text:
Why must Ukrainians fight for their right to vote?
So will anybody answer for the non-election fiasco in Mariupol?
Crimean's right to vote in local elections recognized, 1.5 million others disenfranchised
Displaced by Russian aggression, now stripped of right to vote
Over 1.3 million people forced from Donbas and Crimea need a decent law
New government ruling makes life for displaced people even harder
photo Majorua Petrovich
Ukraine's Social Policy Ministry announced on Sept 14 that the number of displaced people in Ukraine has almost reached 1.5 million. On that same day many people forced from their homes stood outside parliament demanding the reinstatement of their right to vote. With the local elections due in October, speed is critical in passing one of three bills now tabled in parliament to rectify the current situation which prevents internally displaced persons [IDP] from voting. The picket was attended by members of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine; Vostok SOS, Krym SOS and other civic organizations.
One of those present, with her infant son Nikita, was Oleksandra Dvoretska who is herself in exile from Simferopol (Crimea). In a column piece for Ukrainska Pravda, she explains that they have spoken with many MPs, diplomats, members of international NGOs regarding the need to ensure that IDP can vote. None has disputed the need to change the legislation, though many believe it impossible to achieve in the time remaining. Since the protest over effective disenfranchisement began at least two months ago, the excuse seems a little strained. Dvoretska also rejects it saying that the bill can be voted on this week – given the will.
Realistically, she adds, only around 10% of possible voters will actually take part in the elections with this requiring some action from them in advance and effort. She stresses that "each displaced person included on the voter list outside the Luhansk and Donetsk oblast means the removal of him or her from lists where the Ukrainian government is less in control of the process.
If we genuinely wish to prevent rigging, then we shouldn't give the opportunity to tick ballot papers where international observers will not be working. And the residents of those areas are now displaced persons in other cities".
Depriving displaced people of their vote means refusing to enable them to integrate into the community where they live. It is an indicator, Dvoretska says, that they have not been accepted into that community, that they are not seen as needed, and that they should returned to territory under occupation.
The law on local elections was adopted in July this year, and aroused anger among IDP because it deprives the huge number of displaced people in Ukraine of the right to cast their vote. Calls for President Petro Poroshenko to veto the bill were, however, ignored.
The problem is that the law states that the territorial community according to which a person votes is determined by their registered place of residence. Proof of this registration is provided by their internal passport or a temporary document confirming their Ukrainian citizenship.
This means that IDP who are living in another place and who have a document confirming their status as displaced persons, but no stamp in their passport about the corresponding registration will simply not be able to vote in the local elections.
Article 70 of Ukraine's Constitution clearly stipulates that only people under the age of 18, non-Ukrainian citizens or people who are mentally unfit are denied the right to vote. The new law on the local elections effectively adds one other category – internally displaced persons.


text:
K2 Studios
Film Studio
Catalogue > TV / ANCILLARY > 2D HD/SD > Shorts
IMAX-Format
3D Immersive
Full Dome
Full Dome Conversion
Full Dome Native
4D Attraction/Ride
TV / ANCILLARY
2D HD/SD
Runtime(s)
Holy Moly
Holy Moly is a short animation about moles enjoying 3D entertainment. A mole takes it on himself to create a handcrafted stereoscopic experience for his friends by faking the effect in various movie-like scenarios only to meet his and their doom when an actual boulder squashes them while thinking it's part of the show.
Self Made in California
24 x 11, 3 x 11
Eleven 24-minute corporate biographies used for internal purposes and for broadcast (CNBC), including 3-minute versions for marketing and airline broadcast.
EPISODES: Airtouch, Arco, Bank of America, Countrywide, Edison International, Hewlett-Packard, Home Savings, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles Times, Rockwell International, Toyota Motor Sales
Sunday Jog
Sunday Jog is a short animated film about two joggers who set out for a stroll on a beautiful Sunday morning. They are alarmed by what appears to be an earthquake — which quickly reveals itself to be much more. Embarking on an epic battle for survival, these joggers turn from the chased to the chasers in this animated comedic thriller.
Switch is set in a futuristic dystopia, gang member "O" steals a valuable piece of equipment; the use of which could have devastating consequences. This sci-fi world comes alive in a surreal blend of colors, shapes and locations which pop in 3D. Follow a series of characters as all are involved in the chase and capture of this mysterious and coveted device.
The Best of California
39 x 30, 4-7 x 117
Travel vicariously to and throughout California in this friendly reality show featuring Romantic Getaways, Family Fun, and Sports & Adventure.
Thirty-nine (39) 30-minute episodes, or one hundred seventeen (117) 4-7 minute segments available. Six (6) 30-minute Spanish episodes, or eighteen (18) 4-7 segments also available.
The Buttefly, The Harp and the Timepiece
A story about a magic shop where no matter who you are you can get what you need. Starring Academy Award Winner Melissa Leo, and Golden Globe Winner Alex Ebert. Featuring original song "Butterfly" performed by Toby Rand and composed by 2013 Best Pop Album Grammy Winner, Alex Geringas.
World's Coolest Animals
Pay a visit to large and charismatic animals in their natural environment. Discover their survival strategies and relations to their ever-changing environment.
World's Coolest Volcanoes
From the explosive Tavurvur in Papua New Guinea to the lava lakes of Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this series reveals a string of active volcanoes filmed before, during and after each eruption. How do humans and animals deal with the planet's geological upheavals?
World's Most Remote Places
Imagine an island so remote that you need to sail for a week in order to reach it, a beach so isolated that only a handful of visitors has seen it or an undersea mountain that has just been discovered. Switch on your 4K set and open up a window to a new world of wonder!
World's Weirdest Animals
From the depths of the ocean to the forests of Papua New Guinea, discover some of the strangest inhabitants of our planet. Some have no eyes, others have transparent bodies; some fish have fins longer than their body, others can survive out of the water for hours …
© K2 Studios 2020.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


2 Private Java Tutoring, Teachers and Test Help in Oconomowoc.
Mr. Carlos is an excellent teacher! He is very knowledgeable, has high standards, and great work ethics. We are looking forward to scheduling more sessions with him.
Shannon is great tutor! she is very professional and patient, and always go extra miles to help. My son is very happy to have her as a private tutor. We recommend her to anyone seeking tutor with out any hesitation.
Chad was always helpful and prompt in every session. I would definitely recommend him and would agree that he is the best tutor! I can't think of anything negative--he is an excellent writer and also understands the needs of the student. Thank you, Chad!


text:
Q: Compile-Time Named Parameter Idiom with constexpr I've recently run into a quite a few situations where the Named Parameter Idiom would be useful, but I'd like it to be guaranteed in compile-time.  The standard method of returning references in a chain almost always appears to invoke a run-time constructor (compiling with Clang 3.3 -O3).
I haven't been able to find anything with reference to this so I tried to get this to work with constexpr and got something functional:
class Foo
{
private:
    int _a;
    int _b;
public:
    constexpr Foo()
        : _a(0), _b(0)
    {}
    constexpr Foo(int a, int b)
        : _a(a), _b(b)
    {}
    constexpr Foo(const Foo & other)
        : _a(other._a), _b(other._b)
    {}
    constexpr Foo SetA(const int a) { return Foo(a, _b); }
    constexpr Foo SetB(const int b) { return Foo(_a, b); }
};
...
Foo someInstance = Foo().SetB(5).SetA(2); //works

While this is okay for a small number of parameters, for larger numbers it quickly blows up into a mess:
    //Unlike Foo, Bar takes 4 parameters...
    constexpr Bar SetA(const int a) { return Bar(a, _b, _c, _d); }
    constexpr Bar SetB(const int b) { return Bar(_a, b, _c, _d); }
    constexpr Bar SetC(const int c) { return Bar(_a, _b, c, _d); }
    constexpr Bar SetD(const int d) { return Bar(_a, _b, _c, d); }

Is there a better way?  I'm looking at doing this with classes that have many (30+) parameters and this seems like it would be prone to error if extended in the future.
EDIT:  Removed C++1y tag -- while C++1y does appear to fix the problem (thanks TemplateRex!) this is for production code, and we are stuck with C++11.  If that means its impossible, then I guess that's just the way it is.
EDIT2: To show why I'm looking for this, here's a use case.  Currently with our platform, developers need to explicitly set bit vectors for hardware configurations, and while this is okay it's very error prone.  Some are using designated initializers from the C99 extension, which is okay but non-standard:
HardwareConfiguration hardwareConfig = {
    .portA = HardwareConfiguration::Default,
    .portB = 0x55,
    ...
};

Most, however, aren't even using this, and are just inputting a blob of numbers.  So as a working improvement, I'd like to move towards something like this (since it also forces better code):
HardwareConfiguration hardwareConfig = HardwareConfiguration()
    .SetPortA( Port().SetPolarity(Polarity::ActiveHigh) )
    .SetPortB( Port().SetPolarity(Polarity::ActiveLow) );

Which might be far more verbose, but much clearer when reading later.

