The use of IDEs has become a part of the best practices adopted for developing software applications. IDEs can greatly enhance the coding experience and aid the coding process for software development by providing various facilities like code assist and debugging.
An IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is used to develop software applications. It can completely change the coding experience for a developer while creating a software application, yet we often do not realise the significance of its role. It facilitates coding by providing different features like intelligent code auto-completion, debugging, refactoring, source control, etc. All these save developers from doing mundane tasks and hence saves them time as well. IDEs optimise the software development work by automating different recurring tasks and simplifying the initial processes.
It was in the 1980s that developers started talking about the software development environment. Since then, software development has really advanced. The first tool to give a structure or framework to the software development process – for design, programming, performance or software maintenance – was designed back then. Subsequently, development tools were designed to meet the different needs that emerged in the world of software development. These tools, which were governed by a set of best practices to guide smooth programming, were grouped together as 'computer aided software engineering' tools. There have been continuous improvements in these tools since then. They are now oriented towards specific tasks to help developers in other programming environments as well. This is what we now refer to as the Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
An IDE is a set of tools integrated together to increase the productivity of software programmers. It generally includes a text editor that is used for programming, different functions that allow us to start the linker or compiler to translate the application source code into a machine readable binary set, and an online debugger that allows developers to run the current program, line by line. All software developers generally need these tools; hence, they are integrated together to optimise them. They have become very popular in business with particular IDEs designed by Google, Microsoft and Amazon to support their internal needs and adapt to their specific languages.
Now let us consider some open source IDEs that are popular among developers working on Windows.
This is a widely used free and flexible open source IDE that is useful for both beginners and professionals. Originally, Eclipse was a Java environment, but now it has got a wide range of capabilities because of the availability of a large number of extensions and plug-ins. Apart from various debugging tools and CVS/Git support, the standard edition of Eclipse also comprises Java and plugin development tooling. That's not all — there are plenty of other packages available like tools for modelling, charting, testing, reporting and building GUIs. It has also got a marketplace named the Eclipse Marketplace Client that gives its users access to a large treasure trove of information and plugins supplied by an expanding community of developers.
Languages supported: C++, C, Java, PHP, Perl, Python, Ruby and more.
Eclipse has got a plethora of package solutions that help it to support multiple programming languages.
It supports Java, as well as different IDE enhancements like hierarchical views of various nested projects with customisable perspectives.
It has got a task-focused interface that supports system-tray notifications as well.
Eclipse has an automated error reporting feature that automatically generates a descriptive error report whenever an error occurs.
There are multiple tooling options available in Eclipse for JEE projects.
Eclipse can be easily integrated with JUnit as well.
Drawbacks: All of us know that Eclipse is very versatile, but it has got multiple options that may be intimidating to newcomers. At times, it becomes challenging to add external plugins to Eclipse in order to utilise the features supported by that plugin.
This is another free and open source IDE that is ideal for editing any existing project or even starting a project from scratch. NetBeans provides a simple drag-and-drop interface that is equipped with many convenient project templates. It's primarily used to develop Java applications, but various packages or bundles that support other languages as well can be downloaded.
Languages supported: C, FORTRAN, C++, C++11, HTML 5, Java, PHP and more.
NetBeans provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes the software development process easier.
It has got both static and dynamic libraries that can be used for software development.
Multi-session GNU debuggers can be easily integrated with each other, providing code assistance.
NetBeans allows its users to develop software remotely.
It is compatible with Windows, Linux, OS X and Solaris.
It supports FORTRAN and Assembler files.
It supports a number of compilers like Cygwin, Clang/LLVM, MinGW, GNU and Oracle Solaris Studio.
Drawbacks: Some NetBean's users have reported that it requires a lot of memory; so it is possible that it may perform sluggishly on machines without enough memory.
Code::Blocks is one of the popular open source IDE options available for developers working on Windows, Linux and Mac. It is a highly customisable IDE that performs consistently across all the platforms; so it is really great for developers who frequently switch their workspaces from one platform to another. The plug-in framework supported by Code::Blocks lets its users tweak it as per their needs and requirements.
Languages supported: FORTRAN, C and C++.
Code::Blocks is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux.
It is developed using C++.
It supports an easy-to-navigate tabbed interface that includes a list of open files as well.
Code::Blocks requires no interpreted or proprietary languages.
It extends itself to support a wide range of custom-built and pre-built plug-ins.
Supports multiple compilers like MSVC++, GCC, Clang and more.
It provides users with a debugger that supports breakpoint.
Code::Blocks supports a text editor that provides syntax highlighting and code auto-completion.
It has got simple task management tools that are ideal for its new users.
Drawbacks: Although Code::Blocks comes with a list of features, it is a comparatively lightweight IDE. It is not suitable for larger projects. It is indeed a great tool for beginners, but advanced coders may find it a bit frustrating because of its limitations.
Aptana Studio3 is possibly one of the most powerful open source IDEs available in the market. It is a massive improvement over all its predecessors. As Aptana Studio 3 supports most browser specifications, the compatibility challenges associated with it are minimal. Hence all its users can quickly develop, test and then deploy Web applications from this single IDE itself.
Its deployment wizard has a simple setup supporting multiple protocols including FTP, FTPS, Capistrano and SFTP.
It automatically sends all the required Ruby and Rails applications to hosting services.
Aptana Studio3 has an easily accessible command line terminal comprising hundreds of commands.
Supports different string custom commands as well, to extend its capabilities.
Drawbacks: Aptana Studio3 works pretty well for students juggling various small projects. It has stability issues and at times it runs slowly. All professional developers would prefer a more powerful IDE.
Xcode IDE is actually the free, open source part of Xcode. We all know Xcode as a collection of tools for making various applications for Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The integration of Xcode with Cocoa Touch helps application development in the Apple environment, and we can also enable services like Passbook or Game Center with a single mouse click. The built-in communication feature available with the developer's website helps its users produce fully functioning applications on-the-fly.
Languages supported: AppleScript, Java, C++, C and Objective-C.
UI controls can be easily integrated with implementation code.
Assistant function available in XCode allows for the split-code workspace.
Apple LLVM compiler scans the code and offers advice for addressing various performance issues.
Jump bar allows quick navigation.
Interface builder lets its users build prototypes without even writing any code.
Source code and UI can be graphically connected to sketch different complex interface prototypes in just a few minutes.
Available version editor includes log files and commit timeline.
It supports the branch and merge feature for distributed teams.
The test navigator lets us quickly test all the applications at any point during development.
It automatically builds, analyses, validates, and then archives projects. This is possible due to its integration with the OS X server.
Supports instrument library and asset catalogue.
Its workflow is highly customisable with Tabs, Snippets and Behaviors.
Drawbacks: We need an Apple machine to run Xcode, and also need a developer's licence in order to upload any developed application to the Apple Store.
You are writing an article on IDE for Windows and then mentioned XCode along with a note "need apple machine". So does it mean if some one will run windows on apple machine then he can use Xcode on that windows?


If you have spent any amount of time working with Oracle databases as your back end, you know you have dealt with issues related to Oracle client installations. The client comes packaged in a large installer that installs a lot of other stuff along with the required drivers to connect with Oracle databases.
To be fair, the Oracle server component is in fact quite robust and comes with all the bells and whistles required for enterprise grade RDBMS software.
The problem is with the client itself. Should you install 32 bit or 64 bit version if you are on a 64 bit OS? How do I easily deploy to a clean slate machine without the large Oracle client already installed?
The good news is that all those issues are past if you are a .NET developer. You now have a 100% managed code driver in one package! The Oracle ManagedDataAccess library. It is completely native managed code unlike the Oracle DataAccess library which was just a .NET wrapper to talk to the native binaries of the Oracle client.
What does this mean for the average developer? Well, no more Oracle client installation! No worries about 32 bit or 64 bit installations as it is targeted for AnyCPU. All you have to do is import the library as a nuget package(you are using nuget, arent you?) and you are DONE! You have everything you need in one small focused dll. It is packaged with your application as just another dll in the bin folder.
There is a small gotcha though, the completely managed drivers don't support all the functionality of the previous Oracle .NET drivers which were a wrapper on the native Oracle client. But as per my experience, it should suffice for most the .NET developers making CRUD applications for businesses.
You can refer to Oracle Data Provider for .NET Developer's Guide on the missing features in the managed driver.
You need to change your namespaces from Oracle.DataAccess.Client to Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.Client if you are migrating from the previous drivers and most of your code remains the same.
I believe any application using the old drivers should be migrated whenever possible and any new development should be done only using the latest driver as it is a big leap from the older versions. You cant beat the benefits and compatibility provided by a 100% managed, self contained driver. Moreover it's less than 10Mb in size!


