text:
A dark side at Fidelity: Women describe culture of bias and revenge
By Sabrina Willmer
Of Bloomberg |
Nov 07, 2017 | 6:00 AM
Abigail Johnson, heir to the Fidelity fortune and now chief executive officer, has promised to root out the mistreatment of women. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg)
The trouble for Erika Wesson at Fidelity Investments began with an anonymous email.
"Maybe you can go out there and do another deal where you lose millions. Stupid Bitch!" a copy of the 2008 message reads.
Wesson was then a Fidelity analyst and, by her account, the only woman on its real estate team for institutional investors. The email — sent from a Yahoo account whose address was a crude comment on her anatomy — said she would be fired.
From there things got worse.
Before long, Wesson became embroiled in a years-long discrimination fight with the mutual-fund giant, one that sheds light on new allegations about the treatment of women who accuse men of bias.
[Related] Savvy Senior: Does Medicare cover counseling services? »
Fidelity strenuously denies Wesson's account which, along with the 2008 email, is laid bare in hundreds of pages of court documents in a case still unfolding in state court in Boston, where the company is based.
On Thursday, Wesson's story hit her hometown papers. The details are emerging after two prominent Fidelity money managers were dismissed in recent weeks over allegations of sexual harassment, exposing what some insiders have characterized as a men's club mentality in parts of the company.
Wesson's complaint is one of at least six cases alleging discrimination against women at Fidelity in the last decade, according to a review of state records and court files. Companies usually resolve such grievances behind closed doors, and settlements forbid women from discussing them. So, the cases offer a rare look into disputes over the way women are treated at one of the world's largest money-management firms, which oversees $2.3 trillion for 25 million customers.
Of the six complaints filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the state agency that initially investigates such matters, three were dismissed and three were settled — including Wesson's. The other two involved allegations of a double standard for women who have relationships with co-workers and retaliation against a female employee for reporting harassment.
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In rare public remarks, Abigail Johnson, heir to the Fidelity fortune and now chief executive officer, has promised to root out the mistreatment of women. On Oct. 23, in a video made available to Fidelity's 40,000 employees and in a speech the next day at a Washington conference, she vowed to fight sexual harassment. In a September interview, she promised to recruit more women.
Erika Wesson will not be one of them. Fidelity paid her $500,000 in 2011 and promised to provide good job references as part of a confidential settlement.
But Wesson claims she has been blackballed in the industry and says Fidelity is to blame. Six years later, after about 60 interviews, the Vanderbilt MBA has not found another job in finance. In 2015, she filed a breach-of-contract suit in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston.
"The facts of this case present a troubling picture of what happens to talented women, particularly in male-dominated fields, who dare to speak up about the discrimination they face," said Ellen Zucker, Wesson's attorney. "Too often, they find themselves without a place to turn for support, made the target of unfair scrutiny and told it is they who no longer fit in and should leave."
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Fidelity calls her suit baseless.
"Meritless claims are brought against Fidelity as they are against every large employer," said Vincent Loporchio, a spokesman. "In many instances, the cases are dismissed. Even in cases where there are settlements, one cannot draw the conclusion that the case had any merit. Companies on occasion settle cases simply to avoid the exorbitant costs and inconvenience of litigation."
In 2007, Wesson began working at Fidelity's Pyramis Global Advisors, which managed money for institutional investors. From 2008 on, Wesson, who was in her 30s, was the only woman on the acquisition team, which scouted for deals across the U.S., she said in court papers, which noted she received positive reviews that included ratings of "exceeding expectations" and "outstanding."
In 2010, Sujit Sitole, who was junior to her but acting as her boss, told her she wasn't getting ahead because she "didn't drink beer, watch football or eat meat," she said in her lawsuit. He advised her to play a stereotypical female role, taking a "back seat" by remaining silent even when she knew the answer to a question asked by a managing director, she said.
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Sitole maintained his words had been misconstrued, and he had, in fact, said Wesson didn't need to do any of those things to be part of the group, according to a deposition from one of his supervisors.
Fidelity officials later suggested she would be better off leaving the company, Wesson said.
In her settlement, the company agreed to give her a positive reference — including the phrase "I have no reservations recommending Erika for employment" — and make no disparaging comments about her.
Afterward, employers showed plenty of interest in hiring her because of recommendations such as this one, from a Boston lawyer: "Erika is a strategic thinker, detail oriented, she sees the forest and the trees ... I highly recommend her."
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In 2011, Marc Davidson, a managing director at real estate firm AEW Capital Management, reached out to Wesson's former boss, Michael Elizondo, after hearing glowing reports about Wesson. Elizondo offered only that Wesson had worked for him, Davidson recalled.
"When you get a response like that, you just stop and don't ask further questions," Davidson testified, according to a court filing. He dropped her as a candidate.
In 2012, Bradley Weismiller, an executive at money manager Brookfield Asset Management, described Wesson as "very sharp" in an email after he spoke with her for about an hour, according to one of Wesson's court filings. One of his colleagues called her background "ideally suited" to their style of investing.
But, later, Wesson testified that Weismiller told her Brookfield had heard from one of her former co-workers that she had "left on very bad terms" and, in the small real-estate industry, her background was no longer considered "pristine." Weismiller declined to comment.
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Also that year, after Marc Cardillo, a managing director at investment consulting firm Cambridge Associates, met Wesson, he shot an email to Jeffrey Gandel, another of her former Fidelity bosses: "hubba hubba - how'd you let her go?" Later, presumably after hearing why from Gandel, the consultant got an email from Wesson, which he forwarded to Gandel adding the word "Crap!," according to one of Wesson's court filings. Cambridge Associates declined to comment.
In 2014, years into Wesson's fruitless job search, Enrique Bellido, former director of construction management at Fidelity, sent her an email: "Karma is a bitch isn't it Erika?"
In response to Wesson's filings, Fidelity called much of her evidence little more than hearsay and also said it wasn't responsible for her former supervisors' comments because they no longer worked there. Fidelity, itself, it said, had never been asked for a reference. In 2011, the year Wesson left the company, her former unit spun off from Fidelity to become Long Wharf Capital LLC, which declined to comment. Wesson's filings say Fidelity treats Long Wharf as an affiliate for tax purposes; Fidelity says no corporate relationship exists.
Around the same time Wesson was working at Fidelity, another woman seemed well on her way to the highest reaches of the mostly male world of money management.
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Alicia Frank, who researched emerging-markets stocks, was only in her 30s and earning as much as $650,000 a year. If all went well, she would become a portfolio manager, making her eligible for millions in annual pay.
But, in 2007, she became romantically involved with Bob von Rekowsky, who managed Fidelity's emerging-markets fund, according to court records. Both were married. He told the human-resources department about the relationship.
At first, Fidelity asked the two to keep their relationship "invisible," according to the company. Later, managers said the two had created "significant turmoil" because they had been spending so much time together that other analysts were complaining about favoritism.
The company then sought to enforce a policy prohibiting managers from dating subordinates. Frank said that von Rekowsky, though in a senior role — he was paid as much as $3 million a year, according to court records — was not her direct supervisor.
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Fidelity said the couple were given the chance to decide who would transfer within the company or leave, but Frank maintains she was pressured to leave. The firm said it offered to give Frank a comparable job, and she had instead chosen to resign in 2009. Frank said the offer was a step down.
Frank also leveled an accusation at the supervisor asking her to move to another role: Eric Wetlaufer, the chief investment officer for the group overseeing funds that invest in international stocks and one of Fidelity's top money-management executives.
Wetlaufer was having an "illicit extra marital affair'' with his own subordinate in Hong Kong, she claimed in her July 2010 filing with the Massachusetts anti-discrimination agency. He left the company three months after Frank's departure and four months before she filed the complaint. Wetlaufer is now head of public-market investments for Canada's pension fund. He declined to comment.
Frank divorced her husband and married von Rekowsky, who stayed at Fidelity until December 2016. At Fidelity, her replacement, who was male, was paid more than she was, according to her complaint. Frank declined to comment.
In the third settled complaint, Heather DaSilva, an accountant for one of Fidelity's subsidiaries, said her supervisors retaliated against her in 2008 after one of their friends was forced to leave the company for sexually harassing her and other women. Fidelity didn't respond to questions about the case.
In her state filing, DaSilva said the human-resources department didn't address the problem. Instead, it offered her three months of severance. Fidelity had been more generous to the man she accused of harassing her, she said: He walked away with six months of pay.


You child grows so fast. These sessions are designed to capture every detail of your child so that you can remember the felling moment forever. These sessions are designed to fit your Childs personality. Sessions are not rushed and I strive to have the session to be fun filled. Before your session I ask you to fill out a questionnaire so I can get to know your child/children before the session! Please contact me here for more information and to book your session!


That's it. Now we just need to reassemble it before someone realizes it's not in the warehouse.
It practically tells you how to disassemble it.
Most common repairs can be done with one tool.
Finding replacement parts may require entering a Temple of Doom/RadioShack.


Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a Jersey City, N.J., father that may have been the result of an argument over a fender bender, WABC reports.
According to the report, on Saturday night 36-year-old Michael Settles got into the minor accident near his family home and exchanged some words with the driver of the other vehicle. The two men parted ways, and most would think that would have been the end of the situation.
However, family members say the driver later returned with another person and a gun, firing several shots in front of the family and hitting Settles in the head, ultimately killing the father of two.
Settles leaves behind two small children: a 4-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.
According to WABC, the district attorney's office is looking into the accident and the shooting to try to identify the suspects.


Our office is located in Longwood, Florida, just north of Orlando. We provide legal advice to clients in person and over the phone. If we feel the area of law that you are enquiring about is not within our expertise, chances are we may be able to direct you to the right source or the right local legal counsel who can effectively assist you.
© Zaeri & Associates P.A.


Getting a new roof means you will have workmen on the property for a few days, but afterward you will have a beautiful new roof. Materials for the new roof will likely arrive in the day or two leading up to the construction start date. You need to be ready for the delivery, since this is the first phase in ensuring your new roof goes on smoothly and quickly. The following tips can help.
The roofing supplies are usually stacked in the driveway upon arrival. This is so the stacks of shingles don't damage your grass. Once they arrive, you won't be able to get into or out of your garage, so it's important to move your cars beforehand. You may need to park on the street for the duration of the roofing project. The shingles are usually stacked on top of pallets or brown paper, so there is no need to worry about staining on the driveway.
Most roofing companies use either a tear-down dumpster or a trailer to gather the old shingles they tear from the roof. This will need to be placed somewhere accessible, since often the shingles are tossed straight from the roof and into the dumpster when feasible. Find out if you need to clear space in the driveway or on the street for the dumpster, as well as when to expect its delivery. If the plan is to park in on the grass, then flag the location of sprinkler heads so they aren't driven over. You may also want to refrain from watering for a day or two to cut down on ruts in the lawn.
Roofers will need access to at least once outdoor electrical outlet. If you are using the outlets for other purposes on the property, please free up the outlets before the roofers arrive. In the event your home doesn't have exterior outlets, you will need to run an outdoor extension cord inside to either a garage or in-home outlet. Please choose a grounded outlet for safety reasons. Your roofer can help you find a suitable outlet.
Some states or municipalities require a portable toilet on all job sites, regardless of whether or not a restroom is available inside the home or building. If this is the case in your area, you will need to provide a location for it to be placed. Most companies prefer to place them at the end of the driveway, as far from the house as possible. Make sure the area that is chosen is clear and ready for delivery.
For more help in preparing for your new roof, talk to your roofing contractor.


Oluyinka Awobiyi is a second year MBA Candidate at the Foster School of Business focusing on Marketing and International Business. She launched her career as a financial analyst at Greenwich Trust Limited, a boutique investment bank in Lagos Nigeria and transitioned to a Brand Management position at British American Tobacco (BAT) in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Oluyinka is passionate about generating ideas to develop and advance the economic potential of businesses in emerging markets, which motivates her involvement in business forums, case competitions, community engagement, and research focused on emerging markets. Post- MBA, she intends to pursue her career at innovative technological companies with significant investments in emerging market economies.


I am having trouble finding glow devils. Any ideas on some places that might have a large stock of them. I live in Southeast MN, any ideas??
Also how have people done using them?? Any colors or sizes that seem to work best??
So far I've had the best luck with a 1/8th ounce size, red glow color Glow Devil. Caught lots of crappies, a couple nice northerns, 2 real nice and a bunch of smaller walleyes, a couple jumbo perch, and even one very hungry little sunfish on it. I also agree with ordering it from FM. Mine took a little longer to get than I was hoping but that was due to a backorder situation.
Glow Devil Demand outstripped production.
The Glow Devils are backordered and difficult to find anywhere and it's on a first come first served basis.
I just received a shipment in this afternoon and I'm expecting another shipment next week.
We hope to have any orders taken this week filled by the end of next week.
I'm just about certain I seen some at Hooked on Fishing in Rochester last Saturday.
We use glow spoons and we see them all over in bait stores in the Bemidji area.
Psst...Thorne Bros had a few left a week ago. Good luck, there wasn't many left.
Stopped at Thorne Bros. last night and they still have some left, lots of Angel Eyes too.
They didn't have the perch pattern I was looking for though. I think I can survive without it.
I've got some spares in 1/8 and 1/4 oz. I'll sell for 10 bucks each-LOL!
I ordered a card of 1/8 oz Glow Devils a week ago or so. Does anyone have any idea how long I can expect to wait before I see them?
I waited 3 weeks because they were backorderd when i put it my order.i know they are still running behind but they are about immpossible to find anyplace else. worth the wait though, very well made lure.
loosegoose - I ordered a week before x-mas. Just got an email from them the other day stating that they were going to be shipping mine out priority mail today.
man i have been slamming the fish on those spoons. best dam spoon made. sure glad i ordered early.
I picked some up at Denny's in Roseau the weekend after Christmas and there weren't very many left. I hope Jeff doesn't come out with too many more lures because I am running out of room for all of them. The do work very well.
What's your technique? Tipped with minnow head? Stinger hook? I've got some but I've had better luck with a plain hook and minnow.
ive been putting two fathead minnow heads on two of the trebles.
Thanks for the info. I'll try it my next time out.


In 2009, author Jamie Ford's first novel entitled "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" was released, quickly becoming a New York Times best seller.
As the author shared with us during our interview, the idea for the book started with the "I Am Chinese" button he found in some of his father's belongings and worn by his father as a kid. Many Chinese families feared for their safety, especially as the FBI was rounding up prominent members of the Japanese community.
Jamie was familiar with the Panama Hotel and made an appointment to meet owner Jan Johnson. He had become aware that personal belongings left behind by families of Japanese ancestry stored in the basement for decades as a result of Executive Order 9066 were still in the Hotel. While he waited for Jan, he watched her come and go to the rhythmic cadence of a metronome, through the Tea House or returning from the basement with a wrench in her hand after tending to the boiler — ultimately the two connected.
The book has been translated into approximately 34 languages and book clubs from around the world visit the Panama Hotel today to learn more about the historic significance of the property.


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The IndieWeb movement is a global community that is building an open set of principles and methods that empower people to take back ownership of identity and data instead of sharecropping on 3rd party websites. Join us in downtown Portland for two days of a BarCamp-style gathering of web creators building and sharing open web technologies to empower users to own their own identities & content, and advance the state of the indie web! You'll learn about ways to empower yourself to own your data, create and publish content on your own site, and only optionally syndicate to third-party silos. Along the way you'll get a solid grounding in the history and future of domain ownership, Microformats, IndieAuth, Webmention, Micropub and more!


text:
Quick Answer: How Many Billionaires Are In Singapore?
How much is a good salary in Singapore?
Why is Singapore so rich?
How many Trillionaires are there in world?
How many millionaires are there in Singapore 2020?
What is the richest part of Singapore?
Who is richest family in Singapore?
Is 8000 SGD good salary?
Who is the richest man in Singapore?
Is 7000 SGD a good salary?
Where do the super rich live in Singapore?
How much money is rich in Singapore?
Who is the richest woman in Singapore?
Who is the richest YouTuber in Singapore?
Is 300k a good salary in Singapore?
What is the best area to live in Singapore?
Is anyone a trillionaire 2020?
Some estimates on how much the average Singaporean is paid monthly puts the figure at over USD$6,000.
But a more realistic average would be the most presented by Paylab–, which has the average employee in Singapore earning approximately US$3900..
Today, the Singapore economy is one of the most stable in the world, with no foreign debt, high government revenue and a consistently positive surplus. The Singapore economy is mainly driven by exports in electronics manufacturing and machinery, financial services, tourism, and the world's busiest cargo seaport.
StatisticsYearTotal number of billionairesCombined wealth of known billionaires20192,153-2,604$8.6-$8.7 trillion20182,208-2,754$9.1-$9.2 trillion20172,043$7.71 trillion10 more rows
The total net worth of all millionaires stood at US$158,261 billion. By 2020, those numbers dropped….Countries by number of Millionaires.Rank23CountrySingaporeNumber of millionaires (thousands)207Millionaires per 100,0003,56634 more columns
On PropertyGuru, the most expensive home in Singapore was in Orchard/River Valley. At S$106 million dollars, it's actually not even a home, yet. Spanning across 29,000 square foot, this property is ready for development for anyone who's rich and ambitious enough to create the house of his dream in this humongous area.
The List#1 Zhang Yong & Shu Ping. more.#2 Li Xiting. more.#3 Goh Cheng Liang. more.#4 Eduardo Saverin. more.#5 Robert & Philip Ng. more.#6 Kwek Leng Beng & family. more.#7 Forrest Li. more.#8 Khoo family. more.More items…•
8000 is more than enough. average singaporean graduate at 27 is making only 3500 if you are lucky, and 3000 if you are unlucky.
1. Zhang Yong – $13.8 Billion Net WorthSingapore is home to numerous billionaires from a diverse group of industries.Restaurateur Zhang Yong is the wealthiest with a net worth of $13.8 billion. … Brothers Robert and Philip NG inherited large properties from their father and are the second wealthiest in Singapore.More items…•
Average salary (GDP per capita) was ~5200 SGD last I read. So 7000 from that perspective seems to be fine. … Average salary (GDP per capita) was ~5200 SGD last I read. So 7000 from that perspective seems to be fine.
These super-rich people spend millions to snap up the island's few single-family homes in secluded, ritzy neighborhoods like Orchard Road and Holland Village. From attending elite private schools to mingling at exclusive members-only social clubs, here's how Singapore's richest spend their time.
Those who may be considered "crazy rich" – ultra high net worth individuals who hold more than US$50 million (S$68.9 million) in wealth – number about 1,000 in Singapore, a 1.1 per cent increase, said Credit Suisse.
Christina OngIt is the case with the richest woman in Singapore, Christina Ong with a net worth of $1.8 billion. Christina Ong also referred to as the "Queen of Bond Street" owns several establishments.
Nevertheless, Mr Tan Jianhao, 26, is regarded as Singapore's top YouTuber with 3.8 million subscribers to his channel. The chief executive officer and founder of Titan Digital Media reportedly earns a six-figure sum annually although industry observers believe the amount to be higher.
: an immeasurably wealthy person.
Yes it is considerably good pay compared to average income of Singaporeans. Average pay is about 60K.
House-hunting in Singapore – where are the best areas to live?Holland Village (District 10) This Bohemian area is one of the most popular neighbourhoods for expatriates to reside in. … Orchard Road (District 9) … Tiong Bahru (District 3) … Tanjong Pagar (District 2) … Sentosa (District 4) … East Coast (Districts 15 and 16) … Woodlands (District 25) … Marina Bay (District 1)
According to Comparisun, a company which allows small- to medium-sized firms to compare different business products, the world's first trillionaire will likely be Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Their projection shows Bezos reaching trillionaire status by 2026.
Quick Answer: How Do I Export SVG Files?
How do I save a logo in SVG? To save your artwork artwork
Question: Can You Still Be Friends With Someone Who Rejected You?
Can you be just friends with someone you'
Is Critical Thinking Natural?
What are the examples of critical thinking?
Quick Answer: What Is The Meaning Of Pert?
Is PERT or CPM better? PERT is a technique of planning
How Do I Update An Expired Card On Uber?
How do I update my uber account? Updating account informationOpen your app.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Strobilomyia neanthracina är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Verner Michelsen 1988. Strobilomyia neanthracina ingår i släktet Strobilomyia och familjen blomsterflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Blomsterflugor
neanthracina