A: Using Template Metaprogramming
Here is something I came up with to solve your problem (at least partially). By using template metaprogramming, you can leverage the compiler to do most of the job for you. These techniques look weird for those who have never seen such code before, but thankfully most of the complexity can be hidden away in a header and the users only interact with the library in a neat and terse manner.
A Sample Class Definition and its Use
Here is an example of what defining a class would entail on your part:
template <
    //Declare your fields here, with types and default values
    typename PortNumber = field<int, 100>,
    typename PortLetter = field<char, 'A'>
>
struct MyStruct : public const_obj<MyStruct, PortNumber, PortLetter>  //Derive from const_obj like this, passing the name of your class + all field names as parameters
{
    //Your setters have to be declared like this, by calling the Set<> template provided by the base class
    //The compiler needs to be told that Set is part of MyStruct, probably because const_obj has not been instantiated at this point
    //in the parsing so it doesn't know what members it has. The result is that you have to use the weird 'typename MyStruct::template Set<>' syntax
    //You need to provide the 0-based index of the field that holds the corresponding value
    template<int portNumber>
    using SetPortNumber = typename MyStruct::template Set<0, portNumber>;

    template<int portLetter>
    using SetPortLetter = typename MyStruct::template Set<1, portLetter>;

    template<int portNumber, char portLetter>
    using SetPort = typename MyStruct::template Set<0, portNumber>
                           ::MyStruct::template Set<1, portLetter>;

    //You getters, if you want them, can be declared like this
    constexpr int GetPortNumber() const
    {
        return MyStruct::template Get<0>();
    }

    constexpr char GetPortLetter() const
    {
        return MyStruct::template Get<1>();
    }
};

Using the Class
int main()
{
    //Compile-time generation of the type
    constexpr auto myObject =
        MyStruct<>
        ::SetPortNumber<150>
        ::SetPortLetter<'Z'>();

    cout << myObject.GetPortNumber() << endl;
    cout << myObject.GetPortLetter() << endl;
}

Most of the job is done by the const_obj template. It provides a mechanism to modify your object at compile time. Much like a Tuple, the fields are accessed with 0-based indices but this does not stop you from wrapping the setters with friendly names, as is done with SetPortNumber and SetPortLetter above. (They just forward to Set<0> and Set<1>)
About Storage
In the current implementation, after all the setters have been called and the object declared, the fields end up being stored in a compact array of const unsigned char's named data in the base class. If you use fields that are not unsigned chars (as in done above with PortNumber for example) the field is divided in big endien unsigned char's (could be changed to little endien as needed). If you don't need an actual storage that has an actual memory address, you could omit it altogether by modifying the packed_storage (see full implementation link below) and the values would still be accessible at compile time.
Limitations
This implementation only allows integral types to be used as fields (all flavors of shorts, ints, longs, bool, char). You can still provide setters that act on more than one field though. Example:
template<int portNumber, char portLetter>
using SetPort = typename MyStruct::template Set<0, portNumber>::
                         MyStruct::template Set<1, portLetter>;

Full Code
The full code for the implementation of this little library can be found here:
Full Implementation
Additional Notes
This code has been tested and works with the C++11 implementation of both g++ and clang.
It has not been tested for hours and hours so of course there may be bugs but it should provide you with a good base to start with. I hope this helps!

A: In C++14, constraints on constexpr function will be relaxed, and the usual chaining of reference-returning setters will work at compile-time:
#include <iostream>
#include <iterator>
#include <array>
#include <utility>

class Foo
{
private:
    int a_ = 0;
    int b_ = 0;
    int c_ = 0;
    int d_ = 0;

public:
    constexpr Foo() = default;

    constexpr Foo(int a, int b, int c, int d)
    :
        a_{a}, b_{b}, c_{c}, d_{d}
    {}

    constexpr Foo& SetA(int i) { a_ = i; return *this; }
    constexpr Foo& SetB(int i) { b_ = i; return *this; }
    constexpr Foo& SetC(int i) { c_ = i; return *this; }
    constexpr Foo& SetD(int i) { d_ = i; return *this; }

    friend std::ostream& operator<<(std::ostream& os, const Foo& f)
    {
        return os << f.a_ << " " << f.b_ << " " << f.c_ << " " << f.d_ << " ";
    }
};

int main()
{
    constexpr Foo f = Foo{}.SetB(5).SetA(2);
    std::cout << f;
}

Live Example using Clang 3.4 SVN trunk with std=c++1y.
I'm not sure if classes with 30 parameters are a good idea (Single Responsiblity Principle and all that) but at least the above code scales linearly in the number of setters, with only 1 argument per setter. Note also that there are only 2 constructors: the default one (which takes its arguments from the in-class initializers) and the full one which takes 30 ints in your ultimate case).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Siasat.com/Kashmir/One killed, 20 injured in road accident on Jammu-Srinagar NH
One killed, 20 injured in road accident on Jammu-Srinagar NH
IANS| Posted by Neha | Published: 4th January 2022 6:58 pm IST
Jammu: One person was killed and 20 others were injured in a road accident on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Tuesday.
Police sources said a bus, carrying tourists from Uttar Pradesh, turned turtle inside the Banihal-Qazigund tunnel today afternoon.
The accident occurred as the driver of the bus lost control over the vehicle, police sources said.
"Driver of the bus died on the spot while 20 passengers inside the bus were injured. The injured were shifted to hospital in Qazigund town", the police sources said.
Reports said the bus was proceeding to Kashmir Valley from Katra after the passengers paid obeisance at the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.
injured Jammu and Kashmir Road accident
Get the news updates on WhatsApp & Telegram by subscribing to our channels. For all the latest Kashmir updates, download our app Android and iOS.


This single malt whiskey is made using 100% malted barley grown and malted in Michigan. The locally sourced malt is a proprietary product called Peanut Butter Toast Malt, which is produced by Pilot Malt House. Part of the grain bill used is smoked using cherry wood.


text:
Q: NSTableCellView subclass for disclosure button like in Console.app In my NSTableView, I'd like to have cells like Console.app: with a disclosure triangle button on left to expand the line if text is truncated.
Someone advised me to subclass NSTableCellView, but after few tries, I'm lost between programming and IB.
Can someone show me the pseudo code for the display of this button ? (Then the delegate and actions to resize the line will be another matter ...)


Accoring to the US Census Bureau, "Vaugh" ranked #41,203 in frequency out of 151,671 surnames for which statistics were released from the 2000 Census. 499 people, or approximately 1 in every 540,605 individuals in the US had this surname in 2000.
Accoring to the US Census Bureau, "Vaugh" ranked #17,096 in frequency out of 88,799 surnames for which statistics were released from the 1990 Census. Approximately 1 in every 100,000 individuals in the US had this surname in 1990.
Histopolis currently has 5 grave(s) with the surname "Vaugh".
Search the Histopols Grave Index for the surname "Vaugh".
Surnames that Sound Like "Vaugh"
The surname "Vaugh" has a Soundex code of V200. The following 283 surname(s) may sound similar to "Vaugh" since they share the same Soundex code.


text:
River Publishers Series in Communications and Networking
The Road to the Future Wireless Technologies 2030
Paulo Sergio Rufino Henrique, Spideo, France; CTIF Global Capsule, Department of Business Development and Technology and Aarhus University, Herning Denmark
Ramjee Prasad, CTIF Global Capsule, Department of Business Development and Technology; Aarhus University, Herning Denmark
Available: March 2021
Quantity -
Additional Stories Open Access
Since the launch of Second-Generation Networks (2G), planning for each future mobile service was initiated many years before its commercial launch. In 2019, 5G Networks begun to be deployed commercially after almost ten years of planning. Similarly, the race for the 6G wireless networks that will be operational in 2030 has already started. To fulfill its potential in the upcoming decade, 6G will undoubtedly require an architectural orchestration based on the amalgamation of existing solutions and innovative technologies. The book will begin by evaluating the state of the art of all current mobile generations' while looking into their core building blocks. 6G implementation will require fundamental support from Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning on the network's edge and core, including a new Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum. The 6G use cases will require advanced techniques for enabling the future wireless network to be human-centric, ensuring enhanced quality of experience (QoE) for most of its applications. The concept of Human Bond Communication Beyond 2050 (Knowledge Home) and Communication, Navigation, Sensing, and Services (CONASENSE) will also profit from future wireless communication. Terahertz domains will exploit the ultra-Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output Antennas (UM-MIMO) technologies to support Terabits' data throughputs.
Moreover, optical wireless communications (OWC) will also come into play to support indoor and outdoor high-data rates. Further expansion of 6G core entities will support the novel concept of Society 5.0. Quantum computing processing and communications is also likely to be added into the 6G ecosystem with security managed by blockchain orchestration for a robust network.
B5G, 6G, Future Wireless Networks, AI, ML, RF Terahertz, Graphene, UM-MIMO, SDGs, Society 5.0, Quantum Communications, Holographic Communications, Knowledge Home, CONASENSE, EESDG.
Additional Stories Open Access:
The book '6G The Road to the Future Wireless Networks 2030' by Paulo Sergio Rufino Henrique and Prof Ramjee Prasad was featured by Forbes Brazil, as the "first book on the future 6G network". https://forbes.com.br/forbes-tech/2021/04/receita-do-e-commerce-europeu-deve-atingir-us-465-bilhoes-em-2021-clearlake-capital-oystr-receiv-ao-cubo-muito-mais/


text:
VEUNCLE GRIZZARD
Game Name: CA$H 5 Purchased-city: GARY Game Won: 7/24/2020 Amount Won: $312,822 Veuncle Grizzard from Gary, IN won a $312,822 jackpot prize on CA$H 5
Veuncle Grizzard enjoys playing draw games where she can pick her numbers, especially CA$H 5. She has been playing the same numbers for about three and a half years, and they have a special meaning to her because they represent her two children's birthdays. Veuncle was especially excited to win a $312,822 jackpot prize on CA$H 5 using those numbers. Veuncle is currently in nursing school and graduates this August. One day after reading and highlighting materials for her homework, she scanned her winning CA$H 5 ticket while she was sitting at her desk. The Hoosier Lottery app alerted her as to how much she had won, and she immediately started crying. After a few minutes of processing what had just happened, she called her 19-year-old daughter. When Veuncle told her daughter the news, her daughter was so excited that she started screaming and immediately wanted to see her mom and the winning ticket. With the prize money, Veuncle wants to finally buy her first home and buy her daughter a car. Congratulations Veuncle!
CA$H 5 Overall Odds 1 in 11
Please play responsibly. Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-994-8448.