In the article below we say that Ali Shakeri, an American-Iranian academic, is in jail. After we had gone to press, he was unexpectedly released on bail, but remains under investigation and is banned from leaving the country.
One afternoon early in May this year, a Kafkaesque drama unfolded in the normally placid east Tehran suburb of Seyed Khandan Bridge. Four burly men in plain clothes entered a block of flats, telling residents that they were police officers pursuing an armed robber. They went to the first-floor flat of Shamsolmoluk Tajik and banged on the door, forcing their way in by violently barging her aside when she answered. They were looking for her nephew Ehsan Mansouri, who often stayed with her. They ransacked the house and scoured the cellars, but Mansouri was not there. So the men left with Tajik, who was by this time screaming hysterically to attract her neighbours' attention.
They pushed the terrified woman into a waiting car and drove away, but stopped when they spotted their quarry, Mansouri, walking along the street. Seeing the men jumping from the car, Mansouri tried to make a run for it. A gunshot rang out, prompting the fleeing man to look back and see one of his pursuers training his gun on him. Fearing he was going to be shot, Mansouri decided to surrender and lay on the ground. Seconds later, the chasing pack pounced and started beating him mercilessly around the head and neck with rubber batons.
Releasing Tajik, the gang handcuffed Mansouri, bundled him into the back of the car and continued assaulting him. They took him to Evin prison, a sprawling and intimidating facility in northwest Tehran. When they arrived, Mansouri was bleeding so profusely that prison authorities refused to admit him. They eventually relented only on the condition that Mansouri would be examined by a doctor, who would then submit a document listing his injuries to those who had delivered him for their signatures.
The incident showed how ruthless Iran's security forces could be in pursuit of a wanted man. But Mansouri was no armed robber. He was a 22-year-old mathematics student at Amirkabir University, one of Iran's most prestigious seats of higher learning. What had he done to be hunted down so brutally and subjected to such a fearful battering?
The arrest of Mansouri, a prominent student activist, was precipitated by the circulation of four campus publications containing blasphemous references and insulting commentaries on Iran's Islamic system. These included the incendiary statement that neither the Prophet Mohammad nor Imam Ali, the prophet's cousin and son-in-law who is the most revered figure in the Shi'ite branch of Islam practised by Iran, were 'innocent'. It also argued that no figure in today's Iran - including its supreme leader, a figure normally regarded as above public criticism - should be considered 'sacred'. One publication asserted that the highest number of prostitutes in Iran could be found in Qom, an emblematic shrine city on the edge of the central Kavir Desert that is home to the country's religious establishment.
In the cloying religious atmosphere of Iran's ruling theocracy, making such statements can be almost suicidal. Mansouri was one of eight students arrested over the affair. Five were subsequently released. He remains in custody along with two of the others arrested, Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Ghasaban. Relatives of the three say they have been tortured while in detention in an effort to extract confessions.
A close associate of the men told me they had undergone marathon interrogation sessions lasting up to 48 hours and frequently involving severe beatings. Interrogation teams of up to eight men have subjected the students to physical assaults interspersed with insults and psychological abuse. The students have been made to lie on the floor while interrogators stood on their backs. They are also said to have been beaten with electric cables. When they fainted from stress, the interrogators revived them by throwing cold water over them. Parents of the students have detailed the allegations in a letter to Iran's judiciary chief, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi.
It is not an isolated case. Dozens of Amirkabir activists have been expelled, suspended or put forward for compulsory military service in what students say is a concerted government campaign.
It has been instigated, they believe, by Iran's conservative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in revenge for a humiliating episode at the university last December, when pro-democracy students staged an audacious and unprecedented challenge to his authority.
The event coincided with one of Ahmadinejad's most bitterly controversial initiatives, a 'scientific' conference questioning the Holocaust staged at the foreign ministry's political and international studies institute in north Tehran. Rather than attend the birth of his own brainchild, however, the president chose that day to visit the Amirkabir campus near the city centre.
It was, in its own way, as provocative a move as holding the Holocaust conference.
The university, commonly known as the polytechnic, has been historically renowned as a hotbed of pro-democratic protest. The secular convictions of its student activists are far removed from Ahmadinejad's messianic religious beliefs. Many of them were already angry over a series of government-sponsored restrictions, including a stringent disciplinary code, limitations on inter-gender mingling and the demolition of student representative buildings. The president's visit appeared to show he had neutralised his critics.
The interruption provoked a furious melee in which punches were thrown and a shoe was hurled at the bemused president. Ahmadinejad was forced to cut his speech short and as he hurriedly left the campus, a member of his security detail fired a stun grenade to disperse angry activists attempting to follow him.
It was a stunning reversal for a politician accustomed to basking in mass audience acclaim during the nationwide roadshows that had become his political trademark. Eye-witnesses described him as looking bewildered and close to tears as the upheaval unfolded. Yet amidst it all, he issued one riposte of lasting resonance. 'Everyone knows the real dictator is America and its servants,' he shouted in response to the 'dictator' chants. Those present recall him accusing his hecklers of being paid agents of America and warning that they would be confronted.
That response may come to be regarded as one of the most telling moments of Ahmadinejad's presidency. In the months since, a preoccupation with alleged US plots to topple the Islamic regime has been at the forefront of the government's agenda. It has also provided the rationale for an intensifying atmosphere of social and political repression, which had been relatively mild in the first 18 months after Ahmadinejad's election in June 2005.
Less than three weeks after the Amirkabir episode, masked men armed with knives hijacked the car carrying Haleh Esfandiari to Tehran's Mehrabad airport and stole her bags, along with her US and Iranian passports. The event marked the beginning of a long ordeal for Esfandiari, 67, an Iranian-born scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a Washington-based think tank, who had returned to Tehran to visit her ailing 93-year-old mother. Esfandiari was placed under virtual house arrest and repeatedly interrogated until May, when she was formally arrested and detained in Evin prison. She was subsequently charged with espionage and endangering national security. This month she returned to the US after being released on bail following three and a half months in solitary confinement.
Esfandiari's treatment mirrors that of two other US-Iranian academics. Kian Tajbakhsh, an urban planner with the New York-based Soros Open Society Institute, faced identical charges after being arrested in May, though he too was released this month on bail. Also in jail is Ali Shakeri, a founding board member of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at the University of California at Irvine, who is still being investigated.
Government officials justified the arrests by referring to the Bush administration's openly stated desire for regime change in Iran and pointed to $75m of annual US state department funding for pro-democracy projects in the country. Most of the money is allocated for American-backed Farsi language broadcasts, in the form of Voice of America satellite news channel and Radio Farda, which both broadcast into Iran. But the US has not disclosed where the rest goes.
Iran claims it is being used to construct a 'civil society' network - consisting of students, women's activists, trade unionists and so on - that will press for fundamental change to the political system. Officials believe academics are playing a pivotal role in these alleged networks. The final goal, the Iranians claim, is to overthrow the regime in western-backed 'soft' or 'velvet' revolutions like those witnessed in former Soviet states like Ukraine and Georgia. To ram home the point, state television in July screened 'confessions' from Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh in a two-part programme, In The Name of Democracy, in which their testimony was interspersed with extensive footage from such revolutions.
The 'soft' revolution allegation is distinctive for being the only external security threat given credibility in Tehran. While speculation about a US or Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear installations and other facilities has reached fever pitch in the west over recent weeks, in Iran the possibility is publicly dismissed. Senior figures, including Ahmadinejad, confidently assert that American forces are too bogged down in Iraq for the White House to contemplate attacking Iran. Having given up the idea of toppling the regime through military action, the official narrative goes, the US is trying to destabilise it by stealth. It is unclear if this sanguine assessment of American military capabilities is a bluff intended to maintain domestic calm.
Days after our conversation, Momeni was arrested during a police raid on his office. His family say he was beaten during detention.
Those unfortunates who are arrested after attracting the authorities' suspicion are taken to Evin prison's Section 209, reserved for political detainees and supervised exclusively by the intelligence ministry.
