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A selection of the best design books
A Touch Of Style
Book Review: Flowers that Inspire
Book Review: Flowers that Inspire – Be it a single delicate bud in a simple clear vase or an explosion of colorful blossoms, a brilliant bouquet accents an atmosphere and brightens the mood like nothing else. The beauty of flowers has inspired artists, designers, poets, and myriad other creators for centuries: the Dutch masters of the 1600s and impressionist painters from Manet to Van Gogh, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, botanical illustrator Georg Dionysius Ehret, even the inimitable Andy Warhol. Flowers Art andBouquets showcases a glorious profusion of floral images and interpretations across a spectrum of artistic media and time periods. Design writer Sixtine Dubly chronicles the evolution of floral design in this remarkable compendium, which also features stunning work by more than forty contemporary floral artists in London, Paris, and New York, from minimalist to elaborate. This treasury of gorgeous imagery blooms in resplendent color before the reader's eyes.See also: Book Review: Inspirations Book, Room by Room French journalist Sixtine Dubly has interviewed the greatest artists, designers, and creative stars of the international scene for the last fifteen years. Wherever she travels, she tracks emerging trends and handpicks talents, keeping in touch with modern design and lifestyle around the world. She…
by weblog
Book Review: A Touch Of Style
Book Review: A Touch Of Style – Carlos Mota is the mastermind behind the amazing photographs seen in top design magazines including Architectural Digest, Elle Decor, and Interior Design. His gifted and educated eye for selecting furniture, textiles, accessories, and art has produced some memorable imagery. You may also like: Santiago Calatrava Special Edition by Assouline Book Review: Hôtel Plaza Athénée Known for adding color and sophistication to the set, often by using elegant flower arrangements, Mota influences the way we see the world's most extraordinary interiors. Beautifully illustrated, A Touch of Style presents a curated journey through some of these incredible spaces. You may also like: 10 Free Ebooks with Interior Design Trends Book Review: Nomad Deluxe, Wandering With A Purpose Carlos Mota is an independent stylist and Architectural Digest's current international style editor, and former editor at large for Elle Decor. Mota has styled and produced feature stories for Vanity Fair, New York magazine, and T: The New York Times Magazine to name a few, and has created environments for the production of catalogs and advertising campaigns for Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Estée Lauder, Max Mara, and Pottery Barn, among others. Mota has also organized special events for…


New development of 2 bedroom homes, with pure Mediterranean style architecture, where the predominant colour is white. The complex is surrounded by spacious gardens with native plants and a communal pool where you can make the most of the pleasant climate that the island enjoys. The ground floor homes have large terraces with a private porch and garden, the penthouses have a private solarium with magnificent views. These contemporary homes in minimalistic style are equipped to a high standard and every detail has been taken care of. Each home has an outdoor parking space. Completion date: July 2019 This information is to serve only as a general guide and is not legally binding.


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[[missing key: search-facet.tree.open-section]] Business and Management (36)
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Financial Economics and Regulation (7)
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[[missing key: search-facet.tree.open-section]] Law - Academic (265)
Intellectual Property Law (261)
International Economic Law, Trade Law (38)
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Intellectual Property x
RESEARCH HANDBOOK ON THE ECONOMICS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW VOLUME 2
Research Handbooks in Law and Economics series
Edited by Ben Depoorter, Peter Menell and David Schwartz
Handbook Chapter
In Research Handbook on the Economics of Intellectual Property Law
Tailoring intellectual property rights to reduce uniformity cost
Michael W. Carroll
By design, copyright and patent law provide largely one-size-fits-all exclusive rights to inventors and authors. This policy creates the problem of uniformity cost, defined as the social cost attributable to the misalignment between the general level of exclusion provided by uniform rights and the specific level of exclusion that would be optimal with respect to any given author or inventor to both create and to commercialize their work. This chapter provides an explanation for the uniformity policy and the existing means of reducing uniformity cost through real options, flexible standards, and private ordering. It then discusses the conditions that would make tailoring intellectual property rights superior to uniform rights. It identifies the categories of economic evidence that would support specific tailoring interventions, which can be done through legislation, judicial interpretation, or administrative rules depending upon context.
Technical standards, standards-setting organizations, and intellectual property: a survey of the literature (with an emphasis on empirical approaches)
Jorge L. Contreras
Despite their potential benefits, voluntary consensus standards have over the past decade become the subject of significant private litigation, regulatory enforcement and policy debate. Much of the current controversy centers on the perceived proliferation of patents covering standardized technologies, potentially abusive enforcement of such patents against manufacturers and users of standardized products, and the terms on which patent holders may be required to license the use of those patents to others. This chapter offers an overview of the empirical, legal and economic literature concerning the interaction of interoperability standards and standards-setting organizations with intellectual property rights (primarily patents, with attention to copyrights and trademarks as well).
'The common law' in the law and economics of intellectual property
Shyamkrishna Balganesh
As applied to the context of intellectual property thinking today, 'the common law' refers to a variety of different ideas, each of which contributes to a particular normative vision for the institution. These myriad understandings of the term in turn draw from different structural, institutional, and jurisprudential ideas that the common law has come to be associated with over the last several centuries. Accordingly, this chapter attempts to unbundle these different usages of the term in the law and economics of intellectual property in order to show what they each bring to the discussion. In particular, it examines the three dominant versions of the idea in the literature, which understand the common law as: (i) a method of lawmaking and legal reasoning; (ii) judge-made law; and (iii) state law. After examining these different strands in the legal literature it then connects them to relevant ideas and theories in both general law and economics, as well as the law and economics of intellectual property.
The USPTO's Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Arti K. Rai and Saurabh Vishnubhakat
The post-grant administrative review of patent validity set up at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) by the America Invents Act of 2011 has transformed the relationship between Article III patent litigation and the administrative state. This chapter reviews scholarly literature that has made the case for such review and presents basic data on the functioning of several predecessors to the PTAB. It also reviews the empirical literature on the PTAB's functioning, focusing on literature that falls into one of four categories: (1) basic descriptive statistics; (2) the intersection with district court litigation, including across different technology areas and different courts; (3) the impact of the PTAB on non-practicing entities; and (4) comparisons of patent and patent-examination characteristics between patents challenged at the PTAB and a matched sample that was not challenged. The chapter concludes by setting forth a research agenda
When are IP rights necessary? Evidence from innovation in IP's negative space
Kal Raustiala and Christopher Jon Sprigman
The law and economics of intellectual property (IP) has long rested on a foundational, if implicit, premise: that IP law is best understood by studying how legal rules operate in actual markets for creative work. Yet this way of thinking about IP leaves open a host of important and fascinating questions. Can innovation flourish in the absence of IP protection? Can market incentives, psychological factors, social norms, first-mover advantages, or any number of other factors, serve as whole or partial substitutes for IP rights? In this chapter, we explore IP's 'negative space'—that is, those creative and innovative fields that, for historical, doctrinal, or other reasons are not addressed by IP law—and the scholarship that has begun to illuminate it. This literature is barely more than a decade old, but already it has shaped how scholars today think about IP. In particular, it shows that the link between IP and creative incentives is more conditional and contested than many believe.
Evolving properties of intellectual capitalism
Patents and Innovations for Growth and Welfare
Ove Granstrand
Intellectual capitalism is evolving, driving and driven by technological innovations and various forms of entrepreneruship. The purpose of this eagerly anticipated book is to analyze the linkages between R & D, patents, innovations, entrepreneurship and growth. Based on a large array of national empirical and policy studies, it elaborates on a comprehensive range of innovation and IP issues that are pertinent not only to Europe but to the world as a whole. These issues include the role of patents and licensing in the governance of technology and innovation, and the various uses and abuses of patents. It further elaborates on new IP phenomena in an increasingly patent-intensive world with patent-rich multinationals and patent-savvy new entrants from Asia. In a world facing challenges that call for innovative responses, the book contains a set of valuable policy recommendations for strengthening innovativeness for economic growth and ultimately for social value creation.
In Evolving properties of intellectual capitalism
The aim of this ending chapter is to present a structured summary of the previous chapters and tie them together through lingering on some cross-chapter themes and contributions in view of the aims of the book. Some of the main themes in this book at macro-level will moreover be tied into a previous book of mine 20 years back (as of April 2018) on the rise of intellectual capitalism and the economics and management of IP at micro-level. The chapter will end with a final plea for transnational technology and innovation governance in light of the crucial roles of new technologies and innovations and for global challenges and welfare. The general aim of this book has been to present a research-based analysis of the linkages between R & D, patents, innovations, growth and welfare and thereby increase our knowledge about how R & D of new technologies and innovations can contribute to growth and ultimately to welfare in society. A corollary aim has then been to focus specifically on patents and their linkages since patent and IP issues have been somewhat disconnected in general from R & D, innovations and economic growth in studies and debate of the latter. A subsidiary aim has been to clarify and offer a number of key concepts, distinctions and models in an attempt to contribute to a professional language in the innovation policy and management area. A final aim of the book has been to contribute to research in the innovation and IP area by offering some answers to common research questions as well as offering methods and suggestions for further IP policy research.
The basic economic theory of copyright
Elgar original reference
Richard Watt
In Handbook on the Economics of Copyright
Edited by Richard Watt