Abdul al Salam al Hilal is a 51-year-old citizen of Yemen. As of January 2010, the Guantánamo Review Task Force had recommended him for continued detention. As of April 25, 2019, he has been held at Guantánamo for 14 years seven months.


If you're looking for the ultimate in temptation I've picked out my very favourite fashion pieces on Pinterest.
I love looking for new styles, different ways to style great pieces I already have, and dreamy "If I had a million dollars" pieces.
I also love that it shows what my real style is…so I won't get distracted when I go shopping and find something that realistically, I'll never wear.
Hey Ingrid, I see you have a twitter account, do you tweet all your new posts?
Hi Gib, Yes we do!


text:
Q: Escaping out of text field based search bar I have a menu bar with a search-bar that is implemented with a JTextField like this:
public class Ui_Frame {
    private static JFrame f;
    private static DrawPanel drawPanel;

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SwingUtilities.invokeLater(Ui_Frame::createAndShowGUI);
    }

    private static void createAndShowGUI() {

        f = new JFrame("Frame");
        drawPanel = new DrawPanel(); //A class that extends JPanel where I draw

        JMenuBar menubar = new JMenuBar();
        JMenu j_menu_data = new JMenu("Data");
        JTextField j_menu_searchfield = new JTextField();
        j_menu_searchfield.setSize(new Dimension(100,20));
        menubar.add(j_menu_data);
        menubar.add(j_menu_searchfield);
        f.setJMenuBar(menubar);
        f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        f.add(drawPanel);
        f.pack();
        f.setVisible(true);
   }
}

I have KeyListeners for the DrawPanel class, these work just fine. The problem is that when I add the search bar JTextField to the menu bar as above, everything I write is being written to the text field and my key listeners do not trigger. I cannot "get out" of the text field, so If I click inside the area where I am drawing all the keys I press are still put into the text field.
I have tried getFocus() for the DrawPanel but to no avail.
How to solve this?
EDIT:
DrawPanel class so you have all the classes you need to run it:
public class DrawPanel extends JPanel {
    public DrawPanel() {
        addKeyListener(new CustomKeyListener());
        this.setBackground(new Color(220,220,220));
        setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.black));
        setFocusable(true);
        setVisible(true);
    }

    public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
        return new Dimension(500, 500);
    }

    protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D) g;
        super.paintComponent(g2D);
    }

    class CustomKeyListener implements KeyListener {
        @Override
        public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
            if (e.getKeyChar() == KeyEvent.VK_SPACE) {
                System.out.println("Pressed SPACE");
            }

        }
        @Override
        public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) { }
        @Override
        public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) { }
    }
}

A: When you launch your Swing application, the JTextField initially has the keyboard focus. You know this because you see the cursor flashing inside the JTextField.
Clicking on the DrawPanel with the mouse does not transfer the keyboard focus to the DrawPanel. You know this because after clicking the mouse inside the DrawPanel, the cursor is still flashing inside the JTextField.
You can transfer the keyboard focus from the JTextField to the DrawPanel by hitting the TAB key on the keyboard since that is the default focus traversal key. You know that the JTextField no longer has keyboard focus because there is no flashing cursor in it.
If you really want the DrawPanel to gain keyboard focus by clicking the mouse in it, you can add a MouseListener to DrawPanel, as demonstrated in the below code which is essentially your code (for class DrawPanel) with a MouseListener added.
Note that I did not change class Ui_Frame.
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.event.KeyEvent;
import java.awt.event.KeyListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;

import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JPanel;

public class DrawPanel extends JPanel implements MouseListener {
    public DrawPanel() {
        addKeyListener(new CustomKeyListener());
        addMouseListener(this);
        this.setBackground(new Color(220,220,220));
        setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.black));
        setFocusable(true);
        setVisible(true);
    }

    public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
        return new Dimension(500, 500);
    }

    protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
        Graphics2D g2D = (Graphics2D) g;
        super.paintComponent(g2D);
    }

    class CustomKeyListener implements KeyListener {
        @Override
        public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
            if (e.getKeyChar() == KeyEvent.VK_SPACE) {
                System.out.println("Pressed SPACE");
            }
        }

        @Override
        public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) { }

        @Override
        public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) { }
    }

    @Override
    public void mouseClicked(MouseEvent mouseEvent) {
        System.out.println(this.requestFocusInWindow());
    }

    @Override
    public void mousePressed(MouseEvent mouseEvent) {
    }

    @Override
    public void mouseReleased(MouseEvent mouseEvent) {
    }

    @Override
    public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent mouseEvent) {
    }

    @Override
    public void mouseExited(MouseEvent mouseEvent) {
    }
}

Note that method requestFocusInWindow() returns true if it succeeds.


text:
Home > News Bullets > How Deep Tech Startup Eder AI Is Building AI Solutions With Protected Privacy
How Deep Tech Startup Eder AI Is Building AI Solutions With Protected Privacy
3 March 2019 11:11 PM GMT
Applying any machine learning technique requires huge amounts of data. And with the human-machine interaction on the rise in speech technologies, chatbots and photo gallery organisers, among others, there is an immediate need to protect the privacy of the data owners. In this age of data protection, a deep tech startup called Eder AI is?
Today, the data owners have to relinquish absolute control over their data to whatever organisation's servers they upload it to.
Limitation, because there are many industries, organisations, and even the people, who can generate valuable data that can solve much bigger problems, like curing diseases, better governance, better distribution of resources, and advance research in all fields in general; but since this data could be very sensitive in nature, the owners are sceptical about sharing it with third parties.
It defines a set of working rules for an organisation to collaborate with an AI service provider, to make use of the organisation's data without revealing it to the AI vendor.
In future, the fluid protocol plans to enable collaborations between multiple organisations, that can all use their data without revealing it to each other, and train a much better AI.
Its long-term goals are to build technologies and frameworks for all aspects of privacy-preserving AI, as a part of which are multiple technologies like differential privacy, federated learning, multi-party computation and homomorphic encryption.
AI service provider,
AI startups/service providers,
Analytics India Magazine,
Brain-Computer Interface,
Cornell,
Deep Neural Network,
Eder AI,
Fluid protocol,
Protected Privacy


text:
Q: Does vuexfire have a problem with reactivity? I thought there was a bug in vue dev tools, but now I'm wondering if vuexfire has a bug with reactivity?
Clearly the mutations are firing ...

However, the state is always at 0 length at vue dev tools.

BUT, console.log shows that it did pull down my two records from firebase

It also has an issue with my user details (such as name) which do NOT set off the reactive chain and update the getters once the data is pulled down into vuex (the object is also empty in vue dev tools, while data is shown in console.log()). Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


Abstract: The indoor test bed of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory has been used to create a control system for a small fixed pitch helicopter. This paper outlines the challenges posed by such a vehicle and the control system designed to overcome them. The control system utilized a visual tracking system to obtain state information without onboard hardware. Matlab/Simulink environment was used to facilitate rapid prototyping control development. An autopilot consisting of multi-channel PID controllers was implemented for flight tests. Failsafe strategies and gain scheduling were both investigated and implemented with the use of a graphical user interface. A number of flight tests were conducted and the results are provided. The future work of the laboratory is also covered.
Description: This is a conference paper [©IEEE]. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.


Find real estate listings in Oklahoma. Homes for sale include Listings in the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), Foreclosed Homes, New Homes, and Condos. Click an area below for a list of cities.
Oklahoma was the 46th state to be added to the United States of America on November 16st , 1907.
The name Oklahoma comes from Choctaw meaning "red people" and is sometimes referred to by its nickname, The Sooner State. Oklahoma is located between the Ozark Plateau in the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Plains. Oklahoma is bordered by New Mexico to the far west, Arkansas and Missouri to the east, Kansas to the north, Colorado to the northwest, and Texas to the southwest.
Oklahoma City is the state capital.
Oklahoma has a very diverse geography and has over 10 separate ecological regions. The Mountain ranges are Arbuckle Mountains, Ozark Mountains, Ouachita Mountains, and the Wichita Mountains.
Oklahoma is home to Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team.
Search for Oklahoma New Homes and new home communities from America's premier builders.
Find Oklahoma Foreclosed Homes in your area and save up to 50%. Search now!
Check Oklahoma home prices and view Oklahoma Real Estate on HomeGain.
Search Oklahoma City homes for sale to view current real estate listings, find Oklahoma City real estate for sale in the MLS, and check Oklahoma City home prices, including recent home sales and nearby sales.
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Search Norman homes for sale to view current real estate listings, find Norman real estate for sale in the MLS, and check Norman home prices, including recent home sales and nearby sales.
If you are planning to buy a home or sell a home, use HomeGain to view Oklahoma homes for sale. HomeGain has the most complete index of Oklahoma real estate listings on the web to help you find a home or get a sense of current Oklahoma property values. Our listings include Oklahoma houses for sale, condos, Oklahoma new homes and foreclosures. In many areas, we give you direct access to homes for sale on the Oklahoma Multiple Listings Services (MLS), the source real estate agents use to view real estate listings. HomeGain makes home buying and home selling simple, providing you direct access to the most current, complete list of Oklahoma houses for sale, over 1 million homes for sale nationwide.