Suspects are allowed to remove their blindfolds only inside their tiny cells, which are typically six square metres, although some are smaller. The cells have no beds or mattresses and the light is switched on constantly, making sleep difficult. The only reading material permitted is the Koran. All inmates are held in solitary confinement. Many describe it as a crushing ordeal that makes them question their self-worth and previous actions. 'Solitary confinement in itself is a torture,' says Hashemi, who underwent 27 days of it after participating in a protest outside Amirkabir University.
The authorities are usually unapologetic about such techniques. But the allegations of abuses committed against Mansouri, Tavakoli and Ghasaban - the three students accused of distributing the insulting publications - have caused disquiet. Publicly, Iranian officials deny practising torture. The parents' letter to Shahroudi, the judiciary chief, prompted him to order an investigation. Shahroudi is a moderate figure who has openly criticised the current government. But when the parents met last month with Tehran's chief prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, he rebuked them and flatly denied that their sons had been tortured. 'It is for me to say whether they have been tortured and I say we have not yet tortured to know the meaning of torture,' the parents recalled him saying. He said they would only be released after they had written letters of repentance.
For some perspective, I went to see Shirin Ebadi, whose tireless campaign to improve human rights in Iran earned her the Nobel peace prize in 2003. Ebadi has been representing Esfandiari and the three Amirkabir students, but has been denied access to them. Among the books in the waiting room of her modest basement office in central Tehran's Yousef Abad neighbourhood is a volume of speeches by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution and the main architect of Iran's theocratic system.
Ebadi has just written to Louise Arbour, the UN human rights high commissioner, complaining about the systematic discrimination against women in Iran. Before the revolution, Ebadi had been Iran's first female judge. Afterwards she was reduced to the status of a clerk when the new authorities decreed that women could not be judges under Sharia law, which Ebadi says is used as a pretext to justify myriad abuses.
Ahmadinejad's election ended eight years of relatively benign governance under Mohammad Khatami, a mild-mannered cleric who believed in reform and liberalisation. Khatami's election in a landslide in 1997 ushered in an atmosphere of social and political relaxation never before seen in the Islamic Republic. Iranian women, long fettered by the restrictions of Islamic dress, felt confident enough to wear more fashionable clothes and colourful hijabs, or headscarves, which they often pushed back daringly to reveal glamorous hairdos. As free speech flourished, dozens of newspapers and magazines appeared, almost all of them demanding greater liberties. The chorus was joined by an emboldened new generation of student activists, too young to remember or identify with the fervour that had produced the revolution which swept away the monarchical rein of the shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. In this intoxicating 'Tehran spring', many Western commentators were seduced into believing that Iran stood on the threshold of a new era of freedom.
But it was a false dawn. Long before Khatami had finished his first term, his project had withered under a sustained assault from conservatives and religious hardliners. Reformist newspapers were closed down one after another, initially using pre-revolutionary laws and then under fresh updated legislation. Student activists were brutally suppressed, most notably during a protest at Tehran university halls of residence in July 1999. Khatami was powerless to intervene. His re-election in 2001 was perfunctory rather than triumphant. Conditions were not ripe for his vision. In hindsight, it was too exclusively the preserve of social and intellectual elites.
Yet he had given the population a taste of freedom. The public's appetite had been whetted and it might one day ask for more.
This prospect alarmed conservatives and radicals proclaiming loyalty to the revolution's puritanical Islamist spirit. It inspired what has been described as a silent takeover by the most ideological factions of the revolutionary guards, the elite force created by Khomeini to safeguard the revolution. The public face of the takeover was manifested in the election of Ahmadinejad, a former guard commander whose ideology was driven by a zealous adherence to the Shia belief that Mehdi, the hidden or 12th imam - who disappeared more than 1,100 years ago - would one day return to earth and herald a new age of justice. The guards' tightening grip has been reflected in their increasingly dominant role in the economy. The force's commercial interests extend into lucrative areas such as oil and natural gas, hotels and civil aviation.
The development has had the blessing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader and the most powerful figure in Iran. Under the Islamic Republic's system of velayat-e faqih - a concept of rule by religious jurisprudence devised by Khomeini - Khamenei's role as supreme jurist gives him the final say over all state matters and command of the armed forces, including the revolutionary guards. But his power has not gone unchallenged. Khamenei, who was appointed after Khomeini's death in 1989, knew that certain leading figures in the establishment believed his role to be outmoded and in need of revision.
Chief among them was Hashemi Rafsanjani, a veteran cleric and pillar of the revolution, whose colourful political career has included spells as president and parliamentary speaker. Much of his enduring influence stems from having been one of Khomeini's closest confidants during the Eighties, when Iran fought a bloody eight-year war with Iraq. Rafsanjani, I was told, had concluded that the Islamic system in its present form is unworkable. In private, he has reportedly suggested that the supreme leader's post should be reduced to a ceremonial position akin to a constitutional monarch. Together with his known desire for rapprochement with the US, these sentiments put him on a collision course with Khamenei. According to one version, the two clashed angrily months before the 2005 presidential election, with Khamenei telling Rafsanjani that his conduct risked putting the country 'in the hands of the Americans'. Apocryphal or not, Khamenei backed Ahmadinejad over Rafsanjani in the election and mobilised state resources to help him win. But Rafsanjani's influence is far from spent. This month he was elected chairman of the experts' assembly, a clerical body with constitutional powers to supervise and even dismiss the supreme leader. Rafsanjani has indicated that he plans to use the powers.
It is against this background that Ahmadinejad's government has rolled back the remnants of the freedoms introduced by Khatami. In recent months, heavy deployments of 'morals' police officers have led to thousands of women being warned or arrested for 'bad' hijab or other forms of insufficiently Islamic dress. Similar measures have been taken against young men sporting outlandishly spiked or quaffed hairstyles, a surprisingly common sight in Iran. Police have arrested hundreds of 'hooligans' and 'thugs' in raids on working-class areas purportedly designed to root out violent criminals. Several reformist newspapers and websites have been closed for publishing 'lies'. At least 64 executions have been carried out since mid-July, more than 20 of them in public, in what seems to be a thinly disguised attempt to create a climate of fear.
The government says its purpose is to increase 'social security'. But after a period of relative freedom, do such repressive policies risk provoking a public backlash?
One obvious flaw in this theory may lie in the economy. Contrary to his populist pre-election promises to alleviate poverty and redistribute Iran's oil wealth, Ahmadinejad has presided over rising inflation, soaring housing costs and high unemployment. His government has dismantled long-established structures hitherto used to run the overwhelmingly state-dominated economy. Last autumn, Ahmadinejad ordered the break-up of the Management and Planning Organisation, which set budgetary priorities. After ordering interest rates last May to be cut to 12 per cent (compared with an inflation rate unofficially estimated at between 20 and 30 per cent), he dissolved the Money and Credit Association, which had the power over important monetary decisions, and ousted the central bank governor, Ebrahim Sheibani, who had disagreed with the reduction. Independent ministers in charge of the industry and oil ministries have also been sacked, as have the heads of several state-owned banks. Ahmadinejad has justified the decisions as essential to overcoming bureaucratic resistance to his social justice agenda. But analysts say they have had the effect of handing greater control over the economy to his backers in the revolutionary guards. The short-term effect has been to plunge economic management and decision-making into chaos.
As the world's fourth-largest oil producer, Iran has a source of wealth that ostensibly provides the government with a degree of protection against outside economic pressures. Yet years of US sanctions have starved its oil industry of investment and left its infrastructure dilapidated. One consequence is a lack of capacity to refine crude into petrol. That has forced the state to import up to 50 per cent of its domestic petrol supply, which was then sold to consumers at heavily subsidised prices.
Worried about the long-term budgetary consequences and its potential for leaving the Iranian economy vulnerable to a US blockade, the government in June imposed rationing. From being used to considering cheap and unlimited petrol as a birthright, motorists suddenly found themselves restricted to 600 litres over the following six months. The response was an outbreak of nationwide unrest in which dozens of filling stations and some state supermarkets and banks were destroyed and looted. It seemed to indicate that Iran's social peace was more fragile and conditional than its leaders believed.
Yazdi is one of the revolution's lost leaders. During the Shah's reign he was exiled in Texas, where he worked as a molecular geneticist while serving as Khomeini's adviser on US affairs. He resigned as foreign minister in the first post-revolutionary government in November 1979 after radicals took over the American embassy in Tehran and has since acquired dissident elder-statesman status. Ten years ago he was arrested and briefly detained by the authorities, but he was released after an outcry. Still vigorous at 76, his former revolutionary zeal has been replaced by a belief in the inevitability of evolutionary change.