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


For years, coming back home to Westeros has always been a goal of Daenerys and Jaehaerys Targaryen. Now that that day is upon them, they find that their homecoming is a little more different and dangerous than they expected. It's a race against time as alliances are forged, families reunited, and the war for the Iron Throne begins. Meanwhile, there are some groups that are not happy to see the Targaryens and their dragons return to Westeros, and will stop at nothing to make sure they become extinct once more.


text:
Q: How to check is null in update statement using ibatis? My original query is mentioned bellow using ibatis xml:
DB records not updating.
<update>
update
        nest set
        nstatus = #status#
        where
        nestid =
        #nestId# and (nstatus != #deviceStatus# OR nstatus IS NULL)
</update>

But java SQL preparing following query my logs are bellow.
DEBUG java.sql.Connection - {conn-100103} Preparing Statement:    update   nest set   nstatus = ?   where   nestid =   ? and nstatus != ? or nstatus = NULL
DEBUG java.sql.PreparedStatement - {pstm-100104} Executing Statement:    update   nest set   nstatus = ?   where   nestid =   ? and nstatus != ? or nstatus = NULL
DEBUG java.sql.PreparedStatement - {pstm-100104} Parameters: [Apple, 150495, Device]
DEBUG java.sql.PreparedStatement - {pstm-100104} Types: [java.lang.String, java.lang.Integer, java.lang.String]

and i am using mysql Db to update records it accept the following update query.(= null) is not accepting in mysql while updating records and (IS NULL) is acceptable to update records
statement should be like this:
update   nest set   nstatus = ?   where   nestid =   ? and nstatus != ? or nstatus IS NULL

Please tell Tell me the sollution, what change should i do in my ibatis update statement.

A: You need to re-factor the the update command something as
update nest set
nstatus = #status#
where
( nestid = #nestId#  AND nstatus != #deviceStatus#)
OR
nstatus IS NULL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Line of duty, a photo by The Bacher Family on Flickr.
For a park ranger, especially a supervisor, there's nothing harder than dealing with the loss of an employee in the line of duty. This was our second in six months: Ranger Nick Hall, who fell on the Emmons Glacier while helping with a rescue on the mountain. This day, the 27th of June, we had the difficult duty of organizing a press conference with Nick's father and brother. You can see how much the event weighed on our park superintendent and chief ranger by the care-worn look in their eyes and the stoop of their shoulders as they stand at attention near the outdoor podium.
Here's one of Superintendent Randy King chatting with reporters before the press conference.


This study examines the ways in which Hebrew Wikipedia users negotiate the boundaries of what is considered to be legitimate and worthy encyclopedic knowledge on discussion pages where debates over the proposed deletion of entries are carried out. Reflecting cultural perceptions of the relation between technology and epistemology in an age characterized by an ongoing tension between modernist and postmodern conceptions of truth, knowledge, and authority, and in an arena in which older technological and economic constraints limiting the amount of information that can be published no longer apply, the discussions illustrate how Wikipedia editors nevertheless construct the site's informational boundaries using traditional hierarchies of importance and value, as well as through appeals to the authority of traditional institutions. At the same time, however, they also often appeal to justifications such as popularity as a source of encyclopedic importance. We explore the juxtaposition of universal arguments based upon claims to Wikipedia's global uniformity with arguments situated in local culture and meanings, and discuss the ways in which the discourse on deletion pages helps expose ongoing struggles over the meaning and status of contemporary encyclopedic information and knowledge.


If you want to be a magician, you need top gear. No spells included, only cold hard facts.	Do or do not, there is no try! Features: 100% Carbon Content Size 36.5 & 37,5. Pro Groove : 250mm / 24mm Superlight / Light. Category Pro Touch Grip - Pearl White. We do not offer return on change of mind. However If the item is faulty/damaged. The item "OSAKA PRO TOUR SILVER GROOVE 2016 COMPOSITE FIELD HOCKEY STICK Free bag 37.5" is in sale since Saturday, December 9, 2017.


Description: Hey, guys! Let's explore a new cool game in Minecraft world – Minecraft Flash. This game shows that how many days the Minecraft fans can stay alive when playing it. How is your survival in a bad environment? Let's check your adaptable ability right now! In the game, the main task is to help a Minecraft guy survive as long as possible in an exquisite world with full of dangers. There is not much time for the guy to build a stable shelter before the darkness covers. Players! Let's help him now! Find a space in the centre of the mountain to start constructing the shelter. The players should break blocks to create an ideal house. Try to avoid the enemies in this house. Remember not to let them hit the guy, or his hearts will be lost. Let's grab 2 types of meat and eat them to regain his. Take your time to enjoy the game, guys!
Instructions: The direction keys are use to move the guy.
Click the mouse to destroy the block and create the house.


The book club meets once a month except for December, July and August, usually on the third Wednesday at 2:00. Meetings are hosted by each member in turn who had also selected the book to be discussed. Light refreshments are served and the whole meeting runs less that two hours. Our rather informal discussions may involve the style of writing, the content, plot, character development etc. With each member selecting the books, we have a rather eclectic variety of books to be reviewed. Some time is set aside for discussion of any particular hot topic of the day aside from the book discussion. There is an overall chairman, David Horman, and the club consists of 9 members.
Contact David - davidhorman@sentex.net for further information.


Patmos is known as the "island of the Apocalypse" or "Jerusalem of the Aegean": John the Theologian, one of Christ's disciples, exiled to this island by the Roman emperor Domitian in 95 AD, wrote the "Book of Revelation", the last book of the New Testament in one of the island's caves. The "Cave of the Apocalypse", as it is known today, is one of the most historic and impressive sites in Greece. Patmos was first inhabited in prehistoric times. During the Roman times it was a place of exile. In 1088, the Blessed Christodoulos founded the Monastery of St John the Theologian. Over time the island flourished and the first mansions were built in the late 16th century. The Patmos Seminary (or Patmian School) was built in 1713. The island officially became Greek territory in 1948.
Kalymnos is the fourth largest island of the Dodecanese Group. It has often been called the "island of the sea sponge harvesters" due to the growth of the Greek sponge-harvesting trade in the 19th century. After WWII, Kalymnos remained the only Greek island engaged in the sea sponge-harvesting activity, supplying domestic as well as foreign markets and consequently making Kalymnos known as "the island of sponge harvesters" to the present day. In antiquity, Kalymnos and Leros were known as the Calydnae Islands. The first inhabitants of Kalymnos are said to have been the Kares from Asia Minor. In 1306 it was conquered by the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, who remained on Kalymnos until 1522 when the Turks occupied the island. The Italians took over in 1912 and in 1948 it was integrated in Greece. Today it is a tourist destination known worldwide for offering alternative-style vacations and activities such as climbing, scuba diving, mountain hiking and spelunking.