Brainwash Magazine behind the scenes… | Do you want to help create a better magazine for teen girls?
What's it like working to create Brainwash Magazine? Exciting. There's emails coming in all day, the Facebook and Pozible Crowdfunding pages to maintain, let along all the work involved in preparing every aspect of a magazine! I guess it's also pretty hectic.
I thought I'd share some photos with you to show you what I've been up to and how the Brainwash Office is looking.
Below is a picture of my desk while working to create 'paper people'. They are made from old women's magazines. The point of making them is that even when you pair together all the 'desirable' body parts shown on women in magazines, they don't form a hyper-attractive person but someone who looks a bit odd. Beauty isn't in our perfectly symmetrical lips or the pairing of that woman's hips with that other woman's thighs, but in our imperfections. They are what make us unique and they are what we should be celebrating rather than lusting after the appearance of others.
Next is a picture of one of my mood boards. It's where I pin up things I see in magazines that I dislike or am insulted by. This will help me a lot in making sure inappropriate content doesn't slip into Brainwash Magazine.
This one is next to one of my piles of women's magazines – yes it's almost taller than I am! I've got over 300 magazines stored in the Brainwash office and I refer to them constantly.. The pile shown here is less than half of them.
This is one of the collages I made recently to demonstrate how often women's weight is mentioned and commented on in magazines. There is such a massive focus on losing weight and looking 'better' all the time… I don't know how the magazines are supposed to make me feel good about myself.


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package com.google.api.codegen.transformer;

import com.google.api.codegen.config.FieldConfig;

public interface FeatureConfig {

  /** Returns true if generated types are supported for resource name fields. */
  boolean resourceNameTypesEnabled();

  /**
   * Returns true if resourceNameTypesEnabled() is true, and the field config provided has a
   * resource name format option, and is configured to use it.
   */
  boolean useResourceNameFormatOption(FieldConfig fieldConfig);

  /** Returns true if mixin APIs are supported. */
  boolean enableMixins();

  /** Returns true if streaming APIs are supported. */
  boolean enableGrpcStreaming();

  /** Returns true if string format functions are supported. */
  boolean enableStringFormatFunctions();
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
package com.github.gbleux.hostsmerge.address.rewrite;

import org.junit.Test;

import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;

public class AddressRewriteTest
{
    @Test
    public void testDefaultRewrite()
    {
        AddressRewrite instance1 = new DefaultAddressRewrite();
        AddressRewrite instance2 = new DefaultAddressRewrite(true);

        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance1.rewrite("0.0.0.0"));
        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance1.rewrite("127.0.0.1"));
        assertEquals("1.2.3.4", instance1.rewrite("1.2.3.4"));

        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance2.rewrite("0.0.0.0"));
        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance2.rewrite("127.0.0.1"));
        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance2.rewrite("1.2.3.4"));
    }

    @Test
    public void testLoopbackRewrite()
    {
        AddressRewrite instance1 = new LoopbackAddressRewrite();
        AddressRewrite instance2 = new LoopbackAddressRewrite(false, true);

        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance1.rewrite("0.0.0.0"));
        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance1.rewrite("127.0.0.1"));
        assertEquals("1.2.3.4", instance1.rewrite("1.2.3.4"));

        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance2.rewrite("0.0.0.0"));
        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance2.rewrite("127.0.0.1"));
        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance2.rewrite("1.2.3.4"));
    }

    @Test
    public void testNoRewrite()
    {
        AddressRewrite instance = new NoAddressRewrite();

        assertEquals("0.0.0.0", instance.rewrite("0.0.0.0"));
        assertEquals("127.0.0.1", instance.rewrite("127.0.0.1"));
        assertEquals("1.2.3.4", instance.rewrite("1.2.3.4"));
    }
}


The Rane SC-1.7 is a security cover for single rack space equipment. Simply mount it over the face of your device to prevent further changes to the interface.
Once you've rack mounted the 19 Inch unit, all you have to do is remove the upperleft and lower-right rack mounting screws. Then place the security cover over the unit and reinstall the rack-mounting screws and your Unit is safe from any type of intrusion.


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Pelviperineology: a new life
10.34057/PPj.2020.39.04.001
GIUSEPPE DODI
Pelviperineology 2020;39(4):105-106
Dear Readers of Pelviperineology,
With the first issue of the 2021, Chief Editor of Pelviperineology will be Professor Jacob Bornstein, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Galilee Medical Center - Nahariya, Israel.
Leaving the direction of the journal brings me a mixture of emotions: sadness for the abandonment of a creature that I gave birth to about ten years after my graduation, and followed for 39 years, a complete abandonment is not, really, because I commit myself to continue to assist the Chief Editor, relief because the work becomes more and more burdensome and the tasks to lead to an inclusion in the most authoritative indexes of the journal is increasingly complex, and finally confident hope for the awareness that the person who takes the leadership has the desire, the ability and the authority for a decisive improvement and a radical change in the journal's long history.
As reported in an editorial of 2007, Pelviperineology1, albeit at the margins of the great international scientific publishing, has experienced all the phases of evolution or revolution that involved both the scientific press and the medical art of the study of functions and pelvic floor dysfunctions in all three compartments. Personally I started with the colorectal surgery and proctology, but in the 90s I perceived, thanks to contacts with the urologist at the University of Padua Walter Artibani, the need to have an integrated view of the entire pelvic floor.2,3 In the first decade of the 2000s, the contact with Bruce Farnsworth and Peter Petros opened me to the study and surgical practice of urogynecology, thus getting the feeling of becoming a pioneer surgeon in complete pelvic floor surgery after having contributed, in my thirty previous years, to the spread of proctology in Italy thanks to the foresight of the publisher Piccin who produced in many thousands of copies and in various editions my vast treatise on Coloproctology, and of an Italian company of medical devices that still exports throughout the world disposable instruments that, for the sole interest in research, I designed and helped to produce.
In recent decades, surgery of the anterior urological compartment has seen the triumph of the Integral Theory with the treatment of urinary incontinence with the slings proposed by Petros and Ulmsten, while the use of prosthetic materials has made a fundamental contribution to the correction of genital prolapses. In the colo-rectal-anal practice, the use of staplers has represented, as well as the laparoscopic approach, a revolutionary element in an almost centenary surgery, but in the strictly pelvi-proctological conditions it has raised many quite critical issues, linked above all to the commercial pressure for an expensive surgery, not infrequently abusive, and of questionable impact in a field where the knowledge of physiopathology is still inadequate to understand the clinic. As always in science however everything, as most of the above described proposed solutions, is questioned and the current debate is promising for a definitive progress, mainly for the benefit of patients.
In the editorial field with cultural, political, commercial and obviously scientific information, we have witnessed and are witnessing an evolution that seems to upset and often overwhelm bases that may initially appear stable. The epochal changes of the past that we are now aware of, correspond to personal memories made of a mixture of regret, fear and hope, similar to the feelings we experience now with the innovative proposals of the scientific media or of the new therapies.
In the last decade, the journal has had a double circulation, both in print and online on its website www.pelviperineology.org and www.pelviperineologia.it for an Italian edition. Today it counts almost exclusively on diffusion on the web. Its large indexation is a must that constitutes the main objective of the new management.
My gratitude is very great to Professor Peter Petros who in recent years has supported the journal with his encouragement, his international relations and his scientific contributions, to Doctor Maurizio Spella who created the editorial platform www.isubmit.it, essential for the global management of the journal, to the Publisher Galenos who accepted a commitment that my strength alone could no longer support and is of help in the international diffusion of Pelviperineology, and lastly, but in this moment of passing the baton certainly more important of all, towards Professor Jacob Bornstein who agreed to be Chief Editor in this challenging adventure.
It is possible that a different name may be given to the journal, emphasizing in its title, for example, the importance and interest in pelviperineal pain, one of the most important topics in pelvic floor medicine. The aging of populations and the quality of life of many elderly people who too often spend many hours of their days in dirty diapers due to fecal incontinence and find it difficult to make their voices heard because they are relegated to retirement homes, must represent a great call to the study and proposal for solutions that still sink into the mysterious systems of our body. Fecal incontinence for many reasons, some obvious, has not yet received from the scientific community the attention it deserves due to its clinical and social importance. And this should be a commitment and a responsibility for the pelviperineological science which in principle must see the person in his entirety, from the brain, to the heart, to the sphincters, and not only the latter. In this sense the collaboration is needed by the entire Editorial Board (in particular I call my colleagues colorectal surgeons and proctologists to action) and by the more active members of the ISPP, to express interest and passion for a project that continues to attract "painful" questions from patients, proposals for resources and curiosity of the most intelligent people. We must not forget that the pelvic floor represents the field of action not only for urologists, gynecologists and colorectal surgeons\proctologists, but also for many other specialists in imaging, psychology, geriatrics, rehabilitation, pharmacology, physiatry, etc. The involvement of everyone is indispensable, as in the clinical practice also for the success of the journal and for the goodness and usefulness of the fruits it can produce.
This issue of Pelviperineology reflects the multidisciplinary nature of the journal. There are innovative articles and didactic contributions in the fields of urology, gynecology, proctological surgery, diagnostic imaging, with the comment of different specialists, and this absolutely represents the mission of the journal.
Editorial. The history of the journal. Pelviperineology 2007; 26: 2-3.
Artibani W, Benvenuti F, Di Benedetto P, Dodi G, Milani R. Staging of female urinary incontinence and pelvic floor disorders. Proposal of IPGH system. Urodinamica, Neurourol Urodyn Continence 1996; 6:1-5.
Farnsworth B, Dodi G. Short-IPGH system for assessment of pelvic floor disease. Pelviperineology 2007; 26:73-7.
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Home / Middle East Studies / Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda
Look Inside Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda
Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda
François Burgat
Translated byPatrick Hutchinson
Bringing the author's decades of expertise to the complex dialogues that have marked the post-9/11 world, Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda deliver
Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda quantity
Bringing the author's decades of expertise to the complex dialogues that have marked the post-9/11 world, Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda delivers much-needed clarity and historical perspective. In Burgat's eyes, most of the west's political and media rhetoric has only fueled al-Qaeda's case, revealing a woeful lack of comprehension regarding the violent authoritarianism that divides the Middle East and creates a breeding ground for terrorism. Islamism in the Shadow of al-Qaeda provides a primer of the three eras of political Islam, from the 1928 founding of the Muslim Brothers to the rise of post-colonial dictatorships and the growth of radicalism. Offering a new roadmap for stability, Burgat bridges the ideologies— political, religious, and cultural—that must be traversed if the deadly sectarianism is to be superseded. "Burgat's book delivers the keys to the writings of Azzam, Zawahiri, and bin Laden." —Le Monde Diplomatique "Unlike his contemporaries, Burgat doesn't give in to the media-talk that surrounds us. . . . With his immense historic and sociological background, he offers us a complete, panoramic view of that Arabic Other. . . . Few know the Arab Muslim world better than Burgat." —Politis
François Burgat is director of research at the National Center for Scientific Research in France and teaches political science at the Institute for Research on the Arab and Muslim World. His many previous books include The Islamic Movement in North Africa, with William Dowell.
Islamism in the Shadow of Al-Qaeda Reviews
"Burgat's book delivers the keys to the writings of Azzam, Zawahiri, and bin Laden."—Le Monde Diplomatique. "Unlike his contemporaries, Burgat doesn't give in to the media-talk that surrounds us. . . . With his immense historic and sociological background, he offers us a complete, panoramic view of that Arabic Other. . . . Few know the Arab Muslim world better than Burgat."—Politis.
A Convergence of Civilizations
The Transformation of Muslim Societies around the World
Yousef Courbage
Emmanuel Todd
Leaving aside the media's sound and fury on the conflict between the west and the Islamic world, measured analysis shows another reality taking shape: rapprochement between these two civilizations, benefiting from a universal movement with roots in the Enlightenment. The historical and geographical sweep of this book discredits the notion of a specific Islamic demography. The range of fertility among Muslim women, for example, is as varied as religious behavior among Muslims in general. Whether agnostics, fundamentalist Salafis, or al-Qaeda activists, Muslims are a diverse group that prove the variety and individuality of Islam. Youssef Courbage and Emmanuel Todd consider different degrees of literacy, patriarchy, and defensive reactions among minority Muslim populations, underscoring the spread of massive secularization throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Sensitive to demographic variables and their reflection of personal and social truths, Courbage and Todd upend a dangerous meme: that we live in a fractured world close to crisis, struggling with an epidemic of closed cultures and minds made different by religion.
1 map, 8 graphs, 10 tables
Access to Knowledge in Egypt
New Research on Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Development
Edited by Nagla Rizk
Lea Shaver
The global economy is increasingly dominated by the production of knowledge goods and by struggles for control over information. This book provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing efforts to promote access to knowledge in Egypt. The essays, written by leaders in the field, favor a deeper understanding of how the production of information, innovation, culture, and knowledge affects the core of human development and human rights. Combining both theoretical and empirical approaches, the work will be of interest to scholars and practitioners dealing with intellectual property and innovation the world over. Contributors: Ahmed Abdel Latif, Hossam Bahgat, Jack Balkin, Sherif El-Kassas, Sherif Kamel, Nagla Rizk, Lea Shaver, Rebecca Wright.
Cairo Cosmopolitan
Politics, Culture, and Urban Space in the New Globalized Middle East
Edited by Diane Singerman
Paul Amar
Bringing together a distinguished interdisciplinary group of scholars, this volume explores what happens when new forms of privatization meet collectivist pasts, public space is sold off to satisfy investor needs and tourist gazes, and the state plans for Egypt's future in desert cities while stigmatizing and neglecting Cairo's popular neighborhoods. These dynamics produce surprising contradictions and juxtapositions that are coming to define today's Middle East. The original publication of this volume launched the Cairo School of Urban Studies, committed to fusing political-economy and ethnographic methods and sensitive to ambivalence and contingency, to reveal the new contours and patterns of modern power emerging in the urban frame. Contributors: Mona Abaza, Nezar AlSayyad, Paul Amar, Walter Armbrust, Vincent Battesti, Fanny Colonna, Eric Denis, Dalila ElKerdany, Yasser Elsheshtawy, Farha Ghannam, Galila El Kadi, Anouk de Koning, Petra Kuppinger, Anna Madoeuf, Catherine Miller, Nicolas Puig, Said Sadek, Omnia El Shakry, Diane Singerman, Elizabeth A. Smith, Leïla Vignal, Caroline Williams.
80 b/w illus., 21 tables, 2 maps
Civil Society Exposed
The Politics of NGOs in Egypt
Maha Abdelrahman
Is the concept of civil society relevant to social and political change? What is the role of its most well-known agents, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in promoting emancipatory projects? Maha Abdelrahman analyses the empirical case of Egyptian 'civil society' in order to ascertain whether the experience of civil society organisations, and of NGOs in particular, validates the contention prevalent in academic and policy circles that civil society is the main engine for social and political transformation. The author concludes that civil society, far from constituting this engine, is a politically contested terrain characterised by authoritarian and repressive tendencies.