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Cyber Security Expert Asks: What is the Weakest Link in your Cyber Security Plan?
July 7, 2015 /0 Comments/in Cybersecurity /by John Sileo
When the finance chief of a London hedge fund got an urgent phone call about possible fraud on a Friday afternoon just as he was preparing to leave work, he honestly thought he was doing the right thing by giving the caller the information requested. Wouldn't any decent CFO want to stop fraud if it was in his power to do so? That way, he could rest easy for the weekend, knowing he had saved the company from damage. Imagine the feeling in the pit of his stomach when he turned on his computer Monday morning to find that 742,668 pounds ($1.2 million) was missing!
That's what happened to Thomas Meston of Fortelus Capital Management LLP in December of 2013. He received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Coutts, the London-based hedge fund's bank, and the caller warned him there may have been fraudulent activity on the account. Meston was reluctant, but agreed to use the bank's smart card security system to generate codes for the caller to cancel 15 suspicious payments.
Instead the caller used the codes to divert funds into other accounts. Meston lost his job and, to add insult to injury, is being sued by the fund for breach of duty to protect its assets.
It's a sad case of firms too often seeing cyber security as a technical issue and not recognizing the risk of employees being targeted, as supported by a report from the Bank of England last week that called cyber crime a growing threat to financial stability.
And such "Friday afternoon scams" are not uncommon. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd warned in May that law firms also were targeted by fraudsters impersonating bank staff that asked for access to accounts, often late on a Friday.
"People are always the weakest link," said Jason Ferdinand, a director at Coventry University who runs the U.K.'s first cyber security MBA course. Employees "often assume that they do not have to think about security because a machine or software is doing it for them."
In my business as a speaker on Cyber Security, Corporate Fraud and Identity Theft, the initial phone call from clients often revolves around wanting someone who can protect the company. My response is, "Then let me train the people". If I can train them to pay attention to what I call the "Hogwash" response, I know that is the greatest line of defense between the company and fraudsters.
So, again I ask, what is the weakest link in your cyber security plan? Answer—any human being who works for your company! It just depends on who wants to do the right thing and happens to answer the phone or get that email asking for a quick decision under pressure. If you're looking for entertaining training that targets the human factor, we're here to help!
John Sileo is an an award-winning author and keynote speaker on identity theft, internet privacy, fraud training & technology defense. John specializes in making security entertaining, so that it works. John is CEO of The Sileo Group, whose clients include the Pentagon, Visa, Homeland Security & Pfizer. John's body of work includes appearances on 60 Minutes, Rachael Ray, Anderson Cooper & Fox Business. Contact him directly on 800.258.8076.
Tags: "Cyber Security Plan", Cyber Security, John Sileo, Sileo
https://i0.wp.com/sileo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/weakest-link.jpg?fit=237%2C174&ssl=1 174 237 John Sileo https://sileo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Sileo-Logo-2020-Horizontal-Color-web-300x62.png John Sileo2015-07-07 18:13:472017-12-01 16:25:44Cyber Security Expert Asks: What is the Weakest Link in your Cyber Security Plan?
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
LaVoy Finicum Controversy: Fallen Right-Wing Extremist's Memorial A Problem For U.S. Forest Service
Patricia Ramirez
The memorial for LaVoy Finicum has been erected at the site of his death, where he was shot after attempting to drive through a vehicular blockade and then allegedly attempting to reach for a weapon after exiting his vehicle.
LaVoy Finicum, born Rober Linicum, was an Arizona rancher involved in the infamous (and badly bungled) Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Oregon at the beginning of 2016.
Since the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum, a memorial to the fallen right-wing extremest and self-proclaimed "patriot" has sprung up at the site of his death. The shooting incident, where LaVoy Finicum lost his life after allegedly attempting to draw a weapon on Oregon State troopers, took place in a rural area of U.S. Route 395.
LaVoy Finicum Supporters Stand Guard At Illegal Roadside Memorial https://t.co/aItAGNPSMZ pic.twitter.com/ZcE2xubVUF
— NCRenegade (@NC_Renegade) June 23, 2016
Since the shooting death of LaVoy Finicum, a makeshift memorial has sprung up at the site where he became a victim to his alleged attempt the engage law enforcement. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the site of the LaVoy Finicum memorial is on Malheur National Forest land, and ultimately, it is illegal.
"While the placement of a monument or memorial on public land may help some individuals through difficult times, these memorials are generally of significance to only those most closely tied to a specific person or event," said Mike Stearly, public affairs officer with the Malheur National Forest. "Others may feel that memorials intrude on their experience of the forest."
According to a KVAL report, two LaVoy Finicum supporters, both male, have been "guarding" the illegal memorial for almost three weeks. The reason? On multiple occasions since his death, the LaVoy Finicum memorial has been disrupted or removed altogether in the middle of the night. According to the sites new "guards," William Fisher, of Salmon, Idaho, and Jamey Landin, of Burns, the last three weeks or so mark the longest that the LaVoy Finicum memorial has remained unmolested since it was created.
"They know we're there. We're doing something here."
The pair has already exceeded the 14-day "stay limit" imposed on the campground nearby, where they have been staying to do their LaVoy Finicum "memorial duty." However, they have already moved to a dispersed campsite across the road, where they can legally reside for 30 additional days.
Lavoy Finicum invades our #publiclands, commits suicide by cop—now supporters want memorial???? https://t.co/8yXW6GCZMs pic.twitter.com/1Kb9p4bgjG
— R Scott Jones (@rscottjones) June 23, 2016
Ironically, both of the LaVoy Finicum memorial "guards" are unarmed. The reason? They are both convicted felons and not allowed to carry firearms. They've also said that they have every intention of remaining peaceful.
Despite the efforts of the LaVoy Finicum memorial guards, though, the U.S. Forest Service states that the memorial for Finicum is illegal and has to be taken down. It hasn't yet spelled out a timeline for the removal of the LaVoy Finicum memorial.
"The Forest Service does not want to have any conflict or confrontations. Law enforcement is in contact with those folks, and communications are in place."
Back in May, four male individuals received citations for allegedly trying to erect a permanent cross at the U.S. Forest Service-owned LaVoy Finicum memorial site. According to the Harney County Sheriff's Office, the four men were official charged with criminal mischief in the third degree. The crime is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine.
Reportedly, the four who were charged with criminal mischief in the case intend to plead not guilty to the charges.
The federal government has suggested that those who want to memorialize slain right-wing extremist LaVoy Finicum's death site do so utilizing the U.S. Forest Service's "Plant-A-Tree" initiative. The program allows donors to plant seedlings to honor deceased loved ones.
@ryanjhaas #Oregonstandoff does seem to attract the criminal element. What is honorable about 2 felons guarding a dead felon? Nothing..
— James Ball (@cato218) June 23, 2016
The Branch Dildododians are at it again…… https://t.co/2ZGh0vS9gz
— Repub Family Values (@RFValues) June 23, 2016
@ryanjhaas @OPB "We're doing something"…trashing public land.
— dimplasm (@dimplasm) June 23, 2016
Finicum supporters, however, have scoffed at the ecologically sound suggestion. They don't care for the idea of planting a federal government-endorsed seedling. The men guarding the LaVoy Finicum memorial and death site have vowed not to vacate the location until their "patriot" hero receives a permanent memorial on U.S. Forest Service land.
Other "patriots" are waiting in the wings to take over when the current pair of LaVoy Finicum memorial-watchers' stay limits are up.
"We are prepared to do this for as long as we need to. We have wall tents with wood stoves if we need them. We have snow machines. We have whatever it takes."
Robert LaVoy Finicum memorial at the site. pic.twitter.com/8IFMhUUko6
— Fred Marsico (@SoPhillyFred) February 14, 2016
Both of the current LaVoy Finicum quasi-memorial watchers are currently without jobs and subside solely through food and money donated by Finicum supporters.
"If you're supposed to be somewhere, then the universe will make sure you're provided for."
Local residents are concerned that "tension around the site" of LaVoy Finicum's death could revive tensions between self-proclaimed patriots and federal agencies.
At least one resident thinks that it's time for Finicum supporters to take his "memorial" elsewhere.
"There's no need for this whole thing. If they want to honor (Finicum), why don't they do it where he's buried?"
Helen Patton, a long-time resident of Burns County, Oregon, says that those "guarding" LaVoy Finicum's makeshift (and illegal) memorial simply don't seem to understand that they are breaking the law. Nor do they seem to care that they are causing strife for locals.
"They're just prolonging this whole thing. It's a strange situation, and it just needs to go away. We just need to get back to normal."
Memorial Day Patriot ???????? Lavoy Finicum, Assassinated by Obama 1/26/16 pic.twitter.com/guSIqwJ58y
— BoTz718 (@TheRealBoTz718) May 31, 2016
A Father's Day "ceremony" was recently held at the death site of LaVoy Finicum, and it was reportedly attended by his wife, Jeanette. Supporters of Finicum say that they will be at the memorial site for the long haul.
"They want to fight us just over a small little memorial. Fine, we're here. You might have killed the messenger, but you haven't killed the message."
What do you think? Is it appropriate for right-wing extremists to continue breaking the law on federal land? Or is it time for the federal government to put an end to this LaVoy Finicum monument once and for all?
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images]
Holly Barker Gets Steamy In See-Through Black Bodysuit January 15, 2021


