible for our economy's recent growth and strength, we must do better. Reference: Fair Minimum Wage Act; Bill HR 2 ("First 100 hours") ; vote number 2007-018 on Jan 10, 2007
Form unions by card-check instead of secret ballot.
Loebsack signed H.R.1409&S.560
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit.
Requires that priority be given to any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, an employer:
discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization;
threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or
engaged in any unfair labor practice that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Source: Employee Free Choice Act 09-HR1409 on Mar 10, 2009
Member of House Education and Labor Committee.
Loebsack is a member of the House Education and Labor Committee
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce's purpose is to ensure that Americans' needs are addressed so that students and workers may move forward in a changing school system and a competitive global economy. The following issues are under the jurisdiction of the Committee:
Elementary and secondary education initiatives, including the No Child Left Behind Act, school choice for low-income families, special education, and vocational and technical education;
Higher education programs
Early childhood & preschool education programs including Head Start;
School lunch and child nutrition programs;
Programs and services for the care and treatment of at-risk youth, child abuse prevention, and child adoption;
Anti-poverty programs, including the Community Services Block Grant Act and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Labor: The Committee also holds jurisdiction over workforce initiatives, including:
Pension and retirement security
Access to quality health care for working families and other employee benefits;
Job training, adult education, and workforce development initiatives, including those under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
Continuing the successful welfare reforms of 1996;
Worker health and safety, including occupational safety and health;
Providing greater choices and flexibility (including "comp time" or family time options) to working women and men;
Equal employment opportunity and civil rights in employment;
Wages and hours of labor, including the Fair Labor Standards Act;
Workers' compensation, and family and medical leave;
All matters dealing with relationships between employers and employees.
Source: U.S. House of Representatives website, www.house.gov 11-HC-ELC on Feb 3, 2011
Rated 0% by CEI, indicating a pro-worker rights voting record.
Loebsack scores 0% by CEI on union issues
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a public policy organization dedicated to the principles of free markets and limited government, has created a Congressional Labor Scorecard for the 112th Congress focusing on worker issues. The score is determined based on policies that support worker freedom and the elimination of Big Labor's privileges across the country.
Votes in the current Congress score include:
Bill: H.R. 658, LaTourette Amendment No. 21: NO on repealing changes to the Railway Labor Act's voting rules.
Bill: H.R. 658, Gingrey Amendment No. 18: YES to prohibit Federal Aviation Administration employees from using official--that is, taxpayer sponsored--time for union activities during the official workday.
Bill: H.R. 1, Price Amendment No. 410: YES to defund the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Bill: H.R. 1, Guinta Amendment No. 166: YES to prohibit imposing "prevailing wage" and other requirements in project labor agreements that advantage unionized contractors.
Bill: H.R. 2017, Scalise Amendment No. 388: YES to prohibit project labor agreements in DHS contracts
Bill: H.R. 2055, LaTourette Amendment No. 411: NO on funding for federal project labor agreements.
Bill: H.R. 1, King Amendment No. 273: YES to eliminate the "Davis Bacon" prevailing wage rate requirement for federal projects.
Bill: H.R. 2017, Gosar Amendment No. 386: YES to eliminate the "Davis Bacon" prevailing wage rate requirement for Department of Homeland Security contracts.
Bill: H.R. 2354: Gosar Amendment No. 655: YES to restrict application of the Davis-Bacon Act to contracts exceeding $20 million.
Bill: H.R. 2017: Rokita Amendment No. 2: YES to prohibit collective bargaining at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).
Source: CEI website 12-CEI-H on May 2, 2012
Raise the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour by 2016.
Loebsack co-sponsored Minimum Wage Fairness Act
Congressional summary: Increases the federal minimum wage for employees to:
$8.20 an hour beginning 6 months after enactment
$9.15 an hour beginning 1 year later,
$10.10 an hour beginning 2 years later, and
an amount determined by increases in the Consumer Price Index, beginning annually after 3 years.
Increases the federal minimum wage for tipped employees to $3.00 an hour beginning 6 months after enactment, with annual CPI adjustments.
Proponent's argument in favor (RaiseTheMinimumWage.com): The federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour remains decades out of date, and the federal minimum wage for tipped workers--$2.13 per hour--has not increased in over 20 years. The minimum wage of the past provided significantly more buying power than it does today. The minimum wage of $1.60 an hour in 1968 would be $10.56 today when adjusted for inflation.
Opponent's argument against: (Neil King in Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2014): The CBO concluded that a jump in the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour could eliminate 500,000 jobs. For Republicans, the report provided ammunition that a higher minimum wage would kill jobs. Democrats pointed to the CBO's findings that the higher wage would lift 900,000 people out of poverty. But both sides missed a key finding: That a smaller hike from the current $7.25 to $9.00 an hour would cause almost no pain, and still lift 300,000 people out of poverty while raising the incomes of 7.6 million people.Congressional Budget Office report:: Once fully implemented, the $10.10 option would reduce total employment by about 500,000 workers, or 0.3%. Some people earning slightly more than $10.10 would also have higher earnings, due to the heightened demand for goods and services. The increased earnings for low-wage workers would total $31 billion. Accounting for all increases and decreases, overall real income would rise by $2 billion. Source: S.1737 & H.R.1010 14-H1010 on Mar 6, 2013
