text:
Groups, Rings, and Fields
VERY, VERY INCOMPLETE
Recall in the discussion of basic modular arithmetic that when we devise a mathematical system we do not have to use the normal integers that we are already accustomed to from everyday life. We generally do so whenever we can because it makes things more familiar and convenient, but we are free to pick arbitrary symbols and then define any operations between them however we choose.
For instance, we can define a system of four symbols consisting of a circle, a square, a rectangle, and a diamond. We can then define an operation called "Fred" such that a circle Fredded with a rectangle yields a diamond while a square Fredded with a diamond yields a circle. We can define the "Fred" operation by simply enumerating every possible combination of inputs and the resulting output in a table. As strange as this may seem, this is actually a familiar concept to most people since, at least traditionally, children are taught addition using an "Addition Table" and multiplication using a "Multiplication Table". These tables are simply a way of defining these two operations in terms of all of the combinations of inputs (generally a restricted set of inputs, such as two single digit numbers) and the resulting output.
Our "Fred" may or may not have any practical uses; this depends on what properties it has and whether those properties are of any value to us. For instance, given the partial enumeration of the "Fred" operation given above, what results when a rectangle is Fredded with a circle? If you are like most people, you probably said that it is a diamond. The correct answer is, "I have no idea because it hasn't been defined." In concluding that it yields a diamond, you have assumed that the "Fred" operation acting on this particular set of symbols possesses a particular property, namely that it is commutative. But this is not a reasonable assumption and it was never stated that this property holds. Consider the division operation working on the set of real numbers - just because 6 divided by 3 is 2 does not mean that 3 divided by 6 is also 2. The reason is that division is not commutative.
So what are the properties that are of interest to us with regards to our symbol sets and operations that act on them? In general, we are interesting in such things as closure, identity elements, inverse elements, associativity, commutativity, and distributability.
A "set" is just a collection of symbols. Nothing more. In the example above, we defined a set that had four symbols, namely a circle, square, rectangle, and a diamond. Other sets might be the set of all integers (which is an infinite set because it has an infinite number of elements) or the set of all non-negative integers less than p (which is a finite set having exactly p elements). The elements of a set do not have to be numbers and they do not have to have any particular relationship between them.
An "operator" is a rule or set of rules that defines a relationship between all of the members of a set one pair at a time. In general, we can express an operation with the notation c = O(a,b) which means that if we take elements a and b from the set (these are said to be the "operands") and perform the operation indicated by O(), that the result is c. It is not required that c be an element of the set or that it even be defined. For instance, if the set is all integers and the operation is division of the first number by the second number, the O(6,3) is in the set, O(3,6) is defined but not in the set, and O(3,0) is undefined.
Another way of expressing an operator is to pick a specific symbol for it and place it between the two operands. For instance, we might define the # operator and express it as c = a # b.
In defining operations on sets, we frequently define the "addition" and "multiplication" operations, but it is important to remember that, in general, these are not the same addition and multiplication operations that we are familiar with from normal, everyday arithmetic. In general, they are arbitrary operations that we explicitly define and just happen to given the names "addition" and "multiplication" to. Never-the-less, there is a reason for doing so, namely that we define these operations so that, even though they are different that the operations we are familiar with, they still possess most of the same properties that we are familiar with. This is solely for our convenience in that it generally makes it easier for us to work with these operators working on various sets because most (but not necessarily all) of the familiar rules apply.
Algebras
An algebra is nothing more than a Set combined with one or more Operators. This establishes the various manipulations that can be performed and what properties hold.
Properties of Algebras
When we combine one (or more) operations with a set to form an "algebra," we establish certain properties that the algebra either does or does not have. For instance, a particular algebra may have an identity element but not have an inverse for every element in the set. If two algebras possesses the same collection of properties, then manipulations that can be performed in one algebra can be performed in the other. It is therefore useful to classify algebras according to which properties they do (or perhaps do not) possess. But before we can do that, we have to understand at least some of the various properties themselves.
The Closure property of an operation acting on a set of symbols is met if and only if, for every possible pair of operands from the set, the result is also a member of the set. The set of all integers is closed under multiplication because the result of multiplying any two integers yields another integer. In contrast, the set of integers is not closed under division because the result of dividing one integer by another may produce a result that is not an integer; for example, 3 divided by 2 yields a result that is not within the set of integers.
A more formal way of stating the closure property is that the set is closed under the # operation if and only if
c = a # b
yields a result c that is a member of the set for every possible pair of operands a and b chosen from the set.
Commutativity
This means that the O(a,b) always yields the same result as O(b,a). Using the alternate notation, a set is commutative under the # operation if and only if
(a # b) = (b # a)
every possible pair of a and b chosen from the set.
This means that the O(a,O(b,c)) always yields the same result as O(O(a,b),c). Using the alternate notation, a set is associative under the # operation if and only if
(a # b) # c = a # (b # c)
every possible selection of operands a, b, and c chosen from the set.
Identity Element
The identity element for an operation acting on a set of symbols is that member of the set (if it exists) such that the operation of any element and the identity element yields the original element. It is not required that all operators that can act on a set have the same identity element. For instance, in everyday arithmetic, the identity element under addition is 0 while the identity element under multiplication is 1.
In the generic case, the element 'I' is the identity element under a particular operation if and only if
a = I # a
a = a # I
for all possible selection of a chosen from the set.
Note that both forms are needed since we aren't making any claim that the algebra is commutative.
Inverse Property
An inverse element, if it exists, is that element of a set such that the result of the operation between an element and its inverse element is the identity element for that operation. In other words, a-1 is the inverse of a under the # operation if and only if
I = a # (a-1)
I = (a-1) # a
The algebra satisfies the Inverse Law for a given operation if and only if every element in the set has an inverse that is also within the set for that operation.
A subtle point here is that the notation a-1 does not mean "a raised to the power of -1." It is simply a notation meaning "the inverse element of a under the # operation."
The distributive property involves a set and two operators, which we will denote by # and $. An algebra satisfies the distributive property of # over $ if and only if
a # (b $ c) = (a # b) $ (a # c)
(b $ c) # a = (b # a) $ (c # a)
Note that both forms are needed since we aren't making any claim that the algebra is commutative with respect to the # operator.
Classifications of Algebras
As mentioned previously, if two algebras possesses the same collection of properties, then manipulations that can be performed in one algebra can be performed in the other. There are a few collections of properties that sufficiently common and/or useful that they have been given specific names. The names chosen are quite arbitrary, so don't attempt to read anything into the name based on the everyday meaning of the word used.
This is an algebra involving a set and one operator. The algebra is a Group if and only if, under that operator, it:
Is closed.
Is associative.
Possesses an identity element.
Possesses an inverse element for every element in the set.
Abelian Groups
An Abelian Group (also known as a Commutative Group) is a Group that is also commutative under the operator. Hence an algebra is an Abelian Group if and only if, under that operator, it
Is commutative.
This is an algebra involving a set and two operators. An algebra is a Ring if it is an Abelian Group under the first operator, and satisfies the properties of closure and associativity under the second operator, and for which the second operator is distributive over the first.
This algebra also involves a set and two operators. An algebra is a Field if it is an Abelian Group under the first operator, if the set consisting of all the elements of the complete set less the identity element of the first operator is an Abelian Group under the second operator, and for which the second operator is distributive over the first.
http://www.csee.umbc.edu/help/theory/group_def.shtml (last accessed 26 Jul 07).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_structure (last accessed 26 Jul 07).


Hey there friendos, it's Erin again with week 3 of progress! This is a week that probably won't look like I got much done, but in the beginning of a big project that happens sometimes. So let me break it down!
First off, I started working on Eirika's jacket. It's one of the most prominent pieces of the costume, and since Eirika is a princess, I want it to look very rich and lush. So first off, I went to JoAnn and picked up some very beautiful sueded upholstery fabric that I think will give a lovely texture to the jacket. However, since I need to alter the pattern I bought, I will absolutely be doing a mockup in junk fabric first! Below is an image of the fabric I picked--the sueded texture is subtle, but it will give the costume depth and it has a really nice weight to it.
I also started researching what kind of edging and trim I'd like since her jacket has a lot of it, and it's very likely I'll need to allow for a long shipping time. I found Etsy's list feature to be really useful for this--I'm not sure how much I need or how wide I want yet since I'm still working on my mockup, but having a visual reference to trims I liked all collected in one place is so helpful.
And, most of all, I continued to sculpt on my hip plates! I want these plates to be very dimensional, so I have been sculpting in stages where different details overlap. By putting in an hour or so a night, I can build up each layer and let the clay cure before I go in over the top again, ensuring I don't accidentally squash the last portion I sculpted. I'm very close to finished with the hip piece and I can't wait to see what it looks like when I reproduce it in plastic!
Over the weekend I plan to finish the hip plates, work on my jacket mockup, and hopefully start on more armor. Stay tuned, friends!