text:
Global Information Technology Report 2015
Networked Readiness Index
Country / Economy Profiles: AlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelgiumBhutanBoliviaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeChadChileChinaColombiaCosta RicaCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicCôte d'IvoireDenmarkDominican RepublicEgyptEl SalvadorEstoniaEthiopiaFinlandFranceGabonGambia, TheGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong Kong SARHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIran, Islamic Rep.IrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKorea, Rep.KuwaitKyrgyz RepublicLao PDRLatviaLebanonLesothoLibyaLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedonia, FYRMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMauritaniaMauritiusMexicoMoldovaMongoliaMontenegroMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNepalNetherlandsNew ZealandNicaraguaNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSingaporeSlovak RepublicSloveniaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandTaiwan, ChinaTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor-lesteTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaVietnamYemenZambiaZimbabwe
Networked Readiness Dataset (xls)
Infographics and Shareables
[ — Divider — ]
Foreword – John Chambers (Cisco Systems)
Foreword – Cesare Mainardi (Strategy&, formerly Booz & Company)
Part 1: Leveraging ICTs for Shared Prosperity
1.1 The Networked Readiness Index 2015: Taking the Pulse of the ICT revolution
Networked Readiness Framework
Structure and Methodology
Analysis and Key Findings
Country Highlights
Appendix: Structure and computation of the Networked Readiness Index 2015
1.2 – ICTs, Income Inequality, and Ensuring Inclusive Growth
1.3 – Understanding Digital Content and Services Ecosystems: The Role of Content and Services in Boosting Internet Adoption
1.4 – ICTs for Inclusive Growth: E-Entrepreneurship on the Open Internet
1.5 – Creating the Next Wave of Economic Growth with Inclusive Internet
1.6 – Developing the Network for Growth and Equality of Opportunity
1.7 – CTs in Schools: Why Focusing Policy and Resources on Educators, not Children, Will Improve Educational Outcomes
1.8 – Big Data Analytics for Inclusive Growth: How Technology Can Help Elevate the Human Condition
1.9 – Connected Healthcare: Extending the Benefits of Growth
1.10 – Designing Technology for Inclusive Growth
1.11 – Digital Inclusion and Economic Development: A Regional Analysis from Brazil
Technical Notes and Sources
Partner Institutes
Strategic Partner Acknowledgments
Selected Research
Global Information Technology Report 2015 Home
Part 1 of the 2015 edition of The Global Information Technology Report assesses the state of networked readiness of 143 economies using the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) (Chapter 1.1) and examines the role of ICTs in supporting inclusive growth through a number of contributions by leading experts and practitioners (Chapters 1.2 through 1.11). Part 2 consists of an extensive data compendium with the detailed performance of each economy in the NRI (Section 2.1) and rankings for each of the 53 individual indicators included in the NRI (Section 2.2).
Since 2001, when The Global Information Technology Report was launched, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become more powerful, more accessible, and more widespread. They are now pivotal in enhancing competitiveness, enabling development, and bringing progress to all levels of society. The results of the NRI, presented in Chapter 1.1, and Chapter 1.2, which reviews the empirical literature on the impact of ICTs in past decades, provide ample evidence of these advances.
But the NRI results also reveal that, so far, it is mostly the rich countries that have been benefiting from this ICT revolution. Paradoxically, ICTs have opened up new digital divides. The question of whether opportunities offered by ICTs are inclusive by nature or whether they are likely to increase the distance between the haves and the have-nots is a pertinent one. Some segments of the population may be exposed differently than others to labor market shifts induced by technological innovation, which can aggravate inequalities across groups with different levels of skills. Progress made in improving national competitiveness may create or deepen domestic inequalities if the unconnected become second-class citizens. In the absence of corrective mechanisms, ICTs could indeed contribute to a non-inclusive type of growth, thus exacerbating the problem rather than mitigating it.
The first part of the Report showcases compelling solutions and makes policy recommendations for avoiding the pitfalls, bridging the divides, and allowing everyone to benefit from, and participate in, the ICT revolution.
The Networked Readiness Index 2015: Taking the Pulse of the ICT Revolution
Chapter 1.1 presents the results of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) 2015, which measures the capacity of countries to leverage ICTs for increased competitiveness and well-being.
The Networked Readiness Index
The networked readiness framework rests on six principles: (1) a high-quality regulatory and business environment is critical in order to fully leverage ICTs and generate impact; (2) ICT readiness—as measured by ICT affordability, skills, and infrastructure—is a pre-condition to generating impact; (3) fully leveraging ICTs requires a society-wide effort: the government, the business sector, and the population at large each have a critical role to play; (4) ICT use should not be an end in itself. The impact that ICTs actually have on the economy and society is what ultimately matters; (5) the set of drivers—the environment, readiness, and usage—interact, co-evolve, and reinforce each other to form a virtuous cycle; and (6) the networked readiness framework should provide clear policy guidance.
The framework translates into the NRI, a composite indicator made up of four main categories (subindexes), 10 subcategories (pillars), and 53 individual indicators distributed across the different pillars:
A. Environment subindex
1. Political and regulatory environment (9 indicators)
2. Business and innovation environment (9 indicators)
B. Readiness subindex
3. Infrastructure (4 indicators)
4. Affordability (3 indicators)
5. Skills (4 indicators)
C. Usage subindex
6. Individual usage (7 indicators)
7. Business usage (6 indicators)
8. Government usage (3 indicators)
D. Impact subindex
9. Economic impacts (4 indicators)
10. Social impacts (4 indicators)
The computation of the overall NRI score is based on successive aggregations of scores: individual indicators are aggregated to obtain pillar scores, which are then combined to obtain subindex scores. Subindex scores are in turn combined to produce a country's overall NRI score. The appendix of Chapter 1.1 presents the detailed methodology and composition of the NRI.
About half of the individual indicators used in the NRI are sourced from international organizations. The main providers are the International Telecommunication Union, UNESCO and other UN agencies, and the World Bank. The other half of the NRI indicators are derived from the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey (the Survey). The Survey is used to measure concepts that are qualitative in nature or for which internationally comparable statistics are not available for enough countries. The 2014 edition of the Survey was completed by over 13,000 business executives.
Networked Readiness Index 2015: Results overview
Tables 1–5 in Chapter 1.1 report the rankings of the overall NRI 2015, its four subindexes, and their respective pillars.
Not unexpectedly, advanced economies are better than developing ones at leveraging ICTs. High-income economies dominate, taking the first 31 places in the overall NRI rankings. The performance of countries largely mirrors their position on the development ladder: a higher level of income is typically associated with a higher NRI score. Forty-four of the 50 high-income economies covered rank in the top 50, which otherwise features six upper-middle-income countries, the highest-ranked being Malaysia at 32nd place. At the bottom of the rankings, 26 of the 30 worst-performing countries are low-income or lower-middle-income countries.
Singapore tops the rankings this year, and even though this bumps Finland to 2nd place, seven of the top 10 this year are European. That is one more than in 2014, thanks to Luxembourg (9th), which—along with Japan (10th)—enters the top 10 at the expense of the Republic of Korea (12th, down two spots) and Hong Kong SAR (14th). As a result, only Singapore represents the Asian Tigers in the top 10. Besides Singapore and Japan, the United States (stable at 7th) is the only other non-European country in this group.
Europe is home to some of the best connected and most innovation-driven economies in the world. In particular, the Nordics—Finland (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Norway (5th), Denmark (15th), and Iceland (19th)—continue to perform well. Indeed, these five countries have featured in the top 20 of every edition since 2012.
The group performance of Western European countries is also strong. The Netherlands (4th), Switzerland (6th), the United Kingdom (8th), and Luxembourg (9th) all appear in the top 10. Ireland (25th) has been stable since 2012, and France (26th)—which has lost three places since 2012—closes the group in the subregion. In Southern Europe, Portugal (28th, up five), Italy (55th, up three), and Greece (66th, up eight) improve significantly from last year on the back of major improvements in government usage, whereas Malta (29th), Spain (34th), and Cyprus (36th, up one) remain quite stable. These largely positive trends contribute to narrowing Southern Europe's gap with the rest of the region, which had been widening since 2012.
Thanks to the strong performance of Estonia (22nd) and the steady rise of Latvia (33rd, up six), which is catching up to Lithuania (31st), the Baltic countries are slowly but surely bridging the gap with the Nordics—a remarkable achievement for the three former Soviet Republics. These countries are breaking away from what was once a fairly homogenous group of Eastern European countries that have joined the European Union (EU) since 2004: Slovenia (37th, down one), the Czech Republic (43rd, down one), Hungary (53rd, down six), Croatia (54th, down eight), and the Slovak Republic (59th, no change) are either stable or losing ground. Meanwhile Poland has jumped four places to enter the top 50, and Romania—once the worst performer in the European Union—has leapfrogged 12 positions to reach 63rd place, ahead of Bulgaria (73rd).
The divide within the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan region is the largest among all regions. The United Arab Emirates (23rd, up one) and Qatar (27th, down four) continue to lead, ahead of Bahrain (30th), Saudi Arabia (35th), and Oman (42nd), which are all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). All owe their success to a very strong commitment to ICT development by their respective governments. Kuwait's performance (72nd) stands at odds with that of its GCC peers. In the rest of the region, only Jordan (52nd) features in the top half of the rankings. Morocco follows at a middling 78th, but is the country that has improved the most (up 21 places) over the past year. Mauritania (138th) remains the region's worst-performing country.
Emerging and developing Asia offers strong contrasts, too. Over 100 places separate the region's best- and worst-performing economies. Malaysia (32nd) is the only country featured in the top 60 of the NRI; two-thirds of the countries from the region appear in the bottom half of the rankings. Mongolia (61st), Sri Lanka (65th), and Thailand (67th) lag some 30 places behind Malaysia. China is stable in 62nd position, while India continues its fall, dropping a further six to 89th place.