Ban discriminatory compensation; allow 2 years to sue.
Loebsack signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when:
a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted;
an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or
an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid.
Allows an aggrieved person to obtain relief, including recovery of back pay, for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practices that have occurred during the charge filing period are similar or related to practices that occurred outside the time for filing a charge. Applies the preceding provisions to claims of compensation discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
[Note: A woman named Lilly Ledbetter filed a lawsuit for gender-based discriminatory compensation. The Supreme Court ruled that Ms. Ledbetter could only sue for damages going back 180 days, and the 180 days was calculated from the time her employment contract was initiated, i.e., her hire date. This new law changes the 180-day period to two years, and also calculates the date from the time of each paycheck, rather than the hire date. -- Ed.] Source: S.181&H.R.11 2009-S181 on Jan 29, 2009
Stronger enforcement against gender-based pay discrimination.
Loebsack signed Paycheck Fairness Act
A bill to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex.
Revises the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. Limits such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience.
Prohibits employer retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee in response to a sex discrimination investigation.
Makes employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or punitive damages.
States that any action brought to enforce the prohibition against sex discrimination may be maintained as a class action in which individuals may be joined as party plaintiffs without their written consent.
Source: S.182&H.R.12 2009-S182 on Jan 8, 2009
Click here for HouseMatch answers by David Loebsack.
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2016-17 Governor, House and Senate candidates on Jobs: David Loebsack on other issues:
IA Gubernatorial:
Chet Culver
Jack Hatch
Terry Branstad
Tom Hoefling
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Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life
2. VDM++
3. THE PROPOSED APPROACH
4. APPLICATION EXAMPLES AND DISCUSSION
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Volume 7, Issue 3, December 2020, Pages 165 - 169
Proposal of an Algorithm to Generate VDM++ Specification Based on its Grammar by Using Word Lists Extracted from the Natural Language Specification
Tetsuro Katayama1, *, Yasuhiro Shigyo1, Yoshihiro Kita2, Hisaaki Yamaba1, Kentaro Aburada1, Naonobu Okazaki1
1Department of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki, 1-1 Gakuen-kibanadai nishi, Miyazaki, 889-2192 Japan
2Department of Information Security, Faculty of Information Systems, Siebold Campus, University of Nagasaki, 1-1-1 Manabino, Nagayo-cho, Nishi-Sonogi-gun, Nagasaki, 851-2195 Japan
*Corresponding author. Email: kat@cs.miyazaki-u.ac.jp
Tetsuro Katayama
Received 10 November 2019, Accepted 21 May 2020, Available Online 11 September 2020.
https://doi.org/10.2991/jrnal.k.200909.005How to use a DOI?
Natural language specification, VDM++, automatic generation, formal method, formal specification
The natural language includes ambiguous expressions. Vienna Development Method (VDM) is one of methodology on the formal methods to write the specification without ambiguity. Because VDM++ is written by strict grammar, it is difficult to write a VDM++ specification. This research attempts to generate a VDM++ specification automatically from a natural language specification by machine learning. To generate a VDM++ specification, it is necessary to extract words that consist of predicate corresponding to the function and nouns corresponding to variable from the natural language specification. This paper proposes an approach to generate a VDM++ specification based on its grammar from the classified word list. Identifiers are generated from the classified word list, and then the VDM++ specification can be generated by converting them into VDM++ grammar.
© 2020 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press B.V.
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Software bugs make a huge impact on our society [1,2]. Most of them can be caused by the general use of a natural language in the upstream process of software development because the natural language contains an ambiguity. The ambiguity can drive programmers to misinterpret the specification [2]. Hence, the programmer might embed some bugs in the program.
One way of solving this problem is to design software in the upstream process by using a formal method. In development by using it, specifications are written in a formal specification language based on mathematical logic. They can be proved the mathematically by using theorem proving and mechanical checking [3]. It allows for precise design without the ambiguity.
Vienna Development Method (VDM)++ is a formal specification language that can handle object-oriented modeling [4]. VDM++ has strict grammar. Because of the strict grammar, it is difficult to describe them because they are needed to write data types and system invariants that are not available in a natural language specification.
This study attempts to generate a VDM++ specification automatically from a natural language specification by machine learning. In the automatic generation of a VDM++ specification, it is necessary to extract words that consist of predicates and nouns from the natural language specifications. The predicates are corresponding to functions and nouns are corresponding to variables, respectively.
However, it is difficult to use the extracted nouns and predicates along with the grammar of VDM++ specification. A VDM++ specification cannot be described from the only extracted nouns and predicates.
This paper proposes an approach to generate VDM++ specification from the extracted nouns and predicates.
Vienna development method is one of the formal methods. VDM++ is an object-oriented extension of the VDM-SL language and is currently most used in VDM [4].
Table 1 shows the definitions in VDM++ as a target in this paper. The keywords contain the number of elements and syntax information. The syntax is the set of description rules in VDM++, and each element corresponds to ordinal numbers in the syntax in Table 1 [4].
VDM++ keyword
Values 2 1st = 2nd
Types 2 public 1st = 2nd