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Incentive checks: House of Representatives kills $ 2,000 checks offer
House Democrats tried to pass the bill quickly, requesting unanimous approval Thursday morning, but Republicans rejected the move, leaving the future of A stimulus package worth $ 900 billion – And whether any changes will be added to it – is in doubt. This stimulus package has been attached to an entire federal government spending bill, and the deadline for government funding ends Monday at midnight.
Democrats have seized on Trump's sudden objections to the bill in an effort to get Republicans to accept a higher amount of stimulus checks – and Republican lawmakers are now in the tough position of having to decide whether or not to challenge. President.
Democrats pledged their efforts were far from over, and promised to move to pass a bill to increase stimulus checks to $ 2,000 with a full vote for or down in the House of Representatives on December 28.
"On Monday, I will bring the House of Representatives back into session as we will hold a recorded vote on our independent bill to increase economic impact payments to $ 2,000. Voting against this law means denying and denying the financial hardship families face," Pelosi said in a statement.
"We hope by then that the president has already signed the bipartisan and bicameral legislation to keep the government open and to provide relief from the coronavirus," she said.
Earlier this week, Congress passed a massive Covid relief bill, which included up to $ 600 for all Americans who pay below certain income levels. Single people earning up to $ 75,000 He would get the direct payment of $ 600, And spouses who earn up to $ 150,000 will receive $ 1,200.
Passing the bailout package through both houses was a massive undertaking and represented a bipartisan advance after months of partisan deadlock and controversial wrangling.
See also NBA: Historic decision in the United States: NCAA becomes professional احترافي
One of the major sticking points that had to be overcome was the row over the cost of the package, with many Republicans warning that they could not accept a price that was too high.
After an agreement was finally reached, the president was expected to support the package and the White House had indicated that Trump would sign the legislation once he got to his office.
But on Tuesday, Trump threw all of that into question when he indicated that he would not sign the law if Congress did not amend the legislation and raised the "extremely low" stimulus checks of $ 600 to $ 2,000 for individuals or $ 4,000 for a couple.
Pelosi called on Trump to lead the Republicans to accept the higher sum.
Pelosi said: "If the president is serious about direct payments of $ 2000, he should call on Republicans in the House of Representatives to end their obstacles."
Republicans responded to Democrats' efforts today with a proposal to remove part of the spending package that included foreign aid – an area that Trump attacked after Congress approved the bill. Nevertheless, these provisions were largely in line with Trump's budget request and were supported by the vast majority of Republicans. The Democrats rejected the effort.
At a news conference after the House adjourned until December 28, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said that Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin were still busy in ongoing discussions about the Covid relief package – despite the fact that Mnuchin helped negotiate the same deal that Trump had raised. suddenly. And, publicly, he questioned earlier this week.
See also A woman adopts a stray dog after visiting Cozumel and taking it to Canada
Senator Roy Blunt, a member of the Republican leadership, says Republicans don't really know what Trump will do next, but they hope he won't veto the stimulus funding bill.
"I have no idea what he's planning to do," Blunt said.
"We have received assurances that the president will sign the law," he told reporters after a hammer in a short initial session. "I have no reason to believe that Minister Mnuchin did not believe this." Mnuchin served as chief negotiator on behalf of the administration.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN Jasmine Goodwin contributed to this report.
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Bolted joints are an integral part of equipment and component reliability as they connect a majority of our process equipment. While the immediate reliability impact may not be noticed, the reliability of bolted joints should not be overlooked.
Bolted joints are many times ignored when it comes to ensuring long-term reliability of equipment. With most fastened joints, maintenance practices can be sloppy when the original design is good with little impact to overall equipment reliability. This can lead to complacency when executing details of joint assembly and maintenance. While the immediate reliability impact may not be noticed, the insurance that a properly assembled bolted joint can provide should not be overlooked. Bolted joints are an integral part of equipment and component reliability as they connect a majority of our process equipment by coupling shafts together, holding down equipment or holding together the critical components.
Just like any reliable system, there are many details to get correct, and like any failure there are many details to overlook when it comes to maintaining a reliable bolted joint. While there are elaborate solutions to some joint issues, most reliable joints come down to getting the basics right. As with most equipment and component reliability, there are several key areas to focus on such as design, installation, maintenance and operation. While design is a foundation for equipment reliability, the scope of this article will concentrate on installation and maintenance of the bolted joint for best reliability.
Installation and assembly for a reliable bolted joint has some fundamental elements. Here are 7 key installation areas to pay attention to assure a reliable bolted joint.
1. Check that the two mating surfaces are flat. This will result in even loading on the joint with consistent compression and ensure that the bolt load is perpendicular to the joint. In addition, some joints may also be subject to leaks if the surfaces are not flat.
2. Check bolts, nuts and washers to make sure they are correct for the assembly. Are the bolts the correct grade (SAE 2, 5, 8, metric 8.8, 10.9, etc.)? Are the bolts the correct metallurgy such as carbon steel, stainless steel or B7 for high temperature? Is the bolt length correct and threaded length correct? Some joints are designed to keep threaded portions out of shear plane of joint. Before tightening, verify that any shank portion of a screw does not bottom out in the hole as in Figure 11 and Figure 1.2. This will not only lead to damaged threads but will lead to a loose joint as no preload or clamp force will go to the joint even though you will see plenty of torque during assembly. Neighboring bolts will also now shoulder that joint stress and increase the probability of failure.
3. Ensure proper thread engagement at assembly. Since a majority of the bolt stress is taken on the first few threads, inspect the condition of the first several threads being engaged. For full engagement, make sure the bolt sticks a couple threads through the nut to fully engage bolt and nut to avoid short bolting condition. The lead threads are not full so the nut should not be flush with the end of the bolt but stuck through a few threads.
4. Don't adjust assembly while it is tight as this will put uneven loads on the bolt and can eventually lead to bolts loosening up during machine operation. Loosen bolts if any machine or flange movements need to be made such as for alignment while the machine is down and locked out.
5. Choose correct torque tools and methods. Different methods have different associated errors. Torque methods include by feel, torque wrench (dial, clicker, digital, hydraulic), turn of nut (used many times on very large bolted connections) and ultrasonic bolt elongation. Don't use an impact wrench to preload bolts. Overload and large variations of bolt preload typically result. Also use smooth motions when using a torque wrench. Jerking the wrench can also cause large preload errors.
6. Choose the correct bolt torque amplitude to achieve proper bolt preload. Bolt torque can be calculated by the equation below once the friction factor, K, and target bolt preload, F, are determined.
F = Bolt Preload (lbs); use 75% proof load for joints that will be disassembled; use 90% proof load for joints that are permanent like structural members.
The calculated torque is only as good as the variables used in the equation. Know your nut friction factor which is influenced by installation condition (dry, lubricated, corroded, etc.). Use lubrication on bolts if possible at assembly (oil, anti-seize, Loctite, etc.). Most will lubricate the threads of a bolt but miss lubricating under the head of the bolt. Typically over 60% of bolt torque is lost by friction under the bolt head. Using lube will reduce bolt preload scatter, protect threads and make disassembly easier later. If dry torque is used then make sure the correct magnitude is used. Bolt coatings can also greatly affect friction factor. Use lubricated torque to increase the life of the nut particularly when the bolt is threaded into the machine-screw application.
7. Follow bolt torque sequence using a crisscross pattern. Also use torque bolts with ramped torque amplitudes of 30%, 60% and 100% torque to assure even joint preload. While executing this is preferred on all bolted joints, it can be more critical on some large joints where the assembly can get cocked or easily have large preload scatter such as on tapered hub type designs.
Once a good joint is designed and assembled, proper maintenance of the bolted joint will become critical to keep it together without failure. Retighten bolts after machine warm up especially on critical applications. Thermal growth and other factors can move the joint which can loosen. For extra insurance other methods may be employed to ensure long-term bolt preload. These may include Loctite, special lock washers or nuts, tie wire bolt heads or tack weld bolt heads so backing out will not occur. A torque wrench should be checked annually to verify that it is still producing consistent accurate results. A torque wrench should also be stored at the lowest possible setting. Use new fasteners as much as possible. This is cheap insurance for most joints. Declining and less consistent, repeatable bolt preload results with each reuse of bolts and nuts.
When key design, assembly or maintenance elements are not carefully attended, bolt failure can result. Some common bolt failure modes are fatigue, overload, stripped threads, shear or corrosion. Fatigue and overload are two of the more common failure modes. Many bolt failures occur at the first engaged thread of the bolt as that is the point of the highest stress. Failures under the head or first thread are also common areas of bolt failure as shown in Figure 2. As long as a bolt is not over torqued on installation then the most likely source for overload is an extreme external load on the joint.
Fatigue can be a more subtle and challenging failure mechanism to keep in check but can be improved with the right precautions. Here are three key actions to improve the fatigue strength of the bolted joint.
1. For the bolts, use bolts that were made with rolled threads instead of cut threads as fatigue strength is greater with roller threads. Most standard bolts are made with rolled threads, but special machine design applications that use special-made bolts may not be. Using a higher grade material will also increase fatigue strength as endurance limit is increased.
. In the assembly, assure that the head angularity is less than 1°. Fatigue increases sharply beyond 1° head angularity. Counter bore to true bolt head angularity is a common fix for some applications such as motor feet.
3. During assembly ensure that bolt preload is sufficient as previously discussed. This will minimize the cyclic load that the bolt will see which will increase the resistance to bolt fatigue. As seen on the joint diagram on Figure 3, once the external force on the joint exceeds a low-bolt preload, the joint compression can quickly be compromised and then all the external force may be seen directly on the bolt. Consequently a bolt with higher preload will result in the joint absorbing more of the external cyclic load and insulate the bolt from fatigue.
While most bolted joints have a significant enough design that errors in details of installation and maintenance may be overlooked without noticeable impact to overall reliability, there are many challenging applications where precision assembly must be followed to avoid equipment failures. For the others, following bolted joint best practices just builds in extra insurance for the unknown things that can happen to our equipment. Complex applications with rotating bending stresses, reversing loads, thermal stresses and screw (blind drilled) machine designs can offer real challenges to achieve a reliable bolted joint. Designs for these applications need to be especially robust to counter these external factors. Bolted joints are simple on the surface, but it takes doing all the little things right to ensure a reliable bolted joint of any design. If you have a bolted joint that is all of a sudden having failures, review the fundamentals for joint assembly to improve bolted joint reliability.
Randy Riddell is reliability manager at SCA. Edited by Joy Chang, digital project manager at CFE Media, jchang@cfemedia.com.