Chile (38th) leads in Latin America and the Caribbean, almost 100 places ahead of Haiti (137th), the region's worst performer. Overall, though, trends are encouraging: 14 of the 23 countries in the region have increased their score since last year; 19 of them have done so since 2012. In particular, Costa Rica (49th, up nine since 2012), Panama (51st, up six), El Salvador (80th, up 23), Peru (90th, up 16), and Bolivia (111th, up 16) have posted some of the largest score gains worldwide since 2012.
The performance of sub-Saharan Africa is particularly disappointing: 30 of the 31 countries included in the sample appear in the bottom half of the NRI rankings. The only exception is Mauritius, at 45th. This country has progressed three places since last year and eight since 2012. Among the large economies of the region, Nigeria drops seven places to 119th. South Africa drops five to 75th—it is now third in the region behind Mauritius and Seychelles (74th). In contrast, Kenya (86th, up six) has been slowly improving since 2012.
Chapter 1.1 provides a short overview of the performance of the 10 best-performing countries in the NRI 2015 and the members of the G-20 outside the top 10.
Among the many insights that emerge from the NRI results, five stand out because of their important policy implications.
The transformative power of ICTs. As a general-purpose technology, the impact of ICTs extends well beyond productivity gains. ICTs are vectors of economic and social transformation. By improving access to services, enhancing connectivity, creating business and employment opportunities, and changing the ways people communicate, interact, and engage among themselves and with their governments, ICTs can transform our world.
Yet only widespread and systematic use of ICTs by all stakeholders—individuals, businesses, and government—can trigger such transformation. The NRI reveals the almost perfect correlation between a country's level of ICT uptake and the economic and social impacts ICTs have on its economy and society.
The myth of ubiquitous ICTs. ICTs are neither as ubiquitous nor spreading as fast as many believe. This explains in part the persistence of the digital divide across and within countries. Indeed, a stubbornly high correlation between income level and performance in the NRI exists.
There are as many mobile subscriptions as human beings on the planet. But half of the world's population do not have mobile phones and 450 million people still live out of reach of a mobile signal. In developing countries, a huge divide exists between well-connected urban centers and off-the-grid rural areas. Some 90 percent of population in low-income countries and over 60 percent globally are not online yet. Finally, most mobile phones are of an older generation. The ICT revolution will not be carried over voice and SMS but will require universal and high-speed Internet.
The low-hanging fruit of policymaking. To achieve the ICT revolution and bridge digital divides, countries need to develop their ICT ecosystems. This implies long-term, costly investments in infrastructure and education. But low-hanging fruits do exist. Governments can create an enabling environment by promoting competition through sound regulation and liberalization.
In sub-Saharan Africa, many countries have fully liberalized their ICT markets. Indeed, in terms of liberalization the region is doing better on average than several others. This strategy bodes well for the future. Some countries—including Kenya and Tanzania—are starting to reap the benefits of liberalization in the form of increased private investments and the introduction of new business models and services.
ICTs' contributions to shared prosperity. If harnessed properly, ICTs can create economic opportunities and foster social and political inclusion, ultimately contributing to shared prosperity. From an economic point of view, ICTs boost productivity and reduce transaction and information costs. They allow new models of collaboration that increase workers' efficiency and flexibility. ICTs foster entrepreneurship and create new business models. Through crowdfunding and equity-crowdfunding platforms, ICTs also provide alternative sources of financing.
Furthermore ICTs offer significant social benefits, notably by enabling access to basic services, including financial services and education. They also allow for a more direct interaction between populations and governments. Improved government online presence can significantly increase the efficiency of public administration. The Internet provides new ways for citizens to participate in policy- and decision-making processes. Open-data initiatives and stronger commitments by governments to making information available online improve transparency, governance, and accountability.
Widespread ICT use by businesses, government, and the population at large is a pre-condition for all these benefits and opportunities to materialize, as confirmed by the nearly perfect correlation between the NRI's Usage and Impact subindexes.
Better data for better policies. The lack of good data on some of the most basic indicators of socioeconomic performances, let alone ICT-related concepts, is truly alarming, as it can lead to misguided policies and misallocation of resources. The NRI suffers from such data paucity. Like any benchmarking exercise, it is only as good as its underlying data. The World Economic Forum is fully aware of the limitations of the data and acknowledges the gaps, particularly when it comes to measuring the impacts of ICTs. We therefore renew our plea for more and better data.
Governments around the world need to strengthen the capacity of national statistical offices to collect data and preserve their independence, and to support the United Nations' agencies and other international institutions in their hugely important efforts to collect more reliable, more granular, more timely, more complete, and more harmonized data.
ICTs, Income Inequality, and Ensuring Inclusive Growth
Chapter 1.2, contributed by Robert Pepper and John Garrity from Cisco Systems, explores the differential impacts of information and communications technologies (ICTs) on income, economic growth, and poverty alleviation. The chapter begins by looking back at a global target for ICT penetration 30 years ago and reviews ICTs' impact on income inequality. The authors present the paradox between ICTs' impact on global income inequality and their impact on within-country inequality.
A review of the macroeconomic and microeconomic literature on ICT impact on the effects of income growth posits explanations for the mixed relationship and highlights the role of these technologies as income multipliers. The chapter concludes with a vision of greater ICT-driven inclusive growth in the future. It also highlights specific policies and programs intended to enhance the income effects of ICT on lower-income and marginalized populations.
Understanding Digital Content and Services Ecosystems: The Role of Content and Services in Boosting Internet Adoption
Chapter 1.3, contributed by Bahjat El-Darwiche, Mathias Herzog, Milind Singh, and Rami Maalouf at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), analyzes a key reason that Internet penetration rates in some developing countries are lagging behind others, despite the fact that online connectivity is both available and affordable. The authors focus on the role of digital content and services in the evolution and development of the increase in Internet adoption and usage. To establish a foundation for the research and to understand the way digital content ecosystems evolve, they identify the major content categories that serve as building blocks: entertainment, information, utilities (including government services), business services, sharing platforms, and communications. They then review the evolution of digital ecosystems in developed nations, considering the United States, Germany, and the Republic of Korea. The authors find broad similarities in the way Internet content has evolved in these countries, but also key differences in areas such as the degree of government involvement in content generation.
The authors devise a method of measuring the maturity of digital content ecosystems, capturing both the depth and variability of content. They use the resulting index to show the relationship between ecosystem maturity and Internet penetration for each of 75 countries. They find that the evolution of digital content ecosystems is supply-driven, suggesting the need to overbuild content and services in the early stages. Entertainment and information content are the primary drivers of user growth, with utilities playing an important secondary role. Content ecosystems begin to reach a point of critical mass because of the network effect of sharing platforms. As sharing platforms and online advertising proliferate, e-commerce and other business services assume a larger role, and the ecosystem becomes economically self-sustaining.
The authors conclude that key stakeholders (the government, local content providers, telecommunication operators, and global platform providers) can play an important role in jumpstarting digital content ecosystems at the early stages of evolution by investing in relevant, local content. This helps to build a user base large enough to reach the critical mass point, which in turn will create the conditions for self-sustainability.
ICTs for Inclusive Growth: E-Entrepreneurship on the Open Internet
In Chapter 1.4, Michael Kende from the Internet Society points out the exciting new possibilities for entrepreneurs worldwide that are created by access to the open Internet. Those formerly excluded from economic opportunity can now use the Internet for education, research, fundraising, and collaboration to start their own companies—opportunities that would be unimaginable without access to the open Internet.
Traditionally, high-tech startups have gathered in clusters such as California's Silicon Valley, home to many of the early large Internet startups—including Netscape, eBay, Yahoo!, and Google. These companies benefited from the conditions that led to the development of the largest and best-known high-tech cluster—conditions that include access to Stanford University, to venture capital, and to a large pool of skilled employees.
Many regions and countries have tried to duplicate the conditions of Silicon Valley to benefit from the resulting startups. These efforts have met with varying success, and have clearly created new opportunities for entrepreneurs. However, not everyone is able to benefit from access to such a cluster, particularly in developing countries.
Kende demonstrates that many of the important inputs for startups are migrating online. These include tangible inputs, such as venture capital and computing capacity, along with less tangible ones, such as mentorship and collaboration. As a result, the possibilities for entrepreneurship are expanding beyond the traditional boundaries of high-tech clusters to include all people in all regions with access to the open Internet.
As the activity of innovation becomes more inclusive because more people—across countries and income levels, education and gender—are able to create new enterprises, so too are the results of innovation becoming more inclusive, because many new entrepreneurs focus their efforts on filling market gaps close to home. To foster this new source of startups, the author argues that policymakers can focus on ensuring that Internet access is widely available, affordable, and open.
Creating the Next Wave of Economic Growth with Inclusive Internet
Despite great progress in Internet uptake and enormous growth potential of Internet services, a large portion of the world's population still have no access to the Internet, or their ICT skills are insufficient for them to take the full advantage of the opportunities and economic growth the Internet can provide.