text:
Australian Government intellectual property rules
The Australian Government has a lot of IP to protect, and all government agencies are responsible for managing the IP they produce.
Government use of copyright material
Published 7th Dec 2015
The Copyright Act 1968 sets out a government use statutory licence. Under this licence, the Australian Government is allowed to use whatever copyright material it needs, for official purposes
Consumer safeguards
Published 30th Apr 2015
The Government's approach to consumer safeguards...
Carrier powers and immunities
Telecommunications companies have some powers to enter land and install and maintain some types of telecommunications facilities, and some immunities from some state and territory legislation.
Telecommunications Act Parts 7 and 8 requirements and exemptions
Published 15th Aug 2018
Parts 7 and 8 of the Telecommunications Act 1997 apply to:...
Telecommunications self-regulation
Industry self-regulation minimises government intervention, reducing costs and promoting industry compliance....
Rules for carriers and service providers
A carrier needs a licence from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to operate facilities if they are used to supply telecommunications services to the public. Such facilities...
A competitive telecommunications regime for Australia
Australia's telecommunications industry operates in an environment of full and open competition. Entry to all telecommunications markets is open with minimal entry and ongoing operational...
Online content regulation
Illegal and offensive online content is regulated through the Online Content Scheme under Schedule 5 and 7 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 through a complaints-based mechanism. The Scheme is...
Anti-siphoning
The anti-siphoning scheme aims to give free-to-air broadcasters a chance to show major events included on an anti-siphoning list....
Telecommunications in new developments
Did you know that checking what telecommunications infrastructure is available is an important step before buying or building your new home?
Marrakesh Treaty for people with print disability
Australia was among the first 20 countries to join the Marrakesh Treaty, which came into force on 30 September 2016. The Treaty is an international agreement that will help an estimated 285 million...
What is Dial Before You Dig?...
Exemption from the pit and pipe requirements
Published 20th Jan 2020
The Minister has exempted certain types of developments in rural and remote areas from the requirements to install fibre-ready pit and pipe under Part 20A of the Telecommunications Act 1997.
Copyright (1) Apply Copyright filter
Television (1) Apply Television filter


text:
HomeCheltenham Branch
Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Branch currently meet in Gloucester.
UKIP members debate Brexit at Cheltenham's Exmouth Arms hosted by ITV News At Ten
UKIP members from Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury branch hit the News At Ten in mid-March as ITV came to Cheltenham. The television crew, who were in town for the Cheltenham races, gathered a group of Leave and Remain voters to watch the meaningful vote which took place in the House of Commons on 12th March.
Richard Ford, branch and regional Chairman, and social media officer Rachel Fraser were joined by Reece Coombes, south west Chairman of UKIP's Young Independents, who travelled from Somerset.
UKIP members at the ITV evening in Cheltenham
The evening took place in the Exmouth Arms on Cheltenham's Bath Road, where a big screen was set up and refreshments provided. The vote – on Teresa May's withdrawal agreement – was watched anxiously by all, and the relief when the agreement was rejected seemed general. Individual interviews by the television crew followed, which led into a general discussion on Brexit. As you can imagine, a frank exchange of views took place between Leave and Remain, but the atmosphere remained respectful, and all parties were able to express their opinions. Leavers were represented by the three UKIP members and one Conservative, and the UKIP members were all pleased to have their views included in the final edit which hit televisions across the nation. Watch a clip.
UKIP behind the scenes with ITV at the Exmouth Arms, Cheltenham
Cheltenham Remembers the Fallen
UKIP Adopt Parliamentary Candidates for Cheltenham, Tewkesbury & Gloucester
UKIP set to Adopt Parliamentary Candidate for Cheltenham
Cheltenham Bags Brexit!