Instance variables 3 1st: 2nd: = 3rd
Operations 5 or more public 1st: 2nd ⇒ 3rd pre 4th post 5th
The definitions in VDM++
The proposed approach automatically generates a VDM++ specification. Figure 1 shows the flow of the proposed approach.
Extract a word list from a natural language specification. It is referred to as a word list as the extracted word list.
Classify word list by machine learning from the extracted word list. It is referred to as a word list as the classified word list.
Insert an identifier into the classified word list.
Get the identifier from the word list into which the identifier is inserted.
Put the elements of each word list into the VDM++ specification syntax corresponding to the gotten identifier.
This paper focuses on 3–5 steps (lower frame of Figure 1). Here, the generation of a classified word list by machine learning from the natural language specification in 1 and 2 steps is a future issue.
The flow of the proposed approach.
3.1. The Data Structure
The proposed approach defines two data structures: classified word list and identifier.
3.1.1. Classified word list
A classified word list is a per line of the list of elements required to generate an identifier based on a syntax for a variable or function. Figure 2 shows the flow of the identifier insertion process described in Section 3.2.1. It also shows an example of a classified word list at the upper.
The flow of the identifier insertion process.
Each column of the classified word list is explained as follows. The element in the first column (Column A) is a temporary ID, and it is replaced with an identifier later. The element in the second column (Column B) is the variable name or function name described in the VDM++ specification.
The elements in the third column (Column C) and the subsequent columns differ depending on each target: values, types, instance variables, and operations.
In the case of the values, the element in Column C is real value.
In the case of the types, the element in Column C is type's name.
In the case of the instance variable, the columns after Column C consist of the type name and initial value. In another case, the values may not be specified.
In the case of the operations, the columns after Column C consist of a pre-condition, post-condition, function argument, delimiter "#", and return type.
3.1.2. Identifiers
Identifiers are generated based on the number of elements in the classified word list corresponding to the keywords of the VDM++ in Table 1. The insertion condition of each identifier in the classified word list is described as follows.
The "values" keyword indicates that the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the classified word list is 2, and the third column (Column C) is a value.
The "types" keyword indicates that the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the classified word list is 2, and the third column (Column C) is a type definition. If the number of elements is 1, the element in the third column (Column C) is real.
The "instance variables" keyword indicates that the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the classified word list is 3.
The "operations" keyword indicates that the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the classified word list is 5 or greater.
3.2. The Approach Process
To generate VDM++ specification, it is proposed two algorithms: the identifier insertion process and the VDM++ specification conversion process.
3.2.1. Identifier insertion process
Figure 2 shows the flow of the identifier insertion process. The identifier insertion process replaces a temporary ID in the 1st column (Column A) of the classified word list with an identifier following the conditions described in Section 3.1.2.
3.2.2. VDM++ specification conversion process
Figure 3 shows the flow of the VDM++ specification conversion process. The VDM++ specification conversion process describes the VDM++ specification based on the identifier inserted list.
The flow of VDM++ specification conversion process.
How to describe the VDM++ specification is explained. First, the "class <class-name>" is described on the first line. The word "<class-name>" is described as the class name of the specification. The "<class-name>" is given as an argument when we generate the specification. Next, each VDM++ keyword is described. Statements are written after the keyword according to the syntax. Finally, the "end <class-name>" is described to the end of the line.
As an example, the third row of the list in which the identifier is inserted in Figure 2 is described. The first step reads the identifier of the first column and finds the "values". The second step, according to its syntax "1st = 2nd;", associates "appropriate_BMI_upper_limit" in the second column (Column B) and "30" in the third column (Column C) of the identifier inserted list, respectively. The final step writes the statement "appropriate_BMI_upper_limit = 30;" after keyword "types" that in the VDM++ specifications.
We have developed two tools: an inserter and a converter, which are implemented in the two proposed process. They have applied a classified word list to the inserter and an identifier inserted list to the converter.
The upper of Figure 2 shows the input of inserter, and the lower of Figure 2 shows the output of the inserter. For each row in the output list, we verify that the identifier can be inserted correctly as follows. Rows 1–3 in the classified word list represents a variable with an initial value. Because the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the input list is 2, and the third column (Column C) is a number, the inserter inserts an identifier "values". Rows 4 and 5 represents a variable that defines only the types. Because the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the input list is 1, the inserter inserts an identifier "types". Row 6 represents the instance variable. Because the number of the elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the input list is 3, the inserter inserts an identifier "instance variables". Rows 7–10 represent operations. Because the number of elements in the second and subsequent columns (Column B or later) of the input list is 5 or greater, the inserter inserts an identifier "operations". Thus, the inserter can generate an identifier inserted list correctly.
The upper of Figure 3 shows the input of a converter and the lower of Figure 3 shows the output of the converter. The output of the inserter in Figure 2 is the same as the input of the converter in Figure 3. We verify that the converter generates a VDM++ specification correctly based on the syntax in Table 1 as well as the inserter. We confirm that the converter can generate the VDM++ specification that consists of statements corresponding to the syntax in Table 1.