Countries where this is the situation must take decisive action to improve it, not to further increase the digital divide gap. To identify potential actions, Chapter 1.5 leverages a recent McKinsey Global Institute study of the offline population in 20 countries accounting for 74 percent of the worldwide offline population. The authors outline a selection of key drivers of past Internet development along with a number of barriers still hindering Internet uptake among the unconnected.
The chapter provides examples, from different countries and regions in the world, of initiatives that have been taken to improve Internet connectivity among the unconnected, and to stimulate Internet usage. These examples fall into two distinct categories. The first group comprises initiatives that facilitate investments and the deployment of networks in existing and new areas. The second group is aimed at increasing the unconnected population's demand for Internet services.
The authors believe that coordinated action based on specific country circumstances, along with a combination of initiatives such as those outlined in the chapter, can help include those who are still unconnected among the beneficiaries of future ICT growth and help bridge the digital divide.
Developing the Network for Growth and Equality of Opportunity
In Chapter 1.6, Luis Alvarez of BT Global Services discusses the importance of international networks and connectedness, and how they are key not just to growth, but to equitable and inclusive growth. The chapter examines some specific examples of this "information superhighway" vison in detail, including the Katha Information Technology and E-Commerce School (KITES) in India, SOS Children's Villages in Africa, Message Stick in Australia, and UK initiatives such as Citizens Online and The Age UK Digital Inclusion Network.
The chapter also considers the relationship between networks and the public sector from two different angles. First, it discusses the ability for network infrastructure and IT services to improve the function and output of government and the public sector, looking at developments in big data, social media, and the cloud, and at efficiencies in cost, administration, and planning. On the other side of the coin, it argues that governments have a responsibility to support networks by ensuring a robust and modern regulatory environment, consistent across geographies and technologies, and by promoting supplier access and driving healthy market competition.
The chapter highlights how the benefits of investment in and access to networks are notable for just how widely they are shared among employees, suppliers, distributors, and consumers, with additional positives, including increased social and financial inclusion. The author concludes that to maximize these benefits, the private sector, governments, and nongovernmental organizations must recognize the need for selective and directed investment, to ensure those areas most lacking in digital inclusion are targeted first. Models are changing across the globe—for example, E-commerce, entertainment, mobile micro payments, telehealth—and consistently these new models contain digital input and delivery channels. A commitment to ensuring that sections of society are not excluded from these developments will ultimately drive long-term benefit across all sectors, by promoting lasting economic and social wealth.
ICTs in Schools: Why Focusing Policy and Resources on Educators, not Children, Will Improve Educational Outcomes
Although much has been made of the potential to use technology to improve educational outcomes in schools, particularly in developing countries, there is no evidence that such initiatives have delivered on that promise. In Chapter 1.7, Anurag Behar of Wipro and Punya Mishra of Michigan State University argue that the most effective use of technology to help improve educational outcomes lies not in pushing for getting technology into the hands of the learners in the classroom, but rather in emphasizing using the strengths of ICTs as integral elements in the development process of teachers. For this reason, the resources currently focused on classroom technology should be switched to projects that facilitate enhanced teacher education and teacher professional development. Building teacher capacity will have a longer-term and sustainable impact on the education of all children.
Big Data Analytics for Inclusive Growth: How Technology Can Help Elevate the Human Condition
In Chapter 1.8, Mikael Hagstroem from SAS argues that resolving the world's current challenges requires moving beyond economic vigor to embrace technology. Elevating the human condition will require inclusive growth, where everyone can make contributions toward growth and all sectors of society can benefit from the dividends and sense of purpose that result.
The chapter identifies the three essential components of inclusive growth as education, jobs, and well-being. It explains how technology is an enabler, a catalyst, and a propelling force for all three. Now that we can process huge volumes of data, and now that we have enough affordable processing capacity, we can build the holistic models that allow us to ask previously unimaginable questions, and we can answer those that were not previously answerable. This development makes truly inclusive growth a genuine possibility for the first time in history.
In other words, big data analytics has created a tipping point, shifting us from a world in which we think we know how to elevate the human condition into a world in which we know how to do this and we can prove it.
In a series of case studies that demonstrate how technology can improve the human condition, we see that big data analytics can:
transform from within by providing faster, fact-based foundations on which to make decisions;
answer questions and uncover solutions that governments and nongovernmental organizations have not yet envisioned; and
create much-needed jobs and GDP growth.
The examples show that big data analytics can create more developed economies, give voice to the unheard, and improve public welfare. Given this power for good, governments should ensure that their citizens have the skills needed to participate and succeed in a data-driven economy because data-driven decisions are what will move society forward.
Connected Healthcare: Extending the Benefits of Growth
Over the last century, economic and technological developments have improved people's lives and extended global life expectancies. Yet this growth is not truly inclusive: as Chapter 1.9 by Dale Wiggins of Philips points out, billions are excluded because they lack of healthcare and the means to lead a healthy life. Inclusive growth occurs when economies and healthcare expand together. Good health improves productivity and educational attainment. It allows people to enjoy the fruits of growth and contribute to further development. In an inclusive world, everyone would have access to the best possible care, for themselves and their loved ones. But this vision is increasingly hard to attain. Worldwide, healthcare provision is struggling with unsustainable pressure from rising demand and costs.
The expanding global middle class, a massive rise in chronic diseases, and a lack of resources and skilled medical professionals are driving this pressure. Escalations, interventions, and costs for care providers are soaring. Because healthcare is increasingly out-of-pocket, many patients also face rising costs, while lack of access to primary care exacerbates the situation in emerging economies.
At the same time, the cost of digital technology is decreasing so quickly that it becomes ubiquitous, leading to an even greater transformation: connected healthcare. Intervention models previously considered impractical—such as point-of-care diagnostics and telemedicine to remote sites—are now very possible. Connecting people, devices, and data in entirely new ways will lead to better outcomes for patients, reduce costs, and increase inclusivity of care worldwide.
Connected, integrated ICTs will empower individuals to live healthier lives and to actively participate in any treatment they require. Professionals throughout the care continuum will be enabled to work with patients and each other more efficiently. Mobile and connected technologies will also expand access to specialist care to millions more people—from expectant mothers in developing economies to people living in remote rural areas, all over the world, thus bringing better health and inclusive growth to entire populations.
Designing Technology for Inclusive Growth
There are still 4.5 billion people without access to the Internet, but the potential benefits of being connected go far beyond commercial opportunity. There is now widespread agreement—along with emerging evidence—that access to technology can help improve quality of life and accelerate development efforts at all levels. Nearly every aspect of development—including the meeting of basic needs—can be improved by applying technologies. In other words, technologies hold tremendous potential to solve development challenges. The difficulty is how to design technologies to meet these needs, and how to ensure that their deployment does not have other, unintended, effects.
Co-authored by Dominic Vergine of ARM and Laura Hosman of California Polytechnic State University, supported by USAID, and with contributions from UNICEF Innovation, Literacy Bridge, The Oxford Centre for Affordable Health Technologies, and SimPrints, Chapter 1.10 attempts to answer the question "What are the main challenges related to the design and deployment of technology hardware across the developing world?" By understanding these challenges, technology companies can learn how to develop better products for this emerging market. The chapter also serves to encourage the private sector to help tackle international development issues and develop "disruptive" technologies for all markets.
Digital Inclusion and Economic Development: A Regional Analysis from Brazil
In Chapter 1.11, Juan Jung of the Iberoamerican Association of Telecom Enterprises (AHCIET – CET.LA) analyzes the impact of broadband on regional productivity in Brazil, intending to find out if the economic impact is uniform across all territories of the country. The possibility of taking a regional approach, instead of the usual country-level analysis, provides an opportunity to disentangle the economic impact of broadband in territories that share a common institutional and regulatory framework as do the regions inside a single country.
The results of the analysis suggest that the impact of broadband on productivity is not uniform across regions. In the case of Brazil, broadband seems to be yielding higher productivity gains for less-developed regions. Results further verify that broadband connectivity yields higher economic impact in regions that specialize in specific sectors, such as commerce or information services. The fact that most underdeveloped regions in Brazil seem to be benefiting more than the rest of the country from the presence of broadband may suggest that broadband favors regional cohesion. The chapter discusses possible policy implications that may be derived from these results. It emphasizes frameworks suitable for promoting broadband deployments and the importance of promoting ICTs in lagging regions with the aim of favoring their attractiveness as a location for business.
PART 2: DATA PRESENTATION
Part 2 of the Report contains individual scorecards detailing the performance in the Networked Readiness Index of all 143 economies (Section 2.1) and tables reporting the global rankings for each of the 53 individual indicators composing the NRI (Section 2.2). It also contains a detailed list of sources and additional information for each individual indicator (Section 2.3).
Visit www.weforum.org/gitr for additional material, interactive scorecards and rankings, and downloading data.