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Vermont Press Bureau (http://www.vermontpressbureau.com/tag/medicare-for-all/)
MONTPELIER — Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced his long-awaited Medicare-for-all legislation Wednesday, touting the support of 16 Democratic senators who signed on as co-sponsors, but plenty of crucial questions remain unanswered, including the cost. The support of one-third of the Democratic caucus in the Senate is a significant improvement for Sanders, who stood alone the last time he introduced a single-payer health care system in 2013. It reflects how Sanders, an independent, is shaping the future of the Democratic Party following his improbable run for the presidency in the Democratic Primary last year. The line-up of cosponsors includes a handful of senators pundits have eyed as potential Democratic presidential candidates in 2020, including Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. The bill Sanders laid out Wednesday include the broad goals of a generous, government-run health care system for the country. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Bernie Sanders, Health Care, News, Politics, U.S. Congress, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris


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ENLIVEN Project
About ENLIVEN
ENLIVEN Team
Restricted documents
Author: Lukasz Szczygiel
First ENLIVEN Newsletter
Post author By Lukasz Szczygiel
We are delighted to welcome you to our first newsletter! We have entered into very exciting times for the project, with the e-modules evaluation and piloting phase.
This newsletter is published to spread our news and the opportunities offered by the project.
You can read about some of the topics described in our newsletter below:
Survival Kit for students and teachers (page 2)
COVID-19 and the best practices (page 3)
Exploit the full potential of virtual learning (page 4)
Enliven Newsletter Issue n.1Download
Please keep in touch if you are interested about the topics discussed in our first newsletter.
Also, don't forget to follow us on our social platforms Twitter and Facebook!
ENLIVEN at HEAd'22 International Conference
Post date 23 June 2022
Our project partner, the University of Pisa, proposed a paper involving the results obtained from the data analysis collected from the ENLIVEN survey.
We are glad that the paper "Increasing engagement and student participation in Higher Education: insights from the University of Pisa during COVID-19" has been presented at HEAd'22 conference as a full paper. All papers went through a rigorous review process and each paper was reviewed by at least two program committee members. Out of 269 paper submissions, less than one third have been accepted as full papers.
The work was presented by Lukasz Szczygiel (UNIPI) on June 15, 2022, at the conference venue, the Faculty of Business Administration and Management of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV).
The emergency distance learning methods adopted to face the pandemic are connected to some inherent problems which concern the lack of social aspects, interactions, and motivation. These and other frequent issues threaten to stop the opportunities offered by the widespread use of educational technology. This paper examines how the Higher Education Institutions adapted to the evolution of the pandemic, compared to relevant insights from University of Pisa gathered during the academic year 2020/21.
Focusing on the communicative and socio-emotional aspects of the didactic event, we propose engagement tools – real-time interaction applications designed to increase active learning and motivation – as a feasible solution that might tackle some of the emerged teaching-learning issues. In this context, it appears that the potential of these versatile and easy-to-apply tools has not been fully exploited. Specific teacher training actions are therefore suggested.
Szczygiel, Lukasz & Iannella, Alessandro & Simi, Maria. (2022). Increasing engagement and student participation in Higher Education: insights from the University of Pisa during COVID-19. 10.4995/HEAd22.2022.14612
Check out the full paper and other research from our project partners here.
About Head'22
The 8th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'22) is a consolidated forum for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences, opinions, and research results relating to the preparation of students, teaching/learning methodologies, and the organization of educational systems.
Intellectual Output 2 News
COVID-19 and the best teaching practices
We are sharing some of the best practices and innovative approaches used at the ENLIVEN partner universities during the emergency situation.
All partners contributed with the materials, evaluations and insights, focused on teaching, developed to face the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The results of our interviews are organised by following two main question topics:
questions regarding re-organisation of education during the pandemic at institutional level.
questions regarding learning and teaching during pandemic.
You can read and download the results below:
IO2.A1 Summary of interviews_ COVID-19 and the best teaching practicesDownload
ENLIVEN Open Education Resources (OERs)
Virtual Exchange (promotional video)
Virtual Exchange View & Download UHAM 23/08/2022
Diversity & Inclusion videos and video-podcasts
The following contents were made as part of the ENLIVEN IO2/A4 Intellectual Output:
Digital Studying View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Gender, Diversity, Inclusion in Salzburg (students video) View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Digital Teaching Video-Podcast Doris Wydra View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Digital Teaching Video-Podcast Dženeta Karabegovic View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Digital Teaching Video-Podcast Vicky König View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Digital Teaching Video-Podcast Zoe Lefkofridi View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Digital Teaching Video-Podcast Ewald Hiebl (PLUS) View & Download PLUS 23/03/2022
Webinar series: Living and Behaving in a Digital World
Topic: Digital identity
#1. Personal identity in the digital framework View & Download H5P UNIPI 01/08/2022
#2. Is anonymity possible on the internet? View & Download H5P UNIPI 01/08/2022
#3. The right to be forgotten and its limits View & Download H5P UNIPI 01/08/2022
#4. The creation of false accounts and identity theft View & Download H5P UNIPI 01/08/2022
#5. The threats of facial recognition View & Download H5P UNIPI 01/08/2022
Topic: Data Protection in scientific research
#1. What is the GDPR? View & Download NOVA 01/11/2022
#2. Privacy by design View & Download NOVA 01/11/2022
#3. Before the project starts View & Download NOVA 01/11/2022
Topic: Protection of personal data
#1. Information privacy problems in digital ecosystems & Data protection in digital ecosystems View & Download Related research UHAM 01/10/2022
#2. Databases and their limits. Ethics, strategy and protection of personal rights in Archival databases and databases of scientific collections View & Download PDF UHAM 23/08/2022
Topic: Rules of etiquette and acceptable behaviour
#1. How to support students with special needs View & Download TLU 01/10/2022
#2. Correct behaviour in delivering online lectures View & Download UNS 01/10/2022
#3. Correct behaviour from students point of view View & Download UNS 01/10/2022
#4. How to treat issues of research ethics and data protection View & Download TLU 01/10/2022
Topic: Multilingualism
Activities for Webinar #1 and #2 Download PLUS 01/10/2022
#1. Multilingual communication in a digital world (Portuguese) View & Download PowerPoint PLUS 01/10/2022
#1. Multilingual communication in a digital world (Italian) View & Download PowerPoint PLUS 01/10/2022
#1. Multilingual communication in a digital world (Estonian) View & Download PowerPoint PLUS 01/10/2022
#1. Multilingual communication in a digital world (German) View & Download PowerPoint PLUS 01/10/2022
#1. Multilingual communication in a digital world (Serbian) View & Download PowerPoint PLUS 01/10/2022
#2. Content and language integrated learning in multilingual academia (German) View & Download PowerPoint (version 1)
PowerPoint (version 2) PLUS 01/10/2022
#2. Content and language integrated learning in multilingual academia (Portuguese) View & Download PowerPoint (version 1)
#2. Content and language integrated learning in multilingual academia (Italian) View & Download PowerPoint (version 1)
#2. Content and language integrated learning in multilingual academia (Serbian) View & Download PowerPoint (version 1)
#2. Content and language integrated learning in multilingual academia (Estonian) View & Download PowerPoint (version 1)
Advanced Moodle course module
#1. Setting up your course and facilitate access View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
#2. Effective communication View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
#3. Quiz activity – creating the questions View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
#4. Quiz activity – settings View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
#5. Assignment activity View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
#6. Collaborative activities View & Download UNIPI 01/09/2022
Virtual Learning Moodle Course