Furthermore, we verify that the VDM++ specification generated by the tools based follows the VDM++ syntax. Figure 4 shows an output of the converter to describe the VDM++ specification. VDM++ Toolbox with syntax and type checker displays no warning for the generated VDM++ specification. Therefore, we have confirmed that the proposed process can automatically generate the VDM++ specification corresponding to the VDM++ syntax from the classified word list.
The VDM++ specification displayed by VDM++ Toolbox..
This paper has proposed the approach to aim at automatically generating a VDM++ specification from the classified word list. It means this paper proposes 3–5 steps (lower frame of Figure 1). As a constraint, it assumes that a classified word list is generated by the machine learning from a natural language specification by the steps 1 and 2. As a result, the VDM++ specification can be automatically generated from the list, which will be able to classify from the natural language specification by machine learning.
We confirmed that the VDM++ specification is generated by applying the classified word list to the proposed approach. From this result, it can be useful by the automatic generation of VDM++ specifications.
Future issues are as follows:
Generating a classified word list by machine learning from a natural language specification.
Corresponding to another syntax in VDM++.
About the first issue, it corresponds to steps 1 and 2 in Section 3. We think that it is possible to generate the classified word list from the natural language specification by implementing the following.
Generate a modification relation by extracting the variable names and function names from the natural language specification.
Let a model learn the elements to insert the identifiers by using the modification relation [5].
Generate the classified word list from the extracted word list by using the learning model.
The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
AUTHORS INTRODUCTION
He received the PhD degree in engineering from Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan in 1996. From 1996 to 2000 he has been a Research Associate at the Graduate School of Information Science, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan. Since 2000 he has been an Associate Professor at Faculty of Engineering, Miyazaki University, Japan. He is currently a Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki, Japan. His research interests include software testing and quality. He is a member of the IPSJ, IEICE, and JSSST.
Yasuhiro Shigyo
He received the Bachelor's degree in engineering (Computer Science and Systems Engineering) from University of Miyazaki, Japan in 2019. He is currently a Master's student in Graduate School of Engineering at the University of Miyazaki, Japan. His research interests natural language processing and formal specifications.
Yoshihiro Kita
He received a PhD degree in Systems Engineering from University of Miyazaki, Japan, in 2011. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Information Systems, University of Nagasaki, Japan. His research interests include software testing and biometrics authentication.
Hisaaki Yamaba
He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1988 and 1990, respectively, and the PhD degree in Systems Engineering from University of Miyazaki, Japan, in 2011. He is currently an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki, Japan. His research interests include network security and user authentication. He is a member of SICE and SCEJ.
Kentaro Aburada
He received the B.S., M.S., and PhD Degrees in Computer Science and System Engineering from the University of Miyazaki, Japan, in 2003, 2005 and 2009, respectively. He is currently an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki, Japan. His research interests include computer network and security. He is a member of IPSJ and IEICE.
Naonobu Okazaki
He received his B.S., M.S., and PhD degrees in Electrical and Communication Engineering from Tohoku University, Japan, in 1986, 1988 and 1992, respectively. He joined the Information Technology Research and Development Center, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation in 1991. He is currently a Professor with the Faculty of Engineering, University of Miyazaki since 2002. His research interests include mobile network and network security. He is a member of IPSJ, IEICE and IEEE.
[1]E Marcus and H Stern, Blueprints for high availability, Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2003. Available from: https://dl.acm.org/doi/book/10.5555/2826066.
[2]National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Department of Commerce, Software errors cost U.S. economy $59.5 billion annually, NIST news release 2002-10, 2002. Available from: http://www.abeacha.com/NIST_press_release_bugs_cost.html.
[3]M Fähndrich, M Barnett, and F Logozzo, Embedded contract languages, Association for Computing Machinery, in Proceedings of the 2010 ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (SAC) (2010), pp. 2103-2110. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221002507_Embedded_contract_languages.
[4]International Organization for Standardization, "ISO/IEC 13817-1:1996, Information technology - Programming languages, their environments and system software interfaces - Vienna Development Method - Specification Language - Part 1: Base language", International Organization for Standardization, 1996. Available from: https://www.iso.org/standard/22988.html.
[5]S Ioffe and C Szegedy, Batch normalization: accelerating deep network training by reducing internal covariate shift, in Proceedings of the 32nd International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) (2015), pp. 448-456. Available from: http://proceedings.mlr.press/v37/ioffe15.html.
Volume-Issue
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tetsuro Katayama
AU  - Yasuhiro Shigyo
AU  - Yoshihiro Kita
AU  - Hisaaki Yamaba
AU  - Kentaro Aburada
AU  - Naonobu Okazaki
PY  - 2020
TI  - Proposal of an Algorithm to Generate VDM++ Specification Based on its Grammar by Using Word Lists Extracted from the Natural Language Specification
JO  - Journal of Robotics, Networking and Artificial Life
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jrnal.k.200909.005
DO  - https://doi.org/10.2991/jrnal.k.200909.005
ID  - Katayama2020