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mattyglesias Friday 16, September 2016 01:10 PM
@DavidJWhitehill @brianbeutler I took architecture classes for my art & music electives. Ask me about types of columns some day.
NatalieASims Thursday 15, September 2016 06:24 PM
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Park Hill Sheffield Urban Splash
Park Hill estate, Sheffield – review
All that shimmers… Urban Splash's renovation of Park Hill has won the approval of the estate's original architects. Photograph: Daniel Hopkinson/Urban Splash
When English Heritage decided, in 1998, to make the 1, 000-flat Park Hill estate in Sheffield the largest listed building in Europe, it seemed to many a monumental joke. Or else a case of wonkery gone mad, of tweed-clad boffins so immersed in their criteria and research that they could not take the commonsense view that the place was a "drab, grey, dilapidated thing", as a leading Sheffield city councillor once put it.
Now the first parts of the first phase of its makeover by the Mancunian developers Urban Splash, to whom the nounjective "hipster" tends to attach itself, is nearly complete. Its northern blocks are sealed from the elements, and show flats are furnished with jaunty, funky, upbeat, witty interiors. The estate's most famous graffito – "I love you will u marry me", sprayed on a high bridge – has been memorialised in neon. The redevelopment has only just got this far, having barely scraped through the credit crunch, but Park Hill has not been doused in so much optimism since its opening in 1961, when grainy TV footage commemorated the delight of steel workers and their families at having central heating and indoor baths.
"Hate" and "Love" are tattooed into Park Hill, as they were on to Robert Mitchum's serial-killer knuckles in the 1955 film The Night of the Hunter. For the many who call it a "jail", there are many who love it, albeit for differing reasons. Architectural buffs cite its "innovative" design, by the twentysomething architects Ivor Smith and Jack Lynn, of Sheffield city council's architects' department. They like the fact that the (then big) idea of "streets in the sky" – long walkways wide enough for milk floats – was realised more completely and successfully at Park Hill than anywhere else.
The view from a walkway 'wide enough for a milk float'. Photograph: Urban Splash
The early residents were thrilled more by the plumbing than the bold concrete exterior and by the walkways, which meant they could get from one end to the other without getting wet. People now remember the community spirit of Park Hill's first two decades, before the devastation of the steel industry and council housing policies that turned it into a sink estate. There are also the views, from its perch above Sheffield, of the city draped over the fringes of the Peaks. The Park Hill boosters like to quote a woman who said: "You think I live in council housing. I've got a penthouse."
The architects of the restoration, Hawkins/Brown and Egret West, say: "Every time you go there you discover something intelligent." There are clever things about the way the estate adapts to its hilly landscape. The roof line is level but the ground floor varies with the terrain, such that the blocks vary in height from four to 13 storeys, and the streets in the sky at some point connect with the ground. Apartments interlock and overlap in three dimensions, so that each has two aspects.
The power of Park Hill is a combination of all these things. It lies in its unrepeatable, crazy-heroic size, and the romantic force of its geological scale and cliff-like flanks. It is the idea that council housing could be as grand as a castle or stately home. It is this, combined with thoughtfulness and intimacy – evident in well-placed balconies and the plans of flats – and with the fact that it seems that really, truly, there was a sense of community here.
The question is whether whatever is important about Park Hill will remain after its doing-up, which is both drastic and pernickety. On the one hand, everything has been removed except the concrete frame. On the other, that concrete was restored in 5, 500 places, following debates between English Heritage and Urban Splash. Pursuing principles once proposed by William Morris for the repair of ancient stone churches, the mends are made such that you can see them, but not too easily.
In order to sell flats to people who might not like the idea of council estates, the developers wanted what the architects call "shimmer". So the brick infill panels of the old building, in shades of plum and ochre, were not afforded the same respect as the precious concrete, but were replaced by shiny aluminium panels (guaranteed against fading) in red, orange and yellow.
Inside one of the flats. Photograph: Urban Splash
The cleverly planned, well-dimensioned flats have been reinstated, but with bigger windows and greater openness than before. The streets in the sky are back and now overlooked with windows from the flats, to make them more sociable. Access is controlled and there will be concierges: it will be gated, to put it negatively, or, if you prefer, have the degree of security you would find in a Parisian apartment block.
At the bottom of the blocks will be workshops and glass-clad shops, to mix up the uses and make the approach look less forbidding. Earlier proposals (pre-crash) showed a dazzling new landscape, rendered in the pop colours of an acid-induced LP cover. There is not much of this to be seen yet, except for some annoying lampposts, but useful changes, such as improving the path to the railway station, have been made.
The architects for Park Hill are still alive and Ivor Smith can and does give his views, a little as if John Vanbrugh could be consulted on a restoration of Castle Howard. He likes the renovation. "The care taken to repair a derelict structure is impressive, " he says. The journey up some new glass lifts is "a delight". It "represents a new beginning, a new vitality". Smith also finds it refreshing that "the whole design is free of gimmicks and there is a consistency and inevitability to each part".
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the industry Sept. 16, 2015
Pacific Rim 2 Probably Is Not Happening Anymore
By Nate Jones
Pacific Rim. Photo: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures/Warner Bros
Pacific Rim! Remember it? Guillermo del Toro's monster movie made a lot of money, but it also cost a lot of money; despite that, del Toro announced last year that he had gotten the green light for a sequel, coming sometime in 2017. Now it appears that is no longer the case, thanks to troubles at Legendary Pictures, which is apparently feuding with Universal. According to THR, "Legendary liked that the original performed exceptionally well in China," but the sequel "has been halted indefinitely and will be pushed back (if it gets made at all)." Deprived of the opportunity to see cities destroyed by rampaging monsters from the ocean floor, audiences will just have to make do with seeing them destroyed literally every other way.
Pacific Rim 2 Probably Is Not Happening


The Columbus Clippers completed their second consecutive series sweep and pulled within two games of the International League Western Division lead. The three wins were particularly significant as they were against division leader Indianapolis Indians. Indianapolis took an early lead in all three contests forcing the Clippers to play catch up, which they did fiercely, outscoring the Indians 22-7.
The Clippers hammered out 35 hits in the series as they defeated the Indians by scores of 6-2, 6-2 and 10-3.
Zach Walters and Brett Hayes each had two RBI in the first game as the Clippers came back from a 2-1 deficit to score three runs in the sixth inning and two runs in the eighth. Jerry Sands hit an RBI double and Hayes added a two-run single in the sixth, while Walters slammed a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth, his fifth home run of the season.
Shaun Marcum (6-1) pitched seven innings in the win. He allowed two runs on six hits and struck out six. C.C. Lee and Shawn Armstrong each added a perfect inning for Columbus. Angel Sanchez (3-1) took the loss for Indianapolis.
Columbus took the second game by the identical 6-2 score. The Clippers again came from behind, belting out five doubles in the victory. Second baseman Michael Martinez and center fielder Tyler Naquin each had a multi-hit game. Martinez added three RBI's and Naquin had one.
Jesus Aguilar opened the scoring for the Clippers with a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning, giving the home team a 2-1 lead. Naquin's double in the second and Martinez's double in the fourth put the Clippers up 4-1. They added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Martinez's bases loaded single to center field.
Five Columbus pitchers worked the game with Will Roberts (1-1) earning the victory. Robert went five innings and gave up one run on four hits and two walks, he struck out two. Carlos Marmol picked up his second save as a Clipper, working 1.1 innings allowing one run on one hit and a pair of walks.
Columbus exploded offensively in the series finale scoring 10 runs on 15 hits against five Indianapolis pitchers. Of the 15 hits only three were for extra bases.
Brett Hayes and Jerry Sands each had three RBI and Lonnie Chisenhall added two more, all nine starters had a hit.
Indianapolis looked as if they were going to pull out one win in the series with a 3-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth inning. Columbus had other plans.
The Clippers sent 12 batters to the plate. They had six singles, two doubles and a walk in an eight run inning. Indianapolis pitchers Josh Wall and Jeff Inman were tagged with all eight earned runs.
Trey Haley won his first game as a Columbus Clippers pitcher in two scoreless innings of relief.
The Triple-A All-Star break has Columbus idle until July 16th when they open a four game series at Buffalo. Columbus and Indianapolis meet again at the end of July for a four game series at Huntington Park.
Outfielder Tyler Holt, first baseman Jesus Aguilar and pitcher Shawn Armstrong are on the International League All-Star roster.