While you can visit Studio Ghibli, it's not a theme park. It's a museum (hence, the reason it's called the Ghibli Museum). But what we really want is a proper Ghibli amusement park. Like this.
As noted on 2ch, Twitter user Takumi created a map for what he calls "Tokyo Ghibliland." Sure, it's heavily modelled on Tokyo Disneyland, but that's okay. The Cat Bus monorail makes that completely forgivable.
For those hoping to experience more than Ghibli Museum, you can visit a recreation of the Totoro house in Aichi Prefecture. You might be able to see one of Japan's real-life cat buses.


When I was using the quick selection tool, I selected an area and then used the option key to deselect a portion of the area and it won't go back to the plus sign to select an area. I tried restarting PSE but that did nothing.
same problem here. did you get it fixed?


Annual Lesson Plan Template annual lesson plan template monthly and yearly plans for the classroom includes a rhpinterestcom free. annual lesson plan template annual lesson plan template annual lesson plan template 6 easy templates. annual lesson plan template annual work plan template lvmag download. annual lesson plan template curriculum planning process development video lesson free. annual lesson plan template 39 best unit plan templates word pdf template lab template. annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template globalsacredcircle. annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template template designs and ideas templates. annual lesson plan template blank lesson plan template 15 free pdf excel word google drive printable. annual lesson plan template 580 best yearly lesson planssub tubstudent info images on free. annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template pdf best resume examples ideas. Annual Lesson Plan Template annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template template download. annual lesson plan template teacher weekly lesson plan template design template example. annual lesson plan template annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template fivelab ideas. annual lesson plan template annual lesson plan template akhia ideas. annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template monthly lesson plan template template templates. annual lesson plan template 39 best unit plan templates word pdf template lab download. annual lesson plan template 1st grade yearly lesson plans lessons sandy free. Annual Lesson Plan Template annual lesson plan template how to create monthly and yearly plans for the classroom includes a template. annual lesson plan template curriculum planning process development video lesson templates. annual lesson plan template yearly lesson plan template word personal 5 year free five in templates. annual lesson plan template best teacher lesson plan template special education business temp. annual lesson plan template lesson plan templates for kindergarten frank and walters free.
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Bluemner defined many of his groups of sketches and notes as either "Travel Sketches" or "Art Motifs". Many of these were developed into themes for his paintings. The folder titles listed below are Bluemner's own titles and definitions, such as "Alley", "Central Port", or "House & Mountain." The most extensive motif found here is "Trees" consisting of sketches and notes on various types of trees, including notes on the compositional layout of trees in his paintings. Bluemner also had art motif files of travel sketches of various places, mostly of towns in New Jersey, where he lived, but also of Italy, which he visited in 1912. Additional sketches of these same places are found among other files of art motifs.
There is a group of sketches Bluemner called "Mixed Themata." Other terms he used to label this same material are "Very Valuable" and "Vermilion Themata." The items found here are the same types of sketches as the rest of his motif files, and some are labeled as "copies." It appears from his notes, found among these items, that these sketches and notes were pulled from his files of motifs and reorganized, perhaps because they were of greater importance to him. They were sorted by Bluemner according to his own coding system or set of abbreviations.
The files include pencil, charcoal, and colored sketches, most of which are heavily annotated with notes about color and composition. Other items found in the files may include newspaper clippings of images related to the motif, and original file tabs and file dividers which Bluemner created. Bluemner recorded the date and place on almost all of the sketches.
Art motifs and travel sketches are arranged alphabetically by subject according to Bluemner's original arrangement. Most of the categories of material are preceded by an envelope, originally containing the items, on which Bluemner wrote a title for the contents, dates, and extensive notes. It is believed, based on these notes, that Bluemner rearranged these papers and removed certain items while he was preparing to give them to John Davis Hatch. Researchers should be aware that items are generally not in chronological order, and every attempt has been made to keep the pages in Bluemner's original order.


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MRC Latino
MRC TechWatch
Trump Impeachment Guns 2020 presidential Research & Studies
Look in a Mirror: Noah Says Fox News Is Not 'Objective,' Trying to 'Hypnotize' Viewers
Listen to the Article!
By Aiden Jackson | November 15, 2019 3:13 PM EST
In life, when faced with a threat, the instinctual response is to fight against it. To the leftist media, there is no greater threat than Fox News, which would explain their constant attacks towards it. Trevor Noah was the latest to unleash on an anti-Fox tirade during Thursday's Daily Show.
Noah commenced the segment by lauding Wednesday's banal Impeachment hearings: "…for the first time, the American public heard from nonpartisan officials about how the President abused his powers for personal gain."
Despite the large majority of media coverage painting President Trump as a criminal throughout the hearing, Noah focused on the network that was out of lockstep with the rest: "…And even though millions of people have been talking about these hearings, over on Fox News, their analysis of this Impeachment is... Meh."
The odds that anyone in Noah's audience watches Fox News is slim, therefore, a montage of Fox snippets was played to catch the viewers up to speed. Among them was a clip of Fox Business' Lou Dobbs; "There is no way that normal, ordinary people, middle America are going to watch a hassle of lawyers going at it over the details of who said what to who, some obscure official from a foreign country."
According to Noah, it is Fox News that is attempting to brainwash the American public, for daring to share a dissenting perspective to the Impeachment Inquiry:
Wow! So what, according to Fox News Americans are too dumb to follow these Impeachment proceedings? The word Impeachment is very confusing, maybe we should call it a Presidential boo-boo. Would that help? ... And Fox News is coming up with all kinds of ways to convince people that even if you do have a P.H.D. In Ukraine-eology, these hearings still just aren't worth watching. In fact, sometimes if you watch Fox, it looks like they're straight-up trying to hypnotize their viewers into not caring.
Yet another round of Fox clips began to play. This one featuring Judge Jeanine Pirro declaring: "The whole thing is a charade."
Noah then had the gall to question Fox's journalistic standards and accuse them of not being an "objective" news source. This coming from the person who broadcasts from "Comedy Central's World News Headquarters," yet offers the same, liberal viewpoint every day:
Look deep into my eyes. A week from now, you will remember none of the details. And when I snap my fingers, you'll wake up and think racism only happens to white people. 3, 2, 1 -- snap! Like, what is that? You know it's crazy that after the first day, the first day of the Impeachment hearings, Fox has already written off the entire process, which clearly shows you, they have no intention of being objective at all. They sound less like journalists and more like mean girls trying to sabotage someone's sweet 16.
He then lectured on the importance of watching the proceedings in full before making a determination. A piece of advice he has yet to apply to himself:
I mean, like -- I don't know, I don't know if Donald Trump is going to be found guilty or not. But you've got to at least watch the full proceedings before you make a determination. Otherwise, you don't have the full story...But if calling their viewers dumb or using mind control doesn't work, Fox has come up with another reason to ignore the Impeachment hearings and that is, it is just not binge-worthy TV.
A question Noah would be wise to ask himself, if Fox News is indeed wrong about America's lack of interest in impeachment, why are they garnering more viewers him?
Transcript below:
TREVOR NOAH: Yesterday was a historic day in America. I finally tried kombucha. Yeah. It's okay. But it was also a historic day because the House held its first public Impeachment Hearing where the Ambassador to Ukraine and the inventor of flubber, both testified about President Trump's quid pro quo with the President of Ukraine. And this testimony was a pretty big deal because for the first time, the American public heard from nonpartisan officials about how the President abused his powers for personal gain. And even though millions of people have been talking about these hearings, over on Fox News, their analysis of this Impeachment is... Meh.
[BEGIN CLIPS]
LOU DOBBS: There is no way that normal, ordinary people, middle America are going to watch a hassle of lawyers going at it over the details of who said what to who, some obscure official from a foreign country.
JESSE WATTERS: This is about a transcript of a phone call with a country no one cares about.
NOAH: Wow! So what, according to Fox News Americans are too dumb to follow these Impeachment proceedings? The word Impeachment is very confusing, maybe we should call it a Presidential boo-boo. Would that help? You know what's funny is how when it was Hillary's scandal, Fox News was like, "Now as we all know Benghazi isn't just home to Libya's secret dish Baznian, it's also a hot bed of support for Sharia." But then, when it's a Donald Trump scandal, all of a sudden they're like, "What's a Ukraine? Ukraine? Do you crane? Do I crane? Frazier Crane? The bird crane?" Because, look, even if people don't understand every aspect about the Ukraine scandal, that doesn't mean that they can't still grasp its importance. Like, I don't know what a second cousin once removed is. What I do know is I'm not supposed to marry them... And Fox News is coming up with all kinds of ways to convince people that even if you do have a P.H.D. In Ukraine-eology, these hearings still just aren't worth watching. In fact, sometimes if you watch Fox, it looks like they're straight-up trying to hypnotize their viewers into not caring.
[CLIPS]
STEVE HILTON: This has nothing to do with National Security. It's all just an illusion.
JEANINE PIRRO: The whole thing is a charade.
NOAH: Look deep into my eyes. A week from now, you will remember none of the details. And when I snap my fingers, you'll wake up and think racism only happens to white people. 3, 2, 1-- snap! Like, what is that? You know it's crazy that after the first day, the first day of the Impeachment hearings, Fox has already written off the entire process, which clearly shows you, they have no intention of being objective at all. They sound less like journalists and more like mean girls trying to sabotage someone's sweet 16. "I heard nobody's going. It's going to be, like, a stupid party, and Ashley's dad is going to be the D.J. Oh, my god!" I mean, like-- I don't know, I don't know if Donald Trump is going to be found guilty or not. But you've got to at least watch the full proceedings before you make a determination. Otherwise, you don't have the full story...But if calling their viewers dumb or using mind control doesn't work, Fox has come up with another reason to ignore the Impeachment hearings and that is, it is just not binge-worthy TV.
DAN BONGINO: It was a total snooze fest.
STEVE DOOCEY: It was kind of boring to watch on television.
LOU DOBBS: With Richard Nixon, there was a break-in. With Bill Clinton, there was sex in the oval office. With Trump, it's a phone call to Ukraine.
JESSE WATTERS: It's not a sexy scandal. Russia was sexy. This has no intrigue whatsoever.
NOAH: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying Trump's Impeachment is boring and unsexy? You know if Trump hears that it's going to piss him off, right? He's going to come out like, "My Impeachment will be the most exciting ever. I'm break into a hotel, and best believe, I'll jizz all over this dress. Don't make me do it! Don't make me do it! I'll do it!" "Just make sure you wash it afterwards. I can't risk making another Eric. I don't want to take a chance." Here's the thing, people-- these hearings are investigating whether the President of the United States committed high crimes or misdemeanors. So they're supposed to be serious, not about excitement....
NB Daily Trump Impeachment Daily Show Trevor Noah Lou Dobbs Jeanine Pirro Donald Trump
Aiden Jackson
Aiden Jackson is an intern in the Media Research Center's News Analysis Division.
Hypocritical 'News' Media Have Done a Complete Flip-Flop on Impeachment
FLASHBACK: Today's Impeachment Cheerleaders Hated It Back in '98
About NewsBusters
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© 2005-2020, Media Research Center. All Rights Reserved.