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Audience Awards moves to Missoula this week, with spotlight on women filmmakers
By Renata BirkenbuelDecember 4, 2019
December 4, 2019 By Missoula Current
Paige Williams
Amid the highly charged #MeToo movement, female filmmakers will command the spotlight this week as Paige Williams brings her popular Audience Awards festival to Missoula.
Dubbed the AudFest: Film + Innovation Festival, the four-day event will screen 100 short films – all at the Roxy Theater – and offer a wide array of related live events at the newly opened Zootown Arts Community Center.
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I work in different ways depending on what you need.
You can choose between counselling, trauma therapy, Mindfulness courses and workshops on reducing anxiety. I am an accredited and registered member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (BACP) and adhere to their code of ethics.
Counselling is another word for talking therapy. It is about your journey towards yourself. It is about finding ways of enhancing your experience of life, giving you the power to make the choices that are right for you and to heal what might need to be healed from past experiences. This can be done in many ways.
The way I work is called integrative. My core practice is Person Centred and I have added many other ways of working to enhance my ability to meet your needs. Person Centred means that my main focus as a counsellor is on creating a safe environment for you to enable you to look at the issues that brought you here. I will use my expertise to support you and bring in whatever tools I think will be helpful to enable your process. I am passionate about empowering you to become who you want to be.
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Like counselling, trauma therapy can be done in many different ways. The techniques I use are based on brain therapy and somatic processing. I use two methods that are very much interlinked. One is called Brainspotting, the other is called the Comprehensive Resource Model (CRM).
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If you want to learn more about this watch this youtube video where David Grand is talking about Brainspotting.
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Q: C++ - Invalid initialization of non-const reference of type I'd like to start by saying that yes, I Google'd this problem before coming here, and none of the answers seemed relevant.
I stole the below code from What's the best way to trim std::string?, because for whatever reason, there is no standard c++ trim function. Using Visual Studio, it compiled fine, and I managed to complete the rest of the project without it giving me any errors.
This morning though, I decided to try compiling the entire project manually (using g++ -std=c++11 *.cpp), and now suddenly the trim functions are yielding the following error:
DVD.cpp: In static member function 'static DVD DVD::parseDVD(std::string, std::string)':
DVD.cpp:65:59: error: invalid initialization of non-const reference of type 'std::string& {aka std::basic_string<char>&}
 from an rvalue of type 'std::basic_string<char>'
 std::string rID = trim(dataStr.substr(0, preTitlePos - 1));