The overall goal of the course is to empower e-teaching and e-learning at universities across Europe.
The course consists of eight micro modules, each 1 ECTS credit point (total 8 ECTS): (1) Whole-school approach to Online and Blended Teaching and Learning, (2) Digital educational resources, (3) Digital platforms for communication and collaboration, (4) Effective teaching and learning, (5) Assessment practices, (6) Online vs. Blended vs. Traditional teaching and learning, (7) Instructional design, and (8) Digital Competence and evaluation tools.
Virtual Learning Download (Moodle .mbz format) UNS
Micro-module: 1 – Collaborative Tools View & Download UNS 28/05/2022
Micro-module: 2 – Engagement and communication tools View & Download UNS 27/04/2022
Micro-module: 3 – Whiteboarding Tools View & Download UNS 27/04/2022
Desk research to exploit the full potential of virtual learning View & Download UNS 03/02/2021
COVID-19 and
the best teaching PRACTICES (summary of interviews) View & Download TLU 28/12/2021
Support Measures for Students in e-Learning Environments View & Download UHAM 30/03/2022
Requirement analysis – Report on the online survey View & Download UNS 03/02/2021
E-learning in the times of COVID-19: The main challenges in Higher Education 19th International Conference on Emerging eLearning Technologies and Applications Paper 10.1109/ICETA54173.2021.9726554 Janika Leoste (TLU),
Slavko Rakić (UNS),
Francesco Marcelloni (UNIPI),
Maria Francesca Zuddio (UNIPI) 11/2021
Increasing engagement and student participation in Higher Education: insights from the University of Pisa during COVID-19 Eighth International Conference on Higher Education Advances Paper 10.4995/HEAd22.2022.14612 Lukasz Szczygiel (UNIPI), Alessandro Iannella,(University of Milan), Maria Simi (UNIPI) 06/2022
ENLIVEN Meeting SHELFIE
Meeting in Pisa April 6, 2022
ENLIVEN met SHELFIE to share experiences and find synergies! Both projects, their methods and first results have been presented to UNIPI students and academics during a networking event.
The presentation can be found here:
ENLIVEN-SHELFIEDownload
Support Measures for Students in e-Learning Environments
Picture representing the importance of the social dimension during learning experiences abroad
Designing Virtual Support Measures for Students in International Learning Environments
With the help of psychologists, neuroscientists, communication scientists and social networks/media experts we designed some possible solutions and strategies to overcome the problems identified during the firsts activities of the Intellectual Output 3. In particular we are building upon the Requirement Analysis Report where we have identified some key findings from online surveys carried out jointly by the Enliven partners.
Social dimension of learning and the necessity of developing new forms of virtual mobility for all
For various reasons, the majority of students will not be able to experience physical mobility, even after the pandemic. This report includes suggestions, recommendations and challenges on how digital learning environments can be shaped to enable those participating in a virtual exchange to have similar experiences and interactions as those who actually physically go abroad. We focus on the social dimension of intercultural learning and living in the digital world.
The complete report is now available:
ENLIVEN_IO3.A2_DeliverableDownload
Requirement analysis – Report on the online survey
Requirement Analysis
Are you curious about the main difficulties in using digital platforms met by students and teachers?
We have identified some key findings from online surveys carried out jointly by the Enliven partners. These surveys describe what 1286 participants experienced during the academic year 2020/2021.
It is also the first step towards the goals expressed in the Intellectual Output 3 where we aim to create and disseminate in publicly accessible form guidelines on enabling and organizing international digital learning environments.
Based on the analysis some key findings were identified:
95% of respondents have experience using digital learning environments
22% of respondents claimed that they do not have enough technical knowledge to compile necessary educational resources
91% of respondents did not participate in international mobility in the academic year 2020/21
97% of classes were delivered online in the academic year 2020/21
Only 27% of respondents used tools for engagements
More findings can be found in the report below:
IO3-A1-Enliven-Requirement-analysisDownload
Desk research to exploit the full potential of virtual learning
Post date 3 December 2021
We have published a document summarizing some of the existing virtual learning experiences and practices adopted by the Higher Education Institutions in Europe. In particular, the core task of this activity was to broaden the picture of how the COVID-19 emergency affected teaching and learning methods and approaches outside the ENLIVEN partner universities.
This document forms the basis for the next project activities which are described in the Intellectual Output 2. By integrating existing – state-of-the-art – data from outside the ENLIVEN partnership with our own research and experience we are laying solid foundations for the development of future e-courses and for an overall improvement of virtual learning activities.
You can read and download the Desk Research results below:
IO2_A3_DeskResearchDownload
The Survival Kit is now available online
Post date 10 November 2021
We are happy to announce that the ENLIVEN project partners have developed and published the first version of the Digital Survival Kit.
What is the Survival Kit?
The ENLIVEN Survival Kit provides support for the use of basic digital methods and tools in response to emerging needs in today's learning and teaching context.
It consists of a set of set of micro-modules, with video materials, tutorials, and best practices for users that need a quick introduction for some of the most common tools and methods used for learning and teaching. Thanks to the Survival Kit you should be able to solve some of the most common problems in the platforms used for in presence and distance learning.
Check out the results by clicking on the link below:
ENLIVEN SURVIVAL Kit
Project number: 2020-1-IT02-KA226-HE-095637
Unless noted otherwise all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Countries General Society Society (USA) USA
Trump administration drilling auction for Arctic refuge attracts little interest
Posted: Wednesday, January 6, 2021 at 15:38
Three polar bears are seen on the Beaufort Sea coast within the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library on Dec. 21, 2005. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Alaska Image Library/Handout via REUTERS)
The Trump administration on Wednesday found few takers at its sale of drilling leases in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), with an Alaska state agency emerging as the sole bidder for most of the acreage.
The sale received 16 bids in total for 12 of the 22 tracts offered. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority was the sole bidder on at least eight of the 12 tracts.
Three of the bids were described as "incomplete" by U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Kate MacGregor, who revealed them during a live broadcast.
The sale, at which more than 1 million acres were offered, generated more than $14.4 million in high bids, MacGregor said.
It was among the most high profile of a slew of last-minute efforts by President Donald Trump's government to expand fossil fuel and mineral development in the United States before leaving office in two weeks, building on his years-long drive to maximize domestic production over the objections of environmentalists.
Due to concerns about a lack of participation in the sale, the board of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority held an emergency meeting two days before Christmas at which it authorized spending up to $20 million on ANWR leases.
Canada: RBC latest bank that will not directly fund drilling projects in Alaskan Arctic refuge, CBC News
Finland: Miners hunting for metals to battery cars threaten Finland's Sámi reindeer herders' homeland, Yle News
Greenland: Greenland issues new exploration, prospecting licences to Anglo American, Eye on the Arctic
Norway: Minister downplays environmental impact of planned mine in Arctic Norway, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: The Arctic Railway – Building a future or destroying a culture?, Eye on the Arctic
United States: U.S. judge allows oil, gas lease sales in Alaska's Arctic refuge, The Associated Press
Alaska, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, drilling
← Tankers set course for thick ice as part of experiment on Northern Sea Route
Weak response to ANWR lease sale applauded by Yukon politicians, activists →


This content of this site has been created to reflect Tim Blackmore's career in radio and event production since the 1960s. On the right you will find a series of links to pages with specific themes including a chronology and a selection of photos from different eras of his involvement. His has been a career of rearranging words and music to suit the requirements of a wide range of radio broadcasts as well as numerous public events in venues as varied as The Royal Albert Hall, London's Grosvenor House, Trafalgar Square and Alexandra Palace.