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La Mansión de Invierno fue un lujoso hotel ubicado en la localidad de Empedrado, provincia de Corrientes, Argentina. Surgió de la idea de unos inversores bonaerenses de construir una Mansión o Ciudad de Invierno para que los porteños pudieran pasar sus vacaciones de invierno en un lugar apropiado, y que lo mismo hicieran los Europeos que visitaran la Argentina. Empedrado, fue la localidad en la que se decidió realizar la construcción del hotel, por sus condiciones climáticas y geográficas.

Se inauguró en 1914 pero fue abandonado cuando se inició la Primera Guerra Mundial y fue demolido años después de su abandono.

Historia

Cuando fue inaugurado en 1914, constaba de cuatro pisos, dos subsuelos y estaba unido a un casino por un largo pasillo. Tenía una capacidad de 150 personas, una sala de lectura y una de conferencias, un muelle sobre el río con instalaciones balnearias, un casino y una escuela.

El hotel sólo duro unos pocos meses, y paradójicamente, no durante el invierno, como había sido planeado. Cuando inició la Primera Guerra Mundial, el hotel fue abandonado y pocos años después, parte de este fue demolida.

El lujoso mobiliario con el que contaba el hotel fue vendido a otros grandes hoteles y casinos de Argentina.

Los habitantes de la localidad de Empedrado, dicen que parte del mobiliario del casino de Mar del Plata perteneció a la Mansión de Invierno.

Actualidad

Actualmente, solo quedan las ruinas de lo que alguna vez fue un lujoso hotel, que se encuentran en una propiedad privada. Nunca fue considerado un patrimonio histórico, cultural ni arquitectónico.

Referencias

Turismo en la provincia de Corrientes
Monumentos y lugares históricos de la Argentina
Exhoteles de Argentina
Hoteles de Argentina del siglo XX
Arquitectura de Argentina de 1914