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To survive in Global Aviation Recession Air France-KLM to 4,500 Job Cuts
Air France Cuts Spending by $645 Million to Reduce Debt
Air France-KLM Group (AF) plans to cut capital spending by a further 500 million euros ($645 million) over the next two years as Europe's biggest airline trims investments in a push to pare debt and lift profit margins.
The outlay will be reduced by 300 million euros next year and 200 million euros in 2014, the Paris-based company said today in a statement, adding that operating profit should reach a level equivalent to 6 to 8 percent of sales in 2015.
Air France aircraft, part of the Air France-KLM Group, are seen on the tarmac at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. Photographer:
Air France-KLM's Transform 2015 plan is seeking to shave 10 percent from non-fuel costs and cut net debt by 2 billion euros. The capital-spending curbs, which may crimp jet purchases, will pare investment next year to 1.2 billion euros, including a 200- million euro reduction to the initial target announced in July.
"This is a necessary reduction, but given the group's younger fleet age versus competitors they have the flexibility to do it," said analyst Donal O'Neill at Goodbody Stockbrokers in Dublin, who has a "buy" rating on the stock. "The Transform plan is gathering pace and should be well on track to deliver."
Employee Exits
Employee expenses will be reduced by 400 million euros by 2014, aided by 735 departures already secured, and the medium- haul business should break even that year as the fleet is reduced by 34 aircraft, Air France-KLM said prior to an investor briefing at Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport today.
Chief Executive Officer Jean-Cyril Spinetta said in June he would eliminate more than 5,000 jobs at the main French unit to deliver savings he reckons are needed to guarantee survival.
The cut in capital spending is being driven by a "headwind" of high fuel costs, "but does show the group's determination to deliver on targets," said Stephen Furlong, an analyst at Davy Holdings in Dublin who rates the stock "underperform."
Air France-KLM expects a 500 million-euro annual operating loss from French medium-haul flights alone, spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said, reiterating comments at the investor event, which was closed to reporters. That's unchanged from a year earlier.
Shares of Air France-KLM, which is folding the Brit Air, Regional and Airlinair units that connect smaller cities into a single business, traded 0.9 percent lower at 7.05 euros as of 4:20 p.m. in the French capital. They've gained 77 percent so far this year, valuing the company at 2.12 billion euros.
Lufthansa, IAG
Rival carriers are also seeking to slash costs. Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA), Europe's second-biggest, plans to save 1.5 billion euros by 2015 through its Score plan, which in addition to 4,500 job cuts includes the folding of short-haul operations outside Frankfurt and Munich into the Germanwings low-cost unit.
The Cologne-based company has also scrapped routes, frozen capacity and delayed an upgrade of the inter-continental fleet.
At European No. 3 International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), the British Airways unit is seeking voluntary departures among 2,338 senior cabin crew at London's Heathrow airport and Spanish division Iberia plans 4,500 job cuts, prompting unions to call a six-day strike in the run up to Christmas.
Air France-KLM's capital-spending cuts will see investment in 2014 fall to 1.4 billion euros, reversing an increase for that year announced on July 30, when the carrier had said it was reining in the outlay for this year and 2013. Expenditure totaled 2.1 billion euros in 2011.
Adopting new accounting standards for pensions will have a 1.1 billion-euro negative impact on opening equity next year, though there'll be no cash impact, the carrier said today.
Air France-KLM had an 895 million-euro loss in the second- quarter, versus 197 million euros a year earlier, as it posted charges of 368 million euros for payments linked to job cuts.
Labels: 500 Job Cuts, To survive in Global Aviation Recession Air France-KLM to 4


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Tech giant Microsoft has followed Facebook into the Metaverse – after a fashion. Users of its Teams collaborative software will be able to appear as virtual avatars in fantasy workspaces, a step toward Facebook's immersive VR.
Microsoft is rolling out a more Metaverse-like version of its popular Teams videoconferencing program, offering users the option of representing themselves via digital avatars and gathering in virtual workspaces, the company's CEO Satya Nadella told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday as the new features were being shown off at the company's Ignite event.
Beyond mere videoconferencing, the software behemoth's augmented reality world will also allow users to share Microsoft Office files, like PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets, making it clear the Facebook competitor is optimized for work rather than play. It is based on Microsoft's recently-debuted Mesh software, which enables augmented and virtual reality across google platforms, including – but not limited to – Microsoft's own HoloLens. Those poor souls without 3D display capabilities can view the content in 2D, as it's also available across tablets, smartphones, and PCs.
Matrix? Misdirection? Cringe? Zuckerberg's presentation of future life in 'metaverse' sparks fear, loathing, marvel and mockery
While Facebook hopes its Metaverse will be a place where users can "spend their entire digital lives" – a prospect which must send shivers up the spine of any privacy-conscious internet user – Microsoft has set its sights a good bit lower, with the goal of having its own virtual-reality conferencing space up and running by 2022.
Microsoft Mesh, the technology which serves as the basis for the company's virtual-reality efforts, aims to project people as avatars into virtual space using a process called "holoportation," with its avatars gleaned from the social network AltspaceVR, which it acquired in 2017. Mesh itself is constructed on top of Azure, Microsoft's cloud computing service.
Corporations like Accenture and Anheuser-Busch InBev have used various versions of Microsoft's reality-replicating software to create "digital twins" of headquarters – which served Accenture well for orientation purposes during the Covid-19 pandemic – and of supply-chain operations, which the beer company synced up with its actual facilities and current information, a valuable capability given the fragility of current supply chains.
To further merge reality and its virtual cousin, Microsoft revealed another product on Tuesday, called Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces. It will allow users to move and interact within "retail and factory spaces," essentially standardizing the experiences clients like Anheuser-Busch built out with the help of Teams and Mesh. CEO Nadella also hinted that its gaming platform Xbox would be next for a virtual-reality buildout.
How Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft wage a domestic War on Terror, and make billions
Nadella also denied there was anything "creepy" about the Metaverse, a common complaint from those who see elements of the 'uncanny valley' in a false world populated with cartoonish avatars. "There is nothing creepy about visiting a Covid ward remotely for a doctor to be able to help their patients, or to be able to do remote assistance in a manufacturing line in a time of Covid crisis when that manufacturing line needs to be fixed by an engineer working from home," he told Bloomberg.
While it's not clear if Microsoft's stab at a Metaverse of its own will involve a significant manpower expansion, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's project is quite ambitious. Just days after announcing the company's renaming to Meta, Zuckerberg declared it would be creating 10,000 new positions across the EU over the next five years with $10 billion of investment by 2022, all with the aim of fully realizing his virtual-reality dream.
Indeed, Facebook will be divided into two parts under the new Meta name, with "Reality Labs" – the sector tasked with creating the Metaverse – to house 20,000 engineers in total, padded out by the new European hires.
from RT World News https://ift.tt/2YfhSze