Who called to say, "Come dance with me," and murmured vague obscenities.
It isn't all it seems at seventeen.
Said, "Pity, please, the ones who serve; they only get what they deserve.
The rich relationed hometown queen marries into what she needs.
A guarantee of company and haven for the elderly."
Remember those who win the game lose the love they sought to gain.
And dreams were all they gave away for free to ugly duckling girls like me.
At ugly duckling girls like me at seventeen.
Thanks for correcting Ian Janis - At Seventeen lyrics!


text:
U.S. authorities prepare for possible covid outbreaks due to detection of Omicron strain
November 28, 2021 November 28, 2021 Tiffany Tompson	0 Comments	breaking news, breaking news today, Daily news, Headline news, joe biden news, Latest news, Latest news today, news headlines, News today, USA news today, USA TODAY, White House
The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is developing plans for possible outbreaks across the country due to the discovery of a strain of the Omicron coronavirus.
Although no cases of the new strain have been identified in the United States, Biden administration health officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House have held a series of meetings in the past two days to plan in case the strain has been identified in the United States and possible outbreaks across the country.
During the consultations, experts discussed "how long to close entry from southern Africa, whether to allow U.S. citizens to return, and whether to change health recommendations in the country." In addition, U.S. officials noted the need to "significantly increase the pace" of revaccination in the coming weeks.
Biden is familiar with the latest information on omicron. According to the statement, "High-ranking health officials and coronavirus experts are monitoring the latest on omicron and are in regular contact with health officials around the world."
← Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim dies
The winner of the election in India was a dead man →


text:
Home - Media
'Dark Shadows,' 'Cagney & Lacey' actor John Karlen dies
Emmy-winning character actor John Karlen, known for his roles on the television series "Dark Shadows" and "Cagney & Lacey," has died. Karlen died Wednesday of congestive heart failure at a hospice in Burbank, friend and family spokesman Jim Pierson said. Karlen played conman and scoundrel Willie Loomis, and later several other roles, on "Dark Shadows," the cult favorite horror soap that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971.
anti-abortion


- Free download as PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or read online for free.
In a culture such as Afghanistan where women are constantly being degraded and treated as property, one can imagine their emotional stability is far from being strong.
Ryan Ferkel Mrs. Reader Exploring Fiction 1/2/13 Literary Analysis of A Thousand Splendid Suns Growing up and living in Afghanistan as a woman has its challenges.
Free a thousand splendid suns papers, essays, and research papers.
2016-06-23 · Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers.
"An heirloom-breaking, clumsy little harami" (Hosseini 4), sets the tone for the beginning of Mariam's life throughout the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns.
© Best essays Essay writing | Essay examples A thousand splendid suns essay.


Seems as though, Jesus suggests that the Law and the Prophets point to him, refer to him, and concern him. Freestyle with me… What are your favorite Old Testament passages in which Jesus is seen emerging out of the text? Have you seen these scriptures that foreshadow either his birth, life (word and deed), death, or resurrection?


The South Coast Water District will seek board approval to spend $48,465 for a consultant to write applications for a loan to help fund a sewer tunnel stabilization project, a district staff report said.
The project, which will shore up an existing 2-mile-long underground tunnel and replace a sewer line in an area from Three Arch Bay north to Aliso Beach Park, is expected to cost up to $90 million, according to district officials. It will be paid for from a variety of sources, including reserves, operating revenues, loans and grants, according to district spokeswoman Linda Homscheid.
Three firms responded to a bid request from the district in July, and a district committee made up of the contracts officer and directors of finance and operations, evaluated the candidates and selected two to interview — Elan and Associates and Anderson Penna, the staff report said.
The committee recommended Anderson Penna because its rates are better — the firm's price was less than Elan and Associates' $73,000 — and in line with the expected scope of the work.
The project manager is a former city engineer and has experience managing and securing federal, state and local funds, including 14 state revolving fund loans, which offer low-interest financing for water quality projects.
District officials consider the 59-year-old tunnel unsafe, deteriorated and undersized and say it could break, releasing sewage onto the beach, according to a project description on the district's website.
The tunnel project is expected to account for 54% of the district's total capital improvement costs during the next six years, the staff report said.
The board meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday in Dana Point council chambers, 33282 Golden Lantern.
To help pay for the project, the board plans to review a consultant's recommendation that onetime hookup rates be decreased in conjunction with reduced water use, while onetime sewer connection rates be increased, Homscheid wrote in an email.
The district, which serves 40,000 full-time residents, including 2,000 in South Laguna, would boost rates to establish sewer connections for all its meters, including an increase from $15,020 to $21,444 for customers with 2-inch meters, Homscheid said.
Meter size corresponds with the size of the water pipe used, and the current rates have been in effect since November 2009, according to the report.
"These onetime charges apply to developers or a customer building a house," she said of the rates, also called capacity charges.
The proposed decrease for water hookups does not apply to 4-inch meters, which are used for large projects, such as hotels or hospitals, Homscheid said. So if a new hotel in town expects to use 20,000 gallons per day, then the cost now would be that number multiplied by $8.64. It's a one-time charge.


Prices incl. VAT Franco valid in metropolitan France until 31/07/2014.
You want to complete your laboratory equipment and your budget is defined for sort products by price: specify Pack in the search box and choose the laboratory concerned.
Copyright (C) 2008/14. All rights reserved.


text:
Local: 212-577-9231 Toll Free: 888-8WHISTL
Protections For Whistleblowers
Construction Contractor Fraud
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
False Claims Act FAQs
Federal False Claims Act Cases
Florida False Claims Act Cases
How Do I Know If I Have A Whistleblower Case?
Medicare Medicaid Fraud
New York State False Claims Cases
Other States With False Claim Acts
Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Upcoding False Billing Unnecessary Treatment
Long Island Pediatrics Practice
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Andrea Fischer
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What is Lincoln's law, and how did it come about?
▶ What is Lincoln's law, and how did it come about?
On behalf of Fischer Legal Group | May 1, 2017 | Commercial Litigation
One law that you may not be aware of but that has a major influence on the United States is Lincoln's law. This was the foundation for the current False Claims Act, an act that now plays a consistent role in U.S. history. A case, identified as Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel Escobar, is one brought against the company by an individual who claims that contractors have defrauded the government.
Whistleblowers have the potential to earn between 15 and 30 percent of the recovery after a case like this is won. Individuals with knowledge of fraud against the government receive this as a sort of incentive to bring forward information.
The main issue in the above case is whether or not a contractor is liable to a government if it implies a false certification instead of making an express false certification. Essentially, what happens if a contractor knows the goods aren't up to standard but makes no claim that they are?
This kind of action is why Lincoln's law was created to begin with. This law passed all the way back during the Civil War. Lincoln's law, or the False Claims Act, was created after the Union Army suffered from con-artist contractors who sold them unsuitable goods, like sawdust instead of gunpowder.
In the current case, the parents are the whistleblowers. They claim that their child was treated at Universal Health Services and received counseling from unqualified and unlicensed counselors despite Medicaid requirements. The company then billed the government in a way that made it appear that the individuals had licensing. As a result of the unlicensed care, the couple's child took her own life.
If you know of a company defrauding the government, you can file a False Claims Act lawsuit as well. Your attorney can help you get started.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "'Lincoln's law': The most important Supreme Court case under the radar," Harry Litman, accessed May 01, 2017
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receptive to the activities this year.
I was really happy and proud with Ayaan's artwork on his bird house. His drawing skills are limited. He can draw trucks and cars and that is what he drew. He did a really decent job. We went inside an ambulance and looked at all the different police cars. There was a balloon station where Aaliyah got a flower made and Ayaan got a sword and a belt. We bought some popcorn, visited a few more activity stations and then we called it a day.
Ayaan had a blast getting in and out of all the big vehicles and testing each and every button.