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Poster Session 1363
1363 - Hot Topics and Emerging Issues in Environmental Analysis and Ecology
Thursday, January 28 11:30 AM- 1:00 PM ET
Sign in to reveal location
Daniel Smith, University of Central Florida,
Martin Palmer, Washington State Department of Transportation
Standing Committee on Environmental Analysis and Ecology (AEP70)
This "interactive" poster session emphasizes a wide variety of environmental/ecological topics. It is offered to promote project-specific examples of innovative and/or successful environmental practice and policy in transportation. Posters celebrating program-level environmental/ecological and academic accomplishments and ongoing activities are also presented.
In the virtual format, posters will take the form of slide presentations and will be pre-recorded and uploaded in advance so that attendees can preview posters/slides prior to a scheduled live Q&A session with the authors. Presenters will have the option to record narration with their presentation slides.
No agenda available
Deep Learning-based Visual Identification of Signs of Bat Presence in Bridge Infrastructure Images: A Transfer Learning Approach
Tianshu Li (tl6gk@virginia.edu), University of Virginia
Mohamad Alipour, University of California, Los Angeles
Bridget Donaldson, Virginia Transportation Research Council
Devin Harris, University of Virginia
Show Abstract
Bat inventory surveys on bridges, structures, and dwellings are an important step in protecting threatened and endangered bat species that use the infrastructure as roosting locations. Observing guano droppings and staining is a common indicator of bat presence, but it can be difficult to verify whether certain stains originated from bats or other sources such as water seeps, rust staining, asphalt leaching, or other structural deterioration mechanisms. While bat indicators are hard to distinguish by humans without training, from a computer vision perspective they show different features that, coupled with expert opinion, can be used for automated detection of bat presence. To facilitate bat presence detection and streamline bat surveys, this paper leverages recent advances in visual recognition using deep learning to develop an image classification system that identifies bat indicators. An array of state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks were investigated. To overcome the shortage of data, parameters previously trained on large-scale datasets were used to transfer the learned feature representations. Using a pool of digital photographs collected through the Virginia Department of Transportation (1), a visual recognition model was developed and achieved 92.0% accuracy during testing. To facilitate the application of the developed model, a prototype web application was created to allow users to interactively upload images of stains on structures and receive classification results from the model. The web application is being deployed by VDOT in a pilot study and the success of the proposed approach is expected to help facilitate bat inventory surveys and the resulting conservation efforts.
TRBAM-21-02009
Temporary Deterrence of Bats from Bridges Using Ultrasonic Deterrents
Basak Bektas, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Julie Blanchong, Iowa State University
Katelyn Freeseman, Iowa State University
Ahmed AlBughdadi, Iowa State University
White-Nose Syndrome and increased disturbance of habitats used by bats for roosting and foraging has led to a growing concern about the bat population in the US in the last decade. Bridge repair and replacement projects are required to follow additional regulatory requirements to avoid and minimize impacts to bats when protected bat species are present on bridges. Some of these requirements (e.g., timing restrictions) are challenging to implement, given Minnesota's short construction season. The objective of this project was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of deploying non-lethal ultrasonic acoustic devices in the field to temporarily deter bats from roosting on bridges ahead of construction or maintenance activities, while minimizing harm to bats and non-target species. The technology was evaluated at two test sites located in Minnesota, one short term and one long term, during the summer of 2019. Considering the findings from both acoustic monitoring data and the field inspections, acoustic deterrents appear to effectively work to temporarily deter bats from select abutments and present an option to temporarily deter bats at construction sites. The implementation of this technology by any transportation agency will require the development of an agency protocol, through collaboration of relevant offices.
Implementing the First Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Wildlife Infrastructure in North America
Damon Fick, Montana State University
Robert Ament, Western Transportation Institute (WTI)
Matthew Bell, Western Transportation Institute (WTI)
Nina Marie Lister, Montana State University, Bozeman
There are decades of studies demonstrating the effectiveness of wildlife overpasses and underpasses in conjunction with fencing to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and provide ecological connectivity. Current methods to build these structures with concrete and steel result in high costs due to their need to support large loads (e.g., soils, vegetation), lengthy construction times, and maintenance costs during their service life. Recently, engineers and architects are finding new applications of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites due to their high strength-to-weight ratio, long service life, and low life-cycle costs that might provide an alternative material. FRP is better suited to withstand environmental stresses compared to concrete and metal, are more corrosion resistant and are more durable over longer periods of time, and therefore, can reduce life-time maintenance costs. The carbon footprint of the FRP materials, combined with transportation and construction efficiencies can be lower compared to concrete and metal structures. Improvements continue to be developed for FRP materials to lower the carbon footprint of both fibers and resins by increasing the use of bio-based and recycled materials.
Currently FRP bridges can be designed to support the static and dynamic loads of vehicle traffic; making it more than capable to support the loads required for wildlife crossing infrastructure. Adapting FRP bridges and other FRP structural components for wildlife crossings can contribute to the multiple goals of improving motorist safety, conserving wildlife, lowering infrastructure costs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing plastics in the environment.
This active research project will report on the progress it has made to adapt FRP materials into North America's first wildlife overpass structure and related crossing design elements, such as sound barriers and fencing. A site for the crossing has been selected in northern California in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). To date, a literature review and an evaluation of commercial FRP manufacturer products available in the North American market have been completed. Exploratory structural designs are underway and a team of experts has been empaneled to provide additional design recommendations. In addition, future plans and challenges associated with implementing the FRP wildlife overpass will be described.
A Reprieve from US Wildlife Mortality on Roads during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Fraser Shilling, University of California, Davis
Tricia Nguyen, University of California, Davis
Malek Saleh, University of California, Davis
Min Khant Kyaw, University of California, Davis
Karla Tapia, University of California, Davis
Gabrielle Trujillo, University of California, Davis
Mireya Bejarano, University of California, Davis
David Waetjen, University of California, Davis
Jon Peterson, Washington State Department of Transportation
Glen Kalisz, Washington State Department of Transportation
Raquel Sejour, Washington State Department of Transportation
Sarah Croston, Washington State Department of Transportation
Eric Ham, Maine Department of Transportation
High traffic volume is a primary contributor to wildlife-vehicle conflict (WVC) and wildlife mortality on roads. Government shelter-in-place (SIP) orders have been used to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, resulting in unprecedented reductions in global traffic volumes. Our objective was to investigate how these orders may have affected traffic and wildlife. Using traffic and collision data from four US states (California, Idaho, Maine, and Washington), we investigated changes in total WVC, following the state and local SIP orders. From early March to mid-April, 2020, these orders have resulted in up to 71%, 63%, 73%, and 72% reduction in driving, as measured by vehicle miles traveled (VMT), in CA, ID, ME, and WA respectively. The daily WVC rates declined 34% between the 4 weeks prior to SIP orders going into effect, to the 4 weeks after, with 21, 36, 44, and 33% declines for CA, ID, ME, and WA, respectively. The reductions in WVC from 1 month pre-SIP orders to 1 month post-order only occurred in 2020 and not 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019, suggesting that the reductions were associated with the reductions in traffic. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are proposed for listing as endangered in CA and for them there was a 58% decline in mortality during the traffic reduction. The measured declines in WVC reversed in ME and WA during May, June and July, 2020, paralleling reversals in traffic volumes. A 34% reduction in WVC would potentially equate to 10s of millions fewer vertebrates killed on US roadways during one month of traffic reduction, representing an unintentional conservation action unprecedented in modern times.
Wildlife Use of Future Wildlife Mitigation Structures on a Highway in South Texas
Thomas Yamashita, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Zachary Wardle, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Jason Lombardi, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
Michael Tewes, Texas A&M University, Kingsville
John Young, Texas Department of Transportation
Roads can have major impacts on wildlife, causing habitat fragmentation and direct mortality from wildlife-vehicle collisions. Therefore, wildlife crossings are often constructed on roads to help promote connectivity and reduce wildlife road mortality. In order to assess the effectiveness of these structures over long time periods, it is important to establish baseline rates of use along the highway before the mitigation structures are constructed. In South Texas, wildlife crossings are being built to reduce threats of roads to the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). However, these crossings benefit a wide variety of species in addition to ocelots. In this study, we assessed baseline usage of future wildlife mitigation structures on Farm-to-Market (FM) 1847 in eastern Cameron County, Texas. The pre-construction preparation for the construction of wildlife mitigation structures on FM 1847 began in February 2020. We used camera traps set at the locations where the mitigation structures will be built to monitor wildlife use of those sites from July 2019 through February 2020. We determined the number of individual photographic events, camera trap success rates, and diel activity for all large and medium-sized mammal species. We identified between six and 12 unique species at each of the five crossing locations. Bobcats were detected at four of the crossings and were most prominent at an underpass along a resaca (crossing 2). Most wild species showed nocturnal activity, while domestic cats and domestic dogs showed diurnal and nocturnal activity. These results will help establish baseline usage of future wildlife crossing locations on FM 1847 and allow us to assess their effectiveness at reducing road mortality and increasing landscape connectivity.
Automated harvesting and display of WVC and crash data in California
Animal observation data on and near roads are critical to understanding wildlife vehicle conflict (WVC). The California Highway Patrol (CHP), which helps to monitor and maintain safety on California roads, also report incidents of "animal hazards", "live or dead animal" and crashes involving animals, providing a continuous source of WVC records. These incidents often include collisions with mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), which pose serious risks during collisions due to their large size. CHP report their observations in real-time through their own public-facing web-system. We developed a web-system to harvest and automatically ingest these real-time CHP reports called the California Highway Incident Processing System (CHIPS). We used a custom data-scraping protocol to collect the data every 15 minutes from the CHP site and update the CHIPS database. The data were maintained in an SQL database and is queried periodically providing data to automated "pipelines" for use in various tools and services. One online tool is the Real-time Deer Incidents & Wildlife-Vehicle Conflict (WVC) Hotspots map (https://roadecology.ucdavis.edu/hotspots/map), which shows real-time and recent animal incidents on top of a hotspots analysis map (generated from the Road Ecology Center's hotspots tool). The location data is accurate to approximately 10 to 20 meters, which enables the individual records to be associated with a county and highway. The CHP officers often include detailed descriptions about the animals' fates, including whether they were injured, or had to be dispatched. Using these data, we have met a variety of needs in California: 1) approximately once per month we receive and meet ad hoc requests for data from agency, consultant and academic scientists; 2) we produce an annual WVC hotspots report; and 3) we have developed the only continuously-maintained repository for WVC in the state. Most recently, we used these data to demonstrate that the rate of WVC declined during the COVID-19 shelter at home orders from the state government. These tools and data are critical aids to decision making; for example, clustered hotspots of incidents can indicate where wildlife mitigation measures can be taken, such as building a wildlife overpass.
Semi-Automated Management and Analysis of Camera Trap Imagery
Christian John, University of California, Davis
State departments of transportation are increasing the rate at which they collect data and improve interactions between wildlife and highways. Our objective was to build upon previous research and relationships with states DOTs and their partners to develop a data management website (http://wildlifeobserver.net) that also provides analytical services. Organizations operating camera trap arrays to monitor wildlife have stressed that several aspects of data collection and analysis are particularly challenging: 1) managing many thousands of images during collection, processing, and analysis; 2) false triggers of camera traps creating many hours of unneeded work for analysts; 3) being able to identify species automatically, especially common ones; 4) having the ability to annotate video records for wildlife behavior; and 5) determining if wildlife transit crossing structures, the measure of ecological effectiveness. We developed two primary data collection and management services to: a) ingest and automatically process images from cell and wifi communicating cameras and b) allow bulk uploading of all images from a camera's memory card. To identify false positive images, we also developed an image processing service ("ImageID") based on artificial intelligence to identify images that contain an animal (or human, or vehicle). We estimate that the 2 instances of the tool available, running at full capacity, can save >$800,000 in analyst costs per year. Each additional instance would add another ~$400,000/year in potential cost-savings. We built services for annotating videos of animal behavior ("BehaviorID"), increasingly seen as important for understanding animal interaction with roads. Finally, we created a tool ("EventID") that analyzes groups of images to determine if they are related (i.e., of the same animal) and if an animal traversed a wildlife crossing, the most critical ecological outcome of these structures. These combined services provide a user the potential to carry out end-to-end automation of most steps from field data collection to species and individual-level analysis. They also could provide significant cost-savings to managers and funders of camera trap systems.
Wildlife-responsive crossing design to reduce noise and light disturbance
Sean McDowell, University of California, Davis
Adetayo Oke, University of California, Davis
Aaron Bass, University of California, Davis
Travis Longcore, University of California, Los Angeles
Winston Vickers, University of California, Davis
Transportation and other agencies and organizations are increasingly planning and building crossing structures for wildlife to traverse busy highways. Several criteria are key for the success of these structures – sufficient safety and/or conservation need, cost, location, and anticipated use by wildlife. Although wildlife biologists are aware of the potential for traffic noise and light to impede structure use by wildlife, existing guidance is inadequate to inform their advice to designers, engineers, architects and habitat designers of the structural and vegetation elements that could reduce disturbance. Each structure represents a significant investment in time, money, and effort. Therefore, if wildlife are hesitant or refuse to approach structures due to noise, light and other factors, then the structures' benefit-cost ratios may be diminished. In previous research we have highlighted the importance that traffic noise and light has in reducing species presence and impacting individual animal behavior when approaching crossings. We describe a solution to this problem, where field measurements and modeling of traffic-sourced light and noise were used to improve and test wildlife crossing design. We developed wildlife-responsive designs for two crossings being considered or planned by the California Department of Transportation: 1) the proposed Liberty Canyon wildlife over-crossing (LCOC) across US 101, and 2) an over-crossing at a very early stage of consideration across Interstate 15, south of Temecula (TOC). For LCOC, we developed and tested 3 different designs (sound wall, sound wall + berm, and sound wall + multiple berms) for modeled propagation of traffic noise and light. For TOC, we developed and tested one design. We identified key limitations and opportunities for each design approach. We concluded that a combination of berms and walls could be used to decrease disturbance in the crossing structure approach zones, increasing the wildlife-responsiveness of the designs.