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UK Highways and Road Networks: Improving Standards and Connectivity
Policy Background
Early Bird Discount Offer: Use discount code SVTCPT9 to receive a 10% discount on your booking for a limited time only! *Discount does not apply to private sector organisations.
This Forum provides attendees with the opportunity to explore the future of the UK highways and road network. Delegates will discuss the latest policy updates, such as the evaluation of the Road Investment Strategy 1 and the move towards phase 2. In addition, best practice case studies will share lessons on implementing innovative technology into road networks, creating major local road networks and raising road network standards through a reduction in potholes and road damage across the UK.
This forum is designed for Local Government and Local Enterprise Partnerships. Job titles will include:
Heads of Economic Growth
Heads of Transport
Infrastructure Delivery Managers
Business Development Directors
Heads of Resources
Transport and Development Planner
This Forum is also open to the Private Sector to encourage networking and debate.
Key Speakers Confirmed:
Anthony Ferguson, Deputy Director, Traffic & Technology, Department for Transport
Elliot Shaw, Executive Director for Strategy and Planning, Highways England
Martin Tugwell, President, Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation
View the agenda and additional speakers
Registration, Refreshments and Networking
Chair's Welcome Address
Steve Gooding, Director, RAC Foundation (CONFIRMED)
Morning Keynote: Outlining the Current UK Road Network and Highways Landscape
Outlining the current landscape of road and highways improvements across the UK
Highlighting the work of the All Party Parliamentary Highways Group in supporting road improvements across the UK
Understanding the importance of local authorities working together with government departments to improve road and highway conditions
Examining the current challenges facing the transport sector regarding road and highway improvements and the next steps needed to ensure these issues are effectively tackled
Sir Christopher Chope MP, Chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group for Highways (invited)
Special Keynote: Outlining the Impact of New Technology on UK Road Networks
Understanding the five areas most likely to impact road transport and technology in the UK including; vehicle automation, connectivity, electric vehicles, new mobility models and an increase in the utilisation of data
Discussing the current landscape for connected vehicles within the UK and how data flows need to be created to support the rise in connected and automated vehicles
Highlighting how traffic authorities and local governments can ensure that smart motorways are suitable for the use of autonomous vehicles
Outlining the recent release of updated guidance from DfT, Traffic Signs Manual, and the impact that this will have on traffic signals and road markings on UK highway networks
Sharing guidance on how local authorities can work in partnership with Highways England to bring autonomy to their local road network
Anthony Ferguson, Deputy Director, Traffic & Technology, Department for Transport (CONFIRMED)
Questions and Answers Session
Refreshments and Networking
Case Study: Improving Road Infrastructure by Utilising Innovative Technology
Understanding how Buckinghamshire County Council successfully won £4.5 million of funding from the ADEPT SMART Places Live Labs programme which aims to implement digital innovations for local transport networks
Discussing how Buckinghamshire County Council will trial smart road technology with the aim of generating energy piezoelectricity and hydromechanical dynamics from cars and utilising this to power local street lamps and pollution monitors
Outlining how these innovations will help the local area to reduce traffic congestion, reduce costs by tracking imperfections in the road surface and whilst being environmentally friendly
Exploring how this trial has the potential to impact national and international practices for establishing local road networks
Councillor Mark Shaw, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, Buckinghamshire County Council (invited)
Case Study: Working in Partnership to Deliver Major Road Improvement Schemes
Outlining how South Gloucestershire Council and Bristol City Council were awarded £12.6 million from the Department for Transport's Local Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund to make vital improvements and enhancements to the local road network
Understanding how the two councils worked in partnership to minimise disruption to road users and provide high quality improvements ahead of schedule and within budget
Highlighting how the councils worked with local road users to ensure that funding was utilised in a way that maximised the benefits for both businesses and local communities
Discussing how this maintenance work aimed to reduce future maintenance work on local roads by improving road drainage through the implementation of an innovative rolling crown design
Jon Munslow, Place, Asset and Infrastructure Manager, South Gloucestershire Council (invited)
Case Study: Incorporating Cycling Routes into Local Road Networks to Improve Sustainable Transport
Understanding how Southampton City Council launched their ten-year cycling strategy in 2017 as a way of modernising its key strategic transport links and improve sustainability within the city
Outlining how the council have invested over £11 million in to cycling infrastructure in order to increase the amount of people using cycling as a means of traveling to key employment hubs
Discussing how Cycle Freeways were established to allow cyclists to travel along major routes safely by segregating users from other road traffic
Highlighting the challenges faced when implementing this cycle strategy, including designing routes that bypass busy trading estates whilst ensuring safety measures where in place for cyclists and pedestrians
Councillor Jacqui Rayment, Cabinet Member for Place and Transport, Deputy Leader, Southampton City Council (invited)
Lunch and Networking
Afternoon Keynote: Delivering the Road Investment Strategy 2- What to Expect
Outlining the key Strategic Road Network users including; freight, public transport and cyclists, and the different needs that each group have and how these will be fulfilled through the RIS2
Understanding how Highways England delivered £3.8 billion of investment between 2018-2019 and the impact that this has had on the strategic road network within the UK
Discussing the role that technology will play in improving road networks in an emerging technology landscape including connected vehicles and digital infrastructure
Highlighting the key objectives within the RIS2 including the Northern Trans-Pennine corridors, the Oxford to Cambridge expressway and improvements to the M25 South-West quadrant
Elliot Shaw, Executive Director for Strategy and Planning, Highways England (CONFIRMED)
Special Keynote: Monitoring and Assessing Road Delivery Improvements Across the UK
Understanding the ORR's role in monitoring the improvements to England's Strategic Road Network and ensuring Highways England operate efficiently
Outlining the key targets, set by ORR, for Highways England to achieve before the implementation of the RIS2, including improving user satisfaction, reducing noise and maintaining network conditions
Exploring the ORR's role in assisting government on road issues and providing advice on the current and future performance of Highways England
Sharing the lessons learned from the review process of the RIS1, including risk management, and the applications this will have for any reviews of the RIS2
Richard Coates, Deputy Director – Highways, Office of Rail and Road (invited)
Special Keynote: Improving Local Road and Highway Networks
Outlining the CIHT's review in to Improving Local Highway funding and operation across the UK and the latest findings from this, including the need for a new approach to maintenance
Exploring the importance of understanding the current state of road networks to help identify the amount of investment and time needed to improve and maintain these vital channels
Discussing the role of local authorities in improving the local highways network, including the opportunities presented by collaborative working
Martin Tugwell, President, Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation (CONFIRMED)
Case Study: Utilising Funding to Implement Preventative Measures for Potholes
Outlining how Surrey County Council utilised over £1 million worth of funding from the government's Pothole Action Fund to implement a preventative programme
Highlighting how they used a variety of methods to combat potholes, including hand lay repairs, machine repairs, jet patching, Rejuvophalt and thermal patching
Discussing how this programme was effective in removing or preventing over 40,000 defects on the roads and preventing approximately 22,000 potholes in the year 2018/2019
Exploring how implementing preventative measures will allow Surrey County Council to maintain the local road network and lessen the impact of severe weather events
Lucy Monie, Head of Highways & Transport, Surrey County Council (invited)
Closing Keynote: Exploring the Role of Local Authorities in Implementing Connected Transport
Outlining the current challenges facing local authorities in relation to Connected Transport including, procurement, big data and lack of specialist knowledge
Encouraging local authorities to work with local businesses and academia to create mutually beneficial relationships to establish smart mobility innovations at scale
Exploring what the future of national and local road networks may look like and how this will impact the movement of people and goods across the UK
Understanding what local authorities can be doing to encourage the implementation of connected transport, including engaging with data schemes such as the Transport Data Initiative
Karla Jakeman, Connected Transport Innovation Lead, Innovate UK (CONFIRMED)
Chairs Summary and Close
*programme subject to change
According to the RAC Foundation there are 38.7 million vehicles licensed to use roads within the UK in 2019. The road networks within the UK carry 90% of passenger journeys and nearly 70% of freight journeys meaning it is imperative to the UK economy that road networks must be improved and maintained.
The Road Investment Strategy (RIS 1) was launched in 2014, it set out the long term goals for 2015-2020 including investing £15.2 billion in to major road schemes to improve the existing networks. It also set out additional goals of improving networks for cyclists, reduce the noise impacts of motorways and prevent death and serious injury on road networks.
The Department for Transport concluded a consultation on the UK's Strategic Road Network (SRN) in February 2018. This consultation saw a split in opinions about whether increased investment in the road network and others that favoured investment in existing networks. Following this consultation the Department for Transport published a draft version of their Road Investment Strategy 2 which established the governments goals for the next 5 years, including representing users, supporting housing and economic growth whilst improving safety and maintenance.
It was announced in March 2019 that Councils across England would be allocated an additional £50 million to repair potholes and improve flood resilience across road networks. This funding is in conjunction with £151 million in extra allocations to reward councils for best practice in road repairs. After the success of the 2015 and 2017 local highways maintenance funding, the government announced that they will be launching 2019 and 2020 funding rounds equalling £198 million. This fund enables local highways authorities to bid for major projects in England that would otherwise be difficult to fund through usual formula funding.
It is vital that local authorities and local enterprise partnerships across England work together to improve highways and roads; failure to do so could lead to compromised road safety and lower driver satisfaction.
Women in the Criminal Justice System: Improving Support and Standards of Care
21 April 2020 08:45 - 16:30
5th Annual Tackling Rogues Landlord Forum
14 May 2020 08:45 - 16:45
Inside Government
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Our registered office is 1 Byrom Place, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3HG
Copyright © 2017 Inside Government


Casting News—Castle has tapped The O.C. Alum Kelly Rowan for an episode airing early in the season. Entertainment Weekly reports Rowan will play Carla Feller, the dean of a prestigious university.
The episode, written by Chad Creasey and directed by Rob Bowman, entitled "PhDead" will air Oct. 12.
In the episode, the university is rocked by the death of one of its students.
Rowan recently starred in the TNT series Perception. Her other credits include Boomtown and Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years.
Castle premieres Sept. 21 on ABC at 10 p.m.


text:
Le Tangara d'Edwards () est une espèce d'oiseaux de la famille des .

Répartition
Cette espèce vit en Colombie et en Équateur.

Voir aussi

Références taxinomiques

Liens externes

Références

Thraupidae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Home » Education » AMU asks students to vacate hostels, return home due to Covid pandemic
AMU asks students to vacate hostels, return home due to Covid pandemic
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) spokesperson Prof Shafey Kidwai said it is in "the interest of students and their health that they vacate the hostels and stay in the safety of their homes".
By Team Eduvast | 29 May 2021 at 5:07 PM
The Aligarh Muslim University has asked students to vacate its hostels and return home in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as a student leader expressed strong reservations, saying those from rural areas would face difficulties in continuing studies online due to poor connectivity.
The decision to this effect was taken during an online meeting of top university officials on Thursday and the order was issued on Friday by the varsity's registrar, Abdul Hamid.
Former AMU students' union president Faizul Hasan on Saturday said by staying in hostels students, who are mostly from rural areas, were able to continue their online studies, which will be very difficult to manage from their native places because of connectivity issues.
It will also become difficult for them to complete admission and other formalities, he said, adding that during travel students will be in the risk of contracting the infection.
Hasan also pointed out that a large number of students were residing in different hostels when restrictions were imposed in Uttar Pradesh in view of the pandemic. Besides, at the campus students are getting the best of medical assistance, including Covid vaccination, which will not be available in most rural areas, he said and urged AMU authorities to review its decision. The registrar has said that letters will be sent by the provost to parents of students who are residing in hostels to ensure that their wards vacate hostels and return home. The letter will be sent to all parents impressing upon them that this step is necessary to ensure safety of health of students in wake of the pandemic, the registrar pointed out.
Category: Education Tags: Aligarh Muslim University
← ALLEN Kota announces NEET 2021 Revision Course (SIR) with Free Video Lectures TN govt to bear all education expenses till graduation to children orphaned by COVID-19 →


Consultants Directory in India. Are you looking for Consultants Company in India? you are at the right place.
Find Companies in Consultants Business Directory of India with offers and solutions. Here is the list of companies offering Consultants Service in India with contact person, phone number, email, address, reviews and contact details.


someone is needed to help manage relationship challenges. All marriages have their ups and downs, but when a couple can't seem to work things out for themselves, a professional counselor or therapist can help them find common ground and reach reasonable solutions to conflict. Marital counseling is about fostering better communication and helping the couple understand what is going on.
The lyrics to a well known song say, "All you need is love." Perhaps not, but love is definitely a fundamental human need and for most adults, marriage is the longest and most intense relationship they will ever have. Half of first marriages end in divorce and the institution of marriage is on the decline across the globe. Despite these facts, most American adults do marry and they expect their marriage to last. Marital counseling can help them deal with conflict as it arises, as well as give them the tools to help create a firm foundation and cement that expectation.
Some people stay in unhappy marriages; reasons can include a need for financial security, religious or social pressure to stay married and the need for emotional support.
The earlier therapy is begun, the better the prognosis is for a healthy, long-term relationship. Proactive couples seek to solve issues before they have a negative affect on the relationship and some research suggests that couples who have pre-marital counseling have a lower divorce rate.
Couples therapy – A trained therapist can help the couple vent any frustration, anger or resentment in a structured environment. Only then, can the couple move past those negative feelings. Learning communication skills and constructive coping mechanisms can help diffuse conflict.
Couples Group Therapy – A confidential, safe environment can provide positive feedback and support.
The most important thing to know about marital counseling is that the earlier any problem(s) are addressed, the easier it is to resolve them.
Individual and couples counseling can help with marital issues. However, marital counseling isn't just for struggling relationships; it's also for those people who want their marriages to thrive. We've supported many clients as they have transformed their marriage relationships.