Ultraviolet light is hard on unprotected fiberglass panels.
A material with a thickness of only .032-inch doesn't seem as if it would make a very good roof, yet corrugated fiberglass panels are among the most popular choices for patios and decks. The translucent panels are light, cost-effective and tough enough to endure most of what nature throws at them. That's not to say they're indestructible, though. Objects such as large hailstones or tree branches can damage fiberglass, especially after it's spent a few years baking under the sun. While big holes may require panel replacement, you can repair those smaller than 3 inches with a custom-made fiberglass patch.
Spread a drop cloth to protect the area beneath the repair. Position a ladder so that the hole in the roof is within easy reach. Remove any loose pieces of fiberglass clinging to the hole. Clean the fiberglass with household cleaner and paper towels.
Roughen the fiberglass around the hole slightly using fine sandpaper. Wipe the area with a paper towel dipped in alcohol. Allow the surface to dry thoroughly.
Cut a piece of fiberglass cloth approximately 1 inch larger all the way around than the size of the hole. Cut another piece 2 inches larger. Place the pieces on a flat, protected work surface.
Put on eye protection and rubber gloves. Pour an amount of polyester or epoxy resin sufficient to coat the pieces of fiberglass cloth into a disposable mixing container. Add catalyst in the proportion recommended by the resin manufacturer. Mix the resin thoroughly for the recommended time with a wooden stir stick.
Pour a portion of the prepared resin onto the smaller piece of fiberglass cloth. Hold the cloth still with a gloved finger as you spread the resin over it using a disposable paint brush.
Apply a thin coat of resin to the fiberglass around the hole with the brush. Immediately press the smaller piece of resin-saturated cloth into position over the hole. Smooth the edges of the patch around the hole with the tip of the brush. Keep the patch from dripping and sagging by working it with a flexible rubber squeegee until the resin starts to harden. Smooth the surface of the patch from the center out toward the edges, removing as many air bubbles as possible.
Prepare the larger piece of cloth by saturating it with resin. Dab it into place using the tip of the brush, covering the first patch. Smooth out the saturated cloth from the center out toward the edges using the squeegee.
Allow the fiberglass patch to cure completely.
Repair larger holes by overlaying them with a section of matching fiberglass panel glued in place with epoxy; while smaller cracks and holes with a diameter less than the thickness of a pencil are more easily filled with a dab of UV resistant silicon caulk.
If the hole is readily accessible from above, you can make repairs on the top side of the panel as well, as long as you take care not to put too much weight on the panel or support structure in the process. Smooth the resin out carefully at the edges so that water will flow unimpeded over the repair.
The supplies necessary to repair holes in fiberglass panels are available separately or in kits. In addition to home centers, look for them in stores that cater to boating and recreational vehicle enthusiasts, as well as auto body and auto parts stores.
If you are sensitive to epoxy or polyester resin, wear a fume-rated respirator and protective clothing in addition to rubber gloves.
Always use caution when making repairs from an elevated position, such as on top of a ladder, and never try to walk on a corrugated fiberglass roof.
Hamilton, Steve. "How to Repair a Hole on a Fiberglass Corrugated Roof." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/repair-hole-fiberglass-corrugated-roof-49663.html. Accessed 24 April 2019.


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Newham Recorder > Sport
Boxing Road to Tokyo to start as planned at Copper Box Arena
Great Britain's team of boxers hoping to go to the Tokyo Olympics during the media day at the Copper Box Arena, London. - Credit: PA
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the Boxing Road to Tokyo Olympic qualifying event in London has confirmed that the event will start as planned this weekend, following the latest advice provided by the Government and Public Health England on the Coronavirus situation.
Great Britain's Caroline Dubois during a media day at the Copper Box Arena, London. - Credit: PA
The event, which will take place at the Copper Box Arena on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, features 13 members of the GB Boxing squad who will be competing to secure a place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Following final entry checks, one minor change has been made to the competition schedule in the women's welterweight category (69kg) which will now conclude on Sunday March 22 rather than Tuesday March 24 as initially planned) with the final and final box-off.
A statement from the LOC said: 'Our approach to the Coronavirus situation is guided by the advice provided by Public Health England (PHE) and the latest information indicates that the competition is able to get underway this weekend.
'We are in regular contact with PHE and recognise that the situation may change, but as things stand we can confirm that the draw for the tournament will take place today and the tournament will get underway as planned on Saturday.
'The health and wellbeing of participants and spectators is of the utmost importance to us and all of the teams have been told to adopt regular handwashing. If any of their group begins to exhibit cold or flu symptoms they are advised to self-isolate, stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and contact the LOC's Chief Medical Officer who will be able to advise on their symptoms and any further medical assistance.
'We have also introduced a series of additional measures including routine temperature testing as part of the daily medicals for competing boxers which will provide us with additional data on the boxers and enable us to track and identity any changes.
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'For spectators we have increased the provision of hand sanitisers and urge anyone that has a ticket, or is intending to attend the Boxing Road to Tokyo Olympic qualifier, to follow the Government's advice which is updated daily and is available at nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19.
The new, updated schedule can be viewed at boxingroadtotokyolondon.org/tickets.
The changes resulting from an earlier finish in the women's 69kg category mean:
-the round of 16 bouts will move from Tuesday 17 to the evening of Sunday 15.
-the quarter-finals, when four boxers will secure qualification to Tokyo, will now take place in the evening of Tuesday 17.
-the first round of the Box-Offs for the final qualification place will be in the evening of Friday 20.
-the semi-finals of the competition will be in the afternoon session of Sunday 21.
-The welterweight final and the final Box-Off to determine the fifth boxer to qualify in this weight class will both take place in the evening session on Sunday 22.
Boxing Road to Tokyo's ticketing partner, SeeTickets, will be in contact with all of the people that have bought tickets for the sessions where changes have been made.
Further information about the Boxing Road to Tokyo Qualifying event in London is atboxingroadtotokyolondon.org.
Half of people in Newham may have had Covid-19, analysis reveals


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Q: 3d Kolmogorov-Smirnov test Can the KS3D2 test as suggested by Fasano and Franceschini (1987) be used when one of the three variables take discrete values between 0-40?  The other two variables are continuous.

A: Kolmogorov-Smirnov 3d test is when you have the sample of 3d vectors. The idea is to compare the sample distribution to a model distribution. So the main question is how does model distribution looks like.
Now KS-test compares the cumulative distributions of sample distribution and the model distribution. The 3d test does the same. If you worry about discrete-values look at the bottom of page 6 of your reference. The authors test the behaviour of their statistic when the model distribution (they call it parent distribution) is constant in certain cubes. This means that the the testable distribution is discrete. So the answer to your question seems to be yes, discreteness is not a problem.
To make sure you can always do some Monte-Carlo simulations where you control the model distribution and choose it to be similar to the one you want to test, and see how the statistic performs.