Wildlife vehicle conflict data collection and reporting standards for state systems
Globally, nationally and locally, wildlife-vehicle conflict (WVC) fragments wildlife populations (due to road/traffic-aversion), kills and injures individual animals, can cause wildlife population declines, may eventually contribute to local or total extinction of certain species, and can harm vehicles and drivers. WVC is defined here as any negative interaction between vehicles and wildlife. Preventing WVC begins with recording locations of conflict, such as vehicle crashes, animal carcasses (roadkill), or animal behavior around roads, such as avoidance of roads or crossing-behavior. These data are ideally used to inform transportation policy and planning and to retrofit roadways and their structures to reduce WVC. The goal of this study was to develop standards for WVC data collection and management with partners at multiple scales. A companion paper is In Press in Biological Conservation. My objective is to use these decision-support roles to describe ways that WVC data, metadata, data collection, and reporting could be standardized across all states. The standards are based on review of systems for recording WVC by volunteers and agency staff at different geographical scales, based on existing literature, experience with several state-scale systems, and partnerships with other countries engaged in a similar process. There is currently a wide range of WVC data collection methods, relying primarily on web-systems and apps. Although the "technology stacks" employed by these systems vary somewhat in the specific software, there is a common range of variables collected among all of them. These common themes and elements could be used to update existing systems, or replicated to create new systems. There are several types of groups, volunteers, and agencies involved in the different systems, each of which could require different data input mechanisms. I will describe methodological specifications based on current best-practice for collecting and using WVC data to inform transportation and conservation decisions. I will conclude with a vision of next steps toward a national network of independent WVC reporting systems that have clear and practical applications for improved conservation research and management of road networks.
Proposed habitat linkages do not predict wildlife occurrence
Autumn Iverson, University of California, Davis
Habitat linkages are hypothetical objects developed in geographic information systems (GIS) proposed to connect areas of habitats in fragmented landscapes. Assuming they are used by organisms in nature, linkages could be an important tool for the maintenance of viable wildlife populations and biodiversity conservation. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is a landscape-level planning effort in the California desert, and includes the long-term conservation of species and natural resources. A connectivity model was developed for the area, identifying protected areas and proposed linkages. However, these linkages have not been evaluated using wildlife detection data.
We used twenty years of opportunistic wildlife detection data collected from six biodiversity databases: Biodiversity in Service of Our Nation (BISON, US Geological Survey), California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB, California Department of Fish and Wildlife), HerpMapper (private database maintained by professional biologists), DRECP assessments by Dudek, as well as wildlife carcass and crash data from the California Highway Incident Processing System (CHIPS, Road Ecology Center) and the California Roadkill Observation System (CROS, Road Ecology Center). Using these detections and a 1-km squared grid over the California desert region, we employed occupancy modeling in R to assess the effect of variables such as major roads and proposed linkages on the occupancy probability of 20 native reptiles, amphibians, and mammals species/species groups. Occupancy modeling estimates "true" occurrence probability and the factors affecting it, while correcting for imperfect detection.
The distance to a major road was an important detection predictor for four species, with greater distance from a road resulting in higher detection probability for one species (bighorn sheep) and lower detection for three (deer, gopher snake and western banded gecko). Proposed linkages were not important predictors for the occupancy or detection of most species, with three showing positive (glossy snake, desert tortoise, deer) and two showing negative (zebratail lizard, bighorn sheep) relationships to the linkages. These results show that hypothetical habitat linkages are likely not a one-size fits all strategy, and caution should be taken when planning them based only on landscape-level habitat variables. Next steps will include connectivity modeling based on the opportunistic wildlife detection data.
The Effect of Daylight Savings Time clock shifts on the Deer- Vehicle Collision Rates
Wijesooriya Abeyrathna, Clarkson University
Tom Langen, Clarkson University
About 40% of the countries in the world practice Daylight Saving Time (DST), which reduces the quality of sleep, causing a higher number of motor vehicle accidents. The White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) -Vehicle Collision (DVC) rates in the New York state is about 60,000-70,000 annually, which causes fatal accidents and costs over $300 million. Because of DST, the driving time of people is shifted towards the dawn in the morning in Spring and towards dusk in the evening in Fall, which will cause low visibility and driver fatigue. We hypothesized that due to the DST change, driver fatigue, and traveling shifts towards the dawn and dusk would result in a higher number of DVCs. To find out the effect of DST on DVC rates, we analyzed 35,167 accident reports of DVCs from 2005 to 2007 in New York State, USA, collated by the New York State Department of Transportation. We predicted that there would be an increase of DVC after the DST, which will later decline over time as drivers get used to the time change. We compared the data before DST, and after DST, we found a significantly higher rate of DVCs after the DST in Fall, but not in the Spring. The DVC rates were also much higher in the Fall than Spring. Nevertheless, we also analyzed the temporal patterns of the DVCs, which showed an increase in the Fall starting before the DST and continuing after the DST. This pattern indicates that the higher rates in the Fall are due to the change of deer activity patterns associated with seasonal changes in deer breeding phenology and not because of the time change itself. We recommend that drivers should be cautious at all times, but especially when driving in Fall near Deer-road crossing hotspots.
Wildlife Crossing Opportunities in the Federal Transportation Bill
Renee Callahan, ARC Solutions
This poster will summarize opportunities to advance wildlife crossings within the federal legislative process for reauthorizing the nation's current surface transportation law, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Among other things, the poster will highlight wildlife-related provisions in the 2020 House bill H.R. 2, The Moving Forward Act, a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package that passed the full House in July 2020, and the 2019 Senate bill S. 2302, America's Transportation Infrastructure Act, which unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works in July 2019. These provisions are expected to inform the new Congress when it begins to craft its own legislation in 2021.
Although their approaches differ, the most recent House and Senate reauthorization bills included – for the first time ever – dedicated funding for wildlife crossings. The House bill would allocate $300 million in National Highway Performance Program funds over 4 years to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) or restore and maintain connectivity within terrestrial or aquatic habitats affected by roads. Taking a different tactic, the Senate bill would establish a 5-year, $250 million competitive Wildlife Crossing Pilot grant program that would similarly have funded infrastructure projects to reduce WVCs and maintain or improve connectivity, with 60% of funding going to projects in rural areas.
The poster will also showcase a variety of other provisions included in both bills. These shared provisions include:
 Expand the list of projects eligible for funding under the existing Surface Transportation Block Grant program to include wildlife infrastructure projects;
 Update the WVC Reduction Study: 2008 Report to Congress;
 Develop guidance for voluntary statewide transportation and wildlife action plans;
 Create a series of workforce development and technical training courses;
 Develop a standardized methodology for WVC and carcass data collection and voluntary standardized data template; and
 Establish a voluntary threshold for when to evaluate highways for mitigation.
Ultimately, this poster aims to raise awareness among practitioners and other interested stakeholders about potential opportunities to include wildlife infrastructure within the next generation of federal legislative solutions.
Invasive Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica Houtt.) and related knotweeds as catalysts for streambank erosion
Brian Colleran, Ecological Land Management
Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica) and the other invasive knotweeds, collectively known as knotweed s.l., are significant invasives worldwide, especially of riparian areas. While R. japonica and other knotweed s.l. can reproduce sexually, their dispersal to and spread within new regions is often accomplished through vegetative reproduction from rhizome and stem fragments. Once established, knotweed s.l. can displace riparian plants, meaning that soil stability once provided by displaced roots is lost, carrying significant knock-on implications for watershed management. We propose that knotweed s.l. rhizomes both displace roots and the structure they provide to soil, and also amplify bank-erosion forces, especially during floods. Further, erosive forces create propagules, with larger flow events creating larger numbers of propagules and providing the vector for short- and long-distance downstream spread within the watershed. Induced erosion is therefore the main driver of knotweed s.l. invasions along waterways. As some hydrological regimes shift towards more frequent and severe storm events in response to climate change, positive feedback loops may develop in these regions between existing knotweed s.l. populations, sudden riverbank failure, and increased flood related damage, with presumably significant impacts on riparian infrastructure. While the continued spread of this invasive could have significant riparian flood resiliency consequences if left unchecked, mindful action to control these plants is likely to be beneficial financially, socially, and ecologically within any invaded watershed.
ICF ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIVITY PLANNING TOOL: A WEB-BASED TOOL IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED ECOSYSTEM CONNECTIVITY
Shannon Crossen, ICF
Jon Walker, ICF International Inc
Matthew Townley, ICF International Inc
Martin Fisher, ICF International Inc
Habitat connectivity is essential to maintaining and conserving fish and wildlife species populations and important ecological processes. For many species, connectivity is constrained by infrastructure which can result in population declines. Methods to remediate fish and wildlife movement barriers along roadway infrastructure have been implemented globally for decades. Wildlife barrier remediation typically involves constructing a combination of wildlife crossings, combined with wildlife fencing. Fish passage barrier remediation involves engineering culverts or bridges with appropriate size, slope, velocity, and substrate to accommodate fish passage. These measures ensure fish and wildlife can access historical habitats and allow safe movement across roadways. For both fish and wildlife this remediation results in improved access to feeding, breeding, and shelter and constitute important conservation actions. Despite our understanding of the importance of habitat connectivity and our global progress in incorporating fish and wildlife connectivity considerations into standard practices, there is room for improvement to ensure that fish and wildlife connectivity are adequately considered and integrated into fish passage barrier remediation projects. Interestingly, fish and wildlife barrier remediation efforts have largely been conducted within separate subdisciplines and largely uncoordinated with one another. For instance, many fish passage barriers also experience adjacent wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) and are in locations which warrant improved wildlife crossing design considerations. Additionally, infrastructure development projects may also miss opportunities to remediate WVCs and fragmentation if proper assessments have not been conducted. These opportunities are demonstrated with our Ecosystem Connectivity Planning Tool which identifies locations that warrant such considerations. The web-based GIS tool identifies locations where fish and wildlife movement are impeded and where wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) and public safety are a concern. The tool allows for deep exploration and visualization of connectivity data including multi-scale hot spot and cluster analytics, ecological data, infrastructure planning data, and more. The tool is highly customizable, scalable, and transferrable to capture the objectives and priorities of each user. Such tools provide simple to use and cost-effective way to identify and prioritize connectivity opportunities early in the planning process to facilitate connectivity for more species, improve road safety, and prevent lost opportunities in enhancing and restoring connectivity.
Enhancing Existing Isolated Underpasses with Fencing to Decrease Wildlife Crashes and Connect Habitat
Kaitlyn Elliott, Virginia Transportation Research Council
Given the established success of wildlife crossings with fencing in reducing wildlife crashes and connecting habitat, information is needed on cost-effective means of implementation for departments of transportation. Given limited transportation budgets, more research is needed on the effects of adding fencing to existing underpasses, particularly those that are too far from one another to be connected with contiguous fencing. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of this measure when applied to isolated underpasses. One mile of 2.4-m high wildlife fencing was added to a large bridge underpass and a large box culvert approximately 8 km apart from one another on Virginia's Interstate 64. We conducted a 2-year post-fencing camera monitoring study and compared the findings from a 2-year pre-fencing study with regard to collision frequencies with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and black bear (Ursus americanus); the use of the underpasses by wildlife; and roadside deer activity. We also evaluated deer activity data to compare different fence end designs applied at the study sites. Our study found that the addition of wildlife fencing to certain existing isolated underpasses can be a highly cost effective means of increasing diver safety and enhancing habitat connectivity for wildlife. After fencing installation, deer crashes were reduced by 92% on average and there were no increases in DVCs within 1 mile of the fence ends. Deer crossings increased 410% at the box culvert and 71% at the bridge underpass. Use of the culvert and bridge underpasses by other mammals increased 81% and 165%, respectively. Although deer use of the underpasses was much greater than their activity at any of the fence ends, there was relatively high deer activity at the fence ends that did not tie into a feature such as right-of-way fencing. The benefits from crash reduction exceeded the fencing costs in 1.8 years, and fencing resulted in an average saving of more than $2.3 million per site. Our results add to the growing body of knowledge about the most effective ways we can use existing infrastructure to broaden the scale of wildlife crossing implementation.
Status of road ecology research in Africa: what more do we need to know?
Wendy Collinson, Endangered Wildlife Trust
Roads are a critical element of human economic development and society, and global rates of road construction will likely rise for the foreseeable future. Roads and road users have numerous, diverse, and mostly negative consequences for biodiversity by, among other things, destroying and degrading habitats, fragmenting wildlife populations and their dynamics, direct impacts through collisions, and secondary impacts through increased access to previously unattainable natural resources. The science of road ecology (our understanding of such impacts and how these can be minimised) is fairly well developed in North America, Europe and Australia, but is only in its infancy in regions such as Africa, which is likely to experience rapid infrastructure development in the upcoming decades. In this study, we provide a review of the state of road ecology in Africa, to investigate the scale, scope and geographic extent of current knowledge, and identify gaps and priorities for future research. We used Web of Science to undertake a systematic literature search, generating a database of 210 peer-reviewed papers related to aspects of road ecology across 38 African countries between 1954 and 2016. Most studies were undertaken in the past decade (n = 169), and ~65% originated from just seven countries, with South Africa producing the highest output (n = 66). We categorised studies by geographic location, focal biodiversity components, study purpose, and whether they examined specific interventions aimed at mitigating impacts. We discuss our findings in light of future recommendations for road ecology research.