E-commerce's star keeps rising, with eMarketer projecting a 15% bump this year and two-thirds of the U.S. population shopping online. While many brands and retailers have jumped on the e-commerce bandwagon, some are still on the sidelines when it comes to a powerful, related trend – e-commerce product sampling.
Product sampling expands the utility of e-commerce. The reason is simple: Delivering product samples via online order packages direct to homes lets brands surprise and delight consumers. E-commerce sampling produces a 100% open rate, a 96%-plus trial rate, and conversion rates of up to 32%.
Around for 200 years, product sampling has grown new legs with the advent of e-commerce. BrandShare, which invented e-commerce sampling and leads the domain, using a proprietary media network, projects triple-digit growth of its e-commerce sampling business from 2013 to the end of this year.
In a Sampling Effectiveness Advisors survey, nearly three of four consumers (73 percent) said a sample would persuade them to buy a new product, compared with 8% for a TV commercial and 5% for online advertising. BrandShare surveys of consumers receiving e-commerce samples it has created have produced similar results, with a product sample garnering up to an 86% rating.
Plan Ahead: Build E-commerce sampling into your marketing plan. Schedule sampling to coincide with other media activation points. Match the scale of your e-commerce sampling effort with your marketing objectives and budget. Leading brands will get best results from distributing at least 250,000 sample units, but the scale can go as high as 70 million packages a month.
Before launching a sampling campaign, make sure your product is available for in-store or online purchase. A consumer who likes a product after trying it typically will buy it within 7 to 21 days of receiving a sample.
Identify Your Targets: Select the sets of active buyers you want to target through online retailers. Almost any demographic or psychographic group is within reach. For example, our 760-plus retail partners are organized across42 lifestyle networks that represent powerful shopping communities with demonstrable interest in new products and services.
Depending on strategic requirements, a brand can conduct a scaled, one-million-unit campaign through such major e-commerce retailers as Walmart.com or Kohls.com, or touch niche audiences, including millennial fashionistas and outdoor enthusiasts, through retailers such as RueLaLa.com, TheClymb.com and Backcountry.com.
Allow Enough Time: Factor in time to manufacture samples, which could be trial-size packs, travel-size items, sachets, mini-tubes, small bottles, pouches or other single-serve formats. Determine quantities to reach all target markets. For products with expiration dates, you may need to stage manufacturing.
Allot two additional weeks to produce print collateral, and to overwrap samples to protect them inside merchandise packages. Once final sample units are assembled and packed, allow another one to two weeks for shipping to the e-commerce retailer fulfillment centers.
Time required to distribute samples will depend on quantities and lifestyle categories. The most successful e-commerce sampling campaigns include 250,000 or more units. A retailer such as Walmart can distribute that number in two to three days, while retailers such as Pharmapacks.com, Zulily.com and JustFab.com may need one to two weeks. Also figure on adding to more e-commerce packages during key buying periods, including Cyber Monday, the holidays and back-to-school.
Trigger Post-Trial Activation: To extend the life of your campaign, provide a specific call to action on the print media accompanying your sample. It could be a custom survey, a drive to rate and review a product, a call to purchase, or an engaging social sweepstakes.
As these steps illustrate, an effective e-commerce sampling campaign requires precise, thoughtful planning and execution. It's also critical to integrate sampling holistically with other marketing tactics to deliver consistent customer experiences and reinforce brand communications. The effort will pay off, helping you get more bang for your e-commerce buck. We expect the ROI from delivering relevant samples to online buyers will persuade smart marketers to make sampling a permanent part of brand activation campaigns.
Doug Guyer is the co-founder, president and CEO of BrandShare (www.brandshare.us), and has 33 years of brand marketing experience. He can be reached at dguyer@brandshare.us.


Sony has launched its first-ever video digital baby monitor, the NTM-V1, designed to help parents ensure their baby can be visually monitored throughout the night.
It offers a 2.3-inch full colour display, while the transmitter features include 2x digital zoom, night vision, temperature sensor and four LEDs that will detect baby's stirring and relay it directly to the receiver, anywhere in the house.
The device is also equipped with adjustable volume control and built-in temperature sensors that sound an alert if it is too hot or too cold in the nursery, while its four LED sensors indicate when your baby is stirring.
A warning alarm will also sound when the range exceeds 100 metres or the battery is running low. Sony claims the monitor is easy to setup, as both the transmitter and receiver come pre-paired and ready to use straight out of the box. Users position the camera transmitter, plug it in and turn on the receiver.
The intuitive on-screen menu allows for quick setup and fast activation of various features including temperature alarm settings and voice activation mode, which eliminates most background noise and only activates the speaker and LCD when the child makes a loud sound.
The camera transmitter can be mounted directly to the wall (installation kit included) or simply placed on a flat surface to achieve a perfect viewing angle. The nursery monitor has a five hour battery life (in 'voice activation off' mode) and also comes with a built-in belt clip.


text:
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Newtonsoft.Json.Linq;

namespace EliteJournalReader.Events
{
    public class BookTaxiEvent : JournalEvent<BookTaxiEvent.BookTaxiEventArgs>
    {
        public BookTaxiEvent() : base("BookTaxi") { }

        public class BookTaxiEventArgs : JournalEventArgs
        {
            public long Cost { get; set; }

            public string DestinationSystem { get; set; }

            public string DestinationLocation { get; set; }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
SlimPort Nano Console Puts Android Smartphones On TVs, Monitors
By Rexly Peñaflorida published 12 October 15
At some point, the screens on our smartphones weren't enough for entertainment and work. Innovations such as SlimPort and Microsoft's Continuum allow users to display their smartphones on bigger displays and televisions. This opens up the industry for more smartphone-to-TV devices from third parties, such as the SlimPort Nano Console from Analogix.
By connecting your Android smartphone to the device via the SlimPort micro-USB connector and then connecting the Nano Console's HDMI cable to a larger display, Analogix believes it can deliver the same smartphone experience as before, but in a living room setting. This allows you to watch movies, show presentations, respond to emails, and even play games from your smartphone on a larger screen.
Of course, this means that you also need a remote or controller of some sort. Fortunately, the company made one to go along with the Nano Console, appropriately called the Nano Remote. Along with the three traditional Android buttons at the bottom of the remote, the rest of the surface area is used as a trackpad, so it should feel the same as swiping or tapping on your smartphone.
For gamers, Analogix partnered with Mad Catz for use of the C.T.R.L.R. device, which is the same controller used in Mad Catz's M.O.J.O. Android mini-console, and also uses your smartphone as the main source of games. The Bluetooth-paired controller also includes media controls, as well as a mouse mode that brings up a mouse cursor on the screen controlled by the left analog stick. Support for multiple controllers on the same device is also available.
Other features for the Nano Console include the ability to charge your phone while connected in order to prevent power loss in the middle of entertainment or work, as well as an extra HDMI port to allow another device to display on screen via the Nano Console.
However, Analogix needs support from early adopters for the Nano Console in the form of a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo. The goal amount is $10,000 before October 27. So far, the campaign received $3,452. The retail price for the Nano Console is $59, but customers can pledge as low as $34 (plus shipping) to get one of the first copies that includes the device and remote. At $54, those interested in the gaming aspect can purchase The Gamer Pack, which includes the Nano Console, Nano Remote, and the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.R.
Last week, Microsoft introduced the Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones. In addition, the company introduced an accompanying device, the Microsoft Display Dock. However, this was a more work-focused presentation, with the goal for users to take the dock with their new Lumia smartphone and plug it into a TV or monitor, grab a keyboard and mouse, and immediately get down to business. This is made possible by a new feature in Windows 10 called "Continuum."
Analogix, on the other hand, seems to aim for the catch-all category. Instead of just using the smartphone screen, it believes that customers want something more with their device. The Nano Console seems to be the answer by providing the same capabilities of your Android smartphone and giving it a display boost to allow users to convert their living rooms or workspaces into a fully functioning entertainment and work environment, all from their Android smartphones.
Follow Rexly Peñaflorida II @Heirdeux. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.