A: I don't have the reputation to comment @mpiktas answer, but I think he is wrong: the parent distributions have "constant density" (to quote the paper) on the cubes and thus are uniform on these cubes. Thus the parent distributions are not discrete.
To answer the original question, the Wikipedia page of the KS test states that "In the two-sample case (see Section 3), the distribution considered under the null hypothesis is a continuous distribution but is otherwise unrestricted." so according to Wikipedia (sorry I don't have a better reference) it doesn't work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Tongariro alpine crossing is a world renowned hiking track and probably the most popular day hike in New Zealand. Crossing volcanic terrain for 19.4 km in Tongariro National Park, a dual world heritage site in New Zealand's north island, this hike (or tramp, as a Kiwi would say) goes through the heart of Mount Tongariro, an active volcano with multiple craters. The highest peak of the track is at 1886 m, but with a side trip to Mount Ngauruhoe one can reach 2291 m.
To put things into perspective, here's our track map for the Tongariro alpine crossing.
Tongariro alpine crossing is not your average weekend hike or just another stroll in the park. As with any other hiking track at higher altitudes, longer distances and rough terrain, precautions need to be taken and a minimum physical fitness level is required in order to avoid any problems. This is a one-way track that starts at Mangatepopo, ends at Ketetahi and is supposed to take between 5h30 and 8h00, according to the Department of Conservation (DoC). It took us around 6h30 with plenty of stops for photos and snacks.
This article serves as a small guide on how to prepare to tackle the crossing, coming from our own experience by doing it in October 2013. Follow along if you want to know more.
Since Tongariro alpine crossing is an activity that takes the whole day, we opted to stay two nights at the nearest town – National Park. Yes, the town is called National Park. A very small one, mostly oriented to serve as a base and service area to explore the area around Tongariro National Park.
On our way there from Taupo, we stopped a couple of times to enjoy the views, at roadside signaled viewpoints.
A very important thing to note is that transportation is needed to get to the start of the track and from the end. With this in mind, we researched a bit and decided to stay at a motel that offered an all-inclusive package of two nights, transportation, breakfast, snacks for the day, one meal and hot tub! A good package. Even if you don't opt for such a thing, transportation is a must.
For dinner, we went to the Station Café, Bar & Restaurant, recommended by the owners of the motel where we were staying. It's literally in the train station of National Park, something that at first might sound cheesy. Not the case. Excellent food and service, at a slightly premium price. Still, totally recommended. We'll let the pictures do their justice.
The big day arrived. We were told that the previous couple of days the weather was so bad at the top that it was almost impossible to see anything and attempt to hike the track. This day luck was on our side as the weather was mostly clear, yet chilly. At 7 am we hopped into a small van with two other couples and went straight to the starting point at Mangatepopo car park. The track usually starts at this point due to its altitude, making the total ascent smaller from this side. After scheduling an estimated arrival time with our driver, off we went.
The first section goes through Mangatepopo valley to Soda Springs. This is mostly flat terrain with a wooden path at certain stages. If you're in need, there's a bathroom right here.
After this gentle introduction to the area, the track starts getting more interesting. By interesting we mean it begins to climb up, steadily towards the south crater. The scenery here is rougher, passing through volcanic elements, such as small rocks. Once the gradient increases a bit more there are steps to help the ascent. Don't focus too much on looking forward as the views to the back, on a clear day, are stunning.
Once at the south crater there's a signpost with the option to do a side trip to Mount Ngauruhoe. Do not attempt this if you are not prepared, since it's way more technical. We didn't and don't recall anyone going up at that time, but with enough time to spare it should be really awesome up there! Here we made our first stop for a snack and drinks. Remember to keep drinking to stay hydrated.
At this stage of the track, we started to spot snow that we would eventually have to tackle going up to the red crater, a very steep and muddy section. This is where the landscape enters the category of surreal, the awesome kind of surreal. In areas more exposed to the wind, it gets really cold. Bring some gloves and a beanie. This is also the highest you get while staying on track.
From here it is all the way down to the spectacular Emerald lakes and nearby central crater. While going down keep an eye on your feet as it gets very slippery due to loose gravel. The Emerald lakes' colour is caused by minerals from the adjoining thermal area. Stunning colours! We decided to stop for a while to enjoy and recharge our own batteries.
Up an easy climb from the central crater is the Blue lake, a sacred one. From here on and until close to the end of the track is an active volcanic zone. Extra care should be taken. There are still signs from the latest eruption of Te Maari in 2012.
Our final stop before the final descent towards Ketetahi car park was at Ketetahi hut, which was damaged by the volcano. On the way down the most interesting part is once we get into the forest where the car park is. Amazing, the contrast between the volcanic atmosphere and the lush green one. Back when we did this the track was a bit damaged due to a lahar and we had to cross a small stream of water in order to pass.
A little before the scheduled time we reached the car park where we met one of the couples that started with us. Together we waited for the ride back to the motel.
Mission accomplished! Tongariro alpine crossing was probably the longest hike we ever did together, and what a stunning one. We must say this is definitely a must do for outdoor lovers and people alike.
Also, this is just an example of the hikes or tramps New Zealand has to offer. If you're into the real stuff there are a few multi-day great walks across the country. Some of epic proportions.
To find out more on how to prepare, read our practical information at the end of the post.
Have you done Tongariro alpine crossing? Have questions? Leave a comment.
Love New Zealand as much as we do? Read our other posts about it.
Doing the Tongariro alpine crossing is a wonderful experience. Let us share some details on the practical stuff.
For lodging and as mentioned we opted for an all-inclusive package. This was at Adventure Lodge, in National Park village, costing 420 NZD. Nice owners. Recommended.
There is a small grocery store at the petrol station. Prices are higher than usual due to the remoteness.
As for the hike, here's our useful checklist. Plan ahead. Keep in mind the weather can change rapidly.
A relatively fit person should be able to do this. We saw people of all ages. It's a good way to enjoy nature and stay active. BUT, prepare and know your fitness. You won't enjoy it if you're struggling all the way.
For more detailed information visit the site of the Department of Conservation (DoC) about the the track here.
Wow! That looks awesome. Thank you for the informative review of the hike. Definitely useful to those looking at doing this trail.
It was quite awesome! We had only arrived in New Zealand a few days before this hike and this was amazing.Thank you!
Another incredible immersive post, Hugo and Cristina! I love your Iceland articles, and now I am loving your work from New Zealand. It makes me want to be there now. Keep up the excellent work, guys! So glad to have found your site.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Howard! Iceland and New Zealand really are two of our favourite places. Fortunately we can visit Iceland multiple times because it's quite close to the UK and we always have plenty to write about it.
For New Zealand, we're still playing catch up with some of the stuff we saw and experienced there in terms of writing and videos.
Thanks again for reading our blog! Cheers.
I can see why this hike is so popular, the views are just stunning! Thanks for sharing all of the practical tips too!
Wow! This looks like an amazing adventure. Congrats on making it. And thanks for making it sound like I could too.
My first time reading about this lovely place. That is lake is spectacular, I want to be there and see it in person. At first the landscape (and volcano) looked a lot like Panama (Boquete) and then there came the snowy pictures. Not happening here but what beautiful sights. 😉 Nice post.
Cheers, Melody! You should definitely visit. It's a stunning part of the world.
Wow, your photos rock. I'd never even heard of the Tongariro alpine crossing but I guess that's because I haven't made it to New Zealand yet. You'll probably catch me drinking white wine and sitting in hot springs … and then I'll go for the hike.
You can definitely do both wine and hot springs in New Zealand. We certainly did a lot of the latter!
This hike looks like it would be right up our alley! We would absolutely love to do this! I love the scenery you found along the way, especially the red volcanic rock and the bright blue waters. Thanks for sharing about the hotel you stayed at–nice to know about the transportation there and back and it sounds like the hotel was a perfect choice!
Yes! The hotel and transport were a very good choice. Since it was a package-deal it was a very good value compared to getting transport separately.
What a beautiful hike! I did a few hikes while living in Colorado and really enjoyed it. The lakes are probably my favorite part; the colors are just amazing!
Indeed! The colour of the lakes is otherworldly.
We would love to go to Colorado. Stunning mountain scenery there!
Thanks for sharing. You might like the Oregon Cascades too… especially Three Sisters Wilderness, one of my local haunts. I've also visited Colorado (Rocky Mountain NP) and New Mexico (hike up from Taos Ski area) and those places were rather amazing, too.
Wow thanks for a painstakingly written account of the entire hike! And kudos, too for the awesome photos! My husband, who is a hiker, believes New Zealand will be his dream vacation!
Since I was a little girl I always wanted to go to New Zealand. Still hasn't happened. Your photos are amazing. I feel like I am right there with you. And what a hike. Absolutely fabulous!
Hope you make it there. It's well worth the long trip.
Awesome article; I'm finalizing a honeymoon to New Zealand this March and your recommendation on the Adventure Lodge is graciously noted! Thank you for the tip and I hope our experience is as great as yours was!
Have a great honeymoon in New Zealand! It's an amazing place.
Adventure Lodge is quite nice and provides a good service for hikers taking on Tongariro crossing.