It yields similar errors for the other 2 times that trim is used.
Here is the "stolen" code:
(Utils.h):
static inline std::string& ltrim(std::string& s) {
    s.erase(s.begin(), std::find_if(s.begin(), s.end(), std::not1(std::ptr_fun<int, int>(std::isspace))));
    return s;
}

// trim from end
static inline std::string& rtrim(std::string& s) {
    s.erase(std::find_if(s.rbegin(), s.rend(), std::not1(std::ptr_fun<int, int>(std::isspace))).base(), s.end());
    return s;
}

// trim from both ends
static inline std::string& trim(std::string& s) {
    return ltrim(rtrim(s));
}

And here is the parseDVD function that the error mentions:
(DVD.cpp):
DVD DVD::parseDVD(std::string dataStr, std::string delimiter) {
    DVD newDVD;
    int preTitlePos = dataStr.find(delimiter, 0);
    int preGenrePos = dataStr.find(delimiter, preTitlePos + 1);

    // V Error is here V
    std::string rID = trim(dataStr.substr(0, preTitlePos - 1));
    std::string rTitle = trim(dataStr.substr(preTitlePos + 1, preGenrePos - preTitlePos - 1));
    std::string rGenre = trim(dataStr.substr(preGenrePos + 1));

    int parsedID = 0;
    //Requirements for a successful parse
    //The ID must be fully numeric, and both of the delimiters must have been found
    if (parseInt(rID, parsedID) && preTitlePos > -1 && preGenrePos > -1) {
        return
            newDVD  .setID(parsedID)
                    .setTitle(rTitle)
                    .setGenre(rGenre);
    }

    return badDVD;
}

If I remove all of the &s from the trim functions, it works, but I'd rather it not make copies constantly.
This baffles me because I know the code is sound; not only is it the accepted answer to the above question, but it works fine in Visual Studio.

A: Your trim() function is expecting a non-const reference to a std::string. When you invoke it like this:
std::string rID = trim(dataStr.substr(0, preTitlePos - 1));

You are invoking it with an rvalue, an unnamed temporary. This will have type const std::string &, so it is not compatible with the trim() function. In order to make it work, you would need to assign it to a named variable first:
std::string temp = dataStr.substr(0, preTitlePos - 1);
std::string rID = trim(temp);

On a side note, you seem to be mixing two methods of returning outputs from the trim() function. Typically, one will either return the function's result (usually by value), or one will modify arguments that were passed to the function by reference. Your functions do both, which is not typical.
I would change them to either take an input argument and return the result by value, or modify the by-reference argument that you pass in (and change their return types to void).

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