text:
Q: mysql duplicate results joining tables I am rolling my own functionality for a well known cart. Here is my query:
    SELECT d.product, d.product_id, p.price FROM cscart_product_descriptions AS d, cscart_product_prices AS p WHERE d.product_id IN (
SELECT product_id FROM cscart_products WHERE product_code IN (
SELECT product_id FROM cscart_range WHERE range_name IN (
SELECT range_name FROM cscart_range WHERE product_id = '0140885'
)))

When I remove the product_prices related selection from the first select, I get three items returned as expected. When I run it with the prices included, I get something like 4,500 results.
I am aware that this is a joining issue, I'm just not certain how to correct it.
Cheers!

A: Its doing a cross join with cscart_product_prices table..
you could try something like this:
 select a.*,p.price from (
      SELECT d.product, d.product_id
      FROM cscart_product_descriptions AS d
      WHERE d.product_id IN (
         SELECT product_id FROM cscart_products WHERE product_code IN (
         SELECT product_id FROM cscart_range WHERE range_name IN (
         SELECT range_name FROM cscart_range WHERE product_id = '0140885'
         )))a
join cscart_product_prices AS p
on p.product_id=a.product_id

A: Also, try this query with joins -
SELECT
  d.product, d.product_id, p.price
FROM
  cscart_product_descriptions d
JOIN cscart_products p
  ON p.product_id = d.product_id
JOIN cscart_range r1
  ON r1.product_id = p.product_code
JOIN cscart_range r2
  ON r2.range_name = p.range_name
WHERE r2.product_id = '0140885'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Are you the veritable task-juggler?
Is being on a conference call with a client while shooting off several emails and reading the sales report your team just finished second nature to you?
You jump from task to task with the grace of a gazelle and are highly commended for your daily feats.
Didn't you resend some of those emails because you forgot to attach the presentation?
Didn't you call your client again to confirm certain details of the conversation?
What about the glaring typo in the sales report, how did you miss that?
Even if you fall in the 2% of the population—the super-taskers—whose performance does not deteriorate even when multiple demands are placed on their attention, for the remaining 98% of us (the humans), every time we try to focus on more than one thing at a time, performance suffers.
Jumping tasks has a high cost associated with it.
"When we speak of multitasking, what we really mean is that we are switchtasking: switching rapidly between one task and another. Yet, each time we switch, no matter how quickly that switch takes place in our mind, there is a cost associated with it. It's an economic term called switching cost—and the switching cost is high," writes time management expert Dave Crenshaw in The Myth Of Multitasking.
A study, Executive Control Of Cognitive Processes In Task Switching, published in 2001 determined that for all types of tasks, subjects lost time when they had to switch from one task to another.
This "time cost of switching" was higher as tasks got more complex. Time costs were also greater when the participants switched to tasks that were relatively unfamiliar. They got up to speed faster when they switched to tasks they knew better.
Even short interruptions like the few seconds it takes to silence a buzzing smartphone can have a surprisingly huge impact on your ability to accurately complete a task.
A 2013 study, Momentary Interruptions Can Derail The Train of Thought, conducted by Erik Altmann, professor of psychology at Michigan State University, US, and his associates, found that interruptions of roughly 3 seconds doubled the error rate of the task. Interruptions of 4.5 seconds tripled the number of errors.
So why was the error rate increasing with time?
"The answer is that the participants had to shift their attention from one task to another. Even momentary interruptions can seem jarring when they occur during a process that takes considerable thought," writes Prof. Altmann in a 2013 article on the university's website.
Our brain can do only one task at a time.
"The truth is your brain is not designed to do more than one thing at a time. It literally cannot achieve this, except in very rare circumstances. Instead, it toggles back and forth from one task to the next. For example, when you are driving while talking on the phone, your brain can either use its resources to drive or to talk on the phone, but never both. Scans show that when you talk on the phone, there is limited activation of your visual brain—suggesting you are driving without really watching. This explains how we can sometimes end up places without knowing exactly how we got there," writes Sandra Bond Chapman in the book, Make Your Brain Smarter: Increase Your Brain's Creativity, Energy, and Focus.
If you are still keen on keeping up several IM conversations at once, text messaging while watching TV and jumping from one website to another while writing the marketing report: Beware!
Multitasking might be slowing you down.
A 2009 study found that heavy multitaskers—those who multitask a lot and feel that it boosts their performance—were actually worse at multitasking than those who like to do a single thing at a time.
If juggling a variety of activities is fraught with so many disadvantages, why do we continue to multitask on a daily basis?
Multitasking makes you feel better even if it hurts your performance.
In a study, published in 2012 in the Journal Of Communication, researchers found that students who were watching TV while reading a book reported feeling more emotionally satisfied than those who studied without watching TV. However, they also reported that they didn't achieve their cognitive goals as well.
"Cognitive needs are not satisfied by media multitasking even though they drive media multitasking in the first place. Instead, emotional gratifications are obtained despite not being actively sought. This helps explain why people increasingly multitask at the cost of cognitive needs," says the study.
You can still walk your dog while speaking to your BFF on the phone, though.
Research shows that tasks that take up separate areas of the brain can be clubbed together.
Crenshaw refers to these tasks as "background-tasking". These are mindless or mundane activities that occur in the background and don't require your attention, like watching TV and eating dinner or making a cup of coffee while talking to a client.
The key is to match activities like writing or reading that involves complex thinking and judgement, with tasks that your brain can handle on an autopilot.
Therefore, you can study effectively while listening to instrumental music since reading comprehension and processing instrumental music engage different parts of the brain.
However, your ability to retain information will decline significantly when reading and listening to music with lyrics because both tasks activate the language center of the brain.
Want to accomplish more and reduce multitasking?
Focus without distractions. Put your phone on silent, turn off email notifications, tell your colleagues you need 30 minutes of uninterrupted time.
Take regular breaks. After every 20-30 minutes, the brain starts feeling tired and looks for distractions. Step away from the task and go for a walk or just look out of the window. Even a 2-5 minute break will refresh your brain.
Make a to-do list to record your top 2 or 3 priority tasks for each day. Ensure that you get these done. Accomplishing your important tasks daily will make you feel productive.


Welcome to Greenwoods - Singel 103, Amsterdams first English breakfast, lunch and tea room. We are open 9.00 until 16:00 from Monday until Thursday and 9.00 until 16.30 Friday to Sunday serving all day breakfasts, traditional cream teas with Devonshire clotted cream , burgers, sandwiches, eggs Benedict and a great selection of cakes, teas and coffee.
Please call us on 0031(0)20-6237071 to make a reservation for Monday- Friday. We do not take reservations Saturday & Sunday.
We can provide picnics for customers on request. Either to take out on your boat, for tourists who want to while away some time by the canals or in one of amsterdams many parks. All freshly made on the day and with a choice to suit your tastes this is a great way to pass the day.
Treat a friend or loved one with a Greenwoods gift voucher. These can be purchased in store at both our locations (Singel 103 and Keizersgracht 465). They can be of any value and can be used any time in a 12 month period.


text:
Q: Need help to understand how scala list.contains works why is it that something like:
val map = Map(....)

List(1,2,3,4).contains(map)

or
List(1,2,3,4).contains("hello")

Are allowed to compile. I though scala was type safe.

A: If we consult the scaladocs for List.contains, you will notice the following method signature:
def contains[A1 >: A](elem: A1): Boolean
Of particular interest is the type parameters, [A1 >: A] If we break this down, we get:

*

*A, the type of the elements that the List contains

*A1, the type of the element you are searching for in the List

*>:, a symbol representing a lower bound

This should be interpreted that A1 is lower bounded by A, so A1 is either of type A or a more generic type. See http://www.scala-lang.org/old/node/137 for more information about lower type bounds.
You have a list of Int. You ask if the list contains a String. Since Any >: String and Any >: Int, the compiler doesn't complain. The same circumstances apply for the Map scenario.


Cesarina Run Pelier, 85, of Winter Haven, died of heart failure Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007, at her residence.
A native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, she came to the area from Lehigh Acres in 2004.
She was a seamstress for Hilda Enterprises and a member of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Survivors include a son, William Perez Run of New Jersey City, N.J.; four daughters, Vivian Pelier of Winter Haven, Niveida Pelier of Cape Coral, Sarah Rosales of Staten Island, N.Y., and Emerida Avilez of Mayaguez; a sister, Josephine Prosephine Run of New York City, N.Y.; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.


Hearing loss does not only affect the person who has it. Spouses, family members and friends will all benefit when it is treated. So give your loved one a caring nudge towards a hearing centre, and help them along the way.
If someone you know is suffering from untreated hearing loss, you will probably find their social behaviour has changed. They may have withdrawn from social activities and feel shame, guilt or anger. They may also become more self-critical, frustrated and depressed. All these types of behaviour can also have a negative impact on anyone who is near and dear.
Sometimes the affected person is not aware of the hearing loss, or simply denies it. In these cases, it may take courage, patience, and persistence to get a loved one to accept that they have hearing loss.
If you spend a lot of time with someone who has untreated hearing loss, you may find yourself repeating, explaining and amplifying whenever they feel the need. In a way, you become the person's ears. But while they may cope with it, you probably feel exhausted by the end of the day.
Becoming aware of the numerous efforts you make to 'translate' could be an important first step towards their treatment. Realising the extent of the support you need to give may empower you to take action, on behalf of you both.
Although the signs may be obvious to others, many people who suffer from hearing loss are unaware they have it – while many refuse to accept they do. Their resistance may be linked to an old-fashioned perception of hearing impairment and hearing aids. But with today's technology and designs, hearing aids are so tiny and discreet that they are almost invisible. And their benefits reach far beyond just recovering lost sound.
To increase your loved one's awareness of hearing loss, it can be wise to take one step at a time, while taking care to be empathetic, supportive and understanding. The more you know, the better you can help, so read all about hearing loss on our website. Then tell your loved one about the benefits of hearing care, and encourage them to just have a non-committal hearing test, just to begin with. Because, if the test confirms your suspicions, it will give a graphic, medical picture of your loved one's hearing loss. With little room for denial, treatment and progress may begin.
Family and friends can take part in gently reminding your loved one of their hearing loss every time it is necessary to 'translate' or repeat something for them. They can thus help 'spread the blame' of the intervention, while helping to point out the ways in which you are being depended upon – which may be more than you realise.
There are a number of things you can do to make communicating easier for your loved one. These tips for better hearing can help while you are trying to convince your loved one to get a hearing test, and also after their hearing aids have been fitted.
Speak clearly and at a natural pace - don't shout.


Crafted from blue silk satin, this style of flat ballerina shoes in adorned with a multitude of different sized and colored crystals. This chic looking pair of pointed toe flats redefine glamour and great add on to your wardrobe in black, blue and emerald green color. Carry the comfortable shoes in style with a sharp blazer.
Hidden Heel Measures approximately 0.4"


text:
2014 opera thank you
Many thanks to our cast, crew, and audiences for a terrific production!
Directed by David Bass and Kathy Lindsay
Choreography by Rachel Zimmerman
All performances were at:
The Peabody School (Directions, map, parking)
70 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
Saturdays, March 29 and April 5, at 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sundays, March 30 and April 6, at 1:00pm and 5:00pm
SEE WHEN YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS PERFORMED!
Our 2014 family opera was the North American (and NCFO) premiere of Rain Dance (synopsis with music), inspired by Tish Farrell's story, "The Hare Who Would Not Be King." Rain Dance was commissioned by the W11 Opera for Young People and first performed by them in December 2010. The opera was written by Stuart Hancock (music) and by Donald Sturrock (libretto). It is the tale of animals on the South African savannah facing a drought, the Machiavellian lion whom they elect to lead them, and their unlikely hero, a brilliant but neurotic and politically apathetic rabbit.