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Indonesian tin: the dirty secret behind Apple's and Samsung's smartphones
Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, Samsung : giants of the electronics industry ... who don't really seem to know from where some of their raw material comes from. Tin is essential for the welds in the electronic plates of smartphones or tablets. At the other end of the production line, in the Indonesian mines of Bangka which provide 30% of the world's tin, one person dies each week.
This article was originally published in French here. Translation : ℓу∂ιє gυĕzєηgαя.
40 : this is the number of metals contained in a smartphone. Among them: tin, which is used to make the welds. The global electronics industry uses about half of the world's supply of this precious commodity, and its needs are constantly increasing. Because of the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and others electronic gadgets, the race for innovation, low recycling rates and the short life span of these various devices.
30% of the tin currently used in the world comes from the Indonesian island of Bangka. Where working conditions are far from the comfort brought to us by high-tech applications. According to a report by Friends of the Earth in 2012, at least one person dies every week in the Bangka's mines. Even children are slaving away in these mines. On the environmental side, the situation is not brighter: 65% of forests are destroyed and more than 70% of the coral reefs are damaged. The pollution of rivers and of sea water has made fish disappear, forcing fishermen to give up fishing. And depriving local communities of valuable food resources.
Opacity of subcontracting
What do the major electronics brands have to say about this ? In November 2012, Friends of the Earth launched the campaign "Make IT better" asking electronics giants if they used, or not, tin from Bangka Island. Thousands of consumers have relayed their call, forcing Nokia, Sony, BlackBerry, Motorola and LG electronics to speak up. Either to admit sourcing tin from the Indonesian island, or to commit to finding ways of improving the conditions of tin extraction.
The "Make IT better" campaign also advocated for the implementation of new rules requiring companies to reveal the human and environmental costs of their sourcing methods. "The tin mining industry is an important subcontractor", said Blackberry, adding: "The effects on the environment and health risks of this industrial sector concern us", and promising to "do everything to improve the labour conditions of Indonesians.". Nokia (soon to be acquired by Microsoft) admits it ignores who among its subcontractors sources tin from the island of Bangka. "Considering we can not ascertain whether the raw materials used to manufacture our products come from responsibly extracted resources, from a social and environmental point of view, we are working to clarify the situation on the site." The South Korean Samsung refused to communicate on the subject. Do large groups not even know where they source tin?
Apple : "dirty hands, pockets full"
Apple - 95 million iPhones sold in 2011 - remains very discreet about the origin of the tin used by its subcontractors. This opacity contrasts with the commitments of the firm's CEO Tim Cook, who promised to make its supply chain more transparent... "Recent concerns about the illegal mining of tin from this region prompted Apple to lead a fact-finding visit to learn more (...) and to better understand the situation", reads the company's website. A lack of transparency which led the French Friends of the Earth to nominate Apple in the "Dirty hands, pockets full" category of the Pinocchio Awards. In 2012, sales of Apple's jumped 60%, to € 115 billion, and its profits rose by 40%. Thanks to Indonesians.
Electronic industries
Multinationals involved
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Affected countries
Unions and Climate Sharan Burrow: « If a company refuses to have a plan for decarbonisation and preserving jobs, ultimately they are targets for divestment. »
Report Finance lobby's risky plans for post-Brexit Europe exposed
The EU and the Corporate Impunity Nexus Treaty Report Case Studies
Fiscal optimisation Money flowing through tax havens and shady foundations, thanks to IKEA
World Cup Working conditions on construction sites in Qatar: the role of Bouygues and Vinci
Climate Naomi Klein: "If you can marry an economic justice agenda with climate action, people will fight for that future"
Puerto Antioquia: ¿irregularidades de gran calado? « Disputas de tierra ante la justicia
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Heat has waned in Natick, but feelings remain from Redmen debate
Charlie Breitrose/Daily News staff
May 2, 2010 at 12:01 AM May 2, 2010 at 2:05 AM
As Natick High School sports near the end of their second year as the Red and Blue, the fervor of the debate over the school's nickname has calmed down but both sides remain committed to their stance.
Around the halls of Natick High School, the nickname is not the topic of conversation it was two years ago, said Principal John Hughes. The focus has moved on to other things.
"The whole focus now is on the new school," Hughes said, speaking of the recently approved construction project. "Everyone is excited about it."
NHS class of 1997 graduate Erin Miller brought the issue of the Redmen name being offensive to American Indians to the attention of the School Committee in 2006 and asked to change the name. Back then, she said, she never thought such a long and heated battle would arise.
"The process was not at all what I thought would happen. When I approached the School Committee I thought it would be a much simpler process," Miller said. "I was really surprised about how much opposition there was, but the outcome - I knew that would happen."
In March 2007, the School Committee voted to stop using the Redmen name and take a year to decide on a new one.
Henry Haugland, a member of the School Committee that made the first vote, said he was convinced after hearing from American Indians about how they feel about the name.
"We heard so much input from so many Native Americans asking us to make the change, and that what we were doing was hurtful to them," Haugland said. "They asked us, would we please change it."
The news that Natick High School would change its nickname after more than 40 years upset many in town.
Erich Thalheimer, a 1980 NHS graduate and member of the Redmen Forever group, said he did not see the name as offensive, but rather honorific of Natick's history and tradition. He became involved in the debate, he said, because he saw the traditions of his hometown being changed in the name of political correctness.
The nickname debate encapsulated a larger issue in town, Thalheimer said.
"We were at a crossroads. Do we want to be a more traditional town, respectful of those who made and built the town, who may be of older age and less able to afford to live in town?" Thalheimer said. "Or, go more in a progressive direction, dare I say be a liberal town, and be more like one of the 'W' towns," such as Wellesley or Weston.
Opposition to the change grew and became organized and a pro-Redmen group placed a question on the ballot which would ask the School Committee to reconsider its vote to retire the name.
At the March 2008 town election, voters cast their ballots and 6,085 supported reconsideration of the name, the yes votes outnumbering the no votes about 2-1.
The debate over the nickname peaked in May 2008 when hundreds of people filled Wilson Middle School's auditorium to tell the School Committee what they thought should be done with the nickname.
The School Committee voted again the next month, and unanimously upheld the 2007 decision to retire the Redmen name.
Dirk Coburn, current School Committee chairman and member of the committee for both votes, said he realized then that some people would be upset either way, and likely remain so.
"We were in the situation where we were having need to make a decision and move on. There will be people with strong feelings who will be upset for the rest of their lives," Coburn said. "I think some people will feel that way, and I sort of see why. A lot of other people feel it was a good step forward."
Supporters and those in opposition see the second vote very differently.
Thalheimer said he and others who voted on the ballot measure wanted to keep the name. He does not think the School Committee gave the name a fair shot.
"They went through the charade of reconsideration, but the name was doomed with that group of School Committee members," Thalhemier said.
Haugland, who was no longer on the board for the second vote, said he believes the School Committee studied the issue thoroughly and came to its decision after much thought. He added that the ballot question did not direct the School Committee to overturn the first vote.
"The article put on the ballot suggested the School Committee reconsider the issue. They did reconsider the issue, they spent hours and days reconsidering the issue," Haugland said. "The School Committee considered all of the different people and took a unanimous vote to go ahead with what they had decided."
The teams were known as the Redmen until the end of the 2007-08 school year, although few uniforms reflected that, Hughes said.
Uniforms with Redmen "had been phased out when Jim Connolly was superintendent," Hughes said. "When the name changed, only two teams had Redmen left, including the home football shirt. The most important thing on the uniform is 'Natick.' That's what people are playing for."
With Redmen off the table, a task force was given the job of coming up with a new nickname and the decision came down to two choices: Red Hawks or Red and Blue. The tiebreaking vote was cast by Vice Principal Zach Galvin, who chose Red and Blue. At the meeting, he said he chose it because that was the Natick High nickname until the 1950s, when it changed to Redmen.
Superintendent Peter Sanchioni came to Natick after the issue was decided, so he has largely avoided the debate. He liked the selection of the Red and Blue.
"In a sense Red and Blue is a great solution," Sanchioni said. "We went back and honored Natick's past. We always try to honor and capitalize on Natick's rich history."
The name just does not inspire the same feelings for Thalheimer, although he acknowledged the historic significance.
"Red and Blue does nothing to motivate me," Thalheimer said. "To me, when you put red and blue together you get a bruise. It lacks a sense of courage, strength and bravery, all things that Redmen embodies."
Overall, Hughes said, the nickname controversy did not resonate as much with the students.
"It seemed to be more of an issue with alumni than students," Hughes said.
Thalheimer, whose son is a Natick High senior, agreed.
"The students didn't seem to have the same vested interest in saving the name as the voters," Thalheimer said. "The thing is, students didn't have a chance to grow up and understand what the name Redmen really meant."
While the pro-Redmen group did not save the name, it did galvanize the supporters, Thalheimer said.
"It brought like-minded people together for the first time to form Natick Forever," Thalheimer said. "It is certainly not a one-issue political action committee. We are more concerned with the direction of the town of Natick. It stems from the same concern from what we saw with the effort to get rid of Redmen name."
Jimmy Brown, co-chairman of Natick Forever and a founder of Redmen Forever, could not be reached for an interview.
As time has marched on, the heat of the debate has waned. Haugland said he is not surprised.
"You would have had to be delusional to think this would be at the top of people's radar for days and weeks and years," Haugland said. "Most people don't care, not to undermine that for some people this is a huge issue. Some feel grossly wronged."
Coburn said he believes the debate had its day, and now people have other things on their minds.
"My sense about why it dies down, is there are a lot of important things happening in the world," Coburn said. "Since that time, (Natick has) hired a new superintendent, we have gotten approval from voters for a new high school and made steps foward in education. You can't do those, and constantly be saying what's going on with our team name."
Although he said he will always be a Redman, Thalheimer too has softened his stance on the issue.
"I am more realistic two years later," he said. "I understand what happened to the name. I have stopped publicly arguing for reconsideration and going back to the Redmen name."
With a new nickname in place, Miller said she is glad to see the final outcome, despite the travails getting to that point.
"I am glad to see, even though there has been some opposition (to the name change), that it does seem for me that people are supportive of Natick High and the team," Miller said. "People have always been supportive of the students and the teams, and I am glad to see that continues."
(Charlie Breitrose can be reached at 508-626-3964 or cbreitro@cnc.com.)
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Home / City Manager / City Hall Hours & Holiday Schedule
City Hall Hours: Monday- Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Holiday Schedule for 2022/2023:
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About the Site Coordinators
New Jersey Education Policy Forum
A Collaborative Effort of NJ Education Policy Scholars
Buyer Beware: One Newark and the Market For Lemons
May 23, 2014 1:24 pm / 1 Comment on Buyer Beware: One Newark and the Market For Lemons
Mark Weber, PhD student, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education
PDF of Policy Brief: Weber_OneNewarkLemonsFINAL
The cost of dishonesty, therefore, lies not only in the amount by which the purchaser is cheated; the cost also must include the loss incurred from driving legitimate business out of existence.
– George A. Akerlof, The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism.