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population studies center sitesPopulation Studies CenterPopulation Aging Research CenterGraduate Group in DemographyStatus of Women and FertilityGansu Survey of Children and FamiliesAsia-Pacific Education, Language Minorities and Migration (ELMM) NetworkMalawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH)Kenya Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (KDICP)Grand Challenges Canada
Gansu is characterized both by high rates of poverty and by varying poverty conditions in flat, hilly and remote mountainous sites. Further, the barriers to schooling faced by families in Gansu are common to provinces and autonomous regions located in China's less-developed interior.
As of the year 2000 national census, Gansu province had a population of 25.6 million people, which represented an increase of 14.5% since the 1990 census.[1] This population was distributed across the 14 regional jurisdictions in the province, which include: 5 municipalities, 7 districts and 2 minority autonomous prefectures. It is estimated that there are now 108 men to every 100 women[2]. 76% of the population live in rural areas. While there are sizable minority populations in Gansu, 91% of the population are Han. Minority nationalities that are represented in Gansu include the following: Hui, Tibetan, Dongxiang, Yugur, Boanan, Mongolian, Kazak, Tu, Salar and Manchu.[3] There are two minority autonomous prefectures, one Hui and one Tibetan, and several minority autonomous counties. In Gansu, both mosques and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries are found alongside other Chinese temples. In Gansu, 2.67% of the population have graduated from university; 9.86% have had schooling up to high school graduation, 23.92% have graduated from middle school; and 36.91% have completed primary school. The rate of illiteracy is believed to have declined from 27.93% in 1990 to 14.34 % in 2000.
Gansu has diverse geographical characteristics, from mountainous and hilly regions to plateaus and river valleys. The province has been divided into six areas according to physical characteristics:
Longnan mountainous region in the south of Gansu.
Longxi Plateau, which is the western most part of the Loess Plateau found in South West Gansu.
The eastern Long Dong Plateau.
The Hexi or Gansu Corridor that extends along the length of Gansu from southeast to northwest and is part of the historic Silk Road.
Qilian Mountainous area along the Western border of Gansu.
Beishan Mountainous area in the North.
The southeastern region of Gansu enjoys a subtropical, humid climate while western and northern areas are dry and range from semi-arid to arid conditions. 30% of Gansu province is now covered by desert.[5]
In recent years, the national government has invested large amounts of money into infrastructure development in western provinces such as Gansu. In the GSCF sample, almost all of the villages had access to electricity for villagers to use on a daily basis. Further, in the five years before the survey, village heads reported some modest improvements in access to roads and railroads. However, over 43 percent of the villages in the GSCF sample indicated that their village did not have access to telephone services and over 56 percent did not have access to postal services.
There is some variety in the quality of the school buildings between different schools. Many schools received government money for building renovation in the late 1990s. Principals report large percentages of buildings that do not meet the safety standards. Most primary schools do not have any students who live in the school, as primary schools are located in villages and townships where the students live. Middle schools and high schools that serve village children are only located in townships and so many children need to live at school. Conditions are cramped. Sometimes as many as 20 students live in a room, often on makeshift beds made of wooden planks.
There have been ongoing efforts to continue the professionalization of the teaching force, ensuring that teachers have the adequate qualifications and also adequate salary and benefits.
Most principals report that the majority of the teachers in their school have the required qualifications. Teachers are given a small room at the school. Some teachers whose families are in a different town or village live at the school during the week and go home on the weekends to be with their families.
For more information on Gansu, see a Statistics Bureau report on the 2000 Census results from Gansu, or a UNESCAP socio-economic and demographic portrait of Gansu.
Report on 2000 Census Results from Gansu
Socio-economic and demographic portrait of Gansu http://www.unescap.org/esid/psis/population/database/chinadata/gansu.htm
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Last Friday, 12th July, 2013, the weather couldn't have been nicer for all participants at the RMIT Vietnam Career Week event. The exhibition took place in the sport hall of RMIT Saigon South Campus. Even though it didn't officially start until 9.00 AM, the atmosphere had been heated up since 7.00. TRG together with other corporates all arrived a few hours early to set up their own booths. This year, there were about 30 companies from various sectors such as finance, accounting, supply chain, FMCG, communications, etc. It was this diversity that attracted a good turnout.
Ever since its introduction was brought to the industry, the Office of the CFO concept has been bruited about. Its latest seminar Office of the CFO: Change the way work is done in Hanoi – attracted a good turnout. CFOs, CEOs, chief accountants, high level managers and senior staff from nearly 70 companies have participated in the events.
In the latest press release, Infor declared the end of another successful fiscal year. Throughout the past year, the company has introduced some product innovations and gained an enhanced customer base.


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A case study examining land designation and the acquisition process. This supported the vision for rebuilding Christchurch's central city as more compact, green and accessible. Anchor Projects required a land acquisition process in order to be built.