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Home / Red, White-Hot and Booed: A Roundup of 4th of July Marketing Executions
By Kacey McArthur
America, the beautiful; land of the free, home of fireworks and the foot-long hot dog. Brands and organizations alike do their best to take advantage of the 4th of July holiday, engaging fan bases and customers on a patriotically personal level. Not to mention, as the 8th largest spending holiday for consumers (National Retail Federation), there's money to be made from a great 4th of July campaign as well. It's become a necessity to schedule email campaigns, advertisements and social media posts surrounding the holiday to keep brands top of mind and instill patriotic sentiment.
The best engagements and posts around the 4th have featured thematic content and products, hosted promotions and giveaways, or have tied in numerical relevancy to prices. Take a look at three firecracker executions and three others that just…fizzled out.
America, Pup Yeah
Source: Puppies Make Me Happy
A brand whose name alone garners loyalty, Puppies Make Me Happy absolutely nailed their 4th of July email promotion series. The approach to selling apparel was casual and subtle; it focused on the cuteness of man's (and woman's) best friend while touting a mix of patriotic puppy puns.
Although their featured products weren't themed, "pretty much everything" was priced at $17.76, a nod to the beginning of America's nationhood. Best of all, their design team won with a fantastic rendition of the historic Mount Rushmore Pupmore. What more could you want in your inbox?
YouTube Creates Confusion
YouTube's own Creator department functions as a support system to help users better their YouTube channels, and consistently features YouTubers from around the world when highlighting national and international holidays. So, for such a titan of the creative industry, you would hope the US-based company would use accurate emojis on social media to mark the 4th.
Unfortunately, their attempt at engaging users with an Independence Day address failed when they posted the wrong flag to social channels. The featured flag's actual country of origin? Liberia. Cue mass confusion and backlash.
Source: YouTube Creators Twitter
Baby, You're a Firework
Considered traditional media, news outlets must push content on digital channels in order to drive engagement with their fan bases. Not only does this help traditional channels remain relevant, but it captures the online-only audience to keep their brand top of mind.
During the 4th, NBC Los Angeles' played on folks' fascination with fireworks and live streamed the multitude of displays (legal and illegal) simultaneously happening in LA. With a single Twitter post of a clip of the light show, NBC LA was able to drive online-to-offline action garnering stronger viewership with seemingly minimal effort. On a day where people aren't generally tuning in, using visually captivating content is the only way to catch distracted users.
Newschopper4 Bravo is over the Rose Bowl now waiting for fireworks. Watch Bravo live over LA as illegal and legal fireworks light up the sky. https://t.co/zVjFZT4DON pic.twitter.com/SHQpLNZIYm
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) July 5, 2018
Context DOES Matter
Two basic principles when pushing a time-sensitive holiday ad campaign are ensuring ads are properly scheduled and contextually aligned, taking advantage of the festive content users are reading and striking while the iron's hot.
As shared by our friends at Sizmek, this Father's Day ad set ran a few weeks too long, eliminating relevancy and therefore, engagement. More importantly, the ad slot could have been better utilized with a banner ad featuring 4th of July products or promotions, likely impacting the brand in question's bottom line.
Source: Sizmek
Characteristic of the DIFF Eyewear brand, their 4th of July email campaign featured ever-cool and relatable copy peppered with an educational component to its headline, reminiscent of The Skimm. Consumers welcome when organizations tie in history behind why we celebrate specific holidays, especially one as widely acknowledged as Independence Day.
Even with something as small as noting the significance of the year 1776, it illustrates thoughtfulness within a tactic meant to drive sales. DIFF's second win? Featuring thematic products which, as any young customer appreciates, can be worn well after the 4th.
Source: DIFF Eyewear
We, The MLB
National sports organizations like the MLB never miss an opportunity to sell novelty items, altering their merchandise to reflect special events and holidays. Some may call it exploitation, but as marketers, we affectionately refer to it as 'opportunity'.
In 2018, Independence Day caps were released via various outlets sporting "We The People" under the brim to instill pride and boost apparel sales. Sure, it's a nice patriotic sentiment, but users were quick to point out the MLB had cited the wrong historical document, rendering the souvenirs useless. Moral of the story: ensure your team does extensive research during thematic product ideation, let alone before pushing items through production.
So, What Have We Learned From Independence Day Hails and Fails?
Whether it's the 4th of July or another holiday opportunity, assuring your social posts and promotions "spark" engagement with fan and consumer bases just takes a little thoughtfulness. The last thing organizations like YouTube and the MLB need is social backlash for being ill-informed. Comprehensive research on the background and significance of special events and holidays is vital for all team members working with public-facing mediums. And yes, that includes the intern posting to Twitter. In the same vein, education and reminders of the 'why' can be key drivers for consumers when sprinkled into a holiday address and illustrates an organization cares about more than just exploitation.
When offering products and services to drive sentiment surrounding holidays like the 4th, of course it's always a good idea aligning them with the celebratory theme. However, there's no need to push too hard to create items for special events. Novelty items are great, but giving consumers the opportunity for on-theme products that have longevity can further boost sales. You can instead foster festivity simply with creative messaging, implementing numerical significance with discounts and contextually aligning your properly-scheduled ads. Or, you can just revert to my preferred ammunition for user engagement: puppies.


In love with vegetables but hate going to the store to buy them? Well why not have your own vegetable garden in Cullman. Maybe you have had the thought cross your mind but not want to build another garden or do not even have the time to do so. There is no rule book on where you have to plant plants and have to plant flowers. There are many people that have gardens that are beautiful that have combined flowers, fruits and vegetables throughout them.
During the economical challenge the world is going through currently, creating a conventional food and beauty garden is a great alternative to saving money. So why not go ahead and mix in those vegetables. We pride ourselves in creating the best option for you as well as creating eco friendly environment for everyone. We can assure you that you will fall in love with your vegetable and or garden decision due to its extrodanary beauty.
Contact us today for a FREE Quote for your Vegetable Garden Planting in Cullman!


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Historic Towns And Beautiful Food: Life In Normandy, France
Steeped In History And Great Food—A New Life In Normandy
by Anna Lebedeva
in France, Retirement/Living
iStock/StevanZZ
Patrizia Karadimos visited France when she was a little girl and, for many years after, dreamed of moving there one day. In 2011, together with her husband Thomas and their two sons, she finally made her dream come true.
"We decided to be adventurous and change our life around, giving up everything we knew," says Patrizia. "We sold our house in Warrandyte, Melbourne and bought a converted 15th-century mill on 8 acres of land in the small village of Saint-Martin-Don in Normandy. From the house, I see the countryside, river, and beautiful Vire Gorges. In winter, when it snows, it's like living in a fairytale."
Located in the north of France, Normandy is famous for its dramatic coastal cliffs, long stretches of beautiful beaches, historic towns with their iconic half-timbered buildings, picturesque cathedrals, abbeys, and castles.
Farms in the region make delectable butter loved by gourmands across the globe, as well as apple cider and traditional cheeses.
"People come from around the world to see this area, and we are lucky to live just 40 minutes by car from the famous island monastery of Mont Saint-Michel and the D-day beaches," says Patrizia. "Normandy is so rich in history—anywhere you go, you see reminders of the past."
But the region's strong connection with the past is not the only reason why the Karadimos chose this part of France.
"Normandy has everything we like about the country: strong traditions, good food, and beautiful landscapes. It offers peaceful rural life with all modern comforts—and you're only a short ride from big cities," explains Patrizia.
Thanks to good roads and regular train connections, the family can easily reach bigger cities such as Caen, Le Mans, or Rennes when they miss the hustle and bustle of urban life. Paris, with its museums, theaters, and shopping is two and a half hours away—a return ticket costs just 20 euros (US$22).
The area around Saint-Martin-Don is famous for Camembert cheese, an apple brandy called Calvados, and excellent cider—and none of it costs a fortune. The couple says that life in rural France is more affordable than in Australia…
"Here you find beautiful food—and a huge variety of it. In a supermarket, you can choose from 20 types of butter. I spend 50 to 100 euros (US$55 to US$110) for a full trolley of groceries and fresh market produce for a week for the four of us," says Patrizia. "Restaurants are quite cheap, too. We can eat a three-course lunch for 12 euros (US$13) and get a bottle of great wine for just 2 euros."
Patrizia loves shopping at weekly local farmer's markets with their array of fresh seasonal produce. "I have never paid more than 4 euros (US$4.40) for a kilo of mussels here. For 3 to 4 euros, you can buy delicious cheese."
The couple runs a building renovation business specializing in the traditional stonework that Thomas learned from local artisans. Being self-employed means a lot of work, but Patrizia says their life in France can't be more different from the life they had back in Warrandyte, Melbourne. "In Australia, we lived to work. We didn't take time to look at the world around us, didn't slow down, were always on the go, stressed, working long hours trying to make ends meet."
After moving to rural France, Patrizia and her family had to adjust to a new pace of life. With 11 public holidays every year, long lunches, and a laid-back attitude typical for small villages, Patrizia admits that they have learned to enjoy the unrushed life and go with the flow, just as the locals do.
"All shops and businesses close for lunch for two hours. When you come to rural France, you have to slow down and spend more time with your family and friends. I miss Australia, of course, but what we've got here is special and we haven't looked back since moving here." Thomas now has time to pursue his passion for fishing, and Patrizia has made quiet walks in the nearby forest part of her weekly routine.
On weekends, Patrizia and Thomas hop on their Harley Davidson and ride along the coast or visit car boot sales at neighboring towns. There are no expat groups in the area, but the couple found it easy to make friends among both locals and expats. In summer, they host regular barbecue gatherings in their homes. "We love having people around for barbecue on our porch, Australian style. We invite our French and expat friends, our neighbors, and the kids invite their friends," says Patrizia.
The town of Saint-Martin-Don has only 240 inhabitants, and the Karadimos family has become part of the local community. "The village's mayor lives next door to us and his cows graze on our land. When we cut the wood along the river on our property, the mayor came in with his tractor to help us out."
Patrizia says that living in a tight-knit community is certainly not for everyone—so before you buy a house in a small French village, you need to be sure it's your cup of tea. "Everyone knows each other, which felt unusual at first, but we love it now."
Anna Lebedeva
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Anna Lebedeva is a freelance journalist based in Italy. She writes about food, travel, and living overseas for various international publications and publishes culinary guides to Italian cities. Born and educated in Russia, Anna has lived across Europe and, several years ago, fearlessly restored an old stone house in a small mountain village in Italy.


In the South, monograms intertwine us from one generation to the next, making random items profoundly personal and instant heirlooms. At Audrey Durden, strong traditions meet modern day accessories in many pieces from our custom collection. Inspired by our maternal grandmother to offer custom designed and crafted pieces that echo the lessons learned from generations before. Many of the pieces left behind in her jewelry box are still lovely little works of art and reminders of a wonderful life lived. We feel a connection and a sense of pride to create pieces that will last from this generation to the next.


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Élections, piège à cons est une formule ou une expression politique, généralement présentée comme un slogan, utilisé et popularisé durant les événements de Mai-Juin 68. Jean-Paul Sartre, a publié sur le sujet, un texte politique en 1973, paru dans la revue Les Temps modernes,

Origine
Selon le journaliste français Gavin's Clemente-Ruiz, auteur d'un livre sur les expressions populaires, publié en 2015, cette expression verrait son origine dans la période de contestation liée aux événements de mai- en France.