In his classic economics paper, Akerlof[1] addresses the problem of "asymmetrical information" in market systems. Using the used car market as an example, Akerlof shows that consumers who do not have good information about the quality of goods often get caught buying "lemons." This not only hurts the individual consumer; it damages the market as a whole, as honest consumers and producers refuse to participate, concerned that false information keeps consumers from distinguishing a good car from a "lemon."
The "school choice" movement is predicated on the idea that treating students and their families as "consumers" of education will introduce market forces into America's school systems and improve the quality of education for all.[2]
But what if those families must make their choices armed only with incomplete or faulty data? How can a market operate successfully when consumers suffer from an asymmetry of information?
This brief looks at one example of asymmetrical information in a school choice system: Newark, NJ, whose schools were recently restructured under a plan entitled One Newark.
Newark's schools have been under state control for nearly two decades; the elected school board only serves in an advisory capacity, making rapid, large-scale transformations much easier to facilitate. Under State Superintendent Cami Anderson, the district introduced One Newark, a plan that calls for students and their families to select a list of eight schools in order of preference for enrollment in the fall of 2014.
This author, in collaboration with Dr. Bruce D. Baker of Rutgers University and Dr. Joseph Oluwole of Montclair State University, has published several briefs analyzing One Newark's consequences.[3] Among our findings:
The plan affects a disproportionate number of black and low-income students, whose schools are more likely to close, to be turned over to charter management organizations (CMOs), or to be "renewed."
CMOs in Newark have little experience in educating demographically equivalent populations of students to the NPS schools; consequently, there is little evidence they will perform any better.
The statistical practices and models NPS has used to justify the classification of schools are fundamentally flawed.
This last point is of particular concern. The One Newark application[4] gives one of three ratings for each school a family may choose: "Great," "On The Move," or "Falling Behind." While the district does offer its own profiles of each school, and the NJ Department of Education does offer individual school profiles, it is likely that the ratings on the application will have the most influence on families' decisions.
If, however, these ratings suffer from the same defects we found in NPS's previous attempts to classify schools – the lack of accounting for student characteristics, poor statistical practice, and using flawed or incomplete measures, among other problems – families may have a disadvantage when attempting to make an informed choice.
To ascertain whether the One Newark application ratings make sense, I used a statistical modeling technique embraced by NPS itself: linear regression. Only schools reporting Grade 8 test scores were included. The model here uses four covariates the district acknowledges affect test score outcomes: free lunch eligibility, Limited English Proficiency (LEP) status, special education status, and race.[5] The percentage of each student subpopulation for each school is included in this model, along with a covariate for gender, which has been shown to have an effect on test-based outcomes. This model is quite robust: over three-quarters of the difference in test-based outcomes can be statistically explained by these five student population characteristics.
The outcome used here is the one preferred by NPS: scale scores on the English Language Arts (ELA) section of the NJASK, New Jersey's yearly statewide test. NPS averages this score across grade levels; however, as we have shown in our previous reports on One Newark, this is poor practice, as scale score means and distributions vary by grade.[6] I explore this problem more fully in the Appendix; for now, however, I accede to NPS and use their preferred measure, however flawed it may be.
When all five covariates are included in this model, they create a prediction of how a school will perform (relative to the other schools in Newark). We can then compare the predicted performance of the school with its actual performance. While not all of the difference can or should be attributed to the effectiveness of the school, this technique does allow us to compare the school's performance against prediction to how the district rated the school in the One Newark application.
Figure 1 shows the difference from prediction for Newark schools – both NPS and charters – and their rating under One Newark. Schools that are being closed or turned over to CMOs are included for comparison. This graph illustrates several important points:
While there are many schools labeled as "Falling Behind" that perform below prediction, there are several schools that perform above prediction. Miller St. and South 17th, in particular, perform especially well given their student population. Under what criteria does NPS find that these schools are "Falling Behind"?
Conversely, several schools that perform below prediction are rated as "On The Move" or "Great."
Only one charter school in the One Newark application is rated "Falling Behind" (University Heights, which did not report Grade 8 scores and is, therefore, not included in this analysis). But two charters in the application perform below prediction (Greater Newark and Great Oaks), and all except North Star[7] perform below Miller and South 17th.
Two other charters that perform below prediction – Robert Treat and Maria Varisco-Rogers – are not included in the One Newark application; these schools opted not to participate in the universal enrollment process.
Certainly, no school should be judged solely on one (flawed) metric. The point here, however, is that even by NPS's own questionable standards, the classification of schools under the One Newark rating system appears to be arbitrary and capricious.
To be fair, the One Newark application does state that the district did not use averaged scale scores as its sole measure of a school's effectiveness (to my knowledge, however, NPS has never publicly released a white paper or other document that outlines its precise methodology for rating schools). The district has also used median Student Growth Percentiles (mSGPs) to create its ratings.
SGPs, as measures of growth, are ostensibly measures that do not penalize schools for having students who start at lower absolute levels but still demonstrate progress. Supposedly, SGPs account for the differences in student population characteristics, which are correlated to test results. Former Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf[8] has stated: "You are looking at the progress students make and that fully takes into account socio-economic status… By focusing on the starting point, it equalizes for things like special education and poverty and so on."
If this were true, we would expect to see little correlation between a school's average scale score – its "starting point" – and its mSGP. Figure 2 plots these two measures in one graph.
As this scatterplot shows, there is a moderate but significant correlation between a school's growth and its "starting point." The bias shown in a school's scale score, created by its student characteristics, is then at least partially shown also in its mSGP. In other words: SGPs are influenced by student characteristics, but NPS does not account for that bias when using SGPs to create its ratings.[9]
If a school's student population, then, affects its mSGP, how do student characteristics affect the One Newark ratings? Figure 3 shows the differences in student populations for all three classifications.
Schools that are "Falling Behind" have significantly larger proportions of black students than schools that are "On The Move" or "Great." Those "Great" schools also have significantly fewer students in poverty (as measured by free lunch eligibility) than "Falling Behind" and "On The Move" schools. "Great" schools also serve fewer special education students, and a slightly smaller proportion of boys.
Arguably, the One Newark rating is less a measure of a school's effectiveness than it is a measure of its student population. If a family chooses "Great" schools, they are really choosing schools with fewer black, poor, and special needs students.
There is a serious debate to be had as to whether a "choice" system of education is viable for a city like Newark. If, however, NPS has committed to One Newark, it should view its role as a "consumer advocate," correcting the asymmetry in information and providing justifiable school ratings, rather than limiting the choices students and their families have.
Unfortunately, it appears that NPS is choosing not to be an impartial arbiter; by forcing the closure of NPS schools that, by at least some measures, outperform charters, the district is actively distorting the market forces it claims will improve education.
Under Akerlof's theory, then, One Newark may not only lead to more student stuck with lemons: it may actually drive more non-lemons out of the market.
Technical Appendix: Problems With Averaging Scale Scores
One-Newark-Enrolls-Paper-Application
In its response to our first report on One Newark, NPS made the case that averaging scale scores across grade levels is a superior methodology to ours, which used Grade 8 proficiency rates. We acknowledged that scale scores are a limited but legitimate measure of test-based student performance; certainly no less limited than proficiency rates, but still arguably as valid and reliable.
In our response to NPS, however, we do argue that while scale scores are acceptable for this sort of analysis, averaging scale scores
across grade levels creates a distortion that renders the scale scores less valid as school performance measures.
The problem with averaging scale scores across grades is that each grade level has a different mean scale score and a different distribution of scores around that mean. Table 1, originally presented in our response, shows the different mean scores for each grade level of Newark's schools, both charter and NPS. The Grade 8 mean score differs from the Grade 4 mean score by over 16 points.
Table 1– Weighted Mean Scale Scores, NJASK LAL, 2013, Newark Only (Charter & NPS)
Test Obs Mean Std. Dev. Min Max
LAL 8 3301 205.0583 11.06671 183 235.8
LAL 7 3154 193.2245 15.9329 170.5 227.6
LAL 6 3631 192.7007 11.03825 172.9 224.5
Why does this matter? Consider two schools with exactly the same average scale scores in all grades; now imagine that they each scored exactly at the citywide mean in all grades. One school, however, has considerably more 8th graders than 4th graders. That school would have an advantage when compared to the other: its larger proportion of 8th graders would push up its overall average, because the mean score for 8th grade is higher than the mean score for 4th. Weighting the means by the number of students in each grade wouldn't solve this problem; in fact, it creates the problem, because the "average" student in 8th grade gets a higher score than the "average" student in 4th. More weight is being put on the score that is arbitrarily higher.
This problem is further compounded when running a linear regression. Because the dependent variable, grade-averaged mean ELA scale scores, is distorted by grade enrollment, the independent variables do not have a consistent relationship to the dependent variable from school to school. In effect, the rules change for every player.
A more defensible technique for averaging across grades is to run a linear regression for each grade, then calculate standardized residuals, which allow for comparisons across different mean scores. Those residuals are then averaged, weighted for student enrollment.
Figure 4 uses this methodology. Careful readers will notice that the relative position of many schools has shifted from Figure 1, significantly in some cases. Once again, however, there are "Great" schools that underperform relative to "Falling Behind" schools.
Even under this improved method, the classification of schools under One Newark remains arbitrary and capricious.
[1] Akerlof, G.A. (1970). Quarterly Journal of Economics (84) 3, 488-500. https://www.iei.liu.se/nek/730g83/artiklar/1.328833/AkerlofMarketforLemons.pdf
[2] For a classic example, see: Friedman, M. (1980) "What's Wrong With Our Schools?" http://www.edchoice.org/the-friedmans/the-friedmans-on-school-choice/what-s-wrong-with-our-schools-.aspx
[3] – An Empirical Critique Of "One Newark": https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/new-report-an-empirical-critique-of-one-newark/
– "One Newark's" Racially Disparate Impact On Teachers:
https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/one-newarks-racially-disparate-impact-on-teachers/
– A Response to "Correcting the Facts about the One Newark Plan: A Strategic Approach To 100 Excellent Schools": https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/a-response-to-correcting-the-facts-about-the-one-newark-plan-a-strategic-approach-to-100-excellent-schools/
[4] The paper application used for One Newark is no longer available at NPS's website. Originally retrieved from: http://onewark.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/One-Newark-Enrolls-Paper-Application.pdf
[5] http://onewark.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/StrategicApproach.pdf
[6] See: A Response to "Correcting the Facts about the One Newark Plan: A Strategic Approach To 100 Excellent Schools," p. 8.
[7] North Star, however, does engage in significant patterns of student cohort attrition that likely affect its student population and test scores. See: http://schoolfinance101.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/friday-story-time-deconstructing-the-cycle-of-reformy-awesomeness/
[8]http://www.wnyc.org/articles/new-jersey-news/2013/mar/18/everything-you-need-know-about-students-baked-their-test-scores-new-jersy-education-officials-say/
[9]https://njedpolicy.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/deconstructing-disinformation-on-student-growth-percentiles-teacher-evaluation-in-new-jersey/