The Green Grid recently proposed that data center managers add Carbon Usage Effectiveness and Water Usage Effectiveness to the already widely used Power Usage Effectiveness metric. While I've never seen a data center that tracks too many operating metrics, I've seen plenty that lack appropriate financial measurements.
While I think some good could come out of additional energy and environmental metrics, including possible innovations in cooling architectures, they cannot overwhelm metrics important to shareholders, many of which are not tracked. It's rare to find a data center operator who can't tell you the PUE of the building, by season, but it's also rare to find one who can tell you the IRR on the capital invested in the place. Haphazard upgrades are sometimes required operationally, but as an investor in a building, either a self-administered or leased facility, I'd want to know what the financial returns are on that capital investment, what the alternatives are to these investments, and how much of the capital could be substituted by operating expenses, and what the return on doing such a thing would be. But rarely can data center managers discuss these numbers like they can their PUEs.
The problem with not tracking IRR is that the number of options to build or buy continue to expand in this industry, from the facility itself, to power, to cooling, to telecom capacity. How do you know you're making the best decision if you don't know the returns, and I don't mean costs, but the financial returns of shifting an operating cost to a captial outlay, and vice versa? And what about the timing of expansions? A time-sensitive financial measure like IRR, and not ROI or TCO, is needed to handle this.
It's time for the industry to start tracking a new CUE, not Carbon Usage Effectiveness, but Capital Usage Effectiveness. Vendor TCO models, which generally originate in their marketing departments, not internal capital planning, are a poor substitute for doing this, in fact they're negative because they're arbitrary and typically exclude the opportunity costs of alternative uses of capital, as well as the time value of money. Moreover, good capital planning can assist with good environmental planning, by eliminating unnecessary costs and capital outlays. But it won't start happening until data center managers start tracking their capital output as closely as their environmental output.


text:
Q: What do you call $p(Y|X_1)$? Given random vectors $Y= [Y_1, \dots, Y_m]$ and $X = [X_1, \dots, X_n]$, $p(y|x)$ is the conditional distribution of $Y$ given $X$.
We can call $p(y_1|x)$ the marginal conditional distribution of $Y_1$ given $X$.
What would you call $p(y|x_1)$, the conditional distribution of $Y$ given $X_1$ then? Can it still be called "marginal conditional distribution of $Y$ given $X_1$"?
This is some terminology in Bayesian statistics, where you can think of the conditional distribution of $Y$ given $X$ as either the posterior distribution or the sampling distribution.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package org.andengine.entity.primitive;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

import org.andengine.opengl.vbo.DrawType;
import org.andengine.opengl.vbo.VertexBufferObjectManager;
import org.andengine.opengl.vbo.attribute.VertexBufferObjectAttribute;

import android.util.Log;

/**
 *
 * @author Rodrigo Castro
 * @since 22:10:11 - 28.01.2012
 */
public class Polygon extends Mesh {
	// ===========================================================
	// Constants
	// ===========================================================

	private static final float VERTEX_SIZE_DEFAULT_RATIO = 1.f;

	// ===========================================================
	// Fields
	// ===========================================================

	protected float[] mVertexX;
	protected float[] mVertexY;

	protected static EarClippingTriangulator mTriangulator = new EarClippingTriangulator();

	// ===========================================================
	// Constructors
	// ===========================================================

	/**
	 * Uses a default {@link HighPerformanceMeshVertexBufferObject} in {@link DrawType#STATIC} with the {@link VertexBufferObjectAttribute}s: {@link Mesh#VERTEXBUFFEROBJECTATTRIBUTES_DEFAULT}.
	 */
	public Polygon(final float pX, final float pY, final float[] pVertexX, final float[] pVertexY, final VertexBufferObjectManager pVertexBufferObjectManager) {
		this(pX, pY, pVertexX, pVertexY, pVertexBufferObjectManager, DrawType.STATIC);
	}

	/**
	 * Uses a default {@link HighPerformanceMeshVertexBufferObject} with the {@link VertexBufferObjectAttribute}s: {@link Mesh#VERTEXBUFFEROBJECTATTRIBUTES_DEFAULT}.
	 */
	public Polygon(final float pX, final float pY, final float[] pVertexX, float[] pVertexY, final VertexBufferObjectManager pVertexBufferObjectManager, final DrawType pDrawType) {
		this(pX, pY, buildVertexList(mTriangulator.computeTriangles(buildListOfVector2(pVertexX, pVertexY))), VERTEX_SIZE_DEFAULT_RATIO, pVertexBufferObjectManager, pDrawType );

		assert( mVertexX.length == mVertexY.length );
		mVertexX = pVertexX;
		mVertexY = pVertexY;
	}

	/**
	 * Uses a default {@link HighPerformanceMeshVertexBufferObject} with the {@link VertexBufferObjectAttribute}s: {@link Mesh#VERTEXBUFFEROBJECTATTRIBUTES_DEFAULT}.
	 */
	public Polygon(final float pX, final float pY, final float[] pBufferData, final float sizeRatio, final VertexBufferObjectManager pVertexBufferObjectManager, final DrawType pDrawType) {
		super(pX, pY, (int) ((pBufferData.length / VERTEX_SIZE)* sizeRatio), DrawMode.TRIANGLES,
				new HighPerformanceMeshVertexBufferObject(pVertexBufferObjectManager, pBufferData, (int) ((pBufferData.length / VERTEX_SIZE )*sizeRatio), pDrawType, true, Mesh.VERTEXBUFFEROBJECTATTRIBUTES_DEFAULT));

		onUpdateVertices();
	}

	// ===========================================================
	// Getter & Setter
	// ===========================================================

	public float[] getVertexX()
	{
		return mVertexX;
	}

	public float[] getVertexY()
	{
		return mVertexY;
	}

	/**
	 *
	 * @param pVertexX
	 * @param pVertexY
	 * @return 	true if vertices were correctly updated
	 * 			false otherwise
	 */
	public boolean updateVertices( float[] pVertexX, float[] pVertexY )
	{
		mVertexX = pVertexX;
		mVertexY = pVertexY;
		assert( mVertexX.length == mVertexY.length );

		List<Vector2> verticesVectors = mTriangulator.computeTriangles(buildListOfVector2(pVertexX, pVertexY));
		if( verticesVectors.size() == 0 )
		{
			Log.e("AndEngine", "Error: Polygon - Polygon can't be triangulated. Will not update vertices");
			return false;
		}

		updateVertices(verticesVectors, getBufferData());
		onUpdateVertices();

		return true;
	}

	// ===========================================================
	// Methods for/from SuperClass/Interfaces
	// ===========================================================

	// ===========================================================
	// Methods
	// ===========================================================

	protected static List<Vector2> buildListOfVector2(float[] pX, float [] pY )
	{
		assert(pX.length == pY.length );
		ArrayList<Vector2> vectors = new ArrayList<Vector2>( pX.length );

		for( int i = 0; i < pX.length; i++ )
		{
			// TODO avoid using new
			Vector2 v = new Vector2( pX[i], pY[i]);
			vectors.add(v);
		}

		return vectors;
	}

	protected static float[] buildVertexList(List<Vector2> vertices )
	{

		float[] bufferData = new float[VERTEX_SIZE * vertices.size()];
		updateVertices( vertices, bufferData );
		return bufferData;
	}

	protected static void updateVertices(List<Vector2> vertices, float[] pBufferData) {
		int i = 0;
		for( Vector2 vertex : vertices )
		{
			pBufferData[(i * Mesh.VERTEX_SIZE) + Mesh.VERTEX_INDEX_X] = vertex.x;
			pBufferData[(i * Mesh.VERTEX_SIZE) + Mesh.VERTEX_INDEX_Y] = vertex.y;
			i++;
		}
	}

	// ===========================================================
	// Inner and Anonymous Classes
	// ===========================================================