Le , le général de Gaulle, alors président de la République française, veut reprendre la main après plusieurs semaines de contestations et d'affrontements. Celui-ci fait alors une allocution où il déclare notamment dissoudre l'Assemblée nationale, afin d'organiser de nouvelles élections qui auront pour but de renforcer la majorité politique favorable au gouvernement de Georges Pompidou, alors au pouvoir. De nombreux mouvements d'extrême gauche interprètent alors cet appel au suffrage populaire comme un « vol de la liberté » et une « négation de la démocratie ». Parallèlement à ce slogan, le commentaire « élections = trahison » était également utilisé par des contestataires, dénommés par la presse et certains spécialistes de la période, sous le surnom d'« Enragés ».

Lors de ces élections, la majorité présidentielle remporte très largement ces élections et recueille 46 % des suffrages lui donnant 144 élus dès le  et la majorité de , dont 293 pour la seule UDR, la parti gaulliste. C'est la première fois dans l'histoire de la République qu'un parti conquiert la majorité absolue à l'Assemblée nationale.

L'écrivain, historien et homme politique français Max Gallo, dans un de ses ouvrages, confirme également cette expression en tant que slogan des manifestants de  en réaction à la décision du général de Gaulle d'organiser des élections législatives.

Texte de Jean-Paul Sartre

En 1973, le philosophe français, Jean-Paul Sartre, écrit dans la revue Les Temps modernes, un texte dénommé « Élections, piège à cons » dans lequel il pose son principal argument : L'isoloir planté dans une salle d'école ou de mairie est le symbole de toutes les trahisons que l'individu peut commettre envers les groupes dont il fait partie. Pour cet écrivain, ce n'est pas le principe démocratique qui doit être remis en cause, mais son système de fonctionnement factuel. Il considère que le choix démocratique ne peut s'exprimer qu'au travers d'une expression directe, sans intermédiaire, le pouvoir politique devant être remis à des représentants que dans un cadre très limité. Le système de fonctionnement des scrutins en France et en Europe occidentale est donc extrêmement éloigné de ce point de vue.

Postérité

Dans un de ses sketchs, l'humoriste Coluche déclarait , une citation quelque peu différente mais qui marque bien la défiance que peuvent avoir certaines personnes à l'égard  de la politique institutionnelle en général et des élections en particulier.

À l'occasion d'une tribune publiée dans le quotidien Le Monde en avril 2017, le philosophe Alain Badiou déclare que , reprenant ainsi l'idée même du slogan lorsqu'il fut utilisé en .

C'est dans les courants anarchistes que le rejet des élections est le plus fort. Les anarchistes refusent le principe de représentation politique qui est perçu comme une confiscation de la parole de l'individu.

Bibliographie
 Collectif, Revue Les Temps Modernes (), Spécial Élections : Jean-Paul Sartre, Élections, piège à cons, Gallimard, 1973.
 Jean Salem, Élections, piège à cons ? : que reste-t-il de la démocratie ?, , Édit. Flammarion, 2012

Références

Voir aussi

Articles connexes

Liens externes
 Maximes et slogans de Mai 68

Slogan politique
Crise politique
Jean-Paul Sartre
Élection
Politique en France

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Nick had a heart of gold. He was forgiving, helpful and honest. He had a wonderful sense of humor and a strong will.
He struggled with his addiction for over 8 years. He tried everything he could to rid himself of his demon, rehab, programs, methadone, cold turkey and jail.
His two children. They were always first in his heart. That was the one thing heroin didn't control.
His voice, laugh, smile, strength and kindness. I miss his beautiful face!
I'm sorry I couldn't take away the pain. I'm sorry that I couldn't understand better. And though we had our troubles, you always held my heart.


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Q: Perform Resize and Fill canvas using Mogrify The imagemagick site has a demo on this page: http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/resize/#resize
I want to perform the action in this example:
convert logo: -resize 80x80\> \
          -size 80x80 xc:blue +swap -gravity center  -composite \
          space_resize.jpg

But for a large number of files. I think the right tool is mogrify, but it does not know the +swap or xc:blue flags.
Advice?

A: For me your solution just clips 300x300 portion from my big image.
Next command works correctly, adding white space around image:
mogrify -extent 640x640 -gravity Center -fill white *.jpg[640x640]

A: I was able to accomplish the above by using the following:
mogrify -resize 300x300 *.jpg
mogrify -extent 300x300 -gravity Center -fill white *.jpg

This will make the largest dimension of the images to 300 pixels. It will then fill the canvas on the shorter dimension to 300 pixels and fill in the empty space with white.

A: to extend @akoumjian's resolution I just suggest to use
-transparent white

parameter to get transparent all what was white on the image. It's great for making transparent PNGs


Can you believe it's been 8 years already? We know they say that time flies when you're having fun, but it's gone so quickly we must be having the time of our lives! That's right, today at Koozai, we're proud to announce it's our 8th birthday.
What a year! Not only can we celebrate impressive achievements over the past twelve months, but we're really excited about bringing in new faces to the Koozai family as well as some awesome new clients.
Firstly, we were delighted to be recognised within our industry for a variety of different achievements; at the UK Search Awards winning the Best Blog and being shortlisted for The Best Local Campaign. At the DADI awards we picked up the Best In-House Website Or Campaign, as well as the Silver Award for Best Rebrand of a Digital Property at the Transform Awards.
This year we welcomed a host of new talent to the family; Robert as our new Managing Director, Digital Marketing Executives including Ali, James and Jamie, and Content Marketing Executives including Cat and Kieran.
Our clientele list has also has grown, boasting awesome new clients such as Tui Travel, Simply Swim and the Chef & Brewer Pub Company. For more information visit our clients page and check out the impressive case studies.
It's been another solid year for industry conferences too. We're not just satisfied at attending, our fantastic team have spoken at some of the biggest events, including On The Edge, Biddable World, Brighton SEO, SMX, SES London, the Westminster E-Forum, Measurefest, SASCon, SMX London, ion Search and many more.
If that wasn't enough, we've been doing our bit for charity too. In the Summer we went cake crazy raising over £130 for CDH UK, and some dedicated members of the team took part in the Eastleigh 10k, Basingstoke 10k and Basingstoke half marathon. We rounded off a year of sport with the Great South Run where we won fastest small business in the UK.
And how could we not mention our legendary company events? In the summer we had a laugh (or one hundred) at Jongleurs in Portsmouth, and had a truly unforgettable Christmas party – let's just say the photo booth was a huge success!
We also have to say a big thanks to you our readers and followers; traffic to the site has doubled on the previous year, so thank you for reading and sharing our content. We also topped 300,000 views of our videos on YouTube and Koozai TV and have got much more planned to build on this in 2014.
With plenty of exciting developments to come, we're excited about the next year and beyond. Stay tuned! If you want to celebrate with us, please share the post or leave a comment below.


Please try the code below to get the values from a summary row.
hmmm... i'm still lost :), could you please expand my example with the snippet, so i can actually understand and see how it works.. Thanx!
Here is your sample back using QueryCellStyleInfo to combine the 2 summaries values into a summary in a different row.


A lunch for Birmingham's MIPIM contingent at the Restaurant Mandala on the beach was oversubscribed.
CBRE's Ashley Hancox emerged from a ten-hour "power nap" especially – he went to his hotel on Wednesday night for 40 winks and failed to wake up until Thursday morning. Must be the Lee Evans-lookalike's new job, as regional head of offices, taking its toll.
Tom Bloxham, of Urban Splash, turned up for pre-dinner drinks, but either didn't like the seafood on offer or had a more pressing engagement, as he didn't stay for lunch.
Still, his suit left a lasting impression [see picture]. One wag quipped it was from Stevie Wonder's new clothing range.
Peter Crowther, of Bruntwood, was a popular attendee, as he has a war chest for acquiring office space in Birmingham. He said he loved coming to the city as it is "always sunny".
Peter hails from Manchester, where, as we know, it's always raining. Perhaps this is the elusive new marketing campaign Birmingham has been looking for. I can see it on a banner draping provocatively from the AWM apartment next year, right opposite the Manchester balcony: "Birmingham: it's always sunny. Ha, ha".
Mike Whitby's speech was, as usual, passionate and upbeat. Though there was some concerns over the number of city transport projects in the pipeline.
Apparently, on the Birmingham stand in the exhibition hall this morning he announced there were nine. By lunch this had reduced to eight. Let's hope the New Street revamp is still on track.
Word has reached me of Birmingham's Alternative MIPIM event, held at Anderson's Bar and Grill.
More than 100 attendees by all accounts, including Dom Stokes and Jon Andrews from Stoford, who flew back specially from MIPIM to do the double.
And why not? Because as we all know, while it's 19 Degrees in Cannes, it's always sunny in Brum.