}


text:
Relearn how to sell
During these tough economic times, it's time to revisit Sales Strategy 101: Prove there's a reason why your customers need your services.
By John Moore and Mark Mehler | May 11, 2001 -- 04:45 GMT (21:45 PDT) | Topic: CXO
Sales Strategy 101: In tough times you have to prove there's a reason why your customers need your services
One former employee of professional services firm EDS says he used to sum up the company's approach to selling IT services in a soft market like this: "Look for the cow in the ditch." In other words, locate the customer's pain points—those pressing business problems that can't be put on the back burner until the economy improves—and aim your sales pitch right at the heart of those problems. Offer solutions that provide an immediate payback, in the form of reduced operating costs or lower budgetary expenditures. In a recession, lofty promises to reinvent the customer's business (did anyone say "e-commerce"?) go over about as well as William F. Buckley on the "Jerry Springer Show."
All this is covered in Salesmanship 101, under the heading of "selling ROI" (return on investment). Every salesperson with an ounce of training knows these basic techniques like lawyers know the rules of evidence or physicists know the atom.
But you'll have to forgive the industry's salespeople if their skills are a little rusty. It's been ages since anyone has had to resort to selling ROI. Indeed, in the past two or three years, just about all it took to sell Internet-based solutions was the ability to answer the phone and take orders. Some of the most prosperous solutions providers didn't even bother hiring in-house salespeople—their leads and referrals came right over the transom from their venture capitalists. It was fat city all around.
And then, all of a sudden, recounts Steve Waterhouse, president of the Waterhouse Group, a sales training firm, everybody seemed to figure out that the "New Economy" was really just the old economy run by people who didn't know what they were doing.
"And once they realized that profit has something to do with keeping an organization running, we started getting back to fundamentals," says Waterhouse. He notes that the industry's fixation on the top line created enormous month-to-month pressure to book business and ultimately led to sloppy deal-making. But now, that mind-set has been replaced by a clamoring for the "basics of filling the pipeline with good stuff," Waterhouse says. Janet Szilva, president of AJS Group, a sales consultancy, says that in going back and reacquainting her clients with the concept of ROI, she drives home the point that selling ROI isn't what it used to be.
Years ago, she notes, a three-year payback was an acceptable horizon, but today, 12 months is a more typical requirement.
"In a tight economy, customers are looking for an initial cost savings in a short time," says Szilva.
Scott Silk, senior VP at ePresence, a provider of directory-based solutions, agrees that projects with a payback period of a year or less are more likely to be green-lighted in a recession. Silk says the eProvisioning applications offered by his firm have a nine-month payback window (these apps allow companies to more efficiently allocate e-mail and network accounts, PCs, and cellular phones to employees).
Indeed, even the former Web consulting hotshots that treated the sales function like an old-economy relic are emphasizing rapid ROI as a cornerstone of their efforts to survive the ongoing shakeout.
Bob Howe, the CEO of Scient, which previously focused on fast time-to-market and building elaborate e-commerce vehicles, says the firm is now responding to customer demands for "an accounting period return ... ROI in some timeframe that makes sense to them."
The ABCs of ROI
Five rules for selling in a down market:
Booking an order isn't everything. Now the pressure is on to prospect for the right kinds of business.
Sell solutions that offer a financial payback in 12 months or less. Customers won't wait two or three years anymore to see a return on their IT investments.
Get your salespeople focused on finding the customer's "pain points." This may mean following the customer's employees around for a week or two to unearth hidden areas of waste and inefficiency.
Once you've identified the pain points and found the root cause, make sure you sell the solution to a decision maker who is clued in to the dollar value of the problem.
Yesterday's also-ran is today's winner. Previously unfashionable services like asset management, for example, could sell briskly in a bad economy. Likewise, mundane services like desktop outsourcing are more appealing these days than high-end strategy consulting.
Recognizing the need for instant payback, and identifying where the payback should come from, however, are two different imperatives. Janet Szilva of AJS encourages her solutions provider clients to "shadow" their customers' employees to discover where the time and money are going to waste. Szilva says one of her clients learned from following his customer around that its people were using a toll number for Internet access. After presenting that finding to the customer, Szilva's client landed a contract to implement a cost-saving solution.
Ed Coleman, CEO of CompuCom Systems, says his company is trying to help customers identify the "shadow people" involved in their desktop support operations. These people, who work within the business units, tend to be overlooked when companies formulate plans to reduce support costs.
"Consultative sales are essential when the customer can't see, touch or feel what it's buying," advises Coleman. While identifying customer needs and understanding what drives those needs are critical in a down market, he concludes, a good IT service provider should always be training its sales staff to drill down to the pain points.
After you've identified those pain points, continues Chris Pariseau, VP of business development at Stonebridge Technologies, a Dallas-based Web consultancy, the next task is to "peel back the onion" to find the root cause of a problem and sell the appropriate solution to the right customer executive.
"You can talk to the project managers in the bowels of the IT organization, but more likely than not, their first concern is whether it works," explains Pariseau. "You need to get to the person who signs the order, look that person in the eye and get that person to 'dollar-ize' the problem, to understand the real monetary cost to the organization."
One of Stonebridge's Fortune 100 customers, for example, recently called in the consultancy when its users had trouble signing on to a mission-critical CRM application. The services vendor sent in a SWAT team to determine if it was a network glitch, a systems engineering error or a security problem. "We quickly fixed the symptom, which involved the deployment of middleware in the Web space," recalls Pariseau. "But the important question was how and why did they get into this situation in a 24/7 production environment with a zero tolerance for downtime?"
Stonebridge managed to present the issue to the CTO in terms he could relate to—namely, the immense dollar cost of losing clients. The vendor ultimately stuck around to perform a complete application audit, which led to a 90-day job load-balancing the customer's servers, revamping its policies and procedures, and deploying new Oracle database applications. Among those service offerings and applications that tend to do best in a down market are some that have fallen out of fashion.
Asset management solutions, for instance, should return to favor, as companies look for ways to physically track and monitor the financial value of their IT assets.
"When times are flush, customers don't see the need," says CompuCom's Coleman. "But in a recession, asset management is a definite pain point."
Indeed, any application or service that helps get a handle on runaway expenses is likely to thrive. Robbins-Gioia LLC, a project management firm in Alexandria, Va., recently developed a portfolio management solution that helps customers determine which project investments are winners, from an ROI perspective.
Barry Calogero, executive VP of business development at Robbins-Gioia, says the process aligns an organization's projects and investments with its goals and strategies. A gap analysis tells a company's executives which projects to fund and which to scrap.
"Sometimes the best decision is to stop," notes Calogero.
Another hot area right now is outsourcing—traditional data center engagements, Web and application hosting, and various managed services offerings. Outsourcing generally meshes well with the customer's need for cost reduction, while maintaining service levels and a fixed price. It is no accident that major outsourcing providers like EDS and IBM are holding up relatively well in a declining technology market.
Content management and customer relationship management apps also are seen as solid plays when it comes to crunching ROI numbers. In an environment where cold-calling is not effective, you've got to make sure that you keep your existing qualified customers happy.
And, finally, some service providers are having success offering "self-healing" tools. CompuCom, for example, is moving from the use of live agents on-site to self-service tools that deliver greater efficiency. Coleman says CompuCom is making this transition via an alliance with Support.com.
Hopefully, say industry observers, the renewed focus on selling ROI will extend beyond the current downturn. Chris Pariseau of Stonebridge says that no matter what the business climate, every solutions provider should be moving from a transactive to a consultative sales process, where "relationship cycles" and billing cycles do not necessarily correlate.
"You always want your customers to be dollar-izing the benefits," he says.
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About Keidanren
Executives' Comments
Chairman Sakakibara's Statements and Comments at His Press Conference
Executives' Comments Press Conferences Chairman Sakakibara's Statements and Comments
at His Press Conference
Response to Quality Control Irregularities
Spring Labor-Management Wage Dialogues
Request for Increased Corporate Contributions to Childcare Policy
U.S. Corporate Tax Reform
Japan-China Relations
My view of the continued revelations of inappropriate quality control is that this is a grave situation that has the potential to erode international trust, as well as the trust of the Japanese public, in Japanese companies.
For its part, Keidanren will first call on its member companies and organizations to be thorough in their investigations of the irregularities and their compliance with laws and regulations and their contracts. If any legal breaches are confirmed, in accordance with the Charter of Corporate Behavior, they should promptly disclose the facts and top management themselves should engage wholeheartedly in the task of solving the problem and investigating the root causes. At that time, we would ask them to report to Keidanren, and the findings would be compiled and made public. Further, to be thorough in the prevention of recurrences, Keidanren will invite the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to hold a briefing for our member companies and organizations. We will do everything in our power to help restore trust and confidence in Japanese companies.
Legal compliance and an emphasis on customers are the major premises of corporate management. In the case of business-to-business transactions, because the number and range of customers are limited and contracts are concluded with individual customers, there are cases in which, even when problems occur, they can be resolved through consultations between the parties. Contracts contain clauses regarding confidentiality and trade secrets, so not everything can be made public. Top management will base their overall decisions on whether or not to make information public on factors such as the individual circumstances, the gravity of the problem, and the details of the contract. In the case of business-to-consumer transactions, on the other hand, the situation is very different. Any problems such as legal breaches and product recalls must be made public immediately.
To ensure a virtuous economic cycle and economic recovery, the business community has implemented wage rises for the past four consecutive years. It is important that we keep up this momentum. Taking into account Prime Minister Abe's indicated expectations of a 3% wage rise and other social demands, for its part, Keidanren will present specific policies for diverse wage increases and improvement of conditions, and encourage debate between management and labor in the individual companies. Decisions on wage rises must always be left to each individual company, but Keidanren will ask them to adopt a forward-looking approach to wage rises for the sake of the virtuous economic cycle and, in particular, the reinvigoration of consumer activity.
Companies have continued to work on increasing wages, including pay scale increases, and in the past four years, have kept up wage rises within the 2% range or more than ¥7,000 per month. Agreements on bonuses have also continued at high levels, and the fact is that wages are growing. However, consumption has not grown as much as expected. There is deep-rooted uncertainty among consumers about the future and about the national finances. This, along with the heavy burden of educational expenses, is leading consumers to put those increased wages towards savings instead of consumption. Increasing wages alone is not enough to realize a virtuous economic cycle. Along with wage rises, the uncertainty about the future among the citizens of Japan must be dispelled. In the business community as well, in addition to acting positively toward wage rises, we will also call on the government to make steady progress on social security reform and rebuild national finances as ways of dispelling that uncertainty about the future.
On the major premise of a 10% increase in the consumption tax, from the perspectives of helping employees to remain in their jobs while balancing work and family, the business community will cooperate with the government's request for an increase in corporate contributions to childcare policy. However, the limit of such contributions should be set at ¥300 billion and the contributions made gradually in line with the state of development of childcare facilities.
Contributions of around ¥400 billion have already been made to this cause, and an additional ¥300 billion will bring the total to approximately ¥700 billion. This is a major burden on Japan's companies. Under these circumstances, we would ask the government to give further consideration to measures to alleviate that burden, such as lowering labor insurance premiums. We also call on the government to give consideration to ways to assist small and medium enterprises and very small businesses, to whom the burden of these contributions seems even greater, and to provide them with careful explanations about why they are needed.
The corporate effective tax rate, which in FY2014 was 34.62%, is now 29.97% and will fall even further to 29.74% next fiscal year. The effect of a cut in the effective tax rate of around 5% is tremendous. Having said that, with corporate tax cuts being contemplated in the United States and France, if Japan is to maintain its international competitiveness, further cuts in the effective tax rate will be vital. Efforts are also needed to make Japan's business environment attractive and comparable to those of other countries. Keidanren has consistently called for the effective tax rate to be lowered to the OECD average of around 25%. This is the crux of our corporate tax reform policy and we will continue to fly the flag of that policy. Because the corporate effective tax rate is imposed on total net income, if it were to be lowered to around 25%, it would have a major effect. In terms of how to fund such a tax cut, so far, the tax base has expanded to its limits under a revenue neutral policy. The only option left is to tax loss-making businesses, but there is resistance to such a notion. Various adjustments will likely be necessary, but we would like to propose a net reduction in taxation.
In this year's tax reforms, consideration is being given to establishing incentives for companies that are proactive in areas such as increasing wages and capital spending. While we do not know what kind of preconditions there would be for such incentives, lowering the effective tax rate to around 25% would be a major incentive for wage increases and the expansion of capital spending. It appears that consideration is being given to the recommendations I made at the Growth Strategy Council — Investing for the Future on November 17. We will be watching developments closely.
In the United States, both the House of Representatives and the Senate have passed tax reform bills. While the details of the reforms differed between the House and the Senate, basically, they call for a cut in the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% from 2018 under the House bill and from 2019 under the Senate bill. If this eventuates, Japanese companies operating in the United States will also receive benefit directly, so it is something to be welcomed. On the other hand, it will also affect the international competitiveness of Japanese companies. Until now, the United States has had the highest corporate effective tax rate among the industrial nations, followed by Japan. If the United States tax reform bill comes to fruition, Japan's corporate effective tax rate will be overwhelmingly higher than that of other nations. For this reason, the business community urges strongly for Japan's tax rate to be lowered to 25%.
For the next two days, the 3rd Japan-China Business Leader and Former High-Level Government Official Dialogue (Japan-China CEO Summit) will take place. With relations between Japan and China looking up, we look forward to a message of strong encouragement for Japan-China relations from Prime Minister Abe. During the recent visit to China by a joint delegation of Japanese business associations as well, we also received strong messages from the Chinese side for the promotion of economic and industrial cooperation between our two countries. We will continue to deepen our discussions with the top levels of the Chinese business community about strengthening private-sector exchanges, promoting innovation, and global cooperation, including the One Belt One Road initiative.
Comment by Chairman
Speech by Chairman
Officers of KEIDANREN
Comprehensive Strategy
Economic Policy, Social Security
CSR and Education
Labor Policy
Trade, Investiment, EPA/FTA
Urban and Local Development
Regional Affairs
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This blog post was co-authored by Barry Luijbregts, Azure MVP.
Last year, I attended a Pluralsight webinar hosted by Azure MVP and Pluralsight author, Barry Luijbregts, called Keep your dev team productive with the right Azure service. It was a fantastic webinar and I really enjoyed learning Barry's thought process on how he selects which Azure services and capabilities to use for his own projects, and when he consults for his clients. Recently, I asked Barry to share his process in this blog post and on an episode of Azure Friday with Scott Hanselman (included below).
Microsoft Azure is huge and changes fast! I'm impressed by the services and capabilities offered in Azure and by how quickly Microsoft releases new services and features. It can be overwhelming. There is so much out there — and the list continues to grow — it is sometimes hard to know which services to use for a given scenario.
I create Azure solutions for my customers, and I have a method that I use to help me pick the right services. This method helps me narrow down the services to choose from and pick the right ones for my solution. It helps me decide how to implement high-level requirements such as "Running my application in Azure" or "Storing data for my application in Azure." Of course, these are just examples. There are many other categories to address when I'm architecting an Azure solution.
Where do I need my app to run?
What usage model do I need?
Once I've answered these questions, I've narrowed down the services from which to choose. And then, I look deeper into the services to see which one best matches the requirements of my application, including functionality as well as availability, performance, and costs.
Let's go through the first part of the process where I answer the high-level questions about the category.
Question 1: How much control do I need?
In considering how much control I need, I try to figure out the degree of control I need over the operating system, load balancers, infrastructure, application scaling, and so on. This decides the category of services that I will be selecting from.
On the control side of the spectrum is infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) category, which includes services like Azure Virtual Machines and Azure Container Instances. These give a lot of control over the operating system and the infrastructure that runs your application. But with control comes great responsibility. For instance, if you control the operating system, you are responsible to update it and make sure that it is secure.
Figure 1. How much control do I need?
Further up the stack are services that fall into the platform-as-a-service (PaaS) category, which contains services like Azure App Service Web Apps. In PaaS, you don't have control over the operating system that your application runs on, nor are you responsible for it. You do have control over scaling your application and your application configuration (e.g., the version of .NET you want your application to run on.
The next abstraction level is what I will here call logic as a service (LaaS), also known as serverless. This category contains services like Azure Functions and Azure Logic Apps. Here, Azure takes care of the underlying infrastructure for you, including scaling your app. Logic as a service gives little control over the infrastructure that your application runs on, which means that you are only responsible for creating the application itself and configuring its application settings, like connection strings to databases.
The highest level of abstraction is software as a service (SaaS), which offers the least amount of control and the most amount of time that you can focus on working on business value. An example of Azure SaaS is Azure Cognitive Services, which are APIs that you just call from your application. Somebody else owns their application code and infrastructure; you just consume them. And all you manage is basic application configuration, like managing the API keys that you use to call the service.
Once I know how much control I need, I can pick the category of services in Azure and narrow down my choice.
Question 2: Where do I need my app to run?
The second question stemming from "Running my application in Azure" is: Where do I need my application to run?
Figure 2. Where do I need my app to run?
You might think that the answer would be: I need to run my application in Azure. But the answer may not be that simple. For example, maybe I do want parts of my application to run in the Azure public cloud but I want to run other parts in Azure Government or the Azure China cloud or even on-premises using Azure Stack.
Or it could be that I want to be able run my application in Azure and on-premises (if rules and regulations change), on my local development computer, or even in public clouds from other vendors.
This question boils down to how vendor-agnostic I'd like to be and where to store my data.
Once I've answered this question, I can narrow down the choice of Azure services even further.
Question 3: What usage model do I need?
How my app will be used guides me to the answer to the third and final question: what usage model do I need?
Figure 3. What usage model do I need?
Some applications are in use all the time, like a website. If that is the case for my application, I need to look for services that run on what I call the classic model. This means that they are always running and that you pay for them all month.
Other applications are only in use occasionally, like a background job that runs once every hour, or an API that handles order cancellations (called a few times a day). If my application runs occasionally, I need to select a service from the logic-as-a-service (or serverless) category. These services only run when you need them, and you only pay for them when they run.
After I've answered the high-level questions for this category, I can narrow down the services that I can choose from to just a couple or even one.
Now, I need to figure out which service fulfills the most requirements for my application. I do so by looking at the functionality that I need, the availability that the service offers in its service level agreement, the performance that it provides, and what it costs.
Finally, this leads me to the service that I want to use to run my application. Often, I use multiple services to run my application, because it consists of many pieces, like a user interface and APIs. So, it might turn out that I run my web application in an Azure App Service Web App and my APIs in Azure Functions.
We've only discussed one category of requirements: "Running my application in Azure." There are many more, like "Securing my application in Azure," "Doing data analytics in Azure," and "Monitoring my application in Azure." The method I have described will help you with all these categories.
I hope that my method helps you to sort through and choose the best services for your application from the vast array of what's available in Azure. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me through Twitter (@AzureBarry) if you have any questions or feedback.


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Transformational Investment
Educate Tanzania has operated on a no-nonsense business model that is mindful, responsible, based upon authentic partnerships, calculates costs, thinks through outcomes and adjusts course based upon indices from evaluation and accountability. The oft-criticized and stereotypical model of "doing for the poor" was never the way ETI conducted its business.
At inception and with no track record in 2010, it was critical to stay true to a model that insisted upon genuine, authentic partnership with a developing district and its communities; a model built upon "doing with" rather than "doing for". In large and important ways, ETI's success has been determined by adherence to:
No quick fixes.
Never doing work that can be done by the developing community. Employ local labor.
Never supplying goods that can be purchased in the developing community. Buy local.
Never imposing ideas no matter how great or well-funded they are.
Partnering with morally upright, respected, industrious, visionary community leaders.
Rigorous assessment of the needs and priorities of people in the developing communities.
Collaboration and mutual goal-setting based upon community's prioritized needs.
Subordinating self-interests to the needs of those in the developing community.
Leveraging expertise and resources that don't already exist in the developing community.
Calculating costs.
Evaluation and holding all partners accountable
Reinforcing achievements and celebrating together.
Growing in partnership distinguished by character, caring and competence.
Principles such as these are growing more mainstream, and ETI embraces the emerging perceptions of healthy charity. Books such as "When Helping Hurts" (Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert) and "Toxic Charity" (Robert D. Lupton) have done much to promote approaches that lead to interdependence and independence in developing communities, and are in alignment with the ETI model.
It is an honor to work with donors and supporters who want to impact developing communities. Not with influence gained by bringing developing communities on board with their own entrepreneurial ideas, but instead who subordinate themselves to the ideas and intentions of the people of the developing communities. This is no small thing and many good-intentioned people just plain 'don't get it'. But ETI takes no shortcuts and does not take trust with our partners for granted. The results? A decade of consistent transformational investments that have empowered the entrepreneurs and dreamers –women and men of the developing communities in Karagwe, who in turn, are making and will continue to make – their own transformational investments.
"The dreamers must be connected to the resources that provide nutrients to give those dreams life."
Robert D. Lupton, Toxic Charity
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